Crash and Spyro, A Friendship Across Lifetimes

Chapter 39: Instruments of Destruction

"So that orange creature is really your creation?" Gnasty asked as he stretched his arms. Apparently there were devices in his chest that were acting as an artificial lung so he could breathe, and a bridge which completed the neural pathways in his spinal column so he could walk again. He had also received artificial skin via a "skin graft," which replaced the burned tissue courtesy of Spyro. It was incredible. There were all kinds of technologies being imported from Artisans which was quickly incorporated into the Gnorks home world in the Realm of the Dragons, but the level at which was required to resuscitate Gnasty after his encounter with Spyro was incomprehensible to him. And it was all thanks to this old, decrepit Doctor, a kind of creature he had never seen before.

"Subject C1 was a mutation of a non-sentient creature. During my studies of the Power Gems, I once hypothesized that sentience was brought to this planet because of the Power Gems themselves, which I found out were older than the planet itself. I tried to apply that theory on Subject C1 and it gave him intelligence. His transformation was because of the Power Gems. The possibilities of the gems are limitless: time travel, genetic manipulation, interdimensional travel, unlimited energy, immortality. But I made a mistake in coming to the past. I couldn't figure out the magic of the Gems, so I sought the advice of the Sorceress. My plans were ruined by 'the orange creature.'"

Cortex had to be on the verge of death. His skin was covered in sore spots, saggy, wrinkly, and void of color. Cortex had said that he was a prisoner of Ripto for thirty two years. And it was because of him that Ripto and the Rhynocs possessed the technology they sold to the Gnorks.

"Ah, I see you've made acquaintance with the brilliant Dr. Cortex" Ripto said as he strutted into Gnasty's recover room. Have you heard him ramble about his grand ambitions in the future? Quite a laugh if I don't say so myself. Don't let his delusions or his age fool you, though; he is quite useful. It's why he's been my favorite prisoner for all these years. Isn't that right, Cortex?"

Cortex didn't responded, he didn't need to.

"So Ripto," Gnasty asked, "why did Cortex save my life?"

"I was asked to revive you by the Sorceress. She tasked me the job because of my abilities as a mage and a scientist. You see, she doesn't know that I have a very special prisoner in my captivity. She thinks I'm responsible for the technology that has been pumping out of the Rhynoc military. And she thinks your life is valuable enough because of you role as leader of the Gnorks. The Sorceress doesn't exactly train, build, and deploy the armies she "acquires." She simply tells the leaders to comply or she kills the whole army. It can get pretty messy. For example, the Bunnies of the Savanah's were recently 'annexed' by the Sorceress. They were well known for their mastery of magic, and defended themselves from the Sorceress for almost a thousand years by masking their location via a barrier that hid their location from the Sorceress. But recently, the Sorceress finally broke though. It's probably because she now has four Power Gems. She killed almost ninety percent of all Bunnies in existence within two days. And now the remaining Bunnies are acting as her spies. One of them is currently in Artisans right now, as the Avalar Resistance finally found a way to contact the cowardly Dragons that have hidden from the Sorceress in the same way the Bunnies tried to. History has a way of repeating itself, I suppose."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gnasty then asked.

"Because you and the rest of the Gnorks are just the latest addition to the Sorceress' ever growing army. Your life being saved comes at a price, you know. You already failed to enslave all the Dragons in the Dragon Realms, so you're on a short leash. Come with me, we have a new assignment. The Sorceress wish's to speak with us. As for you, Cortex, you're dismissed. We'll talk soon, if you live long enough."

Cortex walked out of the room. He didn't need an escort to his prison. He couldn't escape. He had given up several decades ago.

Gnasty suddenly became a little nervous. He had failed the Sorceress, and all because of a baby Dragon. But she had order his life to be spared, so she probably wasn't going to kill him. Probably.

Bianca was so nervous, she was shaking. Almost all of the Avalar Resistance was here: the Cheetahs, the Monkeys, the Penguins, the Yetis, the remaining Kangaroos, some Fauns, Lions, Pandas, and so many more. She, acting as the liaison of the Bunnies, was supposed to aid this resistance in any way she could magically. No one here knew that her entire civilization was destroyed by the Sorceress and how she was being blackmailed by her. If she didn't comply, her entire family would be killed. And there wasn't a way to save them or rescue them. They were already in a state of limbo, all the Sorceress had to do was will it to be so, and they would all die instantaneously.

It happened so fast, the barrier around her village dropping, the Rhynocs marching down the streets, killing Bunnies left and right. And the Sorceress, with four of the legendary Power Gems, leveling her home. She killed the King, her father, right in front of her with her mother, brother, and two sisters helpless to do anything. And the whole time, the Sorceress was smiling; it literally took no effort to burn her life to the ground. She had spared Bianca's life simply so she could be an instrument for more death and destruction. But what choice did she have. It was either her family plus the rest of the Bunnies or the innocent people gathered here in Artisans. And knowing the Sorceress, she and her family would be killed as soon as she had claimed the entire world as her own. She was only prolonging the inevitable.

Bianca's two objectives were to lower the barrier surrounding Artisans from the Sorceress, and to capture the Dragonfly known as Sparx. The barrier keeping the Sorceress out of the Dragon Realms was remarkably similar to the one the Bunnies had used. Red, a traitorous Elder Dragon, was tasked with teaching Bianca on how to drop the barrier. Red himself was somewhere nearby, keeping up his act and slowly waiting for everything to go to hell once she did what she was supposed to do. It made her sick to her stomach. How could a creature be that greedy and blatantly careless for the rest of his species' survival? Sure, she was essentially causing the same thing her for a whole lot of innocent people. But Red was doing it willingly! She felt like coming clean, but she knew she couldn't. No matter what Bianca chose to do, she would end up causing the deaths of her family and everyone here would most likely still die once the Sorceress found and murdered them, whether it was here or in front of their families if they escaped. It was only a matter of time.