"Ya thrashed me mate. No worries...but you'll soon be up against much worse." The harsh tone of Dingodile lingered in the frigid air as Crash Bandicoot danced his victory dance in the icy cavern.
Although his words had been true, his longtime enemy Crash Bandicoot had still managed to overcome the 'much worse.' That included his master, Cortex, who once again found nothing but complete and utter defeat at the hands of that bandicoot. Even with the powers of Uka Uka to back him up, the mad scientist still lost.
However, there was one silver lining. That pesky bandicoot's cute sister.
Yes, cute.
Ever since he had first clapped eyes on her, Dingo had resigned himself to that fact that she somehow cast a peculiar spell over him.
After his creation by Doctor Nitrus Brio, Dingo had been a happy hybrid. Torch this, take out that. Blow this up. Set this on fire, set that on fire. Life was simple. Life was fun. However, his world turned upside down by the release of Uka Uka. That mask that had commanded Cortex to send his allies to fetch Crash's power crystals. It was then that he caught his first glimpse of her.
It turned out she was more than just a pretty face. She alone had defeated Cortex's second in command; Doctor N. Gin. He could hardly believe his own ears when he overheard that.
Then to make this strange feeling even worse, he had humiliatingly lost to Crash and his sister in a series of races that determined the fate of the planet. All throughout the races, Dingo had kept a close eye on her, watching as much as he could without seeming suspicious. In the final races, Dingo had even managed to beat her several times. But of course, it just had to be Crash Bandicoot who qualified to go on and beat Oxide. As usual, that pesky bandicoot beat the bad guy and saved their planet. It was odd, but Dingodile knew that a part of him wouldn't have minded if she had won.
Her skills with technology also left Dingo in awe of her. It also gave him ideas. With his pyrotechnics and her technical skills, the two could melt anything! As the rough hybrid minion sat there thinking of his odd feelings for the sheela who was supposed to be his enemy, a silly grin crossed his face. Such odd, annoying, yet wonderful feelings had been coming and going from some time now and there appeared to be nothing he could do to change that. Sure in days gone by, he would have loved to roast himself a shemale bandicoot, but now... Now he wasn't so sure. That was the worst part about these feelings. The uncertainty. Dingo had no idea what they were, or why he was bugged by such useless feelings, but sure as the Auzie desert was hot, they were not welcome.
Yet these feelings also graced him with a strange sense of peace whenever he had been in her presence.
This was stupid. Dumb. He should not be at peace! Peace was for the weak. He was the feared Dingodile, Dr Nitrus Brio's creation. He was designed to be an engine of destruction. His one love was fire.
Yes... Fire.
That pretty bandicoot.
Fire.
That pretty bandico- Dammit mind! Forget that bandicoot!
Fire.
Burning...
Flames...
Peace...
Wait... What?
Dingo growled. This was hopeless. He could not get that darn sheela bandicoot out of his head. Nothing made sense, he had tried all his favourite pastimes and nothing would completely dispel her from his mind. As he wandered down the bleak hallways of his master's latest base in search of his flamethrower, he allowed his mind to drift back to where these cursed feelings turned from a pesky spark to a mighty flame.
Them was the days. The bash. Back before the latest screw up that is Crunch Bandicoot. The days of the tournament to resolve the fight between good and evil. Them was the best days of me life. A time where I was able to get to know that beautiful bandicoot better. Life had just begun to go a juicy new way. We won. But in the end, Tiny and I still had to return our master, Cortex. After all, win or lose, you can't change who you are, can you?
It was just another day in the lab. Well, the minion's quarters, the poorest section of the temporary base. Dingodile wished for some action. How long had it been since they lost the races against that bandicoot?
At least he had recently raced against the prettiest thing in the world. That was something at least.
A sudden shiver tingled through his system. He blinked as the cold confines of Cortex's base had been replaced with a ancient stone courtyard. At the centre, Aku-aku and Uka-uka hovered but his breath caught as he saw beyond the edge of stonework an abyss of darkness extended endlessly out in all directions.
Dingo paused. Why was that annoying bandicoot suddenly standing here as well? And why had several other of Cortex's minions appeared beside him too? Where were they? What was going on?
Dingo blocked out the masks as they blabbed on about a way to end their feud once and for all. All Dingodile could think of was roasting that bandicoot. This was a perfect opportunity.
To his surprise, that tingling sensation returned and Dingo found himself on the same team as the very bandicoot he wanted to roast alive. 'Even the sides? Even the sides!? But, but now I'm stuck with that bandicoot!' Then something clicked inside his mind as he eyed up his new opponents. This was his chance to openly betray Cortex. And there was nothing his old master could do about it! That made him smile. This could be fun!
Then the female bandicoot on the far side of Crash caught his eye. 'I'm on the same side as that sheela. I'm actually on the same side as that cute sheela bandicoot!' A grin sparked to life on his face. Maybe he could get used to being a conscripted good fella if it allowed him to spend time with this cutie, and try and figure out what was going on with the strange feelings he felt for her.
Sometime later, in one of the ancient ruins small rooms, Aku Aku held a quick meeting with his team.
"Uka Uka and I have agreed, you all will be split into teams of two for the upcoming challenges." Aku Aku spoke to his team as they gathered around their witch doctor. The main blab was over and Dingodile felt obliged to pay attention now that the bad guys were off at their own spot.
"First you must win trophies, then Gems and crystals. To advance from one warp room to the next you must also defeat each room's boss. The team with the most points gets to face off against Oxide. If there is no clear victor by the defeat of Oxide, the final boss, the duo who defeats Oxide will be allowed to pick a single opponent for a final face off, one on one."
Aku Aku paused for a moment to allow this all to sink in. He paid special attention to the two conscripts, Tiny and Dingodile. Dingo could feel the presence of the mask as it probed his mind. Something had prompted Aku Aku to pick him. While Dingo didn't really care what it was, he was glad to be here, even if it was listening to another speech.
"Crash, I want you with Tiny. Coco, please accept Dingodile as your partner."
"Okay," the peppy bandicoot replied, her gaze travelled to the mutant croc and faltered, uncertain.
'Partner?!' Dingo could hardly believe it. Was his hearing defective?
Coco walked up to the hybrid and did her best to smile up at him. "Looks like your with me."
After the shock of the moment wore off, Dingodile found his voice once more along with his toothy smile, "yea."
The colossal tiger drew Dingo's attention as he wandered over to Crash. "Tiny with Crash, together we crush puny Cortex." The bandicoot in question grinned back then pulled off a quick Crash dance. Tiny did his best at copying it only to fail, crashing into the stone floor.
Laughter broke out from the group and Tiny joined in. Crash offered his downed teammate a hand up and collapsed forward as the tiger accepted it. Dingo failed to stifle another laugh as his old foe hit the ground.
Tiny rose and offered the orange marsupial a hand up. As the half crocodile witnessed Crash accept the offering, Dingo decided to give both bandicoots a chance. Maybe this odd team could work. His gaze settled on Coco and she smiled with a little bit more enthusiasm up at him.
"I think this will be fun," grinned Dingodile.
"I think I'm looking forward to it now too." Coco Bandicoot replied.
Dingodile spun the TNT crate and grinned as his ears were graced with a boom! This crash bash contest in the forest was fun!
"Blue Team Wins!" The announcer declared.
Dingodile threw up his arms in victory and cheered. He allowed his gaze to get drawn to the bandicoot on the other side of the arena as she joined him in their moment of victory. They did it, together they won their first match and they both survived!
With a swish and a tingle, the pair found themselves back in the warp room. Dingodile smiled down at Coco and was rewarded with a shy smile back.
"Good job there sheela."
"Thank you. You weren't too bad yourself."
Before any further conversation could be had, Tiny appeared. The big cat growled menacingly.
Coco quickly made sure something was between her and the dangerous mutant. Lucky for Dingo, that something was himself.
He put his arms up to further take the attention away from Coco, "woah there matey. What happened, did you lose?"
Another angry roar.
Crash appeared with a splat, face first on the floor.
Ignoring the previous threat, Coco was quick to rush to her brother. She pulled him up and gave him a quick once-over. "Are you okay, did you win?"
Crash shook his head quickly picked himself up, spun around and gave himself a once over. With her brother okay, Coco once again shifted slightly away from Tiny.
"Did youse win?" Tiny asked.
"Yep." Dingo pointed behind himself at the portal to Crate Crush. There hanging in mid-air was a trophy.
"Red Team wins!"
Cortex and Koala Kong jeered at Dingo as the four came to rest on their adapted pogo sticks.
Dingodile sighed. He tried. It was a lot of fun but sadly no trophy. If it was down to him, he would have won on his solo score, but Coco just could not seem to score enough points to boost his impressive solo score into a team win.
The pair felt a now familiar swish and tingle and they were teleported back to the warp room. Dingo sighed. In days gone by, now would be the perfect time to clip his companion over the head for her repeated poor performance in Pogo Painter. But it was clear that this was not one of those days. She was too precious to treat so callously. For reasons he failed to comprehend, he knew that had to do his best to protect her from his inner bad guy, least she became even more fearful of him.
Coco was quick to step away from the hybrid toward her brother who was busy dancing. Beside him, Tiny watched with an amused look on his face. At least one of the two teams had once again secured a victory.
Bearinater fired his cannon and took a chunk off the rapidly diminishing platform Dingo and Coco shared.
With a snarl, Dingo pushed a newly arrived robo polar bear off into the frozen waters. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Coco struggling against two of the robots. She got shunted very close to the jagged edge where one of the shells had landed. Without a second thought, Dingo gave his polar bear a kick in the side to hurry it toward the duo of robots as they moved in to finish their job. He shoved one into the other and was rewarded by them both turning on him.
"Come on mateys, it's on!" he yelled as he gave his mount another rough heel into its side. He charged them both, carefully timing his charge, but still got shunted backwards by their combined efforts.
The tables turned as Coco's polar bear rammed into the side of one, shoving it into the other and with an added push from Digo forcing his ride onwards, they both sailed into the freezing waters.
"That's great Dingo! I think we've nearly won!" Cheered Coco.
A boom sounded and dingo felt cold fear shoot through his system as he saw where the shell was headed.
"Look out!" He gave a frantic jab at his ride to knock his companion away from the side of the platform just in time for the explosive to land.
He landed on his butt in the warp room with a clear view into the portal to the Bearinater's boss fight.
Crash gave him a worried look while Tiny growled at him angrily and lightly smacked the back of his head. He shot his fellow mutant a dirty look before his gaze returned to the portal. What he had just done was madness. He should have let Coco take the hit for her lack of attention to the boss. Yet there she was, safe and still in action. Outnumbered 3 robots to one combatant on a tiny spit of metal.
Yet as he watched, unable to tear his vision away from the fight, she not only beat back the final trio of attacking robo polar bears, but also dealt the final blow to the Bearinater.
A dancing Coco Bandicoot was teleported from the arena to his side and without thinking, Dingodile threw his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. After a few seconds, his brain registered what exactly he was doing and he flinched, about to withdraw from the inappropriate gesture. Instead, his heart swelled with an odd glow as he felt the hug returned.
"I'm glad yer safe..." he murmured.
"Thanks for saving me back there." Her reply was soft, yet the effect on his system was profound. He now knew that his sacrifice had been the perfect thing to do, it was right to protect her with his own life. Whatever the risk, she was worth it. Now if only he could find out why she was so special.
He withdrew and grinned down at her. "Ah, think nothing of it. Yer worth it."
As she smiled shyly back up at him, his awareness of the rest of the warp room receded. Crash, Tiny and even the freshly reappeared mask didn't matter. Only Coco did. Dingodile now knew that his actions in the games would never be the same. He had someone to watch out now, and he knew in some special way it was his duty to continue to look after her. Since she clearly appreciated it, he would throw himself at this duty with everything he had.
"Blue Team Wins!" The announcer declared.
Dingodile threw his arms up in victory. Coco had just helped him secure the gem for the snow bash.
Suddenly, Dingo found himself back in the warp room for his team. The first thing his brain registered was warm arms as his teammate threw herself on him.
"We won! Thank you Dingodile."
"Ya welcome, Sheela," a grin settled on his face. He could get used to this. Coco's praise was even better than the award they had just won.
"Where's the other two?" He asked as they withdrew awkwardly from one another.
"I think they're still going. Let's watch their round!" Coco rushed over to the Metal fox portal and peered in.
Dingo found himself drawn to her side and together they watched as Crash and Tiny fired shots at Cortex and Kowala Kong as they navigated around the constantly shifting mini metal maze in their tanks. Dingodile sniggered as Crash took hit from Koala Kong and his tank caught on fire. One more hit and the bandicoot would surely explode.
"Oooof," the air left Digo so suddenly it took him a moment to realize it was the tiny female bandicoot who had jabbed him in the ribs.
"Don't be rude please, he's my brother and he's on your side too."
"Whatever ya say." Dingo grinned as Crash took a shot from Cortex and exploded.
Coco spotted his grin and slapped him across the snout.
"Hey!" Dingo pulled back, unable to believe the stinging feeling that lanced through his face. How dare she do that! Why he ort to... do what?
"Don't laugh." Her anger was broken by Crash as he landed ungracefully on his backside.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Crash quickly nodded and Dingo wiped the grin off his face as Crash looked up at him for additional support.
Another explosion.
Tiny landed with a thump next to Crash. He growled and smacked the ground, his gaze upon the portal as the crystal icon greyed out into white. They had lost a power crystal to the bad guys. This was not good.
Sky Balls.
Whoever invented this round was a nutter.
Dingo was sure of that fact as he frantically deflected a ball only to miss two more that sailed right down his goal.
As more and more balls filed the arena Dingo found himself struggling more and more to flick them toward his two opponents, Rilla Roo and Doctor N. Brio. His frantic gaze followed one ball he accidentally bounced right toward Coco's goal. At the last moment, she saved it and shot it right down N. Brio's goal. Several more balls flew her way but none made it past her swift and precise defences. Ball after ball continued to come her way yet Coco repelled almost all with expert precision. Suddenly Dingo felt his own hover ship stutter.
Oh no!
He had been so busy looking at Coco and her skills he had forgotten to watch the balls coming his way from his opponents. With an explosion, he was out.
He landed face first on the hard ground. Loosin' sucks!
He sat himself up and glanced around. Good, no one else saw that. How shameful.
His gaze returned to the portal just in time to see Rilla Roo explode. He grinned. That sheila sure knows how to defend her goal.
His gaze continued to follow her every move as she zipped back and forth. Neither her nor N. Brio let up in their defences as more and more balls entered the arena.
Suddenly a large wave of moving balls caused the platform to shift and one of the thrusters cut out. Every ball sailed toward Coco. Dingo's eyes flew wide open as she blocked the main bunch. However, enough balls got through to send her score to a big fat 0.
Although he could not hear it, he could see N. Brio jeering at her as her hover ship exploded. They had lost. Another trophy to the enemy, Dingo had just lost them the fifth and final round, the tiebreaker to secure the three points needed to win. A failure, all because he could not keep his attention from his teammate. Was he losing his edge?
He caught Coco as she fell and despite his awkward, half crouched position with her in his arms it felt good to know he had just saved her again, even if only from a fall.
"What happened back there?"
"Whatda mean?" Dingo replied, his tone guarded.
"You know. You suddenly stopped blocking all the balls they sent your way in the final round. Are you okay?"
"Yea, yea. I'm fine."
"Really?" She cocked her head, concerned and probably doing her best to analyse what exactly had caused him to lose the way he had.
"Look, I just lost me concentration. It won't happen again."
"Really?"
"Yes." Dingo's tense tone hinted at a refusal to open up and share with his teammate.
Coco stepped closer, their eyes met and she held his gaze earnestly, "well, I did catch you looking my way. If you like what you see, you're welcome to look at me after or before a match. But please don't do that again."
"Yea. Okay. You uh... sure I'm allowed to look at you?" He asked, incredulously.
Coco nervously contemplated his question before she nodded. A blush settled upon her muzzle and Dingodile found himself compelled to smile. This was his work. He had made her face do that. Whatever it was, it felt good.
"Oof," he said suddenly, pain searing across his ribs. "But seriously," Coco said, a worried expression set across her face. "Don't do that again."
"Aaahh that was somethin' else..." A sigh escaped the mutant crocodile.
"What?" Pinstripe turned face Dingodile, confused.
The mutant croc froze in the doorway to the armoury. 'What am I doin' here? Crikey, I said that out loud? An' whats Pinstripe an' Tiny doin' here?'
After a moment, Dingo realized his silence may seem suspicious,"Nothin.' Okay?"
"Really?" the gangster checked, curious.
The room was silent for a few moments as Dingo's mind tried to think of something good enough to shut Pinstripe up. "What ya' doin' here anyways mate?"
"Amo run. Cortex wants me to hit a target. So me tommy gun and I get to have some fun." Pinstripe grinned as he attached a fresh magazine to his tommy gun.
"Really? I ain't heard nothin' about that."
"Yea, well I'm off. See you two chumps later," Pinstripe chucked as he strolled out past the hybrid in the doorway.
Dingo sighed as he wandered over to an ammo crate near the middle of the room and plonked himself down on it.
"You tinkin' of bandicoot again?" Tiny piped up. The giant tiger hefted the pitchfork he was toying with, stood then hurled it over Dingo's head and into a barrel on the other side of the room.
"Oi! What you do that for?" Dingo instinctively reached up and checked the fur on the top of his head.
"Tiny think you think too much. You stop thinking."
"Thanks, genius," muttered Dingodile as he tried to still his racing heart. As Tiny was one of the few creatures in existence that Dingo could so much as consider a friend, he figured he'd let Tiny off for nearly impaling him this time. If he had actually been struck by the weapon in this base, he would not be so lucky as to respawn. "I think I just need to find a way to get her out of me head. Don't worry about me mate."
"Okay," the simple-minded big cat shrugged, before he wandered over to retrieve his weapon.
Dingodile had never encountered anything that matched his thirst to torch things and now all those thoughts had been snuffed out like matches in a hurricane. The one thing in the world that Dingo did not want to burn for fun stood before him. Dingodile stood, slouched over as he gazed into the most captivating eyes in the world.
His grin grew wider as she placed her hands tenderly upon his jaw. Those soft hands drew his head in closer until they touched foreheads. He continued to grin as she slid his head into contact with her muzzle. Her mouth touched the top of his nose, just before the coarse, darker fur started. It wasn't a kiss. No. But still felt good. Amazing more like.
Her simple, elegant beauty left him somehow with the strangest of feelings. He felt like she should be protected, not harmed. Cared for, not set alight. His crazy mind somehow found peace in her presence. It was totally insane, yet felt right. Here, in the masks ancient ruins, he, Dingodile had found peace. The low flickering light from the torches on the walls added a feeling of boldness to the mutant and a delighted smile graced his muzzle.
"Well slick. It's been fun working with you on our side this time."
"Yea," agreed Dingo. "I've had fun, roastin' bad guys with yew."
Coco's hand never left his face as she continued, "well you know. There's still a few more matches left before the fight against Oxide."
"Yep." He looked forward to those. They were sure to be lively and full of action and fun. With this bandicoot at his side, they were sure to win these critical final matches and beat Uka Uka and his chosen champions. Tiny and Crash were sure to take care of themselves too.
Silence fell upon the pair as they continued to enjoy each other's presence.
"Say, what's ya name sheela? I never managed to catch it."
"Coco Bandicoot."
Dingo's grin became lopsided as made sure to commit her name to memory. "Coco aye? Beautiful name for a beautiful sheela."
"You think I'm beautiful?" Coco smiled with delight as she ran one of her hands down the side of Dingo's chin.
"Yeap," Dingodile enjoyed the slight flush that flared up on her cheeks. Her smile became ever so bashful, as though his answer surprised her.
His hands at last seemed to remember they could move once more and they somehow found themselves around her waist.
"I don't think anyone's ever called me beautiful before."
Her disclosure awoke another odd feeling within Dingo. It was confusing. But somehow knowing that he was the first to call her beautiful brought more joy to his twisted heart than anything he had ever heard before.
Coco tilted her head to gaze into the tough hybrid's soul, "are you sure you have to go back?"
For the first time since they were alone, his grin faltered. His eyes flickered away from her questing gaze only to return a moment later, drawn to her by some unknown force. "Of course. I like you, but Cortex is me master. Me and Tiny... our place is with those guys. Your place is here, with ya' family."
"But if we win? If Cortex and Uka Uka get defeated once and for all?" The hope in her gaze melted something within Dingo's heart and he couldn't help but offer her a smile and reassurance while he considered his response.
"Then maybe...? I hope. Ah dunno..." A frustrated growl escaped Dingo's throat. Coco flinched, one hand left his face. A pang ripped through Dingo. No! Don't fear me!
"If we win, maybe you could come and live with Crash and me." Her offer was tinted with hope⦠and something more. Hope and a question. Hope that he would accept, hope that maybe they could be together as ...something.
A hopeful grin appeared on Dingo's face as he relaxed and tightened his hold on her. "Yea. Maybe."
The hope that illuminated her face dissolved into peace, but the unanswered question hung between then.
"Wish I'd said yes..." It was then that Dingo realized he was still in the armoury. That sweet moment was long since over.
A soft guttural growl escaped the mutant. If such feelings were here to stay then there was only one thing for it. "Gotta stop thinkin' of her. I can't get hit by them weird feelin's an' stuff again. I don't want to miss another shot at roastin' her brother."
Dingo was wrenched out of his own thoughts by nearby laughter and a massive paw as it hit his back. "Tiny think you think silly things again." Tiny Tiger giggled raucously before he seated himself on a nearby ammo crate once more.
"Alright, how long was I day-dreamin'?"
Tiny simply shrugged.
As the armoury fell into silence once more, Dingo couldn't help but let his mind wander back to that night he and Coco shared the most wonderful and confusing of moments.
Coco and Dingodile broke out of their hug at the sound of approaching footsteps. Sure enough, Crash and Tiny rounded the corner, triumphant smiles upon their faces.
"How did you two go?" Coco asked, her cheeks flushed.
Crash offered a thumbs up alongside another smile while Tiny simply stood grinning, his eyes darting between the two. They had won, they beat Oxide. But it wasn't over. The two sides were matched closely enough that was going to come down to whoever won the rest of the minor battles.
Now all that was left was for the two teams to fight it out with Uka Uka's side for the rest of the gems, Crystals and keys.
Round and round they went, each of the four desperate for victory on the volcanic mini race track. Dingo knocked Rilla Roo into the lava as he crossed the line onto his last lap. Now no one had a chance to win against his superior speed!
As he raced around the circle N. Brio came into sight, two laps behind him according to the scoreboard. The evil doctor smashed Coco off the track with a laugh that Dingo could hear over their engine noises. In a fit of rage, Dingo raced at the doctor and smashed him into the lava too. It killed his speed but filled the mutant with a extreme sense of pleasure. Before he could regain his speed, Rilla Roo sped past him and won the round for the gem.
Brio sidled up beside the fuming hybrid as Rilla danced a victory dance. "Don't think I can't see what's going on here. I'm just like you, a traitor when it suits but you and I both know that deep down we are bad guys. No matter what you want, you can't ever change that."
"What do yew know?! Nothing!" Snarled Dingo.
"I designed you, you fool. Once the games are over you will see. You're evil right to your core! Not even love can change that!" Doctor N. Brio broke out into laughter as he disappeared.
Dingo could still hear Brio's words as he was teleported to the safety of their warp room. He appeared next to his favourite bandicoot and half-heartedly accepted a hug from her.
"It's okay," her soft voice challenged the hate-filled tone of his creator. "I believe in you."
Dingo glanced down at the cute bandicoot and did his best to smile at her. He allowed himself to be led around the circular platform to the pad that teleported them out into the good team's common ground.
Did that mean his old team could see there was something between the two of them? What was between Coco and him anyways?
The rest of the bash passed in a blur to Dingodile. He remembered that the two of them lost most of their remaining games. No matter how many times he messed up, Coco was there to help calm him. He was thankful for her. Had it not been for her words and her touch, he would have probably stormed out to try and find a flamethrower so he could set his opponents alight and torch everything! The rules be damned!
Dingo remembered Crash and Tiny flying into the final fight versus Oxide. It went so far as a final tie breaker between Crash and Cortex.
The hybrid sulked on the sideline as he watched the final showdown. Coco approached the grumpy half croc and slipped into his arms. Her sudden warmth at his side cooled something inside and he did his best to enjoy the show with her. Tiny gave them both the odd look but quickly went back to watching the show each time.
Of course, Crash won. That Bandicoot was blessed with something. Dingo was sure of it. Or Cortex was cursed. Dingo grinned. Actually, that was a fun thought.
Four victors and their witch doctor stood together in the simple square balcony that overlooked the rest of the ancient ruins. These enchanted grounds had been home for the last few weeks. Fireworks painted the night sky with bangs, fizzes and all the colours of the rainbow. It was a happy time. At least, it would have been if one of their party hadn't expressed his wish to leave.
"Go? Why do you need to go? You just helped us beat Cortex and Uka Uka," softly implored Coco.
Dingo glanced at the bandicoot who had found her way to his right side. A sudden series of fireworks lit her pretty face with all the colours of the rainbow. The lights danced across her muzzle, highlights to her already breathtaking features. She was amazing. She could be his, yet as her delicate hand found its way to his own callused one Dingo felt something dark festering amidst the butterflies in his tummy. Maybe he should stay? It's what they had agreed upon earlier.
In his best attempt at shaking off all strange and sappy feelings, Dingo turned his muzzle to the night sky. An annoyed grunt escaped, his only reply as he tried to fight off the strange fuzzies that attacked him inside.
"You don't have to go you know. I'm sure my brother could find room for you and Tiny at our place." A light squeeze accompanied the care-laden words of Coco.
What were these strange feelings inside? An odd sense of wooziness slowly washed over him as he gazed back down into the smaller creatures eyes as she held his gaze, somehow aware of the conflict roaring within him. A strange feeling, almost as if he were sick bubbled lightly up inside. His right palm, the very one that held hers tingled lightly. Dingo shook his head in an attempt at clearing his system from the alien feelings. This wasn't right. None of it.
Brio was right. Released from Aku Aku's magic as victors, he could feel the darkness as it returned inside. He realized then that it had always been there. Somehow, the witch doctor had suppressed this darkness and allowed Dingo to enjoy a different life in a whole new way while they fought for good. If the evil within him was to return and consume him, he did not want to be anywhere near Coco. He could not afford to let himself or Tiny hurt her. I 'ave to get out of here!
"I'm sorry Sheela. I can't stay and that's final." Dingodile quickly slipped his hand out of Coco's grip and turned to face the dancing bandicoot behind them. "And you," the mutant dingo pointed a finger at Crash, "yew ain't no mate of mine. I still got a score to settle wit' you."
Crash grew a questioning look and gestured as if to ask why the sudden change of heart.
Instead of answering, Dingo shoved past Crash and stalked out of the bright victory chambers, into the night. He had to get away, return to Cortex, the base, his home. He had to return to his old life. A life where everything was simple. A life where everything made sense. A life where being evil was right and good was to be set on fire and destroyed.
The rough mutant dingo was joined by his best friend, who smiled maliciously as they walked in silence.
Meanwhile, the two bandicoots exchanged a glance, wondering why either of their new friends would possibly wish to join the enemy once again. Suddenly Crash grinned a cheeky grin and waggled his eyebrows. He could see something was up between his sister and Dingodile.
Coco could only turn to once again face the fireworks as the last of the display lit up the night sky. She did her best to hide the slight flush on her cheeks, but deep down inside was glad her brother knew. Even if she didn't know exactly what it was there was to know.
As the night faded into darkness once more Coco felt her brother join her in leaning on the railing that faced off into the night. A comforting hand found its way onto her arm and the two simply stood for a moment.
Whatever happened, Coco at least had Crash's support.
"I am afraid that what magic I had over them has lifted. I cannot stop either of them leaving. We can only hope that one day they will choose to return." Oh right, Aku Aku was still here.
Coco murmured her thanks to their guardian as she returned her eyes to the night sky.
A/N:
In case you haven't already guessed, the story starts after the events of Crash 4 when Crunch Bandicoot has joined the good side and this chapter mostly has flashbacks to Crash bash. I disregard all games newer than Crash 4 for this story as I don't like what they did with them and I think this leaves me open for more development.
I have shipped Coco and Dingo for as long as I can remember. Around the time of Crash 3 for sure as I quickly started to annoy my brother with my cute ideas. CTR and then Crash Bash only added shipping fuel for me. Not that I knew what shipping was back then.
Since I got into fan fiction I have been meaning to put my ideas for these two into a story.
So, this is the story of how I think they (plausibly) got together.
The cover image is thanks to Sony-Shock. I saw their image and knew that one of the scenes in my story has to reference the picture.
Now who wants to see where things go with this unusual budding relationship?
