Chapter One
Paradox in Time
A gentle breeze whistled through the trees, gentling ruffling the orange fur of Crash Bandicoot, who was laying out in the sunshine on a deck chair, sunglasses wrapped around his head, listening to the soft lapping of the waves on the shores of N. Sanity Beach. Slowly sipping a mango and wumpa fruit punch from a coconut with a straw, Crash marveled at how everything was now in order. The hollow sucking of the straw warned Crash he was out of juice. Clicking his fingers as he sat up, Crash called over the drinks-man.
"How may I help you sir?" the man asked, his large head with a capital 'N' shining in the sunlight.
"Another," Crash ordered, holding out the coconut to Neo Cortex.
"Right away sir," Cortex bowed, taking the coconut and left. Crash was just lying back down, when he heard, "Crash... Crash..."
"Crikey," Crash proclaimed as he pulled off his sunglasses. "That was quick! I must... Aaaarggghhhh!" he shrieked as he looked into a pair of toothy jaws.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down there!" a familiar voice answered from the jaws, and the brightness of the beach quickly faded into the darkness of Crash's messy room. The jaws retrieved a reptilian style body. It was Baby T the tyrannosaur, often called Tina by Crash and Coco.
"Tina!" Crash cried in shock, then his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the clock. "2:23? What's the big idea of waking me up at this hour of the morning? And while we're at it, what have I told you about waking me up with those teeth beside me?"
The young female Rex grinned a little, flashing the jaws again. "I guess I am a little frightening..." she giggled. It was an interesting side-effect of Cortex's experimentation that Crash and his sister Coco could understand the talk of other animals when the animal spoke directly to them. None of the other Commandos had this gift it was believed. "But, you have to come..." Tina continued. "Coco just discovered Cortex has been messing up time... yet again," she rolled her lizard-like eyes.
Climbing out of bed slowly, Crash stepped on his yo-yo lying on the ground and his legs flew off from beneath him, causing him to land flat on his back. "You know," Tina began. "It could help if you tidied this jungle up once in a while."
"Hey!" Crash protested as he climbed up, found his jeans and pulled them up over his pink boxers. "I've seen where you sleep. That slovenly nest with skeletons strewn around the place."
Tina shook her little forearm angrily at Crash. "I'm a carnivore. That's how I live."
"Whatever," Crash snapped as he pulled his finger-less leather gloves on. "Just don't criticize mine then." Finally dressed, Crash turned to Tina and asked, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
"Not a clue."
"Crash," Coco proclaimed as he entered her bedroom, still dressed in her usual white shirt and blue overalls, her long flowing blonde hair that was always tied in a ponytail. She tossed a strand out of her face and focussed on her brother. "I just discovered what Cortex has been up to. He's been in the Middle Ages, sparking mayhem and disorder. And the world around us too is beginning to change because of it."
Crash nodded, without paying any attention and glanced about his sister's bedroom. A large supercomputer took up most of the room, the key to it, her laptop. It was humming and buzzing away. The rest of the room was littered with techno gizmos, parts and pieces to improve Coco's time machine, the Time Weaver.
A pair of yawns signaled the arrival of Polar and Pura, the polar bear and tiger cubs. "So, what's up?" the tiger purred, his hyper-activity already growing.
"That too," another voice, an ominous mystical voice, added. "I would like to know." It belonged to Aku-Aku, the ancient witch-doctor spirit and Guardian of Earth. Aku-Aku was nothing more than a living voodoo mask that held within the spirit of the witch doctor, colorful feathers protruding from the head.
"Right," Coco nodded. "I've been monitoring the temporal time flow with the aid of this new supercomputer, watching for any paradoxes. And it just spat one out. In medieval times, a new king came into reign. A notable 'King Neo.' This king has made large changes to that world, therefore, affecting ours in the process."
Crash blinked, blew out some air in a 'whoosh' sound and flung his hand over his head. "Over and out. Translation please?"
Sighing, Coco held her head in her hand for a moment, before replying with, "Cortex has gone back into the days of knights and kings and is screwing up the normal history. Understood?"
"I think so," Crash nodded. "Although you lost me about the 'days of nights' thing. How can you have days of nights?"
Rolling her eyes, Coco groaned, "Never mind. Just get some of our gear ready. I think you'd best get the jet-pack, the wrist transmitters and... uh..."
"My shovel gloves?" Crash offered.
Coco considered this for a moment. "Yeah. Bring them. They might just be handy. While you gather the gear, I'll activate the Time Weaver and pinpoint Cortex's location in time."
"On to it," Crash answered, giving his sister an army salute and a laugh before dashing off down the corridor to the storage room. Tina, Polar and Pura quickly dashed out, after him.
"Crash!" the polar bear Polar cried out as he dashed through the corridors with him. "Wait up!"
But, Crash was already diving into the storage room, rummaging about for the items Coco had requested. In the room was a load of useful gadgets and gizmos, all stolen from Cortex. There was a Jet Board, Atlasphere, Copter-Pack and tons of other stuff. Parked out in the garage were their Bi-Planes, the Space Fighter, Motorcycle and Jeep.
"Crash! We want to come with you!" Polar called out over the crashing and banging of the bandicoot digging about for things.
Crash's head appeared between a few crates, blinking at the animals, before retracting and appearing before them, clutching two over-sized watches, a large shoulder strapped JetPack over his back and a pair of spiky gloves in his paws. "Sorry guys, but you know the rules..." he smiled as he gave them each a rub on the head. "We need you here to monitor the Time Weaver in case something happens. Aku-Aku can't do it alone..."
"Well," Pura shrugged, his hyper-activity preventing him from sitting still. "It was worth a shot."
"Too true!" Crash grinned. "Hey! One day we'll need you to come with us... Save it 'till then."
Coco was standing in the main portal chamber, typing away at her laptop, with Aku-Aku floating over her, when Crash arrived. The room was a large mess of circuits and wires everywhere, one large metal ring stood in the center, lights flashing gently around it.
Crash knew the routine. He walked behind the ring and placed the JetPack and Shovel Gloves in two of the five holding containers for the items. The items sat there for a few seconds while Crash backed off; then in a flash, they disappeared, awaiting in the time stream until they were called upon.
Walking up to his sister, Crash strapped on his Wrist Transmitter and handed Coco hers. Coco continued to type for several more seconds, before she slammed her finger on the 'Enter' key and stood back, strapping on her transmitter as she turned to admire her handiwork.
At once, the lights on the metal ring began to pick up speed in their flickering circle, until it was so fast, the lights never stopped glowing. A loud humming of the machines deafened everything. Then, a finger of lighting leapt from one side of the portal to the next. Then another. And another. And another... until with a blast of light, the portal glew a brilliant blue.
"We'll be in touch with the transmitters!" Coco cried over the humming to Aku-Aku and the animals. "You all be ready to act if something happens okay?"
"Sure thing," the mask nodded slightly.
Crash grinned a wide grin at his sister and lowered into a running position. With a wave with his eyebrows, he launched into a dash, skip, jump and a forward flip; Crash vanished into the portal in a flash of light. Coco shrugged, tossed back her blonde flowing hair and ran at the portal as well, disappearing in a flash of light.
Then the machine automatically shut down, until the bandicoots were ready to return home again.
With a flash, a portal opened and Crash and Coco Bandicoot were ejected from the portal, onto the dusty road of a forest. Climbing to her feet first, Coco turned to gaze down the road at a castle near the end of the path. "That's our target Crash. Cortex's New Castle."
"I think," a familiar human voice sneered. "You won't have to travel that far to find me. You'll never take my weapon in the north tower of the castle." Turning, both bandicoots saw that Cortex, wearing a golden crown and about three of his Cortex Commando genetic mutated soldiers surrounded them. "Well now, we're gonna have a hell of a time with you two," Cortex grinned, rubbing his hands together in glee.
Paradox in Time
A gentle breeze whistled through the trees, gentling ruffling the orange fur of Crash Bandicoot, who was laying out in the sunshine on a deck chair, sunglasses wrapped around his head, listening to the soft lapping of the waves on the shores of N. Sanity Beach. Slowly sipping a mango and wumpa fruit punch from a coconut with a straw, Crash marveled at how everything was now in order. The hollow sucking of the straw warned Crash he was out of juice. Clicking his fingers as he sat up, Crash called over the drinks-man.
"How may I help you sir?" the man asked, his large head with a capital 'N' shining in the sunlight.
"Another," Crash ordered, holding out the coconut to Neo Cortex.
"Right away sir," Cortex bowed, taking the coconut and left. Crash was just lying back down, when he heard, "Crash... Crash..."
"Crikey," Crash proclaimed as he pulled off his sunglasses. "That was quick! I must... Aaaarggghhhh!" he shrieked as he looked into a pair of toothy jaws.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down there!" a familiar voice answered from the jaws, and the brightness of the beach quickly faded into the darkness of Crash's messy room. The jaws retrieved a reptilian style body. It was Baby T the tyrannosaur, often called Tina by Crash and Coco.
"Tina!" Crash cried in shock, then his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the clock. "2:23? What's the big idea of waking me up at this hour of the morning? And while we're at it, what have I told you about waking me up with those teeth beside me?"
The young female Rex grinned a little, flashing the jaws again. "I guess I am a little frightening..." she giggled. It was an interesting side-effect of Cortex's experimentation that Crash and his sister Coco could understand the talk of other animals when the animal spoke directly to them. None of the other Commandos had this gift it was believed. "But, you have to come..." Tina continued. "Coco just discovered Cortex has been messing up time... yet again," she rolled her lizard-like eyes.
Climbing out of bed slowly, Crash stepped on his yo-yo lying on the ground and his legs flew off from beneath him, causing him to land flat on his back. "You know," Tina began. "It could help if you tidied this jungle up once in a while."
"Hey!" Crash protested as he climbed up, found his jeans and pulled them up over his pink boxers. "I've seen where you sleep. That slovenly nest with skeletons strewn around the place."
Tina shook her little forearm angrily at Crash. "I'm a carnivore. That's how I live."
"Whatever," Crash snapped as he pulled his finger-less leather gloves on. "Just don't criticize mine then." Finally dressed, Crash turned to Tina and asked, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
"Not a clue."
"Crash," Coco proclaimed as he entered her bedroom, still dressed in her usual white shirt and blue overalls, her long flowing blonde hair that was always tied in a ponytail. She tossed a strand out of her face and focussed on her brother. "I just discovered what Cortex has been up to. He's been in the Middle Ages, sparking mayhem and disorder. And the world around us too is beginning to change because of it."
Crash nodded, without paying any attention and glanced about his sister's bedroom. A large supercomputer took up most of the room, the key to it, her laptop. It was humming and buzzing away. The rest of the room was littered with techno gizmos, parts and pieces to improve Coco's time machine, the Time Weaver.
A pair of yawns signaled the arrival of Polar and Pura, the polar bear and tiger cubs. "So, what's up?" the tiger purred, his hyper-activity already growing.
"That too," another voice, an ominous mystical voice, added. "I would like to know." It belonged to Aku-Aku, the ancient witch-doctor spirit and Guardian of Earth. Aku-Aku was nothing more than a living voodoo mask that held within the spirit of the witch doctor, colorful feathers protruding from the head.
"Right," Coco nodded. "I've been monitoring the temporal time flow with the aid of this new supercomputer, watching for any paradoxes. And it just spat one out. In medieval times, a new king came into reign. A notable 'King Neo.' This king has made large changes to that world, therefore, affecting ours in the process."
Crash blinked, blew out some air in a 'whoosh' sound and flung his hand over his head. "Over and out. Translation please?"
Sighing, Coco held her head in her hand for a moment, before replying with, "Cortex has gone back into the days of knights and kings and is screwing up the normal history. Understood?"
"I think so," Crash nodded. "Although you lost me about the 'days of nights' thing. How can you have days of nights?"
Rolling her eyes, Coco groaned, "Never mind. Just get some of our gear ready. I think you'd best get the jet-pack, the wrist transmitters and... uh..."
"My shovel gloves?" Crash offered.
Coco considered this for a moment. "Yeah. Bring them. They might just be handy. While you gather the gear, I'll activate the Time Weaver and pinpoint Cortex's location in time."
"On to it," Crash answered, giving his sister an army salute and a laugh before dashing off down the corridor to the storage room. Tina, Polar and Pura quickly dashed out, after him.
"Crash!" the polar bear Polar cried out as he dashed through the corridors with him. "Wait up!"
But, Crash was already diving into the storage room, rummaging about for the items Coco had requested. In the room was a load of useful gadgets and gizmos, all stolen from Cortex. There was a Jet Board, Atlasphere, Copter-Pack and tons of other stuff. Parked out in the garage were their Bi-Planes, the Space Fighter, Motorcycle and Jeep.
"Crash! We want to come with you!" Polar called out over the crashing and banging of the bandicoot digging about for things.
Crash's head appeared between a few crates, blinking at the animals, before retracting and appearing before them, clutching two over-sized watches, a large shoulder strapped JetPack over his back and a pair of spiky gloves in his paws. "Sorry guys, but you know the rules..." he smiled as he gave them each a rub on the head. "We need you here to monitor the Time Weaver in case something happens. Aku-Aku can't do it alone..."
"Well," Pura shrugged, his hyper-activity preventing him from sitting still. "It was worth a shot."
"Too true!" Crash grinned. "Hey! One day we'll need you to come with us... Save it 'till then."
Coco was standing in the main portal chamber, typing away at her laptop, with Aku-Aku floating over her, when Crash arrived. The room was a large mess of circuits and wires everywhere, one large metal ring stood in the center, lights flashing gently around it.
Crash knew the routine. He walked behind the ring and placed the JetPack and Shovel Gloves in two of the five holding containers for the items. The items sat there for a few seconds while Crash backed off; then in a flash, they disappeared, awaiting in the time stream until they were called upon.
Walking up to his sister, Crash strapped on his Wrist Transmitter and handed Coco hers. Coco continued to type for several more seconds, before she slammed her finger on the 'Enter' key and stood back, strapping on her transmitter as she turned to admire her handiwork.
At once, the lights on the metal ring began to pick up speed in their flickering circle, until it was so fast, the lights never stopped glowing. A loud humming of the machines deafened everything. Then, a finger of lighting leapt from one side of the portal to the next. Then another. And another. And another... until with a blast of light, the portal glew a brilliant blue.
"We'll be in touch with the transmitters!" Coco cried over the humming to Aku-Aku and the animals. "You all be ready to act if something happens okay?"
"Sure thing," the mask nodded slightly.
Crash grinned a wide grin at his sister and lowered into a running position. With a wave with his eyebrows, he launched into a dash, skip, jump and a forward flip; Crash vanished into the portal in a flash of light. Coco shrugged, tossed back her blonde flowing hair and ran at the portal as well, disappearing in a flash of light.
Then the machine automatically shut down, until the bandicoots were ready to return home again.
With a flash, a portal opened and Crash and Coco Bandicoot were ejected from the portal, onto the dusty road of a forest. Climbing to her feet first, Coco turned to gaze down the road at a castle near the end of the path. "That's our target Crash. Cortex's New Castle."
"I think," a familiar human voice sneered. "You won't have to travel that far to find me. You'll never take my weapon in the north tower of the castle." Turning, both bandicoots saw that Cortex, wearing a golden crown and about three of his Cortex Commando genetic mutated soldiers surrounded them. "Well now, we're gonna have a hell of a time with you two," Cortex grinned, rubbing his hands together in glee.