It was absolute mayhem on Endor. A group from A.S.H. had been sent to take Dr. Wily's new attack robot out, and were currently fighting the mad doctor's army of Stormtroopers with a lot of success.
One member of the strike team was Dingodile, the hybrid creature with a fascination of fire. His huge crocodile tail dragging behind him and a huge tank of fuel strapped to his back, Dingodile ran through a wave of Stormtroopers, knocking them away with his flame-thrower.
Once he was into an opening, Dingodile aimed his weapon at the biggest group of Stormtroopers he could see and jammed the trigger with a furry finger. A beam of blazing fire cut through the air and took out every Stormtrooper it touched.
Dingodile quickly turned to the nearest member of the strike team, which turned out to be a middle-aged man in patchwork leather carrying a pair of Sai. "How're ya holdin' up, Ace?" The hybrid asked in his thick Australian accent.
The former mercenary turned to the hybrid. "Not bad." Ace replied. "These things are just too easy to take down."
"If only Larcen were here." Dingodile said. "You two would be able to pull off yer Combo Attack and take these things out quicker."
Ace smirked. "You said it."
Dingodile quickly saw Mario shooting balls of fire from his arm cannon, taking out Stormtroopers easily. He also saw a Stormtrooper getting ready to attack the Italian cyborg from behind. The hybrid quickly stopped that by firing a quick bolt of flame at the attacker, destroying it. Mario saw what happened and gave Dingodile a thumbs-up. "Thanks."
Dingodile saluted. "No problem, but keep yer eyes open. It seems like yer losin' yer touch, mate."
Soon, all of the Stormtroopers had been destroyed. The team, led by Gremio, all looked up at the floating machine containing Dr. Wily.
The deranged scientist grabbed what little hair he had left in anger. "Curse you all!" He said. "Your little base has been a wrench in Erode's plans since day one!"
Billy Kane pointed his staff at the scientist. "You should know by now that almost everyone on the base has a reason to want to take down Erode!" He said. "People like me especially!"
Wily growled and looked down at the team. "You have won for now."
"Like we always do." Gremio said with a smirk.
The mad scientist scowled at the young man. "Erode WILL reign triumphant. I can tell you that."
With that, Dr. Wily started glowing, then vanished from sight, showing everyone that he had gone back to Erode. All of the broken Stormtrooper parts vanished with him.
Gremio nodded and smiled. "Well, it looks like we've won." He turned to the team. "Great work, everyone. Let's head back to the base."
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Dingodile walked into the lounge on the A.S.H. base. This was one of the biggest rooms on the entire base, being able to hold at least a hundred people at once. He sighed and sat down on a chair. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed Luigi, Skid and Nightcrawler sitting down as well, talking.
Luigi was the first to notice the hybrid's blue funk. "What's the matter, Dingodile?" He asked. "Something bothering you?"
"Huh?" Dingodile looked at the three, noticing them for the first time. "Oh, sorry mates. Ah didn't see ya."
The three others exchanged looks of worry, because they knew that Dingodile had some of the keenest senses on the base. They quickly turned back to the hybrid. "Something you ate, man?" Skid asked.
"Ah, it's nuthin'." Dingodile sighed. "Just thinking."
"About vat?" Nightcrawler, the German mutant man with blue skin and a long tail, asked. "Vat could possibly make you zo zad?"
Dingodile sighed and stood up. "Ah assure ya guys that it's nuthin'." He said. "If ya need me, Ah'll be in the Fuel Room."
Without giving the others a chance to reply, Dingodile turned and left the room.
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Dingodile walked into the fuel room of the base. This was one of the rooms that was used solely for one or two specific members of the base. With this room, Dingodile and Scorch could refill their flame-throwers to be ready for the next mission.
As the hybrid creature connected his flame-thrower to a tank of fuel with a hose, Dingodile heard the door swish open.
"Hey, Dingodile?" The newcomer was green, plastic, army man Scorch, Dingodile's best friend on the base. "I don't mean to push it, but I've noticed that you've been acting depressed since you came back from that mission on Endor."
The hybrid sighed. It seemed like news got around pretty quick on the base. "Ah keep tellin' everyone that it's nuthin'." Dingodile assured.
The slim, green man folded his arms. "C'mon, Double D, I'm your best friend. I can tell when you're hiding something."
Dingodile sighed sadly and stood straight, showing that he was taller than Scorch by at least six inches. "Scorch, how long've Ah been here?"
Scorch thought. "About two years now. Why?"
"Two years ago may have been the time Ah joined A.S.H., but it was also two years ago that the event happened that made me want to join in the first place." The hybrid replied.
Scorch's green eyes widened, knowing what his friend was talking about. "The village?"
Dingodile nodded. "The invasion. The fire. The deaths. Everything." He replied. "Everyone tried standing up to that force, but those cowards hit and killed them from behind." He sighed. "Crash, Crunch, Tiny, Aku Aku, Pura, Polar, Fake Crash, everyone but me." A tear appeared in the corner of his eye. "Even Coco."
Scorch sighed. "You loved her, didn't you?"
"More than anything." Dingodile replied. "Crash was her big brother, so he was never really fond of me liking her, but Ah tried my hardest to impress him. Ah wanted to prove that Ah could take care of Coco, but when Erode's forces invaded, Ah failed miserably." He started sobbing as he lightly banged his fist against the wall. "Now, Ah'm alone."
Scorch placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "C'mon Dingodile, you're not alone. Everyone knows how you feel."
"No." Dingodile turned. "Think about it, Scorch. Ah'm the only one from my world here. Everyone else here at least has SOMEONE they've know fer a while still alive. Even YOU were able to save Shrap. Ah, however, lost everybody!" He sighed. "Look, Scorch. Ah'm sorry, but Ah just need some time to myself fer now."
Scorch sighed. "Okay, Dingodile. But if you ever need help, just give me a shout." He slowly turned around and left the room, leaving Dingodile alone again.
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On a distant planet, the sun was starting to set, dousing a forest in a deep red hue. Birds chirped as they were flying around, going to their respective trees.
However, while most of the forest was lush and green, there was one part that was almost bare. This was because whatever wooden substance in the entire area was burnt. Blackened remains of houses littered the area, as well as several unmoving bodies. If there was anyone else on the planet, the bodies would have been buried a long time ago.
Suddenly, one of the bodies started twitching, showing a slight sign of movement. The twitching moved from the fingers to the entire body within a matter of seconds.
The figure's left eye snapped open.
Suddenly, every bird in the trees flew into the air in fright when an Earth-shaking roar of fury echoed throughout the forest.
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Dingodile yawned and scratched his head as he got out of his bed, awakening to a brand new day. After taking a shower, Dingodile walked out of his room and into the hallway.
The hybrid creature marched down the hallways, his huge tail dragging on the floor behind him. Dingodile was currently making his way towards the dining area to have breakfast, hoping to get there before all the seats were taken or else he'd have to wait until one became free.
After reaching the dining area, Dingodile found a free seat at an empty table and sat down. After sitting down, Dingodile watched as a virtual menu rose from the table in front of his eyes. The hybrid calmly pressed a few selections on the menu, ordering his usual breakfast of pancakes, hash browns and orange juice. As quickly as it appeared, the menu vanished.
Dingodile waited patiently for his food to arrive. He suddenly saw Malon coming over, a worried look in her eyes.
Arriving at the table, Malon sat down and looked at Dingodile. "Scorch told me why you were upset." She explained.
Dingodile sighed. "Well, that's Scorch. Always blabberin' to anyone he wants."
"Don't blame him. I made him tell me." Malon said as she ordered her breakfast on another virtual menu. "I'm real sorry all that happened, Dingodile."
The hybrid waved a hand at Malon, dismissing the thought. "Please don't be, Malon."
"Dingodile, whenever I hear a story like yours, I can't help but feel sorry. I only wish there was something I could do."
A hole opened up on the table and Dingodile's breakfast rose up on a platform. "Ya don't have to do anything." He assured. "Ah hate it when people fuss over me."
Malon sighed as Dingodile grabbed a fork. "Just remember that we're all here for you, Dingodile. Even those you don't get along with very well."
Dingodile nodded. "Thanks, Malon."
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After finishing breakfast, Dingodile walked down a hallway to pay a visit to the Admiral. He was going to see if the head of the base had any work for him to do.
This time, the admiral wasn't in his office like he usually was. This time, he was in the Lounge. In fact, he was talking to his niece, Plum, as she was writing things down on a clipboard.
Jon Arbuckle saw Dingodile come in. "Good morning, Dingodile." He greeted with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"Ah was wondering if ya have anything fer me ta do, sir." The Australian replied. "Ah got nuthin' ta to and all three generals have already gone on missions today."
Jon rubbed his chin in thought for a few seconds, then suddenly looked like he remembered something. He looked back at the hybrid. "As a matter of fact, I do."
Dingodile quickly sat down to listen. "What is it, sir?"
"On the planet Mobius, there's Station Square." Jon replied. "Lately, we've heard of sighting of a strange person in a cloak wandering around. This person doesn't seem to show his face very much, but when he does, he's always beating on Erode's invading forces."
Dingodile's eyes widened. "Then that would explain all those times we went to Station Square on a mission, only ta find a lot of broken Stormtrooper parts and the rest lookin' pretty close to destruction."
Jon nodded. "Correct. This person also vanishes whenever a team from us shows up. I'd like you to go there alone and find out more about this person. We could actually really use him on the base." He sighed. "I'm sorry, but you can't take a team. If you went alone, it would be less suspicious and the figure might show himself."
The hybrid nodded. "Absolutely no problem, sir." He replied. "I guess I'll be takin' the Fireball?"
Again, the admiral nodded. "Correct."
The Fireball is the smallest craft on the base. Big enough to hold two people, three at the most, it is the perfect ship for missions where the base needs the people inside the Fireball to remain undetected.
"Very well. Ah guess Ah'll be off, then." Dingodile turned to leave. "See ya round, sir."
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The Fireball flew through the void of space faster than even the Orochi-1 as Dingodile flew towards the planet Mobius. Being smaller, the Fireball was the fastest ship the A.S.H. base had, and the hybrid pyromaniac figured that he'd arrive at the planet within about ten to fifteen minutes.
Dingodile pushed a lever forward, firing the Fireball into Warp Speed. As the small ship took off, Dingodile laid back for a few minutes to rest up until he got close to arriving.
Suddenly, Dingodile felt something in his pocket. Reaching inside, Dingodile fished out a fragile, blue flower. The hybrid's face instantly fell as he remembered that awful day that occurred two years ago.
(FLASHBACK)
Dingodile jammed the trigger of his flame-thrower. A ball of flaming mass was shot through the air before striking an oncoming Stormtrooper in the chest, knocking it back into about three more.
The hybrid couldn't believe what had happened in the course of a few minutes. The normally-peaceful village had been turned into a blazing warzone. Almost all of the buildings were either destroyed or ablaze. Crash, Crunch, Fake Crash, Pura and Polar had all fallen, leaving only Dingodile, Coco, Tiny and Aku Aku alive. Aku Aku, the floating mask, resorted to magic to destroy Stormtroopers while the other replied on his or her skill.
Coco, however, was fighting with for anger than any of the others combined. This seemed natural, as the girl had just lost her only brother.
"Where'd all these guys come from!" Dingodile asked, having to shout over the Stormtroopers' gunfire.
"For once, Dingodile, I am completely at a loss." Aku Aku replied. "However, I can realize that whoever created these things must be a genius."
Realization suddenly hit Dingodile as he narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. "Cortex." He growled.
"That would seem to be the most likely suggestion, Dingodile." The floating mask replied.
Dingodile suddenly heard a scream of pain from Coco. Spinning to face her, he saw her kneeling on the ground, clutching her right arm, which was dangling limply.
"Coco!" Dingodile leapt over the log protecting him and rushed to her side, destroying several more Stormtroopers in the process. "Are ya alright?"
Coco grit her teeth painfully as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I think my arm in broken. That thing broke my arm." She whimpered.
Looking up, Dingodile saw the Juggernaut, a huge, hulking, extremely muscled version of a normal Stormtrooper. This huge robot obviously wasn't leading this invasion, but it was pretty close.
"Coco, get back to yer place and get that arm in a sling." Dingodile directed the small bandicoot. "Aku Aku, Tiny and Ah will continue fighting these things."
Coco nodded painfully and scrambled off.
Dingodile stood and brandished his flame-thrower. He was about to run off and start another fight when something caught his eye. He looked and saw the huge Juggernaut picking up a huge piece of debris twice as big as any fighter on the good side at the moment and looked down at Tiny. The huge tiger was too busy fighting off several Stormtroopers at once that he didn't notice the Juggernaut behind him.
The hybrid's eyes snapped open when he realized that his best friend was about to get squished. "Tiny! Look out!" Dingodile cried. He fired another ball of flames at the Juggernaut, hoping to strike it before it killed Tiny.
The Juggernaut threw the boulder at the giant tiger just as the fireball struck it in the arm. It gripped its arm painfully, but the point was that the boulder had already been thrown.
Tiny turned to look, but it was already too late.
Dingodile watched in horror as the boulder connected with his best friend's head, sending him into the ground, where he lay unmoving. "TINY!" He screamed in disbelief. He knew that no one could survive something like that.
"Dingodile!"
The hybrid, fresh tears in his eyes, turned to see Aku Aku barely managing to float in midair, his energy fading quickly.
"I…Don't have much time lift." Aku Aku breathed. "Get…Coco…And get…Out of here…"
Dingodile shook his head. "Not without you!"
"I won't…Make it…" The mask urged. "It's just…The two of you…Now…"
Dingodile quickly realized that Aku Aku wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and nodded. "Yes, sir." He sighed. "Ah'll never forget ya."
With that, Dingodile ran off to the Bandicoot household to fetch Coco. As the hybrid ran off, the remainder of Aku Aku's energy faded away, turning the mask, once again, into a normal mask, which promptly fell to the ground.
Dingodile raced towards Coco's house, hoping to get her and leave the planet before something bad happened.
Unfortunately, the Juggernaut saw Dingodile run away, drew its arm cannon and fired a homing rocket.
Dingodile could see Coco through the front window, putting her arm into a sling. He raced closer to the house, knowing that he could at least get her safe.
Suddenly, something whizzed right by Dingodile. It took the hybrid no longer than one second to see that it was a rocket, and it was heading straight to the house.
Dingodile's eyes snapped open. Coco was still inside the house!
The rocket struck the side of the building, instantly making it go up in a ball of flames, leaving nothing standing.
Dingodile stopped running and shielded his eyes from the bright flames. "NO!" He screamed. "COCO!"
(END FLASHBACK)
Dingodile sighed as he brought himself out of his memories. The flower in his hand, the one Coco always wore in her hair, was all he could save from the building. Now, it was the only thing he had left of anyone from the village.
Suddenly, the hybrid heard a loud beeping noise coming from the control panel. Looking at it, he saw that he was getting close to Mobius. Placing the flower back in his pocket, Dingodile grabbed hold of the controls and brought the Fireball out of warp speed.
When Dingodile brought the ship out of warp speed, he saw the large, populated planet that was Mobius.
Dingodile started closing in on the planet. It was time to land.
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Jean Bison grunted as he, his smaller army of Stormtroopers and his current partner the Timesplitter, appeared in a back alley of Station Square. Erode had ordered him to invade the city and steal something valuable. This was sure to lure someone from A.S.H. to them.
Bison turned to face his army. "Okay, you guys." He addressed the Stormtroopers. "You know our orders. You guys wreak some series havoc while Timesplitter and I look for something to swipe."
The Timesplitter, having no face, simply nodded, as if agreeing with Bison. The Stormtroopers saluted Bison (although 402 accidentally knocked its own head off, as usual).
Bison nodded. "Okay." He pointed outside, into the streets. "Let's move!"
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Dingodile quietly moved away from the parked Fireball, which he had set down hidden in the bushes just outside Station Square. In this galaxy, the sun was starting to set, turning everything orange. This meant that it would be dark soon.
His flame-thrower ready for anything, Dingodile marched into the city gates.
Looking around, Dingodile saw nothing out of the ordinary. No mysterious person in a cloak, no invading forces from Erode. Just people wandering around, doing some shopping.
The hybrid sighed. At this pace, it would be hard for him to actually find this mysterious, cloaked man before dark.
"Hello, fellow freedom-fighter!" A loud and strange-sounding voice came from above.
Dingodile looked up and saw a strange man standing on top of a tall building. The figure leapt off the roof and landed on a flagpole, which he used to spring towards a streetlight. Grabbing hold of the pole, the odd man spun around it several times before setting his feet on the ground.
The hybrid looked at the man. He was average height, and dressed in white and black spandex painted to look like a skeleton outfit, and the suit covered his entire body. Dingodile couldn't see a bit of skin that the outfit wasn't covering.
This was Skullomania, an odd superhero. Not a lot is known about him or his true identity, but only the fact that he is in fact a businessman. Skullomania may by the strangest superhero this side of the galaxy, but in Station Square, he's A.S.H.'s only ally.
Dingodile nodded. "How's it goin' Skull-boy?" He asked.
Skullomania struck a heroic pose. "Just fighting serious evil and saving innocent lives. The average day for a superhero!"
"Uh…Yeah." Dingodile scratched his head. "Look Skully, Ah was wonderin' if ya saw a suspicious person in some sorta cloak."
This time it was Skullomania's turn to scratch his head. "Uh…No, I haven't. But I DID see a small army of Stormtroopers in the middle of the city wreaking havoc."
Dingodile sighed. He gets sent here to investigate someone in a cloak and ends up in the middle of an invasion from Erode. "Okay." He gripped his flame-thrower tightly. "Let's go get 'em!"
Skullo quickly got into his heroic pose again. "Okay! We'll show them the true meaning of justice!"
"Yeah, whatever." Dingodile said. "Lead the way, buddy."
The mismatched duo ran through the streets of Station Square in hopes of getting to the army of Stormtroopers and take them out before anything happened.
When the two finally reached the middle of the city, Dingodile indeed saw that there was a small army of Stormtroopers wandering around, seemingly firing their arm cannons in random directions.
Dingodile quickly took action, firing a ball of flames at a Stormtrooper, destroying it. This caught the attention of al the others.
"Member…Of…A.S.H." One Stormtrooper droned.
"Boy…That was…Fast." Another added.
"We're…Better…Than we…Thought." A third one piped up.
All of the Stormtroopers quickly stopped what they were doing and grouped together before they started walking towards the two heroes. Dingodile and Skullomania quickly charged into the Stormtrooper swarm, and as soon as they made contact, Stormtroopers were launched into the air. The further the two heroes charged into the group, the more Stormtroopers were made airborne.
Once they got to the middle of the pack, Dingodile and Skullo quickly took action. Skullo leapt into the air and landed on top of a Stormtrooper, flattening it. The strange superhero continued with several punches, kicks and combos that eventually made the Stormtroopers break down. Dingodile, on the other hand, made really quick work of the Stormtroopers with his flame-thrower.
The battle was short and fierce, and the outcome was expected. Within a matter of minutes, Dingodile and Skullmania were standing amongst a sea of broken Stormtrooper parts, which promptly vanished to go back to Erode's castle for repairs.
Looking down an alleyway, Dingodile saw a huge, red figure slinking away. He quickly turned to Skullo. "This is where we part, Skull-boy." The hybrid said. "Carry on with yer work. Ah'm goin' after that guy."
Skullomania nodded. "Come back anytime. I can use some help fighting evil sometimes."
With that, Skullo turned around and ran off. Once the black and white superhero was gone, Dingodile turned and ran off after the figure he had known was Jean Bison.
Dingodile ran through the alley, trying to keep up with Bison. He knew that Erode had something planned and wanted to find out what it was.
The hybrid ended up following Bison into an opened up, square, back alley. However, once Dingodile entered, he felt a strong blow to the back of his head. After stumbling forward and rubbing the back of his head, Dingodile looking over his shoulder and saw the Timesplitter standing there, in a fighting stance.
Dingodile growled as he looked at Bison. "It's a trap, isn't it?"
The Canadian buffalo smirked. "You got it, buddy-boy." He looked at his faceless partner. "Hey 'Splitter! Let's get him!"
The Timesplitter nodded and lunged at the hybrid. Dingodile saw this and fired a ball of flames at the alien creature. However, when the ball of ember struck the Timesplitter with no effect, Dingodile remembered that the alien was immune to fire. Quickly coming up with a different plan, Dingodile struck the alien in the torso with his flame-thrower.
As the Timesplitter recovered from the blow, Dingodile quickly leapt into the air and spun, slapping an approaching Jean Bison with his tail. As the huge, red buffalo staggered back, Dingodile jammed the trigger of his flame-thrower, shooting another fireball. Bison unfortunately had recovered in time to see it coming and swung his staff, canceling the fireball out.
Dingodile quickly decided that he need more room to fight, so he ran away from in between the two villains to get to another spot. Dingodile stopped by the wall of one of the buildings and quickly fired another ball of flames, intentionally striking a tin garbage can. The fireball bounced off the trashcan, straight back at Dingodile. The hybrid quickly ducked, allowing the fireball to go for Bison and the Timesplitter instead. The two villains couldn't avoid the fireball and were struck, although Bison was the only one to actually get hurt.
The hybrid hero quickly grabbed the lid of the trashcan and threw it like a disk. The lid struck the Timesplitter in its floating head, stunning it for a second. This was all the time Dingodile needed, as the hybrid lunged at the villains and delivered a hard kick to the 'Splitter, making the alien fly back into the nearest wall. It took a couple more kicks to do the same with Jean Bison.
Bison grunted as he got to his feet. He glared at Dingodile with his lone eye. "You'll pay for that one, hybrid."
Dingodile motioned for the two villains to continue attacking. "Bring it!" The Australian taunted.
Bison pulled his alien partner to its feet and slapped his fighting cane into the palm of his good hand a couple of times. "It's time to strike hard, 'Splitter."
The Timesplitter nodded and unrolled its fists, showing the long and sharp claws that were there instead of fingers.
Dingodile growled and hefted his flame-thrower. "Ya both're dead meat!"
Bison and the Timesplitter ran at Dingodile. The hybrid saw Bison attacking first, preparing to attack with his staff. Dingodile held up his flame-thrower to parry the blow, only to receive three painful slashes to the stomach from the Timesplitter's claws.
After Dingodile received the three slashes, he lowered his flame-thrower. This provided an opening for Jean Bison to strike him in the face with his staff. Dingodile staggered back, holding his face.
The 'Splitter quickly punched Dingodile in the stomach and then brought its claws to the hybrid's neck, preparing to slit his throat. Dingodile managed to get the alien off him with a quick and hard swing of the flame-thrower's barrel. Bison quickly did a headbutt, knocking Dingodile into the wall.
Dingodile painfully peeled himself from the wall and prepared to take out the two villains, but before he could get very far, the 'Splitter ran behind him and slashed his back several more times. Bison finished the job with an upward swing with his cane.
All the hybrid felt was pain while in the air. The only thing going through his head was that he failed his job. Dingodile landed on the cold, concrete ground, face up.
Bison towered over the hybrid and smirked. "Finally. It's about time Erode won a battle." He looked at the alien standing beside him. "Let's finish him off."
The faceless alien nodded and it raised its claws as Bison did the same with his staff. Dingodile closed his eyes and braced himself, realizing that there was no way out of this.
Suddenly, a new figure flew onto the scene and landed a flying kick to Bison's chin, knocking the red crook away from Dingodile. This also distracted the Timesplitter, who lowered its claws to stare at the mysterious newcomer with its faceless head.
Dingodile opened his eyes and saw a small, cloaked figure attacking Bison with a series of karate kicks. The Timesplitter moved closer, but the cloaked figure saw it coming and leaped into the air, performing a spinning kick, which attacked both villains at once.
The hybrid got to his feet. This figure was obviously the one that he was sent to look for. He thought that he would have to look hard for him, but this person ended up coming to him instead.
As the cloaked figure landed another kick to Bison's chin, Dingodile got a good look at what this person was wearing on his legs: Denim jeans and bright, red sneakers.
Dingodile could only watch as the mysterious newcomer wiped out both Jean Bison and the Timesplitter without much problem. The cloaked figure stood over the defeated bodies, looked at Dingodile for a couple seconds, turned around and started walking off.
However, when the person turned around, Dingodile could make out a lock of golden blonde hair from underneath the hood of the cloak.
A light suddenly went on inside the hybrid's head. The pieces quickly fell together. Denim jeans, red sneakers, blonde hair, uses karate…
Dingodile's eyes snapped open. "COCO!" He called out and started running after the mysterious figure which he now knew was a female rather than a male.
Once the figure heard Dingodile say the name, she started running away, trying to lose the hybrid.
"Coco! Wait up!" Dingodile shouted as he ran amazingly fast for someone his size. The hybrid knew that he had never run this fast before, and knew that he wouldn't be able to do it again. Still, the only thing keeping him going was the fact that this person he was chasing may have been the girl he thought dead for two years.
Dingodile ended up chasing the figure into another alley. Managing to catch up, Dingodile grabbed the figure's cloak and pinned her against a wall.
Almost instantly, the girl started thrashing, revealing a furry face and a beautiful blue eye underneath the hood. Her other eye was covered by her hair. "Dingodile, let me go!" The girl said in an all-too familiar voice.
Dingodile smiled. "Coco! Ah can't believe it!" He quickly threw his arms around his small friend, still not believing that she was truly alive. "Ah thought Ah'd lost ya for good!"
Coco quickly pushed away and glared at Dingodile with a cold glare, although tears still stained her face. "Don't give me that!" She said. "You left me in the village two long years ago! What do YOU care about me!"
The hybrid shook his head. "Coco, Ah thought ya were dead." He replied as he wiped tears from his eyes. "A rocket hit the side of yer home and took it out. Ah thought that for sure ya'd be dead." He looked down at Coco. "And Ah care about ya more that ya may think."
"Oh!" Coco spat, making Dingodile wince from her hateful tone.
"Coco, almost right after the burning, Ah joined a base called A.S.H." Dingodile explained. "Their main cause at the moment is to eliminate Dr. Erode, a mad scientist that Cortex is currently werkin fer. For two years now, Ah've been fighting this madman with nuthin' on my mind but avengin ya guys."
Coco stared as fresh tears came to her eyes. "R-Really?"
"Would Ah lie to ta?" Dingodile asked.
The small bandicoot lunged at Dingodile and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing. "I'm so sorry for not trusting you, Dingodile! I should know better than that." She looked up at him. "I just ran because I didn't want you to see me."
"Why wouldn't ya want me ta see ya?"
Coco sighed and walked backwards a couple steps. She grabbed the hood of her cloak and pulled it back, revealing her face to Dingodile. The hybrid quickly saw that she looked almost exactly the same as she did two years ago, other than one small fact. Her left eye was no longer blue. Instead, her eye was a dull gray. Her pupil inside the gray void of her eye was a glowing, emotionless, red orb.
Dingodile stared. "Coco…What happened?"
Coco sighed sadly. "As you can see, I didn't survive the fire in one piece." She explained. "I woke up the only one alive and was forced to go for two days with a broken arm and sightless eye before a passing ship spotted me and picked me up. Their medical officer, a nice man named Faust, kept a close watch over me and tried to restore my health." She paused to rub her chin. "Well, I guess he was nice. It was a little strange how he never wanted to take that paper bag off his head." She shook her head a couple times. "Well, my eye was completely beyond repair, so Dr. Faust was forced to replace it with this stupid machinery."
Dingodile managed a weak smirk. "Oh, it's not that bad, Coco. In fact, someone on the base, Yamazaki, has a cybernetic eye that actually looks a lot worse."
Coco glared at Dingodile. "Oh, he does, does he? Well, tell me something…" Without another word, Coco grabbed the fingers of her right hand tightly and yanked.
Dingodile stared in shock as he saw Coco's right arm, or rather a furry sleeve that looked like it, was now dangling limply in the hand of her left arm.
The small bandicoot held up her right arm, showing that it was now a cold, stainless steel replica of her arm's skeleton.
"Does 'Yamazaki' have one of these too!" Coco demanded. Dingodile looked through the bone-like machinery and saw Coco's good eye staring back at him.
"Well…No." Dingodile said.
"Because of that madman Cortex, I've become a freak!" Coco said, starting to break down again.
"What? Coco, yull never be a freak. At least not to me." Dingodile wrapped his arms around her. "Here. Why don't ya come back to the base with me? Ah'm sure we could use some help takin' down Erode." He smirked. "And Ah know you want to get back at Cortex fer what he did to us as much as Ah do."
Coco looked up at Dingodile and managed a smile. "Thank you, Dingodile."
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Dingodile led Coco out of Station Square, towards the Fireball, which was still hidden in the bushes. He was sure that the admiral would be glad to know that not only had Dingodile unmasked the cloaked figure, but got her to join the base at the same time.
"That's your ship?" Coco asked once she saw the Fireball. "It looks a little small."
"It's the base's scout vessel." Dingodile explained. "It gets through defense systems undetected, but can only carry two people."
"Too bad you'll never live to ride inside it!"
Dingdile and Coco turned to see Bison and the Timesplitter approaching, neither of them looking very happy.
"We're gonna beat the two of you so hard that you'll wish that we would kill you!" Bison growled. The 'Splitter nodded.
Coco looked at Dingodile. "You up for a fight?"
Dingodile nodded and aimed his flame-thrower at Bison. He jammed the trigger, but nothing came out. "Oh, crud! What a time to run out of fuel!"
Bison smirked. "You're little adventure had finally ended, my Australian friend."
However, before Bison and the 'Splitter could take another step, everyone heard an Earth-shaking roar coming from the side. Both villains looked to the side just in time for something huge to slam into them. The blow itself knocked the Timesplitter out instantly.
When Dingodile and Coco could finally make out their rescuer, they both stared in shock. A very familiar, huge, muscled, orange tiger was furiously nailing Bison with punch after punch.
"TINY!" Dingodile and Coco shouted at the same time.
Indeed, it was Tiny, Dingodile's best friend. The huge tiger slammed his large fist into Bison's face one more time, firing the huge buffalo to the ground. Both of Erode's men vanished in a white light, leaving the trio alone.
Dingodile and Coco stared at the seething tiger with wide eyes. The hybrid looked down at the female bandicoot. "Ah thought ya said that ya were the only one alive!"
Coco nodded. "I thought I WAS the only one left!"
Tiny flashed his trademark grin. "Tiny so happy to see Dingodile and Coco again!" The giant tiger ran to his friends and wrapped his arms around them both at the same time. "Tiny thought he NEVER see friends again!"
"Ah thought the same thing, Tiny." Dingodile said, still stunned. "How the heck did ya survive being hit over the head with that boulder!"
Tiny let go of Dingodile and Coco and sighed. "Tiny don't know what happen. Tiny got hit by boulder and fell asleep. The next time Tiny wake up, it two years later!" The giant tiger shrugged. "Tiny hitch ride on passing ship and end up here."
Coco looked at Dingodile. "He's been in asleep for two years." She said, wide-eyed. "That bump to the head must have sent him into a coma." Dingodile nodded.
"Well, Ah'm sure glad to see ya both alive!" Dingodile said as he embraced his two friends. "Ah thought fer sure that Ah was the last one left!"
Coco smirked as a tear appeared in her good eye. "You're not alone, Dingodile. Now that the three of us are together again, we can take down Erode and Cortex a little more confidently."
Dingodile smirked and nodded. "Yeah. Ah'm sure that A.S.H. could use a couple more fighters. And Ah KNOW ye'll both meet a lot of nice people up there."
Tiny raised his hand. "Tiny grateful, but have question."
"Yeah, Tiny?"
Tiny pointed. "How will little ship carry three of us?"
Dingodile looked at the Fireball. Sure, it was big enough for two people, but three would make it cramped, especially with someone like Tiny. He grinned. "Oh, Ah'm sure we can work somethin' out."
It took a good while, but all three friends actually managed to fit inside with the doors closed. With Dingodile behind the controls, Coco in the passenger seat and Tiny scrunched up behind the seats, no one had any room to move.
"Well, let's get moving." Dingodile said and started the Fireball.
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"You morons!" Dr. Erode growled at the newly-arrived Jean Bison and Timesplitter. "I send you on a mission to cause some havoc and lure A.S.H. to the planet and you both get ambushed!"
Bison waved his only hand in front of his face. "I-It wasn't our fault, sir! How were we to know that an A.S.H. fighter was scouting the area?" The Timesplitter nodded vigorously.
"Look, you imbeciles!" Erode shouted. "A.S.H. is getting closer and closer to destroying me than they think, and I want to make certain that they fail! Unfortunately, because of my current condition, I am forced to rely on you pathetic lot to do the job, and none of you can ever seem to be successful!"
"Sir, please hear us out!" Bison half-pleaded. Sure, he never pleaded when he worked for Arpeggio, but Erode was a lot worse.
"Forget it!" Erode snapped. "Now, the next time I order something done, I want results! Now get out of my sight! Both of you!"
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"So, these are your friends that you thought had died two years ago?" Admiral Arbuckle asked.
Upon returning to the base, Dingodile took Coco and Tiny to the admiral in hopes of getting them recruited. Besides the animal trio and the admiral, the only other person in the office was Scorch, whom was leaning against the far wall.
"Yes, sir." Dingodile replied. "And let me say that Ah wouldn't have gotten off the planet if they hadn't shown up."
"That's good to hear." The admiral said. "Say, that reminds me. Did you ever find out who that cloaked figure was?"
Coco raised her organic arm shyly. "That was me. I've been taking out Erode's forces whenever they invade because I know that Cortex is in league with him."
Jon nodded. "He is."
Tiny spoke up next. "Tiny wonder if he and Coco can join. Tiny and Coco have nowhere to go and would like to fight Erode and Stormtroopers."
Jon quickly nodded. "Of course. Not only could we use more help, but I'm also sure that Dingodile would love to have the two of you join."
Dingodile smiled. "Thank ya, sir." He stood straight and saluted.
Admiral Arbuckle looked at Dingodile. "Do you think you could give Coco and Tiny a tour of the base, Dingodile?" He asked. "And possibly find them a couple empty rooms?"
The hybrid nodded as Coco and Tiny turned and walked out of the office. Dingodile followed, but was stopped from leaving when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, Dingodile found himself staring at the smirking face of Scorch.
The green man nodded and flashed a thumb's up to his hybrid friend. "Way ta go, Double-D. You're not alone anymore." Scorch said.
Dingodile smiled and thanked his friend and he left the office.
The hybrid thought hard as he led Coco and Tiny down the hallway to begin the tour of the base. Scorch was right. For two long years, Dingodile had thought that all of his original friends had died. But now that he was reunited with Coco and Tiny, Dingodile realized one thing.
He was no longer alone.
END
Author's notes: If you're confused at this (and you probably are), drop by my site to get a better understanding on why things happened the way they did. My site also has stories about this series that are more based around humour.
Please read and review!