A Second Chance
Chapter 1: A Small Offer
In the centre of the Time Twister, an orange anthropomorphic bandicoot stood staring his enemy fearlessly in the eyes: it was Crash Bandicoot, and he and Aku-Aku were going head to head against Dr. Neo Cortex and Uka-Uka. The battle had lasted a good while now, with neither side holding back at all. But now, the time had come to end this; only one side can triumph, and only one side would be able to escape from the Time Twister as it was slowly collapsing around them. "We won't let you get away with this, Cortex!" Crash declared, as he watched his nemesis standing on his airship-like hovercraft with an energy blaster in his hand. Cortex simply showed a confident smile as he pulled the trigger back on his blaster, ready to end this and bring Crash down for good.
"We shall see about that, won't we? You've been a thorn in my side for too long, Crash, but now your time has ended and I will not allow anyone to interfere with my plans any longer!" Cortex replied, slowly aiming the blaster in Crash's direction, aiming directly at him. Crash simply stared with an expression of determination on his face; if there was anyone who would be seeing the end, it would be Cortex. But before anything else could be said or done, the area around the four started to rumble violently, sending pieces of debris plummeting into the centre of the Time Twister. Crash narrowly jumped out of the way as a piece of the support pillars crashed on the area he had been standing at, narrowly avoiding getting crushed. "Oh, I don't think that looks good at all..." Crash worriedly commented as he looked up to see that the Time Twister was becoming increasingly unstable. In a matter of moments, it would surely collapse in on itself. Aku-Aku seemed to take notice as well, because he quickly floated over.
"Crash, the Time Twister is collapsing! We have to escape immediately or else we will be trapped inside!" Aku-Aku warned. Crash promptly nodded in agreement; that sounded like a plan to him. Cortex apparently had the same idea as well, because he turned his head to Uka-Uka, showing an expression of worry as he jumped off his hovercraft.
"I think we best be doing the same thing as well. If one of us is still inside when the Time Twister collapses, there's no way to know what could happen to us!" Cortex explained. Uka-Uka didn't seem to be in the mood to listen to reason, because he showed an expression of anger that nearly caused Cortex to lose his balance from fear.
"NO! I will not let my chance for conquest be thrown away!" Uka-Uka snapped. Just then, the rumbling that they had experienced just a few moments started to grow stronger as more stone structures of the Time Twister started to fall down around them; it was clear that the instability was growing stronger with each passing second.
"Run!" Aku-Aku yelled. With this, Crash turned and started to make a run for it, wanting to get out before the whole area collapsed. Cortex started to follow suit, but the rumbling caused him to stumble and lose his balance, and he was nearly sent dropping into the open hole in the centre of the room, but he managed to grab the edge with his spare hand, stopping himself from falling in, with his blaster dropping into the hole as he lost his grip on it. Cortex then looked down to see blue sparks of energy slowly emitting in the centre; it seemed that a time hole was slowly opening up to absorb the entire Time Twister. As Uka-Uka floated down into the middle to see what was going on, he was suddenly caught by one of the sparks of energy.
"No! It cannot be! Not a prisoner of time again!" Uka-Uka cried. Cortex could only watch in horror as Uka-Uka was consumed by the sparks of energy, and seemed to disappear all together. Now it was just him, holding on for dear life and trying not to fall into the hole.
As Crash was making a run for it, trying to avoid getting hit by the falling debris, he turned his head to see a hand clinging onto the edge in the centre; it was Cortex, holding on for dear life as he was trying not to fall into the centre of the Time Twister and be absorbed by a time hole that was slowly growing in size in the middle. Crash then looked down with an expression of uncertainty, wondering what he should do; he didn't want to leave Cortex trapped in here like this, but he couldn't forget everything that had happened between them in the past. It was all clear in Crash's mind: the number of failed experiments he had been put through, the clash with Cortex on the airship after his castle had caught on fire the previous year and the way that Cortex tricked him into gathering the crystals to power his Super Cortex Vortex just three months ago. He could still recall all of that like it was yesterday. Crash knew what Cortex had tried to do to him in the past, but now, seeing him in this situation, it was something Crash couldn't stand for. He knew that there was something more behind what Cortex was now, and that he was the only one who could find what it was truly was. So, with a desicion firm in his mind, Crash nodded and ran over to Cortex.
Back with Cortex, he was looking down into the centre of the Time Twister to see that the time hole was slowly growing in size and that soon, it would consume him just like it did with Uka-Uka. 'So this is the way it was meant to end for me; trapped inside this Time Twister while it collapses, and I'll be consumed by that time hole. I don't believe that this is how I imagined my ending playing out, but it seems I have very little choice.' Cortex thought to himself.
"Cortex!" Upon hearing that voice, Cortex lifted his head up to see Crash staring down at him in concern. This was very different from the fearless glare that the bandicoot would show during their confrontations; it was an expression that Cortex never imagined he would see Crash showing him. "What do you want, bandicoot?" Cortex snapped back, showing an expression of annoyance; if he still had his blaster in hand, he wouldn't hesitate in blasting Crash right then and there. But all he could do was stare up at Crash as the bandicoot looked down at him in worry.
"I'm going to get you out of here!" Crash replied. Cortex quickly showed an expression of surprise at this answer. Did he really just hear those words come out of Crash's mouth? "I might not forget everything you've tried to do to me, but there's no way I'm going to leave you here, especially not in a situation like this." Crash continued. Cortex could only stare in shock hearing Crash say that; this was just something he never imagined would happen.
"Why would you want anything to do with me? I'm the one who's tried to do away with you twice now; I would have thought that would give you good enough reason to just leave me here." Cortex said, still struggling to register why Crash, the one bandicoot that he had tried to destroy on two occasions before and he had tried to do so a third time now, was here to help him escape before the Time Twister collapsed with him inside it.
"I thought so too, but I realised that was something I didn't want to do. I know we've been at each other's throats for over a year now, but I have a feeling that who you are now isn't really who you are, Cortex. I know that there is something else underneath all of your madness and desires of world domination. I know that isn't all you ever want!" Crash explained. Cortex simply shook his head in response, unable to accept what he was hearing Crash tell him.
"How would you know that? You don't even know me!" Cortex retorted. He was met with a surprise when Crash slowly shook his head in response; he knew that wasn't true in the slightest.
"I know you better than you realise, Cortex. I know that it sounds crazy, since I seem like I'm only a brainless bandicoot who does things without thinking, but there's a reason I'm who I am now. It's because of you; we were closer than you might remember. Before all of this started, you and I were the closest of friends, and you would never consider doing anything to hurt me. Even when all this started and we were against each other like this, I never forgot who you really are, Cortex. And I know that it's not too late for you; I know that you still have a chance at life, that you can still be the person that I remember you once were." Crash explained. Cortex was simply left wordless and then he looked down with an expression of shame; he could still remember what he and Crash were like before all of this started. But he tossed all of that aside when the desire for world domination, and the desire to do away with the one he cared for the most, overtook him, and he could no longer remember who he used to be. But he could see that Crash never forgot, that Crash still held all of that dear to him, despite everything that had happened over the past year and three months. He could see that Crash never forgot the real man that Cortex himself really was, when it was something that seemed to mean nothing to him now.
Crash then showed a smile and slowly reached his hand down to Cortex, who slowly turned his glance up to him to see his smile, something that Cortex always treasured in his heart. "Come on, Cortex. Let's get out of here. Let's start over, and take the first step to being as close as we once were." Crash simply stated.
Cortex only stared in shock and slowly closed his eyes as he placed his spare hand over his heart; this was a chance he never thought would come, and the one person he cared for more than anyone, and cared for him the same way even after all of this, was offering it to him. 'Is something like that even possible, though? Could I still have a chance at life? It all seems far away, near impossible, even. But... Crash knows me better than even I know myself. He knows who I really am, and he knows that such a chance is possible. I have been denying myself that chance, but that won't happen anymore. So long as Crash is here to help me, I know I'll be able to do it.' Cortex thought to himself. He could then feel tears slowly building in his eyes, something he never thought would happen again. He knew that, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, he could never truly let go of the bond he and Crash shared. This was his true friend, giving him the chance to regain what they had lost. With this, he slowly opened his eyes as his tears streamed down his face and he slowly reached up with his spare hand as Crash grabbed it in his own. Crash then pulled him up from the hole and standing safely with him. Cortex slowly stood up to see Crash staring at him with that familiar bright smile on his face, and then he could feel a similar smile showing on his face; it was from immense joy and relief that Crash was giving him the chance he had been wanting for all this time, and then he turned his glance away while still looking at Crash.
"Crash... thank you... I don't know... how I could ever... make it up to you... for everything I've done..." Cortex whispered, struggling to speak in the midst of his building sobs; he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold in his relief that this was actually happening. Crash slowly showed a smile and nodded in understanding.
"It's okay, Cortex. I forgive you. I've always forgiven you." Crash replied, taking Cortex's hands in his. Cortex then turned his glance back to Crash and the two brightly smiled at each other. Just then, the two could feel the rumbling, that they had completely forgotten about, grow even stronger and then they looked down in the hole to see that the time hole had grown bigger during the two's talk and now it was starting to reach where they were standing.
"Run!" Crash immediately yelled as he and Cortex turned their heads to each other. Without a moment to spare, the two turned and ran for it as the time hole slowly grow in size, consuming the entirety of the Time Twister in the process.