Watcher of the Night (Part One)
Disclaimer: Apart from the Watcher of the Night, the Lord of Concealment, Octomech, the Inquisitors, Karshure, Professor Largonhan, General Thomas Wolfe, General Stravinsky, Mademoiselle Fleur Amberly and Professor Cerebral Wiltz Cortex, I do not own all other characters as they are the property of whoever is still making official Crash games. The Academy of Evil, N. Sanity Island, Motorworld AP and other locations specified in the official game series are also not my property, as they are the property of the owner of Crash himself. I also do not own the Turret Emplacements, which is obtained from C&C95. The Shield Generator 2000 idea is adapted from the shield generator in Supreme Commander, so I do not own it. (Anyway, it isn't really invented yet.)
Note: Please ask for my permission regarding the use of my characters, my settings, and/or the plot. And please send in constructive criticism, because whatever errors/fallacies that exist will continue to be so without them. Other comments or ideas are welcome. While most of this fan fiction is already thought out, inspirations are vital for any future story I may intend to write.
Language: Sorry for the Americans – this is in U.K. English.
Rating: Now changed to T for ideology influence and cartoon violence.
Warning: Major spoilers/cutscenes/information about many Crash games is included.
Games Referenced: Crash Bandicoot 1, Crash Bandicoot: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Crash Bandicoot: N-Tranced, Crash Bandicoot: The Warth of Cortex, Crash Twinsanity, Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans, Blitzkrieg 2, Command and Conquer Gold, Command and Conquer Red Alert, Command and Conquer Generals, Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour, Supreme Commander.
I advise you to be familiar with the abovementioned Crash games before continuing.
Special Thanks to: The Crash Mania fansite and forums for providing most of information I sorely needed, especially SpaceCat for the potential of Cortex-only games. Wikipedia is also helpful for quick reference. I also thank the people in YouTube for posting the cutscenes of the games. Sorry if I forgot someone's fansite. Most importantly, the game designers themselves for Crash's wonderful birth and you readers for taking your time here.
Now, let's move on to the first of the six-part story. (Three sections in Two Parts)
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First Campaign: The Rise of Dusk
Prologue: Lord of the Throne
Midnight. It is the hour which represents most things dark. It is the moment which portrays many entities evil. And to date it is still the most feared, and respected time of the day. Thick soot-black clouds absorbed the twilight of the stars, and the fog of the ground surrounded the Bois de Boulogne, obscuring anything, and everything, from view. The haze-like mist was strong enough even to block off the sheer intensity of sunlight. Therefore for twenty-four hours a day, the woods were the sanctuary for the darkness, of the ebony characteristics of midnight. No other seasons. Only night.
Yes, someone was behind this dark act. He was the Watcher of the Night.
He now felt the sun high above him, and he knew that even the shine of heaven was helpless against his black prowess. But now, he needed not give a hoot about the weakness of the heavenly bodies. He looked towards the far reaches of the south-east. Someone needed help there.
Revealing his most evil grin yet, he called for his son.
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You are pathetic, Dr. Neo Cortex. Your Castle is now wreckage and you do nothing to stop me? Pathetic. I'm here to say, for the last time, to surrender to my own forces, or be crushed. Don't ever forget that I helped destroy your Cortex Vortex Mark II. I may repeat my feat for your Iceberg Lab. I'll give you five days.
High Lord of Gasmoxia, Dr. Nitrus Brio.
The Professor of Evil Science sat on his throne, with a stack of papers on a floating tray in front of him. As he pored over the heaps of scientific blueprints and wrote fervently, he could not help thinking about his ex-colleague who had left him over a trivial matter. Now he returned, not to his side, but with a sinister grin and a mind bent on destroying the Iceberg Lab, his very last foothold and research faculty. The fact that he had not done anything yet did not mean that he would not do anything. Signs of creases on his normally flat forehead were apparent. The headache was more obvious (to him). He needed help.
The room was brimming with clicking, beeping and whirling noises from the nearby Psychetron. Lights blinked all around him. It would have satisfying to hear his stronghold still operating to its fullest, but Dr. Cortex had never felt himself being irritated more. He felt like throwing the heaps of manuscripts to the Psychetron Room and seeing them vanish into the other dimensions. No, I spent one good year over this mountain of… He could not think of any word to describe his work (other than 'work'). He frowned as he allowed himself be drowned in the background clanking noise.
"I need help," he declared to himself, as he slouched resignedly against the back-support of his leather throne.
"Sir," a metallic voice clanked throughout the hemispherical room, and the professor sat up abruptly. He needed not look up from his mess of documents to identify the robotic sound of N. Gin.
"Hmph?" came the only reply.
"Someone has arrived by helicopter and he wants to see you. He's not Brio, Crash or their allies. He's unaffiliated."
"Why?" the man on the throne said wearily. Can't they see I'm working? He placed his pen on the tray and shooed the tray away. He closed his eyes, still trying to get over the thousands of calculations that he forgot what his calculations were for.
"You may ask him yourself, sir," N. Gin muttered. The soft diminishing sound of footsteps was enough for the scientist to know that his minion was leaving.
"Wait, N. Gin," the boss called out, "Bring him here. And the rest as well."
The Professor of Evil Science hurriedly tried to flatten his horridly creased lab coat, but to no avail. He gave up with a sigh and walked the five steps down the throne.
In a matter of seconds the main door slid open, revealing the troop of scientists behind it. He smiled as he recognized their faces; only N. Gin had been allowed in the Throne Room for the past week.
N. Gin was at the lead, his silver half-mask hiding nothing of his gloom and demented look.
N. Tropy still looked shiny in his golden armour with its systematic whirling noise and the ticks of the dozen of clocks attached, and (thankfully) he did not have his tuning fork in his hand.
N. Trance seemed pale and small beside the Master of Time.
Then the visitor, between Pinstripe and Dingodile (who had apparently decided to bring their weapons along.)…
The man was like no other. His carbon-black tuxedo stood out against the scientist's creamy-white lad coats. His gloves were black. So were his polished shoes, his hair, and the mask that covered his face. Together, everything the professor saw about the man was pure black. More importantly, the man seemed to wield some dark power that there was black mist around his legs, which dissolved into the air and was replaced by another.
Wait, the cape he had was bluish-black… Why should he care about that, so long as he's dark?
Dr. Cortex forced a grimace, and walked back to his throne.
"Why didn't you say we have a visitor?" the dark brown mask roared, as it barged out from the door opposite the room, which amazingly did not surprise the visitor. And seeing Dr. Cortex's silence, he continued his bellow, "Why? Don't want to talk to me, is it?"
Dr. Cortex, to Uka's fury, did not respond as he looked intently at the sinister bearing of the masked man, forcing the gleam into his tired eyes.
"Who're you?" Dr. Cortex said.
"I'm the Lord of Concealment," came the dark, sinister snarl.
N. Tropy's snigger was silent, and the doctor on the throne glared at him. There was a Master, Dr. Cortex thought wickedly, and now let's see how useful this 'Lord' could help me…
"I have come to aid you," he said in a deep growl.
Pinstripe and Dingodile stared at each other, bewildered and amazed. As the man surveyed the two creatures beside him, Dr. Cortex ordered, "Pinstripe, Dingodile, leave us."
The scientists (and Uka) waited for the two mutations to hobble out of the main door. As soon as the door closed, the professor on the throne spoke as proudly as his strength could allow.
"What suggestions do you have to help me?"
The visitor took no time to answer.
"First of all, do not reveal yourselves near N. Sanity Island. Keep a low profile."
Dr. Cortex rolled his eyes. While his defeats over Crash were universal, the first suggestion was far more direct that he'd expected.
"Why should I hide from those animals, in Malevolence's name?" he said indigently, emphasizing the seventh word.
"They foil you the moment they know you're doing something, so it's much better for them to know nothing instead."
"But I want to be there… to see for myself how Crash falls," the man in the wrinkled lab coat protested in a near-babyish voice.
"That time will come, sir," N. Gin assured him, while the masked man tilted his head slightly to the left, as if looking at the evil scientist with another angle.
"Dr. Cortex," the newcomer's face hid the grin with a frown, "You need a rest. Working for over ten years and still no result? No wonder you have a balding head."
The scientist did not see the joke. "So now you like balding heads, mister? If not, get out of my way."
"I felt myself a duty to inform you that the thing you were talking about earlier has thwarted you over ten times in a row. You should not use 'your way' to pin your enemy down, if you understand why you failed."
"Sir," N. Gin squeaked, "that gentleman has a point. If we want supremacy, we must at least listen to his ideas."
"Second of all, evil genius," the masked man swung around, so that his dark-blue cape covered his body. With a solemn frown, he seemed more sinister than ever, "May I ask you this question: How well-defended is your Iceberg Lab?"
The yellow-skinned scientist remained silent; there was one lab on a lonely, icy island and nothing else. The visitor, seeing his silence, cried with is signature deep growl.
"You think your cathedrals will remain standing? You think the ice can keep Crash out? Especially when Coco and Crash found out about it? Your Castle fell because there is almost no resistance against Crash. That's also why your space stations fell to ruin!"
[Note: The Castle is the Cortex Castle where Neo stores the Cortex Vortex, while the space station was used to shrink the Earth. Both were ultimately destroyed, in Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot and the Huge Adventure respectively.
"But, Lord or whoever you are, we need funding to build up defences," N. Tropy spoke, "You cannot imagine how short of resources we are now…"
"Simple," the reply came plainly, "Look towards the west."
Dr. Cortex could not believe his ears. "You want to us to pit ourselves against the Americans? They will drop something on us before we know it." He imagined an ICBM aimed for his oversized head, and shuddered. He was not the only one; N. Gin shook uncontrollably and his human side of the face was sheet white.
The Lord sighed his biggest yet.
"Eminent scientist," he said, his tone featuring annoyance, "You can think better than that. How do we get that far anyway? Think of our neighbours."
Thoughts filled the evil scientist… Thoughts of the Cluster Islands… about N. Sanity to the north… about the ruins of the otherwise magnificent Cortex Castle to the east… About some giant tree on the fable-like isle to the north-west (that's Wumpa Island)… About the ebony black gates at the west, guarding the…
"Do not tell me you want the Academy of Evil," the scientist allowed his shock to reveal itself in his quivering voice.
"Why not? Think of the facilities that can aid your cause."
Dr. Cortex shook uncontrollably, "No… I want nothing to do with that mad woman in there!"
"She who sends people to detention? Then I am afraid that she has to be tamed."
"Tamed?" N. Gin stared disbelievingly into the hollow holes of the mask, "She can be tamed?"
"There is always a way," the Lord of Concealment turned to face Gin, "It occurs to me that you have the talents for the job."
"Impossible, even if we have a hundred talented scientists," N. Gin cried, trying to shake himself from the beautiful fantasy of having control of the Academy, "That old cow has now surrounded her island with robot-operated guns and automated sentries. The Academy is impenetrable. Nothing can get close to her."
"Those guns did not exist two years ago, did they, Mister Tropy?"
Tropy did not answer, although the sparkle in his eyes was as evident as Neo Cortex's open mouth. He was beginning to see the ingenuity of the plan.
"So this is your first mission," the mask could not hide the gleam in its master's eyes as he sat on the throne of Iceberg Lab (much to Dr. Cortex's consternation), "Tropy, escort Trance to the Academy of Evil two years ago, when Dr. Cortex makes a nice debut there–"
"I went there to fetch Nina, that's all, you intolerable know-it-all."
"That's a nice distraction to the Headmistress, you know-it-not."
Dr. Cortex glared at a giggling N. Trance.
"Back to briefing, Tropy, protect Trance at all costs, because he is mission-critical. Trance, once Tropy gets you back in time, head straight to the Headmistress' office, and take over Madame Amberly's mind. Most importantly," the man inhaled, and continued with all seriousness, "DO NOT LET ANYONE SEE YOU, INCLUDING DR. CORTEX AND FRIENDS."
"Whatever for, once we have that woman on our knees?"
"Because time is delicate, Mister Tropy. Trance must allow the Headmistress to act normally and do what she had done from two years ago till now, while having a good grip over her so that he can resume total control whenever he likes. Get her to build those defences, because we need them. Then you must get back here, sometime tomorrow from now. If you do not see me sitting here when you return, your mission has failed."
Tropy gulped a mouthful of saliva; he had never got into serious business with Time.
As soon as Tropy and Trance disappeared from view, the masked face turned to scrutinize N. Gin's metallic life-support rocket.
"You're that physics and ballistics researcher, I presume."
The black cape shimmered as its owner nodded.
"I want you to build three ships – one capable of transporting the turrets and the other two as escorts."
"Three ships?" N. Gin's artificial eye shone red with alarm as his real eye widened, "It took me a year to build my latest battleship. Three ships will take a long time."
[I refer to his only battleship in Crash Twinsanity, which sank just sailing away from Iceberg Lab after a catastrophe with a payload of T.N.Ts
"I prefer smaller, faster boats that can distract Crash and his sister. As for the transport, those turrets will be quite able to protect it."
"But imagine the amount of metal needed for three…"
"Your battleship hull will provide that, seeing that it wouldn't float on water anymore."
The man paused, and crossed his arms.
"Well? Get going, Dr. Gin."
A bewildered Neo Cortex gazed blankly towards a smiling Uka as N. Gin hobbled out of the room. They were the ones left in the Throne Room.
"You know what, doc?" the dark wooden mask beamed as it croaked, "Finally I begin to see some brains."
"I've got brains too, Uka."
"Shut up, Cortex," the little bones knocked against one another as Uka came to inches from the scientist's nose. The yellow orbs were staring directly into Dr. Cortex's dull grey eyes. Then it continued derisively (with its leftmost bone hanging just a centimetre from Cortex's open mouth), "The size of your head is more of a hindrance than of help."
Dr. Cortex closed his mouth like a goldfish.
"I daresay Crash, Crunch and Coco were your best inventions, Dr. Cortex?"
Uka returned to his original position, swiftly converting his frown to a smile. Dr. Cortex grimaced at the beaming man on his throne, and forlornly nodded.
[Crash, Crunch and Coco were Dr. Cortex's inventions in the sense that they were what they are due to his experiments, which were then successes, except for the fact that they could not be twisted by the forces of evil.
"And you remember how you created their superhuman minds?"
An angry nod followed as Dr. Cortex was reminded of his accursed arch-enemy.
"And the Cortex Vortex would not work?"
Another nod with a clearer frown. The masked man laughed.
"So you should know how to build the Evolve Reversal Device," he said.
Laughter followed, this time from the notorious dark-brown mask. The men looked at the mask with surprise, still maintaining their smile/frown.
"Ingenious!" Uka cried as it swooped down to the throne's side, "But pray tell me how are you going to get them into that machine, provided that we can get our hands on them?"
[The Cortex Vortex and the Evolve-O-Ray both require the subject to be in the respective 'activation area' because they cannot shoot 'long-distance' at a target.
"No need for that, evil mask. Equip that device with one similar to the cannon used to shrink the Earth, and we have the master artillery that turns people mindless."
Uka's laughter was louder than ever, then he stopped, still grinning its most sinister one yet.
"Better not laugh so loud," it whispered cautiously, "lest Aku can hear me."
"Which comes to your task, Uka."
The grin disappeared, "I have to do something?"
"All the time. I am sure you know that humans are incapable of hiding themselves from Aku."
"So?"
"Use your dark powers to hide our actions from that feathery piece of wood. If Aku sees nothing, neither will Crash, Coco or anyone else against us."
The wooden smile re-showed itself on Uka's dark lumber. And within a second, the mask disappeared.
"So," the men faced each other again, this time with Dr. Cortex slightly amazed by the Lord's cleverness, "Dr. Cortex, you may start working with the device. Make sure that it can be self-powered and be easily transportable, in case the worst happens."
[Note that the Evolvo-O-Ray, the Cortex Vortex and many other inventions by Dr. Cortex cannot be moved easily – they are huge emplacements.
"But, you as Lord of something, surely you need to do something."
"Of course, evil genius," the black mask emitted howls of laughter, "I do the planning and the commanding, and meanwhile I shall round up my forces stationed in the rest of the world and get my advisors to assist you. You are a great inventor, and I will leave you as that. I'll be back tomorrow to check how N. Tropy is doing."
The man got up from the throne and started walking towards the exit.
"Wait."
The man turned to face the scientist, the mask still concealing his smiling face.
"Why do you want to help us?" Dr. Cortex spoke.
"Why?" the Lord of Concealment repeated the scientist's first word, "Wasn't it you who wanted help?"
Dr. Cortex watched silently as the man wheeled around and strode off into the bright-white snow outside. The black copter shimmered in its most magnificent polish as the man drove it into the sky, towards the north-west.
The sun was setting, covering the snow-white ground with a yellowish-orange hue.
Orange. He turned away from the icy ground with disgust. Then another thought came to him.
Once I have that marsupial out of my life, I will be able to watch the beautiful sunset again.
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Tawna could not believe her eyes. From the windows of the Moulin Cortex pub, she could see dark clouds hovering around what seemed like a conical structure. The shape of the structure was enough to send the inquisitive bandicoot to the chilling cold outside. The dark clouds did nothing; they just floated there, awaiting their master's call. Then she saw a dark speck she identified as the Ebony Dragonfly-16 Copter, a secret operations assault aircraft for the French, much more manoeuvrable than the formidable Black Hawk. She merely stared at the thick, soot-like smog as they surrounded the helicopter and disappeared into the horizon.
What could the French special-ops be doing in Cortex's laboratory?
Still, she had to warn Aku-Aku about this.
[Review or visit the Watcher of the Night/see the darker side of the City of Lights.