Chapter 2:
The Rescue
Two OKGs stood on either side of the main gate to the prison, each holding their Dark Eco Rifle across their chest. The old Industrial District of Haven City had become the Old Krimzon Guard's main territory. The New Krimzon Guard territory covered the Bazaar, the Canal District, and the Residential Area. The prison was deep inside the Industrial District, making it near impossible for any attempt to be made at a rescue. So since there really was no need for extra security, the two guards were not taking their job too seriously. They saw two female guards walking past and started wolf whistling and cat calling at them. While they were distracted, the large burgundy Bandicoot and the dreaded King of Spargus dropped down behind them, each taking one of the guards out. The two female OKGs took off their helmets to reveal that they were simply Ashelin and Kiera. Jak with Daxter on his shoulder, Coco, Cynder, and Jinx all emerged from an alleyway. Jinx stepped forward and placed an Eco Charge on the door, ushering everyone to stand far back. The bomb exploded, sending both doors straight off their hinges. The group regrouped and ran into the prison, fighting off the guards alerted by the explosion. Jak and Sig were at the forefront, Eco Rifle and Peacemaker lined up in a deadly forte. They broke into the main control room and quickly got rid of all the guards in there. Jak and Sig worked together to barricade the door, making sure that no guards could enter. Ashelin started typing into the computer and swore loudly when the computer rejected her password.
"Of course they would change it," she said, smacking herself in the forehead for being so stupid. Coco stepped forward, pulling out her pink laptop and setting it on the console. Ignoring Daxter's smart remarks about the color of said laptop, she plugged it in and started typing furiously. Kiera watched curiously as Coco did her work, watching the young Bandicoot's small hands dart expertly across the keys. Kiera was good with mechanics but when it came to computers she was at a complete loss. Suddenly, the computer's files became displayed across the gigantic screen, allowing Coco to switch from her little girly colored laptop to the gigantic monster computer. She continued working her computer magic, eventually finding the records of where Crash and Spyro were being held prisoner. The two groups split up, Jak, Daxter, Crunch, and Coco heading after Crash while Sig, Ashelin, Jinx, and Cynder headed after Spyro and Kiera stayed behind to offer support from the control room.
Jak's group made their way through the upper sections of the prison, suspiciously encountering no guards. The explanation for the lack of guards was made clear; there were enough security devices to make it near impossible to cross. Jak smirked and called in to Kiera, she could easily get rid of these devices. Unfortunately, Jak had no idea how in-adept Kiera was with computers; looks like they would have to do this the hard way. Jak and Daxter went first, leaping gracefully over the lasers of the security guns, doing a double jump followed by an aerial spin over the more powerful lasers, and dodging the swinging blades. Jak found a power box and started tearing it off the wall, finally managing to fling it across the room. All the security devices deactivated, allowing his comrades to simply run across the hall.
"Those moves were amazing! No wonder you've been counted as a hero." Jak smiled and was about to reply when Daxter beat him to the punch.
"Well sweetheart," he said, jumping off Jak's shoulder onto hers and swinging a lazy arm around her neck, "what would you expect after all the training I put this guy through? You know I could put you through a few exercises, I'd like to see those little glutes of yours working." Unfortunately for Daxter, Coco knew perfectly what he was talking about and punched the Ottsel straight onto the floor. Jak unsuccessfully hid his smirk from Daxter, earning a glare from his small friend. Daxter brushed himself off and leapt back onto Jak's shoulder, folding his arms grumpily. The group continued on, finally reaching a heavily locked door.
"Why'd that Jinx guy have to go with the other group?" Jak pushed forward and did something strange: he put his hand out like he was throwing something and sure enough a red ball of condensed energy came forth. He pulled out his gun and shot it, making the small ball explode into a cloud of red energy and blowing the door straight off its hinges. Jak walked forward with Daxter on his shoulder, leaving Coco and Crunch staring with open mouths. He smirked back at the two bandicoots, indicating them to follow him into the prison. Memories flooded Jak's mind, bringing back a haunting image that would most likely be there forever.
The view spiraled down a long column until the scene of Jak strapped to a table with two men walking around him was revealed. Dark lightning arced into Jak's form from a sinister device on the end of the column, obviously causing the man much pain. The lightning stopped flowing, allowing Jak to rest back onto the table, completely unconscious. A flat female computer voice came from the air around.
"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Subject status: unchanged."
Jak's mind came back to the present where he saw a small orange form laying on a table much like the one Jak had been strapped to only it was made smaller for the smaller individual. Coco was heard gasping from behind Jak, waking the man up enough to grab her before she could run to her brother's side.
"Let go of me! Crash, wake up!" Crash stirred on the table, his eyes slowly opening. He tried to get up but the restraints held him back, he tried again, struggling until he finally gave up. Crash clenched his fists in fury, making Jak draw Coco back slightly further. She shouted for him again, this time infuriating the bandicoot to the edge. He let out a howl and crackled to life, breaking the cuffs as his form grew larger and stronger. The now demonic bandicoot stood on his hind legs, but with his arms stretching down almost to the floor. His fur had darkened, his nails elongated, and his eyes become smaller and colder. He now looked like his 10th Dimension counterpart: Evil Crash. The bandicoot's eyes focused in on Jak holding his sister back. His dark energy altered brain showed this man as an enemy, keeping his sister away from him. The more animalistic form of Crash charged forward, making Jak throw Coco back and get in a defensive stance. The man imagined all the things that angered him more than anything else and opened his eyes which had turned pure black. He now became the individual known as Dark Jak and caught the more evil looking Crash (let's call him Dark Crash) in his arms. The two dark heroes rolled around on the ground in a furious battle, both letting out animalistic howls. Coco screamed at them to stop, walking forward and grabbing Crash by the shoulders while he was on top. He leapt off Jak and pinned her to the floor, his smaller and darker eyes focusing in on his younger sister's sparkling green ones. She struggled to get her demonic brother off of her, shuddering as his hot breath got closer to her neck.
"Crash, stop it! Big Brother, it's me, your little sister!" Sister…that was a word that the darkened bandicoot's mind had forgotten; he stared down at the girl who identified herself as such. Suddenly, memories of another life flooded into his brain; a lighter version of him holding a younger version of the girl before him to his chest as she cried out all her worries. Another showed him and the darker furred bandicoot he could see further back watching as the girl now closer to the age she was now blow the flames on 13 candles on a birthday cake out of existence. Dark Crash pushed himself off of his lighter side's sister, transforming back into that lighter side as he did so. Crash stared down at his sister's terrified form, then allowing his eyes to settle back down on his now normal hands.
"C-Coco, what happened?" Crash said with a slight Australian accent, making Coco stare at her brother in wonder.
"Crash, you can talk?" she gasped.
"Yeah, I guess I can. I haven't talked in ten years, ever since I got zapped with the Cortex Vortex."
"Wow, whatever they did to you reactivated your ability to talk."
"What did they do to me anyway?" Jak walked towards the machine where one of the sinister devices came together to form a purple crystal at the end. He plucked the crystal off the end of the device, feeling the energy pulsing within.
"A Power Crystal?" She took it, making Crash hiss and edge away.
"Keep that thing away from me. When I was under its power I wanted to…to…kill you."
"It must have dark energy inside similar to Dark Eco."
"Watch out Jak, you're not the only tall, dark, and gruesome anymore." Jak glared at Daxter. "What?"
"Come on; let's meet up with the others." He led the now enlarged group out of the prison, turning to Crash as the orange bandicoot joined in with his step. "We're gonna have to get you some new clothes, that transformation kinda ruined your old ones." Crash grimaced as he attempted to hold his ripped pants up from falling. He shot Jak a death glare as the man chuckled.
Cynder, Ashelin, Sig, and Jinx made their way across a catwalk suspended over an endless pit of prison cells. Kiera's intelligence said that Spyro was in the generator room. Sig came to the front of the group, charging a large, electric blue ball of energy in the barrel. He kneeled down on one knee, aimed it at the group of OKGs in front of them and fired. The soldiers were blasted away in a blast of Eco energy, leaving a remaining survivor running to the door and smashing the control panel for the door. He turned around triumphantly, receiving his just reward: a blast in the chest from Jinx's Eco pistol. Ashelin stepped towards the door, pulling out her communicator.
"Kiera, can you open this door?"
"No, that OKG just obliterated the electronic control for the door." Upon hearing this, Jinx cracked his knuckles and tossed an Eco charge up and down in his hand.
"Looks like my expertise is needed; stand aside sweetheart," he smirked, placing the Eco charge on the door. Everyone ducked down as the pent up energy was released rapidly, blasting the thick door off its hinges. Jinx got up first, bowing gentlemanly for Cynder and Ashelin to go first. He smirked at Sig as the large black man waited for him.
"Ladies first, Chili Pepper." Sig pushed the smaller man through the door with the butt of his Peacemaker.
Waves of radiation from the flowing Elemental energy turned the generator room into a shimmering gray mass. The only easily distinguishable thing in the entire room was a large bright area some 10 feet above the main platform. A figure was chained up in the middle of the energy ball, a figure that Cynder easily recognized. The dragoness flew up to the energy ball, attempting to reach Spyro. Unfortunately, the waves of pure energy emanating from Spyro were too great for Cynder's body to withstand. All she was able to do was call his name desperately; managing to break the purple dragon's dazed state. His amethyst eyes met her stormy grey ones, a flash of recognition coming from the purple orbs.
"Cynder…help," he managed to croak out before his head hung limply. Cynder tried to reach him but kept getting repelled by the waves of energy.
"I can't, you have to break those bonds," she called through the drone of the radiating energy.
"This generator is sapping my powers, without them there is no way I can free myself." Cynder nodded and dove down to the generator but before she could land a blow, a column of energy knocked the shadowy dragoness back onto the platform below. Spyro watched as his love lay on the platform, unconscious from the flow of energy. His eyes flared white as a cloud of dark energy started to shroud his small form.
"So, this generator wants my energy…let's see how it likes a different type of energy!" Dark Spyro unleashed a flow of shadowy energy into the prongs of the generator below. Everything started shining brightly with the energy from the purple dragon as the generator started vibrating. Sig cottoned on with what was happening and picked up Cynder's limp form, carrying it out of harm's way. He then grabbed a dazed Jinx and Ashelin, pulling them out of the way of the imminent explosion. On cue, the generator cracked then exploded as the energy it collected from Spyro flew out in all directions, destroying everything. The platform disintegrated, sending the unfortunate four plummeting towards the platform below where they landed straight on the other party. Spyro (returned to normal) floated down gracefully and landed a few feet away from the groaning pile of bodies. He picked Cynder out and dragged her out from under Sig. The black dragoness groaned, her eyes fluttering open to allow her to look at Spyro. Her groan turned into a loving sigh as she rolled onto her feet and nuzzled Spyro affectionately. She pushed her head under Spyro's chin, rubbing it so his head was forced upwards.
"Oh Spyro, we're together again and this time without Sparx to bother us." A disgusted snort came from behind her, making Cynder groan. "Then again, I think I would rather have Sparx than Orangey over there." Daxter tapped his foot with a raised, furry eyebrow.
"You can call me Daxter or Orange Lightning, not Orangey." Everyone got up dazedly, making Spyro raise his scaly eyebrows in surprise.
"I think I'd be very interested to know who these people are." Crash got up and stretched from where Coco had been knocked into him.
"That makes two of us, mate," he groaned, glaring at his little sister. Jak took out his communicator and called into Kiera.
"Kier, we got Crash and Spyro."
"That's great—whoa, what was that? Oh my god, Jak, you have to get over here and—Aaaahhhhhh!" Kiera's end started cracking over.
"Kiera, KIERA!" He turned to the others, unhinging his Eco rifle from his back. "Guys, Kiera's in trouble, we gotta get up there." Neither Crash nor Spyro knew who Kiera was but they had enough sense to understand that she was a friend and that they should save her. The two heroes nodded and followed Jak with everyone else following behind.
Author's Note: Review or else Crash will go dark on you.