NOTE: I'm going to repeat what I mentioned in the beginning of the first chapter. This story had been previously published, but with different events and now, I posted this one which is the rewritten story with major changes. I decided to take it down after posting the first two chapters because I didn't like how it was going so far. If you read the original CB: Good Meets Evil story that I took down, realize that this is the new one and this is the one that I will be writing from now on.
I'm clearing this up, again... now, let's keep reading.
Chapter 4: The Lost Bandicoots
''We're Heather and Chris…''
Now it was the time to explain what they've gone through, but how could the two marsupial friends explain to Crash everything that happened with Cortex? He will either believe it or take it as a lie, but maybe it was best to not say a word yet.
''Actually, my real name is Christopher, but please call me Chris'' The light brown bandicoot added. ''Have no fear, bandicoots and powerful floating mask, for we are good and we come in peace with no intentions of hurting anyone.''
''Heather, Chris…'' Says the witch doctor mask. ''Why don't you come inside and relax? You two look like you have been traveling for hours without resting.''
''We have'' Heather answered. ''Three hours to be exact…''
Heather and Chris followed the bandicoot family to Crash's home. They thought they had a nice house. It was not too big or too small, but it seemed so different than every house they saw on their home country. They gathered in the living room and sat down to have a warm tea to feel more relaxed.
''We're really sorry about getting you into this mess'' Coco apologized. ''Who knew our family time was going to go wrong?''
''Don't be. It's mother nature's fault, silly'' The brown bandicootess said. ''The ocean is such an unpredictable thing. You don't know what you can find in it every time you go to it and you certainly do not expect a huge wave appearing behind you and sweeping you onto the shore.''
''How do you know that, smarty pants?'' Crunch asked.
''I read a lot of books and I'm an explorer'' She pointed at her friend. ''And so is Chris. We're good treasure hunters too.''
''Oh, I get it!'' Coco said. ''You're Indy Jones!''
''No.''
''You work for Nathan Drake?''
''No…''
''Bummer! I was about to ask you two to bring me an autograph of them.''
''Just think about it… if we were like him, then Chris would be Nate and I must be Sully.''
''No, you're too young. I say you're Elena.''
The light brown bandicoot took his last sip of tea and put the cup down on a table beside him. He snickered a little and looked at Coco. ''Well in that case, if was Drake, then you could be my Elena Fisher.''
Chris winked at her and she raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what was that for. ''Weird… we haven't known each other that much and he is already trying to get my number.''
''Excuse me?'' Crash said. ''What the heck did I just heard?''
''Just ignore him. My friend is just like that. At least he's being nice.''
The floating witch doctor mask is seen coming downstairs and entering the living room.
''Crash, make sure to take out the trash in your room'' Aku Aku said, disgusted. ''You just cleaned it today and I don't want you messing it up again.''
''Awwww! That's so cute!'' The orange bandicoot jokingly replied. ''You giving me orders! So adorable.''
''It seems that you're never going to learn…'' The witch doctor looked at the two friends. ''Heather, Chris… I hope you are receiving the best hospitality from us.''
''We are'' The light brown bandicoot got up from the couch. Heather, who was sitting beside him, also stood up. ''Listen, ummmm… thanks for everything and all. My friend and I better get going because we've got stuff to do. It was great meeting you.''
''Whoaaaa. Hold on'' The orange bandicoot chuckled. ''You're leaving now? But you just got here!''
''I know. How rude of us to not stay longer, but we really have to go'' Heather said as she and Chris walked towards the door. ''I could stop by another day.''
Crash and his family wondered what got into them that made them want to leave in a hurry. Was it the fear of telling them about what happened with Cortex or they were feeling strange around what turned out to be a bunch of innocent individuals that they were going to destroy at first because of Cortex's lies? They thought that they were making Heather and Chris feel uncomfortable, but that didn't seem to be the case.
''Well, I personally would hate to see you two leave so quick'' The benevolent witch doctor mask said to them. ''You may leave if you wish, but I still want to get to know you two better.''
''Y-You want to get to know me better?'' Chris said as he elbowed Heather on the arm, as if he was trying to tell her something. ''Well, what could we say to get you to know us better?''
''Yeah, what my friend said!'' She chuckled nervously. ''Could you excuse us for a second? We''ll be right back.''
The brown bandicoot girl grabbed Chris by the sleeve and dragged him outside the house to have a little talk.
''Hey, watch the shirt! That thing cost me two dollars at Kay-Mart!''
''Look, Chris! We're doomed!'' She sighed. ''They want to get to know us better. Do you know what that means?''
''It means that they will most likely ask us where we come from and other stuff…. never mind, Heather. We need to tell them the truth.''
''Just don't screw this up, okay?''
''Yeah, yeah… you and your things. Let's just get back inside before they get the wrong idea about us.''
''Gee… what is wrong with Heather and the other dude?'' Crash said as he scratched his head in confusion. ''Are they feeling weird around us?''
''I have a feeling that they are hiding something… you know, that they probably have something to say.''
''Like what, Coco? That my pants smell because I wear them everyday? I understand THAT.''
''No, Crash! Maybe they just need someone to-''
The conversation was interrupted when Heather and Chris entered the room again as they smiled awkwardly.
''Sorry about that…'' Heather said as he and her friend sat down. ''I was just talking to Chris about staying a little bit longer because what we need to do can wait.''
''Yeah, so you guys wanted to know us more… right?'' He asked. ''Well, we are in a funny situation because we don't even live here. We're from North America.''
''North America?'' The rest said in unison and Heather nodded in response.
''That's a little bit too far from here, isn't it?'' Crash said. ''You guys must be tourists, right?''
''No, Crash. We're-''
''WAIT. How do you even know my name? I never told you.''
The light brown bandicoot's heart jumped when he realized that he did a huge mistake. He gulped and chuckled nervously at the orange bandicoot. ''Oh, did I just call you Crash? Silly of me for using nicknames! What's your real name?''
''It's Crash… Crash Bandicoot.''
The orange bandicoot didn't know what to think right now. Why would two strangers that he just met call him by his real name without introducing himself first?
''Oh dear wumpa!'' The burgundy bandicoot exclaimed. ''What is going on?''
''I don't know, Crunch…'' Coco looked at them suspiciously. ''But I don't like this.''
Heather couldn't take it anymore. She just wanted to say the truth already because hiding it felt very stressful.
''Okay, guys…'' She sighed heavily. ''It's true that we are from North America, but we've been living on that huge iceberg on the islands for quite a while.''
''You mean the place where Dr. Cortex's Iceberg Lab is located?'' Aku Aku asked, curiously. ''What were you two doing there?''
Heather looked at her friend in the eyes and he patted her on shoulder in response.
''Escaping from him… from Neo Cortex. That guy and his henchmen are a bunch of liars who where using us to do no good.'' Chris explained. She noticed her friend starting to get really nervous by the look on her face. ''He offered us to join him so we could 'defeat the evil in this world and do good deeds' but turns out it was the opposite. He also wanted us to destroy you, Crash.''
''WHAT?!'' Crash and his family said in unison.
The orange bandicoot didn't know what to do right now. In fact, he felt really shocked to hear that and he could notice that Crunch, Coco and Aku Aku were too by the look on their faces. He didn't know whether to fight them or just tell them that there's been a huge mistake. Maybe Heather and Chris were sent by Cortex to destroy Crash as part of a plan that he has up his sleeve, but what could Cortex be up to exactly? Why would he do such a thing? So many questions but yet, no answers.
''Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! You are going to do WHAT to ME? No way!'' Crash said. ''Don't you even know who Dr. Cortex really is inside? He's dangerous! That guy does not simply save the world from evil. On the contrary, he works to take over it!''
''Of course we know the real him. We've been with them for a year. All this time, we were tricked into thinking that they were the good guys, but turns out that they are the most evil individuals I've ever met'' Says the light brown bandicoot. ''Don't be afraid, Crash. We are not going to harm you. You're the hero after all.''
Crash felt shocked by the whole thing, but when Chris told him that they were not going to harm him, he was relieved. He was even getting prepared to fight them off. ''Good…''
''See? I told you that these two were no good and were not to be trusted'' The orange bandicoot girl looked at Chris in the eye. ''Especially YOU… you no good-''
''Coco, calm down. These two are no harm, for they have been lied to by Cortex and all of this has been a mistake'' The witch doctor mask asked. ''Why didn't you inform us about this earlier?''
''Sorry, we just… didn't know how to say it and we were scared to do so'' Chris explained, letting out a heavy sigh. ''This really escalated quickly...''
''Who are you to trust Cortex?'' Crash asked. ''He's more evil than good. You should have realized in the first place.''
''Look, Crash. This is what actually happened…''
They remember it like it was yesterday, but the strange event occurred on a calm afternoon at the park. Heather and Chris were just two ordinary teenage friends having a good time there. They walked, talked and had fun with Heather's older brother. The two friends sat on a bench to have conversations when suddenly, they spot something purple and diamond-like on the grass. Curious to know what it was, they went up to it and picked it up from the floor. It started to shine in a way that almost left the two friends blind and they ended up putting it back on the ground. Just as they thought that things couldn't get any more strange, a portal appeared in front of them and they were getting pulled into it. Heather's brother saw it, but when he was going to help them, they were already sucked into the portal and nothing could be done. They discovered that what they found on the park was in fact, a power crystal and crystals can be so powerful sometimes that things like these could happen. However, it wasn't long until they found out who was the one behind all of this. Heather and Chris woke up on a lab of some sort with their vision all blurry and felt confused. They didn't know how did they got there or where they were. They could see Cortex, Brio, Uka Uka and the other henchmen, which made them feel scared because animals that walk and talk is something that they thought it was out of the ordinary. They looked at themselves and realized that they were not humans anymore. They were turned into bandicoots because of a little accident that happened with Cortex's teleportation device and it was almost impossible to bring them back to their human forms.
They were offered to join them because if they did, they would become heroes one day, but maybe that wasn't a good idea. How could they just leave their homes like that for a bunch of strangers? Will they ever come back? Will they lose anything? Will Heather even see her brother again? Uka Uka and Cortex consoled them and promised that they won't lose anything and that they will become brave heroes one day. The two felt enthusiastic about the idea and accepted. For one year they stayed with Cortex, training themselves and learning. They learned a lot about Crash and his family. They also met and interacted with Nina, N. Gin, Ripper Roo, Pinstripe, Tiny and others. There came a day in which the two marsupial friends realized that they were being lied to and that was when Cortex was going to brainwash them with the Cortex Vortex. He admitted that everything he was telling them all this time was in reality, the opposite and that he was not who they thought he was. That's when they realized it was a trick to help him achieve world domination and to exterminate the Crash, who was in reality the hero who was saving the world from his plots and not the villain who kept ruining his plans to ''save the world''. They had no choice but to leave that place for good to protect their freedom.
''I promise that we will help you find your brother, Heather'' Coco said, trying to console them. ''Where are your families? Don't you guys have one?''
''I don't. My parents abandoned me when I was too young to even have my first memories of them'' The light brown bandicoot sighed. '''Ah, that poor guy must be searching for me and her little sister everywhere. It's been a year and no one knows about our whereabouts. He must be worried sick…''
''He will find us. I just know he will, but I don't see the day he will find us'' The brown bandicootess sighed. ''And to answer your question, Coco… I don't. My parents died when I was young. Not even my brother has memories of them. It's almost like we never met them.''
''Crash, Coco and Crunch never met their parents either and they have been annihilated by Cortex before, so all of us can relate'' Aku Aku says. ''Sometimes I feel like the father figure to them.''
''Well, it's better than nothing'' Chris smiled at them and they smiled back. ''Heather and I are also known as The Lost Bandicoots because we were 'lost' when we were brought here by Cortex and up to this day, no one knows where we are. Our disappearance was just a mystery to everyone.''
''Cortex gave you that name?''
''Yes. Well, actually… he and his henchmen started referring to us as The Lost Bandicoots and soon, it turned into a little nickname'' Chris explained. ''Anyways, enough about this name talk. Crash, I think this is a good time for you to tell us the truth.''
''Here's what has been actually happening with Cortex…''
Crash and Coco proceeded to tell them about their creation and about the events from the many adventures they have had and as he kept talking, the two marsupial friends kept discovering the truth behind the lies that Cortex told them. They found Crash's adventures interesting to listen to, though, they could sit there all day long listening to Crash and Coco's stories. Many of them were quite humorous, but some of them were a little bit dramatic.
''Well, that's all. I've had lots of adventures, but trust me, there's more coming my way.''
Heather chuckled at Crash. ''You know, Crash. We sure have a lot in common… the three of us kinda lost it and jumped out of a window to escape from Cortex.''
He laughed. ''Well? It's the truth. Thank heavens that we escaped.''
''That's what happens when good meets evil. Both sides fight each other without quitting until one of them win. In this case, you are the good side and Cortex is the evil side. You and Cortex met a lot of times and fought each other until you proved him that when good is in the presence of evil, it is good that will always prevail.''
''Wow, Heather. That sounded inspiring'' Chris chuckled. ''When did you get so inspirational?''
She elbowed her friend on the arm. ''Don't ruin it.''
''Owww! Okay, why is it that I always have to go through so much pain?'' Chris looked at Crunch and found him a little silent and speechless. For some reason, he felt like wanting to learn more about him. ''How about you, tough guy? Tell us more about yourself. Cortex didn't mention a lot about you.''
''You want to get to know me better?'' The burgundy bandicoot looked at him and sighed. ''If you say so…''
Crunch started to tell them his creation, his experiences with Cortex when he was brainwashed and when the Elementals completely took control of him. Heather and Chris also found his stories interesting and they were listening the entire time. Up to this day, he feels glad to have a family like Crash, Coco, Aku Aku and even Pura because he knows that without them, he wouldn't be where he is today.
''You know, I think that elemental mask of earth should say better fire puns. He should say something like this…'' The light brown bandicoot started to imitate Rok-Ko's voice. ''You better watch out, bandicoot! Because when I'm done with you, I will make your bed rock!''
The group didn't say anything, instead, they looked at each other and started to laugh. Chris and Heather smiled a little and started to laugh as well because for them, their laughter was contagious.
''Well, guys'' The two marsupial friends got up from the couch. ''Thanks for everything, but we must leave. We've got a lot of stuff to deal with.''
Aku Aku's mouth curved into a smiled and stopped the two marsupials from leaving. For some reason, he felt as if these two marsupials belonged with them. He knows that they don't have a home since they just escaped from Cortex, so he decided to take care of that issue.
''Where are you fellows heading to?''
Heather looked up to the floating mask and replied. ''Nowhere, I guess. Maybe we're going to Wumpa City.''
''Stay with us. You don't have a home and I don't think trying to survive without a home and all of your needs is a good idea.''
The two teenagers looked at each other and smiled nervously. Is it a yes or a no? Of course, they don't know the bandicoot family that much to just get inside their home and stay with them, but a big part of them wanted to say yes because they don't have a home anymore.
''Ummm… no thanks, Aku'' Heather denied as she walked towards the door. ''We just don't want to take up space and bother you.''
''Nonsense!'' Crash said. ''Why would we bothered by having a couple of new friends over?''
''It's-it's just that…'' She sighed and looked at his friend. ''Should we, Chris?''
''Duh! We should'' Chris replied. ''The couches are comfy, so that's a good thing!''
She smiled at him. ''Alright, you win. We're staying!''
Crash, Crunch, Coco and the others cheered in excitement and celebrated after getting a yes from them. Now, The Lost Bandicoots were safe with them in case a certain enemy appears to cause trouble...
Well, here it is! I'll give an e-cookie to whoever noticed the Uncharted reference in this chapter.
