Chapter 4
10:15 a.m. That was what the clock-hands were showing in the moment Coco was having breakfast in the incredibly small kitchen, which was right next to the stairs. Being the first one to wake up, although remarkably she was able to sleep relatively well after what had happened last night, Coco couldn't stop contemplating. She was holding a white mug with warm coffee in her hands for minutes, something she would never notice whenever she was lost in thought, as her elbows were still upon the picnic table. Despite that, her worry remained visible in her dark circles and messy hair, even when she had already arranged it into her trademark ponytail, and the fact that she barely sipped any coffee at all.
It was only when the eldest brother of the family, Crunch, entered the kitchen quietly and placed a friendly metal hand on her shoulder that she woke up from her thoughts. "Crunch," she startled. "You scared me."
"Sorry, Coco." He apologized. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I am," she sighed. "I'm just worried about Crash... do you think he'll be able to get over the incident?"
"Knowing him myself, I'm positively convinced that he will forget what actually happened in the next few days."
Seconds later, another figure appeared at the entrance of the kitchen, this time being Crash himself. His sclerae was slightly red, which noticeably indicated lack of sleep, as he stood looking at his siblings like he had seen a ghost. It took him a few moments to snap into reality and walk towards his chair in order to sit on it, his facial expression as impassive as a statue.
"Good morning, big brother." Coco tried to hide her anxiety by giving him the biggest yet the most fake smile she could get. "Did you get some rest?"
"I had a nightmare." He finally spoke, but his voice was so distant that it looked like his soul had already deserted his body. "I dreamed that the assassin lady managed to get into my room without making a sound and murdered me mercilessly... by giving me the kiss of death."
Out of a sudden, the kitchen fell into this long, awkward silence, where both Coco and Crunch's expressions turned from normal to complete perplexity.
"Was it good?"
"Crunch!"
"Oh come on Coco," Crunch said. "How many times did Crash almost die and he never did by some miracle? By this point, he might as well be Saint Michael."
"Thanks for the compliment, mate." Crash shrugged, since he had no idea who Saint Michael was. "But that doesn't change the fact that there's a psychotic lady out there who desperately wants to kill me."
"Then get a pitchfork, they're effective."
"Can you two please stop being stupid?" Irritated, Coco intervened. "It's bad enough that we have a serial killer on the loose, we don't need any more bickering involving which farming tool is the best defensive weapon."
"You're right." Crunch gave in. "We have to keep our heads cool in order to solve this problem."
"You're lucky that she isn't planning to kill either of you," Crash continued. "At first I underestimated her for being, well, a woman, but I've never been so scared in my life when I started running away from her. She was the closest I experienced from being chased by the Devil, if I ever saw one."
"That's why you should never underestimate us." Coco nodded affirmably. "Who knows what she's going to do next..."
"Well, if she gave Crash a kiss of death, maybe she's planning to give him a box of poisoned chocolates."
"Don't give her any ideas." He frowned at Crunch.
Soon after they ended the conversation, the spiritual witch doctor Aku Aku also showed up at the kitchen through the outer door. By the look on his wooden face, he seemed rather despondent.
"I spent all night searching throughout the island," he said. "There are no signs of Doctor Cortex's assassin anywhere. The only place where she's able to hide temporarily would be inside Cortex's new space station, since his castle got destroyed years ago."
"They already built another space station?" Crunch raised an eyebrow. "Damn, they're fast."
"Now that I think of it, I still have my old spaceship somewhere in the garage." Coco remarked. "Unfortunately it's a little tight in terms of space since I was younger back then, but I can do a few modifications here and there."
"I really appreciate your goodwill help, Coco." Aku Aku faintly smiled. "However, it is no use to go to the space station. Doctor Cortex might arrest us immediately upon sight, and I don't want to take any risks."
"But if we wait here like nothing happened, the assassin is going to take the golden opportunity to murder Crash." Crunch opposed.
"That's why I'm asking you to leave this subject to me." The mask declared. "I still have the power to stop her while I can. The least Crash can do is to keep an eye on his surroundings and report any strange occurrences immediately so that we can join our forces together in order to defeat her."
"Sounds like a good plan." Crash nodded. "After all, four against one is certainly a win-win, right?"
"I hope so, Crash..." Aku Aku trailed off. He wanted to assure the three bandicoots that everything would quickly return to normality, but the feeling of imminent danger was too much to ignore. Nevertheless, the witch doctor made sure to conceal his fears as deep as he could before looking at them one last time. "I have to get going, children. I'll be guarding the coastline, but remember to stay close to your house; N. Sanity Island might be tiny, but there are many places where the enemy can lurk for the attack. Please be safe."
"You can count on us, Aku Aku." Crunch affirmed with a smile, which was unusual from him. Somewhat relieved, the spiritual mask then retreated to his position and the bandicoots proceeded to eat the rest of the breakfast, only for Coco to break the silence once again five minutes later.
"Now that we aren't allowed to leave the house, what are we gonna do to spend the time, guys?"
"How about fixing the door?" Crash winked, with the toolbox ready in his hand.
While floating along the seashore, an observant Aku Aku centered all of his focus in finding minor disturbances, but the island was so peacefully quiet that it seemed like yesterday's occurrence had never even took place. Even though the mask hadn't the power to possess any of the five senses that were essential to every living creature, he couldn't help but try to feel in his mind the coldness of the brine water, especially the beauty it carried to the general view of N. Sanity Beach. The waves were calm; the aromatic yet distinctive smell of the ocean was strongly present, there was no wind, and the sun was already heating the sand ever since its rise into the sky. It was eons ago since the last time he had the blessing to feel physically any of these elements, way back when he was still human and was a member of his own tribe...
Half hour after he last spoke to the bandicoots, the mask slowly drifted away from his distant memories and finally began to suspect the likelihood of someone watching him up close – a quite familiar yet out of the ordinary presence that only he was able to recognize from afar. Negative energies suddenly overwhelmed the mask, as his emotions went from attentive and solemn to merely shock.
"No, it cannot be..."
Barely as he whispered, the infamous yet commanding Uka Uka appeared right in front of him, almost in a blink of an eye, with the most malevolent grin ever placed on his face.
"Hello, my feeble brother."
Aku Aku wasn't determined in buying his lies. "What do you want, Uka Uka?"
"I see you are guarding the island." He smirked. "How thoughtful of you..."
"Is this another scheme you've been planning with Doctor Cortex? I know you way too well to even try convincing me otherwise, Uka Uka."
"I'm not trying to convince you," he said, a hint of mockery implied in his deep voice. "Rather, I'm taking you out of here."
Caught off guard, Aku Aku rapidly moved away from him and attempted to protect himself by using his sorcery, but he failed to remember the fact that his twin brother's evil magic was more powerful that his healing powers. Uka Uka laughed at the foolishness of his older sibling and removed all the remaining control he had of his own magic, imprisoning him in the exact same spot.
"You can't run away from me, brother..." his smile grew wider. "You have to do exactly as I say, or you'll never be free."
"And if I refuse your proposal?"
"There are no refusals." He warned. "If you dare to act stubborn towards me, I will destroy you without hesitation and leave your precious little family grieving the death of their father figure... or the other way around, if you prefer."
"No, Uka Uka, please." Aku Aku implored. "I'll do anything as you wish; just please... don't do them any harm."
"How do I know that you're not fooling me?" Uka Uka persisted, his impatience and suspicion mixed into one single tone. Aku Aku took a slow, defeated breath before confronting his brother in a more mature way.
"...Because it is my duty to protect them, even if it requires my death."
A small grin was drawn in Uka Uka's lips. "That's more like it. Now let's drop this lame subject and follow me; I have a surprise for you..."
"There. Brand as new."
As soon as Crash was done using the hammer and proudly announced his hard work, Crunch approached the outer door to see the result personally. As to be the expected, the burgundy bandicoot raised a skeptical eyebrow instead of actually giving a compliment.
"You took an entire hour just to put a piece of wood into the gap?" He remarked, both astonished and annoyed.
"I had a few... what's the word... ah, difficulties." Despite his brother's disapproval, Crash optimistically justified his excuse, and aimed his index finger at a palm tree nearby. "See that tree over there? I cut off a piece from its trunk that apparently was too big to fit inside the gap, so I had to remove it from the door with the hammer and cut yet another smaller piece."
Crunch studied the palm tree one more time. "Thank god you're not a real carpenter," he scoffed. "Otherwise that tree would've been dead by now."
"Crash! Crunch!" Calling from inside the hut, Coco walked to them. "Is the door already fixed?"
"See it for yourself." Crash offered, and Coco finally looked at the repairs, only for her to take a few silent moments and realize that something was missing.
"Not bad," she bit her lip, pensive. "Although it could use some painting... the piece you introduced in there makes the door look distracting because of the different woods."
"You think?" He looked at his sister. "Well then, not a problem. Hey Crunch, do we have any paint in the garage?"
"There's only a bucket with green paint." He folded his arms.
"Do you think you could get it for me?"
Tired of being his assistant, Crunch rolled his eyes and walked all the way to the garage – which wasn't even ten feet away from where he was standing – and eventually brought the very same bucket with a paintbrush on top of it, as he nonchalantly dropped it to the ground right in front of Crash.
"Anything else, mademoiselle?"
"No, that is all, thanks." He smiled, oblivious, as Coco discreetly shook her head at her brothers' silly fight.
"Anyway, while you paint the door, I'll be in the kitchen doing lunch." She said.
"Already?" Crash raised his eyebrow. "What time is it?"
"It's noon."
"No wonder my stomach have been making noises..." he remarked. When Crunch and Coco finally went inside and left him alone, Crash removed the lid from the bucket and clutched the paintbrush in order to start painting, and for a few minutes he actually managed to distract himself with the job by whistling to such a warm, beautiful day. Unfortunately, his positive thoughts came to an end when his ears detected once again the movements of a stranger appearing and disappearing behind the bushes – which of course alarmed him. Not wanting to worry his siblings, Crash stopped his activity and quietly closed the bucket with the lid, and only then he adventured into the jungle.
As the unsettling, almost inaudible sounds continued each step he gave forward, Crash cautiously looked at every single direction in an attempt to find the culprit, but his efforts all seemed to go in vain until he reached the beach – and coincidentally discovered a dark-looking figure standing on the sand... waiting for him.
"Greetings, bandicoot." Amelia smiled. For some reason, Crash found absolutely eerie the fact that the assassin lady was actually waiting for him like a decent person instead of trying to murder him like a mad dog.
"You?!" He exclaimed, and soon began to experience anger, although he was nowhere as aggressive as Crunch.
"I just wanted to apologize for what happened to you last night." She attempted sincerity, but the orange bandicoot was too smart to believe in her deceitfulness. "As you already know, I work for Doctor Neo Cortex, and murdering you in your sleep was in fact my first mission, so of course I wasn't willing to fail that."
"You can say that again." Crash retorted.
"But as it turned out, I let you live, and decided that maybe it's best to make amends with your worst enemy... after all, we can't live in a quarrel forever, and I don't even like to work for that yellow midget." She showed her tongue in disgust. "So what would you say if we both agree on this peace treaty and move on, hmm?"
Despite Amelia's seemingly friendly extended arm, Crash didn't accept the handshake. "No," he frowned. "I don't trust you."
"Oh, what a pity..." To show her empathy, Amelia slowly shook her head in disappointment before gazing at her claws. "I was really looking forward to befriend you, but I don't blame your decision; I would've done the same if I were in your shoes."
"You put my health and my family in danger." Crash added. "And you expected me to befriend you no more or less?"
"You've befriended Cortex before."
"That was another circumstance," he said. "If you really want to put this incident aside, then do me a favor and stay far away from my family, do you understand?"
"That's a little extreme, don't ya think?" She raised her eyebrow. "But whatever floats your boat; I'll respect your needs and eventually leave you alone. However..."
In the moment she cut short her speech, Amelia picked up the only Wumpa fruit lying in that area, wiped the few grains of sand with her hand and offered it to Crash, who even was taken aback by her unexpected offer.
"...Before you go, please take this fruit." She gently held the large, juicy Wumpa fruit. "I know I shouldn't assassin on people's business, but since you seemed really hungry, I thought I could be generous for once."
Suspicious, Crash accepted the fruit and studied it warily, from touching it to smell it with his own nose, only to conclude that the fruit seemed rather average. He had reconsidered not to eat the fruit and throw it somewhere else where the assassin couldn't see, but he was so hungry that he thought it would be a wasted opportunity. Not to mention that he was an expert on them, and if the specimen had absolutely nothing wrong, it was because he was over thinking it.
"Thanks mate." He didn't smile, but the fact that he gave her a nod in recognition of her simple action was what Amelia needed to assure herself that the plan was working perfectly, all hidden behind a fake smile.
"You're welcome. Now bug off," she waved her hand to prove her point. "I don't want to see your idiotic face again."
Crash shrugged at her rudeness before taking a bite at last. His hunger was so great that he didn't even notice the slightly sour flavor of the Wumpa fruit; he went so along with it that he took yet another two or three bites when he entered the jungle, but the distortion of his senses soon came to play when he started to feel... dizzy.
"Woah..." walking like a drunk, Crash leaned against a tree due to his lack of balance, the strong headaches now taking over him. "I suddenly feel... sleepy..." he yawned. "I think I'm gonna take... another... nap..."
And he hit the ground in a dead faint.
