The Other Test Subjects

"Doctor Cortex, have you received information from any of the generals?" Nitrus Brio asked.

"Yes," Cortex replied. "Dingodile sent me a message, and I must say, it scares me. Apparently, Crash hasn't mentioned anything about taking over the world, or even the island. It makes me wonder…but that is not the only problem. According to Dingodile, he found Crash speaking to a floating mask. That means that cursed with doctor's spirit has returned!" He turned to Brio. "You see, I found the mask following me while I was looking over the whole island. He told me that he did not want me to be on the island. He said I was too evil. I didn't like what he said to me. So I captured him, and then put him in this box. That was almost a year ago. And now Crash has found this box. He has found Aku-Aku.

"We must tell Dingodile what to do. If you ask me, he should kill Crash. But I want to see what else might happen. I want to learn what more Crash can do. I want to see how long he can remain alive after Dingodile, Tiny, and Ripper Roo leave him near the village. When he's left there, he won't be able to survive. The village people are quite vicious. They are led by a fat man known as Papu Papu. In their language, it means 'Great.' And he is great…at killing all the animals on his island for food. When Crash is caught, he will be unable to escape. But we shall wait for now and see what happens."

Brio could see Cortex was hiding something. He felt he had the right to know. "Are you hiding something that I should know?" he asked.

"Follow me," Cortex said.

Brio did so. They turned down a corridor. Brio realized they were moving toward the dungeons, which were farther below. Many of the guards were scared of what was down there. In truth, that was where Dingodile and Tiny hung out.

It was where they tortured the enemies of Cortex. And after the interrogation, the one being tortured would almost always die, either from blood loss caused by either's claws, or by incineration by Dingodile's fire attacks. Neither Cortex nor Brio truly cared. All they wanted was for their enemies to be crushed like the little bugs they believed them to be.

When they were down in the dungeons finally, Brio noticed blood splatters on the wall that he had never noticed before. It almost looked like the blood splatter was fresh. Brio didn't dare to open his mouth about it.

"What are we doing down here?" he finally asked.

"You will see," was all Cortex told him. He led Brio down the hall to a wooden door. The door's lock was in place. Cortex took out a key and placed it in the lock. Once the lock was open, Cortex pushed the door. Inside the room were two creatures. One of them was standing against the wall, while the other was sitting against a wall. "Hello, ladies," Cortex greeted.

"What have you come here for?" snapped the one sitting against the wall in an Australian accent. "Are you going to torture us again?"

"No, my dear," said Cortex. "I have no reason to do so today. Nor have I ever done so. Why do you ask? Have my generals been busy?"

"Yes, very," she replied. "Tiny is more of a kindred spirit. Ripper Roo scares me, but he is not the worst. It is Dingodile that I'm most fearful of. He slapped me across the face a few days ago. With his claws out. The claws left a scar across my right cheek. And he's threatened me with fire. It scares me so much. I can't take it."

"Don't worry, I will speak with him," Cortex assured, though he was lying. "Could you please show yourself to my colleague? He's never seen the either of you. Now show yourself, my dear Coco. And you as well, Tawna."

The one sitting on the wall stood up finally and stepped into the moonlight that streamed through the window bars. Brio felt perspiration start at the top of his face. His jaw dropped.

Coco had blond hair, blue eyes, and wore clothes resembling those a prisoner would wear in a penitentiary: black-and-white striped uniform. Her orange fur seemed a little lighter than Crash's. A scar was there on her right cheek, just as she had said. She seemed a little disheveled.

And when the other stepped into the light, Brio saw she wore a red shirt with a blue skirt. She too had blond hair, but she sported hazel eyes. She seemed to not be in the same condition as Coco.

"Hello, Dr. Cortex," the other one, Tawna, greeted. "It's been a while, has it not?" She also had an Australian accent. "I was wondering if you would be coming back. I've had to deal with your generals instead, and they're not as fun."

"Well, that will be taken care of soon," Cortex said. "I must tell the two of you something. And this is something that you must not tell anyone else. Of course, who would you say it too? Anyway, back to our situation. You see, I made a new general. And you'll be surprised at who it is. It is your brother, Coco."

Coco's jaw dropped open. She couldn't believe it. I have a brother? she thought. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "I don't have a brother! You must be mistaken, Cortex."

"Oh, I am not mistaken. You see, when I captured the two of you when you were normal, idiotic Eastern Barred Bandicoots, I turned you both into human-like creatures. Of course, I made you before him, but he is still older than you. Tawna was made before you both, as well, and she is older than you both. And now, my plan is coming into place…mostly. You see, Crash has been a little naughty. He has found a special mask that will give him more strength. I made him one of my generals, and this is how he repays me! Bah!" Cortex spat on the ground. "I might have to kill him now, because of that. I don't wish to say such a thing, but it is true. He betrayed me and the other generals. Dingodile is the one who told me of this, and I am sure he will beat Crash when he gets the chance. Either way, Crash will either live through this somehow, or he will be killed when the other generals leave him for dead near the village."

He threw his head back and laughed. Coco couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had a brother, and Cortex had experimented on him, as well. It hurt her a small amount, but she decided she would receive her retribution soon enough. She wanted to meet Crash, but with the way Cortex was speaking, she was unsure if that would ever actually happen.

"Well, I just wanted to speak with you ladies," Cortex said. "I am happy we were able to talk about your brother, and if he dies, I will send my condolences to you. Brio, do you have anything left to say to these two?"

"No," Brio replied. He very much wanted to get out of there and out of the dungeons. "Not at all."

"Very good. Have a nice night."

Cortex and Brio left the room. After Cortex had closed the door and they'd gone far enough away from the room, Brio said to Cortex, "Will you ever allow them to leave that room? They don't seem to like it there very much."

"No, they will never be able to leave!" Cortex snapped at him. "They will remain in there until I say so. Nothing more should be said about this subject, Brio. We must wait and see how things unfold. Tawna is the one who does not wish to be with me, even though I would like to be with her. Is that not sad? With the way she looks, she should be with me! We're made for each other!"

Brio didn't know what to say. He could see just how mad Cortex truly was. He wanted to exclaim that at him, but knew it would only end with him being punched…or something even worse.

"So what will happen if Crash somehow survives and comes to rescue his sister? What if he learns that he has a sister from one of the other generals? What if their tongues slip?"

"Ah, but that won't happen. Dingodile may be insane, but he would much rather burn Crash than reveal anything. Ripper Roo is the most insane, but he will not reveal one single thing. He trusts Dingodile much. I believe he and Tiny look up to Dingodile as their other leader, besides myself, of course. And that helps with Tiny not revealing anything to Crash. He knows that if he does so, Dingodile might kill him. Neither of them have feelings, besides those of hate and fury. Crash is much different. And that is why he must be destroyed."

Unbeknownst to them both, Coco and Tawna could hear this. While Tawna remained as silent as she could, Coco was whimpering. Her last thought before falling into a very uneasy sleep was, God help us.