Chapter 6: The Scientist Meets the Mage
"He's regaining consciousness. Good, took him long enough."
Ripto emerged from his grogginess and attempted to move, but quickly found out that his hands and feet were restrained. Where was he? What the hell is going on? Answers he will have to force out of whoever dared keep him captive.
"Whoever you are, you better release me from these restraints right now or you will feel the wrath of Ripto."
"Oh, he refers to himself in the third person, I like him already. Ha-ha-ha."
"You dare mock me little man?"
"I believe I just complimented you. If you were paying attention and not trying to think of ways to destroy me… Ripto, perhaps you would have better understood me."
"Do not patronize me. My power is feared all throughout the realms of Avalar. So if you value your life, you will release me immediately!"
"Feared hugh… I guess the purple Dragon didn't get the memo, considering the state he left you in before he fled."
"Spyro!" Ripto cursed with as much vitriol as he could muster in the word.
"Oh, and you're welcome, by the way. I fixed the hole in your sternum and saved your life. So I'm hoping that when and if I choose to release you, Ripto, you take that into consideration before you do something rash."
"You're the one who dragged me to wherever the hell I am now! And to think I was so close to murdering that infernal faun right in front of Spyro! You're going to pay for that..."
"Cortex, Dr. Neo Cortex. And bringing you and your Dragon friend to the future was imperative. It was my best chance to study and observe the magic you two wield so effortlessly. And since I couldn't decide between you or Spyro, I just went with both of you."
"Did you just say you brought me to the future?"
"Impressive, isn't it. My colleague Dr. Nefarious Tropy and I spent years building the Time Twisting Machine. I'd say it is my greatest accomplishment, but I have ambitions to create a utopia on this Earth under my control, and I believe that in order to do so, I need master of both science and magic, since I now know both exist."
"How far into the future am I?"
"Hundreds of thousands of years my horned guest. Now I know from studying your timeline what happens to you with regards to your fights with Spyro. You lose. Sorry to be frank but the creature seems to have an edge on you. Probably because he's the hero or some nonsense. Now why bother with you if you are always defeated by Spyro you might be thinking? Because the creature Malefor I cannot reason with. You, however, I believe I can negotiate a deal with."
Ripto had gone to Malefor before he confronted Spyro the second time. He could not be reasoned with. "I would have killed that damn Dragon if YOU hadn't interrupted the fight Cortex!"
"No. I watched the fight unfold if you may recall me telling you. You don't kill Spyro or the faun. But I intervened and brought you here because I need you. You're master of magic is quite profound, however you are edged by Spyro because I believe he physically is stronger than you even if you might be on par magically. From studying your two encounters I believe this is why he can always defeat you. I have rectified this issue. If you would observe the cybernetic implants I've generously installed; these - besides keeping you alive after Spyro impaled you - should give you a decisive edge when you have your rematch soon enough."
Ripto hadn't even noticed, but upon Cortex mentioning the implants, Ripto could see metal artificial limbs covering his lower abdomen and arms.
"What have you done to me!"
"I just made you better – are you even paying attention to anything I'm saying? Or do I need to repeat myself?"
"When I break free of these restraints! I'm…"
"Oh jeez, I pissed you off again. Look, Ripto, I've saved your life and made your stronger. With my help, we will kill Spyro since he has no use to me anymore. All I ask in return is your cooperation."
"Made me stronger? How?"
"Well for one you're no longer flammable. And the armor encasing most of your body should stand up to Spyro's horns. I believe with you now being as physically capable as your nemesis, you mastery of magic should be enough to prevail against him."
"And where is Spyro?"
"Currently he is on an island about three and a half miles from here. He isn't going anywhere and we can attack him at our leisure. This I plan to exploit because I'm not going to engage the creature without a plan, unlike you."
"Watch it Cortex."
"Sure Ripto. Now I'm not a normally a man for revenge, for I feel it makes one too predictable. But there is a certain creature I feel compelled to eliminate before I enact my strategy for controlling the rest of the world. Sure, I could ignore him and his sister who lounge on N Sanity Island all day and take over, but my former creation has proved to be a formidable opponent in the past, and I feel compelled to eliminate him before I move on. And since he seems to have made acquaintances with Spyro, we can both get what we want all at once."
"And who or what exactly is this creation of yours?"
"Not important Ripto. Though I know you'd underestimate him if you were to confront him, thus giving him an edge. I'll inform you of his stats and abilities later. But for now, I need to know that you are up for this. I've spent a considerable amount of time, planning, and energy in bringing you here to the future and saving your life. I hope you can set aside your pride and work with me to eliminate Spyro and my once loyal creation. Then, you can return to you time unopposed."
"Cortex, you have a deal."
"Good. Know let's activate the camouflage mode on that armor of yours. There, now Spyro won't be able to tell that you've been enhanced and thus you can use this to your advantage. With these enhancements, you will be able to fly, lift almost a ton of weight, nonflammable as a mentioned, you endurance has increased tenfold, as well as improved reflexes. All you need to do to win against Spyro is… well use you're magic."
"I'll need my staff, the orb on the end is important for amplifying and conjuring my elemental magic."
"Sure… Now I plan on luring Spyro and my creations into a trap. They don't know for sure that you are alive and I can use that to our advantage. How much of a threat is the faun, by the way? I never studied her."
"Elora, she's a weakling."
"Alright, so she could be used as a captive if need be. And Spyro, from what I've observed of his temperament is impulsive and brash; is quick to action and doesn't put much thought into his next course of action. Plus the Dragonfly following him could be a problem. I believe it can heal Spyro's injuries during a conflict. So killing the insect is of priority."
"I can see you're taking this seriously. I like it."
"An issue could be Subject C3. My two creations I mentioned earlier, I refer to them as Subject C1 and Subject C3, although they named themselves 'Crash' and 'Coco' respectively. Subject C2 is deceased, so don't worry about her. Coco could be an issue if she deduces any part of my plan and warns the others. Her intelligence is not to be overlooked."
"So you created 'Crash' and 'Coco,' but they plot against you?"
"C1 was once a loyal subject of mine, but he 'fell in love' with his breeding partner C2 and that broke his programming. C3 is by far the more superior creation of mine intellectually, for her intelligence almost rivals mine. She remained loyal to me for much longer, until her brother C1 learned of her existence and 'rescued her.'"
"And you haven't destroyed them for their disobedience yet?"
"That's where you come in, remember. Now, if we use Spyro's impulsiveness against him, I believe we can force Spyro, Elora, C1, and C3 to come to us unprepared. C1 is an altruist to a fault, and will agree to help Spyro with anything. Maybe if I threaten that I'm going to invade his Dragon Realms using my Time Twister, he and the rest will rush here in an attempt to stop me. C1 and C3 are already accustomed to me boasting, so they'll definitely believe in the sincerity of a threat I make."
"So you want to lure them here. This is when I'll attack."
"Yes. With my other henchmen, we will outnumber our adversaries. Spyro's mobility will be an issue. So I need you to have him completely focused on you. With your upgrades, I hope you have what it takes to finish him off."
"Once I know all of what you've done to me, then I will be more than capable of dealing with him."
"Glad to hear." Cortex pulled out a remote from his lab coat and pressed a button. The metal restraints on Ripto's arms and legs released, and Ripto dropped to the floor. "Here is your staff. Someday I will want to know how it works, but for now, we have business to attend to."