A/N: OK. Time for Crash's 1st final battle with Specter. And there will be another battle in the next chapter. So please enjoy.
Chapter 7: Crash's strength:
As Crash got to the front gates of the castle, there was a rumble on the ground.
"W…What is this? An earthquake?" Crash asked.
Then he saw a huge castle like building in the distance being lifted off the ground and flew into the air. Crash looked shocked.
"The castle is flying away. What kind of mischief is Specter up to now?" Crash asked.
He had to find his way to get to that castle. He saw a bandicoot on a cliff side and jumped on him and held him to the ground to get some answers.
"How do I get to the flying castle?" Crash ordered.
The bandicoot pointed to a teleported below and a switch to activate it.
"Thank you" Crash said as he captured it in his net. He then leaps down the cliff and pressed the switch causing the door of the teleported open. "Hold on, Juba. I am coming."
He stepped in. He arrived in front of the castle, but the door is shut. He goes into the engine room and saw a bandicoot below hit a switch telling the whole castle that Crash is here.
"Bring as many enemies as you want. I won't lose" Crash smirked as he used his sling shot to hit the switch revealing where the bandicoot is and captured him.
As he came out, he saw two more bandicoots in UFOs. He had to used his sling shot and carefully targeted them and shot them down. After capturing the two in his net, the door opened.
"Finally!" Crash said as he entered.
He had seen so many enemies and bandicoots running about the place in each room. He used his new RC car to one of the switch and captured as many bandicoots as he can find. It took him a long trip around the base until he came outside the base of the platform outside. He gasped as he looked down. He was far up, above the Earth.
"Man. I never knew we're this high. So I have to be careful of not to fall" Crash said.
He had to get through enemies and get across dangerous platform until he reached to the top and waiting for him was a tank boss.
"Whoops!" Crash said as he ducked under his gun fire. "This one could be trouble. I have to fight him with everything I got."
He has to carefully dodge the bullets and rockets carefully and hit him in the stun club. When it was too much for him, he retreated back a little and used his sling shot. After a few hits, the tank boss is dead and dropped food which heals Crash.
"That's better" Crash said. Then he saw a switch. "Aha. What does this do?"
He whacked it with his stun club and the platform underneath him moved. It took Crash a while to wait as it came to a hole in the wall. Then he found himself back in the main hall.
"Well, that was a neat shortcut but I am back where I was before. Oh man!" Crash groaned. As he was about to run up the steps to the moving wall, he stopped, walk backwards until he stopped by the painting. "Hello?"
There was a hidden lift inside the painting. The painting moved aside revealing it. Crash must have missed it when he ran pass.
"Well, let's see where this baby goes to" Crash said as he take the lift.
He came to a dark room but there was a lift going up. As he got there, he saw a robot body.
"Then that means…" Crash checked his monkey radar. The readings was so large, the screen cracked. "Specter must be here! And that means… JUBA!!"
He goes up the lift to the top and saw his girlfriend in the same cage hanging above the floor like a bird cage.
"JUBA!!"
"Huh?" Juba got up and look through the cage. She smiled warmly "CRASH! Thank goodness. You're here!"
Crash smiled at Juba's safety. But then he frowns as he saw Specter, in his floating chair, opposite him with a giant robot head behind him.
"Oh dear. You messed up the castle" Specter said "I'd thought I'd let you in so we can talk. There's no need to make a big mess around the place."
"Specter! Let Juba go!" Crash ordered.
"Calm down. Let's have our little talk now" Specter said "So, what do you think? Do you like it? This castle is the most powerful fortress. It would be so easy to conquer the world. The view is great too. Don't you think it's really great?"
"Are you out of your mind?" Crash asked "Everyone down there is worried about you. Stop this madness right now!"
"Why don't you stop opposing me and join me instead? You know, like Benjamin" Specter said.
Juba gasped "Crash! Specter planned to control you just like what he did to Benjamin!"
"No way!" Crash said angrily "I will not be brainwashed by you!"
"Crash! Be careful!" Juba called.
"I'll be fine, Juba. Specter won't get away with you this time!" Crash said.
"Well, we'll see about that" Specter said "I have superior power. No matter how hard you resist it, it will be easy for me to control you with this power. LIKE THIS!" He held his hands forward and two beams came out of it and hit Crash causing a huge sphere around him. Crash shielded himself.
"CRASH!!" Juba screamed.
"Aaargh!" Crash said.
"Is that painful?" Specter smirked evilly "Join me, Crash. Unless you do, this pain will continue eternally."
"No… no… not a chance…" Crash groaned.
"FIGHT IT, CRASH!" Juba screamed "DON'T LET SPECTER CONTROL YOU!!"
"What a stubborn guy" Specter said "You're no match for my power."
"CRASH, YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IT PLEASE!" Juba screamed while tears pour down her eyes "THINK ABOUT COCO, CRUNCH, SPYRO, BENJAMIN AND AKU AKU. THINK ABOUT ME, THE ONE WHO LOVED YOU. CRASH!!"
Crash was listening to every word Juba was saying.
"I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED BY YOU!! NEEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!" Crash yelled as the sphere grew bigger knocking Specter down and Juba shielded herself.
As it died down, Juba saw Crash standing there. "Crash, are you alright?"
Crash smiled at her, his eyes still green. "I… I'm fine, Juba. Thank you."
"Crash!" Juba smiled as tears of happiness fell.
Specter was not so happy as laid flat on his back and looked up at Crash. "IMPOSSIBLE! Why didn't my power work on you?! This can't be!"
"I… I understand now…" Crash said to Specter.
"What?!" Specter asked as he sat up.
"Power alone isn't the true strength" Crash called.
This has confused Specter and Juba.
"Well, something like that" Crash said embarrassed "Spyro said that fine."
Specter got very angry as his chair started floating again. "I am very angry with you, Crash Bandicoot! If I can't control you, I'd have to kill you instead!"
"Crash, be careful!" Juba called.
"WAIT!" Crash called to Specter.
Specter floated into the robot head as the eyes glowed. "TAKE THIS!"
Crash knew what he had to do. He has to run to the head while dodging the fire power and fire wheels. After a few hits, the floor starts shaking and the head flew off as the body went through the upper floor and destroyed it. Crash landed on the floor below as Juba gasped in horror. The robot's head came above the head and became attached by it. The body came to life.
"Behold, Ultra Bandigloith!" Specter called from inside "You got lucky last time, Crash, but this time, you will not escape my wrath!"
"Bring it on, Specter!" Crash said "If I win, will you let Juba go?!"
"If you can defeat me, which I doubt it" Specter said "DIE!"
Specter fired his arm canons. Crash dodged each one until he saw the canon arm goes green and attacked it with his club. Bandigloith used other attacks like missile launched from the sky and used it probe minions to attack him and hit the ground. Crash dodged each one and hit the arm canon again destroying it. He did the same with the other arm. Once both arms came off, the armour fell off it's chest revealing a small switch. Bandigloith used his mouth to fire a beam at Crash but Crash dodged as it destroyed the floor instead. Using the stun club, it hit the switch code. He did it 2 more times (the last one, he had to use the dash hoop as it fired two beams) and the robot virabrates as it explodes. The explosion broke Juba's cage and she fell along way.
Crash saw Juba fell and grabbed her in his arms before she hit the ground. Crash put one of his arms under her legs and one arm behind her back. Juba opened his arms and saw Crash smiling at her.
"Juba, are you OK?"
Juba smiled and hugged Crash hard while she cried again. "Crash! You did it! You rescued me again. Thank you, my hero."
Crash smiled and returned her hug. After a while of hugging, Crash put Juba down and they smiled happily at each other. As they were about to kiss, an angry Specter floating in front of him causing Crash to frown at the villainous bandicoot.
"CURSE YOU, CRASH BANDICOOT!" Specter shouted as he slammed his fist on one side of his chair. "BECAUSE OF YOU, ALL OF MY PLANS WERE FOILED!"
Juba held Crash close as she frowns at Specter. "You're right. Your plans had failed. I had told you so. I always know Crash will stop you and save me."
"Specter, give it up. It's all over. Stop this evil struggle. Go back to the amusement park!" Crash said.
"You must be joking!" Specter snapped "I'm never going back to that dim place! Listen well!" A blue sphere surrounds him "I shall return! And when I'd do, I'll get my revenge on you yet and then I will conquer the world!"
"Crash, he's escaping again!" Juba gasped.
"WAIT, SPECTER!" Crash called but Specter was already gone.
Juba turned to Crash. "Crash, is it finally over?"
Crash nodded "Yeah, it's over, but I still have to find Specter. Let's get out of here."
Juba nodded and kissed Crash on the cheek. Crash blushed and they leave the place.
The castle was floating back to the earth. Without Specter to control it, it fell back.
Back at the house, Coco, Crunch, Benjamin, Aku Aku and Spyro watched the distance in the lighten darkness. Suddenly, the sun came out, almost blinding them. Then they saw two figures in the distance.
"HEY GUYS!" came the voices of Crash and Juba.
"CRASH!! JUBA!!" Coco, Crunch, Spyro, Benjamin and Aku Aku called.
Crash and Juba waved to them as they held hand to hand as the rejoiced with their friends.
The jungle returned to life as before, before the bandicoots attacked. Cortex still plans to get revenge on Crash as usual. And every people who was slaves to the bandicoots were now freed. Coco's punishment however was to clean the whole lab under the instructions of Aku Aku. Since he is part of this, Crunch had to do his share as well.
But it is all not over.
Crash, Benjamin, Juba (who returned in her original clothes) and Spyro visit the Von Clutch's Motor World, but saw that the show featuring the unhelmetted Specter was cancelled.
"So there were so many bandicoots out there" Benjamin began.
"Some good, some evil" Crash continued.
"And one is still out there" Juba finished.
Spyro nodded. "Specter will probably come back one day, and when he does, who know what evil he will do."
"So in other words, all we have to do is find Specter before he does that?" asked Benjamin.
Crash turned to Spyro. "Hey, Spyro. Don't worry. I will find Specter."
"I know you can do it, Crash" Juba smiled as she held her boyfriend's hand.
"Yes. But I was worried there may be bandicoots who is still lost in time out there" Spyro said "I have to talk to Aku Aku about this, but you must return to the time machine and capture the remaining bandicoots. While you're doing that, we shall locate where Specter is hiding. And then he can capture him once and for all."
Crash nodded. His adventure is not over yet. Before he can settle down with Juba, he must defeat Specter once and for all.
To be continued…
A/N: Crash had finally rescued Juba but Specter escaped yet again. So stayed tuned.