Before we begin, just wanted to apologize for the very long update. It's been over a month since the last chapter! Kinda got sidetracked since then, but now I'm back and with another spanking new chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Necessary Preparations
In the previous chapter, we saw our heroes travel to Pridwen, the capital of Keystone Island. There they would move in to Grantor's mansion, which would serve as the hub place for their newest adventure.
Now, our heroes were in serious business. Crash, the chosen one, would receive a visit from a government agent, who told the bandicoot that the prime minister of Keystone Island wished to speak with him. And so Crash, along with his allies, would find themselves in the Keystone Island Government Building...wow, what a creative name. Keystone Island Government Building. So original, it deserves to be trademarked! Sounds almost like...ah, never mind.
"Say, where the heck is Valestrom, I reckon he'd want to see the prime minister!" wondered Fake Crash, as Arthur led everyone through the government building.
"Valestrom opted to stay at the mansion, given how he was treated today," replied Pasadena. "Personally I wouldn't blame him - might save him a concussion or two."
"We all had a great feeling that you would eventually show up, Mr. Bandicoot," Arthur Mann, the government agent who greeted Crash in the previous chapter, would tell the bandicoot. "And by all, I mean pretty much everyone in the administration."
"Quick question: who is your president?" Fake Crash raised his hand, hoping Arthur would recognize him. "Also, who is in Congress? How many people are in Congress? Do you have a House of Representatives?"
"How many times do I gotta tell you...we DON'T have a president. Or any governing body. But we do have a prime minister, so that's good enough for us."
"Do you have a wonderful supply of missiles?" N. Gin asked, also raising his hand so he could be recognized. "Every great country needs a bunch of missiles in their arsenal, hehehe!"
"Keystone Island isn't a country, it's just a large island with many diverse people. Just like Gemstone Island. Just because we have a government in place don't mean nothing."
"Then why do you have a flag?" asked Yaya; Arthur was unable to answer this question outright.
"We just needed something to represent our country, okay?! Please stop asking these dumb questions...man, if only they had trained me for stuff like this..."
Arthur would finally take the group to the intended destination - the very office where the prime minister lied. Crash and company were standing in front of a graciously designed door, which looked like it belonged in the British castle.
"Behind these doors is the prime minister of our island, Mr. Eligh Holt, who has been expecting your arrival," Arthur said to our heroes, but most importantly Crash, the chosen one and all. "He has been waiting for your arrival ever since..."
"Quick question: has this Eligh Holt dude been waiting for my arrival since forever?" asked Crash, to which Arthur nodded his head in confirmation. "Does this guy even have a life?!"
"That's Mr. Eligh Holt to you...and I'm not required to answer that second question. Answer might come off as a bit insensitive. It's better if you don't ask. But enough talking - let's just introduce you and your friends to the prime minister." Arthur knocked on the door. "Mr. Holt, the chosen one and his friends are here!"
"Good, let them in!" commanded the person in the room, obviously Mr. Holt. Unless someone possessed Mr. Holt's and took over his body, but it's way too early for stuff like that to happen.
Arthur would open the door, allowing our heroes to step inside, and there seated at his desk was the prime minister of Keystone Island - Mr. Eligh Holt himself. He was a particularly young fellow - not that young, but definitely younger than Henry Knox, of Gemstone Island. The bespectacled prime minister looked up at Crash and company, smiling with delight.
"Ahahaha, Crash Bandicoot, you finally made it!" the prime minister gleamed, as he got up from his chair and ran over to hug the bandicoot. He would squeeze Crash pretty tight, making him gasp for air. "The prophecies were true, the prophecies were true! What a happy day this is..."
"Obviously Crash didn't come here by himself," Grantor spoke up, as Holt looked up at the elderly badger. The moment he saw Grantor, Holt gasped in delight, dropping Crash to the floor like he was a sack of garbage. "Nice seeing you again, Mr. Holt."
"Grantor, you've returned to Keystone Island...this is INCREDIBLE!" Now Holt was fangirling all over the place, as he was doing these funky ballerina moves and twirls and all that stuff. It led the others to wonder how this man was even elected prime minister. Whoever he ran up against must've sucked big time. "To believe that you've brought the chosen one, Crash Bandicoot, and his friends...I never even knew the chosen one had friends to begin with! I must document this!"
"This guy must've smoked something before we came here," Coco said to the others, before being caught off-guard by Holt sliding towards her on his knees, like he was performing on a musical stage. "I'm starting to dislike him already..."
"Don't mind if I ask you this question...but are you the chosen one's GIRLFRIEND?" As you would believe, this question was obviously offensive to Coco, who felt the sudden need to slap Holt in the face and make him act somewhat normal. "The thought of Crash having friends was remarkable enough, but for him to have a love interest...is an entirely different beast!"
"Ew, no, I'm not his girlfriend...I'm his sister!" Holt's face apparently sank when Coco announced this. "I'm Coco, and that bandicoot with the muscles is Crunch. We're both Crash's siblings!"
"Ah, I see...how wonderful! I'm sure your parents raised you well." If only Holt knew the truth... "What about that funny-looking bandicoot, with the bushy eyebrows and buck teeth? Is he your cousin?"
"That's Fake Crash - he's just a bandicoot who legitimately has nothing better to do in his life, so he just kinda follows us around. Sometimes we like to pretend that he isn't even there." Fake Crash looked down at the floor in sadness, turning away.
"I see, I see..." Holt stood back up on his feet, nodding his head, before looking at Cortex. "And who is the ugly short man with the N on his head? Is the man behind him his father?"
"That would be Dr. Neo Cortex, and the man behind him is indeed his father, Archie Cortex," explained Coco, as Cortex felt the sudden urge to blast Holt away with his ray gun. "Cortex was the one who created Crash in the first place."
"So you must be the father of Crash Bandicoot! Pleasure to meet you!" Holt went over to shake Cortex's hand, but Cortex would slap Holt's hand away. "Slapped away my hand, didn't you? Ah, that's okay - my kids do the same thing with me. And my wife too. I think they're trying to send me a message, but I haven't quite received it yet."
"Maybe it's because you're annoying and dumb..." murmured Komodo Moe, as Joe looked at his brother and nudged him. "Wait, I'm not allowed to criticize the prime minister? Is that what it's all about?!"
"There are government officials watching and listening to your every word..." whispered Joe, as Moe looked around and saw the government agents circled around, all wearing sunglasses to go with their straight faces. Moe, seeing these agents, could only laugh with nervousness.
"We cannot have these wonderful conversations in my office I'm afraid...we must take our joyful banter to the banquet hall!" exclaimed Holt, annoying our heroes with his over-exuberant positivity. "Someone prepare the tables and the food, that's an order!"
Following the exchange with Holt, our heroes...and the others...met with the prime minister in the banquet hall, for a hearty afternoon brunch. It was in the banquet hall where the introductions and the conversations (and Holt's constant fawning of Crash) continued among Holt and the others. Holt couldn't help but marvel every time Crash did a single thing, like cough, sneeze, scratching his crotch area underneath the table, etc.
"So...Mr. Holt, you said you had a wife, is that correct?" Crash asked the prime minister, who was sipping his cup of wine when he was asked. Crash had to make sure Holt's wife was real, and not a figment of the man's imagination.
"Why of course I do, Crash my boy - no male politician can go without a smoking hot babe in his corner!" replied Holt with great enthusiasm, as Nina and several others felt the sudden urge to puke. "The moment I was elected into office, my wife wished me good luck, and took our kids to some faraway location away from Pridwen. From that point onward, I never saw my family again...except on holidays. The pure joy and exuberance they show behind their somewhat displeased faces always put a big smile on my face!"
"I wonder why..." murmured Tropy, sticking his fork into his filet mignon Cortex tried to do the same to his mignon, only for the steak to hiss at the mad scientist and chase him out of the banquet hall. Archie watched it unfold, not even bothering to save his son.
"I really adore what you've done to the place, Mr. Holt - the paintings on the ceiling and the stained-glass windows really give this banquet hall a classic feel," Archie said to the prime minister, not at all caring that his son was being terrorized by his own food. "Was this your doing, or was it always like that before you became the prime minister of the island?"
"More or less, the latter - the many architects in Keystone Island have a very strong attention to detail, and focuses mightily on color and structure," explained Holt, cleaning his mouth with his napkin. "It really gives our island a distinct feel compared to the neighboring Gemstone Island."
"Mr. Holt, may I ask a question?" asked Dingodile, raising his hand so he could be noticed. "It has something to do with the island's...education system. Not the entire system, rather, but one school in particular. At Gemstone Island, there was this academy of gifted students, all of whom mastered a particular element and whatnot, and I was wondering if you have a similar academy on this..."
"Ah, yes, you must be referring to the Academy of the Elementally Gifted, aren't you?" Dingodile, darting his eyes around in confusion, nodded his head. "We have such an academy here in Keystone Island, much like how Gemstone Island used to have theirs. That is, until the events of the Dark Pit occurred and resulted in the destruction of the academy. And the former students have moved on..."
"...and we haven't looked back ever since!" remarked Behrab, before chugging down his drink in one giant gulp. "Some more wine over here, missy!"
"Behrab, aren't you under the island's legal drinking age?" Pasadena asked the otter out of curiosity. A waiter came over to Behrab, and fixed him another glass of wine.
"Technically thanks to that amulet Azalea gave me, I am thirty years older than what I appear now...that amulet really slowed down my aging process."
Upon hearing this, Crunch started gagging on his food, as the burly bandicoot clutched his neck and choked. Coco, the lifesaver, applied the Heimlich maneuver to her big brother.
"You said that Azalea was the one who gave you those amulets?" asked Crash, making sure he was hearing this right. Thanks to Coco, Crunch was able to get that piece of mignon stuck in his throat out of his system.
"Aye...she went around the entire academy, giving them out to us like they were lollipops. We didn't know at the time how powerful those amulets were, and we accepted them and wore them around our necks...that's how we became evil over time, those amulets..."
"Mr. Holt, someone left their radar thingamajig in your office, and it's going off for no reason," Arthur alerted the prime minister, as he ran inside the banquet hall with the radar in question going off. "Any idea who it belongs to?"
"That would be mine, good sir - pass it over here!" Grantor called out, as Arthur tossed the radar device to the elderly badger. Grantor held the radar in his hand, giggling to himself as the radar sounded. "Four years...for four years I've wanted to hear that sweet sound again..."
"As you can see, Grantor here has absolutely nothing to live for, since being a mentor is his only ambition in life," Mindy explained to the others, while Grantor continued giggling like a little child. "As someone who lived with Grantor the past few years, I should know..."
"What does that signal sound from the radar mean, Grantor, please tell us immediately!" Mr. Holt said to Grantor; seeing the prime minister was speaking to him, Grantor stopped giggling and present a more formal visage.
"The radar is signaling that a mask has been discovered - a mask pertaining to The Fallen Prognosticus." -dramatic music- "I'm afraid the prophecy has finally been awakened..."
"Great news, everyone - I finally got over my fears, and faced that filet mignon head on!" announced a confident Cortex, returning to the banquet hall soaking up all his pride. "It has been vanquished inside my mouth, and is relishing in the joy of defeat in my...why is everyone so quiet for? Did someone die? And you didn't even bother to come and tell me?! I'm seriously hurt!"
"Uncle Cortex are you deaf, do you not hear the radar sound?" Nina asked her uncle, who made an "Oh..." face. "Clearly a mask has been located...which means we're going back to searching for masks again."
"So Grantor, where is this mask found, and what is it called?" inquired Yaya, as Grantor expanded the map on his radar, so he could get a good view of the entire map of Keystone Island.
"This mask - the Mask of Willpower - is located at a place called the Luong Estuary. I've done some research on this estuary before - there's a native tribe that dwell at that estuary for hundreds of years, so they might know a thing or two about where the mask is. I'd highly recommend speaking with their chief, he might show you the way to the mask."
"I can already tell that this is the start of a wonderful adventure!" gleamed Holt, clapping his hands together in delight as our heroes judged him. "Since I already knew that you all would show up to this island, as the prophecy dictated, I did some lowkey recruiting to help your odds against the forces of evil. Behrab knows what I'm talking about, right?"
"Aye, prime minister...I was the one who followed your orders, did I?" the otter responded, as everyone was confused as to what was going on.
"Wait, what, what is the meaning of this?" questioned Cortex, demanding answers. "Is this some kind of cruel inside joke?! I'm always left out of inside jokes...if only there was an outside joke for me to be a part of!"
"Oh ho ho, there's no inside joke...or outside joke for that matter," chuckled Holt, before getting out of his chair. "Come, follow Behrab and I...we have some familiar faces to show to you all."
Doing as they were told, our heroes and everyone else followed Holt and Behrab around the government building, to a room where they all expected a huge surprise behind the elegant door.
"Can you please hurry up, I really gotta go..." pleaded Fake Crash, holding in his urine as he danced around in place.
"Would you like to do the honors, Captain Behrab?" Holt, standing at the door, asked the otter, who obliged with a smile.
"With pleasure, prime minister," replied Behrab, putting his hand on the doorknob and opening the door emphatically, in an almost dramatic manner, as he allowed the group inside the room. And everyone was surprised to see who was standing inside.
It was two girls - a dark-skinned woman, and a female fox. The former was wearing what appeared to be something business casual, with a jacket and a long skirt, and the latter was wearing traditional Indian garb, purple in color. Our heroes instantly recognized who these two were.
"Crash and friends, allow me to reintroduce to you all, Zola Meadowood and Grutika Johal," Behrab introduced the two ladies to our heroes. Both Zola and Grutika - who were pupils of Chantex during the events of the Dark Fate - looked a few years older, if their physical appearance was any indication to go by. "I'm sure you remember your times spent together with..."
"I HAVE TO GO TO THE RESTROOM!" shouted Fake Crash as he ran out of the room and to the nearest restroom. Let's hope he makes it there on time...
"Crash Bandicoot, Dr. Neo Cortex, and everyone else...it's great to see you again," greeted Zola, who like Grutika was no longer villainous. "Don't think Grutika and I can thank you enough for saving us from the evil snare that took us whole...even if it came at the price of our headmaster making his sacrifice, for the sake of humankind."
"Yeah, what she said...and ever since we became good again, I went to a university and graduated at the top of my class, with high honors!" added Grutika, showing her graduation certificate for everyone to see. "Majored in astronomy, maintained a 4.0 GPA and was on the Dean's List for my entire college career..."
"We get it Grutika, no need to brag..." Zola said to her friend, making the fox put away her certificate. "As I was saying, we are grateful to see you again, and we are even more grateful to sacrifice our time to work with you, side by side."
"Working with us, side by side?" Von Clutch raised an eyebrow, before turning his attention to Holt. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Oh it sure does, Von Clutch my friend," replied Holt, with a gleeful smile. "I asked all of Chantex's former pupils...well, those who were still around...and asked them if they wanted to help out you all in the event the prophecy came to fruition. As I expected, they all agreed to volunteer! I had Behrab lure try and lure you all to the island, and Zola and Grutika here were the first ones to show up for volunteering. So everything worked out perfectly!"
"That was...very thoughtful of you, Mr. Holt," responded Crash, scratching the back of his head. "The thought that counts, I guess. So when should we get started?"
"Evil never waits - trust me, I know - so it's imperative that we get going right away," stated Brio. "Before you leave, how about we make some necessary preparations?"
Our heroes stood outside the government building with Mr. Holt, Grantor, Brio, Chick, and Stew, as Zola and Grutika were now on their side. The minions were inside the government building, and hopefully they aren't turning the place into a pigsty.
"These are the Warpinators you've used in your previous adventure," Brio handed Crash and Cortex the Warpinators - devices used to warp a minion of any choosing to whatever location the heroes were. "I've had N. Gin write names of the buttons, so you won't be confused. Also, I want to give you these..." Brio would hand Crash and Cortex something else...earpieces, one for each.
"This makes me feel like I'm a part of some secret agent mission..." marveled Cortex, as he and Crash accepted the earpieces from Brio. "...finally, my wildest (and only positive) dreams are coming true!"
"Chick and Stew wanted me to give you those...they're earpieces, which Chick and Stew will use to pass on vital information." Crash and Cortex placed the earpieces inside their ear, as they turned on. "Apparently they have a lot of what they call 'prior knowledge', so that should help you out in the long run."
"We'll be more trustworthy than your average internet provider!" assured Stew, giving our heroes a thumbs up.
"Whatever you do, DO NOT get those earpieces wet, they're very sensitive," warned Chick. "One droplet of water could make those things EXPLODE!"
"Oh, so you gave Crash and Cortex exploding earpieces...makes a ton of sense," remarked Zola, making Chick very angry.
"It's to teach them both a lesson, a crucial lesson! Some people just don't get it, do they..."
"Mr. Holt, Mr. Holt, the minions just knocked down a statue and it crumbled to pieces!" N. Gin alerted the prime minister, running out of the government building. "And now they're using the remains as part of some...some war; they're throwing the remains at each other like it's a snowball fight! Unfortunately my team is losing at the moment...but Moe, Pinstripe, Kong, Roo and I shall prevail, for the others are greatly outnumbered!"
"Well then, I must get going..." smiled Mr. Holt, fastening his tie. "I'm putting a lot of faith in you, Crash - in fact, the entire island is putting a lot of faith in you. Don't let everyone down!"
After saying this, the prime minister returned to the government building, with Brio, Chick, and Stew following after him. Last person remaining was Grantor, who had his mask radar.
"According to my radar, the portal to Luong Estuary is just down the street," the elderly badger told our heroes. "Just head down south, and you'll arrive at your destination. I'll be at my mansion, and hopefully the minions will be there once they're done vandalizing the government building. Call us if you need anything!" And with that, Grantor ran inside the government building, to see if Mr. Holt needed any assistance.
"Okay people, we have Zola and Grutika with us, so now we must determine who will be working with who," stated Cortex, mulling over Zola and Grutika. "And I shall pick...the fox girl, Grutika!" As you would imagine, Grutika was initially disgusted.
"Ew, why me?" the Indian fox frowned at Cortex. "I wouldn't want to work with you, even if the fate of the world was at hand! You didn't even know that I was a girl!"
"How do you know that was me? For all we know, that could've been a stunt double of mine! We were in Alexaj Shores at the time, and we all know the beaches are full of hot babes, so maybe I was out doing some sight-seeing."
Silence. Silence was the only thing take took place after Cortex's statement, as everyone had a blank look on their face.
"...I shall team up with Cortex and friends," volunteered Zola, aligning herself with Team Cortex. As she did so, Grutika gave her an apologetic look, before mouthing "I'm sorry..." to her friend.
"Looks like you'll be joining us, Grutika!" exclaimed Aku, as Grutika joined Team Crash. Seemed like a perfect fit for her. "Excellent, both our teams are even - six members for each faction. Now let's get going!"
We now take you to an unnamed building, inside a spacious room with light coming in through the windows. At the center of this room was a giant figure, with threatening red eyes that could be easily discerned. Moments later, sixteen silhouettes would surround this menacing figure, in colors of red, yellow, blue, light blue, dark blue, green, orange, turquoise, pink, fuchsia, lavender, brown, tan, black, gray, and white - all of them appearing one-by-one.
"I believe you called us here, headmaster?" the white silhouette spoke up, in a sincere voice.
"Yes, I'm afraid the events of the prophecy are about to be unlocked..." the figure replied, seething just a little bit. "...for the bandicoot...the chosen one...has arrived. I can feel his very presence..."
"Gasp, whatever shall we do to stop him?" questioned the brown silhouette, in an almost sarcastic manner. "I know what we can do - leave it up to Kushaiah to lay a beating on the bandicoot he won't ever forget!"
"At ease, Kushaiah, at ease..." If you read the prequel story, the name Kushaiah may or may not be familiar to you. "We must eradicate the bandicoot at once, to prevent him from fulfilling The Dark Prognosticus..." -dramatic music- "...he'll be a thorn in our sides if we don't stop him in time!"
"Where is the bandicoot right now, is he searching for a mask right now?" asked the red silhouette, out of curiosity. "
"Yes he is, and he is searching for the Mask of Willpower, which is in the Luong Estuary. He would have to find all the masks in a specific order, so he won't disrupt the order of the prophecy. I've sent Draven and Lorelai to the estuary to find the mask, after I felt the bandicoot's presence, so I expect to hear a very good report when they return...
Our heroes traveled through the portal - which was apparently inside a giant toilet at some coin laundry - and arrived at the Luong Estuary. Given that it was an estuary, you'd think that the heroes would be at some river, near the stream, but that wasn't the case...
"Um, guys, don't look down..." warned Grutika, as our heroes were standing on grass, or some kind of vegetation. Fake Crash would look down, and saw that he was way up above the estuary, seeing the water and the land below him. The bandicoot screamed in fright before fainting in a heartbeat.
"Look what you did fool - since you said 'don't look down', you made Fake Crash do the exact opposite!" Crunch scolded Grutika, as he lifted Fake Crash over his shoulders. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"Well excuse me for not knowing how you guys operate..."
"How about we get a move on before we start arguing among ourselves, shall we?" Crash told the others, stepping out in front of everyone else as he saw a bunch of trees and houses up ahead. "Grantor said there was a tribe living here, so they must be in that forestation up ahead. We'll just strut our way to the chief, ask him about the mask, and he'll lead us to the right direction..."
"Sure hope this tribe has a shaman or a witchdoctor..." said Cortex, holding up the still lifeless Uka and looking at him in the face. "I must bring Uka back to life! It's just the same when he isn't making fun of me and questioning my existence every other minute! So this tribe better have someone to revitalize Uka, and they better have churros as well!"
And so, our heroes stepped forward, as they approached what appeared to be a village, embarking on their search for the Mask of Willpower.
End of Chapter 7
But before we close things out...
Spying on our heroes from atop a tree were two members of the Dark Confederation, wearing their robes and their masks. They were the same members from the previous chapter.
"Ahaha, we did it...we followed the bandicoot and his friends to this very destination," said the individual with the Z mask. "The way to get this estuary wasn't exactly ideal, but at least we're on the bandicoot's tail!"
"That bandicoot almost looks ripe for the taking," added the individual with the θ mask, as their bare right hand started glowing. "Can't wait to get my hands on him..."