The break did not last long. Soon Crunch urged his siblings onwards towards the other side of the island. The burgundy Bandicoot knew that Coco and Crash were scared. To tell the truth, Crunch was scared too, for he had no idea what was in store for the Bandicoot family. All that he knew was that he needed to protect his brother and sister, but to also get his revenge. This is when he caught the first whiff of ocean brine. The jungle journey was just about over - to his relief.
Coco and Crash soon recognized the familiar scent as well, and began to perk up. The fear was still present, but at least they could get out of the sopping-wet jungle. They followed their brother through the thicket until the trees and ferns gave way to the beach, where the sands gave way to slimy green water. Here Cortex's island could be seen, where the pollutants that he dumped into the water tainted the very sea and beach. Yet, beside this grim scene, it at least meant that the Bandicoots had found their way to the correct side of the island. But, as the trio would soon discover, they were not the only ones suffering from the human invasion.
"Coco, Crash, look! The humans have Cortex's castle surrounded! They look like they're capturing his minions!" Crunch observed. A large human ship with a massive deck and several airplanes was pulled just off the coast of the Bandicoot's island. Surrounding Cortex's island floated three ships with soldiers rapidly unloading from them. On the other island, Dingodile could be seen in hand cuffs, while Tiny the Tiger lay snoring on the ground with a dart sticking out of his shoulder. Sprawled about the beach were Cortex's other lackeys. Before long, a large man soon hauled out the mad scientist himself and detained him with hand cuffs. It looked as if Cortex's operation was over. "Hurry, we need to find that tree. Once those humans are done arresting Cortex and his minions, this beach and jungle will be crawling with humans. Aku'Aku said something about an "S" shaped tree - keep your eyes peeled!" Crunch quickly said. Coco and Crash dispersed along the jungle edge while Crunch stood looking distrustfully at the humans across the channel.
It was Crash who finally found the palm tree. The thing was twisted and gnarled, almost in the shape of a knot, but it did resemble an "s" better than any other tree on the beach. Coco began to search around the tree's bough while Crash looked in the branches. It was a foreboding sight, for green slime also covered the almost-dead tree. As Crash began to climb the tree, he stepped on a branch that clicked, and rotated sideways, and followed by a large hole in the earth opening up under Coco. She was swallowed up by the hole with a surprised squeal. This brought Crunch out of his revenge-inspired daze. The burgundy Bandicoot sprinted towards the tree, while Crash slid down its trunk. To the boys' relief, Coco's assuaging "I'm ok" soon echoed out of the hole.
The hole's walls were also covered with green slime and was difficult to manage. Crash managed to get down without falling, but to Crunch's dismay, the burgundy Bandicoot did not fare as well. Crunch had slipped and plummeted to the bottom of the hole, landing in a resonating "thud". The noise echoed down the dark hallway before them, and was soon replaced the the hysterical laughter of Crash and Coco. All that remained was to search the temple for whatever it was that would make them temporarily invisible. Once Crunch got up and wiped the dust off of his army pants, the three looked onwards towards the darkness of the ancient halls. Morale was higher, and hope was on the horizon.
Coco did have to admit that it is harder to be afraid of her brother when he is as clumsy as an ox. Again, to Crunch's chagrin, Crash would agree with this as well. So much for machismo.
