Hi guys sorry that it has been so long since I have updated! But here is another chapter! Please read!! I have created a poll for the next story I should upload after the completion of my other fanfic, "Strangers Like Us"; please visit my profile and cast your vote. Instructions for voting are on my profile page. Thanks!

Disclaimer: WolfKeeper989 does not own Crash Bandicoot t or any ideas or characters, except: the split persona of Coco, Tiny, and Pura. I also own Carley the Chameleon, Grandma Grace, Coco's invention of SLUDGE, my Version of Danni Dingo, and the story idea.

Chapter 10

Dining with the Enemy

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhh!!!!!!! Bad, pretty bandicoot girl is really pretty, good bandicoot girl?!!!" yelled Tiny, who had walked up behind the twosome. The both of them jumped and quickly covered Tiny's mouth before dragging him into Coco's room. Dingo checked to see if anyone heard his outburst. He then shut the door.

"What are we going to do?" asked Coco as she stared at the bewildered Tiny.

"We can trust him, he's the best we got at keeping secrets." said Dingo with a smile. Tiny nodded vigorously.

"Tiny keep secret!" said Tiny in a childlike whispered, "Tiny sorry about being loud. Tiny forgot to use his inside voice." Coco had to laugh. Tiny was actually sweet and childish just like a little brother. Dingo must be a like an older brother to him.

"Well if you trust him." She said. Dingo nodded. Tiny continued to stare back and forth at the two conspirators. "Now what?"

"Well, wha' 'bout 'ur brother?" asked Dingo. Coco looked down to hide the falling tears at the mention of her emotionally wrecked brother.

"I-I betrayed my family. A-All they e-ever did was c-care f-for me and l-love me and I—" she broke down sobbing. He moved next to Coco and snaked his arm around her waist. Coco sighed still not completely comfortable with the things she had done. Dingo looked at her with such concern that it nearly broke her heart.

"What is it?" he asked. She wiped her eyes wearily. He hugged her to himself. "Do ya wanna go see ya brother?" Coco's eyes shot open.

"Would that not be a little risky?" she asked as she cocked an eyebrow. Dingo shrugged with a smile,

"Last time I checked, when was it wrong for a villain to gloat in front o' their prisoner?" Coco grinned. She nodded vigorously. Dingo told Tiny to go back to his room and wait for him to return later. Dingo then led her out the door and down a side hallway. Coco became unusually silent as they got closer to the dungeon where Crash was being held. "What if he does not recognize me? What if he tries to kill me? I know that people who have suffered a traumatic experience tend to be emotionally disturbed." Coco thought nearly panicking. But before she had a chance to back out they walked into a huge dungeon. The first thing that she saw was Danni and Carley sharing a cell. Danni looked like she was half asleep. But Carley/Coco… she was awake and instantly noticed the two as they entered. She jumped up and changed back to her normal self before whispering,

"Coco! Are you okay?" Rage gave a wan smile and nodded saying,

"I will be… after I talk to someone. Do you know where they put my brother?" Carley sadly shook her head.

"We don't know… Coco… but I did hear the Komodo Brothers saying something about N. Gin using him as lab rat for a new invention. But that was about 15 minutes ago… hey wait!" Carley exclaimed when she noticed that Jamie had turned around bolted from the room. Carley looked to Dingo with panic written all over her face. "You have to stop her! She will blow her cover! We will all die!" Dingo nodded and chased after his new lady love.

Coco was putting her feet to the ground as she ran up the stairs at full speed. The only thing going faster than her feet was her heart. It felt like it would beat out of her chest. But she would not stop, she could not stop! She finally made it back into the main part of the castle and started heading straight for N. Gin's lab. She went through many twists and turns before she finally reached her destination. She turned the final corner and made a break for the door at the end of the hallway. She felt her legs turning numb but she willed herself to keep going, her brother needed her. But when she was just a few feet from the door, her legs gave out and she toppled to the floor. She hastily picked herself up again. But before she could take another step, a strong arm wound itself around her slender waist, lifted her off of her feet, and a furry paw reached out and grasped her muzzle before she could even protest. She struggled against her captor to no avail. Then she heard a strange humming sound followed by a zap and then a terrible scream cut through the air. She knew that scream too well… it was her brother. She flew into a rage and began to kick and scream but the sound was muffled by her captor's paw. She began to panic when she realized that she was being pulled away from the door to 's lab. She could feel the hot tears burning their way down her face. She continued to fight, scream, and cry. She watched in sorrow as the door became farther and farther away even as her brother's screams grew louder. She had barely noticed that she and her captor had rounded the corner when they stopped. She felt the captor release their hold on her waist but did not have the time to ponder why because right afterwards she felt a blinding pain in her neck and nothing more…

Dingodile slowly lifted the unconscious young woman off of her feet and slowly carried her to her room. He managed to open the door with Coco still in his arms and laid her down on her bed gently. He shook his head softly and muttered,

"I'm sorry, Coco… I really am." He slowly walked back out of the room and shut the door. He sighed loudly and headed back down to the dungeon.

Coco did not wake up until dinnertime that afternoon. She started as she heard a knock at the door. "What? I am in my room but how did I end up here? Oh no… Crash!" She thought as she hopped up off of her bed and ran for the door. But then again if she went charging into N. Gin's Lab like that she would definitely blow her cover. But that did not mean that she could not go and see what all the noise was. She let her anger simmer in her stomach as she put on her worst snarl and threw her door open in rage. Rage glared at all the unfortunate minions that happened to be passing by her room. They all glanced fearfully at the angry bandicoot woman. Pinstripe looked like he was going to pee his pants, because unfortunately he had been the unfortunate soul that was chosen to summon Rage for dinner.

"Uhh… da Boss… wants to see ya for a private shindig… I mean uh… uh…" he began to stammer. Rage grew angrier.

"Spit it out!" she screeched. He jumped and the words started to tumble from his lips,

"He wants ya ta have… a private dinner wit 'im!" Rage seemed to calm down a bit.

"Fine, tell me to give me thirty minutes!" growled the bandicoot and she turned to reenter the room.

"But he said—" Pinstripe squeaked. Rage whirled around and pinned the rat down with a hungry, murderous stare. The other minions that had stuck around to see the show scattered.

"I said thirty minutes, or do those ears of yours not work?" she hissed. Pinstripe turned paper white and scampered off. The rat figured that he would have a better chance of living if he told his boss that his devious damsel would be half an hour late! Rage slammed the door and leaned against the door. She instantly burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. That had been a priceless encounter. She had actually scared the rat so bad that his fur actually turned white! After a good five minutes of laughter, she walked to her closet and started looking for something to wear.

She decided that instead of feeling uneasy about the encounter, she could use the alone time to weasel some more information out of Cortex. That way she would be able to plan a better offense against Cortex and make sure her family got out safely. She finally settled on a slinky black dress. It had layered short sleeves and the bodice of the dress was made of the finest silk. It had a plunging V neck line that showed a great deal cleavage. The slit in the skirt came all the way up to her hip and left little to the imagination. She found a pair of high heel licorice black sandals and applied a small amount of make-up to her face and some perfume. She picked up her PDA and stashed it in her bra, just in case she might need it. She then stepped out her room and proceeded towards N. Gin's Lab. She decided to use the remaining fifteen minutes to scope out 's Lab. As rounded the next to last corner, she heard voices. It sounded like N. Gin, Pinstripe and some other minions that Coco did not know.

"That witch of bandicoot is halting my progress…" growled N. Gin.

"Not ta mention that babe has a major 'tude." added Pinstripe, who, needless to say, was still white! She was thinking of a very evil plan in her head to get back at Pinstripe for his unfair assessment of her attitude. After all, he never showed her any courtesy. But she continued to listen in on what N. Gin was saying,

"I have an idea but it could be risky for all involved. If this works though, we could have that banshee out of here for good." Coco bristled in indignation at that comment. But before she could get any angrier, a big Koala looking minion spoke.

"What are we going to do?" N. Gin grinned maliciously.

"We are going to free the bandicoots!" he boasted. The other gathered minions gasped.

"Cortex will smoke us! Have you lost ya marbles?!" blurted Pinstripe. The other minions began to voice their discomfort until N. Gin nearly yelled for them to get quiet.

"Be quiet or someone will hear us! I meant that we would free the bandicoots and blame it on the bandicoot girl!" he hissed. As the light bulb went on for some of the minions, they agreed to help. Coco continued to listen in on N. Gin's supposedly devious plan and tried not to laugh. When the minions began to disperse, Coco quickly went back in the way that she came. As she rounded the last corner, she nearly bumped into Ripper Roo. The blue kangaroo simply stared at her for a moment before he handed her a slip of paper with one of his rather large feet. She took the paper hesitantly and Ripper Roo hopped off. "Well… that was strange…" thought Coco. She looked at the note and it read:

Meet me in the old basement lab after your meeting with Cortex. Beware of N. Gin, he is a persistent adversary. "This is definitely very strange." She thought again. She looked at her watch and realized that she had five minutes before she had to meet Cortex for dinner. She hurried along the corridors until she reached the annex dinning room. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the knob. She turned it and opened the door.

"Ah, Rage, right on time. Please have a seat." said Cortex as he gestured to a chair to the left of him. The table they were sitting at was round and there was only one other person there: N. Gin. She tried to keep the look of surprise from showing on her face. As she got closer to the table she noticed that the N. Gin at the table was just a hologram. N. Gin was not actually at the meeting. She greeted both men as she sat down at the table. She did so slowly and allowed Cortex a great deal of time to ogle her expose flesh, which made her cringe inwardly. The table had a blood red table cloth on it with a freshly craved turkey on it. There were plants full of vegetables and other food. Her plate had already been prepared and it looked delicious. As Coco began to partake of her food, N. Gin hissed,

"Not only are you an amateur strategist, you are rude also!" Coco looked up sharply and treated him to her most hateful glare. She slowly swallowed her food and daintily picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. As she was doing so, both Cortex and N. Gin looked slightly pale. They were worried about her reaction. That was exactly what she wanted. She grinned sweetly at Cortex and then at N. Gin.

"Ignoring the fact that your observational skills are slightly impaired, I pray you, how am I rude? After all, you are insulting a guest." She said sweetly. N. Gin's face turned red from anger.

"How are you rude?! You go out of your way to frighten all of the minions, barking commands at us like you own us, then you show up half an hour late to a meeting and do not even apologize!" screeched N. Gin, getting louder with each word. Coco did not even flinch. She was enjoying this fight, it gave her a safe outlet for her frustration but it was still sort of mean.

"First of all, I do not see why you are complaining because as I recall, your boss, Cortex does this to you all on a daily basis and I have heard no complaints. Secondly, I was hired to be an overseer and therefore I am doing my job when I order you all around. Finally, I was invited to this dinner at the last minute and therefore needed to prepare." She explained calmly. She now leaned forward on the table. This improved Cortex's view of her chest. "But if it will make you happy," she turned to Cortex, "I am so very sorry for my tardiness, but I would like a time friendly invitation next time. But everything is wonderful. Although, I do not approve of your taste in guests." N. Gin could only grind his teeth in frustration. Cortex smirked, he loved the way this bandicoot handled herself.

"I, too, wish to apologize. I should have allowed you more time to prepare, it will not happen again." said Cortex, speaking for the first time in while. Rage nodded and looked at N. Gin, who was still grinding his teeth.

"Sweetheart, you may want to stop grinding your teeth before you create a spark. We would not want that to happen, would we?" she cooed and grinned wickedly when N. Gin finally lost his patience and yelled,

"Can we get on with this meeting? I have work to do!" Rage tried not to laugh.

"I am truly sorry for N. Gin's behavior. He has a very volatile temper." Cortex said causing Rage to snicker. She could not help adding her own two cents,

"Yes, I have noticed that he has a rather explosive personality." Cortex chuckled. She watched as N. Gin turned green with jealously. She immediately got an idea. She needed to sow some seed of doubt in N. Gin's loyalty within Cortex, so that she could turn the tables on N. Gin. But she could not do that while he was still "there." She would have to get rid of him first.

"But he still does a bang up job, around here!" said Cortex and they burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. A jet of flames came out of the rocket in N. Gin's head as he glowered with rage.

"Will you idiots knock it off!" howled N. Gin. Cortex immediately stopped laughing and glared at N. Gin. N. Gin gulped as he realized his mistake. Coco grinned wickedly.

"My apologies, please… ahem… continue." He said quietly. Cortex glared a moment longer before beginning to speak,

"Watch yourself N. Gin! Anyway, the reason I called this meeting was to discuss our now unhindered plans for world domination. Since the two of you have the brightest minds next to my own, I am here to compare any notes on any potential plans." Immediately, N. Gin jumped in and started talking,

"I have an idea that you may want to consider." Cortex frowned at being cut off but waved for N. Gin to continue. "I just completed the testing today." Coco's eyes widened. That must be what he was testing on Crash. "I have devised a way to rob people of any understandable speech!" Coco stared in disbelief. That was his great idea… was it devious? Yes, it was devious. Was it pain-inducing? Not exactly, but it frustration inducing. Was it logical? Coco could not find any, logic that is. N. Gin was already heated, if she pushed a few more of his buttons, either he will leave or Cortex will make him leave. But she needed to find out what her brother's condition was like. As she came out of her musings she realized that Cortex was starting to ask a question,

"How have you accomplished this?"

"I de-evolved the speech centers in the bandicoot's brain! He can only utter unintelligible gibberish!" N. Gin gloated. "If we filtered my de-evolution waves into the televisions and radios of the world, the citizens of the world would lose their ability to communicate. Then when they cannot form their armies, we will overpower them and rule the world!" Cortex seemed to be really impressed with the plan. Coco was, too, although she hated to admit it. But she had to know the full plan, just in case Cortex did decide to use it.

"So, have you devised away for us to understand them." asked Coco out of curiosity. N. Gin's mouth fell open.

"Ummm… no. I did not find that to be necessary." He grumbled. Coco laughed out loud.

"You… are… such… a… fool!" she hissed. "All languages are formed from various sounds. If everyone all of a sudden spoke using the same sounds… they would eventually rewrite their languages and learn to communicate with each other again. They could easily plan a revolt right under our noses and we would be none the wiser! Besides, even if we did know the language, we still need a plan to keep an entire world loyal to us!" Cortex looked back at N. Gin and said,

"She is right, N. Gin. This plan is unfinished. I am disappointed in you. You usually have all of plans well thought out. Get back to work and report to me, only when you have a full plan ready. But have the Bandicoot sent to me, I could use some after dinner entertainment." said Cortex. Coco shifted uncomfortably, this was it. N. Gin's hologram disappeared. Cortex excused himself to use the restroom. Coco took out her PDA and used it to scan for any listening or video devices, she found none. She then used the device to disable the hologram machine. She did not need any surprise visits if this plan was going to work. Cortex returned a few moments later. Finally, it was time for her to put her plan in motion.

"Dr. Cortex, we need to talk." She said slowly. He came and sat down. "How come that rocket does not rust or mess with his head?" Cortex chuckled.

"A few screws were knocked lose when the accident happened, but he devised a way to maintain the rocket so that it would not kill him." Coco seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. Then she looked up and Cortex almost sadly.

"Then I am afraid to tell you this, but I think N. Gin might be vying for your position." She said solemnly. She watched Cortex's face twist into a look of disbelief.

"He can't be. Not after I took him in after that horrible accident, after I gave him work when everyone else left him!" snarled Cortex. Coco shook her head sadly.

"I believe he is. After all, just a few moments ago, he tried to sell you a half baked plan. If that plan would have failed, you would have been ousted by Uka Uka, not N. Gin. He could easily come up with an even better plan and with the bandicoots out of the way, N. Gin would be unstoppable." She said with a shrug. She watched in delight as Cortex struggled with the new information. She was becoming way too sadistic, she had to get out of here soon. "I am not saying that this is true, but I am saying to keep your eyes open." Cortex nodded and Coco smiled. She had him hook, line, and sinker.

"I will be sure to keep a closer eye on N. Gin. Thank you for the warning." Cortex said. She nodded again.

"You do not have any plans of your own to go on right now?" she asked.

"I do not have any right now, I am still a little shocked from the last plan's success. Uka Uka was very pleased." Cortex said with a smile. After that statement, there came a knock at the door. Cortex told them to enter. Pinstripe entered and told him that Uka Uka wished to see him. Cortex excused himself again as the Komodo brothers came in with Crash, whose hands and feet were bound by shackles. He looked horrible, there were bags under his eyes and there was some burnt fur patches, which were undoubtedly from N. Gin's experimentation. She waved them away and they went to stand guard outside. Coco could not find any words to say. Crash just glared at her with the most hateful look. That hurt more than any physical blow could. Then Crash uttered some random strings of gibberish that she could not understand. She wanted to cry because all she could hear was his voice telling her that he loved her, wishing her a good night, whispering secrets in her eager ears. If she did not do something soon, she was going to start sobbing and blow her cover. Just as she was starting to panic, Cortex came strutting back into the room with Uka Uka. Coco instantly slipped a mask of indifference on her face.

Then everything seemed to speed up as Crash lunged for the table and grabbed the knife that was imbedded in the turkey on the table. He took a swing at her but it missed and nicked her arm. She grabbed her arm and hissed. She quickly backed away from her enraged sibling. He turned on Cortex and Uka Uka before any one could call for help and lunged at them shackles and all. Cortex hid behind Uka Uka and Crash's strike put a deep gash across one of Uka Uka's eyes. The mask howled in pain. The Komodo brothers must have finally heard the commotion, for they burst into the room and subdued Crash.

"Take that crazed animal back to the dungeon!" ordered Cortex as he stepped form behind the injured mask.

"No, wait. I have a better idea. Have you ever seen a death match, Cortex?" hissed Uka Uka. Coco's eyes widened in dismay.

"No, sir. I don't believe that I have." said Cortex, puzzled by the sudden question. The evil mask laughed and said,

"How about I show you." He then turned to Crash and said,

"You will have to survive five of cortex's minions for thirty minutes, if you do you will be free to go… but if you don't, you'll be dead." The Komodo brothers dragged him off to the dungeons again. Cortex stared in disbelief at his guardian.

"If he survives for more than thirty minutes, he'll go free! This will set us back!" he cried.

"Calm yourself, Cortex. He has to face five of your minions at the same time. There is no way for him to get out of the fight unscathed without his guardian. Even if he makes it out alive, he won't survive long enough to make it back home!!!" growled Uka Uka. Cortex grinned and then he laughed maliciously. Despite the pain in her arm, Coco went numb. Her brother was going to be executed and there was nothing she could do to stop it…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That's it! So sorry about the slow update! I know that "slow" is an understatement but I will be updating more frequently now because I have the story all planned out!! Please vote on my poll! And I am working fleshing out and reworking the earlier chapters of this story! Thanks again for reading and plz review!

Chapter 11

Experimenting

Coco watched silently as Crash neared the arena's exit. "He's going to make it!" she cheered in her mind. But what she did not know, was that Pinstripe had one shot left. The rat picked up his gun, took aim, and fired. Coco had heard the bang and watched horror struck as her brother dropped to his knees and slumped over onto the ground…