Chapter 10 – Shadow of the Tomb
A/N: Hey everyone, this chapter was a pretty tough one to write, but I hope you enjoy it.
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Crash hummed to himself as they wandered down the path through the bamboo forest, having left the human village about half an hour ago. He glanced back to see his sister walking back with Pura and the other two mutants not far behind. They didn't look too happy about this though. Pinstripe sent him a glare when he noticed his gaze making Crash look away awkwardly.
There was still no sign of those blue threads anywhere, but he knew there had to be one somewhere.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Dingodile asked skeptically.
"Hey, finding these portals isn't easy as you think," Coco defended him. "I believe," she murmured doubtfully under her breath. Since she didn't see the blue threads, she had no idea how her brother knew where the portals were hidden.
"We'll probably end up in a ditch somewhere," Pinstripe huffed and both siblings glared at him.
Just as Crash turned his gaze back to the path, he froze up and spread his arms wide to prevent anyone from passing him, nearly making everyone bump into each other.
"Why are we stopping?" Dingodile grumbled behind him.
Crash grinned at the sight of the thread, but then frowned and looked both ways, not knowing which way exactly it was coming from. Glancing back at the expectant gazes of the other mutants, he made the choice and went left.
They went through the bamboo and began walking down a slope to find a small creek in their way. Crash saw the thread going across it.
"Is this where we should go?" Coco asked. Crash nodded hesitantly.
"Wait, seriously?! I'm not going in there!" Pinstripe growled.
"Why? Are you afraid you'll get all wet?" Dingodile teased.
Pinstripe stared at him. "I'm really starting to wonder if you're actually on my side," he deadpanned.
"Adding to my previous statement, I wouldn't also pass a chance to mess around with someone," he said with a grin. Since his hands were still tied and couldn't smack him, Pinstripe bumped him with his shoulder.
"Will you two quit bickering?" Coco asked, looking at the running water in thought. There didn't seem to be any way for them to jump over it. She sighed. "We're gonna have to cross it,"
The two siblings stepped into the water. It was deep enough to pass their knees. Crash gritted his teeth while trying hard to walk through the water until he made it to the other side.
Once they both on the other side, they turned for the remaining two. "Well? Aren't you coming?" Coco called.
Exchanging looks with Dingodile, Pinstripe stepped back. "Have the honor," he said.
Glaring at him, Dingodile began crossing the creek, looking beyond jittery with Pinstripe right behind him. The two ended up taking a bit longer than the bandicoots before making it eventually to the other side, but a fish suddenly jumped out of the water and Pinstripe, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the water.
He sat up and glared at them as the fish swam away, suit drenched. "I hate you all,"
After walking away from the creek for several minutes, the four reached a temple. There was a giant bell near it along with a well. Crash perked up when saw the threads gathering up at the temple's door.
Crash quickly began running up the stairs, causing everyone to hurry after him.
"Hey! Wait up!"
Crash continued running until he made it to the intersection point. He touched it and gasped, feeling heat passing through his body and opening the new portal. The force behind it caused the large bell to ring and blew the leaves on the floor around.
He panted, clutching his hand. It was strange that doing this was getting more and more draining every time he did it. It certainly didn't hurt as much as it did now than back at the golden fields out of the castle.
Looking back, he saw the other two mutants had bewildered looks on their faces.
"Well, you weren't kidding," Dingodile whistled while Pinstripe huffed.
Crash rolled his eyes and turned to his sister to see her hugging her tiger friend. She murmured something to him softly before letting him sprint away. Crash walked over to her in concern, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine, let's go," she said, reaching for his hand only for both of them to cry out when Dingodile ran right through them.
"Ha! See you later, suckers!" he exclaimed before jumping into the portal with Pinstripe.
"How surprising," Coco muttered, taking her brother's hand and jumping after them.
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Somewhere in a faintly lit room, Dr. Cortex woke up with a light headache. "Ugh, what happened?" he looked around and realized his surroundings had changed. This was not the forest they once were in. "Oh no. No, no, no!" he muttered frantically. Where am I?!
Struggling to stand up briefly, he stumbled over to see a glowing bars, blocking his way. He tried touching it with his finger only to yelp as it zapped him. It finally struck the scientist then.
He was in a cell!
"Dr. Cortex?"
The man blinked and glanced over to see his assistant hovering next to him. "Brio?"
"You're finally awake. You've been unconscious for quite some time," Brio stated.
"Where are we? What happened?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Brio sighed and looked down to his feet. "Something must have gone wrong with N. Tropy's Time Twister. We got scattered through time from what I figured and-"
"Hey! Quiet, you two!" A man in futuristic looking armor shouted from the corridor, walking up to stand in front of them with his gun.
"Hold on a moment. What are we imprisoned for?" Cortex asked, scowling.
"For using unknown and unauthorized quantum technology," the guard replied.
"He's talking about the Time Twister, sir," Brio whispered.
"I know what he's talking about!" Cortex snapped back. He then turned to the guard with a nervous grin. "Listen, this is all just a big misunderstanding. We're not guilty of anything!"
"That is for the Great Council to decide. Until then, you would remain here under high surveillance," he said and walked away before Cortex could get another word out.
"I can't believe this! They're just gonna lock us up here for simply owning a time machine?" Cortex groaned.
"Well, to be fair, they are right in doing so considering what we were using it for," Brio murmured only to flinch from the glare he got from the doctor. He grinned. "B-but look on the bright side, sir!"
Cortex stared at him. "And what would that be?!" he exclaimed in exasperation.
"At least Master Uka-Uka isn't here to kill us for failing him," he offered weakly.
Cortex turned to the laser bars and sighed in defeat. "True,"
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Crash and Coco cried out as they fell on the floor of a dark corridor. Crash immediately took notice of the paintings on the wall and shuddered, realizing exactly where they landed this time.
The pyramids.
"What is this?! This isn't our home!" They looked up to see Dingodile glaring down at them, taping his foot on the floor.
"You do remember that we were living in a warehouse, right?" Pinstripe asked, baffled by why his partner would be so eager to go back to that dumpster of a home.
"Well, if you two weren't in such a rush to ditch us back there, we would have told you that we have no control over where the portals take us," Coco huffed, glaring back at him. "I only know that we seem to be moving forward in history with each time leap,"
"You got to be kidding me. You mean when need to go looking for more now?" Dingodile groaned.
Crash shrugged and motioned for them to follow along. They might as well get going now.
"This is so cool," He heard his sister whisper as she admired the walls. He rolled his eyes, but then yelped when he heard her growl angrily. He turned to see what was wrong and winced at the sight of Cortex's face drawn on the wall.
Dingodile did the equivalent of raising his hands defensively despite both of them being tied up when her furious gaze found him. "Hey, don't look at me. It was the boss' idea!"
"Right, because we you two did back at that village was so different," Coco argued.
"It's just hard not to abuse your power when you know nobody around can stop you. You wouldn't understand, little girl," Pinstripe shrugged, smirking. The bandicoot wanted to yell at him, but refused to acknowledge what he said and walked ahead fuming.
Crash stopped everyone when saw the first trap. Beams of light were shining down on the path. Crash eyed the holes in the wall nervously.
"Oh no, I remember this," Coco gulped behind him. "We need to walk cross without getting caught in the light or we'll get shot with darts,"
"How does that even work?!" Dingodile muttered over the two of them.
"Eh," Crash shrugged. He then nervously began stepping through the lights, squeezing himself between them without touching them. No mask for protection. One hit and he will be done for. Snapping his eyes shut, he leapt the rest of the way and landed on the ground safely. Crash checked himself for any damage and then cheered.
"Um, hello! You're forgetting something!" Dingodile said gently before yelling. "How am I supposed to get past that?!"
"Uh….oh," Crash murmured, realizing that Dingodile was much larger than him so squeezing his way through would be close to impossible.
"Why don't just run for it? It'll be like the old days," Pinstripe said and Dingodile glared at him once he realized what he was talking about.
"Shut it," He growled before nervously turning to the trap and without a thought he rushed into the lights, shrieking when darts shoot from the wall. He leapt and fell on his chin, barely making it. He groaned. "If the rest of this place is like that then please send me back to that village," he grumbled.
Crash shook his head and reached his hand out to help him up. Dingodile glared at him and pushed himself up, moving away from him.
Sighing, Crash turned to wait for his sister and Pinstripe.
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"Wait, do you hear that?" Coco suddenly asked once they entered a new room. The group stopped and listened. Faint thumbing could be heard in the distance.
"It sounds like….it's coming from there?" Pinstripe realized.
The three turned to the wall in question as the noise got louder and louder.
"I don't like this…." Coco murmured to them, edging back a little.
Something suddenly burst through the wall, making them all cry out in fright.
"Finally!" Koala Kong muttered, flexing his arms in relief. The group relaxed a little.
"Do you have any idea how close I was to having a heart attack?" Pinstripe scolded him.
"Aw, were you scared that much?" Dingodile teased. His companion raised a brow.
"I can see your hands still shaking, friend,"
The other mutant saw this and quickly hid them behind his back.
"Good to know I'm not the only one stuck here," Koala Kong stated with a hand on his hip before noticing the bandicoots. "And look what we have here. I won't complain though. I've been aching to crush you brats into dust for quite a while now," he said solemnly, bringing his fists together. Crash and Coco tensed up.
"As much as I hate to say this, but we kind have a truce going on between us right now, pal," Dingodile said.
Koala Kong raised both brows in confusion. "And the binds?" he asked, gesturing to their hands.
"Well, it's not like you guys are the most trustworthy bunch, you know," Coco spoke up with an eye roll, meeting his glare.
"Shame," Koala Kong grumbled. "Because I really would have like a rematch for that last encounter in Cortex's castle,"
Crash wanted to face palm. Why does everyone need to have a bone to pick with him?
"Look, forget about that. We're trying to find a way out of this place. Do you know where the exit is?" His sister cut to the chase.
Koala Kong shrugged. "If I did, would I really still stick around here?" he then gave a rare smile. "However, I did manage to find something just as great,"
He reached into his pocket to the glow that they hadn't caught notice of until now and took out a power crystal. "Amazing, right?"
"Whoa! That's terrific!" Dingodile exclaimed, eyes glinting.
Pinstripe hummed along. If they do manage to back home after all then they still had a chance to go forth with their plan!
Coco stared at the crystal in his hands in surprise, but there was also something about it that set off warning bells in her. She just couldn't figure out why-
A sudden orange blur pushed past her and jumped into the air, snatching the crystal right from the larger mutant's hands. "Hey, that's mine!"
"And you were complaining about us being untrustworthy?" Pinstripe shouted to Coco only to be surprised by the look of dread on her face. "What's up with you?"
"Oh no," Coco could only murmur.
Crash finally turned to face them and caught them off guard with an almost feral look in his eyes. "What's up with him?" Dingodile exclaimed.
Crash snarled at them before sprinting away down the hole Koala Kong came from.
"W-what was that all about?" Dingodile stammered.
"No, no, no! I can't believe I forgot!" Coco groaned, burying her face into her hands. "This can't be happening again,"
"What's gotten into your brother?" Pinstripe pressed on.
"Look, there is no time! We need to find Crash before something bad happens!" Coco tried to hurry after him only to notice the three weren't following her. "Don't just stand there. Help me!"
"Oh, and what reason do we have to help you?" Pinstripe asked smugly and then his tone went bitter. "Or him,"
"Because he's you're only way to go back home?" Coco reminded in frustration. He scowled at that.
"Wait, what am I missing here? What are you guys talking about?" Koala Kong asked, feeling completely lost.
"I'll tell you once you guys come with me!" the girl said urgently.
"Fine, but!" Dingodile held out his tied up hands to her. "You need to free us first,"
Coco looked at the binds and then gave him an un impressed look. "You do realize you could have just bitten them off, right?"
The two stared at her in loss and then Pinstripe hit his face with his hands.
Wasting no more time, the four mutants then began running after the fleeing bandicoot through the corridors. Glaring back at them, Crash jumped over a gap in the ground and slid over the oily floor.
"Stop right now!" Coco remained hot on his heels and leapt over the hole, struggling to balance herself on the slippery floor. She gasped when she saw her brother gripping the level at the end of the hallway with a long grin. "Crash, don't you dare!" Coco warned. He pulled the lever and a massive stone block fell from the ceiling, charging toward them. "Watch out!"
Coco made herself jump onto the block and land on the other side with grunt just to see the next one coming her way. She dared a glance back to the other. Koala Kong was handling them easily, using his hand to push himself over each one while Dingodile and Pinstripe were struggling with them, being the least athletic out of them.
Coco scowled and used her momentum to slide across the floor, barely avoiding a block that nearly crushed her underneath its weight. "Got you!" she reached for brother only for him to slip away again. "After him!"
"Yeah, that's we've been doing!" Pinstripe huffed, panting.
Ignoring him, Coco hurried down the ruins to find herself in a vast room. "Crash?" she called out, looking around warily.
"Where….did he go?" Dingodile asked tiredly after catching up with her and the others.
"I have no idea. I just saw him go in-"
She cut off as the floor disappeared beneath their feet and they all plummeted through the air, screaming and landing in a chamber filled with sand.
"Ow…" Coco looked up just in time to see her brother grinning down at them from above with the crystal in his hand before walking away. "I can't believe this," she said dejectedly. She had been so close to saving him….
"Ugh, my back," Pinstripe grunted. He then turned to Coco and huffed. "Alright, little girl. Would you mind explaining to us what's wrong with that brother of yours?"
Feeling the gazes of the other two on her, she sighed. She really didn't want to discuss this, especially with their enemies. "It's the crystals. Something about them makes Crash act like…that. We need to get it away from him or it will only get worse," she said, running a hand through her hair.
"Yet you kept stealing them from us all this time?" Dingodile asked with a raised brow.
"We didn't know back then!" Coco snapped and then her expression fell a little. "I should have known something was wrong, but I kept convincing myself that he was fine. It's because him becoming like that before that the Twister got destroyed in the first place," she said, more to herself than them. She still found part of the blame on herself for not acting sooner and wouldn't deny it.
The three looked like they wanted to retort, but didn't know what to say. Pinstripe grumbled. "Well, you should've-"
"Wait, do you hear that?" Koala Kong suddenly said, causing them all to quiet down. The crumbling sound soon returned, coming from holes in the walls of the chamber. It wasn't long until snakes began slithering out of the darkness toward them.
"Great! Just when I thought this can't get any worse," Pinstripe muttered.
Coco took a step back and gasped when she saw a skull buried in the sand. She swallowed. "We need to get out of here. Now!"
Without a second thought, the four mutants scrambled away as the serpents continued advancing toward them through the sand. Coco looked around frantically for a way out, but there were no exits anywhere. She began to grow desperate as they found themselves at a dead end.
"We're doomed!" Dingodile stammered.
"No, we're not!" Coco countered, racking her brain for any solution. Something then caught her attention. There was seemed to be something up above, like an observing spot. "Up there! We need to get up there!" she yelled, pointing at her discovery.
"Are you kidding me?! How are we supposed to get there?" Pinstripe muttered. Koala Kong suddenly grabbed him in his massive hand.
"Like this," he said and without giving him the chance to protest, he sent him screaming up to the balcony.
"Next," Koala Kong turned to Dingodile.
"Wait, wait. No! Hold on a second-" he didn't have time to finish as he followed his partner up on the balcony.
Coco knew what was coming next, but she still couldn't help the nervous yelp that escaped her once she was grabbed next."Ahhh!" She closed her shut and screamed as she felt the wind blow past her and landed on top of something squishy.
"Get off me!" Dingodile muttered.
"S-sorry," Coco stammered. The ground beneath them shook briefly and when she turned, she saw Koala Kong walking up to them stoically like usual, though she saw a faint smirk on his lips.
Deciding not dwell on it, she turned to the archway, thinking of her brother and feeling a pit in her stomach. They needed to find the crystal before his condition gets any worse or if he leaves this time period. Then they will truly be stuck here for good.
"Come on, we need to hurry!"
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Crash watched as the four fall down into the trap pleased and then waved the crystal mockingly at them before walking away to leave them to their doom. His brows suddenly ceased and he glanced back to the pit again, feeling his chest tightening for some reason, but he crushed that feeling as fast it came.
Now was not the time to hesitate. He had places to go to. There were more crystals out there and he was going to find every single one of them. He already experienced what it's like to have the power of one crystal, so having many more will give him power beyond their imagination.
Then he will go after Cortex and make him pay for what he did to him.
The final thought left a dark scowl on his face and without a second thought he began venturing deeper into the tomb in search for the next portal.
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A/N: I can confidently say that there are two or three chapters left for this story so be ready!