"We should be safe here." Aku Aku began to glow again. A massive monsoon stormed into the archipelago, forcing Crash and Aku Aku to take refuge in one of the hundreds of openings to the ruins. The torrential rain created a deafening wall of water. They moved farther back into the ruins. Aku Aku focused his lasers to light the once burned-out torches along the walls. Pictures lined the walls, detailing many faces of the islands' ancestors. Crash sat down to finally catch his breath from recent events, but as he did, he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He dug down into his pocket and pulled out a sparkling, clear gem. Aku Aku looked on with awe.

"You managed to steal the gem from Papu Papu? That's very impressive." Crash set the gem on the ground between them, and it started to hover above the ground ever so slighty, refracting light across the ruins as in began to spin. "There are 49 of these gems around the islands," Aku Aku mentioned, "each one is said to create a stepping stone, leading to another world. Those who travel to the world are confronted by a being who exists outside of time." Aku Aku looked into the void past the light of the torches. "This being may be able to help us save Tawna and the islands. I think we should continue deeper into the ruins." Crash nodded in agreeement. The two began to delve deeper into the stone tunnel.

"A great kingdom once thrived here." Aku Aku began examining the pictures along the wall as they walked. "These islands were the foundation for all life on Earth, ruled under a single king. He protected the islands from the demons of the skies with 25 crystals, which harnessed a great power when united. My brother and I encountered one of these Sky Demons. The mighty beast almost destroyed us both until we were saved by the King." Crash stopped walking, and motioned for Aku Aku to stop, too. In front of them was a collapse in the tunnel, which had opened up ruins even deeper down. Aku Aku was perplexed. "There was more?"

The two of them began to slowly make their way down into the second set of ruins. The appearance differed greatly from the ruins above them; each wall contained strange symbols from floor to ceiling. The stone was grey with soot and damp from the trickle of rain from above.

"I-I've never seen this place." Aku Aku began to look back up from where they had come down from. The ceiling around the collapse was covered in claw marks with a deep brown tint. The hole did not have clean edges, but rather, heavily textured from being chipped away. "The roof did not collapse on itself...this room was broken out of." Both Crash and Aku Aku began to nervously explore the entirety of the hidden chambers.

"After this room, it would probably be best to head back out," Aku Aku murmured. They poked their heads into the final room. Inside was a massive room, filled with gold and stone. A lone throne sat in the middle, adorned in very precious jewels. The air was heavy and hot, unlike the other rooms. Looking down, the two saw a multitude of exotic swords and shields, covered in both rust and soot. Amongst the rubbled remains of weaponry were several dessimated and oddly proportioned skeletons, which, if stood up, could easily reach eight feet. Aku Aku was speechless. He moved back from the skeletons in fear.

"Crash, what you're standing by...are the remains of the Sky Demons." Crash immediately stepped back. Their skulls were small and black, with two very large teeth protruding from them. The eye sockets were long and narrow and seemed to watch them after every step they took. The shoulders were only beaten by their enormous claws in size. Crash noticed that one of the claws had a glisten in it. He walked over to it and attempted to open the claw. As he struggled, a gem fell out and, as the previous one had done, began to float on its own and slowly spin.

"I don't understand," Aku Aku trembled, "why are there so many of them? How did they obtain a gem?" Aku Aku was then interrupted by an echoed sound of laughter coming from behind them.

"M-my n-n-name is-s..hehehehe...R-Ripper R-Roo...hahaha...let's p-play a l-little...heehee while!" He broke back into a maniacal laughter as he hopped to the two of them. He seemed to have been a kangaroo, wrapped up in a strain jacket. His tongue was lying out of his mouth, and his eyes never seemed to focus in the same direction.

"Cortex must have sent him after us," Aku Aku stated in a now serious tone. "Let's take care of him before any more cronies show up."