Chapter 11: Familiar Faces
After retrieving the Mask of Willpower from the Luong Estuary, our heroes made it back to Pridwen, through teleportation provided by the mask itself, named Gabrielle. Gabrielle was the name of the Maverick whose soul was trapped inside the mask our heroes found, and not else was known about Gabrielle yet.
But if there was one thing, she was quite the curious one.
"So how did the yellow guy with the N on his head turn out to be so ugly?" Gabrielle curiously asked our heroes, as they returned to the mansion. Cortex had an angry scowl throughout the entire walk.
"I've sent a letter to Cortex's parents, asking the same thing," replied Tropy, stroking his whiskers. "They haven't replied yet, so I can only assume they don't know either."
"That's because you sent the letter to the wrong address..." stated Cortex, who was holding the lifeless Uka. "Which is why I had to send the letter to the right address myself!"
"Oh really? And did your parents ever respond?"
"Of course they did, why would they leave their precious son hanging?"
"What did the your parents say in response to Tropy's letter?" asked Crash.
"They said they tried to get the doctors to fix my face, but the doctors refused to take any chances."
Realizing that he just said this out loud, Cortex would remain silent until our heroes - and the Komodo Bros - returned home.
Which didn't take them that long, as they arrived at Grantor's mansion immediately. There they found N. Trance and N. Gin, cleaning off the mansion of toilet paper.
"It's best if none of you ask," N. Gin told our heroes, really wishing he was somewhere else right now. "Also, we got some new guests while you guys were away, hehe!"
"These 'guests' you speak of better not be annoyances," said Grutika. "I just wanna go in, say a little words, and leave...got an speech on astrology to prepare for."
"No worries, my fox friend, the guests aren't that bad," assured N. Trance. "You'll see eventually, after you see your new room."
"New...room? I'm not gonna stay here, am I?"
"Why don't we head on inside and see for ourselves?" replied Tropy, as our heroes went up the walkway to the front door. Crash opened the door...
...and saw Tiny in the living room, chugging a gallon of milk, with the minions, Chick, and Stew cheering him on.
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug..." they all chanted in unison, until Tiny finished off the entire gallon. The tiger threw the gallon unto the floor, and flexed his muscles as the others cheered.
"Now let's see if he can hold in the milk without throwing up..." said Roo, as the minions waited. Seconds passed, and Tiny had his mouth close shut...and did nothing. "Yes, twenty seconds, that's a new record right there!"
"Tiny don't feel so good..." the tiger held his mouth as he ran away from the living room, running to the nearest bathroom. At that moment, the minions finally saw that our heroes have returned.
"I see you guys have been doing productive things while we were away..." remarked Cortex.
"Yes, Master Cortex, you see, we actually did do productive things while you were at the estuary!" exclaimed N. Gin, rubbing his hands together.
"I gained a few extra pounds from weight lifting!" stated Kong, flexing his muscles.
"I watered all the plants in Grantor's garden!" stated N. Trance, expecting the heroes to see his work.
"I helped the former students move into their new rooms!" stated Dingodile, eschewing his helpful side.
"And I washed all of your clothes, just for you, Cortex!" stated N. Gin, making Cortex judge him greatly.
"Okay that's just creepy," remarked Crash, before he started to furrow his brow. "Wait, did you say something about...former students?"
"Forget about them, Crash, they're not important," replied Cortex, as he took out the two vials Sitting Droplet had given him. The mad scientist motioned Crunch to place Nina and Uka on the couch. "What is important is that I revive Uka and Nina at once!"
"You know, we could've done this before we returned to the mansion," Tropy offered his two cents.
"Shut up Tropy, I don't need your useless commentary! Save your snarky comments for another time!"
"Hey, I'm just saying, don't get mad..."
With the vials in his possession, Cortex would pour the concoctions into Uka and Nina's mouths, allowing them to swallow. (Well, just Nina, since she had a throat.) Once the deed was done, Cortex took a step back, hoping the potions worked.
And then, Nina's eyelids slowly lifted open, before her eyes opened wide. She looked around, surprised to be back at Grantor's mansion.
"Wh-what happened?" the goth girl wondered, as she rubbed her head. "Back so soon? Did we find the mask already?"
"We sure did, my niece!" smiled Cortex, as he happily hugged Nina. "Or are you my daughter? No matter, I'm just happy that you're awake again!"
"Eh, I'm glad that I'm back in the city now, to be honest." Nina looked up, and saw something that prompted her to tap Cortex on his shoulder. "Uncle Cortex...you might wanna turn around?"
"What for?" Cortex turned around, albeit slowly, and shrieked at what he saw.
There, floating in his presence, was none other than his guardian mask, Uka.
"You stupid idiot...how long have you let me remain unconscious?!" the floating mask boomed, scaring the pants off of Cortex. "Tell me, TELL ME!"
"Ever since our new adventure began..." Cortex meekly replied, cowering in fear just in case.
"A new adventure started, and you didn't tell me? Man, I feel so left out..."
"We even got our first mask!" exclaimed Pasadena, as Crash held up Gabrielle for Uka to see. That did nothing but make Uka even angrier.
"What, already? Cortex, how long has this adventure last?"
"Only a few days..." Uka grew even angrier, letting out an angry scream as he was cloaked in fire.
"A few days is too much! How could you do this to me, Cortex, why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"...because you've been unconscious?" Uka angrily fired a fireball at Cortex, making the mad scientist jump out of the way.
"It appears that Cortex's guardian mask still maintains his temper..." Grutika whispered to Zola, and Uka was quick to notice.
"And what's this? You've forced these former pupils of Chantex to tag along with you for your adventure? And you never even bothered to invite ME?! Dr. Cortex, I feel extremely hurt!"
"For the record, we were kinda forced to work with Cortex," stated Zola. "Or I was forced, rather. Now I understand what his allies have to go through..."
"Ah, Uka, I see you're finally awake! Such perfect timing!"
Coming down the stairs was Grantor, along with Brio. The two arrived in the living room, delighted to see Uka floating again...and frowning again, for some reason.
"You two again..." grumbled Uka, who figured he would be seeing Grantor's face once more. "...guess this means we're off to saving the island, aren't we?"
"Not just the island...the entire universe as we know it," replied Grantor, as Uka's eyes widened. "The evil force we have to deal with is the Dark Confederation - the same group that rendered you lifeless - and according to the prophecy scrolls, they wish to destroy the universe entirely..."
"You hear that Cortex, a bunch of evil scrubs have better evil plans than you! How does that make you feel?!"
"...fine, I guess, I've grown to accept that everyone has a better evil plan than me," replied a self-depreciating Cortex. "Even high school bullies can come up with better plans than I could!"
"Has Uka been picking on Cortex the entire time?" Brio asked the others.
"It's been nothin' but the Cortex pity party downstairs, as far as we're concerned," replied Pasadena.
"I can see...anyways, why don't Grantor and I show you whats new upstairs? There's a bunch of familiar faces living with us upstairs!"
"Familiar...faces?" asked Gabrielle, garnering the attention of everyone. "Ooh, are these familiar faces my friends? They're still alive, right? Please tell me they're still alive..."
"Holy smokes Crash, you found the Mask of Willpower!" exclaimed Grantor, acting like Crash didn't have a single chance at finding the mask in the first place. "Not that I never doubted you or anything."
"Hi Grantor! Long time, no see! Do you know where my friends are?"
"Hello to you too, Gabrielle...and no, I don't know about the whereabouts of your friends. But I can easily tell that you've have made new friends with the heroes already!"
"Yes, well, some of them...but I won't be saying names!"
"FLYING KARATE KICK!" a loud voice shouted from upstairs, followed by a loud, quick thud. Our heroes - and Grutika and Zola - were quick to recognize who this voice belonged to.
"Please don't tell me..." moaned Coco, as Grantor gave a knowing smile.
"I think it's about time I showed up the familiar faces," the elderly badger said.
Grantor would lead everyone upstairs, where the bedrooms where. The badger took the group to one bedroom, and inside it was Behrab...and Luigi, a former pupil of Chantex, who wielded the element of strength.
"WICKED LEG DROP!" the Taiwanese teen shouted, performing a leg drop on the punching bag below him. Once he got up, and looked towards the door and saw our heroes, he did a double take, before falling backwards unto the floor.
"Acted like you seen a ghost, mate," chuckled Behrab, before looking up at Crash and company. "Welcome back to the city, mateys - I see you've found the mask you were looking for."
"Yup, sure did - and we kinda ran into the Dark Confederation along the way," replied Crash. "But they were no match for us. Sent them running away!"
"So you had a chance encounter with the Dark Confederation...hope you didn't take them lightly. Those blokes aren't the kind of folk you would want to..."
"Crash Bandicoot, nice to see you again!" Luigi spoke up, as he hopped up off the floor and ran over to greet Crash, bowing in front of the bandicoot. "Same to you, Coco Bandicoot, Crunch Bandicoot, Dr. Neo Cortex, Dr. Nefarious Tropy, Nina Cortex, Fake Crash Bandicoot, Yaya Panda, Ebenezer Von Clutch, and Pasadena O'Possum!" Luigi would bow to each person as he said their name.
"He's still a little extra, I see," Von Clutch quietly said to Zola and Grutika.
"Unfortunately," responded Zola, with a heavy sigh.
Grantor would take the group to the next room, which held Charles, Trent, and Zeferino. The three best friends appeared to be setting up a telescope near the window, only to stop their work when they saw Crash and company.
"Howdy," Zeferino waved to the group, still very terse as always.
"Greetings, Crash Bandicoot and friends," Charles greeted our heroes. "Trent appraised me about your arrival in Keystone Island, and I must say, it was an arrival quite expected..."
"I'm sure he did tell you..." remarked Crash. "...it's also nice seeing you again by the way, Charles. Your vocabulary is on point, as usual."
"Prime Minister Holt believed that since the former pupils of Chantex were available, and willing to help, they should be abiding with you for your adventure," explained Grantor, as Trent and his friends resumed setting up the telescope. "Which is why he recommended that the pupils live with you at the mansion, for special purposes."
"So that means we have to live at this mansion until Crash saves the world?" asked Grutika, to which Grantor nodded his head. "Man, I thought being stuck in the same academy as Luigi was the worst..."
"FLYING LEG KICK!" shouted Luigi, followed by the sound of glass breaking and a loud thud outside. "...I'm okay!" Luigi shouted, albeit in pain.
"I'll ensure that Luigi will keep his distance away from you two, if that's fine with you both," said Grantor, before continuing the tour. "On to the next room..."
The next room had two more former Chantex pupils - Xavier and Keyon. Xavier was resting against the wall, while Keyon was practicing his basketball handles.
"Hi, mon!" Keyon waved to our heroes, while still dribbling the basketball. "You're just in time - look at these great handles! They're pretty neat, don't you think so Xavier?"
"If I gave a crap about your 'handles', I'd say yes," replied Xavier, who had his eyes closed. "But frankly, you're cutting into my meditation time..."
"Don't be such a party pooper...if you need to meditate so badly, then why don't you go downstairs?"
"Because Cortex's stupid minions are there...they're hazardous for my ears...and my sanity..."
"...why don't I show you the other two rooms?" Grantor asked the group, as he led them down the hallway to the next room. Inside of it was Mildred, who was reading a book.
"Miss Mildred, the heroes have made it back safely to Pridwen!" Grantor said to the brunette, who looked up and smiled briefly before she resumed reading her book. "She's been reading that book intensely since she got here..." Grantor whispered to the others. "...we should probably leave her be."
"So which room will we be staying in?" Zola asked Grantor, once the group was out of Mildred's room.
"You will be staying with Mildred and Cynzia, while Grutika will be roommates with Inez. Inez is running some long-distance errands for me, by the way."
"In that case, where's Cynzia?" asked Crash, recalling the girl that obsessed over him in his last adventure.
"I'm right behind you, Crash..."
Crash immediately turned around, and saw Cynzia, doing a double take. The bandicoot screamed as he jumped back, nearly landing in the arms of Crunch.
"So close..." frowned Crunch with his hands open, missing a great opportunity.
"Dang it girl, why'd you have to scare me like that?" frowned Crash, as he got up off the floor. "Could've given me a heart attack..."
"I'm so sorry...I didn't intend to scare you, honest," apologized Cynzia. "I just didn't know how to greet you. We haven't seen each other in..."
"...four years, yeah, I know. Been quite a while, Actually, more than a while...eh."
"Promise me you'll keep your hands off of Crash, Cynzia," Grantor said sternly to the girl. "He does have an important job to do, after all..."
"No worries Grantor, I've learned my lesson from last time," assured Cynzia, before smiling at Crash. "I'll give him the personal space he needs."
"Should've given me that personal space a long time ago..." remarked Crash.
"Hey, is this the part where we all laugh after someone says something funny?" asked Fake Crash, as literally no one responded. "Well how about it, you guys?" Fake Crash started laughing, and nobody else followed. Just silence.
"How about we catch up on things downstairs?" Cynzia asked Crash.
"Sounds fine with me," replied Crash, as everyone except for Fake Crash head downstairs. Fake Crash was still laughing away, until he realized he was all alone.
"Um, guys, where'd you go?" the bandicoot wondered, as he looked around, before walking down the hallway. "Don't tell me you're playing hide-and-seek without me! Man, why am I always the one finding the others..."
We now take you to a random part of Keystone Island, in some forestation, where some shady activity was taking place - involving the Dark Confederation. Sebille was standing by herself in the forest, looking at her watch.
"Thought they'd be here by now..." the young woman frowned after she checked her watch. Her impatience was growing with each and every second.
Suddenly a shadow was walking towards Sebille, and the shadow happened to belong to a person wearing a blue-and-black jumpsuit. No, wait...there were two people wearing a jumpsuit. One was blue, and the other was red. Both men were carrying a scythe.
"Sorry we kept you waiting," the blue jumpsuit person apologized to Sebille. If you read The Dark Fate, you might know who this individual was.
"Strazio...Nemesio...about time you made it," Sebille said to the blue and red jumpsuit dudes, respectively. How on earth was Strazio alive again, considering the events of the previous story? That remained to be seen. And who was Nemesio, could be be Strazio's brother?!
"Time is but a virtue, dear Sebille. Nemesio and I both had to take our time to reach this location. Not everything has to be with haste, you know."
"Yeah, especially when you're stuck dragging the newbie here!" complained Nemesio, seemingly the more exuberant jumpsuit fellow. "Kept crying about this and that, I just wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and..."
"At ease, Nemesio...we don't want to hurt Sebille's new traveling partner. Not after Duri was killed at the Luong Estuary, which I witnessed firsthand."
"Witnessing a fellow Confederation member die, good for you! Must make you feel so special, huh?! You want a badge of honor, or something?!"
"Don't make me put you on a leash..." Nemesio folded his arms, before bringing his attention back to Sebille. "Are you ready to see your new companion?"
"I've been ready since like an hour ago," replied Sebille. "Just bring him out already!"
"Whatever you say...Bart, come over here!"
A man wearing traditional Dark Confederation garb showed up, appearing out from the trees. But something was different about him...he was wearing a hoodie, with the hood over his head, and strangely enough, a mask with a smiley face on it.
"Sebille, this is your new traveling partner, Bart," said Strazio, as Bart held out his hand. Sebille shook it, reluctantly. "He's the newcomer our Alpha spoke about."
"I can already tell that we're gonna be BEST FRIENDS!" Bart exclaimed to Sebille.
"He's scaring me already," remarked Sebille, quickly retracting her hand.
"You should've seen him on the way here..." mumbled Nemesio, arms still folded.
"Nemesio and I must go now - we have some more duties to fulfill," Strazio told Sebille. "Make sure you treat Bart nicely."
And with that, Strazio leaped up into the air, with Nemesio following suit. Sebille was left alone with Bart, who was moving around with excitement.
Up in the sky flapping her wings, another one of Chantex's former pupils, Inez, had watched the entire exchange...before flying back to Pridwen.
End of Chapter 11