Nina stared at Stephen for the longest time. Stephen saw this and saw that the young girl was in pure and utter shock.'No,' Stephen thought, 'Please don't tell me that she figured it out.' Nina didn't care who was watching at this point. She just ran over to Stephen and hugged him tightly. Stephen, at this point, knew that he was discovered and hugged his niece back. Gus, N. Gin, Crash, and Aku-Aku turned and saw the sight taking place. N. Gin and Crash smiled, warmly. However, Gus and Aku-Aku puzzled over at the whole thing.

Almost by magic, Stephen's cloak was removed and there stood Cortex, holding Nina tightly - as if he was afraid of letting her go. Gus and Aku-Aku gasped at this.

Aku-Aku turned to them and asked, "You two knew that Stephen was Cortex?"

N. Gin answered, "The master told me. When Dingodile captured "Stephen", the master told me who he really was and asked me to keep it a secret."

Cortex perked up and stated, still hugging Nina, "I'm not your master, Nicholas!"

N. Gin just smiled. Aku-Aku then turned to Crash.

"And you," Aku-Aku questioned.

Crash added, "I just figured it out by "Stephen" having a great aim with his plasma ray gun."

Gus went over to the hugging uncle and niece. Cortex saw the boy as he pulled away from Nina and looked at the ghost student that was so fierce in his loyalty to Nina. Nina blushed at Gus and vice versa. Cortex placed his hands on Nina's shoulders and pushed her towards Gus. Nina blushed heavily as Gus hugged her. Nina returned it as they held each other.

Crash whispered, "Nice one."

Cortex smiled. Even though Cortex wasn't too thrilled over the idea of Nina dating, he knew how much Gus cared about her. 'I guess in a way, Isaac is here and guiding me to give Nina a father figure,' Cortex thought as Gus kissed Nina's forehead. Cortex smiled as they headed on their way to Cortex Castle. Back at the castle; Uka-Uka, Pinstripe, N. Brio, Ripper Roo, Koala Kong, and Polar were awaiting the arrival of Aku-Aku, Crash, Cortex, Nina, N. Gin, and Gus.

"How long are we going to wait here like this," Koala asked.

"As long as we can," Pinstripe answered.

Finally, the heroes arrived at the castle.

Uka-Uka stated, "Soon, Aku-Aku, we shall do battle and the world will know that evil is better." Uka-Uka then looked at the reformed Cortex and added, "And when I win, you are MINE due to you signing the contract."

-Flashback: 'Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped'-

It was the final battle and the two masks, Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka were in - uh - I guess you could call it hand-to-hand combat with one another. Crash and Cortex were doing the same thing. Crash had Cortex pinned down to the ground and Cortex was struggling to get free. Crash, however, was strong.

"Let me go," Cortex demanded.

"No," Crash gibbered, "Come back, Cortex. You belong on the side of good."

Cortex considered this but just as he was about to accept, Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka were coming towards them. The two masks collided into them, despite Cortex's attempt to cast a spell. In an instant, both Crash and Cortex were down. Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka stopped their fight automatically to check on them. Uka-Uka found Cortex first. Cortex had a severe head injury and it looked like his arm was at an odd angle, indicating that it might've been broken. Aku-Aku found Crash next. Crash also had the same injuries as Cortex and they were just as severe.

Being the good mask; Aku-Aku stated, "I cannot believe that we did this, my brother."

Uka-Uka responded, "And here I thought that Cortex was used to these injuries, seeing that he served in the Vietnam War."

Aku-Aku perked up at that. Dr. Neo Cortex...a war hero? Didn't seem possible in the eyes of the good magical mask. Anyways, Aku-Aku was saddened by the sight. Both Crash and Cortex were badly hurt...because of them.

Aku-Aku stated, "Uka-Uka, we are done fighting FOREVER."

Uka-Uka didn't seem fazed by this and responded, "That's fine. I already have Cortex's blood necessary for this contract."

"Contract," Aku-Aku repeated, confused.

"Yes," Uka-Uka replied, "It states that Cortex will stay loyal to the side of evil or thus fortieth his life."

Aku-Aku hissed, "You can't do that. You can't bind Cortex to evil."

Uka-Uka chuckled, evilly.

"You wanna bet," Uka-Uka said, with the utmost confidence.

"I will free Cortex from your grip," Aku-Aku promised, actually feeling sorry for the evil scientist.

After all, everyone - even people that were evil - deserved their freedom. Uka-Uka smirked, evilly.

The evil mask then said, "We shall see."

In an instant, Aku-Aku forgot what his younger brother told him for some reason or another. Aku-Aku turned to Crash and saw that the south Australian bandicoot was still hurt.

-End of Flashback-

Amie/AK1028: Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!