Chapter Twenty Five
Factory Beat

"N. Gin!" Cortex roared into the communicator. He knew it. He just knew it that Crash was in the castle from the moment there had been an explosion in the lab below. And the alarm warnings from the factory indicated some of them had entered the fatory. "N. Gin! Where are you?"
The answer came through the static speaker, whining, "Yes, Dr. Cortex. I am here!"
"N. Gin, the bandicoots are attacking!" Cortex roared into the receiver, enraged, a vein twitching above his eye. "I do hope those mechs of yours are ready!"
There was a chuckle from the speaker, "Yes Dr. Cortex. The SwiftStryke is 100 operational, and engines operating at 110 percent! The Neonator has been completed and is completing its charge. It will be operational in approximately 25 minutes."
Grabbing his hair from the sides of his head, Cortex had to resist the temptation to rip it out. The doctor growled and groaned, before releasing his hair, breathing deeply as he turned behind him, to a figure lazing behind him. "Hey!" Cortex roared as he pointed accusingly. "Who gave you permission to enter here?"
Snickering, the intruder continued leaning in the chair, twirling his tuning fork in his metallic arm. "It would seem Uka-Uka has lost a little faith in you my dear Cortex," Dr. N. Tropy sneered.
"Rubbish!" Cortex snapped, glaring at N. Tropy as he pointed his finger accusingly at the master of time. "If you are so worried about pleasing Uka-Uka, why don't you help slow those bandicoots down then?"
Laughing as he stood up, the power suit of Tropy chugging away as the tall man towered over Cortex, Tropy snapped, "You want me to waste my time with those little rats? As if I'd ever…" Tropy paused as he watched the screen, it showed for a few moments Crash and Crunch tearing down the hallways of the castle, Crunch smashing away the doors. N. Tropy rubbed his chin for a few moments in consideration. "On second thought, I have all the time in the world for that brute. I believe its time for his final hour to be up…"
"Good," Cortex snapped to N. Tropy. He pointed to the door, "Meet them in the Great Hall. And if you know what's good for both of us, you'll end this little game once and for all."
"Whatever…" N. Tropy shrugged as he walked out of the room, completely disregarding the little scientist as he clanked out of the room, to the Great Hall.
"Dr. Cortex! Dr. Cortex!" N. Gin's voice whined through the speaker as the room light up through the window, the wind and rain beginning to pelt against the glass. "There are intruders in the factory. There are…"
There was a small scuffle before a calmer voice snapped, "It seems Uncle, that two of those fuzz-balls have found their way into the factory. I do believe they may want to stop the mechs, since one of them appears to be that brainy blonde…"
"Coco!" Cortex slammed his fist in anger. That was the last thing he needed. "Get those mechs all powered up and ready to go… We've wasted too much time. It's time we got this show on the road!"
"Yes uncle!" There, was a clunk and the sound of N. Gin whining as Nina Cortex snapped, "Get over it and to work… Over and out!"
"Cute kid," smirked a voice at the door. Turning, his eyes furious, Cortex glowered to Vin Vixen as the fox waltzed into the room, a swanky step to her paws. The fox snickered a little to Cortex as she added, "You're way too hyped about this Cortex… Ease up. So what if the bandicoots stop the mechs? You should still be able to use the power of the crystals long before they get a chance to make an effort to the tower. Everything is going to plan…"
Cortex glowered for a few moments, before he huffed a growling sigh. He glowered back up to Vin, before snapping, "Maybe so, but it still gives you no excuse to waltz on into my command room like this! What is it that makes you so special?"
"Oh nothing much," Vin tilted her paw, glancing at her claws. "Just that I found a few errors in your database that could help you out…"
Tilting his head, Cortex answered, "Oh?"
"Yeah, it seems those bandicoots have been able to hack into your files again," Vin grabbed Cortex's arm, tugging him along. "Let me show you how to encode them further…"
Groaning, Cortex reluctantly began to follow the fox as she led him out the door. At the last moment, Vin turned back and gave a wink with her now slatted eyes, at the shadowy figure outside the window, illuminated by the strike of the lightning.

Peering about the corner slightly, spotting the Lab Assistants walking by patrolling, Coco motioned to Cassie, instructing her to come closer. Her back against the steel walls, the lights flickering lightly above, and the whines of the machinery all about them, Coco was right on the pathway for the computer control room of Cortex's factory, and Cassie was right behind her.
"Right," Coco hissed lightly to Cassie. "We need to head down this corridor I believe."
Cassie nodded back to Coco, before adding, "What about those mechs?"
Coco gave a thought for a moment, placing her paw to her chin in wonder. "Good point… Do you know much about computers at all? I don't suppose so?"
Cassie grinned meekly, shrugging, "I know how to turn one on… After that, I'm kinda limited."
Frowning, Coco growled, "Well, I guess that means that you'll need to get the laptop. I'll need to try to deactivate those mechs."
Casting another glance, Coco spotted the androids had moved on. She nodded to Cassie as she leapt up, dashing towards the passage way ahead. Coco remembered this; it was the pathway above where the mechs had been built.
As they dashed across, Coco gave a slight gasp, leaning to the side of the overhang. The humanoid mech was now completed. It was very much like the mech she'd fought before in the future, when Uka-Uka had been first released. Its weapons were finished, paint job complete and power cables charging it's energy up. It was shocking to see the progress that had happened in only a few short hours.
"Cortex can't be taking any chances this time," Coco gasped, looking as Cassie walked past her, moving down the passage a bit more, seemingly a little uninterested in the mech. Then, Coco pointed to the empty space beside it, she called out, "Hey! Where's the other mech?"
"Coco! Look out!" Cassie shrieked as there was a mechanical hiss, Coco spinning about in fear as a large metal tail swung right at her.
There was no time to react as it slammed in to the pathway, shattering the metal and rocking the metal overhang, Cassie giving a shriek as she gripped the rail, holding tight as it began to splinter and fall away, its supports severely weakened now as it trembled dangerously.
Coco gave a scream, clutching the tail as tight as she could with her paws could. Coco felt a shudder as the tail lifted, to reveal the entire mech, the snake like one, in full flight. Two figures were in the cockpit, as the twin turbine engines twisted about, keeping the robot airborne. It's razor blades were now spinning and Coco sensed a warmth against her chest. Realizing she was hugging one of the many blasters upon the machine's tail, she swung her leg about, moving to the back of the tail and attempting to move further up it.
Then there was a loud cackle from the loudspeaker as Dr. N. Gin's whiny voice growled, "One rat down! One to go!" accompanied by the cruel laugh of Nina Cortex.
Coco's eyes at once glanced about, fearing for Cassie, who was frozen in fear at the sight of this metal viper before her. It dawned on Coco then; they didn't know she was still on the tail. She locked eyes with Cassie as she mouthed to her, RUN!
Cassie didn't need to be told twice as she turned tail and headed for the door. Coco hoped she'd be get there safely as she clutched the tail as the whirr of the machine gun rattled loudly, blasting shots at Cassie's feet, the young girl dashing into the passageway at the end of the overhang, bullets bouncing off the metal walkway, causing the last of it to crumble away.
Still attempting to climb the mech's tail, Coco found a panel with a hand rung to the side of it near the top of the robot's tail. Wrapping her arm about the rung, she tore the panel open. There was a small box of circuits and wires. She was about to rip a couple open when the mech shuddered, Coco almost losing her grip as she clutched that rung for dear life.
Another hiss and she heard Nina's actual voice, "Take the mech to my Uncle! I'll deal to that little skunk!" There was a metal cling as Coco saw Nina's arms shoot out, grasping the last of the walkway and hauling herself down towards the passage. 'Don't turn back, don't turn back,' she prayed, knowing Nina would spot her if she did.
And thankfully, she didn't, instead racing straight after Cassie.
Coco had to resist an urge to scream as the mech gave another roar from its engines, lifting up. An opening in the roof opened as the robot flew through it. It was now or never, Coco knew as she grabbed several wires from the panel and kicked herself from the run, towards the roof of Cortex's factory. With a crash and tumble, Coco landed hard on the metal ground, a few cuts and scrapes underneath her fur.
She glanced above to see the lights in the tail flicker once, twice and then go out. There was a loud crash of thunder as the sky lit up for a moment. And then it started to rain heavily.
"What?!" N. Gin roared in anger, as suddenly the tail malfunctioned, dying on him. He twisted his head to look towards the roof. And there, trying to escape was Coco…
Cortex can wait! N. Gin growled to himself as he piloted the mech back around towards the fleeing bandicoot…
This time Coco… You're mine!

Crunch slammed the door with his fist, the metal lock shattering as the door swung open. At once, several Lab Assistant androids charged toward Crunch as he nabbed Crash by the scruff of the neck, throwing the smaller bandicoot towards the androids as Crash ripped him-self into a spinning torpedo.
"Strike!" Crunch roared as all the robots were bowled over.
Crash gave his dizzy head a shake as he climbed back to his feet. The robots were only out for a few moments, and Crunch grabbed Crash, picking him up to his feet as the two dashed ahead, before the robots could get back up to attack them.
"The Great Hall's up ahead," Crash told Crunch as he pointed ahead. "After that, we just need to go up one more floor and…"
"Not so fast!" ordered a voice as they charged into the massive hall. Skidding to a halt, Crash noticed the door was coated in some sort of purple flame. Glancing back to the door they'd entered, it two was covered in that same flame.
The Great Hall was a large room, paintings of Cortex plastering the walls, a large table in the centre of the room expressed where Cortex housed his meetings. It had been rebuilt since Crash blew up the castle years ago. The walls lit up from the large windows near the top of the room with the clap of thunder, as the howling winds also gave way to the intense pelting of the rain.
"What's the hurry? You have all the time in the world to deal to me first!" snapped a disembodied voice as Dr. N. Tropy faded into appearance, sneering down at the two bandicoots. "Sorry boys, but the party ends here…" his blue face sneering smartly, his facial hair twisted delightfully on his mug.
Crunch glowered to N. Tropy, growling angrily at how he'd been attacked what seemed like ages ago but the Master of Time. He was ready for his revenge. But then, he had to deal with this Crystal problem as well… Crash would have to go on without him somehow…
Glancing above the door with the purple flames where they needed to head, Crunch growled to Crunch, "Sorry there buddy, but you're going without me from here."
"Huh?" Crash turned to Crunch as the bigger bandicoot grabbed him. "Hey! What-are-ya-doing?"
With a mighty swing of his paw, Crunch sent Crash flying, Crash yelling as he flew, crashing through the stained glass window of Cortex as Crash disappeared from view into the next room en route to Cortex's final lab, free to continue on without Crunch.
"Ah, no matter about that roadkill," Tropy scorned he turned to Crunch, pointing his tuning fork to the bandicoot. "You're the one that I want…"
Cracking his knuckles, his ears flattening against his skull as his eyebrows curled dangerously, Crunch glowered, "Bring… it… on…"