Hello everyone! This chapter has a new chapter introduction that will be used throughout most of this story. Enjoy!
"Oh father..."
"My son...why has this happened? Why?"
"I'm so sorry...will you ever forgive me?"
"No, this is all my fault, this should have never transpired..."
"Where are we father?"
"In the hospital...surely the doctors will keep you safe...I must go now."
"Y-You're leaving me?!"
"It is truly best for the both of us."
"But...mother..."
"Yes...yes...I understand that your mother - my wife, Wren - is no longer with us, but...
"Who is going to console me other than you?"
"Someone here will...Everything will be alright, I promise."
Chapter 25: Fight Night Tonight
That night, Mildred and Trent spent some time together in the boys' tent, most likely kissing and whatnot. This greatly concerned Trent's companions - Charles, Keyon, Luigi, and Behrab.
"What is taking those landlubbers so long?" wondered Behrab.
"Hopefully they'll be consummated in a few minutes," replied Charles.
"Oh, Mildred! Where are you?" Azalea's voice was heard from afar. The boys panicked.
"She's here!" worried Luigi as he pulled his hair out.
"You like her or something?" questioned Keyon.
"N-N-No, n-not at all."
"He likes her," Behrab whispered to Keyon.
Azalea appeared, along with Cynzia, Raquel, and Inez. In their hands were their equipment.
"The lovely lantern-like creature moved us out of our spot," explained Azalea, "so we'll just have to reside together then!"
Luigi began sweating profusely when he heard this. Keyon had to escort the Taiwanese boy away. Azalea peaked through the boy's tent, and saw Mildred and Trent making out with each other.
"Ahem," Azalea tried to get the two lovebirds' attention. The two stopped kissing each other and got up.
"Didn't expect you here Azalea," chuckled Trent.
"You two weren't...making out, were you?" questioned Azalea.
"What makes you think that?"
"There's lipstick all over your mouth..."
"It's not what you think..." assured Mildred.
"Are you time in love?"
"...Yes, sort of."
Azalea giggled cheerfully.
"Mindy was right all along!" she gleamed. "She knew you two were meant for each other!"
"What about me?" Charles entered the tent. "Am I meant for anyone?"
"I don't think she even acknowledges your existence."
Charles walked away, hanging his head in despair.
The next day, Team Crash, the extraterrestrials, Speck, and Blot were all resting in the canopy home. Blot was extraordinarily happy.
"You seem awfully gleeful today," Speck told her little sister.
"Certainly something is on your mind," said Aku.
"Is it okay if I express my feelings in song," asked Blot.
"Uh sure, go for it."
Team Crash and Speck were magically transported to a theater stage, as they sat in the audience seats.
"Could someone explain what's going on here?!" barked Crash.
"This is how Blot expresses her feelings and emotions," explained Speck. "She usually transports me and Slosh to this theater stage. How she managed to find this stage is beyond my understanding."
The curtain rose up, and on the stage was Blot, wearing a ghostly dress.
"Wonder where the dress came from," said Coco.
"She never wore that dress before..." stated Crunch. "Does that mean she was naked the whole time?"
"You're thinking way into this, Crunch."
Blot whipped out a microphone, and began to sing:
I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and gay
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me today
I feel charming
Oh so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real
See the pretty girl in that mirror there?
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face
Such a pretty dress
Such a pretty smile
Such a pretty me!
I feel stunning
And entrancing
Feel like running
And dancing for joy
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy
A second certain rose up, and there appeared the five extraterrestrials, all adorned in suits, ready to sing.
"Oh heck no..." said Crash.
Have you met our good friend Blot
The craziest girl on the block?
You'll know her the minute you see her
She's the one who is in an advanced state of shock
"Touch her and she'll shock you," remarked Krunk.
She thinks she's in love
She thinks she's in Spain
She isn't in love
She's merely insane
"Fully insane is what we meant," stated Nash.
It must be the heat
Or some rare disease
Or too much to eat
Or maybe it's fleas
"Ghosts can catch the fleas," Big Norm pointed out.
Modest and pure
Polite and refined
Well-bred and mature
And out of her mind!
"Blot here is muy, muy loco!" Geary said, perfecting his Spanish.
"Can you guys sing a stanza without stopping?!" Blot snapped at the extraterrestrials.
"See what I told ya? Now where did we leave off? I believe it's your turn."
"Alright then." Blot cleared her throat, if she has one, and began singing.
I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
That Excalibur should give me its key
A committee
Should be organized to honor me (la la la la la la la la)
I feel dizzy
I feel sunny
I feel fizzy and funny and fine
And so pretty
Miss Gemstone can just resign (la la la la la la la la)
See the pretty girl in that mirror there
(What mirror, where?)
Who can that attractive girl be?
(Which, what, where?)
Such a pretty face
Such a pretty dress
Such a pretty smile
Such a pretty me!
I feel stunning
And entrancing
Feel like running and dancing for joy
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy
Everyone save for Crunch stood up and applauded as Blot bowed.
"Boo you suck!" heckled Crunch. Blot intimidated the bandicoot with a death glare. "...Hands down, the best singing I've ever heard!"
"Blot! You there?" echoed Goop.
Crash and company were immediately transported back to the rainforest, inside the canopy. Goop was at the entrance, flowers in hand.
"I got these for you," he floated over to Blot and handed her the flowers. Blot smelled them.
"They smell beautiful," Blot sighed joyfully. "Thank you so much."
"Hey, it's the least I could do."
The two began to embrace each other. Speck watched attentively.
"Those two would make a great couple," she stated. "Although Slosh could be a thorn in their relationship."
"Who, that pompous jerk?" scoffed Aku. "No one cares about him!" Everyone gave Aku a questionable look.
"I must go now. Slosh promised we would spend some quality time after the fight, so I need to..."
"Fight? What fight?" questioned Crash.
"Flux challenged Slosh to an all out fight last night, to settle their differences once and for all."
"Do you know where the fight will be held?" asked Coco.
"Not exactly sure. I'll be in my room if you have any more questions." Speck went to her room.
"You must stop this fight!" Blot pleaded to Crash. "Who knows what may happen..."
"I'll be willing to help you, if you don't mind," Goop said to Crash.
"Sounds great," said Crash. "Glad to see you aligning yourself us."
"Yeah, I would be with Team Cortex right now, but Cortex is a lousy leader, and the reason for all the fighting within the group."
"Speaking of which, where's Yaya?" pondered Aku. "She never came back the other day!"
"Crap we completely forgot about Yaya!" growled Crunch. "Hope she's doing alright..."
Inside his tent, Clifford stroked his chin as he observed a frozen Yaya. The panda was frozen by Iseult in the previous chapter.
"He's been like this the entire morning," said Vivian. "I don't think he can even hear us."
"Let's see if I could get his attention," Dr. Schatz waved his hand in from of Clifford's eyes.
"Stop it, Schatz, you're hindering my thought process," murmured Clifford.
"My apologies." Dr. Schatz immediately stopped.
"How about this," Clifford began to present his idea. "Crash must give up the masks - which is what Valestrom and Dave are looking for - in exchange for his panda friend."
"Seems like a good ransom. But what if the bandicoot refuses to give up the masks?"
"Then I'll thaw the panda and eat her alive - in front of Crash and his comrades!"
"That's terrible!" gasped Vivian.
"Terrible? I eat all sorts of animals that I capture!"
"Don't you sell them for money?"
"Only rare animals. Crash and his sister, they're a rare species. This panda here is not as rare, and therefore edible!"
"Crash REALLY needs to stop Clifford..." Vivian thought to herself.
We now take you to Team Cortex, who made their way through the rainforest while Cortex and Tropy were having a little argument.
"Whaddaya mean, Steve Nash isn't the greatest center of all time?" attested Cortex.
"HE'S A FREAKING POINT GUARD!" shouted Tropy.
"He is? In that case, Steve Nash is the greatest point center of all time!"
"Your ignorance is pure bliss," said Uka. "And yet you wonder why Goop ditched us for Team Crash."
"Goop didn't ditch us! He told us specifically that he was going to some yoga class!"
"The fact that you were the only one to believe him proves how dense you are," stated Pasadena.
"Also proves that you have no barriers whatsoever," added Nina.
"My own niece?" sobbed Cortex. "But why?!"
"Hey, it's the truth."
Team Cortex was stopped abruptly by a tiger. The feline circled our heroes with intimidating eyes - then it lashed out at Uka and grabbing him with his mouth before running off.
"Save me, you fools!" yelled the ancient mask.
"After the tiger!" Cortex leaded the others as the followed the tiger. Trent and his buddies were watching the heroes from afar.
"They're approaching quickly," Trent observed through his binoculars. "Keyon, see if you could whip up a wildfire of sorts."
"Here goes nothing," Keyon prepared himself. The Jamaican blew fire out of his mouth, causing a wildfire and stopping Team Cortex instantly in their tracks. Unfortunately for them, the tiger managed to run away before the wildfire occurred.
"This way!" Cortex lead his team to an alternate route.
"Wash 'em away, Behrab," ordered Trent.
"Yes sir," Behrab pulled out his weapon - an oboe. He then aimed the oboe at our heroes, and blew into it. A gush of water poured out of the musical instrument, and washed away Team Cortex.
"Without their guardian mask, they'll be rendered futile," Trent stroked his chin.
"Same for Team Crash?" asked Charles.
"They'll be rendered futile without their leader Crash. He is their heartbeat, not Aku."
Speaking of whom, Crash led his team throughout the rainforest, as Goop trailed along. A moon-like mist shrouded the area our heroes are in. Then a pink beam of light stroke the heroes, except for Goop.
"Where did that come from?!" the ghost looked around while Team Crash was writhing on the ground. Then several tree branches sprung up from the ground and grabbed the three bandicoots, holding them in the air.
"Nice seeing you again Goop!" exclaimed a rather gleeful voice. That voice belonged to Azalea, who was with her troupe. "Very odd that you aren't with Cortex and his pals..."
"Cortex was too much for me," explained Goop. "But the others were tolerable."
"Stop tattling with her, Goop, do something!" pleaded Coco.
"Say, Goop, how about you ditch these losers and come join us?"
"You're the one to talk..."
"What was that?!" Azalea got angry real quick.
"Yeah, you heard me."
Azalea's temper flared. Her companions did their best to restrain her.
"Quit it, fool!" Crunch advised Goop. "You'll keep adding fire to the fuel!"
"It's 'fuel to the fire'," corrected Crash.
"Either or."
At Grantor's house, mansion, or whatever you want to call it, Dindogile and Roo were working effortlessly on their little mask theory. They sooon came to a valid conclusion.
"Eureka!" Roo's outburst rang the halls of the...you can fill in with what you want here. N. Gin and N. Trance burst through the door.
"Do my ears deceive me?" N. Gin was all giddy. "Did someone utter the word...eureka?"
"Me and Roo made a significant discovery regarding the Mavericks," explained Dingodile. "It is vital that we pass this on to Crash; he might need to know this."
"I shall call him," N. Trance grabbed a nearby phone.
Now back to Crash and the others. Azalea finally regained her composure, Goop started acting all arrogant and such, Team Crash are still suspended in the tree branches, and Aku is floating near them like a free spirit, garnering some envy from our heroes.
Suddenly Crash's cellphone, still on the ground, rang. Azalea walked over to said phone and picked it up.
"Azalea Fuentes, speaking for Crash Bandicoot, how may I help you?" she happily answered the phone.
"Is Crash in your vicinity?" N. Trance asked over the phone.
"He is with me right now. You wish to speak to him?"
"Yes, that would be nice."
Azalea put the phone on speakerphone and held it out for Crash to hear.
"Hey Crash," said N. Trance. "Dingodile and Roo made a shocking discovery."
"What is it?" questioned Crash.
"It's about...Grantor."
Crash looked perplexed. "Yeah?"
"He has..."
"Uh huh...?"
"Dementia!"
If Crash was able to move his hands, now would be the perfect time for him to facepalm. Azalea and her classmates were busy giggling, albeit quietly.
"Is that all?" asked Azalea, still giggling.
"Yes," responded N. Trance.
"Okay then, goodbye!" Azalea ended the call.
"I can't believe it," grumbled Crash.
"Neither can I," added Aku. "Who knew Grantor had dementia the whole time?"
"I'm not talking about that, I'm just angry at N. Trance, trying to fool me like that. He sounded so sincere and serious too."
"What should we do with the bandicoots?" asked Inez, part of the troupe.
"Let's eradicate them!" gleamed Azalea. Team Crash panicked.
"Not if I could do something about it!" Goop stopped acting all cocky and stuff and faced Azalea. "You're not hurting my friends!"
"Friends?" scoffed Raquel. "Weren't Team Cortex your 'friends'?"
"Everyone except for Cortex. But Team Crash...I've only traveled with them for a few hours, but from what I've observed from them, they're committed...it's like they have a vision, and they plan to follow it. That is why I'm trusting them to aid me in my efforts in solidify my relationship with Blot."
"Ah, another relationship to toy with..." Raquel thought to herself, becoming intrigued.
"Too bad your friends won't be helping you anytime soon!" smiled Azalea. "Mildred, Cynzia, would you like to do the honors?"
"Sure..." Cynzia said shyly.
"Yeah, I'll do it," said Mildred.
Mildred summoned a horde of Armored Knights, while Cynzia summoned a horde of Crescent Knights - similar to the Armored Knights, but have a moon-like appearance.
"I'm too pretty to die!" sobbed Crunch.
Crash squirmed in the tree branch he was in, attempting to find a way out. He inadvertently pressed a button or two on the Warpinator, and Roo and N. Trance warped in the open field. The two were fighting over the phone.
"Give...it...back!" Roo tried to pull the phone away from N. Trance with his teeth.
"Never!" N. Trance said defiantly.
"Seriously?" Mildred and the others watched as the two minions fought over the phone.
The two stopped fighting, however, when they took notice of the Gloombreed surrounding them. The Armored Knights and Crescent Knights flanked around the two, who were now hugging in fear.
"Bring out the TNT," N. Trance whispered to Roo.
"But I promised not to use them again," Roo whispered back.
"So this is how you wanna go out?"
Roo thought this through.
"Lemme see what I can do," Roo said assuredly as he dug into his straitjacket.
"What is he doing?" Coco observed the kangeroo mutant. In an instant, Roo pulled out several crates of TNT and laid them about.
"Set it off!" he told N. Trance.
"You sure?" N. Trance was nervous.
"JUST DO IT!"
So N. Trance touched one of the TNT crates. The crate did the classic three-count, and exploded, causing the other crates to explode as well, defeating the Gloombreed. Roo went insane in a heartbeat.
"HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!" the kangoroo laughed manically as he hopped away.
"After him!" ordered Azalea. "He could be hiding some secret information!" The brunette led her classmates as they chased after Roo.
"I figured that would happen..." sighed N. Trance.
"Yoo hoo! Up here!" Coco called N. Trance, trying to get his attention. The egghead turned around and saw our heroes, still stuck in the tree branches.
"Don't worry, I'm on it." N. Trance fired missiles at the tree branches, destroying them and freeing the bandicoots. Once he was freed, Crash confronted N. Trance.
"Explain that call!" he snapped.
"You see, Dingodile and Roo, they made a shocking discovery involving the masks," explained N. Trance. "I intended to call you to pass it to you, but since that girl answered the call, I didn't want her, or anyone affiliated with her, to know."
"Uh huh..."
"Honest!"
"I'll take your word for it...for now. Now let's go find Roo before he gets captured!"
Team Cortex found Uka, caressed by the tiger, in the tiger's den. The tiger's paw covered Uka's mouth, preventing him from speaking.
"So who's gonna go in there and retrieve Uka?" Cortex interrogated his comrades. Everyone pointed at Cortex. "I volunteered in a similar situation, so we'll need someone else to go in."
"Guess we're never getting Uka back," smirked Nina.
"D'oh! Why must you guys make everything so difficult?!"
"You're the one to talk," murmured Pasadena.
"I hear something," Tropy listened attentively. Roo appeared, laughing manically and jumping about.
"Oh it's just Roo," said Cortex. Then his eyes widened once he saw Roo in his current state. "He's gone insane! Someone must have used explosives in his presence! We must console him, and fast!"
"I think we have bigger issues ahead of us..." Nina noticed Azalea and her troupe coming Team Cortex's way. They came to a halt when they encountered Team Cortex.
"Hello yet again, Cortex and friends!" Azalea waved to our heroes. "Hope you're not undeterred by this maniacal marsupial jumping all about - are you?"
"This marsupial is under my sole ownership; I've gotten used to this nature," explained Cortex.
"Do you at least now how to contain him?" asked Inez. Cortex looked around nervously.
Soon Team Crash entered this area, accompanied by Goop and N. Trance.
"They've managed to reach us," Mildred whispered to Azalea.
"It's only Crash's leadership that got them here," Azalea whispered back.
A few seconds later, Trent and his troupe appeared in the area. The four sides - Team Crash, Team Cortex, Azalea's troupe, Trent's troupe - looked at each other as the intensity grew.
"ROUNDS!" Crunch shouted for no reason at all.
"Calm yourself!" Coco nudged his brother.
The tiger awoke when Crunch shouted. It began to eye our heroes and foes, thinking to himself who to devour. Uka, who was now released from the tiger's grasp, gave a deep exhale.
"Someone rescue me!" he yelled. Cortex jumped in the den when the tiger wasn't looking, but was jumped by Luigi.
"Flying kick!" the scrawny Taiwanese kid leaped up and kicked Cortex on the side of his head. Coco jumped in the den and roundhouse kicked Luigi.
"No way you're getting your filthy hands on Uka!" she yelled defiantly, knowing the students' true intentions and repercussions of using Uka. Cynzia jumped in and fired a pink blast at Coco, sending her back.
"Sorry for hurting your sister, Crashie!" Cynzia apologized to Crash. Crunch covered his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.
"Crashie?!" Crash thought of this pet name in his head. "Who does she think she is?"
Soon, a free-for-all began. N. Trance jumped in and shoved Cynzia to the ground. Trent jumped in and electrocuted N. Trance. Pasadena jumped in and drove away Trent with her flamethrower. Mildred jumped in fired rounds at Pasadena. Nina jumped in and spun Mildred. Charles jumped in and attacked Nina with his harp, an item he hasn't used up until this point. Crunch jumped in and punched Charles in the face. Behrab jumped in and blew bubbles out of his mouth and into Crunch's eyes. During all this chaos, the tiger was eyeing Roo, who was still jumping about, until he finally came to his senses.
"What the..." Roo saw the fighting going on in the den, and saw the tiger as well. The mutant leaped at the tiger and bit its leg, his teeth latching on. Keyon, wanting to be a part of things, rushed at the tiger and grabbed its neck.
"So are we gonna rescue the mask or what?" Goop asked Crash. The bandicoot dug into his backpack, and pulled out Aoki, putting her on his face. Crash's entire body went invisible.
"My, my, what a fight!" Aoki was able to see the heroes and foes alike brawl within the den, as well the tiger being wrangled by Roo and Keyon, through Crash's eyes.
"Let's just get the mask," said Crash and jumped in the den. He maneuvered past Azalea, who joined in on the fight and began to slap Pasadena silly with vines growing out of her back; zipped past Charles, firing arrows at Cortex, who was using his hoverboots; ducked under Coco and Luigi, two karate experts going at each other; and got by Inez and Raquel, who were ganging up on Tropy - on his way to Uka. He picked him up, and hurried back to Goop. He then took Aoki off, and placed her back in the backpack.
"Thank you for saving me!" Uka thanked Crash, something that we may never, ever see again. "If it were up to Cortex..."
"I know, I know..." said Crash. Suddenly a flurry of ghosts floated by.
"The rumble is coming, the rumble is coming!" they all cheered in unison. Everyone stopped their fighting; the tiger stopped as well.
"A rumble?" Trent's interest was piqued. "This I gotta see! Alright men, follow the ghosts!" Trent led his troupe after the ghosts.
"Let's follow along, ladies!" Azalea commanded as she led her troupe. Crash, Goop, Aku, and Uka went over to our heroes.
"Are you all okay?" asked Aku.
"We're fine," Coco dusted herself off. "Don't know about Tropy; he was on the ground defenseless!"
"I can explain," Tropy tried to defend himself, but couldn't.
Crunch walked over to Roo, whose teeth was still stuck to the tiger's leg. He pulled Roo off said leg.
"Time for you and N. Trance to go back home," he told the mutant.
Valestrom and Dave made their way through the temple - the Maredudd Temple - which they entered in the previous chapter.
"He's here..." gleamed Dave. "He's finally here!"
"What are you so happy about?" questioned Valestrom. "Who's here?"
"Uhhh...Wayne Gretzky...is here!"
"The Great One? How did he find this island?!"
"...Through magic!"
"He is definitely hiding something, and plotting something as well," Valestrom thought to himself.
The Ghouls and Phantoms met in an open field in the rainforest, where the Peacekeeper was present.
"Dere betta be no fightin', ya hear?!" he remarked before exiting the area.
On one side were the Ghouls, with Flux and Effam being the "representatives". On the other side were the Phantoms, where Slosh was accompanied by the Phantoms' second-in-command, Splat.
"Splat will be doing the fighting for me," explained Slosh. "Also, I brought me some backup!"
Clifford, Dr. Schatz, and Vivian appeared at the Phantoms' side. Dr. Schatz was carrying a frozen Yaya.
"Brought the bounty hunter and his crew as backup, eh?" smirked Flux. "You sure got another thing coming for ya!"
Jarogniew and his companions, Fake Crash and Von Clutch, appeared at the Ghouls' side.
"Where the heck did you find those three?" asked Slosh.
"They are well acquainted with Effam," stated Flux. "She said that they were sent here. Isn't that right, Effam?"
"Riiiiight..." Effam echoed eerily.
"Who cares, let's get this rumble started!" shouted a random ghost.
"HALT!"
Goop appeared, accompanied by Team Crash and Team Cortex.
"You have no business here traitor!" Flux snapped.
"Oooohhhhh..." Cortex covered his mouth.
"Please don't start that nonsense," Uka told Cortex.
"Who are you calling traitor?!" Goop fired back.
"Didn't you give away the location of our crystal stash?" questioned Flux.
"How exactly does that make me a traitor? Heck, I suggested this rumble to begin with!"
"Why is he trying to stop the rumble when it was entirely his idea?" pondered Aku. "Was he too lovestruck to turn down Blot's request to stop it?"
"Let him be great," was all Crash could say.
"I've had enough of this bickering!" Slosh went up to Goop and punched in square in the face. Goop did nothing.
"The ghost isn't doing anything to retaliate," observed Jarogniew. "What a wuss..."
"Hey Jarogniew, you and your buddies go take care of Goop's pals!"
"My powers won't work unless I.." Jarogniew was cut off by Fake Crash.
"Crash thinks you smell," he whispered in Jarogniew's ear.
"Cortex believes you're stupid," Von Clutch whispered in Jarogniew's other ear.
"THAT'S IT!" a blue aura erupted around Jarogniew as she charged at out heroes, engaging them in a fight. Von Clutch and Fake Crash were engaged as well, going up against Coco and Pasadena.
"Don't you two remember us?" Pasadena asked the duo mid-fighting, in an attempt to restore their memory.
"Us? Who's 'Us'?" Von Clutch was confused.
"What parent in their right mind would name their child 'Us'?" added Fake Crash.
"Pasadena, look!" Coco brought Pasadena's attention to Dr. Schatz, holding Yaya. "It's Yaya! Clifford must have her hostage!"
"But what for?" wondered Pasadena.
Flux watched in horror as Jarogniew relentlessly attacked our heroes, and Slosh manhandled Goop. But Flux was more exasperated about Goop, his best friend.
"Nobody messes with my friend and gets away with it!" the leader of the Ghouls floated up to Slosh and punched him in the face, triggering a fistfight.
"Guys stop!" Goop told the two leaders, still fighting each other.
"Listen to the man!" shouted Tropy, who now has Jarogniew constrained in his arms. The hipster was calmed down.
Suddenly a lighting bolt struck Flux, seemingly killing him in an instant. Goop and the others gasped.
"Flux's gone!" Splat exclaimed after remaining silent for most of the ordeal. "Well I'd be."
"Ghosts can't die...can they?" Aku was astonished.
"Under certain circumstances, they can."
Goop was shaking. His best friend...gone forever...how could this be?!
"This is all YOUR fault!" Goop pointed at Slosh.
"Who, me?" scoffed Slosh. "I wasn't responsible for Flux's death!"
"You're the main reason why us ghosts split! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"I'll just say that..."
A pink laser was fired at Slosh, effectively killing him. Another collective gasp in unison occurred.
"Woo hoo, I'm the new leader!" cheered Splat. "Finally!"
"Now's not the time to be celebrating," a Phantom scolded Splat.
The ten students - Azalea, Trent, Charles, Cynzia, Luigi, Keyon, Mildred, Raquel, Behrab, and Inez - all jumped down from the trees they were hiding in and landed in front of everyone.
"About time you made it here," Inez said to Jarogniew, who was released by Tropy.
"The two bozos kept me from reaching this place," explained Jarogniew. He, Von Clutch, and Fake Crash aligned themselves with the students.
"Why'd you do it?" Goop asked them. "Why did you have to kill Flux?! Why Slosh as well?"
"So we could make things easier for Valestrom!" Azalea replied cheerfully.
"Valestrom?" Crunch was the only hero who did not know about Valestrom's presence in the rainforest.
Why I oughta..." Goop tightened his fists.
Out of nowhere, Strazio appeared and sent ghosts away with his scythe.
"Begone! Begone, I say!" he yelled at the ghosts. He then pointed his scythe at Clifford and his crew, the three ran away, with Dr. Schatz dropping Yaya, and Clifford leaving behind a discarded note. Strazio would then point his scythe at the students; everyone save for Azalea, Charles, Trent, and Cynzia ran off.
"Haven't we met you before?" Charles asked on behalf of his three classmates.
"Yes, yes you have! Now begone with you!" The four students did as they were told.
"Yaya!" Coco ran up to Yaya, still frozen. "Someone thaw her out!"
"I'm on it," Tropy walked over to Yaya, getting his staff ready. Nina picked up the note Clifford had left on the ground.
"You might wanna read this..." she handed the note to Crash.
"To-do list," Crash read. "Get the bandicoot to surrender the masks...thaw the panda and eat her if he doesn't?"
"Eating anthropomorphic animals is outlawed in this island, or so I've heard," remarked Strazio as he put his scythe back.
"Maybe this is all part of Clifford' s ulterior motive."
"Ulterior motive?"
"Sorry I was talking to myself."
"Hmph."
"Quick question," asked Goop, the only ghost who stayed put. "Where exactly did you meet those four students?"
"Back in the city of Excalibur, both individually. It's a long and complicated story."
Yaya finally came to her senses when she was thawed out, though she was unbearably cold. Tropy turned his staff into a heater to warm up the panda.
"Are you still looking for the masks?" Strazio asked Crash.
"I already have four so far," replied Crash.
"I know the location of the fifth mask. I'll lead you and your friends there once the panda is well."
We now take you to Blot's canopy home, where Speck just got off the phone after speaking with a fellow Phantom.
"Blot where are you?" she called out.
"Right here!" Blot raised her hand high enough for Speck to see. The female ghost was playing a board game with the extraterrestrials. "Is anything the matter?"
"Slosh is...dead..."
Blot grew saddened.
"How exactly did he die?" asked Geary.
"He was struck by lightning," replied Speck. "Flux was also killed as well; a pink laser of sorts took his life."
"Yikes," said Nash.
"Goop must be in serious trouble!" Blot perked up. "We must save him. Let's go!" Blot and the extraterrestrials got up.
"You're not going anywhere," Speck stopped Blot in her path. "Your brother is gone, and yet you're concerned about your boyfriend's well-being, even though he's not one of us? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Slosh is in the past, and Goop is the present, and right now we're focusing on preserving Goop's livelihood," Big Norm tried to defend Blot.
"Just shut up," Krunk told Big Norm.
"Would you bust your tail out for the sake of Slosh - your former boyfriend?" Blot asked Speck.
"In a way...yes I would," answered Speck.
"That is exactly what I'm doing for Goop. Slosh fueled the dissension between the Ghouls and Phantoms, and seemingly paid dearly for it. Even though he was my brother, there's always a time to move on, and that time is now!"
Speck thought this over for a while.
"Alright then, I guess you can go right on ahead," sighed Speck, overwhelmed by Blot's defiance, as she let her and the extraterrestrials out. "Don't get hurt, okay!"
Strazio and our heroes stood outside Maredudd Temple - the very temple Valestrom and Dave are in right now.
"So this is the place?" asked Yaya, who is now well thanks in part to Tropy, as she stood with Team Crash.
"This is it," replied Strazio. "May I wish you all the best of luck in finding the mask."
And with that, Strazio departed, as Team Crash and Team Cortex gazed at the Maredudd Temple.
End of Chapter 25
Coming up next...
Our heroes make their way through the Maredudd Temple. Will they make it out alive?