"Hey! The girl's waking up!" I hear a voice call out.
Ohhh…what…where am I? I open my eyelids to find…somewhere I'm not familiar with…I don't think anything is familiar…I saw a bandicoot just like me and she has wings…something tells me there shouldn't be many of those…I know I have some but…
"Hey there! Didn't think I'd find another winged bandicoot like me and Nic, guess they are making more of us huh?" the bandicoot told me.
I sit up and groan, I do feel like something ran me over. I look over to the bandicoot…I have no idea who she is…
"Who are you?" I ask the bandicoot.
"I'm Serenity, I'm the one that found you…you were tied up and dumped in a dumpster, guess you gave them a hard time?" Serenity introduces herself.
"I did? And I was tied up?" I ask Serenity.
"Yeah, they took your memory so you wouldn't remember it" Serenity tells me.
"They?" I ask as to who "They" are.
"Well…we dunno who exactly they are…just that some guys kidnap those hit by the evolving ray thingy and add random mutations to them. Like you and I got wings, some dudes have crocodile tails and stuff like that. Basically hybrid-ing us, all we know is that they kidnap us, mutate us and then take our memories away and then dump us to be found somewhere" Serenity explains
"Why would they do that?" I ask
"How the hell should I know? People think they do it for laughs or something or they want to make sure us evolved beings are separate from humans or something, I dunno" Serenity shrugged.
I try to think of why anyone would do such a thing, did they do this to me too? Why was I tied up? And why was I brought here? I hear footsteps before seeing what must be, a female clown with red hair enter the room.
"You're awake" She says.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I am Anemone, and I am the owner of this place" Anemone introduces herself.
"What is this place?" I ask
"Hey buddy! You introduce yourself too ya know!" Serenity butts in.
"Serenity!" Anemone gives a stern look.
"No…she's right…I'm Clara…everything else about me…I don't really know…" I introduce myself.
"I'm sorry to hear that Clara…they don't generally leave you much memory, but you're safe here now" Anemone tells me with a sorry look.
I look around the room.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"A refuge for a few of us that have been mutated and dumped. You've been dumped and woken up here with nothing but your name. I offer a helping hand and try to get everyone on their feet and protect them from those Lab Assistants." Anemone explains.
Lab Assistants…these guys seem familiar to me…
"Who are they?" I ask.
"That terrorist, Dr. Cortex tried to take over the world…they're his minions and they kidnap evolved beings to turn into his soldiers…" Anemone says.
"Do they come after you?" I ask
"Sometimes…they haven't really been too interested lately…but if you're unlucky, they take you, and well, unless those CMD people bother, they aren't seen again" Anemone tells me seriously.
I shudder to imagine these assistants kidnapping people…I definitely don't want to be one.
"But enough of that, let me show you around" Anemone says.
I get out of the bed and follow Anemone and Serenity, this place doesn't seem too big, more like a two-floor house, I enter the living room to find a couple of people already in, my eyes fell to a bandicoot with more bird wings than the ones I had, even had a bird tail.
"That's Nicole, don't call Nicole a she though, prefers to go by they or whatever. Guess we found another Bandicoot with Wings…we'll be starting a club I swear…" Serenity tells me.
"Um, hello" Nicole shyly says hello.
"Hi." I wave.
"So, you're the new girl?" Nic asks me.
"I guess" I shrug.
"Nice to meet you um…" Nic smiles.
"Clara" I answer
"Clara…so…do you think you'll stay here?" Nic asks me.
"I have a choice?" I ask
"Well…some people prefer to be alone…" Nic says.
"Well um…I have no idea honestly…I sorta just woke up" I answer
"Well that's okay, you don't have to decide right now" Nic tells me.
Serenity pulls me away and I notice a few others but not all that much in terms of people…I thought there would have been more people around.
"Is this all there is?" I ask Serenity.
"Yeah…most leave for a life on their own, some stick around…there's a lot of the refugees from Cortex's Castle next door…we sorta help each other out." Serenity tells me.
"Yes, and they recently escaped from that castle, they say it's a bandicoot named Crash Bandicoot that defeated Cortex and there was another bandicoot who was opening cages while all that was happening" Anemone explains.
"Must be one crazy bandicoot…but hey it worked" Serenity shrugged.
"Come on, we'll get you something to eat then you can meet them" Anemone says.
I follow the pair into the kitchen to get something to eat as I did feel hungry…still…I feel as though something is up…I'll figure it out later…
…
At the CMD base…
"DAMN IT!" Nomad furiously shouted as he shoved a fist into the table.
Both Nomad and Jay were in the workshop, Nomad was trying to contact Clara who had been missing since yesterday but nothing has come back. Jay was working on a metal leg that could replace the one the Evil Nomad took from him and it was almost complete.
"Still no luck?" Jay asks.
"No! Argh! Where is Clara?" Nomad answers in frustration
"I'm sorry…" Jay says.
"What for?" Nomad asks.
"Well I sent her on the patrol…so it's technically my fault right now" Jay tells Nomad.
"No..it's my fault Jay, I should never let anyone of us be alone out there after what happened to you Jay." Nomad says
"A blame I share Nomad" Jay adds.
"But rest assured I'll find where Clara is and if she's in trouble I'll get her out." Nomad promises.
Jay smiles as he hears that.
"You really got it for her, huh?" Jay says.
"I…oh what's the use? Yes I do." Nomad answers.
"She's a good one Nomad, and we'll find her, my metal leg is almost done and then I'll be out there finding her if you haven't already found her." Jay assure Nomad.
"She's alive Jay, that much I know…I don't know how I do and logic tells me I shouldn't know but…I know" Nomad says.
"She will be Nomad, even if they have caught her, I doubt they want her dead…maybe hurt but…I doubt they'll kill her" Jay says.
Nomad did not find this too comforting but Nomad did feel a determination to find Clara as soon as Melody got back, he's taking her out on patrol and finding Clara and when Jay's Leg is done, Jay will help find her.
…
Back with Clara…
After a bit of breakfast, I follow Anemone and Serenity to the house next door…well it's more a warehouse trying to be a house and much smaller. Anemone knocks on the door and a blonde bandicoot with a light blue Bandana in her hair.
"Hello Anemone" the bandicoot says.
"Hello Riley, how are things?" Anemone asks.
"Good…is that a Winged Bandicoot behind you? Isn't she staying with you?" Riley asks.
"Oh no, she's staying with us for the time being, I'm just introducing her here is all." Anemone answers.
"Ah okay, well come in. Hello Serenity" Riley beckons us in.
Serenity waves as we go into the room and it's one giant room full of evolved beings…mostly bandicoots for some reason but there are others, still, it's noticeable bandicoots are the majority, I wonder why that is? But what is more curious is that they are all looking at me like they know me…but I don't know them? How can I?
"Hey…it's her!"
"It's the Winged Bandicoot
"She freed us!"
"Hey! Clara, right?"
"It's really her!"
I look confused…how did they know me? I look to Riley, Anemone and Serenity for answers but they were looking at me all confused-like.
"They know you?" Serenity asks me.
"I don't know them!" I answer.
"Then why do they know you?" Serenity looks at me doubtfully.
"I lost my memories remember?" I told her.
I look towards the now crowd of these guys looking at me.
"Hey, how do you all know me?" I ask them
"Are you kidding? You were the one that freed us from our cages when Crash Bandicoot's battle with Cortex happened." One of them pipes up
"Yeah, we all remember the winged bandicoot that saved us" Another one says.
"I…saved you all?" I ask in confusion.
"Yes, don't you remember?" Someone else asks
"No um, my memories were removed" I answer.
"By the guys that do the hybrid stuff" Serenity.
"But Clara had those wings ever since Cortex put them on…so she can't have been taken" the first person says in confusion.
"Wait…then why would Clara's memories be erased? They don't grab someone with hybrid stuff already" Riley wondered.
That's…a good question…How are my memories gone? Someone must have caught me…urgh! If only I could remember what happened! It can't have been Cortex…or else I wouldn't have been found…none of this makes sense and what's worse…there's some sense I have right now that thinks something is wrong…and something's gonna happen soon.
But I did go around meeting all the fellow experiments of Cortex Castle who seem very grateful for me. Some names came across, like Suzuki, Manola, Aveline and other people, they all seem nice people and I got a few handshakes and hugs for something I don't remember.
But after 30 minutes I did leave with Anemone and Serenity back to the house where I spent the rest of the day thinking, trying to remember things but the only thing I remember is some mask that give me a good feeling…and that there's something out there…
And what's more…I feel like something is watching me and something is gonna happen…this many people around escaped from Cortex and hybrids…I just have this gut feeling and I don't know why, maybe I should just get some sleep. I'll figure stuff out in the morning…
…
Midnight…
I sit in my bed, sleep refusing to happen when suddenly I hear…footsteps…not in the house but outside and my ears perk up and listen.
SMASH!
BOOM!
The glass smashed in the window and a vibration was felt below me as well as in the warehouse next door and suddenly a man in a white coat that even a lack of memory couldn't block out who they were to me: Lab Assistants. I saw him with a gun pointing at me and immediately my sense kicked in as I dodged his stun shot, use my wings to get behind him and whack him in the head into the wall.
However my hit did not knock him out but it did knock the stun gun out of his hand and I picked it up and hit him with it before he could get up and grab me, ending the fight…
"GET OFF ME!" I heard Serenity scream.
I peek out the door to see Lab Assistants taking Serenity and Anemone looks knocked out, there's too many of them and I don't want to be caught.
"You don't want to be caught, jump out the window, hide on the roof until they take them away, then you can escape"
My own voice spoke to me in my head…my thoughts felt cold….but I need to get out so I fly out the window and get onto the roof right as I see the Lab Assistants take Anemone, Serenity, Nic, Riley and all the escaped experiments into a group with a lot of trucks, they were all being secured.
"Now's your chance, fly away"
I did so, in the opposite direction and then my eyes locked with Serenity who saw me…she looked betrayed from where I was flying but I flew on, as far away as I could for five minutes and then I landed…
Great! I escaped but I lost one home and then lost another…even though I barely knew them…I feel really bad right now…
"You did what was natural, you put your own life ahead of theirs, you are safe"
"No" I responded, feeling guilty
"Come to your senses, they were helpless, you were not, you relied on instincts and you get to be free"
"And them? I can't let them be like that…" I say
"What do you owe them? Sure they picked you out of a dumpster but that's not worth throwing it all away!"
"I'm going after them!" I decide.
My mind goes to when I saw Serenity…a little blunt…but she seemed to be a genuinely nice person that doesn't deserve it. Anemone, she helps people that had their memories removed. Nic was someone nice to talk to, Riley and the others…they escaped just to have freedom taken away…I refuse to let myself be free knowing so many others are never gonna see the sun again.
"Think about what you are doing! You are unarmed, alone, your body is weak, outnumbered and you are risking all your freedom on some moral "Selfless" choice! Don't be a hero!"
"Sorry but all those risks and stuff…they matter little to me now. I'm not doing this for the hero thing, I'm doing this cause it's right and if it means that I trade myself with someone else at bare minimum…so be it." I tell myself.
"Fine! Ignore me! Don't blame me when we're stuck in a jail cell and experimented on cause you couldn't listen to common sense!"
"I'm going and that's final and I got to hurry, I don't want to lose them" I say.
With my thoughts finalized I fly up into the air and towards where I flew away from and as luck would have it…I could see the trucks moving in a convoy…the roads were empty at this time so it was easy to see them…also my vision could see far…I think this was an experiment side-effect.
I fly after the convoy, staying high, right now the plan is:
One: Infiltrate where they end up
Two: Rescue them
Three: Make sure they're safe, get rid of enemies as much as possible
Four: Somehow get them to somewhere safe.
I keep high to the air so I am not spotted and continue following them…hopefully they'll stop soon….