Days have passed, and the heroes' spacecraft is still en route to Gasmoxia, well outside the Milky Way or any known galaxy surrounding it. Aboard the spacecraft, everyone is in the main control room, and almost all of them are sitting about with bored, tired looks on their faces, wondering when and if they will ever get to Gasmoxia. Ami, still dressed up in her Gasmoxian battle armor, is busy doing sit-ups, push-ups and squats on one end of the room, Coco is busy typing away at a nearby computer, and King Chicken, as expected, is just wandering about the room, minding his own business, sometimes getting into Cortex's business, prompting him to shoo him away in annoyance.
Moments later, N. Brio sighs and mutters, "Bored... bored... so very, very bored..."
"Man, I haven't been this bored since we watched that five-hour documentary about Earthshapers that the Alchemist made." Spyro groans as he glances out at the many stars passing by them.
Tawna, who almost fell asleep with her arms wrapped around Crash, gets up and mumbles, "How long have we been drifting out here in space?"
"Uh... let me see here..." Coco mumbles as she glances at a nearby computer screen. "Three days, give or take."
"Three days?" Megumi asks in surprise. "Man, I just pray Mr. Von Clutch will have mercy on us when we get back?"
"Why would you say that, Megumi? How exactly does Von Clutch factor into this mission?" Crunch asks Megumi, befuddled. Moments later, his face lights up as he suddenly realizes what she's talking about. "Oh, right. The movie. Yeah..."
"Wait, how could Von Clutch have known we were gone for this long?" Spyro asks as he steps away from the window and approaches the control panel where Megumi is sitting at.
"Well, before we lost cellular communication two days ago, Pasadena called to check on us to see how we were doing." Megumi tells him. "So I guess Hasty must've told Yaya, who then passed it on to Pasadena, who then told Von Clutch."
"Gee, I sure hope Von Clutch is taking our absence well..." Isabella says, worried about what would happen if Von Clutch were to find out about their absence.
Meanwhile, at Von Clutch's Motorworld, in Von Clutch's office, Von Clutch, having learned that Tawna and the others went to space instead of helping him out with filming his movie, angrily shouts in German, kicking furniture over and tossing items through the plate glass windows of his office while Pasadena and Yaya Panda cower behind a set of fancy armchairs to avoid getting hurt.
"What's Von Clutch saying, Pasadena?" Yaya asks Pasadena with concern.
"I dare not repeat it, Yaya." Pasadena tells her, pulling her in close.
"Ah, I'm sure he's fine, Isabella." Crunch reassures her. "Just wish there was some way we could get ahold of him before we arrive at Gasmoxia."
"Well, I just hope we get there soon so we can kick some alien butt!" Ami exclaims as she continues to exercise in her battle armor, jogging around the room without even breaking a sweat.
"Uh, Ami, you do realize we're still a ways away from Gasmoxia, right?" Tawna asks her.
"Yeah, and...?" Ami asks as she stops jogging to listen to what Tawna has to say.
"So, you don't need to wear all those constricting armor plates yet." Tawna tells her as she gestures at her own body, where she, along with Isabella, Megumi and Liz, is only wearing the jumpsuit part of her space pirate disguise. "Really uncomfortable if you wear it for too long."
"Hmm, yeah. My shoulders are starting to get sore from them bumping against this chest plate constantly." Ami says to her as she starts to undo the straps holding her armor plates up.
"Oh, yes." Cortex snarks as Ami removes the armor plates from her space pirate disguise. "Let us see that hot body of yours, why don't you."
Upon hearing this, Crunch smacks Cortex upside the head and growls, "Cortex! You do know that's my girlfriend you're talking about, right?"
As Ami finishes removing her armor plates, she turns and sees Megumi writing something down on a notepad. Curious, she approaches Megumi and asks her, "What'cha got there, Megumi?"
"Oh, not much." Megumi tells her as she continues to write. "I was thinking about what you guys said a few days ago; you know, about learning to fend for myself out here?"
"Yeah." Ami says to her.
"So, I've been working on this list here of ways that I can learn how to fend for myself on this adventure." Megumi tells her.
"Really?" Ami asks, surprised. "Can I see it?"
"Of course, you can." Megumi says as she hands Ami her notepad. "I'm still not finished with it yet, though."
Ami then takes the notepad from Megumi and glances over it, curious as to what she had written down:
- BE TOUGH
- BE ASSERTIVE
- LEARN SELF-DEFENSE
- LEARN HOW TO USE A RAY GUN PROPERLY
Handing the notepad back to Megumi, Ami tells her with determination, "Well, Megumi, I'd say we better get started with this list of yours pronto, since we could arrive at Gasmoxia any day now."
"Really?" Megumi asks, intrigued and surprised. "You're going to help me?"
"Of course, I will! Are you joking?" Ami tells her as she takes her hand, happy that she's willing to change for the good of the mission. "We're a team, and we always look out for and help one another."
As the two of them sit down next to a bulletin board on the far wall of the control room, Ami directs Megumi's attention to a blueprint of a ray gun and tells her, "Now, the first thing we should do is to teach you how to use a ray gun, should you happen to get one sometime on this journey."
"Oh, please." Cortex scoffs as Ami teaches Megumi. "Her list is nothing when comapred to my list."
"Really, Cortex?" Tawna says to him. "You have a list of ways to improve yourself?"
"Yes, I do!" Cortex tells her as he pulls out a worn out piece of paper. "And I'll have you know, I spent the past week working on it! Really groundbreaking stuff on this list!"
"Huh. I'll believe that when I see it." Tawna snarks as she takes Cortex's list and reads it along with Crash:
- KILL BANDICOOTS
- KILL BANDICOOTS
- KILL BANDICOOTS
- ETC.
As Tawna finishes looking over the list, she and Crash turn to Cortex and stare at him with looks of annoyance on their faces. "Seriously? That's all you can think about right now, Cortex?" Tawna asks him as she crumbles up the piece of paper and tosses it aside, where Brio picks it up and glances at it.
"Yes." Cortex says to her. "Should I be thinking about something else besides fulfilling Uka Uka's wishes?"
"Well, you could be thinking about being grateful to the bandicoots who spared your life and are giving you a chance to prove that you're not just a one-dimensional villain, Cortex." Brio tells Cortex, having read his list and being unamused with Cortex's thoughts.
As Cortex continues to bicker with Brio and Tawna, Spyro and Isabella notice Liz silently sulking and getting teary-eyed, still upset with being alone on Valentine's Day.
As the two of them approach Liz to see what's wrong, Spyro gently asks her, "Hey. How you holding up, Liz?"
"Not so good, Spyro." Liz sadly tells him as her voice breaks, on the verge of tears. "I wish I could've gotten a date for Valentine's Day. Now I have to spend another year feeling alone and miserable." After muttering the words 'alone and miserable,' Liz rests her face into her hands and starts to cry, prompting Spyro and Isabella to look at each other with worry and concern. Liz's crying also gets the attention of Coco and Koala Kong.
Seeing Liz crying and feeling miserable, Koala Kong silently ponders to himself. Should he march over there and confess his feelings to Liz right then and there? Or should he wait until the right moment to confess his love? And how would he do it? Would he do it when and if the two of them were alone together, or would he do it with the whole group watching? And how would Liz react to his confession? Would he earn her love in return, or would she want nothing to do with him since he's sided with their enemy? And most importantly, what would Cortex think about all of this? The last part doesn't bother him as much since, unbeknownst to Cortex, Koala Kong has been growing tired of Cortex constantly neglecting him in favor of Tiny Tiger when it comes to brute strength and loyalty. He wants to leave Cortex's team, put his villainous past behind him and start anew with a fresh, clean state. And he realizes that going on this quest with Cortex's sworn enemies to stop an evil space overlord and one of Cortex's former minions from enslaving all of mankind would be the perfect chance at redemption and the perfect opportunity to prove himself worthy of being a hero, especially towards Liz.
As Koala Kong continues to ponder to himself, Isabella rests her hand on Liz's shoulder, getting her attention as she tells her, "Hey, don't start crying, Liz. Once we're done here, we can help you get a date when we get back home to Wumpa Island."
"You promise?" Liz asks Isabella as she wipes the tears away from her face.
"Of course, I promise!" Isabella warmly tells her. "I'm not about to let you see your heart get torn apart like this! After all, if I can cheer Coco up by becoming her mother figure, then surely I can cheer you up by finding a suitable mate for you to settle down with!"
"Isabella's right, Liz." Coco tells her as she wheels her chair closer to the three of them. "I was feeling pretty miserable without a mother until she made a vow to always love and care for me the same way my mom would've. You'd be amazed at the wonders she could do for you and your love life."
"Wow. Thanks, guys." Liz says, starting to feel a little better, thanks to their words of encouragement. "I'm glad to have friends like you."
"Hey, they're more than just friends, Liz." Spyro tells her. "They're your family, and they would do anything for you."
As Coco, Isabella and Spyro continue to cheer Liz up with their encouragement, Brio approaches Tawna and tells her, "Hey, Tawna, I just wanted to say, if I ruined you and Crash's date the other day, I apologize."
"No, Brio, no! You didn't ruin our date!" Tawna tells him. "In fact, I'm actually glad you showed up to warn us, otherwise, me, Crash and all of our friends would've been mutated just like you."
Upon hearing the last part of what Tawna said to Brio, Crash, worried about what might happen to her, approaches her and says something to her through incomprehensible gibberish.
"Hey, I already told you Crash, you are not going to lose me again." Tawna tells Crash as she takes his hands. "With you by my side, we'll stop that emperor and that rat from invading earth, then we'll be back on the race track again faster than you can say, 'Pancakes.' And that's a promise I'm not about to break anytime soon." She then leans down and gives Crash a hug, reassuring him that everything's going to be all right for the two of them.
"Oh, hey, that reminds me!" Ami exclaims upon hearing the words, 'race track.' She and Megumi then get up and approach Crash and Tawna as Ami continues, "Crash, Tawna! We've been meaning to talk to the two of you about something."
"Yes, what is it?" Tawna asks as she gets up from hugging Crash.
"We're trying to decide on a good theme for our next Grand Prix season." Ami tells her. "Do you and Crash have any good ideas?"
Upon hearing the words 'Grand Prix,' Coco's face immediately lights up, as she recalls the conversation she and Von Clutch had about their next Grand Prix season being the final one. As the group continues to talk, Coco slowly starts to get more and more upset the more she listens their words.
"Really?" Tawna asks, inquisitive. "Is it that time again? Has our Rustland Grand Prix wrapped up just like that?"
"Yep. Just the other day." Isabella tells her. "Man, how time flies, doesn't it?"
Crash nods and turns to Tawna, asking her something through incomprehensible gibberish.
"What can I think of, Crash? Hmm... let's see here..." Tawna says as she thinks to herself for a minute. "Fairy tale? Summer-themed? Movie-themed? I mean, the possibilities are endless."
Upon listening to Tawna's suggestions, Megumi asks, "I don't know, which of those ideas do you think sounds good, Coco?" To her surprise, however, she doesn't receive an answer from her, prompting her to look around and ask, "...Coco?"
To everyone's surprise, Coco has excused herself from the control room, not wanting to get anymore upset with their conversation.
"Now where'd she run off to?" Tawna asks as she scratches her head while everyone looks around the room for her.
"It's all right, guys. I'll look for her." Isabella says to the group as she leaves the control room to go look for Coco. "Coco? Sweetie?"
Elsewhere, at the borders of Gasmoxia's atmosphere, Oxide, aboard an unarmed spacecraft, is busy patroling the border so he can stop Crash and the others from entering in the event that they were to show up. Suddenly, the radar aboard the ship detects the carrier containing Crash and the others, as they have now gotten close enough to where the radar can detect them from a distance.
Looking at the radar, Oxide sinisterly chuckles and says to himself as he rubs his hands together deviously, "Hee, hee. There they are. I knew it was only a matter of time before those do-gooders made their way out here to Gasmoxia, and now, they've fallen right into our trap and are sitting ducks just waiting for us to strike!"
He then spins his chair around and calls out, "Zam! Zem!"
"Yes, Oxide?" Zem calls out as he and Zam enter the cockpit.
"Crash and his friends are at the borders of our atmosphere." Oxide tells the two of them as he gestures towards the radar. "Go out to their ship and stop them by any means necessary."
"Stop the heroes from getting here and stopping all of us from invading earth?" Zem asks, him and Zam getting excited at Oxide's order. "No problemo! You want us to launch them out into the vacuum of space, boss?"
"What? No!" Oxide exclaims, annoyed at Zem's suggestion of killing the very individuals that allowed him to finally race with them. "I don't want you to kill them! If you really want to stop them, just knock them unconscious and take control of their ship, then await further instructions from Velo."
"Got it, Oxide!" Zem exclaims as he reaches into a storage compartment and pulls out a cartoonishly large hammer, before motioning Zam to follow him. "Come on, Zam!"
As Oxide watches Zam and Zem head in the direction of the heroes' carrier aboard their own mini-cruiser, Oxide says to himself rather fiendishly, "Well, Crash Bandicoot, this is one party you and your friends will not be crashing. Not this time!"
He then divulges into evil laughter, which is cut abruptly short when hears a faint beeping sound. He glances at an alarm clock he keeps on his dashboard and says, "Yikes. I better get back to Gasmoxia. Velo's expecting me for some leisure time."
He then powers up the ship, turns around and takes off back towards Gasmoxia.
"I just hope those two idiots actually do their job this time and don't screw everything up like they always do..." Oxide mutters as he reenters Gasmoxia's atmosphere.