Morning has arrived over the planet of Gasmoxia. Crash, Coco and Spyro are still up on the roof of the space carrier and had fallen asleep while gazing at the stars from the night before, while inside the carrier, the rest of the heroes have just finished breakfast and are busy cleaning up.

Tawna, having gotten a shower and putting on the last pieces of her Gasmoxian space pirate disguise, steps out onto the observation deck, where Isabella is sitting, glancing at the starry sky outside and combing her hair in the process. Tawna sits down next to Isabella, who, as she finishes combing her hair, goes over to Tawna and, at her request, starts to braid her hair into one massive ponytail at the front of her head.

While all this is going on, Pinstripe and Geary are busy stealing more food from Toxic Burger and Nuclear Pizza, as Pinstripe had come up with an idea behind Velo's back to deactivate the alarm systems for the two restaurants to break in and carry out his plan.

"What a great idea you had, Pinstripe!" Geary exclaims as he and Pinstripe loads sacks of stolen food into the trailers attached to their hovercrafts. "Disabling the alarm system for the two restaurants so we can steal more of their food with no one around to see us do it!"

"Yep!" Pinstripe exclaims. "And I have to say, we must've stolen twice as much food this time!"

"But, what if the two mascots eventually figure out that we're the ones responsible for stealing their food?" Geary asks with some hesitation.

"What?" Pinstripe asks in disbelief as he turns to Geary. "What are you talking about, Geary? They'll never figure out it was us!"

"Well, I mean, won't they get suspicious with the deactivated alarm systems?" Geary asks, with some slight worry. "And, I just had another thought, what if they have security cameras in their stockrooms?"

"Nonsense, Geary." Pinstripe tells Geary, casually brushing off his concerns. "Velo told me that these restaurants are too cheap to afford security cameras."

"Wait, they don't have cameras inside?" Geary says with a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God, that makes me feel so much better."

"And if those two mascots do ask us about the deactivated alarm systems, we'll just tell 'em that it was a... raging horde of Bermugulan Slagvorgs and Shnurgles passing through." Pinstripe tells him.

Geary then chuckles and says to Pinstripe, "Yeah, they are pretty gullible, especially since the two of them easily fell for our lies."

"Ya got that right." Pinstripe says as Geary pulls out a telescope Velo gave him. "Now, then..."

"Wait a second, Pinstripe!" Geary calls out as he looks through the telescope, getting Pinstripe's attention. "Look!"

Pinstripe then approaches Geary, who hands Pinstripe the telescope so he can get a good look at what Geary just spotted: Crash, Coco and Spyro asleep atop their carrier.

"Well, well, well." Pinstripe smugly says with malice. "If it isn't Crash Bandicoot and his dimwitted friends."

"Isn't that cute?" Geary mockingly says. "They wasted their time to come all the way out here and try to thwart our plans, but it will do them very little good!"

"Well, since we failed to kill them with that warning shot we launched at Wumpa Island, what do ya say we kill them right here, right now?" Pinstripe asks Geary with a sinister grin on his face.

"Oh, I agree!" Geary menacingly says, rubbing his palms together. "Fire that special device you've been saving for them!"

Pinstripe then rummages through the trunk of his hovercraft before pulling out a device that resembles a crossbow. He then aims it at the carrier and chuckles sinisterly, saying, "Hee, hee. You're gonna need more than glue once this little bad boy goes off."

He then fires the crossbow-looking device, launching a portable bomb which attaches itself to the carrier with an audible thud and starts to count down from a minute and 30 seconds.

"Quickly, Geary!" Pinstripe says to him as the two of them board their hovercrafts. "Let's get back to the mothership with this food before they see us!"

"What in the world was that noise...?" Tawna wonders aloud as she and Isabella, having heard the loud thud the bomb made when it attached itself to the carrier, step out of the carrier just in time to see Pinstripe and Geary flying away towards Velo's mothership in their hovercrafts.

"Pinstripe and Geary?" Isabella asks with confusion, prompting her and Tawna to look around. "Wait..."

Eventually, Tawna spots the bomb attached to their carrier, and, with a look of silent fear and fright on her face, turns Isabella to face the bomb, which is now one minute from going off.

Realizing this, Tawna and Isabella charge into the carrier post haste and make their way to the rest of the group.

"Guys, quick!" Tawna exclaims in fear, getting everyone's attention. "We gotta hustle! Right now!"

"Why?" Crunch asks in confusion and concern. "What's going on?"

"Pinstripe and Geary spotted us!" Isabella tells them in a panic. "And they planted a bomb on the side of the ship!"

"What?!" Megumi exclaims in fear.

"A bomb?!" Ami likewise exclaims.

"Yeah!" Tawna cries out in a panic. "It's gonna blow any second now!"

"Everyone!" Isabella calls out as she motions everyone to exit the carrier as quickly as possible. "Out of the carrier! Now!"

"Let's move, move, move!" Tawna shouts as Crunch, Megumi, Ami, Liz and Koala Kong, with King Chicken in tow, race out of the carrier in a panic and onto the road next to Nuclear Pizza. "Double time! Double time!"

"Wait a second!" N. Brio exclaims in a panic as Isabella races outside. "Where's C-C-Crash and C-C-Coco?!"

"And Spyro!" Tawna worriedly exclaims.

N. Brio then turns over to Cortex and begs him, "C-C-Cortex! Please tell me you've seen them lately!"

"Pfft." Cortex scoffs, not caring about the fact that the bomb is getting close to going off. "Why?"

"Cortex!" Tawna groans in a panic. "We don't have time for this! There's a bomb attached to the ship that'll blow any second now!"

"Guys!" Zem calls out, getting Tawna and Brio's attention.

"What is it, Zem?" N. Brio asks him.

"They're still up on the roof!" Zem tells him as he gestures towards the hatch leading up to the roof of the carrier, which is still open from when Spyro climbed out to join Crash and Coco from the previous night. "Come on, Zam!"

As Zam and Zem start to climb the ladder up to the roof, Tawna worriedly calls out, "Zem, wait! What are you doing?!"

"You guys get out of here, quick!" Zem exclaims as he motions Tawna and Brio to get out. "We'll save Crash, Coco and Spyro!"

Knowing that she can now trust Zem's words, Tawna gives them a determined smile and a nod before turning to Brio and telling him, "You heard him, guys! Come on!"

As the rest of the group makes their way out of the carrier, with Tawna dragging Cortex out by the hair, Zam and Zem climb the ladder and make it up onto the roof of the carrier, where they see Crash, Coco and Spyro are still sound asleep, unaware that the bomb is just seconds away from going off.

With no time to waste, Zam and Zem race over to the three and grab them, causing them to jolt awake in confusion, before Zam and Zem leap off the carrier with them and onto the road right as the bomb goes off, blowing the carrier apart and sending debris flying everywhere, all across the road and down towards Gasmoxia's surface.

"Coco, dear!" Isabella exclaims as she races up to Coco and hugs her, before turning to Zam & Zem and saying, "Oh, thank you so much, Zem!"

"Wha...?" Coco asks in confusion before noticing the burnt remains of the carrier. "What happened?"

"Pinstripe and Geary planted a bomb on the side of our ship." Tawna tells Coco, relived that she, Crash and Spyro are safe and sound. "You three would've been fried if Zam and Zem here didn't save you."

"Wait." Coco asks in surprise before turning to Zam and Zem. "You two saved our lives?"

"Of course!" Zem tells her. "We're not about to let our new friends fall prey to those villainous delinquents!"

"Wow." Spyro says in awe and amazement. "Thanks for saving us, Zem."

"Hey, anything for my new friends." Zem says to him.

"You know, maybe you two aren't so bad after all." Coco tells them with a smile on her face.

All of a sudden, the heroes hear the sound of Cortex wailing in agony, getting their attention. They turn to see Cortex standing next to the wreckage of the heroes' carrier, crying out, "My Doominator! My Space Head! Perfectly crafted doomsday devices, destroyed!"

"Oh. Yeah, we're perfectly fine, Cortex." Spyro exclaims, annoyed that Cortex cares more about his machinery than their lives. "Thank you for your concern!"

"Why would I be concerned about your lives when these wonderful doomsday devices that I've spent years on are now in ruins?" Cortex angrily grumbles as he turns to the heroes and starts towards them. "It'll take weeks to repair them!"

Liz then attempts to get a word in, sternly telling Cortex, "You know, Cortex, maybe there's other things you should be worrying about other than your machines—"

"Shut your trap, you filthy tramp!" Cortex shouts at Liz, causing her to back away slowly and whimper in fear.

"Hey!" a voice calls out, getting Cortex's attention. To his surprise, it's Koala Kong, who, after seeing Cortex insult Liz, reaches his breaking point, storms up to him and gives him a piece of his mind, finally learning how to talk properly in the process. "That's enough, Cortex! Leave her alone!"

"Oh, so now you finally know how to speak like a genius, huh?" Cortex snarks to Kong.

Koala Kong then continues to give Cortex a piece of his mind, angrily telling him, "Yeah, I can speak properly, and I have this to say: you do not get to speak about my newfound friends that way, especially Liz!"

Upon hearing this, Liz's face lights up as she directs her attention to Koala Kong, amazed that he's going out of his way to stand up for her.

"She happens to be smart, funny, beautiful and caring for her fellow friends, unlike you, where you want to kill the very people who went out of their way to spare your life and give you a chance to prove you're not just some one-dimensional villain! When are you going to start caring about the lives of other people besides yourself, Cortex? When?!"

Liz, wide-eyed and mouth agape with amazement, lets out a chuckle and mutters to herself as a smile grows across her face, "...Wow."

"Oh! Where do you get off talking back to me like that, Kong?" Cortex snaps in anger. "You have no right to speak to me that way! I am your master!"

"You know, it's quite funny you should mention that, Cortex, because I'm not so sure I want to be one of your minions anymore!" Koala Kong growls. "Yeah, I know you constantly neglect me in favor of your childish, not-so-intelligent simpleton, Tiny, and I know that whenever you set off to take over the world, you never once bring me along to do so! You always bring the same group with you over and over and over again! And I know of a few others who feel the exact same way I do: N. Trance, the Komodo Brothers, and even Rilla Roo! Maybe you need to reevaluate the way you're treating your lesser minions, then maybe I wouldn't be forced to say what I've been wanting to say for quite some time now: I. QUIT. I do not want to be one of your minions anymore."

Upon hearing that Koala Kong no longer wants to be sided with him, Cortex just stands there in shock, stuttering and trying to think of a good reason for him to stay on his side, before glancing over at Crash and Coco.

With a glare in his eye, Cortex then storms past Koala Kong, charges up to Coco and shouts at her, "This is all YOUR fault, Coco! You were the one who convinced us to travel to space to stop this big green fool, and not only did we fail to stop him, but you lied to us by keeping the news of this financial problem to yourself, you let that blue-haired nuisance allow two alien freaks to join our cause, and now that blasted rat and that OCD freak of a robot blew my beloved Doominator and Space Head to smithereens, which by the way, you had no business modifying for your own selfish needs! And because of that, we'll most likely rot here on this gas-filled planet for the remainder of our days! Oh, I knew I should've killed you all in Wumpa City the other day, then none of this would've ever happened!"

"Leave her alone, Cortex!" Brio shouts at Cortex darting in front of Coco to protect her. "It's not her fault your failed doomsday machinery got blown up by those miserable scoundrels. Don't make her bad attitude any worse than it already is!"

"Hey, I have every right to shout at her!" Cortex snaps back at Brio. "It's her fault we're in this mess, and that is final!"

"Hey!" Coco exclaims in annoyance as she steps past Brio and confronts Cortex. "I never did anything to you, Cortex, so you have no business treating me like crap!"

Cortex then shouts right to Coco's face, "Well, maybe I wouldn't treat you like crap if you weren't every bit as stupid as your moronic, dimwitted brother, you brainless, idiotic, pathetic excuse of a moron!"

Everyone gasps at Cortex's harsh words, shocked and baffled that he would even consider insulting someone as intelligent as Coco. Taking in Cortex's insult, Coco sniffles for a bit, before being reduced to a sobbing heap, running past the group to cry alone, with Crash and Isabella running after her so she doesn't get lost.

"All right, Cortex. That's it. That is it." Tawna growls through seething anger. "You've gone too far this time! Wanting Crash and Coco dead is one thing, but insulting Coco's intelligence and saying she's every bit as stupid as Crash?! You just made a huge mistake!"

"Oh, so what are you going to do to me, huh?" Cortex snarks, unamused and unmoved. "Fry me with one of your ray guns? Squash me flat like a pancake? Throw me into the deep abyss of space?"

"No, Cortex." Tawna growls as she turns to give Cortex a nasty glare. "The way you've been acting, I'm not so sure we want you in our group anymore."

"Wait, what?" Cortex asks, surprised and dumbfounded.

"Yeah, Cortex!" Crunch exclaims in anger. "You need to leave!"

"Just get out of here, Cortex!" Ami shouts in a rage.

Cortex scoffs and asks, "Why should I?"

"You know d-d-darn well why!" N. Brio shouts at him. "You've been giving Coco nothing but t-t-trouble since Wumpa City, and this was the final straw! Now g-g-get out of here and leave us alone!"

"Just watch, you fools." Cortex scoffs. "By sending me away, I'll just head back to earth and create a new doomsday device. And with you morons stranded up here, you won't be able to stop me when I enslave all of mankind and take over the world!"

"You know, Cortex..." Tawna tells him through seething anger. "You sound just like Velo when you talk like that!"

Upon hearing this, Cortex stands there in stunned silence, appalled and insulted that anyone would compare him to Velo.

"You know what, fine!" Cortex exclaims in anger as he starts to storm away from the group. "I don't need to bother with you guys!"

"Good!" Ami shouts back at him. "We're not going to miss you anyway, you jerk!"

"Fine!" Cortex shouts as he climbs aboard a small Galactic Cruiser kart that was parked near the wreckage of the heroes' carrier. He turns on the engine and zooms off away from the heroes and the two restaurants, trying to find the right path back to earth. However, the onboard GPS malfunctions before Cortex can get out far enough. Cortex grumbles and, as he looks down to try to repair the GPS, doesn't keep a close eye on where he's going and runs the carrier into the side of a small asteroid, knocking one of the engines off. Cortex then screams as the cruiser rapidly plummets towards a larger asteroid, crashing on the surface and knocking the other engine off, leaving him stranded on the asteroid with no way to get back to earth.

"Great. As if things weren't bad enough, now I'm stuck here on this asteroid miles from earth!" Cortex grumbles to himself. "How could this get any worse?"

He then bangs his fist on the dashboard, accidentally hitting a button labeled 'EJECT.' Cortex is then launched out of the cruiser and lands face first on the surface of the asteroid. "Ow... I'm going to feel that in the morning..." Cortex grumbles to himself.