Chapter Two
Volcanic Panic
"Well, this ain't so bad," Coco assessed the situation from where she sat chained to a large rock, near the ledge of an active volcano, with a crumbled old castle sitting above the boiling magma below, connected to their ledge with a rickety old wooden bridge. "They could have chosen an instant death in which we couldn't escape from than this."
"But you can't see what I do," Crash answered, "And trust me... It doesn't look too good."
"Let's escape first," Coco suggested. "Then worry about anything else afterwards. Now, if you can handle me pulling the chains tightly for a few seconds, I just might be able to slip out my arm out and pick the lock with my hairpin. How 'bout it?"
"Go," Crash answered, seconds before the chains pulled him tightly against the rock. They were beginning to crush him. "Coco! Stop!"
"But I've just got out," his sister expressed as the chains loosened and she walked towards her brother. She swiftly worked on pulling the chains off of her brother. Then once Crash was freed, she also saw the problem. Skeletons. Lots of skeletons littered the floor nearby. Skeletons in armor, skeletons wearing tiaras, even horse skeletons. "Wow," Coco admitted. "What happened to them?"
"I dunno," Crash answered. "But let's not hang around to find out..."
"But what could have killed them?" Coco wondered out loud. "What attacks knights, princesses and..." she froze as she knew the answer.
Then, a shadow crept over the sun, causing them to look up. A loud resounding roar and the reptilian look with wings had only one word to describe it. "DRAGON!!!" they screamed at one another.
With another roar, the beast dived towards them, flames spewing from the mouth. Both bandicoots didn't wait for the flames to reach them, they dashed across the bridge towards the castle sitting in the moat of magma. The dragon landed on the lip of the volcano and sniggered as he watched the bandicoots scurry across the bridge. With blowing out a small fireball, he hit the ropes to the bridge, which began to burn.
Coco felt the lurch as the ropes of the bridge began to give way. "Hurry Crash!" she cried as they were only halfway across the bridge as the ropes burned swift and clean.
The bridge tilted to the side suddenly as one of the support ropes snapped. Coco screamed as she was launched from the side, towards the magma below.
"Gotcha!" Crash cried as he snagged his sister's arm as he held onto the bridge still holding up with his other hand. Glancing back, Crash saw the rope was almost burnt through. "Grab onto the boards and hold tight!" he ordered his sister, who was currently climbing back up onto the bridge.
Snap. The last support for the bridge snapped and it swung towards the cliff face near the castle. Both bandicoots held on tight for the ride of their lives. The bridge struck hard and, surprising, both bandicoots were able to keep hold of the bridge.
"Quick!" Coco ordered. "Let's get up there before that dragon realizes we ain't dead!"
Coco knelt over and puffed as she attempted to catch her breath. Crash meanwhile took to gazing around the deteriorated citadel. They were in a large hall-like area, bricks having fallen out of many places and the roof with holes. They had run in, dashing through a few open areas before they found this covered place and decided to use it as a temporary haven. There were even more skeletons lying here and there, scorch marks on the walls and all around, a total mess.
"Heh," he sniggered. "If only T could see this..."
"I... think..." Coco panted. "We gave that dragon... the slip Crash."
"Maybe, maybe not," Crash murmured. "But I think we'd best be on our toes while we're here."
Coco nodded as she took a gaze about her-self. She wondered about something. This didn't quite seem right until she saw...
"Crash!" she gasped as she pointed into a corner of the room. The other bandicoot turned to see a pile of rope bridges lying in the corner and he too realized the problem. They weren't dealing with a wild beast, but a creature that planned and plotted. "It's a trap..."
"Right," Crash answered, pulling up his wrist transmitter. "I'm calling Aku and telling him to get us out of this place."
"But how?" Coco asked. "If we use the Time Weaver, we can't use it for another twenty four hours. We may cease to exist in that time!"
"The JetPack," Crash answered as he pressed a few buttons on the transmitter...
A loud roar combined with the smashing of the wall signaled the arrival of the dragon. Crash didn't have enough warning to dodge out of the way. He was knocked into the other wall by the force of the dragon's snout and flung through it.
Crash gasped and yelled in terror as he realized he was floating above a pool of magma.
Then gravity beckoned...
Coco huddled underneath the stone stairs, hoping and praying the dragon wouldn't find her. It'd killed her brother and now it was after her. She just wanted to get out of there now and go home.
"GIVE UP PRINCESS!" a loud voice rumbled from elsewhere in the castle. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, INFERNO, THE LAST OF THE DRAGONS!"
The female bandicoot almost screamed in shock. This monster could speak English!
"I WILL FIND YOU SOONER OR LATER! AND YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THIS TRAP, SO JUST COME TO ME AND I PROMISE TO KILL YOU QUICKLY BEFORE I EAT YOU!"
That voice was below. Coco saw a small hole in the floor and peered down, cautiously. Below was a vast green beast, with leathery wings and a long snout full of jagged teeth. There was no way even Tiny Tiger could take this guy and hope to win...
Tink, tink, tink, tink... Coco noticed she'd knocked a small stone into the chamber below. Inferno's head snapped back and gazed up to see Coco. "You... you know..." Coco stammered. "I'm... n-n-not a p-p-p-princess. I'm not even... h-h-h-human."
"DOESN'T MATTER," Inferno growled. "I'M HUNGRY!"
Coco screamed as the dragon burst from the ground ahead of her, a loop of chain hanging from the ceiling encircling its throat. The terrified bandicoot screamed and flew up the stairs, feeling a blistering heat right on her tail.
Crash slowly opened his eyes. He could feel great heat, but he wasn't dead...
"YES!!!" the marsupial shrieked as he realized he was currently wearing the JetPack that was keeping him afloat. He couldn't believe his sheer dumb luck that it'd just been teleported to him and been activated in time to save his neck. He gave a spin of pure joy at being alive.
Then he remembered Coco and the dragon still in the castle. He peered at the tower above. It was attached to a small island in the lava. A plan formed in his head.
Pulling up his transmitter, he summoned his shovel gloves, which appeared on his hands.
"Here we go!" Crash grinned as he placed the fists out in front of him and began to spin. After he reached a certain speed, he launched him-self at the island, tunneling through the rock...
Coco grinded to a halt, just before she ran out of the open wall. She was trapped in the highest tower, with no way out and the dragon was swiftly storming up the stairs. She looked around for a weapon.
"NO!" she screamed. All she'd found was the dragon's treasure hoard. There was a large gray stone, but she didn't know if she could squeeze behind it to hide. But she had to at least try.
But, the second she touched the stone, she became stuck. She tried to pull her hand off the stone, but it was like it was super-glued to this stone. There was some odd magic to the stone.
Then, Inferno arrived. Coco knew this was the end. There was truly no escape this time.
But rather, Inferno growled angrily and dared not approach. Coco did not know why; the dragon could burn her to death, but he wouldn't do that either! He simply glowered and circled the bandicoot as she huddled next to the magic stone.
Suddenly, the island gave an almighty lurch to the left. Both Inferno and Coco cried out in horror. The whole castle was about to tumble into the lava!
Then, "Need a lift?"
"Crash!"
"Let go of the stone and lets go," the JetPack bandicoot grinned.
"I can't!" Coco cried. "I'm stuck! It's like a magic spell or something."
Crash growled. Then, "Hold onto the stone then!" He dashed in and wrapped his arms around the stone and lifted it. It was surprisingly light. He lifted out of the castle as it began to tumble into the lava.
"NOOOOOO!" a voice behind them cried. Inferno was giving chase as they ascended into the sky and the castle sunk in the lava.
Crash forced the JetPack on more and they gained distance from the dragon when...
Inferno made a choking sound as the chain yanked on his throat as it reached its length. The sudden impact on him made him lose his wings and the dragon tumbled and landed with an enormous splash into the red-hot magma.
The bandicoots watched as he thrashed out, roaring in agony, in the lava. He went under, three, four, five times before he went down for good.
"Thank goodness that's over," Crash sighed as they landed on the grass a fair distance from the volcano. For some strange reason, she was now able to let go of the stone, which she left sitting on the ground. "I thought we were toast for sure!"
"You still may be," a voice sniggered. Dingodile, a hybrid of half dingo and half crocodile was standing in front of them, his flame-thrower at the ready. He'd been hiding in the trees behind them. "Now are you going to come quietly, or do we have to hurt you?"
"I'm not afraid of a freak like... urgh!" Crash moaned as sharp claws snagged his throat from behind. Tiny Tiger, a super strong tiger freak, growled as he held Crash's throat, the bandicoot's face right up to his toothy jaws as the bandicoot muttered, "We'll go quietly."
Volcanic Panic
"Well, this ain't so bad," Coco assessed the situation from where she sat chained to a large rock, near the ledge of an active volcano, with a crumbled old castle sitting above the boiling magma below, connected to their ledge with a rickety old wooden bridge. "They could have chosen an instant death in which we couldn't escape from than this."
"But you can't see what I do," Crash answered, "And trust me... It doesn't look too good."
"Let's escape first," Coco suggested. "Then worry about anything else afterwards. Now, if you can handle me pulling the chains tightly for a few seconds, I just might be able to slip out my arm out and pick the lock with my hairpin. How 'bout it?"
"Go," Crash answered, seconds before the chains pulled him tightly against the rock. They were beginning to crush him. "Coco! Stop!"
"But I've just got out," his sister expressed as the chains loosened and she walked towards her brother. She swiftly worked on pulling the chains off of her brother. Then once Crash was freed, she also saw the problem. Skeletons. Lots of skeletons littered the floor nearby. Skeletons in armor, skeletons wearing tiaras, even horse skeletons. "Wow," Coco admitted. "What happened to them?"
"I dunno," Crash answered. "But let's not hang around to find out..."
"But what could have killed them?" Coco wondered out loud. "What attacks knights, princesses and..." she froze as she knew the answer.
Then, a shadow crept over the sun, causing them to look up. A loud resounding roar and the reptilian look with wings had only one word to describe it. "DRAGON!!!" they screamed at one another.
With another roar, the beast dived towards them, flames spewing from the mouth. Both bandicoots didn't wait for the flames to reach them, they dashed across the bridge towards the castle sitting in the moat of magma. The dragon landed on the lip of the volcano and sniggered as he watched the bandicoots scurry across the bridge. With blowing out a small fireball, he hit the ropes to the bridge, which began to burn.
Coco felt the lurch as the ropes of the bridge began to give way. "Hurry Crash!" she cried as they were only halfway across the bridge as the ropes burned swift and clean.
The bridge tilted to the side suddenly as one of the support ropes snapped. Coco screamed as she was launched from the side, towards the magma below.
"Gotcha!" Crash cried as he snagged his sister's arm as he held onto the bridge still holding up with his other hand. Glancing back, Crash saw the rope was almost burnt through. "Grab onto the boards and hold tight!" he ordered his sister, who was currently climbing back up onto the bridge.
Snap. The last support for the bridge snapped and it swung towards the cliff face near the castle. Both bandicoots held on tight for the ride of their lives. The bridge struck hard and, surprising, both bandicoots were able to keep hold of the bridge.
"Quick!" Coco ordered. "Let's get up there before that dragon realizes we ain't dead!"
Coco knelt over and puffed as she attempted to catch her breath. Crash meanwhile took to gazing around the deteriorated citadel. They were in a large hall-like area, bricks having fallen out of many places and the roof with holes. They had run in, dashing through a few open areas before they found this covered place and decided to use it as a temporary haven. There were even more skeletons lying here and there, scorch marks on the walls and all around, a total mess.
"Heh," he sniggered. "If only T could see this..."
"I... think..." Coco panted. "We gave that dragon... the slip Crash."
"Maybe, maybe not," Crash murmured. "But I think we'd best be on our toes while we're here."
Coco nodded as she took a gaze about her-self. She wondered about something. This didn't quite seem right until she saw...
"Crash!" she gasped as she pointed into a corner of the room. The other bandicoot turned to see a pile of rope bridges lying in the corner and he too realized the problem. They weren't dealing with a wild beast, but a creature that planned and plotted. "It's a trap..."
"Right," Crash answered, pulling up his wrist transmitter. "I'm calling Aku and telling him to get us out of this place."
"But how?" Coco asked. "If we use the Time Weaver, we can't use it for another twenty four hours. We may cease to exist in that time!"
"The JetPack," Crash answered as he pressed a few buttons on the transmitter...
A loud roar combined with the smashing of the wall signaled the arrival of the dragon. Crash didn't have enough warning to dodge out of the way. He was knocked into the other wall by the force of the dragon's snout and flung through it.
Crash gasped and yelled in terror as he realized he was floating above a pool of magma.
Then gravity beckoned...
Coco huddled underneath the stone stairs, hoping and praying the dragon wouldn't find her. It'd killed her brother and now it was after her. She just wanted to get out of there now and go home.
"GIVE UP PRINCESS!" a loud voice rumbled from elsewhere in the castle. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, INFERNO, THE LAST OF THE DRAGONS!"
The female bandicoot almost screamed in shock. This monster could speak English!
"I WILL FIND YOU SOONER OR LATER! AND YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THIS TRAP, SO JUST COME TO ME AND I PROMISE TO KILL YOU QUICKLY BEFORE I EAT YOU!"
That voice was below. Coco saw a small hole in the floor and peered down, cautiously. Below was a vast green beast, with leathery wings and a long snout full of jagged teeth. There was no way even Tiny Tiger could take this guy and hope to win...
Tink, tink, tink, tink... Coco noticed she'd knocked a small stone into the chamber below. Inferno's head snapped back and gazed up to see Coco. "You... you know..." Coco stammered. "I'm... n-n-not a p-p-p-princess. I'm not even... h-h-h-human."
"DOESN'T MATTER," Inferno growled. "I'M HUNGRY!"
Coco screamed as the dragon burst from the ground ahead of her, a loop of chain hanging from the ceiling encircling its throat. The terrified bandicoot screamed and flew up the stairs, feeling a blistering heat right on her tail.
Crash slowly opened his eyes. He could feel great heat, but he wasn't dead...
"YES!!!" the marsupial shrieked as he realized he was currently wearing the JetPack that was keeping him afloat. He couldn't believe his sheer dumb luck that it'd just been teleported to him and been activated in time to save his neck. He gave a spin of pure joy at being alive.
Then he remembered Coco and the dragon still in the castle. He peered at the tower above. It was attached to a small island in the lava. A plan formed in his head.
Pulling up his transmitter, he summoned his shovel gloves, which appeared on his hands.
"Here we go!" Crash grinned as he placed the fists out in front of him and began to spin. After he reached a certain speed, he launched him-self at the island, tunneling through the rock...
Coco grinded to a halt, just before she ran out of the open wall. She was trapped in the highest tower, with no way out and the dragon was swiftly storming up the stairs. She looked around for a weapon.
"NO!" she screamed. All she'd found was the dragon's treasure hoard. There was a large gray stone, but she didn't know if she could squeeze behind it to hide. But she had to at least try.
But, the second she touched the stone, she became stuck. She tried to pull her hand off the stone, but it was like it was super-glued to this stone. There was some odd magic to the stone.
Then, Inferno arrived. Coco knew this was the end. There was truly no escape this time.
But rather, Inferno growled angrily and dared not approach. Coco did not know why; the dragon could burn her to death, but he wouldn't do that either! He simply glowered and circled the bandicoot as she huddled next to the magic stone.
Suddenly, the island gave an almighty lurch to the left. Both Inferno and Coco cried out in horror. The whole castle was about to tumble into the lava!
Then, "Need a lift?"
"Crash!"
"Let go of the stone and lets go," the JetPack bandicoot grinned.
"I can't!" Coco cried. "I'm stuck! It's like a magic spell or something."
Crash growled. Then, "Hold onto the stone then!" He dashed in and wrapped his arms around the stone and lifted it. It was surprisingly light. He lifted out of the castle as it began to tumble into the lava.
"NOOOOOO!" a voice behind them cried. Inferno was giving chase as they ascended into the sky and the castle sunk in the lava.
Crash forced the JetPack on more and they gained distance from the dragon when...
Inferno made a choking sound as the chain yanked on his throat as it reached its length. The sudden impact on him made him lose his wings and the dragon tumbled and landed with an enormous splash into the red-hot magma.
The bandicoots watched as he thrashed out, roaring in agony, in the lava. He went under, three, four, five times before he went down for good.
"Thank goodness that's over," Crash sighed as they landed on the grass a fair distance from the volcano. For some strange reason, she was now able to let go of the stone, which she left sitting on the ground. "I thought we were toast for sure!"
"You still may be," a voice sniggered. Dingodile, a hybrid of half dingo and half crocodile was standing in front of them, his flame-thrower at the ready. He'd been hiding in the trees behind them. "Now are you going to come quietly, or do we have to hurt you?"
"I'm not afraid of a freak like... urgh!" Crash moaned as sharp claws snagged his throat from behind. Tiny Tiger, a super strong tiger freak, growled as he held Crash's throat, the bandicoot's face right up to his toothy jaws as the bandicoot muttered, "We'll go quietly."