Chapter Three
Dungeons and Dragons
"This is ridiculous!" Coco shrieked as she paced within their tiny cell, staring longingly at the keys dangling from the belt of the snoozing Rilla Roo, another hybrid, half kangaroo and half gorilla, outside their cell and the transmitters on the desk next to him, the JetPack leaning against the desk. Thick metal bars barricaded their escape and to make matters worse, Cortex had sentenced them to life imprisonment in this very cell. "Why do we keep being caught here in this time line?"
Crash shrugged as he kicked the chains that he and his sister had just escaped from the stone that Coco had rescued from the castle. Dingodile and Tiny had chained them to it and had hauled them to the castle. As with before, Coco and her hairpin had freed them from the constraints.
"Someone's coming!" Coco cried as she heard the approaching footsteps. Swiftly the two bandicoots threw the chains on crudely. So far, the only ones to check up on them and Rilla Roo was Koala Kong and Tiny Tiger, both of whom were incredibly strong, but not smart enough to add two and two.
Coco's heart sank when she saw who it was. "Well, well, well," Dr N. Tropy, the Master of Time grinned with his blue face, the little facial hair he had dancing in delight as with the pistons and clock hands on his power suit. "Crafty little blighters, aren't we?" He turned to face Rilla Roo and snarled. Holding up his oversized tuning fork, he fired an energy bolt at the backside of the mutant.
Rilla Roo jumped several feet in the air and came down with a crash. He glowered at N. Tropy and demanded, "What that for?"
"The prisoners have escaped on YOUR watch."
Rilla Roo stiffened and looked into the cell. He relaxed and snapped, struggling with the large word, "Ban... di... coots, still there."
"Maybe so Rilla," Tropy smirked, "but they have escaped from their chains." He walked back to the cell and faced his tuning fork at the chains. A blast from the weapon and the chains leapt into life, wrapping them-selves tightly around the bandicoots and the stone and securing it with a magical lock. "Let's see you get out of that!" He turned back to Rilla Roo. "If we catch you sleeping again, you will be unevolved. Catch my drift?"
Rilla Roo nodded and sat back into his seat to watch the bandicoots as Tropy wandered off laughing his head off. Rilla Roo lasted five, ten, thirteen minutes before he dozed off again.
"Well, this is it," Coco sighed. "There is no escape this time at all. We may as well..."
"Shhhhhh..." Crash hissed. "Listen."
Over the snores of Rilla Roo, Coco faintly heard something fairly odd...
"Move over! You're on my side!"
"Your side? This is MY side thank you!"
"Maybe so, but this is my egg!"
"Our egg! OUR egg, brother!"
Coco gasped as she realized the rock was in fact an egg. A dragon egg! No wonder Inferno would not attack her! He must have been afraid of attacking his young on accident.
"Hey! I claimed it as mine first!"
"Oww! That's it! I've had it with your claws-first attitude! I'm outta here!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"
"Getting away from you brother!"
"But you'll destroy my egg!"
"Oww!" Crash gasped as something sharp stabbed him in the back. Rilla Roo gave a grunt. Coco suppressed a yell as something sharp scratched her head.
Wincing and gasping as things poked and prodded them, Crash and Coco suddenly felt the wall behind them crumble and the chains loosen and fall lifelessly to the ground. The egg had broken into many little shards.
As the two bandicoots turned, they found two dragons staring at them. The dragons stood on their hind legs, the front legs seeming to be like hands, while they also looked as if they could be used as legs. One was a blue color with a small horn poking out from its snout. The other one was a pink color, two blunt horns poking out from forehead. The pink one seemed to be a little afraid, while the blue one glowered at the two of them. Both were quite slender and about half the size of Crash and Coco.
"You're not one of us," it snapped. "Who are you?"
"Scorch," the pink one whimpered. "I'm afraid."
"Don't worry Spark," the blue dragon, Scorch, answered as he lowered his head and smoke began to rise from his nostrils. "I'll protect you until father comes..."
"Err..." Coco murmured. "We're not going to hurt you. We promise you."
Scorch eyed her suspiciously, while Spark cowered underneath her brother. He turned to Crash, "Who are you?" Scorch demanded. "Where's father?"
"I'm Crash," Crash said, pointing to him-self. Rilla Roo muttered in his sleep. "And this over there, is my sister Coco."
Scorch's ears perked up as he heard a purring noise. "Get away from her!" he barked at Coco as he charged her and attempted to breathe fire, but only let out smoke.
"Hey! I liked that," Spark protested as Coco's hand retracted in fright from rubbing her head. Coco reached back out and Scorch snapped at her with his teeth. "Hey! Scorch!" Spark protested again, her eyes wide in wonder and delight at Coco. "Maybe we should them a chance. They seem friendly enough..."
"But they aren't like us!" Scorch snapped. "Where is father? I want father!"
"I don't know where he is," Crash lied. He felt guilty that it was he that had killed their father. "We were simply tied to your egg. And then you hatched."
Scorch glared at Crash as if he knew that he was lying.
"Listen err..." Coco asked the young female.
"Spark. My name is Spark."
"Right, Spark," Coco smiled and winked at her brother. "Could you squeeze through those bars and get us the keys from that sleeping oaf there?"
The pink dragon frowned in fright. "I guess I could try."
"They are not our kind!" Scorch raged, as he sat down, clearly not going to be any help. "We should just stay here and wait for father."
But Spark snorted a little flicker of flame from her mouth. "You always bullied me around. Well, now that I'm out of that egg, I'm not taking your orders anymore." She strolled on her own to the bars and easily slipped through. Slowly approaching the napping Rilla Roo, she grasped the keys with her front claws and tugged them gently from his belt.
Rilla Roo snorted and rolled over as Spark returned with the keys. She handed them to Coco, who quickly unlocked the door and pocketed the keys. She and Crash collected their items and were about to escape from the dungeon, when Spark asked, "Scorch, are you coming?"
"No!" the moody male snapped as he sat exactly where'd he'd hatched. "I'm waiting here for father! I'm not going to move at all."
"Suit your-self," Spark answered and she ran to Crash and Coco. Her afraid face was replaced with one of disgust. "Leave him. He never changes his bad attitudes."
"Then lets get going to the north tower then," Coco answered, remember Cortex's mention of a 'weapon' within. "We got to find out what this 'weapon' Cortex slipped on mentioning."
Crash nodded and he, Coco and Spark quickly and quietly left, leaving Rilla Roo to his dreams.
Five minutes, after their departure, Dingodile arrived to check up to find the cell empty, except for a small dragon sitting among some strange gray fragments. "Where are the bandicoots?" he snapped at the dragon.
"The north tower," Scorch snarled, not even turning around.
Dingodile nodded in understanding, then, "Hey, are you related to the dragon Inferno in any way?"
Scorch turned around and stared at Dingodile, "Why?"
Dingodile smiled, flashing his reptilian teeth. But, before he answered, he turned to face the napping Rilla Roo and took careful aim at his tail with his flame-thrower...
Dungeons and Dragons
"This is ridiculous!" Coco shrieked as she paced within their tiny cell, staring longingly at the keys dangling from the belt of the snoozing Rilla Roo, another hybrid, half kangaroo and half gorilla, outside their cell and the transmitters on the desk next to him, the JetPack leaning against the desk. Thick metal bars barricaded their escape and to make matters worse, Cortex had sentenced them to life imprisonment in this very cell. "Why do we keep being caught here in this time line?"
Crash shrugged as he kicked the chains that he and his sister had just escaped from the stone that Coco had rescued from the castle. Dingodile and Tiny had chained them to it and had hauled them to the castle. As with before, Coco and her hairpin had freed them from the constraints.
"Someone's coming!" Coco cried as she heard the approaching footsteps. Swiftly the two bandicoots threw the chains on crudely. So far, the only ones to check up on them and Rilla Roo was Koala Kong and Tiny Tiger, both of whom were incredibly strong, but not smart enough to add two and two.
Coco's heart sank when she saw who it was. "Well, well, well," Dr N. Tropy, the Master of Time grinned with his blue face, the little facial hair he had dancing in delight as with the pistons and clock hands on his power suit. "Crafty little blighters, aren't we?" He turned to face Rilla Roo and snarled. Holding up his oversized tuning fork, he fired an energy bolt at the backside of the mutant.
Rilla Roo jumped several feet in the air and came down with a crash. He glowered at N. Tropy and demanded, "What that for?"
"The prisoners have escaped on YOUR watch."
Rilla Roo stiffened and looked into the cell. He relaxed and snapped, struggling with the large word, "Ban... di... coots, still there."
"Maybe so Rilla," Tropy smirked, "but they have escaped from their chains." He walked back to the cell and faced his tuning fork at the chains. A blast from the weapon and the chains leapt into life, wrapping them-selves tightly around the bandicoots and the stone and securing it with a magical lock. "Let's see you get out of that!" He turned back to Rilla Roo. "If we catch you sleeping again, you will be unevolved. Catch my drift?"
Rilla Roo nodded and sat back into his seat to watch the bandicoots as Tropy wandered off laughing his head off. Rilla Roo lasted five, ten, thirteen minutes before he dozed off again.
"Well, this is it," Coco sighed. "There is no escape this time at all. We may as well..."
"Shhhhhh..." Crash hissed. "Listen."
Over the snores of Rilla Roo, Coco faintly heard something fairly odd...
"Move over! You're on my side!"
"Your side? This is MY side thank you!"
"Maybe so, but this is my egg!"
"Our egg! OUR egg, brother!"
Coco gasped as she realized the rock was in fact an egg. A dragon egg! No wonder Inferno would not attack her! He must have been afraid of attacking his young on accident.
"Hey! I claimed it as mine first!"
"Oww! That's it! I've had it with your claws-first attitude! I'm outta here!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"
"Getting away from you brother!"
"But you'll destroy my egg!"
"Oww!" Crash gasped as something sharp stabbed him in the back. Rilla Roo gave a grunt. Coco suppressed a yell as something sharp scratched her head.
Wincing and gasping as things poked and prodded them, Crash and Coco suddenly felt the wall behind them crumble and the chains loosen and fall lifelessly to the ground. The egg had broken into many little shards.
As the two bandicoots turned, they found two dragons staring at them. The dragons stood on their hind legs, the front legs seeming to be like hands, while they also looked as if they could be used as legs. One was a blue color with a small horn poking out from its snout. The other one was a pink color, two blunt horns poking out from forehead. The pink one seemed to be a little afraid, while the blue one glowered at the two of them. Both were quite slender and about half the size of Crash and Coco.
"You're not one of us," it snapped. "Who are you?"
"Scorch," the pink one whimpered. "I'm afraid."
"Don't worry Spark," the blue dragon, Scorch, answered as he lowered his head and smoke began to rise from his nostrils. "I'll protect you until father comes..."
"Err..." Coco murmured. "We're not going to hurt you. We promise you."
Scorch eyed her suspiciously, while Spark cowered underneath her brother. He turned to Crash, "Who are you?" Scorch demanded. "Where's father?"
"I'm Crash," Crash said, pointing to him-self. Rilla Roo muttered in his sleep. "And this over there, is my sister Coco."
Scorch's ears perked up as he heard a purring noise. "Get away from her!" he barked at Coco as he charged her and attempted to breathe fire, but only let out smoke.
"Hey! I liked that," Spark protested as Coco's hand retracted in fright from rubbing her head. Coco reached back out and Scorch snapped at her with his teeth. "Hey! Scorch!" Spark protested again, her eyes wide in wonder and delight at Coco. "Maybe we should them a chance. They seem friendly enough..."
"But they aren't like us!" Scorch snapped. "Where is father? I want father!"
"I don't know where he is," Crash lied. He felt guilty that it was he that had killed their father. "We were simply tied to your egg. And then you hatched."
Scorch glared at Crash as if he knew that he was lying.
"Listen err..." Coco asked the young female.
"Spark. My name is Spark."
"Right, Spark," Coco smiled and winked at her brother. "Could you squeeze through those bars and get us the keys from that sleeping oaf there?"
The pink dragon frowned in fright. "I guess I could try."
"They are not our kind!" Scorch raged, as he sat down, clearly not going to be any help. "We should just stay here and wait for father."
But Spark snorted a little flicker of flame from her mouth. "You always bullied me around. Well, now that I'm out of that egg, I'm not taking your orders anymore." She strolled on her own to the bars and easily slipped through. Slowly approaching the napping Rilla Roo, she grasped the keys with her front claws and tugged them gently from his belt.
Rilla Roo snorted and rolled over as Spark returned with the keys. She handed them to Coco, who quickly unlocked the door and pocketed the keys. She and Crash collected their items and were about to escape from the dungeon, when Spark asked, "Scorch, are you coming?"
"No!" the moody male snapped as he sat exactly where'd he'd hatched. "I'm waiting here for father! I'm not going to move at all."
"Suit your-self," Spark answered and she ran to Crash and Coco. Her afraid face was replaced with one of disgust. "Leave him. He never changes his bad attitudes."
"Then lets get going to the north tower then," Coco answered, remember Cortex's mention of a 'weapon' within. "We got to find out what this 'weapon' Cortex slipped on mentioning."
Crash nodded and he, Coco and Spark quickly and quietly left, leaving Rilla Roo to his dreams.
Five minutes, after their departure, Dingodile arrived to check up to find the cell empty, except for a small dragon sitting among some strange gray fragments. "Where are the bandicoots?" he snapped at the dragon.
"The north tower," Scorch snarled, not even turning around.
Dingodile nodded in understanding, then, "Hey, are you related to the dragon Inferno in any way?"
Scorch turned around and stared at Dingodile, "Why?"
Dingodile smiled, flashing his reptilian teeth. But, before he answered, he turned to face the napping Rilla Roo and took careful aim at his tail with his flame-thrower...