Chapter 5

Cortex stared in sheer horror at what he had done. He had turned Crunch into a monster that had destroyed Coco! And what a slaughter it was! Blood and guts flowing all over the place, and a severed head! It was too much for Cortex!

"What have I done?" he shrieked. "I brainwashed Crunch! Wait! I can take that helmet off!" And he did.

Soon, Crunch found that he could think for himself.

"Whoa. What happened?" the giant bandicoot groaned. Cortex sighed, grimly.

"As I brought you back to life, I accidentally brainwashed you, and I—'' Cortex trailed off. Crunch turned on him.

"What did you do to Coco?" he asked, dangerously. Cortex shook with fright as the giant bandicoot cracked his knuckles. Then, Cortex grew brave.

"I didn't touch her!" he snapped. "That was you! YOU killed her and now YOU'RE the only bandicoot left!"

Crunch gasped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! He had killed Coco, the only girl that had showed love for him! He couldn't bring himself to believe it!

"I don't remember doing anything!" Crunch finally blurted out. This seemed to make Cortex even angrier.

"Then, look at that dead body and tell me what you see!" Cortex growled, impatiently. He was hoping he could get Crunch and Coco's body out of the castle so he could keep working on his evil plans.

Suspicious, Crunch walked over to the slaughter scene and then he believed what Cortex had told him. There was Coco, her dead body covered in a sea of blood. And, some finger marks on her neck made it even more obvious. (A/N: My sincerest apologies to crimson-knight87 for using a quote from a story written by him.) Now, Crunch could feel hot tears streaming down his cheeks, tears of misery. How could he let himself kill his own love? His look made Cortex feel very bad.

"Crunch, I'm so sorry," the mad scientist finally sighed. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I hope you'll forgive me."

For a moment, Crunch said nothing, for his emotions had started running high and he began losing control. He turned on Cortex and gave a cry of anger.

"You MADE ME KILL HER!" he thundered, tears still running down his cheeks. "OH YOU SELFISH LITTLE TWERP! I'M GONNA—'' Crunch broke off. Cortex began sweating.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

For a minute, Crunch stayed silent. Then, he grabbed Coco's body and ran out of Cortex Castle, sobbing uncontrollably. This was too much for a giant bandicoot to take.

Cortex let out a small sigh. It really pained him to see such a giant bandicoot fall apart.

Meanwhile, Dingodile and Koala Kong were walking out of the town where the pub was, grumbling.

"I shouldn't have let Coco go by herself!" Koala Kong muttered. "She's probably bleeding!"

"Aye, mate," Dingodile replied. "And I wasn't able ta stop da sheila from getting hurt!"

"I wonder how she's doing," Koala Kong mumbled. "Wait a second! Do you hear that? It's Crunch and he's sobbing! Something must have happened!"

Anxious to know about Coco's whereabouts, Dingodile and Koala Kong rushed into the forest to meet up with Crunch. And then, the pair saw her.

Coco, in the arms of Crunch, dead and unmoving.

Dingodile was heartbroken, and Koala Kong was deeply dismayed. Walking slowly towards him, Koala Kong began to speak.

"Crunch? What happened?"

Crunch looked up and saw the giant koala and sobbed even harder.

"Oh, Kong!" Crunch moaned. "This is my fault, if you will! I was brainwashed after being brought back and I killed Coco! I KILLED MY OWN SPECIES!"

Koala Kong's dismay suddenly vanished and utter fury appeared.

"Why you—''

"Wait, Kong!" Dingodile barked, even though he too, was very angry and hot tears were pouring down his cheeks. "How could Crunch actually want ta kill his own species if he was brainwashed?"

Koala Kong stopped there. He scowled.

"You're right, Dingodile. There is no way—''

"Exactly," Dingodile replied. The dingo-crocodile turned to Crunch.

"Bandicoot, who made you kill the sheila?"

"IT WAS CORTEX!" Crunch howled.

Dingodile stared. Then, a low growl escaped from him.

"That's torn it!" Dingodile growled. "That damn fool is toast!"

Even though Crunch despised Cortex, he stopped crying long enough to speak sharply to Dingodile.

"You leave Cortex alone!" he snapped. "He told me this was a complete accident!"

"Accidentally on purpose," snorted Dingodile. "Come on, Kong! Let's go tear that guy limb from limb!"

But Koala Kong didn't move.

"You know? I bet you Crunch might be telling the truth," he sighed. "I mean, have you noticed Cortex confessing to all the evil he's done? He might be changing!"

"Come ta think about it, I 'ave," Dingodile replied, though his voice was still sad. "I guess this is where it ends."

"Unfortunately," Koala Kong replied, wiping a tear out of his eye.

So that was it. Coco was dead, and now Crunch was the only bandicoot left. However, Crunch still had friends, but that didn't stop him from sobbing all the time when he thought of Coco. And no one could blame him. That is, he and Coco were an item before fate turned cruel, and now it seemed that fate had gone from cruel to pure evil. And now fate had a name.

It was Cortex, and eventually, a funeral was planned and Pinstripe said, "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. We will never see our beloved Coco anymore."

And so ends a tragic love story, where two bandicoots first fell in love, then got separated, then got reunited, and separated again. Read the first story to find out about the whole bandicoots falling in love affair. And now, to wrap this up, Crunch will never know love again.

It's all over.

The End