-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Advancing onto the second chapter of this thing then...
In this one we have a strong introduction as granted towards the driving force of the island's hope - a rebellion force as lead by Kyle-Jovi. (I got a sketch of him done somewhere, but I just need to get that finished...) It's also here that I hoped to intertwine a further amount of destiny to add within the darkness so far... meep.
Looking onto the response on the previous chapter I can say I'm happy with how things have come around. Thanks for taking your time to look into it and seeing what there is. Let's see if I can look into some of those queries left behind.
Crashfan, registration here is free. If it wasn't, we won't have so many members here right now. But if you do want to come aboard, you won't regret it.
Redwalgrl, as sad as it is to say this, Twinsanity is not on the GameCube. :( But I was hoping that wouldn't impede the experience too much, right? Thanks for your time.
And Turquoise Phoenix, I also thank you so much for your commentary. Yeah, I had to emphasize a bit on the pure heart that Nina had before being brought over to the Academy of Evil, which goes to show the fact that not every villain (villainess?) has to be totally vicious. I saw her as a great character in Twinsanity and I hope she gets some strong roles in the future.
Well, I've got nothing much else to say, than to make sure you enjoy the part through and through.
Peace out,
-Rexy-
The sights of the island from the mountain tops were shown to be more vast than expected. The sides of the volcano were seen to the left, the remaining plants were shown to be set in a worthwhile camouflage-type glory, and the waters were seen glistening through the mild thunder light.
The sights ended up paying attention to a figure standing within the darkness – a figure with deep green eyes. A short figure with deep green eyes. A short, unusually proportioned figure with deep green eyes.
Another figure ended up coming near him, looking on at the scene around them. The cold winds were brought around their bodies, allowing any hair/clothes to be able to be blown drastically within the currents.
They brought their eyes straight down to the path at the bottom, where several footprints managed to catch their own attention. And they in turn ended up leading towards a portion near the middle of their viewpoint.
Right there, they saw Crash walking with his hands on his head, showing a light smile upon his own face; meanwhile, Cortex and Nina were seen showing reflective looks as they walked much more seriously.
"Crash Bandicoot, I see you have escaped from your little prison", it spoke with a light toned yet menacing voice.
The short figure leered on at the scene ahead with its own eyes, its pupils shrinking down in a menacing fashion. The aspect of happiness shown upon the bandicoot's face only just left him to shake one of his rounded hands with rage.
In turn, it shifted its eyes back towards the other shadow – a muscular figure that showed nothing but monstrous pupil-less eyes. That in turn brought its face towards its partner, a very faint sigh escaping from his mouth.
All that the second figure would was eventually show a wide-eyed expression towards his partner, whom in turn ended up looking down towards the ground, its teeth starting to grit within the darkness. It then brought its face back up.
"This can be a light problem abound. I expect you to go down there and settle this."
And then, the second creature started to march his way straight away from his opponent, leaving behind several deep footprints across the sandy ground. Its limbs were seen hanging down as tight as possible.
It then managed to reach a spot at the other end of the clearing, where several smaller shadows were seen making their walk around the area themselves, their facial expressions showing a lack of emotion around them.
As soon as the broader figure came near them, they all looked up at him together, their eyes rapidly blinking towards his. They eventually stepped out into the light, showing themselves as another set of furry bird creatures.
"Let's go", he spoke with a deep growl-type voice.
And within an instant, most of the squadron started to make their run right across the cliff tops, their arms being extended as they did so and their faces showing a more sleek expression all around them.
Eventually they reached the edge of the cliff, and they all jumped straight off together, falling their way straight down towards the ground. But before they could even touch the surface, they used their wings to gracefully soar straight up into the air.
Their bodies eventually managed to reach the same level as the light of the sun, currently white and granting off an eerie light essence to match that with the neon thunder strikes. Within the light view, the broader figure ended up smiling on at its comrades.
And it wasn't long that he decided to make his run towards the cliff side himself, zooming straight past the short, unevenly-shaped figure. There, it made its pounce straight towards the ground, almost destined to crash towards the ground without wings.
Suddenly, it managed to hover its way back up, showing it being supported by a jet pack. It then hovered its way towards the others at a fast and furious pace, its menacing limbs being stretched straight out in front of it.
Back down at the pathway, the waters were seen continuing to crash straight upon the surface of the sand, providing a light amount of dampened nature around the sandy textures. Some of which even started to wash away the footprints as left behind by Crash, Cortex and Nina.
They themselves were seen with their focuses either being fixed towards the path ahead, or towards the metallic structures that were left on top of the hill itself. Within the group, Cortex's expression showed more dread at the sight of them.
All of a sudden, several white plasma shots came from above and crashed straight down onto the ground, leaving marks upon the dry ground that were a mere two centimeters from Cortex's feet. He ended up jumping up with fright.
"AAARGH!" he panicked.
Nina quickly tried to reach for him. "Uncle Neo!"
With a widened expression, Nina managed to approach him and brought her arms around his body, careful not to pierce his skin with her own two hands. There, he pointed up, where a black dot shape was seen blocking the neon lighted skies.
"I thought I saw something above!" Cortex exclaimed as he looked up.
Crash's eyes squinted. "Let me see..."
Crash managed to stand still, twitched his eyes and looked straight on at the black dot up ahead. There, it soon expanded into several dots all at once, coming closer and closer down towards the scene.
Eventually, they were shown in full focus – most of which were shown to be the same type of furry bird figures that attacked Cortex and Nina, but this time they were lead by a creature that was three to four times their size, with menacing claws instead of wings, and was seen using a jetpack to fly onto the scene.
"I can recognize that monster", gasped the bandicoot. "That was the same one that imprisoned me!"
Eventually, the figures managed to reach the group and circled them. Their menacing motions were still seen around them, leaving them to show shaky expressions back. That was shown even more so on Cortex, whom ended up taking a grasp onto a nearby tree to show his cowardice.
And eventually, one by one, the birds started to fly straight down towards the scene, showing their devious expressions as they managed to come closer. There, Crash pointed on at their motions with a widened face.
"Take cover!"
And just as when some of which were about to swoop down towards them, they all ended up ducking together. Most of the birds ended up squealing as they ended up hovering back up, unsuccessfully.
There, within the group, the larger figure ended up making his landing upon the ground, leering straight on at his opponents with his own menacing eyes. Within the others, Nina showed no fear upon her own emotion.
"If that's how he wants to mess with us, there's only one thing for it - to fight back!"
"Can't we make a run for it?" questioned Cortex with hesitance. "I'm not risking my life to fight this thing!"
While that happened, the creatures eventually ended up surrounding all the portions of the pathway around them, leaving Crash, Cortex and Nina to be trapped within a circle of a 50 meter radius, getting smaller over time.
Cortex gave out a light gulp. "On second thoughts...?"
With hesitance, he ended up bringing his laser out from his possession, ready to fight on at the figures around him. They were advancing closer and closer, showing further rage upon their faces as time advanced.
And near the back of the group, the group leader showed the most devious expression of all, his fang like teeth showing through his own furry chin. His thick eyebrows and pupil-less eyes were also shown to be just as horrifying as ever.
Eventually, Crash ended up reflecting the same expressions back, with his own hands clutched tightly with determination. He then gave out a devious smile, before bringing himself into a wide stride.
"Let's rock!" Crash smirked on.
And there, he started to charge his way straight towards the squadron, his own hands brought to his sides. As soon as he managed to approach some of the squad members, he brought himself into a powerful spin that knocked some of the creatures off their feat and across the clearing.
While that happened, Cortex and Nina fought back with teamwork, where the grasp of her hand extensions and his laser shots ended up helping in making their opponents vulnerable to their attacks.
Back with Crash, he was about to tackle through a further amount of opponents ahead of him, but… that was until some of which drew out their own pistols, aiming them straight towards his own body.
"Oh great...!"
And just like that, more of the opponents came from behind him and ended up raising him off his feet. That left him to start wriggling from his own motion – not even his own strength was strong enough to pull him free from the grasp.
"Crash!" Nina shouted from her position.
"Get me off this thing!"
Nina looked on at Crash, and then back at Cortex. There, he was seen fighting hard from the top of a nearby palm tree, using his laser to shoot his enemies from down below. She gave off a warm smile before running towards the bandicoot's direction.
There, she ended up making a giant jump right above the invading forces, performing a forward somersault as she did so. Once back on both feet, she turned towards them and showed a vicious smirk upon them.
"You've had this coming for a long time!" she shouted with determination.
There, she sent forward her own hands and ended up taking a tight grip upon his back. There, he started to struggle to cope under her own strain, leaving him to end up dropping Crash and giving him the chance to escape.
He himself ended up trying to flee to the nearby cliff tops, but before he could do so he ended up being grabbed from behind via the group leader's grasp. His piercing hands left him to struggle his way out.
Back with Nina, the chains were left to hold on tightly upon her own smaller opponent. While that happened, most of the other group members' laser shots were sent towards her, leaving her to jump over her own opponent and in turn leaving the shots to end up striking her own opponent down.
"Didn't the weatherman tell you to watch out for storms today?" she smirked towards her opponents.
She smirked as she released her grip upon the fallen figure. There, most of the others gradually started to come near her with growing smirks upon their own faces, determined to be able to fight her further.
Back with Cortex, he continued to fight hard against the forces surrounding the tree he was sitting upon. Eventually, most of which were brought down by his own laser shots, leaving him to show success upon his own face. But… that was until a crack occurred at the bottom of the tree.
"Mother!" Cortex screamed with worry.
He looked down, and saw the group leader using one hand to slash upon the tree, while holding a barely-alive Crash in the other. That in turn left the tree to start falling down towards the ground like a solo domino.
And eventually it crashed upon the ground, leaving Cortex to end up rolling upon the ground before bringing himself back on both feet. There, the figure started to chase him, leaving him to try and run away from his own grasp.
"Fight back, Uncle Neo!" cheered Nina from nearby. "I know that you can handle it!"
In the background, Nina managed to find her own success by using her hands to fight from a nearby wall. As soon as most of the enemies were attacked, she sent her traps towards the group leader, whom ended up stopping in his tracks for a short period of time. While that happened, Cortex looked upon his own laser gun while running from the group leader, scrolling through the many options his weapon provided.
His hands started to shake. "Great, which one's the Instant Death option?"
"Be quick!" Nina commanded with a struggle. "I can't hold him much longer!"
She tried to hold on tightly upon the chains, trying to maintain her grip as firmly as she can. But eventually, her grasp was starting to be cut short, leaving her to eventually fly off the wall and land on the sand, leaving her to use her feet as a brake… although not as successful as planned.
And in turn, the strain upon the chain was gradually starting to become rougher. She tried her best to pull back as far as she can go, but… unfortunately for her she was forced off her feet, leaving her to fly onto the sand with failure.
"AAARGH!" she squealed as she landed on her stomach.
All she could do from her position was just watch as the monster eventually managed to catch up with Cortex, and once there it took a hold upon his body, leaving him to start wriggling out from his own awkward position.
And just like that, he hurled him straight towards a nearby tree, leaving him to crash into it head first. That in turn left him to throw Crash near the water's edge, with his face being brought down into the shallow waters.
"RRRROOAARRRR!"
He then brought one final glance towards Nina, whom ended up starting to shake at the sight of its own expressions. It gave off menacing footsteps as it managed to come near her, its snarl easily showing upon its own face.
And then, it brought its hands straight down towards the ground, in a vague attempt to reach for Nina's chains linking to the bear traps on her hands, only to have her reel them in first. It lightly cursed under its breath before approaching her further.
And right there, she knew that she wouldn't stand much of a chance against him. She even looked in the directions around her, where she ended up seeing a lot of smaller monsters gradually making her way towards her, surrounding her on all angles if not going around her fallen comrades. She knew for a fact that she may not escape her opponents' wrath.
"Leave them alone!" screamed a nearby male voice.
And then, from right at the top of the cliffs, came several shadows blocking the groups' view. They were shown to be figures with broad and sleek portions all around them, with the exception of a slightly muscle-bound figure standing near them.
All three figures jumped straight down towards the ground, landing with elegant looks all around them. They ended up looking on at one another with broad expressions upon them, in spite of them still being obscured by darkness.
"That's it, ladies!" the lead shadow exclaimed. "Let's get around to surrounding the thing!"
And then, all three of them started to make their run across the clearing, running straight towards the fallen fighters. There, their expressions continued to show determination left right and center, all through their own piercing eyes.
Within the group came a figure with a long ponytail, and her height revealing her to be the shortest of the group. There, she brought herself into a flying kick towards some of the soldiers while advancing towards Crash.
There, she placed a hand upon his body, before bringing his head towards hers. Over time she was brought into the light, showing herself to have blonde hair with a blue flower placed within it, deep green eyes upon her, a white t-shirt being covered by a denim set of dungarees and pink shoes upon her. She was a bandicoot, just like Crash.
"Up you go!" she smiled on at him.
Crash instantly recognized her. "Coco?"
He opened his eyes, and ended up seeing her into full focus, thus revealing his face right in front of her. At the sight of his expression, she ended up startled, thus taking a light step back at his own response.
"Aaah!" she said with a light squeal. "Crash! Where have you been all these weeks?"
"I don't have time, I should explain later!"
Coco's expression continued to show shock upon her, before she eventually ended up taking a hold upon Crash's arms and brought him up onto both feet. There, they looked ahead of them and saw the fight gradually coming through into their own hands.
At another part of the clearing, another shadowed figure – one wearing a very long dress – was seen making its advance towards Nina. There, it brought out some muscular arms and sent them straight towards the opposing party.
Once it cut through the smaller party, it turned around and started throwing them one by one, either into the water, into the walls or right into other enemies, leaving it to show a determined smile upon it.
"Eat dust, sucker!" he exclaimed with a rough male voice.
The figure himself then advanced into the light, showing him as a brown-red bandicoot creature with deep blue eyes, a muscular tone upon his body… and a ridiculous black dress all around him. That left Nina to show a face filled with shock upon her.
"Crunch? You're working with him too?" Nina gasped with wonder. "And… what's with the dress?"
"It's a uniform", he shrugged. "Besides, it's the least I could do to keep this planet alive! And wherever comrades like Coco go, I come with them. I didn't want to lose her like we lost Crash to start with."
He then pointed on at Crash and Coco in the background, where they were both coming closer towards them, showing relief all around them. That in turn left them to see into the final corner of the clearing, as currently inhabited by three figures – Cortex, the enemy leader, and the final of the three shadows.
The third shadow ended up fighting his way past the broad army leader himself, using his hands and legs to be able to attack his own opponents with ease. They in turn ended up retreating before they could do anything else.
"Are you okay, sir?" he asked with a deep Australian accent.
Right there, the figure ended up bringing his attention straight towards Cortex himself. He brought him onto his back, leaving him to end up widening his eyes at the sight of the figure around him – a white pelican creature with pilot clothing all around him and deep blue eyes.
"Wait a minute, you look fondly familiar..." he paused. "You're that scientist that terrorized these islands with those damn machines of yours! Mr. Cortex?"
"By the way you're taking it you must be this Kyle-Jovi character everyone's on about", Cortex said with a twitch of the eye.
"That I am, but why should I go around helping you anyway?" sighed the pelican. "You wanted to destroy one little bandicoot just so you could take the world by your own two hands."
He leered on at Cortex with his own menacing eyes and his beak twitching harshly towards his direction. At the sight of his response, Cortex started to shake at his own response, his lips gradually quivering.
"It could have been easier if we just fed you to the sharks... or even better!" he smirked.
And it was there that he brought one of his hands straight into a brown sash being brought around his body. Hidden there was a small gun, where his arms instantly managed to take a tight grip all around it.
He pulled it out, and then pointed it straight on at Cortex himself. He knew what that kind of weapon was from its own designs – a laser gun, but this particular one was given the colors of green and silver all around it.
Kyle gradually brought the gun closer and closer towards Cortex, his eyes showing a leering motion around him. There, Cortex started to shake rapidly, knowing that he would end up being killed on the spot, all for one past event. But…
"Leave him alone!"
Kyle's expression showed surprise at the sound of the voice. And right in front of him came Crash's own two feet, blocking him from shooting Cortex in the first place. His expression showed hesitance upon his own two eyes.
There, Kyle pulled back the trigger and leered straight back towards the orange marsupial. How can he be defending Cortex just like that, he thought to himself. He then picked up the courage to speak, his hands shaking with rage.
"Crash, what are you doing?" Kyle exclaimed. "Why do you want to ally with the enemy?"
"Look, I know you may have had problems with Cortex yourself, and I must have also had problems."
Crash came to a light pause, his eyes being focused upon the ground. He then turned towards Cortex, whose weakened expression gradually started to show some further rays of hope all around him.
"Just look at him", he said with a light nod. "There may have been times when he acted selfish and facing severe hate for our kind, showing that through his own stubborn mind."
"HEY!" Cortex shouted with a light amount of rage.
"But the fact is, he came to this island, and one thing that I saw him and Nina do was save me from the invaders' stronghold. If it weren't for those two, I might have been dead the following week. What kind of hope does the world have?"
While Crash spoke, Kyle ended up with a widened look all around him. And it wasn't long until he eventually brought himself onto his knees, looking on at the pair from his own angle, his eyes showing a more regretful look than before.
Eventually, he gave off a light smile that was soon reflected right across his long beak. He looked on at Cortex – surprised to see that he wasn't actually a part of the opposing birds themselves. Then, he gave off a serious nod back.
"Suppose that can be fair", he said with a light blink. "As long as he's alive and not on the opposing side, I suppose we could take him into our own team and see what we can do."
Cortex's eyes widened with shock. He knew that he would have been taken down by other anthros had he not been granted support from Crash. There, he ended up giving off a relieved smile back towards the pelican.
"Thanks Kyle, for everything you've done to keep this island stable."
The pelican looked on at him. "Hey, I was just doing my job."
He winked back at his direction, and that in turn left them both to see straight towards the waters that managed to surround the scene. There, they showed a more menacing status than before, showing a more unsettling feeling through the choppy structures.
The pelican walked his way towards the surface, and brought his face over the side. There, his reflection was showcased at a solid state throughout, which was soon disrupted naturally by the water's flow.
And there, he took a step back and eventually managed to run his way across the waters like a fast tightrope walker, going as far along the surface as he can go without sinking deep. From there, he jumped straight up into the sky.
He then started to fly his way towards a nearby housed settlement ahead of him, situated near more cliffs along the coast line. This left Crash and the others to end up making their walk alongside the sands to be able to catch up with him.
And thus, they knew that a brighter tomorrow was about to come their way.
"So I take this is your HQ, is it?" Nina asked Kyle, Coco and Crunch.
"We've got plenty of strategies and castaways where that came from", Crunch said with a smile. "There were few survivors that managed to reach our own hands, but we tried our best."
A small brown hut was seen at the edge of the waters towards the Western portions of the island. And it was there that they all steadily approached the building together, with relaxed expressions all around them.
Kyle followed the honors of opening the door, and right there they were brought into the glance of a small mission control type room, holding a few people within its place when required. And it was there that the group pointed on at a select few of which.
"I see Polar and Pura in the far corner!" Crash smiled as he saw a tiger cub and a polar bear that's the same size.
"Tiny! Pinstripe! Ripper Roo!" Cortex gasped as he saw a muscular tiger creature, a mafia-dressed potoroo and a blue kangaroo donning a straight jacket. "How did they manage to survive all this?"
"Are those the Komodo Brothers in that far corner?" Nina smiled as she pointed
They in turn gradually waved back at the three, whom were in turn relieved that there were some people on the island that managed to survive the enemies' wave of terror. They in turn walked further around the room, looking on at the settings.
Within them, several glowing panels were seen on top of various machinery scattered all around the room. And sitting near one in a corner, Kyle ended up bringing his eyes towards a nearby radar panel, and in turn smiled on at it.
"We still have a few spies around the fortress yet, so don't think that's all you'll see around here."
He gave off a confident look while looking on at the others, minus Crunch whom was seen taking a pair of army camouflage pants and vanished into the changing rooms with it. Within the group, Cortex stepped forward, his eyes showing a complex expression of curiosity.
"I still need to understand the situation", Cortex blinked. "I mean, what made you get up there and show yourself as a strategic team to begin with?"
"Three months ago", started Kyle, "we have had strange invading outside forces from twisted furry bird animals we can only refer to as "Squadron Gemini". Crash tried to fight them off, but he got captured by the gang leader. I got word from Crunch and Coco about this, and it was there that we needed to get in there and provide some much needed support to the troubled people around this island."
Kyle ended up sighing, before he managed to sit straight onto a nearby chair with his legs all twitching together. He then brought his attention to several pictures on a nearby wall, which all seemed to hold pictures of the bird creatures as once fought with.
While that happened, Crunch ended up making his way out from the dressing rooms and back into the viewpoint again, with his camouflage pants placed straight onto him in a well dressed sense.
"Ironically, I wasn't the only one who staged the attacks on the team", Kyle smiled. "I am a commando as assigned by our boss, the Black Seagull. It was that figure alone who decided to reclaim the island for what it was again."
Kyle then brought his eyes towards another picture on the wall – an image of a human figure wearing a lot of black clothes. A masquerade mask was seen hiding the Seagull's identity, and a lot of majestic armor was placed around the body. He then made his turn towards Crash and the others with a steady smile showing.
"Crash, seeing you get freed was a firm enough start", he smiled. "And for that, we'll need to assign a few posts out here. We've got enough strength to infiltrate the war factory on the top of this island."
He then locked his hands into a determined motion, showing a vicious smile all around him. While that happened, all that Crash could do was just look on at his partners with a widened expression upon his mouth.
"I want you all to get towards the factory, and meet with our spies", the pelican commanded. "You can recognize one of them by her gray and silver striped tail. They'll set you up into your own key points on the operation."
He then looked his way out of the nearby window, where the stronghold was brought into his viewpoint. Its black smoke was seen rising straight up from the roofs around it, allowing for a haunting atmosphere all around it.
"Crunch will show you to the door", Kyle said as he clicked his fingers towards him.
"I'll be on it!"
Kyle faced Crunch, whom gave out a salute back. There, he managed to make his walk straight towards the front door, and opened it up as steadily as he can. It gave out a creak as it was opened up steadily.
There, he managed to walk out of the door, leaving Crash, Cortex and Nina to follow in a single file motion. The sounds of the strong coastal winds were brought straight into listening range from inside, before the door was closed gracefully.
Silence was then brought around the room as most of the others eventually managed to return to either dealing with paperwork or re-structuring various combat weapons for the incoming battle. That was left with the exception of Coco, whom ended up with a hesitant look as she turned back towards her pelican partner.
"Do you think they'll be alright, Kyle?" she asked him.
"Sure, I mean…" he gave out a light blink back. "If the spies are able to last longer than 2 weeks inside a war facility, so can them. Be sure to have some good optimism, Coco."
Kyle looked on at Coco with a relaxed expression, while she herself remained in silence. She then ended up in deep thought, thinking back over the events that happened to her within the past three months.
Seeing Crash imprisoned was one thing, and she didn't want to be able to lose him again. And what if Crunch was brought into captivity too? She knew that her role within the rebellion will be a difficult one no matter what comes out of it.
She looked at a nearby corner, and saw Polar and Pura interacting with a friendly game of chess. And then she turned towards another corner, where Tiny, Pinstripe and Ripper Roo were seen in a game of poker. While most of them were seen playing in a sensible fashion, Roo ended up chewing on his own cards.
In her viewpoint, the Komodo Brothers were the only spy members whom were actually working, with Joe typing on a nearby computer panel and monitoring the team's spies through the radar system. Moe however was seen shredding unimportant paper documents with his swords.
She saw herself to be in a relaxed environment. But as she may eventually realize, the environment may not be enough to satisfy her needs. And as far as she knew, the haunting nature of the outside world will still plague her mind as time wonders on.
-end of part 2-
