AUTHOR'S NOTES

Might as well advance to part 7 - my longest part yet, and I wasn't intending on it either. X.x But hey, it's on time!

So anyway, this area focuses on at finally looking on at the other side of the marble wall around Meteor Mountain, this coming in closer towards the Squadron Gemini's operation. It's here that a light surprise is brought around with what they have done, as well as wanting to explore a little bit of Kazaa's past while I'm here (although most of you whom have read my age-old crossovers at DeviantArt will understand what occurred with her anyway). I also wanted to have a bit of fun and slip in some light haiku-structured dialogue near the middle; maybe to link over what I did with Olga's personality in The Curse of Misty Island but we'll see.

Thanks to everyone who read – and in some cases dropped a comment down the line – as I can tell that this has worked well in driving the fic forward. Talking of commentary… EcoBlood, it sounds nice that you wanted to incorporate a character into what has been provided, but I can't really accept it; usually when I write fics I ask for characters in the planning stage, so that I know how to take the character forward. I'm too late in the fic's gradual submission to take in charrie submissions.

Now that I mention it, if anyone wants me to use a charrie in a future fic, it'll be nice if they aren't Mary Sues or Gary Stus, as the last thing I was seeking for is someone too perfect; may end up diverting the attention away from the main hero as such. I used to do those decisions a bit too much when I was younger, but it helps to have a wider range of personalities to match the storyline.

Anyway, this marks the conclusion for what can be felt to be the second act in the fic; three more parts left to go, and it's all to come towards a more climatic portion from here on in. Be prepared, heh. 3

Peace out,

Rexy


The marble wall that stood around the unexplored premises of Meteor Mountain was still seen standing firmly within the night light. The feather-like patterns were seen giving off a crystal shine every few seconds or so.

Leaning among the wall were Crunch, Bev, Nina and Kazaa, all looking up towards the night skies; the individual stars and strobe lights were seen reflecting upon their eyes, leaving them to face reflective looks upon their faces.

But the actions were soon interrupted when the sound of some walking feet was heard from nearby; they looked towards the way into the wasteland areas of the mountain, where Crash, Cortex and Coco were seen making their return.

"We're back", smiled the orange bandicoot.

Bev managed to bring herself onto her feet quickly. "So did you manage to find anything?"

"Yeah", Coco nodded. "We managed to find an interesting claw-like device that might be able to help penetrate the walls."

Coco managed to make a brisk walk towards the others, taking a grasp upon the metallic arm as she managed to make her way further. From her angle, Nina looked on at it, and… right at the closer sight of it, she frowned.

"Gold? God no, it'll clash with my dress!"

"It may do", said Cortex sympathetically, "but it could be our only choice to break down the wall. Just slip it on and see what you can do."

Nina then sighed angrily. "Fine."

She then growled before she ended up pinching the claw right from Coco's hands, leaving her to show a wide-faced expression of shock around her. She then ended up sighing and brought her attention to the others.

As she settled with Bev and Kazaa, she managed to look further on at Nina whom was having problems trying to lock the claw around her hands; it wasn't long until Crunch soon came on over to help her out.

The young bandicoot gave out a warm smile as she saw the reaction between the pair; they could have made a good friendly pair had they not been on opposite forces of good and evil as a whole. But what she didn't notice… was the hypno-disc being seen poking out from her pockets.

"Coco..." Bev paused. "What's with the hypno-disc?"

"That? We found it inside the mechanism. I don't know if we need it."

"Was it actually wedged inside it to begin with?" Kazaa asked Coco with curiosity.

"Yeah, why?"

Kazaa's face suddenly came to a halt. There, her ears were brought down her face, and in an instant, her eyes widened with a melancholy feeling showing around her. She then ended up bringing her face towards the direction of the ocean once more.

"That was one of the objects used that destroyed my childhood home."

She gave out a frown, before bringing herself sitting on a nearby rock, her legs grasping around the front like a claw stuck upon it. Her tail was then brought down upon the other side, like a loose object carrying around her.

The expression then managed to catch the attention of Coco, whom ended up blinking before making a graceful walk towards her. As soon as she reached her, she placed a hand upon Kazaa's paw-like hands, which were shown to be slightly bigger than hers in comparison.

"Now that we think of it", Coco started, "where was your childhood home?"

"In the subterranean depths of the Pacific Ocean", replied Kazaa. "I lived with a lot of Mercats just like myself, and we all got along just fine. But one day... some strange psychotic figure used that device to warp the minds of my loved ones all at once. And then..."

As she spoke, her hair blew in the wind as the harsh memories of the events managed to slip past her mind. And when she paused… her hair stopped blowing, with her facial expression freezing on the spot.

She brought her head to the ground, and it was there that she started to form a tear upon her eyes, which in turn was dropped to the ground. All that Coco could do was simply frown a sympathetic frown.

"I can't remember much else, but I can say that my childhood home was no more."

The mercat gave out a deep sigh, before another tear was rolled down the rock, trickling straight towards the ground as it did so. That left Coco to come closer to her, and eventually grant a gentle hug around her body.

"Aw, don't feel bad about yourself Kazaa. I understand your feelings, but I hope that some day your home will be restored within time."

The mercat gave out a frown. "How can that be possible?"

She gave out a light blink towards the bandicoot, whom in turn started to show a more determined approach through her own two eyes. Her hands were then grasped tightly as she showed a more determined look around her.

"I feel that once this battle is over", started the young bandicoot, "this world will be exactly the way it was before this menace came around. That should also help for your concern underwater."

Kazaa brought her attention closely towards Coco's face, which showed a gentle smile over time. She then turned back towards the ocean waves, which in turn was continuing to show grace within the strobe lights.

She then turned back to Coco and smiled, ready to show gratitude via speaking again, until… the sound of stone smashing was heard from nearby. They looked towards the marble wall, and indeed, the weak spot was nothing more than a hole in the wall and a bunch of rubble near it.

"The entrance has crumbled!" beamed Nina. "This means we've got a free path towards the stronghold!

She then gestured at the hole, leaving the others to make their dash straight towards the scene, their expressions showing more determination and hope over time. There, the stronghold was seen standing nearby, although… its height was shown to be more majestic than once thought.

"Wow, talk about a long climb up", blinked Crunch.

"It may be long", Nina smiled as she turned back to him, "but in all honesty we can get there."

She gave off a confident smile as she carefully made her way through the hole in the wall, leaving off light dusty footsteps upon the ground. And it wasn't long until the others then managed to follow her in an instant.

They knew for a fact that they would be in for a long climb towards the top of the stronghold; whatever they could be able to find inside it could be worth reflecting upon over time, providing the overall use of the scene.

Problem is, they knew that something could be found, in any shape or form.


Several hours managed to pass since their excursion straight towards the Kaiser's mountain lair. Its tall and majestic structures were shown to portray a strong feel towards the sinister colors that were brought around the building

Many flights of stairs were seen, aiding in the majestic structures of the building which in turn provided a peak towards one of the tallest regions of the island; one that could even manage to touch some of the strobe lights upon the sky.

The corridors itself were no different – shades of dark blue scattered it, with minimal electric lights to aid on the way. The checkered stone floor was shown to be cold upon the very touch; a very uneasy sight for much of the group as they made their way up the lengthy staircase that resided in the middle of the building.

"How many floors left?" asked Crash, struggling to gain his breath.

Coco then looked up from her position. "Just the one, given the amount of steps we've got left to climb."

Coco looked her way straight down and saw the amount of steps that she and the others climbed up beforehand; even there, the ground floor could not at all be seen from her position at all; the way down looked more like a kaleidoscope of black, white and blue if anything.

Even Bev managed to make a stop and look over the side of the stair's rails. There, she brought out a small pin from a pocket etched within her shirt, and dropped it down the side. Time passed, and it wasn't until 20 seconds later until she finally heard a click upon the ground.

"Uh-huh, this can be seen as one Hell of a way down."

She frowned, before sealing her pocket and continuing to make her way towards the others. By then, the amount of stairs they were climbing was being reduced further and further as time went on.

Eventually, they reached the very top, where a metallic door was seen blocking the way forward. Crash was the first to reach it, his fingers twitching deviously as he came closer and closer with a smirk on his face.

"This must be it. Let's see what this Kaiser has for us!"

Crash then took a hold onto a wheel that managed to lock the door into place, and then pulled it round two turns to the right. That left him to step right inside, with a bright flash of blue light coming across his eyes.

"Whoa!"

The light soon faded out around him, and it was there that he got the chance to see the room in full operation; a lot of electronic equipment was seen set up right around the room's menacing structures, which have been reflected upon the machinery themselves.

Various generators were seen providing colossal amounts of electricity per second, which in turn were easily reflected upon their wavy patterns around the ceiling. There, Crash's expression showed more fear as a result.

While that happened, most of the others came into the room and saw much of the room in operation. Within their focus, Cortex ended up looking straight on at a larger machine in the middle of the room – a familiar shape to his eyes.

"What's the Psychotron doing here?" he then panicked.

"Relax Doc", nodded Crash. "I'm sure yours is still in safe hands. I mean, look, the metallic designs are nowhere near the same as yours."

Crash gave out a light smile as he pointed on at the structure. There, the patterns were indeed shown to be much different than the one shown at Cortex's laboratory – more metallic green paint, and less direction on anatomy and positioning.

There, they all looked on at the machine and its cables that managed to run through the ceiling; it was by that opportunity that they knew that the machine was in heavy operation, shaping the world for the worse.

"Is there any way that we can probably close this down before this world faces any more serious twisted changes?" Cortex asked the others.

Coco raised a light eyebrow. "I'll see if I can look around the cables."

Coco then started to step her way through the room, with a light and curious smile showing upon her. She then managed to reach the back of the machine, where she took a hold onto a black cable that seemed to face a lengthy spaghetti formation right across the floor.

"Hm, looks a bit long though..."

She pulled hard upon the wire, leaving her to end up bringing in more black cable towards her direction. Eventually she started to tug more in her direction, hooking some around her arm to help generate more space.

However, it wasn't long until the length of the cable eventually left her twisted within the structures, leaving her to tumble and fall onto the floor. In the background, Nina was shown smirking with a devious smile on her face.

"Shut up Nina!" Coco shouted furiously. "This isn't a laughing matter!"

But Nina didn't stop laughing – instead, she continued to point on at Coco's direction, before eventually falling onto the floor herself and using her hands to thump hard upon the floor, a face filled with extreme amusement showing upon her.

Within the background, all that Bev and Kazaa could do were shake their heads at her direction; eventually, the Black Seagull herself managed to take a grasp upon Nina's arm, pulling her up towards her level.

"Please Nina, whatever you do, don't wind up Coco again. We're here to cooperate as a team."

"So?" she sulked back. "She's a right girly girl, isn't she?"

"Maybe so", said Kazaa in a low tone, "but she's still essential to the whole operation."

Kazaa showed a light scowl towards Nina's direction as she took a hold of her other arm, whom could only just sulk back at them before kicking furiously upon the ground around her own position.

While that happened, Coco gradually managed to untangle herself, while ending up coming towards the end of the cable; a plug socket was indeed placed within it. She gave off a light smile as she took a hold of the cable for herself.

"I found the end of the cable! But... it looks like it's wedged deep in the socket. How will we get at it?"

Crunch showed determination as he came closer. "I'll try snapping it."

Crunch gave off a confident smile as he ended up making his walk towards her. That left her to end up showing a light and reflective look as he came much closer. And once there, he brought his eyes towards the wire from his position.

He then picked up the cable with one hand, and gave off a confident smile as he then pulled hard at both opposite ends. But… no matter how hard he tried to pull them apart, they ended up struggling to break as a whole.

"Not quite as firm as I was expecting. Any assistance?"

Nina managed to release her grasp from Bev and Kazaa, a light smile showing upon her. "I'll come through with that one."

She made a casual skip towards the others, taking a hold of the metallic claw as she did so. There, she managed to apply it right over the cable. And in her lightest grasp possible… the cable was snapped into pieces.

And then… the machine slowly started to shut down. Its machinery operation showed itself to steadily slow down over time, before it then came to a stop instantly. And then, there followed the generators themselves.

That left the room to steadily bring its way into the darkness. Nothing but black ended up showing the room in itself, leaving details to be difficult to be able to see as a whole. That left Crash to take a step back over time.

"Wow, this is creepy", whispered Crash.

"You sure can say that again", Cortex followed.

Nina brought herself into a light frown. "I can barely see...!"

Cortex and Nina showed matching panicked expressions, both of them showing their own senses of fear hidden through their eyes upon the darkness. He then took a hold upon her arm, leaving them to come at light ease with one another.

But… it wasn't long until a light hiss of white smoke started to make its way across the room, some of the light around it providing a light neon glow to soon fill the room once more. They showed faces filled with wonder as time managed to advance.

"Who dared to turn off the machine?"

The deep voice left Kazaa to scream from her position and literally jump within Crunch's arms, her fish-like tail quivering on the spot. All the brown bandicoot could do was show his pupils shrink down to the size of peas.

During that occasion, the doors opened up, allowing a shadow to end up making its way right through the streaming – and in some cases, blinding - white light that managed to come out from it. A familiar, broad shadow.

"Oh, so it's you again. I never thought I'd be able to see your faces since our last encounters. In fact, we may even know you sooner than you think."

The figure then made his way out, and indeed showed himself in full glory – Kaiser Gemini himself. He showed a vicious smile as he looked on at the group, even more so with Coco whom started to cry with fear as she edged closer towards Bev.

"He's really creeping me out!" Coco screamed towards her.

"Shhh!"

"You may have turned off the machine by now", said the Kaiser, "but you can tell that the submachine on top of the volcano is still and always will be in operation."

Cortex gave out a light blink. "There's a sub-machine for this thing?"

"So this may not quite be a Psychotron prototype after all", Crash muttered with a light nose twitch.

Crash brought his attention back towards the machine; very similar to the Psychotron given the energetic white light that once shone upon it. He looked right above it, focusing back on the ceiling cables; they indeed were shown to be much broader than on first glance.

"If that's the case", he started as he turned back to the Kaiser, "what is it?"

"It is the weapon of this land's destruction. Eventually, the whole world will face the same twisted nature this island has faced, and you won't even live long enough to see it."

He gave out a vicious smirk as he came further out towards the group; in turn Crash came out from the light, the brightness of the light instantly showing around his body. But… his face soon showed more seriousness as the door that lead inside the building opened up again.

And there, not one, not two but many shadows at a time were seen emerging towards the scene. They soon managed to march in, and in turn take up the perimeter of the room. Their general appearance made them obvious to know who they are.

"More of the Squadron?" Crash questioned with horror.

Kazaa gave out a light wink at the sight of them. "I'm sure we can cope hard against them."

Kazaa showed a confident expression as she brought out her claws from her paws, ready to attack them. But even with that happening, more soldiers were seen coming inside the room, heavily outnumbering the group.

"Why do I have a feeling we could easily end up being ambushed here?" Crash asked Bev from his direction.

"Relax, Crash. Somehow, we'll get in there and show this army what we're made of."

She gave off a laid back smile as the numbers increased. Crash looked back at her; surely she might have been the main figure in a big rebellion, he thought, but could she really have faced worse than this?

Eventually, the numbers that managed to come inside the building started to die down. That left him to show a twitch upon his face, as he knew what kind of army that he was set to fight against as a whole.

"Alright, let's go."

Crash showed a confident expression as he gradually managed to make his way towards the scene. Alongside them, the others managed to come near them, showing equal expressions of determination around them.

There, the soldiers branched into two separate sides – some on the left, and some on the right. That left the Kaiser to make his walk straight down the middle, his menacing expression continuing to send chills towards the others.

They all took a closer step forward towards them, leaving them to show more concerned expressions as time went on. As soon as they were a mere 15 steps away from the opposing party, Crash brought himself into a sudden stop, his eyes slightly squinting as that happened.

"You guys just square off against the squadron soldiers. I'll deal with the Kaiser myself!"

And so the group then branched into different directions; within them, Crash was seen making his dash straight towards the Kaiser and most of the others ventured straight towards the incoming Squadron soldiers around them.

Near the left of the room, Cortex was seen making his way straight towards a small gang of which, with his laser being brought out in tow. He then smirked as he aimed it straight towards his opponents while running.

"Want a piece of me?"

The guards then tried to run and attack him with their own weaponry, but even there, Cortex managed to spend more time ducking and dodging their techniques – enjoying it – more than fighting back.

And when he did shoot back, much of the shots ended up striking the opponents upon their chests, bringing them down in a few shots at a time. As he managed to bring down five soldiers in a row, he continued to smile optimistically.

"Hahah, this is almost too easy!"

He then smirked as he looked on at the nose of his weapon, which was seen giving off a light amount of smoke on the end. But just as when he was about to taunt further… a nearby shadow ended up coming above him.

"Oh no..."

The shadow then ended up making its pounce straight above Cortex, before showing itself as a majestic squadron member which in turn was shown to be twice as big as the scientist as a whole.

That left him to scream at the sight of him, before running from his grasp. The bigger creature then fought back with pounding its hands to the ground, leaving Cortex to jump from his position at every pounce, hesitance showing upon him.

He was then brought into a corner, where he knew that he could be tortured by the opponent. It then came gradually – 10 feet, 8 feet, 6, 4, and eventually 2. Its fists were clutched together, ready to attack the scientist.

"Leave my Uncle alone, sick freak!"

Suddenly, from right behind him, Nina used her hands to take a tight grasp around the bigger creature's neck, which left it to squeal upon its response; a deep bruise and some light turquoise blood was seen starting to trickle down from its position.

She then released her grasp upon the creature, which started to show pain as he eventually collapsed upon the ground. She sneered, before looking behind her; more Squadron members were seen making their run towards her.

"How would you like a gold old clip round the ear?" she shouted back towards them.

She made her run past many Squadron members, which ended up almost flinching at the very attack of her hands. As soon as she dashed past the group herself, she then managed to turn around and run once more.

She then managed to approach one particular member of the group, whom in turn ended up jumping at the sight of her hands. However… as soon as she made a grasp around them… she ended up tearing the shoes off, as well as a good portion of its tight leather pants.

She ended up gasping at the sight of what she achieved, although unable to see inside the shoes due to the pants covering up the shoe holes. She then continued to look on at the creature's legs, looking like it was unable to walk.

"Whoa..."

But out from the torn leather pants, the creature brought its feet out, bare and intact; bird-like feet with claws upon the end of them. She ended up bringing out a gentle blink towards its direction, lightly smiling as she did so.

Eventually she then continued to fight on against the creatures, with Cortex eventually gaining enough coverage to use his laser pistol to fight on by her side, a more confident look showing all around him.

At the other side of the room went another bunch of Squadron members, whom in turn started to surround Bev. All she could do was just stand casually in a nearby corner, showing a vicious glance around her teeth.

"Let's see if we can keep on going against you. You won't even stand a chance!"

Naturally, the Squadron didn't hear what she said. She then ended up making her way straight towards them, showing a more serious expression through her eyes as time continued to creep around her.

There, she clutched her fists tightly before making her dash straight towards them, her feet dashing at a furious pace to match that as a graceful ballerina. At the same time the Squadron soldiers were seen making their dash towards her in return.

"Take this!" she shouted with a chuckle.

She brought back her fists, and instantly made her thrust straight towards the soldiers, pushing over several of which to the ground upon approach. She came to a skid-filled stop, before looking on at some of the remaining Squardon soldiers, drawing out laser guns and aiming them at her.

"Don't even think about it."

They then tried to shoot her, leaving her to duck underneath the shots in an instant. After several of which came by, she then made a graceful jump above, with the laser shots almost skimming her hair as time went on.

Upon landing on the ground, her face showed more panic over time. She looked straight towards the other soldiers, who then were advancing closer and closer, almost certain to attack her down the line.

"Leave her alone!"

The shout left Bev to give out a light twitch of the eye, before looking right behind her; right there, Kazaa was seen making a dash from the darkness, occasionally running along the walls as she managed to come closer.

And as soon as she reached the soldiers, she brought out her claws and jumped straight towards two of which, knocking the guns out of their hands before spinning into their direction and bringing them down to the floor.

"How do you like it to find someone slapping back?"

Kazaa then growled on at some of the other Squadron soldiers, whom ended up exchanging light eye twitches around them. She then managed to make her way towards them, her claws still showing within the faint light.

Right at the sight of the harsh structures, some of which ended up flinching and making their way away from the two girls, before advancing to other group members around the room. That left Kazaa to lightly chuckle at the occasion.

"And stay away from her!"

She gave out a confident smile before looking straight on at Bev, whom ended up showing a relieved smile from her crouched position. There, the two girls came close to one another, before analyzing the battle from their position.

At another side of the room, Coco was seen being steadily surrounded by various other Squadron soldiers, which left her almost shaking at the sight of their monstrous appearances. But that was until she brought herself into a light fighting stance, showing a twitch upon her face.

"Let's go!"

And right at the call, she made her jump up into the air and brought her hands straight on top of the enemies' shoulders as she flipped over them. As she got behind them she used her feet to literally kick as many opponents as she can down to the ground.

"Feel the power of girls!" she exclaimed in a cheesy sounding voice.

She then turned around, and brought her legs into a light spinning kick motion, knocking over various other Squadron soldiers towards their feet. She then smirked as she managed to face the occasion.

But… that was until another set of soldiers came from behind her, armed with flamethrowers as their choice of arsenal. They then started to aim their weapons towards her, shooting the fire directly at her afterwards… leaving her to duck in time but only to leave a few of her strands of hair to frizzle before dropping off.

"Aaah! You almost burnt me!" she shouted with hesitance.

"Won't be for long!"

She looked up from above the flames, and managed to see Crunch's boots within her eyesight. The brown bandicoot himself was seen running towards her direction, which left her with a hopeful expression.

Then he managed to leap over her, literally dashing through the fire with only his metallic arm to block the heat. Once at the soldiers, he managed to pounce on top of the others, gradually stopping the rate of fire as time advanced.

"Eat dust, suckers!"

He smirked as he managed to come out from the fire, his fur slightly singed from the experience. He then managed to advance to Coco and bring her back on both feet, leaving them to look on at the middle of the room… only to see Crash being thrown right across the room.

"Crash!" he gasped at him.

Indeed, he was hurled right into the side of the Psychotron clone, which ended up leaving Crash to show a light amount of pain upon his back as he crashed upon it. With a worried look around him, he then looked up ahead of him, only to see a crucial scenario unfold.

The Kaiser was seen making his direct dash straight towards him, leaving him to show a more worried expression as that happened. That left Crash to roll out of the way before his opponent could make his move.

"I'm hanging on as tight as I can!" he said with hesitance.

"Shame you won't even live long enough to escape!"

The Kaiser then growled on at Crash before making his direct run towards him, whom in turn managed to leapfrog directly over his shoulders. That left the opponent to show a curious expression as that happened.

Crash then managed to make his move by bringing his fists back, making his dash straight towards him with his fists out towards him. Just as when he was about to attack his opponent… the Kaiser picked him up strongly by his nose

"Yeaaargh", he shouted with a muted tone.

He then picked up Crash with ease, before throwing him straight into a wall… but before the bandicoot could even inflict damage, he changed his body posture mid flight, allowing him to land upon the wall in a Spider-Man fashion before kicking off.

He then jumped his way straight back towards the Kaiser, instantly shunting him upon the chest. That left him to end up losing his balance over time, before eventually falling upon the ground himself.

"TAKE THIS!"

Crash brought himself into a jumping motion as he pounced on the Kaiser upon his stomach, leaving him to show an increasing face with pain and anger showing upon his own sinister expression.

He soon managed to bring himself back onto both feet, bringing Crash into a backwards roll upon the ground before he in turn reclaimed his standing position. That left the two figures to make the dash towards one another again.

Several punches were thrown at each other. Several punches to each other were somehow dodged. On one occasion, the Kaiser ended up jumping from his position… bringing himself into a strong backwards roll as he did so. But… while that happened, Crash brought himself into a charge towards him, instantly shunting him on the stomach and forcing him to the other side of the room.

The force pushed the Kaiser straight towards the socket… where on contact, the cable remains were cut off, leaving a powerful electric current to expose itself from the inner areas of the wall and in turn conduct around his body.

As soon as that happened, an energetic surge started to show right around him; a face filled with pain was shown around him as time advanced, which was soon doubled every time his broad skeleton was shown within it.

Within the background, Crash showed a wide-eyed expression as the force became stronger and stronger, which in turn left the figure's fur to stand on end. And right at his loudest scream, some of the generators started to short circuit and in time were exploded, leaving a gush of deep gray smoke to cover the room.

"Whoa..." he muttered while coughing within the smoke.

The smoke soon faded out, leaving the room to be able to be brought back into a firmer viewpoint. There, much of the equipment in there was covered with black marks and soot around them, being the results of the explosion.

Yet, the Psychotron-based machine was still seen intact, although still not in operation. Crash scratched his head, before looking around the room with widened eyes, eventually focusing them upon a pile of rubble nearby.

But from out of there, a rumble started to form, but that was before two electric-coated hands were seen around them. The user then pushed them off him, revealing him as the Kaiser once more; this time, an electric current was brought around him, and his fur was turned into an eerie neon color.

"Nice try, but your fighting has only made me feel many times stronger than before. This energy will eventually provide enough power to be able to finish the job, and soon this world will face the true era of darkness it has long been seeking for!"

The figure continued to show a figure of eeriness around its expression, before continuing to glow further around the room; the immense light was seen reflecting strongly around the others, which left them to show equally shocked expressions around them.

Then, he managed to make his dash towards a nearby window, leaping straight outside as if he was treating a hurdle. Crash managed to dash towards the surface himself, only to see the Kaiser take off into the air with the use of a jetpack upon his back.

"Wait, come back!" Crash shouted towards him.

His calls were then echoed right around the plain… which in turn left nothing more than feedback flowing within his ears for several seconds at a time. He then sighed, before making his way back to the others once more.

Each of them showed worried expressions, as they knew that they may have won the battle but knew that the war is still continuing on. Crash brought his attention towards the cables leading through the ceiling, and it was there that they in turn were starting to shake lightly from their positions.

He then looked on at the panel of the machine, where his reflection was reflected upon the metallic structures. The metallic green tint left it to show a more reflective motion than beforehand, leaving him to blink more rapidly.

"I failed you all... I can't believe it."

All of a sudden, his face started to show pure sadness. His ears then drooped down, and his eyes became more watery in structure. As a result he sat down on the floor, the cold and bitter nature of the stones beneath him causing more pain to match with his failure.

"Maybe he is right. The incoming nature of the era of darkness is enough to heavily weaken me down. And given that he also imprisoned me within an instant, I feel disappointed."

He sighed, before looking onto the ground, his sorrowful expression easily reflecting upon the metallic floor brought around them. Behind him, the others gradually came to him and showed their own equally disappointed expressions.

But within them, there were some hopeful looks shown upon the light sea of faces. Within them, Cortex showed a light expression filled with optimism brought right the way around him; that in turn left him to take a step forward within the group.

"Crash, there's no need to say that. Even through times like this, you give the people hope. If it weren't for your cooperation, this island wouldn't at all be facing a rebellion to begin with."

He then advanced to patting him upon the shoulder, which in turn left Crash to gradually make his turn back towards him. He lightly blinked at him, while at the same time ended up trying to force a smile, although it was shown to be a light twitch if anything.

Coco then advanced towards him with a light twitch of the eye around her, before bringing herself into a light embrace around his back. That left the bandicoot to lightly blink before turning back to her.

"No matter what happens, you can tell we're right behind you."

"Yeah", said Nina in a breezy tone near her. "Even though we may not necessarily get along", she started as she gestured at Coco, "we can tell we fight on as a team."

From behind Coco, Nina managed to make her light skip towards Crash's direction, her expression showing just as much hope as the bandicoot had beforehand. She rested her head upon his, being careful not to rub her hair against his.

The others then managed to advance around the front, showing their own relaxed expressions around them as they came around him. As they did so, they looked onto the skies, which gradually turned a deeper orange to be able to match with the world's catastrophic void.

"So what are we going to do about this Kaiser Gemini guy?" Crunch asked the others.

"I say we go after him", growled Bev. "The sooner, the better."

Kazaa showed a light lick upon her lips. "Yeah, who knows what he wanted to do with the sub-machine on top."

Crash's eyes widened as he looked on at the Psychotron structure. Its more twisted variation given the sub-machine has given him a more reflective expression as a whole, his eyes quivering on the spot.

"I'm just concerned if we lose sight of him", Crash sighed from his position.

"Heck, even if we do", started Coco, "I'm sure Kyle will be able to help us out in some form or other."

Coco placed her hand lightly upon her brother's back, which in turn left him to look back at her. Of course, she must have had a lot of optimism for her pelican companion, he thought. He then smiled before bringing himself into a more thoughtful stance.

"Hey, maybe you're right. I haven't spoken with him in a while. I'll see if I can be able to get back in contact with him."

And thus he went towards the window once more, his eyes first focusing upon the Kaiser, heading further and further away from the scene as time went on. And then he looked on towards the view of the island from a light crack in the wall.

Right there, he could only just make out the shape of the rebellion's HQ; the small hut that could mean a lot of big changes if executed just right. He then showed a more determined look before looking on at the others.

"You know what this means - it's time we headed out there!"

And thus, most of the group cheered on as they managed to make their way straight towards the door that led back towards the stairs. They were shown to be just as menacing as ever given the length upon them.

That left them to make their dash straight down towards the bottom – with the exception of Nina whom ended up sliding down the rails while pulling off skateboarder-like poses – on the hope of soon being able to make their way straight to the bottom.

As soon as they reached the bottom, they managed to make their way among the hallways, making their way straight towards the opening around them; once outside, the bright lights around them were easily reflected around their bodies around exposure.

They looked up, and saw the Kaiser making his flight around the mountain structure, mainly among the path that they came from to reach the lair in the first place. That left them to make their run straight towards him.

But only time could tell on whether they would catch up in time. For them, it's shown to be all or nothing.

-end of part 7-