Chapter 2 - Construction
A foul mist filled the air at the ruins of what was once Cortex Castle. No living creature dared venture there, the smell of death and decay was rife, and the surrounding area was a desolate wasteland. There was no movement at all, not even the few remaining trees stirred. Everywhere was silent, until suddenly, there was a small shuffle within all the rubble. The bricks and mortar moved aside, and from underneath appeared a small mechanical hand, it's five fingers twitching, as though trying to sense something. It then began to dart quickly through the piles of debris, like a starving rat. The hand came to rest on a huge stone slab that overlooked what was left of the laboratory. The glass tubes which once housed many of Cortex's test subjects were now shattered, control panels were broken, and there, in the middle of it all, lay a dark, metallic figure. The hand made it's way to the huge entity.
"uuuuughhhh, what happened." A monotonous voice rang out, there was no mistaking the robotic voice of Cortex, his face now half covered in a steel plate from where he fused himself with his own machinery two months ago.
Because Cortex had made himself almost inhuman, he was able to survive the explosion two months ago, albeit with drastic consequences, his body parts now lay somewhre in all the mess. However, becoming a machine had it's bonuses. He could no longer feel any pain, he had no emotions, and one thing still stayed in his mind, he HAD to destroy Crash Bandicoot.
"Oh, my left hand!" Cortex scrabbled for his missing hand and slotted it back onto his arm with a click, "but where are my leg's?"
Cortex crawled across the ground for hours trying to find his leg's, which he finally found several metres away, sticking out from a pile of metal. He quickly attatched them to himself.
"Status check!" Cortex shouted. A high pitched voice responded to him.
"Movement is steady and functional, optical readings 80 and increasing, overall status, stable. Current objectives, kill Crash Bandicoot. Status check complete"
"Excellent," Cortex gave a quiet laugh.
Cortex's leg's creaked into life as he slowly and surely made his way onto his now robotic feet. He stepped once, twice, thrice. His leg's seemed to be working fine now, each step making the ground tremble.
"Now how do I go about destroying Crash once and for all?"
Cortex scanned the horizon for anything that may help him when he caught a glimpse of red. He ambled towards the area, where he found creatures of all shapes and sizes, motionless, lifeless, drowning in a sea of crimson. What were once his test subjects were now food for the maggots. That's when Cortex had the idea.
"Of course, THAT is how I stop Crash Bandicoot, I'll start work right now!"
With the ingenious idea still buzzing aroud in his head, Cortex began work on his master plan, a plan that would surely mean the end of Crash, and all other civilisation on the island.