Upon arriving at the strapping cabin, Coco noticed that the animal cubs had sniffed their way back home, beating the bandicoot somehow in an unofficial race. Buoyant with deserved relief, she called a welcoming "hello" to signal her arrival and led the mysterious girl into the humble abode, her bright green eyes wandering back to the other female. The strange human's face seemed stringent, lacking emotion. Neither Aku Aku or Crash were present, and this heaped concern on Coco, as the other members of the household were usually never far from the front door. Pushing a million possibilities aside, one of the female marsupial's tiny hands lashed out to turn the knob, securing their way into her private room, the human cautiously taking the steps leading inside, glass eyes alive with wonder. "And this is my room. You'll have to wait a few minutes, but I'm pretty sure that I've got a suit of clothes that will fit you. I'll go get them for you." As Coco opened the closet door with a click, It peered around Its new surroundings. The walls were alight with a pink glow, purple flowers, their petals spread, awaiting the sun, plastered to the colour like polka dots, waiting for their viewer to breathe in an air of awe. There were a scarce amount of framed photos dangling loosely from brass hooks, one swallowing the figure of another like herself, a human with fluffs of light brown topping its squared head, shaping into a puckered brow, gracefully falling lightly toward the slope of a lip line. Another that hung to the far right adjacent to the previous picture, this one clearly featuring the bandicoot herself, and the frolicking baby tiger cub. Coco was perched atop the tiger's back, her face breaking into the sweetest of grins, her hands stroking the animal's head with a tender loving care. The last frame was the most interesting, the outer portion itself decorated in ancient Indian patters, hand carved and painted with deep red mud, touched up a bit with fool's gold bits that glittered like the million stars that reigned in the heaven's on a plain night backdrop. Where the frame was magnificent, the print lacked in splendor, only illuminating a smoky gray plane that enveloped a yellow shooting star. It sniffed at the simplistic art piece, one hand rising to meet Its forehead, smearing the dirt from Its hair onto Its brow. "Here you go. Will that do for now?" The bandicoot held up a burgundy stained short dress, the bottom pleated and the shoulders bubbled up top. A white ribbon was sewn into the back, strung around the torso like strand of loose DNA that writhed, alive, under a scientist's microscope. It nodded in thanks and accepted the clothing, measuring the suit up with Its eye before attempting to put it on, smoothing the wrinkles out over Its slender waist. Clasping her hands together, Coco exclaimed that it was a perfect fit, and that It looked strikingly divine on the girl's starved figure.
"You really think so?" Came the small voice in a timid reply, pale hands fidgeting, fighting to tie the ribbon into the ideal bow. The translucent eyes found their home in Coco's, and a brief smile flickered on the girl's lips, which cracked into rivers of blood. They were so dry, the skin desiccated and utterly dehydrated from lack of drink. "I wonder if he'd like it..." The statement took even its owner by surprise, and the ending was clipped short, but still drawn out enough to spark the bandicoot's curiosity.
Hands folded in a playful yet devilish gesture as Coco grinned evilly, her voice soupy with honey, "And who is this 'he' that you speak of? A boyfriend maybe?" Short spouts of giggles threatened to boil over into the conversation, but Coco managed, with a fair amount of effort, to hold them back.
It shook Its head, hands dropping now into normal positioning, feet crossing with delicacy. "I…don't know…." Sad, soft words charged the space, and the bandicoot's face fell with the stark realization, fingers retracting, eyes moistening.
"You don't remember him, do you…" It was a statement of clarity, not an inquiry, as one would expect. A hint of bitter resentment filled her throat and made itself known with the next line. "I shouldn't have brought it up." A hand reassured the human, resting lightly on the forearm, warmth pouring from the touch. "I'm sorry." Eyes closed, head bowed, Coco breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh crisp air that the sun had prepared for the day. The human stood silently, reverently, respecting the other's apologies before moving on.
"Yes and no. I do recall the fact that he was such a massive part of my life, and I cared for him beyond words, but….there is no face, no name…." What was the word he had said….please? Its head snapped up quickly, jarring the bandicoot's arm from hers as her thin figure spun around, almost jumping in excitement. That voice! Oh, what a unique asset, a key to unravel the dark cloud of mystery that kept her conscious locked in the unforgiving darkness. "The way….he speaks……" It was all flooding back into It so fast that It could barely contain it all, body possessed with a fit of convulsions.
Coco was taken aback, "Huh? What? What is it?" She was poised in a hilarious stand, arms unbalanced, fingers rigid, mouth wide open.
The human only beamed brighter as the scorching sun beat down on Its lifted spirits, the happiest It had been in such a horrendous amount of time. Had it really been forever? It seemed longer, grueling, as It trudged through separate dimensions of Its mentality, careening down the ravines and grooves, sculpting out a niche in Itself, for Itself. The voice. THAT voice. With "please" as Its guide, the human girl began a tiresome expedition for truth, one that had been stripped from her against her will. Why wasn't she allowed to remember? What had she lost in that chasm of years that was so crucial to her? "Please." It said aloud, eyes focusing on something distant and uncertain. "Please."
Snap! Snap snap snap snap ! Delirious with a nameless disease, the wiry chemist continued to callously destroy countless vials of peculiar, steaming liquids, their substances painting the ground with a rainbow of colour. A white mist encircled the small lab area, stinging at the scientist's eyes, and he proceeded to gouge one of them out with a bit of sharp debris, the brown irises sinking into crimson pools, darkening the scope, drowning a left cheek in its wake. It erupted from him like a livid volcano spewing forth gallons of liquid fire, the lava licking up charred rock. The glass piece that he clutched was lodged into the cavity, protruding out at an odd angle, barely visible in the foggy room. One hand wildly slammed into another row of bottles, empty ones this time, knocking them into a flurry of shards before each miniscule sliver hit the floor. The razor edged fragments bit into the flesh of his unsheathed feet, daubing bright ruby stains across the marbled ground, a vivid comparison.
The small child huddled in the corner, under one of the metal tables head buried in between the knees that were hugged up tightly by tiny hands. Her body shook once, twice…soft mewling escaping ever so often as the carnage unfolded before her soft chocolate eyes. "D-d-d-Daddy!" Came the dreadful scream, her voice choked back in the awful commotion. "P-p-p-please stop!" The humidity of white greatly hampered her ability to breath and her vision would be disabled shortly from the exposure to the harsh chemicals. In her mind she tried to comprehend the matter, but her childlike temperament murdered her ability to fathom such concepts. She steadied herself with a trembling hand, pressing an open palm on the chilly surface, up righting her posture as her father whirled about in whimsical fashion, blood trailing his every step, sliding down his face from the empty hole bored into his head. 'There used to be an eye there…and it looked like MINE!' Young Princia Brio whimpered again in disbelief. The puppet that used to be her father edged closer to her, dancing with psychosis, bent on bringing down the world he'd worked so hard to forge for himself and for his family as well. The child shrieked as one of Nitrus's crimson soaked feet brushed her calf, tainting it with the sticky fuel of life. Horrified, the girl frantically moved a hand to wipe away the stuff, was caught by the swift movement of Brio's step, forcing her to stretch out on the glass covered floor, the shivers tickling her stomach. Her shirt had pushed itself up and knotted around her tiny neck as she slid forward, so that she was exposed to the peril of being cut by the wreckage. "Hey!" Her facial features twisted in pain as her father's waltz picked her up and scraped her body across the sea of glistening spikes, thousands of points delving into the tender belly, rupturing the smooth skin. Her own blood oozed from the wounds as she wept, mingling in with that of her father's, two bitter sweetly reunited into one flesh, a bond beyond the world of the sane and of the living, a covenant of ghastly propositions. "You-you-you're hurting m-m-me!" Her protest fell on closed ears, hardened by stones of an alien origin. Nitrus jostled his daughter about the lab, all the while, the precious girl struggled to escape, only to be felled again. The fog thickened, bringing with it a repugnant odor, and the metallic smell of blood mixed with it, the perfume of incoming death, a bell tolling in the far distance. It's siren would come to claim them shortly.
He pranced around, carrying his offspring with him, her torso mangled with blood, strips of skin dangling loosely from her underside, flesh torn asunder by the incalculable scraps of glass that littered the lab. Her hoarse pleas did not register to him, his mind completely gone, dark, unoccupied. He was listening to the softer music, his feet obeying of their own accord, swaying in rhythm. For a moment he thought that he heard the song of an angel, but that, too, was nothing but a false alarm. In the talking waters he swam, under the dead bodies of the decaying, through the seven rings of fire, a circus, big top…
"Ahn…uh….St - st - stop!" The agony wrenched the word from her throat in a croak, her face pummeled into the marble, the following crunch a sure sign that her nose had broken. She drank herself, the coppery taste nauseating. Before innocent Princia, daddy's angel, could expel the fetid fluid from her system, N.Brio's death march halted, and his motion allowed a larger shard of glass to impale his girl's right ocular cavity, the fine point only stopping its journey after ripping into the fragile contents of her brain.
"Yes sir, I understand." Cortex spoke into the phone, his knuckled white from gripping the receiver so tightly. Dingodile, Tiny, and Ripper Roo stared on in tense uncertainty, eyes darting back to each other's faces, shoulders shrugging in casual fashion, an occasional cough signaling impatience. The good doctor had occupied the other end of the conversation for nearly half an hour, the only indication he gave of the situation was the overwrought twinge in his usually placid voice. "Uh huh, yes. Yes, I understand." A nod, two nods. "Yes, sir. I'll be there right away. Yes." A long pause and then a final, "Yes sir." Cortex replaced the receiver as if in slow motion, every movement forced, practiced. Before he turned to address his crew of mutated animal brutes, he wiped his sweaty brow with his gloved hands and inhaled deeply enough to cause a fit of dizziness to swim in his head. With a counterfeit smile he explained, "A tragedy has befallen our former comrade and great ally, ingenious chemist, Nitrus Brio. His daughter was pronounced D.O.A. and he himself in critical condition."
"What happen? Tiny want to know!" The tiger growled. Dingodile shot him a narrow eyed glance and adjusted the flamethrower that strapped lightly to his backpack. Ripper Roo seemed disinterested all at once when the news was revealed.
The chemist had a somewhat unstable relationship with Cortex, a dispute once breaching their teamwork contract, allowing N.Gin to take over as Cortex's second in command. The evil scientist courteously accepted his long term colleague into the head positioning over his robotic defense industry field soon after the shorter man's catastrophic accident landed him in the hospital with half a missile protruding from his head. With a cough, Cortex continued, "It has been reported that it was a industrial accident, taking place in Brio's current lab facilities. His daughter was merely watching on as her father strived to perfect a dynamo duo substance-containing compound of both dangerous and miraculous consequences, an oxygen based compound (what with nitrogen as a sub-base) that would prove to be completely edible given the proper amount of time and additions. His work would be able to completely transform time/space matter, compressing it into nearly nonexistent form, and then to manipulate it to move. Invisibility, one would call it these days. The experiment is quite interesting if I may say so myself. It's too bad that Brio miscalculated his chemical mix ups and created such a nasty mess…" The doctor put a hand to his forehead, voice breaking with dreadful concern.
"Poor Brio. What will he say when he learns of Princia's death?" The half crocodile sang softly.
"That is where I come into play." Everyone in the small audience raised their head to meet Cortex's gaze as the doctor cracked a crooked smile and placed his hands behind his back, one foot nervously (or perhaps excitedly) tapping the floor. However, instead of explaining himself, he moved quickly towards the exit, the band of animals leaning forward with anticipation. Even the fanatical Ripper Roo turned his head, finally somewhat focused. The evil scientist emerged into the next room over, the metallic door whirring closed behind him, red lock blinking in place. He would not revisit his army for another half hour, mind solely dedicated to his task, unwilling to let any form of secret seep through. He would tell them about it later. Much much later…
The first thing that he was slightly aware of was the odor, the smell of alcohol and other aromas as well, the signification that he was in a hospital room. 'Oh, God…what's happened…?' His body felt numb, weak, his mouth dry and parched. Inside that canal, his tongue was swollen horrendously. One of his eyes blinked open, the harsh overhead light blasting it with repulsive energy. His other eye… The vision in his right eye was nonexistent, leaving him confused at first, and then trembling with horror. 'Blind. I'm partially blind.' With a cry that sounded like it belonged to a wild animal he popped up, thin arms weary with exhaustion, threatening to send him plummeting back onto the rumpled white sheets. A thin blanket covered the rest of him, from the waist down, doing next to nothing from keeping him warm. An icy chill shocked his spine, and his single eye closed, sight shut out into darkness. For the first time he was aware of a throbbing pain in his feet, like knifes slicing them through and through, managing to hit all of the most fragile spots. An internal pain rocked his head as well, and he carefully rested against the mattress again, the back of his skull sinking into the too spongy pillow. With quivering hands, he pulled the blanket up to his chin and remained still for fear of being noticed by one of the staff. For once he needed time to think things through, to swim around all of the obstacles blocking his mentality, to weed out the impossible possibilities that landed him in such a dreaded place. 'What happened?' Lips opened a bit, he breathed raggedly through his mouth, for the whiffs of the hospital were too much for his sensitive nostrils. 'I was working in my lab. Compressing space/time matter, making it dissolve…I drank the potion and she seemed excited….she….' A spark of panic stunned him, and his breathing stopped momentarily as the information sank in, the Titanic evanescing under the dark waves… "P-P-P-Princia? Darling angel?" It came out in a raucous whine. There was the sound of footsteps, rushed, hasty. N.Brio was aware of the other person's presence, and whoever it was, they were leaning over him, their face so close that he could feel their pants on his own. A hint of chocolate wafted in on each puff. Chocolate?
"Oh dear. He's awakened!" Sounded the accented voice that fit the tall, willowy figure of N.Tropy, master of time and era. From what Brio could make out, N.Tropy seemed to be lamenting, his voice syrupy with tears. A quick look at the blue-tinted man's face confirmed his suspicions. Doctor Nefarious Tropy was a manipulator of time, Uka Uka's personal assistant, and like a father to Princia. Tropy had cared for little Princia during the earlier years of her life, while N.Brio was busy touring the planet on Hydro-Genetic Conventions, one of the scientist's chief projects. The girl was born with Tropy as the father, and he was the first to embrace her, touch her. Princia's mother had died during childbirth due to complications, and so N.Tropy raised her unaccompanied until Brio had returned a year and half ago with no idea that his late friend had given birth to a child. For many reasons, including this one, Princia always considered Nefarious to be her "realer daddy". N.Tropy now stood by Brio's side, never parting with Princia for a moment's time, vowing to help the young chemist train her up in the proper manner. He was by Brio's bedside even now. "Nitrus? Can you speak to me?" He asked hesitantly, one of the brown-gloved hands fingering the clock piece on his suit.
Still a bit hysterical, Brio answered, "Yes. Where is m-m-my Princia?" He expected her to come leaping through the open door at the opposite end of the room, concerned about her daddy and all smiles and giggles, worried but young, alive. The single brown eye rolled over the room, the light washing it, Brio focusing on the two leather brown chairs and the beeping heart monitor. Where was his precious little girl? She should have been with Nefarious, as he was wary of letting anyone else care for her in such dire situations. "Is she with you, Nefarious? Don't tell me you let Doc-doc-doctor Cortex watch her! If you did…"
"She's dead, Nitrus." Came the shocking truth. Water stung at N.Tropy's eyes, his face serious but malleable, wrecked with the circumstances. The hour hand revolved in a complete circle five times before the other man could react.
He had known that it was the case, but actually hearing the words rip from someone else's mouth helped to drive it into reality; beforehand it seemed surreal, fake. The expression on Nefarious's face made the impact even more agonizing and an abject scream ejected itself from his lips. One word echoed from his mouth, "How?"
Cringing at the sound of Brio's devastation, the taller man could contain himself no longer, and tears cascaded down his cheeks, unable to answer his comrade's plea for a response. His hands curled up into fists, one beating the glass encasing of the clock on his chest. With an indescribable noise, he lamented, his voice strained and weary from the mourning beforehand. Princia was gone. Forever. His Princia, THEIR Princia. Her name would swell within them but produce no results. She was no longer the bundle of yawns that he had held up seven years ago, still teeming with new life, tiny hands weaving before him this future that would be snuffed short. Her fluffy brown eyes had worshiped him in that moment, and for the first time he realized what it meant to love and to be loved. His heart had beat for only her and her happiness. Now it had no reason to sustain its constant motion in with the ticking of time. Oh, time! With as much passion as he had to adore its vast power, he now loathed its cruelty and its mercilessness. Time, in its everlasting omnipotence, had decided on the outcome of each and every being, their fate and purpose. It snatched up the lives of the innocent along with the wicked. Princia was just a puppet played by its amusement, a toy for its growing fancies and unending hunger for blood. With a long sob, Nefarious beat on the symbol, fingers desperately turning the hand counterclockwise in an attempt to reverse fate.
Tick tock…tick tock….tick…tock….
All four of them gathered around the round, wooden table in the dining area, Coco and the new human occupant seated at the far right slope, Aku Aku and Crash claiming the end facing them, the two guys listening as the female bandicoot explained in great detail, "…and so I led her back here, took her to my room, and let her borrow a suit of clothes. She told me before that she was hungry so I went into the pantry and got her a wumpa fruit. While she ate I said that she could stay with us for a while and then you all came back and that's what I was gonna ask you." The human girl nodded, assuring the witch doctor that Coco spoke the truth, pale hands fiddling with the white ribbon that looped around Its waistline. With Coco's help, It had made Itself look presentable, Its skin now washed and dried, Its hair neatly combed, braided, a flower tucked expertly behind Its ear. The dandelion's bright petals contrasted with the deep, rich tones of Its locks, Its skin glowing and vibrant, and the eyes now swimming in verve. With a dainty sweep of Its arm It waved to Aku Aku.
"I hope it is alright if I accompany you for awhile. I understand if it isn't. It's just that, I have no place to go. They're still bent on bringing me down. If only I could find him again. Then I could leave you and be at peace." Its sentences were well spoken, Its voice angelic, surrealistic, and simply divine. Aku Aku pondered the choice of having the human around in the hut. The aura of evil still plagued him and the possibility of this human girl being a trap set up by Cortex was a great possibility. Still, it was a risk that he was willing to take. If the girl was troubled, and he had shunned her, the guilt would stick him like pins and needles for the rest of his existence.
With a nod, he decided, "You may reside with us until you have found he that you are searching for." An eyebrow rose, "You do know of whom you speak?"
A sigh escaped the fragile human female, "No. I'm afraid. I don't remember him very well." Its hands rested lightly on the wooden tabletop, folded in each other, the fingers curled and slender. A tremble touched Its thick lips, and Coco put a hand on Its shoulder to comfort It.
"She does remember a bit, though. She said that there was something odd about the way he speaks." The bandicoot relayed what It had told her before. It had said something of the sort, and even now, It bobbed Its head in recognition.
"Yes. He speaks in a peculiar fashion that I've never heard anyone mimic before." Its eyes closed, as if It were remembering something from the distant past, a time that the others could not see or feel. Its hands relaxed, the fingers drifting apart as It spoke again, "He would always talk to me and he would sing to me too, sometimes, always sheltering me. It was as if…as if he fell from Heaven itself, but that couldn't be possible…for Heaven is quite a ways away. It would hurt someone to fall that far." It shook Its head thoughtfully, one hand coming up to rub Its bony chin. Crash looked on in sheer amusement, not fully understanding what was going on, but his head dipped up and down in short nods, making him at least look halfway intelligent about such matters. Simple Crash, what, with his brain floating amongst the fluffy clouds and singing foul of the air, was envied by many and scorned by more than many. Coco heaved a shaky sigh at the sight of him there, just a space filler. She'd much rather that he be frolicking around in the outdoor sun and not meddle in situations that soared over his furry head. Aku Aku, too, noticed Coco's frustration and waved Crash off politely, the male bandicoot concurring with his master's decision. He bolted for the door, green eyes alight with wonder, feet dancing with elation as he cracked open the barrier to the outdoors.
Coco glanced at It again, hand now retrieved from the shoulder and patting the wooden table. "You'll have to excuse my brother. He's a bit shy when it comes to meeting new people. And he's a complete airhead as well, preferring a nap to genuine work." She gave a slight indication to her prized laptop that was opened up on the floor in the next room over. The bandicoot had always admitted herself as a workaholic, seldom taking a break from her computer hacking save for time to eat, sleep, and other technicalities of life. With a grin she added. "If it's someone nearby that you are looking for, perhaps I can be of help. The network connects everyone's computer to a general server, and with a bit of hacking I may be able to access data, allowing you to view others with computers like mine, or more. It'll take a bit of weeding through, but…" Her shoulders rose and fell.
It swayed Its head from side to side again, this time focusing singularly on Coco, "It would be too much trouble for you to…"
"Nonsense!" The mask interrupted. "Coco dedicates her entire life to hacking. If it is indeed someone nearby that you are looking for, or if someone is looking for you, Coco is the prime candidate to unveil any of his or her plans and locations. I highly recommend that you acquire her help. It'll be fun for her as well, so there won't be any form of trouble." The witch doctor yawned, eyes turned toward the exit. A nearby window framed a picture of serenity, capturing the undulating ocean waves and Crash sleeping on the sandy shore, his arms spread askew, tongue once again spilling from his open mouth. "Well." Aku announced with another yawn. "I'll take up on Crash's idea to indulge myself in sleep. Be careful, girls, and you….oh, excuse me…I don't think that I ever got your name." Coco's brow rose. In all of the commotion, she hadn't thought of asking the stranger her name, either, and now her inquisitive nature was peaked.
It took a moment to answer, then hesitantly replied. "Heaven. Call me Heaven, please." Her voice had a tint of earnest desperation.
"Yes, if you wish…Heaven." Aku Aku smiled warmly, red lips parting slightly as he did so. Before following Crash's pursuit of tranquility, he added. "Heaven. Such an angelic name…"
Heaven beamed at her new alias, translucent eyes chasing the mask, tailing him as he flew out of the house into that same picture. She was trapped again, inside, her own voice echoing in droplets that rippled the dark waters of her soul. The hut was her mind, the window symbolical of that which she could not yet reach, but continued to strive to do so. The scene that unfolded beyond it was Heaven…herself, all the things that she had missed, even though she had played a part in them before. The concept of that past reality was so far, so far out of her reach…Unconsciously she raised a white hand, stretching it forward with all of her might, fingers spread as far apart as she could make them, pretending that it was only the seat that held her down in the coldness. But Heaven knew that it was so much more, so much more.
In order to break across the goal, back into herself, she would first have to escape from herself, and that alone in itself was the most difficult task. The mind has a tendency to hold on to the present things, sometimes letting that which was important to slip from view, into the sky. She could part those cumulative clouds and silence the storm in herself. Nothing was too far, even if she had to fall first.
Troubles were snowballing down the ice-glazed mountains and into the open mind of a lone mechanical genius. Thus begins the tragedy of Dr. Nitro Gin…
He bowed to the mirror, mentally critiquing his image in the reflecting glass. Ugly, check. Hideous, check. Twisted, mutated, GROTESQUE freak of nature, check. Internally weeping, he sulked into the nearest bathroom stall and stared into the calm toilet water that cupped into the white bowl. He knew that if he flushed it, the sound would ruin his sensitive ears, exploding into another migraine headache that'd last him a lifetime. But the clement pulsating in his lower abdomen cried for respite and he finally succumbed to its calling, unzipped his pants and relived himself of the pressure. After he had done his business, he gazed into the toilet again, the face that peered back at him alien, not himself. The physicist sometimes wondered if he had been mistakenly placed within the wrong body, if he wasn't really meant to be such an eyesore. Perhaps some other lucky lad had stolen from him a bronzed complexion, a dazzling straight smile, a masculine jawbone, and a few burnished locks of bleached blonde hair. Something in the back of his head told him that he was actually destined to be fit into a 170 pound hard body complete with a six pack, thick, toned legs, and a chest full of hazel nut hair. The toilet still held his contents and one of his fingers curled onto the knob. One push and it would flush. One push. His head throbbed with the mere thought of the rushing sound it would emit. It was one of the clatters that he despised most, driving him to the point that he wouldn't use the bathroom for days on end. N.Gin screwed his eyes shut, the finger slamming down, the water in the bowl circulating without delay on his command. With a startled cry, Nitro turned and ran from the restroom at the quickest speed he could direct on himself, not caring less if he didn't wash his hands afterward. The most imperative thing to do was to save his head, and that was all.
He flattened his back against the hall wall after he had escaped, taking a few minutes to catch his breath, which spouted from him in little noisy gasps. It was recurrent, arising everyday or every other day, depending on his needs. He constantly ran, even from problems as miniscule and insignificant as this. One gloved hand tightly clutched his chest. N.Gin was only slightly aware of the fact that Ripper Roo was almost upon him, his uncanny eyes studying the wheezing doctor. With a bounce, the jumpy kangaroo pronounced is arrival with a series of laughs that meant nothing to the untrained ear.
"Heh hee hee hee haw, eh he heh heeeee. Heee, ha ha ha ha ha heh heh heee ha!" He spun madly around, feet thumping the floor, tongue flapping from his chops that dripped oily saliva.
Nitro gasped, then, realizing that it was only Ripper Roo, calmed himself and answered hastily. "I don't quite understand. What do you mean she's gone?" He scratched his fiery mop of hair, mouth working mechanically to answer Roo's statement.
With a huff, the demented marsupial tried again, this time a different procession of howls escaping him as he bounced about. "Ha ha ha eh heh heh heeee hee he heeeeh eh eh eh heee he haw haw haha ha ha!"
"What? DEAD! No, that's…that's impossible! It can't be. How? What….what happened?" He inquired of the animal, but Roo just shrugged and pressed on down the hallway, apparently in a hurry. The news was almost unbearable. A headache had already wormed it's way out, the beginnings of it building up pressure in his temple as he massaged the side of his head with a steady hand, working out the situation in his mind before a solitary tear coursed its way down his cheek. Little Princia…dead? "No…it's not true…" N.Gin tried to assure himself, although he had a striking premonition that what Roo had relayed to him was information from Cortex. Though the evil doctor may be more than a little twisted, he would never lie about such a thing as his precious niece. The physicist rocked his body hard against the wall, a moan flying free of his slightly agape mouth, the hand still working to rid himself of the pain that incubated inside his skull. "Oh, god…. No.. Can't be…."
She had visited the other day, arriving in his lab via N.Tropy's shoulder, her face aglow with a smile, sweet voice difficultly exclaiming "L-l-l-look, unc-c-cle N.Gin! D-d-d-daddy bought-t-t me a r-r-r-real rob-b-b-bot! It-it-its just lik-k-ke yours, t-t-too!" Her tiny hands had clutched onto a scaled down version of N.Gin's latest technology, the Iron Maiden, a steel humanoid machine with self launched missile projectiles, four jet engines, and protractible and retractable blades extending from the arm bases. Pricia had set it on the ground after leaping from her "daddy Tropy's" shoulders, and had set it off, the small mechanisms whirring and clicking, the robot's arms unleashing their weaponry. N.Gin had beamed approval on the tike's interest in robotics, and had entertained her for nearly five hours that day with jokes, games, and a movie. She nearly watched him the whole night while N.Tropy left her in his comrade's care, her chocolate eyes penetrating him, as if they were staring into him instead of seeing his surface. Just before Tropy came to pick her up again, she had said one very important thing. With intense honesty she spoke, her hands playing with N.Gin's red strands of hair. "N-n-n-gin. I…." She stopped a moment, making sure that she had her uncle's undivided attention. "I-I-I think th-th-that you are th-th-the most beut-t-t-t-ifulest-t person I-I-I ever s-s-seen." He remembered the wet hot that sprung into his eyes as she told him this, the moonlight fading in from cool to warmth, a floating breeze carrying in the sounds of howling rain. Princia's brown eyes stayed on him for the rest of the night, that last night that he'd ever get to see her again, her last words being, "I love you, uncle N.Gin." Without the speech impediment she had said it, plainly. She did not stutter once in that sentence as she was hoisted up onto her "realer daddy's" back and taken from the room the same way that she had come. The scientist was left in solitude again, but this time there were words to comfort him.
And even now, with his eyes wet in grief, he gleaned a shelter in those words. "I think that you are the most beautiful person I ever seen." He mimicked her voice, minus the stutter, the phrase sounding childish as it reverberated in the hallway. Another stream of tears broke down his face as he spoke again, this time in reply to the other sentence he had sang. "And Princia, I think you have the voice of an angel. And I love you too." Sniffling he moped the rest of the way to his lab, opened the door and entered, a chilly air hitting him, making him shiver. He wrapped his arms around himself, shielding himself from the blast as he moved in to close the window. Dusk was rushing in, painting the outside sky a radiant shade of purple, deep hues screaming eggplant, along with streaks of neon pink and a touch of cloudy blue. In the near distance, N.Gin was positive that he spotted rain clouds, gray and pregnant, ushering in on the ever-changing easel. Nothing would bar the raging tempest that was to come, its turbulence frightening, appalling beyond measure. Some of that force was already evident, impacting in less conspicuous ways, as it was in the escape of her, and in the tragic death of an innocent. In a way, he himself had died even more, and also had accepted the invitation to live. The clouds were closer, moving in on the islands at a fixed pace. She was still alive, and he would have to find her and bring her back into this hellish experience. They came closer, closer… The child was lifeless, innocence stripped by consequence and there was nothing he could do about it. They rolled in closer, still closer. What was to happen next? As soon as the worse was over, N.Gin was sure that there would be nothing left, not even the tender cry of an angel.
Her backpack slung haphazardly over one arm, Nina Cortex, beloved niece of Neo Cortex, skipped happily away from the school grounds, weaving through the other students that milled the park area. It wouldn't be long until she'd be free of that educational confinement and ready to roam the real world. According to her calendar, there were but four days left of the school year and then a whole three months of exciting and daring adventures upon the island lands. During class when the teacher was spouting off another boring lecture, she had conjured up a plan and had secretly written it down on a piece of paper, tricking the foolhardy instructor into thinking that Nina was jotting down notes. Her spring loaded, steel hands clapped together as her communicator beeped, signaling an incoming call. She unzipped the pocket on her pack, stopping just long enough to pull out the receiver and click the huge, red button on the side that allowed her to speak one on one with the caller. A bright green 7707707 flashed on the back LCD dial, indicating that her uncle was on the other end. A session of clicks began and she listened with opened ears as he spelled out the message. : H O W W A S S C H O O L : She hastily flipped the buttons in a rapid procession, marking out her answer. : B O R I N G (pause) I M R E A D Y 4 I T T O E N D : She waited patiently until the next sequence stopped with : G O O D (pause) I T A K E I T T H A T Y O U W I L L A C C E P T A N O F F E R T O C O M E H O M E E A R L Y : Nina's face showed puzzlement, then anxiousness pleated with anticipation. She typed out : S U R E W H Y N O T : Her uncle's reply came next : I L L P I C K Y O U U P T O D A Y (pause) I L L E X P L A I N T O Y O U L A T E R (pause) T E L L Y O U R T E A C H E R : Her uncle exited communication mode after his niece gave him the okay signal. With a new air about her, she skipped back into the school to notify her teacher that she would not be returning for the rest of the year.
Cortex placed the communicator in his pocket, his gaze turning toward the open window, his thoughts on his adored niece. How long had it been since he had seen her? More than a year, he knew that. His relationship with Nina was a pleasant one, even after the fact that he had to make a few modifications to enhance her physical abilities AND sent her to the Academy of Evil because she was inclined to be kindhearted. Nina Cortex, the very essence of innocence and loveliness, with her gothic appeal and cutesy over bite, admired her uncle, looking up to him in every aspect and manner. Cortex sighed, hands tucked behind him now in formal fashion, teeth gritted together in his usual expression of thoughtfulness. It wouldn't be long before his blimp would arrive at the academy grounds and she would leap into his arms again. With a smile of satisfaction he gave off a slight chuckle before maneuvering his aircraft in the predestined direction to the schooling facilities. What would he say to her? His fingers cringed, cramped up. "I'll explain the situation. She'll understand, if anyone will." In his mind he held fond memories of Princia Brio as well, though he lacked care or interest for her biological father. The Brio girl had struck him as a strong willed child, with every intent on living her pampered life to its fullest, no matter what the cost. He would see to it that she would do exactly that. It would only be a matter of time. A matter of time before he could see Nina, before he could play God, before he could erase the one thing from this world that annoyed him so, and before she would fall into his grasp and complete the components he needed for world domination. It would only be a matter of time.