A/N

Announcement everyone! I've got a brand new oneshot series up based around this story. It's a spin off called Twinsane Oneshots, so be sure to check that out.

Ahem don't you have another announcement?

Right, before we get into this chapter, I just wanna say; today marks the one year anniversary of when I posted this story! *throws confetti* Yay! Ok, enjoy! This is also my longest story to date!


A Twinsane Wedding

Chapter 14 Whose Side Are You On?

Coco's knees started to buckle beneath her but she managed to stop herself from going down to the floor. She couldn't beleive what she had just done, it felt like it all happened too quickly. Did she really just shake hands and make a deal with the N Team? Her familys worst enemies and the biggest threat to their island home? Of course, the more she thought it over in her head, the more Coco knew that she wanted to do this. This did involve plotting her revenge on Cortex after all.

Coco had always thought of Cortex as more of a lower, bottemdwelling species rather than a human. She had thought that he came from underneath a rock.

Soon the girl started to think of what she could potentially do to the scientist as payback, now that she knew the truth about him and Crash. Coco never imagined that Cortex would ever develop a heart or even other feelings rather than anger, stress and fear. And for Crash no less, the very bandicoot that he had tried numerous times to eliminate. Pretty soon she came to realize that she didn't want to tell her brothers or Aku Aku about what she had been doing. The girl hated lying but what else could she do? "So what's with the whole 'shrine to my brother' deal Cortex has got going on?" She wondered, gripping the flashdrive tighter as she tried to decipher what N Gin meant when he said "top secret playlist". Coco knew that it must be songs (hence the word 'playlist') but what kind? She had yet to figure that part out. She would ask at some point.

"Apparently, Dr. Cortex has been obsessed over Crash for quite a while. Did you see some of those photos he took of him?" Brio asked. Coco briefly remembered seeing pictures of Crash but she was too in shock at the time to really notice and get a good look. Now that some of the female bandicoots tension had mellowed out and she could start to think clearly again, she decided to do some observing. "You're not going to like what you see."

Backtracking over to the cubby, she picked up the small stack of pictures, her facial expressions transitioning between anger, shock, horror and disgust as she flipped through and carefully observed each one. "What is...?" Coco instantly trailed off that sentence when she saw the two photos taken with the nightvision lens. "Oh my gosh, he's a stalker! And how come we've never heard anything in the middle of the night?!" Coco screamed. She wanted to tear each photo into a million pieces and then proceed to do the same with Cortex. She wanted to then rip the shrine apart, piece by piece and then burn it using the candles, cackling evily as she did it.

Even though Coco knew violence was not the answer, (as explained by Aku Aku yesterday) this discovery about Cortex was slowly starting to chip away at what was currently left of her calm demeanor. She could only imagine what Uka Uka and the others must have thought when they saw this little setup.

"That's pretty much the same reaction we had, glad we're all on the same page here." Uka Uka said. "See? We told you that you could not unsee this."

Tropy then handed her the list. Raising an eyebrow after taking it in hand, Coco asked. "What's this now?"

"A little pro/con list Cortex made about Crash." All of these statements pretty much sum up that bandicoot hero." The time master replied. After unfolding it, it only took five seconds for Coco to start getting worked up again. "We thought he hated Crash cause he was a "failed creation"? But no, apparently there's more pros than cons on this list. Brio believed that Cortex only said he didn't have a plan to beat him because well obviously, he doesn't completely despise him."

N Gin chimed in with a comment of his own, "We've theorized already that even though Cortex says he hates him we all know he really doesn't. He just didn't want us to know the truth."

"Hey! I said that, that was MY theory!" Brio snapped, pointing an accusing finger tword the cyborg. "Don't steal credit for my idea!"

After clearing her throat and silently reading the list to herself, since she knew the team had already gone through it, the female bandicoots eyes blazed with fire and fury just after reading each pro.

"Sweet as can be? Happy toothy grin that never changes?" Soon after (not even bothering to look at the con side), Coco started drumming up potential ideas for revenge, 'Cortex, you are so going to pay! Hm, now what's the perfect plan of revenge for what you did? Do I kill you in your sleep? Do I bury you alive? So many devious options. Ha, ha, ha!' Coco's curiosity soon got the better of her, reducing her anger as she wondered what the N Team had in mind. Coco handed the list back. As she did, she figured that it probably wouldn't hurt to ask, "So, do you guys actually have a plan in mind to ring the truth out of him? Or am just going to have to ring his neck, period?" She wondered as she proceeded to shake out her hands and take some relaxing breaths to try and releive some anger.

N Gin had to move a hand up to cover his mouth to muffle a laugh at that question. Just picturing that made him want to laugh so hard until his sides hurt. The cyborg imagined Cortex's eyes rolling around in circles as Coco throttled him. "That's one way to do it."

"Ok, as much as we'd love to see that, N Brio here did have something a little less violent in mind." N Tropy said before his tone became more serious. "Right?"

Brio snarled at his colleague and then looked at Uka Uka who nodded, before informing Coco about their plan, "Yes, I do, something a little tamer in mind. Coco, we mainly just wanted to see your reaction to the shrine. You're actually the alternate to the little truth serum I've developed using a step by step process from a book. I had just finished it up before you arrived. Of course, N Tropy here had his doubts about it, he didn't think I could manage it. When it comes to a truth serum, I don't think anyone is capable of lying." The chemist paused briefly to thumb his chin, "Then again, you're the brainiac bandicoot, what do you think we should do if you can't manage this? Truth serum or the good old fashioned lie detector? If you had to pick one or the other, which one would you choose?"

Uka Uka looked back and forth between the team and Coco. Everyone was shocked. It was like their fate was resting in her hands. Was Coco secretly betraying her own family and Crash? All because of Cortex's obsession over him?

An invisible blanket of silence soon covered the girl, "Hm...you know, that's a good question? I honestly don't know." Coco admitted as she scratched her head and adjusted the flower behind her ear. "I say go with the serum, I mean how accurate can a lie detector really be?" After thinking that statement through very carefully, the N Team couldn't argue with logic like that.

"That's a good point, I knew there was a reason you were the "smart one" of the Bandicoot family. I did a good job by making you watch all those science shows years ago in the vortex. I just knew you'd make the right decision. But in our quest to extract the truth out of Cortex, after hearing that you wanted to hit him, I beleive if he gets just one glance at you, he'll be unable to lie and the serum will finish the job." Brio predicted.

Coco was both stunned and intrigued at the same time, "And if I get one look at him I'll just want to slug him, which will also cause him to tell us the truth, since when I threatened to hit him yesterday, he was begging for his life. Alright, I'll admit it, you do make an excellent point. You're good Brio but I never thought you were this good. Wow, there's a sentence I'd never thought I'd say."

"Two methods in one, feels good." Uka Uka responded. "This is why we always want to have a backup plan."

"Why thank you Coco." N Brio patted himself on the back. "I just knew you'd make the right decision. Lacing his fingers together he stretched himself out, reaching up above his head and then bending backwards slightly. Being hunched over his work station for a few hours had taken it's toll on his back. "Well, now I think we just have to wait until Cortex gets back here."

Coco hesitated for a breif moment before asking another question, "Can't beleive I'm about to ask this but where is Cortex anyway?"

The N Team shrugged their shoulders,"We don't even know, he said he needed to step out of here and clear his head. Says his brains been cluttered lately. We don't know where he headed off to, we're just awaiting his return."

The bandicoot didn't even want to imagine what went through Cortex's head throughout the day. "Alright, not going to go any further there." Heading back down to the parlor, Coco plopped down and took a seat on the bottom of the stairs, her mind buzzing with all this new information in her head. "I'm glad I saw all this. You guys were right, I can't beleive that Cortex doesn't hate my first older brother. That and the fact that I'm now working with you guys to get more information out of him."

"There is an old saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'." N Gin explained.

The young bandicoot did remember hearing that from Dr. Jacobson when her and Nina went to visit him for the first time. First visit to his office, the therapist had informed them about that expression after Coco had explained Cortex's rivalry with Crash. "I already know about that expression. It's totally accurate right now." Coco then looked to N Gin and presented her earlier thought about the drive in her hands. "N Gin?" The cyborg gazed at her and nodded, telling her to proceed. "N Gin, what did you mean when you said that this playlist was not what I would expect from Cortex?"

"Well, you see it's... hold that thought..."N Gin dashed back up to his room and came back down seconds later with the headphones in his grasp. "By any chance do you have your laptop on you?"

Coco cocked her head, confused by the question, "Yeah I do...what are you...oh you want me to analyze the list for myself?" She wondered, getting her computer out. Tropy and Gin said nothing but kept their gaze on her. "Alright, I'll take a listen." Coco inserted the drive and took the headphones from the cyborg. Plugging them in, she clicked on the file and very carefully listened.

Scilence hit everyone like a wave as Coco went through each song. After about ten minutes, they spoke, "Notice anything about each song so far?" N Gin asked.

"They're all songs centered around love?"She guessed. The scientist nodded. "Oh my word. So judging by the shrine and this music list, are you saying that Cortex is in love with Crash?" Coco got the same gesture from everyone. "What?! I am so going to kill him now! And I just had a realization while listening."

The team members looked at one another, "Which is...?"

"How are you guys going to get Cortex to drink that little serum?"

Luckily for Coco, N Tropy had already thought ahead. "I'm one step ahead of you. N Gin?" The cyborg pricked his head up. "N Gin go prepare lunch for the master and slip the serum into his drink. Make the food spicy and hot, there's gotta be something you can find." Jumping up, N Gin sprinted straight to the kitchen, leaving Coco shocked, her eyes wide. "We know that Neo isn't big on spice. One bite and then he'll go for the Wumpa Fruit juice to cool it down, pretty soon, we'll have our anwsers. He has no clue as to what we're up to but he's probably starting to get suspicious of us."

"Well, that anwsers my question. I guess we're partners in crime now." A smirk soon played about the girls lips and soon after it had formed, maniacal laughter was released between Coco and the N Team. "Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!"


"Uncle Neo! Are you alright?!" Nina shouted, hopping down onto the floor and picking him up.

"Yeah, just in pain...again." Cortex rubbed his cheek carefully, that slap really hurt. "Come on, just over the past two days I've been: stabbed, shoved, threatened, frightened, almost killed and now, slapped by my own mother!" He felt dazed and his eyes could only see the room spinning around him after that action by his mother. Neo figured she would have it out for him but he didn't think it would be this bad. His mind was swimming and his thoughts, as well as his brain were rattling around in his head, "Nina I think you, Crash and Dr. Jacobson are among the only people who don't completely hate me." Neo admitted. "Oh wait a minute, I forgot about Tiny."

"I would agree with that list." Once Nina got him to his feet and helped him back onto the stool he was sitting on so he could refocus his vision, she whipped around to face Natalie. Feeling just slightly irritated by that action. "What was that?! That was totally uncalled for!"

Natalie let out a slight chuckle to that response, "Really? Cause, personally, I think he actually deserved it for what he did." She didn't know if Nina already knew. "Did he tell you about our clown family?"

"Yes, he did. Our history and the explosion. And do you even feel any guilt at all, considering the fact you basically traumatized him right when he was born?" Turning her head slightly to the left, she saw her uncle laying on his side, hugging the barstool and shaking. It hurt just to talk about it. The one simple word 'clown' was enough to trigger those nightmarish flashbacks and bring him to tears. "I mean just look at what happens to him when he even thinks about it."

Neo was glad Nina was defending him. "Please, I don't wanna relive those horrible memories again! Once with Dr. Jacobson was enough thank you very much." He begged. He then jumped down onto the floor and looked his mother right in the eye, glaring at her, just as he had done with Uka Uka, "It's called the past for a reason mother. And you never cared about what I wanted! I never wanted to be a clown! But no, all you and the family ever cared about was the spotlight! You and everyone else made fun of me for years, never once thinking about how it all effected me!"

"Yeah, well, that's what the rest of us were in shock about Neo. We just could never piece together why you didn't want to entertain and be a star." Reaching into her apron pocket, Natalie pulled out a black and white photo of the Cortex's and Smiling Jimmy's and handed it to Nina. "Here you go Nina, our whole family, excluding Neo that is." Nina's eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the whole family in one place. The girl carefully grasped each side of the picture and held it away from her face to get a proper look at their old family. The photo showed twenty two people. All of them circus performers, donning some sort fancy attire with painted faces and noses. There were jugglers, tightrope walkers, firebreathers, acrobats, jesters with the pointy hats, magicians, even professional lion tamers wielding whips.

"You see Nina, the Cortex's fell on hard times. Supporting so many children was difficult, until the circus showed up in our town one day. Later that day my husband Nate a.k.a The Ringmaster and Neo's dad came home to me and the family with great news; he had made a deal with the owner of Smiling Jimmy's. We all decided to take the role of entertainers and join the traveling circus. We almost all caught on immediatly."

The goth girl was in awe, this stroll down memory lane and going more in depth about the rest of the Cortex family was exciting. "Did you do every kind of act?" Nina asked. Her elbows resting on her knees and her hands were now cupped under her chin as she took in a more detailed version of the family backstory. Nina was really getting into this more and more with each passing second. She was in awe.

"We did indeed. With over twenty kids, we basically filled every slot. Me and your great uncle Nate signed a contract but it was only after the accident that it was broken. Our final show went out with a bang. Literally. The only reason I wasn't caught in that explosion too was because I made a break for it. Away from the tent before it was sent sky high. Thanks a lot Neo." Natalie resisted the urge to slap him again after seeing the look on Nina's face earlier.

"I was only five mother!" Her son protested, before throwing his head back and groaning in disbelief. "And that's how you managed to survive?!" As his eyes carefully raked over the image, Neo lowered his head. A slight pang of guilt and remorse came over him, "Look, I'm sorry but you and the rest of our family just failed to accept that I didn't want to follow down the clown path. Your passions were to entertain, while mine was to study."

"Yeah? And just where has that passion gotten you now?" Natalies smirk reappeared on her face, causing him to start stumbling over his words. She polished off the rest of her juice and set the glass down while she awaited his answer, only imagining what he could have been up to and the progress he had (hopefully) made over the last few years.

Neo needed just one, one good answer to give his mother. Thinking back through his horrible childhood and everything else, he found nothing, "Well, I, I..." He soon hung his head and admitted defeat. Cortex didn't have an excuse this time, the scientists words had failed him. "Not very far. I created an army of mutant evolved animals, to try and take over the islands and rule them with an iron fist...but it didn't pan out like I expected. You see, the mutant I wanted to have as the leader and general of my army, I failed to turn him evil. Currently Crash is now my worst enemy and when you heard my voice earlier, he was using me as a snowboard. It was humiliating or rather humiliskating."

"So basically you failed and now have yourself an enemy? Really? All that studying you did for nothing? Well if Smiling Jimmy's was still in business, the life of a clown wouldn't seem so bad now would it?"

Nina soon chimed in with her own little comment, "I think it sounds fun. I always thought clowns were hilarious." That comment from his own neice almost sent the scientist right over the edge and into a fit of rage.

Cortex couldn't beleive that Nina was taking Natalie's side. It almost felt like betrayl, "Ah! Nina, whose side are you on right now?!"

"I'm on your side Uncle Neo." Nina replied, reaching one hand up and rubbing her neck. "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm excited to meet someone else in our family besides you. You also said Natalie here was possibly my great aunt? And something about you not studying the family tree?"

Looking at her only remaining son after gazing upon Nina again, Natalie shouted, "You didn't study the family tree?! I thought that'd be one of the first things you ever learned Neo." His mother sounded more than disappointed. Then again, she was already disappointed in him. Natalie looked at Nina and her smile returned. "Well, Nina I actually am your Great Aunt Natalie, cause I just remembered our fourth daughter married. It's very nice to meet you."

'I was right.' Cortex thought, as he observed his neices facial expression. 'Glad you know someone else now.'

The goth girl covered her mouth to muffle a squeal but part of it escaped her lips. 'This is going to be fun.' Nina thought.


"Aku Aku!" Crunch called, running into the living room with Pura at his heels. Both of them were almost out of breath. "We've got a situation! Coco's gone! She's not outside anywhere!" Crunch shouted and Pura began meowing loudly again, which was starting to annoy Polar and Baby T. The two pets curled up into a ball and placed their claws and paws over their ears. They could only take so much.

The witch doctor sensed fear, which was not a good thing. Aku Aku preferred a calm atmosphere, not one filled with tension, "Relax Crunch, it's not good to get worked up and stressed out. Just take a deep breath for a moment and calm down." Aku Aku persuaded. Stress was one word that was not in his vocabulary. Carefully taking his words into consideration, the muscular bandicoot did just that. He let himself relax and the tension almost immediately went away. Crunch then nodded, giving him a sign that he was ready to explain the situation. "Now what happened? Do you beleive that she went missing?"

Crunch aided the masks advice and slowed himself down. "Well you see, I was doing the routine chores when I heard Pura meowing. Naturally, my curiosity gets the better of me, so I go out and check on her. Cause that's the kind of nice, caring older brother I am." He then exhaled sharply through gritted teeth, "Now, here comes the concerning part. Coco's not here. I already searched both the yard and the garage already."

Aku Aku carefully listened to his explanation before sharing his thoughts...

"It's alright, we'll go fan out and look for her. She couldn't have gone far. Come on, let's go round up your brother." Crunch opened the door and they headed out. The family pets followed them down tword the beach to wake up Crash. Just earlier, everyone was calm because Coco was doing alright. Now that she was missing, it was time to go searching.

Crash was laying up against a palm tree with his feet propped up on a rock. Eyes closed and his hands were resting on his stomach. The hero bandicoot was clearly still slumbering. A butterfly flew down and landed on his nose but he didn't take notice. "Hey, little Crashy, wake up. We've got a situation." Crunch informed, tapping him on his shoulder and scaring away the butterfly in the process.

Crash twitched and rolled over on his side, muttering noises in his sleep as a response. "Crash, this is serious! Coco's missing! This is no time to sleep the day away!" Aku Aku used his magic to pluck a fruit from the tree. It fell and bonked him right on the head.

It took a minute but soon Crash stretched his arms out and released a huge yawn. He had been napping for quite a while and now Crash felt fully rested. Green eyes looking up, he saw Aku Aku and Crunch. He rolled his head to one side, wondering why he had been hit with his favorite, or rather his only snack as Cortex already knew. Crash focused his vision on his older sibling and witch doctor mask.

"Crash my boy, Crunch here had feared the worst. Something's happened to Coco, she's nowhere to be found." The younger bandicoots head shot up and he jumped up in a heartbeat. "Ready to go?" Aku Aku wondered. Crash gave a quick spin, followed a thumbs up. "Alright, move out guys!"

A/N

Cortex's clown family backstory from chapter 12 actually comes from his original Wikipedia page and the butterfly on Crash's nose comes from the opening cutscene in Nitro Feuled. Ok fun fact out of the way...what goes on readers? Currently back again for more twists and turns in this story.

How much more twisted can this one story get?

Um...*shrugs* I don't know, the twists will never end. And Cortex, you asked me in the last chapter why you were still here being my co host?

Yeah, why am I still here? Not to mention still tied up?

Cause you love it. And Crash. ;)

Hey! I...*sighs* If you weren't right about that, I would've walked out on you in like the first chapter!

Yeah, yeah, ok! Alright, that's enough of that. XD Here we go my dedicated readers and followers:

FlautaRara: Always glad to hear from you. You've been with this story since the first chapter. Can always count on your support. How much more suffering can Cortex endure? ;) Really? None of the stories you've read contain twists such as this one? Well, glad you enjoy my work. :D

Lil Panther: I'll certainly try. I'm glad you love this. I love your story as well. It's really entertaining.

Stephdragoness: Yes! We love wacky fun! Really glad you're getting into this tale.

New guest reviewer RetroTard: Thanks for your comment. I'll see what I can do from here on. :)

Anon? *hears crickets*

This stories gotten a lot of attention hasn't it?

Oh, you bet Cortex. So until next time? What's going to happen with Coco and the N Team who are now partners in crime? And family drama? Things are getting good. ;) Until next time, keep smiling!