A/N

There's an edit in the authors note at the bottom.


A Twinsane Wedding

Chapter 20 On The Surface and Under Wraps

N Gin, being as shocked as he was, lost his footing and stumbled backwards, almost dropping the delicate Power Crystal in the process. It slipped from his grip and nearly hit the stone floor but he managed to regain his balance and lunge forward. N Gin quickly snatched it back up mid air before it could shatter. The Power Crystals were sensitive objects with unimaginable powers, capable of powering large pieces of machinery and hypnotizing those that were weak minded. They had just recently been used in Cortex's Iceberg Lab to help power the Psychetron. The cyborg stood there trembling, his grip on it quickly escalating, he didn't know if he should tell Uka Uka immediately or wait it out for a while. He needed to think about this one. This was a huge discovery and N Gin would also be wracked with guilt if it were to break.

"N Gin!" Tropy called.

Tensing up out of fear and surprise, he felt a cold shiver shoot throughout his veins, all the way to his fingertips but he was still able to answer with a single word, "Coming!" The remark that exited his mouth came out as a half tremble. Moments, which felt like hours seemed to pass and as N Gin still held onto the sharp object, hypnotized by it's beauty, he started to phase out a bit. He managed to stop himself however when his feet started moving underneath him and he bumped into the wooden door of Cortex's closet. As he was pulled out of his trance, he directed his attention off the stone. Everyone knew how rare these crystals were. Most people would kill just for the chance to hold one for even a few precious seconds. How long had Cortex had this Power Crystal smuggled and hoarded away from the team? "Master is gonna have a lot of explaining to do when he returns but the serum and Coco should assist us with that." Making a mental note, the cyborg ran back downstairs. In doing so, he carefully took the crystal and concealed it under his coat so he wouldn't get distracted by it again. The answer was made quite clear that he was going to have to tell Uka Uka and them. And possibly Coco? They would either all be in shock about this, angry that Cortex had kept this hidden from everyone or a mixture of both. It was probably the latter.

"Gee, slow down N Gin, we don't need you collapsing on us now especially since our scheme will soon be set in motion. Also, what took you so long, it's literally only a piece of paper?" Uka Uka demanded when he came sprinting back into the room at a blistering pace. Uka Uka and Tropy gave an annoyed look to one another before focusing their eyes on the mentally crazed cyborg, their faces not breaking from the emotion they settled on. Brio's curiosity was on full capacity as well as he hauled himself up off the couch. The team could only imagine what had their friend all riled up. Nobody had a clue as to what feelings were lurking underneath.

N Gin placed a hand on his knee and raised one finger on his opposite one, taking a moment to catch his breath. He sucked in a breath that almost came out like a wheeze as he exhaled it, before hanging his head in sorrow. "Sorry oh great Uka Uka but I was just placing the pro/con list back in Cortex's room. When I started to head out, that's when I discovered this under his nightstand." He revealed the crystal. "I thought we did a thorough investigation of his room, clearly we didn't cause we were in a rush. Just like Cortex who failed to turn Crash evil due to his impatient, self absorbed nature."

Brio was the most surprised out of the group, his jaw hit the floor in shock and he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Sprinting forward in a hurry, he grabbed the crystal, yanking it out of N Gin's grasp with a great force. He didn't care at the moment if his friend would be mad at him. Locking eyes with his colleague from the academy, the chemist didn't detect any traces of anger. Turning the glimmering stone over in his hands, Brio opened his mouth but no words came out for a mere thirty seconds. It felt real but he didn't think it was.

"Am I dreaming or is this what I think it is?" He finally managed. Tropy extended his arm and pinched the chemist hard on the top of his hand. "Ow!" Brio yelped, sucking in a sharp breath due to the sudden pain. Quickly pulling his arm away, he gently rubbed it to soothe the affliction given to him by the time master who plucked the crystal from his greedy hand. Sure it hurt but that also meant that Brio was fully awake and conscious and that the teams current situation was reality rather than fantasy. "Thank you. Ok, not dreaming. I was the one who searched under Cortex's bed, how come I didn't notice that, since it's hard to miss?! See this is what happens when we rush things! We overlook the small things but this is legit, this is a hundred percent real. Then again, who in their right mind would try to forge or try to imitate a precious Power Crystal or even a gem now that I think about it, since gems are more powerful?" Pinching his brows together and shaking his head in disbelief, Brio groaned and after a minute of standing there in self pity, he spoke once again, "Where do you guys suppose he obtained this?"

"Perhaps this is still the Master Crystal from his Super Cortex Vortex scheme? Maybe he kept it for himself?" N Gin guessed, as he thumbed his chin. He was in deep thought and now, so was everyone else. Going back and digging through every scheme.

"Judging by fact you're still wearing the chef outfit, aren't you still prepping food?" Tropy pointed out, as he took in the scientists attire, thinking to himself where he had acquired it.

N Gin snapped back to reality in an instant, "Oh shoot, thanks for reminding me!" N Gin once again dashed away to finish up his culinary task, panicking both internally and externally as he did.

"With how slow his brain works sometimes, we could be here all day with N Gin trying to singlehandedly sort through every one of Dr. Cortex's various plots." Uka Uka remarked. "And I don't feel we have that kind of time. Cortex and his niece could waltz through the front door at any moment."

N Gin carefully removed the simmering pan of food from the hot surface, placing it on a cooling plate. He collected a spoon and scooped some pasta into a bowl since it would be messy with the two types of sauce he had combined together and he wasn't going to chance it by using a plate. Rummaging around in the cupboards once more, N Gin pulled out a plate to place over it, before setting it in the microwave. It would more than likely have to be warmed back up by the time Cortex and Nina returned. He rejoined the team moments later. "Ok, Cortex's dinner, ready to be reheated if needed and I did not burn it to a crisp. Success! Just need the master and Coco and we'll be all set. We should alert Coco first."

"Even though we all know how greedy the master can be, this looks too small to be the Master Crystal. Besides, that plot for world domination was many years ago." Brio noted. "This is just your ordinary, normal sized Power Crystal." There was a sudden pause in his speech before he spoke again, his eyes widening in discern. "Neo's so dead when we get our hands on him, if he ever comes back here from wherever he went!" He screamed. "I could just..." Reaching his arms out in front of him, hands started curling into tight fists. It was a similar scenario to what Coco had done yesterday. But now the roles were reversed and Brio was now in her position as the one imagining strangling Cortex. That angry outburst made everyone else cross their arms and express a sly smile. Soon, N Brio noticed that, realized what he had said during the teams investigation and retracted his hands, crossing his own arms and huffing afterwards. "Dang it, I'm sinking to your guy's level!" Brio stomped his foot in anger.

"You said yourself that we needed to be smart and not start accusing him of stuff. Look who's not taking his own advice." Uka Uka's mouth soon turned into a smirk like everyone else. "The tables have turned."

"Oh shut up, I know what I said! I say we go back up there and comb his room very carefully one more time! Who's with me?!" A raise of everyone's hands, excluding Uka Uka (who simply gestured yes by shaking himself around) and a nod of their heads indicated an agreement. "Let's go! And somebody recollect and reposition the spybots!" Brio urged. "Come on, chop chop, let's go, go, go before Cortex gets back!" Dashing forward, he bolted up the stairs as fast as N Gin had done earlier. The others followed behind him in close pursuit.

'Deja Vue, here we go again. At least Brio didn't taunt us this time.' N Gin thought.


A knife came down, slicing through a Wumpa Fruit like it was soft butter. Crunch was prepping an early dinner as he said he would: slicing up various fruits for on the side and mixing some garden fresh veggies into a bowl, humming to himself as he went. The family pets gathered around at the base of his feet, their mouths opened wide, hoping some scraps would fall to the floor. Their tounges hanging out of their mouths as Polar and Pura stood on their back legs and started panting and meowing. Noticing this, Crunch flicked some pieces to the floor using the culinary tool and let them have at it, he didn't like seeing anyone in the family hungry. Crunch enjoyed the life of a good guy and being an older brother, of course anyone who had worked under Dr. Cortex in the past could tell other people differently due to their own experiences.

Crash entered the house and shut the door moments later, the bright smile that worked it's way onto his face during his brief stroll down both the beach and memory lane hadn't disappeared yet. Green eyes lit up in delight when he saw the stack of Wumpa Fruits that Crunch was cutting up. In a sizzling pan were some long, stringy egg noodles, various veggies from their garden and melted butter. "You take care of the weeds?" Crunch asked. Crash nodded. "Good, thanks for doing that for me." The younger of the two brothers didn't notice Coco in the kitchen. He peered around a corner into the living room. Nothing. Maybe she was relaxing like she said she would? "Dinner's almost ready," Reaching his hand out tword a wooden rack above the stove, Crunch grabbed a pepper grinder and ground up a tiny amount on top, before pulling the pan from the heat and setting it in the middle of the table. "Could you go get your sister while I finish up here?" Crash gave a swift head nod and sprinted off, passing Aku Aku along the way. After watching him disappear, the oldest of the siblings collected the plates and silverware and neatly set the table.

Coco was laying on her stomach with her legs crossed in bed finishing up the grandiose ballad playlist, while also pondering and trying to make sense of varying scenarios: Cortex, head over heels for her brother, Dr. Jacobson's theory about her and her rivalry with Nina that the girl had mentioned back in Iceberg Lab and her secret team up with Tropy and them. 'Nina is a different chracter but she's related to Cortex and I can't stand him...so that means I can't possibly tolerate her. Could I?' The answer to her own question was said out loud to herself rather than being answered in her head. "No my anger is strictly directed at her relative and nothing more." Coco, soon started to feel herself getting overwhelmed. She hit the resume button on the playlist and looking upon the screen, Coco only had one song to go. 'In the home stretch here, let's go.' The brainy marsupial's hunch was right, the collection of grandiose balled love songs certainly was something she never would have guessed Cortex to make. Not in a million, billion years. "How long has he felt this way about you brother?" Coco pursed her lips tightly as she cupped her hands under her chin. She was totally focused. "Maybe ever since you were a subject in his test chambers all those long years ago?"

As Coco pulled the flashdrive from her computer and closed it, she could feel her brothers presence coming down the hall. Sneakers creaking on a hardwood floor was kinda hard to miss. Green eyes saw Crash poke his head into the room. "Hi brother." The aroma of food soon swept through the air and hit her nose. "Smells like dinner. Good I'm starving, let me just wash up first." Crash licked his lips and hightailed it back to the kitchen. "And don't try to eat my food too, you're not the only hungry family member you know." Coco joked. Crash stopped suddenly, pondered that for a few breif seconds and then simply shrugged it off as he continued back tword the kitchen. His younger sister rolled her eyes. "Don't ever change your silly ways or personality brother."


Coco entered the small bathroom and washed her hands thoroughly, cupping them briefly to splash some cold water on her face. "I always thought Cortex was heartless, guess I was wrong. Then again, it just raises my suspicions even more to think that he may just be plotting some kind of evil deed right under us." Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, she brushed her hair back, glancing at the communicator that N Gin bestowed upon her. "You were telling me the truth N Gin but that doesn't mean I fully trust your gang of evildoers. I'm still keeping my guard up but I do want to hear the truth for myself." The female bandicoot knew from after years of encounters and the martial arts training that she had been doing is that anything could happen at anytime. It didn't hurt to sometimes be overly cautious and prepared.

"Coco, are you there?" Speak of the devil, it was him.

The unanticipated feedback that followed the bluetooth connection almost made Coco jump to the ceiling in fright, "Gah, you almost scared the living daylights out of me! And yeah, I'm here N Gin, did Cortex come back yet?" She couldn't wait to see the reaction of pure horror upon Cortex's face. To get the information straight from the horses mouth would be probably the best thing to happen to her. A little slice of satisfaction. Sadly the answer that was presented wasn't the one that Coco had hoped for.

"Yeah...no, not yet. Sorry for the startle. Listen, I've got some major news and it just couldn't wait until you got back. I found something out, well, I uncovered it but I thought you and the N Team needed to know this asap. You're going to want to sit down if you're not already. You're in for quite a shock." He took a minute to ready himself. N Gin wasn't so sure if he himself was even mentally prepared to tell Coco about the sudden new development. He was just going to have to come right out with it.

"Alright. What's got you all in a tizzy?" Coco took a seat on the edge of the bathtub as she tried her best to prep herself.

"Well, after you questioned me about the other half of the pro/con list, I went to set it back in it's place on the masters shrine. As I turned to head out so I could finish up dinner, something from underneath his nightstand caught my eye. Two words: Power Crystal." N Gin almost instantly felt releived after getting that out in the open, especially to Coco who was now sitting frozen in place. No response followed that surprising revelation, now had the cyborg concerned as he tapped on the little device in his ear. "Coco? You still there? This thing still working?" N Gin did program these right didn't he?

'Power Crystal.' Those words played like a scratched record in Coco's mind. Her breathe catching in her throat. The astonishing news that had made N Gin freeze was having the same effect on her. The girl didn't know what to think or even how to respond, she was taking a minute for herself. "Y-yeah I'm still h-here and I could've sworn you said you uncovered a rare Power Crystal in Cortex's room?"

"I did, you heard that correctly, the teams going nuts over here. Brio yanked it from my grasp just so he could hold it for a split second. He for a moment didn't even think that it was the real deal. Oh but he himself said it was legit and it is, even I got mesmerized by it and almost walked into the door on Cortex's closet. They're entrancing that's for sure, they make some people do crazy things. Pretty sure it's known as 'crystal craziness' according to some, which is actually a fitting name. You'll see the crystal with your own two eyes soon enough, I've eaten up enough of your time already. Just needed to get that news out in the open." N Gin figured he better let Coco get back to what she was doing.

"Right, over and out." The connection was lost as Coco started a slow stroll tword the kitchen.

Crunch's eyes lit up in satisfaction when he saw his sister enter. "There's our one and only sister, ready for dinner?" Coco nodded as her brother sat the plate in front of her. "Haven't heard you yell once today. I'm glad you're taking time for yourself. It's nice to know that Cortex isn't the main thing on your mind." Crunch patted her shoulder and went back to the stove to make himself up a plate.

Coco could feel the nervousness starting to sweat it's way out of her and a hollow pit starting to form in her gut at the same time. It had fashioned itself in her stomach once more. She looked at Crash from the other side of the table, who twirled some noodles on a fork and began slurping them down. When he twirled some more and began to bring them to his lips, they uncurled themselves from around the utensil and landed in a pile amongst the rest. Crash thought it was due to the sauce. He diminished the struggle soon after as he stabbed some of the uncooked Wumpa Fruits that were on a side plate instead, not bothering to try for the pasta again. As he ate it, Crash beamed with happiness, giving a thumbs up of approval for another culinary creation, even if he only had one bite of noodle.

"Yeah, it is nice. You have no idea..."

A/N

Don't slip up Coco. XD The chapter title, I've wanted to use it twice before but told myself I could do better.

Sup, Activision and Toys for Bob really outdid themselves with Crash 4 It's About Time. The skins are awesome, Coco really rocks the biker look, Fake Coco is hilarious and I love the Rawkit Head skin for her so much! That's the one I fell in love with during the State of Play reveal trailer. I love Crash's new overall look as well, he's so cute! The game itself is amazing but it's so damn hard. XD No wonder they recommend playing it in modern mode. Making progress though. :P It's Naughty Dog Crash 1 hard!

Isn't that suppose to be the point? An excuse to come back and replay levels?

*groans* You're right. But some of those levels made me want to snap my controller so badly and I had only played through the game for a few weeks just trying to survive every level. I'm looking at you Crate Escape! I can't take it anymore and yet I always find myself going back to replay levels! Screw you Cortex Castle and 257 freaking deaths in the first run through of that level! XD Second time even though I still only have one gem, still lost like 75 lives.

Hey! Focus on this story and relax. And geez that's a lot of death. But the second time around, progress.

Somewhat, thanks. *takes a deep breath* Oh, I do feel better. On with the notes! So now you guys know what N Gin found, should have been pretty easy to piece together. XD Coco's probably only gonna get more riled up than she already is when she goes back to the N Team.

Gucci Mane LaFlare: Truth be told, I had to look up a German translator for Amberly's accent, before finally saying "screw it" and just going for it. Yeah I tried to balance out the last chapter and (according to your comment) it looks like I nailed it. :) Thanks pal.

FlautaRara: I'm so sorry about the cockroaches. Yuck, from what I've heard on tv they are not pleasant, not at all. See why they're called "pests," I also didn't think that people read the authors notes. I do, just didn't think other people did. XD

Ok, that's it for this chapter, not much more to say.

What's next, as if I even want to know?

More about you and it ain't gonna be good, flashback/backstory time come the next chapter. That chapter's gonna take a while since I need to research traumatic backstories. Plus I'm trying to think of a new, oneshot completly unrelated to this story and the oneshot series but still Crashtex focused. Maybe based around the new game? XD Fingers crossed. Until next time, keep smiling! And Happy Halloween. It's like 2 am here.

EDIT: I revised the dinner that Crunch made, I put the Wumpa Fruits on the side instead. Thanks FlautaRara for your feedback. ^^