Icy Fate

The eleventh dimension. Located between the tenth and twelfth, it was unknown and very mysterious. Much like the tenth, very little information had ever been known about it and given a closer, more in depth look...

Until now.

Upon arrival in this new territory, this dimension revealed some huge discoveries. It wasn't dark or gloomy like Twinsanity Island at all, no. It was beautiful with it's clean, calming white snow gently falling out of the sky, huge icy rivers that ended with equally large roaring waterfalls and high, snowcapped mountain tops that almost glowed in the hypnotic light of the Arora Borealis that rested overhead. The scene was truly breathtaking and peaceful. However, the local inhabitants in a small village at the base of the mountain peak weren't exactly the same. They were zombie fisherman, some of them wandering mindlessly around on the peaks and near the icy cliffs, others armed with spear guns sat up in wooden watchtowers high above the ground, their weapons of choice loaded with lethal razor-sharp sword fish. They showed no mercy to anyone who came too close.

Two individuals headed along a dimly lit path, with only small lanterns hanging from posts and the Northern Lights above illuminating the way. Their vision shrouded in the blizzard and their footprints the only thing breaking the clean, unsoiled snow that blanketed the ground underneath them. One was a man, the other an Australian marsupial: Neo Cortex and Crash Bandicoot, the most infamous rivals on all of the N Sanity Isles and now, in multiple dimensions as well. They were each others archenemy, polar opposites and nothing more as Cortex himself had summed up to that orange fur ball multiple times. Having to constantly remind him of his existence had been played out long ago. Cortex wondered if any of those many times he had said that to Crash, if any one of those moments managed to stick inside the bandicoots brain? Or if those statements the scientist made just went in one ear and out the other. He just couldn't tell.

In their most recent confrontation on top Cortex's modified blimp with missiles and punchbots, their quarrel ended the same way it always did: with Cortex losing and Crash winning. But the aftermath that followed was most unexpected: Crawling to Crash on his knees in anguish after his defeat, Cortex asked if this cycle of fighting would forever be endiess. Crash himself even wondered the answer to that question, since he never thought ahead to the future but a betrayl and secret plot developed by N Tropy caused Cortex to do something he'd never thought he'd have to do again: work alongside his so called "failed creation" to save the world. Causing them to team up together against Dr. Nefarious Tropy and his alternate dimension female counterpart and knock them down to size.

As Crash thought back to that well earned victory that he shared with Cortex and his other friends, he shivered slightly, wrapping his arms around his bare torso and wishing he had a coat and a hat. His fur kept him slightly warm but it did very little to block out most of the bitter cold, however, he was still the enthusiastic bandicoot hero that he'd always been. The warm smile that usually played about his lips was still there. That would be one redeeming quality of Crash's that would never fade. If only that warmth were enough to heat up his entire body.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Crash peered over his shoulder to just barely see a certain scientist trudging behind, ankle deep in the snow and grumbling quietly to himself under his own breath. Cortex couldn't feel his toes anymore at this point. Is this what people meant when they said they had cold feet? Cortex was somewhat accustomed to the frigid temperature. At least more so than Crash anyway since he had an Iceberg Lab back in another dimension but still, it would be nice to feel warm right now. Epecially since it was starting to become dark and he didn't want to be out here in the cold, playing the odds and risking his chances of getting more severe frost bite. Or worse, dying of hypothermia. Cortex just shuddered at the thought of that as images of his frozen dead carcass were uncovered years from now, buried deep under the snow and ice by explorers. That was a disturbing mental picture that he would not soon forget.

"Of all the dimensions we could have gotten lost in, why did it have to be a snowy mountain one?" He complained. Then again, complaining seemed to be Cortex's only forte, while comforting seemed to be Crash's. They had ended up in the eleventh dimension due to Crash's curiosity about a rift that hadn't been closed by Lani Loli and the others. "I wonder if anyone even knows we're missing?"

Cortex was quick to cup his hands together and bring them to his mouth. Exhaling sharply into the small opening, a breath of hot air spread onto his hands out to his fingertips, only to last mere moments which the man took advantage of, before his internal body temperature resumed dropping like a rock again. Cortex could feel the cold seeping through the rest of his clothes and chilling him to the bone. His legs trembled with each step he took, "I know I'm cold hearted but this is ridiculous. I don't know what we expect to find in this frozen wasteland. We just had to get separated from everyone else cause you had to step through an unknown rift not knowing what awaited you on the other side and frankly, this dimension hopping isn't for me." Cortex, after he and Crash exited the quantum rift, had immediately felt his legs wobble the minute they had stepped into this frozen village. That was either due to the jump into the eleventh dimension after all the other rifts or the chilling atmosphere. "Your curious nature caused this." Cortex always knew the bandicoots curious personality would have a negative effect on them one of these days. Looks like today was that day.

After mustering up some strength to move one arm around, Cortex gestured for his former archenemy to glance around at the fridged environment."Just look around us Crash, what do you see?" Crash thumbed his chin and surveyed their surroundings very carefully as his eyes squinted. Cortex hung his head, he knew that the bandicoot went at his own pace. Using his opposite hand, Crash pointed a finger tword the sky when he noticed the snowfall getting heavier, the light flakes now coming down more rapidly and in quick succession."That's right alongside a village, there's just snow, ice and more snow. No other beings rather than zombies hanging around here. And I don't beleive they're going to give us directions." The scientist was just getting a weird vibe from them.

A harsh northern wind blowing down from the mountains hit the pair like a tidal wave of knives, causing Crash to suddenly hug himself tighter in surprise to see if he could generate some warmth of his own. Crash ran his hands up and down his sides, testing that method and hoping it would be somewhat effective. It failed however, causing Cortex to roll his eyes at his nemesis as he crossed his own arms over his chest. "See even you can't take the extreme f-freezing cold. Last time I checked, you preferred the bright s-sun combined with warm sandy b-b-beaches of a tropical island setting." He didn't say it outloud but secretly that's exactly where Cortex wanted to be right now: kicking back on the sandy beach with a drink in hand. Blissfully relaxed and no care in the world, which perfectly summed up Crash. "L-l-let's just find some shelter from this s-s-storm until it passes. There's got to be a c-cave or some other sanctuary nearby." He prayed that his hunch would be on point cause the cold was beginning to become too much, even for a cold and distant evil scientist like himself.

As they headed further up the slope near the icy cliffs where roaring waterfalls resided, Crash's ears flattened against his head as he saw a zombie fisherman wandering mindlessly down twords him and Cortex. Crash whimpered in fright, it wasn't just the cold that was the duo's main problem now. Now they had caught the attention of angry undead villagers as well. He turned on his heels at the glimpse of the horrific sight and dashed down the hill him and Cortex were climbing up only moments ago. Crash was hightailing it out of there in a hurry, as pure dread overtook him. Noticing this, Cortex couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit concerned but he didn't want Crash to think that he was worried about him. Crash had never ran away from something in a hurry like this before. "What, are y-you scared C-C-Crash?" Cortex stuttered in a mock dismay in order to cover up the concern inside. If he wasn't almost half frozen, he would've attempted to catch Crash and try to hurt him, before he had the chance to run and leave him behind. "Since you are a h-h-hero, I t-thought that you would b-be..." The man trailed off his mockery and slowy tilted his head upward when a large shadow overcast him.

The color drained away from his face as Cortex was met with an angry gaze. The zombie fisherman with worn, raggedy clothes was looming over the scientist, looking at him like a meal: with a mischievous smile starting to slowly curl his lips just below his orange beard. Cortex's nose wrinkled with disgust at the stench of fish heavy on his breath. He had one eye half litted and twitching and an eyebrow was raised curiously on the other, "Oh...hello." The undead corpse snarled at Cortex as he waved a hand at his mates. Completly ignoring his hypothermic body, knowing that this was now a battle for his life, Cortex turned on the heels of his literally cold feet and scrabbled away screaming. This is what caused Crash to flee in a hurry.

Reaching into his pocket for his raygun so he could fend them off, he didn't feel anything inside. 'Oh sure, the one and only time I leave my raygun back in our own dimension. Why me?' Dashing away through the snow with a hoard of zombies hot on his tail, his eyes blindly caught sight of orange fur up ahead (Crash wasn't too far gone.) while being oblivious to a large patch of ice the duo were currently headed tword. Due to it's transparent form, Cortex didn't see it in time and slipped.

Feet flying out from underneath him, he landed on his back and slid forward, knocking Crash who was staying still due to the traction on his sneakers down like a bowling pin. Screams of panic escaped Cortex's throat, while Crash remained silent as he always was. However in his mind, he saw himself spreading his arms wide on either side of him and seeing this as a fun ice slide now rather than a horrific situation. He did just that, his toothy smile growing wider as they continued slipping and sliding. "You're enj-j-joying this a-aren't you?" Cocking his head around to Cortex who had resumed his yelling, Crash nodded yes but green eyes looked beyond his creator to find that the undead residents were gone. The zombie fisherman watched them slide away down the slope and grunted hopelessly as they disappeared, before gesturing to his mates that their newfound dinner had escaped. Looks like it was gonna be river fish again. The bandicoot had never been more releived to escape the clutches of someone who wanted to cook him and eat him up. First it was Rusty Walrus from N Gin's battleship and now, undead villagers with mates who were armed and dangerous swordfish spearmen. Much more deadly together than separately.

Building up a higher velocity and speed, Crash and Cortex's slip slide icescapades continued on with them sliding across a large angled boulder and spiraling upward into the night sky. Cortex's screaming not fading for even a minute as he saw the distance between him, Crash and the ground grow bigger and bigger. They were out of sight from the village now. Once they stopped spinning, both looked down below them in immediate panic, their eyes as wide as two sets of saucers. Neither one of them knew if this incident could get any worse.

Realizing they might not live to see the next day, Cortex pressed the palms of his hands together and gazed up whispering a prayer tword the ancients, while Crash simply, with his arms at his sides flapped his hands like a bird, attempting to fly. Cortex caught sight of that in his peripheral vision and glared at Crash, snarling at him, "You idiot, you really think that you're going to...ahhhhh!" Down they both went. Cortex grabbed Crash by the shoulders and placed him underneath him. The bandicoot was positioned under Cortex's body to absorb the painful blow he would've surely received once they landed.

But it wasn't like that at all. It was exactly the opposite of what they had anticipated.

They hit the ground with a soft impact, sinking into the snow slightly. It's texture similar to that of a cotton ball: soft and puffy. Poking his head up out of the white stuff, Crash shook his head around to shake off the snow that had accumulated there. Crash's toothy smile grew bigger on his face but suddenly faded in an instant as he noticed Cortex was nowhere to be seen. They did land at the same time didn't they? Panicking, the bandicoot started digging through the snow like a husky dog trying to uncover him, until a yellow gloved hand shot up from underneath it. It waved and moved around frantically, grabbing at the snow, trying to find something to grab onto so he could hoist himself out before he suffocated. Crash knew even though they were meant to be sworn enemies, he knew being a hero and helping others came first. It was top priority according to Aku Aku.

Getting a firm grip on Cortex's hand, Crash pulled him up out of the snow and helped him to his frozen feet. His creator gasped for a breath of fresh air but after sucking it in, he exhaled it with a fit of coughing, almost choking in the process. "I c-could've gotten out myself, t-thank you very much." Cortex said in a provoked tone, yanking his hand away from Crash who simply expressed a sly smile. "Wipe that smile off your face. In case you haven't noticed, this is a struggle for survival now." As he brushed himself off, Cortex couldn't resist the urge to scream at the top of his lungs any longer and moments after clearing his throat, he found himself doing just that. "AND I WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU!"

Crash flinched suddenly at his creators outburst and a rumbling noise soon after made Crash look up in trepidation. The sound growing louder but only he seemed to take notice of since Cortex was self absorbed at the moment. Slowly raising one finger up, a fearful noise arose in his throat which even Cortex himself had heard, making him cut rest of his accusation short. "N-now what are whimpering and w-w-whining about?" Cortex could only imagine what had him paralyzed with fear this time. Placing a furry hand on the flat top of the scientists head, Crash turned Cortex's head just slightly enough for the man to notice a huge avalanche tumbling down from the mountain overhead. It was heading right for them. "Oh...I see now." Feeling the tiniest bit sheepish, he took off in a hurry. Crash sprinted away at the same pace and just as he was about to pass Cortex, Cortex placed a hand on the bandicoots chest and shoved him back so that he was behind him. "Evil scientists first!" He noted, yelling twords the darkened sky. His plead however was drowned out by the sound of the destruction. The bandicoot grabbed Cortex's arm and pulled him back so he would be the one behind, "Curse you force of nature! And you too Crash Bandicoot!" Cortex sped up once again. He wanted to be in front.

The pair couldn't outrun the devastation of the crumbling mountain tops in time and were caught up in the chaos of it all. Both human and bandicoot were swept up by it, thrown through the air with great force by Mother Nature and right into a cave, landing in snow that had piled up in the back. After taking a breif pause to survey what had just happened, Crash once again had to yank Cortex out of the snow as his creator bitterly whined again about needing his assistance. Hopefully this was the last time Crash had to do it. Crash very well knew from over the years that things never went the way Cortex had intended them to, the reality being much worse than the fantasy. Looking around them, Cortex couldn't beleive his hunch was on point. "There was a cave around here, I was right." As he sat there on his knees trying to catch his breath, Cortex turned around and looked tword the caves entrance. He froze in complete horror when he saw it covered entirely with snow that was piled up almost to the top of the hole. Internally, Cortex was panicking but the dreaded feeling made it's way outside his body.

"Oh, no, no, no." Throwing his head back, he groaned, not believing this was real. Hauling himself to his feet, the scientist ran over, climbed to the top of the pile and brushed the snow away as Crash watched. Pretty soon Cortex had reached the outside as the northern lights shone into the cave but another gust of icy wind made him snivel in terror and place the snow he had moved, back into place. He then recoiled backwards, slumping against the cave wall in disbelief. Was this actually happening? Was he really trapped in a cave in a mysterious dimension with only his worst enemy of all people? "Looks like we're stuck in here until this blizzard passes and it's showing no signs of stopping anytime soon." Cortex decided. 'If only I had my raygun with it's flamethrower setting.'

The day had escalated from bad to worse, to a matter of life or death in minutes.

It felt like hours passed as they sat across from each other on either side of the cave in pure silence. The cave was dark and cold, much like Cortex's own heart. Cortex was hugging his knees against his chest, teeth chattering, while Crash sat there, legs crossed, listening to his stomach growl as he rubbed his hands together. Crash sighed in misery, he could just picture a pile of Wumpa Fruits in front of him right now. Ripe, juicy, ready to be eaten. Picturing that, he licked his lips while eyeing Cortex who was probably imagining food just as much as he was right now. A loud rumble of the scientists own stomach gave Crash his confirmation. Both were half frozen and starving at this point. This was becoming a slow torcher. Each had their guard up but neither Crash or Cortex didn't think much of trying to harm the other, especially in these hypothermic conditions that this dimension had thrown at them. There was very little warmth or strength left in them, the cold draining away most of it thanks to their little chain reaction of events since they had been here. They had to converse what little energy was left. Which was hard to do since they couldn't resist the urge to try and kill each other during every encounter.

"T-this is not how I-I wanted this d-d-day to go. Almost torn to shreds and eaten, c-c-causing an avalanche that got both of us trapped in h-here and now we're p-probably gonna die in this cave. Cold and hungry." Cortex admitted, finally breaking the silence that settled over them. As much as Cortex wanted to reach out, grab Crash by the throat and attempt to strangle him right here and now, he knew he didn't have the energy to do so. Or maybe he didn't want to? The one thought that was always plaguing in his head was dying alone. "Well, this is fantastic, we found nothing here except inhabitants who once again want to kill us. And it's no thanks to you. I thought you wanted to be a team and help me like we did years ago but no. In this one dangerous dimension with zombies and spearfishermen that you got us lost in, you ran away and left me." Cortex accused, noticing how as he talked, he wasn't stuttering his words as much as before. Talking seemed to help warm up his breath.

As he watched the scientist cup his hands once again to blow some warm air over them, Crash's ears drooped with guilt. He knew Cortex was right in his accusation tword him. The bandicoot did run away from the scene without his nemesis in his head, breaking away any current thoughts that didn't revolve around him. Crash hung his head in shame, not denying for even a second that the madman sitting across from him was wrong. Crash couldn't ignore helping him out of situations if they were to occur. After both noticing and hearing the bandicoots whine, Cortex felt a tightening sensation in his chest, along with a hollow pit developing in his stomach. He had never experienced anything like this before, not even after he had wiped out his family. 'Is this what guilt feels like?' He wondered, his face twisting with grimace. 'It feels horrible. I am a horrible person, not Crash but me. This can't go on forever.' The uncomfortable feeling was eating him alive from the inside out and he didn't like it one bit.

Crawling over to the opposite side of the cave, Cortex laid up against the stone wall while keeping a respectful distance from the bandicoot. He didn't want to show pity to his nemesis but it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore at this point and soon, he started to take pity on him. "Crash, I...I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. It's not entirely your fault we're stuck in this cave and snowbound, you didn't do anything wrong. This is all my fault...but it's just the way I am." Crash's smile returned to his face and as the scientist continued to punish himself, Crash patted his lap, motioning him to come even closer. A small smile broke through on his face, shattering Cortex's normal scowl and angry demeanor and soon Cortex found himself crawling closer tword his worst enemy. He was then lifted off the ground by the bandicoot and placed gently in Crash's lap. "Crash?" He wondered, gazing into a set of soft, calm green eyes.

The bandicoot motioned with his hands for the man to keep on talking as he wrapped his arms around him, giving Cortex a firm squeeze. Crash hated seeing people unhappy and cold and his nemesis was no exception. Cortex wanted to shove him away but soon he unexpectedly found himself enjoying the moment. Feeling content at the warmth, he was oblivious that Crash had grasped one of his hands and start rubbing it to get the blood flowing to his fingertips. Starting the process of relieving him of his almost severe hypothermia. He transitioned between both of them. "I don't mean to be mean all the time but I guess it was because of a sucky childhood and what mom and dad put me through. I was the "odd one out" in our family, they were all circus performers while I wanted to study and invent. I didn't care what they thought, it was my own volition and I got teased and treated horribly by everyone because of it. It continued for years. Both then and now, I could never seem to catch a break. Except for maybe after I fractured my family and created you years later."

Crash's eyes widened in surprise and Cortex continued, "I mean, you're different: you're patient with me, you put up with my antics, you go with the flow unless it's a matter of life and death. And after everything we've been through, you still don't despise or resent me. Although it would be fair if you did. The few things I do know very well about you is: you're happy, you're never stressed, you're kind hearted and I don't know if this is the cold talking or not but somehow I just can't completly hate you. And I really am tired of fighting and losing to you."

As the scientist reluctantly tried to break those happy thoughts away, Cortex remembered the test chamber years ago during the experiments in his castle: the creations of the Cortex Commandos and the series of trials and obstacles he had put Crash through before the Cortex Vortex which resulted in failure. There was a memory slowly starting to stir in the recesses of his mind, it had been imprisoned there since Cortex told himself over and over that Crash was needed as his general and nothing more. 'I can't be doing this. I can't be reliving that diary entry and what I accidentally recorded but eventually Crash will figure it out. Won't he? He's smarter than I realize? Why not just tell him now while I have this window of opportunity?' Did Cortex really resent him as much as he said he did? Or was that memory what he was trying to hide? He rested his head on Crash's shoulder, nuzzling the crook of his neck with his forehead and Crash began rocking him back and forth. Cortex's current thoughts not vanishing from his mind, with each motion from Crash, they buzzed around faster inside his head. 'Yeah, just tell him. He will understand, won't he?'

He gasped as he felt a furry hand release his own and began gently stroking his back up and down. Cortex didn't object at that. Pretty soon, he found himself relaxing into his enemys hold, sighing happily. However, Cortex did pull back slighty to look Crash in the eyes once more. "Crash?" The bandicoot blinked at him and nodded his head to show he was paying attention. Sometimes Crash had a tendency to space out but he remained one hundred percent focused on his creator at this current moment. "Crash do you...do you remember the test chambers back in my castle? After I used the Evolvo Ray on you?" A thumbs up signaled a yes from his nemesis. "Well...by any chance do you recall me taking notes? You know, hearing my voice over a loudspeaker as I observed you doing the trials?"

It was happening, Cortex was on the verge of telling him about that tape. Crash very carefully scratched his chin, he was deep in thought for a moment, analyzing his memories until it struck him. All other thoughts were abandoned upon realization, nothing more except the feeling of accomplishment over defeating those insane obstacles now lingered in the forefront of his brain. Crash rapidly shook his head up and down. 'Alright, here we go. No point in concealing this inside any longer.' The feeling of both rejection and no recollection from the Australian bandicoot was the worst case scenario right now. It was plaguing the man and weighing heavily on Cortex's mind. There was no going back now, it was better than denying the truth and what he really thought about Crash.

Gathering himself, Cortex took a deep breath to calm his wild thoughts and anxiety. "Well, when I was jotting down notes and studying you, I saw potential in your abilities and I may have said something concerning me and you." Curiously, Crash raised an eyebrow. "Look, ever since those training days back in the test chamber, I swore to myself that you would be nothing more than my general and command my army of evolved super animals. But as I watched you pass every trial and bypass those tricky obstacles, I started to think about the connection to you that seemed to develop over that period of time. To see our relationship grow from that to where we are now, you can see we've had our fair share of ups and downs. I created you, watched you grow up and figure things out for yourself. Truth be told, I also named you myself and it actually shows that we're closer than you probably think. But you probably don't even recall that?" Cortex reached his free hand up and cupped his face. The cold, combined with the fact they were snowbound was now the furthest thing from either of their minds. "You're kind of like a son to me Crash, or should I say: Crashworth Cortex the First. Crash is the short version of your name and those shorts your wearing, they're actually mine." Looking down, he laughed under his breath.

Crash felt his mind shut down momentarily at that revelation. He had to carefully ponder this new information that had been forgotten over the years due to their bitter rivalry. Crash always knew there had to be a reason behind the odd, obvious affection he felt twords the madman of a scientist and now, the news that was formerly in the dark had now been brought to the light and given a proper explanation. Crash felt a grin spreading from ear to ear on his face as he squeezed Cortex with all the strength he could produce from his skinny arms, in a bone crushing hug, rubbing his face against the branded N on the mans forehead. Cortex could feel the life being squeezed out of him but he decided against trying to push Crash back. There was no point in fighting him anymore. Cortex loved him and that's what mattered.

"I should've expected this kind of reaction from you since you're the only one willing enough to put up with me. I created you and then tried to erase you right out of existence, I made you into my enemy. But instead of looking at your failure as a problem, I should have thought of it as an opportunity. Because you care enough to be concerned about me even though we're meant to be enemies. I'm sorry. Truly, truly sorry for holding a grudge against you for so many years and I shouldn't have let you go. Family is family after all. Sometimes they drive you nuts and irritate you to the point of wanting to kill them but you just can't live without them. Kind of like me and you right now."

Cortex had never been more releived at the bandicoots reaction to all these unexpected explanations. There was now a warm feeling inside him as the weight of his previous feelings of dread and anxiety left his body and escaped into the cold, dark cave they were still stuck in. Cortex didn't notice that anymore and almost forgot he was cradled in Crash's arms being warmed in his embrace. He simply looked up at him and the hand cupping Crash's face moved down and wrapped around his waist. For the first time ever, a genuine smile had formed on his face and Cortex didn't have to force it, while Crash gave his iconic grin back at him. This unexpected trip had become fate for both Crash and Cortex.

"I love you, you idiot, and whatever happens from here on out Crash, I have a good feeling that we can overcome it together. Cause you do for family and family's stick together until the end. This was probably fate, cause if I had to be stuck in a cave in an unknown frozen dimension with anyone...I'm really glad it's you."

A/N

Hi all! So it's been quite a while since I posted a Crashtex oneshot story, blame life and two jobs. But after playing through It's About Time, I just had to write this. I've seen Snow Way Out plenty of times thanks to people playing the demo and it's become one my favorite levels in the game. Yes I sprinkled Wrath of Cortex/Twinsanity refrences in here, just couldn't resist, especially since Slip Slide Icescapades is probably the most memorable of the two humiliskate levels in Twinsanity. I need a remake of Twinsanity. And even though this wasn't connected to A Twinsane Wedding, this was still enjoyable to write, hope to try another Crash 4 story in the future. Hope you all enjoyed this early Christmas story. Until next time keep smiling!