Chapter 6 – Collapse
A/N: Hey everyone, I'm finally over my writer's block. I hope you enjoy this. The level that's going to appear in this chapter is probably my least favorite one in the game, mainly because I wasn't very good at it. XD
Also, heads up. This is going to be an intense chapter so be prepared.
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Coco was sitting in her corner surrounded by her books. She was flipping through the pages of one, groaning every time she came across a picture of Cortex in a painting or a stone carving. Coco dropped the book in her lap in frustration. "That maniac! If I get my hands on him I'll…." She made a frustrated noise, bringing her hands and squeezing tightly.
Suddenly, she gasped and pulled her book to her chest when Crash came running over to her, tripping over a pile of books and landing on his face. He didn't seem bothered by it the slightest as an excited grin remained plastered over his face.
"Crash, be careful!" she muttered in annoyance. Crash ignored that and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her away from her books.
"H-hey, what are you doing?!" she stammered.
Crash placed a finger over his mouth and made a shushing noise, her annoyance not dampening his excitement at all.
Giving up, Coco let her brother lead her to the center of the hub.
"Okay, what did you want to show me?" Coco asked tiredly.
Crash then stomped his foot on the floor twice and the circle they were standing on began descending down, much to Coco's surprise.
What was even more surprising was what she found down below. She would have never thought a secret room would be hidden underneath their feet this whole time.
Once they reached the floor, Coco looked around and her eyes widened when she saw androids hanging by hooks being carried down a belt. Each one was wearing a different outfit.
"This must be where all the androids come from…" Coco murmured and Crash nodded. The two walked over and pressed their faces against the glass.
Coco frowned. "You know, it just realized something. These robots are supposed to infiltrate, blend in and stuff like that, right?"
Crash thought for a second then nodded at her.
"Then why do they make them to look exactly the same? How does that even supposed to work? We'll immediately know who they are with just a glance!" Coco huffed. "Are they just that lazy to not make them a bit more indistinguishable?"
"Eh," Crash shrugged.
"But why were you so excited about showing me this?" she asked, turning to him.
Crash grinned and bent down, picking a wrench from the floor. He then gestured with his head to the androids with a mischievous grin.
"What? No, no, no. You can't destroy this place," Coco stated, though she found it hard not to giggle at his enthusiasm in going through with this.
Crash pouted. "Why?"
"Because anything in this room could be essential for the Time Twister for all we know. I don't fully know how this machine was designed yet. If you smash something here, it might stop working for us," she explained.
"Aw," Crash's shoulder slumped and he dropped the wrench on the floor in disappointment.
Coco smiled. "But hey. Once we're done with all of this, you can come back and do whatever you want,"
That immediately made him perk up and he nodded frantically.
"Children, where are you?" Aku-Aku's voice came from above.
"Come on, let's head back up," Coco made her way back to the pod and her brother followed suit, leaving the secret room behind.
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Crash fell out of the time portal in front of a road in the middle of a desert wasteland. He looked around to see nothing but cactus and rocks. The road itself seemed to go on for miles. A few cars suddenly sped by, blowing dust into their faces.
"How rude," Aku-Aku muttered as Crash coughed and waved his hand around. He watched as they disappeared into the distance and wondered why they were driving so fast.
The two continued walking down the road until a gas station came into view. The two were relieved. At least they hadn't ended up in a place far from civilization like last time.
Crash then saw a poster pinned to a utility pole. Curious, he jumped and ripped it off to read it.
It appeared to be a poster for a race that will happen this afternoon, but what caught Crash's attention was the picture of the prize below the announcement. There was no mistaking it. It was the crystal they were looking for.
"Again?" Aku-Aku sighed. "But we don't have the means to get into the race like before,"
Crash frowned. Last time this happened, they were lucky enough to fall near a bike. Their first attempt didn't go so well as anyone would imagine.
"Crash, do you even how to drive this….thing?" Aku-Aku asked, eyeing the bike with a raised brow.
Crash paused. Well, he had seen it in a movie back in the castle once. It didn't look that hard. Giving the mask a thumbs-up, he got onto the bike and started the engine before hitting the gas.
Without a warning, the bike burst forward, taking the screaming bandicoot away into the distance.
"Crash!" Aku-Aku yelled in panic and flew after him.
Crash shuddered at the memory and stuffed the poster into his pocket. Not knowing what to do next, the two made their way over to a nearby gas station. Crash spotted something that sparked his interest and quickly ran over to it.
"Crash? Where are you going?" Aku-Aku called out, but Crash disappeared around a corner. The mask sighed. He really wished the bandicoot would stop running off like that. It was already dangerous enough with Cortex's minions hiding in every corner, but even humans were a danger to the two bandicoots. He grimaced at the thought of one of them getting captured and taken away from him.
He was snapped out of his musings by the sound of voices nearby. He looked over and gasped at the sight of Cortex's androids by the gas station, filling their cars. They must have found out about the race too.
"Hey,"
Flinching, Aku-Aku turned and stiffened. Crash was making his way over to him with a motorbike….wearing shades and a leatherjacket.
"Where- where did you get all of this?" Aku-Aku asked, unable to process what he was seeing.
Crash pointed to a diner behind him and then proceeded to walk away with the bike.
"What? Crash, you can't be serious about that!" Aku-Aku muttered, not happy with the idea of him taking something that didn't belong to them without asking.
Crash frowned and glared at him from behind his shades. He pretended to put on something and swim around then pointed at him.
Aku-Aku winced. "Well, yes. Taking the diving equipment was my idea, but…." He struggled to find an excuse and then sighed in defeat. "Just make sure it doesn't get damaged,"
Crash nodded and walked away while the weary mask trailed behind him.
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The time of the race had finally come. Crash pushed his bike toward the start line, receiving all sorts of angry and dangerous glares from the android racers, but Crash wasn't deterred the slightest by this and was even beaming as he got onto the bike.
"Why am I always the one doing all the worrying?" the mask sighed and stuck closely to the mutant. Crash wasn't given enough time to practice driving that thing. In fact in the previous race he nearly got hurt multiple times and almost lost, but he wanted to believe he got the hang of it now and there was no reason for him to worry.
A human then showed up and cleared his throat. "Alright, listen up. The race is going to start soon," he announced, reaching into his pocket and taking out the pink crystal. "Whoever gets first place will have this beauty," he said, smirking. He then noticed Crash and raised a brow. "Nice, um, costume?"
With that, the man walked away, leaving Crash and Aku-Aku confused.
"He…thinks you're in a costume?" Aku-Aku muttered and Crash looked down at himself. "Wait, is that why everyone was fine with you in the first race?!"
The mask had been baffled by the humans' odd acceptance of a mutant bandicoot getting into their race when they should've been terrified out of their minds.
Speaking of baffling…"And how come neither times did these people feel bothered by the fact that all other participants look exactly the same?" he said, looking around at the androids.
Shrugging his shoulders, Crash tightened his grip on the handles and faced the track, stealing himself. Everyone started their engines and soon enough, they blasted off.
Not long after the race began did the two started encountering problems. There were holes in the road, ramps and even certain points where the road broken off completely. "Who made these tracks?!" Aku-Aku exclaimed as Crash jumped over another ramp.
Crash moved out of the way just as an android tried to knock him off the track. The two then turned their attention to the road and spotted something green up ahead.
"Wait…is that?"
Crash cried out and swerved to the left to avoid running into some nitro crates. The android however wasn't so lucky and screamed as he ran into one and blew up.
"How did these get here?" Aku-Aku muttered, shakily. They didn't have to time to think as more crates showed up ahead. Panicking, Crash gritted his teeth and did his best maneuvering around them. He heard explosion noises behind him and knew the other android racers were obliterated.
Panting, Crash momentarily felt relieved at having survived that, but then he crazed laughter reached his ears and a chill ran through him.
Aku-Aku soon heard it too and stiffened. "Oh no…."
It didn't take long for them to see him. Ripper-Roo was standing not far ahead on the side of the road. The crazy mutant let out another shrill laugh before jumping up and landing on their bike.
Crash screamed as the kangaroo latched onto him and bit his shoulder, causing him to lose control of the bike.
"Look out!" Aku-Aku cried in alarm.
Crash began swerving randomly on the track, nearly running into the explosives set by Ripper-Roo. The insane mutant meanwhile kept trying to get him do just that.
"Why is he doing this? He's going to get hurt too!" Aku-Aku muttered, not knowing what to do.
Panicking, Crash tried pushing him off and regaining control of the bike, but the other won't let go and tried making him fall off.
Suddenly, Aku-Aku flew past them and came rushing back. "Duck!" Crash did just that and the mask head-butted Ripper-Roo, knocking the mutant off the bike.
Once Crash got it under control again and tension melted away from them, Crash spared the mask a silent glance.
"I panicked. It was the first thing that came to my mind," Aku-Aku said solemnly, not looking at him. "Never mention this to anyone, alright?"
"Coco's watching," Crash said, stifling a laugh.
"Oh, never mind then,"
Whatever relief they were feeling was gone in an instant the moment they saw the tall wall of TNT blocking the road, no doubt courtesy of Ripper-Roo. There was no way to avoid it and stopping meant losing the race.
"Hold on!" Aku-Aku exclaimed, throwing himself on Crash's face and creating a glowing barrier around him. Without stopping, Crash cut through the wall, creating a massive explosion. The mutant was not harmed by it though.
The racer in first place was soon within their sight, but so was the finish line. Crash gritted his teeth. He couldn't let him win. He couldn't let him have the crystal.
No matter the cost.
The guardian's magic gave him enough speed to reach the car and he knocked it off the track, sending it crashing into a cactus. Passing the finish line, Aku-Aku moved off Crash's face.
"That was a bit brash, don't you think?" he asked, unable to hide his unease and Crash shrugged. It didn't matter. They won, didn't they?
His guardian was about to say more, but then quickly disappeared when the man approached them to hand him over the crystal.
"Here you go. It's yours to keep now, pal,"
Crash took the crystal, grinning widely. He actually did it. He had the crystal. It was his now.
His and no one else.
The two soon left and returned to the Time Twister.
"Finally, I hope we don't have to do that again," Aku-Aku said only to see Coco with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"So…"
"No, no! Don't even ask," he muttered and she laughed.
"Why didn't you just use your magic?
He groaned. "I panicked and didn't think, alright? Now can we please forget about-" he was cut off by the sound of another portal opening and looked back to see Crash jumping into it. "Wait, we haven't even rested! Crash!" He called out and flew after him.
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Cortex was pacing back and forth on the roof of an old temple, waiting for his henchmen to return. Soon, his two assistants along with Dingodile and Pinstripe came back. He was quick to ask. "So? How did it go?"
N. Gin shook his head. "The Power Crystal signal was gone by the time we got there,"
"Oh, that's a shame," Brio said pleasantly, earning a glare from N. Gin. "Because Dingodile and I did in fact find our crystal,"
Cortex's face lit up. "Splendid! Give it to me!"
"and it's in the bottom of a frozen sea," Brio added with a wince.
Cortex stared at him for a moment and then buried his face in his hands. "Can I rely on you all for anything?!" he exclaimed, rubbing his temples in frustration. The search wasn't going like he planned at all.
"By the way, N. Tropy kept calling us," Pinstripe stated, holding the fixed communication device. "He's still….angry with you,"
Cortex rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You would think he calmed down by now,"
"Sir, you told him you wouldn't mess with the past, remember?" Brio said, frowning. "We went against his wishes more than once,"
"More than once? When did I-"
"Rome, sir."
"Oh, right. Well, it doesn't matter. He will get over it eventually," he said, waving his hand causally. "Anyway, we can't let Uka-Uka know about our lack of progress. If he asks tell him we're doing just fine,"
"Oh, really?"
Cortex shrieked at the voice behind him and turned to see the dark mask. "M-Master Uka-Uka, I…we-"
"So, you were planning to lie to me, Cortex?" Uka-Uka asked, tone overly pleasant.
"No! Of course not!"
"Good. Then can you explain to me where are the crystals that you're supposed to have collected!" the mask snapped, dropping his happy facade.
"Assistants, help me out…" Cortex whispered behind him only to see them and the others have retreated far from him. Those Cowards!
The mask huffed impatiently. "Well?"
Cortex flinched and turned to him with a nervous grin. "Currently, we have…..no crystals yet,"
Uka-Uka's face darkened and his eyes flared, causing the wind around them to pick up. "I can't believe it! I brought to you, given you access to any point in history and yet you still find ways to fail at something so simple!"
Cortex huffed. "Pardon me, but I'm doing all I can to get this done. It's these fools who can't accomplish anything,"
"Hey!"
"You say that yet you're the one who created and hired them," Uka-Uka deadpanned. Cortex slumped and glared behind him when he heard a chuckle.
"W-well, there is also Crash and his sister. No matter what we do, they keep getting in our way!" he stammered, diverting their attention from him.
"But how are they here to begin with? Not even I or my traitorous brother have the power to travel through time," Uka-Uka said.
"I don't know. They shouldn't have been able to follow us and find the crystal like this, not unless…." Cortex trailed off and his eyes widened.
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N. Tropy marched up a metal staircase and began tinkering with the clocks on the walls of his tower, trying to distract himself from the mess Cortex and his minions had created.
Idiot. He should have known that fool would pull something like that. Trusting him was a huge mistake on N. Tropy's part, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't head to the Time Twister right this instant and force them back. He made a deal with Uka-Uka to help him find the Power Crystals.
Based on the signals alone, N. Tropy knew those crystals contained unfathomable amounts of energy. With them, he will be able to expand his power and control through the time stream. "If that fool changes anything again though, I will personally go there and beat him with my staff," he growled under his breath.
Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a portal opening reached his ears and he turned around to see Crash and his guardian down below. Anger flared within the man before masking it with a smile. "Oh, Crash Bandicoot. Just the mutant I was hoping to meet," he grinned and gave a slow nod. "You may know me as N. Tropy,"
Crash's eyes widened at finally meeting him while Aku-Aku glared at him warily.
"You probably know me as the creator of the Time Twister," his face then darkened. "The very machine that you apparently have been messing with without my knowledge!"
The man walked down the staircase and held out his staff. "I'll make sure you all pay for that," he said venomously and with that, he slammed his staff down. The noise was so loud it made Crash cover his ears.
When he opened his eyes, he gasped. The floor beneath him had changed. He was standing on a wide, floating platform now.
N. Tropy was standing on the other side, grinning. He was clearly enjoying his panic.
"Surprised? Let's see then how you handle this," the man charged a glowing ball on one end of his staff and flung it at Crash, a sharp noise coming off from it.
Crash tried moving to the side, but to his surprise, the orb did the same. Panicking, he scrambled back as the orb remained locked onto him and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid it. The orb hit the wall instead and disintegrated the spot it touched.
Without thinking, Crash charged at N. Tropy and tried to punch him, but the man vanished just before he could. "Huh?"
"Behind you!"
Aku-Aku's call came too late. Before he can react, N. Tropy kicked the bandicoot away, sending him tumbling across the platform and nearly falling off. The man didn't wait for him to recover as he fired two more orbs. Crash managed to dodge the first, but the second one managed to graze his arm, causing him to gasp in pain.
"Crash!" Aku-Aku muttered, worriedly.
Crash held his arm, wincing and glaring at the laughing man.
"Tired already? Because this has only just begun," N. Tropy then held his staff horizontally and charged it up before shooting bolts of energy toward Crash in the form of waves. Crash could only jump and duck to avoid getting incinerated by them.
The man kept changing the position of his staff, growing frustrated. "Stand still!"
Crash ran across the room, avoiding a vertical wave of energy and sliding just in time for a horizontal one to miss him. He then pulled himself up, panting and sneering at the man.
"Stubborn little thing, aren't you?" N. Tropy growled. Crash ignored that and dashed toward him, but he ended up vanishing again.
This was going nowhere. Crash couldn't even touch him and yet he was repeatedly getting kicked around.
"I'm through playing games with you," Raising his staff, N. Tropy dropped it down and the floor beneath them flickered, breaking into pieces. Crash yelped, looking around in confusion.
The man then fired at the abyss below them and a massive blue vortex appeared.
"How is he doing all of this?" Aku-Aku asked, astounded.
"It's time someone actually disposed of you for good…" N. Tropy panted, looking drained from what he did.
The platform underneath Crash began shaking. Realizing what was about to happen, the bandicoot quickly jumped over to another. He gritted his teeth when the same thing happened again. Seeing that the one the man was standing on wasn't collapsing, he began leaping over toward him.
"Stay back!" Landing on the same platform with the man, N. Tropy tried hitting Crash with his staff, but Crash managed to grab it. Thanks to his weakened state, the mutant managed to yank it from the man's hands and smacked him with it, sending him falling down.
N. Tropy screamed as he fell through the air and disappeared into the vortex. Crash dropped the staff and looked around to see the rest of the building being pulled into it piece by piece. Wherever that vortex led, he didn't want to find out.
Fortunately, the time portal appeared and took him away just in time.
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"Well done, guys. Now we can move on to the fourth area," Coco said, watching the screen with Aku-Aku. "Hey, what's Crash doing right now?"
"I left him with some Wumpa fruit to help him with his injuries," the mask replied and then frowned as if recalling something.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I just realized that I didn't take the crystal we got from the race," he answered and headed over to Crash who seemed to be examining said crystal.
"Crash, you forgot to give me the crystal," Aku-Aku said with a smile, but the bandicoot ignored him.
Coco giggled and approached him. "Crash, I know the crystal is pretty, but you have to give it to Aku-Aku so he can store it with the othe-"
Crash immediately slapped her hand away when she tried taking it from him. The two could only stand there, stunned by what he did.
"Hey, what was that all about…." Coco was ready to scold him for that, but she trailed off when she saw his face. Crash's eyes were cold, vicious. Seeing her goofy, carefree brother looking at them like that sent a chill down her spine. Something was very wrong.
"Crash, what has gotten into you?" Their guardian asked.
"Mine," Crash muttered, clutching the crystal tightly in his hand as if his life depended on it.
"Aku-Aku, what's wrong with him?" Coco asked, taking a step back.
"I don't know, but we need to get that crystal away from him," Aku-Aku said and flew over, calling for his magic. Crash was suddenly lifted into the air and the crystal was pulled out of his hand.
Aku-Aku was about to store it away when Crash's foot collided with his face and sent him flying across the room. Landing on the floor, Crash snatched the crystal, smirking victoriously.
"Aku-Aku!" Coco cried out and scowled at her brother. "Crash, if you won't hand over that crystal then I'll have to take it myself,"
Crash growled, as if daring her to try.
"Fine, you leave me no choice then," Without a second thought, Coco charged at Crash. He tried smacking her away with his fist, but she ducked and got a hold of the crystal. "Ugh. Crash….snap out of it!" Coco shouted as she tried pulling the crystal away from him, but her brother's grip on it was strong.
Crash then knocked her off him, but she refused to give up. She ran over and slammed into him, causing the crystal to slip from his hand and roll on the floor.
"No!" Without hesitation, they rushed over and leapt to get their hands on the crystal first. Both getting a hold of it at the same time, the two siblings began wrestling on the floor for the crystal. Crash threw his hand over her face and tried pushing her away.
"Let go of it! Now!" Coco yelled, maintaining her grip on the Power Crystal. She suddenly managed to yank it out of his hands and backed away, holding it close to her chest. Crash glared at her darkly and snarled.
"Crash, stop. This crystal is messing with your head!" Coco exclaimed, hoping her words would get through him, but the other mutant didn't seem to acknowledge anything she was saying. His eyes were only set on the crystal in her hands.
Crash lunged at Coco. On instinct, the girl reacted by kicking him away, sending him crashing into the computer keyboard. Sparks shoot out of it briefly
Crash's vision doubled over as he fell on the floor. A voice calling his name was the last thing he heard before everything blackened.
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Crash blinked and groggily tried to rub his sore head, but then he realized something. He couldn't move his hands. Crash looked down at himself and gasped.
His arms were tied together!
"Aku-Aku, he's awake!"
Crash stopped struggling and looked up to see Coco and Aku-Aku looking down at him cautiously. His sister was clutching a book in her hands defensively.
"Crash?" she muttered, eyeing him carefully.
"What?" Crash asked, genuinely confused by what's happening.
The two immediately looked relieved for some reason. "Sorry about the ropes, big brother," Coco said, rubbing the back of her head tiredly. "But we needed to make sure you won't try anything,"
"Huh?"
The two exchanged uneasy looks. "Crash, you remember what happened after we defeated N. Tropy, right?" Aku-Aku asked him.
Crash frowned, brows furrowed as thought deeply about the question. The fogginess in his mind then slowly dispersed and it all came back. He remembered now. The fight between him and his sister flashed in his mind and he felt his stomach turn.
He nodded quietly and the two seemed to relax a bit.
"Okay, so we know the crystal is involved in what happened, but why?" Coco asked.
"I've thought about it…and I believe I figured out something. It might have something to do with the second Vortex incident,"
Coco stiffened. "You mean when….."
Aku-Aku nodded. "Perhaps his previous exposure to their energy is making him behave like that around them now,"
Crash gulped as he remembered what happened that night and what Cortex did to him. Once that power disappeared, he thought it was gone for good, but now he knew he was wrong.
"But you know a lot of stuff, Aku-Aku. There is a way to fix this, right?" Coco asked hopefully.
"Not one I know of," he answered with a shake of his head and Coco's shoulders sagged in despair. "What about the search though? We still need to collect the other crystals before Cortex does,"
"Obviously, we need to send him home," Coco said. Crash gasped and shook his head frantically, not wanting to leave them after getting this far. "Crash, you can't stay here. Think about what could happen," Coco reasoned.
"No!" Crash shook his stubbornly. He couldn't just wait back home while the two face Cortex's minions by themselves. He wanted to help.
"I think sending Crash away is not a good idea too," Aku-Aku stated.
Coco stared at him in disbelief. "What? You can't seriously be thinking about letting him find more crystals. What if it gets worse? We're lucky we're talking to him normally right now. We can't send him back out there!" she said disapprovingly. "Look, there are only two more areas left. I can finish them on my own,"
"But what if the Time Twister rejects you?"
Coco paused, having forgotten about that.
"Listen, maybe we can find a way around that. What if I store the crystal immediately without having Crash being near it," Aku-Aku offered.
Coco frowned. It didn't sound all that safe and there were plenty of ways it could go wrong, but right now they had no choice. "Alright, fine,"
Crash smiled, relieved that he won't be sent away. Coco came over and untied him.
Suddenly, loud peeping came from the computer.
"Coco? Why is it making that noise?" Aku-Aku asked.
"I…I think we're getting a call," Coco walked over and pressed a button only to be startled by Cortex wearing Uka-Uka, eyes gleaming with malice. "You little imbeciles! You'll pay for messing with my plans. Once I find you, I'll make the rest of your days nothing but pure agony!"
With that, the mask was shaken off Cortex's face who shuddered. "Crash, Coco. You have no idea what you've just done. The Time Twister is a delicate machine. Without N. Tropy's care and attention, there is no knowing what will happen. You need to stop what you're doing now," he explained.
Coco raised a brow. "Didn't you want us to stop before so you can have all the crystals?" she asked skeptically.
"Oh. Well, yes actually-"
"Nice try, Cortex," Coco pressed a button and ended the call before Cortex can say more. "He's just trying to scare us so we will stop foiling his plans,"
"Probably," Aku-Aku said, having not forgotten all those times Cortex manipulated people to get what he wanted.
"Well, it's time you head to the next place I guess," Coco said, still a bit hesitant.
Crash gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and hurried over to the button. He stepped on it and waited.
But nothing happened.
Crash blinked and scratched his head before glancing back at Coco in confusion.
"Hold on, let me check. Maybe there is a delay or something," Coco said and began typing on the keyboard.
Frowning, Crash began jumping on the button over and over impatiently until the portal finally appeared. In that same moment, sparks shot out of the keyboard again and the screen began flashing warnings. Coco backed away, startled.
"What?"
Crash, meanwhile, was oblivious to what was happening with her and jumped into the portal. Nothing prepared them for what happened next.
Crash didn't pass through the portal. Instead he screamed loudly as bolts of electricity coursed his body and was blinded by pain.
"CRASH!" Coco and Aku-Aku cried out.
The bandicoot fell on the floor, unconscious. The two quickly rushed to his side worriedly.
"Coco, what happened?" Aku-Aku asked, alarmed.
"I-I don't know!" the girl yelled back, voice laced with panic.
And that's when it happened.
Sparks continued spewing out the computer while the air became charged with energy. All of the portals appeared all around them pulsing violently and the hub began shaking. The five areas all collapsed and fell into the void below.
"What is happening!?"
"The machine. It's falling apart!" Coco muttered, crying out when the computer finally blew up. "We need to get out of here before-"
Blinding blue light exploded from the portals and Aku-Aku quickly threw himself in front of the siblings. Coco held onto her brother as her scream was drowned out by the deafening noise.
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A/N: Thanks for reading. We know the Twister explodes at the end of the game, but what would have happened if Crash and the others didn't escape in time?