Chapter 10 – Gorgons
"Just how are we going to make it there in time?" Crash asked as the two of them ran as quickly as they could, "I mean, we have a really small leg span, and it's so far to the Gorgon's layer." Crystal thought about it, she had to agree, it didn't look like they would get to their destination in time, and then she saw something, one of the lanterns that marked the trail going in between cities. She quickly formed an idea, "I can get us there!" she said, and pushed herself farther. She quickly reached the lamp, and climbed up, transforming into crystal as she did. She reached into the lantern, taking the light into herself as it was emitted, absorbing it into her being. The necklace she had on began to glow, growing in brightness as she gathered her power, "Look out below!" she said as she dropped down to the ground. Crash moved to the side, watching as his sister landed gently on her crystal paws, "Ok!" she said, and climbed on his back. "Is there something I should know about?" he asked. "I can use the light I gathered like a rocket, just get going and point us in the right direction!" his sister responded, and Crash smiled. With a simple nod, he looked around, finding the way Peach had pointed out to them before, "It's that way right?" he asked. "Yeup!" Crystal responded, and held on tight as Crash took off. He didn't move very fast, but he moved, and she knew nothing would stand in his way. Suddenly she lit up like a star, and off the two of them went, shooting across the ground as her brother tucked his paws underneath him. With a smile, he tucked his head down and turned to the side, ramming right through a few rocks and trees in their way. His armor kept him from taking too much impact, but he dared not hit the obstacles head on, he knew he'd break his neck if he tried.
Crystal quickly found herself soaring higher, gaining lift as they smashed through things, and nearing the cliffs they were supposed to find. She turned herself down, trying to make her way to a landing spot, but found the land quickly disappear from beneath her. "Oh shoot!" she called out. The two of them smashed into the water only the juggernought she held in front keeping them both from being unable to breathe as the water parted for them both, surrounding them as the air followed. She quickly turned around, speeding towards the land, only to run into it. The air failed, and rose to the surface as the water crashed around them, only the armor and her crystal body keeping them from being crushed. Crash lifted his head, finding his side buried into the side of land, and surrounded by water. He turned to his sister, a slightly annoyed look on his face as he held his breath. Crystal smiled in embarrassment as her crystal ears folded themselves down to her head, and silently vowed to perfect that form of travel. The two of them turned up, crystal burying her claws into the side, and pulling her brother the few feet up to the surface of the water, letting them both take deep breaths of air.
The Gorgon's layer sat almost ten feet above them, grass hanging over the edge of the cliff as the rocky ledge pulled away from them. "I hope we didn't cause too much of a stir!" Crystal said as she moved her claws paws out, one in front of the other as she climbed the stone wall. "Me too!" Crash said, "The last thing I want is to be joining mommy, daddy and uncle Rhino as a statue!"
"Mostly considering you have the potion!" Crystal said with an air of tease to her voice. "Yah, considering I…" Crash said as he thought about it, "…wait…" Crystal chuckled quietly as he began thinking about things, would the potion be turned to stone as well, or would it just be trapped in the armor, and would the armor turn to stone? "How would that even work?" he asked. "Please tell me you're not going to find out!" Crystal said as she neared the top of the cliff. The two of them peeked over the edge, finding a bustling town of nothing but Gorgons. Gorgon children running about playing with rags and wooden swords as they teased each other, the town lit by glowing moss growing on sticks and walls. The adults tending to everyday things, laundry, dinner, and even building toys or furniture, it seemed as if they weren't even the same creatures they saw steal their parents from them. A few feet away, one Gorgon, set down what looked to be an extremely heavy box, filled with large piles of stone and steel. The Male Gorgon lifted himself up again, and stretched his back, placing his clawed hands on his spine as he tried to rid himself of the stress. "There!" Crash whispered, and pointed one of his claws to the box, "We can hide behind that box, and sneak our way into town!" Crystal slowly moved her clawed paws from side to side, traveling across the wall as she made her way to the designated hiding spot.
The Gorgon turned back to the box, and pushed on the top, tipping it over and dumping out the large rocks that were inside, dropping them over the cliff. Without a care, and tired out, he set the box back down. Wiping his forehead he turned and walked away.
Over the edge, Crash held on tightly to his sister as they watched the rocks fall into the ocean with wide eyes, "That was close!" the brother whispered to his sister.
The two of them peeked over the edge again, spying the box that would hide them, and climbed over, pinning themselves close to the wood. Crystal nodded, pointing her nose in the direction they were to go. When she took off, her brother followed closely, ducking away from prying eyes as they made their way towards the largest cave in the back.
The pinned themselves to the wall of the opening hiding themselves behind a large rock as they listened to the voices coming from inside, "No…more to the left!" a raspy voice said as they heard what looked to be stone drag across ground, "Wait! Right there!" Crystal dared a look, finding what looked to be Medusa, telling a few Gorgon men where to put her father, still a statue and resting on a pedestal next to her mother. The two of them looked as if they were still running, charging into battle together. "And the last of them?" the male gorgon asked. He tiredly held up Rhino, still in his ball. "Hmm!" Medusa said as she placed her hand to her chin, "I really don't know. Should we leave him in his ball? Or should we make him a new one?"
"Perhaps we should carve a copy of his mech, and place him inside." another of the Gorgons helping her said. "That'll take months to carve in detail!" the other said as he gently set the ball near Bolt and Mittens. "Don't put that there!" Medusa said as she huffed at him. "He's solid stone, he's heavy!" the other complained. Medusa growled at him, and lifted her hair, the snakes hissing as she glared him in the eyes. Without much more than a shriek, the gorgon was turned to stone, his two arms lifted up as he tried to cover his eyes. Medusa wasted no time, and quickly brought her hand down, shattering him into tiny pieces. "You dare talk back to me?!" she asked angrily, and turned with a huff, "Get Rhino moved as soon as possible!" she cried, "I want my collection to be perfect!" Crystal ducked back into her hiding spot as Medusa turned around, her eyes wide with the fear of what she just saw, "That thing is crazy!" she whispered to her brother, who quickly placed his paws over her mouth as Medusa trudged on by. As soon as the Gorgon queen had moved out of range, he released her mouth, "What happened?" he asked. "That…thing, just turned one of her own people into stone and shattered him, just because he said he was tired!" Crystal said as she began to recover from her panic. Chase lowered his eyes, and quickly pulled out the vial of potion, "We need to get this to mom, dad and uncle Rhino as quickly as possible!" he said. Crystal placed her paw onto his, calming him down as she gently had him lower the potion, "Remember!" she said, "One drop each! We can't just go in and dump it on them!"
"That means…we'll need a plan!" Chase said.
End Chapter 10
