Chapter seventeen – Reliving Memory

The white lights shining within the steel chamber burned his eyes, but Crunch remained unwavering. He'd faced death so many times he hardly felt fear any longer. He was aware enough now that he could derive exactly what was happening to him, and what had happened to him. For instance, he knew he was one of the few experiments that survived the danger of immediate decommission. Dr. Cortex was particular in his criteria for the perfect warrior. If a creature was not genetically up to the task, that poor wretch was put down like an animal. Crunch was lucky to stay alive, considering he was the only bandicoot amid a collection of bloodthirsty beasts. Alone in his cell, Crunch sometimes wondered why he'd initially been allowed to survive. Perhaps it was to contribute toward Cortex's amusement to watch a bandicoot torn to pieces in the fighting ring. He must've been surprised when Crunch had endured his torment.

Inwardly, Crunch doubted he would have survived if not for the kindness of his close cellmate, Chaos. The evolved dingo was large and powerful, but he had taken an immediate liking to the hot-headed young bandicoot. Crunch continued to be underestimated by the multitude of power-houses, and as a result he gathered a great many vendettas. Not good considering he was the slightest, youngest creation of the group. Yet every bloody battle Crunch fought he always returned with the comfort that Chaos would be there to comfort him. It was not a warm comfort like a father to son, but a hardy companionship of one brother to another. Crunch respected him implicitly.

Now, Crunch stood in the centre of the blood-stained chamber once again. The single window above the ring was reflective, and so Crunch could not see the man within, but he knew Cortex was watching. He could feel his detestable aura. Suddenly, an unmistakable voice echoed throughout the metal pen.

"I am impressed with your talent, Crunch Bandicoot. You are the most insignificant of my creations and yet you managed to champion all your foes. However, you are not my ultimate warrior yet. There is one you have not yet fought. If you can destroy your next opponent, you will have ensured your survival."

Crunch snarled. He had no intention of remaining a slave to that feeble doctor. Yet his objective was first and foremost to survive, and if he had to kill another to do it, he would not hesitate. The heavy metal door slid open, and Crunch could not perceive the creature's identity at once. But as the door hissed closed and the large creature came forward, Crunch felt his jaw slacken and his eyes grow wide.

"Your final opponent is Chaos." Cortex's voice rumbled from above. "Fail, and he will kill you."

Crunch could not believe it, however, what the doctor said proved to be correct. All the warm affection was vacant from Chaos's eyes. His black lip curled back tight against his teeth and he snarled savagely. Crunch took one step back. He could not fight him. Although something appeared unusual in Chaos's eyes and expression, Crunch still retained the hope that they would enter a stand-off as oppose to battle. Yet Crunch knew already by his countless other times in the ring that by choosing not to fight, both creations would be killed. As Crunch contemplated his next move, he was astonished to see Chaos leap from his position at the door directly toward him.

Crunch stepped out of the way, his eyes wide with bewilderment. Chaos, missing his mark, spun in mid air to land perfectly balanced on his hind legs. His claws were open at his side, and he wore the most unsettling of sneers.

"What's the matter kid? Don't wanna fight? Well that's good, it'll make the win easier for me."

Crunch did not reply to this. When Chaos came at him again he dodged, but the dingo was faster than any other enemy he'd yet faced. Crunch had believed he'd evaded his attack when all of a sudden he felt a tearing slash claw across his back. He yelped instinctively, and whirled about just in time to be tackled to the ground. Crunch gasped as Chaos pressed his large paws against his throat, attempting to choke the life from him. Crunch didn't want to fight him. Yet, as he stared into Chaos's eyes he could see no sign of familiarity there. It was as though he was fighting with a stranger, a stranger fully prepared to kill him.

Crunch had learned after his evolution he had to kill to survive, and he would survive. Unable to match the muscular dingo with strength alone, Crunch brought up his fist to smash Chaos's snout. The latter paused for a moment, and Crunch slammed both hands against his elbows, forcing them to bend in the wrong direction. Chaos roared in pain and released Crunch's throat. The bandicoot rolled to his feet, touching his red neck tenderly to sooth the aching. Chaos was sneering when he met his gaze again.

"So you do have a little fight in you." He jeered wickedly. "Gotta say I didn't expect that from the doctor's lapdog."

Such an inferno of rage seared Crunch's blood that he didn't even command his body forward. It was by sheer vicious instinct that he leapt straight for his former friend's throat. Chaos leapt back, slashing a deep gash in Crunch's arm. The latter didn't even pause. He lashed out at him with a fury of swipes and blunt attacks. Each combatant dealt and received an equal share of blows, and those who were watching the bloody battle could not even place a confident guess on the victor.

Crunch roared in pain as Chaos latched his claws into his shoulders and slammed him hard against one metal wall. The fight appeared to be over, Chaos needed to execute one final strike to obliterate his enemy. He raised one clawed paw in the air, preparing to slash. Suddenly, Chaos hesitated. It was that brief pause that gave Crunch his opportunity. Grimacing through the pain he shrugged Chaos off of him and sent him stumbling, off balance, toward the centre of the arena. In desperate move of survival, Crunch leapt with his fangs bared toward Chaos's throat. He latched his jaws against the arch between shoulder and neck, and felt blood seep into his mouth. Chaos howled in agony, but he did not try to throw Crunch off of him. Crunch disengaged, and with the pain of loss only a small flicker at the pit of his stomach, he dragged his claws across Chao's throat.

The latter halted for a moment, blood pouring from the mortal wound, let out a small groan and stumbled toward Crunch. To Crunch's horror, inside the eyes of his adversary there laid not only agony, but sadness. It was because of this spark of familiarity in once cold and ruthless eyes that Crunch lunged forward to catch Chaos as he fell. The dingo's blood seeped into Crunch's burgundy fur and flowed down his paws as he held Chaos's head in his hands. Chaos coughed thickly and painfully, and then glanced up to meet Crunch's eyes.

"Forgive me…Crunch…It wasn't…"

With a small gasp Chaos's eyes became glassy and distant, and he placed a hand on Crunch's bloody paw as his eyes fell closed. His body was motionless, and Crunch knew at once that he was dead. Crunch closed his eyes tightly, each breath a shuddering labor. He bowed his head in shame and devastation. What had he done?

Suddenly, he could hear the steady clapping echo throughout the chamber. Crunch did not have to look up to know that Cortex had entered the arena. The malevolent doctor placed his hands delicately before him, a dark smile on his face.

"Well done, Crunch. You have conquered your final challenge, though I must say that it is well your hesitation did not cost you your life. But it is a splendid invention, is it not?"

Crunch did not understand. He lifted his head, but did not speak. Cortex seemed to understand his confusion, and the cruelness in his sneer intensified.

"Of course, I had forgotten. I had taken measures to ensure you would have no choice but to kill him. The invention that I refer to is the mind-inducing serum I had injected into your enemy's bloodstream before the match. I'm afraid it does not produce a long lasting effect, but it was enough."

"You corrupted his mind so that he would kill me?" Crunch growled in disbelief.

"No, my friend, I corrupted his mind so that you would kill him. I knew that even if you came at him so relentlessly there was nothing that could induce him to fight against you. He cared for you far too much to allow that. And I didn't want him, Crunch, I wanted you."

With a jolt of terror, Crunch realized he had played right into the doctor's hands. And by doing so, he had killed the only friend he'd ever had, a friend that wouldn't have raised a hand against him had he been given the choice. Crunch bowed his head in devastation.

"It was just as well I was able to create such a serum, for when I ordered him to kill you he offered quite an inappropriate retort. However, I was right to put my trust in you. You are the pillar of an assassin, and just the minion I need."

While Cortex reveled in his own brilliance, Crunch's grief was giving way to another feeling. Pure, white rage; a fury that sent vibrant trembles throughout his body. He clenched his jaw tightly, and his green eyes carefully contained a window to the rage that lay within him. He faced the doctor, and it was the snide expression on Cortex's face that pushed Crunch over the edge.

"BASTARD!" Crunch's roar vibrated the chamber as he forgot his injuries.

He rushed at Cortex, bloody execution his only priority. Cortex killed his friend, and so he would kill Cortex. As he raised an arm, he reveled in the quick fear he read in Cortex's eyes. Crunch bared his teeth with animal ferocity as he prepared to slash his claws through Cortex's weak human flesh.

Suddenly, a device appeared in Cortex's hand. With one motion he fired the weapon and Crunch felt the beam slice through his right forearm. The attack propelled him backward, and he landed hard on his haunches, his attention quickly falling to the injury. To his shock, whatever Cortex had shot him with had blown a hole directly through his arm. The wound began to fester and spread, beginning a slow deterioration of his flesh. The pain hit Crunch like a blade across his eyes.

"Do you think I would face you unprepared, cretin?" Cortex demanded angrily. "You are a fool."

It was a denigration beam that he'd been shot with. The agony was unbearable, and before Crunch realized it he could hear himself howling in pain. He clutched his arm, and watched with horrified eyes as acid ate away his flesh, exposing bone and cauterizing blood. The pain seemed to last forever. Crunch did not even remember being removed from the arena and brought to the laboratory. All he could deduct from that instance of antagonizing anguish was that his decaying arm was amputated and an artificial one was fused in its place. It was during this time that Crunch experienced his final moments of psychological freedom, for in less then a day he had been injected with the same virus that had corrupted Chaos. From then on, his world had altered into one long, torturous hell from which there was no escape.

Tawna moaned quietly as she drifted into wakefulness. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep. She placed a hand on her forehead and sighed deeply. She was making a fool of herself. There was nothing she could say that would be of any use anyway. As Tawna rose to her feet and prepared to return to her own room, she heard a strange sound issuing from behind Crunch's closed door. She placed an ear to the wood and listened. She could hear sounds of distressed mumbling and quiet whimpers coming from inside. They sounded so agonizing and miserable that Tawna reacted without thinking. She opened the door, the light from the hall casting itself across Crunch's seated form. By his posture, at first Tawna had believed he was awake. However she could quickly see that was not the case. He was thrashing about blindly, tortured snarls and growls rumbling from his throat. He was having a nightmare. Tawna quickly rushed to his side and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Crunch? Crunch? Wake up."

She pushed his arm, attempting to stir him. However he was completely trapped within his unconscious state of terror and rage. A gnarled shout escaped his throat, and Tawna instinctively wrapped her arms around him.

"Please Crunch. Wake up." She pleaded as she held his shaking body.

She remained there for a moment, doing everything she could to comfort him until he recovered from this bizarre slumber.

Despite the horrid intensity of the vision, it disappeared as soon as Crunch's eyes blinked open. He was breathing rapidly, as though he'd been running from something. His felt his chest shudder as he attempted to relax his breathing. When his awareness began to return, he thought he could feel something warm pressed against his trembling skin. He turned his head, and glimpsed a few gentle waves of light coloured hair. He furrowed his brow.

"Tawna?" His voice was quiet and raspy.

Tawna lifted her head, and for a moment their eyes met. For a few seconds neither spoke. Suddenly, Tawna realized she had her arms around him and she jumped backward as though he'd suddenly become red hot. She fiddled with her fingers in embarrassment and dropped her chin.

"…uh…sorry…I didn't mean to bother you or anything. I just thought…well…"

"What do you want?" Crunch interrupted harshly, his anger still out of his control.

Tawna mouthed a few silent words, but seemed to lose her courage to speak them. She leaned back on her heels. Crunch immediately regretted his tone, and forced softness into his manner.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been feeling myself these past couple days."

Tawna glanced at him sheepishly, and brushed a strand of golden hair from her face. She turned her head for a moment, smiling nervously. Crunch felt a soft smile influence his lips for a single moment before his expression returned to his normal cold emotionless mask. Her befuddled nervousness was charming, but Crunch knew that remaining with someone in the state he was in was not a wise idea. Tawna lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Were you having a nightmare?"

Crunch bristled, and avoided answering her question. "You should go back to your own room."

Tawna looked at the door for a moment before returning her attention to him.

"Can't I stay here with you?"

Crunch frowned. Although his rational mind claimed that he should demand she leave at once, somehow he could not bring himself to say it. He was so horribly shaken that he didn't want to be alone. He was tired of being alone. His selfishness overcame him, and he remained silent. Tawna seemed to see the affirmation in his eyes, and she smiled. Crunch felt a blossom of warmth unfold in the coldness of his heart and he could not help offering the faintest of smiles in return. They were silent, but the quietness was not awkward. In fact, it felt comfortably refreshing. Crunch could not remove his gaze from Tawna's beautiful eyes. Without realizing what he was doing, he reached forward and brushed his finger across her arm. She was so irritatingly delicate. When he noticed the bruises and cuts on her body he felt a flame of anger kindle within him. How could anyone possibly hurt something so fragile?

The breeze from the window had slowly caused the door to drift closed, leaving the room in a pleasant darkness. Tawna leaned her head against his chest, nuzzling into him as she prepared for sleep. Crunch was stiff at first, feeling increasingly uncomfortable at the situation. However, his muscles soon relaxed and as he placed a gentle arm on Tawna's shoulder. He felt her quiet breath on his chest, and the rhythmic beating of her heart against his cleansed Crunch of all previous worries.

They remained entwined for a while, but Crunch found he still couldn't sleep. Every time he considered closing his eyes he could see Chaos's dead body, and could hear his final words. He didn't even realize he was shaking again until he felt Tawna's hand stroking his gently. She pushed herself upright, and looked at Crunch with a soft and angelic expression.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Crunch shrugged.

"Can't sleep." He admitted.

Tawna nodded with a slight frown. "Me neither."

Before Crunch could even compute what was happening, Tawna had leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips were as gentle as the brush of a butterfly's wing. She backed away, observing his reaction. Crunch could read the love in Tawna's eyes, and for a moment the realization terrified him. Something in his mind screamed at him to tell her to leave, or to get up and walk out of the room before anything else happened. However, Crunch could not ignore the fact that he felt a flicker of love for her too. He could not control his actions. He placed a hand against her back and gently pulled her toward him. She was happy to oblige, and quickly leaned forward to kiss him again. Crunch stroked her cheek with his thumb adoringly as their lips remained together.

Soon Crunch grew uncomfortable with their current position, and he lifted her into his arms effortlessly. He placed her softly upon the bed. She relaxed into the mattress with a satisfied sigh, and reached toward him. Obliging the silent invitation, Crunch laid beside her. She wrapped her arms around him, playing with the mane that prickled his shoulders. Crunch leaned forward, and this time he initiated the kiss. They continued this passionate encounter for a few moments. As Crunch grew more impassioned, he felt a familiar darkness unfold inside him. His eyes widened.

No…not again…

Tawna could not believe how beautifully muscular Crunch was. All she could feel when she passed her hands across him was solid muscle. As they kissed, she could not believe how gentle he was. Although his hands were large and strong, they held her as though she was a glass doll. She smiled as she pressed her cheek against his furry mane. She had never felt so cherished before. A feeling of love poured into her empty heart, filling her with life. This was the feeling she was praying for. This was what it felt like to feel safe. With him.

With a smile, Tawna glanced into Crunch's eyes once more. However, the look she spied there filled her with shock. His eyes were fading from green to murky gray, and an angry animal expression passed over his features. He pulled her closer and harder, but not in the way Tawna had intended. She became instantly afraid, and yelped as his rough movement pressed hard against her healing bruises. Crunch stopped instantly, and they both remained motionless, breathing heavily. Crunch shook his head, his expression normal again but filled with pain.

"No. This can't happen."

He pushed himself away from her and staggered toward the door. Tawna watched in bewilderment as he left the room quickly. She jumped to her feet, wrapping her housecoat tightly around her as she followed his path. When she reached the living room, she noticed that the door was open. With wide eyes filled with concern, she rushed out the door into the open air outside. She glanced around, but she could not see him anywhere. Her shoulders sagged in sadness. The sky was dark, and from the distant rumbling from afar Tawna expected it would rain soon. She brushed a single tear from her cheek. What had she done to cause him such distress? She couldn't understand. However, her concern for him was uncontrollable. Although she knew Crunch did not appreciate intervention, she rushed inside to rouse Crash. She dropped to her knees and shook him with barely controlled anxiety. Crash mumbled in his sleep.

"Five more minutes."

Tawna shook him harder. "Crash, wake up."

Crash blinked as he struggled awake. When he saw Tawna at his side he forced himself into a semi-sitting position, his expression wrought with concern.

"Tawna? What's wrong?"

Tawna hesitated, her bottom lip trembling. Crash reached forward and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. His eyes were completely fixed on her.

"What's wrong?" He repeated.

"It's Crunch." She said quickly. "Something's wrong with him. He…he just ran outside. He had a strange look in his eyes."

Tawna was glad that Crash seemed to understand. As Tawna followed his advice to have a seat on the couch, he rushed to awaken Coco. The young girl returned with her brother wearing a pajama combination of plaid shorts and a T-shirt. As Crash and Coco conversed in low voices, Tawna spoke up with mild irritation.

"What's going on? Why did he just run out?"

Crash turned to face her, a small frown on his face. He scratched his head as though searching for the right words.

"Well, Crunch is in some trouble and we don't know what it is or what's causing it. Crunch isn't the kind of guy who would join a 'let's share our feelings' circle. I've got a feeling something's gonna happen, and in my line of work a bad feeling could be critical. Better safe than sorry, as the saying goes."

Crash was trying hard to keep his tone light, but Tawna could sense that he was worried. She got to her feet.

"Alright, where do we start?"

Crash and Coco exchanged glances. Crash shook his head.

"Sorry Tawna. I think it's better if you stayed here. You're still recovering, and it would be good to have someone here if Crunch comes back before us."

Tawna felt a pang of anger.

"But…"

"Sorry Tawna, we've gotta get going."

With that the two bandicoots rushed out of the house. Tawna remained where she was, her mouth open in shock. She couldn't blame Crash for his decision, of course. In her state, she was more of a hindrance than a help, and she was sure that he didn't forget the effort it took to rescue her from Cortex's clutches all those years ago. Tawna slowly sat down upon the couch. She knew she should stay where she was and wait for them to return. She was not strong enough to be helpful, so the best thing she could do would be to stay out of the way. However, the longer she remained motionless, the more restless she became. Suddenly, she stood. She was utterly tired of being useless. She wouldn't wait for Crash and Coco to find Crunch. She would find him herself. She could still feel the warmth of his body against hers. Something about him gave her a feeling of strength and worth. She could find him, she knew it.

Tawna opened the door and rushed out as the first drops of a rain storm began to fall from the sky.