Odds and Ends

Jack was about to make a full-fledged run to retrieve his expensive firearms, when he felt a grip on his arm. He looked at it, and found it was Kate's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked him incredulously.

"I'm going to go and get the guns that I paid good money for!" he said.

"Jack! Think about the risk! Are the guns really worth dying for?"

He considered it, and sighed. How could he have been so foolish? Desperate to risk his life for a mere gun. He felt ashamed. He never really even liked guns to begin with.

And now here he was, about to rush into an inferno, with this female blocking the path. And not just any female. The one girl on this planet that he was destined to be with for who knows how long. He looked at Kate.

"Well, I guess not…"

"Now, we should probably get going, because I'm tired," she told him. He looked back at the plane, and gave a small groan.

'I can't believe I paid so much money on a gun,' he thought. His resourcefulness will have to do for now. Jack followed the redhead, and spoke.

"Hey, don't you think the city's just too long of a walk?" he asked. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"Too long of a walk? Jeez, you're the laziest person I've ever met."

"Heh. Yep, they don't get much better than me."

"And where do you suppose we sleep, hm?"

Kate situated herself into a more comfortable position. Grass wasn't exactly a Tempur-Pedic king-size. "I can't believe I let you talk me into sleeping out in the country."

"You'll get used to it," Jack smiled while folding his arms behind his head. Kate gave him a smirk.

"What, you mean I have to? Pfft. Great."

She rolled to her side, facing away from him, and folded her arms. Kate let out a long sigh, and actually saw a puff of mist evaporate from her mouth. "This… Sucks."

"And what would that be, my dear?" Jack asked, still looking at the sky.

"I'm freezing, I'm sleeping on the ground, and I'm hungry. The hermit life, I suppose," she replied when bringing up her knees to her chest. Jack felt a pang of guilt.

"Freezing, huh?" He mulled it over. "Well, you can always come over here, I suppose. Friendly gesture."

Kate rolled over again and sat up. "You mean cuddle?" Jack wasn't really expecting this, and was at loss of words.

"Uh, well, you know…" Kate giggled and crawled over him.

"If it means warmth." She packed herself tightly next to her friend, and let out a sigh.

"Better?" Jack asked.

"A little." Jack again considered her answer. She was just a little warmer, while he was just fine. Well, fur makes up for that, even with the jacket. He could always let her wear it, but that would expose the fur on his arms. But, there was always the white tank-top, so she wouldn't see any of the fur on his chest.

Well, he didn't see a major problem with it as long as his helmet stayed on, so Jack spoke. "Well, you can always use my leather jacket."

Kate furrowed her brow. "But won't you get cold?"

"Nah. I have thick skin. It would take a little bit more than a night in the German autumn to freeze this Aussie," Jack joked, sitting up and slipping the jacket off. Kate couldn't help but notice how dark he looked, practically orange. But he was probably just tanned, considering where he originated.

Jack handed the thick leather material to his comrade, and she offered a small grin. "Thanks," she said while pushing her arms through the jacket.

"Don't mention it. It's not like I want you to catch pneumonia." Jack flew back into the soft German soil, spreading his arms out. Kate lay back, and without realizing it, had rested her head on Jack's arm. The duo shifted a bit to comfort themselves, and they sighed in unison.

Jack was the first to fill the silence. "You know Kate, if you look really close at the stars; you can see some of them twinkling."

Kate squinted her eyes and stared up at the sky. "Yeah. You know, each star is a sun, with little planets circling them in other galaxies."

"Noo," he remarked sarcastically. "I thought they were fairies."

"Oh, shut up," she said, while failing to stifle a laugh.

It was quiet for another moment. Kate's eye caught a glimpse of a sudden light zooming across the sky. "Wow. It's been forever since I've seen a shooting star."

"Make a wish," Jack chuckled. Kate was wrapped up in her thoughts of the past. "What'd you wish for?"

"Now if I tell you, it won't come true."

"Aw, c'mon. I don't even believe in the hogwash anyway."

Kate snickered. "Well, I didn't wish for anything."

"Well, for the good ol' fun of it, I wished that maybe, for once, I could live a normal life. It seems as if someone always needs saving, you know?"

"Seems our 'hero' needs a break," Kate retorted.

"Eh, life wouldn't be as fun, though, without a little action packed into the mix."

"What, you mean Cortex trying to kill us?"

"Well, kill me, capture you. But, yeah, pretty much."

"You are a nut."

He yawned. "The nuttiest."

Jack groaned. He was being blinded by the sun of morning, shining its light mercilessly upon his eyelids. He blinked a few times and took in a deep breath. The fact remained the same: he didn't want to wake up. But, he had to eventually, so he could get moving.

It then occurred to him that he never really had a plan on what to do with Kate. He thought of taking her to live with him on N. Sanity, but she might not want to. Plus, if Cortex decided to raid the place, his family could get hurt.

He needed to find a safe place for Kate to stay, somewhere where Cortex wouldn't find her, or wouldn't be able to get her. And right now, the only place that was, was with Jack. Back to square one.

Jack wouldn't admit that he actually liked being around Kate, but he also yearned for home, where his precious Wumpa fruit awaited him, along with his favorite tree. He would do anything to taste that succulent, mouth-watering fruit that pleased him so. It called out to him, begged him to be eaten.

Jack heard a large growl, and could swear it was a wild animal, but it turned out to be his stomach. He was starved, and he was pretty sure that if he didn't get a decent meal soon, he'd probably double over and die.

He slowly sat up, careful not to awaken the sleeping Kate, and he got to his feet. He couldn't just leave her there. But if he didn't do something about his hunger, he'd probably faint. Well, he was pretty sure Kate would be out for a while yet, so he was sure he could make it back with food for the both of them.

Jack walked off into the city of Berlin. It took some time, but eventually he was in the depths of concrete. He saw endless quantities of restaurants and grocery stores, and he didn't know where to start. He caught a glimpse of a fast food restaurant labeled McDonald's, and he chose that place to go.

He patiently waited in line to order the food, and he took a deep breath of the air. It smelt like food. His stomach growled again, this time pain roared with it. Jack winced, and crossed his arms. He didn't like the feeling of hunger raking at his innards.

At long last, it was his turn to order. The only thing he could understand on the menu was the numbers and the pictures next to them, and that was good enough. "I'll have the number 13 (Angus Deluxe) and uh… the nugget lookin' things."

The cashier looked at him oddly, but nevertheless punched in his order. She readied her voice, and spoke. "What would you like to drink?" she asked in a heavy German accent.

"…Water." Jack didn't understand the soda names either.

"Would that be all?"

"Um… Yeah."

"Alright. We'll have your order in a moment."

Jack sighed, feeling another rumble in his stomach. 'Shut up,' he told his stomach mentally, 'I hear you, alright?' After what seemed five minutes, the cashier came back with paper bags loaded with his order.

"Alright, here's your order," she said.

"Thanks." Jack quickly took the bags and scanned a credit card. "You're a diamond, mate. You don't know what a great deed you've just done."

She blushed. "Hehe… Thank you sir. Have a great day."

Jack began to walk away and nodded. "Let's hope so, shall we?" He didn't pay any mind to the stares as he walked past the line leading out. They either were curious about his answer to the cashier, or the fact that his "skin" was rather orange. He'd left his leather jacket with Kate, and his furry arms were exposed. But, to his fortune, his fur was sleek, so it did appear as orange skin.

Jack walked through the crowded streets, holding the bags of food with pride. He was in the country fields once again, though, and he embraced the fresher air. He wasn't exactly a fan of cities. They were too crowded and there were just enough scum balls to fill the sewers full. Bless the open space of the German fields.

Jack sat on a rock just a mere 30 yards from where Kate was left. He put down the bags, and heaved a sigh.

"It's not like I can eat with a helmet on." He took off the jet black helmet and took in a deep breath. "The fact remains that I'm a bandicoot walking among humans, but for now, I'm going to do something about this hunger problem."

Crash picked up a bag and looked inside. It smelled so good he had to refrain from shredding it apart. He scooped out the large burger encased in cardboard, opened up the box, and took a whiff. "Ah… The most beautiful thing I've ever smelt."

Another wrenching pain shot through his stomach, telling him to eat the thing already. Without wasting another second, Crash took a large bite of the sandwich. It was delicious. It was unlike anything he'd eaten before, and was delicious.

Crash knew that this was the second time he'd eaten meat, and he probably wouldn't do it much often. So he savored the greasy burger, enjoying every bite with a hungry passion.

Kate stirred. She rolled over to her side with a groan. "Mm… Ngh… Jack?" She opened her eyes and met the empty space beside her. "Jack?" Kate scanned her surroundings and found nothing useful. "Now where on God's green Earth did that man go?"

She drowsily yawned and stretched, getting to her feet. "Ugh. That's just like him; leaving me here to be mutilated by wolves. Thank you, Jack—whatever your last name is!" she shouted into the sky, irritated.

"You're welcome," a familiar voice said. Jack, who had his helmet back on, was walking up the hill with a satisfied glint in his eye. "I guess I'm crueler than I thought. You see, I brought you a little something," he said, shaking the bag with the McNugget meal he'd ordered for Kate.

Kate looked at him with a look of sudden regret. "Oh…"

"But, I guess 'it's just like me to leave you here to die'… so… Later." He turned around and acted like was going to leave.

"WAIT!"

He grinned in triumph.

"Sorry."

"Apology accepted." He threw the bag to Kate. "And really, darling, you should know me better by now. Would I take you everywhere around with me and bail on you in Germany, of all countries?"

"I guess not." She sniffed. "Hey, are these chicken nuggets?"

"I believe they are."

"Alright! This is my favorite food from McDonald's!"

Jack brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it sort of sheepishly. "Well, lucky guess, I suppose."

"Really? Hm. Weird, huh?"

"Heh. Yeah."

[Insert silent awkward moment here.]

"Well, I'm gonna go eat these by that tree over there."

"You do that."

Kate began walking to the tree, and stopped.

"Hey, did you already eat, or something?"

"Yes, siree. I had myself a rather large burger."

"Oh. Well, okay." She resumed walking towards the lavish tree that still remained green, even though the season ruled that it should've been orange and losing leaves by now. Kate placed herself beneath it, and heaved a sigh.

Jack paced around a bit in thought. He had gotten considerable bored at this action and dug his hand into his pocket. He grasped the object inside, and grinned. "Boy, I'm sure glad I chose to wear these pants!" He slipped his middle finger through the slip knot of the yo-yo, and playfully bounced the toy a few time in the air.

"You gotta enjoy the little things," he grinned when performing "Walk the Dog" on a bare piece of dirt. Kate had finished her meal and was now walking over to her comrade.

"What'cha got there?"

"This, my dear friend, is one of the only things I treasure," he spoke, doing "The Cradle."

"A yo-yo?"

"Not just any yo-yo. Myyo-yo, therefore adding more value to it," Jack retorted when demonstrating "Around the World."

"Right. But I will admit; you've got some talent for the toy."

"Toy? Heh, yes, I do suppose." He bounced the spool a few times, and caught it in his hand. "But, you should know that 16th-century hunters in the Philippines used the same theory of the yo-yo as a weapon, to kill prey from beneath them, while they hid nearly 20 feet in the trees above."

Kate was awestruck. "Wow… I didn't really think you knew so much history about a yo-yo."

"Yo-yo, bandalore, incroyable, emigrette, joujou; all the same. But when I first got this dandy thing, I never even imagined it as a weapon. …That is, until I needed a make-shift." He quickly thrust the spool at the paper bag of trash Kate was holding, puncturing it neatly. The spool came back to his grasp with a zip, and he raised an eyebrow.

Kate held the bag up so she could examine it, and she gasped. "Whoa…"

"No compliments, please."

"So are you done with your little history lesson?"

Jack grinned. "Yeah, pretty much."

"So what do you suppose we do now?"

"Well, as much as I'd 'love' to stay out in this country, we better get moving." Jack put the yo-yo away.

"Berlin, I assume."

"No, China." He headed toward the city once again, and Kate gave a small groan.

"I'm really getting tired of your constant sarcasm."

Jack shrugged. "Being cynical is one of my traits. Live with it, Shorty."

Kate growled, and threw a fist at his arm. He yelped. "OW! Again, what the hell?"

"Aw, come on. You know I still love ya."

"Love…?"

Kate realized the word slipped out. "Uh, well, I would always say that to my friends and family, after I'd insult them," she explained. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I see."

The two walked toward the city. Silence was broken by Jack finally speaking up. "I don't suppose you plan on wearing my jacket for the rest of your natural born life, do you?"

Kate sighed. "No." She slipped her arms out of the leather jacket and handed it Jack.

"Thanks." He put it on and adjusted the collar. "Much better."

Cortex sat in his lab, deep in thought. "That miserable bandicoot," he mumbled. N. Gin had been busy creating some new technology that would be "useful to the mission." Neo Cortex had the mission all figured out. First, he would capture the girl. Then, he would use her DNA to fuse it with metal, giving her superhuman abilities.

The things she would be able to do were endless. She would have the powers of both man, and machine. She could kill a man with one blow to a vital area, such as the chest or head. It was just so great knowing that this incredible Cyborg would be on his side.

"Doctor Cortex," N. Gin's voice echoed from across the room. "There's something you need to see."

"What is so important that you must interrupt my pondering?" Cortex snapped.

"The device has been activated."

"Alright." Cortex rose from his chair rather neatly, and walked into the lab. "Where is this…'device' of yours?"

N. Gin reached over to the lab table and grabbed a small cube that was no bigger than the human eye. "This is a tracking device, so we can point the two's coordinates on the globe."

"Hm. Show me a demonstration," Cortex demanded, putting a thoughtful finger on his lip. N. Gin pressed a button, and a large, green holographic globe appeared, being nearly thirty times larger than that of the cube. A red light was blinking in the middle of Europe, and N. Gin pointed to the dot.

"That is the location, Doctor."

Cortex narrowed his eyes at the globe. "How do you know?"

"When the bandicoot was fighting against the robots, we retrieved a few traces of his blood. We were able to locate him on the globe by finding his DNA source."

"Interesting. But what about the girl? It's really her we need to find."

"Yes, Doctor. I had that in mind. But the bandicoot should be with her at all times, leading us—"

"To her. Yes, yes. Excellent work, N. Gin. If I paid you, I would double it."

N. Gin made a small sigh, knowing this fact. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Now, how about we send a little friend of ours to pursue the little twerps?" Cortex said upon entering his private quarters, the room he was in previously. "I have just the person in mind."

N. Gin was unsure of who the ally would be, and raised a brow. "Who?"

"Why, our crimson-furred friend who is even more destructive than Crash himself."

"You-you don't mean—"

"I do. If paid, he'll do a fine job of killing Crash, and capturing that inferior redhead."

A/N: So sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I was grounded (FOR A MONTH) and had to restart the chapter about three times. My sincerest apologies.

And, thank you Bandi-Cute for the beautiful picture you drew! You have quite a good interpretation on how Kate looks! I like how she looks similar to female characters from Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride. Excellent artwork and I promise you I will try to repay you with a scene from one of your stories. Although I don't have a dA, I have another way. It will be posted on my profile when it's finished. Thanks again!

Oh, and I'm going to say this every few chapters.

I accept anonymous reviews, and any kind of review will be appreciated. Well, 'cept for flames. They will be ignored.

Well, that's about it. Until then, I'll keep writing, and you keep reading! Oodles of tootles! :D