Crash found himself subconsciously feeling a very cold breeze wash over him. Crash wasn't sure he could groan, but if he could, he would have. Wasn't it bad enough that the vortex spun him around so fast Crash wouldn't be surprised if it left his head behind? Now it thought it'd be fun to freeze him to death too? Well, Crash just about had enough of it. When he finally stopped swirling around, Crash opened his eyes. He scratched behind one ear.
"Well, isn't this just fantastic."
Crash had reluctantly found himself standing up to his ankles in the midst of a snowdrift. As he took a quick glance around he realized that the snow he now stood in stretched out quite far. So far, in fact, that Crash had immediately regretted the decision of stepping into the whirligig. Well, he supposed falling into a land covered in snow was better than some of his other suspicions. Crash grinned slowly. He was still astonished that he was able to know what something was when he had never seen it before. How the heck did he know this powdery white stuff was snow? He supposed it was just his superbly brilliant mind. Crash took one step forward, feeling quite confident in himself, when he suddenly fell head over heels down a slippery slope. He felt himself collide with a total of five rocks, and when he landed with a final face plant in the snow, he just lay there for a moment.
"Alright, so I got a nice zap of I.Q. from that generous doctor, happy now?" Crash mumbled in the snow.
Crash would have lain there in the snow all day, but his nose started to get numb. Eventually Crash rose to his knees and then slowly got to his feet. Despite the fact that he had taken quite a spill down a rocky hill, Crash found surprisingly unaffected. He shook himself off, and then decided he needed to figure out what he was planning to do about his situation. Last time he checked there weren't any snow sightings on the tropical islands, so he most defiantly wasn't anywhere near when he wanted to be. Well, as long as he was here, he decided he might as well enjoy the scenery. And was it ever pretty. Mountains powdered in sparkling white crystals, and snow-covered trees fanned out along the landscape surrounded him. The entire frozen world was indented with what looked like very deep caverns, and Crash made a mental note not to get too close any edges.
"Let me quickly dissect this situation before I spin off my rocker. Alright, walked through a portal thing, dematerialized…again, and now I'm in some place covered in snow." Crash felt his teeth begin to chatter. "A very cold place covered in snow. Now comes my next mode of pondering, how the hell am I going to get out of here?"
Crash needed to walk or he knew he'd freeze where he stood. He stepped through the deep snow, rubbing his arms vigorously as he remembered what Cortex had said.
Bring me the crystals.
Crash snorted. "So when did I turn into your delivery boy? Jerk."
Yet Crash had began to think that the only way out of this mess was by getting a hold of one of these crystals. If Cortex was somehow controlling his transportation, then he most defiantly wouldn't allow him back without Crash getting him what he wanted. Crash stretched, feeling quite agitated at the whole situation.
"Well, sure. I've got nothing better to do, so I'll play your game. For now."
Despite the freezing cold and he slushy snow in his shoes, Crash decided the stroll was tolerably pleasant. He had moved out of the rocky terrain and was now making his way through a quaint forest. Thankfully, the snow was not nearly as deep here, and he was able to finally shake out his shoes. He was also quite excited to see that there was a pleasant little path that cut through the trees. As Crash continued on his way, he found himself wondering how he was ever going to find a crystal in this place. It could probably be anywhere, and since that dope Cortex didn't bother offering him any hints, Crash predicted he was going to be here for a while. A small snow crystal drifted down slowly and landed on Crash's nose. Crash halted for a moment, and then tilted his head upward.
Well, would you look at that? It's snowing.
Crash forgot his freezing discomfort for a moment, and stood there and admired the snow falling from the foggy gray sky. If had been a hint warmer, he would have been quite content finding a nice place to lie down and take a nap. Yet he still wasn't sure about this place, and he wanted to keep moving. Crash stuffed his hands in his pockets and felt his shoulders hunch and he walked. Billows of warmed air encircled him on every exhale, and he focused on keeping his teeth from chattering. When he really thought about it, the place wasn't that cold. He was just used to intense heat. For crying out loud, he had fur, so what was he complaining about? Crash scanned the area, and his gaze passed over slopes on either side of him, angling toward a cave of some sort. As Crash moved closer, he noticed that it wasn't really a cave at all. It was more like a tunnel. The snow, although pretty, was quite wet when it settled on Crash's hair, so he was quite content to get out of it for even a moment. Crash stepped into the shelter of the tunnel, and shook off the drips of water off himself. He was getting used to the cold now, so he wasn't shaking anymore. Yet the longer he stood there without the warmth of movement, he began to feel cold chills dance up his limbs. The other side of the tunnel was just as open as the wintry scene behind him.
"Well, it looks okay. Then again, I'm not a very good judge of these kinds of things."
Crash had a tiny suspicion that walking out into the wide path was not a good idea. Well, another idea had yet to present itself, so Crash thought it best to take his chances. He strode into the open path, rejoicing that the sun had finally decided to grace him with its rays. Crash was so busy embracing the warmth, that he didn't notice two beady eyes open, concealed in a dark space above. Crash continued to stroll, oblivious, and the creature slowly began to move forward. Crash heard the scratching sound of tumbling rocks, and felt a very sharp shiver rake up his back. The orange hair on his neck flared, and finally he turned around. A jaw opened wide, exposing dozens of sharp teeth as long as Crash's forearm. It's beady red eyes glared down at him as it reached one massive paw down the overhang. Going by instinct alone, Crash guessed the beast was a polar bear. Although he had imagined a polar bear to be cute, fluffy and small, this one defiantly did not fit any of these categories. Crash backed away slowly, hands out in front of him uselessly.
"Whoa there fella. Sorry to wake you up. I'll just be…going."
The bear was drooling, and Crash noted with a brief wave of uneasiness that its mouth appeared to smile. Crash decided he had enough of this stalking business. If he couldn't outrun this hulk, he wasn't as awesome as he thought he was. Crash turned and dashed, feeling the earth quaking thud a moment later. Crash should have evaluated his options before charging out into the unknown, however, premeditated thought was not Crash's strong points. The trees lining the borders of the path were far to thick for Crash to consider leaping into. More likely the tangled weeds would bounce Crash back into the waiting jaws of the massive polar bear. Even better, the road before him was covered in wide pits. Crash sighed.
"Not the pits again."
Nevertheless, he couldn't possibly make a U-turn, for obvious reasons. So Crash charged toward the first pit and used all the muscle he could muster to propel himself over the pit. He landed roughly, but was able to use that off-balance dismount to roll right back up to his feet. He continued running, and dared to peek behind him to see how the bear was faring. To Crash's immense disappointment, the pit failed to slow the bear down even a step. It was still as fast as ever, grinning creepily. Crash shivered, and put on an extra burst of speed.
His feet pounded on the frozen ground, and after a distance Crash's swinging arms began to feel strained. Yet the bear wasn't slowing down, and if anything, it was catching up to Crash's exhausted pace. Surprisingly in the past, Crash was able to run for very long periods despite his lack of luster doing so. Though with his arms and legs half frozen it was very hard to keep his muscles moving. Crash grit his teeth.
"Why don't you go…chase something…your own…size?"
Suddenly, Crash noticed something, but it was only when he got closer that he smiled. Directly ahead and slightly to the left, there was a rock wall. Just beneath this wall was a narrow crack, and the key to Crash's escape. Crash's green eyes brightened as he summoned the last of his speed, and took off toward the stone. With an insane grin across his face, Crash brought his body close to the ground and slid gracefully through the crack. He felt the rock scrape against his skin as his momentum propelled him to the other side of the wall. A few more feet of sprawling, and Crash was lying on his back, breathing heavily. When he had the lung capacity, he started laughing.
He couldn't think of anything more humorous at the moment, and this was damn funny. Although one would wonder why the concept of barely being eaten by a ravenous bear could possibly be amusing. Perhaps it was Crash's close brush into the realm of insanity, but more likely it was his reckless excitement. His laugh echoed into a snicker as he assessed the damage. He was far too tired to move, so he remained in the spot he was. Just then, the rock wall above him vibrated loudly. Crash's smile disappeared as his adrenaline caused him to prop up on his elbows.
"No way."
The bear on the other side obviously hadn't eaten in a while. Or perhaps it was just stubborn. Crash angled his eyes.
Well bear, I can me stubborn too.
Unfortunately, the bear's endeavor was a successful campaign, and Crash grimaced as pieces of rock began to fall. Crash was too exhausted to fall asleep, let alone continue to run. Crash rolled to his stomach, and as he viewed what sat before him, he sported the shadow of a grin.
"Well, I think the tide's beginning to turn."
A little bear that matched Crash's criteria perfectly was sitting pleasantly in the snow, looking at Crash with curiosity. Unlike the large monster pounding through the rock, this polar bear was quite cute. Crash rose shakily to his feet, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Hey little bear, want to give me a hand?"
The bear just looked at him, cocking its head to one side. Crash winced as more of the wall began to collapse. Crash placed his hands together in a gesture of friendship. Or maybe a false sense of security was a better phrase. At the next slam into rock, Crash sailed through the air and tackled the bear. Crash grasped on tightly to the little bear as it began to run. Crash felt the final pieces of rock collapse, and silently urged the bear to pick up the pace. Thankfully, the small bear was quite a bit faster than the pursuer, for that Crash was thankful.
"Keep going little bear, you're doing great!" Crash encouraged as he kept his eyes on the massive creature galloping after them.
It was a good thing the tiny polar bear knew the snowy paths better then he did, because there seemed to be quite a few dead ends that Crash would have doubtlessly ran into. The bear also jumped over any pits in its way without any hesitation. For this Crash was grateful, and now he could just kick back and wait for the big bear to get tired. As usual, that hope was dashed in an instant. Crash noticed with a rising concern that his ride stopped moving. Looking down he could see why. The little bear's legs were still going, but its paws had no traction on the slippery ice they were stuck on.
"Come on! Use your claws or something!" Crash yelled at the bear, but it was no use.
The bear plopped down onto its butt and Crash slipped off rather ridiculously. With a look of utter horror, Crash saw that the huge bear was getting closer, and its teeth were shimmering so frighteningly that Crash had to fight not to faint. Using his fear induced adrenaline, Crash lifted the little bear which was a little easier said then done. Crash's shoe soles were slippery enough to skate on, so he pushed his legs to get him and his little companion out of this mess. Surprisingly, Crash's method of escape was actually pretty efficient. Though it was pretty hard with the small bear in tow, Crash still kept moving, confident that if he got to the hill not to far away his flee would be a breeze. Yet he hadn't accounted for the big bear's weight on the ice, and it also didn't occur to Crash to wonder how thick the ice was. Obviously, it wasn't thick enough, because when the bear stepped on it, the ice cracked. The sound of ice breaking caused Crash's jaw to tighten. It was a horrible sound, and even worse when that cracking ice was the only thing holding one up. The crack snaked between Crash's legs, and the latter rolled his eyes in irritation.
"Well this is just peachy." Was all Crash managed before he fell through the ice and plunged into the freezing water.
--
Coco scanned the screen before her, frustrated as her resolution began to fade away. Her nimble fingers typed furiously on the keyboard, but it was no use.
CHARGE BATTERY
Then the screen went blank. Coco growled angrily and snapped her screen forward, clapping it shut.
"Where is that idiot brother?" She spoke through clenched teeth.
Coco removed herself from her straddled position in the dirt, standing and dusting off her pants before she marched toward the house, her laptop under her arm. She could already see Crash napping somewhere along the path in her mind's eye. Her bright green eyes were angled with a promise that if she found him asleep he would receive a nice dunk of ice water. Even if Coco had to go to the trouble to get the water out of the well and cart the heavy bucket, it would be worth it. Yet as she continued to walk, she felt a strange feeling. A tiny wave of hesitation so small that she barely noticed it. Despite the inconsequential size of the feeling, Coco decided to err on the side of caution.
"Aku!"
Yet Aku Aku was nowhere to be found. Coco combed her fingers through her long ponytail, and then placed the same hand to border her mouth.
"Aku!"
Still the old mask didn't appear. Coco scratched her head. Well, she supposed she should grab her battery before she got Aku all worried. She would probably run into Crash on the way anyhow. Still…Coco was pretty sure something unusual was going on.
--
Crash decided there was nothing more unpleasant then plunging into ice water. He may as well have fallen into shards of glass since it had almost the same effect. Crash twirled underwater for a moment, and then was able to pull himself to the surface. He broke through the water into the cold air. He latched on to a floating piece of ice, which really did nothing for his freezing situation, but at least now he could breathe. He took a quick look around, and noticed with satisfaction that the scary bear was gone. Crash also saw that the little bear had made its way to land and was now pleasantly shaking itself off. Although thankful the bear had made it to safety, Crash couldn't fully appreciate it at the present moment. The hill that Crash had planned to skate down had transformed into a treacherous river of ice and jagged rock. Crash sighed, and gripped even tighter to his ice raft.
The ride down wasn't as terrible as Crash imagined, but he still wouldn't want to do it over again. He had collided with a few big rocks, and that smarted, but now, thankfully, he was on a pleasant little stream that was taking him who knows where. Crash lay on his back, ignoring the cold, and glanced up at the sky.
"So, the plan is this. I find that dumb crystal, wherever the hell that is, and then once I have it I'll break it into a million pieces and just pretend it slipped. It is a plausible occurrence."
Yet as Crash restudied his plan, he realized that he needed some kind of leverage to get him out of this snowy wasteland. And shattering the crystal, although tempting, would not get him very far tactically. Crash stretched out on his floating ice bed, and planned to take a rejuvenating nap. Unfortunately, the moment he shut his eyes his raft collided with a rock and tipped it over. Crash, wet, cold and unhappy, sloshed out of the freezing shallows and shook himself off.
"I just can't catch a break here." Crash complained as he squeezed the water out of his hair.
As he dried off, he took the time to consider where he was, also where he was planning to go. He had unintentionally floated into an open cavern. He could see the sky clearly, but rocky walls surrounded him at every angle. Crash cocked his head. The only way he could get out of here was by swimming, and since the water was bloody cold there was no way that was likely to happen. He could try to climb the walls, but he noted disdainfully that the sides of the cavern were covered in ice. Crash plopped himself down on a rock, calculating what he needed to do. There was no way out of here, and that was depressing. Crash also realized that he was getting hungry, and he hadn't noticed any wamba fruit down here at all. What frightened him even more than being trapped in an impenetrable cavern was the fact that he may go without dinner.
"Well this stinks." Crash announced to no one in particular.
Normally, he was not so bitter, but when he was frozen, wet and hungry, the sensation tended to come quite swiftly. Crash got up off his feet and started to pace, thinking. Since thinking was not one of Crash's strong suits, the reason he paced was for the sole purpose of colliding with his answer. And, more often than not, that's exactly what happened. As Crash stepped closer to the cavern wall, his ear twitched, and he heard a very unwelcome cracking noise.
"Oh…darnnit."
Just as the words were spoken, the ice crumbled beneath Crash Bandicoot's feet. Crash slid, along with the ice, down an enclosed tunnel. He was thankful at least that the sides weren't sharp, but as he slid quickly across the ice he was sure he could feel some kind of wound servicing. He couldn't control his crazy decent, and so he just let momentum throw him around for a while. The tunnel was not completely dark, thanks to some reflective ice crystals, but Crash doubted the light would last. Yet, it wasn't the first time Crash found himself wandering around in the dark, so the idea didn't concern him much. He slid for an absurdly long amount of time, and when he decided he could pass the era with a nap, he noticed something disturbing approach fast. The end of the tunnel. The dead end of the tunnel. Crash let out a noise that sounded like "Yike!" and took immediate action.
He reached above him and stuck his claws into the tunnel roof. Of course, his claws were not nearly strong enough to penetrate the ice, but he felt satisfied as little ice shavings were produced from his endeavor. Unfortunately he was not slowing down fast enough, and he prepared to make a very painful thump.
He was all ready for a collision, that when the end of the tunnel shattered and he found himself momentarily flying through the air, he was quite confused. He was still in a state of bewilderment even as he rolled a few times and then lay in a stunned heap in the snow. Slowly, Crash sat up and rubbed a bump on his head.
"Wow, what a rush."
His voice echoed throughout the cave in which he found himself. Crystals of ice sent colourful shafts of light dancing throughout the cavern, and despite Crash's recent stresses, he felt a grin rise to his face.
"Well, isn't that pretty?"
Yet these ice crystals were not what Crash was looking for, he was pretty sure of that. Since that dummy Cortex didn't give him a lot of information on his "mission", Crash was left to fill in the blanks himself. If this crystal was so special, it probably didn't look like the others. Crash was feeling quite agitated that he didn't get anymore information, but he continued to remain optimistic. As Crash began to saunter through the caverns, he had a mind to grab one of these ice crystals and be done with it. If the thing melted before Cortex could do whatever underhanded thing he was planning, that wasn't Crash's problem. Crash chuckled to himself at the concept. As Crash rounded the corner, he suddenly felt a light brighter than the others cause him to shade his eyes.
"Hey, what the heck?"
When Crash's eyes adjusted, he took a look to what had nearly blinded him. He smirked when he saw it.
"Alright, now we're in business."
A breathtaking violet crystal shimmered before him, suspended within an embrace of stone. The light dancing off this sparkling gem was far prettier than the ice crystals Crash had seen a moment ago. Rubbing his hands together excitedly as he advanced, Crash felt an odd sensation. He felt mesmerized by the purple fire that danced within the center of the stone. As he placed his hands on it, his grin spread even wider.
"Hey beautiful." He uttered through his smile, feeling quite disturbingly like a magpie.
It took a fare amount of strength to heave the crystal from its resting place, but Crash ultimately succeeded. It was smaller than he originally thought, but it was still amazingly dazzling. He marveled at it a moment more, before he snapped out of his trance and returned to the present.
"Holy, now that's what I call a shiny rock."
Crash realized that he needed to use this thing to get him out of this Cortex mess, and although he would be satisfied to stay in this cave with his new treasure, he was sure he would never get used to the climate. Crash held the crystal under his arm and started off once again, looking for an opening that he could squeeze through.
--
Coco hadn't run into Crash on the way to the house, and he most defiantly was not there. She stood in the living room with a puzzled look on her face.
"Where could he be?" She asked the empty house, not expecting an answer.
With a shrug, Coco knelt down and rummaged within the basket she filled to the brim with gizmos and gadgets. She hated to throw anything away, knowing that everything could come in handy for her inventions. Digging deep into the materials Crash so often referred to as junk, Coco finally wrapped her hand around what she was looking for. With an enthused grin, Coco attached the power source to her computer and rebooted it. The screen blinked back on, and once again Coco was back to full power. She smacked her hands together.
"Yes." She laughed in self-satisfaction.
She exited the house and prepared to find a nice spot to continue her recalibrations, but suddenly she stopped. Although it was not unusual for Crash to disappear all day, loafing, eating and sleeping, Coco could not banish the feeling that something was wrong. She set her laptop down and gathered her breath, preparing to bellow for Aku Aku.
"Coco?"
Coco yelped and jumped back, eyes wide with surprise. When she calmed herself, instantly embarrassed, she whirled on Aku.
"Do you mind? You could give me a heart attack sneaking around like that."
Aku dipped, causing the feathers adorning his head to wave in the wind. "Apologies Coco. I just came to inquire if anything was troubling you. You look distressed."
"I'm not distressed." Coco moaned in a childlike tone. "I was just wondering where Crash went. I haven't seen him for awhile and I was wondering if you have seen him."
Aku didn't seem to catch on to Coco's obvious emphasizing, and seemed to ponder for a moment.
"Yes, I have seen him. He seemed to be on quite the trek to gather something for you."
Coco scratched one ear, and felt quite uncomfortable as she lowered her voice.
"He's probably just napping or something just as lazy and stupid. But…can you make sure he didn't fall into a pit or anything?"
Coco had a difficult time getting it out, and when Aku smiled at her she turned away roughly. He could tell that despite how much Coco pretended to despise her brother, she truly cared about him. Although Coco knew that deep down, she still didn't want to broadcast it.
"Of course Coco. I was meaning to locate him soon anyway. He'll be glad to know you are concerned about his well being."
Aku glided away just as Coco's jaw dropped.
"Aku! Don't you dare!"
--
It was surprisingly easy to find a way out of the cavern, and the swiftness of his exit was most welcome. He was so frozen he could see frost collecting on his orange fur. He felt his teeth chatter unmercifully, and he realized he needed to get out of this freezer as quickly as possible. Crash crawled out of a crack in the cave, and found himself with a face full of snow once again.
"I have never seen snow before this dandy little trip, and I'm already…sick…of the damn stuff." Crash groaned as he pulled himself out of the cave and into the open air. Crash lay there on his back, staring at the sky.
"I'm COLD!" Crash yelled, quite irritated at the moment.
Crash could hear a distant rumbling, and as he gazed upward, all he could do was stare with a blank look. He could see a small cannel chopping through a massive collection of snow, and cracking had not yet subsided. Crash placed a hand behind his head and crossed one leg over the other.
"Okay, sure. You want to go there with me. Fine. I'm not going anywhere."
Some pieces of ice rained down on Crash like little white splinters. Crash continued to lie there, using the crystal as a pillow as he waited.
A crazy grin spread across his face. "It's just you and me now."
The ice began to rain down even more, and Crash's stubbornness remained intact. Abruptly, Crash heard another noise other than the popping and cracking of breaking snow. Crash rolled over and his eyebrows furrowed as though he was looking at something very strange. Conceivable, since he was doing exactly that. The air a little ways away was spinning around unnaturally, and an instant later a weird looking contraption appeared. As it hovered there, Crash stared at it, quite confused. To him, it looked like some kind of portal, and that was good enough for him. Scrambling to his feet, Crash tossed all sense of bravery to the wind and sprinted to the floating machine. Holding the crystal tightly under one arm, Crash had a hard time dodging the falling ice that had grown quite a bit bigger. The ground, too, begin to quake, but Crash continued his sprint without too much falter, which was surprising. Crash didn't risk looking behind him, and with a massive leap, landed in the path of the scientific thingy. As the world churned around him, Crash offered a salute to the cascading snow.
"Let it be known that not even a mountain of snow can stop Crash Bandicoot!" He called as he began to disappear.
"Details may be exaggerated." Crash added a little more quietly.
Crash wrapped both arms around the crystal and held it as tightly as possible. Then his entire form disintegrated, just as a river of grating ice and snow flooded the open cavern.