Chapter Five – The Pits

Coco squealed in delight when she finally cracked the code. It was a difficult one, but Coco was quite an experienced hacker already, so the job was only a little tricky. Now Coco was in Cortex's mainframe, and she would be able to access anything from that point. That is, until Cortex or one of his computer scientists discovered her intrusion and shut everything down. Coco would just have to move quickly. From what Coco could see already, Cortex was planning something huge. She decided she would figure out what that was. First, before she did anything else, she would need to contact her brother and offer him some obvious advice. Do not trust Cortex.

--

Crash tumbled through the portal and slammed hard on a knee to slow his tumble. After he dashed through the imploding halls for a few tiring minutes, he made it to the outside in no time at all. He would have been in a whack of trouble if the whirligig hadn't been waiting for him right as he exited. Perhaps it was coincidental, but Crash wasn't about to question it. Coincidences were good. Now back in the warp room, Crash rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. No sooner had Crash began to walk to the next portal, when the room dimmed and the hologram blinked on once again. Crash's shoulders slumped.

"Oyi, you've gotta be kidding me."

Cortex's face was set in a grimace, and the expression didn't make his ugly face any prettier.

"Listen up Crash, we are not without enemies. I have evidence that my old colleague, Dr. Nitrous Brio, has been interfering in our plans."

Crash raked his hands through his damp hair. "No kidding? Would have liked to have that information a little while ago, but whatever." Crash was the king of sarcasm.

Cortex, again, either didn't hear Crash's statement or just didn't care. "You must realize that Brio is to blame for our misunderstanding in the past. He forced me to go along with his plan for world domination, and he's at it again. One thing is certain; if he gets the crystals the world will be in grave danger. Continue collecting the crystals Crash, and we will rescue the world from certain destruction."

The image faded away, and Crash had something fairly impolite ready on his lips. Yet he kept his mouth closed, and was about to evaluate where he had to go next when another hologram materialized. Crash expected to see Cortex again. The creep probably remembered some important errand he needed his newly and forcibly drafted minion to take care of. When Coco's face emerged Crash was all but speechless.

"What's going on here…?"

Coco's eyes darted back and forth, and finally settled on Crash.

"Crash! Thank goodness. Listen, I haven't much time…Cortex is planning something…pretty sure it's not good…" Crash furrowed his brow as he attempted to understand her. The static crackled her words so they were almost unintelligible. "…secret space station...I'm not sure, but…"

Abruptly, Coco's face was gone. Crash crossed his arms in concentration. Well, if Coco knew he was gone, then there was no doubt that Aku had been informed as well. Crash really couldn't see any other alternative than to keep trucking forward. Yet now this business with Brio was starting to get Crash a little nervous. After all, the little guy probably had a really powerful vendetta against his former cohort. Now that Crash was caught in the middle of this, he was most definitely the most likely to turn into a casualty. That idea didn't lift Crash's spirits. He gave a slight shrug, and yawned. He sure was getting tired of all this crazy running around. The third and final portal awaited, and Crash couldn't find any reason not to step into the whirling vortex.

Okay dokey. Let's get it over with.

--

Brio slumped down in his lab chair, knowing now that Komodo Joe and his brother were not going to report. He could see by his visual feed he had wired into the temple that the entire structure had imploded, and even if the Komodo brothers had survived, they wouldn't have operational communication. Brio couldn't afford searching for them, even if he planned to do so. Obviously, Crash Bandicoot had made the decision to remain in league with Cortex, and that made him just as much of an enemy. Truthfully, Brio was quite disappointed about that. The bandicoot could have been a competent ally, and although he wasn't very smart, he seemed to be unbelievably lucky. Brio leaned in on his machinery, and activated his communicator. He inhaled deeply, attempting to calm his racing heartbeat. He really didn't want to take drastic measures like this, but he didn't have a choice.

"Release Tiny Tiger. Instruct him to locate and destroy Crash Bandicoot."

--

The ride seemed to be getting more tolerable, and for that, Crash was glad. Yet it still wasn't enjoyable by any stretch. This time, Crash materialized into what looked to be a jungle. At seeing the fanning leaves and high trees, his first reaction was to jump for joy. I'm home! Yet, after further contemplation Crash was quite definite that this was not the pleasant little island he had come to love. It wasn't an island at all, by the looks of it, but Crash could have no way of knowing as of yet. Crash decided he stood in dumb inertness long enough, and began what he hoped wouldn't be a long trek.

If I have to climb through another cave again, I'm not going to be very happy.

Before Crash went any farther, there was something he needed to sort out. He pushed through the underbrush until he found a collection of water. Using the surface of the water as a mirror, Crash caught a glimpse of himself. He was already aware that he was a handsome devil, but that was not the reason that he gasped. His eyes, normally a bright kelly green, were glowing in a shimmering shade of magenta. It wasn't just his irises either; even the whites of his eyes were mingled within the sparkling hue, a shade softer than the dark pink of his pupils. Crash shook off his momentary loss of direction, figuring that glowing pink eyes were just all part of the package. The colour of his eyes was the least of his present problems.

Alright, I just got to finish this stupid goose-chase and I'll be rid of this creepy pink glow. Well, better get a move on.

As Crash walked, he noticed the sky was pretty overcast, which probably meant rain. If Crash hadn't been so freaking tired, he probably would've enjoyed a little sprinkle to wash the stink off him. Unfortunately, Crash wasn't likely to get a sprinkle. If it was a monsoon or nothing, Crash could safely say he preferred the latter. Crash picked up his pace, impatient to find the crystal and be done with the whole thing. Once he handed these crystals over, he would be free to go back home, and that was all he wanted. Trusting Cortex was not a good idea, granted, but Crash really had no other apparent way out. Crash wrinkled his nose when he spied a fork in the road. One path looked relatively pleasant, and the other, not so much. Thick and tangled jungle walls surrounded the not-so-great path, and the ground didn't look very stable, in more ways than one. Although Crash knew which path he wanted to take, something nagging at his head told him to choose the treacherous path. Was something in him sensing where the other crystal was? The feeling didn't go away, so Crash angled himself toward the dangerous trail. He grinned ruefully.

"Of course." Crash spoke sarcastically as he tromped through the thickening dirt and mud. "The crystal couldn't be nicely settled in a berry bush ready to be picked up and carried away, oh no. It has to be buried deep in some godforsaken hole in a tangled jungle where I can get eaten around every corner."

Crash felt an inescapable chill rake up his back, and he shivered. Despite the fact that it was daylight, the deeper Crash buried himself in the jungle, the darker it became. Suddenly, the claw-like leaves obscured the sky completely, creating a fake night. Crash reached ahead of him, knowing very well that it was just a matter of time before he walked off, fell off, ran into or was eaten by something. As Crash was debating which would come first, he felt his foot sink slightly and suction lock his shoe in place.

Oh dear, did I forget stepping into? How'd I miss that? Crash groaned as he pulled at his foot. The venture succeeded only in sucking his foot farther into the muck. It seemed pretty obvious that this stuff he was stuck in was quick sand. Or mud in this case. Crash took as big a step as he could with his free foot, and once he secured his balance he began to yank. He didn't stop pulling at his trapped foot until he realized that this particular process was not working very well. Now both his feet were cemented in the ground, and the rest of him was following with dangerous velocity. The mud passed over Crash's knees, and then reached up to his waist. All the while, Crash flailed his arms around in an effort to grab onto something. Anything he grabbed wasn't strong enough to hold him, and he was too short to reach any of the branches above him.

"Curse my below-average height." Crash growled under his breath as another giant leaf snapped into his grip.

As usual, it took a while for Crash's brain to really kick into gear. As he cursed the leaves that weren't anchored strongly enough, he didn't realize these inefficient plants were really a blessing in disguise. He had created a green plant mat across the mud hole, and the comprehension just dawned on him.

"Wait a second…I got it!"

Unfortunately, the comprehension was one of a different sort. Crash brushed the thick leaves out of the way, preparing to be brilliant. He took a deep breath, and bided his energy. An instant later, Crash started spinning like a manic. He didn't stop to see if he was freeing himself, or screwing himself deeper into the muck, but he felt quite comfortable in his whirling tornado regardless. When Crash found empty air at his feet, he stopped twirling. Astonishingly, he had dug quite a neat trail through the mud, and although it was filling in quickly Crash had just enough time to leap out of the muck hole. Crash was feeling a little less than fantastic as he felt forty pounds heavier with the mud caked to his shoes and legs. It only took a simple tornado spin to fling off the largest of the chunks, but Crash was still annoyed at being covered in mud.

"Come on now, stop being a baby. You almost get swallowed up by the earth and all you have to show for it is a little dirt? That's pretty good I'd say."

Crash knew that he needed to get back home soon, or this talking to himself habit wouldn't reverse itself. Being a five-foot-tall anthropoid bandicoot was odd enough without the added abnormity of chatting to himself on a regular basis. As Crash continued down the dark jungle path, he found himself wondering what he was going to do when he got a hold of that last crystal. Would he turn it over to Cortex? Crash smiled subconsciously. If it were up to him he would withhold the crystals just to stick it to the bastard. Yet if Cortex really did turn over a new leaf, and if protecting the world really was his intention, Crash was unsure about what he needed to do. Despite all this shilly-shallying, Crash's mind was ultimately made up. He just had to get that last crystal.

Suddenly Crash felt his feet begin to slip. Crash's body followed directly after, and as he slid down a mudslide he grimaced. Don't let it get you down. You already know that nothing stays up underneath you anyway. Roll with the punches. The quick slip ended with Crash sitting in a pile of mud within a very deep pit. Crossing his arms, Crash sighed. He was not particularly upset, since he was completely covered in mud anyway, but he was trapped again. If Crash had been less optimistic, he may have just lay there in dejection. Yet Crash learned long ago that crap happened, on a regular basis, and the easiest way to get through it was to just get through it. Crash got to his feet and wandered over to the high pit wall.

"Now, the easiest way out of this hole would be just to climb. So here we go."

Crash stuck his fingers in the compressed sediment, and started his first attempt at scaling the wall. Unfortunately, although the mud was packed pretty tightly, Crash's attempt only rewarded him with handfuls of thick mud. The damn stuff was too slippery. Crash rested on one knee, chin on his fist as he pondered. If one of those multiple vines had accidentally slipped, he would be in business. Crash was still attempting to use his imaginary telekinetic ability to give him some assistance, when he heard an unwelcome noise. Crash's ears flattened against his head, and he slowly turned around to face the next challenge. From out of the muddy ground, creepy little heads appeared like zombies. Crash took a few steps backward, stopping as his shoulder blades thumped against the wall of the pit. They were little rodents; Crash could see that now. Well, maybe little wasn't the correct word to use. They were shorter than Crash, yes, but they could also devour him quite easily. Crash raised his hands in surrender as the rats crept closer, deranged looks on their pointed faces. They must be as hungry as I am. Crash placed his arms against the wall, becoming as flat as he possibly could.

"After all I've been through, if I meet my demise by being eaten by rodents I'll never live it down."

--

Coco wasn't sure if Crash got all of her message, since it was very difficult to connect to the hologram Cortex had created. Yet at least she knew that he was alright, at least for now. Now Coco needed to begin her next difficult challenge. Breaking into Cortex's main computer and taking a look at what he was planning. Since she was already admitted within the mainframe, it was only a matter of putting the pieces together. Coco scanned her screen, absorbing what information she could before moving on. Most of the junk Cortex had on his computer was completely outdated, and so Coco had a bit of trouble finding his most recent plans. That Cortex guy sure was diabolical. Finally, Coco accessed something that referred to power crystals. It looked as though this was his most recent project, so Coco remained in that section. Apparently, there were three power crystals that were scattered in places over the earth, and the master gem controlled these crystals. Going solely by the records, it looked as though Cortex already had a hold of this master crystal. Coco furrowed her brow, and continued to scan over the information. If Cortex already had this crystal, what would he need her brother for? Then Coco felt her gaze snap back to the reference of three crystals scattered across the earth. Well, it was obvious the lazy dork wasn't going to get his hands dirty by collecting these crystals himself, so Coco supposed that's what he needed Crash for. Coco clicked onto the next screen, thinking about this for a second.

Now why would Crash agree to get the crystals for Cortex? Well, I guess it's probably because he just wants to get back home. But he's got to know better than to help a guy who tried to take over the earth once already. Unless… Maybe Cortex told Crash he had a good reason for wanting the crystals. I don't think Crash would believe him, but then again, I've been wrong about Crash's reliability before.

Coco decided before she read too much into anything, she had to find out what Cortex really needed those crystals for.