Chapter fifteen- Reunited

Coco had no trouble piloting the glider back to N. Sanity Island. She tried to fly the aircraft as smoothly as she could, since there were no seatbelts and she didn't want everyone sliding around in the cargo bay. She had intended to bring the glider right back to her laboratory, but after a moment of consideration she realized she needed to prep her landing site. So, instead, she found a nice open stretch of beach that she decided would act as a satisfactory runway. After warning everyone that they were coming in for a landing, and to hold on to whatever they could, she eased the nose downward. Her landing was pretty well perfect, despite a couple of lumps that were a result of wheels rolling on sand. They came to a stop, and at that moment Coco flopped back in her seat and caught her breath. Finally, she could relax. They were safe.

Crunch crawled out of the door, and helped the children down to the sand. Coco went to assist him. As she got into the cargo bay, she'd expected Crash to be gazing thoughtfully into the distance. After all, Isabella had stayed behind. It was only natural that he would worry about her. However, when she got to the back she felt herself sigh. Crash was stretched out on his back, fast asleep. A little kangaroo girl was on her knees beside him, looking quite concerned. She glanced up at Coco.

"He's not waking up, is something wrong with him?"

Coco smiled tiredly.

"Yes sweetie, there's something very wrong with him. But don't worry, I'll wake him up."

Coco marched over to Crash, and with a loud stomp beside his head Crash jolted up to a seated position. Coco assisted the child out of the plane as Crash attempted to wake up. He then offered an unimpressed glare at his sister.

"I am several hours behind on my regular sleep regimen, I'll have you know."

"At least wait until we get to the house, you jerk." Coco replied. "We just got back."

Crash yawned widely, and then shimmied toward the opening of the plane. Coco followed directly behind, dropping lightly to the sand. As soon as she felt the warmth of the sun on her face, she noticed something appear from the distance. She strained her eyes, and realized with a smile that it was Aku Aku, leading a group of children toward the beach. Tawna strode beside him, carrying one of the smallest in her arms. Coco caught sight of Maya immediately, and when she saw the group her eyes widened. Without hesitation, she tore off across the beach toward them. Jag and Camlin both rushed forward to meet her, and she threw her arms around them both. Coco could just discern Maya's words.

"I missed you guys so much." She said quietly, squeezing them in a tight embrace.

It was a touching scene, watching the children reunite with their friends. Another heartfelt moment occurred between Tawna and Crunch. When Tawna spotted Crunch in the distance, she placed the child she was holding upon the sand and dashed forward. When Crunch realized what she was doing, he bolted toward her.

"Careful!" He yelled, but she didn't stop.

She ran until she reached him, and then she jumped into his arms. Crunch embraced her tenderly, nuzzling her hair with his muzzle.

"We did it." He whispered to her.

Tawna grinned happily.

"I knew you could do it. I'm so glad you're alright."

Coco and Crash stood off to the side, watching the heartwarming scene unfold before them. Kieran was sitting on the ground, but he was looking much better than he did in the holding cell. However, his wound still needed to be tended. Despite Kieran's injury, everything seemed to have worked out very well, but Coco was irritated about having to leave her Firefly behind. However, there was no way around it. She would just have to go about making another one someday.

As the evening wore on, the group had yet to leave the beach. They had moved farther down the sandbar, and were now fully engaged in their celebration. The kids played on the beach, chasing the waves and building sand castles. Crunch and Tawna were sitting together in the sand, looking on in silence. Coco was seeing to Kieran's injured leg again, and Crash was sound asleep a few feet away from her. As Coco determined that Kieran's wound would heal with maybe a small scar, she felt a rush of relief. Kieran himself was feeling fine, and in very good spirits now that they had succeeded in their mission. Coco was about to start up a conversation, but before she got the chance, Aku Aku glided toward them.

"I am very glad you were able to reclaim the children." He said with a smile. "I am also relieved that you were able to foil Dr. Cortex's plans once again. The toxin has been destroyed, then?"

"Kaput for good, Aku." Coco assured.

Aku nodded his head happily.

"Very good. Now, we come to the issue of where the children are to live. I am pleased to inform you that I have discovered a suitable place. It is at a location fairly near your dwelling, perhaps a quarter-hour walk. It is tucked away in the trees, providing a safe and concealed living space."

"Is it large enough to shelter so many kids?" Coco asked.

"More than large enough. As I recall it was once a training arena for warriors, which provides a very good deal of space."

"Alright, so if we have the location, who's going to monitor them?" Crunch inquired.

"I will gladly accept that task, Crunch." Aku informed him. "I still regret that I had not come across them sooner. I will ensure they are cared for."

"And we'll come by often." Coco said, nudging Kieran. "Right?"

"Definitely." Kieran said with a smile.

Aku Aku seemed quite satisfied, and offered a warm expression of appreciation to them all.

"Then the matter is settled. This is happy news indeed."

"And, as usual, all the important decisions are being made while Crash sleeps right through them." Coco stated dryly, sparing a tired look at her inert brother.

Upon hearing his name, Crash sat up to attention.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Nothing Crash, go back to sleep." Coco sighed.

"Sounds like a good idea, but maybe later." Crash said as he stretched and stood. "I've got to eat something before I waste away."

"Crash's desire for sleep is only surpassed by his need to eat." Crunch said with a shake of his head. "It's comforting to know that the universe is in balance."

"And just for that, I'm not bringing you back anything." Crash said with a snort.

As Crash walked away, Coco had a feeling something was bothering him. It was usually easy to tell. When he was deep in thought, he'd walk with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. He tended to kick things too, not to be confused with dragging his feet, which he did when he was sleepy. Coco waited for a few minutes, then got up and followed after him.

Crash wasn't sure where he was going. He told the others he was getting something to eat, but he'd picked up a wamba fruit and devoured it within three minutes. However, he was still walking. When he finally lifted his head to see how far he'd gone, he was surprised to notice that he was back to their landing site. The glider was still there, sitting peacefully on the sandbar just out of reach of the tide. Crash's thoughts drifted toward Isabella, not entirely with his consent. However, before he could even discern the meaning behind her appearance in his mind, he was interrupted.

"What's up Crash?" Coco asked as she wandered up next to him.

Crash clicked his tongue hesitantly. He wasn't really in the mood to have a chat, so he offered a shrug.

"Nothing. Post-battle restlessness, I guess."

Coco pressed her hands on her hips.

"You're not worrying at all about Isabella?"

Crash was silent for a moment, and then answered with a flippant wave.

"She's a tough cookie, she'll be fine."

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean she's coming back."

Crash bit his lip.

"True, but there's not much I can do about that. I'd just like to see her and make sure she's okay."

To his surprise, Coco gave him a comforting pat on the back.

"She'll come back Crash, I'm sure of it. One day she'll be hankering for some absurdity, and then she'll come running. Don't sweat it."

Crash offered a half-hearted smile, and then turned his attention back to the rolling ocean. As he stood there, gazing over the waves, something very interesting caught his attention. He furrowed his brow.

"Hey, Coco. Your little hovercraft doesn't have homing capabilities, does it?"

"The Firefly?" Coco sighed dejectedly. "No, it doesn't. Why do you ask?"

Crash pointed toward the horizon. Coco followed to the place he was gesturing and gasped. Approaching from the distance, Coco's little aerial pod cruised through the air on direct route to the beachhead of N. Sanity Island. Coco shook her head in shock.

"It can't be."

"Sure it can." Crash said as he started forward. "Remember, anything can happen if you keep an open mind."

The Firefly approached the beach, and came to rest near the landed glider. Crash and Coco waited as the engine stopped, and a familiar figure hopped out of the cockpit. Isabella marched toward them, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

"Handles well, your gadget." She said to Coco. "I hope you don't mind me borrowing it."

"Not at all." Coco said with a wide grin. "I'm just so glad you got it back here. I thought for sure Cortex would blast it to smithereens when he found it."

"That sounds probable. Fortunately I was able to get to it after I pounded that loudmouth feline into next week. It was actually the perfect getaway vehicle. I had a small army on my tail, but I was able to deceive them by letting them believe they were leading me to a dead end. While they messed about trying to fortify themselves, I jumped into this cute ride and made my escape."

"All that extra work for the sake of one butt-kicking." Crash shook his head in disbelief.

Isabella's eyes flashed deviously.

"It was a good butt-kicking."

Before Crash could speak again, they were interrupted. Crash turned in response to a familiar voice.

"There you guys are, I was wondering…"

Tawna paused, and stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell upon Isabella. Isabella in turn, glared at Tawna with a strange kind of confusion. Isabella placed her hands on her hips as she gave Tawna her once-over.

"What the hell is this?"

"I can't believe it. This is amazing." Tawna said breathlessly, stepping forward.

Isabella stepped back in response, her good humor gone and a wall of wariness surrounding her. Crash decided it would be best to ease the tension.

"Tawna, this is Isabella. Isabella…uh, well, this is Tawna."

Crash noticed the similarity long ago between Isabella and Tawna, but it was the first time they had both come across one another. Obviously it was a surprise for both of them. However, where Tawna appeared delighted, Isabella only looked at her with loathing. Tawna clasped her hands together and bounced.

"I know who you must be. It's so clear."

Without an instant of warning, Tawna rushed forward and gripped Isabella's hands in hers. Her eyes were shining.

"We must be twins. You must be my sister."

Isabella glared at her, and then pulled away. Although her gesture was not rough or unkind, her demeanor was utterly devoid of emotion.

"I don't have a sister."

Tawna's smile slowly disappeared from her face, and she dropped her chin in obvious embarrassment. Crash felt a flare of anger at witnessing this. How could Isabella be so severe? After all, they were pretty much identical. It was very possible that they were twin sisters. Crash turned to Tawna.

"Hey, Tawna, it's starting to get dark. Maybe you and Coco should start gathering up the kiddies. We'll head back to the house together."

Tawna nodded, but before she left she turned back to Isabella.

"It was nice to have met you."

Isabella didn't reply. Coco exchanged a look with Crash, and then gripped Tawna's arm as the two of them strode back to the group. Alone, Crash turned to Isabella with a neutral expression.

"Kind of rough on her, weren't you?"

"I was just relaying the facts before she got too ahead of herself. She would have hugged me next."

"Yeah, and we all know the dangers of a hug."

Isabella scowled.

"Are you giving me some attitude, Bandicoot?"

"Of course I am, that can't be surprising to you."

"She's not my sister." Isabella said in a menacing voice.

Crash shrugged.

"Hey, it's none of my business. But, there is definitely some kind of physical resemblance between you two. Like it or not, people are likely to come to a similar conclusion. However, I suppose you would know best."

At this moment, Isabella hesitated. She turned her head to the side, and stared down at the sand. When she spoke, her voice was low.

"I don't remember where I came from. I have no concrete memories of my past or how I came to be here. However, there is something I do know." Isabella lifted her eyes, and her blue irises burned into Crash with the intensity of her anger. "I've never had a family."

Crash felt a pang of sympathy for her, for perhaps the first time since he met her. Although Crash had been unnaturally created, he had always had someone who cared about him. First, it was Tawna. Then he met Coco, the only remnant of a family he may have had before he was evolved. There was Aku Aku and Crunch, and now Coco's friend Kieran. Perhaps they were not a conventional family in the sense of the word, but they did care about one another. He didn't know how he could face being on his own. Because of this, Crash shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.

"You know, you could come and stay with us."

Isabella stared at him, and for a moment Crash was uncertain if she heard him. However, he realized that she had indeed heard, because she gave him a hard look.

"I'm not telling you this because I want an invitation to join your little circle of friends."

"I know that." Crash replied. "I just thought you might like to try something different. Being around others can be more enjoyable then being on your own."

Isabella's anger remained steady as her eyes grew dangerous.

"I don't need any charity from you, Bandicoot. I especially don't need your pity."

Isabella turned, and began to walk away. Crash felt his pulse jump as he called out after her.

"Isabella, wait."

She stopped, but she didn't turn to face him. Crash fumbled for a moment, unsure what to say. He was terrible at these kinds of things. All he knew was he didn't want her to leave. He tried his final tactic.

"I'm not trying to patronize you. I just…" Crash took a deep breath, and thrust himself out onto the limb. "I'd like you to stay."

After a moment of silence, Isabella finally faced him. Her expression was unreadable as ever, and Crash waited for her reply. She took a deep breath, and smiled very softly.

"Goodbye, Bandicoot."

Isabella walked away. Crash didn't call out to her again. He watched her walk until she had completely disappeared from his sight. He stood there for a minute or two, and then sunk down to the ground. He sat in the sand, swirling circles and zigzags through the grains. He sat there until he head Coco call from afar.

"Hey Crash! We could use a hand over here!"

Crash sighed, lifting his eyes a final time to the spot where Isabella had gone. He exhaled a low and regretful breath, and then he jumped to his feet and brushed off his pants. He started back toward the group, a small bounce in his step.

"I'm coming Coco, hold your horses."

The spot Aku chose for the children to live was absolutely perfect. It was expansive, gorgeous, and almost completely surrounded by jungle foliage. There would be no way Cortex could try another one of his hair-brained attempts against them again. Despite the old age of the stone building surrounding the former training field, Coco was confident that after a little fixing up it would be a lovely place to call home. When Maya saw the place for the first time, Coco was almost reduced to tears by the gravity of the small girl's excitement. Her zeal was understandable, considering she and the other children never had a safe place to live. Now, they were free to play to their hearts content without worrying about food, shelter or predators.

Coco watched Maya and Camlin play leapfrog with many of their friends. Despite the fact that both of them were older than the others, they were always doing what they could to entertain the little ones. Jag was playing along too, as carefree as Coco had ever seen him. It was a wonderful sight, and Coco guessed she could have watched them have fun for the rest of the day. However, soon Aku floated up and claimed the attention of her and her brother.

"I've been considering the details, and I have come to the realization that the chemical compounds that were responsible for the evolution of creatures on these islands play a very important role in intelligence. The age of each child is a dependant factor, and because animal DNA has been fused with human DNA the age is congruent to human age."

"Huh?" Crash blurted in confusion. "Human age? We weren't evolved from humans."

"Yes, but we do have human DNA in our genotype now." Coco explained. "That's what gives us the ability to talk and walk upright. It's only natural our age matches the lifespan of a human."

"With some differences." Aku interjected. "The children seem to develop faster than that of a human child, which leads me to believe education is vital. I would like to treat this place like a boarding school of sorts, where the children within it will be taught the basic skills, such as to read and write."

"But I didn't have to learn to read." Crash said, still confused. "Somehow I just knew. Pretty much as soon as I was evolved. What's up with that?"

"You were evolved at a human age of seventeen when you first went through the vortex, Crash. Therefore, you gained a seventeen-year intellect."

"And your reading skills aren't much to brag about anyway." Coco said with a sneer.

Crash regarded her with an affronted look.

"How thy words sting, unkind sister. And, while we're on the subject of this intellect thing, how is it that Coco got all her smarts?"

This seemed to stump Aku. He didn't have an explanation that could be supported with evidence.

"Coco was born with a brilliant mind. It happens to humans as well."

"Interesting." Crash seemed to be getting the gist of it. "So you think this place should be a school? So who will be in charge of all the teaching?"

"I will be." Aku assured. "I will offer them the lessons they will require to exist successfully in this life."

"That's a great idea, Aku." Coco said with a smile. "Let me know if I can help in any way. I would love to be involved in their education."

"And I would be grateful if you didn't let me know if I can help." Crash said with a stretch. "I'll be napping until next month, so my schedule is pretty booked."

Coco shook her head irritably. Crash never willfully took anything seriously. However, she supposed that was part of his charm. Coco, for her part, was very excited for what the future held for all of them. She sat back with a soft smile on her face, looking out over the field as the children frolicked to their hearts content.

Isabella walked quickly through the underbrush. She hadn't stopped moving for a few hours now, and she was beginning to grow fatigued. She was tired and hungry, but still she kept a brisk pace. As she walked, her mind was awhirl with questions that had yet to be answered. She had never understood why she did not possess a memory of any kind, but she was well aware that she did have a past. Somehow, Tina knew her and despised her for reasons Isabella could not begin to guess. Then there was Cortex himself, who seemed to recognize her as though he knew her from some distant time. The last thing that Isabella could not stop thinking about was the woman she met on the beach. It was as though she was looking into a living mirror of herself. There had to be some kind of connection, but Isabella could not come up with anything for the life of her.

Finally, she slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree. She pressed a fist to her head and applied pressure, anger increasing at a rapid rate.

"Remember something!" She hissed at herself. "Anything. I don't care what it is, just give me some kind of memory."

She waited, but no memories resurfaced. Not about anything relevant, anyway. In response to her frustration, her mind produced memories that which occurred in the recent years. She remembered the Oxide Race, when she was thrust among dozens of her own kind. She recalled the first time she met Crash Bandicoot, after she'd cut him off and won the preliminary run. She also remembered dashing through the jungle to rescue that same witless bandicoot from being blown to smithereens from a mine planted on the track. The final memory that came to her mind was when she left Crash the first time, leaving him standing and watching her depart just as she did this time. She was astonished and angered by her reaction. She felt almost…regretful. Something inside her wanted to stay, but her pride had succeeded in decimating that foolish bit of ridiculousness. How she had managed to associate herself with that twit for so long was beyond her.

Still, she had never laughed before she met Crash Bandicoot. She had never taken any joy out of life whatsoever, and that idiot was bursting to the brim with cheeriness. She found it extremely refreshing, which did not seem natural for her. Despite her desire to cast her pride to the wind, she knew she would never be able to live with those disillusioned bandicoots. The reason was unclear to her, but it was unbreakably strong. She was meant to be alone, and she would remain alone.

As Isabella stood, a sudden jolt of pain ripped through her stomach. With a garbled outcry of pain, she gripped her torso and immediately sunk to the ground. She remained there for a few breathless moments, unable to get a grip on the agony that consumed her. She forced herself to breathe deeply, and tried with every ounce of her being to banish the pain. After a few unbearable moments, the pain finally began to subside. Isabella's body shuddered as it recovered from the onslaught.

With a fresh determination, she got to her feet and climbed the tree beside her. She reached from branch to branch, hoisting herself high. She found a thick bough that possessed a view of the ocean and she settled down upon it. There she remained, staring out into the sea. The colours of the sky caused the water's surface to glow in the fading sunlight. Isabella did not allow herself to focus on the severity of her condition, nor the fact that she had no idea how she was going to find a cure. She lost herself in the colours of the ocean, trying diligently to keep herself from searching for comfort in Crash Bandicoot's smiling face.

A/N:

Almost finished! Please don't tune out just yet, I still have one final chapter to post. I am sure many of you have been wondering about Tawna's baby, and it's all in the final chapter of NR2- Extermination! Another cheer of thanks from me to you, I always look forward to hearing your feedback on a story that has taken quite a while to complete. I also want to thank you for your patience. You really deserve a round of applause for getting through fifeen chapters and 56,494 words (yikes!) And staying interested in a story when the author takes a unforgivable amount of time posting updates is commendable.

Thanks so much!

~Bandi-cute~