Chapter Nine- Race to the Finish Line

Coco didn't want to draw any attention to herself, even if people didn't think that a half-evolved bandicoot girl was strange, so she stepped behind the bleachers to find a good view. The race had started, and Crash was out of sight, so all Coco needed to do was get high enough to see one of the many monitors, and she'd see how her brother was doing. She heard the crowd gasp as Crash spun out of control, but this instance didn't worry Coco. He was pretty used to spinning already, but what she was concerned about was the gaps in the road. She had taken a look over the course, and as the track consisted mostly of one windy bridge that twisted and turned through the buildings, Coco felt nervous. Was her brother up to this? She felt her heart beat flutter as she continued to ascend the back way, looking for a good place to watch. Then her ears twitched as she picked up hushed voices.

"Well, which turn is it?"

"Turn four, right where the suspension is the weakest."

"Are you positive? I'd get in serious crap if the boss figured that I lost the race for him."

"No shit idiot. We've gotta wait until he clears it and then we blow it sky high. The others won't stand a chance."

Coco felt her pulse escalate as she abandoned her current mission and set out to find where the voices were coming from. Since she was blessed with sensitive animal ears, it was quite easy to distinguish quiet noises, but her stalking ability was not inherited from her predecessors, so she had to rely on her own instincts to find the saboteurs.

She slipped through the supporting iron poles of the bleachers, and quietly came up to a door slightly ajar. When she peeked inside, she saw two suspicious looking guys standing around a computer screen. She furrowed her brow. If they thought they were gonna blow this track sky high, they had another thing coming. Coco looked around for anything that could be of use to her, and smiled when she conceived the perfect plan. She rushed over to a stack of oil barrels, and was very relieved to discover that they were empty. She didn't need the contents, only needed the noise. She threw her shoulder into the stack, and almost immediately the barrels swayed and then tumbled to the ground. Coco jumped out of the way, pressing herself flat against the wall beside the door. Just as expected, she heard both the men rush to outside.

"What the hell was that?"

Coco had been afraid that only one guy was going to check out the commotion while the other stayed inside, but she shouldn't have worried. These losers were quite inept. Just as they ran out the door to catch their spy, Coco slipped through the crack in the door. When she was inside, she slammed the door and locked it. Then she shook her head in irritation.

"Idiots."

Quickly, Coco leapt into the seat in front of the monitor, and it took her a grand total of ten seconds to get a lay of the technology. Soon her hands were a blur over the keys and dials, figuring out what the jerks had done to fix the race. It was difficult for her to navigate through such a mess of readings, but she finally found what she was looking for. It was a mine, set to go off just as the racers cornered turn four. Coco took her bottom lip between her teeth as she typed furiously. She could disarm this thing, but since the drivers were already speeding around turn four, she had next to no time to do it. Sweat collected on the back of her neck, and the nervous thrumming in her ears muffled the pounding on the door behind her. She caught a glimpse of Crash weaving through the competition, looking quite confident on a machine that he had never ridden before today. He was catching up to Blade-of-Execution, but when the bomb exploded he would be right on the focal point. She needed to stop it NOW! All she could see were red lights everywhere, blinking faster and faster as the mine prepared to blow. Coco felt her entire body tense as she whacked away at the keyboard.

"Come on…come on…." She whispered under her breath.

She swallowed hard as she clicked the last button, and her last ditch effort to keeping the track intact. To her immediate relief, all the lights surrounding her blinked from red to green. She let out a long strangled breath and slumped into the chair, utterly exhausted.

How many times do I have to save you, stupid brother?

--

Crash sped through the competitors easily, his sights set on Blade and never deterring. He leaned into the wind, feeling the leathery fabric of his jacket flutter in the passing air. He accelerated, coming up right behind his adversary. What he didn't notice were the two racers beside him, wearing an identical emblem that suggested they were part of Blade's bike gang. Crash only realized who they were and what they intended when they started to pull up beside him. Crash felt a giggle escape his lips but it was lost over the noise.

So, you gonna squeeze me out eh? We'll see about that.

Crash timed it perfectly, waiting for the two racers to come close enough, and then he reacted. He hit the brakes, reveling in the fantastic squeal and cloud of dust his wheels created on the hard road. He stepped on the gas a moment later, and zipped by the two who had unfortunately collided with one another and knocked themselves out of the race. Crash felt quite proud of himself. It was when Crash started hearing a ticking sound that his smile disappeared. He felt shivers creep up his spine as he sensed something wasn't right up ahead. The ticking seemed so loud in his ears despite the roaring of the engines, and he flinched at each one. He gathered a burst of speed, flying directly over the mysterious noise. Just as he was at the pinnacle he heard a dead thrum, like someone dropping a heavy machine to the ground. Suddenly, the threat was over, and the ticking was gone. Crash let out a breath of relief, and noticed that Blade had turned in his straddle and seemed surprised that nothing had happened. He must have set up a booby trap or something.

"Not gonna work this time jerk-face!" Crash called out, voice drowned out in the wailing of the wheeled vehicles.

Crash kept up an easy pace, not really catching up to Blade but not falling behind. He just needed to find a way through, and then he'd be laughing. The announcer had bellowed that they had already passed the half-way point, and this information filled Crash with a mix of liberation and urgency. This whole escapade would be for nothing if he didn't win this thing. Crash zipped by one more driver, and now he was in forth place, just where he started before Blade's underhanded trick. He needed to gain ground, but how would he do that? Just then Blade figured he'd had enough of second place, and slammed his bike into the back of the leader. The driver's bike, out of control now, slid to its side and started skidding. It collided with the racer in third place, and the mess of bikes started reaching out hungrily for Crash. With a small "yipe!", Crash slid out of the destructive path, causing his front wheel to pull up onto the rock barricade. Crash continued speeding along at that angle, trying not to think about the hundreds of feet of air below him. The sooner he got off this bridge, the happier he'd be. When the way was clear, Crash used the momentum of his body to throw his bike back on track, now he was in second place.

"WOW! WHAT A COLLISION! WE HAVE FOUR DRIVERS CAUGHT UP IN THE MESS, AND THE wreckage is blocking the way for other drivers. Some are trying to make it around but it'll use up valuable time. For now, the only drivers left in this race are BLADE-OF-EXECUTION, FOLLOWED BY LAZY-COOT!"

Blade's head whipped around again in what looked to be rapid shock. Crash offered a quick salute.

Yeah bastard, I'm still here.

Blade again focused on the road ahead, and Crash leaned into his acceleration. He was going to catch this guy, he knew it. As if Crash's positive attitude was a power boost, he felt his bike gather speed. He was catching up to the leader, and quickly. He wasn't sure at this point what would happen if he pulled up beside him, but he didn't think about that now. Suddenly, another warning scratched at Crash's senses, and he was instantly alert. What was it? There was no ticking this time, but he could feel something powering up just beneath the road. Crash gulped, and realized what it was an instant before it happened. At the will of a manual command, the road beneath Crash exploded, and he and his bike flew through the air. Crash could feel the explosion burn his arms and scorch the jeans covering his legs. He felt his hands leave the handles of his motorcycle as he started propelling in the opposite direction. Instantly, Crash gritted his teeth and twirled through the air, latching his grip back onto the bike and pulling himself into his seat. He leaned into the blast, and as he descended he guided his front wheel into a steady position.

He soured through the ash and the smoke, ignoring the frantic shouts that came at him from every direction. He felt an odd sort of exhilarated smile come to him, and as he saw himself cruise over Blade's head, that smile intensified. The impact was jarring, but as Crash gained control he easily pulled in front of Blade, leaving the jerk behind. He added speed to his final run, seeing the finish line ahead. The announcer was screeching in excitement, but Crash couldn't distinguish what he was saying. He could also hear the roar of the crowd, and hoped that he'd be able to catch a glimpse of his sister when he neared the audience. He wore the grin until he saw the checkered flag, and flashed over the finish line.

--

Coco had shifted emotions from worry to dread to relief to joyous excitement so fast, she found herself needing to lean on something before she could run down the steps. A booming voice filled the air, accented with loud music and confetti that rained down from the sky. Coco had been filled with instant fear when that explosion shook the track, and was terrified that the blast had sent Crash right over the edge of the bridge. It could have easily happened. Coco also knew who was responsible for her panic. Before she struggled through the crowd to get to her brother, she started in a mad march toward the second prizewinner. He had his helmet off, scowling and snarling about the race being fixed and what not. Coco came up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned around, Coco offered a tight smile as she gave him an uppercut to the jaw. It was pretty easy to get a good shot, considering she stood a good two feet shorter than him. She didn't offer any explanation, but turned on her heel as the moron staggered back in surprise. Now she pushed her way through the crowd to get to the podium, where Crash stood quite casually. His helmet was still on to cover most of his face, but he retracted the visor so that he could see the throng plainly with his own eyes.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! WHAT A RACE! OUR NEW WINNER FOR THE JORDON CITY RACE IS LAZY-COOT!"

Crash flinched at the name, and Coco could feel him scanning the crowd for one person in particular. When he caught her gaze, his smile was still there but the look he gave her held mock irritation. Coco shrugged and smiled, and added her contribution to the consistently loud applause.

"LAZY-COOT receives first prize! The platinum Talisman! Congratulations!"

Coco watched eagerly as the platinum relic was brought on a satin pillow, and Crash reached out to grasp his prize. When he had it in his grasp, he waved it above his head to get the crowd in another flurry of approval. Soon, the crowd quieted down enough for Crash to speak.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen, for the opportunity to dart about a demolished city on a motorcycle, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I don't really have time to gush about my win or chitchat with other competitors who showed so much enthusiastic support." Crash's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and Coco shook her head. She knew where this was going. "Time is of the essence I'm afraid, so thanks and so long."

At this time Crash tore off his helmet and tossed to the side, grinning sneakily when the crowd gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm a bandicoot. No big deal."

Crash then leapt off the podium onto the seat of his motorcycle and was driving toward Coco a second later. Coco, although she vowed never to do so again, accepted Crash's hand as he swung her onto the vehicle, and the two of them sped down the road, much to the stunned audience's astonishment.

Crash and Coco pulled up to the spot Coco was concealing Pura. The tiger wandered out groggily, as if he'd been fast asleep and was rather perturbed at the awakening. Coco leapt off the motorcycle and scratched Pura's ears. Crash swung his leg over the bike, leaning against it as he studied the platinum relic.

"Well that was stimulating."

Coco shot him an exasperated expression. "I'm just glad it's over, my heart was pounding the entire time."

Crash wasn't able to conceal a sly smile. "Aww, thanks Sis. That's sweet of you to worry."

Coco hesitated, and then glowered at her brother. "Don't be an idiot. I was just worried we wouldn't get the relic is all. Sheesh."

There was a brief silence as the two bandicoot children readied themselves for the trip back, now that they had gathered all the relics. Finally, Crash couldn't resist.

"So you hit him, huh?"

Coco stiffened. "Well, um, uh…"

Crash laughed and clasped Coco on the back. "That was some good punch."

Coco wasn't prepared for the whack on her back, and coughed a little after the contact. When she rose up with the sapphire relic in hand she elbowed her brother in the side.

"Don't mention it."

Coco dropped her hand around Pura's neck and with her other hand she grasped Crash's arm. It was time to go. Crash looked at his abandoned bike dejectedly.

"You know, I could probably auction it off and get a good payoff."

"Considering you just swiped it anyway, I don't think that would be very honest."

"Just a thought…"

Coco inhaled deeply and then spoke out the words that would take them out of here. The world warped around the two bandicoots and tiger, and soon enough they were gone.