All right Everybody. Here's the final boss battle between Crash and Cortex. As I said at the beginning of time, the ending has been changed to an extent so it will follow the next story. This chapter also is a little bloody so be prepared. So started blaring Cortex's theme and enjoy this chapter.
Also near the end of the chapter. I recommend listening to an escape theme. I'll give a clue later on.
Crash is not mine. OC's are mine
Chapter 16 The Calculating battle
Crash was thrown against the ground of the main control center, to see Cortex sitting in front of him and Uka Uka floating behind.
"All right Cortex you got me. So why did you want me alive?" Crash asked, calmly.
Cortex laughed maniacally; surprising both Crash and Uka Uka.
"Um... What's so funny?" Crash asked, the cold feeling hadn't subsided.
Cortex calmed himself down before grinning sheepishly. "I'm sorry; I find it ironic that I'm amused when I should be infuriated. You manage to outsmart my minions, collect all the crystals and gems and you even managed to sneak into my base."
"YOU WERE ONE WHO TOLD CRAIG TO LEAVE BEHIND HIS TRANSPORTER! YOU KNEW WE WERE COMING…! SO HOW DID YOU KNOW!?" Crash demanded.
"When I contacted you and your little sister, the two of you had completely blown it off. What you didn't realize was that I had been watching you this entire time. The two of you especially your sister, as smart as she is, never even realized it."
"Crap…" Crash gulped.
"I also have to commend your little sister for attempting to sneak towards the heart of the time twister. Unfortunately for her, I made sure N. Gin was waiting."
Crash could feel rage building inside of him. Cortex had played them for stupid, now him and sister were in even deeper trouble.
The bandicoot then noticed Coco being restrained in N. Gin's arms.
"Crash I'm sorry; I should of known!" She whimpered.
"
It's okay Coco; my plan was dumb to begin." Crash sighed.
Cortex grinned wickedly. "But thanks to you two, I now have the crystals and the gems."
Uka Uka laughed lowly. "Now the world will see horror and devastation at our hands!"
"No! Crash won't let you!" Coco cried, angrily.
Cortex turned towards Coco, his grin remaining.
"Dear, look at your brother. He doesn't have any weapons, he has that horrible burn on his side, and that annoying mask isn't with him. It would certainly look like the odds are not in his favor."
"That hasn't stopped Crash before." Coco protested.
"I don't think fate will be on his side this time. After all, let's remember that if you hadn't broke into my mainframe last time, he would've handed the crystals to me without even thinking about it."
Crash hung his head in shame.
"Crash can handle anything you throw at him."
"Really? The only reason he's gotten anywhere this entire time is because of you and that mask. Without you he's defenseless. Look at him, my dear; your only a liability to him. The only good you can offer him is your skills."
"Coco don't listen to him! That's not true!" Crash cried.
"Why don't you rejoin us; your skills will be much more appreciated with us than with your brother." Cortex purred.
Coco looked so uneasy; she just wanted Cortex to stop talking. She knew he was lying, she knew he wanted her to be his puppet.
"Yes child. Join us; it will be so much better for you if you join our side. Think of all the good you can do." Uka Uka joined in.
Crash felt his anger growing and growing. How could Cortex try to twist her mind?
"Coco he's only manipulating you, don't listen to either of them." He begged.
Coco squeezed her eyes tightly.
"You know I'll be better family to you." Cortex continued.
That was enough to send Crash into a rage, sending him charging towards Cortex.
Unfortunately, a dark aura surrounded him, sending the bandicoot back.
"Fool! Did you really think I'd let you attack me that easily?" Cortex laughed.
Crash shrugged.
"Did you honestly think that you could defeat me? I have been one step ahead of you this entire time. Now everything lies before you. And all I need is take the crystals and gems and then kill you. You won't be a thorn in my side for much longer."
"That's what you think Cortex." A voice cried.
"What was that?" Coco asked.
Suddenly Aku Aku flew in, glowing brightly.
"Sorry I had been gone long; I had to keep an eye on Uka Uka to make sure he hadn't fled off towards the mainland. Don't worry children, I didn't forget about you; I was watching you through my senses. I knew to come to you if I was needed. But I am proud of you two, you've grown so much stronger. But now I've come to increase the odds, brother." The floating mask explained, his voice full of wisdom.
Crash looked at the mask before turning back to Cortex; the bandicoot felt a confident grin forming.
"Well Cortex, it looks like the odds our back in my favor."
Cortex smiled slightly. "Well, let's see which mask is better then." Crash still felt cold; Cortex had to be up to something.
Aku Aku suddenly knocked N. Gin away before Coco and Pura began to become transparent.
"Aku… What are you doing!?" Coco asked.
"Don't worry, I'm sending you to safety, Crash and I will do the rest."
Coco grinned as she nodded. Suddenly she and the tiger cub were gone.
Cortex looked back to N. Gin with some sort of unreadable expression. N. Gin nodded before he left.
The scientist turned back to the heroes. glaring.
"Fine! You want a fight, then a fight is what you'll get!"
Cortex armed himself with his gun before he boarded his hovercraft, a blue force field surrounded him.
Uka Uka looked at his brother, charging his power. Aku Aku looked back, calmly.
"I know my brother will try to attack you too. I'll try and use magic my to counter him, but you might get caught in the attacks. I'll try not to hurt you."
"Don't worry, I trust you." Crash smiled.
The two looked at their enemies.
"You with me?" Crash continued smiling.
"Always." The mask smiled back.
4 pairs of eyes stared in the face of their enemies. 4 pairs of eyes wanted victory. Only two pairs of eyes would see the outcome.
The two masks sent two streams of light towards each other. Like Aku Aku warned, Crash did his best to stay away from them.
Cortex fired his gun towards the bandicoot, who carefully jumped out of the way. Cortex fired again and the bandicoot again jumped off of the wall. Cortex started throwing mines toward the bandicoot and Crash did his best to avoid them. Once they were gone, the blue shield disappeared. When Crash saw this, he wasted no time in charging Cortex to the ground.
Crash stood above him.
"You had enough yet?" He grinned.
Cortex only grinned madly. "I've only just begun."
The blue shield surrounded him again as he jumped back on his hovercraft.
Crash backed away and noticed Aku and Uka had broken apart briefly.
"Hang in there Crash, it'll be over soon." Aku called out.
Suddenly Uka Uka charged toward his brother and the two masks became a colorful tornado. Crash moved out of the way to avoid getting hit. Cortex again fired his gun and Crash moved out of the way to avoid it. Cortex again fired his gun and Crash moved away.
Cortex again threw mines down on the arena and Crash did everything to avoid them.
The shield dropped again, allowing Crash to knock Cortex to the ground.
"What's wrong Cortex? Not the results you wanted?" Crash laughed.
However, Cortex was still smiling.
"Enjoy your pride for now, it will come back to bite you very soon."
Although Crash remained grinning, warning bells were going in the back of his mind.
Cortex climbed back on his craft as the shield adorned him again.
Crash backed as he saw the masks apart again.
Suddenly the two circled him and Crash immediately darted away before he would have been engulfed in a powerful explosion. Where the explosion had occurred, a large opening formed by some pipes.
"Just below has to be where the heart of the machine. If I can throw Cortex down there and disorient him for as long as I need, I can send him back somewhere and shut down the machine just as planned. Then we can reseal Uka Uka and then Cortex will be gone for good."
The two mask continued to circle and he did everything to evade.
Cortex continued to fire his gun at him. The bandicoot just waited for the shield to go down. Finally the shield dropped and Crash grabbed Cortex by his leg to the floor.
Crash wasted no time dragging him towards the hole.
He was just ready to throw him down there, when he felt Cortex grab him by the hair. Before Crash could grasp what happened, they were falling down the hole.
Crash felt his body collide with the ground and a searing pain coursed through him.
He looked up to see Cortex standing above him. His shoulder had been dislocated but he easily managed to pop it back in place. Crash cringed at the horrid sound.
The scientist roared with laughter. "You little fool! Did you really think that would work?"
Crash glared. "It was worth a try... But I can still…" Crash tried to stand when an excrutiating pain shot up his left leg.
"My leg! I broke my leg! I don't think I can walk on it!" Crash started to cry, it hurt so much.
"What's the matter; you don't have a leg up?" Cortex was amused by his own joke.
The joke however brought Crash out of his self pity. The bandicoot with every amount of strength he had, pulled himself up.
"I don't need my leg to finish you! You monster!" Crash put up his dukes. "I'll fight you with my fists instead!"
Crash charged toward Cortex and punched him hard in the face. Cortex spat up blood, but looked calmly at him.
"What! Can you do better." Crash screamed.
Without warning, Cortex charged towards him, grabbed by the neck and bit a huge chunk off. (Oh yes you read that! :P)
Crash screamed in shock as Cortex spat out the chunk..
Crash brought his hand to his neck to feel the wound. Blood was everywhere.
"You psychopath! you could've have out ripped my jugular or windpipe!" He cried in agony.
"Maybe next time I'll get lucky." Cortex grinned, insanely.
Crash charged toward his enemy, knocking him to the ground. They wrestled each other, trying to knock the wind out of one or the other.
"I HATE YOU!" Crash screamed, rage fully blown.
Cortex glared up at him. "What do you hope to accomplish out of this; that you'll get the peace you've always wanted? That you and your tangle mess of hair will be able to be together? You really think you can decimate me that easily?"
"I'll take my chances!" Crash snarled.
"How can you? You've taken those chances twice before. I survived falling from my hovercraft back on the islands. Then I survived my space station being decimated in space. I've been to hell and back. For as long as you are alive, I will not die. I will keep coming back! I will be the victorious one! Everything will fall apart around you! Everyone you've grown to care for, will die!"
"Over my dead body!" Crash roared. The bandicoot rammed Cortex's head against the control pan of the heart.
"And after I kill you, your tangle mess of hair will be my next victim…" Cortex giggled, madly.
"NO! She's innocent, don't make her pay for my sins…" Crash begged, still punching the mad scientist.
"I just don't know how I'll do it though. I either want to simply shoot her in the chest or slit her throat.
What do you think I should do?" Cortex asked, sweetly.
Crash screamed in pure rage as he rammed Cortex against the control pan, completely severing it.
Suddenly the heart started to quake violently.
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! TIME TWISTER HAS REACHED CRITICAL OVERLOAD! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! DESTRUCTION TIME 3 MINUTES AND COUNTING!" (TIME BOMB SET! GET OUT FAST XD)
Crash felt his heart pounding; he just did what he did not want to do, he destroyed the machine the wrong way.
"What did I do?" He whimpered, holding onto his wounding neck.
Cortex pulled out his transporter; aiming it at the ground, revealing a dark green portal. The scientist turned back, grinning evilly.
"We will meet again Crash Bandicoot!" He then dove into the portal to safety.
"NO!" Crash screamed, but the portal disappeared. He was trapped.
"WARNING! TIME TWISTER DESTRUCTION IN 2 MINUTES 45 SECONDS AND COUNTING!"
"I have to get out of here; I can't die knowing Cortex is still out there!"
Crash looked back and saw a large blue ball was forming; most likely the machine destroying itself from there. Crash threw the backpack; hopefully the crystals and gems would be lost forever.
Crash avoiding the pain in his broken leg, dratted towards the exit.
"WARNING! TIME TWISTER DESTUCTION IN 2 MINUTES AND COUNTING!"
Crash ran all around the halls desperately trying to find a way out. Only he found that he was more limping than running. His vision was going blurry, he was losing too much blood.
But the bandicoot refused to give in.
"I will not die... I will not die... I REFUSE TO DIE!" Crash screamed.
The boy saw the ball was growing behind him, slowly catching up. Crash could feel himself slowing down, he had lost to much energy.
"WARNING! TIME TWISTER DESTRUCTION IN 1 MINUTE 15 SECONDS AND COUNTING!"
The boy felt himself fall to the ground; he no longer had any more energy, it was the end of the road.
Crash was lying his back, his vision fading away.
"Jan... Where are you? I'm not better off without you, I hope you realize that. I'm sorry for everything. Baby sister, I'm sorry I lied to you; I wish could have kept my promise. Milo, Linda, Sean, Holly, Kage, you guys; I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye or how much I appreciated you. Is this it? Is this the end of the road? HEY WHOSE EVER UP THERE" I'M NOT READY TO GO! I'M STILL NEEDED HERE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
"WARNING! TIME TWISTER DESTRUCTION 30 SECONDS AND COUNTING!"
Tears slid down Crash's cheeks; was this his fate all along? Was this supposed to happen because he wanted to do the right thing; that he didn't want to contribute but to take away?"
"DANGER! TIME TWISTER DESTRUCTION IN 5...4...3...2..1.…!"
The ball formed around him, sucking him inside. Crash felt his eyes dim when he thought he heard
Cortex's voice one last time.
"Remember Crash: nobody can run from their fate."
And then there was nothing. Nothing but silence.
That's the end of this chapter. Did that leave you unnerved. It left me feeling that way. As I said I tweaked the ending so it would follow my next stories a little better. But, you guys should know that Crash doesn't die. Why would I do such a thing? What happens to him however, will have to wait until the next installment. Also if the saw the clue to cue in a certain escape theme. Do you know what game that was. I'm curious to see if you do.
Next chapter is the epilogue and then we are done. So stay tuned.