A week later, the sunny Wumpa islands still sat quietly amidst the ocean. The Bandicoots had not repaired the tear in their fellowship yet, and on this particular day, Crunch sat staring into the ocean. He was sure that the human was going to bring trouble to the island, but by this point, it appeared that Coco was right: it had been a harmless act. Crunch let his head rest on his metal palm. "This family has been torn apart. And it's my fault. Perhaps they should have let me explode along with Cortex's wretched space station," Crunch mumbled. His sister had rarely come out of her laboratory since the fight, and Crash had lost his usual spunk. Everyone was mopey and depressed. Crunch had not seen Aku'Aku in several days time. The island had adopted a general feeling of malaise. Even the sun, in all its glory, seemed to shine dimmer to the broken Bandicoots. The sounds of the jungle lost their glamor. Life had come to a screeching halt.
Suddenly, a buzzing noise pierced the gloom. Crunch's right ear shot up in recognition. His head was soon to follow, with his heart pounding. He scanned the horizon with suspicion. Nothing. "Now I'm becoming paranoid. I would be better off just going back and working on my abs or pecs then wasting my time here," Crunch grunted. He got up and turned his massive back towards the water, and began jogging towards the house. Then the the buzzing got louder. It was definitely coming from the ocean. Crunch turn to take another look, mainly to just humor himself. Yet, what he saw was nothing pleasing to him. "Oh shi-".
Coco was quietly adjusting the bolts on her portal machine. She had used it to transport Crash to every crack in the world to gather the power crystals that Cortex inevitably desires to fuel his nefarious plots. She had developed a prototype that would transport several individuals at once. She figured that she could sen Crunch and Crash on the same mission, and therefore, thwart Cortex's schemes even easier. Coco sighed and put her wrench down. "Crunch seemed to have been wrong about this whole plot. I wish we hadn't had our blowouts, but I really would like to see him happy again," she said to her wrench. "Perhaps Cortex's next scheme will repair things!"
Just then, a large bang resonated from her laboratory door. It was followed by Crunch's booming, frantic voice. "Coco, grab your backpack, now! We need to get out of here ASAP!" Her heart skipped a beat. She dropped the wrench and sprinted towards the laboratory door. She began to run even faster once she realized that her backpack was up in her bedroom. She had good reason to be scared, for what Crunch had seen was no large bee. A large battleship, flanked by three helicopters, was headed straight for the Wumpa islands. Worse yet, the helicopters moved with amazing speed and already landed on the beach. Twenty to thirty men unloaded and stormed the coastline. The Bandicoots had minutes before the men would reach their humble cottage.
Crunch watched his sister bolt out of her laboratory and make way for the stairs just as the armed men began to bolt for the house. Crash was standing ready to go next to Crunch. Seconds later, Coco returned with her backpack. "We need to go to my lab, my portal machine there can teleport us out of here! I've been working on a new prototype that can-" she was interrupted by a large canister bursting through the ceiling right in front of her lab. It began to spray a green gas out its sides. Then, Aku'Aku materialized in front of the Bandicoots.
"Run out the back door, children! That gas will kill you. I will do my best to keep your laboratory hidden, Coco. Until then, Crunch, take them to the opposite side of the island," Aku'Aku informed.
"The beach where you can see Cortex's castle, right? I know the place, I run there often," Crunch affirmed.
"In the jungle near the beach, you will find a large tree twisted in the shape of an "S". Go there. There is an entrance to an ancient temple where you can find an artifact that will cloak your movements. Use that and return here so we can use Coco's lab to leave these forsaken islands. Go!" Aku'Aku shouted.
The Bandicoots wasted no time in waiting around. They sprinted out the back door of their cottage as the troops stormed the front door of their home. They were bound for the daunting jungle, where they hoped to find a tree shaped like an "S".
All Crunch could remember were the letters "USA" boring into his mind. The soldiers were from this USA, the ship, and the helicopters too. Crunch had one thought in mind: the humans will pay for this.