-Chapter XXI- Spiky Situation

-Nsanity Isle

-26 First Seed

-7:15 A.M.

-Saria

"You want us to do...what?" Saria asked as Nick tried to explain the situation at hand.

"Come on, Saria. They need help, who are we to turn them down?" Sonic told her.

"Yeah, you may not be able to understand Crash..." Nick trailed off, looking at the human-like bandicoot standing beside him, "...but he needs our help."

"Badwaya-gonoway..." Rayman muttered.

Crash noticed this, and looked at him curiously. "Adubawa?"

Rayman looked surprised, and stared at Crash in awe with wide eyes. "Drabuyana!" he said with an ecstatic smile.

"They can understand...each other?" Saria asked. She rubbed the temples of her head with her index fingers, trying to sort everything out how they were. She looked up at Nick, who gave her a pleading expression. She sighed, and reluctantly gave in. "All right...what do we have to do?"

Nick gave her an appreciative smile, his uniquely bright-blue eyes sparkling with joy. "Crash, Coco, and Crunch's home is infested with these 'Spike' creatures."

"Guyabaya." Crash said.

"Oh, right, mutants. And they want our help to get rid of them."

"Then what is that, exactly?" Saria asked, pointing at the thatch-roofed house surround by wumpa fruit bearing trees.

"This is Nsanity Island, they're back-up home. Their actual home is Wumpa Island."

She and Sonic exchanged confused glances, and turned back to Nick. "So...we have to kill them?" Nick seemed reluctant to answer. "Nick?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"Okay, now, how do we get there? Sterwalt purposely docked his ferry so that it wouldn't have to tread water for the rest of the day."

"Fruwayan." Crash said to Nick.

"They have a boat." Nick repeated.

"Of course they do." said Saria.

"Here's the thing, it's only big enough for seven people, and obviously Coco, Crunch, and Crash are going to have to come with, so that leaves us to only be able to bring-"

"Four people, you, me, Saria, and Rayman." Sonic told him.

"Yeah, actually, that was exactly what I was thinking. If that's all right with you, Saria."

She nodded, "I'll follow your lead." she said with an uneasy smile.

"All right, Crash, where's this boat of yours?"

"This...is the boat of yours?" Nick asked. It was practically nothing more than an oversized dingy, overall. It was of simple carved wood, and two pairs of rows to come with it.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard. You and I can row, Nick." Crunch proposed, walking onto the dingy. It rocked and shook in the water as he boarded it, causing water to splash about.

"All right...?" he said, joining him along with the rest of the group. When it was all said and done, Saria was, needless to say, cramped. Crunch started out the voyage with a great start, pushing heavily against the pole the dingy was tied onto, causing it to head out to the open ocean, giving Saria the uneasy feeling again.

"Sterwalt knows we left, right?" Nick asked Sonic.

He nodded, "yeah, I told the rest we were leaving temporarily, and should be back by tonight, at the latest."

"Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure."

"By the way," Saria turned to Coco, "what was this faction that wanted Crash to join?"

"The Skylanders." she replied.

"The Skylanders?"

"It's a little gathering of heroes sort of deal down south around the Skylands region." Sonic explained. "It's actually pretty cool, if you think about it." he turned to Crash, "how come you didn't want to join?" Crash wordlessly shrugged with a clueless look across his face.

"The Skylands region...I don't think I've ever heard of that." Nick commented.

"Well, it used to be referred to by the 'Dragon Realms', but apparently something happened, and it somehow blew up, and...now it's a group of floating islands, now called 'Skylands'. Clever name, eh?"

Saria laughed, "says the one who's from 'Emerald Hills'."

"Hey, I'm not the one who named it that." Sonic said with a smile. "Believe it or not, Emerald Hills was actually a gift from an old friend."

"An entire island as a gift? One hell of a friend." Nick said as he rowed.

"Yeah, Chris' family is kind of wealthy, but that's beside the point. I, along with all of my friends, are actually from a distant planet, called Mobius."

"So...you're an alien?" Coco asked.

"In a way."

"Hey, so is Rayman." Nick said.

Rayman nodded, then struggled to say something, "Polo...kus."

"I think I've heard of Polokus, actually." Sonic said. "It's a planet nowhere near Earth. I'm pretty sure its near Mobius' orbit."

"So how'd you and Rayman end up here?" Saria asked.

"We saved Polokus together." Nick told her, "afterwords a friend sent him here."

"As for me..." his smile disappeared, "it's a long story." Saria gave him a look of questioning, but was shook from it when the boat abruptly stopped.

"We're here?" Nick asked.

"Already?" Saria questioned.

"Come on, I gotta score to settle." Crunch said angrily, popping his knuckles as he exited the boat.

"Where is this place?" Sonic asked.

"The Bandicoot Sanctuary." Coco told him, "it's just along that cliff." she explained, pointing up, "across a bridge and around a waterfall."

They continued along the route that Coco had told them, and when the Sanctuary came into view, Coco nearly broke out in tears, and she was sure Crunch was going to explode with rage. It was practically nothing but ruins of two houses overgrown by trees, now spikes piercing from the ground that seemed to have been made of an ebony-like material completely. All at once the large group of Spikes all stuck their noses into the air, and turned their attention simultaneously toward the group. Though the mass were nearly all brown with tan accents, but there was one sitting atop a high, wooden throne of white and gray, who appeared to be their king.

"Oh...shit." Saria muttered.