Wumpa Defender, Crash Bandicoot!

[Old Man Jenkins]

Wanted to do something sorta special for my 10th anniversary on here, and since one of my faves Crash Bandicoot is also celebrating 25 years in 2021, I figured why not come up wih a way to celebrate both? And (feeling sorta inspired by my recent riffing of Break A Leg) since my very first work was made in the tv.com style, I decided I'll post this with a similar style in mind. I know that probably sounds disappointing, but that style just feels a bit more reasonable for me right now for a variety of reasons. I've been sitting on this particular idea for a couple years, even posted about it in the Writers Lounge last year, so it's better to get it out of my system in some fashion. I'll post a more official update on my writing slate going forward in a future Announcements thread post.

 

Plot: Deep in the Pacific, on an uncharted archipelago, multi-million dollar conglomerate, Cortex Power,  has set up base as a means of conducting "revolutionary research that will make strides in bettering the world". However, something far more sinister lies underneath the facade. Endemic animals are being forcefully wrangled from their natural habitats, invasive species are being smuggled onto the island in loads, toxic waste is being outputted into the ocean, people are going missing, sacred sites are being razed and the indigenous tribes seem to have turned a blind eye to it all.

At the heart of all this is the fortress of iron, Cortex Castle, where Cortex Power's founder hazardously pushes the boundaries between science and nature. But something has managed to fly the coop and compromise his operations. Now, the good doctor will go to insane lengths to seek or destroy the crown jewel of all his achievements. And his crown jewel is willing to go even farther to put an end to his terror. A reimagining of the original 1996 video game, inspired by Android Kikaida.

Characters (to be updated as the story goes along)

Team Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot: Once highly regarded by Cortex as his greatest creation and pegged to be the future general of his army, this orange marsupial has somehow managed to defy his creator, even after a trip into the Cortex Vortex. With the lives of all those he cares about at stake, he must become a one-mutant army and liberate the Wumpa Archipelago one island at a time.

Tawna Bandicoot: Another genetically enhanced bandicoot, who is Crash's mate from their old lives together as regular critters. She possesses the same abilities as Crash, but appears to be more blessed up there. In the head, being gifted with intelligence that allows her to match wits with her captors. When Crash proves to be his most disappointing failure yet, Cortex deems her to be the next general of his Cortex Commandos.

Nekky Kyosha: A world renowned wildlife biologist and mother to Aiko and Ota. She was initially brought on board Cortex Power as a "consultant", though unbeknownst to her at the time, she was actually helping Cortex to scout out suitable species to serve as potential commandos in his army. Being an admirer of Neo Cortex for years, she was heartbroken at the deceit and horrified at the true nature of his experiments. She attempted to escape the island in order to alert the proper authorities, however, Cortex was already a couple steps ahead.

Aiko Kyosha: A young woman who is being held captive by Cortex, used as leverage to force their mother into cooperation. She helped care for the animals before they would be subjected to the Evolvo-Ray. She bonded with the marsupials the most.

Ota Kyosha: Aiko's younger brother who is also being held captive by Cortex. He was tasked with working in the assembly line while in captivity, having some firsthand experience in constructing Cortex's many mechanized menaces, even receiving some crash courses from the madman himself.

The N. Circle
Dr. Neo Cortex: A former member of a traveling circus family who has since gone on to become a scientist of universal renown. Founding Cortex Power on the pillars of worldwide betterment, he has amassed himself a huge fortune with his many contributions not just to the field of science, but to the world. But underneath all his perceived good intentions and good will, lies a terrible darkness that seeks to control the entire world by any means necessary. He specializes in mechanics and machinery, capable of crafting androids that blend into the crowd almost seamlessly, but he has since dabbled in experimenting with live subjects, augmenting their physical and mental capabilities in ways that defies nature itself. He is the inventor of the Evolvo-Ray and Cortex Vortex, both instrumental in creating his commandos, but the Cortex Vortex proves detrimental to their overall mental development.

Dr. Nitrus Brio: Cortex's right hand man who perfected the design of Cortex's Evolvo-Ray, modifying it to the point where use of the Cortex Vortex would be rendered null if Cortex wasn't so stubborn about its "effectiveness". Brio grew up a child prodigy, born and raised by parents who were prodigies themselves. This all went to his head while growing up, viewing his so-called "peers" as being well beneath him. He would carry this air of arrogance with him for years until encountering his future superior, Neo Cortex, in high school. Meeting Cortex and constantly being bested by him humbled Brio to the point of subservience. And the subservience would soon go to unhealthy extremes, leading Brio to implant screws into his own skull, twisting them tighter each time he failed his superior, even when he had nothing to do with said failures. Years of being Cortex's whipping boy has led to him losing his sense of self.

Dr. Noxious Plant: A well-studied botanist who recently defected from the circle to pursue her own ambitions. She was also the only member to have been a trusted colleague of both Cortex and Brio dating back years, even before the official founding of Cortex Power. She experiments tirelessly with both endemic and invasive plant life. The fruits of her labor can be seen all across the island chain, coming in many dangerous forms. She despises the fact that Neo chose Brio's animal-based research over her plant-based findings. Now, she's out in the wilderness attempting to establish her own army with which she'll use to stomp out Cortex 

Dr. Naivan Digenous: An expert on indigenous people's and their customs, brought into the fold in order to personally deal with the natives of N. Sanity Island. Like Dr. Kyosha, he is more or less being held against his will to do Cortex's bidding. While his efforts have quelled the native response to Cortex's invasion of their islands, he now has to deal with a dark rising movement that proves to further endanger his own well being.

Dr. Nathan Dever: An archaeologist and adventurer who was brought under the Cortex Power umbrella with the purpose of unearthing natural raw power sources that Cortex can use to fuel his evil endeavors. He's not fully in league with Cortex, but the doctor does pay well for his services and the always looming presence of Cortex's Commandos is enough to keep his priorities in check. He is, however, a close family friend of the Kyosha's.

Dr. Naught Abel: A psychologist, and youngest member of the circle, who is tasked with evaluating the mental states of the Cortex Commandos as they're released back into the field to serve their new master. He attempted to alert the proper authorities to Cortex Power's activities, though that attempt got shut down real quick by Brio. After being subjected to excruciating experiments as punishment for his actions, Abel is left being a fractured shell of his former self. He now merely enables the mutants to follow through with their primal desires and dark thoughts rather than actually improving them.

Chairwoman Nixon Dustrial: Chairwoman of Cortex Power's board of directors. She helps oversee the day-to-day operations on Industrial Island in Cortex's stead and is seen as fourth-in-command of the entire organization. She's practically the only member of the N. Circle who loves her position and the power it grants her. She tends to be over ambitious, which causes much of her undoing. She much rather prefers the use of machines over mutants, which has made her an unpopular figure amongst Cortex's commandos. 

Cortex Commandos (Mammal Branch)
Ripper Roo: The product of Cortex's first foray into genetic engineering, and a miserably failed one at that. Once a simple kangaroo, a trip into Brio's improved version of the Evolvo-Ray seemed to be all the modifying that he needed, but a trial session under the untested Cortex Vortex not only undid a lot of the mental augmentation, it unraveled it even further. Roo came out from the Vortex an unstable mess of psychopathy and insanity. Deemed far too dangerous to be kept alive, Cortex attempted to have his first mutant terminated, but every possible execution attempt served to only fuel Ripper's madness. Cortex had no choice but to lock him away in a secluded location on Wumpa Island, where he has remained in isolation ever since.

Koala Kong: Brought into being not long after Ripper Roo, Cortex evolved him with raw power in mind but he also made sure to keep his sanity levels in check, or else he'd have something even worse than Ripper Roo on his hands. In order to help balance out his state of mind, Cortex added a marathon of the Rocky movies into the Cortex Vortex for Kong's mental consumption. What came out was a hulking behemoth with a slur, who lived by the motto of "it's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and get back up". A minor improvement from Ripper Roo, but not enough to feel confident about in Cortex's eyes. He's been stationed on Wumpa Island, tasked with overseeing Cortex Power's excavations of sacred site in hopes of discovering new power sources for his master.

Pinstripe Potoroo: One of Cortex's more recent products of the Evolvo-Ray and Cortex Vortex, Pinstripe was Cortex's first attempt at evolving a mammal in quite some time, having previously shifted his attention towards reptiles. Cortex wanted an ideal soldier who can do the necessary dirty work that needed being done, while also having a defined sense of loyalty that was always severely lacking in the reptile subjects. All that Neo could find that fit the bill was mafia movies, so he subjected the potoroo to hours of those. What came out was a pinstripe suit-wearing, slicked back hair sporting, tommy gun toting wise guy who quickly became a made man in Cortex Power. Known as "The Cleaner" to most in the organization, Pinstripe made a name for himself by working tirelessly to enforce Cortex's rule in any way he could, including tying up any loose ends. Be it the natives, the reptiles or any other failed experiments and perceived threats to Cortex, Pinstripe has put many out to pasture with the help of his Potoroo Mob. His contributions to the organization has even earned him a promotion, becoming the new CEO of Cortex Power after helping to "fire" the old one. The island's energy division has flourished under his leadership, all while still keeping a firm hand on the mammal branch of Cortex's commandos. News of Crash being groomed to be THE general that Cortex always wanted hit Pinstripe hard, but he nevertheless works towards making his boss' dreams of world conquest a reality.

"(Pilot) General Disturbance: Prelude to N. Sanity"
In a last ditch effort to save herself and her family, Dr. Nekky Kyosha attempts to throw a monkey wrench into her boss' design by exposing Cortex's latest candidate for general of his commandos, Bandicoot 1.0 aka Crash, to a special force of life energy known only as mojo. Before she can do the same to his female mate, Bandicoot 1.5 aka Tawna, a couple of Lab Assistants arrive to collect them for their official "enlistment ceremony". Nekky's daughter, Aiko, has her doubts about relying on mere superstition, but her mother is confident that their efforts to smuggle the mojo into Cortex Castle will pay off when the unstable power of the Cortex Vortex more than meets its match.

Dr. Neo Cortex's right hand man, Dr. Nitrus Brio, expresses his concerns about the Vortex's penchant for producing failures, but Neo remains stubbornly adamant about the potential of his machine and orders for Crash to undergo it at once. Cortex has the Vortex tuned with the Star Wars trilogy in mind. He desires a Darth Vader to his Emperor Palpatine, a general who can enforce his rule with scary precision. However, the Vortex suddenly rejects Bandicoot 1.0 and melts down completely due to kickback from the latent mojo that Nekky had Crash absorb into his body. The resulting explosion of mojo and electricity is enough to not only free Crash from his bonds, but also to free the other failed test subjects from their cages.

With his laboratory compromised, Cortex orders Brio and his Lab Assistants to capture Crash and the other escapees. However, Brio manages to disappear by smashing two beakers full of unknown chemicals onto the ground below him. The Lab Assistants find themselves overwhelmed by Crash and the lab rats. One of the lab rats, going by the name of Chithila, takes charge of his fellow rats and rallies them against Crash in a deluded attempt to prove to Cortex that he's the general he's been searching for day and night. Cortex pays close attention to the fight that's about to break out between his creations, one of them being his crown jewel.

The chaos that's been brought upon by Crash serves as a good enough distraction for Nekky and Aiko to stage their escape from Cortex Castle. They navigate the castle in search of Ota, eventually finding him in the castle's generator room. He explains that he's there trying to restore power so that he can reactivate the experimental teleporter he's been helping Cortex to develop. Seeing that as a somewhat more viable option than their original escape plan, Nekky and Aiko assist him in fixing the generator, but they're interrupted by Brio, who offers them an even easier escape route by letting them use his chemicals.

Back in the lab, Crash puts up a valiant effort against the lab rats, taking a wave down singlehandedly, but the effects of the mojo and Cortex Vortex colliding within him begins to take a toll on both his mind and body. Tawna arrives to help even the odds, taking out another wave of rats herself. Tawna's intervention gives Crash the opportunity to confront Chithila personally. Their brawl leads to them both sending each other crashing out of the castle's window and plunging down into the darkness of night below.

Tawna takes out the last of the rats right as Brio pops back into the lab with the Kyosha family in tow. He sells them out to Cortex, revealing that Nekky was the one behind Bandicoot 1.0's failure. A disappointed Cortex, still reeling from the apparent loss of prized bandicoot, orders for the Kyoshas to be locked away in the castle's dungeon until he's ready to deal with the situation. Reinforcements finally arrive in the form of better equipped Lab Assistants, but with the lab rats already neutralized, Cortex commands them to subdue Tawna instead; now settling on the female bandicoot to become his new general in Crash's stead. She fights them off for an admirable amount of time before eventually succumbing to their large numbers and debilitating weaponry.

Night eventually gives way to day, and Crash soon awakens that morning to find himself washed up on a beach. He stares out into the horizon, seeing the vague silhouette of Cortex Castle off in the distance on Industrial Island amidst all the air pollution surrounding it. He has some ways to go before even stepping foot back there again. An assortment of enlarged crabs begin to emerge from the sand and surround Crash. The road back begins here.

Notes & Trivia
 - Character/Faction debuts: Crash, Tawna, Nekky, Aiko, Ota, Cortex, Brio, Chithila, Lab Assistants, Lab Rats, Crabs

 - The events of this pilot is a reimagining of the intro cutscene of Crash Bandicoot 1

 - It's revealed that the Kyosha kids gave many of the animal subjects their names, including Crash and Tawna. Aiko gave Crash his name due to her mother's intention of having him crash the Cortex Vortex with the mojo she infused him with.

 - The concept of mojo used here is adapted from the "Titans" series of Crash games. Nekky was able to extract the mojo for Crash from a sacred idol, which were also collectible items in those games.

 - The idol was smuggled into the castle by being hidden inside of a wooden crate containing Wumpa Fruit, a staple of the Crash series as a whole.

 - The lab rats were based on the Ratnicians, common enemies who also originated in the Titans series of games.

 - Chithila and the other lab rats are of the lesser bandicoot rat species which, despite the name, are not related to true bandicoots as they are not marsupials. This creative decision was made to further push Chithila's inferiority complex.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Old Man Jenkins

[Old Man Jenkins]

"Giant Enemy Crabs, Hard-Shelled Harbingers of N. Sanity"
Dr. Kyosha and Aiko are seen being escorted off the castle premises by a pair of Lab Assistants, who hand them off to the waiting arms of the Potoroo Mob. Aiko is forcefully placed in a crate before Pinstripe Potoroo himself halts Nekky from joining her daughter. His mere presence is enough to let Dr. Kyosha know of what's to come. Pinstripe allows her to get one last word in to her daughter before having one his goons shoot her point blank with a shotgun. Aiko is overwhelmed with grief as the crate she is in is hoisted onto the back of a truck. Pinstripe tells the Lab Assistants to assure Dr. Cortex that his boys will get the cargo to where he wants it to go.

Crash awakens to find himself marooned on the shores of N. Sanity Island, where the local crab population rises from the sand to scope out this potential threat. The crabs mobilize and go on the offensive, forcing Crash to defend himself. Slowly becoming overwhelmed with attacks from all sides, Crash busts out his spin move to cover his blind spots and take out multiple crabs at once. The crabs are suddenly called off by their apparent leader, who declares that he'll deal with Crash just like he did with their last intruders. This particular crab appears to already be covered in dried blood, showing that he's already exceptionally battle hardened compared to the rest.

Crash engages the crab leader, Maukala, who attacks with his menacing pincers at deceptively high speeds, managing to break blood from the Bandicoot multiple times. Maukala goes into detail how Cortex has already made a couple of attempts at trying to enslave him and his kind before, but Maukala managed to fend off both incursions. Crash tries to convey that he has no ties to Cortex, but Maukala responds that Crash reeks of Cortex's corruption. As their fight wages on, multiple crabs are being covertly taken out in the background by an undetected threat beneath the sand.

One of Cortex's spy bots becomes privy to the fight and begins taking record of it. Crash is the first to spot it, taking the opportunity to bounce off of Maukala and spinning it in midair, destroying it. Maukala doesn't know what to make of it and he doesn't have much time to as he's caught off guard by a surprise attack from below. Chithila raises Maukala off the ground as he ascends from the sand, his claws cinched deep into Maukala's exposed underbelly. Chithila tries Crash's spin move for himself, shredding Maukala's innards as he does so. He takes a bite out of one of the crab's legs, thanking his "brother" for distracting him long enough to go for the kill. Crash charges Chithila, but the other crabs swarm in, interpreting the two as being in league with each other.

Crash and Chithila are forced to take a few out together until Chithila leaves Crash to fend for himself. Crash, however, follows suit and chases him into the jungle. Avoiding obstacles, pits and fighting off enemy crabs, Crash catches up to Chithila at the steps of an ancient structure. Chithila tries putting distance between them, but Crash's superior jumping ability quickly closes the gap. The crabs are unable to scale the stairs of the structure, much to their dismay. Crash catches up by cutting Chithila off at the top. They fight until Chithila wallops Crash by breaking a crate over his head. He does this with a few more crates before finally knocking Crash back down a few steps. Chithila continues on his way as Crash recovers by eating some of the discarded Wumpa Fruit from the broken crates.

Crash continues on the path before coming across a fork in the road. Unsure of which route Chithila might've taken, Crash decides to take the path on the right. Coming across a huge gap not far into the path, Crash triggers a nearby switch crate that causes a hidden bridge of wooden crates to appear over the gap, giving him a way over. Crash carefully traverses the makeshift bridge and continues on, running straight into an ambush from Chithila. They brawl one more time, culminating in Crash knocking his "brother" down into the steep pit that he just crossed. A thud echoes out of the pit as the pair of shoes that Chithila was wearing flies up from the impact before falling back down into the darkness below.

Crash looks disappointed as he continues making his way into the jungle. Weakened by the struggles he's been put through since arriving on N. Sanity Island, a few turtles left on the path prove to be more trouble than they should be. They corner Crash at a dead end, moving in, but the ancient warp pad beneath Crash's feet suddenly activates as Crash disappears in a flash of orange light. The turtles report this in to their "superior".

Back at Cortex's castle, Neo is looking over old training footage of Crash during his days of being fresh off the Evolvo-Ray. Brio informs him that spybots have been dispatched to find traces of Crash, but Cortex laments that Crash was supposed to be the one, the mutant standing above all others by his side in his quest for world domination. It's gonna be a hard pill for him to swallow, having to settle on a lesser general. Brio blames himself for not acting on the Kyoshas' dissent sooner, to which Cortex fully agrees. Cortex demands Brio to punish himself by turning the screws in his head to be even tighter. As Brio obliges, Cortex takes further note that Brio knew of Nekky's planned sabotage for quite some time, wondering aloud whether or not Brio seriously considered turning on him. Brio turns the screws tighter than ever as a show of his undying loyalty, but Neo remains unconvinced. He tells Brio there is only one thing he can do to restore his faith in him. Brio demands to know what it is, claiming that he'll do anything. But before Cortex can go further into the details, they're suddenly interrupted by a transmission from one his deployed spy bots.

The footage they manage to salvage reveals that Crash is still alive, showing his fight against the crabs. Cortex is ecstatic to see that Crash is still in good condition, and putting up an even better fight against the crab that gave him and his commandos so much trouble before. Brio asks Cortex what to do from here. Cortex orders him to prepare the female bandicoot.

Notes & Trivia
 - Character/Faction debuts: Pinstripe Potoroo, Potoroo Mob, Maukala, N. Sanity Crabs, N. Sanity Turtles

 - Character death(s): Dr. Kyosha, Maukala, Chithila

 - The episode's title is a reference to the Giant Enemy Crab meme, birthed from Sony's 2006 E3 presentation

 - The events of this episode is a reimagining of the first Crash Bandicoot level, "N. Sanity Beach"

 - It's revealed by Aiko that she and her mother cared for Pinstripe and his gang from birth all the way to their forced evolution

 - Maukala reveals that the local crab species are the only known holdouts of Cortex's experimentations, only being subjected to mutation through toxic runoff from Industrial Island

 - Cortex's spy bot seen here is a revamped version of the ones seen in Crash of the Titans, this one being modeled after a beach chair rather than a toilet
 
 - The scene of Chithila breaking multiple crates over Crash's head is a reference to the box counter animation in the original game

 - Maukala is an 'alakuma crab, which his name is a rearrangement of

 - The 'alakuma crab, also known as the "seven-eleven crab" for its famous blood red markings on it shell, is the subject of an old Hawaiian folk tale about a hungry god who tried to grab this crab and got pinched, leaving behind the aforementioned blood spots. This tale was adapted into Maukala's backstory with Cortex in the role of the hungry god

 

Next episode drops February 8th!

Edited January 30, 2021 by Old Man Jenkins

[Jjs Goodman]

A cherry start, it's interesting to see a unique take on a Crash origin story. I can visually picture everything happening in one of the games. I also don't mind the tv.com style and think it works to the fic's benefit, given Crash is a (mostly) silent protagonist and all. 

[Old Man Jenkins]

"Rolling in The Stench of Death"
Aiko is still being transported to parts unknown when she feels the truck that she's in suddenly coming to a halt. Pinstripe and a few of his goons stop to make a brief drop off at the Cortex Power factory. They receive a cold reception from Cortex Power Chairwoman, Nixon Industrial, and her stoic entourage of specially designed "Yes Men", a newer model offshoot of Cortex's Lab Assistants . Pinstripe drops an iron crate off into her care, telling her that she knows what to do and to do it quick. Nixon confirms her orders from Cortex, commenting that she's glad Dr. Cortex is starting to turn around to her philosophy about the future of the Cortex Commandos. Pinstripe gives her a harsh reminder that it's only a "trial run".

Crash finds himself having been transported to a different part of the jungle from where he was in the previous episode. There, he is greeted by the one who seemingly summoned him, a local witch doctor who introduces himself as Bukarau. He treats Crash's wounds with a concoction of herbs and Wumpa fruit, telling the bandicoot that he senses an immense amount of mojo in him, the good kind. Bukarau doesn't know why exactly that is, but at the moment, it is a good sign for his people.

Bukarau explains to Crash that his tribal chief, Papu Papu, has fallen in with the shady invaders who have poisoned their island home and has banished him from the tribe for speaking out against the toxic alliance. With his spiritual influence absent from the tribe, most of its members have since been caught in the grip of really bad mojo. Bukarau points out that not all of his fellow tribespeople have been corrupted, and some have even managed to escape the village out of their own free will thanks to the help of a foreign emissary who the "false idol" sent to deal with the tribe on his behalf. Bukarau begs Crash to help the escapees, who have now found themselves being preyed upon by both the local plant and wild life. The shaman removes the wooden mask that adorns his face and offers its protection to Crash instead, since Bukarau can't tap into its full potential in the current rough shape that its in. He tells Crash to seek out other ones like it, claiming that they each hold a fragment of the mighty Aku Aku's power. Bukarau is too tired and worn to handle the sheer power, but Crash would be the ideal conduit due to all the good mojo that's inside him. He instructs Crash to continue forward down the path that they're currently on if he wants to find the escapees, making sure to warn Crash not to stray too far from the path, for bad mojo runs through the veins of the entire island chain now and its corrupt influence can prove most damaging to the best of men, much like his chief. Bukarau disappears into the woods as Crash heads out to save the village escapees with the Aku Aku mask in tow.

Back in Cortex Castle, doctors Cortex and Brio are making final preparations for the Cortex Vortex so that Tawna can be the next subject to be put under its influence. Brio once again raises concerns about another more catastrophic failure after the powerful kickback that the machine received during the previous session with Crash. Cortex is intent on getting Bandicoot 1.0 back, and Bandicoot 1.5 will be the driving force that brings him back home to them. Cortex has Ota dragged into the lab to witness the miracle of science at work, however, the machine shuts down completely as a result of the mojo overload it received earlier from Crash. The machine overheats and explodes with Tawna still strapped in it. Cortex frantically orders Brio and his assistants to salvage the female bandicoot from the wreckage at once, but much to his surprise, they come up with no sign of her.

Crash continues down the path that Bukarau sent him down, breaking any box he comes across, hoping that Cortex and his army were able to recover at least a few more masks during their excavations of the islands' various sacred sites. A lone, injured skunk crawls its way into Crash's path. Crash approaches it with caution. The skunk recounts to him how he and his pack were suddenly attacked by something that came up out of the ground. Recalling back to his encounter with the beach crabs, Crash wonders if Chithila might've survived his fall. The skunk says that he abandoned his brothers like a coward, but he can at least take solace in the fact that he can take another "two legs" down with him. Puzzled, Crash notices the skunk ignite a stick of dynamite with his nauseous fumes. Thinking as fast as he could, Crash spins the skunk away, exploding off into distance.

Crash continues his search, eventually encountering two more skunks, possibly from the same party as the last one, running for dear life. As soon as they see Crash, they claim to know exactly who's been responsible for their current plight; the yellow midget with the bad hair trying to play god. They look to avenge their fallen comrades by dealing with Crash personally, but Crash easily  dodges their attacks and dispatches them swiftly. Crash continues down the way that the skunks came running from, eventually encountering the true culprit behind their plight.

A large, carnivorous plant emerges from the soil, blocking Crash's path, bearing its bloody fangs in full view for Crash to see. Crash makes his approach, causing the hostile plant to make its offensive move first. Crash narrowly avoid getting chomped at multiple times before pelting the plant with a few punches before finishing it off with a spin. The motionless plant recedes into the soil that it spawned from. With the path once again safe to trek, Crash continues on his way until encountering yet another obstacle in the form of rolling disk rocks, more than likely put in place as a defense mechanism by the local tribes. Crash is able to make it past the rolling rocks unscathed before recovering a second Aku Aku mask from one of the many Cortex Power crates lying around. This new mask becomes one with the first mask that Bukarau gave him. The combined masks start to emit a golden aura, the power that the shaman mentioned is finally starting to reveal itself. Crash uses some this power to truck through more enemies and obstacles, but something suddenly catches his eye within one of the boxes he breaks; a mask crafted in the image of Tawna's face. Crash decides to hold onto it, feeling another distinct power emanating from it.

Crash soon finds himself in one the old Cortex Power excavation sites, and it is here where he finally meets up with the village escapees, as well as Cortex's middle man, Dr. Naivan Digenous. He mistakes Crash for one of Cortex's commandos and tries to explain his actions as best as he can, but Crash pays it no mind. Dr. Digenous says that he and the villagers had to seek refuge in the site due to all the hostiles and traps that now swarm jungle. The strongest of the villagers stayed behind to combat the threats and gave the others the opportunity to find this shelter. Digenous then goes on to reveal that the excommunicated doctor, Noxious Plant, has moved forward with his experiments on plant life since being kicked out of The N. Circle, the results of which are the man-eating plants that they are rapidly spreading throughout the jungle. Crash heads out to assist the warrior villagers before it's too late.

Crash navigates his way through more rolling rocks and fights off more skunks and mutant plants before discovering another Tawna mask. The combined power of those two start to rival that of the Aku Aku's. Crash soon runs into a larger pack of skunks, who are going about using their toxic fumes to poison and neutralize the mutated plant life. These skunks also have the warrior villagers at their mercy, so Crash intervenes and takes the skunks out one by one, flowing with more power given to him by the masks. The warriors inform Crash that their best man, Aka Hata, went on his own to cut off the mutant plants at their source. Crash follows their directions until coming across a third Tawna mask along the way. The power of the three masks together leaks out to create portal.  Crash allows himself to be taken by it.

Crash finds himself transported into an entirely different, almost dreamlike, section of the Wumpa jungles. Located in the treetops high above the islands, untouched by Cortex's influence. A familiar voice calls out to him. Crash desperately tries tracking the voice to its source and in the distance, he can finally make out Tawna on the other side of the expanse that divides the trees they each are on. Crash traverses the crates leading to the other side, eventually coming within mere footsteps of his mate. She asks Crash if this is all real, but before they can truly reunite, they're torn apart as the powers that brought them together shorts out. Crash awakens, back on the path where he once was. The Tawna masks having since disappeared from his possession. Crash shakes it all off and continues his search for Aka Hata.

Back in Cortex's Lab, Tawna rematerializes where the busted Cortex Vortex remains, in a flash of purple energy, similarly to that of Cortex Vortex's rays. Tawna cries out Crash's name, still believing that he nears. Cortex is in disbelief, surmising that Tawna had somehow "warped" to an entirely different location somehow, something he's been trying to master for a while now. With the Vortex in a sad state of disrepair, it'll take a while before it's back up in working order again. Brio uses a modified didgeridoo to lull the Bandicoot 1.5 into a hyper relaxed state, making her a lot safer to handle. Cortex has his Assistants take both Tawna and Ota away. Tawna catches a brief glimpse of the distressed boy, a plan starting to form in her head as she's dragged back to her cage.

Crash eventually finds Aka Hata locked in a life or death battle not with the plants, but with the skunks and their leader, Fetor. Crash joins the great warrior in his struggle, but constantly gets rebuffed due to Aka thinking that Crash is with the enemy. Fetor takes especially great offense to Crash's presence, thinking that the bandicoot has been sent by Cortex to finish this job for them. Fetor laments that he and his kind are only tasked with bottom of the barrel of jobs, only being told to go back and forward and patrolling the same paths. Cortex hasn't even bothered mutating the skunks to the point where they're able to walk on only two legs. Fetor's sick of the gross mistreatment of his kind, thinking they can prove to be just as useful as the potoroos, and plans to take it all out on Crash.

The fight rages until Dr. Digenous arrives with a couple of the other warriors as back up. They vouch for Crash as being on their side, by Aka is still wary about Cortex's creations. It is not until Crash locates a third Aku Aku mask in the thick of battle does Aka start having second thoughts. The combined Aku Aku masks join together atop Crash's face and fill him with power of the village's guardian spirit. Fetor uses this distraction to take Aka Hata out of play and focuses the entire pack's efforts on the stunned warrior. They all spam with their stink bombs, each making contact with their target, but when the fumes settle, they're all shocked to see Crash standing in front of Aka, having tanked the full brunt of their attack himself. Aka and the rest of his fellow warriors bow to the power the mighty Aku Aku. Dr. Digenous, having studied the local lore extensively throughout his years, recognizes the power of the spirit by getting down on his knees as well. Virtually unharmed, Crash launches an all out assault on the skunk pack, taking them all out almost simultaneously with the swiftest of ease.

All that's left of them if Fetor, who's only option is to flee at this point. Fetor finds himself cornered in an abandoned mining shaft filled with leftover, undetonated TNT crates. He threatens Crash not to come closer or else he'll blow them both sky high. He then makes the mistake of challenging the bandicoot's newfound speed, insinuating that he won't reach him in time to stop the skunk from setting them off anyway. Crash, however, lands a blow while Fetor was busy listening to himself talk, knocking the skunk back into the TNT and detonating all of them anyway.

Dr. Digenous and the warriors can only watch as smoke begins to erupt in the distance from the blast. They soon find relief as they see the welcome sight of Crash making his way back to them. The Aku Aku mask suddenly drops from his face, causing the bandicoot to collapse to the ground. Digenous tends to him, using the same wumpa fruit method that Bukarau used earlier. Aka Hata and his subordinates discuss the possibility of Crash helping them take their village back from the corrupt chief, Papu Papu.

Back on the road with Aiko and her transporters, she can hear a commotion starting up outside her crate. Shots are fired and explosions are going off as yelling can be heard being hurled from both sides of this apparent conflict. Her crate starts tumbling over and she could hear Pinstripe shouting her name before feeling her crate drop completely from solid ground. Aiko screams as her crate appears to bounce off against a bunch of rocks before finally landing in some sort of body of water. She could feel the strong current washing her further away from the fighting as the gunshots quickly fade out, getting drowned out by the sound of rushing water. She feels the crate take another huge drop, falling in the air for what felt like an eternity in her tight confinement before finally crashing down hard into more water and rocks below.

Aiko soon washes up on the shores of N. Sanity Island, where tribesmen armed with spears  pry her out of what remains of her containment and surround her unconscious body. They decide to bring her back to their village so that the chief may decide her fate.

Notes & Trivia
 - Character/Faction debuts: Chairwoman N. Dustrial, Bukarau, Aka Hata, Dr. N. Digenous, Fetor, Yes Men, Papu tribespeople, skunks, man-eating plants

 - Character death(s): Fetor, scores of skunks and man-eating plants

 - The events of this episode is a reimagining of the second Crash Bandicoot level, "Jungle Rollers"

 - Bukarau is based on the original concept for Aku Aku's character before he became a mere mask, as seen in the Crash Bandicoot Production Bible, which this reimagining takes plenty of inspiration from in general

 - Fetor is based on the iconic disgruntled skunk enemy from the beginning of Crash Twinsanity

- Unlocking the hidden power of the Aku Aku masks by collecting three is a nod to the invincibility power up and the method to obtaining it in the original games

 - The Tawna masks are a re-tooling of the Tawna Tokens from the original game, in which you have to collect three in order to go to the bonus round, which is also represented in this episode during the mojo dream sequence between Crash and Tawna

-The skunks and their power over their stink are a nod to the Stenches from the Titans series of games
 
 - Aka Hata and the other village warriors are based on Rau Utu and the Rakus, characters from the PS2 video games "The Mark of Kri" and "Rise of the Kasai"

 - Akahata means "supreme" in Maori

 - N. Dustrial mentions to Pinstripe that she is a former protégée of Dr. N. Gin, who she says is currently off island working on a top secret project for Cortex

Next episode will be posted on February 12!

Edited February 9, 2021 by Old Man Jenkins

[Old Man Jenkins]

"Messing with Nature"
Pinstripe and his gang are performing "clean up"on  what's left of the group that attacked them on the road. Their attackers seem to consist mostly of the local turtle population. Pinstripe feels greatly insulted that the reptiles would send such low-level fodder to try and take him out. He takes his time slowly torturing and forcibly removing a few turtles from their shells. However, one of Pinstripe's men manages to wrangle up a lone gecko in the group. Pinstripe interrogates the lizard, grilling it for info on just who's giving them these orders to attack him and the rest of his branch. The gecko mockingly offers him insurance for his wrecked vehicle instead, to which Pinstripe responds by crushing the gecko under his foot before stomping repeatedly with rage as the the loss of his cargo starts settling into his mind. Before he can plan his next move, Pinstripe receives a message from Brio, who's checking in to confirm that Pinstripe took care of the "loose ends". Pinstripe lets him know that he got the job, despite some trouble with the reptiles. He also informs doctor that the reptiles have been starting to get their hands dirtier and dirtier when it comes to Cortex Commando affairs. Brio notes that this behavior is very unlike them, theorizing that perhaps a leader has risen amongst their ranks and somehow reorganized them into a united front. Pinstripe shares the same belief. Brio then relays to Pinstripe that Cortex wants him to return to HQ immediately, because the boss is about to call for a "board meeting". Against his instinct to clean up his mess, Pinstripe agrees to return and attend. Before taking his leave, Pinstripe gives two of his underlings, Track and Polo, the task of finding Aiko, be it alive or dead. Seeing this as a prime opportunity to move up in the organization, the two mutated Potoroos accept the mission.

Back on N. Sanity Island, Aka Hata and his peers have taken Crash and Dr. Digenous back to the makeshift camp that the other escapees have set up in the abandoned excavation site. Digenous takes time to the examine the masks that Crash has in his possession while Aka Hata and his peers continue discussion on a plan to retake their village in their native tongue. Digenous overhears and is able to understand all of it, chiming in by advising them against such a dangerous plan. Aka Hata advises Digenous to stay out of their business or he'll change his mind and kill the doctor right there. Digenous reminds them that under his supervision, Papu Village is receiving aid from Cortex Power for their continued cooperation, and if anything happens to impede that under his watch, it'll be all their heads. As long as Papu Papu is the face of perfect islander health under Cortex's occupation, there will be great retaliation if Cortex were to lose such vital piece of his PR campaign. Aka Hata exclaims that it's their "aid" that's poisoned their chief's mind into believing that Cortex is some sort of god, and that all the murders and atrocities he's committed has all been in Cortex's name. Under this new regime, he's had to watch while his home has been ravaged by Cortex's army of abominations. But now, it appears as though their island's guardian spirit has chosen one such abomination to be his new conduit, a pill that's tough for Aka Hata to swallow.

Bukarau arrives at the camp, asking for an update on Crash. Aka Hata notes that Crash was wearing Bukarau's mask and asks if he's put this mutant up to it. Bukarau justifies his decision due to the amount of good mojo that Crash has in him. The shaman informs Aka Hata that no human is truly capable of channeling the guardian's full power. Bukarau reminds his people that when catastrophe strikes their village, the mighty Aku Aku will always show himself in the form of an animal in order to protect them. And now, his form just so happens to be that of this bandicoot's. Aka remains stubborn about it, proclaiming that he'll save the village even without the guardian's help. Aku's peers follow him, imploring him to reconsider, as Bukarau goes to consult Dr. Digenous.

Digenous is amazed to hear that Bukarau has so much faith in something that should be seen as an enemy to his people. Digenous says that he has confidence in Bukarau's decision, but asks what exactly makes Crash so special. Digenous notes that Crash already isn't like a lot of the other mutants he's interacted since most would've antagonized the villagers rather than helping them outright like he did. Bukarau lets Digenous in on the fact that he entrusted a sacred idol, one that holds a lot of importance to his people,  into the care of one of Cortex's more trustworthy subordinates. Digenous feels a bit insulted by this shade, but nonetheless. Bukarau reveals that the idol was made in the imaged of their guardian spirit, Aku Aku, and it contained some of his very own mojo. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and his person on the inside vouched for Crash's credentials as a potential vessel. Naivan states how this seems to fly in the face of tradition and Bukarau reluctantly concurs. Aku Aku would normally appear in the face of any danger by himself, but Bukarau, being the most in tune with the spirits, has yet to sense any sign of his return since Cortex's arrival to the islands. 

Digenous surmises that, feeling forsaken, Bukarau resolved to take matters into his own hands by playing with forces beyond his own understanding and manufacturing a guardian of his own to stand in for the original that failed to show when his people needed him the most. Bukarau isn't proud of the lengths he's had to go, but he stresses that his people need this symbol. The shaman warns that if left to their own devices, the Papu people will tear each other apart. The actions of the chief thus far are a testament to this and they've already seen the seeds of bad mojo that's been sown into Aka Hata.

Bukarau notices the masks that Digenous has been examining and asks just where the Tawna ones came from. Digenous replies that Crash had them all in his possession beforehand, so that's a question best reserved for him. Bukarau demands that he gets rid of them. Naivan is alarmed by this sudden sense of danger in Bukarau's voice, but takes them regardless. Digenous receives a call from his superiors, excusing himself from the conversation.

Digenous answers the call to find that he's been summoned as part of a conference call with other members of the Cortex Power board of directors; The N. Circle. Cortex starts by excusing Dr. N. Gin's absence as him faithfully conducting official Cortex Power business far beyond the call range. Cortex briefs the others on the Crash situation, putting them all on high alert, demanding that Bandicoot 1.0 must be brought back to him alive. Chairwoman Dustrial scoffs at that notion, prompting Cortex to address Dr. Kyosha's absence by putting her betrayal and and punishment out there bluntly in order to prevent anymore dissent among his ranks. Dr. Digenous puts two and two together and concludes that Dr. Kyosha must've been Bukarau's inside woman. Now caught up in the middle of that mess, Naivan starts to fear for his own safety. Dr. N. Dever states that he's too caught up in the company's mining operations to redirect time and resources away from that endeavor. Dr. N. Abel states that he's too busy tending to the mental needs of his patients as well, but Brio and Pinstripe chastises them both for their pathetic excuses. Dustrial questions Pinstripe's sincerity, insinuating that he's more likely to terminate any potential replacement of his. Pinstripe doesn't take kindly to her words, reminding her that she's only in the position she's currently in because he freed up the spot up for her to slither right on in. Cortex orders them to quit their bickering , affirming that they all can be equally expendable to him at any given time. Cortex demands for an update on the project that he commissioned from Dustrial, who responds that it's close to completion. Cortex is pleased, then turning his attention toward Digenous, who has been quiet all throughout the preceding. Digenous assures his boss that he'll have Papu Papu put his village to work towards the bandicoot recovery effort. Satisfied enough with the progress that's been made, Cortex officially brings the meeting to a close. However, unbeknownst to the circle members involved, their meeting is secretly being listened in on by a hidden outside line.

Crash starts coming to right as Digenous wraps up his call, attracting the villagers' attention. The escapees shower Crash with praise for helping them when they needed him. Bukarau sees this and looks quite pleased with himself. Aka Hata and the other warriors return from their brief outing. After much convincing, Aka Hata has relented and tells Bukarau that he's willing to put his full faith back in Aku Aku, and Crash by extension. Bukarau humbly requests for Crash to help him and his people out one more time, promising the bandicoot safe passage to Wumpa Island in exchange. Finding that kind of offer hard to refuse at this point in the game, Crash agrees to offer them his assistance. Digenous comes forward  with a plan, one that involves him sneaking Crash past the village's defenses himself.

Notes & Trivia
 - Character/Faction debuts: Track, Polo, Dr. N. Dever, Dr. N. Abel

 - Character death(s): Gecko, turtles

 - This is the first episode to not be based on any level from the original game

 - The N. Circle meeting was written to be a sort of callback to Uka Uka's "Bad Guy Convention" as seen in the intro cutscene of Wrath of Cortex

 - Much like their leader, Pinstripe, Track and Polo are each named after their choice in mobster fashion (track suit and polo shirt, respectively)

 - The gecko making a crack about car insurance is, indeed, a reference to the Geico Gecko

 
Next episode will be posted on February 22!

Edited February 13, 2021 by Crash Bandicoot

[Dylan]

I love the Crash Bandicoot Video Games good fanfic spin-off choice!