Crash Bandicoot

Chapter 3: N. Sanity

During the journey, Aku Aku couldn't help but feel that someone was watching them. He could feel a pair of eyes staring at them from the shadows. He turned to look at the mysterious entity.

But nobody was present.

Noticing the mask's strange movements, Crash looked at him curiously as if to ask what the matter was. "I am fine," Aku Aku said in response. "Let's...move on."

Aku Aku sounded a bit nervous, which was unlike him. Whatever the case, Crash didn't want to think too hard about it. He had more important things to worry about at the moment.

But then, he was having a similar feeling. Someone was watching them. They had to be. However, when Crash looked toward the darkness, he received the same result. Still, he felt as though someone was indeed lurking in the shadows. He was tempted to call out, but his conscious told him otherwise. Nothing good could come of it.

Yes. Closer. Come closer toward the darkness.

"Who's there?" Aku Aku finally shouted. Crash tilted his head in confusion; he hadn't heard anything.

I am not here for you. I am here for that marsupial.

"Crash? Tell me why you are after him."

Crash is too much of an idiot to withstand the darkness, but you seem to be a different case. I just want to...conduct an experiment on him, you could say.

"Well, you can't have him! He will rescue Tawna and stop Cortex before it is too late. I have the upmost faith in his success. Now, I will ask again - who are you?"

My name is of no importance, or at least not yet. All that matters is that I get my hands on the bandicoot.

"Why are you so obsessed with obtaining him?"

If he wants to see his girlfriend again, he will come with me. But if he refuses to do so, I fear that she may perish. And believe me when I tell you that her death will be slow and oh so much painful.

"Enough! I do not believe you. Leave at once, and if you are working for Cortex, tell him that Crash is on his way."

Cortex? Whoever said that I work for that bumbling man who calls himself an "evil scientist"? He is a fool who has yet to learn from his past mistakes.

"What are you talking about?"

He should not have attempted to brainwash Crash before the Vortex was ready. His closest assistant tried to warn him, but it was all for naught. But enough of that. Give me the bandicoot, or that female he cares so much about will die.

"First, show yourself!"

The mysterious individual could be heard sighing before they stepped out of the shadows, revealing themselves to be wearing a black cloak. The hood, however, was covering their face almost completely, making it impossible to see who or what they truly were.

Aku Aku couldn't help but gasp. He recognized that outfit. He turned to Crash and hurriedly stated, "Crash, we must get out of here as quickly as possible. This person is a force to be reckoned with." But the marsupial would not listen, instead doing a fighting stance. "Child, listen to me. Anyone who is wearing that cloak is dangerous!"

"Ah, so you know about us, do you?" the figure snarled. Crash only tilted his head to one side. "I suppose I have time to explain, but my master is not a patient man."

"So you do work for Cortex!"

"SILENCE! Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...I am part of an organization known as the Masters of Darkness. Our goal is to destroy this dimension. We have been at this for centuries, but to no avail. The members are always defeated by some unseen force; thus, we are forced to retreat to our own dimension. Yes, there are multiple dimensions. More specifically, our organization hails from the 10th Dimension."

"You are still trying to destroy our dimension, after all this time? Why is that so?"

"It is a simple matter. Mortals have ruined our lives. We used to be a peaceful people, never wanting to be the cause of a fight. However, we were eventually shunned and ultimately chose to stay in our home dimension. Ever since then, we have made it our main goal to see to it that this dimension ceases to exist."

"All of this confuses me," Crash said, in gibberish as usual.

"One thing is for certain: stay as far away from the Masters of Darkness as possible," said Aku Aku. "They are the most powerful being in existence, more so than myself. There is nothing that even I can do against them."

"I was tasked with bringing you to Doctor Cortex, Crash, but I think I will just toy with your feeble mind for now," the cloaked individual said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You may continue your journey, but keep in mind that I will always be watching you from the shadows. I may appear every now and then at random, so you had best be prepared."

After having said that, the figure disappeared through a portal of darkness. Crash and Aku Aku tried not to think about what had just occurred as they progressed through the island. They later came across a waterfall, with Crash coming to an abrupt stop. He was parched and wanted to take a drink from the stream, but he was interrupted by the sound of insane laughter from nearby.

A blue kangaroo wearing a straitjacket jumped down from somewhere and landed directly in front of Crash. The kangaroo didn't say a word and instead continued to laugh like a maniac. Aku Aku had the suspicion that he could not speak normally, just like Crash. Was this perhaps another one of Cortex's mutations?

Without warning, the kangaroo began to jump about on various platforms that were on the water's surface. Oddly enough, though, what appeared to be various explosives would appear near said platforms every now and then. Was that a coincidence? Crash didn't have time to think on it as he hopped on one of the explosive crates, just to see what would happen. He quickly jumped back off as a countdown began, going from 3 all the way to 1. Once the countdown ended, a small explosion occurred near the kangaroo, dealing a bit of damage to him.

"That seemed to work," Aku Aku observed. "Keep at it!"

The more explosions that occurred, the more the kangaroo seemed to laugh. He was truly insane, that one. In fact, he seemed to enjoy being injured. At the same time, though, he wasn't aware that he was in any pain.

After a couple more explosions, the kangaroo fell into the water, floating closer and closer toward the waterfall. He was taken by said waterfall a few seconds later, but he just continued to laugh. Either that, or that was his way of speaking. Were that the case, though, Aku Aku would have been able to understand him.

Before he and Crash could proceed, the figure from earlier arrived once more. "Congratulations, mortal," they sneered. "I thought Ripper Roo had you beat, but it would seem that I was mistaken. But just remember that there are more bosses to come. You may think you are close to rescuing your disgusting girlfriend, but that couldn't be further from the truth."

The individual vanished, leaving Crash and Aku Aku to ponder for a moment. What the mysterious figure said left the bandicoot feeling more nervous than before. No matter what happened, though, he would not give up on Tawna. He simply loved her too much for that.