Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

Chapter 17: The Sphynx

"Good luck out there. You'll need it."

Crash simply looked at his sister in wonder. Her voice was laced with both concern and displeasure. He wouldn't blame her if she was so worried. After everything that they had discovered about the MoDs, they had to be more vigilant. Not only that, but they had to watch out for N. Trance as well. But now that the Master of Hypnotism's savior had been defeated, surely they would not see any more of him.

Right?

Crash felt uneasy. He wasn't yet aware of it, but the others felt the same way. Even Aku Aku, who normally did not worry about such trifles, felt a bit concerned.

"I'll...be fine," Crash assured his sister. "Trust me on this."

"Then why do you sound so unsure?" Raven asked.

Crash sighed. He just couldn't hide it anymore. "Okay, fine. You got me. I may be a little worried. We've got too many things to focus on right now."

"You are right," said Liz. "We have to stop Cortex, as well as the MoDs. Could this day get any worse?"

"Don't forget that N. Trance is out there, too," Isabella reminded her friends, causing them all to groan.

"Enough about all that," Raven interrupted. "Just go, Crash. Hurry if you can. I only have so much patience..."

Crash wanted to ask what she meant, but before he could, the portal appeared and he was pulled right in. As soon as he saw the next area, he figured right away that he was in Egypt. He had barely begun to step forward before he spotted a large sphynx, which looked down at him intently.

He knew exactly what was to come. He had heard of the Legend of the Sphynx, but he didn't believe a word of it. Now that he got to see the beast for himself, though, he was starting to change his mind.

Just as he had feared, he was tasked with answering a riddle:

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"

Crash held his chin, deep in thought. He didn't have to think long before he figured out the answer. At the same time, though, he was afraid to say it aloud. From what he had heard, the sphynx would kill anyone that answered the riddle incorrectly. He could tell that it was becoming impatient, so he gave the only response he could think of:

"Man."

The sphynx waited a moment before saying, "That is correct. You may proceed."

A path stretched from where Crash stood to inside the sphynx. He ran inside, a wall appearing behind him where the entrance once was. He chuckled to himself as he proceeded. He never would have thought that the Crystal was located inside a sphynx.

Thump, thump, thump.

He looked around for the source of the noise, but once he found nothing, he continued on his way. He soon hastened his steps again, however, when he heard the sound a second time. But no matter where he turned, he just could not locate the source.

A large shadow loomed over him, causing him to immediately turn around. His eyes widened as he looked up at a robot that was golden and brown in color, with a few grays and purples here and there. Her hair was lime green, and her eyes were red.

Although he could sense that the robot was up to no good, he held his hand out for a handshake in order to appear friendly. She did not accept it, however, and smacked his hand away, causing him to rub it in pain.

"Hey!" he wailed. "That hurt!"

"For a 'hero', you aren't that tough," the robot commented. "You may refer to me as Gloria. You must be this Crash Bandicoot I have heard so much about."

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Me? I was given a top secret mission, and I shall not fail. You are in my way, so why don't you be a doll and MOVE?!"

Crash stepped aside, allowing Gloria to run forward. Now that he thought about it, what she had said seemed suspicious. He turned around to look at her, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Hey!" he called. "Gloria, get back here!"

He ran after her as quickly as he could, but he was stopped in his tracks by mummies. They attempted to grab him by the ankles, arms, and everything in between, but he managed to get away from them in time. He continued his search for Gloria, and he had become so focused on doing so that he had forgotten about what he was tasked with doing originally.

He later found the robot at a dead end. A shiny Power Crystal was in her hands. He tried to pounce on her, but she retaliated by kicking him in the stomach, causing him to fly into the wall. He tried to stand up, but he suddenly felt himself become lighter. That was the moment he realized that Gloria had wrapped her free hand around his neck and lifted him up.

"There is one thing you must learn about me, should we cross paths again," she growled. "Do NOT piss me off! Because if you do, I will have no problem showing you what your insides look like!"

Crash gulped as he nodded his head. He was having difficulty breathing as his face turned from red to purple. Gloria finally released her grip, and he fell to the ground.

As the bandicoot stood up, Gloria continued, "This Crystal is mine. If you try to take it from me...well, remember my warning."

Crash had to do something. He just wasn't sure what yet. He felt that all was lost as he watched Gloria about to step through a portal. She didn't get far before an invisible force slammed her against the wall. She dropped the Crystal in the process and attempted to pick it back up, but she was kicked repeatedly in the stomach.

Crash stared at the scene, wide-eyed. Gloria seemed to not feel a thing. He mentally slapped himself, as he had just realized that the reason she couldn't feel pain was most likely due to her being a robot.

"Show yourself at once!" she commanded once she was finally allowed to stand up.

Much to Crash's surprise and Gloria's chagrin, Stormy appeared. "Miss me?" she sneered.

"You..."

"I'll just be taking this now." Stormy picked up the Crystal and handed it to Crash.

"This is not over! Just you wait...by the time your little adventure is 'over', we will have something even bigger planned!" After uttering those words, Gloria vanished through a portal.

"Perfect timing," Crash remarked.

"You're welcome," said Stormy. "We couldn't just stay in the Warp Room and watched as you were defeated by that good-for-nothing robot. We had to help you somehow, so I chose to volunteer."

"Is Gloria a part of...the MoDs?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. The Superior created her, though. Anyway, let us be off."

The two jumped through the portal, reappearing in the Warp Room as usual.