A Dragon out of Time, A Crash and Spyro Story

Chapter 21: Doing what's Right

Crash let go of Spyro and stood up as Sparx hovered above. There weren't many more opportunities he'd have to hug his son, and the thought of never seeing him again was starting to overwhelm Crash. He rescued him from thieves, watched Spyro hatch, heard his first words, saw him fly, had the blessing of being there as he grew and matured, which filled a void in his life he never knew was vacant until this young purple Dragon came and filled it for him. But having the opportunity to be his surrogate father caused so much death and destruction in the past. Crash's happiness came at the expense of millions of lives, and that was something he couldn't live with. Spyro kept saying he would return to visit when things were right in his time, but Crash wasn't sure if that would be true... if he would allow it to be true.

"You don't think it's weird, do you Crash? When we hug? Like if I was to try to explain where I've been for the past eight years, that I was raised by an orange bipedal bandicoot a hundred thousand years in the future who I consider my father, other Dragons wouldn't understand?"

[Aku-Aku talks about Fate a lot. He says things never take place without a purpose; that somehow events always happen to maintain the balance between Order and Chaos. It's beyond me but I do understand one thing. Whether it was accidental or my Fate to meet you, it isn't weird that we hug. Although I do have to avoid the sharp horns on the top of your head, plus you tend to scratch my back with your claws on occasion.]

"Wow that was so dramatic yet anticlimactic."

[Guess I'm not as good at giving advice as an ancient spirit of Order.]

"Considering all the hurdles I have to overcome in my time, I'd say I could use some wisdom right about now."

"K- ur age." [Let it define your life, in the face of those who'd harm others, and to those whom you never let harm come to.]

"Okay, that was pretty good."

[I actually thought of it last night. I thought I should say something poetic before you left.]

"If you could actually speak."

[That joke is getting old.]

"I'll be sure to tell it again when I come back."

They approached Cortex's former laboratory which housed N-Gin's Time Twister Machine. He spent eight years reassembling this machine under the mental domination of Uka-Uka. But it turned out his Fate was different than what Uka-Uka intended, and now he and Crash's sister were going to use this device to send Spyro back to the Dragon Realms a hundred thousand years ago in an alternate reality. Crash opened the large door, and both he and Spyro stepped through the doorway to be greeted by the enormous machine that was the Time Twister. Its varying components, cables, power sources, and computer's controlling the massive device took up the majority of the room, but the central platform where the large spherical disruption in space time would form was clear. Crash and Spyro walked toward the central platform to be greeted by Coco and N-Gin who had been laboriously working on the Time Twister making sure it was operational and send Spyro and Sparx back in time safely without creating a new alternate reality in the process. Coco descended from a ladder she was on while N-Gin removed a pair of goggles as they both approached Crash and Spyro.

"Well, the machine is as functional and ready as it'll ever be" Coco said to her brother and adopted nephew.

"Well that's good to know, Coco. You and N-Gin have worked so hard on the Time Twister for quite a while now. I can never thank you two enough for doing this for me. And Crash also for all he's done for me. I do wish I could have helped on the Time Twister, though. The science involved seemed so interesting to learn."

Coco looked at Spyro and her brother solemnly. She remembered the conversation she had with Spyro a few days ago; when she told him the real reason she wanted him not to spend all his remaining time in the future working on the Time Twister. Her brother, even though he had been able to conceal it in the presence of Spyro, felt so guilty about all the horror he caused by bringing Spyro to the future. Crash couldn't spend all the remaining days Spyro had here sulking in shame. Coco had met this Crash before, when the love of his life, Tawna, died. Spyro meant so much to her brother now even though Crash thought it was wrong that Spyro was even with him. A few days saying a proper goodbye would do Crash so much good. To have closure, and know that Spyro was going back to fix what went wrong and maybe even come back to visit his father. Coco and Crash had discussed in private whether it was a good idea for Spyro to transit between this time and his; Crash was convinced that Spyro being here was a mistake and that he should return to his time and never come back. But Coco knew that wasn't true, and Crash was only saying that because he felt so guilty. So she pleaded with her brother in the final few days that Spyro remained here not to convince him to stay in the past. The decision was Spyro's to make, and whatever choice he made they should be happy with.