AN: This was originally two chapters that I had split up, but honestly felt like putting it all in one, this is the longest chapter yet. I hope it's not too bloated and thank you for your patience. Coursework in the middle of this pandemic sucks so much. I am grateful to any who've stayed this long.

Nina stood opposite her adversaries, silence between them, minus Nina's adrenaline slightly getting the best of her, she was breathing quite hard and was attempting to steady it. She clanked her fists together, "W-well?!" she questioned, staring at the Brat Girls, most of which were armed with their stun batons, they looked at each other for guidance.

Tropy raised his left hand slowly, pointing his index finger at Nina, "Be rid of her, execute her! Uka Uka will hear of this treason!".

Nina then began to run toward her enemy as Tropy left the scene, scurrying away. Nina screamed as she ran up to the first Brat Girl to be in her way, "HYAAAAAH!", she yelled as she hooked her with her right hand, then upwards with her left, then, holding that stance she slammed the back of her left hand against the Brat Girl's face! In seconds she was out of the fight. A second one followed, swiping at Nina, who only just dodged being sparked and fried, Nina scrambled behind her, getting a few feet away, and launching her right fist at the back of the Brat Girl's head, sandwiching her into the wall, where she was stuck in a splat on the surface.

Nina had another four to go... She had two of the Brats rush at her, she attempted to move to the right, and her left arm got grabbed, as she was being pulled, Nina extended her hand outwards and hoisted back, pulling another Brat over to the wall, knocking over her friend in the process. Nina then, when the Brat girl who was tugged began to recoil off of the wall, used her right fist to punch the Brat in the face. Nina was already tired, she hadn't exerted herself in a little bit, she looked at the last two, who both glanced at each other then backed off slowly from Nina, who walked closer, panting.

A group of four Brat Girls sat around a table giggling and gossiping about who knows what, a few mentions of the 'academy' and its students here and there.

"I just don't get what the big deal is over that Crash guy!", one of them mocked, they all wore the same clothes, like a clique, typically the purple attire and vests with fur boots. The one who made this claim was trying not to laugh, "All he can do is jump and spin, guy's probably sweaty all the time...".

Another one, donning a red streak in her black hair, spoke back, "I don't know, I think he's kinda cute, have you seen him in action? It's something else".

The other three began to mock her with a simultaneous "Ewww!" and cackling, whilst the one with the red streak went red in the face.

Suddenly the door was thrown open, one of their own sent flying and screaming, landing on the other side of the room. The four panicked as Nina ran in, holding another Brat, and threw her onto the table! Smashing it into tiny wooden pieces! She peered at the four of them, and cleared her throat, "Who's next?! I'll show you how a Cortex gets stuff done!". Three of them ran out of the room. Just Nina and one more opponent remained. Before her was a Brat Girl with blue and purple shades mixed in her hair, and various piercings in her face, most around the nose. Nina knew this one, she was one of the higher ups in their circles.

They both raised their fists slowly and circled each other quietly, the Brat went for a right jab, Nina couldn't dodge how quick it was, she didn't have time to rethink that move, as she was hit in the stomach and then uppercut! Nina landed with her legs in the air, she scrambled to a sitting position, and leaned back up, "I can't believe you're all, working for this crazy 'plan', Tropy can't be trusted! He's always up and left when it benefits him!", Nina went for a swing, and got weaved! She got countered by the Brat grabbing her and backhanding Nina in the face, cackling whilst doing so.

The Brat spoke up when she recovered from laughing, "He has already been a better boss than you EVER were, Nina. Even if it does not last long, and we have a quick victory... It is worth it. You may have brought us into this group, but you have been withering away, you're just living in your uncle's shadow. Do somethin' for yourself for a change, sidekick".

Nina inhaled and exhaled, slowly, then quickly got up and baited a jab from the Brat once more, this time, Nina adapted and hopped backwards. She had one thing the Brat didn't and threw both her fists outwards! In a swift blow the Brat was down for the count, Nina pulled her hands back with a click, "I'm never gonna be a sidekick", she tried to say in a badass manner, kind of came off as more dorky to her though. That didn't matter, she was on a mission, she was in deep now and couldn't turn back. Soon as she found the commandos, questions needed to answered.

As she plotted just now, she needed to run through the chemical lab, and as soon as she barged in, three Brat girls were tossing pink and red flasks at Nina, causing many dangerous explosions. Nina, in the heat of the moment, toppled over a table, making a few other mixtures collide on the floor, and began to slowly erode the floor beneath them. A gap began to form in the metal floor, with a green outline from the previous chemicals. Nina peered down the gap and saw N Gin, sat on the toilet reading a paper. He squealed and ran out of the room in his underpants, Nina rolled her eyes. She turned back around and folded her arms, she had to act fast, if she hopped down and avoided the danger ahead, it would add to her travel time. But, if she were to make it over there and teach those Brats a lesson, she would save a few minutes from this trek.

Nina noticed a glimmer from one of the Brat's belts, the key to the door behind them. With little time left, Nina hopped over from her cover, leaped past the gap, and instead of pummelling the Brats, snagging the key and running right past them. Leaving them confused, they went to open the door Nina used to leave the room and it appeared to be locked. They were now just awkwardly stuck, not suspecting that play from their old queen bee in the first place.

Nina was now beyond exhausted, thankfully she just had to descend a spiral staircase, she galloped down many stairs, being careful to not trip over. As she attempted to manage her oxygen, a singular Brat appeared from one of the doors on the way down! Nina got smacked onto her back, which recoiled in pain as it hit the jagged stairs, the Brat went to go and throttle Nina, but she quickly rolled forward, past the Brat, and slammed the door in the Brat's face when she attempted to chase Nina. "I didn't think about that", Nina said aloud, "This stairway can lead to all sorts of rooms, I need to keep an eye out".

Now ever cautious, Nina kept a glance for each door she passed, but nothing happened, she had a clear-cut path to her goal, finally. She barged through the door, flooring two Brats who were behind it, but they got up in seconds and chased after her. Nina now realised she was caught in a dead end situation, she used a little bit more strength in her to sprint harder, grabbing the left corner for the turn to the cells, and thanks to her arms, turned with inhuman speed. The momentum of the turn making her turn a little too fast, so she attempted to skid to a halt, and soon came to a stop, but was face to face with her Uncle, who didn't look pleased. But he also didn't look confident or snarky like he would when he usually caught prey.

"U-uncle, please just tell me what's goin' on!", Nina begged, hearing footsteps approaching her from behind.

Cortex sighed, and raised his hand up, the Brats, who were about to jump Nina, halted. Cortex then straightened out his coat, hands behind his back. "Nina... My dear niece, please understand, we are going through some changes to how we operate. We have tried all sorts of methods to be rid of the bandicoots. So many things...".

Nina had a look of utter confusion upon her face, "Well that's true but-".

"Let me finish", Cortex shut her down, "Uka Uka, Tropy and I have been talking, discussing maybe other ways to accomplish our true goal of world domination. And Uka Uka had the idea of disciplining our old teammates so they could become, tougher". Nina noticed something, not only did these measures seem strict for her beloved Uncle, but he did not seem convincing.

Nina glanced at Tiny, Dingodile and Ripper Roo one at a time, her face scrunched up, "Uncle, is this what you want? Or is it just another order from that old mask that you're just giving into?". Her uncle stayed silent, his eyes looking away every now and then, something was not adding up here, was he suffering in silence? Nina took a step forward, and Cortex took one back. "Uncle, whatever is going on you can tell me, I'm not a child anymore, I know there's other people besides me in this team! I'm not gonna take anything away from you".

"I know", Cortex muttered, "But he can", as he nodded his head forward, Nina turned to see Tropy and Uka Uka pushing past the two Brat Girls.

Uka Uka growled, "It's one thing for Cortex to not listen to my orders, but you Nina, you have broken much of my trust", he lamented.

Nina raised her fists slightly, feeling defensive, "I've never felt trust from any mask barking orders, the only higher-up I trust here is my uncle, and these guys are getting out. What you're doing here is just breaking their spirit, it's self-destructive!".

Uka Uka smirked, "No matter, if they don't survive our trials, we have planned for them. We can always make more minions, what does it take? An animal, The Evolvo-Ray and The Cortex Vortex? Seems simple to me".

Nina genuinely could not believe what she was hearing, the commandos were just expendable to Uka Uka? "What about your favourite boy Tropy here?!", she beckoned.

Uka Uka shook his head, "Like we can replicate the brilliant powers he possesses, the only reason I keep your Cortexes around is for your inventions, your spinelessness, and for my amusement!". Once he finished his comment, he cackled with Tropy and the Brats, Nina turned back to her uncle, who looked submissive and distant.

"...And what if we were to rebel?", Nina asked quietly.

"Then I'll kill you myself, I'm sure I can find some egghead replacements to make the machines needed for my conquest...", Uka Uka said with sheer confidence.

Tropy then cleared his throat, "Now, if we're done with the comedy, it's time to make your choice, Nina. Forget this ever happened, help us with our plot, or die by our hands".

Nina stared at Tropy's right hand, making a strangling motion at her, then she looked back to Cortex, who was also now looking directly at Tropy. Nina looked to the floor and closed her eyes, what could she do now? Even her Uncle was on board with this? Was she played for a fool this whole time? Why couldn't she just be back at The Academy of Evil? Ever since the headmistress fell it went to ruins... Now she was stuck, there was no way out of these two choices.


Crash was thinking, a lot more than he had done for quite a while, obvious jokes aside. Crunch and Aku Aku had gone inside a fair few minutes ago, with Crash letting them know he would be in later, he had scaled to the top of their hut, sat on the curved roof. He could faintly hear everyone chatting inside, he almost felt like a sentry, waiting for any danger to approach. There sure had been a fair bit lately, but he'd gone and injured himself, and felt useless earlier when Carter was harassing Emily. He was proud to stand up to such mean behaviour, yet he knew he could have done more. The main thing he hoped for now was a fast recovery, he knew that he would be dead weight, should Cortex and his goons strike in the next week.

His ears pricked up, hearing the front door open, and footsteps coming closer, he glanced down and saw Ami with her hands on her hips looking up to him, "We've been wondering where you've been, what're you doin' up there?". Crash looked away, rubbing his left arm shyly, Ami raised an eyebrow, "Alright, there's something goin' on, lemme meet you up there".

Inside, Crunch and Jill were having a general chat by one of the front windows, in the background, Ami was jogging into the distance. She turned around, stopped in place, and hopped in place a couple times.

Crunch took a sip of some wumpa whip he had in a paper cup, "I gotta say it seems you really can hold your own, Jill. And not just in a fighting game", he joked, where they both shared a laugh.

Jill responded, "Maybe, I would've thought a guy like you would've fought harder in that last match", she jabbed playfully.

"Hey hey!", Crunch barked back with a grin, "I just let ya take that round because I felt bad for ya!".

Ami began to run up toward the house, soon as she was close to the other side of the window Crunch and Jill were by, she leapt up and landed on the roof with a thud. A small bit of dust falling down from the ceiling. Both Crunch and Jill glanced up, then at each other, shrugged and went back to joking with each other.

Back outside, Ami planted herself next to Crash, "Phew, so you got something on your mind buddy?". Crash hesitated but soon nodded slowly, he placed his hand on his rib scar, which Ami took notice of. "I see...", she muttered, raising her right hand, and tapping the index finger on her chin a couple of times. "You know, Crash", she began, he turned to her, "Part of being a hero isn't just doing what's right and stopping the bad guys. You have to get stronger, smarter, to understand them inside out". Crash stared at her blankly, Ami chuckled, "Basically, to avoid problems like that one there, which will heal in time, trust me, you need to do some REAL training. You need to be able to do more than spin and jump. Those guys will catch on, probably, soon enough, and that won't help". Crash hummed, squinting his eyes, Ami assumed he was starting to take this in. She put her hand on his left shoulder, "Tell you what, I'll help you out, come on".

Ami hopped down to the ground, Crash climbed slowly instead as not to push himself, he stood opposite Ami. The two of them just outside the garage, Ami let out a cheer, "Alright! Let's get to it!".

Inside said garage, Emily was still getting accustomed to Mecha and the fact that a genuine robot stood before her. Emily was currently kneeling and looking at Mecha's legs, admiring the handiwork. "I can't imagine the amount of time it must have taken to make this beautiful kit". After saying so, Emily raised her hand up, and Mecha did a gentle high five, but it was more that Mecha just pressed her hand against Emily's.

After a brief laugh, Coco exhaled, "It sure did take some time alright, but the payoff was so worth it, Mecha's just one of the family now. Still need to fix her up after the last scrap-".

Emily turned, "S-scrap? Did something happen? Everything's ok right? Is that why Jill has that injury?".

Such a reaction surprised Coco, "Yeah, yeah we're all good, nothing you need to worry about, Emily, trust me".

Mecha spoke up, "Does Mistress refer to-", Mecha kept moving but no noise came out of her as she began to do motions implying combat. Coco had quickly tapped a small mute button on the wrist device she left on the desk to her left.

Emily backed off slightly, "It seems that it's having a slight glitch in audio, Coco".

Coco felt bad, almost like she was lying to Emily, but she already felt incredibly guilty that Jill got roped into this. And as much as Coco was keen on Emily, she had the feeling she would not cope well in a fight, especially Cortex and such...

Coco tapped the mute button once Mecha stopped doing such crazy movements, "-and I truly am glad to help any of you when necessary!", Mecha finished. Coco sighed with relief.

"I am sure you have plenty of questions, Emily, but what say we head back to the others and leave Mecha to rest, as you can see she needs some maintenance", Coco asked, grabbing Emily's hand and leading her out of the garage.

"Nice to meet you Mecha! You're so cool!-" she shouted, waving as she left. Coco came back in and initiated the shut down sequence.

"Did I do something grave, Mistress?", Mecha quizzed.

"No, it's alright, we just need to be careful who we bring into this danger... Cortex has a whole army behind him, you've seen them in action. All of those guys are on one side, there's nothing we can do about that. I'll see you soon", she answered with a soft smile.


Nina had been silent the whole time, and it had been a fair few minute now. "Well?!", Tropy hollered. Nothing, no comeback, no threat, not a peep from Nina, she just opened her eyes and stared at Tropy. He pinched his forehead, "It seems that all of you Cortex's are the same, fine then", he straightened himself out, aiming his tuning fork at Nina, "Last chance to grovel".

Nina glanced to her left and right, inside were her old comrades, wondering what on Earth would happen next. Nina spoke up, "Why the hesitation?".

Tropy suddenly stopped his cold and calculated demeanour, "W-what?".

Nina relaxed her hands by her side, "Why are you giving me all these chances? If I'm so useless then you'd just kill me on the spot, right?". Tropy growled, Nina continued, "Wanna know what I think? I think you can't do it, I think you actually need me in some part of your scheme and you think I'll cower and submit".

Dingodile, watching from his cell, saw Nina's hands move behind her back, where she pulled out a lighter, and some sticks of dynamite (typically used as a component for Neo's TNT crates). Cortex, who was seeing all of this as he was on the opposite end of Nina as Tropy, was surprisingly not stopping this. But he kept his ray gun pointed at Nina's back, why?

Tropy lowered his fork slightly, "You are mistaken, child, I just don't want to see such potential go to waste, I care not for you other than your utility to our conquest".

Nina began to press her thumb on the flint, "Ohh! The conquest and plot I know nothing about! Right right yeah how could I not be down for that?". Tropy narrowed his eyes and tutted, shaking his head. "I'll make you a deal, Tropy, next we see each other, we can discuss terms", Nina stated. Tropy and Uka Uka both exchanged glances and began to chuckle, with Neo doing the same, albeit half-heartedly.

Nina struck the flint and made an ember form, with one stick being lit, she tossed it to her right, blowing Dingodile's cell open! "What?!", Tropy, Uka Uka and the Brat Girls exclaimed. Dingodile walked out into the hall, it was beginning to get a little cramped, but he was doing aerobics stretches to gloat about his new freedom.

"Gotta hand it to the lass, didn't think she 'ad it in 'er. Now, I think I'm due some revenge", he stated, fists clenched and leaning his body slightly forward.

Tropy sneered, "You had some potential, Dingodile, I remember when Cortex created you, you helped us in the Time Twister. And yet you lost, to an orange rug, if you think you can take any of us, without your gimmick, then just try it. We outnumber you easily". Whilst he was gloating to his old ally, Nina had gone ahead and thrown two other sticks at two other cells... Tropy realised this, "You continue to disappoint me Nina!", he aimed his tuning fork at her. Tropy fired an orb and was accelerating faster than anyone had seen! Nina dodged, Cortex, seeing this, shot a bolt that ended up colliding with the orb, neutralising it.

Tropy growled once more, "Watch your aim, simpleton! Not to mention you could've ended her right there, what took you?!".

Cortex laughed nervously, "Y-yes, how careless of me". Tropy seemed to buy it, as soon as he readied his fork he heard a deep, throaty voice speak up.

"Tiny is, free?", everyone looked at the now mangey Tiger, he was outside his prison, "Nina, free Tiny? Tiny owes Nina". He glared at Tropy and the others, including Cortex. "Tiny's friend help Tiny, Tiny now protect his friends!".

Tiny leapt to Tropy! The two Brats tried to intervene, but Dingodile grabbed and threw one out of the way, then kicked the other down the hall. Tropy began to swing his fork, he swung it up and left, but Tiny simply grabbed it, and tied it into a knot. Tropy tried not to make it apparent that this honestly surprised him, he went for a quick punch at Tiny, who grinned and rolled out of the way. A TNT crate was suddenly about to be struck by Tropy!

"What on Earth?!" he yelled before the crate detonated, not only making a hole outside, a fairly steep drop down to the bottom of the island but splitting the fight up. Tropy, Uka Uka, and the recovering Brats were on one side. Nina, Neo, Dingodile, Tiny and Ripper Roo (who had just done the sneaky TNT trick) were on the other. Tropy's right hand was singed, and he didn't seem pleased, "There is nowhere left for you to run, although, if you want a quick death, now you have an option", he said motioning at the hole in the castle's wall.


"Alright", Ami began, "First thing's first, as I said, jumping and spinning, with the occasional slide? That can only get you so far. It'll still come in handy, don't you worry, but trust me I can teach you a few things". Crash listened intently, Ami continued, "I won't lecture you, first things first, fists up". Crash glanced down at his hands, then did so, albeit slightly unenthused. Ami grabbed his wrists and raised them slightly higher, "Like so".

Crash nodded, Ami then raised her own, "Now, you obviously know how to punch, but knowing is not the same as doing if that makes sense. Experience will take you farther". Ami circled Crash, "Now just to practice let's go, just try and take a couple swings, if you can land one, we're making progress". Crash did a tiny and distant jab, Ami rolled her eyes, "Come on! Some oomph!".

Time began to pass as Crash and Ami did their small exercise, many times Crash stumbled or fell over, much to both of their amusement, and eventually Crash managed to get a hit in, blocked by Ami. "There ya go! Once you can read your enemy's movements it becomes almost natural, at least that's how I feel", she confirmed, smacking Crash on the back, almost sending him off the ground. Ami noted that the sun was beginning to sink quite fast, "Curses, well we oughta head home, can't spend each night at yours, I'll fetch Jill and Emily".

Crash gazed at the sea, all the other islands could be seen at varying distances, a notable one caught his eye, Cortex's Castle, possibly the furthest one from home by eye. It looked like it was lighting up, and it was green? Cortex's ray gun bolts were that colour, he grabbed Ami by the hand and pulled her. "Wh-whoa there!", she hollered, when she came to a stop, Crash was pointing to the island in question. Ami squinted her eyes, "Looks like ol' Cortex is having some target practice, goes to show we need to train more, come on".

Target practice? Whenever? Cortex was a dreadful shot half of the time. This didn't feel right to Crash, he put his hands in his pockets and followed Ami, whilst he kept an eye on the castle behind him. As soon as Crash went inside his hut to gather with his friends, a chunk of the castle's walls was blown open!


Now at the present, the old commandos were at an impasse, Nina turned back to her Uncle, she could not read him right now. It almost seemed like he was assisting and not trying to show it.

Tropy tilted his head side to side, a slight cracking sound coming from inside his body, "I have had enough of this".

Uka Uka growled, "I concur".

Tropy made a beeline for Nina, he was moving insanely fast and he didn't even manipulate time! He swept her off of her legs, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her down on to the stone floor. Nina's vision became disorientated by such a blow, Tiny ran at Tropy, who used Tiny's momentum to toss him over, into Cortex. Dingodile seemingly had disappeared, and Ripper Roo was trying his best to not harm Nina, after all, most of his moves involved explosives...

Suddenly Uka Uka was firing red energy bolts at Roo, keeping him at bay, but Roo was dodging them with ease and laughing slightly. Uka Uka's eyes widened, "You dare to mock me, you unhinged degenerate rat?!". This only made Roo laugh harder. Uka Uka's teeth scraped against each other as he began to fire a huge purple beam! Cutting the walls and making the opening even larger, whilst Roo ran to the right. Even going so far as to run up the wall without gravity affecting him and circling around all of the walls including the ceiling. Uka Uka, in his blind rage, had not noticed Roo placing Nitro crate tiles on the surfaces of all the walls. Once more Ripper Roo, had done a sneaky trick under their noses, in his own madness, Roo had created a trap Uka Uka could not avoid.

Cortex pulled himself from under Tiny, "Goodness Tiny", he began, dusting his coat off, "You really have grown since I last held you...", he saw Tropy still with his hands around his niece. Without needing to second chance it, Cortex pulled out his ray gun, and fired a shot, clean in the side of Tropy's head! It left a faded green mark on his helmet, not making much of a dent.

Tropy lessened his grasp on Nina and turned to his left, to Neo, "What are you doing, you traitor?". He stood up and now only had one target, the foolish yellow scientist who constantly was a blunder to their previous plans.

Cortex laughed, quite a lot actually, "Traitor? You just had your hands around the throat of my own flesh and blood, who once pledged alligience to our plot, yet you'd axe her to benefit yourself. You will not go anywhere near her as long as I breathe".

This whole time, Uka Uka was trying to call attention to Tropy, but Tropy's arrogance blocked it out, he felt it necessary to mock his opponent further, "Of all the people I've fought, I still think that one of those overly mutated plants on N. Sanity Island would make a more worthy scrap".

"TROPY!", Uka Uka screamed in his ear, making Tropy recoil, in fact Tropy was so taken aback he had his fists clenched ready to punch. His face changed from ticked off to panicked in a matter of seconds as he processed the line green aura down the hall.

"Wh-when did-", Tropy coughed out, before he got pelted by something searing hot, right in his shoulder pistons, he fell to his knees, trying to control his breathing.

Nina, Neo and Tiny looked behind Tropy in glee, as Dingodile waddled over with a smirk on his face, flamethrower back in his grasp. "What was that ye cocky bastard?!", he asked, stepping on Tropy with his left foot, planting Tropy into the floor. Dingo turned to Roo, who genuinely had his foot over the first of his Nitro crate tile dominoes. "Great job, Roo, I'll pay for lunch next! C'mon, let's get outta 'ere!".

Cortex seemed confused, "Where could you possibly go? That is quite a steep drop down there. That's what I get for making such a gaudy design for a lair...".

Dingodile looked at the drop mentioned, "Nahh, we can make that easy!".

Uka Uka scoffed, "Please, it's a good thing I take pity on the lot of you, you're on the side unaffected by Ripper Roo's Nitro crate placements. In just one blow, I could end you all".

Nina the blurted out, "But you won't". Everyone turned to her, even Tropy glanced up, "You won't do it, you know that you need at least one of us, face it Uka Uka, your cause has been lacking manpower for years. Keep throwing out empty threats, but we know you are full of it. Everyone is losing faith, maybe it's time a new leader was in charge, I quit".

Uka Uka let out a small sigh and grinned, he knew his men would not follow this worm.

"Tiny leave too", Uka Uka could not believe what he was hearing, now Tiny was out?

Dingodile glanced at the others, "Yeah, these lot seem alright, think I'm out too, 'boss'".

Ripper Roo hopped over and sat on Dingo's shoulders, nodding as if to imply "Me too".

Uka Uka looked to Cortex, his oldest ally, and prayed he would not say what he feared he'd come out with. Neo folded his arms, "I believed in you for years, Almighty Uka Uka, but now that my family is in danger, I cannot let this slide. I was not comfortable with the locking up of our minions, of our harsher rules, any of the new employments. I-I am going to leave too, at least until we can come to some sort of agreement".

Tropy's body was not hurting as much now, luckily most of his armour took the hit from Dingo's fireball shot. Dingo took his foot off of Tropy, "Well, seems like we've come to an agreement, eh? Catch you later mate".

All Uka Uka could do right now was seethe, they had him practically at checkmate. Much as he loathed Nina right now, deep down he knew she was right, he really had fallen from grace.

Dingo turned to Tiny, "Countin' on ya big fella", he went and whispered to Tiny his plan in seconds, then, Tiny picked up Nina, and scooped her up into his right arm due to her tiny frame. He then grabbed Neo by the collar, causing him to question what was going on. Dingo and Tiny stood by the edge, holding their allies in their own way.

Tiny, passed Nina to Neo, "Cortex hold Nina for moment", Neo nodded, he put his arms around her and looked up at Tiny.

"Now!" Dingo yelled, they both hopped and began to fall rapidly to the ground! Dingodile and Tiny fell side by side, watching the jungle below them intently, Cortex was screaming like a little girl as the wind whooshed past them, he held Nina close, who was honestly petrified but hiding it, Roo actually began to leave Dingo's shoulders but was cackling loudly as they plummeted.

Tropy quickly got up, surprising Uka Uka, he grabbed his old tuning fork and straightened it out the best he could. "You're not getting away!", he declared, grabbing his chest, and turning the dials, he began to speed up immensely, even Uka Uka could not process the speed.

"Do it Tiny!", Dingo yelled, Tiny dug his right hand into the castle exterior, making long thin streaks digging in from his nails, but he was beginning to slow down slightly. But it looked like he was not going slow enough, and this could still hurt. Dingodile set his thrower to blow, the pressure being enough to keep him afloat if he cranked it higher. He began to realise that Tiny was falling faster, "Ah damn" he grumbled.

Cortex stopped screaming, he had an idea, his ray gun could do just the same, albeit slightly lesser, he set his gun to the same setting, holding Nina with his left arm and gun with his right. He briskly aimed down and pulled the trigger, it seemed like it was working!

Suddenly, Tropy appeared, how? He was down for the count last they checked. Tropy went further down than them and punched his own arm into the wall, then aiming his fork up at Tiny. Tiny decided to power through, but that seemed to be what Tropy wanted, he threw the fork out toward Neo, catching him by the midsection! Everyone else looked up as they fell, they were almost to safety, but now Neo and Nina were prime for capture.

Tropy let out a maniacal shriek, "You always fall short don't you, Cortex?".

Cortex looked dead in Tropy's eyes, "Not this time", he let go of Nina.

"U-Uncle?!", she squealed, starting to descend once more.

"Do me proud, Nina", he requested, followed by Tropy opening a portal and disappearing with her Uncle.

"UNCLEEEEEEE!", she screamed, she was then caught by Tiny, who had slowed himself down now he had two hands free, and they all came to a slow halt at the bottom of the castle. Nina squirmed out of his grasp, not mad at him, just distressed beyond belief, she could only think about Neo right now, she took a quick look. Witnessing that Tiny and Dingodile were ok, followed by Roo landing on Dingo's head, flooring him and causing further chuckles from the kangaroo. Nina turned to the wall and looked up, her palms pressed against the cold purple blocks.

Her friends were quiet around her, "He saved you there, Nina", Dingo spoke up, Nina knew this, that's what was eating at her the most. She never got a chance to properly tell her Uncle how grateful she truly was to him, even if the past few weeks had been rough and confusing. The fact that he was just a pawn under pressure made her furious. What were they doing to him right now? Beating him up? Torture? Had they killed him already for his betrayal to Uka Uka?

Nina's breathing became heavier as she faced the ground, and it got faster. She suddenly began to punch the wall, with both of her fists slowly, each one having more an impact, "Why? Why?! WHY?!", she bellowed into the forest around her, many birds flying away due to the disturbance. After a solid minute, Nina slowed down and turned, sitting down and regaining her composure, she rubbed her eyes softly and sniffed. "I'm sorry", she muttered.

Tiny, Dingo and Roo all exchanged glances, "Nina no need to be sorry. Nina save us from prison!", Tiny said bluntly, meaning well, and Nina knew that too. Nina sighed and put her hands to her side, and felt something, a gun? Neo's ray gun, he dropped it, was it intentional, Nina's tears came back and she stood up and clasped the gun in her hands. As Nina stood up and looked at the fortress before her, she tightened her grip.

She turned back to her friends, "We need to hide for now, find a base of operations, we need Uncle back, then we can begin the Commandos' Resurrection". They all seemed to agree, Nina pointed into the trees, "Let's move, we can't stay here, especially since it's getting dark". The group dashed into the distance, rustling through bushes and shrubbery, hoping to recover their old leader in due time.

Uka Uka sighed and turned back to the hole that his old minions jumped out of, "Clearly Ripper Roo is rusty, those Nitro crate tiles burned out in seconds. He fooled us".

Tropy held Cortex pinned onto the ground, "They won't get far, we have something they want, eh Neo?", he said with a laugh, ruffling Cortex's hair. Cortex just lay there, proud that they didn't capture anyone else, but was also worried for Nina, he could only hope that she would be alright, and make a name for herself where he failed.


The sun had practially set, and we see the Bandicoot's Hut with a small bit of smoke emanating from the chimney, out stepped Ami supporting Jill. "I'll get her back to her parents, they're probably worried sick. Catch ya'll tomorrow!", Ami claimed, with Emily following behind.

Jill waved behind at the group, namely Crunch, who returned the gesture with a smile.

Emily turned around to Coco, "So will you be in school tomorrow?".

Coco smirked, "I can't see why I wouldn't be". Emily suddenly hugged Coco, which threw her off guard, but she did reciprocate, "Now go on, get home, we'll see you soon". Once the three wandered toward the cave that would lead them to the boat docks, Coco closed the front door behind her. "It almost feels too good to be true, having met Ami again and meeting those two", she said, sitting down next to Crash, who looked up to the ceiling deep in thought.

Crunch was in the kitchen washing out various plates and cups, "I think it's just a sign things may be lookin' up!", he shouted from the other side of the house, "Just hope they don't get in much danger with us around!". Coco took that on board, she was thinking something remarkably similar, earlier that afternoon...

Aku Aku floated into the room, "Children, I have kept something quiet for a little while today, as I wanted to save it for when we were alone. It is not that I do not trust our new companions, but what recently transpired may be a real cause for danger". All three of them (Crunch peering through the doorframe of the kitchen) looked to Aku Aku, who went over to the fireplace and requested them to sit for this one.


The boat ride back was peaceful and quiet for the three girls, Ami leaned on the wall of the boat at the front, Emily was sat by Ami's feet writing in a journal of sorts and talking to herself. Jill was planted on the right side of the ship, simply trying to not put too much pressure on her ankle. Ami stared at the ocean beneath, the night coming soon making it a deeper hue of blue and slowly warping to a purple tone. The wind gently pushing past her hair and ears, and the waves of the sea were all she could really hear right now. She rummaged through her right pocket, and pulled out a portable music player, tinted green of course. As soon as she put the earphones in, and began to listen, she left it on auto play.

A few tunes played on the way to Middle Island, mostly rock due to her history, and once the boat came to a stop, Ami pulled the earphones out and forgot to lock the device's screen, accidentally pressing a section called 'News'. As it turned out, Emily's home was right by where the Middle Island dock was located, a few paces away was a fairly tucked away burrow. After Emily bid her new friends goodbye, Ami escorted Jill back home, and as much as Ami cared for Jill, man did she go on about Crunch the whole way back. Soon Ami had gotten to the path that lead to her home, Jill's was just a fair few steps down the main path from here.

"-I think he's really cute, you think so?", Jill added, Ami only just tuning back in.

"Oh, sure yeah, so you want help this last bit? I'm only to the left here", Ami asked, wanting to change the topic for a moment.

Jill looked over in the direction of her home, "I'm sure I'll be fine, need to walk this off some time".

Ami let go of Jill's arm, "Alright, if you're sure, you're welcome to crash at mine, it's closer to home than the other's place".

Jill shook her head, "Nah, my parents are probably gonna freak out when they see this, I better get it out of the way now, see you tomorrow".

Ami scratched the back of her head, "The first part I'll give you, but if you think you're gonna be doing much practical stuff tomorrow... Well, you're outta your mind, best thing to do is make the best of the situation and start writing up those papers that I KNOW you haven't started".

Jill laughed nervously, "We just started, what can I say? I'm in no rush, anyhow, I best go". Ami playfully shooed Jill away, noticing her limp and saying "Ow..." every other step, Ami simply snickered and wandered to her abode. When Ami entered home once more, she sighed in relief, seeing all her workout equipment in such a mess made her feel at ease, and she had a few hours to relax before heading to work tomorrow.

Ami was halfway through brewing some tea where she heard some mumblings, she peered around, checking inside the cupboards of her kitchen and under the appliances, until she found the source, her pocket. "Musta left this thing on, what have we got?", she asked herself, tuning back into her device.

"Live, we have an interview directly from the city of N Varna".

Ami rolled her eyes, "Good grief, did I really get on to the news section? N Varna of all places... Not even located on the boundaries of N Sanity Isle". Ami reached her hand down to turn off her player when her ears pricked up.

"A witness who claims to have seen THE Isabelle Bandicoot, who has been missing for many years since the power outage that struck N Varna a long while ago".

Ami left the kettle whistling, she felt dizzy, but also ecstatic, a mixture of excitement but fear. Ami had not heard of most of the Nitro Squad in so long. She grabbed her player out of her pocket and checked the screen, there was not an image of her beloved friend unfortunately. "Izzy...", Ami choked out. The reporter seemed to be a slightly beefy Koala, dressed appropriately too, this news station must have been the real deal. Ami felt bad assuming that the reporter was Koala Kong himself, but he'd been off the grid for many years now.

The reporter continued, "Those not in the know may be uninformed, Isabelle Bandicoot was a drifter who landed in N Varna a few years prior to the incident. A woman with only a small bit of money to her name but turned it into one of the most influential and prominent companies in a matter of months. Her company was one of the most pivotal contributors to our city's inventions. The last known appearance of Isabelle was March 15th, 2003, just a couple of years ago, shown in this clip in our archives".

Ami leaned closer to the screen, "First of all", she whispered to herself, "It's Isabella, not Isabelle. Hack journalists...".

The footage began to play, and sure enough, Isabella was surrounded by press, various other animals trying to get a scoop on the latest bit of news from her. The streets of N Varna looked just as Ami had remembered, crisp white, with most of the other additions being a cyan colour, such as the windows and road markings. Various camera flashes surrounded Isabella, but it seemed that she was used to it. She was waving and greeting a few of the people around her. The interviewer in this case, was the same one reporting today. He got close enough to ask Isabella a question.

Isabella did not look any different than how Ami remembered. Her neck length blonde hair was as elegant as ever, her endearing smile, even donning the same blue eyeshadow that Ami remembers Isabella's mother being against when they were younger.

"Isabelle! Can we get a quick question from you?" he asked.

She turned to him, a small smile on her face, "It is Isabella, my friend, how can I help?". Ami got chills hearing her classy Italian accent for the first time in so long.

"Do you have anything to say about those opposing your latest project? You've not even unveiled it to the public yet!"

Isabella hummed, "I want to surprise my people with a world changing device my men have been working on for a long time now, I do not see the point in ruining the anticipation now, do you?". Her statement was followed by a mix of cheers and more questions.

The footage ceased and the report continued, in in a matter of seconds, moved on to another story.

It was her. Ami scrambled to get a notepad and pencil; in due time she took some quick notes.

- Isabella (Alive?)

- N Varna, last known location

- Blackout? Linked to the project she had in mind? Two years since.

Ami clenched her music player and just smiled in silence, a couple tears hit the wooden floor by her feet, the darkest reaches of her mind assuming that her friend was deceased, but she may be alive. In N Varna no less. It was only a couple hour boat ride away, over the horizon... She had to get there, but Ami knew it was not the most wholesome place on Earth. It had a reputation for a reason. Yet she had no idea that Isabella landed herself there.

Ami stopped herself thinking the worst of this situation, yet it was begging for her to go back to the past, to her youth with her old friends. Now more than ever she missed her locket. She began to pace back in forth in her living room, her player now on the side, she needed the silence, other than her floorboards creaking with each step.

Ami only hoped that she and Isabella were still cool, given what happened back when. The only way she could find out, is to track her old friend down, it had been too long. And all the news stations in N Varna cared about were stories, not actually searching for her.

Was it too selfish to ask Crash and the others for help on this? Should she go alone? Is it even worth risking?

Yes, it was worth risking, that much she knew. Ami just needed to find the right time, the boats were more active during the week, and less on weekends. Ami set it into her mind that she had a few tasks to do. The important one tomorrow, however, was to have a word with some of the staff about the unfair scolding and punishment that Crash, and Crunch were dealt today.


Jill sat herself down on her bed, her room was the definition of cutesy, with various animal boy band posters slapped around the place, a small TV in the corner of her room with a pink games console, and a few stuffed animals by the pillow of her bed. She had just calmed her mother down as (she expected) was panicking beyond belief but was glad her daughter was fine. Jill's father seemed to be calmer, but Jill was used to him being distant, he was more so annoyed that she let her mother worry for so long.

Jill made up the excuse that her ankle was sprained during some exercises and that seemed to suffice, it had happened to her before which added to the credibility. Thus, her parents advised that she get some rest and see about school tomorrow. She tucked herself in to bed, hoping to get an early night's sleep, placing Ami's locket to the side. Words could not express how guilty she felt not just giving Ami the damn thing, why did she hold onto it?

If Jill were truly honest to herself, she was afraid, afraid that any slip up in her friendship with Ami or the others, could end in utter destruction, like another bond she used to have...

She turned over, trying to drift off, left with her thoughts in a quiet, dark room. No chatter from her friends like last night, no spectacle around her, just Jill's mind and her body, conflicting inside.