Crunch had jumped back down into the cave, he saw the remote lying there and grabbed it to make sure it didn't get into the wrong hands. He ran but limped over to Crash and Coco, who were still hanging from the ropes "Crunch! You made it! We were so worried about you!" Coco said with joy, "Don't worry guys! the Bearminator will never come back. I'm here to release you" Crunch said, then he went near the winch and pulled both Crash and Coco to safety. Crunch then had to untie the ropes, but decided to cut then with his claws instead and finally, Crash and Coco were free from the ropes, "I hope you two are alright!" Crunch said, Crash and Coco didn't say anything. Instead they both hugged Crunch tightly... Crunch was a bit surprised with it, but he was happy though "Thank you so much... brother" Coco said, "Uhh.... brother? Gee that's too nice, of course I'd help you two out, you both saved me back then so why not?" Crunch said, both Crash and Coco had now thought of Crunch as part of their family, "You may not be related to us, but we do see you as a brother. We were so scared, never been this much scared in our lives!" said Coco, both siblings let go of Crunch to look up at him "Man that's bad... I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but don't worry... he'll never return. I promise" Crunch told them, "Say, what did happen to the polar bear anyway?" Coco asked, Crunch looked nervous and didn't want to tell... he replied "Well, he sort of... brought his own fate on to himself. I tried to give him chances, but he didn't take them." Coco and Crash looked a bit afraid but didn't take it seriously "Oh well... it's his own fault then, me thinks! But Crunch, we really need to get back on track now! I found out Crimzon has a secret chamber and she's holding Wa-wa captive inside it! She doesn't seem to know how to control him so she's holding him there until she figures it out. The location is somewhere in Mexico underground!" said Coco "Really that's good! At least we don't have to track him down. I already have the other three elementals with me right now, so this is great! Where is it?" "Oh you have the other three already? Wow you're doing great! I'll give you this small device to lead you there but first, you must go somewhere else..." Coco told Crunch, she handed over her device to Crunch "Hey thanks! But what's this other place? I have to go to, and where are you and Crash going to?" "Well it's a surprise! Me and Crash will be waiting at the chamber entrance for you, since you're going to need a bit of help with this one!" "Hmm alright then. Hope it's well worth it... How are you two going to go?" Crunch asked "Oh I have my ship not far from here so don't worry about us, and are you able to come without problem?" "Oh yeah I should... I'm a bit sore from the fight but maybe after some rest, I can fly there with the Storm element..." said Crunch "Oh sounds so cool! Well we better head off now... enjoy the surprise too!" Coco said, then both her and Crash headed off out the caves exit "Be careful... bro and sis..!" Crunch said, and just looked back with a smile Crash and Coco waved. "Heh. They make much better siblings than Tawna... even if they're unrelated to me" Crunch thought.

Crunch followed the direction Coco told him to go, he really wanted to go and find Wa-wa before he did anything else though. He'd been walking and limping for a few hours now. But his body was starting to get more and more worn out. The bruises from the Bearminator's punches had started to effect him now, his foot was still slowly bleeding through the band-aid... leaving a stained paw print in the snow and dirt as he walked. He was also starting to get hungry for not eating for two days. Night time was starting to settle in. He was feeling exhausted. He was unable to use the elemental powers at all in this state on condition, the elementals knew something was wrong "Crunch? Are you sure you're ok?" they asked again, he replied "Don't worry, I'm still walking aren't I?" but as Crunch was walking... he sensed trouble following him. He saw a flashlight shining from behind him, it was obviously the army yet again! Crunch wasn't in such a good condition, he knew he couldn't do much this time. He knew he was at risk yet again, he turned around and saw only five men this time. they must have been a small group following him all this time and must have caught up, due to Crunch moving slower than usual. Crunch was unsure of what to do and before anything happened.... the gunfire's were shot.

Crunch had fallen and fell onto his side. He was struck in the shoulder by two of the bullets. Luckily for Crunch his muscles were thick and they didn't harm him too much, but he lay still on the ground anyway... hoping the humans would think he's dead, so they wouldn't shoot him more times... so he lay still, "Hah we finally did it! We shot the monster!" one of the soldiers cheered "Well done Dave! The general will be glad to hear this. Stupid monster, that's what he gets for destroying our cities and killing people!" another spoke, Crunch still lay still and was deeply annoyed with their response "What? I haven't even killed any humans before! Oh this is it..! I may be weakened, but I'll tear these idiots apart....!" Crunch thought, but decided to lay still for longer to listen to their convocations "But Sir, I don't believe he did it... the monster we saw had a bigger body size and small ears. And he also had two weapons! This is someone else...!" one of the men said, a young adult who stood behind the other four men "Oh shut up naive boy! We've killed the beast now! I wonder how much that burgundy fur would be worth too..." one of the men spoke again, his comment made Crunch loose his patience! "THAT'S IT!" he yelled,

the men screamed but didn't have time to respond! Crunch used all the strength he could and jolted up, punched the nearest man right across the face, fracturing his skull and killing him instantly. And then used his other sore hand to slash another across the neck! The other men panicked and tried to move but then Crunch grabbed the other two with both of his large pawlike hands and hauled them in maul at their throats… crunching and ripping, then tossed them to the ground.

Dead.

It all happened so quickly, and Crunch stood there panting and tried to calm himself back down, "Those humans piss me off...!" he spoke while trying to catch his breath, the last soldier stood there in shock, shivering and holding his gun… unsure of what to do next. Crunch then looked at him, and the young man gasped "No please! I didn't shoot you! Honest to god I didn't! Please don't kill me!" he said and held his eyes closed tightly and turned his face away. Crunch just approached him, and snatched his gun from his hands and threw it several metres away "I'm not going to kill you. You knew the truth, and not to mention you're not a jackass like those things..." Crunch told him, he opened his eyes "....th-thanks... Yeah I admit I didn't like them much. They were cruel to prisoners as well, so they got what was coming for them" the guy replied, still frightened though. "Good to finally see a human that can actually speak to me civilly for once. But now, you better get out of here. I have things to do..." "Yes of course... thanks again for sparing me...!" the young adult said, he was still frightened and ran off from the scene.

Crunch then tried pulling out the bullets in his shoulder with his long claws, "Damn bullets... no wonder humans always have guns, because they're so fragile and easy to kill...!" he pulled out both the bullets with his claws, leaving two small wounds. He was lucky to not have been shot anywhere harmful. He then turned down and looked at the dead humans… Crunch was starving still, and was somewhat tempted to go up to them to take a few bites of flesh, especially after tasting their blood. It wasn’t that good, but it was better than nothing… he decided not to, as it’ll only make himself more of an enemy to the humans than he already was, so he reluctantly left the scene… to follow the location Coco had given him.

*

Crunch walked on more, and exhaustion started to drag him down more and more. He just wanted to sleep, but there was nowhere to rest. He noticed lights up ahead, and saw a wooden cabin "So this is where Coco leads me to? Another human civilization? Oh man, why to things have to get even worse..." he walked on and held his head low. Light snowflakes started falling through the night sky, he noticed the flakes and looked on ahead... he couldn't believe his eyes! Someone was standing outside of the cabin, but not just anyone. The figure looked over at Crunch, and spoke... "Is that... him?" she said, Crunch heard the voice and knew straight away who it was... it was Tani! "Oh my gosh Crunch!" she yelled, "Tani!" he yelled in return, they both ran together and hugged "Oh it's so good to see you Crunch, I was so worried!" Tani said, she hugged him tightly and nuzzled "I'm so glad to see you too Tani, I missed you so much! Looks like you're healed a bit then!" said Crunch, "Yeah I can walk, at least! Well come on inside, it's much more comfortable than out here, I also have some dinner cooking!" "That sounds great!" and both Tani and Crunch went inside the cabin.

Inside the cabin there was a fireplace, a kitchen, bed, table and candles used at lights. Crunch and Tani headed inside and both sat down on the couch... Crunch was so tired that he just lay against Tani's shoulder and wanted to sleep. Tani quickly noticed he was badly injured and gasped "Oh man Crunch! You're hurt! What happened to you?" "Well I got into a big fight and other troubles along the way... yeah I'm not feeling so great but with my love here, It makes me feel much better though" Crunch said, as he nuzzled Tani. Tani was happy but she knew this wasn't good "Aww thanks... but you seriously don't look like you're feeling too good at all. You're bleeding and you've got bruises on your face and chest! There's no way you're going to be able to fight Crimzon like this!" Tani told her mate, Crunch knew she was right "I have three of the elementals with me though... but you're right. I can't even use them in this state of condition." said Crunch, Tani thought "Hmm wait, maybe the masks can heal you like Aku aku?" "Heal? Well I don't know if they can but it's worth trying..." Crunch slowly released the elementals from their crystals and were free out into the open "Woo it's good to be out again!" said Rok-ko, "Tani, since you already know Rok-ko... I'll introduce you to Py-ro, he's the fire elemental and Lo-lo who is the storm elemental. They've both been great, and taught me some magic to help fight against Crimzon Demoness with!" said Crunch "Heh, hello Tani" Py-ro said "Hi there Tani, I'm guessing you're Crunch's partner then, Heh heh!" Lo-lo said with a laugh, Crunch and Tani looked at each other and blushed "Sigh, well no use hiding our secret from these guys...!" Crunch said "HAH I KNEW IT!" Rok-ko yelled, Tani replied "and...?" "And... well nothing!" Rok-ko said, and looked dumb. "So anyway, elemental masks... as you see, Crunch is hurt and I want you all to try and heal him right now!" Tani yelled at them, "Hey no need to yell!" Rok-ko gasped, "Heal? We've never done that before I think!" Py-ro said, Rok-ko didn't know what to say, Lo-lo thought there for a moment "Hey wait... yes, we can heal! Though it's usually easier with all four of us, but it could work..." Lo-lo said "Yeah we have to try and heal him guys! He's like... our master!" Rok-ko said, Crunch thought Rok-ko's comment would anger the other two masks, but they seemed to have agreed with him. Crunch was starting to get tired, and weaker by the minute "No stay awake Crunch, or else you wont heal right" Lo-lo said, "Yeah I'm trying to..." "Ok boys, let's try this..." Lo-lo told them. Tani moved back and watched as the elementals started to work their magic, Tani was amazed at the sight but liked it. The Magic came from both masks and soon Crunch could feel his strength going back to normal. It took a few minutes but it was over soon. All three masks were done "Wow we did it!" Rok-ko said, Crunch opened his eyes and looked up and the masks "Thank you very much guys, I really needed that. I feel tired still but much better! But thanks to Tani for suggesting it though..." said Crunch, he then looked at Tani and licked her face. She giggled "Hey it was mostly the masks that did the job!" she said, Crunch then finally took the messy band-aid off his paw "Wow amazing, even my paw hasn't got a scratch..." "Oh that reminds me, dinner should be done right about now" Tani said, she quickly got up and headed over to the gas oven, she opened it and pulled it out. It was roast pork with potatoes, the smell made Crunch drool and the masks laughed "Hmm you guys can go back into the crystals now. Me and Tani need some time alone" Crunch told the masks, "Yeah as you wish" said Lo-lo, "Ooooo what are you hiding from us!" Rok-ko said, Crunch ignored him and converted all the masks back into the crystals.

He and Tani soon both shared dinner together, Crunch ate much faster than Tani though, and she watched "Wow you must be really hungry...!" she said with a smirk "I haven't eaten in two days so... yeah, no surprises here! I finally don't feel so tired anymore" he said, and continued to eat, Tani tried to catch up "Hey don't forget to leave some for me buster!" she screamed, then she gave him a friendly nip on the ear, "Oww hey, you have free access to food all the time at home! I'm always out in the middle of nowhere, and I can't hunt near as well a you!" and they started to tease and pick on each other. Soon after the big dinner was done, they had a chat about what's been happening in the past few days of being apart from each other. "Oh that damn fox whore! I'll so kick her ass if I ever come across her!" Tani growled ferociously, after Crunch told her about Vin Vixens encounter "Ehh, don't worry so much about fan-girls and hoes. I don't even like foxes at all anyway! But yeah, lots of things have happened... I'll probably tell you more when it's all over because man, I'm starting to feel tired...!" said Crunch "Oh yes of course, sorry about that! I suppose we both got carried away with story telling! My times haven't been as exciting as yours. But Ripper roo did try to invade the home once but not to fear, I screamed and he ran off in a split second!" "Hah silly Ripper roo. He'll never learn... oh and I should warn you. Dr Cortex is back...." Crunch said, he looked down and Tani was surprised "...WHAT!? He's back? Oh damn this sucks! I actually left early this morning with Crash and Coco, so none of us would have got to see him.... if he's at the castle anyway!" "Please be careful Tani... if you go back home." Crunch told her "Of course I'll go back home! I wont let Cortex push me or any of us around! He doesn't even know where our house is anyway, since he hasn't been there in years. But don't worry, I'll be keeping a close watch on him if he is around..." Tani replied to Crunch "...And once I get home, I'll make SURE he wont mess with us! But I know I have to stop Crimzon before I do anything else yet, even if it's so tempting to beat him instead..." "Yeah just try to resist! I bet even Cortex fears Crimzon Demoness at the moment!" Tani said, with a smirk "Yeah of course, and I did kill off this first minion he sent to destroy me, Crash and Coco..." "Oh my goodness! He's already started to attack us? Is that who attacked you...?" "Yes. It was some guy named the Bearminator. I admit he was really strong, but I did defeat him. And save Crash and Coco in time after they were being held above those sharp ice shards... poor guys, they were so frightened. I bet they've never been so close to death before..." Crunch told Tani, Tani seemed sad to hear about that "Oh... that's really sad! But it's really good to know you rescued them in time. They're like a little bro and sister!" "You're right, Coco did call me brother after that... I hope those two don't get caught up in that kind of danger again then! But now, I think we'll both need some rest. Tomorrow I have to capture Wa-wa, he's being held captive in a chamber by Crimzon" Crunch explained to Tani, "Yes sounds like you've got a big day tomorrow..." both Tani and Crunch then both cuddled up together on the mattress near the fireplace "Good night Tani" Crunch said, and yawned "Night night Crunch. I love you..." Tani said, and she snuggled closer to Crunch's chest "...I love you too"  and soon both fell asleep.

Chapter 26