It was now the morning. The fireplace was almost burnt out, but Crash and Coco sat there anyway. They woke up before Crunch, Crash sat there with wumpa until Coco nagged "Hey I think we better get started with the plan... wake Crunch up" she asked, Crash walked over to Crunch and elbowed him. He started to wake, and open his eyes "It's time already?" he asked "Yeap! You slept in, sure you got enough sleep?" asked Coco "Oh, oh yeah of course! Are you two ready to take on the Demoness then?" both Crash and Coco nodded "Of course! Me and Crash are always ready for fighting against evil!" "Alright, let's get on with it" replied Crunch, the three bandicoots then set off into the jungle.

The walk through the jungle took around an hour. Crunch, Crash and Coco were watching from a distance in the jungle "This is it..." said Coco "Yes it is, now to distract Crimzon and all those guards... hey I know, I'll change into the Fire elemental form. That'll be sure to distract her!" "Good idea Crunch, so... are you going to strike now?" "Yeah. You guys try and stay clear though, I can get a bit... out of hand with Py-ros form...!" "Right, ok Crash come this way!" said Coco, both the siblings ran off in the left hand direction and Crunch went to the right, he slowly tried changing to the Fire elemental form, he soon lit up in flames and had changed. Crash and Coco saw from a distance and were amazed "No time to stand and watch Crash! We have to get ready to go inside!" both orange bandicoots awaited. The sudden elemental transformation alerted Crimzon "Hmm! He's here, guards prepare for your attack!" She yelled, the shadow guards got out and watched the temples entrance closely... Py-ro Crunch soon leaped in and stomped right in the centre of the temple grounds he looked up at Crimzon and snarled "So are you going to come and FIGHT ME OR WHAT!?" shouted Crunch, Crimzon got angered and jumped down to get closer to Crunch "You fool! I cannot be destroyed, so why bother!" "Shut up demon WHORE! come and fight me to show me your true evilness!" growled Crunch, Crimzon hissed and replied "DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A WHORE!!! Guards... AFTER HIM!" she screamed, the guards ran after Crunch and Crunch ran into the jungle "Come back here you coward!" and Crimzon chased after Crunch through the depths of the jungle.

As soon as the temple was clear, both Crash and Coco climbed over the temples wall and got over. They saw the entrance, Coco ran on ahead into the temple entrance "come on big brother! This shouldn't take us long!" Crash followed Coco inside, the place was rather dark with some torches lit inside. They walked along the long hallways made of stone, this all looked very familiar to Crash... then the siblings walked down another hallway, Coco walked on ahead with Crash walking behind. Crash was cautious and Coco didn't seem alert at all. soon three spotlights up ahead where seen, Crash looked at them and tried to remember what they were for, Coco just walked on ahead "I so can't wait to hack the computer! I haven't hacked since we last defeated Cortex!" she said, she then stepped into the light, this suddenly made Crash remember what they were for! Crash gasped and ran quickly towards Coco, some arrows then shots straight from the walls! Coco gasped but then Crash came crashing down and he managed to push Coco down to the ground, narrowly missing the arrows as they shot. Both bandicoots where lying on the ground "Oh my goodness! That was so close! Thanks for.. saving me Crash!" Coco said, as she tried to recover from the shock, Crash smiled in return "Heh looks like we have to crawl through these lights then!" the bandicoots crawled through the last two spotlights in the ground and the arrows just shot at nothing as they crawled. They soon had left that hallway, and approached another. Crash decided he should lead the way this time, since he knew more about booby traps than Coco. They both walked slowly and carefully, but as they approached the centre... cracks were heard! They both panicked "Falling platforms!" screamed Coco, they both ran and the ground from behind them fell as they ran, they were almost at the end of the hallway, they both jumped and made it through the next hallway "Oh gosh that was so close! How much longer do we have to go!?" Coco complained, they looked through the next hallway, but to only see a long pit, that neither Coco or Crash could jump across "Oh no! not a pit! Now how can we get across...." Crash looked disappointed but then looked closer, and saw a broken pillar. He thought for a bit then smiled, ran up to it and spun it, Coco looked over to see what Crash was doing, and she was surprised! The pillar broke down and it made a bridge across the pit "Hey that was some good thinking Crash!" said Coco, Crash smiled back and they both attempted to walk across, it was rather wobbly but they did it slowly and steadily... and made it across. Soon their hard work was paid off, and they made it to the final room. It was lit up with more torches and in the centre of the room, a large computer was to the side of another but larger machine. It was the Digital Evolvo-ray. It had a huge protective shield around it, controlled by the computer. If the computer was destroyed, the shield would stay there and be extremely difficult to remove. Coco eagerly ran for the computer "Oh my gosh this is it!" she said, Crash walked over and watched over her shoulder "All I have to do it hack this and then the shield is gone! Can you keep an eye out for any trouble while I do this brother?" asked Coco, Crash gave her a thumbs up and nodded, "Ok this may take me a while...!" and soon, Coco was typing away at the computer... Crash just waited around, walked side to side... and Coco stilled typed ferociously at the keyboard "Hmm this is much harder than it looks!" she muttered, Crash soon was bored and looked over Coco's shoulders again. Coco was getting slightly frustrated, and with Crash's peeking... it distracted her slightly "Hey Crash I'm trying to concentrate here!" she said, Crash stopped peeking and walked away a bit, he also yawned "almost there, almost there... DONE!" shouted Coco, the computer started to shake and Coco jumped back... both bandicoots stood there and watched as the powerful shield surrounding the Digital Evolvo-ray started to fade and flash and soon... it was gone. The two bandicoots slowly walked forward, "Well, what are you waiting for? let's BREAK STUFF!" screamed Coco, Crash ran for the ray and did a spin attack countless times, Coco was kicking it from the other side, and soon the machine was starting to spark from the damage.

Meanwhile out in the jungle, Crunch and Crimzon carried on the chase, Crunch carried on the taunts and Crimzon tried to attack him many times until she stopped in her tracks, Crunch stood there staring at her with his vicious fiery looked "What are you waiting FOR? If it's a fight you want, then BRING IT!" he snarled, but Crimzon didn't reply this time, she was hovering there and sparks came from her body, she looked like she was getting hurt "Come on... GET ME!" roared Crunch, Crimzon glared back angrily... "You... You bloody TRICKED ME!" she yelled, Crunch smiled evilly showing his sharp teeth "Hah you dumb shadow HOE, finally figured it out ehh!!?" he yelled back, but Crimzon knew she didn't have time to fight back, she flew off Crunch got annoyed "Grrr!" and chased after her, he blasted lava up and it struck her from behind, causing her to fall to the ground, "You aint going anywhere miss!!" Crunch yelled, and pounced forward ready to hold her still, Crimzon quickly moved out of the way though, ran and flew off again... Crunch tried his best to keep up.

Crash and Coco kept smashing at the ray, trying their best to break it "Come on we have to hurry up!" yelled Coco, Crash tried body slamming and the ray was close to being destroyed! But a sudden smash through the stone walls caused Crash and Coco to get a fright, Coco screamed in terror as she saw Crimzon fly right through the stone walls, "CRASH WATCH OUT!" Coco screamed as she ran for cover, but Crash didn't move and carried on breaking the ray, he didn't want to give up anytime soon! But it would cost him dearly "MOVE ASIDE!" Crimzon screamed, and she dashed for Crash and gave him a swipe with her claws, causing Crash is be tossed aside from the Digital Evolvo-ray, "NOOO!!!" cried Coco, and soon Crunch had finally caught up.... he watched through the big hole in the temples wall, and was angered to see Crimzon standing there... guarding the ray, but then he noticed Crash lying on the ground a few metres away, he slowly got back up "CRASH!" Crunch shouted, he noticed Crash had been slashed by Crimzon, partially on his back. This made Crunch furious! He knew Crash was frightened of this kind of violence, he wanted to go and burn Crimzon to bits, as well as the ray but Crimzon was being protective of the machine, she blasted some black magic at Crunch to try and stop him from moving, Crunch struggled to move as the black magic held him steadily in his tracks, Crimzon wasn't able to move neither. She tried with all her power to stop him from breaking the rest of the ray, and tried to think of what else to do next... Crash stood up and was stinging from the three scratches he received, he looked at them and saw that he was bleeding slightly, Crash was spooked. He rarely got wounded in fights, since he was good at avoiding attacks due to his small and flexible body... but Crash couldn't handle this wound, he was starting to feel mellow and wanted to just faint and forget about the situation, "CRASH!" Crunch growled in fury, Crash was about to pass out from the shock, Crimzon just looked and laughed "Hah! your friends are so useless! Just look at them, even more useless than you!" she taunted, Crunch snarled more and more! The fire element was making him angrier than usual "SHUT YOUR MOUTH BITCH! THEY'RE NOT USELESS!" "Don't you DARE speak to me like THAT!" Crimzon hissed back, but Crunch couldn't take it anymore! He was unable to control his frustration towards Crash's fears "CRASH! STOP BEING A BLOODY COWARD!! GET BACK UP AND FIGHT! YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE AFRAID OF THAT, YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG, HARDEN UP!!!" Crunch shouted loudly to get Crash's attention, Coco was simply scared of both Crimzon and Crunch and stood back. She was worried for Crash, Crash shook his head and looked back at Crunch. "Hurry UP! STOP BEING A WEAKLING! Live up to your name... CRASH!" yelled Crunch again, Crash had listened to Crunch's word and somehow, was not frightened nor offended by Crunch's furious remarks. Crash felt strength from those words, he turned to look at Crimzon with an angry expression... he breathed in heavily, Crimzon just stared back "Hah you can't do anything, you're too weak for the likes of me!" She yelled at him, Crunch was still desperately trying to get free but then Crash ran straight towards the Evolvo-ray and Crimzon, then leaped forward and did his spin attack, Crimzon was stricken by Crash's spin and lost focus of her magic and was pushed aside, as Crash came to the machine and let out a punch... finishing off the Digital Evolvo-ray.

The Machine blasted as it was finally destroyed, Crash was blown back and fell near his sister, Crunch stood there and covered his face, "NOOOOOOO!!!!" Crimzon screamed, and soon the bright light and dust cleared from the small explosion. Crash got up off his knees and stood near his sister, "Are you ok Crash...?" she asked him, he looked at her and nodded. He also grinned slightly, but showed a more serious facial expression than usual. Coco smiled back. Crunch had switched back to his natural form, he climbed up the debris and ran over to the siblings "Oh man, are you two alright? Crash, I'm so sorry for getting so angry at you... I really shouldn't have done that!" Crunch told him, Crash just looked up. He shock his head at Crunch "Huh...? What do you mean... you mean, you're glad I said that?" Crash then nodded with a smile, he looked more serious than before and didn't have the wacky look as he usually did. Crunch was glad it wasn't a problem "Thanks to your shouting... Crash got inspired to get back up and fight back! Even though you scared the living daylights out of me!" Coco said, "Heh well, thanks... both of you! You really did a fine job in getting rid of this machine though... now it's time to get rid of Crimzon..." replied Crunch, he looked over at Crimzon, whom was lying on the ground. She simply stood up, and showed nothing but hate in her emotion "My power source may be gone... but I am far from finished!" she told Crunch, Crunch looked back with a similar glare "Let's finish this...!".

Chapter 31