#maybe a rat-dillo

[mah-o-daryaa]

Meme of the Week

Inspired by this post!

[curious-shadow-cat]

The Metal Box Pg1

It was a sunny day on N. Sanity Island. Our favorite bandicoots were outside enjoying the cool breeze on their fur and they haven't encountered any enemies yet since last month. Though they were nothing too serious. Just the mutated rats and bunnies. Aku Aku didn't even need to help Crash out with them. He just sat back and watched him with a proud look on his face as the bandicoot took them out with ease. Coco was working on a new machine. To the others it looked like a normal metal ball though it was hooked up to her computer with a black wire. She typed away like there was no tomorrow. She wiped the sweat off her brow and smiled. Without looking away from her computer she spoke.

Coco:"It's almost finished!" She said excitedly. Crunch stopped doing his work out and looked at Coco.

Crunch:"Are you gunna tell us what it is yet? It just looks like a regular wrecking ball to me." He said as he stared at the thing with a confused look. Coco didn't say anything for a few minutes as she typed on her computer. Crunch sighed heavily and tapped his foot impatiently. Coco's ear twitched.

Coco:"Hold on." She said with a flat tone in her voice. She knew how impatient he was getting but she rolled her eyes."I just need to write this code down....aaaand....done!" She said with wide eyes and closed the laptop. She jumped to her feet and looked at her brothers."I'd like you all to meet ARMOR-DILLO!" She held her hands out to the metal ball and they waited for it to move on cue. Everything was silent except for the gentle cool breeze. She frowned and her arms dropped to her sides."Uhh....Armor-Dillo?" She knocked on the metal ball. She itched her head with a confused look on her face but it was quickly replaced with anger."Come on! Piece of junk!" She tried to push it one way and then the other way but it wouldn't move. She clenched her fists and growled."MOVE!" She kicked it and she bit down on her bottom lip before letting out a shriek which startled Crash awake from his sun bathing and looked around only to see his sister hopping on one foot while holding the other as she yelled OW over and over. He couldn't help but chuckled a little before she shot a glare at him. He quickly played dead. Crunch laughed.

Crunch:"It's okay lil sis, you'll get it to work eventually." She glared at him and growled. Aku Aku flew out of the house with his drink and straw floating beside him.

Aku:"What's going on?! Are we under attack?!" He asked as he looked around quickly. Coco lowered her foot and crossed her arms.

Coco:"No, the stupid robot's not working." She said angrily. Just then the robot began to move and it's arms flung out smacking into Coco and made her fly backwards into the house. She was stuck to the wall for a moment before slowly peeling off it and then finally hit the ground.

Aku:"Coco!" He dropped his drink and rushed to her side."Quick! How many masks do you see?" She looked up at him and gave him a goofy smile.

Coco:"Uuhhh, three!" She giggled before she passed out.

Aku:"Crunch! What is that thing?!" He asked angrily as the machine stood up on two legs. It's eyes glowed red and it looked around.

Armor-Dillo:-Searching.- It said and a red beam scanned the area before scanning Crunch and Crash-who was now looking up at the robot with wide eyes. It's eyes narrowed.  -Enemies located. Prepare for EXTERMINATION!- It jumped in the air and turned into a spiked ball. Crunch grabbed Crash and ran.

Crunch:"LOOK OUT!" He yelled before it hit the ground. It rolled towards them. Crash yelled out when he saw it coming towards them. Crunch was grinning."HA! And here I thought it was just gunna be another BORING day!" He threw Crash over the robot and he slid across the ground. He got up and shook his head."We really need to work on your landing skills." He yelled out to him. Crunch spun around and prepared himself for the hit."Bring it on!" He snarled. The robot hit him and he struggled to push the robot back. It stopped rolling and an arm came out and grabbed Crunch's non-metal arm and began to throw him around in the air. Aku Aku and Crash helped Coco up and she shook her head.

Coco:"What happened?" Before anyone could answer, her eyes widened at the robot and she grinned."Aw YEAH! It's working! WOOHOO!" She jumped in the air excitedly. Aku Aku would slap his own forehead if he could. Crash itched his head.

Crash:"Eh?" He poked her shoulder. She looked at him and then realized what was happening.

Coco:"Oh no!" They looked and saw that the robot was trying to pull apart Crunch's arms. She pulled out her laptop and began to type quickly. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Crash and Aku Aku quickly ran to help the bigger bandicoot. Crash jumped on it's head and covered it's eyes.

Armor-Dillo: -Hey! Get off me!- He yelled. The robot released Crunch and tried to grab Crash off his face. Crunch used his metal fist to punch a hole through his stomach and yanked out the wires. Once he did, the robot and Crash were both electrocuted and both were still for a moment before slowly falling backwards and landing on Crash.

Crunch:"Oops..." He quickly rushed to Crash's side.

Aku:"Crash?" He looked at Crunch with a worried look. Crunch pulled him out from under the robot and his fur looked burnt. Crunch sniffed him.

Crunch:"Mm! Smells like chicken!" Aku Aku ignored him.

Aku:"You okay Crash?" He asked. Crash coughed and nodded weakly. Crunch put him down on his feet before he glared at Coco. She smiled nervously.

Crunch:"So let me guess-" Crash, who was behind him, fell backwards on the ground and Aku Aku gave him a wide eyed look. Crunch didn't notice."-You used some parts from the old robots Cortex used to send after us right?" Coco looked away.

Coco:"Maybe...?" She chuckled nervously."Most of them are pretty useful-it's just no sense of letting them go to waste." She quickly said. Crunch smacked his forehead with his metal hand by accident.

Crunch:"OW!" He growled."What did I tell you about that?! I almost lost BOTH of my arms because of that thing!" He said angrily and raising his voice a little. As they argued, Aku Aku tried to wake Crash up by pouring water on his face. He sat up and shook his head. He blinked a few times and noticed that his brother and sister were arguing.

Coco:"My work is none of your business Crunch! I can build anything I want with whatever I want! It's what I do! It's what I'm good at!" She yelled angrily."And Besides, most of the stuff  I've build with Cortex's machines has been helpful with most of our missions! It was one mistake! It's no big deal! I don't see why you're so uptight about it!" He growled as he got closer.

Crunch:"I'am NOT uptight about ANYTHING!" The two were now touching noses looking ready to fight one-on-one.

Coco:"Yes you are!"

Crunch:"Am not!"

Coco:"Are too!"

Crunch:"AM NOT!"

Aku:"STOP IT!" He yelled which startled both the bandicoots. They looked at the now angry spirit."You're both acting like children! Either you both start getting along or I'll-" Just then a small blue crystal flew in front of the mask. He blinked and looked confused. It glowed brightly and they heard a voice. It spoke in a different language but Aku Aku could understand it."...Alright. I understand." The jewel soon disappeared. They looked at the mask expecting him to explain what was going on. But he spun around and began flying away."I have to go."

Coco:"Wha-Hey wait! What's going on?!" They chased after him.

Aku:"Something important has come up and I need to be there." He flew back to them and gave them a serious look."I can't explain now, just stay at the house." He smiled a little."Just relax a little, have fun, okay?"

Coco:"But I thought we were going to hang out together?"

Crunch:"Yeah, we were gunna go to the beach later." They kept trying to keep him around longer, trying to find some way to make him stay but the mask shook his head.

Aku:"I know, I know-but please, I really need to go. It's urgent. I really must go right away! I'll be back soon I promise!" He spoke as he flew away from them. They watched him disappear out of sight.

Coco:"Huh...I wonder what that was all about." She looked down at the ground and kicked a small rock over before looking up at Crunch.

Crunch:"Maybe it's a family thing?" Crunch shrugged.  Crash stretched his arms and yawned. He turned around and walked towards the house. Crunch and Coco followed and went to pick up the fallen robot.

Coco:"I guess I'll try to fix this piece of junk again." She sighed."What went wrong?" Crunch wanted to speak but didn't want to get back into another argument again. He stayed silent and just helped her pick up the robot.

Aku Aku appeared in another world. It looked like space and there were islands floating around. Some had Ancient temples, others were old ruins that barely stood up on their own anymore. Just statue's that floated around them and more as they fell apart. The mask flew past the Islands and towards a much bigger temple. It looked more like a prison. Two stone guards stood in his way and one of them spoke.

Stone Guard 1:"Who goes there?" He asked. Aku Aku sighed.

Aku:"Do we really need to keep doing this every time I show up?"

Stone Guard 2:"Yes." He said firmly.

Stone Guard 1:"And don't start throwing a fit like that other mask in there." He said as he pointed behind him at the temple.

Aku:"Wait...who?"

Stone Guard 2:"Oh I think you know." He chuckled but then the first guard elbowed his arm.

Stone Guard 1:"Fool! We're not suppose to give out any information about the visitors or prisoners!" He said angrily. The other just rolled his eyes. Aku Aku sighed.

Aku:"Oh no, what did he do?!" He asked worriedly. They looked at him.

Stone Guard 1:"Why don't you ask the Ancients yourself?"

Stone Guard 2:"But first; Name?" He said sarcastically.

Aku:"Aku Aku! I was called here by the-"

Stone Guard 2:"Yeah, yeah, just go inside." They opened the doors and he flew past them quickly. The doors slammed shut behind him. He quickly flew down the long halls. The stones were grey and black and the floors were white and grey. There were stone doors all over the walls and the place was full of dangerous creatures. Even so, the place was silent...except for the yelling up ahead of the hallway behind a large stone door.  As the good spirit flew near, the door opened itself and up ahead he could see his twin brother yelling at one of the Ancients-who looked quite angry himself. The Ancient was larger than Uka Uka, he was painted black and purple and had only one eye.

???:"I COULD CARE LESS IF YOU WERE DEVOURED BY A GIANT SERPANT! YOU WILL DO THIS JOB WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR-" He stopped quickly once he saw Aku Aku flying towards them. Uka Uka gave him a wide eyed look before glaring at him.

Uka"YOU!" He yelled."I should have known you were up to this!" He snarled. Fire came out of his head.

Aku:"Wha-What's going on?! Why is he here?!" He asked.

???:"Please calm yourselves." Another Ancient spoke as he flew towards them. The other one growled.

???:"About damn time! This one's aching to be-"

"Enough." The other said with a firm tone in his voice. The angered Ancient grumbled low to himself. The other Ancient was oval shaped and was nearly covered in feathers and leaves. Most of the feathers were golden. The twins floated side-by-side.

Uka:"Anyone wanna tell me why I'm here?" He asked impatiently.

???:"You two are here because something dangerous is about to be woken up. We need you two to stand guard and watch over it. Make sure no one get's their hands on it." The twins looked at each other before giving the Ancient a look. He sighed."You know what I mean." He said with a tired tone on his voice. He turned around."Follow me." He said now serious again. They did.

Aku:"....Sooo....how's it going?" He asked.

Uka:"Quite well actually." He said with a smirk."My henchmen are cooking something up just for you and those bandicoots of yours my dear sibling." He chuckled. Aku Aku's frown grew.

Aku:"Oh good to know." He rolled his eyes. But then he smiled."My kids certainly do need a couple of training dummies. I'm so glad your henchmen are willing to volunteer for them!" Uka Uka growled.

Uka:"Well, let's hope your 'kids' can handle the challenge then, otherwise there won't be anything left of them....OR the Island." He grinned evilly. Aku Aku blew one of his feathers out of his face before looking at his twin with a smile.

Aku:"I'm sorry could you repeat that? I wasn't listening." Uka Uka growled once more and blue smoke came out the top of his head.

"Ahem." They stopped and looked at the Ancient who was floating beside a large round door. There was-what appeared to be a demon-carved on the stone door."This is it." They stayed silent as they stared at the carving. It looked as if it was staring them down. A look of concern was on their faces. Aku Aku looked at his twin and it nearly brought a chill through him when he saw it on Uka's face. When he looked at him he quickly looked away and was back to looking annoyed.

Uka:"Okay, so what? We'll just be outside right?"

"Wrong." Said the mask who pushed a switch and the doors began to open. Their eyes widened and a there was a look of Awe on their faces as the markings on the walls glowed brightly. It was beautiful yet they both had a bad feeling about this. The doors spun slowly as they opened wide. The Ancient flew inside."Come along. We don't have long now." He said. He glowed brightly showing them the way down the spiral staircase. The twins looked down as they followed the mask. It seemed endless.

Uka:"I just wanted to stay home and nap all day. Was that too much to ask?" He mumbled to himself. Aku Aku kept quiet. He wasn't so sure what they were up against. He looked at his brother.

Aku:"Uka Uka." He looked at him with a raised brow."This time it might actually be serious."

Uka:"You're telling me? If they thought it was a good idea to bring ME along then this really IS serious." Aku Aku believed he was taking this seriously at first. But then soon realized that there was a tone in his voice that made him sound sarcastic. He glared at his twin.

Aku:"Listen, this is probably-"

"Many years ago," The Ancient spirit began to speak and they both stared at him in silence."-there was an Ancient mask as powerful as we are who used to live around N. Sanity Island. It was they who created it. They wanted their own little world to live on, to be away from the humans. We gave that to him for as long as we could. Before they came here, they used to be hostile, just like the other four masks that were with him-" The twins looked at the markings on the walls as he told the story. There were four masks surrounding the one in the middle."-The masks were named: Odolwa, Goht, Twinmold and Gyorg. And their leader's name was Majora."

Aku:"So what happened?" He asked quietly.

Uka:"Shh!" He said. Aku raised a brow at him. Clearly he was interested in the story. There was a long pause before they heard him sigh.

"The humans appeared on the island on a boat. They were only looking for a new home. A place that was safe...but then Majora's friends found them and....well....let's just say there were very few of them left..." Aku's mouth opened in shock. Uka was trying to hold back a smile."They were....very hostile towards humans. Any who dared to come near them would seal their fate." We didn't know about this until I came to check on them...and before that, Majora agreed to let the humans stay but only if they agreed to give them sacrifices and build them a temple. They built more than just one temple, and they did it in the desert part of the Island. Majora's temple is hidden deep underground. No one could ever find it."

Aku:"But why did they hate the humans? They've never done anything wrong to them! They just wanted a home!" His voice echoed."Oh....sorry." He said quietly.

"Like I said, they were hostile before they came here. The only thing we could get out of them was that 'The humans are nothing but insects! They don't belong on our Island! If they truly want peace with us then they better do as we say or else!'. But they went too far. The mistreatment of these humans were unbearable. Majora would punish the humans by putting a curse on them-turning them into horrible beasts or useless masks." He looked at them."And I mean masks that seem normal." They nodded.

Aku:"Oh right."

Uka:"Of course."

"Anyway," He continued."Majora would have the four masks destroy their homes, burn their food supply, or bring sickness onto their land if they did not obey them."

Aku:"That's...horrible." He said in disgust and disbelief. Uka would shrug if he could.

Uka:"Eh, I dunno, sounds like they deserved it to me." Aku glared at him."...What?" He shook his head.

"We decided to put an end to this madness. We called upon an Ancient Hero who defeated him many eons ago. He managed to defeat all four of the masks, and was nearly defeated by Majora. But Majora was careless and the Hero trapped him inside a metal box. Only dark magic can open the box. His power is much too dangerous so we kept him locked away in here." They reached the bottom and there were two large stone doors in front of them. The markings glowed brightly showing the same design from before. The Ancient mask pushed in a switch on the wall and the doors opened."There he is..." He spoke quietly. Up ahead there was a metal box which was bigger than they expected.

Uka:"Wow...." He said quietly."So...this is Majora?"

"Mm-hm." The mask nodded. They flew closer towards it and stopped. "You two are to guard it. We have a feeling one of his friends will be stopping by to pick him up. Don't let that happen." He spoke in a serious tone. He turned around and flew towards the door. He stopped and looked at them."Oh and one more thing...Don't. Touch. The Box." He said and without another word the doors closed behind him and the twins were left alone with the feeling of being watched.