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Chapter 12: Family Reunion

Spyro: “Happy Birthday to Coco!”
Coco: “Happy Birthday to Spyro.”
Spyro and Coco: “And a happy Birthday to Cra-ash. Happy birthday to all of us!”

It was Coco’s idea to celebrate her and her brother’s birthday on the same day Spyro hatched. If Crash was bummed because he couldn’t sing along, he didn’t show it. Neither Crash nor Coco knew what day they were actually “born” on, and did not know which day they were “created” on, just how many years it had been since each had escaped from Cortex’s control. So that put Crash at eleven, coco at nine, and Spyro at eight years since he hatched.

“You have the ice cream, right?” Spyro asked concerned.

“Yes Spyro,” Coco replied, “I have the ice cream. I know you would eat it every day if you could, but it’s kind of hard to get anything besides wampa fruit and palm trees on this island.”

“I could probably learn how to make the stuff if we had access to the ingredients. And if Dragons didn’t have this cold, creamy concoction in the past, than I feel really sorry for them.”

“Well you can gouge yourself with all the ice cream we have after we open presents. Alright Spyro, you’re first.” Spyro reached for what a present that was labeled to him from Crash. He unwrapped his gift, revealing two pairs of sunglasses.

“Oh sweet, these go over your eyes, right?” Spyro fumbled to grip the glasses with his front paws, And Crash helped him put them on. Crash then put on the second pair.

“Kool, w-eye-t?” Crash asked Coco as he and Spyro posed next to each other.

“You had one day out of the year to get something delivered to this island, and you chose sunglasses?”

[Oh, just open your gift and see what I got for you.]

“It better be something good” she said as she shook the box to guess at what it was, before opening it. When she finished opening her present, she burst out laughing.

“A laptop battery! I was only joking when I asked to go find one in the woods!”

[But I love you, Coco. How could I not get something that you needed?]

“Oh you’re so sweet.” They hugged before Coco said she had to get Crash’s gift from the garage. “In the meantime, Spyro, here’s my gift to you.”

Spyro opened the rectangular box and pulled out the book from inside. On the cover, it read “Dragon Atlas”. Coco came back, hauling a fairly sizable gift.

“How come Crash gets the larger gift?” Spyro said in a childish yet sarcastic manor.

“Oh quit complaining. You helped me build this thing. Anyway, that book is all about Dragons, Spyro. I found it amongst piles of books at Cortex’s castle. The text contains a treasure trove’s worth of information on Dragon culture, history, and Dragon magic. Let me know how good the book is when you’re done, I’d be fascinated to read it, too.”

Spyro looked at the book, then at Coco. “Thanks, Coco. I mean it.”

“I thought you’d like it. Now for Crash’s gift. After watching Crash struggle immensely trying to ride you, Spyro, I thought I could help him cruse around.”

[Oh come on, I only fell into the ocean five times.]

“And that’s because you refuse to use a saddle” Coco responded.

[The bound between a bandicoot and his dragon must be 100 percent. And there cannot be anything separating me from my trusty steed.]

“Besides soggy jeans?” Coco responded, somewhat amused by Crash’s out there statement.

“Well,” Spyro interjected, “It was mostly my fault, since I thought Crash and I could get the hang of it without any accessories. I’m not as into wearing cloths as you two. Although those sweaters you made for us Coco during the winter were pretty stylish.”

“Those sweaters were stylish, at least someone noticed.” She grimaced at Crash who could only blush. “That reminds me, Spyro. The reason for why you suddenly had that ice breath during the winter is most likely explained in that book, too.”

“You think so?” Spyro asked enthusiastically. Any chance he had at learning about his race excited him.

“Anyway, Crash, I think I have something that you will enjoy. Spyro and I worked pretty hard on it.” Coco lifted the gray blanket off of the device she lugged into the living room, revealing a wooden board with hotrod paint and several exhaust pipes leading out the back.

[What is it, a surf board?]

“Oh it’s so much more than that. You remember that device Cortex used to float around? Well, I always wondered just how something that small levitated without any propulsion system. And after some intense research, I figured it out! The board has no propulsion system!”

[So, this thing is a hover board?]

“Exactly” Coco responded eagerly. “Cortex may have been evil, but he damn sure was a genius. This hover board has a gravity lensing apparatus on it, which can literally deflect Earth’s gravitational fields around an area of space, therefore nullifying the gravitational pull downwards of both the board and the rider! It took me forever to recreate a gravity lens, but with Spyro’s help we figured it out. The only other problem was to figure out a reliable yet exciting way to achieve lateral movement, since the hover board’s gravity lens will only allow upwards and downwards movement. Spyro also insisted on their being flames, so we built a propulsion system that runs by burning the hydrogen in the air. The process isn’t all that powerful or efficient, but since the board only really has to deal with the friction between you and the air, it can get up to some decent speeds, with a cool fire effect in the back and a renewable and plentiful source of energy.”

“Yeah, it’s a little disappointing that we never figured out the whole flying together thing,” Spyro interjected, “but this is a pretty solid backup plan. And here, here’s my gift for you. Coco helped me pick this out to complement your new hover board.”

Crash looked at the leather jacket, knowing it was similar to the ones he saw people wearing when they were riding motor cycles. He once noted his interest in such jackets when Coco showed him a video on her laptop, but never imagined he’d actually ever wear one (or ride a motorcycle, but this hover board was an improvement).

“Aw-sum.” Crash managed to speak. He put on the jacket and put on his sunglasses again. [When do I get to test out the hover board?]

“First Ice cream, then flying” Spyro reassured Crash.

[Sounds like a plan, Spyro.]

Crash hugged Spyro unexpectedly, and Spyro hugged him back.

“Ha-pe, bur-thdaa, Sp – I… ro.”

“Thanks Crash.”

“Group hug!” Coco said, and the family hugged each other.

[So how does this thing work?]

“Okay, here’s the little remote that controls the thrust of the board as well as the gravity lens. This lever which you can control with your thumb will determine how fast you want to go, and these three buttons control the lens. This one will cause you to levitate upwards, this one will stabilize your height, and this one will cause you to descend. It shouldn’t be that hard to learn how to steer, that will be a matter of tilting the board in one direction or the other. You should also be able to steer in any direction, in all axes, since the gravity lens bends gravity fields around you, too. It will feel a little wired not experiencing gravity, but if you master it, you should be able to ride that board in any orientation, even upside down. As far as staying attached to the hover board is concerned, I’ve applied some electro-magnetic material to your shoes, so that you can stick to the board and disable the magnets when needed. I actually haven’t test piloted this, so… Good luck. I promise it won’t explode!”

“Try to see if you can keep up, Crash!” Spyro shouted as he took off.”

“Try not to hurt yourself, okay big brother.”

Crash kissed his sister on the cheek before mounting his hover board. It ascended to his command, and surprisingly kept its balance perpendicular to the ground. Crash was worried the board would feel wobbly and unstable, but it remained perfectly parallel to the ground and was also completely silent (and wobbling wouldn’t even matter according to Coco, since he wasn’t being affected by gravity at the moment anyway). Coco had mentioned the gravity lens didn’t make any noise. The same couldn’t be said for the hydrogen thrusters. This board is badass. And Crash did eventually catch up with Spyro, kneeling to better increase his aerodynamics.

[Race you to Sunset Vista.]

“Oh you’re on, bandicoot!”

They took off, to the worry of Coco. “Be careful Crash!” She shouted to no response. Crash and Spyro made their way to the second island, which was abandoned by whatever civilization had once inhabited the place. There were some impressive stone structures here. Crash had labeled the top of the highest building as Sunset Vista, and Spyro had said he’d been to the place before. It was close, but Spyro did beat Crash to the top of Sunset Vista by a little less than a second.

“Aha, a machine is not match for me!”

[I’m still getting used to it.]

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Crash slowly brought the fire painted hover board to the top of the stone monument and turned off the gravity lens. Crash got off, still wearing his leather jacket and glasses, and sat on the edge of the large pyramid shaped building, facing the setting sun. Spyro joined him, a little tired from flying so fast.

“Be-utfl day.” Crash said to the best of his ability.

“Yes. Yes it is. It’s also been a great day. Coco and I had been working on that hover board for seven months, you know. I’m glad it works and you like it.”

[It allows me to join you in the sky. How could I not like it?]

“Sometimes, Crash… I think I was supposed to come to the future.”

Crash wasn’t sure how to feel about Spyro mentioning this subject again. It must have been because of the book Coco had given to Spyro today for his birthday. He was going to learn about his culture for the first time.

[I’m glad for all the time I’ve had to know you Spyro. I may still feel a little guilty about it, but having you around, from when I held you in my arms for the first time to racing you here today, these moments have made my family whole.]

“I guess I was like the son you could never have.”

That made Crash feel awful. He knew why that statement made him feel so bad; it invoked what Aku-Aku said about Spyro and what Coco told him about Tawna. He had gotten over her death; but Spyro’s statement brought up those old memories of just Tawna and Crash on the beach.

“Coco told me a lot about Tawna. She told me what she meant to you. How much you loved her. What you went through to rescue her. To lose someone that close to you, someone you wanted to start a family with, to have a child with. It vicariously hurts me to think of losing someone like that. Which is why I’m glad to have filled this role for you… dad.” It’d had been awhile since Spyro had actually called him dad. Crash was starting to tear up again. He never knew Spyro knew this much about him, or that Coco had told him.

[You should have been taken from the past just to help me feel better.] Crash wasn’t sure why he was feeling ashamed for bringing Spyro to the future again. He was sure he had gotten over this guilt.

“But I’m glad that you did. I just want to let you know once and for all, that I do not regret having been brought to your home or your time.”

“Thank… you… Spyro.”

Spyro heard the words, and then double took because of how well they were said. “I guess you can speak if you put your mind to it.”

Crash hadn’t noticed how well he had spoken until Spyro pointed it out. They watched the sunset a little longer, until a golden glowing Dragonfly landed next to them.

Description
Chapter 12: Family Reunion

Spyro: “Happy Birthday to Coco!”
Coco: “Happy Birthday to Spyro.”
Spyro and Coco: “And a happy Birthday to Cra-ash. Happy birthday to all of us!”

It was Coco’s idea to celebrate her and her brother’s birthday on the same day Spyro hatched. If Crash was bummed because he couldn’t sing along, he didn’t show it. Neither Crash nor Coco knew what day they were actually “born” on, and did not know which day they were “created” on, just how many years it had been since each had escaped from Cortex’s control. So that put Crash at eleven, coco at nine, and Spyro at eight years since he hatched.

“You have the ice cream, right?” Spyro asked concerned.

“Yes Spyro,” Coco replied, “I have the ice cream. I know you would eat it every day if you could, but it’s kind of hard to get anything besides wampa fruit and palm trees on this island.”

“I could probably learn how to make the stuff if we had access to the ingredients. And if Dragons didn’t have this cold, creamy concoction in the past, than I feel really sorry for them.”

“Well you can gouge yourself with all the ice cream we have after we open presents. Alright Spyro, you’re first.” Spyro reached for what a present that was labeled to him from Crash. He unwrapped his gift, revealing two pairs of sunglasses.

“Oh sweet, these go over your eyes, right?” Spyro fumbled to grip the glasses with his front paws, And Crash helped him put them on. Crash then put on the second pair.

“Kool, w-eye-t?” Crash asked Coco as he and Spyro posed next to each other.

“You had one day out of the year to get something delivered to this island, and you chose sunglasses?”

[Oh, just open your gift and see what I got for you.]

“It better be something good” she said as she shook the box to guess at what it was, before opening it. When she finished opening her present, she burst out laughing.

“A laptop battery! I was only joking when I asked to go find one in the woods!”

[But I love you, Coco. How could I not get something that you needed?]

“Oh you’re so sweet.” They hugged before Coco said she had to get Crash’s gift from the garage. “In the meantime, Spyro, here’s my gift to you.”

Spyro opened the rectangular box and pulled out the book from inside. On the cover, it read “Dragon Atlas”. Coco came back, hauling a fairly sizable gift.

“How come Crash gets the larger gift?” Spyro said in a childish yet sarcastic manor.

“Oh quit complaining. You helped me build this thing. Anyway, that book is all about Dragons, Spyro. I found it amongst piles of books at Cortex’s castle. The text contains a treasure trove’s worth of information on Dragon culture, history, and Dragon magic. Let me know how good the book is when you’re done, I’d be fascinated to read it, too.”

Spyro looked at the book, then at Coco. “Thanks, Coco. I mean it.”

“I thought you’d like it. Now for Crash’s gift. After watching Crash struggle immensely trying to ride you, Spyro, I thought I could help him cruse around.”

[Oh come on, I only fell into the ocean five times.]

“And that’s because you refuse to use a saddle” Coco responded.

[The bound between a bandicoot and his dragon must be 100 percent. And there cannot be anything separating me from my trusty steed.]

“Besides soggy jeans?” Coco responded, somewhat amused by Crash’s out there statement.

“Well,” Spyro interjected, “It was mostly my fault, since I thought Crash and I could get the hang of it without any accessories. I’m not as into wearing cloths as you two. Although those sweaters you made for us Coco during the winter were pretty stylish.”

“Those sweaters were stylish, at least someone noticed.” She grimaced at Crash who could only blush. “That reminds me, Spyro. The reason for why you suddenly had that ice breath during the winter is most likely explained in that book, too.”

“You think so?” Spyro asked enthusiastically. Any chance he had at learning about his race excited him.

“Anyway, Crash, I think I have something that you will enjoy. Spyro and I worked pretty hard on it.” Coco lifted the gray blanket off of the device she lugged into the living room, revealing a wooden board with hotrod paint and several exhaust pipes leading out the back.

[What is it, a surf board?]

“Oh it’s so much more than that. You remember that device Cortex used to float around? Well, I always wondered just how something that small levitated without any propulsion system. And after some intense research, I figured it out! The board has no propulsion system!”

[So, this thing is a hover board?]

“Exactly” Coco responded eagerly. “Cortex may have been evil, but he damn sure was a genius. This hover board has a gravity lensing apparatus on it, which can literally deflect Earth’s gravitational fields around an area of space, therefore nullifying the gravitational pull downwards of both the board and the rider! It took me forever to recreate a gravity lens, but with Spyro’s help we figured it out. The only other problem was to figure out a reliable yet exciting way to achieve lateral movement, since the hover board’s gravity lens will only allow upwards and downwards movement. Spyro also insisted on their being flames, so we built a propulsion system that runs by burning the hydrogen in the air. The process isn’t all that powerful or efficient, but since the board only really has to deal with the friction between you and the air, it can get up to some decent speeds, with a cool fire effect in the back and a renewable and plentiful source of energy.”

“Yeah, it’s a little disappointing that we never figured out the whole flying together thing,” Spyro interjected, “but this is a pretty solid backup plan. And here, here’s my gift for you. Coco helped me pick this out to complement your new hover board.”

Crash looked at the leather jacket, knowing it was similar to the ones he saw people wearing when they were riding motor cycles. He once noted his interest in such jackets when Coco showed him a video on her laptop, but never imagined he’d actually ever wear one (or ride a motorcycle, but this hover board was an improvement).

“Aw-sum.” Crash managed to speak. He put on the jacket and put on his sunglasses again. [When do I get to test out the hover board?]

“First Ice cream, then flying” Spyro reassured Crash.

[Sounds like a plan, Spyro.]

Crash hugged Spyro unexpectedly, and Spyro hugged him back.

“Ha-pe, bur-thdaa, Sp – I… ro.”

“Thanks Crash.”

“Group hug!” Coco said, and the family hugged each other.

[So how does this thing work?]

“Okay, here’s the little remote that controls the thrust of the board as well as the gravity lens. This lever which you can control with your thumb will determine how fast you want to go, and these three buttons control the lens. This one will cause you to levitate upwards, this one will stabilize your height, and this one will cause you to descend. It shouldn’t be that hard to learn how to steer, that will be a matter of tilting the board in one direction or the other. You should also be able to steer in any direction, in all axes, since the gravity lens bends gravity fields around you, too. It will feel a little wired not experiencing gravity, but if you master it, you should be able to ride that board in any orientation, even upside down. As far as staying attached to the hover board is concerned, I’ve applied some electro-magnetic material to your shoes, so that you can stick to the board and disable the magnets when needed. I actually haven’t test piloted this, so… Good luck. I promise it won’t explode!”

“Try to see if you can keep up, Crash!” Spyro shouted as he took off.”

“Try not to hurt yourself, okay big brother.”

Crash kissed his sister on the cheek before mounting his hover board. It ascended to his command, and surprisingly kept its balance perpendicular to the ground. Crash was worried the board would feel wobbly and unstable, but it remained perfectly parallel to the ground and was also completely silent (and wobbling wouldn’t even matter according to Coco, since he wasn’t being affected by gravity at the moment anyway). Coco had mentioned the gravity lens didn’t make any noise. The same couldn’t be said for the hydrogen thrusters. This board is badass. And Crash did eventually catch up with Spyro, kneeling to better increase his aerodynamics.

[Race you to Sunset Vista.]

“Oh you’re on, bandicoot!”

They took off, to the worry of Coco. “Be careful Crash!” She shouted to no response. Crash and Spyro made their way to the second island, which was abandoned by whatever civilization had once inhabited the place. There were some impressive stone structures here. Crash had labeled the top of the highest building as Sunset Vista, and Spyro had said he’d been to the place before. It was close, but Spyro did beat Crash to the top of Sunset Vista by a little less than a second.

“Aha, a machine is not match for me!”

[I’m still getting used to it.]

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Crash slowly brought the fire painted hover board to the top of the stone monument and turned off the gravity lens. Crash got off, still wearing his leather jacket and glasses, and sat on the edge of the large pyramid shaped building, facing the setting sun. Spyro joined him, a little tired from flying so fast.

“Be-utfl day.” Crash said to the best of his ability.

“Yes. Yes it is. It’s also been a great day. Coco and I had been working on that hover board for seven months, you know. I’m glad it works and you like it.”

[It allows me to join you in the sky. How could I not like it?]

“Sometimes, Crash… I think I was supposed to come to the future.”

Crash wasn’t sure how to feel about Spyro mentioning this subject again. It must have been because of the book Coco had given to Spyro today for his birthday. He was going to learn about his culture for the first time.

[I’m glad for all the time I’ve had to know you Spyro. I may still feel a little guilty about it, but having you around, from when I held you in my arms for the first time to racing you here today, these moments have made my family whole.]

“I guess I was like the son you could never have.”

That made Crash feel awful. He knew why that statement made him feel so bad; it invoked what Aku-Aku said about Spyro and what Coco told him about Tawna. He had gotten over her death; but Spyro’s statement brought up those old memories of just Tawna and Crash on the beach.

“Coco told me a lot about Tawna. She told me what she meant to you. How much you loved her. What you went through to rescue her. To lose someone that close to you, someone you wanted to start a family with, to have a child with. It vicariously hurts me to think of losing someone like that. Which is why I’m glad to have filled this role for you… dad.” It’d had been awhile since Spyro had actually called him dad. Crash was starting to tear up again. He never knew Spyro knew this much about him, or that Coco had told him.

[You should have been taken from the past just to help me feel better.] Crash wasn’t sure why he was feeling ashamed for bringing Spyro to the future again. He was sure he had gotten over this guilt.

“But I’m glad that you did. I just want to let you know once and for all, that I do not regret having been brought to your home or your time.”

“Thank… you… Spyro.”

Spyro heard the words, and then double took because of how well they were said. “I guess you can speak if you put your mind to it.”

Crash hadn’t noticed how well he had spoken until Spyro pointed it out. They watched the sunset a little longer, until a golden glowing Dragonfly landed next to them.