Acculturation

[Dave Strider]

As the trio stood distracted by the possibility of new allies, the marines from below managed to climb up and have a visual on them. Shots flew through the air as the three primes scattered,

Luger was thrown across to the opposite bulding, grunting as she hit the wall with a thud. She cursed herself for being distracted and unware of her surroundings.

Stuart fell a few floors down, grabbing onto what he could along the way until he managed to grasp a railing. He let out a sigh or relief. Had he not caught himself he would have been well on his way to become a not so appetizing pancake.

Crash managed to hand on to whatever was left of the balcony, and slowly pulled himself up. Aku Aku hovered behind him, staring forwards as the rest of the marines arrived at the floor.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" Luger shouted as she dove into the building she landed in.

"Crash, jump!" Aku Aku shouted to his friend, pushing him towards the edge of the balcony.

The bandicoot's eyes widened in fear as the marines prepared a barrage. Bullets flew as the entire room leading to the balcony was destroyed, and Crash took a leap of faith to the next balcony. Nothing was left of the platform he once stood on, and the building opposite oh him, where Luger hid, was tattered with holes in its walls. Crash thought he saw the movement of his ally through one of them, but he didn't have the time to make sure. The Marines were already on the move.

Crash ducked back inside as he heard more shouting. Suddenly, he realized that his faithful guide was no longer with him. Where did Aku Aku go?

The smell of singed feather and wood filled the air as Stuart stared at the motionless mask in front of him. It seemed a whole quarter of its face was missing. The edges were charred black, singed from the explosions above. Stuart felt a deep worry, and didn't want to imagine how he would tell the orange creature that his friend was dead. But now was not the time. The blue-haired human looked towards the other building. It might be possible to jump across to find the guy they saw, but he wasn't too sure.