The Opening Stages of the Plan

The Opening Stages of the Plan is the first cutscene in Crash Bandicoot: The Shattered Crystalis and details much of the game's starting storyline, particularly how the game continues off from Crash Twinsanity. It introduces us to Doctor Neo Cortex, Crystalis and their plans.

This cutscene plays immediately upon beginning a new file of the game and is followed by Trouble at N. Sanity Isle shortly afterward.

Details
About one month after the ending of Twinsanity, Uka Uka is back to his normal self and demands his pawn to give him answers. A bit afterward, he drags Cortex out of Crash's brain and back into one of Cortex's labs. Uka Uka was enraged at Cortex failing him one too many times and then flat out betraying him, so Cortex tried to explain the circumstances regarding these choices to him. Naturally, this backfires greatly for the good doctor, so Uka Uka leaves the hands of Cortex, knocks him out, and warps him off to a far away planet. Cortex is left unconscious on it for about a day.

After said day, Cortex wakes up and wonders where he could be. "Oh, how I hate bandicoots... they get me stuck on PLANETS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! WHAT ELSE COULD I BE FIGHTING FOR?!," he yells before walking around. He searches around the planet for a bit while flying with a jetpack until a large crater catches his eye...

This crater was glowing, shattered, and changing colors quickly. Cortex takes a closer look and accidently touches the crater with his foot. The crater breaks and outcomes an enormous, pitch black blob with reptilian skin, a very long neck with several holes in it, much gigantic teeth, and glowing white eyes. The creature then unleashes a gigantic roar on Cortex.

Cortex cowers like he always does and hides behind a rock before getting attacked by a black, slimy tentacle. He hides behind another one and just barely dodges, but the next one managed to catch him. The creature roared at Cortex face with the screen reading at the bottom "Foolish mortal, I am the greatest power in the universe! You have only witnessed ONE form of CRYSTALIS! You dare awake the power from an eternal slumber?!"

Cortex initally had no idea what it was saying until he looked below and saw a subtitle on screen; it read exactly like what Crystalis had just said. Now knowing what it said, Cortex replied with "I was banished to your realm, 'great power'. It isn't my fault I was stuck here! Heck, me awakening you wasn't... erm, intentional, I think."

Crystalis roars in his face again with "Tell me your PURPOSE! I HAVE THE POWER TO DESTROY YOU! AND ALL WHO SURROUND YOU! I AM DESTRUCTION! I AMCONTROL!"

Cortex says "... seriously? I think I've came to just the right place". Crystalis speaks to him again with another roar, shrieking "Oh, you wish to TAKE advantage of the great power! Now, only if you HAD THE POWER TO CONTROL! FOR I AM... CRYSTALIS, THE GREATEST DESTRUCTIVE FORCE TO EVER LIVE!"

Cortex thinks for a moment.. Crystalis... the Power Crystals, could they be used to control him? He also seemed to like repeating himself.

Cortex breaks free from Crystalis' grasp and zaps at him to calm him down, but this only makes the beast even more angered. Cortex talks to it again and tells it "Stop. Listen, I have a plan. You wish to destroy the world. But do you actually have the power you speak of?"

"Of course, Crystalis HAD the greatest power. Thousands of years ago... listen, you punk. I've still got most of that power. Do you have some quirky plan or something?... It is about a bandicoot, isn't it?"

"... Yes."

"Knew it. You looked familiar. Really. I think you're friends with some guy I know.... oh yeah, him, he's told me about you. Your friend, Uka Uka. Me and him, good times. Until his IDIOT... BROTHER, came along and took him out, and then I had my power strapped away! I had everything, and lost it all... for now I am only a shell of my former self. With the power crystals, solar systems, galaxies, universes; if it existed, I had the power to destroy it. All the power that would have existed... would be through me."

"... Yes, the power crystals. Those are items I have encounted before; many, many times. They hold incredible power. I believe a planet, far away from here, still has them scattered around. Earth... where I was originally from. Would you be interested in letting me help you find them, then we get to rule whatever we please with the combined power of the crystals?"

"Crystalis seeks destruction, NOT rulership. Perhaps you could rule what you wanted to rule and Crystalis destroys what he desires! Crystalis doesn't care about dictatorship, all that is required for me is... chaos. Vengeance. OMNICI-."

Cortex cuts Crystalis off in one of the many jokes in this game that get crap past the radar. "Excellent. My time has come," Cortex gloats, then started with his usual dose of evil laughter.

After walking away for a bit and thinking he's made the choice of the lifetime, Cortex mutters to himself... "With this new deal, I shall set up... my base of operations!" Crystalis makes the ground shake and and creates a bridge to a far distant space station. The space station, amusingly enough, did have a giant 'N' plasted onto it.

"But alas! You aren't going to be able to take your enemies... ALONE! I KNEW you wouldn't be capable of this! In the base there will be more power to use. Crystalis may not have as much power as he once had, but the limited creation ability I have will do. Before you ask about THAT, I'm sort of like a pencil. Now, Neo. What you have at your disposal now should help our plans. Do NOT fail me, or else... my next tentacle grab will be fatal."

The next day, Cortex set up base for his next encounter with the Bandicoots. In the new base was one of his old posessions he had been searching for years: The Master Crystal, although only a small piece of it. Cortex's base also had a wide variety of other things, namely some extra machines he and N. Gin had been working on years before. With everything he needed in hand, he located his old base back on Earth and went back there. His new army would start with many of the minions, scientists and soldiers who were controlled by him in the past. He had two goals in mind: The rest of the Power Crystals, and the rest of the Master Crystal.

"Yesssss... the time has come. Those bandicoots will never know what hit them."

And so what Cortex liked to call "Project C" began. It would take a while to get going, but he knew it would pay off. Maybe.