Life Less Frightening, a crash bandicoot fanfic

Author's Note: I came up with this one-shot while listening to music. Listening to this song made me wonder, "What if behind Crash's upbeat behaviour, he was really scared of the fact that he was always risking his life to save the planet from Cortex?" This is what I think, and I hope you enjoy the story.

UPDATE: Well, I given it some thought, and I decided to make this longer. Not a lot, but a bit more. Most of it is the same, but you'll notice the extensions, and perhaps a few corrections as well. Enjoy.

As thunder struck the skies of his home, Crash Bandicoot woke up with sweat dripping from his forehead. Another nightmare, he thought. The bandicoot sighed as he laid back against the bed. He had been having nightmares lately, but he did not bother to tell his family about it. With his arch enemy, Dr. Neo Cortex always planning a scheme to try to rule over the world and possibly the universe, it was already enough stress that Crash and his family were the ones to always stop the mad scientist and his minions. Telling Aku Aku, Coco, and Crunch that he had been having horrible dreams, Crash thought that his family already had enough on their plate dealing with Cortex, and the hero didn't want to add on to their stress.

He figured it would lead to the magical wooden mask to try to convince Crash into some form of meditation, his sister would be working on a machine that allowed her to explore the hero's dreams, and Crunch...well Crunch would see it as an excuse for not staying in shape. The hero wasn't in the mood to tell his family his own problems, and he figured he would give his family the same happy-go-lucky act he had always been giving to his family. Deep down, Crash was like any other normal person. He was tired, stressed out by his job, he always had a thought to speak out. Giving his family the same upbeat attitude seemd to motivate them, and the bandicoot figured it would do them no good if he was 'other self' as he called it.

Behind the smiles, gibberish talking, and funny gestures, Crash was a different person. When Aku Aku accompanied him on his adventures, the young marsupial seemed to show no fear. Inside, he was scared. Sometimes he questioned why he kept putting himself through these kinds of things. There was nobody else to do the job, he figured.

Suffering from something we're not sure of
In a world there is no cure for
These lives we live test negative for happiness

Crash sighed as he stared at the ceiling. He wondered why it was always him who had to save the world. Was it fate? Was it destiny? Or was it all a complete coincidence? It was quite weird that he never even really questioned his purpose. He remembered that his original purpose was to lead an army of genetically altered animals controlled by Cortex to rule the world. However, whoever was in control of Crash's true purpose decided otherwise.

Flat line, no pulse, but eyes open
Single file like soldiers on a mission
If there's no war outside our heads
Why are we losing?

Facing many events that a slip-up would cause a great misfortune, the hero thought about the many times he faced death. Always on death's door, it was out of complete luck that Crash had never died. Yet, every brush seemed to make the bandicoot paranoid that the next time would be his last second.

I don't ask for much (Life less)
Truth be told I'd settle (frightening)
For a life less frightening, (Life less)
A life less frightening (frightening)

Living in constant fear is what was driving himself mad. Sure, he did have a couple of fun times, but looking back at those moments did Crash realize how blind he was to the dangers there were. How did he not even see them? The bandicoot was young. He didn't understand the consequences back then, but now as he was older did he think of himself as foolish.

Hang me out to dry I'm soaking
With the sins of knowing
What's gone wrong
But doing nothing I still run

What had Crash done to deserve a life of running to save the world? He hated to admit it, but he wondered what life would've been like if the machine had actually worked. Would he really be Cortex's general? Would he have been someone completely different? These thoughts seemed wrong to think of, but deep inside his heart and mind, Crash couldn't help but wonder, "What if?"

Time again I have found myself stuttering
Foundations pulled out from under me
This breath is wasted on them all
Will someone answer me

In his own personal entries in a journal he would never reveal to anyone, Crash wrote about how he truly felt about his life. His anger, his fear, and even his own sadness about that it would always be him that would save the day. He remembered meeting a fan, a child, who said he wanted to be just like the hero. Crash pitied the child, for the young fan did not know the dangers, the consequences, and the horrors the bandicoot had faced many times. To say to be someone is easy. To actually be that someone, however, was not.

I don't ask for much (Life less)
Truth be told I'd settle (frightening)
For a life less frightening, (Life less)
A life less frightening (frightening)

Crash laughed at the thought of bargaining with whoever controlled his fate. What would he give up to live a life without fear? His possessions? His talents? His abilities? Maybe even his own ability to speak? Coco did invent a translator which happened to give Crash the ability to speak English. But as the hero thought about it, he weighed his options about giving up his voice.

Is there a God tonight
Up in the sky
Or is it empty just like me? (Just like me)

There were times where Crash just wanted to scream. He wanted someone to blame for his destiny. He wanted to let out all the anger he hid beneath his goofy smile. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Why can't I, he would ask himself sometimes. In a way, it was simple. It just wasn't him.

A place where we can hide
Out from the night
Where you are all I see (Where you are all I see)

His fear made him want to hide himself. Not just from his enemies, but from the world. Even if Cortex was defeated permanently, what then? Crash thought about it many times. He figured he would live the rest of his life normally. But how could he fit in with the world? Would he find acceptance? Or would he face rejection? The bandicoot knew it wasn't easy to just think his problems would go away when the doctor faced his end. After one had gone through everything, what would be left to face?

So blow a kiss goodbye
Then close your eyes
Tell me what you see (Tell me what you see)

Waking up in the middle of night wasn't much of a suprise to the hero. It happened because of his nightmares. Crash saw horrors that he hoped to never happen if he ever fell. Crunch would be a captive, Aku Aku would be dead, and Coco...The hero never wanted to think about what would happen to his little sister if he died. Crash never wanted anything to happen to his family. If they were put at risk, the bandicoot would rather give his life in hopes that his family would live to see another day.

A lifetime spent inside
This dream of mine
Where you are all I see

There were times when he felt like giving up. But he had kept going on. What was it that driven the bandicoot to travel many miles, fight numerous enemies, and risk his life that could be easily take away from him at any second? It was simple. His reasons lived down the hall from his bedroom.

I don't ask for much (Life less)
Truth be told I'd settle (frightening)
For a life less frightening, (Life less)
A life less frightening (frightening)

Crash got up, took a shower and dressed himself. He walked into his living room and looked out the window to see Coco and Crunch happily playing soccer as they waited for him. Even though he hated how he was always the one to save the world, at least Crash had a reason to save it. For his family. So that he could live to see his sister and brother, and even the mask who Crash considered a father figure since he had been looking over the Bandicoot family for many years. The hero smiled as he saw how happy his family was.

If saving the world and going through what seemed like Hell was all it took to make sure that his family and he himself could live a brighter future and have a happy life, Crash figured it was worth risking his life. The better life would be worth it once the whole saving the world gig was over.

Crash got back to reality after thinking to himself for a bit. Just as he was about to exit the door, Crash sighed and said, "Here we go again." As he opened the door, he put on a big smile and joined his family in their game.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it! By the way, if you're interested, the song is called "Life Less Frightening" by Rise Against. Questions, comments or concerns, you know where to go. Bye!

UPDATE: Well, it may not be much, but it's still something. Right? Honestly, I kind of don't care. Hoped you liked it anyway, and I'm out. Again.

*tb100*