Chapter 1 – In Harm's Way

A/N: Hey everyone, this idea had been on my mind all week and I finally decided to write it. I hope you enjoyed this new story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Crash Bandicoot.

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Crash was sprawled on his bed, the sound of his loud snores filling the room. Suddenly, there was knock on his door and someone came rushing in.

"Crash, wake up!" Coco said urgently only trip over some dirty clothes lying on the floor. She groaned and sat up, glaring at her brother who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Crash, you need to clean up this room. Someone could get lost in here!" She muttered as she looked around in disgust.

"Later," Crash replied with a yawn.

"You've been saying that all week," Coco deadpanned. Crash shrugged and hopped off his bed.

Coco rolled her eyes in annoyance and then pulled out a yellow device with a blue screen on it from her pocket. "Anyway, I've just found out the location of another gem somewhere in the island. We need to go get it before Cortex and his minions do!"

Crash smiled and gave her a thumbs-up before following her out of the room. He grabbed a Wumpa fruit from the bowl on a table on his way and rushed with her outside.

The two siblings then made their way into the forest. Crash was munching on the fruit while Coco's eyes were fixed on the screen of her device. Crash had to steer her away several times from bumping into a tree. "According to my detector, if we follow this path, it should lead us right to where that gem is!" She said pointing to a path between the trees. Crash grinned and nodded excitedly at his sister.

He was about to follow her when he noticed something in the sky and looked up. There were some dark clouds in the distance. It should be no surprise considering that it has been raining a lot lately.

"Crash, c'mon!" Coco called out for him and hurried to catch up to her, pushing the uneasiness at the back of his mind. They'll be fine. They will just have to find the gem before it rains again!

After walking for a while, the two reached the end of the path where a large creek ran across a clearing. The water ebbed several feet from its submerged banks. It must have been filled from all the rain.

Coco frowned thoughtfully and checked her device. "Well, this is the place. The gem should be here somewhere." She said as the two split up to search the area for the precious stone.

Coco walked over the muddy grass carefully and checked near a fallen tree. She glanced back to see her brother going as far as digging holes in the ground. She rolled her eyes fondly and continued searching.

They only managed to look for a few minutes before she felt something wet hit her forehead. She glanced up to see the dark clouds had covered the sky completely. Droplets of rain began falling down steadily.

"Crash, we should head back now!" Coco said, hating the fact that they were going back home empty-handed.

"Wait, there!" Crash suddenly exclaimed, pointing at something glinting in the dirt not far from where she was.

Wasting no time, Coco quickly rushed over and began digging out the object from the dirt, revealing it to be a dark blue gem. Coco smiled as she held it in her hands and showed it to Crash.

"Great work, big brother!" Coco muttered and Crash grinned proudly at the praise. His face then fell slightly and his ears perked up.

"What is it?" She asked concerned, but for a moment her brother didn't respond to her. His was attention was elsewhere, staring at something in the trees, brows furrowed in concertation.

"You hear that?" Crash finally asked her.

Coco blinked in confusion and listened. There was a faint sound of rushing water and wood breaking in the distance, but she couldn't tell what could be causing it.

And that's when it happened.

They both gasped when the water level suddenly rose, reaching their waists. Their heads snapped to where the ominous noise was coming from to see water bursting through the trees.

"F-flash flood!" Coco cried out in panic.

Crash quickly tried to get to his sister, but the current kept getting stronger and stronger until it finally swept them both away.

Coco screamed and struggled to keep herself from drowning in the murky waters. Broken branches and even crumbled pieces from the ruins were being carried by the current with her. "C-crash!" She exclaimed, hoping to hear a response from him, but none came.

She hadn't seen what it was, but something came rushing through the water and hit her hard. Her body instantly gone limp and her vision slowly darkened until all the noises faded out.

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Consciousness gradually came to him.

Crash slowly opened his eyes and winced immediately when he tried sitting up, pain shooting through his leg. His body was drenched and he had a throbbing headache. He tried touching the side of his head and flinched, feeling a bruise there. Grunting, he managed to pull himself into a sitting position and glanced around.

He was in a part of the forest that he didn't recognize. There were broken branches and mud puddles everywhere. He couldn't tell what time it was since the clouds still covered the sky. Crash rubbed his sore head, trying to clear the haziness in his mind.

Coco!

Crash's eyes widen in alarm as he recalled what happened and felt his blood run cold. He looked around frantically for his little sister, but she was nowhere to be seen. Panicking, Crash pulled himself slowly up and despite the pain in his leg, began searching the area for her.

"Coco?" He called out. His voice sounded hoarse, but he didn't care, didn't stop. "Coco!"

She had to be somewhere nearby. If he could have survived that flash flood then so could she!

Right?

The bandicoot shook the doubt away and continued following the creek for what felt like hours, his chest heavy with worry. He eventually saw something up ahead and gasped.

There, lying on the ground unconscious was his sister. Crash was moving before he even realized it. He scrambled over and quickly pulled her away so she wouldn't get taken by the current again.

He then lay her on her back and knelt down by her side to check on her. Her clothes were dirty and her hair was disheveled. There was a scratch on her arm, but overall she didn't seem to be severely injured, much to his relief.

"Coco, wake up," He muttered, shaking her slightly. His sister, however, didn't respond to his voice and lay there motionlessly.

"Coco?" Crash murmured in confusion. His words were met with silence again and felt a knot form in his stomach.

What's wrong? Why wasn't she waking up?

He began shaking her and calling her name over and over with increasing desperation, but no matter what he did, she wouldn't even stir.

This can't be happening.

No.

NO!

"Aku-Aku!" Crash called out, voice wavering

There was bright flash of light and a loud mutter in the air as the mask appeared. "Hello, children. How have you been- Oh my….." The smile on his face immediately vanished and he gasped in horror when he saw the state the two were in.

"Crash, what happened!?" He asked as he flew over to them worriedly.

"Help her," Crash said shakily, staring down at his sister with his eyes misting over.

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Aku-Aku hadn't expected his day to take such a turn.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he had been awakened to, of Crash hurt and holding his unconscious sister in his hands, crying and pleading him to do something.

Seeing no time to ask questions, he immediately teleported them away from that place and back in front of their house.

"Hurry, get her inside!" Aku-Aku muttered as he pushed the door open with his magic. Crash carefully picked up Coco and carried her through the door. He made his way to her room and placed her on her pink bed gently. He then stepped back to let Aku-Aku check on her and watched him anxiously.

Aku-Aku floated over the unconscious girl, looking at her closely. While he could sense that she wasn't dead, something still felt off, but he couldn't tell what it was.

He tried using some of his magic to fix her up. While she looked a little better than she was moments ago and the stains were gone from her clothes, she remained unresponsive even after that.

"I….I tried my best, but something still seemed to be wrong. I can't figure out what it is though." Aku-Aku admitted, brows furrowed in confusion.

Crash's face fell and he felt a stab of guilt. This was all his fault. If he had said something earlier, if he had gotten them out of there sooner then none of this would have happened!

Noticing his ears drooping, Aku-Aku spoke up. "I'm sure she'll be alright. Maybe we just have to wait and she will wake up eventually," He said, hoping to reassure him. It pained the mask deeply to see the usually happy and carefree bandicoot this scared and upset.

Crash nodded dejectedly. He stared at his sister and felt a lump rise in his throat. Please…..wake up…

Meanwhile, a lone figure was lying on the ground somewhere in the forest. Her faintly glowing body suddenly stirred and her eyes opened. She slowly sat up and glanced around herself in confusion.

"Crash?

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A/N: Thanks for reading. I have a lot of things planned for this story and I'm really excited to get started.

Let me know what you think of this so far with a review!