Chapter 2 – Ghost of a Memory

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for all the positive feedback. I really appreciate your support. I recommend you to read Something About You if you haven't yet or you will be completely lost on what's going on and what's being referenced in this fic.

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Crash opened his eyes to find himself gripping tightly to the wall of a tower. He screwed his eyes shut as the rain fell endlessly over him and drenched his fur.

He glanced downward for a way to get down from there only to see waves beating violently at the bottom of the tower. His blood ran cold at the thought of falling from this height.

He squinted at the distance and saw nothing but the stormy sea. He was in the middle of nowhere, but how did he get here? What's going on?

He flinched when lightening cackled in the sky and the wind grew stronger. If this keeps up then he was going to lose his grip on the rocks soon. Gritting his teeth, he tried to force himself to continue climbing up as the rain continued pouring down.

He suddenly stopped when he saw a window at the top of the old tower and there was someone standing there, watching him.

It was in that instant that his hands slipped and Crash felt his heart skip a beat. He screamed as he fell through the air for what felt like forever before disappearing into the raging sea.

Crash woke up with a gasp, heart pounding in his chest. He glanced around frantically and slowly relaxed when he realized he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. He sighed in relief.

It had been just a dream.

Slowly, he rolled over and grimaced slightly at the pain in his chest. He considered getting out of his bed and leaving the room, but then decided against it. As much as he didn't mind the company of those two, it was nice to have a little time alone, time to think over everything that happened without their constant watch.

As he lay there thinking, Crash couldn't help the odd feeling that he got when he looked around the room.

It was as if something that should be here was missing, but he couldn't see it. Like the shadow of the furniture was cast more to the left of where it should have fallen. The room felt empty and walls looked pretty dull.

They should be blue…

Even sleeping on this bed hadn't been easy for him for some reason. Something didn't feel right. He couldn't just relax in it no matter how what he did.

It didn't used to be this hard before….

The feeling was always at back of his mind, nagging at him, but he could never grasp it.

His mind then drift back to those two again. While he could tell they were trying to help him, he wasn't sure how to feel about the stories they tell him.

It's not that he thought they didn't mean well, but the stories they keep telling him were….hard to believe.

They said that he was a hero, that he fought monsters in the forest, saved an entire village from a raid, stopped an evil scientist from ruling the world and much more!

It all sounded pretty farfetched, unbelievable.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to get himself to remember something to prove that everything they said was true, but he ended up with nothing like usual. Standing up, he moved over to a nearby mirror and stared at his reflection, at his slim features and the bandages covering his injuries. He tried posing in front of the mirror and was unimpressed with what he saw.

Crash didn't look or feel like the hero they were describing in those stories. He felt like he didn't deserve all the praise and the attention they were giving him. He felt like a fake who had been mistaken for the real thing.

Sighing, he glanced at his reflection one last time and then slowly headed for the door.

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Aku-Aku was humming quietly to himself as he flew back to the small house. Bringing food every morning had become a daily task for him, not that he really minded it.

It had been far too long since he had this sort of company. The villager treated him with nothing but respect and were always formal towards him. It surprised the mask how much he enjoyed being around those children and making sure they were well fed.

He flew through the kitchen window and placed the bowl of food down before making his way out of the kitchen only to be surprised when he saw Coco sitting on a table with piles of books in front of her.

"Coco?"

"Oh, morning Aku-Aku!" She said without taking her eyes off the pages.

Aku-Aku frowned and flew over to her. "What are you doing?"

"I woke up early to search through the books we have. I might find something on memory loss in one of them that could help us." She answered. "Early" meant a few hours before sunrise if the dark circles under her eyes were any indication.

"Coco, while I appreciate your efforts, I don't think you should be overworking yourself. You should go get some rest. " He said in concern. The fact that Coco hadn't been sleeping well during the time when Crash was missing didn't help at all.

"But I need to keep looking for a solution to help Crash!" She insisted.

Aku-Aku frowned sternly. "But pushing yourself like this won't do you any good."

"You don't get it!" Coco snapped the book shut and glared at him. "I haven't been there when Crash was in danger all those many times. I couldn't even stop Cortex from hurting him before. Helping him remember is least I could do!" She muttered, voice wavering slightly.

She had been separated from her brother twice before and thought she lost him each time. Now they were finally together again and he had no idea who she was!

Aku-Aku's face softened upon seeing the crestfallen look on her face. "I understand how you feel, Coco. I wish there was something I could do to get him to remember us too, but there is no point in neglecting your own wellbeing like this. Memories or not, Crash isn't in any danger right now."

"But-"

"Besides, how do you think your brother will react if he finds out that you're doing this to yourself for his sake?" The mask asked with a raised brow.

Coco flinched guiltily, knowing Crash will probably feel really terrible about that. As much as she hated to admit it, the mask was right. Even if he doesn't know who she was, Crash's life wasn't in real danger. Pushing herself like this just for the sake of getting a solution quickly won't do them any good, especially if the stress and fatigue caught up to her eventually. Then Aku-Aku will be left alone to take care of the two of both.

"Okay, fine." She sighed and closed her book, placing it on the table begrudgingly with the others.

Just then, the two tensed up at the sound of a door opening and saw Crash step into the room. He seemed to hesitate when he caught their gazes and gave them a nervous wave.

"Morning, Crash. Did you sleep well?" Aku-Aku asked him as he flew over to him and he nodded with a smile.

Aku-Aku paused briefly, finding it strange to see Crash smiling at him again considering they weren't on….the best terms the last time they saw each other. He quickly smiled back before the bandicoot could notice it. "That's good to hear."

Crash then walked over to his sister who greeted him as well. "Hey, um…" He tried to remember her name. "Coco?"

"Yes, Crash? Is something wrong?" She asked, eager to help her brother out in any way.

"It's…it's my room." He said hesitantly unsure of how to bring this up.

Coco blinked in confusion. "You mean there is something in there?" Crash seemed to be struggling to explain his problem without using too many words. It baffled her that despite losing all of his memories, her brother managed to hold on to that trait.

Slowly, Crash began explaining to her about the strange feeling he gets in that room without mentioning anything about the dream he had.

Coco frowned and rubbed her chin, trying to get her tired, sleep-deprived mind to process everything he told her. Soon enough, it clicked in her head and her eyes widened.

"You're remembering your old room!" She gasped.

Crash blinked and tilted his head to the side. "Huh?"

"You're describing your room from back in the castle!" She explained, excited at the fact that her brother finally remembered something!

"That's great, Crash!" Aku-Aku muttered.

Crash watched his sister bounce in her seat excitedly as he took in what she said and soon found himself grinning back.

Sure, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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