Chapter 3 – Get Me Through

A/N: Hey everyone. It had been a tough week for me, but I'm glad I managed to finish this chapter despite that.

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Crash sighed as lay on the couch in the living room alone. Coco asked him to wait here and disappeared into one of the rooms with Aku-Aku, but it's been ten minutes and they haven't returned yet.

Sitting up, he stared at the hallway where the two went in boredom and then his gaze turned to the other door curiously. Maybe he could go outside until they came back. He recalled asking his sister if they could go to the forest, but she always refused, saying that he shouldn't run around while his injuries are still healing.

Crash glanced down at the bandages. True, he still felt some pain in certain parts of his body, but it wasn't bad as it used to be. He'll be fine!

Looking back at the hallway for any sign that someone was coming, he hopped off the couch and slowly made his way to the door.

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"What are we looking for again?" Aku-Aku asked as he watched Coco search the bedroom.

"Anything that could trigger a memory for Crash." She said as she searched inside the drawers. "My brother remembered his room because it was something he was familiar with. Since he lived here for a while, maybe we could find something that would do the same thing." She picked up a dusty old shoe and tossed it away in disgust.

Coco sighed and ran a hand through her hair. As much as she hated it, a part of her actually wished that Cortex's castle hadn't been entirely destroyed. Her and Crash's belongings were there, including some photos. Seeing one of those would've greatly helped restore Crash's memories, but they were probably at the bottom of the ocean right now.

"Hold on, what about this?" Aku-Aku flew over and stood next to the nightstand. Coco raised an eyebrow and walked over to find a red yo-yo on top of it.

"I think I saw Crash carrying it around once," The mask explained.

Coco picked it up and examined the yo-yo. She remembered Crash showing her one of these things excitedly in a magazine a few weeks ago. She smiled and turned to the mask. "Well, it's worth a shot."

The two hurried to the living room to show Crash the yo-yo only to find it empty.

"Crash?" Coco muttered as she stepped forward. "Where are you?"

"Maybe he's in the bathroom," Aku-Aku said. Coco briefly assumed that was the case, but then she noticed something that made her breathing hitch.

The door was left open.

The girl knew she it wasn't like that when they left which could only mean one thing….

"On no," Coco quickly ran out of the house and looked around frantically. "Crash? CRASH!" She called out worriedly, but no reply came.

"Where could he have gone?" Aku-Aku asked.

"I don't know!" Coco muttered anxiously. The thought of her amnesiac brother wandering the island alone terrified her. What if he got attacked? What if got lost? How would he find his way back?

"C'mon!" She said to the mask and began searching the beach for her brother, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

"Over there!" Aku-Aku exclaimed, gazing at the edge of the forest. "I could feel it. He went this way!"

Without a second thought, Coco quickly sprinted after the mask, hoping her brother was okay wherever he was.

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Crash laughed as he ran through the forest, looking around at everything in delight. The animals, the birds, the trees. There was just so much to see no matter where he looked!

A sudden noise caused the bandicoot to stop running. He looked over to see something stepping out of the bushes. It was…..a small fox.

When it noticed Crash, it titled its head and yipped before slowly approaching him. A huge grin split Crash's face as he knelt down and reached his hand towards it. The small animal sniffed his hand curiously.

Despite the joy he was feeling, Crash was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu. Something about this situation felt….familiar in a way, but he couldn't explain it.

The fox's ears suddenly perked up and made an alarmed noise at Crash before fleeing into the bushes again.

Crash scratched his head, wondering what scared it away. It was then his ears picked up on the sound of footsteps nearby and he peeked from behind a tree to see a group of tribesmen.

Crash felt his stomach turn and a sense of uneasiness filled him. Why did seeing those humans make him so anxious, made him want to run away as far as he could? He found himself unconsciously taking a step back, crushing a branch by accident.

The hunters immediately reacted and blindly threw one of their spears towards the source of the sound, barely missing Crash.

The bandicoot yelped and fell on his back, shaking in fear as the hunters stepped towards him with their weapons. Panicking, Crash quickly got up and scrambled away.

It took a moment for the hunters to recognize him as Aku-Aku's friend and tried calling for him, but he was already gone.

Crash sprinted through the trees without looking back. He nearly tripped several times, but he didn't dare to stop as his heart pounded in his chest violently.

Suddenly, Crash stepped into something that made him stop in his tracks. He looked down in confusion at the brown soil he stepped in. He tried getting his feet out of it, but they remained stuck there.

It was then Crash noticed something. His feet weren't just stuck…they were sinking further into it!

Eyes widening in alarm, the bandicoot continued struggling to free himself, but it was no use. He couldn't move no matter what he did. "H-Help!" He cried out. Someone must have been nearby because he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way.

"Crash?"

He looked over to see it was Coco, looking relieved to see him. "I've been looking everywhere for-"

"Help me!" Crash cut her off, voice shaking with panic. Coco finally saw what was happening to his legs and gasped. She quickly reached out to him without stepping into the quicksand.

"Grab my hand!" She exclaimed. Once he grabbed a hold of it with both his hands, she began pulling, but for a while nothing happened. Half of his body had already disappeared into the ground, much to their horror.

"No, no, no!" Coco continued pulling as hard as she could, tears of panic and frustration welling up in her eyes. Her brother looked just as scared as most of as he felt the soil reaching his neck.

Crash screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself for what was to come, but then to his surprise, everything stopped. His body was no longer sinking. He looked up to see Aku-Aku floating next his sister with his eyes flashing brightly.

Coco finally managed to pull him out of the pit and he fell to his knees panting with her.

"Are…are you okay?" She asked, out of breath. Crash slowly nodded. Sighing in relief, she stood up and frowned at him. "Crash, I told you to wait for me in the living room. What were you thinking coming all the way here!?" she scolded.

Crash flinched and looked down at the ground. "Sorry," he said timidly, the child-like persona returning.

Coco wanted to say more, but stopped herself. She had to calm down. She couldn't yell at him again and risk causing him to close himself off like before.

"Crash, coming here was very reckless of you. Imagine what would have happened if we didn't find you in time." Aku-Aku said and Crash winced guiltily. "Why did you leave the house?"

Crash then slowly explained to them about how he had been playing with a fox at the edge of the forest when the hunters came and attacked him.

Aku-Aku frowned. "I'm sure there must be a mistake. The natives know who Crash is and wouldn't attack him for no reason. I'm going to go ask them about this." He then turned to the two. "Coco, you and Crash should head back home."

"Alright," Coco said as she took her brother's hand and began leading him back to their house. On the way, Coco glanced at him at the corner of her eye and felt her chest grow heavy with worry. Even if they saved him now, they had no way of knowing if it would happen again.

She finally stopped and turned to face him. "Crash, look. I…I know you didn't mean to make us worry, but….promise me you won't do anything like that again, okay?"

Crash stared at her for a moment and then nodded.

It wasn't long until they made it back to the beach. Coco had been making her way to their house when she suddenly couldn't hear the sound of her brother's footsteps. She turned around and saw him standing still.

He was staring at the sea with a blank expression, his eyes seemed to be searching for something in the distance.

"Crash?"

Her voice seemed to snap him out of his trance and he looked at her in confusion.

"Are you alright?" She asked in concern.

Her brother hesitated before nodding and following her to their house.

It was probably his imagination, but just for a moment he thought he saw a dark structure far in the sea.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm having a blast writing this fic and I hope you're enjoying it.

Please review!