Chapter 6 – Never Again

A/N: Hey everyone, this is it. The final chapter of this fic. Thank you so much for all your support.

Enjoy the final chapter of Blank Points!

XXXXXXXXX

"Crash, are you sure you know where you're going?" Coco asked for the second time since they left as they ventured through the jungle.

"Uh-huh," Crash said without looking back at her, walking over a fallen tree.

Coco huffed as she pushed away some leaves out of her way. It's not that she didn't trust her brother, but the fact that he hadn't regained all of his memories made her anxious about the possibility of getting lost in this jungle.

Another thought then entered Coco's mind and it made her stop walking. Crash's ears picked up on that and he turned around to look at her inquiringly

Coco finally sighed and spoke up. "Crash, why do you keep ignoring me?"

Crash blinked, taken aback by the question.

"You know what I'm talking about. You've been avoiding me for days. You barely even talk to me anymore and I want to know why!" She demanded, unable to hide her frustration anymore. She had worked so hard to help her brother remember who he was, always tried not to push him too hard and refused to give up on him even when it seemed pointless to keep trying.

So then why? Why did he start ignoring her presence? Why does he feel the need to keep his distance from her? Did he have any idea how much it hurt her?

Crash stared at her for a moment and then looked down at the ground guiltily. "I make you sad."

"What?" Coco muttered, confused.

"You're always sad…..when I'm around," Crash explained quietly. "Because I don't remember you,"

Coco's eyes slowly widened in realization and felt her heart clutch.

All this time he had been avoiding her because he thought he was hurting her by being around her, because he wasn't who he used to be….who she wanted him to be.

"Crash… you dummy!" Coco shouted, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She quickly rushed over and hugged the surprised bandicoot tightly. "Yes, I…I was sad back then and I wanted you to r-remember who I am, but that doesn't mean I wanted you out of my sight when you couldn't," she murmured, sniffling.

She then pulled away slightly and whipped at her teary eyes. "I'm sorry I made you feel bad about not remembering. You're still my big brother, Crash, memories or not."

Crash stared at the girl in disbelieve. Ever since he woke up with no idea who he was and heard the stories that the two told him, he always doubted that he was the same Crash they wanted back or if they still cared about him now if he remained an empty husk without memories.

So to hear Coco, who had been the most distraught about his amnesia, admit that erased all the doubts and fears that plagued him this whole time.

He slowly smiled and hugged her back, feeling a lump rise in his throat.

"Now let's keep going," she said, more confidently this time. Crash nodded and began leading her through the trees again. It's been a while since he had taken this path with Aku-Aku and the forest looked a lot more different in the day than at night.

Finally, in the distance a large wooden structure peaked through the trees. Crash grinned widely. "Come on!" He muttered as he ran over to the village gate. Coco hurried after him, expression uneasy as she gazed at the spikes on the walls surrounding the village.

Crash then called out and two humans gazed down at him from the watch towers. They then yelled something at the people on the other side of the gate. The massive gate then slowly opened and the two mutants made their way forward.

All of the villagers stopped whatever they were doing and stared at them, much to Coco's discomfort. She quickened her pace and stuck to her brother's side. "Crash, are you sure these people can help us?"

Crash nodded.

"But they don't look all that friendly," She whispered, eyeing the sharp spears some had and smiling nervously at the hunters.

Crash opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it shut when he recalled his first encounter with them.

Soon enough, the two stopped at the sight of the chief approaching.

"Hi!" Crash waved at him cheerfully. The large man's expression remained solemn though there was a slight curve in his lips. He then said spoke in his language, looking at them curiously, especially Coco.

"What did he say?" Coco asked her brother tensely who was just realized a huge flaw in his plan.

"I…I don't know?" He answered sheepishly.

Coco stared at him in disbelief. "What? Why did you get us all the way out here then? What were you thinking!?"

The villagers watched the two sibling argue for a whole minute, unsure of what to do.

Crash finally turned to them nervously. "Uhh…..Aku-Aku?" he muttered, making a confused shrug at them.

"Huh?" Papu-Papu tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Aku-Aku," Crash placed his hand over his eyes and began looking around uncertainly, hoping they would understand this time.

The chief glanced exchanges glances with his guards and they began murmuring with each other.

"Great," Coco sighed.

The chief then made his way over to the two bandicoot who looked at him nervously. The man then pointed his staff at a distant mountain and then glanced down at them. "Aku-Aku,"

It took them a second to get what was he was trying to tell them and when they did, a huge grin split Crash's face while Coco's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Wait, that actually worked!?" she muttered, dumbfounded. Crash sent her a smug look and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks!" Crash said gratefully and the man just nodded.

Crash and Coco then turned around and rushed to the gate again. "For real though, I didn't expect that to work. Well done, big brother," Coco said with a sheepish smile.

Crash hummed in response as they hurried down the forest path. After half an hour, they reached the base of the mountain.

Crash looked up at to see the mountain peak touching the sky and gulped. Stealing himself, they began walking up the slope. It wasn't long until they encountered an obstacle. There was a large rock ledge in their way.

"How are we going to get up there?" Coco asked.

Crash stared at the rock for a moment and then stepped towards it. He jumped onto the wall, gripping the rocks and slowly began climbing up while his sister watched him worriedly.

When he made it to the top, he looked down at his sister and reached his hand out for her. Coco nodded and followed his example until she was close enough to grab his hand and he pulled her up with him.

XXXXXXXXX

Aku-Aku's eyes slowly opened, waking up from his dormant state. He floated around the cliff, watching everything below tiredly. It felt weird, not be expecting a raid or large machines to arrive to cut down more of the forest.

This was exactly what he dreamed of for years. For the islands to finally be free and nobody would ever hurt by the evil scientist or his minions ever again.

Yet he didn't feel happy. He couldn't feel anything besides the all-consuming guilt and regret.

"You're just like them!"

Aku-Aku flinched at the memory. He couldn't stop thinking about that no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried to block out the words, they always came back to torment him. The more he thought about Crash's words and the implications behind them, the worse he felt about himself.

If he recalled the anger and betrayal in Crash's glare he could feel it cut right through him and he knew he deserved that after all horrible decisions he had made. If he hadn't been so distrustful and selfish then none of this would have happened and he would still have his only two friends by his side.

He groaned as he recalled everything he admitted to them the other day and felt even more ashamed of himself. He couldn't stop himself. He had been tired of keeping it all in, tired of pretending that everything was fine when it clearly wasn't.

He probably made himself look worse in front of them and the two hate him more now.

But it's okay if they hate him. It's okay if they don't forgive him for what he did because Aku-Aku didn't want to be forgiven.

I don't deserve it.

He sighed and stared at the sea quietly. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but eventually he heard something. It sounded like….footsteps?

Aku-Aku frowned and turned around, wondering who it was only to freeze up immediately when he saw the two bandicoot panting in front of him.

"C-Children? What are you doing here!?" He stammered. "How did you find me?"

"We went to the villagers and asked them about you," Coco answered. The trek up the mountain wasn't easy on either of them.

"But…but why?" Aku-Aku asked helplessly, unable to understand why they would even seek him all the way out here.

Coco glanced at Crash who stepped towards him with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Aku-Aku shrunk under his gaze and screwed his eyes shut, not knowing what to expect.

"I'm sorry,"

Aku-Aku's eyes snapped open and he stared at the bandicoot's apologetic face in disbelief. "What!? What are you apologizing for?"

"For what I said," Crash stated, looking down at his feet guiltily. "You're not like Cortex."

Aku-Aku was speechless. This was the last thing he had been expecting to hear from him. He quickly recovered and shook his head. "No, Crash. You were right about me. I've acted so selfishly. I'm even now being praised as a hero when I haven't really done anything-"

"Stop it," Crash said firmly, cutting him off.

"Aku-Aku, you shouldn't say that. You did so much for everybody here. Wumpa Islands wouldn't have survived for all these years against Cortex's armies if it weren't you. You took care of my brother when he first came here and helped him free the islands from Cortex's control," Coco stated. "Not to mention, you brought me to safety when the castle was collapsing, remember?" she said, placing her hands behind her back with a smile.

"You're their hero too, Mr. Mask Guy," Crash said, smiling at him as he pointed down at the village below. Aku-Aku's eyes widened at being called that again by Crash and felt immediately overwhelmed by what they were saying.

"But…but I-" He gave a startled yelp when Crash suddenly grabbed him and pulled him closer to his chest. He felt Coco surround her arms around them as well.

The mask was at a loss for words. He wanted to protest, wanted to tell them they were wrong, but eventually he felt the denial and guilt slowly seep from him and stopped trying to pull away. "Thank you, children." He murmured softly, voice laced with emotion.

The two smiled as they let him go. Coco glanced over at the setting sun and frowned. "Guys, it's going to get dark soon."

"Yes, you two should head home now." Aku-Aku said and blinked when they exchanged knowing smiles.

"You're coming too," Crash replied and Coco nodded.

"What?" the mask muttered in surprise.

"That house isn't just our home. It's yours too, Aku-Aku," Coco replied.

Aku-Aku stared at them, caught off guard and not knowing how to respond. He looked down at the ground, uncertain. "Are…are you sure?"

The two bandicoots nodded frantically.

Aku-Aku finally sighed in defeat and he gave them both a tired smile. "Alright then, let's head back."

Crash frowned as they began walking away from the cliff. There were still so many questions he had, so many memories that he had yet to recover and so much about himself that he didn't know. It might take him a while until he truly remembered everything.

But that's okay. This time he wasn't going to try to hide from the truth. He wasn't afraid anymore. From now on, he is going to accept every memory he regains from his past; the good, the bad and anything in between.

As their house soon came into view, Crash found himself smiling.

Whatever comes next, they'll be alright.

The End

XXXXXXXXX

A/N: And done! I can't believe this fic is already over. I had a great time writing it and I'm glad that a lot people enjoyed it.

As for what comes now, I'm actually considering writing another fic for this AU. It's been a year since I began writing Something About You and I just love this series so much. I'm not ready to let this AU go just yet and I feel like writing more for it. Let me know if you wish to see this AU continue. Until then, you could go read my other fic Still Here. It's very emotional.

Now I would like to thank everyone who reviewed for Blank Points!

CinnamonLatte

Cinerea Mayia

And all guests, especially the one who reviewed for every chapter.

Until next time! :D