Chapter 1 – Unfamiliar

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back with a new story. This was something that I originally planned for chapter twelve in my fic Something About You, but then changed my mind about it. I finally decided to write it in a separate story because I had a lot of ideas surrounding this concept.

Disclaimer: I don't own Crash Bandicoot.

Enjoy!

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He had woken up on a beach with his entire body aching in pain. He had slowly pulled himself up and looked around, not knowing where he was or how he got there. He had a pounding headache and his mind was foggy. Trying to ignore the pain as much as he can, he had slowly limped across the beach until he saw a house at the edge of the jungle and hoped whoever lived there will help him.

But before he could get there, a girl came running and threw her arms around him, sobbing loudly and murmuring about how much she missed him.

Another thing caught that his attention and surprised him was the floating mask with her who was looking relieved to see him.

Confused, he finally asked the innocent question that made their relieved smiles instantly fall.

"Who are you?"

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Coco blinked in surprise and glanced at Aku-Aku before scowling at her brother. "Crash, don't joke like that!" She huffed which confused him even more.

He scratched his head, perplexed. "Crash….is that my name?"

"Stop it, this isn't funny! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you!?" Coco muttered in frustration.

She couldn't be believe it. She had spent several days believing her brother was gone for good. Now he's finally here and he was joking around just to get a rise out of her!? Of all the teasing and pranks he played on her in the past, this was not one she would tolerate!

Aku-Aku was looking between them worriedly and then quickly flew over in front of him. Unlike Coco who was silently fuming, the mask looked uneasy. "Crash, please tell me the truth. Do you not recognize us?"

Crash frowned at him and slowly shook his head.

"Coco, I…I don't think he's joking." Aku-Aku said, voice shaky.

Coco's anger immediately vanished and she felt her stomach drop. She stared at her brother in disbelieve. "No, no. Crash, tell me t-this isn't true. You…you have to know who I am, right?" She asked as she grabbed both his arms, voice wavering and desperate. "C'mon, I-it's me! Coco, your little sister! IT'S ME!" She yelled frantically, tears falling from her eyes. This can't be happening. There was no way her big brother had forgotten her!

"Coco, stop. You're scaring him!" Aku-Aku exclaimed as he stood between them.

Coco blinked away her tears and looked at Crash. In her relief to see him, she hadn't noticed the hurt state her brother was in. The carefree and oblivious look he had moments ago was also gone. Now he was looking lost and his shoulders were shaking as if the reality of the situation finally began to settle in.

"I…I don't know…" He was murmuring almost to himself with his ears drooping, hands clutching his hair and looking at the verge of panicking.

"Hey, now. Calm down. It's going to be okay." Aku-Aku said as gently as he could. The bandicoot was already confused and afraid and he didn't want to scare him any further. "We're going to help you out. C-Come with us to our house and we'll treat your wounds, right Coco?"

The girl swallowed back the lump in her throat and nodded quietly. Her brother hesitated for a moment before he let her lead him to the old house and asked him to sit down on a chair in the kitchen.

"Is there a first-aid kit somewhere?" She asked Aku-Aku.

"I think there is one under the bed. I've seen Crash use it before." He answered.

Coco really wanted to know the story behind that incident, but decided to ask later. Right now fixing up her brother's injuries should be her main priority.

She quickly went inside the bedroom and took the first-aid kid from under the bed before heading back to the kitchen. "Crash, I'm going to treat your wounds now. Is that okay?" She asked carefully.

Crash nodded quietly, gaze down and shoulders tense, shrinking under her gaze. He was acting as if he was a child who is afraid of getting scolded.

Coco felt her heart sink, knowing it's all her fault. She had overwhelmed him. If she hadn't freak out earlier then her brother wouldn't be so scared right now.

Careful not to startle him even further, she slowly bent down in front of him and began fixing him up. Aku-Aku mentioned something about going outside for a bit, leaving the two of them alone.

An awkward silence fell in the room. Neither of them said anything the entire time she worked and it was almost unbearable. She could feel his nervous gaze on her, but she refrained from speaking, worried that anything she would say would make him trust her even less.

Soon enough, she finished. Her brother's arms and legs were covered in bandages along with his torso. It wasn't much, but this was the best she could do right now.

Coco stood up and hesitated before finally breaking the silence. "Hey, um…sorry I freaked on you back there. I shouldn't have reacted like that." She said dejectedly, voice laced with shame.

Crash stared at her in surprise and then gave her a weak shrug. While he still seemed wary of her, the stiff posture was gone.

Aku-Aku soon returned to the room, placing a floating bowl on the table with his magic. It was filled with Wumpa fruit and berries. "I got you children something to eat. I'm sure you're quite hungry." His gentle and kind voice seemed to put Crash at ease and he managed a small smile as he began eating eagerly. It made the mask wonder when the last time he ate anything was.

"You should eat too, Coco." He stated.

"Alright," The girl sighed and sat down with them, watching her brother munching on a Wumpa fruit. She didn't feel much enthusiasm while eating her breakfast. It was hard to when her brother was looking at everything around him as if he was seeing it for the first, as if she was a stranger that he just met!

It felt so wrong. Everything about this did!

She could no longer see that familiar mischievous glint in his eyes or any trace of his goofy smile. There was none of that playful gleam in the bandicoot before her.

And that hurt so much…..

Coco raked her head for a way to solve this. There had to be a solution, had to be something they could do to help Crash remember who he was. They can't just let him stay like this forever!

After thinking for a while, an idea hit her and her eyes lit up. She looked up at her brother who stopped filling his mouth with berries when he noticed her gaze on him. "Crash, listen. I know you're confused about a lot of things right now, but Aku-Aku and I will try to help you remember everything." She said and for the first time in the past two weeks she felt certain of something.

Aku-Aku smiled at the girl and nodded. "Yes, don't worry Crash!

Crash seemed unsure for a moment before finally deciding to trust them. "Okay,"

"Great! Now, tell us what you remember," Coco began.

Crash scratched his head, trying to think back as far he could, but the fog in his mind remained. "Nothing," He said.

"Nothing at all?" Aku-Aku pressed on and Crash shook his head helplessly. He had no memories of anything before waking up earlier.

Coco's smile fell briefly and then immediately returned. Okay, they didn't have much to work with, but she refused to let that dampen her spirits!

"Alright, we're going to have to start from the beginning I guess. I already mentioned that we're siblings, but that wasn't exactly the whole truth. You see, we used to live in a castle somewhere in the sea with a man named Dr. Cortex. He….you and I are mutants created by him." She said hesitantly at the mention of the evil scientist.

Crash blinked in surprise at this and grimaced.

Why did the word mutant leave a bad taste in his mouth?

She then proceeded telling him of the first time they met, training with the other mutants in Cortex's castle and as much as she could recall of their life there, anything that she hoped would trigger a memory for her brother.

Both Crash and Aku-Aku seemed to be engrossed in the stories she told and it put a fond smile on her face as she recalled fun times that felt as if were from many years ago, when they used to be happy and blissfully unaware of the true reason Cortex created them.

The mood in the room immediately shifted when she reluctantly began telling him about how he betrayed Cortex and escaped the castle before they could turn him evil.

Then it was Aku-Aku's turn. He told them of how he first met Crash in the forest and everything he did during his time on the islands.

Coco was smiling widely as she listened to the old mask, having always wondered what he brother had been doing after they were separated that night. She then glanced at her brother.

While he seemed to be giving Aku-Aku his full attention, there was a weird look in his eyes, one that she couldn't figure out. He almost looked uneasy the more he listened, but why?

Once the mask finished as well, they turned to Crash expectantly. "So….remember anything?" Coco asked hopefully, waiting with bathed breath.

Crash frowned and crossed his arms, face scrunching up as he tried to recall something, anything from what the two had mentioned to him, but in the end he sighed in defeat.

"No," He said and the two's faces fell in disappointment.

Coco slumped back against her chair with a dejected sigh. "I can't believe it," She muttered.

"Well, we should have known it won't be that easy. It might take some time for him to fully remember," Aku-Aku stated.

"Sorry," Crash muttered, feeling bad for failing them.

Coco quickly tried to assure him. "H-hey, it's fine! We will find some other way." She said, recalling all the old books on the shelf. Maybe one of them will have something that could help her brother regain his memories.

Crash stared at his lap for a while and then looked up at them. Despite all the uncertainty he felt, he smiled and nodded.

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A/N: Since it's Crash Bandicoot's 21st anniversary, I'm going to write more Crash Bandicoot fics for the next few days to celebrate. I'm really excited to start! :)

Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think of this so far.