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Part 3

Pasadena's mind was clouded with dark thoughts, showing her images she didn't want to even consider but still stubbornly came up in her mind. There was no assurance that whatever Cortex had told her was the complete truth after all. He might have said the things he said only to hurt her out of spite, it made sense considering just who the guy was.

Yet, it had worked.

But why, why would this affect her in the first place? It wasn't like he had outright confirmed some bad news. He just implied things, without even giving her proof of his own words. It didn't mean anything, right? It didn't explain much, she didn't know more than she already did. She shouldn't be feeling like this…

Another light sob escaped her lips, proving her wrong. Pasadena ended up having to block her mouth with a hand in order to stop it. Already feeling some stares coming her way from the visitors of the park, she went in hiding behind the wall of a mini-game kiosk. There, she eventually gave in and let herself unload for a while, even if it meant shedding a few tears.

What in tarnation was happening to her…? Von Clutch would probably fire her on the spot if he saw her like this. Something about the image of the park's racing ace and all that.

And even so… she couldn't hold it. What Cortex had said… he didn't just make her doubts worse off. He had planted even more in her head, and not the nagging type.

The hurting one. The one that made her not just wonder about where she came from. But also about the who.

People… who may as well be gone. Leaving her alone.

Another sob. 'Holy mother of…'

"I wouldn't really listen to my uncle's shenanigans if I were you, O'Possum."

Pasadena would've freaked out at the sudden intervention, hadn't she been in the middle of a mental breakdown right now. Sniffing, she tried to make herself decent by passing an arm over her snout—while ignoring the fact she had no sleeve right now to clean on—and raised her head to look at the visitor.

Nina Cortex. She was opposite of her, leaning on a column of Motorworld's logistics boxes, the ones used to carry around either the park's furniture and assets, or its own internal currency—wumpa coins. Currently, the girl was apparently focused on using one of her huge, metallic hands to… smooth out the nails of the other? Did those things even have nails?

Regardless, Nina didn't seem to even have noticed her, but she glanced at her for a moment before returning her eyes to her task. No, she knew he was there, she just wasn't that interested... or hid her interest well.

"Uncle Neo knows what to say when he wants to annoy people… sometimes," Nina elaborated. "When he isn't furious about something at least… such as whenever any bandicoot is around," she was still apparently focused on her manicure activity, refusing to look at the possum while she talked. "In other words; he was just toying with you."

"D-did you hear…?" Pasadena managed to sputter.

"Nah. I just saw you hanging out with Coco first, then heard some words from Crunch and Crash earlier while I was walking around. Considering your current state… I'm just putting two and two together, even if I don't know the details."

Pasadena grunted her understanding and remained silent for a moment. She had managed to regain control of her breath at least.

"So… what did my uncle tell you so bad, anyway?" Nina said.

"W-why the sudden interest?" Pasadena questioned sourly. She wasn't exactly in the best mood to talk with another Cortex right now.

Nina finally deigned herself to look at the possum. And she simply shrugged. "Out of curiosity, I guess. It's not like I have much to do here… listening to the ramblings of my uncle or that other rocket weirdo isn't really in my plans."

Pasadena didn't really want to keep this conversation going… but what options did she have? Possibly, Nina going around with just some theories on her current predicament may do damage she didn't really need right now on top of what she was already experiencing. At least, she could try to explain herself, even if the girl wasn't exactly the most trustable fellow.

Moreover… technically speaking, she hadn't thought about talking with Nina, of all people. With her previous encounters, good or bad, eventually resulting with no resolution to her current issue, perhaps Nina could be the key for something she'd missed.

She was willing to try at least… anything was good at this point.

"He… he told me about what happened back then in his castle. The fact that the castle burned down later… and that there were other, uh, mutants, trapped in there."

"Oh, so he told you that? Tsk." She finally stopped working on her mechanical nails and placed the (metal) nail smoother back in a conveniently pocket-sized capsule in the free metallic hand. "That is why I said not to really put that much trust in him. I thought you'd understand it better after a few weeks dealing with Neo, O'Possum."

Pasadena remained silent. Nina didn't seem to be impressed by her lack of a reply. "Well, newsflash, wild racing ace of Motoworld. He didn't mention anything about what had actually happened to the mutants, right? He just said the bare minimum needed to let you imagine what he wanted you to take from his speech. Crash Bandicoot did really cause chaos in there… I still remember the newspaper I read back then about it at the Academy. But there wasn't really any death involved."

Pasadena perked up. "…how?"

"Most of the mutants escaped well before the flames even started, the bandicoot had made sure to either free some himself or indirectly cause the freeing of others, and those did the rest. Some of them eventually joined back into Cortex's ranks for one reason or the other, others did the same with other people who were involved with him at some point. As for the rest… well, they just went on with their lives, as far as I know. There's not much more than that… though my uncle never told me much about the fact, or what came afterwards."

Nina scratched her chin for a second, as if something had occurred to her. Then, she simply continued talking.

"In any case, that's why back there in the Wumpa Arcipelago you can find all kinds of those weirdo animals going around now, and why I'm no more surprised of seeing new ones showing up, including the ones found abroad, far from the wumpa islands. And this includes Motorworld."

This time, it was Nina that was implying something, and Pasadena couldn't really say much but nodding to show she'd understood.

"But I'll tell you what, even that doesn't mean much, really," the girl continued. "Fancy that uncle Neo didn't mention that he'd been creating mutants way before Crash even was born as well."

"He did?"

"He told me himself that he had begun working on evolvo-ray prototypes since he was a pupil at the Academy of Evil. That caused a whole slew of problems I won't tell you about now later, but just so you know, he kept working on those machines basically until Crash ruined everything for him. He wouldn't tell me what happened in all those years since he still hates Brio's guts for turning on him, and uncle Neo spent most of those years working with that guy, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of those mutated animals eventually managed to get away throughout the years."

It… made sense, somewhat. That would be of course a nicer picture than what Cortex had pictured, sure, and it wouldn't mean that she had lost someone in the process as well. It was convenient to believe Nina's version of the story.

But there was some truth in it as well. In all her thinking, only now when considering other people had Pasadena realised that Chick and Stew had never shared much about their own past as well, not including some jokes about their wives (which she'd never seen, ever, to the point that she wasn't even sure the two were married in the first place).

Their existence was somewhat justified by what Nina had said, which meant that there was no reason to think her own existence's start was to be placed near the start of the bandicoots' adventures. She'd been working for long in Motorworld after all, so it wouldn't have made much sense anyway.

Perhaps, her fears were really unjustified, more the result of well-placed observations by Cortex than actual preoccupations based on the truth. Maybe there was no tragic backstory to be dug about her.

Yet…

"Nina, seriously… why are you telling me all of this?" Pasadena questioned, looking thoughtfully at her.

"Again… I'm bored," Nina looked away. "Beside, you make a better interlocutor than darn Coco Bandicoot at least. My blood boils just thinking about that freaking blonde marsupial. You, at least, I can manage."

Pasadena let out a chuckle. Nina and Coco's constant confrontations were basically only second to Cortex's own clashes with Crash himself during races, and even out of those matches the situation wasn't better between the girl and the bandicoot. She distinctly remembered winning a race because Coco and Nina, who had clashed their cars together, had started arguing to each other while driving and completely missed Pasadena overtaking them by herself.

"Well… thank you, I guess…" she finally said, passing her now dirty with snot arm over her face, cleaning off the rest of the mess she'd made before. Definitely, she felt better, although with a sticky forearm.

The only problem was… she was back to the starting point, once again. She still didn't exactly know where she came from.

"Heck… if it wasn't for this, I wouldn't even have a slew of henchmen at my disposal…" Nina grumbled offhandedly.

That took Pasadena aback. "Wait, you do?"

"Who did you think I was, a good guy?" Nina let out another 'tsk', this time directed at her. "Well, I guess I can tell you. Not even uncle knows anything yet about the army I'm assembling, the Brat Girls, who are all mutants I've been recruiting since I left the Academy. Hopefully this'll show him that I can take care of myself, for one. And maybe that'll also let me teach Coco that she's nothing compared to me, that bratty imbecile."

Now, that was beginning to get worrying… but Pasadena was wary to inquire further. Again, hero's business wasn't her field.

"Anyway, I better be going, I'm not really a psychologist O'Possum. N. Gin might be a better choice, which is saying something," Nina said, finally standing up and starting to move away. "Try not to make your head explode over this whole 'what about ma' past' stuff, maybe, not that I care. I don't think losing your brain over it is a good idea, and trust me: I saw what losing a brain can do to people."

That left Pasadena quite confused, as Nina waved casually at her and started to walk away, before stopping after a mere two steps.

"Oh, and one last thing. I don't think uncle Neo really knows much about you or other mutants, he barely cares about his own commandos and he even forgot some of them. If I were you, I'd try to ask people who have a better chance at knowing about your past… perhaps, starting from what you actually remember. Just my two cents, Pasadena."

With that, she walked away, leaving the possum alone in the shadow of the kiosk's roof.

Those last few words… what did she mean? The very reason why she had started talking with the bandicoots first and eventually dared to question the Cortexes was because there wasn't much she could do by herself.

Her memories, as she had already told Coco, didn't really go beyond Motorworld, and she believed she had to look beyond her time here to actually find out something new. After all, there wasn't much to be learned from the few people she actually knew. The Park Drones were precarious workers who basically changed job a month after being employed all the time, unable to keep up with the park's madness, while Willie Wumpa Cheeks had a habit of sticking to the job even beyond job hours, so it was basically impossible to have a constructive conversation with the thing.

Perhaps Chick and Stew would've helped, considering what she'd realised before about them, but it was never clear when those chicken interviewers were being serious or not, and there was no certainty they'd know about her specific case more than she did. That left only one guy…

Ebenezer Von Clutch.

Pasadena lost her breath, as it suddenly occurred to her that the green cyborg man had played a role in her past.

She knew it, because… he was her farthest memory. She always remembered working in Motorworld… and she always remembered being an employee of Von Clutch for all that time. Basically, she'd worked for him for all her life.

Was… was he really the missing link between herself and her past? It was a weird scenario, something that she might have considered unthinkable, closer to a joke at one point. Von Clutch involved with mutant creation shenanigans? Neither Crash nor Cortex or any of the others knew him before they stumbled on the doorstep of the theme park.

Yet… Von Clutch had never hidden his admiration for Crash's adventures, or Cortex's achievements. Heck, he had a Crash miniature statue in his office, and he'd mentioned more than once that the idea for Power Gems as the energy source for the park came from the things he'd found out about Cortex's own technology.

Ebenezer had to know something about the scientist's findings in the fields of forced evolution that she did not. And maybe, that was the last bit of information she needed to deal with her problem once and for all.

Pasadena knew what she had to do now. Sighing, she left her position and started to walk through the Midway in the direction of Motorworld's main entrance building, at the top of which her boss's office was located.

'I just hope he's not gonna be mad at me for taking the day off… only to spend my time to go visit him. Ugh… I hope I won't regret this…'

As the elevator went up, Pasadena tried to put her thoughts in order while considering her approach. She had no idea what to expect from Von Clutch, but despite everything, he was still her boss, and she didn't really want to risk a break down in front of him. At the same time, she also didn't want to push him too far with her questions… even if he didn't act as a guy with some bad memories bothering him.

Who knew what kind of secrets she would end up inadvertently digging up.

For crying out loud… he was a cyborg. And not just the N. Gin, half-of-the-head-encased-in-metal type. His body literally ran on Power Gem energy! She didn't exactly look forward to know how that entire thing had happened.

Her thoughts came to a halt as the elevator stopped—she had been so immersed in her mental planning she had forgotten about it. Thus, before she could realise it, she was standing right in Von Clutch's main office. And here he was, sitting behind the desk while fiddling with some papers.

He was already looking at her by the time she saw him.

"Ah, Pasadena! Gut," he said. "I was wondering if you'd pay a visit."

"You… did?" Pasadena didn't exactly expect that remark from her boss. If anything, she wondered if her visiting him would be seen as slacking-off, right in front of his face.

"Well, when you asked for a day off, I was wondering how long you'd last without getting bored. Racing is your main source of entertainment, after all," he said, standing up and walking around the desk to join her.

He had a point. Though he didn't know what the main reason behind her request was in the first place.

"I guess I do…" she said mechanically, more to confirm Von Clutch's observation than out of actual agreement. She was still trying to muster enough courage to actually question him.

"If that's the case, Pasadena, we may as well discuss a little about the current situation," he said. He walked up to the window that provided a good view on Motorworld's hub. "I think we're making good progress thanks to our most recent racing guests."

Uh… maybe while speaking with him about the happenings in the park, she'd manage to find a way to finally spoke her doubts out?

Worth a shot.

"You think we do?" she said, walking up to stand beside him.

"Mhh-mhh! Crash Bandicoot has already been able to fetch two Power Gems and solve the energy leaks in Happily Ever Faster and Mystery Island. I'm confident either he or the others will be able to find the remaining gems, including my beloved Black Gem! I'm starting to miss her…"

"Well, I can understand that. Since you would literally turn off without it…" Pasadena commented.

"Yeah, yeah, but there's more than that Pasadena! Frau Black Gem had started to become much more than a modest part of mein body! I don't even know how it was stolen in the first place."

"…uh, let's forget about that." Pasadena quickly ended the discussion concerning the topic of how the Black gem had been taken. Von Clutch sometimes had a habit of going in the details, and that wasn't something she wanted to get a detailed report on, not to mention his wild theories.

"I'm sure we'll find it, soon," she added. "These people have settled down pretty quickly with Motorworld, so all of us together should be able to get to the bottom of this theft."

"Ya, ya, I believe that choosing the bandicoots as well as the Cortexes has been one of my best decisions lately. And not just that! The public seems to be enjoying more of their time here as well, now that they actually have proper races to view! Which of course means, more earnings for the park. But even that pales when compared to the pure bliss of actually taking part in challenging matchu-ups! I've really missed this competitive racing, Pasadena."

Another observation she agreed with. Pasadena and Von Clutch were known to literally decimate almost the entirety of the competition in the past few months… sometimes literally. In this case, though, the bandicoots and their rivals had proved to be valiant adversaries on the racing track.

It might have meant not always winning, but it was way more satisfying to achieve a first place as well. And Pasadena recognised that the feeling was just one of the best things ever.

It really was a good time to be working in Motorworld, since a long while!

Well… since as far as she remembered at least.

…

"Von Clutch…" Pasadena said through her teeth, forcing herself to blurt out the words. "I… there's a reason why I asked for the day off, really… and it's not because I wanted to rest for a day."

"Huh?" Von Clutch slightly turned his head, eying her.

"You see, uh… there's something that's been bothering me since yesterday, and I can't wrap my mind about it…"

She had been looking at the floor at the entire time, but after saying that she couldn't help looking up for a moment to see his reaction.

Surprisingly, Von Clutch seemed to have taken her seriously. He had his arms crossed behind his back and was fully turned towards her. She had his full attention at least.

"Go on, Pasadena. I am listening," he said, confirming her impression.

"Okay… well, long story short. I sort of heard yesterday the bandicoots mention something about their past to each other. How they were born… or better, how they were created. They were just joking to each other, reminiscing about their adventures, but that… that got me thinking. I've been trying to ask them about it, them and even the Cortexes, but none of them have managed to fully help me out with this issue… this issue about me and my own past."

Von Clutch's eyes widened and he made a step back. In all of her time spent working for him as far as she remembered, Pasadena had rarely seen sincere surprise as a proper emotion from her boss, so that managed to take her aback.

He quickly recomposed himself, turning back to the window. "Correct me if I am wrong, Pasadena. You are being bothered by your own past, right? And that is… because you don't know, or don't remember, what it was like before… Motorworld, or before you started working for me. Is that right?"

"Yeah…" she confirmed, looking back out herself. It was like he was avoiding looking at her now. It was already weird that Von Clutch had reacted like that at first, but now he had accurately described her current issue without her even explaining how she felt.

She was starting to get confused by her boss's behaviour, and she wondered if she'd made a mistake by coming here to ask him about her past.

It sure looked like her question was having an effect at least, since Von Clutch remained silent for a few more seconds. Pasadena considered excusing herself to save them both from the awkwardness, but before she could open her mouth Ebenezer beat her on time.

"I guess this moment should've come, sooner or later," he said before sighing. "Come on, follow me to my desk. I've got a thing to show you, and it's better than anything I can say as a starting point."

Pasadena found herself almost rushing to the desk as Von Clutch walked back to the chair. He didn't sit down, though, preferring to fiddle with something behind the desk, a drawer probably.

"Hah-ah. Here it is," he said, before taking out what looked like a simple photo frame stand. "We will start from the very beginning."

Pasadena's heart was racing, and that wasn't even a joke. Her hand trembled as she took the photo from the cyborg's hands, and it took her some effort to retract it and actually pay attention to the image.

There were two people framed in it. One of them was without a doubt Von Clutch, though he looked much different. He had actual natural, non-green skin, for one, and the arms were also natural human arms, not the cybernetic ones he had in the present. The only non-natural part she recognised was the robotic leg, as well as his notorious hat.

However, what had the same effect of a kick in her stomach was the sight of the other person in the picture. The person Von Clutch was holding by her hand.

She was a kid, and a very young one at it, probably comparable to a four-year-old in human terms. And yet, blonde hair in pigtails, a beach cap with pink colour… and the unmistakable snout of a possum.

This was her.

"How… how?!" Pasadena managed to cough out.

"What exactly do you know already, Pasadena? What did the others tell you?" Von Clutch started. He wasn't looking at her.

"Von Clutch, w-what is this?!" Pasadena had basically lost control of herself at this point, raising her voice at her own boss, ignoring his questions. "This… this shouldn't even be possible! Why don't I remember this?!"

Von Clutch's face was neutral, though when he turned to regard her it looked like there was a hint of sadness in it, as if he was trying to hide something. He hesitated before replying to Pasadena, who looked like she was on the verge of exploding. Her eyes, though, were still fully fixed on him.

"Pasadena, I… Listen, there's a reason why that photo exists. But first," he walked up to the other side of the chair and fiddled with another drawer on the desk, before producing a water bottle and a glass. It didn't take him long to offer her the glass filled with the liquid.

"Take this, bitte," he said. Pasadena was still in a heavy breath, the photo clutched on one hand. Yet, she managed to at least extend her free one to accept the glass.

While she drank, Ebenezer walked around the desk and simply waited for her to finish. When she was done, Pasadena let out a long sigh.

"Do you feel better now?" Von Clutch asked, and she nodded weakly. She looked at the photo again.

"As I said, I'll start from the beginning. I take you already know what Cortex's work included, among other things. Is that so?"

"Yeah… I asked him about it… it-it wasn't a really nice conversation."

Von Clutch scowled for a second before returning to his current neutral facade. "Well, we'll start from there then. He's worked a lot in the field of fastened evolution, much before Crash, Crunch and Coco even came to be. You know this as well?"

She nodded, again. No use mentioning who had said what at this point.

"So, he and his assistant Brio actually worked on this subject while travelling around the world, testing the prototype of their incredible machine, the evolvo-ray, on all kinds of fauna and flora. They weren't always able to achieve what they wanted though, since as you may guess, Cortex started to get into the villain role pretty early on. In any case, his and Brio's work resulted in a lot of mutated animals actually being released, because, well, you know… they didn't have a castle to keep people in yet."

Pasadena nodded. "So… I'm just that? Another mutant of Cortex?"

"I'm not sure, actually. Cortex and Brio may have been the most notorious scientists, but they weren't the only guys working on this kind of evolution Technik I believe. Regardless… not even I know exactly where you came from, Pasadena. I… I kind of adopted you after encountering you by chance."

…

Von Clutch walked towards the centre of the office while Pasadena stared at him, dumbfounded. "You were an orphan for all intents and purposes, so I fetched you before anyone else could at the orphanage you had somehow ended up in and…I raised you. That photo, in fact, was taken sometime close to the day where I got you."

Pasadena looked at the photo again. Her younger self seemed to be very happy, in fact her smile was so big is looked like it was the happiest day in her life. She wasn't really used to kids, so she couldn't really understand why the few balloons she was holding by their strings on her free hand would be so great.

Or perhaps, she was missing the context of the photo. Perhaps the balloons were not the only reason she was so happy.

"At first, I guess I just wanted to see what all the fuss about Cortex was. He was, after all, a genius I sincerely admired, even if he's got the issue of wanting to conquer the world by all means necessary and other peculiar traits. In any case, when l saw you for the first time, I immediately made the connection between his work and you and I wondered how people such as you, created out of that Technik, were like. But when I took the final decision to take you in, Cortex was just a minor thought. I… for some reason, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you alone in that orphanage, when you were the only non-human child in there."

Von Clutch was basically going all in with a monologue at this point. Pasadena didn't dare to interrupt him, half because of the importance of what she was hearing, half because digesting his words was already hard enough.

"So, we went on and lived for a while together. It was around that time that I ended up having some health problems, and I realised that Power Gems were much better than organic hearts, for starters. There was no way I was quitting my racing hobby because of some minor body failure, even though I had to replace my arms after a few too many accidents. Oh well, worth it," he said, chuckling at his own remark.

"The first foundations of Motorworld were also laid around the time you started to live with me Pasadena. It had always been my dream project, my own 9th Symphony if you like."

He stayed silent for a moment. Something was bugging Pasadena right now, and when the chance came, she couldn't help opening her mouth to speak.

"Von Clutch… why d-did you never tell me about all of this?" she said, her voice betraying her own emotions. "Why?"

Von Clutch wore a guilty expression, like a thief caught red-handed. "I… I thought it was the better way to keep things like they were, Pasadena."

She shook her head. "I deserved to know this. I… I deserved to know what happened back then, Ebenezer!"

Von Clutch looked down in shame.

"I… I just don't understand, I don't understand why or even how you hid all of these things. I-I can't even remember any of this!"

"Pasadena… that's the problem."

She looked back at him, her anger forgotten for the time being. "W-what?"

"The fact that you don't remember any part of it, is the reason why I never told you about it. Because I did so, more than once in the past… and you kept forgetting. Again and again," he said gravely. He closed his eyes, recalling his own memories.

"I wasn't sure what was going at first, when you first had your amnesia episode. I thought it was a random occurrence, and you were otherwise healthy. But then, you kept forgetting things, and didn't stop doing so. I was starting to get worried! So I did the only thing I could do, contacting the experts on the matter I knew. Cortex was unfortunately very hard to get in contact with due to his giant ego back then, but his assistant, Brio, was more cooperative."

He opened his eyes to face her. "He explained that the earlier versions of their evolution machine had some issues with the mutants they were able to create, making them not viable for the short-term plan Cortex had back then. One of the issues Brio had listed was, to put it simply, frequent cases of amnesia. The mutant would lose their memory, frequently over time, and with no sign of being able to recover their memory by themselves."

Pasadena passed an arm over her face, sniffing. When did her eyes begin getting wet?

It wasn't like it mattered right now. It wasn't like Von Clutch was just her boss right now. Good employee behaviour could go down the drain for all it mattered to her at the moment.

"So, at some point, I… gave up trying. It wasn't like you were being affected by these memory losses that much, as young as you were, and I felt it was better than spending so much time telling you everything about me and the world. In fact, when you got older it was becoming more of a problem, since every time I told you everything, you either refused to believe me fully or simply got mad. And then, you'd forget again. I was tired of seeing you like this, Pasadena. Every single time, you'd get more and more mad, and you'd forget even more. So, I stopped telling you. And you were fine, despite the memory losses."

He sighed. "Then, after many years, for some reason your amnesia episodes stopped. By then, you had no idea about your childhood or even my role in it. I let you help me out in Motorworld since the beginning, and that basically evolved into a full time job, at least from your point of view. I was your employer, and that was it. Gut, one would say, I could just tell you everything now, right?"

He raised a finger and shook it. "Falsch. I was not going to force you into something you had no memory of. You were just happy with your current job and what you knew, and, I guess… I didn't want to ruin all of it for the sake of some old memories no one really cared about, except for me."

He looked towards the window, then walked up to it, finding distraction in the view of the Midway. "Perhaps, though… I was wrong in my decision. Maybe you deserved to know, despite everything, Pasadena… I'm not sure. I… I'm sorry."

He didn't look back. He simply stood where he was, probably fully expecting her to depart and put order to her thoughts by herself.

It was the way she used to handle it after all, when she was younger and he still tried to help her remember after the memory loss episodes struck: leaving while yelling at him. Perhaps, now she'd at least spare him the yelling. It was hard enough to see her angry.

Yet, Von Clutch didn't hear the elevator come down after all. He heard her footsteps coming closer, and eventually he found her standing by him, just like earlier.

"Pasadena… I understand if you blame me," Von Clutch said, keeping his look fixed at the Hub. "I was never the best guy who could raise you, and I did some mistakes. It-it… oh, shei—"

"I forgive you."

Von Clutch turned towards her. He had long since stopped trying to don the neutral face, in favour of a more regretful, sad one, but that didn't stop him from raising both of his eyebrows in surprise. He was so scrunched up in surprise that his hat almost fell off and he had to keep it up with a hand.

"You do?"

"Uh-uh," she nodded. Pasadena looked down, once again passing an arm over her eyes, then she looked at her hands. "I… I think I understand why you did what you did. I can see where you're coming from at least, from what you told me… and why you never told me about all of this in the first place. If I really… lost my memories that much frequently, and it had started to make me feel bad… and angry."

Von Clutch grunted, looking back at the window.

"I-I only wonder… if these memory losses were that frequent… will I forget things again, sometime in the future? W-will I forget everything again?"

"It's not likely, but I'd even say it's basically neigh impossible," Von Clutch explained. "You see, I did my own research, Pasadena. Most of the other people I met who shared origins similar to yours, more or less, had similar amnesia problems. But they never, ever lasted for long. Chick and Stew are a living example of it."

She almost jumped. "Them?"

"When I first met them, they couldn't help to comment on your cuteness, and I couldn't really blame them." Pasadena felt her cheeks getting redder. "Then, the conversation eventually got to your memory problem. They told me that both of them had had this issue as well in the past… but it happened only twice before going away, never to resurface again."

"Even Willie?" Pasadena wondered.

"Oh, no, not him. He's not a mutant, not that type of mutant, ahem… it's kind of a complicated story. Him and me both were happy you forgot about that one. Maybe another time?"

"I guess…"

"By the way, I guessed that this had to do with your age, since Chick and Stew were very much adults, while you were still a kid back then at six-years-old. Perhaps, while growing up, the amnesia would also go away, sooner or later… and I think my guess was right, since it's been years since last time it happened."

Von Clutch looked at her, only to find that Pasadena was scrambling to hide her face. The shade of red on her cheeks was expanding, apparently.

"Do they know as well about my memory problem?" she managed to say.

"Ya. Stew actually told me once he's written down a kilometric list of remarks and compliments about you that he's been keeping away since you were very young, and that he was going to make sure you'd hear every single one of them sooner or later. I'm not sure if he was serious, but you know him."

Pasadena groaned. "I always felt like those two never joked about me that much compared to the other drivers…"

"Well, that may change I'm afraid if they ever manage to discover you know about it now," finally, Von Clutch let himself have a hearty laugh. Then, he recomposed. "Only if you want, that is…"

"No, Ebenezer," Pasadena said solemnly. "I think you've tried to protect me for long enough. I'm not a kid, or even a teenager anymore, I can deal with this problem myself… I'll even make sure I can remember by myself, without you ever having to deal with all of this… emotional stuff again, if I am ever struck by this amnesia thing again."

"Oh, I don't mind that," Von Clutch laughed. "I've lived far too long for being bothered by this. I'll be fine as long as you are fine and happy."

Pasadena finally let herself smile, since the moment she had stepped into Von Clutch's office. While it had been quite a roller coaster of emotions, she finally felt like her inner doubts had been solved, even if there was still a part of her past, concerning her specific origin, that had yet to be discovered.

Perhaps, though, that part wasn't as important, considering what the bandicoots had told her earlier. The one part that mattered… she knew about that now. And that was enough to ease her, making her feel like the lack of memories was not as hurting as it was before.

She still wanted to know more facts about her childhood at least, and she definitely wanted to hear what Von Clutch had to say, since he sounded like he had a lot to tell from those times.

Beside that… there was one last thing she wanted to ask her employer.

"Von Clutch?"

"Yes, Pasadena?"

"Does this mean I can call you dad from now on?"

Von Clutch looked at her for a moment. Instead of surprise or embarrassment, he looked at her like she wanted to burn her alive.

"Don't you think this is going to change your current duties on the job, Pasadena. I can still fire you, you know?"

Pasadena laughed at his annoyance. She had never, ever acted like this around him, but she was already starting to like this change.

"Is that a yes?"

"Ugh," Von Clutch spoke with mild annoyance, though he was visibly trying to hide a smile. "Do that in public, and you're going kaput, Pasadena."

"Okay… dad."

A day later.

"Hello, race fans! And welcome to another racing matchup here in Motorworld! Today, we're going into the depths of a phantasy castle in Once upon a Tire!"

"Well, fry me up in an oven, Chick, if this isn't an event to look forward to! Our usual racing contestants are already at the starting grid, eager to put their skills to the test against each other!"

Chick and Stew kept on commenting on the upcoming race, their voice being played out by the sound contraptions placed all over the track. It was tradition, after all, for the two of them to discuss at the start of every race—sans the times they ended up missing the race's beginning, that is.

Pasadena realised that perhaps the thing that didn't feel right in the race at Tiki Turbo two days before, was the lack of the remarks from Motorworld's commenters.

She was busy finishing her check-up on her current car, listening to Ebenezer Von Clutch while she worked. "Thus, Pasadena, after yesterday I realised that when this entire ordeal will end, I will find myself without a park to direct. And that's why I got in contact with this guy."

"Ebenezer, why would you even try to get in contact with some kind of koala movie star, though?" she said. Eventually, the two had agreed that she could at least call him by name while in public. Though, whether she was always going to respect their agreement was another matter.

Well… she was definitely going to do so until she could handle the thought of people knowing about this at least.

"Oh, he's not really having much luck with movies, but he's told me he's trying to get a chance to become a famous wrestler now," Von Clutch explained. "But Kong might be our key to my next grandiose masterpiece, Pasadena. Imagine a circus, dedicated to the wonders of professional wrestling, blazing lights, and of course deadly racing. Something mobile, of course, but still loyal to the same principles that made Motoworld great. What do you say?"

Pasadena raised her snout from the car's interior to look at him. He was grinning as if he'd just had an 'eureka' moment, which may as well actually be what happened.

"I'm not sure… but to be honest, what do we have to lose, after Motorworld is passed over to the next winner?" she said. "I'm still following you regardless."

His grin got wider, if possible. "That's what I wanted to hear! I'll try to convince Kong to join our ranks then. Shouldn't be too difficult given that he said he wants to try wrestling because he has fewer lines to utter."

"Sounds like he's got his priorities straight," Pasadena chuckled. He wasn't sure what to make of the guy Von Clutch had contacted, but between Chick and Stew and Willie, she'd learned to socialise with a lot of strange people already.

Not to mention her own father, of course.

"Well then, I better get going or the race will start before I even sit down on the Zwergauto. See you on the race track, Pasadena. And don't think I'll be treating you any less different!"

"You can bet I won't do the same!" she fired back. Von Clutch laughed, then waved at her before leaving.

She resumed her check-up work, but fifteen seconds later someone tapped on her back, interrupting her again. When she turned around, she found it wasn't Ebenezer this time, but a female bandicoot looking at her inquisitively.

"Hey there, Pasa."

"Still going with that nickname?" Pasadena quickly replied, hand on her hip.

"Oh, come on, you know you like it. By the way, I was just wondering if you were all right."

"Oh? Why?"

"Well, you know… after yesterday. You're still thinking about what we talked about?"

"Oh, that… well, only a bit. I've actually managed to let the matter go for some time, I think. I still have a lot to find out about all of that…"

She leaned a little to look behind Coco. Ebenezer Von Clutch had already reached his vehicle and was right now standing on the car bonnet, using his megaphone to spur his competitors and taunt them to do their best in the upcoming race. He was the same good old Von Clutch.

Yet… right now, Pasadena looked at him with different eyes. She'd probably have to spend some time getting used to this feeling, after so long looking up to him as simply the boss she was loyal to.

But she could manage.

"Yet, even if I don't know everything yet, I think I can work with what I have. But thank you for the thought."

Coco smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. If you ever need anything I'm always here… but I guess that for now we can leave it aside. It wouldn't be fun to race with a gloomy version of you, now, would it?"

Pasadena smirked. "That would be too easy. And don't you worry; I'm still gonna blast you and the toaster you're driving to pieces. Don't ya' think our old alliance still holds in this new match!"

Coco smiled blithely. "Hey, you're the one who's gonna have to watch her back. Who knows? That toaster might have some tricks hidden below the hood. You never know."

The two girls laughed together at each other's jabs. But before Coco could wish good luck and leave to return to her own car, something happened.

There was a huge screen right beside the starting grid of Once upon a Tire. Pasadena didn't remember there being such a screen here, not in the previous weeks, let alone five minutes ago. Where did that come from? Even Coco was astounded by the appearance. She thought she saw some Park Drones moving nearby, but they were gone before she could understand what they were doing.

But soon, the screen turned on, revealing the ones most likely responsible for the intruding object. And here they were, Chick and Stew, sitting in their studio.

"Attention, Motorworld contestants and visitors. We just received news, and we got to share it all with you!" Stew exclaimed.

"What's that about, Von Clutch?" Cortex shouted from behind Pasadena and Coco. Von Clutch simply shrugged; he was apparently just as confused.

"That's right, race fans! We've just received news thanks to our trustful sources…" Chick was holding some papers in his hands, and he even took out a pair of reading glasses. "…that our favourite racing ace, and long-time Motorworld veteran, Pasadena O'Possum, has actually been racing since her younger days!"

Pasadena started coughing when she ended up swallowing down her lung pipe a gust of saliva. "WHAT!?"

"And so, just before the start of this upcoming racing contest, we're here for a special edition of Chick 'n' Stew Absolutely Not Embarassing Facts! Oh, oh, oh, I've been looking forward to this!" Stew had another paper in his hand, except that it was an extremely long piece of fabric, so long that it even went down their desk, hiding its end.

Pasadena had heard about that thing Stew was holding. She looked at Von Clutch, who was looking at her already, with an accusing glare, but Von Clutch looked just as surprised as her. How could they even know about her newfound knowledge so soon!? She'd yet to tell anyone!

"But first things first, race fans," Chick continued. "Let's first check out a photo of our favourite racing champion in her earliest days. Here it is!"

And then, it happened. The screen's feed changed into a still image. A still image of Pasadena, eight-year-old, depicted while driving an incredibly small toy car, sized just for her, and smiling brightly at the camera.

The damage was already done before she could even accept what had just happened.

"Oh. My. GOSH! Is that you Pasadena!? Oh my, you were so cute!"

Incoherent bandicoot laughing came from the upper positions, Crash was apparently having the time of his life. He immediately began to walk up to her, with Crunch right in tow.

"Wow, Pasadena, I have to say I gotta agree with my little sister here," Crunch said between the snickers. "You look like you handled yourself pretty well even that early, considering that impressive piece of machinery you were driving!"

"OH MY, THE HORROR!" Cortex's scream came from behind.

"But Dr. Cortex, it's just a very reputation-damaging image of a child possum. Why are you so aggravated by it?" N. Gin wondered.

"N. Gin, you moron! It's obvious I can't handle that much SWEETNESS in one go! Hide it, hide it from my eyes! It burns!"

"Bleah. I'm disgusted," Nina Cortex was among the group as well, sulking. "You were that puny little thing, O'Possum? You look like you still had a long way to go before you could even consider starting the engine of anything that wasn't an RC toy car."

Pasadena at that point wanted to turn invisible or, even better, teleport out of the place. But when she thought things couldn't get worse, she heard a megaphone. "Comin' through, gentlemen!" Von Clutch's voice came as he made his way up to Pasadena, "Leave space, because THAT'S MY GIRL!"

He walked up to her and circled a mechanical arm around her shoulders, all while starting to narrate her early accomplishments, beginning with the very first accident of course.

Pasadena's fur colour was basically comparable to the vivid shade of a ripe tomato at that point… but for some reason, she was also smiling and laughing with along the group—the ones who were enjoying their time at least, with poor Cortex still refusing to participate while N. Gin tried his best to help his distressed master. Even Nina started making her own joking remarks at some point, snickering all the way, though it didn't seem she was trying to be mean. Perhaps even she couldn't avoid the cuteness, deep down.

All the while Chick and Stew continued with their own story, Stew making sure to go over his list of remarks about young Pasadena from the very beginning, interrupting Chick's tale every ten seconds.

She was going to catch those fowl commentators and turn them into roast chicken. Yep, that was now a definitive entry in her to-do list.

But for now that could wait, at least until she was done having fun with her friends… and her family.

THE END