Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was cold. Freezing cold.

Far from the comfortable heat that the N. Sanity island usually provided him with. Far from the comfort of his couch, the only place he ever seriously relaxed or slept.

Now he had his hands tucked firmly under his armpits. He was shivering heavily, teeth clattering against each other cartoonishly, looking for anything that might serve as shelter. Anything to bring him some warmth and safety from the ice that seemed to engulf him and cover every spare inch of his body.

He sneezed and whimpered. Whimpering. It wasn't a sound he often made, but he couldn't help himself on this occasion. The cold made him feel lonely and just a little bit scared and whimpering was the only way he had of expressing himself.

He had been just about ready to take another blood curdling step forwards in the snow when he spotted it.

The outline of a figure, shining brightly on the horizon. It was quite some distance away, but it was a figure all the same. He cocked his head to the right before stepping forwards a little bit faster, at first merely inching closer to his new target. Then he found himself jogging lightly, slowly picking up speed. The ice seemed to melt from his once stiff body, as he got faster and faster, quickly closing the distance between himself and the figure.

Arms moving up and down and sprinting at his fastest, he almost crashed into the figure, stopping himself in the nick of time and slipping on the ground as a result and landing in an awkwardly painful position.

He picked himself up with a pained groan, feeling the odd urge to cry. He held it in though, as he slowly looked up at the figure, who had by then turned around to face him. Surprise morphed into his features, as recognition kicked in and he slowly realized who it was.

"Oh Crash," The figure spoke before he had time to react, "you're hurt."

Crash looked down, noticing for the first time the scratches, bruises and bumps that covered his knees, hands and a bit of his shirtless torso. He jumped slightly when Cortex, taller than he was, gently pulled him forwards and into a hug.

"It's alright now, I'll get those looked after."

Crash stared over his shoulder, wide-eyed and questioning, but couldn't resist reluctantly wrapping his own arms around Cortex's back.

"Now then," The unusually kind villain spoke after a while, pulling out of the embrace, "let's go home, you must be starving."

He allowed himself to be led away by Cortex, unsure of the situation, but not wanting it to end.

He was brought into a home. There was no path towards it, no entrance. They were just there.

It was warm inside. A comfortable kind of warm.

Far from the barren ice lands that his worst nightmares provided him with. Far from the chills that crawled up his spine in the cold.

Now Crash found that he was seated at a table, his knees carefully bandaged, his hands bandaged as well and covered in his signature fingerless gloves.

His mouth watered hungrily at the plate of food before him. He looked up at Cortex, seeking some sort of go-ahead.

It was given to him in the form of an affirmative nod. He dug in, biting greedily into the wumpa fruit and scoffing up the various other berries present on the plate.

When he was done, he used the back of his hand to wipe at the leftovers around his mouth.

"Crash are you tired?"

He had been about to shake his head. His only way of saying 'no', when a great, long yawn burst from out of his mouth. It shook him from head to toe and only then did he feel the sagging beneath his eyes and the burning of his eyes themselves. The slow feeling of fatigue coming up to pull him down into darkness. And so he nodded. His only way of saying 'yes'.

"I thought as much." Cortex grinned. "Go get some rest, I tidied your room earlier, you know where it is."

Crash didn't, but it wasn't as if the house was particularly large. His supposed room was just a few paces down the narrow passage, to the left. He entered and much to his liking, saw that it was decorated in the same way that he himself might have decorated it. Beach themed. His favorite. The only downside was the fact that it seemed to actually be in a state of cleanliness. Still, that was minor distaste in the face of pure haven.

He didn't spend much time exploring, choosing to instead crawl underneath the warm sheets that covered his bed. He let his head hit his pillow, eyes closing upon impact and felt himself asleep in seconds. The dark solitude of his mind was only interrupted by a temporary dream. One where he was much smaller, much more helpless and vulnerable to the elements. Yet the only one he could look up at never took this fact for himself. He nurtured him, brought him up, looked after him lovingly. He felt a great, strong sense of belonging in the dream and in the bed.

His mind was dark again after that dream ended and he liked it that way. Only after what felt like ages did the tiniest of noise interrupt the lively peace. It was followed by a slight trickle of light, one which seemed to grow brighter with time. Then the noise got louder and much more familiar too.

He almost felt himself being lifted up, being pushed away by fatigue and brought back into the real world. All was still blurry though.

"Hey Crash," These were the last words he heard before he was brought completely back, "you're in!"

Crash grasped to keep the controller in his hands, spending only a split second in momentary confusion before looking down and flipping the controller in the right direction. He stared ahead at the TV and started mashing buttons, moving his fictional character whichever way there was to go, but mostly just following his fictional companions.

He was rather grateful that no one was paying him specifically much attention. It was better that they didn't see the sour disappointment building on his face. Disappointment stemming from the fact that all he wanted was but a dream, never to truly see the life of day. Sometimes he wished to speak out, to put his feelings into words, but he always ended up suppressing himself, for reasons even he didn't understand, reasons even he couldn't comprehend.

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They celebrated their victory that night. Under the stars, smoke from their barbecue rose and filled the air with the sweet, thickly aroma of slowly cooking meat.

Everyone was speaking at once, mentioning at least one of their heroic moments.

Crash found himself wandering, trying his best to act natural. Trying to act as if nothing was wrong in his head, but there were always those that could see right through the admittedly frail walls that he put up. Coco, his sister- she could never be fooled by anyone, him especially. She knew him inside and out, left and right.

Luckily, before the question could escape her mouth, in front of everyone else as well, Tawna made a scene and stole everyone's attention, they all turned to her. It gave him an opportunity to stalk away.

Although he never went far, taking only a few steps up the beach to sit closer to the rising tide. He looked out on the horizon, in the same manner that Aku Aku had earlier. Except, where Aku Aku had been laughing heartily and observing the beauty of his home, Crash's eyes were searching longingly. Searching for the figure from his dreams, searching for any sign of it's shining outline against a black backdrop.

But there was no one out there. Nothing to be seen on such a quiet night. He sighed, swallowing back the tears that were fighting their way out of the dirt and toward the freedom of the world. Only a few succeeded in actually escaping. The rest were cursed back into the dirt.

Without much left to look at, he rejoined his friends, celebrating without firm cause for hours on end, only allowing those tears, which had failed, to return once the party had come to an end and everyone had retired for the night.

They wet the couch, but would dry up by the time the sun rose. And by then no one would pay their death any attention. It would be a waste of time.

While he fruitlessly slept, he tried to enter that place again. Tried to enter the home, tried to find the figure, but predictably nothing came from it.

"Crash are you tired?"

The question rang in his mind over and over. At first it was nothing more than a nuisance. But slowly and surely it calmed him and almost acted as a lullaby, slowly allowing fatigue to come up again and before he knew it, he had sunken beneath the real world.

Chapter Text

Solitude.

Peace and solitude.

The only two things he had wanted, nay, needed for the longest time.

Cortex stretched out and put his hands behind his head, allowing it to rest on both of them. One of his feet hung on the opposite knee. He sighed in contempt, happy enough to stay completely still in the relaxed position he had formed for himself. The beach which he had been banished to smelt of nothing, but fresh air and nothingness. There was no end to it, no end to the endlessness. It was calming, in an odd and unexplainable sort of way.

Yes, it had always been fun to scheme up some brand new plan to take over the world, or on occasion, the entire universe, but the stress of it all got to him quite often. There was always something that demanded his attention, always something that could go wrong. And how often things did indeed go wrong, leaving his perfectly drawn up plans in ruin and leaving him with almost nothing to start anew.

Of course, he couldn't always be blamed for his own failures. No, half the time the fault landed on a certain creature. A vile creature. One which he ashamedly had to admit was his own creation. A creation gone wrong, oh so *horribly wrong*. The bandicoot was once meant to lead Cortex's army, to serve as the piece that would guarantee his domination, but alas Crash, as he had so aptly been named, was a simple experiment that had not worked out. This was despite all his tests, all his calculations and factorizations. Worse yet, he had allowed Crash to escape, to slip through his fingers. He should have predicted that something like that might have happened, that Crash would later become his greatest nuisance. Him and his sister and all their friends were the biggest thorns in his side. It was unfortunate, but that was how history had turned out and from his own experience, there was no changing it. He would just have to live with those pesky bandicoots for the rest of his days.

At the very least he would not need to worry about them in the moment. They were a future problem, one which he would sort out at some point, just not right then.

Cortex sat up and rubbed his eyes. He'd been laying there for quite some time. It felt strange to not be in a lab, or besides some nut, enacting some form of villainy. But maybe this could be his life from now on, maybe he didn't have to go back.

"Maybe I don't want to deal with those bandicoots." He muttered to himself. "Maybe I don't want to deal with Crash. Maybe..." A hopeful smile cracked across his lips. "Maybe I'll stay here in my solitude. In my solitude and in my peace."

He laid back down and breathed in deeply. Sighing in contempt and tapping his foot in the air. He could have stayed like that forever under the night sky, but when he heard the laughter, he had to sit back up. And as it got louder and more brash, much like the panic building up in his heart, he stood and scanned his surroundings.

The one behind the laughter didn't stay hidden for long, emerging from the dark like a bat in the night.

First he saw the bright outline of it's eyes and then slowly the rest of the fabled mask came into sight. The malicious grin it wore only aided Cortex in his fear.

"U-U-Uka Uk-Uka." His voice shook harshly. "Good to see you again old friend."

Uka Uka merely laughed again. "Old friend? The two of us have never been friends." He acknowledged Cortex's fearful shuddering with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong? You didn't expect me to show up again after you and that fool Nefarious left me in our prison? You should know better than that Cortex."

"What do you want?" He finally decided to just ask, going for a bolder tone, but not quite getting it.

"I'm here to give you a second- scratch that- fourth chance to follow my commands and earn the world domination which you so desperately wish for."

"Puh." He scoffed. "I'm happy here as I am now. I don't need to do anything."

"You will do it, because I say you will do it!" Uka Uka snapped suddenly, angrily floating closer to Cortex.

"R-right...o-of course I will." Cortex reverted back to his fearful self. "B-but you see there are just *sooooo* many obstacles. I'm stuck here, those wretched bandicoots-"

"Do not fret over the bandicoots! It is because of your needless concerns for them that they always interfere."

Cortex nodded understandably. "Okay, no bandicoots." He gulped. "How will I get out of this place?"

Uka Uka smiled. "The same way that I came in."

He seemed skeptical. "I-Is that really safe? I've been around portals like that before and they've always appeared unstable to me. I'm not su-"

"You don't trust me?" The villainous mask was a few steps from him now and kept getting closer.

Cortex gulped again nervously and started to back up.

"Well?" Uka Uka snapped. "Do you? Or don't you?"

"N-no." He stuttered out nervously. "Of course I t-trust you."

"Good." A sick grin crossed his face.

Cortex, suddenly feeling as if something was wrong, glanced down. And just like that he found himself falling. Falling through time. Falling through space. Falling through it all.

At first, he could barely stand to look at anything. The speed of his descent made him feel dizzy and slightly nauseous. Only after what felt like a good while did he realize how unnecessarily loudly he was screaming. He was definitely falling much too fast and the wind hitting his face was not pleasant at all, but he figured that he could at least uphold his dignity and fall with some form of grace.

And so his uncontrollable fall continued, with him at least feeling a little better as the unending time ticked on. Some things he recognized; past failures and mild successes. Other things were alien to him; strange flashes of purple and blurry objects moving as fast as he was. It was an admirable place once you stripped away your own fear and confusion. A place filled with all your dreams and aspirations. It was just a pity then that the bad always followed the good.

He gained the unexpected confidence to reach out and touch one of these dreams. He was so close too. It was one from a long time ago. One filled with emotions and feelings that had long ago escaped him. One which he could no longer cherish, for it was simply unproductive to do so.

*"Oof." *He grunted upon hitting the unforgivably cold, metal floor and looked up. There were several eyes looking back at him, but for the most part the formally dressed men working there ignored him all together, marching off to work at their various stations.

"Excellent, isn't it?"

Cortex spun around upon hearing Uka Uka's voice. "Wh-where are we?"

"My newest base of operations. This is the place where I shall stand once my plan succeeds."

He nodded, suddenly feeling rather out of place in where he was, despite the fact that he was dressed similarly to the strangers around him. "And where exactly do I fall into this plan of yours?"

"Do not worry about that now. Settle in and do it quickly, I will send someone for you once I am ready."

He felt hands pulling him away and before he knew it, he was being escorted down a hallway. He took the chance to scan his surroundings.

Everything in this so-called 'base of operations' looked the same. The walls were the same, the workers were the same. It had a touch of blandness to it.

Before he had a chance to look any further, he was ushered into a room, the door being locked behind him. He sighed, beginning to get the idea that he was less of a partner and more of a prisoner. At the very least, his room seemed somewhat comfortable, even if it shared the same characteristics as the walls outside.

He sat on the bed, which lied directly in the center of the room. It was hard and much too big, but wasn't enough to get his attention. Instead he sat there racking his brain, trying to figure out what he could possibly be needed for. Uka Uka seemed to think him useless. What then could he possibly need him for? Where did he fit into any plans?

"Dr. Cortex."

He spun around, taken by surprise for the third time that day. The man who spoke to him was much like the others, only much more familiar.

"I believe we need to talk."

Chapter Text

She was right over there. In front of a fire. Watching the embers from the hot coals slowly rise up.

All he had to do was go over there, all he had to do was speak with her. No one else would understand his reasoning. He wasn't even sure that she would, but with days ticking by and his various thoughts refusing to go away, he couldn't stand not asking her. He only had one day left in any case, for earlier that day she had announced that she and the others would be taking leave soon. Time was running short and he wasn't keen on missing out on what was possibly his only chance.

And so Crash reluctantly emerged from the bushes he had been watching from. His large shoes left big prints behind, although they would eventually be washed away, either by rain, or by seawater.

Only once he had gotten closer to Kupuna-Wa, did he hear her humming. It was a beautiful, albeit unfamiliar tune, one which he almost wished that he had heard before.

He stood still behind her for quite a long time, unsure of how to get her attention. Eventually he settled on funny mixture of clearing his throat and coughing.

She turned around, but didn't stop her humming. "Crash..." There was a benevolent grin on her face, as she cheerfully said his name, "I was wondering when you might come out."

Crash's eyes widened in surprise. He looked back at the bushes, releasing a sound of disbelief.

"Surprised, are you? I would've thought that you knew your kind isn't the stealthiest of species." She shook her head amusingly. "Anyhow, were you coming here to say goodbye? Or was it something more than that...a request perhaps?"

The expression on Crash's face told her all that she needed to know. Kupuna-Wa laughed heartily, before gesturing for him to follow her. He did just that, silently walking behind her, not bothering to ask where they were going. He wondered briefly how much of the island she knew, it wasn't as if she, or the other visiting masks had spent much time there. Yet her endless humming never stopped as she assuredly floated through the bushes, allowing the leaves to slowly brush off of her wooden surface.

They walked for a long time before Crash finally realized where she was most likely taking him. They were headed in the direction of Skull Rock Waterfall. A place he didn't like all too much, only tolerating it because no one, not even Crunch, could move it from it's permanent home.

He expressed brief annoyance at having to get his shoes wet while crossing a small stream. Kupuna-Wa however, paid him no attention as she seemed to be reaching an end to her melody.

"We use to sing things like that all the time in the past you know? Sometimes I go back there to relive the good old days. None of the others know about it though."

They finally stopped walking, standing still on a sandy spot near the foot of the mountain that was Skull Rock. From where they stood, they had a perfect view of the waterfall in all it's majesty. While Kupuna-Wa seemed to admire this with a calm smile, Crash couldn't stop the sharp shudder that crawled up his spine. This place had always creeped him out. The way that it's large eye sockets stared back at him, as well as the sharp imperfections on it's entire structure, filled him with a sense of uneasiness.

"My father also despised me." She spoke suddenly, breaking what had been a growing silence. "He never said as much, but I could see it all the time. The way he looked at me, the way he spoke to me...the disdain in his eyes whenever I had accomplished anything. It was as clear as day."

Crash tilted his head at her empathetically.

"Do not feel sorry for what has happened in the past Crash. I got over myself a long time ago."

He scooted closer to her.

Kupuna-Wa scoffed playfully. "You're more readable than Lani Loli and that's saying something, believe me." She continued to look at the fast flowing water, rushing down the stony steps of the waterfall. "I know what you want Crash...I know you want to change things, to make him proud of you, but...some people just aren't meant to be on our side."

His eyes widened and lips pouted, as if he were begging on the inside, unable to project his feelings to the outer world.

"Don't cry before I finish." She chuckled. "Everyone deserves a chance, even the worst of us, that much I know for sure, but before I do this, before I put you in danger, I'd prefer for you to speak with him in the present time. After all, you can't change someone who you ba-"

"Oh there you are!" A very frantic and out of breath Lani Loli cut her off before she could finish. "We were getting worried for a second- while I was. The others were already ready to leave." He approached them quickly. "And that'll be a good thing too..." His eyes drifted towards Skull Rock. "...this place gives me the creeps."

"You worry far too much Lani Loli. What happened to the days where you used to have a knack for exploration and excitement?"

Lani Loli shook his head, exasperated. "That was a really long time ago, before, you-know-what happened."

"Ha! How could I ever forget? You were stuck in that tree for ages before someone came to get you down." She teased him.

"I thought we agreed not to discuss that," He beckoned towards Crash, "especially in front of others."

"You don't have to worry about that."

"I hope so." He gave an end to that conversation, shaking his head to remember why he had come there in the first place. "Oh right, we should be leaving soon, can't overstay out welcome. I was going to get you to say goodbye to everyone, but looks like you already started."

Kapuna-Wa gave him a cheeky look. "I was doing more than just saying goodbye. I was listening."

"Listening?" Lani Loli's eyes drifted over to Crash suspiciously.

"Mhm. Listening to our friend over here and his last request of me...of us, before we leave."

"And what exactly is this request?"

She merely looked at him for a long time, it seemed cryptic, the way their eyes locked together and shone against each other. After a few seconds, he finally seemed to realize what she meant.

"Wh-what? No...n-n-n-no w-way."

"Lani..."

"We can't just mess around with time like it's nothing, this is a really bad idea."

"Relax. I don't plan on sending him back..."

"Whoo." He sighed. "Well that's just a relief."

"...yet. And that's where you come in."

He groaned, looking at her skeptically. "This is not going to end well."

"I need you to accompany and guide Crash through a portal, or two. I need you to take him to Neo Cortex."

"Wait, why? We banished him for a reason, you know."

"Yes and not to alarm you, but I believe an ancient evil has awoken and taken the doctor for his own nefarious needs."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes, Uka Uka has returned."

"Oh no..."

"I just so happen to know precisely where Cortex has been taken." She smiled at Crash. "So I want you to take our good friend to see him."

"Look. I don't understand why you'd even want to see him in the first place, but why do I have to go? Why not Akano, or Ika Ika?"

"Akano is not exactly the best of company and Ika Ika is...well...Ika Ika."

"I really don't know about this one." He floated up and down in hesitation. "So much could go wrong..."

"Nothing will go wrong, trust me."

"Well...okay. I guess I'll do it."

Kupuna-Wa gave him a nod of her head. "Good to hear. The two of you best prepare, I'll meet you at sunset. Make sure you're on time."

With that she left the both of them in front of the waterfall, below Skull Rock and in the middle of nowhere on N. Sanity Island. Once she was completely out of sight, Crash turned to Ika Ika curiously. He looked at the mask with genuine wonder, trying to imagine a brave, adventurous version of it. His mind came up short each and every time.

"I suppose that I do owe you at least a little something for saving the world and all. But just know that Cortex isn't the type of guy that you should associate yourself with, especially when he's paired up next to people like N.Gin, or even worse..." He shuddered, "Uka Uka. Think wisely Crash."

Those were the words that Crash was left to ponder with throughout the rest of that day. He wasn't sure what to make of all of them, but one thing he did know was that he was going to see Cortex, come hell, or high water.

Chapter Text

"This over here is my latest spin on a flux capacitator. I've been referring to it as the 'Model S', even though R comes before S in the alphabet. That's only because I hate the letter R. Such annoying pronunciation..."

Cortex found himself drifting off while Doctor N. Gin spoke. He had been pleasantly surprised to see his old partner so calm and relaxed, a far cry from the usually over the top nature that he use to have to put up. He supposed that it might have been something that Uka Uka had done, leading him to the conclusion that he wasn't the only one annoyed by N. Gin and his antics. The one unfortunate side effect to this however, was the fact that it appeared now that the maniacal scientific assistant couldn't help rambling off into various bits of unimportant speech. It had happened several times since they had first been reunited. At first Cortex would interrupt him, getting the conversation back on topic, but soon enough he simply allowed N. Gin to carry on, having already gotten the main gist of the plan.

"I'll leave you in here to prepare." N. Gin punched in a code on a panel, opening the door to a much larger lab. "Sam will help you with anything you might not understand."

He stepped into the room and started himself, while sighing. It looked similar, *too similar*. That coupled with the plan itself sent shivers down his spine. He almost found himself protesting when Uka Uka so regally explained to him what he was to do. Even though he managed to stop himself, he couldn't help at least trying to logically explain what grand failures had occurred in the past and what they had led to. Uka Uka was having none of it though and so he begrudgingly started drawing up the plan for what would become his latest 'invention'.

*"It was never meant to be...never meant to be."* He muttered over and over to himself, letting his head fall in between his hands and ignoring Sam beside him, even as the dutiful worker stood upright, ready to follow any orders that he was given.

Crash was never meant to be more than yet another attempt in a plan that was always destined to fail. After a few meandering attempts at taking the world for himself, he had come to the conclusion that someone smart, strong, loyal and above all else, obedient, would need to lead his army to victory. Crash was twenty fifth in a long line of failed experiments, except, unlike all that had come before him, Crash had by far exhibited the most potential. Delivering in all that he was looking for and somehow...even more. He had never expected to care for the bandicoot in any way, but there was something responsive, something real in Crash that none of the others had displayed. Crash, from his first day always carried around with him a note of innocence. It was all over him, in his eyes, the posture he stood in, even the way he did basic things like eating. At first he could recall taking this as a major setback. He needed a hardened soldier to do what had to be done, not some sweet butterfly. It wouldn't have been difficult to fix either, just a tid bit of work would have been required on his brain. Yet every time he had to stop himself. Something about what he was to do felt wrong. Immoral. And in the end he resisted his own instincts, a decision that he would later come to regret.

Now he was here, being forced to repeat his mistakes. Forced to make a 'Crash 2.0'. He wasn't even sure of where to begin, having lost his old schematics years prior. One thing he knew to be sure of though, was that he had to build a killing machine with no emotions whatsoever.

"Sam fetch me a pen and some paper." Cortex demanded shortly.

Sam lightly bowed his head, quickly taking several steps across the room and returning with a pen in one hand and a paper in the other. He set both down on the table before his master.

As soon as Sam stepped aside, Cortex went to work, finding himself taking note of every small idea, the tiniest variables. He scribbled down rough drawings of various different model types, meticulously thinking about each and every different part.

That table was where Cortex spent a good couple of weeks. Slowly, but steadily making progress on the machine itself. Yet, even as he sat there, hair overgrown and eyes drooping, working out a solution to a problem that had just arisen, Uka Uka could never be pleased. The pressure was starting to take a serious toll on him mentally and he wondered briefly whether a deadline would be placed above his head, as incentive for him to somehow work faster than he already was.

He scrunched up the paper before him and threw it to the side, not even bothering to aim for the bin which was over filled in any case. He let his head fall to the table and grabbed for a coffee cup, sitting on the table. It was empty and with an annoyed groan, he threw it aside as well.

"Sam!" He sat up, groggily yelling for his lab assistant, but got no response. When he stopped to think about it, he realized that it had been ages since he'd last seen Sam, he just hadn't taken the time to notice. His head fell back to the table and he found himself fighting to stay conscious, lapsing in and out of his dreams.
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"That's very..." Cortex stood there studying the picture, if you could even call it that, carefully. It comprised of one scribble that was likely supposed to be him and another that was likely supposed to be the Earth, "... well it's certainly creative, I'll say that much."

That seemed to be all the praise the bandicoot needed, as he gazed upon his picture with pride.

Cortex began leading the ever energetic Crash back to his cell. It had been weeks since Crash had first opened his eyes and in that time Cortex had come to quite a few conclusions about his latest experiment. For one, Crash was actually so far shaping up to be a success, needing only a few wrinkles ironed out. Far more concerning however, was the fact that Crash treated him less like a master, or a leader and more like a father.

Knowing that that would be no good, Cortex tried at every turn to keep Crash out of that mindset, turning away from his frequent attempts at a hug and at times even trying to get the bandicoot to fear and hate him. But Crash seemed incapable of all that. A rather large issue that he would need to address in the future.

Once they were within eyesight of the door leading to his cell, Crash ran forward, spinning and jumping excitedly as if there were no tomorrow. He broke a few pieces of equipment and punched a hole in the wall, but scarcely seemed to notice. Cortex sighed.

"He has a destructive tendency, that's for sure." He spoke to no one in particular, slowly following after Crash.

By the time he had entered the room, he found that Crash had already put up the picture at a spot on the wall and found his way onto his bed. Cortex remained at the entrance, leaning against the doorframe. A silence settled itself between the two for a while. Only when he looked up, did Cortex realize that Crash was looking at him. Studying him with those wide and innocent eyes.

"Crash," He found himself slowly walking over, words stuck in the back of his throat, "I-"
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*clang*

Cortex jumped up with a start, the noise which so suddenly interrupted the peace, sent his heart racing.

"Sam? Sam is that you?"

He cursed silently to himself. The room was extremely dark, only being slightly lit by the desk lamp in front of him. Also not helping matters was the size of the room. His eyes darted around wildy and then he heard it. Footsteps. Approaching steadily.

"Sam?" He tried one last time, before accepting that who, or whatever was coming towards him, was not Sam.

Standing up, Cortex clutched his pen tightly, ready to use it as a weapon should the situation come to that.

Chapter Text

It took ages and much dodging and weaving, before Crash found himself in front of a door. On the door was a large silver 'N'. Confirming his suspicions that Neo Cortex was in that very room.

He glanced at his wrist, before cartoonishly realizing that he had no watch on. Time was at that point, certainly a problem. He could imagine Lani Loli floating back and forth, wondering what was taking him so long.

Getting to the room shouldn't have taken him as long as it did in the first place. As soon as he had been able to come out of hiding and explore the facility, he'd gotten lost. Not out of a poor sense of direction, but rather out of pure nostalgia.

The maze-like structure, extremely similar dark walls and the occasional scientist walking around, felt exactly as it did at the beginning of his life. He loved the N. Sanity Islands, couldn't imagine living without them, but being in the place he was now made him feel like a little Joey all over again. And for good reason. This was his childhood after all.

The only thing he could think of as missing was Cortex and that was more than enough for him to shake his head, regain focus and once more defiantly set off to find what he'd come for.

*"Do you mind taking this this to Dr. Cortex? The boss will have my head if these don't get to him." *

A conversation heard through the apparently thin walls caught Crash's attention. He leaned in and pressed an ear against the wall.

*"Sure thing. Uka Uka is as mean as they come. Which room is Cortex's again?"*

*"Floor 11. Room 11-15. Right at the end of the corridor, giant, silver 'N' planted right on the door. Can't miss it if you take the elevator."*

*"Alright. Better get them there fast then" *
Crash quickly ran down the hallway, swooshing sound of the door spurring him to run faster. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of an elevator, leaning against the shut doors and rapidly pressing every button on the panel, urging for it to reach his floor faster than it actually could. In his panic he failed to notice the doors sliding open, falling into the elevator and breathing a sigh of relief, even as the doors closed slower than he would have liked.

He took a moment in the elevator, suddenly calm and tapping his foot in sync with the gentle music playing through hidden speakers. The door opened quickly though, prompting him to keep moving.

*"Floor 11. Room 11-15. Right at the end of the corridor, giant, silver N planted right on the door."*

With every last detail stuck in his head, Crash glanced down the corridor and sure enough there was in fact, a giant, silver 'N' planted right on the door. It glittered and gleamed in his eyes, while he steadily approached, taking only last look around to make sure that he was clear.

The door slid open easily, barely making a sound and allowing him to carefully slip through. Almost instantly he was drowned in the darkness. With no idea of where to go and no light source at his disposal, he began the tedious process of scaling the walls in the hopes of finding a light switch or something similar.

*clang*

He winced as he crashed into something, a shelf by feel of it. Something metallic had fallen off, resulting in a shrill sound echoing through the room.

"Sam? Sam? Is that you?"

It sounded like Cortex and looking in the direction of the voice, Crash could make out the smallest glow of light.

"Sam?"

He sounded like he was getting closer, footsteps getting louder and cautious voice seeming to approach. Crash waited for a second, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly a light shone in his face and a high pitched scream hurt his ears. He jumped from the sudden fright as well, but managed to contain himself.

"Crash???" Cortex looked at him, a mixture of shock and anger on his face. "What in the world are you doing here? How did you ge- why I ought to...aah!" He stomped around the room like a fanatic, hands firmly clutched to his head. After several moments he finally took a few deep breaths, allowing himself to calm down. "Okay, okay...what are you doing here?"

Crash merely shrugged in response, eyeing the man curiously.

"Let me guess. You're here to stop Uka Uka and I, because you heard of our new secret plan to take over the world." Cortex spoke dryly, backing away from Crash slowly. "Listen as I much as I'd like to humor you and your masks, you can't be here, it's not s-"

He stopped suddenly, face scrunching up in worry. Crash tilted his head, initially confused by the look he was being given.

"Listen to me. *You. Have. To. Leave.*"

Crash shook his head, refusing even as Cortex's frustration and hidden fear grew. He had come here for a reason and didn't plan on simply giving up and leaving.

"You stupid, idiotic bandicoot! Can't you tell you're ruining my life! Can't you tell how much I hate you! I'd much rather see myself banished on a quiet beach far, far away from here than spend another second around your filthy, flea covered form!"

That did it, both in terms of Cortex's intentions, as well as Crash's tears.

The bandicoot stared at Cortex with watery eyes for a handful of moments, sadness and betrayal passing over his face simultaneously.

"Now go! Get away from me!"

With those last few words, Crash took off hysterically, wanting nothing more than to get as far away from there as possible.

Tears poured from his eyes as he sniffled and pushed past many different scientists. There was a blaring alarm and lots of thunderous shouting. He found himself sprinting down past several hallways, up and down stairs, and even crawling through a vent.

"Crash! Crash!"

All of a sudden he was standing in front of Lani Loli.

"What's going on? Did you set the alarm off?" The mask looked around the small room for a second, panicked. "It doesn't matter, let's just get out of here." He jumped through the portal.

Crash stopped himself from following, instead turning around and wondering if there was any chance of him turning back.

*"You stupid, idiotic bandicoot! Can't you tell you're ruining my life! Can't you tell how much I hate you! I'd much rather see myself banished on a quiet beach far, far away from here than spend another second around your filthy, flea covered form!"*

No, there was no turning back. He leapt through the portal, trying to stifle the last of his tears, embarrassed at having cried the way he did.

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"Welcome back Lani Loli. Where's Cra-"

She stopped and smirked as Crash came flying through the fading portal, screaming as he did so. He landed roughly on the ground, sitting up and spitting out the sand which he'd accidentally eaten.

"Welcome back Crash. How did it go? Di-"

He stomped off upset, before she could finish.

"Ayeyeye." Kupuna Wa shook her head from side to side. "I had a feeling that things wouldn't go to plan and now Uka Uka, he knows that we know. Grave things are coming Lani and I fear we are not ready."

Chapter Text

"You bumbling buffoons! Do you have any idea how much you've cost us by letting them go! Do you have any idea how much damage this could do to *my* master plan!"

Uku Uka yelled at them in unison, having lined every scientist and guard up after hearing about the trespassing and escaping of Crash and Lani Loli. Everyone, apart from Cortex, quivered in fear as they awaited their turn to face the furious, glowing mask.

"S-sir? If I may-"

"You may not!" His voice boomed through the air. "Not when you and your foolish friends made those bandicoots, my brother and the rest of those foolish masks aware of our plan. Tell me, will you be on the front line when they inevitably try and stop us?"

The scientist in question hung his head and remained silent, realizing that it was a rhetorical question.

*"Fools. Every last one of you."* Uka Uka muttered under his breath, floating slowly down the line. "And you..." He stopped and growled out upon reaching Cortex.

For all the fear he had shown before, Cortex chose to remain surprisingly composed, even as the intimidating figure of his 'boss' glowered down at him, the only real hint to any fear was the slight way that his mouth seemed to curl up.

"I'll deal with you later."

Cortex was hit with a heavy gust of air at those words. He didn't say anything in response, only watching the mask close it's eyes for a second, before disappearing with a purple shroom from the room.

A gentle sigh of relief escaped Cortex. He looked around at the others, who had mostly just gone back to their usual routines. Leaving the room, he let his feet drag on the way back to his room, shoes squeaking annoyingly as they slid across the floor.

He reached his room, staring momentarily at his reflection which formed in the shiny silver of the 'N' planted on his door. *"A mark for a special guest like yourself."* Uka Uka had explained, not even trying to hide the sarcasm from his voice. In truth the 'N' was simply to make finding him easier. Everyone seemed to struggle to find their way, even those who had been there for ages.

The door opened with a woosh, welcoming him into his room with a comfortably cool breeze of air. He went straight for his bed, laying down and looking up at the artificial and generic ceiling.

Only then did he get a chance to take note of all the things that had happened over that past day. Crash's sudden appearance being the biggest of all. He found that he had to inhale at the thought.

Everything had happened so fast, from the way he'd frustratingly sat behind his desk, working on Uka Uka's grand plan, to the sudden realization that he was sitting in the dark. He almost felt like kicking himself. Why had he helped the bandicoot? It would have been all too easy to trick the naive marsupial into sticking around and as a result getting him captured, something which would have undoubtedly been a massive aid to his boss.

And yet, even as he knew the consequences of what he was doing, he couldn't help it. He'd deceivingly lashed out at Crash, only so that the bandicoot would leave and quickly too. Now he had Uka Uka breathing down his neck and Crash who most likely hated him.

Cortex sighed, sitting up and again shaking his head in frustration. His thoughts migrated then to the memory he had been reliving earlier in a dream.
A memory which he hadn't thought of in years, one which he had purposefully packed away to the deepest corner of his mind.
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*"Crash," He found himself slowly walking over, words stuck in the back of his throat, "I-"*

The bandicoot took no notice of his suddenly solemn state, only continuing to study him with a childlike innocence, the kind which could never be recognized by a hard-hearted person like himself.

"Crash, I just want you to know that even though you're an experiment *and* that's all you'll ever be, I must admit that in the time we've spent together, I've grown a sort of," He cleared his throat, searching for words, "a sort of fatherly responsibility towards you. And as such, I must say that with all the progress you've made, I'm rather proud of you."

Cortex had by then approached his bed, sitting just besides Crash.

"And whilst anymore of this nonsensical bonding between the two of us will most definitely be coming to an end shortly, I think it's worth saying this much, I love you as I would love a son."

Crash pulled him in suddenly, with overwhelming strength, into a tight hug. Most of what Cortex had said had in all likelihood gone over the bandicoot's still developing head, but somehow it had been those words which really resonated with them. *'I love you as I would love a son.'*

Those were the words which would forever stick to Crash, the only words he would ever take the care of remembering each and every single day.

"A-alright!" Cortex gasped, struggling to breath through the hug. "That's enough, you fool!"

Crash promptly dropped him, settling back down into bed with a cheerful squeak.

*"Fool,"* Cortex muttered again, although he couldn't help the small smile which crept onto his lips. "Get some rest Crash," he said as he began to leave the room. "We've got a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow."
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"Stop daydreaming!"

Cortex jumped at the voice, releasing a rather feminine sounding scream. He allowed a sigh of relief and the sagging of his shoulders, when he saw that it was merely N. Gin.

"You caused quite a stir earlier today," The short scientist chuckled. "Uka Uka was not pleased at all, so if I were you I would hurry up and do what he wants, lest he gets even more...upset."

"What ever is it that he wants me to do?" Cortex questioned with the raise of an eyebrow, finding it suspicious that he'd be needed so soon.

N. Gin tapped a foot impatiently, clearly in no mood to have to explain all that he had once again, "If you hadn't been daydreaming..." He shook his head and groaned, "Uka Uka wants Project EC-2 finished by tonight at the latest."

"T-tonight?" Cortex gasped in disbelief. "That's simply impossible, not when I still need to double check the safety system and the, uhm-"

"Relax, he knows you've been stalling and his patience has finally run short. You know what'll happen if you don't do what he says, so if I were you, I'd start getting to work."

Chapter Text

The water rippled under the gentle touch of his fingers, swirling and creating an imperfect reflection of his face. Several moments after he removed his fingers the water settled, returning his reflection to one which was comprehensible. He repeated this process over and over, mesmerized by the blurry browns and blacks being shown to him. 

The process eventually grew stale and so Crash lifted himself away from the water and laid back in the sand, not caring for the uneven way that it was laid out, or the fact that it would get caught in his fur.

"Crash, you can't stay here all day." 

He ignored the gentle voice of his sister, continuing to stare into the sky and even considering pretending to be asleep. 

"I can tell when you're sleeping faker," she nudged him carefully with her foot. "So don't even think about trying that one on me."

Relenting, Crash sat up. Letters, words and messages passed through them silently and so Coco accepted the invite, going to sit next to her brother. They both merely stared at the water for a long time, Crash still not much in the mood for company and Coco contemplating how she would simultaneously scold him for being so reckless, while also comforting him when he obviously needed it. First though, she decided that she would need to understand what it was that he was so obsessed with.

"Kapuna-Wa said you went and found Cortex today."

Silence, again, not in the form of words, but rather in the way that there was no gesture, or change in his face. There was yet to be any indication that she had even been heard.

"That was really risky of you, if something had gone wrong and you got captured...apparently Uka-Uka was there too?"

At that, he finally turned to face her, eyes wide and shimmering with the remnants of lost tears. She had trouble determining whether it was because of the relief, or the disappointment in her own voice.

"If he had captured you, he would have hurt you and maybe even..." Coco trailed off upon noticing his trembling and sighed, unable to truly be angry. "I'm just glad you're okay, I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you. Now will you please tell me what you were doing over there?"

At that he at least stopped trembling, but still didn't do anything, simply staring off into the distance. It made sense, he wouldn't answer and now she wouldn't be able to question him either. With nothing else to go on, she leaned her head back against the damp sand and closed her eyes. If only it was as simple as that, she thought.

They stayed like that for another minute or two before they both stood up, Coco looking towards Crash who had yet to move. As always, the look of confusion on his face was enough of an indicator that she should try and explain herself.

"Come on, let's go home." She started to walk ahead of him until suddenly a hand shot out to grab hers. Instinctively she turned around, ready to reprimand him or at least pull free, but instead found him gazing down at the ground sheepishly almost apologetically.

"What is it?" She asked softly, not wanting to startle him if she hadn't guessed right.

"Sorry," Crash mumbled in that rarely heard voice of his, "I wanted to show you something."

She waited for him to continue, but he seemed content to hold onto her hand while he looked anywhere but at her. Slowly, he began to walk forward and she followed, confused. Her curiosity was already getting the better of her, what could possibly be so important?

They soon came upon a small island covered in trees and flowers, the grass beneath their feet soft and green. The sun shone brightly overhead, warming everything around them. As he walked further out, Crash stopped abruptly, allowing her to catch up with him. For a moment she thought that perhaps he hadn't wanted to show her what exactly he had wished to show her, but he was still watching the sea. 

After turning around completely, Crash pointed to some of the trees near the edge of the forest. 

This, this was where it had all started.

"No...what is this?" 

"A concept called time. It's the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future-" 

"I know of your foolish theories and measurements! But what of you? Why are you not dead?" 

"I was. You killed me after all." 

"Answer me now! Or die again you petulant fool!" 

"There's more of my foolish theories you know? A concept known as the multiverse. A hypothetical collection of potentially diverse observable universes, each of which would comprise everything that is experimentally accessible by a connected community of observers. Some people have called me foolish for studying and even believing in it. But how could I not, after seeing what I have seen?"

"You are a sorcerer?" 

"No...merely a scientist. The most dominant of all my counterparts. That's why I have seeked you out Uka-Uka. You too are the most dominant of your counterparts in the known multiverse." 

The mask regarded him with an annoyed grimace, "Enough talk. I do not know you, but you have proven yourself to be a worthy foe." 

"My, my, how primitive are your ways." 

"Speak now. Speak now your name, so that it will be immortalized alongside my legacy." 

"Cortex. Doctor Neo Cortex." 

"Very well Doctor, with no weapons and barely any power, you have lasted longer than any who have tried to defy me in the past, but that ends now. Prepare to die." 

Cortex only smirked as he was lifted up helplessly, throat beginning to tightly constrict, "Oh Uka-Uka I look forward to it and the many more deaths to come." 

Those were his last words before his neck was painlessly snapped, body thrown to the side, floating away in the lack of gravity.