Crash hadn't seen Tawna for a while since he was being trained. He liked fighting and he got rewarded when he beat up his prison mates. But he missed Tawna, and the little girl he played with.

Suddenly he felt his arms being grabbed, he was carried by Cortex to a chair.

"But Doctor Cortex…" N Brio said some stuff Crash didn't understand but he was too busy looking at the vortex he was being raised into. He saw a bunch of flashes and there was an explosion. Crash suddenly felt like running around like crazy, he heard himself being called a "failure" and he was being chased by N Brio, Crash jumped out of the window and began falling. The last thing he heard was "bring the female Bandicoot."

Crash was washed up on the shore, he shook himself off and got the water out of his ears. He saw a floating brown and red mask with multicolored feathers. Then he screamed.

"Hey! It's okay! I will not hurt you!" The mask said. "I am Aku Aku, and I am a protector of this island… What's your name."

Crash couldn't say who he was, but he looked at Aku Aku with a face saying "watch" then he ran as fast as he could, tripped over a crab then crashed.

"I sense your name is Crash, right?" Aku Aku asked with a hunch. Crash nodded. "Are you an experiment?" Again Crash nodded. "I think I know what that man is up to. I will accompany you, you don't look like you could survive alone."

Crash looked at him confusedly, then walked ahead, Aku Aku following.

Crash suddenly saw a crab, he brainlessly walked towards it, then it pinched him hard, it hurt, but he could feel his pain being sucked away by something. He heard Aku Aku whimper a bit then disappear. Did Aku Aku just… Die for him? Crash began crying a bit. He made his first friend and he was gone, and it was all his fault. Crash got mad and kicked a random box, breaking it. Then he saw a mask that looked exactly like Aku Aku, he touched it then Aku Aku was back by his side.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you, I protect anyone who gets hurt, but I disappear until you collect one of my masks. If you collect three, I can make you invulnerable." Aku Aku explained. Crash was now beginning to understand, he didn't question it like most would.

Crash's stomach then growled, he picked up a Wumpa fruit that fell from a tree and ate it. Aku Aku watched with a bit of sadness. Crash smiled softly and offered him another fruit.

"Oh, Crash, that is thoughtful. But I don't need food and can't eat. Even though I miss eating sometimes. You eat up, you need your strength." Aku Aku said. Crash shrugged and continued eating.

Crash then saw a bunch of brown boxes, he smelled Wumpa fruit inside. He licked his lips then smashed a box and ate the fruit inside.

"You sure can eat." Aku Aku chuckled.

Meanwhile Cortex was pacing back and forth, he knew he was in deep trouble. He programmed his bandicoot to be able to find the gems, and now he lost him. He saw a projection of a mask like Aku Aku, but it was darker with bones decorating it.

"Cortex! I need you to find the gems, NOW!" Uka Uka shouted.

"But Great Uka Uka, I tried to make a leader to collect the gems, but he was a failure!" Cortex begged.

"Then send some of your other goons!" Uka Uka growled. "If you don't help me escape, I know I will find a way myself eventually and you will regret it." Uka Uka threatened then logged off. Cortex then heard the lab assistant robots falling on the floor.

"Doctor Cortex! Project Tawna is getting away!" N Brio shouted.

"Then get her, you idiot!" Cortex shouted. N Brio went into his room and locked the door. "Nevermind I will do it myself… Soon. And then I will punish you when you bother to show your face again!"

In another lab, a red haired half robot man went to feed his own experiment something he called "brain food" but he only gave her a little at a time, so her brain would grow slowly. She nibbled on it and moaned quietly in enjoyment of the food, her cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk. The female bandicoot then saw N Gin making himself a cup of liquid that seemed to be like hot brown milk.

"What dat?" She asked.

"Oh, it's coco." N Gin said.

"Coco…?" The girl asked.

"Yes, coco." N Gin replied.

"Coco… Coco… Coco! COCO!" The girl sang.

"You like that don't you?" N Gin asked. Coco nodded cheerfully.

Crash was stuffed from all the wumpas he ate and tired from the boxes he burst. Suddenly he saw something sticking out from the sand. He dug it up and saw a gray colored gem.

"Gems… I remember collecting those when I was young." Aku Aku said. "You should keep them." Crash nodded and put it in a small bag.

Crash walked away from the beach and then went into the jungle.