I'm gonna be real with you folks: I want to move on from this fanfic to other things.
Hey, come on, we've had a good run, right? Twenty-two chapters out of a planned twenty-five… That's like, over four fifths of the story completed!
Sigh.
Look, I know how I wanted to wrap up this fanfic, but… I just can't bring myself to actually write out the ending in its entirety - at least not in a way that I feel satisfied with. I actually completed about two thirds of chapter twenty-three behind the scenes and… it's just terrible. It's a clumsily thrown together series of moments in which Crash and friends interact with their Titans counterparts, and I feel that it doesn't hold up to the prior chapters, or the idea at the heart of this fanfic - the idea that the 'classic' Crash formula and the Titans formula can peacefully coexist and that both have their merits, the wider Crash fanbase's biased opinions be damned.
And to be honest, the 'grand finale' that I had planned for this fanfic blatantly rips off the final boss of Sonic Generations, so much so that the relevant chapter was going to be titled 'Crash Generations'. Yeah, I'm not subtle.
I started writing this fanfic as a celebration of the Crash Bandicoot series as a whole, as well as my love for the franchise past, present and (hopefully) future. While I primarily focused on representing Mind Over Mutant and It's About Time, I also incorporated references and callbacks to various other Crash games. I'm proud to call myself a Crash fan. I have been one since I was eleven years old, and this fanfic was (and is) the culmination of and a testament to my passion for the series… but at this point, I think I've exhausted the passion I had for this project, and therefore, it's probably best that I just leave it be rather than try to force myself to write out a lacklustre ending to Barista's tale.
…Actually, you know what? I'll give you the highlights, the bullet points of how the ending of 'Of Coffee Beans And Mutant Outcasts' would've played out for the sake of closure:
Following their little misunderstanding upon their first meeting, the counterparts of Crash, Coco and Aku Aku, along with their respective allies, all become friends and hang out together on Wumpa Island getting to know each other. The two Cocos bond over their love of inventing and martial arts. The two Crashes show off their respective fighting skills to one another, which Crash Prime (for lack of a better term) teaching his Titans counterpart how to spin without getting dizzy. Tawna and Crunch have a bonding moment, and the two Aku Akus muse about their respective versions of Crash and Coco and how far both versions of the Bandicoot siblings have come.
Barista and Megumi, meanwhile, go for a walk up to the top of the waterfall, where Barista proceeds to clumsily confess to Megumi that she has had a crush on the bandicoot woman for some time now - something that I've been hinting at throughout the story. Megumi confirms that she returns Barista's feelings, and the two share a kiss as the sun sets over Wumpa Island.
The next day, the group heads out to the Frozen Coast, eventually reaching Evil Public School, where Barista seeks to fulfil her promise to come back and liberate her fellow Brat Girls. She is surprised, however, to find that many of the Brat Girls, including Alpha, Wimp and Screwball, are gone, and those who remain have abandoned their evil ways due to Neo Cortex's continued absence, now showing compassion towards their students and educating them in a more traditional sense rather than treating them cruelly and trying to force the ideologies of evil down their throats. Barista, while relieved that everything has wrapped up nicely, laments that she couldn't be there to help enact these positive changes personally, as well as the fact that Alpha and the others are gone. The Brat Girls assure Barista that this new era wouldn't have been possible if the bold actions of both her and Alpha hadn't inspired those who remain to seek a better lifestyle, and they invite Barista to stay at the school with them as a teacher and sister. Barista considers the idea, but ultimately decides that she's happier being with Megumi in Neon City. Just as she, the Bandicoots, masks and Dingodile are about to leave, however, all hell breaks loose.
A quantum rift opens inside the school and a partially mechanised Titan of colossal proportions bursts onto the scene, sending the entire place into panicked chaos. The Crashes, Cocos, Tawna and Dingodile develop fighting stances as a familiar bout of maniacal laughter rings out, and they look up to see not one, but TWO versions of Cortex seated in the cockpit of the part-cybernetic, part-organic Titan.
It turns out that after Cortex's defeat at the end of Mind Over Mutant, he got pulled into a quantum rift, where he met the versions of Uka Uka and Cortex from the Prime timeline, who were still on that dark, lifeless planet at the edge of the universe following the events of It's About Time. At Cortex Prime's suggestion, Uka Uka went about summoning a parallel version of Cortex to aid the cause of evil, inspired by the allegiance of N. Tropy and his female counterpart. The two Cortexes worked together in secret, combining parts of Cortex's Prime's scrapped Mecha-Bandicoot project (a cute nod to Twinsanity, you're welcome), and Titans Cortex's Chimera (an obscure Titan from the Nintendo DS version of Mind Over Mutant) project, resulting in what they call the Mecha-Chimera, and with it, they're going to take over the multiverse in Uka Uka's name… but first, they intend to tie up some loose ends - namely, their respective versions of Crash Bandicoot and all of his "Misfit friends," as Cortex Prime puts it.
Both versions of Crash and their respective allies sans Megumi and Crunch are pulled into the quantum rift, soon finding themselves floating in a void between dimensions, where the Cortexes intend to finish them off. Crash Prime, Coco Prime, Tawna and Dingodile suit up with the Quantum Masks while the Titans versions of Crash and Coco saddle up on Titans they had magically stored in their pockets. For argument's sake, let's say it was a Rhinoroller for Crash and a Spike for Coco. Barista calls out North because of course, and what follows is a fight that plays out not unlike the Time Eater boss fight from Sonic Generations, with both versions of Crash and their respective allies fighting to get close to the Mecha-Chimera and attack it. After landing many blows on the monster, Crash and friends manage to break open the cockpit of the Mecha-Chimera and leave both versions of Cortex exposed. Tawna encourages Barista to do the honours, emotions welling up inside the bat girl as, in the span of a brief moment, she contemplates everything that has happened to her thus far, and how it has changed her, making her stronger and more capable and confident as a person. Then her eyes fly open anime style, she opens her mouth wide and unleashes her supersonic bat screech, but this time, the pulsing sound waves are not a dark, ominous purple, but rather a shimmering, luminous light blue, reflecting how all of her trials and personal growth have purified the Dark Mojo inside her and made her a Mojo Warrior of Light.
…Yeah, I know, that sounds really cliché even without the blatant anime tropes, but this IS fan fiction we're talking about, don't forget.
The Cortexes are blasted through another quantum rift to parts unknown, the heroes escape the void and return to the school, and the Bandicoots and their allies are celebrated as heroes once again, with the Brat Girls even lifting Barista up and chanting her name in a fervent cheer. Even Nina Cortex, who had been skulking nearby before all the chaos ensued, gives a respectful nod in Barista's direction before turning and walking away, presumably to get started on another ill-fated school project.
In the story's final chapter, Crash Prime and company (sans Dingodile) emerge from a quantum rift onto present day N. Sanity Island from It's About Time, with Crash of the Titans and company following behind them a moment later, both parties finally seeing how their literal other halves live. Without missing a beat, Barista flops down onto the sandy beach and declares that she'd love to have a vacation here, with Megumi even chiming in by saying that it would make a good spot for a romantic getaway, causing Barista to smile and blush. The story ends with Crash Prime, Coco Prime, Aku Aku Prime, Tawna, Kapuna-Wa, Lani-Loli, Akano, Ika-Ika, Crash of the Titans, Titans Coco, Crunch, Titans Aku Aku, Megumi, Barista and North gazing out at the ocean as the sun rises over N. Sanity Island, Megumi putting an arm around Barista as she stands there.
In a short epilogue, we cut to Mosquito Marsh (a few days ago, lol) in time to see one final quantum rift open, depositing Alpha, Wimp and Screwball and a few other, unnamed Brat Girls onto the boardwalk just outside of the rebuilt Dingo's Diner. They are soon confronted by Dingodile, who initially thinks they might be agents sent by the bats who blew up his original diner to do the same to his new establishment, but quickly recognises the Brat Girls' resemblance to Barista. Alpha informs Dingodile that they have fled their home dimension and are looking for a place to stay until further notice, and out of respect for Barista, Dingodile, despite having a strict 'No Shoes, No Shirt, No Bats' policy at his diner, reluctantly offers the Brat Girls a job and a temporary home at his prized restaurant. thus ensuring that all the loose ends of this story are finally tied up with a neat little bow.
…No, we don't need closure on 'Neil' Cortex, shut up.
And there you have it. To everyone who stuck with this fanfic for the duration, I thank you, and I'm sorry that the ending wasn't presented in a more grandiose, more fleshed out fashion. I have been Bandicoot Sauce, and I will see you out there somewhere in the multiverse, fellow meddling marsupials.