Chapter 19: Ink To The Past

The Space Head, Above The Earth, 2008

It was over.

After following many leads and overcoming many trials, Crash Bandicoot, otherwise known as Crash of the Titans, had managed to locate and confront Doctor Neo Cortex. Their fated battle had been a fierce one, with Cortex pulling out a trump card in the form of one of N. Brio's mutagen mixtures to turn himself into a hulking beast… but even a gigantic, musclebound evil scientist was no match for a marsupial who was a master of the Mojo arts.

With his skills, cunning, a little bit of insanity and the Titan stored in his pocket, Crash, with some help from Aku Aku, had ultimately bested Cortex in single combat, even managing to take control of the fiend and force him to activate the emergency shutdown command for the satellite that remotely controlled all NVs the world over; the mind control device was no more. The doctor's latest, greatest(?) scheme had been thwarted. The Earth was safe once again.

And as the smoke cleared following their tussle, Crash and Cortex could only stand there in the space station's control room, panting from exhaustion, both parties out of breath.

And then, Cortex, still mutated into a hulking mass, suddenly burst into tears.

"It's not fair! It's not FAIR!" he wailed childishly as he stood there in his thankfully very durable and stretchy spotted underpants. He started to rip up parts of the metallic floor in frustration, tossing the debris every which way, one particularly large piece flying in Crash's direction, prompting the bandicoot to duck to avoid it. "I want to WIN! It's MY turn!" Cortex went on, now down on the floor, slamming his fists against the metallic surface like a toddler throwing a tantrum, generating a series of shockwaves thanks to the enhanced strength of his mutated form. "I've been trying for flipping YEARS!"

The machinery around the room started to crackle and spark dangerously, the Space Head's vital systems being thrown out of whack by the shockwaves Cortex was making.

"Uh-oh, Crash! I think he broke something!" Aku Aku cried worriedly. Crash could only jabber fearfully in agreement as the entire space station started to creak and rumble, and then…

…It started to fall, soon picking up speed as it plummeted rapidly towards the Earth.

Realising that something was wrong, Cortex glanced around the room as his mutation finally wore off, his body shrinking back down to its normal size and proportions. "Oh, no. What did I do?!" he exclaimed worriedly before looking down at his semi-naked body. "AND WHERE ARE MY PANTS?!"

The Space Head's exterior caught alight as its systems continued to go haywire, the cranium-shaped fortress plummeting faster and faster as it began to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, shaking violently all the while.

"Brace yourself, Crash! I think we're going down!" Aku Aku declared. Crash just whimpered.

Right then, a nearby sliding door opened and a Znu, one of the round, egg-shaped minions of Cortex that had been stationed at Mount Grimly, walked out, a sandwich in hand. The sound of a toilet flushing could be heard in the room behind him.

"It was you!" Cortex cried, brandishing an accusing finger at the Znu; there had been evidence that someone around here had been eating sandwiches while using the bathroom, and now, the culprit had finally been caught in the act. Cortex then shook his head. "No time to deal with that now," he said as he pressed a button on the nearby panel, opening the hatch to the space station's lone escape shuttle. "Disgusting freak," the scientist muttered to himself as he ushered the Znu into the small spacecraft before clambering aboard himself, soon ejecting the small craft out into space just before the Space Head finally breached the Earth's atmosphere and reached terminal velocity.

Crash and Aku Aku, meanwhile, could only brace themselves for the impact; they weren't even sure that the floating mask's protective magic could save them from this one… but it wouldn't be for the lack of trying, that was for sure.

"Um, guys?" Barista asked, glancing up at the afternoon sky above the outskirts of Wumpa Jungle. "Is it normal for meteorites to rain down from space around here?"

Crunch followed the bat's gaze, furrowing his brow. "That ain't no meteorite. That's…" His eyes widened. "HOLY FRITTATAS! HIT THE DIRT!"

"Ayiiiiieeeee!" Coco yowled in panic. The group quickly raced into Crash's nearby house and huddled together in the corner, Crunch wrapping his arms protectively around the girls, all three of them dreading what was about to happen.

With a deafening BOOM, the Space Head struck the island, the ground shaking violently enough to qualify as a Mach 10 earthquake. Barista and Coco both screamed in terror, their eyes screwed shut as they clung to Crunch for dear life, the muscular bandicoot having firmly clenched his teeth to stop himself from letting out an uncharacteristically shrill shriek. The turbulence went on for about ten seconds, and then… it stopped.

All was quiet. Eerily quiet, especially considering what had just transpired.

"I… think it's settled down," Crunch gasped after a long moment. He straightened up, noticing that Barista was hanging from his organic arm, Coco from his metal one. "Uh, girls? I think you can let go now."

"No, I'm good!" Barista squeaked, her voice high and tiny, every strand of light brown fur on her body bristled.

"Ditto," Coco declared, having positively wrapped herself around Crunch's metal arm like a monkey hanging from a tree branch. Crunch rolled his eyes and proceeded outside, carrying the girls with him.

Right next to the wreckage of the Doominator was an equally colossal pile of metal scrap that hadn't been there before, resting in the still smoking crater it had just created; the Space Head was a mess of broken reinforced glass, still flickering jet thrusters, sparking electric cables and bent, warped metal.

"He… He did it," Crunch said quietly at last. "That goofball actually went an' did it. He wrecked Cortex an' his scheme good an' proper." He then grimaced. "But is he…?"

"Look!" Barista cried suddenly, pointing at the glass dome of the Space Head. She detached herself from Crunch's arm and took a step forward, only to trip over a piece of the debris and fall flat on her face, becoming obscured behind the metal sheet.

"Crash!" Coco exclaimed in relief, seeing her brother emerge from the wreckage, Aku Aku at his side. The bandicoot girl started to run towards them, coming to a halt at the foot of the dome.

"I can't believe we're okay!" Aku Aku could be heard saying, Crash wiping sweat from his furry brow as he stood there.

"Crash! Down here!" Coco called up to them, waving. She then put her hands on her hips, smiling knowingly; she should've known better than to doubt her brother and his chances of surviving a… well, surviving his namesake, and one of a considerable magnitude at that. "Great job, big brother!"

"Wow, we're really getting a lot of this evil junk all over the place!" Crunch mused as he picked up a few smaller pieces of the wreckage.

"We're still not gonna clean up!" Coco insisted quickly as Aku Aku caught her eye. The mask sighed.

"I know, Coco. I know," he said, resigning himself to the fact that Coco did not have a strong work ethic outside of mechanical endeavours. Crash laughed knowingly; his little sister would never change.

"How would you even begin to clean up a mess this big, anyways?" Barista asked as she clambered out from behind the metal sheet. The sight of the Brat Girl immediately put Crash and Aku Aku on guard, the pair eying the former minion of Cortex warily.

"It's okay, guys!" Coco assured them. "She's…" She glanced back at Barista, and after a moment, flashed her a warm smile. "She's cool."

Barista appeared surprised by Coco's gesture for just a second, and then she found herself smiling back.

Crash and Aku Aku silently exchanged glances, not entirely sure what to make of what they were witnessing.

"She can do WHAT?!"

"I was freaked out by it at first, too," Coco was saying to Aku Aku, Barista listening to the bandicoot and witch doctor mask as they argued just outside of Coco's house, the bat girl seated within, her ears and wings drooped. "She used it to save my life, though, and she reckons she's never used that power unless someone's safety was in jeopardy."

"Coco, that power has been forbidden for many centuries, and rightly so!" Aku Aku insisted. "The thought of someone with that power wanting to walk the path of a Mojo warrior…" The mask could be heard sighing. "The road you wish for me to guide her down has the potential to be a very dangerous one with disastrous consequences. Dark Mojo is not a power to be taken lightly. My brother and his lofty, diabolical ambitions are proof enough of that."

"You're viewing her through the prism of her ties to Cortex, as I initially did," Coco said. "Ties to Cortex mean ties to Uka Uka by proxy… but you can't dismiss the idea of training her based on that alone! You need to give her a chance!" the bandicoot girl insisted. "You gave me, Crash and Crunch a chance, after all," she concluded quietly.

Aku Aku was quiet for a long moment, and then he sighed again, a more weary, resigned sigh. "Very well, Coco. For your sake, I will give this Barista the benefit of a doubt… but it is essential that she masters control over this supersonic screech of hers very quickly. Left unchecked, such a power could—"

"Level cities, I know," Coco assured him.

"It could do a lot more than that," Aku Aku mused grimly. "You were not there in the Time of the Ancients, Coco. You have not seen what I have seen." The floating mask turned away, staring off into the distance. "Horrors beyond imagining…"

"I'm not a force of destruction."

Coco and Aku Aku turned to see Barista in the doorway of Coco's home, the bat girl leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded, her blue eyes piercing and her expression serious.

"All my life - if you can even call it that - I've been told over and over that I'm not fit for anything, that my very existence is a liability… and I'm sick of it." She gritted her canines, unfolded her arms and jabbed a finger in Aku Aku's direction. "Don't you tell me that, too. Don't you tell me that I'm no good just because I've got some spooky, old-timey voodoo rattling around inside of me. I… I didn't ask for this!" she snapped. "I didn't ask to be created, to be yanked straight from the Mojo by force and given physical form! I didn't ask to be one of Cortex's creations anymore than Coco and her brothers did!" She lowered her arm and screwed her eyes shut, tears soon leaking from them. "I'm not bad. I won't let anyone try to brand me as bad, or make me into something bad. I control my own destiny." She opened her eyes and glanced over towards Crash's house, seeing North hanging out with Crash and Crunch, the boys practicing their combat skills and demonstrating such to the Ratcicle. "Me and North… We're walking our own path through this world, helping each other, having each other's backs. We're like chocolate and mint; we shouldn't be compatible, yet we are, and you know what? That alone says a lot!" she declared.

Coco and Aku Aku glanced at each other, not sure what to say.

"If you truly think that me and North are lost causes because of some superstitious mumbo-jumbo about dark magic or whatever, then just tell us that to our faces and we'll move along," Barista continued. "We'll go find someone else to help me get to grips with my latent powers. Beats hanging around here and getting a bunch of cold, fearful, distrusting stares from a plank of wood and some… mutant miscreants!" she hissed, turning away and starting to weep softly, her forehead coming to rest against the doorframe as her tears flowed forth.

"…You are right," Aku Aku said after a long moment. "It is not fair of me to judge you based on things that are out of your control. Throughout my many centuries of fighting evil, perhaps somewhere along the way, I forgot exactly what I was fighting for. Evil is not simply black and white. It can come from anywhere, take any form… and it starts when we let our fears and doubts get the better of us." The mask floated forward to meet Barista halfway - both figuratively and literally. "I will train you, Barista. I will train you in the ways of the Mojo warrior if that is truly what you wish."

"We all will," Coco said, stepping up beside the mask. "We'll all teach you what we know, help you find your footing. Bandicoots fighting for good, minions of Cortex fighting for evil… Whatever we once were, we stand together now. As allies…" She held out her hand. "…And as friends."

Barista stared at Coco's hand, reaching up with her own to wipe her eyes. Despite her still somewhat tearful state, the bat girl reached forward to grasp Coco's hand, and the two girls smiled at each other. After a moment, Barista's eyes welled up with tears again and she couldn't restrain herself, rushing forward to embrace Coco, soon crying onto her shoulder.

"Wh-Whoa!" Coco exclaimed, surprised. "Um… Okay, then," she went on a little awkwardly, but then her compassion bubbled to the surface and she returned the embrace, wrapping her arms gently around the bat girl. "There, there. Settle down, Batty-Cakes." She heard Barista giggle in response to that playful nickname. "We'll make a bandicoot out of you yet. Y'know, figuratively speaking… and stuff."

"Quite," Aku Aku said with a wizened smile. "Now, let us begin preparations for the task ahead. Coco, do you still have that electric needle?"

"I gave it to Crunch as a last minute birthday present," Coco elaborated. "Why do you…? Oh! Right!" she said, her green eyes widening in realisation. "I'll, uh, go get that and… Yeah." On that note, she hurried off towards Crash's house. "Crunch! You still got that electric needle I gave you last summer?"

"Electric needle?" Barista repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why exactly do we need a…?" Her face fell in realisation as she remembered the tribal ink patterns on the back of Crash's hands. "Oh, no. You don't mean…?" She swallowed nervously, tugging at the collar of her uniform. "Is that really necessary?"

"It is the mark of a Mojo warrior, Barista, through which one channels the energy of the universe," Aku Aku explained. "I've heard that the modern method of its application is… not quite as painful as typically anticipated."

"Well, that's comforting," Barista declared sarcastically, her ears and wings drooping again, this time due to dread. "Well, do I have to get it on both of my arms?"

"One location should suffice, and it need not be the arm specifically," Aku Aku assured her. He then smirked with knowing amusement. "I won't even tell you where Coco decided to have hers sewn. Ah, the recklessly rebellious nature of teenagers…"

"Yikes," Barista murmured. "Guess that explains why I haven't seen her Mojo tattoo up to now. That's what you guys call it, right? A Mojo tattoo?" She then glanced down at her hands. "If I really must, then I'm thinking… the left wrist. Yeah, that's probably the best spot. Probably." She let out a nervous giggle. "Can you tell that I'm really anxious right now?"

"Quite," Aku Aku said again, unable to hold back his knowing chuckle. "Oh, to be seven hundred years younger…"

And that, folks, is how I met your moth- I mean, how Barista Garnet got her tramp stamp.

The idea of Barista's tattoo being sewn on - as opposed to it appearing by magic in accordance with the will of the living Mojo or some such - was inspired by a mini-game that was featured on the long-since defunct Crash Of The Titans offical website, in which the player would use an electric needle to trace over Crash's tattoos due to them having apparently faded overtime... including multiple tattoos that he didn't actually have in the Titans games. It was a whole thing.

Next chapter should be up before too long; I thank you for your continued patience, fellow meddling marsupials.

Also, what did you think of how I (ahem) 'seamlessly' worked Barista into the final cutscene of Mind Over Mutant by having her out of sight until after that final canonical line of dialogue was spoken? Your Crash Bandicoot head-canon is now forever tainted by the presence of my little coffee bat. Lol!