Shantae: Clash of Arms

by IllusoryNomad

Following her latest defeat, the notorious Risky Boots hatches yet another dastardly scheme to annihilate Sequin Land as we know it. Only this time, she's managed to pilfer an extensive collection of military-grade weapons from another world! With the threat of Risky's conquest more perilous than ever, Half-Genie Hero Shantae and an unlikely ally must join forces to stop her!

3. Culture Shock & the Call of Duty

Chapter 3: Culture Shock & the Call of Duty

LOCATION: SCUTTLE TOWN OUTSKIRTS, SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

DATE: SEPTEMBER 14TH, 16 P.G.F.

TIME: 1047 HOURS

The morning came swift as a thirsty hummingbird to a birdbath and, wasting little time, the two newly-acquainted interdimensional allies were well on their way to begin their mission. The sooner the proper measures were taken to ensure Sequin Land's safety, the better. To kick things off, the duo made their way toward the streets of Scuttle Town, as the first thing our extraterrestrial soldier wanted to do was familiarize himself with his surroundings. His half-genie tour guide, agreeing wholeheartedly, took the lead with gusto. A hop, skip, and jump from the lighthouse was all it took before they arrived.

"Welcome to Scuttle Town, Tay!" Shantae announced to her newest acquaintance, holding her hands out in front of her to formally introduce him to the port town she was routinely tasked with protecting. The sight beheld by the otherworldly serviceman was no less than breathtaking, as his eyes widened with an awestruck combination of intrigue and speechlessness. He silently took in the view of the concentrated jungle of cream-colored brick buildings, many of which bore onion domes colored either scarlet, cobalt, or magenta. He noticed the attire of many citizens, picking up that most of the men were dressed wearing jewel-endowed white turbans, vests of varying colors, cloud-white puffy pants with sashes across their waistlines, and slippers with pointed-up tips. He briefly glanced at a few of the attractive, caramel-toned female residents and noted their brightly-colored, form-fitting saris of seemingly every color under this world's sun. Some of them wore veils and hijabs, while others had their luxurious, silk-like hair, ranging from ebony to royal purple to ocean blue to even snow white in color, neatly styled into buns or extravagant updos. Children wearing miniature versions of outfits worn by their adult counterparts freely frolicked in the sandy cobblestone streets. The calm, crystal-clear waves of the ocean could be seen crashing against the mineral-rich soils of the coast as the all-encompassing scent of saltwater wafted through the crisp, chilly open air.

"Wow…" he murmured, astonished by the lively, bustling civilization surrounding him. "This is… just… unbelievable…"

"It's a nice place, isn't it?" the half-genie proudly asked, taking Tayshan's speechlessness as pure amazement.

"N-no doubt… but what gets me most about this place is… is that, except for a few key differences, it looks JUST LIKE certain places back in my world," he revealed, catching his new partner by complete surprise.

"R-really?" Shantae asked, now just as taken aback as her extraterrestrial friend.

"Yeah…" he affirmed with a bewildered scratch of his head. "This place STRONGLY reminds me of a city in a country in my world that neighbors the one I'm from. The resemblance is uncanny…!"

"Whoa, no way… You've gotta tell me more, Tay! If I wasn't curious before, I totally am now! Do you think maybe your world is more like this one than you did at first?"

"I… I can't say for sure right now. I'll… need t' take a few more mental notes before we get t' that point."

"True… Alright then, let's get going!" the young woman eagerly suggested as she took the initiative to begin their tour. Tay, needing no further prompt, walked beside her as he scanned his surroundings in total amazement. They silently wandered around the city almost as if they were moving in slow-motion, with Shantae leading Tayshan through the scenic routes to maximize his exposure. As the two scoured the vicinity of Scuttle Town's busy streets, Tay voraciously took note of every nook, cranny, decorated cluster of golden vases, merchant shop with names spelled out in characters of a different language, two-story building, and open path they came across. He found himself almost completely culture shocked, but in a way he could never have expected.

"How… is this possible…?" he murmured, becoming steadily more blown away with each passing landmark. "It's all so… familiar, but… so foreign at the exact same time…"

"Familiar and unfamiliar? How so?" Shantae prompted, practically itching to hear his answer.

"The more I see, the more it looks EXACTLY like that city I mentioned. Almost to a T, but minus certain bits o' technology an' the details about the way the buildings look."

"What kinds of technology do you mean? What details about the buildings are different? How much alike are Scuttle Town and this place in your world? Come on, Tay, don't leave a girl hanging! Talk to me!" Shantae eagerly prodded her guest, her imagination running wild at the possibilities presented by his flabbergasted observations.

"I wouldn't even know where t' begin tellin' you, Shantae… I really wouldn't," he confessed, shaking his head as he gawked at her. "All I can say is that this is just the most bizarre thing in the world, but it keeps gettin' more bizarre with every passin' second. If it wasn't for what we talked about last night an' certain things I'm seein' here an' now, I would SWEAR I was still in my world… but because of what I'm seein', it's almost… like travelin' int' the past… except I've already seen things here that I didn't think would ever exist in the past in my world… Shoot, one o' said things brought me here…" At that, Shantae stopped dead in her tracks and turned her full attention to him.

"The PAST?" the young woman nearly shouted, the endless ambiguity of her friend's vague, thunderstruck revelations nearly driving her mad with intense curiosity. "Are you saying you think you might be from the future, Tayshan?"

"I don't know…" he shrugged, scratching his head some more as he pondered the outrageous possibility of time travel. "We definitely don't have time machines or portals in my world, nor do we have… just about anything related t' that pirate girl… or you, at all. Otherwise, I'd be willin' t' bet our worlds would've collided ages ago."

"That's… true enough, I guess…" Shantae pondered alongside him as they continued their ostensibly-aimless trek. "I mean, I wouldn't know about any other dimensions than the Genie Realm, but that realm is supposed to be totally inaccessible to anyone who isn't at least part genie… and you're sure you're not a genie at all?"

"As sure as I am surprised our names sound the same, amongst other things," he nodded. "I don't have one magic bone in my body."

"Goodness gracious, I can't wrap my head around it either…" the two went silent, pondering just what kind of ludicrous, unfathomable, reality-tearing monkeyshines Risky Boots must've perpetrated to gain access to Tayshan's home planet… or universe… o-or timeline… Gosh, even I don't know, and I'm supposed to know everything about what's going on here…

Don't give me that look, reader. I know what you're going to say, and to that, I say shut your face, sit tight, and keep studying. I'm sure some answers will pop up at SOME point or another.

"Just thinkin' about it makes my head hurt," Tayshan remarked, rubbing his temple to eliminate the chance of getting a headache big enough that he may have burst a blood vessel from the confusion alone. "I'm not sure what t' make o' this, so… shoot, I'll just suspend my disbelief an' let the answers come t' me for now."

"Yeah, that sounds like a better idea than trying to grasp at straws about exactly where Risky dragged you from…" she agreed, her head about ready to spin like a disco ball. "I mean, I'd LOVE to know what happened or how it was possible to bring you here, but… the only one who can really answer that is Risky Boots. We'll have to track her down and get her to talk. For now, though, let's keep going with our tour."

"Right. So, not t' get off-topic, but what kinds o' things do you do when you're not savin' the world?" Tay asked his companion as they reeled in their perplexity about the nature of Tay's fantastic voyage into Sequin Land.

"Good question. Well…" Shantae began, taking a moment to think. "As you might guess, belly dancing is my all-time favorite hobby."

"I figured as much," he acknowledged, tilting his head. "I don't know much other than what you showed me, but you seem really good at it. Plus, you seem t' really like dressin' for the occasion. Ever think about goin' pro?" he asked, causing his friend to shoot him a puzzled look.

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed by now, but I already am a professional dancer," she answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Well shut my mouth wide open an' call me a fool…!" Tay remarked in even more surprise. Seriously, any more surprise out of him, and he'd have started spoiling children's birthday parties simply by being within ten miles of them. "I must really be trippin'…"

"It's alright, Tay. It isn't like I flat-out told you, and you're not even from this… uh, existence, so it's unfair to just assume you'd know."

"Right, right… So, if you're a professional, then how do you balance that with bein' a hero?" the serviceman inquired, growing increasingly interested in his partner and her background.

"Well… These days, it's mostly, if not all hero time, with basically no room or time for belly dancing on-stage. Trust me, if it wasn't for my job as guardian genie, I would focus all my attention on it," she assured him. "I'd probably be traveling all over the land, doing shows and loving every second of it. Y'know, there actually used to be a belly dance parlor here in Scuttle Town. I used to go there all the time and perform all kinds of shows for the people every night."

"Ya don't say…?"

"Yup! I used to get paid a fortune for handling the REALLY tough crowds on some nights, where I would go on without even being scheduled. I'm telling you, I used to make a ton of money off of it, much of which I would use to buy supplies I needed to complete my first big adventure through Sequin Land."

"Oh yeah? Sounds like it was your bread an' butter as a job, if you're serious about how much money you made. What happened to it?"

"I… can't say for sure, but… I think it had something to do with the Dance Parlor Lady finding it too difficult to work in these parts."

"Difficult how? If you were doin' your thing, I'd imagine business would be boomin'."

"I… I think that's just it," Shantae divulged with a tinge of pensiveness. "Business WAS booming… but it got to a point where it was only booming when I performed shows and only I was getting paid to do them."

"Aw, I think I know what you're about t' say…" he forewarned with a tap of his index finger to his forehead.

"Hm? What am I about to say?" Shantae dared to ask, curious about the serviceman's prediction.

"You're about t' say that the other dancers couldn't compete with you, nobody would attend if you weren't on the stage after a certain point, an' that the Parlor Lady got mad an' blamed you for the discrepancy in revenue generated for the studio, so at some later point, she closed up shop an' moved away because you alone were overqualified an' too much competition t' be an asset t' her team. Also, you're gonna say that since the parlor closed down and/or relocated, makin' extra money's been rough on you like you mentioned last night?"

"Actually… Yes! A hundred and ten percent yes!" Shantae confirmed, totally blown back by Tay's intensely-detailed observation. She could only find herself awestricken at his insane deductive reasoning. "That's the second time you did that! How'd you know!?"

"I… have my own talents with makin' educated guesses based on the context," the young man answered nonchalantly.

"Hmm…" Shantae wondered, eyeing the soldier up and down. Evidently, Tay's response sparked some level of suspicion in her. "…or maybe you really ARE from the future, and you know all this already, but you're pretending you don't know anything to avoid messing up the space-time continuum a la 'Butterfly Effect' since you probably weren't even supposed to be speaking with me right now…"

"…Huh?" he asked, thrown off by Shantae's sudden bout of theorizing the circumstances of her partner's impossibly-accurate sense of foresight.

"Or maybe nothing you do in this era affects the original timeline because this is basically a separate one caused by your arrival here, so you're just using your future knowledge from that timeline to mess with me…?" she continued to poke for answers.

"…Somebody's really into sci-fi…" Tay mumbled, raising an eyebrow, though Shantae heard him and gasped in shock.

"I AM into sci-fi! You HAVE to be from the future to know that about me, because not even my best friends or my uncle know! Alright, cough it up, Tayshan! What's the future like, and why are you messing with me!?" she accused, suddenly wary of her presumed time-traveling comrade as she stood in front of him, again stopping their tour.

"No, my explanation of what happened t' your dance parlor was actually just a wild guess," he apprehensively assured, his eyes darting around the vicinity of the town as he acknowledged her accusation. "A detailed one, yeah, but that's all it was. I only know you're into sci-fi now because you just told me. That was supposed t' be a joke."

"Uh-huh…"

"Trust me, if I was from the future an' knew it, I'd have certainly told you by now. If anything, I'd probably be here t' try an' stop a major foretold catastrophe from happening if I knowingly traveled into the past from a future where the event already happened… which would be useless, because it'd either start a causal loop where I'd be repeatedly goin' back in time t' stop somethin' only for it t' cause me t' keep goin' back in time over an' over again… or it'd defeat the purpose of me comin' t' the past because it either wouldn't affect the original timeline leadin' to the catastrophe or I'd wind up completely forgettin' why I came here once the job was done," he reasoned, evidently as much into sci-fi as his half-genie companion. "That, or I'd just cease to exist right on the spot. Worst-case scenario, my interference would actually CAUSE the catastrophe to happen."

"…If you say so, Tay… If you say so…" she commented with a suspicious look in her eyes as she leered at her apparently-psychic friend. "You know an awful lot about time travel to not be a time traveler yourself… All the way down to the Bootstrap, Butterfly, Grandfather, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy paradoxes… and even a little about Multiple Timeline Theory…"

"What can I say? I am also into sci-fi. We should totally be friends or something, so we can talk about time travel more. Still, you don't gotta believe me if you don't want, but I'll have you know that the last thing you could ever call me is a liar," he dismissed with a casual shrug.

"Hmm… Fair enough, I suppose," she ceded with a scratch of her head. "I guess I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Sorry, Tay."

"Ah, it's fine. I'd have probably done the same thing if the roles were reversed. Anyway, what else do you do for fun?"

"Well, besides my top hobby of belly dancing, I like to read comics. Like, I REALLY like to read comics. Sci-fi comics are among my most favorite, but you kinda-sorta knew that already. I'll stay up all night on some days if I know I won't be busy the next morning. I have a huge collection of comics of all kinds of genres back at my house. It's… something of a guilty pleasure, if I can admit that to you…" she sheepishly confessed, causing her friend to raise an eyebrow in intrigue.

"Huh… I didn't even know comics would be a thing here, but alright," he observed with an approving nod. "You're an aficionado of sorts, I'm guessin'?"

"Yeah! I've got entire series' worth of comics in my room. I'd ask if you were interested yourself, but… you probably wouldn't know any of the titles, all things considered."

"Enlighten me a bit, why don't you? I mean, after you tell me more about your other hobbies," he humbly requested, containing his excitement about her nerdy comic book habit.

"Sure thing! So… Other than that, I go to the beach when the weather permits… I also play sports, exercise, practice martial arts, and go spelunking; if not for extra money, then just to keep my exploration skills sharp. I also like to sing from time to time, though I've never sung in front of a crowd. On occasion, I do more mundane things like maybe casually take strolls around different areas of Sequin Land to sightsee or sometimes, I'll cook and practice recipes… though I'm still not terribly great at cooking just yet."

"Wow… So many things t' be invested in…"

"Yeah… I also like to stargaze on my rooftop on clear, moonlit nights and let my imagination take me away. It's really relaxing; especially after a hard, stressful day. Sometimes, I'll lounge and soak up some rays during the day. One more thing I really enjoy is fashion, though I haven't had much time for that. When I do get time, I occasionally model a couple of new outfits or even a bikini for clothing stores around Sequin Land, though that's usually only if they need me. I get paid for that sometimes, too. It's rare that that ever happens, though. And… sometimes, I hang out with my friend Rottytops. We'll go on the occasional camping trip, but we mostly just spend time trading beauty secrets, gossip stories, and comics, amongst other things. Those are just a few interests I have."

"You've got a lot o' hobbies. Though, from the seems of it, I can see you're quite the tomboy," Tay mused, though Shantae was none too receptive to his comment. She scowled at him in resentment.

"Don't call me that," she rebuffed with unexpected annoyance. "I just happen to like things that I guess most girls don't. It's irritating to be labeled things like that for my personal interests."

"Oh. Noted. My bad," Tay apologized, noticing he struck a nerve as he looked away from her. Shantae picked up on her friend's sudden discomfort and immediately regretted her remark.

"I-I'm sorry… That was rude of me," she apologized, not wanting to make a bad impression on the soldier.

"No, I get it. It's like if somebody called me 'sissy' because I like somethin' that guys don't usually take interest in," he reassured, taking a deep, contemplative breath.

"Kind of… Still, I didn't mean to be so short with you. There was no way you could've known. My reaction was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Shantae. Really," Tay assured. At that, the half-genie shot him a disarming smile. "Still, you've got a lot o' things under your belt there. With that many hobbies, I can't imagine you'd ever be bored. Definitely always one way or another t' keep yourself occupied."

"Yeah, true. It's like, there's never enough time in any given day to enjoy everything, but at the same time, there's too much of it to do nothing, y'know?"

"Truer words could never have been spoken."

"Yeah. So, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"I've got a few things, though I enjoy some more than others. In no particular order… I like intense exercise t' stay in shape, games, playin' sports, listenin' t' music, playin' instruments—the drums, specifically… I also like breakdancin', paintin', since art is a great way t' express yourself… Hmm… I like t' dabble in comics from time t' time too, though I don't doubt that your comics are way different from mine…" At this, Shantae's eyes glimmered with enthusiasm.

"So you ARE interested in comics! I just knew it!" she exclaimed, her fists balled up and tucked tightly toward her chest in excitement.

"Oh, really? You got me pegged like that already?"

"I guess I had a hunch you'd be the kind of guy who might know a thing or two about them. That hunch was made stronger by our little discussion about time travel."

"Well, nothin' t' say there except that your hunch is right. I have a few stacks neatly compiled on shelves back at my foster parents' house. Still, I only wonder what kinds o' things you have… I'm kinda itchin' t' find out, if I gotta admit it," he shared, grinning with unhindered enthusiasm.

"Maybe when there's time, I'll show you some! Like I said, I have a whole collection of them! All sorts of heroes I'll bet you'd enjoy."

"Shoot, you had me at 'collection.' I'd be glad t' see what comics you got. I'm a sucker for the gritty, plot-driven stuff, though. Maybe throw in a romantic side story t' keep me cravin' more, so long as it makes enough sense. I'm hooked if I like the story, generally."

"So am I!" the excitable young girl exclaimed with an elated gasp. "Wow, I can't wait until I get a chance to show you some of my favorites!" She beamed before reeling herself back in. "A-anyway, I'm getting carried away. What else do you like?"

"Uhh… I like practicin' martial arts, because, amongst other things, it teaches me t' think on my feet an' I LOVE learnin' new skills an' puttin' them to the test."

"I'm right with you there."

"I believe it. A kindred spirit, you are. I gotta admit, now that I think about it… Losin' t' that pirate girl the way I did… It really threw me for more loops than I could've expected. I never thought I'd ever go up against somebody like her in my life. She even said she wasn't even tryin' when we fought…" he confessed, casting his gaze toward the ground in pensive dejection. "Almost nothin' I tried worked on her, either…" he further admitted with a heavy sigh as he furrowed his brow and balled his fists. "…and the moves that did work, barely even put a dent in her. She floored me like a flimsy sandbag an' laughed in my face the whole way through."

"In your defense, Tay, Risky's monstrously strong," Shantae countered. "Don't be too upset about losing to her," she further consoled, understanding her friend's disappointment. "She's just about the strongest person in Sequin Land in both skill and in physical strength without contest. That's a huge part of what makes her so dangerous. Even now, fighting her is in the top three of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life."

"That strong, huh?"

"Mm-hmm."

"But… you've beaten her. Multiple times, so far as you an' she mentioned. How'd you do it? Is your trainin' that intense? Do you have a secret technique? Special weapons of some kind that are especially effective on her?"

"Well… it helps that I'm half genie and that my Light Magic counters her Dark Magic. I should probably also chalk it up to the fact that we've fought so many times that I've gotten used to her tactics. Although, she does always find a way to keep me on my toes…"

"Fair enough. So, that said… you lost to her the first time you fought her, too?"

"No, I won. Granted, it wasn't easy, but yeah, I've won just about every battle we've gotten into. I will be honest, though… I MAY have gotten lucky once or twice. Don't tell her I said that, though."

"Hm. Your secret's safe with me. So, has she ever lost to anyone else?" he pressed, at this point eager to figure something out about how to take down the Pirate Queen.

"Umm… Her former boss, the Pirate Master. Buuuut, it was because he had total command of a heaping ton of Dark Magic and used it against her when she tried to stop him from taking over Sequin Land after he returned from the grave."

"Yikes… How strong was he?"

"…Let's just say it took the combined might of nearly every genie on the planet to even put the Pirate Master IN that grave in the first place. After that, most, if not all full-blooded genies disappeared into the Genie Realm, granting him a golden opportunity to eventually make his return. And, like I said last night, it took the combined might of me, Risky, my friends, and even some on-and-off enemies to take him down again. I only hope it stays that way this time…"

"Jeez… Me, too, in that case," Tay remarked, understandably disconcerted by the harrowing tale of Sequin Land's true worst enemy. "So, if he was her ex-boss, how's that relate t' how strong she is?"

"Under his rule, Risky was granted a HUGE chunk of his Dark Magic to control as her own, which she retained and built upon even after his destruction. It's one of the biggest reasons behind her increased strength, durability, and capacity to be totally evil," Shantae explained to give Tay some context about the notorious Queen of the Seven Seas.

"Got it… Let me rephrase my original query: Has she ever lost to anyone that was a full-fledged human with no magic abilities of any kind?"

"Oh! In that case… No," she plainly replied, unwittingly shooting down her friend's faith in his chances of triumphing over his newest adversary.

"Shoot… So basically, if I'm not packin' a huge reserve o' magic o' some kind, it's pretty much impossible t' win?"

"I… I don't know," she answered, uncertain of how to address the issue. "I've never seen it or heard of it happening, but that doesn't mean it's impossible for a normal human being to defeat Risky Boots. If I had to guess, I'd say it isn't implausible, but they'd probably need a LOT of help. Otherwise, it'd be pretty unlikely they'd win alone."

"Darn it…!" he cursed as Shantae's remark afflicted him with a great deal of frustration and worry. "How am I supposed t' get all those stolen guns back if I don't have a feasible shot of beatin' her?"

"You've at least got me on your side, Tay," Shantae consoled, patting him to ease his discomfort.

"…Y-yeah, I guess that helps," he uncertainly replied, unwilling to admit he took no comfort in her consolation. "Though, you've never lost t' her. You have every reason t' be confident. I'm tellin' you, of all the people I've ever fought, she's by far the toughest. Seriously, I've fought grown men twice my size, twice my age, an' twice as strong as me in the past. As in, either some combination of two o' those three things, or, on one or two occasions, all three at once. Yet, I managed to come out the winner on most occasions due t' some combination of technique, stamina, improvisation, experience, quick thinkin', an' even sheer willpower. That pirate girl has somethin' else about her, though… Maybe it IS the magic you mentioned, but… just from the blows I took from her and how she tanked everything I had t' give her… She's in a whole other league. It's insane for me to imagine…" Shantae, hearing her ally's dilemma, began to feel bad for him.

"Tay… I'm sorry… I'm probably not doing very much to help you keep calm about the battles ahead," she acknowledged, feeling his frustration as she rested a hand on his back. "I don't know if you're looking for a one-on-one rematch with her the next time we find her, but you'll totally get better in general if you keep yourself motivated as we take on the challenges of our adventure together. It's a huge part of how I got as strong as I am. Again, don't be so bummed about losing. I once heard that sometimes, there's more to gain from losing than winning, anyway."

"You speak the truth…" he nodded, gazing into the sky as he contemplated his defeat. "Frustratin' as that was—and still is—it was also a humblin' experience; a reminder that I have a ton more stuff t' learn. I have t' learn from that fight. You can guarantee I will, too."

"Yeah! We'll beat her together! Now that we're a team, we should have an easier time taking her down."

"I hope so…" he somberly replied, dejection and apprehension still evident in his tone.

"It'll be okay," she assured, patting his back to console him. "I know things look bleak right now, but trust me… We'll get your guns back or die trying. And I'm still kicking after X amount of fights with her without a partner, so…"

"Heh, thanks, Shantae. I… I trust an' believe."

"Of course! Anyway, let's talk about something else so we don't get so stressed out," the young woman politely suggested, wanting to keep herself and her new partner calm. "What other hobbies do you have?"

"Hmm… I like… practicin' with guns at a shootin' range, since it's part o' my job… Plus, it helps me take my mind off things, though it gets loud if you ain't wearin' earmuffs. I've built myself up t' be quite the marksman, believe it or not. If I had a gun, I'd demonstrate just how disciplined a sharpshooter I am."

"I'd love to see it! Maybe we can find you an old-fashioned blunderbuss or flintlock to use, if we're lucky."

"I ain't sure how or when that'll happen, but I'm hopin' it's sooner than later. I almost feel naked without my usual gun. Anyway, what else…? Oh! I can cook, too. Glad you mentioned that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I learned how to as a kid… By the time I was old enough t' use a stove, I was already makin' chicken, steak, an' even pasta dinners, as well as full-scale breakfast platters for my parents. At least, full-scale for poor people. Still, they taught me good. Don't even get me started on lunch, either… I could gush for days on what kinds o' things could be made for lunch," he proclaimed, a hungry smile creeping onto his face. "Juicy, succulent burgers, flavor-blasted chicken wraps with just a touch of all the right seasonings… fried rice with shrimp, scrambled eggs, peppers an' onions… Man, oh man, can I go on… You learn t' improvise when you're poor an' ingredients are scarce." Listening to Tay's verbal food binge made the half-genie's stomach rumble with desire as she visualized the food he described. Her hunger was matched only by her surprise.

"You learned all that a kid?" Shantae remarked, surprised by her friend's ability. "I didn't learn to cook until I was fourteen!"

"Heh, better late than never. Still, if you want, maybe I can show you a thing or two."

"That'd be awesome! I could use a few innovative ideas for what to make. Your ideas sound incredible! I'm getting hungry just thinking about them…"

"We'll plan for it. Anyway, I also like lookin' up at the stars on clear nights an' just lettin' the whispery, ambient winds carry me to another mental world as I sit back an' relax."

"Here I was, thinking I was the only one in this whole city who liked staring up into the sky at night… Isn't it the best when you just lay back and think about life as it seamlessly carries along, listening peacefully to the sounds of nature and the environment surrounding you like a bubble of tranquility while you docilely trace shapes and constellations in the sparkly reaches of deep space?"

"Heh, you could be a poet… But yeah, you hit the nail on the head with that one. For some reason, I really appreciate rainy days, too. You might not be able t' stare into the sky on account o' there bein' nothin' but clouds, rain, and maybe lightnin', but just… it's soothing, y'know? Listenin' t' the rain fall an' the rolls o' thunder, absorbin' the gloomy atmosphere an' comparin' it to a sunny day… even welcomin' the darkness it brings, though the sun still shines through. It's perfect weather for jus' bundlin' up an' chillin' at home with… with some hot cocoa an' a good comic book or somethin'."

"Hmm… I've always been more appreciative of sunny days. I DO see your point, though… Never thought about it that way," Shantae admitted, pondering her appreciation of rain and thunderstorms. The prospect of being at home in the rain never appealed to her until Tay described what ways a rainy day could be spent. "That actually sounds incredible, when you put it that way. You almost have me hoping it rains soon," she admitted with a chuckle, which Tay shared. "Anything else you like?"

"Believe it or not… fashion, gymnastics, and poetry. I'm no model or anything, but I do like t' pull off a fresh new outfit every so often; especially if I got a good pair o' shoes t' go with a color-coordinated shirt an' some stylish designer pants… I haven't had the time recently since I've been on active duty, but still… It feels good t' look good. Gymnastics is great for posture an' coordination. I don't care what anybody says, gymnastics ain't just for girls. It actually helps me with my martial arts an' breakdancin' hobbies, too. Adds that extra discipline factor. And poetry is… poetry to me is feelings bein' brought to life through unique structure, emotional investment, an' a most tasteful touch of eloquence…"

"Wow, your interest range is so diverse!" Shantae exclaimed, her fascination with him shining true.

"Diverse, huh? That's an interestin' word t' use. Is it maybe because o' the last three things I said?"

"Uhhhh…" Shantae trailed off, having been caught paying attention specifically to the hobbies she didn't expect him to list. "Maybe?"

"I thought so," he remarked with a smug grin. "Those in glass houses should not throw stones, they say."

"That's fair…" she conceded. "Though I do really like that you have such interesting hobbies. Some even line up with mine," she added, smiling brightly. "A bunch of them do, actually!"

"Yeah, that's true, ain't it?"

"Yeah! For someone who lives in another world, you and I surprisingly have a lot in common. I think that in itself is amazing. Are you sure you're not actually a parallel-universe counterpart to me, Tayshan?" she teasingly asked with a wink.

"Dunno, Shantae," he remarked with an amused grin, catching on quickly. "At this point, I'm startin' t' wonder about that myself. Come t' think of it, you DID say your hair an' eyes used t' be black an' brown, respectively… which, incidentally enough, are the same color my hair an' eyes are. Our skin tones are pretty spot-on, too… Strange, isn't it?" he jokingly queried, stroking his chin with his hand as he shot his comrade a goofy look. Shantae giggled, appreciating her friend's lighthearted observation.

"You're silly, Tay… Careful, though. For all we know, you might actually be right. Maybe your hair and eyes will turn purple and blue before you know it!" Shantae shot back with a cheerful giggle, finding a great deal of amusement in speculating about the possibility of her newest friend being an alternate, gender-swapped version of her. "Hey, maybe if you're here awhile, we could just… hang out? I mean, I know you didn't come here on purpose and your top priority is finding a way back home, but… I hope you can find it in you to take advantage of your time here."

"Sounds like a plan. Y'know, dependin' on the situation we have on our hands now," Tay agreed, though he soon realized something. "You're right about one thing, though; even though comin' here was far from the first thing I had planned, maybe I could try t' get a feel for Sequin Land while I'm here."

"Yeah, I think you'd like it here. It's pretty peaceful… most of the time. If there's anything you might want to do with me, just let me know!"

"Actually, I got an idea…" the serviceman pondered, rubbing his hand across his chin as he focused his attention on his comrade.

"What's that?"

"I wanna test your strength an' skills," the soldier stated, seeming eager to see what the half-genie had in store regarding physical prowess.

"…You're challenging me to a sparring match?"

"You guessed it. It's one thing t' be told that someone is strong. But actions speak louder than words. Plus, I think it's a good idea for us to keep our skills sharp." At that, she smirked at a thought and directed her gaze straight ahead as they continued to traverse through the town.

"Okay, we can do that when there's time. But I will warn you; I'm MUCH tougher than I look."

"I don't doubt that. I never go into a battle without expectin' everything t' be a possibility. Well, except with you-know-who. She definitely expanded my definition of 'everything.' Anyway, I analyze an' learn as a fight goes on, so maybe it ain't me who should be watchin' out," he teased.

"You're on, Tay," Shantae accepted his challenge. The two allies continued their conversational town tour for a short time before they came across a peculiar building that looked like it had a bird's nest on top. As soon as it was noticed, they paused in front of it. Immediately, Tay's eyes were drawn to the amalgamation of sticks resting atop the flat rooftop and the giant egg with blue polka dots protruding from the stick pile.

"Why does this buildin' look like it has a bird's nest for a roof?" he asked, reasonably discombobulated by the building's odd structure.

"This is Sky's place," Shantae informed her companion. "She's one of my best friends, like I was telling you. She's like an older sister to me. One really special thing about her is that she's really good with birds. She's a bird tamer by profession. She takes a ton of pride in it, which should hopefully explain the overall aesthetic of her home's design."

"Uh-huh…" Tayshan acknowledged, appearing perplexed at the shape of the house they were approaching.

"In fact, you know that giant rainbow-colored bird I brought you home on?"

"Yeah. That thing belongs t' Sky?"

"Good guess!" Shantae smiled, impressed by the soldier's expert deduction.

"Heh, alright. Can't wait t' meet her," he stated as the two walked up two flights of stairs and entered the building on the second floor. There, they were greeted with a blonde-haired, tan-skinned, brown-eyed young woman wearing a color-splashed outfit consisting of a blue and pink midriff-baring bustier whose cups resembled Easter eggs, a royal purple hood and turquoise scarf wrapped around her head, a pair of white capris, and wood-brown boots. She had just finished feeding her giant sherbet-colored avian friend, who was previously responsible for escorting Shantae and Tayshan from a certain abandoned desert temple the night before. She was just removing the mud-brown handling glove from her left hand when she noticed that she had company.

"Shantae! Hey, what's up?" the woman called in excitement as she turned to face her visitors and casually approached.

"Good morning, Sky! Believe it or not, we've already got another emergency on our hands."

"Risky Boots?" Sky guessed.

"Risky Boots," Shantae confirmed. "She's already up to no good again. My new friend here encountered her just as she was hatching another scheme," she added, gesturing toward Tay, who casually walked beside her. Sky looked up and seemed to be taken with the muscular young man, who towered over both girls by more than a foot each, immediately. Her eyes widened and glimmered like the reflection of the full moon on ocean waves as she studied every inch of his body. She sized him up as though she were sifting through a catalogue, which did not go unnoticed.

"Huh?" Tay questioningly grunted, immediately taking note of Sky's sudden and intensive bout of staring longingly at him.

"Well hey there, handsome stranger," Sky greeted in a rather enamored tone, her eyes half-lidded with interest as a salacious grin crept onto her face. Reading this, the soldier instantly became tense, his eyes darting toward Shantae, who merely made a knowing face at him and tilted her head as though she'd expected this to happen. "The name's Sky. What's yours?"

"Uh, T-Tayshan," the soldier awkwardly introduced himself, seeming to already be picking up a vibe from Shantae's friend. "Nice t' meet you, Sky…" he added as he offered his hand for a handshake. Sky returned the gesture, her enraptured stare never breaking from Tay's eyes as the pressure he felt grew steadily more evident.

"Tayshan, hm? That's a pretty cute name, if not a bit… familiar," she complimented… he thought. Of course, he was also put off by her calling his name 'cute.' Men are NOT supposed to be cute. Tay resisted the urge to pout, though it was safe to say he did not like being addressed with a word he felt was… inaccurate in describing him, to say the least. "You've got a strong, manly grip there, too. Anyway, it's nice to meet you as well. I wasn't aware of you before today. I'm surprised such a good-looking guy like yourself slipped under my radar. Unless…" she observed, seeming to infer that the half-genie had a secret suitor. "You and Shantae been together long? I was never made aware she started dating." Shantae's eyes grew wider than sauce plates at Sky's implication. Tay, already uncomfortable as he was, was only slightly surprised by her question.

"What? Eh, no, we actually just met yesterday. She's showin' me the ropes an' givin' me a tour o' the town as we look for help dealin' with our little pirate problem. We only just became friends."

"So you're single?" Sky immediately asked, seeming hopeful about the otherworldly man's relationship status and what opportunities she had with him. Her intrusive question instantly caught her houseguest off-guard as he nearly froze in shock and mortification.

"Uhh, um… Hoo, it sure did get hot in here," he remarked, chuckling nervously as he averted his gaze, looking away and tugging at the collar of his tank top.

"Or maybe it's just you~?" Sky expertly hit on him with a smiling wink, nearly causing the poor guy to explode with embarrassment.

"Uhh…!" the serviceman froze, his eyes wide like truck tires and his face redder than strawberries as he stared blankly at Sky. His heart was pumping like he'd just jumped off a 500-foot building and survived. Yeah, I'm pretty sure by now that no amount of combat training he'd ever endured could have ever prepared him for the unthinkable; an unabashedly-romantic encounter with a woman. It's safe to say he was even LESS prepared for an unabashedly-romantic encounter with a woman who showed such… aggressive interest in him. He had no idea what to say or do, panicking on the inside as he became a statue on the outside.

"Sky! Stop, you're embarrassing him," Shantae admonished her friend, slightly disquieted by the nature of the conversation. "And me, for that matter…"

"What? I'm just trying to get to know him! Unless there's something you're not telling me about this striking young gentleman, hm~?" Sky teased, transferring the pressure felt by Tay onto Shantae, whose face heated with an incredibly embarrassed blush.

"N-no! Wh-what would give you that idea!?" the flustered lavender-haired girl indignantly responded, to Sky's amusement. "We're just friends!"

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you…" Sky relented momentarily as she turned her attention toward the still-stunned young man. "But if you and Shantae are just friends, then maybe you'd be free to spend some time with me once she's done showing you around town…?" The man, flattered as he was alarmed by her suggestion, nervously cleared his throat before responding.

"Uh, a temptin' offer from such a radiant an' beautiful lady as yourself, heh…" he stammered, making Sky blush with flattery as Shantae turned toward him with a look that emphasized a mixture of emotions ranging between confusion and crossness. "…b-but right now, we got a problem on our hands with that pirate an' her bat soldiers." Sky nodded in understanding, though she was still smiling.

"A business-before-pleasure kind of guy, huh? Just the kind of maturity I like in a man," she confidently confessed with another wink that emphasized her flirtation, catching Tayshan off-guard yet again.

"Uh…" he nervously stammered, unable to conjure up a proper response. At this point, one could HEAR the sweat trickling down the poor guy's face, as well as see his heart frantically trying to break free from his chest.

"Sky!" Shantae shouted, having had enough of the nigh-tangible romantic tension.

"Okay, okay… So what's the scoop with Risky?" Sky asked, prompting the soldier from an unknown land to regale her on the details of the events of his brawl with Risky Boots the same way he informed Shantae. Sky seemed as worried as she was astounded after hearing the tale.

"The situation's already really serious from the start," Shantae noted.

"Yeah, an' if we don't find an' stop her soon, she could take this place over in a matter of days," Tay added. "Maybe sooner if she's aggressive enough. The weapons she stole are no joke."

"Shoot, this really doesn't sound good… What really gets me, though, is how she managed to sneak onto a whole different planet with a portal to get you and your weapons here… The whole premise sounds totally absurd. I can't wrap my head around it."

"How do you think I feel about it?" Tay remarked, agreeing with Sky's observation. "My head's been spinnin' nonstop since I first ran into Risky Boots. Bein' dragged here, beat up, abducted to a desert, found by Shantae, an' now gettin' a crash course on this world while I help y'all save it… You couldn't write a textbook big enough t' contain this much shenanigans."

"Believe it or not, that sort of thing is normally just the tip of the iceberg here," Shantae informed her newest friend. "Things MAY get a little more… uh, disorderly, as we go along," she explained, though one could only imagine how things could get any wackier than interdimensional weapons theft and kidnapping, accentuated with a healthy dose of teenaged, belly dancing, shapeshifting genies, evil blue-skinned pirate women, and armies of anthropomorphic bats with swords. "If you're really sure about helping me defeat Risky Boots, Tay, then I'll do my best to get you prepared."

"Thanks, Shantae… I appreciate that. But yeah, I'm all in. Risky dragged me here an' stole from me, so I got no choice but t' fight an' get back what she took."

"Yeah, and you can rely on me for additional support," Sky added, contributing to the soldier's growing sense of security in his new allies.

"Thank you, Sky… Thanks a bunch."

"Of course! Let me know what I can do to help, and I'll be right on it," Sky offered her assistance, determined to contribute.

"Well…" Shantae pondered, seeming to be thinking about uses for Sky's help aside from using her and her bird as transport between different locations in Sequin Land.

"Something besides taking you for rides everywhere," Sky added, seeming to read Shantae's mind. "This situation sounds like you'll need more help than before. This is definitely not something I would simply let you run wildly into alone like you always do."

"Good point, Sky…" Shantae acquiesced, seeming disappointed. Evidently, that was her one bright idea. She went silent as she thought up other uses for Sky on this next great crusade to stop Risky Boots.

"I've got an idea," Tay spoke up. "Right now, we need to find out where she's hidin'. Word on the streets is that you're a bird tamer?"

"Scuttle Town's one and only," Sky proudly affirmed. "I'm a professional war bird trainer. I train all sorts of my avian allies for a wide range of things, like transport, protection, and attacks from the air."

"Good, good. That'll be a huge help. How about reconnaissance?"

"Absolutely! Recon is a premier talent my birds possess."

"Fantastic! If possible, could you use your bird or birds t' scout the surroundin' area for any suspicious-lookin' activities or locations that could lead us t' pirate girl's hideout?"

"Sounds like a plan. Where should I start?"

"Hm… How 'bout that desert place where Shantae first found me? I can only guess that pirate woman might be based near there since that's where she dropped me off."

"Which one?" Sky asked, not getting a clear hint from 'that desert place.' "There's Men's Desert, Ladies Desert, the Baron Desert, Tan Line Island, and Tassel Town, to name a few."

"Uh… W-Why are there so many deserts here?" the soldier inquired, thrown off by the sheer number of options from which to pick.

"It's just the way Sequin Land is, I guess," Sky nonchalantly replied. "To be fair, though, Tassel Town in particular wasn't ALWAYS a barren, abandoned, sandy wasteland. It became one after some incident wiped it and its inhabitants out of existence. Can't seem to remember what it was, though…"

"Iiiiit's probably better that you don't," Shantae hastily warned Sky. "Remembering anything too specific about that place causes certain characters to pop up and cause a commotion."

"Like who?" Tay asked, only further befuddled by his friend's suggestion.

"Exactly, Tay. Exactly," Shantae mysteriously agreed with an affirming nod, seeming to want to end the discussion of a certain Tassel Town folk legend before it was carried too far. Even I'm not sure to whom she was referring, but… it's probably for the better, though I do get a sudden chill that spooks me right out even attempting to dig into Shantae's words. Oh, well.

"Okay…? Anyway, are these deserts all separated or are they next to each other?"

"Separated, more or less. Though, the only things between them are cities, forests, and the ocean. Sequin Land is the desert capitol of this world."

"That… doesn't sound good. Sounds like this place is prone t' massive, unbearable droughts that apparently might've been the downfall of one o' your cities; even with there bein' so much ocean around. I mean, I'm no weather guy, but still. Why live in an area o' the world so easily afflicted by too much sun and not enough consumable resources like drinkin' water or vegetation-friendly soil?"

"You think that's bad? Just wait till you see all the mermaid-inhabited waterfalls and monster-infested rainforests around these parts," Sky shot back, warning her guest of the dangers ahead. "Those are everywhere, too, though somehow mutually separated from each other. We built a lot of our towns smack dab in the middle of all such hazards and threats to people's safety; Scuttle Town being a prime offender of being placed in the middle of everything."

"Sounds like this place's ecosystem is a force t' be reckoned with, if nothin' else…" he commented, unsure of whether to be afraid or concerned.

"She has a point, Tay," Shantae interjected. "That's why it's always best to travel only if you know where you're going or if you're prepared to brave the perils each environment presents to you."

"Gotcha."

"Yep. Anyway, you'll want to start off in Tassel Town, Sky. That's where Tay and I first met."

"On it," Sky assured as she climbed aboard her giant eagle/sparrow/parrot thing. Honestly, I'm not sure WHAT kind of bird it is… "You coming along for the ride?" Tay and Shantae shared a momentary glance before the soldier spoke.

"No, this is all you. I feel like we should stick around here in case somethin' goes wrong. Call it a hunch," Tay politely declined.

"Yeah, there's a good chance Risky could strike without warning," Shantae agreed. "Especially given her history of surprise attacks. Let us know any clues you might find about her."

"Roger that. If anything comes up, don't hesitate to use that whistle to call us back, okay?"

"You have my word," the lavender-haired young woman assured with a nod.

"And you…" Sky turned her attention to the soldier, who took note of her shift in tone.

"What's up?" he inquired.

"When you have time to spare, give me a holler. Maybe you and I could get to know each other over some nice, hot coffee," she invited with a smiling wink, flabbergasting him while Shantae cocked an eyebrow in observable annoyance. "I don't know how long you'll be here in this dimension, but I want to at least make sure you're being treated right."

"Heh, we uh… we shall see," he bashfully responded, unsure of how to handle Sky's rather forward advances on him. Sky merely nodded before focusing her attention on the task at hand.

"Okay, Wrench! Let's head off to Tassel Town!" With that, the gargantuan avian beast flared its wings and soared through the open trapdoor in the roof, leaving the soldier and the half-genie to contemplate their next move.

"…Soooo…" Tay rather awkwardly began as the two exited Sky's home and continued their trek through Scuttle Town, passing by crowds of citizens and more humble, decorative stone buildings of varying shapes and sizes. "Uh… Call it a different hunch, but I think she might have a crush on me."

"What was your first clue?" Shantae jokingly asked with a slight smirk, doing everything to confirm his suspicions while doing absolutely nothing to ease his discomfort… or hers, for that matter. "Sky can be a bit… assertive when it comes to dating."

"I think I picked up on that… from the second we locked eyes," he nervously replied with a gulp.

"I can't exactly say I didn't notice the sparks flying as soon as she noticed you. She does that sometimes with guys she finds herself interested in, but I'm pretty sure that was the first time in quite a while she's done that at first sight."

"That right? Huh…" he gulped again, getting a sinking feeling about his most recent ally as his stomach erupted with butterflies. "What's the deal with that, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"Well… she says she's on the cusp of adulthood and that being single at her age is a testament to how 'unprepared' she is. Her idea of getting a head start on being a woman is by getting a boyfriend or else she'll be doomed to forever remain a lonely bachelorette whose only soothing company in her older years would be the very birds she spent her life training… or something to that effect. Mind you, she's only a year older than I am."

"Wow. She's seventeen, huh?"

"Yep! I know, she looks more mature than that, right?"

"Hm… Kinda. I would've thought her to be my age, if not a year older than me, if that's what you mean."

"If she weren't my best friend, I'd have guessed the same," Shantae agreed. "Anyway, she's been on this kick of finding herself a man as soon as possible. But, for reasons I won't disclose out of respect for her, she's had some pretty rotten luck with guys lately. She's… determined to break the streak before it gets out of hand, to put it lightly."

"Seventeen goin' on forty is what that sounds like," Tay naively remarked, eliciting a giggle out of his tour guide. "I'm flattered, I guess, but maybe she should slow it down a bit. Enjoy her time as a teen while she still has it. Ain't no reason t' grow up too fast. You only get t' be a teenager once. Shoot, I'm just a year off from bein' twenty."

"Yeah, that makes sense," she nodded, agreeing with her friend's statement.

"That said, what about you?"

"Me?" the half-genie asked back, becoming just a tad apprehensive. "What about me?"

"You got yourself a boyfriend?" Shantae's face grew hotter than the Sequin Land sun at the question as she turned away and began fidgeting with her ponytail with one hand while nibbling on the index finger of her other hand.

"Um, n-no… No, I don't…"

"That's surprisin' t' hear," he bluntly commented, causing her to turn her attention to him as she continued to wring her hair, the two pausing momentarily in the middle of the cobblestone road as two horse-drawn brown carriages casually passed them by.

"Why?"

"Well… you seem like the kind o' girl a lot o' guys would be lucky t' spend quality time with…" he began, unsure of how to word his statement without sticking his foot too deep into his mouth as they continued trekking toward nowhere in particular on their extended tour of the port town.

"I do?" she asked again, unaware of anyone she knew that would find her desirable enough to date.

"Absolutely. I mean… from what I've learned about you, you've got a lot of awesome hobbies, you're great with conversation, you have a wonderful personality, you're selfless, you're motivated t' succeed an' make a positive impact on other people, and… like I said before, you're um… y-you're unbelievably pretty… I-I stand by it when I say you're the prettiest girl I've ever m-met…" he finished, his breath getting heavy as his heart began to pound like a jackhammer in his chest. He'd never been this openly honest about his opinion on a girl; at least, not in the sense of straight-up telling the girl in question what he liked about her. This was new to him, no matter how he sliced it. Nonetheless, Shantae's blush deepened immensely as he finished his statement. The flattered young woman lowered her head and nervously twirled her fingers through her ponytail. Tay bashfully looked away to hide his own nervousness.

"You're very sweet, Tay. Thank you… f-for that," she nervously began, her own anxiety fueling her hesitant speech. "I'm glad… that you think of me that way… To answer your question, though… I mean it's not like… like I haven't thought about it, but… I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now… I don't even know how I'd handle dealing with a guy I like at this point. Plus, y'know… I've got a busy job and all…"

"Fair enough," Tay nonchalantly nodded, not pressing the issue further as their collective nervousness transferred rapidly into one another, the pressure of their conversation building with the longer they stayed on the topic of love and relationships during their casual stroll through the sun-bathed streets of Scuttle Town.

"Well… what… about you?" she managed to ask as she brought her eyes to meet his, breaking the awkward silence. "D-do you… have a girlfriend back home?"

"Nah," he coolly responded, though he didn't elaborate.

"Why not?"

"I… I don't have much of a reason for it. I uh… I just don't, I guess…" he shyly replied, dodging the question.

"Wow… I thought you would've had someone special waiting for you back home," Shantae vocalized her surprise, catching her comrade's attention.

"Oh… Well, given what I've said t' you, I reckoned that would've given you the idea that I was single… Still, uh… Why's that?"

"Well…" the bashful young lady began, uncertain of how to word her statement. "I mean you uh… you're… pretty um… well, you're a really h-handsome guy, if I'm gonna be as honest with you as you're being with me… You're uh… you look like you're in great shape, like you do a lot of exercise, which you said you do… and you seem to be a gentleman…" Tay's eyebrows almost shot off his face and into the stratosphere, evidently not expecting his companion to compliment him as his and Shantae's trek slowed in pace once again, causing them to block the paths of some disgruntled citizens who mumbled their disdain as they strolled past the duo.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You know how to make a total stranger feel completely comfortable with you… i-if last night is any indication… and you're also really easy to talk to… especially about… about things I probably wouldn't share with anyone else… I-I think you're awesome for that. Plus, you've also got some really cool hobbies and you seem totally committed to making big changes in your life whether or not other people support it… You seem to have a ton of confidence in yourself, too. A ton more than I think I do, anyway. I… I admire you for that… You're really brave."

"O-Oh, thanks. You flatter me…" he began, his own face heating up in a similar fashion to Shantae's. "…but I think you're givin' me too much credit. Don't underestimate yourself. You've got all sorts of accomplishments under your belt an' you're workin' tirelessly to improve yourself."

"Hm… I don't really know. I mean, I get what you're saying, but sometimes, I wonder if I'm really doing all I can to make myself better…"

"Hey, even if you don't think you got the confidence, you still trust an' believe you're doin' the right thing. Evidently, it's paid off. Plus, I gotta admit… Sometimes, my 'confidence' stands a chance of falterin'. I get scared an' nervous sometimes. Heck, I was scared t' death at least twice before you found me. I had… what, two near-death experiences between runnin' into Risky an' havin' you find me? I can't say I was 'confident' that the experience would go in my favor, all things considered; especially when she had that rifle pointed at me an' had me outnumbered like six hundred to one, AND when I was all alone in that desert, tryin' t' survive an' avoid bein' hacked up an' stabbed by that group o' Tinkerbats."

"You can't be blamed for that, though. Even I would be scared if I were in your place. What makes it so awesome is that, even though you were scared, you still went through and tried your hardest to stop Risky Boots all by yourself. Then, even after you found out how strong she was, you still carried on and fought her to the bitter end. And even after all she's done to you, here you are, joining forces with me to try taking her on again."

"Sounds no different from what you've always done, if I'm not mistaken," Tay reasoned as they paused again, beginning to exhibit some difficulty with multitasking between walking and conversing with one another. "You've gone through the wringer with her a few times, no? Even beat up her undead ex-boss, who I understand was WAY stronger than her, on one occasion?"

"Yeah, but remember, I had a ton of help from Risky and my friends to take down the Pirate Master. As for Risky herself, I've never taken her on without my powers. You did, and you even put up a great fight as a full-fledged human without superpowers. You're being totally honest about your feelings in those situations, too. That's a huge part of what I think makes you so cool, Tay…"

"Oh… W-wow, well… I mean… Thanks, first and foremost. Still, you've done way more awesome things in one week than I think I've done in the last seven years. I admire your modesty, too. Again, I think you ought t' give yourself some credit. You're a spectacular young lady, Shantae. You don't need me t' tell you that, because I'm sure you know already, but… trust an' believe, homegirl. Trust an' believe."

"You… you're right. I will. Also… 'Homegirl'? What's that mean? Is it because you're basically living with me for right now?" she asked, understandably puzzled by the odd terminology.

"No, no, nothin' like that," Tay denied with a mirthful laugh. "That WOULD make sense, though. Anyway, it's a slang term from my universe that basically just means 'friend' of the female variety. Sorry, I shouldn't call you things you ain't aware of; especially when they're so… literal, I guess?" he further awkwardly apologized. I mean hey, if an alien from another planet started stowing away in your house and called you 'Home [insert gender-specific noun here],' how would you react?

"No, no, it's fine. I actually kinda like how it sounds… 'Homegirl…' Anyway, we were talking about relationships, right?" Shantae asked, getting the conversation back on-point as she noticed some of Scuttle Town's nearby residents getting upset with the two of them blocking the flow of foot traffic.

"Yep," he affirmed, his eyes following hers to notice all the people around them. "We were, weren't we?"

"Yeah. Here, why don't we take a seat? I think we're getting in the way, standing in the middle of the street like we are," Shantae offered, grabbing the bewildered serviceman by his wrist, leading him to a nearby wooden bench to sit down on so they could continue their conversation.

"Alright, so where did you wanna start this time?" he asked, noting Shantae crossing her fingers as she appeared to deeply contemplate what she would say next.

"Well… If it's okay to ask… H-how… how come you don't… have a… a girlfriend?" Shantae popped the question as they sat on the bench, safely out of the way of traffic. Caught off-guard, Tay paused as he pieced the words together for his reply. After a moment of silence, the moderately-flustered young man took a deep breath and cast his forlorn gaze toward his tour guide.

"…I feel like I can trust you, so I'll spill it. T' be perfectly honest, I've been a lone wolf ever since I lost my parents. My old friends only ever tried gettin' me in trouble, I got bullied, an' I constantly got shot down by girls I was interested in… It made me feel like I wasn't worth bein' around unless I had somethin' somebody wanted. Romance… never seemed to enter the equation, y'know? I felt like I wasn't worth… bein' considered a good… 'option' for anyone…"

"Yeah, I know that feeling all too well…" she consoled, relating to him as her blush faded and her somber blue eyes met his.

"Oh, yeah? How, if you don't mind me pryin' a bit?"

"Pry away, Tay. I'm comfortable enough with you to tell you this, so… Would it surprise you if I told you I've had my share of unreciprocated crushes on boys in the past?"

"Wow, really?" he asked, alarmed by his comrade's revelation.

"Yeah… But, just like in your situation, they never worked out."

"How come?"

"Well… Some were afraid of me because I'm a genie. Others were scared because my Uncle Mimic's reputation as an accomplished Relic Hunter. Even if they HINTED that they might have liked me, they were always so scared of making me upset that they stopped talking to me if they said something that annoyed me even slightly."

"What for? It ain't like you give off a scary vibe… at least, not one I could pick up."

"Like I said last night, they thought I knew spells that would turn them into slugs. Other than that, they thought I'd tell Uncle and get him to use one of his relics or inventions to erase them from existence or something. Once I became guardian genie, you can imagine that got a TON worse."

"Such is the life of a hero, eh?" the young man nodded in understanding. "Elevated status tends to make people put you on a pedestal an' immediately be intimidated by your reputation alone before they even try t' get t' know you. I get it… in a twisted sense. Still, that's the worst…"

"You're telling me. Especially now, though, no one's even tried to approach me unless they were more interested in my body or my looks than anything else, which is super frustrating…"

"I hear you there. Nothin' worse than a person bein' so short-sighted an' vain that they value looks over everything else, but then don't even have the backbone t' even be honest about it. How pathetic."

"Exactly. At least being honest would save me the trouble of having to find out. Other than that, other boys thought they could just trick me into liking them, or they thought I was some kind of lonely on-the-road performer because of my… outlandish outfit."

"Outlandish?" Tay echoed, studying his friend's attire to understand what she meant. "I mean, I guess it's an attention-grabber, if I'mma put it out there. But, for a genie with a special talent for belly dancin', I can see how it'd be comfortable for you. Outlandish is not the first word that comes t' mind, believe it or not. I'd say you're… profession-appropriate."

"Finally, someone who gets it!" Shantae exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air to emphasize her existential frustration with how others saw her… unique clothing tastes. "Another thing was that people tended to be put off by my appearance when I was younger…"

"Now that, I still can't believe."

"I'm totally serious, Tay. Most other kids took one look at me and branded me as the… well, the 'ugly duckling' of the bunch because of my hair, eyes, and ears…" she confessed, dejected at the memory. "As if picking on me wasn't enough, they'd call me all kinds of names and tell me I was destined to become a lonely, wrinkled old witch who'd ride flying broomsticks and conjure up curses to terrorize people with… It got pretty bad… At some point, I almost felt like maybe I didn't deserve to have anyone fall in love with me all."

"Ouch… Wow, I'm so sorry, Shantae…" feeling the pride-wounding sting of the scathing insult. "It's just… unfathomable that people treated you like that."

"No, no, it's okay. I'm over it now… Anyway, there is kind of a bright side. There actually WAS one guy who seemed to be interested in me a little under two years ago."

"Ah, so there IS someone here with some common sense. Thank goodness," Tay commented with a sigh of relief. At that, the half-genie giggled, taking his joke as an indirect compliment.

"Yeah… We got along really well, actually."

"Please, elaborate."

"We shared a lot of the same interests, we almost always found time to hang out at my house between my adventures, and we were ALWAYS spending time trading stories, reading comics, stargazing, and laughing. Just me and him. Even when I was down, he always knew how to put the biggest smiles on my face."

"Heh, how romantic. Sounds like y'all were quite the pair."

"It definitely felt that way. He was an introvert like me, so we took a while to get used to each other, but… he was so cute…" she admitted, blushing as she grinned. "We bonded so well that it was like we always knew each other. It got to a point where just thinking about him when we were apart made my heart jump for joy… It also helped that he saw me for who I was and told me again and again that I was the best thing that happened to him since he moved to Scuttle Town. I felt the same way about him…"

"Hm… Sounds like y'all were made for each other, in that case."

"Mm-hmm. If it doesn't sound too crazy, I think he might've been my first… well, my first boyfriend if we had more time together… I wish he'd have stayed at least long enough for me to tell him how I felt. Our time together was only about four months."

"Aw… What happened?" Tay asked, saddened by her implication.

"One day, he stopped showing up to hang out with me. I stopped seeing him in town, and I thought maybe he changed his mind about liking me and disappeared without a trace… But, after about a month, I found out he moved far away without me knowing about it. I actually ran into him a few months after that in the Great Button Province while I was out sightseeing. I was on a trip there with Uncle, who had to attend some sort of Relic Hunters' convention. Sadly, though, he already found another girl to be his girlfriend by that point. A regular, full-human girl about our age, from what I could tell. I know this because I watched him kiss her right on the lips when I spotted them…"

"Shoot… What'd you say to him?"

"I never actually spoke to or addressed him because I was so disappointed about it that I didn't find it worth the effort. I only spotted him from a distance with his girlfriend. I never saw him again after that. I spent a few weeks thinking over and over about what I should've done… what I should've said… I cried like a baby for weeks until my friend Rotty convinced me to get over it once she found out. She helped me cheer up, but… I… I still miss him, y'know?" she confessed with a contemplative frown, bringing a hand to her heart and sighing in dejection as she looked at Tayshan. He read her heartbreak from just her forlorn gaze, his sepia-toned eyes meeting hers in that same disarming moment. At that, he sighed and laid a hand on Shantae's shoulder.

"Another of many things we have in common, it looks like. Shoot, that's rough. But hey, it ain't the end, homegirl. There's plenty of other boys out there for ya. That ain't the best thing t' say, I know, but… I guarantee you you'll find somebody who really deserves your love," he encouraged, patting her on the back as he empathized with her. "I don't think I've ever gotten that close to anyone. Sorry t' hear about that. I hope you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. It's been a long enough time, so no hard feelings, I guess. It's life," the young lady replied with a shrug. "I've come to realize I'm probably better off not dating anyone right now, anyway. I've got a ton of other commitments to make as guardian genie and in my own personal life, so I think it was for the best. What do you mean, though? You've never had a close friend or someone who could've been your girlfriend?"

"Eh, yes an' no… Closest I ever got was this one girl askin' me for walks from school t' home every day when I was about fifteen. I had no idea who she was before that started, an' the first time she asked me t' escort her home, it was totally out o' the blue."

"Really now? That's an interesting way to kick things off. What'd you do when she asked you?"

"I obliged her, of course. I figured at first that she was just scared o' makin' the journey alone. Bad neighborhood with long walks an' all. I went with her even when it cost me time I had planned for bein' somewhere else. I gotta say, though… She was so beautiful inside AND out that I'd have easily said no t' all the money in the world if I had t' choose between that an' bein' with her for the rest o' my life. She was older, too; by about two or three years. She was super mature about everything, which was THE best thing in the world… She was down-to-earth, modest, an' optimistic, but realistic… We were together every weekday, an' even on some weekends, formin' this unbreakable bond an' meltin' each other's life stresses away. I tell you, she made my world a brighter place with just her smile."

"Sounds like a dream come true for you, huh?"

"One would think so, if this story had a happy ending," he spoiled, causing Shantae to frown. "Still, we had chats that lasted hours on end, we joked about everything under the sun, we studied together, an' we even spent one or two nights out on the town together over the span of a few months… Not t' mention me goin' to her house an' doin' all sorts o' silly things with her, like dancin' an' roughhousin', or even sharin' our personal experiences…"

"Sounds like you and this girl were pretty close. No, REALLY close. What happened?"

"That's just it, homegirl… We were NEVER close, even with what I said. Turns out, she was only hangin' around me because she felt sorry for me, not because she liked me."

"Oh… Wow…" Shantae barely managed to comment, flabbergasted by the development. "How'd you find that out?"

"Because she basically said it herself. She heard about my situation an' witnessed me gettin' in trouble a few times an' decided she'd be the one t' 'save me from myself,'" he explained, air-quoting with his fingers and emphasizing the last bit of his statement to make his point.

"Save you from yourself?"

"Yep… T' nutshell it, I overheard her talkin' to some of her actual friends one day about me, an'… well, that's when she straight-up told them she didn't like me in the least, that she had a boyfriend already, an' that she only saw me as some pitiful, lonely, miserable charity case. Not exactly in those words, but you get what I mean… right?"

"Kind of… I guess I understand as far as she felt bad for you?"

"Basically. I walked up on them an' confronted her right then an' there, just as soon as I heard her confession leave her lips. She tried explainin' that what she said wasn't what she meant, but that she wanted me t' change for the better because she cared about me. After an embarrasin', tear-riddled exchange o' words, I basically told her that I didn't need her pity an' that if the only reason we were friends was because she thought she could try an' force me t' be someone she wanted me t' be without ever actually uderstandin' where I came from, then we were never really friends in the first place. I said somethin' else that made her cry in front of her friends, then stormed off in such a fury that day, feelin' so humiliated…"

"Wow, Tay… That's heavy. Someone trying to make you into something you're not, but acting like it was in your best interest without ever asking you about what you wanted? I can't even imagine. Did you two ever make up?"

"Of course not," he confessed with a shake of his head. "I never spoke to her again. She tried makin' amends, but I felt at the time like she stabbed me in the back. For a boy like the one I was back then, the last thing you'd want me t' think of you is that you betrayed me. I would cut people off faster than you could say 'Tinker-Portal,' an' forever brand you as a traitor. It didn't help that my back was already covered in metaphorical knife wounds from all the other people that used an' betrayed me. That said, I never forgave her. I… kinda regret it in her case, thinkin' back."

"How come?"

"I burned my bridge with her without givin' her a chance t' explain herself, for one thing. Another thing was that, before that day, I liked her. Like, REALLY liked her. I saw myself eventually gettin' together with her before that awful day. Not even a week before that, I contemplated confessin' to her in full. Still, she eventually got the message an' never even looked me in the eye for more than half a second again for the rest o' the year. Every time we saw each other after that, she glanced at me with this super guilt-ridden 'I'm sorry for hurting you' look that just… tore me apart inside. After a certain point, though, she moved far, far away t' go t' school somewhere else. I didn't find that out until two months after she left the neighborhood. Shoot, it hurts just thinkin' about it now…" he admitted with a melancholy waver in his voice, clutching his chest and sighing with remorse.

"Jeez, Tayshan…" Shantae consoled, pressing her hand to his arm. "That's awful. I wish things could've panned out better for you and that girl. I'm sure you would've been happy together if maybe you could've reached an understanding," she stated before realizing a certain important detail in his story. "Oh, but she already had a boyfriend… Sorry… I-I mean, I'm sure you would still be friends?"

"Hmph," he scoffed, slightly stung by his friend's attempt at consolation, though he did not mean to offend her. Realizing his error in judgment, he shook his head to recollect himself. "Sorry… Still, even if we DID make up, I was definitely not interested in just bein' friends with her. Selfish of me t' say, yes, but if she had a boyfriend already, what would she need me for?"

"It doesn't have to be so cut-and-dry, though, does it? Just because she wasn't available or… interested in you, does it really have to mean you couldn't be her friend?"

"Eh… I think that really depends on context, but we can debate that later if you want. I'm… not sure how t' answer that in a few words. I realize that the way I'm sayin' it makes it sound like I think she owed me a relationship simply because she was nice t' me, but…" he reasoned, hesitating as he tried to find a reasonable method of conveying his feelings to Shantae. "I guess… there's a real… blurry line between bein' just friends an' bein'… anything more, but clarity can only come from communication. In hindsight, I'll admit that I waited way too long t' communicate with her; even if her whole reason for talkin' t' me was because she felt sorry for me…"

"We can definitely talk more about that later, but I will say I understand, Tay," Shantae affirmed with a nod. "It IS pretty confusing sometimes, when you're friends with someone of the opposite gender and… for one reason or another, things get complicated because you don't know what the other person wants and they don't know what you want, but you're both too scared of jeopardizing your friendship to ever address the topic because it's a basically a dungeon full of double-edged swords and relationship traps…"

"…Y-yes!" Tay exclaimed, agreeing wholeheartedly. "That's exactly what I was thinkin'!"

"I figured that. I've been there, too. Not with the boy I most recently had a crush on, but I've been there. I've lost a few friends myself because they wanted to date me, but never told me anything about liking me that way. They'd either be overly nice to me and expect me to read between the lines, which Sky and Rotty both taught me about… or, they'd be overly MEAN to me and expect me to just develop some fixation on them, which never worked… or they'd start by being my friend and making it seem like they only wanted friendship until they suddenly drop the 'I've fallen in love with you' bombshell on me out of nowhere. That one's the worst."

"I… I see…" Tay nodded, suddenly feeling a pang in his gut as he related Shantae's experiences to his own.

"Granted, that one is also the most understandable. It's hard not to get a little… attached to someone you spend a ton of time with and see just about every day for long enough. It can go both ways, too. In that case, I at least partly see from your perspective why your friendship with that girl ended. I mean, it wasn't okay at all for her to try and change you without being honest with you from the start, but maybe it would've been good for you to tell her how you felt sooner…"

"An' you said you didn't have that much experience with datin'…" he remarked with a wan smirk.

"I don't. Like I said, I've never actually been in a relationship," Shantae explained. "I just happened to pick up on some things about people I've gotten familiar with over time. Since we're on the subject now, I have a question, if you don't mind my asking…"

"Go for it."

"Do you think you and I would be good friends if you were here long enough? Or do you think at least one of us would… y'know… eventually wind up… becoming attached to the other…?" she hesitantly asked, her heartbeat speeding up as her face grew hot. She knew before she asked that the question was quite personal in relation to their discussion.

"Oh! Hmm…" Tay paused, totally blindsided by the inquiry and the intense gravity around it. He knew right away that if he answered wrong, it would have had a significant effect on his budding friendship with Shantae. However, he wasn't certain he could answer the question, considering all the implications in the context of their conversation. After a momentary, thought-provoked pause, he spoke. "I think… it's too soon t' answer that, if I'm gonna be honest," he replied, alarming her as her eyes widened.

"Oh? Wow, I wasn't expecting that…" she admitted, evidently having anticipated a more definitive answer than a wordier version of 'I don't know.' She wasn't certain of how to interpret his answer as she studied him intently. "I'm surprised."

"I know that's a real weak-soundin' reply, but bear with me," Tay explained with utmost sincerity. "We've shared a lot since we opened up to each other so far, but we've only known each other for basically a few hours. I take that question very seriously, believe me. I don't wanna say the wrong thing t' you in the spur o' the moment, y'know?"

"That's fair," she agreed, sighing away her tension. "That's a great point, Tay."

"Indeed. So… how about this? If I'm here for… let's say, a week, maybe two, an' we find ourselves spendin' a ton o' time together, ask me that question again after the week or weeks have gone by. That should be plenty of experience for both of us. I'll definitely have an answer for you by then, Shantae. I promise. Don't forget," he assured, smiling and giving her a thumbs-up.

"Okay, I won't forget," she affirmed, nodding back and smiling with confidence. "Just… make sure you really do have an answer, Tayshan. I won't take 'I don't know' for a valid response the next time I ask," she teased, at which he mirthfully chuckled.

"Deal. Still, the allure of wishes an' 'what-ifs' is all about hypothesis an' wonderin' how things would play out if they went a certain way. Thanks for your words on the topic. You shed some much-needed light on me, homegirl. Goin' back though… Part o' me wishes things went better with that girl, too, but… Can't cry over spilt milk, as they say. But yeah, experiences like that tend t' do a real number on your sense of trust in yourself t' pick the right people t' be around, let alone your trust in other people. It took me a long time t' step back an' see what I thought was wrong with me. I'd like t' think I at least learned how t' trust myself by now, though…"

"Enough that you feel confident having someone special in your life?"

"Well, maybe not that far. I mean… I guess I'd be open to at least makin' new friends now, but I ain't gonna chase anybody down for a date at this moment. Come t' think of it, you're just about the only friend I made in the last couple years now, t' be honest…"

"Wow…" Shantae remarked in astonishment. "You weren't kidding…"

"No, I was not. Even after joinin' the military in my world, I still found myself unwillin' t' trust other people. I can't tell you enough how much of a refresher it is talkin' t' someone who understands."

"Yeah, the same could be said about you," she agreed with a casual smile before pausing to take a moment to formulate her next statement. "I... have another question, if you don't mind me asking…" she asked, some of her timidity returning as she shuffled on the bench to calm her nerves. "I know I've been grilling you with questions since we started talking, but… I'm curious about you."

"Oh? I'm… not sure how t' take that. I hope you mean that in a positive way," he remarked in apprehension.

"Of course!" she admitted, perking up slightly. "I want to know more about you. I just don't want to make it seem like I'm interrogating you."

"Right, right, I got it. So, what's up?"

"Don't be too surprised when I ask this, but… What do you think about Sky? She's romantically interested in you, as we saw. Would… would you… d-date her…? Hypothetically speaking?" she posed, though it took a considerable amount of mettle for her to even conceptualize such a personal question.

"Hmm… If we're gonna ignore the whole part about me bein' from a different planet… I don't know… Maybe, but then maybe not… She seems nice, but I don't even know her… Plus, if she's lookin' as hard for a relationship as you two imply, then that comes off as just a bit… intimidatin' rather than charmin'… Still, gotta give a girl props for knowin' what she wants. I can respect that, at least…" Tay pondered what it would be like to actually take Sky up on her offer; at the very least, out of general curiosity. Of course, he considered the myriad of implications and circumstances that came with getting that close to someone who lived in an alternate, parallel (until now) reality. Meanwhile, Shantae stared at him, seeming to be hoping for an answer. She felt uncertain of how she might react to his thoughts on him dating her best friend, but she was not keen on dealing with such a mysterious sense of anticipation for his reply.

"You don't have to answer that," she spoke up, interrupting the soldier's train of thought as she hopped off the splintery seating structure. Tay stood up right after her. "It was a silly question, now that I think about it. Anyway, we're right across the street from my Uncle Mimic's workshop. I'll introduce you to him!"

"Oh yeah? I feel like I should prepare myself t' make a good first impression on him, considerin' what you told me about him," Tay expressed, disregarding the tension brought on by their previous conversation topic as the pair continued their stroll, approaching an enormous crimson laboratory-like building that stuck out like a sore thumb in both its placement and its unique red-brick design.

"Aw, don't be nervous," the optimistic scarlet-clad girl reassured. "He's incredibly friendly, even at age seventy. I make absolutely sure he doesn't get a case of the olds on my watch." At that, Tay exhaled with mirth as they reached the entrance to the workshop. Inside was desks covered with test tubes, metal parts of varying shapes and sizes, and an array of blueprints and schematics for various projects messily strewn about the room. At the other side of the room was a large, stocky elderly man with an absurdly-long silvery white beard wearing a long, green trench coat and orange sunglasses—er, goggles. He also wore a pair of oddly modern-looking jeans and a burgundy sweater under his trench coat that quickly made Tay cock an eyebrow at how out-of-place he seemed as compared to the rest of Sequin Land's citizens. Granted, he acknowledged that Sky was dressed way differently from other Scuttle Town residents as well, but he couldn't make heads or tails of why or how.

"Shantae, my girl! Good morning to you!" the old man excitedly greeted as he approached the duo, thrilled to see his favorite niece again.

"Good morning, uncle! I brought a friend I'd like you to meet," she greeted back, gesturing toward the still-apprehensive soldier as the two stepped further into the workshop.

"Why hello there, lad," Mimic greeted, offering a hand. Tay politely, wordlessly shook the man's hand, still studying his style of dress to understand him. "Quite a grip you got there, young'un," the scientist remarked as he examined his guest, seeming to find something amiss about him. "Can't say I've ever seen you around here before. You new to these parts?"

"Yeah. You could say that," Tay replied, dropping the tiniest hint that he was not of this world.

"And what's your relation to my niece here? Are you her new boyfriend?" he asked rather bluntly, catching them both off-guard.

"Uh, wha?" Tay stuttered, getting hotter than race car tires at the intrusive question.

"What!? Uncle, not you, too!" Shantae yelled, embarrassed that her own uncle would ask such a bold question to someone he'd just met, in conjunction with him immediately assuming she was dating the serviceman. "He's just my new friend! FRIEND!" she enunciated. "He just so happens to be a boy. Total coincidence, I swear!"

"He'd better be just your friend. You don't need to date until you're at least twenty," he rebutted, making his niece groan and facepalm.

"Hey now, I don't wanna get in the middle, but I don't have any ill intentions," Tay reasoned, though he was still quite worried about how to make a good first impression. Mimic seemed not to hear him however, as he took a moment to closely examine the soldier standing before him.

"Hmm… there's something strange about you," Mimic commented, stroking his beard as he began pacing around Tayshan as though he were an exotic animal.

"St-strange?" the soldier repeated, alarmed by Mimic's observation.

"Uncle, that isn't nice. He just got here. Cut him some slack!" Shantae admonished, still recovering from the elderly man's embarrassing dating statement.

"No no, sweetheart, I mean I sense something… familiar about him," he added, meticulously sizing the young man up and down to figure out just what it was that resonated with him.

"Familiar?" The soldier repeated again, his mood shifting from frightful to perplexed.

"Yes… Something about the energy surrounding you… It's… reminiscent of a particular series of escapades either I or my niece embarked on," he vaguely replied, standing in front of the unnerved serviceman and staring him down like they were in a western standoff.

"Reminiscent?" Shantae repeated this time. At this rate, the old scientist might have thought there was either an echo or a parrot in the room.

"Yes, but at the same time, there's something about your energy that seems VERY foreign… A great deal of it seems to resonate with an odd atmospheric pressure surrounding you, though I can't rightly place my finger on what it might be at this time… Another significant part of it exudes hunger for power and aggressive industrialization, as well as… unadulterated hubris, though that part of it is ALL too familiar to me," Mimic concluded, shocking his guests.

"Uncle!" Shantae protectively shouted, reading her uncle's observations as derisive criticisms. "Leave him alone! He just got here! Give him a chance!"

"Well I don't know what kind of energy you're seein' but I assure you I mean no harm," Tay defended, offended by Mimic's comments.

"Hm? Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean your personality. I'm sure you're a fine young lad. I meant the electromagnetic waves emanating off of you…" the inquisitive scientist replied, discombobulating his guest as he continued examining him.

"Wha-?"

"Tell me, son; how exactly did you find yourself in Scuttle Town?" Mimic asked, his curiosity about the soldier piqued.

"Oh, well… Believe it or not, I was kinda… forced to come here from a… an alternate timeline… or universe or somethin'," Tay cautiously explained as best as he could, though he did not know how to accurately detail the circumstances of his arrival. Nonetheless, the prodding scientist was taken aback by the reply.

"Ah, you don't say?" Mimic remarked with strong intrigue. "And how might you have stumbled upon our realm, traveler?"

"Some pirate woman named Risky Booty—er, BOOTS invaded a military base in my world with some kind o' weird portal device an' stole a bunch o' my weapons. I tried t' stop her, but we wound up comin' through the portal together in the middle of a fight. Sometime after that, your niece here rescued me after the pirate woman tried t' have me assassinated in some abandoned desert temple."

"Ah-ha!" Mimic shouted in bolstered interest, startling both Tayshan and Shantae. "I knew it! Do you have any clues about the structure or the name of the device Risky Boots used to bring you here?"

"Not… really…" Tay meditatively responded, taking a moment to recall the desired details. "She said somethin' about a machine she used… it was attached to a giant stone circle… Only name that comes t' mind on my end is 'Tinker-Portal.' Shantae, what was the machine called again?"

"The Dynamo," the half-genie answered, much to Mimic's surprise. "Risky somehow managed to rebuild the Dynamo. She used it to create a portal to a whole different world other than the Genie Realm."

"But my Dynamo was never supposed to be capable of such a spectacular feat! It was only supposed to be a cost-effective power supply substitute! And now it's being used to invade other realms of existence? How is this possible!?" Mimic wracked his brain over the potential of his invention and how maliciously it was being abused by that fiendish pirate captain.

"She said she made some kind of renovations to it…" Tay answered, remembering more about the machine in question. "She said somethin' about makin' the power output stronger… and somethin' about replacin' a dead rat as the energy source with somethin' she stole from somebody else… I'm pretty sure there's more to it, but I didn't get much intel out of her, all things considered…"

"She's tampered with the design yet again, I see," Mimic lamented with a sigh, though he was more intrigued in what he was being told than disappointed by it. "Do you at least know what she replaced the zombie hamster with?"

"Uh…" Tay thought hard, the name of the component escaping him. He paused for a moment before answering. "It was a… a hyperbolic propeller generator or something."

"A hypersonic propulsion generator?" Mimic corrected.

"Yeah, that."

"My word!" he exclaimed, taken by complete surprise yet again. "Where would she even get such a rare and delicate piece of equipment!?"

"She said she stole it off some guy's two minions. Didn't mention them by name, though."

"I think I may have an idea as to whom she was referring," Mimic mused. "It appears my hunch was correct, nonetheless. You are indeed an alien from a different world, cast here by absurdly-unlikely chance and a pinch of pirate shenanigans."

"…In no better words, yes," Tay agreed, though his perplexity was evident.

"My stars and gators… You must inform me more about your world, young'un! What technology exists there? Are there Relic Hunters there? Are there perhaps monumental endeavors of scientific research that expanded the horizons of your world's greatest minds? Better yet, have you brought anything with you that I may borrow for research?"

"I-I uh… er…" Tay stammered, uncertain of where to begin with answering Mimic's rapid barrage of questions.

"Uncle, now's not the time to talk about any of that," Shantae stepped in, again defending her friend from her legal guardian's relentless curiosity. "We've got a huge problem on our hands with Risky stealing a bunch of highly-dangerous weapons from his world!"

"But Shantae, you must understand! An opportunity THIS golden wouldn't even present itself in even the deepest reaches of the coalmines of the Shimmering Drape Savannah!" he rebutted, thoroughly intrigued by what wonders of knowledge the soldier may have had. "Surely, he must have time to divulge some valuable insight into the functionality of his world! At least let me know this: Is he from the future? From an alternate, formerly-parallel dimension? From another planet? Or perhaps an alternate timeline within the same existential paradigm, thus confirming the ages-old theory of infinite continuities?"

"We're still not-!" Tayshan was about to answer.

"I know, I'm just as curious about it as you are, but we'll have to wait till later to ask him about what sorts of things are different about his world," the half-genie reasoned to get her uncle to calm down, cutting her friend off in the process. "If we don't get a move on with tracking down Risky, then who knows what kinds of unfathomable debauchery she'll wreak upon the land with her stolen arsenal?"

"Oh? How dangerous is this stolen weapons cache?" Mimic inquired, experiencing a mix of alarm and curiosity.

"If I could give you some ins-!" the soldier tried once more to reply.

"Tayshan said that she could easily obliterate Scuttle Town alone in under five minutes with just a handful of the weapons from his world!" Shantae spoke over him.

"Theoretically," Tay cut in, though his comment fell on deaf ears.

"F-f-f-five minutes!?" Mimic exclaimed, his heart nearly exploding through his eyes at the revelation. "My word! What inconceivable level of technology exists in your world that it grants access to weapons dangerous enough to destroy an entire city in the time it takes to finish a bowl of Monster Egg Soup!?"

"Well…" Tay began. "There's all kinds o'-!" he tried to explain.

"The kind that makes Ammo Baron and Techno Baron look like spoiled schoolchildren!" Shantae interrupted. "We don't have much time, either! If she figures out how to use them before we find her, we're in for a horrible surprise!"

"Now, let's not panic," Tay tried again to interject. "The way I see it, we still ha-!"

"By the Bathhouse Lady's bracelets!" Mimic exclaimed once more, using an expression I have NEVER heard before. "That's as perilous as perilous gets!"

"…Okay," the soldier murmured, getting just a tad irritated with his lack of time to speak in the middle of Shantae and Mimic bantering about his weapons in Risky's hands.

"As always with Risky Boots," Shantae agreed. "The sooner we stop her though, the more time you might have to ask Tay your infinite supply of questions about his world."

"Hmm… You raise a fair point, dear," the silver-bearded scientist concurred, scratching his head as he contemplated the severity of Risky Boots' latest threat. "In that case, I trust you know what she's planning this time around?"

"Not quite, but we have an idea. We do at least know that her main goal of taking over Sequin Land hasn't changed at all," the young heroine asserted.

"Fair enough. I also trust you two intend to team up to stop Risky's latest diabolical scheme?" the retired Relic Hunter asked again.

"Absolutely," Tay finally spoke up, this time uninterrupted. "As long as I draw breath in this world, I am charged with the solemn responsibility t' put a definitive end t' Risky Boots's despicable schemes. As part of a military corps that strongly stands for the protection of and advocacy for peace for the public, it is my sworn duty t' get those weapons away from her, for the sake of all of Sequin Land's people. As far as it stands now, Sequin Land is my homeland, and I will loyally treat it as such until I find a way back t' my world. No matter the cost, justice will be served," the fledgling warrior vowed, clashing his fists together and furrowing his brow. He dared not forget the humiliation and turmoil Risky put him through since their first encounter. He would be sure to pay her back.

"And as long as there's a hair on my head to whip the forces of evil into submission with, I will smack all wrongdoers… Wait, I-I mean, the enemy will fear the heroic wrath of my dancing… Uh, I am the light in the dark and the d-dancer in the danger… o-or something…" Shantae attempted a motivational quote to add to the suddenly-altruistic energy, but had trouble putting her thoughts into words. "Oh man, your heroic statement was so much cooler than mine," Shantae lamented, frowning with disappointment in herself as she gave up. "I've never said something so awesome before starting an adventure."

"Heh, you're adorable. Y'know that?" Tay commented with a chuckle, causing Shantae to glance up at him in surprise. The sight of the young man smiling warmly at her made her heart beat heavier in her chest. She blushingly turned away, pouting while folding her arms.

"Don't patronize me, Tay. It's hard enough as it is trying long as I have to say something cool to kick things off with. You have no idea how many times I've tried. Yet, you bang out a total masterpiece in one go. It was noble, it was inspirational, and it was flaring with heroic energy. No fair…"

"I'll… take your word for it," he nodded in apparent agreement.

"Before you go, I'd like to offer my assistance to you," Mimic informed, capturing the duo's attention. "This is Shantae's first time traveling with an active ally in tow, but I have reason to suspect you won't be as well-equipped as she is."

"What do you mean?" Shantae asked.

"I'm aware you usually have a pretty good idea of how much strength you have and how many resources are at your disposal at any given point regarding your magic, inventory, and health, no?"

"Yeah," the young woman confirmed. "My pause menu and heads-up display never fail me."

"And as for you, young man?"

"…Probably not," Tay answered honestly, knowing he had no clue what Shantae and Mimic were referring to.

"Indeed. I shall construct for you a specialized Heads-Up Display, or HUD Monitor with which you can keep track of your own health and inventory. It's the least I can do for you as you embark on your quest to save the country from utter destruction."

"Awesome!" Tay proclaimed, though he had no idea what such a device would even look like. "Is that gonna take long?"

"For something as simple as that? Not at all! However, there is a catch…" Mimic warned.

"Uh-oh…" Tay got a bad gut-feeling that he was going to hear something he didn't like.

"What's the catch, Uncle?" asked Shantae.

"You will need to find the components needed for it." And there it was. The soldier's facial expression immediately turned to one of dread, though neither of the other two participants in the conversation noticed.

"What components?" Shantae asked, already seeming familiar with scavenger hunts.

"I will need some Copper Wire, a Circuit Chip, and a Busted Remote."

"Okay…? Sounds pretty simple. And where do we get those? There a store nearby that sells 'em?" Tay queried, slightly perturbed at how basic these items were and how they were supposed to make the Key Item in question. If anything, Mimic could've gone to a local hardware store to pick these things up… of course, Tay wondered if hardware stores even existed in this world.

"Beats me. That's usually Shantae's forte," Mimic shrugged, vexing Tay greatly. He glanced at Shantae, who merely smiled cutely and waved at him, before turning his attention back to Mimic.

"What? So how would you know you need those things when you don't know where they are? And how exactly would a broken remote, a single circuit chip, and some copper wire help you build a specialized health tracker? Do you have the rest o' the components an' simply need the remainin' parts from the scrap of other tools? Because if that's the case, we could easily-!"

"How would you know when it's time to give the dog a bath? By smelling its fur, of course!" Mimic exclaimed, completely befuddling the soldier.

"But… that doesn't even make sense… Wha…?"

"First rule of science, lad: Don't question how it works; only question whether you will get the results for which you aim." Tay stared at the elderly man as though he were speaking in tongues… backwards… while shoving his leg into a polka-dotted, big-lipped alligator's eye.

"Where is the science in this?" the soldier dared to ask, his frustration as evident as his befuddlement. "It sounds more like you're gamblin' on some improbable outcome with no idea of how this might turn out should we get these parts for you, if you're gonna put it that way."

"You simply have to believe in it, my boy. Trust me on this, and you'll have moved much farther along on the path of philosophical enlightenment. Plus, you'll be that much farther along on getting those pieces to get you this Monitor."

"I… I don't understand."

"And THAT… is why you fail." After a moment of completely missing Mimic's totally sensible and eloquent points, Tay shook his head and sighed before he shot Mimic an incredulous side-eyed stare as he cocked his head back and wrapped one hand over his other hand, gently balled into a fist.

"So you're tellin' us to find random things we don't know the locations of, an' then bring them back to you… in order to have you build somethin' for me that, come t' think of it, I PROBABLY won't even need by the time we get the items to you if it takes long enough while we're tryin' t' find an' stop Risky Boots?" Suffice to say, Tay was skeptical of Mimic's logic.

"Hmm… Yes, to put it succinctly." Tay let out an exasperated sigh as he hung his head before refocusing.

"Alright. So do you at least have clues as to where we can get these things? I mean, I'd really like t' be prepared for what's t' come an' I'd appreciate your help, Mr. Mimic," Tay explained, trying to keep himself from stepping out of line. "But if we're gonna find these parts, I'd imagine you'd at least know where we'd be able t' find 'em… right?"

"Do you butter your pancakes before you pour the batter into the skillet?" Mimic cryptically and rhetorically asked again, almost causing the soldier to have a stage-five meltdown before…

"Tay… you're probably not gonna like this, but…" Shantae interjected, saving her friend from blowing his top. "…we're going to have to look around for them ourselves. And before you ask 'where' again, we'll very likely have to look all over Sequin Land for them." Tay breathed a heavy sigh to calm himself down.

"Alright, I think I can manage without it in that case. I won't know what my health condition is, but it'll save us time. No point in goin' on a wild goose chase with a situation so serious already in our midst."

"Actually…" Shantae, making a face that communicated that she knew he was not going to like what she had to tell him.

"Actually… what?" Tay dared to ask, knowing he was going to regret it.

"We don't really have a choice. If you expect to do well on this adventure, you're going to need that HUD Monitor. The only way to get it is by way of us looking for the pieces needed for Uncle to build it. Otherwise, we won't be able to progress."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that my adventures usually follow a sequential pattern that mixes between hunting for key items through a series of side quests that help me progress the main story and actually making moves to power up and prepare for battles against my enemies."

"Okay, so what does this HUD Monitor have t' do with this adventure?"

"Chances are, you're gonna need it for when the adventure gets hard later on. It's dangerous to wander around Sequin Land without any idea of how much health you have, because you might get taken out by an enemy at any given moment. Who knows how many health points you had left when I first found you. You did say you took quite a beating from Risky…"

"Ugh, don't remind me…" he grumbled, clearly unhappy with Shantae's mention of his fight with Risky. It only added to his frustration about the item he was apparently going to be forced to obtain.

"I know, but the point is, you can't expect to get too far without knowing where your health is or how many healing items or power-ups you have."

"Okay, I was tryin' t' hold off on this, but now I gotta ask: Why are you talkin' like this is some kind o' game?" he asked, finally reaching his limit with his acceptance of Shantae's cryptic terminology. "Power-ups an' key items an' health points… an' even what you said about pause menus an' losin' your old power-ups after 'your last video game,' now that I remember it… Are those code words or somethin'? What are those?"

"Exactly what they sound like," she replied, uncertain of how to explain things any clearer. "Do they not have health points and power-ups or anything of the sort in your world?"

"Nnnnoooo…?" he apprehensively answered, though her answer provided some clue that maybe the world he entered had been a video game… or at least, one that had rules and laws of physics closely related to those seen in video games. At that shocking epiphany, he sighed with a slight sense of relief. Tay, though not a terribly avid player of video games in his world, was at least familiar enough with them to finally grasp the concept of how things worked here in Sequin Land. More specifically, it provided him a basis from which to simplify learning about the world in which he was trapped. He further understood the terminology in relation to the adventure he preparing to embark on. "…but y'know what? Suddenly, I completely get it now," he exclaimed as he tapped his forehead with a finger, calming down just a tiny bit, though he refrained from sharing his epiphany with his comrades.

"That's great to hear!" Shantae naively congratulated him.

"Yes. Yes, I get it… Alright, so now that we're on the same page, I can ask y'all this: Do we absolutely need t' look for the parts t' this health monitor thing? An' what are the consequences if we don't pick the key items up along the way?"

"Yes, you absolutely need to find those components to build the HUD Monitor," Mimic began with an exhausted sigh, starting to lose his patience repeating himself. "As Shantae already made clear, if you don't find them, you can't move forward with your adventure. There is no other option but to collect those components during your travels, whether you would like to or not. I thought you said you understood how this worked." Tay, not appreciating Mimic's condescending tone, scowled as his anger grew.

"Yeah, Tay," Shantae added, worried about her ally's comprehension of the task at hand. "I hope we're being clear about this. I'm not sure how we could break it down any more for you. We've already just about spelled it out for you."

"If y'all make one more smart remark about this thing…!" he muttered to himself, daring either one of the two other participants in the conversation to test him further.

"Listen, lad, I understand if this is your first time on an adventure like this… but finding the components to the HUD Monitor is the key to completing your mission of stopping Risky Boots. It's simple as that." With that patronizing remark, Tay finally lost his patience, squinting with annoyance as his brow furrowed, one of his eyebrows cocked like the lever on a huntsman's rifle. Immediately afterward, he began a rather long-winded tirade of interrogative questions he had for both the half-genie hero and her scientist uncle:

"Okay, well makes zero sense. If I don't have a way t' check my own health or whatever while we're out there, why would you offer t' build somethin' for me for that purpose if you didn't have the equipment necessary t' build it right away? Wouldn't goin' out on extensive searches an' findin' the pieces t' somethin' I should've been provided from the get-go defeat the purpose of lookin' for 'em; especially when the pieces are ALL over this country, like you said, in addition to me operatin' just fine without it and PROVING IT by way of goin' all over the place t' look for the pieces? What's more, what's the point of lookin' for Easter eggs in the form o' supposedly-important key items when our main goal is t' stop Risky? Why would I need somethin' that wasn't available t' me right away an' even then, only served a specific purpose that wasn't necessarily conducive to said main goal? Plus, wouldn't takin' the extra time t' search for these things be givin' Risky a ton more time t' train her soldiers t' use the guns she stole than if we were to simply find out where she was an' stop her before she could think of her next move?" the meta-critical soldier ranted, seeming to take issue with one of the essential purposes of his adventure.

"I don't make the rules, Tay. I only follow them based on the game being played at any given time," Shantae shot back, fully cognizant of Tay's frustration. There she went with the 'game' reference again, which did nothing to extinguish the clothing iron-based house fire that was Tay's anger. "It usually works out that way, like I said. The side quests are generally what fleshes out the main adventure. Finding the pieces of the HUD Monitor during our travels just might lead us to the right places and give us the necessary clues to figure out how to stop Risky Boots, simply put. Sorry that it sounds so inconvenient, but I hope that helps you understand…" she added, understanding his concerns. She reached up to offer him a consoling pat on the back. The soldier then sighed, seeing no way around it.

"Oh, fine, let's just go…" The now HIGHLY-motivated soldier turned and trudged out of the workshop, his face contorted into a comical scowl. "Nice meetin' ya, Mr. Mimic. I'll be back with those random parts for that questionably-useful thingamabob in about six-and-a-half years if the country hasn't been annihilated by then," he sarcastically remarked as he raised a hand to gesture that he was leavin' the buildin' like a 60's rock star.

"I can see that this young man hasn't been here very long," Mimic hypothesized, to which Shantae giggled in amusement. "We haven't even told him about the item shop that only sells things you exclusively use or how it stays in business with just one customer."

"Yeah… That should be a wonderful experience. This was a fun talk," the excited young girl agreed as she turned to follow her companion out. "Be back soon, Uncle!"

"Alrighty then, dear! Stay safe!" With that, Shantae caught up to Tayshan, who was waiting outside of the workshop, still vexed about the inevitable scavenger hunt they were set to embark on.

"Sorry… Hope you're not too mad about us having to find the pieces of the HUD Monitor," she apologized.

"Hey, it's whatever. So long as it gets us movin' along toward findin' and beatin' Risky, what choice do I have?" he acquiesced, knowing no other way around it in his lack of knowledge about the world around him.

"That's a great way to look at it. Also, I'm sorry for cutting you off all those times when Uncle was trying to ask you all those questions about your world," she added as they continued their casual stroll through the town.

"Hm? Oh, I ain't mad about that," he dismissed, almost totally forgetting about the occurrence before she brought it back up.

"That's good to know," Shantae sighed in relief. "It's just, he gets SUPER curious about anything involving Relics, science, and especially his inventions. If I didn't let him know the hurry we were in, trust me: You'd have been there for the next three weeks MINIMUM, answering question after question after question about Tinker-Portal this, time travel that, alternate universe the third…"

"Yikes…" the young man remarked, suddenly grateful that his partner saved him from such unbearable torture. "Thanks for the save, in that case. I owe you two things now."

"Anytime, Tay! I'm glad to assist," she assured, winking and grinning with glee.

"Right, right. So where are we headed next? Unless we've seen everything Scuttle Town has t' offer. If that's the case, we should probably start figurin' out where t' start our part o' the search while Sky is doin' recon," he suggested, trying not to sound eager to finally begin their hunt, however much he enjoyed spending the day getting to know Shantae on a personal level.

"Well, I haven't introduced you to Bolo yet. Chances are, he's at the bathhouse, trying to pick up women again. It's just about that point in the early afternoon now, so let's head there."

"Alright," he agreed without objection. He was rather curious as to what the bathhouse was like, and if it was any different from bathhouses in his world… Or if it was at least any different from the way he and Shantae took a bath the night previous. More importantly, he wondered, based on his latest hypothesis about this world being akin to a video game regarding its laws of physics, what effects it would have on him with the longer he remained here and how it would relate to the events of his adventure. As they were making their way toward the bathhouse, however…

"Shantae!" A male voice called from the outskirts of the city that appeared to lead to a wilderness trail.

"Bolo! Hey, what's going on? I was just looking for you!" The young man, a rich peanut butter tan in skin tone with shaggy blue hair and donning a yellow head band, frantically sprinted toward his friend with a Morning Star weapon in tow and heavily sweating through his chalky blue vest, sleeveless white shirt, brown gloves, and dark denim blue shorts. He tripped over his own sandals and landed flat on his face midway through his mad dash. Yet, he quickly sprang up and continued after briefly being stunned by what was possibly a minor concussion. No biggie.

"Hey, we've got work to do," he informed her, appearing to have seen a great danger as he paused to catch his breath.

"What's the matter?" Shantae asked, concerned about her friend's urgency.

"Risky's Tinkerbats and Ammo Baron's soldiers are on the loose in the woods… At least one of the Tinkerbats I saw was armed with a strange weapon… Something I've never seen before. This can only mean they're more dangerous than ever." This news both shocked and fired up both Shantae and Tayshan. Though it seemed their hunch about Risky was correct, it was curious that there was a second malevolent force involved. "I tried to fight them off alone, but their intense conflict overwhelmed me."

"What kind o' weapon did the Tinkerbat have?" Tay asked Bolo, a sense of urgency creeping upon him like ants on a juice-soaked picnic table.

"I don't really know… It had a gun that was like Risky's flintlock, only way different in its look and much louder in how it…" Bolo trailed off as he took a look at the inquirer, seeming to catch himself as he relayed his information. He took one good look at Tay and furrowed his brow, taking special note of the empty holster on Tay's belt. "Wait, who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you around here before…"

"I'll tell you later," Tay dismissed, now in no state of mind to introduce himself as he wanted to find out more about the Tinkerbat wielding a weapon belonging to him. "That weapon… Whatever you saw, I need t' know about it ASAP. Could you tell me anything else about the weapon in question or the Tinkerbat carryin' it?"

"What business is it of yours?" he shot back, unreceptive to Tay's demanding tone. "Why don't YOU tell me who you are first?"

"Bolo!" Shantae admonished, displeased with her friend's apprehensiveness.

"Now ain't the time t' play interrogation, man!" Tay warned, his temper getting hot with each passing second that he was not on the move to disarm the Tinkerbats that could very well pose a serious threat to Scuttle Town's safety. "I need t' know what you saw an' I need t' know now!"

"Oh, really? You seem suspiciously worried about that gun…" Bolo attempted to assess Tay's desperation to receive intel about the Tinkerbats. "You know something, don't you?"

"Yes, but if we don't get movin' now, you won't find out," the serviceman urged, his patience dwindling quickly. "Now tell me. What-?"

"No, that's enough out of you. Now I know you're working with them! Surrender now or face one of Scuttle Town's greatest heroes!" the headbanded warrior warned, taking a stance of battle to prepare for a fight.

"WHAT!?" Tay remarked, astonished by Bolo's unwillingness to talk to him in the wake of his brazen accusation, as well as appalled that the headstrong 'hero' was immediately so hostile as to challenge him to a fight out of nowhere. What kind of hero goes around picking fights with people in the streets like this? "You can't be serious! We don't have time for-!"

"There's only a couple ways Risky's men would be so well-equipped this time around; and since the design of that weapon doesn't match Risky or even Ammo Baron, the next suspect down the line is you. Your strange style of dress and desperate pleas to get information out of me are a dead giveaway… You even have a holster on your belt that looks like it'd be a perfect fit for the gun I saw that Tinkerbat with," Bolo rambled about how he found the culprit behind the bolstered firepower of Risky's army, paying little attention as to what was going on around him. He set his weapon down and cracked his knuckles, seeming ready to apprehend his target using force. "Shantae, stay back! I've got this one!"

"Bolo, no! He's on our side! Stop!" Shantae pleaded, attempting to stop her friend from making an egregious mistake.

"No way that's true," the young battle-hungry hero stubbornly denied. "He would've revealed his identity to me by now if he wasn't up to no good. Bad guys with secrets always try to hide in plain sight. He's probably pulling the wool over your eyes, Shantae," he further deduced, wearing the soldier's patience away like an overused pencil eraser.

"That's enough…!" Tay scoffed as he rushed past Bolo, snatching his Morning Star off the ground and aggressively shoving him aside. The young detective stumbled back, caught by total surprise at the soldier's sudden move. "Get out o' my way!"

"Hey! Give that back!" Bolo angrily shouted, making yet another mad dash to apprehend his perceived foe. "You rotten thief!"

"Tay! Wait up!" Shantae quickly followed suit, speeding past her vigilant friend to catch up with the soldier, who'd created a steadily-widening gap between himself and said vigilant friend. Soon enough, she caught up to him. Wordlessly, the duo glanced at one another with fiery determination in their eyes. They simultaneously nodded in understanding before they steeled their resolves for the first of many battles ahead.

"Run an' Gun!" Tay announced, ready to rumble.

"Ret-2-Go!" Shantae announced, thus commencing their engagement with the enemy. Shantae and Tayshan sped through a series of open, grassy plains with dilapidated marble structures conveniently placed over deep, foreboding chasms that billowed with smoke puffs shaped like skulls and crossbones. Within mere minutes, they were faced with a small legion of Tinkerbats that, upon sight, readied their scimitars and charged forward. Fearlessly, they leapt into action as Tay, with a mighty running swing, smashed his way through three of the hapless henchmen, sending them careening cartoonishly into the sky. One group after another, he swung the chain mace and knocked them out like bowling pins. None too deterred by the comical method in which the Tinkerbats were defeated, the soldier skillfully wielded his stolen Morning Star with deadly precision. He also noticed that occasionally, enemies he defeated would drop rainbow-colored gems of various shapes and sizes. Though unaware of what these gems were, he collected them anyway, as he felt they may have been of importance. Unfamiliar with the perilous landscape, however, Tay made a quick judgment to stay low to the ground, only climbing aboard the shambling aqueducts and crumbling pillars when he came across pits too wide for him to simply leap over.

Shantae demonstrated the sheer power of her ponytail as she whipped Tinkerbat after Tinkerbat out of her path, taking them down with little effort. She leapt and danced along the beams of the structures with unprecedented grace and beauty, using nothing but those lethal locks of lavender to clear the path. Shantae's agility and finesse proved fruitful for her, as she made effortless strides clearing gaps and balancing along the disheveled marble columns scattered about the extensive grassy meadow that was Scuttle Town's outskirts. Soon enough, she found herself hopping, climbing, and dashing far ahead of her partner, though neither of them paid the gap any mind.

The partners continued their wild run toward the enshrouding foliage that was the forest nearby, taking down other threats such as haunted scarecrows and the occasional nose-diving armored hawk. The ethereal soldier trailed behind the half-genie, whacking what tried to brazenly assault him as he and Shantae swept through the plains and eventually powered their way to the end of the meadow, where they were met with a towering mass of trees with full bushels of emerald-green leaves adorned to their branches. Here, Shantae finally noticed that her friend had trailed behind her and turned to see where he might be. Surely enough, Tayshan was a few yards back, whacking another group of scarecrows out of his way as he caught up to her.

"So far, so good, Tay!" the half-genie congratulated the soldier as he jogged toward her, pausing once he reached her to catch his breath.

"Thanks," he acknowledged, stretching and taking in a sharp exhale to compose himself. "We jus' got started, an' already, things are pretty intense. I didn't expect t' be fightin' off such kooky creatures beside the Tinkerbats so soon."

"Like we were talking about with Sky, there are entire hordes of monsters out here and in other areas across Sequin Land we'll need to fight as we go along," she affirmed. "This meadow is as basic an example as you can ask for, though I will warn you that these are the easy ones."

"That right?"

"Yeah. Monsters in other places tend to be tougher to defeat, or they have some special ability or trait that makes them tougher, if not impossible to take down unless you have the right weapon or special ability of your own. I suppose I should ask, though, are you still okay with coming along for the ride? If this is too hard for you, it won't get any easier from here."

"Without a doubt!" Tay declared, clenching a fist as he raised it to his chest. "You don't have t' worry. From what I've seen so far, I've gone through tougher obstacle courses in boot camp. Even without a gun, this is a cakewalk." Hearing her new partner's confident reply prompted the young woman to smile and nod in approval.

"Glad to hear it, Tay. You're doing really well, so far!"

"Thanks again! So, where do we go from here?"

"If Bolo was right about what he saw, the Tinkerbat we're looking for is somewhere in the forest."

"Sounds about right. Shall we press on, then?"

"Yep! Let's go," Shantae commanded as the two entered the forest through a thicket of berry-laden bushes, entering what looked like a rainforest. The heroes were surrounded by a mass of trees that reached high into the sky, their leaf-blanketed branches stretching far and wide. The branches overlapped one another, nearly blanketing the sky above them, save for the sporadic spackles of sunlight that beamed through the dense canopy onto the rocky, mossy, twig-littered forest floor. Without hesitation, Shantae and her intergalactic ally marched forward at a steady pace, studying the incredibly-uneven landscape around them. From what they could see, there were hills, slopes, and seemingly-impassable walls galore that would serve to challenge their abilities with scaling the grass-bathed structures while keeping themselves out of harm's way.

Also within their line of sight were tree branches low enough on the moss-splotched tree trunks around them that appeared sturdy enough to climb onto… considering there were teams of bumpy-skinned, portly green goblins wearing Viking armor complete with horned helmets, armed with spears, standing atop each branch. In addition, the duo spotted vines dangling from branches all the way down to where they could reach them.

"Looks like this jungle won't be so peachy t' get through, huh?" Tay cautiously remarked, immediately aware of the dangers that awaited them.

"It seems intimidating at first, but trust me, this'll be just as easy as the last section," Shantae confidently countered as she took off, jogging down from the hilltop they were standing on. Tay followed suit, having no other option. Just as the two-person team reached the bottom of the hill, an ambush of Viking goblins, each one roughly the size of a portly, full-grown human man, accompanied by a horde of rampaging maroon-furred, yellow-eyed boars comparable in size to full-grown lions, surrounded them, ready to attack without a moment's notice. "…Or not."

"It almost seems like they were expectin' us. What's goin' on?" the wary serviceman asked, readying his confiscated weapon for battle as he took a defensive stance.

"I'm not sure, but make sure to stay on your toes and be ready to defend yourself," she warned, readying herself for battle as well. Just then, a boar dug its hoof into the ground, preparing to charge at the ponytailed warrior as its eyes flushed a menacing red. Meanwhile, three goblins, armed with axes, grinned with jagged-toothed, drool-soaked enthusiasm as they ganged up on the soldier. Without warning, they attacked. The wild animal attempted to ram into Shantae at full force, charging ahead with speedy, reckless abandon. Anticipating such a predictable 'strategy,' Shantae jumped and whipped it in the face twice with her ponytail while in midair as it got near her, causing it to roll onto the ground in a mix of shock and hair-based agony. As it recovered and prepared itself to charge again, another boar, ridden by a goblin wielding a shining, razor-sharp longsword, came barreling in. The goblin atop the second boar swung wildly and haphazardly as it viciously approached the half-genie, evidently hoping to slice her to bits. Though caught by surprise, Shantae adapted. She focused some of her magic into her hand, conjuring up a floating mass of fire, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before the goblin-boar tag-team got close. At the precise moment she saw her chance, she flung the fireball, striking the goblin in the face to knock it off as she leapt over the boar.

"This is new, I'll admit, but you guys still won't have any luck against me," the maiden boasted, facing the ferocious couple of furry swine. Both boars dug their hooves into the dirt, ready to charge again. However, a *snap* of a stick brought Shantae's attention behind her to notice the goblin she'd struck was still standing, though it bore a disfiguring scorch mark across its visage as a result of her fireball. Worse for wear, the goblin was joined by two more of its comrades.

Each of them charged at her with full intent to tear the girl to pieces. Readying herself once more, Shantae performed a stylish spinning backward dash just as the goblins mightily swung their weapons at her, dodging their attacks with ease. However, she dashed toward the boars, one of which took the opportunity to charge. Adapting as quickly as she could, she finished her backdash with a sudden roundhouse kick, scoring a devastating direct hit on the beast's snout, knocking it out cold.

Enraged, the remaining boar dashed toward her with unprecedented speed, nearly catching the half-genie by surprise as she jumped to avoid it. The creature clipped her leg, causing her to wince in pain as she kept from losing coordination. As soon as she landed, the three goblins came sprinting toward her once more. One goblin attempted an overhead swing of its axe, only for Shantae to weave out of harm's way, countering with a powerful punt to the creature's chin, defeating it in a hurry. The remaining two goblins approached her from either side, attempting to overwhelm her as they charged in with their longswords drawn and held up high. The adept young adventurer conjured up another fireball, dashing out of the way of the goblins once again as she launched the magic blast at one of them. It struck the foul creature in its chest, causing it to panic as its armor was instantly heated to a roasting temperature that appeared to burn it alive from the inside.

As she tried to follow up, however, the other goblin jumped in. She attempted to keep the offending goblin at bay with hair whips, to no avail. The armored ogre ducked low, moved in, and swung hard. The monster struck the girl across the face with the hilt of its weapon, the sudden *THUNK* causing her to stumble back in pain and surprise. She shook it off, ready to make them both pay, but noticed right away that more goblins and one more boar were about to enter the fray.

"This doesn't look good," Shantae mused, rubbing her cheek where she was struck as she sized up her opposition. Behind them, she could see her partner valiantly swinging his weapon at the creatures, knocking one of them out as he dodged an incoming attack from another enemy. "Tay, how are you holding up?" she called as she prepared herself for another wave, though he did not hear her. Nonetheless, one of the foul monstrosities recklessly swung at her with its axe, only for her to backdash, charging a fireball as she did so before she launched it to counterattack. In an instant, the creature was ignited in a magical blaze, allowing Shantae the chance to whip it twice while it was vulnerable. Surely enough, her efforts caused the creature to vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a sizable series of colorful gems that she was quick to collect as she focused her attention on the rest of the ambush squadron.

Meanwhile, Tay had been holding his own against the portion of the ambush that had been hounding him. Of the three goblins that initially challenged him, only one remained. Tay, being no stranger to close-quarter scuffles against armed opponents, swung his Morning Star with skillful precision, striking boars and goblins alike as they tried to belligerently rush him down. However, he noted the resilience of the goblins, as their armor cushioned the impact of many of the blows he dealt with his weapon. The most the chain mace was capable of was eliminating the threat of the raging quadrupedal beasts while keeping the Viking monsters at bay.

"These gremlin things are just tankin' hits from this mace…!" he complained as he dodged a wild, uncoordinated axe swing from a goblin while another one, appearing to sprout tiny bat wings, took flight to gain a height advantage over the soldier. At a moment's glance, Tay cocked his fist back and threw an explosive hook at the goblin that tried attacking him. With a ground-shaking, slimy *THUMP*, the goblin was sent flying off into the distance the very second the soldier's fist connected with its face, bulleting past Shantae and crashing into the stony wall behind her before vanishing into smoke. The goblin in the air, wasting no time to counterattack, pounded the moss-covered ground directly beneath it. With a mighty *BOOM*, the creature sent out a visible shockwave that traveled fast enough to strike Tay's feet before he could react.

"Kwagh!" Tay grunted in a sudden burst of agony, the shockwave bringing him to a knee. At that moment, a boar tried attacking him from behind while he was down. Never a quitter in a dire situation, Tay took a deep breath to keep his composure and swung the chain mace at the animal, bludgeoning it across the jaw and knocking its lights out with a horrifying metallic *PWANG* that even made ME cringe with how nasty the sound was… a-anyway, the goblin that previously caught our resident 'alien' soldier by surprise attempted to charge at him, longsword drawn in hopes to impale him. Tay, quick on the draw, stood and juked the barbaric monster, though its blade scraped his arm as it dashed past him.

"Ow…! You…!" he rasped, furious that he took more damage from the same creature as he was brought back to a kneeling position, clutching his arm. However, the ogre wasn't finished. The opposing creature turned around, immediately roaring and charging at Tay with its blade held high over its head with one of its clammy green hands. The Viking monster aimed to butcher the soldier with a single overhead slash. Seeing this, Tay quickly rose to his feet, dashing forward and catching the goblin by its wrist with one hand as it tried swinging its sword downward to hack at him. "It's about time you took a LONG nap…!" he remarked, sneering with an unprecedented fiery wrath. The enraged fledgling adventurer took a step back and yanked the goblin forward, drawing it close as he cocked his fist back again.

"HaaaaaRAAHH!" He roared at the top of his lungs as he dug his back foot firmly into the wood-riddled dirt to channel a mountainous heap of strength into his next move. In a flash, he released a full-power uppercut aimed squarely at the goblin's unguarded chin. With another jaw-busting *CRACK* loud enough that one might've heard glass breaking upon impact, Tayshan launched the goblin high enough and hard enough for it to break through an enormous tree branch at least ten feet above him before colliding with another one slightly higher and disappearing on impact. Chunks of wood rained from above as the branch came crashing down, crushing two more Viking creatures under it and vanquishing them. Far more astonished than he was proud, he gawked at the scene before him as the remaining goblins halted their assault. He observed the part of the tree where the branch was snapped, then looked at his hand, evidently unaware of how he managed to launch anyone (or anyTHING) that high with a single punch.

"Wow…" he muttered as he flexed his fingers, though he would get no more time to marvel at his accomplishment. Another wave of goblins and boars came rushing in, causing him to hastily look for his partner, who'd been busy fending off a separate team of the malicious creatures. "Uh-oh…" he murmured, dashing into the fray to help her out. As he approached his comrade, he clobbered another boar over the head with the Morning Star while it was distracted, in addition to slamming the mace into the chests of two goblins, one of which he thrust kicked in the face to dispatch it, causing it to hurtle through the air into a nearby bush. Soon after, he reached Shantae, who'd been breathing as heavily as he was. "You doin' alright, homegirl?"

"We need to get away," Shantae warned through labored breaths. "These goblins and pig monsters are coming in one after the other, and we need to get a move on with finding that Tinkerbat if it's still here."

"That's a good idea," he agreed as the two backed up toward a nearby moss-covered stone wall with a vine hanging conveniently near it. "Any way you think we can get outta here?"

"If we can get over this wall near us, we'll be able to escape," she advised, looking closely at the vine to see that it stretched far beyond the height of the wall and was close enough to where she could jump off to land atop the rock formation. "We can climb this vine to get up there. You go first. I'll cover you."

"Whoa, are you sure? These things are givin' us both a run for our money…"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'd prefer that you be safe than risk you getting overwhelmed. I've dealt with these goblins before, so I know how to keep them busy."

"Roger. You're absolutely sure about this, though?"

"There's no time! Just go!" she sternly ordered as the goblins came running toward her, weapons drawn. She quickly charged another couple of fireballs, launching each of them at the encroaching enemies to keep them at bay as she whipped her hair to stall one more of them. Tay, though reluctant to leave her in harm's way, trusted Shantae's judgment and jumped grabbed the vine, quickly wrapping the appendage around his feet before clamping it between them. He tugged it hard to test its durability, to which he noted that it was just as sturdy—if not sturdier—than rope, though its texture was sticky and slimy.

"Here goes nothin'…!" he murmured as he took a deep breath. Wasting no additional time, he climbed up the hanging plant with a burst of strength, pulling himself up solely with his arms as he kept his legs lifted upward and straightened out in front of him. In a few quick, coordinated strokes upward, Tay reached high enough on the vine to where he merely needed to jump over to land atop the rocky wall. Just before doing so, he peered down to note that Shantae was already on her way up, clinging to the vine with her hands and knees as she shimmied her way up. Assured that she was safe, he gathered some momentum and motioned the vine toward the cliff beside him before hopping off it and landing safely on top of the wall. Soon after, he crouched, reaching down for Shantae, who gratefully grabbed his hand once she climbed high enough to do so. With a strong tug, he hoisted his teammate up, ascertaining that the two were safe from harm as the goblins and boars suddenly gave up their hunt and marched off.

"Wow, Tay… you got up here quick!" Shantae remarked in complete surprise. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone climb a rope or vine that fast! Heck, I've never moved that fast!"

"That was nothin'," Tay bashfully remarked with a flick of his hand. "It's simple rope-climbing technique I learned in gymnastics."

"I'm still impressed. You must be super strong to pull yourself up here like that! Speaking of which, I saw what you did to some of those goblins and hogs back there…" she further commented, referring to their battle moments earlier.

"Did… I do somethin' wrong?"

"No, just the opposite! You totally decimated a couple of them just by punching them once!" she cheered, evidently a fan of her comrade's strength. "I was completely shocked by the one you sent flying into the wall, but when you knocked that other one so high up that it crashed through that tree branch? I almost lost my focus! That was so awesome! On top of that, you swept through a ton of them without even needing my help! You're incredible!"

"Shantae, come on…" he sheepishly rebutted, raising his hands in front of his chest as he gestured to stop her from complimenting him, though he did still find himself astounded by his own feats. "I-it's nothin', really. Those goblins ain't a thing on their own. One or two hits each, an' they were down. I'm sure you know that already. I'm still surprised I hit that one hard enough t' even send it that high, much less break a tree branch. I was only aimin' t' knock it out. They must be weak or somethin'. I mean, why else would so many of 'em struggle so much against just the two of us? Plus, you said this was the easy part, right?"

"Yeah, but not a lot of people can handle even that! I won't lie, Tay, I had my doubts about bringing you along, but you're doing such a fantastic job so far!" At Shantae's comment, Tay frowned in disappointment.

"Oh… thanks, I guess…" he glumly commented, a tad put off as he recognized Shantae's comment as patronizing. Reading this, she hastily covered her mouth with a hand as she realized what she said.

"Sorry… That… that wasn't what I meant," she explained. "I meant that I wasn't sure of how you'd handle all the dangerous environments and monsters I usually deal with… like, I wasn't sure if you'd be scared or nervous; not if you were good enough to team up with me…"

"Still stings all the same, homegirl," he shot back, causing her to lower her head. "I get it though… As far as you're concerned, I'm unproven, no?"

"Hm?" she responded, perking up in curiosity.

"You're not wrong t' doubt me, is what I'm sayin'," he clarified, tilting his head and sighing. "We still barely know each other, an' yet, here I am, jumpin' in the middle o' your heroic duties without a resume or even a reliable referral from somebody you can trust. It makes sense that you wouldn't really be confident in the abilities of somebody you just met, no matter what I tell you about my history."

"Well… yeah," she reluctantly agreed, though Tay made no reaction to her comment. "I guess you're right about that. Still, I… I shouldn't have put it like that. If anything, I would've waited until we were more comfortable with each other to admit something like that to you…"

"No harm done, Shantae. It's cool. If anything, I'm kinda relieved t' hear it from you now."

"What? Why?"

"Because it lets me know two things: One, that we're at least comfortable enough t' be honest with each other. And two, I know now that I have t' EARN your trust rather than have it granted t' me, even after our friendly talks. You can guarantee I'll earn it, too."

"Hm… You're… something else, Tay…" she uncertainly commented, scratching her head, though she still felt a pang of guilt for letting it slip that she initially had low expectations of him. "Still… you already earned my trust," she further admitted, surprising him greatly. "We've talked about so much already since we met that I'd be crazy to say I don't trust you after what we shared about ourselves."

"Yeah, that's true… Though, if you don't mind me sayin' it, I've only earned your trust as a friend, when you put it that way. I still have t' prove t' you that I'm capable of handlin' myself in the middle of a fight; especially when I'm not even fully-equipped like I should be."

"Tay, don't be silly!" she dismissed. "I just watched you clobber your way through a horde of armored, axe-and-sword-swinging goblins and aggressive feral boars, and then climb up a vine faster than even I can unless I'm in my monkey form; after you ran through Scuttle Town's outskirts with me, scaling dilapidated marble columns hanging over perilous death pits while fending off the monsters there. Plus, the only thing on you right now is Bolo's chain mace. You're doing fine, believe me."

"If you say so, but I will tell you I'm just gettin' started," he shot back, itching to prove himself to her. "You said yourself that this is just the tip o' the iceberg, so I still don't feel like I've done enough."

"Understandable… In that case, I guess we'll see what you're really capable of when we have our first Boss Battle."

"Boss Battle, huh?" he rhetorically asked, having long-since internalized the game-related terminology for the adventure he and his ally embarked on. "I almost can't wait t' see what one o' those is like…"

"Trust me, you're gonna see exactly why you should always be on your A-game. I don't know when it'll happen, though, so you'll just have to believe it until we actually encounter a boss."

"Noted," he agreed as the two strolled across the rock and studied what awaited them ahead. Before much could be seen, a question popped up in the soldier's mind. "Hey, before we go on… what was up with your friend back there?"

"Oh, you mean Bolo? What would you like to know about him?"

"Why he was so adamant that I was workin' for Risky Boots, for one thing."

"Knowing him, he was in his 'hero' mode again and decided he was going to jump in right away to solve a problem he found all on his own. Of course, it probably doesn't help that you took his Morning Star from him instead of explaining to him that you weren't evil…"

"That's true. Well… I should probably say sorry that I stole this mace off him instead of explainin' what was goin' on…"

"Yeah," she agreed. "When we're done here, we'll go find him and explain the situation. I know you didn't mean to take it from him, and you're making good use of it, but I was actually going to ask you why you took it in the first place."

"I figured that I'd need SOME kind o' weapon t' defend myself with," he reasoned. "This definitely wouldn't be my first choice if I had one… Plus, I might've kinda lost my patience when he accused me of workin' with Risky Boots without givin' me a chance t' explain myself."

"On that, I'll apologize on his behalf," she offered. "Bolo's one of my best friends, but he's been on this kick of trying to prove himself to me as a suitable tag partner for my adventures. As soon as the call of duty makes itself apparent, he's literally the first one to go in and try to either fix the problem on his own or tell me I should rely on him to get the job done. I mean, amongst a long laundry list of other things, he tried to fight you without warning and told me to stand back like you were holding me hostage or something. He can be sort of—no, VERY impulsive. He's always been like that."

"Word… Well, I hope we do eventually cross paths again. I'm surprised he ain't here with us right now."

"So am I… But without his mace, he wouldn't be able to get through this level. I mean, take a look ahead…" she instructed, prompting her partner to examine the next part just ahead. In their view was what seemed to be a miniature valley, steeply dipping low into a lake of bushes, tree roots, and giant, ridged slate-gray boulders. This dip was rife with smaller, mossier rock platforms and three separate bottomless pits spread across, though one could only tell the pits were there by the faint clouds of skulls and crossbones billowing from specific patches of lush, leafy foliage that almost completely concealed them. Also noticeable were the apparent presence of a group of tiny cobalt raccoons scurrying about in the bushes below. Above such a convoluted combination of traps and pitfalls were four stationary golden rings, floating over the mini valley at just the right distances where someone with the right skillset would be able to jump from them to skip the valley altogether to land on the next rock wall and advance to the next section.

"I see…" Tay remarked, sighing with anticipation, as he was going to have to figure out how to conquer this next arduous challenge. "Looks like we might REALLY want to avoid the forest floor down there. What are those blue raccoons, though?"

"If we're lucky, they're just raccoons," Shantae answered, seeming to be developing a premonition, though she was uncertain of if it was correct as she studied the furry, oddly-colored creature from above. It was only identifiable by the ears and two-tone striped tail it possessed.

"An' if we ain't?"

"Then we'll have our hands fuller than we thought," she warned. "I'm usually one to go down there and investigate, but we've been held up enough already. I'd rather we find that Tinkerbat as soon as we can. What do you think?"

"Hey, I'm all for prioritizin', but uh… we probably shouldn't leave any stones unturned," he surmised, scratching his head. "If nothin' else, you could maybe burn one o' the bushes an' see what comes out o' hiding?"

"No… I don't want to harm an innocent animal in the case that it really is just a raccoon."

"Good point… Okay, how about you… throw a rock at one o' the raccoons an' see if it scurries off?" he suggested, finding two rocks, each one rivaling his fist in their size nearby. He picked them up, testing them for their density and weight.

"Hmm… That MIGHT work…"

"Here, let's both throw a rock at the same one. Two of 'em are bound t' scare it outta the bushes," he further suggested, handing his partner one of them.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, taking the thick, round stone and cocking her arm back to aim at the nearest blue raccoon-like creature. Tay mirrored her motion, readying himself to strike.

"Okay, on three… One… Two… Three!" he counted, launching the fist-sized stone at the animal. Shantae, following the count, cast her stone at the exact same moment. After what felt like a full minute, the rocks eventually collided with their intended target. With a couple of jarring *THUMPs*, a portly, pale orange-skinned man garbed in a rather eccentric uniform consisting of a blue trench coat, tan pants, green goggles, and a goofy raccoon-themed hat, screamed in pain as he was sent flying and flipping away into one of the bottomless pits. The instant the enigmatic blue-garbed man fell into the pit, he exploded in a puff of smoke.

"Shoot! Just as Bolo said, Ammonian soldiers are here, too. That's no good," Shantae complained, apparently confirming her hunch about the raccoon not actually being a raccoon.

"Is that why that one just exploded into a cloud o' smoke? Shoot, we can't breathe that stuff in, or it'll kill us…" he presumed, unaware of the heroine's meaning.

"No, no, Tayshan… AMMONIAN soldiers. Not ammonia. They're guys who work for Ammo Baron. They're called Ammonian soldiers. Also, what you just saw there was what happens every time most bad guys are defeated. You saw it a bunch of times earlier," she corrected. "I assure you, the smoke is just for dramatic effect."

"Ohh, right. I see… An' here I was, thinkin' we'd be dealin' with them at some other point… though, if that guy could be taken down with just a couple rocks, how much of a threat can the rest of 'em really be?"

"Enough that you'll want to keep your guard up, Tay. We were lucky this time because we caught that one by surprise. Who knows what his buddies are plotting down there… We won't find out, whatever it is. All we have to do is make it to the other side using these floating rings. Although…" she trailed off as she observed, looking upward to spot a group of three red-garbed black figures floating into view from the woodsy foliage above, each of them wearing what looked like helicopter propeller-adorned backpacks. The creatures, unmistakably identified as Tinkerbats, wielded standard flintlock pistols. They appeared to be searching for someone or something, as they had not immediately taken notice of the duo. "Over here, Tay…! Quick…!" Shantae warned as she hastily grabbed Tayshan's hand, leading him to a nearby bush, in which they both ducked for cover. The rustling of the giant leafy shrub appeared to attract some attention, as the Tinkerbats began surveying the area around them.

"Looks like they're lookin' for somethin'," Tay observantly whispered as he and Shantae crouched in the bush, staying completely still to avoid detection.

"Yeah… I can't imagine what, though," Shantae concurred, studiously watching the pirate minions as they continued scouring the vicinity from the air. Suddenly, a series of rapid *BANG* noises, undoubtedly gunshots, rang out, splitting the air. In a matter of a few seconds, a relentless barrage of glowing marbles ripped into one Tinkerbat from below, damaging its flight equipment and sending it barreling into a series of dark, mossy tree trunks before it suddenly disappeared with a distant *POOF* of smoke. The remaining henchmen quickly identified the source of the gunfire and began firing their guns downward, commencing some sort of territorial skirmish. From the bushes in the trench below, the Ammonian soldiers rose from their cover, bayonet-adorned rifles drawn as they unloaded a spray of high-speed pellets. The pellets raced by, narrowly missing the Tinkerbats as they weaved in midair to dodge the incoming fire. One Tinkerbat responded by pulling out a dark gray metal canister, ripping out a pin, and tossing it into the trench. The other Tinkerbat followed suit, throwing another metal canister into the long, narrow ditch.

"Incendiaries…? Oh, no…!" Tay worriedly commented, evidently recognizing the weapon used by the Tinkerbats. He was overcome with an urge to intervene and dispose of Risky's thieving minions, though he realized that he had no way to protect himself or eliminate them from afar.

"Incendiaries? What are those?" Shantae asked, though by the time she uttered her question, the foliage within the ditch was set ablaze with a hissing noise coming from the crevice. Within seconds, towering flames engulfed the entirety of the lower passage, eliminating the remaining Ammonian soldiers, who had no way of escaping the burgeoning flames. "Oh my gosh…! They just burned those soldiers alive…!" she remarked in horror and anger as she watched on.

"Usin' weapons from my dimension…!" Tay added in a combination of moderate concern and unmistakable displeasure, though his statement alarmed his partner further. Nonetheless, they watched on as they contemplated acting to stop Risky's minions from doing further damage. However, they each were aware of the odds they faced. How would they manage to defeat the airborne henchmen with next to nothing in the way of options for defeating them unless they could get close? Did the Tinkerbats have more weapons from Tayshan's home planet? How would our heroes put out the fire in the trench?

The thick, murky clouds of smoke billowing from the raging inferno below all but shrouded the immediate vicinity. The fire seemed not to be spreading outside of the trench due to its perimeter being composed entirely of the same damp, fire-resistant mud that thankfully coated the forest floor. Although, would it be safe to simply let the fire run its course? As they thought long and hard on what to do, the Tinkerbats ascended through the thick, tree branch-composed ceiling above, evidently having finished their business. Seeing this, Shantae and Tayshan arose from their cover, collectively troubled by what they'd just witnessed. The duo examined the all-consuming blaze in the pit below, covering their mouths and noses to keep from breathing in the fumes, though the fire appeared to be dying down on its own.

"I can't believe they'd do something this careless," Shantae complained, appalled by the Tinkerbats' total disregard for nature. "Neither they, nor Risky will get away!" she vowed, her determination fueled like the roasting shrubbery that sustained the forest fire before them. "Still, what were those things they used to do this? They didn't look anything like the fire bombs they normally have…"

"Those were incendiary grenades," Tay explained. "Thermite, t' be exact."

"Thermite?" the reasonably-confused young lady asked, never hearing the term previously.

"A mixture primarily made of iron oxide an' aluminum powder."

"And… what's iron oxide?"

"Basically rust, like you would see on an old pipe or corroded metal, but it's in the form o' powder. Aluminum powder is just aluminum in powder form."

"Ohhh… So, those canisters the Tinkerbats threw…?"

"They were basically packed with Thermite, with some additives mixed into it t' make the fire spread across the bushes easier. They're typically designed t' disable or at least damage vehicles or render enemy hidin' spots unusable. When activated, the mixture burns at about 3,000 degrees, settin' fire t' whatever it touches, but once the catalyst is gone, the fire typically dies out on its own, too. Those Tinkerbats grossly misused them, carelessly tossin' 'em down t' burn those guys down there without givin' 'em a chance…! An' look what they left behind…" he ranted, examining the burning ditch as the embers eventually died out, essentially leaving a smoldering crater filled with charred, blackened remnants of vegetation. The smoke from the otherworldly devices maintained its presence, coating the area in a surrounding cloud.

"Terrible… Though, I have to wonder why Tinkerbats are fighting Ammonian soldiers out here in the first place…" she pondered. "I can't imagine for what reason Risky Boots and Ammo Baron would suddenly go to war with each other now… or even why all those goblins and boars were all grouped up near the entrance of the forest."

"Do you think maybe the Ammo Baron caught wind o' Risky's sudden increase in firearms an' now they're squabblin' over that? An' that maybe those goblin things were forced in some way or another t' stay out of the fight?"

"I wholeheartedly agree with that idea regarding the goblins," she concurred with a nod. "They naturally live here, so having such a disturbance in their habitat would cause them to disperse and try to defend it from other intruders. As for the chances of Ammo Baron hearing about your weapons this soon… I wouldn't think so… I mean, I hope not. There's no way Risky would be THAT hasty that she would suddenly make herself known right off the bat unless she had something else up her sleeve. I don't know what she'd gain out of locking horns with Ammo Baron."

"True. I don't know either of 'em too well now, but I would think she'd lay low for a bit after the heist she pulled. Granted, a couple Thermite grenades aren't huge reveals, but who knows what else they're packin' if there are more Tinkerbats in here… But then, none o' them had a gun that looked like it belonged to the arsenal she stole, so there HAS t' be more of 'em…"

"I'm not sure either… It's still too soon to speculate just yet. Anyway, we'd better get a move on before they cause any more trouble here," Shantae urged, her concern for Scuttle Town's safety growing exponentially. "Do you think you'll be able to use Bolo's mace to latch onto the rings, Tay?"

"Latch onto the… What? You mean use this thing as a grapplin' hook or somethin'?" he asked, understandably bewildered by her question. "This thing ain't anywhere near long enough, even if I knew what you meant."

"Yeah. Don't ask me how, though. Bolo showed me how he did it once, but I never got the chance to figure it out. I only know but so much, but I at least understand that it can extend when needed to cover longer distances to attack or cling to rings where you can swing from them. That should come in handy in situations like this."

"Really? Huh…" he nodded, eyeing the melee weapon up and down, though he noted nothing special about it. "Well, I don't think we got time t' try it, all things considered. Besides, I think I'd like t' investigate the area down there t' see if anything that hasn't been fried t' ashes is worth note down there."

"Are you sure about that? The smoke is still pretty heavy. I wouldn't recommend breathing it in."

"Good point," Tay concurred with a nod. "I've got just the idea…" he added, reaching for his chest and grabbing the collar of his tank top. With a firm tug, Tay took off his shirt as his partner watched, unsure of what he planned on doing. However, the serviceman's toned, bulky six-pack abs came into her line of view as he lifted his top. His torso glistened with a thin film of perspiration that gleamed like a mirror in the scattered beams of sunlight shining through the forest canopy. Caught by surprise, Shantae's eyes widened as she fixed her attention on her partner, unable to avert her gaze elsewhere. She'd seen guys with builds like his in the past, but seeing her friend up close, casually disrobing in front of her… It was 'interesting' in a certain sense. He certainly wasn't lying when he said he kept himself in shape. Tay, oblivious to the reaction he elicited from his tour guide, wrapped his tank top around his face, intending to use it as a makeshift mask. As he did so, however, he finally noticed his half-genie partner staring at him, her expression blank save for her widened eyes, slightly gaping mouth, and red-tinted cheeks.

"What?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious about the look she gave him. "I look silly, don't I?"

"No, no, you're fine," she quickly answered, immediately directing her eyes from his chest to his face. "I uh… wasn't expecting you to just… take your shirt off like that," she admitted with a nervous chuckle, her face heating up with surprise, batting her eyes away to avoid staring at him in his sweaty, ripped, brawny, half-nude form. She breathed a heavy sigh to dispel some of the pressure brought on by the masculine spectacle before her. This was certainly a new experience for her, by all accounts; even with having already seen her newest friend shirtless once.

"Oh. Well, I need somethin' t' filter out the smoke while I'm down there," he reasoned, still missing the point. "This tank top is all I've really got at the moment."

"R-right…" she sheepishly remarked, glancing at him to peek once more at the soldier's toned bare abdomen before batting her eyes away again, biting her lip and rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. If I didn't know better, I'd say our half-genie hero liked her boys similarly to how she liked her hair; in peak physical condition. But I digress.

"Uh… Is… there somethin' wrong? You seem bothered," Tayshan oh-so perceptively asked, finally taking note of his partner's nervous fidgeting. "I get it if it's weird I just ripped my shirt off without even-!"

"No, nothing's wrong!" she hurriedly bellowed, startling the half-naked soldier as she brought it in herself to look back at him. "Nothing at all! So, you're really sure about going down there to inspect for clues?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. I'll crouch low to avoid breathin' in too much smoke, an' make it quick as can be. Though, I'm gonna need your help gettin' up on the cliff on the other side, so far as I can tell. That said, maybe you can take the high road?"

"Good idea," she agreed. "I can keep watch for those Tinkerbats in case they come back, and it'll be faster to help you up once we're done," she further suggested as she took a deep breath, clasping her hands above her head. At a moment's glance, she closed her eyes and began swinging her hips as she stood in place. Again, the atmosphere changed, and the mysterious rhythmic beat returned, sounding in tune with each sway of the half-genie's hips as she seamlessly coordinated the rest of her body while she performed. Tay watched, captivated by Shantae's enigmatic dance number as she turned around to where her back was facing him. She began quickly gyrating her hips as she spread her hands while keeping them raised to the sky. Even viewed from behind, the incredible discipline in Shantae's technique shined bright. If one could make a semi-accurate comparison, it was like the genie girl's entire torso swayed and wavered like a snake while her hips rocked and wiggled like they had a mind all their own. Such a fascinating image nearly defied all description. Nonetheless, she tightened her focus, aiming to concentrate her magic. Tayshan, awestruck by the professional dancer's skills (and maybe just a bit more), stood still, studying her every hip swivel, wondering what she would do next. Before long, however…

"Transform!" Shantae announced, striking a finishing pose. With a smoky *POOF*, she switched into Monkey form once more, turning back to her mesmerized friend after doing so. "Still surprised to see me do that, hm?" she asked with a cheerful grin, prompting him to snap out of his trance. She greatly enjoyed seeing his star-struck reaction.

"Without a doubt," he admitted, clearing his throat as his eyes darted elsewhere momentarily. "Are you ready, though?"

"Whenever you are. Though, I could use some help getting up to the rings there. They're pretty high up, and the smoke hasn't cleared enough for me to see that well from here…"

"In that case, are you sure this form will do it for you?" Tay asked, slightly concerned. "You said you could turn into other types of animals, no?"

"Yeah, but none that could help more than my Monkey form. I'd have picked a different one to simply fly across, but going Monkey gives me the most mobility in the case that there are still Tinkerbats or Ammonian soldiers hiding out somewhere," she matter-of-factly explained.

"Oh, sure, no problem," he understood, walking over and allowing Monkey-Shantae to climb onto his hands. "Wow, you sure are light in this form. It's almost like I was holdin' a livin' breathin' plush toy…" he observed, noting quickly that in her current form, Monkey-Shantae appeared to be only marginally bigger than a human infant in size, but about as light as a regulation-sized football.

"Aw, thanks!" she accepted, misreading his observation as a compliment.

"Uh… Y-you're welcome? Er, anyway, what's the plan?"

"I want you to throw me high enough to where I can latch onto one of the floating rings. From there, I can try to keep watch and warn you of anything coming up. The smoke is in the way, but I think I can manage in short bursts."

"How will you deal with the smoke gettin' in your eyes an' airways, though?"

"I'll hold my breath and hop across as quickly as I can to keep watch safely from the other side. I won't be hanging onto the rings for very long. I just need the mobility this form provides me, and those rings will help me much more than flying across as a bat or a harpy would. Without explaining too much, the flight capabilities in those forms are far from perfect, but those are the only two I have that allow me to fly. One's too slow and I can't move anywhere but back and forward; as in, I can't move up or down in any way. The other one, I have a lot of trouble maintaining a balance between staying airborne and dodging traps or enemy fire. It kinda makes me an easy target if I'm not careful. Plus, that form makes me bigger instead of smaller like this one. It's a bit haphazard, but I'll have to show you what I mean later."

"Fair enough," he concurred, allowing the simian girl to lie prone in one of his hands, arms and legs outstretched to prepare herself. "Okay, so as soon as I throw you, I'll jump down with this mace, an' do a quick survey. In the case there are more o' those guys down here, neither of us needs t' be vulnerable for too long. Once I reach the other side, you help me up onto the hill over there. Sound good?"

"Roger," Shantae affirmed, smirking with determination. With that, Tay tightened his grip on his primate-formed partner as though she were an animated furry rugby ball. The soldier concentrated as he attempted to lock onto the first of the four floating golden rings mysteriously hanging over the pit. He could barely make out the image of the levitating circular metal object, but once he had his target, he cocked his throwing arm back as he put down the mace to stretch his other arm out to maintain his aim. He took three steps back to give himself space on the ledge, tensing his throwing arm to build up strength. "Let 'er rip, Tay!" Shantae commanded. With a deep, heavy breath, Tay hopped forward, jutting his hip forward and following through with his upper torso.

"Hyah!" he shouted as he launched Shantae through the air like a javelin, quickly grabbing the mace after throwing her and hopping into the trench below to scour the scorched foliage for any valuable items of interest. Had he paid attention, however, he would've noticed that he threw his partner at too sharp an angle as she flew over the rings by a wide margin.

"Waaaaah!" Shantae helplessly yelled, hurtling through the cloud of smoke and far over the rings she was supposed to be hanging from, as though she were thrown for a buzzer-beating basket. With all the style and grace of a brick through a window, Shantae plopped hard onto the ledge all the way on the other side, sliding and rolling across the earthen ground like a hockey puck. Suffice to say, her touchdown was not a pleasant one. She was slow to recover from the grand slam of an impact with the rocks and dirt, involuntarily changing back to human form in a disoriented daze… Ugh, any more of these corny sports references, and I swear I'm gonna foul out for stealing bases to score a field goal and break a deuce… o-or something. In a nutshell, however, it appeared Shantae was down for the count… Oh lord, that was another one! No!

Anyway, Tay moved with undeniable urgency. Using the Morning Star as a specialized weed trimmer, he swatted away piles of blackened sticks and leaves as he attempted to sift through smoky trench for anything that might benefit him and Shantae on their quest. He had little time to work with, however, as the pungent fumes and the billowing smoke were only minimally deterred from entering his airways as their presence remained strong. Ducking low and resisting the urge to cough up a storm, the impromptu scavenger diligently cut his way through, noticing quickly that there were wide, deep splits in the ground that, thanks to the flames generated from the Thermite Grenades, were no longer hidden by thick, leafy bushes and vines. He cleared the mini pits with ease, though he was tempted to look down to find out if maybe there were Ammonian soldiers in need of help or lying in wait to attack him.

Unfortunately (depending on the circumstance), he found no traces of them, save for one of their raccoon-themed hats and a bright, shining red heart the size of his hand floating just above the ground where one of the orange-skinned men hid. Finding it worth note, he picked the heart up and kept it secure in one hand while leaving the hat in its place. In a matter of a minute or so, he finished up cutting through the perilous smoldering ditch, making it through to the other side. However, he noticed an extended lapse in the presence of his partner, who'd said nothing to him at all since he climbed down. He wondered if she was okay or if she was occupied.

"Shantae!" he called, looking directly up, though he did not get a reply. "Hey! I'm finished! Can you help me up?" he shouted again. Once more, no answer. As one might expect when multiple calls go unanswered, Tay quickly became worried. He had no vine from which to climb up to the ledge this time, and the wall in front of him was too smooth and steep for him to attempt scaling. Unless he sprouted wings, he had no conventional way to ascend out of the trench. "Shantae!" he shouted again, though she still did not answer. "What happened up there…?" he murmured, thinking of a way to get himself out of this trench, fearing the worst. Unless he found some creative way to magically whisk himself out of the ditch, he was stuck like used chewing gum under a school desk. Although, he examined his weapon and suddenly recalled an important bit of information.

"She said somethin' about bein' able t' use this mace thing t' latch onto the rings up above…" he pondered, peering upward to notice the fourth ring above him, despite the smoke. If Shantae was right, he could use it to climb out of the smoke-laden underpass before he succumbed to the toxic, cloudy fumes. However, he noted that the mace appeared to be way too short to reach them from his position. Conversely, she DID mention that it could somehow extend when need be. The bits of knowledge bestowed upon him about this chain mace only further confused him, but he realized he was low on options and lower on time. "Whatever way this thing is supposed t' work, I'd better make it work fast…" he muttered, his heart pounding as the effectiveness of his makeshift mask diminished. With that, he began twirling the chain mace, though he examined it to see no magic button or compartment from which more chain links would emerge to extend the reach of the weapon. With nothing else to go on, he took a deep breath and mentally hoped to the high heavens that something would give.

"Here goes nothin'…!" he remarked, bracing himself for anything as he, with a strong swing, flung the mace upward. Miraculously, the mace extended far beyond what Tay could've ever expected, wrapping around and latching onto the ring as though it had a mind of its own. "Huh… Neat. Now how do I…?" he contemplated, tugging on the handle of the multi-purposed weapon to see what it would do. Suddenly, the chain began to slowly retract upward, prompting Tay to hastily stuff the strange, bubbly heart item into his pocket, where it seemed to magically disappear. He firmly grasped the Morning Star with both hands, the makeshift grappling device lifting him into the air without any sign of its hold on the ring loosening. In a moment, he found himself hanging slightly higher than the edge of the platform ahead. However, the ring from which he dangled was far enough away that he wouldn't be able to simply reach his feet over and try to climb aboard. He also noticed Shantae, back in human form, sitting and rotating her head as though she'd been fighting to stay awake. He could've sworn he'd seen tiny yellow stars orbiting around her head, she appeared so dazed.

"Shantae!" Tayshan called, hanging onto the chain mace for dear life as he remained suspended in midair. He had no idea why she seemed injured, which caused him to worry that she might've been attacked while he swept through the trench. Shantae failed to respond right away, further concerning him. "Hey! Homegirl! You good!? Wake up!"

"Huh…?" Shantae groaned, shaking her head and blinking her eyes to snap herself out of her disoriented stupor as she came to. Hearing the frantic shouts of her friend, she turned and took in the view of her extraterrestrial partner clutching onto his stolen chain mace while trying to keep from breathing in a sample of the thick, enshrouding smoke. His shirt was still tied around his face, but it appeared the article of clothing only did but so much, as he began coughing while trying to maintain his grip. Piecing together the image of a friend in desperate need of assistance, Shantae drew in a dramatic gasp. "Oh, no! Tay! Here I come!" she urgently shouted, picking herself up and running toward the edge of the grassy platform. "You got the chain mace to work! Awesome!"

"Yeah, sure, just… tell me how…!" Tay tried to urge through a fit of coughing, the smoke having already entered his airways.

"Build momentum and swing yourself over!" She instructed, recalling what little Bolo told her about how his trusty weapon worked. "I'll catch you if you wind up falling short, but you'll need to focus!" Tay, just about ready to do anything to get out of this predicament, tried his best to cease his coughing fit, though he was only barely able to do so. The incessant itch in his esophagus proved difficult to suppress. He cleared his throat as best as he could, biting down on the tank top and drawing in as much filtered air as he could through his mouth. Once he sucked in enough air, he held his breath. Following Shantae's instructions, he began kicking his legs back and forth, holding the mace firmly to avoid losing his grip.

"Just like that, Tay! Make sure you build enough to make your jump a high one!" she encouraged, further motivating her friend. Tayshan poured as much energy as he could into powering up his swing, eventually building up enough to where he was almost able to whirl a full 360 degrees. "Okay, that's perfect! Now, I'll try to explain it the way Bolo told me. When you're about to swing forward, pull on the mace and throw your entire body forward! Don't hesitate for even a second!" Hearing Shantae loud and clear, Tay tightened his focus, though he was quickly running out of breath. He strained to keep himself from releasing the remaining air in his lungs, realizing that if he exhaled too soon, he'd wind up drawing in a heavy dose of smoke while he swung. Placing his faith in his partner's advice and his own acrobatic ability, Tay made one final full-motion, momentum-fueled swing. As Shantae instructed, he pulled downward on the mace as he was swinging upward, causing the weapon to dislodge from the ring.

From there, everything seemed to move in bullet time. Tay was entirely in midair, careering toward the ledge Shantae was standing on. Shantae, certifiably anxious about the fate of her ally in this pulse-pounding dilemma, held her hands out in the case that he missed his mark. The soldier's focus was entirely channeled toward clearing the intimidating smoky gap. He had no time at all to think about what would happen if he missed. His thought process became a jumbled mess of what-ifs and how-to's that blended into a perfect mental storm of panic and anxiety.

After what felt like an hour's worth of time, Tay began to descend. However, it was immediately apparent that he might not land on his feet, though he was still far above the ledge itself. Instinctively, he leaned toward the ledge to try and catch it, hoping he wouldn't slip. Shantae, also watching every tense, heart-wrenching second of Tay's last-second trapeze act, stood closer to the edge, ready to catch him in the case that he missed his landing.

Then, the moment of truth arrived. As he approached the ledge from the air, Tay stretched out his hands to try and catch the edge or Shantae's hands. With a painful *THUMP*, the soldier plopped onto the grassy, rocky cliff, the impact mostly reverberating through his chest as the Morning Star was flung forward. The turbulent crash landing nearly knocked the wind out of the endangered young man. The weapon found its resting place in a patch of grass out of his reach. Without even a millisecond of hesitation, Tay dug his hands into the ground, as his entire lower body was still dangling over the edge of the cliff.

"I've got you!" Shantae quickly rushed to the man's aid, grabbing him by one arm with both her hands. She pulled with all her might to at least provide him some leverage. "Just pull yourself up! I won't let you go!" she commanded. Needing no further prompt, Tayshan found solid footing on the cliffside as he squeezed onto Shantae's hands with one hand and dug his fingers into the warm, damp, mushy, grassy ground with the other.

"Haaaap!" Tay grunted with considerable effort, climbing upward and onto the ledge. With much help from his half-genie ally, he pulled himself all the way up, crawling a few paces forward to ascertain that he was 100% on the ledge before letting loose a fit of violent hacking and coughing. He was finally able to breathe clean air, at least. Although, the damp, musky humidity of the forest's atmosphere prevented him from fully enjoying the experience. Shantae, concerned for her fellow adventurer, took a knee by his side, removing the tank top from his face and patting him on the back to help him clear his airways. After a few minutes of Tayshan hacking up a lung, he regained enough of his composure to finally flip over and sit up, marveling at the third life-or-death situation he'd just found himself in.

"Are you okay, Tayshan?" Shantae asked with insurmountable concern for the soldier's wellbeing.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'll be okay," he assured, clearing his throat, though he couldn't get rid of the bitter, stinging aftertaste of smoke in the back of his throat. "That… was WAY too close for comfort…"

"I'll say… Still, you managed to pull through," she complimented. "I'm impressed!"

"Thanks," he acknowledged, though he wasn't necessarily looking for approval for his most recent stunt. "Are you okay, though? I saw you up here in a daze. Did some Tinkerbats or those blue guys get the drop on you?"

"No," she answered, momentarily reflecting on his question. "I was dizzy because you threw me way too far," she explained, alarming the young man as he instantly shot her an apologetic look. "I went flying way past all the rings and landed here… hard. The impact almost knocked me out cold."

"Oh…! Shoot, I'm so sorry!" he apologized, turning toward her in a panic. "I was so sure I hit the mark that I jumped down right after I threw you! I should've stayed up there an' made sure you actually landed on a ring before I charged in. That was such a rookie mistake, homegirl. I-I didn't mean t' hurt you. My bad…" he pleaded, convinced he'd made a bad impression on his heroic companion.

"It's okay, Tay," she assured, bringing herself to her feet and offering a hand to him. Without question, the soldier accepted as he took her hand, allowing her to pull him up to his feet. "If anything, I'm surprised yet again by how much raw power you pack," the half-genie further observed as she moved to pick up the shirt and the mace, handing them to her ally. "It just proves that those muscles of yours aren't just for show," she complimented, giggling to lighten the mood a bit. Taken by surprise as he slid his tank top back on, Tay smiled back, relieved that Shantae hadn't held any hard feelings for what he viewed as an egregious mistake on his part.

"I… I guess so…" he uncertainly replied, still slightly embarrassed. "Thank you for that, though. Still, if we have t' do that again, I'll try t' be a bit more coordinated. I don't wanna turn you into a human-genie rocket…" he joked with a nervous titter. At that, Shantae laughed with him, though she considered the implications.

"Y'know, my Monkey form has a special ability that, now that I think of it, would be great for a Team Attack if it were combined with your super strength," she suggested, letting her imagination carry her away. However, her suggestion caught her partner's attention. "And here I was, thinking you didn't have any superpowers!"

"I… don't have superpowers, though," he uncertainly countered. "Like we talked about before, I'm just a regular full-fledged human being. All I can say regardin' my strength is that I just built up a lot of it over the years since I started weight trainin' an' exercisin' t' stay in shape. Bein' in the military helped me immensely, too."

"Hmm… That makes sense, but… no ordinary human I've met could ever do the things you did in just the last hour or so," she argued, convinced that he had some form of special ability he possibly didn't know about. "Seriously, even with all your training, there's no way a normal human could be that strong. At least, not as far as I've ever seen. The only people with such impressive amounts of power that I'm aware of, are usually influenced by high amounts of Light or Dark Magic."

"In that case, I don't have a definite answer, because I don't have any magic abilities, either. Although, you might be onto somethin'."

"What do you mean?" she inquired, interested in his suggestion that he may have a clue.

"Thinkin' about it, somethin' about bein' here makes me feel… different. I don't know if it has t' do with the magic you mentioned, but there's somethin' about the atmosphere in this world that just comes off as… weird."

"Weird how?"

"As in… I feel… lighter on my feet, the air I'm breathin' feels clearer despite the heat an' humidity in this forest… an' the smoke… and… I feel like my whole body is just surgin' with a nonstop electric current. Call me crazy, but maybe it's somehow increasin' my normal strength by some unknown margin," he theorized, catching Shantae's full, undivided attention. "Otherwise, I don't think I'd have been able t' hit some of our enemies as hard as I did back there, amongst other things."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. That's bizarre t' say, I know, but it's like… now that I notice it, I feel strange. Not 'sick' strange, but just… strange," he confessed, worriedly examining his body for signs that he might've been falling ill.

"Strange how? Tell me!"

"For example, when we were beatin' up those goblins, I felt such a huge burst of energy the whole time that I hardly recognized myself; especially when I hit the one goblin so hard with that uppercut that I sent it crashin' through the tree branch way above it. I'm talkin' somethin' different from your average adrenaline rush."

"Interesting… I wonder if what Uncle said about your energy being different might have something to do with it, if it isn't magic. When we get a chance, we'll need to go back and ask him. Still, was that the only time you felt like that?" she asked, causing him to go silent in thought, gazing into the air as he cupped his chin with his hand. She was eager to hear his reply, figuring that she could help him identify the reasons behind his apparent increase in physical strength.

"Oddly enough… no," he answered, breaking the silence and further surprising his tour guide. "Now that I remember it, the same thing happened when I fought Risky Boots, too… Right at about the time we went through the portal, there was this sudden change I couldn't put my finger on. I was too busy fightin' her t' pay attention to it, though. At one point, she even said that I was holdin' back, even though I swore I was goin' full power the whole fight through. I've been havin' that same feelin' in seemingly-random spurts since I got here…"

"Y'know what? That sounds just like Super Sequin Man!" she gushed, a giddy smile creeping onto her face as she drew a rather hasty conclusion.

"Who?" Tay predictably asked, having no clue what she was talking about.

"Right, right, you wouldn't know who that is… That's the main hero in one of my comics," she explained. "He gained his superpowers because he was sent to a fictionalized version of Sequin Land from a different planet as a baby. The difference in atmospheric pressure mixed with his ability to absorb moonlight as lunar energy turned him into a superhero. If what you're saying is true, you just might have powers you don't realize yet, which would be totally awesome!" At that, the soldier chuckled, though she DID pique his interest.

"That's an interestin' theory. Now I'll be thinkin' about that…" he pondered, though he didn't want to get carried away in their current situation. There was little time to consider the WIDE range of possibilities regarding his current condition. "Maybe we can explore it later, when we go see your uncle again. Anyway, you mentioned a Team Attack?" he asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Yeah, I did. We can talk about that later, too. It's just an idea. For now, we continue investigating what's going on here," the determined heroine reminded, taking the lead as she pressed forward. "I do hope we figure out what you're feeling right now, though. I'm curious. Beside that, did you happen to find anything useful or interesting while you were down there in the trench?"

"I was rushin' t' get out, so I didn't pick up anything but this giant, shiny heart thing," he answered, pulling the aforementioned object from his pocket. "If I didn't know better, then I'd say this thing would heal you?" he asked, still internalizing the video game-related logic this world appeared to follow.

"Hit the nail on the head there, Tay," she confirmed, despite being mildly surprised. "Though, it's strange that you're able to hold it without it activating for you."

"What, is it supposed t' instantly heal me as soon as I touch it?"

"Unless you're at full health, then yeah," she answered, cupping her chin in thought as she studied the supposed healing item. "You definitely took at least some damage back there, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a lot. I feel fine, minus the smoky aftertaste in my throat, though. I'm not sore or anything, either. Shoot, one o' those goblins even cut my arm with its sword back there, an' I don't even see a mark," he mused, examining his arm for damage sustained in his previous battle.

"Interesting… Here, let me see that," Shantae requested, gesturing for the heart-shaped object. Tay complied, handing it to her. The second she touched it, the heart popped like a bubble, making a mysterious *GLUG* noise. Shantae was fully healed in a flash, any damage she sustained from their previous battle (and her unceremonious soldier-powered flight) totally undone. "Oops… Sorry, Tay," she apologized, afraid that she stole a much-needed health boost from her friend.

"It's… okay?" he cautiously forgave, though he found himself befuddled by what he'd just witnessed. "I… I don't even know what happened. Did… you wind up bein' healed or somethin'?"

"Yeah, I'm back at full health. These hearts are supposed to restore your health meter by certain amounts, depending on the size of them. That one was a large one, so it healed me completely. Yet, when you held it, it didn't do anything for you at all."

"Weird… I mean, I still don't understand completely, but if I'm followin', it was supposed t' work like that steak you gave me, right? Minus havin' t' actually EAT that thing t' gain its effects?"

"Yeah. I wonder if that means certain power-ups will be exclusive to me, while others are exclusive to you. We at least know that food items work for both of us, but without that HUD Monitor, we don't even know how much health you have."

"Hey, your guess is as good as mine," Tayshan shrugged while Shantae momentarily lost herself in thought. "Like I said, I took some hits here an' there, but I still feel fine. I'm not even tired from all the runnin', jumpin', an' fightin' we just did."

"Really? Wow… I wonder if that's also because you're from a different planet…?" she continued to wonder. However, she shook her head to refocus before too much time elapsed. "We'll figure it out soon. I'm sure of it. For now, let's keep moving!"

"Copy that," Tay agreed without argument, following the half-genie deeper into the humid, bushy forest. The two made their way to the next section, where they were immediately met with squads of Tinkerbats and blue-coated, raccoon-hatted soldiers squabbling amongst one another in a wide, stony clearing littered with tree branches, muddy puddles of water, and leaves. Shantae held a hand out to stop Tay from charging in as the two remained hidden a safe distance away from all the action.

"More of them…" Shantae muttered, perturbed by the presence of entire squads of Ammonian soldiers and Tinkerbats in the forest.

"And they're armed," Tay observed, his eyes instantly drawn to the firearms held by the Ammonian soldiers involved in the scuffle. "Though the rifles with bayonets are way out o' style as compared t' the weapons Risky stole," he added.

"You don't say…" she replied, her worry growing regarding the nature of Risky's increased firepower.

"Yeah, but from the looks of it, these Tinkerbats don't have anything worth note, either. Just swords an' those clunky-lookin' flintlock pistols. I don't know how much of a threat those pose to us, though…"

"Don't worry about them. The guns they have are pretty easy to avoid," the half-genie assured. "The rifles only usually only shoot in bursts of three and the bullets are simple enough to dodge because they don't move all that fast. They charge in blindly with their bayonets, too, so if you can keep a safe distance, you can take them out without breaking a sweat. The pistols are even less threatening."

"Interestin'… Hey, who is this Ammo Baron, anyway? I should've asked sooner, but if we're gonna be dealin' with him so early, I might as well get some intel."

"He's a ruthless and calculating military general whose goal is to conquer Sequin Land and rule it with an iron, weapon-riddled fist. That and possibly begin a massive black-market arms-dealing business of which he'd be the sole benefactor. Behind Risky, he's one of Sequin Land's biggest threats as one of the four notorious Barons of Sequin Land. Although, he doesn't usually make himself noticeable unless he's specifically after something…"

"That's unsettlin'," Tay remarked as the two continued to watch Tinkerbats clashing with Ammonian soldiers in a fierce—if not at least slightly comedic—brawl. Headlocks, suplexes, sucker punches, noogies, slapfights, and atomic wedgies galore as the two factions tore into each other the same way grade school children on the playground would. It was a wonder why they even had guns when they were just wrestling with each other like animals in a giant, swampy, stick-laden mud pit. "…almost as unsettlin' as this pitiful display," he further remarked, baffled by the bizarre sight he beheld. "Do they usually fight like this?"

"Believe me, this is the first time I'm seeing this, too…" she remarked with a shrug. "Like I said, I never thought Risky Boots and Ammo Baron would ever go to war. I don't know why they'd start now."

"Gotcha… Sooo… do we NEED to engage them, or can we sneak past? They seem PRETTY busy on their own here…"

"For the sake of finding what Bolo saw, we should probably skip past them. I've got an idea how…" Shantae affirmed as she began to dance another hip-swinging rendition of that same hypnotic belly dance technique she demonstrated moments earlier. The air surrounding the duo turned a tangible smoky hot pink as the mysterious beat returned. Tay noticed that everything around them had frozen, as though Shantae had managed to stop time itself.

"Wow…" He muttered, still amazed at the magic-wielding young woman's unmistakable talent. Soon, she struck a pose that communicated that she was ready to transform.

"Traaaansform!" Shantae announced before instantly turning into a huge dark blue spider-human hybrid with baby blue skin, silky navy-colored hair, and a big red bow tied into her hair. To say that Tay was alarmed was a gross understatement, though he resisted the urge to scream. It was no less than mind-blowing to see his comrade as a chimeric spider the size of a van; even more so when her top half was basically humanoid, while her bottom half was that of a Black Widow spider. It was the stuff of nightmares. "Here, get on," Spider-Shantae whispered to him, gesturing her backside toward him and turning back to face him. Still slightly (read: immensely) alarmed, Tay gingerly climbed onto Shantae's sleek, silky back. Once he was aboard, she lifted her backside upward shot a line of web into the air that landed squarely in front of the soldier.

"…Ew," he commented, justifiably grossed out.

"Get over it," she shot back, her voice surprisingly changed to where there was some creepy clicking noise emanating from her throat when she spoke. Tay nearly panicked again at the disquieting sound of her spider voice. "Don't tell me they don't have spiders in your world."

"None as big or as uh… pretty as you are. Also, I've never ridden on the back of a spider before. The biggest spiders in my world only a fraction as huge as you are. Not fit for spider-back riding. Anyway, game plan?"

"I'm going to climb along the branches above to get past these guys. I'll need you to secure yourself on my back. It'll be a bumpy ride, but I think this form can handle the added weight in short bursts."

"…Whatever you say," he trustingly complied as he wrapped the thick, sticky, ropy webbing around his and Shantae's waists, as well as his hands, and grabbed on tight. He was of course put off by the stickiness of the webbing in addition to having to wrap himself in it as though Shantae captured him with the intent to eat him. Nevertheless, Spider-Shantae jumped and spun a web from her bulbous spider thorax and clung to a tree branch VERY high above. Within seconds, she quickly reeled herself upward and touched her spider legs onto the underside of the tree branch, defying all sorts of laws of gravity. "Okay, this is nuts…" Tay murmured as he hung onto the arachnid girl for dear life. He was stuck tightly to Spider-Shantae's back, hanging upside down as she crawled along the underside of the tree branch. Such an experience would make even the most iron-stomached individual queasy.

In Tay's case, however, since Shantae was unable to simply jump along the branches, she was forced to drop from one tree branch and spin a line of web to link up to the next one before reeling herself in to crawl on it. She maintained this method of navigation to inconspicuously sneak past any enemies below that might give them trouble. This continued for much longer than Tayshan would have cared for before they eventually maneuvered past the massive faction war that unfolded in the mud pit. Shantae dropped from another tree branch basically a mile high once she saw the coast was clear. They landed on a wide, mossy, crooked, stone pillar-shaped platform protruding from the ground that loomed over a lower, deeper forest trail, where Shantae transformed back into her humanoid form, forcing her passenger to unexpectedly meet with a faceful of moss.

"Ouch…!" the soldier remarked, feeling just a little unwell as he lay facedown on the platform.

"Sorry…" Shantae sheepishly grinned as she helped her partner up. "I've never had a passenger with me when I transformed. That was pretty cool though, right?"

"Ask me that when my stomach ain't flippin' around like a circus trapeze act…" he remarked, tearing the webbing and moss off himself as he regained his composure. At that, Shantae let loose a small chuckle before a loud, sudden *CRACK* in the wind caught their attention. The perplexed half-genie looked around in confusion as to where the sound came from. Tay, on the other hand, appeared to know the sound and its location as he immediately ducked and pulled his partner down with him.

"What gives?" Shantae asked, unaware of what Tay had reacted so suddenly for.

"That sound was one o' the guns Risky stole," he informed her in a whisper, eliciting a gasp. "They have at least one out here just a bit farther on." The duo peered over the ledge to notice two Tinkerbats down below; one with no weapon on-hand, and the other with a handgun, of which Tay recognized the shape as soon as he saw it. "A sidearm…!" he rasped, incredibly displeased with the sight he beheld. "She can't be serious with lettin' these clumsy little mutants parade around with these guns…! Especially not now…!"

"So it's true without a doubt… Risky's giving them your guns to fight with," the concerned maiden observed, her nerves stirred up by the knowledge. "There's only two of them down there, and only one of them has a gun, though. We should at least try to get it back from them," she suggested. "Our odds look pretty good here."

"Yeah, but we gotta be careful. If we tip them off, the one with the gun could blow both of us away. I'm thinkin' what we need t' do first is…?" he trailed off as he turned and saw Shantae shapeshift into her Monkey form. "What are you doin'?"

"I'm gonna take them by surprise and try to get that gun. Wait here…" the little lavender monkey stated as she prepared to jump down, though Tay did not approve.

"Shantae, no!" he shouted as he got up and threw the chained mace to the ground below before moving to leap after her. He landed first with a voluminous *THUD* of his feet on the forest floor, being much heavier than she was, and held out his arms to catch the ambitious monkey girl. He caught her as she transformed back into her human form, though she appeared none too happy about his interference.

"What are you doing?" she asked, perturbed by his interruption. Before the two could clear the air, the Tinkerbat with the gun, startled, aimed it at them with the full intent to shoot. Tay, noticing this, instinctively hugged Shantae close and turned around to shield her. A thunderous *BANG!* rang out from the firearm, its live round taking a significant amount of time longer than Tay would have expected. The round struck his lower back in a matter of a half-second, nevertheless.

"HAWWGH!" He screamed and winced in pain, nearly falling over. The searing agony from the gunshot had nearly overwhelmed him, but he found himself almost equally confused as to why the shot hadn't hurt a lot more or sent him crumpling to the ground, bleeding out. Shantae, almost falling loose from his grip, wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from slipping. Without much thought, he picked up the chain mace with one arm, held Shantae with the other, whipped around, and with a swing of his arm, launched the Morning Star at the confused gun-wielding Tinkerbat, knocking it and its partner out in a single strike with a couple of vanquishing metallic *PWANGs* as it whirled through the air like helicopter blades. The melee weapon crash-landed into a pile of twigs nearby afterward. The firearm was dropped in the place where the Tinkerbat previously stood. With the coast clear, Tay set his comrade down, wincing again as he bent to set her on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Shantae asked, the worry evident in her voice as she examined her partner for injuries he sustained during the short scuffle.

"Yeah…" he replied as he inspected the source of his pain to see a hole in his tank top, but no sign of bodily penetration from the shot he took; instead, there was a charcoal-black smoking burn mark where there should have been a gaping hole in his back. It caused him moderate discomfort, but he was still able to move; something he figured he should not have been able to do after taking a direct hit from a round fired from a loaded handgun. "I feel a lot better than I thought I would. Mind you, that gunshot stung like a thousand wasps. Still… that wasn't what I was expectin' t' happen when I got shot…" he informed her. The half-genie inspected the wound to see what he meant. She gasped in shock to see the smoldering quarter-sized mark. It almost looked like a birthmark or a mole, if one were to take away the context.

"That looks pretty bad…" she observed, worried that the soldier might not be able to continue traveling with her.

"It could've—and should've—been much worse," he countered as he moved to pick the gun up and examine it. As far as it seemed, the gunshot injured him, but did little to hinder his range of movement. "Wait, this… this ain't right…"

"What's up?" Shantae asked, perplexed by her ally's confusion about the weapon. "Is that gun not part of the collection?"

"No. This… This is MY gun. At least, one that belonged t' me personally, but… this one shouldn't be here… even WITH Risky havin' stolen so much artillery from my base…" he murmured, though he understood that his Sequinean comrade wouldn't have a clue as to what he meant. "What could this thing possibly be doin' here? An' what's wrong with the ammo for it?"

On top of not understanding how this particular handgun made it into the hands of a Tinkerbat, Tay also didn't understand how the handgun did such a small amount of damage to him as compared to what it should've been capable of. He fired a shot into the air, startling the unsuspecting genie girl with the sheer volume of the *BANG!* alone. However, he was befuddled to see what came from the gun; a slow (for a bullet, anyway), glowing red-and-blue marble-sized sphere ejecting from the weapon's barrel. The floating marble seemed to look like and travel at maybe a fraction of the speed of a paintball fired from a standard paintball gun; speedy, sure, but much slower than a live round from any gun should have been, regardless of whether it fired bullets or paintballs. He fired three more shots into the air to see the same thing happen again. "This can't be right…" he murmured as he unloaded the magazine. "It sounds the same, but…"

"Is there something wrong with the gun?" she asked, covering her ears with her hands. She had never experienced a gun firing quite so loudly and was likewise unprepared for when Tay test-fired the weapon.

"Yeah. It's firin' wrong…" he answered as he looked at the rounds inside the magazine of the gun. The bullets appeared as a series of little glowing pellets much like the ones he watched fire out of the barrel of the unusual firearm. As far as he knew, this gun, a chrome silver .50 caliber Desert Eagle, was meant to hold seven incredibly powerful rounds in it that, amongst other things, looked nothing like what was inside. In just the last few minutes, the gun was fired six times; twice when the Tinkerbat fired it, and the four times Tay fired it. The magazine should have been empty. Yet, it still looked completely full… of glowing marbles. He tried dumping it out to no avail, as the rounds stayed stationary inside like they were superglued in. He also attempted digging the enigmatic ammunition out with a finger, only to find that not a single marble budged. Last, he attempted to unload the round resting in the chamber, at which point he noted yet another glowing marble emerging from it and landing in the grass. Thoroughly stumped, he reloaded the magazine, turned the safety on, and sheathed the gun in his holster before picking up and examining the enigmatic round. He couldn't make heads or tails of the condition of his weapon.

"It seems to work just fine, as far as I can see" Shantae observed, finally uncovering her ears.

"I… guess, but it should be empty save for one round… an' the rounds comin' out of it are nothin' like any gun I've ever used… I'm wonderin' if maybe Risky tampered with the way this gun works; an' what's more, what she could be doin' to the rest of 'em."

"I… don't know anything about your weapons, but usually, Risky's gun has unlimited ammo and never needs to be reloaded," Shantae explained once the ringing in her ears finally stopped, stumping the soldier further.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. She's fired hers at me many, many times during our battles and has never once needed to reload it. Even when I borrowed it in my time as a full-fledged human, I never needed to change the ammo out. I just fired away, and the bullets came out without fail. No matter how many times I shot it, it never jammed, ran out, or anything."

"Hold the phone… You know how t' use a gun? You were a full-fledged human at one point? You've been SHOT before?"

"Yes, yes, and… yes," she plainly answered, causing Tay to gawk at her as though she had six heads. He had many questions to ask her on how she learned to use a gun, at what point she was fully human, and even how she'd been on the business end of a bullet and appeared to be without even the slightest scar on her body. However, he knew that this was no time to ask such questions. He could at least surmise that his gun had unlimited ammo, based on what he observed of its altered properties, and that could serve as a huge benefit for him. However, if all of his world's weapons were tampered with by Risky in this manner, it yielded disastrous consequences. At the very least, he could ditch the comparatively-inferior Morning Star that wasn't even his. Heck, he'd already totally forgotten about it.

"Hm… Well, when we get time, I'm interested in learnin' more about you," he casually confessed. "You're full of surprises. It's uncanny… but I actually kinda like that."

"Aw, thanks!" she cheerfully accepted his compliment.

"Yeah. But I have t' advise you t' be more careful," he chided, his wound still fresh as he rubbed his hand over it. "If this gun worked the way it should've, I would've been dead the very second I got shot." This news alarmed the scarlet-clad young woman. "We got lucky this time, from the look of it."

"O-oh… I'm sorry, Tay…" she apologized. "I didn't know how strong your world's weapons really were. I'll definitely take better precautions next time. Also, thanks for saving me."

"No sweat! Though, I have myself t' blame because I should be wearin' more equipment than this, t' be honest," he explained, lamenting the absence of protective equipment such as a Kevlar bulletproof vest, a helmet, and protective padding, amongst other things.

"Oh. Will you be okay without it?" Shantae asked, concerned for her partner's safety.

"I only hope. So far, nothin' too threatenin's come our way… well, almost nothin', dependin' on how we look at it. And now that I got my hands on some kind o' firearm, I feel a little bit more prepared. But come on, we should scout the area for any more of 'em out here. Where do we go next?"

"The Sequin Land Palace is just ahead. We can scout for any suspicious activity there and search for clues. Chances are, Ammo Baron possibly had a run-in with Risky, which would explain the Tinkerbats and Ammonian soldiers fighting in the forest. Since we're headed that way, maybe we can try convincing the Sultana to help us out."

"Hmm… Okay, let's go," he agreed, following Shantae through the last few shrubberies and trees of the forest before they eventually emerged to see a stone bridge leading over a wide, sparkling ocean that glistened in the afternoon sunlight. In the distance beyond the bridge stood an enormous, architectural masterpiece of an Arabian-styled palace that seemed to have eaten other giant Arabian palaces to become as gargantuan as it appeared. Shantae, thinking about hers and Tay's recent encounter with the last two Tinkerbats they'd crossed paths with, found herself curious about her partner's handgun, figuring he had answers for her regarding its firepower.

"That gun of yours…" she began as they neared the bridge. "How strong is it? When you shoot it, it's incredibly loud. Louder than a cannon."

"Truth be told, Shantae; Very. Maybe a bit too strong, all things considered," he replied with slight worry, piquing the girl's interest.

"Too strong?"

"Yeah. This thing really packs a wallop, but it's hard to aim, much less shoot. I don't know if you were watchin' when I tested it, but you saw how hard my hands jump back when I shoot."

"Yeah, it looked like it was ready to fly out of your grasp every time. If it's that hard to control, are you sure you can make use of it?"

"I can certainly try. I don't have a choice in the matter now. This gun is not the one I was issued when I enlisted. This one is mine personally. The kind I'm supposed t' have is a lot more… practical, simply put."

"How?"

"The kind I was supposed t' have is black instead o' this shiny, gleamin' silver, for one thing. Also, the other gun is slightly smaller, has a much bigger magazine, a much better firin' rate, and a much more comfortable grip that helps me t' aim it better. Also, it ain't quite as loud, though its rounds are somewhat weaker than this gun; at least, in terms o' the ammo that's SUPPOSED to be in them, not the weird little glowin' marbles jammed up in this gun. All that said, this gun is, by all accounts, inferior from a professional standpoint. Too strong for its own good, but not even worth the incredible firepower when you sacrifice so much accuracy for it that you'd be lucky t' hit a mountain at close range."

"Wow… sounds like that gun is quite a hassle."

"Yep. I turned it in right when I signed up because I didn't feel like it'd be safe t' leave it at home, nor was I gonna sell it or throw it away."

"How come?"

"I didn't really want it anymore, all things considered about how it first wound up in my possession. Although, I didn't think it belonged anywhere but in the hands o' trained professionals that could use or get rid of it themselves by the time I was old enough t' understand what it really meant t' own a gun. I thought they disposed of it because I never saw it again after that, but… evidently, Risky Boots an' her henchmen found it in the stash they pilfered. It's weird t' see this thing again…" he answered as he nearly lost himself in thought, momentarily glancing at the weapon in his holster.

"Oh. Then… how did you get that gun in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?" Shantae asked, her interest growing. At that, Tay sighed, apparently expecting her to ask the question, but somehow still unprepared to answer. Nonetheless, he replied.

"Believe it or not, I… was given it a long time ago… to help someone cover up a crime," he cautiously admitted, much to Shantae's surprise.

"What?" the half-genie yelled in shock, nearly stopping in her tracks as she turned her full attention to her partner.

"Yeah, I know… Not a very heroic thing for me t' do, coverin' somebody who deserved punishment for what they did. Granted, I never actually covered for him, t' be honest…"

"Well… what happened?" she asked, certifiably alarmed by her new partner's chilling confession, though very curious.

"Long story short, I had a 'friend' a couple years ago who used this gun t' rob people… I don't even know for myself where he got it from, but yeah. He'd never shot anybody before a certain point, but he would point it at people t' force 'em t' give him money or some valuable thing he decided he wanted at the time. He didn't even need half the things he stole from people, but he was just… greedy, amongst other things. In a nutshell, he kept that bad habit up for way longer than he should've, pushin' his luck further an' further with every innocent person he stuck up."

"My gosh, that's awful!" she remarked, appalled by this 'friend' and his ghastly deeds.

"You don't gotta tell me twice. One day, he finally pushed his luck too far an' stuck up some random woman in broad daylight. The robbery didn't go so well this time."

"How?" she dared to ask.

"The woman, an off-duty police officer, tried t' wrestle the gun away. He shot an' injured the woman an' immediately came runnin' t' me in a panic. He knocked on my door, I opened it, he shoved the gun in my hands, told me not to tell anybody, an' ran off. Mind you, they caught him anyway because the woman he shot survived—thankfully—and reported him as soon as she was able to. How he kept gettin' away with it before that point is still a mystery to me…"

"Wow… That's so terrible that that happened."

"I know. I had a hunch he would slip up an' try t' rope me in somehow. I was no saint myself, but I did keep tellin' him t' chill or else he'd pick up some serious heat. Of course, he'd tell me t' shut up an' mind my business an' dared me t' snitch to the police. Like I was sayin' before, I didn't have very good friends."

"Yeah, but for them to be that cruel to you? How could you even call this guy a 'friend' at all, in that case?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Addin' t' that mystery of why I ever considered this dude my 'friend,' I also had a hunch he would tell police somethin' about me bein' involved after he gave me this gun, so I took preemptive measures t' hide it before the police came. Of course, they showed up t' my door a couple days later after they found an' arrested him. They asked where the gun was, since this 'friend' told them I did it. Huge shocker, right?"

"I… I guess not, if you already had the feeling he would do that…"

"Yeah. Me bein' the little knucklehead I was though, I decided I wanted t' keep it anyway. I knew they'd search my whole house for it, no matter what I told them. Plus, I wasn't gonna go to jail for somethin' he did. So, right after he gave it to me, I hid it at the bottom of a trashcan a good couple miles away from my house before they showed up. When they came lookin', I lied t' them about havin' thrown it in a river after I told them he ran t' my door t' hand it over t' me. They searched my house up an' down like I predicted they would, an' unsurprisingly, they found nothin'. Incredibly dishonest, I know…" he admitted with a heavy sigh, knowing the dark implications of his tale to his newest friend.

"Yeah…" she agreed, the concern evident in the disconcerted look she gave him. "A lot of terrible things happened for you to get that thing. Why would you even want it, in that case? It seems like so much trouble. Don't tell me you…?"

"Robbed or shot somebody with it? No!" he exclaimed, picking up on his friend's implication. "I wouldn't have been able t' join the military if I did those things, much less got caught. I mean, I DID show it off t' scare people every once an' again a few months after that incident, though. Once the static about the event with that 'friend' blew over an' he got incarcerated, I got the bright idea t' start carryin' it around, thinkin' I was cool because of it."

"Why? That doesn't seem like a very good idea…"

"Try tellin' the younger, more misguided version o' me. Back then, I liked to intimidate people who picked on me. Before I got my hands on it, I had nothin'. I wasn't workin' out at the time, either. I was tall, but I was scrawny, quiet, an' cowardly… but once I managed t' get a real gun, some o' that changed in my favor. Or, so I tricked myself int' believin' at that time…"

"So… What'd you do with it to scare people, if it's okay to ask?"

"Most o' the time, I flashed it by pullin' up my shirt while it was stuffed into my belt. When I saw people jump, I'd tell 'em I stole it off a rival gang member an' dared them t' try me or tell on me, thinkin' it made me look tough. Not proud o' that in the least, in hindsight…"

"I can't imagine you would be," Shantae affirmed, now mildly wary of the soldier as he opened up to her about his unexpectedly-shady past. "You seem… different from what you're telling me, if that makes sense."

"That's because I eventually picked up a certain somethin' called common sense," he retorted, acknowledging the frightened looks she'd been shooting him, however unaware she was that she was gesticulating her discomfort. "What you see now is someone who learned from his foolish, incredibly life-threatenin' mistakes, but still has a long way t' go, if that puts your mind at ease about me…"

"What do you mean?" she inquired, puzzled as to why he would imply that she was upset.

"I see the looks you're givin' me as I tell you this," he plainly replied, shocking her as she focused on him. "I can tell you're a little bit uncomfortable now. Trust me, I've gotten many looks like that before, for many reasons," he admitted, ostensibly unfazed by his friend's perceived fear of him.

"Oh… w-well, I… I'm not uncomfortable," she uncertainly rebutted, though she chose her words carefully. "It's just… what you're telling me. It's… a lot to process. I'm sorry. I'm not judging you. I promise."

"Ah, I get it," he acknowledged with a somber nod, though he found himself suddenly hesitant to continue. However, with some mental priming, he continued. "In a way, this gun suddenly reminds me of myself, so far as its known history is concerned. Sorta twisted, yeah, but… I'm just thinkin' now."

"How so?"

"This gun was used to commit crimes at first, and now it's about t' be used t' fight crime. Likewise, I used t' commit crimes, an' joinin' the military became my opportunity in more ways than one t' start fightin' crime. Also, helpin' you stop Risky Boots. It's a journey for redemption an' a fresh start, if you know what I'm sayin'," he calmly confessed with a disarming, friendly grin. Hearing this comparative revelation brought the young woman considerable relief, as she got an idea about Tayshan's character. He wasn't such a bad guy, despite his past. As far as she saw it, he was a guy who struggled to do the right thing, but eventually found his calling. That, she understood and… in a sense, she could relate to it.

"I know exactly what you're saying, Tay. I totally get it now…" she affirmed with a smiling nod as the tension she felt dissipated.

"Thanks. Granted, I'd practiced shootin' with this thing ever since I got it an' still never completely got over the sheer power, volume, an' recoil of it."

"Somehow, I might've figured that," she acknowledged, having bore witness to the overwhelming firepower of the handgun in her friend's possession.

"I'll bet you might've. I almost sprained my wrists a few times just shootin' this thing in my younger years, believe it or not. Doesn't exactly help that I still had t' keep it hidden so I didn't get in trouble for even havin' it, which further limited my time for practicin' as a kid. Mind you, I was dumb enough t' show it off anyway, which put me in a couple o' really sticky situations before… Of course, I also had t' keep in mind how I was gettin' more ammo for a gun I wasn't even supposed t' have an' that was way too strong for me t' be playin' around with."

"How… DID you get more bullets?" Shantae uneasily queried, concerned at the answer he would give.

"Remember when I said I'd tell people I stole this gun off a RIVAL gang member?" he hinted.

"Yeah…?" she tilted her head before realizing what he meant. "Ohhh… You… you were in a gang?"

"Yep, with a strong emphasis on the past-tense there… It's not like I WANTED t' join one, don't get me wrong… It was for protection in the neighborhood I was livin' in, where life had some sick ways o' pickin' off the weak an' defenseless. Given what I told you, I was pretty weak an' defenseless at the time. Didn't help that my parents weren't around, either. Long story short, some 'scouters' basically forced me t' join sometime after I lost my mother an' the news spread around the neighborhood. But, once I was in, they made sure people didn't mess with me so much. Plus, they covered me for a lot of… errands they made me run for them, an' in return, they gave me, amongst other things, more ammo for this gun t' practice with."

"Whoa…"

"I got away with a lot o' things that should've had me put behind bars, Shantae… a lot o' things that I don't think I have the courage t' tell you right now. Anyway, stolen ammo was in a scarily healthy supply for the gang I was in. I, of course, wasn't allowed t' ask questions. That said, I can't even give you a clear answer as to where ammo for a gun with such a small magazine would come from t' make it into my hands… which is part o' why I gave this gun up once I joined the enforcement services. It was supposed t' be a testament t' me leavin' the street life behind an' startin' a fresher, brighter chapter in my life."

"Wow, Tay… your past is surprisingly dark. It seems so… unlike you, though. I mean, we haven't known each other long, but…"

"Yeah, I know… But like I told you, I'm committed t' makin' positive changes in my life. This gun makin' it back into my hands after all this time is… now that I think of it, it's a reminder that you don't have t' be limited by your history; that you can, no matter how bad you've been in the past, do some form o' good when given a chance. Of course, I worry that it might not be all that useful, even with the apparently-unlimited ammo. Although, with all the military weapons trainin' I've received over the last year, I'm at least confident that I can control it much better than before."

"As your only weapon of choice, I hope it still comes in handy. You'll need it for the kinds of threats I usually go up against. Still, what an interesting background you have. I can't imagine you as having been a bad guy… You seem so nice. It makes more sense when I think back to our conversation last night, though."

"Oh yeah? In that case, what's your overall opinion, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"You were pretty much forced to be a villain because of your environment until you found an opportunity to become a good guy. That's pretty deep, Tay. I've never had the chance to team up with a former villain before," she observed, somewhat missing the point of her ally's confession. "…with an emphasis on 'former.' Risky's still evil, even after our team-up."

"Aw, come on, I've always been a good guy…" Tay defended, slightly offended by Shantae's branding of him as a 'former villain.' "…at least, I'd like t' think that. Just, I've made a lot o' bad choices in life up t' this point. I've been workin' hard every day t' make up for it. Still, I… hope your opinion of me hasn't changed because o' what I told you about this gun an' my background. I get it if you think o' me differently now," the soldier confessed, expecting Shantae to cast more judgment upon him. After all, he'd been used to people judging him based on his checkered past. Shantae studied him for a minute, seeming to attempt to read further into his character and how she received him. After the minute passed, she smiled.

"Y'know what? I respect and appreciate you being honest with me," she started, confident that she had him pegged.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. It takes a lot of courage to admit to something like that," she forgivingly confessed to him as they finally made it across the bridge. "You're definitely on the right path, Tayshan, I'll tell you that much. And hey, I'll show you the ropes on being a hero while you're here, if you want. It's a much more rewarding path to take than the path of evil, to say the least. Still, I hope things do get easier for you when you get back home. My opinion of you hasn't changed at all."

"I… Thanks for that," he gratefully responded, though he acknowledged she still had the idea that he was a villain-turned-hero. Regardless, he had a golden opportunity to learn from someone who'd been established as a hero in her community; an opportunity he'd be crazy to say 'no' to. "I'll take any lessons you have to the heart if it ain't too much of a burden takin' me on as a kinda-sorta protégé-slash-sidekick," he half-jokingly offered with a slight, nervous chortle. However, Shantae's smile widened, her ocean blue eyes sparkling like stars at the glorious prospect of having her very own disciple. She'd never been a mentor, role model, or guide before, and this was a golden opportunity like no other for her. The mere thought filled her with such excitement that she could hardly contain it.

"Of course! Don't you worry, Tay! With my teachings, you'll be a true hero in no time!" she boasted, letting her excitement get the better of her as she proudly reached up to rest a hand on the soldier's back as the two began negotiating the terms of their partnership.

Meanwhile…

Just beyond the end of the bridge, two blonde-haired girls in rather revealing blue raccoon-themed outfits, armed to the teeth with bombs and guns, were casually conversing with one another, appearing to be looking for something as they stood just outside the Sequin Land Palace.

"So far, we haven't had any luck finding out what happened to our device," one of the girls lamented to the other, crossing her arms and staring into the air with a cocked eyebrow.

"Which is strange, because for something as humungous as that thing is, it's sure as heck been tough to find…" the other girl pondered, scratching her head in a mix of frustration and perplexity. "The only way it could've vanished without a trace like it did is if someone magically made it disappear." Evidently, this couple of peculiar weapon-toting young women were searching for something they lost and had been led to the nation's capitol in their hunt.

"We only know but so many people who can use magic, though…" the first girl commented with a sigh of vexation. "Hypno Baron's out as a suspect, since he's been on a bender of trying to get into the collectible merchandising business. He'd have no reason to take it…"

"Knowing that, that really only leaves two other suspects who'd even know about our device, much less want to steal it…"

"And here comes one of 'em now, at our 12:00 position," girl #1 alerted her friend with a nod in the direction of the bridge. As they looked forward, they spotted an all-too-familiar lavender-ponytailed, pointy-eared girl dressed head to toe in a tacky, tasteless dancer costume. She was happily fraternizing with a tall, muscly dark-skinned boy in a form-fitting black tank top and camouflage pants, the likes of whom neither of the girls had seen before. "Look at her, acting all nonchalant like no one knows she has a sneaky side…"

"You can say that again. That prissy, saccharine goody-two-shoes act of hers can't hold up forever."

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Although, who's the guy she's with?" asked girl #1, understandably thrown off by the half-genie's company.

"I don't have a clue," girl #2 replied with a shrug. "I've never seen him around here before. He sure looks like quite the hunk, though. I wonder if that's her boyfriend…"

"Whatever those two are, if he's with her, they're both going to answer for what they did with our machine," girl #1 swore before turning her attention to the duo approaching them. "Well, well, well… if it isn't everybody's favorite magical girl scout!" she taunted, causing the half-genie in question and her friend to face them.

"Twitch and Vinegar!" Shantae called out, already aware of the threat the two adversaries posed, though she did not specify which girl went by either name she called out. "What are you two doing here?"

"We might ask you the same thing," the first girl spoke, grinningly tossing a bomb into the air. The taller of the two, she had two parallel streaks of pink spanning from her eyes down her cheeks. She wore an orange leotard with blue shoulder pads, blue thigh-high boots, a blue miniskirt with a yellow utility belt, and a two-tailed striped raccoon hat with goggles strapped on her forehead.

"Or better, we'll politely ask what you did with our hypersonic propulsion generator," inquired the second girl. This one was shorter in stature than her partner and wore a more simplistic outfit consisting of a midriff-baring tank top and a shorter, wider-spanning blue miniskirt. She also wore a pair of green goggles and a differently-styled blue raccoon hat with a sleepy-looking face on it. Immediately noticeable, however, was the rather cartoonish-looking revolver strapped to her left thigh.

"What!?" Shantae indignantly shouted, appalled at such a baseless accusation. "I don't have your hippo-tonic… porcupine gelato thing!"

"Whoa whoa," Tay attempted to reason as he raised his hands in front of himself, immediately understanding Twitch and Vinegar's accusation once he heard the name of the stolen item. "I know what you're talkin' about, but I assure you-!"

"And where'd you find this bodacious bonehead?" asked the shorter girl, silencing the soldier instantly. He was insulted and complimented at the same time, though he never imagined he'd ever have to face such an oxymoronic dilemma in his life. "He must be as gullible as he is hot, if he's palling around with a no-good thief like you." It was like fried ice cream; two polar opposites coexisting at the exact same time, which boggled his mind. As such, his expression was one of utter befuddlement, his mouth slightly ajar.

"Uhh…" he barely managed to drone out in his confusion.

"I bet you're in cahoots with our little machine-burgling genie friend here, huh?" asked the taller girl, quickly snapping him out of his confused stupor.

"Wha? No, listen. I-!" he attempted to correct, snapping out of his stupor to explain the situation.

"Save it, hot stuff. We know you're the ones behind the missing machinery," interrupted the shorter girl, who again called attention to her apparent attraction to him while also refusing to let him talk. Tay found himself unable to get angry at her baseless accusation for the fact that she mixed in flirtatious pet names when addressing him. "Give it back and no one has to get hurt too badly today."

"We didn't take your machine!" Shantae yelled, though she also prepared to battle as she entered a fighting stance. "If you'd just let him explain, you'd know where to look!"

"Yes!" Tay agreed. "I know who took your-!"

"Your boyfriend isn't going to bail you out of this one, genie girl! Fork it over or we'll take it by force!" the taller one interrupted yet again, making sure that, so long as this conversation was happening, Tay would never get to finish a sentence. Nonetheless, the intergalactic duo was thrown for a loop when a new accusation came about.

"He's not my boyfriend!" "I'm not her boyfriend!" the two screamed in unison. "And we don't have your machine! Stop and listen an' maybe you'll get the answers you're lookin' for!" they continued together before realizing they'd spoken the exact same thought aloud, momentarily glancing at one another in surprise.

"Looks like you'll have to be made to talk…" the orange-garbed girl stated with a sigh as she turned and walked toward a miniature tank (colored blue, of course), parked conveniently beside the palace wall while her partner whistled, causing a blue triplane to rip through the skies to the makeshift battlefield. The goggle-sporting girl jumped in as it swooped from behind. "Don't say we didn't give you a chance," the same orange-garbed young woman spoke from within the tank as her partner took her position directly above.

"But you didn't even let me finish a sentence, much less give us a chance!" Tay attempted once more to reason, though it was clear this encounter was far past the point of conversation. As such, he and Shantae readied themselves as the half-genie examined her surroundings, seeming to be scanning the combat zone. Tay, though unsure of what was happening, drew his gun and cocked it in preparation for a fight he would very well remember.

"It's no use, Tay. We'll have to beat them to get them to hear us out," Shantae explained, causing her partner to sigh in reluctance.

"I knew it…" he lamented with a sigh, though he was ready for anything their enemies could throw at them… he hoped. Before he knew it, though, the battle started.

TWITCH & VINEGAR: TERRIFICALLY TURBULENT TWOSOME!

"Team Battle! Bring 'em down!" Shantae announced as she sprang into action, dodging the plane as it tried to dive into her. Tay, seeing no other option, shot at the tank in front of him and immediately noticed that each time he scored a hit, it would flash white for a split second while a number "8" would rise out of it.

"What in the…?" he murmured in confusion, expecting to do precisely zero damage to the war vehicle before him with nothing but a modified pistol with weaker ammo. "I won't even ask… I'm just glad I'm actually able t' do somethin'," he added to emphasize his uncertainty, though he found himself oddly motivated to participate in the chaotic entanglement. He kept shooting until the tank fired a large black cannonball at him. Startled as he was, the projectile moved at a low enough speed that he was able to jump out of the way as he continued his onslaught with his gun.

Meanwhile, Shantae was ducking and dodging the aircraft as it tried either to swoop into her or unload a spray of bombs thrown by the pilot. She was patiently awaiting an opportunity to strike, though she had trouble finding it. In a moment's glance, the tank revved up and charged toward the soldier, causing him to dive out of the way. As he recovered, the tank returned to its original place and began rapidly shooting more cannonballs at seemingly-random angles in an attempt to score a hit, though Tay managed to narrowly dodge each one that whizzed toward him. He dared not even imagine what it would've felt like to be hit with a giant, spherical chunk of metal ripping through the air with the speed of a nosediving bald eagle. Eventually, he noticed a spring green cannonball emerging from the barrel of the tank's gun that traveled much slower than the rest. The sphere was traveling so slowly that it one might've mistaken it for a wayward balloon at first glance. Shantae, despite having her hands full, noticed this as well.

"Tay! Shoot that green cannonball! Now!" The soldier, hearing his battle mate's call loud and clear, aimed carefully and shot a flashing marble at the flying metal sphere. With a *CLINK*, the cannonball immediately went soaring toward the plane, despite the fact that Tay had shot it at an angle that should have sent it flying toward the opposing tank. With an explosive *CRASH*, the shorter girl was knocked out of the aircraft. She fell onto the ground, dazed and unable to defend herself. Taking this as an opportunity to strike, Shantae ran near her, crouched, and began rapidly whipping her ponytail into the girl's face while she was down, letting out occasional grunts of effort. The power of each hair whip was emphasized by the voluminous *THWACKs* of Shantae's lethal locks against the grounded pilot's face. The girl, apparently defenseless outside of her plane, flailed on the ground like a fish out of water and grunted in pain with each successive hit. Bizarre and admittedly-hilarious as the sight was, Shantae's hair did "6" points of damage per whip, but her opponent wasn't finished. The girl got up, leapt like she had springs in her blue boots, and landed back in the cockpit of her vehicle, which was idly hovering above her partner's tank.

"Let's switch targets, shall we?" the plane girl suggested, to which her friend responded by aiming the gun of her tank at Shantae.

"Shoot, looks like plane girl's my problem now," Tay acknowledged, stepping back to create distance. "Shantae, can you handle the tank?"

"No sweat! This isn't my first rodeo with these two. Are you okay handling the airplane?"

"With nothin' but a sabotaged handgun an' my reflexes? Heh, I've never felt more prepared."

"That's the spirit!" Shantae cheered as she leapt out of the way of an incoming cannonball, failing to read her partner's sarcasm. Shantae appeared to know how to handle the tank, as she moved at such a pace that one would think she was predicting its every move. She had an easier time waiting for the land-based war machine to provide her an opportunity to strike back, granted that it was mostly stationary, its gunner largely trying to attack her from a distance.

Meanwhile, Tay was trying his hardest to take the plane down with his just his gun. Of course, he was struggling to aim, much less shoot when the aircraft was constantly moving to either dive into him or to get into position for the pilot to bombard him with explosives. As he previously made Shantae aware, his gun's unwieldly recoil made it hard for him to score a decisive hit. Worse still, the open, searing afternoon sunlight obscured his vision to the point where the airplane appeared as a giant, shady blob when it was high in the sky. He realized immediately that he was at a severe disadvantage, but he knew he couldn't allow it to overwhelm him in the heat of battle.

"Shoot…! I gotta find an openin' of some kind," he complained as he avoided a spray of gunfire and a barrage of bombs, though he suffered some damage from wayward rounds. This challenge proved much tougher for him than fighting the tank. He tried taking semi-coordinated potshots to inflict some kind of damage on the plane itself, but it proved only minimally effective with his gun's poor accuracy and fire rate. He only managed to strike his enemy a handful of times, though his hits were few and far between. As if things couldn't get difficult enough for Tay, the girl in the plane also tried nosediving into him while firing her mounted turret toward the ground.

"Haaahahahaha!" The blonde bomber girl cackled as she appeared to be having fun toying with her adversary. She swooped upward with an emphatic *VROOM* just as it seemed she was about to hit the ground, causing Tay to go prone on the damp, stony pavement, covering his head with his arms to avoid a most unpleasant introduction to the plane's propellers at breakneck speed. As soon as he saw the girl return to her original position, he stood and made more attempts to shoot the plane down with just his gun. Again, he only landed a few shots, which did nothing to worry the girl in the plane. "What's the matter, stud? Can't get me from all the way down there with just that handgun? Or maybe you're just too distracted fighting a cute girl like me," the girl arrogantly taunted with mocking laughter, further irritating the soldier.

"Oh, you cheap, trash-talkin' little…!" he muttered, so annoyed that one might've seen a vein protruding from his forehead. Between avoiding being filled with lead or eating a mouthful of bomb detonation and rolling out of the way of kamikaze nosedives, he found damaging the plane nearly impossible, which prompted him to focus on its movements rather than continue fruitlessly trying to shoot her down without a plan. "There's gotta be some point where you slip up…" He studied her pattern and, after a few cycles of bullets, bombs, bullets, nosedive, bullets, bombs, lather, rinse, repeat, he finally figured enough of it out that he could avoid taking further damage. However, as he tried looking for a decisive opening for a counterattack…

"Tayshan! Look out!" Shantae called as she rushed toward him.

"Wha-? WHOA!" Before the soldier knew it, his half-genie tour guide tackled him to the ground, with him landing on a dark gray manhole cover embedded in the cobblestone. He fell flat on his back with a metallic *THUD* as she clutched her arms around his sides. He almost completely lost awareness of his surroundings from the sheer speed of his partner's protective maneuver. His only clue as to what was happening was a cannonball whizzing past them, bouncing off and rolling over the bridge behind them as Shantae ducked to narrowly avoid being hit by it herself. The lavender-ponytailed young heroine quickly picked herself up and offered him a hand. Grateful, he grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull him back to his feet.

"Be careful, Tay. We might each be fighting one of them, but you've gotta be mindful of the other one, too," she instructed him as she prepared to reengage the tank in battle. "She almost got you with that cannon shot because she saw you weren't paying attention to her."

"Got it…" he sighed in relief that he could trust Shantae to have his back. "Thank you so much for savin' me!" he further showed his gratitude as he ducked under another suicide dive from the plane while also avoiding another cannonball.

"No problem! I'll protect you! Just make sure…" she trailed off, noticing the tank preparing for another volley. The diligent adventurer danced, ducked, and dodged the spray of cannonballs as though they were coming at her in slow motion. They rocketed past her as Tay made sure to dodge them himself, though he noticed a green one he missed an opportunity to shoot. "Shoot the red one!" Shantae commanded as a bright red cannonball was fired out of the tank. Acting quickly, Tay fired his gun as per his ally's request. With another *plink*, the cannonball was sent careening back toward the tank, causing massive damage as the ball rammed into it, exploding upon impact. The tank suffered instantaneous damage as smoke began billowing from it and a series of scratches and dents made themselves apparent.

"Wow…"

"Great job, Tay!" Shantae congratulated as she charged forward and began whipping the tank with her hair to inflict further damage. "As I was saying, make sure you watch for openings they might have themselves! You see how I can tell which cannonballs to shoot or whip back into the tank, right?" she asked, still busy keeping her enemy at bay.

"Yeah?" Tay answered as he continued returning fire at the airplane while simultaneously avoiding the merciless aerial assault.

"You can do the same with the plane. If no green cannonballs are coming out for me to whip into it, you can usually find a different method to counterattack! Just look for a sign!" she advised, expertly whipping an additional red cannonball into the tank and damaging it further.

"Jus' look for a sign, you say…? Hmm…" Tay internalized her words as he avoided yet another spray of bullets from the machine gun turret on the plane. "So I should probably… Aha! I got it," The soldier exclaimed, seeming to find his mark when he saw the plane stop in midair at just the right distance and angle where the sun did not impair his vision. His first and only clue came when he watched the mischievous young girl inside pull out a red bomb; an immediate giveaway, as he noticed most of the bombs the pilot threw were black. At that moment, Tay calmly focused himself and aimed, intending to strike at the perfect moment. He found it when the girl threw the red bomb to commence her next barrage. The moment it left her hand, Tay fired, sending it back into her cockpit. The girl noticed this and, in a panic, attempted to throw it again, though it was too late. With a voluminous *BOOM*, the plane was thrown off kilter, knocking the pilot out of it yet again.

"Whoawhoaaaaah!" the opposing aircraft pilot screamed as she plummeted to the ground. "Oof!" She grunted in pain as she landed hard in front of him, falling flat on her stomach on the manhole cover Tay found himself lying on moments earlier. Uncertain of what to do next considering he didn't feel right hitting a girl, he sheathed his weapon and picked her up. He held her tight, so she wouldn't escape back into the aircraft. The weaponized biplane was dented and scratched all over. It was smoking heavily with severe damage, though it was otherwise functional as it awaited her return to its cockpit. It found its waiting place above the tank Shantae was vigorously fighting.

"Gotcha!" Tayshan proclaimed, hugging his opponent tight to prevent her from wriggling out of his grasp.

"Let me go!" screamed the airplane pilot as she feebly kicked and squirmed to escape his grasp. "You're gonna get it if you don't release me right now!"

"You ain't goin' nowhere," he calmly explained, squeezing her tighter to keep her from breaking free. "You've caused enough trouble as it is."

"Don't act all high and mighty just because you got that lucky shot off, you… you bonehead!" she spat, clearly unhappy with her current predicament. Tay found it in himself to snicker at the blonde spoilsport in his grasp, finding her complaints to be just a bit hypocritical.

"How quickly that arrogant attitude o' yours changes when things don't go your way," he taunted, his grip unfaltering as she continued to wriggle and kick to try and break free. "Anyway, your plane is in horrible shape. You really wanna get back in that thing an' have us blow it up with you in it?"

"That won't happen," the girl stubbornly rebutted, still kicking and wriggling like a child being dragged out of a playground for misbehaving. "When I get back in there, I'll turn you both into beef jerky! Get OFF me!" In that moment, the tank fired another green cannonball, which Shantae used as her next opportunity to strike. She whipped the cannonball, sending it careening into the plane, which was immediately engulfed in a glorious flash of small explosions before a bigger one obliterated it. Fiery metal shards flew high into the sky, raining down like a smoky storm of scrap and wreckage that plummeted into the ocean below with a series of satisfying *SPLASHes* that coated the ground with water. Seeing this, the girl ensnared in the soldier's arms ceased her struggling and went practically limp with dismay. Tay, though surprised by the fireworks display he just witnessed, loosened his grip on his foe slightly, shooting her a triumphant look as she looked back at him in submissive defeat.

"You're welcome."

"Oh, man… I just had that thing tuned up, too… So much for the Vicious Velocity…" she complained, lamenting the loss of her awesomely-named plane before realizing she was still being held in the arms of the beefy man who defeated her. "You uh… you can let me down now," she casually requested as she looked up at him, blushing slightly as she found the idea of being held so closely by a boy somewhat flustering.

"Hm, I could buuuut… I get a strange feelin' you'll wind up doin' somethin' you'll regret. Like I said, you caused us enough trouble as it is. So no, let's chill here awhile an' spectate," he denied, knowing that the battle was more-or-less even if he kept the girl from interfering with Shantae. His denial of her request angered the girl, though she did not make further attempts to escape. He at least shifted her into a bridal carry position, where she was laying comfortably in his arms, her shoulder leaning against his chest on one side while her legs drooped over his opposing hand. The girl calmed herself a bit, though she still pouted with embarrassment as her cheeks turned a rosy pink. "Hey Shantae! I got one!" he called to his partner, who still had her hands tied.

"Nice!" Shantae called back, glancing to see Tay holding the former pilot. "Keep her…!" she trailed off, noticing a red cannonball coming toward her. She whipped it, deflecting it back into the tank's cannon, causing another huge explosion that damaged the vehicle further. "…under wraps! We don't want her to break loose and find a way to drag this out!"

"Noted," he obeyed before turning his attention to the admittedly-adorable pouting young girl in his arms. "So uh… what's your name?" he awkwardly asked in an attempt to begin a casual conversation with someone who had moments ago tried to kill him. Meanwhile, Shantae was hard at work taking down the tank, which had begun smoldering heavily as it took more damage. Shantae was also tiring out, but she was nevertheless determined to destroy the warmongering device.

The hair-whipping young warrior had done a considerable number on her enemy's machine and was patiently awaiting the next oddly-discolored cannonball. Eventually, after the tank attempted twice to ram into her and shot three volleys of black cannonballs, the moment of truth arose. A red cannonball was lazily lobbed out of the tank's gun, which Shantae leapt to whip back into it. Upon contact, the vehicle was engulfed in a series of small, victory-deciding detonations before exploding, launching the driver out and onto the ground, covered in patches of dust and scratches, her clothes tattered from the skirmish. Many of the shredded remains of the tank met the same fate as the airplane, raining into and polluting the ocean below. What little scraps of twisted metal that didn't make it into the ocean were piled up in a flaming heap.

"Finally," Shantae breathed in relief, grateful that the intense battle had come to a decisive end. She took a moment to catch her breath before turning her attention to the girl she'd just defeated in a hair-vs-tank scuffle. "Now… listen. We didn't take your machine."

"Lies!" the tank driver, still quite salty over her defeat, rebuffed as she dusted herself off. "You're the only one we ever have the displeasure of dealing with when we have a plan to mobilize our military might, so we know you-!"

"Hey, it's okay, Vinegar!" called the other girl with a wave, still held safely in the soldier's arms, though her previous vitriol toward him had appeared to vanish entirely. "He explained everything. They really didn't take our machine!"

"Twitch, what are you talking about? And why is Shantae's boyfriend holding you like he rescued you?" Shantae was of course, displeased to hear this, and sighed with annoyance.

"I already told you, he's not my boyfriend! He's actually my new student!" the half-genie yelled, though it fell on deaf ears.

"It's because he… kinda did…" the girl, having FINALLY been identified, blushingly admitted, pushing her index fingers together. "Anyway, he totally cleared things up," she further explained before turning her attention to the soldier holding her. "Hey, can you put me down now?"

"Sure," he agreed, gently placing her on her feet.

"Thanks, Tayshan. You're a real gent," she smilingly complimented him, catching him, Shantae, and even her partner Vinegar off guard. "You're as sweet as you are strong."

"O-oh, no biggie. Just glad to uh… keep ya safe after you almost killed me, Twitch," he awkwardly acknowledged, scratching his head with one hand as he nervously waved at her with the other.

"Right, sorry about that," she responded with a wink and a cute little giggle before turning her attention to Vinegar. "So anyway, Tayshan was explaining to me what happened to our hypersonic propulsion generator. Turns out that rotten Risky Boots swiped it from us and used it to power up a portal she planned to use to invade the Genie Realm. She of course, had no idea how it worked, and wound up dragging Tayshan from his own world into this one. She also apparently stole a bunch of top-notch weapons tech from his world, too."

"…and you completely believed him?" Vinegar skeptically stated with a raised eyebrow.

"With everything that normally goes on in this place, is a little bit of interdimensional travel and a heaping load of weapons theft REALLY that bizarre?" Twitch shot back as she approached her friend. "And even for a simple handgun, you saw how powerful Tayshan's weapon is, right? There's no way he'd be lying if he's carrying proof of his account."

"…Touché," Vinegar admitted after a moment of thought and a quick glance at the shiny firearm pocketed in her former adversary's holster. "Okay, so if that's true, then where is Risky Boots?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out ourselves," Shantae answered. "She apparently went into hiding as soon as she came back," she elaborated before getting an idea. "I'd hate to ask, but we could really use your help in stopping her before she becomes too big a threat for any of us to handle."

"Us? Help you? Is that a joke?" Twitch asked, skeptical of such a proposition. "Because we're not in the mood to play around."

"No, I'm serious. This isn't a joking matter. We could use all the help we can get if we hope to stop Risky Boots from destroying Sequin Land with intergalactic weapons of mass destruction. Speaking of, what's going on in the forest back there? Why is it that a bunch of your men are in there fighting her Tinkerbats?"

"We're not at liberty to say," Vinegar tersely retorted with a dismissive shrug. "We were just looking for our device. All I will let you know is that we had an agreement with a private party that required us to bring some reinforcements."

"Oh…" the half-genie groaned, taking no comfort in the implications of Vinegar's statement.

"Fair enough, but your boys in blue back there were real tangled up with a huge group o' Risky's minions," Tay warned, though it garnered no notable reaction from Twitch or Vinegar.

"We know," Twitch plainly countered, shocking both Shantae and Tayshan. "That's our problem, though, and we'd prefer to keep it that way."

"Oh. If y'all say so, but considerin' what we've seen, the circumstances ain't exactly negligible on your part," he countered in hopes of giving the two Ammonian acolytes some food for thought.

"Yeah, thanks. That aside, you said you needed our help against Risky Boots. It might not be such a terrible idea, as much as it sickens me to admit it. Of course, the million-gem question is this: What's in it for us?" Vinegar was quick to ask, abruptly changing the subject while seeming to find a certain level of distaste in working with a sometimes-enemy.

"Well for one thing, you'll get your hypnotic potpourri gesticulation thing-!" Shantae was about to answer.

"Hypersonic Propulsion Generator!" Vinegar screamed, clearly not amused by Shantae's misnomer, though Tay chuckled, apparently finding it funny.

"Yeah, that thing. You'll get it back."

"Right, but what would we get in return for helping you?"

"Oh! Uhhhh…" Shantae hummed, unsure of how she would bribe the two weapons enthusiasts. "I'm not sure I have enough money to pay you girls off… M-maybe I'll teach you how to dance like I do?" she offered with an uncertain shrug.

"Pass," both Twitch and Vinegar sternly denied in unison. "I would rather scrub the latrines in our airship by hand. We'll need a lot more than goofy, uncoordinated, tacky dance moves if you really want our help," Twitch further rudely commented.

"Hey! My dance moves are top-notch, not to mention sacred rites of passage AND the main source of my powers! I learned most of them from Guardian Genies across the land when I first became a hero!" the half-genie defended, unappreciative of their unwarranted criticism.

"Good for you," Vinegar uncaringly dismissed with a callous flick of her hand. "Anyway, if you two don't have anything to offer for a truce, then we'll be fine getting that generator back on our own."

"Okay," Tay acknowledged, understanding that the two were looking for something substantial. "What is it y'all might be interested in that we could compromise on?"

"Hmm… Oh, I know!" Twitch exclaimed, a bright idea popping up in her head. "How about if we help you get those guns back, you give us a cut of the spoils?" the shorter of the two blonde young women suggested with a rather sinister grin.

"Absolutely not," Tay immediately denied her. "Those weapons are far too dangerous for anyone without a clue on how they work t' be gallivantin' around with. Plus, I'm aimin' t' collect them all an' bring 'em back where they belong."

"Aww," Twitch whined in disappointment. "Fine. How's about you and I get to know each other better over Hot Hog Ham Hocks, since you're apparently single, then?" she boldly proffered, once again shocking the soldier out of his wits as he, along with Shantae and Vinegar, stared blankly at her.

"…What?" Tay asked, unsure of if he heard her right.

"I know a pretty good restaurant over on Main Street." Again, the soldier was caught off-guard. Shantae merely groaned, shaking her head in disbelief. "Trust me, Tayshan, we could gush for days about ballistic missiles, semi-automatic rifles, and fighter jets that rip through the skies at Mach 2 while we spent some quality time really digging into each other to see where it goes from there. Doesn't that sound the least bit interesting to you, hmm?" she innocently suggested with another cute smirk and wink in his direction. The flabbergasted soldier found himself speechless, silently questioning if this conversation was actually happening.

"Twitch, is this really the time to be looking for dates?" Vinegar asked, slightly perturbed by her partner's trivial proposition. "This guy is clearly taken, anyway. What about Bran-Son?"

"No way. Been there, done that. He's a total loser behind those devilishly good looks and those bulging muscles. This guy might not be near as buff as Bran-Son, but he actually knows his way around a real battle and has a fair share of knowledge on weapons and heavy machinery. We were having a nice, friendly conversation about his weapons tech after he saved me that I'd very much like to continue. Also, he said that he and genie girl are just friends, which means he's on the market, as far as I'm concerned. Plus, you gotta admit, he's really cute!" she reasoned. Tay, having been called the magic word that men are not supposed to be, scowled in embarrassment and contempt, crossing his arms and batting his eyes away.

"Look, before we get carried away, will you help us or not?" Shantae impatiently asked, wanting to cut the conversation short.

"Dunno. Do we have a date, beefcake?" Twitch impertinently asked the soldier, persistent in her effort. Tay, though unwilling to sell his relationship status in exchange for assistance in stopping Risky, took a moment to think before he formed his rebuttal.

"I… don't know about it bein' a date, so I would refrain from describin' it like that. Buuuut, we can see about becomin' familiar with each other in the future if there's time," Tay acquiesced with a sigh, shocking his partner. "It's gonna have to wait until after we deal with Risky Boots and ONLY if you PROMISE not t' try an' steal any weapons along the way, though. That goes for you and whoever y'all work with. Deal's off if you or anybody in your crew so much as glances at that equipment the wrong way."

"Scouts' honor," Twitch agreed with an unexpectedly-cheery grin, saluting him. However, her non-saluting hand was suspiciously hidden behind her back.

"Right…" Tay acknowledged, somewhat apprehensive about his new ally's overly-friendly demeanor. "In any case, did you need some more clues as t' what they look like? Granted, they're all in Risky Boots's possession right now…"

"You gave me a pretty good idea. We'll know what to look for when we get the ball rollin', and especially if we run into that snobby old hag Risky. Also, I can't wait for our da-! Er, meeting! You're gonna love those ham hocks!" she added with a consistently upbeat tone, evidently excited about spending time with Tay.

"Okay, I guess you have yourselves a deal," Vinegar uneasily concluded, offering a handshake to seal the deal. Shantae, despite being just as perplexed by the circumstances of the arrangement, shook the tank gunner's hand without a word. With that, their temporary alliance was formed. "We'll report back to Ammo Baron and figure things out from there," Vinegar assured.

"Yep! Bye~!" Twitch added with a wave as she and Vinegar dashed off toward the forest, leaving Shantae and Tayshan to ponder the events of the battle. In this time, a large, brightly-colored glowing marble platform manifested in front of them. Before Tay could ask what it was, however…

"So… first, you tell me all those nice things about how pretty I am and how much you enjoy being around me, then you mentioned how 'radiant and beautiful' you thought Sky was when she hit on you, and now you're apparently getting nice and comfortable with Twitch. Don't tell me you're some kind of shameless flirt, Tayshan…" Shantae accused. She eyed Tay up and down, suddenly suspicious of his intentions.

"What? No! No, no, goodness, no!" he anxiously defended himself, aware of the half-genie's irritation with him. "Whatever you're accusin' me of, you're takin' it way out o' context. The things I told you, I absolutely meant. If nothin' else, I'm totally honest about what I say. Plus, Sky hit on me, not the other way around. You saw that for yourself. I replied as nicely as I could without makin' her upset. And all Twitch an' I did was chat a little about why we were fightin' after I got her out the plane. I wasn't expectin' her t' be interested in me in the slightest, even with all the comments she made toward me… I honestly thought she was playin' around t' try an' distract me durin' the fight."

"A likely story…" she disbelievingly retorted. "So why'd you agree to go on a date with Twitch after telling Sky you'd see about spending time with her, huh?" At that, Tay took a breath of vexation, evidently not enjoying being put on the hot seat by none other than his own teammate.

"Well I didn't 'agree,' first of all. I said 'we'll see.' And I made it clear that it wasn't a date. Also, I got a hunch that it ain't gon' happen, anyway…" he explained before realizing something. "Besides, that girl don't look a day over thirteen years old! I swear she could be somebody's little sister. Probably that other girl's, if I had t' guess. Not t' change the subject, but how old are those two, anyway?"

"Um…" Shantae pondered, cupping her chin in deep thought. "Actually, I'm not sure. I think Twitch is the younger one, but Vinegar might be the same age as me. Of course, I also don't know if they're just friends or if they're related… Why?"

"T' make sure you understand I'm not some disgustin', philanderin' weirdo with a hunger for any an' all things female. I'm way more respectful an' clear-headed than that, believe me. Plus, if I have t' explain myself, I prefer girls closer t' my age."

"Oh yeah? What's your age range?" the half-genie pressed, still just a bit wary of her partner as the evidence stacked up against him.

"Oh, uh… wow, you caught me off-guard with that one," he responded with slight shock, not expecting her to actually ask him about his preferences. Regardless, he offered a rebuttal after a momentary pause. "Hm, I guess, since I'm nineteen… I'd have t' say no younger than seventeen… Sixteen an' a half gets a hard 'maybe…' but no older than twenty-one…?"

"Okay…" Shantae murmured, still giving the soldier a rather inquisitive, prying look.

"Granted, this is based on the age o' consent in my world, which is generally accepted t' be sixteen. I don't like playin' so close t' the fence there, regardless; especially when my own age is considered in relation. I wanna avoid trouble wherever I can."

"The age of consent here is sixteen, too. Still, that makes sense, I guess…"

"I hope it does," he replied, though he was slightly surprised to learn yet another similarity between his world and Sequin Land. "Sixteen an' a half is a HARD 'maybe' for me because other things like personality an' maturity level come int' play. Otherwise, the cut-off is seventeen. Anyway, based on age alone, you don't have t' worry about me tryin' t' woo you, homegirl. Or Twitch, for that matter." He expected Shantae to take his statement as something to be relieved by. Instead, she scowled at him, evidently offended by his explanation of age-related boundaries.

"Newsflash, Tay: I'm sixteen and three quarters years old," Shantae matter-of-factly corrected, again catching him off-guard. "I'll be seventeen in a couple months. Also, people say I'm quite mature for my age."

"Oh… Well, that's interestin'," he noted with a nod, though he wasn't certain of how to respond to Shantae's clarification based on the context of their chat. It wasn't like she was just throwing that out there so that he'd maybe consider her a viable option… right? "I guess that changes things… or it… doesn't? In any case, happy almost-birthday if it turns out I'm not here long enough t' help ya celebrate!"

"Thanks in advance!" she answered, accepting his premature birthday wishes.

"Right. I didn't mean t' imply that you were immature, either. Sorry about that. Anyway, look," he started, shaking his head to refocus. "I guarantee you, I am NOT the kind o' guy that goes around, lookin' for hot dates wherever I might find 'em. I have my preferences, sure, but I'm a lot more considerate than that. Also, I hate to admit it, but…" he trailed off, looking away in discomfort as he rubbed the back of his neck. "…I'm… too shy… for… for that sort o' thing. I'm used to… bein' alone…" he sheepishly admitted with a pressured sigh. "I… ain't lookin' t' change that anytime soon…"

"Aw, Tay…" Shantae endearingly consoled, patting her sidekick on the back as she let up on him with the accusation. She found his bashfulness as endearing as it was reassuring that she could trust him not to get himself in trouble. "It's okay to be shy. I'm… a little—no, VERY shy myself, believe it or not. I know where you're coming from."

"You an' I are one in the same, huh?" he acknowledged with a grin, bringing his attention back to his team leader. However, he suddenly realized something as he looked at her smiling face. "Actually… why are you grillin' me about this?" he asked, turning the tables. "I get that my interactions with two of the three girls we encountered so far weren't the most… tame, but it's not like you'd care if I DID happen t' be interested in either of them. Or, at least Sky. Right?"

"O-of course not! It doesn't matter to me who you like at all," Shantae hastily and fervently denied, blushing as she turned away and shrugged. "You can date whoever you want. It's just… not nice to play with a girl's heart when you have no intention of being with her."

"Well I assure you, I ain't playin' with anybody's heart," he naively affirmed. "I don't know Sky all that well, but if she's a friend o' yours, then I'd like t' get t' know her at least as a friend. Maybe she wants t' be friends, too. It'd be rude t' disregard her simply because she apparently likes me."

"That's fair, I guess…" Shantae acknowledged, facing the accused philanderer as she listened to him.

"As for Twitch… Like I was sayin', she may be just a TAD too young for me, no matter what way we look at that. Goin' anywhere alone with her, I'd guarantee would feel like I was babysittin' her."

"Oooh, harsh, Tay… Harsh," Shantae commented, comically reeling back as though she felt the sting of an insult that wasn't directed at her. At that, the serviceman laughed with her.

"You play too much," he joked with a shake of his head. "Still, I know she's gonna break the promise she made," he expertly deduced, genuinely surprising her this time.

"And you know that, how?"

"When she agreed to it, she had her hand behind her back. She was no doubt crossin' her fingers, an' I presume you know what crossed fingers mean when makin' a promise. An' before you ask: When we were talkin', she was WAY more interested in hearin' about the weapons I told her about an' how they worked than about if she an' I made a good match. Girl never even made more than a couple o' cutesy faces an' a comment about how romantic it was t' be held by a man," he explained, rolling his eyes in contempt. "Charmin' as she may be, I'm not a complete fool who'd get tricked into a one-sided deal by a desire t' date. Gimme SOME credit, Shantae."

"Hm… That's also a fair point. Twitch and Vinegar ARE pretty big on heavy artillery, and Twitch's friendly attitude toward you after our battle WAS just a little pushy."

"Indeed. So, while we might have t' keep an eye on them so they don't get sticky fingers should they come near those guns, just think about it as us basically gettin' their help for free. I also got a feelin' that, even if they did want t' try stealin' some from under our noses, they'd still have to find an' fight Risky Boots for 'em. Somehow, I doubt Risky would give 'em up so easily in that scenario."

"Huh…" Shantae pondered, seeming curious as to how her friend could be so sure of his actions that he'd make an unfavorable agreement with the certainty in his mind that the terms of said agreement would be violated. "Y'know, that's really sneaky…"

"I know…" he agreed, understanding Shantae's observation. "I promise, though, this is a matter o' coincidences, not some calculated effort. Seriously, I'm surprised half the things goin' on here are fallin' int' place like they are."

"That's true. Plus, it IS effective, considering who we're dealing with here. I can see your point, so I'll let it slide this time."

"Oh. Thanks for your forgiveness?"

"Yeah. I personally don't agree with what you did to make sure they worked with us, but I guess it's in our favor in this case when they were already making demands after they attacked us. Plus, I'm not sure we'd have been able to get them to help us otherwise. I basically had nothing to give them to pay them off. Still, you'll have to be prepared to spend quality time with Twitch if you turn out to be wrong about your hunch."

"Yeah…" he agreed with an anxious sigh. "At the very least, I'll be bitin' that bullet, not you. I'm a man o' my word, no matter what. One little 'playdate' ain't gonna be the end o' me. I'll keep my guard up, too."

"Good point. Thank you, in that case."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't. Ever," he joked, eliciting a small chuckle out of his team leader.

"I'll try not to. Anyway, good job on taking down Twitch. Those two are a real headache to fight alone."

"Fo' sho'. Glad to have been able t' back you up. Though, I still wonder… Why did you get all mad at me an' call me a shameless flirt? Is… there somethin' you wanna tell me?" the soldier prodded, suspecting that Shantae had something to hide herself.

"N-no! No, not at all," the flustered half-genie denied. "I was just… making sure you weren't purposely getting yourself in trouble is all. I know a couple guys who tend to do that. I'm glad you're not one of them."

"That right? Gee, thanks for carin' about my safety, I guess," he sarcastically remarked, still confused about his friend's concern.

"Of course, my dear protégé. And it's not because I fancy you or anything, so don't get the wrong idea," she casually shot back, smiling slightly as though to communicate that she trusted him.

"Didn't even make that assumption, t' be honest," he laughingly nodded, raising his hands to let her know he had no ill intentions. "Gotta admit though, that fight was pretty fun, even though I was under some heavy pressure. Thanks for showin' me the ropes. I hope I have made you proud, Shantae-sensei."

"Make me proud, you have, Tayshan," she shot back, keeping up the humor in being Tay's impromptu teacher. "There is much more yet to learn, however. Anyway, I'm glad to see you enjoyed your first boss battle! You're the first person I've ever co-op'ed with on an adventure. It was really cool how we worked together like that. I almost can't wait until the next battle to see what else we can do."

"Hey, I'm all for it," Tay agreed. "I hope we continue t' work well together like we did throughout this last-minute quest. Speakin' of…" he trailed off, recalling some of the details of their first adventure. "Those girls said they were affiliated with that Ammo Baron, right? I mean, I could kinda tell by the blue raccoon-themed outfits they wore…"

"Yeah. Those two are his right-hand girls. I know what you're thinking, too," Shantae preemptively concurred. "They were awfully secretive about why their men are in the woods fighting that horde of Tinkerbats. We probably should've pressed them more to figure out if they would give us a clue why they were here."

"Who's the psychic one now?" he joked, though he was just as disappointed as his new team leader about failing to press Twitch and Vinegar about their reasons for bringing an armed regiment into the forest or why they were locking horns with Risky Boots's forces there. "Still, maybe someone around here knows somethin'. There's no way there were no witnesses t' everything that went down. A civilian, a guard, or whoever, somebody's gotta know. All we know from Twitch an' her friend is that they've been lookin' for that machine Risky Boots stole. That, an' they came here thinkin' you took it."

"Right you are, Tay. What really gets me is how there were no guards here to stop them from causing such a ruckus. We'll go to the palace and ask around. While we're here, we can see if we can talk to the Sultana about mobilizing her guards to help us stop Risky Boots," the young woman suggested as she walked past the Stage Clear platform and toward the monumental citadel. Tayshan merely nodded, following suit as they approached the main entrance to Sequin Land Palace.

The duo was immediately greeted by two palace guards wielding spears, clad head to toe in cobalt blue armor traced with bronze detail. Each one wore matching helmets that hid everything but their eyes. The guards also wore royal purple armor-padded gloves that matched the purple sashes draping over their wheat-colored pants, visible at their hips. As the two warriors approached, the guards crossed their weapons in front of the palace entrance.

"State your business, Mischievous Genie and Nameless Peasant," one of the guards demanded.

"Peasant!?" Tay echoed in ire, taking the guard's hasty judgment as a scathing insult.

"Tay, it's okay," Shantae interjected, holding a hand up to halt her new partner from doing anything rash. The soldier, trusting Shantae, crossed his arms and sighed, allowing her to take the lead. The half-genie turned her attention to the guards. "Good afternoon, sirs. We have a dire emergency on our hands that threatens the safety of Sequin Land and its citizens. We were hoping to speak with the Sultana about-!"

"State the emergency," one of the guards interrupted, his and the other guard's stances unmoving.

"Er… Risky Boots and her minions are on the move again and we fear that they may launch another surprise attack on innocent people all over the land. This time, she's bolstered her might, and my partner and I have some crucial information that-!"

"Risky Boots is of little concern to us unless she herself encroaches upon the palace grounds," the second guard interrupted, shocking both Shantae and Tayshan.

"Wh-what?" Shantae asked, alarmed by the swift and inconsiderate denial of the guards. "But Risky Boots has posed a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of people all over Sequin Land! The world, even! Surely, she'd be given some sort of priority should she be seen at all by this point?"

"We are aware, and no, there is no precedence set for her over other criminals," the first guard stated matter-of-factly. "She is merely a marauding pirate and thief who keeps herself safe by staying out at sea, where she frequently crosses international boundaries. By decree of the Sultana, we are not to engage her, even as the nation's most infamous repeat offender, unless she is to infringe upon the grounds of the Sequin Land Palace."

"But… if that's the case, then why didn't you arrest her when she set foot in Scuttle Town a while ago, during the time when the threat of the Pirate Master's return was present, and she had no way to escape you?" the half-genie queried, realizing that the guards' logic seemed somewhat flawed.

"As you said, she was in Scuttle Town at the time, which is out of our jurisdiction. Scuttle Town's problems are primarily its own unless a situation compromises the safety of the Sultana and the Sequin Land Palace."

"What about the last few times she's come here and ambushed the people of Scuttle Town? She's attacked the town with cannons, attack pods full of Tinkerbats that pillaged and looted many businesses and homes, a mechanized pirate ship, and even a giant slug, amongst other things. I've even heard from some townsfolk that she ran through the city herself at one point very recently, causing almost as much destruction and mayhem as her Tinkerbats while on some kind of quest to gather resources to fulfill her evil plans."

"Again, Scuttle Town's problems are its own. As such, unless she attacks the Sequin Land Palace directly or her ambushes pose a direct threat to the Sultana or the palace grounds, we cannot intervene. Additionally, Scuttle Town had been under the leadership of the Ammo Baron last time she'd been seen on foot there by any guards. Even if we were to pursue the possibility of arresting her, the town's change of leaders effectively wiped her slate clean up to that point. Records of any transgressions against other municipalities were either thrown out or were deemed not worth pursuing. She committed no crimes during Ammo Baron's tenure as mayor, so there was no need to arrest her. On the other hand, you know already what followed when you brazenly assaulted Mayor Ammo Baron when he was attempting to renovate the town for its protection."

"Right, you guys tried to have my hair cut as punishment…" she recalled, grasping her ponytail for dear life. "But then, I wasn't a threat to Sequin Land. I was trying to help the citizens of Scuttle Town! None of them wanted him to rebuild the entire town in his twisted, warmongering image, and he did it anyway! I was acting on behalf of the community!"

"You were well within the bounds of the Sequin Land Palace and you assaulted a public official, which is a federal offense punishable by fifty years imprisonment and seizure of all assets to accommodate the cost of the official's medical bills. You were wrong on every account and narrowly escaped retribution for your callous actions," the guard standoffishly reminded her. Shantae, becoming annoyed with the guards combatting her on every point she made, let out a frustrated sigh as she refocused her attention on the pressing issue ahead.

"Fine… But Risky Boots attacked the town once after Ammo Baron was removed and Mayor Scuttlebutt was reinstated!" the increasingly-frustrated genie girl argued. "That attack happened a month ago, if even that. She came very close to attacking the palace, too!"

"Yet, you stopped that attack yourself outside the bounds of the palace and failed to detain her or bring her here to answer for her crimes," the second guard countered. "As Scuttle Town's self-imposed, legally-designated guardian genie, it is your solemn responsibility to apprehend any and all direct threats to the safety of Scuttle Town. Instead, you let them roam freely within the city's walls, even after they have broken the law. They come and go as they please, even receiving assistance from you to conjure up other dastardly schemes to bring harm to your community, as far as we most recently observed you doing."

"What?" Shantae remarked in utter shock, evidently unaware of the finer details of her role. "But Mayor Scuttlebutt told me that all I had to do was keep Scuttle Town safe! Plus, no one I 'helped' ever mentioned wanting to destroy Scuttle Town at the times I did!" she vehemently contended, though her confession caused Tay to raise a curious eyebrow. "Also, they helped me by giving me important items that allowed me to defeat Risky Boots again! What they do with my 'help' is their choice! If they choose to threaten Scuttle Town, then I'm always there to stop them! Even with that, I've never heard anything about being the town's law enforcement, too! I didn't know I had to arrest them once I beat them!"

"Well now you DO know," the guard snidely remarked. "Why do you think Scuttle Town has no guards or other law enforcement present at all times?"

"…Because Scuttle Town isn't a ritzy, well-funded, hustle-and-bustle metropolis and the mayor can't afford to hire any guards?" she 'guessed,' her tone just a tad sarcastic.

"Precisely. That is primarily because that incompetent buffoon grossly mishandles his assets and foolishly allows his town's economy to suffer for it. In fact, his entire defense budget, however diminutive, is spent on you; an inadequate, naïve, and thoroughly undisciplined vigilante half-genie who only does her job halfway. Fitting, when you think about it… Half the genie, half the effort, with a halfwit mayor to add to the equation. Yet, you wonder why the city is under the constant threat of utter destruction…" At that, the other guard snickered while Tayshan, growing incredibly impatient with the disrespect these guards so irreverently hurled their way, shot a frightening death stare at both guards as he kept his arms folded. However, he recognized that he had no place to speak in the discussion so long as he remained unaware of the full story behind it.

"Hey!" Shantae roared, clearly put off by the palace guard's disparaging comment. "You have no right to insult me or my heritage! I do my best to protect the town! My efforts have kept it safe for years!"

"Not safe enough, evidently; especially if you're here, begging for our help. As such, when Risky Boots attacks Scuttle Town, it is your duty, not ours, to protect its people. If she attacks another city, it is the responsibility of that city's law enforcement. If she attacks the Sequin Land Palace, then it is the entire nation's obligation to find, apprehend, and/or neutralize her, as this palace is the capitol of the entire country. To attack Sequin Land Palace directly is to declare war on the entire nation," the guard further explained, the terseness of his tone evident. "That is not our personal preference, young lady. That is the law, as decreed by Her Highness. Even Risky Boots is wise enough to understand that."

"Okay, this is goin' absolutely nowhere," Tayshan cut in as he rubbed his forehead, annoyed as his partner was by the guards' refusal to listen to, much less offer any assistance to them. "I don't know what happened before, an' I won't give any input on that as a result. However, I will ask this, since y'all make such a convincin' argument about when to an' when not t' step in: When those two girls were just here with the tank an' the airplane, why didn't you lift a finger t' help us out or stop 'em yourselves?"

"Because they did nothing to indicate that they would jeopardize the wellbeing of the palace or the Sultana. In fact, they had only come here requesting information about an item that was stolen from them. They posed no threat and proved it by deactivating their weaponry with us as their witnesses." Tay, disbelieving of such an absurd reason to do nothing, shook his head incredulously.

"Alright, whatever sense that makes…" he acknowledged with a shrug before clearing his throat. "In any case, if you'll hear us out, then what we're trying to tell y'all is that Risky Boots has made herself a much bigger threat than she's ever been before. We would like some precautionary assistance with dealing with potential threats t' the peace and tranquility of not just Scuttle Town, but all of Sequin Land. In fact, that forest back there is a warzone between Risky Boots's Tinkerbats an' blue soldiers that I was told work for the Ammo Baron."

"Those soldiers are affiliated with the two young women and were commanded by them to stand ground in the forest as a countermeasure upon sight of a wayward Tinkerbat lurking about the premises."

"…Seriously?" Tay asked as he and Shantae widened their eyes in utter shock.

"Yes," the second guard confirmed. "Their protection of the Sequin Land Palace at this time is part of the temporary armistice we struck with Ammo Baron's subordinates in exchange for any information about the whereabouts of their stolen device."

"…That answers that question of why they were here… Okay. Anyway, is it at all possible t' get the attention o' the Sultana or any high-rankin' official who we might be able t' talk to about the threat Risky Boots poses?"

"The Sultana has just departed on a much-needed vacation overseas," the guard informed, causing Shantae to slap her palm onto her face in frustration. "We are the highest-ranking knights in her Royal Guard. Any concerns you have, you may address with us."

"Alright. In that case, we are formally requestin' assistance with possibly gainin' some protection for Scuttle Town an' any other places that may be under threat of invasion by Risky Boots. Can you guys help us in any way?"

"No," the first guard stated without a moment of thought, causing Tayshan to glare at him before he reserved himself and took a deep breath.

"Why not?"

"Sequin Land Palace guards are only assigned to protect the Sultana, the palace, and the palace grounds. As we told the half-genie, unless the threat to your municipality directly jeopardizes the safety of the nation's capitol, we cannot aid you. That is the law. Additionally, you bring such boisterous claims to us without so much as an inkling of proof. We cannot mobilize under any circumstances without probable cause. For us to even entertain this frivolous conversation for this long is a blessing to you. However, you are interfering with official guard business and are wasting your time and ours at this point. We will converse with you no further. Begone," the guard abruptly dismissed, seeing no more point in discussing the matter with the duo.

"Aw, come on…" the soldier groaned, throwing his head up in exasperation.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Shantae stated with an expectant shrug as she led the way back toward the Stage Clear platform. "It's just as I expected, though. We're gonna be totally by ourselves on this aside from Sky, Uncle, Twitch, and Vinegar. We'll basically be doing all the dirty work… again."

"That's… not a great sign," Tay admitted, his worries about their future growing like weeds in an abandoned, unkept lawn. "We'd better move like gale force winds if we expect this t' turn out well for us. At least we got a foot in the door with Twitch an' Vinegar, so this wasn't a total bust…"

"True. I mean, even for all the awful things Ammo Baron and his cronies have done, they're not totally evil, so far as I know. So, there IS hope there. Anyway, we should get home and get some rest. We also need to think about where to go from here," she advised, stepping onto the platform.

"Yeah, I'm pretty beat," Tay agreed, motioning to climb aboard before he noticed a floating object in his peripheral vision. Turning his attention toward the object, he approached to see that it was a damaged control device with missing buttons and wiring hanging out of it. Curious, he grabbed the device. Tay got Busted Remote and realized what it was as soon as he picked it up.

"Neat!" Shantae congratulated. "The Busted Remote that Uncle Mimic was asking for!"

"…Seriously?" He skeptically responded. "I'm pretty sure I could've picked any old remote up an' it would've been good. There is literally nothin' special about this thing. THIS is how we're supposed t' find these important key items? At random?"

"We've been over this, Tay," Shantae plainly stated. "At the very least, it's not technically 'random', per se. I can guarantee that no other broken remote control is designed like the one you just picked up. The other items will be in very specific locations, too." At that, he merely sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know… Anyway, are we forgettin' anything?"

"Hmm… No, not that I'm aware of."

"Gotcha. Though, I strangely feel… like we totally blew past somethin' an' forgot about it as soon as it stopped bein' relevant to our little quest."

"I… can't picture us forgetting anything. Maybe it'll come back to one of us after we take a break?"

"Yeah, probably," he stated, shrugging and dismissing his concern as he joined Shantae on the platform. "Though, I do kinda want t' ask you exactly why those guards mistreated you like that. You did mention that they didn't really care for your status as guardian genie, which I get, but they were INCREDIBLY rude t' you. I was about t' step in a lot sooner, but I didn't wanna step on your toes when I don't know that much about your past experiences with them. An' maybe you can explain t' me exactly what goes on in this world that makes its politics so… rigid."

"I'll fill you in once we get home. It's a LONG story…"

"Roger that," he acknowledged with a nod as the two readied themselves on the platform. "I got as much time as we need t' get that scoop…"

"All Clear!" Shantae announced with excitement as she struck a pose, though Tay had no idea what was going on. Before he could ask what she was doing, what this magic platform was, or why they were even standing on it, however, the two teleported away in a flash. Thus, concluded was the first of a series of zany, outrageous adventures to be had by the half-genie hero and the fledgling soldier from an unknown land. However, as the soldier had suspected, they had indeed forgotten something… or someone, rather.

Back within the emerald-green foliage of the woods...

A young blue-haired man wielding a chained mace was frantically running away from a squadron comprised of Tinkerbats, goblins, angry boars, and Ammonian soldiers alike. They had apparently come to an unlikely ceasefire specifically to beat up on the innocent, unlucky man.

"Shantae! Sky! Suspicious stranger who stole my mace! Somebody get me outta here!" Bolo shouted, dashing through the forest like a mailman being chased by a pack of hungry dogs. He had apparently bitten off more than he could chew when he tried to take on both Risky's and Ammo Baron's men on his own to prove his heroism, only to have them AND the forest-dwelling creatures gang up on him. At the very least, he got his Morning Star back.