Me and Rotty ran through the forest, running into no monsters whatsoever. We ran through the tunnel, this time avoiding the hidden trap hole that led to Tuki's shop. As much as a nice relaxing boobjob sounded, Now was not the time. We reached Scarecrow Fields, rushing past all the scarecrows that threw firebombs at us. It was a little hard to get past them at some points, but since they were so slow, it wasn't impossible. Eventually, we reached Scuttle Town. We both rushed down the road, making a few turns until we got to Sky's Hatchery. We hurried inside, and sure enough, Sky was there. I couldn't help but think about how much larger her hatchery had gotten within the past few weeks. She wasn't kidding when she said that it was growing. And it was only getting bigger.

Sky turned around to look at us. Her expression was blank. I panted hard, tired and sweating from the run we had just gone through. Rottytops was right behind me, bending over with her hands on her knees. She was just as exhausted.

"S-Sky!" I started. "We need you to—"

Before I could finish, Sky immediately punched me in the face. Hard. She absolutely decked me. I fell backwards, landing on my ass. I put my hand over my nose, groaning. "O-Ow!" I complained. "What the hell was that for?!"

Sky looked down at me. She looked really pissed, which was never a good sign for me. "Where the fuck have you been all day?!" She yelled. "I thought you were coming in for work this weekend! I needed your help, asshole!!" At first, I didn't understand what she was talking about. But then I remembered. She was telling me about how she was expecting a lot of eggs to hatch today, and she would need my help taking care of the newborns. I had agreed to help her last week, despite my usual schedule of not working on weekends.

I felt terrible. "Oh shit, Sky, I'm so sorry!" I said. "I totally forgot! Something came up, and—"

Sky looked up at Rotty, before interrupting me. "Wait, what's Rotty doing with you..? Oh my god, are you guys on a date?!" She said. She looked at me with a murderous look. "I thought you were with Shantae...you asshole...I knew you were good for nothing..."

I could hear Wrench cawing from across the Hatchery. I suddenly felt fearful for my life. Luckily, Rotty spoke up. "Shantae wanted us to spend time today! Since she would be gone, she thought it would be a good for me so I can remember my past. You took her to our mansion this morning, right?" She explained.

Sky's look of murder left her face. She calmed down, sighing shortly. "I did." She said. "But she hasn't come back yet...Wrench hasn't heard her whistle." She explained. I started to stand up, worried about what Sky just said.

"She hasn't come back?" I asked. Hypno Baron wasn't there, but he would have surely left something for Shantae to fight to buy time. "I hope she's fine..."

"Don't worry Y/N!" Rotty said. "Hypno Baron was never there to begin with! She's probably just taking her time to make sure the mansion is clear! And if there's anything else there, she can handle it!" She put her hand on my shoulder. I sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right..." I said. "Thanks, Rotty."

"Wait, Hypno Baron isn't at the mansion?" Sky asked curiously. "Then where is he?" Sky asking that reminded me why we came in the first place.

"He was underground near Sequin Palace." I said. "He was trying to get an evil relic hidden there. We beat him, but there's nothing guarding it anymore...we have to get rid of it." I opened my bag, and pulled out the lamp for Sky to see.

"Woah." She said, scanning the lamp. "Kinda looks like the one Risky used to steal Shantae's genie powers..."

Risky did what now?

"That's what I said!" Rotty exclaimed. "But it's not the same one...this one is filled with dark, evil magic!"

Sky's eyes widened. "W-Why the hell did you bring it here then?!" She questioned. It was a perfectly reasonable question, I had to admit.

"Like I said, there's nothing to stop anyone from taking it. The guardian was vanquished, leaving it vulnerable." I said. "The Librarian told us that we need to drop it in the ocean...can you fly us out so we can get rid of it?"

Sky thought to herself for a moment. Then, she answered. "If I do, you have to work all day tomorrow. I managed to get by today, but I can't let that get by no matter what!" She poked my chest. She definitely held a grudge, but I didn't mind. I was just glad she was agreeing to do this for us. That, and that she wasn't sending Wrench after me to pluck my eyes out.

"O-Of course! No problem, boss!" I said, nodding. Sky sighed, then held her arm out and whistled. Wrench landed on her arm, stretching his wings out. I had the weird feeling that he was showing off to intimidate me. That bird never liked me. He would always try to bite me whenever I tried to clean his feathers.

"Alright..so we just have to fly you guys far out towards the ocean and you just drop that thing?" She asked.

"Yup! Easy peasy!" Rotty replied, giving a thumbs up.

"Alright, it's a deal then...MEGA-WRENCH METAMORPHOSIS!" Sky called. Wrench flew towards the center of the room, before growing in size in an instant with a large puff of pink smoke. I never truly understood how it was possible that he could do that. But I wouldn't question it, for the sake of convenience. Sky climbed onto Wrench, getting seated on his back before reaching her hand down. "Come on, I don't have all night! Shantae might call any minute now!" Sky said.

I nodded, before putting the lamp securely in my bag. I took Sky's hand, and climbed onto Wrench, sitting behind Sky. Then I held my hand down, helping Rotty onto the large bird. She sat down behind me. She hugged her arms tightly around my body, rubbing her hands over me teasingly. "Hey handsome." She whispered in my ear. I blushed deeply from the feeling of her blowing air against my ear. She must have been doing that on purpose.

"Hmph. Asshole..." Sky muttered. She must have heard Rotty whisper. "Let's go, Wrench!"

The large bird cawed powerfully, flapping his wings quickly. He raised off the ground slowly, before suddenly taking off through the open roof of the Hatchery. We soared through the sky as Scuttle Town became a blur behind us. In truth, I had started to enjoy flying on Wrench now. The first time I flew, I was horribly traumatized. But now, it felt so nice to have the wind rushing through my hair. I felt...free.

I came to understand why Sky loved this so much.

Wrench continued to fly out into the open seas, hovering right above the flat waters. We moved past the water so fast that I couldn't even see the water rolling. It was all just a blur. I almost reached out to touch the water before thinking that it might just yank me right off of Wrench. I decided not to take that chance. After flying for what felt like five or ten minutes, Sky patted Wrenched feathers, and he began to slow down into a peaceful glide. She turned around to look at us. "Well, let's get rid of that thing." She said.

I blinked at her. "You really think we're far out enough? Already?" I questioned.

Sky only laughed. "You really doubt me and Wrench? Trust me. No way is that lamp gonna wash up on any shore out here. It'll be at the bottom of the ocean, where nothing will touch it."

"If you say so..." I said. I carefully took out the lamp from my bag. Now that I knew what it contained, I could almost feel the dark aura that came from the lamp. It was intimidating. Scary, even. I felt a little nervous. But then I breathed in the ocean air through my nose, and felt calm again. I turned around to Rotty, who gave me a sure look.

"Go ahead." She said.

I looked down at the water below us. This lamp was evil. I had to get rid of it for everyone's sake. And so, I held the lamp out, and dropped it gracefully from my hands. We were still flying moderately fast, and I was afraid it would float, but I was able to watch it for a few moments. It splashed into the water, slowly sinking below the surface. And just like that, it was over.

"Whew..." I sighed in relief. "Alright, that's done. Let's head back." I said.

"You got it." Sky replied, patting Wrench once more. He turned around, and flapped his wings to pick up speed once more. The fly back home was relieving. I watched the sun sink past the horizon as the sky turned orange. The sunset was wonderful from the view we had. The ocean water glittered so beautifully. I felt Rotty's hold on me tighten. She rested her head on my shoulder, looking out at the sunset. It was...intimate. I felt my heart race a little. Did I really feel this way for Rotty...?

What was I going to do?

Eventually, we reached Scuttle Town. Wrench lowered through the Hatchery roof and landed on the ground. Rotty climbed off, followed by me. Sky hopped off right after, and then, in a puff of smoke, Wrench returned to normal size, flying up onto his perch above us. Sky looked at me. "There you have it! One evil lamp gone! Don't forget you're end of the deal, Y/N." Sky said, glaring at me. But I didn't feel scared from her look. I gave her a kind smile.

"Thank you, Sky. I really mean that." I said sincerely. I must have caught her off guard, because she didn't glare anymore. In fact, she even blushed a little. She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact with me.

"W-Whatever, jerk...you'll probably end up being late anyways..." She said. "You live in that newer house on Main Street, right? I'm gonna come to wake you up early in the morning, since you can't be trusted..." She said, her face turning even more red with each passing moment. I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be sure to expect you then." I said with a smile. Rotty then grabbed my hand, pulling me to the exit.

"Bye Sky! Nice seeing you again!" Rotty called as we left her hatchery. I glanced up at the sky. The sun was now gone, and the night was here. I looked at Rotty, who wasn't looking back at me.

"Need me to walk you to the Zombie Caravan?" I asked. "I'm sure your brothers are waiting for you..."

"Actually...they're not..." Rotty mumbled. "I told them I might not come tonight...I was hoping I could spend the night at Shantae's, but she's not here right now..." She then looked up at me, blushing furiously. "Can I sleep at your house?"

I had to admit, Rotty looked really cute when she blushed like that. I didn't know what would happen if I said yes, but I didn't think. I answered on impulse. "Yeah, sure thing." I said. Rotty smiled at me, before hugging my arm and leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Handsome." She said softly as we started to head towards Main Street. We walked in silence, with nothing to pay much attention to except my beating heart.

I was about to have a really fun night.