Chapter 11, Pt. 2: Creepy-Crawly Crusade
Much like the restless spirits and brain-starved corporeal monstrosities (and Rottytops) lingering around the forsaken wilderness of Spider Web Island, we have returned! Oooooooh, so spooky… Ahem! Excuse me. Heh, sorry, I figured I'd attempt to set the tone. I feel like it didn't work. Anyway, we last parted ways with our wonderful scantily clad half-genie space princess and her unpredictable, adorable revenant best friend bravely charging into a gaping, presumably soul-rending abyss after a certain resident alien soldier mysteriously found himself hurtling into it. Imagine that: A human-genie hybrid teenage girl teaming up with the magically reanimated corpse of another teenage girl to enter a dungeon hidden within the deepest, most unforgiving reaches of some haunted, eternally condemned arachnid-themed forest to save an interdimensional alien teenage boy from certain doom. You couldn't pay me to make this stuff up. Well, maybe you could, but like, I'd get in trouble. Legal reasons and stuff. There's your disclaimer, so please don't tell anybody who might disapprove! Er, I-I digress. Anyway, we rejoin our beloved heroines Shantae and Rottytops as they embark on their most…ly déjà vu-heavy, arduous quest to find and rescue Tayshan. And we're off!
LOCATION: SILKY STRINGS LAIR OF EIGHT-LEGGED DESPAIR (long name, I know), SPIDER WEB ISLAND, SEQUIN LAND
DATE: SEPTEMBER 30TH, 16 P.G.F.
TIME: 2123 HOURS
"Gaawahah!" Shantae bellowed as she, along with Rotty's headless body, rose from a portal that seemed to spawn after Rotty threw her own head down the trench. Almost immediately after, the poor half-genie landed flat on her back with a wet *THUD* before Rottytops (with her head reattached, mind you) landed squarely on top of her. "Ouch…!" Shantae groaned, attempting to lift her head. She found herself unable to at the moment, as the frigid, clammy texture of Rotty's face pressed against her cheek prevented her from moving. She also couldn't get up right away, what with the zombie girl inadvertently pinning her to the ground. Clearly, this was going very swimmingly right away.
"Whew… Now that was one deep, breathtaking drop," Rotty observed as she adjusted her head before lifting herself up to where she'd been perched on her knees while still sitting straddled on her teammate's lap. "I didn't think this island had any surprises left."
"You're telling me," Shantae agreed, shaking her head and sitting up to try and climb to her feet before realizing Rotty was still sitting on her. "We can barely see a thing in here… Also, do you mind getting up? I can't move with you sitting on top of me like this."
"Ohh, snack cakes! You're alright!" Rotty rather enthusiastically exclaimed, practically mauling Shantae by tackle-hugging the half-genie's face into her chest, causing the both of them to topple over. "What a relief! I didn't know if that trick of mine would work with a passenger, but thank goodness it did! I'm so glad you're okay!" she further rambled, squeezing and rubbing her unfortunate comrade's face into herself.
"Agh! H-hey! Rotty, cut it out! I can't breathe…!" Shantae protested, grabbing her friend by the shoulders and pushing with as much strength as she could manage to pry her off. The girls' bout of roughhousing would not last long, however, as they were both startled out of their playful stupor by a sudden fusillade of *BANG* noises coming from deeper within the dim, dank cavern. The noises, which Shantae deciphered to be gunshots, came accompanied by an aggressive roar and a series of other rustling noises that indicated to her that her endangered friend was as far from safe as could be. "Oh, no!" Shantae bellowed, springing back to her feet with a sudden rush of adrenaline as she inadvertently knocked Rottytops to the ground. "He's close by! Come on, we have to hurry!" she further urged, grabbing her friend by the wrists to help her up before sprinting full-speed down the empty hallway toward the sounds of the scuffle. Wordlessly, Rottytops followed suit, the two of them kicking it immediately into high gear as they pressed on to inspect the commotion.
As the girls drew closer to their destination, they could pick up additional sounds of a struggle taking place as they approached a large, open, decrepit rectangular doorway with broken pieces of a stone door hanging off the frame. Paying little heed to this, Shantae slid under the jagged, crumbling remains of the broken door while Rottytops opted to jump over. Determined to bail their comrade out of danger, they also turned a blind eye to the spatters of spider webbing coating most of the walls in the room they entered. Granted, they could hardly see anything to even notice that the walls were smothered in webbing until they caught sight of a burning white light up ahead as the noises and distant shouts grew louder. Wasting no time, the girls hurried toward it, only to be immediately stopped by a purple-furred tarantula the size of a full-grown warthog that came plopping down in front of them from the ceiling with a *Thwick* of its legs on the damp, sticky floor.
"Wah!" Rotty shouted as she and Shantae jumped back to prepare to defend themselves. Without warning the spider arched its back, pointing its backside over its head toward its enemies and let loose a heaping gob of a bright pink, glowing, steaming liquid at them. Thinking quickly, Shantae pulled Rottytops close and focused her energy.
"Bubble!" she announced, summoning up a bright blue sphere that surrounded the both of them in the nick of time. With a goopy *splat* of the corrosive projectile against the half-genie's shield, it was sent hurtling back toward the spider, who'd been in the midst of recoiling from its attack before it realized that its plan had backfired. Try as the spider might to evade its own attack, it was too late. With a sizzling *SKSSSSSHHH*, the tarantula found itself drenched in its own excretion. The tarantula hissed in agony, flipping over and flailing its limbs erratically for a few seconds as its body was devoured by its own attack before it exploded with a sudden, smoky *POOF*, sending a spray of bones tumbling around the cavern. As soon as the coast was clear, Shantae deactivated her reflector shield and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow, you're as sharp as always, Shantae! Good work!" Rotty praised.
"We're only getting started. Let's keep going," Shantae urged as she acknowledged the zombie girl's compliment before dashing ahead. Rottytops took the hint and followed suit, though she found herself becoming more mindful of her surroundings as a result of being spooked out by the hostile tarantula. Nevertheless, the two of them hurried down yet another web-slathered empty corridor, dashing toward the light at the other end. As they neared their destination, their ears were filled with more shouts of effort and pain, mixed with hissing and gunshots. Growing more concerned for the safety of her sidekick, Shantae picked up the pace.
"Whoa, hang on!" Rotty called out, quickening her pace to match her partner's speed as they continued to run deeper into the foreboding passageway. Eventually, they reached another room, where they encountered a shirtless man wielding a silver handgun, firing shot after shot at a group of arachnids big, small, and varied in color as they ganged up on him while one of his arms was ensnared in a thick line of webbing coming from the hallway ahead. "What the…?"
"Haah! I won't let you take me! Grrrah!" the man shouted, firing another volley of gunshots at some of the larger spiders, who jumped back while the smaller ones turned their backs to him and shot simultaneous lines of web at him. The man did his best to dodge the incoming sprays of the sticky strings of webbing by hopping to the side, though he found himself dragged closer to his enemies by the web that had been tightly fixed to his wrist. Digging his heels into the damp, slippery mud as best as he could manage, he fired a few more blasts from his weapon as he struggled to avoid being captured.
"Tayshan! Hold on! We're here!" Shantae called, hurrying toward him as she got ready to protect him. Rotty followed suit by dashing toward him with the intent to help him free himself from the spiders. However, as the glowing soldier turned and noticed them, he found his resistance slipping.
"No! Stay back!" Tayshan urged, causing the girls to halt their approach as he continued to pull against the webbing on his arm while firing away at the other spiders with his handgun. "They lured me in here an' ambushed me! They'll do the same t' you if you let 'em!"
"Then we'd better do what we can to stop-!" Shantae was about to declare, readying a fireball to launch at the webbing on the soldier's arm to free him. However, a sudden, distant *thwip* was heard coming from the same hallway the thick, gluey rope had been extending from. And, before anyone knew it, Tay's other arm was struck with a *SPLAT* of yet another line of web attaching itself with force to his other hand, knocking his gun out of his possession. "Shoot!"
"Dagh! Arrgh! No! Let me go…! Nrrgh!" Tay grunted and growled, the magic glow around his body burning brighter as he redoubled his efforts to escape.
"Don't worry, stud muffin! I've gotcha!" Rottytops offered, following through with her plan of wrapping her arms around Tayshan's waist, digging her feet in, and pulling back with all her might to help him escape. "Come on…!" she grunted as she put her back into it.
"Keep your grip strong, you guys! I'll take out these spiders!" Shantae announced, dashing ahead to confront the adversarial arachnids, who hissed and reared up in preparation to engage the humanoid intruders in battle. Shantae quickly flung a series of fireballs at them, scoring a few direct hits that eliminated the smaller spiders. However, she soon found that the larger ones were more stubborn. As such, an orange-hued jumping spider with black stripes all over it, measuring at about the size of a bobcat, jumped and charged through one of the young heroine's projectiles, absorbing it to momentarily expand its size. In that moment, it remained in midair as it fired a bigger, blue-colored fireball back at Shantae, who'd found herself forced to dodge due to its close proximity. Taking note of the jumping spider's ability in case others like it came up in the future, Shantae instead opted to rush forward and lash away at it with a barrage of hair whips that saw to it that the foul creature was vanquished with a *POOF* of smoke. Confident that they would pull through, Shantae moved to engage the remaining team of a jade green daddy long-legs the size of a golden retriever, a red huntsman spider that rivaled a Borneo pygmy elephant, and another royal blue trapdoor spider that compared to the size of a bonobo. Oh yeah… These were some HUGE spiders. I hope for your sake that you like spiders, reader, because you're gonna see a lot of 'em from this point on. You have been warned.
"Haarrragh…! Shoot, I'm slippin'…!" Tay observed, at this point trying his hardest to keep from being reeled in as his feet began to slide forward. "Rottytops, if I lose my footin', then let go o' me before you get dragged in, too…!"
"No way! If we can help it, you're staying put right here with us!" Rotty countered, doing her absolute best to keep Tay in place as she kept her grip as strong as she could manage. "Shantae, hurry! We won't last much longer like this!"
"Heard! Alright, no time to waste! Haaaaaaaaah!" Shantae roared with determination as she tensed up every muscle in her body. Unbeknownst to her at first, she also began to glow with magic as she readied herself. Knowing she couldn't afford to slip up here, Shantae dashed toward the spiders, causing them to step back. The green and blue ones immediately scaled the walls on either side of the red one while the red huntsman spider huddled its legs together to defend itself. "Take this! Hah!" Shantae challenged, lashing at the creature with a hair whip that landed… only for it to be met with a *plink* that signified that her hair attack would not be useful against it. The second her ponytail made contact with the spider, its entire body erupted with spikes that extended in all directions, nearly impaling the unsuspecting young woman as she barely had the time to hop out of harm's way. "Whoa, these spiders are seriously something else…" she surmised, though this would only prove to be the beginning of her worries. The green daddy long-legs, having found an opportunity to strike, began charging an attack from its vantage point high up on the wall. Within three seconds, the daddy long-legs spouted a glowing orange energy sphere that sailed over toward Rottytops and Tayshan. The ball landed with a metallic *plang* next to the two tug-of-war participants, where Tay immediately noticed it as its glow grew brighter by the second.
"Hey, let go! Get yourself out o' here!" Tay frantically warned Rotty as she continued trying to help him escape.
"What? Why?"
"That orange ball over there explodes an' incinerates everything around it! Tryin' t' pick it up or kick it away won't do any good, either! It's too heavy!"
"You're kidding!"
"I wish I was! Now, let go an' get yourself clear before it blows up!"
"But what about-!"
"Don't worry about me! Run! Now!" Tay urged, prompting Rotty to release him and run as far away from the explosive as possible. Tay himself deliberately relaxed his stance, allowing the webs to drag him a safe enough distance away from the spider bomb that he wouldn't be harmed. And, as he predicted, the bomb detonated with a searing, energy-fueled *BOOM* that, while loud, did not send debris flying in every direction like a grenade would. Instead, it expanded to about ten times its original size in a half-second, leaving a smoldering scorch mark in place of all the webbing and mud within the vicinity. "Haaarrgh…! Darn it, I… I'm not gonna be able t' hold on like this…!" Tay murmured in increasing worry, digging his heels into the ground again as he found himself that much closer to being whisked away.
"You're not going anywhere if I can help it!" Rotty vowed as she prepared to rush toward Tay to continue trying to help him. Before she did so, however, she noticed his handgun lying on the ground near her. Having no time to really think about what use she would have for it, Rottytops got Shiny Handgun, pocketing it before she dashed over to help her newest ally out. "Shantae! We could use a hand!" she called out, alerting the half-genie as she had been clasping her hands together with her fingers pointed out, shooting a relentless spray of flames to roast the red huntsman spider alive.
"Huh? No! Tay!" Shantae yelled in horror, ceasing her flamethrower attack to rush toward the struggling Tayshan as he gave it his all to keep from being reeled in. However, a surprise jump from the blue trapdoor spider, which had burrowed its way into the wall before digging its way into the floor undetected, caught Shantae completely off guard as it bared its eight limbs and performed what could be described as an airborne homing attack that struck her on her cheek just below her eye with a *POP* of an impact. "Gaagh!" the unfortunate heroine shouted in pain, stumbling back as she tried to shake off the unbelievable sting of the attack. Meanwhile, the red huntsman spider attempted to take advantage of her distraction by attempting to jump her from behind. Hearing its hideous hissing noises, Shantae recovered with just enough time to run toward the trapdoor spider and punt it into oblivion with all her magic-enhanced strength before performing a spinning dash to avoid being pancaked by the huntsman spider. Being faced with no choice, Shantae reengaged the giant red arachnid by shooting another spray of fire at it to keep it at bay. However, in the time it took Rottytops to get close enough to Tayshan to attempt to save him, another *SPLAT* could be heard coming from the soldier's direction.
"Gwaaagh!" Tay shouting in a mix of panic and pain, notifying his teammates that he'd been attacked again.
"Stud muffin!" Rotty called out in horror, having bore witness to Tay being stuck with a third thick, sturdy line of webbing that enveloped his chest. "Oh, no…! I've gotta do someth-!" she was about to encourage herself as she moved to grab him.
"No! Don't…!" Tay commanded, his strength fading as the fatigue set into his muscles while he continued to fight for his life.
"I can't just let you get sucked into this cave! What do you expect me to do!?" Rotty complained as she disobeyed his command to help him out the best way she knew how in that moment.
"What I don't want you t' do is put yourself in danger…!" Tay rebutted, certifying that if he would rather go down alone than have his acquaintance suffer with him. "If I'm the one who got caught, then I'm the one who'll get myself out if I can…! Get yourself t' safety before you wind up like me…! Grrrgh...!"
"You're tangled up in spider webs and on the verge of being dragged to your doom, and you're worried about me?" Rotty questioned in surprise, thrown off by his fervent statement as she took a moment to stare at him before she responded. "Hm. Much as I appreciate that you care about me, I won't stand by and let you get-!" she was about to follow up when, just then, another *plang* rang out from beside her. As she turned toward the noise, she spotted another spider bomb as it rolled in front of her. "Aw, come on! These spiders are playing totally unfair!" she griped, being forced to step away from the bomb, thus stepping away from Tay.
"Of all the things t' potentially do me in… a bunch o' giant, mutated spiders…!? An' t' think I used t' purposely avoid squashin' these things as a kid...! I feel SO betrayed right now...!" Tay angrily murmured as he found it that much harder to keep himself in place. Unfortunately for him, the third line proved to be too much for him to account for. Within five seconds of being wrapped up, a voice could be heard from the distance.
"GET OVER HERE!" it demanded, its tone regal and distant, yet booming and incredibly authoritarian as it commanded the web tethers to reel in their target. And, with a sudden, forceful tug of the webs on his body, Tay lost his leverage and was yanked forward.
"NOOOWAAAAAAAAaaaaghhh…!" he wailed in absolute terror, though his voice grew rapidly more distant as he was sucked into the cave with an instantaneous *WHOOSH* and with no additional hope of escape just before the spider bomb detonated.
"NO! Dang it!" Rotty cursed, her abdomen filling with dread as she bore direct witness to the soldier being whisked into the darkness.
"TAYSHAN!" Shantae hollered out in a mix of ferocious anger and unadulterated terror as she turned to just barely see his foot disappear into the doorway. "No…! No! You're gonna pay for that!" she vowed as she instinctively clashed her fists together, a sudden surge in her energy bursting forth as she immediately turned her attention back toward the huntsman spider. In that moment, she felt every follicle in her head tingle in tandem with her rage. "Haaarrraaaaaah!" she bellowed, charging up a fireball the size and weight of a shot put and immediately flinging it with the speed of a professional pitcher at the despicable bug. The huntsman spider tried to defend itself, only to be hit hard enough with a resulting, fiery *THWACK* that it was immediately immolated in flames. The unfortunate spider screeched and hissed in pain, flipping over onto its back and flailing much the same as its purple-colored counterpart did moments earlier before exploding with a *POOF* and a scattering of bones.
"I don't like the idea of using this thing, but you're gonna pay for what you did, you bomb-spitting creep!" Rottytops yelled, pulling out her ally's firearm and trying her best to aim it at the daddy long-legs, who'd taken to scurrying along the wall to avoid being hit. "Eat this!" she challenged, firing a single shot from the pistol with one hand. Of course, the incredible recoil caused Rotty's arm to fling back so hard that it detached with the gun still in her hand. "Oh! Wow, that's strong!" she observed, totally shocked by the fact that what seemed like such a manageable weapon could be so uncontrollable. Nevertheless, as her arm landed on the ground with a *plop* against the mud below, another *BANG* from the gun rang out as a result of an accidental additional pull of the trigger. This shot, however, was fired at just the necessary angle that (believe it or not) the flying marble struck the daddy long-legs as it stopped and prepared to launch another bomb, vanquishing it in the process. It disappeared with a *POOF* like a balloon filled with powder. "Oops… That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but… I guess that works…" Rotty commented on her inadvertent show of marksmanship as she went to pick up her arm and reattach it. Afterward, she reconvened with Shantae, who'd been staring in worry into the corridor Tay was dragged into. "Uh… Snack cakes?"
"Yeah?"
"You… do know your hair's on fire… right?"
"What? On fire? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Your hair. Instead of it being that irresistible purple that it usually is, it's red and on fire. Don't you feel it? Do I need to find a bucket of water somewhere in here before it burns off?"
"Red and…? No, that can't be right. Unless…" she trailed off, grabbing her ponytail to inspect it for herself. And, as Rottytops pointed out, her hair appeared to have turned red… and set itself on fire… without the use of the Elemental Hair Tie she lost during her previous adventure. "How? My Fiery Hair Whip is active!? I lost the power-up for it last week! How is this happening!?"
"…Your what?"
"Sorry, I'm not making much sense," she realized, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm her nerves before she continued. "About a week ago, I found this new power-up in the form of a special hair tie that allowed me to change my hair color and the effects of my hair attack just by clicking my wristbands together like this," she explained, exemplifying her point by tapping her bracelets against each other. The instant she did so, her hair instantly returned to its original purple hue.
"Whoa! Your hair totally turned back to normal! That's incredible!" Rotty pointed out in pleasant surprise, shocking Shantae as she inspected her ponytail again.
"Huh… It… actually worked again? Lemme see…" she murmured, clanging her bracelets together once more, thus reactivating her Fiery Hair Whip. She followed up by clashing her wristbands together one more time to turn her hair back to purple. "Weird… I can only use the Fire one…?"
"You never cease to surprise me, Shantae," Rottytops vocalized her approval of her friend's new(ish) ability as she shot her a smiling thumbs up.
"I never cease to surprise myself…" Shantae remarked, still puzzled by the fact that one of her three hair-related abilities had suddenly returned to her. Realizing right away that this was no time to ponder it, Shantae shook her head and worriedly refocused her attention toward the cavern entrance Tay was dragged into. "Anyway, we need to get going. Tay's in trouble, and-!"
"Say no more, snack cakes. I know," the zombie girl cut in, nodding in agreement as she walked over and laid a consoling hand on the half-genie's shoulder. "I'll stick by your side, no matter what."
"Right. Thanks, Rotty. I knew I could count on you," Shantae expressed her gratitude as the two young women bravely began their march down the next dank, damp, foggy, dilapidated cavern corridor.
"Of course! Don't you doubt that for a second! And trust me; with the two of us working together, nothing's gonna get in the way of us saving our boy toy!"
"Ohh… You almost had it there," the young space princess mused, shaking her head in a mix of humor and disapproval.
"You get what I mean. Although, before we go… um…" Rotty paused before pulling out the soldier's handgun and showing it to her partner. "You think he'll be okay without this?"
"His gun? How did you get that!?"
"He dropped it when he got tangled up earlier. I picked it up to try and give it back, but he got pulled away before I had a good opportunity to do anything useful… Sorry I couldn't do more to help…"
"It isn't your fault. We were caught way off-guard," Shantae dismissed, denying the notion that her friend needed her forgiveness. "We sorta know what we're dealing with now, at least, which will hopefully help us find and rescue him before it's too late. As for the gun, though… Are you maybe considering using it yourself since you have it? I mean, I know you don't like guns…"
"I hate them," Rotty clarified. "Too many of my fellow zombies get hurt by these things when living people come charging into zombie campsites without warning, firing away like they're in the middle of one of those miserable 'modern day apocalypse' comics."
"Right. And those comics don't do you any favors because they paint all zombies in a bad light."
"Exactly. It's bad enough that people ostracize us because they think we don't do anything but try to prey on them for their brains like that's the only food we eat. The bad publicity from all that mindless anti-zombie propaganda makes it worse because now it's suddenly cool to walk up to a zombie and shoot at it because some trigger-happy goon thinks they're a 'survivor' or a 'hero,'" Rottytops complained.
"I feel you, girl. That can't be easy to deal with at all…"
"It really isn't, Shantae. It really isn't. Yet, imagine the irony of a zombie using a gun of all things to defend herself. You might've figured this out, but I'm not a fan of the idea…"
"You don't have to tell me twice, Rotty. I totally get it. I will be honest, though; I've had to rely on that gun at times. It's bailed me out of some really bad spots, but it feels way outside of my comfort zone. I mean, I know I've used Risky's gun before, too, but still. If you don't want to use it, though, then you don't have to."
"Yeah. But, to be honest with you, Shantae… The only other things I'm capable of doing are my Head Warp, my Batter Splatter leg attack, and… well… one other move I'd rather not mention right this minute. Basically, if I can't get close enough to the bad guys to attack, I'm gonna have a bit of a tough time."
"Oh. Well, there's no doubt your natural abilities will come in handy," Shantae offered her vote of confidence. "I can already see how your Head Warp would be useful if we need to clear some major gaps without putting ourselves in harm's way."
"Yeah, but with these spiders shooting bombs, squirting out pink, goopy acid, and whatever else you saw those other ones doing, I see already that getting close to any of them is just asking for disaster to strike. I still want to be helpful to you, and I'm glad you invited me along, but I… don't have that much to offer…"
"Don't say that, Rotty. We're in this together, so you don't have to worry about proving your worth to me. If you need help, I'll be here for you. And as far as attack moves go… Well… I… guess if you can stand it, Tay's Desert Eagle will be a blessing in disguise. Twisted as it is to say, it's convenient that you have it with you now. Of course, that thing is incredibly strong. It's loud, too. If you want some pointers, then shooting it requires you to use both hands at all times, make sure your stance is firm, and fire slowly, so you don't hurt yourself or anyone else by accident."
"Sounds like you've got more than a little experience with it," the undead young woman surmised. "And trust me, I know. One shot from this thing sent my arm flying off me! I'll keep that advice in mind, no less," she acknowledged, putting the firearm away.
"Right. Test it out before we continue, though," Shantae suggested as the two stopped in their tracks just as they reached the next room, which appeared to be a wide open chamber with only three floating platforms serving as the bridge between their current position and the pathway to the next room.
"Do I have to? I mean, I know I should learn, but if I can avoid using this thing, then-!"
"Yes," Shantae interjected. "If you have to make use of it, then you might as well give it a test to see if you can handle it." And just as those words left the half-genie's lips, a sudden hissing noise coming from the ceiling filled their ears. The girls turned their attention upward to notice a trio of purple tarantulas descending from the ceiling while spinning webs to suspend themselves in midair. "And wouldn't you look at that? Looks like your test came sooner than we expected it to," she observed, engaging in a quick belly dance to transform herself into her Spider form. "I don't know if I'll be able to do much damage to these spiders while in the form of a spider myself, so I'll do my best to distract them while you shoot them down. Sound like a plan?"
"Whoa, whoa, snack cakes, hold on! I don't know if I can do all that right away!"
"No better time to learn than now, Rotty!" Spider-Shantae urged as she spun a web to attach herself to the ceiling above. "Remember what I said!" With that, the spider-girl hybrid whisked herself up to the ceiling to avoid a spray of corrosive goo from one of the enemy arachnids.
"Aw, jeez, talk about pressure…!" Rotty griped as she looked toward the ceiling to see Shantae hard at work spitting balls of green slime at the tarantulas to draw their attention. "Okay… so, here goes nothing…" she murmured, reluctantly arming herself with the Desert Eagle. Never moving from her spot, Rottytops resolved to aim the weapon at one of the tarantulas that had taken to the ceiling to engage in combat with her teammate. "So, both hands… firm stance… and slow fire… umm…" she uncertainly adjusted herself, holding the pistol out and applying a death grip to it as she widened her stance to establish some form of focus.
"Rotty, hurry!" Spider-Shantae called out as she was forced to engage in some on-the-ceiling evasive maneuvers to avoid being melted alive by the three tarantulas spitting goo blast after goo blast at her. "They're more aggressive than I thought!" This statement did nothing to ease the zombie girl's nerves as she found herself almost going stiff with a mix of anticipation and fear.
"Y-yeah! Got it! Firing!" Rottytops called back, preemptively firing a *BANG* of a round from the pistol in a hurry. Unfortunately for her, she still failed to account for the sheer kickback of the weapon as her shot caused the pistol to jerk upward and collide with her forehead with a *CLACK*. "Ouch!" Rotty shouted in pain, reeling back hard enough that her head came tumbling off her shoulders while also dropping the gun. "Oh, no…! I'm totally losing my head over this!" she worriedly exclaimed as she suddenly found herself trying to will her body over toward her head. Worse yet, the tarantulas were alerted to her presence by the sound of the gunshot. Immediately, one of the gigantic eight-legged monsters dropped from the ceiling, landing directly in front of Rotty while she was distracted.
"Rotty!" Shantae called out as she turned to see how her friend was doing. She noticed right away that the tarantula that had slipped from her sight had taken the opportunity to attack her friend. "No, no, no, no…!" Shantae panicked, hurriedly disengaging the other two tarantulas as they fired additional blasts of goop at her. With a *POOF*, she reverted to her human form and dropped from ceiling directly to the floor as the third tarantula prepared its attack. As soon as she landed, she activated her Reflector Bubble to defend her friend. However, the tarantula aimed its thorax upward and discharged a spray of its acidic secretion over the half-genie's head. "What!?"
"Shantae!" Rotty called out in horror, just getting her head back on and turning to see that she was in grave danger.
"Not a chance!" Shantae called out, dashing toward Rotty and enveloping her in her arms with the shield still active. Thankfully, the barrier did its job of returning the unwanted delivery to its sender, drenching it as it hissed and flipped over before disappearing in a burst of smoke and bones. The girls would not find solace in this moment, however, as the other two tarantulas dropped in. One of them scurried forth, ramming itself into Shantae's back just as she let go of Rotty, knocking both of the young women over. "Owaah!" Shantae yelled in pain as she fell to the ground. Quick to react, however, she flipped around and attempted to get up to defend herself. However, the tarantula crawled up to the vulnerable half-genie and attacked by biting her leg. "Aaaaagh! Ow!" she hollered in unspeakable pain as the ravenous arachnid refused to let go. Desperate to escape, Shantae quickly clashed her wristbands together as she began to glow with magic. In a mixture of anguish and anger, Shantae committed to defending herself by trying to use her hair attack on the offending arthropod as she also attempted to pull her leg away. Rottytops found herself utterly aghast at the sight of her best friend being harmed as a result of her being unable to defend herself.
"No! Get off her, you disgusting jerk!" Rotty angrily demanded, an adrenaline rush like no other fueling her every move as she got up and rushed toward the tarantula and took off her leg to beat it over its head to force it to release Shantae. She'd only managed to get two *THWACKs* of her detachable limb on the hostile arachnid before the other one dashed in from behind the other, crashing right into the zombie girl. "Oohagh…!" Rotty grunted in agony as she was flung backward before landing on her back with a *THUD* on the lukewarm, muddy ground. Still full to bursting with determination and dread, she reattached her leg and propped herself up, immediately noticing Tayshan's handgun next to her. Picking it up, she looked ahead to see that the tarantula that tackled her had begun to advance on Shantae, appearing to prepare a slime attack in the very same instant the half-genie managed to free herself from the other tarantula's jaws. Slow to get up, Shantae propped herself up on one knee, facing the tarantula that had attempted to feed on her as she appeared not to notice the other one about to turn her into a puddle of mush.
"You'll take her OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Rotty roared in a mix of terror and unbridled rage as she pointed the pistol at the tarantulas while holding the gun tightly with both hands, flexed every muscle in her partially-decayed body, and began firing a haphazard, yet steady volley of gunshots in a desperate bid to save Shantae. *BANG* after *BANG* after *BANG*, Rotty fired relentlessly, doing her absolute best to make sure she had her targets in sight. Every thought in her mind in that moment was overwhelmed by her undying desire to protect her friend from danger. The last thing she'd ever wanted to think about was the possibility of losing Shantae because she was unable to protect her at all costs. And, as long as that desire to maintain her best friend's safety carried on, Rotty wouldn't stop until these opportunistic fiends were history. An alarming amount of her shots connected with extreme prejudice. Each *POCK* of every round that struck the tarantulas caused them to hiss and writhe in agony as they lost their focus on trying to do the half-genie in. Rotty wouldn't stop there, however. She kept firing. She kept connecting her shots. If she could help it, then no one in this cave would ever hurt Shantae again. Soon enough, both tarantulas were defeated as they exploded with *BOOMs* of fumes and bones, leaving only an out-of-breath, fire-haired Shantae in the midst of it all. Not even waiting for the smoke to clear, Rotty rushed through it to tend to her.
"Wow, Rotty… You saved me…" Shantae praised through labored breaths as she, with Rottytops' help, rose to her feet.
"Of course," the zombie girl acknowledged, tightly hugging her comrade. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. One of those tarantulas bit me, but I smacked it off me with my Fiery Hair Whip before it could break into my skin," she assured as the two separated. "I've gotta make sure not to take too much damage, though. I'm much more sensitive when I'm wearing this costume, but my magic is easier to use and attacks are way stronger as a trade off. Still, I had no idea the other one was going to attack me until you completely lit it up with those gunshots. You got the hang of that Desert Eagle way faster than I expected you to. Way to go!"
"O-Oh… Er, thanks…" Rotty sheepishly acknowledged Shantae's praise, bowing her head and scratching it with a hand as she put the firearm away. "That was more me trying to protect you, though. I couldn't stand to see these spiders hurting you, so my instincts kicked in, I guess…"
"I understand, and I couldn't be more grateful to you for protecting me again," Shantae expressed with a heartfelt smile. "You're the best. And, while it might sound morbid, a lot of what you'll learn on adventures like this is going to be through your instinct and judgment. As an example, you learned how to use that handgun in just a few minutes because your instincts allowed you to."
"Oh. I guess that's true, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is! I'm so proud of you!" Shantae praised again, patting Rotty on the shoulder. Touched (figuratively, not literally) by her friend's sentiments, Rotty's nervousness and dejection faded away almost immediately in favor of a sense of high appreciation and relief that Shantae had so much faith in her. "Keep this up, and I'll bet you'd be as good as Tay is with it by the time we find him. Er, I know you don't like guns, but…"
"…Nah, it's alright, snack cakes," Rotty understandingly replied with a sigh and nod. "If it's to help you out, then I'll do whatever it takes. Not that I ever plan on doing it again after we rescue Tayshan, but if using a gun is a sacrifice I have to make, then I can put my reservations aside just this once."
"Don't force yourself to do anything outside your comfort zone for me, Rotty… I appreciate any help you can provide, with or without a gun. I only suggested using it because it provides you with that extra level of protection in this scenario. Like I said before, I never found myself comfortable using any attacks but my magic and hair, but I've recently learned to diversify my skillset. Since last we met, I've learned a few new martial arts techniques, I've learned how to use that gun, I've gained some new abilities, and I've even learned how to go on co-op adventures! That's why we're here together now!"
"Wow, you've been real busy, huh?" Rotty asked with a chuckle as her nerves settled.
"Oh, you have no idea. But come on, I'll fill you in as we go along," Shantae suggested as the two set off to board the floating platforms and traverse into the next section.
"My ears are wide open. Tell me everything!" Rotty encouraged as they swiftly entered the next corridor, which appeared to slant downward, in addition to housing a series of haphazard curves. As they traversed through the depths of the underground labyrinth, it grew dark… darker… yet darker, until they soon found themselves trying to navigate through pitch-black before they'd even reached the end of the uneven corridor.
"Darn, I can't see a thing in here…" Shantae murmured, stretching her hands out in front of her as she felt along the narrow, stony walls of the curvy tunnel.
"Neither can I," Rotty concurred, mirroring her partner's movements. "Should we keep going, or should we go back and see if maybe there's something we can use as a light?"
"I think I have just the tool. Hmmmmm…" the half-genie informed, stopping to channel some magic into the index and middle fingers on both of her hands. "Ah. Got it. Now… Hopefully, this still works…" Shantae pressed all four of her glowing fingers to the gem dangling from the gold snake-themed headdress affixed to her head. Within a few seconds, a brilliant light filled the otherwise shadowy cavern as she maintained her focus.
"Jeez, that's bright…! It's like staring right into the sun…" Rotty observed as best as she could, shielding her eyes as the sudden shift in the availability of light made them more sensitive. Before long, she noticed Shantae take a deep breath before relaxing her stance, signaling that she was done performing a new move. "So, when were you gonna tell me you also figured out how to become a human/genie flashlight?" At that, Shantae giggled.
"Right. Sorry, I forgot to mention that I got this specialized gem from the Giga Mermaid from Mermaid Falls when we met her at the base of Yarnball Heights," she explained as the two continued their trek. "It allows me to channel magic into it, so it lights up and lets us see where we're going. Normally, this wouldn't last very long before I either had to recharge it or it sapped too much of my magic, but because of this costume, I don't think it'll be as much of a problem. That is, as long as I don't overdo it."
"And in comes M.V.P. Shantae with the slam dunk!" Rotty cheered, moving closer to her friend as she remained right behind her. "What would we do without you?"
"Aw, come on now… You're giving me too much credit," she smilingly retorted. "I've got a feeling we've still got a lot to get through, so let's make sure we have something to celebrate after we're done down here."
"Roger that, boss lady," Rotty agreed as the duo pressed on. Their trip through this winding, foggy, humid hallway would thankfully be a short one, thanks to Shantae's Luminescent Aquamarine coming in handy right when they needed it. With it, the girls were able to see more than enough to spot and clear some bottomless pits and spider web-related traps hidden within the confines of the tunnel without breaking a sweat. Keeping their guard up regardless, they eventually reached the end of the tunnel, whose final stretch involved them sliding down like they were skating through a laundry chute. As soon as they landed, however, they immediately caught sight of what they were in for.
"Oh, boy…" Shantae commented with just the tiniest bit of concern in her voice. "This… does NOT look like a fun time for us…"
"No kidding…" Rotty agreed, equally as worried. "This room is just one big, empty black pit…" she observed, peering over the ledge they were standing on. "…and, just by looking at it, we need to go all the way down using nothing but leaps of faith to get to some barely-visible platforms. I don't have clue what the floating webs could be for, though, but they look like they'll either be really helpful, or they'll basically be the reason we become spider food…"
"True… but, I'm noticing one platform up there…" Shantae pointed out, looking upward at a single floating stone slab high above them, accompanied by a gigantic spider web suspended at a suspicious angle in midair. "And it looks like it might lead to something, because I'm noticing another ledge up there. The rest is just a ceiling, but I also see that there's a purple tarantula hanging out up there that doesn't seem to have noticed us yet… It looks like it's guarding whatever's up there."
"Hm. Well, that sounds like a stone that needs turning if you ask me. Only, how do we get up there to find out what it's hiding without us getting slathered in corrosive spider goo?"
"Good question… I could try to go Harpy and fly up there, but I wouldn't have a good way to defend myself if that tarantula spotted me. The gap between the walls is too wide for me to do anything in Monkey form… Hmm…" she pondered, drumming up various mental scenarios in which she'd attempt to get past the purple tarantula without getting hurt or putting Rottytops in danger. As she did so, however, Rotty studied the airborne webbing and the floating platform above it before forming a hypothesis.
"I think I've got an idea," the zombie girl spoke up, catching her teammate's attention.
"Yeah?"
"Well… more of a hunch, but I get a strange feeling that we might be able to use that web to get to the platform up there."
"How do you figure that?"
"It could just be me, but that web looks way too conveniently placed for us not to at least think it could be useful," Rotty theorized, thus pointing out a subtle, yet paradoxically obvious clue. "And, for that matter, so do the rest of them down below. They're all suspended in the air, which is sort of raising a red flag for me. Plus, look at how tightly wound the lining of that floating web is, compared to the webs that are actually attached to the ceiling and walls… See how those webs sag and hang down like they're designed to catch prey?" At that observation, Shantae silently took Rotty's word into account and studied the phenomenon for herself.
"Ohh, yeah… Huh… That's interesting…" acknowledged with a nod, seeing the other girl's point. "But, how do you know for sure that the webs suspended in the air are any different from the ones on the walls?"
"I don't, but I do have a way to find out that might just be our ticket to getting where we need to go…"
"Really now?"
"Definitely. It's just a matter of using the ol' noggin to put the pieces of this puzzle together," she slyly remarked, dropping a crucial hint to what she had in mind.
"Okay, I think I'm following…" Shantae pensively stated, nodding in a mix of agreement and anticipation for finding out what Rotty's plan was. "But, just so we're clear, I'm thinking you're planning to…?"
"Toss my head over to the web and see what happens next," Rotty finished for her.
"Right. In that case, I'll be prepared to act, depending on how it goes," Shantae assured. "But, what would happen if you miss the web? It's kind of far off…"
"Don't worry that pretty little brain of yours, babe," Rotty confidently dismissed with a winking smirk. "I've got quite the major league arm. I'm not too great at using my strength in a fight, but I've got world-class head-tossing skills that can't be beat," she added, flexing a bicep as she humored her comrade. "Anyway, let me know when you're ready to kick things off."
"I was ready before you even thought to make the suggestion," Shantae smoothly replied with an excited grin and a pump of her fist. "I can't wait to see what we can really do working together like this. Now, let's make it official."
"Ooh! With an opening catchphrase?" Rotty guessed, hoping she was right.
"You got it! Now…" she trailed off, turning her attention toward the floating web above them on the other side of the chasm as she entered her 'adventuring' stance.
"Here it comes…!" Rotty excitedly muttered to herself as she also got herself set.
"Ret-2-Go!" our Half-Genie Hero announced, fully prepared to tackle the challenges ahead.
"Rave from Beyond the Grave!" Rotty followed up, quickly detaching her head before carefully lining up her shot. Within a few seconds, the undead maiden made her move. "Dead ahead!" she called out (her statement rife with morbid puns) as she, in a powerful motion, launched her head directly toward the spider web above. Shantae watched on in a mix of surprise and intrigue as Rotty's head soared directly into the center of the webbing. "Sticky, but definitely not enough to actually trap me in here," Rotty spoke again as the speed of her head contacting the web caused it to stretch backward for a second before shooting forward like a rubber band. Heck, it even came accompanied with a *Thwiririring* sound like a door stopper spring being pulled and released. As such, the zombie girl's head took a second trip through the air before landing with a disturbing *PLOP* on the floating platform above. "Bullseye!" she cheered. Down below, Rotty's headless body stepped toward Shantae and wrapped its arm around her waist before another portal appeared below them.
"Whoa!" the mostly unsuspecting half-genie yelled as she and the rest of Rotty were sucked into the vortex in a flash. Within the next second, they rematerialized with Rotty's body reattaching to her head as soon as they emerged. Once they achieved their goal, the girls separated, though Rotty couldn't help but notice Shantae seemed… just a tad frightened as the two locked eyes.
"What?" Rotty innocently asked, puzzled by Shantae's frightened facial expression.
"Rotty… I… Whatever it is that lets you do that… I won't lie, it seriously freaks me out…" Shantae bluntly, yet hesitantly notified as she shuddered. "N-no offense…"
"None taken. I kinda figured you might be a little spooked since we're basically teleporting through tiny vortexes that lead to and from a pocket dimension filled to the brim with the wandering, restless, eternally-tortured spirits of those who perished from this world way before they were ready to," Rotty… rather casually explained, doing no one any favors on easing the unsettling feeling established by the macabre nature of her special technique. "It's all good, though. Once you get familiar enough with the lost, tormented souls of those trapped in an endless purgatory of lifetime regrets and unfulfilled ambitions, it stops being such a scary experience. Trust me, I've used this ability tons of times. Just... don't ask how I found out what's actually in between points 'A' and 'B' when I teleport," she further unnecessarily assured.
"Uh… R-right… Well, I'll take your word for it…"
"Good, because I wasn't gonna give you the choice anyway," the zombie girl teased as they refocused their attention on the dormant tarantula and the upper stone cliff ahead of them. "So, what do you think might be up there?"
"For all I know, it could either be a trap, or it could be a room with some hidden supplies in it. If we're really lucky, though, it's a shortcut that'll take us right to Tay... wherever he is. Only way we're gonna know for sure is by going up and finding out for ourselves," the ponytailed maiden suggested as a sudden *HISS* filled the air, thus alerting them that the tarantula had stirred awake and spotted them. "And it looks like we'll have to take that spider on before we get to that." Before either girl could appropriately prepare themselves for battle, however, the spider took to arching its thorax and shooting a huge glob of corrosive pink slime at them. "Uh-oh! Rotty, come here!" Shantae commanded, pulling her friend close. "Bubble!" she further announced, summoning up a magenta-hued force field around them. The acid blast, rather than bounce off the shield, wound up evaporating with a crackling *TSSSSS* as it dissolved on the protective barrier. "Good! Now Rotty, we have ten seconds and counting before we need to make a move. You want to toss your head over to the ledge now, or use Tay's gun to take out that spider to make it easier for us to navigate?"
"That's a no-brainer," Rotty retorted, reaching into her top and pulling out the silver pistol before aiming it at the tarantula. "After what we just witnessed of these giant walking furballs, I'm not taking my chances."
"Alright, but just be careful that you don't-!" Shantae tried to warn before the sudden *BANG* coming from the pistol startled her out of finishing her word of advice. What further stifled the young ponytailed heroine was the sight of Rottytops also accidentally clocking herself with the gun as its recoil caused it to collide with a *PLACK* against her forehead.
"Oww!" the unfortunate zombie girl shouted in a mixture of annoyance and agony, rubbing her aching forehead as she dropped her stance. "Jeez, how does anybody get used to shooting this stupid thing!?" Meanwhile, the single round she fired scored a direct hit on the tarantula, causing it to hiss in what could be presumed to be unbearable pain as it lost its footing on the ceiling. It fell from the ceiling, past the platform Shantae and Rottytops were standing on, and deep into the abyss, hissing and flailing its limbs along the way. Shantae, while tending to Rotty, noticed the adversarial arachnid falling to its doom and breathed a sigh of relief before her shield disappeared.
"If it makes you feel any better, you actually knocked the spider out," she offered her vote of encouragement. "Good work."
"Y-yeah, sure. Anytime," Rotty acknowledged, still rubbing her forehead as she stashed the handgun away. "I'll never understand how anybody could stand to use a gun. I thought they were at least supposed to be easy, but this one's been giving me a headache in more ways than one. I mean, I've also never even seen a gun that looked anything like this one before, but still."
"That one is apparently very hard to truly get the hang of, in your defense. It's stronger than Risky's gun by a long shot, but it's incredibly hard to aim. The only reason Tay was still using it is because, as far as we were told, Risky tinkered around with it to give it unlimited ammo. She also made it so that it never needs to be reloaded. Thankfully, that seems to be the ONLY gun she's done it for. The rest of her stolen arsenal, she's tampering with in other ways and giving to her Tinkerbats to wreak total havoc with."
"Whoa, hold on a sec... There are MORE guns like this one floating around?"
"Yes; a LOT more. Granted, they're mostly dark gray or black in color, not shiny chrome like the one you're borrowing. There's a bunch of different kinds of these unusual guns, too. What's worse is that, like I mentioned, they're mostly in the possession of Risky Boots and her Tinkerbats."
"No way! That's horrible!" Rotty declared, appalled at the reveal.
"I know. I should've let you know earlier that one of our main goals for this adventure is to stop Risky from using a whole heaping ton of enhanced, super-powerful guns, bombs, explosives, and other unprecedented weapons of mass destruction she stole from Tay's dimension to take over Sequin Land. According to Tay, Risky stole at least an entire armory's worth of weapons from an armed forces base in his world, and she's been using them to her sole advantage in her endless, merciless campaign of world domination."
"Great... because it doesn't get old enough dealing with her maniacal antics as it is. Fantastic to know that she's beefed up her weapons supply to make herself even more of a pain to fight. And... how scary are these 'enhanced, super-powerful' weapons?"
"Scary enough that Risky completely demolished the likes of Hypno Baron's Castle, Yarnball Heights Town, a place that used to be called the Sheared Spool Shrine, and another place called the Prickle Stitch Valley with hardly any effort using them. And even that's just what I know she destroyed. Chances are, she could very well have wiped out a bunch of other places by now, too..."
"Oh, THAT'S what happened to his castle!?" Rotty asked, taken aback by the news. "Goodness, that's so much worse than the rumor I heard that it just caught on fire! Granted, I had a feeling a simple fire didn't make much sense considering how massive that place was, but when Risky's involved, only the biggest of disasters could be expected of her. That she had a hand in the sudden, violent disappearance of Hypno Baron's Castle only makes all the sense. And you're telling me she's also destroyed a bunch of other places along with it!?"
"Yeah. Risky Boots and her Tinkerbats blew every last one of the places I mentioned to kingdom come for basically no reason! Well, except Hypno Baron's Castle. She ordered her Tinkerbats to destroy it in an apparent fit of rage when Hypno Baron initially refused to help her get one over on me. It's... a bit of a long story..."
"Jeez! And you're sure this doesn't have anything to do with her maybe teaming up with the likes of Ammo Baron? I figured he'd be the one launching random full-scale attacks on innocent cities by sending troops into them, guns blazing, to take them over. Then again, with how many times Risky's attacked Scuttle Town without Ammo Baron's help..."
"Yeah, you're telling me. But no, she's definitely not working with Ammo Baron. She can't stand him, as far as I'm aware. She'd sooner blow up his base just like she did Hypno Baron's Castle unless she had some reason to force him to help her, too," Shantae theorized, though it caused her to ponder the possibility. "Hmm... Now that I think of it, I wonder if THAT could be one of her next moves... If she can force one of the Barons to work for her, then... it certainly wouldn't be out of her scope at this point to try and force at least one more of them..."
"Well, whatever she's planning, you can count me in on helping you stop her. If nothing else, she could've seriously hurt my brothers!" Rotty angrily pointed out. "I mean, her wiping entire cities and landmarks off the map using intergalactic weapons of mass destruction she stole from another dimension is bad, too, but I can't have her trying to ax Abner and Poe in the wake of another one of her crazed conquering crusades! I wouldn't have anyone to rebuild our caravan if she did anything to them!"
"Uh... R-right..." Shantae droned, just a tad thrown off by the nature of Rotty's vow to join the fight against Risky Boots. "Well, I'm glad to know I can rely on you to help me see this to the end. Still, are you alright? It looked like you hit yourself pretty hard with your gun…"
"Yeah, I'll manage," Rottytops confirmed, shaking off the pain as she turned toward the ledge. "I don't suppose you have any extra pointers on how to keep it under control the next time I have to shoot it?"
"All I can say is practice makes perfect," Shantae plainly offered her advice, causing Rotty to glower in disappointment. "Using that gun is like learning how to fish; it's hard at first, and you're not sure you're really going to get anything positive out of it, but as soon as you figure it out, it'll be like you've been doing it for years."
"Yeah, well at least with fishing, I can get a meal or two out of it once I get good enough at it. Learning how to shoot a gun is gonna grant me… the ability to shoot a gun and that's it."
"Don't be such a smart aleck, Rotty. You know what I mean," Shantae protested. "Plus, learning how to shoot a gun can also help you with… I dunno, hunting, if you're going to take my advice literally."
"Hey, stop being so good at countering my points," the zombie girl complained, humored as she was bothered by her comrade's rebuttal. "Nobody told you to think up another clever, yet equally convenient way to make your analogy work!"
"Just making an assertion, dear. What you do with the knowledge is completely up to you, either way," the half-genie remarked with a nonchalant shrug.
"Hm. In that case, I guess you're right… Fine then. Let's see how much 'practice' I can get out of this thing," Rotty concluded. "Anyway, are you ready to do more spelunking-slash-boyfriend-saving?"
"Ready as spaghetti!" Shantae cheered with a thumbs up, though she chose to ignore Rotty's incorrect assertion of the role of a certain someone who needed saving.
"Dang it, now I'm hungry for pasta. Thanks a lot, Shantae," Rotty sarcastically notified as she once again removed her head and prepared to lob it over toward the ledge above.
"I'm sure we'll feast like the Sultana once we finish up in here. Until then, we've got ourselves an alien-ish sidekick to rescue."
"Couldn't have said it better, snack cakes. Now, let's blast off!" And with that statement, Rotty launched her head over the ledge, clearing it with ease as it soared through the air. Within a moment, the revenant woman's head landed with another *THUD* on the cold, ridged surface of the ledge, followed up by the rest of her body linking up with Shantae to teleport them up. Afterward, the girls found themselves faced with a giant, reddish-brown wooden door that bore a a pair of symbols on its center that looked like a flame and a stick figure with a long ponytail. As you might imagine, the strange markings totally and completely baffled our heroes to the point that they considered giving up and moving on…
"Oh, I've got this," Shantae announced within five seconds of looking at the door, clicking her wristbands together to set her hair ablaze before lashing at it with a single flame-bathed hair whip while making me look like a complete liar. Upon contact, a strange sound rang out that appeared to identify that the ponytailed adventurer had made the right move in using her Fiery Hair Whip. As such, the mystifying obstacle melted away in a shower of flames, leaving a wide-open passage into the next room. Okay, so MAYBE I was exaggerating a bit about the complexity of the obstacle. Please forgive me. Anyhow, the girls wasted no time dashing into the room, where they soon discovered a lone, sparkling red treasure chest sitting in the center. "Awesome! We found something that might help us. Only… it's a bit odd that it's just in the center of the room with nothing around it…"
"What do you mean?" Rotty asked, preparing to approach the chest to open it.
"No bottomless pit, no puzzle, no traps… Hmm…" the half-genie pondered, using recent past experience as a basis for her apprehension.
"I'm not seeing any booby traps around, so I'm thinking we're safe. If this treasure chest is just sitting here, we should just go ahead and-!"
"Hang on, Rotty…" Shantae cut in, rushing forward to grab her partner's hand. "I'm getting a sense that we should probably be careful."
"Hm? Why so nervous out of nowhere? That isn't normally like you…"
"I uh… It's… sort of a hunch," she explained rather vaguely, her grip on the undead young woman's hand remaining firm. "Stay close to me while I take a quick look around," Shantae further advised, pulling Rottytops closer.
"Ohh, I see what you're driving at~!" Rotty teasingly replied, taking it one step further by wrapping the half-genie up in an affectionate embrace. "Snack cakes, if you wanted to get all nice and snuggled up with me, you don't need to use some silly ol' spooky cave full of traps and spiders as an excuse. You don't have to be scared. We're here together. Just say the word, and I'll take good care of you…"
"Rotty, you're a mess…" Shantae flatly retorted, though she did little to resist her friend's attempt to 'snuggle' her as she used her Luminous Aquamarine and looked upward at the ceiling of the secret room to immediately spot a green daddy long-legs, alongside two blue trapdoor spiders lying in wait, appearing ready to ambush and devour anyone that disturbed their lair. "…and we've got company. Get ready," she advised, separating herself from her partner as she got set to take on the next team of enemy arthropods. Rotty, getting the hint, looked up to see what Shantae was referring to. Realizing that they were in for a fight, the zombie girl whipped out her handgun and took aim.
"Firing now!" Rotty announced, focusing her aim on the daddy long-legs.
"Rotty wai-!" Shantae tried to warn before a sudden *BANG* from the Desert Eagle cut her off. Rotty stumbled back a few steps, nearly being knocked off her feet by the sheer force of the handgun's recoil. Luckily for Rottytops, however, her round scored a direct hit on the daddy long-legs, causing it to hiss and writhe in torment as it fell from the wall and hit the floor with a sickening *plop* of its… spider flesh, I guess, on the stony surface. The two trapdoor spiders, immediately alerted to their enemies' presence, burrowed their way into the walls and began shuffling through them to gain the element of surprise.
"Ha! Gotcha!" Rotty cheered, proud of herself for initiating the first strike. Before she could celebrate her victory, however, Shantae pulled her out of harm's way as the trapdoor spiders launched their attack on her by popping out of the ground and attempting to shoot simultaneous lines of webbing at the girls. Thinking on her feet, Shantae whipped at the membranous net with her fired-up hair attack, causing it to disintegrate in a flash of flames in an instant. She followed up by charging at the twin trapdoor spiders, ready to dispatch them in a split-second. Seeing her coming, they both burrowed into the ground before she could reach them, prompting her to summon a fireball in her hand as she awaited their next emergence.
"Rottytops, get ready!" the half-genie warned her friend, who'd just climbed back to her feet after having fallen over as a result of her friend's sudden defensive maneuver. "Those spiders are underground and are about to attack again!"
"Oh! Got it!" Rotty complied, scanning the cavern with just her eyes, though she found some trouble trying to spot them without Shantae being right next to her using the Luminous Aquamarine. "Dang it, I can hardly see a thing… Hmm…" she pondered, putting her firearm away and detaching her leg. "Can't shoot 'em if I can't see 'em, but they're in for a rude awakening if they-!" she was about to soliloquize before a sudden *CRACK* of the ground beneath her alerted her that she would get no more time to think. "WAH!" she cried out as she, on pure instinct, hopped backward with her detached leg in her hands and took a wild, powerful swing downward. A startling *THWACK* followed her haphazard swing, accompanied by agonized hissing. "Nice try, but even with eight of yours and two of mine, I've still got a leg up on you!" she quipped, striking the spider a few more times until she heard it *POP* and scatter random humanoid bones all over the place. "Yeah! That'll learn ya!" she cheered as she reattached her leg, though she found herself unaware of the other spider springing from the ground behind her.
"Six o' clock, Rotty!" Shantae called out, dashing toward her ally and flinging a fireball at her.
"Six o' clock? Wha-! Hey, whoa, what gives!? I'm on your side!" the frantic zombie girl called out in a panic, diving out of the way of the fireball and ducking for cover. However, as soon as a sudden bout of hissing filled her ears from behind her, she got the idea to lower her defenses and turn around to see that the other trapdoor spider had been immolated. Mildly confused by the event, she turned to see Shantae rushing toward her as the flaming spider exploded in defeat.
"Sorry, I should've warned you sooner. You okay?" Shantae asked, clanging her wristbands together to return her hair to normal before extending a hand toward Rottytops.
"Uh… I guess I am…" the rambunctious revenant uncertainly answered, accepting her friend's offer to help her back to her feet. "You surprised me, though."
"That other spider was in the middle of trying to attack me before it slipped back into the ground. It turned around and tried to get you from behind after you beat up its friend," Shantae explained. "Good job taking the other one out!" she added, extending a hand for a high-five. "How'd you know it would try attacking you from up close?"
"Natural instinct, I guess," Rotty answered with a shrug, high-fiving the other young woman as they proceeded toward the treasure chest. "I couldn't really see anything, since you're our only source of light. As soon as I heard it pop out of the ground, I hammered it with my Batter Splatter leg attack. Not the most impressive way to take down an enemy, I know, but…"
"You kidding? That's amazing!" Shantae cheered, shooting her friend a smiling thumbs-up. "You adapted to the situation perfectly! Instead of using the gun where you could've legit been shooting it everywhere and blindly hoping to hit the spider, you waited for it to come to you in the dark before taking it down your own way! That's some master-level ingenuity right there."
"Oh! W-well… I… When you put it like that, I-I suppose I did, huh?" Rotty bashfully agreed, her cheeks taking on a darker green hue to indicate that she was blushing as she rubbed the back of her head.
"No need to be shy about it. It's that sort of quick thinking that'll help us get through this cave. Only thing I'd suggest is that, in the future, we wait and see if maybe there's some way to sneak past the spiders. If we can avoid being attacked by every one of them we see, we'll get where we need to go a lot faster."
"Right. Got it… Sorry, I… I guess that means I probably shouldn't have jumped the gun and shot first?" she nervously acknowledged and asked, inadvertently making another pun.
"Don't sweat it, girl," Shantae assured, patting her comrade on the back, much to Rottytops' relief. "It was a good move, either way. I'm proud of you!"
"Aw, thanks, snack cakes! I'll keep doing my best," Rotty excitedly assured as she watched Shantae proceed to open the treasure chest. "There's no way I'd let you down."
"I trust and believe that, Rotty," Shantae acknowledged as she retrieved an item from the chest. Holding it high, Shantae got Concealer Ring. The ring appeared to be a sparkling smoky onyx in color and was studded with a row of tiny, luminescent, shiny amethysts embedded into it. "Huh… A ring? It's a really pretty-looking ring, but I wonder what this can do…?" she asked herself, studying the strange piece of jewelry.
"Ooh, now that looks like the kind of ring a girl could just die for," Rotty commented, evidently fascinated with the accessory as she approached to get a closer look. "It's so beautiful… And to think that it was locked up in this dank, dingy dungeon of all places. What do you suppose it was in there for, Shantae?"
"Beats me, but if it's in here, then it must have some sort of power…" she pondered, though she soon got a bright idea as she turned toward Rottytops. "…and, since this is your first co-op adventure with me, I'm thinking maybe you could have it? Gorgeous as it looks, I think its color scheme alone best fits you. Plus, I think it'd be great for you to experience the awesomeness of gaining a new ability. I've gotten a few already, so… here! Will you take it?" Shantae smilingly suggested, extending the ring to Rotty. Rather than take it right away, Rotty instead tucked her arms tightly into her chest, her hands cupping her blushing cheeks as she gasped in total ecstasy.
"Oh, my gosh…!" Rotty murmured, barely able to contain her enthusiasm. "Is… Is this really happening? Am I dreaming? Somebody pinch me…!" Shantae's face contorted to an expression of perplexity, though she wordlessly complied with Rotty's odd request. Extending her other hand, Shantae reached over and pinched Rotty's arm. "Ow!" Rotty yelled, jumping back and rubbing the spot where her reality was tested... by which, I mean the spot where she was pinched. "What'd you do that for!?"
"You told me to pinch you after I tried to give you this ring, so… I did," Shantae answered, still a tad confused by Rotty's change in demeanor.
"Oh. Right, I did say that. Thanks!" Rotty cheerfully expressed her gratitude before realizing something. "But then… if I haven't popped awake in my bed, and we're still in this gross, smelly cave, and you're still here with me… then… that means that this is actually happening…!"
"I… I don't get it. What exactly is happening that's got you all giddy out of nowhere?" Shantae dared to ask, scratching her head in wonder.
"Aw, you're so sly, snack cakes~! I just... I-I can't believe you really feel this way about me! You should've told me ages ago instead of springing it on me like this!" Rotty cheered some more, running up to tightly hug Shantae, much to the half-genie's continued confusion.
"Um… What…? Are we celebrating something?"
"I mean, you could've picked a better place to propose, but my answer's still the same! Yes! A billion times, yes! Of course, I'll marry you, Shantae!"
"What!?" Shantae bellowed in immeasurable shock as she suddenly found herself trying to wrest herself from her 'fiancee's' grasp. "Rotty, what are you talking about!?"
"I mean, I don't have a clue how the others would feel about us," the unpredictable zombie girl gushed, still hugging her friend tight enough to where their faces were smushed against one another. "Granted, they can think what they want. It wouldn't change my mind at all. Then again, if stud muffin likes us as much as we like him, which I have a hunch he definitely does, then maybe we can all find a way to make it work!" she superfluously blabbed, making poor Shantae's face run hotter than a broiler on max power as she unwillingly listened to Rotty's rambling.
"Rottytops, knock it off! You—!"
"Either way, I totally wasn't sure if you really cared that much, or if most of it was because you felt bad for me. But, knowing you'd be willing to legally link yourself with me till death do us part is, by far, the most special and meaningful thing anyone's ever done for me! I mean, I can't really technically 'die' in the state I'm in, but that doesn't matter! I love you, Sh-!"
"Rotty!" Shantae yelled, finally getting Rottytops to stop yammering on about the sentimentality of being given a ring purely out of consideration for its unseen practical uses. Silencing herself long enough to pry her cheek off Shantae's, Rotty turned to see the highly discombobulated, flushed face of her best friend as the two remained pressed against one another.
"…Sorry. Too much?" Rotty sheepishly asked, getting the idea to let go of Shantae before backing up and scratching her head.
"Just a tad," Shantae plainly remarked, stretching out the kinks in her back thanks to her partner's latest unwarranted embrace. "Flattered as I am that you'd definitely marry me if I proposed to you, I'm giving you this ring to potentially give you a new ability." At that, Rotty sighed in ostensible disappointment. "I'm not planning on marrying anybody any time soon, so that's gonna have to go on the back burner for a while," the ponytailed heroine joked, laughing off the awkwardness of Rotty's silly confession.
"So close, too. A girl can dream…" Rotty wistfully murmured before shaping herself up and approached Shantae much more casually. Now, this would normally be a time where I'd make a passive mention of Rottytops' heart beating furiously as she collected her thoughts. However, since Rotty was a zombie, her heart did not actually beat; at least, not anywhere close to frequently enough for me to have an appropriate and undeniably hilarious comparison to make. Therefore, I will once again suggest you figure that one out on your own. Only clue I could drop to you was that she found herself quite flustered with her theatrical performance and that she wondered in that moment how Shantae really felt about her. Anywho…. "Alright, I'll take it anyway," she suggested, nonchalantly holding her palm out.
"Good. Here ya go," Shantae offered, making sure that Rottytops got Concealer Ring. Wordlessly, Rotty slipped the fine piece of jewelry on her ring finger. The instant she did so, however, she felt a tingling in her entire body like a small current of electricity.
"Whoa, this thing's making me feel so weird…" the undead young woman murmured, closing her eyes and shaking her head before looking down at her hands… which appeared not to be there.
"Whoa! Rotty, you disappeared!" Shantae announced in complete surprise. "I can only see your eyes floating in midair!"
"What!? I did? Where'd the rest of me go!?" Rotty shouted in panic, noticing for herself that not a single part of her was visible. "I can feel everything, but I can't see my body! Where'd my hands go!? My legs!? My everything!?" Rotty frantically touched, tapped, poked, and prodded all over herself to see that she was still tangible, but that nothing about her was visible. She quickly resorted to taking her head off, which did nothing to make her invisibility problem subside.
"Your eyes just moved! Did you pop your head off or something?" Shantae asked, amazed to see what was happening in front of her.
"Yeah, but if you can still only see my eyes, then that means I still don't exist anymore! Er, m-mostly! What the heck is going on!? Am I dying again? Or going from Zombie to Ghost? Shantae, I don't want to disappear forever! Help me!" Rotty continued to frenetically ramble before, in a flash, her body reappeared right before her formerly disembodied eyes while she was holding her head in her presently visibly hands. "And suddenly, I exist again! Whoa, what a heart-stopping near-death experience! I am totally trippin' right now!" she remarked, putting her head back where it belonged before giving her body a much-needed once over to see if she was still present.
"Trippin'?" Shantae questioned with a chuckle, mildly humored to hear a certain buzzword being uttered by someone other than her sidekick. "Interesting word you used there… Er, anyway, Rotty, it looks like that ring turns you invisible for a short time. At least, that's what I'm going to guess, based on what just happened."
"Really? Huh, wow… That's… a weird and totally unusual thing for a fancy ring to do," Rotty correctly presumed, curiously studying her new bling as she wondered why and how it would cause her to turn invisible of all things.
"Most of the power-ups I get my hands on tend to be a bit on the wilder side of things, so I can definitely see how that would be odd," Shantae knowingly agreed. "Anyway, if invisibility is the game, then it might give us an edge on using stealth to get past a lot of these spiders. I'm just brainstorming, but we'll only really be able to find out once we get moving."
"Sure thing, snack cakes, but I just hope this thing isn't more trouble than it was worth. I'm not really sure how turning invisible for short bursts of time is going to be that useful."
"Trust me; it wouldn't be here if we couldn't make use of it," Shantae assured. "Now come on, let's keep…" she was about to excitedly command before a sudden rush of dread overcame her. The smile immediately cleared itself off her face, her expression changing to one of horror in no time flat. Gasping, the half-genie froze as she began to pick up something… faint, yet with just enough of a presence that she found herself… troubled by it. "…Huh…?"
"Uh… Snack cakes? You alright there?" Rotty questioned, none the wiser to to the disconcerting vibes her teammate had been getting as Shantae continued to bore holes into the ground with her eyes as her hands began to tremble. Picking up that something was wrong, Rottytops took to grasping the other young woman by the shoulder with one hand and lightly tapping her cheek with her other hand. "Shantae? Hey! Snap out of it! Hello?" Rotty called, only for Shantae to not respond as her trembling became accompanied with a deep, shaky breath. "Okay, you're starting to freak me out here. Wake up, Shantae!" Rottytops called out again, tapping her friend's face harder until Shantae, with another sharp gasp, came to. She clasped her forehead with a hand, taking a step back and shaking her head before reorienting herself. "Er… Are you okay?"
"We need to go," Shantae rather curtly replied, taking Rottytops by the hand to lead her out of the treasure room and back to the tunnel of spider-infested terrors they were previously set to explore.
"Whoa, where's the fire? I know we've gotta go and save someone, but why the sudden urgency?"
"Because if we don't, Tay is either going to get hurt, or… or worse…"
"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" Rotty nonchalantly remarked as they stopped just before making their way back down to their previous positions within the vertical corridor. "I mean, I don't know him that well, but I'm sure he's finding a way to hold his own if he's survived enough of these trips to get this far, right?"
"No, it's not that I'm worried he won't survive," Shantae cryptically countered. "It's… something much more dangerous than that…"
"Something like what? I don't understand what you're getting at."
"I'll explain it as we go down," the half-genie offered, peering down to see if there'd be a safe method by which they would be able to navigate. "So, remember when you, Sky, and Bolo saw me turn evil because Risky used a Magic Reverser to turn all my Light Magic into Dark Magic?"
"Considering it only happened about a month or two ago, yeah," Rotty confirmed as she took her head off and, with some help from Shantae peering down with her Luminous Aquamarine active, lobbed it downward to the ledge from which they'd initially entered the spider-infested underground lair. The girls soon entered another underworld portal together, emerging where Rotty's head landed.
"So, imagine that, but only instead of me, it's Tayshan, and imagine that there's both kinds of magic inside him. And then, imagine that when he uses magic, it starts off Light, but can turn Dark without warning if he overexerts himself…"
"Okay…? Well, unless he's also a genie, I'm not really understanding how that'd be possible. He's… not a genie, right?"
"No. He's full human. That makes it weirder, I know, but bear with me. So, ever since this one time about a week or two ago when we went to Genie's Hem…" Shantae began as she got set on filling her friend in on some of what had been happening between her and the missing soldier. Meanwhile, they continued to explore the underground tunnel by way of Rotty lobbing her head toward a web down below, where it bounced off and landed on another floating platform that served as their next teleportation destination. Following this, the girls also found themselves engaging more spiders, which prompted them to periodically pause their conversation to engage a slew of wall-crawling purple tarantulas and green daddy long-legs spiders that relentlessly attempted to spit either globs of corrosive pink goo or glowing orange energy bombs at them. The girls initially tried to fight the creepy-crawly creatures, but the disadvantage of having limited space on floating platforms and bouncy levitating webs had soon proven to grow quite taxing.
A couple of repeats of the head-to-web-to-platform-teleport formula later...
Not long after they truly began their journey into the Silky Strings Lair, Shantae and Rottytops found themselves delving much deeper into the humid, pungent, sticky confines of the spider dungeon than they initially anticipated. Unfortunately, with the deeper they dug, the more they found themselves the targets of an increasing number of spiders. Shantae found herself relying on her Invincibility Bubble Shield and her fire-based magic attacks, whereas Rotty reluctantly committed to using Tayshan's handgun to defend herself. As more and more of the gargantuan arachnids were drawn to their location by the commotion of gunshots, shouts, blasts of fire, and Shantae's Luminous Aquamarine, the girls found themselves fighting harder and harder to keep things under wraps. Rotty did her best to keep from losing her nerve as she used the handgun to the best of her ability to shoot down trapdoor and daddy long-legs spiders while staying close to her teammate for cover. Shantae started off using flame spells to burn any tarantulas or huntsman spiders that came swinging, crawling, or just plain dropping in, but she soon was forced to also activate her Fiery Hair Whip to fend off spiders that had gotten too close to her or Rotty. Seeing right away that trying to fight all the spiders off would prove to be a colossal waste of time and energy, Shantae made a hurried suggestion.
"Rotty! Throw your head as far down this well as you can!" the half-genie suggested as she hopped backward on the slim, narrow platform to avoid taking damage from a trapdoor spider before whipping it into smithereens with her hair attack. In that moment, her Bubble disappeared, leaving both of them vulnerable. "It looks like the longer we hang around here, the more of these things are gonna show up and-! Whoa!" she hollered as a huntsman spider shot a web from a nearby wall and managed to catch her foot with it.
"Not on my watch, you eight-legged fiend!" Rotty challenged, stepping ahead and, while taking a deep, pressured breath, fired a slow, stiff volley of flashing marbles that eventually saw to it that the huntsman was defeated, thus freeing Shantae from its clutches.
"Thanks for the save!" Shantae expressed, turning around to launch two fireballs upward to ignite a daddy long-legs on the opposing wall and a tarantula that had been trying to sneak up from behind. With truly disturbing hissing noises, both of the offending spiders were vanquished. "Anyway, we're gonna need to get to the bottom as fast as we can!"
"I hear ya, but I can't risk just tossing my head down what looks like a bottomless pit! These spiders aren't making it easy, eith-! No, you don't!" Rotty explained before spotting another daddy long-legs attempting to drop an energy bomb on them. Rotty fired a haphazard spray of rounds at the monster, but she found it difficult to strike it when other spiders around them had been spitting goo and webbing at them. Unable to score a hit, Rotty prepared to toss her head into another floating web below as she watched the daddy long-legs unleash its signature attack. "Throwing head onto the next web now! Hang on tight, hon!" Rotty warned, performing another head toss, where her head found itself bouncing off of two conveniently placed, diagonal bouncing webs that led even deeper into the spider lair. Her head landed on a much lower floating platform just as the energy bomb had been set to detonate on the platform Shantae had been occupying. Hurriedly, Rotty's body grabbed Shantae by her arm before the both of them vanished into another portal. They soon popped up with another *WHOOSH* on the lower platform where Rotty's head landed. Just then, the *BOOM* of an energy bomb detonation could be heard from high above, followed by the raining, rocky debris of what used to be the previous platform. "Whew… Now, that was close."
"Too close…" Shantae agreed. "But, that looks like it was just the-!" she was about to state before Rotty hurriedly clasped a hand over the half-genie's mouth. "Mm?"
"Shhh…! There's more of them down here…!" Rotty whispered, pointing a finger to direct Shantae's attention toward a pair of dormant tarantulas, accompanied by a horde of trapdoor spiders and at least one huntsman. All of them were perched either on webs or on walls, appearing not to notice the two non-spider intruders that had trespassed into their home. "Plus, I can hear the other ones still scurrying around while they look for us…!" she further informed, removing her hand from Shantae's mouth.
"You're right…! Gosh, I didn't think there'd be so many of them down here… This is starting to make my skin crawl…" the half-genie warily quipped, instinctively scratching her arms as she grew increasingly unsettled with the idea of being surrounded by giant, presumably man-eating arachnids with a collective grudge. "Alright, we've only got but so much time before we have to claw our way through a bunch more of them… Any ideas?"
"Not necessarily, but if we expect to get down the rest of the way in one piece, we'll need to be quiet enough so that the rest of them don't see us…"
"Hmm… Well, sounds to me like it might be a good time to use that ring you have," Shantae suggested, pointing toward her comrade's Concealer Ring.
"Oh yeah. Almost completely forgot this thing had powers, what with us getting so busy with fighting all these spiders while you tell me about stud muffin's terminal illness…"
"Terminal illness…? Eh, I'll clarify that later. For now, we need to develop a plan for how to get the rest of the way down to the bottom of this pit before we attract more attention. I can hear the other spiders coming now…!" Shantae warned, glancing upward to see that the remaining arachnids from before were closing in on them. "Shoot… I hope you don't mind me turning this off," she further warned, grabbing Rotty's hand before deactivating her Luminous Aquamarine.
"Hey…! I can't see…!"
"I know, but neither can those spiders if we keep quiet and stay in the dark. Did you at least get to see where the other web was…?"
"Yeah, it's directly below us," Rotty affirmed. "It's gonna be pretty hard to see where I'm aiming if we're gonna be invisible AND in complete darkness though…"
"We won't need to be in the dark for long, I hope. But, we need to get those spiders off our tails if we expect to make this any easier on us."
"I guess so… Alright, so just to be sure: I turn invisible, toss my head down to the web, land on the next platform, and warp us down there, so we get away scot-free?"
"Exactly…!" Shantae proudly confirmed. "Alright, just let me know when you're ready…!"
"Come here and hold me…!" Rotty suggested, preemptively pulling her teammate over and wrapping an arm around the half-genie's waist.
"Uh… You sure we need to be this close to be sure we don't lose each other?"
"Nah, I'm thinking that, maybe if I turn this ring on while we're touching, it'll make us both invisible. Gonna need you to turn that light back on though…"
"Oh. Well, that's certainly an idea. But if I turn the gem's light back on, that's gonna tip them off to where we're at."
"Yeah, but without it, there's basically no point in going invisible," Rotty countered. "I know just enough about spiders to know they can't really see in the dark, but I'm also pretty sure neither of us can, either. That is, unless you've got some special animal form or magic spell that lets you… I don't want to risk missing the web down there in the dark and setting us back…"
"True… Also, I have my Bat transformation, but it wouldn't do us much good unless we were going straight ahead rather than down like we are."
"Bats use echolocation to 'see' in the dark by using sound waves to scope out their surroundings," Rotty pointed out. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess that's probably the same for your Bat form?"
"That's right," Shantae concurred. "Wow, you sure know your stuff about animals…"
"Only the really spooky-looking ones. Despite what we're doing right now and despite what happened last time we found ourselves on Spider Web Island, I actually don't mind spiders and bats. I mean, unless they're actively trying to kill us like these territorial behemoths are. Anyway, the Bat idea probably won't work, since it wouldn't give me the ability to move in the dark like it would for you…"
"That makes sense. In that case, I'll turn my light on and give you the chance to activate the ring. Once you do that and as soon as you toss your head, I'll turn it back off, so they don't see us teleport to the next spot. How's that sound?"
"Like we're a couple of geniuses…!" Rotty cheered, squeezing her friend closer to her as she prepared to initiate their plan. "Now, let's do it…!" And with that, the ladies proceeded. Shantae started off by reactivating her Luminous Aquamarine, which predictably caused the spiders above to hiss in communication with one another once they saw the light glow brightly. Within a second, they scurried their way down to their potential prey with no intention to let them escape. Cognizant of this, the girls acted as quickly as they could. Rotty tapped on her Concealer Ring, activating it right away without rightly understanding exactly how to make it work. Nevertheless, she and Shantae appeared to vanish, save for their eyes and the light glowing from the half-genie's light-granting gem. "Tossing my head… Now…!" Rottytops whispered as she followed through with her part of the plan. From an outside perspective, one was able to see a pair of floating eyes with red irises go plummeting down into the seemingly endless abyss down below. The accompanying pair of blue eyes watched the red pair fall over the platform, which prompted a sudden dissipation of the light that had granted the sets of eyes vision. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed that meant Shantae deactivated her gem. Following this was the sound of additional hisses coming from the spiders, who were one or two good leaps away from their targets. However, they stopped in their tracks, hissing to each other as though to communicate that they weren't sure how to proceed in complete darkness.
"They were almost right on top of us… Talk about cutting it close…" Shantae whispered, still being held tight by Rotty's headless corporeal form as they patiently awaited the next warp. Meanwhile, Rotty's head successfully bounced off the web she aimed at… only to bounce off yet another airborne web below that one. And then another one below that. And another one. And just one more after that. Then, three or four more after that, and then another two, and… well, before I get carried away, imagine Rotty's head as a pinball bouncing freely and uncontrollably off the walls of the machine itself. Also, imagine that, instead of flashing lights and high score displays, or even flippers, there is only complete and utter darkness, and all that can be heard is the rubber band *Thwaaang* noises of each web bouncing her invisible visage down a long, incredibly bumpy ride of conveniently placed trampoline-like airborne webs lined all the way down the shaft of the underground cave. Sounds like a barrel o' monkeys, right? Yeah, I didn't think so. So, if ever you get tempted to take your own head off and throw it down a pitch-black, spider-infested well hidden in the world's creepiest forest on a not-so-busy night out with friends, well… you have been warned. Anyway, Rotty's head, after at least fifteen separate web bounces, hit just ONE more web that flung her low and far across an empty gap before her head hit what was thankfully (read: hopefully) solid ground with another disturbing *THUD*.
"Ugh… It's a good thing I didn't think to just jump all the way down here," Rotty complained, blinking her eyes in the wake of her delirium caused by the spider web joyride she'd just taken. "All that bouncing back and forth like a game of underground ping pong would've made me so nauseous…" and with that statement, another portal suddenly formed under her, revealing… just a set of blue eyes as she felt her head reattach to something equally invisible and lift her head up.
"We made it…" the voice belonging to the pair of floating blue eyes spoke before a *pop* sound could be heard, followed by the reappearance of the girls' physical forms. "Just in time, too…"
"Yeah, no kidding," Rottytops concurred, separating from Shantae and readjusting her head to make sure it was correctly attached to the rest of her. "I definitely wouldn't complain if we never had to do that again, but I don't hear any more of those gross hissing noises. Think we might be safe now?"
"I'm not sure. I can't even really see where we are…" Shantae replied with some uncertainty, engaging in a futile effort of scanning their surroundings in complete darkness. "Only one safe way to find out…" she added, engaging in a quick belly dance number. "Transform…!" she announced in a low whisper before a sudden *POOF* rang out. Rottytops could see absolutely nothing, her only idea of what was going on coming in the form of rhythmic flapping of wings.
"I can't tell what just happened. Snack cakes, did you just transform?"
"Yeah. I'm a bat right now. I'm going to see if I can detect any enemies nearby. Hopefully, I don't alert them to where we are by doing this, but I'm gonna be really quick about it," Bat-Shantae notified before taking in a deep breath and letting out as quiet a screeching noise as she could (which, let's be real, came out very loud). The poor, unsuspecting zombie girl jumped out of her already-decomposed skin as she heard the unsettling, shrill noise coming from her teammate. Meanwhile, Shantae patiently flittered around the immediate vicinity, letting out tiny screech noises to get a feel for their surroundings before returning to her partner's side and changing back with another *POOF*. "The coast seems clear enough from here in terms of spiders, but there's a bottomless pit right in front of us. It's huge, and it's got smoke skulls puffing out of it. And we're RIGHT above it on a really narrow platform. You're gonna have to toss your head just one more time so we can get into the cave entrance just ahead."
"Y-yeah, sure thing…" Rotty complied, digging a pinky finger into her ear in an attempt to massage her eardrums after being subjected to an unintentional auditory assault. "How far am I throwing?"
"Not too far. If I had to describe it, it's like tossing a ball about ten, maybe fifteen yards," Shantae instructed as a… rather vague and unusual sports-related point of reference. "It's also a little higher up than where we are, so make sure your throw is nice and high while making sure it's just far enough to clear the gap."
"That settles it, then. I'm going long," Rotty surmised, removing her head once more to catapult it over the supposed gap. "Crunch time… Hut, hut, hike!" she called out, taking a couple steps back and taking a position in which she was trying her best in the absolute darkness to aim a potential throw while she held her detached head in her hands.
"Just to make sure we're clear, Rotty; as big as the gap is, you don't need to-!"
"She steps back to throw," Rottytops announced, appearing to get into the spirit of her latest task. "Rottytops in the pocket. She's got time for now, but the defense is looking to eat her alive. They're gonna have a tough time trying, considering she's already dead, but they look determined to gobble her up like Thanksgiving turkey anyway!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"The secondary's looking pretty solid, too. It's like they've masked the field in a never-ending curtain of shadows. Golly, they look determined to stop her at all costs. Rotty surveys the field, keeping her cool as she patiently awaits a safe option… but can she do it? The suspense is killer!"
"Uh… Are… Are you pretending this is United Seams Football?" Shantae dared to ask, catching on once the quarterback in question spat out enough situational jargon to drop the hint.
"She spots a receiver downfield. The receiver's managed to break free of the coverage and is wide open, but the clock has already hit the zero mark! The O-line is crumbling under the pressure! It's all or nothing! This single play could make or break the team's chances of winning the National Club championship! The pocket's dissolving like salt in a glass of water! She's gotta make a move right now! Without a moment's hesitation and with the title on the line, she throws!" Rotty continued to commentate on her own spectacular quarterbacking performance, finishing up by hurling her football of a head high and far into the opaque distance. After doing so, the remainder of Rotty's body reached over to grasp Shantae's hand, seeming to hope that the 'receiver' in question would make the moment-defining catch. And, wouldn't you know, the receiver did! That is, if the receiver was a giant, stony wall, and the resulting *WHACK* of Rotty's face against the wall, followed by a comical "Gahwahck!" from her unpleasant impact counted as her having completed her pass. After attempting to win a game no one was playing, Rotty's head tumbled to the floor below the wall she inadvertently smacked into, where she found herself hitting solid ground again with another *THUD*. "Urgh… She scores… yaaaayy… Owww…" she groaned, feeling every bit of that wall on her face as her body, along with Shantae, teleported to her head's location.
"You uh… You okay there? The way you attacked that wall with your face… It didn't sound too pretty…" Shantae asked in a mix of moderate concern and mild humor, though she refrained from laughing.
"Yeah… Y-yeah, I'm good," Rottytops assured, fixing her head back onto her shoulders again before rubbing her face with the palms of her hands. "I think I'm gonna take an early retirement from professional sports, though," she quipped, shaking off the pain. "No amount of glitz and glory is worth the amount of injuries you pick up on the job… Last thing I need is long-term physical issues because of a short-term career…"
"You can't retire just yet," Shantae spoke up, encouraging her friend to press on with her career. "You just won the 'championship,' but there's no doubt we're gonna need your unrivaled head-throwing arm, as well as your fantastic accuracy to carry us on until we get a crack at the big one!" At that, Rottytops let out a mirthful giggle.
"Oh, alright. I'll at least stick around that long. I can't let my team down. A silly old head injury or two won't kill me… I think," she remarked, prompting Shantae to join her in their humored bantering. "Besides, who wouldn't want to retire as a champion of the world rather than just the Club?"
"Good to know you'll continue to lend your skills to the cause. And who knows? You might also make the Hall of Fame if you leave a strong enough impact. Anyway, if we're all set, then let's move…" the purple-haired team coach suggested, activating her Luminous Aquamarine to provide them with a source of light once more. After doing so, the girls continued toward the next cave entrance, which housed another red door with a flame-hair symbol on it. Taking initiative, Shantae activated her Fiery Hair Whip and lashed at the door to disintegrate it into a pile of smoky ashes. After doing so and returning her hair back to normal, Shantae and Rottytops traversed into yet another dark, narrow, web-encrusted, curvy cavern. There, they took to contemplating the remainder of their journey into the Silky Strings Lair of Eight-Legged Despair. After a few moments of initial silence while carefully sneaking their way through, one of the girls spoke up.
"So, not to sound super sudden, but I'm still curious," Rottytops began. "When we left off, you were saying that stud muffin's eye glows silver like it does because he might be turning evil on us? Or was it because he's only got but so much time left before the magic does him in?"
"Not quite," Shantae corrected. "There's no magic-related long-term sicknesses involved. I promise you. I was saying that Tay might be struggling with keeping the Dark Magic in his body at bay, which is shown by his eye being that color. I don't think he'd turn evil, but we can't rule that out as a possibility, considering what I've seen."
"And you're sure his eye wasn't always like that, in that case?"
"Positive. His eyes were both brown when we met. The one eye's only been that weird glowing gray color since we barely managed to escape the Siren's Requiem Labyrinth last week."
"Ohh. I'm not even sure what that place is, but it sounds scary…"
"Well, considering it no longer exists, you won't have to worry about paying it a visit."
"What happened to it?"
"After Aash, Tay, and I defeated the Boss there, the entire temple—which was underwater and being protected by a magic air pocket near the bottom of the ocean, mind you—collapsed. We barely had enough time to clear out of there before we got trapped under the rubble or drowned if the force field disappeared too soon," Shantae explained. "Speaking of which, Tay got separated from me and Aash at some point before we made it to the Boss. By the time we reconnected, he was already in the middle of fighting the boss on his own, but his eye had changed color at that point…"
"Huh… Wow, I couldn't even begin trying to wrap my head around that one, then," Rotty pondered as the girls continued their trek through the tunnel. "I barely know anything about magic as it is. It's kinda scary to imagine that it can affect anyone other than genies or some of the monsters we face off with. Granted, I probably don't have much room to talk, considering what I am…"
"You're something of a different case, though," Shantae pointed out. "Neither of us knows exactly what sort of magic allows you and other zombies to continue living, even after your bodies have stopped working, technically speaking. And that's presuming that your case has anything to do with magic in general. Uncle said that there's at least a little bit of magic in everyone, but that the reasons for it are still unclear. All we know is that different people have different capabilities, but that it doesn't mean that any regular person is necessarily going to be able to cast spells or do any fancy tricks without years of intense, grueling training… or, in Tay's and by possible extension, Risky's case, a trip through a magic-infused super portal to a different dimension. As far as I know, only those that learn how to harness it are capable of doing anything special with it."
"Talk about mind-blowing… Well, if even your loopy, rock-collecting mega-scientist uncle couldn't figure it out, then I'm not sure what to think either. Not that I'm complaining, of course."
"Hey now, Uncle has a storied history as a Relic Hunter and inventor," Shantae defended her surrogate caretaker. "Don't make fun of him. Anyway, as far as Tayshan goes, I'm starting to worry that he's been struggling to keep it under control since our trip to Genie's Hem when he was inside me…" she further confessed, causing Rotty to nearly jump out of her jade-hued skin as she processed her friend's statement.
"Umm…" she pensively hummed, appearing to want to make a statement of sorts in response to Shantae's comment. After a few seconds, however... "Y'know what? I'm just gonna leave that one be. That one's way too easy for me…" Rotty laughingly dismissed, evidently spotting an opportunity and refusing to take it out of principle.
"What?"
"Anyway, the fact that you two were made to switch bodies for a day is already crazy enough," Rotty commented, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean seriously, who else in this universe has had that kind of out-of-body experience? I'm a zombie, for goodness sake, and I couldn't say I've ever experienced something as surreal as that. I'd ask you what it was like to be a guy for a day, but I think I can hold my curiosity for after we're done here…"
"Yeah, I know… and I… guess I'll do my best to answer any questions you have, but don't expect me to go into too much detail."
"Oh, now you know I'm expecting all the juiciest details, girl. No use hiding anything from me. Besides, it's not like I'd tell anybody."
"Well, you haven't spilled a secret of mine yet. I'll give you that, but don't think that means I'm telling you every single little thing. It's not my story alone to tell, so certain others have a right to privacy."
"Right. Well, I can respect that. But as long as it's alright with you, I'd like to be filled in a bit more about what I've been missing."
"You can count on me to give you as full a scope as I can. Promise," Shantae agreed with an assuring, albeit apprehensive nod, which Rotty acknowledged with a wink and a smile. "Anyway, I've got a hunch that Tay might be getting hit with effects of magic use that neither of us is really familiar with. That's part of why I froze back there when we got your ring from that treasure chest. I've been getting these horrifying gut feelings whenever we get separated that alert me to when he's in trouble. And… the last couple times he's been in trouble, it usually came accompanied by the presence of Dark Magic…"
"Yikes… In that case, we'd better find him as soon as we can, just to make sure he doesn't go rogue on us out of nowhere," Rotty suggested as the girls continued to explore the dank, narrow tunnel. "Are you getting that feeling now?"
"Hmm… No, not really," Shantae explained after a moment of silence to assess her surroundings. "It surged for a moment a little while ago, but since then, I've barely been able to detect anything. I only hope that means he's keeping it together… I can at least presume from the ominous feelings that he's alive, but it's still got my heart and my mind racing on what sort of state he's in..."
"No kidding… I barely even know what's going on, and I'm worried."
"I'm sure everything's fine for now," the half-genie assured, taking a deep breath and shaking her head to calm her nerves. "If we're fast enough, we can get to him before any unexpected surprises come rolling in."
"If you say so, Shantae," Rotty agreed, a tinge of concern in her tone. "I still can't help but wonder what that's like, struggling to keep your sanity in check while some other entity is slowly trying to sink its claws into your brain to hijack your whole existence…"
"I can tell you from personal experience, Rotty, that it is the most terrifying thing next to flat-out dying… not that I even know what it's like to die yet like you might, but still…"
"Funny you should say that," Rottytops remarked with a somber chuckle. "Because I don't even know what it's like to die, either…"
"You don't?" Shantae asked in a level of surprise she was unable to contain.
"Nope. Not a clue," the undead young woman confessed with a nonchalant shrug. "I mean, I know I've been a zombie for as long as I can remember. I've gotten used to the idea of my heart not beating at anything close to a regular, human rate and most of my other organs not working unless something really arouses me emotionally, my body being able to break apart and reassemble at will, and the fact that I've got constant cravings for brains despite it not even being close to my favorite food. Remembering how I got to this point, though? Yeah, I don't have much more of an idea than you do..."
"Wow… I… I had no idea, Rottytops… I'm so sorry…"
"Eh, it's fine," she dismissed with a flick of her hand and a sigh. "You already know this, but I can't remember what even happened to me and my brothers that turned us into zombies. Not a single detail. I can't remember what my old life was like at all, either. I only know that I apparently had one at some point. So, I guess, in a twisted, existential sense, I can relate to the struggles you and stud muffin are going through. I just hope neither of you winds up losing yourselves like I did. It was a ton of work taking charge and leading your other friends through your mind to save you from your evil self…"
"Oh, so you were the one who was mostly responsible for turning me back to normal?"
"Yes, ma'am, I was. And don't you forget it, sweetie," Rotty jokingly confirmed with a mock sense of authority in her tone.
"Golly, what would I and the others have done without you?" Shantae shot back with a giggle.
"Nothin' good, I say. That's why I'm cementing my place as your absolute most reliable friend; no matter what Flappy McSquawks-A-Lot says about me."
"Hey now, don't say that about Sky," Shantae admonished. "You two could seriously be friends if you'd both put aside your differences like you did last time."
"Yeah, that's about as likely as you and I actually getting married to each other," she dismissed, much to Shantae's chagrin as the half-genie sighed. "Maybe a lot less. Not that I'm opposed to the idea of you and me tying the knot…"
"Of course you're not, because that's YOUR idea."
"Aw, don't tell me you wouldn't be interested in spending all eternity with me, snack cakes…~" Rotty teased, nudging her friend as she smirked.
"We don't necessarily have to be married to do that," Shantae joked with a shrug. "Besides, I've got enough relationship troubles as it is out of nowhere, and the last thing I'd want to do is get you all caught up in them."
"I don't hear a 'nooooo~'! Also, if it's about you wanting to make stud muffin yours, then trust me, I ABSOLUTELY welcome the arrangement. I'm a team player, if you catch my drift…"
"You'd probably be surprised to know that you're not the first or even the second person to make that ludicrous 'suggestion' about that sort of thing," Shantae bluntly revealed with a roll of her eyes, catching Rotty off-guard.
"Whoa. R-really?"
"Yes, really," she dismissively answered. "Anyway, not gonna happen anytime soon. Don't count on it. My main point is that you should try a little harder to get along with Sky, just as I told her to try harder to get along with you."
"And, just like you said, that's not gonna happen anytime soon," Rotty rebutted. "Don't count on it."
"Of course… You're both so much more alike than you realize, which actually explains why you don't get along…"
"Me, sharing anything other than this planet with her? Fat chance, snack cakes. That egghead and I are as different as summer and winter."
"If you say so, Rottytops," Shantae acknowledged, choosing not to push the envelope further. "All that aside, thanks again for saving me back then. You really helped me to understand myself as a person and how much I value you guys as my friends. And for what it's worth, Rotty, I hope you're not too torn about having to create a new identity after losing your old one… I think you're fine just as you are."
"Aw, shucks, it's no biggie! I'd do anything for ya! And while I sincerely appreciate your kind words… I've already sort of made peace with the fact that I'm forever a zombie."
"Oh! You have?"
"Yep! While I still wish I remembered what it was like to be human, I'm sort of counting my blessings and making sure every day I wake up is a day I can be thankful for being… at least partially alive," the zombie girl stated with a pensive sigh, seeming to wonder about the nature of her existence. "I won't lie; the curiosity always kills me… figuratively speaking, of course."
"It must be hard to think about… Well, whatever it is that keeps you the way you are, I'm glad it's working," the half-genie offered her sympathy. "I'm not sure what my life would be like if we hadn't met, in case I need to put it out there. Whether that has anything to do with magic or not, is always a question in the back of my mind, but if it lets us hang out like we do, then I'm not complaining either."
"Wow. You… really feel that way?" Rotty asked, perking up as she tempered her surprise at Shantae's assertion.
"Absolutely. I mean, I sometimes wonder if we could ever figure out if there was a way for you to go back to being human just so you get to at least experience it again if you don't get your memories back… But I'm also a fan of the idea that you deserve to be happy like everyone else. I don't know if that would need to include you becoming human again or if you're allowed to stay the way you are. That said, I do know that no matter what, you're one of my best friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way…"
"Aww, Shantae~! You DO care!" Rotty exclaimed, perking up and taking the opportunity to affectionately nuzzle up to her companion.
"Yeah! Of course, I care, Rotty. You're unique! No matter what anyone says or thinks about you, I'll always stick by your side," Shantae clarified, returning Rottytops' sudden embrace with a hug of her own.
"That's… actually really comforting to hear," Rotty stated with a wide, heartfelt grin. "I know I can be a bit of a headache for you sometimes. Others have let me know how… I guess, 'tiresome' I can be once they've hung around me long enough… The fact that you can still even tolerate me after all this time and after what we've been through is a huge blessing all on its own. Still, I wonder if one day I might accidentally push you away because of how hard it's been for me as a zombie, to be honest."
"Nonsense! You're never a problem for me, and you never will be! We've had our bumps in the road, but I'd like to think you and I have only grown closer by moving forward and continuing to be friends. And thankfully, I've also learned how to adapt to your zany personality and your wacky antics," she teased, nudging her living dead friend. "At this point, there's hardly a thing you could say or do that'd catch me off-guard."
"Don't tempt me, snack cakes. You know I'm full of surprises. Always have been, and always will be," Rotty shot back with a confident smirk as the two continued to hug.
"Warning acknowledged," Shantae stated with a nod before they separated and continued their journey down the empty passage. "Still, I hope you know how much you mean to me, Rotty. I love you!" At that, Rotty almost lost her head (figuratively, not literally), going wide-eyed with shock as she processed her friend's bold statement.
"Are… Are you being for real?" Rotty had to ask, hardly believing it for herself. "You… love me? Even though I'm…?"
"It doesn't matter to me what you are, girl. I have a hunch you know this already, but I see you for the person you are; nothing else matters at this point."
"Oh. W-wow, Shantae… I… huh… You…" Rotty stammered, her thoughts growing cloudy as her abdomen was filled with a rush of something… a sense of liveliness and anticipation that she'd hardly felt in a long time; a feeling that, however ostensibly foreign, was welcome in its entirety as her heart began beating ever so slowly in response to her friend's powerful words. "You… really know how to make a girl feel like she's on top of the world. After so much time of being a social outcast to anyone who wasn't a zombie, it's… refreshing to know somebody really understands me and likes me for me. I never expected you to out and say it, but since you did… I love you, too…" she sheepishly remarked, subconsciously rubbing one arm with her other hand as she bashfully cast her gaze to the ground as they continued their long, spooky stroll down the foggy tunnel.
"I'm glad to hear that," Shantae acknowledged with a bright smile and a pat on Rotty's back. "Let's keep our friendship strong, in that case. And, just as importantly, let's keep working together down here until we save our newest friend."
"Of course! After a sappy tearjerker of a confession like the one you just gave, how could I NOT want to help you save Tayshan from whatever dragged him down here?"
"Sappy, huh? Fair, but I meant every word. Either way, thanks for being here with me, Rotty."
"As if you even have to thank me. I wouldn't count on leaving you hangin', sweetie!"
"Good to know!"
"Yeah. Only… um…" the zombie girl hesitantly trailed off, seeming to find herself preoccupied with a thought.
"What's up?"
"This might be a bad time to ask, but… with how well your other friends seem to get along with me, which is basically not at all… Do you think he's the same? Y'know, as in… he possibly doesn't like me because of… how I am?" Shantae found herself surprised by her friend's rather self-conscious question, but she remained optimistic as she drummed up her reply.
"Well… I can't answer that for sure," she started with utmost honesty. "While I think you'd get along better with Bolo once you and he got to really know each other, and Sky just needs some time to really warm up to you… Tay's got his own method of making friends, and there's no doubt that he has his own preferences. Based on what I've seen, though, I'm confident you and he would get along with hardly a hitch. Granted, I will be honest and say I put in a good word for you way before you got to meet him."
"A good word? What, did somebody tell him I was bad company?"
"That's a bit of a loaded question," she recognized right away, understanding she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings. "But, even with who may have said what, I wanted him to at least get the opportunity to meet you for himself."
"Hm, I don't know how to feel about that… I mean, thanks for vouching for me, but I'm… not too comfortable with the idea of meeting somebody's expectations if the rumor mill's already been spinning about me…"
"I know," Shantae replied, though she found herself a tad anxious about how her influence may affect how her friends interacted with each other. "That's a great point. That's why I made sure not to say too much other than to tell him not to be swayed by all the rumors. Then again, considering the way you and he met and the way most of your conversations went, I'm PRETTY sure you'll be fine. I mean heck, he gave you the shirt off his back when you lost yours, and he even told you that you could call him 'Tay' all within minutes of meeting you. He only lets close friends call him that. I think those are very clear indicators that he likes you enough to consider you his friend."
"Speaking from experience, per chance?" Rotty teasingly asked, hiding her huge sense of relief at the information she'd been given.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Lots of it," Shantae clarified, catching her friend by surprise again. "And I mean LOTS of it. Mind you, we do also have to take into consideration what you did to help us figure out why we even came to this place…"
"Hey, what can I say? I've got a real hands-on approach to making first impressions," Rottytops admitted with a smirking shrug. "You know that from experience, too. Helps that he was so calm and collected about it. Most people would run away, screaming about how they'd been infected with some imaginary zombie virus from a simple smooch."
"Right, because lip-locking a guy you just met on a whim like that before kissing all over me to try and teach me a lesson on how to win someone's heart is ALWAYS an appropriate way to break the ice," Shantae sarcastically remarked, though the mere mention of the incident caused an unexpected rush of apprehension, bashfulness, mild irritation, and a dash of morbid curiosity to momentarily well up in her stomach before she took a quiet breath to dispel some of the sudden tension.
"Don't you back-sass me, young lady. You take that lesson and you run with it; you hear me? It doesn't matter how the lesson's given," she playfully scolded her student.
"'Young lady?' Girl, I'm like three or four months older than you," Shantae remarked with a chuckle. "Also, I'm nowhere near as bold as you are, so I don't think I'd be applying your 'teachings' at any point in this lifetime. No offense, but I'm a bigger fan of the more traditional approach. I think it's more comfortable to let things flow naturally."
"Alright, but I'm tellin' ya; if you want someone, you really should just go for it instead of beating around the bush. It's worked for me before," she hinted with another grinning wink. "Anyhow, if you think he and I would be good friends, then I'll try not to worry about it too much. Granted, we probably do need to clear the air about why I yelled at him to bail you out of having to come clean about your feelings…"
"…R-right…" Shantae murmured, her stomach tying itself into a knot once she was reminded of the most recent awkward interaction she and her interdimensional sidekick shared.
"I'm sure we'll be able to sweep up that mess just fine. But hey, if you get along with him to the point that you're crushing on him, then that clearly means there's something unique that makes him so attractive to you. I think I know what it is, too… Buuut then again, if you're anything like me, then maybe it's because of his physique and facial hair, considering our shared personal tastes~?" she teased with a mischievous nudge.
"Wh-what!? No!" Shantae remarked in a jumpy panic as her face heated up. "It's much deeper than that!" she blurted out, thus giving herself away before she could stop the words from leaving her mouth. "Oh! Er, I-I mean, that's not… um… What I meant to say was that I uh… am not 'crushing' on anybody. I told you before that I was on the fence, but that I was getting... 'attached' to him because of how much time I've spent around… ah, never mind. That doesn't sound too good either, when I think about how that statement would come out; especially since I really did say... what I said to him, thinking I was saying it to you..."
"Aw, you're so adorable when you try to pretend I don't know better~!" Rotty taunted some more, nudging Shantae again while giggling in amusement. "You are aware by now, Shantae, that in more ways than you might care to admit, you and I are one and the same… all the way down to our 'preferences.' That's part of why we're such great friends!"
"Hrrmmph…!" the half-genie growled in contempt and embarrassment, not combating her friend's point. "Anyway, I… wait…" she murmured, perking up as she appeared to have her attention drawn somewhere ahead of their position. Cupping her ear with a hand, she held her breath and leaned forward to see if her hearing was working.
"What's going on? Did you-?"
"Hang on. I hear something. Listen close…" Shantae instructed, still attempting to decipher a noise she'd picked up as another feeling of uncertainty welled up in her stomach. "Hmm…" Though perplexed by her best friend's change in demeanor, Rotty copied Shantae's motion and also made an effort to listen out for noises. However, it didn't take long for either young woman to pick up a series of distant *pop* noises, accompanied by what sounded like an object slamming against multiple walls and someone shouting. The shouts were unintelligible and sounded far away, but both of the girls were able to recognize it.
"I can hear it now, too…!" Rottytops whispered. "Sounds like stud muffin survived being dragged down here… and… is possibly fighting against someone or something…? More spiders, I'm guessing?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Come on, we've gotta go get him before it's too late!" Shantae urged, hurriedly grasping her teammate's hand and whisking her forward.
"Whoa! Jeez, you'll rip my arm off with this kind of speed!" the zombie girl complained, though she offered no resistance to being dragged along through the rest of the tunnel. It may have had something to do with Shantae accidentally ripping Rotty's arm off while attempting to pull her along. "Hey! Hang on a sec! You actually ripped my arm off!" she yelled after her teammate as they traveled further into the unknown, the sounds of what could be presumed to be gunshots and crashing noises grew louder. Only when they eventually reached the other end of the tunnel did Shantae get the idea to stop. Rotty trailed closely behind her, attempting to reorient herself once the two young heroines finally stopped sprinting. With the Luminous Aquamarine active, Shantae peered around the vicinity to see a long, wide, dark, open, skull smoke-billowing chasm that stretched at least the size of a soccer field.
"…Oh boy…" Shantae murmured, evidently super excited (read: incredibly unnerved) to see the long, empty chasm. "Rotty, it looks like we-! Wah!" she shouted as she turned to speak to her friend, only to notice that she was only holding Rottytops' disembodied arm.
"I'll… be taking that back now, please…" Rotty humbly requested between labored breaths, prompting the half-genie to hand it over… which I just realized was yet another morbid pun. Ahem! Anyway, Rotty was given back her detachable limb, which she reattached with hardly an issue before recollecting herself.
"Sorry about that… But uh… yeah, we've got a pretty huge problem on our hands here…" Shantae warned, directing her comrade's attention to the utterly insidious obstacle course that awaited them. Rotty, getting a full scope of it for herself, found herself… how do we say, less than pleased to discover what they had to go through.
"Dude, are you kidding me with this nonsense!?" she rightfully griped. "Look at all the floating web trampolines lined up all over the place! They're up high, they're down low, they're near the walls, and they're all faced in such random directions that we don't even know where to begin trying to bounce off of them to get to the other side! And look at those tiny floating platforms just lazily hovering right above this massive death pit! It's gonna take us forever to get through this!"
"No kidding…" the ponytailed young woman concurred. "And do I even need to mention all the sleeping spiders on the walls and ceiling?" she added, pointing out the curtains of red, blue, green, and purple splotches littered across almost every square inch of the cavern. "I don't even want to begin to think about what would happen if we woke any of them up… and unless we can find a way to get over there without waking them up, we're gonna have a REAL bad time trying to fight them all."
"And I'm not crazy enough to try exterminating a literal army of giant, hairy, superpowered spiders in their natural habitat. I mean, we've done something of the sort before, but the spiders were never THIS big or aggressive beside the Spider Queen…!"
"You're absolutely right, Rotty. But then, our only way of getting past this without taking too long is for us to figure out which way to throw your head so it bounces at the right angles to get to the other side, from the looks of it. Hmm…" the half-genie theorized, further studying the angles the web-based trampolines were situated to figure out a game plan.
"The other question is what we'd do if any of these things woke up and attacked while we were trying to maneuver our way over there…?"
"If that happens, then we'll have to be prepared. We could try to be as quick as possible, but if they see us with this light glowing from my headband, they're gonna attack for sure. We could try to maybe also go invisible with your ring while I flick the light on and off depending on where we are…?"
"I guess, but I'm not gonna lie; I don't do well under pressure like you do. Just the thought of trying to toss my head through this maze of floating webs is nerve-wracking enough. Doing it while under the constant threat of spider attacks, this massive bottomless pit, AND while trying to memorize the maze enough for you to be able to turn your light on and off at random intervals? Yeah, that doesn't sound too thrilling to me…"
"Good point. It would be a bad idea to try and push our way through this maze in the dark. Then again, one other idea is that I can use my Bat form to maybe fly to the other side while carrying your head, so you can teleport over once I made it through?"
"That sounds good on paper too, but what would happen if those spiders heard you screeching and flapping to find your way across?" Rotty asked. "Unless you've got some incredible secret attack or something that would at least scare them off?"
"No… My Bat form is strictly for navigating through dark places," Shantae glumly answered. "Enemies would have a heyday plucking me out of the air. And, I wouldn't imagine you'd be a good shot using Tay's gun without your head on your shoulders?"
"Yep. With my head detached, my body can only do but so much without me commanding it. Fighting enemies wouldn't really be an option if my head is bouncing and hurtling through the air. My body mainly only stays put until my head lands somewhere I can warp to. I'm not exactly known for being a strong multitasker."
"Darn it…!" the half-genie cursed, scratching her head in vexation. "That settles it, then. Without any safer options, all we can do is stick close by each other. You focus on tossing your head toward the webs, and I'll do my best to defend us from any incoming spider attacks. We'll just have to be as fast as possible. Sound like a plan?"
"Yeah. The best one we've got…"
"Alright, then. No turning back," Shantae declared as she gave the underground death trap of an obstacle course one more look. "Ready to roll?"
"Well, we won't get anywhere by standing around like incredibly beautiful statues, so… yeah. I guess I am," Rotty confirmed, preemptively removing her head and stepping toward Shantae before motioning to aim for a spot to throw.
"There's a lot of webs up there, so be sure that the one you pick-!"
"Leads to that platform over there. Got it. Could you shine that light a little farther up?" Rotty finished for her, also requesting her team leader's assistance as she scanned the positions of the first few web trampolines. Shantae, heeding Rotty's request, aimed her light upward, allowing her to take note of some more of the webs mysteriously hovering over their heads. "Hmm…" she pondered, seeming to be tracing the paths of each potential bounce chain with her eyes as her hand, seeming as though it had a mind of its own, began pointing a finger toward the air to draw imaginary lines in accordance with her eyes. Before too long… "Got it."
"You figured out how to get to the first platform?"
"Yep! Get ready, because I'm gonna give it a toss right now," Rotty warned, prompting Shantae to brace herself. Not wasting another moment, Rottytops flung her head high and far toward a web that appeared to almost touch the barely visible ceiling of the cavern that was angled downward toward another web angled in a different direction.
"Goodness, what an incredible throw…" Shantae murmured, impressed by the zombie girl's unprecedented strength as she watched the disembodied head soar as though it grew wings of its own. Only, as she watched Rotty's head soar off into the distance, it became rapidly more apparent that she was going to miss her mark, causing the half-genie to gasp in suspense. "Ohh… Ohh, no…!"
"Oh, gosh, no! I threw too high! Oh, no, oh, no, oh, jeez, oh-! Waahhaah!" Rotty panicked, noticing for herself that she was going to sail way over the web. However, right as she reached the apex of her ill-fated flight, a sudden *THWACK* of her cranium on a soft, fuzzy object immediately batted her head downward toward another web located way below the one she'd intended to bounce off of. "Agh! Aaahahahaaaagh!" she hollered in terror, triggering a series of hissing noises abound as her disembodied head plummeted helplessly toward the web located right above the empty chasm. As luck would have it, her impact with whatever she smacked her head on altered her course drastically enough that she was able to land on the airborne trampoline, which flung her head backward at sharp angle with a *THWAAAANG* that propelled her toward yet another web that was hovering directly over the first floating platform. With another lucky bounce, Rotty's head caught onto this web and was spiked right onto the platform. Within a second, Shantae and the rest of the zombie girl's body were teleported right to her.
"Jeez, that was a close one…!" Shantae murmured, astonished by the improbable sight of her best friend's unlikely trick shot.
"You're tellin' me… Gosh, I was set to totally lose my head over that one! Literally!" Rotty agreed, tightly fixing her head back onto her shoulders as she took a second to process the fact that she almost missed the mark on her first throw. She would only get that second to regroup, however, as a tarantula on the ceiling had spotted them and had made its way toward them. "Oh, and now it looks like our new acquaintances here would like to have a word with us…"
"Shoot! The jig's up!" Shantae warned, suddenly on high alert as she spotted four more arachnids on either side of the cavern getting ready to pounce on the girls. Two of them were green, while two others were blue. Shantae summoned up a blue Bubble Shield the second she noticed the tarantula on the ceiling vomit out its acidic goop at them, alerting Rotty to the danger they were in. Shantae's reflector shield came in handy, bouncing every ounce of the disgusting liquid back at its sender, splashing it with a sizzling *SPLAT*. The tarantula hissed in pain, immediately losing its footing and plummeting from the ceiling to the abyss. "We need to get out of here now! Try to find a way to the next platform while I fend some of these spiders off!" she ordered, disabling her shield to summon up fireballs to launch at the malevolent bugs while narrowly dodging a couple shots of web aimed at her.
"Ohh, we're in for it now…!" Rotty murmured hurriedly looking to identify the next web to toss her head at while Shantae focused all of her attention on flinging fireballs galore at the smorgasbord of giant spiders headed toward them from just about every angle. She would get little time to even think about completing her task, as a blue trapdoor spider came speeding in from midair without her noticing before it was too late. The trapdoor spider leapt in from seemingly nowhere, striking the zombie girl with a *THWACK* of its legs against her shoulder. "Agh! Ow, that stung, you little creep!" she complained, angered as she opted to take her leg off and use it to pummel the offending bug into paste.
"Rotty, watch out!" Shantae called from behind as the undead maiden took a full-body swing of her disembodied leg at the trapdoor spider, who'd shot a line of webbing from its thorax and pulled itself away to safety before she could hit it. Hearing Shantae nevertheless, Rotty turned around to be greeted by the *TWANG* of an orange-hued glowing ball of death landing right on the platform.
"Woawaaah!" she bellowed, knowing full well what that object was capable of doing.
"Come here!" the half-genie commanded, rushing toward Rotty before pulling her close and summoning up a purple Bubble Shield to protect them from the incoming onslaught. She'd done so with impeccable timing, too, as two more trapdoor spiders attempted to employ leaping sneak attacks from the ceilings. Thanks to Shantae's shield, the eight-legged would-be aggressors were repelled before they could harm either of them further. "Alright, this shield's only gonna last but for so long!" she warned, flinging another volley of fireballs that managed to strike and immediately ignite a tarantula preparing to spit acid at them from the wall, in addition to a daddy long-legs that prepared to drop another bomb from the ceiling. "Throw your head somewhere safe before we lose our place!"
"Uh, r-roger!" Rotty complied, though the intensity of the impromptu battle proved to quickly get to her. Resolving not to let her best friend down in a bind, however, Rotty did her best to identify which web would grant them forward progress. As the bomb on the platform began to beep and glow brighter, the anxious zombie girl realized she had no time to even think about identifying a pathway, considering there were at least five web trampolines (that's what we're calling them henceforth) surrounding them from above, below, and behind. Rottytops barely found herself able to think before another *CRACK* of a trapdoor spider swinging in from its ceiling-attached web and attempting to break through the shield derailed her thinking. "Darn it, I can't focus with these things bouncing off this bubble…! But I don't have a choice. Here goes nothin'! Hiii-yah!" she announced, turning and noticing a web very high up a fair distance behind them. Wasting little time, Rotty reeled back and launched her head as hard as she could at it.
"Nice!" Shantae praised, making sure to stay near Rotty's body to protect it. Shantae did her best with keeping the other spiders at bay, getting the idea to summon up her Fiery Hair Whip. Only, when she clashed her bracelets together, her hair did not ignite. "Huh…?" she pondered, flinging another fireball at a red huntsman spider that was headed her way via the ceiling and burning it to a crisp in almost an instant. In between that and another pair of trapdoor spiders flinging themselves toward her from webs they were shooting at the ceiling, Shantae tried again to activate her Fiery Hair Whip, to no avail. Faced with no other choice, she launched another fireball at one trapdoor spider while using her normal Hair Attack against the other. She took no pleasure in defeating them, however, as she remained confused about something. "My hair's not changing color… Weird…" she murmured, though she let the thought pass for the moment as her shield disappeared, leaving her with the bomb to deal with. "Shoot… Hopefully, you picked the right spot to throw…" the young heroine spoke quietly, smacking a trapdoor spider with her hair attack as she attempted to figure out what she'd do if the bomb detonated before Rotty could land on the next spot.
Speaking of which, Rotty's head toss sent her head barreling toward a web trampoline that seemed just about impossible to reach from the massive vertical distance between the platform and the airborne spider net. Nevertheless, with another *THWAAAARNGH!*, Rotty's head was flung far forward, sailing wide over a second, much rounder, much more spacious platform before connecting with another web trampoline that flung her head backward at a lower, sharper angle. Following after that, her head soared back over the pit, seeming to be headed right into the spacious bottomless pit. As her disembodied head plummeted hard through clouds of skull-shaped smoke, the panic immediately set in.
"Wait, no, nonononono, not there, not there, not-! Gack!" she was about to scream before being interrupted by another sticky substance pressing itself to her face and expanding in the darkness of the pit. Before she knew it, the relieving sound of another rubber band-like bounce filled her ears as the familiar material flung her upward and forward at just the right angle that her head safely landed on the giant platform. "…Whew… I got lucky that time, but that was a heart-stopper for sure…" she murmured in gratitude that her good fortune had carried her through. Her moment of reprieve would be short-lived, however, as she found herself face-to-face with two red huntsman spiders that hissed and growled as though they were ferociously hungry for zombie flesh. In that same moment, a *BOOM*, followed by stones crumbling and a woman screaming could be heard from behind her, immediately causing her immense and inconsolable dread. It certainly didn't help that the dim light provided by the half-genie's gem all but vanished in an instant. "Oh, no…! Shantae! No, please tell me she's okay…! Oh, no… Oh, gosh…! My body hasn't come back up, either… Is… No, we can't go down…! Not here of all places… Right…?" Rotty pleaded, hardly even paying attention to the huntsman spiders that approached ready to have a feast on the only part of her body they had immediate access to.
Just as they got close enough to where the unfortunate zombie girl got a faceful of spider spit on her cheeks as it hissed its hot breath and blinked its zillion tiny amber eyes at her, she suddenly felt an arcane swirling sensation creeping up from under her. Within seconds, her body successfully emerged from a portal, alongside what, at a glance, looked like a ball of purple-hued fluff. Were it not for the sudden burst of light hitting her eyes, Rotty would've surely mistaken the purple hairball as a tarantula that had grabbed onto her body before she teleported. Thankfully, this was not the case…
"I won't let you hurt her! Harrraaah!" an intensely determined Shantae defiantly shouted, finding herself propelled into the air from the portal. Assessing the situation right away, Shantae prepared another fireball, cocking her arm all the way back as she reached the apex of her Rottytops-powered teleport. Anticipating her impending attack, one of the huntsman spiders backed off, whereas the other one huddled itself together and activated its special technique in the form of hardening its body and waiting for her to score a direct hit. Remembering her recent experience with the huntsmans, however, Shantae opted to fling the pyrokinetic projectile at the spider while it sat, ironically defenseless. And, with an almost deafening *PWASH*, the gigantic arachnid was roasted, hissing and flailing about before it exploded. "Hah…! We're really cutting it close down here…" the young adventurer griped, wiping sweat off her face as she prepared to engage the next enemy.
"Shantae!" Rotty cheered, leaping for joy and ensnaring Shantae from behind in a most grateful and affectionate hug. "You're alive! Oh, I just don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you, my precious snack cakes!"
"H-hey!" Shantae complained, nearly losing her balance, not expecting her teammate to pounce on her. "I promise you I'm still here, Rotty. We should save the reunion for later. We've still got a spider problem on our hands," she advised, prompting Rottytops to let her go and move beside her to engage the lone red huntsman in front of them.
"Right," she agreed, taking a deep, nervous breath as she reoriented herself. "Thanks for saving me again, by the way. I owe you a bunch…"
"No sweat, girl! Let's just make sure we keep watching each other's backs!" Shantae confidently retorted, shooting her friend a smiling nod.
"Heard loud and clear. Let's give 'em a show to die for!" she morbidly quipped, preparing herself as the remaining huntsman spider stared them down, rearing up as though it were preparing to charge. Shantae and Rottytops, confident in their combined abilities, stared right back at it with the full intent of clearing it out of their way before advancing through the dark, long, musty, foggy spider web trampoline maze. Their collective confidence would find itself challenged, however, as a team of other spiders that included three daddy long-legs positioning themselves on the ceiling directly above the platform, six pairs (that's right, PAIRS) of trapdoor spiders either sprang from the ground or swung in from webs linked to the ceiling to join their red-tinted comrade in the battle, and two more purple tarantulas crawling in from their barely visible vantage points on the walls, ready to provide support to their fellow arthropods. "…or, we could definitely do our best to avoid dying ourselves. That sounds like a good plan, too, no?" Rotty added to her original statement, this addendum sounding far less enthusiastic than her initial vow of determination.
"You said it," Shantae agreed, scanning the battlefield to assess for either a way to skip past the incredibly difficult scuffle presented to them or an appropriate starting point for her and Rottytops to dig their heels in and fight back. "Now's probably a good time to use that gun. I can't pick out a safe way for you to get the time to throw your head to the next web without either one of us being put in a ton of danger, and none of these guys likes to fight up close. They almost overwhelmed me on the last platform because they just shot a bunch of webs at me to distract me from the bomb they set up on us back there. The blue ones like to jump on you or swoop in while attached to webs from the ceiling to attack before they run away or dig into the platform to get away. Thank the stars that you've got such an insanely useful technique, Rotty. If there's anyone who owes someone, it's me owing you."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Definitely."
"Well, in that case, I'll hold you to it," she teased, studying the opposition for herself before reluctantly pulling out the silver Desert Eagle she'd more or less been forced to use. "Hopefully, we won't be too long with all these spiders ganging up on us…"
"Trust me, if there's a way to clean up this mess faster, you'd better believe I'm looking for it," Shantae assured as the spiders grew more eager to attack. Most of them began simultaneously hissing as they inched themselves toward our heroines. "Alright, so we know they're weak to fire and they can't see too well in the dark, but they're quick on their feet and have home-field advantage. Meanwhile, I have fire… Mostly," she began to advise, stopping only to try once more to activate her Fiery Hair Whip to no avail. "I can't get my Fire Whip to work, though. I don't know if that means I'm starting to run low on magic or what, but I'm taking that as my red flag. I still have other ways to attack, either way. Plus, as long as we stick together, we can take away their element of surprise with my Light Gem," she further advised, renaming her Luminous Aquamarine in the process.
"Meanwhile, I've got detachable limbs, a ring that makes me invisible for almost no time at all, and a gun I barely know how to use," Rotty added, though her response came off as less than faithful in her own abilities. "I'll try not to get in your way…"
"Don't underestimate yourself," the half-genie disagreed. "That gun might be hard to use at first, but it's super strong. You can take most of these spiders out in one hit with every shot you fire. Plus, going invisible might open up opportunities to attack that even I wouldn't be able to get. Trust me, this is something we're gonna have to conquer together."
"Wow… You know, you sure do seem like you know exactly what we need to do to survive this massive ambush before we've even started fighting these spiders," Rotty acknowledged, readying the handgun and pointing it at the spiders approaching. "You're usually more into winging it and charging through everything as fast as possible. When did you start getting all… analytical about your adventures?"
"I uh… may have learned a thing or two… from a certain someone about being prepared before a situation comes up…" she sheepishly replied, hiding her flustered facial expression as she summoned a fireball in her hand and prepared to defend herself against the onslaught of web-spinning adversaries they faced. "A-anyway, are you ready?"
"Ready as well-done lasagna!"
"You mean spaghetti?"
"No, you used that one already. I was trying to play on it by naming another tasty pasta dish to tell you how ready I am. Unfortunately, it doesn't rhyme, nor does it really roll off the tongue like spaghetti does." At that, Shantae let out a short chuckle.
"Sure. I hear ya. Alright, then. Let's show these creepy-crawly creatures what we're capable of…!" the ponytailed heroine concluded, at this point ready to take all comers. Rotty, reading her friend's mannerisms, prepared herself as well, though she still found herself none too fond of having to use a firearm to defend herself as she glanced at it.
"Hopefully, we can hurry this up, so I don't have to keep using this glorified death machine. I'm getting more uncomfortable with the more I even have to look at this thing…" Rotty murmured, vocalizing her disdain for guns as she continued to aim it at the opposing bugs advancing upon her. And, with a frightening collective hissing noise from every spider in the vicinity at the time, they launched their assault. Half of the trapdoor spiders burrowed into the platform, leaving the other half to spring high into the air toward their targets, ready to defend their territory at all costs. Meanwhile, one of the daddy long-legs on the ceiling produced an energy bomb and dropped it directly in front of Shantae and Rotty, prompting the half-genie to dash toward her ally while tossing a fireball up toward the ceiling. With a burst of flames and a *FWOOSH*, Shantae managed to strike down one of the daddy long-legs as it was engulfed in flames by her attack. Rotty, making sure to keep herself focused on what was in front of her, began firing off a haphazard spray of rounds from her handgun. Each deafening *BANG* of the firearm made it jump around like it was trying to free itself from her grasp.
"Rotty, keep your stance firm and fire slower! You're never gonna hit anything just shooting at random!" Shantae shouted, leaping backward to avoid being attacked by three trapdoor spiders that had targeted her. She noticed right away that Rotty had already been struggling to maintain her aim and composure.
"I'm trying!" Rotty yelled back in frustration, firing at least four more potshots that failed to connect with anything. "Gah, this stupid gun is so jump-!" she complained before she felt a sudden burst of pain course through her abdomen. "Gahagh!" she wailed in torment as she was sent stumbling back a few steps. As she reoriented herself, she noticed six of the trapdoor spiders standing before her (which was three more than she'd initially spotted), ready to attack again. "Oh, that's how you wanna play it, then…? Okay, let's see how you like this…!" And with that, Rotty stashed the Desert Eagle away, opting to instead activate her Concealer Ring. With a sudden flash of a brilliant blue light, Rotty seemingly vanished right before the spiders, who'd halted their advance on her in confusion. Wasting no time, Rotty detached her head and, while closing her eyes to avoid detection, flung it forward to an open spot right behind the trapdoor spiders. Soon after, the rest of her body zipped to her head's location, granting her an opportunity like no other. "Gotcha now…!" she whispered, creeping toward them before taking off her leg to begin using it like a glorified flyswatter. "Yaaaah!" the invisible zombie girl shouted as she took the first of many swings at the unsuspecting blue arachnids. *THWACK* after *THWACK* after *THWACK* rang out, causing three of them to explode in puffs of smoke and gems while the others panicked and burrowed into the ground to avoid being assaulted by an enemy they couldn't see. Rotty swatted away with reckless abandon, striking the creatures sporadically just as her invisibility ran out once again. With one more missed swing of her leg, she hurriedly reattached it in time to see Shantae running toward her. In that moment, the energy bomb exploded, though the half-genie had made it just far enough to avoid being harmed. As she rushed toward her ally, however, it became clear that the bomb wasn't her concern.
"Look out!" Shantae called out, summoning her blue-hued Reflector Bubble and diving to tackle Rottytops to the ground. Right as the girls hit the dirt with an echoing *THUD*, a sizzling *SPLAT* could be heard to the side. Shantae quickly climbed off Rotty to notice that one of the tarantulas had prepared to spew a lethal gob of acid slime at them while they appeared to be distracted. The girls had no time to watch the result of Shantae's bubble doing its job (by which I mean the opportunistic tarantula melted itself by accident) before a trapdoor spider emerged from the ground, striking Shantae hard enough in the face to send her flying backward as her shield disappeared. She hit the ground with another hard *PLOP* flat on her back.
"Shantae! I'm coming!" Rottytops called out, springing back to her feet in a hurry to go help her friend. Just as she took one step to sprint toward her, she felt something stick to her shoe with a nearly inaudible *thwip*. Rotty suddenly felt her leg involuntarily detach from her body causing her to fall over onto her stomach. "Ow…! What the…?" she murmured, picking herself up enough to flip over and see that the red huntsman spider had taken the opportunity to attempt to trap her while she was distracted. "Why you sneaky, no-good, web-spitting…!" she grumbled, attempting to climb to her remaining foot before another set of trapdoor spiders (three in total) emerged from the ground, surrounding her in the process.
"Dang it, I can't do anything like this…! Grr…!" Rotty muttered, growing concerned with the way the ordeal was unfolding. Thinking as fast as she could, she activated her Concealer Ring again, closing her eyes and cloaking herself right in front of the spiders. Once again, they found themselves none the wiser as they began spinning around, looking to see where she ran off to. "Good thing they don't know what's what with this ring, but what do I do from here…? I don't have a lot of time to figure it out before the effect wears off, but without my other leg, I'm basically a sitting duck unless I can chuck my head back over where Shantae is… but I can't see over these giant walking Halloween decorations to even try it. Argh…!" she anxiously pondered, growing frustrated as she cast her gaze toward the ground in thought. In that moment, however, she remembered her other option. "I mean… I guess I could give this thing another shot," she further pondered, grabbing hold of the invisible handgun she'd previously stuffed into her shirt. "This ring's effect is gonna wear off any second, so if I want to have any chance to get out of this mess in no more than two pieces, I'd better be quick… Don't fail me now, gun…!"
Meanwhile, Shantae had been pushing herself through the thick of it. She'd since sprung back to her feet, getting into the full swing of fending off the other portion of the teeming horde of spiders as she found herself ducking, spinning, and dodging her enemies' attacks like her life depended on it… which, it kinda did. The flaws in her outfit's power-to-resilience distribution made themselves painfully apparent (literally) once again. Just from the few hits she'd taken since arriving in the spider-infested dungeon, she'd already felt the effects of her pain tolerance being significantly reduced. Breathing heavily and fighting through a fiercely aching abdomen resultant of her being attacked by one of the spiders, Shantae resolved to play it safe by keeping her distance rather than attack up close unless she had to. Activating her Invincibility Bubble once more, the young heroine committed to wiping out as many of the spiders as she could to give herself and Rottytops some breathing room.
"Nice try! Now here are your prizes!" she yelled after dodging another underground ambush from the remaining six trapdoor spiders who'd committed to attacking her rather than Rottytops. Flinging fireball after fireball at them, she managed to score a few direct hits, causing four of the blue spiders to flip over, hissing and writhing in agony all across the miniature arena before they exploded into masses of bones, gems, and a much-needed Fruit Salad. Shantae hurriedly got Fruit Salad and ate it in its entirety to restore some of her health. "Thank goodness they finally dropped something to heal up, but that salad didn't give me too much more to work with… Hah…" she tiredly murmured, leaping out of the way of an acid spray from the one remaining tarantula. As she did so, however, she heard the *TWANG* of another energy bomb dropping to the ground next to her. "Right, and I have to deal with these things, too…! Gosh, these spiders don't give up…!" she murmured, hopping back to avoid a trapdoor spider that attempted to lunge at her before she dashed in and whipped it into oblivion with her braided ponytail. Remaining alert, she scanned the area to see where the last trapdoor spider went. Keeping the green arachnids in mind, however, she opted to keep her guard up and solve another huge problem while she had the time to even think about it.
As she was set to charge up another fireball to try taking down one of the daddy long-legs on the ceiling, a sudden rush of ear-splitting *BANGs* coursed through the cavern, startling her completely out of her focus as she turned toward the source of the noise. She was greeted by the sight of the final four more of the trapdoor spiders being vanquished with grotesque defeated hissing noises (one of which was struck by a stray bullet just as it emerged from the ground in front of the half-genie, who'd found herself spooked out of her wits) as some unseeable force had been flinging flashing marbles in every direction without warning.
"Wah! That one almost got me by total surprise…! Wow… what's going on over there?" she asked herself as she took a deep breath to calm down before hurrying to approach the source of the commotion. As she approached to inspect the situation, Shantae soon realized, from the look of it, Rottytops appeared to be missing while explosive noises and marbles were filling the air from a single point. Once she got close enough, she put two and two together. "Ohh, I see. Rotty must've turned invisible using that ring to get the drop on the spiders that went after her. Wow, she's more incredible than I thought…!" she praised, though she also realized she wasn't safe when the bomb behind her began beeping rapidly. "We're making headway, but I'd better go lend her a hand." With that, Shantae dashed the rest of the way toward Rottytops' position just as the bomb detonated, this time taking a chunk of the platform with it. Shantae glanced back to see that the arena suffered a sudden shrinkage. She took note of it before continuing on to help Rotty. She arrived without issue, only to notice that one of the zombie girl's legs was visible, disembodied, and stuck in a line of web. "Oh, no…! what happ-!?"
"Finally, this thing does something useful that I meant for it to do…" Rotty's voice was heard griping about something, causing Shantae jump in fright before stopping to scan the immediate area in confusion. In another flash, Rottytops (sans one leg) appeared before her, sitting down with a gun aimed at the red huntsman spider.
"There you are!" Shantae remarked in relief, stepping forward and helping her friend up to her remaining foot.
"Thanks for the lift, babe," Rotty affectionately expressed her gratitude, wrapping an arm around the half-genie's shoulders for stability. "And before you ask, that giant red creep over there stuck my leg with web before I got the chance to lend you any help. My leg came right off when I tried to run toward you before I even knew what was happening. I'm okay, though."
"Ohh… and here I was, almost thinking you got eaten alive by that thing… Thank goodness…"
"A feat they'll never get the joy of accomplishing; even if they could eat me," Rotty quipped, taking a deep breath as she remained reliant on Shantae for support. "Anyway, could you help a girl out? I'd like to keep dominating these horrendous spiders with you, but I'm kinda gonna need that leg back to really be useful…"
"As if you even have to ask. Leave it to me!" Shantae valiantly stepped up to the challenge as the red huntsman took the initiative to crawl toward Rotty's disembodied leg. Seeing this, Shantae carefully set Rotty down before summoning another projectile in her hand. "Hey, could you do me a favor and try taking out the green and purple spiders while I try to get your leg back?"
"Well, I could definitely TRY to do that. Just hope you won't be disappointed in the result," the one-legged maiden warned, though she complied in the form of scanning their surroundings and spotting a vague image of one of the daddy long-legs on the ceiling, preparing another bomb for them to deal with. "And looks like it's now or never!" she surmised, aiming the gun high as she attempted to find a comfortable position from which to fire. Shantae, ready to clear out the remainder of the arachnid attack squad they had unintentionally summoned on themselves, started off by flinging a fireball at the huntsman spider, causing it to hop to the side before tugging on the web line attached to Rotty's leg.
"Hey! Give that leg back! You have enough of them as it is, don't you think!?" she complained, sprinting after Rotty's lost appendage as it found itself on the verge of becoming spider food. Shantae hurriedly tossed another fireball ahead, causing the ravenous creature to dodge, hissing in anticipation of what she planned to do next as she draw closer to it. However, with a crackling *snap*, Shantae found success in burning away the webbing that attached itself to her friend's limb and quickly (not to mention with an incredibly strong tug) picked it up off the ground. "Got it!" she cheered, tucking the appendage under her arm as she prepared to take down the huntsman. Clearly not happy with the arrangement, the red huntsman spider hissed angrily, spraying a viscous, yellow-green substance from its maw. The noise alone was loud enough to rattle the ears of the half-genie as she backed up. "Ooh… Sounds like you mean business now…!" she deciphered, preparing for its next attack as it reared up, seeming ready to charge directly at her with all its might. Shantae also did her best to avoid being distracted by the random deafening *BOOM* noises and subsequent quakes occurring. Although, her focus was broken when the explosions increased in frequency and volume, causing her to suspect something was wrong on Rotty's end. "Rotty, what's going on back there? It sounds like you're still shooting around at random. Do you need a hand with dealing with the other spiders?" she asked, turning to see a thoroughly confused Rottytops looking around with a cocked eyebrow before turning her attention toward her.
"Not sure what you mean, snack cakes," Rotty answered with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. "I haven't fired another shot yet."
"Wait… How… Those explosion noises weren't coming from you?" she asked just as one extra, particularly eardrum-shattering *KABOOM* rocked the entire cavern, summoning up a massive, seconds-long quake that shook the underground lair to its core. Resultant of the sudden earthquake, the two remaining daddy long-legs and the final tarantula were shaken off the ceiling and wall, respectively. One of the daddy long-legs plopped onto the floating platform while the other helplessly plummeted into the abyss with no hope of saving itself. The tarantula had attempted to spin a web and sling it toward the ceiling as it struggled to maintain its footing on the wall to no avail. It, too, plummeted deep into the all-consuming dark void in the wake of the startling earthquake.
"Gosh… what happened…? Did a volcano erupt somewhere nearby…?" Rotty asked as Shantae took the distraction as an opportunity to hand Rottytops her leg back. Rotty wasted no time reattaching it and cleaning the webbing off her shoe as best as she could before rising to a stand.
"I don't think so. The only volcano I'm aware of is a ways off from here, and that one isn't due to erupt again for at least a hundred years after last time…" Shantae pensively stated, denying the possibility of an eruption being the cause of the sudden underground tremors. "The way those explosion sounds happened, though… It was like a Boss was just beaten… Hmm…" As she pondered the implications of the ominous explosions as she turned to see the remaining two spiders standing before her… er, well, one of them was standing. The other one was still flat on its back, legs curled up as though it had just died. "Uh…" she droned as she cocked an eyebrow while keeping her guard up. Rottytops wordlessly joined her at her side, also remaining vigilant in the event that they were still under attack. However, the longer they stood there, allowing a smothering silence to fill the room as they warily stared down the remaining two spiders… the more awkward the situation became. Eventually…
"Hey! Are you guys even awake?" Rotty abruptly called out, breaking the silence as she grew impatient with the old-fashioned woman-to-spider standoff that appeared to be leading nowhere. She got no response, however. "Helloooooo! Why'd you stop fighting? What, did our combined and unrivaled awesomeness scare you stiff or something? Hey!" she continued to goad the suddenly dormant enemy arthropods as she dropped her stance, put her handgun away, and approached them.
"Whoa, hang on! Rotty, wait!" Shantae warned, reaching out toward her comrade as she stayed in place. "Don't do anything rash! We don't know if they're really done or if they're trying to play us into a trap!"
"Aw, there's nothing to worry about, snack cakes!" Rotty assured, continuing her reckless approach. "If they haven't moved by now, then it's safe to assume these spiders are either dead, or they finally realized they can't beat us after we wiped what little floor there is here with them. I mean heck, look at this one!" she playfully and naively suggested, waltzing right up to the motionless daddy long-legs and giving it a swift, ill-advised kick. And, as anyone who's ever experienced a situation that looked too good to be true might expect, the daddy long-legs began to glow orange without moving. It was also worth mention that its sudden encapsulating glow was accompanied by rapid beeping. "Uh-oh. I guess I spoke too soon…"
"Rottytops, get out of there! That thing looks like it's gonna blow!" Shantae desperately warned, activating her Invincibility shield as she barreled toward her friend to save her.
"Oh, jeez, oh, man, oh, dear g-!" Rotty panicked, turning and running toward Shantae. Within two or three steps, however, another *BOOM* rang out, utterly decimating the ground beneath her. "Whoaaawahaaaah!" the unfortunate undead girl shouted as she tripped and lost her balance. As she was falling, though, she looked down to see that the half of the diminished platform had been crumbling under her. By all accounts, it looked like she was a goner as she helplessly watched the ground beneath her crumble and morph into another small piece of the all-consuming, empty, smoky abyss she'd been trying so hard not to get swallowed up in.
"Rotty!" Shantae called out in unadulterated terror, fearing for her friend's life as she felt a sudden burst of tingling and adrenaline coursing through her as she dove forward, hands extended, and managed to catch her friend by her wrists. "Gotcha…! Haaaaagh…!" she further declared, barely managing to make the save as she also bore witness to the petrified huntsman spider falling to its doom along with the chunk of platform it was standing on.
"Whaaaah! Wh-whatever you do, Shantae, please, for the sake of my afterlife, don't drop me! Aaahahaaah!" Rotty pleaded, making sure her limbs didn't accidentally detach as she held on for dear li… er, held on like her life depe… um… she put her faith in Shantae's abilities. There. Moving on.
"You're not going anywhere if I can help it! Haaaarraaah!" the half-genie roared with determination, finding it surprisingly easy to hoist her best friend up. Taking full advantage of the situational boost in strength, Shantae pulled Rottytops all the way up by her wrists, though she lost her balance and fell backward with Rotty landing on top of her. However unceremonious it was, Shantae was successful in saving Rotty from facing a potential second (and possibly more permanent) doom. "Whew… Hah…"
"Wow, Shantae, you're way stronger than I could've ever imagined you were! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for saving me yet again!" Rotty cheered, equally as relieved as she wrapped her arms around her savior and squeezed her tight as they lay on the ground.
"Gaahhck…! Rotty, you're choking me…!" Shantae fought through her asphyxiation to alert her friend, rapidly tapping her on the shoulder to get her to stop.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry… I'm just so glad you came through for me again. Here, let me help you up…" the zombie girl offered, quickly springing to her feet before lending a hand to help Shantae up. "Whoa… Have you always been able to make your body glow like that?" she was compelled to ask as the girls regained their composure and brushed themselves off.
"Hm? My body's glowing…?" Shantae asked, puzzled by Rotty's observation until she glanced downward toward her hands to see that her arms (and by extension, the rest of her) had been enveloped in a luminescent, flickering glow of sky blue and marble white. "Holy smokes, my body IS glowing!" she finally noticed, glancing all around herself to take full note of the arcane phenomenon. "How…?"
"Just when I think I've seen everything, you always manage to pull another trick out of your sleeve," Rotty commented, excited for her teammate as she was confused by what was happening before her.
"Yeah, well you're not alone… on… hah… agh… hah…" the half-genie was about to agree before she suddenly trailed off. Without warning, the glow around her body dissipated with a crackling *Plock*, leaving only a dimmer, flickering beam of light from the Luminous Aquamarine. Shantae suddenly felt a sharp drop in strength as she collapsed to a knee, panting as though her airways had been restricted. "Agh…! Hah… Wow…!"
"Shantae!" Rotty called to her in a sudden panic, rushing over to help her back up by slining the fatigued half-genie's arm around her shoulders and lifting her up. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?"
"Ah… I'm almost out of magic…" she warned, leaning on Rottytops for support as she continued trying to catch her breath. "Whatever happened there… it gave me enough strength to pull you up, but it feels like it came close to totally burning me out… Hah…"
"Oh… Sorry…" Rotty apologized, feeling a pang of guilt shooting through her abdomen as she strengthened her stance to keep herself and Shantae stable. "I should've known better than that. This is my fault…"
"No, it isn't…" Shantae disagreed, straightening herself as best as she could while still relying on her friend's support. "We didn't have a way of knowing that would happen with those spiders. I'm just glad to be done with them. Besides… even if it cost me all of my energy, I'd have still jumped in to save you. You don't have anything to apologize for."
"You're… too good to me, snack cakes…" Rottytops meekly replied, touched by Shantae's poignant admission of her willingness to stick her neck out for her. "I… Thanks…"
"Not an issue, Rotty…" Shantae assured, catching enough of her breath to bring herself back to a weary stand, prompting Rotty to release her. "Now, come on. We've still gotta find our way through the rest of this cave to find Tayshan. I have a hunch that he might've defeated the boss in here, presuming there was one to be beaten, so we shouldn't dawdle…" she advised as she used her Light Gem to scan their surroundings, only to see a bunch of floating web trampolines and one more distant platform standing between them and the entrance to the next room within the vacant, mostly-empty cave tunnel.
"Huh? What makes you think he beat any sort of boss monster down here?" she asked, understandably puzzled by the assertion. "Especially when we weren't there to help him, and he couldn't defend himself on his own when we started?"
"Tay's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, so something had to give. Plus, those explosions couldn't have just happen out of nowhere," the ponytailed young woman explained. "When we came in here, we could hear sounds of someone or something fighting, if you remember. It was tough to keep listening once we started fighting those spiders, but I've got a gut feeling that those explosions we heard were those that usually follow a boss monster being vanquished. And unless there's someone else in here to do the job, my only guess is that Tay managed to survive," she further asserted, sounding hopeful that her theory was the case. "My biggest clue for it being a boss monster losing a battle, though, is in the fact that the spiders here either stopped attacking us or fell into the pit below as soon as the explosions happened."
"Ohh… Huh. It'd be an interesting sight to see, if that was the case," Rotty pondered with a nod. "I mean, you're the expert here, so I trust your guess. It's better than any reason I could come up with. Plus, for stud muffin's sake, I hope you're right. But then, are you sure he could do such a thing on his own? I mean, he couldn't handle the spiders we just spent this entire time cleaning out before they snatched him up and dragged him away. How do you figure he would he be able to survive, much less beat a boss? Not to sound skeptical, but..."
"All I can say, Rotty, is that if you think I've got ways of making things happen, then so does he. This is far from our first adventure, and for better or for worse, I've taught him a huge chunk of what he knows. He's got enough of a grasp on how it works that, if he's beaten the boss now like I think is the case, then this would make… I think at least the third Boss Battle he's been in without me, not counting the Tinkerbat brigades he wiped out by himself in the three weeks we've been adventuring together. And of those three boss battles, he's won one on his own, held his own long enough for me to come in and save him on another, and I'm hoping he managed to win one more in here."
"What? THIRD!? By himself!? AND he's beating up hordes of Tinkerbats on his own!? Jeez, what are you teaching him that you're not teaching the rest of us!?" Rotty complained, flabbergasted by the revelation. "What kind of bonkers, cosmic miracle sorcery does it take for a supporting character to get THAT lucky!?"
"I don't know if I'd call it 'luck.' Like I said, I did spend a lot of time training him to be a successful adventurer. The rest was him just adapting to the flow. That said, I can definitely give you some pointers, too. That is, if you'd be so willing to take any advice from me," Shantae casually stated, trying not to sound too prideful in her teaching ability.
"Oh, so you're just out here, opening a tutoring service on how to become an explorer-slash-hero like you, eh? Well, if that's the case, then I request—no, DEMAND—that you give me a private lesson or two… hundred! I was here way longer than anyone other than Bolo and birdbrain, and I don't think I can stand idly by and let you and Tayshan have all the fun anymore. It's actually even more upsetting that, now that I think of it, even that oddball ex-boyfriend of yours got his time to shine before even I did! And almost no one even knew he even existed! Give a girl a break, why don't ya?"
"While I'm not sure agree with the way you're putting it, you do raise a fair point… But trust me: The minute you agreed to tag along with me, was the minute you technically became a 'student' of mine, Rotty," Shantae remarked with an elated smirk. "Though, I'm not really 'teaching' you anything you don't already know, so much as we're teaming up as partners while we use our own unique abilities to power on through. Either way, I've gotta say, you're doing a bang-up job!"
"Ya think so?" Rotty perkily asked, pleasantly surprised by her 'mentor's' sentiment. "Even after all the screw-ups on my part?"
"I know so. And hey, no one's first adventure is gonna be perfect. I know mine wasn't. No pain, no gain. That said, I'd be glad to team up with you again sometime when there's a chance."
"Well then, you can certainly count on me to answer the call!" Rotty cheered, pumping a fist as she smirked with confidence.
"I'm happy to know I've got a dependable ally in you. Now, come on. Let's finish up in this cave before we're hit with another unwelcome surprise," the half-genie hero suggested, marching toward the edge of the platform and studying the remainder of the airborne web trampolines. She found herself joined by her living dead ally in scouring the web puzzle to identify the correct path… that is, before one of the girls pondered something.
"Without all those spiders in the way, will we really need to keep using these webs? Can't you just use one of your fancy animal dances to get us over to the other side?" Rottytops queried, picking up on the sudden lack of opposition in their path.
"I would, but I need to conserve my magic to make sure I have enough for this Light Gem to keep working. I've burnt up a ton of it since we got down here, and I'm worried that using too much magic would put us both in danger."
"Figures…" she complained with a sigh. "Oh, well. I thought I'd ask anyway to see if we had an easier out."
"Sorry…"
"Don't be, hon! I'd be honored to pave the rest of the way for us!" Rotty volunteered, popping her head off and stepping up to the plate to navigate through the remainder of the perilous chasm. Shantae, knowing the drill, positioned herself next to her in preparation. While aiming her next head toss, Rotty used their light and positioning to study the potential pathways of the plentiful web trampolines above and all around them. While it took her a few mock trials to identify the correct pathway in the overarching darkness of the cave, she eventually found her mark. "Get ready, because we're about to lift off!" she warned, to which Shantae nodded in agreement. "And now… we HEAD onward!" Rotty punned as she flung her head toward the next web trampoline high above them on the way through the rest of the maze… and right on that note, it looks like we're all out of time yet again. But before you yell at me with the power of fifty angry chimpanzees, I assure you that when we return, we will wrap this second three-part saga up in an epic and (hopefully) satisfying conclusion as the suspense around this grand voyage continues to build. Yet, we've still not found out what happened to Tayshan after he was whisked into the abyss of the Silky Strings Lair of Eight-Legged Despair… One can only hope everything was okay on his end. Could Shantae's hunch about him possibly defeating the Boss monster off-screen have some truth to it? Or could she have been wrong? What terrific fate had befallen Sequin Land's resident alien? Find out next time! Until then, maybe find some time to cleanse your thoughts of all the harrowing images of giant, hairy, gunk-spitting arachnids you soldiered through this chapter to hear about. Trust me, that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Just thinking about them makes me shudder with paranoia. I'll be in my happy place until we meet again. Sweet dreams...
