Aftermath, Pt. 2: Restorative Justice
LOCATION: BANDIT TOWN MEDICAL CENTER (OUTSIDE), BANDIT TOWN, SEQUIN LAND
DATE: OCTOBER 3RD, 16 P.G.F.
TIME: 1332 HOURS
"…So, that's that, then? Risky Boots got beat yet again, all traces of those weapons are completely gone thanks to that genie girl, and that kid was… was killed in action trying to protect her, eh?" observed a certain gigantic, burly one-eyed man garbed head to toe in familiar blue raccoon-themed attire, and who'd had the entirety of his left arm in a cast, in addition to bandages pressed across his face and hands. He was escorted out of the front entrance of a rather diminutive medical facility into the warm, gusty afternoon atmosphere by his two young blonde female seconds-in-command. The two young ladies in question were also fully garbed in their usual Ammonian attire… save for the fact that one of the girls was wearing a peculiar oversized green tank top instead of her usual form-fitting white one. As it appeared, the illustrious (if not notorious) Ammo Baron had been picked up by Twitch and Vinegar after spending the majority of the previous day in an emergency room, and they were catching him up on what he missed since his unfortunate hospitalization.
"Y-yeah…" the pigtailed woman in the green tank top rather dejectedly confirmed, lifting her goggles onto her forehead and wiping tears from her eyes as she and her allies strolled from the entrance of the quaint little clinic and onto the lively, bustling, citizen-flooded streets of Bandit Town. The way they were going, it appeared the trio was headed toward the farthest reaches of the municipality's outskirts as they strolled away from the sizable collection of onion-domed stone buildings in the distance as citizens large and small frequented them, minding their own business. "That's… that's the gist of it…" the young lady further affirmed, her tone almost entirely devoid of energy.
"We… didn't come out of this situation nearly as well as we'd hoped, sir," the other woman, wearing her familiar orange leotard and Ammonian attire, added to the debriefing as she brushed a hand through her short golden locks and sighed in disappointment. "Sector K0414 was almost entirely eradicated in the battle against Risky, with Admiral Nila being the only surviving member. She's receiving treatment at our camp. Other than that, the Hypersonic Propulsion Generator was destroyed, and thanks to Shantae, any and all traces of those weapons from that other dimension were turned to dust and scattered to the wind, so we'll never get the chance to study them like we'd hoped… I don't even know if I need to mention the casualties we suffered… We're lucky to even be alive, to be totally honest. That grueling battle with Risky and her forces nearly cost ALL of us our lives…" she further informed, choking up as she valiantly fought the urge to cry while she was watching her fellow second-in-command struggle to hold it together.
"Ah, man…" the cyclopean army general grumbled, scratching his head with his free hand as he processed the swath of bad news being delivered to him. It was clear to him that, in no better words, the Ammonian Army had gotten a pretty raw deal in the wake of this tumultuous conflict. The catastrophic losses the Ammonian Army suffered certainly outweighed any form of benefit by a long shot. Ammo Baron could hardly comprehend it as he took a moment to examine his own condition. The cast, the bandages, the fact that he was walking with a noticeable limp… and then, to be told that the military faction he was so proud of, and that he'd built into one of the most intimidating forces in all of Sequin Land, had been almost completely reduced to shambles in a span of a few weeks and a couple of very unfortunate confrontations with the likes of Shantae and Risky Boots. It both angered and pained him as he sighed out a huge wave of frustration. "Well, then… Looks like we're going to have to go back into reconstruction mode from here," he suggested. "I was hoping we didn't need to take yet another hiatus, but it's gonna be a while before the Ammonian Army is back at full strength… but for what it's worth, I'm glad you girls are okay, at least."
"T-thanks, A.B. I… we're relieved to see you're okay as well…" the shorter woman expressed her gratitude for his concern, though it was laced entirely in a shroud of noticeable sadness as she'd pressed her hand onto her face. As the three of them walked out of the town and into an open savannah with a blue biplane in the distance, a tense, uneasy silence washed over the area. It wouldn't be too long, however, before the silence was broken by the sound of someone crying. Ammo Baron and the taller blonde Ammonian acolyte found their attention drawn to their comrade. Sure enough, they witnessed their ally weeping as she hung her head and pressed her hands to her face.
"What… What's the matter, Twitch?" Ammo Baron felt compelled to ask. Rather than get an answer from the younger and shorter of his two seconds-in-command, however, Twitch let out an extremely pained exhale as her sobs grew louder and more sorrowful by the second.
"Twitch, pull it together…" Vinegar tried to console, immediately hugging the distraught Twitch as she, too, began to shed tears of grief. "I know it's hard to accept that he's gone, but we… we've got to be stronger than this…"
"Er… What's…?" Ammo Baron wanted to ask, though he wasn't certain of how to pose his inquiry into the collective distress of his comrades.
"She's… not handling what happened too well…" Vinegar did her best to explain, her voice wavering as she tried to stifle her sadness behind a wall of stoicism. "And I don't know if I'm doing any better, but yeah…"
"What, you mean all the losses we suffered?" he guessed, still not understanding why they were crying. "Because I can assure you that we'll come back from this. And you can guarantee that we'll come back bigger… stronger… and a heck of a lot more durable than anyone could ever imagine us to be," he solemnly vowed. "We'll honor our fallen comrades and pay our respects to those who laid their lives on the line to represent the Ammonian Army. We have to… or else they'd have perished for nothing…"
"We most definitely agree, sir," Vinegar acknowledged, though she appeared to struggle harder to make her statement while Twitch's despair-riddled crying grew more heart-wrenching. "We agree… but… that's… not the only reason we're… um…" she tried to clarify, though she choked up again as she hugged Twitch tighter. It took Ammo Baron close to a full minute of studying the Ammonian ladies up and down before he realized the other reason for their distress.
"…You're… upset about that kid dying, too… Aren't you?" he guessed, though it sent a chill up his spine to ask. Twitch was too far-gone in her fit of anguished tears to respond, though she'd heard him loud and clear. Vinegar, upon hearing Ammo Baron's question, found herself forced to squeeze her eyes shut and turn away as she continued holding onto her best friend. With a deep, shaky sigh, however, she turned back to Ammo Baron and looked him in the eye.
"Yes…" Vinegar confirmed as her face became awash in her own brand of emotional distress.
"Hm. I see…" Ammo Baron acknowledged, though he could hardly understand why Twitch and Vinegar would be crying over someone who had previously been counted as a vicious and dangerous enemy to them. Even for how close his two most reliable subordinates apparently were to that enigmatic young man, they had to remember that he destroyed their base on Risky Boots's behalf and put him in the hospital… didn't they? Regardless, he continued his reply. "…Well, I won't pretend I don't get your feelings, but I can't say I share the same sentiment or that I really understand how you could be grieving over that kid after what he did to us. And, as if it needs to be said, we all know that losses in war are inevitable, no matter whose side you're fightin' for…"
"Yeah, but that didn't prepare us for what we saw… or what we went through," Vinegar countered, speaking on behalf of herself and Twitch. "Ammo Baron, he saved us again after Risky blew us out of the sky… He told us he was sorry for what he did and took responsibility despite Risky brainwashing him into attacking us in the first place. Then he made sure we were okay by the time Risky ground our forces down to the bone… We… We watched him go with Shantae to fight Risky one last time… We thought they'd win, and everything would be okay… but when they came back, he was in such horrible shape… H-he collapsed… and… a-and he died in front of us after Risky apparently stabbed him through the stomach with her sword…" she further shared, shocking him nearly stiff as his eye widened the point where it looked like it would've floated out of his face and into the air. "We tried to save him, but we couldn't do it…! He bled out in front of us, and there was nothing we could do about it…" she tearfully ended her explanation, hanging and shaking her head as the emotional wall she put up came crumbling down.
"Oh… Shoot…" Ammo Baron murmured, by all accounts unclear on how to process, much less respond to Vinegar's grief-stricken testimony. He didn't even want to visualize the evidently grisly scene his subordinate was illustrating with her sorrowful words. For him, there wasn't a reason to. He did understand, however, that these girls were suffering. And while he didn't necessarily have a full grasp on their feelings, he took the moment to gather some form of clarification from Vinegar's statement. Yet, just as he was about to offer some form of reply…
"It's our fault…!" Twitch could be heard confessing through her tears as she buried her face on Vinegar's shoulder. "It's all our fault…!"
"Twitch, what…?" Vinegar asked, shifting her head to look at her distraught teammate as they stopped walking toward their plane for a moment.
"He'd still be alive if we never betrayed him…" the shorter Ammonian acolyte tearfully asserted, revealing her residual guilt for the death of their friend. "The soldiers we lost… They'd still be alive, too… and our base would never have been attacked again if we didn't sell him out to Risky…"
"Whoa, what? Where's all that com-?" Ammo Baron tried to ask, caught off-guard by Twitch's guilt-ridden confessions.
"We shouldn't have caved to her demands… We should've helped them sooner…!" Twitch continued to claim as her tears never stopped flowing from her eyes. "If we'd done things differently, we could've come up with a better plan… and stopped Risky sooner than we did… and I'd have never lost him to Shantae… and then lost him completely after Risky killed him…! I should've trusted him from the beginning…! I can't believe I let this happen to him…!"
"Twitch, come on…!" Vinegar urged, patting Twitch on the back as she let out the full extent of her heartbroken sobs. Just the sound of it tore the taller Ammonian affiliate apart on the inside, however. "We… We can't do that… We can't look back at what happened and pick out ways to blame ourselves for it… Yes, it's messed up that we got the short end of the stick… Yes, it's messed up that we were set back as far as we were at the end of this mess, even after all we did to help Shantae and her friends beat Risky to make up for what we did… and… Y-yes, it's especially messed up that Tayshan died… but we… it'd do us no good now to think about all the things we wish we could've done different…" Vinegar tried to console, though she had long since burst into a fit of anguished wailing along with Twitch as the girls hugged each other for comfort.
"Hm…" Ammo Baron hummed, sighing in deep contemplation as he watched his two right-hand women in such a state of collective distress that they couldn't even hold themselves together long enough to reach the airplane sitting mere meters away in a windswept pasture with Barracuda Joe patiently waiting beside it. It was clear to him by this point that this terrible situation hit the girls harder than they could've ever expected. Whether it be because they were mourning the death of their non-Ammonian comrade, because they were uncertain of the future of the Ammonian Army after the heavy losses suffered on their end, or because they had seen the truly ugly nature of war up close and personal for the first time… He knew deep down that they'd likely not be getting over it anytime soon. As such, he took a moment to think harder on what he could do for them. And once he came up with an idea… "Hey. Ladies," he beckoned the girls, prompting them to cease their grieving just long enough to turn to him while they held each other.
"Yes, sir?" both of the young women replied simultaneously.
"…When we get back to the base, I want you two to pick a faraway place you'd like to go for a vacation," he hesitantly offered, though he knew for himself he desperately needed their help rebuilding the Ammonian Army from the ground up. "And when you do, I want you to tell me how long you'd like to stay and what I should account for. After that, I want you to go there effective immediately and stay as long as you deem necessary. I'll… I'll cover all the expenses with my own money while I figure things out on how to kickstart reconstruction."
"What? But sir, we-!" Twitch tried to rebut.
"I won't hear a word of objection," he interrupted, knowing what Twitch and Vinegar were going to say. "Much as I'd like to keep the two of you around to help me rebuild, you'd be no use if you were too mentally drained and caught up on all the losses we suffered to actually contribute. At a time like this, we can't afford any additional distractions. Plus, the men we do still have at the base aren't gonna respond too well to seein' you two crying your eyes out," he further asserted, trying to make it sound more like he was concerned about the state of the Ammonian Army than he was about the girls' overall wellbeing.
"We appreciate that, Ammo Baron…" Vinegar spoke up, taking a deep breath to calm herself down as she and Twitch finally separated from one another. "…but we can still keep our composure enough that we can stick around and help you. We'll be okay… Plus, your arm…"
"Right, but I don't need you to simply be 'okay,' Vinegar," Ammo Baron countered, holding his stance firm. "I need you to be absolutely and unquestionably ready to take on the incoming tidal wave of challenges we'll have to face for the foreseeable future, because we'll be facing a LOT of them. Regardless, I'm more than capable of whipping the Army back into shape on my own for a bit before you two come back from your sabbatical. I've had to do it at least once in the past before you two enlisted, so it's unfortunately not new to me. And my arm has nothing to do with our plans for the Ammonian Army. It'll heal, and I'll be back in the gym before ya know it. That, I can promise," he assured with as big a confident grin as he could manage while painstakingly holding his cast-wrapped arm up and ignoring the absolutely horrible surge of excruciating pain surging from his shoulder to his hand. "Now, do you want to keep standing around, crying your eyes out and wishing things were better? Or do you want to start taking action and making things better?"
"…We want to make things better," Twitch answered after a moment of silence that was mostly filled with her sniffling and wiping her eyes while minding the colossal knot in her throat. "But… even if we rebuild the Ammonian Army, it won't replace all those soldiers we lost… and it won't bring Tayshan back, either…"
"Well, you're not wrong to say that," Ammo Baron calmly acknowledged, raising his uninjured fist to his chest. "Like I said, though, we'll honor our fallen by carrying on in the name of the Ammonian Army… for them. And… much as I hate to say it, you'd do well to honor that kid's memory in whatever way you see fit. From the sound of it, he sacrificed everything to make sure Risky went down like she deserved. It's honestly only a wonder she's still alive, considering what happened when I dealt with him… Either way, you should at least acknowledge that he died for a noble cause in protecting you, that genie girl, and her friends when it came down to it. That much, I can at least acknowledge and respect, as much as he and I disliked each other… and despite the fact that he almost killed me. That said, you're gonna need the time to properly cope with everything. You have to acknowledge that much."
"Yeah… Yeah, we know," Vinegar agreed, however hesitant she was to do so. "And we certainly appreciate you looking out for us, A.B. Still, are you sure you'd want Twitch and me to go on vacation instead of helping you?"
"Positive. You won't be likely to hear me say this again, but I care quite a lot for you two. You're my most reliable fellow commanding officers, and you're honestly the backbone of the Ammonian Army," he confessed, offering a confidently warm smile to the blonde duo to lift their spirits up a bit. "And your wellbeing comes first. I'll manage without you for as long as I need to."
"…Thank you, A.B…" Twitch offered her gratitude, finding it in herself to smile just a bit as she gradually calmed herself down. "If… if you're sure about us taking a leave of absence, then I promise Vinni and I will come back stronger and more prepared to help you restore the Army to its former glory."
"I'm countin' on just that, little lady. On that note, let's hit the ol' dusty trail," Ammo Baron accepted her statement, giving a thumbs-up of approval before nudging his head toward the plane to usher them along. Soon after, he began making his way toward the aircraft, followed closely by his most trusted allies. Just as they closed the distance and finally reached their destination, however, something clicked in the general's mind. "Say… Uh, where's Techno Baron?"
"Apparently on Naga Mountain, suffering some unspeakable punishment for blowing it up. That giant mermaid from Mermaid Falls has him in captivity over there, too," Vinegar informed him, much to his surprise.
"Jeez, I knew that operation was gonna come back to bite him in some way or another…" Ammo Baron grumbled, hoping that his reptilian counterpart was more… available. "If that's the case, then maybe we should stay far, far away from the Inseam Municipality for fear that they'd identify and arrest us over there…" he further pondered, knowing that his military faction's name was nowhere close to clear in the aftermath of the war with Risky Boots. "How'd he wind up back over there?"
"Two of genie girl's friends lured him there while we were all talking in the outskirts of Scuttle Town yesterday," Twitch answered. "They sold him out to get that giant mermaid's help in fighting off Risky's latest attempt at invading Scuttle Town and storming the Sequin Land Palace. We… were gonna go and 'rescue' him with the idea to make him forgive all your debts and start clean with helping us rebuild…"
"Ah, that's genius!" Ammo Baron cheered as he tried to pump his cast-adorned arm, wincing in pain as a result. "Ow…! Er, I'd have never thought to do that, but it's a brilliant idea. In that case, let me handle that. Better that I did so anyway, since he and I are… well, kinda-sorta friends. Hopefully, he's still there, no less. If so, then we'll have gotten the perfect start in… sort of 'rekindling' our business relationship with our most reliable arms dealer. And hopefully, he'll have been smart enough to retain at least some intel on those weapons from whatever planet Risky stole them from. It's just a matter of how to get around that giant mermaid in case she's guarding him…" he schemed, already setting his sights on accomplishing big things for the Ammonian Army in the coming days of reconstruction.
"Well, it's certainly relieving to know you're still in good spirits, sir," Vinegar acknowledged, taking solace in the fact that Ammo Baron remained as confident in his army as he'd always been.
"Of course! I wouldn't be the leader of the Ammonian Army if I couldn't see the silver lining in the storm clouds," he boastfully assured. "Now, let's head back to base and kick things off, shall we? We've got lots of planning to do…"
"Roger that, boss man," Barracuda Joe finally spoke with a salute before hopping into the pilot seat of the plane and getting the engine started with a *VROOOOM* of its ignition being activated. Accordingly, Twitch, Vinegar, and Ammo Baron took their seats as comfortably as they could as they packed into the sizable cobalt blue biplane. And without much more to say, the Ammonian group was off with a *WHIRRRRR* of their transport vehicle, ready as they'd ever be to begin their own rendition of the recovery process. It certainly seemed like the aftereffects of Risky's latest failed attempt to take over Sequin Land were rippling across the country, however.
A day later, elsewhere…
LOCATION: MOUNTAIN BASE BEACH, NAGA MOUNTAIN, SEQUIN LAND
DATE: OCTOBER 4TH, 16 P.G.F.
TIME: 1553 HOURS
"MOVE FASTER, NEWT!" a booming feminine voice hollered out loud enough to echo through the open atmosphere of Naga Mountain's sandy, debris-laden coast. "You have only cleaned up one section of Naga Mountain since you earned your new 'job,' and even then, you've been slacking off!" The voice's owner, a certain disgruntled giant mermaid, had been watchfully wading in the ocean nearby, staring bullets at a tiny tin-headed lizard man in a tattered-up suit. The lizard man in question had been tirelessly trudging along the beach with the company of a few very, VERY unhappy-looking Nagas, some immensely irritated mermaids of a much more… dare I say, 'normal' size, two Archers who had their bows loaded with arrows aimed at the lizard man's back, and a single frog-fish creature who'd lashed its tongue out and whipped the reptilian creature on the back with a hard, wet *SCHLAP*.
"YEOWCH! I'm going as fast as I can! Lay off a little!" the exhausted crocodile complained through heavy breaths as he dragged a burlap sack along with one hand and picked up chunks of metal and other foreign material with the other. He'd been 'helped' by the various monster girls mentioned previously, though they were all glaring at him like they wanted to tie him to a wooden stake and roast him to a crisp over an open flame. Suffice to say, this unfortunate reptile appeared not to have any friends to be found on the face of Naga Mountain as he diligently (read: frightfully) completed his indefinite community service sentence following his role in the nigh-total destruction of the quaint little island oasis.
"We will only 'lay off' when you repair all the damage you have caused to our home, insssssssidiousssss sssssssalamander!" an angry Naga barked at him as she and a team of other monsters lifted a chunk of fallen rock off the ground and hoisted it toward the base of the mossy mountain.
"If your idea is to make me fix all this, then you're going about it all wrong," the evidently enslaved crocodile complained.
"Then what idea might you possibly have to clean this up, Techno Baron?" the giant mermaid chimed in, her intensely wrathful scowl never faltering as long as she cast it upon the despicable criminal standing before her.
"W-well, Giga Mermaid, ma'am… I uh… E-er, I-I think it might do you ladies better if you let me um… possibly write you a hefty check…?" Techno Baron hesitantly offered to bribe the monster women into letting him go.
"Fool…" another Naga spat, shaking her head and sighing in contempt as she and a handful of other monster girls glared at him some more. "We have no usssssse for your filthy currencccccccccy here."
"And even if we did, your pathetic attempt at paying us off would not undo the carnage you and those miserable pirates wrought upon our peaceful home," a smaller mermaid added as she and a couple others used their tridents to manipulate the tides of the ocean to sweep across the beach and clear its sands of any remnants of the traumatic attack on the island. With a voluminous, crashing *SPLOOSH*, the sea's altered current wiped the shore clean as the water quickly receded to the coast seconds after, leaving behind all forms of debris conveniently collected at the shoreline for other monster girls to collect to keep it from washing all the way into the ocean and polluting it. "You cannot put a price on the countless lives you destroyed!"
"Okay, okay, sorry," Techno Baron hurriedly ceded as he raised his hands in front of himself to keep his… uh, company calm enough not to attack him on the spot. "It was just a suggestion, but come on... Do you seriously expect little ol' me to manually clean up every bit of this gigantic island on my own? I get it if you're upset about the attack, but I keep telling you, I-!"
"NO ONE IS SWAYED BY YOUR INSIPID LIES, LIZARD!" Giga Mermaid shouted loud enough that her voice could've possibly been heard as far away as Scuttle Town. "The despicable murdering pirate menace and her repulsive pillaging cronies will receive their due comeuppance. However, you will not use them as a scapegoat to absolve yourself of your own transgressions against our kind," she further decreed, though her fiery anger seemed… just a tad disproportionate to the 'discussion' she was having with Techno Baron.
"Hmph… There's just no making you barbaric beauties see the bigger picture for what it truly is…" he muttered, caring very little for Giga Mermaid's foul mood as he lazily picked up a rock and threw it into the knapsack he was dragging along with him. "It's clear your true grudge is with that no-good Risky Boots, considering the venomous words you're spouting. Risky Boots, who, as I keep telling you, FORCED me to attack your island. I get it if you're still upset about the way things went down, and I can acknowledge you're still not too happy about the Mermaid Falls thing, either," he further explained himself as a distant *whirr* noise began to pick up in the distance.
"If you acknowledge your misdeeds, then why are you still talking instead of working?" Giga Mermaid tersely replied, her patience wearing very thin as Techno Baron continued to give her lip.
"Because this is cruel and unusual!" he indignantly shouted, causing many of the monsters in the vicinity to turn and glare at him, ready to pounce if given the word. Looking around and realizing the impending danger for himself, he clammed up for a moment, dropping the knapsack and raising his hands in front of himself again. In that moment, the *whirr* in the distance grew closer and louder… to the point that Giga Mermaid glanced in the direction of the noise from the corner of her eye and spotted a blue biplane in the distance. "This place is FAR too big for us to clean simply by scouring every square inch, picking up rocks and shrapnel! Just look at it!" he complained, gesturing his hands toward the mountain itself, which bore some truly disfiguring scars in the form of the massive black scorch marks spread wide and far across the mountain face, the roasted foliage that crinkled and crumbled at even the tiniest gust of wind, and the deteriorating crags that were still emitting clouds of smoke that formed a foreboding shroud over the island. "Punishing me is one thing, but at least be reasonable about it!" he continued to gripe, though he soon noticed he lost Giga Mermaid's attention. "Uh, hello? Mermaid Woman? Are you listeni-?" he tried to beckon, though another grotesque, gooey *SCHLAP* of the giant frog creature's tongue whacking him across his face cut him off. Flung to the sand with a *Ploof* in a mixture of sudden pain and seething disdain, Techno Baron was quick to get up, wiping the frog slime off his cheek as he shook his head. "Grrrrgh, you miserable freaks of nature…! You'll be made to wish you hadn't humiliated the great Techno Baron the way you…? Huh? What's that sound…?" he found it in himself to ask, picking up on the increasingly loud *WHIRR* of what sounded like the engine and propellers of an aircraft.
Going silent with a secret sense of hope, Techno Baron looked at Giga Mermaid to notice that she, too, had picked up on the noise. In addition, the Nagas, Mermaids, and Archers all looked toward the sky alongside Giga Mermaid. Following their collective gaze, Techno Baron was able to decipher right away that an Ammonian airplane was on its way as it steadily lowered itself toward the beach. His tiny crocodile heart suddenly pounding with anticipation for a potential rescue, he tensed up as his every desperate thought immediately locked onto the idea of Ammo Baron coming to get him away from these crazed sea-based ruffians before they worked him into the ground. Soon enough, the plane came roaring in, the boisterous *WHRRROOOM* of its engine filling the atmosphere as it eventually touched down at the far end of the shoreline. After landing, the plane rolled along the beach, gradually dropping speed as all the creatures in the vicinity cleared out of the way for fear that they were under attack again. The Nagas and Mermaids present pulled out their weapons and prepared themselves for battle, only for Giga Mermaid to hold a hand out toward them to instruct them to steady themselves. Allowed to land safely, the plane skidded across the sand before coming to a complete stop pretty much right in front of Techno Baron, who'd ducked and covered in fear that he might've been turned to paste if his 'rescue' didn't stop to actually rescue him. Wasting little time, however, the rider of the aircraft quickly stepped out of it. The rider revealed themselves to be none other than Ammo Baron, dressed in his full, polished Ammonian attire. His arm was in that cast, of course, but it was Ammo Baron nevertheless. Immediately wary, the inhabitants of Naga Mountain kept their weapons at the ready, surrounding the army general and shooting only the most hostile and scrutinizing stares at him.
"Whoa… H-hey, hey, ladies… I come in peace. I mean you no harm," the big, burly one-eyed, one-armed man shared, raising his remaining functional arm up where everyone could see it. "I just came here to see if a certain someone was here…" he further reasoned, though none of the incredibly wary denizens of Naga Mountain listened to him. To them, he was yet another intruder looking to cause them more harm. However, Giga Mermaid noticed the peculiar blue raccoon motif in his outfit (particularly, his hat) and grew curious.
"You… Who are you? Are you a member of that Ammonian club?" the gargantuan sea woman asked in a most cautious curiosity, remembering her recent encounters with the likes of the Ammonian Army.
"Er, y-yes. Yes, I am. My name is… er, well, I work with the Ammonian Army," Ammo Baron admitted, though he recognized Giga Mermaid right off the bat. He also hid his name to avoid stirring up any suspicions about his affiliations. "I understand you helped some of my allies in the battle against Risky Boots recently. Giga Mermaid, I presume?"
"Correct on all counts, stranger," Giga Mermaid confirmed with a nod, though she remained on high alert. "And while your forces bravely lent their aid in the final struggle, I am aware that the inhabitants of Naga Mountain had… unfriendly dealings with your crew invading this oasis weeks earlier," she warned, much to the general's shock and dismay.
"Uh, th-that must've been an honest mistake. Eh-heh…" he nervously tittered as he lied through his teeth. "A… uh, a 'containment' squad was on the hunt for Tinkerbats in the area at the time and they must've been led here. Sorry for any commotion they caused, though I'm aware that only one member of that crew survived the encounter…"
"I see. In that event, you are forgiven. You also have my sincerest apologies for the losses of your comrades," Giga Mermaid replied, believing him outright as she seemed to… how do we say, misunderstand what the Ammonian Army represented. Lucky him. "As we mentioned earlier, however, your soldiers fought valiantly in the arduous conflict with the pirate menace known as Risky Boots. To further confirm it, I was there to assist them in addition to Shantae and her allies during that fateful battle. You… have my condolences for the losses you suffered there as well…" she further offered her sympathy, gulping down a welling feeling of grief as she did so.
"Much appreciated, ma'am," Ammo Baron accepted. "We did our best, and it turned out to just be enough for us to pull through. The cost was heavy, of course…"
"…I-Indeed…" Giga Mermaid agreed, her heartbeat getting heavy as her eyes welled up with tears that she couldn't fight back. "E-excuse me…" she humbly requested, turning away for a moment to wipe her eyes as she began a sudden bout of weeping. Taking another deep breath, she shook off her grief for the moment and turned her attention back to the 'nameless' Ammonian affiliate in question. "Sorry… I recently lost a human friend of mine. Er... That aside, you sort of reminded me of the man who came here a couple days ago. He was dressed in attire similar to yours and flew an identical vehicle to the one you arrived here in. He requested my assistance in rescuing the heroes responsible for stopping Risky Boots's latest attempt to lay waste to Sequin Land…"
"Right, you met Barracuda Joe. He filled me in," Ammo Baron solemnly acknowledged. "Sorry for your losses, ma'am."
"Thank you…" Giga Mermaid accepted, though she barely managed to utter her gratitude above a pained whisper as she began to cry. In response, the smaller mermaids and Nagas rushed to her aid to console her.
"Er… What…? What's going on?" Techno Baron asked as he approached Ammo Baron.
"Hey, Techs. Long time, no see."
"Yeah, I'll bet. Those rotten, snot-nosed whippersnappers sold me out to these boorish creatures the other day, and I've been stuck here picking up trash under duress for the last two days and nights nonstop," the bell-headed lizard complained. "Glad to see you're here to rescue me."
"Sure, but don't thank me yet. This favor wasn't free by any means, and if we make one wrong move, we're history," Ammo Baron whispered, taking note of the high stakes of the rescue.
"Hmph. Of course, this wasn't free…" Techno Baron grumbled. "I suppose we'll discuss proper repayment later. In any case, what did I miss? What is this about Risky Boots being defeated?"
"In a nutshell, Shantae and company pulled it off yet again," Ammo Baron informed. "I don't got all the details myself, but they somehow did it. It cost me my entire naval unit, a bunch more troops, and all my vehicles aside from this one last plane, but they did it. This giant mermaid apparently helped them accomplish the task of knocking Risky off her pedestal."
"Oh! Wow, okay… Thank goodness that's all over, then," Techno Baron remarked with a sigh of gratitude. "So then, why is it that the sight of you is causing this mermaid to cry again? She's been endlessly bawling her eyes out since she came back here to make my life a living nightmare, and I haven't figured it out. I can only guess she's upset about what Risky's minions did to this place."
"I wouldn't know for sure, Techs. My only guess is that it's a combination of whatever happened here and the fact that she probably heard that Risky murdered that kid at some point during the battle before she lost. I was told she'd be shaken up about it all, but I didn't have a clue she'd be quite like this…" he explained, catching Techno Baron by surprise.
"M… Murdered? What kid? Who did she kill?" the little lizard asked with some form of hesitation, astonished to hear that Risky Boots took someone's life.
"Genie girl's boyfriend," he informed, much to the continued shock of the little reptile as he reeled back. "My sources say that… well, that he was killed by Risky Boots…"
"What!?"
"Again, I don't know all the details, but as far as I'm aware, he's K.I.A."
"Oh… Well then… Wow…" Techno Baron murmured, taking in the alarming detail for himself. After a moment of examining the distress evident in the crying Giga Mermaid, he spoke again. "Hm. That's unfortunate, I guess. Didn't know Risky was capable of such a thing… Either way, that's just one less obnoxious threat to our success in future endeavors. Not to say that I'd have wished death on him, but thank goodness he's been dealt with now, right?" he uttered, causing Ammo Baron to turn toward him. Rather than agree with him, however, Ammo Baron glared at his comrade as though he'd just spat in his face. "Whoa, what's with that look?"
"…Don't speak ill of the dead, man. It's incredibly disrespectful," he sternly warned, evidently not taking Techno Baron's comments lightly.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"First of all, I could NEVER be so heartless as to take pleasure in someone dying, Techs. It also comes off very cowardly to take shots at someone who isn't even here to defend themselves. I ain't no goody two-shoes, but even I have morals. Plus, we may have had our bad blood with him, but he went out like a true soldier."
"A true soldier, hm? Rrrrrright..." the tiny technician indifferently responded, not really understanding his comrade's hang-ups or his logic behind disagreeing with him. "So, why exactly are you defending that psychopath? You do remember what he almost did to us... Don't you?"
"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't give us the right to talk trash. As a principle, the Ammonian Army doesn't condone bashing the dead," he sternly countered. "The man just lost his life in the line of duty protecting as many people as he, genie girl and her crew, this giant mermaid, and my army could from Risky Boots. And based on what I've heard about how Risky killed him, genie girl should consider herself lucky to be alive to tell the tale. It takes a strong soldier with a strong conviction to march onto the battlefield, knowing just what he's potentially giving up as he fights for what he stands for. My soldiers and I know that better than anyone."
"Alright, alright, that's enough lecturing. I get it now. It's a 'pride and honor' thing that only someone with military experience could truly understand, and I shouldn't say anything bad about genie girl's boyfriend because he died with honor. Is that your point?" Techno Baron guessed, unreceptive to his partner's preaching about morals.
"Ah, I knew you wouldn't get it..." Ammo Baron griped with a sigh and a dismissive swat of his hand through the air. "Look, just... chill out with the insults, alright? It ain't a good look to talk smack about those who died; especially those who died in battle to protect the people they cared about. Grudge or no grudge."
"Hm. Whatever you say," Techno Baron remarked with a shrug, though he remained surprised that Ammo Baron of all people could be defending that Dark Magic-infested ruffian who'd mere days ago tried to slaughter the both of them and nearly succeeded. Understanding that he didn't want to further upset Ammo Baron nevertheless, the miniature crocodile merely nodded as he shifted his focus back to much more important concerns. "Anyway, you've got a plan on how to get me off this accursed, backwoods island... right?"
"Yeah, but it's gonna be tricky. Regardless, I'll try to make this quick and painless…" Ammo Baron informed before turning his attention toward Giga Mermaid while she was coming down from her recent bout of mournful sobbing. "So hey, I know you've been keeping my friend here company, but I uh… I kinda need him if you don't mind," he announced, gaining the sea maiden's attention.
"'Friend?' You call that repugnant, murderous, home-wrecking scoundrel your 'friend?'" she questioned in a mixture of shock and anger that Ammo Baron picked up on right away as she straightened up and glared at him.
"Sorry, sorry! I misspoke," he frantically apologized, waving his hand to ascertain that he didn't mean it. "I meant to say that I need the Techno Baron to help me rebuild what I lost in the recent pirate war. Uh, n-no friendship involved. At all. I only need him because he's the only guy I can rely on to help me fix my machines."
"…Nice to know where your loyalties lie, 'friend.'" Techno Baron bitterly muttered, crossing his arms in disapproval of Ammo Baron's flimsy self-saving comments.
"That request yields many questions about your intentions with him. Above that, the Techno Baron has an immeasurable debt to pay to the denizens of Naga Mountain for his heinous transgressions in the name of Risky Boots. He cannot be allowed to leave."
"I understand your position, but we really need his help, too. Er… I-I mean, if simply turning him loose isn't an option, then uh… M-maybe we can negotiate some sort of deal? I've been pondering it since I got here in case you didn't find it appropriate to simply hand him over to me, and maybe you'd like to hear me out?"
"...You wish to bargain for the freedom of this abhorrent war criminal?" Giga Mermaid very incredulously asked, rightfully wary of the Ammonian leader's intentions. "You are aware of how... suspicious this sounds, are you not?"
"I am," Ammo Baron confidently confirmed, figuring that he was in too deep to back out at this point. "But I'm gonna be frank, babe..."
"You will refrain from addressing me with such informal terms," Giga Mermaid sternly warned with a point of her index finger, frightening both Ammo Baron and Techno Baron in the process. "If you seriously desire to strike up a discussion, then you will do so while respectfully addressing me by my name and nothing else. Is that understood?"
"Ooh... Er, y-yes, Ms. Giga Mermaid, ma'am," the army general stammered, already getting the idea that he was treading on thin ice. "Uh, a-anyway, our crew's in desperate need of someone who's capable of helping us rebuild what we lost in the battle against Risky Boots."
"And why does your recovery require the Techno Baron?"
"Because, as I said, he's the only person I know with enough expertise in... uh, in sales that can assist me with uh... with budgeting? And... uh... architecture and construction," he shakily 'confessed,' still hiding his true intentions under a thick blanket of duplicity and dishonesty. "His skills are a must-have in our efforts to rebuild what we lost. Our losses due to Risky Boots's rampages are too great for us to recover from without a lot of help, and Techno Baron has a reputation for being the most reliable reconstruction expert around."
"Smooth, Ammo-!" Techno Baron was about to sarcastically remark before Ammo Baron (who, I might remind you, DID NOT give Giga Mermaid his name) flicked his hand and swiped the arms dealer's head with a *TWING* that resonated through his entire helmet. "Ow! What the heck was-!?"
"Pipe down, will ya...?" Ammo Baron strongly advised his fellow Baron. "And ix-nay on the ame-nay...!"
"...Whatever. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised what you did here to make this work. Just make it snappy," Techno Baron dismissed with a shrug, having no choice but to place faith in his comrade's ability to negotiate while both their lives were on the line. As such, he remained silent at Ammo Baron's request.
"I am not sure how that would be reason enough to release this conniving barbarian from our captivity," Giga Mermaid pressed. "He has been a blight on the existences of the denizens of both Naga Mountain and Mermaid Falls, and he has gone far too long without facing repercussions for his actions. He must pay, and unless you have better reasoning to change our minds, he will NOT be leaving this island with you."
"T-totally understandable, but uh... b-but hear me out," he began while having no real reason to combat the giant sea woman's stance. "I'm only asking for his release because I-er, our crew needs his help, like I was saying. If that wasn't the case, then... then I'd have never come here to fetch him."
"Wow, really? You'd never-!" Techno Baron tried to object yet again, only to receive another *TWANG* of Ammo Baron's knuckles against his helmet.
"Do me a favor and shut up for five seconds...!" Ammo Baron sternly warned in an attempt to minimize their chances at surviving the discussion.
"Keep attempting to interrupt, Techno Baron, and you will find yourself on the wrong end of a trident," Giga Mermaid threatened, her patience with this discussion quickly wearing thin. Needing no more prompting, the frightful little crocodile zipped it... and tightly.
"Okay, so..." Ammo Baron nervously started again, looking for a point at which to initiate the already hostile hostage negotiation. "If outright releasing him to me won't at all be an option, then... maybe we can find some happy middle ground? Y'know, draw up a sort of agreement on how to... to maybe share him?"
"...Auuuuugh, You've got to be kidding me...!" the highly coveted Techno Baron groaned, palming his face with a hand and shaking his head. It was at this moment that he knew... that he probably wasn't getting out of this mess scot-free... if at all. Nevertheless, he stayed quiet and hoped to the high heavens that something would work in his favor.
"An agreement to share him? I'm not certain at all how that would work, but since you appear to be in such dire need, I am at least willing to listen. So, what are you thinking?" Giga Mermaid demanded to know, growing increasingly leery of the general's intentions. However, her unfamiliarity with the Ammonian Army, in conjunction with the... give or take, 'good' impression her recent experiences with them as far as them joining forces to fend off Risky Boots goes, she found herself at least curious about how this discussion would play out. If nothing else, she had to be sure this seemingly injured, one-eyed soldier was trustworthy before she ever considered surrendering the nefarious Techno Baron to him.
"Well… It's still just an idea of sorts, but hear me out…" Ammo Baron requested, thus finally beginning a post-war hostage negotiation for the freedom of Techno Baron. Growing both nervous and confused, Techno Baron began fidgeting uncontrollably as he contemplated ways to escape on his own in case this 'negotiation' didn't pan out like he was really, REALLY hoping it would.
And following that discussion that lasted at least an hour…
"…So, the Techno Baron will report here on four designated days of the week to assist with the restoration of Naga Mountain, with members of the Ammonian Army sporadically stopping by to assist on at least two of those four days. Is that our final agreement?"
"No!" Techno Baron protested with a fist raised high in the air, evidently hating the arrangement with a burning passion. "No, No, N-!"
"Shut it, Techno Baron!" Ammo Baron admonished while holding his uninjured hand out toward the conniption-having reptile to get him to stop before he spoiled the deal.
"You will refrain from speaking further, lizard, or else I will have you fed to the Lummox at the summit of this mountain!" Giga Mermaid very sternly warned, her voice booming as she propped herself upright with her arms crossed. As expected, she would have none of Techno Baron's nonsense.
"…You're gonna eventually pay for this, Ammo Baron… I swear to you…!" Techno Baron grumbled, simmering down just enough to stop throwing his massive temper tantrum at the fact that he did not get out of being punished for laying waste to Naga Mountain scot-free.
"Anyway, that's the deal," Ammo Baron confirmed with a nod as he stood alone before the entire, neatly organized council of delegates that were the Nagas, Archers, and Mermaids of Naga Mountain. With bated breath, he offered his hand to Giga Mermaid to shake. "You get Techno Baron and our soldiers to come help you clean up your island for four days a week over the next couple months, and I'll get him for the other three days. And, like you said, if we renege on our end of the bargain, you know where to find our headquarters… Sound good?" he further recited, though the knowledge that this humongous mermaid knew where his base was located earned him no small form of trepidation. He had been quaking in his boots and sweating up a storm under his cobalt trench coat and raccoon hat. After taking a moment to analyze him up and down, of course…
"We will accept these terms," Giga Mermaid agreed, offering a finger for Ammo Baron to place his hand on. And with this disproportionate 'handshake,' the deal had been struck. "It is most fortunate that our Archers also carried some paper and writing utensils to draw up the contract, so that we also have it in writing in case anyone 'forgets.' Thank you for your cooperation in signing it."
"Hm… Gotta say, Mermaid Lady, you are a SHREWD businesswoman," Ammo Baron 'complimented' as he hoisted the disgruntled Techno Baron up and carried him to the idle biplane. Without missing a beat, Ammo Baron chucked Techno Baron into the passenger seat and motioned to climb aboard.
"It is a must. You are far from the first outsider to attempt to strike bargains with our kind," the perceptive sea maiden matter-of-factly informed him. "Of course, you would be far from the first to be swiftly and harshly punished, should you choose not to honor your part of the deal."
"Er, r-right…" he nervously acknowledged, seating himself in the plane as his heart thumped a thousand miles a millisecond. Much as he appreciated the civil discussion he had with creatures of Sequin Land known to be extremely hostile and territorial, he… didn't feel too safe knowing that if they chose to attack (and they very well could've attacked), he had little more than one arm and his feet to protect himself. "Your warning is acknowledged. Ah… In any case, I'll make myself scarce," he further assured, starting the plane's engine with a *VROOOM* that startled many of the oasis's residents as they instinctively readied their weapons. "Thanks for your cooperation!"
"Indeed. When you return to your camp, give your colleagues my regards!" Giga Mermaid bade with a kinda-sorta friendly wave. Ammo Baron merely gave a thumbs-up before turning ahead and engaging the plane. It skidded smoothly across the sand, however damp it was, as it rapidly picked up momentum. Soon enough, and with an eardrum-rumbling *VRRREEEEEAARRRRRRRNNN*, the Ammonian Army general and his most reliable weapons dealer were off to the sunny skies above while Giga Mermaid and company warily watched them eventually fade into the clouds. Once they were out of sight, Giga Mermaid turned toward her allies to see them all bearing varying looks of worry.
"...Are we cccccertain we can trusssssst that ccccccyclopean meathead and hisssss word, Giga Mermaid?" a Naga asked, understandably concerned about letting loose the mischievous, bell-headed lizard responsible for destroying their home to such an unscrupulous individual as the one-eyed man in a trench coat and racoon hat.
"Yeah, that guy wasn't exactly giving off the best of vibes," a smaller mermaid added, equally as wary as the rest of the enormous group of Naga Mountain natives. "Who's to say they won't try to give us the slip or find some way to abandon the agreement?"
"Your concerns are absolutely valid," Giga Mermaid acknowledged with a nod. "That is precisely why, unbeknownst to them, a team of volunteer mermaid scouts have been deployed to track them and provide surveillance into their activities," she further explained, causing many of her allies to reel back in a collective show of surprise and wonder.
"A team of scouts, Mistress Giga Mermaid?" another human-sized mermaid queried. "If you don't mind my asking, how come?"
"Because as our recent experiences have taught us, we have gone on long enough with allowing outsiders to invade our homes without any form of accountability as they bring harm to our kin. The Squid Baron, the Techno Baron, the subordinates of the pirate captain Risky Boots, and even those who work closely with the Ammo Baron... Their brazen encroachments upon our territory cannot be taken lying down. And despite the Ammo Baron's attempt to hide his identity here, I know exactly who he is. He missed his chance to at least take the honorable route of giving me his name when I asked him."
"That was the Ammo Baron?" an archer asked in surprise. "If that was the case, then why allow him to take the Techno Baron from us?"
"To verify that the location of his base is actually the same as what he told us," Giga Mermaid explained. "Additionally, we must be certain that he and his crew are truly capable of holding up their end of this 'agreement.' We could very well do without the extra hands in rebuilding this oasis, but we can accomplish our goal the fastest and easiest with diplomacy and some cooperation with others. Much as I am aware of our distaste for outside interference in such matters, we must at least understand the advantages of receiving help in our time of need. However, I will not hesitate to act with extreme prejudice if it becomes apparent that either of them has attempted to withdraw from the agreement." Her explanation drew more surprise from the crowd of Nagas, Archers, and mermaids as they bantered among themselves.
"Are you cccccccertain, Misssssssss Mermaid?" another Naga asked. "Not that I do not have faith in your decccccccision, but I am... conflicted, as are many of our comradessssss here."
"I am as certain as the sky is blue, my friend," the sea maiden confidently answered. "And after the losses we have suffered in this conflict, we must do what we can to cope with the aftermath while holding those responsible for our suffering accountable for the harm they've caused our people and our home," she further asserted, making it very clear that this incident marked the start of a change in her approach to protecting her allies and their homes. "The Techno Baron has an incredible debt to repay us, and if he and his allies are willing to pay it together, then it is an agreement not to be overlooked. And as I said, the very second he and/or his Ammonian friends unwisely choose to refuse to comply with our arrangement, they will be met with HARSH punishment the likes of which they could never have known before," she very vehemently clarified, showing that she did NOT mess around when the time came for it. Goodness, would I hate to be on her bad side...
"Undersssssstood," the Naga in question concurred with a nod. "It appearsssss you have thissssss under control. We will continue to placcccccce our utmosssssst confidencccccce in your leadership."
"Much obliged," Giga Mermaid acknowledged with an additional, final nod. "Now, then. Let us continue to rebuild... and to heal." And with that statement, the residents of Naga Mountain dispersed to resume tackling the various tasks that came with restoring their island to its former glory. Giga Mermaid also continued to provide her assistance by giving directions on what areas required which kinds of attention and providing direct support wherever she could. It went without saying that the experience affected her in ways she'd never thought possible. As she ruminated on the events of Risky Boots's latest attempt at nationwide conquest and the impact it had, her thoughts also went out to those outside of Naga Mountain who either were injured or perished in the conflict. Acknowledging this as best as she could as she held her grief in, the gigantic sea maiden committed herself to the daunting journey ahead for her and her people...
In the air...
"Alright! That was tense, but we pulled through," Ammo Baron cheered as he mentally patted himself on the back for another successful deal struck using his expert negotiation skills.
"Yeah, at the expense of me still having to clean up that hideous island despite the fact that I didn't destroy it!" Techno Baron complained, remaining adamant that Naga Mountain's destruction wasn't his fault. "I mean, thanks for bailing me out of there, but-!"
"Ah! Don't thank me yet. Remember, you owe me big for this," Ammo Baron reminded his 'friend.'
"And how do you figure that!? I saved your life just the other day when you were about to get your head ripped off by that rampaging, silver-eyed maniac! And unlike that disgusting zombie teenager, you WOULDN'T have survived the encounter!" Techno Baron rebutted with what could be considered a fair point. "If it wasn't for me sweeping you up in that other plane, he would've EVISCERATED you like a squealing pig! As far as I'm concerned, we're even!"
"Thaaaat's a little morbid, don'tcha think?" Ammo Baron rebutted, just SLIGHTLY (read: unbelievably) put off by Techno Baron's vivid descriptions of violent acts being performed on him.
"No! Because it would've definitely happened!" Techno Baron countered.
"Well... Y-yeah, but if it wasn't for me doing most of the grunt work, he'd have killed you first! And trust me, you were VERY close to having him rip your intestines out through your throat or simply stomp you so hard, your heart and lungs would've come out looking like rancid tomato paste!" the disgruntled general complained, much to his partner's dismay.
"Ugh, come on, man! I could certainly live without THAT macabre image!" the frightened reptile very fervently objected, wanting to hear nothing about how close he was to being turned into a grade schooler's dissection project. "Oogh, I think I might be sick..." he further dramatically complained, resisting the urge to vomit out the side of the airplane.
"Well, don't dish it out if you can't take it!" Ammo Baron petulantly shot back. "And if it wasn't for me putting my life on the line, you wouldn't have even gotten the chance to find that plane! Plus, the kid still latched onto the back of it until it crashed, and then tried to use YOU as a blunt object to beat me to death! Technically, you didn't even save me; you just delayed what could've been the inevitable until SHANTAE of all people saved us both in her own adorably clumsy way! And now that I think of it, it was me who rescued you after you washed ashore in the Baron Desert in the first place! You owe me one, and you know it! Do you have any idea what could've happened to us if I didn't use my expert persuasion skills to convince those bodacious savages to turn you over to me?"
"D'ohh, you...! You conniving WEASEL!" Techno Baron shouted, thoroughly dissatisfied with his business partner's underhanded rhetoric. "You're lucky we're even alive to have this conversation, Ammo Baron, but mark my words: This is the LAST time I'll ever find myself in this predicament. If there is a next time, I'd prefer that you simply let me perish!"
"Ah, you don't mean that. And to be frank, we're both lucky to have gotten out of that mess in one piece."
"Probably the only thing we agree on here, as far as I'm concerned."
"Darn tootin'. Oh, and before you ask, yes we are going to keep our end of the bargain with that giant, foxy mermaid. It's the best way to keep the heat off us until we figure out what to do next…" the Ammonian general asserted, causing his weapons-dealing little buddy no small form of irritation.
"Right, because I haven't been made to unfairly surrender enough of myself despite me having little to no stake in this entire conflict…" Techno Baron griped some more, though he had some idea of what Ammo Baron was likely going to ask for.
"Look, I had to give up a little something, too. My soldiers and I still have to spend half the week going back and forth between the Baron Desert and Naga Mountain with next to no reliable method to get there until we get more planes in. Be thankful they chose to start this little arrangement with you helping me instead of us helping them."
"Yeah, well that's why you don't promise things you can't readily deliver," Techno Baron crossly retorted. "The minute you fail to uphold your end of that ABYSMAL bargain, you know that mermaid is going to come and burn every inch of the Baron Desert to the ground. I just know she will..."
"There ain't a reason not to believe that..." Ammo Baron murmured in moderate concern. "We can handle it, though. We've just gotta be careful about how to navigate the situation until our end of the deal is fulfilled."
"Ridiculous... Even for what a tactical genius you sometimes are, you certainly never cease to surprise me with how foolish and impulsive you can be at other times..."
"Says the ungrateful hostage to his savior."
"Oh, please! I'm positive those abrasive blonde runts you call your seconds-in-command could've struck up a much better arrangement than what you so obtusely conjured up!"
"Yeah, well unfortunately for you, Twitch and Vinegar have taken off to enjoy a much-needed extended vacation far, far away from here as we speak," Ammo Baron shot back, thus confirming that his most loyal affiliates took him up on his offer.
"Vacation!? After what just happened? How could they pick NOW of all times to start slacking off when-!?"
"Easy there. I gave them my full authorization to go," Ammo Baron countered in his loyal acolytes' defense. "They've worked too hard and seen too much to not deserve time off."
"Uh-huh... So, that essentially leaves just you to pick up the pieces on the Baron Desert."
"No. That leaves me and you," Ammo Baron countered. "I wasn't messin' around when I said I'd need your help in rebuilding and possibly redesigning the base to make it more durable and more... how do we say, 'intimidating' to anyone who dares try to breach our defenses. I can't do that without you."
"Hmph. I figured as much... Fine, then. Is that all, in terms of this 'payback' you're looking for?"
"Not... exactly," Ammo Baron answered. "I... was also wondering if you'd gathered any additional knowledge on those weapons Risky Boots hijacked from that other world. We lost 'em all when Shantae apparently granted a wish to make them all vanish into thin air."
"Oh, and the rabbit hole keeps getting deeper," the metal-headed reptile remarked with an exasperated shake of his head. "And unfortunately for you, I haven't. My research was incomplete because of all the hiccups we suffered. If it's true that those guns are all gone because of that genie brat, then what little knowledge I did have on them is effectively useless."
"Ah, great... So, that's out the window unless we can dig something up. Shoot...!" the army general cursed, not at all happy to hear that he wouldn't be able to capitalize on Techno Baron's knowledge. "Well, there's hope that maybe we can still collaborate with what we've collectively dug up. There's no way I'm letting such invaluable research go to waste."
"Whatever you say, Ammo. On another note, I get a strange feeling that this wasn't the last thing you'd be asking for my assistance with..."
"Right, you are," he readily confirmed. "Of course, I'm not really sure I can come up with anything right this second..."
"Good, because you're probably not gonna get it from me. I think I'm repaying you enough as it is."
"Aw, but Techs, you can't seriously be telling me you don't appreciate the fact that I saved your hide from a pack of murderous snake women and mermaids ready to barbecue you to a crisp and devour you like a holiday feast... are you?" Reading between the lines of Ammo Baron's statement, the offended Techno Baron took a moment to process the implications.
"...I'm sorry, are you... are you trying to EXTORT me, Ammo Baron!?"
"No, no, man, come on! Friends don't do that to each other! I'm just sayin', like... if you really, REALLY appreciate what I did for you, you'll uh... y'know, cut me a little slack, if you know what I mean... and in return, maybe you'll get a little extra protection in case things go south with this mermaid deal...?"
"Oh, of course," Techno Baron completely understood, though it angered him immensely to realize where his so-called 'friend' was going with his vague statements. "Bah, whatever… Regardless, I acknowledge that I'd have been stuck there for the rest of my natural-born life had you not come along. How about I just wipe your debt clean for even managing to get me away from those repulsive mermaids and Nagas, so we can call it even? I'm almost positive you'll want me to run a tally and get an appraisal on what resources you'd need to get your army back up and running… again."
"Aw, thanks, Techs! That sounds perfect to me!" Ammo Baron nonchalantly (read: very graciously and opportunistically) accepted. It went without saying that he was internally celebrating like he'd just won a sweepstakes.
"Of course it does, you deadbeat, scheming oaf…!" the lizard bitterly spat under his breath. "This is about the fifth time you've pulled this dishonorable trick on me in the last three years…" With that, however, Techno Baron merely sighed before he made his next statement aloud. "Just know that whatever you want me to replace or repair, I'm charging you for every day you're employing my services instead of giving you a lump sum this time. And you know me; I tend to work VERY slowly, so that my creations achieve nothing less than absolute perfection."
"Gahh, you…!" Ammo Baron was about to angrily complain, the wind quickly taken out of his sails at the drop of an Ammonian hat at Techno Baron's requested form of payment. Clearly, these two were the absolute best at swindling each other in the most egregiously crooked ways imaginable. It must be why they're such great friends. Nevertheless, Ammo Baron rolled his eye and breathed a heavy sigh as he kept his focus on the airspace ahead. "…Fine. If that's what it's gotta take for us to get back on our feet, then I'll take what I can get," he acquiesced, maddened to no end by his partner in crime's dishonest business practices. Hm. There truly is no honor amongst thieves, is there? What a shame... Anyway, as the two soared through Sequin Land's open skies while amicably (read: heatedly) discussing the terms of their deal, they paid no heed to the heavily damaged pirate ship rather sluggishly coasting along the turbulent waves far below them as they passed way over it. Certainly, one could only wonder exactly how these two would manage to survive such a horribly dangerous arrangement without messing it up. It's even worse when we consider that neither Ammo Baron nor Techno Baron was fully aware of the looming threat of Giga Mermaid's wrath should they ever think to double-cross her. Whelp... I can only say that, for their sake, I hope they do their best to follow that agreement...
