Shantae: Clash of Arms

by IllusoryNomad

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

43. Epilogue Pt 1: Moving On

Epilogue, Pt. 1: Moving On

Well, well, well… Here we are, at long last. The End. The Finale. The Denouement. The Conclusion. The Final Chapter… arguably. At least, the first PART of the final chapter. The… well, you get the point. It's just… weird to finally be here after all the time we spent at the edges of our seats as we jumped, spiraled, sprinted, rolled, and blasted through this entire ordeal, eagerly observing yet another epic tale in the legend of the Half-Genie Hero, Shantae. For better or for worse, it's been a heck of a journey, and certainly one that had left a lasting impact on Sequin Land and its residents. To many, it was another pirate-related crisis just BARELY averted. But, as we know, there were a few who saw a much bigger picture due to their direct involvement in protecting the country from the forces of evil… especially the dastardly Pirate Queen Risky Boots. And to these few, this latest victory came with a hefty amount of difficult lessons to learn… and a hefty amount of losses that may very well have changed their respective outlooks on life entirely. I could go on another recap, but… let's be real, you probably know everything you need to know if you made it to the end here. And if you DON'T know everything, then STOP CHEATING AND/OR GO BACK AND READ UNTIL YOU'RE CLEAR! NO MORE FREEBIES! Ha, just kidding… except not really. Anyway, I'd almost be inclined to wonder if even you've been impacted by this cavalcade of colossal controversies and catastrophes just by witnessing them, but… of course, you have a right to your own opinion, and I wouldn't encroach upon that space to satisfy my own selfish curiosity, reader. The important thing here is… well, this is where the wild ride finally draws to its last stop. Just... don't expect this stop to be TOTALLY mundane or anything. You should know that by now, too.

I'm… actually a little sad that we won't get to hang out anymore after this, but I truly, truly appreciate all the time you've spent allowing me to indulge you on the adventures of Shantae and company. Seriously, thanks for sticking around as patiently as you have. And whether you loved what I had to tell you to the point where it made you howl to the heavens with laughter or bawl your eyes out until you created an entire ocean in your living space or it kept your eyes glued to your screen… or even if you hated it to the point where you curse the day you allowed me to convince you to suffer through this odyssey of obtuse oddities or if you feel entirely indifferent… I appreciate that you were here at all. Alas, you did not come back here to listen to me ramble on through some poorly thought out 'thank you' speech. You came here to find out how this story ends. So, let's get this last party started. And here we… go.

LOCATION: MIMIC'S WORKSHOP, SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

DATE: OCTOBER 9TH, 16 P.G.F.

TIME: 1100 HOURS

"Where the heck is she!? When did she wake up!?" a certain panicked bird tamer asked in total surprise as she, a certain zombie girl, and a certain spiky-haired handyman looked around the disorganized whirlwind of books, papers, and blankets that was Mimic's Workshop.

"I haven't a clue! I'm telling you, she was there last night, and by the time I woke up this morning, she was completely gone with hardly a trace! Even the outfit she picked out to wear is missing!" a certain retired Relic Hunter (also, the owner of the Workshop in question) remarked in equal confusion as looked in places as unusual as under the guest bed at the end of the room that had only a folded red tank top laid upon it and… inside the silverware drawer… and… in the refrigerator? Huh… Kudos to him for thinking outside the box, buuuuuut…

"Gramps, where the heck are you looking?" the humorously discombobulated undead young woman asked, raising an eyebrow at the Relic Hunter. "Are you sure you're looking for Shantae, or are you looking for a slice of pie that grew feet and walked away?"

"Clever quip, but you mustn't underestimate that girl's uncanny ability to disappear into the weirdest spots, Rottytops," the old man known as 'Gramps' proclaimed in response to the zombie girl, marching toward the center of the workshop and pulling on a ring attached to the floor. And, with a *CREEEEEEAAK*, he revealed what looked like a pathway to a dim underground vault.

"What makes you think she's down there, Professor Mimic?" the spiky-haired handyman asked as he found himself distracted from looking out the window to see if he could spot the missing half-genie wandering around the empty cobblestone streets of Scuttle Town.

"I've found her in the basement without rhyme or reason least a couple times in recent days, so I'm ruling out every possibility," Mimic rebutted, preparing to climb into this underground chamber to look for his niece that may or may not have been hanging out down there.

"A fair point," Rotty acknowledged with a nudge of her head. "She does tend to pop up in the weirdest places when you least expect her to…"

"Yeah, you can say that again," the young man agreed, though it… curiously earned him an unappreciative sneer.

"I wasn't talking to you. Stay over there and mind your business," she tersely remarked before carrying on with her task, shocking her evidently estranged comrade stiff as he stopped what he was doing to look back at her.

"Rotty, come on…" Sky urged. "You don't have to be so mean to him. He said he was-!"

"It… It's okay, Sky," the man interrupted, his tone rife with a mix of frustration and dejection as he breathed a heavy sigh and continued his effort of searching for Shantae. "If that's how she wants to be, then you shouldn't feel like you have to jump in the middle…"

"For once, you actually know how to speak for yourself. Wow, what a shock that is… If you knew how to do that more often, you'd probably have better luck making friends," Rotty snidely remarked again, REALLY driving it home that she was upset with him. And, as evidenced by the irritated scowl on the boy's face aimed at Rotty, he wasn't too happy with her, either.

"…Whatever, Rottytops. You can be as mad at me as you want, but you're being super immature about it. Treating me like dirt won't make you feel any better. I hope you know that," he remarked, though the disgruntled zombie maiden refused to acknowledge him as she pretended not to hear him. And though the man in question shrugged and turned away to focus on his task, one could plainly tell by the frown on his face that Rotty had hurt him with her comments.

"…Jeez…" Sky groaned, shifting her worried gaze between her two adversarial friends as the workshop went quiet save for their rustling about. Before too long, however…

"Actually… I think I may require your assistance, Bolo. Come with me. I'll probably need a hand getting back up once I'm done searching."

"Oh. Uh, s-sure thing," the young man, revealed to be Bolo, agreed as he hurried over to Mimic's position while tiptoeing around the science materials strewn about the floor along the way.

"Thank you for your assistance lad," Mimic vocalized his appreciation before turning his attention to the girls that were combing through every nook and cranny that he may have missed. "Sky? Rottytops?"

"Yes, sir?" both girls answered at the same time.

"This might be kind of a weird thing to ask, but could you go and see if maybe Shantae wandered back to her lighthouse? That's the only other place I could conceivably see her going if she's nowhere in town and she's not here."

"We probably should've done that from the beginning, but I don't see why not," Rottytops remarked with a shrug.

"True. Nobody we asked that was around the area mentioned anything about seeing her, so I guess that sort of narrows it down, huh?" Sky further asserted with a tilt of her head.

"Indeed. If you see her, please tell her to swing back over here as soon as she gets the chance. I'm glad she's awake, but none of us has any idea what condition she's in," he urged before turning his attention back to Bolo. "Okay, you ready to go exploring, lad?"

"I guess, but I'm not too keen on randomly jumping into creepy basements hoping Shantae will just turn up down there…" Bolo hesitantly replied, though he still inched himself toward the opening in the floor.

"D'oh, it's nothing, my boy. It's just an empty cellar! There are no monsters down there! I'm pretty sure Shantae took care of the bat infestation, too,." Mimic tried to reassure Bolo with a pat on the back… only, this pat on the back came just as the fledgling warrior was taking his first step down.

"Whoawhwahahwaaaaaaaaaaah!" Bolo shouted in absolute terror as *THUNK* after *FLOP* after *SMACK* after exaggerated, extremely elongated *PRABPROBLOBLOBLOOMPH* sounded out, indicating that the poor soul lost his footing and fell down the stairs. After what had to be a solid minute of tumbling everyone was greeted with the ambient *FLOP* of Bolo finally reaching the bottom of the stairwell. "…Owwww…"

"Oh! My apologies! Shoot, shoot, shoot…!" Mimic panicked, hurrying down the steep and apparently deadly flight of stairs. "You girls go on! I'll tend to him!"

"Yikes…" Sky remarked, shaking her head and laughing a bit as she took in the full sight of Bolo getting beat up by stairs.

"Hm. Typical," Rottytops agreed with a plain-faced shrug and roll of her eyes, though she surprisingly wasn't laughing. If anything, she seemed… indifferent toward the wellbeing of their comrade. Wasting little time, the zombie maiden turned toward the front door. "We'll be back, Gramps! Make sure you don't hurt yourself down there!"

"Heard loud and clear, Rotty!" Mimic called from within the confines of the basement. At that, Rottytops walked toward the front door and opened it, though she turned around to see Sky shooting her an expression of utmost concern.

"Well, Sky? You coming along or what?"

"Of course," the bird trainer agreed, approaching Rottytops upon her request. The girls then left the workshop, stepping out into the sun-bathed, yet mostly empty, disheveled streets of Scuttle Town. They wasted little time, putting a pep in their step as they strolled toward the Scuttle Town Lighthouse together. However, as they began their trek through the partly cloudy, mildly windy late morning atmosphere… "Are you still upset about yesterday, Rotty?" Sky asked, appearing to sense some tension from the undead maiden.

"I am, but I'm not really thinking about it now," Rotty confirmed, keeping her gaze forward as they strolled through the mostly empty streets and passed by a series of construction crews that were working on refurbishing the Bathhouse and other buildings in the area. "It's far more important that we focus on finding Shantae."

"Sure, but how long do you feel this tension between you and Bolo needs to drag on before you come around to the idea of smoothing things over with him?"

"As long as he keeps trying to justify his assumptions instead of apologizing like he should be. End of story," the zombie maiden bluntly retorted.

"Okay, but ignoring someone and being short with them until they cave is hardly a decent way to get them to understand you, much less give you a meaningful apology."

"And pretending it doesn't irritate me and letting him get away with it is better?" Rotty challenged, already growing agitated with the bird tamer's lecturing.

"No, but it doesn't boil down to those two options," Sky retorted as the two young women passed by the last series of dilapidated onion-domed buildings before they passed by the docks that housed a series of idle boats attended by miscellaneous sailors. "Plus, he's been trying to apologize to you since last night."

"Yeah, sure, because 'Sorry I said that thing about you being in love with Shantae, but the way you act toward her made me think that was the case' is a TOTALLY appropriate apology," Rotty coldly remarked, mocking an apparent attempt by Bolo to make amends with her.

"Fair, but give the guy a break. He tried."

"And failed. Miserably."

"R-right… Well, now that you mentioned it, that makes me wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Rotty apprehensively asked, eyeing Sky up and down as they neared Scuttle Town's entrance.

"Don't take this the wrong way when I ask this, but… well, why does it get on your nerves so much that Bolo, Twitch, and Vinegar made that assumption?"

"Uh… Is that a serious question, or are you looking to get a cheap kick out of picking on me?"

"I'm dead serious, because I want to understand where you're coming from."

"Okay…?"

"And the only way I can do that is by talking directly to you. I'm not making any judgments or drawing any conclusions. Promise," Sky assured to the best of her ability. "So, what is it that bothers you about what they said?"

"I mean, it should be painfully, incredibly, slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-sandal obvious why it bothers me. I open up—something I normally NEVER do—and tell you guys about how much I cherish my best friend and how much I value her company because of how we've been there for each other, and they respond by telling me that it sounds like I have a crush on her. I mean come on, how ridiculous does that sound?" Rotty irritably replied, though a slight blush crept onto her face as she kept her attention focused forward as the two walked into the plains leading to the lighthouse. "Like, so what if she makes me feel like I'm on top of the world when I'm with her? So what if I happen to really like making her smile as I show her in as many ways as I can that I love her and appreciate her for everything she's done for me? So what if I like being with her more than I like being around anyone else? She's just that special to me… It isn't like it's easy for me to make friends that accept me for who I am, when you consider most people panic, run away, or hurl insults at me because I'm a zombie," she ranted.

"Ah, I see…"

"You don't have a clue how much of a refresher it is to have her in my corner after all the garbage my brothers and I put her through…" Rotty shared some more. "And for us to be as close as we are to each other through thick and thin, knowing that we'll stick together and protect each other forever and always? I-I mean… I don't know if I could put it into words because I've never been great with expressing my appreciation like that, but in short… well, I know I'll never have a friend as special to me as she is…"

"I get it… So, would that mean that you view her as something of a sister figure?"

"Sort of, but like… not really?" she cryptically replied, though she seemed a bit confused herself. "I mean, my relationships with my brothers are as solid as can be, but it isn't like a 'part of the family' deal when I consider her. And it doesn't have to be that way, either. And I don't necessarily look up to her or anything like Bolo does. If anything, there are things that I'm trying to teach her about being more confident in herself and flaunting her incredible feminine beauty, which I jokingly call my process of 'corrupting' her."

"Oh, is that what all the flirtatious comments and suggestive jokes toward her are about?" Sky dared to question, though she found herself relieved to know her comrade brought the topic up herself.

"Yep, believe it or not," Rotty confirmed. "It's mainly just me making sure she's not always so oblivious and naïve when it comes to dating and romance, on top of just being a regular girl behind her hero image. I mean, I definitely get a kick out of her reactions, I'll admit. My main goal, though, has always been to get her to be generally more open-minded and less closed-off about her growth into a woman. I'm pretty sure you can relate."

"I can, but my methods of helping her grow aren't as… blunt as yours are," Sky admitted, though she saw where Rotty was coming from. "Plus, I know from experience that she can find her own path and ask for advice whenever she needs it. I'd rather wait for her to have questions about something, as opposed to throwing something in her face and completely freaking her out."

"That's fair, but from my experience, it's always been better to break the ice as soon as possible," the undead young lady countered. "The faster you can do away with the awkwardness, the better in my book."

"I hear you. I won't agree or disagree, but I hear you," Sky remarked with a shrug.

"As long as you understand. That aside, I just… well… um… Jeez, I don't know…" Rottytops further attempted to clarify with a flustered sigh, scratching her head as that curious blush never left her face.

"Hm. I think I get what you mean at this point, but if you feel that attached to her, and you don't view it as her being like a sister to you, then how exactly do you view it?"

"I don't think I like the way you're asking that," Rotty warned, immediately taking the defensive as she eyed Sky up and down. "What, are you picking my brain to see if maybe it is the case that I'm in love with Shantae?"

"No, not at all. I'm just listening," Sky calmly assured. "Of course, it begs the question of why you're so fiercely defensive of your feelings toward her…"

"Well, it isn't because I have the hots for her, so don't get any funny ideas!"

"I promised you already that I wouldn't draw any conclusions, Rotty. Relax. I just want to gain an understanding for myself, now that we can finally speak with some sense of civility. I know our last conversation surrounding this didn't really pan out that well because we still hated each other, but I think we're on better footing now."

"Oh. Well, alright… I guess I can't fault you for that. Sorry, I thought you were making that assumption, too."

"Nope. No assumptions here. So, how exactly do you feel toward Shantae?"

"Well… I mean, she's my closest friend, simply put. What other way can I describe it? Like I said, I simply enjoy her company, I appreciate that we can spend time together despite what people say about me, and I… well… I love her. I don't feel like our friendship necessarily has to teeter toward 'sisterhood,' because if she was my sister, there are things I would NEVER do with her or say to her. But that doesn't mean we're incapable of connecting with each other on a deep and personal level, I guess… Of course, I know how that sounds like I might be attracted to her, but I'm not gushing over her or thinking about what flirty moves I have to make to get her to kiss me or anything crazy like that… even with how much I tease her about it," Rotty shared with a shake of her head as though she was dismissing some impure thought from her mind. At that, Sky exhaled in mild shock as she blushed a bit at the admission.

"Oh, okay… I-I hear you…"

"I would hope you do, Sky, because I'm laying it out as plain and simple as I can."

"Definitely, and I'm glad you are. So, you simply view her as your closest connection and that, in many of the same ways Bolo and I look out for her, you're also looking out for her. And you simply appreciate that she has your back the same way you have hers, right?"

"Exactly! Finally, someone who gets it!" Rotty remarked in an alarming sense of excitement as she finally turned her gaze toward Sky once again. "Gosh, I was wondering if anyone would ever understand it…"

"Of course!" Sky remarked in equal excitement. "And you're ABSOLUTELY SURE it's not because you have a thing for her?"

"I'm a thousand percent positive, but I'm sure that won't stop people from shipping her with me," Rotty remarked with a nonchalant shrug and sigh, though she blushed a bit at the thought. "I mean seriously… Two young, pretty girls share a close friendship that has any sign at all of being something more, and suddenly, EVERYBODY and their grandfather thinks that we're slobbering all over each other and kissing and cuddling together behind closed doors… And the worst part is that it's mostly BOYS who think that about us. People are such a mess."

"Preaching to the choir there, sister. Men in general can be really weird with that sort of stuff. I don't get the appeal of it at all, because you'd think they'd want to imagine themselves with either of you more than pretending you two were head-over-heels for each other to suit their own interests…"

"You said it," Rotty wholeheartedly agreed. "All I can figure on that matter from what I've heard is that guys tend to like letting their minds wander about women's interests in romance. I think the physical aspects of love and romance really appeal to them more than anything else, and seeing a girl show any form of physical affection to another person in general drives them bonkers. Even if it was the case that Shantae and I were a couple, though, I certainly wouldn't want people prying into our business and filling their dirty minds with lewd thoughts about us and what we were doing."

"Well, you know how it goes around here," Sky understandingly replied, though she had to take a moment to shake certain thoughts out of her own head. "Any two people who are especially close and show it in public, absolutely MUST be something more than friends. It probably shouldn't surprise you that she had to deal with a ton of that when Tayshan came around. Rumors about the two of them were rampant, and all anyone had seen them do was talk to each other on a bench once upon a time within just a day or two of him arriving here."

"The Shipping Game in a nutshell," Rotty declared with a disarming chuckle shared with Sky as she felt some of the tension melt away. After a moment, however, she continued. "…I suppose this is the part where you tell me that I should've been clearer with Bolo and apologize to him for being so hostile and lashing out at him for making his assumptions, right?"

"Hm? No, I wasn't gonna say that," Sky revealed, mildly surprising Rottytops in the process.

"You weren't?"

"No. That's up to you to decide, though I'd highly recommend doing that," the bird tamer clarified. "I know he can be a bit… slow on the draw, but Bolo really does want to understand you as his friend. Granted, he probably wouldn't take the approach I did of simply listening to you and giving you a chance to open up, but he means well. Plus, you were right in that he shouldn't have made that assumption out of frustration with you, nor should he have implied that he thought you also had a thing for Tayshan because of your dreams. I got a chance to talk to him, so I know his side. Now, I know yours. However, I'm not getting in the middle unless I'm sure you two aren't going to be able to smooth it out on your own."

"Oh… W-wow, Sky… I… huh… Thank you."

"For what?"

"Well… for listening to me vent and actually making the effort to understand me without jumping to conclusions."

"Ah, you don't have to thank me," Sky amicably dismissed with a pat on Rotty's shoulder, though she did feel a sense of pride in reaching an early milestone in building her friendship with the undead maiden. "I'm just glad we can actually start moving forward as friends, though I'm also hopeful you and Bolo can hash things out before too long."

"Right… I mean… maybe once we've found Shantae and I've gotten some time to think about it, I could… I dunno, give him another chance…"

"That's all I'd ask for," Sky concluded with a smiling nod as the girls walked through a smattering of colorful vegetation that had long since been changing with the autumn season as they found themselves on the direct course to their mutual friend's home. "That said, I'm curious about something else…"

"And what's that?"

"Well… uh… I-I'm not sure how to ask this without it upsetting us if we stay on the topic too long…" Sky hesitantly began as she mulled over how to ask her next question. Before too long, however… "…but I've gotta know. How… exactly did you feel… toward… him…?"

"Who? Tay?" Rotty asked, her heart sinking at the mention of the deceased serviceman in question.

"Y-yeah…" the bird tamer confirmed, however reluctantly, as she took a deep breath to keep her composure.

"Well, I thought I made it obvious when I was screaming at Bolo. I adored the guy, despite us only knowing each other for two or three days before he died…"

"I remember… but it makes me wonder how you found yourself that close to him that fast, when I'd never seen you get close to anybody but Shantae in such a short time. What is it exactly that makes you feel as strongly as you do?"

"Good question… Hmm… I'd say it's because the short time I had with him was… special."

"Special?"

"Yep," Rotty confirmed with a sigh as she braced herself to continue. "It was full of ups and downs. I played my pranks on him when I met him, he got mad at me, but not so mad that he lashed out at me, Shantae and I set out to rescue him when he got captured, he and I bonded while I was saving him, he jumped in the way and saved me from a vicious attack from the boss that would've destroyed me if it had hit me, even though he wound up getting sliced across his back and picking up a nasty scar for his efforts…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah… but then, he and Shantae got into a huge fight after we wrapped things up on Spider Web Island that… I jumped into, taking her side… and that fight ended so poorly that it caused him to stop considering us as his friends, or so I thought… and then the next time I saw him after that, he was corrupted by Risky Boots and screaming at you and me while we were being held prisoner, but then he somehow convinced Risky to let him take my head because he had some trick up his sleeve, which led to him eventually saving us from Risky's clutches… shortly after which, we found out exactly how he managed to get the chance he needed to save us… and what he was forced to let Risky do to him just to keep us safe from harm…" she rambled, giving her own version of a recap of her time 'bonding' with the serviceman, though she trailed off at a point that Sky found especially peculiar.

"Hm? What do you mean by that? How did he get the chance to save us? What did Risky do?"

"Don't you remember? When it turned out Risky…" Rotty was about to reveal before she suddenly remembered. At the epiphany, she gasped. "Ohh, right… You and Bolo took off to Naga Mountain with Techno Baron on your bird when Shantae and I found out what happened to Tayshan… You never got to hear it…"

"Hear what?" Sky asked, immediately growing anxious about what her friend was going to say to her. Yet, as seconds turned into a full minute of Sky and Rottytops anxiously staring at one another, Sky only grew more worried. "Rotty, what is it that I didn't hear? What about Risky Boots? What did she do to Tayshan? Tell me!" Rather than answer right away, however, the zombie maiden broke eye contact and cast her crestfallen gaze elsewhere.

"…Never mind…" Rotty quietly dismissed, shaking her head as she felt a sizable knot form in her throat. "It's… probably better that we didn't talk about it now… or ever."

"What…? What do you mean?" Sky pressed, finding herself even more concerned with Rotty's reluctance to answer. "What did I miss? What happened?"

"I can't tell you, alright?" Rottytops sternly rebutted, though the distress was written all over her face as she turned her eyes back to Sky. "I don't think it'd do either of us any good to bring it up now."

"Why is this such a big deal that you can't spill it? Was it something that bad?"

"With all due respect, I'm not saying anything else about it, Sky," Rotty put her foot down, though she inadvertently confirmed the other girl's suspicions. "I'm sorry that I even let that slip. Just know that Tay gave up a lot more than we thought he did for the sake of protecting us, and… well, that I learned from that point on just how much he really cared about us, even in his darkest moments when I thought he'd given up on us…"

"…Huh… O-okay…"

"Sorry. I… I'd just rather not talk about it, because it still burns me up inside that Risky could ever hurt him the way she did… He didn't deserve it…" she murmured, choking up as a tear ran down her cheek. That was all Sky needed to see to realize that the topic was too heavy for Rotty to revisit.

"…I see…" the worried falconer acknowledged with a nod, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Well… I won't force you to say anything you don't want to, girl."

"Thanks. I'll… I'll tell you more about it after we've had some more time to heal… A-anyway, after we all split up, I got the chance to spend some time with him and Shantae right before we all regrouped at her lighthouse. And during that time, I got to understand him a lot better as a person… and I'd like to think he grew to appreciate me too, considering that he admitted that he loved me."

"As a friend, I presume?"

"No. I mean as his second wife next to Shantae," Rotty flatly retorted with a playful smirk. "Of course I meant as a friend, Sky."

"Tee-hee," Sky sarcastically remarked with a grin of her own. "Just had to make sure…"

"Hm. Yeah, I'd bet, considering you had a thing for him…" she teased, causing Sky to flinch with mild embarrassment. "Or, perhaps I shouldn't be speaking in past-tense there…?"

"Hmph. Be that as it may, that's not why I wanted you to clarify what you meant," the bird tamer dismissed, inadvertently making the zombie maiden grin with delight. "Anyway, you evidently got to spend some quality time with the two of them that allowed you to gain an appreciation for him. Is that what you were saying a second ago?"

"Yep. But… weirdly enough, I didn't really know it for absolutely sure until… well… odd as this might sound to you… um… so, when I kissed him using the Symbiotic Brain Chomp that day, with both his and Shantae's permission in case I need to clarify… it caused his voice to change back to normal…" At that, Sky's eyes almost flew out of her head and halfway to the sun.

"W-What…?"

"Yeah… It was strange, but it really happened that way. I couldn't even hope to make that up, in case you still don't believe me. He and Shantae had a really special moment that involved her kissing him before we got set to go to the Thimble Canyon, and I saw for myself the changes she caused in him. His eyes changed color, and the both of them started to glow like there was magic surrounding them. The two of them even healed each other a little! Seriously, it was right out of the most compelling romance flick…" she further explained, reading the astonishment on her acquaintance's face.

"Whoa… Talk about the power of love…"

"Funny you should say that, because I joked about that once or twice. Turns out there's more to it than I thought. Speaking of which, I also felt this insanely powerful, tingling rush just shoot all over my body like I had an electric current running through me when I used my Symbiotic Brain Chomp on him, which didn't happen when I used it on anyone else…" she further explained, unknowingly reminding Sky of a similar phenomenon. "It was so strange…"

"Huh… You don't say…?"

"I do say, because the mere thought of it… kinda gives me that same sensation all over again," Rotty admitted, her blush returning as she clutched a hand to her heart for a moment and took a deep breath to settle down. "But then, I'm pretty sure I mentioned how I got my super strength, right?"

"I only remember you mentioning that you suddenly felt stronger out of nowhere, but… now that the context is there, I can certainly draw the connection now… I can also relate to you on the 'electric tingling' thing, weirdly enough."

"Oh, yeah?" Rotty asked, perking up in curiosity.

"Yeah. When he kissed me on the forehead, I felt the same thing," Sky admitted, instinctively brushing her hand across her forehead under her headband. The thought of her own experience in conjunction with Rotty's gave her just enough context to connect the dots on the correlation between these close encounters with the extraterrestrial serviceman and the electrifying surges of emotional attachment they each felt, nevertheless.

"Hm. Interesting…" the undead maiden acknowledged with a pensive nod. "It seems like, if nothing else, it just meant that he really did love all of us…"

"Definitely…" the bird tamer somberly acknowledged as she flashed back to the day she and the dearly departed soldier shared their last moment of mutual appreciation for each other… specifically, the surprise kiss he planted on her forehead that caused her every nerve to fire up in a swirl of momentary pleasure at that time. The mere thought of it, however, made her heart feel like it had gained twenty pounds as she nearly lost herself in thought before Rotty continued to speak.

"As if that wasn't enough, though, we had that other moment when I joked about stealing Shantae from under his nose… and when we hugged and he let me know how he felt about me, I knew for myself that I'd made another lifelong special friend… and it was made better by the fact that it felt like we'd always known each other. I mean shoot, the guy even said that I reminded him of another close friend of his from his old world…"

"Really now? Goodness, I can see why you hold him so near and dear now," Sky acknowledged. "With that kind of experience, I admit I'd be crazy not to at least see what made you feel so connected to him…"

"Mm-hmm," Rotty hummed in agreement. "Just like Shantae, he accepted me for who I am, even though I caused him nothing but trouble from the minute I met him. And still, he always gave it everything he had to keep us as safe as possible while also being so awesome to talk to and so easy to get along with… and those dreams I had made me realize just how much I appreciated the little bit of time I got to spend with him, y'know? I just wish we got to spend more time together… or at least, I wish he was still alive…"

"…So do I…"

"Yeah… Sky, I… I really mean it when I say feel the exact same way about him that I do Shantae… and no, I don't quite mean in the romantic way, in case it needs to be clarified here as well. He and Shantae built that connection to each other, and I couldn't have been happier for them when I saw them make out with each other for the first time… and watching the two of them so awkwardly, yet so adorably interact with each other from that point on…"

"Oh, boy… The way you make it sound, it must've been an especially poignant moment that kicked things off for them."

"That's an understatement for sure. As for when they first started dating, though, I may as well have had front row tickets to the spiciest make-out session in all of Sequin Land once they shed all their hang-ups… and when I say 'spicy,' I mean 'SPICY' in the most incredible fashion imaginable… Like I said, it was right out of the most compelling romance flick in every sense. It honestly had me sweating as I glued my eyes to them in anticipation of how far they'd go with each other in that hotel room…"

"Oh… Oh, my…" Sky breathlessly murmured as she suddenly found herself attempting to fend off any… improper thoughts brought on by Rotty's vivid description.

"Yep… buuuut, I'd better not say too much about that," the zombie maiden dismissed as she blushingly cleared her throat. "The memory alone is racy enough… Hooh…" she further remarked, fanning herself with a hand.

"…Y-yeah, maybe it's better that you kept that thought under wraps for now…" Sky hesitantly encouraged, though the seeds of curiosity had inadvertently been sewn.

"Regardless, I'm being entirely honest with you, so don't get the wrong idea when I say this next thing…"

"Not at all. Go right ahead."

"Cool… so, without mincing words, Sky… I loved him… I loved him so much… it… it's hard to explain that, but there's no other way to put it. But… I never thought we'd lose him before I ever got the chance to show him…!" Rotty admitted again, her heart feeling like it was being weighed down with a cement brick as she took in a sharp gasp and fought the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Rotty…" Sky called, concerned for her friend. However, she hardly knew what to say or what to do as the zombie maiden struggled to keep it together.

"…Why don't we go on and see if Shantae's at her house now?" Rottytops suggested after a pressured moment of silence, sensing an air of discomfort that loomed with the more they thought about their feelings toward their fallen friend. "If she's awake in there, she's probably a lot worse off than we are… and maybe we'll all get a chance to speak more about how we feel about this whole situation?"

"Excellent point," Sky readily agreed as the girls put as much pep in their step as they could. "Jeez, I can only wonder what she's been doing since she's been awake. She must be devasta… What the…?" she suddenly remarked in confusion as she and Rottytops closed the distance and the lighthouse came into view. However, it wasn't the lighthouse itself that caught her attention.

"…Are you seeing… what I'm seeing…?" Rotty asked, evidently spotting the same unusual phenomenon occurring before them as they froze and tried to register their collective shock. "Or am I hallucinating from lack of sleep?"

"No, I see the exact same thing you're looking at. You're not that crazy yet…"

"Hey…!" Rotty remarked in mild offense.

"But… that's… not who I think that is, is it? Can it be?" Sky quietly asked, her attention locked on whatever it was they spotted in the distance.

"Well, who else do we know with a physique that amazing? Or hair that puffy? Or eyes that golden? Or with all those scars across his face and chest? Or pants that splotchy?"

"True, but… if it is him, then how in the holy HECK did he wind up here of all places…? He's supposed to be dead…! Yet… what's with that floating ring hovering over his head? Is that a halo…? Are… are we seeing a ghost haunting the lighthouse…!?"

"Forget all that; I'm still stuck on if that's really who we think it is, or if we're losing our minds…" At this point, you're probably wondering what these girls were suddenly gawking at that had them petrified with wonder and anticipation. And well, as you might've already figured out, they were peering at a certain wraith who'd been minding his own business as he stood outside Shantae's lighthouse alone. He'd simply been standing tall with his arms crossed, staring out into the wild blue yonder with a floating golden ring over his head as though he'd been meditating… or contemplating something as the gentle morning breeze wafted through his hair and the nearby foliage. Peculiarly, he was barefoot with no shirt or vest on, wearing what appeared to be a pair of tan woodland camouflage military fatigues. "There's NO way that's him, right? It… it can't be…!"

"Well, the only way we can find out is if we-!" Sky was about to suggest before the mystery man in question spoke to himself.

"T' think I'd really get one final chance like this after everything that happened…" the wraith spoke to himself aloud. "An' t' know it's all still so fleetin'… Hm. We've gotta make the best of it in whatever way we can, though, no matter what might happen by next year…" At that soliloquy, Rottytops gasped in a mixture of surprise and… such overwhelming delight that she couldn't contain herself as her heart felt like it was going to burst with enough force to level a building.

"It's him…! It's him…! It's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, it's him, oh my gosh, it's him, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, it's him, it's him…!" she cheered, amping up like a monster truck about to take off at full speed in a half-second.

"But… how!? What the heck brought him over…?" Sky was about to ask in complete amazement… before she heard the rapid *PLACK*, *PLACK*, *PLACKs* of her companion's shoes beating against the ground as Rotty took off SPRINTING toward the man standing across the wooden bridge. "Whoa, whoa, Rotty wait! NO, DON'T-!"

"TAYSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN~!" Rotty excitedly hollered out with such indomitable, overwhelming energy that her barbaric scream of pure ecstasy could've been heard halfway from Genie's Hem.

"Wohah!" the man with the halo shouted, jumping and turning in fright, only to see a whirling blur of green and purple barreling toward him at the speed of sound… hyped up on about five thousand energy drinks. "R-Rottytops!? Oh, no, oh, jeez, oh, man, nowaitwaitwaitnononononononoyou'recomin'intoohotohNOWHOAWHOAWHOAWHOA-!" he tried to warn her in a sudden, desperate panic as he frantically flailed his arms out in front of him and tried to brace himself for impact. It was far too late, however, as Rottytops SMASHED face-first with a devastating *KARPLOCK* into his chest, the unmitigated force of which rivaled, if not SURPASSED a neutron star explosion in its sheer intensity. "GOWAAWAWAWAHAWGH!" the poor, unsuspecting man bellowed in howling agony as he was knocked right off his feet with the zombie maiden smilingly wrapping her arms around his waist as they hurtled through the air… and right into the water below the cliff with a momentous *KERSPLOOSH* the likes of which no one could EVER have been prepared for in all of eternity.

"Rotty, are you insane!? Jeez, you're such a mess!" Sky shouted in stark disapproval as she raced over to the spot of the egregious mauling to see if she could spot her rambunctious friend and her victim in the water.

"Hey, hey, hey, what the heck's going on out here!?" another voice shouted as its owner, a certain purple-haired, blue-eyed young woman dressed in a frilly pink nightgown, demanded to know as she hopped out of the second story window. Evidently, she wasn't too fond of the commotion suddenly being made outside of her house as she warily scanned her surroundings. "Tayshan? Hey, where'd you go, honey!? Are we under attack!?"

"Shantae?" Sky called, stunned beyond belief to see the half-genie up and at 'em. Startled, Shantae hurriedly turned her attention toward the familiar bird tamer.

"Sky! Hey there! Long time, no see!" the half-genie excitedly greeted her with a wave, prompting the bird tamer to approach her for a hug.

"Yeah, it felt like ages! You were unconscious for a whole week, girl!" Sky excitedly greeted back as the two young ladies embraced one another.

"Sorry about that… I must've been a lot more wiped out than I thought," Shantae offered her sincerest apologies. "Uh… Have you seen Tayshan, by the way? He was standing out here a minute ago, and now he's nowhere to be found."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on just a sec…" Sky remarked in a fresh new wave of total astonishment. "That was really TAYSHAN that Rottytops just football tackled into the ocean!?"

"Rottytops did WHAT!? Oh, no…! We need to-!" Shantae was about to suggest before the sudden, wet *PLOP* of the zombie girl's head startled the other young ladies out of their hug. "Oh, there she is… well, part of her…"

"Shantae!" Rotty called in even more excitement as she immediately noticed her best friend standing before her in understandable confusion. "It's about time you finally woke up! Oh, and guess who I found!" she further excitedly remarked as a portal opened up under her head. And, with a sudden *FWOOPH*, the rest of her soaking wet body came shooting up from the ground below… attached to the thoroughly befuddled and moderately winded form of the soaking wet, shirtless, halo-adorned man beneath her. The two landed with a most voluminous *PLOP* of their saltwater-drenched forms on the grass with Rottytops straddling and clinging tightly to the man. The unfortunate man lay sprawled out, face-up beneath her, his hair suddenly taking on the appearance of a giant, ebony-hued jellyfish with how drenched it was and how spread out it was all over the grass. What was most unusual, however, was that the halo remained fixed over his head, unfazed by its minute-long dip in the Sequin Land Sea.

"Ahack! Agh! Kahhack! Agh! Ah! Awgh…!" the man in question attempted to speak, though it came out as intense, watery coughs as he tried to wipe the saltwater from his eyes.

"There you are, Tay!" Shantae exclaimed, confirming the man's identity as she raced over to him. "Are you alright? What happened?" she asked again as Tay tried to get his coughing fit under control while regurgitating the water he was forced to swallow. However, as Shantae approached, Rotty struck again.

"Oh, I missed you so much, snack cakes!" Rotty announced for the whole world to hear as she grasped Shantae by the hands.

"Rotty, wai—WHOAWOWOW!" the astonished half-genie bellowed as she found herself immediately flung off her feet and propelled forward. And, with a most emphatic *PLOP*, Shantae found herself cheek-to-cheek with a soaking wet Rottytops as the zombie maiden in question oh-so lovingly squeezed the all the air out of her. "Gaaack…! Y-yeah, I… I missed you too, but you don't have to suffocate me…!" she complained, patting Rotty on the back as amicably as she could manage as the two young ladies remained seated, straddled on top of the poor, unsuspecting man that had still been hacking up a storm.

"Are you kidding!? You've been out cold for a week, and he's been dead! And now you're both somehow up and at 'em after we spent this entire time wracking our brains over how to cope with this mess!? Do you have ANY idea how worried sick I was about you, sugar brains!?" Rotty excitedly asked, pouncing further on Shantae and tackling her to the ground as they rolled off of Tayshan. "I missed you, I missed you! I missed you!" she continued to put on her dramatic reunion act as she began peppering the poor half-genie's face with affectionate kisses.

"Gack! Rotty, cut that out! I'm okay, I promise! Hahah, I-I was just exhausted! Th-that's all! Ack!" Shantae tried to protest, though she couldn't help but be at least a little humored by her best friend's rambunctious theatrics.

"No! You have no idea how much I was panicking about the possibility that you wouldn't wake up, snack cakes! Come here~!" Rotty demanded, persistent in her efforts to let Shantae know just how much she appreciated her companionship. As such, Rotty continued wrestling with the unsuspecting half-genie and peppering her with kiss after kiss after cartoonish kiss all over her face.

"Ugh…! Ah, man… This girl hits like a freight train…! Agh…!" Tayshan finally gathered the strength to complain as he sat up and rubbed his aching abdomen while shaking off his disorientation. Within seconds, however, he glanced to his side to see Rottytops launching a full-scale kissing attack on Shantae while they were sprawled out over the ground with Shantae laughingly trying to break free. "Good t' see she's in good spi-!" he was about to further remark before she suddenly stopped plastering her lips all over Shantae to notice that he'd finally recovered.

"And YOU!" Rotty exclaimed once more, leaping off a completely breathless, frazzled Shantae and immediately tackling him back to the ground.

"Gah…! No, please! I get it already, you miss-!" he tried to beg.

"I don't know how you managed to come back from beyond the grave, stud muffin, and I can't even bring myself to care right this second! I missed you so much! We thought we'd never see you again, but I'm SUPER glad you're back!" Rotty tearfully informed him as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, pressed her soaking wet form into him, and performed a most super effective kissing attack all over his face as well.

"Ahaaaaaack…! St-stop that! A-an' chill out with the kis-! Kaagh…! Gah, somebody help me!" he pleaded, turning his head in all directions as he tried and failed to wrest himself free from the zombie girl's loving grip and her numerous sopping wet kisses. In return, Rotty clamped onto his head, her hands getting tangled up in his hair as she pressed his face into her chest. "MRRPH! MRRRRH!"

"I had all these weird dreams about you since you died, but I couldn't have imagined I'd get a chance to see you outside of them again! I'm so happy, I can't contain it!"

"MRMRRRPHRRGH! Ghah…! Rotty, I get it, but I can't brea-! GRRRPH!" the unfortunate serviceman tried to protest as he momentarily pried his face out from between her breasts… only for her to shove him right back in and keep excitedly squeezing the (figurative) life out of him. At that point, the poor wraith and his overzealous zombie pal continued to roll all over the ground, their sopping wet bodies collecting blades of grass everywhere as she continued to lovingly suffocate him.

"Ooh! Hah, it tickles when you talk, stud muffin~! I bet you missed me a bunch, too, didn'tcha?"

"HRRHRHMMMGH!" he very coherently complained as he pressed his hands to her hips to try and pull himself away to absolutely no avail.

"Hahhah, h-hey! Now I'm convinced you're doing that on purpose~!" she teased as she refused to relent.

"Eugh… Now, THAT'S a waker-upper if I ever needed one…" Shantae asserted, gingerly climbing to her feet and wiping her cheeks and forehead clean of zombie germs. "Goodness, you'd think we hadn't seen each other in ten years. Also, Rotty?"

"Yeeeees~?" the zombie maiden answered right away, stopping her relentless assault on the wraith beneath her as she found herself on her back under him, her arms locked around his head and her legs wrapped around his torso as she held his face in her chest. Meanwhile, Tay was on his knees, his hands planted on the ground on either side of the undead maiden as he continued trying to save himself from her.

"Might I… kindly ask you to stop ferociously mauling Tay, please? I think he gets it by now that you missed him."

"Oh! Sure thing. I can't make any promises that this'll be the last time this happens, though," the zombie maiden excitedly agreed, FINALLY getting the hint as she loosened her grip and slid out from under the young man she'd been wrestling so bombastically. Climbing to her feet soon after, she bent down and offered Tay a hand as he rose to his knees while massaging his neck with a hand.

"Hah… Whew… Hooh… Goodness, you're still as wild an' crazy as ever, I see…" the undead soldier breathlessly observed, taking Rotty's hand and allowing her to help him back to his feet.

"And that ain't goin' nowhere, no time soon!" she proudly proclaimed while temporarily adopting his speech pattern, though her heart was still racing like a hundred thousand bulls at the fact that her best friend was awake and her newest friend had somehow returned to them after it seemed he was gone forever.

"I'll just take that t' mean I should still be watchin' my back around you…" Tay flatly retorted to Rotty's amusement, brushing grass blades off his body (and copious amounts of Rottytops's saliva off his face) while taking another deep breath before he turned toward Sky while wringing his hair dry. "Would you also like a hug, Sky?" he politely asked, seeing her standing a safe distance away while smiling brightly at him.

"Absolutely! Though I… think I can at least wait until you dry off and recover from that vicious zombie mauling before we do that," she respectfully declined, though she could hardly contain her almost palpable urge to tackle him with ALMOST as much energy as Rotty did moments earlier.

"Fair enough," he understandingly replied with a nod. "Just make sure we're not near any large bodies o' water if your idea is t' maul me, too."

"Duly noted, Tay," Sky agreed as she, Shantae, and Rottytops laughed together at his humble request. "Although, I'm gonna admit that I'm completely astounded that you're here now. How in the world did you come back to life? Did Shantae wind up saving you like she did Barracuda Joe?"

"Yeah, I was gonna ask the same thing," Rotty agreed, her eyes glued to the undead soldier standing before them. "And what's with the halo over your head? Are you an angel now or something?"

"No, I didn't go on any adventure to find him. I found him here, as a matter of fact," Shantae began to answer, expecting Sky and Rottytops to be curious. "And no, he's not a-!" she was about to further clarify before being interrupted.

"Wait… You didn't come back here just to break up with Shantae now, did you!?" Sky very arbitrarily asked, stunning both the soldier and the half-genie in the process as she revealed some poorly hidden suspicion she had.

"What!?" Shantae and Tayshan asked in unison.

"…Smooth one, Sky…" Rotty grumbled toward the jumpy bird tamer, shooting her a most scrutinizing stare.

"No, of course not! Not in a billion years!" Tay anxiously replied, not at all sure why she'd ask such a thing.

"Oh, good…" Sky acknowledged, pressing a hand to her heart and breathing a sigh of relief.

"Not everyone is as unlucky as you are when it comes to boyfriends coming back from beyond the grave, y'know," Rotty took the opportunity to snipe at Sky, who'd immediately glared at her. "Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions because your love life is a complete disaster, Sky. Jeez…"

"Hey! It was a legitimate question!" Sky shouted, pouting as she did so. "And there's nothing wrong with my love life!"

"Suuuuure, there's nothing wrong there…" Rotty shot back, shrugging as she resisted the urge to snicker. "With your track record, there's nothing wrong there in the slightest… except maybe everything…"

"D'oh, you-!" Sky was about to blow up before Shantae stopped her by patting her on the shoulder.

"It's alright, Sky," the half-genie consoled, having been reminded of what happened the last time any of them had a boyfriend die on them and then come back to life. Hint, hint: Barracuda Joe broke up with Sky within seconds of being resurrected… Y'know, in case YOU needed the reminder as well. "We'll be here for you as long as you need us. I know the situation with Barracuda Joe is still pretty sore for you, but you'll find love again in no time. You're a total bombshell, so there's no need to be discouraged by that," Shantae rather naively advised. At that, the bird trainer sulked a bit as she shot Shantae a most embarrassed and forlorn expression before sighing again.

"…I'd rather not talk about this right now… or ever again…" Sky grumbled in vexation, evidently more upset by Shantae's attempt at cheering her up than she was helped by it. It… probably didn't sit too well with Sky to silently acknowledge that the person she was supposed to 'find love again in no time' with… happened to instead be interested in Shantae… and was standing right in front of them as this imbroglio of emotional upheaval grew sourer for her by the second.

"…Uhh, so I'm just gonna go ahead an' change the subject if we're okay with that…?" Tayshan very, VERY carefully warned, reading the awkwardness in the air like the messages were being spelled out in the clouds above the group.

"Yep. Go for it, Tay-Tay," Shantae approved with a nod, still rubbing Sky's back.

"Thank you, kitten. So, to answer-!"

"Wait… What did you just call him?" Rottytops interjected with an incredibly huge grin aimed at a petrified, blushing Shantae as she immediately caught onto something before anyone else did.

"…Uuuuuhhhhhhh…" Shantae droned, removing her hand from Sky's shoulder and putting a knuckle right into her mouth to begin nibbling on it. And we all know what that means…

"…Ah, shoot…" Tay muttered, taking his turn to blush and sink into himself as he batted his eyes away. Meanwhile, Rottytops shot him that same enthusiastic smirk as she absorbed the increasing awkwardness that had quickly begun to become entirely asphyxiating.

"And… Did you just call Shantae 'kitten,' stud muffin?"

"…I… uh… don't know what you mean…" the soldier denied (very unconvincingly so) as he blushingly scratched his cheek with his index finger while refusing to look at the teasing zombie maiden.

"Oh, you don't?" Rotty asked, though she knew far better. "Because the way you two are suddenly all stiff and ready to spontaneously combust with embarrassment tells me a whole different story… a story that I suspect might be much too spicy for us to not to want to read…"

"Dah, n-no it doesn't!" Shantae voluminously protested, seeming to know where Rotty was headed with her assertion before she even made it. "Whatever it is you're thinking, that is NOT the case!"

"And what exactly am I thinking, snack cakes? Hmmmmmm~?" the zombie maiden continued to taunt, sliding over to the flustered half-genie and leaning in while grinning right in her face.

"Uh, I-I don't know! But whatever it is, it's probably super weird, and you should stop thinking about it this instant, Rotty!" Shantae demanded, turning away while cutting her blushing, pouting gaze toward her best friend while pressing her index fingers together. "And I only called him 'Tay-Tay' because he allowed me to, if you must know. And… a-and I like that he calls me his 'little kitten.' There's nothing else to it. At all…" At that, Rotty's eyes practically exploded out of her face in complete…ly amused astonishment.

"His LITTLE KITTEN!? D'awww, that's so CUTE! Oh-ho-ho, now I KNOW you're hiding something…"

"I am not!" Shantae protested, realizing her slip of the tongue that only made things worse. "Stop pestering me!"

"…This is bad…" Tay worriedly murmured, gulping down a boatload of anxiety as this conversation quickly deteriorated into an investigation into his and Shantae's private business.

"Huh… Well now you've got me curious with the way you two are acting," Sky cut in, raising an eyebrow and shifting her gaze between the half-genie and the utterly dumbfounded soldier. "Did something happen between you two that we should be aware of?"

"Gah, n-no!" Tayshan oh-so convincingly denied, practically trembling with dread as he and Shantae appeared to be failing miserably at keeping some deep, personal business under wraps. "So hey, uh… Remember that thing we was talkin' about a second ago? Y'know, about how I got back here after I died? How about we go back t' figurin' that mystery out? That seems a lot more important, I think!" he nervously tried to redirect, involuntarily chuckling as he tried desperately to hide any form of discomfort he may have been experiencing in the moment. Did it work, you may ask? Well… I'll let you be the judge of that.

"Yeah, but like… Whatever it is you're trying so hard to hide right now is FAR more interesting," Rottytops countered, snickering with mischievous glee as she egged her friends on.

"No, it a-!" Tay tried to protest.

"Much as I hate to agree, I… kind of agree," Sky added, however sheepishly she did so.

"What!? Sky, what the heck!? You're encouraging her?" Shantae questioned, absolutely flabbergasted that the bird tamer would do something as outrageous as agree with Rottytops. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing at all, girl! I promise!" Sky hastily defended herself, grinning as she waved her arms in front of herself to curb Shantae's ire. "I'm not encouraging Rotty's salacious behavior, either."

"Salacious? You're lucky I don't know what that means, birdie…" Rotty warned, though she took little offense to it.

"…Buuuut, I mean… can you blame a girl for being just a liiiiittle curious about how you and Tay gave each other those adorable nicknames?" Sky further pressed, shrugging with an innocuous, sheepish grin on her face that threw the poor half-genie for the loop of a lifetime.

"…I wish I could say I won't live this down, but that'd be FAR too morbid…" a most mortified Tayshan murmured as he, along with Shantae, stared blankly at their prying friend.

"Wow… And just when ya think you know a girl. I'm so disappointed in you right now, Sky…" Shantae voiced her displeasure as she pouted at the other young woman.

"I know and I'm sorry… but like, sometimes, curiosity gets the better of me. You've been there before, so you know what I mean," Sky pleaded in an attempt to pacify her sworn sister. "Plus, it's not like I'd tell anyone or judge you or anything silly like that. You know me, girl…"

"I can vouch for that," Rotty spoke up in agreement, hoping it would be enough to coax Shantae into spilling her secrets. Though completely astonished that Sky and Rottytops of all people were joining forces for the sole purpose of pressuring her into divulging private information, the half-genie held her stance.

"…Hmph," Shantae grunted after a moment of suspiciously scanning her friends up and down, crossing her arms and turning away from the inquisitive bird tamer and the nosy zombie maiden. "Well, you're just going to have to keep wondering, because I'm not telling you anything."

"And just by saying that, you've already confirmed my suspicions," Rottytops excitedly concluded, her eyes positively sparkling as she apparently figured it all out. Stunned by the revelation, Shantae flinched in shock, though she remained silent.

"An' what 'suspicion' are you talkin' about?" Tay dared to ask with a raised eyebrow… perhaps (by which I mean DEFINITELY) against his better judgment.

"No, Tayshan! Don't ask her th-!" Shantae tried to warn as she held out a hand to stop him, though she was far too late.

"You two totally got bizzay at some point before Sky and I got here~!" Rotty oh-so eloquently aired it all out, nearly causing the two accused… er, 'bizzay-getters(?)' to explode with enough force to destroy three planets in one go as they both shot their EXTREMELY befuddled stares at the undead detective known as Rottytops. In return, she blushingly grinned at the both of them, knowing she'd hit the nail on the head… if it's even appropriate to say that.

"…How in the world could you come to a conclusion like that…?" Tay asked the only thing he could think of, totally mind-boggled by the most unsavory development.

"Well, barring the fact that you're not saying it didn't happen, the looks on your faces tell me all I need to know, stud muffin," the zombie maiden teased with a smiling wink aimed squarely at him, further flustering him in the process.

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT!?" Sky appropriately shouted to the high heavens, gawking at Shantae to see that the half-genie's face was so red that one could've mistaken her for a well-steamed lobster. Heck, you could even see the puffs of steam rising off her cheeks, she was so embarrassed. And thus, the awkwardness of this conversation continued to get even MORE awkward to the point where your dirtiest secrets would probably look tame by comparison… I'd hope. "Shantae… You… and he… and… together… and… and… uh… N-no way…" the baffled blonde continued to stammer, unable to fathom the news she wasn't at all supposed to hear.

"…This is really happening now…" Shantae muttered, beyond humiliated as she rubbed her forehead with a hand and sighed out enough hot air to inflate five hundred balloons.

"…" Tayshan very wordily stated, soaking in the utter befuddlement and painful discomfort as he metaphorically picked his jaw up off the ground. One could also hear the astonished exhale coming from him as he anxiously exchanged gazes with a proud, blushing Rottytops, a thoroughly shocked Sky… and a SUPREMELY mortified Shantae. And speaking of Shantae…

"…Wow… We couldn't even leave my HOUSE without someone finding out…" the half-genie murmured once more, only making things much, MUCH worse.

"WAIT, WHAT!? IT'S TRUE!?" Sky shouted again, startling everyone but Rottytops, who took it upon herself to walk over and proudly pat her purple-haired friend on the back.

"Woo-Hoo! Way to go, Shantae!" Rotty cheered for her, though Shantae was ABSOLUTELY unreceptive to the praise she was getting. "Just like that, you've taken that giant leap into becoming a full-grown woman! I'm so proud of you for hitting your special awakening, girlfriend! Best part is that you were the first of us to do it!"

"Whoa, whoa, what?" the bewildered soldier remarked in wonder, unsure of how to handle that delicate information as he shifted his gaze between the three young ladies. "Uh… I-!"

"F-forget you heard that, Tay!" Sky hastily exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment as her eyes grew wide like pie pans. "She doesn't know what she's talking about, and she's just rambling, is all!"

"…R-right…" the serviceman hesitantly agreed, keeping his eyes locked on the flustered falconer as he tried to keep his mind from wandering off somewhere it didn't need to.

"Y'know, it actually almost brings a tear to my eye to know that I've finally corrupted you in full… My teachings have paid off after all this time!" Rottytops continued to endlessly praise her best friend, though her comments weren't as well-received as she thought they'd be.

"What!? How in the heck are you gonna try and take credit for-!?" Shantae tried to interject.

"And you, stud muffin~!" Rotty called to Tay while inadvertently cutting Shantae off.

"Uh-oh…" the wraith worriedly murmured as he turned to the undead maiden in fear of what was about to come out of her mouth next. "Yeah, Rotty?"

"After everything we've all been through, it's so awesome to know that you helped my precious snack cakes so much on her journey to womanhood that you even came back from the dead just to give her your d-!"

"Do NOT finish that statement, Rottytops!" he shouted while pointing a finger at her, beyond embarrassed as his face grew redder than pomegranates.

"I was gonna say 'dedication and eternal love.' No need to panic about it. I'm just paying you a compliment, silly!" she tried to innocuously assure him.

"Uh-huh," he disbelievingly retorted. "Yet, I feel like you're about t' say somethin' real slick in a second…" he further predicted, knowing Rottytops better.

"No, I really did mean that," Rotty reiterated, though the mischievous grin on her face gave it away as she locked her gaze on him. "Buuuuuut…~"

"Yep, there it is…" Tay flatly remarked as he shook his head. "An' you follow up with…" he murmured and intentionally trailed off as he gestured a hand toward her, mentally bracing himself for impact.

"Hm? What do you think she's about to say?" Shantae asked, seeming to be none the wiser.

"You're not wrong to presume I was talking about that other thing you gave her that starts with a 'D'…~" Rottytops teased Tayshan with a most flirtatious smiling wink and inappropriate giggle. "You naughty boy…~"

"WHAT!?" Shantae bellowed out in rightful embarrassment, completely stunned by her best friend's latest crude remark toward the befuddled wraith.

"…Not five minutes into us meetin' again, an' you're already trippin'…" Tay complained as he sighed and rubbed his forehead in mild vexation, much to Rotty's amusement.

"Aaaah, there it is~! Gosh, I can't believe how much I missed hearing you say that, stud muffin!" Rotty proclaimed, giggling with glee at her favorite word. "Gotta say, though, I'm actually a little jealous that Shantae has a boyfriend who loves her that much… It certainly makes my mind wander on what it would be like for me if I were in her place…~" At that, Tay shot the zombie maiden a most… emphatic deadpan expression as he took it in that she was choosing this point of ALL times to try and get him riled up.

"…Wow. Okay, you got jokes. Well, ain't that cute…?" Tay mused with a disbelieving shake of his head as he chuckled a bit and crossed his arms.

"Aww, I'm glad ya think so, stud muffin! It must be a real treat to you by now, huh?"

"Mm-hmm. BUT IT'S WRONG!" he yelled in complete embarrassment, though his displeasure only caused Rottytops to bust out laughing at him even more.

"You bet it is! And the more wrong it is, the better! You already know that by now!" she unabashedly proclaimed. "Oh, and just between us… I wasn't entirely joking," she further admitted as her cheeks turned a darker green, causing Tay's jaw to drop so hard that it could've caused the planet to split in two from the sheer force of it hitting the ground. It went without saying that Sky was rendered totally speechless in this most massively inappropriate moment as she gawked at Rotty.

"…Wha… You…! You are a real piece o' work…" Tay stammered with an inadvertent chuckle, thrown WAY off as he found himself enormously flustered to the point his brain froze like a faulty computer. At that, Rotty let out a most elated giggle entirely at his expense as everyone else went silent.

"…Rottytops…" a most flustered Shantae eventually called to the zombie maiden.

"Yes, Shantae?" Rotty answered, grinning brightly as ever.

"You're TERRIBLE!" she accused, stealing a certain line from a certain someone else as she blushingly glared at her zombified best friend.

"Ooh! That's my cue, isn't it? Okay, here I go…" Rotty, ever the comical opportunist, identified as she took in a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and delivered the only suitable response to being called terrible by her friend. "The worst!" she bellowed, after which she began giddily giggling like a schoolgirl who'd just been tickled pink.

"That's not funny! Stop laughing! And stop flirting with my boyfriend right in front of me!" Shantae angrily demanded, seeing little humor in this situation blowing up in hers and Tay's faces like it had.

"…So wait, let me get this straight," Sky cut in, seeming to need the confirmation herself. "Shantae, you're really not a v-!"

"Going to get dressed now! Tayshan, come on and dry off before you change! We've got a busy day ahead of us and you're gonna get sick if you stay dripping wet out here!" Shantae very, VERY hastily (not to mention THANKFULLY) announced while gesturing a hand for the soldier to hurry up and join her.

"Yes! Yes, because nobody wants to catch a cold out here! I'm startin' t' feel feverish already! You're absolutely right, kitten!" Tay 'agreed,' though one could plainly see the comical distress on the poor man's face as he rushed along and joined Shantae.

"Actually… Mind if I get a change of clothes, too?" Rotty asked, evidently forgetting up until that moment that her clothes were all soaked.

"Sure, fine, not an issue! Let's just agree to make absolutely NO mention of anything you just heard here from now on! Like, at all! Ever!"

"We both know that's not gonna happen, but I appreciate you letting me change!" Rotty excitedly offered her gratitude while refusing to comply with her best friend's humble request. As such, Shantae ushered Tayshan and Rottytops into her home to freshen up. Before joining them herself, however, she took one more look at Sky, who appeared not to have been able to rip her flabbergasted stare away from the young heroine. And, after what felt like an eternity of the girls awkwardly gawking at each other, each of them waiting for the other to say something…

"…Um… I-I guess… er, s-since it's out of the bag now, um… the answer to the question you were about to ask…" Shantae finally broke the silence, though it seemed to take every bit of strength in her just to get the words out. "…is… no, not anymore…"

"…I see…" Sky did her best to respond, stricken entirely speechless by her little sister's admission. The bird tamer had no idea how to feel in the moment. She wasn't necessarily upset with Shantae, that was for sure. But, she wasn't necessarily proud of her like Rottytops was, either. She couldn't rightly describe the uneasiness welling up in her gut as she and Shantae continued to lock eyes while the half-genie held her front door open. The more Sky attempted to rationalize it, however, the more difficult it became to do so. Granted, she hadn't even gotten the chance to process the fact that the extraterrestrial soldier, who had been dead for a week, suddenly returned to them without warning… albeit, with a halo over his head, which she could only presume meant that he still wasn't technically 'alive.' But to add in the bombshell that the soldier and the half-genie wound up… sharing their love in the most intimate way possible at some point after his unexpected return? She simply couldn't believe it…

"…Sky?" Shantae called to her, shaking her out of her train of thought.

"Hm?"

"Um… I… I'm sorry if… if you're upset… I uh… I know how… um… how awkward this is…"

"What? Shantae, don't be silly! You don't need to apologize for anything!" Sky laughingly dismissed, her heart thumping in her chest like it was trying to break out of a holding cell. "It's a good thing you two were able to pick up where you left off. Seriously, it is. And… well, I'm glad you and Tay were able to reunite and… well, 'consummate your relationship,' so to speak. I'm just… a little taken aback by everything that's happening right now, considering you were asleep for a week, and he was gone, and the rest of us were trying to get our lives back on track and waiting for you to wake up… It's just a lot to unpack, but we'll hopefully get to the bottom of everything after you guys get freshened up. I'll wait out here for you all."

"Oh. Uh, are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want you to-!"

"It's okay, girl. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Let's focus on catching up once you're finished getting dressed, okay?" Sky insisted with a smile and a thumbs-up, reassuring the lavender-haired young woman as she smiled back at her.

"Alrighty! We'll be out in a jiffy!" Shantae happily assured with a nod before hurrying inside, at which point much clamoring and chatter could be heard between the three parties inside the lighthouse. However, as soon as Shantae disappeared from Sky's line of sight, the bird tamer's smile vanished almost immediately. Her face quickly forming into a forlorn frown as she leaned up against the outer wall of Shantae's home and crossed her arms, Sky averted her gaze toward the sparkling Sequin Land Sea as the sun poked through some of the clouds to cast its rays downward.

"…Hm. I'm glad things suddenly seem to be working out in our favor, and I'm entirely relieved that we're finally able to start putting this mess behind us, but… why don't I feel happier about it than I do now?" she questioned herself, clutching at her heart as she locked here eyes on the waves crashing in the distance. "If anything, it… almost feels like a fresh wound that had the band-aid ripped right off of it… Huh…" As it appeared, Sky had been dealing with something of an internal struggle regarding her feelings toward the situation. It was rather odd, considering how ecstatic the other girls were to get right back on track and how miraculous it was that their deceased comrade had returned to them. She couldn't put two and two together on how conflicted she felt, which only served to irritate her as she used what little alone time she had in the moment to conceptualize the circumstances. Before she could really get into it on her own, however, Shantae's front door reopened.

"Alright, we're good to go!" the excitable half-genie announced as she stepped outside wearing a black variant of her usual belly dance costume. The only difference, however, was that the top piece of her costume had sleeves that ended where her golden vambraces began. The ponytail everyone knew and loved had returned sleeker than ever. She'd also still been wearing her gold tiara and earrings, though the tiara had no gem embedded in it. Oh, and, she'd also been wearing Tayshan's I.D. Tags around her neck.

"Awesome! You're totally rockin' that outfit by the way, Shantae," Rottytops praised as she walked out with a midriff-baring orange tank top (that wasn't originally hers, as evidenced by the shirt having been cut from the bottom and tied into a knot at the front to fit her busty form), a pair of form-fitting silk jet-black yoga pants that hugged her curves right where they needed to, and a pair of orange sneakers that matched her tank top that also housed a pair of frilly goldenrod socks that matched her headband. She, of course, also kept her skull earrings in their rightful places.

"Thanks, Rotty!" Shantae happily accepted the compliment. "I wasn't sure if I could pull off the all-black ensemble, to be honest…"

"Aw, come on, snack cakes, we all know better than that. You steal the show in literally ANYTTHING you wear. Meanwhile, I'm dressed perfectly for my favorite month of the year! I've never felt more appropriate! Helps that the outfit you guys helped me craft shows off all my curves while giving me that invincible 'girl power' feel~!" Rotty further confidently asserted, striking a sassy pose to emphasize her improved sense of style. "If only you had a gold tank top, though, Tay… I could've worn that other pair of sneakers and completely matched with you and Shantae!"

"Funny enough, I did have one in that color," he revealed with a small chuckle. "I wound up losin' it at some point, unfortunately. I don't suppose you're wrong about what you're sayin', though, but at this rate, I'm startin' t' wonder if all my tank tops will wind up goin' t' you," he further mused with an additional chuckle, his mood also evidently having brightened up. "This has gotta be… what, the third or fourth one I've given t' you alone?" he further asserted, stepping out to reveal his new attire as well. And… well, I'm certain you're familiar with it, because he had dressed himself back in the black-and-gold genie-like attire that he'd previously worn. Gold sneakers, black harem pants, gold sash, gold vambraces, black vest with gold trim… Halo floating over his head that seemed to be irremovable… Yyyyyyep, it all checked out.

"I suppose you have been a bit generous with letting me wear your clothes there, huh?" Rotty smilingly remarked. "Not that I'm complaining at all… Your shirts are always so comfy!"

"Whoa…!" Sky remarked, stunned beyond belief as she laid her eyes on her three friends and their stylish… oddly matching outfits. None caught her attention more, however, than the golden-eyed man whose hair appeared to have been slicked back and tied into the world's fluffiest ponytail via a regular hair band, as opposed to the golden hair tie a certain half-genie was known to use to keep her ponytail in place. Most mesmerizing, however, was the sleek waviness in his hair across the top and sides of his head that could potentially make someone seasick just by staring at it. And speaking of staring…

"What, does this outfit look weird?" Tay self-consciously asked as he noticed Sky gawking at him. Nervous, he scratched his head as he resisted the urge to sink into himself.

"Weird? Stud muffin, are you kidding? That outfit is absolutely incredible on you!" Rottytops boisterously proclaimed as she emphatically sized him up. "I also like how you and Shantae match each other from head to toe. You both look adorable! It's almost like you were headed out to a big fancy ballroom dance or something, you look so good together."

"I promise you we didn't plan this, but thank you," Tay remarked with a grin as he breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Shantae took a moment for herself to blushingly let her thoughts about hers and Tay's highly coordinated outfits wander off in a state of pure romantic bliss… and possibly about what it would be like if the two of them did go ballroom dancing in their respective outfits.

"You look exactly how I'd imagine a male genie would appear, if ever they existed. Only, you're much, much hotter than anything I'd ever dreamed of… Mm-hmm~!" And just like that, Shantae's train of thought was brought to a screeching halt as she immediately shot Rottytops a most disapproving glare.

"An' there you go again…" Tay flatly shot back, flustered by his companion's comment as he covered himself with his hands. "You got me over here feelin' like you're gonna eat me whole the first chance you get…"

"You never know, stud muffin… If you're not careful, I just might be tempted enough to try. You look like quite the tasty treat, if you catch my drift…~" Rottytops continued to flirt, further flustering Tayshan in the process.

"See, I know you're flirtin' with me, but in your case, you couldn't make that sound more morbid if you tried…" the unbelievably nervous serviceman pointed out, suddenly unsure of if Rottytops meant that she wanted a piece of him in the figurative sense… or in the literal one, given her status as part of a species that was known for preying upon humans for sustenance. Regardless, Rotty let out a hearty chuckle at his comment.

"Hah, I see what you did there. That's actually really clever!" she lauded, grinning with lascivious glee.

"Gee, thanks…" Tay warily accepted the compliment, though he continued to study Rotty up and down as she narrowed her eyes and grinned at him while folding her hands behind her back.

"Of course. Buuuuut, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean…" she continued to egg him on as she leaned forward, eagerly trying to find his breaking point. She would get but so many opportunities to do so, however…

"Rotty…!" Shantae very, VERY irritably called, shooting the zombie maiden a most menacing warning glare.

"Oh! Sorry, Shantae… I shouldn't be making passes at him without checking in with you," Rotty 'apologized' as she straightened herself up, her grin fading… mostly.

"What? No, you shou-!" the half-genie attempted to correct her friend.

"I promise you, I'm yours first, as always. No matter what. You don't have to worry about me being unfaithful to you, honey, and I'm just happy that Tayshan's just as wonderful as you are. Besides, it's like they say: Sharing is caring~!" the rambunctious zombie maiden 'suggested' as she roped the half-genie into yet another one of her overly affectionate hugs. At that last comment, however, Tay's eyes nearly burst with such volume that anyone within a five-thousand-mile radius would've been rendered completely deaf. After a second, though, he reeled himself back in and turned toward a moderately agitated Sky. And, from the looks of it, Sky was not too pleased with Rotty's antics as she stared daggers at the zombie girl nuzzling herself into the blushing Shantae.

"…So, like, I know Rotty can be a bit… over-the-top at times, but is this gonna be somethin' we have t' learn t' get used to…? I mean, I know her enough t' know her game by now, but this is just… wow…" Tay whispered to Sky, honestly dumbfounded by Rotty's overtly lascivious behavior.

"I wish I had an answer to that, to be totally honest," the bird tamer remarked with a thoroughly uncomfortable sigh before turning to shoot Tay a look of understanding. "But if nothing else, all I can say for right now is that this is apparently her weird and entirely inappropriate and inconsiderate way of saying she really loves you two… individually and as a couple, if I had to guess."

"Yep. That's uh… That's pretty much what I thought it was…" the soldier acknowledged, shaking his head in disbelief. "Thanks for the clarification, Sky."

"No problem, though I've got your backs in case she goes too far," she assured. "I told her about this before, but I've got no problem dropping reminders for her."

"…Ah, Rotty... What am I gonna do with you…?" Shantae groaned with a most flustered sigh after a moment of quietly absorbing the pure absurdity and perverseness of Rottytops's comments.

"I'm sure that whatever you come up with will be fun for us both... if not all three of us~!" Rotty further remarked, doubling down as she made Shantae flinch in total befuddlement.

"Maybe in that very, VERY naughty imagination o' yours, it would be," Tay flatly countered after overhearing Rotty's latest suggestion, though he was more than moderately flustered. "Look, I got mountains o' love for y'all, but let me make it clear one more time that only Shantae gets that kind o' love from me. That ain't changin', either."

"Yeah, and I already told you I'm NOT sharing him with you, Rotty. At all. And in case it needs to be said, he's not gonna be sharing ME with you either, and there will never be a case where you 'steal me away' from him… or that you steal him away from me. We're all friends here, but as far as relationship partners go, he's mine alone and I'm his alone," Shantae further protectively drove the point home through a moon-sized wall of discomfort as she gently removed herself from Rotty's grasp.

"Wow, Shantae… I didn't think you'd be so fiercely protective of him… You've even got me a little scared that I might've upset you…" Rotty worriedly commented, dropping her joking demeanor for a second as she studied the seriousness in Shantae's face.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you at all. But, considering that he died protecting me and then made even more sacrifices after that to come back from the dead just to make me happy… Of course, I'm gonna protect Tayshan at all costs from here on out."

"Wha? What other sacri-?" Rotty was about to ask, uncertain of what Shantae meant. However, the half-genie continued.

"Losing him in the first place was beyond painful enough, and I could never live it down if I ever let it happen again. Plus, ghost or no ghost, he's shown me in more ways than I can count that he loves me just as much as I love him. And I won't let anybody get in the way of that…" she further confessed, her face growing pink and her heart fluttering all the while.

"…Wow, boo…" Tay remarked in wonder, his heart pounding in his chest like the hooves of a billion bulls in a stampede. "You got me feelin' ready t' jump high enough t' touch the sun over here…"

"Goodness, you really are in love with him…" Sky murmured, taking the half-genie's declaration in for herself. "Huh… I didn't think it could run so deeply… but I think I understand it now…"

"I uh… I see…" Rotty hesitantly acknowledged, though she couldn't hide the smirk on her face as she turned toward Tayshan. "Huh. Well, shoot. You really did a number on her, stud muffin."

"If I did, then that's a two-way street, t' be perfectly honest," Tay shot back with a nervous chuckle and a shrug as his face also grew red.

"Really? How so?"

"Shantae an' I have been through a LOT since I first found myself here, an' the LEAST I could do in appreciation of her was take the chance I was given t' come back from the grave an' make sure she was okay. I never thought I'd ever get this opportunity after bein' killed, but you'd better believe it by now that I'd do anything an' everything t' put a smile on her face an' keep it there. In case it needs t' be said, Shantae is literally the ONLY woman in not one, but TWO worlds I've existed in, that's ever captured my heart the way she has. I meant every word o' that when I said it back in the Thimble Canyon…"

"D'awww, Tay-Tay…" Shantae smilingly sang, her breath catching in her throat as her heart began to pound like… well, like the hooves of a billion bulls in a stampede. "You make me feel like I could lift the moon and hurl it halfway across the galaxy…" Hearing her loud and clear, the serviceman was compelled to cast his gaze toward her. And upon seeing those lovely, sparkling sapphire eyes of hers affectionately locked onto him with that irresistible grin of hers, the lovestruck wraith flinched in shock and mild embarrassment. As such, he shyly batted his eyes away and crossed his arms.

"Dah, uh… I-I'm only tellin' it like it is…" he bashfully dismissed, though his true feelings were written all over his face for Shantae to see. As such, she let out an immensely elated giggle at his expense.

"…and just like that, I can see that he's in love with her, too… Wow, that's… I… I honestly don't have words for how beautiful this is… but…" Sky further muttered to herself, her own heart beating heavy in her chest as she observed her friends and their mutual declaration of love for one another. "…Shoot…"

"Huh… Well, there's no doubt about it now," Rottytops acknowledged with a nod after a moment of studiously shifting her gaze between her best friends. "I don't suppose there's anything that could come between you two at this point. Well shoot, how the heck am I supposed to compete with that?"

"There ain't a competition t' be spoken of, Rotty," Tay snapped himself out of his flustered stupor to remind the zombie maiden. "It's already been mentioned that we're all friends here. An' like I said, I still got mountains o' love specifically reserved for you, too."

"As do I," Shantae concurred as they both smilingly addressed their mutual friend. "You know that for a fact, and neither of us would ever let you forget it."

"D'aww, you guys are the best! I love the two of you, too~! More than you even know!" Rotty blushingly cheered, relieved to know that her best friends cared as much about her as they did one another as her heartbeat grew heavier in her chest and her breath got thicker in her lungs. "I mean, your love for me isn't the exact same kind of love that you have for each other like I was kinda-sorta hoping, buuuut it'll have to do…" she further 'joked' with a shrug, never missing an opportunity to push the envelope.

"Yeah, well… Neither of us can stop you from imagining whatever you want on your own time if that's really what you're interested in," Shantae shot back with a smirk, though she found herself incredibly nervous to be making such a quip. "Just make sure that whatever you're thinking stays in your mind… or is at least not too inappropriate if we have to hear about it, I guess…" At that, Rotty exhaled in a mixture of humor and delight while Tayshan reeled back in shock and uncertainty. Truly a polarizing predicament if I've ever seen one.

"I… don't know for sure if I'd recommend that t' Rotty of all people, but… for the sake o' discussion, an' perhaps against my better judgment… I… I agree," Tay offered his… partial support of Shantae's statement as his heart nearly exploded with enough surprise-driven force to destroy the entire galaxy.

"Aww, fine… If that's how it's gotta be… Well, I guess I'll take that for what it is. I'll just try to resist the temptation from here on, I suppose. No promises, though," Rotty quipped yet again in feigned disappointment, playfully giggling as she did what she did best in ruffling everyone's feathers while also quietly making note that she was given permission to fantasize about her friends in whatever way she wanted… Ah, jeez…

"Okay, I think I've heard enough. Didn't we have a discussion about this earlier, Rotty?" Sky thankfully stepped in to remind the zombie maiden.

"Hm?" she hummed, turning a curious eye to the other woman addressing her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're getting carried away," the bird tamer reiterated. "On top of that, I think you know what I'm getting at without me saying it outright… Don't you?" At that, Rotty flinched as she realized EXACTLY what Sky was talking about.

"Oh, that? Ah, I-I'm just teasin'!" Rotty assured, mostly dismissing her inappropriate behavior while also feeling a tad ashamed that she was called out for the exact type of behavior that made other people draw up certain ideas about her. Taking the undead young woman's response at face value, however, Sky merely sighed and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Relax, it isn't that big a deal. They know I'm just kidding!"

"…Rrrrrrrright," both Shantae and Tayshan droned in unison, each of them blushing a bit as Rotty exchanged glances with each of them and let out a quick little chuckle before turning her attention back to Sky.

"That's not the point, but fine. As long as you acknowledge what I'm warning you about, at the very least," the disapproving bird tamer retorted with a shrug, seeming uninterested in the idea of starting an argument with Rottytops over her pranks. "The rest, I hope you figure out on your own without someone needing to lecture you. For the sake of saying it, though, you should probably dial it back a few notches on the flirty stuff if you don't want people getting the wrong ideas about you."

"You don't need to worry about me, I assure you. I know where my boundaries lie, but I suppose you might have a point…" Rotty partially agreed, shocking the half-genie and the wraith in the process.

"Glad you think so," Sky replied with a nod, taking some solace in the fact that she had Rotty's ear.

"Huh… Sky calmly lecturing Rottytops about proper behavior…" Shantae remarked in wonder, totally caught off-guard by the surprising cordiality of the discussion between the other two young women.

"An' Rottytops actually listenin' t' her? I never thought we'd get t' see that…" Tay concurred in equal wonder as he and Shantae exchanged bewildered gazes toward one another before turning back to Sky and Rotty.

"Thanks, Sky. On a serious note, though…" Rotty trailed off, spontaneously changing the topic as she turned toward Tayshan. "I can't help but feel a little bit of déjà vu with the more I look at you in this outfit, Tay… It's weird, but… I feel like I've seen you in it before."

"Ya don't say?" he remarked, caught by mild surprise as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, but I can't really put my finger on it…" Rotty further shared, tapping a finger to her head as she took just a few seconds to mull over her feeling. Before long, however… "Ah, I'm probably just imagining things," she dismissed with a nonchalant shrug. In that moment, Tay batted his eyes toward Shantae, who'd in turn looked back at him while Rotty wasn't paying attention. In some sort of strange nonverbal agreement, however, the half-genie and the serviceman simultaneously nodded their heads toward each other before turning their attention back to the zombie maiden.

"What would give you the idea that you've seen me wearin' this outfit before?" Tay asked, wondering for himself how much Rotty possibly bring up in her mind about any possible past encounters she had with him.

"Nothing that I can accurately remember, unfortunately," Rotty replied to Tay's disappointment as she shrugged again. "It just seems… familiar to me. I'm sure the feeling will pass, because this is far from the first time I've had that sort of hunch about something. It comes and goes all the time for me, so it's no big deal. I do tend to wonder sometimes why that happens, though…" she further admitted, turning her attention away from her friends to ponder the phenomenon a little more.

"Oh. I see…" the worried wraith murmured, Rotty's casual response to his inquiry making him think about the fate of a certain friend he'd met during his time in the Village of Lost Souls as he looked toward Shantae again. And, unsurprisingly, Shantae looked right back at him with just as much concern.

"We can only hope she figures something out on her own, Tay… We can't really do much of anything to make her remember anything she saw in her ghost form if it doesn't register in her mind…" Shantae whispered to him. "Trust me, I've tried…"

"…Noted…" Tay whispered back with a reluctant nod as he learned just how deeply Rotty's amnesia ran. "Shoot…"

"Ah, I don't know," Rotty exclaimed, having given up on trying to figure out the roots of her déjà vu feelings as she nonchalantly turned her attention back to her friends. "Anyway, as far as why you're being stared at so intensely right now, Tay, I'm sure it's just the case that birdbrain over there needs to pick her jaw up off the ground. Don't you, Sky?" she further stated as she called out her most recent acquaintance, who had continued staring intently at Tayshan without him noticing. It seemed as though she was trying to absorb the… unusual mysticism in his truly ethereal image before she heard Rottytops call to her.

"H-huh!? Oh, uh, sorry, did you say something… I uh… I kinda zoned out there for a sec…" Sky admitted, shaking her head to reorient herself, though it caused Shantae to curiously raise an eyebrow at her.

"Mm-hmm. A likely story," Rotty teased to Sky's chagrin, never missing an opportunity to do so. "You'd better watch yourself now. You already just watched me get chewed out once, but I know from previous experience that you wouldn't like Shantae when she's mad at you for making googly eyes at her man~!"

"D'oh, I was not!" Sky shouted, a telling blush creeping across her face as she glared at the antagonizing zombie maiden. "Cut it out, will you!?"

"Jeez…" Tay groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So anyway, Tay and I were going to head to Scuttle Town, Sky," Shantae cut in, thankfully redirecting the conversation once more. "We gave Rotty the scoop while we were changing, but we've got an errand or two to run, and she said she was gonna come along. Did you want to join us, too?"

"Hm? Oh, sure! Definitely," Sky answered with a nod. "If anything, maybe we can finally get our fill on what the heck happened to bring us to this point…"

"Oh! That reminds me…" Rotty interjected, turning her attention toward the soldier. "Tay-Tay?"

"Hm? What's up?" he casually asked.

"Welcome back!" the zombie maiden cheerfully greeted, patting him on the back as though to congratulate him for returning from the dead.

"Heh… It's good t' be back… Thanks for the 'Welcome Back' spear an' celebratory vicious assault earlier, by the way. I always wanted t' know how it felt gettin' my insides irreversibly scrambled up by an overly excited, unpredictable friend."

"Don't be silly, stud muffin," Rotty smilingly rebutted, though the smile in question was anything but innocent. "You already knew what that was like from when I came inside you, remember?"

"WHAT!?" Sky shouted in complete discombobulation, her eyes busting wide open.

"Gaaah, walked right int' that one…!" Tay grumbled in complete disappointment in himself as he grimaced, shook his head, and exhaled in disbelief. "Dang it…!"

"OH MY GOSH, ROTTY!" Shantae shouted in stark disapproval, blushing furiously as she glared at her zombified companion. "Are you SERIOUS!?"

"I meant with my Head Warp, you guys! Come on, get your minds out of the gutter!" Rotty teased, giggling as she did so.

"Stay classy, Rottytops. Stay very classy," Tay flatly remarked, making the zombie maiden giggle some more as she reveled in his reaction to her foolish escapades.

"I know 'class' like the back of my hand, stud muffin. It's in my nature!"

"No, what's in your nature is CRASS, not CLASS. There's a HUGE difference there that I think you've been missing for a long, LONG time," Sky interjected with a most scathing retort, causing the soldier to chuckle while Shantae exhaled in disbelief… and also chuckled.

"As if you're one to judge," Rotty shot back, scowling at Sky. "You'd best put your money where your beak is if you're gonna chirp your condescending remarks at me, Princess Prude Parrot!"

"Condescending, Rotty? Hardly," Sky confidently retorted with a deadpan stare and shrug. "It doesn't take rocket science to understand that what you just said was entirely inappropriate and devoid of any 'class' you might be trying to convince us you have."

"If I didn't see why these two don't get along that well before, I do now…" Tsyshan quietly observed, taking full note of the verbal altercation unfolding before him. "They'll find just about anything t' be at each other's throats about…"

"And F.Y.I., it's actually possible to be funny without being gross. You should give it a try sometime to help you differentiate between the two words that were mentioned a second ago," Sky added, further denigrating Rottytops, who'd been glaring at her with nothing but absolute disdain.

"Oh, yeah!? Well, you wouldn't know class OR crass if it bit you on the a-!" Rottytops was about to shout at Sky.

"Ah, shoot!" Shantae cursed, cutting Rottytops off before she potentially cursed.

"Hm? Everything alright, Shae-Shae?" Tay asked, causing both Sky and Rottytops to gasp again as they immediately quit their bickering and gawked at him.

"No… I forgot to pay my rent for this month," she evidently realized, scratching her head in slight dread. "I'm like, WAY overdue, too… I forgot last month's rent as well… I hope Mayor Scuttlebutt doesn't try to evict me…"

"Uh-oh. Well, the sooner we get t' the Crown Jewel Inn, the… better…?" he assured… or so he tried, though he felt two pairs of eyes drilling into him as he was talking to Shantae. Flinching as he realized he slipped up again, he reluctantly turned his gaze toward the zombie maiden and the bird tamer. And, upon reading their sparkly-eyed, mesmerized stares, he knew what he had just signed up for. "…Aaaaand here it comes…"

"D'awwwww, that's so cute!" the two young ladies in question announced in unison, pulling off a miraculous double dose of demoralizing adulation that only served to further humiliate the soldier. Having nothing to say, Tayshan merely groaned and pouted as he bowed his head and planted a hand over his eyes while pretending he was invisible.

"…Ahh, man…" Shantae groaned, feeling equally as embarrassed as Sky and Rottytops turned their enamored gazes toward her.

"'Shae-Shae,' Shantae? You have Tay-Tay calling you Shae-Shae?" Rotty dared to question, excitedly grinning ear to ear at her half-genie friend. "I know you told me you enjoyed your first experience with him, but just what the heck did you two do together for you to get Tayshan to start calling you such adorable nicknames? Because whatever it is, you're gonna need to give Sky and me some serious pointers! Also, I'm TOTALLY calling you 'Shae-Shae' every now and again."

"Alright, alright, focus!" Shantae blushingly demanded, frantically flailing her hands around to dismiss the subject entirely. "It stands to reason that we've got FAR more important things to worry about than what Tay and I did behind closed doors… which, with all due respect, is none of your concern!"

"Hmm… alrighty, but you know this definitely isn't the last we'll be addressing the fact that you became a grown woman basically overnight now…"

"The sad part is that I'm well aware of that…" Shae-Shae murmured with a defeated sigh.

"Okay, can we PLEASE move on to a different topic?" Tayshan desperately asked, his mortification knowing no bounds. "I think you got enough of a kick out o' this by now."

"Yeah, we definitely did… for now, at least, Tay-Tay…" Rottytops teased him some more. At that, Tay breathed just about the heaviest sigh he'd ever mustered.

"…You… You-!"

"Also, I really enjoy how cute your nicknames sound when you say them together."

"…Wh-what?"

"Shae-Shae and Tay-Tay~!" the zombie maiden affectionately sang, cupping her face with her hands and grinning with such blushing delight that she could've livened up even the saddest birthday party with her infectious joy.

"…Uuuuuuuhhh…" both the half-genie and the serviceman droned in simultaneous embarrassment.

"They rhyme, they're a perfect fit for such a beautiful couple, and best of all… they're a perfect indicator that you two definitely got it on and really enjoyed your time together more than you let me know…~" she further asserted, stunning the couple in question into total silence as they gawked at her. Absorbing the monumental awkwardness, Rottytops let out a raucous cackle as she resisted the urge to fall onto the ground, busting a gut. Yet, much to Shae-Shae's and Tay-Tay's—er, I-I mean, Shantae's and Tayshan's surprise, Sky giggled in some twisted form of amusement at the mention of their sugary monikers for one another. And upon hearing Sky's laughter, the two of them comically glared at her with a most present sense of disapproval, causing the bird tamer to flinch.

"Oop! S-sorry, did you hear that? Uh… I-I'm not laughing because this is funny at all, I swear," Sky tried to assure them behind her flustered grin. "I'm just… really happy for you two. That's all…"

"…Hrrrrrrgh…" Tay grumbled, angrily crossing his arms and pouting as he momentarily turned away to hide his immeasurable shame.

"Well I'm glad we give you such a good feeling… I guess…" Shantae uncertainly remarked, though it may have been laced with just a TEENSY bit of sarcasm. "So, we're good for switching gears from here and talking about literally ANYTHING else, right?"

"No objections here," Rotty assured as she calmed herself down enough to walk toward Tay and nudge him to get him to turn back around.

"None here either," Sky agreed with a smiling nod.

"Awesome," Shantae proclaimed with an excitable grin of her own. "So, I'm thinking it's high time Tay and I explain how we wound up here."

"Most definitely," the bird trainer concurred. "I'm actually itching to find out what the heck happened, because I've been wondering about it since Rotty and I got here."

"Yeah, I'll bet. We've got quite a bit of ground to cover."

"You'd better believe you do," Rotty interjected, expressing her own brand of anticipation for the story she and Sky were about to receive.

"Right. We'll do our best to explain, but we're definitely gonna need to sit down and discuss this all in detail," Shantae warned in advance. "We were actually about to head into town to meet you girls because I wanted to surprise you… only for you to surprise us instead."

"No, you surprised us plenty, snack cakes," Rotty countered. "We spent all morning searching for you because you disappeared from the bed in gramps's lab. We were coming here to see if maybe you found your way back here while gramps and Bolo were searching in the basement to see if you wandered down there again."

"Ah, I see. Sorry about that," Shantae apologized. "I didn't mean to worry you. Believe it or not, though, that's a huge part of the story Tay and I have to tell you. Why don't we enlighten you while we head into Scuttle Town?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sky agreed.

"Ditto," Tayshan and Rottytops simultaneously voiced their additional agreement.

"And chances are, we can enlighten you two a bit about what you missed as well," Sky further asserted.

"Sounds great! I certainly hope you're ready for what you're about to hear, because I'm still trying to make sense of it all. Come on, we'll give you the nutshelled version along the way," the half-genie smilingly assured, ramping up the other girls' anticipation of what juicy details they were about to receive. With that, the group got themselves set and strolled together into the rebuilding port town… or, that WOULD'VE been the case, but…

"Actually, before we go, I have one more question," Rotty spoke up.

"What's up?" Shantae unassumingly asked.

"I'm just curious about something… Tay-Tay?" the undead maiden called to the wraith, mildly agitating him with the name she addressed him with.

"Yeah?" Tayshan responded, trying his hardest not to pout as he turned to Rotty.

"Those scratches raked across your upper back… Those weren't always there, were they?" she asked, startling both Tayshan AND Shantae in the process.

"H-huh?" he nervously grunted, immediately put on the hot seat as one could see the sweat pouring from his forehead. "I uh… I-I'm not sure what you mean. I picked up a lot o' scars in my time here, so it's hard t' remember which ones came from where."

"Nah, I know about all the scars," Rotty clarified. "But when we went in to change clothes earlier, I noticed that you had two sets of what looked like four claw marks stretching from your shoulders to either side of your back. It… kinda looked like a cat scratched you or something, but I know I didn't do that when I ambushed you earlier… My nails are too short."

"Oh. Uh, I-I had no idea those were there…" Tay attempted to dismiss, scratching his cheek with a finger as he tried to keep his heart from pounding hard enough to come blasting out of his chest.

"A-and it isn't like it's important at all," Shantae nervously tried to jump in, which only raised Rotty's suspicions instead of quelling them. "A few scratches never hurt anyone, and it isn't like they're there to stay. It's no big deal…"

"Oh, really? Hmm…" Rotty hummed, a very excited grin creeping onto her face that did absolutely nothing to ease the nerves of her friends as she seemed to already figure something out.

"W-w-what's with that toothy smile of yours…?" Shantae fought through a jungle of discomfort to ask.

"Y-yeah, what… what are you thinkin'?" Tayshan added, equally as unsettled. It wouldn't be long at all before Rotty's grin went from ear to ear as she perked up in a sense of realization that the genie/wraith duo would be certain to dread.

"…I know why Tay-Tay calls you his 'little kitten' now, Shae-Shae…" Rottytops teased as she pointed directly at Shantae, spooking both the half-genie and the soldier so intensely that they both could've turned into ghosts… or, well, Shantae would've become a ghost. Tayshan… would've… I dunno, like… become a double ghost… or something. Anyway, they were EXTREMELY astonished by Rotty's deductive reasoning. "You naughty, naughty girl, you~!"

"Dah, n-no! Whatever it is you're thinking about him calling me 'kitten' because of me accidentally scraping his back with my nails while we were doing it is completely untrue!" Shantae preemptively denied with a furious blush on her face, though she unfortunately gave herself and her boyfriend away in a manner that only she could manage to.

"Shae, no-ho-ho-ho! Why would you go an' say all o' that!?" Tay bellowed in a madly blushing panic, realizing from the moment Shae uttered her hurried defense, that they were exposed… again.

"WHOA, WHOA, WHAT!?" Sky shouted to the heavens yet again in total surprise. The poor girl, being hit with all these scandalous details before ever getting the chance to be prepared for them…

"Aha! I knew it!" Rotty proudly declared, cackling with absolute glee all the while.

"GAAH, DANG IT! I did it again…!" Shantae cursed as loud as she could, plastering her hands over her face out of complete humiliation.

"Wow, how intense…" the bird tamer murmured, shaking her head in total mind-boggled shock as she let the unwarranted knowledge sink in.

"Sky, come on! I thought you would…?" Tay pleaded, causing the young blonde woman in question to look up at him with an expression of blushing wonder. And of course, the undead soldier was caught completely off-guard as he froze for a few seconds to absorb the truly unrivaled awkwardness surrounding the group. "Ah… Uh… Aw man, you're… you're just as curious as Rotty is, aren't you…?" he expertly (and reluctantly) guessed, causing Sky to flinch in her own brand of surprise as she cut her eyes away and crossed her arms.

"…Well, maybe not as much, buuuut…" Sky admitted as she flicked her eyes toward Tay, much to his dismay as he let out a flabbergasted exhale. Before he could say anything else to her, though…

"Oh, man… Just when I think I couldn't be prouder of you two, you go ahead and drop THAT knowledge bomb on us? Goodness, Tayshan, I'm honestly as impressed as I am intrigued. What exactly did you do to make Shantae feel that goo-?" Rottytops was about to nosily inquire.

"Okay, no! No, no, no, no, absolutely not! NO! I am NOT talkin' about that with you!" Tayshan very, VERY vehemently declared through his total blushing astonishment, comically flailing his arms in front of himself to emphasize his point.

"Aw, come on… Not even a little sneak peek?" Rotty dared to ask, only further embarrassing her friends in the process.

"Off to Scuttle Town, folks! We're Ret-2-Go now, so let's get moving! Quickly! PLEASE!" Shantae demanded, immediately taking point while grabbing Tayshan and Rottytops by the hands to practically drag them along. "And NO, we're not talking about this anymore!"

"Haah, you guys are more adorable than I'd have ever imagined… I love it!" Rotty whimsically hummed, beyond satisfied with the astronomical levels of forbidden knowledge she obtained… in addition to causing catastrophic levels of embarrassment for her best friends.

"Whelp, I can't say I could've EVER been prepared for… whatever this is, but I can't say I regret it now…" Sky quietly muttered with a chuckle as she swiftly followed suit without needing to be dragged along by her comrades.

"I HEARD that, Sky!" Shantae chided, much to the bird tamer's astonishment as she flinched. "And for the record, you didn't hear ANY of this!"

"S-sorry, girl! Your secrets are safe with me, though! I promise!" Sky nervously, yet humorously assured her best friend as they all hurried along and pretended (or, well… just barely TRIED to pretend) that none of this SUPREMELY awkward discussion ever happened… And that's exactly what we're also gonna do as we finally hit our regularly scheduled transition point…

A little later…

LOCATION: CROWN JEWEL INN (Lobby), SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

DATE: OCTOBER 9TH, 16 P.G.F.

TIME: 1253 HOURS

"It's all here, untouched and ready to go like you arranged, sir," said a female front desk attendant with short blue hair dressed in a mauve sari, handing bags upon bags of gems, gold nuggets, sparkly trinkets, clothing, and other extremely valuable artifacts to a certain quartet of local heroes that had stopped by.

"Thank goodness… I was worried somethin' would happen t' all this stuff while it was sittin' here," one of the heroes, a familiar undead soldier, remarked in relief as he took two handfuls of the money bags and slung them over his shoulder. "I left enough t' cover my whole stay here though, right?"

"And then some, sir," the desk attendant assured. "Thank you for your patronage! Feel free to book another stay when we're fully operational!"

"Bet on it," the soldier assured with an affirming nod before turning toward the other heroes in the group. "Thank y'all for helpin' me clean up an' lug all this stuff out o' here."

"Sure thing, Tay, but I figured you'd have deposited your portion of your fortune from the Sheared Spool Shrine into a bank account instead of leaving it all in a hotel. All things considered, you could've lost it all before you even knew what happened…" a certain bodacious blonde bird tamer advised.

"I know, but I couldn't open one up," Tay explained. "I'm not technically a legal resident o' Sequin Land, an' it was explained t' me that I'd have t' do tons upon tons o' paperwork t' eventually be granted some form of asylum before I fully obtained citizenship. An' until that happens, I'm unable t' really do anything that requires me t' present some kind of I.D. or proof of residency."

"Ah, right… I didn't think about all that," the young blonde woman acknowledged. "Technically speaking, you're completely undocumented. We should probably get that squared away as soon as possible, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"That can wait until after the funeral though, right?" the third member of the troupe, a feisty and adorable young zombie woman, asked as she lugged one of the many treasure-stuffed bags over her shoulder.

"R-right…" Tay agreed, though it came with a most chilling discomfort as he processed the words of his comrade. "Hm…"

"Oh, that reminds me…" the store clerk spoke up, catching the attention of the group as they got themselves set to leave. "Before you all go…"

"What's up?" Tay casually asked, though the saddened look on the clerk's face threw him off.

"…I'm sorry for your loss, Shantae…" the clerk addressed everyone's favorite half-genie hero, who'd largely remained silent as she also carried some of the luggage. "I cannot imagine the pain you went through, losing your beloved in the midst of your tireless crusades to keep us safe from total destruction."

"Hm? O-oh, uh… Thank you," Shantae rather sheepishly acknowledged the attendant's condolences, though she wasn't sure how to appropriately react. "Um… It'll eventually be okay, though… I have a really strong support system, and I'm learning little by little on how to cope."

"It warms my heart greatly to hear that. I am also glad to see that you're up and at 'em again after that scare we had with you being unconscious for a week," the clerk replied with a warm smile aimed at the young genie woman.

"R-right, I can only imagine how everyone must've felt…" Shantae acknowledged, bashfully rubbing her head with one hand. "I promise you, though, I'm perfectly okay now in that department. I was just exhausted from dealing with all the nonstop adventures and grueling fights against Risky Boots. All I needed was a little rest!" she further assured with the brightest of smiles and a confident thumbs-up.

"I see. Well, it's certainly very relieving to know you're back to full strength and that you'll continue to be Scuttle Town's faithful guardian genie," the clerk praised once more before turning her attention to the soldier. "And you, sir…"

"Hm?" Tay perked up, uncertain of what to expect.

"Uh… While I can't say I'd have ever expected to come face to face with the spirit of someone who has passed on from this world, I… I would like to personally thank you for giving your life to assist Shantae in protecting us. I'm… also sorry that your life was cut short…"

"Wha?" the serviceman remarked in complete surprise. "Er, how did you know I…?"

"Well… I may have assumed a bit, but the fact that Shantae is wearing the tags you said she would need to present to us in case she needed to claim your belongings in your stead, in addition to the halo hovering above your head… it… wasn't necessarily difficult to figure out."

"Oh… I-I see…" Tay stammered, stunned that his post-death status was that obvious, even to a total stranger.

"Plus, word spreads quickly around Scuttle Town," she further clarified, thus bringing forth a much more conventional sense of clarity. "Rumor has it that you died in battle protecting our guardian genie from harm. I have no reason not to believe it, now that I've seen you all for myself…"

"Ah… Well… Yeah, it's true. I'm… no longer alive. Uh… I appreciate your kind words, ma'am. Truly, I do," Tay respectfully shared with a modest nod of his head, though it chilled him to the bone to confirm his own death to sate someone else's curiosity. "An' again, thank you for honorin' my request, despite how unusual it was."

"Anytime! You've been a wonderful guest, and our doors are always open to you! Stay safe out there and have an excellent rest of your day!"

"Sure thing. See ya later," the young man bade as he followed his friends out of the Crown Jewel Inn. Within seconds, the group stepped out into the shining afternoon sun, where they were immediately greeted with the sight of the Scuttle Town slowly, but surely being revitalized by its busy citizens as they carried on about their business as normally as they could.

"Alright, well that's one errand off the list," Shantae declared, setting her bag on the ground. "Tay and Sky, you can set those bags down in front of me. I'll teleport them back to my house and then warp to Uncle's Workshop," she advised two of her friends, who'd wordlessly obliged. "Alright, you go on ahead. I'll meet you there," she further assured as she touched a hand to the pile of luggage bags and began to gyrate her hips. Within seconds, the half-genie had become surrounded in a whirling, encapsulating energy as she focused on her belly dance. Within just a few seconds, however… "Warp Dance!" Shantae announced as she and the bags vanished with a *POOF* into a cloud of pink smoke, momentarily leaving her friends take the trip as they began walking down the moderately busy street.

"You sure I'm allowed to keep all this money, Tay-Tay?" the zombie maiden asked with a raised eyebrow, though she hadn't let go of the sizable luggage bag.

"Positive, Rotty," Tay-Tay affirmed. "I owe you for that caravan, remember?"

"Yeah, but I was just joking about that. I didn't think you'd actually pony up the funds for another one… Plus, you gave me way more than I would've needed to buy a new caravan. I appreciate it, but I can't take all of this from you. You should keep some for yourself, since you're giving most of the rest of it to Shantae."

"I hear ya, but it would've been messed up if I didn't give you somethin' for that caravan incident. Besides, you'd put that money t' better use than I could in my current state. An' even if my idea was t' keep it all t' myself, I wouldn't have near enough time t' figure out everything I was supposed t' do with it," he assured her, though it only caused the zombie maiden to frown in worry as she studied the solemn expression on his face as he looked back at her.

"…Right. You uh… You're… only able to be here for a year before you disappear…" Rotty acknowledged, a tinge of despair in her voice as she revealed that the group was notified about the soldier's condition for returning to them.

"Mm-hmm," Tay hummed in understanding. "So, you'd be doin' me a favor by takin' them gems and doin' as you pleased with 'em. There's plenty you could do with 'em. I'm sure your brothers wouldn't mind it, either."

"Of course. Uh… Abner and Poe would be stoked to know we came into a small fortune of our own. Thank you. But… honestly, all the money in the world wouldn't make me happy, when I know that we've only got but so much time with you before you're gone again…"

"Yeah, Tay… uh, that's… I-I don't know what to say…" Sky added, equally as distraught.

"I'm… sorry about not lettin' y'all know that sooner," he hesitantly acknowledged, taking in the girls' melancholy expressions as he sighed out some of the pressure he'd been feeling. "But hey, I was granted a chance like no other t' spend the rest o' my limited days with y'all an' make the best of it before the time came for me to… well, to actually say goodbye."

"Right, but is it really set in stone that way?" Sky asked, though she dreaded the answer she felt she would receive. "Like, Barracuda Joe had his life fully restored after he died, and he's been carrying on like nothing ever happened to him since then."

"Yeah, and I've been a zombie for as long as I can remember," Rottytops added. "And of all the issues my brothers and I have faced since we became undead, none included any arbitrary time limits on simply existing. Why is it that, of all the things that could've happened to you after you died, you get turned into a wraith and given a one-year time limit to be with us before you basically die again? That's totally unfair…!"

"Yeah, but it's the best we've got, from the looks o' things…" he nonchalantly remarked, though it was with a heavy heart that he did so. "I'm not too happy with it either, but as I'll try t' explain in-depth later, I got caught up in this perfect storm o' complicated circumstances that led t' this arrangement happenin' the way it did. I explained it t' Shantae, but t' be honest, it still baffles me, too. In a nutshell, though, it's like this: Death plus Memory Recovery an' Absolution in Purgatory equals Ascension into the Great Beyond. However, if you throw in a Soul-Link, which evidently doesn't break when one o' the two connected people dies, Ascension becomes impossible. The only feasible alternative is… well, Return to Living World Temporarily before Disintegration, which is caused by the Soul-Link destabilizin' my soul as the bond gradually gets stronger between two subjects with no clear way t' stop it."

"Ohh… So, that's what it is?" Sky remarked in wonder. "You got a chance to pass on, but that chance was interrupted by that Soul-Link Hypno Baron cursed you two with? And now because the bond is irreversible even in death and gets stronger over time, it's gonna eventually cause you to disappear?"

"Yep. That's just about it," Tay confirmed, much to the dismay of his comrades as they kept trekking through the windy streets of Scuttle Town. "Mind you, I was told that there may be a possibility t' stabilize the Soul-Link, so that I can at least avoid ceasin' to exist, though I'd still be stuck as a wraith with no hope t' pass on into any sort of afterlife until… well, a certain someone's life also came to an eventual end. In that event, both our souls would be free t' ascend beyond the cosmos… even though we'd still be tethered to each other throughout all eternity. The core point of it all, though, is that I'm basically anchored t' Shantae, which anchors me t' the livin' world by extension," he reluctantly shared. "Granted, the only person I think would know anything about this Soul-Link in general is Hypno Baron."

"I wish I could agree, but… he was completely clueless when Bolo and I went to talk to him. All the information we got out of him at the time was all the information he knew," Sky further informed him to his dismay.

"Of course…" Tay murmured in a mild sense of worry. "Hm. Well… We can only hold out hope that we'll figure somethin' out when we eventually start lookin' for answers, but I still want t' be prepared for if it winds up bein' the case that I disappear. No matter what, we have t' keep pushin' forward…"

"It's good to know that, at the very least, you're gonna try to find a way to get this situation fixed up," Rotty offered her vote of confidence. "And for what it's worth, we'd strongly prefer it if you stayed with us. Shantae is the happiest she's ever been with you here, though she might not openly admit it. And if you don't see it now, you'll see more and more of it with the more you spend time with us. I don't even want to begin going into how devastated we were… and especially how devastated she was when you died, Tay. It's awesome to have you back, but it'd be nothing short of total robbery to wind up losing you again because fate dealt you a bad hand that had a one-in-a-billion chance of happening. You… you deserve better than what you got…"

"I agree," Sky chimed in. "After everything we've all been through, the least you could've gotten out of it was a chance to make a new life here. It just feels… so terrible to even consider that you had to go through everything you did, just to get an opportunity to spend a drastically limited amount of time with us… but we'll be here for you, no less."

"Thank you for that, ladies…" he concurred with a pensive nod as the trio closed the distance on Mimic's Workshop. "I'd like t' stick around as well, an' I'd like t' keep creatin' fond memories with y'all like we planned t' do had our big battle with Risky went slightly differently. I mean, we'll do that regardless, but yeah. Shantae an' I talked at length about all o' this from the minute I was brought back here. An' believe me when I say that she's made me just as happy as I evidently make her. It's my utmost desire t' keep that bright, cheerful smile on her face in as many ways as I conceivably can, no matter what. Of course, I also wanted t' make sure y'all were okay, too."

"Us?" Sky asked, reeling back in mild surprise.

"Without a doubt. Y'all are my friends. An' I know that… well, that what happened affected y'all, too. I wanted t' make sure I could help everybody cope with the situation as it happened, because it couldn't have been easy on any o' y'all."

"Wow… Well, thanks for that, Tay. We're definitely gonna need that, because it's still so… so jarring to us what happened that fateful day…" the bird trainer expressed her gratitude and a bit of concern. "And we'll return the favor to you, no doubt."

"Exactly," Rotty chimed in. "We owe it to you."

"Ah, y'all don't owe me nothin'," Tay assured. "It's more than enough that y'all made a full recovery from that gruelin' battle an' are able t' keep livin' your lives the way y'all wanted to."

"Well, yeah, but it shouldn't have needed to cost you your life… Tay, you gave up literally everything to protect us. Even if you say we don't owe you, I can't help but feel like we should show you some kind of appreciation. Seriously, I didn't realize just how much I grew to lo-! Er… I-I mean, how much WE grew to love you until… w-well until you were taken from us…" she confessed, shocking the young wraith stiff as he went wide-eyed.

"…I see…" he murmured before taking a moment to contemplate his response. And, while he didn't exactly know what to say to express his appreciation of his friends, he did his best. "I love y'all, too. More than I could ever hope t' put int' words. An' I get you, as far as wantin' t' show appreciation goes. I imagine we'll be talkin' about how it all played out for a long time comin'. But I'm completely serious when I say that I wouldn't want you t' feel obliged t' make anything up t' me or prove that you appreciate me. Just the fact that you're able t' keep livin' your lives is all I need in terms o' 'repayment.'"

"I'm glad to know the feeling's mutual, sweetheart," Rotty remarked with an ostensibly cheerful grin, though she caught Tay off-guard with the pet name she addressed him with. "And in case it hasn't been said… Thank you for protecting us. Thank you… for everything… that you've done for us…" she further expressed her gratitude, though her eyes began to waver and her voice began to crack as though she was holding something in.

"Jeez, Rotty, are you gonna be alright?" the soldier asked as he read her nonverbal cues, laying a hand on the zombie maiden's shoulder as the trio stopped walking.

"Of course! Y-yeah, I-I'm fine," she assured with that same apparent smile, wiping the tears from her eyes before they had a chance to fall as she took a deep breath to regain her composure. However, it didn't take very long for Tay to notice that despite her jovial disposition, something seemed amiss. As such, his expression reflexively changed to one of utmost concern. "…Uh… W-why are you looking at me like that, stud muffin?" the young woman asked as she turned toward him. Rather than respond right away, Tay laid his other hand on Rotty's other shoulder.

"Rotty…"

"Y-yeah?"

"You can always tell me if something's botherin' you… You know that, right?"

"…Hm? B-but I haven't mentioned anything yet… How…?" she was about to ask before she witnessed Tayshan kneel in front of her with his hands still gently planted on her shoulders. Rotty's breath caught in her throat for a moment as her heart began to beat slightly heavier in her chest.

"It's… just a hunch, really. But, let me ask you again just t' be sure… Are you okay, homegirl?" he calmly reiterated his question, though the context of the situation triggered something within the zombie maiden as she gawked at him in complete shock. Something about this situation… Something about the way he was showing his concern for her… Something about the way he was addressing her as 'homegirl' and kneeling before her with this immensely worried look on his face… it seemed so familiar… as if they'd been in a similar spot before. Rottytops could only liken it to a vague glimpse of a dream she'd had in recent times, but nothing about those dreams felt real until this very moment… with him in this strangely alluring outfit, complete with the angel halo hovering over his head, wanting to make sure she wasn't hurting… And while she couldn't really recall what exactly was giving her this heartbreaking sense of déjà vu, Rotty found herself suddenly overcome with sadness as her uncertain smile quickly morphed into a mournful, quivering frown as she instinctively clasped her hands to Tayshan's face. Whatever it was that she appeared to be trying to hold in… she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"…No, I'm… I'm not okay… I missed you so much…!" Rotty eventually admitted through a pained whisper as she shook her head. Her cheeks grew wet with the tears that had begun to pour from her eyes like a waterfall. "Please don't leave me again…! Please…!" she begged him, suddenly wracked with sorrow as she quickly pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster.

"Gah…! Wh-whoa, it's alright… I ain't goin' nowhere just yet…" Tay tried to assure her, though he was stunned by just how suddenly Rotty's mood switched on him. Nevertheless, he understood that she was in terrible pain and accepted her embrace in full. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her just as tightly, allowing her the time she evidently needed. The sound of the zombie maiden's unexpected bout of despair-addled sobbing as she pressed her face into his shoulder, however, tore into his heart like a saw blade.

"We were completely miserable after we lost you, Tay…! We… I… I didn't know what to do…! And Shantae was absolutely distraught and I couldn't help her, and then she fell asleep for an entire week…! I felt so guilty…! I probably could've saved you if I had just one more Fake Brain on me, but I didn't…! I'm sorry for that…! And I'm sorry for treating you so poorly when we met…! And again, thank you for being there for us when we needed you…! I love you…!"

"…Uhh…" Tay droned in shock, getting no chance to process his grieving friend's numerous statements as she continued to hug him and cry into his shoulder.

"Rotty…!" Sky beckoned to her as she approached and patted the zombie maiden on the back. "Take a second to breathe, why don't you? We missed him, sure, but don't bombard him with every thought in your head all at once… You're… Y-you're gonna overwhelm him…" she tried to further chide, though she also choked up as she made her statement. Taken aback and bewildered as he continued trying to comfort Rottytops, Tay craned his head to see Sky… and noticed that she, too, had tears streaming from her eyes that she tried to wipe away. And the gut-wrenching remorse on her face as she momentarily exchanged glances with him while he was still hugging Rottytops… It was then that the saddened wraith got just enough of an idea to know just how much affliction his friends had been dealing with since his death that it became impossible not to consider. As such…

"Sky?" Tay called to her, never moving from his spot as he removed one arm from Rotty's back.

"Hm?" she hummed, sniffling as she tried to pull herself together.

"…Come here. I think… we all need a minute t' absorb this situation for what it is…" Tay suggested, reaching his free arm toward the falconer as he used his other arm to rub their mutual friend's back.

"…Yeah, that… that sounds like a good idea…" Sky tearfully agreed, taking the offer almost immediately as she approached the serviceman and allowed him to wrap his arm around her hips to draw her in for what had suddenly become an emotional group hug. Returning the affectionate favor, Sky wrapped one arm around Rotty's shoulders, prompting the zombie maiden to readjust to where she was also hugging Sky with one arm while hugging Tayshan with the other. Sky then wrapped her other arm around Tayshan's shoulders, where her fingers were met with his hair. In a surprise move, however, Sky leaned in while nudging the wraith's face toward her. And, before Tay could process what was happening… "Mm…" Sky morosely hummed, pressing her lips to his cheek as her heart pounded in her chest. Nervous about how he'd possibly react, however, she pulled away after a mere second, giving him the opportunity to look at her in surprise as she took a deep breath to calm her fluttering heart.

"Huh… wow…" was all Tay could think to say right after the fact as he and Sky locked eyes with one another. And yet again, all it took was one glance at the bird tamer to send a rush of… well, he couldn't quite identify it as he studied her tear-riddled face. He was flustered because she kissed him, sure, but… something about the way she was looking at him, in conjunction with the context of the group hug… it made him feel, for lack of a better description, responsible for her melancholy state. That realization alone made him think long and hard about impactful this entire ordeal was on all of them… individually AND as a group.

"S-sorry if I caught you off-guard, Tay… I-I probably shouldn't be-!" Sky was about to apologize before the wraith motioned to get back onto his feet. Sky and Rotty acknowledged the gesture and released him to allow him to stand. However, as the two young women exchanged glances with him, it became painfully apparent just by the look on his face how worried he was for them. Without saying anything right away, Tayshan approached Sky and Rottytops, an arm extended toward each of them. Needing no further prompt, the girls reengaged their comrade in yet another warm and inviting embrace as they each did their best to halt their tears.

"I'm… not sure how t' put this, so I'll just say it," Tay began, squeezing his friends tight as they wrapped their arms around his torso. "I can't appreciate y'all enough for the time we had together. An' while it wasn't always smooth, I can certainly assure y'all that I'm glad t' have even gotten the chance t' meet, much less get t' know y'all. And no matter what happens from here on, we'll move forward together, like I've been sayin'. We have to, or else we'll never get better…"

"I agree…" Sky replied, never letting the soldier go as she looked up at him once more. "But… this… all of this… is so… bittersweet… I mean, you died right in front of us after we just saved Sequin Land from Risky, and then Shantae basically fell into a fatigue-riddled coma for the following week while the rest of us were left to literally pick up the pieces…"

"And even then, we were so torn between waiting for Shantae to wake up and trying to figure everything out on our own, that… that it just felt like things were getting harder to deal with, no matter what we tried…" Rottytops also shared. "It was a total mess, through and through, because none of us knew where to even begin understanding what happened to you and why… And that wasn't made any easier by the fact that Shantae told us that you knew you were gonna die fighting Risky because of some psychic premonition you were given, but that you went in anyway to protect her and the rest of us…"

"Ah… I see… So, y'all know about that now, too…?" Tay asked, surprised that Rotty and Sky were made aware.

"Yeah…" Sky answered as the three of them remained pressed up against one another. "And… as much as I want to ask why you didn't tell us sooner, I… I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping it to yourself. I can't even imagine what it must've been like for you to be haunted with that knowledge…"

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell ya that much," Tay remarked as he rubbed each of the girls' backs with his hands. "I'm sure we'll be talkin' at length about that, among other things, when we get t' Mimic's lab, too. For now, though, I just wanna make sure you two are okay. I'm sorry for makin' you upset like this…"

"What? Tay-Tay, you have nothing to apologize for!" Rottytops quickly countered. "We're not upset because of you. We're glad you're even here! It's just… that this situation is so messed up, and we haven't even begun digging into how we're supposed to recover from it all. I mean, we were going to dedicate today to holding something of a private funeral for you as maybe a way to start the process like we mentioned earlier, but none of us figured out in the slightest what would've been appropriate… Of course, I'm questioning if it's necessary now, since you're back… at least, for the time being…"

"Uh-huh…" Tay acknowledged as best as he could, shaken a bit by the suggestion that his friends were going to give him a final send-off before they committed themselves to moving on. "…I mean… well, I'd never thought I'd be attendin' my own funeral, but I'm here t' offer my support to uh… help you cope… with your… loss, regardless o' whatever ceremony y'all decide on holdin'…?" he uncertainly remarked, shrugging a bit, which got Sky and Rottytops to laugh off some of the stress they were feeling.

"Ah, I suppose it would feel a little weird being invited to attend your own memorial service," Rotty joked as the three of them finally separated from one another. "Shoot, I wasn't even invited to my own funeral. Mind you, I'm not even sure if people had one for me, but you get the idea, right?"

"Ooh…" Sky droned in worry, the smile vanishing off her face as she cringed a bit at the morbidity of the zombie maiden's dark joke. Meanwhile, Tay chuckled in amusement.

"I do now," he laughingly remarked in agreement. "I ain't layin' in no casket, though. If anything, maybe we can just treat it like a birthday party. Or, I dunno… A death-day party, unless we sweep the reason we're celebratin' under the rug? That, or use it as the world's worst conversation starter…"

"Hah! Could you imagine how awkward that would be!?" Rotty boisterously proclaimed as she busted out laughing at the morbid idea. "Oh, I can see all the uncomfortable expressions on people's faces already. Or even better, what if we set it up like a funeral, but then you come strolling in with that halo over your head to tell everyone there you came back to haunt them?"

"That might be a little much," the undead soldier replied with another chuckle. "I mean, it sounds like a good prank on paper, but I wouldn't wanna turn everybody else int' ghosts from the massive amounts o' fear an' panic that would cause…"

"Jeez, you two!" Sky objected, trying to hide her smile under a shroud of stark disapproval. "I expected as much from Rotty, but you, Tay? I never imagined you of all people to be a prankster!"

"Eh, only sometimes," he admitted with a shrug. "An' even then, I haven't pulled a prank on anybody since I was a kid."

"Well, that's a relief…"

"Oh, don't be such a stick-in-the-mud, Sky," Rotty shot back. "Clearly, it takes true appreciation of being dead to get our super refined, sophisticated, and SUPER twisted humor. You wouldn't know, being the only one of us who's still alive."

"…Yikes, that's chilling…" the bird tamer remarked in dread.

"Speaking of which, Tay-Tay…" Rotty trailed off.

"What's runnin' through your head, Rotty?"

"Dark as this might sound, I'm glad you came back as a wraith," she confessed, much to his surprise.

"Glad? Why?" he cautiously inquired, not at all sure why the zombie girl would make such an assertion.

"Because now you and I can relate on what it's like to die and come back from the grave!" Rotty cheerfully informed him. "I'm not the only one in our group who's not technically alive anymore! You have no idea how lonely it felt…"

"Goodness, you sure do have a disturbin' way o' makin' these observations… That said, I'm… glad to oblige, though I can't say I'm gonna go ahead an' advertise the experience o' dyin' t' Sky here… or anybody, for that matter."

"Good, because the last thing I'd ever want to do is join a secret club where one of the stipulations is to DIE and then somehow be only partially resurrected. Seems like too much of a hassle," the bird tamer joked, lightening up just enough to draw some humor from her undead friends' banter.

"Don't knock it till ya try it, birdie~!" Rotty teased. "You might not have known this, but one of the perks of being undead is eternal youth since you basically become immortal! Not necessarily invincible, but immortal all the same! This unbelievably cute face and these utterly irresistible curves of mine are here to stay forever!"

"Fair point, but eternal youth was never a goal of mine. Too many drawbacks. I'll take growing up, living, growing old, and dying the regular way, thanks. I hope this doesn't sound insensitive, but I'm sure you'd agree, Tay-Tay…" Sky confidently stated, though he only managed to fluster Tayshan with her comment as he disapprovingly scowled at her.

"Aw man, now you're callin' me that, too?" he complained, his face turning as red as the bricks in Mimic's Workshop.

"Oops! That slipped out…" Sky laughingly tried to excuse herself, though she did a poor job of convincing him that she regretted it. "Sorry… It's just… such a fitting nickname for you. I hope I didn't make you too angry with me."

"…You know what? Fine," Tay conceded with an irritated sigh after a moment of gawking at the young blonde woman. "Everybody an' their mother wants t' call me that, an' I'm now realizin' that that's a battle I can no longer win… First, my old friend Kassandra, then Twitch, then Risky Boots of all people, then Rottytops, then Shantae… and now you, Sky."

"Goodness, you make it seem like some sort of infection that spread more rapidly than you could've expected it to," Sky remarked with a lighthearted chuckle.

"That's because it is," he flatly remarked, making both young ladies laugh at his nickname-related pain. "Also, I don't suppose I'd disagree with you if I was still alive."

"You don't have to lie to make her feel better about being alive, Tay-Tay," Rotty joked as she nudged him with her elbow.

"And you don't have to feel pressured to agree with her to make her feel special about being undead," Sky shot back, indirectly challenging Rottytops to a game of idea-based Tug-of-War with Tay-Tay as the rope.

"Oh, boy… it sure did get dark out here…" Tay murmured as he pretended to look around, much to Sky's and Rotty's confusion.

"Dark? What do you mean?" Sky asked in wonder.

"Yeah, it's just past noon. How could it possibly be getting dark?" Rotty added in equal bewilderment.

"I mean with all this shade you two are throwin' at each other," the undead serviceman remarked with a chuckle, causing both of them to perk up in realization. "Any more, an' you two are gonna make it feel like nighttime out here."

"Aaaahhhh, that was clever! I'll give you that!" Rotty remarked as she and Sky let out respective giggles at his remark.

"Glad to have your approval, because it took me TONS o' brain cells t' think it up," he further sarcastically remarked with another chortle that his comrades shared. "Now, are we ready t' go t' Mimic's place? I'm sure they're waitin' for us."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Sky agreed as the three of them finally continued their trek to the Relic Hunter's abode. "I'm sure Shantae's probably wondering where the heck we're at and why we're taking so long."

"Right behind you guys," Rotty further concurred as the trio refocused and continued their trip to Mimic's Workshop...

Meanwhile…

LOCATION: MIMIC'S WORKSHOP, SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

DATE: OCTOBER 9TH, 16 P.G.F.

TIME: 1311 HOURS

"Professor Mimic, I'm pretty sure at this point that we're not gonna find her in here," a certain blue-haired young man informed his elderly mentor as they continuously scoured the messy laboratory up and down in search of a certain someone else. "We're just shy of turning this place upside-down, and we haven't found anything but a bunch of your forgotten science projects."

"You never know, Bolo. She could turn up at any minute! For all we know, she could magically appear right in front of us!" Mimic replied, his determination holding strong as he could be heard rummaging through miscellaneous objects within the cellar of the workshop. Meanwhile, Bolo wearily climbed out of the basement as he brushed the cobwebs and dust bunnies off his clothes and breathed a heavy sigh.

"Well in that case, I hope you don't mind if I take a quick breather before that happens," he informed, wiping sweat off his cheek and fanning himself. Yet, just as he was about to head toward the nearby counter to get a drink of water, a sudden, smoky *POOF* sounded out from behind him. "Whah! Who's there!?" the fledgling warrior demanded to know as he whirled around and struck a battle pose. However, he immediately dropped his stance when he spotted the intruder; an adorable and curvy, yet familiar young woman… with mocha-colored skin… bright blue eyes… and silky lavender hair tied into the world's longest ponytail… and she was dressed in a midriff-baring ebony belly dance costume that, minus the long sleeves, looked entirely like something his best friend would wear. The fancy outfit was replete with gold earrings, gold bracelets, a gold tiara, and even a gold hair tie… and a pair of silver dog tags hanging around her neck over the indigo choker she was wearing? If none of that was a dead giveaway as to who this woman was, then…

"Hi, Bolo!" the woman happily greeted him with a wave and a cheerful, toothy grin after having appeared out of literally nowhere. It was then that he knew who she was…

"SHANTAE!" the astonished young man bellowed in complete surprise as he sprinted toward the smiling half-genie. With little to no warning, the young man excitedly ensnared Shantae into one of the tightest hugs she'd ever been subjected to.

"Gah! Hahhah, good to see you as well, bro…!" Shantae managed to eke out as Bolo practically squeezed the air out of her lungs. Nevertheless, she managed to return Bolo's hug with one of her own as she ruffled his hair with a hand.

"We've been looking all over for you! Where the heck did you run off to!?" Bolo asked, not letting up on his hug as he and the young woman continued to embrace one another.

"I uh… had to run an errand or two, but I didn't get a chance to let anybody know…" she coyly replied as she continued to chuckle in delight at how momentous her reunion with her little brother was.

"What? You found her!? Dear me, is she really up there!?" Mimic could be heard howling from within the basement as he rushed to climb the stairwell leading down into it. Lo and behold, Shantae's surrogate father emerged from the confines of the crawlspace covered in cobwebs and splotches of dust to see her tightly hugging Bolo in the middle of the workshop. "Oh, it really is you! My word, cupcake, where have you been!? You had us worried sick!"

"I know, and I'm sorry for getting you guys all out-of-sorts about me," Shantae laughingly apologized as she and Bolo separated from their friendly embrace, after which the retired Relic Hunter approached.

"As long as we know you're alive and unhurt, all is well," he forgave, breathing a sigh of relief. "We weren't sure if something happened to you, since we couldn't find you anywhere in town, much less in here. We thought you might've wandered into the basement again, we were so stumped."

"My bad, Uncle Mimic," Shantae apologized again, chuckling a bit more as she imagined how stressed out he may have been. "I'll do better to make sure you know first and foremost the next time I disappear in the middle of the night."

"Ah, so it WAS the case that you sprung awake this morning?"

"Yep! The sun wasn't even out yet when I tumbled out of bed," Shantae explained. "I got myself cleaned up and um… Well, let's just say that I had a really important task to complete from the second I got out of bed…"

"What important task?" Bolo questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't tell me that you have to embark on yet ANOTHER adventure," Mimic guessed with a sigh of vicarious exhaustion. "You've been through enough as it is, and you only recently awakened from the coma you were in. Can't you simply tell the next bad guy that they'll have to take a rain check?"

"No, no, don't be silly, Uncle!" Shantae denied with another humorous chortle, that smile never leaving her face. "There wasn't another villain to fight this time around like there usually would be."

"Indeed, though I'm surprised to see you're in such good spirits," he observed, seeing none of the absolute grief that was plastered across her face from days previous.

"Yeah, what gives? Are you okay, sis?" Bolo asked, equally as concerned for the young woman's wellbeing as her legal guardian was.

"Trust me, guys, I'm totally fine!" she excitedly informed them, that jovial grin never fading. "Although, I say this after I realized sometime after I woke up that I'd been out cold for a week."

"Ah, so you're aware that today's the 9th and not the 4th?" Mimic asked her, wanting to make sure she was oriented to time.

"Yep. I saw it on my calendar when I went home earlier this morning to complete that task," she revealed, bashfully rubbing the back of her head. "I uh… didn't know that completely draining my magic would do that to me, but I'm back at 100% for sure now!"

"Ah, so you did wind up going back to the lighthouse," Bolo assumed. "I figured we should've looked there first…"

"Yeah. And… well… I suppose you'll find out when the others get here…" she cryptically remarked as her grin grew wider.

"Who? Sky and Rotty?"

"Yep! And… someone else who I'm sure would love to see you again…"

"And who might that be?" Mimic asked in wonder.

"You'll find out in a bit~! I asked them to meet me here after we ran a certain errand, but they must've gotten caught up with something," Shantae explained. "I figured they'd have gotten here before me."

"Speaking of which, did the two of them happen to run into you at the lighthouse?" Bolo inquired.

"Yeah, they found me there," Shantae confirmed with a nod. "I was getting ready to come back here before they came by. But, like I said, they're gonna-!" she was about to further assert when the front door of the laboratory opened with a *click* to reveal the bird tamer and zombie maiden in question, both of whom were wearing equally excited smiles on their faces. "Ah! That's them right now! Perfect timing!" she giddily announced, tensing up with such excitement that it almost seemed like she was going to explode from it as her breath caught in her throat.

"Honey, we're hooooome~!" Rottytops sang with a most melodic inflection in her tone as she sauntered in and immediately approached Shantae for a quick hug that the half-genie returned without an issue.

"Long time no see, girls!" Shantae casually greeted as she and Rotty separated from their embrace. "I was just mentioning that you two were coming back."

"Sorry we took so long," Sky added as she strolled in, stopping to hold the door open. "We uh… had to take a bit of a break to get our thoughts together before we returned," she further explained as she turned her attention toward a third visitor. "Alright, come on in. No need to be nervous, hon," the bird tamer addressed. And, within seconds of her offering her encouragement, a certain halo-bearing, black-and-gold adorned man with long ebony hair tied into a puffy ponytail and scars littered across his face and body came sheepishly strolling in. And to say that the collective shock on Bolo's and Mimic's faces was mind-blowing would've been a MASSIVE understatement as their jaws hit the floor hard enough to cause a fissure deep enough to swallow half of Scuttle Town.

"Uh… H-hey, y'all…" the man spoke, evidently uncertain of what to expect as he shifted his gaze between Mimic and Bolo. In return, they merely gawked at him.

"…My word…! Uh… Wh… Wha… How… Hwa…" Mimic stammered as his eyes nearly burst from behind his glasses at the sight of the guest in question.

"T…T-T-T-T… T-T-T-T-T…" Bolo stammered in complete astonishment, pointing at the other young man as he tried and failed repeatedly to say his name out of complete disbelief.

"Surpriiiiise~!" Shantae sang, absolutely loving just how dumbfounded her friend and her uncle were at the sight of the man in question. "I hope he looks familiar enough to you outside of this fancy new outfit he's wearing!"

"T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T…" Bolo continued to stutter, unable to sound out whatever it is he was trying to say as he pointed at the man and gawked at him with the most bewildered of faces. If anything, it seemed like Bolo had seen a ghost… wink, wink…

"Gosh, I didn't think the sight of him would deep fry your brains to the point where you lost the ability to speak!" Rottytops joked, letting out a hearty giggle as she and the other girls watched the moderately awkward scene play out in front of them.

"At this point, I'm starting to wonder if they even know who it is they're looking at…" Sky added, sharing in the humor as she also chuckled a bit.

"…Um… So, I don't know if you recognize me or what, but uh… it's me. T-!" the nervous and TOTALLY mysterious halo man was about to introduce himself.

"…Tayshan…!" Mimic finally addressed the man by name as he approached, though he found himself stricken speechless (and nearly breathless) by his appearance.

"Ah, so you do remember me. Also, in the flesh…" Tay bashfully murmured as he took in Bolo's and Mimic's collective befuddlement, much to the humor of Shantae, Sky, and Rottytops as they continued to laughingly watch on.

"B-but… How…?" Bolo asked as he also approached. "You… you were dead…! We… we saw you die…!"

"Well… take this as you will, but…" Tay trailed off, pointing a finger toward the sparkling ring floating over his head. "I am dead. Or, as I made sense of it, I became a wraith in our time apart."

"…Good golly almighty…!" Mimic exhaled in shock once again.

"What…!? A-A wraith?" Bolo asked in a mixture of intrigue and fright. "S-so, you're… you're UNdead?"

"Yyyyyyep," the wraith in question confirmed with a nod. "I don't mean t' scare you though, homie. I come in peace," he added, filled to the brim with uncertainty about how this conversation was going to go… that is, until Mimic extended a hand toward him. "Hm?"

"Tayshan…" Mimic calmly addressed the undead soldier, much to his surprise. Not one to be rude, however, Tay got over his apprehension just enough to grasp the Relic Hunter's hand with one of his own.

"Yes, sir?"

"…This… may be a bit sudden, but I'll be frank and say that I never thought I'd get the chance to see you again after I'd heard that you lost your life…" Mimic confessed, shifting the tone of the conversation almost immediately as the girls' smiles faded from their faces. "And… well, I'm… I'm deeply, terribly sorry for what happened to you…"

"Oh? Uh, n-no, that's alright. You don't have a thing to apologize for," Tay tried to reassure, his heart rate skyrocketing as Mimic continued to hold his hand in place. "Um… I mean, it was… a rough situation, but there's no lookin' back now. I did what I had t' do to… uh…"

"My boy, there is no need for you to explain," Mimic assured him, looking the soldier directly in his golden eyes.

"…Uh…"

"You… you fought valiantly to keep Sequin Land safe from harm. It… may not be my place to say this, but I couldn't be prouder of you. You bravely challenged the forces of evil alongside this wonderful group and gave it all you had to contribute to the cause. And… you… you gave up everything to protect my niece when her life was in danger… and I'd be a fool not to acknowledge just how much courage and dedication it must've taken you to press on like you did, even when you were almost certain the outcome wouldn't be favorable for you."

"Uncle…" Shantae called to him, growing worried as Mimic continued to emotionally address Tayshan.

"Oh. I-I see… So, you were told about the uh…?"

"The ominous premonition that you were given? Yes, I was," the Relic Hunter confirmed with a nod, still not letting go of the soldier's hand. "And it's for that same reason that I sincerely commend you and personally thank you for everything you've done for Shantae since the two of you met. I was devastated when I heard you had been killed by that miserable Risky Boots for simply protecting Shantae, and it astounds me to get the chance to see you again after the fact…"

"G-got it… um…" Tay stammered, not at all sure how to respond in such an intense and heavily pressured moment. "W-well, I appreciate you for that, Mr. Mimic. Uh… and, I mean… I'm just glad all o' y'all are safe. That was my ultimate goal, after all. Whether it meant I'd have forever remained in Sequin Land or gone back t' my old world, I just wanted t' help protect this place, an' especially the people who welcomed me here, in any way I could."

"Indeed… and, for what it's worth, son, you have our eternal gratitude, and… and we will always be indebted to you…" Mimic continued to praise, though he seemed to struggle to utter his words as he choked up. Astonished as Tayshan was, however, nothing shocked him more than the sight of the Relic Hunter frowning with dismay as a tear rolled down from behind the lens of his goggles. It shook the young man to his very core to see.

"…Huh… Uh…" the soldier barely uttered as he tried to think of something to reply with. However, as he continued to look directly at Mimic, the elderly scientist made his next move. Letting go of Tay, Mimic took a deep, wavering breath as he clutched his chest with one hand to calm himself down.

"My apologies… I uh… This is just… a lot to take in after the week we've had. Please, make yourself at home," Mimic offered, stepping to the side and gesturing for Tay to get comfortable in his abode. "I'll… need a moment to process the unexpected visit."

"Ah… I understand. Thank you," Tay noddingly responded in acknowledgement as he took the moment to gather at least some of his thoughts. However, his train of thought would be lost once again as his gaze shifted toward a stunned Bolo. "Uh… What's up, man?" Tay uncertainly asked as he walked over to Bolo with his fist extended to him for a fist bump. "It's uh… It's been a while…" Bolo remained speechless for what felt like hours as he found himself incapable of registering a thought in that moment. He hadn't even lifted his arm to accept the offer for the fist bump.

"…Well, aren't you gonna say something to him, Bolo?" Rotty asked, startling the younger man out of his flabbergasted stupor as he turned and glanced at her to see that she, as well as the other girls, was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Gathering just enough of an understanding from the girls' gazes, Bolo turned back to Tayshan… who'd also been staring at him with a raised eyebrow as he continued to hold his fist out.

"…Uh… S-sorry, I… I'm just… still trying to take this in," the bewildered handyman admitted as he finally bumped fists with the taller man. "Uh… I-I mean, I'm beyond happy to see you again, dude. Believe me… but… I-I can't even fathom it…!"

"I know how you feel, bro," Tay remarked with a disarming chuckle as the girls approached them and formed a circle alongside their male counterparts. "This has been a really, REALLY unusual experience, as far as I can see. And we'd probably be here all day if I tried t' explain it all in one go."

"Well, all things considered, we'll probably need you to do just that," Bolo assured with a shake of his head as he kept his eyes locked on Tay… specifically, the halo he'd been 'wearing.' "How in the heck did you get back here?" he asked, though he turned toward Shantae before he allowed Tayshan any time to answer. "Did… did you rescue him from somewhere?" he asked the half-genie.

"No," Shantae plainly answered with a grin, still absorbing her friend's shock for herself. "How could I, when I was knocked out from the end of our adventure until just a couple hours ago?"

"Oh. T-true…" Bolo pensively murmured, searching his own mind for possibilities.

"T' save you the trouble, I'll start by lettin' you know that I was… in a sense, granted a chance t' spend some time with y'all," Tay clarified, though Bolo only found himself more confused. Meanwhile, Mimic joined the circle after overhearing just enough that his interest was piqued. "I wasn't playin' when I said it just might take me all day t' explain."

"I see. Well, what should we expect to learn from being enlightened by your tale of your return to the world of the living, lad?" Mimic asked, his focus geared entirely toward the undead soldier.

"A few things…" Tay began, rubbing his chin with a hand to try and nutshell it. "I already got the chance t' tell Shantae everything when she found me inside the Magic Lamp I was stuck in outside her house, but-!"

"Wait, WHAT!?" Sky, Rotty, and Bolo bellowed all at once, much to Shantae's amusement as she giggled at their collective surprise.

"You didn't tell us that part!" Sky exclaimed, her eyes wider than satellites. "A MAGIC LAMP!? I thought there were none of those left after the whole Pirate Master ordeal!"

"Well, as I learned, there was one more hidden away somewhere… with an emphasis on 'was…'" Tay cryptically replied.

"And what do you mean by that?" Rotty questioned, her mind already spinning with questions related to genies.

"That when I found the lamp and rubbed it to release him, he came bursting out of it like a scene straight from the Pocket Beasts series instead of simply being ejected from the spout," Shantae humorously explained, drawing everyone's attention to her. "He completely shattered the lamp when he broke free, all dressed up in this fancy genie outfit, just to see us again."

"Goodness, we could probably make our own manga series out of all the wacky stuff that's been happening to us recently…" Bolo remarked with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "Just when you think you've seen and heard it all…"

"I know, right!?" Shantae excitedly agreed, just about ready to start nerd-gushing something fierce. "It's especially funny because we talked about making a comic out of our adventures just last night! You gotta admit, it'd probably be a bestseller."

"Heh, I'd certainly pick it up and read it… as long as it captured my unrivaled coolness, of course," the handyman agreed with a smirking shrug.

"So, wait… Does… Does that mean you're a GENIE now, Tay-Tay!?" the zombie maiden asked. And judging by the inquisitive expressions on the faces of the bird tamer, the handyman, and even the retired Relic Hunter, both Shantae and Tayshan knew they had some 'splaining to do.

"Not… in a conventional sense, I guess…?" Tay uncertainly remarked with a chuckling shrug and inadvertent grin. "I mean, aside from other bizarre contexts, I'm only a 'genie' in the sense that I was released from that lamp by Shantae. Mind you, that was after someone else jammed me in there and dragged me all the way from limbo t' plant me at her doorstep. And… uh…" he stammered, gulping hard as he glanced at Mimic before turning his gaze toward Shantae. "I-I'm only a 'genie' in the sense that uh… I was able t' grant a very important wish by comin' back here t' make a certain someone happy…" At that, the half-genie felt the air get thinner as she took a shaky breath and turned her head away to try and hide her blush. Meanwhile, Sky and Rottytops gasped in wonder and shock.

"So, what are you saying, stud muffin? That you actually HEARD Shantae's wish for you to come back when she made it that day?" Rotty was compelled to ask as she tuned all the way in.

"Yes, but uh… Th-that's not the uh… not the main point I wanted t' ma-!"

"Oh, my gosh…" Sky remarked with an exhale of what appeared to be amazement. "That… that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard…!" she further blurted out, tucking her arms into her chest as she shifted her gaze between a suddenly terrified Tayshan and an utterly horrified Shantae.

"Sky, no…!" Rotty chided as she rushed over and pulled the bird tamer to the side. "You're gonna blow it for them, saying things like that…!"

"…Oops…" the guilty young blonde murmured, soon after which she and the undead young woman nervously cast their gaze toward the genie/wraith duo on the hot seat.

"Gah! Uh, I-I mean, I guess, but like uh… I-it was uh… It was…" Tayshan tried and failed to come up with an explanation as his eyes darted around the laboratory. However, he couldn't help but keep looking toward a scrutinizing Mimic, who'd been eyeing him and Shantae up and down.

"I-it wasn't the only reason he came back!" Shantae hurriedly tried to save him, stepping in and blushingly flailing her arms in front of herself. "Th-there's plenty of other details behind it, too! Like uh… Adventures, and… and amnesia, and even an epic Boss Battle and… and other cool things! It uh… uh… um…" she stalled, quickly running out of subtopics to rattle off as she also couldn't help but frightfully gaze at her surrogate parent. Of course, he was suspiciously eyeing her up and down much the same as he had Tayshan. At that, Shantae caved in. "…S-sorry, Uncle… um… so, we may have something to tell you…" she began, bowing her head as she twirled her finger through her ponytail.

"Oh? And what might that be, dearie?" Mimic inquisitively asked, though he seemed… none too happy with what he was expecting to hear.

"…Uuhhhh…" Shantae hummed in stark nervousness, glancing at Tay, who'd glanced right back at her.

"…S-so, Shantae an' I… we… um…" Tayshan tried his hand at explaining, though he froze up just as she did as he began to sweat bullets.

"Way to go, Squawks…! You totally ratted them out with your squawking!" Rotty accused while addressing her by a particularly sour nickname, appalling Sky in the process.

"No, I didn't!" Sky defensively shot back. "And don't call me that! I only said that the whole 'coming back to grant a genie's wish' thing was romantic! I didn't say anything about the two of them becoming a couple beforehand!" she further shouted, doing favors for absolutely NO ONE as Shantae, Tayshan, Mimic, and Rottytops all focused their gaze on the flustered bird tamer. Bolo, in case you were wondering, was busy trying to hide his amusement at the embarrassed expressions of the genie and the wraith. In that same moment, Sky realized she'd said too much. "…Oh, boy…"

"…Thank you for the grand reveal, Sky. I was definitely looking for your help there," Shantae flatly remarked with a tinge of mild agitation as she shot a deadpan expression at her older sister.

"Yeah, egghead. Way to spoil the surprise," Rottytops further jeered, though she took the opportunity to laugh at Sky's mistake. "Remind us all not to tell you about any special birthday arrangements for the foreseeable future…"

"D'oh, shut up, Rotty…" Sky irritably requested, crossing her arms and pouting as she cut her eyes elsewhere.

"So, this is happenin' now…" Tay remarked as he rubbed his forehead with a hand and sighed in extreme nervousness. Nevertheless, he (just barely) built up the courage to turn to Mimic, who'd still been staring him and Shantae down as though he was expecting an explanation. "Um… S-so, Mr. Mimic, sir… um… I… uh…"

"You needn't say anything on the matter, son. I've known for quite some time that you and my niece are dating," Mimic nonchalantly revealed, very much to Tayshan's surprise as he nearly jumped with enough force to fly into space in a matter of milliseconds.

"Wh-what!?"

"You did!?" Shantae chimed in, equally as astonished.

"Of course I have, sweetheart! You mentioned it yourself that you were in love with him, did you not?" he reminded her, though it only further befuddled Tayshan as he went stone silent with his eyes wide.

"…Oh, yeah, I DID mention that the other day…" the half-genie remembered, though it did nothing to calm her nerves.

"Indeed. And, barring all the unsavory rumors that have floated about Scuttle Town, I've seen many changes in your demeanor that indicated that you found someone you truly connected to."

"What!? What changes!?" Shantae demanded to know, only growing more flustered. "And how differently was I acting for you to figure out I had a crush on Tayshan without me telling you?"

"That is a secret you must never find out, cupcake," Mimic teased as he raised a finger in the air. Evidently, he had a trick or two up his sleeve. "Let's just chalk it up to me knowing my wonderful child in more ways that she may care to acknowledge… no matter how imperceptive you think I may be."

"No fair, Uncle! You've gotta tell me how you figured it out!"

"No can do, Shantae. No can do," Mimic humorously refused. "Regardless, you two have my approval," he permitted, stunning everyone in the laboratory. "At this stage in your life, it was entirely inevitable that you'd begin longing for intimacy and companionship that evolved in a different way than your bonds with your friends. And… well, I find myself entirely relieved to know that Tayshan was your choice in relationship partner."

"R-really?"

"Indeed. He's shown an astounding level of dedication to and unconditional love for you that I'd be crazy not to have acknowledged by now. Additionally, what other guy is going to fight the forces of evil alongside you and your crew, sacrifice his life for you, and then emerge from the eternal waiting room that is purgatory just to be with you? The bar has certainly been set by now!"

"…Not a bad point, I guess…" Shantae conceded with a careful nod. "Though that's still a pretty high bar, Uncle… I now wonder what you would've said if he didn't die and come back…"

"It hardly matters, because he's managed to meet the exact prerequisites to becoming your beloved boyfriend with my blessing. So, you're okay this time…"

"…Uh, I'm… I'm right here," Tayshan hesitantly reminded the elderly scientist, feeling just a tiny bit (read: HEAVILY) embarrassed by this most eccentric exchange.

"As for you, sir," Mimic immediately addressed Tayshan, much to his and Shantae's continued surprise. "I'd like to kindly request that, if you plan on marrying my niece, you continue to do everything in your power to protect her, cherish her, and keep the smile on her adorable little face as bright and jubilant as it always has been… if not more. As far as I understand, you are already 'soulmates,' so it seems inevitable to me."

"WHAT!?" Tay remarked in such shock that one would've thought he grabbed a downed wire with his bare hand. "M-m-m-m-marrying her!?"

"UNCLE, NO! WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT GETTING MARRIED RIGHT NOW! SOUL-LINK OR NOT, WE ONLY JUST STARTED DATING!" Shantae further shouted, her face becoming so red that one could've mistaken her for a fire truck. At that, Rottytops burst into a paroxysm of laughter at her friends' collective embarrassment. Sky, while still feeling a tad guilty for contributing to such a highly pressured discussion, found it in herself to chuckle a bit at the disarming sight of a flustered Shantae and an equally flustered Tayshan revealing their relationship to Mimic. Bolo, though just a bit confused as to what was happening around him, stopped laughing long enough to find some odd sense of relief in seeing everyone in such good spirits after the week of stress, misery, and hardship they'd been dealing with. To him, it was like they were celebrating peace and tranquility like they were supposed to a week prior.

"Not yet, huh? Well, I suppose we'll tackle that topic a little farther down the line," Mimic dismissed with a jovial chuckle. "For now, I shall simply relish the fact that you found someone to call your own, Shantae. And as for you, Tayshan, I'm positive that the love between you and my niece will continue to flourish beautifully and endlessly. Thank you for making her happy."

"Ahh… heh, of… o-of course, sir," Tay accepted, though the suggestion made his heart sink. Not because he didn't feel confident that he could continue to make Shantae the happiest girl on the planet, no. He was… painfully reminded of how little time he actually had to spend with them, as far as fate appeared to be concerned. He glanced around the room to seem the smiling faces of his comrades as they carried on within the workshop and realized just how much he appreciated everyone in that room… especially his half-genie lover, for whom his heart thumped in his chest like rolling thunder at just the sight of her beautiful face as she conversed with her uncle a bit more. And yet, when he factored in the one-year time limit… it made him nervous… nervous enough that his hands had begun to tremble a bit, though no one seemed to notice as far as he was aware. Yet still, his thoughts began to wander in a direction he didn't necessarily want to go in, but that he knew was unavoidable as he cast his gaze toward the shelf-laden wall on the far side of the Relic Hunter's home. He'd almost gone into a trance, he seemed so preoccupied. Before too long, however, he was shaken out of his train of thought by the sensation of Shantae's hand slipping into his. "O-oh! H-hey," he managed to utter as he turned and took in the worried expression of the young genie woman.

"You okay, honey? You… seemed to be a bit lost in thought there," Shantae asked, squeezing his hand tight with one of her own as she locked eyes with him.

"Y-yeah, I was. I'm just… thinkin' about how this is all gonna play out, y'know…?"

"…With how long you have, you mean?" she preemptively asked just barely above a whisper, her own heart beginning to pound as a small knot formed in her throat.

"Yes…" he nervously admitted. "I mean… There's so much t' look forward to… and yet, I'm haunted by the possibility that I may not be here long enough t' actually enjoy it…"

"I thought as much… but we'll figure this out together," she assured him with as confident a grin as she could muster. "When there's a will, there's a way. And as long as we stay hopeful and stay determined, we can find a solution to this Soul-Link time limit deal. And… you won't have to disappear."

"…Disappear…?" Bolo murmured in quiet shock, having overheard just enough of the conversation between Shantae and Tayshan to pick up that their reunion may not have been as sweet as they were hoping. Rather than jump in on the discussion, however, he chose to remain silent as he studied the two of them from the side.

"For now, though, we'd probably be better off just appreciating that you're here with us against the odds," the half-genie advised her ghostly lover.

"Right. You're… You're absolutely right," the uncertain serviceman agreed, sighing out a heat wave of pressure as he held her hand firm. "Thank you, Shae…"

"Always, Tay. Always…" the half-genie assured him once again, letting go of his hand and moving in for a hug. Finding no issue with it, Tay affectionately slung an arm over Shae's shoulders and pulled her close. In return, she wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed tightly.

"Oh! And before I forget, I have one more thing to tell you two…" Mimic announced, snapping the two of them to attention as they separated.

"Yes, Uncle?" Shantae asked, wondering what he'd have to say next.

"You're both grounded," he suddenly swung the metaphorical hammer down with utmost seriousness, completely blowing the couple away.

"Grounded!?" Shae and Tay both remarked in such dismay that you'd think they were hit with a citation for a crime… which, we're gonna be finding out about in a second.

"What for!?" Shantae asked, highly upset by such awful, terrible, no-good news.

"Tayshan, because he went and captured your heart without my permission!" the scientist accused.

"Hold up, what? I'm gettin' in trouble because she likes me?" he incredulously asked, uncertain of if Mimic was joking or if he was being serious. However, judging by the lack of a smile on the Relic Hunter's bearded face, in conjunction with his furrowed brow…

"Yes," Mimic bluntly retorted. "You, sir, have crossed a very big line by causing my little girl to become so enamored with you."

"Oh, well that's fair…" Tay flatly remarked. "Also, take this as you will, but I think I'm just a liiiiittle bit outside o' the age range t' be grounded."

"That so? How old are you, then?"

"I am… or rather, I was nineteen before I died," Tay revealed, choosing his words carefully. "Either way, sir, an' with all due respect, I don't think I can be grounded."

"Yeah, well you might be old enough to be emancipated, but you're still not old enough to do everything an adult can do without a consenting elder, if at all," Mimic shot back, putting Tay in his place as the soldier gawked at him. "Undead or alive, you're still a child in my book until you're at least old enough to truly enjoy the freedoms of adulthood uninhibited by countrywide legal limitations… which, by the way, is no lower than the age of twenty-four, as far as Sequin Land is concerned."

"What? But… I… aw…" Tay stammered with a deflated sigh, realizing from Mimic's lecture that simply being a certain age didn't necessarily make him an adult.

"Twenty-four, eh? Huh… and here, I thought eighteen was the magic number…" Sky curiously murmured in wonder. "Darn. I suppose I've gotta refresh myself on what I'm allowed to do between my eighteenth birthday and my twenty-fourth…"

"You hardly have any more rights as a citizen of Sequin Land than Shantae does at age sixteen. And as long as you two fall under that jurisdiction, you're both perfectly capable of being grounded by me."

"…Uh-huh…" Tay barely found it in himself to acknowledge, stunned beyond belief by the fact that he was being put on punishment by a parent that wasn't even his. "Some logic there…"

"Yes, it's entirely impeccable, I know," Mimic proudly declared. "Regardless, you made Shantae fall in love with you, and that is a transgression I cannot allow to slide. Your punishment is to take responsibility for that, young man," Mimic scolded, much to Tay's continued confusion. "If you don't, I'll turn you into melted sherbet."

"…Ah, there it is…" he mumbled with a healthy, albeit horrified chuckle as he was hit with a case of nostalgia surrounding a certain conversation he had with Shantae about such a ludicrous possibility. "I knew that hunch would be right… Huh… whelp, I suppose I've had harsher 'punishments,' but I guess the pressure's on t' keep Shantae happy now…"

"Good. And you'd better believe I'm just as much a man of my word as you are," Mimic further asserted.

"Hey!" Shantae called out, unappreciative of the terms of this 'punishment.' "That isn't fair! He didn't do anything wrong! I—!"

"And as for you, young lady, I told you no dating until you were twenty! Last I checked…" Mimic trailed off, looking at the calendar hung up on the wall before turning back to Shantae. "…You were about three-and-one-quarter years shy of that margin. And for that matter, Tayshan is also under the age of twenty. You both broke that rule."

"Aw, come on! That's not fair either!" she vociferously complained. "I can't help that Tay and I fell in love with each other! You can't account for things like that! Besides, it's perfectly legal to have a full-fledged relationship at sixteen, when they consider you an adult where it counts! And in case you're gonna mention it, Uncle, Tay's only two-and-a-half years older than me! We're not breaking any laws here! Why would I have to wait an extra four years to start dating, anyway!?"

"Because of many things, not limited to your status as guardian genie, the amount of unwanted attention you draw from people of all shapes and sizes simply by being in public with your gorgeous looks, professions, unprecedented powers, and reputation, as well as for the absolute certainty that you would have gained enough experience by TWENTY, NOT SIXTEEN-AND-THREE-QUARTERS, that you would know exactly what to look for in a potential partner other than if they appeal to you in a physical sense. I refuse to condone you dating just based off looks. I should be relieved that you two are close enough in age range, but that will do nothing to change my stance."

"Well, I think you should cut me a little slack. I'm not as naïve as I apparently look, and I've never been oblivious to how people perceive me despite popular belief. Trust me, I've been hit on, flirted with, and… 'propositioned' in many different ways and by many different people since I became a hero. I've heard more about what people want from me than I care to even acknowledge. And until I met Tay, I was committed to staying single and figuring myself out, I assure you. We just happened to really like each other in more ways than we thought we would, which led to us coming together the natural way. Also, I'm not dating Tayshan just because he's a really cute guy, if that makes you feel any better," Shantae argued, unintentionally flustering her boyfriend in the process as he breathed a heavy sigh and pouted. "You know at least some of what we've been through together, and he and I already talked at length about how we'd be building upon our relationship from here. And to be frank, Uncle, we've got a much better grasp on it than you might have expected. We've made plans at least into the middle of next year that I think are rock solid for us."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep," Tay answered, vouching for his romantic companion as he shook off some of his nervousness to speak up. "It ain't gonna be just sunshine, hugs, an' kisses. We talked a bunch about how certain we were that we liked each other because we simply enjoy each other's company an' see ourselves together in the future, an' not just because we're attracted to each other or just because we got caught up in the rush o' the adventures we went on. We both know how easy it is t' be enticed by the heat o' the moment without thinkin' about the consequences in the long term by now, an' we've been able t' spend a LOT o' time just hangin' out an' bondin' with each other as friends before we decided t' turn it romantic. And t' be real, I… well, it took me a long time t' realize it, but… Shantae completes me."

"Exactly," Shantae proudly agreed. "We've had more than enough time to build our connection, have our disagreements and petty arguments, reconcile, and come together through everything that happened to us since this last adventure began that our bond is indestructible. Evidently, not even DEATH could keep us apart for long. I mean yeah, there's this whole Soul-Link thing, but my point still stands that he died and then came back from limbo for me, which you already acknowledged, Uncle. If that isn't total commitment at its core, I don't know what is."

"…Oof, that's a heavy one t' bring up so casually…" Tay murmured to himself, reeling back in shock as he also saw Mimic flinch with an equal amount of astonishment.

"And borrowing what he said, Tayshan completes me, too. We're 100% in sync, so there's nothing to worry about," Shantae confidently concluded.

"Okay, fine. So, you two find yourselves compatible with each other, and you've been through a lot of hardship that led you where you are now," Mimic begrudgingly acknowledged, though he remained skeptical. "But you know, a functional long-term relationship requires far more than just the two of you getting along and overcoming a few obstacles on your adventures. And even just 'hanging out' and 'bonding' a bunch isn't enough to truly know if this arrangement of yours would work in the long run. Anyone can do that. You've gotta have relationship goals! Big ones, at that!"

"You're absolutely right, sir," Tay agreed. "That's why we planned on doin' a few things t' build on the stability of our relationship over time, so that we know for sure that we're truly meant for each other."

"Such as…?"

"Me obtainin' citizenship in Sequin Land an' findin' a steady line o' work outside of adventures despite the fact that we came int' all that money from the Sheared Spool Shrine, us regulatin' our finances an' settin' up bank accounts t' possibly start makin' some long-term investments, applyin' for health insurance, plannin' out potential trips for vacations over the summer, an' even continuin' t' communicate with unconditional openness an' total honesty as we continue t' stay unshakably committed to each other," the serviceman explained, much to the surprise of not only Mimic, but also Sky and Rottytops.

"So much to accomplish all at once..." the astonished scientist murmured as he listened intently.

"Yep. The last thing I wanna do is just sit around an' be nothin' but a lump on a log whose only purpose at this point was t' take up space in this world, an' I'mma do whatever I gotta do t' build my own identity as Shantae an' I work on our goals both separately AND together. I've also vowed t' teach her everything I know in terms o' my fightin' techniques as I also hope t' keep improvin' my own skills an' remain a most reliable ally t' her. I'm hopin' we can continue t' collaborate an' look out for each other on any future adventures we embark on, considerin' how well we work together. But then... the citizenship part might be kinda iffy because I've got this sneakin' suspicion that people who can be classified as 'dead,' technically can't become 'citizens' in the traditional sense if they weren't already born here. I feel like the officeholders are gonna take one look at this halo and either tell me 'No chance,' or panic because they'll think I showed up t' the office to either haunt them or judge them. I figure it's worth a try, no less..."

"Yes! And in turn, I'm gonna keep my role as his mentor, guiding him on the ins and outs of this world as he adapts to it," Shantae chimed in once more. "It's clear to us that we've only scratched the surface in terms of familiarizing him with this dimension, but I'm beyond pumped to be the one to show him the world, like I agreed to do when we first met. It actually had me thinking of us possibly traveling abroad at some point down the line, so we could both enjoy other cultures across the world, but I figured that could wait for a bit. Of course, we've also started working on a schedule of when to get some of the tasks on our bucket list done and when to take breaks. My schedule alone can get pretty busy with my occasional modeling photo shoots, convention appearances, and belly dance shows around the country, and I know he's gonna have his hands tied with his legalization process and his job when he's able to legally get one, or even when he goes traveling around Sequin Land on his own to broaden his horizons about his new home country and figure out different ways to establish himself… on top of the adventures that we may have to spring into whenever evil rears its ugly head, but we're gonna make every move with a total sense of understanding of one another."

"Jeez, you guys are really prepared for the future, huh?" Bolo remarked, caught a bit off-guard himself. "And here, I thought you were really only focused on living in the present, Shantae."

"I'm still gonna do plenty of that, bro!" the half-genie happily reassured him. "It's just that I've finally got the motivation to look a little further ahead now. There's no time like the present to get started working on your long-term goals. Of course, I'm still gonna take things a day at a time like I usually do until I start picking up steam along the way."

"Wow... And here, I thought I was the only one of us who was that focused on the future..." Sky murmured, though she couldn't help but feel proud of her little sister for wanting to grow up at her own pace.

"I see... Well then, kudos to you for getting the ball rolling there. This might sound weird to ask, but why? I'm curious about what spurred this huge change in perspective for you and Tayshan..."

"You gotta be ready for anything if you're serious about makin' the woman in your life happy, homie," Tay candidly affirmed. "I learned that in more ways than one before I even got t' Sequin Land. An' since I've been here, the points have been driven home. Of course, you also gotta make sure you're doin' what you can t' make yourself happy, too."

"Yep!" Shantae added in agreement. "We plan on remaining self-sufficient, but we also want to be there for each other whenever we need support."

"Really, now? Huh…" the younger man pensively remarked, taking a second to think about the context of the couple's numerous assertions. Meanwhile, Tay turned his attention back to Mimic.

"Addin' t' what Shantae said earlier, though, I… might also be considerin' takin' some classes t' build on my own knowledge o' this world in ways that takin' occasional field trips wouldn't, since the majority o' my education up until I finished high school an' graduated my military courses only apply in the world I was originally from," Tay continued to explain. "…but that's just a thought as of right now. If I gotta earn some sort of equivalency diploma here, then I'm more than willin' t' do that. I was also possibly considerin' joinin' some sort o' security force, where I could put my most marketable skills t' work. Possibly the Sequin Land Palace Guards, if they'd have me an' if our one unpleasant encounter with them was just a fluke. Of course, I also was thinkin' I'd eventually start dippin' int' some o' the business trades this place might have, usin' some o' my knowledge from my time before I came t' Sequin Land t' see how it applies here, too."

"And how do you plan on going that route?" Mimic curiously prodded.

"We've already got the money for it, so I was considerin' possibly gettin' into stocks or openin' somethin' around here once I got familiar with some o' the stuff this town would benefit from… as well as whatever processes I gotta go through with the Town Hall an' who I should collaborate with t' open a place here. Maybe a martial arts dojo, or another Dance Parlor, or a Weapons Shop, or a security task force headquarters, or a medical clinic… or even a gymnastics studio. No matter what, though, I could use those places t' share my own knowledge an' skills with people while buildin' on the fortune we earned from our adventures. This place looks like it could use the extra tourism, physical activity, an' beefed-up protection in case Shantae's got her hands tied somewhere else, t' be honest… I'm basically an alien t' this world, but even I can see that Scuttle Town needs a lot more protection than it's got; especially when it routinely attracts the likes o' Risky Boots an' Ammo Baron. As powerful as Shantae is, she's still only one person. If she ain't here when someone attacks, then who's takin' up her mantle while she's busy?"

"…Good gravy…!" the Relic Hunter murmured in total shock. "You've… thought this out far more than I could've expected, son…"

"Heh, yeah… I never was the type t' sit around an' wait for opportunities t' come t' me, an' now I've got a chance t' be a go-getter in a more productive way," Tay bashfully revealed. "We got lots of ideas that we cooked up, and we got plenty of options, so we're not entirely solid on what exactly is gonna happen next just yet. Generally speakin', Mr. Mimic, Shantae an' I aren't walkin' into this relationship blinded by passion, lust, or an obsession with not bein' single. We've been through too much t' take each other's love an' company for granted, an' I personally want t' make sure I'm far more than just some guy she found attractive enough t' date after he fell int' her lap out o' nowhere. She deserves the absolute best, an' I'm gonna give it t' her in every way imaginable."

"Yeah, we're looking to build ourselves up so that we're just as strong together as we are individually… if not stronger," Shantae concurred with a confident nod. "And we know all of this sounds super ambitious and we know it's not all gonna get done tomorrow, nor is everything gonna be perfect, but I'm actually really excited to be taking this next big step in my life with Tayshan! Personally, I feel like I kinda needed this forward push, and I couldn't be happier to be getting it from him. We've been constantly helping each other improve since we met, which is the absolute best part of it all! It's, like, the core of our connection to each other, and it honestly fills me with joy to see how we can keep proceeding from here," she further declared, shocking Mimic into a state of momentary silence.

"…Are you kidding me…!? I mean, I'm happy for them, but good grief…! They've only been dating for basically a day, and they're already getting set up well into the future, on top of them already consummating their relationship… They may as well be married at this point…" Sky could be heard complaining as she felt her face heat up like someone was holding her head over an open flame. Evidently, she… wasn't too thrilled to have heard about the half-genie's and the soldier's numerous plans together as a couple. "Gahh, now I'm positive I completely missed the boat on him…"

"Ah, don't beat yourself up over it, Sky," Rottytops consoled, patting the dismayed falconer on the back. "It isn't worth it to get jealous over the fact that Shantae, without even trying, managed to score one really good relationship that completely outshines and overshadows the five thousand bad ones you've been in. You'll eventually find a boy who'd be willing to put up with you and that your parents hopefully won't kill or convince to break up with you."

"…That's NOT helping, Rottytops…!" Sky growled, glaring at the smiling zombie maiden.

"Hey, don't bite my head off. I'm only trying to make you feel better."

"Hmph. I… I see. Well thanks, I guess…"

"No problemo! That's what friends are for!" Rotty excitably informed her friend.

"Okay, wow… You uh… You really put some thought into this, huh?" Mimic observed in astonishment after he had a minute to think.

"Yes, sir!" the half-genie proclaimed with pride.

"Huh… I see. Well, I'm glad you're ahead of the game there, but you didn't even bother to seek my approval before you decided to even enter the dating world!" Mimic somehow found a reason to keep arguing. "I'm glad you're communicating effectively and I'm beyond relieved that you two have a solid game plan for how to bolster your bond… but Shantae, we haven't even had the 'birds and bees' talk yet, for goodness sake!"

"Gah! Uncle, for the last time, I do NOT need to have that talk with you! I know more than enough to know how it all works!" Shantae shouted in embarrassment, causing everyone to laugh in collective amusement… except for Tayshan, whose face lit up with a suspiciously furious blush as he cleared his throat and cast his gaze elsewhere as Shantae and Mimic continued to discuss the necessity of… certain reproduction-related talks. Noticing Tay's discomfort, Rottytops sauntered over to him with a knowing grin on her face and nudged the soldier's side with an elbow.

"…I'll bet you already taught her everything she needed to know in that department… Didn't you, Tay-Tay…?" the zombie maiden slyly egged him on, prompting him to shoot her a comically disapproving, blushing scowl.

"Keep playin', Rottytops, an' I'll teach you a thing or two…!" Tayshan warned, his tone low and stern. Although… his wording could've used work. And a LOT of it, as Rottytops flinched in a mixture of astonishment… and a very, VERY inappropriate sense of intrigue.

"Oh-ho-ho, my~! What an offer that is! Sign me up in that case, big boy~! That's a 'lesson' I know I'd never forget… and considering how happy you made Shantae, you'd probably have me coming back for more, too~!" she joked again, blushing as she poked him and giggled.

"What!? I-! Wait…" It… didn't take terribly long for Tay to catch onto the reason he earned such a raunchy reply. At that, he mentally kicked himself as he sighed. Meanwhile, Rotty giggled away in unsavory amusement at his reaction to her dirty joke. "Aw, for g-! Get outta here with that triflin' mess, Rotty!"

"Trifling? Hah, I love it! Gosh, your reactions are priceless! I even scored a new word out of you on this one!" the zombie maiden cheered, learning yet another new 'Tay Word' and yukking it up as she leaned onto the flustered serviceman to keep herself from falling onto the floor from laughter. "I am gonna have some fun with you, I can tell!"

"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?"

"I certainly do~!"

"…Okay, fine. Y'know what, homegirl? That's the last time I'm lettin' you get away with that. From here on, we're goin' t' war…"

"War, you say? Uh-oh, that sounds like a challenge…" she observed in feigned apprehension as she calmed herself down a bit, though she couldn't get rid of the giddy grin on her face. "What do you have in mind then, Tay-Tay?"

"You'll find out soon enough…" he ominously warned, choosing to keep his friend-slash-war opponent in the dark about whatever it was he had in store for her. Before either of them could continue to negotiate the terms of this new battle, however…

"You may be on the cusp of full-fledged adulthood, Shantae, but that doesn't give you free rein to recklessly indulge yourself in such scandalous activity! No matter how pleasurable it is, you should at least learn the basics of what you're getting into and what to look out for! Do you even know what a contra-?" Mimic continued to nag, much to Shantae's displeasure as Tay and Rotty turned their attention back to them.

"I've heard more than enough, Uncle!" Shantae declared, covering her ears as she refused to listen to Mimic any further. "I'm aware of how it works, like I said, and I'll learn the rest on my own in case I missed something, thank you!" At that, Mimic sighed.

"Ah, you kids think you know everything these days…!" he grumbled, though he soon turned his attention toward Tayshan. "Surely, you at least had some guidance on practicing safe-!"

"Uncle, stop it! We are NOT talking about this, especially not in front of everyone, and you're NOT roping Tayshan into it to try to prove a moot point!" Shantae continued to protest, her face growing hot enough to melt and boil butter. "I think we've talked enough about this now, anyway! Maybe we should move onto how he even got here! Or, like, if we're gonna celebrate the end of this grueling adventure. Last I heard, you guys were making plans for something while you were volunteering to help rebuild Scuttle Town, right?"

"Yeah, but… I don't know how necessary it is to plan it now, considering…" Bolo very carefully hinted, nudging his head toward Tay, who'd immediately seen it.

"What, you mean the... 'celebration of life' party y'all were gonna hold for me?" Tayshan hesitantly asked, scaring Bolo and Mimic out of their wits.

"Er, h-how did you-?" Bolo was about to ask back.

"We told him about it," Rottytops spoke up, much to Bolo's surprise as he turned his full attention to the zombie maiden. "And… well, we were kinda on the same boat. We're not exactly sure on how to go about setting up a memorial ceremony when the person we're supposed to be remembering is standing right here with a bright, shiny halo over his head."

"…Well, couldn't we still just have some sort o' get-together anyway?" Tay asked in wonder, though he remained uneasy about getting involved in the planning of his own wake. "I uh… I-I mean, I don't know if it has t' be a vigil or anything o' the sort, but… I'd imagine that we could at least spend some time together as a group t' really close the book on this saga once an' for all, no?"

"That's pretty much what we were aiming to do," Sky affirmed with a nod. "Mind you, we… were having a really tough time coming up with anything appropriate, like we were talking about earlier. Even as we speak, we only had a few ideas…"

"What ideas?" Shantae queried, pondering on if she might be able to help the group come to a conclusion.

"Hmm… if I remember right, I think we narrowed it down to either a candlelight vigil, a fireworks display if the weather permitted, or a ceremony where we designated a spot to set a collection of memorial offerings. We were basically trying to find the right way to respectfully send him off and say our final goodbyes, so that he could rest in peace," Bolo answered, rubbing his chin. Despite the casual tone of his answer, however, the answer itself immediately struck a chord within the soldier as he found himself shocked into total silence.

"…huh…" he very quietly hummed, his gaze falling to the cluttered floor of the workshop as he began to contemplate the very nature of his friends' conversation… in addition to just how… chilling it was to be part of a conversation in which his closest allies were discussing how to properly grieve over his death… the events of which began to play out in his mind as though it had happened five minutes ago, after which his mind began to shift toward his recent conversations with Shantae, Sky, and both versions of Rottytops… and after that, he… simply went blank as he tried to process just what it meant for him to be in this scenario, having this conversation…

"Also, the idea of all of us writing heartfelt letters in a shared journal and reading them aloud as we passed it around to pay our respects…" Rottytops added.

"Ah, wow… Those… those are some great ideas…" the half-genie commended, her train of thought spinning as she pondered the options for what they were.

"I was also thinking we could maybe do a bonfire, where we all got to share our fondest memories as we simply gave each other love and support in coping with what happened," Sky further shared. "Rotty came up with that idea first, but I wanted to bring it up again in case we forgot about it."

"Ooh, that sounds nice, too!" Shantae praised. "And considering it's starting to get colder outside, I think a bonfire would be perfect for the time of season. You think maybe we could also bring some food to roast over it, too? S'mores would be a must-have, but I'm wondering if we could also bring a set-up to fry up some meat and/or vegetables over it for kebabs or something…?"

"You had me at 'kebabs'!" Rotty quickly agreed, emphatically licking her lips as she grinned in delight. "I'm on-board with the bonfire idea!"

"I'm game for that, too," Bolo added in confirmation. "But then, when would be a good time to hold it? And where?"

"It doesn't take terribly long to set it up, and I'm aware you guys have been busy lately. I was thinking we could do it tonight. Thankfully, it doesn't look like it'll rain today," Shantae answered with utmost confidence. "That is, unless that's too short notice…?"

"Not at all. Tonight is perfect," Bolo assured with a grinning thumbs-up.

"Same here," Sky additionally affirmed. "Honestly, it'll be the first break I think any of us has had all week."

"And you know I'm never gonna turn down an exciting little shindig like this, no matter what time it is," Rotty further agreed.

"Excellent!" Shantae cheered, her spirits lifting higher as it appeared things were coming together rather smoothly for this memorial service. "Oh, and as for where, we could probably just do it outside my house. It's just a matter of getting the food and the supplies. Speaking of which, do you still have all the supplies we need in the basement, Uncle?" she trailed off, turning her attention to Mimic.

"Thanks to our tireless efforts of searching for you down there, I just so happened to stumble upon most of the necessary tools to get a decent fire up and running," Mimic shared. "I'll probably need more oil to keep the blaze going, though. I'll also need some time to dust off and properly clean the grill pieces. It's been ages since we last busted those bad boys out. We're… probably gonna need to go to other places than Scuttle Town's bazaar to pick up any food we plan on cooking, however. The town's been steadily getting back on its feet, but they're still mostly relying on donations from other cities until the next shipments of grocery supplies sails in."

"Right," Shantae acknowledged. "In that case, we can scramble a bit to pick up some tasty treats while you clean the grill."

"In that case, we should probably compile a list of what we need," Sky suggested, growing steadily more eager to get the ball rolling on this last-second cookout.

"True," Rotty agreed, already conjuring up some ideas on what she wanted as her stomach began to growl. "I'm getting hungry just thinking about it… Also, are we possibly inviting other people to join in? Or is this more of an exclusive deal between us?"

"Good question," Bolo acknowledged with a nod. "I mean, I wouldn't mind if some folks joined us, but who would we invite? Only person I can think of right off the bat is Giga Mermaid, but I don't know if she'd really be into bonfires. I'm not even sure of what she eats and if we'd have enough…"

"I don't see why she wouldn't," Rotty offered her vote of confidence. "If nothing else, I'm sure she could use the company, too. Meanwhile, I was thinking Abner and Poe could come. They told me they'd be headed this way to check on me today after they were done helping out in the Inseam Municipality."

"Alright! Our guest list is already starting to grow!" Shantae acknowledged in increasing excitement. "I also wonder if maybe Aashiq, Alsumu, or Aleaqarab would want to come, too…" she further pondered on how many other people they could fit on the roster.

"You think Twitch and Vinegar would want to join, too?" Bolo asked, causing mild surprise to the girls in the process. "I mean, I know our communication with them was… rather shaky, buuut…" he trailed off, pulling out a blue walkie-talkie from his pocket.

"Is… Is that an Ammonian Transceiver!?" Sky asked in understandable astonishment.

"Sure is!" the handyman excitedly proclaimed. "They handed it to me when Giga Mermaid and that Joe guy came to pick us up off that island. They said to only use it during emergencies, but I think they'd change their minds just this once…"

"Hm… Well, I'd normally be against it, but… I can't find a reason not to invite them… though, we can't really forget all the havoc they and the Ammonian Army caused during this whole crisis," Sky permitted with a nonchalant shrug, though she did so with a grain of salt.

"I can't say I disagree there," Rotty chimed in. "I mean, what their gang did was completely atrocious, but… I dunno. I feel like in their case, it was more Ammo Baron's doing than theirs. Plus, when it came down to it, they definitely pulled their weight in helping us at the last second, and… well, they were there when Tay died… They were the ones who tried to save him when he stopped breathing… They could probably use the pick-me-up themselves. That, or they'd at least be excited to see him again."

"Yeah, I'd say they can come, too," Shantae calmly gave the go-ahead. "I just hope that it doesn't get awkward if they mention trying to bring Ammo Baron along, though…"

"I'll be specific with them, then," Bolo acknowledged. "I'm sure they'll understand."

"Awesome," the ponytailed heroine concluded with a smiling nod. "Oh! Here we are, plotting away when we haven't even asked you yet, Tay-Tay…" she further realized as she turned to the silent serviceman. "What else do you think… we… uh…?" Shantae was about to ask, though the smile was shaken off her face when she caught full sight of him. Rather than be excited to participate in the planning process of this funeral service for him, she saw him… simply standing there, this heart-wrenching expression of distress on his face as he stared lasers into the ground beneath him. It appeared he was deeply lost in thought, though the sight of him in such a state sent a hotly stinging pang through the half-genie's heart as she quickly approached him. "Tayshan?" she called to him, shaking him out of his trance as he flinched.

"Oh! Er, y-yeah? What's up, kitten…?" he barely managed to ask her as his eyes darted around the room for a few seconds before they locked onto the immensely worried face of his beloved genie girlfriend. In scanning the room so hurriedly, however, he noticed that everyone else had gone silent, staring at him with consistently high levels of concern. Rather than respond right away, however, Shantae opted to step closer to him, reaching up to cup his face with her hands. "…Uh…"

"This… probably isn't the most comfortable thing in the world to be talking about for you… is it?" she asked, figuring out right away why he appeared so distraught.

"…Honestly… No, it ain't…" he wasted little time to admit as he gently took her hands into his own while she kept them on his cheeks.

"Ooh… S-sorry…" Rotty apologized as she found herself reminded of the conversation she'd had with him about funeral arrangements just a bit earlier.

"We… probably should keep in mind that your reappearance here does not nullify the reason we're having this get-together," Mimic further asserted, realizing for himself how disquieting such an experience as the serviceman's could be.

"No, no… Please, hear me out," Tay requested as he shifted his gaze between all his friends, letting out a pressured sigh as he gently removed Shantae's hands from his face, opting to instead interlock his fingers with hers as he lowered his arms. The half-genie locked her grip on his hands firm to assure him that she was there. "I… I'm honored t' be given so much consideration. Believe me, I am. It honestly touches me in a way that I didn't think was possible t' be shown such kindness, even in death…"

"Well of course, dude!" Bolo emphatically affirmed. "After everything we've been through, and after what you did to help us stop Risky Boots again, how could we not want to show our appreciation? I mean, I can't say we were expecting you to randomly show up to your own funeral basically dressed for the occasion, but yeah!"

"...Uh... r-right..." Tay agreed as he tried to mask his discomfort, though he didn't know what else to say. He had made that same observation himself earlier, but it... well, for some reason, it didn't sit right with him to hear someone else make a stronger version of said observation right to his face as a joke without any form of hesitation. It stunned him, simply put.

"And to think you even have all the scars you picked up from when you were alive!" Bolo continued to excitedly point out. "Especially that one on your stomach there! That one looks especially gnarly!" he further pointed out, causing Tayshan to flinch in a mixture of surprise and increasing discomfort as he removed one of his hands from Shantae;s and pressed it to the abdominal scar in question... which happened to be the exact one Risky Boots left when she fatally stabbed him with her scimitar...

"Er... y-yeah... funny how that works..." he tried to joke, though he couldn't really bring up the energy to grin at that point. He found himself unwillingly reminded of... well, of the very tragic event that landed him in this situation in the first place. Unsettled as he was, he at least held on as strong as he could in the wake of Bolo unnecessarily pointing things out to him about his living status. As such, Bolo continued without skipping a beat.

"You bet, bro! And don't even get me started on that halo!" the handyman continued, oblivious to the fact that he was making Tayshan uncomfortable. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by the girls. Shantae and Sky were exchanging worried glances with each other, silently trying to figure out an appropriate time to intervene as Shantae strengthened her grip on Tayshan's hand. Rottytops, however, found herself growing increasingly furious with Bolo for evidently not learning his lesson on watching what he said to people as she glared at him. She tried her best to hold her tongue until... "It looks so scary... and between that, your disfiguring scars, your haunting glowing golden eyes, and this unusual and ominous ensemble you've got going, you look like you're ready to start collecting people's souls or something! All you need is a hood and a scythe to complete it! Or, maybe not the hood, considering your hair... Either way, you've got the post-death warrior look locked in, dude!" Bolo finished sharing his overall opinion on the wraith's appearance, though it missed its mark by a bit as Tay exhaled in mild disbelief as his attention remained focused on the other young man. He... couldn't rightly figure out how to respond, because he figured Bolo meant well. That comment, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back for Rotty. Just as Tay opened his mouth to speak...

"BOLO!" the indignant undead maiden explosively yelled at him in the soldier's defense, highly disapproving of his statements. She hadn't even noticed that she startled everyone else with just how quick she was to blow up on the handyman.

"What?" Bolo asked in moderate surprise as he cocked an eyebrow at Rotty, unsure of why she screamed his name so aggressively.

"Holy cow, could you NOT be so blunt and inconsiderate for once?! You're being so rude! It's COMPLETELY uncalled for, and I'm DONE listening to you talk to him like that!"

"Huh!? W-what's your deal!? I'm just making an observation because he looks cool! That's all! Don't jump down my throat again because you don't like how I said it!" Bolo yelled back, immediately agitated by the way Rottytops addressed him.

"Well, you can make your 'observation' without sounding like such an oblivious jerk about it!" the thoroughly agitated zombie maiden countered, catching everyone by surprise as she and the spiky-haired handyman glared at one another. "Who the heck wants to hear someone tell them that they look like the grim reaper after they just came back from the dead!? How ignorant and short-sighted can you be!? Gosh, it's like listening to a toddler that doesn't know not to point fingers at people and say everything that comes to their mind! It's unbelievable that you never know when to read the room and shut your mouth!"

"Jeez, will you get off my case already!? Nothing I ever say or do is good enough for you! It's either that, or you find a reason to relentlessly pick on me for making a simple joke or even just looking at you the wrong way!" he shouted, growing exponentially more frustrated with Rottytops in an instant. "I'm getting sick of walking on eggshells with you, and I'm getting tired of you policing what I say!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Sky tried to intervene once again. "Now is not the time for-!"

"Walking on eggshells? Policing what you say? Dude, you're utterly ridiculous! Where is that even coming from!?" Rotty demanded to know.

"Oh, you don't know!?" Bolo incredulously asked back, angry enough that one could see the fumes puffing off his head. "Ever since that one comment I made the other night that you still haven't gotten over, you've been moody and irritable around me, no matter what I do! And over this past week since Tayshan died, you've been getting more and more unbearable! We get it, you were really upset that Tay was gone, and you were upset Shantae was asleep this whole week and unable to help you cope, but you're NOT the only person in this room who felt that way! ALL of us were shaken to the core about what happened, and ALL of us spent a ton of time questioning how unfair it was and how we'd move on!"

"That doesn't have anything to do with this situation, but it should be a clear reminder to you that you need to think before you speak! And since you're bringing that up again, I may as well tell you right now that you haven't done anything that shows that you've learned your lesson! That's clearly the case here, or else you wouldn't still be making the same awkward comments that got me upset with you in the first place! And I refuse to watch you do the same thing to someone else!"

"Is that what you think? I didn't do ANYTHING to prove to you that I 'learned a lesson' that you approve of? Rotty, I've tried to make amends with you over and over again this entire week, only for you to throw it right back in my face! No matter how many times I apologize or give you something to make peace, or even try to talk to you, you've always found a way to make me feel miserable for it! You never gave me a chance, which is totally unfair! And now, even when Tay is back from being dead and everyone's happy and we're just having regular conversation, you somehow STILL find a reason to nail me to a wall over something I said to someone else that had absolutely NOTHING to do with you! He's not even offended by anything I said, because I WASN'T insulting him or being rude! I don't get why you suddenly feel the need to defend him when he's not in any danger! At this point, I'm convinced that your constant picking on me is your way of coping with the stress from this situation as it happened, and you NEED to find a different outlet! I'm not your punching bag! No one else gets this type of treatment from you but me! Why are you always trying to tear me down!?"

"…Uh… What's happenin' between these two…?" Tayshan asked Shantae in confusion as they let go of each other's hands.

"I don't have a clue…" Shantae answered with a cocked eyebrow as the two of them, along with Sky and Mimic, watched the argument unfold.

"I am NOT!" Rotty shouted back at Bolo as she marched over to him and glared right in his face. "You always say the rudest things at the worst times for people to hear them, and I'm just telling you that you should stop doing that! You were clearly making him uncomfortable, but you're apparently too blind to have seen it yourself, which is a surprise to absolutely no one! No one was laughing at your jokes, and yet you still kept going without a single clue that you maybe should've eased up! All I'm trying to do is get you to understand when enough is enough! Get your head out of that giant hole you stuffed it in! You could use the air, evidently!"

"As if YOU'RE one to talk!" he defensively shot back, not at all receptive to her scathing criticism. "You're like, the QUEEN of saying rude and inappropriate things to people! Day in and day out, you CONSTANTLY say horrible things out loud that would make even the most seasoned sailors in Scuttle Town flinch and look at you funny! The worst part is you almost ALWAYS get away with it because no one calls you out like you're trying to call me out for doing what you think is the same thing! And at this point, I'm NOT gonna let you slide anymore!"

"Me!? Get real! I make plenty of jokes and comments, sure, but it's never meant to make someone upset, nor are my jokes THAT bad! And if anything I say does make someone upset, or if I do wind up pushing it too far, I can recognize it and apologize, unlike you!"

"Right, because any conversation you've ever had with Sky is DEFINITELY super friendly and it NEVER revolves around you constantly insulting her to her face without even a thought about how you made her feel! Which, by the way, is only the tip of the iceberg for your own brand of rude comments! She can vouch for me!"

"What? Hey, why are you guys roping me into this as your talking point?" Sky was compelled to ask as she raised an eyebrow. "You should be working to quell-!" she tried to further advise to no avail.

"And there you go, grasping for straws when you know you're in the wrong!" Rotty deflected, growing more frustrated with the longer she and Bolo continued arguing with each other as she cut off Sky. "F.Y.I., Sky and I have been getting along a lot better lately! And if she's upset about anything, then she can tell me, so we can hash it out! Granted, this STILL has nothing to do with the fact that you were being inconsiderate to Tayshan! You're welcome to try coming up with another argument, though. And next time, maybe you should actually address the point instead of trying to drum up irrelevant scenarios you think will work to flip the script in your favor."

"Hey now, children! No need to fight! What's with the sudden ani-!?" Mimic also tried to step in.

"Oh, you want other examples? If not what you normally say to Sky, or even what you've said to me in the past before all this went down, then how about 'I wasn't talking to you. Stay over there and mind your business,' for one!? You said THAT to me this morning!" he challenged, directly quoting her. "Or, 'he should speak his mind instead of being a wimpy little coward about it,' just last night?" he fiercely defended himself, catching the zombie girl by surprise.

"W-well, okay, I'll admit that I said those things. But I was angry at you beca-!" Rotty tried to acknowledge.

"Then you don't have a place to try and police anything I say! You just proved yourself as a bully and a hypocrite! Now do us all a favor, leave me alone, and mind your own business for once, Rottytops! It might help you feel better if you found some other way to take out your frustrations!" Bolo shouted, only further infuriating his friend-turned-enemy. She did NOT take kindly to being called names, nor did she like the tone Bolo took with her. As such, she did the first thing that came to mind… by which, I mean she angrily grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him toward her in a surprise show of monstrous aggression.

"Okay, I've had ENOUGH of your attitude! Who the heck do you think you're talking to, huh!?" Rotty screamed at Bolo as he immediately tried to wrest himself free from her grip.

"Grraagh, get OFF me!" Bolo demanded, clawing at the zombie girl's hands as he struggled to escape her grasp.

"Hey! Rotty, let go of him!" Shantae demanded as she and Sky went marching toward the two of them as they seemed ready to enter a truly ugly brawl without warning. Just as Shantae grabbed onto Rottytops, Sky grabbed onto Bolo to pull the two of them apart.

"Seriously, you two are WAY out of line right now!" Sky additionally admonished as she and Shantae managed to pry their friends away from one another. Still glaring at Rottytops, Bolo fastened his shirt and dusted himself off as Sky released him. Meanwhile, as Shantae let go of Rottytops, the undead young woman glared back at the handyman as she took a few breaths hot enough to melt titanium. After an incredibly tense moment of silence, however...

"…So, you two DO know how ENTIRELY inappropriate that was, do you not?" Mimic VERY sternly warned Bolo and Rottytops through a frustrated sigh as he glowered at them, causing the both of them to snap to attention as they each looked at him.

"Uh-oh… They got Uncle mad…" Shantae murmured as she braced herself for what would happen next.

"Sorry, sir…" Bolo was the first to apologize, bowing his head in shame.

"Y-yeah… Me, too…" Rotty reluctantly shared after him, also bowing her head in shame.

"You have been at each other's throats for the entire day, and I chose not to intervene because I had hoped that you would get it together at a time where we were supposed to rely on one another for support. I don't have a clue what your gripes with one another are in regard to, but this is where it ends. And I will tell each of you this once: I will NOT condone or tolerate such foolishness in my workshop. It is quite frankly an appalling and EMBARRASSING display of poor judgment, and this could not possibly be a worse time for it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Bolo and Rotty simultaneously agreed, feeling the sting of the Relic Hunter's lecture.

"Good. Now, I believe you two owe each other an apology. Go on," Mimic further suggested, prompting the two to turn to each other as Shantae and Sky backed up by a few steps each.

"…Sorry for lashing out at you, Rotty…" Bolo reluctantly offered an apology, barely finding it in himself to look the young woman in the eye.

"…Sorry, Bolo…" Rottytops half-heartedly offered an apology of her own, hardly able to keep her gaze on the young man standing in front of her.

"Alright," Mimic continued, clearing his throat as he calmed down a bit. "Now, give each other a hug."

"What? No, I don't want to-!" Rotty was about to fervently refuse before being nudged by Shantae.

"Don't, Rotty," the worried half-genie warned. "Uncle is not to be messed with when he's mad, and to be fair, I think it's a good idea for you and Bolo to hug it out. We can talk about what's been going on afterward, okay?"

"…Fine…" the disgruntled zombie girl acquiesced, though it took her every ounce of her power to come around to the idea of embracing the handyman.

"Trust me, I don't want to do it either…" Bolo muttered, shaking his head as he and Rotty approached each other. And, as though each of them was being made to hug a cactus, he and Rottytops rather sullenly laid one arm across each other's shoulders for all of maybe two seconds before immediately separating.

"There. We made up. Is everyone happy now?" Rotty irritably asked, feeling the pressure as everyone stared at her and Bolo.

"Not quite," Mimic denied. "Both of you still have one more person to apologize to…" he further suggested, nudging his head toward Tayshan, who'd only been able to watch on in total astonishment. And, as Bolo and Rottytops exchanged glances with the halo-adorned wraith, each of them felt their hearts sink hard enough that they could've caused the world's most devastating earthquake that would've shaken the planet to pieces.

"Uh, n-nah, they… they don't gotta do all that," Tay hesitantly denied, reading the sheer, palpable tension in the room. "Let's just… get the ball rollin' on this party, why don't we? We could use the time t' cool off, from the sound of it. An' the sooner we get ourselves geared up, the better."

"A fair point, lad. Perhaps we do need to take a breather and press on..."

"Cool. In that case, let's figure out which tasks each of us is gonna take on t' prepare," Tay suggested, though he quickly got a different idea. "Er, better yet, why don't we all start off together, an' then figure out how t' disperse once we got what we're lookin' for?"

"Sounds good to me," Shantae readily accepted as she and her boyfriend shared worried glances with one another before she turned her attention elsewhere. "What about you, Sky?"

"You won't hear me object," the bird trainer agreed. "We could probably go to Oasis Town and round up most, if not all of what we need."

"No doubt about that. Bolo? Rottytops? Are you two okay with coming along with the rest of us?"

"…Sure," Rotty reluctantly consented, though she kept her gaze locked on the ground as she crossed her arms.

"Y-yeah. I don't mind either," Bolo also accepted, taking a deep breath and shaking off some of his enmity toward Rottytops before turning his eyes toward Tayshan.

"Hm? What's up, homie?" Tay perked up, startled by the fact that Bolo had turned to look at him rather than Shantae.

"…Uh, I… I'm sorry if I sounded rude, man," the handyman apologized, shocking the wraith in the process. "I didn't mean to uh… to make it sound like it wasn't such a big deal that you… um…"

"No sweat, Bolo," Tay assured, walking up to him and patting him on the shoulder as he shot him a confident grin. "I know what you meant. An' yeah, I guess it is a bit unexpected o' me t' pop up as a ghost right when y'all were ready t' start movin' on from what happened last week. An' you're probably right about the 'grim reaper' stuff you mentioned. No hard feelings. Now come on, let's all go get this food an' these cookout supplies. We can all talk about what's been happenin' as we go along, alright?"

"Oh. Uh, s-sure thing," Bolo agreed with a nod, after which both boys turned toward the girls.

"Alright, ready when you are, Shae-Shae," the undead serviceman announced, eager to begin the party preparation process.

"You got it, Tay-Tay!" the half-genie happily affirmed, after which she turned toward the other girls. "You ladies ready?"

"Mm-hmm," Rotty plainly affirmed with a nod.

"Lead the way, girl," Sky permitted, beyond eager to move past the incredibly uncomfortable situation as soon as possible.

"Alrighty! Let's rock!" Shantae cheered, ushering her crew out of the workshop. "We'll be back in a flash, Uncle!"

"Heard loud and clear, dear! You youngsters stay safe, now! Bolo and Rottytops, I certainly hope you squash this quarrel by the time our celebration starts," Mimic bade as everyone shuffled out of his home.

"…Right…" Bolo and Rotty responded with shared dejection as they followed Shantae and Sky to the front door. Yet, just as Tay was set to join them…

"Oh! Actually… Tayshan?" Mimic called to the serviceman, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes, sir?"

"This may sound odd to request at the last second, but… would you help me clean these grill parts while the others go and get the remaining supplies?" he requested, surprising the entire group in the process.

"Oh? Er, h-how come, if you don't mind my askin'?"

"I… would like to talk to you about a few things… regarding what happened to you in the events leading up to that fateful day," Mimic revealed with utmost sincerity in his tone. "I was hoping to get a better understanding of the situation, if you don't mind my prying."

"I see… uh, I mean… I was more o' the idea that we could all share the story around the bonfire, but… I don't see why not," he hesitantly agreed, breaking from the group to join Mimic.

"Well, hang on! Uncle, what's the big idea?" Shantae inquired, not at all willing to leave Tayshan behind. "I figured you were gonna hammer him with a metric ton of questions, but are you sure it can't wait until after we've all regrouped and set up the bonfire?"

"Unfortunately, cupcake, it can't," the retired Relic Hunter assured. "There are things I'd like to discuss with him that I'm afraid I cannot allow to sit in the back of my mind. With all due respect, I humbly request to borrow him for the time being."

"Oh… uh… O-okay, I guess…" the half-genie acquiesced, reading the seriousness on Mimic's face. She could tell by looking at Tayshan, however, that he had no clue what to expect from Mimic's request, either. With a heavy sigh, she approached Tay once more.

"I suppose I'll see y'all in a bit, then?" Tay uncertainly asked, his befuddlement evident as he opened his arms up for the half-genie.

"I guess so. We shouldn't be too long, honey," Shae assured, reaching up to wrap her arms around the back of his neck. In accordance, Tay bent down enough to allow her the leverage she needed. The two lovers shared a quick, yet very strong hug, followed by them sharing a quick kiss… followed by another… which was followed by one more especially impactful smooch before the half-genie rejoined her friends. "We'll be back real soon. Bye for now!"

"Alright, y'all be safe!" Tay bade with a wave, prompting the rest of the group to wave back at him before they exited the workshop. Not long after, Tay turned his attention to Mimic, who'd already been staring back at him with a most… unsettling intensity. "Uh… S-sorry about uh… about that… uh… I probably should've said somethin' before we…" he preemptively apologized, presuming that Mimic was giving him the stink-eye for smooching up the half-genie in front of him.

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm not worried about that. At least, not as much as I probably should be…" the Relic Hunter assured, though he kept his gaze locked on his remaining houseguest. "I at least trust that you and my niece will navigate your relationship safely and appropriately, all things considered."

"Without even a hint o' doubt, Mr. Mimic," Tay assured, though he remained incredibly nervous about how his girlfriend's surrogate father would attempt to interrogate him because they were alone.

"Of course. That aside, I find myself far more curious about other things right this minute…"

"Oh? Well, in that case, er… What did you want t' talk about?"

"Quite a lot, actually," Mimic informed, moving to begin shuffling through some of the clutter scattered about the laboratory. "But… first and foremost… I just want to understand it for myself…"

"Understand what?"

"How, my boy? How did you manage it?"

"Manage what? Do you mean how I came back from the dead as a wraith?"

"No… well, yes, but more importantly, how did you come to terms with sacrificing yourself for Shantae?" he asked, immediately ramping up the pressure as Tay's heart began to pound in his chest while his throat began to feel like someone had dumped a pound of sand into it. "How did you come to terms with relinquishing your chance to return to your original universe to stay here? How did you stir up the courage and the strength to stand against the likes of Risky Boots, despite being given a premonition of how it would end for you, and despite you not even being a genie? And… how exactly did your bond with Shantae grow so inconceivably strong in such a short time? I'll admit that I've never seen her become so enamored with another person before you came along…"

"Hm. Ah… That's… that's a lot o' good questions, definitely…" Tay acknowledged, growing hot with nervousness as he took a second to organize his thoughts before he attempted to answer. "Um… So, the quick an' dirty version of it is this: I made a promise t' myself… an' to a few other important people that I'd protect her at all costs, an' my drive t' keep those promises was boosted by the fact that I slowly, but surely fell in love with her over the course of our time together. An' it wasn't easy givin' up what little chance I had o' returnin' t' my old world, but there was… a much more important purpose t' fulfill in destroyin' Risky's Tinker-Portal before she found a way t' get it t' work again. I… also grew attached t' the people I met here, you included, an' that made it slightly less difficult t' make that decision. An' Risky Boots put us through way too much turmoil for me not t' do somethin' about it; even if I wound up dyin' at the end. I'm sure Shantae told you by now, but it also came down to a choice between not helpin' an' potentially lettin' her, Sky, Bolo, and/or Rottytops die in the conflict… or volunteerin' t' help, which guaranteed that they'd all get t' live… but guaranteed that I'd be the only one who had t' die."

"…Yes, she informed us," Mimic confirmed as he stopped what he was doing to turn his full attention to the soldier. "It's just… not many people in your position would be willing to make that choice, lad. That's… so heavy… Even at my age, I can't even fathom how harrowing that must've been for you."

"Yeah, but I could NEVER live with the alternative t' this situation," Tay vehemently stated, not even wanting to entertain any other sequence of events that involved the half-genie or any of their friends being harmed or potentially killed in his stead. "It's better this way, even if it ain't perfect by any means. Oh, and… as far as how I managed t' put up a fight against Risky? The magic helped a bunch," he further informed, though he soon realized that there was a certain detail he felt Mimic should've immediately known about. "It got stronger an' stronger inside me over time as I got used t' usin' it, though I almost burned myself out at many different points. And… I don't know if you were told this, Mr. Mimic, but when Shantae an' I squared up against Risky in her cave, I… managed t' figure out how t' use both Light AND Dark Magic at the same time."

"WHAT!?" Mimic bellowed, nearly having a heart attack from the sheer shock he'd experienced as he immediately dashed over to the serviceman and studied him up and down. "At the same time!? And somehow, your body wasn't completely ripped apart or disintegrated in the process!? In fact, the Dark Magic alone should've destroyed you, if not completely corrupted you with its influence!"

"Y-yeah, it's… kind of a weird deal…" Tay admitted with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I can go into as much detail as I can as we go along, but… I can still do it, as I discovered. Sad part, though, is that I lost the Heart Monitor you had Shantae give me, so I can't really show it t' you without havin' t' give a live demonstration. An' even then, I don't know if I could just turn it on or off at will."

"…I was right to keep you here, then," Mimic declared, much to the serviceman's shock and discomfort as he grew even more uncertain of what the scientist had in store for him. "Between that phenomenon and this odd Soul-Link you two have going on that allowed her to keep sensing you after you died, and… well, everything else that happened surrounding your time here, I've got a LOT of research to do…"

"Oh… Oh, boy…" Tay murmured, rightfully worried that Mimic was going to turn him into an undead guinea pig. "Uh… C-can we at least wait until after we cleaned up your grill if you're gonna hook me up to another machine an' run a bunch o' tests on me?"

"Of course, lad, of course!" the scientist assured, though he did nothing to hide his eternal curiosity regarding the walking existential conundrum that was Tayshan. "Well, except for this deal with you being able to consciously use both forms of magic. I simply MUST see that for myself. Other than that, I'd like to keep this discussion going; it's becoming more fascinating by the second."

"I'd bet," Tay acknowledged, still unable to shake off the immense apprehension he'd been feeling simply by being left alone with an eternally inquisitive Mimic. "Well, I'd be glad to oblige."

"Excellent! Although, I'm still itching to find out exactly how 'Shae-Shae' became so wonderfully attached to you, Tay-Tay!" he teased, much to Tay-T-! Uh, T-Tayshan's chagrin.

"Aw, come on… Not you, too…" the serviceman groaned, growing more worried about a certain name-related virus growing more infectious with every person that heard that awful…ly adorable nickname. "An' YOU ain't helpin' the case!" he further screamed at me, the poor, hardworking narrator. Sheesh, TOUCHY! Wait… Haven't we done this before? No, Double-Wait! Did... Did he just... NOTICE me!?

"My apologies, Tay-Tay—er, Tayshan. The name does have a nice ring to it, though. Weirdly enough, it suits you!" Mimic humorously asserted, causing the unfortunate wraith no small form of comical irritation.

"…Okay, why don't I just go ahead an' tell you how your niece an' I became a couple while we gear up for this funeral/cookout/luau thing, after which I'll try t' show you what I mean with this magic?" Tay strongly suggested, beyond ready to move the conversation along. "Surely, you're a lot more curious about all that than you are amused at my unwanted nickname."

"Indeed I am," Mimic smilingly agreed as he reeled himself back in. "Alright, son, follow me into the basement. We'll need to shift a few things around to get the pieces up here," he further ordered, making his way to the stairwell in the floor and moseying down the flight. "And watch your step! Bolo took a nasty spill earlier, so be sure you're paying attention to where you're going!"

"Roger that, sir," Tay obliged, following Mimic into the basement, where they began their discussion of events recently past. And on that note, I do believe that's our time. And here, I was so sure we'd have gotten this all nice and wrapped up in one fell swoop. Well, I ain't complainin'. All that means is that we've got more time to spend together than I thought we did. Ain't that a nice surprise, on top of everyone getting back together and getting a chance to truly push toward the future together? We'll even get to attend a fancy ceremony, too! That said, we've still got just a couple more stones to turn over before this is truly all over. Though, I am starting to wonder about the stones we weren't able to turn over… and if we'll ever get all the answers we were looking for. I also wonder who else will be attending this last-minute celebration and if it'll run smoothly. I… additionally find myself curious about if Bolo and Rottytops will ever make up and become friends again, or if they'll continue to be at each other's throats… but then, knowing this group, they'll probably be best buddies again in no time… or will they? Stay tuned to find out! I promise you that this will be the last cliffhanger I leave you on! Sorry! Anyway, I'll see ya soon! Au revoir!