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!

44. Epilogue Pt 2: Toward a Brighter Future

Epilogue, Pt. 2: Toward a Brighter Tomorrow

Hey, hey, hey! Back for more, I see… Well, you came at the right time, because I'm about to give you just that! So, as we left off, Shantae and the gang (sans Tayshan) went and took a trip to Oasis Town to round up some supplies to hold something of a memorial celebration/dinner party. Meanwhile, Tay had elected (or rather, was politely asked) to stay behind with Mimic to serve as an interrogation subject and guinea pi—er, I mean, to help the old Relic Hunter wash off the cooking appliances in preparation for said party. Simple enough at a glance. But I needn't tell you by this point that things were often (by which, I mean FAR more complicated) than that. As such…

LOCATION: OASIS TOWN BAZAAR, OASIS TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

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

TIME: 1452 HOURS

"…So wait… Bolo, why exactly did you think Rotty had a crush on me?" a certain black-garbed half-genie asked in total confusion as she and her three best friends casually strolled through a series of open, bustling concessions stands neatly organized near the heart of the humble city. The group had been carrying bags upon bags' worth of materials for the party they were gearing up for as they traversed through wide-open, breezy afternoon atmosphere. Yet, judging by the question posed by said half-genie, the conversation was… just a tad on the unusual side.

"Well, I mean… it's not that I actually completely thought she did," Bolo attempted to explain as he felt pressure like an elephant stomping on his chest to come up with a reason for a certain assumption he'd previously made. "I was mostly only trying to get back at her for making fun of me that day. I was just taking a shot at her about how attached she is to you, and uh… y-yeah, I realized how horrible it sounded when I thought about it later… Sorry, Shantae…"

"No need to apologize to me," Shantae assured him as plainly as she could as they crossed an intersection along the cobblestone road and slid past a large group of miscellaneous passersby. "I wasn't there. But I hope you understand how hurtful it is for you to attack her like that when she was already down."

"Yeah. Uh… A-again, I'm really sorry about that, Rotty…"

"Hm," the zombie maiden in question grunted in response, nonchalantly looking elsewhere as she noticed a few of the local boys eyeing her up and down in her black-and-orange tank top-yoga pants outfit… in addition to ogling Shantae and Sky.

"Lookin' good, ladies!" a merchant at one of the stands complimented as another citizen whistled. "Why don't you come over here and freshen up those dazzling ensembles with some of my fragrances here? Especially you, Shantae! You're looking more marvelous than ever!" Whereas the half-genie and the bird tamer ignored the numerous catcalls and kept it moving, Rottytops took it upon herself to smile and wave at some of the locals making googly eyes at them.

"Oh-ho, well ain't you lookin' cute in that training gear? Fillin' them yoga pants in ALL the right places! That adorable little tank top, too!" a short, yet incredibly muscular man with wavy hair wearing shorts and running sneakers called out to Rottytops as he jogged past the group.

"For goodness sake…!" Sky grumbled, glaring at the guy for his unnecessary comments. The glare went unnoticed, however.

"Maybe you and I can go on a jog together and talk over some protein shakes sometime, sweet cheeks!" the man openly invited, keeping his eyes glued on the zombie maiden as he continued jogging the other way.

"Thanks, but not today. I'm not exactly here looking for exercise dates at the moment, but the offer's appreciated, hot stuff~!" Rotty smilingly called back with a smiling wink, causing the guy to become so distracted that he went crashing with an unceremonious *KRAKABLROMPH* into a melon stand. As the man tumbled over all the scattered cantaloupes and honeydews rolling everywhere and landed with a most embarrassing *FLOP* on the ground, the merchant manning the stand could be seen angrily storming toward him with a broom in her hand. As soon as the elderly woman reached the jogger, she held the broom up high and… well, I'm sure you can paint the rest of THAT picture for yourself. Meanwhile, Rottytops snickered at the man's misfortune as though she knew all along he was going to crash into the melon stand. "Heh… Sucker…" she mumbled, giggling in mischievous glee.

"Ow! Ow! Ow, I'm sorry! I-! Gagh! Ack! Daah, you hit me in the mou-! Ahaagh!" the jogger could be heart pleading in agony between various *WHAPs* and *WHACKs* as he scurried away from the elderly merchant and her broom of doom.

"Man, I almost forgot how aggressive the guys could get with their flirting here…" Sky grumbled, clutching her shopping bags close to her chest and worriedly shifting her gaze across the busy bazaar. "We've been hit with comment after comment after comment since the minute we stepped foot into Oasis Town... What a mess…"

"Not to sound vain, but we should be used to it by now," Shantae rather dismissively mentioned, not at all concerned with the unwanted attention they were getting. "This happens literally every time we come here."

"True," Sky acknowledged.

"Yep. Anyway, Rotty," the ponytailed genie maiden called to her undead best friend.

"Yeeees, Shae?" Rotty replied, making sure to address the other woman by the nickname she'd recently earned.

"We get it if you're still upset, but ignoring Bolo isn't going to make things better."

"Yeah, well talking to him hasn't gotten me anywhere either. There's no point in trying again, and we dealt with the issue at your uncle's place. It doesn't matter," the zombie maiden dismissed, causing the young man to sink as he sighed and tuned her out. Noticing Bolo's dejected state, Shantae quickly found herself irritated by Rotty's dismissiveness toward him.

"Rottytops, cut it out. NOW," Shantae sternly warned as she glared at Rotty, catching the other young woman's full attention.

"Whoa, snack cakes, what's the matter?"

"You know full well what the issue is," Shantae rebutted as the group stopped in their tracks. "He said he was sorry for everything that happened between you and him, and from the sound of it, he's been tying to make it up to you for the last week. You're treating him like the dirt under your shoe, and I'm NOT having that between you two."

"If it wasn't such a big deal, then I would've let it be water under the bridge by now. You heard everything you needed to about why I'm not talking to him. It isn't that simple to comprehend."

"It sounds just about that simple to me," the half-genie countered. "You guys got into an argument, you both said hurtful things to each other, he tried to make it up to you for the better part of a week, and then you got into another argument because he was concerned about what you were saying about your dreams. What more is there to understand?"

"That's the whole scenario in a super condensed nutshell. Fine. And you're going where with this?" Rotty irritably asked, already having reached the limit of her patience for the lecture. "I figured we'd got enough of a warning from gramps. I didn't think I'd need to hear it from you, too."

"My point, Rottytops, is that it sounds to me like you were taking your frustrations with this situation out on Bolo while I was incapacitated, and you know for sure that's something I WILL NOT tolerate. He doesn't deserve that."

"Whoa, wha? No, I wasn't! Why would I-?"

"He's the only one you've been treating with total disregard since Tay died, based on what you all told me, and I see it right in front of me that you're not doing anything to make it better. I don't remember ignoring you when I got mad at you for anything you did that got me upset; we talked it out and we made up immediately after. We never had to worry about any hard feelings."

"Okay, but that's because it's you!" Rotty hastily defended. "You're my best friend! Of course, I wouldn't want you to be mad at me at all, ever! And I can't even imagine a situation where I'd be angry at you!"

"Right, but Sky and Bolo are my friends, too. More importantly, they're also your friends," Shantae further asserted. "And if you expect to keep them as friends, then you'll understand that treating them differently from how you treat me isn't going to get you anywhere with them. You seem to have finally gotten over that hump with Sky, so I know you can do the same with Bolo."

"…Fair, I guess… but…"

"Adding to that, you know how much I love all of you. You know how far I'd go to protect you from harm," the half-genie continued. "I even know how far you'd all go to protect me in return. But when it comes to you squabbling amongst each other over things that could be talked out, you know I'm gonna try to step in to help make it better. I mean shoot, isn't that basically what happened when you and Tayshan pulled Bolo to the side when he and Sky weren't getting along?"

"Yeah, but that was more stud muffin's idea than it was mine," Rotty admitted. "He did most of the talking; I just backed him up."

"Ah, I see," Shantae remarked in mild surprise, though she remained determined to make her point. "Either way, you saw that the two of them were having a problem, and you talked to Bolo to get it handled, so that they could keep being friends. Now, you're the one who has an issue with him. Yet, you're not willing to get it settled when everyone is practically urging you to." At that, the zombie maiden felt a pang of anger shoot through her as she instinctively glared at Shantae.

"Okay, I get it, alright!? I'm clearly in the wrong, according to you!" Rotty shot back in more than moderate frustration, raising her voice for a split-second before recoiling out of surprise at herself. "Ooh. Uh…" she stammered, locking eyes with Shantae for a moment as she let it sink in that she nearly lashed out at her best friend.

"Come on now, Rotty," Sky protectively chimed in. "She's making a lot of really good points, so don't take that tone with her. Besides, you and I had this talk already. Are you really that surprised to be hearing the same thing across the entire group about not holding grudges when friends make you upset by accident?"

"Well, no, but… I… I wasn't…" the undead young lady stammered, awash with guilt as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"Then you understand that this can't go on, don't you?" the bird tamer asked. "Bolo and I really are your friends. You shouldn't feel the need to treat us like enemies; especially not when we're just looking to understand you. No one here wants to hurt you or see you upset. In turn, we don't want you to feel like you need to defend yourself if we take an interest making sure you're okay."

"Exactly," Shantae wholeheartedly agreed. "And considering how most people treated you before you and I met and became friends, I figured you'd understand what it's like to be in Bolo's spot. Worse yet, we only just started processing the fact that another one our best friends was killed before we got the chance to truly appreciate his company. I'd have expected ALL of us to learn how important it is to cherish who we have in our lives before they're gone… It's only a wonder we even have the chance that we do with him coming back as a ghost against the odds…" she further asserted, gulping down an enormous knot in her throat as she made her point. "Psychic prediction or not, and regardless of if you're alive or undead, not a single one of us truly knows how much time we have in this world before we have to go, and the last thing I'd want any of us to do with that time is seek out ways to hurt each other. We… we shouldn't take each other for granted, either."

"…R-right…" Rotty realized, sinking into herself a bit as she further contemplated the other girls' words… and how painfully correct Shantae was, regarding how important it was for the group to cherish one another.

"I'm glad you see our point now. So please, whatever it is you and Bolo have going on, could you PLEASE find a way to move past it together? Not for me or for Tayshan either, Rotty; for yourself and for Bolo," she further humbly requested, her heart suddenly feeling like it gained a hundred extra pounds as she touched upon a very sore subject to make her point. That same point, however, brought about an uncomfortable momentary silence within the group.

"…Gosh, Shantae… That one hits hard…" Sky shakily remarked, breathing a heavy, HEAVY sigh as she was painfully reminded of the unique situation they were in.

"…Uh, I-I think we've talked enough about this," Bolo finally chimed in, practically drowning in the discomfort and reflective sadness. "Shantae, I appreciate you for sticking up for me. You too, Sky. But, I don't know if she's gonna come around just because you tell her to. If Rotty doesn't want to talk to me, then that's her choice. I'm just… done trying," he further revealed, evidently accepting it as fact that he and Rottytops would never be friends.

"What? Bolo, what do you mean?" Shantae asked in mild shock.

"I mean that, while you're absolutely right in that we should cherish each other, it's… pretty clear she just… doesn't like me. I tried to make it work, but we don't seem to click. It's whatever, though. It's not the first time this has happened. I'm not too worried about it anymore…" he admitted with an ostensibly nonchalant shrug, though it stung him deeply to utter his statement. Unbeknownst to him, however, it stung Rottytops even more to hear it. "You can't force friendships to work, even in situations like this, and trying to convince her to accept my apology won't do anyone any good. So, let's just drop it and get back to Scuttle Town. Please?"

"Bolo…" Sky called to him, feeling horrible about the conclusion he drew regarding Rottytops. Yet, as she exchanged glances with the dejected handyman, he calmly turned around and began to walk away with her, Shantae, and Rotty watching on in collective astonishment. After a few steps, however…

"Well? Are we on our way home, or do we still need to pick a few things up?" he asked as he craned his head back to look at his friends… and Rottytops.

"Oh. Uh… S-sure. I'll take point. Er… l-let's roll, ladies and gent," Shantae volunteered, hurrying ahead to lead the group on their way. While she remained utterly stunned at Bolo's decision not to pursue Rotty's forgiveness or camaraderie, she at least understood her little brother enough to know that when he made a point about something, he was certain to stick by it. Granted, Shantae held out hope that they'd eventually smooth things over, but she knew better than to keep pushing the envelope. Quietly, Sky and Rotty followed the other two members of the party, though the zombie maiden found herself… at something of a loss for words as she suddenly found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the stony streets beneath her feet.

"…Huh…" was all she uttered as she contemplated her conversations with Bolo that led him to believe that she hated him. Truth is, she didn't hate him. Not in the slightest. She was just upset that he was being insensitive. Yet, as she lost herself in her mind, her thoughts began to lean toward the arguments she got into with him… her frustration with him that, in hindsight, suddenly seemed trivial in the wake of the grander scheme… and even her conversations with Sky over the past week that made her feel… responsible for driving the rift between herself and the youngest member of their group. Maybe she did let things get out of hand, if even Shantae of all people could get upset with her over it. Maybe she should've simmered down and spoke with Bolo to better address their hang-ups with each other. Maybe… maybe she should apologize herself for mistreating him. She didn't know if it was too late, however, considering what he said. She felt terrible for treating him in a way that… as it was pointed out, other people treated her in the past. Yet, before she could mull on it further…

"Kanafeh!" a sweet, serene male voice called out, its owner jogging in from the side to meet up with the group.

"Aashiq? Hey! Long time no see!" Shantae happily greeted the gorgeous young man, dressed in a fabulous… if not familiar-looking midriff-baring goldenrod stitched-up tank top that brought out his hazel eyes, as well as a dazzling pair of grape-hued harem pants and matching slippers, as he closed the distance and stopped in front of them. "I'd offer a hug, but my hands are a bit full."

"Not a problem at all, my friend," the young magician assured, patting her on the shoulder as his long, luxurious ebony locks flowed in the gentle breeze. "I am simply relieved to see that you are alive and well. The same applies to all of you as well, friends!" Aash further shared his excitement at running into Scuttle Town's most famous quartet.

"Sure thing, Aash! I'm glad to see you again!" Sky happily greeted, waving at him with her free hand as she held groceries in the other.

"Yo, dude," Rottytops plainly responded, a neutral expression on her face as though she didn't want to talk.

"…H-hey, Aashiq…" Bolo sheepishly mumbled, turning his head away to attempt to hide the furious blush on his face that… in a few words, told us something he'd VERY much would rather have kept secret.

"I notice your arm's not in a sling anymore, which is great!" Sky further pointed out.

"Indeed, I am making a speedy recovery," Aash affirmed, rubbing his previously injured shoulder with his opposing hand. "I still require weekly therapy sessions for the foreseeable future to regain full motion, but I am making progress nevertheless!"

"That's awesome!" Shantae cheered. "I was worried about how long it'd be before your shoulder healed up all the way, but I'm glad it's going well."

"Indeed, though um… I-I must say, kanafeh…" Aash trailed off, his tone quickly growing morose as he shot a rather somber look toward the I.D. Tags around the half-genie's neck before looking her in the eye. "I… heard about what happened… w-with habibi…"

"Oh… R-right…" Shantae acknowledged, her breath catching in her throat as she grew inconceivably nervous in that moment. "Y-yeah, he uh… he…"

"You need not say it," Aash spared her the responsibility. "I… simply hope that his soul finds eternal peace." Rather than immediately respond or tell him that 'habibi' was still roaming around the world of the living, Shantae shared a glance with Sky… at which point, both girls nodded to each other. Shantae then shared an additional glance with Rottytops, who merely shrugged without saying a word. When she tried to glance at Bolo, however, it became immediately apparent that Bolo wasn't even paying attention. It was then, however, that the half-genie got an idea.

"Say… Are you busy at all, Aash?" Shantae asked out of nowhere.

"Not… particularly," he answered, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "How come?"

"We're… holding a memorial bonfire to uh… to honor Tayshan's memory, which is why we're all so loaded with groceries and supplies right now. We were thinking about inviting some other guests, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come by."

"Oh, most definitely!" Aash ecstatically agreed. "I would love nothing more than to participate in giving our habibi a much-deserved farewell. What place and time?"

"Tonight outside my lighthouse, but I was also wondering if maybe you'd like to join us on the trip back?"

"Oh! Wow, kanafeh, you certainly do have impeccable timing," the young magician pointed out. "I was actually on my way to Scuttle Town to check in with you, but you have miraculously beaten me to the punch."

"…Great…" Bolo mumbled, evidently not a fan of the arrangement.

"Well, that's perfect!" the ponytailed maiden cheered once again. "Funny how that all works."

"You need not tell me twice," Aash additionally cheered, happy to join the party. "Although… Rottytops?"

"Hm? What's up?" the zombie girl perked up and asked, surprised that Shantae's ex-boyfriend would be addressing her directly.

"Your brothers wanted me to tell you that they would be arriving to Scuttle Town later today to come and get you," he informed, much to her surprise.

"Wait, what? You know Abner and Poe?" Rotty was all but compelled to inquire.

"Indeed I do," Aash happily informed her. "They were my closest friends when we were working for Hypno Baron. Oh, and I no longer work for Hypno Baron, if that is worth any mention."

"Thank goodness for that," Shantae praised. "What prompted that change?"

"I will enlighten you momentarily. Er, anyway, Rottytops… Your brothers and I worked together to clean up the Inseam Municipality with another friend of ours, and we were originally supposed to drop by Scuttle Town together. The two of them had to make a pit stop elsewhere, so they are running a bit behind schedule."

"As usual… Abner and his lousy sense of time…! Gah, I should've known better than to trust him when it comes to sticking to a schedule," Rotty grumbled, though she wound up revealing a most… telling detail about her brother that we may have seen before. "Did they mention how late they'd be?"

"They mentioned possibly showing up to Scuttle Town right as the sun began setting… So, most likely in the evening."

"Hmph. Figures… Well, at least they'd be on time for this little shindig we're having for Tay-Tay…"

"Looks like we won't need to do as much traveling as I thought we would," Sky acknowledged, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, because I don't know how ready Wrench is to fly right this minute."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask you about him," Shantae mentioned.

"He's okay for now. Poor little guy's wing is still bothering him at times, though, so I've been avoiding any flying with him in Giga form for the time being."

"I'm glad to know he's at least recovering," Shantae assured with a grin before turning her attention back to the former Hypnotist acolyte. "That actually reminds me… Random question, Aash…"

"Random answer," he slyly remarked with an adorable giggle.

"Clever," Shantae flatly remarked with an unwavering smile. "Anyway, do you think Giga Mermaid would like to come?"

"Not likely, unfortunately," he denied to the half-genie's mild disappointment. "She has been diligently patrolling Naga Mountain and Mermaid Falls to oversee their reconstruction and protection, as well as keeping a VERY close eye on the likes of Ammo Baron and Techno Baron."

"Them? What for?"

"Evidently, they came to an agreement that Techno Baron and the Ammonian Army would assist with repairing the damages caused on Naga Mountain. She told me that she is making sure to provide VERY strict surveillance on them because she does not trust them to honor the deal without her watching them and keeping their fear of her unforgiving wrath strong," Aash explained. "She… may have also mentioned the idea of utterly obliterating them AND the Baron Desert the second they renege on their end of the bargain…"

"Humph. Serves those jerks right," Sky candidly replied, feeling that the two Barons in question got their comeuppance.

"Ah. Well, give her my regards next time you see her," Shantae humbly requested.

"I certainly shall," Aash agreed. "Now, are we ready to-?"

"Gaahagh…! Hah…!" Shantae suddenly grunted, wincing as an almost unbearable, twisting discomfort shot through her stomach. She managed to hold her supplies in her hands, though she seemed to be in pain as though someone had blasted her in the stomach with a cannonball.

"Shantae! Hey, are you alright!?" Sky called to her as the group collected around the half-genie to make sure she was okay.

"Y-yeah, I'm good. Just… Soul-Link sense tingling again…" she informed as Aash took her grocery bags off her hands to allow her a second to breathe.

"Soul-Link? Uh-oh… You think we should hurry up back to town to see what's going on?" Bolo questioned, barely snapping out of his crush-addled tran—er, shaking himself out of his train of thought to do so.

"Definitely," Shantae agreed, taking a couple deep breaths to quell the uneasy, queasy feeling she'd been getting.

"…This would not have something to do with that awful body-swap fiasco Hypno Baron orchestrated, would it?" Aash asked. "I had heard a rumor that you were dealing with some adverse long-term effect of his Corporeal Transmission spell, but I had no clue it would still be affecting you to this very moment."

"It has everything to do with it, actually. And yeah, I'm still dealing with the after-effects like he pulled that body-snatching trick yesterday," Shantae confirmed to Aash's dismay as she took some of the grocery bags back from him. "The feeling's gone for right now, but we should head back to Scuttle Town to make sure uh… T-that my uncle is okay," she informed, immediately motioning to hit the road back to Scuttle Town while suspiciously keeping something under wraps.

"Professor Mimic? Well, what about-?" Bolo was about to ask before Sky nudged him with her elbow. "Ow! Hey, what gives?" he complained as he glared at Sky, though he found himself perplexed by the fact that she was shaking her head 'no' while pursing her lips. He didn't get much time to decipher the message she was trying to deliver to him, however.

"We'll figure that out later on, Bolo," Shantae interjected, wanting nothing to slip. "For now, we focus on getting back to Uncle's Workshop, alright?"

"Oh. Uh, alright. Got it. I'm ready when you are," he agreed, though he still wondered why Sky elbowed him.

"Then let's move out, troops!" Shantae announced, putting some pep in her step as she raced out of the shopping center and through the town.

"Whoa, wait for us!" Sky called after her as she and the rest of the group hurried along to see what potential cause for concern would summon them back home...

Meanwhile…

LOCATION: MIMIC'S WORKSHOP (OUTSIDE), SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

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

TIME: 1532 HOURS

"Ghaah…! Hah… Hah… Sh-shoot, that hurt a LOT more than I thought it would…!" a certain drastically fatigued, winded ghost soldier complained, sweating profusely. As he stood, hunched over with his hands planted on his knees, one could immediately see the waning vestiges of a mysterious purple and blue aura emanating off his skin.

"By the graces of the genies above…!" a well-known Relic Hunter remarked in immeasurable amazement at the sight he beheld. And to make sure not to keep you guessing, we had just jumped in right after everyone's favorite elderly researcher asked his undead house guest to do a… well, for all intents and purposes, a 'Magic' trick of sorts… out in the open, where more than a few startled townsfolk were warily patrolling the area in hopes that the city wasn't under siege yet again. It… probably didn't help that there were sizable piles of debris that had been flung about as though a turbulent whirlwind had hit the immediate vicinity. "Tayshan… How in the world is this even POSSIBLE!? How!?"

"I… I couldn't tell you if I tried, Professor Mimic," the wraith we all came to recognize as Tayshan replied, painstakingly rising to a stand as he brushed the sweat from his brow and took an extra set of deep breaths to regain his composure. "Hah… It took everything in me t' pull it off for even just the five seconds you saw there… but like I was sayin' earlier, the only time this wound up happenin' when I was alive was when Shantae an' I fought Risky. Right before that, I could only use Dark Magic because when Risky kidnapped me, she jammed a Dark Magic shard down my throat an' forced me t' let it take me over. It was nothin' short of a miracle that I managed t' get a grip before I completely lost myself."

"I see…" Mimic acknowledged, dusting himself off and straightening his clothes as he studiously circled around the serviceman. "Well, you have my sincerest apologies for the turmoil you went through because of her. I had no idea her heartlessness could sink to such deplorable depths."

"None of us did, but… it is what it is," Tay plainly acknowledged with a nudge of his head as he did his best to temper his reaction to certain memories sprouting up in his mind.

"Right, though I'm a firm believer that Risky Boots has a heaping ton of karmic retribution headed her way if she's capable of putting you and the gang through all the torture she did," Mimic offered his condolences. "That said, my Arcanogram EXPLODED because of how much raw energy from both ends of the spectrum exist inside you now. I must say, it seems Risky has created quite the phenomenon when it comes to you, hasn't she?"

"Much as I'd hate to agree, I… I guess so," Tay begrudgingly admitted, staring at his trembling hands to see the faint wisps of magic washing off his hands like steam out of a boiling pot of water.

"Indeed. Yet, your other tales of your encounters with magic seem to tie right into how this most… flabbergasting conundrum came to be. It's one thing for a human to be capable of controlling ONE form of magic. Even RISKY shouldn't have had as much Dark Magic inside her as you said she did. Yet, you'd been showing signs of having both forms inside you since the first day we ran all those tests… To see that your levels have progressed to nearly rival that of a genie? This… this opens a whole new realm of research!"

"Uh… y-yeah, what a groundbreakin' discovery…" Tay attempted to show his excitement, though his reaction could've been mistaken for gripping dread. "But then, now that I think about it, I might've also accidentally alerted Shantae because o' this Soul-Link business."

"Oh, right! I nearly forgot that she's now capable of sensing when you're under duress," Mimic realized, stroking his beard in wonder. "I probably should've considered that before I asked you to put on that demonstration. She'll most likely be back here any minute, at this rate. Then again, I wasn't exactly expecting you to power up as though you were preparing for another grueling battle. I'd have almost been convinced she'd heard you shouting all the way from Oasis Town, as opposed to her sensing your pain…"

"…A fair point," Tay remarked with a chuckle, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Sorry about that. I've only ever been able t' get it t' work through feelin' some type of extreme emotion or by bein' put in a do-or-die situation. I was only able t' pull it off this time because I had t' think about the reasons I had t' fight usin' that energy in the recent past…"

"Ah, now that makes sense," Mimic remarked in additional realization. "Emotion is the primary driver for your magic, as is the case with Shantae. I… only wonder what you must happen to feel when you have access to both Light and Dark Magic, though. How odd…"

"If you ain't figured it out by now, then there's no hope for me t' come up with a decent explanation for it anytime soon."

"Which is why I'll work tirelessly to uncover the mystery for as long as you're around," Mimic assured, though he had another point to make. "Speaking of which, you… really only have one year with us before your body turns to dust and you cease to exist?"

"Yes sir," Tay confirmed, revealing that he shared the bittersweet news about his return with the retired Relic Hunter. "At least, that's what was explained t' me about my very… unique situation here. Unless some miracle on top o' the miracle o' my return from the dead happens, I'm… basically workin' on borrowed time… an' not a lot of it."

"Hm. Most vexing…" Mimic murmured, scratching his head. However, it didn't take him long to come up with an idea. "I… suppose if nothing else, my research on your ability to control both forms of magic could take a back seat to the possibility of finding a potential method of keeping you around."

"Whoa, what? R-really?" Tay asked, pleasantly taken aback by the elderly scientist's assertion.

"Yes, but it's much too soon to get excited about that, my boy," the bespectacled old man warned. "I don't have a clue about how to begin tackling this concern, and it's most likely going to take a lot of work from you, me, Shantae, and anyone else who may be able to lend a hand for us to even consider if it's possible to at least anchor your presence here a little longer."

"Understood. Well, I appreciate you, regardless. I… I don't know if I could express how grateful I am for you wantin' t' help me figure this out."

"Nonsense, son! I'm always happy to help!" Mimic proudly assured with a pat on the serviceman's back. "Besides, the longer you get to stick around, the more plentiful my research on you will be! Imagine the possibilities for the discoveries we'd make with these incredible circumstances! Just when I thought the idea of you hailing from another timeline was amazing enough… Mind you, there's still LOADS of research to be done about how you were brought from an alternate universe via my old Dynamo!"

"Oh, well THAT'S reassurin'," Tayshan sarcastically remarked, immediately deadpanning at Mimic. "You wanna just keep me around as your lab mouse. Is that it?"

"That's hardly the only reason, though you're not wrong," Mimic humorously and unabashedly admitted. "You also made my niece very, VERY happy, and I'd love nothing more than to see your relationship with her flourish to unprecedented heights. Seriously, I haven't seen her this happy in a very long time, which is incredibly important when we consider how… inconceivably difficult it was for all of us, especially Shantae, to cope with your death."

"Yeah, I… I imagine we'll be lookin' t' move past that situation together as a group."

"Yes indeed. Also, considering the outlandishly EXPANSIVE laundry list of goals you and Shantae developed together, you're gonna need much longer than a single year to get even a fraction of those tasks done. Plus, you've proven FAR more than enough that you're capable of protecting and cherishing her, on top of keeping her motivated to stay on a righteous and well-informed path to adulthood like she needs to be. I already know she believes herself too grown to listen to an old coot like me anymore, so maybe it's much better that she has you in her life now to help her to keep growing. You seem to be teaching each other quite a lot as you move forward together, from what I've seen and heard."

"Yeah, an' that's been the gift that keeps on givin' as far as she an' I go… but uh… I'll take that t' mean we have your blessing…?" Tay warily asked, highly anticipating the old scientist's response.

"Indeed! You're both still super grounded for the foreseeable future, but yes, you have my blessing," Mimic conditionally approved without hesitation.

"Of course. Well thanks, Pops," the soldier flatly remarked, chuckling in a mixture of amusement and extreme nervousness as he and Mimic conversed with one another.

"'Pops', Tayshan?" the elderly Relic Hunter questioned with a raised eyebrow that wiped the smirk right off the young man's face.

"Uh… Er, I-I mean, P-Professor Mimic, sir…" Tay hastily corrected himself, worried that Mimic would do something horrible to him for addressing him so informally.

"No need to be afraid, lad!" the Relic Hunter assured, patting his 'lab mouse' on the back once more. "It's a moniker I'll wear with honor!"

"Oh. Huh… W-well, if that's what you're comfortable with…"

"Absolutely, I am," Mimic further permitted as he turned around to walk back into the workshop. "Now then, I'd better go on and search for the rest of those grill supplies before the others get back. I'll be in the basement if you need me."

"Gotcha. You sure you don't need me t' help you search, though?"

"Positive, son," the old researcher assured. "You've done your fair share of the work finding the parts we did and cleaning them off. I'll need you to keep watch for when Shantae and the others return."

"Understood. In that case, just holler if you need my help."

"Sure thing! Alright, I'll see you in a few." And with that, Mimic reentered his laboratory, closing the door behind him and leaving Tayshan outside to watch for his comrades to return with the supplies they tasked themselves to retrieve.

"…Huh… I've only been back here a few hours, an' I'm already hit with this… whirlin' thunderstorm of emotions…" Tayshan soliloquized as he crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the sky. "I don't know at all how smoothly this is gonna go from now until next October, but I can't help but be filled with excitement… and dread over what to expect…" he further murmured before breathing a heavy sigh into Scuttle Town's humid air. He wouldn't get too much time to think by himself, however. Wanna know why? Well, brace yourself, because this one's gonna be a doozy…

"HABIBIIIIIIIIIIII!" a voice could be heard blaring out from the side, startling Tayshan into a sense of alertness as he turned in the direction of the disturbance. It was then, however, that he spotted a familiarly gorgeous young man dressed in grape purple and goldenrod sprinting toward him at top speed while a certain half-genie, bird tamer, zombie girl, and handyman followed closely behind with bags upon bags full of groceries and other party supplies.

"…Aw, shoot. Here we go again… Well, I ain't gettin' caught off-guard on this one…" Tay murmured as he widened his stance and held his arms open in preparation to catch the brightly smiling young man he identified as Aashiq in his arms. However, he would soon find out the sheer futility in preparing for any sorts of surprises in the world of Sequin Land. As the gang closed the distance on him, the unbelievably charming young magician sprang forth like a bulked-up kangaroo jumping across a massive canyon as he reached both his arms toward his intended target. "Whoa!" Tay exclaimed in astonishment at Aashiq's incredible jumping prowess just as Aash pounced on him.

"Habibi, you are here! You are really here!" Aash proclaimed in such overwhelming excitement that it honestly stunned the undead serviceman… as well as the rest of the group as they stopped just a few feet away to watch the heartwarming spectacle unfold. And unfold, it did. With a solid *PLACK*, Aash slammed chest-first into Tay while in midair, lovingly slinging his arms around his friend's neck.

"Ghohahck! W-wow, Aash… heh, it's good t' see you again, too," Tayshan remarked with a grin, just barely managing to stay on his feet as he wrapped his arms around Aash's waist while the former Hypnotist dangled in the air like a fancy necklace.

"D'aww, he really missed him…" Sky observed in admiration of the two boys sharing a momentous reunion with one another as she and the others set their bags down against the workshop's outer wall. "This is more adorable than I thought it'd be…"

"Yeah, you're telling me," Shantae agreed as she wore one of the world's most luminescent grins as they watched Tay and Aash hug each other. Of course, this wouldn't last long. Why? Well… uh… y-yeah, I'll… just let the situation itself do the talking…

"Ohh, how much of a relief it is to feel your rugged embrace once again, habibi…!" Aash professed in tearful relief as he, while still being held by Tay, cupped the soldier's face in his hands and shifted his head to the side before making his next excitement-riddled move.

"Ooh!" Tay yelped, thrown WAY off as he felt the soft, warm, damp texture of Aashiq's lips pressing against his cheek for a split second. "Uh, h-hey, man. I get it, I mi—Mm!?" the soldier attempted to voice his concern as he tried to turn his head back to its original position while Aash remained in his arms, grasping his face. However, he did so as Aash was attempting to kiss his other cheek. And… well… uh… Tay's eyes went wide… and I mean WIDE as he froze, still holding Aash as the other young man delivered another kiss… uh, right on his lips. And at that, the rest of the group gasped with enough power to suck all the air out of Scuttle Town.

"OH…!" Rottytops began, her head nearly rolling right off her shoulders as she reeled back in EXTREME surprise.

"MY…!" Sky continued, her jaw nearly hitting the ground like a fifteen-ton boulder dropped from a speeding aircraft.

"GOODNESS!" Shantae finished at the top of her lungs in complete and total surprise, her face red enough that one could've mistaken her for a strawberry as she dramatically clasped her hands over her mouth.

"…Dude…" Bolo exhaled in such befuddlement that he nearly forgot where he even was in that moment. Try as he might to avert his gaze, however, the fledgling adventurer could hardly tear his eyes away from the truly discombobulating sight… of his two male friends… kissing each other.

Making matters more awkward, however, was the fact that Tay simply stood there, stunned as Aash innocently applied pressure onto the embrace while his eyes were closed. However, after maybe a full… five seconds after realizing he wasn't kissing a cheek, the overzealous magician opened his eyes to be met with the entirely astonished golden-eyed gaze of the other young man. And only after THAT, did Aash get the idea to flick his eyes downward to see exactly what he did. As such, Aash's eyes also went wider than globes as his heart began to pound in his chest with enough force to rival a thousand simultaneous drum solos. Quickly, he removed his lips from Tay's with a slick *pop*, the two young men staring blankly at each other for a solid minute to process what had just happened. Eventually, and only after a heaping TON of suffocating awkwardness came pouring into the deathly silent atmosphere like a full water tower spontaneously bursting wide open, Tay got the idea to gently set Aashiq down on his feet. Of course, the total collective bewilderment carried on for what felt like ages before anyone said anything.

"…O-oops… I uh… I am sorry about that," Aash tried to apologize, though he found himself far too flustered as his blushing face grew hot enough to incinerate anything that came within five hundred yards of him. "I uh… I-I was going for your cheek, and uh… erm… I-I…" At that, Tay merely sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds and shaking his head while crossing his arms and pursing his lips to process the moment for itself. Seeing this sudden shift in the soldier's demeanor had everyone on the edges of their seats as they anticipated how he'd react.

"…It's… okay," Tay replied with such a jarring sense of calmness that it only served to further startle everyone else. "I uh… in hindsight, we spoke the energy for this right into existence, an' now here we are… an' t' think I REALLY believed I'd go this entire time without that Siren's Requiem incident comin' back t' bite me..."

"What? Spoke the energy into existence? What's that supposed to mean?" Rotty asked with a raised eyebrow, though the dark green blush on her face made it evident that her thoughts were spinning like they were packed into a blender. She turned to Shantae for clarification, though the half-genie's mesmerized gaze was locked SQUARELY on her blushing, fidgeting ex-boyfriend and her ostensibly stoic current boyfriend… who had also been blushing something fierce as they looked each other in the eye.

"I am… not certain what you are referring to, habibi…" Aash confessed, tilting his head in wonder.

"Remember what I said in the Siren's Requiem Labyrinth about you needin' t' steal somethin' from me, earn it from me, or be in a situation where I needed t' give it t' you?" Tay hinted, though he was sure to keep from mentioning exactly what he was talking about.

"Hmm…" Rotty hummed as she momentarily scanned the boys up and down, evidently picking up on something. It took a mere few seconds before an idea popped into her head. She perked up in realization, though she oddly remained silent as she turned back to Shantae.

"…Okay, now that's gonna need an explanation…" Sky remarked as she also turned to the half-genie. Yet, Shantae's gaze never broke from Tay and Aash. If anything, she had been pressing her hands harder onto her mouth as a most… unusual blushing grin crept onto her face. Even odder, Sky and Rottytops also noticed that their mutual friend had been trying (and failing) to stifle a highly amused giggle.

"Ohhh, I remember now…" Aash realized, his blush fading just a tiny bit as he found it in himself to chuckle at the reminder. "Well, then… Karma sure does have an interesting way of working in that case, does it not?"

"Y-yeah… Yeah, it does…" Tay begrudgingly acknowledged, gulping and licking his lip as he turned toward the rest of the group to gauge their reactions. And what he saw… didn't surprise him in the least. Bolo wore a most comically flustered expression on his face as he did his best to avert his gaze. Sky was shifting her gaze between him and Aashiq, seeming entirely puzzled as she tried to figure out what was happening. Rottytops was staring at Shantae with a cocked eyebrow, wondering what was going on in the half-genie's head. And Shantae… still had her hands plastered over her mouth as she made direct eye contact with Tayshan, furiously blushing as she tried not to laugh. Of course, Tayshan knew FAR better by this point. As such, he shot his genie companion the most TOTALLY SERIOUS of disapproving faces, grumpily frowning at her. "I sure hope YOU'RE happy now, Shantae," he called her out, causing her to burst into a fit of giggling as she nearly fell onto the ground.

"Uh, n-no! Not at all! I uh… I'm like, SO upset about this…!" she tried to lie, failing miserably at it as she guffawed with such absolute joy that her eyes began to water. "C-can't you tell by the tears running down my cheeks? I'm furiouussshwhahahahahahahahaha! You kissed Aashiq! Hahah, you actually kissed Aashiq!" she again 'attempted' to convince him, cackling with glee as she doubled over and held her sides with one arm while pointing at him with the index finger of her other hand. Meanwhile, the others watched on in varying degrees of confusion… except for Rottytops, who'd joined in on the raucous laughter… and Tay, who couldn't have been more dismayed by his girlfriend's pleasure at the happy accident that had just occurred between himself and the stylish young magician.

"Wow… You… Are… TERRIBLE!" Tay complained, blushing deeper as the ponytailed maiden laughed even harder at his misfortune.

"Th-th-the w-worst!" the cackling half-genie barely managed to utter, having the time of her life guffawing at her ghostly love partner as she caught sight of the thoroughly embarrassed look on his face.

"D'oh…! This ain't funny, Shae! This is all YOUR fault in the first place!" he further comically protested.

"…Ah, it appears some things about kanafeh never change…" Aash knowingly remarked, chuckling a bit more himself. "Oh, how wonderful it is to see her experiencing such delight…"

"I don't get it," Sky remarked, looking for answers from anyone who'd give her some. "What's so funny?" she asked, though she couldn't help but giggle a bit herself at whatever… THIS was.

"S-so in a nutshell, Shantae totally ships Tayshan and Aashiq. HARD," Rotty revealed through her laughter, much to the collective shock of Tayshan, Aashiq, Bolo, and Sky. Shantae finally stopped laughing long enough to hear her.

"…Wait, WHAT!?" Sky remarked yet again in complete astonishment, thereby convincing me that she had probably begun shaving years off her life with all these scandalous reveals.

"N-no, Rotty, don't tell them that!" Shantae protested, though she was still recovering from her laughing fit as she grabbed onto the zombie maiden's shoulder. "That was a secret!"

"Sorry about that, but you were right! I definitely see it now!" Rotty countered as she also laid a hand on Shantae's shoulder as they laughed together. "Two young, hot, handsome guys sharing a special moment like they just did really does look as beautifully racy as it sounds! I'm jumping on that train, too!"

"…Oh, for f-! Come ON!" Tayshan shouted in such insurmountable ire that, were it not for him already being a ghost, he'd have died all over again from the sheer embarrassment. "You have GOT t' be jokin' with this shippin' stuff!"

"Ohohoho, my…~" Aash remarked with a blushing chuckle, seeming not to have as much of a problem with it as his uh… 'shipping' mate.

"Dude…!" Bolo murmured again, sighing and shaking his head in disbelief.

"Sorry, babe! Really, I am!" Shantae laughingly apologized as she and Rotty separated, prompting Tayshan to scowl at her some more in total disapproval of her teasing. "I-I mean, we kept the fact that you were here a secret from him until we came back, but none of us knew he'd be that excited when he laid eyes on you!"

"So you set me up, is what I'm hearin'," the wraith suspiciously questioned, narrowing an eye at her.

"No, not at all!" the half-genie denied, waving her hands in front of herself as she finally calmed down enough to offer a proper response. "Aash really was just that happy to see you! Besides, why would I intentionally set up a situation where you, my boyfriend, would be made to kiss another handsome boy for my entertainment?"

"You tell me," Tayshan incredulously shot back, eyeing his significant other up and down as he kept her shipping antics in mind. "You've got enough o' your own twisted reasons t' try makin' it happen by now, all things considered."

"Whoa, whoa, where is this conversation going!?" Bolo asked, entirely thrown off as he continued to reluctantly listen to his friends talking.

"Don't be silly, Tay-Tay! I'd never actually do that! Maybe…" she joked as she shot him the most disarming, innocent glance she could muster (puppy eyes and all) as she grinned and pressed her index fingers together. At that, Tay deadpanned at her to communicate that he'd expected her to come up with something slick to respond to him with.

"Hah! And here I was, thinking you and Bolo had great chemistry, stud muffin!" Rotty blurted out as she kept on eating this awkward situation up like candy.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Don't you rope me into this mess!" Bolo protested in stark disapproval as he glowered at Rottytops.

"Sorry, but on the bright side, you're mostly off the hook for now!" she laughingly consoled, nudging him on the shoulder as she did so. Bolo, caught off-guard by Rotty's sudden friendliness toward him, tensed up in mild fright as he kept a watchful eye on the zombie maiden.

"Oh, so y'all wanna be cute now," Tayshan bluntly pointed out, shifting his disapproving gaze between the half-genie and the zombie maiden. In response, both girls giggled in continued amusement at his ire at them for their shenanigans.

"We've always been cute, stud muffin," Rotty challenged, grinning with glee. "If anything, we're absolutely, irresistibly, heart-stoppingly gorgeous! You know that for a fact~!"

"Fair point, but I see what deplorable vibe y'all are on. That's cool, though. That's… cool… That's perfectly fine…" he ominously acknowledged while paying the girls their compliments, nodding his head and pursing his lips as he let them yuk it up for the moment.

"I love you, Tay!" Shantae quickly proclaimed, still goofily grinning at Tayshan with blushing glee as she formed a heart with her hands and aimed it at him. Caught by surprise, the soldier's heart skipped a beat at just the sight of the beautiful half-genie in all her exuberant, arguably innocent glory as she professed her boundless affection toward him. However, he ALSO knew she was trying to get him to let his guard down. And Tayshan, despite having the softest of soft spots for Shantae, knew better.

"I love you too, Shae, but that charmin' little gesture there ain't foolin' me," he declared, pouting a bit as he recognized her sneaky trick for what it was. "You go ahead an' you keep bein' adorable, though. I'mma even let you have this Shipping Game-related laugh for now, because I got somethin' for you…"

"Uh-oh… I feel like I shouldn't take that too lightly…" Shae asserted, raising an eyebrow as her heartbeat quickened tenfold.

"Good, because you're right," the soldier revealed, his pout turning into a most… curiously mischievous grin as his voice deepened. "That said, just you watch. You keep this up, an' you're gonna be dealin' with a really huge problem later on…" he slyly remarked, putting everyone on high alert… except for the person he directed his warning at. Flustered as she was by his idle suggestion about this 'problem,' Shantae was not one to back down from a challenge; especially not one from her beloved boyfriend.

"Oh, is that right? Well… What if I want that 'really huge problem,' hm? What are you gonna do~?" the half-genie dared to impishly press him, causing Sky and Rottytops to gasp in complete bewilderment. Tay, though caught off-guard by her confident reply as his heartbeat sped up by a hundred miles per hour, kept his composure as he nodded in acknowledgement.

"So you wanna play it that way, eh? Fine. You want it? You just earned it, Shae-Shae. I just hope you know that it'll be the hardest thing you'll ever deal with. An' I'm fittin' t' make you have t' work yourself to the bone t' solve it… that is, if you can. You might not be able t' handle what I have in store for you," he ominously hinted once again as his grin at the half-genie widened. Sky and Rotty gasped even louder as a result. Shantae, at this point blushing hard enough that it almost looked like she'd been wearing red face paint that glowed in broad daylight as her heart raced like a thousand ostriches sprinting through an open savannah, still somehow managed to keep it together as she and Tay kept their gazes locked on each other.

"I bet you will make it really hard for me, Tay-Tay," Shantae playfully teased back, holding her stance strong as her smile remained as jovial as could be. "But I know your methods now, as much as you think I don't. And you know what? Without saying too much, I've got my own ways of turning the tables on you, grinding you into submission, and then putting you in the tightest spots… Spots you could never hope to escape from as I ride you for every last ounce of energy you have for me," she further challenged, though she earned the explosive surprise of everyone in the vicinity. Rottytops in particular, thrown WAY, WAY off, went wide-eyed as her jaw nearly dislocated and fell hard enough to cause an earthquake big enough to sink Scuttle Town into the sea.

"WHOOOOOA!" Rotty hollered to the high heavens as her eyes went wide enough to match the circumference of the moon.

"SHANTAE! TAYSHAN!" Sky shouted, flustered beyond believe at the not-so-innocent banter session between the two lovebirds. "Are you two crazy!? You can't be saying things like that out here! That's completely inappropriate! We're in PUBLIC, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, seriously! Get a room! Jeez!" Bolo additionally protested, plugging his fingers into his ears as he scowled at his friends.

"What?" both the ponytailed heroine and the halo-adorned wraith asked in collective confusion at Sky's scolding or Bolo's angry suggestion. Evidently, neither of them picked up on just how… er, suggestive their conversation was.

"I don't see what the fuss is all about. We were only talking about messing with each other…" Shantae tried to assure, though her comment had the exact opposite effect of what she'd intended.

"Yeah, I'm not gettin' why everybody's so tensed up right now either," Tayshan added in shared confusion that made it evident that there… MAY have been a conflict of ideas going on surrounding the context of his banter session with the half-genie.

"…Oh, my… I am… picking up some MAJOR 'passion' vibes here…" Aash murmured, blushing hard as he cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "It appears my kanafeh has learned well… and evidently, habibi is no slouch himself…"

"Whew… Any hotter, and the two of you would've roasted everyone here to a crisp with that tantalizing back-and-forth flirt-fest," Rotty finally recovered enough to point out, blushing furiously as she fanned herself with her hand. "That was almost too much for even me to handle… Goodness, I didn't think either of you had that in you."

"…Right," Tayshan hesitantly commented with a tinge of uneasiness as he continued wondering about the reasons for his friends' reactions to a bit of simple, innocent teasing between two romantic partners. He soon found himself glancing at Shantae to see her nervously shifting her gaze between her friends as she also seemed to be trying to figure out what it was she said that got them all bent out of shape. With that, however, he dropped it and opted to change the subject. "Well, all the fun an' games aside, it's good t' see you're all back. It's also good t' see you in good shape again after the mess we went through, Aash. And… thanks for the overly enthusiastic 'Welcome Back' kiss, I guess… Nice t' know just how much you missed me…" he uneasily, blushingly remarked to try and move the discussion along, though his last comment only caused the girls to burst into a fit of collective giggling.

"Er, it is… a most wondrous pleasure to see you as well, Tayshan," Aash nervously exchanged pleasantries, though he couldn't hide the adorable grin on his adorable face as he ran a hand through his hair to straighten it out a bit. "I had heard rumors that you had died, and I had been distraught that we had lost you forever. As it was revealed, I did not know you would be here waiting for us until after we arrived here in Scuttle Town. Our friends kept your presence a complete secret when I encountered them in Oasis Town. I must say, however, you look much more dashing than I remember! This ensemble certainly suits you. Your eyes even match the gold in it, too! How did you change your eye color to that magnificent golden shade?"

"Thanks for the compliments, homie," Tay smilingly voiced his appreciation. "As for my eyes? It was a magic-related thing that you'll hear about later… that is, if you're stickin' around for this party we're about t' have."

"Indeed, I am!" Aash excitedly affirmed, though he couldn't help but flick his eyes upward to see a giant glittering ring fixed above his friend. "I cannot wait to be filled in. However, I also notice the halo hovering above your head. Is it true? Did you really…?"

"Yep. I was killed in battle," Tay confirmed, causing Aash mild shock as the former Hypnotist apprentice's heart sank. "But, I was granted a chance t' come back as a wraith, which technically makes me undead. It's… for that same reason that I now have this halo here."

"I see… Well, it still warms my heart to know that the bounds of death could not truly separate you from us. And uh… I-I suppose that, even for it being a total accident, I will… say… you are welcome for allowing me to kiss you?" he nervously addressed, sheepishly pressing his index fingers together as he smilingly bowed his head toward the soldier. "I am… also glad that you are accepting of it… And… if it makes you feel better, habibi, it was… very nice… much better than I thought it would be…" he further admitted, throwing Tay for so many loops that he felt like he was caught in the middle of a world-ending tornado.

"D'aww, this is so sweet..." Shantae affectionately commented, eating this once-in-a-lifetime moment up like cotton candy as it continued to play out exactly like in one of her many secret boy-on-boy fantasi-er, I-I mean, in a way she definitely approved of because of how important she felt the bonds of unconditional friendship were. Y-yeah, that one.

"…Errrgh…" the disgruntled ghost grumbled after a moment of being completely dumbfounded by Aashiq's admission, pouting in blushing discomfort as he momentarily batted his gaze elsewhere. This... did not help his case, as you may imagine.

"Aww, I did not mean to make you blush, habibi! I meant that compliment with all my heart!" Aash laughingly tried to console, patting Tay on the back as everyone else watched the awkward moment unfold in never-ending amusement, giggling in collective glee.

"…That's NOT helpin', Aash…" Tay complained, growing increasingly flustered by the second as he let out a breath of air hot enough to cause a global weather crisis.

"Yyyyyeeeah, I DEFINITELY ship it now," Rotty announced, evidently compelled to keep throwing oil on the fire. As such, Tay scowled at her while Shantae and Sky stifled their laughter. Bolo merely rolled his eyes and silently wished they would get off this awkward topic already.

"I will suffer no more o' your TRIFLIN' fantasies today, Rotty," Tay declared, emphatically pointing a finger at her. Of course, the zombie maiden's response was to laugh at him some more as she heard her new favorite word. "You neither, Shae," he further warned, directing his finger to the unsurprised half-genie.

"Ah, don't worry. There's no longer a need to fantasize about it, because I got to see it for myself in full yet again," she remarked with a shrug and a smug grin. "And man, was this every bit as exciting and romantic as I thought it would be…~ I might even write a short story or two about this when I get a chance, I feel so inspired..." she further joked with a wink, though I can't help but be intrigued by the possibility of Shantae becoming a writer. That'd be pretty cool... even if her motivation in this context was just a tad... impure.

"Oh, you'd better no-!"

"Of course, I'll change your names around to protect your privacy," she joked again, at which point Aashiq burst into a hearty giggle along with Rottytops. Meanwhile, Tayshan went quiet for a moment as he continued to pout with stark disapproval.

"...Unbelievable…" he grumbled with a sigh, lowering his finger and shaking his head in complete befuddlement. "Hmph. At the very least, YOU don't condone this foolishness. Right, Sky?" he asked, putting the bird tamer on the hot seat as she flinched in surprise. Sky knew Tay was looking toward her for validation. Buuuuut…

"Actually…" Sky began, shyly casting her gaze away and twirling her finger through some of the goldenrod locks of hair sticking out through her headdress.

"…Really? You, too?" Tay had to ask, completely baffled by Sky's indirect admission to condoning the Shipping Game.

"I mean, like… You and Aashiq DO kinda make a nice pair… at least, aesthetically speaking," she informed him in a most unwarranted manner, causing the unfortunate soldier to exhale in disbelief as Aashiq chuckled again in amusement. "Not to say I'd ship you with him over Shantae, because I think you're a FAR better match for her than you would be for anyone else… m-myself included… but like… You with Aashiq has its… own unique and enticing appeal, if I must admit it."

"So, that makes all three o' y'all ladies who just want t' see two boys get cuddly with each other for your own entertainment," the wraith flatly pointed out. "I'd expect as much from Shantae an' Rottytops at this point, but I am so disappointed in you, Sky…"

"I know, and I'm sorry…" she apologized, giggling at the comical disbelief on the serviceman's face. "I'm gonna need to work on that, evidently."

"You do that," Tay permitted with a shrug. "Gotta say, though, I don't really understand what the fascination is with y'all shippin' boys with each other; least of all, shippin' Aashiq or Bolo with me. I mean seriously… Two young, handsome guys share some type o' friendship that gives even the slightest hint o' bein' somethin' more, an' suddenly, EVERYBODY an' their grandmother thinks we should start slobberin' all over each other, kissin' an' cuddlin' behind closed doors. An' the worst part is that it's almost always GIRLS who think like that. People are such a mess…"

"On that detail, we agree," Bolo chimed in. "Women in general can be really weird with that sort of thing. I don't get the appeal of it at all, because you'd think they'd want to imagine themselves with either one of the guys in question more than pretending the two guys were head-over-heels for each other to suit their own interests."

"Yes, but from what I have learned, ladies tend to like letting their imaginations wander when it comes to men's interest in romance. For some reason, it especially appeals to them when two men are emotionally available to one another and are capable of sharing a close, soulful connection that grows deeper on multiple levels," Aashiq added to the discussion. "Granted, even if it was the case that I was romantically involved with you and/or Tayshan, I certainly would not want people prying into our business and filling their minds with lurid thoughts about us and what we were doing. Even now, my current boyfriend and I keep our relationship very private; no matter how many people have tried to snoop into it."

"Facts," Tayshan wholeheartedly agreed in a word.

"Well, I guess that's just how it goes around here," Bolo nonchalantly replied, though he had to take a moment to shake certain thoughts out of his own head based on his own experiences with Aashiq. He… may have also been trying to resist the urge to blush at the thought of Aashiq of all people as a romantic partner, considering… Ahh, it's not important. The poor guy was just a tad… unsure of how to feel toward the young magician, despite hearing that Aashiq wasn't even on the market. Anyway… "Seems like 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 Shantae had to deal with a ton of that when Tayshan first came around. Rumors about the two of them were rampant around here, 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, as far as I heard."

"Ah, I see," Aashiq remarked in understanding. "I suppose some things never change around these parts."

"This 'Shipping Game' in a nutshell," Tay remarked as he and the other boys came to a consensus on this whole perceived romance debacle from the male perspective. At that tiny discussion, however, Rotty and Sky both perked up as though they'd realized something.

"Huh… Weren't we talking about something just like this earlier, Rotty?" Sky queried, taken aback by the eerie similarities between the boys' discussion and one that the two girls had prior to everyone regrouping.

"To the 'T,'" Rotty confirmed, equally as astounded as Sky was that this unusual shipping craze hit both sides of the gender spectrum. "How strange… Also, did Aashiq just say he has a boyfriend?"

"Yep," Sky affirmed. "But, it's not really my business to say anything more. I'll defer to him out of respect."

"No need. I'm just… a little surprised about that, is all…" the zombie girl shared, shifting her gaze toward the magician in question and growing a bit curious about him herself. "Wow…"

"Alright, I'm sure we can all have a nice, big chat about all this a little later," Shantae interjected, cutting off both discussions to bring things back into focus. "Anyway, my Soul-Link sense tingled while we were in Oasis Town. Is everything okay here, Tay?"

"Yeah, it's all good," the wraith assured. "Your uncle wanted me t' give him a demonstration o' the Magic Flux thing I was tellin' you about last night."

"Magic Flux?" Bolo asked, tilting his head.

"One o' many things we'll get t' talk about when we get this cookout up an' runnin'," Tay assured. "But yeah, I showed it t' Mimic. I guess I overdid it if you were able t' sense it. Sorry about the scare. I didn't mean t' make you worry, Shae."

"Not an issue! I'm just glad everything's okay," she acknowledged. "I should've figured Uncle wouldn't be able to resist the urge to experiment on you. Speaking of, where is Uncle?"

"In the basement, lookin' for the last few pieces t' the grill set. He wanted me t' wait out here for when y'all came back."

"Ah, children! You've all returned!" Mimic exclaimed in excitement as he finally stepped back out from his workshop before dusting himself off. "I was wondering what all that commotion was..."

"And… there he is," Tay remarked with a chuckle. "Perfect timin'."

"I see you brought an extra guest!" the elderly Relic Hunter pointed out, noticing Aashiq among the group.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mimic!" Aash politely greeted with a friendly wave. "I trust you have been well since last we met?"

"Affirmative, lad!" the scientist happily confirmed. "You planning on joining us for our post-war get-together?"

"Yes, sir! I encountered Shantae and company in Oasis Town, and they filled me in. I would love nothing more than to spend some much-needed quality time in the company of my dearest friends."

"Excellent! In that case, we should probably start getting prepared before the guest list grows too long," Mimic suggested before turning to Shantae. "We cleaned the parts to the grill, and we're ready to set it up. Did you happen to find everything you needed from Oasis Town's bazaar?"

"Yep!" the half-genie assured with a smiling nod, pointing toward all the loaded shopping bags lined up along the outer wall of the workshop. "Should we head out to my house now, or did we need to take care of something else before we took off?"

"Unless we have some extra ideas on who else to invite, I believe we're all set," Mimic asserted with utmost confidence.

"Cool! I'm pretty sure everyone we'd want to be here is coming. Only ones missing at this point are Rotty's brothers."

"Who, as usual, are gonna be extra late," Rotty interjected with a shake of her head.

"Ah, it's been quite a while since I last laid eyes on them," Mimic acknowledged with a nod. "As long as they aren't planning to kidnap me again, I wouldn't mind seeing them again."

"I promise you, gramps, we are ABSOLUTELY through with those kinds of shenanigans. I mean that," the zombie maiden fervently assured with an unusually serious expression. "We've learned our lessons, and we can't apologize enough for that stunt back then…"

"Water under the bridge, Rottytops," the scientist dismissed. "On that note, let's get this party started!"

"Yes, sir!" Shantae concurred as she, Sky, Rotty, and Bolo rounded up the grocery bags and began hauling them off.

"Excellent. Tayshan, I'm gonna need some of your muscle to lug these grill pieces along the way," Mimic requested, to which Tay acknowledged with a nod.

"You got it, Pops," the serviceman obliged, taking the initiative to step inside the workshop to fetch the cooking equipment.

"…'Pops?'" Shantae queried in wonder, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Mimic.

"A simple term of endearment that he came up with while we were bonding," Mimic nonchalantly informed his niece, much to her delight as a cheerful grin crept onto her face.

"Ah, I see. I'm so glad to know that, Uncle… And here, I thought you only wanted to keep him here to interrogate and experiment on him while I was away."

"Oh trust me, there will be plenty of time for that later on. Chances are, you're going to be part of that process, too" Mimic assured with a knowing grin, causing Shantae to mirthfully giggle.

"Of course. I could never put it past you, but I'm always prepared."

"You know me well, cupcake. You know me well…" As Mimic finished his statement, Tayshan had emerged from the workshop with his arms full to the brim with a plethora of gleaming metal poles and grates. "Ah, wow. I uh… I wasn't expecting you to take the entire set into your hands. Those materials normally require two or three people to lift and carry them. You sure you're gonna be able to hoist all that to the lighthouse on your own?"

"Yeah, if we move out now…! Hrrgh…!" Tay remarked with considerable strain as he shuffled his way out of the front door.

"Would you like me to relieve you of some of the burden, habibi?" Aash politely asked.

"Nah, you're good…! I'll let you know if my arms get tired, though," the wraith confidently assured.

"In that case, we'd better move before your arms give out," Sky advised with a slight chuckle. "I'm a little worried you're biting off more than you can chew there, hon."

"Thanks for your concern, Sky… On that note, let's hit the road…" Tay agreed, prompting the group to shuffle along to the lighthouse. Yet, as the group finally shifted gears and sped things along…

"Um… Bolo?" Rottytops called to the spiky-haired young man, prompting him to turn to her in mild fright as his heart skipped a beat.

"Ah, h-huh?" he hummed, his eyes wide as he turned to the undead young lady. Seeing his reaction to her… hurt her to see. She didn't like that he was suddenly so skittish around her that it felt like she was a total stranger to him. However, she knew for herself by this point that… this may have been her fault.

"…Mind if you and I… hang out a little during this party? I… I want to talk to you about some things…" she nervously asked, practically quaking in her sneakers as she anticipated his reply.

"Y-you and me? That's… unusual," he commented, bringing Rotty no surprises at all. "Why would you want to do that? I thought you hated me."

"No, dude, come on… I… I don't hate you at all. I… um… I love you just like I love everyone else here. I get why you'd think I hated you, though. I'm… sorry for how I treated you this past week," she sincerely apologized, a tinge of regret in her tone that threw the handyman for a few enormous loops. "It wasn't right at all, and you didn't deserve any of it…"

"Oh. Uh… O-okay. Thanks," Bolo stammered, taken completely by surprise at the fact that Rottytops of all people was offering to make peace with him. "Um… I-I'm… sorry, too. And… well, if you want to spend some time together so we can hash things out, I uh… I wouldn't mind."

"Cool," Rotty nervously acknowledged, breathing a sigh of both relief and anticipation as the entire squad made their way to Shantae's house to kick off the celebration.

One quick field trip later…

LOCATION: SCUTTLE TOWN LIGHTHOUSE (OUTSIDE), SCUTTLE TOWN, SEQUIN LAND

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

TIME: 1657 HOURS

"Whew… That didn't take as long as I thought it would, but man, did it still feel like a ton of work…" Bolo remarked, taking off his headband and wiping sweat off his brow as he took sip of the bottled water he was holding.

"You can say that again," Tayshan agreed, rotating his shoulder as he panted, seeming a bit winded as he recovered from a task that evidently proved to be quite grueling. "Carryin' this giant grill set here was one thing, but t' dig a pit big enough for the fire, on top o' proppin' it up, settin' all the material in, an' then settin' up all these rocks around it, and THEN puttin' the grill together? Shoot, this felt like a whole construction project…"

"Well, it's certainly a good thing you had yours truly to do ALL the heavy lifting," Rottytops joked, sweating a bunch herself as she raised her arms high, arched her back, and stretched for a moment. "It probably would've taken you two lazy saps a solid two days to get even half of the steps done if it wasn't for me."

"Says the one who tripped an' fell int' the pit because she was bein' SO productive with her dancin' an' twirlin' around like a ballerina with a blindfold on," Tay immediately called out, causing the others to share a collective laugh.

"Yeah, Rotty, that was a pretty nasty spill you took," Shantae humorously added as she, Sky, and Aashiq stood around a nearby wooden table, seasoning a series of various meat and vegetable cutlets and putting them on metal skewers. "You sure you're alright after that?"

"Sure am," the excitable undead maiden assured, perking up as she made a full recovery from her previous fatigue. "Only thing wounded in the slightest was my pride. I'm just glad to have wonderful people who don't laugh at their friends' misfortune…" she further insinuated, shooting a most accusatory glance at Tayshan and Bolo… who'd only incriminated themselves further by laughing some more.

"We didn't mean to!" Bolo tried to lie, though he knew for himself that it wouldn't convince Rotty in the slightest. "But like… that was one HECK of a fall. I told you to be careful with running back and forth with all that stuff in your hands like you were practicing for a track meet. I'm pretty sure you set a record somewhere with how spectacular it was, on top of how long it took for you to actually wind up in the ditch. If only you'd stuck the landing," he further quipped, eliciting another round of laughter from everyone except Rotty.

"Hardy-Har, Bolo," the zombie maiden complained, crossing her arms. "I certainly wouldn't make fun of you in that situation…"

"…Yyyyyeeah, I'm pretty sure you would; viciously, at that," the handyman countered, causing Rotty to chuckle before forcing herself to stop and straighten up.

"O-okay, well… I definitely wouldn't keep laughing at you for doing something embarrassing!"

"Then what exactly was you doin' an hour ago?" Tay interjected, also finding a point of contention in Rotty's assertion.

"Nice try, honey buns, but that was just me appreciating a nice little spectacle of pure, unbridled Achillean bliss. And you know that~!" Rotty shot back with the widest of grins, causing Tay to flinch in shock while the others turned and looked on in their own form of bewilderment.

"…'Honey buns'?" Sky dared to inquire, thrown for maybe her billionth loop for the day. "What in the world could she possibly mean by that?"

"Don't ask…" Shantae pleaded, knowing for sure Rotty's term of endearment had no form of purity behind it. Meanwhile, Tay took in the HARDEST of breaths through his nose and exhaled out of his mouth before he thought up a response.

"…Y'know what, Rotty? You been on this slick shtick just about all day," Tay expertly pointed out as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I suppose I have…" she unabashedly acknowledged with a grinning shrug. "Sorry, but I'm just having way too much fun right now!"

"Havin' fun, huh? Oh, I'll show you 'fun' if you keep it up…!" he warned as he shook his fist at her, though he couldn't resist the urge to grin himself. "An' I thought I told you never t' call me that horrible name again. You don't want these problems, Rotty."

"Oh, really? Heh, don't threaten me with a good time~! You've got a big enough 'problem' for Shantae already, don't you?" she humorously prodded with a knowing grin, causing Tay to flinch with blushing embarrassment.

"Gah! Y-you-!"

"And you've got plenty of stamina from what I've seen, but I'm not sure you're up to the task of handling both of us at the same time…~" she teased with a most coquettish wink, her grin widening as she acknowledged his 'threat.' Shocked once again, Tay was rendered almost entirely speechless as his jaw dropped. "Oh, and I guess it must've slipped my mind as far as the name goes, honey buns. Oopsies… I said it again..." At that, the astonished wraith found it in himself to chuckle away some of his nervousness before offering his rebuttal.

"That's cute. But with the way you been actin' up today, you ain't gettin' any leeway… which is t' say, even if it's two-on-one, I might be too much for you t' 'handle.'"

"Sounds like you really highly of yourself there, babe. I admire the confidence, but I think your delivery needs work," Rotty dismissed with a shrug, daring him to ramp it up. And ramp it up, Tayshan did.

"Oh? Then, let me put this next statement in a way I KNOW you'll understand: I'm fittin' t' drill you hard an' fast for as long as you think you can take it until you're about ready t' pass out from the rush of it all. An' believe me when I say this, Rotty: By the time we're finished, you'll feel like a whole different woman..." he cleverly shot back, standing up to the challenge as he caught Rotty by surprise. Her eyes widened to the sizes of truck tires as she stared at him, to which he responded by shooting her a confident, mischievous grin.

"...Goodness, Tay... I... ah... H-huh... Whoo, that's hot..." she stammered, evidently blown away by the descriptive nature of his vow. She blushed hard enough that her cheeks looked like she plastered sea algae all over her face, she was so taken aback. Seeing this, Tay's smirk widened.

"Aw, yeah. Hope you're prepared," he further suggested with a playfully sinister chuckle.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Sky protested, evidently not liking the phrasing of the 'threat' as she whirled around and glared. "What do you two think you're-!?"

"An' Shantae ain't savin' you from what I got specifically for you, homegirl," Tay continued, pointing a finger at Rotty as he let her know he wasn't going easy on her. "Even she ain't always prepared for the techniques I keep under wraps, so now you can consider yourself properly warned."

"Oh, boy… They're about to start roughhousing already…" Shantae remarked with a lighthearted chuckle. "She couldn't wait more than a few hours to start messing with him. I just hope she knows what she's in for, because things could get really wild really quickly between the two of them…"

"…Oh… They're just… talking about wrestling…" Sky realized, both relieved and just a tad embarrassed that she jumped to an unsavory conclusion as she sighed and batted her eyes away. "Whew…"

"Of course, they were," Shantae confirmed, shooting the flustered falconer a look of perplexity. "What did you think they meant?"

"Uh, n-nothing! Nothing at all! I'm just gonna… keep seasoning these vegetables," Sky frantically and blushingly dismissed, hoping she didn't make herself seem too obvious. Though Shantae didn't say anything back in that moment, she couldn't help but get a healthy chuckle out of Sky's apparent misunderstanding.

"My, my… You really got me there!" Rotty exclaimed in approval after she took a moment to get past her initial shock. "I'm impressed… And I'm definitely game for that, but I won't lie… This sounds like quite the tall order to deliver... even for you, stud muffin. You sure you know what you're signing up for, challenging me and Shantae like this? You should know that if you're not careful, we're gonna suck all the energy out of you, and then jump you right when you think you've had enough. We probably wouldn't stop there, either...~" she warned, barely managing to keep her composure as she grinned with infectious ecstasy. However, she couldn't help but show her pride in him for matching her outrageous comment with one of his own as she beamed at him.

"…and evidently, I'm in on it, too…" the half-genie further acknowledged, laughing some more as she secretly anticipated the moment she and Rotty would jump him and run him ragged. "I honestly can't wait to see how this plays out…! I also hope Tayshan knows that the minute we get started, we're gonna wear him out and wring him dry until he's sprawled out on the floor, gasping for air at our mercy...! He'd be lucky if he could even walk at any point during the next week, no matter how long he thinks he can handle me and Rottytops at the same time... We're gonna totally drain him by the end of tonight... Ooh, I'm practically trembling, I'm so excited...!" At that, Sky exhaled pretty much ALL the air out of her lungs as she momentarily gawked at Shantae with her mouth open wider than a butterfly net. Evidently, she found some sort of issue with even this comment from the half-genie. And yet, after maybe a couple seconds of blushing contemplation, the bird tamer shook her head and sighed.

"...No comment," Sky murmured as she turned back to her vegetables and kept on seasoning them while definitely NOT having any further lewd thoughts spurred by the bombastic claims shared between the half-genie, the zombie, or the wraith. Meanwhile...

"Well, I'll warn you right back an' tell you that both o' y'all are gonna have a real tough time pinnin' me down. You'd have quite the wild ride tryin' it," Tay doubled down, not at all afraid of the fundamentally unfair matchup as he found himself more determined than ever.

"I'm sure we would, but that doesn't mean it'll be impossible, Tay-Tay," Rotty confidently assured him. "We've got our... 'special' ways of taking you down, as you'll soon learn."

"You sure do seem awfully sure o' yourself. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or offended."

"Well, when you're challenging two people by yourself, one of whom is the strongest woman in the world and the other of whom has super strength in her own right, you can't exactly expect me to be intimidated," Rottytops teased with a chuckle. "Even for you being almost as strong as Shantae, you're probably no match for me and her combined."

"I don't know about all that," Tay casually brushed the assertion aside with a grinning shrug. "I'm full o' surprises, as you're gonna find out. But then, just like you have a tag partner this time, I also have a tag partner…" he further hinted, patting Bolo on the shoulder.

"Hm? Me? Whoa, I wasn't really expecting to be a part of this…" Bolo warily voiced his hesitation shortly after jumping out of his skin at the idea that he'd be involved in this crazy wrestling match of catastrophic proportions. "I'm... REALLY not sure I even want to be a part of this, with the way you two are talking..."

"Aw come on, Bolo. Don't leave a brother hangin'," Tay humorously urged. "Much as I'd LOVE t' take the two o' them on by myself, there's safety in numbers. Besides, we men gotta stick together, remember?"

"Yeah, sure, but like… I dunno, man… Just one of them is enough of a challenge in itself. We both know that already," he further objected, causing Rotty to laugh. "Both of them? And at the same time? That's just asking for it…"

"Aw, is poor little Bolo scared of getting wrung out by a couple of pretty girls?" she teased, much to the handyman's chagrin. "I figured you'd be used to dreaming about that sort of thing by now, but I don't suppose you could be blamed for backing out and letting Tay-Tay have all the fun for himself instead of taking the chance of a lifetime."

"What was that?" Bolo irritably asked, pouting at Rotty as she grinned in triumph.

"You heard me, chicken boy," the zombified young lady taunted again, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm far too much woman for you to handle anyway, and we all know I'd have you begging for mercy in ten seconds flat. Again, no one's blaming you."

"Bro, are you gonna sit there an' take this disrespect?" Tay egged on, doing nothing to deescalate the 'tension' in the air. "She's really out here questionin' your manhood…"

"Yeah, Bo… You gonna let a woman tell you like it is again?" Rottytops poured it on, taking immense pleasure in the scowl on Bolo's face. "Or are you finally man enough to get hot and heavy with the likes of me?"

"…Okay, fine. That's how you wanna play it, Rotty? You're on," Bolo broke out of his shell to accept the challenge as he found himself suddenly brimming with excitement for the showdown of a lifetime. "Just know that you're gonna look real silly by the end of this for taking me lightly."

"Perhaps…" she taunted once again, approaching him and leaning forward to get right up in his face as she smirked and… rather flirtatiously tickled his chin with her hand. "…although it's highly unlikely…" To say she flustered the poor young man was a grievous understatement. His face growing hot, he tensed up for a second as his mind went blank. Staring at Rotty in all her alluring glory in her makeshift workout ensemble, Bolo did his best to try and look like she didn't succeed in riling him up. Unfortunately for him, Rotty was watching his every move… which included where his eyes were directed as she snickered in amusement and wiggled her shoulders to further drive up the uh… 'intimidation' factor. "And with just as little as bending down a tiny bit and giving you a better view, I've already got you…~ And you said you weren't attracted to me…"

"…Uh… y-you're… not my… type…?" Bolo tried to deny, though his entire body was betraying him in all the worst ways possible in that moment. At the very least, he tried to look Rotty in the eye as she continued to tantalize him… and reader, I mean he TRIED.

"At this point, I find that just a TAD hard to believe…" Rotty countered, that lascivious smile never leaving her face as she continued to torment the handyman. "Almost… as hard as your-!"

"Ay, get out o' here with that!" Tay THANKFULLY intervened and drew the line, lightly shoving Rotty away from Bolo while flicking his hands at her. Rotty, of course, ate it all up as she fully engaged in her favorite hobby of messing with the boys. "You keep your dirty tricks out o' this! We're doin' this fair an' square! Stop bein' triflin'!"

"No promises, stud muffin. Being trifling might just be my ace in the hole, as you'll soon find out~!" Rotty humorously remarked with a shrug and additional guffaw at Tay's entirely correct accusation (and word) as she turned and headed toward the table where Shantae and the others were either watching on or continuing to make the kebabs. "For now, though, I'll go ahead and start setting up the chairs and tables. Bolo, do you mind lending me a hand?"

"Ah… Sure thing," he volunteered, shaking off just enough of his nervousness to… very cautiously join Rottytops.

"Cool. We can keep talking as we go along," she happily suggested as she switched gears, to which Bolo offered no ostensible objection. "Tay, can you finish setting up the fire pit?"

"Yeah. I got it, homegirl," Tay answered with a nod, complying with the request as he got set to finish constructing the pit for the bonfire.

"Goodness, Rotty… You really know how to leave an impact on the boys, don't you?" Shantae asked, giggling with glee as she continued seasoning and skewering the meat and vegetable cutlets.

"Sure do~! Of course, if we expect to show them who's boss later on, we're gonna need to remind them of just how powerless they are against us. Y'know, let them know exactly why girls rule and boys drool."

"Can't argue with that logic, I suppose…" the half-genie wholeheartedly agreed.

"Keep that energy up for when it's time t' face off, Shae!" Tayshan warned, pointing at his 'opponent.' "We'll see who rules an' who drools."

"Save it for the tag-team wrestling match, Tay! You're gonna need the energy, trust me!" Shantae laughingly announced back to him, beyond confident she could hold her own against the undead soldier.

"Bet on it," he assured as he smilingly turned and continued his task of putting the finishing touches on the fire pit.

"Bet, huh? That doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Rotty murmured, evidently taking Tay's suggestion to heart as she began brainstorming on her own.

"Well now, it seems like things are coming together swimmingly," Mimic observed as he set up the cooler for a vast assortment of soft drinks submerged in ice water. He scoured the party site to see that everyone had been diligently setting things up. "At this rate, we'll be ready to get the grill running and get those kebabs roasting in no time!"

"Good, because I'm starving…" Shantae replied, her stomach growling like a bear as she, Aash, and Sky finished constructing the last kebabs and set them aside. "I haven't eaten since this morning…"

"Same. It probably doesn't help that we've been staring at all this food this entire time, either," Sky agreed, wiping her hands on a towel before taking a giant drink of water to refresh herself.

"In due time, we'll get the chance to eat," the Relic Hunter assured. "Although, Sky, I'm aware you aren't able to have meat… right?"

"Close. I'm actually a pescatarian," she casually revealed, much to everyone's surprise.

"You're a... a what? Pesky terrier?" Shantae asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you even liked dogs..."

"No, no, I said 'Pescatarian,' girl," Sky laughingly corrected. "It means that, while I don't eat meat, I'm still able to have seafood."

"Ooohhh… Wow, I never knew that about you, Sky!"

"We learn something new about each other every day, it seems."

"Well it's a good thing there's plenty of salmon, shrimp, and scallops here," Mimic remarked. "Will you be okay if there are other meats on the grill, though?"

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. As long as we keep the meat kebabs separate from the fish ones, and the fish ones separate from the vegetable ones, I should be alright. The smell of meat doesn't necessarily bother me, either."

"Y'know, I was gonna ask you at some point if you ate meat or not," Tayshan shared as he set the last few stones down to complete the fire pit. "I had a hunch, though it was based mostly on your profession an' most o' the food I've seen you eat."

"Your hunch was mostly right. Believe it or not though, Tay-Tay, a lot of my birds eat meat," she clarified. "Wrench especially. He's a bird of prey."

"Yeah, no kidding," Bolo and Rottytops flatly and simultaneously remarked, seeming to have some sort of… shared experience.

"Sorry…" Sky bashfully apologized. "I'm still trying to train him on how to differentiate friends from food. He's never done that with Shantae or Tayshan, interestingly enough."

"Hmph. Well, whatever the case, it's a good thing you didn't bring any of those birds here," Bolo shared his discomfort with Sky's avian friends.

"Hm? What do you mean? Wrench is perched on top of the lighthouse over there," the bird tamer pointed out, calling attention to her trusty prismatic bird of questionable species. And sure enough, there Wrench was in all his feathery glory, staring bullets at Bolo and Rottytops as he rested on the roof of Shantae's home.

"…Of COURSE she'd bring that man-eating pheasant thing here…!" Rotty grumbled, averting her gaze from her potential predator on the food chain.

"I suppose I should ask, since we're on the topic…" Mimic chimed in. "Are there any other dietary restrictions or allergies we should be aware of?"

"Nope," Bolo denied.

"Nuh-uh," Rotty also denied.

"None for me," Shantae assured with a nod.

"No, sir," Aash clarified.

"No pork for me," Tayshan revealed, catching everyone by surprise yet again.

"What!? No pork!?" Rotty exclaimed in shock as she whirled around and gawked at him.

"So what, does that mean you don't eat bacon, or ham, or hot dogs, or bologna, or salami, or sausage, or pepperoni on pizza!?" Bolo further questioned, much to the serviceman's amusement.

"You got it, y'all," he confirmed, blowing most of the group away.

"Jeez, Tay-Tay, how could you ever LIVE without bacon!? Or any of the deliciously savory meats Bolo just mentioned!?" Rotty practically demanded to know. "And how come you don't eat pork!?"

"I've… found a way t' survive on other meats, believe it or not," Tay humorously replied. "An' as far as not eatin' pig meat goes, it was a strict traditional practice in my family. That, an' pork is WAY too gross an' salty for my sense o' taste. It's always caked in grease an' slimy gristle that feels like chewin' on wet rubber. Had a slice o' bacon once as a kid by mistake an' gagged like somebody shoved a mushy tennis ball doused in saltwater down my throat…"

"Goodness, hon, that sounds both poetic and traumatic…" Shantae remarked with a giggle while Bolo and Rottytops gawked at him like he'd committed high treason.

"Trust me, it was. I'll probably tell y'all more about it once we get started with story time," Tay smilingly replied.

"This, I can't wait to hear…" the half-genie laughingly shared her interest.

"Ehh, I don't know if I wanna hear such rampant blasphemy," Rotty joked with a shrug.

"Yeah, man, you're totally batty for not liking only the best kind of meat there is," Bolo evidently agreed with the zombie maiden. "I can't believe you could bad-mouth BACON of all things! Just how messed up are your taste buds, dude!?"

"Heh. Well, excuuuuuuse me for not bein' a fan o' meat that's basically 10% substance, 65% gristle, an' 25% salt," the wraith teased with a chuckle of his own. "If that makes me 'batty,' then I guess I'd better start sleepin' on caves ceilings while hangin' upside down by my feet durin' the day an' wakin' up t' screech non-stop an' search for non-pork food at night." At that, the others shared a collective chuckle.

"Nice of you to finally get that memo, Tay," Bolo joked back, eliciting further giggles out of the group.

"Hey, that reminds me…" Shantae interjected as she turned toward Aashiq. "I'm not sure why this reminds me of him, but... Aash, you said Bruce was coming over soon, right?"

"Indeed, I did. I informed him I would most likely be in Scuttle Town, if not at the Scuttle Town Lighthouse when we parted ways earlier today. He should be here shortly," the young magician affirmed. "He will be riding in with his giant pet bat, so he will be hard to miss."

"Ah, right, that's why I was reminded of him…" the half-genie murmured in momentary wonder before carrying on. "Anyway, that's great! The more, the merrier!"

"Indeed, kanafeh!"

"Oh, yeah! Oh, and Bolo?"

"Yeah, sis?" the handyman responded.

"Did you get the chance to call Twitch and Vinegar?" Shantae asked, much to the surprise of Aashiq.

"Twitch and Vinegar?" the former Hypnotist questioned, immediately concerned by the news. "Why would those two be coming here?"

"I know, they're working for Ammo Baron and they've caused their fair share of trouble, but they really helped us out in the final battle," she explained, picking up on his discomfort as she spoke to him.

"I… heard the rumors, but… I do not know, Shantae," Aash continued to voice his discontentment with the possibility of the blonde Ammonian affiliates attending the bonfire.

"What's up, Aash? I'm getting a vibe that you're not too fond of those girls…"

"That is because you are right," he shared without hesitation. "I cannot tell you who may or who may not come to this celebration. However, I have some uncertainty about the two of them, based on when I met them the night after you were rendered unconscious after your battle against the Techno Baron on Naga Mountain…"

"Oh, right… I'd heard you met them before… I also remember them telling me that you didn't like them…" she realized, having second thoughts as a result of Aash's concerns. As such, she quickly turned toward Bolo. "Hm. Er… Hey, Bolo? Let's hold o-!"

"What is it, Spiky?" a voice could be heard coming from a cobalt blue radio transceiver Bolo was holding, making evident that Shantae was too late.

"Hey, Twitch. We're having a funeral-slash-cookout today to celebrate Shantae beating Risky Boots again and in honor of Tayshan. Do you and Vinegar maybe wanna come over? We're right outside Shantae's house, so you wouldn't be able to miss it if you swung by."

"Thanks, but we'll pass," Twitch swiftly denied. "Much as we'd like to, we've got other plans. We just got back from the Great Button Province, and we're gearing up to take another trip to the Nation of United Seams to visit our families tomorrow."

"I hear you, but you REALLY don't want to miss this party. We uh… we sort of have a… a special guest that we want you to see," Bolo urged, after which he signaled for Tay to walk over to him. Though a tad taken aback, Tay obediently approached.

"Special guest? Really, Spiky? That's your grand angle to sell us on coming to your little party?" Vinegar could be heard sarcastically asking. "Who in the world would be so special that you'd think we'd instantly change our plans to come over there?"

"Oh, you'll see…" Bolo warned, resisting the urge to chuckle as he handed the Ammonian Transceiver to Tayshan, who'd reeled back in surprise.

"What, you want me t' talk t' them?" Tay warily asked.

"Yeah, man! Could you imagine the looks on their faces when they hear your voice? Plus, it'll get them to change their minds…"

"Hm. If you say so, bro…" the soldier acquiesced, hesitantly taking the transceiver from Bolo's hands and raising it to his mouth. "Er… Yo, Twitch an' Vinegar," he spoke into the walkie-talkie, to which he was met with total silence as everyone watched on in anticipation. And, after a full ten seconds that felt like five years… "Uh… Hello?"

"…Who the heck is THIS!?" Twitch shouted through the device loud enough to nearly burst the poor wraith's eardrums wide open as he flinched and ripped the device from his ear.

"Gaah, that's loud…!" Tay complained, rubbing his ear as everyone except Aashiq got a laugh out of it. Shaking it off nevertheless, the serviceman radioed in again. "Take a wild guess as t' who this is."

"Believe me, I want to, but there's no way you're who I think you are," Twitch remarked in evident disbelief. "Spiky, you're picking the absolute WORST time to play such a dirty prank on us!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but this ain't 'Spiky' you're talkin' to. This also ain't a prank."

"Seriously, Spiky! Cut it out! Your impression of Tay-Tay is spot-on, but the last thing I want to hear is you imitating his voice! It isn't funny! It's super disrespectful! I didn't give you that transceiver just so you could make stupid jokes with it!"

"Yo, yo, chill. Nobody's jokin', Twitch. An' Bolo's not imitatin' anybody. I'm really here. He's standin' right next t' me. This is Tayshan," he further asserted, though he was once again met with total silence. After another ten seconds that felt like an additional three years… "Um… You still the-?"

"Are… you serious? Because the more you talk, the more it really does sound like him…"

"Yes. You really think Bolo could imitate my voice an' keep up my speech pattern consistently enough t' make himself sound exactly like me? His vocal range is one or two octaves higher than mine, an' I don't know if he has the skills t' mask his voice THAT well."

"Hey! My voice is plenty deep!" Bolo complained, though his statement was heard by the Ammonian affiliates on the other end of the transceiver.

"Whoa, what…? This… this really isn't Spiky talking?"

"No. Again, this is Tayshan. If I need t' do somethin' t' prove it, then tell me."

"Okay… If… if this really is Tayshan… then… then tell me something only he would know about me," Twitch challenged.

"You got it," Tay readily accepted. "You have a page in your diary about the first time we met each other. I read it when you an' Vinegar kidnapped me an' took me t' the Prickle Stitch Valley on the 18th of September. For the sake o' your privacy, I… don't think I need t' go into any extra details there… unless you need me to…" Again, total silence that lasted for what felt like an eternity before anyone on the other end said anything.

"…Tay-Tay? It… it can't be… You're supposed to be dead… Is… is… that really you?"

"Unless you get over here an' find out, you'll never know for sure," the soldier remarked, starting to find some humor in stirring up Twitch and Vinegar's confusion. This bit of enjoyment wouldn't last long, however, as the distant, whirring hum of a plane could almost immediately became present in the air.

"…Does anyone else hear that?" Rotty asked as the sound grew louder by the second.

"Oh, look! There's a plane coming in!" Bolo pointed out, spotting the aircraft darting in toward them. It took little more than a glance at the shiny metallic blue of the plane for the group to realize who was coming in so hot. "Oh, and they're coming in HARD…"

"…Uh-oh…" Tay murmured in dread, already anticipating the worst as the plane's passenger jumped out of the plane as it was moving and went SAILING toward the undead serviceman in question. Everyone in attendance gasped in unison as they watched the human projectile, easily identified as a certain pig-tailed blonde in glasses,

"Tay-Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" the skydiving party crasher shouted at the top of her lungs as she went hurtling toward her target with the speed (and possibly the force) of an atomic bomb.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you think you're doing!? You're gonna splatter yourself all over the ground!" Sky shouted before whistling as loud as she could to summon up her Falcon Call to try and catch the intruder. However, the free-falling maiden smashed with a feathery *THWOCK* right through the bird-made platform as soon as it formed. The unfortunate avian rescue squad stood no chance as they were sent tumbling through the air. "My falcons!" Sky hollered out in panic as she whistled for them to come to her.

"Oh, no! TWITCH!" Bolo shouted in panic as he and everyone else watched on in aggregate horror at the heart-stopping display that was Twitch essentially risking it all for a chance to make a grand entrance.

"Shoot! Hrrraaaaaagh…!" Tay cursed as he used what little time he had to brace for impact. Tensing up every muscle in his body, he grounded his stance and held his arms out to catch the incoming blonde bombshell… in a manner of speaking, of course. "HaaaaaaRAAAAAH!" he further shouted, a sudden *FRWOOOOOSH* of both Light and Dark magic erupting from his being as he desperately prepared himself. Taken aback by the sudden power surge and following hurricane-level whirlwinds, most of the onlooking partygoers were forced to step back and either shield themselves or grab hold of one another to keep from being blown away.

"Whoa...! What in the heck...!?" Rottytops barely found it in herself to question as she held onto Sky and Bolo to keep everyone grounded.

"Unbelievable...! How did habibi get this kind of power...!?" Aashiq remarked, totally floored by Tayshan's sudden transformation.

"My word...! This is FAR more intense than when he showed me earlier...!" Mimic remarked as he shielded his face and stood his ground as best as he could.

"Gaaahh…! Ooh…! Wow, that one actually kinda hurt…!" Shantae could be heard complaining as she winced and hunched over, clutching her stomach.

"Oh, dear...! Shantae, are you alright!?" Mimic tried to ask over the swirling wind current as he also shielded himself and did his best to keep the chairs and tables from blowing away. Unfortunately, some of the plates, cups, half-empty water bottles, in addition to a couple of chairs, went tumbling off past the lighthouse. This didn't immediately concern Mimic, however, as his focus was locked solely on his ailing niece. Just as Mimic and Aashiq pushed through the sudden magic-borne hurricane to check on her, however, Twitch made landfall… or rather, she went barreling into a powered-up Tayshan with a dense, echoing *KAPLACK* of her body against his chest as he caught her. This proved to be no easy feat for the soldier, however.

"Kaaaagh…!" he grunted in considerable pain, his sneakers grinding into the grass and leaving sizable skid marks as he cradled the Ammonian stuntwoman and slid back by at least ten… no, TWENTY yards. Possibly more, if I had to guess. The emphatic *SKRRRRRRGGHSCH* of his feet across the ground further drove it home that the simple act of catching a grown woman out of the air after she'd just about hit terminal velocity from over a thousand feet high… should never, EVER be attempted at home, folks. Not even by a professional unless they have access to some inconceivable innate magic ability that allowed them to function as human cushions. Nevertheless, Tay somehow made the catch, though he was winded as surges of magic billowed from his body like smoke from a forest fire. Thankfully, the whirlwinds had ceased as suddenly as they started once he secured Twitch in his arms.

"Whoa…! What the…?" Bolo murmured in shock, marveling at the spectacle that was a magic-bathed wraith cradling a certain Ammonian acolyte in his arms while an enigmatic aura spewed forth from him. His complete utter shock was shared with the rest of the gang save for Shantae, who'd been busy shaking off the nearly debilitating Soul-Link sense she'd been hit with. Aash and Mimic held their collective surprise in long enough to attempt to help her, though she assured with a wave of her hand and a deep breath that she was alright. Soon after, she began to approach the serviceman as he set the pig-tailed blonde woman on her feet and gingerly rose to a stand.

"Tay! Are you alright?" the half-genie called out in worry as he panted heavily, trembling a bit as he tried to reorient himself. Accordingly, the two-toned magic aura surrounding him dissipated gradually, though it took another solid minute for it to vanish completely.

"Y-yeah, hon… I-I'm good…" Tay assured with a thumbs-up as he stretched out his aching arms. He wouldn't get too much time to recover, however. Twitch, dressed in a full vacation ensemble of oversized tan cargo pants, white sneakers, and a familiar olive-green tank top that had been cropped to bare her abdomen, sprang onto the undead soldier without warning. "Gwaah!"

"Tay-Tay! You're here! You're really, really here! Oh, my gosh! I-I can't believe it!" Twitch cheered in a mixture of excitement and thorough disbelief as she wrapped her arms around his neck and dangled like a scarf as she nuzzled her face into his.

"Ghaaaaack…! Agh…! Y-yeah, I'm… I'm here…!" the poor guy managed to eke out as he returned his friend's gesture by wrapping his arms around her back and hugging her. As this almost lethal show of affection was carrying out, the plane Twitch jumped from had just pulled in for a landing, skidding across the peninsula before coming to a complete stop next to Shantae's lighthouse. Its pilot, another young blonde woman with a bob cut wearing an orange newsboy cap, a form-fitting, midriff-baring yellow t-shirt, brown capri pants, and white sneakers, hurriedly climbed out of the vehicle and practically sprinted onto the scene in a panic.

"Vidi, have you LOST YOUR MIND!?" the woman shouted in total consternation, beyond furious that her passenger would nearly throw her life away the way she did. "Why in the heck would you-!?" she was about to continue to scold before coming face-to-face with the person who saved Vidi from certain death... again. The minute her gaze met with the man's golden eyes as he held the other blonde woman in his arms, just about every thought in her mind went spilling out of her head like water from a burst pipe. She was rendered speechless as her jaw dropped at the sight of the individual in question, garbed in black and gold with a peculiar ring floating directly above him. After a moment of entirely awkward silence, the man set the bespectacled young woman down and turned to face the other woman.

"Er… Long time no see, Vinegar," the man nervously greeted with a wave, uncertain of what to say to her.

"T… Tay!? You're ALIVE!?" Vinegar bellowed out of such astonishment that it looked like her head would explode with enough force to turn the peninsula into a watery crater.

"Not… technically speakin'…" Tayshan hesitantly informed, pointing his finger up toward his halo.

"Wait… You're still DEAD!?" Twitch took her turn to ask in equally explosive surprise as Vinegar.

"Yyyyyep," Tay calmly answered, though he felt the pressure to explain himself mounting already.

"But… HOW!? WHEN!? WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!? WHO BROUGHT YOU BACK!?" both Twitch and Vinegar drilled him, making him even more flustered as they each approached him with a most pressing sense of eagerness.

"Uhh… So, there's a pretty lo-!" he was about to begin to explain.

"Alright, alright, give him some space," Shantae stepped in to save Tayshan as she protectively grabbed him and pulled him to her side while keeping her grasp firmly on his hand. "Let's just take a second to process it before we bury him under a mountain of questions. Also, uh… It's nice to see you girls again," the half-genie further greeted, however uneasy she felt about them being here. "That was... also one heck of an entrance you made there..."

"Uh… I suppose the feeling's mutual," Vinegar hesitantly returned the greeting as she and Twitch scoured the area and noticed all the party fixtures, in addition to the many other attendees that included the rest of the unofficial Anti-Piracy Defense Force, a mildly agitated Aashiq, and the half-genie's legal guardian.

"And believe me, our entrance couldn't be more spectacular if we tried," Twitch joked, though she wasn't exactly met with uproarious laughter from the group.

"Right," Sky irritably interjected as she stepped forth after making sure her falcons were okay to depart the vicinity. "It's especially nice of you to make such a 'spectacular' entrance that you almost seriously hurt yourself… while also badly hurting some of my birds."

"Already with the animosity, Squawks?" Twitch sardonically remarked, sensing the tension in the air. "Look, before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm sorry I jumped out of the plane like that. I was just surprised to see… a certain someone standing amongst you after I was convinced Spiky was playing a prank on us. I admit, I may have overreacted."

"Surprised enough that you almost KILLED yourself by jumping out of a moving plane with no parachute!? Are you nuts!?"

"Jeez, it was a simple mistake! Get over it, would ya!?" Twitch shot back in moderate agitation.

"Hmmm, I'm gonna have to agree with Squawks there, Vidi," Vinegar countered to her teammate's surprise. "I've told you before about jumping out of the plane before we land. You almost broke both your legs the last time you pulled that stunt," she further chided, making evident that Twitch was something of a repeat offender in this context.

"Aw, gimme a break, Vinni!" Twitch griped some more. "I've practiced that stunt thousands of times before! If Tay-Tay hadn't caught me, I'd have been able to stick the landing."

"Um… Do you, or do you NOT see the massive skid marks lined up across the ground in front of you?" Rottytops took the opportunity to ask as she and the rest of the group approached, still moderately taken aback by the sequence of chaotic events that had just transpired in the span of maybe two minutes. "I'm pretty sure that if you weren't saved, you'd be dead on impact. Trust me, I'm an expert on being dead."

"Hmph. Shows what you know, Brains," Twitch shot back in defiance as she crossed her arms. "The Ammonian Army practices emergency ejection drills on the regular, and I'm telling you that I'd have been fine."

"Twitch, for the love of-! You're supposed to wear a PARACHUTE when you eject, no matter how close to the ground you are!" Vinegar corrected, causing Twitch to pout at her. "Oh, don't give me that look. You know you messed up, and you're lucky someone was here to keep you from turning the ground from green to red. Not that it matters now, because we're here…"

"Right…" Bolo chimed in, reeling himself in just enough to push the conversation along. "In any case, ladies, I'm glad you changed your minds and decided to come to our little get-together. We're glad to have you here."

"With all due respect, Bolo, I would not be so bold as to make that claim for all of us," Aashiq countered, glaring at Twitch and Vinegar.

"Whoa. H-hey now, Aash, come on… They're good people. There's no need for the hostility," Bolo tried to quell the disquieted young magician once he was reminded of the palpable enmity between him and the buxom blondes.

"I find that difficult to believe, based on what I have heard and seen of these ruffians as of late," Aash fervently argued, offending the Ammonian affiliates in the process.

"Yeah, well we're here whether you like it or not, Hypno-Boy," Vinegar spat at Aashiq, much to the astonishment of the rest of the group as she approached with a menacing glare and puffed up her chest. Twitch mirrored Vinegar's movements as they stood in front of their shared enemy. "Try us if you want to, but don't be surprised if we make you regret it."

"As expected, you Ammonian barbarians know no better method to solve your problems than with violence," Aash spat, growing tenser as he continued to hatefully glare at the Ammonian girls.

"Hardly. We're not the ones with the bone to pick, chief; you are. We don't even know what you're doing here, but we were invited, thank you very much," Twitch added with a rather arrogant smirk, reveling in Aash's anger at them. "And unless you want there to be an issue too big for a pouty little punk like you to handle, you'd be wise to keep your cheap comments to yourself. Is that okay?"

"As a matter of fact, it is not. You have MUCH to answer for, and if I must, I will personally see to it that you are held accountable for the atrocities you and your reprehensible band of savages have committed," Aash angrily replied, raising a hand and igniting it in an orange glow that made it VERY clear that he had a bone to pick with Twitch and Vinegar. In response, the two Ammonian affiliates pulled out handguns and pointed them squarely at the former Hypnotist acolyte.

"Hey! Whoa, chill out!" Tayshan tried to intervene as he, Shantae, and Bolo moved to separate the conflicting parties from one another. Tay pulled Aash back while Shantae and Bolo stood in front of Twitch and Vinegar to prevent them from potentially charging at him.

"Why must these scoundrels be present!? They and their group are responsible for the suffering of thousands! How could we possibly consider treating them as our friends?" Aash requested to know, his tone as polite as it was laced in immense anger at Twitch and Vinegar for what he believed that they had done. At the very least, he calmed himself enough to cancel out the spell he prepared to use against them as he allowed Tayshan to pull him aside.

"It's a long story, homie, but let's take a minute t' relax. We'll explain everything once we get settled in," Tay assured as he rested his hands on Aash's shoulders and led him away as he continued to converse with him. Meanwhile, Shantae and Bolo were hard at work deescalating the tensions on Twitch and Vinegar's end.

"Maybe it's a good idea for you two to AVOID picking fights at parties you were invited to," Shantae chided as the Ammonian affiliates put their weapons away.

"Us? HE started it!" Vinegar argued, none too happy with the tongue lashing she'd been given.

"Well, we're ending it!" Shantae argued back, putting her foot down. "I should've known there'd be some animosity here, but I didn't expect you to act on it so quickly. Regardless, we're not condoning any shenanigans today."

"Then maybe you should take it up with the pompous, pampered pretty boy who just threatened us instead of jumping down our throats!" Twitch shot back.

"Watch it, Twitch!" Shantae warned, not at all taking kindly to the bespectacled blonde's name-calling. "Look, I don't expect everyone to suddenly become best friends, but the fact is that we invited you to our party because we thought you two could use some time to unwind, eat some good food, and chill with us after our big battle with Risky Boots ended. If it isn't too much to ask, could you PLEASE not cause a scene? The last thing we need is another pointless fight breaking out when we're supposed to be celebrating a job well done on saving Sequin Land."

"Yeah! Wait… Another fight?" Bolo asked, though it didn't take him long to figure out what Shantae meant. "Oh… right…"

"Fair, I guess…" Vinegar acquiesced. "I guess it does look a little bad on our part if we showed up to a party we were invited to and made a mess of things as though you didn't extend that courtesy to us... In that case, we'll behave as long as no one else gives us any guff. Thanks for thinking about us."

"Of course, girls!" Shantae assured with a cheerful grin once everything appeared to be calm for the moment. "I mean, even for what happened, we… came to something of a consensus based on how well you cooperated with us when things got tense…"

"I can read between the lines there, Hairball. No need to sugarcoat it," Twitch plainly acknowledged, catching the half-genie by surprise. "Some of you are still upset with us about the whole 'betrayal at Inseam' thing and you only invited us to this shindig to see if we could possibly bury the hatchet until the next time we'll have to fight each other… right?"

"Well…" Shantae hummed, though she knew for herself that the pig-tailed young woman had a point. "I mean… I'm still pretty angry at you for what happened there, yes. I'll admit that. But, I can't really speak for everyone else."

"Oh… Then, why bother even letting us come here?" Vinegar warily asked, suddenly very uneasy about the situation she and Twitch were in.

"Because as far as I can see, you're not as bad as your reputations paint you out to be," the ponytailed heroine shared. "As upset as I am, I can at least recognize in full by now that you two had your hands forced in that scenario. Plus, it'd be totally ignorant of me not to acknowledge how you tried your hardest to make it up to us. Between picking Bolo up from a deserted island and helping him defend Scuttle Town until I woke up, helping us stave off Risky's ambush later on, and… well… trying to save Tayshan after we finished our business with Risky… You two really gave it your best effort. I know we still may not be totally cool with each other after today, but… I still want to at least show my gratitude to you for sticking with us when we needed your help most."

"I see. Well, that's incredibly hot-and-cold of you, Shantae, but… I can't say I don't understand where you're coming from," Twitch remarked with a sigh, though she felt a pang in her heart as she glanced at the ghost soldier that was preoccupied talking to some of the other partygoers in the background. "But… I guess we can at least try to be cordial with each other, considering what we've been through recently. Neither of us is making any promises about us breaking down ALL the walls between us, because we're still technically enemies as far as our allegiances go. But… I… wouldn't be entirely opposed to MAYBE giving it a shot getting better acquainted, should the dice roll that way."

"Same here," Vinegar corroborated. "And… I know it probably isn't worth much now, but… we're sorry… for how things played out. We can't speak for Ammo Baron in the least, but we're sorry."

"It's alright, girls. As long as we can at least find some common ground, I'm confident we'll push forward and hopefully be a little more friendly toward each other… as well as get past any lingering feelings we may have about this saga," Shantae remarked with a smile laced in relief, though she had to sigh out a rush of pressure that came with making amends with recurrent foes. "That said, are you ready to party?"

"As long as you'll have us here, and as long as no one else wants to pick a fight with us," Twitch conditionally agreed.

"That, and as long as there's decent food here," Vinegar joked with a disarming grin that prompted Shantae and Bolo to chuckle away some of the tension.

"Oh, just you wait until you see what we've got on the menu!" Bolo excitedly exclaimed as he turned and spotted a certain undead maiden assuming the task of putting tables and chairs back together after the minute-long, magic-borne windstorm that swept through the peninsula unexpectedly. "Let me just go and help Rottytops finish setting up, then I'll come get you."

"Sure thing, Spiky," Twitch affirmed with a nod as she, Shantae, and Vinegar watched Bolo dash off to continue helping Rotty. Before any one of the three girls moved to rejoin the group, however… "Shantae?"

"Yeah?" the half-genie answered.

"Um… A-about Tayshan…" she hesitantly began, causing the half-genie to perk up.

"What about him?"

"Well… How exactly did he…? Uh… and… How did you cope with… well… y'know…?"

"I know what you're going to ask," Shantae understandingly replied, sparing the Ammonian ladies the discomfort of having to vocalize their curiosity. "And well… it's a long story you'll hear from both of us when we get settled in. Trust me, you won't want to miss it."

"I'll bet…" Vinegar acknowledged, casting her gaze toward the soldier in question as he patted Aashiq on the back while the former Hypnotist smiled at him and walked back toward the table with all the kebabs and other food items set up on it. "But like… this is… just… so strange to see him again…"

"Trust me, I felt the same way," Shantae agreed before turning toward the wraith while he was conversing with Mimic. "Tayshan!"

"What's happenin', kitten?" the young man in question attentively responded, though his choice of pet name caused Twitch to instinctively furrow her brow. Her discomfort was made even worse when she saw Shantae flinch and blush furiously as she widened her eyes at him.

"H-hey! Don't call me that in front of everyone!" the half-genie commanded with an embarrassed pout as she crossed her index fingers over her lips. "Let's… just keep that one between you and me, okay?"

"Heh, my bad, Shae-Shae. I guess I'll save it for special occasions," Tayshan laughingly complied as he approached his lover and their… kinda-sorta mutual friends and affectionately wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Accordingly, Shantae wrapped an arm around his waist and nuzzled up to him for a quick hug, though his simple touch made her heart race faster than a hundred hummingbirds. "And uh… it's certainly nice t' see you ladies found time t' come to our party," he further shyly greeted once more as he and the half-genie separated from their embrace.

"Considering we weren't expecting to see you at all, you won't hear us disagree…" Vinegar replied, though she still found herself taken aback by the fact that Tayshan, who was supposed to be dead, was standing right in front of her and Twitch… almost as though he'd never died at all, save for his halo. Before either of them could question it, however…

"Nice shirt, Twitch," Tay remarked with a grin, causing Twitch to giggle in a much-needed sense of amusement.

"Thanks! A friend gave it to me to wear. It's special to me," the shorter blonde replied with a cheerful grin as she clutched her hands to the olive-colored tank top. "I uh… wore it to remember him by," she further hinted, though she wasn't certain how he'd take the response.

"Heh. Well, I'm sure that friend really appreciates you for thinkin' about him," Tay remarked with a wink, making evident that he knew what she was getting at. "It's a very touching gesture. Now, I… don't suppose it's too awkward t' offer a hug, now is it?" he further suggested, opening his arms to the Ammonian affiliates.

"Of course not, Tay-Tay!" Twitch immediately (and literally) jumped on the offer, leaping high and wrapping her arms around the serviceman's neck once again. "You wouldn't believe how happy I am to see you! Also, thanks for saving me yet again from certain doom!" she further blurted out, absorbing the moment in full as she nuzzled her face into his neck. "I also notice you've gotten better at using that fancy magic of yours!"

"Heh, I guess you could say it came with practice over time. Also, it's good t' know you're as affectionate as always," Tay remarked with a chuckle, though Shae found herself less than amused as she kept a watchful eye on Twitch.

"Don't count on that changing anytime soon," Twitch excitedly remarked, squeezing the young man just a bit tighter for a moment before they separated.

"I'd be surprised if it did, homegirl," the wraith humorously acknowledged, stretching the kinks out of his neck. Soon after, he walked toward Vinegar and offered a handshake rather than a hug. "And… good evenin' t' you as well, ma'am," he further goofily greeted the taller Ammonian acolyte with a most innocuous grin. At that, Vinegar couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle of her own as she gently slapped his hand away and moved in for a hug. "Ooh! Heh, I didn't take you t' be the huggin' type," Tay pointed out as he felt Vinegar's hands press into his back. In return, he pulled her close, pressing one hand to the back of her head while the other was pressed to her upper back.

"I'm usually not unless it's Twitch, but… I decided to make a VERY conditional exception for you, so count yourself lucky," Vinegar shot back with a chuckle as she squeezed him tight enough to where she could hear his heart beating faintly into her ear.

"I suppose I should…" Tay acknowledged, taking the hug from Vinegar for what it was. He couldn't help but feel just a tad uneasy about being so friendly with them once certain thoughts crept into his mind about their recent encounters before this one, however. "But hey… um…" he hesitantly began, his heart beginning to pound hard enough to where the Ammonian affiliate he was hugging picked up on it. Reading it as him being nervous, she opted to end the embrace. Accordingly, Tay let go of her and backed up. "Listen… a-about your base… I uh… I'm sure that's still-!"

"No need to mention it, dude," Vinegar interrupted with an understanding nod. "It's… not the easiest thing for either me or Twitch to acknowledge, and we haven't really had an opportunity to fully get over it… but, in a twisted sense, we get why things played out like they did by now."

"Yeah, Vinni and I had a lot of time to think about that over the past week," Twitch chimed in. "And… while we haven't exactly come to a solid 'conclusion' on how to feel about it all, we at least acknowledge what led up to that situation. Much as it pained us to realize it… There's nothing we can do about it now except move forward, cope, and rebuild. Besides, when I thought about what happened to you after the Inseam fiasco, and how we… h-how we… set you up for… um…" she stammered, losing her words as she tried to bring up a certain uncomfortable topic. "…a certain thing, and… then for it to eventually turn into you being murdered by Risky Boots… I… um…" she further tried to soldier on, though she felt her heart sink like a pile of cinderblocks in the ocean as her eyes began to water.

"No need t' tread down that path again, Twitch," Tay mercifully interrupted her as he patted her on the shoulder to stop her from crying. "No matter what way we look at it, it was a rough situation. We'll probably be talkin' about it for a long while. I'm just… glad we're able t' talk again at all because I'm sure none of us thought we'd get the chance after last week. But listen, why don't y'all go ahead an' make yourselves comfortable? We're about t' start up the bonfire, we've got some delicious kebabs waitin' t' be grilled up, an' we've got a couple of interestin' camp stories t' share while we enjoy each other's company. An' in case you're still worried about Aashiq, I got him t' calm down. He's not gonna attack you, but he's probably not gonna want t' talk t' y'all very much, either."

"Hmph. Well, as long as SOME people welcome our company, I suppose we'll try to make the best of it," Vinegar smilingly remarked with a shrug, though her heart had been beating heavy in her chest as she and Twitch made their way toward the other party members.

"You know what they say: Don't start none, won't be none," Tay advised with a friendly grin as he saluted them.

"True, but we'll have to see how strongly we can abide by that," Twitch joked with a wink. "Oh, and Tay-Tay?"

"Yo."

"…Even though you're apparently a ghost now, I'm really happy to see you again. I missed you…" she admitted, blushing a bit as she bowed her head toward him.

"Oh! Heh, I missed you as well, Twitch. That goes for you too, Vinegar. Let's make sure we make the most o' this party, because we may not get another chance quite like this t' hang out for a long time," Tay smilingly encouraged, though it took him by surprise to hear Twitch voice such a heartfelt sentiment. He was further stunned by the fact that Vinegar had also been looking directly at him, an unexpectedly somber look plastered onto her face. Nevertheless, he took in their appreciation and confidently nodded to them. As such, Twitch and Vinegar smiled and nodded back at him before they separated. Twitch moseyed on over to talk to Bolo and Rottytops just after they'd finished setting up the last table and chair set. Vinegar, on the other hand, went to strike up a conversation with Sky while she and Mimic were working on igniting the fire under the grill set. Aashiq stood alone across the wooden bridge as a big, burly, buzzcut-haired, one-eyed man wearing a teal muscle shirt, tan cargo shorts, and matching teal sandals came flying in by way of a giant bat carrying him in via a harness strapped across his chest. And as everyone seemed to be getting into the swing of things…

"Well, it certainly looks like things are coming together much better than we expected," Shantae acknowledged as she and Tayshan marveled at the fruits of their party-motivated labor. "We've got plenty of food, a modest number of guests, and a perfect set-up for a party like no other. Best part is that nobody's at each other's throats," she further observed, making the serviceman laugh with delight.

"Shoot, you ain't lyin', boo," Tay wholeheartedly agreed as he also scoured the peninsula. "I won't say too much about that right now, though. I don't wanna jinx it, considerin' how hard it was t' convince Aash not t' spy on Twitch an' Vinegar."

"No kidding. Thank you for talking him down... Oh, and it looks like his boyfriend just got here!" the half-genie observed as she and the undead soldier witnessed the two young men in question share an affectionate hug and kiss from across the plank bridge.

"Wait… Ain't that one o' those superhero cyclops dudes we ran into in Genie's Hem?"

"Yep! Sky mentioned not too long ago that Aash had found love again pretty quickly after he and I broke up. In case you don't remember, that guy's name was Bruce."

"Right, the only one o' those goofballs we didn't fight, but who we made think we were a couple at the time."

"Nooo, you made him think we were a couple at the time," Shae laughingly corrected. "I had no hand in that except for being an unfortunate victim of circumstance."

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Tay remarked with a shrug and chuckle, though he remembered something related to Bruce. "Well, you DID say we'd see him again, an' that we'd have t' come clean t' him when we saw him. But as it ironically turns out, you an' I really are datin' now. So, now what do we tell him?"

"That we were role-playing to strengthen our bond, but that the role-playing got super real, super quick," she joked again, making her boyfriend laugh with her.

"Yeah, that's gonna fly real well," he joked back. "An' aside from the fact that that is SUPER true, considerin' we were body-swapped at the time... You do realize how... naughty that sounds, don't you?"

"Only if you think about it that way, ya perv," she accused, chuckling all the way as she nudged him with a hand. She additionally caught him by surprise as he comically scoffed.

"Why, I never…" he remarked in feigned offense. "Of course, when one points a finger toward someone else, three fingers point right back at them."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That it takes a perv to know a perv…~" he slyly teased, playfully sticking his tongue out at her as he tickled her cheek with his fingers. Not at all surprised by his counterclaim, the half-genie gently pressed her hand to his and nuzzled her face into his palm.

"…Fair enough, I guess, but if anyone else asks, I'm blaming you," she jokingly conceded, amorously locking eyes with him with the widest grin on her face.

"I knew you'd say that, but there ain't no shame in acknowledgin' it," he assured her, also grinning brightly as he continued to stroke her cheek with his fingers.

"Only around you at this point. As far as I'm concerned, Tay-Tay, you're the only one who knows that side of me. You'd better keep it that way, too."

"You'd better believe I will, honey," Tay-Tay assured, leaning forward for a kiss.

"Good," the half-genie acknowledged as she met him halfway by affectionately pressing her lips to his. She soon followed up by pressing her hands to his cheeks and pulling him closer as she poured more affection into their embrace. More so, perhaps, than the soldier was bargaining for as he felt every single cell in his body ignite with an unprecedented exhilaration; an experience shared with the woman that had been hypnotizing him with her affection as her own heart began to pound like a thousand jackhammers. And just as Shantae and Tayshan shared their hundred thousandth smooch, the immensely astounding *FRWOOOOOOOOOOOSH* of the absolutely enormous bonfire being lit behind them, its heat reaching all across the peninsula and touching everyone in the vicinity as most of the party guests flinched and spun toward the almost explosive flames spewing forth from the fire pit to feel its scorching heat. In a sense, it… almost seemed to symbolize the eruptive, fiery passion and warm, titillating companionship between the half-genie and the ghost soldier as they continued to kiss. Whelp, that's a pleasant coincidence if I'VE ever seen it… Hooh...

"And with that, our party begins! Aashiq! Help us bring the kebabs over! And introduce us to your friend, why don't you?" Mimic could be heard announcing as he (thankfully) took no notice of his niece smacking lips with her boyfriend in a way that would've gotten them both SUPER grounded… y'know, more so than they already were.

"Hmmmmm…~" Shantae whimsically hummed, practically mushing her face into his for what must've felt like an entire month before she got the idea to slowly, tantalizingly separate her lips from his as she held his face. With the quietest *pop* that sounded like someone carefully ripping open a bag of chips, Shantae giggled in lovestruck amusement as she looked directly at Tayshan to marvel at the results of her successful sneak attack. And there it was… his eyes glazed over and half-lidded in total bliss, his mouth ajar as he locked eyes with her and panted, a faint, yet benevolent blue aura seeping off his skin… and a particularly sticky strand of saliva connecting their lips for just a second or two longer after their latest kiss ended.

"Whooh…" the dazed wraith droned, blinking his eyes a few times as he felt the world around him tilting back and forth for a bit. "W-wow…"

"I… take it you enjoyed that, Tay-Tay?" she dared to question, though she already knew the answer. Of course, she'd also been feeling a bit dizzy from the monumental blast of euphoria that came with planting a huge, wet, hard one on her lover, but… she was just slightly better at hiding it than he was, evidently.

"…Short answer: Yes," Tay unsurprisingly admitted as he and Shae let go of one another, which allowed him time to shake off some of the love-borne disorientation he'd been feeling; much to her amusement as she chuckled again. "Long answer: Shantae, you are the only person in this UNIVERSE who could have such an effect on me, an' it's to a point where it feels like I could get addicted to it if I ain't careful."

"You liked it that much, huh?" she asked, giggling in unmistakable delight as she took his confession in. "Well, you're not alone, because I did, too~! I've got plenty more for you where that came from, of course…"

"I wouldn't doubt that for a second. You'd better believe I'm payin' you back tenfold later for pouncin' on me like that, though… Makin' me all dizzy an' whatnot…"

"Oh, really? In that case, what do you have in mind…? The anticipation alone is enough to drive me nuts…" she openly admitted to him, a rush of unbridled excitement bursting forth from her very core as she barely resisted the urge to let her mind wander about the implications of her boyfriend's amorous challenge.

"You ain't even gotta ask. Simply put, I want t' make as many o' your wishes come true as possible…" he shot back with chuckle of his own, though he trailed off as he took a second to glance at his arms… after which, he turned his gaze back to the half-genie to realize something. "Huh… Our bodies are doin' some o' the wishin' for us already, from the looks of it," he further asserted, displaying a magic-bathed hand to her to show her what he meant.

"Oh! W-wow, I had no idea this would happen again," she remarked in blushing surprise as she looked at her own hands to see them involuntarily coated in magic like his were. "Huh… So, that's a clear sign we need to keep ourselves under control for as long as this party goes… Darn it…" she quickly realized as she reeled herself back in, clearing her throat before she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding, however, as she continued to glue her eyes to the ghostly man in front of her.

"Heh… I guess you've got a point there…" he agreed, though he found himself slightly (read: extremely) embarrassed to have lost some control of his magic over a simple kiss. Nevertheless, he breathed a deep sigh to calm himself down as well as he found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the stunning young woman he so proudly acknowledged as his lover. "It'd be pretty bad if somebody saw that-!"

"Tay! You've GOTTA tell us what it's like to use magic as a human!" Bolo could be heard announcing from across the way as he and Rottytops dashed toward them. "The way you managed to catch Twitch when she was coming at you like a rocket was totally awesome!"

"Yeah! But before that, we've also got to prepare for our wrestling match," the zombie maiden excitedly added as she and Bolo closed the distance.

"Whoa, hold on! You wanna get that started now?" Tay asked in mild surprise as his and Shantae's respective magic glows vanished just in time. "The food ain't even ready yet."

"Which is why we're gonna settle our score to pass the time by!" Rotty countered.

"Wow, you're awfully eager to get down to business, huh?" Shantae asked her best friend, chuckling in amusement.

"You'd better believe it, snack cakes! I've been itching to get back into shape, and sparring against everybody's favorite fitness guru here is the perfect place to start!" she exclaimed, nudging her head toward the soldier as she made her statement.

"Everybody's favorite fitness guru, huh?" Tay remarked with a chuckle. "An' what gives you that idea about me?"

"I've heard about your grueling military-grade training routines, and the results don't lie, stud muffin," Rotty teased, looking him up and down to emphasize her point. "Whatever it is you're doing to keep yourself in shape, I want a piece of it. A BIG one, at that."

"You won't hear me argue against that, Rotty, but you'd better be prepared for what I have in mind if you seriously want me of all people t' be your personal trainer."

"I have to agree," Shae added. "His training regimen is NOT for the faint of heart. Believe me, we've been training together pretty much since he first got here, and even I almost thought it was too much after the first couple of sessions. It's INTENSE, I tell ya."

"Ah, is that right? I totally believe you. More than that, though, I had a feeling you were looking a lot more toned and… dare I say, a lot curvier in recent times… I gotta say, girl, I'm impressed with the results I'm seeing on you, too~!" she complimented, sizing the half-genie up.

"Gah! Wh-what? I… I haven't changed that much…" the self-conscious half-genie dismissed, blushing a bit as she comically sunk into herself.

"Shantae, those hips don't lie," Rotty teased with a wink, further flustering her best friend. "You may not see it yourself, but I've seen the difference in just your posture and in the fact that you've developed a much more alluring switch in your walk recently. Those guys in Oasis Town weren't ogling you for no reason."

"Hmmmh…!" Tay quietly grumbled, evidently not at all a fan of the idea of other men staring at his girlfriend.

"To be fair, those guys were staring at all of us, minus Bolo..." Shantae reasoned, trying to bat away her best friend's assertion.

"Yeah, but other than the jock who crashed into that vegetable stand, most of the guys' eyes were glued specifically on you!" Rottytops enthusiastically countered. "Seriously, you really do look like you're in much better shape… even though I thought it was impossible for you to get any more beautiful… D'ohhhhhh, you're making me so jealous right now!"

"Jeez, Rotty, it's not that much of a difference…" Shae protested, only growing more embarrassed at the attention she'd been receiving. "I mean yeah, I've… gotten into better shape overall and... toned up a little in certain areas… though I was hoping it wasn't noticeable…" she further remarked with a pout as she pressed a hand to her backside and self-consciously rubbed it. Rotty, taking in Shae's nervousness to the fullest, let out a quick, yet voluminous chuckle.

"Are you kidding me, snack cakes? Among a plethora of other things, that big, bodacious, bouncy booty of yours is looking more fabulous than ever! Imagine how much more exciting your belly dances look because of it!" At that, the half-genie gasped.

"ROTTY!" Shantae shouted in total astonishment, her face redder than a fire alarm bell as she sank into herself and glared at her rambunctious best friend. "Are you out of your mind!? Don't just blurt out stuff about my butt like that!"

"Aw jeez…" Bolo griped, put all the way off by Rotty's comment as he shook his head and averted his gaze.

"Heh, you sure do know how t' lay it on thick," Tayshan addressed Rottytops, laughing it up as he did so. This, of course, did Shantae zero favors as she blushingly scowled at him.

"I'm only telling the truth; something you should already know about, honey buns~! Your booty is something to marvel at, too… All toned and firm and such... I could probably break rocks on it!" the zombie maiden addressed the wraith with a nonchalant shrug, though she also embarrassed him once again as he immediately stopped laughing.

"…I don't even wanna know how you earned that one, Tay… Goodness...!" Bolo wisely dismissed, starting to find humor in the undead young woman's relentless teasing the spoonerific duo as he chuckled a bit.

"…Keep playin' with me, Rotty…" the disquieted soldier warned, pouting at the zombie maiden in question while not noticing that Shantae had recovered just enough to chuckle at his reaction.

"Not so funny now, is it?" the ponytailed young lady asked with a triumphant grin on her face.

"Hmph…" Tay grunted, still pouting as he crossed his arms and turned his head away, much to Shae's endless amusement as she giggled a bit more.

"The both of you have made me see that I've really gotta get it together," Rotty further confessed, pouting a bit herself as she ran her hands along her body. "I feel totally left behind now!"

"Hm. Well, like I said, I ain't against helpin' you whip yourself int' shape. You'd just better be prepared for boot camp-styled routines that have driven grown men to tears," the undead serviceman warned with a confident grin after taking a deep breath. "This wrestlin' match ain't gonna be a walk in the park, either."

"That's exactly what I'm counting on! And trust me, I can take whatever you dish out, Tay-Tay. Oh, and speaking of this match… I should let you know that Bolo and I put a little wager on it to make it more intense…"

"Oh, really?" Shantae remarked, her curiosity piqued as she shot a side-eyed gaze toward the handyman in question. In response, Bolo flinched as he returned the half-genie's stare in anticipation for her reaction.

"An' what wager would that be?" Tay dared to ask.

"If you and Bolo win, I'll have to treat him to free desserts and casual hang-outs every week for the rest of this year," Rotty explained, causing the wraith to raise an eyebrow.

"Really, bro? You put a bet on this little 'sparring match' t' satisfy your sweet tooth an' t' score some bondin' time with Rottytops?" Tay asked Bolo with a sense of humorous incredulity.

"That wasn't necessarily my idea," Bolo defended. "I originally wanted her to be my personal servant for a month, but she took that conversation topic somewhere I NEVER wanted it to go. This version of our bet came about because it was the most innocent-sounding…"

"Yeah right, Bolo. I've seen the way you stare at Rotty when you think she isn't looking," Shantae chimed in and teased, much to the amusement of everyone except the young man she called out. "It almost makes too much sense that you'd want her as your personal maid for as long as she'd put up with it. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd also asked her to put on a full-blown adorable maid outfit if you kept the original bet in place."

"No! I-I'm being totally serious!" he frantically denied, though the blush on his face did little to help his case as Shantae and Rottytops continued laughing. "And I do not stare at her when she's not looking! And I definitely don't fantasize about her in skimpy maid outfits!"

"Hah! As if I haven't caught you myself! Especially with what happened ten minutes ago!" Rottytops egged on as she and Shantae shared yet another fit of giggling at Bolo's expense. "Oh, and don't even get me started on the way you look at me when I cosplay! Your eyes were TOTALLY glued to me when I wore that pit crew outfit back during that time when we went to Cape Crustacean! You're such a terrible liar!"

"Am not! I have better control over myself than that! Usually…" he exclaimed while not necessarily refuting Rotty's claim, which only made the girls laugh harder at him. "Grrrrgh…!"

"Well, I believe you… kinda-sorta," Tay kinda-sorta interjected, though it kinda-sorta came as no surprise to anyone else. "That aside, is there a flip side t' this wager?"

"Uh… Y-yeah… but uh… I'm not sure if… if you or Shantae would really go for it…"

"Uh-oh… What's the deal there?" Shantae dared to ask.

"I think you're gonna like this one, babe," Rotty interjected to in response to Shantae to spare Bolo the embarrassment. "So, if we win, Tayshan and Bolo are treating us and Sky to foot massages, back rubs, other forms of pampering that we may think of down the line, and weekly dinners of our choosing for the rest of the year. Dinners that they'll have to cook for us…"

"Oooh! Now that's a challenge I'll definitely take up if it means we can get treated like royalty without needing to pay for it for a while!" the half-genie happily agreed.

"Whoa, what!?" the disgruntled wraith objected, shooting a look of confusion between the other three participants. "Y'all want us t' basically be your personal masseurs an' chefs for three months?" he questioned before turning to Bolo. "Why in the world would you agree t' that?"

"Hey, don't look at me! That was Rotty's idea!" Bolo defended himself again. "Besides, I figured we're strong enough to where neither of them could realistically get us without a ton of luck; especially with your magic power boost. With the absurd level of strength you're packing now, there's no way we'll lose!"

"Okay, but you do remember that Rottytops has super strength now, right?"

"…Ohhh…" Bolo droned in realization. "Shoot… I forgot about that…"

"Yyyyeaah… An' as if I need t' speak for her, Shantae's at least five times as strong as she was a month ago, thanks t' all those wacky adventures we went on, as well as all the trainin' we've done together. In case you need proof, I watched her punch Risky Boots hard enough t' possibly send her flyin' across the globe if the wall Risky DENTED when she slammed into it didn't stop her. Mind you, the wall was made of solid STONE, because we were in her cave."

"…YIKES…!"

"Hoo boy, you're in trouble now!" Rotty taunted, winking and flexing a muscle at Bolo.

"Yyyyeah, we might need t' think up a strategy if we hope t' get out o' this unscathed…" Tay politely suggested.

"Well apparently, you're the one who granted them those abilities!" Bolo argued with Tay, causing the serviceman to flinch in the process. "All you've gotta do is grant me the same kind of power, and we'll be even, right?"

"…Uhhh…" he droned, seeming to be unwilling to explain how the girls got their power enhancements from him aside from training.

"Yeah, Tay! Go ahead and grant him the power he needs to stand a chance against us!" Shantae took all of the opportunity to encourage, knowing full well the reaction she'd get.

"And make sure you do it nice and slow~! Give us another show to remember before we start! You might also want to be sure you granted enough for him to have a fair shot," Rotty further egged him on for potential Tay x Bolo action, causing the wraith to comically scowl at both of the girls; much to their amusement as they yukked it up together.

"…Wow. You are both absolutely terrible…" he grumbled, his face growing hot with embarrassment as he was forced to bat… certain thoughts out of his head.

"We're the absolute worst!" both Shantae and Rottytops humorously and simultaneously replied, continuing to guffaw at Tayshan's ire and Bolo's confusion as they each wrapped one arm around one another.

"…So wait, what's so funny? And what exactly are they talking ab-?" Bolo was about to ask.

"Ah… So, uh… about the 'magic power boosts' they got from me… I may as well explain it now, because I know the awkwardness around it is never gonna go away," Tay interrupted, opting to take the bullet at this point rather than later.

"Okay…?"

"So… Uh… on top of all the training we did up t' this point, Shantae apparently gets stronger every time she an' I kiss… o-or something… which is partly how she also got her immunity t' scorpion stings, if you remember… an' possibly part o' how she got strong enough t' punch Risky into next year without exaggeration…"

"Uh-huh…"

"And… R-Rottytops… apparently got her super strength from when she used her uh... her Symbiotic Brain Chomp on me…"

"Right. So, what does that have to do with you granting me superpowers like you did them?" At that, the girls laughed it up some more.

"Oh, Bolo…" Rotty hummed in endless amusement as she and Shantae awaited an epiphany of legendary proportions.

"Bro… Don't you see the pattern?" Tay hinted, wanting VERY BADLY to avoid having to spell it out.

"What pattern? All I'm getting from what you're telling me is that you shared a bunch of kisses with them that…" he was about to challenge before the bell FINALLY rung in his head… and when it did after what felt like a solid ten minutes of thought, his eyes went wider than hot air balloons. "...gave them the power boosts and scorpion sting immunity... Ooohhhhh… Aww, dude…! Awwwww, dude! NO!" he further reeled back, tensing up in a mixture of fright at total disdain.

"Y-yyyyeeaaaahhh… You… probably DON'T wanna go that route…" Tay very, VERY awkwardly advised, scratching the back of his head as he batted his eyes toward the ground. To say that the half-genie and the zombie maiden got a kick out of it would be an utterly egregious understatement. Rottytops fell on the ground, busting a gut and rolling around as she got thorough enjoyment out of watching Bolo realize just what he might've needed to do to get that power boost he wanted so badly. Shantae found herself hunched over and holding her stomach as she cracked up, tears of pure amusement running down her cheeks as she reveled in the continued misfortunes of her male friends. "…Errrrrrgh…" Tayshan quietly and blushingly growled, resenting his female comrades' dirty fantasies more than he ever had before. "And yet, I'd bet it'd be real messed up if I made the same joke about the two o' you cuddlin' up to each other as lovers..." he further grumbled, causing Bolo to flinch in fear of Rotty's potential reaction. Yet, she and Shantae just kept on laughing, much to his shock and confusion.

"It wouldn't do you any favors, stud muffin!" Rotty shot back through her raucous laughter. "You're on the hot seat this time, not us!"

"...Huh? She... didn't get mad this time..." Bolo noticed, raising an eyebrow in wonder before the next person made their next statement.

"Exactly! You can try shipping me and Rotty together all you want, but considering what happened with you and Aashiq earlier today in front of everyone, Tayshan, you'd be fighting QUITE the uphill battle there," Shantae confidently countered. "And that's not even counting every other spicy moment between you two... Plus, the Shipping Game doesn't fluster us near as much as it apparently flusters you and Bolo!" the half-genie added, after which point both young ladies laughed even harder.

"...Yyyyeah, I'm... not even gonna bother arguing with them on this one anymore..." Bolo dismissed with a shrug and a sigh, seeming to want nothing more to do with the 'game' they inherently lost just by playing in it. "Totally lame..."

"...This 'game' is completely rigged..." Tayshan also dismissed as he swatted the air with a hand, rolled his eyes, sighed and shook his head. However, he couldn't help but at least be relieved to see the girls enjoying themselves as much as they had been when he considered just how much they went through just to have a silly moment like this. And as he stood and crossed his arms, his facial expression relaxed to a neutral state. Meanwhile, Shantae calmed down enough to wipe the laughter-borne tears out of her eyes and look back at him, her cheerful grin never fading. She'd expected him to still be pouting at her for her rampant shipping jokes, but she found herself pleasantly surprised to see him... suddenly grin a bit as they exchanged glances with one another.

"Okay, I think that's enough for now..." Shantae finally relented, giggling a bit more before calming all the way back down with a deep breath. "We really needed that laugh. Thanks, babe..."

"Hmph..." Tayshan grumbled, turning away and batting his gaze elsewhere as he pretty much forced himself to frown in displeasure.

"Aww, don't be like that!" she humorously advised, knowing that he wasn't nearly as put off as he tried to make himself appear. "You'll always be my number one and only, if that makes you feel better~!" That comment was JUST enough to get the serviceman to crack as he turned back toward her with a disarming grin on his face that he mentally kicked himself for wearing. That glance alone was more than enough to send the half-genie's mind into a love-fueled tizzy as her body heated up in the moment. "Ahaaa, I see you now! I knew you wouldn't be mad..."

"...You're lucky you're so cute, Shantae..." Tayshan rather bashfully remarked with a slight chuckle, causing the smile on her face to widen by an astronomical degree as her cheeks grew rosy and her heart began to beat heavy enough that it sounded like someone banging on a door. Before they could bask in the affectionate moment further, however...

"Hey, what's going on over here? What's so funny?" Sky asked as she, Aashiq, and Bruce came rushing in to investigate the sudden commotion. Twitch and Vinegar glanced from a distance, though they found themselves preoccupied with helping Mimic set up the rest of the party favors. They… also wanted to keep their distance from the likes of Aashiq for the time being.

"No need to ask, Sky," Bolo very fervently denied, though he was unable to hide the… rather dismayed look on his face that was only made worse when he saw Aashiq. "We were just… getting ready for that wrestling match that I am now having second thoughts about…"

"Ah-ah-ah~!" Rottytops warned as she stopped laughing long enough to let Shantae help her back to her feet. "If you back out now, you forfeit, and you'll have to honor our agreement by default," the undead maiden further decreed.

"What agreement, exactly?" Sky pressed, her curiosity piqued as she exchanged glances with the group.

"The agreement that Tay and Bolo will have to give you, Rotty, and me regular spa treatments and free dinners for the rest of this year when we beat them in this wrestling match," Shantae smilingly clarified.

"Oh! Spa treatments and free dinners, huh? And what does that entail?"

"Foot massages and back rubs mainly, but I'm sure we can drum up other treatment services they could provide for us~," Rottytops explained, brimming with anticipation. "They'll also be cooking for us every now and again, so I hope you've got some ideas in mind on what the boys will be making."

"Y'know, I absolutely adore the fact that y'all are so sure o' yourselves," Tay interjected in understandable offense. "You really think this is gonna be that easy?"

"Against you, probably not… We'll have to keep you in check for sure, because you can be pretty crafty when we least expect it..." Shantae admitted with a shrug. "…but luckily, I've already got some ideas…" she further mischievously muttered under her breath after momentarily turning away to ascertain no one saw her.

"Against Bolo, though? Most definitely," Rotty further asserted with an additional shrug.

"Hey!" Bolo shouted in offense. "You'd be wise not to underestimate me! Super strength or not, you both should realize that it takes power and technique to win battles!"

"Yeah, okay," the zombie maiden laughingly acknowledged. "Let's see how far your 'technique' gets you against a girl who's wrestled against opponents as big as this guy over here and come out on top," she further warned, gesturing a thumb toward Bruce.

"Ooh! Now that sounds like quite the spicy challenge, sister," Bruce humorously commented as he and Aash observed the pre-match banter.

"You know it!" Rotty agreed with a confident nod.

"As if that scares me," Bolo defied. "The only way we'll know for sure if you can back those claims up is by putting our money where our mouths are."

"If you're that certain you can prove your skills to us, Bolo, then come on!" Shantae challenged him further, excited to take her former mentor on. "Be careful, though; neither of us is going easy on you."

"Hmph. Well if that's the case, then the both o' y'all are gonna have t' work hard t' bring us down," Tay challenged back with a smirk of utmost determination. "An' you'd better believe that we ain't goin' down without a fight."

"Better yet, we won't be going down at all; you two will," Bolo confidently added as the boys and girls entered a momentary western standoff, staring intently at one another as a gentle breeze rolled through the soon-to-be battle arena in the setting sun.

"Facts," Tayshan agreed with a nod. "Oh, an' I may as well put this out there in case one of us gets the idea t' cheat her way t' victory," he further asserted, staring right at Shantae.

"Whoa, what? You seriously think I'd need to CHEAT to win here?" the half-genie humorously asked in defiance of the wraith's assertion.

"No, but I do think we should even the playin' field. An' by that, I mean that there will be no use o' magic of any kind," he clarified. "The instant either of us starts glowin' or conjurin' up some spell, the match is over in favor o' the other team."

"Hm. I don't suppose I could argue against that. I like a challenge," Shantae acknowledged with another shrug. "Of course, that'll probably be easier for me than you, Tay-Tay. I've got more control over my magic than you do yours."

"True, but don't act like that's gonna be your savin' grace, Shae-Shae," Tayshan smilingly countered. "You should know by now that I'm more accustomed t' NOT usin' magic than you are, an' I'm more a fan o' relyin' on my natural strengths than I am o' usin magic. That's no handicap for me."

"…Shoot, that's true, too…"

"Aw, yeah. Looks like it evens out better than we thought it would."

"And suddenly, this wager just got a LOT more interesting…" Rotty observed in full-on excitement.

"Well, I won't lie: I'm actually kind of eager to see how long you boys will survive against Shantae and Rottytops before you lose and wind up giving us those massages, but we still haven't finished setting up the party yet," Sky humorously interjected, much to the chagrin of Tayshan and Bolo. Everyone else chuckled in amusement. "Why don't we at least get some of the food on the grill and all the tables set up before we start the evening wrestling show?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Shantae cheerfully agreed, to which everyone else nodded. "Also, it's nice to see you again, Bruce! It's been a little while!"

"It sure has, little lady!" Bruce happily greeted. "You look more stunning than ever in that black and gold, by the way!"

"Aw, thanks! This was just a last-minute choice, though, so I won't pretend I planned this," she accepted his compliment with a small chuckle.

"Well, your last-minute fashion sense is on-point, baby doll!" the burly cyclopean giant praised further before turning his attention toward the ghostly serviceman. "You even match your wonderful boyfriend here! Also… Long time no see, lover boy~!" he greeted Tayshan with a most enthusiastic grin and wave.

"Ah! Er y-yeah, it uh… it's felt like an entire lifetime since we last saw each other," he coyly remarked. "I trust you've been well since Genie's Hem?"

"Oh, I've simply been splendid! My day is made even better by the fact that I get to hang out with you guys!" he bombastically answered, walking over and roping the soldier into an entirely unexpected hug that took everyone… except Aashiq by surprise.

"Gagh! Hrrgh…! Y-yeah, it's… our pleasure…" Tayshan managed to utter as he returned Bruce's airtight embrace with one arm.

"Bruce, honey, you are going to suffocate him!" Aashiq protested with a chuckle. "Ease your grip just a smidge."

"Oop! Sorry… When I'm excited, I hardly know my own strength…" Bruce bashfully apologized, letting go of Tay and allowing him access to some much-needed oxygen. "You alright there, sweetie?"

"Yep… Just… gimme a second. I gotta move my kidneys back in the right place…" Tayshan joked as he painstakingly arched his back to stretch out the kinks caused by Bruce's bear hug.

"Ooh! Cute, chiseled physique, a fantastic dancer, a wonderful taste in fashion, AND a great sense of humor? Shantae, you certainly hit the jackpot with this one," the excitable cyclops took the opportunity to compliment the giggling half-genie once again.

"It certainly feels like it," Shantae replied through her laughter, beyond proud of her new relationship with the serviceman.

"I'll bet it does. Although, I'm curious… What's with the halo? Are you cosplaying or something, Mr. Tayshan?" Bruce asked as he pointed toward the floating ring above the serviceman's head, though his question shocked everyone stiff. No one knew how to address the question appropriately.

"Er… Bruce, we may want to be careful about how we-!" Aash tried to caution.

"Nah, this halo's here because I'm dead," Tayshan rather plainly shared once he finally fully recovered, certifiably startling Bruce in the process. "Or rather, undead. It's as real as it gets," he further shared, flicking the ring with his finger to create a most melodic, humming *twiiiiiiing~* that further shocked the muscular cyclops.

"Tay!" Shantae called, nudging the serviceman with her elbow.

"Ow! What?" he remarked, rubbing his abdomen where she elbowed him.

"That's too straightforward…! At least ease him into the discussion first…!"

"Ah, it's alright. I'd heard the rumors…" Bruce assured, bringing everyone's attention to him. "But I'd never have expected them to be true… Mr. Tayshan, you… you're really…?"

"Mm-hmm," the wraith affirmed with a solemn nod. "You'll get more details after we finish settin' up, though."

"Oh, I'll bet the boys at home wouldn't believe this… I think I can hold onto my suspense until story time, but it certainly won't be easy…"

"Trust me, you guys, it's a story you wouldn't want to miss," Sky interjected. "Now, come on. The sooner we kick things off, the more time we'll have to share everything…"

"Most definitely," Shantae voiced her agreement, prompting the group to disperse across the peninsula to engage in the final few tasks that needed to be completed before the celebration could be considered kicked off…

"Oh! Wait!" Shantae announced, stopping everyone in their tracks.

"What's up, kitt—er, baby?" Tayshan asked in wonder.

"I almost forgot to invite Al and Ali! I should Warp Dance to go and see if they'll come, too."

"Al?" Aash asked in surprise. "Funny you should mention him…"

"You know Alsumu?"

"Indeed. He and I got acquainted in Inseam," Aash explained. "Per my last conversation with him, he stated that he would be busy repairing his library in the Kitschy Quilt Desert. I have reason to believe that his daughter was on his way here alongside Abner and Poe…"

"Wait, what!?" Rotty exclaimed in surprise. "You guys met that scorpion dude, and now his adorable daughter of all people is hanging out with my brothers!?"

"Indeed. Small world, is it not?" Aash laughingly confirmed. "That was actually the reason for their pit stop, but they should be here any minute."

"Huh… Funny how that works out," Rotty pointed out.

"Definitely," Shae agreed. "But how in the world would an arrangement like that work, with Aleaqarab hanging out with Rotty's older brothers? She's just a kid…"

"Kid? She's 27, ain't she?" Tay asked, remembering a most bizarre and unbelievable detail about the 'kid' in question.

"Ohh, right… She is older than all of us… That's always been so hard to wrap my head around…"

"She's still not mature enough to be hanging around Abner and Poe, if you ask me," Rotty remarked with a shrug. "That said, if they're on their way together, then I think that just about clears up our entire guest list except for Giga Mermaid and Ali's dad, right?"

"Yep," the half-genie clarified. "I guess all we've got to do now is enjoy ourselves."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Bolo agreed as his stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear it. "…and hopefully, we'll be chowing down soon. The delicious, smoky scent from the kebabs roasting on the grill is about to drive me crazy…"

"Yo! For anyone who wanted the vegetable kebabs, the first batch is done!" Twitch announced as she, Vinegar, and Mimic stood around the grill, helping themselves to some of the refreshments.

"The ones with meat should be ready within the next five or ten minutes, depending on the kind of meat you wanted," Mimic further shared. "And for anyone who wanted seafood on theirs, they'll be done shortly!"

"Thank goodness! I haven't eaten all day…" Sky excitedly replied, hurrying over to the grill without a moment's hesitation, followed by a hungry Bolo and an even hungrier Rottytops.

"Tay-Tay! Could you come here for a sec?" Vinegar called to the serviceman. "We're gonna need those magic muscles of yours for a couple of quick favors."

"Gotcha. Here I come," Tayshan obliged as he followed the rest of the group over to the fire pit to engage Twitch, Vinegar, and Mimic.

"Hmph… I still do not see why they have to be here…" Aashiq grumbled, shooting a side-eyed glare at the Ammonian girls while they were preoccupied.

"Aash, I get it that you don't like Twitch and Vinegar, but don't let that spoil your enjoyment of our time together," Shantae calmly advised. "They already said they wouldn't bother you. I made them promise."

"It is not that they simply 'bother' me, kanafeh… it is that they are here, undeservingly partaking in these festivities when they are responsible for the suffering of those poor citizens in the Inseam Municipality… They are responsible for the suffering of many of the people present here… Especially you and habibi… and they are especially responsible for a series of other disasters and crises that befell our fair country as of late," he further reasoned, gripping his goldenrod tank top with a hand while inadvertently prompting Bruce to massage his shoulders from behind out of concern.

"Trust me, I know. But like we've been saying, the two of them in particular have done a lot to try and make up for at least some of it, which is more than I can say for their boss that thankfully won't be joining us. I know that isn't much to say now, but you'll get a better scope of it when we gather around the bonfire and share our stories."

"I would hope I do, Shantae…" Aash uncertainly replied, clutching his shirt a bit harder. "I still cannot fathom it, but perhaps you will put things into perspective…"

"Huh… Sorry for the topic change, but… Y'know, I was gonna ask you where you got that shirt…" the heroine mused with a raised eyebrow. "It looks just like one that Tay would wear…"

"That is because it belonged to him prior to his being ambushed by those unscrupulous Ammonian thugs combined with Risky Boots and her pirate forces that fateful day in the Inseam Municipality," Aash revealed, much to the half-genie's surprise.

"Really now? Huh..."

"Indeed. There were few witnesses to the carnage that unfolded during that cataclysmic battle, but those who saw it and lived to tell about it have been sharing their stories all across that region," the young magician elaborated.

"I... I see..." the half-genie contemplatively remarked, seeming to lose herself in thought for a bit as she and Aash locked eyes. Nevertheless, she found herself curious. "So... How did you get your hands on the shirt he was wearing that day?"

"I found it in tatters amongst a pile of rubble when I was volunteering to help with Inseam's reconstruction the other day. I fashioned it into a shirt of my own to remember him by after I had heard of his death…"

"…Wow, Aash… Just… wow…" Shantae remarked in awe at the poignant tribute. "That's so touching… and... I'm sure Tayshan appreciated it a bunch… presuming he noticed..."

"Indeed, he did. He was quite flattered, actually! He even made a joke about how he had become something of a walking emergency closet because of how many times he has relinquished his shirts to friends in recent times," he revealed with a chuckle that Shantae shared with him.

"Yeah, no surprises there," she laughingly acknowledged. "Anyway, I hope you guys stick around and enjoy yourselves. I'd hate to see you leave early or otherwise not get a chance to unwind a little because of Twitch and Vinegar being here."

"Well… for the sake of honoring our beloved habibi and celebrating your latest thwarting of Risky Boots, I am capable of putting my trepidation aside for the moment. Besides…" he trailed off as both his and Bruce's stomachs began to growl from the alluring scent of the delicacies roasting on the grill. "…I am… admittedly growing just a tad famished…"

"Make that two of us," Bruce further admitted, making Shantae mirthfully giggle once more.

"In that case, come on over and help yourselves! We've got plenty of options on the menu for tonight, so eat to your hearts' content and enjoy!" she cheered as she turned and led them over to the grill, where everyone else had finally begun eating… except for Tayshan, Bolo, and Rottytops, who were eagerly preparing themselves for that impromptu sparring match. Tay had taken off his vest, Bolo had emptied his pockets, and Rottytops had fastened her shirt and proceeded to do some stretches alongside the other two. Shantae soon joined them in stretching as she carefully removed the I.D. Tags she wore around her neck and set them aside next to the serviceman's vest. "We're doing the match right now, huh?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rotty excitedly answered as she stretched. "There's no way this was gonna wait any longer. Besides, with you and me teaming up together again, snack cakes, we'll probably get this little sparring session nice and wrapped up before either of them can say the word 'kebab.'"

"I don't know if it'll be that quick, but I don't doubt that we can definitely show the boys why they shouldn't mess with us," the half-genie concurred. "I'm almost worried this might be too easy."

"Heh. Let's see if you can keep that energy up when we actually get started..." Tayshan remarked with a smirk that... in all honesty, seemed to imply that he already had a couple tricks up his sleeve. "This might be real unfair for you two in a minute..."

"Oh! I just realized!" Rotty suddenly announced as she suddenly perked up. "Speaking of 'fair...' Sky!" she called to the bird tamer as she was getting ready to fill her plate with some of the savory bonfire delicacies and take her seat.

"What's up, Rotty?" Sky plainly responded, unsure of why she was being called.

"We need a referee for this wrestling match! Come on over here and help us out!"

"What? Why me?"

"Because you're the only one qualified for the part! No offense to everyone else! Now, hurry up! We've gotta... set some ground rules," Rotty suggested with a grinning wink at Sky, prompting the hood-adorned maiden to cock an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Sky! Come on! It'll be fun!" Shantae further urged, at which point Sky sighed as she set her plate down and approached.

"...Fine, but this had better not take too long... I'm starving..." the bird trainer acquiesced.

"Trust me, it won't. Besides..." Rotty trailed off as she wrapped her arms around both Shantae's and Sky's shoulders and reeled them into a quick huddle and began speaking at a low enough volume that I couldn't hear anything they were saying.

"Sky as a referee, hm?" Tay remarked in wonder, though he had no immediate objections. "I suppose that sounds fair enough, as long as she stays neutral. Sky's usually pretty good at keepin' her personal biases out..."

"Hmm... I don't know if I could trust that as far as I could throw it..." Bolo murmured as he watched the girls clamor among themselves for just under a minute.

"...Huh... Are... they about to start wrestling?" Twitch asked in wonder as she and the others looked on from their varied seating positions.

"It appears so," Mimic answered with a chuckle. "They'd been discussing it among themselves earlier, but I suppose they couldn't resist the chance to test each other's strengths. I just didn't expect them to start roughhousing right this minute as opposed to at least eating first."

"Sweet! Dinner and a spectacular live show? Now this is what I call a par-tay!" Bruce cheered as he helped himself to a plate of kebabs.

"Indeed, this sounds most invigorating! I almost wish I could participate..." Aashiq wistfully hummed as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Either way, I've got a feeling this could get intense, whatever it is they're about to do..." Vinegar added, seeming to also be interested in watching the friendly brawl unfold. Nevertheless, all four combatants readied themselves up. Once they were all properly prepared, they all designated a spot where each of the two teams lined up next to one another, directly facing their opponents. And just as they entered their pre-battle stand-off, Sky rushed over and stood between them. Keeping herself a safe distance away between the two teams, the bird tamer raised a hand up high.

"Wait, we never got to ask..." Shantae pointed out as she got ready. "You guys are okay with Sky being the referee, right?"

"It's cool," Tay permitted with a shrug, seeming to suspect nothing.

"That is, as long as she plays the part right," Bolo added, seeming to suspect everything as he eyed Sky up and down. "You do know how being a referee works, don't you?"

"I won't lie and say I know everything because I'm not into sports like that, but I think I've got a general idea. Either way, you don't have to worry. I'm gonna do my best to stay impartial," Sky promised, though she didn't look anyone in the eye when she said it. At that point, Tay's suspicions were raised as he glanced over at the buxom blonde bird aficionado.

"Hmm..." he hummed, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment.

"This is your last chance to back out, boys!" Rottytops 'politely' offered with a confident grin, causing the Bolo and Tayshan to turn their attention toward her. "You really don't have to sacrifice your pride like this."

"Yeah, you can give us those free massages and meals without any shame or humiliation," Shantae additionally offered, causing both of her male opponents to scoff as they each prepared themselves even more.

"Keep talking big, girls. It'll only make our victory that much sweeter," Bolo defiantly shot back. "Almost as sweet as all the ice cream you'll be buying me once we're done handling our business with you two."

"An' y'all had better believe that you're gonna be singin' a different tune by the time this is over," Tayshan further taunted. "I only hope y'all won't get too mad that y'all bit off more than y'all could chew challengin' us...!"

Meanwhile, everyone else curiously watched the exchange as they gathered their food and got comfortable in their seats. With the party officially started, everyone at least remained cordial with one another as the sun began to set and the roaring blaze of a bonfire became the strongest source of light aside from the moon peering through the evening clouds. Mimic had assigned himself the task of frying up and plating the numerous kebabs and carefully keeping them separate to account for Vinegar's allergy to seafood (no, we didn't forget), Sky's preference for seafood (go figure), and Tayshan's apparent distaste for pork (totally unusual), as well as anyone who may have been an outright vegetarian (unlikely). The old Relic Hunter contentedly watched alongside Aashiq, Bruce, Twitch, and Vinegar as the bombastic wrestling show between friends unfolded, with Sky apparently serving as a reluctant referee. And, for the sake of good fun, the main event match's title card was…

SHANTAE AND ROTTYTOPS VS. TAYSHAN AND BOLO: TERRIFIC TAG-TEAM TURMOIL!

"Ready? FIGHT!" Sky declared as she chopped the air with her hand and stepped back to let the fun and games begin.

"Let's Grind 'Em Down with Girl Power!" both the zombie girl and the genie girl excitedly shouted as their team battle cry before charging forth to engage their opponents.

"We're the Boys that Can't Be Beat!" the human boy and the wraith boy announced in collective determination as their own team battle cry as they immediately locked arms with the girls.

"Hah! Bold move going for me first, Bolo!" Shantae smilingly teased as she and the handyman engaged in a test of strength to kick things off.

"You really shouldn't be surprised," Bolo confidently shot back, though he found himself needing to dig his feet into the ground as Shantae pushed him back. "It's been… too long since we last sparred, and I might as well take the chance to see how you improved upon what I taught you…!"

"Okay, but don't be mad when I completely mop the floor with you…!" the half-genie challenged, her excitement only growing more profound as she put more effort into pushing her opponent back.

"Oh, it's on now, sis!" Bolo challenged right back as he immediately shifted to where he planted a foot on his adversary's abdomen and forced all of his weight backward. Gripping onto Shantae's wrists along the way, Bolo attempted to monkey flip her over him to catch her off-guard.

"Nice try!" Shantae announced as she was flung over her opponent, maintaining full control of the situation. Grabbing Bolo by the ankle while she was hurtling over him, Shantae gracefully stuck the landing on her feet as she whirled an unsuspecting Bolo up and over her head to send him flying across the battlefield.

"Whoawhoaaahaaaah!" Bolo hollered as he did maybe fifteen flips through the air before just barely landing on his feet and hands, skidding along the ground as he did so. "Whew… Okay. That was impressive, I'll admit, but it'll take far more than that to put me down!" he further declared, charging right back at Shantae, who'd been eagerly awaiting his next attack. As soon as Bolo reached her once again, the determined heroine put on her best guard as she blocked an incoming roundhouse kick from him with her forearm. He followed up by spinning and attempting a sweep with the same leg he'd tried the roundhouse with.

"Hoo!" Shantae hollered, somersaulting backward to dodge Bolo's low kick, granting the young martial artist a window of opportunity to gain an advantage. As soon as the half-genie planted herself back onto her feet, Bolo rushed ahead and attempted a chop aimed straight at his adversary's exposed abdomen.

"Take THIS!" he exclaimed, whirling around to put more oomph into his incoming strike. However, his wrist met her hand with a *PLAP*, where Shantae redirected his momentum upward. "Whoa, wha-?"

"Hyah!" the half-genie grunted as she, with incredible speed, drove her knee right into Bolo's stomach with a powerful *THRASH* while he was off balance.

"Hoogh…!" the handyman groaned as he was sent stumbling back, clutching his abdomen. Shantae wasn't done quite yet, however. Capitalizing on the opportunity, she raced toward him and continued her onslaught with an open palm thrust aimed right at his face. "Heh…! Rookie mistake…!" Bolo confidently muttered as his sworn sister's hand came racing in. At just the right moment, Bolo dipped his head to the side, forcing Shantae to whiff her strike entirely. Taking no chances, the young warrior immediately grabbed his sparring partner's extended wrist with both hands and reeled her in.

"Yikes!" Shantae bellowed, surprised by Bolo's ability to read her move while he seemed incapacitated. Her shock wouldn't end there, however. As soon as he got her close enough, Bolo delivered a quick, yet powerful elbow to his enemy's solar plexus that landed with a sharp *PLOCK* while keeping her arm locked into his other hand. "Gah…!" she grunted in mild agony as she hunched over.

"Time to go for a ride!" Bolo declared as he reeled Shantae back in by her arm and jutted his hip out to perform a hip throw that he was sure would've planted her flat on her back. Letting go of her wrist and slipping an arm around her torso, Bolo followed up by leaning forward and pulling his opponent over.

"Not bad, but…!" Shantae began as she allowed herself to go rolling over Bolo's hip. To the handyman's dismay, the half-genie flipped over and landed squarely on her feet again. "…you're gonna need a better strategy than that!" she finished as she flung her leg up and planted a startling *THROCK* of a kick right to Bolo's chin.

"Ghaaah!" the young man shouted, stumbling back as he brought his hands to his aching face.

"Now, have a taste of THIS! Tidal Wave Takedown!" she peculiarly announced the name of her maneuver as she dashed toward Bolo. Desperately needing to be prepared for whatever his enemy had up her sleeve, Bolo shook off his disorientation and attempted a swift chop aimed at Shantae's face to at least keep her at bay. However, his attack did nothing to deter her. Pouring on the pressure, Shantae grasped his wrist with one hand and held it outward before gracefully spinning around to where her back was facing him while also switching the hand she held Bolo's wrist with. "Yah!" she hollered out again as she crouched and drove her elbow into Bolo's stomach with a debilitating *THWACK* before he could even process what was happening.

"Gohooogh…!" the unfortunate blue-haired hero grunted in a mix of agony and surprise as he hunched over. He would get no time to consider what was happening, however, as another *WHACK* of the back of his opponent's fist against his face caught him off-guard. He wouldn't even get the chance to stumble backward from the force of Shantae's attack, however, as she turned and grabbed him by his shirt and his arm. Hooking one of her arms under his while keeping her other hand's grip tight on his shirt as she turned her body away from him, Shantae then moved herself into position before…

"Tooorryaaaah!" she hollered as she jutted her hips back and, with considerable effort, flung Bolo over her shoulder. The unsuspecting handyman crashed into the ground with a most emphatic *KATHWACK* of his back on the grass beneath him.

"Ghahagh…!" Bolo grunted, barely registering the aftershocks of howling agony ripping through his back as he lay on the ground for a few seconds. "Man… She's incredible…!"

"Whew…! Had enough already, little bro?" Shantae taunted, feeling entirely confident in herself as she struck a stylish battle pose and waited for Bolo to get back up. The half-genie's brash comment was more than enough to trigger the handyman's competitive spirit. Hurriedly, he rolled onto his stomach before climbing back to his feet while ignoring the residual pain from Shantae's surprisingly well-coordinated technique.

"Don't count me out yet, Shantae," Bolo warned as he dusted himself off and struck a battle pose of his own. "You've picked up a couple of impressive new moves, but that doesn't mean you've got this fight in the bag!"

"I haven't even scratched the surface of all the techniques I've learned since we last sparred!" she excitedly claimed with a most determined smirk, getting fired up as she held her stance strong. "If you want more, then bring it on! I'm Ret-2-Go!"

"Alright, then! Here I come!" Bolo declared, racing toward Shantae with hardly any hesitation. He had at least a couple points to prove to her, and he wasn't going to miss his opportunity to prove them. As such, the sworn siblings quickly entered a tornado of light strikes and counters that led them to practically dance all over the arena as each of them sought to utterly subdue the other.

Meanwhile…

"How do you like this!?" Tayshan oh-so politely asked Rottytops as he found himself on the ground face-up with the zombie maiden's head and arm trapped between his interlocked legs.

"A triangle choke so early on, stud muffin…!? I had a feeling you'd try to get an advantage as soon as you could, but this isn't your best bet…" Rotty defiantly countered, her composure holding strong despite her disadvantaged position. "I hope you're not ticklish…"

"Wait, wha-?" Tay was about to ask before he felt Rotty's fingers digging and jabbing into his sides, making him flinch and squirm like a colony of ants had crawled all over him. "Ghah! Hahahah! H-hey, stop tha-ha-hat!"

"And just like that, my advantage presents itself…!" the zombie maiden cheerfully declared as she immediately ramped it up on the good ol' tickle torture. "Take THIS! Ten Digits of Doom!" she bombastically announced a… secret(?) maneuver of hers as she began furiously jabbing the wraith up and down his side with her free arm to try and wrest herself free.

"No-ho-ho-ho! D-da-ha-ha-hang it, sto-ho-hop!" the unfortunate serviceman tried to demand, though he was far too busy squirming and flopping around to make his request clear. It didn't take long for him to lose his grip on Rottytops, which she took as her opportunity to slip free.

"Yes! Now, it's my turn…" she declared immediately after escaping the seemingly inescapable chokehold. She wasn't done yet, however. As Tay breathlessly panted and tried to slide himself back on his feet to reorient himself, Rotty came rushing in with another hidden attack as she locked an arm over a crouched Tay's head while she used her other hand to grab a handful of his pants. And without warning, Rotty hoisted Tay up high and over herself as she flung herself back. "Epitaph Splash!" she announced as she slammed Tayshan on the ground with a *KERFLOP* of their backs on the grass from a mighty suplex before rolling on top of him to try and score the pin.

"Ghah…! Not that easy!" Tay challenged, immediately shooting up and wrapping his arms around Rotty's neck and rolling over to where he was on top of her instead. In return, the zombie maiden wrapped her legs around the soldier's waist and slung an arm over his neck to pull him into a surprise guillotine choke. "Hoogh…! Heh, you're not bad…! I didn't think you'd be such a natural at this...!" he complimented as he planted his feet on the ground with the intent to climb back to his feet.

"Tons of experience wrestling with my big brother Abner will do that for a girl…!" Rotty confidently informed Tay, though she found herself hoisted into the air while her submission hold was still in place. "Whoa! Jeez, you're a LOT stronger than I thought…!"

"Come on, Rotty! I told ya ta how ta lock that guillotine choke in like you're ready ta tear your opponent's head off! Put yer back into it!" another voice shouted from the sidelines as its owner, a certain frightening-looking male zombie, took a seat by the grill next to yet another, shorter, stouter male zombie and a thoroughly elated scorpion girl.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Abner, but I don't need your help on how to-! Whoawwaaah!" Rotty tried to deflect her brother's advice before Tayshan slipped his head out of Rotty's grasp, wrapped his arms around her back, and squeezed with considerable strength. "Gaaaaagh…! Heh heh… Getting rough and rowdy with me already, stud muffin~? I knew you couldn't resist…"

"Yeah, you just bring that out in me, Rotty… I hope you don't mind gettin' a little close an' personal for a hot minute…!" Tay dared to challenge her, countering her salacious comment as he put the pressure on with the bear hug.

"Ghaaah…! Hah, I don't mind it at all… but if you get too close, you might get hurt…!" Rotty warned with considerable strain in her voice as she tightened the grip of her legs around his waist, causing the serviceman to flinch in sudden moderate pain as he found it surprisingly difficult to keep his hold on his opponent.

"W-wow…! You got legs that could crush boulders…!" Tay painstakingly complimented, his voice also strained as he did his best to hold his stance firm.

"Thanks for noticing, babe, but that's not all I've got…!" she warned again as she grabbed his arms with her hands and pushed them outward with all the might she could muster from her position.

"Oh, so you think you're gonna strong-arm your way out o' this one, huh…? Alright, then… Let's see how you like this…!" Tay ominously warned as he intentionally let go of Rotty and pulled his arms out of her grasp before she could get a solid hold on them.

"Oh, no you don't!" Rotty immediately challenged, reaching forward as she remained clamped onto her adversary's torso with her legs. She barely missed wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, though she managed to grab onto his halo and hoist herself up before he had the chance to ensnare her in another bear hug.

"What in the-! Did you just grab my halo?" Tay asked in wonder as he watched his opponent yank herself up high like she was on a jungle gym.

"Huh… This thing is super solid… Warm to the touch, too…" she curiously observed as she wrapped her legs around his neck to try and lock him in another chokehold. "Anyway, prepare for my-!"

"Not a chance, homegirl!" Tay defied, sticking his hands through her legs to prevent the zombie maiden from locking in her submission hold that could very well have rendered him unconscious in seconds. However, as he reached upward toward her arms and tried to pull her down to put her in position for his counterattack, he found it surprisingly difficult as Rotty refused to let go of the halo. "H-hey! Get down here!"

"Make me!" she challenged, kicking him in the chest with a few solid *THWACKs* as she locked her grip on the otherworldly ring with both hands.

"Ow! You asked for it, then!" the ghostly soldier threatened as he hurriedly came up with a method to wrest Rotty free from his halo. Wrapping his arms around her hips to keep her from being able to kick him further, Tayshan opted to do the unthinkable. "I got somethin' for you! Cyclone Crash!" he announced the name of a most unusual attack move as he squeezed the zombie girl as tightly as he could and began to whirl around with the speed power of a mighty tempest.

"Gah…! H-hey, that's a pretty cool name for awawawWAWAWHOOHOHOHOOO!" Rottytops was about to compliment before she began seeing everything around her going blurry as the world around her spun like she was inside a washing machine hitting a monstrous turbo spin cycle. She did her best to keep hold of Tayshan's halo, though she found it increasingly difficult as he continued to squeeze her and twirl around with enough force that he very well could've caused an ACTUAL tornado to form. "YAAAAAHOOOOOO~!" she somehow found it in herself to cheer, evidently having nothing but absolute fun.

"Yo! Stop enjoyin' this an' get dizzy already!" Tay demanded, never relenting as the two of them became a turbulent twister of green, black, gold, and orange.

"I can't help it! You're giving me the wildest ride of my life, Tay-Tay~! I love it!"

"Oh, is that right? Then you'd better be ready, because I'm about t' make this 'ride' a whole lot wilder! Just for you! Hrrraaaaah!" the serviceman vowed as he somehow began spinning even FASTER while squeezing the zombie girl to the point where it seemed like they'd wind up fusing together if they weren't careful. You could even HEAR the rapid *FWOOSHes* of their bodies beating against the air around them, they were spinning around so hard.

"WHEEEEEE~! Give me more, hon! Gimme all you got!" Rotty continued to taunt through her whimsical laughter, though she had long since lost almost all awareness of where she even was in that moment from the sheer blistering speed of her opponent's tornado whirl.

"Go, Shantae! You've got this, girl!" the excitable scorpion girl cheered as she took a bite of a kebab loaded with vegetables and watched the half-genie run Bolo ragged in their sparring match.

"Rotty, come on! Break outta dat spinnin' bear hug before this joker crushes an' twists yer insides into a pulpy smoothie!" Abner demanded of Rottytops as he greedily munched on two meat kebabs and witnessed his little sister being given the 'Blender on Full Blast' treatment by her opponent.

"Spiky, stop running away from her and fight back! She's gonna pound you into pudding if all you do is dodge her attacks or crack under pressure!" Vinegar cheered for Bolo as he and Shantae found themselves locked in a stalemate that quickly turned into the heroine whipping away at him with her hyper-speed ponytail and chasing him down.

"Bring the match to an early end, habibi! You have her right where you want her!" Aash cheered on Tayshan as the soldier finally managed to get Rotty to let go of his halo. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Tay stopped spinning, flipped his opponent up over his shoulders, and flung her to the ground with a mighty *PLOP* of a body slam flat on her back.

"Whoo… W-wow… Hah… That… was… INCREDIBLE…! Whew…!" an entirely breathless, frizzy-haired, thoroughly dizzied Rottytops gushed in delight. Evidently, she REALLY enjoyed being whirled around like she was caught up in the world's windiest natural disaster. "You really know how to treat a girl, Tay…"

"Glad you think so, but soon enough, it'll be your turn t' do the treatin'…!" a moderately disoriented Tayshan shot back as he recuperated from his own attack that left him almost as dizzy as his adversary. Despite the world rocking and spinning around him, however, he managed to haphazardly stumble to his knees, lay crossways on top of Rotty, and lift up her leg.

"Man, oh, man is this getting intense!" Twitch exclaimed as she watched on, not necessarily picking a side. Instead, she opted to serve as something of an announcer for the match. "Ooh! Hairball with the five-hit combo of doom as Spiky is sent reeling back! He looks tired, but he's hanging in there as he counters with a quick elbow strike! Can he survive the onslaught long enough to stage a full-on comeback? Oh! Oh! Tay-Tay's going for the pin! And Brains looks like she's totally dazed! Is she done for!?"

"One!" Sky counted, going prone and slapping the ground near the two undead fighters. However, she appeared to be taking her sweet time getting to the next number after her first count as she briefly glanced at a preoccupied Shantae. "Um… TWO!" she hesitantly counted again, suspiciously going MUCH slower and louder than she was supposed to be… something that Tayshan immediately took note of as he shot a disgruntled look toward the referee after making a full recovery from his dizzy spell.

"Yo, why are you takin' so long?" the soldier demanded to know as he continued to hold a steadily recovering Rottytops down for the three-count.

"Sorry! I-I've never been a referee before, so I'm kind of new at this. I uh… I-I should start over!" the flustered bird tamer apologized, though her decision to start the count over drew no small form of ire from the serviceman.

"No, you don't gotta start over! Just say thr-!"

"One!" Sky started over, much to Tay's dismay as Rotty fully reoriented herself and began trying to wriggle herself free. As such, Tay put forth a considerable effort to keep his opponent on the ground long enough to win the match. "TWO!" Sky shouted while looking directly at Shantae to see if she heard her. And, evidenced by Shantae turning her head toward them while dealing with Bolo, she definitely did.

"Uh-oh…! Hyaah!" Shantae yelled in acknowledgement, kicking Bolo in the stomach and sending him flying away before dashing toward Tayshan and Rottytops to break the pin. Luckily for her, Rotty was able to kick out before Sky could EVENTUALLY hit 'Three'. Unluckily for Tayshan, Shantae immediately came soaring in as he climbed to his knees.

"Wha-!?" he was about to ask before being smacked full force by the half-genie smashing into him with a earth-shattering *PLOWGH* of her body against his. "GAWGH!" he shouted in surprise and immeasurable pain as he was flung backward with Shantae performing a most unexpected flying press on him.

"WHOO! That was so clutch! Get 'em, Shantae!" the scorpion girl continued to cheer for her favorite wrestler, full to the brim with energy as she watched on.

"Oh, no! You were so close, habibi! Make sure you are not overwhelmed by kanafeh!" Aash also cheered, displaying his own preferences for who he wanted to win as he gripped his pants in pure anticipation as Shantae and Tayshan suddenly began rolling around all over the ground, trying to outmaneuver each other as they entered their own little tussle.

"Yo, Zombie Chick! Get back up! Blue Hair's gonna get you if you don't do something!" Bruce urged Rottytops, evidently not on the same side as Aashiq.

"Darn…! Gotta get an edge…!" Bolo urged himself as he raced toward Rottytops while she appeared to be shaking off her dizziness. It took little more than a couple seconds for the undead maiden to get her head on straight (no pun intended) and spot him charging toward her, however. As such, she sprung to her feet as soon as he got close enough to reach her, turned away, and jumped while swiftly wrapping her arms around his head. "Gwaagh!"

"Fell for it! YAAAH!" Rotty excitedly hollered out as she went crashing to the ground with Bolo's head tightly locked in her grip. The dense, impactful *KERPLOMPH* of their bodies on the ground threatened to send shockwaves rippling through hard enough to create tidal waves in the surrounding ocean, she slammed him so hard.

"OHHH! Brains with the surprise Skull-Basher out of nowhere on an unsuspecting Spiky!" Twitch cheered, letting out her inner professional wrestling fan as Bolo got sent for a thousand loops in just one sudden sneak attack. "With perfect execution, too!"

"That's what I'm talkin' about, sis! Show that little mook who he's messin' with!" Abner very excitedly praised as he took what had to already be his sixth meat kebab and chowed down.

"Spiky! Get up! She's gonna get you if you don't get it together!" Vinegar continued cheering for Bolo. It was right then, that Rotty attempted to go for the pin as she bent over to secure her position.

"Hrrgh…! Now, I've got YOU!" the handyman shouted as he sprang up off the ground and ensnared Rotty's lower body with his legs. With one swift pair of kicks in opposite directions, Bolo performed a leg scissor takedown that sent Rotty flopping onto the grass with an emphatic *PLOP*. Moving quickly, Bolo attempted to initiate a leg lock. However, the ornery zombie girl slipped free from his grasp by forcefully yanking her legs away and rolling along the ground to create some distance. "Dang it, I was so close!" he complained as he quickly climbed back to his feet.

"Not close enough, Bo!" Rotty taunted, though she was certainly feeling the pump as she began to break a sweat. "Nice move, though! Of course, you shouldn't expect it to work again."

"Not a problem, Rotty. I've got a whole library's worth of techniques that you won't see coming!"

"Oh yeah, tough guy? In that case, bring it!" she challenged.

"Gladly! Heeerryyaaaaah!" Bolo roared as he and Rotty charged at each other and engaged in a classic wrestling grapple that saw the two of them battling it out in a contest of strength. Keeping in mind Rotty's power boost, however, Bolo immediately tried slipping his leg behind his opponent's to fling her onto her back. Seeing it coming, however, Rotty hopped backward over his leg and countered by reeling him in and delivering a *THWACK* of her knee against his exposed abdomen, knocking him back.

"Here I come!" the zombie woman warned as she came barreling in after him with the intent to spear the soul out of his body.

"Right where I want you!" the fledgling warrior defiantly shouted as he narrowly dodged Rotty's incoming spear attack and followed up by wrapping his arms around her abdomen and locking her in while he was behind her. He wouldn't find it very easy to keep his grip, however, as she immediately began thrashing and wriggling to break free. "Grrrgh…! Goodness, you're strong…!"

"As you're about to find out! Hope you're ready for this next one…! Enjoy getting frisky with me while you can…~"

"Wha-? GAH! WHOAHAAHAAAAH!" Bolo bellowed, finding his head locked up in Rotty's arms yet again while he still held onto her waist. Putting considerable power into it, the undead young lady pulled her adversary's head close, took a couple of running steps, and took another leap.

"Super Stone Cutter!" Rottytops announced, putting her inner professional wrestler on full display as she hit the ground bottom-first with a terrifying *PLOMP* that Bolo BARELY had it in himself to survive. Somehow, he did it, nevertheless. However, he was sent for another loop or two as he was slow to get up. This was Rotty's chance to score the win the girls needed to earn those coveted free spa treatments, and she was sure not to miss it. However, as she was about to go for the pin…

"Gaaah! Darn it, Tay…!" Shantae could be heard complaining, prompting the zombie maiden to look across the makeshift wrestling ring to see how her tag partner was faring. And, much to Rotty's dismay, Shantae wasn't faring all that well.

"Hah! I been savin' this one for you…!" Tayshan confidently informed Shantae as he had her tightly locked into a most precarious submission hold. The ghostly serviceman had his legs clamped around the half-genie's torso from behind as he also had her head caught in an airtight headlock. "A new spin on an old classic…!"

"Tay-Tay with the rear naked choke! Hairball's really gotta think outside the box on this one!" Twitch continued to commentate. "Otherwise, her only options are to tap out or to take an early nap! But Brains has got a slim window of opportunity to steal the win for the girls if she manages to pin Spiky! The window's closing, though, because Spiky doesn't look like he'll stay down for long! What'll she do? Try and score the win or save her teammate!?"

"Shantae! Come on, girl, you can break free! You're strong enough to slip out of his clutches! I know you are!" the excitable chimera rooted once again, biting her nails as she anticipated the outcome of the battle.

"Go for the pin, zombie chick!" Bruce strongly encouraged her. "Shantae's been in tougher situations! She can hold out if she can't escape right away!"

"Ohh…! Much as I would not like to root against my kanafeh, I feel like habibi is on the verge of an outstanding upset," Aash murmured, though he was certain he knew who to cheer for. "Make her tap out, Tayshan! You will have accomplished the impossible if you do! I know you can do it!"

"Not on MY watch, he isn't! Yaaaah!" Rottytops challenged, immediately dashing toward Shantae and Tayshan to interfere.

"Rotty, no! Arrgh, you should've pinned the blue-haired kid!" Abner complained. "They're gonna lose for sure now!"

"Not necessarily…" the other zombie finally spoke up, evidently taking some interest in the two-on-two tag match.

"What do ya mean, Poe?"

"If Rottytops breaks Shantae out of Tayshan's hold soon enough, they have a chance to overwhelm him and double team him before Bolo can get a chance to intervene. Bolo's still struggling to get himself together after those two brutal slams he took from Rotty," Poe explained.

"Then that means they'll win!" the scorpion girl exclaimed with a fist pump.

"Not necessarily, Ali," Poe countered once again while naming the chimera he was speaking to. "If Bolo DOES recover fast enough and he manages to at least distract one of the girls, that leaves the other one wide open to another submission hold from Tayshan. If Bolo distracts Shantae, then Rottytops will have to do her best to avoid getting locked into another one because she's got no ground game when it comes to wrestling. If Bolo distracts Rottytops, then Shantae will have to use her superior agility and hair range to her advantage to keep Tayshan at bay. If she can't do that, she's a goner."

"So that means that Tayshan and Bolo have this in the bag!" Aashiq declared.

"Not at all, Aash. It just means that there are clear power differences between the four of them, and they're all doing their best to account for one another. Anything can happen."

"And the super analytical zombie dude has spoken!" Twitch announced yet again as she kept her eyes glued on the fight. "Place your bets now, folks, because we're about to witness at least one of those absurdly detailed scenarios unfolding right now!" As soon as she uttered her statement, Rottytops reached Shantae and Tayshan, got onto her knees, and immediately began tickling the serviceman to save her teammate.

"Let her go, Tay-Tay!" Rotty demanded as she rapidly poked away at his vulnerable spots.

"Ghahah! No! No, get out o' hehehehere! Ghaahahahah!" the super ticklish Tayshan howled in a mixture of forced laughter and dread as he rapidly began losing his grip on Shantae while trying to roll away from Rotty. "N-n-noohohohohoho!"

"…Or, they could just tickle him into submission. I guess that works, too…" Poe remarked with a joyful chuckle as most of the rest of the audience froze in varying states of surprise.

"Hyaaaaaah!" Shantae shouted as she slipped her hands between Tay's arms and, with considerable effort, broke his grip while Rotty continued to tickle him into oblivion. "Thanks for the save, Rotty!"

"Not a problem, snack cakes! Now come on! Let's get him!"

"No! St-stop ticklkin' mehehehehehe!" Tayshan begged as he convulsed, flinched, squirmed, and laughed uncontrollably. As if things couldn't get worse for him, Shantae managed to slip out from between his legs as he tried to bat Rotty's hands away.

"I hope you're ready for double the trouble, Tay, because now we're gonna let you have it!" the half-genie declared with a most devious grin on her face as she tackled the serviceman back to the ground with a *PLOMPH* of her full weight on his back as he tried to get up. Propping herself up, Shantae sat on Tayshan's back as he continued trying desperately to escape. Both girls upped the ante immediately afterward, poking and prodding the poor wraith all over his sides and his neck. They showed absolutely ZERO mercy as they tried to force Tayshan to submit or be tickled into a laughter-induced coma.

"Awwaaaahahahahahahagh!" the soon-to-be-doomed young man howled in a mixture of amusement and sheer, unadulterated agony as he squirmed and flailed to try and get his assailants off him. Meanwhile the young ladies torturing him cackled in adorably diabolical whimsy.

"Well, THIS certainly turned out to be quite the interesting change of pace…" Ali commented, though she couldn't help but giggle a bit herself. "Who'd have thought a guy as big and tough-looking as him could ever have such a silly weakness as simply being ticklish…?"

"Tell me about it…" Twitch wholeheartedly agreed, though she found herself snickering at the ridiculous display unfolding in front of her. "Poor Tay-Tay…"

"I uh… can't say I expected things ta turn out like this, but whatever works! Get 'im, ladies!" Abner put away some of his confusion to cheer in favor of the girls.

"Oh, no…! Shoot, shoot, shoot…! I'm coming, dude!" Bolo declared in a panic as he shook off just enough of his disorientation to go charging in to try and save Tayshan.

"Don't think I forgot about you!" Rottytops challenged, immediately getting up and running toward Bolo and locking arms with him. He wasn't interested in engaging in another grapple-fest with her, however, as he tried to throw her to the side and get to his partner while he was still being tickle-tortured by his half-genie rival. Yet, much to his surprise, Rotty proved MUCH more difficult an obstacle than he could've anticipated.

"Grrrrrgh…! Sh-shoot, why can't I move you…!?" Bolo complained as he put every bit of strength he could muster into pushing Rottytops back. The problem, however, was that he wasn't making near as much headway as he'd been hoping. She barely budged as she locked her feet into the ground and pushed back. "Haaaaaghh…! You have GOT to be kidding me…!? This isn't fair…!"

"Y'know what? You're right!" Rotty defied with a most mischievous smirk as she shoved Bolo to the ground on his back, immediately followed by her planting herself on his stomach. "You should know some of the torture for yourself, too!" she very evilly decided as she flexed her fingers and grinned at her defenseless opponent.

"No, no! Rotty, don't you da-haha-hare! Sto-hop it! Stop! Gwaahhahahahah! Dang it, this is so che-he-he-he-heap!" Bolo laughingly complained as he found himself subjected to the same terrible fate his partner had been subjected to. And you'd better believe that the zombie maiden wasn't planning on letting up.

"Cheap, but effective! Now, have a taste of my Ten Digits of Doom!" Rotty defiantly announced, calling out the name of her deadliest technique as she went full throttle on tickling Bolo into submission. Try as he might to wrest himself out of her grasp, she proved herself far too strong and in too good a position for him to escape. It seemed like the boys were done for… only, as we take another look back at the other two opponents…

"Whoaahah!" Shantae hollered out as she was suddenly flung off Tayshan's back by way of him pushing himself up to his knees. The half-genie hit the arena floor with a *PLOP* of her back against the grass, mildly surprised at the turn of events. Seeing her opponent rapidly advancing on her, however, Shantae opted to try and climb to her feet before it was too late.

"You ain't goin' nowhere! Get back here!" the determined serviceman commanded, catching his adversary by her ankle and dragging her toward him before she could escape. As soon as she was close enough, he unleashed his unspeakable vengeance upon her. "Yaaaaah!"

"Ghahahahaahahah! Y-y-you tricked me! No-hohohohahahahahaaha! I-I'm gonna ge-heheheht you for th-hi-hi-hisshahahahah!" Shantae raucously laughed as she found herself flailing wildly as Tayshan… delivered his very own Ten Digits of Doom technique. Because of COURSE this would go from a wrestling match to a tickling war out of nowhere.

"That's what you get for playin' me for a sucker, Shae-Shae! An' now, we're gonna see how YOU like bein' tickled half t' death!" Tayshan triumphantly declared as he fully committed to trying to get Shantae to submit by way of rapidly poking and gliding his fingers up and down her body. Try as the young heroine might, she found herself in the exact same nigh-inescapable predicament the soldier was in mere moments earlier.

"Huh… Y'know, I'm not exactly sure what to look out for at this point," Sky murmured as she scratched her head in wonder.

"Sky! He-he-he-help me-he-he-he!" the half-genie laughingly pleaded, much to Tay's surprise as he stopped tickling her for a moment while his hands were pressed to her abdomen.

"What!? What are you callin' her for? You know that if she interferes, you forfeit, right?" Tay incredulously asked, honestly confused about Shantae's request for assistance.

"Nope…!" Shae denied as she took a second to catch her breath while lying sprawled out on the grass. "We never set a rule about Sky jumping in to lend a hand… We only made her the referee…"

"Oh, no. No, no, no, you are NOT about t' pull that b-!" Tay was about to vociferously protest.

"Hmm, I know I shouldn't… but… Well… I mean, there is a lot on the table here, so… Ahh, what the heck?" the bird tamer made her stance clear, much to Tayshan's mountainous dismay.

"Hey! Sky, don't you dare! I swear you're gonna regr-!" Tay tried to warn, but it was FAR too late. The hooded young woman committed entirely to dropping her role as a referee and entering the fray on the side of the girls as she leapt and tackled the soldier to the ground with another emphatic *PLOMPH*. "No! Gaah, Bolo! Bolo, I need help! The referee turned aga-hahainst us! The girls are che-he-he-hehahahhahah!" he tried to announce before Shantae and Sky committed to their next two-pronged tickle attack.

"Sorry, Tayshan, but I REALLY want those massages and those free dinners! You'd do the same thing if you were in my spot!" the bird tamer oh-so convincingly reasoned as she resorted to holding him down by his arms while Shantae continued rapidly poking him and creeping her fingers all across his torso.

"No I wouldn't, an' you kno-ho-ho-how tha-hahahahahahah!" he laughingly objected, though he was unable to find any sort of leverage to break free.

"Aaaaaand leave it to Squawks of all people to jump in at the perfectly wrong time…" Vinegar complained with a strong sense of displeasure. "Totally unfair!"

"On that, we agree," Aashiq further complained, surprising both Twitch and Vinegar as they each gawked at him. He paid them little mind, however, as he kept his eyes glued to the 'fight.' "Escape their clutches, Tayshan! You must not let them overwhelm you! Bolo, get Rottytops off you before it is too late!"

"You're rootin' fer the wrong people there, Aash," Abner 'politely' informed him. "You're supposed ta be cheerin' on my sister an' her lady friends!"

"Yeah, the girls clearly have this in the bag now," Bruce agreed with the zombie man.

"I will do no such thing," Aash fervently denied. "The girls are wonderful, but this is a battle where I am rooting for the underdogs. The boys will succeed… somehow."

"That could be true if Spiky picked up his slack a little," Twitch interjected as she continued watching Tayshan get tortured by Shantae and Sky. "Otherwise, Tay-Tay's as good as doomed because Squawks unnecessarily got herself mixed up in it."

"Looks like they're keeping him plenty busy at the moment," Rotty happily observed as she continued to sit on Bolo, pressing his wrists into the ground above his head as she straddled him and watched her teammates maul their other opponent. "I was wondering what was taking Sky so long to get over here and do the three-count. Turns out our secret plan worked out after all…"

"Secret plan!? You pack of CHEATERS! I KNEW it was a bad idea to let her be the ref!" Bolo complained, not at all happy with this heavily biased turn of events.

"Can't cheat when no rules were technically broken or made up on the fly, now can we?" Rotty slyly mentioned with a wink. "And in case you don't get it, we MAY have lured you boys into a false sense of security by not mentioning to you that Sky would be allowed to… swing the match in our favor…"

"…False sense of security, eh? Funny you should mention that…"

"Hm? And why's that?" Rotty asked in sudden wonder.

"Because that's exactly what you're in right NOW!" Bolo shouted as he made his next move.

"Hey, wha-! WAHAOW!" she shouted as she saw her adversary's feet shoot out from either side of her. Before Rotty realized what was happening, Bolo managed to tuck his legs in, slip them through Rotty's arms, and then hook them over her shoulders with as much power as he could muster. Caught by total surprise, the zombie maiden found herself flung backward, hitting the ground with a *PLOP* as Bolo flung himself to a seated position while his legs were still pressed against his opponent's shoulders.

"Shyah!" he effortfully grunted as he quickly rolled backward and onto his feet. Knowing Rotty wouldn't be done in quite so easily, however, he opted to reengage her before she had the chance to get up. Much as he would've preferred to assist Tayshan in dealing with Shantae and Sky, he knew that slipping up against the crafty young revenant woman would be costly for both of them. Hurriedly, he tackled Rotty back to the ground just as she tried to get up. He then tried to follow up by wrapping an arm around the back of her neck while scooting upward to ensnare her in another submission hold targeting her arms.

"Oh, now you've done it…!" Rotty challenged as her hands shot up to grapple with Bolo's before he had the chance to gain a solid advantage. Immediately after, she wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed him with the force of a python and tried to pull him into a chokehold of her own. Never one to give up his advantage when he seemed to have it, however, Bolo countered by grabbing Rotty's wrists and pinning her hands above her head while she clamped onto him.

"Grgh…! Heh…! Not bad…! I thought I had you this time…!"

"Not quite, bud…! That was a nice little trick, but you'll have to do better than that to get the drop on me…!"

"Trust me, I've got just the leverage I need…" Bolo trailed off, glancing toward his teammate to see that he'd finally broken out of the two-woman tickle-fest, standing tall as Sky dangled from behind him with her arms wrapped around his neck and Shantae found herself locked in a tense grapple match against him. "And from the looks of it, you're about to be treating me to weekly desserts for the next couple months…!"

"In your dreams, maybe…! If I were you, I'd be getting my hands nice and oiled up for the foot rubs you're gonna give me…! Yah!" Rotty shot back, crushing Bolo's ribs harder with the iron grip of her legs.

"Ghhaahagh…!" Bolo grunted in unbearable agony, though he responded by tightening his grip on Rotty's hands as she tried to yank them out of his grasp.

"So, what'll it be from here, Bo? You gonna tap out and let me go? Or do you wanna know what it sounds like when I make your ribs start pressing into your lungs…!?"

"Tough talk when you're… still the one at a disadvantage…!" the young man retorted through the surging agony in his sides as he tried to figure out what to do to capitalize on the fleeting opportunity.

"Have it your way, then…!" Rotty warned as she, with considerable strength, tore her hands out of Bolo's grasp and clamped down on him even harder with her legs. However, as she went to pull his head in to possibly attempt a guillotine choke, Bolo countered by catching one of her hands with one of his, wrapping his other hand around her arm, latching his arms together, and pressing forward to initiate a counter chicken wing wrist lock behind his opponent's head.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow…! What the…?"

"Hah… I told you not to underestimate me…!" Bolo taunted with a pained chuckle as he applied pressure to his submission hold. "Now, I should ask you: You gonna tap out and let me go? Or do you want to find out what it sounds like when your shoulder pops out of place?"

"Heh… You must feel so tough, talking to a girl like that when she's beating you senseless…!"

"Of course you choose now to pull the gender card, but it's not gonna save you here…!"

"Whoo! There you go, Spiky! It's about time you turned the tables!" Vinegar shouted in support of Bolo.

"'Turned the tables,' my foot!" Abner strongly disagreed. "Rottytops! Turn that mook's ribs into a jigsaw puzzle! Scoot yer hips up an' squeeze harder!"

"Looks like both Spiky and Brains are battling it out on the ground for ultimate dominance now!" Twitch commentated even more, gripping the edge of her seat as she finished her kebab. "Spiky's got the Turkey Wing Twister set in place, but Brains is clapping back with the Serpentine Squeezer! Which one of them is gonna tap out first!?" At this point, I SWEAR they're just making the names of these moves up on the fly... but darn it, if they didn't sound so awesome!

"Looks like it could go either way here, but take a look at Shantae over there!" Bruce called attention to the other side of the brawl. "She's whipping her hair like a helicopter at Tayshan, but he's somehow dodging her with grace while the referee is hanging on his back like a cape!"

"Go, habibi! Show those ladies what you are made of!" Aash cheered, just about ready to spring from his seat as he eagerly watched on.

"Whip him into submission, Shantae!" Ali cheered in opposition. "There's no way he can counter your most famous attack!"

"Hah!" Shantae yelled as she whipped her hair with enough speed and repetition to possibly set the air around her ponytail ablaze with each startling *THWAP* aimed at Tayshan. Meanwhile, the soldier had either been dodging or tanking the numerous hits while keeping his balance due to Sky trying to choke him out while he stood.

"Gagh…! Heh, it ain't so funny now that I'm back on my feet, is it…?" Tay challenged, jumping back a few feet while Sky yanked on him to try and bring him down.

"How the heck are you still able to move when I'm hanging onto you…!?" Sky demanded to know as she wrapped her legs around his back and tried to tighten her arms around his neck.

"Take this as you will, homegirl, but you're light as a feather…! You ain't bringin' me down, no matter what you try from back there," the soldier teased as he jumped back again to avoid another hair attack from his primary opponent.

"Gee, thanks for the pun-riddled compliment, but you're supposed to-! WHOA!" the bird tamer was about to retort when she felt a sudden forward jerk caused by Tayshan coming to an abrupt halt.

"GOTCHA!" he triumphantly announced as he, with a horrifically painful *THWAP*, caught Shantae's ponytail in his hand.

"WHAT!? How in the world could you still pull that off at this point!?" Shantae shouted in disbelief as she tried to yank her head back to pull her weaponized hair out of his grasp to no avail.

"NO WAY!" most of the group hollered in collective disbelieve as they witnessed what should've been an impossible feat.

"Ohhh! Tay-Tay with the Hair Whip counter! Tay-Tay with the Hair Whip counter! We're witnessing history here, folks! Hairball's most powerful and obnoxious attack was totally shut down for the first time ever! Until today, no one's ever been able to come up with a way to beat out such a simplistic, yet insanely overpowered technique! Yet here we are, watching as the attack that made entire armies of grown men cry is made to look like child's play by the unexpected powerhouse that is the irresistibly hot ghost alien with a halo!" Twitch ecstatically pointed out.

"Layin' it on just a bit thick there, Twitch!" Tayshan protested, though he kept all his focus on Shantae as they continued to battle for dominance.

"And even with the cheating, interfering Squawks latching onto him like the greedy, boy-hungry harpy she is, Tay-Tay stands ready to rock, no matter what's thrown his way!" Twitch kept on commentating, her excitement over the wrestling match causing her to fully commit to her role.

"Hey! I heard that!" Sky complained as she glared at the bespectacled blonde snickering at her from the sidelines.

"Now, it's time t' put this t' rest! Get over here!" Tayshan commanded of his enemy, tugging on her ponytail both hands and with just enough power not to hurt her, but with enough that she wouldn't be able to slip free. And, try as Shantae might to pull away, she simply couldn't find the leverage to do so as her feet slid across the grass toward her adversary. Before long, however she found herself right in front of him with his hands latched to her hair tie. "An' just for good measure…!" he further announced, pressing her head down with one hand while the other remained clamped to the hair tie. And, with one swift *THWOOP*, Tay removed Shae's hair tie and set it down beside him.

"Wha…? Hey! Did you just-?" Shae was about to ask as she noticed her long, wavy blanket of lavender hair fall free all over her face and her back.

"Get rid o' your most reliable means of attackin' me without magic? Oh, yes…" Tay triumphantly bragged. "But that ain't where this ride ends, sweetheart…!" he further warned, moving forward to wrap his arms around her abdomen while she was bent over. "Haaap!"

"WHOAHAAHAH!" the half-genie yelped as she was flung off her feet with the serviceman's wrists pressing into her stomach. She found herself somersaulting forward as she ascended, only to come to a sudden stop when she hit the apex of her unexpected flight. It was then, however, that she realized she was being set up for a devastating power bomb. She immediately saw that her legs were slung over the wraith's shoulders, his hands were pressed to her abdomen, and his halo was right in front of her as she gripped his head with her hands. "Oh, you think you're so clever, huh?"

"I might…" Tayshan remarked with mischievous anticipation as he prepared to perform the most monstrous slam this side of a sparring match. "But we'll get t' talk about that more when I-!"

"Not a chance!" Shantae cut him off, grabbing hold of his halo and using it to scoot up closer on his shoulders and wrap her legs around his head.

"Gwaaagh…! Mmrrrgh!" he grunted in a sudden burst of agony as she began to choke him out.

"Yes! Just when you thought you had me, it turns out all you did was give me the perfect opportunity to make you submit, Tay-Tay!" Shantae confidently taunted, squeezing him tighter to cut off his airways. "Sky! Help me bring him down!"

"What do you think I've been trying to do!?" the bird tamer shot back, though she understood the request as best as she could. As such, Sky opted to unclench her legs and pull his head backward as hard as she could manage despite the fact that her feet still weren't touching the ground.

"Ackh…! I don't know what's worse… This or the Bathhouse incident…! Hhaagh…!" Tay complained as he struggled for air and tried to pry the half-genie's legs from around his neck.

"Hey! We said never to speak of that again!" both Shantae AND Sky yelled in unison as they all took an entirely unwanted trip down memory lane. In the meantime, Sky got the idea to let go of Tayshan's neck and plant herself back on the ground. Soon after, she opted to grab one of his legs to bring him down. However, the serviceman's haphazard stumbling around as made it nearly impossible as she chased after him.

"Gah, shoot…! Get back here and let me trip you!" Sky demanded as she barely managed to grab hold of one of his legs and wrap herself all around it, thus mostly immobilizing the ghostly young man as he found himself tilting over like a tree being cut down. "Hrrgh…!"

"Hrrrmmgh! Yrr trr r eerrvrl frrr thrrsh!" Tay tried to accuse as he hopped around on his remaining leg to keep his balance as he pulled and tugged on Shantae's hips to try and rip her off his face. Although, his words weren't exactly clear when his mouth was entirely covered by Shantae as she kept him locked in.

"Gah…! H-hey! Don't talk so much in this position… It tickles…" she… very peculiarly shared with an odd waver in her voice and a suspicious blush on her face after flinching like she sat on a pile of thumbtacks.

"Thrn grt rff mr frrsh!" he demanded as he began tumbling over due to Sky digging her heels into the ground and yanking his leg toward her. "Wrorwhawawaarrrgh!"

"Anh…! S-Sky, wait! Don't take him down yet! At least let me gewwhoawhoawhaaaah!" Shantae tried to request as she tensed up, though it was far too late. As they went down, the half-genie barely managed to save herself by hanging onto Tayshan's halo while releasing him from her leg-based chokehold. As she planted herself on her feet, Tay was given just enough time to extend his hands toward the ground to keep from eating a faceful of dirt with a dense *PLOP* of his hands and one knee on the grassy arena. "That was close…"

"So you think you got a leg up on me now, Sky?" the wraith addressed the bird tamer with a pun as she was still latching onto his leg. Planting one hand on the ground, he reached his other one toward her and grabbed a handful of her headdress.

"Uh-oh…! Shantae!" Sky called for help.

"Not on my watch, Tayshan!" Shantae challenged once more, rushing ahead and immediately wrapping her arms around her adversary's neck to lock him in a rear naked choke before he could attempt to pry her tag partner off.

"Gaagh…!" the poor soldier grunted in asphyxiating agony once again as he accidentally ripped Sky's scarf and hood off her head to reveal her wonderfully long, flared-out blonde hair.

"Aw, man! I should've known that would happen…!" the falconer complained as she looked up and saw Shantae plant herself on the ground and continue choking out Tayshan, who'd been trying to pry the half-genie's arms off his neck. "It looks like we might finally be turning this in our favor, at least…"

"Now's our chance, Sky! Let's finish this in style!" Shantae encouraged, feeling more pumped than ever to win those free dinners and spa treatments.

"Roger!" Sky acknowledged as she hurriedly let go of Tayshan's leg and made her next move.

"Grrgh… Why do you like chokin' me so much…? There some unusual fascination you wanna tell me about, hon…?" the strangling victim that was Tayshan managed to jokingly ask Shae as he tried to twist himself out of her grip, only to be hit with a *PLOP* caused by Sky slamming into him, forcing him onto his back.

"…I'm gonna pretend I didn't just hear you ask me that and go on to win this match, if you don't mind," Shae confidently (albeit blushingly) batted away the inquiry as she committed herself to the submission hold. However, Tay proved himself resilient, as he put an alarming amount of strength into pulling the heroine's arms off him. Much to her dismay, he found more than moderate success in breaking her grip. "Wh-whoa…! Shoot, I almost forgot about how strong you were without magic…!"

"Then… allow me t' give you a reminder…!" Tay politely offered as he put even more strength into tearing himself out of Shae's grasp.

"Oh, no…! Sky! Tickle him before he breaks free! Hrrraaah…!" Shantae ordered her best friend as she also ramped up the amount of strength she put into her headlock to keep their enemy in place.

"On it!" Sky complied, immediately running and creeping her fingers up and down Tayshan's exposed sides while Shantae kept him in that terrifying headlock.

"Ghhaahahahah! Hrrgh! Y'all are straight-up fo-ho-houl fot thi-his!" Tayshan protested as he lost his focus and found himself flailing about in laugh-riddled torment. Additionally, he was suddenly stuck multitasking between trying to get Sky to stop tickling him and trying to get Shantae to stop strangling him.

"You've forced our hands, babe! I hope you don't hold it against us when this is over…!" Shantae apologetically, yet unapologetically informed her lover-slash-enemy, which only prompted him to struggle harder against the girls' efforts to restrain and subdue him. "Whoa! Goodness, you've got a lot more fight in you than I thought…! Hrrgh…!"

"Habibi!" Aash called out in immense concern as he and the other spectators watched on. "You must not let them get the better of you! Break out of their grasp!"

"Yeah, that's it! Teamwork makes the dream work, ladies! Get him!" Ali urged the girls, helping herself to another vegetable kebab as she glued her eyes to her favorite superhero take care of business.

"Oh boy, it's looking tenser than ever now! Tay-Tay's advantage is up in smoke as Hairball and Squawks pull out all the stops to force him to give in!" Twitch expertly pointed out, tearing into a pair of meat kebabs as she continued to commentate. "Things are looking really grim for him, but can his resilience pull him through this sticky situation? Or has he finally met his match?"

"It could go either way, Twitch, but it certainly looks like the girls have finally gained their edge at a glance," Poe replied in the spirit of being the Ammonian acolyte's co-commentator. "But on the other hand, Bolo looks like he's finally found his groove!"

"Yeah! Keep that arm lock strong, Spiky! Make Brains tap out before Tay-Tay does!" Vinegar unwaveringly rooted for the young adventurer. As it turned out, Bolo managed to slip out of Rotty's leg hold while giving it his all on the 'Turkey Wing Twister' he had her locked into as they remained on the ground.

"Rotty, stop playin' around an' bury this guy already! I taught you betta than this!" Abner urged his little sister out of frustration.

"Put a cork in it already, Abner…! I'm… haagh…! I've got this under control…!" Rotty angrily shot back at her brother as she struggled against Bolo's grip.

"Under control, you say? Hard to believe when you're just seconds away from tapping out…! Now, come on…!" Bolo demanded, putting just enough pressure into his move as he lay crossways on top of Rotty with her arm ensnared between his. "Don't make this worse on yourself than it-!"

"Ghahahahah!" Tayshan could be heard either shouting or laughing in the distance, causing Bolo to look toward his partner to see that he was in serious trouble. As it appeared, he was flat on his back with Sky sitting on top of him and tickling him while Shantae held his arms down to keep him from being able to defend himself.

"You can't last forever like this, Tay! Do yourself the favor and give up!" Sky demanded of him, thus putting a deep sense of urgency on Bolo to rescue him.

"Darn it…! Tay, hang on! I'm on my way!" the younger man vowed, reluctantly letting Rottytops go as he climbed to his feet and dashed toward the other three wrestlers. Rotty, of course, would have none of it.

"I'm not finished with you yet!" the zombie maiden declared as she hurriedly climbed to her feet and dove at him while he was running. Expecting her not to simply let him interfere in the other battle, Bolo prepared himself. Turning to face Rotty, he grabbed her by the wrists as she was coming toward him. Using her momentum to his advantage, he rolled backward as he planted a foot on her stomach. "Whoa, what in the-!?"

"Hoo! Aaauuaah!" he effortfully shouted, performing a last-minute monkey flip to send an unsuspecting Rottytops flying.

"Whaahahahow!" the zombie maiden bellowed as she soared through the air, only to hit the ground with a *FLOP* flat on her back.

"Alright, it worked!" Bolo cheered with a triumphant fist pump, though he kept his eyes on the prize as he raced past Rottytops toward a horribly incapacitated Tayshan to bail him out.

"That was cute…! Hah…! But you shouldn't count ME out just yet… Hrrrrraaah…!" Rotty muttered as she hurriedly climbed to her feet, took her head off, aimed, and flung it as hard as she could with a powerful *FWOOSH* at Bolo while he wasn't looking.

"Oh, no you girls don't! Get off him right now, or I'll-!" Bolo was about to warn before a mighty *THROCK* of Rottytops's disembodied head clocked him right in the back of his head. "Gahwarghh!" the unsuspecting handyman hollered in pain as he went tumbling to the arena floor short of his destination. Meanwhile, Rotty's head went hurtling high into the air, soaring over and past Bolo as it gained an alarming amount of hang time before it came plummeting back toward the ground… or rather, it would've hit the ground if it weren't for a certain soldier's abdomen being in the way. Speaking of which… Rotty's head eventually landed square on Tayshan's stomach with a *THUD*.

"WHAH!" Sky shouted in such terror that she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Huh? Rotty?" Shantae called to her friend's head as she loosened her grip on Tayshan by just a smidge.

"Wha…?" Tayshan hummed in wonder as he stopped struggling against Shantae and Sky to notice Rottytops… or at least, her head sitting comfortably on his stomach while looking him square in the eye. And it was then… that Tayshan was suddenly filled with inconceivable horror as he was hit with another awful flashback of a certain teleportation-related occurrence involving Rottytops. "Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! Get her off me! Get her off me, please!" he desperately begged as he began to squirm once again, much to the confusion of the half-genie and the bird tamer as they unwittingly kept him locked in place instead of helping him. "Gaack…! N-no, I'm serious…! Get her off me…!"

"Girls, you should probably listen to him!" Rotty warned in equal concern as she also remembered the same incident Tay was so terrified about. "Hurry! Get me off before it's too late! I'm about to co… oh, no…! It's happening already…! Sorry, stud muffin! I'm coming! I'm coming!" she apologized as she looked over to where her body was standing to see it disappear into her Head Warp portal. Just then, Shantae, Sky, a mildly disoriented Bolo, and the entire crowd of onlookers got to see another portal forming in the unfortunate young man's stomach beneath Rotty's head.

"No, no, NO! Gah! AAAAHAAHAAGH!" the very, VERY unlucky Tayshan screamed in absolute, literally gut-wrenching agony as he went stiff, startling everyone in the vicinity as they tried to gather some idea what was happening.

"Whoa, what the heck is happening!?" Shantae questioned, suddenly VERY frightened for her lover's safety as she and everyone else cluelessly watched on.

"Ghaaaah! Awrgh! AAAAAAGH!" Tay continued to scream in torturous despair as Rotty's body finally emerged from the Head Warp portal, reattaching to her head before the zombie girl as a whole found herself comfortably seated alongside Sky on top of the ailing wraith's stomach. "Hah…! Hoh…! Ah…! Hah…! Gah…! Hooh…! Hooh…!" the agonized soldier panted as everyone else went silent and stared at Rottytops, who in turn self-consciously scanned the vicinity.

"…What…?" Twitch could be heard muttering after everyone went silent, save for Tayshan's pain-addled breaths.

"…The heck…" Vinegar continued.

"…was THAT!?" Aashiq of all people finished, evidently finding himself on the same boat as the Ammonian acolytes when it came to being utterly flabbergasted by the unnatural sight they beheld.

"Ah jeez, Rotty… We told ya ta use that fancy new trick of yours responsibly… Now you're out here reenactin' horror movie scenes with it?" Abner voiced his shock and mild disappointment in his youngest sibling for her recklessness with her powers.

"…Note to self: Don't mess with zombies that can apparently come crawling out of your guts at will…" Bruce murmured with a shudder as he squeamishly clutched his stomach with a hand.

"…So, you're gonna explain that, right?" Ali asked Abner, understandably horrified by the movie scene in question.

"Uhhh…" Abner droned as he shot the scorpion girl a wide-eyed look of total cluelessness.

"I will," Poe volunteered, as he was the only one who kept calm throughout the whole ordeal. "For those who don't know, Rottytops has a unique teleportation ability that works when she detaches her head and throws it. Wherever it lands, her body will warp to her head's location from beneath it if she's in an appropriate space to do so. Uh… We just… didn't know she could teleport into someone else's stomach…" he uncertainly added.

"Goodness, Rotty, what in the world…?" Bolo asked, shaking off the possible concussion he earned from being smacked by the zombie girl's head at what had to be Mach 1 at least.

"Yeah… uh…" Sky tried to add, though she was rendered entirely speechless.

"So, yyyyeah… Uh… in case anyone needs a refresher or in case they didn't know before, my Head Warp apparently allows me to pop directly out of people…" she very sheepishly revealed with a nervous titter, though she quickly turned her attention to the wraith she victimized yet again with this unorthodox technique. "Er… Are you okay, Tayshan?"

"…Not really…" Tay groaned as he steadily caught his breath while Shantae went from pinning his arms down to worriedly cradling his face. "Urgh… I gotta let you know, Rotty… It doesn't exactly tickle when you do that t' me…"

"R-right… Sorry about that… I-I was aiming to knock Bolo for a loop, but I didn't expect my head to bounce off of his and fall right on top of you," she explained with another uneasy chuckle.

"That's what that was? Jeez, I thought you threw a rock at me!" Bolo exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nope! Just my noggin," Rotty corrected with a tap of two fingers on her head. "But uh… y-yeah… I'm sorry, Tay. I uh…"

"Not an issue, homegirl…" Tay forgave, motioning to sit up. In response, Shantae let go of him while she, Sky and Rotty climbed back to their feet. "But… Oogh… I don't think I have enough energy t' keep wrestlin' after that…" he further shared as he picked Sky's scarf and hood up off the ground and handed them to her. Rather than redo her headdress, however, Sky opted to fold them up and signal for Wrench to fly over and carry them to one of the tables nearby.

"Oh. Well uh… Not to say I don't feel bad for you, but no one's blaming you for throwing in the towel," Rotty 'consoled' while not-so-secretly reveling in the idea that the girls won the match. "I hope the massages you'll be giving us will make you feel better…"

"What? No, dude, don't give up! We were so close to winning!" Bolo protested, dismayed by the fact that his teammate appeared to be quitting.

"Oh, don't worry about that, bro. We already won long before this happened," Tay declared, much to everyone's surprise.

"We did?"

"What? What do you mean you won?" Shantae questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "We were clearly beating you guys."

"It looked that way, but you, my darling genie queen, messed up an' forfeit the match."

"And how exactly did I do that!?"

"You used magic when you were chokin' me out an' pinnin' my arms to the ground," the mildly queasy wraith accused as he took another deep breath and turned to her. "We agreed that neither of us would rely on magic before this battle began, did we not?"

"Are you serious!? There was no point where I used ANY of my magic to get an edge on you!" the half-genie protested.

"Take a look at your hands, an' then tell me that with a straight face, Shantae," Tayshan challenged as he raised an eyebrow at her. Wordlessly, she complied as she looked at her hands… and saw a faint bluish glow emanating off them. At that, she gasped and stuffed her arms behind her back like she was hiding a cookie from an overbearing babysitter.

"Yes! We actually did it, then!" Bolo immediately celebrated and pumped a fist high into the air. "We won! Holy cow, we won! We ACTUALLY won!"

"Aw, Shantae!" Rotty griped, hit with crushing disappointment that they forfeit the match.

"N-no! This doesn't count!" the half-genie disagreed.

"Why not?" the serviceman dared to question. "That headlock you put me in was awfully strong for it NOT to have been magic-fueled…"

"Because my hands glowing like this didn't have anything to do with the match!" she revealed in defense of herself.

"Then what could've caused that, Shantae?" Bolo asked. "Last I recall, your magic only triggers like that when you're in the middle of a grueling battle that pushes you to your limits."

"Well, yeah, but I have way more control over it than that! At the very least, I have enough that it wouldn't just activate without me wanting it to. Unless…" she trailed off, seeming to be recalling something. After a second, though, she gasped as her face turned red and her eyes grew wide. "…Oh, no…"

"…Unless what, snack cakes?" Rotty pressed.

"…Uh… I don't want to mention it…" she declined to share, flicking her eyes at Tay as she took a very, VERY shaky breath. Picking up on it, the ghostly young man in question stiffened up in almost paralyzing shock.

"What do you mean you don't wanna mention it? If it's true you didn't actually use your magic to get the edge, then surely, we can still claim the win! What caused your magic to activate?"

"Don't worry about it, Rotty. I mean, I don't think it should count as us forfeiting because I didn't actually use it, but… um…"

"…Why… don't we just call it a draw, then?" Tay suggested, growing increasingly nervous as he began to understand Shantae's reasoning for her involuntarily summoning up her magic.

"A draw!?" Bolo, Sky, and Rottytops yelled in shared dissatisfaction.

"Yes, a draw," he reiterated, rubbing his stomach. "Shantae activated her magic without meanin' to, which I think still counts as breakin' the rules… maybe not as much so as you girls havin' Sky jump in, but the point there stands…"

"Yet you surrendered because of my Head Warp," Rotty cut in and argued. "If Shantae didn't actually USE her magic when she activated it, then I'm pretty sure that means we win. She didn't mean to turn it on anyway, so that shouldn't be held against her."

"Absolutely not!" Bolo argued back. "If she activated it at all during the match, then that's an automatic forfeit! It doesn't matter if it was an accident or on purpose!"

"That's not fair either, Bolo," Sky countered in Rotty's defense. "Like Rotty said, you can't hold it against Shantae if she didn't mean to activate her magic."

"I don't even want to hear it from YOU, 'ref,'" Bolo shot down Sky's interjection. "You were supposed to be neutral! And don't think you're slick with that cheap slow count when Tay pinned Rotty, either! I saw what you were doing!"

"Sure, but like I said, Bo, she was always on our side. We never explicitly established Sky's role in the ground rules," Rotty countered, much to the handyman's ire.

"See, now you're trying to finagle it so that it looks like you girls won on a technicality. If that's where we're going with this, then everything was legal up until Shantae activated her magic. And just like we agreed upon, no one was supposed to use magic in this match at all. So, on that SAME technicality, WE won! And even if you find a way to argue that down, then who's to say your fascinating, yet horrifying trick of teleporting into Tayshan's stomach and then popping out of him like a rabbit out of a hat isn't magic? You couldn't even do that move until AFTER the whole 'Friends to the End' deal, which involved us all using abilities we didn't even know we had until we came into contact with Shantae's magic in her dreams."

"…Ohh, so that's how everybody here got their powers…?" Tayshan murmured in shock and wonder as he turned and gawked at Shantae.

"I'm pretty sure that's just a theory he's spouting…" the astonished young genie lady in question reasoned with a shrug as she looked back at him. "No one is really sure how it all worked out this way, as you've seen."

"I guess, but if they had no access t' any special abilities until after they jumped int' your head, then what other reason could there be for them t' have their abilities now?"

"That's a good question. For all we know, it could be the case that Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops had their special abilities all along, but I don't suppose it's too far-fetched to say they absorbed some Dream Magic from me and had it converted into real magic after they saved me. Maybe the magic they got from me made it easier for them to begin tapping into their hidden potential? Provided they actually even absorbed any magic from me in the first place…"

"Is that right? Huh… Just when ya think it couldn't get strange enough, there's always somethin' that comes from around the corner an' smacks you across the face…" the undead soldier murmured, curiously shifting his gaze between his friends.

"Wow… Only when you think you're gonna get something you really, really want, do you start using that peanut-sized brain of yours to your advantage… I don't know whether to be proud of you for having such potential, or ashamed of you because you're only using your brain power to score a date with me. I didn't think you'd want to spend time with me that badly… I can't say I'm not flattered, but still…" Rotty joked, further antagonizing Bolo as his face grew red.

"What!? N-no, it has nothing to do with that! I've always been smart! You just never noticed…"

"To be fair, you've always made it VERY hard to notice…"

"Why, you…!"

"Alright, you two, that's enough," Shantae cut in after taking a deep breath. "Looks like we're not gonna agree one way or the other on who actually won our sparring match… so, as much as you might not like to hear me say it, and for the sake of ending the discussion on a high note… I'm gonna agree with Tayshan and call it a draw."

"But it can't end on a draw, snack cakes!" Rotty protested. "What about our free dinners and spa treatments?"

"Or MY free ice cream!?" Bolo added, both agreeing AND disagreeing with the zombie maiden at the same time.

"Well, why don't you two compromise?" Tay humorously remarked as he kept rubbing his aching stomach. "Y'all meet up weekly, Bolo will provide the massage an' the dinner, an' Rottytops will be responsible for desserts after the fact. Or maybe you massage each other?" At that, Shantae giggled a bit as she imagined how such a scenario between her friends would play out.

"Yeah, it sounds like the perfect way for you two to break the ice with each other; an ideal date, even!" she teased, much to the astonishment of Bolo and Rottytops. "Maybe you'll get a lot closer if you meet each other halfway…"

"Now, that would be a sight t' see," Tayshan laughingly agreed. "I think I see another ship settin' sail as we speak…"

"Took the words right out of my mouth! Bolo x Rottytops!"

"The absolute one true pairin'!"

"What!? Hey, whose side are you on, anyway!?" Rotty and Bolo simultaneously yelled at their respective tag partners, their shared comical displeasure written all over their faces as they found themselves newly roped right into the Shipping Game.

"Do you two seriously think BOLO of all people would know how to treat a woman on a date? Absolutely not! I'd probably have better luck with a dying tortoise!" shouted a disgruntled Rotty.

"And do you seriously think ROTTYTOPS of all people knows how to treat a man in general? No way! I'd have better luck with Sky!" shouted a disgruntled Bolo, though a certain war bird trainer didn't exactly appreciate the comparison.

"Like heck, you would!" Sky yelled at Bolo in pure, unbridled offense. "First of all, I'm pretty sure you just indirectly compared me to a dying tortoise! Second, you and Rotty are a FAR better match for each other, so leave me out of it!"

"Well it isn't like I said that like I actually WANTED a chance with you anyway… On second thought, I think I'd actually rather take the tortoise…" Bolo grumpily retorted, crossing his arms and scowling as he batted his eyes elsewhere. At that, Sky scoffed as Shantae and Tayshan reeled back in collective shock, trying to hold back their laughter.

"Nope! That tortoise is mine," Rotty humorously countered. "No trades, either. There is NO way I'd ever, EVER in a hundred billion years, take SKY of all people on a date with me. Yuck..." she further enunciated, causing Sky to indignantly glare at her.

"Aw… Are you sure?" Bolo asked, seeming unhappy with the imaginary arrangement.

"Positive. Then again, maybe I could give you the tiniest inkling of a chance if you behaved yourself… But only because I realize the tortoise would be too high-maintenance."

"…So, where exactly does Sky fit into all this?" Shantae curiously asked.

"Nowhere," Bolo and Rotty simultaneously remarked, driving the bird tamer's frustration through the roof as she glared at the both of them. At that, Shantae gasped in comical shock.

"Wow… Now that's ice cold…" Tayshan remarked with a stifled chuckle.

"Hmph. It's whatever," Sky dismissed with a shrug and nudge of her head. "Rotty and Bolo deserve each other anyway. I'm perfectly fine dealing with the dying tortoise. Our time would be short, but at least the tortoise wouldn't mindlessly stare at me while drooling like a dog and try to get frisky with me at every opportunity or play a bunch of obnoxious, flirty pranks all day before trying to score a private trip to my bedroom with me on the first date. I think I could manage." At that, both Rotty's and Bolo's jaws dropped to the ground.

"Sky! Jeez, that's vicious!" Shantae remarked in increasing surprise.

"Oh, snap! With the kinds o' roasts you're deliverin' out here, we didn't even NEED t' start a bonfire…" Tayshan further commented, much to the falconer's amusement as she let out a hearty guffaw.

"What can I say? I'm calling it as I see it," Sky proudly proclaimed with a smirk.

"Don't get beat up, Sky," Rotty warned the bird tamer, shaking a fist at her. "Besides, you know you'd date me in a heartbeat if you ever had a chance. It'd probably be the most fun you'd ever have in your otherwise boring love life."

"Now look at who's switching sides…" Sky shot back with a humored grin. "Also, NO I WOULDN'T, Rottytops. Trust me, that's a ship that would NEVER, EVER sail. I'd sooner remain single for the rest of my days than subject myself to THAT torture," she fervently added, shooting down every inkling of any Rottytops x Sky speculations before they could even arise. "And to think you're getting all worked up because of an imaginary dying tortoise that is apparently my most desirable dating candidate between it, you, and Bolo. For shame…"

"In that case, you can keep your lousy tortoise. Rotty and I would do just fine without you," a disgruntled Bolo shot back, inadvertently approving of the Sky x Dying Tortoise ship.

"Yeah. The Rottytops x Bolo 'ship' would probably be more like a shipwreck, but it'll be a FUN and SPONTANEOUS shipwreck, darn it!" Rotty further asserted proudly as she confidently rested her hands on her hips. "Your loss, featherhead."

"Er, y-yeah! Fun and spontaneous shipwrecks for the win!" Bolo rather mawkishly… and only partially agreed. At that, the other three members of the crew shook their heads in shared amusement as they all laughed away the mounting tension.

"Y'all are a riot…" Tayshan remarked, laughing away a significant amount of the residual discomfort in his abdomen as his stomach suddenly began to growl. "…but hey, maybe we can figure out an agreeable result for this little exhibition once we eat. Despite Rotty's most recent attempt t' utterly annihilate my stomach from the inside, it still works well enough t' tell me it's dinnertime."

"Oh? Well, if you can handle me being inside you, stud muffin, I'm sure that stomach of yours can handle anything~," the zombie maiden teased as she patted her not-so-nauseous friend on the back. At that, Tay cut his eyes toward her, to which she responded by shooting him a naughty grin that absolutely nobody (read: everybody) saw coming. He then raised a hand with one finger extended as he opened his mouth to speak. However, he was stopped short as Shantae lightly tapped him on the chest to assure him that he didn't need to say anything. Wordlessly, Tay lowered his hand and raised an eyebrow at his significant other as she smiled at him. Soon after, however, the half-genie turned her gaze toward her zombified best friend.

"Rottytops… You're trippin'," said NOT Tayshan, but Shantae as she comically glowered at Rottytops and pointed a finger at her, taking the words RIGHT out of the undead serviceman's mouth. At that, Tayshan proudly chuckled in approval of the half-genie's use of his slang to address their mutual friend. Meanwhile, Rottytops grinned wide enough that you'd think someone gave her a birthday, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, AND Valentine's Day present all wrapped up into one overly extravagant package.

"Ahhhh, you said it! You said 'trippin'', snack cakes! My life is now complete!" the undead young lady gushed with another hearty laugh shared by the rest of the group.

"Glad I was able to give you the experience, Rotty. Now come on and let's eat, guys and gals! I'm starving…" Shantae suggested as she moved to pick up her hair tie up off the ground and stuff it into her inventory rather than tie her hair back into a ponytail, at which point she led her crew to the grill where the other guests were patiently waiting for them.

"That was certainly one very enthralling show you put on there," Aashiq praised the group of wrestling superstars as they mingled in with the rest of the bonfire's guests.

"Seriously, you guys really blew us away!" Ali further gushed. "All the special moves, and the suspense, and the action… That was the best fight I've ever seen! And that big finish with D-Cup popping out of Tayshan like a Jack-in-the-Box was totally INSANE! It looked absolutely painful, but it was insane, nevertheless! I didn't even know your head was detachable!"

"You can just call me 'Rotty,' Ali," Rottytops corrected with a giggle as she adjusted her tank top. "I know my boobs are an astounding sight to behold, but my cup size isn't really the first thing I want to be identified by. Also, I'm glad you liked that trick! It was a total accident, though…"

"Sorry about that," the scorpion girl sheepishly apologized as she, Bolo, and Rottytops began a conversation of their own. "Still, you guys were awesome! Especially you, blue-haired dude! I can tell you're no slouch when it comes to fighting!"

"Oh! Heh, ya think so?" Bolo prodded with a smirk, proud that he seemed to have earned himself a fan.

"Definitely! Anyone who takes a massive beating like you did against Shantae before getting manhandled by Rotty, but then still manages to fight back is special in my book!"

"…Oh. W-well, uh… Thanks, I guess," Bolo hesitantly offered his gratitude, trying his hardest to hide his disappointment in Ali's reasons for celebrating him.

"No problem! You guys have GOTTA tell me more about how you learned to fight, though! You were all incredible!"

"I already told ya, Ali. Rotty learned from the best of 'em!" Abner chimed in as he and Poe approached and hugged their sister.

"Yeah, my big brother Abner taught me… Mmm, maybe HALF of what I know," Rotty jokingly vouched for Abner as she hugged both him and Poe back. "The rest, I picked up on my own. That's why I'm the strongest of the three of us."

"Whoa, really!?" Ali remarked in total surprise.

"Ahh, don't go fillin' her head with a buncha gobbledygook, ya little runt!" Abner laughingly warned, pressing a hand to Rotty's head and messing up her hair. "The day you become stronger than me is the day I join the circus!"

"Then you'd better get your clown nose, rainbow wig, and unicycle ready, brother man, because I am stronger than you now!" Rotty proudly declared.

"That's a funny joke, Rotty, but we all know I'm the strongest an' toughest of all three of us. Poe is the smartest. An' you… well, you're just the cute, rambunctious one that gets in trouble all the time."

"Hardly! Poe's definitely wise beyond comprehension, and I'm BY FAR the cutest and most unpredictable between the three of us, sure. But unfortunately for you, big bro, there's a new sheriff in town for the Zombie Squad's toughest!" At that, Abner scoffed.

"Ooh, I'm sensing a little bit of sibling rivalry here…~" Ali hummed, though she remained filled with absolute ecstasy from simply being there to hang out with a group of people she revered as celebrities.

"Yeah, but Rotty's brother might be in for a rude awakening if he underestimates her…" Bolo pointed out as the group walked to a food table nearby and began to pick out their dishes. "I should know. At this point, she could probably bench press a two-story house."

"Jeez, is she really THAT strong, blue man?"

"The name's Bolo, but yeah," he asserted, much to the young chimera's pleasant surprise.

"Fine, Rottytops. Right after we're done stuffin' ourselves, we're doin' an arm-wrestlin' match just so you understand how strong your brother really is," Abner challenged his little sister.

"Trust me, Abner, I can't WAIT to show you how much stronger I've gotten in just these last couple weeks…" Rotty mischievously shot back. "Oh, and just in case you want to sweeten the challenge a little…" she trailed off as she stopped and pulled an enormous sack of gems from the invisible crawlspace in her tank top.

"Whoa, whoa! Is that bag full o' gems?"

"Sure is! I haven't had the chance to count 'em all, but yeah, we're totally LOADED now!"

"What bank did you rob ta get all that moolah!?"

"Don't be silly! As if I'd be caught dead robbing a bank of all things…" the zombie maiden dismissed with a laugh. "With my track record, I'd probably get arrested before I even walked INTO the bank. I was actually given all of this money by our wonderful friend over there with the halo," she further explained, pointing toward Tayshan across the way as he struck up a separate conversation with Twitch and Vinegar while they were putting food on the grill.

"The squirt's boy-toy? Really?"

"Yeah. He apparently earned a huge fortune off some of the adventures he went on with Shantae and the gang, and he decided to break bread with me because we're best friends!"

"Heh, you finally made another friend, eh? Well ain't that just grand?" Abner acknowledged with a proud chuckle, though it was short-lived as he glanced over at Rotty's new best friend for a moment before turning back to her. "Eh… but I thought he was dead…?"

"He is! That's why the halo's hovering over his head," Rotty casually explained, much to the shock of Abner and especially Ali. Poe MAY have been surprised, but he did an excellent job of hiding it behind his unassumingly casual smile.

"Whoa, whoa, WHAT!? Tayshan is DEAD!? Or, like… UNDEAD!? Er, I-I mean… That halo is REAL!?" Ali all but exploded with her questions, suddenly prompted to gawk in awe at the serviceman as he carried on with his business. "And how the heck did he die!? Is he a ghost now or something!?"

"Short answer: Yeah, Tayshan died sometime last week while we were all dealing with Risky Boots. As a matter of fact, Risky Boots herself was the one who dealt the fatal blow to him during his and Shantae's final battle against her. They managed to pull through and beat Risky together, but he passed away shortly afterward from his wounds. After that, Shantae apparently managed to somehow wish him back to the world of the living as a wraith. Believe it or not… This 'party' was actually supposed to be a funeral…" the undead maiden shared, stifling chuckles as she got a kick out of seeing the astonished faces of Abner, Poe, and Aleaqarab.

"She DID!?" Ali asked, taken all the way back. "He was killed by Risky Boots and brought back as a ghost by Shantae!? And… we're at a FUNERAL!? And even then, we're at a funeral where the person who's supposed to be in a casket is just casually hanging around, joking and laughing with the rest of us like nothing happened to him!? And… wait, I thought genies were supposed to grant wishes, not make them… unless… that means Tayshan is actually a genie who managed to grant Shantae's wish after he apparently died…? Now, I'm confused…"

"Can't say I blame you," Bolo agreed with a chortle. "This whole situation's been more than a little… bizarre for all of us…"

"Save some of that surprise and all of those questions for when you hear the story in full, Ali," Rottytops assured as she patted the chimera on the shoulder. "If you think what I'm telling you is a lot to handle, you'll certainly be blown away when Shantae gets to tell us all what went down in a little bit when we gather around the bonfire…"

"Ooh, I'll bet! In that case, I can't wait!" Ali cheered, feeling like she was ready to burst with anticipation.

"Huh… So, he's become a member o' the undead, has he?" Abner murmured in wonder as he took just one more glance at an unaware Tayshan. "Funny that he became a ghost instead of a zombie, though. I wonder what gives there…?" he further pondered, making an excellent point about the sheer unpredictability of people's experiences with death.

"Whatever the case is, I'm sure we'll find out the details in a little while," Rotty confidently asserted. "Either way, he's back for now, and he broke bread with me out of unyielding love and appreciation for me."

"Yeah, I'm SO sure," Abner incredulously shot back, though he remained mildly surprised. "That's a LOTTA bread ta break, though… That bag has gotta be heavier than two o' you combined!" At that, Rotty frowned in disapproval.

"I'm… just going to ignore that dig at my weight and say that there's a ton more gems in here than we'll know what to do with. You'll hear the story behind that as well, of course. As for right now, I'll bet half the gems in this sack that you can't beat me in an arm-wrestling contest."

"Oh, so you come into a little bit o' money, an' now you're suddenly some kind o' high-rollin' gambler, are you?" Abner asked, seeming to sense a challenge coming on from his sister.

"Not necessarily, because I know I'm gonna win," Rotty teased as she put the ginormous sack back into her inventory (where it seemingly disappeared without a trace) and continued picking up kebabs and other food items to fill her plate with. "And when I do, big brother, I want you to cut your ties with that horrible spider girl you've been messing with recently."

"Natasha? What bone do ya gotta pick with her? An' why would I wager my relationship with her over a simple contest?"

"Because she's bad news, and you can do FAR better than some snobby Bonelegs you met at that weirdo Hypno Baron's castle."

"You might think so, but you just don't understand our relationship," Abner dismissed. "Natasha's a total peach!"

"A rotten, moldy peach, maybe. As far as 'understanding' your relationship, though, I won't have to after you kick her sorry spider butt to the curb," Rotty countered as everyone got their food and sat down at a selected table, where Bolo sat next to her. "You might think I'm being mean, but I'm looking out for you."

"I'll bet you are, but I don't think I recall askin' you fer datin' advice, runt. I can make my own decisions."

"And your 'decision' here is terrible. I'm telling you, bro, that Natasha girl is only stringing you along until she gets bored or finds someone else to latch onto with her sticky, web-covered fingers."

"Good grief, Rotty," Bolo finally spoke up. "Don't you think it's sort of unnecessary to bash the man's girlfriend like that when she's not even here to defend herself?"

"See? Even the little guy thinks you're pushin' the envelope too far! Chill out a bit, why don'tcha?" At that, Rotty sighed.

"Oh, you boys… Of course, you'd agree with each other. That's fine, because it gives me the perfect opportunity to school you two AND our fabulous new friend Ali here in a little seminar I'd like to call Rotty's Relationships 101. She'll need the example, and you're in a perfect position to help me set it, Abner. Bolo, you'll especially want to pay attention to this if you EVER think you'd have a shot at being my boyfriend." At that, the handyman's cheeks went rosy as he gawked at her in complete astonishment. At that, Rotty let out a most coquettish laugh at his expense. "Cool your jets there, homeboy. I didn't mean that in the sense that you ACTUALLY have a chance with me, so don't let your fantasies about me wander too far off from where they're usually at. Also… I know you've really been fancying my new exercise outfit, but a little self-control wouldn't hurt; especially if we'll be hanging out every week between now and the end of the year, per the terms of the compromise Tay-Tay came up with for us," she further advised him as she took another opportunity to adjust her top… only this time, while staring the poor handyman right in the eye and shooting him a naughty grin as she cupped herself and hopped a couple times.

"Ah, an' there she goes again… Just can't stop torturin' boys with her flirtatious nonsense…" Abner irritably remarked.

"At the very least, she's back to her old self," Poe finally opened his mouth to point out. "I don't think we've seen her in this good a mood in some time…"

"Good point, I suppose…" Abner acknowledged, though he never let it show that he really did enjoy Rotty engaging in her old antics after an extended period of crying her eyes out like she'd lost her puppy.

"What…!? I… You…!" Bolo stammered, beyond flustered as he began to visibly sweat and avert his gaze from Rotty's breasts. It was too late for him, however, as he'd been caught slipping. Again.

"And yet, you still expect me to believe you're not attracted to me in the slightest…~" the zombie maiden taunted as she continued to use her charm to entice him. "Y'know, I've been wondering why you've been so curious about me lately, making wild guesses about who I have a crush on and analyzing everything I do to show my affection to the people you think I'm interested in... but I think I figured it out! It makes so much sense now!"

"What did you 'figure out?' What makes sense now?" Bolo dared to ask, though it was safe to say he was probably not gonna like the conclusion Rotty drew.

"The fact that, despite it taking me forever to realize it... it's probably true that you've been constantly staring at me with those hungry eyes of yours and you've been worried about my relationship status and whether I was chasing after Shantae or Tayshan... because YOU have a crush on ME. That's what it is. Isn't it, Bolo?" the zombie maiden accused, grinning with blushing delight as she reveled in the pleasure of getting under Bolo's skin. Meanwhile, Bolo reeled back in total shock, his eyes nearly flying out of his head with enough speed that they could've turned into speeding bullets.

"What!? N-no, I don't! That's ridiculous!" he fervently, yet shakily shot down the assertion, though Rotty didn't relent.

"Deny it all you want, babe, but I know you like me... And from the seems of it, you like me quite a lot~! You've made it so obvious in recent times that I'm honestly disappointed in myself for not picking up on it sooner! It's okay to admit it, though! You like like me!"

"B-believe whatever you want, Rottytops, but that's not true...!" he tried to deny it again, his face only growing redder with the more she teased him.

"Ohoho, but it is true, and you know it. And to be honest, I'm flattered that you find me so appealing! I mean, I'm sorry to burst your bubble in case I got your hopes up with all our 'Shipping' talk earlier, but I don't feel the same way. You're more like a... cool best friend to me, if I've gotta say it. I wouldn't change that for the world, Bo, because it's perfect as it is," she oh-so respectfully rejected him, expecting him to be mostly unfazed by it.

"Lettin' him down easy for once, eh? That's new for you, Rotty," Abner pointed out with a chuckle, momentarily catching his sister's attention.

"Yeah, well... Sometimes, it's best to be honest right out the gate instead of... uh..." Rotty began to explain, though she trailed off when she turned back toward Bolo. She found herself stunned into momentary speechlessness to see Bolo's face contort into an instinctive frown as he lowered his head and cut his eyes somewhere else. The contemplative dejection on the handyman's face was too much to ignore as Rotty's smile totally vanished. Feeling a pang shoot through her heart, she immediately began to regret putting her friend on the hot seat like she had. She felt like she may have been pushing it a little too far by this point. "...I-I'm sorry, Bolo," she apologized, walking up to him and laying a hand on his shoulder as the two of them locked eyes again.

"Sorry for what? You don't have anything to apologize for," he plainly replied, taking a deep breath to try and dispel his discomfort. Rottytops wasn't expecting such an ostensibly light, yet actually very heavy response, and found herself briefly going silent as a result. After just a few seconds, however...

"Um... Y-yeah, I do," she countered, patting his shoulder a couple times. "And I'm sorry about making you upset. I didn't mean to hurt you..."

"Wh-what? Upset? I'm not upse-!" he tried to deny before Rotty cut him off and placed her other hand on his other shoulder. "Uh..."

"I'm also sorry about not feeling the same way about you that you do about me," she continued, wanting to at least make sure he was okay with her turning him down. "There are plenty of other ladies out there who I'm sure would LOVE to be your girlfriend. And... well, you never know... MAYBE you'll eventually do something super amazing that'll change my mind, if you're lucky... Don't run too far away with that possibility, though, because you've still got a LONG way to go to impress me that much..."

"Gaahh, you're a mess…!" he further dismissed with a pout as he blushingly crossed his arms... surprisingly without putting up much of a fight as far as denying the possibility that he may very well have been sweet on Rottytops. At that, Rotty pulled him forward and roped him into an affectionate hug he hadn't even come close to expecting… not that he was complaining, mind you. As she adjusted the hug to where she laid his face into her chest for a moment and stroked his head with a hand, however, Rotty turned her smiling gaze toward an entirely inquisitive Aleaqarab.

"Lessons One and Two, Ali: Letting your feminine charm speak for itself and being honest about your feelings when it's appropriate to avoid trouble; especially when you're dealing with someone in your platonic friend group who has romantic feelings for you," Rotty suddenly began divulging, prompting Bolo to hastily break away from her totally innocent grasp and turn his head away with another flustered pout. "Case in point!" she further proudly declared, gesturing a thumb toward the embarrassed blue-haired young man.

"Jeez, Rotty, you think you could ease up on the poor fella a bit?" Abner chided, raising an eyebrow at her. "You're on the brink o' fryin' his brains to a delicious crisp with this campy little performance o' yours."

"…Wait, WHAT!?" Bolo remarked, suddenly on high alert at the mention of the texture of his brain by one of three brain-eating zombies. Sadly, his humble request for clarification fell on deaf ears.

"Which leads me to Lesson Three, Abner: Seeing someone for who they really are BEFORE you dive head-first into a relationship that could very well end in disaster for you," the informative zombie woman continued to share her expansive dating knowledge.

"Oh, I really like her methods…! This ought to be good…!" Ali murmured in delight as the group began chattering among themselves about why it apparently wasn't a good idea for Abner to date Natasha the Bonelegs.

Meanwhile…

"So… That whole 'Brains springing up from inside you' bit was a little… unusual," Vinegar laughingly teased as she, Twitch, and Tayshan sat near the blazing bonfire as the sun steadily descended over the horizon.

"Yeah. Almost as unusual as you being so adorably ticklish, Tay-Tay," Twitch further teased as she took a bite of a burger she'd just finished grilling for herself.

"Hardy-har-har," Tay flatly retorted as he devoured an entire kebab in what looked like two or three bites. "Tell ya what, though: You don't even want to imagine what havin' a whole person comin' out o' your stomach is like…" At that, Twitch and Vinegar hummed in collective disagreement that the serviceman immediately picked up on.

"I'm not too sure about that, bud," Vinegar countered. "If we want kids, then we're gonna have to know what that's like. Painful as most people say it is, we as women know it's the most exciting experience a new mother could have."

"…What?" Tay had to ask with a cocked eyebrow, not at all understanding where the Ammonian ladies planned on taking their conversation.

"Yeah, Tay-Tay! As far as we're concerned, you just experienced the joys of becoming a mom!" Twitch jokingly remarked, at which point the two of them burst into a fit of laughter at the motherly wraith's expense as he furrowed his brow and frowned at them. "We just wish you'd have let us know you were throwing this baby shower sooner! We'd have brought you all sorts of gifts to get you started on your journey through motherhood!"

"But then again, we weren't exactly expecting you to give birth to what is basically a full-grown woman… who is also a zombie and who looks absolutely nothing like you. You and Shantae might want to consider getting a paternity test to be sure…" Vinegar continued to humorously point out the monumental oddity that was apparently Tayshan becoming Rottytops's father… or, mother? While Shantae was the mother... o-or father...? Or uh… Huh… Y'know, I'm not really sure WHAT to call such an unusual child-bearing occurrence. Ahh, I'm probably overthinking it. Aaaaaanywaaaaaay…

"Oh, you two are a complete mess…" he grumbled as he comically shook his head and took a huge bite of a burger of his own that had four cheese-covered patties stuffed into one bun.

"Sorry, sorry…" Twitch 'apologized' as she rubbed his back. "But come on; it's not every day a man gets to learn what it's like to be a woman for a few seconds."

"Fair, but you forget that I was a woman for an entire day once upon a time," Tayshan laughingly countered, calling back to the day he and Shantae switched bodies by accident. "I think I've got more than enough experience on the other side o' that fence, if you ask me."

"Ah, right… You and Hairball DID pull the ol' 'Freaky Friday' for a hot minute before," Vinegar remarked in realization. "That must've been one heck of a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"Trust me, it was. That said, I think I've earned the ability t' say that you girls put up with quite a lot on a daily basis… No amount of anatomy classes could have EVER prepared me for the experience o' bein' a girl, an' y'all have my eternal admiration for puttin' up with it all."

"Funny that it takes a man changing bodies with a woman for a day, and then basically giving birth weeks later AFTER switching back to his original body to finally realize how hard it can be for us ladies out here," Twitch jokingly retorted. "Vinni, I think we should study this guy more… Maybe even make him an ambassador for girls everywhere, so he can set the boys straight on the female perspective."

"Definitely. And while we're at it, we can pick his brain on why guys are generally such blockheads and what we can do to fix them," Vinegar further joked as the two of them continued yukking it up.

"How rude… I'll have y'all know that bein' a guy ain't quite so easy either," Tay sardonically remarked, deadpanning at the Ammonian duo. "Y'all think it's just walkin' around draggin' our knuckles, measurin' our you-know-whats, an' droolin' over girls all day this, an' pumpin' iron an' playin' sports that, an' beatin' each other up t' assert our dominance an' claim a worthy mate with whom t' procreate the third. But unless you get the chance t' switch bodies with a guy, you'll never truly get how much pressure men are under t' present a certain image of obsessive masculinity, stuff our emotions in a box unless said emotions are pride or anger, an' in some cases, be objectified an' taken advantage of by women based on looks alone, an' then somehow be 'flattered' when said women act like they did us a favor by forcin' themselves an' their 'affections' on us. I know that last point's a two-way street, but men get it just as bad as women do, dependin' on the circumstance. Trust me, I personally know what that's like…"

"…Ooh…" Twitch droned in stark apprehension, gathering some ideas of where Tay was coming from.

"On top o' that, men are constantly bein' torn down an' humiliated by other men an' even women if we don't act 'manly' enough in the public eye, but then are also castigated to oblivion if we act TOO manly or don't do enough t' please our relationship partners in a way that ironically makes it look like we're claimin' a woman… or rather, a love partner as our possession, if I'm gonna speak in a more inclusive sense…" he further shared as he glanced over at Aashiq, who seemed to be deeply engaged in a separate conversation with Shantae and Sky as Bruce joined in. "We can't win, no matter what we do! An' that's just scratchin' the surface…"

"Oh, shoot! This one's got a BIG brain in him!" Vinegar remarked, evidently impressed by the serviceman's astute observation of gender-based double standards in contemporary Sequinean culture.

"And once again, you blow my expectations out of the water, hon," Twitch further praised with an… well, let's just say an 'enlightened' grin. "I didn't know you were this smart! Those were some good points, too! I'm impressed!"

"An' it's sentiments like those, that drive my points home," the soldier shot back with a smirk. "I'll take the compliments as they are, but come on… Did y'all REALLY expect me t' just be some lust-driven meathead who just happened t' know how t' fight an' tote a gun or somethin'? I mean, I know that's what y'all thought o' me when we first met… an' maybe even a little bit after, considerin' the first half of our trip t' the Prickle Stitch Valley…"

"Ooh…" both Twitch and Vinegar sang in unified surprise at Tay's inquiry.

"Fair, Tay… Very fair," Vinegar acknowledged his standpoint with an excited grin. "Of course, if you REALLY wanna start a war of words on gender equality, then you'd better be prepared for the long haul. Twitch and I have PLENTY of knowledge to share with you on how girls have it harder than boys do, if that's where you're taking this conversation." At that, the humored wraith chuckled.

"Temptin', but I think we can put that conversation on the shelf for now," he respectfully declined. "Right now, I'm just focused on us bein' able t' make peace an' chill."

"I certainly agree with that, but that offer's always on the table, Tay-Tay…" Twitch smilingly pressed as she nudged his shoulder with a hand.

"Believe me, I won't forget about it. I actually look forward t' that sort o' debate in the future. By the way, that whole 'me bein' ticklish' thing stays a secret between the people who attended this party," he sternly ordered.

"Oh, that? No problem! Scout's Honor!" Twitch eagerly agreed as she saluted him, though she had her other hand hidden behind her back.

"Aaaaaand I see you have no intention on keepin' that on the D.L., Twitch," the ghostly serviceman expertly pointed out as he reached over and pulled the shorter blonde's hand from behind her back to reveal that her fingers were crossed. "Not exactly your best move at this point in time, all things considered about the abundant trust issues we already have with each other." At that, Twitch giggled again.

"Ahh, you got me… Nice to know you've paid enough attention to me over the course of our time together to know how I tick~!" she teased, hoping to butter him up. "Also, I know we've got a long road ahead of us in the trust department, but it doesn't mean we can't have a little fun! Right?"

"Uh-huh," he flatly retorted, reading through her charming gestures. "That said, don't do it."

"Aw, I was only gonna tell a couple people! Promise!"

"People I'd have t' haunt t' make 'em forget about it, I'm sure. All things considered, I don't think anybody needs that trauma. Do those people a favor, Twitch. Don't make me haunt them… or you, for that matter,'" he morbidly joked. At that, Twitch and Vinegar froze.

"…Was…. Was that a joke about you being a ghost, Tay-Tay?" Vinegar dared to ask.

"Possibly," he remarked with a shrug and chuckle. "I figured I'd just treat it like a normal thing because o' how abnormal this is, but when I think about it… I guess my humor's always been ah… Well, don't get offended by this, Vinegar, but…"

"Offended? Offended by what?"

"By the fact that I've always had a DARK sense o' humor…" he quipped with a wink, causing the taller Ammonian acolyte to gasp. Meanwhile, the shorter of the two took the moment to burst into another paroxysm of raucous laughter.

"You weren't supposed to remember that!" Vinegar blushingly admonished as she comically pointed a finger at him.

"Ha! He totally went there! He totally went there again!" Twitch praised as she tried her best to keep herself under control. "Gosh, Vinni, you walked right into that one!"

"Okay, okay, I'll admit that was clever…" Vinegar ceded as she helped herself to some of the vegetables on one of her kebabs. "Of course, I now have to kill the both of you before you let THAT little secret slip…"

"…You MAY be a little bit late on that in my case…" Tay quipped again, making Twitch laugh even harder as she nearly fell out of her seat.

"Tay-Tay, sto-ho-ho-hop! You're killing me over here!" the bespectacled blonde begged as she guffawed in total joy.

"No, no, this is good! Keep making her laugh, Tayshan!" Vinegar laughingly encouraged. "You're doing my dirty work for me!"

"Wow… Y'all trippin'," Tayshan remarked as he also got a healthy dose of humor out of what could otherwise have been an EXTREMELY awkward situation. After what must've been a solid five minutes of the three of them laughing, the trio finally settled down enough to continue their conversation. "Y'know… It really is nice t' be able t' hang out with y'all like this again, even with what we've all been through…"

"No kidding," Twitch wholeheartedly agreed as she recovered and wiped the laughter-induced tears from her eyes. "In circumstances like ours, we probably could've become worst enemies…"

"Y-yeah… Perish the thought, though…" Vinegar also agreed, though she wasn't even a fraction as enthusiastic in realizing the fact for herself. "Still, Tay… uh… now that we're on that topic… um… do you still resent us for what happened? I mean, I know we made our peace before the big battle, but…"

"Nah, it's all good, Vinegar," Tay assured with a nod as he continued scarfing down every edible morsel on his plate. "I can't speak for anybody else here, but I hold no ill will."

"Whoa, seriously? How come?" Twitch asked in surprise. "I-I mean, not that I was hoping you'd say that or anything, but…"

"Whelp… in short, bein' dead has allowed me t' see the big picture from a different perspective… one I never thought I'd get t' see it from, t' be honest," he cryptically answered, though it raised concern for the two young blonde ladies accompanying him. "I'll clarify that in a bit… but before I do, I gotta at least say that I understand if you still resent me for how things went down."

"…Well…" Vinegar hesitantly began. "I won't lie… We did hold some bitterness toward you at first."

"Understandable. How come you said 'at first,' though?"

"Because we eventually came to realize that we ALL messed up in ways that could've been avoided," Twitch answered. "That said, we want to keep moving forward. I mean, we know it's gonna be tough with the horrendous shape the Ammonian Army is in right now and with all the soldiers we'll have to move on without, but we've gotta look toward the future. And of course, when you died, it made us realize just how much of our recent misfortune was our own fault…"

"What?" Tay remarked in surprise. "Your fault?"

"Yeah," Vinegar confirmed. "We really should've trusted you and the rest of your group more… or at least, not let Risky Boots manipulate us into turning against each other…"

"That, or even… I dunno, at least tried to help bail you out of that terrible ambush before it was too late, no matter what would've happened to us as a result…" Twitch further guiltily asserted, a knot forming in her throat as she spoke. "Whatever the case, it… it shouldn't have had to lead to us trying and failing to revive you on that beach last week… a-and helplessly watching you die…"

"I hear y'all, but look," Tay interjected, though he remained surprised by their assertions. "At the end o' the day, everything that happened was primarily Risky's fault. There's no doubt about that. Of course, I know that doesn't absolve any of us of any responsibility for what we did to each other… and well… It probably still ain't gonna be the same between us, even if the idea was for us t' somehow remain friendly toward each other…" he further mused as he momentarily cast his gaze up toward the evening stars that were partially obscured by the smoke from the bonfire.

"It may not be the same, but that doesn't mean it's impossible for us to improve upon it," the bespectacled blonde shared. "As long as we remember that we still came together, put our grudges aside, and helped Shantae save the country from total domination, there's still hope that we can move past this like we talked about before."

"Sure, but… I mean… Dark Magic or no Dark Magic, I did some pretty horrible things t' your army… Nothin' short o' flat-out takin' the lives of a lot o' those guys, convinced I was takin' justice int' my own hands when my primary motivation at the time was actually revenge…" he hesitantly shared, shocking the girls almost completely stiff as they all stopped eating for a moment. "Even as a soldier built from the ground up t' be ready for war at every turn an' t' be proud o' the idea o' destroyin' the 'bad guys' for the sake o' the greater 'good,' I… can't help but acknowledge the impact I made with what I did. I can't help but acknowledge that two wrongs don't make a right, no matter what the context is… An' I can't imagine that my own death could've somehow made that impact just go away without a trace for anyone still alive t' feel it… especially y'all… an' that friend o' yours that knows me only as 'The Assassin.' Nila, was it?"

"…R-right…" Vinegar acknowledged as she and Twitch uneasily stared at the undead soldier.

"We get that… and uh… you're definitely right, but…" Twitch agreed, though she also seemed to have a lot on her mind stemming from the heavy turn their chat took. "…Our hands aren't necessarily clean either, much as I hate to admit it," she further shared back, her mind briefly sifting through recent unfortunate events.

"Oh, yeah?" the serviceman asked in wonder.

"Yeah… Considering the attack on Inseam… and other incidents before it, we really aren't in much place to judge," Vinegar reluctantly shared. "We've all been over this before, but it rings so much louder in our heads, now that we've had some time to think about how it all played out… and especially now that we're talking about it straight-up like this…"

"And, just based on how much Aashiq over there hates our guts for Inseam and how angry Shantae still is at us for stabbing you in the back and getting you kidnapped and assaulted by Risky Boots, you can probably pick up on it that there's PLENTY of fury and displeasure aimed our way by the general public," Twitch added as her heart began to pump heavily in her chest. "And even then, that still doesn't compare to how much we ticked you off, because our actions basically led to the incident now being referred to as the 'Baron Desert Disaster.' Word about it spread pretty quickly across the land, and even though we're slowly recovering from it, we're still on high alert for anyone else who might be tempted to go on another rampage aimed at us."

"…Ah, man… This uh… This is one real complicated set o' circumstances we drummed up, huh?" Tayshan found it in himself to ask once he heard the ladies' perspective in-depth.

"You can say that again…" Vinegar agreed. "At the very least, for how twisted it is to say this, it's… still at least nice to be able to talk to SOMEONE about it…"

"Yeah… especially someone we now know understands it, because he was there for most of it," Twitch further explained.

"I understand it as much as I can, but yeah. It's good t' be able t' open up about it all with you two," Tay openly shared. "That said, y'all wanna keep goin' with this topic? Or should we call it here an' keep enjoyin' the party? Last thing I wanna do is drag your moods down when we're all supposed t' be havin' fun."

"Well… Much as we'd LOVE to keep harping on about a complicated moral issue that it'd probably take us decades to fully wrap our heads around…" Vinegar began.

"…we'd much rather we keep the good vibes going and bask in the post-war celebration as long as you guys let us," Twitch finished as she smilingly patted the serviceman on his thigh. "We can probably hash out the rest of our thoughts on this mess some other time, because we'd be here all night if we kept going the way we just were."

"Ah, that's what I thought y'all would say," Tay remarked with a chuckle as he patted Twitch on the back before turning his attention to the remainder of the massive plate of food in his other hand. "An' I couldn't agree more. On that note, what did y'all plan on doin' for this vacation o' yours once we're all wrapped up here?"

"Tons of things," Vinegar happily volunteered to begin sharing as she, Twitch, and Tayshan settled back down and continued to blissfully enjoy one another's company. "You might've heard some of our plans when you guys called us over here, but Twitch and I were looking to go back home for a little while and unwind. We were just about to make the day-long flight."

"Yeah, if you'd have called us just a couple minutes later, we would've been well on our way," Twitch laughingly added. "I'm not sure that even hearing your voice on the other end of our transceiver would've stopped us by that point. Consider yourself lucky you got us in time, Tay-Tay."

"I suppose I should, though I can't take all the credit for that," Tay agreed with a chortle. "Bolo was the one who picked the perfect time, evidently. Plus, he's the only one of us who still has one o' your transceivers t' begin with."

"Fair, and we'll be sure to give him his props for not using it to pull a prank on us. Could you imagine what we would've done to him if we came blasting all the way here just to find out he was joking about you being here?"

"I don't think I wanna find out, knowin' you two…" the soldier joked again, at which point all three of them shared another lighthearted laugh.

"Then maybe we'll keep that under wraps, since we won't actually have to do anything crazy this time," Vinegar jokingly warned with a wink. "Anyway, our vacation's most likely gonna be an extended one that'll involve hitting up a few different spots, doing some sightseeing, catching up with friends and family back home… y'know, super adventurous stuff no one would ever expect on a vacation of all things."

"Oh, really? Then please go ahead an' enlighten me," Tay humorously permitted, leading into a conversation about how the seconds-in-command of the Ammonian Army planned on catching up on their much-needed downtime.

Meanwhile again…

"So, you really quit working for Hypno Baron for Bruce, Aash?" asked Shantae as she, the former Hypnotist apprentice in question, Sky, and the aforementioned muscular cyclops blissfully sat around yet another separate table and chowed down on plates full of kebabs, potato chips, corn on the cob, grilled meat patties, and (in Sky's case), grilled fish and shrimp.

"Yes, though I was considering relinquishing my position before I even met him," Aash shared as he took a light sip of juice from the cup sitting next to his plate. "Hypno Baron had become increasingly abrasive and irritable since you and habibi paid him that visit, and he was especially unhappy when I returned with my arm in a sling following our trip to the Siren's Requiem Labyrinth."

"Really, now? What, did he not give you permission to go to that place or something?" Sky asked as she cut into one of the multiple grilled fish on her plate with a fork and knife before feeding some of it to Wrench as he perched on the table.

"It was more so that he did not even know about it," Aash clarified. "He had also become more demanding of my time, but I needed to meet with Giga Mermaid that day to discuss a problem she wanted my assistance with… that problem being the unrest in the Siren's Requiem Labyrinth. He would not permit me to go, so I found time to sneak out. When I returned, he chided me harshly as he brought me to the Red Thread Hospital. It was there that I met this wonderful man here…" he smilingly shared, reaching toward the burlier man and rubbing his arm with a hand. At that, Bruce chuckled a bit and momentarily wrapped an arm around his boyfriend before continuing to chow down.

"Oh! You MET Bruce there? Wow… With how close you two seemed, I could've sworn you guys had been dating for months!" Sky exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, Aash, you sure do recover quick!" Shantae further gave him her props.

"Indeed, ladies," the adorable young man laughingly acknowledged their collective shock. "Bruce was assigned to my room when I was in the hospital. We turned out to have a lot in common, and… well… sparks began to fly within minutes of us beginning our conversation. It was truly invigorating… It felt like something out of a compelling children's story."

"Oh, come on now, honey… You're gonna make me blush…" Bruce sheepishly and playfully objected, only causing Aash to grin wider in amusement.

"You need not be shy, Brucey… We are in familiar company," Aash assured as he patted the other man on the back.

"Yeah, we're actually really excited for you two," Shantae added, grinning with glee at her former crush and finding herself relieved that he was still able to find happiness in his own right.

"Ditto," Sky added with an equally contented smile, thus confirming the girls' full support of the Aashiq x Bruce ship.

"Aww, well that's much appreciated, girls!" Bruce cheered as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course, I still have to apologize for Aashy getting frisky with you and your boyfriend at separate points, Shantae…" he further confessed, bringing up a… certain incident that happened earlier. At that, Aash blushed while Shantae and Sky began cracking up.

"Bruce! You are so mean for bringing that up!" Aash playfully protested, though his gorgeous face glowed red like a thousand laser pointers. "It was an accident!"

"Yeah, I'll bet… Of course, I can't say I blame you…" the humored cyclops seemed to forgive as he shot a quick glance over at the halo-adorned man in question. Blissfully unaware, Tayshan continued happily chatting it up with the two other blonde-haired girls near the makeshift grill. Before too long, however, Bruce returned his attention to Aash. "I find it in myself to forgive you this time, but only because you kissed someone so irresistibly cute and who apparently did you a huge favor by protecting you from danger during that adventure you went on…" At that, Shantae exhaled with enough force that she could've conceivably blown everyone's plates off the table.

"Goodness, you two! That's my boyfriend you're talking about!" the half-genie laughingly protested. Ironically enough, the wraith in question was seen suddenly sneezing despite not hearing anything being talked about on this end. "And besides…" she paused as she glanced at Mimic to see that he'd finished fixing another set of kebabs before bringing them over to the grill and joining in on the conversation between Tayshan, Twitch, and Vinegar. Once it seemed the coast was clear, she continued. "I'd have to take the blame on my end, Bruce. Aash was my first crush and the feeling was mutual at the time. When he and I kissed, we both agreed to it."

"Ooh, so you two actually dated? I thought he was just pulling my leg about that…"

"Yeah we did, but it wasn't for too long…"

"Really? Wow… I'm honestly surprised it didn't last, considering how much Aash gushes about you…"

"I do not 'gush,' Bruce," Aash sardonically chimed in. "I merely admire kanafeh's incomparable beauty and diverse talents… on an admittedly frequent basis."

"Yyyyyeah, I'm pretty sure that's called 'gushing,' sweetheart; especially when you keep addressing her by that delicious nickname," Bruce joked, eliciting a laugh out of the rest of the group.

"Fair…" Aashiq ceded with a shrug and grin. "I suppose you could say I am a huge fan of hers."

"D'awww, Aash! I really appreciate that!" Shantae modestly acknowledged the fact that she apparently earned a fan in her ex-boyfriend.

"I only speak the truth, Shantae. If anything, the only person who may be a bigger fan of you than me is Aleaqarab," the young magician joked again, nudging his head toward the scorpion girl happily conversing with Rottytops, her brothers, and Bolo at a separate table. "We may not have worked as well as we had hoped as a couple, but I am an eternal supporter of you and your endeavors. Of course, it certainly does my heart wonders to know that you have found an unbreakable and undying love truly befitting for such an amazing woman as yourself."

"Aw come on, Aash… You're embarrassing me…" the half-genie sheepishly replied, a furious blush creeping onto her face as she meekly sunk into her seat a bit.

"No need to get all flustered, cutie pie," Bruce laughingly assured, though it ironically flustered her more. "He always means what he says… no matter how thick he lays it on."

"I certainly do!" Aash happily agreed, chuckling as he did so.

"No kidding… Nice to know that never changed with you," Shantae gladly acknowledged, earning a smiling thumbs-up from the magician in question.

"I'm honestly still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you two even dated at all, much less kissed each other," Sky interjected with a gentle shake of her head and a quick laugh.

"We did indeed, Sky, though we only lasted a few short, yet exhilarating hours before we were back to being regular friends," Aash humorously pointed out. "They were a truly unforgettable few hours, though…" he fondly reminisced about the LENGHTY amount of time he and Shantae were an item. "Alas, the Shantae x Aashiq ship sailed only but so far…"

"Oh, boy…" Sky remarked as she and the half-genie in question giggled in amusement.

"Evidently, it was still an enjoyable experience from start to finish," Bruce inferred with a grin. "I even heard that the few kisses you two shared were his favorite parts about your relationship," he further teased, causing Shantae's cheeks to brighten as Aash exhaled in disbelief at the drop of the exquisitely saucy detail.

"Yeah, they were pretty nice… I really liked that part, too," Shantae pushed through her mild embarrassment to confirm. "I… can't exactly say that it was the same experience between Aashiq and Tayshan, though Tay didn't seem to mind it when they kissed… and based on what he said immediately after the fact, I'm positive Tay at least appreciated the sentiment behind it. Although, he probably wouldn't be a fan of doing it again," she further revealed barely above a whisper to make sure no potentially prying ears could hear them. "Please don't tell him I said that…"

"Well that's good to know," Bruce acknowledged with a most elated grin. "Aashy here's been known to have lips like honey, so I don't suppose it's much surprise both you and Tayshan found some enjoyment out of the experience… I know I certainly do…"

"Bruce!" Aash practically yelled at the other man, beyond flustered as he was being gossiped about while he was RIGHT there to hear it. At that, Shantae burst into another quick fit of laughter while Sky chuckled and shook her head again.

"Sorry, sorry!" Bruce apologized with another giggle as Aash shot him a disapproving pout. "I know, I promised I'd be good today…"

"And you had better keep that promise, mister," Aash teased as he gently nudged the other man with an elbow. "Otherwise, you would have to face my wrath…"

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Bruce slyly asked, causing the former Hypnotist to blush even harder as he tapped him with a hand.

"Brucey, stooooop~! You are so embarrassing…"

"…Oh, my…" Sky awkwardly murmured, clearing her throat as she batted her eyes elsewhere. "I'm not sure I can handle all this infectious romantic tension I've been witnessing all day today... I'm starting to feel faint from it all..."

"So anyway, Aash, I'm curious…" Shantae came in with the save just as Bruce and Aashiq were set to begin horsing around with each other. As such, both young men snapped to attention and looked back at her. "Now that you're no longer Hypno Baron's apprentice, what's your next move? Are you staying in Genie's Hem, or are you gonna move again?"

"That is a good question, kanafeh," Aash pensively began. "And to be absolutely honest, I am… not yet certain of where the wind may take me. I truly do enjoy Genie's Hem, but it is… not quite as home-like as Scuttle Town…"

"Have you considered moving back to Scuttle Town, in that case?" Sky asked as she took another bite of the flounder on her plate.

"No, no…" Aash denied the possibility. "Scuttle Town's environment is… quaint, but I have seen already from my recent visits that there is… not much opportunity for growth."

"Ehh, that's kinda true…" Shantae agreed. "If you're not looking to retire here or if you don't already own a business of some sort, Scuttle Town is really only appealing for its surprisingly abundant tourism."

"Yeah, but even then, I'm positive a lot of the tourism comes from the fact that you live here," Bruce pointed out.

"Me?" Shantae remarked in surprise.

"Yeppers. I mean, that's one of the biggest reasons my former bandmates from Bran-Son's silly cosplay group pop in every so often. A lot of people come for a chance to see you and possibly get you to either take a picture, shake their hand, give them a personalized dance show, or sign an autograph. That, or at least come around and sneak a peek at your house here."

"…Ah, that's true, too…" the walking tourist attraction that was apparently Shantae murmured in realization.

"Yyyeah, you tend to generate a LOT more attention than you might know, girl," Sky further confirmed with a pat on her best friend's back.

"Huh… I can't say I ever really noticed…" the half-genie admitted, much to Aash's and Bruce's surprise.

"Didn't notice? How!?" both young men questioned.

"Probably because the people who already know her here generally don't chomp at the bit to get her attention like most outsiders do," Sky reasoned on Shantae's behalf. "They acknowledge her status and her popularity, but they're not as… enamored with her, simply put."

"Yeah, it seems like I generate a bigger buzz from outside of Scuttle Town than I do inside," Shantae further asserted. "It probably doesn't help that Scuttle Town's tourism has dropped off a ton because of all the pirate attacks and political overhauls it's been hit with in recent times."

"That would probably explain why you have not noticed much local attention, then," Aash realized.

"Yep. Bringing it back, though, it makes sense that you wouldn't want to come back, Aashiq."

"Indeed, though I cannot say I would be entirely against the idea of at least renting a place in the near future as I contemplate my other options…" the young magician shared. "…at least, once the city is rebuilt enough to be considered hospitable again."

"True," Shantae and Sky both agreed.

"Right. What about you two? Do you have any plans for the immediate future?" Aash asked in wonder.

"For me, I'll mainly be helping the town rebuild and… looking for schools OTHER than Genie's Hem University to apply to," Sky shared.

"Other than Genie's Hem University, you say? Oh boy, I can only imagine why you would not want to go there…" Aash slyly remarked, eliciting chuckles out of the rest of the group.

"I know, right? It was only the best school this side of Sequin Land before your old boss showed up, bought it out, completely flipped it upside down, and irreversibly tarnished 50-plus years worth of its credibility in as little as a couple of weeks!" the bird tamer exclaimed, sharing in the collective laughter.

"That actually reminds me of something I wanted to talk to you about regarding the function and purpose of college in general, Sky," Shantae remarked, suddenly reminded of a conversation she'd had with the dean of this super prestigious educational institution (Hypno Baron, in case you forgot) and his extremely unscrupulous business practices.

"Oh? What, you want to find out how to enroll in some courses and become classmates?"

"Ehh… More like, I was curious about how the process works and the reason college is the path you chose, I guess…?" the lavender-haired maiden clarified, trying to be tactful about questioning Sky's interest in pursuing higher education.

"Ah, I see. In that case, I'd love to chat with you about it!" the excitable bird tamer cheerfully offered, none the wiser to her best friend's doubts about the higher education system as a whole. "I'll tell you all about the importance of earning certifications and navigating a respectable career path that'll help you jump-start your career as you cross over into adulthood! In fact, let's make a day out of it! We'll get some bubble tea at that new place in Embroidery City, catch up a bunch, and maybe do some clothes shopping for the winter season! I'm thinking we could also get ourselves mani-pedis, too. Just you and me for a girls' day out, getting pampered and unwinding like we desperately need to. My treat!"

"Oh! Sure thing, Sky! I'd love to!" Shantae happily accepted Sky's offer for a hang-out session for just the two of them. "It'll be the first time in forever since we got to spend some quality time together. Gosh, I'm getting pumped just thinking about it…! Ooh! Do you think we could hit up the comic store out that way, too? I promise I won't take forever in there this time…"

"Sure…" Sky agreed with a chuckle, though she knew better. "Just know that you're gonna be on a strict twenty-minute time limit. Last time, you were in there for over an hour and spent almost all your savings on one series." At that, the half-genie let out a nervous titter as she bashfully rubbed the back of her head with a hand.

"Fair enough. To be fair, though, that was one of the last five sets in existence," Shantae casually defended. "I'd have regretted it forever if I didn't get it! And you know how cutthroat the comic collecting trade can be. You can't blame a girl for that, now can ya?"

"If I read comics at all, then I'm sure I'd be more inclined to agree," the humored falconer shot back with a smiling shrug. "I'd also advise against spending all the money you earned on that place. I'm honestly scared you'll try to buy the place out with your terrible impulse spending habit."

"Aw, I'll be fine, Sky…" Shantae assured with a flick of her hand.

"If you say so, girl, but I mean it with that time limit. I'm not afraid to carry you out of there if I have to if you linger around too long. Other than that, I believe I'll be free three days from now. How's that sound?"

"Perfect! I'll mark it on my calendar when I get the chance."

"Y'know, that sounds like an excellent way to spend a day…" Bruce remarked, evidently quite fond of the ideas the girls had for their day out. "Aash, you think you'll have time for us to do something soon?"

"Absolutely," Aashiq wholeheartedly accepted the offer. "Although… I was wondering if maybe we could invite Tayshan to hang out with us, too…" he further suggested, catching Shantae by surprise.

"Oh! Most definitely! Yeah, that'd be fabulous! I'd love it if he could. Let's ask him in a bit!"

"Splendid!" Aash cheered, evidently pumped about the idea of hanging out with a friend he'd yet gotten the chance to spend quality time with.

"Huh… Wow, Aash… I never thought you'd consider such a thing," the half-genie remarked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Oh! This is not to say I would not like to hang out with you as well, kanafeh, but I… was hoping you did not mind if I borrowed him for a day…" At that, Shantae giggled.

"Borrow, Aash? Nonsense. It's not like I control his schedule or anything. Of course, you guys can hang out!" the elated genie girl encouraged. "I'm sure he'd like that."

"Much appreciated!" the young magician expressed his sincerest gratitude. "I promise I will not keep him away from you too long."

"No need to explain yourself. I trust you! Plus, I think Tay and I can handle as little as single day without each other, all things considered," she assured. "Keep him away from me any longer than that, though, and I'm gonna have to go on a hunt…" she further playfully warned with a wink, earning a hearty laugh from Aash, Bruce, and Sky alike.

"I will have him back to you not a second past midnight on the day we select," Aash promised as he clasped his hands together and bowed to his former crush.

"Good! In that case, it looks like we a-!" Shantae was about to further comment before the group's attention was called elsewhere.

"Hey! Cupcake!" Mimic called to her, prompting the entire group to turn their attention toward the retired Relic Hunter.

"Yeah, Uncle?" Shantae answered, noticing immediately afterward that the rest of the group had converged near the bonfire and took their seats while building tasty treats from graham crackers, chocolate bar chunks, and marshmallows.

"Why don't you all come on over and join us for the eagerly-awaited story time we've been talking about all this time?" Mimic invited, prompting everyone at the table to perk up as they gathered themselves up to begin their migration.

"Oh! Sure thing! Here we come!" Shae acknowledged, finishing up her dinner in a flash and tossing away her plate and cup in a nearby trash bin before hurrying along with Sky, Aashiq, and Bruce. The other members of the group made room for them to take their seats in their selected spots. However, as Shantae was about to ask Twitch to move aside, so that she could sit next to Tayshan…

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!" Mimic swiftly denied, catching the half-genie's attention from the opposing side of the bonfire. "You come over here, young lady. He's fine right where he is," he further suggested, waving her toward him.

"What? What's wrong with me sitting next to Tay?" she questioned as some of the guests (namely Twitch, Vinegar, and Abner) stifled their laughter at the fact that she was being denied a chance to sit next to her boyfriend.

"Nothing 'wrong,' per se," Mimic began to explain. "I just… happen to feel like I could use some company from my wonderful, beloved niece. We have hardly talked since this party began, and I'd feel a little jealous if you spent all your time only talking to your friends and ignoring your dear old uncle," he humorously continued, though you shouldn't be fooled, reader. He knew exactly what he was doing here.

"D'oh…! Uncle, I know what that means…" Shantae expertly pointed out, seeing right through the scientist's tricky little ruse.

"Do you? Then, you understand that you're still coming over here to sit with me, no?" At that, the half-genie sighed in mild irritation before turning toward the undead soldier.

"Tay, come on. Back me up here. We'll be fine sitting together, won't we?" Shae asked for validation of their seating arrangement, though Tay sheepishly pursed his lips as he looked back at her before offering his reply.

"Ehh… So, your uncle kinda made a really good point before he called y'all over here…" he hesitantly replied with what appeared to be a mild blush on his face as he cleared his throat.

"And what point was that?" the vexed genie maiden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He said that uh… i-in no better words, that if he saw us foolin' around with each other out here, we uh… we REALLY wouldn't like the punishment he'd have in store for us… an' t' be frank, as much as I love you, Shae, I uh… would really like t' keep my fingers on my hands where they belong…"

"What?" Shantae remarked before shooting a most disbelieving look at her elderly guardian. "Uncle, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing important, sweetie!" Mimic dismissed as he patted the empty seat next to him. "Just know that you'd be doing everyone a favor by sitting over here!" At that, Shantae furrowed her brow at him for a moment before turning her attention back to Tayshan. At that point, the wraith could only offer an uncertain frown as he formed a heart with his hands and showed it to her. Silently nodding in begrudging understanding at Tayshan, Shantae turned to Mimic once again and sighed after another moment of silent contemplation.

"… Fine, Uncle. You win this time…" she murmured as she reluctantly trudged over to her dearest surrogate parent, clearly unhappy with the fact that he'd blocked her from sitting next to her lover.

"Don't worry, genie girl! I'll keep him company, so he doesn't feel lonely~!" Twitch took the absolute best opportunity to tease as she hooked an arm around Tayshan's and giggled. You… can imagine how much immediate, planet-destroying rage Shantae was filled with at the thought of any other girl (ESPECIALLY Twitch) getting too close to him. At that, she instinctively glared at the bespectacled blonde, eliciting chuckles out of Vinegar, Bruce, Ali, and Abner. On the opposite end of the amusement spectrum were Sky and especially Aashiq, who didn't find the gesture funny in the slightest. Bolo and Rottytops shot wide-eyed glances toward one another and at Shantae as they sat together, unsure of what to say as they hoped Shantae could keep her cool. Poe, of course, remained entirely oblivious.

"Alright, Twitch, chill," Tay warily suggested as he patted the Ammonian affiliate on the shoulder with his free hand to get her to let go of him. "It's not a-!"

"I will sit next to him," Aashiq boldly offered, immediately moving from his spot next to Bruce and squeezing himself in between an astonished Tayshan and an irritated Twitch as he tried to force her to move aside.

"Hey! What the heck's your deal!?" Twitch demanded to know as she refused to budge.

"I will bite the bullet of tolerating being within five inches of the likes of you if it means you will keep your filthy hands off of Shantae's boyfriend. He does not, nor will he ever belong to you. Now, if you might be so kind, I suggest that you move."

"Hey! Watch what you say to her and butt out!" Vinegar warned Aashiq, not at all liking the tone he took with her teammate. "She was just joking, and it really isn't any of your-!"

"Yo, stop! All o' y'all!" Tayshan cut in and warned, not at all wanting there to be another altercation between the opposing parties. "If it makes everything less hostile, I'll move over here," he further suggested, getting up and moving to take a spot between Aleaqarab and Abner. "There. Is this better?"

"You didn't have to do that, Tay-Tay," Twitch remarked in mild disappointment. "I was just kidding."

"With all due respect, maybe now isn't such a good time for a joke like that," Sky ushered her warning, causing both Twitch and Vinegar to roll their eyes at her. "Let's not forget that you were invited her with the idea that you'd control yourselves."

"Oh, and there you go again, you snobby-!" the shorter of the two Ammonian blondes was about to lambaste.

"Twitch," Tayshan called, prompting her to look at him. And when she did, she noticed him wiggling a hand under his chin with his fingers extended toward his neck. We may have seen this before, but I believe he was secretly telling her to cut it out. At that, Twitch let out an exasperated sigh, though she got the point.

"Hmph. Fine…" she conceded, settling back down as Aash gladly returned to his spot next to Bruce.

"You kids and your silly squabbles…" Mimic uncertainly remarked as he scratched his head in wonder. "Hopefully, we'll all come together as we finally begin telling our stories to one another."

"Heh, yeah, though I wouldn't mind seein' another fun little tussle ta liven things up a bit," Abner chimed in as he chuckled at the animosity in the air.

"Don't be rude, Abner," Rottytops chided as she punched him with a *THWACK* of her fist against his arm.

"Ow! Easy on the slugs, runt! My arm still hurts from those awful arm-wrestlin' games!" the oldest zombie sibling complained as he rubbed his aching arm with the other.

"And whose fault is that? I told you to give up after I beat you the first five times, but you just HAD to go for twenty," she bragged with a giggle that Bolo, Aleaqarab, and even Poe shared with her.

"Wait, what? You challenged your little sister to an arm-wrestlin' match? An' lost?" Tayshan dared to question, resisting the urge to laugh as Abner glared at him.

"As if you'd do any better, tough guy!" the disgruntled zombie man defensively shouted. "Let's see how you'd do against me!"

"He's the reason I'm so much stronger, big bro, so maybe you don't wanna bark up THAT tree. He's probably the only person here who's physically stronger than I am…" Rottytops warned to Abner's mild surprise.

"What am I, a tumbleweed in the wind?" Bruce complained in feigned offense as he took great humor in the exchanges unfolding in front of him. Nevertheless, he took the moment to flex his massive biceps to such a point that it almost seemed like his shirt would rip right off his muscular body on its own.

"No offense, big guy, but it's been proven again and again within this group that big muscles alone don't get you as far as you might think," Rotty not-so-humbly shared. "Some of us in this very group have mopped the floor with guys and monsters alike that were way bigger than us."

"Hmm… I suppose that's true, considering how I'm suddenly reminded about Mr. Tayshan and Ms. Shantae beat up Bran-Son and his troop… apparently while their bodies were switched with each other's minds, as far as I was told?" Bruce ceded, much to the surprise of Twitch and Vinegar.

"Hold on a sec… What!?" Vinegar remarked in total surprise.

"Say it ain't so! Tay, you met Bran-Son!? And you beat him up!? While you were in Shantae's body and she was in yours!?" Twitch questioned, though she couldn't help but laugh at the unlikely possibility that one of her idols crossed paths with the soldier, much less lost to him in a fight in a most embarrassing manner.

"Uh… So, I guess that's gonna be the story we start off with, huh?" the halo-adorned serviceman remarked as he chuckled a bit himself.

"Heck yeah, it is! And don't skimp on any details!" Vinegar urged, scooting up close to hear every detail.

"I totally agree! Bran-Son is supposed to be the ultimate warrior! A god amongst men! Incapable of ever being defeated in battle!" Ali gushed, evidently knowing for herself who Bran-Son was. "How did you manage to beat him, Tay-Tay!?" she further pressed, though she pushed a certain button with him by calling him by a certain nickname we ALL new he LOVED (read: absolutely despised). As such, he flinched in embarrassment as Shantae, Sky, Rottytops, and Bolo all stifled their laughs at his expense as his humiliation was written all over his face.

"…I'll… tell you, but uh…" he politely suggested as he took a deep breath before slowly turning to the innocent scorpion girl. "If you don't mind my askin'… Who did you get that nickname from?"

"Oh! Rotty told me to call you that because you preferred it over your real name! Or, so she said…" she smilingly shared, causing everyone to bust out laughing. At that, however, Tay immediately shot a SUPER menacing side-eyed glare at the guilty zombie girl in question as she comically grabbed Bolo and hid behind him, peeking over his shoulders.

"Oh, so you think you're slick, huh?" the soldier challenged the giggling undead young woman. "Settin' poor Ali up t' play your pranks for you… I gotcha, though, Rotty…"

"Um… I-it wasn't me…?" Rotty lied, though it was clear she wasn't convincing anyone as she kept grinning ear to ear as she peered at Tay-Tay from over Bolo's shoulder.

"Y'know, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't use me as your meat shield," Bolo the human meat shield complained.

"If he attacks, you're going down first. Sorry, bud," Rotty joked as she kept herself hidden behind him.

"Wow… You're terrible," Bolo complained, causing Shantae to bust out laughing as a certain phrase had begun making its rounds.

"The worst!" Rottytops declared as she hugged the handyman from behind, causing Tayshan to also bust out laughing as he also caught the joke. Most of the rest of the group laughed along, though they weren't quite as familiar with the short exchange that seemed to become something of an inside joke. Once the moment had passed, however…

"Alright, are we ready?" Tay asked, seeming eager to regale the group with some of the tales of his travels throughout Sequin Land.

"Take it away, son!" Mimic permitted.

"Will do! Shantae, mind if we shared the experience tellin' these stories? I don't know if I can remember all the details myself."

"Absolutely, hon!" the half-genie in question happily volunteered as she made herself a couple s'mores and got up from her seat to hand him one. "Looks like we'll be starting off with the one where we fought Bran-Son and the Overlords of the Galaxy in Genie's Hem, from the sound of it. Want me to kick that one off, or did you want to start?"

"The floor is yours, sweetheart," Tay happily offered.

"Alrighty!" she cheerfully accepted the task of getting the ball rolling on Campfire Story Time as she stood up and took a deep breath to prepare herself. Afterward, she began. "So, there Tay and I were in the middle of Genie's Hem, stuck in each other's bodies because of Hypno Baron's shenanigans… We'd just plowed through a horde of monsters and we were on our way to Genie's Hem university when…" she continued, almost immediately getting into the full swing of regaling the group on her recent adventures. And, much as I know you'd LOVE to hear the group give their own spins on adventures you should already know all about by now… well, you and I both know we'd be here FAR longer than we'd need to be. Plus, I have a feeling you've had more than your fill of the fun times at this point and are likely wondering when this'll move along and when we'll part ways for the final time. That said, when we return, we'll… just spend the remainder of our time chilling, reflecting on everything, and pondering about the future. Nothing too spectacular, but you still wouldn't want to miss it for the world. Alright, see ya in a little bit!