The days rolled by a bit slowly, and then they turned into weeks, and then roughly 8 months total. And in those 8 months, a lot had happened. According to Shantae, Mystique was now considered a teenager for Circus Squid standards and that they usually left the nest at that time. But surprisingly, Mystique stayed with us. Her reasoning?

"I don't wanna leave you guys! You're the best! You took care of me, and I want to repay the favor," Mystique said. In English. Which was possible thanks to Shantae, me, and even Bolo teaching her the language when we took her to the orphanage to play with the other kids. So of course, we let her stay with us.

The next thing was that... I had somehow gotten two of the five different girls in our clique pregnant. And those two were Rottytops and Shantae! Rotty being pregnant was the most surprising thing, since she was a zombie, and the first zombie to become pregnant in centuries! And both of them were pregnant during our fun threesome three months prior, so both of them now had a visible bump showing on their midsections... and both were now getting quite the cravings. Rotty had started to crave bugs and fish (both the bodies AND the brains) while Shantae had the cravings for mint ice cream mixed with ketchup.

"How is this a craving that your baby likes?" I asked Shantae in confusion after the fourth time of eating the mint ice cream in a single day.

"Nevah question a pregnant girl, lest you get whipped!" Shantae said with her mouth half-filled with the minty tomato juice.

"She's right, you know... you're just lucky the only thing that happened during our merging was that you became fully genie. So even though I'm a part of you, they won't be both my kids and grandkids," Matilde said in my head.

"I'd rather not think about that part," I smirked.

And then, when it had reached September 29th, myself and Shantae had the exact same dream. Us finding a hidden entrance in a secret area, the only difference being the houses. I found a secret entrance in my home's basement while Shantae found it in Mimic's. And we encountered a genie that told us of a great force that threatened both the mortal realm and the genie realm. And to be prepared for the worst to happen... and then, we woke up at the same time in our shared bed in Shantae's lighthouse.

"D-Did you have that dream, too, mom and Ricky?" Shantae asked us, me frowning as I had to think of it.

"Did it involve going to a loved one's house, finding a secret underground passage, and then meeting a genie speaking to us from the genie realm? And saying that we had to be prepared for a great evil that would threaten this world and the genie world?" I asked, her gulping and nodding.

"T-This... is problematic... what could this dark force be?" Matilde asked, me looking at Shantae and her looking at me.

"Tell me, do you know what the dark force is?" Shantae asked.

"To be brutally honest, I do not know. In the adventures, it's supposed to be Risky's fault... but during our talk after the Pirate King's defeat, I doubt it'd be her to be the one to do so," I said.

"It's. Risky. Boots. She single-handedly stole my powers and threatened to rule all of Scuttletown numerous times," Shantae pouted at me.

"Let's just say, she opened her heart to us," Matilde said... and Shantae looked surprised before gaining a big grin. "Don't. Even. She said she'd find some way to kill me and Ricky if we told anyone and she knew about it." Shantae then sighed and got the smile off of her face.

"Well, regardless, we should at least check the perimeter of town. See how everyone's doing and check on our friends," I smiled.

"Yeah, good thinking," Shantae smirked at me. We then went down to Mimic's lab, since Mystique and Rotty were still dead asleep (Rottytops more so, ZING!) and we saw that he was tinkering on the machine in question.

"Hey, Bartholomew," I smiled, him then gasping and accidentally zapping himself before then looking at me in annoyance.

"Where and how did you find that out?" he asked, his eyes very angry underneath his thick goggles.

"Matilde told me it. Said it annoyed you," I smirked.

"It does, very much so. Don't do it again, got it?" he frowned at me.

"Fine, fine, I just wanted to get it out of my system," I smirked as Shantae simply smiled and shook her head.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Ricky. If you weren't a genie, he'd be beating your ass so bad," she smirked at me.

"You mean you knew it, too?" I asked.

"Duh. I've spent nearly my whole life with him."

"Ahem. Regardless, you've come at a good time. I'm about to start work on a new invention. If it succeeds, it should be able to help you have off days when danger comes around," Mimic said, me smirking at that.

"Huh, cool! So what do we do to see it in action?" I asked.

"I'm going to need to get some intricate parts for the machine. I ordered an expensive magnet from the shop that should be in now. Give this receipt to them and tell them I sent you," he said, us then getting the receipt and then going to the shop a few doors down. And just in time, as he just opened for business.

"Heh, some early risers today, huh? How's the bump coming along, Shantae?" the shop owner asked, me learning that his name was Upa. Basically Apu from the Simpsons, but his name backwards as well as attitude.

"It's comin'. And you'd be surprised, but it really helps with my dancing at this stage... and it helps accelerate the growth," she smirked.

"Psst, I highly doubt it does the latter," I whispered while handing him the receipt, Shantae retaliating via hair whip. And yes, it did sting like hell. And yes, she did tend to do it at least 5 times a week, maybe more if I felt like being extra naughty.

"Haha! You two already act like a married couple. Just wait until the kids come," Upa smirked as he then read the receipt. "You came for Mimic's item? Lucky you, it came in just this morning. Here you go." He then handed us the golden gear, us then thanking him and then going back to the lab and giving the magnet to Mimic, him having unveiled the curtain of the machine in the process. I also noted the blueprints on the counter, me looking at it along with Matilde while Shantae got the gear to her uncle.

"Okay, this should go right... here!" Mimic smirked as he put the gear in place. And Matilde and I had already committed the blueprints to memory. It was designed to be a device that could fight against dark magic as well as anything that might attack by sea, sky, or land, as the cannon could only do so much with its long reload time. I then got my eyes away from the blueprint... and right as soon as I did that, I heard a voice speak.

"YOINK!" said a very imp-like voice. I then looked again and gawked at how a Tinkerbat was running off with the blueprints.

"Tinkerthief! Thiefbat! Let's get it, Shantae!" I said, her then nodding as we rushed after the little guy, him escaping via diversionary tactics. What was the tactics? Risky Boots showering down cannonballs on the entire town! And her first target? The anti-air cannon! It was completely demolished and also sent a good number of birds from Sky's hatchery to fly the coop!

"H-HEY! Come back! I-I can rebuild the nests!" Sky shouted in distress, me and Shantae rushing up to her and me being serious.

"We've got a code red situation, Sky! Risky's raining cannonballs on the town and destroyed the defense cannon! We need to go after the captain to stop the lubbers!" I smirked.

"Then let's fly over there with Wrench! Come on, boy, time to grow and fly!" Sky smirked, her pet bird then doing just that and us then flying off into the distance to the location we needed to get to, which was by the dock areas of Scuttle Town. And when we got there, we had to attack as many Tinkerbat minions as possible, me punching them while Shantae whipped them. We continued to do this throughout the entirety of the first area, Shantae then showing me some of her new tricks by changing into her animal forms. She started with the elephant form, plowing through any defenses the Tinkerbats had. Then she utilized the mouse technique, doing it just like her DLC boss fights where she became mouse-sized before growing to full size directly underneath a Tinkerbat, which spooked them to the state of passing out!

We continued to attack the little bastards until we finally got to the destination, the mothership that Risky resided in.

"OI! Risky! How about attacking us on the weekends instead of on a Thursday, would ya!" I shouted, her then looking at me and frowning.

"Hmph. I should've expected you two to show up. You want your blueprints back? You're gonna have to take them back from me! But good luck against my Part Omni-Organic, Partially Titanic Ocean-Optional Tinkerslug!" she said with a hearty pirate laugh.

"Oh, Pooptoot?" Shantae asked. And Risky's face? Priceless.

"DON'T CALL IT POOPTOOT!" she shouted as she then tried to attack with the cannonballs, but I simply grabbed them with my magic and slammed them right into the face of the Tinkerslug. And when I did that, I proceeded to punch it in the face while Shantae whipped it all over the place. And her magic powers obtained from the last adventure were nothing to scoff at! Though not nearly as tough when she wasn't defending me, they were still powered by her reason to defend Scuttletown. She inflicted 300 damage in a single hair strike, her only needing three to completely kill the giant slug! It then shriveled away like it were exposed to salt, leaving Risky and her boat on dry land and for me to smirk at her and float up to her.

"Just give me the blueprints and I'll get your boat back in the water. Couldn't be simpler, Risky," I smirked.

"Fine, I will have the last laugh by the end of this adventure, hahaha!... I'm laughing now too, just in case!" she smirked before smacking the blueprints in my face. I then simply folded them and put them in my shirt pocket before then grabbing the boat and throwing it into the distance like I was freaking Hercules! And why? Because magic was broken as all hell.

"I HATE YOU!" she shouted at me, me smirking as she was now definitely out of earshot.

"Love ya too," I whispered under my breath to Shantae's ear, her giggling at me doing that. "Now let's get these to Mimic and see if Risky did anything that she might regret," I said, her nodding as we then warped back via Matilde's magic, me then going into the blueprints and seeing that they were, indeed, changed drastically. Now, instead of it harnessing the different magics of light and dark to make a self-defense strike, it would've used their polarities to corrupt light magic on a very specific basis. But she did not change any of the wordings on it, just how to make the items work.

"Okay, this is definitely bad," I frowned as we entered Mimic's lab.

"What's bad? You got the blueprints back and chased Risky off. So what's the issue?" he asked.

"The issue is that she had the time and forethought to edit almost all the design of this blueprint," I said as I laid it out and then started to circle all the different parts that she changed in red and marking the stuff that was SUPPOSED to be on the blueprints in yellow ink.

"She changed the blueprints on us? I knew it! I knew she couldn't be trusted!" Shantae frowned.

"If she wasn't dealing with someone that had photographic memories, AKA, me, then she would've had us build HER weapon instead of OUR weapon. And that weapon would've done the same thing that the Pirate King tried to do to me. Turn beings of Light Magic - genies - into beings of Dark Magic to fuel her conquest for world domination," I said with a frown.

(To think she'd be willing to hurt you and me as well as Shantae after learning of her heritage... did she just forget? Or is this her way of finishing the job?)

(Neither. It says here that she is also able to create the negative energies as their own forms. So we'd be facing an alternate evil version of us and Shantae in the same room if she would've succeeded).

"Well, now that you've pointed out how the plans got changed, I'll get to work on making a new Blueprint based on the editing job you did. In the meantime, while I work on that, you should go see if anyone else needs help." Mimic said.

"Easy peasy, honey squeezy," I smirked.

"Don't you mean lemon squeezy?" Shantae asked.

"I dunno. I don't have lemons, but I do have a honey," I smirked while hugging her, Shantae smirking at me slyly.

"You are just the best at buttering me up," she smiled back.

(Much to my chagrin. If only I had the courage to tell the others about me being in your body, I'd slap your mouth for making such lewd comments!)

(Hey, you're the one that told Shantae, there's no reason you can't tell the others)

"Are you two arguing again?" Shantae smirked.

"Yes. Arguing about if we should reveal who the genie part of me is to our friends. And that it's his call, not anyone else's," I smiled at her.

"Fine, fine. Let's go see if we can save some people," Shantae smirked... but then?

"Sorry, but that won't be necessary," said the fat mayor as he came in along with the bitchiest bitch of the entire series. And that was saying something. "After your lackluster performance of protecting the town, you two are fired. And this is your replacement," he said.

"What?" Shantae asked with anger in her eyes.

"Hehe. I'm Holly Lingerbean! And I'm so happy to be your replacements as the half-genie guardian!" she smirked. And both myself and Matilde smelled every single lie that she uttered out in one single sentence.

"Apologies, but all of those statements were utter lies," I frowned at her, making her look at me in annoyance. And I could sense it. Nervousness.

"Hah! How would you know a thing about me? My mother was a powerful genie, and my father was a stage magician! That means that I'm more magical than any other half-genie in the world!" she smirked. Again, every single statement was a lie. And then, something surprised me.

"You really think you can trick an Empath genie? We can sense emotions, lies, the works," Matilde said with my mouth, that making Shantae gasp and for Mimic to look surprised.

"That voice... I've heard it somewhere before!" Mimic said, Matilde continuing to speak.

"So far your lies are as follows. Your name is not Holly Lingerbean, you are not happy to be our replacement, you are not a half-genie guardian, your mother was not a genie, your father is not a stage magician, and you are not more magical than all the other half-genies," Matilde spoke to her. And I could tell that Holly was panicking rihgt now.

"S-S-Shut up! I am too a half-genie! I can prove it, too!" she shouted. Another lie.

"Very well. Prove it. Right here, right now," I smirked, calling her bluff. Holly looked around and then at and me, her then gulping. "Just give it to us straight. You're here for nefarious purposes, aren't you?" I frowned.

"NO!" she shouted in anger. And it was another lie.

"If you keep lying, you're just hurting yourself the most. Be honest. What are you really here for... Cum Laude?" I asked, her gasping at me saying that. "Yep. I know your last name. And, now that I've been studying you for quite awhile, I know you aren't even human," I said, her gawking at me.

"S-Stop... please, don't say anything more!" she shouted back at me.

"Just tell us the truth. Do that and I'll stay quiet," I said, her gulping as I saw her form sweating more... and then, the others gawked at how her body started to fade slightly before returning to normal.

"Wait, did you see that?" Shantae asked.

"What's going on?..." the mayor asked in confusion and concern on his face.

"I can't... I... I..." she started to say before I held my hand to her chin, making her look me in the eyes.

"You do realize that I, a full blooded genie, can grant wishes, right?" I asked, her gulping at me.

(What are you planning?)

(Trust me. I know what I'm doing.)

"If you promise to tell me who you are, I can grant any wish you want," I smirked.

"I... I'm a memory... the last living memory of Tasseltown," she said, that making Mimic confused and for Shantae to be surprised.

"So that's why you started to fade... how can a memory be that powerful to survive for this long? Wasn't Tasseltown wiped out over a hundred years ago, according to Busty?" Shantae asked.

"I had a system in place. I stole the memories of others and got rid of them; the only ones being left behind being of me..." she said. And her body started to fade some more. "Please... I told you everything, now grant me my wish! I wish I was alive again!" she shouted.

"Very well," I said as Matilde then did the deed. With a bit of magic expelling from our body, Holly's form began to quiver before we all saw the impossible happen. She now became completely tangible, her looking around and then at Shantae and then at me... and then she breathed in and folded her hands in and out.

"Um... hello?" Shantae asked.

"H-Hi?... Where am I?..." she asked in confusion. "And... who am I?"

"Dammit, I screwed up again..." Matilde groaned.

"What happened?... And who are you? You mean to tell me that Ricky's had a female genie in him this whole time?" Mimic asked in annoyance.

"What happened is that I screwed up the revival spell... she's who she was previously, but all of her memories are gone. She's going to need to start over from scratch," Matilde frowned.

"You... revived me?" she asked, me nodding. "My name... do you know it?" she asked.

"Um... you're... Holly. Holly Mimic," Shantae smiled.

"Holly Mimic?... And who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Shantae... you're uh..." she was about to say before I finished.

"Her adopted sister," I said.

(You really want to play this game? The poor girl just forgot everything and you plan to have se-)

(Absolutely fucking not. I'm trying to give her a better life, not a sexual encounter.)

(Oh... sorry for the assumption...)

(Now we're even.)

"And... who are you?" Holly asked.

"I'm Ricky Harlem... I've been Shantae's boyfriend for about 8 months now and am expecting a kid with her... and the other half of me... is uh... (Can I say it?) -"

(Might as well)

"- her mother, Matilde," I said.

"What?!" both Mimic and Mayor Scuttlebutt gawked when they heard that name.

"Why are they surprised?... Did they not know?" Holly asked.

"And you're definitely giving us an explanation right now, you only. Shantae, you can go for now. See if anyone might need help. We have to interrogate Ricky and my brother's wife," he frowned.

"Uh... okay... stay safe, Ricky... mommy," Shantae said, me nodding at her.

"You too," we both said to her.