Gamelover41592: Thanks

Okay, time to continue our trek across the seven seas in order to stop the Pirate Master. Let's go!

After a quick return to Scuttle Town in order to get some more supplies(which was not enjoyable for Shantae or Jasmine as they saw Ammo Baron hard at work to turn the town into a fortress) and to help out some more people, Risky set sail for the next island. Unlike the last one, this place wasn't even trying to look nice. It was raining, dark and foreboding.

"This is Spiderweb Island," Risky explained. "I want you two to locate the next den of evil and report back,"

"Risky, we've been wondering…" Shantae began. "How do you know so much about the Pirate Master?"

Risky paused, before sighing. If they were helping her, might as well tell them. "Because he was my mentor. I sailed under his command for some time as his first mate. He taught me everything I know,"

"Ya worked for this guy?!" Jasmine exclaimed before crossing her arms. "He musta been a threat,"

"That's right," Risky said, resigned to questioning. "When the Genies finally defeated him, I claimed his men and weapons as my own."

"You stole his stuff after he died!?" Shantae exclaimed.

"Why does that surprise you?" Jasmine questioned.

"Call it payment for my services, which were long overdue," Risky huffed. "That flintlock pistol was once his."

"Oh...then I guess you should have it back…" Shantae offered as he pulled it out. Risky just shoved it towards her.

"Hold onto it," Risky said. "You're going to need it to survive this place,"

"And you're not coming...again. Why does that not surprise me?" Jasmine realized.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want me for company. Best I sat with the ship," Risky assured them before walking back on board.

"There is something she isn't telling us," Jasmine noted as the girls started to explore the island. Shantae stayed quiet. She had a feeling Jasmine was right, but didn't feel like thinking about what it could be.

"Hey, what's up with Squid Baron? I mean, I had no idea he was that big of a perv!" Shanate said, changing the subject. "And I was so worried when uncle saw how much of a mess we left his lab!" Jasmine saw through her sister, but played along.

"Tell me about it. And what was up with that cyclops guy outside the palace? Never seen the lad in my life," Jasmine replied, causing both girls to laugh as they continued to explore. The monsters found weren't much more welcoming than the island's appearance. But they were still no match for the sisters. After a while, they found Rottytops trapped in a giant spider web with a giant spider menacing her.

"Rottytops?" Shantae exclaimed. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU MONSTER!" Thankfully, that seemed to scare the spider off for now.

"That was too bloody close," Jasmine groaned. She was worried they were going to have to fight that thing. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I live here," Rotty bluntly replied. "I heard this island had monster web coverage, so I-"

"STOP WITH THE WEB JOKES!" Jasmine cried, cutting Rottytops off before she could continue.

"Sorry, Rotty said quickly as she continued to struggle. "Well? Are you going to help me down or not?"

"Not a chance!" Jasmine exclaimed as she crossed her arms. She was still very wary around the zombie. "How do we know this isn't another one of your tricks!? We should leave you to rot ya crook!"

"But I'm already rotting!" Rottytops protested.

"I am going to kill you for a second time!" Jasmine snapped. Shantae practicality had to tackle her to make her calm down to a reasonable level.

"Jas!" Shantae exclaimed before turning back to Rottytops. "I'll help you" Jasmine grumbled as she picked herself up. Using Risky's pistol along with her hair, Shantae was able to free her friend who collapsed to her legs. "Are you okay!?"

"Oooohhh! My legs!" Rottytops wailed. "They're going numb!"

"Oh no!" Shantae panicked. "That spider bit you, didn't it?"

"Forget about it...I'm a bad girl," Rottytops said. "Just...just leave me here." Jasmine rolled her eyes. She could clearly see that Rotty was fine. That being said, she was a little mad that Shantae shoved her to the ground.

"N-no way!" Shantae exclaimed. "I can't abandon you in the woods! That would be way too grim!"

"My house...It's through the woods," Rottytops explained. "If you can get me to my brothers...in time…"

"Just hold on Rottytops! I'll save you!" Shantae vowed. She scooped Rottytops into a bridal carry before rushing off. Jasmine was hot on their tales, but was snickering to herself. This was too funny. She wished cameras weren't so hard to come by. This was gold!

After what seemed like forever, Shantae finally reached Rottytops's house. Because she was carrying her friend, she couldn't defend herself, leaving it Jasmine's job to fend off the dozens of monsters on the way back. Inside was Aber.

"Just in time!" Shantae exclaimed in relief.

"My hero!" Rottytops gushed.

"Yo sis. What's with the peeled shrimp?" Abner asked gruffly. "Unless they are here for dinner, they should turn tail and hit the bricks."

"Abner! Some big brother you are! Can't you see she's injured?!" Shantae chastised him. Aber scoffed.

"Looks fine to me," He replied bluntly.

"Wha-?" Shantae began, only for Rottytops to snicker.

"What a ride!" She gushed. Jasmine failed to fight back a smile.

"Rottytops! You dirty, double-crossing-" Shantae began to rant. Abner rested a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Shantae and Jasmine, is it? I've got somethin' I've been meaning to say." Abner began. "I've got ain't too good at making friends. But you've been good to me and Poe and my sis here. It's just that pirate girl has a real way of getting into yer head and making you hear what you want to hear. Guess I'm tryin' to apologize for some bad calls in the past. Teamin' up with that Risky Boots...dumbest thing I ever did,"

"No kidding," Jasmine grumbled.

"Oh...well, that's okay," Shantae said simply.

"Poe and little Rotters here are all's I got left of whatever life I once had," Abner explained. "I can't remember much else. But you two always make her smile, I gotta be grateful for that. 'Specially Shantae. Never stops talkin' about ya," Both Jasmine and Shantae found themselves touched.

"We don't know what to say," Shantae said.

"Forget it. We're square," Abner said gruffly before changing the subject. "Where the devil's Poe? He's ain't been back in a while."

"He was supposed to fix my wagon so we could skip that creepy forest!" Rottytops revealed.

"Well, if either of ya sees 'im, tell him to check in or I'm gonna get peeved," Abner ordered before going back to what he was doing. Shantae and Jasmine took that as a cue to leave. Thankfully, Poe wasn't very far.

"Poe!" Jasmine exclaimed once she was him. "Your brother took us to find you."

"Hey, you're those coffee banshees! I remember you!" Poe said once he realized who was speaking to him.

"Genie and human," Shantae corrected. "Half-genie and human. Well, former half-genie and human."

"Thanks, whatever you are." Poe thanked once Shantae was finished. "I was scavenging for wagon parts when I got stuck in here. You two like to help people in need right? How about taking a look at it?"

"We're not mechanics, but why not?" Jasmine said with a shrug. At this point, she had wised up to the fact that whenever they helped someone, it helped them out in the long run.

"Follow me. The wagon's this way," Poe said, motioning for them to follow him. Thankfully, it wasn't too far. The wagon wasn't in very good shape. "This is all that's left of our wagon. These wheels I can repair no problem. But that axle will never run smoothly without some squid oil. And this island doesn't seem-"

"We have some," Jasmine said, still kinda grossed out by it. She really didn't want to know where Squid Baron had gotten it from.

"Excellent! After we split off from the Zombie Caravan we've been in short supply. I can have this fixed in a jiffy." Poe said as he got straight to work. Thankfully he was right.

"Not bad mate," Jasmine said, impressed.

"Thank you, m'lady," Poe said. "What do you two say we take 'er for a test drive? It could get a little dangerous, just sayin',"

"You're sure Rotty won't mind?" Shantae asked.

"It's no problem! Just remember to hold on tight!" Poe said as he took the reigns. Jasmine smiled. This was her kinda ride!

Once they made it to the other side of the island, Poe let the girls out.

"Wow, she handles beautifully! I couldn't have done it without you two. Here," He said before handing them a strange shriveled up thing that smelled really bad.

"Uh, what is this?" Jasmine asked.

"It's from a dead guy," Poe bluntly told them. Shantae promptly looked grossed out, while Jasmine just looked done with everything. They returned to exploring and found a Cacklebat nearby, along with a large cave with a gate covering it. Thankfully, whatever was down there was happy to eat the shriveled thing.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Shantae admitted when she saw the gates raise.

"That makes two of us," Jasmine agreed as they nervously entered the cave. Fittingly, the tower that was somehow inside was just as creepy as the island outside.

"Hey, they should have just called this place Dark and Spooky Island," Shantae joked. Jasmine howled with laughter, hoping she didn't attract too many monsters. Further inside, the girls found a strange machine.

"What is this?" Jasmine asked.

"It looks like something from Uncle Mimic's lab," Shantae admitted as she looked over it. As they looked for a way to activate it, they ended up finding Risky's hat, which was much larger then they were expecting. So large, in fact, that Shantae could use it like a parachute. This came in handy as the girls searched for the switches to turn the machine on. Once they hit all three, it created a gust of wind, letting Shantae use the hat to reach the top. Jasmine, on the other hand, was able to fly up without any problems.

"If I had known everything was up here, I would have just flown up," Jasmine joked.

"Well now we know to try that next time," Shantae joked back, even though it was somewhat forced. Every time she saw Jasmine turn into an animal, it was a painful reminder of what she had lost. But she chose not to dwell on it. Entering the boss room, the girls were surprised to find the giant spider from earlier waiting for them.

"Welp, time to squish this thing!" Jasmine said.

"That is action I can get behind!" Shantae agreed. The spider had complete control over the web it sat on, letting it over around quickly. It could drop down on the girls, spit spider pods onto the battlefield, and spit fireballs that would create a wave fire. It wasn't slow either. Thankfully, the girls had no problem taking it down. With a high five, the girls headed out of the tower, only to run into another Tinkerbat.

"More of 'em!" Jasmine exclaimed. Once it saw them, it dropped another map and raced off.

"Another map...hmm…" Shantae began, thinking about what this could mean. As she continued to think, the girls began to head back to Risky.

"You're back," Risky said when she saw them exiting the woods.

"Not without incident, but we found another island map," Shantae recapped before handing the map to the pirate. "...And your hat!" When Risky didn't reply, Shantae spoke again. "I thought you be excited."

"...I've been thinking about my men," Risky explained after a pause. "And the curse that controls them. We all sailed together under the Pirate Master's command. The Pirate Master is clever. He'd expect me to go after my pistol and hat. That's why he brought them here...to infuse them with his evil. He's been using the weapons to lure me in! He plans to trigger the curse and put me back under his control! I can't believe I almost fell for such an obvious ruse!"

"Is that why you won't go with us?" Jasmine asked. "Because you're under the same curse as your men?"

"I'm not afraid of him!" Risky practically snapped.

"Right," Jasmine snarked.

"We didn't say you were," Shantae pointed out.

"I despise him!" Risky roared. "I'd like to see him return just so I can crush him myself!"

"Yeesh, didn't mean to get ya so railed up," Jasmine admitted.

"Hey! At least you two are finally talking, right?" Shantae pointed out. "It's good to get this stuff off your chest."

"...Just get on the ship," Risky ordered half-heartedly.

And that's another island down! Next time...well, if you've played this game, then you probably remember the next island the best. See you then.