Gamelover41592: Why bother when the DLC I picked is going to do it for me?
Anyways, time to head off to defeat our final evil doer.
"You found a light shard!" Mimic exclaimed when he saw Shantae and Jasmine return.
"Wasn't too hard," Jasmine said as she handed it over. Mimic then put it in place on the machine.
"There's only one piece left!" Shantae cheered.
"Yep!" Mimic said with pride. "We're almost at the end!"
"Oh gosh! Speaking of which, I gotta split," Rottytops said suddenly. "After all. Gotta enjoy life while we still can!"
"Mate, what's with the new saying?" Jasmine asked. Rottytops had literally never said anything like that before today.
"Huh? Oh, haven't you heard?" Rottytops asked.
"About?..." Shantae asked, trying to lead Rottytops into giving her answers.
"The end of the world," Rottytops said without a single change in her tone of voice. "The Hypno Baron is summoning a creature of unspeakable horror. I wanna squeeze in as much fun as possible before the best begins its world-ending rampage."
"Wait, WHAT!?" Jasmine exclaimed. And Rottytops didn't think to tell them this earlier why!?
"Actually, I could use a lift. I'm going to ask featherhead for a ride to the Hypno Baron's castle. Maybe I can get a front row seat. Here's a map if you want to come," Rottytops said before running out. "See ya!"
"There's NO WAY we can stand by and let Hypno Baron summon some giant beast!" Shantae vowed. "Just one more time, uncle! Then we promise we'll help you finish your machine!"
Mimic sighed. "So many distractions today. Just promise you'll be careful!"
"We will!" Jasmine said as she and Shantae headed over to Sky. Jasmine could have flown herself and Shantae, but she was feeling lazy. Besides, they wanted to make sure that the bird trainer didn't try to pull Rottytops apart. Thankfully, Sky and the giant sized Wrench were the only one inside. Before either of them could speak, Sky beat them to punch.
"Let me guess, you want a ride to Hypno Baron's castle?" She asked, sounding really annoyed.
"How'd you know?" Shantae asked.
"That fair-weather friend of yours just tried to bum a ride!" Sky snapped. "She'll lead you both into trouble!"
"Well, Hypno Baron needs to be stopped, so we're going either way," Jasmine reliped.
"Typical. Don't say I didn't warn you," Sky said. "Anyways, hop on," Shantae jumped on Wrench, while Jasmine shifted into her smaller condor form.
"Fitting for Halloween," Jasmine said once they arrived. The place was beyond creepy.
"Rottytops, wait up!" Shantae called out. Rottytops turned around.
"That lousy Sky! No good bird brain made me walk all the way here!" Rottytops grumbled. "And I just changed legs last week!"
"Don't be mad. I'm sure you'll find...uh, new even better legs," Shantae said, trying to sound nice and not totally creeped out. "Anyways, tell us about this monster Hypno Baron is conjuring."
"Oh, the creature of unspeakable horror?" Rottytops clarified. "I heard my brothers talking about it. I guess Hypno Baron came to them for advice. He said he needed a creature evil enough to 'rip open the fabric of space-time and wash away human-kind in a sea of eternal woe'. Or something along those lines. My brothers told him how to summon the horror, and in exchange we got a whole sack of Sequin Land Select Dark Almond Roast!"
"You guys doomed humanity for a bag of coffee!?" Shantae exclaimed while Jasmine just threw her hands up.
"Well, it was before 9:00 am, so…" Rottytops said in defense.
"Alright. We're finding our way into Hypno Baron's chambers and stopping this summoning!" Jasmine said.
"Coolio. I'll watch the fireworks from here," Rottytops said. With an eye roll, Jasmine and Shantae headed inside the castle. It was beyond dark inside and full of monsters.
"H-hello? Anyone home?" Shantae called out. "It's creepy in here."
"Creepy or not, we gotta keep moving," Jasmine said. Shantae nodded, although she still remained behind Jasmine for the most part. The castle's stairwells and doors seemed to lead to random places inside. Getting back outside, while easier to navigate, was not much better. It was somehow raining(even though everywhere else on the island was sunny) and full of even stronger monsters then those inside. But the girls powered through. Finally, they reached Hypno Baron's chamber.
"Hypno Baron!" Both exclaimed.
"Your chanting days are over, mister!" Shantae ordered.
"Blarrragh! It's YOU!" Hypno Baron groaned, only to regain his composure. "No matter! My incantation is already complete!" Both girls gasped. "Tremble in fear as you witness the END OF YOUR WORLD!"
"No!" Both girls cried as the monster began to be summoned. In fear, Shantae wrapped her arms around Jasmine, who returned the gesture.
"Uh, Jas? If this is it, I just wanted to tell you that you are the best sister I could have ever wanted!" Shantae called out over the rumbling.
"Feelings a hundred percent mutual!" Jasmine called back, giving a sad smile. "You are the best, half-genie or not!"
"BEHOLD!" Hypno Baron roared. "THE CREATURE OF UNSPEAKABLE HORROR!" The girls watched in fear as...Squid Baron appeared.
"Yo!" He said cheerfully.
"Uh….." Jasmine and Shantae managed out as they looked at each other. They had so many questions. Why was Squid Baron a creature of 'Unspeakable Horror'? Why would Hypno Baron summon him? Why did Abner and Poe know how to summon Squid Baron? "Squid Baron?"
"Check it out! I've reached late but important character status!" Squid Baron cheered. "That's one step away from top billing! I'd be surprised if I didn't get my own spin off story! The Adventures of Squid Baron the Magnificent! I like the sound of that! Maybe you two could even have a minor role!"
"Mate, you are insane!" Jasmine said as she let go of Shantae and got ready for battle. "First off, all of the titles in this series are not that on the nose! Second, the story might contradict canon!"
"How embarrassing," Hypno Baron said, rolling his eyes.
"And third, why would we need a cameo when we ARE ALREADY THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THIS ONE?!" Shantae added in.
"WHHHH-H-HOW DARE YOU?!" Squid Baron snapped. "Let's do this up all crazy style! Come at me!" Squid Baron wasn't much different then normal with his constant ramming and dropping down from the ceiling. However, now his charges could send him higher up and could fire beams of energy at the girls. What was a major change was when Hypno Baron joined in. He was far different from his first fight with the girls. Now, he could slam Squid Baron down via a lightning tether, teleport around, and summon flames. However, once the sisters both decided to take down a baron on their own, both quickly fell. Squid Baron blew up again, but Hypno Baron remained.
"Oh my gosh, I think we blew him up for good!" Shantae panicked.
"I'm sure he's fine," Jasmine replied bluntly.
"I hope you're happy, Hypno Baron!" Shantae exclaimed, seemingly not even carried about what Jasmine had said. "He might have been a big jerkface, but deep down he just wanted to be loved!"
"Oh, he will be!" Hypno Baron began. "You see, I summoned him here to option his merchandising rights!"
"Huh?" Jasmine was confused. What did merchandising have to do with this?
"Squid Baron hats and mugs and T-shirts! Crewnecks and raglans!" Hypno Baron continued.
"But...what happened to ripping open the fabric of space-time and washing away humanity in a sea of eternal woe?" Shantae questioned, wanting to make absolutely sure this guy wasn't kidding.
"Who told you that?" Hypno Baron replied. "No, it's 'gracing the fabric of leisure-time and blowing away humankind in a sea of heavy weave 100% cotton comfort'!"
"I'm going to kill Rottytops," Jasmine said bluntly.
"Squid Baron merch will fund evil for all eternity!" Hypno Baron cackled before teleporting away.
"I'm going home to take a very long, very hot bath," Shantae said, grateful that they had actually decided to buy a bathtub after the adventure with Risky.
"I'm getting in after you. Don't use all the hot water," Jasmine agreed as she rubbed her temples.
So that Squid Baron spinoff? Not in this life or the next. That was purely a joke. So don't ask for it. Anyways, in the next chapter, we finally do that DLC I've been teasing and if you haven't guessed it yet...what is wrong with you?