Shantae: The Eternal Spirit Chronicles

by IllusoryNomad

Following Shantae's latest crusade against the forces of evil, a new Relic is revealed that has the power to LITERALLY change (or even DESTROY) the lives of all who come into contact with it! Added to the emergence of a rogue, vengeful half-genie, as well as the unwelcome return of a certain marauding Pirate Queen, the Half-Genie Hero and company must spring into action once again!

14. Excavation & Elimination

Chapter 6D: Excavation & Elimination

Whew… Okay, that's the last time I EVER get the bright idea to try traveling across Sequin Land on foot… Ah… hm? Oh! H-hey there! I uh… I wasn't expecting you back so soon! Jeez, I look a mess… and don't mind the er… pungent aroma of onion cheesesteaks. That's just what I had during the break and definitely NOT my rancid B.O. from the MASSIVE hike I took after our last little excursion. I'll get a much-needed shower in due time. Anyway, I know why you're here, and I'm not gonna waste your time whining to you about my awful job that I totally love. So, if you're ready, let's jump right on in. Where to begin, though…? Hm… Ah! Got it.

So, I've gotta get you caught all the way up on the frantic expedition of Sky, Bolo, and Hashanah! Or rather, more so Sky and Hashanah. Bolo was… well, we'll get to him in a little bit. It's… kind of a mess. If you know, then you KNOW. Meanwhile, Sky and Hashanah had been cleaning up shop and working surprisingly well together despite the… less than favorable circumstances that spawned their temporary alliance. Within the spacious confines of the Capricious Titan Shrine, the capable young ladies spent a sizable amount of their time solving puzzles, navigating their way through more various trap-laden chambers, and had somehow been putting their minds together like they had always been a cohesive team. Don't believe me? Well, let's jump right in, so you see what I mean…

Deep within the Confines of the Capricious Titan Shrine…

"YAH!" shouted the most audacious rogue genie Hashanah as she kicked some sort of giant, muscle-bound, horn-adorned, hairy minotaur-like creature off of a VERY small circular platform and into the miles-deep, pitch-black abyss below. She then followed up by spotting a frightening bat/mole hybrid creature zooming in toward her from the air and channeling Dark Magic into her hand. Within the next second, Hashanah struck as the bat/mole opened its saliva-soaked, toothy maw and fired a spray of a corrosive mucus-like substance at its target. "GENOCIDE SPEAR!" the renegade genie shouted as she hurriedly fashioned her magic into a spear and flung it as hard as she could with a startling *VWOOORZH*. And with a following *SKIRSCH*, Hashanah vanquished the offending amalgamate while doing her best to avoid the droplets of corrosive phlegm that rained down and burned through the VERY limited floor with a burning *HISSSSSSSS*. Upon finishing her task, Hashanah turned toward her teammate and spotted another incoming threat. "Sky! You've got another Carna-Taur coming from your left!"

"Heard! YOLK SPLASH!" Sky shouted in acknowledgement as she flung a humongous orange egg with white polka dots at third minotaur, apparently called a Carna-Taur, charging in from a doorway at the far end of the extremely tiny platform the girls were defending themselves on. The egg exploded with a squelching *KRAKRALSCH*, splattering a stringy, super adhesive yolk all over one of just two thin, stony walkways doubling as the support for the minuscule platform. Assuming its enemy's attack to have failed, the Carna-Taur continued sprinting ahead, stepping right into the egg yolk with a most unappealing *SQUIPLOSH*, at which point it was stopped dead in its tracks. "Alright, he fell for it…! Now, then…" the crafty bird trainer acknowledged as she leapt higher than your average kangaroo and landed atop the back of her trusty companion Wrench in midair. "You're all clear, Hashanah! Let 'im have it!"

"You better believe I will…! HRRRRAH! TYRANNY BLAZER!" Hashanah hollered out as she, with another ethereal *PWOOORSH*, fired another of her deadly magic-based projectiles at the immobilized Carna-Taur. And with an emphatic *KAFWOOOORRSSSH*, the Carna-Taur was engulfed in raging purple flames that swiftly reduced it to a pile of smoking egg-scented ashes.

"That should take care of all the Carna-Taurs, no?"

"Almost! There were supposed to be ten of them! That one was the ninth!" Hashanah warned, keeping a steady flow of magic coursing through her hand as she scoured the immediate area with just her eyes. "If you're not too busy up there, then can you take out the last two Corro-Moles? They're gunning for you and your bird!"

"I see them!" Sky acknowledged, spotting the pair of Corro-Moles zipping in from either side hoping to flank her while she stood on Wrench's back.

"Take them out from a distance! They spew gobs of highly corrosive acid upon being taken dow-! THERE YOU ARE! HRAH!" the rogue genie tried to warn as the last Carna-Taur jumped across the gap from a wall on the far side of the room with the intent to stomp its foe to bits with its mighty hooves of doom. "Shoot, if this thing smashes into the platform, it'll take me down with it…!" Hashanah further pointed out as she hopped backward and took aim with her magic-charged hand. "CHOKE ON THIS!" she challenged as she fired her blast, only for the Carna-Taur to bat it out of the way with an astonishing *PRATWAAANG* of the fireball against its veiny, muscly forearm. The vicious creature thusly continued its mad, potentially self-destructive descent upon what was left of the platform as Hashanah braced herself and tried to charge up another magic attack. Meanwhile…

"Whoahah!" Sky bellowed in surprise as one of the Corro-Moles tried to fly directly into her face while taking advantage of her limited mobility. Keeping her balanced as best as she could while Wrench carefully maneuvered himself through the air, the bird trainer took out a pair of egg bombs and hurled them as accurately as she could manage. With an explosive *KERPSLAKOOOM*, she scored a direct hit on one of her targets. The Corro-Mole exploded into a goopy mass of acid that completely disintegrated the yolk from Sky's egg bomb and rained into the bottomless pit below. She wouldn't be out of hot water yet, however, as the other Corro-Mole screeched and whirled around her other projectile. "Shoot! It dodged! Wrench, we need to-!" she was about to order her avian ally before a deafening *KRASHMAARSCHK!* of hooves pounding on solid stone thunderously rang out.

"WAH! WHOAWUUAAAAH!" Hashanah shouted in a surprise and sudden panic as the Carna-Taur fell through the floor where it smashed through, causing the remainder of the platform to begin crumbling away. The Carna-Taur was intent on taking the rogue genie down with it, however, as it reached up and tried to snag Hashanah's leg while the opportunity was golden… only for Hashanah to get swept up off the platform by a hand reaching out to grab hold of her wrist and whisk her away at the very last second. "YIKES!" she practically shrieked as she observed herself being lifted high into the air as the platform at the center of the chamber crumbled into nothing while the Carna-Taur that destroyed it could be heard roaring upward from the abyss. Looking up, the renegade half-genie saw that Sky, while still on Wrench's back, managed to pull off a miraculous last-minute save. "Jeez… Thanks for the save, girlie!"

"No problem, though we're not quite done yet!" Sky warned before whistling a Falcon Call to summon a platform for Hashanah to stand on. "There's still one last Corro-Mole flittering around behind me, and it's on its way to-!"

"Gotcha covered," Hashanah interrupted as she quickly summoned a spear, got into position, took aim, and… "SHWAAH!" she shouted as she flung another of her Genocide Spears at the unsuspecting Corro-Mole. With a nasty, hissing *KWAPLOOOSHK*, Hashanah vanquished the final Corro-Mole in a heartbeat as its acidic remains went raining down into the gaping chasm. Within seconds of the girls' most recent victory, a circular opening dozens of feet above them. "Finally… So, the pathway into the Capricious Titan's Master Chamber just revealed itself. Any chance your parrot/eagle thing can carry us both up there?"

"He's a Wren/Finch hybrid, and unfortunately, he may not. In his current form, he wouldn't have the strength to carry us."

"Wait… it has multiple forms?"

"Yes, but we don't have enough time for me to explain right this second. You wouldn't have any ideas of your own on how to get us up there, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do…" Hashanah began as she pulled out her Spirit Fuser fragment and held it high. "Spirit Shift: Scorcher Hawk!" she further announced. With a humming *ZHROAULNG*, the Relic conjured up an astral projection of the gargantuan bird-like creature in question with its summoner floating inside of its chest. Meanwhile, Sky's falcons dispersed after recognizing their job was complete.

"Whoa… That's…! W-wow…"

"Get on! I can get us up to the entrance if we hurry it up! It's gonna be kind of a long ride up, and I can only hold this form for so long," Hashanah commanded through the beak of the hawk projection. Sky shook off just enough of her amazement at the other young lady's powers to heed her request to climb onto the spiritual projection's feathery back. "Like what ya see, Sky?"

"Hm… While I can admit that this is impressive, I'm still inclined to be worried about how you're so familiar with that Spirit Fuser fragment," the avian aficionado let her opinion be known, however hesitantly so as she steadied herself in her position.

"You would like to know that, now wouldn't you?"

"Among many other things, yes," Sky confidently confirmed as they ascended into the dark, dingy tunnel above. "No amount of teamwork we employ together is going to make me let my guard down as long as it's apparent you're up to no good."

"Even after all this quality time, you still don't trust me? Jeez, what's a girl gotta do to score some friendship around here?" Hashanah 'innocently' requested to know.

"We've already covered that topic before, and your best answer to my request was 'no promises,'" the bird trainer reminded her. "That aside, I still can't say I approve of your… incredibly brutal methods of dispatching our enemies."

"What? Why would you care about THAT of all things? None of the monsters we battled in here would show us a shred of mercy if they managed to overwhelm us! Why should we show them any?"

"It isn't as much about the 'mercy' of it as it is your… 'enthusiastic' approach to slaughtering enemies with magic attacks that go WAY overboard. I get it that these monsters are dangerous, but for you to slice, incinerate, impale, electrocute, and even CRUSH them as you've been doing? It's a bit much."

"Hmph. Well, if you care so much about them, then why would you bother helping me take them down? Sounds like you'd rather we 'save' them or talk them down like they have any capacity to listen to us. The instant we let our guard down, they'll wipe us out. It makes no sense for you to take pity on these pathetic abominations, so I would hope you don't mind it when I say I couldn't care less."

"Wow. Harsh, but alright…" Sky acknowledged before offering up her rebuttal. "I'm just saying that you'd save a lot of time and energy if you dialed it back a notch and settled on knocking the monsters out instead of flat-out killing them like you had a personal grudge against them. Or at least, even if we HAVE to kill them, we should do it with a sense of tact and consideration. When you think about it, they're really only trying to protect their home."

"You should've said that about eight rooms ago. Not that I'd have obeyed you, but still," Hashanah dismissively retorted. "It's a bit odd that you suddenly want to be a conservationist out of nowhere for a group of doomed, endangered monsters that are forever bound to an ancient, long-forgotten airborne temple with no chance to interact with the rest of Sequin Land as we know it."

"I'm a conservationist by trade given my profession, so it comes naturally. I don't know how much longer this temple will exist for, so I would've figured we'd minimize the carnage for the sake of letting this place's inhabitants live in peace if we could help it."

"Yeah, yeah…" Hashanah droned with a roll of her eyes, blowing Sky's comments off completely.

"And speaking of conservation, I was also intending to make the point that you should conserve your energy in case this Capricious Titan turns out to be as big of a problem as I'm thinking he might be. You're overusing your magic, and you'll burn yourself out long before you'd realistically need to rely on it if you keep pushing yourself like you have been."

"Oh? Wow, that's… actually a really good point," Hashanah admitted with a nod of her head, however surprised she was. "Although, what do you know about overusing magic? You don't have a magic bone in your body to tell me how I should use mine."

"Believe it or not, I actually do have SOME ability in using Light Magic," Sky revealed, much to Hashanah's surprise.

"WHAT!?"

"Yep. It's not a lot by any significant measurement, but I was granted some magic from a certain pair of friends through some mysterious means," the falconer further explained. "That magic has been stuck with me since, though I couldn't hope to go into enough detail to make sense of it. Regardless, it's how I'm able to use my bird and egg-related techniques as well as you've seen thus far," she explained, though she also took the moment to glance at the glowing silver Inhibitor Vambrace on her wrist as she acknowledged the constant tingling sensation radiating through her arm. "Hmm…"

"Ya don't say…?" Hashanah murmured to herself, equally as distracted as she took the following moment to think to herself. "Huh… In that case, there's no way this 'adventure' of ours can end here… I need to know more…" she whispered, evidently in the interest of digging into her 'ally' for additional insight. After a moment of both girls going silent as they hovered upward through the long, dank tunnel…

"Hashanah," the bird trainer called, shaking the rogue genie out of her train of thought.

"Yeah?"

"This quest you're on. With… whatever it is you plan on doing with the Spirit Fuser… What exactly is it you hope to gain over the long term?"

"Didn't I tell you already? I plan on taking my rightful place as the strongest genie this world has ever known," she matter-of-factly answered. "I plan on showing those who disrespected and turned their noses up at me after the Inseam disaster that I am NOT just some dispensable object that can just be cast to the wind, replaced, and forgotten about. And I especially want to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to EVERYONE that your bubbly, bumbling best friend is NOWHERE near as special as they all think she is…! That's all you really need to know."

"I see… and thanks for letting me know that much. But still… with so much of your objective motivated by revenge, how could you ever hope to be happy with yourself once you've accomplished it? Especially with the methods you've employed?"

"My methods are what they are. It's not a simple 'revenge' quest, despite my grudges. It's a quest to be the best by any means necessary. To me, this is a quest to ascend beyond the expectations and limitations mere humans have shackled me with since the day I became a Guardian Genie, and especially after they ousted me. I'm DONE being a slave to the whims of people who have treated me like the dirt under their shoes every time I made even the slightest mistake. This Spirit Fuser's gonna help me fast-track my progression…!"

"R-right…" Sky acknowledged once more, though she grew a tad unsettled as she listened. "But for you to embark on a path of chaos and inconsolable wrath, destroying everyone and everything in your path for the sake of getting stronger on your own terms? It just seems so… unnecessarily cold-hearted. There are far better, far less hazardous ways to improve yourself. You don't have to be evil to do that."

"Evil? HAH! Get your head out of that tiny little box, Sky! I don't care about 'good' and 'evil!' You're smart, so use that big brain of yours," the rogue genie patronizingly spat with a disquieting chuckle, shocking her teammate once again. "This is about something WAY more important than such meaningless pursuits as being a 'hero' or a 'villain.' This is about me realizing my true potential as a genie, free of any human restriction, and free of fear of any judgments so callously hurled my way. You, as a full-fledged human, could never fully understand."

"Maybe not, but having a half-genie as my best friend has taught me way more than you might think about what it means to do what's right, regardless of what other people think. It's taught me that no matter how difficult your experience is, the last thing you want to do is give up on the people you were destined to protect and live among. The same people you say turned their backs on you, most likely just need to realize that it wasn't your fault for what happened, and that you still have potential to be a reliable protector to them. I've witnessed that through Shantae's experience. I don't know what exactly happened to you after the Inseam incident, but I'm sorry that they hurt you…"

"Hmph… I know what you're doing, and it isn't going to work," Hashanah bitterly remarked with a notable waver in her tone, shutting down the discussion topic. "Those pathetic peasants HAD their chance to 'appreciate' me, and they blew it time and time again. They don't deserve any additional chances, and you're only irritating me more by insisting that they do. And I'm NOT Shantae. Don't EVER compare me to her if you know what's good for you…! And if all you're gonna waste your breath doing here is preaching to me about something you don't understand in hopes that you'll change my mind, then I'd prefer that you save it for someone who cares and SHUT YOUR TRAP…!"

"…Oh… Well… Fine, then," Sky replied through a wave of discomfort and tightly contained agitation before breathing a hot, heavy sigh. "Don't say I didn't at least try to understand you as the 'friend' you said you wanted me to be," she further added before going silent once again. And thus, Sky and Hashanah ceased speaking to one another for a great chunk of their ascension toward the final area of the Capricious Titan Shrine.

Though silence was long, it was anything but comfortable. As the renegade genie focused her attention on maintaining her Spirit Fuser-charged spell, she began to wear a look of somberness as she seemed to lose herself in her own thoughts again. Meanwhile, Sky continued to do her best to 'enjoy' the ride while Wrench perched himself on her head to rest his wings. By all accounts, it seemed the girls hit a pretty big snag in the formation of their complicated friendship, and neither one of them knew how to address the tension between them. The longer they remained silent, the more suffocating the awkwardness became for them despite their shared goal of finding a way out of the Capricious Titan Shrine. Yet, before too long…

"…Hey," Hashanah finally spoke, calling to her temporary partner.

"Hm?" Sky hummed, directing her attention to the other young lady.

"…Sorry," the renegade genie regretfully apologized, much to the war bird trainer's surprise.

"O-oh! Uh… It's alright. I er… I get it that that topic must've been sensitive for you," Sky did her best to dismiss.

"It's not that. It's that I'm so used to people always telling me how to live my life that it's become… almost automatic for me to get agitated," Hashanah opened herself up enough to explain. "It's made it hard for me to feel comfortable talking to people about myself. The topic itself is complicated enough as it is, sure, but what always gets me is when people talk down to me and preach at me like I'm seven years old instead of twenty-one. It's one of my biggest pet peeves if I'm being totally honest. I'm not saying you did that or anything, but yeah…"

"I understand where you're coming from… At least, to the best of my ability, I can."

"I'm glad you acknowledge that. But let me ask you something real quick…"

"Shoot."

"Would… you REALLY consider being my friend? Despite everything that happened here? And what you've heard about me before we met today? You can probably guess I don't have the cleanest record out there."

"Good question…" the falconer expressed as she rubbed her chin with a hand and contemplated. "And… well…"

"If you have to think about it, then that either means 'No,' or you're trying to come up with a convincing lie," the wary genie preemptively remarked.

"Or it could mean I'm giving your question some serious thought," the other woman countered. "No need to jump to conclusions before I've even given you a proper response."

"Oh. Heh… My bad… Blame it on the nerves, I guess."

"You're fine. Also… I believe that, even with all that's happened, it's not impossible for us to become true friends, Hashanah."

"Really? And what makes you say that?"

"Past experience making friends out of enemies, for one," Sky candidly replied. "The other thing is that, as I've learned from making friends with a certain someone else recently, everybody deserves an honest chance. It wouldn't necessarily be fair not to give you a chance as well, provided I can convince you to at least reconsider trying to hurt my best friends. Despite your opinions of them, they're not bad people."

"Hm… I knew you'd bring that up again. If that's your biggest obstacle to us getting closer, and it means that much to you, then the best answer I can offer you is that I'll think about it," Hashanah irritably shared.

"And I had a feeling you'd say that," Sky shot back, at which point the girls shared a surprisingly lighthearted laugh.

"That was as cute as it was clever."

"Glad you approve. That said, I'll reiterate that it isn't too late for you, despite what you might believe."

"Thanks for the reassurance, though I can't say it'll stop me from achieving my goal."

"Fair enough, I guess, but I'll still hold out hope that you at least consider that prospect."

"We'll see what happens…" the morally ambiguous genie remarked once more as they neared the end of the tunnel, which had a dim, gleaming light shining from above. "Also, who was the friend you made recently that taught you the 'everybody deserves a chance' lesson? Tayshan?"

"No, actually. It was Rottytops," Sky revealed to Hashanah's mild shock.

"The zombie? I thought you and she were already friends… At least, considering all the stories I heard about you and your gang…"

"A common assumption. Truth is, she and I hated each other from the minute we met at first. We were introduced by Shantae way back when, but the meeting was anything but amicable."

"Yikes… Sounds like you were a pair of angry cats that got to scratching each other right away."

"That's one way to put it, but I'll give you the quick and dirty of it for context. She used to cling to Shantae like a koala to a tree and play childish pranks on her all the time, she constantly made rude comments to everyone around her, myself especially, and she absolutely had not a single care in the world who she bothered with what she said or did. She was the opposite of everything I'd have desired in a friend from a glance. It didn't help that once upon a time, she and her brothers betrayed Shantae and sold her out to Risky Boots, which caused Shantae to lose her powers for a while. I'm sure you've heard the story…"

"Most of it, but I didn't know that Rottytops girl had any involvement in it…"

"She did. And for that, I deeply disliked Rottytops to the point where I sometimes wished she'd disappear and never come back. Had you met me a year ago, I might've asked you to grant me that wish."

"Wow… That's straight-up icy, Sky."

"Yeah, I know… Seriously, we couldn't stand each other. Meanwhile, she regrets that mistake to this day and has since tried to do her best to make it up to Shantae for what she did. That still didn't settle the beef between me and her, of course, because I didn't forgive her at the time. In fact, I've told her to her face that she should go and crawl back into the hole she dug herself out of and stay there, so no one else would have to suffer the curse of being around her. Also harsh, I know, but I'm not lying or exaggerating when I say we hated each other."

"No kidding…! I didn't think you had that in you!"

"Only when I'm pushed past a certain point, though it's not something I'm proud of. In return, though, Rottytops grew more resentful of me because she thought I was a 'preachy, snobby, know-it-all, egg-headed prude with a giant stick up her butt,' as she so eloquently put it one time. She's also accused me of being a bad friend to Shantae because I wasn't always chomping at the bit to join in on her adventures, and she had additionally told me that I'd be 'stuck as a lonely, crotchety old permavirgin spinster if I kept my nasty attitude up.'"

"Oof… Wow, forget cats; you girls were like lionesses from rival packs, ready to rip each other to shreds!" At that, Sky chuckled in acknowledgement before continuing.

"Accurate. Buuuut, we eventually put our differences aside once we realized it was pointless to butt heads all the time. Between a couple of big adventures here, a heart-to-heart conversation there, a touch of mediation from Shantae herself, and… um… w-well… a traumatic experience we're still trying to cope with that really shook Rotty and me out of any capacity to continue our constant bickering…" she further explained, though she quickly grew hesitant and… dare I say, sad, as she went on.

"Traumatic experience? What experience?"

"…Tayshan's death…" Sky somberly shared after a brief moment of silence, her voice wavering as though the event in question happened just the day previous.

"Oh. Wow, I uh… er… I-I don't know what to say…" Hashanah stammered, having not expected to be presented with that fateful event from the perspective of someone other than her fellow half-genie. "Was… was it that bad…?"

"It was the worst thing any of us could've imagined… We were both right there along with Shantae to watch him slowly, painfully slip away from us with nothing but undeserved suffering in his last moments as… a-as he bled out from a fatal stab wound… None of us could save him, and he died right in front of us… The emotional anguish from it still plagues us to this day… We were powerless… unable to do anything but watch him suffer when he needed us most… and we could do hardly a thing to make Shantae feel better about losing the love of her life so suddenly and in such a terrible way… and… um… hah…!" the bird tamer further confessed as she choked up, resisting the urge to cry as Wrench quickly tended to her by hopping into her arms and nuzzling up to her face. Hashanah, taking in Sky's grief-stricken account, remained entirely silent as she registered the heart-wrenching retelling of her new friend's trauma. Sky persevered nevertheless, as she took a moment to breathe a heavy, woeful sigh. After doing so, and after taking another long, pensive look at the Inhibitor Vambrace on her wrist and caressing it with her other hand, she continued. "…Rottytops and I spent the better part of the entire following week grieving over it together before Tayshan returned as a wraith, and since then, we've done our best to treat each other better. We recognized that we never know who could leave us, and that not one day we live is guaranteed to us. She and I are still on the rocks, but we've both grown from the experience. We've both matured since that day… We're better friends than we've ever been, and it's to a point where I can honestly, finally admit that I love her as she is… no matter how much she still gets on my nerves…"

"…I see…" was all Hashanah could think to reply with as she listened intently.

"Yeah… but that's how we warmed up to each other," Sky pressed on with another sigh to brush off some of her previous sadness, wanting to end their discussion on a less gloomy note. "Sorry for losing it a bit back there."

"No need to apologize. I get it…"

"Thank you… And bringing it back, that's why I'd still be willing to give you a chance if you'd be willing to take it."

"…" the genie went silent, flinching in surprise as she heard the honest offer for camaraderie from Sky after the bird trainer opened up to her. Sensing some discomfort, Sky spoke up once more.

"…Oh. Did… I make you upset again?"

"No, no… Just… had a random, unimportant thought…" Hashanah dismissed with a sudden shake of her head as they reached the end of the tunnel. "But why don't we uh… save this talk for some other time? Looks like we're finally where we need to be. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be…" Sky confirmed, however nervously so as she hugged Wrench tight and mentally prepared herself for the potential danger that awaited them. The remainder of their ascent was mostly silent, save for the hum of rushing wind blowing through the bright, gleaming opening. The closer they got, however, the stronger the wind blew… only, it was blowing upward… like they were about to be sucked into a vacuum cleaner. It quickly got to a point where Sky had to clamp a hand onto her headdress to avoid it being sucked into the opening in the ceiling. And as they ascended further, the wind gust increased in strength to the point where Sky was lifted entirely off of the avian astral projection Hashanah was using to transport them. And speaking of Hashanah…

"Only a little farther, and only a matter of time before that next fragment is in my hands…!" she murmured to herself as she, with a crackling *VWOOORSH*, canceled out her Spirit Fuser-powered transport animal and allowed the vertical hallway's powerful wind current carry her up alongside her teammate. In the following few seconds, the wind gust grew stronger still like a Category 5 hurricane was whipping into existence from basically nothing. In tandem with the increasingly powerful updraft, the girls and Wrench were propelled upward much faster. Hashanah seemed not at all bothered as she remained focused on reaching the top of the temple. Sky… well, she was trying her hardest to figure out a balance between holding Wrench, holding her hood and headscarf, and simply BREATHING because of how strong the winds were. Their ascension into the great unknown wouldn't be long, however, as they would hit… their destination… eventually…

…Eventually…

…Uh, e-eventually…

…

…

…

…Almost there…

…Aaaaaaalllmost… there…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…Hoo boy, this tunnel was long…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…Okay, y'know what? This is taking a bit longer than I expected. Ah, why don't we… take a short break? I'm sure we'll eventually get to-!

A solid three minutes later…

Ooookay, I… guess I spoke too soon. That's what I get for being impatient. Eh… Well, anyway, it seems like our unlikely genie/bird trainer duo reached their destination when…

"WHOAAHAAHAAAH!" hollered a frazzled Sky as she was haphazardly propelled through an opening in the floor of the next room within the Capricious Titan Shrine.

"Shooh!" grunted Hashanah, who came rocketing upward after the other young lady. Hashanah was much more prepared, as she came out somersaulting like an Olympic gymnast ready to stick a perfect landing. The floor tunnel closed up on its own as soon as the girls emerged from it, revealing a gigantic, shining marble floor with a mural of a gigantic knight standing on a hill surrounded by hordes of defeated enemies, decked out in violet armor wielding what looked like a completed Spirit Fuser in one hand, and a miles-long, battle-damaged lance in the other. "Hyah!" the rogue genie grunted again as she stuck her graceful landing with hardly an issue and with a *plack* of her shoes against the flat, even surface. Meanwhile, Sky fell flat on her behind with a *PLOP*, though she managed to keep her headdress and Wrench safe.

"Oww…!" the bird trainer groaned as she shifted to her knees and rubbed her aching backside with a hand. Meanwhile, Wrench retook his spot on her head. "Gosh, that was a wilder ride than I was expecting…." she further complained as Hashanah walked over to her and lent her a hand. "Oh. Er, thanks…"

"Not an issue, sweetie," the helpful genie acknowledged with a grin as she pulled Sky back to her feet. "Hope you didn't get your feathers too ruffled. And here, I thought you'd be used to strong winds…"

"Ha-ha," an unamused Sky flatly shot back, making Hashanah giggle. "Either way it looks like we're really here… and… WOW, this place is a sight to behold…" she further remarked in amazement as she took the moment to look around. And I have to say, she sure as heck wasn't lying… "Everything in this chamber looks like it was crafted by the finest hands Sequin Land could offer… Perfectly chiseled statues of knights and genies dancing together serving as the pillars, stained-glass windows all around that look like they tell the story of how this entire temple was created, this GIGANTIC floor mural of this purple-armored knight at the climax of a fateful battle… and… Whoa, is THAT what the Spirit Fuser looks like when it's all put together?" she asked, especially enamored with the floor mural as she took in the full view. "It looks like a golden scepter with a jewel-encrusted snake head at the top of it!"

"Yep," Hashanah plainly replied, herself looking directly ahead at the gleaming, sparkling altar at the far end of the chamber surrounded by the richest, most colorful bouquets of flowers that would put even the finest garden in other parts of Sequin Land to shame… The genie didn't have her eyes on the flowers, however. She spotted a lone, decorative marble podium encased in a shield of what looked like pure, sparkling diamond. And atop the podium… was the Spirit Fuser fragment.

"But… The piece you have is so small… How could it possibly stretch to the length of the staff in this mural? Is it possible there were more pieces to it that were lost?"

"The Spirit Fuser has many mysteries surrounding it, but to answer your question, it's said that the pieces were shrunken by those who shattered it to throw off anyone hoping to reassemble it," Hashanah explained. "It was an extra security measure of theirs to hide its true form. But before you get distracted digging up lore for your Relic Hunter journal, let's keep our eyes on the prize here. Our 'prize,' by the way, is right up ahead." At that, Sky's eyes nearly flew out of her head as she directed her attention toward her teammate, who had quickly committed herself to approaching the fabled treasure. Despite her surprise, however, the bird trainer scrambled to catch up.

"Whoa, hang on a sec! Don't you think we should check to see if there are any traps or riddles we need to figure out? Or are you confident you can just waltz up to that altar and take the Spirit Fuser fragment?"

"As far as my sources tell me, the only 'trap' that should be here is the Capricious Titan himself. And from the seems of it, he isn't here. This'll be much easier than we thought if the only thing standing between me and that fragment is a tower of crystallized rocks."

"Yeah, I'd be inclined to believe you, but there's NO WAY it's seriously that easy. Even for everything we went through getting up here, I… just have a bad feeling that this isn't over yet…"

"Hm. Well, I suppose this is where I prove you wrong, babe. You're worried over nothing, I promise. We'll collect this piece, we'll complete our mission, and… well, after that, I suppose we'll finally get a chance to talk about our… 'friendship.'"

"I'm not sure you really understand what I'm getting at here. We should really scope this place out for any unwanted surprises before we go trying to claim that fragment. It's basically what we've been doing this entire time. Also… why did you say 'friendship' like that? What are you implying?" Sky warily asked, halting her approach. At that, Hashanah also halted her approach and spun around to face Sky with a deceptively cheerful grin.

"I'm implying that we can work together again in the near future, of course!" Hashanah 'cheerfully' revealed as she began to slowly walk back toward her partner. "You've been an enormous help getting me up here with as little hassle as possible, and I've really enjoyed your company!"

"Ooookay…? So, what makes you think this means this won't be the last time we 'collaborate'?" the wary falconer queried once more, suddenly feeling tense as she began to inch herself back. This did not stop the rogue genie's approach, however.

"Trust me, we need each other to find the remaining three pieces after we're finished here. Think about it! Your extensive Relic Hunter knowledge, my powers and fighting skills, Nila's access to military-grade resources… The three of us would make an excellent trio of Relic Hunters in our own right!" Hashanah propositioned, that unsettling grin never leaving her face as she closed the distance.

"Oh. Uh… W-well, I'm flattered that you'd want me to join your team, but I-!"

"Plus… If you and I are really friends as we just discussed… then maybe, after some time of getting to know each other more… we could… possibly become more than friends…~" Inseam's former guardian implied even harder as she suddenly hid a hand behind her back… Hmm…

"…Hashanah, look. I-I get it that you have a crush on me, but let's not get carried away. We've got different ideas about how this was supposed to play out, and as much as I 'enjoyed' working with you today, we can't continue until I'm sure you've turned over a new leaf," Sky tried to object once more as she backed up even more.

"Oh, is that all it takes? You want me to be a good girl for you, Sky? Hm?" Hashanah casually asked, focusing all her attention on the other woman as she kept that hand suspiciously hidden behind her back.

"Not just for me. For yourself. For everyone. For the sake of simply being good. Also, could you not keep walking toward me like that? You're starting to make me nervous…" she frightfully requested, prompting Wrench to take flight in a possible effort to defend his closest ally from the potential traitor. Meanwhile, Hashanah let out a surprisingly lighthearted chuckle, though she still did not halt her approach.

"Aww, now you're being silly. What if I told you I like being naughty? Not necessarily 'evil,' per se, but just… living a little outside the rules. And if you'd like, I can show you how 'naughty' I can be with you…~"

"I've got no issue with you being 'naughty,' whatever way you mean that… but can it not involve you hurting anyone?"

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Sky, don't worry. Though, I am curious as to what's got you so tense and suspicious out of nowhere… What's on your mind? Let me know, so we can… sort this out," she offered a friendly suggestion, though it was becoming increasingly evident that she had other ideas as she got within arm's length of her teammate with her hand still hidden behind her back. And just as Wrench was about to spring into action to protect Sky…

"SHE KNOWS THAT YOU HAVEN'T A SINGLE HONEST BONE IN YOUR FRAGILE LITTLE BODY, FIEND!" shouted a scary, booming voice from seemingly nowhere that startled the two young ladies stiff. In that same moment, a whirling *FWWOOOOOOOOORRRRRRSSSHHH* of gale force winds blew hard enough to knock the girls off their feet, the wind gust coming from the altar where the unclaimed Spirit Fuser fragment rested. Soon after, the altar began to shine a bright, blinding white while the winds howled and roared like an agitated animal ready to devour any intruder that dared cross it. The flowers that were so decoratively rested around the altar began to flake off and be swept up in the current, their prismatic petals swirling freely as they were carried across the magnificent chamber.

"Gaaah, what the heck is going on…!?" Sky barely found it in herself to ask as she shielded herself and Wrench. Meanwhile, the knight and genie statues began to glow the same blinding white as they… began to MOVE!? And they were fast, too! The statues, taking on life anew, all scrambled toward the center of the room where the violet knight mural was painted on the floor without paying the shrine's visitors any mind.

"Of course, it wouldn't be that easy…! Something's always getting in the way…!" Hashanah complained as she did her best to hold her ground, her hand crackling with plum-colored electricity. And while the statues were gathering around at the heart of the room, the mural began to glow bright as the figures depicted in it began to… to RISE FROM THE GROUND! Incredible…! But that's not where the phenomenon ended. As the flower petals, the statues, and the mural painting all collected in the center of the shrine, the winds suddenly changed direction to where they were violently swirling around the compilation of sentient decorations… after which, they glowed even brighter and began FUSING TOGETHER! It wouldn't take long before the decorations melded and fused together, quickly taking on the silhouette of a towering, unidentifiable beast at least five hundred times the girls' collective size. Almost immediately, however, the figure shrunk to that of a moderately tall human male while maintaining a shroud of luminescent white. With a sudden burst of wind in all directions, and with an ear-splitting *BWOOOOORFFF*, the spectacular show of unnatural natural occurrences was complete… and standing in the place of all the decorations… was a tall, incredibly handsome, muscular young man with piercing blue eyes centered within black sclera.

"W-whoa…!" Sky was the first to comment as she recovered, marveling at the shirtless, fair-skinned, modestly chiseled form of the man as his long, silky copper-hued hair draped so elegantly over his shoulders. She also took note of the man's impressive physique barely hidden behind a stylish, yet ancient-looking loincloth wrapped around his waist with a kaleidoscopic zigzag pattern embroidered on the front. "Who… Who is that?"

"If I had to guess, it would be the so-called 'Capricious Titan' himself," Hashanah remarked, unbothered by the appearance of the ultra-gorgeous man as she picked herself up and… in a surprise turn of events, walked over to the falconer to lend her a hand. Too taken by the appearance of the supposed Capricious Titan, Sky instinctively took Hashanah's hand, at which point the rogue genie helped her up. They did not exchange glances, however, as Hashanah shot a most animosity-laced glare at the man standing between her and her treasure.

"Welcome to the Capricious Titan Shrine, ladies," the man spoke, his voice low and smooth like velvet, yet booming like every syllable he spoke commanded respect. Ooh, I could just MELT all over a guy like him… Uh, I-I mean, I could uh… understand how Sky could be caught off-guard. Y-yeah, that's what I meant… heh… "I, as you may have guessed, am the Capricious Titan. But you may call me Atem. It's a pleasure to meet you… well, ONE of you, anyway…"

"Fancy meeting you here, Atem, but you'll have to excuse us," Hashanah remarked with hardly a shred of consideration. "We were just on our way with a certain… loose end to tie up."

"I am aware of your nefarious venture to claim my Spirit Fuser fragment, genie," Atem crossly shot back, surprising both girls in the process. "What I don't understand, however, is your intentions. And you there… The gorgeous young lady standing behind her…"

"M-me?" Sky asked, her face getting hotter than a summertime barbecue as she perked up.

"Yes, you, my sweet… What is such a stunningly beautiful lady doing hanging around such a ruthless ne'er-do-well as this unscrupulous genie?" he curiously asked with a raised eyebrow as he brushed his bang out of his face. "Surely, you are not here to willingly assist her, are you?"

"O-oh! Ah… Well… Thank you for the compliment… but… um… it's… a bit complicated," she stammered, caught by surprise once more as she shyly sunk into herself. Hashanah was quick to take notice of Sky's sudden inability to string together a proper sentence as she glanced back at the flustered bird trainer. And the sight of Sky blushing and acting as timid as she was… burned Hashanah up something FIERCE as she shot an intensified glare directly at Atem.

"Complicated? I presume that means you were coerced into working with her," he presumed with a nod of his head, still directly addressing Sky. And before either woman could offer a response… "Yes, that's it. I can't sense any unsavory intent within you. Your 'friend,' on the other hand…" he trailed off, glaring directly at Hashanah as though he wanted to turn her to stone in an instant.

"The nature of my relationship with her is NONE of your concern!" Hashanah angrily barked, stepping in front of Sky in increased agitation.

"Oh, but it DEFINITELY is. You see, I've been watching the two of you since you found your way up here," Atem revealed. "And I must say, I am VERY displeased with the mess you two have made of my temple…!"

"Ah… I had a feeling we'd stir up trouble if we overstayed our welcome…" Sky interjected as she stepped from behind her 'friend' and moved up to stand beside her. "And… for that, I'm sorry on behalf of both of us."

"Oh? You show humility and seek forgiveness for your actions? Huh… Well, I can't stay mad at such an endearing and well-meaning lady like yourself… Tell me your name."

"Oh! Er… M-my name is Sky, Mr. Atem, the Capricious Titan, sir…" At that, the Capricious Titan let out a hearty chuckle.

"My, such formality. You needn't be so modest, Sky. If it makes you feel better, I am not upset with you. At least, not as upset as I probably should be…"

"Alright, save the flirty junk for someone else! She's MINE!" Hashanah irritably interrupted, catching Sky WAY off-guard in the process as the bird tamer momentarily gawked at her. "If you've been watching us for so long, then what exactly do you plan to do to stop us from claiming the Spirit Fuser fragment!?"

"Hmph. Such a foolish question from an irrevocably foolish genie…!" Atem derided, much to Hashanah's agitation. "And you in particular look just like the genie who came up with the idea to split the Spirit Fuser into fragments in the first place. Are you SERIOUSLY so short-sighted that you'd risk every life on the planet to undo your mother's legacy?"

"Don't you DARE talk to me about my mother! You know NOTHING about her!" Hashanah roared through her initial surprise at Atem's claim of being familiar with her mother.

"Ah, but I do know who your mother was. And unlike you, she was a woman worthy of utmost respect and adulation. If only she'd stayed around to instill some of those values in you… How disappointing…"

"WHAT WAS THAT!?"

"She was one of the most revered genies known to humankind for sure… It's such a shame that I bear the unfortunate burden of eliminating her ignorant daughter as a threat to the safety of the world at large. It's an even BIGGER shame that said daughter doesn't know she's in over her head and ready to blindly plunge the world into chaos for her own selfish motives…!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, why don't you try saying that again AFTER I JAM A FIREBALL DOWN YOUR THROAT!?" Hashanah threatened, her temper already long lost as she, with a *VWOOOORSH* of Dark Magic, summoned up a projectile in her flared out hand.

"Hashanah, hang on! Let's not jump straight into violence," Sky called as she raced ahead and put herself in front of the adversarial titan and genie while holding her arms out. "We don't know what he's capable of, and-!"

"Get out of the way, Sky," Hashanah interrupted, wanting nothing to do with the bird trainer's incoming lecture. "This dude is a DEAD MAN WALKING…!"

"Hah! Even if that were true, that wouldn't change the outcome if you seek to so brazenly challenge me… In fact, didn't you LOSE a battle to a dead man not so long ago?" Atem fired another zinger at Hashanah as he cackled at her, only IMMENSELY irritating her further.

"…Okay, forget 'dead.' I'll settle on making you wish you were never even born…!" the highly agitated half-genie threatened again, the fireball in her hand only growing larger in tandem with her boiling anger.

"Whoa, just… hang on a sec, would ya?" Sky shakily did her best to request as she looked Hashanah in the eye.

"For what?" Hashanah asked, her patience wearing thinner by the millisecond.

"Let me just… have a word with him before anything crazy happens. Maybe we don't have to fight…"

"Hmph. Are you sure you're not suggesting that just so you can try and score a date?" the genie spitefully asked. "Considering you have such a huge crush on him…!"

"Wha? No, I don't. We only just met this guy. Why would you say that?" Sky asked in stark confusion as she reeled back.

"Because she's jealous and got her feelings hurt as a result of you showing more interest in me than her," Atem confidently answered, sneering as he crossed his arms. The assertion caused Hashanah to widen her eyes while Sky spun around to face him. "Putting such trivial sentiments on full display in MY presence. It's as disgraceful as it is pathetic…"

"Ah… O-okay…" she stammered, nearly losing her train of thought as she glanced back at Hashanah. And the disquieted, blushing look the rogue genie shot her told her more than enough. At that, Sky's own face began to heat up. "Oh… You… You really like me…? I thought you were…"

"No… I wouldn't lie about my feelings like that…" Hashanah reticently admitted, bowing her head as she relaxed her stance and cancelled out her magic attack. "But that's not important right now. What exactly do you hope to accomplish by talking to this guy…?"

"Ah. Right… Sorry," Sky acknowledged with a nod before turning back around to face Atem. "So, Mr. Atem, sir…"

"I'm listening. What is it?" he rather impatiently addressed, wondering what point would be made to him.

"I… was wondering if it was really necessary that we fight. I'm aware we ran amok in your temple, and I'm aware that the item we're looking for wields an unspeakable power that we most likely don't know nearly enough about. But… uh… W-well, this next part is hard to put into words because… uh…"

"You seek to assist someone," Atem guessed without a single hint, shocking the girls once again. "I am aware of your plight as well. You came to the Cyclic Season Island with a blue-haired young man in search of the Spirit Fuser fragment for…" he was about to share, causing Sky to flinch in anticipation of him spilling the truth about her reason for coming to the mystical island and temple. After a moment of Atem pausing and flicking his eyes elsewhere, he turned his attention back to Sky and… "…your 'research,' did you not?" he further asked, albeit very cryptically. Sky knew that she didn't want to give away any major details. It seemed Atem didn't want to give away any major details, either, which surprised her even more. Sensing the vibe nevertheless, she VERY CAREFULLY played along. As such…

"…Yes. I… My friend Bolo and I landed here hoping to claim the Spirit Fuser fragment rumored to be here. My goal… changed somewhat when I got separated from Bolo on the island and met Hashanah in this temple shortly afterward. That said, I… don't suppose you'd be willing to hand that fragment over to us, would you?" she humbly requested through a series of notable pauses between statements.

"Hm. A humble request, but it is one I must objectively deny," Atem decreed with a solemn shake of his head.

"Ah… I had a feeling you'd say that…"

"See? Now, we can stop wasting our breath and-!" Hashanah was about to interject as she stepped up to stand beside Sky in preparation for a battle.

"I have no intention to harm you, Sky, and I doubt you seriously want to take up arms alongside this malevolent troublemaker," Atem confessed, focusing all his attention on the astonished bird trainer. "You and this 'Bolo' should not have come here. Despite what you may have researched about the Spirit Fuser, I would be remiss not to inform you that its potential dangers far outweigh any benefit you may gain from it. Additionally… Take this as you may, but the cycle of life and death must be kept flowing naturally without exception, if you catch my drift…" he further shared, causing Sky to tense up in a… whoa… in an overwhelming show of grief and devastation as she clutched her hands… and especially the Inhibitor Vambrace to her chest.

"…I… I get it, but… I… um…" she stammered as her eyes widened and became glassy with held back tears as she processed his words.

"Come," he commanded as he held a hand out toward her. And, with a humming *Whriiiiieeeemm*, the bird tamer and her avian companion were highlighted in an arcane bright blue aura and lifted just a few inches off the ground.

"Gah…! Wh-whoa! What are you doing!? H-hey!"

"Put her DOWN, you arrogant dirtball!" Hashanah demanded, clenching her fists as she began to contemplate a way to attack the Capricious Titan. Her not-so-humble order fell on deaf ears, however, as Atem brought his hand toward himself. In doing so, he telekinetically lifted Sky and Wrench toward him. As soon as they were close enough, he discontinued his spell and took the frightened falconer by the hand she was wearing the Inhibitor Vambrace on.

"Hm… Interesting piece of jewelry you have here. I sense both Light Magic AND Dark Magic inside it. Where did you get this vambrace?"

"From a… from a dear friend of mine," Sky hesitantly answered as she clutched Wrench tightly in her other arm. "It's… designed with a special purpose."

"Say no more. I am aware of its function. Now, then…" Atem assured as he clasped both his hands around Sky's. After a quick moment, and with a sudden *Fwaarsh* and momentary glow of their hands, Atem let go of Sky. Sky, left bewildered by the exchange, peered at her hand to see a corked circular vial containing a brightly glowing, glittering turquoise-hued liquid in it.

"What…? What is this?" Sky asked as she got Astral Enhancement Tonic.

"That, my blonde-haired beauty, is a secret formula known only to the former denizens of the Cyclic Season Island from an era past," Atem explained. "It is called the Astral Enhancement Tonic. Without saying too much, it is a… consolation prize of sorts for your troubles coming here. Allow your friend to drink this serum in full, and he will be granted, at most, one more year…"

"…What? What the heck does that mean…? What kind of formula is that? And what 'friend' of Sky's needs that potion…?" Hashanah asked, growing both curious and suspicious as she opted to keep quiet and listen intently.

"I… I see. Well… It's better than nothing…" Sky glumly acknowledged as she kept her eyes on the mysterious container.

"It is the best I can do for you," Atem somberly assured her as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Now, you must go. It isn't safe here, and this genie has nothing but foul intentions for you if you were to stay here with her."

"What do you mean?" Sky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean she planned on not letting you leave here alive," he informed her as he pulled her behind him.

"What!?"

"Not true, Atem!" Hashanah quickly jumped in again as she approached, only for Atem to clasp his hands together and summon up a powerful, surging *KAFWOOORSH* of royal blue magic before entering an open-palm battle stance. In turn, Hashanah activated her own magic with a crackling *VWOOOORSH* and stood her ground. "I don't know what you plan on doing with my friend, but I'm not letting you hurt her or take her away from me!"

"Drop the 'concerned comrade' act, you miserable manipulator!" Atem accused, his anger immediately evident as he stood in front of Sky. "You only used Sky as a pawn to lead you to the Spirit Fuser fragment as you senselessly slaughtered everything in your path! I can sense the vile and depraved iniquity in your heart, and it sickens me to acknowledge that you attempted to get her to drop her guard with phony offers of courtship and camaraderie!"

"That's not true, either! Maybe I did have to get my hands dirty, but your minions here attacked us first! And you don't know a THING about my feelings for her! You should learn to keep your nose out of other people's business!" Hashanah shot back, though the exchange only left Sky more confused. "Now, hand her over! She's coming with ME!"

"It becomes my business when you coerce others to do your bidding under the threat of death in MY temple!" an increasingly angry Atem warned as wind began to swirl around him. Meanwhile, the tiles under Sky's feet began to glow, forming a circle under her without her noticing. "I will not waste time going back and forth with one as deceitful and malevolent as you! She will be safe… You, however, will not see the end of this day!" he threatened as he reached an arm behind him and gestured his hand upward. And with a sudden *FWAVWEEERNG*, a shining blue force bubble enveloped Sky and Wrench before either of them could do anything about it.

"Yikes! H-hey, what are you doing!? Why did you trap me in this bubble!?" Sky could audibly be heard asking as she frantically struck the energy sphere from the inside with a *DWOONG, DWOONG, DWOONG* of her fist.

"This island and this temple will not be here for much longer, Sky," Atem hurriedly warned. "I have a lock on the magic signature of your friend Bolo. He is alive and well on the island. You will be sent to him. Take that Astral Enhancement Tonic, take your companion, and get off this island! You must return home immediately before it all crumbles into nothingness with you on it!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait! How do you know where Bolo is!? What are you about to do with Hashanah!?"

"You needn't worry about this conniving reprobate! She is not your ally, nor your friend! She will be dealt with. Now, GO!" he commanded loudly enough that his voice echoed through the chamber.

"Hey, HEY! HOLD O-!" Sky was about to protest before she was cut off. With a swipe of two extended fingers through the air in Sky's direction, Atem made Sky disappear from within the magic orb with a startling *TATWEEERSCH*. Immediately after, the force field dissipated with naught but a wisp of smoke wafting from the bird trainer's former position.

"SKY!" Hashanah called out to no avail, watching in a mixture of surprise and inconceivable frustration as Atem kept his gaze locked on the renegade half-genie. "You…! What did you do to her!?"

"I gave her a safe avenue to escape with her life before you had a chance to take it…!"

"I wasn't going to kill her, you idiot! She was going to be my newest partner in my search for the remaining Spirit Fuser fragments!" the frustrated genie declared, the purple magic glow in her hand intensifying.

"And instead, she is once again free as a bird to make her own decisions as she sees fit," Atem countered, readying himself for a most grueling and violent scuffle with the encroaching genie. "You could not possibly hope to find solace or satisfaction in the path you've chosen, genie. You have left only devastation and ruin in your wake…! You…! You even MURDERED my dearest friend Fiddah in your ruthless escapades…!" he further angrily reminded her, though Hashanah showed no reaction to it. "Whether you intended to kill that girl or not, it hardly matters. I am only relieved that she is as safe and as far away from YOU as possible…!"

"That doesn't mean she and I won't cross paths again after I wipe you from existence," Hashanah dared, only growing more eager to destroy Atem for his interference. "Try as you might to get in my way, you'll come to find out that all you'll be doing is delaying the inevitable…!" she further threatened, pulling out her Spirit Fuser fragment for the Capricious Titan to see. And as such, Atem found himself mortified.

"…So, it's true. The Tangled Thread Temple truly has fallen to your unrepentant evil…" he acknowledged in reflective grief. "Darn it…! Two of the five sacred sanctuaries have been compromised and destroyed, and their guardians have been slain…! Arkadas… Maya…" he further murmured to himself just quietly enough that Hashanah didn't hear him.

"Yeah, and it appears you're next in line," the malevolent young woman taunted as she shifted into a position where she was ready to pounce. "Say your prayers while you have the chance, Atem, because you're gonna join your Tangled Thread Temple pals in the afterlife in the next five minutes…!"

"Such an arrogant, loudmouthed cur, you are…!" Atem spat in irrevocable disgust. "In that case, I won't waste another second. It's time I dealt with you proper. PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED, GENIE!"

"Not likely, but I sure hope you'll make this fun for me before I end you and claim my treasure…" Hashanah remarked once more, getting set for what was shaping up to be one of the most brutal deathmatches Sequin Land would ever see…

But, before we get into THAT bloodbath, we… still have a long-awaited loose end to tie up. And before I waste too much of your time blabbing on about it…

Back on Cyclic Season Island, in Klawdia's cave…

"Hmmm~! Y-yes… Ooh, Bolo, stop it… That tickles…~" a certain frisky Leopard Gal cooed in amorous glee as she and an ESPECIALLY certain young man cuddled together in her leafy bed within the confines of her mountainside abode. As it appeared, Bolo was very busy with the important task of gently running his fingers up and down his lover's neck as they stared longingly at one another.

"You shouldn't have let me know this was your sweet spot, then…" the shirtless adventurer teased, smiling in post… er, p-post 'fun time' glee as she affectionately pressed his face into her chest with one hand and ran her fingers through his hair with the other. Meanwhile, he was nuzzling into her with his own arms wrapped around her midsection like he was hugging his favorite stuffed animal. My, oh my…

"I never expected you to be so naughty about it… But I can forgive you if… maybe we went for another round?" Klawdia requested, the excitement at the proposition evident on her blushing face as she hugged him a little tighter.

"Again? Goodness, you've got a lot more energy than I thought you'd have…" Bolo pointed out, though he did little to initially resist his paramour's advances.

"I know, but I can't help it… You are just such an irresistibly handsome specimen, and it makes me wanna play with you all night and day… And as if it needed to be mentioned, you are a quick and attentive learner… Come on, Bolo…~ Let's extend our love to the skies above…"

"Whoa, really? Because I don't have a problem with… uh…" he trailed off, seeming to be reminded of something before he could finish his statement. "Actually, w-wait… Do you mind if we put this on hold for a bit?" he hesitantly requested, shifting to reluctantly remove himself from Klawdia's grasp and sit up.

"Mmrow? How come…?" the disappointed Leopard Gal asked with mild worry, sitting up herself and lifting the leaf blanket they were lying under to cover herself.

"I uh… W-we need to go find my friend, wherever she is… and I… suddenly feel really bad because we spent so much time messing around in here…" he replied, an abundance of anxiety present in his tone as he hurriedly climbed out of the bed and got set to get himself dressed… starting with his shorts.

"Mraaww, don't worry, sweetheart. I am certain your friend is okay… But if you're worried about her, then I suppose I cannot blame you for wanting to halt our love union to find her," Klawdia understandingly acknowledged with a sigh as she also climbed out of bed on the opposite end.

"Thanks for understanding, and thanks for your help, Klawdia. But then… I'll be honest and say that… well, now that my mind's clear… I-I have to say that that's not where my worries end…" Bolo further admitted, his tone lowering as he began searching for the rest of his clothing after putting his shorts back on.

"What else plagues you, my sweet?" the cat girl queried, not nearly as quick to get herself ready for the arduous task of helping her new lover find his other female companion.

"W-well… my other friend… the one I told you about earlier…"

"Still worried about that one, too? Why? I thought you said you and she were not an item…"

"We're not… or, that's what she wanted everyone else to believe… I-I don't know… Ah, i-it's complicated…" he stammered, freezing just as he laid his gaze on his yellow headband lying on the ground nearby.

"Complicated how? She does not appreciate you, and you desire appreciation. It is only natural that you would seek acceptance elsewhere when your 'friend' refused to accept you without making you keep it a secret."

"I know, but I… I-it's just not right that we did this… behind her back…" he admitted, halting his search for his clothing as he turned his attention to a confused and worried Klawdia just as she got on her knees and found an article of her clothing. She shifted her position to where she was covering her top half with one arm while she stared at her guest.

"Hm… For you to say that, I would elect to guess means you have a stronger connection to her than previously implied…"

"I guess? M-mind you, this isn't to say I didn't enjoy being here… with you… even though we probably should've uh… at least made sure my other friend was-!" he was about to suggest before a sudden *TATWEEESCH* noise rang out from just outside the cave. "Huh? What was tha…?" he was about to ask before the reason for the sound made herself apparent. Ooh, this ought to be good, because as soon as eye contact was made…

"BOLO!" shouted a frighteningly familiar voice from the cave's entrance, startling both Bolo and Klawdia something fierce. Klawdia, none too fond of intruders, immediately entered a battle stance on all fours as she glared at the potential threat. Bolo, on the other hand…

"Sky!?" the young man called back in absolute astonishment, immediately recognizing the caramel-skinned, blonde-haired bird trainer glaring at him with enough intensity to roast him to cinders in an instant. She appeared a bit worse for wear with her outfit tattered and stained up in various parts, in addition to the numerous scratches she was covered with, but… it was her alright. And she… looked… FURIOUS…

"Stand back, Bolo! I will handle this-!" the Leopard Gal almost proclaimed as she prepared to attack.

"Klawdia, no! That's my friend! The one we were supposed to be looking for!" Bolo frantically advised, rushing ahead to stand between the women with one hand waving and the other… holding up his shorts to avoid them falling.

"Oh? I see… How convenient…" the Leopard Gal remarked, though she didn't seem to have any strong feeling one way or the other as she relaxed her stance and resumed covering herself. "Surprising that she survived, much less found us here…" she further murmured, though it was soon followed up by an extremely awkward silence that lasted what felt… like EONS condensed into a minute-long stare-down between a highly agitated Sky, a mortified Bolo… and a mostly unaware Klawdia. One could even see what looked like swirls of a tempestuous anger-fueled aura emanating off the bird trainer's skin. And in case you were wondering, Wrench was just as furious as he perched on Sky's head, glaring just as intensely to the point where you could only see a glowing, menacing amber in his eyes. Eventually, however…

"…Mind explaining to me why you're in this cave, missing half your clothes? Or why you seem to be so familiar with this Leopard Gal that you know her name?" Sky interrogated as calmly as she could, though only someone completely blind to miss the fact that she was ripping her comrade a new one with just her petrifying stare. "And you'd BETTER tell me it was because you were locked in some sort of life-or-death struggle and that you barely held on until Wrench and I got here…!"

"…U-uh, so that's… not entirely what happened… um…" Bolo frightfully stammered as he tried his hardest to come up with an excuse for such an enormous blunder…

"Then WHAT IS your reason, Bolo…!?" the EXTREMELY angry bird trainer impatiently demanded to know.

"Gah! Er, s-so listen… I-I know this looks bad, and I've probably got a lot of explaining to do, but hear me out… I uh… I-I was in a bad situation after we got separated, and Klawdia rescued me…" he tried to explain as he hurriedly fastened his pants back up, though I'm pretty sure his goose was FAR beyond cooked at this point. "A-and… we were going to look for you and… and… er…" he faltered, already running out of ways to excuse himself. "…Aw, maaan…"

"And WHAT!? SPIT IT OUT!"

"Hey! You do not have the right to scream at him like-!" the Leopard Gal tried to defend as she stepped up. However…

"I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU, 'KLAWDIA!'" Sky barked in a rage so ferocious that one could see a blood vessel protruding in her forehead… THROUGH her headdress! Getting the message loud and clear, Klawdia… scurried back toward her bed in fright, ducking behind a nearby desk and hissing as she kept her gaze locked on the agitated falconer with the temper of five hungry Giga Ursids. Meanwhile, Sky turned her inconsolably wrathful glare back at Bolo. Yet, before she said anything else, she breathed a heavy, HEAVY sigh and shook her head with her eyes closed before reopening them and looking at her teammate with nothing but contempt on her face. "…And to think that YOU were the one who had the bright idea to come here. I should've KNOWN you'd screw this up by doing the one thing I told you NOT to do…!"

"Ah… I-I'm sorry, Sky…"

"'Sorry' isn't good enough," Sky deflected Bolo's apology entirely, seeming ready to let him have it as she clenched her fists tightly enough to shatter titanium. It… didn't help that the Inhibitor Vambrace on her wrist began to glow bright blue in tandem with her endless frustration at her friend. "Do you have ANY idea what I've been through since we got separated? ANY IDEA!?"

"…Judging by how roughed-up you look, I'm… gonna guess you've been through a lot…?"

"That would be a MASSIVE understatement. In the time you spent getting your freak on with this Leopard Gal, I nearly died enough times to kill FORTY people with heart attacks. FORTY! And believe me, you're getting an EARFUL on the way back!"

"…Y-yeah, I know…"

"I'll bet you do. Now, stop standing there with that guilty look on your face and get yourself together. We're going home IMMEDIATELY," she sternly demanded, turning to exit the cave as the glow around the bracelet faded once more. This time, however, Wrench took notice of it. Quelling his shared rage at Bolo, the hybrid creature turned his attention toward the accessory in wonder.

"Wh-what? Going home? But what about the-?"

"It's too dangerous right now, and we're not nearly equipped enough to deal with the obstacles in the way…" she gravely informed him before he could blurt out the object in question. "Among other unfortunate things I had to deal with, I encountered our newest 'pal' Hashanah on my way to the location of our 'treasure.'"

"You're KIDDING! HASHANAH IS HERE!?" Bolo remarked in a mixture of surprise and immediate dread as he nearly froze.

"Yes. As we speak, she's in the Capricious Titan Shrine, confronting its guardian. There's… There's nothing we can do from this point on until we figure out another plan. Let's get out of here before things get any worse for us…" she once again ordered, this time letting her dejection show. Klawdia, remaining silent, listened in as a look of shock and worry formed on her face.

"Ah, jeez… So, what do we do now? We can't seriously let h-!" he tried to raise a concern as he hurriedly searched the abode for the rest of his outfit.

"Wait… You… Are you saying that someone is in the Capricious Titan Shrine, attacking its guardian to procure the temple's treasure?" the Leopard Gal got over her initial fright to ask as she took the moment to finally come out of her hiding spot and put her clothes back on.

"Exactly," Sky affirmed despite having no specific reason of her own to inform Klawdia further. "And all things considered, neither the Capricious Titan nor our 'acquaintance' is going to let the other live past the end of their encounter. I presume you know what will happen to this place if the Capricious Titan falls?"

"Yes… and it pains me to say that the Capricious Titan has lost much of his power since he created this oasis so long ago, so it does not bode well…" Klawdia informed, instilling an even deeper sense of dread in Sky as the bird tamer whirled around to face her.

"Are you serious!?"

"I am afraid so. He should be able to hold his own, no less… unless this other person is strong enough to contend with him. They must be if they were able to survive the many traps, hazards, and monsters littered throughout the temple. You may not be willing to tell me, but I will ask anyway. Who is he facing?"

"…A wayward half-genie by the name of Hashanah, who's wielding an arsenal of extremely powerful magic spells that have wiped out droves of monsters within the shrine. She also has access to a certain Relic that apparently increases her power by an untold margin," Sky shared, further shocking Klawdia nearly stiff.

"…Then the Capricious Titan is as good as doomed…! He hasn't the strength to deal with a half-genie of all creatures…! Much less, one in possession of a Relic…" the Leopard Gal gravely shared her prediction as she hurriedly began to scramble around her living quarters and packing her belongings. "I… I must be prepared…! I must gather what I need and gather my sisters…!"

"Klawdia… are you ok-?" Bolo tried to ask as he finished getting himself dressed back up.

"We must make haste. If at all possible, we will reconvene in another location, my love…" Klawdia interrupted him to hastily declare as she continued pulling things from shelves and stands left and right, tossing them into messy piles with no small amount of urgency. Before anyone could say anything else to her, however, she then prepared to leave the cave. Just as she walked past our worried, wordless heroes… "Thank you for keeping me company, and… thank you especially for your generous donation… With it, I can change the fate of the Leopard Gal race…"

"Donation? Donation of wh-?" he tried to question again, only to be cut off again.

"Go with your friend and return home as soon as you can. You would be wise to clear out of here before this island crumbles apart. I'm going to locate my sisters, wherever they may be, and escape this island as well. May our paths cross again soon…" Klawdia informed him as she spun around, approached Bolo, laid her hands on his shoulders and… ooh, man…

"WHAT IN THE…?" Sky remarked in total bafflement, her eyes practically bulging from her face as she watched the Leopard Gal plant a strong, hot, emotionally charged goodbye kiss on the young man's lips. Bolo, equally as surprised, froze in place and tried his best to process the fact that Klawdia had practically pounced on him (in a… sort of non-predatory way, I guess). The kiss was quick, with the adventurer and the Leopard Gal separating with a squelching *pop* within a second or two, but a VERY CLEAR message was communicated from it.

"…Uh… W-wow, er… Ahh… Wooh…" Bolo stammered, dumbstruck as his face heated up enough to rival the sun as he stared at Klawdia.

"Farewell, dear Bolo! Please be safe! I love you…" the nurturing Leopard Gal bade as she got on all fours and rushed out of what would (apparently) soon become her former home. And with a few leaps, bounds, and agile jumps across the crags and into the woods below, Klawdia was gone.

"…W-wow… She sure knows how to…" he was about to dreamily remark before he made eye contact with a SUPREMELY ticked off Sky, who'd been folding her arms and glaring at him like she wanted to tear him to ribbons. "U-uh, I mean she uh… S-she caught me off-guard…?" the young man tried to joke, though no one was in the mood for it. To prove this, Sky marched over to Bolo and, in a swift and unprecedented show of frustration and upper body strength, snatched him up using the arm the Inhibitor Vambrace was on. "Agh…! J-jeez, Sky, relax! I-I'm sorry! W-when did you get so strong!?" he asked in a mixture of surprise and understandable fear as he found himself lifted off the ground by the collar of his shirt, grasping at the bird trainer's hand to try and free himself. It was worth note that the vambrace began to glow bright blue once again. And while this phenomenon didn't go unnoticed by Sky, she was far too angry at Bolo to question it.

"This is the LAST time I agree to go ANYWHERE with you unless I've got a leash and collar on you! Of all the STUPID things you could do when I take my eyes off you for as little as FIVE SECONDS! SLEEPING WITH A MONSTER GIRL ON THE JOB!? THAT'S GOTTA BE THE ABSOLUTE STUPIDEST! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" she VERY angrily shouted as she never let up on showing him just how displeased she was with him. Wrench, feeling very much the same, returned to the practice of staring the frazzled young man down like he was planning to eat him.

"Okay, I get it! I messed up, aright? Yell at me more when we're on our way home!" he complained none too fond of the tongue lashing he was getting. That would be the least of Bolo's worries, however, as the smell of something entered Sky's nose… and with one sniff, followed by her reeling back in disgust…

"Ugh! And if you think you're riding on Wrench behind me with the way you smell, then we've got a WHOLE DIFFERENT problem entirely!" she shouted even more, shoving him back as she turned away and pinched her nose shut with a hand.

"W-what? I don't smell!" he complained in offense after saving himself from nearly falling over, sniffing himself to be certain. And… judging by the way he ALSO recoiled after catching a whiff of his own armpit, he was proven completely wrong. "Oof… Maaan…"

"You smell like wet fur, sweat, and shame!" Sky complained, swiftly running out to the entrance of the cave to take a deep breath. Afterward, she reached into her inventory and pulled out a handful of bird seed for Wrench to eat. Knowing the drill, Wrench took flight and pecked away at the delicious hand-fed meal before landing on the ground nearby. With a sudden, stunning *GWAGWAVWOOOORSH* immediately after landing, Wrench grew to… like, 200 times his original size, assuming what I suppose would be his Giga form. "Hurry up and get over here!" she further demanded of Bolo as she got Wrench set up with his saddle and reins, after which she climbed aboard.

"Okay, but if you don't want me to ride on the saddle with you, then where do I-?" he was about to ask as he approached Wrench from the side.

"HRIIIIIAAAAAAAGH!" Wrench turned, lowered his head toward Bolo, and screeched at a volume loud enough to nearly rupture the young man's eardrums… not to mention with enough force that the gargantuan bird's hot, extremely windy breath nearly blew Bolo off his feet. In response, Bolo braced himself as he turned his head away, squeezed his eyes shut, and covered his ears for the duration of the surprise screech attack. Whelp, if that didn't tell ya how much Wrench apparently absolutely, irrevocably HATED Bolo, I don't know what would. Nevertheless…

"Grab a tailfeather and hold on tight. This is gonna be a long trip for all of us," Sky ordered as she prepared for liftoff.

"Aw, come on, you guys! Seriously? There's no way I'm gonna be able to hold onto Wrench's tail the entire time!" Bolo had the nerve to complain.

"Then you'd better switch between hands, because I'm not tolerating that awful stench on you for the HOURS-LONG ride back to Scuttle Town."

"…Ah, shoot, man…! This is such a drag…" the disgruntled explorer grumbled as he sulked and grabbed Wrench's tail… which nearly made Wrench want to whirl around and fling him into the forest before Sky patted her avian companion to curb the temptation.

"Alright, Wrench. Let's go," Sky requested, prompting Wrench to flare his wings. And, which a *FWOOF* of his feathered appendages beating against the turbulent winds of the Cyclic Season Island, our heroes took to the skies and made their pilgrimage back home… with Bolo clinging onto Wrench's tail for dear life as punishment for his shameless act of disservice to his teammates.

"You don't have to rub it in…" Bolo griped at me as though I was the one who screwed the pooch… Ironically enough, by screw-! "HEY! Cut that out! I think we got it that I'm in trouble, alright? Give it a rest!" he interrupted me to yell.

Y'know, you've got a lot of nerve barking at me the way you are, dude. Barking, like the proverbial pooch you just screwed. Don't even get me STARTED on the literal part.

"Oh, REAL mature. You're not as clever as you think you are."

Hmph! With a guy like you around, I don't need to be all that clever. Just wait till that zombie girlfriend of yours finds out what you did…

"Sh-shut up! She doesn't need to know! And she's not my girlfriend!"

Whatever, man… I just hope you have a good excuse to avoid her turning YOU into a zombie…

"Hrrrrmph!"

Riiiight… Anyway…

Back in the Capricious Titan Shrine…

So, with Sky and Bolo beating a hasty retreat to safety back at home, that just leaves us with-!

"CHOKE ON THIS, TITAN! HRRAAAAH!" Hashanah roared as she fired a crackling *KWAPWOOORRRSH* of a Dark Magic attack at a supersized Atem at close range. The blast exploded with an immediate *KRABWOOOOM*, sending the titan hurtling back with electric smoke clouds billowing off him. Shoot, it looked like they already started their battle…

"GHWAAHAAGH!" Atem shouted as he slammed into a nearby wall with a harsh enough *KRATHRACK* that nearly caused the wall to crumble apart upon impact. He hit the floor on his hands and knees with a following *PLACK*, taking the following moment to recollect himself. It… was worth note that, despite him being at least fifty times his original size (complete with absolutely HULKING, veiny muscles, horns protruding from his forehead, and ash gray skin), he appeared worse for wear. He was littered in scratches, bruises, and burn marks galore, he was drenched in sweat, and his clothes were practically in ribbons. "Ghah…! This cannot be…!"

"Give up now, and I'll make sure your demise is quick and painless!" the relentless Hashanah 'offered' as she stood tall, her body bathed head to toe in endlessly swirling purple wisps of Dark Magic. The rogue genie had looked a bit ragged herself, evidenced by her tattered clothes, frazzled hair, and assortment of scratches across her face and arms. Nevertheless, she still seemed to be in a better condition than her opponent. "Not that it matters WHAT you do at this point; you can't stop me, and your time is just about over!"

"The cockiness in one so young and misguided… It'd be sad, were it not to be expected of a wicked creature such as yourself," Atem spat back, picking himself back up and stretching out the numerous kinks in his body and… my GOODNESS, was he huge! Hashanah looked like an ANT compared to him! S-sorry, getting distracted… Anyway, Atem tensed up his arms, channeling a flowing aura of bright blue into his open palms as he extended his hands in front of himself. "You haven't a shred of honor, and you have sold your soul to the forces of evil! And for what!? False recognition and revenge!? PATHETIC! You did not have to travel down this path, genie! You betray EVERYTHING your kind have always stood for!"

"The more you keep blabbing on with your worthless opinions about me, the more it makes me want to shut you up!" Hashanah deflected, only growing angrier as she assumed her battle pose. "Now, get ready! I'm not wasting another breath talking to you! YAAAAAH!" she further declared as she charged ahead, her fists violently surging with bolts of electricity. Sprinting across the heavily damaged, debris-riddled floor, she committed herself entirely to her mission of eliminating her enemy.

"Have it your way then, you cur…! HOOOOORASHAAAAAA!" the enraged Atem chanted at the top of his lungs as he increased the flow of his magic into his hands. Within seconds, stone statues of various monsters from all across the Cyclic Season Island came sprouting up from the ground, ready to attack. He first sent a stone Giga Ursid and two Magma Ants that immediately charged at Hashanah with claws and maws at the ready to either melt her into a puddle or tear her to pieces and devour her. She showed not even the slightest fear of the incoming opposition, however.

"Spirit Shift: Giga Ursid!" the genie shouted as she vaulted over a spray of Magma Ant lava that splashed onto the ground with a hissing *SPLAKISSSSSH*. She followed up by launching an airborne, Dark Magic-charged punch at the Giga Ursid to block its incoming claw swipe. And with a crackling *KRATWIISSSH*, she successfully defended herself as she, with another arcane *ZHROAULNG*, encased herself in aura shaped like the very enemy she was engaging. She wasted no time in initiating a counerattack as she cancelled out her transformation, charged an energy ball into her hand, and leapt backward as soon as her feet touched the ground. "TYRANNY BLAZER!" she hollered out, the fierce *KAPWEEEERSH* of her blast ringing throughout the arena. And with a most emphatic, rocky *KRABLOOOWMGH*, Hashanah destroyed the stone Giga Ursid. The two Magma Ants upped the ante by spitting *FWISSSSH* after skin-melting *FWISSSSSH* of foul, piping hot liquid at her.

"Spirit Shift: Leopard Gal!" Hashanah announced once more as she, with one more *ZHROAULNG*, bathed herself in a brilliant aura that took the form of the corresponding monster. She used this form to speedily duck, juke, and dodge lava sprays that were coming at her like piping hot meteors. As soon as she created enough distance, she somersaulted backward while still in pseudo-Leopard Gal form and bared her dagger-like claws. "Let's see if your imitation golems can handle THIS! SHRRYAAAAAH!" she shouted once more, propelling herself forth and charging beneath acid sprays to reach her mark. And, with dual *KRASCHWIIIINGs* of her spirit form's claws, she sliced the stone Magma Ants into chunks without issue.

"Darn it…! Let's see how you handle THESE!" Atem challenged, summoning an even brighter glow into his hands as he repeated the same maneuver. This time, however, he summoned up stone structures of a Leopard Gal, a Carna-Taur, and a Thrasher Rhino. "GO! DESTROY THIS SHAMELESS INTRUDER!" the angered titan further shouted, siccing all three fearsome beasts on the merciless young woman at once.

"Jeez, you could at least TRY to make this fun instead of hiding behind a bunch of phony copies of monsters I've already defeated!" she derisively remarked as she prepared herself by performing a sudden, yet alluring belly dance in which she began to gyrate her hips and clasp her hands in front of herself with interlocking fingers. "Hmmmmm…!" she hummed as another swirl of magic began to envelop her curvaceous form to the point that it seemed a draft of wind was blowing past her. She followed up by performing a quick, graceful spin as she raised her interlocked hands above her head while increasing the speed at which she was gyrating her hips. And as soon as the Thrasher Rhino raced ahead of the other two monsters in an attempt to gore her with its humongous, sword-like horn (which, might I inform you, had rows upon ROWS of jagged spikes on it)… "RUINOUS LANCE BEAM!" Hashanah called out the name of her next attack as she halted her belly dance to cast her next spell. This time, she stretched her arms forward with her thumbs and index fingers pressed together. And with an absolutely FLABBERGASTING *SHWAPREEEEEEEN* of an enormous pinkish-purple beam of light that crackled with bolts of black electricity, Hashanah launched her attack. The 'Ruinous Lance Beam' proved its name, as it almost instantaneously collided with the Thrasher Rhino. The poor thing didn't stand a chance, as it was immediately blown to smithereens with an eardrum-destroying *KRABLOONGOGORGH*, sending chunks of rock scattering all over the arena.

"What…!? H-how…? How could this genie be so powerful…!?" Atem remarked in surprise, himself needing to dodge the beam as it ripped on through and hit the wall with an additional *PRAKROWOGH*, blasting a sizable, smoking hole in it. "Gah… I must be prepared… I will not last much longer at this rate, so I must do everything in my power to stop her before it's too late…!" he further murmured through labored breaths as he found himself hunching over, making it evident that… that he had a realistic chance of losing the battle… Shoot… In the meantime, the stone Leopard Gal and the rock-borne Carna-Taur charged at Hashanah together. Rather than wait for them to come to her or reveal another belly dance spell, however… the mischievous genie pulled out her Spirit Fuser fragment once more, further shocking Atem. "No…! You had better not-!"

"Spirit Shift: Scorcher Hawk!" Hashanah announced, soon afterward becoming enshrouded in one more *ZHROAULNG* of aura. Once again, she the same luminous avian-formed aura that she'd used to transport herself and her former teammate to this increasingly battle-damaged chamber in the first place. As soon as the energy-borne creature took form around her, Hashanah immediately took flight and narrowly avoided the *SCHWISSSH* of a speedy claw swipe from the silent stone Leopard Gal. As she ascended and flew backward to create some distance, however, the Carna-Taur made its move. Leaping high and far to deliver its own brand of justice to the rampant genie that threatened its master's life, the stony amalgamate cocked a gigantic, rock-hard fist back with the full intent to pulverize its adversary. The Carna-Taur's target had other plans, however… "Hope you enjoy being turned into magma! PYRO METEOR!" Hashanah called out from within the spirit bird, making it reel its neck back and take a deep breath… before it extended its head forth and breathed an utterly BLISTERING thousand-degree ball of flames from its beak with a ruthless *FWAKREEEEEEEEEEESH*. The fireball… surprisingly only came out to be maybe the size of a billiard ball. But then, the way that ball was crackling and sizzling already gave it away that it was going to be a doozy… which was proven when, upon contact with the golem careening toward Hashanah, it IMMEDIATELY engulfed the Carna-Taur with a ferocious *FWAKOOOOOOORRSSSH* like it was made of hay and doused in oil. The Carna-Taur immediately collapsed to the ground. It took mere SECONDS for it to melt, as Hashanah threatened, into a puddle of magma that spilled all over the floor before cooling off and turning into a mass of smoldering rock.

"Impossible…!" the Capricious Titan muttered once again in increased worry, seeming to have trouble catching his breath. At the same time, the imitation Leopard Gal bravely charged ahead, ready to pounce on its prey at a moment's notice. Hashanah, still very much alert to the situation, cancelled her Scorcher Hawk 'transformation,' and tightened a Dark Magic-bathed fist as she descended. The Leopard Gal tried once again to strike, only for Hashanah to duck under another *SCHRING* of a claw swing aimed at her head, roll on to her back, and propel her feet upward to kick her enemy in the stomach with an alarming *THROCK*. The Leopard Gal remained silent as she was sent hurtling toward the ceiling, which she hit with an astonishing *WAKROOOM* that left a sizable dent in it. Undeterred as she descended alongside a healthy supply of rubble, the stone incarnation of the woman-beast bared both fang and claw as she readied herself to tear her half-genie enemy asunder.

"Hmph. The REAL versions of these things were the easiest to kill by far, and making one out of rocks is…!" she was about to criticize as she rolled off the ground and deftly hopped backwards just as the Leopard Gal came crashing into the ground with a dense, rocky *THRAKOOOM*. In that exact moment, however… "GENOCIDE SPEAR!" the genie announced as another one of those horrifying energy spears formed into her hand. Without even a hint of hesitation, Hashanah flung the Genocide Spear forth, striking her target directly in her chest as said target tried to ready herself for her next attack. With a *KRASHWEERK* and subsequent gravelly *KRABOOM*, Hashanah vanquished the stone Leopard Gal with relative ease. "…a total downgrade," she finished her initial remark as she confidently landed on her feet. She had to take a moment to breathe and wipe sweat off her brow, however, as it seemed that her performance was starting to get to her. "Sh-shoot… That took more out of me than I thought it would…" she acknowledged, glancing at her Spirit Fuser piece as she recollected herself. Her lone audience member, however, was anything but pleased with what she'd just done…

"FOOL! You GROSSLY misuse the power of that Spirit Fuser fragment!" Atem hollered out loud enough to make the entire arena quake. "And to see that you're assuming the forms of those you'd so brutally slain on your way up here…! I will make sure those poor creatures are avenged! GOOORRRAAAAAAAH!" he further roared in increased vengeful rage as he clasped his hands together and summoned more magic into his hands. With a deafening series of crackling noises and an increasingly horrifying *VWWWWRRREEEEEEEEEEEZH*, the Capricious Titan charged up a fiery white ring that grew in size as he spread his hands out.

"Oh, you like my new transformations? Okay, then… Let's see how much of a kick you get out of this one…!" Hashanah coldly retorted, gripping her Spirit Fuser fragment tightly in one hand as it glowed and gleamed a most captivating, glittering gold.

"FLARE OF OBLIVION!" the wrathful Atem shouted the name of his attack as he thrust hands forth. The scorching hot energy ring blasted forth with a sizzling *FRAZHEEEEERRRSH*, instantly MELTING AND ROASTING everything in its path. Seriously, this gigantic fire ring was tearing into the floor AND the ceiling, sending burning debris flying everywhere.

"Wide open…!" Hashanah remarked, somehow STILL not intimidated by the Capricious Titan's devastating attack that seemed to burn hotter than an exploding star. With another flash of her Spirit Fuser fragment… "Spirit Shift: Fiddah!" she hollered the name of one of the shrine's guardians… which meant… oh, no… She suddenly found herself coated with a *ZHROAULNG* in another swath of sparkling aura, though it came out silver. And just as one might expect, the aura quickly grew and metamorphized into the form… of the temple guardian she'd previously slain.

"F-FIDDAH!? You…!" Atem remarked in shock and heartbroken devastation at the sight of his late friend suddenly appearing before him. Before he could figure out what was happening, the projection of Fiddah disintegrated into a pile of sparkling silver sand that seeped into the many cracks in the chamber's floor. The Flare of Oblivion attack went sailing past without harming its target in the slightest and hit the wall behind it. And I can't even BEGIN to exaggerate when I say this attack completely DEMOLISHED a massive chunk of the Capricious Titan's lair. With a monumental *FRAAWABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* of the magic attack's explosion, the wall of the temple was almost entirely deleted from existence. The dim, yet mesmerizing rays of the sun shined right on through as bitterly chilly winds wafted on through like an enormous window had been opened. That was the least of Atem's worries, however, as he looked around for where his enemy might strike. He would get his answer when, with a grainy *ZHWOOOOARSH*, a gigantic, sandy, silver spike came ROCKETING upward from below.

"PERISH!" Hashanah could be heard hatefully commanding as she launched her sneak attack that very, VERY nearly succeeded.

"GHWAAAH!" Atem howled in agony, jumping back after being sliced across the chest with a sickening *SCHREERSCH*. Mostly undeterred, he lunged ahead just in time to avoid the next sparkling *ZHWOOOOARSH* of a sand spike propelling out of the ground with the intent to impale him from below. "You conniving fiend…! You BESMIRCH my dear friend's memory by taking his form and using it to fulfill your sick twisted desires!" he angrily shouted as he avoided yet another *ZHWOOOOARSH* of spike sand by rolling out of its path. He avoided three… four… five… EIGHT more *ZHWOOOOARSHes* after the fact as he found himself being pressed into a corner without the ability to see his enemy… until she slid past one of the deeper gaps in the floor to reveal where she was planning to strike next.

"There you are…! OBEKUDAI!" Atem chanted once again, summoning another luminescent blue glow in his hand that immediately made his target glow all the same.

"Gaah…! What in the…!?" Hashanah complained, her Fiddah form immediately dispersing as she returned to her regular half-genie state without the ability to move. Grinning in triumph, Atem lifted his hand up to telekinetically lift the captured genie up high enough that she was mere inches from the ceiling… which, might I remind you, had to be at least EIGHTY FEET above the floor as he raised her well above even his own head.

"Yes…! This is where the madness is brought to a screeching halt, genie! HRAAH!" the Capricious Titan declared as he swatted his hand downward. In tandem, Hashanah was plunged toward the ground with just as much force. And with a most brutal *KRASHLAAAM* that left a MASSIVE dent in the already crumbling floor.

"HWAAAAAGH…!" the unfortunate genie eked out in unbelievable anguish… though I'm surprised she even SURVIVED a fall that hard and that fast instead of being instantly transmogrified into a pulpy red stain on the ground.

"Prepare to meet a grisly demise! SHUUROH!" the incensed Atem shouted again as he lifted his hand up again and flung it to the side. Accordingly, the ensnared genie was sent hurtling toward a nearby wall while still coated in her enemy's magic. With another devastating *PLAKRAAAAM*, Hashanah hit the wall with enough force that the wall CAVED as she went right through it. Atem followed up by ripping his hand to the other side, causing the immobilized genie to go soaring toward the other wall with velocity rivaling a speeding car with the pedal to the metal. As such, another utterly GRUESOME *KWAPRAKALARGH* of a chunk of wall being smashed to bits. "Now, come here! KURATOOM!" he commanded again, pulling his hand toward himself to pull the rogue genie toward him.

"Ghaaah…! I… I have to do something before this… before this gets out of h-!" Hashanah tried to urge herself, rife with a handful of new scratches and bruises all over her… in addition to small streams of a red liquid other than sweat leaking down her face from her forehead and the corner of her mouth. She wouldn't get a chance to finish her statement, however, as she was soon spiked into the ground with another literally GROUND-SHAKING *KARPLAWOGH* that sent chips of marble and chunks of rock scattering about. This time, however, she found herself face-up on the ground with an extremely angry, yet extremely tired Atem towering over her. "Aahaaagh…! Ahh, you…!" the injured genie fought through torrents of physical agony to try and remark, though she appeared more focused on charging up another collection of energy in her hand. Atem looked no better, however. The magic surrounding his hands had been flickering and fading… Sporadic *CHAPROCks* and *KRAKAKs* of fatigue-borne electricity began shooting through his body as he flinched and winced with every shock. By all accounts, the Capricious Titan looked like he was given the STIFFEST run for his money… and he only had once chance to cash in before it was too late. As such…

"Gaah…! Magic is fading fast…! I mustn't waste time…! Hah…!" Atem urged himself, quickly cancelling out his telekinetic magic spell as he approached. Every step the gigantic titan took near his seemingly incapacitated enemy caused the tower to quake with *BROONGOGH* after *BROONGOGH* like bombs were going off under his feet. He appeared unsteady, however, as he slouched forward and practically staggered his way over to his foe. He had additionally been haggardly breathing as though his lungs were about to give out on him any second. He willed himself ahead through his weariness, no less. "This battle… and your heinous treachery… They both end HERE! TO THE NEXT WORLD WITH YOU! HRRAAAAAH!" he roared as he lifted his foot up high and prepared to crush Hashanah under the full weight of his unforgiving stomp. Were it so easy, Hashanah would have been a goner right then and there. To believe so, however, would mean that you hadn't been paying attention to how this woman operates. Speaking of which…

"GENOCIDE SPEAR!" the rogue genie suddenly shouted, her hand coated in a fresh flow of Dark Magic that almost instantly formed into an electricity-fueled energy spear with a startling *VWEEERNG*. Rather than simply throw the spear, however, Hashanah had much, MUCH darker intentions. She remained in place, though she held the spear in front of herself with the tip pointed upward. Within the next second, and with a sickening, crackling *KRASCHWIRSCHIKAZAAP*, Atem unwittingly stepped onto the spear, causing it to pierce all the way through the sole of his foot. It… I-it was to the point that the tip of the spear emerged from the bridge…! The… The unbelievable searing pain came surging through the poor titan's entire leg an instant as he pulled his foot back up before he could stomp Hashanah into oblivion.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! GHAAH! DARN YOU, YOU MISERABLE REPROBATE! AAAHAAAAAGH! AAAARAAGH!" Atem shouted loud enough that his voice could very well have broken the sound barrier. He'd also begun hopping on his one good foot with *BRABOOM* after thunderous *BRABOOM* as he tried to get his enemy's spear out of it. It wasn't made any better that numerous surges of purple electricity went pulsing through his entire leg with the longer that spear stayed lodged in his foot.

"Hrrgh…! Hah…! Now, take THIS!" a tired, but VERY unrelenting Hashanah shouted after climbing back to her feet. She wasted not even a millisecond as she charged up another Tyranny Blazer attack and fired it with a *KARPWEEERSH* at Atem's head while he was distracted. And with an utterly devastating *PRAKRAAASHK*, she landed a direct hit that sent the Capricious Titan toppling over with a deafening *PLABWOOOMPH* of his enormous body against the floor. The sheer impact caused a quake so powerful that another giant chunk of the tower came crumbling off, in addition to Atem leaving a Titan-sized dent in the ground. He would hardly get a chance to get up before… "IT'S OVER! SHAAAAH!" the merciless, homicidal genie shouted as she leapt up high, this time wielding a scythe made from pure evil energy. Her attack would be swift and brutal as she, with a disturbing *SCHWIRRSCH*, sliced Atem across his knee to make sure he wouldn't attempt to get back up. It's… hardly worth mention that she cut him DEEP, too. Too deep to even describe…

"HWAAAAARAAAGH!" Atem shouted in understandable despair and unrelenting agony as tried to clamor back into some form of defensive stance. By that time, however, Hashanah had already begun a mad dash up the Capricious Titan's chest while he was down, dragging the blade of her energy scythe up along the way for extra damage. The blade ripped deep into his abdomen and instantly cauterized every inch it cut into him with a grotesque, continuous, crackling, sizzling *SCHRRIIIIRRRIIIIRRIIISSSSSSSCH* like he was being roasted alive from the inside by Hashanah's weapon. And when Atem tried to desperately reach toward her with his hands to try and stop her, she made yet another unnecessarily brutal move.

"HANDS OFF!" the genie shouted as she fired a *KARPWEEERSH* of a Tyranny Blazer at one of Atem's hands while jumping toward the other with her scythe at the ready. "SHRRRYAAAH!" she shouted as she, with another ghastly *SCHRIING*, sliced Atem's hand so harshly that it went entirely limp immediately after. Meanwhile, the resounding *KWAPWAAAARSH* of her Tyranny Blazer against his other hand mangled the appendage in an instant.

"DAAAAGH! Y-you…! You won't get away with this…! Ghaaahaaagh…!" the Titan fought through tsunamis of torment to promise, though Hashanah wasn't listening. She eagerly ran the rest of the way up Atem's chest to where she was standing on his neck just below his chin. By all accounts, it appeared this was the end for him…

"Now, then… Any last words before I end your meaningless existence once and for all?" a breathless Hashanah triumphantly asked, standing tall as she held her scythe in one hand with the blade poking into her weary opponent's neck and burning into him with nothing but the half-genie's searing hatred as its power source. Meanwhile, she stared him right in the face… which, thanks to one of her underhanded magic attacks from earlier, was burned and scarred beyond belief. One could hardly recognize him, so much of the poor guy's face was damaged…

"Gahh… You… You still have a chance to repent and… and mend your ways, genie…" Atem did his best to warn her, though it appeared he'd lost the will to fight. He lay still, taking in irregular breaths as he barely remained conscious. "I… I have run out of power… My body has been broken… I am at your mercy… I… I have lost…" he remorsefully conceded, recognizing that there was nothing more he could do to stop Hashanah from achieving her goal. "But please… understand that what you're doing… what you're aiming for in reassembling the Spirit Fuser… Y-you risk destroying the entire world…"

"I know more than enough about the Spirit Fuser to know what I'm doing with it. I'm not interested in your lecture, Titan. If anything, I should be absorbing you into the fragment I have right now, so you can join your precious companions in being part of the power source that will elevate me to eternal greatness as the most powerful genie this world has EVER known…!" she taunted, considering the possibility of stealing her opponent's soul instead of outright finishing him off.

"That… would not work…" he wearily denied through his haggard breaths. "We guardians… We were made immune to the effects of the Spirit Fuser… You would be wasting your time…"

"Oh? And how do I know you're not lying to me to save yourself?" Hashanah incredulously asked, not buying what she believed to be a blatant bluff from the fallen Titan.

"I have… no reason to lie… I… Hrgh…! It is by design… that the Spirit Fuser's guardians were granted full immunity to its effects… in case something like this happened… In exchange, we were also made… unable to use the Spirit Fuser ourselves… That… That is the truth… Hah… Hah…! Try it for yourself if you… if you do not believe me…" he informed and dared her. And in her spectacular show of total distrust, Hashanah pulled her Sprit Fuser fragment out and pointed it at him with the intent to harvest his soul… only to find that the Relic didn't even activate. Instead, it let out a ringing *Wowoooong* sound as it flashed once before deactivating. She made multiple subsequent attempts for assurance before she was ready to accept that Atem was telling her the truth.

"Hm. Well, that's a real shame…" Hashanah remarked in mild disappointment as she put her fragment away. "It hardly matters, though, because this won't be much of a loss. Regardless, I guess I have no other choice but to put you out of your misery…!" she further coldly spat as she processed the information, lifting the scythe with both hands as she prepared to deliver the final strike.

"Hm… Finish me if you must… but recognize that it will achieve nothing…" Atem remarked, accepting his fate in full. "Furthermore… Know that the power you seek… the retribution you seek… will only bring about despair and crushing loneliness that will make you wish… that you had never taken this path… Y-your mother… would be ashamed to see you like this… H-Hashanah…" he uttered just one last statement as he grew weaker and weaker by the second. How did Hashanah respond, you may ask? Well…

"How nice of you to care. You may feel slightly better about this situation to know that you gave me a better challenge than I thought… even if not by much. Now, off to the next world with you…! Goodbye, Atem…!" she remarked in with the coldest glare I think I'd ever seen as she stood tall, ready to strike with a nightmarish gleam in her orange-hued eye. S-so, if you don't mind, we'll… need to take a moment to uh… a-appreciate the environment all of a sudden. So… Let's look the other way for a little bit, shall we?

There. So… um… As the sun set over the horizon and its light beamed its way through the clouds and the badly damaged temple while a forceful blast of wind filled the atmosphere… It… it was a beautiful sight. Breathtaking even, as the endlessly howling gusts seemed to cancel out all other noise… except for the sickening *SCHWISSHK* of a scythe slashing across some thick, sturdy object… I… I guess that's our cue. We… w-we can go back in now…

And as we return to the inside of the Capricious Titan Shrine, we… find ourselves greeted with the indication that the battle between Hashanah and Atem… had been finished. In the next moment, Atem's body vanished with a *POOF* of glittery smoke. There was no spirit that emerged where he breathed his last, however. Only the smoke that cleared as the wind carried his dusty remains away into the wild blue yonder…

"Hah… Whelp, that takes care of that. Now, to collect my prize and FINALLY go back home to rest…" Hashanah nonchalantly remarked with a sigh of relief and a stretch as she deactivated her magic scythe and turned to walk across the thoroughly ransacked master chamber. She paid no heed to the dents, cracks, or craters in the floor. She paid no heed to the massive missing chunks of wall, the crumbled piles of rock and flower petals, or the numerous scorch marks littered across the arena. She didn't even pay attention to the splotches of… a 'mysterious' reddish-brown liquid staining her clothes. Her only focus was on the golden Relic still encased behind a wall of crystal, nevertheless. As she was closing the distance between herself and her prize, however, she stretched a hand forward, summoned some energy into it, and…

"TYRANNY BLAZER!" she shouted as she fired the blast at the crystalline wall. The barrier stood no chance, shattering with a glassy *KABWAARRLAASH* that sent shards and shrapnel scattering all over the place. Interestingly enough, her hand crackled with a sudden, jolting *KRAKROCK* of recoil-based electricity as she winced and shook her hand off. "Gaah…! Man, I really overdid it this time… Hm… Maybe Sky was right about me needing to dial it back on the magic use…" she pondered as she flexed her aching fingers, though she soon turned her attention back to her target. Without wasting another second, Hashanah rushed toward her coveted treasure that awaited her as it floated in midair. Ignoring the *KRUNCHes* and *PRACKs* of her feet crushing the debris she walked over, the cold-hearted half-genie snatched her prize and got Spirit Fuser Fragment #3. "Hah… Yes…! It took one heck of a trip I hope never to repeat, and it made me pile up LOTS of bodies along the way, but it's mine…! It's finally mine…" she tiredly murmured to herself, breathing a sigh of relief as a Stage Clear platform appeared for her at the center of the ruined chamber.

Noting the platform's appearance without another word, Hashanah hopped on and struck a pose in which she stood tall with a menacing grin on her face, a fist raised triumphantly raised high in the air while her other hand found itself placed on her hip. And within a few seconds, followed by a resounding *TWEEESCH*, she was gone…

And in that same moment, the chamber began to quake with a sudden, ear-splitting *KRABWOOOM*, followed by an increasingly rapid series of other *BOOOMs* and *BRABLAAAMs* of detonations that went off without warning. Following the trend, the Capricious Titan Shrine suddenly began to collapse in on itself, every last piece of it crumbling like the gigantic temple was being hit with dynamite explosion after dynamite explosion. Just… Just seeing this massive shrine cave in like this… it's so heartbreaking… But that's not where the destruction ended, unfortunately. Surrounding the deteriorating structure was perhaps the absolute most violent, thunderous hurricane imaginable. Clouds darkening to the point of becoming black as smoke, swirling along with gale force winds as lightning endlessly flashed and surged through the skies… Rain, hail, snow, and sleet cascading onto the island without rhyme or reason… It was as if the skies themselves were mourning a most painful loss. And speaking of which…

Back on Cyclic Season Island one last time…

"BIG SISTER! WAKE UP! PLEASE! BIG SISTER!" the Leopard Gal known as Klawdia cried out in distress as she cradled the badly injured, unconscious form of another Leopard Gal in the middle of a battle-damaged forest clearing. Despite the extremely heavy winds, torrential downpour, rumbling earthquakes, and rampaging lightning strikes that hit trees, ground, and mountain alike with *KRAKATROK* after *KRRAKRAASK* after *CHAPROKAZAP*, Klawdia seemed intent on at least seeing if her fellow Leopard Gal was okay before she made any additional moves.

"KLAWDIA! WE MUST HURRY!" shouted a familiar Magma Ant as he and many other Magma Ants, Giga Ursids, Thrasher Rhinos, and a vast assortment of other creatures native to the island stampeded through the storm-ravaged landscape for their lives. "THIS ISLAND WILL BREAK APART AND SINK INTO THE OCEAN IN A MATTER OF MINUTES!" he further urged, changing course to sprint toward the

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT KATYA, FORMIRICUS!" Klawdia shouted, still trying to shake the other Leopard Gal known as Katya awake to no avail.

"FOOL! KATYA, ALONG WITH YOUR OTHER SISTERS KITTANA AND KALINDA, ARE GONE! THEY WERE SLAIN BY A VILE HALF-GENIE BY THE NAME OF HASHANAH!" Formiricus gravely informed her as he clamped his pincers around her arm to pull her along.

"WH-WHAT!?"

"THERE IS NO TIME TO EXPLAIN HERE! WE HAVE TO GO! A GROUP OF VELOCITOADS ARE WAITING AT THE SOUTHERN SHORE! YOUR THINGS HAVE BEEN GATHERED FROM YOUR HOME AND BROUGHT TO THEM AS YOU REQUESTED! NOW, LET US MAKE HASTE!" Formiricus continued to urge as he pulled harder, getting Klawdia to stand and follow his lead.

"B-but… Katya…" she tried one final time to plead before Katya's body suddenly began to glow, followed by an astral projection of an uninjured version of the Leopard Gal leaving her body. Klawdia could only watch on as her sister's lifeless form vanished into glitter with a *POOF* while the ghost of Katya waved goodbye to her… before the spirit also vanished into thin air as the wind, lightning, earthquakes, and precipitation grew more chaotic… "…Katya…!" the devastated Leopard Gal called once more to her lost kin. Alas, she would have to hold her tears in long enough to at least escape the dying Cyclic Season Island and make it to safety. And as vegetation big and small either withered away, ripped from their foundation by the tempestuous winds, or were set ablaze by haphazard lightning strikes, Klawdia and Formiricus made a desperate beeline through the landscape. With every dying tree… with every splashing step they each took across the heavily flooded grounds… with every scorched, broken, or otherwise destroyed landmark… they were each reminded of what they lost, in addition to what they were losing in the process.

Eventually, Klawdia and Formiricus made it through to the other end of the disaster-stricken island, where a team of Velocitoads were waiting for them on a debris-riddled beach. Hurriedly, the Leopard Gal and the Magma Ant hopped onto the backs of the speedy amphibians, followed by the toads immediately kicking it into high gear. With a voluminous, sandy *FWAPLOOOORSH*, the squadron of Velocitoads blasted off into the Sequin Land Sea, swimming their absolute fastest to the point of leaving behind afterimages while their passengers held on as tight as they could. Across the watery vicinity, two or three other squads of Velocitoads, a sleuth of Giga Ursids, and at least four Thrasher Rhinos were seen carrying valuables and other passengers, though it was immediately apparent that not everyone made it off the doomed island. Klawdia took one final look back to see small crowds of land-dwelling animals that could not swim or fly like the heavy assortment of birds and bats that were scattering through the air to brave the storm. Before long, however, gigantic chunks of stone began raining from the sky onto the island as it sank, quaked, and broke apart section by section. And with a violent crashing of the ocean's stormy waves against its deteriorating shores… the Cyclic Season Island was no more…

"We… We barely made it, but we are alive to tell the tale," Formiricus commented, though he would not get an immediate reply from Klawdia. The Leopard Gal was too deeply lost in thought as she turned her head forward and peered up toward the cloudy night sky. Sensing this, Formiricus looked toward his enemy-turned-comrade. "…We will remember our fallen with pride and honor. You and I may not have always had the most pleasant dealings with one another, Klawdia, but… I feel your pain."

"No, you don't, Formiricus…" she finally spoke, crestfallen at the dire straits she and her friends found themselves in. "My sisters and I never wanted to return to the Cyclic Season Island for refuge because of how unstable the environment was and how it endangered our kind. As fate would have it, we were forced to come back when our new home was compromised… and now, in as little as a few days' time, I sit as the only one left… Much of my remaining kin were wiped out when the Phantasmagoric Forest fell… and my sisters and I were the only ones to make it to new ground while others perished during the pilgrimage back to the Cyclic Season Island. They are all gone now, and I am the last remaining member of my kind…"

"…Oh. My apologies…"

"…I must live on for them…" Klawdia vowed, fighting her tears to the best of her ability as she looked downward and pressed a paw to her stomach. "And I must live long enough to at least give my future children the best chance possible to continue my legacy… our legacy…"

"…Does… that mean what I think it means?"

"Yes. And with that human's help, the Leopard Gal species shall rise anew… and it is my hope that we are able to flourish without the threat of total extinction looming like it has over the past hundred years…"

"Hm. I see. Well… If we may put our differences aside for good, then I will do my best to protect you during these trying times. You are certainly going to need it for the sake of your species' survival. Now, then. Onward to our potential new home…" Formiricus vowed as the Leopard Gal/Magma Ant duo pressed ahead.

"Thank you. And… You have my apologies for our previous quarrel. May we continue to collaborate…" Klawdia accepted his offer with a nod. And with that, the displaced monsters of the Cyclic Season Island continued their trek across the Sequin Land Sea to parts unknown, hoping they would find their sanctuary wherever they would end up. Jeez… Now, THIS was a heavy one for sure… At a glance, it could be seen as another day, another civilization lost to time, another wild, chaotic adventure for the record books… and another piece of that Spirit Fuser claimed by someone who probably shouldn't have it. With Hashanah claiming her second fragment of that highly dangerous Relic for her own dastardly purposes, Risky Boots mobilizing to enact her own brand of vengeance and conquest that involved the Spirit Fuser, and Shantae and the S.L.A.P.S. crew barely surviving and recovering from three or four shockingly deadly adventures, what other totally bonkers ways could this complicated collection of conflicts possibly unfold? More importantly, how will our heroes band together and stop this madness before it becomes too much for them to handle? Guess we'll find out next time, so stick around. I just hope it doesn't leave you with more questions than answers. Alrighty, let's 'hang out' and catch the next episode soon!