Chapter 9, Pt. 2: Terminal Veracity
Why, hello there! How's it hangin'? Hope you weren't getting all impatient waiting for the next exciting installment of our little novel of a tale we've got going on here. But trust me, you won't BELIEVE what went down since last we congregated together to enjoy each other's company. So, last we left off, Sky and Nila had called something of a temporary truce (however tense it was), so that Nila could basically interrogate our favorite falconer after luring her out to a remote beach island in the middle of nowhere that housed a memorial apparently built in honor of a certain 'Unknown Hero.' Ironic, if you ask me, but I don't get paid to make those sorts of observations. Anyway, the conversation between the two young ladies was… well, why don't we dive on in and get an idea for ourselves what we think? On we go…
On the sunset-bathed shore of the Soldier's Ascension Beach…
"…and at that point, Atem warped me out of there," Sky explained to Nila as the two of them sat a reasonable distance from one another, each of them facing toward the ocean as its waves cascaded along the grainy landscape beneath them. Both of them wore serious expressions on their faces, but one could tell from a glance that Nila… was particularly unhappy as she furrowed her brow and frowned in contemplation. "The island fell apart and sunk into the ocean shortly thereafter, meaning that Hashanah succeeded in taking him out for that other Spirit Fuser piece."
"…I see," was all Nila could push herself to say after a moment of utter silence filled only with the noise of the effervescent waves crashing amongst themselves in the distance.
"…I… I know that it's… not something you'd have wanted to hear, but-!"
"You don't need to apologize for her," Nila curtly interrupted and remarked with a heavy sigh, still not looking Sky in the eye.
"S-sure, but I still feel bad…"
"Feel bad for what? That my so-called 'girlfriend' described us as 'business partners' while openly making moves on another girl behind my back the first chance she got? And then lied to my face about it, hoping I wouldn't find out?" Nila bitterly shot back, digging her fingers into the sand and gathering a fistful of it. Out of frustration, she flung the sand ahead, watching the soaked clumps splash into the shallow, foamy water current. "I should've known…"
"Nila… For what it's worth, don't take this situation to mean you're no-!"
"No offense, Sky, but I'm not looking for pity or dating advice," the embittered Ammonian affiliate stated with as much certainty as she could muster before blowing a huge sigh of disappointment into the open air. "But I do at least appreciate that you didn't hold back any details."
"Well, it wouldn't have made sense to leave anything out," Sky assured. "You wanted the truth, and so I did my best to deliver."
"Right… I just wish it was her telling me that instead of the girl she tried to cheat on me with…"
"…Y-yeah… I-I get that…"
"…Yep…" was all Nila could bring herself to say, again falling into a spell of deep contemplation as Sky sat just a few meters away, nervously twirling a finger into the sand. Wrench remained perched on her head, paying little heed to the conversation as he nursed his injured wing. Though brief, the silence between Sky and Nila was entirely suffocating. Each of the two young women scoured the vicinity with their eyes, continuing to internally battle for something… ANYTHING that would push this awkward conversation along. And trust me, as a witness to it, I was starting to feel a bit awkward myself. That was, before…
"…So, what will you do from here? About Hashanah?" Sky worked up the nerve to ask, finally turning her head to face the dejected redhead. In turn, Nila… continued to stare into the ether, though she heard Sky's question loud and clear.
"Not sure. Just trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do for myself at this point," she answered, however somberly. "She almost cost me my job and my livelihood, y'know. I sacrificed so much for that woman, and THIS is the repayment I get…"
"What do you mean?"
"When your gal pals visited that Ammonian encampment the other day, that wasn't just the Ammonian Army looking for a new base of operations. In case you weren't told by now, I arranged for my guys to be there in preparation for a raid of the temple that's supposed to appear there in a couple days' time," Nila explained, much to Sky's surprise as she tuned in. "It was Hashanah's idea because she wanted to lay claim to the Spirit Fuser piece before you or your friends could. And after Shantae and the zombie made a mess of everything, I took the full rap for the failed stakeout and lied for her, telling Ammo Baron that I was simply 'given some bad advice' by our 'anonymous' ally. They still don't even know I'm dating a half-genie, I've had to do so much covering up…"
"Oh…"
"Yep. Ammo Baron terminated me on the spot, told me that my 'anonymous ally' and I could take a hike if I wanted to be more loyal to her than I was to the Army, and had a discharge letter in my mailbox the next day. He also arranged to have all my Ammonian possessions confiscated while I was in the hospital getting my nose fixed up. Took me an entire night to write up a wordy enough appeal, on top of me practically begging the big boss man on my hands and knees to let me stay in once I got myself sorted out," she kept on going. "As you might be able to tell, I'm back in. But even then, it's only because the Ammonian Army's been hurting for new recruits since the Assassin's rampage last October and the hit the Ammonian Army's reputation took as a result. As a tradeoff, though, I was stripped of my rank of 'Admiral,' the K0414 unit was dissolved and reintegrated into the main branch, and I'm skating on extremely thin ice as we speak. And still, I had to jump through EVERY verbal loop imaginable to keep Hashanah's identity a secret from them. You know how much support I've gotten from her through all this, by the way?"
"I… can't imagine very much, based on your explanation…" Sky carefully and apprehensively answered.
"That's accurate," Nila confirmed. "I just wish I'd seen this coming sooner…" she further lamented with another sigh… before perking up as though she remembered something. At that point, she finally turned to look directly at the other young woman. "Hey. I have a question."
"What's up?"
"Do genie wishes bring back the dead?"
"What!? That's… kind of an extreme topic jump, isn't it? Why do you ask?" Sky asked back after recovering from her initial shock at the arbitrary inquiry.
"Sorry, but it just occurred to me," Nila clarified. "But considering you're close with Shantae, I figure maybe she's told you how genie wishes work. And considering you and I both were promised wishes by Hashanah, I want to know if you know what half-genies are capable of."
"Um… well, I'm not an expert by any means, but Shantae's told me that a half-genie's ability to grant wishes is… limited at best," Sky did her best to explain without revealing anything too sensitive.
"Limited? Limited how?"
"Limited as in most half-genies don't even have the power to grant wishes, and those that can, can only do so once every so often. And even then, the range of wishes they can make is supposedly VERY small. Like, 'only being able to wish for objects to appear or disappear' small. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure Hashanah said she can only grant one wish per year."
"You're kidding!"
"Trust me, I'm not. I've seen Shantae grant a wish precisely twice in my lifetime, and they were both for the same reason and VERY far apart from one another. I'm talking at least a year. Last time she granted a wish, she exhausted all her magic and nearly passed out. She's been unable to grant another wish since…"
"Well then, how did she bring back the Assassin? Surely, one of you wished for him to come back to life, right?"
"No, actually," the bird trainer revealed, much to the Ammonian acolyte's abundant surprise. "There were no genie wishes involved in his return… At least, I don't think there were…"
"What!? Then how?"
"We're… not really sure. I got the story, but I still can't make sense of it myself. One day, he was gone, and on another day, he was right in front of us again with a halo eternally hovering over his head. As a matter of fact, since we're on the topic… The last wish Shantae granted up to this point was Tayshan's dying wish to have all of Risky's newest weapons from back then vanish into thin air, so no one would be hurt by them again. You were unconscious at the time, but yeah."
"Oh… I see…"
"Right."
"And you're positive that no one wished him back to life?"
"Yeah. As far as I was told, and as far as I've read in my studies, genies can't bring life or take it away through the power of wishes. Apparently, it goes in line with a 'code of ethics' sort of deal with genie magic. No wishing for more wishes, no wishing to kill anyone or bring the dead back to life, and no wishing to make other people fall in love with you, that whole nine yards. I think there was also a mention of genies not being able to grant wishes to turn non-genie people into genies, and there's another rule about impure or selfish wishes being inherently designed to be granted in such a way that it a hundred percent ALWAYS backfires on the wisher like a sort of 'Monkey's Paw' clause, but I'd have to reread some of my notes and ask Shantae to be sure…"
"…Ya don't say…?" Nila remarked in astonished wonder as she tuned all the way in.
"That's the truth to the best of my knowledge. I don't have much info beside that, so I hope you're not disappointed."
"…No. No, actually. In fact, I'm glad to have gotten this insight from you," Nila shared to Sky's surprise as she immediately climbed to her feet. "It's just what I needed to hear. Thanks," she further offered her gratitude as she began to walk toward her plane parked nearby.
"Oh? Whoa, what's the rush?"
"I've gotten as much info as I need from this conversation. You're free to go. I've… got some other things to figure out," the Ammonian grunt cryptically replied, however uncertain she sounded.
"Free to go? You say that as though you had other plans for how this meeting would pan out."
"That's because I DID have other plans," Nila unabashedly confirmed as she craned her head back to look at a thoroughly astonished Sky.
"Oh. I figured as much," the falconer acknowledged as calmly as she could, climbing to her feet and turning all her attention on the other woman. "What made you change your mind in that case?"
"Without saying too much… it's that you're simply an unwitting third party caught up in an unnecessary love triangle," the red-haired woman shared, only shocking the bird tamer further.
"Ooh. I see… Well… For what it's worth, it was never my intention to get between you and Hashanah," Sky carefully shared her thoughts. "I… I don't know how you plan on smoothing things over with her, but I do hope you both figure things out. With any luck, you two will deepen your connection to each other."
"Hm. Not likely at this point, but I appreciate your optimism," Nila dismissed with a tilt of her head before turning back around to approach her plane… yet, she found herself stopping to view the monument standing tall at the center of the Soldier's Ascension Beach. It took a mere three seconds before her blank, observant stare turned into a hateful, menacing scowl. This time, however… the scowl came accompanied with tears that she made no attempt to hide or hold in…
"…Huh?" Sky hummed to herself as she warily observed the grieving Ammonian affiliate.
"…Whether I end your life a second time, or I simply make you feel the pain of the friends of mine you killed… One way or another, Assassin, I WILL avenge them…! Blood for blood…! Just you wait…!" Nila promised to an absent Unknown Soldier, her fist tightly clenched as she took a deep, wavering breath. Immediately after, she turned away from the statue, made her way to her plane, fired it up… and within another minute or so… as well as with a *VWWEEEEEEERRRRNN*, she took off. Sky merely watched in a mixture of worry and wonder as Nila made her exit from the beach, taking to the air in her biplane to parts unknown… but once she was out of sight…
"…Man. I sure hope we can eventually get through to her," Sky murmured to herself after taking a deep breath to ease her nerves. "I… also hope that this is the last I have to hear about a 'love triangle' I never wanted any part of…"
"Brakaww," Wrench wholeheartedly agreed.
"You said it, buddy…" Sky affirmed before turning toward the forest and cupping her hands around her mouth. "Coast is clear, Rotty! You can come out now!" she called out loud to her hidden teammate. Sure enough, our favorite undead green-skinned, green-haired, detachable maiden came jogging out of the woods in the distance and joined the falconer at the base of the monument.
"Hm. And here I was, hoping for another epic Boss fight where I'd get to show you how it's done," Rotty complained with a sigh.
"I should say 'sorry,' but I'm not much for Boss Battles the way you and the others are," Sky joked with a shrug.
"Eh, you wouldn't have needed to be involved. You'd have just slowed me down anyway," Rottytops joked back with a smug chuckle and shrug, though she found herself laughing alone.
"Wow, you're SO funny," Sky flatly remarked, rolling her eyes in the same instance that, with a sudden *WHOOSH*, a Stage Clear platform appeared within a few yards of the Unknown Soldier monument. And once Sky took notice… "Anyway, it looks like our work here is done. Ready to go?"
"Hmm… Actually, not yet," Rotty denied to her fellow S.L.A.P.S. member's surprise.
"Really? Why not?" the befuddled bird tamer asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… We've still got the rest of the day to hang out, and… I mean, I don't have anything better to do today."
"Way to make hanging out with me sound like a chore…" Sky irritably pointed out.
"Oh, relax. I didn't mean it like that," the zombie girl clarified with a flick of her hand. "I meant that maybe we can spend more time just like… chilling out after such an easy adventure. Besides, I have a ton of questions to ask you about your little chat with Ketchup-Head, and… maybe a little dating advice while we're away from prying eyes and ears…"
"I can fill you in as much as you'd like on my talk with Nila, but dating advice? What could you possibly need advice from ME for?"
"You know why…" Rotty hinted, at which point Sky immediately got the hint as she perked up.
"Oh, THAT? Yyyyeah, you're on your own for that one. I'm not helping you seduce Tayshan," the bird trainer outright refused.
"What!? N-no, I wasn't gonna ask for THAT!" the undead maiden hollered out of embarrassment, her cheeks flushing a darker green. "I was just gonna ask how to hold a decent conversation and a little bit of fashion advice! Jeez!"
"As if you don't already know how to hold a decent conversation," Sky incredulously remarked. "I mean, you could probably use a much stronger filter to avoid saying embarrassing things at the wrong time, but you're fine otherwise."
"Ooh, there you go again…!" Rottytops complained through an agitated growl, glowering at her friend. "You're lucky we're on good terms, or else I'd let you HAVE it for that…!"
"Noted. Also, why would you ask ME of all people for fashion advice? Aren't you comfortable enough with how you normally dress?"
"Yeah, but judging by the fancy ensemble you put on for your 'date' with Tay earlier today, I figured that even with how tacky your usual outfit is, you know what you're doing when the time calls for it," Rotty admitted, though Sky found herself reeling back.
"…Aaaaand I'm supposed to take that as a complime-?"
"And don't act like you didn't dress like that—complete with a full face of makeup—to try and fish some attention and at least a couple compliments from him…" she further accused, narrowing her eyes at her teammate.
"Ah, n-no! Shut up! You're crazy!" the flustered blonde vehemently denied, crossing her arms and turning away to hide the… rather suspicious blush on her face.
"Aha! Busted~!" Rotty teased some more, pointing a finger right at her teammate. "Don't worry, though. Your secret's safe with me. That is, as long as you help me pull off a… fetching look of my own…" At that, Sky scoffed.
"Blackmail? Seriously? THAT'S gonna be your trump card to getting me to help you? Goodness, how low can you go?"
"Low enough that I'll snitch to snack cakes what you were up to with him if you don't help me."
"What!? W-well… Not if I 'snitch' to her that you have the hots for her boyfriend!" At that, Rotty flinched and nearly panicked, though she straightened herself out as she came up with more ammo to use against her not-quite-best friend.
"O-oh yeah!? Then… Er, I'll… I-I'll tell her that you still suck your thumb like a baby when you sleep!" At that, Sky reeled back with a most dramatic gasp.
"You wouldn't DARE!"
"Try me, egghead!" Rottytops dared, grinning triumphantly in her blonde 'bestie's' face and eagerly awaiting her reply. Sky, on the other hand, had quickly gone from being shocked to outright scowling and pouting at the other woman as she let out a thoroughly annoyed sigh.
"…Sure. Fine. Whatever," the falconer acquiesced as she strolled over to the base of the monument and plopped herself into a seated position in the sand.
"Score…!" Rotty cheered to herself with an enthusiastic fist pump before scurrying over to join her. And once they were settled in… "So… What did you pick up from Nila during your little chat with her?"
"That she set this whole thing up as a way to try and force a confession out of me that Hashanah was 'seeing me' behind her back, to put it all in one statement."
"Yikes…! And how did you wind up clearing your name without her trying to kill you afterward?"
"By telling her the truth about what happened in the Capricious Titan Shrine. That's the only way this encounter wasn't going to end in violence," Sky matter-of-factly stated. "She also apparently was kicked out of the Ammonian Army, but managed to rejoin with a severe rank demotion after begging for Ammo Baron's favor."
"Oh, wow. I guess mine and Shantae's run-in with her was worse for her reputation than we thought…"
"Evidently. Even better, it turns out they're dissolving her division."
"Ah, I saw that coming. No way you can screw up as much as she did and expect to keep your job or your group together."
"Yeah, but she seemed thankful to even still have a place in the Ammonian Army despite what happened. Her major concern for calling me out here was to figure out what Hashanah was up to with me."
"Got it. So, if she got what she was looking for here, then what's her next move? Did she force any info out of you about the Spirit Fuser or anything?"
"No, surprisingly. If anything, she wound up telling me all about that stakeout that you and Shantae crashed and how she was—and still is—keeping Hashanah's identity a secret from the rest of the Ammonian Army to protect their relationship…"
"Ya don't say?"
"Not a word of what I said to you is any different from what she said to me."
"Gotcha. So, where is she going now? Did she fess up on anything else about her plans?"
"Not really. She kept that part locked down, but I get a bad feeling that she and Hashanah are gonna have QUITE the talk…"
"Serves that stuck-up witch right," Rotty rather coldly remarked about Hashanah. "Cheating on her girlfriend and acting all high-and-mighty… I hope Ketchup-Head lays into her and puts her in her place."
"Hm. I just hope the two of them can work things out, whether they stay together or not…"
"Of course, you'd say that," Rotty flatly remarked. "Cheaters don't deserve that kind of consideration, Sky. Not now, not ever…"
"I… think that depends on the context, but I see where you're coming from. Is… that to say you're still mad at B-!"
"Don't even bother bringing that clown up," the zombie girl irritably cut in. "I don't even want to entertain the thought of him…"
"Rotty, you can't hold this grudge against him forever…" Sky pleaded. "It's not healthy for you, and he's been going out of his way to try and make amends. He's still our friend at the end of it all."
"He's your friend, not mine. I'm not interested in wasting more time being lectured about him, so I hope you don't get upset when I suggest we change topics." At that, Sky sighed in defeat.
"Fine, fine… but what if I told you that that Leopard Gal we met on the Cyclic Season Island was killed right in front of him the other day?" At that, Rotty looked back at Sky in surprise. "I didn't get to mention that part to you earlier, but yeah…"
"Wha? W-wow, that's… That sucks…" the zombie girl offered her condolences.
"Yeah, and Bolo hasn't been his usual self since his trip to the Burning Zipper Volcanic Field with Tayshan. He's been more… withdrawn and distant in the past couple days."
"I see. Well, I guess I'd be pretty bummed too if I tried to sabotage a mission over a silly crush on some random monster girl and got my butt handed to me by my own teammate over it," Rottytops brashly remarked.
"Rotty! That's so insensitive!" Sky indignantly chided.
"Yeah, well so is he!" Rotty defensively shouted back. "It's sad that the Leopard Gal bit the dust, but that's not going to make me forgive him for being a two-timing jerk!"
"If that doesn't tell me you're still far from being over it, then I don't know what would."
"No, I'm not 'over it,' but I'll manage without him. He can grieve his dearly departed new girlfriend on his own…"
"Well, what if I told you that Hashanah was the one who killed her?"
"That isn't gonna make me feel any less upset at him. Again, he can grieve over her on his own," Rotty reiterated, standing her ground.
"Hm… Well, it's up to you on that front, but I can only hope you two come around to talking again at some point…" Sky advised, after which the girls fell silent as they each looked in separate directions. After a few uncomfortable seconds, however…
"…Is he at least doing well?" Rottytops sheepishly asked as she partially turned her attention back to the other young woman, wringing her hands as she did so.
"Not… particularly," Sky responded as she turned her full attention back to her teammate.
"How come?"
"It's a bit of a long story, but the nutshelled version of it is that not only did he lose Klawdia that day… well, it turns out he also lost a lot of respect with Shantae and Tayshan over the whole ordeal. Shantae even yelled at him and threatened to end their friendship if he made another big mistake like the ones he made between the Cyclic Season Island and the Burning Zipper Volcanic Field…"
"Oh?" Rotty hummed in surprise as she returned to fully listening to Sky, her eyes widened. "Snack cakes got THAT mad at him? Jeez…"
"Yeah… and since then, it's taken a whole scavenger hunt to find him. He's been avoiding everyone, and talking to him has gotten me nowhere."
"Ah. Well, that's rough."
"Yep…" was all that was said on the matter, at which point the girls went silent for another mildly uncomfortable few seconds. Eventaually…
"…So anyway, what fashion tips do you have to offer a girl like me on how to look fabulous for a fancy date?" Rottytops rather impertinently ask, seeming to want to get as far away from talking about Bolo as possible, as soon as possible.
"…Hm. Well…" Sky hesitantly started, worriedly casting her gaze to the side and wobbling her foot into the sand beneath them as she contemplated her next statement. "…Um…" she hummed as she also began to wring her hands, almost appearing… guilty as she pondered what to do…
"What's the matter? Why are you suddenly clamming up?" the zombie maiden pressed with a raised eyebrow, noticing the falconer's dissonance. Sky wouldn't immediately respond, though she did hear the question posed to her. She turned toward Rotty, her worried expression still apparent. But after so long, Sky took a deep breath, shook off some wandering intrusive thoughts in her head, straightened up, and…
"Well, you'll want to start by figuring out which colors best complement your skin complexion," she went on to begin offering her advice without missing a beat. "Considering your… unique condition, I imagine you'll want to wear something that either brings out your eyes, or is bold and flamboyant to liven up your natural good looks."
"Ah, I see, I see…" Rotty acknowledged with a curious nod, growing more invested as she tuned in. "That makes a lot of sense. I've got plenty of bold and flamboyant casual outfits in my wardrobe already, but I think I wanna go for a more… y'know, 'sexy, but dangerous' look in case he and I wind up needing to take on a mission together as our 'date.'"
"Heh…" Sky chuckled, however nervously so. "Well, you're in luck, because I've got some pointers there, too."
"Awesome! Now lay it on me, girl. How do we go about crafting the perfect femme fatale look?"
"You'll want to start by considering these options for that kind of clothing…" Sky went into full swing with explaining how to dress provocatively for an adventure. We're… gonna leave them to that, considering I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to the girls dish on how to put on the most attention-grabbing ensemble. We've… got just one more loose end to tie up anyway, and you'll be rewarded on Rotty's new look later… I'd bet. Heh… Anyway, let's move onto the more… significant part of our journey, because you are NOT gonna want to miss this…
Later, at Nila's Home…
"Wow…! This power…! I can hardly contain it…!" whispered a mesmerized Hashanah as she stood in the center of her girlfriend's living room in her usual genie ensemble, observing her arm… as it surged and crackled with a mixture of purple and blue lightning usually only seen emanating from a certain ghost guardian. "Light Magic and Dark Magic… constantly at war with one another, yet unified to endlessly compound each other's strength… This kind of power should NEVER have been accessible by anyone other than a genie…! But now at least a fraction of it is MINE…!" she soliloquized, though her facial expression communicated anything but outright enthusiasm… In fact, she appeared to be struggling to maintain the flow of her magic as she winced in pain as her arm let out a startling *CHAKROK* of electricity. "Grrgh…! Gah, it hurts like no tomorrow, though…!" she complained as her arm sparked and crackled. Eventually, and with another especially potent *KRAZAP*, the Dual Magic flared and immediately dissipated.
"GAH! Ow, ow, ow, oww…!" the renegade genie groaned as she shook her smoking appendage for a moment before settling down once the smoke cleared. "Dahh…! It's gonna take a hot minute to figure out how to properly harness this power, that's for sure. So, I'm still a few ticks away from calling it my ace in the hole. Hm…" she further pondered as she stood tall and folded her arms, pensively staring at the floor. "I only wonder if reintroducing Light Magic to my repertoire is even possible at this point… and if it is, then could I possibly combine it with my Dark Magic to create the same phenomenon? Or would it threaten to rip me apart from the inside out? Maybe the Spirit Fuser can help prevent that, though? Hmm… So many things to consider…" Hashanah pondered, entirely lost in thought about how to further power herself up. Just then, however, she found her thought process interrupted by the *click* of the front door opening. And right as she turned toward the entrance…
"You and I need to have a talk. NOW," demanded a certain jacket-adorned, bespectacled red-haired woman with the FIERCEST of glares aimed at the half-genie. Wasting little time, the woman unfastened her jacket and ripped it off herself to cast it aside while she approached.
"Um… Good evening to you too, Ni-Ni. Where have you been all this time?" Hashanah casually greeted, though the worry and confusion on her face were evident.
"Seeking answers, to put it succinctly," Nila curtly replied as she closed the distance and stood just a few feet away from Hashanah, seeming ready for a confrontation. Hashanah grew wary about her girlfriend's unfriendly approach, but she remained calm as she kept her eyes on the other woman.
"Answers about…?" Hashanah began to ask, uncertain of what Nila was planning to address.
"A few things. Your issues with being honest, your manipulative tendencies…"
"Whoa, whoa, what's gotten into you? Why are you accu-?"
"And especially the nature of your 'friendship' with Sky…!" At that, Hashanah flinched in shock as a suspicious blush crept onto her face.
"W-what!? Are you serious!? I thought we were DONE with you screaming at me about her!" the rogue genie defensively shouted. "What did I do wrong now? Say her name in my sleep or something?"
"Please, keep on making your sarcastic comments. Maybe it'll make you feel less like a two-timing jezebel when I tell you EXACTLY what I found out today!"
"EXCUSE ME!?" Hashanah hollered her question, outright appalled at Nila's harsh words. "Who do you think you're talking to here!? And what are you talking about!?"
"The 'meeting' I went to today was a rendezvous I set up to meet with your favorite bird whisperer to dig into her about what you were hiding from me!" Nila accused again, pointing a finger directly at the other woman.
"You WHAT!?" Hashanah bellowed in even more surprise, though this time, her surprise came mixed with a sudden burst of anger. "What the heck is wrong with you!? You're poking around behind my back over your own insecurities about our relationship!?"
"You left me no choice when you LIED to me about what you and that girl did in that temple the other week, so I took the liberty of inviting her out for a private chat!" Nila corrected, not at all backing down as she clenched a fist at her side. "And during that time, she was kind enough to let me know all I needed to know about how much you really care about our relationship! After ALL I sacrificed for you!"
"Okay, well hold on a sec. What did she tell you?"
"Where do I even begin?" Nila fired right back. "You and I are 'just business partners?' 'Friends with Benefits?' Or how about I start at the point where you PROPOSITIONED HER FOR ROMANTIC FAVORS IN EXCHANGE FOR HER HELP FINDING THAT STUPID RELIC!? Or maybe you want me to refresh your memory on the point where you ADMITTED THAT YOU HAD A FLIPPIN' FULL-BLOWN CRUSHON HER! Oh, and don't even get me STARTED on the fact that you even lied to me about your wish-granting capabilities! Not only can you NOT revive the dead, you can't even grant more than one stinkin' wish per YEAR!? What else have you lied to me about!?" Nila shouted, getting angrier as she stepped past the coffee table and approached Hashanah while the half-genie took a half-step back. It was evident by the look on her face, however, that she had QUITE the hole to dig herself out of. And how did she go about digging? Well…
"And… what makes you so sure she wasn't lying to-?"
"Don't you DARE try and gaslight me again, Hashanah!" Nila swiftly shut down the divertive inquiry. "What the heck do you expect me to believe at this point, when not one, not two, but THREE different people accuse you of the exact same thing!?"
"Okay, but two of them weren't even there to see or hear anything!" Hashanah began her defense as she stood her ground as well. "And the other one is close friends with the first two! Don't you think it comes across as a LITTLE bit suspicious that they're getting you all riled up like this over misrepresented details!?"
"Misrepresented det-! Ooh, you are such a SNAKE!" Nila yelled further, growling her next statement as a vein began to protrude from her forehead.
"Jeez, Nila, chill out for just a second!" Hashanah tried to reason. "I don't exactly know what Sky told you, but there's a pretty good chance she's uh… s-she's misleading you!"
"And what reason would she have to do that?"
"Er… W-well, because she was… was trying to put the moves on me!" she lied, though it had little effect… which Nila was quick to point out.
"And you lie to me yet again to try and save your own sorry hide…!"
"How do you figure that!?"
"Because she briefly dated a MALE colleague of mine sometime last year, and it was made abundantly clear that she's not even INTO girls! So unless she had some sudden and unlikely revelation about herself just as you two teamed up together, I'm sorry to say your story doesn't check out."
"Wha…? Oh. W-well, I-!" Hashanah tried again to defend herself, though she was caught off-guard by Nila outing Sky's romantic preferences. If anything, she also appeared a bit… disappointed.
"I'll only say this once, Hashanah, because I'm done," Nila continued ranting, cutting her partner's train of thought short.
"Done? Done with what?" the perplexed genie asked as she snapped herself back into focus and gazed upon her teammate.
"Done with YOU!" the former Admiral shouted, her rage morphing into sorrow as her tears began to run free from her emerald eyes. "Done with this 'partnership,' done with your lies, and certainly done sabotaging my own life for your sake, only to get stabbed in the back and treated like a doormat!"
"Nila, just cool-!"
"GET OUT! Take all your stuff, take your stupid relics, take your fake feelings, and get out of here!" the fully incensed Ammonian affiliate demanded, pointing behind herself toward the door while glaring at her ex-partner.
"Ni-Ni, you can't do that!" Hashanah pleaded, though she glared just as intensely at her former teammate.
"Don't you EVER call me that again!" Nila very vehemently ordered. "You and I are THROUGH! You hear me!? I want you out of here NOW!"
"And if I refuse to leave?"
"Then I'll MAKE you leave…!"
"…Nila, come on. You don't know what you're saying. You don't want to do this," Hashanah warned, though she raised a hand and flared her fingers in case things went further south.
"Yes, I do. I'm sick of taking the fall for you, and I REFUSE to be manipulated by you any longer! Now, LEAVE before I do something you'll regret…!" Nila threatened, reaching into her jacket and whipping out a pistol that she aimed right at Hashanah. Rather than be shocked, however…
"…You know, it's really unwise to threaten me like that," the rogue genie warned, summoning a rush of Dark Magic into her hand that went off with *KRICK* after *KRAKRAK* like fireworks. "It doesn't have to be this way. But if it makes you feel better… then I'll come clean. All the stuff Sky and her friends told you… it's true. I admit it. All of it. A-and I'm sorry. But you have to understand, Nila, that I've got a lot at stake with the Spirit Fuser. I was trying to at least make sense of things as we worked together."
"So what, that means this whole relationship was a giant LIE!?" Nila shouted her question, appalled at what she'd heard as she kept the gun aimed squarely at her former lover.
"No, of course not. I love you, Nila. I really do. It's just… I wasn't sure where we were going with this, and I wanted to keep my options open. Sounds selfish, I know, but we hadn't been dating that long. I had to be sure I had someone at my side one way or another, and considering the way we met, it just seemed like we were using each other. I never expected us to get as close as we did, and I know I can't take any of it back. Again, I'm sorry."
"Save your empty apologies, you two-timing genie WITCH!" Nila roared, even angrier as she took in Hashanah's confession.
"What was that!?"
"You heard me! I should've listened to my colleagues Twitch and Vinegar when they told me not to associate with you… It pains me to admit they were right all along, but they were! You and the rest of your sneaky, conniving, backstabbing half-genie kind only being in it for yourselves and acting superior to everyone else as if no one matters to you except your own! Goodness, I should've smelled the treachery from ten miles away, but I instead decided to be naïve enough to ignore it because I thought we had something special… You genies are all alike…! It's to the point where the only 'GOOD' one of you fell in love with and basically married the ASSASSIN that murdered my friends despite knowing full well what he did! So clearly, NONE of you are really worth the dirt under a poor man's boot!"
"Watch it, Nila! You're really pushing it, and what you're saying is completely disrespectful!"
"Oh, really? NOW it's not okay to make comments about someone's race when YOU'RE the target of it!? You are such a HYPOCRITE!"
"Is THAT what you think!? All this, coming from the HARPY whose band of warmongering human SCUMBAGS laid waste to the town I lived in and protected for most of my life!? You've got SOME nerve spouting that filth at me as you go around, blathering on about how badly you want revenge against the guy who killed your worthless raccoon cultist cronies because THEY killed a bunch of other humans who didn't do anything wrong to you! How's THAT for 'Hypocrite,' HYPOCRITE!?"
"Say ONE more thing about my friends, Hashanah, and I will END you right here, right now!"
"Oh, you're SO lucky I still have a SHRED of consideration for you, or else I'd make you wish you hadn't said that…!" the genie darkly threatened right back. "But thanks for clarifying that we were never truly in it for each other. You feel good about yourself now? Huh!?"
"Don't try to flip this all on me! Everything that went wrong in my life since I got tangled up with the likes of you half-genies is mostly because of YOU!"
"No, everything that went wrong in your life is because you and your idiot friends thought serving a pompous, pea-brained, one-eyed SASQUATCH like Ammo Baron was your ticket to success! And somehow, you're surprised when it's instead led to a smorgasbord of hilariously miserable failures and your comrades being granted one-way tickets to early graves like they deser-!" Hashanah shouted, though the *BANG* of Nila's gun discharging a round cut her off. "Hwah!" she grunted, diving out of the way of the incoming round that struck the wall behind her with another piercing *TWACK*. And once she glanced at the smoking bullet hole and subsequently cut her eyes toward its source as she recovered… "…So that's how it is?"
"Yeah. That's how it is. You just lost your only shot at getting out of here without a permanent reminder of why you should NEVER have toyed with me or my Army…!" Nila threatened, still pointing the gun at her ex-partner with the full intent to shoot again.
"Nila, you don't want to do this…! Cut it out…!" Hashanah warned once again as her hand began to surge with a *KRAZZAKRAKKRACKLE* of even more magic… only this time, it also began to flash violently with ethereal electricity as her hand glowed with a mixture of bright blue and dark purple… Uh-oh…
"Oh, I DO…!" Nila assured, readying her firearm and signifying that she was done talking.
"So, you're gonna kill me because I flirted with ONE other girl!? Have you always been this insane!? Think about what you're doing here! How you're overreacting!"
"FINALLY, you come out and tell it the way I knew you wanted to! But no. I'm not insane, nor am I overreacting. I'm back to my senses like I should've been a long time ago. And don't you DARE act like your cheating antics are all this is about! Like I said, you ruined my life! You cost me my job, my reputation, most of my money, and my sanity! You lied to me over and over and over again, drumming up this ENTIRE 'relationship' as a giant ruse for you manipulating me from the very beginning like I'm nothing but a flippin' PUPPET! You're no different from that shifty, blue-skinned, wrinkly HAG Risky Boots! I feel SICK that I ever let you burrow into my head the way you did! And now, Hashanah, it's time to pay the price!"
"Nila, for goodness' sake, just chi-!" Hashanah tried to plead before the *BANG* of Nila's firearm cut her off, prompting the genie to summon up a magic barrier with a *VWOONG* to keep the round from striking her in the face. Seeming to draw an uncomfortable conclusion of her own, Hashanah prepared to defend herself further. And with a seemingly regretful sigh… "Alright, look. I'm gonna be for real with you when I say you have no chance of actually harming me with that thing, much less killing me. Stop this before you get hurt. NOW," she demanded, her patience already running thin.
"I'll stop when you get what's coming to you! HRAH!" Nila defiantly shouted back, reaching into her jacket as she charged at her former partner while firing a flurry of rounds at her. *BANG* after *BANG* after earsplitting *BANG*, Nila proved to be out for blood as she threw caution to the wind and hopped over the coffee table to try and corner Hashanah right away.
"TAH!" Hashanah grunted as she swiftly dodged the incoming rounds, not even minding them as they riddled the wall behind her with holes. One of the incoming rounds even struck a glass bottle, shattering it with a startling *KAKWEERSHLKLK* and sending its contents splattering all over the countertop and floor. Determined to defend herself, Hashanah instinctively charged up a supply of Dark Magic into her hand, aimed, and fired a *KRAKAPWOOORSH* of a supercharged Tyranny Blazer at the ground near where Nila was charging her. The resulting *KRAKWOOOM* of an electrified explosion sent Nila flying backward, smashing into a bookcase at the far corner of her living room with a *PLOOMPH* that knocked the entire structure over on her. "Sh-shoot…! I didn't mean to use that much power…!" the rogue genie cursed as she grasped her crackling hand into her other one and anticipated Nila getting back up. Surely enough, the resilient Ammonian affiliate did not disappoint.
"Oh, I'm gonna SKIN YOU ALIVE FOR THAT!" an even ANRGIER Nila shouted as she climbed up from the mess that used to be the bookcase, took the object she had grabbed from her jacket and flung it as hard as she could. Unintimidated, Hashanah raised a hand and fired a *KRAZAP* of a lightning bolt at the projectile as it hurtled toward her. The projectile, however, turned out to be an explosive. The unsuspecting genie would only find this out when the resulting *KAPROW* scattered some sort of red irritant dust that got into her eyes.
"GAH…! URGH…! Tear gas…!? GAAAAAAH!" Hashanah shouted, immediately recoiling to try and wipe the offensive substance out of her eyes. Nila, knowing an opportunity when she saw one, capitalized immediately as she aimed her gun and pulled the trigger… only for it to uselessly utter a *click* to signify that she'd run out of rounds.
"Jeez…" the red-haired woman grumbled with a roll of her eyes as she tossed the weapon aside. Her determination was unhindered, however, as she opted to instead charge headfirst at the incapacitated half-genie. With her fist cocked as far back as she could reach, Nila readied herself to deliver the haymaker of the century. And with a whopping *KRATHWOCK* loud enough that the entire neighborhood could hear it, she landed a jaw-blasting uppercut square on her ex-girlfriend's chin.
"GHAHAAAGH!" Hashanah hollered as she was flung across the room, crashing with a *KRADOLGH* through the wooden bedroom door at the end of the narrow hallway. The not-so-durable door broke into splintery pieces as the half-genie wrecking ball bowled through it, though it would stop neither combatant from continuing the chaotic… er… domestic dispute.
"That's the first of MANY bits of 'payback' I owe you for all the headaches and heartache you caused me!" Nila declared, rushing right in as she crashed through the remainder of the door and pounced on her enemy. Landing squarely on top of Hashanah, Nila quickly propped herself up on her knees, balled her fists, and began raining blows on the half-genie as she tried to defend herself. *PLOCK* after *THWACK* after bone-crunching *KATROPHK*, the Ammonian affiliate let loose as she let loose almost animalistic grunts of rage with every punch she threw. Hashanah would only be on the losing end of this battle for so long, however, before…
"Gah…! Hrgh…! Get…! OFF ME!" Hashanah roared as she managed to regain enough of her senses to see and catch one of Nila's fists in her hand to stop her onslaught. Immediately following this, Hashanah flung a lightning-quick, lightning-INFUSED fist into Nila's face. With a crackling *KRAZATWOCK*, the rogue genie punched her former teammate hard enough in the face to send her sprawling backward. With haste, Hashanah climbed back to her feet, brushing her frazzled hair out of her face and blinking her stinging, bloodshot eyes rapidly to try and fully recover her vision. "Now, you've done it…! I am going to make you SUFFER for that, you ungrateful COW!" she hatefully spat as she dashed up ahead and, with a horrifying *KRATWACK*, football punted Nila in the chest while she was trying to recover from the previous attack.
"GWAGH!" Nila howled in agony as she was sent skidding across the floor into the couch behind her. She slammed into the piece of furniture with a *PATHOONK* hard enough to shift it forward and knock a few objects off the nearby nightstand. Showing her resilience through such immense physical torment, however, she scrambled to her feet and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on… which happened to be a framed picture of the two of them posing in front of a monument together. "Grrgh…! You wanna talk about UNGRATEFUL!? After EVERYTHING I've done for you!? You treacherous WITCH!" the Ammoian affiliate indignantly shouted as she flung the picture, frame and all, at Hashanah as hard as she could before hopping over the couch. Meanwhile…
"HRAH!" Hashanah shouted as she threw a purple-hued fireball at the picture, incinerating it with an alarming *KAFWOOOSH* before it had a chance to hit the ground. "Give this up, Nila! You're only making this worse for yourself, and I'm running out of patience!" the agitated genie further demanded as she stormed forth to try and confront her ex-girlfriend again. Yet, before she could peer over the sofa to see what Nila was doing…
"CHOKE ON THIS!" Nila shouted as she unveiled a rifle from seemingly nowhere and… with absolutely ZERO hesitation, she unloaded with an eardrum-piercing *RATATATTAT* of the fully automatic weapon as it fired a fusillade of rounds at its target.
"WHAT THE-!? GHAAAGH!" Hashanah hollered out in agony, having been struck multiple times in the face, arms, and torso by the barrage of fast-moving flashing marbles before getting the idea to conjure up a magic forcefield with a *VWOOORN*. The instant she did so, however, Nila's bullets began to ricochet off the arcane shield with *bwoon* after *PaDWOONG* all over the formerly humble abode. Nila was quick to stop her onslaught, but it would take mere milliseconds for her to realize the damage done to her home. Many of the redirected bullets struck the walls and ceiling, leaving holes in them. However, many more of the discharged rounds wound up striking her furniture, a vase that shattered with a *PAKRALSCHK*, drinking glasses that were sitting on the countertop, and various other valuable possessions of hers.
"Now, I'm gonna beat you black and blue!" Nila angrily shouted, hopping back over the couch while tossing her emptied rifle aside, wasting no time rushing up to Hashanah to take a swing at her.
"WHOA!" Hashanah yelped as she leaned back to narrowly avoid being clobbered by the irate red-haired woman. Nila was not going to slow down, however, as she took another swing at her that Hashanah ducked under. And then another that the rogue genie caught in her open hand. "I said… Cut this OUT!" Hashanah roared as she, with a Dual Magic-charged fist (you read that right, DUAL MAGIC-charged fist) launched her counterattack. With a devastating *KRABWOORRGH*, Hashanah cleaned Nila's clock. The unsuspecting Ammonian acolyte was BLASTED backward, hitting the edge of the couch with such a forceful *KERPRAKRACK* that she went THROUGH it, followed by her slamming into the coffee table hard enough to tear through it with an additional *SHMAKRACKSHK*, and ADDITIONALLY followed up with her hitting the wall with such a voluminous *WHAPROOMPH* so hard that the impact knocked all the pictures off of it and sent them crashing to the floor in a cascade of wood and broken glass. "Hah… Hah… Ah, jeez, I didn't mean to hit her THAT hard…! What the heck…!?" Hashanah muttered to herself as she observed the hand she used to punch Nila… to see that it was surging and crackling uncontrollably with *KAKROCK* after *CHAZOKAZZISH* a mixture of Light AND Dark Magic mixed with violent jolts of electricity. "W-wow… This power…! I-it hurts…!" she complained, wincing as she grabbed at the powered-up appendage with her other hand and tried to bring herself under control. She would only get so much time to figure her situation out, however, as Nila gingerly pulled herself out of the wreckage.
"…Y-You…!" Nila growled, looking absolutely worse for wear as she stood, hunched over and panting heavily as she glared at Hashanah through her cracked glasses. Her outfit was in tatters, her hair was a frazzled mess, she was riddled with scratches… and she'd even been dripping a certain crimson liquid from her mouth while her eye was bruised… no, BURNT beyond a point of her being able to see out of it. Nila clasped a hand to the blackened skin on her face to cover the injured eye, though she showed no signs of slowing down. Just one good look at her, and…
"…N-Nila, please. Stop. I'm sorry…" Hashanah pleaded, dropping her animosity as she worriedly took in the gruesome sight of her former partner in such dishevelment. "I-I never meant to do this to you, and I regret that it's come to this. If you really want me to go, then I'll go. Let me just gather up my things, and I-!" the remorseful genie tried to offer, though she wouldn't be able to finish her statement… as Nila pulled out yet another weapon. The weapon this time? It wasn't a firearm or an explosive. Instead… "H-Hey! What the heck do you think you're doing with that Sprit Fuser fragment!?"
"You care SO MUCH about this pitiful trinket…! And you know what, Hashanah? That's perfectly fine…!" Nila began, having long since passed the point of reasoning as she brandished the Relic that shined with an inconceivable golden glow in her hand.
"Nila, stop! You don't know what you're doing with that thing! One wrong move, and you could hurt yourself!" Hashanah frantically warned, charging up a supply of her unruly Dual Magic in her hand. She winced as a result of its intense, shock-inducing *KRAKRAZOK*, though she ignored the pain as she aimed her hand at Nila. "Put it down! NOW!"
"I knew you'd show your true colors eventually… but just as you destroyed me despite you being the thing I loved most, I'll destroy YOU with the thing YOU love most! PREPARE FOR OBLIVION, YOU WRETCHED GENIE!" Nila declared, sealing it right then and there that things had officially gotten ugly between the two of them. In a sudden rush of frustration and fiery willpower despite her numerous injuries, Nila charged ahead and siphoned magic energy out of her stolen Spirit Fuser fragment. She found herself encased in the same ominous golden aura as she picked up speed with the intent to annihilate the genie standing before her. Hashanah had little to no time to figure out a way to pry the Relic from her ex-girlfriend's hands. She had even less time to figure out a proper way to defend herself. And so, with desperation and regret in her eyes that she closed as she braced herself with her crackling, magic-charged hand still held out in front of her…
"I said that's ENOUGH!" Hashanah announced, unleashing a mighty *KAPWOORRSH* of one of her signature techniques. This time, however, the blast came out BIGGER than usual… STRONGER than usual… and crackling with a mixture of Light and Dark Magic… and the attack made an instant beeline toward its intended target. And with a most gut-wrenching *KRAKAZAAAAARRSCK*, the magic force ball hit its mark.
"GWAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Nila howled in unspeakable pain that the entire neighborhood could likely hear, convulsing violently as she took the full brunt of the attack without a chance to defend herself. The merciless flashing surges of purple and blue electricity ripped through her every limb, burning and tearing away at her clothes and her skin as she began to smoke from the sheer blistering heat of the force ball's might. Her torment would last a few agonizing seconds before an explosive *TATWOOORSSHK* rang out, sending a badly, BADLY injured Nila hurtling toward the wall… which she hit with a gruesome *KRATHUNK* that left a dent in it before she hit the ground, hunched over herself.
"NILA!" Hashanah hollered at the top of her lungs in absolute horror at what she'd just done. Clamoring over the numerous bits of debris scattered all over the ransacked living room, the mortified half-genie hastily inspected her former partner for damages. One would have been BLIND, of course, to miss the third-degree burns all over the Ammonian affiliate's body, complete with her haggard, raspy breaths, the complete raggedness of her blood-stained outfit… and the fact that she wasn't moving. "Shoot…! Shoot, shoot, shoot…!" Hashanah cursed over and over again as she tried to shake her friend awake. "Nila! Nila, stay with me! Wake up! Please!" she begged, though she would get no answer. She went at this for a solid few minutes, entirely unsuccessful in stirring the lady soldier as she seemingly slipped from consciousness. "Darn it…! Why did you make me do that!? I was gonna leave you alone, and you just HAD to push it!" Hashanah screamed, at this point fighting back tears as she kept trying to wake Nila up to no avail. "NILA! WAKE UP! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL that's good in this world, ple-he-hease…! I'm sorry! Please…!" she continued to beg, though it wouldn't be long before Nila's breathing slowed to a point of being nearly undetectable. It was at that point that Hashanah concluded… that Nila was no more. To confirm it, Hashanah pressed her fingers to Nila's neck to try and find a pulse… and…
"No…! No, no no…! She's gone…!" the sorrowful genie realized, her face soaked in her own tears as she remained on her knees next to her late teammate, her fists balled up at her sides as her head remained bowed toward the ground. The once noisy room was overtaken by a grim, suffocating silence whose only competition was Hashanah's guilt-riddled weeping as she absorbed the gravity of the situation she found herself in. It would only be but so long before she made her next move, however. And this move… may somewhat bother you, so be forewarned. After breathing a heavy, shaky sigh, Hashanah reached toward Nila… and pried the Spirit Fuser fragment from the other woman's charred, smoking hand. Afterward, and without another word, Hashanah scrambled all over the living room. She rummaged through broken furniture, piles of books that had been knocked over, and other forms of wreckage within Nila's abode until she found what she was looking for… which happened to be her other Spirit Fuser fragment and damaged remnants of her notes on the forbidden relic.
Next, she hurriedly gathered as many of her other belongings as she could, stuffing them into a luggage bag she retrieved from the other room in the house. Throughout this entire process, mind you, she didn't once spare the motionless Nila another passing glance. Tears streaked the genie's face, but she uttered not another word to either herself or the other young woman. By all accounts, Hashanah was determined to make as quick an escape as possible. The distress was evident on the genie's face, though she seemed not to know what else to do. Once she gathered everything of hers, she stood in the middle of the living room… facing AWAY from Nila. And as she summoned up a supply of Dark Magic and belly danced with the intent to flee the scene…
"…I… I never meant for this to happen… Forgive me, Nila… I… Wherever you are, please forgive me…" she made her final request, more to herself than to her fallen friend… as she suddenly vanished with a smoky, flashing *POOF* of purple smoke to parts unknown.
Were she just a bit more attentive, however, Hashanah would have noticed that Nila… had actually moved ever so slightly from the position where she was left. Nila was barely conscious and in excruciating pain… but she was still clinging onto life. The heavily injured Ammonian soldier used what little willpower she had left to painstakingly drag herself across the disheveled living room to reach a blue walkie-talkie lying on the ground near the shattered coffee table.
"Hrrrgh…!" Nila groaned through a breathless, whispering rasp as she fought through torrents of unforgiving agony to reach her destination… on the way there, however, she noticed the broken fragments of a certain Inhibitor Vambrace lying next to one another… and oddly enough, they were wisping with Light Magic as though to beckon her. With hardly any time to think before she succumbed to her injuries, Nila pushed herself toward the damaged accessory, raising an arm to lay her wrist into it. With all her remaining might, and on pure instinct, she reached her free hand over toward the other half of the bracelet and slowly, but surely placed it on top of the other fragment. And when she did so… her body found itself coated in a faint, but potent glow of light, glittering blue. It wasn't much by any means, but she felt a tingling sensation course through every inch of her broken body. She seemed to stabilize her breathing as soon as the magic began to run through her, though she was still barely conscious. She found just enough strength from that point to claw herself just a few inches further, where she was able to JUST barely reach the walkie-talkie on the ground. Just as she began to fade from consciousness an additional time, she managed to push a button on the transceiver, where it activated with a *SKZZT*. And within a second…
"Hm? Nila?" a feminine voice called through the other end. "Been a while since we've heard from you. Are you still mad, or are you looking to finally apologize for being such a grumpy stick-in-the-mud toward us?"
"…H-help… please…" Nila barely managed to eke out, fighting to stay awake as she did so. "…N… need… medic… please… Twitch… Vinegar… I'm… home… p-please… help… urgh…" was all Nila could manage to say before she lost consciousness.
"Help!? Hey, are you alright!? Nila! NILA!" the voice shouted in a panic from the other end. "If you can hear me, say something! Do you copy!? NILA!" it continued, though no further response would be given. "Vinegar, we need to turn this thing around and head to New Hamshirt NOW! Nila just radioed in from her house and it sounds like she's hurt bad!"
"You're kidding! Ah, shoot…! Okay, tell her we should be there within the next half-hour!" another feminine voice responded as the roar of a plane engine filled the air waves in the background. As it appeared, the red-haired Ammonian acolyte survived JUST long enough to call in some allies to hopefully save her life.
"We're on our way, Nila! If you can still hear us, just hang in there! We're sending a medic over there as well!" the first female voice informed, the immense worry evident in her tone.
And… much as I'd hate to leave it off here, there… isn't really a whole lot else I could add. You witnessed it for yourself. Hashanah and Nila had a deadly falling out, and after a frightening exchange of blows between them, Nila was left barely clinging to life and in desperate need of help… with the only thing potentially keeping her alive being the magic-charged vambrace Hashanah absconded with mere days prior. I'll… hopefully have some good news to share with you the next time I get an update, but in the meantime, why don't we uh… go ahead and check on Sky and Rottytops one last time for the road?
Back on Soldier's Ascension Beach…
"…and… well, I think that's all the advice I can offer you right now," the blonde bird tamer finished a statement as she and her zombified pal continued to lounge together in the fading sunlight on the beach. "PLEASE don't make me regret it."
"Of course not, Sky," Rottytops assured with a giggling nod. "You worry too much! Also, thanks for taking all this time to hang out with me. It was great to chill with you, just the two of us after so long since the last time."
"I feel much the same, Rotty," Sky acknowledged with a smile and thumbs-up. "Now, we should probably get going. No doubt we'll all be busy in the next couple days, though I hope you'll take into account what I said about finding it in yourself to make peace with this situation," she further suggested as the two of them rose to their feet and dusted themselves off.
"Yeah… I can't promise I'll find my inner peace anytime soon, but… I at least want to move forward knowing that there's hope for me yet. You have no idea how… w-well, how hopeless I've felt recently…"
"I hear ya, girl, but this is why it's important to let us know what's going on. You have an awesome support system around you; it's just a matter of how you use it," the bird trainer advised. "And outside of the Bolo ordeal, I really would like for you to really come to a point of recognizing just how special you are. Whether you're a human or a zombie, you still have the right to be acknowledged and respected. And trust me… the sooner you learn to respect yourself, the less you'll feel the need to seek attention and validation from other people."
"Hey! I don't do that!" Rotty indignantly denied the assertion. "I just like to entertain a room full of people! And… especially to entertain Shantae whenever we hang together. Is that so wrong?"
"No, of course not. It's really just a matter of how comfortable you feel with yourself when you decide to 'entertain' people… as well as what you think is appropriate at those times."
"Are you implying something about me, featherhead? You can just come out and say it if you still have an issue with me, y'know…" Rotty remarked, suspiciously eyeing her friend up and down. At that, Sky merely chuckled.
"No issues, Rotty. At least, not as much of an issue as in olden times…" the falconer teased with a wink. "We're still working on it, though. I'm sure you understand."
"Hmph. I 'understand' you enough to know when you're taking another cheap shot at me," the undead maiden sardonically shot back. "But you know what? I'm gonna be the bigger woman here and let it slide before we wind up going backwards."
"Not everything between you and me is grounds for an argument, Rottytops, but sure. Let's call it here and go home a happy pair of friends. Shall we?"
"Yep!" Rotty agreed, at which point the girls made their way toward the Stage Clear platform a short distance away. Before they mounted it, however, they caught sight of a blue biplane zipping through the air as its engine roared loud enough to echo throughout the atmosphere. "Hm? That plane up there… Call me crazy, but is that who I think it is?"
"I see them, too. It's Twitch and Vinegar," Sky quickly pointed out as she and Rottytops watched on in curiosity. "They seem like they're in a hurry, though. I wonder what the rush is?"
"Eh, they're probably late to a meeting with that meathead Ammo Baron or something," the zombie girl remarked with a shrug as she ceased paying attention to the aircraft zipping through the open skies.
"Hm… One would hope that's all it was," Sky remarked, taking just a second or two longer to observe two apparent acquaintances flying on by before moving to join her friend in approaching the Stage Clear platform. "It's been so long since we've heard from them in particular. I wonder how the recovery process of the Ammonian Army has been for them."
"Chances are, we'll hear from 'em pretty soon," Rotty assured as the two of them reached their magical exit point and climbed aboard. "Now, come on. I'm starving, and I'm eager to put some of your advice into practice!"
"Heh… Well, I'm glad we managed to climb over yet another little hump between us. But seriously. If you mess up in any way that gets Shantae or Tayshan mad at you, I had NOTHING to do with it. You got that?"
"Just for that, I'll tell 'em you put me up to every step of it. If I go down, you're goin' down with me, birdie. No takesies-backsies, either. That's one of the perks of being my friend, I'll have you know."
"Oh, good lord… What have I signed up for?" a rightfully dismayed Sky lamented as she sighed and plopped her hand on her forehead.
"A lot more than ya bargained for, but a truly unregrettable experience!"
"You mean 'unforgettable,' right?"
"That, too, I guess," Rotty half-joked with a shrug and giggle as she wrapped an arm around her gal pal's shoulders and pulled her close enough to where they were cheek-to-cheek with one another. Absolutely enthralled by the development, Sky deadpanned at Rotty while showing nowhere near as much outward enthusiasm. "That aside, spending enough time with me will blow that delicious mind of yours!"
"Rottytops!" Sky shouted in a panic as she frantically flailed her way out of her zombie friend's clutches.
"Kidding, kidding!" the mischievous zombie laughingly assured, allowing Sky to take a breath of relief after a good… fifteen solid seconds of her warily eyeing up her undead comrade. Meanwhile, Wrench had shot her a glare of pure, unadulterated protective contempt without so much as blinking as he remained perched on Sky's head. Noticing rather quickly, Rotty locked eyes with the hybrid bird and immediately straightened up. "N-no, seriously. I was kidding. I'm not gonna hurt her, Wrench. Easy now…"
"Alright, I think we should DEFINITELY go now before you become Wrench's dinner. Between you and Bolo, he has NOT been a happy camper with either of you lately."
"Aw, don't lump me in with that two-timing jerk! I'm at least nicer to you… recently! Like, VERY recently! Recently enough that Wrench should at least consider eating HIM first… R-right?"
"Brrrrk, brrkaw," Wrench warned, which only confused Rotty as she tilted her head at him.
"Eh… What did he say?" she opted to ask her bird training best friend.
"He said he's weighing his options," Sky translated, which did Rotty no favors in the slightest on easing her nerves.
"…Y'know what? I was really about to ask to spend one more night at your place, too, but THAT just makes me want to go back to stud muffin's house where I belong."
"Oh, darn. I will certainly regret the lost opportunity for you to drink up all my coffee and scare me awake for your own twisted amusement," Sky flatly remarked.
"Hmph. You're SO funny, little Ms. Talks-About-Hot-Guys-In-Her-Sleep."
"W-what!? I DO NOT do that!"
"Oh, yeah? Well, how about I give you a few snippets of what I've heard you mumbling to prove it?" Rotty prefaced before striking a dramatic pose of interlocking her hands and raising them behind her head while lifting up a leg and shooting Sky a goofy look. And after taking a deep breath… "'Oh, Barracuda Joe, what a rugged mustache you have! I could rub my face on it for hours while we cuddle~!'" Rotty mocked, VERY much to Sky's chagrin as the bird tamer's face turned bright red. "'Ooh, Bran-Son, I can't believe you're so sensitive behind all those rippling muscles and that stunning bravado~! You can open up to me anytime while we kiss on each other, mwah, mwah, mwah~!'"
"Cut it out, Rottyto-!"
"'Tayshan, you naughty, handsome beast~! I never thought you and I would ever get together like this, but I'm so glad we did~! I feel so safe with you holding me in your big, muscly arms after sharing our passion and love in a wondrous entanglement of total sensual bliss~! You make my girlhood quiver with del—ACK!" Rotty was about to continue before she was met with a most EMPHATIC *PLAP* of Sky's hand smothering her mouth.
"One more word out of you about that, and I'll have Wrench eat your head EYES-FIRST!" Sky VERY directly warned. "You got that!?"
"Mm-hmm," Rotty affirmed despite her reply being muffled… and also despite her ill-timed snickering at one of Sky's apparent dirty secrets. YIKES… I'll just pretend I heard absolutely nothing of it as I patiently wait for the opportunity to go get my brain bleach. In the meantime, the girls refocused themselves and got set on the platform and prepared to declare their quest completed. "Say the words, bird girl!"
"Sure thing. All Clear!" Sky announced, calmly standing tall, folding her arms, and closing her arms while shooting a contented smile. Meanwhile, Rottytops decided to do something a bit… more risqué in the form of puffing her chest out, crossing her arms behind her head, jutting out one of her hips, and shooting one of the most… stunning smiling winks I think I'd ever seen a girl give… Goodness, I might be getting a little sweaty over here… whew…
"D'aww, you're the sweetest!" Rotty remarked without shifting from her pose, apparently hearing me think out loud. Oops… "I'd come over there and kiss you if I knew where you were! Buuut I suppose this'll do for now~! Mmmmpwah~!" she further flirtatiously remarked, kissing the palm of her hand and blowing it directly at me. And… uh… Hoo boy, did it suddenly get REALLY hot in here… Ahem! Yet, before I could unscramble my thoughts to give a proper response, Rottytops and Sky vanished with a *POOF* off the platform (not before Sky shot an unaware Rotty a disapproving side-eyed sneer, mind you), finally drawing their quest to a close…
Now, then… Just when things couldn't get wacky enough, this wacky group of teen and young adult wonders manage to raise the stakes, turn the tables, and exceed every expectation I could ever think to have. I never thought things could get THIS chaotic around Sequin Land's most famous crimefighters… and I actually can't wait to tell you more about what happens next! Oh, goodness… Am… am I actually starting to LIKE my job!? Bah! Impossible! This job was supposed to be a dead-end gig with no future! But darn it, if this dead-end gig wasn't the most fun I've had in a really long time! Er, ahem! E-excuse me… Anyway, on a more serious note, while our heroes were steady in finding their groove, it appeared that the 'alliance' between the rogues Hashanah and Nila had drawn to a close… with Hashanah being potentially more dangerous than ever. And Nila… well, one can only hope the poor girl pulls through after all she's been through. All I know is that I've got a feeling that things are only gonna get more intense from here. So as always, stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled. Buh-bye now!