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!

26. Spiritual Success

Chapter 10: Spiritual Success

Yoooo! Welcome back once again, old friend! You got here just in time… as usual, of course. You've gotta teach me how you're so wonderful with your punctuality sometime! I'm jealous! Eh, don't mind me… heh, just… excited to see ya again. Formalities aside, we've got quite the ordeal to sift through, so I hope you brought snacks and your biggest drink container with you… as well as possibly a seatbelt. You'll find out why, either way. So anyway, we last left off with a couple of complicated conundrums between companions. Sky and Rottytops, while working through their grievances with one another, visited the fabled Soldier's Ascension Beach for a suspicious rendezvous with a suspicious stranger… who actually turned out to be an inquisitive former Admiral Nila looking for answers that her partner, the rogue genie Hashanah, wasn't giving her. And through that meeting, a most… unfortunate confrontation broke out between Hashanah and Nila that resulted in Nila being critically injured and Hashanah fleeing the scene, Spirit Fuser fragments and all. I'm… currently not at all sure where Hashanah went, but we will certainly answer that question in due time. For now, we rejoin the Half-Genie Hero Shantae and company in Scuttle Town just a day after that incident…

In the late morning at Sky's Hatchery…

"Jeez, Sky… Sorry that you had to be so wrapped up in all that relationship drama despite you never asking for any of it…" the lavender-haired lady of the hour offered her sympathies to her blonde, bird-affiliated bestie in the comfort of said bird affiliate's humble apartment. Shantae and Sky had been relaxing on the couch in Sky's living room, each of them in their most recognizable and most commonly worn outfits as they traded stories over tea and cupcakes.

"I appreciate that, girl… Really, I do," Sky acknowledged with a sigh before taking a sip of her steamy beverage to refresh herself. "It's only a wonder what must be happening between the two of them by now…"

"You certainly said it," Shantae agreed as she nibbled on a prismatic frosted cupcake with a plate under it. "There's little doubt in my mind that their 'alliance' could be as good as done for with all that's happened between them, but I guess we'll only find out when we run into either of them again. I at least hope this means Nila's finally come to her senses."

"After what I told her, it'd be crazy to imagine that she wouldn't. I'm not sure what that would mean for her helping Hashanah push her agenda, of course, but I trust we can still handle anything else they have to throw at us."

"No doubt. By the way, how was your 'date' with Rottytops?" the curious genie asked as she set her cupcake down and reached for her teacup. At that, Sky's face soured as the taller maiden shook her head and put her teacup down.

"Please don't call it that," the falconer suggested out of a sense of mild displeasure. "My 'adventure' with her was short and relatively easy, though we had a couple of hiccups here and there. Poor Wrench got injured in the chaos, but we all pulled through. Rotty and I figured out just a little more about how to get along with each other in case you were curious, but I'm mainly just glad to have had a quest that didn't put us in so much danger that I thought I would die forty-two times over for once…" At that, Shantae chuckled and gave an understanding nod.

"Fair enough. I'm happy to see you two still working on embracing one another, and I apologize on her behalf for any trouble she caused you."

"Yeah…" Sky acknowledged, though she tensed up a bit as she took a deep breath and focused her gaze on her best friend. "Um…"

"What's with that look? Is something wrong?" the younger lady inquired with a tilt of her head as she set her teacup down.

"Well… I-I mean… I don't think it's really my business, but… about Rotty…"

"What about her?" the half-genie inquired again, this time raising an eyebrow as she tuned in.

"W-well… Just… I was talking to her a little bit about her expectations for her uh… 'arrangement' with Tayshan… and…" Sky continued to stammer, beginning to fidget with her hands as she cleared her throat. "Well… You see… um…" and after so much anticipation, Shantae breathed a heavy sigh of her own and…

"What, are you gonna drop a bombshell on me and tell me she finally admitted she has a crush on him or something?" she confronted the issue outright, completely astonishing Sky in the process.

"W-WHOA, WHAT!? You knew!?" the flabbergasted falconer blurted out her question.

"Well, I didn't until you gave THAT answer, but let's just say I had a hunch."

"Oh… Shoot…!" Sky cursed at herself for jumping the gun. "She's gonna be so mad at me…"

"Don't sweat it, Sky. It's literally one of Scuttle Town's worst-kept secrets," Shantae confessed as she scratched the back of her head with a hand. "I'm not oblivious to the way she's been treating him recently, and she's made it painfully obvious that she… has some 'feelings' to sort out. The talk between you, her, and me the other day only solidified my suspicions… and they were solidified even more when he picked us up later that same day, if you remember what I told you."

"Ah… right, the 'plane incident.' Well, er… If that's the case, then… is there anything you plan on doing about it? Or did you want me to talk to her again about respecting boundaries?"

"No, no…" Shantae denied with a small shake of her head. "You've been caught up in enough drama as it is, and you deserve a break. On the other hand, I… w-well, I feel like Rottytops should be able to understand for herself that she needs to keep herself in check. Her more important issue, of course, is working through her issue with Bolo," she further remarked, though one could pick up the twinge of discomfort in her tone.

"Oh. Wow…"

"Yeah. And if she makes one wrong move, then she'll hear directly from me. No one else needs to be involved," the heroine affirmed with utmost seriousness that seemed to scare Sky nearly stiff.

"Ooh… Uh, got it," was all Sky could think to say in the moment as she herself grew just a mite nervous. Well, a mite MORE nervous. "And… yeah, that's a good point about her needing to make amends. She still doesn't seem all too willing to budge on that, I'm sorry to admit."

"I figured as much, but at this point, it's between him and her. You, Tayshan, and I have already given more than enough advice to the both of them, and there's not much else we can do from here."

"True. I just really hope they DO reach an agreement of SOME kind, because it's honestly starting to get uncomfortable even thinking about one of them while being around the other… Although, I haven't seen much of Bolo lately."

"Trust me, I know. I haven't seen him around, either, but I have faith that he and Rotty can figure things out on their own from this point. So anyway, what are your thoughts on that Inhibitor Vambrace and the magic it grants you? Pretty cool, right?" Shantae quickly changed the subject with a sudden gleeful smile on her face.

"O-oh! Uh, yeah! It's astounding!" the bird trainer exclaimed as she glanced at the accessory in question resting on the coffee table in front of them. "I… only wish I actually knew how to use the thing because every time it activates, it's completely random, and then I feel totally wiped out after the fact."

"That tends to happen with magic, but a little bit of practice with it should allow you to minimize the side effects. Granted, I have no idea how much longer that thing will be charged up with Tay's power for, but…"

"Eh, we'll figure it out as we go along," Sky dismissed with a shrug as she climbed from the couch to her feet. "On that note, I've gotta catch up on some errands for the next couple days, so we may have to cut this short… Sorry, girl."

"Ah! Okay, got it," Shantae acknowledged as she also climbed to her feet. "What should I do about the dishes here?"

"Leave them. I'll take care of them after you go. By the way, mind telling me about your trip to Genie's Hem?"

"It was… something," Shantae shared with a chuckle. "I mean, I won the dance competition by a landslide, but we had a few… curveballs thrown at us. Namely, that Tay and I now have to go on a mission together this afternoon that he's… not too enthused about, but that he agreed to in order to get out of some security job for a children's birthday party that Mayor Scuttlebutt tried to stick him with. That, and our little 'strictly bodyguard and client' act got blown out of the water PRETTY quickly after we got there."

"Ooh, tell me more! And don't skimp on the deets!" Sky excitedly goaded as the girls got set to prepare for their evidently busy days.

"Have I ever been one to disappoint on sweet, juicy tales about the shenanigans we get caught up in?" Shantae rhetorically asked with a wink, at which point the two of them shared a hearty laugh. "Also, you mind if I change clothes while I'm here? Gotta get ready for today's mission."

"Sure thing, girl! My house is your house," Sky offered her most gracious hospitality. Afterward, Sequin Land's main hero began divulging details of her previous excursion to her best friend while they gathered themselves up. And while the girls were busy enjoying their quality time together once again, we'd unfortunately have to miss out on the details to keep things on track. That being said, you won't be disappointed. But you knew that already. Soooo…

A short time later, at Mimic's Workshop…

"Dude, what the heck is with that ridiculous outfit?" asked a supposedly missing Bolo, decked out in his usual attire as he pointed and laughed at another individual sulking with a look of great disdain on his face as he sat at the worktable on the far end of the common area. The individual in question? Take a wild guess. "You look like a cross between a pharaoh and an exotic dancer! Hahah!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…" an unusually sour Tayshan grumbled, scowling something fierce as he sat, arms folded as though he'd been told someone stole all his money. And… uh, well, I could see why. He was dressed in quite the uh… 'fetching' ensemble fit for a ruler of an ancient civilization particularly fond of pyramids. He wore a fancy blue and gold-striped nemes headdress that hid his hair entirely and came complete with a gold uraeus that had tiny rubies for eyes. He also donned blue and gold arm bands around his biceps and an additional set of wristbands of the same colors around his wrists. Adding to the ensemble was a fancy usekh collar of black, bright blue, scarlet red, and gold. He was also cloaked around the waist in a sleek, albeit VERY short white shendyt with a gold sash with a royal blue loincloth with a gold Ankh design that… ahem, left very little to the imagination. He was otherwise bare… as he had nothing to cover his super toned, scar-riddled chest… nor did he have much to cover those long, bulky, powerful legs of his… h-he was even barefoot with these alluring gold ankle bracelets around his ankles… and… um… and those slim, well-defined arms… Ah, uh, I-I'm not blushing! YOU'RE blushing!

"Why ya dressed like that, bro? Halloween isn't for another few months, and I figured you had your fill of wearing skimpy outfits that cover basically nothing that they're supposed to," the oh-so understanding Bolo pointed out as he approached his fellow S.L.A.P.S. member.

"This wasn't my choice. Shantae an' I are takin' a trip t' the Lucky Laces Lagoon t' get rid o' some giant, evil four-armed ogre that's terrorizin' the place," the golden-eyed, grumpy guardian revealed, evidently not too happy with this arrangement.

"THE LUCKY LACES LAGOON!? THERE of all places? Talk about hitting the lottery!" the blue-haired handyman complained, earning an even more annoyed glower from his friend. "No fair!"

"After all the foolishness you've been through, I figured you'd have thought goin' to some random oasis on the far southside o' Sequin Land known especially for housin' some o' the most voluptuous, yet most untrustworthy monster girls known to man was the LAST thing you wanted t' do."

"W-well, sure, but like… come on, you know how I am with pretty girls, dude. It's like a family curse or something," he explained as the front door of the workshop opened. "If you're looking for a partner for such a dangerous quest, I'm your guy…" he hinted with a smiling wink, paying no heed to the person silently walking up behind him. At this point, Tayshan noticed and was about to point them out before the person behind Bolo pressed her finger to her lips. At that, the halo-adorned 'pharaoh' gave a subtle wink of understanding before shifting his eyes back to Bolo.

"Yeah, you're 'my guy' up until one o' those girls convinces you t' fight me for a chance t' kiss her, I'd bet," he sarcastically shot back with a smug grin.

"Ooh, now that's harsh… Fair, but harsh…" Bolo laughingly shot back, though his laughter was short-lived. "In all seriousness, though, I've had some time to think about it after Shantae ripped me a new one the other day… and… I hope you're not still mad…"

"No, as long as we don't have another incident like that again," Tay conditionally forgave. "An' especially as long as you eventually make it up t' you-know-who for how you made her feel throughout this whole mess."

"Sure thing. I've been meaning to look for her, but I still don't know what to say. Maybe we can discuss it on our way to the Lucky Laces Lagoon? Eh?" he tried once again to shoehorn his way into his teammate's next big adventure.

"Nice try, homeboy, but the slot's been filled. Like I said, I'm goin' with Shantae today," Tayshan swiftly rejected the untimely offer to Bolo's disappointment. And speaking of untimely… "Besides, there's somebody right behind you that you'd probably have more fun spendin' quality time with…" he added, pointing to the mysterious individual who'd been eavesdropping on the conversation. But before Bolo could even whirl around…

"HIYA, GUYS!" the third party shouted at the top of her lungs, purposely scaring the living daylights out of the handyman as he spun around like he'd been stuck in a blender.

"WHA-HOW! R-ROTTYTOPS!?" he bellowed, revealing the identity of the eavesdropper to be everyone's favorite flirtatious zombie girl.

"Yep! Here to catch you red-handed talking about ogling other women without me finding out, ya hopeless perv!" she teased with a smile, however meanspirited it sounded. "Anyway…" she added, walking right past Bolo before he could say anything to turn her attention to the other man… and upon getting a good, long, lascivious look at his outfit…

"…Oh, no…" Tay lamented with great displeasure, bracing for impact.

"Well, well, well~! What do we have here, Tay-Tay? Hmm?" Rotty wasted NO time getting started with her usual antics, circling the wraith with her eyes glued to him as he tensed up with awkward discomfort in front of her. "My, oh my, you are on a ROLL with these super seductive outfits! Are you TRYING to make me jealous of Shantae~? Because you already know I am. I only wonder what it would be like if you did another hot little dance number for us in this costume…~"

"H-hey!" Bolo hollered in shock at Rotty's naughty comment. Tay, despite initially saying nothing, was especially caught off-guard, his face heating up like coals on a piping hot grill as his eyes widened at his fellow member of the undead. And as the undead maiden sprung on him for a hug…

"Rotty, seriously…" the disquieted wraith began, patting her on the back with one hand as she squeezed him tight with both of her arms and took a seat firmly on his lap. She also, as one would expect, cupped his face and planted a particularly wet smooch on his cheek that further caught the wraith by surprise… complete with a noisy, succulent *pwop*.

"Great to see ya again, babe~!" she continued to flirt with him, causing the blush on his face to deepen as he patted her on the back. Noticing his discomfort, she… wiggled her hips into his lap, which only made him tense up as he NARROWLY avoided flinching in a certain sense of discomfort.

"I'm happy t' see you too, but er… Don't you think you're goin' just a LITTLE bit farther with this than you need to?" Tay protested, evidently wanting to end the embrace as soon as yesterday.

"A little bit farther with what, stud muffin?" the seemingly oblivious zombie asked as she loosened her grip on him, though she remained seated on top of him. Much too close for comfort if you ask me… and she knew it, considering the coquettish, yet subtle blushing grin she was shooting him as she looked him right in the eye.

"With tryin' t' make Bolo upset every time y'all are within twenty yards of each other," he matter-of-factly called her out with a raised eyebrow. Rotty's response?

"Pssh, no way! This loser isn't even worth the tiny amount of energy it'd take to make HIM jealous!" she derided her former lover right in front of his face, emphasized by her gesturing a thumb toward him while not even attempting to look his way. You could imagine that no one laughed with her. If anything, Tayshan shot her a look of stern disapproval that stopped her laughter cold. "Ah, o-okay, okay, I didn't mean it. Jeez, Tayshan, you don't have to glare at me like that…" she defensively added, finally getting the hint as she climbed off him and planted her feet back on the ground.

"Hm," the ghost man hummed with a momentary bow of his head as he softened his expression a bit and took a deep breath to ease his nerves. "You two have been doin' this long enough, an' you've both talked t' everybody else about the issue. So, when do y'all start talkin' to each other?"

"Give it another five… maybe ten… THOUSAND YEARS before I-!"

"Rottytops…" Bolo interrupted her to call to her. Upon hearing her name leave his lips, the agitated zombie girl flinched in tightly contained ire. But before too long…

"…What?"

"…I… I know I royally, ROYALLY screwed up, and I can't say I blame you for wanting nothing to do with me. But please… can we MAYBE get some time to talk this out?" he humbly requested, shocking both of his friends in the process. "Just you and me. It'd probably take me forever and a day to fully come clean about everything, and it's gonna torture me till the end of time to know how badly I've hurt you… but even if you still hate me after the fact, I at least want the chance to clear the air between us."

"Why? So you can feel slightly less guilty about blowing me off to be with your mangy Leopard Gal lover who wound up dead?" Rotty irritably shot back, finally turning her attention to him to reveal the death glare only a scorned lover could aim at someone. And despite her callousness toward the late Klawdia…

"N-no… because you deserve some peace of mind, regardless of how I feel," he added, his voice shaking as he worked up the nerve to look her in the eye. "And… I at least want us to be friends again. I took you for granted after I pressured you into talking about a relationship with me, and I recognize by now that that is the most horrible thing I could've ever done to you. I-I'm sorry…"

"…Oh," was all Rotty could think to respond with right away, much of her anger at Bolo dropping right then and there as she kept her eyes locked on him. She read the heavily guilt-riddled look on his face, his slumped shoulders, and the trembling in his hands… after which she crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and turned her head away. "Well, you're gonna have to do a LOT of explaining to make yourself look just a LITTLE bit less like a shameless, two-timing dirtball."

"Understood. Um… So… d-do you have time today to hash things out? Maybe?"

"No, but I probably will in a couple days. I'm gonna be busy for a bit with planning something…" she discreetly mentioned as she turned her attention back to him.

"Ah. O-okay. Cool. That's fine. Uh… just… let me know when you're available. M-maybe we can eve-!" he was about to suggest before the front door opened again, drawing everyone's attention toward it. And who emerged through it this time?

"Hey hey, y'all!" the one, the only, the Half-Genie Hero herself Shantae greeted her comrades as she joyfully strutted in, decked out in an… equally (if not more) revealing blue and gold snake princess costume. Her hair was done up into a stylish braided ponytail, and her outfit… left even LESS to the imagination than Tayshan's did. Gold-plated dance top that… ahem, BARELY did their job of keeping her 'contained,' a bikini-esque gold linked bottom with a royal blue heart-shaped chastity plate outlined in gold… oh, boy, I'm getting hot just DESCRIBING it… u-um, a long, royal blue loincloth draping from the back of the bottom part. She, too, was barefoot with gold ankle bracelets and wristbands that, unlike her original set, coiled around her limbs.

"Snack cakes!" Rotty was the first to greet, excitedly scampering over to her best friend to wrap her up in an affectionate embrace that the half-genie eagerly returned. Rotty proceeded to kiss Shantae on the cheek with gusto as they hugged. "Busting out the sexier attire once again, are we? I only WONDER what the occasion is…" she teased as the girls ended their embrace.

"Ah, uh… w-well, there's a mission that needs to be completed today, and… well… heh…" Shantae nervously stammered through her statement as she turned her gaze toward the VERY happy (read: irritated) wraith sitting at the worktable in front of her. "Lookin' good, babe!"

"…This better be the ONLY time I'm forced t' wear this outfit for a quest, Shae," Tay warned with a most disarmingly disgruntled pout. At that, both Shantae and Rottytops cracked up at him.

"Oh, stop! It isn't THAT bad!" she reassured through her laughter. "The Sultana was just feeling nostalgic and had her highest tailors draw up that ensemble for ya! It's supposed to be practical! I didn't think she'd lean so heavily on the uh… the…"

"The completely revealin' aspect of it?" he finished for her as he rose to a stand… only to immediately begin fumbling around with the loincloth to try and make it cover what it needed to cover… to little effect. We know this because Bolo instantly squeezed his eyes shut, shielded his face with a hand, and looked away. Rotty… wasn't quite as quick on the draw as she turned her head away… but kept on peering at him as her cheeks flushed dark green and salaciously bit her lip with a knowing grin. Goodness, she's practically RADIATING with certain… suggestive 'vibes' here.

"You'll get used to it, I promise," Shantae dismissed with a flick of her hand. "Besides, I brought out this costume for ya, so you wouldn't be alone!"

"How very generous o' you… only, that's gonna cause a whole different problem, if ya catch my drift…"

"AH! NOPE! Not hearing ANOTHER WORD of that! See ya!" Bolo declared, plugging his ears and powerwalking his way out of the workshop.

"Hello and goodbye, I guess…" Shae acknowledged with a wave at her blue-haired buddy.

"…What kind of problem do ya mean, stud muffin?" Rottytops, being her usual inappropriate self, tried to tease as she grinned and winked at a HOTLY flustered Tayshan. In response, he could only gawk at her with eyes wide as dinner plates as his face brightened up like a branding iron. It only took about 0.1523 seconds of a certain half-genie glancing back and forth between the two undead blushing entities that were her closest friends before…

"AH! NOPE! Not barking up THAT tree again! See ya later, Rotty!" Shantae quickly, angrily, and SUPER blushingly shut the flirting down as she dragged her friend toward the door that Bolo just walked out of.

"Aw, come on! I didn't say anything wrong! I was just asking about if he meant your costume was gonna make him extra horn-!" Rotty tried to clarify, which was met with a swift *PLAP* of Shantae's hand over her mouth as the heroine continued to pull her friend toward the door.

"Nuh-uh! Go on ahead and take care of your errands for today! Save your dirty jokes for some other time!" the lavender-haired lady demanded. Of course, Rottytops giggled in amusement at yet another incident of flustering her scantily clad friends as one of them proceeded to kick her out of the workshop.

"Love ya too, snack ca-!" Rotty tried to humorously remarked before she was cut off by the *WHAM* of the door closing with authority as Shantae slammed it shut. And as she breathed a heavy sigh of relief after the fact...

"Wow... You were a lot faster than usual with shuttin' her down," remarked a mildly surprised Tayshan. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah... y-yeah, I'm good. Just... needed to uh... to make sure she wasn't going to make you too uncomfortable," she hesitantly assured as she turned around to look at him.

"No more than she usually does, though she an' Bolo evidently still have their issues t' work out. She's been a lot heavier on the flirty stuff with me recently, though. Like, A LOT heavier. Not sure what's on her mind at this point..." he confessed with a curious scratch of his head, causing the disquieted genie to flinch and clench her hands, though she did her best to immediately regain her composure. This shift in her disposition did not go unnoticed, however... "Ah... A-are you SURE you're okay, Shantae? You seem tense..."

"I'm perfectly fine, hon! I promise you, I am!" she lied with a waver in her voice, grinning as brightly as she could while she took another deep breath. And though he tilted his head and cupped his chin with a hand as though to wonder about how visibly uncomfortable she seemed to be in that moment, he was quick to brush the concern off with a nonchalant shrug.

"Cool," the unassuming ghost guardian acknowledged in a word and with a nod of his head, unknowingly providing Shantae further relief... or, I wasn't sure if he was truly unaware because he was still subtly eyeing her up and down as he made his comment. Hmm...

"Yep. Sooo… Are you excited that the two of us get finally get to go on a classic adventure-slash-date together, Tay-Tay?" the half-genie asked, changing the subject as she sauntered her way over to her ghostly boyfriend.

"Excited about us finally gettin' some alone time together? Yes. Excited about goin' on an adventure while dressed like we belong in the kind o' movie parents tell their kids not t' watch? Absolutely not…" Tayshan grumbled with an embarrassed pout, at which Shantae giggled it up.

"Aw, you'll get used to it, babe! Besides, you NAILED it on the dance moves you pulled off in this costume when you were asked to come onstage with me!" she revealed, which… wait, SERIOUSLY!? He DANCED PROVOCATIVELY in this costume!? Shoot, why didn't we COVER that!? Er, I-I mean… uh, it must've been TOTALLY embarrassing for him, and I feel his pain. I'm definitely not saying that because he glared at me or anything… heh… Anyway, as Tayshan rolled his eyes and turned back to Shantae…

"Yeah, sure, because I LOVE bein' set up an' bein' made t' do humiliatin' things for other people's entertainment. It would've been nice t' get at least a LITTLE bit o' heads up that I was supposed t' be part o' your dance routine," he sourly grumbled.

"True, but if I told you that from the jump, you wouldn't have come along!" the humored genie girl revealed, much to her partner's chagrin.

"Now, that's just messed up," he comically complained out of sheer indignation. "Do you know how many people are gonna be lookin' at me funny now or crackin' jokes about me? I can kiss that 'Tayshan the Tenacious' nickname goodbye now, an' I was just gettin' used t' how cool it made me sound!"

"Hmm… I dunno about that," Shantae denied with a smirking shrug of her shoulders as she stood tall in front of him. "If you'd been listening to some of the judges before you scurried off to change back into your security outfit, you'd have heard them say that you made a new name for yourself for somehow combining tough and sexy into a trendy new look while also being an exceptionally talented dancer. Your breakdancing and gymnastics skills really wowed the crowd, and combined with my belly dancing, we totally OWNED that show! There's no doubt that people are gonna respect you even more if you ask me!"

"Jeez…" he lamented with a sigh, shyly shaking his head in reflective discomfort.

"D'aww, you're so cute when you get all sheepish like this…" she 'complimented,' which immediately drew an irritated pout from him as he cut his eyes toward her. Sheesh, it was like he took her compliment as the worst insult someone could've hurled at him. Shantae's response to this? "Hahhahah! Sorry, that slipped. I meant that you're so handsome when you get all sheepish like this. Better?" she prodded as she laughingly poked his chest.

"Not by much, but sure," he remarked with a shrug and tilt of his head, not even attempting to fight back against his girlfriend's teasing antics.

"Alright, alright, let's talk more when we hit the skies. You got everything you need for our trip?"

"Yep. You?"

"You know it! Sounds like we are Ret-2-Go~!"

"You are surprisingly happy about this trip despite the long flight an' how difficult it's supposed t' be…"

"How can I not be? It's our closest thing to full date in at least a couple months, and I get to FINALLY have you all to myself without anyone to distract or interrupt us!" she practically shouted with infectious delight as the Cosmic Couple exited the workshop on their way to their next grand expedition.

"Heh… Well, with that kind of adorable enthusiasm, how could I deny such excellent points?" he teased with a chuckle.

"See, I knew you'd come around. Now, let's hurry on up. We've got loads to gush about, and only so much time on the flight before we're in full business mode," Shantae urged as the two of them picked up their pace strolling through the busy streets of Scuttle Town… well, the citizens weren't necessarily 'busy' with anything in particular until they caught passing glances… and full-blown stares at the genie and the wraith in their… very revealing outfits. And while Shantae didn't seem to mind (as much as she probably should've), Tayshan… was far less confident in the matter, as he sunk into himself and exchanged glances with pretty much everyone they walked by. Of course, just when they were about to exit the town…

"There goes Sequin Land's hottest genie, pulling along the hottest guy around since Bran-Son!" shouted a particularly vocal… er, 'fan' of theirs as she also whistled at them while she and a group of her friends… let's say 'eagerly' gawked at them. "That was a wonderful show you two put on in Genie's Hem last night! Any chance you could share him with us, Shantae~?"

"Yeah! We'll be gentle with him~!" another female 'fan' commented.

"And don't think for a second that you'd be left out of the fun, you sweet, sensuous genie thang~!" shouted a male 'fan' of theirs. "I could teach you both a thing or two in private! Especially you, Shantae~! Holla if y'all need me!" As you might imagine, this comment wound up flustering both of them.

"…Hrrrrgh…!" Tay let out a quiet groan of pure shame and… moderate agitation as he sunk further into himself. One could see the vein popping from his forehead as he cut his eyes toward the hecklers without turning around.

"Proooobably should've used my Warp Dance to avoid all that… Oops. Sorry, sweetie. Come on, let's hurry up," Shantae mercifully picked up the pace even more to spare themselves the added heckling from the crowd…

Later that afternoon, soaring across the Sequin Land skies…

"So, how've you been holding up with your magic lately, Tay?" Shantae asked as she and Tayshan flew across the sun-bathed Sequin Land Sea without a cloud in the air to impede them in the one-seated biplane the wraith had used once before. So, y'know… seating arrangements were already questionable when you consider she was sitting on his lap as he piloted the aircraft… "You seemed to be doing pretty well throughout the dance competition, but is it back to a manageable level?"

"Unfortunately not…" the ghostly guardian informed as he adjusted his goggles with a hand. "It's just growin' stronger an' stronger, an' I've needed t' either discharge or store a bunch int' this Spirit Fuser fragment at least seven or eight times by now. Even the Light Magic has been actin' up because o' how much stronger the Dark Magic has been growin'. I haven't felt quite right since fightin' Risky Boots, an' that scuffle with Hashanah made it that much harder t' stay in control."

"Shoot… That clearly means we need to pick up the pace with finding the rest of the pieces of the Spirit Fuser," the half-genie acknowledged as she also fixed her goggles. "I never would've imagined your condition would make you so much stronger, but have such a massive drawback as it building up constantly out of your control to the point of it threatening to outright kill you… If only I knew a way to help you…"

"Don't sweat it, babe. I can manage, so long as nothin' we deal with outside o' Risky an' Hashanah forces me t' overdo it again. It's just a matter of us makin' this trip a short one unless we get some downtime t' breathe once we land."

"I would hope not to be caught by surprise on such a routine mission," Shae pointed out as she adjusted herself in her partner's lap… which may have wound up causing him to flinch. Seeming not to pay it any mind, the heroine continued. "We go in, we take out the target—hopefully without needing to kill him—and we take off back home before any of the legion of monster girls gets so much as a whiff of you."

"An' that part honestly scares me more than anything else on that island could…" Tay lamented. "You'd figure we'd need t' come t' this place dressed in anything OTHER THAN the most outlandish and obvious costumes imaginable. Hmph…"

"It… does kind of strike me as odd as well, but the mission specs from the requester called for you to wear the most 'eye-catching' material you had. Maybe it's for the sake of distracting the monsters that might spring out at us?"

"Were it so easy, that would be just it. For all we know, the requester could be settin' us up for a trap."

"A trap? This far out, and on an isolated island full of monster girls and this one giant we have to deal with?"

"Considerin' the kinds of adventures we've been on, would ya REALLY sleep on that possibility?"

"Hmm… I suppose not, though I don't get mission assignments from the Sultana as often as you do. Buuuuuut since you put it out there, we should definitely keep our guard up."

"Trust an' believe I will, hon," Tay agreed as Shae shifted again… to a most, er… alarming effect. "Ghahgh…! H-hey, could you not wiggle your butt int' me so much while we're flyin' around in this thing? It's distractin'…"

"Sorry, but it's just a bit difficult to get comfortable when I've had something poking me from below this entire time…" she… slyly remarked with another wiggle as she craned her head back and shot the pilot a knowingly kittenish grinning look.

"Grgh…! Gaah, you…!" Tayshan remarked as he winced and… as he suddenly began to glow with a subtle flow of Light Magic. He'd also begun blushing something fierce as he comically scowled at Shantae due to her teasing of him.

"Oopsie. Did I make you upset with me, Tay-Tay~? Hmm?" she teased some more, pressing herself into his lap as she giggled.

"Hrgh! Hoooh…! D-darn it, Shantae…! Hah…!"

"Hm. Based on that reaction, I guess 'upset' isn't the word for it. Hee-hee~!" she flirtatiously taunted him some more as she put her back into it (with wiggling into his lap, I mean) and gleefully reached up to tickle his cheek with her fingers. In response, he leaned in and…

"…You keep this up, an' I'mma make sure that you won't remember your own name for the next WEEK, I'll make you feel so good…!" he sultrily, yet aggressively GROWLED his statement into his girlfriend's pointed ear as he took a hand off the console and seductively tickled her inner thigh with his fingers. Absolutely enjoying the sensation of her boyfriend's digits massaging her, Shantae shivered in unmitigated bliss.

"Ahn~! Heh… W-we'll see about that, though I'll admit that I've been ITCHING to see what you have in store for me…" she welcomed the 'challenge' being offered to her. "If it's anything like that spicy roleplay we did a couple months ago, then I can't wait! Will… you um… w-will you use that secret technique of yours again? Y'know… the one where you charge your tongue with magic…?" she sheepishly requested, an absurdly strong blush forming onto her face as she asked.

"I shall happily oblige…" Tay VERY sultrily accepted. "If it makes my little kitten purr, I'll do whatever she asks o' me…" he further er… 'offered' as he continued to massage her thigh, drawing his hand upward toward the hot and bothered half-genie's chastity plate. Hooh my, oh my… We may be thousands of feet in the air where it's supposed to be freezing cold, but MAN did it get hot up here…

"Ooh, Tay~! Keep this up, and we won't even be able to finish this adventure without getting 'distracted…'" Shae taunted right back as she scooted herself back into him and began rhythmically gyrating her hips to also occasionally rub herself against his fingers. Picking up on that rhythm, Tayshan made sure to… 'tickle' Shantae where she wanted his firm, manly digits to touch her most. It… went without saying that she was thoroughly enjoying her impromptu mile-high massage as she hummed in immaculate bliss, closing her eyes as she got into the groove.

"Heh… We'll see what ha… huh?" he trailed off as he turned his gaze to the side to see something approaching… and QUICKLY. It didn't exactly ease his nerves that the thing gunning for them was also whistling as it traveled fast enough to BARELY be visible. Upon recognizing the incoming object… "Shoot…! Shantae, hold tight! We're under fire!" he further advised as he held her tight with one arm while reaching for a lever at the side of the seat.

"Whoa, what!?" the half-genie understandably remarked in shock as she immediately snapped out of her enamored trance, hurriedly bracing herself as instructed. "Are you gonna try and avo-!"

"No time! Bust out the carpets!" he requested as he yanked the lever with all his might. With a startling *KLKLKLAKLAKLANK* and subsequent deafening *PSHOOOF*, Shantae and Tayshan were sent rocketing out of the cockpit of the biplane, at which point Shantae unfurled two decorative carpets of red, purple, and blue and tossed them out into the open. And just as the carpets took shape and began to hover under them, the parachute for the ejector seat deployed with a *PWOOF* that heavily slowed their descent over the sparkling sea. And right then, the object that came in from nowhere made contact with the plane and utterly BLEW it to smithereens with an absolutely FLABBERGASTING *KRABWOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRSH* that instantly turned the aircraft into a smoldering wreck as it quickly descended into the sea.

"What in the heck…!? Who could possibly be so quick to target us before we even GET to our landing spot?" Shantae asked as Tayshan unfastened the seatbelt, allowing both of them to hop onto the carpets and get themselves ready for the adventure of a lifetime as they both also ripped their goggles off and stashed them away.

"Beats me, but whoever it is, they're gonna regret it!" Tay assured, his anger at the unforeseen interlopers evident as he scoured the open air for any potential threats. And within a second… "THERE!" he shouted, pointing ahead to see a swath of a certain… unpleasant group propeller pack-adorned, red-garbed, gangly minions of a certain Pirate Queen. And they were armed to the teeth and ready for a war to break out…

"TINKERBATS!? Graaah, that lousy Risky Boots NEVER learns!" Shantae hollered, fired up as she took the lead on her carpet and readied a fireball in her hand.

"Then we'll just have t' keep teachin' her the same lesson until it eventually sticks…!" Tayshan vowed, scowling with entirely unrepressed vitriol as he prepared a lightning-based technique in his own hand. It… was worth mentioning that his left eye had begun doing that weird thing again where it rapidly flashed between gold and silver as he glared at their shared enemies. "Just say the word an' it's on, Shantae!"

"You'd better believe I will! WE'RE READY TO BRAWL!" the heroine announced, defiantly pointing her finger toward the enemy as she stood tall and determined.

"TILL WE CRUSH 'EM ALL!" her haloed teammate added as he took aim with his open electricity-charged hand, making absolutely certain we knew they meant business this time. You'd better saddle in yourself, because this is gonna get WILD… How wild? Weeelll… "BANISHMENT BLAST!" the ghostly guardian shouted, which was NOT what I was expecting him to start with.

"Wha? 'Banishment Blast'?" Shantae questioned as she turned to see her boyfriend aiming straight ahead. Before she could ask what he was about to do, however, he fired a spectacular beam of electricity and purple-hued light with a *KRAKABWEEEERRRRROOOOSH* that sent waves of air ripping in all directions as it raced toward its intended targets. "W-whoa…!" she further remarked, rubbing her abdomen as she watched the blast tear right into the horde of incoming Tinkerbats, instantly vaporizing a handful of them with a sizzling *SKIIIRRRSSSSSCCCH* while others hastily took evasive maneuvers to avoid being fried into ashes themselves. The blast quickly dissipated after the fact, prompting the half-genie to turn back toward her partner to observe him.

"Ghaah…! Hah…!" Tayshan groaned as he winced and recoiled from his attack, grasping his firing arm with the other.

"Be careful, babe! That was impressive, but you don't want to burn yourself out before we land!" she called out to him before turning back around and channeling magic into her hands.

"Heard!" the wraith dutifully acknowledged, shaking off the residual electricity in his arm before refocusing. "I'll try!"

"Awesome! Now, follow my lead!" she further directed as she bravely charged forth to face the growing wall of Risky's minions planning to get in their way. Within seconds, and with a collective rattling of *RATATATTATs* and *PAPOWs*, the propeller-packed Tinkerbats unloaded a frenzy of bullets at our spoonerific duo. "Same old tricks, different day! Let's show 'em what we've got, Tay!"

"You got it!" the haloed guardian acknowledged as he charged ahead on his magic carpet with an arm stretched behind him and glowing blue. Within the next second, however… "REAPER WIND BURST!" he hollered out as he swung his arm upward to create a tempestuous gust of wind that blew every bullet upward and caught the Tinkerbat attack squad off-guard.

"Perfect! Now take this, you creeps!" the ponytailed heroine challenged as she summoned up a pair of fireballs in her hands that grew to the sizes of truck tires, took aim, and once the gust from Tayshan's move dissipated… "INFERNO CASCADE!" she announced, at which point she let loose a rapid barrage of fireballs with an astounding *FWOOSHOOSHSHOOSHOOOSHOOOORZH*. The flaming projectiles scattered in multiple directions as they raced ahead, catching some of their targets and setting them ablaze while other Tinkerbats rolled and dove out of the way while remaining airborne to avoid being incinerated themselves.

"That's a new one!" Tay praised as he leaned to the side and dodged an incoming spray of gunfire from the opposing forces, countering with a *BWEEERSH* of a Specter Flash aimed at a single Tinkerbat that attempted to flank him from the side.

"Heh. You're not the only one who's been keeping their best techniques under wraps! Just keep your eyes on me if you REALLY want to see what I've got in store!" Shae proudly hinted with a confident grin as she summoned up a bright blue magic bubble with a humming *VWOOOORNG* to block a barrage of flashing marbles headed directly for her from their shared enemies.

"T' be fair, it's hard t' take my eyes off you in general," he teasingly remarked with a chuckle. That sly comment, of course, caught the heroine off-guard as she turned her attention to him with a more than notable blush on her face. Noticing right away that she'd been looking, he cast his gaze over toward her and grinned before aiming two fingers right at her, charging a supply of magic into them, and… "…but that doesn't mean you should take your eyes off the battlefield! SNIPER'S JUDGMENT!" he shouted, at which point an eardrum-piercing *TWEEERSCH* rang out as a long, narrow beam of concentrated magic ripped through the air from his fingertips.

"H-huh!?" Shantae remarked in wonder as she watched the beam zip right past her, striking a Tinkerbat in the head with a horrifying *KWEERSCH*, causing it to pop with a *POOF* into smoke just as she turned around to see it. Though caught by surprise, the half-genie was quick to shake off her astonishment and reorient herself as her force field wore off. "Hmph. You must think you're SO cool for that!" she teased as she summoned up a current of electricity in her hands, reached forward, and let loose a *KRAKALAKAZAAAP* of lightning bolts from her fingers that electrocuted a few more Tinkerbats that got too close to her.

"Just a little bit!" Tay shot back with another chuckle as a particularly large squadron of Tinkerbats that had fallen behind chased them from behind with the intent to take their targets all the way down. "If you're lookin' t' be cooler than me, now's your chance t' step up t' the plate!" he further encouraged as he fired another *BWEERSH* of a Specter Flash at the crowd of Tinkerbats doggedly pursuing them. This time, however, they were wise enough to scatter in multiple directions to avoid being hit at all.

"And you'd better believe that's a challenge I won't refuse! TYAH!" Shantae announced as she touched a finger to the red gem embedded in the mouth of her snake-themed headband… and with an instantaneous *KAKWAAAARSH*, the Half-Genie Hero fired off her Crimson Laser that just as instantaneously SHREDDED through a chunk of the Tinkerbats before they had a chance to react. And as the Tinkerbats returned fire while giving chase, Shantae fired off an additional *KAKWAAARSH* of her Crimson Laser in tune with Tayshan launching another *BWEEERSH* of a Specter Flash. Each of their ethereal attacks ripped through the air, knocking another few Tinkerbats out of commission as they were either electrocuted into oblivion or were simply vaporized in an instant.

"Since when was you able t' shoot lasers out o' your headband?" Tay curiously asked as he and Shae turned their focus forward with full intent to reach their destination.

"Since the Tangled Thread Temple, and it's been one of my favorite techniques since we started this hunt for the Spirit Fuser," the half-genie proudly answered. "And with this Desert Princess costume on, I can shoot my Crimson Laser all day if I wanted to!"

"Crimson Laser, eh? Sounds pretty cool!" Tay lauded as he and his team leader swerved and veered around multiple sprays of gunshots coming from behind. This would only be the beginning of their airborne troubles, however, as another swarm of Tinkerbats flew in from ahead, this time armed with flamethrowers and more guns. "Ah, shoot…! Look alive, babe! They're about t' ramp it up!" he warned as he sized up the opposition and fired one more *BWEEEERSH* of his most commonly used magic attack to try and stop them in their tracks.

"Interesting… What the heck does Risky have planned for us to send her goons after us like this?" the half-genie pondered as she was about to prepare a counterattack against hers and Tayshan's shared enemies ahead. However, the Tinkerbats hounding them from behind had other plans. They banded together and formed a wall of sorts, aiming every one of their weapons at the lavender-haired lady while she wasn't paying attention. And with a collective *RATTATAATATATATTAT*, they unloaded their weapons on her. "Huh? GAH! BUBBLE!" Shantae hollered in near panic, stretching out her arms to summon up another magic barrier with a soothing *VWOOOOORNG* to block the incoming assault. And with a rapid series of *plinks, *twoongs, and *placks, her bubble did its thing… until a sudden *THOOM* of another Tinkerbat weapon sounded out. "…Uh-oh," Shantae remarked, seeming to recognize the sound as the projectile came barreling in toward her. At that point, she braced for impact as the incoming warhead arched in… and with a sudden *KAPROWWWWWSH*, the grenade launcher round exploded on her shield and sent her hurtling off her carpet as her bubble shield exploded with an emphatic *KRATWEESCHALIINGRSH* that sent fancy blue shards scattering in all directions. "WHAAAHAAAAH!"

"I've gotcha!" Tay shouted as he pulled his carpet backward and managed to catch Shae and safely place her on her feet beside him.

"Whew… Thanks, honey!" Shantae happily offered her gratitude, to which he nodded at her before looking ahead and aiming his fingers forward. Before he could fire off his attack, however, another collection of bullets came zooming toward them with another deafening series of *RATATATATATATATTATs* and *KRABLAMs* abound, forcing him to dip and swerve out of the way to avoid taking damage. Meanwhile, Shantae turned her attention toward her carpet to see that it had been swallowed up in a tower of flames from the blast she took seconds earlier. "Ah, dang it…! Looks like we're gonna have to share for the rest of this trip, so I hope you don't mind!" she further warned as she charged up another pair of fireballs in her hands and took aim at the Tinkerbats responsible for knocking her off her ride.

"Of course not! Just be prepared for things t' get a bit bumpier!" he warned as he focused more of his attention on the Tinkerbats trying to head them off. He extended an arm behind himself as he readied himself for his next move.

"Heard! Gimme a heads-up, though. What do you plan on doing next?"

"Catch these creeps off-guard an' maybe try t' swipe one o' their weapons t' use against 'em. With one less carpet, though, it's gonna be harder t' pull it off."

"Don't sweat it. When I give the signal, we'll execute a two-pronged counterattack like we practiced. Sound good?"

"Ooh, most definitely…!" Tay agreed with a determined grin.

"Awesome. Now… Ret… 2… GO!" Shantae gave the signal as she suddenly let loose another *FWOOORSHOOORSHOOFWOOORSH* of her Inferno Cascade attack, belting out another frightening barrage of fireballs that scattered about and threatened to roast another chunk of the Tinkerbat squad that had been hot on their tail. Some of the fireballs hit their mark as Risky's minions hurriedly spread themselves out to avoid losing their leverage. "I just bought you a couple seconds! Go for it, Tay!"

"Copy! Hrrraah…!" Tay acknowledged and grunted as he maneuvered the carpet around another spray of bullets while closing the distance on the Tinkerbats up front. As soon as the pirate henchmen saw the opportunity, the three of them that wielded flamethrowers lined up, aimed their nozzles, and sprayed a collective *FAFWOOOOOOOOOOOOORRSH* of fire blasts directly at them. "ORYAAAAAAAAAH!" the ghostly guardian hollered at the top of his lungs as he swung his arm upward to summon up another Reaper Wind Burst with a suffocating *WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRSH*. This time, however, the wind proved to be MUCH stronger as it not only blew the towers of flames all the way up, it also blew the entire squad apart as they lost control of their propeller packs and tried to reorient themselves.

"W-whoa… How in the world did he…?" Shantae was about to ask, needing to shield her face as she turned and witnessed her boyfriend's unprecedented power. Meanwhile, Tay prepared to make his next move.

"Take control o' the carpet for a sec, sweetheart!" he humbly requested. "Just stay under me in case I fall an' back me up! I'll clear the way for us!"

"Ah, s-sure!" the half-genie agreed, stepping toward the center of the magic living room decoration as the wind began to dissipate. "I've gotcha covered!" she assured, to which he responded by giving her a thumbs-up before turning ahead.

"HYAAARAAAH!" he roared as he leapt OFF the carpet, a fist balled up and cocked all the way back. Within the next second, and with a thunderous *KAPROCK*, Tay punched one Tinkerbat in the face, knocking it out cold in a single strike while grabbing onto another one with his free arm. Just as he pulled it down with his weight, he swung upward and with another *WOOOORSH* of a smaller Reaper Wind Burst, he gave himself enough of a boost that he was able to swing off the Tinkerbat he grabbed onto. He followed up by breaking the Tinkerbat's propeller pack and tossing it away to fall to its doom. With his newly gained altitude, he next fired a *BWEEERSH* of a Specter Flash ahead to electrocute two other Tinkerbats. By this point, however, the Tinkerbats caught on and turned their weapons against him. *RATATTATTAT* after *KABLANG* after *PAPOW*, the legion of Risky's minions tried to turn him into Swiss cheese on the spot. And despite taking an alarming number of direct hits, the ghostly guardian seemed entirely unfazed as he descended upon a Tinkerbat with a rifle, kicking it in the face with a *KATHWACK* of his bare heel against its unsuspecting visage. And right as it went down, he snagged the rifle it flung up with one hand while using the other to summon just one more *WOOOOORSH* of a Reaper Wind Burst to gain just a bit more airtime. And with this final burst of air, Tayshan took on more of the brunt of the Tinkerbats' collective wrath as they unleashed a tempest of bullets at him. In return, he charged up a supply of magic into a hand he had chambered to his side. And once he extended it forth… "FRY, YOU LITTLE FREAKS!" he harshly yelled as he unleashed another *KRAKABWEEEEERRSH* of a Banishment Blast that viciously dispatched another handful of Tinkerbats and sent the rest of them frantically scattering away from the area of effect. Afterward, Shantae directed the carpet under him, allowing him to land safely beside her.

"Jeez, Tayshan! When the heck did you learn how to pull THAT off!?" remarked a thoroughly surprised Shantae, though her amazement would quickly turn to worry as her partner fell to one knee, suddenly crackling with electricity all over his body as he heavily panted. "H-hey! Are you alright? Did you overdo it?"

"N-no…!" he assured through a pained wince. "Magic is overchargin' a lot faster than I thought, an' usin' it t' try an' compensate hurts like no tomorrow…! Ghaaah…! Not sure what's goin' on, but… I think I should be fine for now…! Hah…" he added with a sigh as he stretched out the kinks in his body and readjusted himself with a Tinkerbat marksman rifle in hand.

"Hm… I gotcha, but please don't get carried away. Let me take the lead from here until we land in the Lucky Laces Lagoon, okay?"

"You got it, Shae-Shae. I'll cover you," he fought through an unrelenting wave of magic-borne fatigue to assure with a nod.

"Much appreciated, Tay-Tay," she assured, switching positions with him to take point as he had previously. "Now, let's give these pests a headache they'll wish they'd never known…!"

"Well, then! Your clever one-liners have gotten better!" Tayshan praised as he took aim with the rifle.

"Thanks for noticing," Shantae acknowledged with a giggle before she refocused and got herself truly into gear. And with that, the Cosmic Couple engaged their enemies for the second round of this insane airborne ambush. Shantae started off by gracefully belly dancing her way through a spray of bullets coming from in front and behind as Tay made sure to will the carpet through a series of swerves and curves. And as he returned fire with a *RATATTATATAT* of the rifle he previously confiscated, the heroic half-genie engaged in a hypnotic maneuver of gyrating her hips as she raised her hands high. In doing so, she summoned a crackling rush of electricity into her hands, aimed one of them forward, and… "SHOCK BURST!" she announced.

"Shock Burst? Wha…?" Tay asked, craning his head to figure out what Shae was up to… just in time to see the scantily clad young woman release a truly flabbergasting torrent of electricity from her hand with a deafening *KRAAKAZKAKAZAAZAAAAAAAP* that, in a literal flash, struck EVERY Tinkerbat in her sight simultaneously. *POP* after *PROCK* after *ZAKROCK*, she shot them all down in a smoking heap as they each plummeted out of the sky and into the ocean in a collective daze.

"Hah! Too easy!" she gloated, jutting out a hip and placing a hand on it to strike a sassy pose while blowing smoke off the hand she used to launch her Shock Burst attack.

"Y-you're jokin'…! When did you learn THAT one!?" the genie girl's boyfriend asked her as he split his attention between gunning down the other half of the Tinkerbat swarm and steering their carpet past another bombardment of bullets.

"Just now," she casually remarked as she continued her sultry dance to swap places with him. And as she was shaking and swiveling those curvy hips of hers, she spotted a trio of Tinkerbats approaching from the side… and fired another *KAKWAAAARSH* of her Crimson Laser at them to wipe them out in a single stroke before turning to face the Tinkerbats previously engaging her partner. "You can say it was inspired by that Banishment Blast of yours," she further remarked with a triumphant grin. "Soon enough, I'll figure that move out, too."

"Oh, really?" Tay asked in feigned incredulity as he noticed another sizable squadron of Risky's minions approaching. This time, however, they were accompanied by a small collection of Harpy Gals. "Your uncanny ability t' adopt every move ya see comin' through yet again. Also, we've got some unusual company in the form o' some flyin' monster girls comin' in hot at our twelve!"

"That must mean we're almost at the Lucky Laces Lagoon, though I-! WHOA!" Shantae was about to remark before she felt the carpet jerk to the side, momentarily breaking her focus. As the carpet moved, the whistling *FWEEEEEEEEEERRRH* of a flying anchor zipping past them caught both hers and Tay's attention. "Jeez! Where did THAT come from!?"

"Looks like a Bat Gal threw it, but it looks like she an' her feathered friends are stayin' behind t' let the Tinkerbats lead the charge!" the wraith informed as he aimed his rifle and unloaded with another *RATATATATTAT* on the squadron ahead.

"Figures," the genie acknowledged with a sigh as she reached a magic-charged hand in front of herself again and… "FIREBALL!" she shouted, flinging forth a singular sphere of flames at the pursuing Tinkerbats. This time, she only managed to hit one of them with a burning *SKWOOOORSH* that sent the minion packing. In response, the rest of the remaining group spread out and began unleashing an unforgiving storm of rounds from their guns with more *RATTATTATs* and *KABLOOSHes* to try and overwhelm her. "Tayshan! Dodge this next wave!"

"Hm?" he hummed as he turned his head around to see the incoming storm of bullets ready to pelt them like no tomorrow. "Oh! Hwah!" he grunted as he leaned forward, grounding his stance to lean the carpet to the side to avoid the bullet spray. In that moment, however, a Harpy Gal flew in and fired off a smattering of talons at him with *FLOOWF* after *FLOAARSH* of her wings. While Shantae was able to avoid them entirely while she was busy, the talons managed to scratch Tayshan up as they either zipped by him or hit him directly while he was guarding himself and his partner. "Darn it, I was hopin' I didn't need t' do this again…!" he cursed as he ceased shooting and took one hand off the rifle to charge up magic into his hand. And with another swing of his hand upward… "SHRAAAAAAH!" he yelled, summoning up another Reaper Wind Burst that emitted another *FWOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRSH* of tornado-level wind. Once again, however, the defensive move seemed to come out much stronger than he anticipated. The wind blew hard enough that the Harpy Gal's next barrage of talons… AND the Harpy Gal herself were blown CLEAN out of the way and a mile higher into the sky. Even better (or worse), the attack nearly knocked both him AND Shantae off the carpet.

"W-WAAHAH!" Shantae bellowed, flailing her arms to keep her balance. Once she was able to secure her spot, she turned her head toward her teammate. "Easy on the wind there, hon! You almost blew us off the carpet!"

"Ghah…! Sorry," Tayshan apologized through another pained wince as his arm continuously crackled with magic-borne electricity. "Magic's still buildin' up an' without those Inhibitor Vambraces, it's hard t' tell how much juice I need for some o' these moves…" he further clued her in as he used the same arm to aim another attack, this time summoning up a hefty supply of Dark Magic into his hands with a frightening, low-humming *GWOOORSH* of a purple-hued aura coating his limb.

"Hm. I see…" the half-genie acknowledged as she summoned up another bullet-absorbing barrier around herself with another *VWOOOORNG* to block another incoming barrage of flashing, glowing rounds. And once the rounds had stopped coming for the moment, she took the liberty of lowering her shield, summoning fire into both her hands, and taking aim once more. "INFERNO CASCADE!" she announced, unleashing another hurricane of flames upon hers and Tay's shared enemies. Meanwhile…

"TORAAAAAAH!" the wraith shouted as he fired off another *KRAKABWOOOOOOOOOOORRRRSH* of a Banishment Blast at his side of the airborne battlefield. "Gahahaagh…! That wasn't the move I wanted t' use…! Hah…!" he complained, wincing through his words like someone kicked all the air out of his lungs.

"Oogh…! Wow, I really felt it that time…" Shantae complained with a wince of her own while one of her hands jerked backward, though she managed to stay focused shooting her fireballs at her share of their enemies. With collective *KAFWOOOOORSHes* and a heinously loud *SKRIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRSCH* alike from each of the S.L.A.P.S. members' attacks alike, the genie/wraith duo created an amazingly brutal fireworks display out of vanquishing enemies by the dozen. They would not get time to celebrate, however, as more Tinkerbats armed with guns and propeller packs came zipping in from multiple angles. Prepared to ride it out until they reached their destination, Shantae and Tayshan buckled in, magic at the ready, as they continued firing off *BWEERSH* after *FROOOWSH* after *TWEEERSCH* after *KAKWAAAARSH* of their attacks while dodging and weaving *RATTATATs*, *POWs*, and *KABLAMs* of Tinkerbat firearms and explosives all over the airspace on their flying carpet.

"This is insane, even for Tinkerbat standards…! Something's GOTTA be up with this place for these scrawny little abominations t' be THIS aggressive with tryin' t' stop us…! HRAAAH!" Tay observed as he weaved to avoid a Tinkerbat that charged in at him, following up with a swift *KATHROCK* of his electricity-charged fist to its face to knock it out before turning, swapping positions with Shantae and firing a *BWEEERSH* of a Specter Flash at another trio of Tinkerbats aiming and mag dumping on her.

"No kidding…! TYAAAH!" Shantae agreed as she gracefully spun around an incoming swath of bullets before countering with another *KAKWAAARSH* of her Crimson Laser that zapped through four of Risky's minions. In that same moment, another three came dashing in from the side while she swapped places with Tayshan again. As they got close, they attempted to bludgeon her with electricity-spewing batons that looked like supercharged cattle prods that crackled with *CHAPROCK* after *KRAZAP* like listening to fireworks up close. "Nice try!" the capable genie taunted as she weaved around the first attacker and pummeled it with a *THRACK* of her braided Hair Whip attack. The second one wouldn't even get the chance to close the distance as she gyrated her hips and flung a *FWOORSH* of a fireball directly into its face to dispatch it outright. The third one, learning from the mistakes of its partners, attempted to throw its baton at her… only for her to stretch her hands over her head while shaking her hips to summon up a *VWOOORZH* of a purple-hued force field around herself. The baton bounced off the barrier with a *TRISK* and rocketed right back into the Tinkerbat. As you may have guessed, the Tinkerbat was met with a horrifying *KATHRAKAZZAZZZAP* of its own weapon being turned against it before it also fell out of the sky, defeated. Shortly thereafter, Shantae scanned the vicinity to see the image of golden sand dunes with barely visible statues in the distance. "We're almost there! Just a bit more!" the half-genie announced, pointing ahead toward the incoming island as her Reflector Bubble disappeared.

"Thank goodness for that…!" Tay remarked with a sigh of relief as he pointed two magic-charged fingers toward another Tinkerbat and ended its existence with a *TWEERSCH* of a Sniper's Judgment laser. Immediately following that, however, he winced in evident discomfort as his arm let out a terrifying *KRAKAKRACKLE* upon recoiling from the move. "Dwaaaghaah! D-darn it…!" he cursed as he tried to shake off the pain and returned to using the rifle he'd previously taken to keep up with the firepower.

"Careful, babe! Do your best to conserve your energy and find a balance!" Shantae sagely advised as she prepared for more Tinkerbats to try and assault them… only for her to notice that they had suddenly halted their onslaught and began to retreat. "Huh…? Where are they going?"

"Not sure, but I don't plan on lettin' 'em get a… hang on, we might have a bigger problem on our hands!" the wraith suddenly warned, ceasing with firing on the fleeing Tinkerbats to point something out as they neared the fabled Lucky Laces Lagoon.

"What's up? What do you see?" the half-genie asked in wonder, turning to look at what her boyfriend was pointing at… And there, she discovered that he had been trying to stomp out a fire that had started on the carpet as the smoke began pouring from the burning fabric. "Oh, jeez! Oh, jeez! Ah, I-I've got it!" she frantically hollered out as she got set to perform a belly dance presumably to try and transform into something that would put the fire out. She would not get the chance, however, before…

"It's about time you foul beings were dealt with properly!" shouted an enemy Harpy Gal as she and a group of others flew in and surrounded our crusaders while they were busy trying (and failing) to put out the fire. "Those who dare trespass on the grounds of the Lucky Laces Lagoon will-!"

"Uh, j-just a second! We'll be right with ya!" Shantae interrupted as she kept on dancing and Tayshan kept on stomping… with his bare foot… while the fire kept on growing.

"…Uhh…" hummed the Harpy Gal as she and her mixed posse of Bat Gals (or rather, a singular Bat Gal) and other Harpy Gals paused and watched on.

"Ow! Hot, hot, hot, hothothothothothot! Ergh!" the panicked ghostly 'pharaoh' complained as he sped up with his ill-advised, ill-fated approach to fighting the fire.

"I've got it! TRAAAAANSFORM!" Shantae announced, striking one of her signature poses to transform with a *POOF* into Elephant Shantae… which didn't make the situation any better, as the carpet began to practically nosedive out of the air toward the island while it was still on fire.

"Whaahahaah, oh no!" Tayshan hollered out in even more frantic distress as he fought to keep his balance.

"Taking care of it now!" Elephant Shantae proclaimed as she took in a deep breath, aimed her trunk, and sprayed a powerful *SKWEEEERSH* of freezing cold water forth… only to miss her mark and end up splashing Tayshan on the back with a positively FRIGID *SPLAK* while he continued to panic and keep from losing his balance on the dwindling fabric as it burned up and sank from the sky.

"Gwaaahahuuuuuurgh! Shantae, WHY!? Why did you turn into the Elephant instead o' the M-M-M-M-Mermaid!?" Tay hollered out in understandably increased fright as he swapped out stomping on the building blaze for charging up magic in his hand to presumably prepare a Reaper Wind Burst while inching himself back toward her… It more than likely didn't help that he was also violently shivering because he was doused in water cold enough that, at THIS altitude, was turning into ice crystals on him. As if this couldn't get more disastrous for them…

"It was the first thing I could think of, alright!?" Shae complained right back as she tried again to aim her trunk at the fire, only for it to become apparent that there wasn't enough room to work with between the two of them. "Tayshan, get out of the way! I can't spray the fire with you standing so close in front of me!"

"Can't really help that, considerin' we're runnin' out o' space!" he argued as he inched himself back, still shivering like he was stuck inside a chamber of liquid nitrogen. "T-t-t-t-turn back t' n-n-normal! I'll b-b-b-blow the fire out right quick!"

"With what? Your Wind Burst move?" she asked, though she obeyed his request and transformed back to her humanoid self with another *POOF*.

"Yeah, but you might wanna hang on tight in case this doesn't w-w-w-work!" he warned, squatting low and gesturing with a hand for her to climb aboard. Without a word, she complied as she hooked her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Good. Th-th-th-thankfully warm, too… Now, here goes nothin'! SHRAAAAH!" he hollered as he, with a *WHOOOOOOOSH*, swiped his hand upward to generate a powerful wind that, in a perfect world, would've put the fire out and allowed them a safe and uneventful landing onto the shore of the Lucky Laces Lagoon. But you know for sure by now that this world was ANYTHING but perfect. So, what had happened was… Tay's Reaper Wind Burst worked as intended. However, it only made the flames rise HIGHER with an even mightier *FWOOOORSH* as the sudden increase in oxygen powered the blaze up and saw to it that the rest of the carpet would be burned through in a matter of seconds. "WHA-!? N-NO! DANG IT!" Tayshan rightfully panicked, wide-eyed as he clasped his hands to the side of his head in disbelief.

"Oh, boy… It wouldn't be a classic Shantae-styled adventure without at least a little bit of over-the-top, hapless shenanigans mixed in at pretty much every turn…" the Half-Genie Hero mused with a sigh and shake of her head. "Tayshan, we're gonna have to jump! And quickly! The island is right underneath us, but our only safe landing spot is those incredibly wavy, trap-infested sand dunes! Hope you're ready!"

"No, but it ain't like we got another choice!" a certifiably nervous Tayshan acknowledged with a gulp as he looked down and… well, looked like he regretted his every decision in life (or afterlife?) that led him to this most chaotic point. And… while most likely saying his prayers, the madman jumped! Like, full on swan dive right off the carpet as its last fabrics burned up and vanished in a cloud of sparking black smoke!

"WOOOO-HOOOO! It's Tay-Boggin Time!" Shantae cheered as she shifted herself to where her knees were pressed into his back and where she was grabbing his wrists from behind while he… assumed the position of… being a toboggan? Wait, what? How in the WORLD is…? No, wait, what the heck is a Tay-Boggin!? You're not seriously about to-! "…Use Tayshan as a sled to totally shred these sand dunes on our way to complete our mission? Oh, you'd better believe it!" Shantae oh-so informatively answered my question… just as I thought things couldn't get wacky enough.

"Preachin' t' the choir…" Tayshan the Tay-Boggin agreed, squeezing his eyes shut and bracing for impact as the Cosmic Couple rapidly descended toward the top of the tallest sand dune on the Lucky Laces Lagoon in full toboggan formation. On the way down, however, a floating onyx-colored talisman with gold outlines along its ridges like a protective cage greeted them as it hovered directly in their path. "Hm? What's that thing…?" he asked, observing the round diamond-shaped gem as it gleamed and sparkled, practically begging to be claimed.

"Grab it and find out! It's been a while since you picked up a power-up of your own!" Shantae eagerly encouraged, prompting her partner to reach for the Relic to make certain that Tayshan got Diamond of Devastation… which, honestly… sounds VERY ominous if you ask me. Regardless, the gem automatically affixed itself to his right nostril in the form of a fancy nose piercing that locked itself in with a *KERSNAP*.

"Yeowch! Shoot, that stung…!" the wraith complained and flinched in pain, though he did not reach a hand over to massage his aching nostril.

"Huh. A nose piercing? Odd, though it does suit you!" the half-genie complimented as the two finally reached the summit of the sand dune and landed with a *Pwoff* of his torso against the sand, after which he began rapidly sliding down with reckless abandon. "Can't wait to see what it does, though we'll likely have to get through this next section before we find out! Now, come on, Tay! YAAH!"

"Gyaahh-ha-howw!" he very enthusiastically yelped in pain as Shantae yanked on his arms to steer him around a series of pike balls embedded into the surface of the grainy mountain. By all means, the Cosmic Couple were locked, loaded, and ready to complete their mission by—seemingly—any means necessary.

Meanwhile, back in the air…

"Well, then… Despite our allies' best efforts, the intruders have touched down in the Lucky Laces Lagoon," observed an airborne Harpy Gal as she and a handful of her svelte, curvy, prismatically feathered Harpy Gal allies hovered in the air and collectively peered downward to watch Shantae and Tayshan escape toward their destination. "It appears we have failed…"

"Excellent…!" muttered the lone Bat Gal of the group as she unleashed a sinister grin while also watching the genie/wraith duo race down the dunes.

"Excellent? Why would this be a good thing?" asked the befuddled Harpy Gal with a raised eyebrow. "You heard what the pirate lady said about what they'd do to the place if they were allowed to land, did you not? Moreover, why did you instruct us to disengage and hold back instead of stopping them when we had the chance?"

"Because if all goes according to plan, then we may very well have our new sources of power in the form of the genie and her consort…!" That statement made the Harpy Gal suspicious as she looked her teammate up and down.

"…What do you mean by that?"

"Don't you realize? If we can detain that genie, we can potentially make her grant our every wish! We don't have a lamp to subjugate her with, but our allied forces should prove more than enough to lock her down and make her bend to our will once we've worn her down enough. And as for her partner… Did you see his power? Is it not as spectacular as you were previously told?"

"Yes, it's quite impressive, and it astonishes me that a male could possibly contain such strength and ability. But what are we supposed to do with that knowledge?"

"Easy! We shall allow them to challenge King Khalid the Conqueror and DESTROY him!" the Bat Gal proudly proclaimed. "There's a reason Shantae the Legendary Super Genie and Tayshan the Tenacious were called to our location on this day…"

"What? You speak nonsense, Venus! What are you implying? That YOU arranged for the two of them to come here and potentially lay waste to our oasis!?" the feathery, wing-flapping woman incredulously asked as she only grew more vexed at her Bat Gal counterpart.

"Not quite, Harriet," the Bat Gal revealed to be named Venus clarified. "You see, I have a confession to make. The story you were told about them 'laying waste' to the Lucky Laces Lagoon… was a ruse," she further explained, causing… only SOME of the Harpy Gals (including Harriet) to gasp in collective shock. Those that didn't… merely nodded in understanding… almost as though they knew this bit of information already.

"A RUSE!? Are you KIDDING ME!?" Harriet indignantly shouted, appalled at the revelation. "What is the meaning of this!? We do not condone deception, Venus! Least of all, from outsi-!"

"Relax, Harriet…" Venus did her best to deescalate the argument as she held her hands up in front of herself. "I assure you, the real plan has been set in motion for our collective benefit. I have no ulterior motive against you or any of our sisters in the Lucky Laces Lagoon. I call this place home just as comfortably as you do. I just figured we could make our home slightly MORE comfortable…" she further implied with a wink.

"And in what asinine way were you thinking you could accomplish THAT, knowing that you've apparently been lying to us about your intentions this whole time?"

"I'm so happy you asked!" the Bat Gal enthusiastically exclaimed, beaming with mischievous delight. "The truth is that I, in cooperation with a certain Lady Pirate, set up a decoy operation in which Khalid the Conqueror is to be overthrown and vanquished in battle to rid us of his oppressive rule. And as soon as he is dealt with, we will strike…!"

"Strike how? You seem to be implying that we will ambush Sequin Land's most powerful heroes after they dethrone our king… at YOUR request! Such treachery for someone who has only recently learned to call the Lucky Laces Lagoon home! Worse yet, we do not stand anything CLOSE to a chance of overwhelming the Legendary Super Genie OR her ethereal love partner, who himself has proven powerful enough to dismantle ENTIRE ARMIES of men with just his own two hands! Agitating just one of them would spell disaster for the entire island!"

"You must have faith, sister. We've accounted for these factors, I promise you. We have our bases covered. And you know as well as I do that the Lucky Laces Lagoon is a paradise to be ruled by us WOMEN, not some squid-brained male barbarian!" Venus fervently argued. "Let's face the facts. Khalid has kept us impotent and complacent in recent times. We're surviving off scraps and following his every command at the threat of being kicked off the island or flat-out killed if we even glance at him in a way he doesn't like! He's even worse than the last man I worked for, who turned out to be a chauvinistic, money-grubbing blowhard!"

"You mean Hypno Baron?"

"Indeed. And even if you don't know what it's like to follow an ignorant dope like HIM, I can still tell you that Khalid is a FAR CRY from being a perfect ruler. Considering how long you've lived here, you HAVE to at least be aware that we deserve better."

"Odd that you could reach such a radical conclusion despite only living here for the past month… I mean, I know that Khalid can be rather short-tempered most of the time and that his judgments for those who cross him even slightly can be highly unfair, but he has brought us much-needed stability that the Lucky Laces Lagoon has thrived on for literal centuries."

"Be that as it may, there is still MUCH greener grass on the other side!" Venus urged her colleague as she hovered closer to her and looked her right in the eye. "This oasis is in DIRE need of an update to its archaic and troubling rules and policies… including an update on the throne itself as far as who will sit on it after Khalid's demise. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare ya."

"Hm. I cannot say I disagree, but I also do not know if I can cosign this mutiny… yet, it is apparently happening anyway. So… fine. Let's say we await the unlikely downfall of Khalid. What happens after that? Is it your expectation that Tayshan would willingly succeed Khalid as our king? Or that Shantae would even think to allow that of the man she claims as her own?"

"Oh heavens, no. We're far beyond being ruled over by incompetent men. We can rule over ourselves. He will instead be our unlimited energy supply…! As well as the unlimited 'supply' of a little… something else that would ensure our survival for generations to come…" Venus menacingly suggested with a VERY unsettling wink. "His status as a wraith means he won't die, no matter how much we suck him dry!" she further exclaimed, though I… wish she'd have worded it just a TINY bit better…

"Among a myriad of other pressing questions, how would THAT work for the rest of us? You Bat Gals are the only ones who can directly siphon energy from human males," Harriet was quick to point out.

"Not necessarily. I'll answer your other questions later, but here's a little gem of knowledge for you now: You can be taught how to work the kind of Dark Magic we Bat Gals possess despite not being one yourself," Venus continued with her persuasive negotiation. "It would take some time and dedication, but you can attain power beyond your wildest dreams if you're willing to take that leap of faith! And maybe you can finally score yourself a worthy mate once I've taught you everything you need to know~!" At that, Harriet scoffed.

"My word! You certainly have SOME nerve!" the flustered Harpy Gal protested with the hottest of blushes on her face.

"Ah, you know how I am by now. Don't get your feathers all ruffled up over it. I'm just trying to do what's best for the Lucky Laces Ladies," the Bat Gal assured. "Now, come on. We've gotta report back to our pirate 'friend' to update her on the progress of our plans as we get prepared. Are you with me or not?"

"…Hm…" Harriet hummed, evidently on the fence about her comrade's proposal. After a second, however… "Fine, but you had BETTER keep your word that all this ruckus is truly for the betterment of the Lucky Laces Lagooon…!"

"You got it, girl… Now, let's go nab us a power couple…!" And with that, the monster girl brigade had flown in separate directions across the island to get ready to spring their apparent trap. Aw, man… Just when ya think a job would go smoothly, someone always has to throw a brick in the blender. Get it? Smoothly, like smoothie? And a brick in the blender would… ah, who am I kidding? You totally get it. I swear I can hear your laughter. Even if you're just laughing on the inside. Nevertheless, it appeared our two main players in this crazy game were in for a truly rude awakening like no other, and sliding down some giant sandy hills with one of them using the other as the vehicle was the least of their worries. I just hope neither of them gets sand in places they don't need it to be, considering their attire for this particular journey. On that note, I'll catch you cool cat(s) on the flip side! Come back soon!