Shantae: Tangled Tales

Tale 14: "Run, Run, Rottytops" / Epilogue

Dusk settled in over Scuttle Town.

Outside the reach of the crater that was once the Town Square, Shantae's Lighthouse remained standing. It, however, had seen better days. Debris from the explosion tore a hole in the roof and left chips and cracks in the facade.

Atop the overhang above the Lighthouse door, leaning against the cracked glass window, Rottytops sat waiting for the sun to drop below the horizon. As she waited, she observed the ocean spilling into the crater from the nearby harbor, forming a small, muddied lake at its center.

Yet, the view failed to keep her mind from wandering.

Of course, she was aware of what happened at the Tangled Tower. What continued to happen across all of Sequin Land. Her people had been stripped from her. And while she knew it didn't really matter in the end, the loss saddened her, nonetheless. At that moment, they all could've been celebrating the coming of a new age. But now, when the time would come, they'd only feel fear. She found some comfort in the fact that their fear wouldn't last long.

The Perfect Unity would take them in quickly and eternally.

Rottytops ran her fingers over the blackened veins that showed from under her pale grey skin. Her sunken eyes no longer glowed silver, having faded to a shade that made her pupils almost blend in with the whites of her eyes.

Suddenly, Rottytops's head perked up. She sensed someone.

It was her. And she wasn't alone.

Rottytops watched, expressionless, as Shantae arrived at the Lighthouse with Abner and Poe in toe.

No one said a word.

Rottytops's two brothers lingered a safe distance away. They cast glances at her but none for longer than a second before they looked away.

Meanwhile, Shantae didn't look her way at all. Instead, she strolled to the water's edge just off the path that led to the Lighthouse door. Shantae's eyes scanned over the beach intently. Eventually, she spotted something and immediately began digging it out. Squinting, Rottytops saw that Shantae had unearthed a mug from the sand. A coffee mug.

Still paying Rottytops no mind, Shantae brought the mug into her Lighthouse. Rottytops heard her shuffle about inside, running the faucet briefly, before returning outside.

Finally, Shantae laid eyes on Rottytops. Cupped in her hands, she held the mug—now clean and filled with fresh coffee.

"May I join you?" Shantae asked.

Rottytops scooted over a bit to make room.

Shantae climbed up and took a seat on the ledge beside her. She placed the mug of coffee between them.

With Shantae seated, Abner and Poe finally inched closer; they, however, remained standing on the ground just in front of the door.

"Why did you come here?" Rottytops asked.

"Uh, well," Abner said, rubbing the back of his neck, "we were thinking that maybe we could just . . . you know . . . talk things over . . . ."

"Right . . . talk things over," Rottytops said, staring out at the distance, "or, in other words, you've come here to change my mind . . . isn't that right?"

"No," Poe answered, "we don't want to change your mind, Rottytops. We want you to change your own mind."

"Uh-huh . . . and does this plan of yours have me drinking that—" she gestured to the coffee. "You do know what that will do to me, don't you?"