Miitopia Enhanced

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48718003.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Fandom: Miitopia (Video Game), vtuber, OneShot (Video Game), Shantae (Video
Games), Owlboy (Video Game)
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of Miitopia Enhanced
Stats: Published: 2023-07-20 Words: 10,393 Chapters: 4/4

Miitopia Enhanced
by RobTheWonderful
 Intro & Chapter 1

Introduction:

Welcome brave reader! Allow me to explain what this is you’re about to dive into. My name is
Rob and I’m a content creator. A few years ago I started streaming on Twitch and I played a game
called Miitopia. The game is an RPG from Nintendo where you can fill all the roles with any
character you want. So I had the brilliant idea of making all my party member characters from
games I previously streamed and everyone else as cartoon characters. If you’d like watch the
playthrough for yourself you can find the playlist here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlquZRhH8T-7Gy8HxZlLTv-lHaHHLfCLm

It was alot of fun for my viewers and it became one of my favorite things I've streamed. I even
based my Vtuber avatar after a costume my character wore in the game. So I had the idea of
continuing the story which I did during streams where we were playing with AI Dungeon. The
streams weren’t my best but the stories came out pretty solid. They will be reworked and posted
here at some point. But I decided to go back and do a retelling of the original playthrough in the
same tone as those stories to serve as a backstory for my Vtuber character and that’s what this is.
I’ll be working on this in my spare time so releases of new chapters will be slow.

So with all that being said let me put up a disclaimer. I had to work alot of different characters into
the same world. While I heavily reference things and events from their respective worlds, many
liberties were taken and it's best to consider this its own separate continuity. So if a character you
might be familiar with seems a bit off from what you’re used to, just think of this as part of a
multiverse. It’s even very different from the original playthrough. Though there will be many
references to it, some things are intentionally left out, new things will be added, most characters
are very different, and events are compressed for the sake of the adaptation. But more importantly
this is just meant to be for fun and to help me to improve my writing skills. So just enjoy it for
what it is. And with that, on with the show!

Chapter 1

In a distant land in a distant world is Miitopia a land filled with friendly inhabitants and wondrous
things. But once an evil force came and threatened the people of this peaceful world. It was up to a
ragtag group of heroes to combat this evil and save the innocent. This is their story.

In the land of Greenhorne a traveler wanders alone. He had wavy brown hair, brown eyes and wore
only a simple white shirt, blue pants and black sneakers. A stranger to this world he seeks
knowledge that seems elusive to him but soon he will find himself involved in a dangerous
situation.

“I feel like I’ve been walking for days.” He thought to himself. “There’s supposed to be a town
around here somewhere.”

Suddenly a strange creature catches his attention. I appeared to be a large winged insect resembling
a large butterfly or moth. His natural curiosity got the better of him and he approached it to get a
closer look. Suddenly it turned around and glared at him with large unnatural eyes. Startled, he
backs away as it slowly floats towards him. He turns and runs off as fast as he can.
“What the heck was that?” he blurts out as he gets away. He ran for as long as he could until he
found himself at the entrance of a small town. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees
while he caught his breath.

“Hey buddy you ok?” a gruff voice said. He looked up to see an older man with a fez, glasses and a
black suit. “You look like you’ve seen a spook.”

“I was… chased by… some kind of monster…” he replied while still catching his breath.

The man chuckled “Monsters? We got no monsters here. Take it from ol’ Stan, Greenhorne is the
safest place in all of Miitopia.”

The stranger felt a bit of comfort after hearing that. Suddenly he heard another voice.

“Hey pal, you really need to work on your cardio.” He looked over and saw a blue hedgehog with
red shoes standing there smirking at him.

A chipmunk wearing blue boots came over to him and said “Sonic quit teasing him.”

He replied, “Aw come on Sal I was just joking.” The two walked off.

The stranger took a moment to process this. He then stood up, dusted himself off and started
walking around the town. He observed in both confusion and awe of all the different inhabitants
both human and other creatures.

Suddenly a friendly voice called out to him. “Oh dearie you look like you could use something to
eat.” He looked down to see a short old woman with big round glasses rummaging through a
grocery bag. She pulls out an apple and hands it to him. “Hear you go. Eat up.”

He looked at the apple and said “Oh… I don’t have any money.”

She replied “Oh don’t worry. You look like you need it.”

He smiled, took the apple and said “Thanks ma'am.”

“It’s Foster dear,” she said cheerfully as she walked off.

He took a few bites as he continued to walk and passed by a blue humanoid cat chasing after a
smaller humanoid blue cat. “Gumball I said stay close to me!” She yelled as he excitedly ran ahead
of her. He then passed by a tall man talking to a vendor. “Sir my name is Hank Hill and I think
your business can really benefit from propane.” he heard as he kept walking.

The stranger finished the apple and heard another cheery voice call out to him. “Well hello there!”
He looked to see a short man with a top hat, monocle, and a big white mustache. “You must be
new in town,” he added.

“Yes I’m just passing through,” the stranger replied.

“I thought so.” the man said “I know everyone here because I’m the mayor of this town. So what
brings you here stranger?”

Before the stranger could answer, the wind suddenly picked up and the sky started to turn dark.
The citizens became startled. “Oh dear I think a storm is coming,” said the mayor, holding onto his
hat. Suddenly a large dark figure appeared in the sky hovering above the town. It had a long
flowing robe, light blue skin with a black beard and hair pointed up like horns. It opened its
glowing red eyes and looked down with an evil grin.

The citizens looked up in horror as the entity raised its arms and opened its large hands. An evil
aura filled the town and monsters began to appear and started attacking the town. As the citizens
flee the stranger grabs the mayor and the two duck into a side alley. “Oh goodness!” exclaimed the
mayor as they peeked out of the alley. They saw some of the citizens fighting back. Stan was
brandishing a pair of brass knuckles and punching a group of goblins. Miss Foster was next to him
whacking a few with her purse. Sally fought off more while Sonic ran around spinning into a few
others. The man named Hank grabbed a big stick and started swinging it at another horde of
goblins shouting “I’m gonna kick your ass!” The blue cat from before was throwing punches and
kicks at attacking monsters. “Stay behind me Gumball.” she said to her son who was standing back
as she punched another goblin.

Then something bizarre happened to the citizens. The dark figure held out his hands and suddenly
the faces of all the citizens that were fighting back began to leave their bodies. First Stan’s face
then Miss Foster’s face leaving their bodies swaying where they stood. “Sally, look out!” Sonic
shouted as he ran over to snatch her up and run to safety. When he stopped he looked down in
horror to see her face had also been stolen. Hank’s face was next to be taken and he let out a loud
“BAWWW” as it floated away. Finally the young blue cat’s face was stolen. “Mom!” he shouted
before it was removed. “Gumball!” his mom shouted as his face flew off. She fell to her knees,
stared at her son’s now blank face and embraced him.

The faces flew into the sky and surrounded the evil figure. He looked back down at the town and
saw the woman sobbing while embracing her son. He then looked over at a lone slime creature that
was with the attacking monsters. He let out a sinister laugh and sent down Gumball’s face to it.
The face attached to the monster and it slowly moved toward the woman and her son while making
loud gurgling sounds. She wanted to fight back but froze seeing Gumball’s face attached to such a
foul creature.

The stranger looked on as the monster was about to attack them. Suddenly he noticed a sword lying
on the floor next to a wrecked vendor stall. He quickly ran toward it and picked it up. He then ran
toward the monster and stopped in front of it. With all his might he slashed the creature cutting it in
half. The creature poofed out of existence and Gumball's face hovered in the air for a moment
before floating back onto his body. His eyes opened and he and his mother embraced. The stranger
looked up at the evil figure in the sky and saw him staring down at him angrily. After an audible
growl he sent the remaining faces off in different directions and then disappeared just as fast as he
arrived.

As the sky cleared and the remaining monsters ran off the citizens of the town began to come out
of hiding to fix the damage. The stranger was still staring up at the sky when he heard “That was
so cool!”

He looked over and saw Gumball staring up at him with a big smile. The stranger looked at the
sword he was still holding and said ”Yeah… I guess it was…”

The mother came over to him and said “Thank you so much for saving my son.”

The stranger smiled, put his hand behind his head and said “It was nothing maim.. Really.”

“It’s Nicole,” she said cheerfully. She then turned to her son and said “Comeon Gumball let's see if
anyone needs our help.”

“Ok mom,” he replied as the two walked off.

“Oh this is awful!” the mayor said as he walked over to the stranger. “Look what that horrible
monster did to my town!”

“What was that thing?” asked the stranger.

“It’s the Dark Lord,” he replied with fear in his voice. “He’s an evil sorcerer that terrorizes
innocent people and steals their faces.”

“Their faces…” the stranger said with both intrigue and confusion as he tried to process everything
that had happened. “Why does he do it? How does he do it?”

“No one knows. He just shows up and wreaks havoc. I thought it was just a rumor but it’s all true,”
the mayor said as he looked over the damage done to the town. He turned back to him and said,
“Stranger, you gotta help us.”

“Me? Why me?” the stranger asked in shock.

“Well you’re holding the sword it’s gotta be you.” said the mayor.

“No! I was just…” The stranger stopped and looked over at the people whose faces were stolen.

He saw Stan and Miss Foster aimlessly swaying back and forth until Nicole and Gumball walked
them over to where Hank was standing. Sonic held Sally in his arms with visible tears in his eyes.
The stranger then took a long look at the sword he was holding, turned back to the mayor and said
"What do I do?"

"You gotta find the stolen faces," he said. "They can't be far and they've likely been put on some
monsters." The mayor handed him a bag of gold. "Here take this and please be safe."

The stranger took the gold, slid the sword into its scabbard and began to walk off.

"Wait!" Shouted the mayor. "I didn't catch your name."

The stranger turned back to him and said, "It’s Rob… Just Rob." He turned back around and
walked off to find the stolen faces all the while wondering how he's going to handle this and if he'll
have to do it alone.
 Chapter 2

In a quiet empty field a child stands alone with his eyes closed as if he appeared out of nowhere.
He wore a red brimmed hat with triangular points resembling cat ears, a blue scarf around his neck,
an oversized red shirt with long sleeves concealing his hands, and purple pants with matching
boots. His hair was purple and sticking out from under the hat with strands sticking out on each
side of his head, his nose and mouth were small resembling feline features. He abruptly opened his
eyes revealing them to be big and yellow with slit pupils.

“I… wait…” he said as he placed his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes trying to think.
“How did I get here?” he said out loud as he looked around at his surroundings. He then noticed he
was holding something in his other hand. It was a wand which he held up to his face. “What’s
this?” he said as he inspected the item.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clanging metal and loud grunts. He walked toward
where the sounds were coming from and saw Rob wildly swinging his sword at a pair of large
moths with glaring humanoid eyes.

"Why are these things so tough? They’re just moths!" He said as he blocked one with his sword.

As the mysterious child looked on he felt the wand he was holding start shaking. He looked at it
once again and saw small sparks coming off of it. He looked back at the fight and somehow knew
what to do. Rob managed to slash one of them, causing it to poof out of existence and the human
eyes that were attached to it flew off. While he was open the other flew in for an attack but was
quickly taken out by a bolt of lighting. Stunned, he turned to see the source of the blast only to see
the mysterious child standing there pointing his wand with a look of surprise as if he couldn't
believe what he had just done.

"Thanks kid," Rob said as he composed himself and returned his sword to its sheath.

"N… no problem," The child said as he lowered his arm.

"I'm Rob. What's your name?" He said as he approached the child.

"My… name?" The child said as he placed his hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes to
concentrate and as if it abruptly popped into his head, he blurted out. "Niko… my name is Niko."

(Note: Niko is the main character from the indie game Oneshot. I should point out that the devs of
that game intended Niko to be genderless but at the time I didn’t know that and assumed the
character was male. So we’re just going to roll with it for this. Remember, multiverse!)

Rob raised an eyebrow in confusion and said “You… don’t sound sure.”

Niko stared at Rob with a look of embarrassment on his face and said “Well the truth is… I don’t
remember anything about myself.”

“You have amnesia? Rob asked.

“I guess…” he replied. “I just… woke up in a nearby field when I heard you fighting those
creatures.”

Rob looked up and examined the surrounding area seeing nothing but trees and grassy fields with
not much else.
"There's nothing out here," he said. "I can't imagine where you could have come from."

"I'm sorry," Niko said. "I just don't know."

"Well I can't just leave you here in the middle of nowhere by yourself," Rob said. "You can come
with me if you want. It'd be nice to have some company."

"Sure," Niko said as the two walked off together. They walked for a while when Rob noticed Niko
was being quiet. He looked over and saw him hanging his head a bit and looking a little sad.

"Hey is everything ok?" Rob asked

"Oh… it's just that… I don't know what to say," Niko replied. "I can't remember anything so I don't
have anything to talk about. It's just kind of awkward. I'm sorry."

"Hey don't worry about it," Rob said, trying to reassure him. "So you really don't remember
anything?"

"It's hard to explain," Niko answered. "I know things like my name and magic I guess. But I can't
remember anything about myself. It's like there's a big blank space where something should be but
there's just… nothing…"

"Strange," said Rob. "Do you think magic might have something to do with it?"

"Maybe," Niko replied. "But I'm not sure how."

"I've been having trouble understanding magic anyway," said Rob. "Well I guess if you can't tell
me about yourself. I guess I'll tell you about myself. I'm actually not from this world."

"You're not?" Niko asked with a surprised tone.

"Nope," said Rob. "I was a scientist in a very different world than this one."

"Whoa," Niko exclaimed. "What's your world like?"

"Well for one thing there's only humans like me," He replied. "So there's no one that looks like you
or a lot of the inhabitants I've seen in this world. There's also nothing like magic where I'm from."

"How did you get here?" Niko asked.

Rob proceeded to talk about a failed experiment that involved a lot of complex science jargon. His
words began to fly over Niko's head. Rob noticed the look of confusion on his face and said, "OK
I'll spare you the details and sum things up. We were performing an experiment but something
went wrong and we accidently tore through the fabric of space and time and I got pulled in.

"That must have been scary," Niko said.

"It was," Rob said. "I thought I was dead. But the next thing I knew I woke up in a field surrounded
by burnt grass. My lab coat was charred to a crisp and I had no idea where I was. So I guess in a
way we're both strangers to this world"

"Huh… I guess so," said Niko. "How long have you been here?"

"About a month I think," Rob replied. "It's hard to say because time moves differently here.
Fortunately the inhabitants of the world are very kind and hospitable. As strange as some of them
are."
"Do you think you'll ever find your way back?" Niko asked.

“Well that was what I was trying to figure out,” Rob replied. “I thought with all the strange things
in this world I might find some kind of answer. But then I got caught up in this quest.”

Rob told Niko about the Dark Lord and what happened in Greenhorne.

"Whoa that's creepy!" Exclaimed Niko.

"It was worse being there," said Rob. "After I saw what happened I guess I couldn't just walk away.
After all, the reason I became a scientist in the first place was to help people. Just never thought
it'd ever be like this."

After hearing those words, Niko lowered his head to think for a moment. He then looked over to
Rob and said, "I want to help."

"Hey this is no joke kid," Rob said. "The monsters I've come across are dangerous."

"But I know magic," Niko replied as he held up his wand and looked at it. "I don't know how I
know it but I do. Also I feel like I need to help you. It's like something deep down is telling me I
have to."

Rob paused for a moment to think. He didn't want to get someone as young as Niko involved. But
his powers did prove to be formidable and the task felt too large for him alone.

"Alright," Rob said reluctantly. "You can help. But let me take the lead. I don't want you getting
hurt."

"Ok!" Niko said with determination in his voice.

The two walked for a while longer until they came to a clearing with a large moth, much larger
than the ones they previously encountered. They quickly hid behind a tree before it saw them. As
they peeked out to observe it turned around to see it had a man's face.

"What is that?" Niko asked in shock.

"That's Stan," said Rob. "He was one of the villagers that got their faces stolen. The Dark Lord
seems to like sticking stolen faces on monsters. Must be some kind of sick joke."

"So how do we beat it?" Niko asked as the two ducked back behind the tree.

Rob thought for a moment and said, "Well fortunately you won't have to get close so maybe we
can try something similar to how you took out that moth before. I'll run in and keep it distracted
and give you a chance to blast it."

Niko leaned his back against the tree and looked down with a worried look on his face.

"Are you up for doing this?" Rob asked.

Niko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked up at Rob and said, "Yeah!"

"Ok," Rob said "Wait here and I'll try to give you an opening."

Rob slowly walked toward the beast while Niko watched from behind the tree. "What am I doing?"
He muttered to himself nervously.
He got within reach of the monster and yelled, "Hey!"

The giant moth turned toward Rob and stared down at him.

Rob drew his sword. "That face doesn't belong to you!" He shouted as he pointed it at the creature.

The monster let out a fearsome roar and lunged forward. Rob dodged out of the way as it slammed
into the ground. It got up and flapped its wings creating a strong gust of wind pushing Rob back.
He stabbed his sword into the ground to keep himself from being blown away. It lunged at him
again but Rob swung his sword slicing through its right wing. It let out a screech and began flailing
around wildly trying to get off the ground. As the creature struggled, Rob looked to his right and
saw two trees close together. He ran to them and stood in front of the gap. He turned, waved his
arms in the air and shouted, "Hey! Over here!" The monster noticed and galloped along the ground
toward him while letting out shrill roars. It jumped at Rob but he ran through the gap between the
trees and the giant moth got stuck. It struggled and screeched trying to get free.

"Now Niko!" Rob shouted. Niko ran out from behind the tree and pointed his wand at the monster.
A massive lightning bolt shot out and struck the creature. It let out one final roar before exploding
into a ball of light. When the light dissipated all that was left was Stan's face floating in mid air. It
hovered for a moment and then flew off.

"Where's it going?" Niko asked as he watched the face fly away.

"Back to its original owner," Rob said as he walked over to Niko. He looked down at him and said,
"Good job kid. I knew you could do it."

Niko looked back up at him and smiled after hearing his affirming words and said, "Thanks. We…
make a good team."

"I guess we do," Rob replied. He then looked up at the sky and noticed the sun going down. "It's
getting late. We better find an inn before it gets dark."

"Is there one around here?" Niko asked as they began to walk off.

"There should be," Rob replied. "Weirdly they seem to be everywhere and they’re free. It's very
convenient."

“So, have you ever done anything like this in your world?” asked Niko.

“No nothing this exciting,” Rob replied. “I was kind of a nobody back where I'm from. Nothing
really special. Just another face in the crowd.”

“Well I think you’re pretty cool,” said Niko.

“Really?” Rob said with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

“Mmm Hmm,” replied Niko. “You’re the coolest person I ever met.”

“Aren’t I the first person you’ve ever met?” asked Rob, still suspicious. Rob looked at Niko and
saw he had his eyes closed with a cheeky smirk on his face. “Very funny,” he said. “Well you’re
the nicest cat person I’ve ever met.”

“How many have you met?” asked Niko.

“At least two others,” Rob replied. “But I didn’t get to know them long enough so you’re definitely
the best one so far.”

The two shared some laughter and continued on. It wasn't long before the two found an inn and
decided to get something to eat.

They sat at a table in a cozy dining area and a waitress came over. "Order whatever you want kid,"
Rob said. "You've earned it."

"Anything I want?" Niko said to himself.

"You got a favorite food hun?" The waitress asked.

"Favorite food…" Niko again said to himself. Then suddenly a thought came to him. "Pancakes!"
He blurted out abruptly.

Rob smiled and said to the waitress "Make that two." The waitress left and Rob turned back to
Niko. "Well, I guess we learned something new about you."

Niko smiled back joyously. The two enjoyed their meal and retired to their room for the night. But
Rob couldn't help but wonder what other secrets this child held.
 Chapter 3

Somewhere in the land of Miitopia a woman walked along a dirt road. She was slender with dark
skin and wore red and gold Arabian style clothes with puffy pants, pointed shoes, large gold
bracers on her forearms, a red top, large hoop earrings hanging from her pointy ears and a gold
band on her forehead. Her hair was purple with bangs hanging over the band and bound up into a
long ponytail that hung just a bit above the ground. She had been traveling by herself for some time
until her solo journey came to a halt when she heard, "Niko, on your left!"

Not far away Rob and Niko found themselves back to back on top of a small hill as they fended off
a group of attacking goblins. They were small and green with big ears, big noses and brandishing
clubs and small blades. Each had facial features given to them by the Dark Lord. But, just like the
other monsters, when one was defeated it poofed out of existence and the stolen faces returned to
their owner.

"Why are there so many?" Shouted Niko as he blasted two with his wand.

"Just don't let up pal," Rob said as he slashed at a goblin that ran at him. "Keep your back to me."

"Right," said Niko as the two kept fighting.

Rob blocked one with his sword as Niko kept blasting the horrible creatures as they ran toward
them. But while he was distracted a goblin got close and was about to attack.

"Niko look out!" Rob yelled as he saw the goblin approach. Niko turned toward it as it was about
to strike. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the mysterious woman jumped in and took out the
goblin sending it tumbling away. Niko stood there in shock. Rob pushed away the goblin he was
fighting and turned around. The woman also turned to face the two.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully. "I heard fighting and thought someone might be in trouble."

"Thanks!" Niko said with a friendly smile.

"Behind you!" Shouted Rob as he pointed behind the woman.

She turned and saw another goblin running toward her while swinging a club. She quickly swung
her head around and, with a loud crack, whipped her hair at the creature. The hit landed and it was
flung back. Several more goblins tried to attack but the woman fought them off almost effortlessly.

"Woah she's awesome," said Niko while he and Rob looked on as she struck and dodged their
attacks.

"She sure is…" added Rob.

Suddenly two goblins ran at her from opposite sides. The woman clapped her hands together and,
with a puff of smoke, transformed into a small purple monkey. She leapt into the air causing the
two goblins to crash into each other. While in the air She changed back and transformed again into
a giant turtle that crashed down on the goblins. She turned back to normal and stood up only to see
five goblins running toward her. She once again clapped her hands together creating a much larger
puff of smoke appear around her. When it dissipated it was revealed she had transformed into an
elephant. The goblins halted in their tracks. She let out a loud roar and charged at them. As she
crashed into the group they all flew in different directions upon impact. She changed back to
normal and once again clapped her hands together to transform into a harpy. She then took to the
sky and flew back to Rob and Niko where she turned back to her human form. Before any of them
could speak, they noticed more goblins were advancing toward them.

"More?" Shouted Niko.

"Persistent little creatures," said Rob as he lifted his sword.

"Don't worry guys we got this!" said the woman.

The three stood with their backs to each other, ready to take on the incoming threat. They fought
for what felt like hours until the remaining goblins finally gave up and retreated.

"Finally…" said Niko as the three took a moment to catch their breath.

After a quick rest the three turned to face each other.

"Thanks for your help miss," said Rob.

"The name's Shantae," she replied cheerfully.

(Note: Shantae shouldn’t need any introduction but in case you didn’t know she’s the main
character of her own self named series of games.)

"I'm Rob and this is Niko," he replied back.

"You fought off those guys without any problem," Niko said enthusiastically.

Shantae smiled and said, "Well let's just say I have alot of experience fighting off creepy little
monsters."

"Well we have to repay you somehow," said Rob.

Before Shantae could speak the three heard a loud rumbling. She placed her arms over her stomach
and smiled out of embarrassment. "Guess that fight worked up my appetite," she said.

"How about lunch then?" Said Rob as the three left to find the nearest inn. When they arrived they
all sat down in the dining area. Rob and Niko sat next to each other and Shantae sat across from
them. Rob told Shantae to order anything she wanted and she ordered quite a bit. Niko, of course,
ordered pancakes. While they ate they took the time to finally talk.

"You're a genie?" Rob asked in surprise.

"Half actually," Shantae said as she continued to eat. "On my mom's side."

"Does that mean you grant wishes?" Asked Niko. "Can I wish for more pancakes?!"

Shantae snickered and said, "I'm not that kind of genie kid. I'm a guardian genie. We're protectors."

"What do you protect?" Asked Rob.

"Whoever needs it," Shantae replied. "But in my case it's mostly my home Scuttle Town. A small
desert port town far from here."

"So why aren't you there protecting it?" Asked Rob.

Shantae sighed and said, "Well Scuttle Town always seemed to be at the center of trouble. We
were always under attack by pirates, warlords, you name it. It was always up to me to save
everyone. With a little help from my friends… sometimes. But at some point things just went quiet.
We stopped getting attacked and nobody had seen Risky Boots in a while."

"Risky Boots?" Asked Niko.

"She was the Pirate that kept trying to pillage Scuttle Town," replied Shantae. "I'm not sure why.
It's not like we had alot to steal. But she just vanished and so did everyone and everything that was
a threat. It's like the world just forgot about us. After some time passed and it seemed like nobody
needed my protection I decided to take a vacation. So I went out to see the world and here I am. So
what about you guys."

"We're on a mission to save the world!" Niko replied.

Rob then told Shantae about himself, the Dark Lord, how he met Niko and their quest to find the
missing faces.

"Stolen faces!?" Shantae said in surprise. "That's horrible!"

"You didn't see it happen," said Rob. "It was the most bizarre and disturbing thing I had ever seen."

"But we're gonna stop that Dark Lord right Rob?" Niko exclaimed enthusiastically.

"We… sure are pal!" Rob replied with an undertone of uncertainty in his voice.

Shantae picked up on the tone of Rob's voice and thought about the things he mentioned. After a
while the group finished their food and walked out of the inn. When they got to the main road they
turned to each other with Shantae standing across from Rob and Niko.

"Well thanks for lunch," Shantae said cheerfully.

"Hey no thanks are necessary," said Rob. "We were lucky to run into you."

"So where are you two off to?" Asked Shantae.

"We're going to find the next stolen face," said Niko.

"We've been hot on its trail for a few days now," added Rob. "We think it might be somewhere
close by."

"Well… good luck boys," said Shantae.

"Enjoy the rest of your travels," said Rob.

"Nice meeting you!" Said Niko.

The Three waved goodbye and went their separate ways. But Shantae didn't get far because she
kept thinking about what Rob said. After giving it some thought she stopped in her tracks and
looked back in the direction Rob and Niko went. She then turned around and began running to
catch up to them.

"Hey wait up!" Shouted Shantae as she finally reached them. Rob and Niko turned toward her as
she added, "I'm coming with you."

"What about your vacation?" Asked Rob.

"After what you said I can't simply walk away from that," said Shantae. "As a guardian genie I'm
sworn to protect those in need. Besides, I think you guys could really use my help."

Rob smiled and said, "Alright let's go!"

The three journeyed down the road for a little while. Rob began to feel a bit better about the
mission since they ran into someone more capable. Niko, however, was just delighted to be
traveling with a new friend. But it wasn't long before they came upon a strange creature. It
resembled a large mouse with yellow fur. As the group approached the creature turned to them
revealing a familiar face.

"That's Sally. One of the villagers that had their faces stolen." Rob said.

The creature's eyes widened and it let out a long squeak.

"Awww it's cute!" Exclaimed Shantae.

"It's definitely not as scary as the last monster we saw," said Niko.

"Are you sure this thing is evil?" Shantae asked Rob.

Before he could respond the monsters dug into the ground and pulled out a giant rock and hurled it
at them. They three quickly got out of the way as it slammed into the ground where they were
standing.

"Ok it's definitely evil," said Shantae.

Niko pointed his wand and shot a lightning bolt at it but the creature quickly burrowed
underground, dodging the shot.

"Where'd it go?" Shouted Rob as the three frantically looked around.

Suddenly it emerged from the ground holding another large rock which it once again tossed at the
trio. As they dodged it, the creature once again disappeared into the ground. It repeated its attack
and retreat 3 more times and the team could do nothing but dodge. Niko ended up getting separated
from Rob and Shantae.

"How do we stop this thing?" Niko shouted.

Rob thought for a second and remembered Shantae's ability to transform. He turned to her and said,
"Shantae, do you have a form that can dig?"

Shantae's eyes widened as if she remembered something and said, "As a matter of fact I do!"

She stood up, clapped her hands together and disappeared into a puff of white smoke. When the
smoke cleared it appeared as if she vanished. Rob looked down and saw that she had turned into a
small shellfish with a tall spiral shell and large eyes that resembled her normal ones looking back
up at him.

"See if you can get it to the surface," he said to her.

"Right!" She said as she flipped over and used her shell to drill into the ground.

As she disappeared into the earth, Rob looked over at Niko and shouted, " Niko, Shantae is going
to chase it to the surface. Get ready to blast it!"
"Right!" Shouted Niko as he readied his wand.

The two waited in anticipation for something to emerge. Suddenly the ground started to shake and
the monster leapt out of the ground. It let out a loud painful screech because Shantae's pointed shell
was stabbed into its backside.

"Now Niko!" Shouted Rob. "Shantae move!"

Niko fired a bolt of lightning at the monster. Shantae transformed back and leapt out of the way
just as the attack hit the monster. It let out another loud scream as it fell to the ground stunned. Rob
drew his sword and charged toward it. Shantae turned into her harpy form and quickly flew at it.
Rob plunged his sword into its front and Shantae sunk her talons into its back. The monster let out
one last cry before poofing leaving only Sally's face floating in mid air. It hovered for a few
seconds before flying off.

“That was good thinking back there,” said Shantae to Rob now back in her regular form. “I actually
forgot I had a form that can dig. I guess I don’t use it very often.”

“Well I figured it was worth a shot after seeing your abilities,” Rob replied. “We couldn't have
done it without you.”

“Guess we make a good team,” said Shantae cheerfully.

“Yeah… I guess we do,” Rob replied.

Niko ran over and stood between them, “We did it!” He shouted excitedly.

“We sure did pal,” said Rob.

“Are you really joining us?” Niko asked Shantae.

“Yup,” she replied. “I think you guys could use some help.”

“Hey it’ll be nice having someone with experience,” said Rob. “It’ll make our mission alot easier.
Speaking of which we found two faces and there’s two left so we should get moving.”

“Then let’s go!” declared Shantae.

“Yeah!” added Niko.

As the three set off Niko said “Cool we’re a trio now! Do you think we’ll make more friends?”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” said Rob.

 Chapter 4

Somewhere far away, along the coast there is a cave that has remained unnoticed for ages. Should
anyone have ventured deep inside they would have found a tidepool created from the ocean water
flowing in. But sometime ago something else was swept in. Floating in the water at the far end of
the cave was a glimmering white light surrounding a humanoid shape as if it was protecting them.
The light had illuminated for a long time but finally began to fade, seemingly absorbed into the
person it surrounded. After it was gone it revealed a young boy in a deep slumber.

He had short brown hair with two yellow locks sticking up in the front in a V shape and two tufts
along his jawline. His nose was reddish in color and ovoid resembling a bird beak. He wore a
brown cape, a green and white vest with a tie knot sticking out of the collar, large metal gauntlets
on his hands, tan pants and brown pointed boots. As he slowly opened his tall black eyes he sat up
in the shallow pool to examine his surroundings. After feeling disoriented he suddenly gasped and
frantically moved his hands across his chest and stomach as if to look for some kind of wound. He
was both surprised and relieved when he found none But noticed a subtle glimmering white light
coming from his hands.

The strange young boy stepped out of the cave and looked up at the sky. After his eyes adjusted to
the light he looked around and was surprised to see nothing but clouds. He was even more
surprised to see an endless ocean and unfamiliar terrain as far as he could see. The world he saw
was somehow different to him and he needed to see more. He unfurled his cape which began to flap
like wings and he flew off.

Elsewhere, in the middle of a forest, Rob, Niko, and Shantae found themselves in a scrap with yet
another group of goblins. However this encounter was going alot smoother than their last.

"This is alot easier now," said Niko as he zapped one of the goblins.

"I think we're getting good at handling these little creeps," said Shantae after taking another out.

"If we keep going like this we’ll find the next stolen face in no time," Rob said confidently as he
slashed another with his sword.

The trio fought for a bit until all the goblins in their view were defeated. However one hid out of
sight behind a tree. When the group had their back turned it ran out rushing toward them
brandishing a small dagger. As they turned around the goblin quickly plunged the dagger onto
Rob's stomach. He let out a painful guttural noise as the blade went into him. Time seemed to slow
down as Niko and Shantae witnessed this happen. Shantae smacked the goblin with her hair
sending it backwards. Niko followed up with a lightning bolt from his wand to finish it off. After
the goblin was dealt with Rob's knees buckled and he began to fall. Shantae quickly caught him
and knelt down as she eased him to the ground. Niko stood over them concerned for his friend.

"Rob! Rob, speak to me!" Shantae said in desperation but Rob could only respond with a forced
painful grunt followed by a cough sending a few drops of blood out his mouth.

Shantae looked back up at Niko and said "Niko do we have any healing items?"

Niko quickly grabbed their bag and frantically rummaged through it trying to find anything that
could help. He stopped, raised his head and said, "I think we're out… Don't you have any genie
magic that could help?"
"I have a healing spell but it only works on me," she replied.

"Sh… Shan… tae…" Rob quietly struggled to say. Shantae leaned in close and brought her ear
near his mouth to hear what he was saying. "Finish… the mission… Look after Niko… Help him
find out who he is…"

Shantae quickly sat up and said, "No! No no no! Rob don't close your eyes! Stay with us!"

Niko began to panic and hyperventilate. In an act of desperation he turned away and shouted as
loud as he could "SOMEBODY HELP!"

Nearby, high in the sky, the strange young boy was flying above the forest. As he was surveying
the area he heard a loud cry for help. He looked around to find its source when he noticed the
group. He descended and quickly landed on the ground. He stood up and saw Niko standing next
to Shantae who was kneeling on the ground holding Rob's head. They both took notice of him and
Shantae said, "Hey kid we need help. Our friend is badly hurt."

The boy looked down to see Rob laying there barely conscious with a dagger sticking out of his
gut. He gasped at the grim sight and took a step back. Suddenly he felt a strange sensation in his
hands. He stared at his palms and saw them illuminated in a strange but familiar feeling white light.
As if he instinctively knew what to do, he approached, knelt next to Rob and held his hands over
his body. The white light became more intense and the dagger started to shake until it popped out.
Once it was removed the wound slowly closed up.

After the wound was healed, Rob's eyes opened wide and he took a loud gasp of air. The boy was
startled by this and quickly stepped back. Shantae slowly helped Rob up while Niko came over to
assist. When Rob was back on his feet Niko immediately hugged him and said “Rob! You're ok!”
Though a bit disoriented and still trying to catch his breath, Rob gave him a reassuring pat on the
head. He then turned to Shantae and said, “What happened?” She responded by pointing at the boy
that healed him who had turned his gaze to the side and was nervously twiddling his fingers.

Rob walked over to him, knelt down to get on his eye level and asked “You’re the one who saved
me?”

The boy glanced at him and gave a quick nod.

Rob smiled and said “Thanks kid.”

The boy responded with a small smile.

“What’s your name?” asked Rob.

The boy responded by looking away as if he was ashamed of something. He turned back, raised his
head and pointed at his throat.

“I don’t think he can talk,” said Shantae, who joined Rob along with Niko to meet their new friend.

The boy looked down and shook his head.

“Oh…” said Rob.

After hearing that the boy got an idea. He turned back to Rob, opened his mouth wide and shrank it
to an “O” shape.

“I think he’s trying to say something,” said Niko.

After carefully watching his mouth movement Rob said, “O?”

The boy nodded then proceeded to make a clicking sound with his tongue and teeth.

“O… T…?” Rob replied

The boy nodded again. He then opened his mouth, elongated it vertically, then gritted his teeth to
make a light hissing sound.

“O… T… U… S…?” Rob said as he began to put it together. “Otus? Your name is Otus?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

(Note: Otus is the main character from the Indie game Owlboy.)

"Well at least we know what to call you now," said Rob as he and the others introduced
themselves.

"So where did you come from?" Asked Shantae.

Otus tried to figure out how to communicate his past to them. He picked up two rocks off the
ground, held them up and moved them around in a hovering motion. However the others didn't
quite understand what he was trying to say. He then pointed at one of the rocks and slowly pointed
upward.

"You were in the sky?" Asked Niko.

Otus nodded then made a square shape with his index fingers.

"Some kind of structure?" Asked Rob.

Otus nodded. He waved his hands around frantically then placed them on his chest while gritting
his teeth with his eyes closed.

"There was a fight? You got hurt?" Asked Shantae.

Otus nodded. He then clapped his hands together, opened up his hands and waved them around.

"Some kind of explosion? Or a burst of energy?" Asked Rob.

Otus nodded. He pointed up to the sky and slowly brought his finger to the ground. Then he placed
his hands on the side of his head and closed his eyes.

"You fell from the sky and… fell asleep?" Asked Niko.

Otus nodded. He closed his eyes and opened them abruptly. Then he held his hand against his
forehead and looked around.

"Then you woke up and didn't know where you were?" Asked Rob.

Otus nodded. He held up his hands and made them glow with the white light.

"When you woke up you had that power?" Asked Shantae.

Otus nodded.

"Well that's all very interesting," said Rob despite lacking alot of context. "I'm guessing you don't
know how long you were asleep for."

Otus shook his head.

"So you don't know what happened to your friends or family?" Asked Shantae.

Otus shrugged and hung his head.

Niko turned to Rob and said, "Maybe he can come with us."

Rob wasn't too thrilled about having another child involved in their dangerous quest. But
considering Otus just saved his life, he figured it might be best. He turned toward Otus and asked,
“Would you like to stick with us until you can figure things out?”

Otus lifted his head, gave them a soft smile and nodded.

“Welcome to the team kid!” said Shantae cheerfully.

Rob stood up and said, “Well we should probably get going. There’s got to be an inn somewhere
near here.”

The four of them began to make their way through the forest hoping to come across an inn. Rob
and Shantae lead the way while Niko and Otus walked closely behind. As they journeyed on, Niko
was happy to be traveling with someone his age (or at least seemingly so) and filled Otus in on
everything that happened so far. Though he couldn’t respond much, he was pleased to hear a
friendly voice and after hearing about their mission to save the villagers and return their stolen
faces he decided he was going to help them in their quest. It’s what his old friends would have
done.

As they continued on Rob suddenly grabbed his gut and let out a painful grunt. The others quickly
rushed to his side and kept him from collapsing.

“Your body is still reacting to the wound,” said Shantae. “You should rest for a bit.”

Rob agreed and they all helped him over to a fallen tree. Rob sat down on the log and Niko and
Shantae joined him. Otus stayed standing in front of them.

“Maybe you should eat something,” suggested Niko.

“Might not be a bad idea,” said Rob as he opened their bag and searched through its contents.
“Looks like all we got is that weird ham we keep getting from the goblins.”

“Yuck… that stuff is so gross,” said Shantae.

“Is that really all we have?” asked Niko unenthusiastly.

“I’m afraid so, at least until we can get to an inn,” said Rob as he handed a piece to Shantae and
Niko. He took out another piece and handed it to Otus. “Here you go buddy. It’s not very good but
it’ll fill you up.

Otus took the meat and inspected it. He looked up to see the three wincing as they forced
themselves to eat the nasty food. He looked back down at his piece, gave it a sniff and took a bite.
After a few chews, his eyes widened and he enthusiastically took a few more bites.

“Woah does he actually like it?” asked Niko

“I guess someone had to,” added Shantae

Rob smiled as he watched Otus enjoying the food. Once he finished Rob handed him another piece
and said, “Here pal. Eat up.”

Otus happily took it and gave Rob a smile.

After they rested up, the group continued on until they finally found an inn. They had been craving
some actual good food so they sat down for a meal before retiring for the night. Rob, Niko and
Otus stayed in the same room while Shantae took the room next to theirs. As night came and
everyone turned on, Rob was feeling restless and had trouble getting to sleep. He got up out of his
bed and paced around the room a few times while Niko and Otus were sound asleep in their beds
on the opposite end of the room. Noticing that the room had a balcony, he decided to go out for
some fresh air. It was peaceful and quiet out there as Rob leaned on the railing to stare up at the
night sky.

"Trouble getting to sleep?" Said a voice to his right. Rob looked over and saw Shantae on the
balcony of her room.

"Well I did almost die today," said Rob.

"Yeah I guess that'd do it," Shantae replied.

"I think the stress of this quest I got mixed up in is starting to get to me," said Rob. “I was just
hoping to find a way back home and now I have to rescue people from an evil sorcerer. And on top
of that now I have two kids to look out for.”

“Well from what I’ve seen I don’t think you need to worry too much about those boys,” said
Shantae. “But I get it. Trouble always seemed to come out of nowhere for me and I’ve had to
handle things on my own many times. Being the hero can weigh on you quite a bit.”

“You got that right,” said Rob. “So what are you doing up?”

“Just thinking about home. Hoping my uncle and friends are doing ok,” Shantae said as she turned
and stared off into the distance. “Though if I know uncle he’s probably tinkering with something,
Bolo is probably chasing some girl, Sky would be busy looking after her birds, and I’m guessing
Rotty is just making mischief for everyone else.”

“Rotty?” Rob asked.

“My friend. She’s a zombie," Shantae replied.

"You're friends with a zombie?" Rob said in a surprised tone.

"Yup! She can be a bit socially awkward but she’s a good friend.” Shantae replied.

“Interesting group of friends you have there,” said Rob.

“They can be quite a handful but I love them,” said Shantae. “And despite their dysfunctionality,
they’ve come through for me when I needed them.”

“It’s good to have people you can rely on,” Rob added.

"It sure is." Said Shantae.

“So what’s your home like?” asked Rob.

“Scuttle Town? It’s just a small port town by the desert,” Shantae replied. “I live in an old
lighthouse that’s out over the water so I can keep an eye on things in case of an attack. Which
happened pretty frequently. Like I said, I have no idea why though. It’s not like we have anything
valuable there. But it's a nice place."

"Where I'm from everything is so boring and sterile," said Rob. "To me a place like that definitely
sounds nice."

"It has its charms," said Shantae. “The mayor is kind of a jerk but there's plenty of friendly folk. It's
the kind of place where everyone knows each other.”

Rob turned away, started to run his fingers along the balcony rail and said, "Maybe when this is all
over, I'll come for a visit."

Shantae turned toward Rob, gave him a smile and said, "I'd like that."

Rob turned toward her and smiled back. Shantae then cleared her throat and said, "I think I should
get to bed. And you should too after getting hurt today!"

"Yeah I guess you're right," said Rob.

“And don’t forget, you’re not in this alone,” Shantae said as he got up to leave.

Rob gave her a nod then the two said good night and returned to their rooms. Rob felt a bit better
after talking with Shantae and was finally able to get some rest.

The next morning the four met in the main hall for breakfast. Shantae insisted Rob get a new shirt
since his current one had a hole in it from his stab wound. Unfortunately the only one he could find
is a t-shirt with horizontal blue and white stripes. Upon seeing him wearing it, Shantae snickered
and said he looked like a sailor. Niko liked it but Rob knew he was just trying to be nice. Otus
didn't seem to want to give his opinion as he looked to the side and twiddled his fingers again.

Afterwards the group got word of a strange monster spotted nearby terrorizing people. They knew
this had to be the one they were looking for so they immediately headed out in search of it. Before
they knew it, they came across a fiendish looking creature. It wore nothing but a black robe that
dangled underneath as it floated in the air. In its hands it wielded a scythe that it was wildly
swinging around while it was cackling maniacally. But its face was that of an elderly woman with
round black glasses that Rob immediately recognized.

“Looks like we found our target,” he said as he and the others kept their distance. “That’s Miss
Foster. When I met her she was a sweet old lady. I can’t believe this is what the Dark Lord turned
her into.”

“This one is really scary,” said Niko while Otus observed from behind him.

“I have a feeling this thing is going to be trouble,” said Shantae. “We better keep our distance until
we can figure it out.”

Suddenly the creature turned toward them and let out a loud cry.

“It spotted us,” said Rob with a startled tone. “Niko try blasting it!”

Niko took a few steps forward, pointed his wand and shot a lighting bolt at the monster. It was a
direct hit but it seemed unfazed by the attack. Everyone was in a state of shock as the monster
laughed, twirled it’s scythe and pointed it at Niko. A strange red energy began to be pulled out of
his body and sucked into the scythe. As the energy faded Niko collapsed and fell to the ground.
The others ran to his side.

“Niko!’ shouted Rob as he lifted up his head. He was unconscious but alive. Otus quickly used his
healing magic and Niko slowly woke up.

“What… happened? I feel weak…” Niko struggled to say as Rob helped him sit up.

“I think that creature drained your energy,” said Shantae. “Looks like it’s resistant to magic too.”

The group looked over at it to see it laughing and prancing around as if to mock them.

Rob turned back to Niko and said, “Sorry pal looks like you’ll have to sit this one out.”

Niko was a bit sad about this but he understood. Rob got up and he and Shantae turned to face the
monster and try to figure out what to do.

“Looks like we’ll need to take her out the old fashioned way,” said Shantae as she slammed her
right fist into the palm of her left hand.

“If we can get close enough without getting our energy drained,” Rob added.

“Let me try to solo this one,” said Shantae. “I might be fast enough to avoid its attacks.”

Rob didn’t like the idea of one of his teammates fighting alone but he knew Shatae was the most
experienced among them. “Ok, but be careful,” he said reluctantly.

She nodded, immediately ran toward the monster and leapt at it to try and strike it with her hair. It
quickly dodged her attacks then swung its scythe causing her to leap back. It pointed its scythe at
her, ready to drain her energy but she quickly rolled out of the way. It made more attempts but she
continued to dodge and was forced to change into her monkey form just to keep up with it. Rob
saw that the monster forced her into a position where she could only dodge without attacking.
They had underestimated its speed. He had to think quickly if they were to defeat this thing and he
came up with a desperate plan.

Rob turned to Otus and said, “We have to give Shantae an opening. I’m going to attack that thing.
It’ll try to drain my energy so I need you to heal me to counter the effect.”

Otus looked over at the monster attacking Shantae while she dodged.

“Can you do it?” Rob asked.

Though he was nervous and unsure of himself, Otus took a deep breath and gave him a nod.

“Ok follow me,” said Rob as he drew his sword and made his way toward the fight. Otus followed
closely behind.

As Rob ran toward the monster, he let out a loud yell to get its attention. It quickly turned toward
him as he swung his sword. The monster blocked his attack with its scythe and let out a loud
cackle. Suddenly Rob started to feel weak and his legs began to tremble under the weight of his
body. “Now Otus!” he shouted. Otus got directly behind him, placed his hands on his back and
summoned his healing power. Rob felt his lifeforce return to him as fast as it was being stolen. The
creature became visibly annoyed as it figured out what was happening. It summoned more of its
life draining magic to try and override Otus’ healing. Rob began to grunt as he felt his lifeforce
being stolen again. Otus unfurled his cape and began to float. He placed both his hands on Rob’s
shoulders, gritted his teeth and summoned as much of his healing ability as he could.

As the two magic users battled, Rob glanced over at Shantae, who was now back in her normal
form. She stood up, changed into her elephant form, and charged at the monster while it was
distracted. She crashed into it with all of her might ensuring she did as much damage as possible. It
screamed as it was flung away from Rob and hit the ground. Shantae changed back, lept into the
air and turned into her turtle form. She came crashing down on the monster dealing the finishing
blow. She turned back to reveal the monster's body was gone with only Miss Foster’s face
remaining which flew off.

“That was very reckless but… at least we won,” said Shantae as he caught her breath.

“Hey I was in good hands,” said Rob as he regained his strength and turned toward Otus. “You did
great buddy.”

“Nice work kid,” added Shantae.

Niko regained his strength as well and joined the others. “That was amazing Otus!” he said.

Otus, flattered by the praise from his new friends and feeling more confident in himself, gave them
a big smile.

“Well that was three. Only one more to go.” declared Rob.

“Then let’s go!” added Shantae.

The party continued on their journey to find the final stolen face but with a new valuable ally.

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