This is a warning to anyone who hasn't played the Shantae series, there are a lot of spoilers up ahead for those who're still playing the games. And for most of the the chapter, Shantae will be telling her story from the most important events and climaxes of her tales.
- Kanadzuchi
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This story is somewhat solid, but a lot of parts are missing. I will try to tell you as much as I can, Korah. Let me start from the beginning. There once was a mystical place known as Sequin Land, where not only people reside but dangers hide in every corner and every shore. The land was once protected by a race of beings known as the Guardian Genies. They fended off monsters and disasters of the unknown, defending Sequin Land's people who soon saw them as heroes of the Magical Realm.
At some point, Genies would often fall in love with mortal men to leave behind their heiresses, the Half Genies. One of those couples were my parents: an extremely power genie and a warrior lost to my memories. After ages of fighting for the peace of the Land of Sequins, the Guardian Genies disappeared one by one, until they were no more. All that was left of them were their daughters, including me, to protect the lands from the terrors of the unknown.
Korah"Guardian Genies? They sound more like superheroes to me. And you're capable of such things?"
Shantae"Yes, I am. If that is what you wish."
Korah"No, just go on with your story. And how did you live your childhood?"
Shantae"I'm still remembering, oh wait."
I've spent most of my life in Scuttle Town without knowing my purpose in life. All that I knew is that my uncle Doctor Mimic was my only family and my Scuttle Town was my home. My life was quiet and peaceful, that is until a pirate who calls herself Risky Boots stole my uncle's greatest discovery: the steam engine. She was my greatest rival ever since that day, she was as smart as she is clever in stealing treasures; complicated and swift. She wanted to use that engine to power a machine capable of destroying my home, but I managed to stop her in time before it was too late.
Korah"Wait... Was Risky Boots a really pale pirate lady with a skull for a bra and belt?"
Shantae"Yes, have you seen her before?"
Korah"Once upon a dream I did, which was more like a nightmare if anything else.
She planned on using the Elemental Stones to boost the steam engine's power, but with the help of my friends Bolo, Sky, and sometimes Rottytops, we managed to find each one, that is until Risky assaulted me and almost complete her grand design. The steam engine was Uncle Mimic's greatest find, but I had no choice but to destroy it. Better safe and sorry than get killed be a giant pirate tank, right?
Korah"A giant... Tank.... REALLY!? That's it!?"
Shantae"Yes, I even think it's ridiculous, but even after her defeat she got her revenge on me."
After several months from that event, Risky attacked the Relic Hunter's Expo into order to steal a stone encrusted lamp founded by Uncle Mimic. Apparently it had the power to of the Genies with the use of its three seals, each one held by the Evil Barons of Sequin Land: Techno Baron, Ammo Baron, and Hypno Baron. At first, Rottytops the liveliest zombie girl wanted to help me, but instead she tricked by having her zombie gang kidnap my Uncle in exchange for a lifetime supply of coffee from Risky Boots.
Korah"So that's why you were iffy about calling her your friend. But why coffee though?"
Shantae"Zombies can never sleep, so they have to drink coffee to keep themselves sane."
Korah"... I don't get it."
Shantae"Me neither, but follow along."
She and her undead brothers didn't really mean it, I guess. Because as any pirate, Risky tricked them so that she could use my Uncle as a bargaining chip for the seals, which it worked. What I didn't know was that the stone lamp's true power was to seal away genies and use their power for the user own purposes. She only stoled my Genie half, leaving me a normal human girl. I had to fight my Genie side in which she corrupted it, and even though I was human I can still fight like a true hero. I'm the end, I lost my powers but my friends were their to help me protect my, or should I say, our hometown.
Korah"This thing... Is it the same lamp?"
Shantae"I'm... Not sure. As I said before it was made of stone, that's clearly made of bronze."
Korah"So than, how did you get your powers back? Is it in those pages?"
Shantae"Umm... Major Scuttle's statue, no... The Barons own honest businesses, that's not true... Wait! I think this might shed some light."
After the loss of my magical half, I tried to live a normal life as a human and also still being Scuttle Town's Guardian along with my friends Bolo and Sky. As if I losing my magic was bad enough, the Ammo Baron assaults my home and claims it as its new major sending me on lockdown. I had no choice but to obey him even thou it was bogus.
Korah"Bogus? Hehe, that's a new vocabulary word for you."
Shantae"Wha!? I mean, ahem, my apologies for such language."
Korah"No, no, I makes you more human... Sorry, didn't mean to say that."
Anyway, upon returning back home by orders of the new mayor, Risky ambushes me and accuses me of theft. Yeah right. She thought that I stoled her stuff and her henchmen the Tinkerbats, but in actuality it was orchestrated by her former captain and former terror of the seas; the Pirate Master. He was a wicked man tainted and drunk with dark magic, a being so dangerous was easily sealed away by the Guardian Genies of Old. Risky's crew was cursed to follow his orders until his revival.
Korah"I don't understand, you said it yourself, the Pirate Master robbed Risky Bits or whatever of her stuff and probably had something to do with the town in peril. Why is she still blaming you?"
Because it all started when I defeated my corrupted Genie half. The magic spread every corner of the land without giving notice to the people, which they then turned into evil dens. There was no other choice but we made a truce to stop his revival, by destroying the evil dens and collecting the dark magic fuming from them. Risky rather ransack the townspeople instead of leaving them dead, and what she hates more than me was her former captain.
Korah"So much for honor among thieves."
Shantae"They're pirates, not thieves."
Korah"Same difference. I didn't like her from the beginning anyway."
But it was too late when Risky tried to decimate the Pirate Master's grave, he was revived and was about to kill her in his bones grip. This was another choice I had to make: in order to save her, I had to give up the darkness that I've collected from the dens. But what I didn't know was that all the darkness became my Light Magic once more making me a Half Genie again! I had the upper hand with Risky Boots's help, Pirate Master was finally destroyed and my home was safe and sound.
That day, Risky wasn't all that bad. She actually cared about others at that time, and at one time I asked her to become a hero. She thought that being a hero wasn't her style but offered me the same deal about being villain, but I politely pass her offer as well. Once I've dealt with the Ammo Baron and his goons, we went our separate ways: I became the beloved Guardian Genie of Scuttle Town once more and Risky Boots went back to the life of piracy in the open oceans until we meet again.
Korah"That sounds about it, right? Still doesn't explain about how you got in this lamp though. The fascinating tale would've made sense but as you said, it seals only Genies. This lamp capture all of you."
Shantae quietly sobs.
Korah"Oh gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't trigger anything did I?"
Shantae"Actually, sniffle, you did. I know you didn't mean it, but I will have to sum up the next tale."
Korah"Oh boy."
I think this next tale took place it was a year after the fall of Pirate Master where I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing voices calling out to me. I went to Uncle Mimic's room and found a trapdoor in the middle of his floor. I thought he was hiding something but I've in he room for years, and it was new to me. It was a hidden cavern hiding underneath his lighthouse. It was lit up with torches and had many water falls, but what kept me going were the voices that led me to-
Korah"A sacred oasis where a strange light was shown?"
Shantae"...? How did you know that?"
Korah"I think I might have been there before. During an expedition, my team was looking for clues of the past and I ended up in a hidden area underneath a lighthouse. That strange light told me to find you but I wasn't sure about."
Yes, that sound about right. The light in question was a messenger of the Genie Realm, for told me that another impending doom was about to befall the world once more. I wanted to speak about my mother to the messenger but it's wasn't meant to be. The doom they were talking about involved my uncle's greatest invention, the Dynamo: the ultimate security measure for Scuttle Town against invaders. He wanted to make something for me to ensure my life was easy, I know he meant well but things got complicated when a Tinkerbats stole his blue prints before he finished it.
Korah"Strange... I think Click called keeps on a couple of blueprints back at the lighthouse, I think one of them was the Dynamo. Was there anything wrong with it?
What your friend has is probably a dud, the real blueprints were switched by Risky Boots in order to fit into her own evil schemes. Once I gave the dud blueprints to uncle Mimic without knowing what it was, Major Scuttlebutt fired me from my position as Guardian Genie.... Again. But it was until me and my friends collected the remaining part for the Dynamo, where everything went wrong and the machine changed me with Dark Magic transforming me into a Dark Genie.
Korah"Oh my gosh! Did you kill anyone!?"
Luckily no, my friends snapped me out of it allowing me to purify myself of darkness, but by that time Risky already stoled the messed up Dynamo. Her main goal was to turn every genie with the Genie Realm evil and under her control, forcing them to take over all of Sequin Land. The Dynamo was the final component of her greatest achievement, the Tinkerbrain. But uncle Mimic managed to pull something together to counteract the dark magic from its purpose: the Magical Polarizer.
I assaulted her hideout and defeated Risky Boots and her sabotaged Tinkerbrain, afterwards the messenger pulled me into the Genie Realm, telling me that they magic was already corrupted by the repowered Tinkerbrain. This decision was even more disheartening; I had no other choice but to destroy the realm itself by destroying the Tinkerbrain controlling it, ensuring the safety of their real world. This also ensured the destruction of Risky Boots's Hideout, making her swear vengeance on me, again.
Korah"..... Shantae... I'm... I'm sorry. It must've been hard on you. Your mother... Was she still there?"
Yes, she was. But I digress, because afterwards the messenger miraculously appeared before me at my home stating that my uncle's Magical Polarizer worked. It saved the Genie Realm and my mother. I knew she would've sacrificed herself to save the real world, she would've wanted the same. Hearing that was a relief enough for me to finally relax.
Korah"Hmm. I think that's all that there is in that book."
Shantae"Maybe..."
Korah"Maybe? Is there anything else you remember?"
Shantae"Yes... I think. My last adventure is a bit foggy."
Korah"I know this lamp was the one containing you, but what about this?" He shows his two emblems to her.
Shantae"Hmm? .... Gasp!!"
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Well, that's everything about Shantae and she seems to be getting back to normal a bit. But these emblems are the key to her final tale.
- Kanadzuchi