"Author's notes: First, I give credit to the Lord for story-writing and to Matt Bozon for Shantae and co. I edited the first chapter as I felt it lacked a certain depth. Please forgive me for any inconsistency, but I believe this will turn out much better than I originally intended. Please read and review! Thank you! -Akuru"
~Shantae and the Mystery of Water Town~
A fanfic by Akuru
CHAPTER I
Within the confines of a dark underground cavern, two lone figures stood amongst a pile of bones placed in a pit. It looked to be some sort of shrine. Small droplets from the cavern's stalactites dripped to the ground, forming small puddles.
"Is it ready yet?" said a voice.
"No, but it will be soon. Then we will finally get what we deserve." Said another.
"Yes. Then HE will make his mark on this world. Finally, we will be free." Said the first voice.
"I will relish in that day." The second voice replied.
It was a clear blue sunny day, the waves lapping against the harbor walls and seagulls were perching on nearby fishing boats. Enter Water Town, the home of mer-folk and humankind alike. It's a popular trade town amongst many people and is one of Scuttle Town's allies. However, as of late, people began disappearing, eventually, within a few days, the town seemed totally abandoned. The primary targets were mer-folk, specifically women. Struck with fear of being taken by this unknown plague, many of the residents moved to the neighboring Scuttle Town, home of their most notable hero, Shantae. Of course, even though Water Town was in disarray, Scuttle Town was facing problems of its own.
BOOM! PSHHH!
Risky had been at it again. Her tinkerbats had made a ruckus of main street and had stolen many valuable jewels and possessions of the innocent townsfolk. Expectantly, Shantae, Bolo and Sky arrived just in time to eliminate the threats before they could escape with too much. All that remained was the smoke and fire left after Risky's cannon fire. Most of the houses, markets and shops were in shambles.
"I wish she would give pillaging and looting a break. This is getting old." Shantae was breathing heavily, sweat pouring from her head. She had locked horns with one of the most feared, if not persistent, villains to ever plague Scuttle Town.
"She's certainly no fan of quitting." Sky obviously pointed out.
"…didn't even get her number this time." Bolo grumbled under his breath.
Sky shot a glare of disbelief at the mace-wielding warrior. "Why is it that you always have to try and hit on Risky? She's our enemy." She fussed.
"Well, it's better than being alone most of your life." Bolo remarked sharply.
This infuriated Sky to no end as Bolo had struck a raw nerve. She was about to let him have it and opened her mouth to yell, that is until Shantae stepped in between them. "Now, now. Let's stop this." Shantae said calmly. "We're all friends here. Let's focus on getting this town back in order. The people need our help."
Sky let out a sigh. "Shantae's right. Let's not get carried away. I'm sorry Bolo."
Bolo just waved it off. He felt a bit bad for snapping at his friend, and the trio began helping with the town's repairs.
Meanwhile at the royal palace, the Sultana had just returned from her long siesta on her private island home. She was the real head honcho of Scuttle Town and all its neighboring towns and villages. Since the events of the Pirate King's return and defeat, she had been absent. Now, she returned refreshed and full of energy to get down to brass tacks on dealing with all matters of the people and her government.
Sultana sat at her elaborate work desk, writing down papers for taxes, treaties and such. Her room was adorned with rich silk curtains above the large decorative archways that led to a strip-balcony overlooking her city. There were pillows of rich colors and varying sizes placed near the open-archways, and her dear pet tigers occupied their space basking in the midday sun. She muttered under her breath as she wrote. She heard a knock on the door from the far end of the chamber.
"Enter, please." Sultana said.
In stepped a young woman accompanied by the Sultana's royal guards. She was a fair maiden with tanned skin, her hair tied back into a braid, and she wore a white clothed top with matching fashionable long, flowing skirt. Her sandals were made of average leather, her earrings were rich ocean, blue stones and in her arms she held folders; most likely filled with important documents.
"Your majesty." She bowed to her superior.
"Ah, the head representative from Water Town. Neha, my dear friend, how have you been?" Sultana smiled. She placed her elaborate quill pen on her desk and went up from her desk to meet her. Her guards returned to their post after she signaled for them to leave.
"I am well, my Sultana." She bowed again. She may be friends with the one of the most powerful people in Sequin Land, but she was still a servant. She was most respectful of her superior.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sultana queried of her friend.
"We need to talk. There are many crimes plaguing the neighboring port Water Town." Neha's expression was grave.
Sultana's expression became less jolly. "So I've heard. Have you any leads on the disappearance of the town's inhabitants?"
"Only that one minute they are there, then they suddenly vanish. Never to be seen again." Neha said. She showed her pictures from the folder she was carrying, along with some eyewitness reports that were less than helpful.
"Has anyone seen the culprit physically abduct one the mermaids?" Sultana asked.
"No, my Sultana. The minute everything seems peaceful another person is kidnapped." Neha was greatly puzzled as well.
"That is unusual." Sultana said, resting a hand on Neha's shoulder. "Well, rest assured I shall do my best to—"
Knock Knock Knock~
There came a rapid succession of pounds at Sultana's door followed by a slightly familiar whining sound. Neha hurried behind the Sultana. The sound of her guards outside sounded very angry as if they were trying to prevent someone from entering. Ultimately, a rather round rotund looking fellow barreled his way into the mighty Sultana's presence. Her dazed pets immediately snapped to attention and began walking to their master's side.
"Y-you're majesty!" The rather flabby man stuttered, quickly bowing his face to her.
The guards were furious and were about to seize him and throw him out until…
"No, leave him." Sultana commanded. "Mayor Scuttlebutt. What is it this time?" She sounded rather irritated. If there was one thing that got on her nerves more, it was Scuttle Town's bumbling mayor and his incessant blubbering.
"Risky Boots has attacked again and this time she struck hard! She also stole my valuable box of prized limited edition chocolate bars!" He was absolutely bawling.
Sultana pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep irritated sigh that sounded like the air brakes of a steam locomotive exhaling. She. Was. Furious. "IS. THAT. ALL? MAYOR SCUTTLEBUTT?" She boomed.
"W-well…" He looked afar off. "Fishing in our town is becoming less productive. I think it's because of the recent halt in Water Town."
This was not new to her. She was fully aware of the crisis.
"I know. There is nothing I can do about that. We'll just have to crack down and find the person… or persons responsible." Sultana was calming down. "However, I find your town's predicament unusual. You have able-bodied men who can crush Risky's tinkerbats like tin-cans, and not to mention I send my own guards there to patrol the area on a regular basis. You have a half-genie protecting your town! HOW ARE YOU STILL SUFFERING LIKE THIS!?" She yelled. The portly mayor shrank back. Neha put her hand on her friend's shoulder in hopes to offer some comfort. It didn't help much, much to Neha's dismay.
"Maybe the problem isn't the protection you've been sending. Maybe it's their guardian and her friends." Neha whispered in her ear.
"What are you saying Neha?" She was puzzled by this.
"Ask him about that half-genie." Neha replied.
Sultana returned to face the hapless mayor. "What of your guardian half-genie, by the way? I heard she helps around town. She has a record of being on this pirate's bad side, nevertheless she hasn't been able to prevent all the damage that this…" She wrinkled her nose at the very word. "sea rat… has caused."
"I've fired her and rehired her many times. I don't know about that girl. She tends to be a hassle sometimes. At times, I can count on her and other times it's like she doesn't pull enough weight." Scuttlebutt complained.
"If I'm not mistaken, she was the one who ultimately finished off the dreaded Pirate King for good. Plus, restoring my palace and your little town." Sultana raised her eyebrows.
It was hard for this simpleton to even argue with that… It took all the power the genies had just to seal the wicked master of the seas away, and here this half-genie youth, no less, comes along and puts an end to his short reign, even when he returned to full strength.
"Do you reward her for her services?" Sultana asked.
"Well… not really. She lives there as a sentry in the lighthouse, so that's plenty reward for her, I think. I did give her a raise last week." Scuttlebutt said.
"You're a fool, Scuttlebutt." Sultana insulted him. "For the last time, is there anything else that you wish to report?"
"N-no, your most gracious, humble majesty." Scuttlebutt stuttered and bowed.
"Then leave." She said.
With that, the downtrodden mayor turned to walk out of the luxurious chamber. Quickly, he turned to look at her and sheepishly requested "Um… your majesty? Could I have some more of those limited-edition chocolates?"
"No." She quickly snapped.
With that, the guards escorted him out of the building. It was a pain dealing with that bumbling buffoon and the only reason she kept him around was because he would try anything to beg her for the position of mayor. Everything from sneaking to her chambers at night, to shooting off fireworks with the words "LET ME BE MAYOR, PLEASE?" written in the air, to ruining private parties just to badger her on the matter. He had persistence, she knew that much. It's just he was never good at running the town. Scuttle Town stayed half-decrepit, but it played its role well…. At times.
'I swear, if I had him executed, he'd haunt me in my sleep.' Sultana thought as she went back to her desk, petting her loyal tiger's heads before sitting down.
"Now… back to the business at hand." She regained her smile and questioned. "What do you propose to do, Neha?"
Neha had an idea. "How about sending someone in to go undercover? Someone reliable, someone who knows how to handle themselves in these situations. Someone like…"
"SHANTAE!"
An all too familiar voice boomed from down the street. It was her dear uncle, Mimic. He was walking quite quickly down the street to where she was.
"Hi, uncle! What's up?" She smiled at him.
"I have something that I need to discuss with you, personally. Please follow me to my house." He said wiping the sweat from his brow.
She nodded, then turned back to her friends. "I'll be back in a few; you guys keep helping out."
Sky and Bolo flashed a thumbs-up.
"Go see what Mimic wants. We'll have this done when you get back." Bolo said. Of course, the heat must have been getting to him. They had more than one's share of work to do to repair the damage that that dratted Risky caused.
"Okay. See ya!" She exclaimed then ran off to follow her uncle.
Upon entering the relic hunter's home, Shantae was greeted by a few familiar faces.
"Snack cakes!"
Shantae was immediately caught in an embrace by a green-skinned girl. She rubbed her cheeks against the half-genie's.
"R-Rotty! What are you doing here?" She said in surprise.
"It's not just me~." She sang her words.
"Indeed, she brought her whole family." Mimic added.
Abner and Poe sat at a table and gave a wave.
"So, what's all this about?" Shantae asked aloud.
"Well…" Mimic guided the two over to a large object covered in cloth. "My latest invention. It's in the works, but if I'm successful, this town will never worry about a coffee shortage ever again."
"Uhh…" Shantae was confused.
"In other, words, he's making a coffee machine that never runs out of stuff to make coffees!" Rottytops exclaimed. "It'd help all the zombies back home and on the caravan!"
"Wow! That's amazing!" Shantae beamed.
"Yeah, times've been rough for us zombies. It's good to know there's someone out there looking out for us. 'specially…" Poe said before Abner piped in.
"… all the life-threatening situations we put you all through." Said Abner.
"It's nothing, all water under the bridge." Mimic said waving it off. He was a very forgiving man.
"So, I assume you want me to go find some parts to help you finish this miracle coffee maker?" Shantae asked her uncle.
"You assume correctly! However, as you well know…" Mimic said.
"…they're very difficult to find and I'll need to go to various, possibly dangerous places to get them?" Shantae completed her uncle's words.
"Exactly!" Mimic exclaimed.
"Okay, so where do I start?" Shantae asked.
"You mean… where do WE start." Rottytops piped up. "I want to go with you."
"Uh…" Shantae wondered about this.
"Come on, sis won't shut up about you. Besides, it would do her good to do more travelling outside of the average locale." Abner said.
"Yeah, we need a break!" Poe exclaimed.
"Oh, come on you two." Rottytops whined. She had been driving them nuts for days since Mimic sent a letter to them about this discovery.
"Besides, with Bolo helping around town, it'd be great to have a temporary assistant." Mimic gave Poe a look. It'd be nice to have a like mind around!
Poe liked the idea. "Count me in, I consider myself a science man…. zombie."
"Please. The most you've ever done science-wise was fix that old coffee maker shrimp here gave us, then blew it up using one of your homemade rockets." Abner nagged.
"Come on, bro, that thing couldn't brew eggs if it had feathers." Poe said.
"That…uh…." Abner had no words for that nonsensical comment.
"In any case, you two are gonna stay here and help Shantae's uncle, while we go find the stuff for this miracle machine." Rottytops said, feeling uppity, putting her hands on her hips.
"Sounds like a plan." Shantae smiled. She hardly had adventures with friends and having Rottytops with her might just be good for a change of pace.
"Alrighty." Mimic spoke up. "The first thing I'll need is a power source. Can't test it without some kind of energy."
"What kind of power source, uncle?" Shantae asked.
"Something like the fire stone back when I tried to make the steam engine work. However, this needs to give off electricity at will." Mimic said.
"Any leads on something like this?" Rottytops chimed in.
"Well, there is a rumor… an old legend about ancient technology hidden in Mermaid Falls. Maybe one of the mermaids from there could assist you further." Mimic proposed.
"Alright! Mermaid Falls it is!" Rottytops beamed. "Let's go get that super old thingamajig, sister!" She rushed out the door before Shantae could get a word in edgewise.
"Rotty! Oh, cheese sticks…" Shantae followed her zombie friend out the arched door.
Mimic turned to the zombie brothers and cracked his knuckles. "Alright boys, let's get to work!"
"The half-genie… are you serious?" Sultana raised her eyebrow.
"You sounded like you gave her such high praise. I don't see why not." Neha urged.
"Fine. Bring her to the palace immediately. I'll give her my… special thanks." Sultana seemed to fake a smile.
"Yes, my Sultana." Neha took a bow and started her way to the door.
"…. Oh, and Neha." Sultana called.
Neha stopped and turned.
"See to it that she comes alone." Sultana commanded.
"Yes, your majesty." Neha said. With that, she exited the room.
With Neha out of the royal chambers for now, Sultana got back to the important, yet utterly boring work of managing wages and tax reports.
'I can't believe I'm sending a half-genie to do undercover work… Oh well, I don't see why not. There aren't many of them left. Maybe she'll be able to give us a miracle after all.' Sultana thought. She gave a sigh and gazed out one of the archways to the seemingly endless blue sky.
~END OF CHAPTER I~
What will happen to Shantae and her zombie friend? Will they obtain the ancient power source or will they fail? What of Neha, just who is she and what plans would Sultana have for having Shantae going undercover? Find out next time in Chapter II!