Gamelover41592: Thanks
Matt (Guest): Oh trust me, they will realize they were stupid.
Okay, so before we start, two things. First, a handwave. So why was everyone having such problems in the Sea Vent Labyrinth when they were fine in the volcano from the last game? To start, Risky had ventilation in the volcano. Second, they were also above ground. Now, the set up: Shantae and Jasmine are going to learn the origins of Jasmine's necklace! Let's go!
"I see you two are as kind as you calm," The ghost pirate said once Jasmine had handed him his scary doll back. "And that the half-genie daughter follows in the footsteps of her genie mother. When the genies went away, I feared for this world. But perhaps the half-genies can turn the tides of evil. Beyond this door, you will find the lair of the siren who trapped me here. She sank my ship! Fed on my crew! All I could do was watch. Helpless and without form. You must be brave! The path before you is haunted!"
"We'll take down the siren for ya!" Jasmine promised as the ghost pirate opened up the door. Sure enough, the siren lair was just beyond the door. Looking at each other, Jasmine and Shantae both nodded and walked in. Much like the ghost had said, the place was haunted. Skeleton warriors roamed the halls and the water was poisonous. While the later could be fixed with an easy use of Vera's magic, it didn't make the place any less unnerving. Monsters were also everywhere, just waiting to ambush the girls. Building on this, the place was freezing and often dark. While not as bad as the last area, the place was still not a pleasant place to be.
"Don't move!" Risky snapped. At this point, the girls had gotten used to her sudden appearances.
"So just how are you planning to steal the city?" Jasmine asked.
"Yeah!" Shantae chimed in. "What does that mean!"
"Bah. My plans are pushed up…" Risky grumbled. "I'm warning you...STAY OUT OF THIS!"
"No way!" Both girls vowed.
"Then you leave me little choice!" Risky promised as she readied an attack. Yet again, she was clearly holding back. Only now, it was much less. She had added faster shots, summoning more Tinkerbats, and faster dashes.
"Risky, stop doing this!" Shantae pleaded. This time, Risky ran off instead of replying. "Why does she never tell us anything straight!?"
"Well, we do foil her attempts at being evil," Jasmine jokingly pointed out, getting Shantae to snicker. In the next room over, Harmony was in her cage. Surprisingly, she was already awake.
"Harmony!" Shantae called out.
"Shantae?" Harmony replied before going into a coughing fit. Being stuck in a freezing underground labyrinth had taken its toll on her.
"Are you okay?" Shantae asked as Jasmine opened the cage, allowing Harmony to stumble out.
"The conditions here have not been kind to me," Harmony replied. Shantae moved to support her, only to find that she was burning up. But before either girl could comment, Harmony spoke again. "The others? Did you find them too?"
"They're all above ground," Jasmine assured her.
"We still need to find Fillin," Shantae said.
"Fillin?" Harmony asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The zombie half-genie," Shantae answered.
"She told me her name was Ima," Harmony said. "Ima Goodgirl."
"What?!" Shantae and Jasmine both exclaimed.
"She's not a half-genie," Harmony continued. "I knew right away, but she seemed to need a friend."
"No! That means an innocent person got dragged into this!" Jasmine panicked. Suddenly, she realized something. "Lying…"
Shantae picked up on Jasmine's thought trail. "Attention starved…"
"Trouble making...cosplaying...zombie!?" Both girls hit the same answer instantly, facepalming once they realized it. "THAT GIRL IS ROTTYTOPS!"
"You know her?" Harmony questioned. When she got two nods, she looked down. "Forgive me. I should have said something. Now, because of me, she's mixed up in this madness."
"Mate, if she wanted to play dress up, she should have been more careful," Jasmine said, still unsure if she was mad or worried about her friend.
"We have to get her back!" Shantae vowed. Clearly, she was less unsure.
"You will, by using this!" Harmony said as she handed Shantae another fusion coin. This time, it had a picture of a frog on it. "It bears the marking of a sea frog! They can swim through salt water at super high speeds!"
"Awesome!" Shantae cheered. "Do you need help getting out of here?"
"I should be able to make it," Harmony assured them. With a nod, Jasmine and Shantae continued on.
"Get off," Jasmine deadpanned. The next siren, one that looked like an angler fish, had used it's teleporting powers to scare Shantae, causing her to jump onto Jasmine. Realizing what she did, Shantae sheepishly got down and ready to fight. Annoyingly enough, the siren tended to stay out of range. She mostly fought by summoning eyes. It was as creepy as it sounds. Needless to say, Jasmine and Shantae did their best to finish the fight as possible.
"You made it!" Harmony greeted them once they left the dungeon.
"Looks like you did as well," Jasmine noted. Harmony went into another coughing fit, but then noticed Jasmine's necklace.
"Your necklace...where did you get it?" Harmony asked. She reached out, only moving to touch it when she was sure Jasmine was okay with it.
"I found it at one of my uncle's dig sites," Jasmine replied. "We were actually hoping that you could tell us more about it."
"Back when the genies first began to fall in love with the men of this world, they began to have doubts about putting their chosen partners in danger. So, they developed special necklaces that would give the wearer the same powers as the genie in question should they share a close relationship. Clearly, siblings count just as well as lovers," Harmony explained.
"Wait...so Jas can only use that...because she's that close to me?" Shantae asked, processing the statement.
"It would appear so," Harmony replied with a smile.
"That would make sense," Jasmine said with a smile. Shantae returned it.
"Wait, if Jasmine has all my powers...I'll be able into turn all the animals she has!?" Shantae excitedly realized.
"You're capable of much more than you know," Harmony said.
"You keep telling us that…" Shantae noted. "What makes you so sure?"
"Because I have this," Harmony revealed as she pulled out a strange book.
"A book?" Jasmine asked. She guessed it was how Harmony knew so much about the genies.
"A scrapbook!" Harmony clarified. "It was a gift from my mother. From all the half-genies's mothers, really. Before they left for their own realm, each genie wrote something down. It's full of memories, bits of advice...all the things they wanted to share with us. Since I was the oldest, they left the book in my care. I'd hoped that by visiting this island and taking part in the performance...I'd finally be able to share it with the other half-genies like Shantae here."
"You mean...there's a message for ME in there?" Shantae asked. "A message from my genie mother?"
"Want to see?" Harmony offered.
Shantae sighed. "More then anything. But first, Jasmine and I need to rescue Rottytops!"
"Then count on me to help!" Harmony announced. "While I can't come with you, if there's anything else I can do, just ask!"
"Plink, Vera and Zapple used fusion stones to merge their powers with me," Shantae began. "Their magic helped us rescue you. Harmony...would you...would you share your magic with me, too?"
"Sure, I'd be happy to share my abilities with you. But for that, we'll need a fusion stone!" Harmony pointed out. "We'd better start searching then! Follow me!"
"Are you sure you don't want to head back above ground?" Jasmine offered. "No offence, but you're not in the best shape."
"I should be fine," Harmony replied before walking off. Deciding to trust her, Jasmine and Shantae headed out, only to find that Harmony was talking to the ghost pirate.
"You two...this spirit claims to know you two!" Harmony said, sounding impressed.
"It's true," Shantae admitted. "She's the one who helped us find you!"
"Old one, it seems I own you my very life!" Harmony thanked the spirit. "Thank you."
"No need for thanks," The ghost replied. "In fact, I may be of more use still! You say you need one last fusion stone?"
"You got it!" Jasmine said. "Do you know where we can find it?"
"I do! At the bottom of the sea!" The ghost answered. "There, you'll find someone who should be able to help. Travel to the ocean floor, and I'm sure you'll find what you seek."
"We'll find it!" Shantae promised.
"Once you do, meet me in Arena Town," Harmony said. With two nods, the three headed off in different directions.
"What's a ghost dog doing down here?" Jasmine asked no one in particular. The trek to the deepest part of the island concerned both girls, as they found Tinkerbats everywhere. Not attacking, but working on something.
"Welcome to the very bottom of the sea," The dog greeted.
"Who are you?" Shantae asked.
"I am a lowly ghost dog," The dog replied. Jasmine noticed her shift her eyes, but didn't comment. "You smell like genie!"
"I'm a half-genie!" Shantae clarified.
"Half-genie?" The dog asked.
"Me and my sister are on a quest to rescue our friend," Shantae continued. "The sirens have captured her!"
"Sirens!" The ghost dog snapped to attention. "Oh dear…your friend must be trapped beyond this seal. Rescue is impossible. You see...in order to open the hatch...you would need to restore power to the city! That must never happen!"
"We're not afraid of the seven sirens!" Jasmine boasted. "We already took out four!"
"Seven?" The dog questioned. "Who said there were seven?"
"Uhh…" Both girls looked at each other, and then back at the dog.
"Risky Boots did," Shantae answered.
"The sirens below are endless in number!" The dog revealed.
Shantae didn't miss a beat. "Well, we don't care if there are seven sirens or seven hundred! We've got to save Rottytops!"
"What you propose to do...could DESTROY THE ISLAND!" The dog revealed, still trying to talk the girls out of what they wanted to do. "And EVERYONE ON IT! Would you risk everything to save your friend?"
Shantae and Jasmine didn't even need to think about it. "Yes,"
The dog barked and then sighed. "Very well. But be warned, this is no easy task! Long ago, the guardian of this island hid two bracelets in the mines up above."
"Bracelets?" Shantae questioned.
"These bracelets are the key to waking the city. Find them, and bring them to me," The dog requested.
"We will," Shantae said.
The dog barked again. "Before you go, take this." She then handed them a dog collar. "Show that dog collar to the ghost elder. She will know how to use it. Good luck, you two,"
"They're gone…" Once Jasmine and Shantae found Harmony's room in Arena Town, they noticed two things. One, she had clearly decided to take things easy, much like Zapple was. She had changed into pajamas. Second, she was distressed and talking to herself.
"Who's gone?" Shantae asked. "Harmony, is everything okay?"
"I was hearing voices," Harmony admitted. "But they seemed to have vanished…"
"Well, we got the fusion stone we needed," Jasmine said, handing it to her.
"It was a gift from a ghost dog!" Shantae added in.
"A dog down there?" Harmony questioned.
"It also told us to find two bracelets buried down there," Jasmine said.
"In that case, I know just how to help. By combining our magic!" Harmony said. She and Shantae then performed the ritual to transfer magic. "With this final power, you're a SPECTACULAR SUPERSTAR HALF GENIE! Now, my magic is based around controlling the earth itself. Although the harder stuff takes far more practice, so stick to small earthquakes. And please don't practice in here,"
"Will do," Jasmine said as she dragged her sister off to head back underground. They had bracelets to find.
So I'm sure all of you are wondering why I made The Boiler dungeon cold. Well, Angler Fish(which is what that siren was based on) are known best for living in the cold and dark arctic trenches. So I thought that the dungeon should show that. And Harmony(and by extension, Zapple) would a hundred percent feel the effects, especially because of what they wear. But anyways, now Jasmine knows the origin of her necklace and the girls now know about Rottytops. Next time, we head into the deepest part of the city to rescue her!
