"You're kidding, right?"
Shantae and Rottytops sat together at a table on the sunlit balcony of Shantae's favourite café. Being quite late in the afternoon, the area was empty, so nobody was really bothered by Rottytops' incessant questioning of Shantae's activities a day ago.
"Again, Rotty," Shantae sighed, "Yes. I. Took. Her. Hat." Rottytops paused for a moment, working it out in her somehow intact brain.
"So you took her pirate hat?"
Shantae groaned in exasperation and smacked her head on the table, sick of the same question worded differently about two-hundred (and thirty four, but who's counting?) times. She had to move the conversation away somehow.
"What about you and Sky? Did you make up?"
"Yeah, yeah, the whole make up and make out thing. We made up, but no make out. Are you sure you took her hat?" Rotty waved off nonchalantly.
"Rotty, I'm going to throw your head into the ocean if you ask me one more time. I mean it," Shantae growled, at the end of her patience. Two-hundred (and thirty five) times was too much. Rottytops looked at her with a worried expression, which quickly turned into a sly grin.
"You'd love to get your hands in my hair wouldn't you?" She teased, leaning over the table and getting right into the genie's face. "Handle me roughly?"
"Rotty, no n-no, ew, ew, ew, get away, s-stop it!" Shantae stammered, pushing the zombie back. Rotty smiled, standing up and walking around to Shantae's side, before holding the genie's head still. The green girl came close to Shantae's ear, who was ready to beat Rotty back if she even dared to take a bite.
"So, about the hat," Rotty whispered, "can I wear it?"
It was the last thing the undead girl said before she found herself travelling through the air and into the ocean.
"What happened to you?" Sky asked, clearly confused at the soaked zombie at her front door, standing next to the cross genie.
"Yes," Rotty answered, before shoving past Sky. "I'm getting a towel. Being wet sucks." She strode into Sky's bathroom before shutting the door with a click. Sky turned back to Shantae and gestured where Rotty was with another confused expression.
"She found out that I don't bluff," the genie said simply.
"Well, that's debatable," Sky replied, giggling at the frown the shorter girl gave her. "But, it is Rotty, so I suppose she earned it in one way or another." She pulled Shantae into a hug, which Shantae was too happy to return to her best friend.
"Glad to see you two are back on talking terms. I hate seeing either of you upset." Shantae pulled away and accepted the invitation to come in. Sky's house was clean and organised, something she could learn from. As expected, some jazz was playing out of Sky's music box – one that Uncle Mimic had gifted her for one of her earlier birthdays.
"She, well… convinced me to talk again," Sky said, receiving a raised eyebrow and a smirk in response. "No, Shantae, ew! Get your head out of the gutter. She brought me a Meera egg; do you know how hard they are to find, let alone take, without being shredded to bits?" The blonde brought her friend into the aviary, where the speckled egg sat, surrounded by fresh hay and preened feathers. She rotated it around and rearranged the hay, seemingly content with its new position.
"But you two are so cute together," Shantae giggled, punching the taller girl lightly in the arm.
"No, Shantae. I don't… like her in that way," Sky huffed, shoving the genie back just as lightly, "She's a good friend, if extremely annoying and with a tendency to make horrible decisions at the worst times. Not to mention her output of puns."
Shantae smirked again. "Was that hesitation I heard? Hmm, Sky?" The blonde glared at her, before shaking her head in defeat.
"Shut up. Just… don't talk about it." The dancer's smirk quickly turned into a worried expression, placing her hand on Sky's shoulder, which was slightly awkward given the height difference.
"You can tell me, I won't judge. I'm there for you, that's what friends are for." Sky glanced at Shantae, who was putting on her best face of encouragement.
"No, Shantae. Not now. And I don't 'like' her," she said calmly, guiding them both back to her kitchen area. The genie pouted, wanting to help Sky's out. Before she could say another word, the bathroom door slammed open, a towel wrapped around the head of the zombie who came stumbling out.
"Take it off! I can't see! You need toi-let me see again!"
Both the birdkeeper and the dancer groaned at the pun, Sky moving forward to unwind the towel from Rotty's head. How she got it stuck, she would never know. Upon seeing Sky, Rotty cheered, throwing her arms around the blonde and squeezing her half to death. She then ran over to Shantae and shook the life out of her.
"It's Halloween soon! We need to think about costumes!" She shouted with excitement. Sky pulled the hyper zombie off while the (literally) shaken genie collected herself.
"Halloween is two weeks away, Rotty. And technically, you're always in costume. We'll think of one by then, trust me."
"I KNOW!" Throwing Sky off of her back, Rotty lunging and Shantae and grabbing her bra. "I can wear this and you can wear my stuff! Deal?"
"ROTTY, NO, GET OFF," Shantae squealed, batting the zombie away and readjusting her bra. "You don't just make a grab at someone's clothes and try to strip them right then and there! I just said Halloween is two weeks away, so you can wait. And Sky is right there!" Shantae fumed, pointing at the blonde who had gone very red in the face. Rotty looked between the two and grinned.
"Cool, I'll strip ya down later then."
"ROTTY! I SAID N- you know what?"
For the second time that day, Rottytops found herself being thrown into the sparkling sea.
"I can't believe you let her go through with it, Shantae. Although I must admit, you look quite good," Sky giggled, complimenting Shantae's costume. Well, it was really more just Rottytops' outfit, earrings and headband included. "How did you swap clothes? I'm guessing you didn't strip down in front—" The genie gave Sky a scathing glare at her remark. "Yep, moving on. I'm a bird this year. Surprised?" Shantae shook her head.
"Aww, even Wrench is dressing up," Rottytops said, coming up from behind them. The mentioned bird looked up at the call of his name, now black with white highlights and a white skull painted onto his face.
"Yeah, of course! I wouldn't forget my other best friend! Although he wouldn't sit still," Sky grinned, quickly narrowing her eyes at the apparently mischievous bird. "You look good, for a braindead zombie." 'Cute, I'd add.'
"I am not braindead, you bird-brained chocobo," Rottytops retorted, crossing her arms. Sky's costume consisted of a large bird hat on her head, the beak over her face. It still hid her golden locks, which disappointed Rotty, but it was balanced out with the hilarity of the birdkeeper's orange socks, meant to mimic the legs of the bird, and her torso which was covered in a feathered vest and shorts, yet exposed enough to keep the green girl satisfied in her mind. 'You're adorable, Bird Girl. I wish I could tell you that without you beating me up.'
"What?" Both Shantae and Sky asked in unison.
"Chocobo. It's her costume. Ugh, never mind. I suppose I'll have to distract you with a classic genie dance. It's a must since we've done a spooky costume switcheroo," Rotty chuckled, mocking Shantae's transformation dances.
"Well at least I know more than swinging my hips back and forth on the spot," Shantae teased back, mocking the zombie's trademark dance.
"Mmm, swing those hips girl. I'm sure Sky loves it." Both girls blushed and glared at Rotty, who stood there laughing. As Sky looked away in embarrassment or disgust, the undead girl quickly winked at Shantae, who knew exactly what message she was trying to get across.
'Risky would love it too.'
Sticking her tongue out at Rotty, the half-genie heroine realised she had left her candy at home. She glanced at her friends, who had remembered to bring theirs.
"Girls, I left my candy at home. I'll run and go grab it, you two go ahead and meet up with Bolo and Uncle Mimic," she said, receiving nods and smiles.
"That's alright, we'll see you there shortly," Sky replied, hugging her friend again.
"Yeah! And then we can have a dance-off! With Bolo and Sky as the judges!" Rotty suggested. Shantae sighed. Bolo loved watching her dance, and of course Rotty would want to embarrass her as much as possible. She'd get back at her, one way or another.
"Whatever you say Rotty, prepare to lose. In fifteen minutes. I'll be back!"
Shantae ran towards her lighthouse home, jumping over the gaps in the walkway. Whoever maintained it seriously needed to step their game up. Who even looked after it? Shantae facepalmed. Bolo did. That explained everything.
Reaching her home she took her keys out of the back pocket of Rotty's shorts, and put them in the lock. (Pockets were quite helpful, maybe she should add some to her own costume. Then again, summoning her items seemed to be just as useful. If she had what she needed in the first place.) However, to the genie's shock, the door slowly creaked open. She had sworn she locked the door when she left – she always locked the door when she left.
"H-h-hello?" She called out into the darkness in front of her. No answer.
Fear gripping her, she slowly entered her home. Not able to see well in the near-darkness of the night, she bumped into an object, tipping it over and causing a large crash. She screamed and jumped in fright, stumbling into what seemed to be her table and ending up in a heap on the floor, as more crashing of furniture surrounded her. Blowing hair out of her face, she cursed under her breath as she lit a fireball in her hand. Why did she not think of that before?
Making quick work of lighting up the candles and other lights around her home, she looked at the damage. The table, chairs, and apparently a hatstand appeared to be the only victims in the room. But she was the one who caused that so what…
'Upstairs.'
Shimmying up her rope in a hurry, the genie flicked a fireball expertly to her lamp. She gasped in horror as she found her bedroom in complete chaos. Costumes, clothes, potions, and more were thrown everywhere, as well as her bedsheets. Her personal chest was open, as well as her drawers in her nightstand. Even her plushies were off the shelf and on the floor. What or who was here?
Panicking, Shantae began to throw stuff into the area where they were generally kept, when she spotted a piece of paper on her overturned bed. She picked it up, reading the cursive handwriting;
Brat,
You'd think you could just take my hat like that, and expect me to come to you for it? Ha! In your dreams, you foolish child. It's back where it belongs, on my head, and soon, I'll have yours in my possession as a warning to all those who oppose me.
Don't bother coming for me. I'll be back for you, and you won't survive this time. I'll make sure of it. Our fights are fun, if one-sided. To me. Obviously. I just let you win every other time, don't think otherwise.
-Love- From,
Risky Boots. -xoxo-
P.S. I took my hat back in case you didn't realise. You're pretty stupid, so I'm just making sure you know.
P.P.S. I'm not sorry about the mess. You deserve it. Runt.
P.P.P.S. A plushie of me? Seriously? That's cute. I guess. It's quite flattering honestly. I might let you live next time. We'll see.
Shantae smiled goofily. It seems Risky didn't take anything important but her hat. She was disappointed that she never got to see the pirate and talk to her like she had planned, but a note from her was nice. Shantae was also able to see the word 'love' crossed out, which had her stomach filled with butterflies.
She set the note down and looked at her room. It could wait until she got back. She slid down her rope, grabbed her candy off her kitchen bench and made sure to lock the door again. As she skipped back to meet up with the others, she thought of one thing that would both rile up her rival and make her show some respect.
Shantae would turn up at her hideout again. Whether she liked it or not. 'And this time, I'm not leaving without a kiss.'
The self-proclaimed Queen of the Seven Seas laid in her bathtub, relaxing after yet another… well, not-so-daring raid. She eyed her hat, as if it would run away by itself. Letting out a sigh, Risky grabbed the object on the stand next to her.
A plushie of Shantae.
Risky smiled to herself. She truly was flattered by the girl having one of the mighty Pirate Queen. Yet, the dancer could never find out that Risky had one of her too. Her fearsome reputation might get ruined. She placed it back down and closed her eyes in relief. Maybe she should go back and surprise her in a costume – it was Halloween after all. Wait in her house, scare her as she walked through the door, stab her and leave her for dead. Risky opened her eyes, ceasing to smile.
No. That wouldn't be fair. She was enjoyable to be around, which the pirate hated to admit, and if she were to kill the genie, it would need to be a fair fight. Mostly. Closing her eyes again, Risky decided to relax at her hideout. She wouldn't ruin Shantae's night. She deserved the break, as well as a decent holiday.
Just like she deserved the mess Risky left in her room.
I DID A THING! HAPPY TWO DAY LATE HALLOWEEN FROM AUSTRALIA! (or Upside-Down Land. Call it what you will.)
I find the Shantae and Rotty costume swap absolutely adorable. And I think I've made my decision on who's best besides Shantae - Rottytops.
But Sky is still awesome.
But as awesome as Rotty?
Okay maybe I haven't made up my mind. It's hard.
I'm about to undertake exams so I don't have plans for anything before December(or do I... insert winky face here), but there will definitely be a Christmas chapter. Got it all planned out. Wish I could say the same about my life. (Just kidding, got that all planned out too. Mostly. I think.)
Thanks for reading, and again, criticism is welcome, and feel free to let me know about any typos or errors!
Till next timeohmygodmyexamsstarttomorrowandits1amhelpme,
-Tommycats
P.S. Yes the chapter title sucks, but I needed to relate it to Halloween somehow.
P.P.S. Boo. Ha, scared ya.
P.P.P.S There doesn't seem to be an option on the site to cross words out. Huh. Pretend the 'love' and 'xoxo' in Risky's letter is crossed out. kthxbai