Risky drops the F-bomb. You've been warned.
And while I'm here...
I do not own the Shantae series. All rights go to Matt Bozon and Wayforward.
Shantae leaned against the railing, gazing over the ocean that whizzed past her. She could see an island in the distance, and judging by the fact it was blowing clouds out of what looked like a giant horn, it was probably the island she needed to deal with.
She huffed, looking away from it, her task the last thing she cared about at the moment. The day before, the purplette had run down to Rotty and Sky, bawling her eyes out as they attempted to comfort her. She wouldn't tell them what had happened, nor what had been said, yet they were there for her. They had always been there for her. It had taken them nearly an hour to calm her down, and she had promptly fallen asleep shortly after.
Upon waking up, she had wanted some fresh air before anything else, which is why she was out on deck now, attempting to take her mind off yesterday's events.
'Attempting' being the key word.
Footsteps behind her brought her back to the real world, but Shantae didn't turn around or acknowledge them. She just kept staring out into the peaceful ocean, turned golden and pink by the rising sun.
"Sky's ripping into her, you know." Rotty came into view at the corner of her eye, opting to also lean against the railing. Still, Shantae refused to look at her.
"So I've heard."
The zombie fell silent for a few moments before speaking again.
"You saved me from losing that game, by the way. It would've been the fourth loss in a row," she joked lightly. Shantae only grunted in response. Rottytops sighed.
"It's not like you to be angry. It doesn't suit you."
Shantae snapped her head around, glaring at the green girl.
"But it's exactly like you to be annoying and intrusive at a time like this, as well as joke around! What the hell do you want, Rotty!?" she snapped, enjoying the look of fear on Rotty's face. She whipped her head back to face the ocean, silently hoping her hair would keep the trajectory and velocity and smack the zombie in the eye.
Rotty fell into silence once again, but made no effort to move away from her friend. Instead, she kept a quiet company. A few minutes passed, Rotty too worried about Shantae to spot cloud animals like she liked to do when outside, when she heard the purplette sniffle. Instantly turning her head to look at her, the zombie saw that she had managed not to notice the girl bury her head in her hands.
"Shantae?"
"I'm not going to cry! I can't c-cry! I w-won't cr-cry…"
The genie trailed off, her voice replaced by hiccups. She cursed herself, wanting to be strong and brave.
'Just like my mother.'
At the thought, Shantae lost what little composure she had left, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks as she began to cry once more. Rottytops instantly sprung into action, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl and pulling her in, running a hand along her back and whispering that everything would turn out okay into her ear.
Sky came out of the captain's quarters, slamming the door hard behind her, absolutely furious from whatever… 'discussion' she had just had with the resident pirate captain.
"ROTTY! We need to ta—" she cut herself off at the sight of the zombie holding a shaking Shantae, who was evidently crying again. Rotty looked at her with a sense of urgency, which Sky understood straight away. "Whenever you're ready," she said in a much calmer tone, giving her friend a small smile before heading below deck.
The purplette shuddered in the zombie's arms before trying to wriggle out of her embrace.
"Go see Sky," she said through her tears, though it sounded more like a request.
"Not until you're feeling better," the undead girl responded. Shantae opened her mouth to argue back, but closed it again. She knew that Rotty wouldn't leave her until she was sure the genie felt better. Shantae mumbled some response into Rotty's chest, but the zombie had no clue what she said, guessing that it went along the lines of 'fine.'
Rottytops held her like that for a few minutes more until Shantae calmed down, who then spoke something into her chest once again.
"Snack Cakes, I know you love my chest, but you're gonna have to get your face out of it if you want me to understand you." The genie hit her in the arm, presumably for the use of Rotty's unique nickname, before pulling away and looking at the slightly taller girl.
"Do you want to know what she s-said?"
Rottytops looked over Shantae's face, taking in puffy, bloodshot eyes and red cheeks. She didn't want to make her repeat what had hurt her the most, but the zombie was curious…
"If you think you can handle it, sure. Don't say it if you don't think you can-"
"I asked something and she got angry and said she would strangle me like she did with my mother," Shantae interrupted, the words spilling from her mouth quickly lest she stop and never finish the sentence. Silence washed over them as Rotty deciphered and processed the words in her remains of a brain. To the genie's surprise, Rotty looked more confused than angry, expecting her to be the next one to beat Risky's door down.
"That… doesn't sound right," the zombie murmured.
"What? What do you mean?" Shantae's shock was clear in her voice.
"It means I need to talk to Sky to make sure I'm right. Maybe convince her to love my chest as much as you do," Rotty winked. "You alright now? I'm not going if—"
"I'm fine," Shantae said, though the redness on her cheeks wasn't from crying this time. "Thank you…"
"No worries, Snack Cakes," Rotty grinned, giving the purplette one last squeeze before quickly running below deck before her glare turned the zombie into ash.
Turning back to the sea, Shantae focused on the tranquillity, and definitely not the fact that the island was closer and she'd have to get to work soon. Her lip trembled, but she bit it, determined not to cry again. The prickling sensation behind her eyes eventually faded, releasing her lip and letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. After a few deep breaths, Shantae felt more Ret-2-Go than earlier.
Until she heard the unmistakeable sound of boots clicking behind her. Though she wanted to turn and scream and shout her voicebox to shreds, the genie kept her composure, waiting to see what her friend… no, rival, had to say.
"We're nearly there." The deep voice of the pirate, in contrast to Rotty's higher pitch, cut through the quiet like a knife, Shantae's eyes narrowing unconsciously at the sound.
"I can see that," she replied curtly.
"I'll have to drop anchor here, though. You may have noticed that there hasn't been as much of a chill lately. Thanks to the efforts of some of my Tinkerbats, I've found out that Techno Baron's artificial clouds have receivers in them that use some form of complex science that even I'm not sure how it works. And I broke into the genie realm!"
Shantae stayed silent.
"That was… bad taste. Sorry."
Risky apologising? 'Probably a scheme to get me to talk.'
"Anyway… He's had the clouds 'turned off,' if you will, but he has underwater sensors that will trip them if it were to detect something as big as my ship. I can row you over there if you want—"
"I'll mermaid over." Short, quick response. All she deserved.
"Alright then. Your presence on the island may trigger them, so expect it to get cold, and quickly. Once you get in the base, just destroy the machine. The signal to activate the clouds will die off with them. Since the clouds are artificial, they should dissipate too, but don't hold me to that. The baron may or may not be there, so be cautious."
Risky's finished her briefing, but Shantae still refused to look at her, or even move her head. Her purple ponytail swayed in the wind, and Risky thought to herself how beautiful she looked.
"Look, Shantae, I'm—"
"Risky." For the first time that day, Shantae turned around and took in the sight of Risky. She looked pretty. But the genie was too angry to pay it any attention. "Here."
She reached into her bra, pulling out a square of bright purple fabric. She held it out to the pirate. Risky knew exactly what it was, taking a step back in bewilderment.
"W-what? B-but I said you could keep it!"
"I don't want it." Shantae's voice was cold and hard. She threw the fabric at the pirate's face, taking a step towards her, jabbing a finger at her. "It reminds me of you."
With that, the genie spun around, walking towards the plank. She did a quick dance, transforming into a mermaid and jumping into the water before the smoke had even cleared.
Risky stared at the purple bandana at her feet, the partially revealed white skull seemingly mocking her. She picked it up, holding it to her chest and closing her eyes. She wanted to cry, to blame the Tinkerbats, anyone, for what had happened, but she knew that this time, it really was her fault.
She opened her eyes again, a renewed determination in them. She was a pirate. She got whatever she wanted, and she would do anything to get it. Risky wasn't going to lose the relationship she had built with Shantae.
She would fix this.
She would regain the trust of Shantae and her friends.
She would admit her love and reveal her ugly past.
She should probably drop the anchor.
"I'm here," Sky said as Rotty came down the steps, beckoning for her to come in her room.
"Hi Here, I'm Rotty!" The zombie grinned and stuck out her hand for a shake. Sky stopped waving and disappeared behind the doorway with a groan.
"Why do I even bother with you?" she asked as she sat down on the bed.
"Because you looooove me," Rotty smiled, jumping into a sitting position next to Sky, sending her into the air a little.
"Shut up. Is Shantae okay?" Sky asked, brushing herself off. When she got no response, she looked up at the zombie, who was sporting a stupid grin while staring intensely at her. "What?"
"You didn't say 'no,'" Rotty whispered excitedly. Sky's cheeks flushed red.
"W-well I didn't say yes either! Now, is Shantae okay or not?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Rotty said, lying back on the bed and spreading her arms. "Said something pretty interesting though."
"Which was?" Sky laid down next to her on her side, propping her head up with a hand.
"That Risky threatened to strangle her like she strangled her mother or something like that." Rotty paused, deep in thought. "It's not right."
"Of course it's not right," Sky said. "Threatening an amazing girl like Shantae is—"
"Not that," Rotty interjected. "Well, you're right, but what I meant was Risky didn't kill or strangle Shantae's mother."
Sky's eyes widened, then narrowed into a suspicious glare. "How do you know?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. What did you get out of your interrogation from Risky?"
"I'd hardly call it an interrogation."
"Yeah, more like on the verge of actually killing her."
"Well she deserves it! Nobody hurts Shantae like that," Sky huffed, sitting up and crossing her arms. Her anger from before was beginning to return. She snapped out of it when she felt a hand wrap around her arm, dragging her back down onto the bed. Upon meeting Rotty's crimson eyes, the blonde felt a surge of butterflies in her stomach, and she knew she had it bad. She smiled, and Rotty grinned in return. Slowly, the zombie rolled over until she was over Sky, who traced one of her arms, always finding the undead warmth a unique but pleasing sensation.
"You know… you're cute when you're protective and angry," Rotty whispered, moving her head closer to the blonde's beneath her.
"Is that why you pester me so much? To see me angry?" Sky teased, her hushed voice music to Rotty's ears. She made no effort to push the zombie off her, instead wrapping her arms around her neck and drinking in the features of Rotty's face.
Choosing not to reply, Rottytops slowly inched closer to Sky, maintaining eye contact with those perfect amethyst eyes. Feeling the birdkeeper's breath on her lips, she closed her eyes and pressed them against Sky's. The blonde moaned, dragging her hands through Rotty's hair and surprising the zombie by pulling her deeper into the kiss. Not wanting to be outdone in terms of affection, Rotty cupped Sky's face, brushing her undead thumb against her cheek.
After what felt like forever and not long enough at the same time, she pulled away. Even zombie girls needed to breathe. Rotty gazed at Sky through half-lidded eyes, who bore the same half-lidded and satisfied expression. Sky stared at the adorable undead goofball above her, noting that it was one of the rare times where Rotty ever had red tinting her cheeks.
"I guess you made up your mind, huh?" Rotty asked, sitting up again. Sky sat up too, shuffling next to Rotty and humming in approval. Rotty fell silent again. She was so, so happy she could bounce off the walls, but nervousness about entering a relationship with her crush kept her grounded.
"What's wrong?" Sky turned Rotty's head to face her and saw the nervousness in her eyes. "Nervous?"
"I have never been so happy and excited in my life. Death. Undeath? You get the point. But yes, I'm so nervous that I'm not bouncing off every single wall in excitement," the zombie admitted. Sky nodded in understanding.
"Well, I've never done this with a monster girl, let alone a girl in general, so… we'll be nervous together." She squeezed Rottytops in a tight hug, aiming to comfort her.
"Well when you put it like that… I feel a little better," Rotty chuckled. "Before you forget, what did Risky tell you?"
Sky grunted in annoyance. Though she wanted to explore their new relationship a bit more, there was a more important matter at hand. Anger crept back into her voice as she spoke.
"She said she had made up strangling Shantae's mother to scare her into listening to her. She also said she was in a bad mood from your stupid antics, which led to it, but I feel that she's lying about lying to Shantae."
"She might not be."
Sky shot Rotty a look of curiosity and fury.
"You better not be defending Risky, of all people."
Rotty smiled a little, kissing Sky on the cheek.
"I'm not. But hear me out. Stories say the Pirate Master defeated all the genies, save for one, that one being Shantae. As far as I know when I worked alongside Risky for coffee—what?" Rotty paused when she caught sight of the look Sky was giving her.
"You worked with her, for coffee?" She asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah! You know that it's what stops my brothers and I from tearing everything and everyone apart for brains. Anyway, what I learnt was that the genies' sacrifice to defeat the Pirate Master meant leaving the overworld and disappearing into the genie realm to defend against any further supernatural threats from destroying the overworld. They sorta banished themselves to the realm upon release of so much power, if that makes sense."
Sky nodded as she listened, trying to piece together what Rotty was leading up to.
"So what does this have to do with Risky?" she asked.
"Well, it was my second year of being undead when the events happened, so I heard about it. Every time the Pirate Master 'defeated' a genie, their spirit was sent to the realm to assist those who were still here in the overworld. The final genie used themselves as a weapon to destroy the Pirate Master for good, but there must've been enough dark magic lying around for him to have been reborn. Actually, I think it was because Risky stole Shantae's magic and turned it into dark magic so—"
"Rotty!"
"Alright, calm down you big bird-brain! What I'm trying to say is that the Pirate Master defeated the genies. Alone. Risky wasn't there."
"How do you know she wasn't murdering Shantae's mother somewhere else or earlier on?"
"It took every single genie, save for Shantae, to defeat the Pirate Master. Risky was never strong enough to harm one herself, so she couldn't even hurt one earlier in her career. The only reason she can hurt Shantae is because she's inexperienced."
"And why should I trust you?"
"Are you serious Sky?" Rotty threw her hands up in exasperation. "We were kissing just a few minutes ago, surely you trust me now, considering you trust me with this." She ran a finger below Sky's chin, giving her a sultry look.
"What if you're remembering incorrectly?" Sky pressed, pushing Rotty's hand away. Though the two were now in a relationship, the blonde couldn't just believe everything that came out of Rotty's mouth. Then again, the undead girl had proven to be rather intelligent at times. Still...
"Ask my brothers, then. They'll remember more accurately than me, since they're older. At least Abner will, but Poe can surprise you. Or, better yet… ask Risky herself."
"She'll just lie to me, you know that!"
"It's true. All of it." The new voice made Rotty and Sky jump, and both whipped their heads around to see Risky leaning in the doorway. She lacked her sword and hat, but Sky knew better than to think the pirate wasn't dangerous without them. Or at least the sword.
"You're just saying that," she snarled, standing up and stomping over to the pirate. Even though she was slightly shorter than the older woman, Sky could still be intimidating when she needed to be. However, Risky didn't budge or flinch in the slightest. Instead, she let out a sad sigh.
"I fucked up, alright? If the truth will help you trust me, then I'll give you the truth. I met Shantae's mother a few times, but the last time I remember the most." Risky pushed past Sky and took a seat on the bed. Rotty instinctively moved away and Sky went to sit down next to her. "My old boss had her captured, and wanted me to behead her. I went up to her and cut her free. It's one of the only times I disobeyed my master.
"He made sure I was punished for that. I still bear some of the scars from the wounds he inflicted on me at the time." Risky shuddered at the memory. "But, I never regret what I did. A year later and he went to take them all on. I was going through problems at the time, so I never helped him defeat them all. When I heard what he had done and what had happened, I felt sick yet relieved. I was free of him, but… I couldn't help but think of her. The others, I could care less about. I never knew them like I knew her." Risky grew silent, a few tears dripping down her face. Neither Rotty or Sky moved to comfort her, and the blonde spoke what they were both thinking.
"You expect us to believe that and just forgive you for all you've done to us in the past years? You attacked Scuttle Town without a remorse on multiple occasions, then tried to steal Shantae's powers once you learned about it! You never gave a damn about her then, why do you care for her so much now?!" Sky's pitch got higher and higher as anger began to take over her again. Rotty did her best to supress it, hugging Sky tightly and restraining her from pouncing on the pirate.
"Because I thought that if I just stopped caring about everything then I wouldn't feel bad again. I built walls to prevent anyone from breaking my heart again and Shantae just shatters all of them. For years, I've strived for power and riches, only because I've been taught to by a stupid, piece of shit master who wanted all of it for himself. Now that I've been on a break from my plans, I've had time to reflect. My riches don't satisfy me. The power I have over the Tinkerbats is already a lot. Yes, I could be the richest woman in the world, have more power than every leader combined, but what's the point if there's no happiness to it?
"I figured out why I continued to plan and attack. It was because it was my way to see Shantae. I enjoyed my battles against her more than anything, even though I lost every single time. My schemes got grander each time because I wanted to impress her with how 'wicked' and 'evil' I was, but in truth, I just wanted to around her, whether through a fight or through an unstable alliance." Risky sighed, wiping tears from her eyes. "And of course, she saw right through the façade, and came to visit me."
Sky and Rotty stared at the pirate in shock, the latter with her mouth unhinged. Neither knew that the pirate was capable of speaking from the heart and with such genuinity in her words that even Sky found it hard to think she was telling a lie.
"Hold on," Rotty piped up. "You said something about breaking your heart. Did you and Shantae's mother…" she couldn't help but redden at the thought, her zombie mind going straight to the gutter.
"No. We didn't. Someone else who I thought I could trust broke it, but that's a story that I want Shantae to hear first. As for her mother… she was the only person I could ever consider a friend, even though we were naturally enemies." Risky stood up and turned to face the younger duo. "I am not looking for forgiveness. I know I do not deserve it in any sense whatsoever. But, I would appreciate it if you were to help me regain the friendship I have built with Shantae. It's something I took for granted, and it meant more to me than I realised. Are you willing?"
The pirate stuck her hand out, waiting to see what Rotty, and more importantly, Sky would say. Everything she had said was true, and she had no intention of letting Shantae down further by letting her friends down. The two looked at each other, then back to Risky.
"Can you give us a minute? We'll come out when we're ready." Sky's request was simple enough, so Risky nodded and headed out the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Sky turned to Rotty.
"We can't trust her—"
"Do it."
"What?"
"Sky, Risky loves her. You can tell by the way she speaks about her. I have a good feeling that Shantae can turn Risky around and set her on a better path." Rotty held Sky's hands in hers, hoping that it was enough to keep her calm.
"I don't care about Risky's future," Sky growled.
"Then do it for Shantae. You saw how happy she was before this incident. Don't you want that Shantae back?"
Sky looked at Rotty, then at the door, then back to Rotty again. The zombie smiled sweetly, obviously wanting to help Risky. Or help Shantae. It was helping both really, wasn't it? Sky sighed, flicking Rotty on the forehead before walking to the door and opening it. Risky was there, commanding a Tinkerbat to roll up the sails and make sure the anchor was properly grounded. Upon hearing the door open, she snapped at the creature to get to work before turning to face Sky.
"We're doing this for Shantae. Not. You. Got it?" Sky said with a scowl, extending her hand. Risky took it, gripping it firmly.
"Thank you. I'll leave you two to your business. I have to plan what I need to say to her." Risky took her leave, heading back above deck and towards her quarters.
Sky returned to the bed, where Rotty was awaiting her on her stomach, legs kicking back and forth in the air.
"I cannot believe you convinced me to work with her," Sky muttered, plopping down next to the zombie. She was quickly dragged down and given a deep kiss, making her feel light. She then felt a wet thing prodding at her lips, and upon realising it was Rotty's tongue, she pushed her off.
"Not yet," she said, looking apologetic.
"That's alright. We'll move as slowly as you want to," Rotty reassured, before giving the blonde another quick kiss. "Does this mean that I'll get to see you without the hood?"
Sky giggled, feeling a little better and wondering why Rotty had this effect on her and so many of her other crushes or dates didn't.
"Maybe in a month. I don't like people who aren't Shantae or my parents seeing my hair."
"But I saw your hair when we were at—"
"Do not speak of that incident, understood?" Sky snapped, jabbing a finger in Rotty's face. Her change in attitude scared the zombie, who nodded quickly in fear for her life. Pleased with the answer, Sky gave her another kiss, which was eagerly returned.
"So, we're girlfriends now?" Rotty asked when they broke away. Sky blushed. The term felt so foreign to her, but at the same time, it felt so right.
"I guess. It's a little weird, but I think I'll get used to it."
"So this means we can have a lot of sleepovers and go on dates and cuddle all the time?"
"Yes, Rottytops."
"So I don't need to convince Shantae to play strip poker now?"
"I'm going to regret this relationship so quickly aren't I…"
"Was that a yes?"
"…Yes."
Will Risky be able to think of what to say to Shantae? Will Shantae complete her mission? Will Sky learn to deal with Rotty's glorious jokes and not question Rotty's hidden intelligence? Will Rotty stop being a pervert?
Likely, likely, maybe, and probably not. Hey, it's rated T for a reason.
So as you can tell, I decided to explain what happened during the defeat of Pirate Master as well as reveal a little of Risky's past. In no way is this canon, this is purely made up for the purpose of my story. I'll expand more on it but that'll be between Shantae and Risky.
Also, hurrah for the complete inability to think of good chapter names. Go me!
Again, my worries are going a little OOC, especially on Risky, and maybe even Sky and Rotty, as well as the repetition of certain phrases. I hope I'm doing alright.
Anyway, typos, criticism, reviews and faves/follow are all welcome and appreciated!
Till next time,
-Tommycats
Obligatory P.S.
I still haven't decided if Rotty or Sky is better. I've honestly just given up and am going to award them both 2nd place.