Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Summer lay on her back on the roof, her hands behind her head as she looked at the clouds.
"I've been meaning to talk to ya about something." Shantae's voice echoed in her head. "See, I received an invitation to go to this island for a Half-Genie Festival. I was wondering if you wanted to come."
"Wait, really?" Ruby's voice echoed.
"Yeah! It's gonna be a lot of fun. Sky and Bolo are on board, though I can't get a hold of Rotty for some reason. Eh, I'm sure she's snacking on someone's brain. You wanna come with? It'll get your mind off things after what had happened a few days ago."
"Are you kidding? I'd love to go!"
"Ruby, what are you doing…?"
Summer sighed, closing her eyes.
"Ruby… are you sure this is a good idea?" Summer asked.
"Of course I'm sure. It's Shantae, I'll be fine!"
"I know, Shantae's a good friend and I trust her, but something about this Half-Genie Festival… I don't know why, but… something feels off about this."
"I'll be fine, mom… when were you so paranoid?"
"I know, it's not like me… but, maybe we can go with you."
"No… I think it'd be best if I went by myself. I need this, honestly."
"How about Yang? I'm sure she'd be happy to go with you. I mean, you have been kinda distant with-" She would immediately see Ruby looking down with a sad expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing… I just… just tell Yang that I'll be okay."
"Hey Ruby! Come on!" Shantae called out.
"Coming!" Ruby looked back at Summer. "I'll be okay." She said, seeming like she was fighting her tears when Yang was mentioned, then she hugged Summer.
"Oh… alright…" Summer nodded, wrapping her arms around Ruby and kissed her head. "Just don't do anything crazy, alright?"
"I won't." Ruby smiled and used her crutches to move toward Shantae.
Something is not okay… and I have a good feeling about why she's been distant toward Yang. Come to think of it, I think she's been distant between Weiss and Blake too. She thought as she opened her eyes to see Rosalina above her. "ACK!" She yelped.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you!" Rosalina chuckled as she sat down next to Summer.
"No no, it's okay…" Summer waved it off and then sighed.
"Worried about Ruby?"
"Yeah. I just can't shake this feeling off."
"She'll be fine. She's got good friends looking after her." Rosalina said.
"I know… and I shouldn't worry considering Dark Ruby's gone and all, but… something's eating at me and I don't know what it is! Aaaagh, it's driving me crazy! And on top of that, she's been distant with Yang for a while! And I think she's been distant with Blake and Weiss too!"
"Hmm… I have a theory on why that could be." Rosalina said. "However, perhaps she went to that island just to clear her mind. I've a feeling she'll come back and give Yang a grand ol' hug."
"Here's hoping… though I still can't shake that feeling."
"Well, I believe it's natural to worry about your kid who's recovering from a massive injury like that." Rosalina leaned back and looked at the clouds.
"And you're not? Rosie, you're gonna be Ruby's mother soon after I leave and-"
"I'm worried too." Rosalina admitted. "However, I have faith that Ruby will be just fine." She looked over at Summer and winked. "So, just take it easy. Everything will be okay."
"I hope so… I just hope the others aren't too heartbroken over this."
"By the way, you did remind her to pack sunscreen, right?"
"Of course I did!" Summer nodded. …Shoot, did I tell her to pack sunscreen? Crap! I can't remember if I did or not!
At Toad Town…
BGM: Toad Town (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
"Am I glad that Ruby's taking it easy with Shantae? Yes. Am I a bit hurt that she didn't bother inviting us? Absolutely!" Weiss said, sitting on a bench at the park and holding Manaphy. "...Am I also glad that this isn't another Galar incident, of course!"
"Come to think of it, she has been distant with us lately." Blake said.
"How distant are we talking?"
Weiss turned her head to see Seryu leaning on the bench with Sheele with her, the former having a new outfit on her. Seryu now wore an Izuchi S armor set with the colors being green and silver, plus a green and white scarf wrapped around her neck. Strapped to her back was a Gale Crossbow heavy bowgun which was also colored green and silver just like her armor set.
Koro also had a Canyne Izuchi S armor set on him as well along with a Canyne Izuchi Sickle S strapped on his side.
"Well… she still talks to us, but it's like she's out of focus and would rather… do something else instead of holding a conversation." Weiss sighed. "That's not like her. Back in the day, she'd talk my ear off trying to get me to say something." She shook her head.
"That does seem pretty bad…" Sheele mused. "I wonder what's keeping her from being social with you guys."
"Has she done anything that caused harm to you guys?" Seryu wondered.
End BGM
"Hmm… not that I know of. Buuuut there was this one thing that made us stand there in shock. Something that Dark Ruby did to her… goodness, that feels so weird to say considering I have Grimm Ruby wired in my brain." Blake admitted.
"Oh… I know what you mean." Weiss said sadly. "That hag threw Grimm liquid in her eyes and made her hallucinate that every one of us was like her. In anger, she strangled who she thought was the real deal… but in reality, she nearly killed Yang."
"Oh my gosh…" Sheele said in horror with her hand over her mouth.
Seryu grimaced. "That'll… that'll do it."
"That could be the reason why. Distancing herself from us because she doesn't want to hurt us." Blake said.
"I can totally understand that… but… aaaagh!" Weiss gripped her hair in frustration. "That's only a theory though! If she would just tell us what's bugging her, we could help her out! Ugh, unfortunately, she's with Shantae… and I know Shantae is a good friend, but she still could have invited us!"
"Mana Mana…"
Weiss sighed, looking down at Manaphy. "Sorry sweetie… I'm just a bit annoyed with Ruby at the moment." She said. "...Though not as annoyed like what she did when she ran away to Galar. At least she let us know where she was going!"
"I wonder how Yang feels…" Sheele said.
"How who feels?" A voice asked as they saw Yang approaching them, drinking a smoothie.
"Oh, hey Yang. We were just talking about how Ruby's been distant with us lately." Weiss said.
"Oh? Eh, I'm not too worried about it. She's probably just got a lot on her mind, what with her weapons destroyed and her new arm. If anything, she'll talk to us when she's ready."
"You're worried, aren't you?" Seryu guessed.
Yang slumped a little. "Oh, you have no idea. Every time I'd strike up a conversation, Rubes wouldn't give me the time of day! She'd rather be anywhere but there if I'm talking to her! She's not like this with the rest of the family, I just want to know why she's specifically giving me the cold shoulder… ESPECIALLY since she didn't invite me to vacation with her! On the bright side, at least we know she's all right and she didn't run away like last time…"
She sighed. "I just wish she would respond to my texts though…"
"I'm sure she's alright… we just need to give her some space." Blake said.
Meanwhile…
A ship came to a gentle stop at the docks as Sky was the first one to walk out and sighed happily, taking off her head. "This is the place… time to kick back and relax…" She said, and then Shantae came running in and accidentally shoved Sky down. "Wah!"
"Eeee!" Shantae squealed in delight.
"Hey!" Sky got back up, glaring at Shantae in annoyance.
"This place is a paradise! We get to stay here for a whole week!" Her eyes sparkled. "Can you believe it?!"
"What?! A week?!" Bolo complained. "You packed enough for a month!" He said, pointing to a large pile of luggage. "Seriously, was a whole mountain of luggage necessary!"
"Hey, I need all that stuff for the festival!" Shantae reminded.
"Why not just carpet bomb the island with luggage while you're at it…" Bolo deadpanned.
"Hahaha! I brought some unfinished projects from my lab!" Shantae's uncle, Mimic, said with a grin.
"Ugh… come on, the sooner we check in, the sooner we can relax." Sky said and turned her head. "Seriously, what's taking them so long? Guys, will you come out already?"
"Hey, excuse us for sightseeing!" A voice said as Cuphead walked out, and was joined by Mugman and Chalice.
"It's beautiful, I'll give it that." Chalice said.
"It's pretty great!" Another voice said as Hat Kid walked out with a grin as Ruby walked out with Banjo next to her, carrying her luggage.
"Sorry for making you carry my luggage, Banjo."
"Aw, it's no big deal, Ruby! I don't mind helpin' out a friend!"
Shantae giggled. "Sorry for not telling you I invited a few other friends, Ruby… I got so caught up with trying to tell you that it slipped my mind."
"Aw, it's okay." Ruby smiled.
BGM: Island West (Shantae and the Seven Sirens)
"Ah, but it's so nice to finally be here. Paradise Island!" Shantae grinned excitedly. "I think this might be my first real vacation!"
"What, was DK Island a joke to you?" Kazooie asked as she poked out of Banjo's bag.
"It was, but it turned into a prison thanks to K. Rool and Gruntilda." Shantae pointed out.
"Fair enough!"
Mimic grinned. "I'm sure this will be a memorable one! This island has a rich history. It sits atop an ancient sunken city… much of which is still intact today."
"Wait, really?" Shantae asked with intrigue.
"Cool, hope I get to see that!" Ruby said.
"Oh, don't get too excited, you two." Sky told them. "Places like this are all tourist traps. Once they find a spot with historical significance, they build a fancy hotel and laugh all the way to the bank. Considering Remnant has historical significance regarding the historical love spat between Ozpin and Salem, I'm surprised they haven't built more hotels."
"Why would you want to build a hotel over an eternal love fight?" Bolo asked.
"I'm not looking for an excuse to get my freak on, jeez… get your mind out of the gutter, Bolo."
Bolo sweatdropped. "I was just asking!"
"That's all we need… a love hotel between Salem and Ozpin." Hat Kid snarked.
"I'll give it a week before they tear it down." Cuphead said.
"Eh, five minutes." Mugman chimed in.
"I would say five seconds, but I think that's still too generous." Ruby said.
"Five milliseconds is too generous!" Kazooie added.
"If they would just kiss and make up, Remnant wouldn't be having an eternal dick measuring contest because I'm pretty sure Salem wants Ozpin to know she's bigger…" Sky mumbled to herself.
"Hmm, say what you like… I still want to see those old ruins. Now that Shantae's a big celebrity, I'll have my chance. Apparently becoming a Smasher made her a big deal in our world!" Mimic grinned.
"Aww, it's not that big of a deal…" Shantae rubbed her head while blushing. "Plus, uncle… you promised not to embarrass me…"
"Can we just go already? My foot's asleep from carrying all the bags!" Bolo said.
"Ugh… alright. Bolo and I are gonna go get us checked in. You can catch up when you're done gawking at the scenery." Sky walked off with him.
"Sheesh… what's got her so worked up?" Hat Kid wondered.
"I think she's just way too excited to relax." Shantae giggled. "Alright, let's go! You coming, Uncle?"
"You go on ahead, i'm giving my old bones a rest."
"Alrighty then!" Shantae said. "Let's go!"
"...Should we do something about the mountain of luggage?" Mugman wondered.
"Ah, I'm sure they'll get everything sorted out." Shantae waved it off as they ran off.
"Hey, guys, wait up! Girl on crutches!" Ruby said, trying to hurry along.
"Kazooie?"
"I'm on it!" Kazooie hopped on and got in front of Ruby. "Hop on!"
"You sure that's a good idea?"
"I carry Banjo on my back all the time!"
"Good point." Ruby hopped on Kazooie as she ran off while Banjo held Ruby's crutches.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Banjo ran after them.
End BGM
BGM: Arena Town (Shantae and the Seven Sirens)
"Welcome to Arena Town, home of the Half-Genie Festival!" One of the bellhops said. "All Half-Genie guests must check in with the mayor upon arrival. Thank you, and have a festive stay!"
"Alright!" Shantae smiled as they walked into the town where they saw a bustling town and an arena smack dab in the middle of town.
"Cooool!" Hat Kid said.
"That must be where they do all their plays." Mugman said.
"Wonder if they do any tragedies. Comedic ones at that!" Cuphead said.
"Why would they do comedic tragedies?" Chalice asked.
"Simple. Laugh until you cry!"
Chalice sweatdropped. "I doubt that's what it means…"
"Ah, hello there!" A voice called out as they saw a big man approaching them. "Welcome to Paradise Island! You must be Shantae, all the way from Scuttle Town! And these people must be your friends!"
"Hello!" Shantae waved. "That'd be me. These are Cuphead, Mugman, Chalice, Hat Kid, Banjo, Kazooie and Ruby!"
"A pleasure to meet you all! You can call me the Mayor." He greeted and then spotted Ruby's condition. "Oooh, had a rough accident?"
"I guess you can say that… but I'm not letting that stop me from enjoying myself."
"That's the spirit!" He smiled. "Thank you all for coming. It is my greatest pleasure to host this event… the inaugural Half-Genie festival! I created this festival to demonstrate appreciation of rare, magical beings like yourself!"
The good appreciation or the bad appreciation? Ruby thought.
"I want people from all over the world to witness the magic first hand! That way, they can understand their half human, half genie neighbors!" He let out a hearty relaxed sigh. "This beautiful island makes a dandy backdrop for the event. Wouldn't you agree?'
"It certainly seems good for business!" A voice laughed as Mimic walked over. "This place is packed!"
"Hello! You must be Shantae's uncle. Yes, we have managed to muster quite the crowd. Of course, most of the ticket money goes to support local businesses… and provides a free flight and hotel stay for each of our half genie super stars! But not just them… their families too! All expenses paid!"
"But what about friends?" Banjo pointed out.
"Of course! Anyone who are friends with the half genies gets to stay in the hotels for free too!"
"Uh… I'm a friend of the Half Genie!" A tourist said.
"I don't even know you." Shantae told him.
"Aww…"
"However! It's only free IF the Half genies agree to be the stars in my grand performance… the Half-Genie Superstar Spectacular!"
Shantae squealed with delight, clapping her hands excitedly.
"Love that enthusiasm! That's why I want you up on that stage for the sneak peek preview event… tonight!"
"Tonight?!" Shantae paled a little. "Um… I… uh… I don't know the routine yet…"
"No worries! It's just a dry run after all! You know, like a practice performance in front of a live audience!"
"Oho, so everyone gets to see Shantae screw up and embarrass herself? I think we came to the right spot." Kazooie said.
"Kazooie!" Banjo scolded.
The mayor laughed. "It's something to iron the kinks out! She'll be fine!" He smiled before he remembered something. "Oh! That reminds me. I've invited five other Half-Genies to perform with you. Could you go and find them? They're probably sightseeing on this island… so can I count on you all to go find them and remind them about tonight's performance?"
Shantae's eyes sparkled. "Other half genies… like me? I'd be glad to! Ooooh, I can't wait to meet them!"
"Here's a checklist for ya!"
"Thank you!" Shantae took it. "Mind if we go check in to our rooms real quick?"
"Of course!" The Mayor smiled as they all went off to go to their rooms, where they met up with Sky and Bolo.
"Yo, Shantae! Check it out, we got a poolside view in our room!" Sky said.
"We got a pool?! Awesome!" Shantae exclaimed.
"Ugh, I'm sharing a room with your uncle…" Bolo mumbled.
"Oh, quiet you!" Sky glared and then turned back to Shantae. "And you!"
"Mmmph!" Shantae stiffened.
"Remember, when you get on stage, you'd better do whatever it takes to pacify those genie-crazed throngs! Make a good impression so we get a free trip again next year, got it?"
Everyone sweatdropped.
"Uh… roger…" Shantae said. Sheesh…
"Now hurry up and meet your fellow performers!" Sky said, already pushing Shantae out the door.
"Wha-hey!"
"Sky already figured out your rooms, if you can believe it." Bolo said. "Ruby, you and Hat Kid are sharing a room next to Sky and Shantae."
"Woo, nice!" Hat Kid grinned.
"Cuphead and Mugman, you're next to ours." Bolo said.
"Heck yeah!" Cuphead high fived Mugman.
"Banjo and Kazooie, you're across from Ruby and Hat Kid… oh, and Chalice, you're bunking with those two."
"Sounds good to me." Chalice nodded.
"Welp, let's get ourselves situated and meet up with Shantae real quick." Ruby said as they went to their rooms as Banjo walked into Ruby and Hat Kid's room.
"Here you go, Ruby!"
"Thanks, Banjo." Ruby smiled as she sat down on a chair and leveled her leg up as Hat Kid sat on her bed.
"Aaaah… comfy~!" Hat Kid smiled as she immediately fell asleep on it. "Zzzzz…"
Ruby looked into her luggage after she opened it up. Let's see… Pokeballs, bikini, casual clothing, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, towel, music player, headphones, scroll, painkillers, my broken weapons, Dark Ruby's Crescent Rose… wait, where's the sunscreen?! Crap, did I forget to pack sunscreen?! She thought as she tore through her bag but found it buried underneath her clothes. Oh, thank goodness, I did pack it!
She wrapped her bag over her shoulder and stood up, getting her crutches as she moved her way into the bathroom and put things up, and then a sharp pain struck her.
Pause BGM
"Mmmph!" She grunted, leaning onto the sink for support. "Rrrgh… damn…" She cursed under her breath as she found a glass as she quickly filled it up with water and then grabbed her painkillers, popping one in her mouth and downed it with water.
"Uuungh… guess those six hours just flew on by…" Ruby mumbled. "Strange… I wasn't feeling any pain this morning… that was definitely an eight…" She grunted, clutching the sink to compose herself.
"You okay? I just felt a surging pain when I was having lunch."
Ruby closed her eyes.
In the subconscious…
Ruby reopened her eyes. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
Chaos Ruby looked at her in concern. "You don't look fine. You look like you just got beaten up pretty bad."
"Ah, my hip was bothering me…"
"Oooh, that'll do." She nodded and looked at her arm. "Is that your new arm? Wow, looks pretty great if I say so myself."
"Yeah, it's got all this neat stuff that Viridi gave me. She had to amputate what was left of my arm and gave myself a neat upgrade. Though… I would be lying if I didn't say I felt like a freak…"
"Well, understandable… you did lose a part of yourself."
"Yeah, and I'm part plant now!"
"Ooooh, well, it's better than being a cyborg."
"True… though, I will say, I'm glad I have this arm. It's a way to remind myself that I've moved on from Dark Ruby."
Chaos Ruby smiled. "That's good! …Soooo, why do you have a hint of sadness in your eyes?"
"Well… I thought I could go on vacation to get my mind off things. I only brought myself. Shantae invited me and brought over a few friends too. My team and family are back home."
"Ah, a little vaycay? I could use one… not sure if anyone would allow an apocalypse bringer into their vacation spot… maybe I could just sneak into Delfino and wait until everyone's sleeping. I'm sure midnight vacations are a thing."
Ruby giggled. "Whatever works…"
"Okay, so what's the source of the sadness? Maybe I can help."
"It's… kinda silly."
"Try me. We used to thrive off of silliness."
"Okay so… I came back alive and I fought Grimm Ruby. However, she threw Grimm Liquid in my eyes, and in turn… it caused me to hallucinate that all of my friends were Grimm Ruby."
"Oh…"
"And then, I told her to shut the hell up while in my Zinogre form and I electrocuted her while crushing her neck."
"That's good!"
"...Except it was Yang."
"I take that back."
"And… I know Yang is probably chill about it now, but it's just been bothering me even after I took care of Dark Ruby for good! I hurt her… and I'm worried I'll do the same with Weiss and Blake…"
"Wait, so you're isolating yourself from them?"
"Yeah… I do talk to them, but I'd rather… be anywhere but there right now."
"Okay, did you get this from me? Because, I'm sorry if I rubbed off on you-"
"No, it's not your fault. I just… what if something like this were to happen again and I actually kill one of them by accident? I don't want to hurt them… and I'm afraid I might hurt my family too! Though… luckily, I haven't distanced myself from everyone else… so far."
"So you're being distant to protect them?"
"Yes… in fact, I lose myself when I go Zinogre. I pretty much go feral!"
"Ooooh, that'll do it…" Chaos Ruby folded her arms. "But this hasn't happened again, right? I mean… I'm seeing this as a freak accident. Like, yeah, you almost killed Yang… like how I almost killed her by nearly destroying Remnant, but that's beside the point!"
Chaos Ruby walked over and put her hands on her shoulders. "I understand that you want to isolate yourself from them, but that's not how you do it! You gotta start trusting yourself again! You shouldn't let it define your relationships over it. Not only should you start trusting yourself again, but you gotta trust them too. They're not going to retaliate after you accidentally choked Yang."
She sighed. "Listen to myself, talking about trusting yourself and others after all the things I've done with my Chaos powers…" She shook her head. "No no, don't throw a pity party right now…"
"But what should I do? It's weighing down on my mind!"
"I don't know… just… breathe? I'm not sure how to deal with this kind of self doubt, but maybe… I dunno, talk with your team? I'm sure they'll be gentle with you. Allow them to break down this barrier that you've made for yourself over that incident. Allow yourself to break it. It's all about teamwork!"
"That's… not going to be easy…" Ruby looked down.
"Ruby, look at me." She gently cupped her chin. "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. We both made a lot of friends, and they helped us get to where we are now… okay, helped you get to where you are. Damn you Dimentio…" She grumbled to herself. "But besides that, they'll help you get through this. You just gotta believe in yourself."
Ruby chuckled. "Who would've thought that I would be my own best therapist?"
Chaos Ruby laughed. "I guess Byleth rubbed off on us." She giggled.
Ruby sighed. "I'll… try, but I doubt I'm gonna succeed."
"Take it from someone who gave up on everything until I met you. You will succeed… it'll just take time. After all, we did work hard for Weiss to be our BFF, wouldn't you agree?" She winked.
Ruby smiled. "Yeah… you're right. Thanks Ruby."
"Don't worry about it! Now, don't do anything too strenuous… it's my hip too, ya know."
"...Okay, how is it that we can feel each other's pain, even if it's not something emotional?"
"Wish I knew!"
Ruby closed her eyes once again and reopened them, finding herself back in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. "Mmm… my hair needs some fine tuning." She said as she messed with her hair until she had a single bun with loose forelocks and messy bangs. She used her Rose arm to make a small vine as a hair accessory to make a ribbon on the right side of her hair.
Resume BGM
"There we go. Looking cute~!" She said as she reached into her bag and changed into her bikini. The bikini top was red and had her emblem on the right side of the breast, as the straps went around her neck while showing some modest cleavage as the bikini top was frilly at the bottom.
The bikini bottom was also red, covering her butt while also showing off her thighs, complete with a ribbon on the right side.
Ruby smiled, doing some cute poses while also looking at her scars that Dark Ruby had given her on her stomach. However, this didn't seem to bother her as she applied sunscreen all over her body.
"Hey Ruby, you coming?"
"Just a second, Shantae! I'm applying sunscreen on my body!" She said, using her claw-like fingers on the sunscreen as she moved her rose arm behind her as little vines came out of the fingertips and rubbed all over her back. "Aaaah, who cares if this is cheating~?"
Ruby smiled. "Alright, like Chiaki likes to say… game on!" She said as she grabbed her crutches and moved out of the bathroom, seeing Hat Kid still conked out as she walked out of the room, where she saw Shantae waiting for her. "Oh!"
"Thought you could help me out locating the other Half Genies with me. Cuphead and the others are all waiting outside. Where's Hat Kid?"
"She tested out the bed for five seconds and she immediately conked out."
Shantae laughed. "That's relatable… anyway, let's go-... wait, that bun. Is this your first time making it by yourself?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Hang on, it's a liiiittle discombobulated." Shantae said as she proceeded to help her out until it was more smoother. "There we go!"
"Oh, thanks!" Ruby smiled as they walked outside to meet up with the others.
"Hey guys!" Mugman ran over to them. "Cuphead discovered a cool area nearby. It's known as the Sunken City tour!"
"Sunken City Tour? Hoo nelly, sounds like Cuphead found the gold here!" Chalice said.
"We might find a few Half Genies down there." Ruby guessed.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Shantae nodded as Mugman guided them until they found a large pit in the ground as they all hopped down, though Shantae helped Ruby down with Kazooie backing her up.
Pause BGM
BGM: Service Area - Underground (Shantae and the Seven Sirens)
Everyone dropped down and found themselves in the underground. "Cool!" Shantae said.
"Amazing!" Cuphead said as they walked around, where they were greeted by Bats and Crabs, but they were immediately taken care of as Ruby looked up at a larger ledge.
"Hmm…" Ruby used her Rose Arm, shooting out vines to latch onto it. However, as she started to climb, shooting pain hit her in the hip. "Nnngh!" She grunted as she descended gently.
"Guess that pulled some muscles in your hip." Shantae said.
"Yeah… no climbing for me." Ruby painfully chuckled as she walked the other way as they climbed down where some Spiders shot some energy orbs at the group, only for Cuphead to shoot 'em down.
"Geez, spiders that shoot energy orbs… what's next, fishmen?" Mugman shuddered as they got to the bottom and then went to the left where they would come across a body of water, which prompted Kazooie to get underneath Ruby and jumped across.
"There ya go." Kazooie said as they walked ahead where they saw a girl staring at a wall.
"Excuse me! You wouldn't happen to be a Half-Genie, would ya?" Shantae asked.
"Hmm?" The woman turned around. "Oh hey, fancy that. Another Half-Genie." She said. "Name's Zapple."
"I'm Shantae! And these are my friends!"
"Sup?" Zapple greeted. "So, this island, what do you think of it?" She asked Shantae.
"Well, it's different."
"You got that right… this Sunken City Tour… do you think it's legit?"
"I mean, sure, why wouldn't it be?"
"I dunno… I'm half tempted to plug into one of these terminals. See if the power lines run back to some rich guy's mansion or something."
"Plug in?" Ruby wondered.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry… My magic is electricity based." Her body crackled with electricity and smirked. "IT'S CURSED!"
"Ack!" Shantae yelped.
"Kidding!" Zapple chuckled, deactivating her power. "I only just said that for shock value."
Shantae sweatdropped. "I don't get it."
"I'll show you shock value! Banjo, give me a grenade!" Kazooie requested.
"No."
"Oh… party pooper."
Zapple smiled. "So, what's your power?"
"Well, when I dance, I have the power to transform! Oh, and I also specialize in fire magic." Shantae smiled.
"Transform, huh? You can turn into anything… like a key to a locked door?"
Shantae rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Gosh, I didn't really think about that…"
"Then what, like a ripped goddess of thunder or a fire breathing dragon, or…?"
"I can… turn into a monkey to climb things." Shantae said.
"Wooooow, go for the lamest one ever…" Kazooie rolled her eyes.
"That's not what I would choose." Zapple said.
"...I can also turn into like, a mermaid, a harpy, an elepha-"
"Does the monkey wear pants?"
Shantae blushed. "No…"
Zapple chuckled. "Well, see you at the performance." She said and walked off.
Shantae rubbed her head. "Are the pants necessary though…?"
"Says the belly dancer who barely wears anything." Kazooie said.
"Hey! …Okay, touche." Shantae mumbled as they walked off as they went to the other end, and accidentally bumped into the next one… and by bumped, I mean she accidentally ran into Shantae while not looking and knocked them both down.
"Ooof!" The woman grunted, sporting familiar green skin and green hair. "Ow…"
"Mmph… watch where you're going…"
"Oh, what the buns! I'm so sorry!" She said.
"No no, it's fi-" Wait, that voice… Shantae thought as she looked at her. "Are you a… zombie Half-Genie?"
"It's not suspicious~! …Wait, why, is there such a thing?"
"I dunno, I'm asking you!"
"Then yes, there is!"
"Anyway, I'm Shantae… what's yours?"
"My name? Oh… uh…" She started to sweat nervously. "I'm… uh… Fillin. Fillin the… Blank…? I'm so sorry, I gotta run! The show is about to start!" She took off running.
"Let's see…" Cuphead rubbed his chin. "Green skin."
"Green hair." Mugman added.
"Has the same mannerisms." Chalice added.
"Same body figure." Banjo chimed in.
"Same voice." Kazooie added in.
"Sounded like she came up with the name right on the spot." Ruby added as everyone, even Shantae, looked at each other with amused expressions.
"Rotty." They all said in unison.
"Wonder why she's dressed up as a Half-Genie?" Ruby wondered.
"Eh… I'll ask her later once the show is done." Shantae waved it off as they started to climb back up, as Kazooie flew Ruby back to the top.
"Hooo! Rubes, do me a favor and lay off the cookies!"
"Hey!" Ruby glared. "Do you say this when you're carrying Banjo?"
"No."
"Thought so-"
"I tell him to lay off the Honeycombs though."
Ruby sweatdropped. "Forget I said anything…"
End BGM
They climbed out of the hole and walked outside. "I wonder if some of them wandered out of town…" Banjo wondered as they walked out of town.
BGM: Island West
Once they walked out of town, they would see the bridge being repaired and saw a passageway on the way down, so Shantae danced and turned herself into a harpy as she latched onto Ruby's shoulders and gently descended before touching the ground, then Shantae hopped off and turned back to normal as they walked ahead, taking out a few Crabs… until they came across Slime Wiz's.
"Eep! I was just joking about the fish men!" Mugman yelped as they spat out fish heads.
"Ewww!" Ruby said in disgust as Cuphead, Mugman and Chalice shot them down while Kazooie handed Banjo a grenade and threw it, destroying the both of them as they disintegrated into bones and crumbled to nothing.
They immediately spotted a cave and walked inside, where they saw bottomless pits, so Kazooie flew overhead. "...What the?" She wondered, picking up an object and flying back. "What the heck is this?"
"Oh! That's a Heart Squid!" Shantae said. "We have this craftswoman back in Scuttle Town called Squidsmith, she takes four Heart Squids and pulverizes them into nothing with her hammer, creates a potion out of it and when you drink it, you get this heart armor where you can easily tank hits for a certain amount of time before it wears off." She giggled.
"...Okay, back this trailer up. She pulverizes them?" Kazooie asked.
"With a hammer?" Ruby sweatdropped.
"Just how big is this hammer anyway?" Mugman asked.
"Think Nora, but five times bigger than that."
Mugman immediately lost all color. "Huh-bwah… gah dah… bruma…"
"Cool!" Cuphead said.
"HAS SHE NO HEART?!" Mugman yelled. "Why would anyone want to kill such a cute little thing!"
"You get used to it." Shantae smiled.
"How heartless…" Mugman groaned as they walked out of the cave and kept going to the left, where they were immediately greeted by Jumping Frogs where they went around them while also taking care of a spider, and were also greeted by a Tree Troll that shot out cherry bombs at them.
"I see nature is fighting back." Chalice said.
"And it is ugly." Kazooie said as Banjo cocked Kazooie and spat out several eggs to destroy the Tree Troll.
"Defeated by eggs… that's definitely an embarrassing way to go out." Cuphead chuckled as they kept going, taking out a few Jumping Frogs while Shantae opened up a treasure chest and pulled out a Nugget.
"Niiiiice!" Shantae grinned as they kept going until they met another Half-Genie.
"Yo!" She greeted.
"Oh hi! I'm guessing you're another Half-Genie here for the festival?"
"Yup! My name is Vera! My hometown is actually right here on this island."
"Oh wow, so you didn't have to go very far!" Ruby smiled.
Talk about lazy… Kazooie thought.
"Mhm! Though, with all the tourists, my people tend to keep hidden away… ya know, just in case someone doesn't come along and snatch the Half-Genie for trafficking or… worse, being a massive perv."
"Ah yes, perversion! Because THAT is a crime at an all time high! Oh no, not like trafficking is small time crime…" Kazooie rolled her eyes.
"See? The bird gets it!"
"I was being sarcastic, lady!"
"Someone's grumpy~" Vera smiled. "Anywho, I wanted to come support my fellow Half-Genies and put my Refresh magic to good use!"
"Refresh magic? Awesome!" Shantae grinned.
"Mhm! You'll be able to see it at tonight's performance. Oh! Speaking of which, it's time I head back. It was very nice to meet you all, especially you, you funny bird! Toodles~!" She walked off.
"Oh, I'll give you something that'll really be funny…" Kazooie mumbled.
Banjo chuckled. "Nice girl."
"Yup!" Ruby smiled.
"Hmm… wonder what this is for?" Cuphead wondered, looking at a hatch. "It's so… weird looking."
"Perhaps we'll figure it out later." Chalice said as they walked off, being greeted by Orcs where Cuphead fired a laser from his head to obliterate it, where it exploded into bones as they walked ahead, and then some snakes landed right on top of Ruby.
"Ack! What the heck?!" Ruby yelped as she brushed them off as Banjo punted them away as they kept going while being wary of the trees as they also took care of another Orc, then they went ahead and found another Half-Genie.
"Mmm… I definitely sense something odd about this place…"
"Are we interrupting something?" Shantae asked.
"Huh?" She turned around. "Oh! I thought you were Vera. I'm Plink! I came to this island to participate in the festival… but since meeting Vera, my Half-Genie senses keep going nuts…"
"Maybe you're just not used to meeting another Half-Genie?" Ruby guessed.
"Maybe…"
"Wait, hold on a moment. What's this about senses?" Shantae asked.
"Oh, I'm a Seer. That's my power. The invisible world around us… it's visible to me!"
"Isn't that swell!" Chalice smiled.
"Mhm! Oh… I'd better get back to Arena Town. See ya!" She ran off.
"Okay, so how many did we find now?" Ruby asked.
Shantae looked through her checklist. "Let's see, we found four Half-Genies… technically three because of Rotty, but we already found Zapple, "Fillin", Vera and now Plink… ah, there should be one more but I'm not sure where she's at."
"Maybe she's in town." Banjo said.
"Probably… let's go take a look!"
End BGM
One trip back to Arena Town later…
BGM: Arena Town
"Let's see… where could that last one be…" Shantae wondered.
"Shantae!" A voice called out as they looked to see a taller Half Genie approaching her. "It's very nice to finally meet you!"
"...Hubba hubba…" Mugman said, eyes turning into hearts.
"Aren't you interested in Cala Maria?" Cuphead asked.
"We're in a complicated relationship…"
"More like one sided." Cuphead silently snarked to himself.
"You… know my name?" Shantae asked.
"Of course! I'm Harmony, the oldest of the Half-Genies."
"What…? Like… of all the Half-Genies?"
"Yes. I was the very first to be born of a human father and a genie mother."
Wait, that's how Half Genies are made? Can't believe I never bothered to ask Shantae about that… Ruby blushed.
Shantae jawdropped. "No way!"
"Does that surprise you?"
"Well… yeah! You look too young to be the oldest of… anything!"
Harmony chuckled. "Listen, Half-Genies haven't been around for that long. We exist as a generation of one!" She frowned. "So… unless the Genies return someday… there won't be any more Half Genies to follow after us, will there?"
"...Oh, I… never really thought about that."
"So…" Harmony smiled again. "We must do our very best to make a difference in this world, don't you think?"
"You're right!" Aaah, she's so cool!
"We can talk more after the show. Just remember… always give it your best!" She then walked off.
"Sooooo… the way she just said that… it makes me think your kind is an endangered species." Kazooie said.
"GEEZ! The way you worded that, it makes it sound like we're a dying breed!" Shantae yelled.
"No no, she's got a point there." Cuphead said, causing Shantae to slump a little.
"Oh, I doubt it." Ruby said, gently putting her rose arm on Shantae's shoulder. "Don't listen to her, you'll be fine."
Shantae smiled. "Thanks, Rubes… oh! Shoot, I need to go report to the mayor and get myself ready for tonight!"
"I'll go try and wake Hat Kid up." Ruby said as she hobbled off to the room.
End BGM
Back at Toad Town…
"Whoa, Umber… is that a new look?" Yang asked as she saw Umber walking around with JINXY.
"Huh? Oh yeah, you like it?" Umber asked, showing it off. He was now wearing a coat that goes down to his knees in length. The coat is primarily sea green lined with black. The sleeves have black cuffs that each have a stripe that extend to the back of the coat where a black Bowser emblem can be seen with Bowser's face silhouette itself being red, a line extends from the emblem to and through the middle of the coat's hood. He's still wearing his teal shirt and black jeans, but also now sports some steel toed boots and a silver bandana around his neck.
"I also got some new glasses too. The dark bitch cracked 'em."
"Doesn't he look adorable?" Xena giggled.
"So, how's Ruby holding up?" Nyx asked.
"Oh, she went off to some island with Shantae… didn't even invite us." Yang mumbled.
"Come to think of it, she has been distant with you guys lately…" Jade said.
"That's a bit concerning… granted, Shantae's a good friend so I'm sure she's keeping an eye on Ruby but… that's unlike her to not invite you guys." Iris said. "On the plus side, at least this is better than just… running away and not telling you guys."
"Heeeey! What are you dorks doing here all alone?" A voice asked as Akane walked over to them with Nekomaru, the former having a turkey leg in her hand. "Hey, where's the red head?"
"On vacation." Weiss said.
"Without you guys?" Nekomaru raised an eyebrow.
"Yuuuuup. Without the family too. It's just with Shantae as far as we know." Yang mumbled.
At that moment, a red portal opened up as Raven walked out, sporting a bikini of her own. "Hey."
"...Mom? Did you go to a beach or something?" Yang asked.
"I'm about to. Actually, the whole family's going."
"Oh cool… we're all going to a different beach." Yang mumbled.
"Actually, we're going to go see Ruby."
"Huh?!" Yang said in surprise.
"Yeah, it's mostly to give Summer a peace of mind… she can't help but shake the feeling that something's about to go down and Ruby's gonna be caught up in the middle of it. So… why not take the opportunity to go on a vacation?"
Yang smiled and looked at everyone. "What do you say? You wanna go check on Rubes?"
"Honestly, Yang… I feel like this is only for Ruby. We ought to give her some space." Weiss said. "...Is what I would say." She stood up, holding Manaphy in her arms. "I'm gonna go with and tell her off that she didn't bother to invite us! I would've liked to go too!"
"Well, if she's going, I might as well go too." Blake said.
"Jade, we're going too." Nyx said.
"We are?" Jade asked.
"Just because you got a tan once doesn't mean you can call it good." Nyx said.
"Oh, what the heck, a vacation sounds fun." Umber said.
"Eh, I've got nothing better to do." Akane said, downing the whole turkey leg in one gulp and pulled out the bone.
"We might as well go pay her a visit!" Nekomaru nodded.
Sheele looked at Seryu. "Wanna go?"
"Sure, why not?" Seryu smiled.
Weiss looked to Manaphy. "You wanna go and tell off Ruby about how much of a dolt she is?"
"Mana~!" Manaphy smiled with a giggle.
Weiss giggled. "Okay!" She kissed him on the forehead. "We'll be right back, we'll go get packed."
"Same here." Blake nodded.
"Alright… let's go meet up with that knucklehead." Yang smiled and then had an idea. "I wonder if Pit wants to tag along…"
Back at Arena Town…
"Yaaaawn…" Hat Kid yawned as they walking to the stands as she rubbed the drowsiness out of her eyes. "I didn't mean to take a nap… I guess I needed one." She chuckled.
"Ah, it's fine." Ruby giggled as they walked to the stands, only to realize that there were stairs. "Uh… you go on ahead, I'll just be up top."
"Okay!" Hat Kid walked off. "Heeeeey Banjo! There you guys are!"
Ruby leaned against the railing, putting her crutches to the side and looked around the arena. "This is for a practice run…? Why is it so packed?" She wondered before shrugging. "Eh, I guess people are just bored out of their skulls… I don't see Shantae and the others though… I guess they're still rehearsing."
She put her headphones on. "Guess I could listen to my music while waiting for the show to start." She said, pressing the play button and humming to a song.
At that moment, a red portal opened up behind her, completely oblivious to everyone walking up behind her.
"We didn't start the fire~ No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it~" Ruby giggled. "I'll never understand what this guy's blabbing about, but the chorus is always a banger."
She was poked on her shoulder. "Hmm?" She turned her head to see Summer. "Oh hey mom." She turned to look back on the stage before her eyes widened. "MOM?!"
"Hey kiddo."
"How… how did you…?" Ruby put her headphones down and saw the rest of her family, plus Weiss, Blake, JINXY, Umber, Akane, Nekomaru, Sheele, Seryu and even Pit. "Um… aheheheh… I did tell you I was leaving, right?"
"Yeah!" Yang approached her. "But you didn't invite us, dummy!" She put her hands on her shoulder. "Now spill it! Why the heck have you been so distant with us lately?"
Ruby immediately felt uncomfortable. "Um… well… uh-" She immediately heard cheering. "Oh! The show's about to start!" She immediately turned around.
"Show?" Weiss wondered as they all looked ahead.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the first ever Half-Genie Festival!"
The crowd cheered as spotlights shined onto the stage, showing off the Half-Genies.
"Now, taking the stage from parts beyond-" Shantae quickly got on the stage, which caused Sky to facepalm in dismay. "-Part genie, part magic! The shimmering stars of the evening-" Harmony's hand lit up as she tossed up magic into the air. "They are your Half-Genie superstars!" Fireworks exploded into the sky.
At that moment, the Half-Genies started to dance and show off their magic, but as they did… the music was immediately interrupted and the lights turned off. Suddenly, the Half-Genies were teleported away and the lights came back on, leaving only Shantae behind.
"Huh…? Hello?" Shantae asked as everyone were surprised and wondered what the heck just happened, all the while Ruby gripped the railing tightly.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…"
"Hello…?" Shantae asked again. "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!"
Meanwhile, in a certain fiery place…
"Hey, Big D!" A man with a die block for a head ran up to a throne.
"Can't you see I'm busy, King Dice? I'm trying to come up with a plan to get those cups."
"...Head!"
"Yes, thank you henchman." The Devil rolled his eyes.
"Funny you should mention that, those cups are on vacation on a little island known as Paradise Island."
"They're on vacation? Completely exposed and oblivious and ripe for the taking? Why are they vacationing anyway?"
"Well, they're with Shantae."
"Shantae… ah right, those cups were thrown into that world from a portal and those Hands gifted them a so-called "Smash Invite" and had a stage dedicated to them." He mumbled.
"Yes, and I've been taking the time to get to know everyone… especially the huntsmen of Remnant, especially one Ruby Rose."
"Ah, Ruby Rose. The one who banded everyone together and surprise, surprise, got everyone joined up to stop this Salem woman."
"Yes, and she recently stopped her doppleganger from destroying the world with a Red Sky."
"Ah, I wondered where all those souls came from…" Devil mused.
"I figured that you'd want to take Ruby's soul for yourself. After all, she's alone! And not only that, but she's ripe for the taking!"
"I've always been fascinated by this peculiar girl, but she's always been too fast for me."
"She ain't fast for too long. She's in crutches. Apparently her hip got shattered and she's crippled at the moment. Her weapons are destroyed as well."
"Crippled?! What kind of sick, diabolical twisted monster with little standards would want to steal a crippled teenager's soul? …Oh wait, that's me! Hahahahaha! Oh, this is perfect! That huntress is good friends with those cups. Take her soul, take the cup's soul… it's brilliant!"
He stood up. "Dice, get your casino ready! We're going to an island."
"If I may, sir… there's another girl there that I've gotten to know without her knowing I was there."
"Oh?"
"There's this girl named Hat Kid… and I believe a certain someone would want revenge. I've already brainwashed this one girl… can you believe girls get mustaches?"
"Girls get facial hair? I thought those circuses just give any lady a fake beard!" He said. "...But who's this other girl?"
"Have you heard of a gang called the Nyakuza?"
Meanwhile, with the Nyakuza…
"Good job, boys. That bonehead didn't know what hit 'em." The Empress said, and then suddenly, the Devil appeared in front of her.
"Hello!"
"And who are you?"
"Oh, just a good friend. You must be the Empress who runs this town."
"That would be me. What business do you want with me?"
The Devil casually put his hand on the counter. "I was wondering if you wanted to come help me with a project."
"Hmph. Forget it. I don't make business deals unless it suits me." She walked away.
"Oh, believe me, hon… I'm sure you'd like this business deal. It involves a certain girl with a hat!"
The Empress stopped walking and turned her head. "What did you say?"
"She stole from you, didn't she? How about you pay her back tenfold? She escaped you once… so why don't you make sure she doesn't escape you a second time?"
The Empress said nothing, but flashed her claws with a smirk. "When do we start?"
Soooo, funny thing... Cuphead and Mugman was actually going to show up in 3D Land, but when I was finalizing the cast list... I completely forgot to include them and I just went along without even realizing it.
Ibuki: PFFFFT! Okay, that's hilarious!
Yeeeeah, whoops. Anywho, they're here along with Ms. Chalice! And a shout out to my friends who suggested bringing the Devil into this!
Ibuki: This is gonna be interesting.
Yup, but anyway, this story is Ret-2-Go!