Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
"Mind if we chat with her?" Blake offered. "I feel like the two of us could talk some sense to her."
Rosalina nodded. "Of course." She said as she and Seryu walked over to Angler Fish who was resting underneath the shade.
"You feeling okay?" Seryu asked.
"Mmm…" Angler Fish looked toward the ocean. "For years, I've been tormented by humans. Tubeworm didn't get the same treatment as I did. Her pet scared them away… true, the humans admired her, but her pet was always hungry and despite her best efforts, they didn't want anywhere near her. I didn't get the same treatment… all because they thought I was the ugliest of the sisters. To make matters worse, they would shine all kinds of lights into my eyes to drive me away… because of that, I have a high sensitivity to light. Hence why I prefer the shade."
"You've been discriminated badly…" Blake said, her ears lowering.
"Yeah, and then of course, came plenty of colorful insults they could think of. Fish face, fish guts, chum bucket, shark face, pufferfish… I didn't know there were so many fish terms used in a derogatory sense, but… I've heard it all."
"We can relate." Seryu said. "See, we're not human at all… we're faunus."
"...Faunus?"
"Basically in our world, people with animal features." Blake said. "My cat ears and her dog ears… heck, Oran over there has an armadillo shell."
"...O-oh, those ears are real? I thought they were just cosmetic."
Seryu snickered. "Nope, they're very much real." She said, pulling on one of her ears. "Go on, give it a tug." She smiled as Angler Fish did so.
"...So soft and… easily glued on there." Angler Fish dug deeper. "Ooooh, it's part of your body. That explains it." She said as she pulled away. "I'm guessing you both experienced discrimination…"
"Yeah, for us, it's because we're different compared to other humans so they thought of us as freaks. I joined a peace keeping group called the White Fang… and for a time, it worked until a change of leadership happened and the White Fang got more… dangerous. Instead of peace keeping tactics, they'd resort to terrorism and killing humans just to make a point. I ran away from it but I had my grievances against a certain group… the Schnees. However, over time, as I had become teammates with one of them, I've grown to respect her… and now, she's one of my best friends."
"...So, what about this White Fang?"
"Well, I confronted the leader and chewed her out on it. She saw the error in her ways and decided to expel the more extremist members of the group and the White Fang is working toward being more peaceful than they used to be. However, the extremists formed a rogue faction called the Crimson Fang."
"I was a part of that group." Seryu admitted. "I faced a hell of a lot of discrimination myself in Atlas, and one confrontation led to me hitting my head against a fire hydrant, which… caused me to go crazy. It was a dark time for me… I was also tortured by Jacques Schnee who claimed he wanted to "help me", but he thought brain damage wasn't a thing and the hospital made it up. I even got branded." She showed off the SDC brand on her abdomen.
Angler Fish's eye widened. "Oh…"
Seryu nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't pretty. Once I broke out of the mental hospital, I ran into the Crimson Fang and… I worked with them for a while. However, Weiss's brother called me out on it, which made me wonder what I was doing, and then Umber talked some sense into me, which made me lost and confused. It wasn't until I did one last terrorist attack was when I got the help that I needed…"
"With a story like that, I thought it'd end up with you being dead."
"I wanted to die, but fate had other ideas…" Seryu chuckled, smiling fondly at the thought. "Not only that, but sometime after I got my mental health back together, I actually ratted out to the press about the Crimson Fang, which now there's a manhunt for the Crimson Fang in hopes that they can be arrested and brought to justice, including the so-called high leader. Though… I doubt he'll go down quietly. In fact, I'm pretty sure Adam wants my neck at this point but… I'll be ready for him."
"We know what you're going through, and can relate to what you've experienced. However, there's a better way to dealing with all the discrimination instead of taking it out on humans. It won't make you feel any better." Blake explained. "Plus, it'll make you no different than humans."
Angler Siren teared up. "H-how is that even possible… no one but my sisters have respected me…"
"It's not easy, I'll give you that." Seryu said. "However, you just have to find the right people to support you." She and Blake turned to look at Weiss and Sheele, both of them smiling at the Faunus. "Trust me, they're the closest to be to an emotional support teddy bear or… whatever it is now."
"...To be honest… that actually fills me with some hope…" Angler Fish said with a smile, a few tears running down her cheek as both Faunus gave her a quick hug and then walked off, all the while Water Lily listened in to the conversation.
"Hmm…" Water Lily rubbed her chin. "I wonder if there's something I could do to help the humans out…"
"So, we're emotional support teddy bears?" Weiss teased.
Seryu snickered. "I said what I said." She winked, causing Weiss to snicker with her while shaking her head while Sheele giggled.
"It's true though." Blake giggled, playfully elbowing Weiss.
"I guess." Weiss rolled her eyes playfully. "...Hey, where'd Mugman go?"
Meanwhile…
"And now… TIME TO MELT THESE CUTIES DOWN!" Squidsmith yelled, pulling out her hammer and was ready to hammer them down, but Mugman pulled out a fishing pole and swung it, the hook grabbing the hammer as Mugman yanked it out of her hands. "Oh!"
"Not so fast! I refuse to let you harm any more of these cuties! They deserve love, compassion, and above all else, the respect that they deserve! So ha! You're nothing without your hamm-" Squidsmith pressed a button, which caused the ceiling to open up as a massive robotic hammer came crashing down and squished the Heart Squids. "-ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
She grinned playfully. "I have a backup~!" She smiled. "In fact, I have a backup to the backup. And I also have a backup to the backup to the backup! …To the backup."
"I think you skipped a backup." Cuphead pointed out.
"That backup is going under maintenance."
"But… but but but but but…" Mugman whimpered before sulking. "AH FORGET IT!" He yelled, tossing the hammer behind him as Shantae walked out with a Heart potion in hand, where Squidsmith caught the hammer.
"It helps to be prepared." She grinned.
At Armor Town…
Zapple was on a rooftop in a fetal position. "I thought I'd find you up here."
"Hmm…?" Zapple looked up to see Harmony in front of her. "Oh… you were rescued."
"Yeah." She knelt down. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I've… I've been raised by that man ever since my genie mother disappeared. He helped me shape my powers into the woman I am today… and now I discover his true colors. He friggin' attacked me and Vera all because of a damn book that was supposedly "confidential"..."
"That would explain why I saw him on the flagpole charred and… tomatoed."
"Yeah…" Zapple mumbled. "He was the only person I trusted… but now that that's thrown out the window, plus selling Shantae and a friend of hers for some Amiibo whatever it is… who can I trust? All of that for nothing…"
"You can trust us." Harmony said gently. "I have a feeling you had your heart broken before…"
"Yes…"
"You can tell me if you want, but… I won't pry."
"No no, the pain isn't as great as it was before…" Zapple mumbled.
BGM: Luma (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Back then, I was great friends with this human. He was a real cutie too… we were both good friends growing up. Then, it got to the point where he asked me out. I said yes and we dated for a while. Then one day, he was distant… I figured something must've happened so I didn't pry. It turned into a few weeks as we've talked less and less. It got to the point where I wanted to know what was going on. When I approached his home, I heard some laughter from the backyard. It sounded like him so I walked around the fence to see what he was laughing about…"
She started to tear up. "When… when I walked into his backyard, I saw him with a girl. At first, I thought it was a cousin of his so I didn't think much of it. And just when I was about to say hi… he pops the question to the girl right in front of me."
"Oh my gosh…" Harmony said quietly.
"When I called him out on it, he said directly to my face: "Oh hi Zapple, I found this girl online one day and we talked for hours, and it turns out that she lived here and we hung out. I've been meaning to introduce you to her, but we got so caught up in our happy life that I forgot about you entirely. Our dating has gotten serious to the point where I proposed to her. She said yes! Since you're here, I was wondering if you'd want to be our ring bearer."
Harmony put her hand over her mouth. "Oh goddess…"
"I chewed him out… telling him that we dated for a long time and what does he say to me? "Oh, did I forget to tell you that we broke up? I could've sworn I did… but hey, at least we can still be friends, right"?"
Zapple trembled in anger. "I kept my cool the entire time… I assumed he was just joking, but when the wedding day arrived… it was over. I unleashed a powerful lightning storm on that wedding and didn't look back ever since…" She teared up. "It was because of that day… is when I started having difficulty trusting anyone. I thought I could trust Armor Baron… but that no longer seems to be the case."
"You poor thing…" Harmony frowned. "C'mere…" She hugged her tightly as Zapple returned the hug, sobbing into her chest.
"It still hurts… no matter how hard I want this pain to go away…" She sobbed as Harmony rubbed her back and softly hummed, while Lobster overheard this as she had teleported Harmony to where Zapple was at.
"Poor girl…" Lobster frowned.
End BGM
At Arena Town…
Ruby watched Oran play in the ocean with his Pokemon playing catch with a volleyball that they found. Weiss was also in the ocean, playing with Manaphy as even her Primarina was up in the action as well. Ruby wanted to talk to him, but found it difficult to do so.
"So, when are you going to talk to him?"
Ruby turned to see her mom approaching her. "Oh, I will… I just need to find the right moment."
"You know you can't keep avoiding this forever."
Ruby sighed. "I know… but I just don't know where to start. What do I even say? I can't just walk up to him and be like "Hey little bro, the reason why I've been so distant is because I killed you in my dream!" I… I don't even know how he would even react to that."
"You mentioned he died first in your dream. How'd it go?"
"He was giving me a hug… and that's when I impaled him, but he kept hugging me. After that, I snapped his neck… and I could've sworn I heard him whisper "Ruby… why?" while I did so."
Summer grimaced. "Ooof… yeah, I can see why that would make things extremely difficult." She then had an idea. "Okay, look, if you want my help on how to approach this, I'd be more than willing to help you out. Just… don't push this off for too long."
Ruby smiled. "I'd love that."
"Come on, why don't we get started on that right now?" Summer suggested.
"Hey mom!" Byleth called out to her. "I'm gonna need you for a sec!"
"...Right after I go help my oldest." Summer giggled and walked off.
Ruby giggled. "You go do that." She said and then hobbled off.
"Hey Rubes!"
Ruby turned her head to see Pit. "You want to get some ice cream together? There's an ice cream shop that Neo found!"
Ruby's eyes sparkled. "Sure!" She said as she hurried over, walking alongside Pit once she caught up to him.
With Summer…
"Something that you need, sweet-... oh!" She saw the whole family with them, excluding Ruby and Oran. "What's going on?"
"Okay, so my fiance and I were talking…" Dorothea began. "I gave her the idea to move our wedding to this island so Ruby wouldn't miss it."
Summer gasped. "That's genius! Have you told anyone else?"
"We're the only ones that know." Tai said. "I would've invited Oran over, but I didn't want to interrupt his volleyball game."
"So, we were discussing and thought "Let's keep this a secret for Ruby"." Byleth said. "I mean, part of me wants to tell her, but I'd want to keep it a surprise, ya know? Though, we did want to tell you guys, we just haven't gotten around to it yet."
Summer smiled. "That's the best surprise she'll ever get. She's gonna be so happy that she won't miss your wedding!" She giggled, hugging the two.
"Our lips are sealed." Rosalina smiled.
"Oooh, I can just see the look on her face." Byleth sighed happily as Dorothea wrapped her arms around her from behind, the former turning her head and kissed her, which slowly turned into a makeout session that had Dorothea pinning Byleth against the palm tree as the rest of the family decided to give them some privacy as they continue to make out.
With Oran…
The volleyball bounced toward the beach as Oran walked over to get it, where at the same time, Lobster had teleported back and accidentally bumped into Oran. "Oh! Sorry!" She apologized as Oran waved it off with a smile. "...Oh wait a sec, it's you! You're… Oran, right?" He nodded. "Hey look, about what happened last night… I didn't mean to rub off on you, you were just trying to help." She said, rubbing her head.
Oran simply growled in response.
"You're not mad?" He shook his head, causing her to smile. "I'm glad." She said and gave him a hug. "Again, thanks for trying to help me. I'm gonna go check on my sisters." She walked off as he waved goodbye to her.
He then turned around to collect the volleyball.
"Why hello there, eye stabber."
Oran turned his head to see the Devil standing there with a not-so-friendly smile. Oran growled in anger.
"Easy there, kiddo." He raised his hands up. "I don't mean any harm, I'm here with a proposition."
Oran tilted his head in confusion.
"You see, I see a lot of stuff happening in Remnant. I know a lot too, especially you. For instance, I know about your childhood and I'm here to make you an offer."
He snapped his fingers as a smoky cloud formed around them where Oran saw a vision of his parents, alive and well.
BGM: Dive to the Heart - Destati (Kingdom Hearts II)
"Picture it, if you will. Reunited with your parents, never having to spend all that time in the wild. You'd be reunited with them. Heck, I'll even throw in the five years you missed as a bonus! Wouldn't that be great, getting to live your life with them…"
He would notice that Oran was listening intently with a look of awe in his eyes. He smirked. "I can give you all of that. A happy life, family members who probably won't push you away… yes, I can do all of that for you… all in exchange for Ruby's soul."
End BGM
Oran let out a gasp, snapping out of his daydream. "What do you say kid… do you want to make a deal?"
Unbeknownst to them, Summer spotted them from a distance. "...What on-"
Oran growled, pulling out his bow and arrow, the arrow infused with Fire Dust and shot it into the vision. It exploded, destroying the illusion as Henchman was standing there playing with hand puppets. He blushed and hid the puppets behind him while sheepishly waving at Oran.
"So that's how it's going to be, eye stabber? Very we-"
"Hey… HEY!"
Devil turned around to see Summer on the warpath, and not only that, but he would also see an angry Heracross and Drampa charging at him.
"DRAM! DRAMPA!"
"Uh oh!" He said as he disappeared, taking Henchman with him.
"Yeah, you better disappear! If you come near my son again, I will gouge out BOTH of your eyes! YOU HEAR ME?!" Summer threatened. "Asshole…" She mumbled under her breath as tears swelled in Oran's eyes. Summer immediately knelt down. "C'mere sweetie…" She said, hugging him tightly as Heracross and Drampa approached him.
"Hera Heracross?" Heracross asked if he was alright.
"Zaru?" Kala walked over as Summer was still hugging him. ["What's going on here?"]
"Dramp Dramp Dra Dra Drampa."
Kala immediately joined Summer on the hug, sandwiching the young armadillo. ["Oh sweetie, that was mean of the goat man. Want to spend some time with us on the beach?"]
Oran nodded as Summer smiled, gently kissing him on the forehead. "We're right with you, honey…" She said gently.
Meanwhile, with Sheele and Seryu…
The two of them sat behind a rock, both of them staring off into the ocean with Sheele holding Seryu in her arms. "You're aware those knuckleheads are trying to pair us up, right?"
Seryu laughed. "Yeah, I'm well aware of their antics." She giggled. "Can't get anything past me, that's for sure."
Sheele snickered. "Yeah, you and your cute ears." She said, gently rubbing them as Seryu leaned into it. "So, what do you think we should do with 'em?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something. Maybe we can ask Nyx for ideas… she's got loads of traps."
"Probably." Sheele giggled as she sighed. "Although, to be honest, there's something I need to confess."
"That you love me deeply, right?"
BGM: Rejoice in Love (Fire Emblem Fates)
"Huh?" Sheele looked at her in surprise.
Seryu turned around. "Come on, it's obvious. The amount of times I've woken up to see you snuggling against me with my head in your chest, the times I've seen you blush when we're alone in my home together… I mean, you practically moved in, though mostly because you're to be with me at all times due to my probation. Not only that, but there were times I've overheard you mumbling to yourself wondering when would be a good time to confess to me. I honestly find it adorable." She winked.
Sheele blushed a deep red. "C-Curse your good hearing…"
"But, I will say… I… I actually have been trying to confess myself." She admitted.
"Really…?"
"You're my best friend, Sheele. You were always there for me and you tried to think of ways to get me out of that mess that Jacques created, and… honestly, when I was at my lowest, I was calling your name… I wanted you to be there to comfort me."
Sheele smiled. "Well, I finally came… took me long enough…"
Seryu giggled. "Yeah, but you finally came for me. I love you, Sheele… and honestly, I… hope that when this whole time period is over, you'll continue to live with-"
"You said it yourself. I already moved in with you. All my belongings? They're in there. I'm not planning on moving out." She gently caressed her cheek. "I love you, Seryu."
Both of them smiled, both of them leaning in, closing their eyes as they kissed.
Blake spotted this from a distance, lightly elbowing Weiss. "Hey, look at that."
"Hmm?" Weiss turned her head. "Aww, it's about time." She smiled, watching Seryu break the kiss and rested her head on her shoulder, lightly nuzzling against her.
"...So… how are we going to break it to those knuckleheads?"
"Oh, don't worry." A voice said as they turned to see Hat Kid smirking. "I got an idea."
End BGM
With the Half Genies…
"Ooooh… that'll do it…" Plink nodded.
"Yeah, she never really told me about that. I don't really blame her though." Vera said.
"Ooooh, we gotta find some way to cheer her up!" Shantae said. "Any ideas?"
"I wish I knew…" Harmony said. "She does wish to be alone until she's good and ready to be with us again."
"...Maybe she just needs a break from Armor Town." Plink said.
Shantae's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's a good idea! When this vacation's over with, I can take her to the Smash Mansion where she can just… detox from all that nonsense. I would say Scuttle Island but…"
"But what?" Plink wondered.
"Let's just say the mayor over there is… well, let's just say he's a butt and call it a day."
"Ooooh, that bad?" Vera grimaced.
"Any mishap at all and he's like "Shantae, you're fired!" and then once it cleans up, he's like "Forgive me!". Ugh, I can't stand him sometimes… especially when I got into Smash…"
"What happened after that?" Harmony asked.
"Scuttle Town became a stage and hoo boy, Mayor Scuttlebutt has a hissy fit any time someone destroys something and blames ME for it, yet the moment he remembers that Smash boosted the tourism for Scuttletown, he's like "You're unfired! This is the best thing you've done yet!"
Harmony sweatdropped. "Talk about a 180…"
"Yeah, he's… unique."
"So, basically, Zapple just needs a break from everything… and you think the Smash Mansion would work?" Vera asked.
"That or the Mushroom Kingdom or Remnant." Shantae shrugged. "Girl needs it."
"I agree. Perhaps I can pay it a visit too." Harmony said.
"Yeah! Same here!" Plink grinned.
"I could possibly swing on by…" Vera mused.
"First, we gotta get her to start trusting again… after what Armor Baron did, I don't think she's going to trust anyone for a long time." Shantae said.
"She told me she's willing to trust us, but she just needs some time to herself. Lobster is constantly checking on her. Once she comes back with Zapple, she'll help us out." Harmony explained. "Oh! Speaking of her, she mentioned that the last siren we have to snag is her sister, Octo Siren."
"Oh perfect! Where is she at?" Shantae asked.
"She's at the bottom of the sea." A voice said as Lobster approached. "It's also where I put Rottytops there."
"...Wait, didn't Rotty break out?" Vera asked.
"I'm still wondering how she did that. It's a heavily technologically advanced system." Lobster explained. "Coral made it herself."
"Well, in Rotty's past life, she was a bit of a tech geek so she probably figured it out on her own." Shantae said. "Hmm… where is she anyway?"
With Rotty…
"Oh brother…" Bolo groaned, watching Rotty and Sky arguing again, which resulted in the two fighting in a dust cloud, while Shantae and the others approached them.
"What's got them all riled up?" Shantae asked.
"Oh, Rotty was teasing her about her crush on Armor Baron, which… resulted in this." Bolo said.
"Oh boy…" Shantae shook her head. "Hey Rotty!"
"BIRD BRAIN! …Oh, yeah? What is it?"
"How did you break out of your prison, exactly?"
The fighting dust cloud stopped with Sky's wrench embedded in Rotty's forehead while Rotty's detached right hand was covering Sky's face. "Oh, that dump?" Rotty pulled the wrench out of her forehead and reattached her hand. "I did a lot of sneaking around and punched in a code, then ate a Batgal's brain while disguising as her… and then I did a lot of digging."
"Do you remember the path?" Shantae asked.
"Um… it's been a hot minute, but I can show you. What are you going down there for?"
"Because Octo Siren is down there."
"Octo who? …Oh, is that one of Lobster's sisters?"
"Yes."
Rotty smiled. "Leave it to me! I'll show you the way!"
One trip later…
BGM: Deep Sea Domain (Shantae and the Seven Sirens)
"You climbed out of that?" Plink asked, looking down in the pit.
"Yup, it's a long way down." Rotty said.
"...Guys, I think we lost Harmony in that timeskip." Bolo said.
"She did say she was hearing a voice." Sky said.
"Ah, I'm sure she'll be fine." Vera said. "Sooooo, how are we gonna do this?"
"We can drop Rotty down and see how deep it is." Sky said.
"Oh sure, drop the zombie down and make her go splat. I see how it is!"
"You can pull yourself together just fine!" Sky said.
"Why don't you take a shot at it. I'm sure you can fly with those wingless noodles of yours!"
"HEY! I'll have you know that I can only fly with Wrench, which, let me remind you, is resting comfortably in the hotel room!"
"Then why don't you start flying on your own then? I'm sure it won't take much to practice! Here, I'll give you a head start!"
"Oh, you WOULD!"
"Can't you girls just get alo-"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" They both yelled at Bolo, causing him to sweatdrop.
"The things I have to put up with…" He mumbled.
"Alright, alright… I guess I'll do it." Shantae said, proceeding to transform into her Spider form, climbed up to the ceiling and started producing webbing on her way down.
Halfway through, Shantae looked up. "You can start climbing down! The trick is to do it one at a time and not all at once otherwise the webbing will break!"
"What'd she say?"
"I think she said go all at once!"
"All at once? Did you say all at once?"
"What?! No! I didn't say that! I said-" Shantae felt a harsh tug. "...Oh no." She whimpered, and then a large "snap" echoed throughout the area, causing Shantae to whimper again. "Oooooh-" She started to fall. "-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
THUD!
"Oooogh…" Shantae groaned as she was buried underneath everyone.
"Thanks for breaking my fall, birdbrain." Rotty said.
"Shut up…" Sky moaned.
"Woof! That was a nasty fall."
All of them looked to see a dog looking at them. Shantae immediately gasped, getting out of her spider form. "And who are you, you cutie!"
"I am the guardian of this place. What are you doing here?"
"We're… looking for the Octo Siren." Shantae said.
"Rrrgh… I think I pulled something…" Bolo grunted.
"Hang on, let me freshen you up a sec!" Plink said as she was right by his side.
"The Octo Siren? Why would you want to go past the seal?"
"Because we're trying to rescue my sisters from corruption." Lobster said.
The dog's eyes widened. "You… oh, I am so sorry for sealing you from within this ship. You were the only one who wasn't corrupted."
"Oh, that's oka-... wait, what?" Lobster tilted her head.
"Never mind… down below is extremely dangerous. There are a lot of artificial sirens down there and if you open the seal, everything on the island will be destroyed, including everyone in it!"
"Yeah, hi… I broke out. They're not that tough." Rotty said.
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah, I was imprisoned down there, mistaken for a Half Genie." Rotty explained.
"How did you break out?"
Rotty detached her hand. "Well, when you're a zombie, it's pretty easy." She grinned before reattaching it.
"Fascinating… so you managed to break through a highly technologically advanced system-"
"Mhm."
"Impossible to break through-"
"Yuuuup."
"And you just… did all of that? A simple minded zombie?"
"Hey, I used to be a tech geek back in my past life. Guess I just took some knowledge with me to my grave." Rotty flashed a peace sign. "Hell, I used to crack into a university's internet service all the time… and that's just when I was bored!"
"And now… she's a complete idiot." Sky said.
"An idiot who cracked the code on busting my way out of there. Let's see you crack a code in that airheaded brain of yours!"
"WHY YOU!"
The dog sweatdropped as the two got into another fighting dust cloud. "Fascinating…"
"She's one of a kind, I'll give her that." Shantae said.
"Indeed, especially considering she busted out with no electricity down here." The dog mused. "Maybe they have a generator down there…"
"No electricity? …Rotty, how did you…?" Bolo wondered.
"I'm just gifted!"
"Oh, that's a load of seahorse shit!"
"You're one to talk, worm breath!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"The early bird gets the worm, dumbass!"
Shantae shook her head. "How did you guys even manage to work together on DK Isle?"
"Anyway, if you want to rescue your sister, you will need a power rod. I had split it in two after I had perished just so nobody could break out. They are bracelets."
"You split it after you perished…?" Lobster asked. …Wait a moment…
"I've said too much… anyway, take this to the Ghost Elder." The dog said, handing Shantae a dog collar. "She will know what to do."
"...Okay then." Shantae said. "Hey! Break it up, you two!" She said as she got between the girls and then Lobster teleported them to the Sunken Shipyard.
End BGM
"Oh, this?" The Ghost Elder asked. "This isn't a collar, it's genie clothing! And this just has a Fusion Stone… easy to remove!" She said, taking it off.
"...Genie clothing?" Lobster wondered. …Could it be?
"Speaking of genies, your half genie friend, the red head? I found her wandering about, said she was hearing voices. Told her not to follow them but she stubbornly went after them! Youth these days…" She mumbled. "Anywho, she went off to the mines. It's a little ways up, but not at the surface yet… and before you ask, it's not the Coral Mines."
Rotty gasped. "Those mines? I actually went up there when I was trying to bust my way to the surface!"
"You do?" Vera asked.
"Yeah!" Rotty grinned. "I even know the way! Come on!" She took off running.
"Wait up!" Shantae exclaimed as they took off after her.
Meanwhile…
BGM: Into the Mine (Shantae and the Seven Sirens)
"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" A Batgal screamed after Harmony smashed her with the hammer, then she kept walking.
"I swear I heard a voice here somewhere…" Harmony said as she looked around the ship as it felt like it was calling her, but she soon reached a dead end. "Another dead end…"
She turned her head. "And the voices stopped too… dammit…" She mumbled to herself as she turned to the wall. "Hmm…" She swung her hammer into the wall, shattering it instantly and finding a treasure chest. She walked over to it and opened it up.
"Another bracelet? That makes two…" She said. "Two bracelets… plus a Heart Squid I found… what could all of this mean?" She wondered.
"Harmony!" A voice called out as Harmony turned her head to see the Half Genies, Sky, Rotty, Bolo and Lobster approaching her.
"Oh! Hello, sorry about disappearing on you. I got… distracted." She admitted. "I found these bracelets… not sure what they're for."
"Oh hey, that's what we were looking for! This ghost dog was talking about it." Shantae said.
"A dog?" Harmony perked up. "You sure you didn't see that corgi running around or… that half human, half dog girl? What was she called again?"
"A Faunus."
"Right, a Faunus."
"This is a different dog." Shantae said. "We also have this fusion stone, though I think it'd be best if we waited for Zapple."
"Right." Harmony nodded. "Can you take me to this ghost dog?" She asked as they nodded as Lobster teleported them back.
End BGM
"Alright, we're back!" Shantae smiled. "Harmony already found the bracelets!"
"...Harmony?" The dog looked at her.
"You look… familiar…" Harmony said. "It feels like we've met before."
"You have grown into an exceptionally beautiful young lady." She said. "There is something I need to confess, for I have deceived most of you." She closed her eyes, glowing brightly.
BGM: Run Away, Fugitives (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX)
Once the glowing stopped, she had formed into a ghostly woman. "I am no dog… I used to be the Guardian Genie of Harmony Island. I am Harmonia."
Harmony's eyes widened, her eyes immediately getting misty as she put her hands over her mouth in shock. "M-mother…" She whispered.
"Whoa whoa WHOA! What the heck just happened?!" Bolo said in surprise.
"Long ago, seven Nomads shipwrecked on this island. I saved all seven of them and transformed them into the Sirens to start their new lives on this island. I befriended each and every one of them, and I held a special friendship with the oldest… the Empress siren. She was my best friend… and throughout the years, our bond became close. We teased, we laughed, we consoled… we did it all. However one day… she accidentally fed on a dragon girl and became corrupted. When I saw her, I asked her if she was okay. She insisted she was fine and left without another word. And then… hours later, I met Empress again, and she was fully corrupted along with her sisters-" She looked at Lobster. "Most of them."
"I was swimming in the ocean when it happened, feeding on normal things like fish and whatever." Lobster explained. "I was oblivious to what was going on."
"Empress expelled me from the island, mortally wounding me. However, I was nursed back to health and I went back to the island, now renamed Siren Island. Empress was determined to conquer the entire world, but I put a stop to her. You see, the genies have all forms of magic, but we have a unique form of magic that we pass down to our children. We genies have a forbidden form of magic… to take away one's physical form and seal them up in the island, it costs the user its own life as well."
She closed her eyes. "Empress was far gone and no matter how hard I tried to talk sense to her, she wouldn't listen. I knew I had no choice… so I did what I had to do. Seal up the sirens from within."
"And that's when I learned the truth after I had been innocently sealed up…" Lobster admitted.
"Once I had perished, I came back as a ghost and broke the power rod to cut the power in case they decided to break out of the technologically advanced system they put in. Apparently, if a zombie can break out, then perhaps they found a way to weaken the seal without my knowledge. For years, I've been down here… hoping to find a way to restore Empress to her original state but I've found nothing."
Harmonia looked over to Harmony. "I am deeply sorry that I had left you at a young age… I hope that you forgive me."
"No… I understand…" Harmony sniffled. "I had just hoped that you were still alive…"
Harmonia teared up as the two embraced one another. "It's good to see you, my daughter…" Harmonia sniffed.
"It's good to see you too, mom…"
"...Shantae, are you crying?" Sky asked.
"N-no! Just some… d-dust got in my eyes!" Shantae wiped her eyes.
Harmonia gently took the bracelets, forming it into the Power Rod. "With this, you can restore the power to this ship, but by doing so, you'll release the artificial sirens into the outside world."
"We're going to break Octo out of there, no matter what." Lobster said, determination set in her eyes.
"Right… but you need some electricity to boost this up. Once you're done there, you need to find a station from within the Mossy Biome. It will be key to opening this hatch. However, I doubt your electrical powers will be enough to restore this."
"Hey, don't we have a Spring Maiden with electrical powers?" Rotty pointed out.
"Yeah, there's also Gloria, she can turn into an Ampharos to charge it up." Shantae added.
"We'll just have to find either one of them!" Sky said.
"I'll take you guys back up to the surface, and then I'll gather everyone up." Lobster said.
"Before you go." Harmonia spoke up as she suddenly hugged Lobster.
"Oh!"
"I'm so sorry for sealing you down here. You did nothing wrong."
"It's okay!" Lobster smiled, hugging her back as she teleported everyone away.
End BGM
Up on the beach…
Lobster immediately headed off to gather everyone up while the others searched for either Raven or Gloria, where they would find both sunbathing at the hotel.
"Hey!" Shantae called out to the two of them.
"Hmm?" Raven lifted her shades up while Gloria stretched.
"You think you two can restore power to this? It needs a boost." Shantae said.
"How much power do you need?" Raven asked.
"Enough to power up a whole city block for about a year." Sky said.
Raven smirked, activating her Maiden powers as Gloria went into her Ampharos form. "Sounds good enough!" She said as they both held the Power Rod and used their electricity to power it up.
"Woo! It worked!" Rotty cheered.
"We're getting ready to head down to get Octo Siren. You guys ready to go?" Shantae asked.
"Typical… I was just about to turn to get my back all nice and tanned." Raven said as they got up.
One regrouping later, and Lobster teleporting them to the Mossy Biome…
"It's probably… in here?" Lobster wondered, diving under the water and popping out into a dark room. "Hey, this is new!" She said, teleporting everyone to her location as they saw a power source.
"Is this it?" Sky asked.
"It's worth a try." Shantae said, putting the Power Rod inside, which caused the power to kick on.
"Hey, what do you know! That was it!" Ruby smiled.
"Ahem, hello? Can anyone hear me?" A voice asked.
"Huh? Uncle?" Shantae called out.
"Shantae! Is that you I hear? A strange machine just rose up from the ground! Almost knocked me on my keister! Hmm… it seems to be connected to the city below… some kind of control console with a round display. I'm using it to communicate with you and… your large group of friends, I'm assuming! Is this your doing?"
"Uh, yeah, it must be! We're looking at something similar down here! Oh, but get this, the city down here isn't a city at all. It's a ship!"
"Say wha?!"
"Yeah, I think this is what Risky's been after! And that's not all! We're rescuing these Sirens who aren't as bad as they seem, they've just been corrupted! One of them is down deep within the sea!"
"I was wondering why I saw some nice looking women out at the beach… especially the one with the antenna on her forehead. She seems pretty nice! Although, I didn't realize the mermaid queen vacations here too. Goodness, I've spent too long down in the ship! Hahahaha!"
"Yeah, they're all nice once you get to know them." Shantae said, while also sweatdropping at the last part.
"Hold on a moment, before you go, there seems to be an airlock close by to your position. Perhaps there's a way to open it. Do you see a keypad near you?"
"Yeah, I see it." Shantae said as Rotty took a closer look.
"Which button is it…?" Rotty wondered.
"Don't press anything!" Mimic said right as Rotty pressed a button.
"...Uh… this is awkward…" Rotty grimaced.
"AIYEEEEE! IT'S CRUSHING MY BONES!"
"UNCLE!" Shantae yelled.
"...Oh shoot!" Rotty grimaced. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Juuuuust kidding! But it could've happened, ya know!"
Everyone sweatdropped. "Geez, give us all heart attacks…" Jade mumbled.
"Don't push any more buttons! However, I'm seeing some sort of docking bay having opened up at the bottom of the city. Head to that lowest point, your Siren friend is probably down there somewhere."
"You got it!" Shantae nodded as Lobster teleported them away.
"Meanwhile, I'm wondering what these flashing lights mean… wait, what's this? …Uh oh… this is bad. Shantae? Shantae! …Hello? Can anyone hear me? This is urgent news! …Oh dear."
Back with Harmonia…
"Oh!" Harmonia said in surprise as she saw the whole party. "I… wasn't expecting this!"
"Who's this?" Yang asked.
"Harmonia, my mother." Harmony said. "I'll tell you later."
"But, the good news is, the hatch is open so you can go and rescue Octo." Harmonia said as they all nodded.
"Hey!" A voice called out as they looked up to see someone free falling to the ground, that someone being Zapple as she used her electricity to slow her fall.
"Oh hey, I was just about to go check on you!" Lobster smiled.
"You feeling okay?" Shantae asked.
"Eh, I'm still upset but not as bad as earlier." Zapple said. "Plus, I was looking all over for you guys so I had to Warp my way around the dang island." She chuckled.
"You up for a fusion?" Harmony asked.
"Heck yeah, let's do this!" Zapple said as the Half Genies used the Fusion Stone.
"Alright… not only do I have your powers, but you have mine as well." Harmony smiled.
Ruby climbed up on Summer's shoulders. "Let's go~!" She grinned as everyone hopped down.
"By the way, guys... Seryu and Sheele kissed already." Hat Kid said.
"HUH?!" Cuphead and Mugman yelled in surprise as they heard giggling from Sheele and Seryu.
"I was wondering when that would happen NATURALLY." Chalice added with a chuckle as they hopped in, where Zapple hesitated before taking a deep breath.
"You can trust them…" She said to herself and hopped in after them.
Ibuki: Aww, Sheele-chan and Seryu-chan make a cute couple~!
They sure do! And thank you Log for that idea with Devil having a "pleasant" chat with Oran.