Gamelover41592: I'm sure Shantae agrees.
Matt (Guest): Possibly. I haven't decided if said DLC mode(which I am honestly shocked no one has guessed yet) is going to have separate chapters for all the levels, or be one mega chapter.
It's time to see just how up to snuff our heroes are. Let's go.
"Kinda small," Jasmine noted as they set foot on the island. Her dreams made it look so much bigger.
"Ho ho ho!" Risky laughed, clearly still in high spirits. "HA HA HA HA HA!"
"You good, mate?" Jasmine asked. This was beginning to scare her.
"What's so funny?" Shantae asked, the concern clear in her voice. "You're creeping us out!"
"Those guardian genies sure did a number on him!" Risky cackled. "The middle of nowhere...perfectly hidden from prying eyes. There's even some sort of magnetic anomaly here that boggles the compass. It was almost perfect! Almost." She paused. "Well, he probably knows we're here. I'm going to have a few words with the good captain. After that, we rig the place with explosives and blow it sky high!"
"How can he hear us?" Jasmine questioned. "You said he was dead,"
"Death never really stopped him," Risky admitted. "The genies had to do a lot of work to just make him stay in his grave. But there is nothing to fear. Not anymore." Shantae breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good to hear," Jasmine admitted.
"However," Risky continued, putting Jasmine and Shantae back on edge. "Should anything go wrong...I want you both to destroy all of the remaining dark magic! Got it?"
"Huh?" Shantae asked. "But Risky, didn't you say-"
"That's an order!" Risky snapped, interrupting any protests from both girls.
"We got it," Jasmine replied. She knew that if something did go wrong, her and Shantae were more then likely going to beat up whatever monster attacked them anyways.
"Ok then. I'll prepare some powder kegs for the Pirate Master's final farewell," Risky said. "Don't wander off." Once Risky was finished, they walked to the grave, which looked a lot like the grave from their dreams. Shantae and Jasmine looked at each other. Were the dreams a warning?
"Creepy place," Jasmine grumbled under her breath.
"Silent as a tomb," Risky said simply. "Without dark magic to draw from, he's vanished into the eternal abyss,"
"Or he fell into the Oubliette of Suffering," Jasmine joked under her breath. Shantae giggled.
"Too bad, really," Risky continued before turning smug. "After all, what good is a victory if you can't rub your enemy's face in it?" Shantae and Jasmine had no idea how to respond to that, so they let Risky continue.
Or at least they would have if something did cause the island to start shaking.
"What was that!?" Shantae exclaimed. Something then rose out of the grave. Jasmine couldn't even tell what it was. It was some kind of skeleton monster that seemed to be lacking a face.
"H-H-HO HO HO!" It howled with laughter.
"So! You've managed to return after all!" Risky snapped at it.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" He continued to laugh.
"What is he?!" Jasmine exclaimed, moving to block Shantae from the creature's view.
"RISKY BOOTS!" It roared. "How dare you BETRAY ME!"
"You're nothing but a shade. I'm through taking orders from you." Risky replied. Jasmine was a little jealous at how calm she was, but continued to watch.
"You watched and did nothing as I fell in battle!" The Pirate Master snapped. "You stole my ship and my crew!" When Risky didn't fire back with anything, he continued. "And now you destroy my agents and disrupt my flow of dark magic!"
"Actually we did that," Shantae said quickly and quietly. The Pirate Master barely noticed either of them.
"You will SUFFER for this!" The Pirate Master vowed.
"There is no reason to get all worked up, captain," Risky said, doing her best to sound like she didn't care. "See that girl behind the taller one? She's the offspring of the one who imprisoned you. The genies are the real enemy. Take her, and maybe the taller one, and we'll call it even,"
"TRAITOR!" Jasmine roared, baring her teeth. "You planned this all along, didn't you!?"
"H-H-HO HO HO!" The Pirate Master laughed again. "That can wait. You're the one I want! I will make you PAY for your DISLOYALTY!"
"I've HAD IT with your blasted orders!" Risky snapped back. "Your time has passed! Go back to the grave where you belong!"
"FOOL!" The Pirate Master sneered. "You belong to me!" With his magic, he levitated Risky into his grip.
"Risky!" Shantae exclaimed.
"What's this?" The Pirate Master asked as he looked her over. "You dare to WEAR MY FACE like some kind of trophy!? Give him that!" He forcefully grabbed Risky's skull bra and rim of her pants, before reconnecting them and placing them back on his face. "First I will take the PALACE! And then, when my strength has returned...you will witness the END OF YOUR WORLD! HO HO HO! H- H- HHHHHAAAA HAA HA!" With that, he left the island.
"We need to get back to town and warn everyone now!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"But what about what Risky said?" Shantae asked.
"Forget about it. We need to go now!" Jasmine ordered. "We found all of the Cacklebats, so there is no more dark magic left," Of course, trying to return to town presented a new problem…
They had no idea how to steer the Tinkertub.
"This should be interesting," Jasmine grumbled. If it was up to her, they could just fly back. But they knew Risky had some helpful things on board.
"Let's see if I've really got what it takes to be a pirate!" Shantae cheered as she put back on her stolen pirate outfit.
"Oh god," Jasmine grumbled as she rubbed her temples. This was going to be interesting.
"Moist the main snail!" Shantae called out as they boared the ship. "Keel the port blubber! Aye Cap'n!"
"I'll steer. I got an idea," Jasmine assured her sister. Turning into a dragon, she wrapped her tail around the front of the ship and started dragging it back towards town.
"You sure you can pull that?" Shantae asked.
"Just pull up the anchor and I should be able too!" Jasmine replied. Shantae did as she was told(although she did drop it on her foot at first) and they were off.
By the time they got back to town, it had started to rain. The sky was dark and everyone seemed to have moved indoors. With a nod, the girls started to make their way towards the palace. Strong monsters blocked the way, but the girls tore them through them like they were sandpaper. Once they reached the palace, they noticed that the outside looked normal. But they knew it was just a trick. The normal guards were beaten and strange growths covered the walls and ceiling. The further up they went, the worse, more dangerous and more creepy it got. The final areas seemed to be made from nightmares. Nonetheless, they girls reached the top of the palace. The Pirate Master was waiting for them at the top.
"You've arrived! The daughter of the genies and a stranger to this land!" He said, sounding somewhat impressed. Jasmine froze. How did he know that? "Maybe you noticed...I gave your palace a little makeover! Now that I'm back in physical form, I'm growing stronger by the second!"
"He's a monster! Keep your distance!" A chained down and beaten Risky ordered as she struggled with her chains.
"Silence you!" The Pirate Master barked. "Why did you come? Certainly not to save this traitor? Maybe the daughter of the genies wishes to fight and fill her mother's shoes?"
"Let Risky Boots go free, or else!" Shantae ordered. Jasmine said nothing, but readied herself for a fight. The rain had turned into a full on storm. And that was the perfect background for what should hopefully be an awesome final battle.
"HA HA HAARRRRR!" The Pirate Master cackled as if he had just heard a funny joke. "Or else what? You're going to unleash your half-breed magic on me? Which one was your mother? That fire spouting hothead? Or maybe the songbird?"
Shantae looked down. "I...I don't know. I never knew her because...because of YOU!"
"So, you both wanna take a swing at the captain, eh?" The Pirate Master asked. "Why not? I could use a warm up. Show us some of your magic tricks and teamwork, genie!" He began to teleport around, keeping the girls on their toes. Jasmine was only using her boomerangs in order to keep her distance. He could throw out dark orbs, forcing the girls to dodge and summon bone platforms to stand on and fire at the girls out of their range. After only minutes of that, he teleported back into the center of the room. "Is that all you got? For a genie kid, you sure don't pack much of a punch, do you? Your human friend was hitting harder then you were! In fact, you'd be nothing without my weapons! Think I'll just take 'em off your hands!" With another laugh, he proceeded to force Shantae to hand him back the weapons, one by one, before tossing her into Jasmine's arms.
"Hey! Give those back!" Shantae snapped.
"HARRR! What do you say we get this show on the road?" The Pirate Master mockingly questioned, with a tone that said he wanted to do it anyways. "I'll show you my true power!" He then turned giant. He was now much stronger and could fire bouncing cannonballs, slamming giant swords to the ground, summon ghostly pistols that could shoot fast moving bullets and use the bone platforms to create shadow clones of himself. However, even though the girls could only hit his head, they were still able to deal a good amount of damage. He laughed. "Genie girl!"
"What do you want with her!?" Jasmine demanded.
"I hear you've got a whole lot of dark magic in that lamp of yours!" The Pirate Master replied. "Hand it over or I'll crush this Has-Been beneath my heel!"
"What!?" Shantae exclaimed.
"What's it gonna be?" The Pirate Master asked. "The dark magic or her life?"
"Risky…" Shantae began. "If I give up the dark magic...you promise not to hurt her?"
"Do not do it!" Jasmine ordered.
"I swear on my own grave!" The Pirate Master promised.
"He's a filthy liar! Don't give it to him!" Risky barked.
"Here...take it! Just let Risky go!" Shantae said she pulled out the lamp. Jasmine was ready to stop her, but then she noticed Risky smirking. Seeing as someone had a plan, Jasmine backed off.
"I knew you'd see things my way," The Pirate Master replied. Risky rushed off as Shantae readied herself to open the lamp. However, rather then dark magic, light magic was coming out. "What is this nonsense!? Bah...light magic… I've no use for this filth!"
"But I think we do!" Jasmine exclaimed, finally realizing what Risky's true plan was.
"The dark magic was really my magic all along!" Shantae cheered.
"HAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAARRRRRR!" The Pirate Master cackled. "You can't trust that coward! She just fled to save her own skin!"
"If there's one thing that sheila ain't, it's a coward," Jasmine replied.
"She meant for me to use it somehow!" Shantae realized. With a cheer, she absorbed the magic back into her.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" The Pirate Master roared.
"It's back where it belongs!" Jasmine said with a laugh as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"I knew Risky was telling the truth!" Shantae exclaimed with joy.
"GARRRAGH! Curse that Risky Boots!" The Pirate Master said. "I will wipe you, your friend and EVERY LAST GENIE from EXISTENCE!" With that, he started to attack again, but Shantae was now powered up, letting her hit him far harder. Jasmine also dropped her fear of attacking up close and started to hit him with her animal forms. Finally, they dazed him so much to the point where Risky began firing cannonballs at him. He returned to his smaller form.
"You're finished Pirate Master!" Shantae proudly proclaimed. Risky then came over.
"YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME!" He roared, although his stagger gave away how weak he now was. He then exploded.
"That's the last of him," Risky said with a sigh of relief. "There's just one thing left to do,"
"Like what?" Jasmine asked with a tone warring Risky to watch what she said.
"The pirate weapons. It's time I took them back," Risky said. Jasmine almost forgot those weren't Shantae's.
"But what about the curse?" Shantae asked as Risky reclaimed her gear.
"There's nothing to fear," Risky assured her. "The curse has been broken. I'm in charge of my own destiny. I won't let the darkness rule over me any longer."
"I assume that means you're still not turning good?" Jasmine asked, a grin on her face.
"You wish!" Risky mockingly snapped. "Listen carefully, you two. You walked the walk and you talked to talk. Heh, one of you even dressed the part. But in the end, neither of you are seafaring cutthroats. Far from it. You can't pretend to be something you're not. And...neither can I. So long." With that, she walked off just as Bolo, Sky and Mimic arrived.
"Are you two alright?" Mimic asked.
"We're alright," Jasmine replied. Shantae looked lost in thought.
"Wrench said you were in danger," Sky said. "We came as quickly as we could."
"I think that palace was more dangerous then whatever you guys fought," Bolo admitted.
"You've both had a big day. Let's head back home," Sky offered.
"Thanks everyone," Shantae said, finally cracking a smile. She had something she was going to need to do. But Jasmine gave her a knowing look. Before either of them did anything, they had an annoying baron to run out of town.
"Thank goodness!" Scuttlebutt cheered once he saw the girls return to town. "That awful storm has finally passed!"
"The sky is beautiful and blue again!" Twitch added in.
"Hey girlfriends! You and that pirate lady saved the day!" Vinegar complemented happily.
"I guess we did," Shantae said with a laugh. It was strange hearing the people working for Ammo Baron being so friendly with her.
"But we've still got some unfinished business with you, Ammo Baron!" Jasmine chimed in, turning her glare at the baron.
"What do you two want with me?" Ammo Baron asked. "You finally taking up the offer to join my assault on the palace?"
"We've got a better idea," Jasmine said, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.
"I'm only a half genie...and I've never granted someone's wish before...but I think I'm ready to give it a shot!" Shantae explained. "This one's for you, mayor!" With a few quick dance moves, Scuttle Town was returned to normal.
"NOOOO!" Ammo Baron freaked out. "Weeks of hard labor! Material! My precious resources...all gone!"
"The people of Scuttle Town are done with ya, mate!" Jasmine told him.
"Now take a hike, ye scum-sucking scalliwag! Or I'll yer gills from ear to ear!" Shantae threatened in a perfect pirate voice.
"She's bewitched and speakin' blabbertongue! Let's clear out of here, men! MOVE IT!" Ammo Baron panicked as he made a run for it, followed by several tanks. Twitch and Vinegar remained behind.
"I...I can't believe it!" Scuttlebutt cheered. "My beautiful town has been restored to 'needs work' condition! You'll both always have places here as our guardian. Promise me neither of you will ever leave!"
"No promises, but we'll stick around for as long as we're needed," Jasmine said. "No, we've got some friends to meet up with,"
"Abner! Poe! Rottytops!" Shantae called out as the zombies arrived at the lighthouse.
"Gotta hand it to ya two," Abner began. "You saw somethin' in that pirate girl that the rest of us missed."
"I can't take credit for that one, mate," Jasmine admitted as she turned to her younger sister. "It was all Shantae. If it was up to me, I would have tossed Risky overboard first chance I got."
"It was just like what she did with lil'sis here," Abner continued. Rottytops just gave a very happy smile.
"I just had the greatest dream!" Rottytops cheerfully said. "I was a hero, just like you guys! I saved everyone who was lost and helped them find their way home! I'll tell you more about it tonight."
"What's tonight?" Shantae asked. Jasmine was forced to admit, that was confusing her as well.
"Sleepover at your house!" Rottytops declared. Normally, Jasmine would have given that an instant no, but she would let it slide.
"Alright, whatever," Jasmine replied with an eye roll.
"I think sis is gonna be sticking around for a while," Abner admitted as he and Poe began to discuss trying to track down their caravan.
"Sure thing!" Shantae replied.
"I think I'll have to keep a close eye on you two," Sky said. "Even if Jasmine already does a pretty good job."
"No one invited you," Rottytops bluntly replied.
"Time to hit the bricks," Abner said as he and Poe walked off.
"I'll see you all later!" Rottytops said before she rushed after her brothers before returning back to Shantae. You too, snack cakes." With that, she chased her brothers down.
"Ya know, they're a lot less scary then I thought," Jasmine admitted as she crossed her arms with an amused smirk.
"I should take off, too! I've got lots of work to do and I can't wait to get started!" Bolo announced as he proudly crossed his arms. "That storm did a real number on this place!"
"Try not to build anything inside out," Jasmine joked, remembering an incident from the group's younger years.
"Hey, that was...only a few times!" Bolo protested before walking off.
"Bolo! The Mayor's retreat is the other way!" Sky called after him. "I still don't get what you see in him. Anyways, this Pirate Master fellow was Risky's old boss, huh?"
"You got it!" Jasmine replied. "Shantae's magic was the key to bringing him back...and bringing him down,"
"Risky had him figured out from the start," Shantae admitted. Yet again, she looked lost in thought. "Always one step ahead."
"I think she was just lucky!" Sky replied, scoffing at the idea Risky could possibly be that smart. "No one that manipulative. Anyways, you got your magic back, right?"
"Sure did! Half-Genie once again!" Shantae proudly confirmed. "And I'm bursting with brand new ideas for my next dance moves!"
"I'm glad to see your spirits up!" Sky told her. "I'm going to fetch Bolo. We'll talk again later." With that, she was off.
"Things are finally starting to get back to normal…" Mimic said with a sigh of relief.
"Uncle?" Shantae began. "We've been meaning to ask you...why did you have that Tinkerbat in your workshop?"
"Oh that," Mimic realized. "Well...I've been conducting some experiments on the properties of magic. I thought that perhaps the polarity of magic could be reversed, like a magnet. I figured there might be some way to restore your powers...but it looks like you two proved that theory on your own!"
"Thanks for trying uncle," Jasmine said with a smile. "And sorry we both ran off with Risky with telling ya."
"You are both such a handful!" Mimic chastised. "But both of you gave Risky Boots a chance that most folks never would have, especially Shantae." With that, he turned to her. "You may never become a full genie like your mother. But you're becoming more like her in far more important ways. Maybe she'll see it herself one day, when you finally meet,"
"You think so?" Shantae asked.
"I know so!" Mimic promised.
"Uh...ya think she'll like me?" Jasmine asked.
"I think she will quite like you," Mimic assured his other child.
"...Some day!" Shantae cheered. With a quick goodbye, she raced off. Jasmine didn't follow. She had a feeling it was something Shantae needed to do for herself.
And Pirate's Curse is FINALLY done! I really hope I did what is thought to be the best game in the series justice(not that it's my favorite). Next time will be a quick bonus chapter and then we begin with Half-Genie Hero! I'll see you then!