Gamelover41592: Thank you
Matt (Guest): Please keep politics out of this. They are so annoying right now. Anyways, thanks for the grammar thing. I have plans to go back into the stories soon to fix all that stuff.
Alright, time to begin the next area, the Fetis-er I mean Mermaid Falls! Ret-2-Go!
After running back and forth between the ruined main street and the outskirts of town helping people, Shantae and Jasmine were sent in the direction of Mermaid Falls. Young maidens were being kidnapped from a nearby village and the mermaids were thought to be the cause. Due to Jasmine not knowing the way, they enlisted Sky's help, who had been able to grow Wrench to a giant size, making him rideable.
"Are you guys going to Mermaid Falls?" Sky asked as she looked over the map she was given.
"Looks like it," Jasmine said.
"Well be careful. Mermaids around those parts can be very dangerous," Sky warned. "Especially the saltwater variety."
"Eh, they're just girls with fish tails," Jasmine scoffed.
"They won't get the drop on us!" Shantae bragged. "After all, we're this town guard-"
"Hold it!"
Jasmine's groan came out louder then she hoped. She hated Scuttlebutt. She hated him so much. But she turned to listen to him either way.
"I'd like to introduce you to someone," Scuttlebutt said as a girl roughly around Shantae's age walked in. She had a bright green outfit and orange hair pulled into pigtails.
"Hello," Shantae greeted. "Who're you?"
"Heh. Your replacement of course!" She replied.
"What?" Jasmine asked, confused. There is no way Scuttlebutt found someone to replace Shantae that fast.
"Holly Lingerbean, Half-Genie Hero for hire," She introduced herself. "But you can call me Holly,"
"Your mom was a genie?" Shantae asked, suspiciously. Normally, she wasn't one to be suspicious(that was Jasmine's job), but she couldn't help but feel like something was off. And why wasn't Jasmine replaced?
"That's right," Holly replied quickly. "And my dad was a stage magician. So I'm more magical then any half genie by far. Ha!"
"...That is not at all how that works," Jasmine said, remembering the constant studies into magic she did when trying to find out who she was. And stage magicians were fakes anyways.
"It's true!" Scuttlebutt protested. "She stole my nose and removed her own thumb while I watched. And as our old guardians, I want you two to show her the ropes."
"Wait, where's your replacement for me?" Jasmine asked. She didn't want to be replaced, but not seeing one for her was confusing.
"Ha!" Holly scoffed. "I don't need a normal human holding me back," She then turned back to Scuttlebutt. "It's no problem. I'll be just fine without them." She then walked out, followed by Scuttlebutt.
"I can't believe he actually did it!" Shantae exclaimed.
"Now hold on!" Sky tried to pacify her friend, but Shantae was too caught up in her rant to notice.
"He replaced us with that...snotty….LITTLE…." Shantae continued
"Sis, calm down," Jasmine said as she placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Don't get competitive. I'm sure she'll quit once she realizes what she has to put up with."
"Besides, you guys are on a mission, remember?" Sky pointed out.
"I guess you're right…" Shantae said, still not convinced.
"Ok then," Sky said. "Off to Mermaid Falls!" With that, she and Shantae mounted Wrench, while Jasmine turned into a dragon and flew after them.
"Seems pretty empty," Jasmine noted.
"I'm sure that something is here," Shantae replied. "Let's get moving. We need to find what's happening." They started off, heading towards some buildings in the distance. While there were mermaids, there were also other monsters waiting for the girls. Surprisingly for a place called Mermaid Falls, the mermaids weren't very numerous. It was more then a little confusing to the girls. However, once they reached the end of the temple like structures, they found something strange. They had been chasing caged girls when they were led into...
"I don't think this factory was here before," Jasmine said as they entered said factory.
"Well, we know where the girls disappeared too," Shantae pointed out. They were being carried through the place. At certain points, fish would jump up and partially swallow them. "Whoever created this place is making fake mermaids!"
"But why?" Jasmine asked.
"No idea," Shantae replied.
"But I think I know who's doing this," Jasmine said as she pointed at one of the workers. It was a strange crocodile like creature.
"Didn't Techno Baron blow up?" Shantae asked, still remembering very well what happened when Ammo Baron's cannon misfired thanks to them.
"When has that stopped people?" Jasmine pointed out. Shantae gave a shrug as the girls continued their way through the factory. Suddenly Jasmine stopped. She pointed at one of the people being carried through the place. "Hey, is that who I think it is?"
"...Bolo?" Shantae wondered out loud. He was being dragged through by his foot and had a fish stuck on his head. Both girls failed to fight back chuckles.
"Bloody classic," Jasmine muttered to herself as Shantae turned herself into a monkey to help her boyfriend down. Bolo landed with a thud on the platform. He then said something, but the fish was muffling it.
"Hang on," Shantae said as she pulled on the fish, getting it off after a little struggle.
"Thanks for the save," Bolo said as he dusted himself off.
"Mate, what are you doing here?" Jasmine asked.
"I, uh, heard about what was going on here and I wanted to defeat whoever was doing this so I could impress Shantae," Bolo sheepishly admitted.
"Bolo!" Shantae said as she pulled him into a hug. "You don't need to impress me, you big dope!"
"Get a room," Jasmine jokingly mocked.
"Since I'm already here, can I help you guys anyways?" Bolo asked once Shantae let go of him.
"Sure thing!" Shantae said as she dragged him along.
"What is his plan?" Jasmine wondered. After getting out of the factory via a slide that giant cans were sent down, the group found themselves near a large body of water. Techno Baron was waiting nearby.
"Techno Baron!" Bolo exclaimed as he pulled out his mace.
"ARGrrrrh! Lost count again!" He exclaimed as he turned to face the heroes. "Who disrupts my concentration?!"
"We did!" Shantae said. "We saw your little counterfeit mermaid factory and the fake mermaids! And now we're sending up the river, just like your giant cans!...Which I am also kicking up in!"
"GUARRRAGH!" Techno Baron growled. "How did you three get past my Techno Grunts! No matter...You'll never leave this place alive! Have fun sleeping with the fishes!"
"Do fishes sleep?" Bolo asked. Techno Baron cackled as the ground began to rumble. Suddenly, a giant mermaid burst out of the ground. She was chained to several posts and she looked pissed.
"Crikey, she's huge!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"No wonder the mermaids are so freaked out!" Bolo added.
"He captured their queen!" Shantae realized. "We've got to set her free!"
"And then she can deal with him!" Bolo exclaimed. Despite the fact they were trying to free her, the Giga Mermaid still tried to attack the heroes via firing tracking blasts of magic. However, with there being three of them, Shantae, Bolo and Jasmine were able to break all her chains.
"Phew, she's safe now," Shantae said. No sooner did those words leave her mouth, the Giga Mermaid lunged, making one thing clear to the groups.
"We're not safe!" Bolo exclaimed. Now that she was free, the Giga Mermaid was free to not only move around, but attack more. She could summon lightning strikes, try and slam her tail down, and her height meant that Bolo and Shantae had to wait for her to summon pieces of debris for them to climb. Jasmine's boomerang could still hit her weak point, but it didn't do much. Thankfully, she still seemed worn out from capture and wasn't hard to defeat. She dove back under the water as Techno Baron stormed back over. The cans were open, freeing the trapped girls.
"You're sick, mate," Jasmine said with rage clear in her voice, even if her tone didn't change. She and Shantae were able to see what the capsules were for.
"You were selling fake mermaids-as canned monster chow!?" Shantae exclaimed.
"Hey, we'll all gotta eat!" Techno Baron tried to protest. "Sales were high and supplies were low. What else was I supposed to do? Leave money lying on the table? I ran out of legit mermaids after my orders were filled. I just needed a few shipments of B-grade product to help bridge the gap, that's all. It's just good business."
"I'll give you business!" Shantae vowed as she got ready to give him a hair whipping of a lifetime, only for Jasmine and Bolo to hold her back.
"I think someone else has you covered," Bolo noted. Shantae turned around to see the Giga Mermaid rise out of the water again. Her eyes and jewel were now a bright blue, rather then their prior red. With a quick motion, she grabbed Techno Baron and threw him into the distance, causing a twinkle in the sky.
"I would like to thank you for saving me and my people," The Giga Mermaid said. For her size, her voice was rather soft. Almost motherly sounding.
"It was nothing, mate," Jasmine replied. "Saving people is what we do,"
"If you want, we can get rid of that factory for you," Bolo offered.
"I think my people would prefer to tear that down themselves" The Giga Mermaid replied, her voice full of mischief. The mermaids burst into cheers.
"Could we get in on that?" One of the girls asked.
"All who suffered under that man are welcome to help us," The Giga Mermaid offered.
"...Have fun with that," Shantae said. She knew that they should probably get back to town, but wanted to see what would happen so badly.
Oh revenge. So petty. So awesome! Also, I know Giga Mermaid doesn't speak in game but this is fanfiction and I can do whatever I want! :p. Anyways, see you all next time and don't forget!