Gamelover41592: It works like how Shantae uses the other half-genie's magic: she gets it from the fusion stone until the end of the adventure, where she will return it.
Matt (Guest): You're not wrong and I was making a joke. I think everyone could tell as soon as they saw her.
Alright, time to head after the next half genie!
Using Plink's magic, Shantae and Jasmine were able to find a village hidden among the trees.
"Welcome to Tree Town!" One of the ladies greeted once they saw the girls come in. Looking around, the girls noticed that it was a lovely little town. It was full of greenery and everyone seemed so happy to see guests. Judging from the way they were dressed, they guessed that this was the village Vera had told them about.
"Excuse me?" A younger woman asked. When Jasmine and Shantae turned around to face her, she continued. "The chief would like to see you. He's waiting inside." With a nod, the girls headed inside the hut. Inside was an older man who looked to be in complete disappear.
"Who are you two?" He asked. "How did you find our village?" He then took notice of Shantae's ears. "Oh. You are half-genie. Same as my daughter, Vera. My sweet Vera...she was taken away by those things. For years, my people have been forced to hide. The things from down below...they fear the sunlight. But when the sun sets...they come to the surface. They hide inside the ghostly fog. Those who are taken...they never return. Go. Dance and have fun. Cherish the safety of daylight. My heart is with Vera…" Out of respect, both girls chose to leave.
"Jas...should we tell him we saved Plink?" Shantae offered.
"He most likely won't care," Jasmine pointed out. "It's not like he'll know who she even is."
"Wait, he said to dance right?" Shantae asked. Jasmine nodded. "Well, maybe I should. After all, my dancing always cheers up Mimic!...and Bolo."
"Knock yourself out. I'll keep watch," Jasmine said. With a nod, Shantae ran off to the dance house. Jasmine followed way more slowly. She was thinking about what Vera's father had said. Monsters from under the island? Were they what took the other half genies? And why was her necklace getting new powers like Shantae was? The whole thing was somewhat starting to make sense to her. By the time she reached the dance hall, a small crowd had already gathered. Jasmine knew that Shantae was a good dancer. When she was on stage, it was like she forgot all about her stage fright. By the time she did finish, almost the whole village was watching. Even Bolo was present. On a whim, the girls returned to Vera's dad.
"It is hopeless," He moaned. "I will never see my daughter Vera again." Suddenly, a woman entered.
"My chief!" She cried. "This young lady here has proven she carries true hope in her heart. There is a special joy to be found in her strange, wiggly movements. A joy that gives us hope for tomorrow...and it gives us the courage to face our fears!"
"All that from one dance?" Jasmine asked her sister. Shantae just gave a shrug.
"I must go and tell the others!" She gushed before running off. "Smile chief! Smile for your daughter!" Jasmine and Shantae turned to face the chief. He seemed to be thinking.
"Mmmmrrrgh...SHE! IS! RIGHT!" The chief roared. "I must not mourn my daughter! She is still alive. I can feel it deep in my heart! Young women! Thank you for this gift of hope!"
"Uh...you're welcome?" Shantae offered. Were her dances really this awe inspiring?
"Please, take this!" The chief said as he held out what looked like a key. "That is a useless object! It was a gift to me from my own father! I do not like it! It serves no purpose! But I believe that you will give it one! My heart goes with you!" With nods, the girls headed out. They had spotted another hatch nearby. And they had a feeling that the object/key was the way in.
"Hello?" Shantae called out. The girls had found a dead end. However, they also heard footsteps on the other side of the wall.
"Eh?" The girls looked at each other with excitement. It was Mimic! "Who's there?"
"Uncle?" Shantae asked, making sure it was him.
"Shantae!" Mimic cheered. "What are you and Jasmine doing behind the wall? I've been looking from you since you fell from sight! You aren't hurt, are you?"
"We're okay!" Jasmine called out.
"Good," Mimic breathed a sigh of relief. "I have something for you. It might help you find those girls. There's an opening in the wall here. I'll...get it through...here!" A handle dropped in front of the girls.
"What's this?" Shantae asked.
"That is a valve handle!" Mimic replied.
"Hang on...I think we know where this goes!" Jasmine said, remembering a room that was full of water.
"If you say so," Shantae replied. After bidding Mimic goodbye(and promising to return to the surface following this rescue), the girls headed back out. Much like Jasmine had thought, the valve had helped out during the water room, allowing them to find the next dungeon.
"At least this place makes more sense…" Jasmine grumbled. The girls were in some kind of abandoned mine. Rock monsters were everywhere, as was old machinery. For a place where people used to work, the place was really dangerous. Beyond the monsters, the girls found strange spiked platforms, spikes on the while, unstable platforms and bottomless pits. Some of the machinery still worked, allowing the girls to make keys to continue. They found themselves surprised when Risky Boots appeared for them once again.
"Hold it, runts!" She barked at them. Jasmine tossed her boomerang at her. Risky dodged both the throw and the return, causing Jasmine to grunt.
"So you weren't behind the abductions after all!" Shantae exclaimed. "Then it must have been that plant thing we saw before!" Risky rolled her eyes.
"Since you seem to know so much, what was that thing? And where are the other girls?" Jasmine asked, her tone making it clear that she wanted answers.
"Ho ho!" Risky cackled. This was too good! "Are you asking Risky Boots, the Queen of the Seven Seas...for help? Ha! The true rulers of this island are not the land lubbers up above. But rather...the sirens that dwell down below."
"Sirens!" Both girls exclaimed. They had heard the horror stories about the sirens. They were monsters who drained the power of any they came across. They needed to save the girls and fast!"
"Seven in all," Risky continued. "Five that rule over their domains. One wretched runaway...and the one of whom they will not speak. If you wish to save your friends...you must destroy the seven sirens!"
"Then we will!" Shantae declared. Jasmine nodded.
"But first…" Risky trailed off before giving an evil grin and drawing her sword. "You'll have to get past me!" Risky put up a slightly better fight then before, adding sword dashes and bomb shots to her attacks. She was still clearly holding back. "My, you're persistent! You needn't worry. I didn't come to this island to capture your friends. Those sirens can do whatever they want with them. I'm after the real treasure! Tah-ta!" And just as quickly as she showed up, Risky Boots fled again.
"Classic cryptic Risky," Jasmine grumbled.
"Real treasure?" Shantae asked. "What in the world is she talking about?"
"No idea. Let's just keep moving," Jasmine said as they continued through the now opened door. In the very next room was Vera. Much like Plink, she was in a cage and unconscious.
"Vera! Are you alright?" Shantae asked, reaching through the bars to give her a nudge. Slowly, Vera woke up.
"Huh? Wha?" Vera managed out as she got to her feet. "Oh my! Was I asleep?"
"Uh, sort of," Jasmine said as she opened the cage, letting Vera out. She stumbled a little as she stepped out.
"Seems like the prisons were designed to put you guys under," Shantae noted. "How do you feel?"
"A bit disoriented, but fine otherwise," Vera said. "Thanks much bunches for coming to my rescue! Here! I have something for you." She handed Shantae another fusion coin. This time, it had some strange animal with a drill as a shell.
"What's this?" Shantae asked as she looked at the animal.
"It's a gastro drill!" Vera replied. "They are rare creatures that move by burrowing through the dirt. Using its abilities, you might be able to locate the source of evil in this place!"
"Leave it to us!" Both girls declared at the same time.
"You can get out of here, right?" Jasmine clarified.
"I should be able too," Vera said with a nod. Jasmine nodded and chased after Shantae, turning into a mole to burrow through the dirt.
"You look ridiculous by the way," Jasmine said once she got a good look at her sister. She looked like a cross between a crab and a snail with a drill on its head.
"Oh shut up!" Shantae said once they reached the way out. Using the new form, Shantae was able to burrow in the dirt along with Jasmine, who had already been doing some digging. Soon after, they found another imposing door.
"Alright, time to find the next monster," Jasmine said as the girls walked through.
And walked straight into a mess of wires.
"Gah!" Shantae squeaked out as she tripped over a bunch. Jasmine was nearly choked by several. Finally, after taking about five minutes to get through the wires, the girls managed to get into the chamber. Inside was a strange girl in a mech.
"...She looks different from the other one," Shantae noted.
"Well, she's still an enemy, so let's take her down!" Jasmine said. This siren, the Coral Siren, never attacked herself. She only attacked with her mech. Said mech attacked via trying to slam down on them, which also created shockwaves, fire bombs, and try to dash at them. However, the dirt patches in the arena created an easy way for Shantae and Jasmine to trap it and do some major damage. Needless to say, the fight was over rather quickly.
"Good, you're alright," Vera said with relief once she saw Jasmine and Shantae exit the mine. "Hey...are Plink and the others alright?"
"We saved Plink before you, but we've yet to find the others," Jasmine quickly explained.
"Thank goodness for that!" Vera cheered. "I only wish I had the help of my lucky amulet."
"Your what?" Shantae asked.
"I used to wear it around my neck," Vera began to explain. "But once while I was swimming...a big wave came, and...that was the end of that,"
"Sounds pretty unlucky to me, mate," Jasmine said.
"If I had that lucky amulet, I could help you find the others!" Vera announced. "If you find it, bring it to me in Tree Town. It's all up to you now! Good luck!" With that, Vera teleported away.
"Where the heck are we gonna find this thing?" Jasmine asked.
"What we always do when we need to find something important: ask everyone until we find someone who can give us what we want!" Shantae said before running off. Jasmine rolled her eyes and followed. Why did that always seem to help?
Once they found their person(a visiting scientist who needed seashells), the girls made their way back to Tree Town.
"You're back!" Vera exclaimed once she saw them enter her hut. "As you can imagine, my father was overjoyed to see me. I've honestly never seen him so happy! Anyways, did you find my lucky amulet?"
"Right here!" Shantae announced as she handed it over.
Vera's eyes lit up. "Thank you both! My amulet was crafted on this island. It's made entirely of fusion stone! With it, we'll be able to combine our magic and save Harmony and the others!" Much like with Plink, Vera used the stone to give most of her magic to Shantae. Yet again, Jasmine's necklace lit up. "My refresh magic can heal your wounds and bring life to others!" Shantae quickly gave it a go, causing a plant that had been in the room to bloom. Jasmine did it as well, causing another plant to bloom as well.
"So that's two for two…" Jasmine noted to herself. Was her necklace connected to the genies somehow?
"C'mon Jas! Let's go!" Shantae said as she rushed out the door. Jasmine followed, only to realize that it was almost nighttime.
"Have we really been at this for only one day?" Jasmine wondered aloud.
"So...what do we do?" Shantae asked before yawning.
"I think we need to go to bed. If we try to mount a rescue exhausted, that could get us captured or worse," Jasmine pointed out. Shantae gave a nod. She didn't like her sister's logic, but she did understand where she was coming from. Thankfully, there was still enough light for the girls to make it back safely, even if they did opt to fly. Sky was already asleep, so the girls made sure to be quiet.
"Jas?" Shantae whispered as she crawled into bed.
"Mmm?" Jasmine mumbled out.
"...Do you think the others are okay?" Jasmine could see the worry on her sister's face, even with how dark it was.
"I'm sure they will be fine, but you need to get some rest," Jasmine said as she closed her eyes. "G'night Shantae,"
"Night Jasmine,"
Vera has been saved! Three left! Next time, we head after Zapple. See you then!