Scuttle Town, Art Gallery
"Here you go. One Squid Poster, comin' at ya." Philia spoke up, handing over a poster she got a moment ago, giving it to a red and purple-spotted oversized squid monster with a round body and ten tiny tentacles. This was the Squid Baron.
"Oh, yes! I have GOT to get this laminated!" the Squid Baron answered, "Here. Something for you in return." He pulled out a gold buckle from underneath its body, handing it over to Philia.
"And this is...?"
"Looks like it broke off a size 7 fashionable boot that smelled great!" Squid Baron stated.
"A boot buckle?" Philia muttered, looking at it closely, before getting a flashback from Risky Boots, "Hold on. I think Risky's boots had this kind of buckle on them. This could be a clue to helping us out. Thanks, Squid Baron."
"Sure thing! Thank you for giving me a cameo in your story!" he replied, "Next time, make me one of your side characters. No! Better yet! Make me a lead, and you can be my partner! We can pull off a combo attack, where we-."
"Sorry, I gotta go!" Philia told him, "We can talk some other day!"
"Wait! I'm not finish!" Squid Baron exclaimed, "This is all the screen time I get in your story?!"
Philia exited the building where Shantae was waiting for her. "How'd it go?" she asked.
"Squid Baron gave me one of Risky's boot buckles." Philia showed off the said buckle in her hands.
"Funny. I just got done giving the Sunken Souls I found in Mermaid Falls to the Hypno Baron, who gave me Risky's ribbon." she showed of the frayed ribbon she had on her head.
"Seems like we're on the right track." Philia understood, "Perhaps Risky's possessions might lead us to a clue to safely shut down the Dynamo."
"Let's bring them back to Uncle and see what he can get from this!" Shantae suggested. Philia nodded, and they raced back to Mimic's workshop again.
When they reached the entrance to the workshop, Sky, Bolo, Rottytops, Flair, and Samson were also there, waiting for them. "Heya, Shantae!" Rotty greeted, "Did ya get any clues?"
"We got a couple of things." Shantae answered, "Did you guys get anything?"
"We sure did!" Rotty answered eagerly.
"Hold on! What do you mean 'we'? I did most of the work!" Sky answered, "Though it should be thanks to that Techno Baron. He was sentenced to community service to tear down his Mermaid Factory so it can be a Mermaid Preserve, but wasn't working until he had his data disk with his financial records on it."
"Hopefully, that'll keep him preoccupied." Shantae prayed.
"And keep the mermaids safe." Philia added.
"Thanks to that, he gave us one of Risky's cufflinks as a result!" Rotty stated, holding out the said cufflink in her hands to show off to the others.
"Big deal! Flair and I managed to get something just as good!" Samson huffed.
"Hey, Bolo came with us." Flair argued, "He even introduced us to the Ammo Baron."
"Thanks for remembering I introduced you." Bolo sighed, "Though he was still a bit irritated to see me after what I did when I was working for him."
"What happened?" Philia asked.
"Bolo ended up doing something that helped us way back when." Shantae answered, "But he did ruin one of Ammo Baron's machines by accident."
"I had to hand you the scrap metal Shantae gathered to give to him, since he didn't trust me with the transaction." Bolo told Flair.
"Yep. He needed them for repairing his ships, and gave us this in return." She held out a pendant in her hands to the team.
"The big guy said he had an encounter with that pirate woman and she dropped this." Samson explained.
"That's four pieces from Risky Boots we found." Philia noted as she and Shantae showed off their rewards, "I'm sure these hold some clue as to what Risky plans to do with the Dynamo."
"Lets bring them all to Uncle!" Shantae ordered the team, and they entered into the workshop, ready to hand all they had to Mimic.
(Insert 'Catch the Moment' Amalee cover)
Music intro
(In the darkness, gold coins started to fall into a black darkness, with the words 'A story that takes place during Sword Art Kingdom II: Dimensional Bonds', followed by a blue Star Shard light that bounced about the falling screen, before hitting the center of the screen, and with a burst of light, the reveal the title.)
I sigh, saying that I'm fine with every breath of mine
This regret, it leaves another bitter taste, Yeah
(SAK: Heart's Origin Philia started off walking along a path of light in the darkness, the memories of her first adventure showing, her expression going from happy to painful, before stopping as she stops in front of the capsule of the sleeping Sora, before turning as tears fell from her, and she instantly donned the Organization's cloak.)
Why does the sun shine but only when I slip and make a new mistake?
'Cause I hate the feeling it's all a waste
(Philia is running along that path of light, as the many people of her past started to fade away, not remembering about her, with only Riku, Mickey, Naminé, DiZ, and Kairi the remaining people watching her run away. She suddenly found herself on the dirt path of the open grasslands, reaching the crossroad.)
If I could cut away my fate with this blade
I would if that'd let me re-start
But something tells me if that happened
I might not see you there
(Philia turns to one path, where Riku and Mickey in black coats were walking away from, before looking the other way, seeing PHox standing there, before looking behind to see DiZ and Naminé behind her. She looked down to the ground, thinking what the best path is, before Tinker Bell appears, flying in her face, and waving her to the path straight ahead, where Gretinal, Flair, and Samson are standing. Philia smiles as she races towards them. Gretinal points to the path ahead as Philia takes off her Organization coat, unveiling her new attire, with her friends by her side.)
I'm only held by the limit inside my soul
The voice in my heart
I trust it will break the mold that it holds
(Flair summons out her hairpin rapier, stabbing and slashing the Cyber Heartless, before Samson thrust his tendrils at a group in front of them, turning them into dark vapors. Philia flies through the vapor, slashing with her Keydagger, going into her 'Soul Burst: Sora' form, Keyblade in one hand as she tosses up three Summon Charms, which shines to reveal Sly, Sinon, and Tinker Bell in front, her hands held up high)
It will never end;
(The darkened appearance of Maleficent, Pete, Heartless Oberon and Vanitas appear.)
May it never end
(Dr. Tenma and the hooded Tears stand together, with Cyber Heartless and hidden allies behind them appear.)
No matter what's in store
(PHox appears, with fifteen more shadows behind him, as he pulled out his butcher knife weapon, and spun around, swinging it with blood red energy that unveiled his maniacally-enjoying face.)
We must be faster 'cause right now there's no more time
I fear at this rate, the world will leave us behind - And so I
(Philia runs along a starlit path, with the images of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Mickey, Kirito, Asuna, Yui, Leafa, Recon, and Kairi passing by her, their smiling faces appearing as she passed them, followed by any characters she met since coming to the new dimension, with the rest in black outlines.)
Wonder how long I have left with you, in this life?
There's not a minute we should waste
Catch the moment
(In a dark, rocky environment, Philia and the hooded Tears fought one another in a powerful battle, with Tears striking her back with her greatsword, only for Philia to skid to a halt, before launching back and unleashing an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill that sent Tears flying away. However, she flipped in the air, and landed on a gigantic, shadowed monster, who roared down at Philia, causing her to brace herself.)
So will you seize today with me?
Because it's fleeting, like a dream
Catch the moment
(Philia tightened her grip on her Keydagger as she glared up at the monster, Flair and Samson joining her side, before leaping together at the monster, their bodies glowing a white hue, the Keydagger shining brightly, and she brought it down at the head of the monster. Upon the strike, the scene shifts to the black atmosphere with the falling gold coins, shifting from a top-down view to a face forward view of it falling into a treasure chest with a gold heart emblem on the front, before revealing Philia closing the lid of it, embracing it in her arms, holding it close to her heart, before the heart shine, blinding the scene.)
Mimic had all four of Risky's accessories and such on his table, examining them, while the rest looked at him from behind. He held up the buckle first, adjusting his glasses to look at it closely.
"Hmm... This seems to be caked in ash from a metal forge." he noted, before putting it down and picking up the cufflink, "And this has a smudge on it... from sealant often used with insulated rubber hoses." He put it down and picked up the pendant, continuing, "There are oil spots dotting the surface. Not your typical grade, either." He put it down, and picked up the ribbon, examining it and taking a sniff. "It smells of sulfur. What she's building uses great heat as a power source."
He put down the ribbon as Shantae asked, "So, did you figure anything out, uncle?"
"Given these clues, I can figure things out." he replied, "Just a matter of where she went and which materials she was after." He looked at his table and started working his hands on all the materials he had, mumbling about what Risky, thinking what she might've done. The others looked to one another, wondering what he might be creating.
"Eureka!" he declared, stopping what he was doing, and turning to the group with a device in his hands, with a glowing gem on it. He handed it to Shantae, as she, Philia, and Flair looked at it. "What is this?" the half-genie asked.
"That is a magic polarizer." Mimic explained, "With this device, you can cancel the inversion process and redirect the magic like a lightning rod!"
"Huh?" Shantae and Flair asked, confused.
"I think I get it." Philia muttered.
"You do?!" the two exclaimed.
"Basically, if she uses it to switch any magic to dark magic, the polarizer can just switch it right back." Philia summed up, looking to Mimic, "Reversing a reversal, right?"
"You catch on quick." he answered.
"But will it really work?" Shantae asked.
"No idea! But it's better than nothing." Mimic answered.
"At least we have SOME sort of plan." Flair muttered.
"We?" Shantae asked, looking to her.
"You didn't think we would leave you alone to do this, do you?" Philia asked, "We're coming with you. We want payback on Risky Boots for making you go evil on us."
Shantae thought for a second, before stating, "Well, I was planning to go alone. But you guys did help me all this time since you arrived. And I already learned I couldn't do everything by myself before. So sure! Let's go stop Risky Boots together, once and for all!"
"You guys got this!" Rotty stated, "Go kick her buns, champs! And if you don't come back in one piece, dibs on your brains!"
"Hey, don't go jinxing it!" Bolo argued.
"We'll all come back, with brains intact." Philia assured her.
"Come on. Wrench is ready to go, and we already learned where Risky's hideout is." Sky informed them. They nodded in response, and they raced to Sky's house. Once they were there, the four girls hopped onto Sky's back, and they took to the sky together.
Once in the air, they flew a great distance past the Mermaid Falls, to the upper edge of the island. Off in the distance, the team could make out a volcano, with machinery and platforms that came out of different parts of the volcano.
"A volcano houses a villain's hideout." Philia muttered, "Isn't that, I don't know, cliché?"
"Cliche or not, that's where Risky Boots and her gang are housed up in." Sky noted, "Better be sure you are ready, Shantae. You, too, everyone."
"Too late to turn back now." Shantae answered, "Let's do it!"
"Right. I'll land somewhere close to the edge of it." Sky informed them, and they dove down to the forest at the bottom of the volcano.
After parting ways with Sky, the trio of girls arrived at a body of water, looking up at the volcano towering over them.
"We're really going inside of that?" Flair asked, "Won't we get burned to a crisp if we try climbing it?"
"Risky has to have an underwater passageway to her hideout." Shantae assumed, looking into the water.
"That's where Risky has the Dynamo." Philia muttered.
As they looked to it, there was a glowing light that appeared in front of Shantae, startling all of them. "One final word of warning." a voice spoke from the light.
"Whoa! A talking ball of light?!" Samson gasped.
"Not the first time I encountered something like this." Philia stated.
"It's you." Shantae recognized it.
"Someone you know?" Flair asked.
"Yeah. I remember it from my dreams." Shantae explained, "I think it's one of the genies from the Genie Realm."
"If the enemy succeeds in turning the Genie Realm to evil, you must destroy us and our magic with us. Hesitate, and your world will fall forever to darkness."
"That won't happen." Philia assured her, "I stopped a lot of worlds from falling to darkness. This won't be any different!"
"You have?" Flair asked.
"Hey! Why are you telling that in front of the half-genie?!" Samson demanded, "What about world order?!"
"Thanks to Tears and Gilgamesh, she pieced the clues together." Philia muttered sadly.
"Yeah. Philia told me you guys were from another world." Shantae answered, "It's pretty incredible! It makes me more glad to have people like you with me! And not just you guys..." She placed a fist over her chest, "Everyone in Scuttle Town, Sequin Land. And all of the Genie Realm. The people that connected to my two halves are counting on me. We'll stop Risky Boots at any cost!" She dances, and transforms into her mermaid form, before diving into the water.
"Will we be able to swim underwater?" Flair asked.
"With our magic, we should do just fine." Philia answered, before leaping into the water, diving down to join Shantae. Flair hesitated, before diving down into the water after her.
The two saw Shantae swim ahead, going through a broken grate that led to an underground passageway. Philia felt something in her mind tell her what to do, similar to how she felt when she learned to wall run back in Flair's world. She summoned her Keydagger, and spun it like a propeller in front of her. Like a plane's propeller, she was pulled along, going through the water quickly.
As for Flair, she hadn't learned how to swim properly. However, Samson made it up to her by spreading his tendrils out, and started carrying his host forward like he was an octopus. Together. the three girls flew through the water together, avoiding the obstacles as they swam.
Meanwhile...
Risky Boots had her men working on modifying the Dynamo. As she stood there, watching them work, while a certain girl was next to her; Tears.
"So let me be clear about this..." Risky started, "You are going to spread my hideout with all your Heartless, making sure no one gets in, and that they won't harm my men. And all you desire is some of the dark magic I will get from making the Genie Realm evil?"
"That is the transaction." Tears answered, "Do we have an agreement?"
"I don't see why I should bother." Risky huffed, "The half-genie brat is now filled with dark magic. And there is no other fool able to stop me in all the world!"
"By your calculations, you might be correct." Tears answered, "But with the arrival of Philia, chosen wielder of the Keyblade, there is a high chance they will come and stop you."
"A Keyblade?" Risky asked, "That sounds familiar..."
Just then, one of her Darkling crew members ran up, dripping with water as it escaped the underwater passageway in a panic, taking a shortcut to reach her. It started to wave its hands, and speak something to her. The news brought Risky shock.
"WHAAT?! That brat is freed from the dark magic as is on her way over?!" she demanded, "And two other girls are with her?! One of them has a strange dagger?!"
"My calculations are correct." Tears stated, "Philia, chosen wielder of the Keyblade, was even able to free the individual known as 'Shantae' from the darkness. My transaction still stands. Would you like the power of the Heartless to protect your hideout?"
"That brat is REALLY getting on my nerves!" Risky growled. She turned to Tears, stating, "I have plenty of dark magic to go around. You want some of it? Fine! Just use those Heartless to stop them at any cost!"
"The transaction has been made." Tears stated, "I will send my Heartless down. She waved her hand to the area behind them, where numerous kinds of Heartless appeared, going down to the lower parts of the hideout.
"Men, work faster!" Risky ordered her men working the Dynamo, "We don't have time to waste! I know how stubborn and thick-headed that brat is. We must get it done as soon as possible!" The men hastened the pace of their work, trying to complete their modifications.
Down below, the three girls exited the underwater passageway, and found themselves directly inside the volcano. The heat rose extremely when they entered the interior, and they looked about.
"Gah! I feel like I'll burn up!" Samson exclaimed.
"Are we seriously going to have to get through a volcano?" Flair asked Philia.
"It's part of the gig. You gotta deal with all kinds of places like this." the treasure huntress answered, "And we gotta get through this to reach Risky and the Dynamo. Steel yourself, okay?"
"Right. Let's go!" Shantae declared, and they charged into the place.
Getting through the area was no easy task. Plenty of Risky's underlings were about, either with swords drawn, flying above with guns, or gathered together on mounts that spat out boulders at them. Not only that, but Heartless were also appearing, from Shadows, Bandits, Fat Bandits, Red Nocturnes, and Flutterwings were about. Some of them were also cybernetically enhanced, becoming more threatening to the group. Nevertheless, they were able to pull through as a team, taking them out as they platformed their way through the area, avoiding the lava flowing beneath the platforms.
A good distance ahead, they found themselves at the end of a path, with several floating platforms that were consumed in spikes ahead. "Now what?" Philia asked.
"There's no way we can get through all those platforms with all those spikes on them!" Flair noted.
"Yeah, you're right." Shantae agreed, "This would be tricky for me. I'll have to turn into a harpy and fly around those."
"A harpy..." Philia muttered, before getting a thought, "Hey, can you carry us through them?"
"What?! Are you nuts?!" Shantae asked.
"Are you trying to say that my girl is overweight?!" Samson demanded in a threatening manner.
"No, of course not!" Shantae argued, "But I never carried anybody in my harpy form before!"
"Well, let's hope you are as strong as you claim yourself to be." Philia coaxed her. The half-genie hesitated, before deciding to give it a shot.
Within moments, she transformed into her harpy form. She had Philia braced on her back, her hands placed on her shoulders instead of her neck, so as not to choke her, and her legs wrapped around her waist for support. She was able to fly with her like that rather easily, while Philia was able to get one hand out to produce her Keydagger in case of enemies.
"So far, so good." Philia muttered. "Okay, grab Flair with your talons."
"Okay. Here goes." Shantae prayed, before flapping over Flair, grabbing her with her feet, getting a good grip on her shoulders.
"Ouch!" Flair grimaced.
"Easy on her!" Samson barked.
"I'm trying!" the transformed harpy answered.
Samson thought for a second, then decided to give Shantae support, by binding a pair of his tendrils around her legs. "Hey, watch it!" she exclaimed, flushing a bit.
"I'm doing this for Flair, so deal with it!" Samson barked.
Shantae adjusted, and flapped her wings hard, lifting Flair into the air. "It's working!" Philia proclaimed.
"Yeah. But can I really carry all of you to the other side?!" Shantae demanded, "I don't even think I can fly for that long!"
"Well, we're just gonna have to work around the environment." Philia suggested, looking ahead, "Fortunately, the heat is causing some updrafts to surface here and there. If we hit those, you can carry yourself along with the wind, resting yourself while we get some elevation."
"Good plan!" Shantae answered, "Okay, let's go!" With this decision made, she flapped her wings hard as she carried all of them over the lava.
It was a really tough battle for Shantae, mainly. She had to maintain balance for both Philia and Flair, avoiding the floating platforms covered in spikes, and finding the updrafts Philia pointed out to get some breaks in between. Risky's men and some Red Nocturnes appeared, firing bullets and fireballs at the girls. However, Philia was able to get opponents from far off with magic or her Dagger Throw Dagger Skill. Anyone who got close had to answer to Flair and Samson, using their tendrils and rapier to stab them out of the way.
After a few minutes, the team was able to get through the dangers, finally reaching a free platform, where Shantae dropped Flair first, before landing on the ground, transforming back to her human form as she doubled over, panting in exhaustion. Philia got off of her, sighing in relief.
"We...we made it." Flair stated with a sense of relief.
"Shantae, you were totally awesome." Philia commended her.
"Th-Thanks." She panted, pulling out a potion, and downing it. She coughed as she drank too quickly to wet her whistle. However, once she was ready, she stood up on her feet again, turning to the group. "We're so close. We have a bit to go."
"That's right." Philia answered, "You ret-2-go?" Shantae nodded in answer, and they turned to the path, seeing an arched doorway that led further in. Once they caught their breath, they raced on in.
A few minutes later, they arrived on the scene, with Risky standing there, seemingly waiting for them. The room was cubic, and there were gears on the outer sides of the walls.
"Hold it right there, Risky!" Shantae ordered.
"Right on schedule." the pirate answered, "I figured a goody two-shoes like you might find a way to reverse the effects of the dark magic. Or did you have some help in that?"
"Of course, I did!" Shantae answered, with Philia and Flair standing at her sides, "Thanks to all of my friends, I was able to break free, and return to normal to kick your butt!"
"So you admit that you are helpless without your friends, huh?" Risky asked, "Well, no matter. the results are irreversible."
"Where's the machine you stole?!" Flair demanded.
"Oh, you'll see soon enough." She answered, "It's in the tender-loving care of my Tinkerbats. My men have been working tirelessly to unlock the Dynamo's full potential. It'll be beyond anything your short-sighted uncle could ever dream of!"
"You think turning the Genie Realm to darkness is a better choice?!" Philia barked, "Sorry, but we won't let you use it for such a purpose!"
"You don't have a choice, brat." Risky answered, drawing out a flintlock pistol and a cutlass, "Until my men finish getting it ready, you will not interfere!" The girls all readied their own weapons, preparing to fight the pirate queen.
Shantae dashed in with Philia, as Risky leapt back unloading her pistol with a bullet at them. They dodged out of the way, as Philia readied her dagger, leaping up at her. She blocked Philia slash, but couldn't block her slashes she quickly used straight afterwards. Shantae followed up with a fireball spell that blew up on Risky, knocking her back.
She quickly got back up as Flair tried to get in with her rapier, only for Risky to jump away, landing on the ground, before firing a triple shot at her. She got hit by one of the bullets, causing an explosion that blew her back. She then prepared her cutlass, before doing an extremely fast slash at Shantae and Philia slashing the both of them and knocking them into the air, cut by the attack.
Risky gave a haughty laugh as the three girls got back up, glaring at her. "You children are quite easy to deal with!" She told them.
"Wait till we actually get warmed up!" Philia answered, before making her dagger glow, before shooting forward with a new Dagger Skill; a dashing slash called 'Rapid Bite'. The attack struck Risky before she could react, getting knocked back. Philia didn't stop there as she and Flair joined together, running at her as she drew out her flintlock pistol, firing at the two. They avoided the shots, and Samson used his tendrils to grab Risky's wrist, before slamming her to the ground. The two blade-wielders then began slashing and thrusting their weapons at her, before knocking her away.
Risky got back up and was greeted by a thunderbolt from a cloud made by Shantae. "You are gonna pay for that!" Risky barked, leaping high and shooting down at the group from above. They scattered about, before racing to where she would land.
Risky was quite nimble, leaping around the battlefield, and primarily utilizing her pistol to fire pinpoint shots at the girls, from single shots to triple shots. She also used her cutlass to go into close combat battles or doing blinding-fast charging slashes. Shantae eventually started to remember how Risky fought, while Philia and Flair started to work out her fighting style, and adapt with it.
"Tink, time to sparkle!" Philia proclaimed, raising her partner's Summon Charm high. The pixie came out as Philia shouted, "Summon: Tinker Bell!" She created an energy ring with her charm, which Tink flew right through, surging with power as she sprinkled pixie dust on Philia, causing her to float in the air. Tink flew around Philia, before maintaining herself next to her BFF's head.
"Really? Now you deal with fairies?" Risky asked, "I'll slash you along with it!" She made a dashing slash at Philia, who flew right over her to avoid the attack, before flipping around and dashing at her with a slash.
"That's PIXIE, to you!" Tink shouted as Philia started to pull fast maneuvers around Risky, who was barely able to keep up. It was distracting her while Flair and Shantae came in and pulled some attacks themselves on her, damaging her more.
"You want to play?! Let's play cannonball!" Risky jumped high to get out of the range of the trio, before magically summoning a cannon and started to bounce in the air with every shot she fired down at the group, causing them damage from the explosions. She was sent higher into the air, before summoning a portal above that produced a large anchor on a chain. She was aiming for Shantae as she brought it down on her. Fortunately, Shantae got up and dashed out of the way as it slammed to the ground. It was hoisted up and aim down at Flair. However, Samson pulled her into a hairball and rolled her out of the way.
Risky then started to swing on the anchor about the stage as she shouted, "Men! Attack!" Suddenly, boats started to speed along the lava, with the Tinkerbats hopping off with swords at the ready to swing at the girls.
"Great! More reinforcements?!" Samson demanded, as he and Flair started to knock them out as they came.
"How come WE never found a boat to ride across the lava?!" Shantae demanded.
"I got Risky!" Philia shouted, flying towards the woman on the anchor.
"Oh, do you?" Risky asked, before tossing bombs at her as she flew. The flying treasure huntress avoided the first few bombs, which exploded into fiery towers upon impact. However, the moment Philia got in close with her dagger, one point blank bomb detonated, causing her and Risky to fall off the anchor, where they landed on the ground together.
"Cheeky brat!" the pirate spat.
Philia coughed out smoke from her mouth, before asking, "Was that the wrong way to phrase 'Anchor's away'?"
"Trying to be funny, are you?" Risky asked, "Cocky for a girl who is surrounded!" It was when they noticed that she, Shantae, and Flair were surrounded by Risky's crew. "So, you got any wise-cracks?"
Philia and Tink looked to each other, before giving mischievous smirks. "Just one; Anchor's away!" Philia shouted, as Tink flew up and summoned out Hook's ship, coated in pixie dust, as it flew down and bombarded the field with cannonfire, sending all the Tinkerbats flying into the stratosphere.
"You had a pirate ship, too?!" Risky demanded, shocked as the ship vanished, while Tink flew down, the summon power wore off.
"Technically borrowing it, but it's useful in a pinch." Tink stated.
"Now, shall we continue?" Philia asked, the girls readying their weapons.
"I am hardly beaten, girl!" Risky answered, firing her pistol at the girls, who evaded the attack.
They continued the fight, with Risky going at them harder than before. She wasn't just using her pistol and cutlass, but also her cannon that she fired while in the air to bounce about, and summoning her ship's anchor to slam down on them. She also continued to summon out her henchmen to attack them when she could.
"Stay still!" Samson barked, using his tendrils to try and grab Risky Boots, only for her to jump up and avoid, firing down with a cannon shot. Flair looked up as Samson blocked the attack, but was knocked back from it. She was able to regain herself, downing a potion to heal herself. When she finished it, she found herself at gunpoint with Risky right in front of her.
"Quite a fighter, but so wet behind the ears." Risky huffed, "Like the half-genie brat was."
Flair gritted her teeth, and used her rapier to knock the gun out of the way, before thrusting her rapier hairpin at her, causing her to jump back. "I may be new to adventuring, but I still have experience." she noted, "I may make mistakes, but I still will keep going, so long as my friends support me to keep going forward!"
"That's the spirit, Flair!" Philia called out, getting Risky's attention as she and Shantae ran into the battle, with Shantae unleashing a trio of pike balls around her to spin and strike Risky multiple times before she got out of the way. However, this was what Philia was waiting for as she had leapt into the air, focusing in on her with her Keydagger at the ready. "Shotlock: Hollow Blade!" She shouted, creating a sphere of digital energy, before firing off swords made of the same energy at her. It was unavoidable, and she got peppered by the attack, causing her to cry out in pain. When the two landed on the ground, Risky was on one knee, greatly injured.
"This is the end, Risky Boots!" Shantae shouted, "Give up!"
Risky got back up on her feet as she showed off a smirk on her face. "Ha! You're too late!" Suddenly, gears shifted on the outer parts of the wall, getting the heroines' attention. "I'll introduce you to the final phase of my plan!" The gears started to spin as the room itself was carried upwards like a high-speed elevator. All girls braced their legs from the rush of gravity pushing them down as they were carried upwards through the shaft of the volcano.
"Where are we going?!" Flair demanded.
"We're gonna find out, soon enough!" Philia answered.
Suddenly, the gears came to an abrupt halt, causing all four ladies to be hurled upwards. They saw themselves reaching a ringed platform up above them, arcing over and landing on their feet together on it. The first thing that got the heroine's attention was the machine in the center of the ringed platform. It was full of gears and cables, and it had the appearance of a head, with spherical pieces looking like closed eyes, complete with 'eyebrows', bolts for ears, and a magnet for either a nose or a mouth. But the base of it was quite familiar.
The second thing the girls noticed was the mystery girl, Tears, was also there. She was sitting on a flat piece sticking out of the wall, looking at the scene before them.
"Behold!" Risky shouted, waving a hand to the machination before them.
"Wha-what is that?!" Shantae demanded.
"The new and improved Dynamo!" Risky answered, as the machine awoke, its 'eyes' opening up to look down at the three girls, revealing its cables underneath as it rose up.
"Is it alive?!" Flair asked.
"What have you done to it?!" Shantae demanded.
"My Tinkerbats have increased its potential in every way!" Risky answered, "My moment of victory has arrived! Watch as I turn your precious Genie Realm inside out!"
"And why are you here, Tears?!" Philia demanded.
"Ascertaining the darkness that the machine produces." she replied, "As part of the agreement made between myself and Risky Boots."
"Yes, speaking of which..." Risky started, "It would seem the Heartless slowed down these brats, but didn't do much apart from that."
"Do not question what my father's modified Heartless can do." Tears noted, standing onto her feet, "If you wish to be shown their power, then I shall provide." She snapped her finger, and a portal made of digital energy opened up in the air above them. Floating out of it slowly was a large Heartless, looking like a galleon ship. It was a metallic build, yet there was a mast with a black sail with the Heartless emblem on it. It also had a pair of eye appearing through slits in the front of the boat, the point of the ship being a horn, and the lower part of the ship being a jagged mouth. The planks on either side were bat-like that slowly flapped, the stems of the planks being metal, and there were six cannons on top and on the outer sides of the ship Heartless.
"The Grid-Iron Galleon will suffice." Tears noted, "Provide protection."
Risky looked up at it with an intrigued smirk, stating, "That will do just fine." She turned to the girls, declaring, "Have fun, you brats! It's the end of the Genie Realm as you know it!" With that, she jumped down to the area below. A walls of invisible energy formed around the platforms, sealing the girls in with the Heartless, and stopping them from reaching the machine or the enemies.
"We got another living ship AND she's going to open up a gateway to the Genie Realm!" Shantae exclaimed, "I've got to destroy the Dynamo before it's too late!"
"You mean 'we'!" Philia corrected her, "We're going to put a stop to all of this!" The team readied to fight themselves against the Grid-Iron Galleon and the modified Dynamo, the Tinkerbrain.
The Tinkerbrain started to charge up energy, which was shown on its right 'ear' bolts. At the same time, the Heartless turned to its side, and shot energy cannonballs down at the girls, who back-stepped to avoid the attack. Philia leapt in as she tried to reach the Heartless in a single jump, but could reach it, and fell back down.
"Darn it! How do we get to it?!" Flair asked.
Just then, five cylindrical pieces rose out from different parts of the ringed platform, showing the cables for energy contained. Flair was standing on one of them, and got to a level that made her in jumping range of the Heartless. "What are these?!" Flair asked.
"Dunno. But they're helpful." Samson noted, "Let's strike!"
"Got it!" his host answered, going into a Banshee attack to strike it, before unleashing several slashes with her rapier hairpin.
"Guys, these seems to be power sources connected to the corrupt Dynamo!" Shantae noticed, "I bet whacking them will do something!" She started whipping the container with her hair a few times. Somehow, this started generating energy within, until the energy was surging within. "Hey, bet we can overload the Dynamo by charging up all five of the power sources!" Shantae suggested.
"Worth a shot!" Philia answered, before going in and slashing one of the other power sources, making it overload.
As Flair landed back down from attacking the Heartless, the two power sources they charged up started to electrify, with Samson quickly catching it first, and shouting, "Heads up, kid!" Shantae and Philia saw them, and backed off, while Samson pushed Flair off the ground. Sure enough, the two power sources suddenly send an electric wave between each other, electrifying the two grounded girls. They crumpled to the floor from the attack, electrified from the attack.
"Philia! Shantae!" Flair cried out as she landed.
"H-H-Heal..." Philia stammered, healing herself of the damage she and Shantae took. They regained themselves as they got back up, with Philia saw the power sources descended back into the ground again. "They are only up for a limited time, huh?" Philia understood.
"Incoming!" Shantae shouted, as the Grid-Iron Galleon fired off more energy cannonballs at the girls. They raced out of the way, with Shantae going one direction and Philia and Flair going the other way.
"Keep moving!" Philia shouted, as the two girls ran one way, and Shantae ran the other direction. The Heartless went after Philia and Flair while the Tinkerbrain charged up and fired down a beam from above, trying to hit the running half-genie, but couldn't keep up.
The power sources came up, and Philia turned to face the Heartless. "I see the pattern!" she noticed, "Use the power sources to attack the Heartless, and strike the power sources to attack the corrupt Dynamo." She turned to Flair, ordering, "You and Shantae attack the power sources. I got the Heartless!"
"Okay!" Flair answered, jumping to the next open power source, while Philia shouted, "Soul Burst: Zidane Tribal!" She summoned the illusion of the young boy, before he dove back into Philia's Keydagger, transforming it into the double-bladed weapon. With the power-up initiated, she jumped in with a cross slash at the Heartless.
Flair, Samson, and Shantae worked on the final three power sources, while Philia gave the Grid-Iron Galleon a beating, till it spun like a top to knock her backwards. It then started to fly quickly around the field, shooting its cannons wildly. Philia dodged the explosive shots, while Shantae got blasted by them. Flair and Samson managed to fully charge the last power source before getting blasted herself by the attack.
The power sources went back into the ground. The Tinkerbrain suddenly rose up as its cables started to get charged up from all five power sources. The overloading of the energy suddenly made one of its 'eyes' blow up, destroying its bolt ear, while its eye was unusable.
"Yes! That's one down!" Philia proclaimed as the other girls regained themselves.
"We got another one to go!" Shantae called out as the other bolt started to glow with green energy, while the Galleon Heartless continued to float above the girls. It turned and shot down energy cannonballs at Shantae, who backstepped to avoid the attack, while Philia found the Tinkerbrain facing her. She felt like she had to move, and ran quickly as a beam shot from above, following her as she tried to avoid it. The beam ceased after a few seconds, and the power sources rose up again, emptied from overloading it before.
"I got the ship!" Shantae shouted as she jumped and summoned out her Pike balls, smacking it with them and her hair at the same time, leaving Philia and Flair to deal with the power sources. The half-genie did some decent damage before it spun to knock her back, and started its bombardment run again. The girls were more ready for it as they heard the attack, and avoided the best they could. They managed to load up three of the power sources before they descended down again.
"So close!" Philia grimaced.
"If that Heartless wasn't in the way, we would finish things up!" Samson stated, before he and Flair were gazed upon by the Tinkerbrain.
"Then I'll do something about it!" Philia called out, as the Grid-Iron Galleon set its sights on Philia, firing down at her. She dashed ahead, getting around behind it. She noticed Flair and Samson in hairball form to avoid the oncoming beam that shot down from above at her. When the beam died out, the power sources rose back up again. Philia did her best by utilizing her Provoke skill to get the Heartless's attention, while the other two girls overloaded the last two sources.
The five sources shot down and overloaded the Tinkerbrain with energy, causing its other 'ear' bolt to detonate, and its other eye went dead. Suddenly, the body of the Tinkerbrain started to detonate, causing it to flail from the damage it was taking. The Grid-Iron Galleon was sent flying by the explosion. The girls braced themselves against the detonation, before they died down, and so did the machine itself.
"Phew! That was close!" Shantae sighed in relief.
"We deactivated the Dynamo just in time!" Flair cheered.
"And with it, the Genie Realm is safe and sound." Philia added, turning around to see the Grid-Iron Galleon still there, "Now, all that's left is that Heartless!"
Suddenly, there was a voice that started to speak inaudibly about them, getting their attention. "Wait, what's that?" Philia asked.
"That voice again." Shantae recognized. Suddenly, a ball of light appeared in front of all three girls.
"You've battle valiantly and accomplished so much, daughter of the genies." the light spoke, "And many thanks to you, guardians from outside this world."
"It's you!" Shantae gasped.
"Wait, they know we are not of this land?" Samson asked.
"Guess so." Philia assumed.
"You risked your lives time and again to fight for justice in service to others, and we are forever grateful for your kindness and your loyalty." the voice spoke.
Suddenly, the area was blinded by a white light, causing all the girls to shield their eyes. When the light was more bearable, they looked around. They, along with the broken Tinkerbrain and the Heartless, were sent into an area where the ringed platform was made of solid glowing energy, and the environment was filled to the brim with magic. Suddenly, the ball of light they were in front of before had now become a person, or rather, a female genie. She had a pale blue body, blue and gold ornamented attire, her lower-half of her body whispy smoke, and her hands in prayer.
Suddenly, multiple version of the same-looking genie appeared around the ring, as the woman spoke, "On behalf of the entire genie realm, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
"No way!" Shantae gasped, as all three girls looked about, "This is...the Genie Realm?"
"So much magical energy all about us!" Philia noticed.
"Unfortunately..." the genie spoke up, getting a foreboding feeling in the girls, "The corruption of our magic has begun. Do what you must to ensure peace."
"What?!" Flair gasped, "We were too late?!"
Suddenly, Risky Boots and Tears appeared, landing on the ground in front of the girls. Risky began to laugh as she stated, "I've finally done it! The very heart of the Realm of Magic! The power of the genies will be mine! Now, do my bidding! Submit to me as your absolute ruler!"
"Heartless. Join with the machine. Bring about darkness." Tears ordered.
Suddenly, the Tinkerbrain activated itself again, its eyes opening up once more, completely restored. The Grid-Iron Galleon flew over the heroines as they witnessed it and the Tinkerbrain emanate dark energy, corrupting the magic energy all about them. This also included the genies, whose bodies and garments changed to the same pale purple and red attire look that Nega-Shantae was. The ship Heartless also changed hue, becoming black and dark red metal, with purple dark energy circulating about its body.
"What's happening?!" Shantae asked in fear.
"Risky! Tears! What did you do?!" Philia barked angrily.
"It worked! The power of the genies is mine!" Risky cheered.
"Now gathering the darkness from the genies and the magic." Tears stated, her hands cupped in front of her as she started gathering the said darkness, "Darkness of the realm is within expected power levels. This will be incredibly useful to the goal."
"Get over here!" Samson barked, his tendrils reaching out to Risky and Tears, but the pirate queen swatted them back with her cutlass, while Tears summoned a platform of darkness that levitated them off of the ground, pulling them far away from the girls.
"What do we do?!" Flair asked.
"We have to use the Magic Polarizer!" Philia told Shantae.
She nodded as she pulled out the device, looking at it. "Wait... Did uncle tell me how this works?" she asked.
Suddenly, there was a swinging anchor, which hooked onto the Magic Polarizer, grabbing it pulling it out of Shantae's hands. The Grid-Iron Galleon pulled it in, and looked menacingly at the girls. The device was encased in a dark barrier
"No!" Shantae gasped.
"Get it back!" Philia barked, and the trio went to work.
The Tinkerbrain created a barrier of magic around itself, with only a small gap that circled about it. The evil genies started to gather up magic energy as the Grid-Iron Galleon flew about, playing hit-and-run with the girls. Philia ran in front of the girls as she used a Soul Recovery to keep going with her Soul Burst. One of the genies fired scattering magic energy that shot down at the girls, but Philia dashed past them, jumping at the Heartless, and unleashed a combo slash with her weapon. She did a number on it, damaging it enough to knock it back, causing it to drop the Polarizer.
"Got it!" Philia shouted, holding the item aloft.
"Awesome!" Flair cheered, as she and Samson just destroyed one of the evil genies that attacked them. What was left behind was a ball of magic in her place, darkened.
"What do we do with this magic?" Samson asked.
"Hold on!" Philia called out, landing on the ground and racing to it, jumping to where it floated and raised the Magic Polarizer on it. The dark magic reacted to it, and it shined white as the effect was reversed to light magic.
"That's it!" Shantae exclaimed, "Use that light magic on the Dynamo!" She raced next to Philia's side as the two jumped and took aim at the Tinkerbrain, the circling barrier spinning about, with the small gap within it. Philia timed the spinning until she shouted, "Now!" She and Shantae struck with Keydagger and hair, shooting right through the gap, and hitting the Tinkerbrain with the light magic.
"That did it!" Philia proclaimed as she and Shantae landed on the ground next to Flair, "That's the strategy; defeat the genies, use the Magic Polarizer on their leftover magic energy, and fire it at the Dynamo."
"With any luck, that should destroy the machine!" Shantae stated, "I just hope it can also prevent the destruction of the Genie Realm."
"Incoming!" Samson called out, as the Heartless suddenly dropped its anchor and started doing a wheel spin, pursuing them as it tried to strike them and steal the Polarizer back.
"We gotta destroy that thing to stop it from getting at us, too!" Flair noted, the three running away.
"Impossible." Tears spoke up, too far away for them to hear, "The Grid-Iron Galleon has tethered its darkness to the Tinkerbrain. So long as it functions, the Heartless cannot be defeated."
"Is that so?" Risky understood, smirking mischievously as she watched Shantae used a thundercloud to electrify the Grid-Iron Gauntlet, though it unflinchingly responded by firing magic cannons at at them, while another genie a dark magic shockwave along the ground. Shantae backed away from the magic cannons, but got blasted by the shockwave. "Then victory is completely assured! The Genie Realm will be completely mine, and that half-genie brat's life will end today!"
Philia, Flair, Samson, and Shantae were following through with the strategy, which was tricky enough, while holding onto the Magic Polarizer as best as they could. However, one hit from the Grid-Iron Galleon, and it could steal away the device, meaning it was a game of pursuit to get after it. As if it wasn't bad enough, they also had to deal with the evil genies who fired scattering magic bullets at them, or waves of darkness that went along the ground. Meanwhile the Heartless either fired its cannons, swung its anchor on a chain, or spun itself if attacked too much. It was also unable to completely go down. Instead, it could be knocked away with a hard enough hit.
"Can we catch a break with this Heartless?!" Shantae demanded, leaping up and whacking it with her hair to get back the Polarizer, "We don't have time for this!"
Philia avoided a scattering of magic shots from one evil genie, striking it to stop attacking her with her Rumble Rush attack. "Gotcha!" Philia proclaimed, seeing it turn into dark magic. Suddenly, she gasped, as her eyes glowed, and her mind faded from reality.
Philia was back in the Station of Awakening, with Zidane Tribal in front of her, smiling at her. "Have you ever thought a thief could be a hero?" Zidane started.
"Well, I know a friend who is a thief, and she's a great person, despite her title." Philia answered, "Do you consider yourself a hero?"
"Well, I didn't think so at first." Zidane answered, "I was part of group known as Tantalus. We were given a mission to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, Garnet. But that ended up becoming something crazier, and after one thing led to another, I ended up being part of a group that went and saved our planet from doom."
"Wow! And I thought Sora was the only unassuming hero I met." Philia stated, "So, who was part of this group you were in?"
"Well, there was Vivi, a black mage who loves theatre and is a really kind kid." he started, "Then there was Steiner, a knight for Garnet who really didn't like me, at first, but we got along in due time. Then there was Freya, a dragon knight who was looking for her lost love, and is really friendly. Quena also joined up with us. A gourmet person who is constantly looking for tasty food. Eiko is a little girl who is a proficient summoner. And then there's Aramant, a bandit who was interested in how tough I was. Finally, there was Garnet, herself. She's pretty dull when it comes to understanding the world, but she had a power that was the main reason why we were hired to kidnap her."
"Do you regret kidnapping her?" Philia asked.
"Not at all." Zidane answered promptly, surprising the treasure huntress, "She is a beauty, no doubt about that. But more importantly, I really like her as a person. She became a really special person to me. And without kidnapping her...without her aid, I would have never saved the world like I did."
"So the person you kidnapped ended up being the person you fell in love with." Philia summed up with a smirk on her face, "Isn't that romantic?"
"Life can act that way, can it?" Zidane stated, "The people who stumble into your life can end up becoming important people to you."
"I...can agree to that." Philia admitted, thinking of Sora.
"Here, I got this for you, young lady." Zidane held out a ball of light to her, "It's a sort of 'power awakening' called a Trance, which lets me bust out even more powerful attacks. You'll also get a completely new look in that form."
"Wait, a new look?" Philia asked.
"You'll figure it out once you do it." Zidane assured her, "Now, use the power that helped me save the world!" With that, everything went white again.
Philia felt the new power surging from the meeting. She clenched her fists as she shouted, "Advance Burst: Dyne Trance!" Her body was encased in a bright light as pink sparks surged up and around her. All of a suddenly, with an explosion, she revealed herself, her appearance greatly different from before. Her clothes had vanished. In exchange, she had fur on her chest that made it look like she wore a tank top, fur growing from the waist down, covering all but a few parts of her legs, fraying out on the outside in some parts, and fur on her arms. Even her hair and her eyes became pink. Her double-ended blade also transformed, looking more formidable than before.
"Whoa!" Shantae gasped.
"Philia's appearance looks entirely different!" Flair noticed.
"What's going on now?!" Risky demanded, witnessing the transformation.
The said girl looked down herself, seeing her new look. "This look is...different. And rather embarrassing. But the power I am feeling is incredible!" She turned to see the Heartless flying at Shantae and Flair, before racing in and shouting, "I'll get the Magic Polarizer! You two get ready to fire!" She ran past the two, getting underneath the Galleon, and slammed her weapon on the ground, unleashing a tower of flames with Tidal Flame, smoking the enemy from underneath.
It was backing off from the attack, but Philia leapt up, shouting, "You are not getting away!" She unleashed Shift Break, hopping onto her weapon, and riding it like a surfboard, encased in energy, as she blasted right into the Heartless, before doing a backflip with her weapon, sending it reeling, dropping the Polarizer.
"Catch!" Philia shouted, grabbing the device and tossing it at the other two girls. Samson used his tendrils to catch it, giving it to Flair as she raised it to the dark energy of a defeated evil genie, turning it to light magic.
"Let's finish it up for good!" Shantae declared, as she, Flair and Samson took aim at the Tinkerbrain, while Philia used Free Energy to unleash a wave of energy to blast the Grid-Iron Galleon backwards. They waited for the gap in the barrier, before shooting the magic at the machine, hitting it in the core. The attack did the final trick, as it suddenly destroyed the core of the Tinkerbrain, causing it to detonate once again. The explosion continued on as Shantae shouted, "Leave the Genie Realm alone!"
"No!" Risky barked angrily, while Tears watched it silently, the dark energy she gathered from the realm in her hand.
Philia floated there at the Grid-Iron Galleon, who somehow was reacting from the Tinkerbrain detonating, flailing in the air, before a heart popped out of it, floating into the air, vanishing as it faded to darkness.
All of a sudden, they found themselves back within the volcano pirate hideout again, Philia's appearance back to normal. The Tinkerbrain was completely broken and in flames, not able to get back up again. Risky and Tears were back on the platform, the former looking furiously at the heroines.
"Fools!" Risky growled, "Blasted, no good, wretched, meddling runts! You ruined everything! My perfect plan!"
"You brought this upon yourself!" Philia retaliated, "You failed in your desires! Both of you!"
"Correction; I didn't achieve the approximate amount of darkness I desired." Tears retorted, holding up the ball of condensed darkness, "However, I was able to gain a great amount. This should suffice."
"You are satisfied with that?" Philia asked.
"There is more darkness in other worlds." she replied, "I shall gather more." She turned around and started to walk away, creating a portal of digitized darkness in front of her.
"Hold it!" Risky Boots called out, "Where do you think you're going?! You are also responsible for this because your Heartless wasn't able to stop them!"
"The Heartless was a minimal reason behind your failings." Tears answered, "Your protection of the modified Dynamo was a major factor in its destruction."
"You...you obnoxious...!" Risky spat, looking irritated at being blamed for the failure.
"Jeez, I never saw her so steamed." Shantae muttered.
"She's gonna blow her top." Samson noted.
"Better her than this volcano." Flair muttered.
Risky still looked enraged as she stated, "Funny you should mention that." She held out a device with a button on it, as she finished, "Since my I can't have everything, I'll have the satisfaction of sending you all to a fiery grave!" She pressed the button. Suddenly, the area around them started to detonate faster than it did before. She had set off more explosion about the place.
"Risky, really?!" Shantae exclaimed, "Can't just take an 'L' quietly?!" Risky only chortled before leaping away, escaping the scene. Tears stepped through the portal, and vanished from sight.
"Now what do we do?!" Philia asked frantically.
Suddenly, something flew from the Tinkerbrain towards Flair and Samson, the latter grabbing it before it hit them. He looked at what it was in its tendrils, recognizing it. "Hey! It's that hamster that zombie chick had to power the machine!" he noticed.
"It was in that machine the whole time?!" Flair asked, "The poor thing must've been used to power it all this time!"
Shantae and Philia looked about, before seeing a hole in the wall of the volcano. "There!" Shantae noticed, "Let's get out of here, fast!"
"No need to tell us twice!" Philia answered as all three of them leapt off the platform, using falling debris to jump to the hole, and escape the scene.
They raced through the hole, and found themselves on a chute like the one they were on back in Mermaid Falls. They started sliding down as the volcano was erupting. A wave of fire and lava was gushing out from up top and from the hole they came out of, pursuing them. They had to jump from gaps along the slide, avoiding the rolling gears and falling balls of magma. The falling lava and fire was getting closer and closer as they were sliding.
"We can't go any faster than this!" Philia exclaimed.
"Is there anything we can do?!" Shantae asked, looking back to the wall of lava behind them, "I don't want to become a fried half-genie!"
"Can't you use that Star Shard to help us escape?!" Flair asked Philia.
"It doesn't activate willingly!" Philia replied. She was frantically thinking of a plan.
"And we're running out of road!" Shantae noticed, seeing that the slide was ending in front of them, and they were still very high off the ground. They were in a no-win situation.
"Guys!" shouted a familiar voice. The girls turned. Sky and her bird, Wrench, were flying down towards them. "Need help escaping trouble?!" Sky asked.
"Sky! You are a lifesaver!" Shantae proclaimed, jumping off of the slide. She landed onto the back of Wrench.
"Hope has arrived!" Philia said thankfully, as she and Flair leapt off as well, getting onto Wrench. With Sky's command, they took off into the sky, avoiding the lava flow, and escaping the detonating hideout. They miraculously survived the escape.
Moments later, they found themselves back in Scuttle Town again, reuniting with Bolo, Rottytops, and Mimic back in the workshop.
"Phew! We made it!" Shantae sighed in relief.
"If you hadn't been there, Sky, the three of us would be getting more than some burn marks." Philia stated.
"Hey, someone's gotta keep an eye on this girl, here." Sky stated, nudging Shantae with her shoulder.
"And Sequin Land is safe from evil, once again." Bolo stated.
"Yep! Thanks to our Half-Genie Hero!" Rotty proclaimed, "Oh, and our new friends."
"We're just an afterthought?" Samson asked, a bit irritated.
"You guys helped me out a whole heck of a lot!" Shantae answered, "And not just you guys..." she looked to Sky, Bolo, and Rotty, finishing, "I couldn't have done it without ALL of my friends, old and new!"
"Speaking of which, the major swung on by, instated you as the town guardian genie again." Mimic told Shantae, "I told him you would be happy to take the job. At least, I hope you don't mind."
"I am MORE than fine you telling him that." Shantae assured him.
"Looks like our town guardian genie is back again." Sky stated, smirking at her.
"And I managed to help out a ton, as well." Bolo stated, "Maybe I should consider making a dojo to train more heroes."
"And I gotta go meet up with my brothers, Abner and Poe." Rotty stated, "They're still renovating the old mansion. Take care of Dookie for me, alright?"
"Dookie?" Flair asked.
"Poe's hamster." the zombie explained. At this, the hamster popped out of Flair's clothing, hopping onto the ground.
"Please tell me he didn't bite you." Philia muttered.
"No. Samson was making sure to keep an eye on it." She assured her.
"And I'd better go and get Wrench fed and groomed." Sky finished.
"Okay, guys. Thanks so much." Shantae thanked all three of them, "Seriously, you three are the bestest friends I could ask for!" All three of them looked happily back at her.
Suddenly, Philia's Keydagger appeared, glowing. She looked surprised as she then saw Shantae, Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops glowing. "This is..." Philia recognized.
"Just like before." Flair recognized, and Philia concentrated. A Keyhole appeared in the sky above as rings of light formed around the four friends. The rings flew right underneath Philia, overlapping one another. She did a pirouette spin, and pointed her Keydagger to the Keyhole above, shooting a beam of light to it. Once the beam connected, there was a deep booming sound of it being locked, sealing the Keyhole to the world. After that, everything went to normal.
"What was that?!" Mimic asked in surprise.
"Don't worry. We just made sure the Heartless won't be a problem for you guys ever again." Philia assured him.
"That means our task is complete, right?" Flair asked excitedly.
"Yep. We sealed the Keyhole, and got more info about our enemy." Philia summed up.
"Does that mean you guys have to go, too?" Shantae asked.
"Yeah. Our time here is over." she replied, "But we can come back to visit at some point."
"You'd better!" Rotty answered, "I wanna pick your brains on some things."
"If you need a hero to help you out, let me know." Bolo told them.
"Just try to stay out of trouble. That's Shantae's deal." Sky jokingly stated.
"We'll do our best." Philia giggled. With a wave goodbye to them, they left the workshop.
"This has been quite an adventure you all had." Mimic stated, before looking to Shantae, "Are you doing okay? What really happened back there?"
"Risky tried using the Dynamo to change the Genie Realm from good to evil." the half-genie explained, "Tears was with her, gathering darkness for her own purpose. For a while, we were all there, in the Genie Realm with them. Its something I've always dreamed of doing. But to stop Risky...I had to..." She couldn't finish that sentence, already knowing the answer.
"I thought the Magic Polarizer would do something to stop that." Flair assumed, "We used it to stop the Dynamo, right?"
"But... we don't know if it really did help." Philia muttered, looking forlorn. They didn't know if destroying the Dynamo destroyed the realm.
"I'm sure you did what you had to do." Mimic told them, looking to Shantae specifically, "Your mother would be proud of you."
"We are all proud of you." said a familiar voice, and a ball of light appeared in the center of the girls, surprising all of them. "They acted selflessly to put the needs of others before their own." the voice spoke.
"Then...the Genie Realm is safe?" Shantae asked hopefully.
"Yes. By purifying our magic, and turning it against the machine, you saved us all."
The news brought great joy between the girls. "The polarizer DID work out, after all!" Flair stated happily.
"All thanks to you, Uncle!" Shantae pointed out.
Mimic laughed as he stated, "So it did!" Philia sighed in relief, grateful they could protect the Genie Realm.
"What about my mother?" Shantae asked the ball of light, "Is she safe, too?"
"Your mother is alive and well in the Genie Realm." it replied, "She had devoted herself to the protection of your world. She and the other genies must remain here, where their combined powers can ward off the greater evils that would seek to enter your world. Fortunately, thanks to your friend and her Keyblade, they were able to stop one such threat from coming."
"Glad we could be of help." Philia stated, tipping her Keydagger to the light.
"So that's why she left? To protect us?" Shantae understood.
"Yes. So you could grow up under the safety and care of your uncle." the light answered, "She wanted you to know this, but only when you were old enough to understand the meaning of her sacrifice."
"I understand." Shantae responded, smiling at how far her mom went for them.
"She also wants you to know you are never alone." the light continued, "There is a special magic, a gift that she had place upon your heart."
"For real?" Shantae asked, amazed.
"Your family is never as far away as you might think. Take comfort in knowing that she is with you, always, and she loves you very much."
Philia thought about what it said, wondering, 'I wonder...how close my real family is to me? And those I consider family?' She touched her heart, closing her eyes, as she thought of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and all her other friends. 'They are always part of your heart, no matter how far away they are. That's the kind of magic I bet the genie is talking about.'
"I must return to the Genie Realm." the light stated.
"When you see my mother..." Shantae started, "Tell her I understand what she's done for us. And I love her right back!"
"I will." the light answered, "Good luck to you."
"And to you!" the half-genie answered. With that, the light vanished into the sky.
Just then, there was a sniff, and Philia looked to see Flair was there, her face hidden from the others. Yet, she could see that tears were falling down her face. "You okay, Flair?" she asked.
"Yeah..." she answered, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Just got a bit emotional from that." Philia saw the look on her face, and wondered if that was all. Was she thinking about her own family?
Just then, the Star Shard in Philia's pocket began to glow, and she pulled it out. "Looks like we're leaving." she understood.
"Really?" Mimic asked.
"But what about celebrating our win?" Shantae asked.
"Maybe another time." Philia answered, "There are other places where the Heartless and other enemies are popping up. We have to keep going."
"That's a shame..." Shantae stated sadly, before smiling as she said, "Well, if you ever come back, we'll hold a party then. Assuming Scuttle Town isn't in danger."
"I would like that." Philia answered.
"Thanks so much for everything, Shantae." Flair thanked her, "I learned a lot about adventuring thanks to this experience."
"You are welcome back anytime." Mimic stated, "Maybe you can bring something back for me to build."
Philia came close to Flair and Samson, holding the Star Shard close to her teammates. The Star Shard shined brighter, until they were encased in its light, blinding Shantae and Mimic. Next thing they knew, they vanished before their eyes as they became a shooting star that bounced through the air as it shot into the sky, back to their ship.
Heartiel
The girls landed back on the ship again, with the Star Shard back in its container, powering the Gummi Ship to go to their next destination.
"That was quite the experience." Tink stated, flying out of Philia's clothes to float next to her.
"So, how did you really feel about your first world?" Philia asked Flair and Samson.
"It was different from New Meridian." Filia noted, "But...it wasn't too bad."
"I agree." Samson seconded, "It was weird here and there, but nothing we couldn't handle."
"Well, get ready to adapt to all kinds of worlds like that." Philia stated, "You only just dipped your toes into the craziness of worlds. But first..." She tapped away at the control panel by the Star Shard, "...let's report what we learned about that world to Mistress Gretinal."
She called up Gretinal, who appeared before them as a hologram, where they explained what they learned about the enemy controlling the Cyber Heartless. They also had to point out Gilgamesh being there in that world, as he was not of that world, either.
"Gilgamesh and Tears..." Gretinal named the names given.
"You don't think Gilgamesh has anything to do with the Cyber Heartless, do you?" Philia asked, "He was already annoying enough before!"
"No, I highly doubt that." she replied, "He is just a victim of his Star Shard guiding him there. He is more than likely a nuisance and nothing more. What is more important is Tears. She was collecting the darkness of that world, huh?"
"Do you think she was gathering darkness in my world, too?" Flair asked.
"It's more than likely." Gretinal answered.
"But then...why take Carol?" Flair asked, looking worried, "What does she have to do with any of this?" Philia looked to her, knowing she was worried for her stolen friend.
"We don't know all the details as of yet." Gretinal answered, "We don't even know why they are using Cyber Heartless OR why they are gathering darkness in the first place. However, what you learned is something we haven't learned before. I am proud of what you have done." The girls and their partners smiled in pleasure at the praise. "Now, it's time to prepare yourselves for the next world. Gather yourself up, use the back room, do whatever you need to get ready."
"Yes, Mistress!" Philia answered, and the Keyblade Mistress vanished. Philia turned to Flair and Samson, stating, "Let's rest ourselves, then get to some training. Okay?"
"Sure! What kind of training are you recommending?" Flair asked.
"I think it's time I should teach you how to dance, since you couldn't in the last world." Philia suggested, as the Heartiel took off through space to their next world.
Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom Treasured Memories:
Plantation 13! Giant Darkness & Negativity!