SZ: We are back once again gentlemen, and after all the non-stop action the group has dealt with lately...we figure we'd give you a nice rest...well rest/comedy chapter.
GT: Yep. Last chapter was meant to be one, but nope. We got an itch we had to scratch there.
SZ: It ended up being a HUGE movie chapter...probably the longest chapter we've ever written, so for now people..time for some fun and relaxation.
Z0: By the time we noticed how far we'd gone...it felt awkward to split it into two...and we just kept going till we finished.
SZ: Mmm hmm...still it was fun, but it's time for something less actiony and more...comedic. And this next world should help with that.
Z0: We promise this is pure goofiness.
SZ: Eeyup...anyways folks, disclaimers. We don't own jack squat aside form original content, so...z0? Start us off?
Z0: You never took away this power from last chapter *turns into a dragon human hybrid* HAHAHAHAHA! *blasts fire at the screen*
"Woah...where are we?" Mai asked as everyone stepped out of the shop, looking to see they were in a large area resembling a coliseum...and yet there were multiple shops set up in different parts of it with a large stage standing in the center of it. One thing the group took notice of was that most of the people there seemed to be dressed in vacation-like attire while some were dressed in Arabian-style clothing.
"Paradise Island," Tsukasa explained as he was the last to step out, "Specifically Arena Town, where tourists come to relax and enjoy the place like a giant resort."
"And this is our first 'job'?" Naoto asked, "That...seems kinda-this place has a dark secret to it, doesn't it?"
"Yup," Tsukasa sighed, "This place used to be known as Siren Island, ruled by Seven Sirens that lured wayward ships to their doom, and had enough fire power to level entire islands before a genie sacrificed themself to seal them deep in the island."
"How do you know all this?"
"Since I mastered my powers, knowledge of the world fills my brain." Tsukasa explained, "Even I had a time where I didn't know what I was doing…" he sighed, "But even then I still left less of a mess than Benny-kun."
"Please don't call me that," Ben deadpanned.
"No." Tsukasa quickly replied with his own deadpanned tone.
"...and let me guess, we're going to have t' fight dese Sirens, right?" Bobo asked.
"Nope."
"...huh?" the group blinked at that.
"You misunderstand exactly what I do…" Tsukasa spoke, "I fix the anomalies that make it so the hero loses. I fight elder god monstrosities that threaten reality itself. But more importantly what I don't do...I don't do other people's work for them. They can solve their own problem, I'm not a substitute hero," he scoffed, "By that logic I should have gone and beaten Vilgax for Ben back when he was 10, or Van Kleiss for Rex when they first fought, before they became real problems for you." he explained as Ben and Rex stopped to think of that possibility, "Your mess is your problem, therefore not my problem. This world has a protector who can more than handle it, so therefore I don't have to do it. And neither can you, even if you wanted to...I highly advise against it, if you fix their problem for them...how will they overcome the next one after we leave?"
"I...I guess that's a good point…" Ben muttered, "We're not the protectors of this world…"
"But you did so while with Sento, right?" Tsuksas asked as they flinched, "That's fine too, it just means you're too heroic for your own goods. But...my rules are my rules. His rules are his rules. Just know now you travel by my rules which means…" he looked at a watch on his hands as the second hand hit 12, he then raised his finger up...and then swung it down as the veil from the last time they met him appeared and swept down over everyone who followed him, causing their clothing to suddenly change.
"...mmm~" Noel whined a bit, seeing that she was more or less back to her normal body as she was now wearing a light blue sundress.
"So….we're just gonna be relaxing?" Rex asked cautiously...and hopefully.
"I could not care less what you do while here." Tsukasa admitted as a veil went over him and changed his attire, into something that looked middle eastern, he was now clad in white pants and a white tunic, with a magenta sash tied around his waist and stomach, tall black boots with the legs of his pants tucked in, a black vest over his torso with magenta details and black sleeves attached to each arm like sleeves of a jacket, his hair also seemed to have changed as it was now longer and tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, with the front of his hair now messy, gold earrings and jewelry like necklaces decorated him to make him look like royalty, "As long as you don't cause the end of the world, you can go and start a mafia here for all I care." he smiled, as his camera was now tied around his waist and dangling at his hip.
"...so nothing bad or any fighting involved...meaning we can relax for a change," Sari noted with a sigh.
"Oh btw…" Tsukasa began as he held up the spear and harp Mai acquired back in Gunvolt's world, along with the remains of her spear, "Gonna see someone about fixing this up for you."
"?!" Mai tensed up as she began patting her person, "...how did…"
"Secret," Tsukasa grinned as he resumed walking off.
"...perhaps we should start looking around," Rook offered, "See what this place has in store."
"Fine with me!" Makoto beamed as she wrapped an arm around Ben, the beastkin now wearing a bright orange tank top and a pair of orange arabian pants as her tail swayed happily, "I'd like to finally have some alone time with my man...and check out the local delicacies without having someone interrupt us."
"I guess if we aren't allowed to get involved...some relaxation time would be nice." Ben muttered.
"Yeah, we should have some time off." Rex sighed.
"One more world of adventure with you guys and I already feel drained." Naoto chuckled.
"Eh. I'd rather relax on my own, so…" Bobo began, taking out a pair of sunglasses as he began to walk off, "Gonna enjoy myself a nice tan."
"...should we tell Bobo about the outfit he's wearing?" Sari whispered to Rex, seeing the monkey was now weaning an opened vest, dark green pants, and his usual fez on top of his head.
"Nah...he's fine." Rex chuckled.
"If we're going to relax...I guess I'll go check out the shops," Mai shrugged as she began to walk off.
"...I will take my sister to find something cute to comfort her," Lambda offered, grabbing Noel's hand as she dragged off the slumping shy blond with Bluey resting on her head.
"So I guess we just...relax." Rex shrugged.
"Oh, thank Primus," Sari sighed in relief.
"In that case, I am going to go off by myself," Rook stated as he began to walk off, "I might have to check out this island's local history…"
"Seriously?" Naoto raised a brow, "Don't you want to relax and have some fun in the sun?"
"I will be," Rook countered.
"...I can't tell if he's serious or not…" Naoto whispered as he began to walk off.
"Ooh...that smells so good~" Makoto whispered in glee, taking in the smell of the food being cooked at various booths and restaurants.
"This all smells awesome…" Ben smiled, "The food smells so exotic...but good too."
"Oh I wonder what we should try first," Makoto whispered as she drooled a bit.
"Careful. Don't want to eat the poor people out of house and home," Skurd joked.
"Oh shush you." Makoto huffed.
"Do we even have money...Tsukasa's power just kinda made us look like we belong in Aladdin…" Ben pointed out.
"...ahh shoot you're right," Makoto muttered, "In fact...what do they even use as currency here?"
"My guess…" Skurd began, seeing a few people nearby paying for something with different colored jewels, "Jewels."
"Jewels?" Ben repeated.
"That's correct."
"So what do we do?" Ben muttered.
"We could find La-chan and ask for her to see if Bluey has left any gems around." Makoto offered.
"Well where do we find her?" Ben muttered.
"Hello~" Tsukasa spoke, appearing next to them suddenly making the couple yelp and jump away while holding each other, "Oh you two are adorable, so...need some money?" he smiled.
"...admittedly so, yeah," Makoto whispered as the shock began to die down.
"Okay," he pulled out a bag and tossed it to them, "Consider it a loan."
"Do you get money when you appear in worlds?" Ben asked.
"No...I stole that." Tsukasa spoke as he walked off.
"?!" the two tensed up at that.
"..oh like you two haven't done that before," Tsukasa scoffed, "Especially you, squirrel girl."
"Wh-?! Wh….ok I can't argue that," Makoto muttered.
"What...regardless you can't just take this from people!" Ben argued.
"You make it seem like I care for that…" Tsukasa muttered, "If it helps it was a real prick."
"Even still…!"
"Oh come now, Ben. Don't be so overdramatic and not look a gift horse in the mouth," Skurd argued.
"Listen to the alien symbiote Ben-Ben." Tsukasa smiled, "By the way do you have a Klyntar in that thing?" He looked at the Omnitrix, "What does it do for parasitic and symbiotic organisms…" he muttered to himself, "One does wonder...anyway it's either take the money or starve. Whatever you choose...this isn't your world. Here you are just Ben."
"...well...true," Ben muttered, "Maybe...the last few words have been getting to me in a way, so...yeah. I need to start relaxing."
"Exactly, here you and I aren't the Hero of the story." Tsukasa spoke, "We're just passing through."
"You said the thing!" Makoto gasped.
"You are the Big Hero back home...but here your just Ben and you're here with your Makoto." Tsukasa continued, "The more you look at my work the more weird it feels when you remember...there's another me. Or maybe even...a better version of me." he paused as he looked at Ben, "But then I remember...who gives a care? I'm Tsukasa Kadoya...that's all I need, and I'm gonna have some fun messing with people...like you Ben-Ben~"
"This is gonna be a bit isn't it?" Ben deadpanned, referring to the nicknames he was giving him.
"Eeyup," Tsukasa smirked as he began to walk back off, "Ja ne…"
"...he does make some good points, Ben," Makoto muttered before her stomach rumbled a bit, "...and I can use a quick bite to eat."
"I'll go check the stands then," Ben smiled a bit.
"Great!" Makoto beamed before whispering to him, "Then when can find a nice quiet spot later on for some time together~"
"Sounds good to me," Ben smirked a bit as he walked off.
"Meaning I'll have to go search for something to do while you two...ugh. Exchange dna," Skurd gagged as Ben began to look at some of the booths.
"Shut it…" Ben sighed, "Try not to freak people out, they might not even know what you are."
"Yes yes," Skurd muttered as he slid underneath the Omnitrix.
"Lets see…" Ben muttered looking at the stalls, "Well that kinda looks like shawarma…" he spotted a stand, "Smells good too, plus I always wanted to try it." he walked over, "Uh...two please!" he spoke to the shop owner, while digging around in the sack of gems Tsukasa gave him.
"That'll be 30 Gems, sir," the vendor replied.
"That cheap?"
"Of course!" he beamed, "We're holding huge sales at the moment thanks to the Half Genie Festival, and the Half-Genies that have protected our island from destruction recently!"
"Half-genie?" Ben blinked.
"Hmm...you don't look like you're from around these parts, are ya stranger?" the vendor noted giving Ben a better look over, "Yep...way too pale to be from these parts." he poked Ben's arm, "A foreigner huh, so what brings you all the way out here traveler?" he smiled as he silently motioned what gems Ben needed to use.
"Oh...well not much. Just a long needed vacation is all," Ben replied as he pulled out the amount of gems needed, "Here with my girlfriend and some friends of ours, and right now me and said girlfriend are looking to spend some quality time together."
"Ah, romantic get away with the Lady! What a nice place for a trip, you and your friends have impeccable timing! Can't be a better time to come visit these parts!" he cheered, serving up two orders of food, "I hope you and your beloved have a wonderful time. And if you ever need tips on some private spots, just come and ask!" he laughed, lightly slapping Ben's shoulder.
'Wow...the folks here are really nice. It's kinda surprising, but also refreshing.' Ben mentaly noted with a smile, "I'll keep that in mind. I better get going, you know how it is with your lady and making them wait."
"This is very true," the vendor nodded as Ben began to walk off.
"Well that was easier than expected," Ben whispered to himself, "Hey babe, I'm….huh?" he blinked as he stopped, seeing no sign of Makoto anywhere, "...Makoto?"
"Maybe she wandered off?" Skurd spoke slipping out, "You know...like in the cartoons where a trail of steam wafted through the air and morphed into a hand and picked her up magically by the nose and dragged her to the origin of its scent?"
"...no. She would've smelt the food and immediately come rushing towards me," Ben pointed out as he began to look around. He then noticed what looked like small patches of grey fur on the ground..and a few broken pots nearby, "?!"
"...or she could've been taken," Skurd muttered as Ben picked up one of the pieces of fur, "...oh please tell me you're going to quote Liam Neeson."
"Not now...we need to find her." Ben sighed, "Lets try for an Alien with strong senses...I can't just go Wildmutt in the middle of a busy street, and I need to be sneaky about it…"
"...Hmm...oh. Why not Shadow Edge, or your copy of Stitch?" Skurd offered.
"I guess that's as good a pick as any," Ben spoke lifting the Omnitrix.
"That's if they are even there…" Tsukasa spoke up, appearing behind Ben again.
"AH! Dude are you like part ninja?!"
"I was in one world…" Tsukasa explained, "But I forgot to tell you something...I can't have to goofing stuff up and turning into an Alien that would ruin stuff in a world. So when you weren't looking I randomized your watch and locked it down to one 10 alien playlist."
"WHAT?!"
"Well I can't have you turning into Alien X in certain worlds…" Tsukasa argued, "Plus I figure this will keep you on your toes, do your best with what you got and what not."
"WHY!? Why now when I need specific aliens the most?!" Ben complained.
"Like I said I thought it be fun. I never expected this to happen." Tsukasa muttered, "Hindsight is 20-20...here lets just hope fate is on your side." He slapped the Omnitrix, suddenly making a green flash go off and replace Ben with Stitch, "Oh look at that. You got lucky…"
"You really have some amazing luck," Skurd added.
"You a big pain!" Stitch stomped his little foot.
"Get to sniffing Spot." Tsukasa spoke, kicking Stitch and sending him flying.
"Ahhhh~!"
"...was that Ben just now?" Rex blinked as he stepped out of a shop, currently munching on a pulled pork sandwich while holding a bag of souvenirs, "...eh. Must've been seeing things," He shrugged as he resumed walking, "Hey Sari, check out...the…" he began as he walked over to a empty bench, "...oh you gotta be kidding me."
"Hey," he turned to see Naoto and Rook approach him, the former currently holding Bluey in his arms.
"...Please tell me you've seen Noel and her sister," Rex whispered.
"Well...if I did...would Lambda let me have him?" Naoto motioned to Bluey, who happily waved to Rex.
"I have not seen any sign of Mai as well," Rook added before pulling out a bag, opening it to let a bit of sand fall out, "I found this near the entrance to the spa she was about to enter."
"By the way...girls got kidnapped." Tsukasa spoke, walking past them with shawarma in his hand, "Don't worry, with this world it's not as bad as you fear, if anything...you will be disappointed. I just haven't told Ben 'cause I like seeing him panicked."
"Are you...like part evil?" Rex plainly asked.
"I'm a Destroyer of worlds, do with that what you will," Tsukasa replied, finishing his shawarma as he walked off.
"...still, this is concerning," Rook whispered as he looked at the sand, "...Rex, do you see anything out of place?"
"No. I don't…" Rex began before he noticed what looked like a hat made to look like a cartoony wolf head, "...except maybe that."
"Okay yeah that's weird…" Naoto muttered, "So...Ben's probably using an alien to follow a trail...but that...that seems like a lead."
"Let's split up...one of us can follow Ben's lead, and the others...follow up on that." Rex pointed.
"Maybe we might end up running into someone who knows who or what these belong to," Rook added, both Rex and Naoto nodding as the three rushed off in different directions.
"Ahh….geez. My head…" Makoto grunted as she began to regain consciousness, rubbing her sore head as she forced herself up from the soft, comfy and elegant couch she was resting on, "What happened...last thing I remember was a bunch of buff guys and a midget proclaiming I'm their princess or some…..thing…" she trailed off as she noticed her reflection in a mirror with gold boarding.
She noticed she was missing her clothes..and was dressed in a really revealing attire consisting of a golden metal bra that covered yet showed off a generous amount of cleavage, gold armlets and bracelets, a gold band around one of her thighs, orange and gold set of metal panties gold up by golden chains with a blue cloth coming from the back, and a snake-themed tiara made of gold with a pair of alexandrite earrings decorating her ears.
"Why am I dressed like a space princess?" Makoto muttered, "Although I do make this look work, gonna have to remember this for later…" she muttered, doing a few poses, "But first...find whoever put me in this...and poke out their eyes…"
"Ugh...wh-oh not again…!"
"Hmm?" Makoto blinked as she looked over at a set of pillows, seeing a young woman with tanned skin and her long purple hair done up into a braided pigtail sitting up...and was currently looking at the outfit she wore as she wore the same thing Makoto was wearing.
"Ahh...I thought I was done with them after that one adventure.." she groaned in annoyance to herself, "...wait. Did they capture Sky, Rotty and Risky again too? ...No. I would've heard Sky snapping in anger for…" she trailed off before noticing Makoto staring at her, "..."
"Okay...now don't freak out...but...who are you and why do you sound like my best friend?!" Makoto pointed at her.
"Who am...who are you?!" the purple haired young woman exclaimed as she pointed back, "And why are you...oh don't tell me they caught you too…"
"It sure looks it...now I wake up dressed like a sexy space princess...which isn't a bad look, but I didn't put it on myself which is the creepy part!" she paused, "Oh right...Hi, I'm Makoto by the way." she smiled, "Now...what's happening, and...who are you?" she chuckled sheepishly.
"Okay…" the young woman began as she took a deep breath, "First off, my name is Shantae, and I was enjoying my vacation with some fellow Half-Genies until...ugh," she groaned as she sat back down, "A bunch of idiots from Tan Line Island knocked me out...after mistaking me as their princess again!"
"Wait then why did they grab me?" Makoto blinked, "I was in the middle of an important date with my boyfriend, which I'd love to get back to...after I punch whoever put me in this outfit!"
"Most likely the high priest…" Shantae stated.
"...did he look like a midget with a jackal hat over his head?" Makoto cautiously asked.
"Depends...did he call you 'their missing princess'?"
"I vaguely recall y…..oh don't tell me."
"Eeyup...like me, he's mistaken you as the princess of this place and dragged you here to their temple."
"Ugh…!" Makoto groaned, "We came here for some relaxation. I just wanted a nice romantic moment with my boyfriend...now a bunch of weirdos dressed as the thing I hate the most kidnap me…" she sighed and fell onto the pillows and groaned into one of them.
"I just got through dealing with a group of Sirens and rescued my fellow Half Genies...and wanted to enjoy some time with them before the festival ends," Shantae groaned as she plopped her head onto a pillow.
"...hey," Makoto spoke, earning Shantae's attention as she looked up from her pillow, "You've been here before, right? By any chance you know any secret exits or something?"
"...oh! That's right...there is one," Shantae gasped in realization as she got up, moving to a part of a wall as she crouched down.
Before Makoto could ask what she was doing, Shantae whipped her hair around before flicking her hair at the wall, destroying a part of it as it revealed a crawl space big enough for the two of them.
"Wow…" Makoto awed, "What kind of shampoo lets hair do that? And could it work on my tail?"
"Some Silky Cream and Shampoo is all I need," Shantae replied as she looked back at Makoto, "Maybe once we rescue our friends and confront that priest, I can probably share some with ya."
"Sweet. I….wait. Rescue our friends?" Makoto repeated.
"Chances are my friends and yours were mistaken as their princess as well and were put into different rooms," Shantae explained.
"Ah acorns...that means my friends who are also girls in our group got snagged...speaking of which...you really do sound a lot like my friend Noel." Makoto spoke, "I swear its uncanny...oh you'll see once you meet her and her sister."
"Huh...duly noted," Shantae muttered as she and Makoto began to crawl through the hole, "Just be careful...they got guards roaming all over this place, so we gotta stick to the shadows so they don't see us."
"Oh perfect, I am great at being sneaky." Makoto cheered as they crawled through a dark area, "Not that anyone believes me...but I really am."
"I could see it," Shantae admitted, "Squirrels can be sneaky, and you do seem to be the stealthy type…"
"Right? Finally! Someone who gets it," Makoto smiled, "My boyfriend agrees with me, but I kinda don't count it. He loves me, so it's kinda his job to think I'm always right."
"Oh?" Shantae asked, raising a brow in surprise.
"Yep!" Makoto beamed, "Now any idea where the others might be held up in?"
"Oh, several. With luck, they didn't change where they put the keys to the cells," Shantae noted.
"Oh these types of goons never learn," Makoto replied, "They think they have, but really they never do."
"They never do," Shantae agreed as the crawled out of the hole, the half-genie tensing up as she dragged Makoto into the shadows.
"?" Makoto blinked before Shantae pointed ahead, making her look to see a large, burly armored figure walking by them with a wolf hat completely covering its head, leaving all but a pair of blue eyes to see, "Oh..."
"Yeah. And those muscles aren't just for show," Shantae shook her head as the guard left down the hallway, "I know the last time I was here, I didn't have my powers-long story-, but that didn't stop them from grabbing me again."
"I don't even remember how they did that to me," Makoto sighed.
"They're pretty fast for their size," Shantae agreed, "Now come on."
Makoto nodded as the two quickly rushed out of the shadows, moving into another secluded spot each time a guard passed by.
"Mmm...nothing yet," Stitch frowned as he was looking around the pier, sniffing the ground as he crawled over the place. He then tensed up when he stopped at an empty spot, "?! Makoto...girls!"
"It must mean the other females were taken and are now someplace overseas," Skurd noted as he looked out at the ocean before them, "So unless we commandeer a boat, we'll have to ask…"
"No! Can do this…!" Stitch argued as he began to look around just as someone was walking by.
"How? We don't know where exactly they went, and all we have on us as a clue is clumps of grey fur," Skurd argued.
"?!" the person stopped upon hearing that, "...grey fur?"
"Hm?" the two looked up to see a shapely young woman wearing a pair of white pants that reached halfway down past her knees with bandage-like patches, purple and blue slipper-like sandals, a tube top in purple, green, and pink, and a small purple cape with a baby-blue turban on her head that barely let her yellow pair peek out of it. On her shoulder was a tiny magenta and purple bird.
"Ih! Grey fur!" Stitch replied, having an arm pop out to show he had been holding onto the clumps to keep the scent.
"?!" the young woman tensed up for a moment before looking at the grey fur in his paw, "...hmm...there's bits of sand on it, and it smells l…oh no…"
"Hm?"
"Ahh..I was hoping to never deal with them again…!" she groaned out in annoyance before looking down at Stitch, "To explain, this belongs to a group of people that live on Tan Line island...and are a bunch of idiots that mistake any girl as their princess."
"Oh...WHAT?!" Stitch shouted, "Makoto! Taken! Important to me!" he panicked while running around, "Must rescue!" he paused, "Oh...right...can't swim…"
"You can't swim?" the young woman asked, "Well, that's not a problem. Wrench here can fly you there no sweat!"
"Wrench?" Stitch repeated.
"You're called Stitch," Skurd deadpanned.
"..." he made his other arm pop out to flick Skurd in the face, "How Wrench do that?"
"Watch," the young woman said, reaching out behind her as she pulled out a small satchel.
She then opened it up and let its content pour into her opened hand, showing that it was birdseed as she fed it to her bird. The bird cried out as it flew off her shoulder..before it was engulfed in a poof of smoke as it faded to reveal the bird had greatly grown in size, easily big enough to carry two people the woman's size at once.
"Wow...big bird…" Stitch muttered.
"Who can take you to Tan Line Island," the young woman countered as she gently rubbed the side of Wrench's head, "Isn't that right, Wrench?" the bird let out a caw of agreement at that, "Oh, I'm sorry! My name's Sky. Nice to meet ya."
"Stitch," Sitch replied as he quickly jumped onto Wrench's back.
"I'm gonna go check on Shantae and tell her those idiots are at it again," Sky stated as she looked up at Wrench, "I'll see you when ya get back, Wrench, then we can get back to relaxing."
"Let's go!" Stitch declared, pointing to the sky.
Wrench let out a screech before spreading his wings and shot off into the air as a magenta and purple blur.
"Ah!" Naoto shouted, barely seeing that, "He's riding a bird now?!"
"Wow...talk about a misadventure," Tsukasa noted, "He should be fine. In theory," he shrugged.
"In theory?!"
"What? I can't tell what happens next," Tsukasa replied simply, taking a photo, "I can just enjoy the chaos that will follow."
"Eh...you really are a demon…" Naoto muttered.
"I warned you what happens if you finish that phrase…" Tsukasa deadpanned.
"What?" Naoto blinked before a boot met his face, "Gwah!"
"Now let's see...given where it's flying...it should be heading to the island where everyone got taken to."
"How did they get whisked away to an island in just a few minutes?!" Naoto asked.
"Boats here are surprisingly fast…" Tsukasa replied, "Some even more than others given that they just recently rediscovered steam tech."
"Rediscovered? ...A-Are we in a post-apocalyptic world?" Rex gawked.
"Perhaps," Tsukasa replied.
"Perhaps?!" the two gawked.
"Well, it's not like knowing that would help." Tsukasa argued, "Sides, like I said before, we don't have to worry too much. This world is harmless compared to the ones you've been to. In the end, you're just gonna feel disappointed by the truth."
"For references...what do you consider being something to worry about?" Rex asked.
"Ever kill a God?" Tsukasa asked.
"Not really," Naoto replied.
"Then there ya go," Tsukasa stated, taking a picture of the two before walking off.
"Oh we are gonna have so much trouble dealing with him…" Naoto sighed.
"I haven't even begun to try yet!" Tsukasa shouted.
"Ulp," both gulped in worry.
"Okay...So you two got surrounded by these guys in wolf hats…"
"Uh-huh. We were looking for some cute things and maybe a new sheath for Funkfreed when they surrounded us."
"I was just trying some of the food, myself, when they showed up. Then I got knocked out and here I am."
"Same here," Noel sighed...dressed the same was as Makoto and Shantae, but her robes in a light blue, while looking at a girl around her age with long blond hair braided like hers, dressed in a purple version of the outfit, and a large tuff of it covering her blue right eye, leaving her blue left eye exposed.
"I knew this sort of thing happened...but I never expected it to happen like this."
"I'm already used to strange adventures randomly happening to me. Though this is the first time I've woken up dressed like this…" Noel muttered, referring to her attire, "I figure either my male companions will somehow save us. Or Makoto got taken and is currently punching her way through the problem."
"More the latter," Makoto's voice spoke up before she and Shantae entered the room outside of their cage.
"Ah! Makoto!" Noel beamed.
"Shantae!" the girl beamed.
"Oh no! Plink, they got you too?" Shantae gasped.
"It was a strange set of circumstances…"
"I'm just so glad you're here." Noel sighed as Makoto pulled out a key from her tail.
"Ah! This is great! Noellie, this is my new pal Shantae and you two sound almost exactly alike! It's so cute!" Makoto cheered.
"Well I don't think we sound that...much…" both Noel and Shantae spoke in perfect unison, "Huh...we do sound alike…"
"That's kinda neat," Plink giggled, "I'm Plink. Nice ta meetcha!"
"Makoto Nanaya," Makoto replied as she unlocked the cage, "And time to go search for the others!"
"Oh!"
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot that I was carrying Funkfreed!" Noel recalled, "We even bought him a nice new sheathe that he picked, too."
"AHHH! WHERE'D THIS ELEPHANT COME FROM?!" the four froze at that scream.
"HELP! MAD ELEPHANT!"
"EEYOW! ITS TRUNK'S A SWORD! ITS TRUNK'S A SWORD!"
"Oh! Good boy, Funkfreed!" Noel called out.
"Long story," Makoto quickly informed Shantae just as she opened her mouth, "Now while Funky's distracting, we'll be freeing more trapped gals!"
"This is rather surreal…" Noel muttered, "But I guess it's not like we can complain now. We just gotta get out of here."
"Agreed," Plink nodded.
"Hmm...Considering what you've fed him and there hasn't been anything off, like bathroom troubles or any signs of illness, your 'Bluey' was it?"
"Yes."
"Your Bluey sounds quite unique in animal species, a bit of an omnivore like humans and half-genies. I'd have to look at him to better check what's safe for him."
"Ah. Thank you, Vera-san," Lambda thanked, sitting in a cage with a shapely dark-skinned woman, both wearing the 'space princess' outfit either in cream or forest-green respectively.
"It is no problem," She smiled before the two faintly heard something, "...an elephant?"
"Hm? Funkfreed?" Lambda pondered.
"Yeah, they didn't realize we had a pet sword," Makoto's voice spoke up as she and Shantae ran in.
"Makoto/Shantae!" the two exclaimed.
"Huh? But didn't we just free you?" Shantae asked, looking at Lambda.
"That's Lambda, Noellie's sister," Makoto explained.
"She looks just like her," Shantae noted.
"Long story," Makoto shrugged as she quickly unlocked the cage, "And you two are free to go."
"Thanks," Vera sighed in relief, "Hopefully, we can get back soon so I can meet this Bluey of Lambda's. He sounds adorable."
"And huggable," Lambda smiled.
"Just don't spook him," Makoto advised, "Just...just trust me. For now….all that leaves for my friends are Sari and Mai."
"Considering Plink and Vera are here...chances are they caught Zapple and Harmony too," Shantae added.
"Half-Genies like you?"
"Yep. Harmony's the oldest of us."
"So we have at least two more pairs to find...what a weird set up...one of my friends and one of yours all locked up together." Makoto noted.
"...huh. That is a weird set up," Shantae realized.
"...Come to think of it, shouldn't the idiots that caught us have realized that there's multiple girls that 'look like' their princess?"
"True...but again…"
"Idiots?"
"Idiots…"
"This is gonna be a long day. Even if finding our friends so far has been easy. More so since more of these big guards got called away 'cause of Funkfreed…"
A loud elephant trumpeting sound was heard in the distance.
"IT STOLE ALL THE FRUIT!"
"Good boy, Funkfreed!" Noel cheered on offscreen.
"She's only had him for at least a few hours to half a day...and it already loves and obeys her more than the jerk who used to own him…" Makoto muttered.
"We're good at taking care of our animals," Lambda stated.
"Shantae….Shantae!" a young man with shaggy navy-blue hair shouted as he walked around, dressed in a white tank top underneath a short blue vest and dark blue shorts, tan gloves with metal rings around to cuffs, bandages on his upper arms, and a yellow headband around his head, "Ahh...where is she? Her uncle wanted to see her about…"
"Excuse me."
"Hmm?" he blinked as he turned to see Rook walking up to him, "Uh...yeah?"
"By any chance did you happen to see a group of young women?" Rook questioned, "Specifically one with squirrel ears and a tail, two that look nearly identical, one with red hair done into twin pigtails, and one with long blue hair?"
"...uh it depends, have you seen a girl with long purple hair and dressed up like a belly dancer?"
"...oddly specific, but no," rook answered before holding up the wolf hat and the bag of sand, "Do you happen to recognize these?"
"Nope. Though…" the young man began as he looked at the wolf head, "...that looks like something from Tan Line Island."
"Tan Line Island?" Rook repeated.
"A desert island some friends of mine went to one time," he answered, "...though Sky or Shantae won't tell me what exactly happened down there."
"And like we keep telling you, we never will, Bolo."
"Gh?!" the young man tensed as he turned to see Sky approaching him, "...I swear I was just answering a qu-"
"Involving those objects he's holding," Sky stated as she walked up to Rook, "And before you ask...met a little blue koala-dog that was looking for someone as well," she stated as she passed Bolo and began to look at the objects in Rook's hands, "...let me guess, your friends were taken by the idiots who own these?"
"Yes, I...wait. Idiots…?"
"Long story short...and most likely they kidnapped your female friends because they think they're their 'missing' princess," Sky explained with a sigh.
"Wait, what?" Bolo blinked at that, "...is that why you and Shantae didn't want t-" he began before Sky bonked him hard on the head, "Ow!"
"Not gonna ever answer that, Bolo," Sky stated with a glare.
"Sorry…" Bolo muttered as he rubbed the growing bump on his head.
"...speaking of Shantae, did you see her by any chance?"
"No," Bolo answered, "I was looking for her myself for her Uncle Mimic...and nobody in town has seen her all day."
"...Don't tell me they took her again…" Sky groaned, facepalming.
"This has happened before?" Rook blinked.
"Yes….and chances are they took the other Half-Genies because of the same reason," Sky sighed, "And since Wrench is currently busy at the moment...we don't have a ride to get there."
"Get where?"
"...what timing," Rook whispered as he turned, seeing Rex, Naoto, and Tsukasa walking up to them, "I know where the girls were taken…"
"Really?" Naoto blinked, "Where?"
"A place called Tan Line Island."
"Oh god not that place…" Tsukasa groaned, "A travelling companion of mine got kidnapped once, because those idiots that live there thought she was their princess. I was hoping it was sexy pirates this time..."
"...funny you mention that actually…" Bolo spoke up, earning the group's attention, "I...might know how we can get there."
"Really? Wh…" Sky began before she tensed up, "...no."
"Its our only option."
"Did you forget how she nearly destroyed the entire island after she got the Sirens' warship out of said island?!" Sky snapped.
"No, but still…!"
"I feel like we're missing some context here," Naoto muttered as they watched the two argue and bicker a bit...with Sky mostly winning the argument.
"Hey! HEY!" Rex shouted as he got between them, "Mind telling us who exactly you guys are talking about?!"
"...ugh," Sky groaned a bit, "Risky Boots, the self proclaimed Queen of the Seven Seas. She's our friend Shantae's arch-enemy that keeps causing trouble for us..."
"Whether it's by stealing her magic or tricking Shantae and her uncle into making a machine that turns good magic into evil," Bolo added.
"I can dig it," Tsukasa replied.
"...But I'm guessing there's a problem," Naoto sighed, "..and it involves that warship you two mentioned…"
"Yup," Sky nodded, "Chances are she's still bitter about being used by her 'partner' at the time and Shantae saving her just as the ship began to explode."
"Just tell her she can call it even and gloat that this time she did the saving," Tsukasa argued, "Play to the ego. It's the best way to get a woman to do what you really want them to."
"Really?" Bolo blinked at that...before Sky elbowed him in the gut, "Oof!"
"Don't even try to think about it," Sky frowned.
"I wasn't...ack...thinking that…"
"Yes, you were."
"If you got an idea, I'm all for it," Tsukasa added, "These geniuses sure don't." he motioned to the others.
"Y-hey!" Rex and Naoto snapped at that.
"Let us hurry and find this 'Risky Boots' so we can go rescue our friends," Rook spoke up, making sure that no one would lose focus.
"Sounds good to me," Tsukasa nodded.
"Any luck with the luck?" Sari asked a young woman with black hair with the tips of her bangs and strands of hair in her wild topknot a white color...with both of them wearing the 'space princess' outfit with Sari's being a creamish orange and the young woman's being a red color.
"Nope," she frowned in response, "These guys made some sturdy locks…"
"And they had to take my stuff, too," Sari muttered as she rested against the pillows in their cage.
"I swear when I see that little gremlin…" the young woman frowned before she heard something, "...an Elephant?"
*CRASH!*
"Good boy, Funkfreed!" Makoto whooped as she and Shantae were riding on top of the elephant.
"Makoto/Shantae?" Sari and the young woman blinked.
"Noel let me lead him around to cause more chaos! We stepped on one of the big guards on the way here!" Makoto smiled.
"It was cathartic in a way," Shantae admitted as she hopped off Funkfreed, "Also surprised you haven't opened your cage yet, Zapple."
"I've tried with my magic, but it's like these things are anti-magic proof," Zapple stated, "...Which is why I'm gonna enjoy frying that little freak and his hoard of idiots when I get out."
"Honestly? Same," Sari added with a frown as she got up.
"Well you're in luck…" Makoto grinned as Shantae used a key to open the cell doors.
"After we rescue Harmony and Makoto's friend, we're going to go confront him," Shantae added.
"I'm gonna have Funky sit on him," Makoto smiled, petting the Elephant-Sword.
"...sweet," Zapple grinned a bit as she and Sari stepped out, "Then let's head out."
"Good. We just need the last key a-" Shantae began before Sari walked past her, stepping over to an unconscious guard as she took a key that was hanging off their belt, "...huh. Guess they tried to hide the last one this time…"
"Eh. I say don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Zapple shrugged before hopping on top of Funkfreed, "Now let's go! Sooner we rescue Harmony, the sooner I can give that stupid high priest a good zap."
"Forward Funky!" Makoto cheered lightly, kicking his side with her foot earning an excited trumpet as Funkfreed stomped off.
"...mmm," Stitch muttered as he began sniffing around the sands of a large desert-like area, Wrench flying overhead as the little blue alien dug and sifted through the sand.
"Joy...sand," Skurd deadpanned as he was covered completely in sand, "...Not quoting a certain scene from a certain prequel trilogy, but I now know how the young man felt about sand…"
"Hard to smell Makoto...sand block scent…" Stitch spoke, "But she must be close...I hear chaos."
"Oh you can't hear that…" Skurd complained.
"Mmm...there!" Stitch shouted as he ran over a nearby dune, looking ahead to see a large stone temple embedded in the side of a large cliff. Right near the entrance was a pillar-like state with the center being three rotary discs with different images on it.
"I think...it's a puzzle." Skurd muttered.
"Hmm…" Stitch pondered as he ran up to it, examining the images before he began to spin each one with all four of his hands. After a bit, he stopped all three with the top two discs showing the images of a fish with the last one showing a lion.
"Interesting set up...but what next?" Skurd asked before a door began opening.
"I could hear tumblers," Stitch explained.
"...I forgot this form is pretty smart," Skurd muttered a bit, "But enough of that! Onwards into the desert temple to rescue your beloved and the other fair maidens!"
"Ham…" Stitch rolled his eyes as he quickly ran in.
"A ham I may be, but I am a…!" Skurd began before Stitch stopped before a large group of guards, "..."
"...uh...hi~?" Stitch greeted before one guard grabbed him, making him squeak out as he picked him up.
"Monster caught...must be here to kidnap the princess," the guard muttered.
"Let's take him to the high priest...we can think on how to execute this thief."
"Princess?" Stitch asked in confusion, "What princess? You kidnapped Makoto!"
"We don't know who that is," the guard argued as he carried him off, "There are only the servant girls and princess...and you are here to kidnap princess, monster thief."
"So you do have Makoto!" he gasped as he pulled his head into the fist which was holding him, making the guards blink.
The guard slowly opened his hand...to find Stitch not there. He then felt a tingle as a lump moved up his arms sleeve and into his chest armor. After a moment, the armor ripped open as Stitch shot out, growling and latching on to the face of another guard, making him panic. He cackled before jumping around just as the first guard punched him out...causing just the guard to get hit and knocked out. The guard looked down sheepishly before turning as Stitch jumped and latched to his face before scratching him with his claws relentlessly.
"Stupidheads give back Makoto!" he shouted climbing over his head and to his back...before somehow flipping him over and pile driving him into the ground.
"Ah! Tiny blue monster strong enough to throw guards around!" a guard panicked.
"Don't let it get the meat!" another panicked, "We've already lost all our fruit!"
"Ah! What's he doing?! Is...Is he eating his left shoe?!"
"Aw come on! Those things cost us a guard every time we have to get the dang spider silk!"
"You give Makoto back!" Stitch spoke, still chewing on a boot.
"We don't know who that is!"
"You give back a pretty girl or I...or I...or I mess up everything! Starting with plumbing!" he cackled, channeling his pre-programed instincts.
"No! That leads to the princess's special bathhouse!"
"Thank you!" Stitch scurried off across the ceiling, "Later sucker!"
"Ahh! After monster thief!"
"...Is that her?" Rook quietly asked, the group peeking out of some bushes to see a vivacious, purple-skinned woman, a purple bandana around her head with bits of purple hair sticking out as she wore a red two piece swimsuit with a skull on the back of the bottoms...all while resting on a beach chair while small black creatures dressed in pirate attire fanned her.
"That's Risky Boots alright," Bolo replied with a node.
"And it seems she's trying to relax," Sky added quietly.
"Well...we came all this way. Would be a shame to just sit here doing nothing," Tsukasa pointed out as he just plainly walked out, "Excuse me, I…" he began before Risky pulled out a flintlock pistol and aimed it at him.
"You have five seconds to explain why you're trying to disturb me," Risky stated, not even turning to look at him as the small black creatures glared at him while pulling out cutlasses.
"Firstly...I find this very attractive. Secondly, me and my idiots and some friends are in need of a ride...and before you ask what's in it for you. Well...I have just the thing," he walked closer, "How would you like to rub it in a certain Half-Genie's face...that you saved her this time?"
"...I'm listening…." Risky muttered as she turned to look at him, "Also...tell those other rats with you to come out. I can see the Half-Genie brat's friends sticking out like sore thumbs."
"A bunch of little weirdos who think any pretty girl is their princess took our friends and the Half Genies, the one you hate included. We need a ride there, and if you save her...your debt from her saving you is repaid. And you can hold it over her that you did the saving. Not to mention her friends as well...so...really...she would owe you one?" Tsukasa smiled.
"...Hmm…" Risky pondered at that, "...Tinkerbats, stand down," she ordered, causing the creatures to drop the cutlasses, "While I would refuse and let that Half-Genie brat stay trapped by those idiots of Tan Line Island...I wouldn't wish that humiliating fate on another woman...I mean, have you seen their actual princess?"
"Nope," Tsukasa admitted.
"Cringe...so much cringe," Sky shuddered.
"Wait...what's that supposed to mean?" Bolo asked.
"I think they're trying to say that the actual princess the girls were mistaken for is probably ugly beyond sin," Naoto bluntly offered.
"Just trust me...You'll see what I mean once we get to Tan Line Island…" Sky sighed.
"So do we have a deal?" Tsukasa asked Risky as she sat up.
"...Fine. I can use this to rub it in that brat's face," Rsky grinned, "Tinkerbats, get the ship ready! We're off on a….ugh...Rescue mission..."
"Huh...He was right…" Naoto muttered.
"Jerks understand jerks?" Rex shrugged.
"I suppose so…" Rook whispered.
"...Now I know how Makoto feels whenever she described that old outfit of hers," Mai muttered as she looked herself in a mirror...wearing the same outfit as the other girls with a deep blue skirt being the only difference.
"I take it it was just as revealing, if not more, than this?" a shapely woman with long, flowing red hair and vivid green eyes asked, her outfit being white with hints of purple to it.
"Yep," Mai replied...before both looked at the last of them...a shapely green-skinned girl with stitches on her left arm and right leg with short green hair and a purple version of the outfit, "And you seem strangely used to this."
"Yep! Got kidnapped before by them and I love this outfit! I still have the one from the first time I got caught!" she beamed.
"You are amazingly positive…" Mai muttered.
"I guess someone has to in this situation," the red haired woman stated before rumbling went off, "?"
*CRASH!*
"Ahh!" Mai yelped in surprise as she and the woman quickly turned to see Funkfreed standing in the now destroyed doorway.
"Harmony, we're here t-ROTTY?!" Shantae gawked once she noticed the green-skinned girl.
"Hey~!" She waved back.
"Is her skin….green?" Makoto blinked once she spotted Rotty.
"Of course it is, squirrely girl!" Rotty laughed a bit, "I am a zombie after all."
"Cute green girl says what?" Makoto blinked with a deadpan expression.
"She's right," Shantae spoke up...before she quickly held her hands up, "D-Don't worry! She won't bite you or anything…!" she assured before shooting Rotty a serious look, "Right, Rotty-Tops?"
"You don't have to be so serious...Of course I won't bite folks…" Rotty pouted.
"...I've got my eye on you," Makoto whispered, using her pointer and middle fingers to point at her eyes and Rotty rapidly as she hopped down, "Also….daaa~ng, Mai. You really make that work."
"N-Not the time, Makoto!" Mai snapped with a heavy blush as she used her arms to cover herself.
"What...it's true," Makoto smiled.
"Can we get out of here...and find our normal clothes?!" Mai complained, blushing even more.
"That would be a good idea, yes," Harmony agreed as she stepped out of the cage, "And good to see you're okay, Shantae."
"Same here, Harmony," Shantae smiled a bit, "Now come on. Let's go meet with the others so we can go...'complain' to that head priest."
"Oh I'm gonna do more than complain." Makoto spoke up, "Funkfreed has some harsh words for him in favor of more snacks." the elephant trumpeted in response, "Good boy."
"...heh. I like this girl," Rotty grinned.
"No touchy or bitey!" Makoto immediately declared.
"Makoto…" Mai deadpanned.
"This is my first time meeting a Zombie, I'm nervous," Makoto argued.
"Well, good thing it's me you're meeting for the first time!" Rotty beamed, "Because I always drink coffee!"
"...What the wha?" Makoto blinked twice.
"Zombies stay sane and don't go all 'hunting for brains' as, well, mindless moving corpses because of coffee. So long as we get at least a cup of it every so often, we stay perfectly sane," Rotty explained, "And it makes us girl ones look good."
"Seriously?" Makoto raised a brow.
"You didn't realize she was a zombie until she said it," Harmony pointed out.
"...Fair point…" Makoto admitted, "...L-Let's just go and meet the girls…"
"Agreed," Mai sighed.
"...We...got here rather fast," Rook noted as he and the others stood within a large wooden and metal ship, which was parked near the pier of the deserts of Tan Line Island.
"Of course. My ship is the fastest in all the seven seas," Risky argued, dressed in baggy purple pants in a similar style to Shantae's with a top and belt made from a large skull with the eye sockets filled with a purple fabric to cover her impressive chest, a pair of purple and red cuffs on her wrists, and a red bandana and a large purple pirate captain hat.
"Wrench is faster," Sky muttered, said bird back to normal size and resting on her shoulder.
"Sorry, but I didn't ask for your opinion, bird girl," Risky countered.
"I'm sure things will be fine regardless of when we get there…" Tsukasa spoke standing on the beak of the ship.
"Knowing our luck, most likely not," Naoto sighed as everyone got off the ship.
"I'm not basing it on luck," Tsukasa spoke, "I'm basing it on the fact I've been here before. I know how things tend to work here…" as he jumped down, "If I relied on luck...I probably would be dead by now. Not that there aren't many times I have died...I just got better."
"...He just goes off the beat of his own drum, doesn't he?" Bolo blinked.
"We haven't known him for long and we can already tell…" Rex and Naoto muttered.
"I believe Ben has been here," Rook noted.
"How can you tell?" Sky asked.
"..." Rook looked at the guard stuck in the sand ahead of them, missing their left shoe, "Call it a hunch."
"...Why is he missing a shoe?" Bolo asked.
"Probably best you don't know," Rex stated.
"Okay, fair warning for everyone here. Up ahead is a statue of the real princess," Shantae warned.
"Yeah, it...uh...it's, um...you'll get it," Rotty added.
"?" Lambda blinked in confusion at that.
"I can already tell it's gonna be something gross," Zapple muttered, "So...how do we open the door?"
"See that giant rope?" Shantae asked, pointing to a very large and wide rope next to them, "If four of us can get on it and pull it down, it'll open the door up."
"...Or better idea, we have Makoto pull it," Sari offered.
"Is she that strong?" Vera asked.
Before anyone that knew the squirrel girl could reply, they heard something going off as they turned to see the stone doorway opening up. They then turned to look at Makoto, who was holding onto the giant rope as she pulled down.
"...What? I work out," Makoto stated/joked at the surprised expressions from most of the Half Genies.
"So anything dangerous in there?" Zapple asked.
"Just one thing and not in the way you're gonna like," Shantae replied.
"...Why does that worry me?" Plink admitted.
"Don't worry...I'm nervous about it, too," Noel whispered as the group of young women stepped into the room.
"Seriously, it would be helpful if you…" Sari began before they stopped before a large statue of a really...really fat...woman?, "...What...the…?"
"Y-Ya see?" Rotty deadpanned, cringing as she held up an arm to block it from her sight.
"Princess!" they turned to see a rather short man with a jackal hat and holding a cobra themed staff running out from behind the statue, "I'm so glad you arrived! I just wanted to inform you that your statue is nice and clean, and that we are working to apprehend that thief that is trying to kidnap you."
"...Th…That…That's supposed to be us?" Mai asked in dumbfounded shock.
"Of course!" he beamed before blinking, "Wait...do my eyes deceive me again?" he muttered as he squinted his eyes a bit, "...Oh! Princess, there are multiple of you! And all of you share the same humongous..."
"..." Makoto and Shantae slowly blinked.
"Titanic…"
"..." Noel and Plink narrowed their eyes.
"Rotund…"
"..." Lambda and Vera stood there silently.
"Corpulent…"
"..." Sari and Zapple's eyes began to twitch.
"Bulgingly radiant…"
"..." Mai and Harmony kept a neutral expression.
"Gargantuan…"
"..." Rotty just tilted her head while keeping a rather calm smile.
"And pleasantly plump as your statue!" The short man finished.
"..."
"...P...princess...es?" he blinked.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Stitch called, running in before blinking twice, "Ech. Iky patooka statue."
"Ah! The monster thief!" the short man gasped, "And he mocks the statue of our princess...whom he is attempting to kidnap!"
"Okay. I have had enough of this bit," Skurd growled in annoyance.
"Agreed," Stitch nodded before looking at Makoto and pausing, "...Uh-oh…"
"What?" Skurd asked as Stitch backed away.
"Meega hide now," Stitch replied.
"You what?!" Skurd demanded.
"Short one must have poked a very big button…" Stitch gulped, "Now meega…" he spun around, sprouting his extra limbs, and used the extra arms as feet, "RUN!-!-!-!"
"Huh?! Wh-what is going o-" the short man began before he was suddenly picked up, "Ahh!"
"I'm sorry, but care….to repeat...what you just said before he showed up?" Makoto asked with a 'sweet' smile, her free hand grabbing his staff as she began to grasp it...up to the point that gold dust began to trick down her hand until it broke into two pieces.
"I think we had something in our ears…" Zapple frowned, cracking her knuckles as electricity crackled off them.
"Did he say this the previous time?" Lambda questioned, her eyes shaded under her hair.
"Yep. And I don't see the real one anywhere near here to do a diffusing of this," Shantae replied, her own eyes shadowed by her hair.
"So we can vent on the little gremlin?" Sari asked, electricity crackling off her body as her eyes took a bit of a neon-green glow, "I don't commend beating the elderly...but I'm making an exception here."
"B-beat the…?!" the short man began in worry, "Princess, what did I do to earn you such ire?! ...Oh no...Did someone steal your chocolate ag-"
*BANG!*
"Silence…" Noel ordered, Bolverk in her hands as her eyes took on a dull azure color.
"AHH!"
"Well, this is where they reside," Risky noted as she looked at the entrance before a screaming Stitch ran out, "?"
"Ben? What…" Rook began.
"RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY FAST!" Stitch screamed as he ran past him.
"...Already getting red flags," Naoto whispered.
"The short one poked the proverbial bear too many times in one sentence!" Skurd shouted.
"...He called them 'fat' when they were all free," Sky realized.
"..."
"...You want to help them 'vent'?" Sky asked, trading looks with Risky.
"Depends, bird girl...do you?"
"...Yep," Sky confirmed, cracking her knuckles.
"We'll be right back," Risky told the boys, pulling out her pistol and a cutlass as she and Sky walked inside.
"I don't get it," Bolo admitted, tilting his head.
"A very important rule: never call a girl 'fat,'" Tsukasa noted as he checked his camera, "Haven't had to do photos of a murder scene in a while."
"You seriously wanna go in there with possibly VERY livid women in there?" Rex asked.
"I've dealt with worse," Tsukasa countered, "Plus, you can create energy barriers with one of your Builds."
"Meega stay out here!" Stitch called from all the way over at the docks.
"Little guy sure runs fast," Naoto gawked.
"From what I have seen and understand about women….yes. It is best to stay back when they are angry," Rook whispered.
*BOOM!*
"WHY A CANNON?!" the short man's voice screamed from inside the temple, "Also-ahh! Two more of the princess!"
"DIE!" all the women inside roared.
"GYAAARGH~!"
"...All in favor of going to the docks and protecting the boat?" Bolo asked.
"Aye," Rook, Naoto, and Rex agreed.
"Have fun, boys," Tsukasa smirked, "They'll be at it for a bit."
"MY LEG!"
"NOTED!" Bolo yelped as he and the others ran off after Stitch.
"M….mercy…" the short man whispered...hiding on top of the statue as his clothes were burnt, cut, tattered, ripped, and he was sporting multiple bruises, burn marks, and cuts on his now hairless face.
"Wrench, get him!"
"Not the bird again…!"
"Hold it, Sky!" Shantae shouted, holding a hand out just as Sky was about to send her bird out, "Is your princess honestly missing?"
"Y-yes, but why ask p-"
"How long has it been since she...er...We went 'missing'?"
"This morning."
"...She went out shopping," Shantae deadpanned to the others.
"Out sho...Are you serious?!" Sari snapped.
"Ugh. Had a feeling," Risky groaned as she put down a miniature cannon, "This happened last time, too...These idiots are so devout to her that when she leaves, they automatically assume she's missing and capture girls they think are their princess."
"Seriously!?" Mai exclaimed, throwing her arms up in disbelief.
"Eeyup," Rotty nodded.
"We didn't want to talk about this particular 'adventure' ever after we got out," Sky added.
"So you haven't dealt with them until recently," Harmony noted.
"Exactly," Shantae nodded.
"...Still not sorry for the maiming after what he said," Makoto stated.
"Same," Noel and Lambda replied coldly, the latter in her armor while Funkfreed was in the former's hand in his sword form.
"...In fact...hey, short guy!" Makoto shouted, making him yelp as he tried to further hide, "We're gonna let you live...but here's what's gonna happen. You're going to stop kidnapping girls you think is your princess, stop obsessing over her to the point it drives you to do what I just stated beforehand, but most importantly...we're keeping the outfits."
"What?" Mai deadpanned at that.
"Whoo!" Rotty cheered.
"Of course she'd add that," Noel sighed as Funkfreed made his blade back into a trunk to pat her on the head in comfort.
"Do we have a deal, or shall we have Funkfreed sit on you?"
"Gh?! Deal! Deal!" the short man screamed.
"Perfect," Makoto smiled, "Oh and we want our stuff back, too, if you don't mind."
"St-Storage room!"
"Thank you, and you have a good day," Makoto smiled as she began to walk off.
"...heh. I like that girl," Risky grinned as she and the others began to follow, "If she wasn't a good girl, I'd recruit her…"
"Huh, was really expecting a crime scene," Tsukasa noted from the entryway, taking a photo before walking off, "Still, what kind of photo will develop out of this picture from this world rejecting me?"
"Ugh...god what a day," Makoto sighed, dressed back in her regular cloths while resting against the side of Risky's ship as the group was already out at sea and FAR away from Tan Line Island.
"I'm just glad its all over." Noel sighed.
"It...wasn't that bad considering. But it was eventful." Mai added.
"True...it was more annoying." Sari admitted.
"Most of it was rather relaxing." Lambda added.
"I mean...given Tsukasa kept telling us...nothing bad would happen…" Rex muttered.
"It actually is kinda disappointing." Naoto muttered.
"I'm just glad The Omnitrix finally timed out." Ben chuckled.
"But I do wonder. Tsukasa, what is the anomalous danger you came here for?" Rook asked.
"You misunderstand why I brought you here." Tsukasa explained, "I said I had pitstops related to work. This...was not one of them."
"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.
"Hmm...relaxing tropical trip, virtually zero danger to your lives or sanity, you got to destress and unload weeks of issues on a midget who had it coming, and we can all go back and relax more for another three days." Tsukasa listed, "I'd call that a pretty sweet little break from nonsense and adventure wouldn't you?"
"But we didn't relax!" Sari argued.
"We got kidnapped...by a bunch of idiots mistaking us for their princess!" mai added.
"And we had to search the entire island and such to try and find them!" Rex snapped.
"Not my fault you all took it too seriously. I told you it'd be fine." Tsukasa argued as he flicked Mai and Rex's noses.
"Ite/ow…"
"Next time try actually listening to what a Senpai tells you. Maybe if you did more of listening to a work superior you'd get yourselves in less danger and trouble." Tsukasa spoke, "Sure it works out fine later...and most times you save the day. But...how much less stress and chaos could have been avoided?"
"...he makes a point," Skurd spoke up, "You really should've started relaxing...and while yes the kidnapping was sudden, it still doesn't change the fact that he's right."
"I feel like I'm gonna hate that about you." Makoto huffed.
"Most women do." Tsukasa smiled, "But that doesn't change that I'm still right. A rare trait amongst my fellow males. One I'm more than proud to brag about."
"...at least he is honest," Rook muttered.
"Still..we're gonna end up leaving, aren't we?" Naoto sighed.
"Who says we're leaving? We just got here."
"..eh?"
"I'm not like Sento was. Sure you guys got to relax a bit after your big adventures, but it was immediately on to the next place and such," Tsukasa stated, "If I was so cruel as to ditch a nice place that fast for work, I'd have died from stress a long time ago. I plan to stay here and eat shawarma for a few more days. You guys can do whatever you want while I enjoy myself."
"...Do you really mean that?" Naoto cautiously asked.
"Yes...and again I'm not like Sento….I'm not very smart, and I don't have a high horse like a hero, unlike him...and unlike you, I deal with problems...effectively. But as a result of my methods...eh I could care less for the small stuff." Tsukasa assured.
"...oh thank god," the group sighed in relief as they all slumped against the railing.
"Finally some time off…"
"And some proper privacy with my boyfriend," Makoto added as she leaned against Ben.
"You want me to get you guys a literal room?" Tsukasa asked, "I am a light sleeper...the last thing I need is to be woken by some loud repetitive sounds in the middle of the night."
"?!" Ben and Makoto tensed at that as their blushes grew.
"...what do you think they're talking about?" Shantae pondered as she and her friends were watching form nearby.
"I don't know, but from the sounds of it...they really needed a vacation," Sky noted.
"They really did!" Tsukasa shouted, "Especially this love drunk couple who get no personal time!" he laughed as Makoto and Ben chased him, only for the dimensional traveler to avoid them each and every time, "Come on, come on~" he taunted as he suddenly vanished into a veil letting the two crash into one another...and inadvertently Bolo as their heads crashed into his, "Ooh...so close." they looked up to see him standing on the mast, "You guys make for fun adventuring buddies...next time I drag you along, I'll be sure to add bunk beds to my normal world traveling house."
"Noted…" Ben and Makoto groaned, their eyes replaced with swirls as they lay splayed out on the ground.
"Ow…" Bolo groaned as he laid out on the deck and near them, his own eyes replaced with swirls.
"Heh heh. These guys are fun," Rotty snickered, "...hmm…"
"...what are you planning, Rotty?" Shantae asked in a deadpanned tone.
"Recall that slumber party you hosted once before we came here? Maybe we can invite the girls to your room for one big night," Rotty offered.
"Hard pass," Risky argued as she turned the steering wheel.
"Last I recalled, you enjoyed it as well, Risky," Shantae argued as she turned to look at her.
"Yes...but know this, you owe me now...considering I helped save you from…"
"You're just scared of losing the pillow fight again..."
"...Is that a challenge, brat?" Risky narrowed her eyes, "Because I can and will put you and your fellow Half Genies in your place the moment it begins."
"So that means you'll come?" Shantae smiled.
"Oh she's good…" Noel and Sari noted.
"...is anyone gonna question that the purple haired girl sounds like Noel and Lambda?" Rex asked.
"...coincidence perhaps?" Rook suggested.
"They aren't ready for the amount of those that happen in the multiverse…" Tsukasa mused to himself. He then took out a card, "The next world shall be...oh so entertaining." he spoke looking at a card that read: Gaim.
"Ahh...snrk! Huh...wha happuh…" Bobo snorted as he woke up...only to wince as his entire body was bright red, "Ah jeez...freaking sunburn!" he slowly sat up, "Hey Blue...you...uh…" he looked to see a now...red Bluey...resting on his stomach, "...oh..oh dat's cute...also yikes….da doll is not gonna like dis…" he put a finger on Bluey...only to end up buried under a mound of green Rupees.
Bluey twitched as the stinging stopped, he then noticed the amount of Rupees he spawned from that. Bobo slowly poked his head out, a groan escaping him as he felt the stinging in greater magnitude all over his body.
"Ow…."
"RYUKO~! KOUTA~! WE'RE LATE!"
"Bwah! I didn't do it!" a young man shouted, "AH! RYUKO! Wake up, woman!"
"SNKR! Huh...what ha.." a young woman began, "?! OH SHIT! MAKO! GUTS ATE THE ALARM CLOCK AGAIN!"
"SORRY!" another young woman's voice yelped form outside a window, "Now ike! We don't wanna be late or else!"
"I know I know! I...Kouta, where's Senketsu?!"
"How should I know! He's your outfit!"
"I had him hanging up this m-"
"Ryuko dear, I'm almost done steaming your school uniform~!" a woman;s voice beamed from the next room.
"...oh yeah...I forgot to tell you my mom is cleaning your outfit at the moment," Mako muttered.
"WHAT?!"
"No time! Panic! If we don't hurry, things will get mega-yabei! Mako, grab her legs and I'll grab the torso!" Kouta shouted.
"Aye sir!"
"Wh-hey! Put me down!" Ryoko yelped, "I need to get Senketsu, damn it!"
"No time for your whacky nonsense!"
"Kazuraba!"
"AH! KAITO!" Kouta screamed in a surprised high pitched tone.
"RUN!" Mako panicked.
"GET BACK HERE!"
"PUT ME DOWN DAMN IT!" Ryuko snapped.
"NEVER TO BOTH OF YOU!"
SZ: Eeyup...ladies and gents, we are hitting the very special part of this arc...one of the Crossed Worlds
Z0: Surprise! We just randomly thought of it too, when we looked back on the list of worlds.
GT: BLOOD FROM THE NOSE FOR DAYS! *Gets a boot to the face*
Z0: You deserved that…
SZ: Yeah...ahem! Anyway folks...we hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you've been reading out toku fics...you can already tell what world is next.
Z0: Hope you enjoy it folks, till next time.
GT: Please Read and Review!
Z0: *lifts kanabo* you still need to be punished, *turns into giant dragon man*