With the island safe from pirates and sirens, Shantae, Triton, and their friends planned to put on the long overdue half-genie festival. Triton felt at peace seeing all the smiles and laughter from the crowd. Sky felt relieved that she could finally relax after all the excitement from the adventure. And Bolo was pumped to finally get a better room from the one he was assigned.
Over the first few days, the community came together to clean up the rubble all over the island. The area that was once Arena Town, was abandoned due to the crater left behind from the airship. The villagers from Tree Town planted new saplings in place of the trees that were torn down from the large gusts of wind. Armor Town took plates of sheet metal and forged them to rebuild the houses that were destroyed.
Bolo took his bags, and Mimics, and moved them into a better room in Tree town. This room is a hut that overlooks the entire village. With separate soft beds and a waterfall close by for fresh water and ambience sounds for deep sleeps.
"This is incredible!" Bolo cried. "And much better than that last room."
"I can't believe that the chief was grateful to let me stay with you guys," said Triton.
"It's the least we could do," said Mimic. "I'm gonna spend more time with the scientists. You boys have a good time." Mimic leaves the hut, leaving Triton and Bolo alone.
"So, did Shantae teach you how to dance yet?" Bolo asked.
"She did," replied Triton. "Let's just say, I'm a long way from being a pro."
"I'm sure you'll get there," said Bolo. "Not everyone is capable of dancing like Shantae and the half-genies."
"I'm not going to give up," said Triton. "Anyway, Shantae said something about having a surprise for me. Do you have any idea what it is?"
"I may have an idea," said Bolo. He knew that Triton can tell if he was lying so he told him. "I promised Shantae I wouldn't tell you. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a surprise."
Triton was impressed with his loyalty to Shantae, so he decided not to pressure him any further. "Alright, but I'm gonna find out what it is eventually." He leaves the hut and makes his way to the coast.
On the beach, Triton felt the warm summer sun on his face. He felt the ocean breeze touch his face, making him smile. And look down on the waves touching his feet, as they reveal his fish skin.
Then out of nowhere, Wrench, Sky's bird, comes flying by and lands in Triton's hair. This time, Triton didn't shoo him off like before. He greeted the bird instead. "What's up Wrench?" he asked.
Wrench simply lets go ho his head and flies off, leading Triton to a relaxed Sky. She was resting on a lounge chair, soaking up the sunshine in her swimsuit. Wrench lands beside Sky and she looks up to see Triton waving to her.
"Hey Triton," said Sky. "Enjoying the view?"
"I sure am," replied Triton. "The ocean's surface is much more relaxing than the coral reefs down below."
"So are you excited for the festival starting tonight?" Sky asked.
"Of course I am," said Triton. "I can't wait to see my first festival."
"First?" Sky asked. "You haven't gone up to the surface once?"
Triton shook his head, "I spent my whole life underground, afraid of what people would think of me. I've been more afraid of myself not knowing what I am. But now that I know, and thanks to Shantae's kindness, I never felt so brave like this before."
"Well, try not to be too excited," said Sky. "Things don't go the way we expect it."
"Well I'm gonna go see how Rottytops is doing in Armor Town," said Triton. "Let me know if you hear from Shantae, okay?"
"No promises," said Sky. "I'm on vacation." She takes her hood on and rests on her lounge chair.
In Armor town, the citizens were getting all the festival decorations set up. Triton finds Rottytops hanging up streamers. Adjusting the height by disconnecting her arm and reaching higher to equally balance the streamers.
He takes out a clothespin to keep him from smelling Rottytops' scent. The two wave hello, then Rotty takes notice of Triton's clothes pin.
"Could you please take that off your nose, fish face?" Rottytops teased.
"I have a very sensitive nose," replied Triton. "I have nothing against you Rotty, I just can't help it."
"Well you should get used to it since-" Then Rottytops slams her mouth shut and kicks her head into the crowd. Her head rolls into a batch of paint cans and knocks them over.
"What were you going to say?" Triton asked Rottytops' body. Her body responded with a shrug, then rushed over to retrieve her head. Triton smirked and decided to relax until the festival began.
Later that night, the people on the island all gathered in Tree Town. The torchlight made the village look so beautiful. Triton makes it to the front of the crowd to sit next to Mimic, Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops.
"Ready for the festival?" Mimic asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," replied Triton.
The stage crew dimmed the lights on the torches surrounding the audience. The lights on the stage grew brighter and brighter. And then the announcer came up on stage. "Attention everyone," they announced. "In light of recent events that have transpired the past few days. It gives me great pleasure to announce the start of the long awaited, Half Genie Festival!"
The crowd threw a thunderous applause, and a few whistles
"May I introduce to you, from parts beyond, our spectacular half-genie SUPERSTARS!"
Then, with a magical twist, a puff of smoke bursts on stage and the half genies appear one by one.
"Give it up for Harmony!" Harmony twirls and poses in a stance that makes the ground shake.
"Plink!" Plink creates a seer aura to create vision clones of herself, then stands next to Harmony.
"Vera!" Vera appears from a blooming flower and creates an aura to make the audience and the plant life feel fresh. Then, she stands next to Plink.
"Zapple!" Zapple jumps from pole to pole as a spark of electricity, then slams on the ground creating an electric shockwave. She stands next to Harmony.
"And last, but not least, Shantae!" With a whip of her ponytail, Shantae takes the stage and gives a pose that makes her shine above the rest.
Triton watched Shantae's entrance and his eyes sparkled with excitement. Seeing his first real friend on stage made him feel proud of himself that he saved her life.
"Let the Half-Genie Festival begin!"
The half-genies perform a belly dance to the audience. The crowd cheered for their dance routines. Each of them was unique and identified their personality. Only Shantae had a dance routine that included her singing. After a few shimmies, Shantae started to sing when she took center stage.
They say we live in the darkness
They say there's trouble ahead
Every day there's sorrow: today, tomorrow
But I'm dancing instead
'Cause I can dance through the danger
The magic flows through my soul
All around, it's seeming in the dream I'm dreaming
A better day
can't be far away
So I will dance through the danger
And fly away to the stars
Take my lead and I'll start it to the beat of my heart
I'll never give up in my fight 'til the future is bright
Triton listened to Shantae's voice, and he was swept away by the sweet sound of harmony. He felt like nothing else mattered to him other than Shantae and her performance. That everything surrounding him slowly disappeared.
So we will dance through the danger
Together we'll never fail
We will forge a path to our destiny
I ask you to dance with me, so the world can see
[begin indefinite refrain]
That we can dance through the danger
Together we will set sail
For a time and space with a faster pace
Seeing the world as a happier place
Shantae then takes Triton's hand and brings him up on stage. Triton was shocked at first, but decided to have fun and dance alongside Shantae. He wasn't in sync with the others, nor did he follow their dance routine. But he smiled on stage and was having a fun time.
Yes, we can dance through the danger
And fly away to the stars
Come along, don't miss this
'Cause I know that this is our time
And despite Triton's first steps at dancing, the crowd cheered for their performance. Triton heard the crowd's applause and decided to step up. The crowd started chanting his name. "Triton, Triton, Triton!" With a smile on his face, Triton took a deep breath and started singing.
The shadow lies upon their tomb
Deep underground, in caves of doom
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and endless Isles of Ear
There lies their crown in waters deep
Til' the Sun wakes again from sleep
Shantae walks up to Triton and the two smile at each other as the crowd applauds. And for the first time in his life, in a long long time, Triton was happy and free. He started to tear up and fall to his knees.
"This is the best day of my life!" He cried. "Shantae, I can't thank you enough for making all of this possible."
"It wasn't just Shantae," said Harmony. "You did all this as well. You faced your fears, and saved not only the festival, but the world."
"Yet," said Triton. "I've seen the ins and outs of this island, and I want to see more."
Harmony smiled, and so did Shantae. "And that's my surprise for you," said Shantae. "If you want it."
"What is it?" Triton asked.
"Triton," said Shantae, holding his hands. "Would you like to come to my home in Scuttle Town with me, my Uncle, and my friends? Live a life of adventure? With danger? And excitement?"
Triton thought for a moment about Shantae's offer, looked at her with happiness in his eyes, smiled from ear to ear, and said, "YES!"
The crowd cheered, Sky, Bolo, Mimic, and Rottytops joined them onstage and joined them in a group hug.
The rest of the festival was a success, and the world was safe from the sirens. Before long, it was time for Shantae and her friends to return to Scuttle Island. And for Triton, it was time for him to join them, to journey beyond the boundaries of the island he knew his whole life.
The gang have packed their bags and brought them onto the ship. Thanks to Triton, Bolo was having an easy time carrying all the luggage into the ship. Triton turns to Mimic and says, "That's the last of them."
"Good," said Mimic. "Now we have time to say goodbye."
"Ah, for a first vacation, it sure was a doozy," said Shantae. Everyone agreed.
She turns to the half genies and smiles softly, knowing this is goodbye. "I'll miss you all so much."
Just then, the lobster siren comes up to Triton, wanting to say goodbye as well. Triton smiled, "I know it's hard to say goodbye," he said. "But if it makes you feel better. I'm placing you under the island's care. The people of this island need someone to depend on to rebuild. So always do your very best."
"That sounds like something I would say," said Shantae.
And with that, the lobster siren bids farewell to the group and returns to the island to rebuild once again.
"Before you go," said Harmony. "Here. This is for you." She gives Triton the small book that she showed Shantae.
"What's this?" Triton asked.
"That's Harmony's mother's scrapbook,"replied Shantae. "I don't know if he can accept this."
Harmony just smiled, "There's something special in the book he'll want to see." She turns away, bidding them farewell. "Safe travels."
Triton opens the wrappings and finds a small piece of paper poking out of the book marked, 'To my son, Triton." He pulls out the paper and opens it up to reveal a message. From his mother, Serena.
'Dear Triton,
if you get this letter, then I wanted to tell you something. The day you were born, I knew you were capable of great things. I only wish I could have had more time to spend with you. But that's the problem with us sirens, we can't exist after we have children.
I'm not going to lie, a hybrid child of a human and a siren isn't going to be easy. The world will be afraid of things they don't understand. But always remember: The world is a very big place, so I guarantee you that there will be friends who will accept you for who you are.
Humanity is what made me see the beauty of life. Find your purpose in life and fight for it. I know you'll make us proud. Me, and your father. And one day, the three of us will be together again.
Love, Serena'
Triton smiled with tears in his eyes, and Rottytops just yawned. "Can we just go already?" She rudely asked.
Triton was a tad agitated, "Do you mind? This is a letter from my mother!"
"Triton's right, Rotty," said Sky. "Give him a moment!"
"Who died and put you in charge?!" Rottytops sassed back.
Rottytops tackles Sky, rolling and kicking the bird keeper. Triton's annoyance vanished as he watched them fighting. Then, he started laughing. "Is this a regular thing?" He asked.
"Unfortunately," said Bolo. He rushes over, trying to break up the fight. "Can't you both get along for one minute!?"
Sky and Rottytops kick him in the face in response, "Stay out of this!" They yelled.
Shantae goes over to Triton and the two laugh it out. Then, they turn to the half-genies and the lobster siren and wave goodbye.
"Goodbye!" called Triton. "So long!" called Shantae.
The rest of the group, the half genies, and the island residents all bid farewell to each other and the group gets on the airship. As Triton steps foot on the airship, he takes one last look at Siren Island and smiles softly.
"Goodbye."
He steps into the airship and travels to a new life in Scuttle Town with his new friends: Shantae, Mimic, Sky, Wrench, Rottytops, and Bolo. He walks up to a porthole window next to Shantae, and the two hybrids smile at each other on the journey home.
One month later, in Shantae's home of Scuttle Town, Shantae was sound asleep in her lighthouse. Below her room, Triton was sleeping on a hammock next to her stove under her first floor window. Triton wakes up to the gentle touch of the sun's rays on his face and the soft sounds of waves breaking the shoreline.
Then, a loud bang was heard not far from the lighthouse. Triton got on his new attire, which included a white sleeveless shirt, a blue vest like Bolo's, light green khaki shorts, and blue flip flops. "Up and at'em, Tailwhip! We got company!"
He races out of the lighthouse and finds the town being invaded by a mechanical pirate ship. And at the helm of the ship is none other than Risky Boots. She fires her cannons, shooting out cannonballs the size of boulders. The sudden impact on one of the cannonballs split Rottytops in half. But she was okay considering that she's a zombie.
Shantae gets out of her night gear and rushes outside. "What is it?!" she cried.
"Looks like our old pal Risky wants to play again," said Triton with a grin.
"Ret-2-Go?" Shantae asked with a grin.
"Let's risk it all," replied Triton. The two high five each other, race into town, and leap into the air to fight against the purple pirate captain once more.
The End!