Triton kept running as fast as he could. He couldn't bear to know what Shantae and those other scientists were thinking about right now. Like, 'How could he do something like that?' Or, 'He's not a human..' And most of all, 'That creature is dangerous! It's a monster! Destroy it!'

His dark thoughts brought tears running down his eyes. Every stain made his face expose streaks of fish scales. But he kept running until he could run no more. As he reached a dead end, he slowed down long enough for a place to hide. He crouches down behind a couple rocks and shuts his eyes, not making a sound.

A few moments have passed and no noise was heard, other than the creatures that inhabit these parts of the tunnels. Triton took a deep breath and slowly came out of his hiding place. He sighs in relief that he ran too fast for anyone to follow. "I should get out of here," he said.

He starts walking away from the dead end and finds himself in the Sea Vent lab tunnels. Within these tunnels lived the deadliest of sea creatures. Some use conch shells as weapons. Others take more than a punch. And the falls that flow underground are not water, they are lava.

Triton starts venturing through the tunnels trying to avoid as much conflict as possible. The last thing he would want to do is use up his strength while trying to find a way out. And he also wanted to try his best to avoid Shantae. He didn't want to face her after what happened between him and Squid Baron.

Back in the small dark cove, the mysterious leader loomed down at one of her subjects. "Your squid friend failed to bring me the boy," she said. Her subject bowed back to her and pleaded with her life.

"He is lost in my tunnels. I will see to it that he will be brought to you. I promise."

The leader was less than pleased with her subjects begging. But decided to give her one last chance. "If you ever break that promise…" She takes her clawed hand and slashes her leaving scratches on her arm. Her subject was most terrified, knowing that her last chance was her last.

"Thanks for not taking it out on my children," she said. Then, her subject takes her leave in a hurry. The boss just sits back in her chair and starts to ever wonder if any of her subjects are ever going to catch Triton.

'He's the key,' she thought. 'It should be his destiny.'

Back in the tunnels, Triton kept to himself and used his camouflage ability to sneak past the creatures below the surface. However, there were some creatures who could see him through his camouflage and attacked him. But Triton was strong and he fought back with a bash and a bam. A kick and a tail whip, and the creatures were down.

Then, Triton heard someone calling to him. It was Shantae. "Triton! Triton, where are you?" Triton remained still, blending back into the environment. He was invisible to the half genie. She ran down the tunnel to where he was, but couldn't find him.

"Triton! Please, I don't blame you," she said. "It's not your fault. You were just angry."

She looked high and low. "Come on," she pleaded. "We said we would work together. I don't care if you lose your temper."

Then, she started to quietly cry. "You may be impulsive, Triton. But you remind me of me. And I won't give up until I find you." She wipes the tears from her eyes and walks away to search for Triton once more. "Triton!"

Triton could only watch as his first friend ran off in the distance. It took every ounce of resistance to make sure Shantae couldn't see him. As much as he wanted to tell her he's okay, he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt her, nor did he want her to fear him. So he turned his back and ran the opposite direction.

As he slowed down, he started thinking about the drawing he found on the pirate corpse. He takes the drawing out of his pocket and observes every detail of the illustration. The illustration of the siren was well detailed and the colors were fluent.

Triton walks through the tunnels, finding himself in another passage that shows another mural with the eight sirens. Triton brings the illustration to one of the matching sirens. 'What does this mean?' He thought.

Then out of nowhere, a familiar voice spoke behind him. "Hello there runt."

Triton turns around to find himself face to face with Risky Boots. "Oh, it's you," he said flatly. "I don't know what you're doing around here, but I'm still not interested."

Risky just laughed at his incompetence. "Ho ho! Ha ha ha ha. You really are a funny guy." She takes her sword and draws it back in her belt. "Since you're not interested in why I'm here, I'll let you ask me one question."

Triton was not interested in asking a pirate like Risky a question. But since he doesn't want to get involved in her little treasure hunt, he thought he could delay her by asking her an impossible question.

"What do you make of this?" He pulls out the illustration of the siren and points the original siren on the wall. Risky Boots looked at the mural, then the illustration. Then something in her popped in her head.

"Where did you find that?" Risky asked.

"I found it while I was digging for shells," replied Triton. "It was found on the bones of an old human. It looked like he was dressed professionally, but he traveled the seas like a pirate."

Risky was surprised with what he discovered. "The bones you discovered were the bones of a privateer, a man who goes out to sea hunting for pirates. The fool must've been searching for the old folk's tale."

Triton remained silent, giving Risky a confused look. She knew he had more questions, so she decided to save him the trouble. "There are many tales of the seas. But none more powerful than the tale of the sailor boy and his maiden." Knowing this was going to be a long tale, Triton took a seat.

"Long ago, pirates from all over the world were looking for the legendary treasure. The very same treasure that I'm looking for right now. But the creatures guarding this treasure had first claims. But that never stopped the pirates from trying to obtain it. Many tried, but none prevailed."

"Then one day, a sailor came to find the treasure. That sailor was in command of privateers, the very same people who hunt pirates. They were more focused on ambushing the pirates who sailed in these waters."

"One night, during a storm, the sailor was swept out to sea and washed up on this very island. While looking for a way off, he heard singing. He goes over to investigate, and finds a beautiful siren. The sailor was enamored by her beautiful voice. But little did he know, was that sirens always hunt mortal beings."

"But this siren was different. She didn't kill the sailor, let alone hurt him. She looked into his eyes and saw the humanity within him. The siren kept singing, and the sailor took out his flute and played with her. Hours turned into days, days turned into a week, and they saw what they longed for."

"The siren hoped for humanity. The sailor went looking for treasure. On that island, they found what they were looking for. And they fell in love. Little did they know that the love they shared was forbidden. But they did not care."

"However, their time together couldn't last. The next thing they knew was that the island was attacked by both factions. The sailors attacked the pirates and sirens. The sirens were winning. The loving siren offered the sailor an effort to escape, and the sailor promised to return one day on his own. They kissed goodbye, the sailor rowed away, but he never came back."

"Legends say that after the sailor left, the siren passed away from a broken heart. And the eight sirens were down to seven, and they swore revenge on all the humans."

Triton was impressed. "Wow, that must've been some story."

"Most pirates find it ridiculous for a tale nearly twenty years ago to be a legend," said Risky. "But I couldn't care less for fish tales."

"Yeah yeah, I know," said an annoyed Triton. "You only came here for the treasure."

"You know," said Risky. "Maybe these half genies are not the only ones you're looking for. Maybe your mind is telling you that you're looking for answers. About who you are, and where you came from?"

As Triton turns to face the pirate captain, she disappears again leaving no trace. He was surprised she would say something like that. 'Does that pirate know something about me that I don't?' He thought.

Triton wandered through more of the tunnels, then stumbled upon another cage that had trapped the other half genies. Inside the cage was Zapple. Triton was unaware of her name, but he knew she was a half genie. He jumps down into the puddle surrounding the cage. His legs started showing his fish scales.

He knocked on the cage, waking up the half genie. "Excuse me?" Triton asked. Zapple groaned in response, but couldn't wake up all the way. "Genie! Wake Up!" Triton shouted. Zapple groaned again, "Not so loud! I'm up!"

"I'm here to get you out," said Triton. "Me and…" Triton turned around to realize he left Shantae behind. "Well, Shantae wanted me to help find you. I'll get you out."

Triton gripped on the bars of the strange cage, and started to pull with all his might. The metal bars started to groan and creak as they visibly became bent. A bit more force and Triton grabs Zapple out of the cage to recover her strength.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Where am I?" Zapple asked.

"You're deep in the Sunken City," replied Triton. "Your other friends were captured besides Shantae. She came down here to find them and I tagged along because my home was disrupted."

Zapple took a moment to herself and to gather her thoughts on what to do next. "Where's Shantae?" She asked.

"We…got separated at some point," Triton replied. He didn't want her to know he ran away from her after his scene with Squid Baron. "But she is doing her part to find your friends."

"We need to find her and come up with an escape plan," said Zapple.

"I'll go ahead and see if there's a way out of here," said Triton. "In the meantime, give Shantae your fusion coin."

Zapple was shocked knowing what Triton said. "How did you know I have a fusion coin?" she asked.

"Because Vera and Plink had the same thing," replied Triton. "I figured there was a pattern: A half genie is rescued, and they give Shantae a fusion coin, leaving her to use said coin to attack the siren not far from here."

"Wow," said Zapple. "Well okay, but how will you get around? There are passages blocked over there."

"I'll find a way," replied Triton. "I always do." He climbs out of the puddle and finds a pattern of cobblestones beneath his feet. "Go find Shantae as soon as you're at full strength."

"Before you go, what's your name?" Zapple asked.

Knowing she would go find Shantae and help them find her friends, Triton replies, "My name is Triton."

Zapple nodded in respect and replied, "Zapple." Then, she magically vanished, leaving Triton by himself.

Triton turns back to the cobblestoned section of the floor. Thinking back to his ability to shatter glass with his voice, he came up with an idea. He faces down on the floor and prepares himself for what he's about to do.

Triton calls out a sonic screech on the ground, making him fly a few feet in the air. The cobblestones started to loosen up from the sound wave vibrations. Then, as Triton falls to the ground, he slams on the cobblestones, breaking through the floor and opening up a passageway.

Triton kept up with his earthquake tactic through all the passages he could find. Before long, not one section was blocked off by cobblestones. He bounced his way from one end to the other with his sonic screech, looking for the siren's lair. Before long, he found the large doors covered in prickled vines.

Triton enters the siren's lair, waiting for the siren to come out. "I'm here," he said. "Show yourself. I can smell you. You reek of snake oil." Triton glanced from left to right, waiting for a response. All he could hear were serpents hissing in the dark.

Then, pairs of golden eyes appeared in the dark. And out of the shadows revealed another siren. This siren is shown to be a humanoid from the waist up with sharp purple horns on her head. Below the waist consists of a purple mass with an extra face with three serpents poking out.

"Poor sweet little creature," she said in a calm seductive tone. "What are you doing in these halls?"

"What's it to you?" Triton asked. "You and your siren pals kidnapped my friend's friends. And she wants them back."

She slithered around with a mile on his face. Triton knew she was up to something, but was frozen where he stood. Was it fear? Was it false bravery? Or was it curiosity? One thing's for sure, he was surrounded.

"What's the rush?" she asked. "We're only just taking what's rightfully ours." She slithered up in his face and grinned. "And it belongs to you as well."

Triton was confused. "Me? Why me?" The siren's serpents slithers behind his back and pushes him close to the siren.

"Because you're the key," replied the siren. "Ever thought about what you are?" Due to his half human appearance, Triton was easily entranced by the siren's eyes. He couldn't fight back.

The siren kept her eyes locked on the hybrid and grew a malicious grin. "The Empress would be most pleased to see you," she said. "She's been looking for you for years. Those eyes of yours, they remind us of someone we used to know. For years we've been sulking underground, waiting for the moment to rise up and be the dominant forces of the world. Despite you and that half genie defeating my friends, our plan is in place no matter what. We have others to make sure about that."

While she's talking, the dazed Triton was coiled up by the serpents necks, unable to squirm free. However, he was calm and unaware of what's happening. "All she needs for her plan to work is you. Don't worry, she's not going to kill you. She wants you alive. I'll bring her to you, she'll keep you close. And you won't be alone ever again."

"BONKER TORTOISE FUSION!"

Before she could do anything else, a whip of hair smacked the siren right in her face. It was Shantae's hair whip. She flipped in and attacked the serpent siren with her new ability, the Bonker Tortoise fusion. The siren retreats underground to avoid head-on conflict.

The siren's serpents strike Shantae with their bite attacks, but Shantae dodges them all. Then, she uses her bonker tortoise fusion to stomp the siren out of hiding. When the siren popped out of her hiding place, she didn't give her a chance to fight back. Shantae kept whipping and hitting until the siren started to explode from the inside.

Before she could disappear, the siren shouted to Shantae, "He needs to know!" Then the siren explodes until she is gone. Shantae grabs Triton and takes her leave from the siren's lair.

Back in the underground dark cove, the lead siren looks down on her last two siren followers. She started throwing rocks out of anger. "She was so close!" She shouted. "My tubeworm siren had him in the child of her children. And she couldn't even beat a rogue half genie!?"

She throws another rock at the mural, breaking the tube worm siren off the wall. The first siren slowly walked up to her. "My Empress, as much as I'm afraid of your anger. You must remain calm. Everything is going according to plan."

"She's right," said the second siren. "We just need to get those two separated. We know how scared she was of him when Squid Baron attacked. We just need to find a way."

The lead siren, the Empress, appeared out of the dark shadows with her elderly appearance. "You're right," she said. "As long as those two are together, they're strong. But if they were driven apart, we might have a chance to grab the boy." She points to the first siren who spoke. "You, see what you can find on the two, then report it back to me as soon as possible. The more we know, the better chance we have."

"Yes my Empress," said the first siren.

Then, her glowing eyes disappear into the dark. The other siren bowed to the empress and took her leave, leaving the Empress alone. "Soon Serena," she said to herself. "We will have him back. Don't worry, I promised you I would take care of him."

Back outside the siren's lair, Triton started to wake up from his hypnotic trance. He finds himself in Shantae's arms who was relieved to find him. Triton was surprised that Shantae found him so fast, then he finds Zapple next to her which explains a lot.

"Triton, are you okay?" Shantae asked.

Triton placed a hand on his head. "Ugh, What happened?"

"Shantae rescued you from the tube worm siren," replied Zapple. "She found me trying to find a way out, and I told her where you were going."

"She put you under hypnosis," said Shantae. "I couldn't let you get hurt."

Triton shrugs off his grogginess and gets back on his feet. "Yeah," he said. "I guess at that moment, it was either her or me. But she did say a few strange things."

"About what?" Zapple asked.

"She said there was a lead siren," said Triton. Shantae and Zapple listened carefully. "This Empress siren is the mastermind of some unknown master plan. It didn't matter if we defeated the other sirens. All she wants is me, I am the key." He starts thinking about how long the sirens know him. "These sirens, they may know more about me than I know about myself. Could I be related to them? Am I a siren? Am I…a monster?"

Shantae and Zapple look at each other with concern and fear. Shantae was scared for her friend. "Triton, I promise you, you're not a monster," she said. "I don't care about your strange abilities, nor how powerful they are. I know that you're more than what you think because part of you is human. And that part is the best thing about you."

Triton looks back at Shantae. "You really mean that?" he asked.

Shantae nodded, "Of course." She takes his hand and pulls him back up. "Besides, I couldn't have done this without your help."

Triton and Shantae smiled at each other while Zapple looked at them with a sly grin. "Then, I'm sorry I ran off like that," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you or the scientists."

The two look over at the half genie, then blushed with embarrassment. They instantly let go of each other and glance away. "Relax," said Zapple. "I'm not judging. I'm just wondering how she was able to get out of her cage."

"Shantae wasn't in any cage," said Triton. "She was the only one who wasn't captured during your performance."

"Well that's awfully suspicious," said Zapple. "Why would the sirens take the half genies if all they needed was you?"

"I guess the half genies' powers are part of the Empress' master plan," said Triton. "Only question is, what's their part?"

"So where are the others?" Zapple asked.

"We've rescued Plink and Vera," replied Shantae. "But Fillin and Harmony are still trapped down here somewhere.

"We need to find them then discover what the Empress Siren's plan really is," replied Triton.

"I'm going to have a word with Plink and Vera," said Zapple. "Until then, you two keep doing your thing. When you're ready, come find me at Armor Town and we'll discuss what's next. It's on the far east side of the island."

And with that, Zapple disappeared leaving Triton and Shantae alone together. The two look back at one another and smile, knowing what they have to do next.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Shantae asked.

"You bet," replied Triton. "Next stop, Armor Town!" And with that, the two race back topside to find Armor Town.