|Hello, God here,
|I have finally returned to bring another story.
|For those who have played or watched someone play Shantae before, yes, these first dozen or so chapters will basically cover a "slightly" altered version of the first game. There will be some surprises. Still it is mostly to wean those who haven't played a semi-obscure metroidvania from gameboy colour.
BEFORE any hate spikes let me explain that was not an insult; just it is true that metroidvania's are not exactly heavily highlighted in the gaming zeitgeist so most peoples experience with her is…
|Well we all know she's a sex positive queen and even she doesn't think herself a good role model.
|Personally I would love it if this fanfic one day had someone go "oh your fanfic got me interested so I ended up playing a Shantae game" as they are great games. Hell I literally only disliked one singular room in Risky's Revolution. Yes I did have to go back to find that one squid hidden in the monkey room and no I didn't check the wiki for it… The wiki had three pages total at the time.
|As for the Danmachi elements… Except it to be introduced VERY slowly; reasons will become clear fairly quickly.
|Also expect a lot of chapters over these next few weeks as I try to jump start this story
|Anyways, enough being mushy and for the first time in awhile let me say, enjoy~♥
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"..." = Speech
<...> = Thought
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As she lay there…
She couldn't help thinking that life was pretty good.
Warm light from Sequin Land's always merry sun shone through the window of a certain lighthouse that recently became home to a new guardian genie. Falling upon the face of that certain young girl as she sprawled out. Her face twitching as that jolly source of light attempted to wake her up.
Some may find being woken up like that to be annoying while cursing the bright sun.
Yet, lying half sunk into a large green cushion that served as her bed, the still girl just stepping into responsibility did not do any of that at all. Long purple lashes trembling as she slowly opened her eyes to meet the gigantic ball of burning plasma far away in the sky. Though it was clear that a storm was approaching.
A sign of bad fortune to be sure. Something that would ruin what otherwise could have been a truly wonderful day and represent an oncoming disaster. For most - being awoken by the bright sun only to see the oncoming rain - was the start of a really shitty day.
However, a huge smile graced her lips.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse OST: We Love Burning Town
"Looks like today is going to be a busy one; I'll have to make sure the waterways don't clog!" Speaking in a tone that conveyed nothing but raw unfiltered positivity even though her shoulders slumped quite a bit causing her average sized chest to bounce. "Would have preferred to play around with the kids again…"
Pulling herself up with little commotion, if one didn't count the shaking of her bare chest, letting her full birthday suit bathe in the fresh morning light of the sun. Her bronze skin practically glowing in the unrestricted radiance of the celestial body. Even the more private parts, such as her maroon tips, enjoyed the warm soothing heat only available on a bright day.
To say they were perky would be an understatement - making it quite evident that she was enjoying the sensation of basking it.
Long violet hair fell down to her feet as she took a deep breath.
Strangely her hips almost seemed to refuse to stand still, even in a serene moment like that, softly bouncing from side to side to a song only they could hear.
Though it wasn't just her hips as everything about her followed that very same hypnotic rhythm,
"Don't know how Sky can ever bother waking up with stuffy pajamas on; sure it gets cold sometimes but it's hard to beat this feeling~." For a moment just letting her head fall back with closed eyes. Truly taking a break for…
All of two seconds.
"Red-2-go!" Literally jumping off her cushion, or at least trying, the innate malleability of the thing getting in the way of her energetic wakeup. Causing her to underestimate the strength needed and thus kind of just flop on the floor like a fish out of water; a metal *ting* echoing through the room.
Rubbing the bump now present on forehead just above where her golden circlet formed a 'v' in the center of her forehead. Splitting her purple fringe in a rather painful (if comical) sight as those big eyes of hers had even bigger teardrops in them. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, owie… Who put that floor there."
Fortunately there was nobody there to see her little face plant.
Double fortunately; she was quick to recover from her injury and pushed herself off the ground with that bright smile back on her face.
"Right, time to get dressed!" Throwing her arms up into the air as if she were celebrating some great achievement instead of achieving the grand feat of… Standing up. She didn't let that small hiccup get her down as she quickly got to work preparing for the long day ahead of her.
Finding herself in front of a mirror with a toothbrush half sticking out her mouth - fiddling with two large golden ear rings that she put atop her abnormally long ears. Anyone who read any fantasy would instantly recognise them as belonging to an elf. Not that she was an elf; their forests were FAR from her home.
"Hmm I wonder if other half genies and spirits have long ears like mine, those mystical elves supposedly are descendents of spirits as well, wonder if mama would have known…" Pondering as she brushed her lips with one hand while generously taking advantage of a squirt bottle to put a literal bottle full of magical shampoo on her hand. How did she squirt the shampoo with both her hands supposedly full?
Easy!
With her hair.
Slapping the open palm onto the top of her head to flatten the ahoge that refused to stop dancing. Sadly that rogue stand of hair was smarter than her as it continued to dance - flicking her in the eye with a wad of soap. "WAH!"
Her reaction was to instinctively rub her eyes yet anyone could see the issue with that… Namely her hand contained a generous lathering of soap as well. As a result her "WAHAHA" only got louder as she jettisoned the toothbrush from her mouth. Of course what comes up must come down.
*bonk*
The bump was back.
---
By the time she had gotten fully ready, the clouds had already set in overhead, that being despite the fact she had hardly any clothes to put on.
Those wide hips swinging from side to side - still dancing to a beat only she could hear.
Long flowing purple locks now tied up with a thick golden band. Where the ahoge once was, was now a ponytail that only fell a bit under her the smalls of her legs. Not that it was easy to tell when those very same legs were hidden in baggy red satin pants that had a lighter red waist band and, rather than tapering off, expanded out until sharply tightening around her ankles where her little hooked shoes poked out.
Her waist - slender enough that it was shocking all her organs were organ-ing - was on full display with her cute little innie bellybutton was clear. Then there were her pair of handfuls that she didn't shy away from displaying. Wearing merely a bikini top that was red with a golden rim over top her cleavage and a bit more forming a pretty distraction for the hook between the two cups.
Then there were the iconic and symbolic additions to her wrists, looking way too heavy to be on her completely meat-devoid arms, two golden bracers that covered from her wrists to her elbows.
Far from a fashion choice but instead an homage to the genies who had their powers bound to help them protect the people that practically worshipped them.
People that practically worshipped her.
Her being one of their descendents.
As well as being left to fulfill what used to be the role of various spirits on account of all of them, not just genies, deciding to move back to their world of origin.
Not that you would guess such a hefty weight fell upon her with how she was currently acting.
Looking out the window with a sheepish look as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Takes me so long to do my hair already and it is only getting longer; wonder how the town folk and such can handle working up so much grime. I really am thankful being a genie gets rid of a lot of the icky parts of just living life." Laughing nervously as she silently prayed to her mother for Sky & Bolo.
"More so Bolo as I kind of like it when Sky is a bit musky… She'd most definitely kill me if I said that in front of anyone." This time her laugh was far more forced as her eyes grew hollow. "Wouldn't be the first time I've incurred the wrath of Sky's heavenly divine thunder fist of karmic judgement!"
It was just then that she saw a glimmer of light in the distance, strangely not towards the land but deep out on the choppy waves, instantly garnering her attention. That light bobbing about chaotically making her narrow her eyes in a vain attempt to make it out. "What is that… If it's a ship I might need t-"
*BOOM*
"MY STAIRS!" Her hands immediately held the window sill as she planted her head against the glass of her window without care about that cute face of hers completely distorting. Watching as the stairs into her home, the lighthouse of scuttle town, were blown into splinters by a rogue cannon ball.
Sadly those stairs were far from being the only casualty as soon explosions of light "exploded" across the sleepy usually fishing settlement of Scuttle town. Her eyes widening in shock as realization quickly set in. "Wait, those aren't explosions of light, they're just regular explody explosions and fire!"
With that figured out she quickly charged down before barging out her doorway…
"WAIT WHERE ARE THE STAIRS!" Instinctively moving to step down only to find none of the steps she had grown used to using over the last couple days. This time she did not fall flat on her face, though, as she literally hit the ground running.
Essentially she was 0-2 against stairs today.
Stumbling at first but using her hands to stop herself from falling over all the way was enough for her to instantly come out sprinting even if it gave little in the way of stopping power. It seemed the ship on the horizon didn't leave that unnoticed as a booming echoed from the distance. An explosion rang out behind her however she didn't even bother to look back.
"I have a town to save so don't think some pirates can stop me!" She yelled out while turning her head towards the ship and childishly poking her tongue out.
Something those pirates didn't seem to appreciate as the next explosion rang out in front of her.
"WOAH!" Leaping last second to jump over the brand new gap in the wooden bridge that previously connected her little island (literally only big enough for the very small lighthouse) to the rest of the diverse lands known as Sequin. A home to all manner of creatures; both friendly and… Not so much.
Hence why she was given the job as guardian!
Even if she was a tad inexperienced.
"Now to find uncle Mimic - he'll know what to do about these troublesome pirates!" She exclaimed out loud as soon as her feet finally touched solid ground; only taking a mere moment to look around before shooting off again without fear of the burning buildings potentially crashing down on her. After all inexperience can be made up for by pluckiness and asking someone who knows better!
Rushing into the town, though, made her quickly realise that the cannonfire was not truly the start of the attack as she saw strange gangly black humanoid creatures sculking around. Their hands claws while their round black heads were adorned by crimson bandanas. They also wore red pants.
That was good as she had no desire to see what they were packing.
Not only were they shorter than even her but they were scraggily to the point of being thinner than her.
"Wow… I didn't think I'd ever see a waist slimmer than mine…" Momentarily stunned as she just stood there looking at one of the creatures with blinking eyes. Honestly kind of baffled that there truly was a creature who had accomplished the impossible. "Does look like it belongs in that horrid bog…"
Her surprise didn't last long.
Seeing their wicked acts - not only looting but seemingly making a game out of scaring the item shop owner as they danced around him to jump out and shock him - she showed no hesitation. Charging forward to the one filtering goods from the wall she lashed her head forward to send her long hair forward like a spear. Piercing right through the little bastard and causing it to detonate into black smoke.
Dropping a gem to the ground yet now was hardly the time to be focusing on that. Exploding into action before the other two creatures could retaliate or hold the shop owner action. Swinging her head and magic filled hair forward to skewer both at the same time as they were fortunately lined up just right.
The man in charge of the shop was understandably shaken, however the sound of the gems clattering to the ground seemed to be enough to wake him from his lapse. Grasping his chest as he panted to regain what energy those monsters had drained from him. "Thank you for saving me!"
"N-No problem but hide until all this is over!" Raising her hand as she quickly turned back to the door of the shop and raced out through the streets where it was clear that the item shop was not merely an isolated instance. All across the city those weird bastards were pillaging the good people of Scuttle!
Growling in anger; the brave half-genie charged forward to a group of three that was throwing their ill gotten gains into pre-prepared barrels.
She caught this action with her eyes quickly widening in shock. "Not good!"
Throwing herself backwards just in time to dodge the bullet but unfortunately not completely as she felt a stunning heat across her stomach. Groaning as a hand unconsciously found its way there. A thin yet visible line seeped crimson across her hand.
Though she did not act like a squeamish little girl as those monsters seemed to expect - her eyes hardened with an iron resolve. "Don't think this is enough to keep this genie down in the dumps!"
Screaming through the pain as she whipped her head forward to pierce the one in front of her while practically feeling the heat pass overhead from the missed bullet. Barely dodging in time to avoid meeting her mother. She wasn't quite sure if she'd reform in the spirit world, somewhere else or at all…
But she also didn't plan to test that out for a long time.
Not wanting to get shot again she charged forward with a fierce roar where she once again whipped her hair forward just as that creature fumbled with his flintlock. Once more that *poof* echoed out like music to her ears. Taking a moment to catch her breath (even if she didn't need air) as well as study her injury.
Taking her hand away just in time for that black dust to seep into her wound and completely help her recover.
"Didn't know I could do that but that sure is convenient!" Pumping her slightly bloody hand before looking out over the chaotic landscape once more. Her face hardened even as she maintained the bright smile that had only faltered for a fraction.
A desire to ensure that was the last time she'd show such weakness to a foe… At least one that should have been easy to take out.
…
"UNCLE MIMIC!" Crashing through the door of the workshop just to see her uncle resting against one of his workbenches. He was an old man with white tufts of hair above his ears, bushy white brows and a long flowing beard that seemed to explain why he lacked hair up top.
Clearly he was just min-maxing!
Not that his hair volume came anywhere close to the eighteen year old half-genie.
Seeing her burst in made the beady eyes behind the orange goggles soften before he finally seemed to remember the situation. Upon seeing the somewhat fresh blood smudged on her toned stomach he quickly rushed over without worry about his own safety. "OH NO WHERE ARE YOU HURT!"
"I'm okay, okay, just a little scratch that I healed up by killing some of these monsters." This time the warmth she felt was a more positive one as she quickly backed away from her uncle with an awkward chortle while lifting her hands coaxingly. Though the blood on her palm made him panic more until he finally processed his words.
"Wait, I didn't know you could do that, but that sure is convenient for your role as the new guardian genie of scuttle town." Running his stubby fingers through his long beard as the genie girl quickly pointed towards him with no small amount of validation. "That's exactly what I said!"
"You aren't supposed to be surprised by your own powers but you can hardly be blamed when you have no one to properly teach you. The other half genies are returning to be with their parents while your mothers had long left by the time you were old enough to learn…" His voice was remorseful even though it was clearly not his fault.
She wanted to comfort him however he quickly erupted. "WAIT THERE IS NO TIME FOR THIS; YOU MUST HURRY AND STOP THEM FROM TAKING THE STEAM ENGINE!"
"... What?" Her confusion understandable as one moment they were having an emotional moment.
The next he was screaming orders at her.
"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, HURRY!" His desperation was quite evident so she just agreed with a quick "right uncle" before turning tail to run away without noticing she had accidentally slapped the man across the face with her pony tail. Fortunately it only hurt due to not being magically empowered.
Though it was still a lot denser than regular human hair.
Rubbing his cheek he distantly looked on as his only family rushed into danger. "This is a journey I cannot help you on and only you, a descendent of genies, could stop this evil just like your ancestors stopped hers. I fear for you nevertheless I know you are stronger than you think, you can do this, Shantae."