Opposing Genies

(Cubed Cinder; idea by Twilight Prince)

Shantae made a bold jump and whipped her hair at the barrel, causing it to explode and damage the Steam Powered Oceanic Tinkertub. It’s been another long adventure for the half-genie girl known as Shantae. Despite being told to let it go by Uncle Mimic, Shantae nevertheless went off to recover the three Magic Seals that kept hidden away the power of a magic lamp that the evil Risky Boots had stolen earlier. Although she recovered all three seals, she was once again put in a tight spot by the pirate villainess. Deliver the seals or Mimic would be walking the plank.

But Shantae was able to save the day once again. Cracking that last exploding barrel seemed to do the trick, as Shantae backed away and watched the Tinkertub start exploding in every way possible. Finally, after a brilliant flash of light, Shantae opened up her eyes and saw Risky Boots standing all by herself. Shantae thought she had won, but as she was about to find out, her quest was far from done.

“You’re finished, Risky!” Shantae shouted. But Risky, instead of pounding her feet or wailing in defeat, just smiled.

“Tsk tsk. Gotta keep your eye on the prize!” Risky said. That’s when she reached behind her back and pulled out the magic lamp.

“You see? The magic lamp is back in action and ready to rock!! If you still want to know the secret of the lamp, I’ll show you! Open wide and say ahhhhhh!” Risky said. As Shantae wondered what all the hoopla has been about the lamp (especially Mimic’s reactions to it), she watched as it started to glow a bright white.

At that moment, Shantae’s body glowed brightly as well, and waves of orange energy balls came flying out from everywhere on her body.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Shantae screamed out. Whatever was happening to her, it was causing her incredible pain. Finally, 15 seconds later, Shantae stopped glowing and collapsed to her knees.

“W-w-w-what? What… have you done?” Shantae said, breathing heavily as she tried to recover from the pain that had subsided.

“Hah hah hah! Do you understand now? This lamp has the power to suck up and enslave genies! Once captured, the genie must grant EVERY WISH her master desires, no matter how evil!” Risky said.

“(gasp!)” Shantae gasped.

“That is what your uncle has been hiding from you! With this, I can turn a genie into a weapon of total destruction! No one will dare to defy me!” Risky shouted.

“But how could it work on me? I’m only Half Genie!” Shantae said.

“I’ll admit at first glance it seems pretty useless. After all, there aren’t any real genies left to enslave. But since you’re a half genie, I figured why not use the lamp to strip you of your powers!” Risky said. As Shantae slowly stood back on her feet, she tried to link herself with her magical side, the side that allows her to do things like shoot fireballs and transform with her dances. She could not feel anything.

“She’s right! My magical half is gone! What’s left is...” Shantae said.

“Hahahaha!” Risky laughed, having already figured out what Shantae was reduced to.

“I’m human!” Shantae finished.

“Now let’s see how you fare without your special powers! Hear me, Genie of the Lamp, I command you to appear!” Risky shouted.

After a thick cloud of black smoke poured out from the lamp, it eventually took shape into something that Shantae once again had to gasp at. She was looking at herself, except with pale purple skin (somewhat resembling Risky Boots’ skin color), red hair, glowing green eyes, and a dark purple outfit instead of red. Risky Boots wasted no time in giving her wish to the one we shall call Nega-Shantae. Shantae knew the situation was bad, as she thought to herself.

“I can’t transform! Risky will use my magic for evil, and all I have to fight with are my hair-whipping skills! Will it be enough?” Shantae said to herself.

“Do not hesitate! Destroy this brat! Don’t stop until she’s a stain on the floor!” Risky shouted.

“Your wish is my command.” Nega-Shantae said, sounding similar to Shantae but with a much more evil tone.

As Risky jumped a few steps back to get out of the way, Nega-Shantae charged forward towards Shantae, causing her to leap out of the way. When Shantae landed on her feet and turned around, she watched as Nega-Shantae started dancing, and Shantae recognized the dance.

“She’s transforming into a mermaid!” Shantae said to herself. Indeed, Nega-Shantae was now in her mermaid form, but she leapt into the air with ease and sprayed a bunch of deadly bubbles around the battleground. Shantae was able to dodge all these bubbles, but once again had to jump out of the way of Nega-Shantae’s charge after she transformed back. When Shantae saw Nega-Shantae doing the mermaid dance again, she sprang into action.

“Take this!” Shantae shouted as she rapidly whipped her hair at Nega-Shantae. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nega-Shantae flashing white, but it was hard to tell what that meant, whether that be she was absorbing the hit or actually taking damage. Shantae had to stop her whipping when Nega-Shantae was back in her mermaid form and sprayed bubbled almost point blank at her.

Of course, Nega-Shantae didn’t forget about the other two transformations. She next transformed into a monkey, climbing onto the nearby wall and doing a full charge at Shantae that she was able to duck under. Her elephant charge was particularly powerful. Nega-Shantae would actually leap up into the air after crashing into the wall, going up and leaving a hole in the ceiling of the underwater temple before crashing back down and charging again.

The battle went on for several minutes. Nega-Shantae would change from one form to another, and Shantae, despite showing fatigue, would strike her evil clone with every chance she got. Finally, the two sides seemed to stand still, like they were waiting for the other side to attack. It turns out Nega-Shantae had literally a big surprise for Shantae.

“Hmmm… I see there’s one more dance that I haven’t taken advantage of yet.” Nega-Shantae said. That’s when she started putting on the moves. In short, she was swinging her hips and then her upper body very wide from side-to-side. She also circled her hips around, like she was swinging a hula hoop around. Shantae at first had trouble recognizing the dance.

“Huh? What dance is that? I don’t…” Shantae said. But all of a sudden the memories came flooding back. The images cycled quickly, from Shantae saying she didn’t know they made pirates that tiny, to making sure Bolo wasn’t taking any closeups of her chest or feet, to saving Sky from a high fall, all the way to when she took on the mighty Tinker Tank from Risky Boots. As she remembered yelling to Risky Boots that her last move was for destroying her house, she snapped back to reality and suddenly realized what Nega-Shantae was going to do. She was using the growth dance.

“No!!!” Shantae shouted as she ran at full speed towards the evil clone. But it was too late. Shantae had to just as quickly dash backwards (losing her footing in the process) when Nega-Shantae was quickly growing. Shantae just looked up and up until Nega-Shantae finally reached 100 feet tall.

Nega-Shantae’s evil smile was wider than ever as she looked down at the now tiny Shantae.

“It seems I will be able to make you a stain on the floor after all.” Nega-Shantae said. She lifted her right foot high in the air and swiftly began to bring it down towards Shantae.

“Eeeek!” Shantae shouted as she quickly got on her feet and was just able to avoid being crushed by the evil giantess. With walls still surrounding every possible escape route, Shantae had to keep on dodging Nega-Shantae’s foot stomps until she could find a way out. Risky Boots, in the meantime, was having a field day watching all this play out.

“Oh, this is great! Too great! Crush her like the bug she is!!!” Risky shouted.

With Shantae able to dodge all of Nega-Shantae’s stomps so far, the evil giantess decided to try another method of attack. She reared her head back and then snapped it forward, causing her hair to fly forward. Shantae’s hair attack already had a pretty good reach, but at Nega-Shantae’s size, there was barely enough time to dodge this maneuver. While Shantae managed to avoid the brunt of the attack, a few strands of her clone’s red hair still made contact with her. She couldn’t help but grab onto one of these strands, and when she did…

“Oh no! Eeeeeek!!” Shantae said as she suddenly felt herself being pulled into the air. Nega-Shantae, meanwhile, looked all over the ground and was disgruntled to see nobody else except for her just as tiny master, Risky Boots.

“Where are you!?” Nega-Shantae shouted. Risky did all she could to help out.

“She’s on your hair! On that wretched ponytail!” Risky shouted. Nega-Shantae could only take Risky’s word, and she took immediate action by swinging her head back and forth. Shantae felt herself swinging back and forth on Nega-Shantae’s hair like it was a jungle vine. She knew she couldn’t hold on forever, but when she looked up at the ceiling and saw one of the many holes left behind by the elephant transformation, she got an idea.

“Probably my only chance of escaping!” Shantae said. She waited for the hair to swing close enough one more time to the opening, and then she let go. Once she was through the hole, she stopped her descent back down into the temple by planting both her legs on either side of the hole.

“Whew! That was exciting! Good thing my human side is very athletic!” Shantae said, but she knew she couldn’t stay where she was forever. When she looked up and saw a faint glimpse of sunlight, she knew she could make it back to the surface.

“Gotta get moving before they notice I’ve escaped!” Shantae said. Using a combination of her legs, hands, and athleticism, the former half-genie girl climbed her way out of the hole as fast as she could.

The giant Nega-Shantae eventually stopped swinging her hair thinking Shantae had lost her grip by now, but that wasn’t the case. Risky, in fact, was the first to notice she was gone.

“Hey! She’s gone!” Risky shouted.

“Impossible! There was nowhere else for that foolish girl to run.” Nega-Shantae said. Risky then looked up at the same hole that Shantae had escaped through.

“Unless she slipped out through the ceiling! Pick me up and get to the surface!” Risky said as she pointed up to the hole. Nega-Shantae did as ordered… kneeling down to pick up her master and placing her on her shoulder. Risky Boots held on tight as Nega-Shantae made a huge leap, like she was coming off a trampoline, and crashed her way through the ceiling, causing many rocks to fall down and practically bury the undersea temple.

Shantae could feel the ground rumbling stronger and stronger as she got closer to the surface, so she knew she had to hustle before Nega-Shantae caught up to her. Shantae finally made it to surface level and scampered to her feet on the grass, just as Nega-Shantae came crashing through and sent pieces of the ground flying in every direction. Shantae quickly took cover behind a rather big rock, looking about 20-30 feet tall, and hoped her giant evil clone wouldn’t spot her.

Nega-Shantae, once she brushed off the dirt and dust from both her body and clothing, began scanning the ground for Shantae.

“Where are you, little girl?” Nega-Shantae said.

“Bah! I don’t see the little scallywag either! But hey, I have an idea, my beloved genie!” Risky said.

“Yes, my master?” Nega-Shantae said.

“With your magnificent giant size, we can conquer Scuttle Town… better yet all of Sequin Land! That will bring that little Shantae out of hiding.” Risky said.

“Is that your wish? For me to visit this Scuttle Town and conquer it at this size?” Nega-Shantae said.

“Yes, yes! Let us go and show those little twerps what real power is all about!” Risky said.

“As you command, my master.” Nega-Shantae said. She then, seemingly thanks to having Shantae’s powers, marched off in the direction where Scuttle Town rested. Shantae came out from behind the rock and looked in horror at the giant Nega-Shantae heading for the town she swore to protect.

“Oh no! Not Scuttle Town! I have to stop them… even if I am powerless compared to her.” Shantae said as she ran after the evil giantess.

For the folks of Scuttle Town, they were about to witness yet another visit by the giant Shantae. Or were they? Some people celebrated the return of their town protector, but others knew something did not look right.

“Look! Here comes the giant Shantae to protect us once more!” one villager said.

“What happened to her skin color? And her eyes! Why are they glowing like that?” another said.

“Maybe she’s trying a new look?” another said.

“Still, we fired that failure of a half genie! What’s she doing back here?” another said.

“Wait, is that the pirate lady!?” another said as he pointed up to Nega-Shantae’s shoulder and saw Risky Boots standing there. When Nega-Shantae was only a few yards away from the town itself, the evil giantess stopped (under Risky’s orders) and Risky made an announcement that she was delightfully proud of.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Scuttle Town, may I present the new and improved Shantae! That’s right. Apparently she’s not too thrilled at the idea of being fired from the town she swore to protect with her whole life.” Risky said. The murmurs grew louder and louder, wondering if Risky was telling the truth and this was the real Shantae they’ve all known and loved despite the mayor cutting her services loose after Risky’s last raid on the town.

“I will give you one chance to surrender your town peacefully to my pirate crew. Do that and we shall leave you alone.” Risky said. Suddenly, Mayor Scuttlebutt came running up in front of the crowd.

“We will never surrender! You can’t scare us with your pirate talk and your illusionary giant half-genie madness!” Mayor Scuttlebutt shouted, indicating he didn’t believe this was the real Shantae. But this was all irrelevant to Risky Boots now. She had all the motivation she needed to send Nega-Shantae on her way.

“Well, my beloved genie. They’re all yours. Destroy EVERYTHING in sight!!!” Risky shouted.

“As you wish, my master.” Nega-Shantae said. With that, she lifted up one of her feet and crushed the building in front of her with her shoe. That sent everyone into a panic and they ran like crazy.

That first stomp instantly made the giant Nega-Shantae feel very good and brought an evil smile to her face. Already the sensation of power was coursing through her veins. Step by step, she crushed one building after another, and any structure that stayed intact would just get stepped on again. It was music to Risky’s ears, listening to the structures being destroyed and the people screaming as they ran for their lives.

“Hahahahaha! Crush them! Crush everything!!” Risky shouted.

Nega-Shantae did so without hesitation. There wasn’t a building that could stand up to the evil giantess. Eventually, she caught up with a little girl who had tripped up trying to run away. The girl let out an ear piercing scream as she watched Nega-Shantae’s giant foot slowly come down on her, but then…

“Wait, genie! Don’t kill anybody. I want everyone to be my slaves when we’ve destroyed this place.” Risky said.

“As you wish, my master.” Nega-Shantae said. She stopped lowering her foot and backed it away, allowing the girl to run off.

“But if I may, master, we must find a way to contain these people to keep them from leaving.” Nega-Shantae said. This was a bit of a surprise to Risky that the evil genie would suggest something to her rather than the other way around, but she nevertheless took it in stride, not knowing what plan Nega-Shantae was really hatching.

“Hmmm… you’re right. But what do you have in mind? I can’t think of anything!” Risky said.

“Allow me, my master. I will temporarily need to set you to the ground.” Nega-Shantae said. After placing Risky down on top of a building that wasn’t destroyed yet, Nega-Shantae started to dance.

Risky then watched as the giant Nega-Shantae miraculously transformed into her mermaid form! The evil giant mermaid then jumped up and formed bubbles galore. Only this time, when these bubbles made contact with every human being in town, they became trapped inside these bubbles as they floated high in the air, higher than even Nega-Shantae’s height from head to toe. It seemed as though the bubbles would float into the sky, but they stopped at about 150 feet off the ground.

Once Nega-Shantae felt she had captured everyone, she instantly transformed back to her normal form but kept her giant size. Risky’s mouth was wide open as she allowed the evil giantess genie to pick her up and put her back on her shoulder.

“That’s incredible! You can transform even while gigantic… and not only that, but you’re still big too!” Risky shouted. Of course, she didn’t know Shantae could do the same thing, minus the staying big part. Indeed, it’s been more than twice the usual amount of time that Shantae would’ve been allowed to stay big, and Nega-Shantae knew it too.

“That girl was only half-genie, and that’s why she couldn’t stay big forever. I am a full genie with powers beyond even her comprehension!” Nega-Shantae shouted.

“Hehehehe! You and I are going to make the greatest tag team of evil in the world!” Risky shouted.

“Yes, perhaps we are.” Nega-Shantae said after a bit of a pause in answering.

Meanwhile, as Nega-Shantae got back to destroying Scuttle Town with her huge feet (though she also tried other ways of destruction, like squeezing a building flat with her hands), Sky was riding on top of an enlarged Wrench towards Scuttle Town, with Bolo riding shotgun. Wrench had gained the ability to grow to at least ten times its normal size to provide transportation for its master, Sky, but how Wrench obtained that ability remains unknown to this day (supposedly another lost memory of the ‘Advance Adventure.’)

“My gosh… look at all the destruction!” Sky shouted.

“Shantae would never do this! Risky must’ve made an evil clone of her, and made her big too! But how?” Bolo asked.

“I don’t know… only Shantae has that growing dance thingy as far as I know, but we have to stop the evil giantess and rescue all those people!” Sky said as she pointed to the people floating helplessly in their bubble prisons.

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Bolo asked.

“Um… don’t worry, I’ll think of something! Hold on!” Sky shouted.

Nega-Shantae continued on with her rampage, which picked up in intensity now that there were no humans in the way (as requested by Risky Boots). She had to stop, however, when she felt something fly by in front of her eyes.

“Hmmm… I felt something fly in front of me.” Nega-Shantae said. When the object flew by again, and Nega-Shantae easily backed her head away, Risky saw the object as well.

“What’s that? A mosquito!?” Risky said. That’s when she got a good look at the object as it stopped to turn around.

“Ah ha! Just as I expected, Sky and that oversized turkey of hers!” Risky said, referring of course to Wrench.

“What shall I do with them, my master?” Nega-Shantae said.

“Haha! Dispose of them like the flies they are!” Risky said.

Wrench made another turn back towards the giant Nega-Shantae, and this time the evil giantess was ready. Both Sky and Bolo watched as Nega-Shantae raised both her hands up like she was going to clap them together.

“Wrench! Look out!!” Sky shouted. Wrench could see the maneuver coming and dove downwards at the last moment. But still, the shockwave from Nega-Shantae’s clap was enough to stun Wrench and render it unconscious.

“Oh no! Wrench, wake up!” Sky shouted.

“So much for your grand plan!” Bolo shouted.

“Shut up and prepare for a crash landing!” Sky said. Indeed, both passengers held on tight as they went flying down towards the messy ground full of destroyed structures in Scuttle Town. Sky was able to level off Wrench at the last moment, but still, the bird went sliding along the ground and ultimately both Sky and Bolo were thrown off and landed on the ground. Shortly thereafter, Wrench shrunk back to its normal size.

As Sky slowly got back on her feet and walked over to pick up Wrench, she and Bolo watched as the giant Nega-Shantae walked closer and closer until her shoes were a mere couple yards away.

“Now you shall be crushed like the insects you are.” Nega-Shantae said. The evil genie raised her foot to crush her enemies flat, but once again, Risky asked her to stop.

“Wait, my giant genie friend! Let them live as well. I want them to be eyewitness to Sequin Land’s destruction!” Risky said with a smile. Suddenly, her smile was wiped when she suddenly felt a giant hand wrapping around her body. Of course, that hand belonged to Nega-Shantae.

“Forgive me, master, but what is the point of world domination by letting these people live?” Nega-Shantae said.

“It’s like I told you! I want these people to be my slaves when I become ruler of Sequin Land!” Risky said.

“Is that so? So all I am is just a cultivator to shape the world as you see fit? Is that all I am resorted to once I have finished destroying other places of your choosing?” Nega-Shantae said.

“Well… yeah! I mean, why not, right? You have the power to grow big, and I mean big! I could never conquer this world the way I’m conquering it without your help.” Risky said.

“I am sorry, master, but I feel like I am being held back. I feel this incredible power inside of me and I’m just itching to use it.” Nega-Shantae said.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance as soon as the last of Scuttle Town has been crushed! Just remember, I’m the one giving you the wishes, so you have to obey ME! No killing people if I say so!” Risky shouted. While this conversation was going on, Sky was picking up Wrench and then shaking Bolo, trying to wake him up from unconsciousness, which she was successful in.

“Come on, Bolo, let’s escape while we have the chance!” Sky said.

“But I wanted to get a close up of the evil Shantae’s feet and…” Bolo said.

“You’ll get a close up of my foot in your face if we don’t get going! Come on!” Sky said before the two got to running away.

Risky looked down past Nega-Shantae’s giant hands and saw both Sky and Bolo running away.

“Awww! They’re getting away! After them, genie!” Risky said. But this time, Nega-Shantae didn’t respond.

“Huh? What are you waiting for? I order you to chase them!” Risky shouted. Nega-Shantae’s glowing green eyes then glowed brighter.

“INSOLENT FOOL! I will no longer take orders from you!” Nega-Shantae shouted loudly.

“Ack!!” Risky said, as she suddenly felt herself being squeezed with Nega-Shantae now closing the hand holding Risky tighter. Eventually, popping out from inside the hand, and out of Risky’s grasp, was the magic lamp that had summoned her. It then glowed itself and floated in mid-air, presumably through telepathy from the evil giantess. Risky watched as the lamp floated into a pocket that suddenly formed on Nega-Shantae’s pants.

“W-What!? That’s my lamp!! I stole it first!!!” Risky shouted.

“Well, it’s mine now. We wouldn’t want you to get any ideas with the source of my power, would we?” Nega-Shantae said with an evil grin on her face.

“Please! Let me go! I’ll do anything! ANYTHING!!!” Risky shouted as she suddenly found herself begging for her life. Nega-Shantae at first didn’t move, pondering instead on what to do with her little prisoner. She finally decided to place her on the ground.

“Because I have you to thank for my existence, I will let you live for now. But if you value your life, you will run away from me starting now.” Nega-Shantae said as she slowly lifted her foot. Risky Boots then turned around and ran away in the same direction as Sky and Bolo.

“You’ll regret this!” Risky shouted as she was running away. Nega-Shantae then started laughing as evilly as she could.

“Hahahaha! HAHAHAHA!!! Now I am free to do my own rampaging. This entire world will be mine by the end of the day! Though, I suppose that Risky girl was right, I should keep these pathetic mortals alive to serve me for all eternity.” Nega-Shantae said as she looked up at the people still trapped in bubbles. She then looked out in the distance at another town, specifically Oasis Town far away from where she was standing.

“Hmmm… I think I shall continue my conquest on that seaside town.” Nega-Shantae said, smiling as she began walking out towards the town in the distance, leaving behind a much ruined Scuttle Town.

Sky, Bolo, and now Risky Boots watched as the evil genie giantess marched off in the distance, her size allowing her to still be seen even from far away. Sky, of course, was gravely concerned given that Oasis Town was her home.

“Oh, this is terrible! She’s going to destroy my home town!” Sky said.

“Waaaah! It’s not fair! I was supposed to be the ruler of Sequin Land with Nega-Shantae by my side! Not the other way around!” Risky shouted.

“I guess now you know how it feels to be powerless like the rest of us.” Bolo said as he folded his arms.

“Guys!” a familiar voice shouted. All three looked to see it belonging to Shantae.

“Oh, Shantae! Thank the heavens you’re alright!” Sky said as she ran over to greet her good friend.

“Don’t worry about me. I may be powerless, but I’m still ticking.” Shantae said.

“Wait... powerless?” Bolo asked.

“Oh… right, you guys don’t know. Risky Boots used the magic lamp she stole to steal all my powers. She used them to create that evil clone, and she knows all my powers and dances… including the one to grow giant!” Shantae said.

“You did what!?” Sky shouted angrily at the pirate villainess.

“Hmph! I suppose you’re going to gloat since I’ve lost control over the giantess?” Risky said as she looked annoyingly at Shantae.

“No, Risky. I’m not going to be in any happy mood until we’ve defeated the evil clone and restored my powers.” Shantae said.

“You think that’s what it takes to get your powers back?” Bolo asked.

“It has to be!” Shantae said.

“Okay, but how are we going to defeat her? No offense, Shantae, but without your powers, you’re… well…” Sky said.

“It’s okay, Sky. I understand what you’re trying to say.” Shantae said with a smile.

“Look, all we have to do is destroy that lamp. That’s all it takes to destroy Nega-Shantae.” Risky said.

“And how do we do that?” Bolo asked.

“Well, if you all are willing to call a truce, here’s what I’m proposing…” Risky said.

“Wait… you’re helping us?” Shantae asked.

“Hey, don’t get too comfortable! This is only until Nega-Shantae is out of my hair once and for all!” Risky said. The four then huddled together to discuss their strategy in defeating the evil genie giantess.

Meanwhile, Nega-Shantae arrived uncontested (obviously) over Oasis Town. Like with the citizens of Scuttle Town, the citizens of Oasis Town panicked like crazy as they tried to get away from the evil giantess. Pretty much everyone knew this was an evil clone of the famous Shantae and not the original.

“Run if you must, puny mortals! But there is no escaping the power and size of this giant, all powerful genie!” Nega-Shantae proudly claimed. She got right to work smashing whatever was in her path. Cleverly, she only destroyed structures that didn’t have any people inside or around them, like she was doing her best to keep everyone alive hoping to use them as slaves much like the people of Scuttle Town. She even decided to have a little bit of fun.

“Let’s see how you mortals like this…” Nega-Shantae said. She started dancing again, and this time she transformed into her monkey form. It cut her size to less than half of what it used to be, but Nega-Shantae the monkey still pounced around and crushed building after building with each jump.

“The giant monkey girl will destroy you all!” Nega-Shantae said, only to suddenly transform back into her normal form.

“At least until I return to my normal form.” Nega-Shantae said with a smile. She didn’t just stomp on buildings with her feet; she also burned them to ashes as she started shooting fireballs at the edges of the towns. In a scene that looked very much like when Scuttle Town was attacked by Risky Boots during Shantae’s first recorded adventure, the town was blazing a bright red as flames seemingly surrounded the entire town.

When it looked like Oasis Town was about to be just as decimated as Scuttle Town was, that’s when Nega-Shantae felt something strike her backside.

“What the!?” Nega-Shantae shouted. She turned and looked out at sea to see a pirate ship shooting cannonballs at her. What she couldn’t see yet was who was commanding the pirate ship… Risky Boots herself and her band of Tinkerbats. Risky barked out orders as her lackies rushed to shoot off their ammunition at the giantess.

“Look alive, lads! Keep firing those cannons! Give that overgrown genie girl a taste of pirate power!” Risky shouted. After dodging another cannonball, Nega-Shantae was finally able to see Risky on the ship.

“Soooo… my master wants to fight back, does she? I will show her what real firepower is.” Nega-Shantae said. Instead of walking out to sea and taking the pirate ship on up close, the evil giantess decided to stay on top of the town, shooting out fireballs that sailed out towards the ship; although all of her shots were currently missing and splashing out at sea.

While this mini-battle was going on, the other part of the plan was about to be executed by Bolo. But before he could march forward, he was held back by both Shantae and Sky.

“Now remember, Bolo. You’re only climbing up her legs to get the lamp in her pocket, NOT to get a close-up of her bellybutton like you always try with Shantae!” Sky said.

“Huh? Me? Disrespect Shantae like that?” Bolo asked with a bit of a blush on his face.

“Either that or falling into my chest while I’m dancing.” Shantae said, thinking back to when she was gigantic and dancing for Scuttle Town.

“Alright, alright! I assure you my mind is clear and I will get the lamp without the evil clone noticing.” Bolo said.

“Good. Off you go then!” Sky said as she pushed Bolo off, who promptly started running towards Nega-Shantae’s feet. Shantae looked around at all the flames burning around Oasis Town.

“I hope this works. The whole world is going to look like this if Nega-Shantae wins.” Shantae said.

“I hope so too, Shantae.” Sky said, petting Wrench on her shoulder and making sure he was ready just in case.

With Nega-Shantae preoccupied with shooting fireballs out at Risky and her pirate ship, which was doing an incredible job at dodging the projectiles (as was Nega-Shantae, for that matter), Bolo was able to easily hop his way onto the top of Nega-Shantae’s right shoe. He quickly clutched onto the giantess’s dark purple pants and started climbing his way up, hoping Nega-Shantae would not notice him. He looked up, marveling over the incredible view he was getting of Nega-Shantae from his perspective, but he quickly shook his head.

“Gotta focus, Bolo…” Bolo said to himself. He continued climbing up the pants until finally he had reached the pocket where the lamp was. He peeked inside only briefly until he felt himself falling inside.

“Whoa!” Bolo said. It turns out Nega-Shantae’s last move to dodge one of the cannonballs caused Bolo to lose his grip and fall inside. Nevertheless, he looked behind him and saw the magic lamp. He crawled his way over to the lamp and picked it up.

“Such a small lamp even for a giant lady like this one…” Bolo contemplated. Once again, he shook himself back to reality and knew he had to get the lamp down to Shantae sooner than later if there was to be something left of Oasis Town.

Bolo got to climbing out of the gigantic pocket, which was a bit harder considering he was holding the lamp in one hand and climbing with just the other. Still, he was able to climb up and see daylight once more, but he looked out at sea to see something wrong.

“Uh oh…” Bolo said, looking out and seeing Risky’s pirate ship up in flames and slowing sinking beneath the sea. He watched several Tinkerbats jump off the ship and try to swim their way to shore, not knowing where Risky herself was. But he had another problem.

“Well, well, what little bug do we have here?” Nega-Shantae said. Bolo looked up and saw the evil giantess looking down right at him.

“Double uh oh…” Bolo said to himself.

“Silly little man. Let me show you what I do to pesky bugs like you.” Nega-Shantae said as she reached down to no doubt pick him up. But before she could, she suddenly saw something flying at high speed towards her, and before she could react, this object suddenly hit her below her right eye.

“OW!!!” Nega-Shantae shouted. Bolo looked to see it was an enlarged Wrench, with Sky on its back, that had flown into Nega-Shantae’s face and stunned her. Wrench then flew down in front of the pants pocket, and Sky looked down on Bolo.

“You alright, Bolo?” Sky asked.

“Great, never felt better!” Bolo said.

“Because you’re sitting in the pants pocket of a giant woman, right?” Sky said with a smirk on her face. Bolo just blushed.

“Just get me out of here before she regains her sight!” Bolo said. Sky flew down and used both her hands to help Bolo out, complete with magic lamp in his hands. Once he was safely onboard, Wrench flew downwards to the ground.

Wrench landed on the ground next to Shantae, with Sky and Bolo jumping off and landing next to their friend. Bolo wasted no time in handing the lamp over to Shantae.

“Here you go, Shantae.” Bolo said.

“Thanks! Good job, Bolo. Maybe I’ll finally get you into a dancing show when this is all over.” Shantae said with a smile.

“Teeheehee!” Bolo giggled.

“So what now, Shantae? We’ve got the lamp, so what do we do with it?” Sky asked. Shantae took a good long look over at one of the flames that burned in front of her.

“We melt it in the fires she helped create.” Shantae said.

“Ummm… you might want to make it quick.” Bolo said. He pointed up and saw Nega-Shantae had not only regained her vision, but she was fast approaching the trio of heroes.

“Die, puny mortals! You’ll pay for challenging me!!!” Nega-Shantae shouted. She raised a foot up to try and crush them, but luckily everyone was able to get out of the way. Shantae, in particular, executed a double somersault, putting her only a few yards away from the fire. Shantae waited until Nega-Shantae turned to face her, and once she did…

“It’s over, Nega-Shantae!” Shantae shouted with a determined look on her face. She then turned around and hurled the lamp into the burning fire. Despite her increased size and power, Nega-Shantae was immediately concerned.

“My lamp! No!!!” Nega-Shantae shouted. She reached down to try and pick up Shantae and force her to get that lamp back, but she pulled back when she had to clutch her body from increasing pain.

“No! This can’t be happening! I am all powerful!!!” Nega-Shantae shouted. The lamp, meanwhile, continued to melt away into liquid form as it continued to burn helplessly in the fire. Nega-Shantae now watched as her body started to set off explosions.

“No!!! PLEASE STOP!!!” Nega-Shantae shouted. Embers of fire as well as little red stars started to shoot out from her body as well; it was becoming too much to take for the evil giantess. Shantae backed away towards Sky, Bolo, and Wrench as they all watched Nega-Shantae’s destruction.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nega-Shantae screamed into the air before finally blowing up in a sea of harmless red stars.

At the exact same time, time seemed to start flowing backwards. All the fires in Oasis Town were gone, and our heroes watched as the city magically started repairing itself.

“Oh my gosh!” Sky commented as she watched the city was soon back to its original self as if nothing had happened.

“It’s a miracle…” Bolo said.

“I couldn’t agree more. Nega-Shantae’s genie magic must’ve had the power to reverse itself once it was totally gone.” Shantae said.

“I guess it’s a good thing we destroyed that lamp instead of sealed that evil clone back inside.” Bolo said.

“Oh… but what about your powers, Shantae?” Sky asked. Shantae immediately tried her monkey dance… but nothing happened. The same thing with her mermaid dance and also the elephant dance. Not even her growth dance was yielding any results.

“I… I still don’t have my genie powers!” Shantae said.

“Hahahaha! You fool!” a familiar voice said. Our heroes looked over to see who it belonged to. Risky Boots was standing there, smiling evilly with her band of Tinkerbats behind her. The citizens of Oasis Town took cover thinking they weren’t out of the proverbial woods yet, especially with another pirate ship quickly sailing in from the distance.

“Risky!” Shantae said.

“Do you realize what you’ve just done? You would destroy your superior half in exchange for this town full of simpletons? Enjoy your victory, because it’s only temporary! The last laugh will be mine! Hahahaha!” Risky said as she and her Tinkerbats suddenly leapt onto her pirate ship and they sailed off into the distance, perhaps already plotting their next plot to take over Sequin Land.

Shortly thereafter, Professor Mimic came running into town from behind.

“Shantae!” Mimic shouted.

“Oh! Uncle!” Shantae said as she ran over towards Mimic.

“Shantae! I can’t believe it! You won!” Mimic said.

“Heh… yeah, I guess even a 100-foot-tall evil clone couldn’t defeat me or my smarts. What about Scuttle Town? Are they…” Shantae said.

“Yes, Shantae. Everything’s back to normal. I was shocked to see the town heal itself in that manner. All the people are waiting in town to congratulate you.” Mimic said with a smile.

“Oh, good… but my magic…” Shantae said, with Mimic cutting in to immediately answer her question.

“Gone. You’re human now.” Mimic said.

“I… I see.” Shantae said. Mimic could already see the tears forming in her eyes, so he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug.

“There, there. Everything’s going to be okay.” Mimic said.

“Wait, Uncle. What about my hair?” Shantae asked, suddenly curious how she was still able to whip her hair the way she did even without her genie magic.

“I don’t know why it chooses to obey. Perhaps it’s not genie magic as I once suspected. Perhaps that part of you doesn’t come from your mother. Your mother...” Mimic said.

“What?” Shantae asked.

“I’ve let her and everyone else down all because of my foolishness.” Mimic said.

“It’s not your fault, Uncle. The danger was always out there. I was the one who rushed in unprepared.” Shantae said.

“Well, come on. We should get back to Scuttle Town and let everyone know that we’re safe and that the evil is gone.” Mimic said.

“I couldn’t agree more!” Shantae said.

Soon, after Shantae briefly partied with everyone in the freshly repaired Scuttle Town as they cheered loudly for her, she and her friends were now standing in front of her seaside home outside of town, discussing what had just happened, and what would be next.

“I have to admit, Shantae. It took nerves of steel to do what you did, destroying your magical half was pretty gutsy.” Sky said.

“Bah! Who needs magic? Tomorrow we start training again, and this time I’ll teach you some human moves!” Bolo said.

“Thanks, everyone. Still… I feel farther than ever from my mother. From my true home too. Deep down I want to keep trying, but I’m useless without my magic.” Shantae said. Mayor Scuttlebutt, who had earlier fired Shantae as Scuttle Town’s protector due to Risky’s earlier antics, rushed forward when he heard Shantae say those words.

“Nonsense, Miss Genie! I’m ashamed of myself for behaving so badly. It’s clear that you love this town and will defend it to the end. That’s why I’d like you to return as Scuttle Town’s guardian. Will you take the job?” Mayor Scuttlebutt said.

“You’d take me back, even without my genie magic?” Shantae asked.

“Absolutely! I’m going to have a talk with Ammo Baron and get our town back to normal lickity split!” Mayor Scuttlebutt said.

“You will! Yes, then I’ll do it! I’ll protect this place with everything I’ve got! But I won’t do it alone anymore.” Shantae said as she winked over at Sky, Bolo, and her uncle Mimic. At first they all stood still but then they winked back too knowing what Shantae meant.

“Indeed. Risky and her Tinkerbats are still out there, not to mention Rottytops and her zombie brothers.” Sky said.

“But evil will never win as long as we’re together!” Shantae said with great enthusiasm. In fact, she looked at the sun setting in the distance and took in a breath of fresh air. Tomorrow was the beginning of a new era for the now 100% human Shantae.

At least until the day she would encounter the Pirate’s Curse.

END