"..." = Speech
<...> = Thought
---Few Minutes Earlier---
Albert was just about to reach the bottom of the ladder.
Looking down below revealed the cave system was strangely serene.
There were a few monsters that he could see skulking around; yet all of those creatures very much weren't as aggressive as he assumed they would be.
She too seemed to be just as suspicious as he was if her gaze was anything to go off of. Even those usually aggressive bats slowly backed just beyond reach.
Anything born of the pirate wouldn't be cowardly.
That thought lingered until his eyes widened.
"As if she was luring us to go deeper which would mean-!"
*RUMBLE*
At that the world around the pair began to shake as rocks fell from the ceiling and those previously lurking monsters instantly retreated without any hesitation.
It didn't take a genius to figure out this was indeed some kind of trap.
With it already being sprung he made no attempt to begin climbing up the ladder again.
Instead he turned back around to find Aria who was looking around in confusion. Albert kicked off the rope ladder toward his bride to be - protectively shielding her with his body as he leaned toward her ear to make sure she could hear. "Bring us down and stay close; who knows what'll happen if we get separated."
She of course nodded to his request as they soon touched the floor - just in time for a "revolution" to take place - the very world around them spun. It was one thing to see it happen from on the horizon but completely different to be in the centre of it all. Not that it was an experience either of them particularly would be willing to go through again.
Saying it was disorientating was a vast understatement of just how bad it was; especially since it wasn't just the floor rotating.
It felt as if literally every surface of the cave system was spinning.
Fortunately it didn't take too long before-
"Now, what have the bats dragged into mommy's little resting place, Yo~HoHoHo~?" A sultry voice that Albert would recognise anywhere entered his ears. Turning towards the source revealed her sitting atop a boulder with her legs nonchalantly bobbing along to an invisible beat.
"Risky Boots…" Narrowing his eyes as he met that amused crimson gaze, it was almost as if she had been waiting for that very moment, as she rose from her seat with her arms outstretched like a champion ready to receive applause. "In the flesh!"
Not to mention it wasn't their first time meeting.
Hopping down from the rock she found herself on -while holding her iconic hat in order to prevent it from flying off her head during the move. She landed a few feet away from the pair while she briskly tapped the hilt of her sabre. "Now, mommy isn't quite sure what you two are up to in my territory…"
Those fingers of hers seductively slide down the golden hand guard to slowly coil around the handle
"But I am something of a swordswomen myself, care to teach me a little about the sword, our great and powerful mercenary king?" Her sword drawing with such a euphonic sound akin to a song bird.
Albert let out a long sigh while drawing his own sword.
An excellent quality but simple light blade with no ornamentation despite its legendary strength.
So matching him quite well.
That pirate leapt toward him with a massive smirk on her face as she held her sword up high; ready to cleave both blade and swordsman in half.
Most would be foolish enough to take the attack head on however Albert knew he couldn't beat that woman in a direct physical confrontation. Fortunately his own style of swordsmanship was specifically made to fight against the monsters of the world. Stepping aside and bringing his sword up to meet hers.
Though specifically meeting the side of her sword to knock it aside while stepping forward at the exact same moment. Angling his sword while sliding down her own. Lining it up at just the right angle so that he could puncture right through Risky's chest; yet he knew full well it wasn't going to be that easy.
He didn't even finish his counter-attack.
Seeing her left hand moving in his peripheral vision was all the sign he needed to jump back.
*BANG*
Good thing as well.
Risky instantly pulled her flintlock from her belt to shoot the exact moment their swords met. Evidently the bullet would have hit his heart way sooner than Albert's sword would have found hers; a fact that seemed to disappoint the sly pirate queen. "Why do no men ever want to commit to anything serious these days~?"
Following that up with a circular slash into seemingly thin air - sending a helix of crimson sword energy spiralling toward him while he was midair.
Fortunately he wasn't alone as a gust of wind cleanly blew Albert out the way.
*BANG*
Only for a follow up shot to soar toward Aria.
Though the favour was quickly returned as a touki infused Albert flashed in front of Aria to slash the magic bullet in half.
In the next moment he tried to slash through Risky once more - only for his sword to be met with the barrel of her gun. Meanwhile her sabre casually cleaved through a wind blade that had been heading toward her in what should have been her blind spot. "Gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna push mommy!"
At first it seemed like she relied on brute strength though she wasted no time before showcasing her true power. A sword that both contained power as well as the slyness the pirate queen was known for. Making for a truly brutal fight between the three legendary figures.
Quite unbothered about the whole thing.
Simply standing there, bouncing the spine of her blade off her shoulder, with a self satisfied smirk.
"What are you planning Risky?" He decided to just directly ask the megalomaniac pirate what her game was as (if there was one thing he knew about her) it was that-
"I do believe you mean "oh glorious queen of all seven seas" followed by "Risky Boots" but I am not so crass as to not give a dying man a drink… Well, not if he has gold I can take off him first." Shaking her head with an over the top sigh. "What you have all failed to realise that I have already won this time!"
-she loved the sound of her own voice.
"Unlike my previous escapade I decided to keep things rather close to my chest; difficult considering how wonderfully buoyant these breasts of mine are. Still, I managed to steal everything I wanted to steal with me already squaring it away safely in my own little pirate hoard~." Waving her sword about like a baton.
Yet Aria stepped forward beside a still primed Albert with her head faintly tilted. "Why are you still here?"
That only got a bigger grin from the pirate. "We~ll at first it was to kill you two land lubbers but then a lil' bat told mommy all about how a certain annoyingly skallywag is making a move. And, I thought, what better way to kill the user of quake magic than an explosive earthquake that'll bury her alive~!"
"So we're just here for you to drag the genie sisters further into the cave?" His gaze hardened.
Pausing for a moment to tap her chin with the barrel of her flintlock. "I suppose so~♥"
Faintly tilting her head to the side as she delivered that line; the smirk on her face told of just how much she was enjoying her little game.
Dashing forward once more, red scarf fluttering in the wind, Albert roared. "You won't get your way!"
"Yo~hohoho~ you have short term memory issues, merc, I just told you that I already have!" Grin so wide it threatened to spread off her face as she clashed with them again. Just the impact of their blades connecting was enough to make the cavern shake while Aria's powerful wind magic wasn't helping.
Although, now team hero was in an even greater rush.
---
The flight down was simple enough.
At least it should have been.
As Harmony & Sky looked around (being carried by a harpy Shantae) they didn't see much on account of being in a large dark trypophobia-inducing cavern with pillars of crystal ascending across the tunnel down.
Yet, from within a few of those dark caves, a golden glow appeared.
"That can't be good…" Sky said as she extended her right index & middle fingers.
Sparks leaving her tips as she glared toward those holes; at the same time Harmony from the other side narrowed her own gaze. "I do believe the flies are starting to buzz about."
Sure enough, she was right.
Very right.
Gigantic dog-sized glowing flies began to slowly buzz out of the various dugouts. Although they were slow enough that they may as well be flying in slow motion, the same could not be said for their children, far smaller flies shot out from behind their hulking mothers. Like golden bullets flying straight for the trio.
"Well this is not going to be easy… Unless I can figure this out." Rotating those fingers of hers before thrusting it out towards one the tunnels while spreading her fingers out at it impacted. The moment she did that small bolt of lightning arced out its body to spread toward the nearest insect.
Sadly the power decreased with every new target but it wasn't useless; any amount of electricity was enough to make just about any creature seize up for a moment.
When those creatures happened to be flying?
Splat.
As such (even with sweat falling down her brow) she kept the technique up until she had hit everything in sight before then turning to another tunnel. Repeating the same thing while Shantae watched in awe at how quickly Sky was cutting down their numbers. "Wowza~ you really are amazing Sky; I don't think I have an easy way to deal with these swarmy monsters like you do!"
"My magic, just like Sultana's, can easily cause issues due to its destructive potential so having someone with both power and precision is a true blessing for Sequin Land." Harmony quickly agreed with her sister yet her face visibly tensed. "Yet I believe we should hurry down before you run out of magic."
Harpy Shantae didn't need much convincing. "Roger! Roger!"
Folding her wings in to catch less air and letting them fall down quicker than they were.
Some may consider it too quick however they didn't exactly have time to waste with how many flies were beginning to wake up from within the tunnels.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Sky as she felt her magical veins burning like a parched throat.
Except it was happening all across her body.
Despite that she didn't hesitate in throwing out bolt after bolt any time one of the bug swarms got too close to them. Fortunately both of Harmony & Sky's feet touched the ground. Shantae releasing the pair as she too released her transformation to join the two of them on the (hopefully) stable floor.
"Sure enough - she used that revolution engine to split us up - I should have expected this but we'll need to hurry and catch up to Albert & Aria. Who knows what Risky has planned now that we're split up; it's dangerous for not just those two but also us." Harmony announced as she turned to the duo.
Sky seemed to want to say something but she was too busy catching her breath while falling flat on the ground like she was some star fish. "I think I'm done for now..."
"I'm not surprised; I believe it is best you rest for a few days before trying to use your magic again to prevent straining yourself too much." The older genie simply patted the shoulder of Sky.
She was more than happy to follow that advice if the faint nod she managed to give was anything to go by.
Of course Shantae didn't just stay still.
She quickly reached between her breasts.
A display that caused Harmony's brow to instantly shoot up toward the ceiling (and somehow go a bit further) as she watched her sister pull out a potion. "Take this super potion - it should help a bit~!"
"No wonder you're the hero." Sky said between deep breaths as her hand fumbled about for a second trying to grab a hold of the bottle before finally managing to take a sip. "Urgh… it does feel better but still feels like the blood vessels across my whole body are aching as if recovering from a cramp…"
"What you are undergoing is quite common, I experienced it when I first started practicing my inherited quake magic, same happened with just about all our sisters. We call it "strained vessels" as it is just a result of pushing your magic veins too much - like what happens when training a muscle." Shaking her head with a chuckle.
Shantae nodded while scratching her chin. "Huh… Did the Sultana go through that; think she said something about her innate magic being really powerful like yours is?"
Surprisingly that just got a chuckle from Harmony.
"Her? No, she never struggled with pushing her magic power, her physical strength is dwarfed by her magical might while her physical dwarfs all of our magic. I am almost certain she has never used enough of her magic to strain her body." Shaking her head as she spoke.
"Tthat adds up… The only thing I can't see that woman doing is fitting into a regular person's home through a regular person's doorway." Sky couldn't help quiping as she unsteadily rose from the floor.
In response the dancing hero just bashfully twiddled her fingers. "She is just a bit tall is all…"
Even the supportive Harmony couldn't help looking at Shantae with doubt.
"Right… Well, it's best we head out before those flies flood us again, this would be easier if Plink was here but unfortunately we are going to have to search manually. I'll support Sky while leaving any enemies up to you to deal with." Addressing that cute but hapless youngest sister of hers.
Though said sister focused on something else.
Tilting her head faintly to one side as she questioned Harmony about what she really cared about. "Is Plink another of my sisters from that Siren island you live on?"
"Right, she is even quite interested in adventuring around, her innate magic just so happens to be seer magic which is sadly not combat focused. Still she is a smart girl so I'm sure she'll figure it out." A quiet but confident smile on her face as she moved to support a tired Sky as they headed into the depths.
The number of monsters was certainly higher than on Shantae's first visit but they weren't exactly scary.
At least to someone who had gone through spider forest or zombie swamp.
They also weren't exactly tough like the monsters in the men & girl deserts; she didn't even need to use her newly gained magics.
She did transform into a monkey but only so that she could speedily dart about the caverns. Fiercely protecting her allies with each stroke of her monkey cat-claws. Soon the sounds of fighting became clear to them all making even Sky push herself to hurry towards the rather scary explosions and gunshots.
Yet just as they arrived in a decently sized chamber that sounded as if it were right before the fight - the wall in front of them exploded. Through that wall came a long steel worm-like drill froom which a familiar duo of monstrous geckos popped out. If with the addition of their middle brother.
"Is that brown haired morsel the one genie kicked your asses; she doesn't look nearly as tough as the mercenary king~!" Licking his lips as he jeered the two other Muck Lords.
Yet the brother Shantae recognised as MishMash instantly grew stiff upon looking at the older genie.
Especially when Harmony began to slowly walk from behind Shantae.
Releasing Sky from her hold as she moved a hand to rest upon her neck. "We have no time to waste so I'll personally clean up the muck immediately."
"NO NEED YOU CAN GO AHEAD MISS HARMONY!" MishMash practically did a full swan dive.
Landing on his knees and hands with his frog-like head slammed down on those claws.
Entering full dagozza without putting up a smidgen of a fight or caring about the fact he was still mostly covered in bandages. Harmony is just chuckling. "I appreciate your politeness so I'll let you run along for old times sake; just make sure to treat Risky well in the future."
That demonic looking monster slammed his head up and down. "Of course we will miss you!"
"Mhm, I'm sure you will, though I still need to clear the way…" Cracking her neck as she stood a bit behind the creature; reeling back her fist as she spread her legs for better balance.
Almost immediately all three Muck Lords (even the slow witted one) stumbled away.
Just in time for Harmony to slowly thrust her fist forward.