"..." = Speech
<...> = Thought
---
"Yo~hohoho~!" That laughter roared throughout the centre most chamber of Sequin Land. "Is that all you two supposed "legends" have to offer poor ol' me~?"
Risky stood in front of the pair.
Despite her confident declaration she wasn't exactly in tip top shape.
She wasn't missing any limbs yet she only had a few small scrapes about her body - that skull bra and bottoms were as pristine as always. Although what injuries she had taken was completely overshadowed by the terrifying back & crimson aura emitting from her. Seemingly having given up on holding back.
Yet it was clear Albert was faintly on the backfoot if just for him acting recklessly.
A lot of glancing blows, same as what Risky had taken, but there was a big difference between them.
First was the simple fact that a spirit was far sturdier than a normal human while Risky was far sturdier than any other spirit; cuts were as meaningless to her as scratches to a farmer.
Then there was the difference between receiving a glance blow from him and her.
He was certainly strong but his sword focused on speed while Risky's blade carried enough power to meet elephant Shantae evenly in a head on clash.
As such each slash caused terrifying looking wounds despite her sword only barely clipping him - just the pressure from the swing was enough to aggravate injuries to be far more grievous. Still the legendary Mercenary King was not about to go down due to some meagre flesh wounds. "I'd ask you the same but I know you're already holding back quite a bit."
"Nn, very strong." Aria agreed from behind Albert with her state also being far from the air of perfection she usually had as a powerful sylph. She was far less injured than her partner on account of taking a supportive role; still her dress and hair were still a complete mess.
Face even smudged with dirt.
"Of course mommy is stronger than two chumps like you~!" Risky happy to soak in the praise.
Although things changed as Albert continued while unconsciously focused on the skull she always had proudly displayed on her chest. "It would be a lot easier if you used your full abilities against us."
*CRACK*
Her teeth gnashed together as the white in her eyes was eaten away by an eerie yellow glow reminiscent of her loyal Tinkerbats, Bats & BatGals. The floor underneath her cracking. "Why would I ever use that disgusting filthy power and give that bastard any kind of satisfaction; nobody can match m-!"
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
The world itself trembled as suddenly the makeshift barricade trapping them in with the manic djinn was blown wide open. All three of them turned to see what caused it - seeing a tall feminine figure standing with her first still extended. Long brown ponytail flaring in the glare created from her mighty blow.
"I've been hearing a lot about how you've been acting up again; perhaps this big sister of yours should teach you some manners?" Slowly pulling her first back as she spoke.
Both Sky & Shantae who stood behind Harmony were absolutely gobsmacked.
They had both heard about her power…
Rubbing the back of her head as she tried to understand just how strong (as well as skilled) that woman was to manage something like that. Especially when one wrong move could have the whole thing fall on their heads.
It was something Sky figured she may not have appreciated.
At least until she herself was beginning to learn about her own (new) innate abilities.
Shantae just stood silently with her mouth wide open as her brain tried to compute what her eyes saw.
Meanwhile, Risky didn't seem very happy to see her "big sister" if the frown was a sign. "And how exactly are you going to do that? As impressive as you may be to some, Harmony, you are now facing the fabled queen of the seven seas on my own terms!"
Throwing her hands wide open as she looked down at the five man party.
Slowly that frown of hers formed a grin.
"In fact it should be around now when mommies' hot and passionate surprise for you all goes off in an absolutely explosive fashion~!" That smug smirk puts all others to shame.
Harmony in turn faintly frowned…
But that was all.
Harmony took a fighting stance, fists raised in guard of her face, as she fearlessly approached the terrifying piratess. "You may be able to scare others away but that will never work against me. I'll admit it is clear that we will likely never again see those treasures you stole; however I will stop at nothing to stop you from destroying Sequin Land."
"Hm~ slight correction dear Harmony, simple mistake really, but you mean you will try to stop me but you'll fail like so many before you Yo~HoHoHo~!" Throwing her arms out wide.
Just in time as- *BOOM* -a giant fireball engulfed the gigantic load bearing pillar of the continent.
The cavernous heart of Sequin Land quaked like it has never quaked before.
That explosive exit of the central pillar being the first domino in a long line as the other pillars began to audibly creak under the increased weight they were forced to bear. Cracks soon appeared as the roof above their heads began to slowly cave in under them. A scenario that seemed truly hopeless…
Looking around for anything that could solve the oncoming crisis.
In the end she could only look at her older sister with the hope that her innate magic could still somehow solve the cataclysmic disaster.
Fortunately Harmony indeed remained serene.
Turning toward Aria with a calmness that helped keep the two younger members from panicking even if they understandably felt nervous. The experience of the older trio shined through. "Aira, could you create a safe area from the falling rocks and rising magma; also do you have any destructive spells?"
Her gaze turned toward Shantae with her final question.
"I do have my enhanced Puff's but I don't really control the super sized ones so much as just push them in the right direction and hope they don't destroy too much." Rubbing the back of her neck as she admitted her own magic flaws. Not due to her own inability but due to the nature of Puff magic.
Raw explosive destruction.
Aria was next to respond. "I can make a shield of wind that pushes things away."
"Then we can have Shantae sit in that while she throws her Puff clouds out; your shield should help send them further so we can do this fast. Throw everything you have at the floor under our feet to release the pressure and fill this chamber with magma." Harmony announced.
At the same time she turned to look toward Risky.
Her wrist darted up to cover her forehead just in time for a projectile to ping off her silver bracer.
Risky then followed up by slashing down with her sabre. Sending out a truly colossal swirling mass of chaotic sword aura that only grew as it approached - soon churning up both the ceiling as well as the floor of the chamber. All the while destroying any of the pillars it came into contact with.
"You didn't think mommy'd just let you plot against her, did you~!?" Her crazed scream somehow carried out over the raw destruction she had managed to unleash; leaving Shantae to dryly gulp.
Despite that Harmony didn't step aside.
Standing right between them and the attack as she reeled back her fist once more, throwing a simple jab toward it, yet the result was certainly not simple.
Space itself cracking as her innate magic flowed her fist.
Those cracks soon met the aura and began to forcibly scatter it.
At the same time what wasn't already destroyed by the pirate's attack was completely pulverised by that powerful innate magic. The shaking worsened as the once dark cavern began to light up. A red glow being the first sign before magma violently erupted just as those two powers canceled one another out.
Albert took that chance to dash forward. Jumping toward Risky while using the broken shards of stone to avoid the overflowing magma; sending a flying slash toward the pirate as he did so. She easily fended it off just in time for their swords to clash once more.
Just in time for Aria to take advantage of Risky being distracted to put up her barrier.
Leaving Sky only able to watch the chaos.
"So this is what it means to be a legend in this world…" She exclaimed in sheer awe at just how high the ceiling apparently was as the trio of heroes and villains fought.
Yet a quick realisation overcame her as she recalled her own feelings of helplessness upon seeing how little she could do compared to Shantae. Turning around to look at her closest friend.
Chuckling faintly as she saw the stars in Shantae's eyes; filled to the brim with a fiery passion as she grinned that fearless grin with her fists clenched in front of her chest.
Clearly eager to pursue them rather than being put off by the vast chasm between them and her.
Unable to hide her own smile.
Of course Shantae forced herself to shake away the wonder she was feeling as she had her own role to play in saving Sequin Land. Knowing that a mere army of Crush Puff's may not be enough - she pushed herself even further beyond since destruction is exactly what she wanted. "MEGA PUFF!"
Throwing her hands out in front of herself as she summoned the biggest, angriest and puffiest cloud yet.
Not even waiting for it to fully form before she screamed out her magic once again.
Then again.
And again.
She didn't even bother keeping track of where she was throwing them as long as it made it out the bubble of wind and wasn't flying directly toward Harmony or Albert. Simply throwing them in any direction she could without considering anything else.
A rather ironic thought but one that (strangely enough) held true.
Although this also resulted in the room quickly becoming a land mine filled hell for the fighters.
Their fighting space got smaller and smaller as more of those explosive clouds steadily filled the chamber with each of them further increasing in size with each puff they took. Living up to their names as Mega Puffs as each of their breaths added more to their explosive payload till reaching a mega-fuck-ton of explosive payback. One that Shantae was beginning to struggle to hold.
"If you guys don't wanna get vapourised I recommend getting out of here!" She screamed out to no one in particular as cold sweat rolled down her olive skin. Fortunately her voice somehow carried enough weight to immediately stop the fighting; even Risky stopped swinging that massive sabre of hers.
Apparently she only just realised Shantae was even there as she looked around at the puffs in what was probably bewilderment. "Huh, what makes you think I'll let you ruin my fun, brat~?"
Surprisingly it was Albert who stepped forward.
"If you agree to let us go as well as follow us… We have actually learned some information that may interest you greatly; at the very least it will help your crew become stronger ." He announced.
With that Risky actually sheathed her sword. "Hmpf~ why didn't you start with that?"
Waltzing toward the group as Albert also sheathed his blade and Harmony also returned.
It all left Sky rather baffled considering how intense the fighting had been only moments prior - no blood was drawn due to the pairing of Harmony & Albert managing to keep the pirate at bay. Still, it was hard to compute the speed at which Risky simply gave in. "You're just going to trust them?"
"As if these idiots could even think of lying to mommies face Yo~HoHoHo~!" Risky just openly mocked the duo who were behind her now. Albert's eyes turned away while Harmony merely frowned at her black sheep of a sister; contemplating whether a strong right hook would do her some good.
Although the pirate herself couldn't give any less of a shit. "So did you land lubbers actually have a plan to get out of this hell hole before it fills up with liquid rock and fries you crispy?"
She askedit with a notable amount of snark…
Only to be met with an unsettling silence.
"Erm, I guess I could get us out if we all stick together, never really tried this before…" At least until Shantae decided to throw her proverbial hat into the ring as she tapped her chin. "With that Warp Squid Mother being in Scuttle I could warp us all back there with a dance."
Clearly not completely convinced in her own plan…
But nobody else had one so Risky could only sigh while clutching her forehead. "This is why it is so easy to trick you all; go ahead genie brat."
Shantae flinched at the woman who took her v-cards but soon got to it with a confident nod.
Smirk returned as she began to shake those hips…
More so.
As it turned out Warp Dances were far more complex than transformation dances yet that didn't bother Shantae (especially since it was far from the healing dance) who sharply finished.
Just in time for Aria to release the windbarrier to let the fighting trio in.
Soon a blue pillar of light exploded out only to expand out to engulf them all.
When that light faded they found themselves in the middle of Scuttle Town with only Sky appearing to be disoriented due to how alien such an experience was to her. Risky just turned to the heroes with her arms crossed under that bountiful pair of breasts. "So what are we doing now?"
Not care about the massive BOOM that followed by the entire continent shaking; if anything she seemed a bit bored as she went on to begin inspecting her finger nails.
"Wait… What is that?" Shantae's voice and pointing finger causing everyone to turn in said direction.
Far off in the distance the bow of a ship abruptly breached the ground in an explosion of magma.
Now lava due to being above the surface.
The vessel appeared to be made from a base of a dark wood with a ghostly green hue while the length of the bowsprit alone revealed the sheer size of the vessel.
The end of that large rod being secured with a dark gold ring that connected to a depiction of a rather menacing looking octopus whose other eight tentacles cradled the chip. Even that ring around the bowsprit was designed to look like tentacles. They making the railing around the edge of the ship
Between the spaces left between those gold embossed tentacles were a total of 13 cannons making for a total of 138 on the ship in total. Though on closer inspection it became clear that the cephalopod ornament held two extra surprises where its eyes should have been. A level of firepower to make even Risky blush.
When it fully breached, and was sailing through the air away from them, Shantae even could see another pair of cannons upon the back to make for a nasty surprise for anyone pursuing.
Yet the others weren't focused on the number of cannons.
Instead their gazes were on those large ragged green flags that unfurled simultaneously as it finally escaped from the confines of the earth.
Upon the main sail was a cross between an octopus & a skull; golden and somehow still shimmering.
Wearing a tricorn hat just like Risky's.
Soon enough that mighty ship (that no doubt had some legend attached) crested below the horizon to crash once more down. Whether it landed in the water or not was completely unknown to them. Leaving the group just watching on in awe at the scene.
"Don't suppose you learned anything about a ship like that from your parents?" The young dancing genie turned to ask the barely older bird tamer. All Sky was able to do was shake her head with wonderment in her eyes at that truly majestic ship.
It truly made one's mind wander.
"I think it's best you all forget about what you saw there!" Risky abruptly yelled to cut off all rogue thoughts the group had.
Sharing a look with Aria & Harmony who became stern in agreement with the pirate.
One who they had just fought with.