*This story is based on characters and concepts from the Shantae video game series. Those characters and concepts belong to WayForward and creators Matt and Erin Bozon. Some characters featured in this story are LGBTQ. Xenophobia and hate are depicted, which may make readers uncomfortable.

The Missing Half-Genie - Part 1
Shantae

The ground was still soaked from the night's rain. Strong storms had moved through the night, and yet distant rumbles of thunder could be heard...

It didn't dissuade the crowd, growing ever larger over the presence of the Sequin Land Royal Guard moving in and out of a house... One that belonged to Embra, the Shade Magic half-genie.

"Let me through!" Shantae yelled, trying to push her way through the massive crowd. That's when she saw a set of guards carrying two covered gurneys, not leaving much to the imagination...

Shantae was stunned. She feared for the worst... "Embra! Is Embra okay?!" she yelled to the guards.

One noticed her and walked up. "Would she be the one that left this hair here, guardian?" he asked, handing her a bundle of blue hair. "It doesn't match the two who were found here..."

Shantae looked at the hair. This was clearly hers. "What happened?"

"We got a young kid who witnessed the blue-haired girl breaking out of the house, with an injury over her brow. He described her as 'gasping for air' before another tried to assault her. Clearly, this was a concentrated effort to assassinate her, and we have records indicating this was home to an 'Embra,' known to be a blue-haired half-genie girl."

"Oh my gosh, does anyone know where she went?!"

"The kid saw her run off into the wilds. The third man who tried to assault her is in custody, but he won't talk..."

"Shantae!" she heard Sky yell from behind. "What's going on?"

"If our information is correct, it appears an attempt was made on guardian Embra's life. She killed two assailants in self-defense and injured another before running out of town, distraught," answered the guard.

"Please tell me..." Shantae began.

"No worries, there is enough here to claim self-defense. No charges will be filed against Embra."

"Good," Shantae sighed.

"We still want to find her, as she can fill in the gaps. But since she disappeared from town, we can't find her..."

"Did I just hear you have another guy in custody?" Sky asked. "Maybe we can talk to him?"

"I don't know how far anyone can get with this one. But you are the local guardian, so we will allow it. Maybe you can get something out of him that we cannot?"

=======

In an unused building, more guards stood around a lone man tied to a chair. He looked drenched and smelled awful.

"We fished him out of the canal after the boy's testimony. He was still alive... If you can call him alive..."

Shantae and Sky didn't have to look long to see what the guard meant by that: the man was breathing, but his eyes showed no spark of life to them. He might as well have been dead on the inside.

If only they knew...

"Shantae, something is seriously wrong with this guy. Be careful..." Sky whispered.

Shantae nodded, then cautiously stepped forward. "Um, sir, could I ask you about Embra?"

He looked up. Eyes unblinking and expression unchanging. It sent a chill up her spine.

She shook it off. "Why were you trying to kill her?"

"Do you mean Martin?" he finally said.

"What?!"

"Martin Huntsman, who inexplicably chooses to ignore the way he was born and the name he was given, insists on being called Embra. This isn't his truth." He spoke this in a dead, monotone voice that had everyone in the room, from the seasoned Royal Guards to Shantae herself, on edge.

Shantae realized "Martin" must have been the name Embra had at a much earlier time... She hated using a name Embra didn't like, but she decided to roll with it. It might get this spooky man to give more up...

"Okay, so why were you after 'Martin?' It doesn't seem like 'he' is a bad guy." After knowing Embra for months, it stung to use the wrong name and pronouns for her. It was awful that this man insisted on it...

"He is now the ultimate abomination. He is a halfling, neither human nor divine, so he is neither. He is corrupted by the genies, in the wrong body now. He stands against our perfection." The spine-chilling man then looked straight into Shantae's eyes with those cold, dead eyes and put ice in her veins. "You are one of the genie's mistakes, yourself. You will die once we fill ourselves with perfection and reshape the world to ensure the truth."

Shantae was horrified. She had never encountered someone with so much venom for a half-genie before - even Risky begrudgingly respected her and the genies. Sky could see Shantae shaking as she asked, hesitantly, the question that remained...

"What truth is that?"

"Suffering is the way of life. Anything that grants happiness is a falsehood."

Sky put her hand on Shantae's shoulder. Shantae jumped, letting out an "Eek!"

"Sorry, Shantae, we need to stop. I don't think we're going to get anything else out of him... For your own sake."

Shantae nodded, and the lead guard escorted them out. "That was some of the most messed up stuff I have ever heard," he remarked. "I would advise a warm bath or a sweet treat to get your spirits up... Or a hammer to the noggin to forget all of that." He shuddered, causing his armor to rattle.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" they heard someone shouting from within the crowd. There were several "eeks" and screams as the person moved closer to them. Before long, a Siren woman popped out of the crowd, green hair and turquoise fins on full display.

"What the - a Siren?!" Sky yelped.

"Oh, sorry, the name is Aurora. I'm a Siren cargo pilot. I need to speak with the authorities on an urgent matter!"

"Well, I am Scuttle Town's Guardian Genie," Shantae answered, "and we have the Royal Guards here, although they're a little preoccupied trying to figure out why a bunch of strangers tried to kill a half-genie who lived here..."

"Wait... Who?" Aurora asked, genuinely concerned.

"She goes by the name of Embra, has darkness powers, and-"

"IS SHE OKAY?!" The Siren exclaimed. It put the guards on edge, so she backed up and took a deep breath.

"You know her from somewhere?" Sky asked.

"Yes. I was there when her home city disappeared."

"What?!" Shantae and Sky asked at the same time.

"Northern Light had an escape plan for saving their people from an invasion that would have wiped them out. I was getting the last visitors out of there when I saw the city rise from the ground and get swallowed up by a gateway in the sky."

"That's insane. How could they have known that was coming?" Sky asked.

"Their mayor had yearly premonitions, if I heard it right. She was able to contact the genies, and they helped out with a plan that would keep everyone safe. It was just in time, too, as I saw a considerable and well-armed force moving towards the city as I was flying away..."

"Oh my gosh..." Shantae muttered.

"I think they might have sent one of their guardians out to try to fight for their safe return. Embra might have been that choice..."

"And their enemy was lying in wait for her..." suggested the guard. "Siren, would you be willing to testify to the Sultana herself about this?"

"I wanted to, actually. If it will make everyone feel better, I can be escorted there by as many guards and chains you deem fit. I know my people's reputation..."

Shantae looked at the guard. "I think she will be okay. She seems like a good one. I don't think you will need to keep her locked up..."

"Very well, at the guardian's suggestion, we will escort you freely. Just don't cause trouble..."

She looked at the guard, then Shantae. "Thank you."

As the two walked away, Sky turned to Shantae. "What in the world is going on? Half-genies being attacked? An entire city disappearing to who knows where? And I would have asked why the Sirens were working with Northern Light to begin with..."

They heard a crack and hiss behind them. They turned to see Rottytops with a can with markings from Northern Light. "What's going on? Northern Light's GONE?!"

"Wait, Rotty, you talk to Embra a lot! What do you know?" Shantae asked.

"Well, I heard from a couple of caravanners earlier that Northern Light established a trade deal with the Sirens less than a week ago. However, there were some strange men that attacked Embra and Vera while they were exploring the sunken city."

"They've got to be from the same group!" Sky remarked.

"It spooked the Sirens, it sounds like. They've been making some serious security modifications lately. No ship can get close to Siren Island without being investigated."

"Is there anything else?" Shantae asked.

"Well, I do know that Embra was seen at the caravan a few days later, giving a zombie girl in the caravan a weird crystal, and then she too started using Embra's shadow powers. I think they're saying she's something like a zombie half-genie now?"

"I don't like the idea of going to the caravan myself, but this zombie girl might have a clue for us about what's going on," Sky suggested.

Shantae nodded. "Rotty, can you take us to them?"

"Sure thing!"

=== The Zombie Caravan. ===

"AND STAY OUT, if you know what's good for you!" Anna Boggs yelled as she tossed a man out of the encampment. "We're not going to tolerate that kind of treatment towards us while I'm around!"

The man scurried away as Shantae, Rottytops, and Sky approached.

Anna noticed them right away. "Oh, hello, Rotty! And you're Shantae, right?"

"Oh yeah, you were here when I visited a while back!" She immediately noticed the pointy ears Anna now had. "Wait, it's actually true you're a half-genie now?!"

"Oh, yeah, Embra came over a few days ago with Harmony. They gave me this thing called a Hyper Crystal, a Genie Crystal that gives one chosen person the powers of a half-genie. There were some complications, but in the end, I was able to choose getting Embra's Shade Magic. She taught me what she knew."

"Did anything seem off?" Sky asked.

"There were a few moments when she was lost in thought..." Anna started to think more. "Now that you mention it, though, that creep I just threw out of the encampment was asking about her too."

"Creep?" asked Shantae.

"You could look into his eyes and see not a spark of life to them. He was berating everyone. So, I kicked his butt with Shade Magic and threw him out. He probably didn't see that coming!

"Wait, that sounds like the bunch that attacked Embra!" Sky realized.

"No, really?! She's such a sweet girl, and she means so much to us zombies, now more than ever with my own transformation. I hope she got back to Northern Light..."

The trio looked at each other. "Umm..." Shantae began. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Northern Light is apparently gone. A Siren said they took the entire city into another world, or something like that, to avoid an invasion."

"N-Northern Light's..." Anna stammered. "They are some of the nicest people out there towards us zombies. And they're gone?!"

"It sounds like it..." Rottytops said, seeming kind of down herself.

"Anna, do you know anything more about the guy you just threw out? That could be important," Shantae asked. "We're trying to find Embra too."

"Based on everything, he seemed to be from Cliff Town. Even those wary of us aren't so bold to insult us in our faces like that. Only people from Cliff Town don't hold back, and the clothes fit the usual descriptions too... "

"Cliff Town... I think Harmony mentioned something about them to me after she trained Embra. They're not known to be nice people towards anyone other than humans," Shantae explained. "I think she even said Embra had lived with them for a while?"

"That doesn't explain why they're after her so much, though..." Sky said.

"If I may, you three, be on your guard; I think they're getting bolder." Anna turned to Rottytops. "Honestly, I would be happier if you stayed with the caravan for a while. We're going to get moving here shortly, thanks to that guy..."

"But..." Rottytops muttered, looking at Shantae.

"I think Anna's right. I want you to be safe, Rotty, and these Cliff Town guys sound like trouble. I think it would be safer for you to go with them instead of staying in Scuttle Town..." Shantae looked down. "I'm sorry, Rotty. You're a good friend. I just want you safe."

Rottytops sighed. "Yeah, I get it. But I expect you to stay safe while I'm gone too!"

Shantae for the first time today actually smiled. "Heh, thanks, Rotty!"

=======

Shantae and Sky returned to Scuttle Town, only for a Royal Guard to confront Shantae. Apparently, in light of recent events, the Sultana herself was requesting her presence. Shantae went with the guard to the palace, where she was dropped off just outside the throne room. There, the Siren girl from earlier was sitting, looking distressed.

"Hey, there, umm, Aurora?" Shantae asked, worrying she forgot her name.

She looked up. "Yeah, Aurora. I figured the Sultana would ask for another opinion after I told her what I witnessed."

"Is everything okay?"

"Err... No. We were really looking forward to working with those people in Northern Light. They had a really good reputation with those considered outcasts and monsters... Like myself. I was hoping to make some friends there for a change, and not be the scary sea monster the Empress made us into..."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. It's not your fault they're gone. In fact, you're the reason I even had the chance to try, right? You're that Shantae that beat the Empress?"

"Oh, yeah. I am!"

"Honestly? She had it coming." Aurora looked at the door to the throne room. "I also think the one responsible for Northern Light's disappearance is in there. It's been getting pretty heated in there. I can hear the arguments from here."

"Wait, who?"

"Mayor Victor Marin, of Cliff Town. I thought Angler Siren gave me the creeps, but you look into his eyes? It's malice, hate, and an expansive void of emptiness. Brrr," she said as she shook, "and I thought Northern Light was cold. But glance into his eyes, and it puts ice in your soul..."

The doors opened, and Shantae could see for herself what Aurora meant; The thick black beard and red robes gave an air of a superiority complex, but those brown eyes were every bit as lifeless and devoid of warmth as Aurora just described. Victor glanced at Aurora, who immediately turned away with a yelp.

"Know your place, creature," Shantae heard him mutter. Then he looked to Shantae, an unnerving thing indeed. "So, she requested the gaffe-prone guardian of that little fishing hole? How amusing," he said before walking off.

"I hate that guy already..." Shantae muttered. She looked at Aurora. "Don't let him get to you, you're a good person. I can tell that much already!"

"Th-thank you!"

A guard from the royal chamber entered the room. "Shantae, you may enter now."

Shantae stepped into the throne room. It looked a lot better since the last time she was here, covered in the Pirate Master's corruption. It sounded like they were still cleaning parts of the castle after all this time...

At the throne was the Sultana of Sequin Land, who was sitting there, shaking her head with her fingers to her forehead. The last visitor clearly disappointed her. She looked up to see Shantae before her. "Ah, the guardian of Scuttle Town. I thank you for coming."

"If you don't mind me asking... How did it go with that Mayor Victor guy?"

She sighed. "He is as belligerent as ever. He wanted Embra arrested on espionage charges as well as breaking a number of Cliff Town laws that he was deliberately vague on. However, given the circumstances, we have irrefutable proof that Cliff Town tried to assassinate Embra in her own home here in Sequin Land, and we have witness testimony that suggests Cliff Town tried to eradicate a close ally, Northern Light. One that, as of now, cannot be found to verify these claims." The Sultana leaned towards Shantae. "I hear that you were good friends with Embra. Do you know where she went, by chance?"

"No, I'm sorry. I was chasing a lead myself, but it didn't give me anything more than you apparently already know..."

"I thought so. The witness testimony suggested she might not have been thinking clearly. I knew her. I once asked her to help me avoid a war. She did more than that; she managed to learn about our foe, figure out what it was they really wanted, and worked to instead build a bond between us and them. Instead of merely preventing a war, she gave us a new ally. She is one who strives to avoid conflict at all costs, seeking to understand and unite people. So I know she did not take two lives lightly. No doubt, she did not handle it well..."

"I knew the guards said no charges would be filed, but I didn't know you thought so highly of her..."

"She has done a few jobs for me personally in her time as a half-genie, and she delivers far more than you ever expect. She fights so hard, likely because she hates to see others suffer."

"What's being done?"

The Sultana looked away from Shantae. "In light of recent revelations... We cannot look for Embra without drawing the ire of Victor Marin, especially in light of Cliff Town's far more advanced technology."

"What?!"

"And, furthermore, we cannot have Scuttle Town's hero looking for her, either. I am certain any move like that will cause them to retaliate against the city. I'm sorry, Shantae. Return home and continue protecting Scuttle Town."

Shantae wanted to argue, but she knew the Sultana had a point. She grumbled, "Yes, your Highness. I understand..."

"That said... If I learn anything more, I will let you know by the Royal Guard or by myself personally."

"Thank you, your Highness..." Shantae said with a slight bow.

The chamber's guards then escorted Shantae out of the room. She saw Aurora was still there. The Siren got up out of her seat. "I couldn't hear much... Is it good news, I hope?"

"No. She's afraid of Cliff Town's retaliation. They're really after Embra. I have been ordered to not look for her..."

"When did that stop you? I heard you have a reputation for disobeying orders when it counts..."

"I... I will have to think about it."

"Well, unfortunately, it's off to Siren Island for me. No doubt, the other cargo pilots have already given Lobbi the news about what's going on. Still, I should probably add Embra's situation and letting the Sultana know about what happened to my own report..."

Shantae nodded and started to walk by.

"Oh, and Shantae? Be safe out there. These are some dark times upon us..."

=== Scuttle Town. ===

Sky and Bolo ran up to Shantae as she approached the town gates. "Shantae!" Bolo exclaimed, "How did it go with the Sultana?"

"Horrible. I can't look for Embra. If I do, Cliff Town could attack Sequin Land or Scuttle Town. The Sultana promised she'd let me know more if she finds out, but I don't know what's going to come of that..."

"She's probably playing it safe... But..." Sky began, hesitantly, "Are you going to look for her?"

"It's been a long day. I think I just need to go home and relax for a while."

She started towards the gate when Bolo stopped her. "Hey, umm, why don't we take the long way around town to get you home? Might be a bit of a trip!" he suggested, albeit nervously.

"Bolo, come on!" Shantae said as she walked around him. "Why are you being so..." She stopped when she looked around at the city. Wanted posters for Embra were littered all over the city, asking for her arrest, promising a vast sum of gems... Dead or alive. A few people were trying to take them down, but there were hundreds of them plastered on the walls. Shantae put her hands up to her mouth in horror and gasped.

"A bunch of them came through when you were at the palace. We've been trying to take them down, but it's going to take a while," Sky explained.

"On a better note, your uncle did say that this could be considered littering, so we can do something about these guys, right?"

"I... I just can't, right now..." Shantae sulked. "I'm going home..."

She made her way through town and eventually out of it, seeing along the way people trying to take the posters down and some who might have been thinking of taking it seriously.

Just what was Cliff Town's problem with her?! She was such a good person, and it seemed like Cliff Town was going out of their way to smear her name...

But just as she thought she was in the clear, she came up to her home and gasped.

The word "Abomination" was scribbled in red across her front door.

She kicked the door open and ripped off her hair tie, throwing it across the room as her hair fanned out. She plopped down in a chair, trembling.

"Why... Why is all of this happening?" she asked aloud.

"I... May be able to explain more..."

Shantae jumped and readied herself for a fight, but when she turned, she saw a woman dressed like a genie... No, she WAS a genie!

"What the?! You're a Guardian Genie!" Shantae exclaimed.

"My name is Lumina."

"Lumina... You're the one who gave Embra her powers!"

"Yes, and I consider her every bit as much of a daughter as my real one. And yet, since she returned, no genie has been able to see her. There is a veil over the land, just as there is covering up Cliff Town's atrocities. I went looking for her in secret, against the genies' wishes, only to discover Cliff Town tried to kill her."

"There must be something we can do!"

"There is..." Lumina opened up a warp gate within the home. A girl, wearing her own genie outfit in white and gold, walked out. "Shantae, meet my original daughter, Star. She bears my Shine Magic, and she has been protecting Northern Light since I was called back to the Genie Realm."

Shantae moved to shake Star's hand when Star turned red. "Err, you okay?"

"So pretty..." Star muttered.

"Star, now is not the time to give into your feelings. Remember, we must find Embra."

Star shook her head. "Right, sorry."

"My Star here can get flustered around girls she finds pretty."

"Moooom," Star groaned. "Did you have to tell her that?"

"And didn't I tell you to change into the stealthsuit?"

Star looked down. "Whoops. You did, but I forgot." She pulled out the black garment. "Is there... Anywhere I can change into this?"

"Upstairs?" Shantae suggested.

Star looked up, seeing only a rope to get her up. "Okay, that will do." She climbed up the rope with the outfit in her teeth.

"A stealthsuit?" she asked Lumina.

"We don't know if Cliff Town is watching. Star will leave in the night with that suit on - to hopefully ensure no one knows she was here - and pursue any leads on Embra's location."

"Why is all of this happening to her... And to me?"

"We might have disturbed a hornet's nest, but Cliff Town was building up to this for a long time. The genies have been unaware this whole time... And Embra is at the center of it all."

"How so?"

"The mayor of Cliff Town is the same man who ran Northern Light when Embra was born. His name is Victor Marin."

"Wait, what?!" Star exclaimed. "Victor runs Cliff-" they heard a crash from upstairs, followed by a string of expletives. "How on Earth did Embra get this thing on so fast?!"

"Anyway, I knew him from my time as their guardian. His heart was so closed off that I could never figure out his needs. It seems he hated Embra for being transgender, and as I have come to understand it, he may have also sent Embra's parents after the monster that killed them, likely as an attempt to get them out of the way so he could force Embra to remain a boy."

"That's horrible, but what happened?"

"I stood up for Embra, and the community stood up for me," Star answered from above. "After that, he left in a rage, and we never saw him again. I didn't even know he was Cliff Town's mayor. They really didn't like giving that information out, even when establishing trades."

"No doubt, he is fixated on Embra because of this. Of everyone, he wants her to suffer the most. It likely didn't help his mood when we sent her to infiltrate Cliff Town to figure out what they're up to last night."

"But what, exactly, is going on there?"

"We know that they have invented a way to draw people's souls from their bodies, a process Embra survived, likely because of my protections."

"Wait, that's why everyone from there has those creepy dead looks to their eyes, isn't it? Even the Mayor?"

Lumina nodded. "But I have looked over the evidence Embra brought to us, and I believe they are resurrecting a weapon from after the fall of the old world... When magic was once more known to the world, a group managed to create a weapon called the Hades Cannon, named after an ancient old-world god of the underworld. Uniting heaven and earth, as it's said, it fired the pure possibility of magic at a target, completely destroying them."

"They want to bring that back?!"

"No, not like that. I believe that they are trying to modify it to disperse magic, and their hope is to fill themselves with that magic. That's why they relinquish their own souls, to make space for the magic."

"Dark Magic? I can't imagine Light Magic would work."

"I had considered that, but they seem dismissive of all aligned forces, genies and demons alike. That only leaves a rare form of magic called Primordial Magic. It's a non-aligned, very temperamental magic from the earliest days of the universe. If they get their hands on it, they could easily rewrite everything we know about our world, undo every spell, and create their ideal world..."

"Where everyone suffers..." Shantae finished for her.

"Yes, so you got one to say those chilling words."

"And they've been stuck in my head since. I don't know if I'm going to be sleeping all that well tonight..." Shantae muttered.

Star came down, now dressed in the black bodysuit that completely clashed with her nature as a light-bearing half-genie. "I don't blame you. Embra hadn't been sleeping that well either, thanks to the scars they've left on her. It's hard to sleep when you know they're plotting the destruction of everything you've ever known, and they have a particular hatred for you..."

"Is there anything I can do?" Shantae asked. "I can't sit here and do nothing!"

"I like her," Star said, matter-of-factly. "I said the same thing a little while ago myself."

"I agree with the Sultana on keeping you out of the search for Embra. However, we need a clear message to Cliff Town that they can't run amok as they please. They are using some sort of technology to create the veil. And knowing them, they're not prone to leave it unattended somewhere where it could be broken. I ask that while you defend your home, see if you can identify - and disable - this device."

"You think they might have someone on it? I could look for the person with the soulless eyes..."

Star and Lumina looked at each other. "That's not a bad idea, actually!" Star remarked. "That's a dead giveaway to where they're from!"

"Indeed, that is the best shot we have."

"Now, Shantae, if you don't mind, could I nap somewhere for a couple of hours before nightfall arrives? I need some sleep so I can be ready for tonight."

Shantae nodded. "You can have my bed for now. I will relax down here for now, make dinner or something."

"Thank you!" Star said as she climbed back up to the second floor.

"I have one more thing, before I go..."

"What is it, Lumina?"

"A message from your mother. She's the one who helped me get here, actually."

"What?! Please, tell me!"

"'Shantae, you are about to face things I scarcely imagined for you. And Lumina was right all along, we have been too afraid to come back and defend this world from evil properly. So I ask of you this, my daughter; do not live up to us. Be stronger than us. Fight for your world with all of your amazing heart. I truly hope we will meet again one day... I love you, my precious daughter...'"

"She... She said that...?" Shantae asked with a slight sniffle.

"She did. The Guardian Genies who had daughters in this world are beginning to reconsider the stance of the genies to not meddle in the affairs of this world, especially after our corruption. Most of us who had children here were able to stave off the corruption for longer than our sisters who merely guarded the world. We had something to fight for, with our hearts. But you and the rest of the half-genies are so much stronger, with your human hearts able to guide you back to who you truly are."

"Th-thank you..."

"And, if I'm honest... I would gladly sacrifice my power to be more like you and my two daughters... A thought I should have had years ago..."

"That means a lot to hear, Lumina, thank you."

"You're welcome. And keep this in mind: I will come to fight for you if you need it. I will not stand by in the Genie Realm anymore. If no one else is, I am looking out for you, Shantae."

Lumina opened up a warp gate back to the Genie Realm. Shantae waved goodbye to the Guardian Genie.

There was now a lot on the poor girl's mind, but she knew that there were forces moving to keep the rising tide at bay. She had a part to play in all of this. She will remember her own mother's words well...

"Do not live up to us. Be stronger than us."

THE SEARCH FOR EMBRA CONTINUES IN PART 2.

By CrystalSeaDragon44