Every week when they had the time, money and opportunity Shantae, Sky and Bolo liked to stop at their favorite cafe in Scuttle Town for individual snacks and specially made juice drinks. While it was a fun weekly ritual Shantae was a little short on funds some times so either Sky or Bolo happily picked up the slack for her. Not wanting to spend their day without their best friend at their side. Shantae usually looked forward to this more than anyone but today she barely had the energy to show her enthusiasm for her treats. Her head laying on the table and her long purple pony tail touching the ground as one hand rested on her drink and the other over a sweet bun she bought. Neither had made it to her mouth and Sky and Bolo were wondering just how long they should leave her like that. "It looks like this side job has been pretty rough for her." Sky said with a motherly tone of concern as she gently removed Shantae's hands from her food so she didn't spill it when she woke up. "There haven't even been any attacks on the town she's had to repel. This is all just from the other job." Bolo added, worried but not so much that he couldn't enjoy his sandwich and cola. "How much longer is she going to keep this up?" "I don't know. She hasn't told me how much she's made yet." Sky pulled off a piece of her own sweet bun between her fingers and handed to her pet war bird Wrench who was sitting on the table next to her. The bird happily gobble up the bread and let out a caw of approval, which caused Shantae's head to swing back up from the table. "Oooh... sorry, what were we talking about?" Shantae asked, looking around with a dazed smile. "We were talking about you." Sky said. "Shantae, we're worried about you. This extra job is clearly more than you can handle." "Nah, it's fine it's fine." Shantae said, her hand reaching out for her drink and grasping at the air where it used to be. Sky slid the drink back into her fingers and Shantae smiled confidently. "Got it." She said in victory and took a sip of her juice. "You were asleep on the table for like ten minutes." Bolo added, already finished with his food. "You didn't have to come out with us if you were tired." "But I wanted to come out with you guys." Shantae said. "Sorry I'm just worn out. I thought I'd be entertaining parties in town and doing all of this stuff in my spare time. But every job has been out of the way. Besides Ammo Baron and Techno Baron hiring me I had the Hypno Baron call me out to do some weird ritualistic dance to summon a demon or something for him." "That sounds pretty scary." Sky said. "Is that okay? Did it not work?" "Oh it worked, but I guess whatever it was he didn't know how to control it cause I was the one that summoned it. Last I saw him he was running out of his castle with the thing chasing him. Luckily he paid me before I got started." Shantae said grasping for her sweet bun and looking annoyed it wasn't there. Sky slowly slid it into her hand and Shantae took it and bit a chunk out of the bread. "Then Squid Baron called me over to teach him how to dance. I thought that might be fun but he's got seven left feet. We went at it for hours before he was satisfied. Still I got paid for all my time there." "How many more jobs do you have to do?" Bolo asked. "Just one." Shantae said with a smirk. "One more job and I'll have filled my collection vase to the top. Then I'll finally have my own bath tub!" "Hope it was worth it." Sky asked, looking happy to hear that this was going to be over soon for her friend. "Oh you bet it will be. No more having to use the public bath just to wash off the daily grind. It'll be big enough that we can use it together." Shantae said to Sky, both looking pretty pleased with the idea. "Oh, uh, sorry Bolo but it's a girls only kind of thing." "I get it." Bolo said not doing a good job to hide his disappointment but he understood. "Maybe I should get my own bath tub? It's like a fight in the bath house sometimes during the men's hours. I wonder if Mimic has any old oil drums he doesn't need anymore that I could use?" "A man of class, as always." Sky said in disappointment with her male friend. "Well it's free." Bolo countered. "I ain't plannin' to share it with any other guys either so a single serving size is good for me." "Good grief." Sky rolled her eyes. "So when's this next gig of yours?" She asked turning back to Shantae. "Tomorrow! It's some boat party and they wanted to to bring a dancing girl on board for entertainment." Shantae said happily. "Well if you're out on the water be careful, you could get attacked by pirates." Sky warned. "If they do attack I'll just charge extra for kicking their butts while on the clock." Shantae said and the three friends shared a laugh. After finishing their meals they all went back to their separate schedules, Shantae's involving going to bed early to be ready for work the next day completely refreshed. As the day gave way to night and then to the next morning Shantae got herself cleaned, fed and was out the door. Only one more job and she'd finally be at her goal. Pulling out the letter she got yesterday Shantae reviewed the directions for her next gig. "Let's see... looks like they docked on a shoreline not far from town. Great, I won't have to go running all over Sequin Land for this one." Shantae said, pleased to avoid a journey over dangerous land this time. Heading out of town and down the road it wasn't long until Shantae spotted a boat parked near a cliff side area with a plank for people to walk onto. It was a little weird the ship didn't use a dock but she figured whoever owned it must have wanted to keep the party private. Looking at the picture of the boat she held up the paper to see them side by side and found they matched. "There it is! Off to get my final paycheck." Walking up the side of the cliff Shantae looked over the edge to see the water down below. "This is a pretty big boat." She commented, walking across the plank onto the wood of the deck. Looking around she noted that there didn't seem to be anyone aboard. No one was there to greet her and no other visitors seemed to be about. "Uh, hello! Anyone!? I came here for the party." Shantae called out walking further onto the ship. "You hired a dancer?" As she wandered on the ship a sinking feeling was coming over her, not to mention something about this boat seemed familiar. "Why do I feel like I've seen this ship before." "Because you have seen it before, runt." A voice called out as the door to the main cabin was open. Revealing a woman with purple skin wearing a captain's hat standing in the door way and leaning against the frame. "Risky Boots!" Shantae declared. "What are you doing on this ship, planning to rob its owner?" "Silly girl, I am the owner." Risky snapped her fingers as the sails unfurled to reveal purple and white striped cloth with a huge skull emblazoned on the main sail. "And the only one I've robbed so far is you." Risky revealed as she held up the vase from Shantae's home that was holding all of her gems from her second job. "My savings!" Shantae cried in horror. "What do you think you're doing with that!? I earned that money fair and square through hard work!" "I'm distracting you so my men can get the drop on you. Now!" Risky ordered and Shantae looked up to see they were literally getting the drop on her. Small black humanoid creatures wearing red pants and bandanas on their heads rained down on her in a pile. Shantae could only see the black of their skin and the yellow of their eyes as they crawled all over her, only getting off when she found that her hands had been clasped together in iron shackles and her foot was locked to a ball and chain. "You fiend, let me go this instant before I mmff!" Shantae cried out but her shouts of anger were muffled when a red gag was tied around her mouth. Risky was smirking at her plan going so smoothly, handing Shantae's vase off to one of her tinkerbats as she approached the half genie and ruffled her hair a little with a pat on her head. "Well that was easy. Men! Shove off!" Risky ordered and they tinkerbats got to work. Pulling up the plank and crawling along the ship to hoist the anchor and begin sailing off into open waters. Shantae looked back to see them departing from the land and any hope of rescue going along with it. "You're far too gullible, runt. All those jobs you did and you never questioned once why all of them were so far away from home?" Unrolling a parchment Risky showed Shantae her advertisement from the bulletin board in Scuttle Town. "I had my men keep an eye on you in case you ever came across anything interesting. When they brought this back to me I saw an opportunity to get rid of you once and for all. So I had this little ad of yours copied and passed it around to your new favorite clients." "Ro rhats whts groing ron!" Shantae said through the gag over her mouth. "Exactly. Those idiots were supposed to lure you into a trap and take you out for me. I never imagined they'd hire you for actual work, much less pay you fairly." Risky complained and shook her head. "If you want an evil plan to go right you have to do it yourself. Once we're out far enough on the ocean I'll just dump you over the side. Just like that I'll be down one genie brat and have far less obstacles in my way to ruling Sequin Land." She cackled triumphantly at her own brilliance. "It's been fun playing with you but the game's gotten stale. Much better to be free of the constant thorn in my side." "Rld rn!" Shantae grunted out. "rye rme rh rance!" "Uh, pardon me?" Risky asked, not quite getting that. "Rye rad, rye rme rh rance." Shantae repeated and Risky shook her head in annoyance, approaching the girl. "I can't understand a word you're saying. The tinkerbats talk louder than you with this on." She pulled Shantae's gag off her face. "Ah, that's better. Now then, I said I came to dance!" Shantae declared, Risky looking surprised at the statement. "That's why you hired me right?" "Do you not get it? This was a trap!" Risky said in annoyance. "I didn't hire you to dance. I lured you here to capture you. Besides I'm no fool, you move those hips and you'll start doing that magic of yours." "I can't do my normal dancing with my hands tied up." Shantae explained. "And I'm not going to just go over the side of the boat without a peep. I'm a dancer and that's what I came here to do." Shantae said staring at Risky seriously. "This whole time I should have been entertaining at bachelor parties, birthdays and dance clubs. Instead because of you I've been forced into humiliating, degrading and sexually objectifying work." "Honestly I can't see how what you were planning would have felt any different than what you've been going through." Risky admitted. "Fine, do your little shaking. I'll take your last dance. But if I see even a spark of magic I'll pull out my pistol and start firing." "You already threatened to kill me, not much difference there." Shantae complained and suddenly had her gag put over her mouth again. "You don't need to talk to dance, right?" Risky said with a smirk. "Men, set up for some entertainment. I want to be comfortable for my show." The tinkerbats went to work at Risky's command, a little quartet band appearing near Shantae as the tinkerbats gathered some fiddles, a guitar and a flute which she didn't know how it would play it as she never saw a mouth on the creatures. Their captain had a chair brought out for her along with a table that contained a bottle of wine in an ice bucket and a glass for their master. It must have been nice to have so many loyal subjects doing whatever she pleased, though Shantae wasn't interested in the dark magic that involved controlling them. "Alright then runt, let's see you dance." At her request, Shantae did. It was difficult having her hands shackled together but she was able to make it at least look presentable by flattening her hands against each other. Without being able to move her feet very far Shantae mostly focused on simple movements involving her hips and torso. Moving her hips about and shaking the rest of her body along to the music. It was true she couldn't do any magic restrained like this but while she was dancing she at least had time to try and think of a way out of this situation. Even if it was humiliating being tied up and forced to dance for the captain like some kind of slave girl. To her credit Risky was watching her with interest, along with the rest of the crew. She didn't know if the tinkerbats enjoyed dancing. All they ever seemed to do was whatever Risky wanted them to do. But if she enjoyed her performance then maybe it extended to the rest of them. Laying her moves on a little thicker with more exaggeration Shantae began to dance around her captive ball and chain in a circle, making sure to give lots of hip movement with each turn around the ball. Risky was currently drinking whatever was in the bottle as she watched, Shantae glad her hand was on the glass instead of on her pistol. Stopping her revolutions and lowering herself down Shantae got to her knees and leaned her body backwards, putting her hands in the air and moving her torso up and down while wiggling about like a snake. Slowly lifting herself back up onto her feet she could see her audience was watching her closely now so Shantae went the extra mile to keep her attention. Using the large metal ball she was shackled to as a seat she leaned forward and gave her captor a wink, wiggling her shoulders about and spreading her legs apart. When Risky seemed to be caught off guard by the moved and looked surprised the other tinkerbats around her reacted in a similar way. They were linked, somehow, by whatever dark magic gave her control of them. She needed to up the stakes and keep her impressed. There were some ropes coming off the yards that stuck out of the mast keeping the sails attached to the ship. These were the ropes her attackers came off of when they landed on her during her capture but she could put them to use for herself now. Grabbing a hold of the closest rope Shantae climbed it as much as the chain on her ankle would allow. Gripping the rope with her thighs Shantae hung her torso upside down, still turning her body around to the beat of the music being played. She could see Risky smile and hoped that was a good sign. Gripping the rope with her hands Shantae flipped herself upside down and spread her legs apart, trying to pose as best she could with the chain attached to her. She had seen other girls do this kind of dancing on a pole before but never thought she'd try it herself. Flipping her body around Shantae came onto the ground for a landing, dropping to all fours and picking her behind up first with her back to Risky, pulling the rest of her body up and striking a pose as the dance ended. When the music stopped she was panting hard through the gag on her mouth but was hoping she kept her captor happy. Risky set her glass down on the table and there was a moment of silence. Shantae felt like she might pass out from the stress but was relieved when Risky applauded her, the other tinkerbats joining in along with their captain. Somehow she didn't immediately lose all the strength in her legs as let out a breath she'd been holding. Getting up from her chair Risky approached Shantae and looked her over, then smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Well I guess there is one thing you're good at runt. You know how to dance." Clapping her hands the tinkerbats all look up. "Men, get my bubble bath ready. Fill it with enough water for two, I'm sure our little dancing diva here could use a soak after working up that sweat." "Rhat?" Shantae asked confused. Even more so after the shackles and gag were taken off of her body by the tinkerbats around her. "What?" "Well, are you just going to stay out here all day or are you coming in?" Risky asked as she walked into her cabin, Shantae looking on confused but following after her long time nemesis as there wasn't really anywhere else for her to go at the moment. She didn't know how to sail a boat and even if she could defeat Risky and all the tinkerbats she wasn't sure she could get home without their help. So along the half-genie went into the lioness' den. After a short while of inspecting Risky's interior of her ship Shantae found herself standing in front of what was the fanciest bath tub she'd ever seen. It was black with a gold trim around the lip of the tub and a cushioned back sticking over the rim if you wanted to lay your head on it. All around them were various treasures, coins and jewels. Some even hanging from the ceiling on cords and necklaces along with glass bottles filled with who knew what. It was set over an open grate with a fire bellowing beneath it that kept the water warm. While all of this was a sight to take in none of it was as shocking as seeing Risky take off her clothes in front of her. "What?" Risky asked with a grin. "Feeling intimidated being in front of a real woman?" "N-no, it's not that. I just never... thought I'd see you. Like this." Shantae muttered. "Well count your lucky stars. There are men all over the world who'd pay a fortune to see The Queen of the Seven Seas like this." Risky said as she carefully slipped into the bath tub. "Ah, perfect! Just the way I like it. Water's a little low though. Hurry up, runt. I need you to raise it up." "How do I keep getting into this situation?" Shantae grumbled but did as instructed, taking off her clothes and then joining her enemy in the bath tub. It was a tight fit and honestly there wasn't any way for them to be in there together without their legs touching. Risky seemed less nervous about it than Shantae though. "So... why all of this?" "Why all of what?" Risky asked, dipping her head down to get her dark purple hair washed in the water. "Inviting me into this tub. Taking off my restraints after you captured me. It's pretty uncharacteristic of you to be this generous. I thought your whole plan was to dump me in the ocean." "Keep up your complaints and I just might." Risky threatened. "Besides what's it to you? I just decided that things wouldn't be as much fun if I killed you in such a boring way. Proving to you that I can best you whenever I want and keeping you alive afterwards is the ultimate insult." "Did you just really like my dancing and wanted some company?" Shantae asked innocently as she began to wash her hair in the water too. "Hmph. I don't need your company. I have all the company I want." Risky said as she looked up, a tinkerbat coming into the room still holding her glass from earlier. Shantae let out a surprised shout and covered her chest with her hands when the creature appeared. "Oh don't worry yourself, they don't care. Besides after seeing me so often they won't even notice you." "Yeah yeah, I get it." Shantae said as she lowered her arms down, the suds doing a fair job of covering her body already. "This is a pretty great bath tub. I can't wait to get one of my own." "It is the finest, custom made for me." Risky bragged. "So you're after a bath of your own are you?" "Oh yeah, that's why I've been working so hard. I'm going to get a bath tub that I can share with Sky so we don't have to keep using the public bath house every time we want to get clean." "Even when you're looking to get something for yourself you're still thinking of others. That kind of behavior holds you back you know." "But sharing with friends makes everything better. Even now you and I are enjoying this bath together, doesn't that make it more fun?" Shantae could feel Risky's legs try to pull away from her but with no where to go they just slid back into place. The pirate captain finishing off her drink and handing it back to her attendant to take away. "I'm already starting to regret this choice." Risky said with a huff. "Well if we're going to share everything we enjoy might as well go all out." Snapping her fingers Shantae watched as the tinkerbats wheeled out an odd looking table. It was padded on the top with a hole at one end and was long enough for a person's body. "What's that supposed to be?" Shantae asked and leaned on the edge of the tub, looking it over curiously and forgetting her previous embarrassment of being exposed in front of the tinkerbats. Risky was watching her with a grin and motioned to the new piece of furniture with pride. "That's my massage table. Pillaging and looting really tires a girl's muscles out. So I make sure to get a rub down once a week to keep me in top performance." "A personal massage? That sounds amazing!" Shantae said, truly admiring the luxuries Risky had available to her. "Ooooh I'd love to get one." "Well isn't it your lucky day, runt." Risky said and motioned to the table. "Really, I can!?" "Why not, we're sharing after all. Right?" Shantae didn't wait a minute as she was scrambling out of the bath tub to get the full treatment. "Wait! At least towel off first!" "Oops, sorry." Shantae giggled and Risky shook her head in annoyance. After getting herself dry Shantae hopped onto the table and stuck her face into the hole slot. Gathering up some stools to be high enough a team of four tinkerbats began to massage her body. "Oh wow, I thought their hands would feel creepy but they're actually really good." "Naturally. I wouldn't allow them to touch my flawless skin if their skills weren't up to par." Risky explained as Shantae let out a sigh and enjoyed the massage. After working all week doing this ridiculous side job she needed something like this to take the edge off. Sure Risky was the blame for causing her all that trouble in the first place but at least she was paying it back now with this nice treat. Although one thing was kind of concerning her. "Um... they're touching my butt." Shantae complained. "After how much I saw you use it out there seems like you'd welcome giving it a chance to relax." Risky said with a small chuckle. "Hey, I only had to do that because I was restricted on how I could dance. It's not easy moving around in an appealing way when you're all tied up y'know." "Yet you did it pretty well anyway." Risky said, a devilish tone in her voice that made Shantae a little concerned but she decided not to bring it up. Was better to keep Risky in a good mood instead of possibly angering her. "You should flip over now, don't want to just do your back do you?" "Flip over? But then won't I... I mean won't everything be..." It was already kind of embarrassing laying on the table with her backside exposed to the world. To turn around would put it all on display, even if everyone in the room had already seen it. "Oh grow up already, runt. Do you want to enjoy your massage or don't you?" "Alright alright." Shantae said and slowly turned her body around on the table as directed, though she noted that her masseurs were suddenly gone from the table around her. "Uh, is there something I'm supposed to do next or-" Shantae didn't get much time to think it over as two ropes suddenly came over the table. One crossing over her stomach and restraining her arms while the other came across her ankles. "Hey! What's the big idea!?" She tried to pull herself up by they had a tight grip on her where she laid. "No need to get all anxious. I figured I'd attend to you personally." Risky said as she climbed out of the bath tub, picking up her own towel to dry off as she approached Shantae. "Mmm, you do look good tied up. It's far more appealing than when you're jumping around whipping everything with that hair of yours. Though something's missing." Risky pondered before coming to a realization. Picking up her head bandana she wrapped it together like a rope and tied it over Shantae's mouth. "There we are! That's the look I remember." "Mmrrrgh!" Shantae grumbled from the table, pulling against the ropes. "No, please, keep struggling. It makes it all the more fun." Risky said as she let her finger tips trace down over Shantae's shoulders and over her chest. "Enjoying your massage still, runt?" She asked and Shantae shook her head with a scowl. "Well we can't have that now." Bring her other hand up Risky began to massage Shantae's breasts in her hands, far more roughly than any of the other girls had touched her there before. Her body was wiggling to get free but the ropes kept her secured. Finding amusement in her struggle Risky lightly pinched at Shantae's nipple and pulled ever so slightly, letting them fall away from her fingers only to do it again. "If nothing else you have a body that's good for toying with. Why don't we see what else is going on with those dancing hips of yours." Shantae could feel Risky's hand slide down her stomach and towards her hip, pulling with all her might to get free of the ropes but finding it was useless. "Still trying to get away? After this you're going to really enjoy what I have in store for you." Risky's hand on her breast squeezed it hard as her other hand slipped between her legs to run over her pussy. Since it was useless to get away Shantae laid her head back on the table and closed her eyes tightly as she felt herself being played with by her nemesis. Two of her fingers rubbing against her in large circles as Shantae felt her breathing pick up and her body reacting to the touch. "Well that didn't take long." Risky said finding her new play thing was going along with her more easily than she expected. "I was looking to break you through more of a fight but if you're just going to let this happen I'm not going to complain." She kept her eyes watching Shantae's expression as her fingers worked deeper against her body, applying more pressure as her body accepted it more. When she felt there wasn't any more resistance Risky plunged her fingers inside her, Shantae's body arching up against the ropes at the intrusion. "Now we're getting somewhere." Her hand continued to work in deeper as Shantae's body wiggled against the ropes. No longer trying to escape but just shuddering from the sensations rolling through her body. There wasn't any point holding herself back anymore as she groaned against her gag, feeling it coming closer and closer. Able to tell she was about to break Risky increased the movement of her fingers inside her pussy as Shantae's eyes closed tight and her body arched up into her hand. Soon she was shivering as her climax came quickly to Risky's desire, her fingers and toes curling up as her nemesis continued to stroke her all the way through her orgasm. Pulling her hand back Risky licked her fingers in front of Shantae for her to watch but she was too overwhelmed from her climax to react to anything else that was happening around her. "Wasn't that fun, runt?" Risky asked in amusement as she pulled the bandana off of her mouth, Shantae panting hard to catch her breath. "Now then why not tell me what it feels like for me to have stolen something so important from you?" "Hm?" Shantae asked in a daze as her body was still hot from everything she'd gone through today. It took her a minute to think about what she was asking before realization hit. "Oh yeah, you stole my savings!" She said with a pout. "Give those gems back, I worked hard for them." "Your gems? Well, I guess I did steal those but I'm not talking about that." Risky said in annoyance as Shantae thought a bit more about it. "You're not going to take my clothes now, are you?" "What, no! Those things wouldn't even fit on me to begin with." Risky grumbled. "I'm talking about what I took just now." Shantae's eyes were looking around the room trying to get some idea of what she was referring to. When it showed that this was going no where Risky finally just said it herself. "I just took your innocence, you little goody two-shoes. Your chastity is gone now and in my hands. Or hand so to speak." Feeling proud of herself again Risky smiled looking over her and when Shantae finally got what she was referring to it clicked in her head. "Oh. Oh! I mean... woe is me! You've went and done the unthinkable. I'll uh... never get that back." She didn't make eye contact as she tried to play up the act. "Hold on, something isn't right here." Risky said. "Why aren't you in shambles and tears? This should have broken you completely." "No no, I am. Really I'm just inconsolable right now. No way I'll ever recover from this." Shantae said, still avoiding eye contact with Risky as she talked. Though the pirate captain wasn't convinced at all as she kept staring at her face. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute!" Risky said in a huff, walking over to where her clothes had been laid and pulling her sword out. "Whoa, Risky calm down! There's no need to-" Shantae stammered and then closed her eyes when she saw the sword swing. Instead of getting cut however she found the ropes securing her to the table were sliced off her as she sat up. "Hey, I'm free!" "Explain yourself little missy." Risky said and leaned forward, using her sword to hold her up. "Are you really not a virgin?" "What!?" Shantae cried, covering her chest as if she was suddenly being exposed for the first time. "That's an awfully personal question!" "Well are you?" "I've never even gone on a date with a boy before." Shantae said with her pouting face again. "Oh? And what about with another girl?" Risky asked curiously and Shantae looked away from her gaze. "Wow, I never would have guessed. No wonder you wanted to share that bath with your friend." "We just practiced together the one time!" Shantae complained. "It didn't count..." "Sure it didn't. I guess this didn't either. You're something else, runt. Caught me by surprise this time." Risky walked over to where she'd left her clothes before and started to get dressed again. "Well don't just sit there naked all day. Unless you want to get off the boat like that." "So you're... not going to dump me over board?" Shantae asked surprised. "Don't tempt me." Risky warned and when she was fully dressed walked out of the cabin back onto her deck. "Men! Head back to land so we can drop off our little guest." While she was giving orders Shantae followed her advice and got dressed, the two women riding the boat quietly back to shore having seen and learned a lot more about each other than either had intended for today. When they came back to the coast the tinkerbats set up the plank for Shantae to disembark. "Well I guess this is good bye for now." Shantae said awkwardly. "I'm sure I'll see you again, you have a habit of popping up when I don't want you involved." Snapping her fingers Risky had two of her tinkerbats walk over to Shantae with an item she was very familiar with. "My savings!" Shantae said joyfully as she took the vase back from the dark creatures. "Hey, it's even filled to the top now." She looked at Risky curiously who wasn't making eye contact with her. "Well you did put on a good performance so I guess you're worth the money." Risky commented but let out a gasp when she felt Shantae throw a hug around her. "Nope, none of that." Risky said as she pushed Shantae off of her. "Just cause I paid you for your work doesn't mean we're friends." "Aww, I was hoping you finally came around again." Shantae said in disappointment and picked up her vase. "Thank you Risky, now I can finally get that bath tub I've been after." "I bet. You and your girlfriend are going to put it to good use I'm sure." "That was only one time and it didn't count!" Shantae complained but was still happy she got paid for her final job. Waving good bye she ran off the ship and back towards town with her reward firmly in hand. Risky let out a groan of annoyance now that she was gone. "I'm getting too soft." She complained and was looking to retreat to her cabin when one of her tinkerbats approach her. "Hm? What is it now?" The creature looked her way but didn't speak. "A stowaway you say? I'm not going to tolerate that on my ship! Where are they?" The tinkerbat looked up where several other tinkerbats had a figure tied to a rope hanging from one of the yards off the mast. Untying part of it uncoiled the rope so it sent the stowaway spinning downward until he collided with the deck. "Don't I know this one?" "Ugh, my head." Bolo complained as he sat up and rubbed his skull from his hard landing. "Now I remember, you're one of the runt's little friends from that town." Risky said in annoyance. "What do you think you're doing on my ship?" "Well uh, I was here to sorta... y'know... rescue Shantae if she got in trouble?" Bolo said embarrassed. "Oh really? How did that work out for you?" "Well I managed to sneak onto the boat." Bolo offered. "So you did. When was this daring rescue supposed to take place? I had her in chains the moment she came aboard." Risky said with amusement. "Well yeah but... then you let her go." Bolo answered. "So you snuck on board and watched her do that little dance for me?" Bolo didn't reply but nodded. "You know I had her tied up in my cabin too." "...but... then you let her go." Bolo replied. "So you were spying on her in there too." Risky replied and Bolo didn't answer. "Let me guess, you were watching us through my cabin windows and you got caught while enjoying the view?" He still kept his mouth shut, though Risky didn't wait for an obvious answer as she pulled her sword out and pointed the tip at his chest. "If you were spying on her then that means you were spying on me!" "I didn't mean to!" Bolo said as he put his hands in the air and backed up, Risky following him as she pushed him along by sword point until he was against the side of the ship. "Oh? But you didn't stop either." Risky said with a smirk. "So, did you like what you saw?" "Uh... well..." "Go on, say it. How was getting to view the Queen of the Seven Seas in all her glory?" "Well I uh..." Bolo stammered, lowering his hands and putting them behind his back shyly. "It was really nice." "I'm sure it was." Risky said and pulled her sword away, standing closer to him now. "So how would you like to know the touch of Risky Boots?" "R-r-really!?" Bolo asked as his face turned red. "Really. Close your eyes and pucker up." Risky commanded and Bolo did as he was told. Not seeing her hand come up for a swing as she slapped him across the face hard enough to knock him over the edge of the ship into the water. When he surfaced again Bolo looked up to see Risky leaning forward over the edge of the ship smiling down at him. "Consider yourself lucky. Normally I kiss peeping toms like you with a bullet. But I'm in a good mood today. Men! Raise the anchor!" The plank was pulled up onto the ship along with the anchor as the pirate ship began to sail off. Leaving Bolo to swim for shore around the coast line but fortunate enough to have both his life and the loving touch of Risky Boots on his face. It was a tough kind of love but he was happier to have it than not.