The Return of Shantae

The Bond of Tears

Genie Shantae"Your wished has been granted."

Shantae's aura and eyes soon waned and disappeared with her ceremoniously falling on the bed, completely unconscious. Korah was completely dumbfounded for about two minutes and the lights went back on as he snaps back into reality, noticing that Shantae was out cold and literally cold. She shivered like a leaf from her nudity underneath the covers. He comforts her and tries to assure if she's alright, but the sight of her tears says otherwise. Seeing all those memories must've made her feel even worse, and wishing for it didn't help either.

He never meant to do this to her and felt horrible about, although it gave him enough insight to know what happened to her in the past thousands of years ago. All he wanted was to know is why, but instead he inadvertently "wished" it without thinking. The wish was genuine and he really wanted to know, which is why the wish came true and now he's only left with two wishes, as far as he can speculate. Making criminals and psychopaths suffer is his thing, but making innocents suffer was by far the opposite and a heart wrenching thing to do. He was a horrible person!

Korah"Shantae... I'm so sorry... I never meant it to happen..."
Shantae quietly sobs away from his sight.
Korah"I... I will never make a wish like that ever again. I don't like hurting people... Especially those who've suffered so much.

Korah slow gets up from his bed and retrieves her nighties, setting them right next to her. All he can do for her is to stroke her head good night and  pull the other covers over her. He'll have to sleep outside tonight, hopefully being able to break out that couch futon for the first time.

Korah"You can stay in my bed for tonight, okay? I'll sleep outside-" Shantae grabs his hand before he could get up from the bed. "Shantae? What are you-"

Out of pure panic, Shantae embraces him while still nude and out of the fear of him leaving. Her face was still flowing with tears with her hands clinching to the back of his shirt feverishly trembling.

Korah"Sh- Shantae-"
Shantae"Please! Please don't leave me alone!!" sob "I'll do anything for you! Just please!"sob "Don't... leave me all alone..."sobbing "I've been alone for so long,"sob "My friends, my only family,"sob "Gone!"sobbing "I don't have anyone..."sob "Anymore!"

Shantae breaks down crying on his chest, never letting go of him. This broke him once more to shed tears, reminding him of his own abandonment. He never paid any mind to it until now. He shelved it to never bother him, unless he felt bad for the homeless children of Gearton, it made him choke to see her like this and didn't want to ruin her anyone than she is.

Korah"It's..."sob "It's okay, I'll-"sob "I promise I'll take care of you. Oka-"hic "Okay?"sobbing "Just-"hic "just stop please.."sobbing.

{You have gotten Tears of Solidarity}

She nodded her head as Korah finally settles her down, Shantae finally covering herself from his eyes. Both faced each other eye to eye, both soaked in tears with puffy eyes. Korah gently touches her forehead with his own, making her know that she wasn't alone in this world of endless rain. He gingerly handed her clothes afterwards and turns his back for privacy, he could still hear her throat quivering in despair in the background. That made him look for a towel to dry her eyes as she finishes herself dressing in her pajamas.

For the next two hours, they sat on the bedside right next to each other facing the glass sliding door to the rainy outside, saying nothing and trying to relax themselves. After a moment of thinking, Korah broke the silence with a sigh of resolution.

Korah"Shantae?"
Shantae"Yes...?"
Korah"Was Master Mimic really your uncle? Biologically?"
Shantae"I believe so. He said that he was my father's brother. But for some reason, he never talks about him that much."
Korah"Hehe. You're very lucky to have him than. I... I don't even have any blood relatives of my own. For most of my life, the guild members have been my family. Especially the Guild Master..."
Shantae"That... Sounds nice."
Korah"As far as I can remember, I've been mostly a tag along than an official member back then. I've been abandoned since I was but 5 years, I think. The only one to take me in was Guild Master Clifford, he'd say that I could stick around a while until someone needed a kid to adopt."
Shantae"What happened?"
Korah"There were no takers. When no one wanted me, the other guild members helped me grow while I was with them, some of them didn't have families of their own either. They would help me read and write, and even hunt for treasure and fight monsters."

Korah told Shantae everything he did in his youth, about how he became and official member when Sorin wanted him to be his brother, and how he learned the trade of combat. He even told her about whenever he or Sorin get bullied by undergound thugs, he'd do his worse on them in the cruelest ways that could leave mental scares. Though people might get put off by that, his stepbrother Sorin praised him for it. Even now Sorin liked Korah for being himself, but he did have to teach him about humilities and respect, along with keeping that temper of his under control.

The fun and adventures he had with his friends grew up with him over his years in this rotting world made Shantae remember all the good times she had, making her actually smile a bit. Korah wanted to show her his friends so that she won't be alone again, not as a wish but was her first friend in this new age. In her response to his offer, she held his hands and said,"Yes... Please." He smiled as he tells her that she can come with him to the guild if she wants to, but for now she wanted to take things slowly.

When all is right with the two of them, they settled in bed and finally called it a night. Though Shantae was sound asleep in his bed, Korah was still wide awake thinking of what's to come of this. If anyone should find out that she's an ancient hero became a wish granting Genie, things might get ugly. No one's ever heard of a Half Genie for centuries, maybe even around the beginning of Gearton's founding. He just hopes that everyone is just as accepting as they were on him. But now he has more on his plate than he could handle.

There's the Mystery of the Dreary Century case, his own origins, and now the situation of Shantae. As of tomorrow, he'll need to work things out with placing Shantae at Trove Snipe as a member. "Yeah, that's what I need to do- Ow! Ooof, my back!" The markings on his back glow furiously towards Shantae, as if wanting to do something horrifying. "Why?!"
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Information
Tears of Solidarity: An understanding of how a significant other has gotten through in their life of suffering and sorrow.

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Sorry guys, I couldn't be myself to actually structure a proper way for them to bond. I'll try again in the next chapter.
-Kanadzuchi