The Room Where It Happened

'I'm telling you guys, you should have seen the look on their faces when me and Snap Shot arrived! They all looked so freaked out!'

Short Cut burst out laughing at the memory, much to the amusement of the other Trap Masters. The Trap Team was currently discussing some matters, and everyone sat in a circle in the middle of Snap Shot's room. Snap Shot had insisted that everyone gather here to discuss the plan for the next day. Unfortunately, the scheduled time overlapped with dinner. So, as compensation, he had gotten take-out for everyone, as according to him, a good leader should.

'Alright, Short Cut, that's enough of telling everyone about our mission today. Let's get back to the discussion.' Said Snap Shot, as he brought the conversation back on track. 'So, costumes, are they all done?'

The little phantom nodded. 'Yup. All done up, and ready for usage.' He slurped his large soda drink.

'Don't drink too much of that, Short. Ya know what too much sugar does to you.'

'Aw, don't worry about me. I'm getting better at handling myself.' Replied Short Cut. He carried on gulping down the soda from a cup as tall as himself.

'Right, movin' on. Blastermind. How are the special effects going?' Asked Snap Shot.

'Oh, they're running excellently, Snap Shot. Jawbreaker and I ran a test run earlier this afternoon, and everything works exactly as it should.' He grinned. 'Not bad for a homemade haunted house, if I do say so myself.'

Tomorrow was Halloween, and everyone at the Academy was busy preparing for the special event. There was a lot that they needed to prepare for: face painting, pumpkin carving, concert, apple bobbing, all the standard things you would expect from a Halloween festival.

But this year, there was a new event that the Trap Masters would be responsible for. It all started when Short Cut was reminiscing about his old life in his undead village. He had been thinking about the Halloweens then, about how they were different from the ones up in the surface, and in what ways they were similar. One of the things that he had said was very different was the haunted house.

'In my village, we always used the haunted houses to tell old undead folk tales and legends. There would be two guards guiding the group through the house, to make sure that they wouldn't wander off. A narrator would tell the story as they travel along the place, and actors would act out some scenes to show people what happened. The shows would always end in the attic. And then when the show ends, my favorite part will happen! Everyone will exit by getting thrown all the way down to the ground from the attic window!'

Everyone thought that that was an… interesting use of a haunted house. To say the least.

Short Cut had begged everyone to do it. He had insisted that it would have been the perfect way to spice up Halloween that year. 'Please? We always do the same things over and over again, year after year! I think we need to do something new and kick it up a notch!'

He had brought up a very good point. Most of the citizens of The Underworld only came out during Halloween. And when they came up, they would usually head for the same events that they go to for years. The Skylanders' Halloween festival was one of the most commonly attended events among the citizens, mostly due to the Skylanders' good reputation among many undead circles. They could probably do the same events for years, and most of the undead wouldn't mind. Most undead citizens were reluctant to change anyways. But they figured that the undead deserved better than minimum level effort. Especially since for so many of them, it was the only night when they even left The Underworld. It was a special event that deserved effort.

So, they implemented Short Cut's idea. It was actually a pretty good idea; it was something new to do for the festival, but not too overwhelming. The attendees could come in, enjoy a retelling of a classic folk tale, and go out. 'But no throwin' anyone out of a window.' Said Snap Shot.

The Trap Masters were all assigned with this new activity. It was a lot of hard work, even among eighteen people to share. But they all persevered, and within a few months, they had built a fully functional haunted house to stage their production, adapted a classic undead folk tale, figured out the staging and special effects, and made costumes. Everyone had memorized their lines and knew their places, but there was still a little bit more work that they needed to do.

'Well guys, today's rehearsal went a lot better than last time.' Cheers rose from the little circle.

'But I think we may still need to go through the whole thing again one more time. We have some things that we may need to improve on. Bushwhack,' The tree elf looked up from his noodles, slurping them up by the forkful.

'Ya need to project your voice a little more. You were gettin' drowned out by Head Rush back there.'

Bushwhack nodded. 'Got it, Snap.' He carried on with his noodles.

'An' Enigma, ya nailed the narration bit, but you might want to use more invisibility magic in the actual thing. It'll help to make it a little spookier.'

Enigma looked up from his corner of the room, 'Okay.' Was his only reply after a few seconds of silence.

'Hey, Snap.' Said Bushwhack, talking with his mouth full. 'Where did you get these noodles from anyway? They're delicious!'

The crocagator grinned. 'I just found this little place on a tiny island after a scoutin' mission one day.'

OoOoOoOoOo

'Well then, let's agree to never go back to that place ever again!' Whined Kaos.

'Yes, sir.' Replied Glumshanks.

'The food there is disgusting! And not at all evil enough for someone like ME! Don't you agree Glumshanks?'

'Of course, sir.' Said Glumshanks. Although personally, he really didn't mind the food there. He thought that the pixie woman running the place was a lovely lady. And since her business was on a very small island on the outskirts of nowhere, he knew that she needed as much support as possible. 'But sir, since we've been kicked out of almost all the restaurants in the area-'

'Silence, Glumshanks!' Kaos had pushed his half-full plate out of the way, and now had a booked propped in front of him. 'I'm trying to think of how I can use this "mind magic", so that that I can use it to rule over ALL OF SKYLANDS!'

After their last plan with The Darkness went awry, Kaos had decided that their next evil plan needed to be much better. At first, he thought that a clone of himself would be the answer, but that failed too. So, he went back to the drawing board to brainstorm a new idea. Needless to say, it was not going well.

As Glumshanks munched on his own take-out, Kaos tapped a pen against his notebook, trying to think of a use for mind magic. Taking advantage of the rare occasion where his master was not yelling at him, Glumshanks began to use this rare moment of peace to think.

Here they are, back in the lair again. Once again, Kaos was thinking of a new plan to conquer Skylands. His army of minions was coming along nicely, if a little slowly. And even though they were running a little low on supplies, it wasn't much different from what they usually had to work with.

It was like the good old days.

But he didn't know how he felt about that.

On one hand, they were back in the business of evil, and Kaos was certain that his next plan would be the one that would get them to conquer Skylands, once and for all. As Kaos' only friend and loyal servant, he was hoping that he would finally be able to achieve that goal.

But on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a little sick of the whole routine.

It was strange, because he never really felt like this before. Sure, he had never been supremely optimistic about Kaos' success in ruling Skylands, but he had always had enough zeal to be an active participant in his schemes. But now, he just feels more indifferent than he had ever felt in his life.

Perhaps it was because he knew the routine inside out. Once Kaos found an amazing plan that could possibly work, they would have some level of mild success before ultimately being stopped by the Skylanders. It had always been like that; from the very beginning, to banishing them to the Earth dimension, to teaming up with the darkness. That pattern never ceased to stop.

He supposed that he could have tolerated it for a little while longer, but something had changed his world view. And that something, he figured, had to be his short team-up with the Skylanders. For all his life, no one had ever treated him particularly kindly. His family was a very traditional troll family, where the runts of the family were often given a harder time for being so. Unfortunately for him, he was the runt, and he often got teased by his siblings and mocked by his parents for his failing grades at Troll Academy and his meekness. They all thought that he was a disappointment to troll-kind, and shipped him off to Evil Academy the first chance they got.

His time at Evil Academy wasn't pleasant either. Many of the students there had a hand in making life miserable for him. It was nothing physical, like what the trolls would do. It was more insidious. Vicious rumors, mocking laughter, funny looks, he experienced them all. There were only two things that he liked about school. The first was that there were no trolls in it. He figured that most of them did not pass the entrance exam. The other was that he met Kaos there.

Kaos wasn't the brightest student at the school, but he had a talent for leadership, and was descended from one of the greatest evil portal masters of all time. Kaos took him under his wing during their time in school. He promised him a career with many opportunities, and a lifelong friendship with him.

During that time, he had no other way of companionship, so he gladly accepted his offer. Granted, he had never received a promotion in his life, Kaos never really treated him like a friend, and constantly belittled, scolded, and mocked him, but for the most part, he was fine with what he had. If a little weary.

Then he teamed up with the Skylanders, and that was the experience that changed him.

As he worked alongside them, he realized that he had never experienced anyone treating him with as much respect and kindness as his ex-enemies did. They never forgot the things that he had done against them, but he wasn't belittled by them. At least not intentionally. Some of them even bothered to do some random acts of kindness towards him. A lot of them said that all the nice things they did were "the least they could do for helping to save the Academy and some of their lives", but to him, it was some of the nicest things that anyone had ever done to him. It was strange, but once he experienced their friendship and kindness, he realized what he had been missing from his life.

And he didn't even know what that thing was called.

Glumshanks sighed, and sank deeper into his seat. Maybe he would figure out what that thing was called, but the reality of the situation was that he was back in the lair as Kaos' butler, and their old routine had to continue.

OoOoOoOoOo

'So, other than all that I just mentioned, I'd say we had a pretty good run today.' Said Snap Shot.

'Of course, we'll have to run through it at least one more time tomorrow before show time. So, here's the plan. Tomorrow, we all gather in the cafeteria at six for breakfast to discuss the plans for the day. Any missions that we get during the day will be attended to immediately. But if there are none, we will spend the day running through the whole thing, and preppin' for Halloween. Got it?' Asked Snap Shot.

'Got it.' Replied seventeen other voices in the room.

'Great. Well, I'd say we all did a mighty good job today guys. Good luck to us-'

'Don't say "good luck"!' Interjected Tuff Luck. Everyone was surprised at that statement.

'Well, that's a first.' Remarked Knight Mare.

Tuff Luck gave her a stern look,and continued. 'Ya can't say "good luck" when yah perform somethin'! That's bad luck! Yah hafta say "Break a leg" instead!'

'Right,' Said Snap Shot. He looked down at all the empty boxes on the floor, and realized that there were a few things that he forgot to give out. A few vanilla flavored things. 'Hey, speakin' of luck, there are fortune cookies included. Anyone want one?'

There were three cookies altogether. Because nobody could decide who should get it, the Trap Masters drew straws. In the end, one was given to Tuff Luck, one to Snap Shot, and one to Knight Light.

'"You will be proven right in the most unexpected way."' Read Tuff Luck. 'Hmm… I wonder how.'

'Hopefully not in the "Bad luck for the performance" way.' Said Short Cut. He finished up slurping the last of his soft drink, and now looked towards Gusto, who sat right next to him. 'Hey, Gusto. Can I have some of your soda?'

Gusto rubbed the back of his head, 'Well, I dunno Short. You do tend to have act out a little when it comes to sugar.'

'Pleeeeeaaase?' Begged the little phantom. 'With a cherry on top?'

'Well, since you added the cherry,' Said Gusto, as he handed Short Cut the rest of his soft drink. His cup was nearly two times the size of Short Cut. 'Besides, what's the worst that could happen?'

'Thanks!' Said Short Cut. And he began to slurp at Gusto's sugary soda.

'Make sure he doesn't drink too much, Gusto.' Warned Snap Shot, but it was too late. The little phantom was already chugging down the soft drink like there was no tomorrow; in large, quick mouthfuls.

'Never mind.' Snap Shot Sighed.

'"You will enjoy a long trip.'"Read Knight Light. 'Great, I got one of the stock fortunes.' He said, disappointed.

'Aw, cheer up, Knight Light. We all get those at some point or another.' Said Head Rush.

'Well, what does your fortune say, Snap?' Asked Wallop.

Snap Shot broke through the fortune cookie, chipping through it with his thumbs, and pulled out the thin piece of paper. '"Unless you walk a mile in another man's shoes, you will never imagine the smell." I got one of those quirky quotes.' Said Snap Shot.

'Aw, dang. That's a shame, Snap.' Said Wallop. 'Better luck next time, buddy.' He gave him a friendly nudge in the arm.

'Thanks Wallop.' He smiled.

'You know what, it's actually been pretty fun to just hang out like this, Snap.' Smiled Wallop. 'We should do this more often.'

All around, the Trap Masters were all happily chatting and telling jokes to each other. There was no in-fighting, no more major conflicts, and nothing to dampen the mood. It was an atmosphere of peace, which was something that they, as Trap Masters, did not really get to experience much. 'It's nice to finally get a breather.' Thought Snap Shot.

Snap Shot grinned at his best friend. 'Well then, I guess if we wanna do this type of bondin' more often, we better check with the villains of Skylands then. Maybe they'll be nice and let us have a day off.'

They both chuckled at the joke. Maybe someday. Thought Snap Shot.

He looked up at the wall clock. It was getting late, and they all did need to get up early. He should probably dismiss them now.

'Well, I think that's it for today. Help with the clean-up guys. I'll see you guys again in the morning, six o'clock sharp.'

'Goodnight Snap Shot.'

See you later, crocagator.'

'G'night Snap.'

'G'night to you guys too.' Said Snap Shot, as he helped his team to gather up the paper plates to throw out. Today had been a tiring day. He went to several different areas in Skylands on scouting missions, on top of having to prepare for the performance, and he was looking forward to some shut-eye.

OoOoOoOoOo

'This is going nowhere, Glumshanks! I can't seem to find a decent way to use this mind magic!' Said Kaos, as he threw the notebook to the ground, cracking its spine in the process.

Glumshanks picked up the book from the ground. 'Well, sir, maybe you're just tired. After all, it is getting late. I'm sure after a good night's sleep, your mind will be ready to think of a new evil scheme.'

'I've got it, Glumshanks!' Exclaimed Kaos. 'I'm just tired! Yes, that's it! Maybe all I need is some sleep!'

Kaos hopped off his chair and began to walk to his room. 'Bring up some warm evil chocolate milk for me, Glumshanks! And this time, make sure that it is both evil enough and chocolaty enough for an evil genius like me!'

Glumshanks shuddered at the memory of him getting thrown into the thorn patch outside repeatedly. He definitely needed to make sure that the evil chocolate milk was good enough for his master. 'Right away, Lord Kaos.' He said.

As he was left alone in the dining hall, he realized that the boxes of take-out were still there, along with Kaos' dirty plate. Might as well clean up here while I'm at it. He thought.

He began to move the things to the kitchen, scraping off the leftover food into the trash can. Placing the plates into the sink to be dealt with later. And pushing in the chairs. The dining room now looked much neater.

As he cleared up all the boxes, he realized something that he hadn't noticed before. In one of the cardboard boxes, there laid a single fortune cookie. Glumshanks plucked it out of the box upon seeing it. He felt his mouth water as he gazed at the bite-sized dessert. 'Well, Lord Kaos doesn't even like fortune cookies. So, I guess, why not?'

He snapped the cookie in two, took out the roll of paper in it, and popped the pieces into his mouth. He then held the paper to his face, and read the fortune. '"Unless you walk a mile in another man's shoes, you will never imagine the smell." Weird fortune to receive...' But it was interesting enough for him to keep it. He placed the fortune into a pocket, and continued clearing up the dining room.

After that was done, he boiled up some evil chocolate milk for Kaos, and brought it up for him. Fortunately, Kaos found the milk a perfectly acceptable level of evil and chocolaty enough, so Glumshanks was not thrown into the thorn patch outside again. Glumshanks took his approval as his cue to leave. He left, and walked through the dark, creepy halls of the lair into his tiny room.

'And remember Glummy,' Called out Kaos. 'When the lunch whistle, well, whistles, come back to the lair first and make me my lunch.'

Right, how could he forget. Every year around Halloween, Kaos would try to lure unsuspecting trick-or-treaters to his lair, only to scare them off. Which means that he'll be out all day tomorrow setting up pranks. He didn't know what the point was anymore though, eventually, pretty much every child in Skylands knew better than to fall for Kaos' tricks, but for some reason he still enjoys setting up the traps in hopes that at least one kid would fall for it. It was usually a cumbersome process, with very little payoff if at all.

But he still had go do it. 'Yes, Lord Kaos.'

As Glumshanks settled down on his scratchy, hard bed, he reread the fortune again. "Unless you walk a mile in another man's shoes, you will never imagine the smell". Still an odd quote to put on a fortune cookie, in his opinion. Looking closer, he realised that the lines on the cookie appear to be hand-written. They make their cookies by hand. How nice. He thought.

His attention shifted to his tiny alarm clock at his side. He decided that it was time to go to bed. It was getting late after all, and he had a lot of work cut out for him.

Glumshanks sighed, as he placed his fortune besides the analogue clock. He set his alarm clock to six in the morning, pulled his thin blanket over his head, and began to doze off.

OoOoOoOoOo

That night, something strange happened.

It started out normal, as most unusual events do. It was deep into the night, and pretty much everyone was asleep.

But as the clock struck midnight, a mysterious event occurred. That night, Snap Shot and Glumshanks slept peacefully. They didn't have any nightmares. They were in a deep sleep. And nothing woke them up in the middle of the night. They slept peacefully.

To the point where they didn't know what was happening until the next morning.

To be continued

OoOoOoOoOo

I liiiiive! It's been a while. I know I shouldn't have kept you waiting, but I'm here now. So, this story has been what I had been working on for the past few months, and I can now show it to you guys. And it now has chapter titles, because I realized that it makes navigating a story so much easier. Thank you for being so patient!

-Tabbyluna