Disclaimer: I do not own the Skylanders series. They belong to their respective owners, whom I am not.
This is my first Skylanders fic one shot. It's just for my self-satisfaction, so don't take it seriously. Elves were my favorites in the whole series and I was a bit disappointed to know Flameslinger and Fright Rider not appearing in the TV show. And I decided to write one about if they appeared in Skylanders Academy. Hope you enjoy.
Warning: Some of the characters' personality would have changed because I'm not that good at describing the characters' minds or thoughts. Also, the story might be a little serious. I warned you.
The timeline is set after Season 3, so Spoilers Alert!
Elven Problems, Elf Way.
Skylands. Day.
Like usual in a wide, broad, clear sky, warm air breezed and mixed with the cold, thus making a nice clean gust of air flowing through the Skylands. Countless amount of islands, big and small, floated in the midair, with some moving in a fast or slow pace. While some islands were so small only one rock and grass had taken up, some were so large that it was hard to see one end when standing on the other, though they were not big enough to compare with the sky spread high and low.
Among these islands, there was a land where smooth soils were brown and countless trees were dark red. It was so large that it could be mistaken as a huge ground unless you see it in a distance. The leaves from the trees were a strange color of purple and pink, blocking bright light from the sun. Therefore, the forest was quite dark even in the daytime.
Since the trees here were described to be almost dead, it was called 'The Falling Forest'.
"Now stay close, Skylanders. I don't want anyone to be lost."
Not only was it dark and full of creepy sounds, but its trees kept falling without any warning, just like its name suggested. But that didn't stop a few creatures from investigating the woods. One was a bipedal hawk with white and blue feathers, holding a gun whose cable was attached to a machine on his back. Another one was a small, round, dark purple creature with limbs, carrying a beige bag full of flasks filled with colorful potions. The third one was a creature made of lava rocks and running lava, with an angry face. Its hands had no fingers and were spherical, lava glowing and heating the air around him.
The last one was a female elf, a green-skinned humanoid with long pointy ears, and held two blades on her each hand. Her blue hair was braided into a long ponytail. She wore a brown bikini-style tank top, brown skirt, and a pair of shoes with a pair of brown and gold gauntlets. Lastly, her face didn't show emotions, due to her brown mask covering her bottom half of her face and her pure white, featureless eyes.
Then, after a few minutes of investigation through the forest, the lava creature spoke to the hawk. "Professor Jet-Vac, I didn't forget our mission or anything, but what exactly our mission is?"
The hawk, Jet-Vac, answered while looking around. "Kaossandra discovered some strange events happening in the Falling Forest. A few Mabu witnessed them but still haven't known the cause. She also sent some of the expert Skylanders but didn't figure out."
"What exactly are 'some strange events'?" The shortest one asked this time.
"Well, Pop Fizz," Jet-Vac cleared his throat. "For the last few weeks, there was a fire in several different areas of the woods."
"That doesn't sound so 'strange' to me," the elf commented.
"Oh, it is, Stealth Elf," the professor said. "According to Snap Shot, it didn't look like any normal forest fire. It just happened in the bright daytime. Not only that, but he saw that the fire was just...'erupted'."
The word he suggested caused almost everyone to stop, staring at the lava creature. Of course, the creature waved his hands in front of his huge face.
"It's not me! I am Eruptor, but I swear, I haven't put even one foot in here!" Eruptor yelled.
"I know, Eruptor," Jet-Vac said with a sigh. "Kaossandra already figured it out. And even if she didn't, I know you're not the one to cause the fire."
"Whew," Eruptor sighed in relief.
"Not only him, but also I wouldn't believe you as an arsonist," Stealth Elf, also feeling relieved, said to her friend and turned to the professor. "Please continue, JV."
"Thank you, Elf," Jet-Vac appreciated as they began to march forward. "Snap Shot saw it erupted suddenly. But it didn't stop there. He saw several more columns of fire in different areas three days in a row."
"Wow, I wonder I can be that fast and hard-working," Pop Fizz commented ridiculously.
"As soon as he investigated, he found a few Chompies, Greebles, and trolls, all burned and knocked out," Jet-Vac continued, ignoring Pop Fizz. "Along with a few arrows on the ground."
"Arrows?" Eruptor muttered loudly. "The only one with arrows is that Croc but he's Water and...it's not his work, right?"
"Of course not," Jet-Vac replied. "Anyway, by then witnesses started coming out from everywhere of the forest. One Mabu family said that someone saved them from wolves one night. They didn't see who had done it but only saw a shadow squawking in the woods. Another witness claimed that she was surrounded by Greebles until a flaming arrow knocked them out in a mere few seconds. An elf couple said there was a skeleton head with glowing blue eyes suddenly popped out from the ground and it had white ones floating behind its back, and they had defeated dozens of Chompies before they could bite them."
"O...kay," Eruptor gulped, rubbing his arm. "Am I the only one who feels chilly?"
"Chilly?" Pop Fizz asked, understanding the word as a food.
"Sounds like someone is helping people," Stealth Elf answered calmly. "Or maybe someones are."
"You're right, Elf," Jet-Vac agreed, gripping his Vac-Gun tightly. "The recent events here are definitely not evil. It's coming from the good. Whoever they are, we need to find them out. And Kaossandra sees them worthy for a Skylander and it's our duty to scout."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Pop Fizz interrupted the hawk. "Kaossandra wants them as students?! Why didn't she tell us!"
"I just said, and you just know," Jet-Vac said. "As you just figured out, our mission is not only just finding the cause behind those events but also scouting them as new Skylanders."
"Great!" Eruptor shouted and marched. "I want to see this guy ASAP. I haven't seen any new Fire Skylanders and I hope to see one. Maybe I can scout him!"
"Just because they used Fire," Stealth Elf said. "Doesn't mean they are Fire, E. Think of Spyro, who-"
By mentioning Spyro, the team all stopped and became silent. Frowns appeared on their faces and longing started to fill their emotions. Stealth Elf quickly froze and wanted to slap her head for her stupidity. The team missed Spyro. She knew it and yet hurt their feelings.
Spyro was her best friend. He was a purple dragon who was cocky, full of himself, and so self-obsessed. Yet he was brave and smart, trusting his friends and changing his attitudes day by day. He was the leader of the team. Team Spyro.
But Spyro had left the Academy one day. After drawing a huge 'SKYLANDERS FOREVER!' with clouds, they hadn't seen Spyro until now. They knew he had a reason to leave; Kaossandra told them that Eon, Spyro's adoptive father, a powerful Portal Master, and also a headmaster of Skylanders Academy, had taken Spyro to find his real parents. It was a surprise to know that Eon was alive because he seemed to be destroyed by using too much power to protect the Core of Light from Kaos' giant robot. But somehow he survived by becoming spirit. Due to this, he discovered many worlds over dimensions and seemed to know where Spyro's parents were.
Since then, Team Spyro hadn't seen Spyro. Stealth Elf rubbed her arm apologetically.
"Um, guys, I'm..." Stealth Elf said.
"It's okay, Elf," Eruptor suddenly cut off. "I know you didn't mean to."
"Eruptor's right," Jet-Vac added. "Spyro was an annoying braggart with full of narcissism and yet a great Skylander. Missing him won't help right now. We need to stick together and do what we can now."
"Yeah," Pop Fizz agreed. "And that way Spyro would be happy to see us!"
Stealth Elf nodded and the team moved on. And for a few moments, the investigation seemed to get no better. All they had seen were rocks and falling trees. No sign of life greeted them.
Or so they thought.
Stealth Elf's ear twitched as she heard something forward. With a puff of green smoke, the elven ninja immediately teleported ten feet forward and peeked over purple bushes. Her eyes then widened a bit. The other Skylanders arrived soon after and looked at the same direction, their eyes widening.
It was a camp. A fireplace was creating smoke and Jet-Vac could know the fire had just gone out not so long ago. Two tents were around the fireplace and weirdly, one of them had a nest made of brown branches. No one was around, so the Skylanders hesitantly stepped forward to investigate the strange camp.
As they searched around, Eruptor was the first to ask. "Anyone got a clue?"
"Yeah, this place is hunted!" Pop Fizz said ridiculously, as usual. "How can there be a fireplace in the middle if it's not?!"
The hawk professor sighed and shook his head. "Pop, it is not hunted. They're just not here for the moment. I'm sure whoever will be back soon."
"Oh, right," Pop Fizz said.
"I know I can be an idiot," Eruptor said. "But something tells me this is where those strange guys live."
Jet-Vac then looked down at the ground around one of the tents and blinked before kneeling down.
"Maybe," Stealth Elf responded. "But it can be Greebles' tent. Or others'. I'd seen the Doom Raiders living in tents once."
"Yes, it's true," Jet-Vac said and motioned the others to gather together. "But I don't think Greebles have pet birds on their sides."
The others were confused and looked at each other before they saw what Jet-Vac had just found. They were puzzled when they saw a few footprints around the tent. The footprints were two kinds: One was oval, and the other had only two toes and was larger than the others.
"Footprints," Eruptor commented. "Whose footprints are they?"
"No idea," Jet-Vac said as he brushed the ground with his claw. "But I can sure at least two were here. One of them might have a pet bird. Though I'm not sure what kind it is."
"How can you sure it's a bird?" Pop Fizz asked.
"Duh," Eruptor rolled his eyes. "He's one of them, right?"
Jet-Vac scoffed but didn't say anything because it was true.
Meanwhile, Stealth Elf followed the trails to find more clues. Just then, her eyes caught a flash of orange light in a distance. Stealth Elf stared at it as hard as possible. It seemed to be a small fire. It was burning something...or something was holding a fire. It flickered and Stealth Elf could see someone staring at her.
She didn't know he or she, but they hold an arrow and a bow which was pointing at the Skylanders. As Stealth Elf gasped, the arrow was shot towards them.
"DUCK!" Stealth Elf quickly warned them.
The other Skylanders looked up in surprise and barely dodged the flaming arrow which was stuck in the ground, releasing black smoke in the air. The Skylanders prepared for battle immediately. Stealth Elf looked at the direction again but there was no sign of the culprit. As they sensed danger, the air became tensed. The warriors looked every direction to find the one who shot at them.
"Careful, Skylanders," Jet-Vac said as he loaded his Vac-gun. "The opponent has a bow and arrows, which means they're archer."
Pop Fizz didn't say any as he shook some of his bottles full of potions.
Eruptor glared at the bushes before something came up in his head. "Jet-Vac?"
"No time to chat, Eruptor," the professor quickly declined.
"You said Snap Shot found some arrows on the ground, didn't you?" Eruptor asked despite being ignored.
The others blinked and looked at the lava monster in wonder. They seemed to realize what he meant. For some reason, they felt both joy and shock inside themselves. They didn't know why though.
After a few seconds, Jet-Vac answered. "I did."
"Okay..." Eruptor gulped and asked again. "What kind of arrows, exactly?"
By then, the four Skylanders looked at the arrow in the ground and looked together, three of them staring at the professor.
Jet-Vac looked at the bushes and added quietly. "Burned arrows."
Like a signal, a few arrows with fire on the tip shot from the bushes and the Skylanders split up without thinking. Jet-Vac shot air bullets from his gun as revenge. Eruptor also shot some balls of fire to assist. Stealth Elf used her teleportation ability to sneak into a tree nearby. Pop Fizz brought out some of his potions and mixed them together, just in case. As he finished, he threw the orange potion to the bushes and the others stopped, seeing the flask breaking and spreading orange smoke. There were coughs and complaints behind the bushes and soon, two boys got out from the smoke in a rush.
One of them had green skin, blue hair raked back and tied into a short-cropped ponytail by a golden accessory, and the most notable and unusual, a red cloth wrapping his eyes and tied behind his head. He wore a tunic made of golden scales whose sleaves reached his wrists, brown pants with pockets, and a pair of brown boots. Brown strap went pass from his right shoulder to his left side of his waist, while another one went around his waist. He was carrying a quiver full of golden arrows on his back and a bow in the same color. In addition, he wore a brown gorget around his neck, a brown shoulder pad on his left shoulder, and a brown gauntlet tied by two golden belts on his left hand.
The other one was more weird, according to the present Skylanders. He was riding on a skeletal ostrich which had a bright blue ghostly harness connected to its eyes. The one riding the ostrich had a bright blue skin, a pair of glowing white eyes, and was wearing red and black armor and helmet. A ghostly pale blue gem was embedded on the front of his helmet and the middle of the armor. He was holding a silver spear on his left hand but soon dropped it as he coughed painfully. By the look of him, he seemed to be a knight, though it was weird for a knight being riding on an ostrich.
The Skylanders surrounded the boys and motioned them not to move. The boys plus a bird looked at each other as if they didn't expect this. The Skylanders seemed to be surprised to know that the boys were quite young. Jet-Vac, particularly, was a professor of Skylanders Academy and was sure that they were really skillful.
Stealth Elf, however, widened her eyes for different reasons while hiding in the trees. She stared at the boys and soon was surprised to know that these boys were elves. She could tell by looking at their long pointed ears.
With another cough, the green-skinned elf waved his hand to clear the smoke. "What the heck, ugh, was that for?!"
"It's my Pepper Cloud potion!" Pop Fizz said proudly. "Mixed with chilly, mouse eyes, moth larva, and some centipede legs."
That made the elves almost gag and hold their stomachs for their dear life. Even the ostrich squawked angrily as if it was unpleasant for having them breathe in such a cloud.
The other elf shouted in disbelief. "And you threw that to us?!"
"You know, I think I feel pity for them," Eruptor said and Jet-Vac nodded in agreement.
Stealth Elf then teleported to the behind of the elves as the smoke disappeared. The sound made both of them flinch and turn around towards the elf girl.
"Look, we're not here for a fight," Stealth Elf started as she lowered her mask. "We're sorry for disturbing you guys. But we came for some...business happening in the forest. If you guys cooperate, we won't bother you again."
The elves looked at each other and then at Stealth Elf. The ostrich also stared at her and squawked, tilting its head. Stealth Elf could understand their suspicion. The Skylanders were the ones who searched inside their tents without their permission. How could they believe her?
Jet-Vac then cleared his throat and the elves looked at him. "Just to be sure, gentlemen, but are you two elves?"
"Uh," it was the one riding on the ostrich who answered. "Yeah, we are."
The other one seemed to glare through the blindfold as if he didn't like the situation at all.
"I see," Jet-Vac said. "Well, we're going to ask a few questions, and I want you to answer without any lies. We'll leave as soon as we're done. Do you mind?"
The elves looked at each other again and at Skylanders. They still had suspicions but after a few seconds, they finally shook their heads, which meant they didn't mind.
"Great," Jet-Vac said. "By the way, I'm Jet-Vac. The elf behind you two is Stealth Elf,"
"Hey," Stealth Elf waved as the two looked at her.
"Pop Fizz," the hawk continued.
"Don't worry. The smoke can't hurt you a bit," Pop Fizz said and it reminded the elves the ingredients of the potion.
"Don't remind me," the blindfolded elf said with a groan.
"And..." Jet-Vac was about to introduce the last member but Eruptor was fast enough to do himself.
"Eruptor," said the lava monster. "Now for a question, did you guys cause the fire in the forest?"
"Eruptor!" Jet-Vac scolded. "You can't just ask them right in their face!"
Stealth Elf facepalmed with a groan.
Surprisingly, the elves didn't deny. "We did."
The Skylanders froze and stared at the boys before shouting at once. "WHAT?!"
"More like, he did it," the blue-skinned elf said with a sheepish smile as he pointed at his friend with his thumb. "He can make fire, you know."
The other elf crossed his arms. He just scoffed as if it was nothing.
Shaking his head, the elven knight looked at the Skylanders. "As for an introduction, I'm Rider. This ostrich here is my pal, Fright. You can call us together Fright Rider if you like."
The other didn't say anything but his friend nudged him, so with a sigh, he introduced himself too. "Name's Flameslinger. And I don't like personal questions, so don't ask me a thing."
"Alright," Jet-Vac said with a raised eyebrow. "Now, if you're the one who caused the fire Snap Shot saw, I suppose you have defeated some Chompies, Greebles, and etc.?"
Flameslinger sighed before nodding. "Yeah."
"And Rider?" Jet-Vac called the other elf. "I heard that some witnesses saw an ostrich head popping out from the ground, carrying a pair of white eyes. I suppose that was you two?"
"I don't think anyone or anything apart from us could have a head that could pop out from the ground and scare some Chompies away," Rider said. "In short, yes."
"I see," Jet-Vac said, feeling puzzled as the elves simply admitted without thinking.
Stealth Elf was also confused but at the same time, she felt proud. These elves were doing the good in the Falling Forest and seemed to think their job was their duty. They were modest. She hoped them to be Skylanders. But the Skylanders already disturbed them and attacked them, so she thought it would be hard to scout them.
"So you guys defeated the Chompies, Greebles, and trolls in the woods," Eruptor said. "Why not become a Skylander?"
Silence filled the air around them. The boy elves blinked(although it was hard to tell if Flameslinger did or not), the Skylanders stared at Eruptor, and Eruptor frowned as everyone didn't say anything. Then with a confused squawk from Fright, the silence was broken.
"A Skylander?" Flameslinger and Rider said.
"Eruptor!" Jet-Vac shouted. "We've just met for only a few minutes, and you just asked them without an explanation?!"
"What?" Eruptor asked innocently. "It was our mission, right? Scouting them as new Skylanders?"
"Eruptor, you can't just say that!" Stealth Elf added. "Being a Skylander is an honorous title, but it's also dangerous!"
"Who doesn't like to become a Skylander?" Eruptor retorted. "They can be a hero! You know how great to adventure, clear missions, and kick Kaos' butt! I'm sure-"
"We refuse,"
"See? They refused," Eruptor said proudly before looking at the elves with a completely shocked face. "Say what?!"
"Wow, how fast," Pop Fizz admired but soon realized what they refused and groaned. "Aw, man!"
"We appreciate your offer," Flameslinger continued. "But we're not interested. Right, Rider?"
"Uh..." Rider gave a quick glance at his friend and hesitantly added. "Yeah, we're not. Sorry."
"Dude, how can you refuse that?" Eruptor blurted out in disbelief. "Don't you want to be a hero? Save the world from bad guys? Help others? Eat gizzard?"
"I don't know how or why the last thing matters in that subject," Flameslinger pointed out. "But I can tell you, we're NOT interested. So, just leave our camp and don't bother us anymore. We were doing fine and we are, we will. Do you need more reason?"
"It's understandable," said Jet-Vac. "But right now I agree with Eruptor. As a professor, I can see you two worthy enough to become Skylanders. And I would like to hear the reason how come you aren't interested in becoming one of them."
"You think we're that worthy?" Rider said with a smile but soon shook his head. "I, I mean... Maybe you think we are, but..."
"We just don't want to be in the public eye," added Flameslinger, not even flinching. "If we become Skylanders, that means we'll be heroes. And heroes can bring many attractions and attention. We're not interested in those and moreover, I'm not fond of them."
"Not fond of attention, huh?" Eruptor said. "Why so?"
"I said no personal questions, rockhead," Flameslinger growled, having had enough. "So just leave."
"Not even a visit?" Stealth Elf suggested. "You can just meet our headmistress."
Flameslinger glared at her and said, "Not a chance."
The Skylanders couldn't say more. Flameslinger was so firm. He was not going to accept the offer, not even a slight visit to the Academy. Of course, not everyone would want to become a Skylander. Flameslinger had his own reasons. He seemed to hate attention towards him. If that was the reason he'd been living in the Falling Forest, how could they bring him to the Academy?
Meanwhile, Rider looked at the Skylanders and Flameslinger. He didn't seem to enjoy the mood. Flameslinger didn't want to go with them but the Skylanders want them to be one of them. His partner, Fright, squawked quietly, sensing his owner's anxiety. Rider heard this and petted the ostrich's head. Then he looked at Flameslinger again.
Clearing his throat, Rider said. "A short visit won't hurt."
Flameslinger and the Skylanders looked at Rider with shock. Flameslinger was surprised to hear his friend saying that. And the Skylanders were surprised that one of the elves seemed to consider their offer.
"Rider," said Flameslinger. "Are you serious?"
"Um..." Rider paused for a moment. "I'm not sure about you, but I'm kind of...sick of this forest? I'm not saying I want to leave this place. But don't you want to see something new rather than a bunch of purple leaves and dying trees?"
Flameslinger seemed to narrow his eyes at Rider.
Rider quickly added. "It's just an Academy, right? It's not like we're going to study! I hate studying! We can just...look around! As an experience! How's that?"
Flameslinger wanted to retort but Rider had a point. He brought his finger to his chin and thought carefully. The Skylanders looked at the elves and held their breath without knowing. They sure want to bring them to the Academy although for a short time.
At last, Flameslinger sighed and lowered his hand. "Fine, we'll visit the Academy, for a moment."
The Skylanders were glad to hear that. And Rider, too, appreciated his friend.
Skylanders Academy. Day.
After experiencing a horrible skysick thanks to Flynn, the Skylanders plus two elves arrived at the Academy. Some of the cadets saw the ship landing nearby and saw the Core Skylander team getting off. They shook their heads as they recalled how horrible Flynn could drive. Rumors said that one of them even had an allergic to ships. But when the Skylanders had a mission in a place far away, they just have to ride the ship and bear the sick.
As the Skylanders got out, the two elves also stepped on land while holding their stomachs. Flameslinger did his best not to throw up and Rider clung on Fright's neck. The ostrich could barely stand up. Seeing them, the cadets, especially the girls, were confused and began to wonder who they were.
"Do you guys ride this thing every day?" Flameslinger said after a few gasps.
"Mostly," Stealth Elf responded with a shy smile.
Rider got down from Fright and knelt down weakly. Fright squawked like a chick but that didn't help him. The elves and the bird just wanted to finish their business.
"Well then," Jet-Vac said, also feeling a little dizzy. "If you excuse me, I'm going to rest in my room. I don't think I can keep my breakfast still in my stomach."
With that, Jet-Vac covered his mouth and disappeared. Pop Fizz twirled around like a ballerina before collapsing on the stone ground. Eruptor and Stealth Elf looked at each other and shook their head. Then Eruptor pulled Pop Fizz's leg and lift him up, muttering 'later'.
"Okay," Stealth Elf said and looked at the elves. "I'm going to show you the Academy. But promise me that you won't get into trouble."
"We're not five, lady," grunted Flameslinger, still holding his stomach. "We've been doing fine with ourselves."
"Sling, now's not the time," Rider said and pulled Fright's harness, feeling a little bit better. "We're ready, Stealth Elf."
Stealth Elf nodded and led the elves to the front yard. She introduced every detail and added some history about it. As she looked behind, she smiled when she saw Rider looking at the Academy curiously. He looked like a kid in the middle of an amusement park. Stealth Elf then looked at Flameslinger and was surprised to see him also interested in the surroundings. Even though he didn't like to bring attention, he seemed to enjoy the whole view.
However, Flameslinger frowned as he sensed some cadets hiding behind a tree and growled at Stealth Elf. "Who are they and what are they doing here?"
The other elves also noticed them. The cadets were surprised that the elves found them, so they hurriedly ran away. Stealth Elf could see that most of them were girls. She sighed. Although they were young, they were still Skylanders. Stealth Elf was one of them, so she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"They're the cadets of the Academy," answered Elf. "Hope you understand. They haven't seen many elves around here. They're just curious."
"How childish," Flameslinger responded, causing Elf to narrow her eyes at him.
"What do you mean by 'not seeing many elves' part?" Rider asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Oh," Stealth Elf began to explain. "As in...literally. There weren't many elves in the Academy. Very few elves graduated, that's all."
"Very few?" Rider responded and Flameslinger seemed to be interested. "Who?"
"Starting from the Great, I mean the Former Great Ninjini," Stealth Elf said, counting one by one. "Bushwhack, a tree elf and one of the famous Trap Team. I'm the next to graduate which means...I'm still a newbie Skylander. And lastly, there is one elf cadet in the Academy. Her name is Hex, a sorceress."
"So...only four elves are Skylanders, huh?" Flameslinger asked.
"Hex is still a cadet but...yeah," Stealth Elf nodded.
"I've heard about Ninjini once," said Rider. "She's an elven genie and retired from being a Skylander. And Bushwhack is the only tree elf to become Trap Team."
"Correct," Stealth Elf nodded again.
"Which means, except for Bushwhack, all elves from the Academy are...girls," Rider realized as he carefully looked at Flameslinger.
"Yep," Stealth Elf said. "You're the only elf guys in the Academy. And since the tree elves were different from the normal elves, you're the very first elven boys to visit the Academy."
Rider whistled in amusement and Flameslinger didn't respond. Stealth Elf shrugged with a smile and continued to show the building. They began to go inside of the Academy. Meanwhile, Flameslinger looked at Rider suspiciously.
"You seemed excited," said the archer.
"Do- do I?" Rider asked and saw Flameslinger nodding. "Well, it's...really new to me...us, I mean. Quite eye-catching. Don't you think?"
Flameslinger stared at him for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I do."
"Look out!"
"Agh!"
Two shouts caused the elves turned to the direction. They saw an orb with a skull inside flying from their right. Stealth Elf quickly teleported from her spot and Flameslinger stepped back. Unfortunately, Rider wasn't fast enough to react and was hit directly in his head. The force was so strong that Rider was flown away and hit Fright, collapsing together. Stealth Elf appeared again and rushed to the two.
"Rider!" Flameslinger yelled in shock and helped him up before looking at Stealth Elf. "Help Fright."
"Okay," Stealth Elf said as she helped the poor ostrich. "Fright, you okay?"
"Ugh..." Rider held his head painfully while Fright stood up dizzily. "What just happened?"
"Oh, no...!" Stealth Elf looked the owner of the voice and recognized her. "I, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to! Are you hurt?"
The other elves looked at the direction and saw another blue-skinned elf aside from Rider, standing in front of them. The elf was a girl and had featureless white eyes. She was wearing a long, black sleeveless robe that trailed the ground over her slender and tall figure, a pair of black leather shoulder pads on her both shoulders, a pair of black gauntlets, and a headdress with three hornlike sections on the sides and a small tip on the top going around her entire head. There was a black line drawn on her robe in a shape of some sort of a cross with the top part shaped like an upside-down raindrop. She was holding an orb that held the skull inside.
Flameslinger figured out the elf girl was the cause of everything and it made him rage. "What the heck were you doing?!"
"Flameslinger, wait!" Stealth Elf stopped him from getting closer to the frightened elf. "Hex said it wasn't a purpose! Just calm down!"
"Rider is hit by her glass orb and you expect me to calm down?!" Flameslinger yelled, glaring at Stealth Elf through his blindfold.
"Can't you just listen to her?!" Stealth Elf retorted back but knowing the elf being so stubborn, she said to Rider who was silent. "Rider, say something!"
But Stealth Elf noticed that something was wrong with Rider. The injured elf said nothing but just stared at one direction. The elven kunoichi tilted her head and followed his gaze. Even Flameslinger noticed something and did the same thing. The green-skinned elves soon realized that Rider was staring directly at Hex. They looked at Rider again. Rider just blinked with wide eyes. He didn't even twitch. Flameslinger and Stealth Elf didn't know the reason, so they decided to wake him up.
"Rider?" Stealth Elf called him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Rider~?"
"Dude," Flameslinger nudged his friend by his elbow but receiving no reactions, he grabbed Rider's right ear and pulled to his direction. "WAKE UP!"
"GAH!" Rider finally responded, grabbing his ear. "What the- Why did you do that?!"
"You were staring at the girl who hit you in the head," Flameslinger answered and glared at Hex, who lowered her head apologetically. "Like an idiot."
"What?" Rider blinked and looked at Hex again, feeling his legs wobble for an unknown reason once more. "Whoa..."
"Flameslinger almost hit her after he saw you knocked out for a moment," Stealth Elf added. "I told him that Hex didn't mean to, but..."
"Wha-" Rider woke up immediately and shook his head. "I, I see... Well, um..."
"Rider, what's wrong with you?" Flameslinger asked, raising his eyebrow. "Are you sick? Don't tell me you got insane because of that blow."
"I, I'm fine," said Rider. "Just dizzy, you know."
The other two stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders. The three simply stood there and just then, Hex came over, holding the orb.
"Um, excuse me..." Hex said and the three looked at her. "May I...talk to him for a moment?"
Flameslinger and Stealth Elf looked at Rider who seemed to be quite surprised to hear from her. Rider didn't know why but he couldn't stop staring at the elven sorceress. Nothing can be seen or heard except her. He felt like he was hit by powerful magic.
Just before he was going to nod, an angry squawk woke him up. The elves turned around to see an angry Fright already woke up and approaching to Hex. Hex gasped at the bird but Rider quickly grabbed the harness and got on his back. He pulled it as hard as he could to calm Fright down.
"Whoa, whoa," Rider said. "Ozzy, back! Back I say!"
Fright squawked and screamed angrily but soon settled down. As the ostrich became quiet, Rider got down from the back and hugged his head, whispering something in its ears. Fright was still flinching but was taking a deep breath. Soon, Fright wasn't squawking anymore.
Flameslinger smiled proudly while the girls stared at the pair with wide eyes. Rider then looked at Hex apologetically.
"Sorry for the surprise," he said as he patted Fright's head. "Ozzy here...can be easily scared. He's a real troublemaker without me."
"I, I see..." Hex said, the skull in the orb looking at her. "I'm sorry, too. For...the blow."
"Don't mind," Rider said and pointed at his helmet. "I'm really fine."
Fright squawked but Rider quickly quieted him down. Rider smiled sheepishly and Hex did the same. Stealth Elf and Flameslinger stood there awkwardly as they felt the atmosphere changed.
However, the skull in the orb seemed to dislike the situation. "C'mon, Hex! What are you doing?! We were doing our sorcery practice, not lovebird activity!"
At the skull's statement, the two blue-skinned elves blushed and widened their eyes, while the other elves were confused at their reactions.
"Skull!" Hex yelled as she tried to cover Skull's mouth over the orb, before looking at Rider. "Uh, well... Um, I gotta go. See you later!"
As she floated away, Rider managed to respond. "Uh, yeah! Bye!"
Seeing Hex disappeared from their sights, Stealth Elf decided to continue their tour. She began to show the rooms in the Academy, including a cafeteria, classrooms, and restrooms. But Rider didn't seem to concentrate and Flameslinger noticed this. Rider was just looking elsewhere.
The archer sighed. His friend was doing weird.
As Stealth Elf led the way to a library, Flameslinger nudged Rider's shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?" Rider asked back.
"You know what I mean," Flameslinger gritted his teeth. "You're not listening. You're thinking else and looking somewhere. You think I can't sense that?"
Rider didn't say anything and avoided the gaze piercing from the behind of the red cloth. "I'm really fine."
"Thinking about that girl elf, Hex, aren't you?" Flameslinger asked and noticed the slight flinch from his friend. "Bullseye."
"It's just...my personal business," Rider made his reason. "It doesn't matter with you."
"Doesn't matter with me?" Flameslinger said in disbelief and with a sigh, he marched away. "Fine."
Rider was puzzled at his friend and watched him approach Stealth Elf.
"Stealth Elf," Flameslinger called her.
"Hmm?" Stealth Elf looked at him.
"Accept Fright Rider," said Flameslinger. "I'm leaving."
The other elves froze from their spots and looked at the archer in shock. Again, silence filled the air. No one answered, only Fright squawked.
Stealth Elf managed to find her voice after this sudden request. "W- Wait a moment. Accept Fright Rider? What about you?"
"Didn't you hear?" Flameslinger said. "I'm leaving."
"Hang on!" Rider came over while holding the harness. "You're leaving?! Why?!"
"Because you want to be a Skylander," Flameslinger responded. "You think I didn't realize? Although you may think you can hide your thoughts from me, that doesn't mean I can't sense your true feelings. I know you like defeating enemies and saving others. You are the most suitable for a Skylander. Plus, you've been excited during the whole tour, although you've said you hate studying. You know why? You don't want to visit the Academy, you want to attend the Academy! To be a hero! To be a Skylander!"
"Wha- well," Rider sputtered as Flameslinger raised his voice.
"So I'm giving you the chance," Flameslinger said as he lowered his voice. "Be a Skylander and become what you like. Besides, you like that girl."
Rider blushed again and stepped back a little.
"Yeah, I knew that," said the archer. "You don't need to hide from me, Rider. I know. So just...accept the offer and do what you want to. This is where you belong. Unlike me."
Rider seemed to be heartbroken. The harness left from his hand. He looked at the floor with a pained expression. Fright squawked at his owner and rubbed his head on his arm but didn't get any response.
Flameslinger seemed to be satisfied and looked at Stealth Elf for the last time. "Thank you for the tour. Take care of Rider."
With that, Flameslinger began to head towards the front door. Stealth Elf didn't say anything and just stared at the elf. Her ears went down, feeling disappointed at herself for not doing anything.
Then, Rider muttered. "...who."
Stealth Elf looked at Rider in surprise and before she could ask, Rider turned around and shouted at his elven friend.
"Says who!" Rider yelled and Flameslinger stopped. "You think I don't know you?! You also want to be a hero! A Skylander! That's why you did the same things I did!"
Flameslinger was not looking at Rider, so the two elves couldn't see his face. However, Flameslinger was shocked to hear from his friend.
"I know you hate girls," Rider said. "You hate them squealing and ordering at you to show your eyes! You don't want to show your eyes, so you hid into the forest and had been living there along with me! But think again, Sling. You actually want to be a hero of others. You're just..."
"Rider!" Flameslinger shouted, causing both of them to flinch. "Shut up..."
The elven archer then walked away, faster than before, without looking back. Rider watched at him helplessly. He called his friend, but couldn't stop him. The elves could only watch the other elf leaving them and disappearing from their sight. When Flameslinger was gone, Rider buried his head in his hands and sat down on the floor, sighing in sorrow. Stealth Elf just put her hand on his shoulder which was the only thing she could do.
Skylanders Academy. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, Flameslinger was leaving the Academy. As he went down some stairs, he could feel the air was warmer than the moment they went in. He saw the sun shining brighter than before. It was afternoon. Sighing, Flameslinger headed towards the ship parked on the dock. He asked Flynn to take to the Falling Forest. Though it was annoying, the elf had no choice but to take the sky schooner to go home.
"Wait for a moment," said Flynn. "It'll take a good few minutes to fix all the mess in here. Why don't you take a walk by then?"
"I'll just sit here," said Flameslinger.
Flynn just shrugged and went back to fixing. The elf spotted a tree nearby and leaned against it, crossing his arms. Then, a sheep bounced and rolled towards him. The sheep rolled and rolled until it stopped near his boots. Flameslinger raised his eyebrows in wonder before he saw some young cadets coming to him.
One of them resembled green celery if he was seeing right. This one was quite short. The other looked like a toy with gears, big eyes, and toy claws. It was mostly colored blue and gold. The third one was a girl with violet hair and eyes. Her hair was braided and swinging behind her back while her bangs covered her right eye. And she was wearing black armor over her purple outfit, roller skates with two blades each instead of wheels, and a helmet shaped like a skull. The last one was covered with blue and white armor along with a helmet, so Flameslinger thought it was hard to stare at her because of the light reflected from it. She had dark blue eyes with blue irises, blue lips, and pale skin.
Flameslinger didn't want to see girls in front of him, so he picked up the sheep and handed it to them. "Here."
The one that seemed to be a toy grabbed the animal. The elf looked elsewhere to wait for the ship to be fixed. The cadets looked at each other and then at Flameslinger.
"Who are you?"
Flameslinger's ears twitched and he looked at the one with roller blades. He stared at her for a moment before sighing. "Flameslinger."
"Are you one of the new guys?"
The elf looked at the little green guy. "Why do you think so?"
"We know they're no elf guys in the Academy," said the one with blue armor. "You're an elf and a guy, right? You're not from the Academy."
"Good point," Flameslinger said with a sigh. "And as you can see, yes, I am an elven guy. Yes, I'm not from the Academy."
"So you're a new student?"
Flameslinger pinched his nose and looked at the toy. Just then, the sky schooner roared its engine and the elf knew it was ready to leave. But before leaving, he muttered 'no' as an answer. Then he climbed up to the ship.
"Just in time," said Flynn. "Next stop is 'the Falling Forest'! Help yourself in the guestroom you like."
Flameslinger leaned on the wall as he saw the Academy getting smaller and smaller. The further the schooner flew away, the more he wanted to see Rider again. But he shook his head to forget him and decided to take a nap somewhere.
The Falling Forest. Afternoon.
The sky schooner finally reached the Falling Forest. With a rough landing, Flameslinger finally got out from the ship and had a hard time to hold his meal flowing out from his stomach.
"Well then, my job here is done," said Flynn, driving his ship away. "Goodbye, young elf friend! I hope we could meet sometime later!"
"I would be dead by then," growled Flameslinger.
The elf then stood up and went inside the forest. Where he belonged and he would return.
Flameslinger soon found the camp they left. He walked towards one of the tents. Inside it, there was a sleeping bag, a radio, and some books. It was Rider's tent. Beside the tent was Fright's nest which Rider made for his partner. Flameslinger smiled as he recalled the memories with Fright Rider. He frowned as he recalled what Rider had said to him.
You think I don't know you?!
Flameslinger flinched and lowered his head in shame.
You also want to be a hero! A Skylander!
He sat down near the fireplace, staring at the cold ashes.
That's why you did the same things I did!
I know you hate girls. You hate them squealing and ordering at you to show your eyes!
You don't want to show your eyes, so you hid into the forest and had been living there along with me!
But think again, Sling.
You actually want to be a hero of others.
Flameslinger sighed and buried his face between his knees. He felt disappointment, embarrassment, and shame inside him. He also felt guilt. He sensed sorrow. But more importantly, he felt hate towards himself.
He hated Flameslinger.
"What should I do, Rider?" Flameslinger asked lonely.
Unknown to him, there was a round shadow floating above him. It smiled and blew a gust of purple wind at the defenseless elf.
Skylanders Academy. Afternoon.
Rider sat on a coach and Fright was sitting on the floor nearby. He petted the ostrich but his mind was not with him. All he was thinking about was Flameslinger. They were friends. Brothers. Best Pals. And he left him. Left Rider because he wanted him happy. Left Flameslinger because he couldn't reach him. Because he wanted his friend to be what he liked. Because he was helpless. Because they wanted different things.
The elf sighed and buried his face in his hands. Fright rubbed his head to its owner as an encouragement. Rider was feeling guilt inside him. He wanted to see Flameslinger.
Stealth Elf was looking at the elf a few feet away. She watched the whole scene, so she also felt awful. After the tour, Stealth Elf told Team Spyro and everything. The others were upset to hear such a story. Eruptor looked at the blue-skinned elf in sympathy.
"What should we tell him?" Eruptor asked.
"Nothing, Eruptor," said Jet-Vac. "There's nothing we can help him. Only time will help."
"But he'll be a new Skylander!" Pop Fizz said. "We can't leave him depressed forever!"
Stealth Elf just stared at the elf. Like Eruptor, she wanted to say something. As Jet-Vac said, nothing could help him. As Pop Fizz claimed, she couldn't leave him alone. Contrasting thoughts swirled inside her. She couldn't help him. She just sighed.
Just then, the doors were opened wide and the Skylanders plus one elf and an ostrich jerked up in surprise.
There was a woman standing on the entrance. She was tall and slender was wearing a makeup including magenta eye-shadow and lipstick. Her hair was covered by a pink jeweled hair net in horn shape. She was wearing a long black robe which, according to Rider, was similar to Hex's in design. The neck collar was so huge that it went up as twice as her hair could reach, which made her look like she was wearing a big hood cap. On her neck was a gold choker with a pink diamond pendant. On her chest part, pink jewels were embedded in a flower shape. She also wore a pair of grey gloves that reached her elbows and a pink ring on her right index finger.
This was Kaossandra, the new headmistress of Skylanders Academy.
"Skylanders!" Kaossandra yelled and rushed in. "There you are! I've been searching for you everywhere!"
"What is it, Kaossandra?" Stealth Elf asked.
"It's the Doom Raiders," the woman said and the others gasped in horror. "Golden Queen has returned. Some saw her talking with the other Doom Raiders."
"Doom Raiders?!" Pop Fizz yelled. "Aw, man!"
"Great, I'm ready for some Doom Raider grill!" Eruptor growled. "What should we do, Ma'am?"
"Since I've seen you four fighting against them so well," she said. "I think you, Team Spyro, will be the ones who should have this mission. You just need to stop them from doing whatever they are planning."
"Sounds simple!" Stealth Elf exclaimed. "Let's go!"
"Remember," Kaossandra alerted. "Find the Doom Raiders, figure out their plan, and destroy both! They are supposed to be hiding in where the last witness saw them: The Falling Forest!"
All Skylanders rushing out stopped immediately as they heard their destination. Even Rider, who was quiet all the while, stood up from the couch, horror and worry swimming in his eyes.
"The Falling Forest?" Jet-Vac asked as if he heard wrong.
"Oh, no..." Rider muttered in fear. "Sling...!
The Falling Forest. Afternoon.
Flameslinger groaned as he woke up. Above all, he noticed that he was tied by a rope, hanging on a tree upside-down. Secondly, he tried to untie it and found his bow and quiver on the ground several feet away. He looked over his shoulder and knew those were his. Next, he realized he was still in his camp. Then lastly, he started to remember what happened.
A head of a girl with blue skin, featureless white eyes, braces on teeth, and blue hair with a white polka-dotted pink single bowtie, suddenly attacked him and Flameslinger rolled away immediately. But before he could know, he was surrounded by a shirtless brown werewolf holding a bony harp, a bipedal pepper wearing a chef outfit and holding a huge egg beater, and an old man wearing like a Chompy and a Chompy puppet on his left hand. The head giggled above him and he saw the last one appearing behind him.
It was a woman that seemed to be entirely made of gold. Her eyes were rubies and her lips seemed to be colored in the same color. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless dress that showed most of her legs, and sleeves that went over her hands and seemed to detach from the dress.
He was outnumbered but he couldn't run away. The woman used a wooden stick to send a huge blow on Flameslinger's head. As he lost consciousness, he heard laughter around him.
...And everything was black...until now.
Flameslinger groaned as he felt the pain on his head. Shaking it away, he moved his arms to untie the rope but had no avail. Yet, he didn't give up. He moved his hands in order to be free.
But he froze as he heard a feminine chuckle in front of him. He went forward and was facing the same woman who knocked him out.
"Gah!" Flameslinger yelled in surprise. "Get off me, for Eon's sake!"
"Ooh~~, he's hot," the head flew around before staring at him with a toothy grin. "I like it!"
"Now, now, Dreamcatcher," the woman in gold said. "You're scaring our little boy."
"Dreamcatcher?" Flameslinger asked. "As in... Doom Raiders?!"
"Oh, so you know us," the woman said. "Well, it would be easy if you do."
Flameslinger searched around with his blindfolded eyes. He could recognize the villains. The werewolf was Wolfgang, an evil musician who could hypnotize anyone who heard the sound from his harp. The chef was Chef Pepper Jack, the once famous cook who turned evil and wanted to destroy others' stomachs from inside out by his chilly. Chompy Mage was the one in Chompy disguise, an insane old man who thought he was a 100% Chompy and hated everything except Chompies. Dreamcatcher, the floating head, was once a student in Skylander Academy but now a Doom Raider with powers of controlling others' dreams. And at last, the Golden Queen. She was the leader of the Doom Raiders. She was the most cunning and evil one.
"I thought you guys were gone," said Flameslinger, glaring at Golden Queen. "I heard you were missing for a long time!"
"Missing?" Golden Queen burst out laughing and her comrades followed. The leader grabbed Flameslinger's chin with her sharp, thick, golden claws. "You thought I was missing. But too bad, I'm here! Right in front of you. Isn't it a surprise?"
Flameslinger felt her claws brushing his chin and it sent shivers down his spines. He gritted his teeth to hold the fear inside him.
Flynn's Sky Schooner. Afternoon.
After hearing everything, Kaossandra hurriedly sent Team Spyro and Fright Rider. Flynn knew they were in an emergency, so he drove his ship as fast as he could. However, the faster it flew, the more it rocked. Up and down, left and right, forward and backward... The Skylanders and Fright Rider had a harder time to hold their meals. Eruptor already threw up more than 5 times. Jet-vac and Pop Fizz hold together for their dear life. And the elves just clung to the sides, hoping they would arrive soon.
"Ugh..." Stealth Elf groaned.
"I won't blame you if you throw up..." Rider said as he covered his mouth.
"Thanks..." Stealth Elf responded.
The ship continued to rock. Fright Rider, however, only hoped for his friend to be safe.
The Falling Forest. Afternoon.
Flameslinger did his best to untie the rope while unnoticed, but it wasn't that easy. It was really tight, so he had to move his hands as quietly as possible. But the worst thing was that the Golden Queen was in front of the elf as if she was lecturing him.
"You see," the Queen said and walked a few feet away. "It took me months to find my fellow Doom Raiders. Luckily, they found me first. Along with a huge ship."
"Well, we nearly hit you if it wasn't for luck," noted Wolfgang, playing with his harp.
"Anyway," the Queen continued. "There are two reasons why I returned. One: Destroy Kaos forever! Two: Rule the Skylands with all of my power!"
"Why does everyone evil always think the same?" Flameslinger muttered. "Though the first part sounds new to me."
"And I just know the way to make both of them success," the Queen said and turned to Flameslinger. "So tell me, dear."
Flameslinger was surprised to see the Queen facing him again. He was suddenly pulled by his hair and let out a painful shout. "OW!"
"I know you are a Skylander," said the Queen. "Tell me where your other friends are."
Flameslinger couldn't think properly. The only thought he got was this: Oh, for elves' sake...
Flynn's Sky Schooner. Afternoon.
Rider held his grip tight as he watched the view below the schooner changing. Though the ship was rocking harder than before, he tried his best to stay focused on rescuing Flameslinger. Fright was thinking the same thing and rubbed his head to Rider's arm. Rider didn't say anything and gave him a slight nod.
"Rider?" Stealth Elf called. "I know this isn't the right time but...I'm quite curious..."
The blue-skinned elf blinked and raised his eyebrow. "About what?"
"You said Flameslinger hates girls," she said. "What do you mean by that?"
Eyes widened for a moment but soon Rider closed them, letting out a sigh. He rubbed his helmet sheepishly and looked at the elf warrior. "Flameslinger will kill me."
"My lips are zipped up tight," joked Stealth Elf, gesturing as if she was pulling a zipper on her mouth.
Rider chuckled a little but his smile disappeared as he began to tell the story of Flameslinger.
The story of an elf who feared people.
"You know elves usually have lights in their eyes, don't you?" Rider asked the other elf.
"Of course I do," responded Stealth Elf. "My eyes can see through the dark."
"So can I," answered Rider. "And I'm sure other elves can. But Flameslinger's were different than the others."
"How come?" Stealth Elf asked.
"Though I don't know exactly," Rider started. "Flameslinger was a normal elf boy in a village inside a deep forest. But people from other towns and towns from miles and miles away kept visiting his home. Their only objective was nothing. They just wanted to see his eyes in person.
"Yeah, as I said, his eyes were specifically different from the other elves'. By the time he was born, they said his powerful eyes warmed up his whole house. Just near around him and his eyes could easily heat up everything close enough. It was like he had a natural fire behind his eyes. Because of this power, the tribe didn't need to suffer from the freezing blizzard in winter. But that wasn't his only power."
"You mean he had more?" Stealth Elf asked.
"It sounds insane, but Flameslinger's eyes were more than just a fire. When he grew older, the people figured out that Flameslinger can expand his sights if any fire is around him. The further the fire spread out, the more he was able to see. By then, Flameslinger caught everyone's attention. He became the talk of the town, towns over miles, and other towns nearby or far away. Visitors kept visiting him and forced him to show his famous eyes. Sometimes they even hit them for not showing.
"Girls were the worst to him. Every single girl visited his house and all they want was his eyes. And when they see them, they kept following him day and night, even in bathrooms. Squealing 'Your eyes! Eyes!', 'Show your spark!', or 'Look at me only, understand?' nonsense. And you know what happened if he refused? They bullied him. They forcefully make him show his eyes. It...was a trauma, actually.
"His parents didn't help him. They felt proud of his son becoming a superstar. Flameslinger didn't like the visitors and soon grew sick of them. He thought everyone was interested in his eyes, so he began to push them away. He wanted to be alone. That's why he ran away, wearing a blindfold over his eyes. Since then, he lived alone until he met us.
"Flameslinger said he got magical arrows and boots from his friend but didn't say any more, so we can skip the subject..." Rider said but trailed off as he saw the sad expression on Stealth Elf's face.
Stealth Elf's ears hung low and her eyes were looking down. She didn't know Flameslinger had such an experience. His trauma. No wonder he was that firm and sensitive. He didn't like people coming near him because he feared everyone. He wanted no one near him, so he started pushing them away. Stealth Elf could finally understand the archer. She felt sorry for almost forcing him to become a Skylander.
"I didn't know..." Stealth Elf muttered.
Rider patted her shoulder as an encouragement. "No one did. Now you know it, you can be different."
Stealth Elf nodded and smiled.
Then the ship rocked up and down again, causing both elves to feel sick again.
The Falling Forest. Afternoon.
Flameslinger was feeling a headache. The Skylanders suddenly appeared in their camp and offered to be Skylanders. The elves visited the famous Skylanders Academy and Rider seemed to want to be a Skylander, so he left him in the Academy. And when he returned to the Falling Forest alone, the Doom Raiders attacked and tied him up. The worst part was that these evildoers were thinking he was a Skylander. He was confused but also was irritated.
"You're guessing the wrong guy," said Flameslinger. "I'm not a Skylander."
"Ha!" Wolfgang sneered. "You think we're gonna believe in that?!"
"Yeah," Pepper Jack agreed. "If you're not a Skylander, then how come you get out from the ship the Skylanders are owing?"
Flameslinger wanted to facepalm. They thought he was a Skylander because they saw him riding on Flynn's ship. He gritted his teeth to hold his anger.
"I told you, I'm not," growled Flameslinger. "I was just visiting for a tour. And I'm completely alone."
"So you're saying you visited the Academy," said the Golden Queen. "And you returned with nothing in your hands? Alone?"
"He's definitely lying," said Dreamcatcher. "Who's not a Skylander if they've been at the Academy?"
"Coming from a villain who was once a student of the Skylanders Academy," retorted Flameslinger. "I'm just a visitor. No more no less, thank you. Now would you release me?"
"And why would we?" Chompy Mage said. "We're bad guys. What kind of bad guys release their prisoners when they can do whatever they want?"
"I don't know," muttered the elf. "You?"
"I'm not really good at waiting, boy," said the Queen, gripping Flameslinger's hair tighter. "More like, I'm terrible at waiting. Now I'm asking you again. Where are your friends?"
"Whatever you do," retorted Flameslinger. "I'll answer the same. I. AM. ALONE."
The Golden Queen glared at the elf and Flameslinger glared back through his blindfold. The other Doom Raiders watched them until something squeaked.
"Say, why wearing a blindfold?" Chompy Mage's Chompy Puppet asked. "He's not blind!"
The other Doom Raiders blinked as they realized what they missed. Even the elf shuddered his body in fear. Flameslinger was wearing a blindfold over his eyes. Usually, when someone was wearing such things, they couldn't see a thing. But Flameslinger was not. He seemed to see everything easily.
"He lied to us," growled Wolfgang, sending a death glare to Flameslinger. "He's seeing everything!"
"You mean he wasn't blind at all?!" Pepper Jack shouted. "Then why is he wrapping his own eyes?!"
"First of all, it was all your misunderstanding," said Flameslinger. "I didn't say anything and you just think like that by yourself. How shame. You've just proven yourself that your brains were exactly as same as plain old rags."
Most of the Doom Raiders snarled at his rude statement but only the Golden Queen stared at him with interest.
"I see you are quite an annoyance," said the Queen. "Yet you're also a curious one. How come you can see everything when you are wrapping your eyes with this?"
As the Golden Queen touched the blindfold, Flameslinger paled and shivered in fear. He gulped. Suddenly, a flashback played in his mind. He remembered the selfish visitors, his indifferent parents, and his worst trauma, the girls full of madness. Flameslinger tried to jerk his head away but the Golden Queen's grip was too strong.
"At first, I thought you were just a Skylander with an injury on the eyes,' the Queen continued. "It would've fun to torment a blind captive. But I changed my mind. I bet this will be more fun."
Flameslinger sensed the Golden Queen using her nails to lift his blindfold. He flinched and tried to get away but being tied upside-down and his hair grabbed by the Doom Raider, it was impossible.
"No, no...!" Flameslinger cried. "No! Not the eyes! No, no! Don't! Please! Leave it! Everything but that!"
Unfortunately, the Golden Queen was eviler than he thought. The leader of the Doom Raiders made a devilish smile and without a second thought, she lifted his blindfold. The other Doom Raiders were delighted to see the elf begging, so they gathered around to see behind his blindfold.
"NO!" Flameslinger screamed at the top of his lungs.
However, instead of his eyes, a blinding firey light shined along with a huge gust of blaze spread out, sending the Doom Raiders everywhere. Leaves and grasses around the elf burned in a few seconds, turning into a small pile of ashes and blown away. The rope trapping him also turned into ashes, so Flameslinger was dropped into the hard ground. Grunting, Flameslinger stood up and checked up his blindfold. After realizing it was still there, he looked around and was shocked to see the whole scene.
Nearly everything was burned away. The Doom Raiders were lying on the ground. Branches on the trees were mostly bent because of the sudden gust. Flameslinger quietly picked up his quiver and bow. He felt awful. Even he himself didn't know what happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Nothing terrible. The elf shook his head to deny the scene and sighed. He tied the strap of the quiver over his chest and tightened it.
Then he heard a grunt behind him. His ear twitched and he looked back. Flameslinger then began to pale and felt himself tremble in horror. Shadows leaned over him. Before they could get any closer, the elf ran away to the bushes.
The shadows belonged to the Doom Raiders. They were smiling. But they were not thinking. All they want was one thing.
Near Flynn's Schooner. Afternoon.
The Skylanders didn't know what they should be feeling relieved at; The fact that they finally arrived at the Falling Forest where Flameslinger was in danger, or the fact they could finally get down from Flynn's ship. As they managed to recover, Fright Rider was the first ones to get up. They were dying to know Flameslinger was okay.
"Come on," said Rider. "The camp is this way."
"Ugh, lead the way, soldier," said Jet-Vac, breathing heavily. "Just...don't run too fast."
The Skylanders were still feeling sick but managed to hold back, so they followed Fright Rider. However, before they could go into the woods, they felt a warm air blowing their skin, fur, or feathers. The Skylanders stopped in their tracks. Even Fright felt by his bones.
Pop Fizz blinked. "Hmm. Weird. I felt like I've just hit by a heater."
"Uh... Pop, I think you're not the only one," said Eruptor.
"No, it wasn't," said Stealth Elf. "And I don't think it was just wind."
"Rider, do you have any idea what was that?" Jet-Vac asked.
"No," Rider shook his head. "It was unfamiliar for me, too."
That was when they heard something moving inside the bushes. The Skylanders prepared their weapons and got ready for the battle. The bushes ruffled harder. Jet-Vac loaded his gun and aimed at it. Anybody could have attacked immediately if someone familiar hadn't jumped out, startling everyone.
"Flameslinger?" Stealth Elf yelled in shock.
"Ha... Ha..." Flameslinger huffed and wipe the sweat with the back of his hand, surprised to see the Skylanders, especially Rider. "Wha- Fright Rider? How-"
"Sling!" Fright Rider rushed to the blindfolded elf, hugging him. "You were alright!"
"Ow! Ow!" Flameslinger yelled. "Guys! You're choking me!"
"Flameslinger, I'm glad you're fine," said Jet-Vac. "Kaossandra said there are Doom Raiders lurking around here. We came to warn you as fast as we could."
"Well, that's helpful," Flameslinger said sarcastically. "'Cause I've already met them."
"You what?!" Pop Fizz shouted loudly.
"Look, I can make my long story short," said Flameslinger, while Fright Rider stepped back to listen. "But we need to get out of here. I, I was attacked by the Doom Raiders and they wanted me to tell about other Skylanders and they were about to take off my blindfold and-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Flame boy!" Eruptor said. "There's no need to rush. Just take a deep breath and explain more slowly-"
"We don't have time!" Flameslinger shouted, surprising the Skylanders. "Let's just get out of here! I don't want to be here anymore! Just run!"
"Sling, calm down!" Rider said as he put his hand on the other elf's shoulder. "What's wrong with you? What exactly happened here?"
Before Flameslinger could explain, the bushes shook again. Flameslinger brought up his bow and arrow, aiming at them in a swift move. The Skylanders were tensed, so they also prepared for any attacks from the forest. The sound became louder and louder, and suddenly, the most familiar figures appeared in front of the Skylanders.
"Hey," Pop Fizz said. "They're the Doom Raiders!"
"Well, what do we have here," said Eruptor, his skin sizzling in heat. "We don't need to do all those 'find, sneak, and attack' things!"
"I don't know," said Jet-Vac, his claws shaking a bit. "Something's not right."
The Sky Baron was right. The Doom Raiders were waving their arms as if they wanted to grab something. They walked so weakly that they were going to trip over at any second. Most of all, their eyes were blank. Chompy Mage, Pepper Jack, and Wolfgang's pupil shrunk like they were hypnotized. Golden Queen and Dreamcatcher seemed as normal as they could be, but the Skylanders recognized that their eyes had lost light.
"Whoa," Pop Fizz whistled, though afraid. "Now I'm feeling chilly."
"They're not themselves," concluded Jet-Vac, aiming at the Doom Raiders one by one. "Something happened to them."
"Sling," Rider called from the back of Fright who backed away in slight fear. "Any ideas?"
"I, I don't know!" Flameslinger said, stammering. "I was just tied on a tree and they tried to remove my blindfold and something exploded and-"
"Hold on," said Stealth Elf. "Remove your blindfold and exploded? Like how?"
"I said I don't know!" Flameslinger yelled. "Something bright and hot just went off! It blew everything away, and now those Doom Rubbers are chasing me!"
"Something hot?" Eruptor said, blinking in realization. "Like that heat or air or something?"
The Skylanders, even the other elves, turned their heads to Eruptor. Then they looked at the Doom Raiders, who started to mutter 'eyes' and 'show me'. Flameslinger recalled the memories again but shook his head to erase them. There was no time to be afraid by a mere nightmare.
"I don't know exactly," Rider said, pointing his spear at the villains. "But the point is we can't let them get Sling. Whatever happened, they are after his eyes."
"Rider's right," said Jet-Vac. "We're Skylanders and we can't ignore others in danger."
"The good thing is they're nothing more than dummies with no brain," Eruptor said as he heated up his hands.
"I didn't know dummies had brains," said Pop Fizz.
"They don't and now is the time for that?!" Stealth Elf shouted and saw Dreamcatcher flying towards Fright Rider. "Heads up!"
Fright dashed forward to avoid the Doom Raider. Rider lowered his head. Then the pair saw Pepper Jack with his egg beater. Fright shrieked and Rider was fast enough to defend himself by his spear. Jet-Vac then fired his gun at the evil Chef, pushing him away from the elf. Pop Fizz and Eruptor ran forward to fight with Dreamcatcher and Wolfgang. Stealth Elf was fighting with the Golden Queen. Luckily for them, the Doom Raiders were just fighting blindly, so it was a little bit easy to fight against them. If they weren't, then the Skylanders could have been defeated.
Flameslinger looked at them in awe. "Wow..."
Then Chompy Mage suddenly appeared behind Flameslinger and the elf yelped in fear. The Mage was smiling stupidly and slowly approached the elf.
"Eyes..." Chompy Mage said. "Show me...eyes..."
Flameslinger stepped back. Even Chompy Mage was a great fear for him. His hands on the bow and arrow trembled.
"Sling!" Rider yelled and Fright ran to the Mage, attacking him with his beak.
The ostrich then stopped to let his partner pick up the other elf. Rider pulled the harness to move away from the Doom Raider. They moved left and right to get away from the villains' grip. But they didn't run away to leave the Skylanders.
"Rider..." Flameslinger muttered apologetically. "I... I was..."
"Sling, it's alright," Rider said. "You're afraid. I know. And I also do."
Flameslinger didn't say anything.
"But we can talk later," Rider went on. "About you, me, and more. I also want to talk about everything. I have lots of things to explain. But if we can talk now, we can talk later."
Flameslinger gaped at the blue-skinned elf in shock. "Uh..."
"So how about some beating bad guys for now?" Rider said with a smirk. "I'm dying for one. Don't you think?"
Flameslinger was silent at first and looked at the Skylanders against the Doom Raiders. Without any reason, something began to boil inside him. The elf's mouth began to form a grin. Flameslinger was smiling.
The elf then loaded his arrow, magically lighting up the tip with fire. "I do."
Flameslinger then released the arrow. It swished pass the Golden Queen's cheek and hit one of the Chompies, thus covering it with flames. The Doom Raiders soon noticed Flameslinger on Fright's back, so they began to approach them. The elves were startled but Fright shrieked defensively. The Skylanders realized that the Doom Raiders were heading towards the elves, so they attacked with all their might to stop them, or at least slow them down.
But Chompy Mage managed to avoid the attacks and brought the Chompies with him. He ordered them to catch Flameslinger.
Seeing him with the little beasts, Rider muttered loud enough for Flameslinger to hear. "I think I'm gonna need some cover."
Flameslinger immediately realized what he meant and shook his head with a defeated sigh and smile. "As you wish."
The archer then got down from the ostrich, shooting three flaming arrows and thus hitting three of the monsters, all at once. Fright Rider saw Chompy Mage focusing on Flameslinger, so the pair began to move around the Chompies, not forgetting to stab or peck some attempting to bite them. Flameslinger stepped back as he saw more Chompies swarming. He kept shooting his arrows, this time aiming at the sky. The arrows went up before flying in an arc and raining down at the foolish monsters.
Some Chompies barked as the fire burned their skins. Then one of them came face to face with a skeleton. The Chompy tilted its head and the skull did the same. Then, without warning, the skeleton shrieked like an ostrich, startling most of the Chompies. Fright went inside the ground and moved towards the defenseless Chompy Mage before grabbing his cloak with his big break. Rider chuckled in the distance, sitting on Fright whose face was buried in the ground.
"Hey!" Chompy Mage complained as he pulled his cloak.
Fright, however, didn't budge and instead, his boney body, with Rider on his back, was pulled into the ground. The Skylanders gaped as they saw the tip of the elf's spear moving through the hard soil and hitting some Compies along the way. Chompy Mage just watched the scene in utter shock. He didn't move even when he saw Fright's body and Rider popped out from the ground, with Rider gripping his spear and turning a somersault.
"Fear the Spear!" Rider slammed his spear right in front of the Mage, sending the villain flying away and knocking him out cold.
Flameslinger whistled in astonishment before witnessing Wolfgang sneaking behind Stealth Elf. He quickly ran forward and shot another arrow, hitting the werewolf's nose. Wolfgang howled in pain, which caused Stealth Elf to turn around. Stealth Elf then narrowed her eyes and sent a kick to Wolfgang. The werewolf didn't have time to fight back and fell down.
Stealth Elf nodded to Flameslinger as an appreciation but frowned as the archer pointed behind her. The ninja then screamed as she was pulled by her leg, thus lifting her upside-down. She froze as her eyes met with dark brown ones.
"How, dare, you...!" Wolfgang, still hypnotized, growled and was about to slam the girl on the ground.
Eruptor shot a ball of fire to the Golden Queen and sent her away before looking at Elf in horror. "Stealth Elf!"
Pop Fizz gasped but couldn't help her because Dreamcatcher hovered over him.
"No!" Jet-Vac shouted and tried his best to beat Pepper Jack.
Stealth Elf screamed and brought her hands to cover her face. Her teleportation ability was no use when she was grabbed by someone.
Suddenly, Wolfgang stopped as he saw a huge wall of fire erupting from the ground. Stealth Elf opened her eyes and watched the fire ignited around her and the werewolf. The two realized it was Flameslinger who put on the fire. He dashed around Wolfgang, leaving a wall made of fire behind him. He then shot an arrow at Wolfgang's wrist, causing the villain to drop the elf. Stealth Elf yelped as she fell but luckily, Flameslinger was just in time to catch her in bridal style. Plus, the fire he just made was forming a shape of a C around the werewolf. Wolfgang howled in pain and looked at Flameslinger who was grinning.
"Let the flames begin!" Flameslinger said and dashed away, creating more fire behind him and forming a circle of fire around Wolfgang.
Without warning, a column of fire rose up from the inside of the circle of flames. Wolfgang howled and yelped as he felt the fire on his fur. Flameslinger quickly ran away to avoid the heat and put Stealth Elf down when the fire went off. Only Wolfgang, his fur scorched black, stood with no movement before falling backward.
Jet-Vac then managed to knock out the evil chef and see the fire the young elf had just created. He couldn't help but feel his beak open wide in complete shock.
"Now that's what I called fireworks!" Pop Fizz said after throwing some Sleeping Potion at Dreamcatcher. "I know that. Fire, 'works'! Ha, get it?"
"Elfy, you okay?" Eruptor asked as he hugged his friend. "You have everything with you, right? No broken bones? No scratches? No blood?"
"I'm fine, Eruptor," said Stealth Elf, scratching the back of her head. "I am..."
Stealth Elf looked at Flameslinger who high-fived with Rider in joy. She stared at him and without noticing, she smiled.
Skylanders Academy. Evening.
Rumors spread inside the Skylanders Academy. Two elves, one green-skinned and one blue-skinned, had defeated the Doom Raiders with the help from the Skylanders. Kaossandra was happy to see the young elves in person and had a chat with them quite long after they introduced themselves. Soon, the elves were asked for being Skylanders once more.
It was Flameslinger who answered and surprised the Skylanders. "We would like to become Skylanders...if it's not late."
"Nobody is late to become a Skylander," said Kaossandra. "I'm very pleased to meet new worthy Skylanders for this year, though you're still cadets ."
"The pleasure is ours, Headmistress Kaossandra," Rider said politely.
"I prefer just Kaossandra if you may," Kaossandra said as she reached out her hand.
The elves shook her hand and nodded.
"Now, if you excuse me," said Kaossandra. "I would like to see your skills and partnerships in person. I know you are worthy enough but tests are tests. Do you mind?"
The elves looked at each other and smiled with proud. They shook their heads, meaning that they didn't mind at all.
Front Yard. Evening.
Once finishing the tests, Flameslinger and Fright Rider went to the front yard where the Skylanders were waiting. They were really nervous to hear the results. Though scouted, the elves had to pass the test to prove their abilities but surprisingly, they passed them, though not easily. It was a bit hard for the elves but they managed to earn the right to attend the Skylanders Academy. The Skylanders cheered gladly once they heard the positive results.
"Congrats, cadets!" Eruptor said with joy, smacking Flameslinger's back with his hand. "I knew you could be great Skylanders!"
"We're still cadets, Eruptor," Flameslinger retorted as he groaned in pain. "But still, thanks."
"We couldn't do anything without you two," said Pop Fizz. "You guys sure rock!"
"Thanks, Pop," said Rider, feeding some grains to Fright since the ostrich was tired after the test.
"So...what are you guys gonna do?" Stealth Elf said. "You might have lots of stuff to do for now on."
"Starting from finding rooms for both of us," Flameslinger said as he motioned Rider. "We're going to take classes by tomorrow, just like other cadets do."
"And we'll do what we like," said Rider. "Just like we've been doing. That's what Skylanders do best, right?"
"A quite simple plan indeed," said Jet-Vac. "And yet it sounds perfect for you to start a new day. I'll meet you in the class someday, elves."
"Thank you, professor Jet-Vac," Rider said politely.
As the Skylanders nodded, Flameslinger noticed some movements behind one of the trees. He frowned a bit and looked at the direction. Rider also noticed them and turned his head to the tree. He then smiled at his friend.
"Popular, huh?" Rider teased, nudging Flameslinger's shoulder.
"Shut up," said Flameslinger, before looking at the tree again and running away.
Rider chuckled and mounted on Fright, motioning him to follow his friend. Fright squawked and did obediently.
The Skylanders saw the elves for a moment and shrugged their shoulders, except for Stealth Elf. She just looked at the cadets peeking out from the tree. She sighed and looked at where Flameslinger had disappeared.
"I guess there will be some busy day," commented Stealth Elf, a slight hint of red appearing on her cheeks.
Stealth Elf right at the moment. As Flameslinger and Fright Rider became cadets of the Academy, things became slightly different. But no one knew what changed and what didn't. But one thing was sure; the elves had started their new journey and been making their own life. Which no one could choose nor disturb.
And that's the end.
So... How was it? It was my imagination for both elves in the Academy. I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for the view! Please review me! I want some!