KatieMae77 asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Isabel belongs to ianon2013. Skylanders belongs to Activision. I only own Rachel.

The Loyalty Of A Friend

Isabel stormed into the Academy and to the Observatory, hoping it was empty because she really didn't want to be around Mabu, the other Portal Masters, or even Skylanders right then. Thankfully, it was empty and she decided to look through the telescope, letting out another sigh.

Funny Bone looked saddened as he walked by the Mystery Gate where Rachel was leaning against the stand for Sunscraper Spire, playing a melody Fiesta had taught her. She set aside her guitar when she saw him. "Funny Bone? What's the matter, boy?" She asked in concern, jumping down to the ground and began petting him.

"I saw Isabel come, but she didn't even greet me," he said, looking sadder.

Rachel was concerned. "Something must have happened in our world," she said.

Funny Bone looked up at her. "But what?" He asked.

"Something that made her want to escape here," the Tech Portal Master said.

"Yes," said Master Eon. "Something did happen."

"Did she tell you? What happened?" Funny Bone asked, worried.

The guardian of Skylands gently petted the little Undead dog. "She told me in confidence," he said gently.

Rachel looked concerned. "Wow, it must have been really bad if she'd tell only you," she said, concern growing before she sighed. "But at least she talked with you instead of holding it in."

"Where is she now, Master Eon?" The little Undead dog asked eagerly.

"I sent her and Dr. Krankcase to Wilikin Town. Kaos was causing some trouble there with the Wilikins and they asked for help," said the guardian.

Rachel cocked her head to the side. "Wait a minute. The Wilikins' home was where Dr. Krankcase had set up shop before he was captured and reformed," she said. "What is there for Kaos?"

"The Wilikins who turned on him," said Master Eon.

Rachel and Funny Bone shared a look of horror.

Dr. Krankcase looked over at Isabel as Flynn flew them to Wilikin Town. He had immediately known she wasn't in the mood to talk back at the Academy and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everything okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Are you okay?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes, for the…seventh? Or eighth time?" He said in amusement.

Isabel didn't smile. She just nodded, which now had him concerned. "Isabel?" He asked in concern.

Just then, the ship was hit by Kaos, who was throwing power blasts at them. The evil Portal Master had the Wilikins in cages and over a fiery lava pit. Realizing Kaos must have teleported a lava pit there, Isabel got out her knife. "We need to get those Wilikin out," she said.

"Any suggestions?" Flynn asked.

The Undead Portal Master looked at Dr. Krankcase. "What about your goo? Can you cover the lava pit with it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Too much to cover up," he said. "Most I can do is form a small pool of it to act as a safety net, but if we do that, Kaos will be able to attack us."

Isabel perked up. "What if…your goo distracted him?" She asked. "Doesn't he hate the smell of something putrid?"

"Actually, he loves the smell of something putrid," Krankcase corrected her. "But he hates sweet-smelling stuff."

She had turned away to assess the situation again, but looked at him when she heard the smirk in his voice and saw him adjusting his goo gun a bit. "Isabel, what's the sweetest smell you can think of?" He asked.

She blinked. "Um, vanilla," she answered.

Dr. Krankcase grinned even more. "Flynn, take us near Kaos," he said. "Isabel, get ready. As soon as Kaos is pinned down, you and I are jumping for the Wilikins' cages. Do you trust me?"

She immediately nodded. "I trust you," she said.

He cocked an eyebrow at that, but nodded and took aim at Kaos as Flynn flew closer. Firing his goo gun right at the evil Portal Master's face.

Normally, Kaos would have been exclaiming in anger, but Krankcase had covered most of him in goo and a splat of goo was on Kaos' mouth and he couldn't get it off. He even had on a very disgusted face as his nose flared. Isabel then noticed how the goo smelled like vanilla. "Wait a moment," she said. "Did you…?"

"Come up with some sweet-smelling goo? Yup, with a little help from Mags," said the former tech villain before gently touching her shoulder. "Okay, we need to leap for the cages. I'll drop some goo barrels to give us the safety net we need, but it won't hold long."

She nodded and he gestured for her to hold onto him. She complied instantly, clinging tighter when he leaped into the air and landed on the first cage, dropping some goo barrels before using one of his legs to pick the lock and Isabel cut the rope that held the cage up. The cage landed in the goo cushion near the edge of the lava pit and Isabel got onto the bank of the pit, grabbing the Wilikins that Krankcase was handing up to her. The goo cushion completely dissipated into the lava a second after Isabel pulled Krankcase and the last Wilikin in the cage up to the shore.

They quickly did the same for the others and when the Wilikin were freed, they were surveying the damage Kaos had done by bringing the lava pit there. "What do we do?" One Wilikin asked.

Dr. Krankcase pointed to the edge of the lava pit where it was shimmering a bit. "Apparently, Kaos teleported it here temporarily," he said. "But it's about to teleport back to where he got it from."

"How can it do that?" Isabel asked.

"Easy. It's not stable," he said. "Lava is always moving in a large area. If Kaos had teleported a small bit of it, it would have pretty much solidified after being brought to a place that wasn't very hot. The air is cooler here, so the lava would have solidified, but…Kaos didn't just teleport the lava pit here."

Seeing Isabel cock her head to the side in puzzlement, he pointed to one end of the lava pit and then the other. "Notice how it's still flowing?" He asked.

She looked closer and saw he was right. The lava was moving, but to where? "Yeah, but…it's disappearing over here," she said, pointing to one end.

"Because it's a time warp," Dr. Krankcase said. "I saw Master Eon once do this and he explained that a time warp could be very unstable if it was open for longer than a few minutes."

"So, this lava pit is becoming unstable because it's out of its natural element?" Isabel guessed. "Will the time warp correct itself?"

"If Kaos reversed it, yes," the former villain said.

"Fat chance," the Undead Portal Master said.

"Maybe…and maybe not."

Wondering what he meant, Isabel watched as Krankcase went up to Kaos and told him something that the girl didn't quite catch, but Kaos snapped his fingers and the lava pit disappeared and Krankcase removed the goo from the evil Portal Master's mouth.

"Well, I did it," Kaos groused. "Now, you said you'd help me get this stinky goo off."

Dr. Krankcase smiled. "Oh, I forgot," he said. "The goo is easy to take off skin, but clothing…that's a whole other story."

"WHAT?!"

Isabel, now catching what Krankcase's plan had been, couldn't help giggling as she watched Kaos try to pull the goo off him, but it stuck. "How can I get this goo off?!" He asked angrily. "I can't go around smelling like flowers!"

Not being able to help herself, the Undead Portal Master grinned. "Maybe that'll make you be nicer," she said. "And maybe behave yourself for a change."

She knew the last one was pushing it a little, but she was enjoying seeing the evil Portal Master's ego taking a harsh blow. "Should we leave him here?" She asked the other two with her.

"He's not coming up on my ship," Flynn said immediately.

Dr. Krankcase nodded. "I have a feeling the Wilikin won't forget this," he said as he helped Isabel up onto Flynn's ship, being a gentleman towards her.

On the way home, Isabel looked over at the tech villain. "I knew you were better than what they were saying," she said.

Dr. Krankcase looked at her. "What?" He asked in confusion.

"I knew the others were wrong," she said.

He looked at her. "Isabel? Did you have a fight with your Portal Master friends?" He asked.

"No, with some classmates," she said honestly.

"What was the argument about?" He asked.

"About whether you could be a good sensei or not," said Isabel. "I told them you were one of the best and they said you were the dumbest villain."

She sighed and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "What do you think of me?" He asked.

"When you were a villain, you were my favorite," she said, honesty in her voice again. "And that didn't change when you because a sensei. I liked it when you were reformed and to have you switch sides permanently made it totally awesome."

He now saw why Isabel had been so upset and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You were standing up for me," he said. He then cocked an eyebrow again. "Were you trying to prove your loyalty to me?"

She blushed and looked sheepish. "Yes?" She said, looking more sheepish and uncertain.

He smiled again. "Isabel, I know you're loyal," he said. "Because you've been training with me for a bit and become a friend to me. You were the first friend I made after Master Eon made us former Doom Raiders senseis."

She smiled. "I was?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes," he said, gently squeezing her shoulder and she hugged him.

"Thanks," she said.

Dr. Krankcase smiled. "Isn't that what friends do?" He asked.

Isabel returned his smile. "Yeah," she said in agreement as Flynn took them back to the Skylanders Academy with her feeling better and the former villain glad to have a loyal friend like her.

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GoldGuardian2418