I'm not gonna lie but I actually never played any of the Skylanders game before. However, I am really interested of their concept, particularly of how you get to use actual figures in order to summon the characters inside the game (though my wallet will say otherwise). I also love how each Skylanders have lores and stories instead of just being regular NPCs. It makes the game all the more exciting and I can understand why people, children and adults alike, would be willing enough to spend a huge amount of money to play the game and complete their figure collection.
Now, normally I wouldn't write fanfiction stories of games that I never played before but upon seeing the design of Blackout and Spotlight, I just couldn't help myself. These two carries too much shipping potential for me to simply ignore and I'm quite sure some of you out there thought of the same thing as well. I also wrote this story in order to test out a new method of writing I just came up with so I'd like to apologize in advance if some of the terms I've used in here does not make sense or whatsoever.
With that said, I hope you guys enjoy
A New Dawn
Before its demise, the Ruins used to be an abundant citadel, home to an advanced civilization that used their capabilities to sought peace. Now, the place was nothing but a dull and hollow husk of its former glorious state, occupied with the usual flock of lazing sheep here and there, just like any other floating islands of the Skylands does. Fortunately, with the aid of the Skylanders, the newly formed group of protectors consisting of brave warriors handpicked by Lord Eon himself, whom had restored the Core of Light once more, the Ruins was restored to its glorious state, albeit at a slow pace.
Suddenly, the bubble of tranquility was shattered when a blur of black zoomed through the dense clouds at the outskirts of the Ruins; it soared in a vertical manner upwards before making a sudden u-turn and slamming onto the edge of the Ruins with a resonating boom. The landing was so powerful that it brewed up a dust storm and the ground to tremor slightly.
An intimidating dragon-like figure slowly emerged out of the smokescreen. He has a pair of emotionless milky white orbs that acts as eyes, a curved blade-like horn that seemed to emanate dark power and a set of jaw that look like he could shred steel beams with ease. He was also clad in sleek black scales from head to tail with spikes adorned some parts of the dragon body while scythe-like talons were quipped to fingers. Overall, he looked menacing.
Even so, the black figure shook his head several times to remove the numb feeling of constantly flying against the wind pressure before he galloped on like no one's business, completely ignoring the steaming crater not to mention the ruckus he just made. This was obviously a routine for the fellow citizens of the Ruins as none of the occupants (sheep included) seemed to be perturbed by the sudden disturbance and the alarm wasn't raised just yet.
Not missing a beat, the dragon proceeded on heading to the tower-like premise situated at the centre of the island, identified as the main office for the Skylanders.
As he went in, a few Skylanders greeted him but the black dragon merely replied each and every one of them with a curt nod of his dragon head. Blackout continued walking along the corridor until he arrived in front of a huge pair of doors. Effortlessly, he knocked on the surface a few times before he pushed one of the door opened and went in.
The room looked like a principal office, complete with a grand oak desk in the middle of the room, a huge cabinet containing probably hundreds of old books on the left and another table heavily littered with numerous magic tomes, ancient scrolls and manuscripts on the right. However, Blackout didn't pay attention to any of these features in favor of the person who was sitting behind the desk.
"I have returned, Lord Eon." He greeted with a courteous bow.
"Ah, welcome back Blackout." The Portal Master greeted back with his usual sagely smile. "How did your mission went along?"
"Chaotic." The Dark Core Dragon simply stated. "The Chompers have made quite a huge nest at the centre of the island, way more than we actually anticipated they would have been."
"That's unsettling to hear." He said with concern evident in his tone of voice. "So how did it go?"
Blackout took that as a cue to continue his report. "Luckily enough, I managed to dispatch the entire nest by taking care of the leading Chomper, leaving the rest of its followers in utter confusion which in the end lead them to their deaths. Though as a safety precaution, we should assign several more Skylanders to patrol the area for any more hostilities. From what I see, I don't think the nest I encountered was the only one existing there."
Eon rubbed his beard thoughtfully at that. "That seems to be a good idea. The Chompers nowadays have been multiplying at a higher rate than usual. It wouldn't hurt to send in a few more people to double check the places that were affected with the same issues." He agreed before focusing his attention back to the recently-recruited Dark Skylander. "Good work out there Blackout, if there is nothing more, you are dismissed."
With one last bow of respect, the Dark Core Dragon turned around to leave the place but stopped within his tracks when the sage spoke once more.
"Ah, before you go, I've got something else for you." He mentioned as he produced a pair of paper slips and slid it across the table.
Puzzled, Blackout gingerly took it from him and spoke, "Uh, what is this, Lord Eon?"
"Those are tickets that grant you a free entrance to a game carnival nearby." Eon smiled. "Apparently, the Mabu client who made the mission said this was meant to be a part of the reward but he forgot to mention it in the request." He explained. "You've been working hard for the past few days. Why don't you have a break for a bit, go there and enjoy yourself? I heard its quite fun."
"I, uh, I'll think about it."
…
"Welcome black, Blackout."
Glancing to his left, the jet black dragon was greeted with the sight of his equally-dark comrade the moment he stepped outside Lord Eon's Face, the dark centaur, Knight Mare.
Knight Mare has milky white orbs eyes that were similar to his, a pair of perky elf-like ears and a silky black long hair that were tied in a ponytail manner by her helmet. Her entire body, including her lower horse half was layered in a set of midnight black armor, giving her the appearance of an intimidating dark knight; just like how her name emphasize. Her gleaming Traptanium Lance and hunting gears were slung on her back, positioned so that she could speedily unsheathe them should the situation calls for it.
"Knight Mare, you waited for me?"
"Not exactly, I just happen to be nearby when you decided to create another crater at the front lawn." She replied with a smirk. "That's the sixth time you did so far, by the way. Good job."
"You make it sound like I'm the only who did it all the time."
"That's because you are." She retorted.
Blackout simply shrugged. "Well, with the previous dilemma over our realm, travelling through portals is the last thing I ever wanted to do."
"Fair enough," She agreed. "So how did your mission went?"
The dark dragon shrugged once more. "Just the usual Search & Destroy. Nothing I can't handle."
"Good to hear."
The two comrades would've talked more but was cut off when they heard someone exclaimed.
"Hey Knight Mare!"
While Blackout was surprised by the sudden outburst, his dark centaur comrade evidently stiffened at the mention of her name.
"Oh god, not again…" She spoke to no one in particular.
Blackout was about to question what she meant by that but his words died in his throat when a blur of white suddenly landed in front of them.
He had an enamel white helmet that hid the top half of his head with a pair of ocean blue circular lens for visual, an equally white protective armor that from head to toe with a sun ring logo emblazoned at the middle of his chest plate and a pair of majestic-looking feathered wings. His Traptanium blade was safely sheathed on his back.
"There you are, my fellow comrade, I've been looking all over for you!"
Said centaur groaned. "Ugh, what do you want, Knight Light?"
Whether if he noticed her displeasure or not, the light Skylander didn't show it. "I took another mission earlier this morning. Would you like to team up with me once more. I assure you it would be as equally challenging as the first one we had."
"I'm busy at the moment, Knight Light," The dark centaur rejected with gritted teeth. "So would you be so kind and leave me alone?"
The former Starlight protector must've been gifted with ears of steel as he simply brushed her volatile rejection with an eye-blinding grin. "Alright, maybe next time then!" He said. "Until next time!"
"Damn that man." The dark centaur muttered once he was out of sight.
Her scowl disappeared when said Light Skylander went out of sight but soon returned back when she saw the glint in Blackout's eyes. "What?"
"I see you've gotten yourself acquainted to him while I was gone."
The female centaur snorted. "Oh please, if anything, he's the one trying to get himself. Not me."
"Oh really, and what about the mission he mentioned? Sounds to me like you two made quite a team there."
"I-It was just a normal tag team mission." She stuttered nervously, averting her gaze from him. "It doesn't mean anything."
"I see…" Then again, with their polar opposite attitudes, he'd be more surprised if the ever so solitary and stubborn Knight Mare became close friends with the boisterous Knight Light.
"Speaking of acquaintance…"
In the midst of their conversation, the two came across a balcony area. Since they were a few several levels from the top, it provided a decent view of the entire Ruins, from the herd of sheep that was grazing on the grass field a distance away to Flint's unstable-yet-reliable airship parked on a makeshift wooden helipad at the corner to the line of pure white clouds on the horizon.
However, it wasn't the breath taking of the Ruins that caught his attention, what did was the group of Skylanders that were enjoying themselves on the grass patch a small distance away from the tower. Using his sharp eyesight, Blackout could determine a few of their 'senior' Skylanders such as a Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy, Bash, Flashwing and Stealth Ninja Elf along with a few of the Swap Force and Trap Team Skylanders that he wasn't entirely familiar just yet.
Among the crowd, the jet black dragon could see a certain dragoness. She has a pair of milky white orbs just like him, a sun ring logo emblazoned at the centre of her forehead and a pair of equally white angelic wings that has a hollowed golden ring embedded at the centre. Contrast to his scales, she was adorned with pure white scales from head to her tail; granting her a regal appearance.
Spotlight. The dark dragon mentally remarked.
"Quite a crowd gatherer, isn't she?"
Blackout didn't utter a thing. His eyes were fixed to the light dragoness as she casually talked with Stealth Ninja Elf about things. His frown deepened when she full heartedly laughed alongside everyone else at an unaudible joke Gill Grunt had made.
Without any warning, he spun around on his heels and walked away along the corridor they just came from.
"Where you going?"
"I'm going to my room now for some shut eye." He spoke.
"Already? But you just came here. You don't wanna grab a meal first or something?"
"I'll have enough time for a meal later at my shift tonight."
…
It was a tranquil night here in the Ruins, the main headquarters of the well-known Skylanders. Although a barrier was erected around the premise 24/7 to ensure that no unwanted visitors came in, a few nocturnal Skylanders – particularly of the Undead and Dark – had volunteered to act as patrols during nighttime and to ensure that the incident with the Core of Light repeated itself. Just like his namesake, Blackout wasn't exempted for this trait and had also joined in as well.
The jet black dragon exhaled a long breath as he stood on top of the Ruins' tower. Having a dark element and all, he was capable of seeing through dark environment without any problem, which was the main reason why he was chosen to act as the main lookout for the entire perimeter. True, it was a rather boring job since he had to stay up there for half a day but he had grown accustomed to being a solitary person. Besides, the dark environment had brought him some nostalgic memories of his home turf so he could care less.
Speaking of darkness, Blackout's thoughts drifted to the troubled gazes his fellow colleagues were giving him when he returned from his mission this morning. A visage he couldn't help but frown in retort. It had been a week ever since he joined the Skylanders. Normally, a new recruit would've gotten themselves along with majority of the members by now but such was not the case for Blackout, the first Dark element being to ever join the Skylanders forces.
His mind then wandered to Spotlight, the first Light-element dragoness to join and how she easily got herself acquainted with other Skylanders. Unlike him. With another sigh, Blackout crossed his forearm together before resting his head on them. To say that he was feeling envious was an understatement, he was downright jealous of Spotlight.
Then again, he suppose he himself was at fault in this matter since he never really possessed that much of a decent social skills, way even before the Core of Light was destroyed and their realms was split apart. Heck, he couldn't even look into a random sheep's round, beady eyes without squirming in discomfort. The only people he managed to talk to was Lord Eon and his colleague, Knight Mare.
"Ugh, this is troublesome." He grunted.
"What's troublesome?"
"Gah!" Having not expected anyone, the sudden appearance of the feminine voice prompted Blackout to jump a few meters high in sheer fright before turning around in a defensive stance. He didn't expect the origin of the voice to be the very certain dragoness he thought about a while ago.
"Oh forgive me, I didn't mean to surprise you." Spotlight quickly apologized. "Are you alright?"
"W-What are you doing here?'
"I was doing an airborne patrol of the perimeter actually. I was about to do one last round check when I saw you all alone here on top. I thought I'd say hi for a bit."
The jet black dragon was evidently surprised by that. "You volunteered for the night shift duties? But I thought that—"
"That I don't like the night?" She continued in amusement. "Its fine, I get that a lot actually." Walking to the empty spot beside him, the light dragoness decided to make herself comfortable, much to his dismay. "Contrary to what people thought and believe, I actually have no qualms with darkness as long as they do not cause any harm. In fact, I actually spent more time roaming at night rather than daylight itself, now that I think about it."
"You do?"
Averting her gaze to him, Blackout's heart skipped a beat when she flashed him one of her warm smile. "Of course, don't you feel the same?"
The Dark dragon pondered this. Now that she mentioned it, she does have a point. Back before their respective realms were detached from Skylands courtesy of a certain pathetic villain's evil plot, Blackout can barely step onto daylight without hissing like a vampire. Now, he spent more time under the sun than through the night.
"Speaking of which, I heard about your mission from earlier this morning. Good job on the Chompers."
Blackout became flustered at that, obviously not expecting a compliment. "Thanks but it was nothing, really." He shrugged it off. "I just happen to come in when the Chompers were not paying attention."
"Doesn't change the fact that you've single-handedly cleared an entire nest of them."
Having not accustomed to receiving a compliment, Blackout found himself rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and flapped his wings a few times; a habit he inadvertently developed ever since the time when he first joined the Skylanders.
His involuntary actions were proven to be his fatal mistake however when he felt a surge of pain coming from his wings, prompting said dark dragon to yelp in response.
"Are you alright?" Spotlight questioned, concern evident in her voice.
"I-I don't know…" He responded back, glancing at his wing in puzzlement.
"Here let me check it for you." There was a moment of silence before Spotlight gasped. "By the Core of Light, you're injured!"
Shocked, Blackout instinctively glanced at the underside of his left wing. Sure enough, there was indeed a wound there. While it wasn't deep enough to bleed or big enough to worry about – otherwise, he and everyone else would've noticed all this time – the yellow puss that had formed over it gave the wound a gruesome image. How the jet black dragon didn't notice the wound all this time, he had no clue.
"Oh, it's just a minor flesh wound. It would heal over time." He simply shrugged. He had received worse injuries in the past; an infected wound was the least of his worries.
Unfortunately for him, Spotlight thought otherwise.
"Let it heal over time!? Your wound is already infected, by Eon's sake!" The Light dragoness exclaimed incredulously, surprising the male dragon. "Don't move a muscle, I'll be right back!"
Blackout parted open his mouth to retort but by then Spotlight had already dived off the building, leaving him to the silent night once more.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long because she returned a few minutes later on with a medical kit in her mouth in which she wasted no time in rummaging through once she landed. If the situation hadn't call for it, he would've made a remark of her time record. Blackout tried to say that he was fine and that the wound would disappear over time but the persistent white dragoness was having none of that and produced a brown satchel from the medical kit.
"What is that?"
"It's a Ginseng medicine. Unlike regular healing potions, ginseng medicines possess multiple capabilities aside than healing. This one particular medicine over here has sterilizing characteristics so it is often used as an alternate means for antiseptic medicine."
Blackout nodded, finding himself profoundly interested with the minor medical education he was provided with until he remembered something.
"Wait, I thought Ginseng medicines are expensive and extremely rare to find?"
"Yes. Now don't move." She said sternly.
He had expected the Ginseng to be instantaneously painful the moment she sprinkled it onto the wound. For a good few seconds, nothing happened and Blackout almost pointed out that the medicine was just a fluke and that she was simply pulling his leg when steam started pouring out of his wound.
Surprised, the jet black dragon could do nothing but watch in silent amazement when the hole on his wing slowly stitched itself together, flesh by flesh. If that wasn't surprising enough, the medicine also regenerated his sleek black scales back. By the time the Ginseng effect wore off, it didn't look like he was injured in the first place.
"There you go, all better now." Spotlight's smile faltered when she noticed the strange look he was giving her. "Is there something the matter?"
"I-It's nothing." Blackout remarked. "It's just that…no one has ever helped me like this before."
"Well, why shouldn't we?"
"Because…" Blackout trailed off.
"Let me guess, is it because you're a dark elemental dragon?"
The silence was her answer.
"Tell me, Blackout, are you evil?"
"No."
"Do you consider yourself as someone evil?"
"No."
"Do you plan on being evil anytime soon?"
"No."
"Then, there you go. There's your answer." She simply declared, a mirth smile now plastered on her face.
The Dark dragon glanced at her with a dumbfounded look, obviously not expecting her response.
"Have you met Cynder?"
Blackout nodded. It wasn't hard to find her since he often saw the purple Undead dragoness hanging out closely with Spyro on a daily basis.
"Before she joined the Skylander, Cynder used to be an apprentice of Malefor, the self-crowned Undead Dragon King in the underworld of Skylands; a harbinger of misery and desolation trained to spread chaos into the heart of his subjects." Spotlight began. "And it probably would've stayed that way had it weren't for Spyro knocking the sense into her mind, making her realize the wrongness of her misdeeds."
Blackout was surprised to hear that. Disregarding her Undead affinity not to mention her status as the element's leader, he had always seen Cynder as a cool and friendly person. For her to have such a…dark past was mind boggling, to say the least.
"The main point is: just because you originated from the dark realm, doesn't mean you should be like them." She continued before smiling. "If you ask me, the only reason why other people wouldn't talk to you is because you never gave them the chance to do so."
Blackout was about to make a remark about that but realized Spotlight had made another point. Ever since he joined the Skylanders, his daily work schedule involved him having to set out early in the morning before anyone else and came back when it's near midnight. By the time he does return back to the Ruins, everyone was already tucked comfortably within their beds, snoozing.
"I-I…I guess you're right about that one." He finally admitted. "But how do you know that the rest don't hate me for sure?"
"Because we talked about you, silly."
"W-What do you mean by that?"
Spotlight momentarily hummed to herself at the question. "Mmm…let's just say you've become quite an…interesting subject to talk about," She said. "In a good way, of course."
Well, that's reassuring. Blackout mentally remarked.
The two stopped their conversation when the Light dragoness stared at the horizon where the sky was slowly turning a hue of blue.
"It's nearing sunrise soon. I should head back and report back to Lord Eon."
"O-Oh ok." He said with a tinge of disappointment in his tone of voice
"It was nice chatting with you, Blackout."
"Same here."
The jet black dragon bit his lip. While a part of him was glad that she's gone, another part of him was disappointed that she would leave so early, especially not after all the things she had done for him tonight. He then remembered something, something he obtained earlier this.
"Wait!"
"Yes?"
"I, uh, earlier this morning, I received a pair of tickets to a carnival nearby as a reward for the mission I did." He began a little hesitantly. "I understand that it's a bit of a sudden not to mention you'd probably be tired from tonight's shift but I was wondering if you would…join me?"
The jet black dragon's nervosity intensified when a look of surprise was plastered on her face and she spoke, "Blackout, are you asking me…on a date?"
"Um…yes?" Blackout stuttered, prompting her to giggle.
"Sure, I'd love to."
"Great!" He exclaimed a little too suddenly. "I mean, great, I'll see you later in the afternoon near the main portal then."
"See you." With that declaration, Spotlight left the scene by diving off the edge once more.
Blackout kept quiet, his mind still reeling in as he processed all the things that had happened for the last few minutes. He can't believe he really just did that.
In any case, he should report back as well since the night is about to come to an end. As he approached the exit, the dark dragon couldn't help but spare one last glance at the sun that was slowly making its debut on the horizon of clouds. He smiled.
"Guess being under the Light wasn't so bad, after all."
Alright, that's the end for A New Dawn. I hope it's good because in my opinion, the story is a bit rushed. Do leave me review on what you think of this Fanfiction. It'll be a greatly appreciated.