Lantern Power, who owns Isabel, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)
Skylanders belongs to Activision. I own nothing.
The Gem Most Precious To Him
Luminous held Mags close as he was having a wonderful dream about them enjoying a picnic and a swim right before he jumped nearly a foot off the bed as a loud crack and an-equally loud explosion echoed and shook the walls a little. Mags let out a startled scream and clung to the former light villain, who tightened his hold on her. "What was that?" She asked.
Getting up, Luminous opened the door and found Nightshade about to knock. "Something's up outside," the former dark villain said. "Sounds like cannonballs."
The three quickly headed outside to a sight they had seen in other parts of Skylands, but never in their own backyard. Flynn, Cali, Tessa, Hugo, Sharpfin, Buzz, Isabel, and Master Eon together outside the Academy. "Keep that force field up, kid!" Buzz said urgently to Isabel, who was sitting on the ground cross-legged. "We can't let those thieves get those legendary treasures!"
"Yes, that would be awful," Flynn said. "The Academy would look so bare without the statue of the awesome Flynn, best pilot ever in Skylands. Boom!"
Cali gave Flynn a look. "The Academy needs all the legendary treasures," she said. "Each one is important to everyone here."
"Yes, because each treasure represents something important, either a happening or a big part of history," Tessa said.
Flynn looked pleased that his statue might have something to do with Skylands history, but another explosion sounded and cut him off from boasting again.
Isabel, who was holding her Emerald in her lap while her hands glowed purple, faltered a little, but then sat up straight again. "Isabel, let me know if you get too exhausted," Master Eon said worriedly. "It would do no good if you became ill from stretching your powers out so much."
"I'll be alright, Master Eon," she said, but her voice sounded tired.
"What's going on?" Nightshade asked, concerned that his Portal Master was looking so tired.
"These pirates have come to try and steal the legendary treasures from the Academy," Buzz explained. "Thankfully, Isabel saw them coming and put up the force field in time."
"But it's taking a lot of her energy to do so," Cali said. "She's doing her best, but if a good hit lands on the force field…,"
The unspoken words were heard loud and clear by them all. Isabel was already looking very tired and starting to sweat as she gritted her teeth and sat up straighter again, but her fatigue was obvious. Nightshade, concerned for his Portal Master, went up to her and kneeled down in front of her. "Hang on, Izzy. You can do it," he encouraged her.
She was about to answer until the pirates renewed their attack on the force field and struck harder, making the Undead Portal Master grunt in pain as each strike hurt her, weakening her a little because she had never done a force field so large before, straining to keep it in place as more sweat began forming on her forehead and her breathing started to come out in pants like she was trying to catch her breath.
"All hands on deck!" A new voice shouted as a ship that looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a bee flew past them, grenades hitting the pirate ships fast and furious and never missing.
"Who's that?" Nightshade asked.
"That's Thrillipede! Boom!" Flynn said with a cheer.
"He's one of the Superchargers who has an air vehicle," Master Eon explained as they heard more engines. "And I believe I hear the others."
Jet-Vac soared by on his Jet Stream with Stormblade in her Sky Slicer right beside him and behind them were Astroblast in the Sun Runner, Stealth Elf in the Stealth Stinger, and Bowser in his Clown Cruiser Plane. "Feather the storm!" Stormblade cried out as the Superchargers began attacking the pirate ships, blasting them with all sorts of attacks, even using their own weapons to give them an edge.
Astroblast aimed his crystal gun and fired beams of light that stunned the pirates. "Too bright for you? Then how about this?" He unleashed several prismatic space rocks, which reflected the sun and made it hard for the pirates to see straight.
"Nice!" Stealth Elf cheered. "And here's some acorns to boot!"
She shot acorns at the pirates, which combined with the others' attacks, successfully brought down a couple of the pirate ships, but there were still about five more. Thrillipede flew by the others. "Each of you take a ship and keep on it!" He said. "I've got an idea!"
With each of them attacking the pirate ships, they took the enemies' attention off the force field, which helped Isabel a great deal, but even then, she was getting very tired, keeping the force field up by sheer willpower. The last five ships were soon destroyed, but then, five cannonballs fired simultaneously hit the force field around the Academy. "AAAHH!" Isabel screamed out in surprise and in pain as the force field shattered and she fell over, exhausted.
"Isabel!" Nightshade cried out, fearing she was badly hurt.
The main pirate ship closed in, about to launch another attack on the now unprotected Academy. "Oh, no you don't!" Thrillipede said, tossing several grenades into the cannons. The explosions not only destroyed the cannons, but rocked the pirate ship hard before he threw several sticky grenades into the rudders, gumming up the gears and forcing the pirates to retreat.
The Superchargers landed on the ground and went up to Isabel, who was still laying on the ground as Nightshade helped her sit up and let her lean on him as she tried to regain her strength. "I'm…I'm okay," she said softly. "Just…really tired."
"I can see that," the former cat villain said worriedly. "Still, you did good, Izzy. You stopped those creeps from getting in."
She smiled. "But the Superchargers did a lot of the work," she admitted.
"Hey, it was a team effort," said Thrillipede. "It would have been harder for us to fight them if your force field hadn't been up to prevent them from getting inside."
"He's right," said Astroblast. "If those pirates had gotten inside, we would have had a harder time taking them out and would have had to worry about the legendary treasures being accidently destroyed."
"You played a huge part, Undead Portal Master," said Stormblade with a smile. "Everyone did."
"Yes," said Master Eon, looking proud of them all. "Thrillipede, will you help Isabel to the med bay?"
The Life pilot nodded and gently picked up the Undead Portal Master, carrying her to the med bay where Mags gave her a checkup. "Well, other than being tired, she's uninjured," said the inventor.
Rattle Shake came in. "And I'm going to make sure she gets the rest she needs," he said, scooping up his girl in his arms and hugging her. "You had me worried, my love."
"Sorry, hon," she said softly.
He smiled. "You were doing your job to protect Skylands, Izzy. I'd expect nothing less from the girl I love," he said, giving her a loving kiss that she returned while the others politely looked away.
Luminous then went up behind Mags and hugged her from behind. "I was having a wonderful dream about us having a picnic when we were rudely awoken," he said. "What do you say, my lovely inventor?"
"A picnic," Mags said with a smile. "I like the sound of that, as long as there are no pirates anywhere."
Nightshade looked over at them and felt something stir inside him and he looked over to see Tessa was talking with Master Eon nearby. He had begun falling for the spunky girl not long after Isabel had given him a chance to redeem himself and he remembered his quest for repentance some time back was to return the crown he had stolen from Woodburrow. He remembered he had hidden that crown in one of his secret locations and now quickly went there, grabbing the crown and getting an idea. Heading back to the Academy, he carefully snuck up behind Tessa and very gently placed the crown on her head without her noticing. Isabel saw him and smiled, but he silently gestured her to not say anything, giving her a pleading look. She gave a slight nod and he moved away, going to his room.
Tessa moved towards the door and felt something shift on her head and it felt a bit odd. Carefully reaching up, her eyes widened as she gently lifted the crown off her head and turned to the others, who were surprised, except Isabel. "The Woodburrow Crown," Tessa said. "But…Nightshade had stolen it."
"Looks like he might have returned it," Isabel said, smiling.
Master Eon nodded, also having seen Nightshade put the crown on Tessa's head. "He wished to return it to its proper place," he said, smiling. "No doubt wishing to surprise you by returning it."
The cat-like girl smiled and first went to Woodburrow to return the crown to where it truly belonged, and then went back to the Academy, seeking out Nightshade, who was currently watching a romance movie in his room. He liked good romance movies, which was something only Isabel knew. He saw the actors were about to kiss and he sighed. "I wish I could kiss Tessa," he said to himself, not knowing she was nearby and heard him. "She's so beautiful and…the prettiest gem I've ever seen."
Tessa just barely managed to hold her gasp at hearing that and smiled, seeing that the former villain really liked her and she went up to him, gently tapping his shoulder. Nightshade jumped in shock and turned sharply to find the one girl he was thinking about in front of him, but before he could even open his mouth, she surprised him by kissing him right on the mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck, but having to jump a little because he was taller than her. Quickly, Nightshade wrapped his arms around her and supported her back so that she was comfortably hanging onto him as she continued to kiss him, not breaking the kiss for some time. When she gently did, she smiled at him lovingly as he was in a daze. "Just like you imagined?" She asked.
He snapped out of his daze and suddenly leaned her into a dancing dip. "Way better than that," he said, kissing her again and making her hum happily.
"Well, it's about time," Luminous said, startling the two as he carried Mags, who was blushing, but laughing at the same time.
"Hey, you guys want to join us tomorrow for a picnic?" The inventor asked. "We'll make it a double date."
Nightshade smiled and looked at Tessa. "What do you think, my treasure?" He asked.
She blushed at the nickname. "I'd like that," she said.
The next day, they were enjoying a wonderful picnic in one of the meadows with a clear blue sky overhead thanks to the Superchargers flying around earlier to blow away any clouds and keep the enemies away. They were hovering near the Academy, watching the two couples discretely while making sure nothing ruined the couples' picnic.
Luminous and Mags then went for a swim while Nightshade and Tessa lay under a tree, happily relaxing. "So, Nighty, what made you decide to return the crown, hmm?" Tessa asked him.
Hearing the new nickname, he gulped a little bit nervously, although he did like the nickname. "Well…I…I was given a second chance and that was my redemption mission, so…I figured I'd go ahead and return it."
"By placing it on my head when I wasn't looking, hmm?"
Now he looked caught. "Um…," he trailed off, giving a nervous laugh, but Tessa giggled at seeing him flustered and kissed him, making him suddenly move and pin her gently to the ground and kiss her deeply. "I've got a gem worth more than all the treasure in Skylands."
"Oh?" She asked. "What is it?"
"Not a what, but a who," Nightshade said, cupping the left side of her face with a gentle hand. "You, my love."
Tessa blushed at that and giggled when he scooped her up and kissed her deeply while she held onto him and he held her close. She was the gem most precious to him and his love for her proved that.
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GoldGuardian2418