Disclaimer: I don't own Skylanders. That's owned by Activision. I only own my own twists on the plot and the Imaginators that you are about to see. Thank you that is all. Let us begin.
Skylanders: Imaginators
Cradle of Creation
In the magical world of Skylands, excitement was brewing at Skylander Academy.
Gill Grunt ran down the Academy stairs as fast as his webbed feet could carry him. "Hurry up, Keith! You don't want to miss this!"
Behind him, a young man in his early 20s was struggling to keep up. "Wait up, Gill!"
Soon they reached the spot where other Skylanders had gathered. Eruptor and Jet-Vac waved them over.
"Hey, guys," Keith panted.
"You look exhausted, Keith" Jet-Vac noted. "It wasn't that far from the Academy."
"I was resting from my training earlier," Keith argued, glaring at Gill Grunt. "Then Captain Haddock over here told me something about a race and left me in the dust."
"It's not my fault you're such a slowpoke," Gill Grunt retorted. "I didn't even use my water jets."
"That's enough!" Jet-Vac snapped. "Keith, you're a Portal Master now. That means that-"
"I'm the only hope for Skylands ever since the JTeens' deaths," Keith sighed, having heard the speech many times before. "I know, I know."
"And that's why you need to be at your fighting best," Jet-Vac replied. "So you must always expect to be pulled into action at a moment's notice."
"Hey, guys, it's starting!" Eruptor called.
Keith looked up and saw Spyro and Stealth Elf approaching the starting line where Pop Fizz was waiting.
"Alright, Stealth Elf," Spyro chuckled, landing next to Pop Fizz. "Try to keep up with me this time."
"Don't get too confident, Spyro," Stealth Elf responded. "I've got a new strategy this time."
Pop Fizz raised his arm. "On your mark... Get Set..." Grabbing a gulp of his potion, he transformed into his beast form before finishing, "GO!"
With that, the race began!
Spyro took to the air and flew after Stealth Elf, who was running down the street.
"Go, Spyro, go!" Gill Grunt cheered.
"Five hundred gold says that Stealth Elf will get there first," Keith said.
"Really, Keith, I'm so confident that Spyro will win this," Jet-Vac scoffed. "It's hardly worth gambling on that fact."
Keith turned to the Sky Baron with a smirk. "Six hundred then."
"You're on," Jet-Vac said without hesitation.
Further down the street, Spyro and Stealth Elf kept on racing. Ahead of them, Hugo was crossing the road, carrying books in each arm. Stealth Elf zipped past him, throwing him into a spin. As Spyro zoomed past, the Mabu collapsed in a heap, dropping the books.
Soon, they reached the flag that marked the halfway point of the race. Stealth Elf jumped onto the pole, spun around it and ran back up the road, while Spyro soared past it and turned to pursue her.
On the way back, they saw Flynn walking out a store with a pile of sandwiches, followed by Reina and Rita. Just as Flynn was about to dig in, he turned and saw the Skylanders running towards him. "Holy smokes, not my sandwiches!"
Without slowing down, Spyro and Stealth Elf raced past him, knocking the sandwiches out of his hands. Reina and Rita waved their hands and caught the sandwiches before they hit the ground. With a sigh of relief, Flynn grabbed one and held it close to his chest. "Easy there. Daddy's got you."
The Arkeyan twins sighed and shook their heads before running after the Skylanders.
"Look, here they come!" Eruptor called, pointing down the street.
Keith turned and saw Spyro sliding down the banister just ahead of Stealth Elf.
"Looks like I'm about to get richer," Jet-Vac cheered.
Keith was silently smiling to himself.
"Come on, Stealth Elf!" Spyro soared over the finish line then turned to the panting Life Skylander. "You can't win if you don't try."
"Who says I didn't try?"
"Huh?" Spyro turned around to see another Stealth Elf already at the finish line. He then turned back just in time to see the first Stealth Elf vanish with a laugh.
"You owe me six hundred gold, Jet-Vac," Keith smirked.
"Oh, dash it all!" Jet-Vac sighed, pulling out some jewels and handing them to Keith. "And I was saving that to upgrade to a Vac Blaster 9000 from Persephone."
Keith laughed as he ran up to Spyro. "Good try there, buddy. You almost had her there."
"Don't patronize me, Keith," Spyro scowled.
Suddenly with a crash of thunder, the clouds turned dark and a stream of dark magic shot into the Academy.
"What the...?" Keith gasped, watching the magic stream shooting towards him.
"Look out!" Stealth Elf cried, pushing Keith and Spyro aside before jumping out of the way.
The magical stream shot past them and disappeared into a nearby building.
Reina and Rita came running up at that moment. "What's going on?" Reina asked.
"Some dark magic just appeared out of nowhere," Keith replied.
"It went right into the library," Spyro added.
At that moment, the library doors shook like something was pounding them from the inside. Spyro and Stealth Elf braced themselves while Keith, Reina, and Rita raised their hands, ready to cast their spells.
Seconds later, the doors burst open and out jumped a huge purple Biclops creature wearing a spiky winged helmet and old armor and carrying a book in one hand.
"Whoa!" the twin Arkeyans gasped.
"What's that?" Spyro cried.
"I don't know," Stealth Elf replied, narrowing her eyes and drawing her daggers. "But I bet it doesn't have a library card."
"Let's burn that book-thief!" Keith yelled.
With a nod, Spyro took flight and flew around the Biclops, launching a fireball at him. The fireball struck the monster, but it didn't seem to burn him. With a laugh, the Biclops swung out at Spyro, narrowly missing the dragon.
"What?" Keith gasped.
Undaunted, Stealth Elf jumped in and swiped the Biclops with her daggers, teleporting around him to strike at all sides. But again, the Biclops was unharmed and with a stomp, he sent Stealth Elf flying.
Reina, Rita, and Keith each summoned a magic spell in their hands and threw them at the Biclops, but once more, the spells just bounced off him.
"Nothing's working!" Reina cried.
"What do we do now?" Keith yelled.
Just then, the dark clouds parted and three figures dropped out of the sky and landed in front of them. One was a wooden knight wearing a sleeveless vest and holding a glowing green sword. The second was a short ghoul with a pink ponytail holding a giant silver ax. And the third was a penguin with silver blades covering his flippers. All three figures wore black and gold armor or accessories and had golden karate belts tied around their waists.
Upon seeing the figures, the Biclops recoiled in terror, turned back into dark magic and disappeared into the sky.
As Keith turned to look at the newcomers, Stealth Elf's eyes lit up brighter than normal. "Masters, you've returned."
"Whoa, you know these guys?" Spyro breathed.
Ignoring him, Stealth Elf bowed to the three figures who bowed back in response.
"Okay," Keith said slowly. "What the heck is going on here?"
Just then, the world around him seemed to fade and he heard a familiar voice in his head. "Greetings, Portal Master Keith."
"Master Eon!" Keith gasped.
"Welcome back to Skylands, Keith," Eon said. "As you know by now, it is a magical land full of wonder and adventure. Long ago, the Ancients used the power of Mind Magic to create everything in our world."
Keith gasped in amazement as he saw a vision of the world of Skylands appearing out of nowhere. "Cool!"
"Indeed," Eon chuckled before his voice became serious. "But somehow, that power has been reawakened. As you have already seen, someone is using Mind Magic to create monsters, the likes of which have never been seen."
"So what am I supposed to do about it?" Keith asked.
"As a Portal Master, you must now use Mind Magic to create heroes of your own, to combat these unstoppable foes." Keith saw outlines for various Skylander heroes then he saw the three figures who'd chased off the Biclops. "And to help train them, I am sending you the greatest Skylander Senseis of all time. A great adventure awaits you, Keith. Good luck."
With that, the vision ended and Keith found himself back at the Academy.
"Are you alright?" Rita asked.
"Did Eon speak with you again?" Reina added.
"Yes, he said something about using Mind Magic to fight that monster," Keith replied confused. "But how am I supposed to do that?"
"You'll figure it out as you go," Reina replied. "But right now, you need to follow that creature."
Rita then handed him a bag. "Here. You'll need these on your quest."
Keith opened the bag to find it was full of crystals of different colors and shapes. "What am I supposed to do with these?" he asked.
"Those are your Creation Crystals," Reina said. "When the time is right, you will know what to do. Now go. Quintessa will help you get there."
Keith looked up and saw a yellow dragon flying towards the Academy, landing next to him. "Greetings, Portal Master. Spyro has already chased after that creature. He will soon reach the land known as the Cradle of Creation. Are you ready to meet him?"
"Let's do it," Keith replied, climbing onto Quintessa's back.
"Hold on tight!" Quintessa took to the air and flew away from the Academy, towards the start of Keith's adventure...
Meanwhile, Spyro had arrived at a mountain surrounded by a misty jungle and was now soaring around the perimeter.
"Okay, I've tracked that mysterious book stealing bad guy to this equally mysterious place," he said to himself. "Master Eon said that Keith would meet me here so that we could stop him."
He then spotted the Biclops standing by the base of the mountain. "Fat chance, Spyro," the monster yelled. "I'm totally invincible!" And with an evil laugh, he disappeared into a doorway in the mountainside.
"Strange that we can hear each other from this distance," Spyro chuckled before landing in a clearing in the forest.
"Hey there, Spyro!"
At that call, Spyro turned and saw a yellow dragon flying towards him, carrying Keith on her back. "Hey, Quintessa! What brings you to Skylands?"
"The Arkeyans sent me to bring Keith over here," she replied, landing next to Spyro. "And to lend my assistance in stopping that monster."
"Great," Spyro said. "So Keith, you ready to protect Skylands once again?"
"You bet!" Keith replied.
"Then summon a Skylander so we can get this show on the road."
Keith nodded then he focused his powers, creating four beams of light in front of him, out of which his chosen Skylanders emerged.
First to appear was the penguin that he had seen earlier, who raised his armored flippers. "Stay Frosty!"
Next came a short blue creature wearing gold lined black armor, who raised his arm for a magnificent blue falcon to land on. "Fight and Flight!"
The third Skylander appeared as a spinning orange tornado, before stopping to reveal an orange bandicoot wearing fingerless gloves, blue jeans, and red sneakers, and giving a double thumbs-up. "Yahoo!"
Finally, there came a giant, dripping wet, living mummy with a blue stone head, arms, and legs. "A Watery Grave Awaits!"
"Whoa!" Spyro gasped. "Good choice!"
"Thanks," Keith replied uncertainly. "So, um, who are these guys?"
The penguin spoke up first. "My name is King Pen. As you know, Keith, I am a Sensei which is A; awesome, and B; means I can train your Imaginators. And as for Brawlers like me, I can teach them a special secret technique."
"Nice to meet you, King Pen," Keith said.
Then the smaller creature with the falcon said, "Hello Keith, I'm Air Strike. Do you wanna give your Imaginators a shot at the title? Well, let me at 'em, I'll make them tough. And to be even tougher, they need to learn this secret technique for Brawlers. Just thought you should know if King Pen didn't explain that bit the first time."
Keith looked at the bandicoot briefly before turning to the mummy. "You must be Grave Clobber. The Trap Masters told me about you."
"Yes," Grave Clobber replied. "I have risen from the grave, Keith, and I am ready to teach your Imaginators how to clobber. And if you've got a Brawler for me, I can help King Pen and Air Strike teach them this Secret Technique that will lift their spirits."
Keith then turned back to the bandicoot. "So, what's your name them?
The bandicoot tried to speak, but everyone could only hear gibberish.
"Uh, does anyone know what he's saying?" Keith asked.
Spyro, Quintessa, and the other Senseis shrugged.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," came a new voice, but not from the bandicoot.
"Who said that?" Keith asked.
In response, a magical voodoo mask with colorful feathers on its head appeared. "Fear not, Portal Master Keith. I, the wise Aku Aku, will act as translator for Crash Bandicoot, and assist in making your Imaginators more powerful than ever! If you have Imaginators from the Brawler Class, Crash would like to help King Pen, Air Strike and Grave Clobber train them in a secret technique. I'm sure it is quite amazing."
"Okay, nice to meet you, Crash and Aku Aku," Keith replied, shaking the bandicoot's hand. "Now let's go find that Biclops."
"Good luck, guys," Quintessa told them. "I'll be waiting for you when you're done."
"See you later," Keith replied as he led the Skylanders into the jungle.
"So what is this place anyway?" Spyro asked, flying over Keith and the Senseis.
"This is the Primordial Plateau," King Pen explained. "We must pass through it and into the jungle if we are to reach the Cradle of Creation."
So Keith and the Skylanders made their way through the jungle. Along the way, they cleared some obstacles, collected some gold and fought off some wild Chompies before they reached a clearing.
"We've arrived at the Voracious Clearing," King Pen said.
"Careful, guys," Air Strike warned. "There's a Chomp Pod nearby."
While the Senseis dealt with the Pod and any Chompies that it spat out, Keith approached a door at the back of the clearing, noting the lock on it. "Looks like we can't go in just yet. Perhaps we'll find the key in that cave over there."
With the Pod gone, the team headed into the cave where they found a huge wheel and Spyro holding a key in his hand. "Check it out," he cried, pointing to a purple chest on a platform. "It's an Imaginite chest."
"Imaginite chest?" Keith asked.
"Imaginite chests contain Mind Magic that can be used to create amazing Imaginators," Spyro explained. "See if you can find a way to lower the platform."
Crash Bandicoot jumped onto the wheel and ran like a giant orange hamster, lowering the platform down. Keith opened the chest and pulled out a glowing blue crystal the size of a baseball. "What now?"
"Break it open and see," Grave Clobber replied.
Keith dropped the crystal on the ground and smashed it with his foot. Suddenly, he saw a vision of a huge metal Roman Sword floating before him. "Neat!"
"Sweet Weapon," Spyro cheered, handing him the key. "Time to head back to the door."
Once outside, Keith opened the gate and the team took the bounce pad up to the next area, the Cliffs of Emergence. After collecting more treasure, finding the Soul Gem of the Life Knight, Ambush, and pushing some stone blocks to cross, the team set off into the next area, pushing a stone ball to clear the way to Stone Hollow.
"Water Skylanders are stronger here," Eon's voice announced.
"Okay," Keith said. "King Pen, Grave Clobber, you take the lead."
"Right-o," King Pen replied, charging at the Chompies and Top-Chops that had appeared.
"I shall bury you!" Grave Clobber yelled, grabbing a Top-Chop and drop-kicking it away.
Once the enemies were gone, Air Strike and Crash pushed the ball into a nearby hole, creating a bridge.
On the other side of the bridge, they discovered a floating pair of hands surrounding a metal sphere in the middle of the room.
"Whoa, a Brawler Shrine!" Spyro breathed in awe.
"What does it do?" Keith asked.
"Allow me to demonstrate," King Pen replied, stepping forward.
"You might wanna give him some space," Spyro warned.
Keith stood back with the other Skylanders to watch.
As King Pen drew closer, the hands around the ball floated forward and clenched into a fist pounding an open palm. King Pen raised his flippers in a combat pose. "Enter the Penguin!"
In response, the Shrine sent the hands out to attack King Pen, one in a jab and one in a karate chop. The Sensei leader blocked the jab with his flipper and jumped past the chop then he charged at the orb and uppercut it into the sky.
Keith heard a beep on his wrist communicator and looked at the message. "'King Pen's Sky-Chi unlocked.' What's Sky-Chi?"
"It's a Sensei's ultimate attack," King Pen replied, stepping away from the Shrine. "It allows us to do massive damage on multiple enemy waves."
"Does that mean all the Senseis can do that?" Keith asked.
"Yes, but only after we unlock our Sky-Chi powers at the Shrines like I did at this Brawler Shrine."
"So if those guys are also Brawlers, does that mean that all of you have your powers?"
"I'm afraid not," Spyro replied. "Each of the Brawler Senseis has to open the shrine and it's just regenerated."
Keith turned and saw that the orb had returned behind the hands. "Alright, who's up next?"
"I shall go next," Air Strike said, taking his place.
As the hands clenched into its challenging pose again, Air Strike and his bird seemed to doubt the Shrine's message, but then they stood ready to attack. The first fist swung forward to attack, but the Sensei jumped aside, causing it to get stuck in the ground.
"Alright, Birdie," Air Strike cried. "Let's finish it!"
Air Strike ran over the trapped fist while Birdie flew around it. As the Second fist attacked, Air Strike deflected it with an air kick before landing on Birdie and striking the orb together.
"Air Strike's Sky-Chi unlocked," Keith announced. "You're up, Crash!"
As the Shrine regenerated, Crash took Air Strike's place. When the gesture came up again, the bandicoot smiled then spun around and jumped into a dramatic pose. And the hands chose that moment to attack.
"Look out!" Keith yelled.
"Ooga Booga!" Aku Aku appeared in front of Crash, blocking the attack. As the other fist came down, Crash rolled under it and kicked the artifact up into the sky.
"Crash Bandicoot's Sky-Chi unlocked," Keith said. "That was way too close, by the way, Crash."
Crash gibbered seemingly in protest.
"Keith's got a point, Crash," Aku Aku argued. "Still you did manage to pull it together."
"Now it's my turn," Grave Clobber declared, stepping up.
As the newly regenerated Shrine did its pose for the last time, Grave Clobber spotted a blue glowing beetle at his feet. The Shrine then delivered its first attack on the mummy, with little effect, except that the bug flew away. Suddenly, Grave Clobber flew into a frustrated rampage and grabbed the Shrine's own fist, using it to push the other one away and slam the device into the air.
"Wow!" Keith gasped. "I always thought Grave Clobber was a fighter, not a lover."
"True," Grave Clobber replied. "But I have great respect for small creatures like the beetle you saw earlier."
"No kidding," Keith said. "Anyway, everyone's Sky-Chi is unlocked. Let's keep going."
With that, the team set off to the Balcony of Formation where they fought off more Chompies and Chompy Pods. As soon as the enemies were defeated, the ground suddenly began to shake.
"Are you feeling this?" Spyro asked.
The ground shook a bit more before it finally gave way.
"Yikes!" Keith gasped as they landed in front of a glowing purple door that opened before them.
"Whoa," Spyro breathed as he flew down to join them. "This is it, guys. The Entrance to that super-ancient place."
"In we go," King Pen announced, leading the way.
They entered a vast chamber where they found four level star orbs that gave enough energy for all four Brawler Senseis to level up. Then they entered the next area, the Maze of the Mind, and began to navigate it.
"Whoa, who puts a big maze right in the middle of their fortress?" Spyro asked, flying over their heads. "Oh yeah, I guess the Ancients did. Maybe as a way to confuse solicitors or something?"
"How do we get out of this?" Keith asked.
"Those buttons over there seem to be important," Aku Aku replied, hovering over one on the ground. "Step on that one."
Keith did so and the wall in front of him spun around, revealing the way forward.
"Wow, you are a-maze-ing at this!" Spyro laughed. "I'm sorry, I had to."
"You're lucky that you can fly over it or I'd kill you for that joke," Keith snapped. "Now shut up and let us work."
After a few more twists and turns, they finally escaped the maze and entered the Circle of Ascension.
"Senseis are stronger here," Eon announced as they approached a glowing gold gong.
"Whoa, here's an ancient Battle Gong!" Spyro cried, hovering over it. "Senseis bang these magical gongs to summon intense fights. I've heard the rewards are sweet, but you have to be a Sensei."
"King Pen, perhaps you would like to show Keith why you're the leader of the Senseis?" Aku Aku asked.
"I'd be honored," King Pen replied, stepping up to the Gong.
"Stand back, Keith," Grave Clobber said, pushing Keith aside. "This is about to be cool."
With a swing of his armored flipper, King Pen struck the gong, making it ring. "Gong Battle, begin!"
Beams of red light shot up around the arena, cutting King Pen off from Keith and the other Senseis. The first waves consisted of Chompies and Top-Chops, which fell easily to King Pen's attacks. Then came several Missile Guardians, giant robots that shot rockets at the Sensei.
"Watch out!" Keith called.
King Pen jumped around the missiles then turned to the Guardians. "Let's finish this quick! Sensei power! Sky-Chi: Ice to Meet You and You!"
The Sensei leader's body began to glow blue and he zoomed across the arena, smashing the robots into scrap and ending the battle.
"Fortune favors the cold!" King Pen cheered.
"That was incredible!" Keith cried.
The red lights faded and a huge pile of gold appeared, topped with another Imaginite Chest. While King Pen took the treasure, Keith opened the chest, smashed the Imaginite and gained a new piece; a pair of Diver Legs. "Hmm..."
"What are you thinking, Keith?" Air Strike asked.
"I think I know what I'm supposed to do with these pieces," Keith replied. "I'm going to need some more Imaginite, though."
"We might find some on the way," Aku Aku said. "Let's go."
As the team approached the three doors by the edge of the circle, one of them slid open.
"Legend has it that there's an Imaginite Chest at the end of each of these paths," Spyro explained.
"How could you know that if you'd never heard of this place before now?" Keith asked.
"Oh, I read it on one of the signs back there," Spyro admitted, making the Portal Master face-palm.
The team entered the first cavern, the Puzzle of the Id, where they found a row of floating bounce pads, above which floated three green disks. "I think we need to grab those disks to escape this room," Keith guessed. "Crash, Air Strike, go for it!"
The chosen Senseis leapt onto the bounce pads and were launched up towards the disks. Crash and Air Strike each grabbed one and Birdie swooped higher to catch the last one, which opened the exit door.
As they passed through the door, they found another Imaginite Chest, from which Keith unlocked some Driftwood Arm Guards, before taking the teleporter back to the Circle of Ascension.
The second door opened which led the team to the Path of Adaptation. This path had a series of moving platforms which the team crossed with great care. Along the way, they collected more treasure and Keith found another Soul Gem for an Earth Sensei named Barbella. At the end of the path, they found yet another Imaginite Chest which held a pair of Squire's Leg Greaves.
"One more piece to go," Keith announced as they teleported back to the Circle.
The final door opened and the team set off into the next area, the Bridge of Regression. Here, they found a series of bridges each with two platforms rising up and down between the gaps. On the first bridge, Keith and Grave Clobber took the closest platforms down where Keith picked up a Selfie Frame while Grave Clobber cleared away some Chompies. Crash meanwhile went down the furthest platform and picked up a Soul Gem for the Sorcerer Imaginators.
The team continued along the Bridge, picking up gold and fighting off Chompies as they went until they dropped down to where an Imaginite Chest waited, this one containing a pair of Driftwood Pauldrons Shoulder Guards. As Keith received that piece, a purple Imaginite Crystal appeared in his hand and he broke it to reveal an Ornate Shield.
"Looks like you found a complete set of parts," King Pen observed. "Every time a set is finished, you'll gain an extra rare part to build your Imaginator."
"And we finished all the paths," Air Strike added. "Let's head back to the Circle."
When they teleported back, they found a bounce pad which lifted them up to a new area, the Visualization Chamber.
"Imaginators are stronger here," Eon's voice announced.
"Imaginators, huh?" Keith asked. "So that's what those parts are for."
"So, Keith, ready to make your first Imaginator?" King Pen asked.
"I guess so," Keith replied. "But how do I do that?"
"That bag Rita gave you," King Pen said. "It should have what you need to start."
Keith reached into the bag and took out a red Creation Gem. "I'm guessing this represents the Fire Element. So what next?"
"Just think about the parts you collected," Aku Aku advised. "Then let your imagination do the rest."
Keith stepped back, closed his eyes and focused with all his might. In his mind, he could see the part he'd found, plus several more. 'So much to choose from,' he thought. 'Here goes nothing...'
Opening his eyes, he threw out the Creation Crystal and cast his spell. The Crystal flashed white and formed into a humanoid shape, holding a Trusty Sword. Keith raised his hands and summoned a Hooded Mystery head, a Buckles and Belts chest, two Shell Arms and a pair of Deep Sea Legs to form the body. Then with a wave of his left hand, he attached the Driftwood Pauldrons, the Driftwood Arm Guards, and the Squire's Leg Greeves to create the armor. Finally, with a swing of his right hand, he removed the Trusty Sword and replaced it with the Roman Sword he'd found outside.
"Fire Knight Imaginator created!" Keith called, ending the spell.
"Can't stop my sword!" the new Skylander announced in a warrior's voice, raising his weapon above his head.
"Congratulations, Keith!" King Pen cheered. "You've just created your very own Skylander."
Keith nodded and approached the Imaginator. "I am Keith, your creator. Please identify yourself."
"I am Sir Hoodington," the Imaginator replied. "And I am ready to battle."
"Glad to hear it, Sir Hoodington," Keith said. "You can take the lead for this area."
With a nod, Sir Hoodington charged into the enemies that appeared in the room, fighting them off with sword attacks and fireballs.
"The Mind Magic is especially powerful in this ancient place," Spyro noted once the enemies were defeated. "Guess that's 'cuz the Ancients invented it, huh? But, if you can focus that power, you might just be able to make a bridge with it."
Keith and Sir Hoodington looked at each other and nodded. Then they raised their hands and summoned four floating slabs towards the edge of the Chamber, forming a bridge to the next area where Sir Hoodington opened the next treasure chest.
After crossing another bridge, they found another Imaginite chest. But when Keith opened this one, a snail emerged and started crawling around the area, dropping glowing crystal shards.
"Quickly, Keith!" Grave Clobber shouted. "Collect all those Imaginite shards before the snail disappears!"
"I'll get them!" Sir Hoodington ran after the snail, collecting all the shards as he did. By the time he'd gotten them all, he had caught up to the snail, who turned back into the chest.
"That snail was pretty fast, ironically," Keith panted, having caught up to the Imaginator. He then opened the chest and collected the shelled tail inside the Crystal.
"Looks like we've reached the end of the Cradle," King Pen announced, pointing to a platform on the other side of the gap.
Once Keith and Sir Hoodington created another bridge with their Mind Magic, the team ran across to the final area, the Eye of Mastery. Just then, they heard a familiar evil laughter and they turned to see a platform rising up in the middle of the Eye, on which stood a certain Evil Portal Master.
"Ah, what do you know? It's Kaos," Spyro said nonchalantly.
"Oh, you better believe it, stupids," Kaos retorted. "And this time, I've got something up my sleeve that not even you fools can stop. Doomlanders!"
Right on cue, the Biclops creature stomped into view.
"You!" Keith yelled as the Senseis raised their fists.
Ignoring them, the Biclops bowed down to Kaos and handed him the book he'd stolen from the Academy library. "Here is the book, master."
"Awesome," Kaos said, taking it.
"What are you up to, Kaos?" Keith demanded. "Why did you send your goon to take that book?"
"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," Kaos retorted. "And now that I have it, I will use its knowledge to make you even stronger than before, to defeat our uninvited guests."
So saying, Kaos fired a beam of light from his head at the Biclops. Keith gasped as pieces of armor formed on the Biclops' arms, shoulders, and feet and a staff made of bones appeared in his left hand.
"Sorcerer Doomlander," Kaos cried. "Let those Skylosers know who's boss! Speak the words that will bring fear into their hearts, before their DOOM!"
The Sorcerer Doomlander hovered into the air and clenched his fist. "Be afraid of the Bananas."
Crash and Air Strike burst out laughing.
"Huh?" Kaos looked confused then shook his head. "Whatever, kill them!"
"Keith, against that Doomlander, we are no match, even with our Sky-Chi," Aku Aku told him. "You and Sir Hoodington are the only ones who can stop Kaos' evil Mind Magic."
"We're counting on you, guys," Air Strike called as more red lights appeared, locking the Senseis out. "Now kick that Biclops' butt!"
Keith nodded and turned to Sir Hoodington. "Attack!"
"For Skylands!" Sir Hoodington cried, charging towards the Doomlander.
"Oh no, not an Imaginator! They're so strong against my Doomlanders!" Kaos quickly cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, never mind."
The Doomlander raised his wand and fired some electric orbs, driving Sir Hoodington back. Keith quickly fired a spell at the Doomlander, catching his attention. Sir Hoodington chose that moment to swing his sword out, dealing some huge amount of damage. After a few hits, the shoulder pauldrons broke off from the Doomlander's armor.
"Nice one, Keith!" King Pen cheered. "You've knocked off one of his pieces. Keep it up!"
At that moment, Kaos looked up from the book he'd been reading. "Hmm, according to this, I can use Mind Magic to make this Doomlander stronger by giving him a new Secret Technique. Think I'll do that."
With that, Kaos fired another beam at the Doomlander, who then shot out a larger, slower moving orb. Keith and Sir Hoodington dodged aside just before the orb exploded. The Doomlander then went back to shooting his earlier attack. Keith fired his pistol at the orbs to prevent serious damage then Sir Hoodington summoned meteors to crash down on the Doomlander, knocking off his leg armor.
"Yes!" Grave Clobber shouted. "You're almost there, Keith!"
"Hmm," Kaos scowled, flicking through the pages. "Whoever wrote this Book clearly had no idea how stupid and annoying you stupid, annoying Skylanders can be. But maybe THIS will be enough to deal with your stupidity!"
After the Doomlander received another empowerment, he slammed his staff into the ground, summoning some Top-Chops to attack.
"I'll hold them off," Keith ordered, drawing his twin swords. "You just take out the Doomlander."
Keith charged at the Top-Chops, blocking their attacks before cutting them down. Sir Hoodington meanwhile ran towards the Doomlander, dodging his other attacks. As he drew closer, the Doomlander threw his hand out, knocking the Imaginator back with a wave of psychic energy.
"Now I've got you, Skylander!" the Doomlander laughed, raising his staff to finish him off.
But at the last second, Keith jumped onto his arm and grabbed the staff, pulling it away from Sir Hoodington.
"Get off me, you little pest!" the Doomlander snapped, reaching up to yank at Keith.
While he was distracted, Sir Hoodington raised his sword, channeling his energy into it, then slammed it onto the ground, sending out a powerful shockwave. Quickly, Keith dived out of the way, just before the Doomlander was hit by the shockwave, exploding in a burst of light.
"We did it!" Keith cheered.
Kaos gasped in horror as the forcefield around him disappeared. "My beautiful Doomlander!" He then turned to Keith and Sir Hoodington with an angry scowl. "No matter. Now that I have this book, I will learn how to make awesomely perfect Doomlanders which will surely spell doom for you Skylanders. D-O-O-M! See I just spelled it. Kaos Away!"
With a burst of magic and another round of nasty laughter, Kaos flew out of the Cradle.
Spyro sighed and shook his head. "Classic Kaos."
"All the same, he now has the ability to create evil monsters with that book," Aku Aku pointed out. "We should prepare ourselves for his next move, whatever that may be."
"In the meantime, we've managed to collect the pieces we knocked off the Doomlander, plus a couple of other little tricks," Air Strike said, holding up a handful of Imaginite Crystals. "Keith could use those for his next Imaginator."
"Thanks, guys," Keith told the Senseis. "I couldn't have done this mission without you."
"Most of that was on you, Keith," King Pen replied. "You were the one who created Sir Hoodington. All we did was show you the way."
"That reminds me, nice job out there, buddies," Spyro said to Sir Hoodington. "You and Keith were pretty good at defeating those Doomlander, so in my book, that makes you pretty cool."
"Speaking of books, we'd better get back to Quintessa and then meet up with Stealth Elf back at the Academy," Keith replied, leading the team back the way they'd come. "Whatever Kaos is up to with all that mind magic, it's probably not good for Skylands."
Author's Note: What do you think? Please read and review. by the way this was edited by BentleyGirl and she's a talented author.