Hello everyone, and welcome to the world of Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders! Before the story starts, I should note that this story is very canon-divergent. As a whole, this is something of a reimagining of the Skylanders games, and in keeping with this later elements will diverge somewhat from canon or will be primarily based on personal headcanons. So if things don't completely match up with canon, that's why. Anyways, onto the story!
Hidden away in the center of the universe is a world known as the Skylands. The Skylands are a numberless archipelago of islands that float in a sea of blue sky. Magic flows through every being in its vast realms, from the plants and animals to the minerals and sheep, and adventure lied around every corner.
Nothing is what it seems, and every day is like a fantasy.
As beautiful as they seem, the Skylands are far from the utopia one may have imagined—for they are constantly under attack from all kinds of evil. After all, from Skylands, you can have access to any place in the universe—and anyone who vies for world conquest, worldwide destruction or any other widescale plan will definitely make it their first stop.
But thankfully, this world is not defenseless by any means.
The portal masters, powerful beings who can control magical portals and have magical abilities far beyond anyone's imagination, have defended Skylands alongside the Skylanders—inhabitants of Skylands who have pledged their lives to protecting their home alongside the portal masters—for as long as anyone could remember.
Among those portal master was Master Eon, current guardian of Skylands and possibly one of the greatest portal masters of all time. For years he has dutifully defended Skylands alongside his Skylanders, and under his watchful eyes Skylands has entered an era of peace.
But this era was soon to end, as Eon was now the last good portal master on Skylands and very weak due to his old age. Despite his best efforts, his worst fears continue to haunt him—evil will prevail over good, and Skylands will be the first to suffer the fallout.
And much to his horror, those fears came true one day…
§
It was a peaceful day in the Skylands—or at least, it started out like one. Children played outside, workers enjoyed their lunch breaks, and all took in the beautiful day. The sun shone bright as ever, cares were cast aside in favor of rest and reprieve, and the number of fears and worries that seemingly everyone held were as non-existent as clouds in the never-ending skies… Well, save for one ominous, smoky, dark gray cloud that lingered in the sky like an unwanted insect.
On the heralded island known as Ancient's Peak, which bustled with life despite the lackadaisical nature of the day, a man stared up at the skies from his citadel with a deepening frown and tightened hands.
This man had blue eyes, pale, wrinkled skin, a large nose and a long, snow white beard, and he wore a light blue gown, a blue Viking-esque helmet with six horns, and a pale blue sash decorated with the symbols of each Skylandian element. All around him resonated a faint air of awe and power, as if one was in the presence of a king or other sort of leader.
"Master Eon!" shouted a furry brown mole who wore an oversized green jacket and thick-rimmed black glasses as he ran up to the man, "Those clouds! They look strange, is something wrong?"
"Hugo," Master Eon answered as he looked down at Hugo, "When have you known dark, boiling, ominous clouds to be a good thing?"
Hugo bit his lip as he glazed over the smoky clouds, which only grew larger and smokier by the second.
"Er, that's true, Master—"—Hugo looked up and leaped back with a scream—"—WHAT IN SKYLANDS IS THAT?!"
Alarmed by Hugo's shock, Master Eon whipped his head around and fixed his eyes on the skies once more. As he watched the smoky clouds expand, he noticed a dark blue light shimmer in existence before it formed into a large, holographic head!
This large head was a bright blue in color, with pupil-less eyes, a hooded head with no sign of hair, and a tattooed face. Its features brimmed with a blend of malevolence and sheer pride, and all around it resided a presence of pure evil.
"Tremble before me, Eon!" Ordered the head, its voice menacing and booming, "I have come once again to destroy the Core of Light! And this time, nothing can stop me!"
"That is what you said the last thirty times, Kaos," Eon exclaimed back with a worn voice, "Or was it fifty? I lost count,"—Eon paused to clear his throat—"But either way, we have stopped you every time and will continue to do so!"
Master Eon wrapped one wrinkly hand around the metal balcony and reached out his other hand.
"It doesn't have to be this way, Kaos. You can turn back from evil, you can take a different path! It'll be much better for all of us!"
For a moment, Kaos paused. He pursed his lips in contemplation as he overlooked Master Eon's concerned figure and Hugo's trembling, terrified one before he broke out into a smirk.
"Hmmm… How. About. NO!" Kaos cackled once more, "I'VE WANTED THIS FOR FAR TOO LONG, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME FROM GETTING IT!"
As these words left Kaos's mouth, creatures of all kinds appeared on the island's front lawn in a heartbeat—brawny elves, stocky trolls, lanky cyclopes with sharp axes and spears… Whatever you could name, it was probably there.
Master Eon only pursed his lips as he gripped the railing of his balcony tight.
"Hugo, send for the Skylanders immediately!" Master Eon ordered with clammy hands and darting eyes.
Hugo nodded with the utmost of urgency before he raced back within the citadel's walls, slammed a bright red button on a podium and dove down an inconspicuous hole.
"Fine then! If you want to fight, Kaos, then we shall!" Master Eon glared towards Kaos, only for his serious gaze to change to a puzzled frown. "And why is your head so big? It looks ridiculous!"
§
Trapped within the thick, smoky clouds was a giant, floating castle decked out to the nines in all sorts of evil decor. Intimidating stone towers crafted with luminescent blue stone, an imposing decked in spiky thorns, windows that glared with an ominous yellow light. However, the most evil things resided not around this castle, but within.
There, Kaos sat and orchestrated his grand, master plan—well, if he wasn't busy arguing with Master Eon, that is.
"WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT MY GIANT FLOATING HEAD! IT TOOK ME ALL WEEK TO PERFECT IT, YOU FOOLISH FOOL WITH NO APPRECIATION FOR FINER MAGIC! FEAR IT, FEAR IT I TELL YOU!" shouted Kaos as he violently pointed at his portal.
As it turned out, Kaos was nothing alike the malevolent picture he painted—for he was actually a bald and dumpy man with sickly, pale skin. His eyes were cherry red with a black masklike tattoo around them, and his forehead bore teal, triangular tattoos all pointed towards a sole circle. At the time, he only wore a simple black robe and a scowl. Who could believe someone like him was the one behind all this?
"I told you it wasn't scary enough, master, but did you believe me?" said a lanky, green-skinned troll who wore tattered clothing as they swept the floors next to Kaos.
"Nobody asked you, Glumshanks." Kaos growled as he whipped his head around and glared at Glumshanks, "Now stop it. You're ruining the mood."
Glumshanks only sighed as he swept the floors once more.
Kaos, meanwhile, turned his head around to gaze back into his portal as his frown slowly faded.
"That fool Eon though he could get rid of me by banishing me to the Outlands, but he was wrong!" Kaos cackled as loud, a sense of pure excitement in his voice.
"So. Very. Wrong."
§
It had been an ordinary enough day for Spyro. There were no major missions, no supervillains with apocalyptic plans of destruction, not even the usual obnoxious Chompy calls they got seemingly every single day.
He and his friend Gill Grunt had been discussing what to do with their day just that afternoon, even.
The two of them sat on a grassy ledge on the island's outskirts, time taken to absorb the rare peace they had for that moment. There, they watched the birds fly in the infinite skies and waves crash on the beach while boredom encapsulated their minds.
"We could go swimming," Spyro offered while he looked at Gill with a smile.
"We went swimming yesterday, Spyro," Gill said as he gave Spyro a quizzical look back.
"I don't remember doing that." Spyro's eyes lit up, "Oh wait, we did do that. How about going to the lava pits?"
"My scales always dry out when we go there."
"What about fishing?" Spyro blushed as he hung his head, shame in his golden eyes, "Oh, right, you're a fish, not the best idea. Sorry."
"It's okay, Spy." Gill just made a gentle smile and patted Spyro's back.
Hearing that, Spyro beamed and looked back up at Gill.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Gill didn't get to answer.
Right as Spyro said this, sirens blared all around like the end of the world was upon them and almost made all the color drain from their faces. It couldn't be…
"We've gotta go, now!" Spyro exclaimed as he leaped into the skies and soared off as fast as he could.
§
It took them a few minutes, but Spyro and Gill Grunt had arrived at the heart of the island, and the scenario had changed greatly. All around them, the light had faded and the sky churned with thick dark gray clouds. Monsters of all kinds sprouted out of nowhere and ravaged whatever they could. The whole island had been turned to a war zone.
"What happened here?!" Spyro exclaimed while his head swerved back and forth, "Those look like…"—Spyro breathed in, heaved a loud groan and moaned—"Don't tell me it's HIM again."
"Looks like it, Spyro!" Gill shouted before he looked to his side, "WATCH OUT!"
Gill whipped out a water cannon filled with scalding water and blasted a large, muscular drow soldier that barreled their way with it. With a wipe of his brow and a sigh of relief, Gill turned around and watched as all around them the monsters fixed their eyes on him and Spyro.
"They're practically everywhere!" Spyro exclaimed before he furrowed his brow and bared his teeth.
In moments, Spyro's eyes flashed from gold to a pure, resonant yellow while he bounded into the sky and stared down his foes. Once he was safely airborne, his body glowed with a powerful light that turned into a flashbang which enveloped the entire fifty-foot radius!
In that momentary confusion, Spyro grabbed Gill Grunt by Gill's backpack and flew off as fast as one could. His whole heart pounded with some mixture of adrenaline and uncertainty, but that was not to be acknowledged—he had to get to safety first.
As the light he crafted faded away, Spyro saw a large, magical shield that covered the island's heart and made a fang-filled beam. With not a moment wasted, he raced inside and let go of Gill Grunt before he himself sat down and breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, none of their enemies had gotten inside—it was just him, Gill Grunt and all the other Skylanders, gathered with breath bated. Towered over them was the Core of Light—a large machine with a green domelike covering that blasted a bright stream of light from its top.
Good, the Core's safe too, Spyro thought as he looked at the Core with a genuine smile of relief, If Kaos destroyed it, we'd be done for.
As Gill came to his senses, Spyro flew across the crowd before he seated himself in front of Core and spread his wings.
"Skylanders!" Spyro addressed as he stood tall and firm, "We've got a code red on our hands, meaning our worst fear has come true—Kaos has come to destroy the Core, and he's brought an army."
Gasps and whispers were heard all around as Spyro twitched in place before he spoke once more.
"However, we're not just gonna sit around and let him get away with it, are we?" Spyro asked while a smile crawled across his lips.
"NO WAY!" shouted the crowd of Skylanders.
"That's what I like to hear!" Spyro's small smile grew wider by the second, "We're not going to go down without a fight, and if Kaos thinks that this'll be a piece of cake, well…"—Spyro flared out his wings and took to the skies as his eyes glinted red—"Then he's got another thing coming!"
And with cheers and battle cries all around, the barrier went down and the Skylanders all went to battle!
Spyro took to the skies and dove among the crowds. As he swept down, he charged a bright flame within his mouth before he blasted down the villains with scorching hot bursts of fire.
"FOR SKYLANDS!" He cried, as did the Skylanders around him.
Meanwhile on the ground, the Skylanders all went to battle! Fire shot up from the ground while volts of lightning fell from the sky. Battle cries shouted out all around, and each one resounded with the sounds of clanging metal and weapons shattering.
This meant war.
Spyro looked down and saw the Skylanders swatting down their enemies like flies. As he watched them sucked, a smirk stretched across his face as confidence swelled in his heart.
"SPYRO, LOOK OUT!" shouted a raspy voice from behind him.
Spyro whipped around and saw pitch-black lightning bolts shoot a large winged beast out of the skies. Not moments later, a thin, violet and red dragoness with silver horns flew to his side with eyes trained on the cloudy skies.
"Thanks Cynder!" Spyro shouted over the chaos of battle, "That was a close one!"
"You can thank me later," Cynder spat out as she flew off, "Kaos's sending in reinforcements, and they're coming in fast! We're gonna need backup!"
"Got it!" Spyro shouted as he flew behind Cynder.
As he followed her, Spyro looked down at the other Skylanders once more while they battered away at Kaos's minions.
"Fear the fish!" Gill Grunt proclaimed as he shot out giant, anchor-sized harpoon from his gun and watched them graze down an entire platoon of trolls.
As he admired his handiwork, Gill felt a large shadow impose over him and whipped around in a second to see a brawny drow soldier tower over him! Before he could ready his cannon and fire, however, a giant pot of golden coins bonked the drow on the head and caused it to topple down.
"Got'cha covered, Gill!" Shouted an auburn and cream colored gremlin that wielded twin golden pistols in their hands as they leaped onto the fallen soldier's back.
"Good timing, Trigger Happy!" Gill gave Trigger Happy a thumbs up, "You really saved my scales!"
Trigger Happy didn't reply—he instead turned around and shot off a round of shiny golden coins at an oncoming flock of goblins, all while giggling with unadulterated glee.
Gill only shrugged with a smile, then jiggled his backpack and shot into the air, propelled by a hard-pouring cascade of steaming hot water. As he clutched his harpoon gun tight, he flew off and joined a dark gray and cream colored anthropomorphic shark and a bright red monster made entirely of bubbling, red-hot magma and volcanic stone.
"Terrafin, Eruptor! How's the situation over here?"
"Not good, Gilll," shouted back the monster as they flung a gigantic blog of magma at an oncoming wave of spell punks, "There's too many of these guys! The more we beat, the more show up!"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about, Eruptor!" Exclaimed the shark with a resounding crack from their brass knuckle-covered fists, "I'm having the time of my life!"
"Easy for you to say, Terrafin!" Eruptor exclaimed as he felt something latch onto his head, screamed and hacked up a stream of bubbling magma.
Before anyone else could react, something completely invisible to the naked eye flew through the skies and snatched the guilty culprit—a tiny, rabid gremlin—off of Eruptor's head. That something landed on their feet in moments and stood tall with the gremlin hanging from their grasp by its ear.
"Thought you could get away from me, huh?" Asked the person with a whisperlike voice as its shed its disguise.
That person was an elf with minty green skin, blank eyes and a skinny frame, dressed in brown ninja clothing and a blue braid. Clasped within their free hand was a well-loved blade that vaguely resembled the fangs of some kind of ferocious beast.
"Whirlwind, catch!" Shouted the elf as they tossed the now-fearful gremlin to the skies.
"On it, Stealth Elf!" Shouted a voice akin to the sounds of whistling wind while a blue streak zipped through the air.
The streak that was countably Whirlwind slowed to a halt and revealed herself to be a blue wind dragoness with feathery wings, blue eyes and a horn that glowed in the color of the rainbow. Now completely focused, she merely lowered her head and closed her eyes as a giant rainbow shot out of her horn!
The gremlin could only watch in multi-color horror as the rainbow enveloped it in a swirling, kaleidoscopic hurricane of color and pain before said hurricane shot the gremlin off into the distance.
"Not bad, huh?" Whirlwind remarked as she flew down to the earth and gleamed at Stealth Elf, "I've been working on that trick all week!"
"You can brag when the battle's won!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she turned around and high-tailed it towards the fray, "We've still got an entire army to beat!"
Whirlwind just shrugged and glided by Stealth Elf's side. As she soared between the individual battles, she'd only momentarily pause to shock away enemies with thunderclouds or dispel healing rainbows to allies who were in a pinch.
And above them all was Spyro, still diligently fighting and taking in the sights. All around them, enemy forces fell like flies exposed to bug spray equivalent to the power of a thousand warriors, hearts all in sync as they fought for the home they loved and more.
There's no way we could lose! Spyro thought with a proud smile as he flew off.
§
Back inside the floating castle, Kaos supervised the battle from the safety of his portal. A frown encapsulated his fanged mouth as he watched his army fall down in massive numbers—how many was that, now? Ten thousand? Fifteen thousand? He lost count.
"Okay, so I worked it out and…We're losing," Glumshanks said as he showed Kaos a stone tablet that tallied the scores of Kaos and Eon—and sure enough, Eon's score was much higher.
Much, much higher.
"I can see that, Glumshanks!" Kaos snapped as he shot another glare at Glumshanks before he went back to brooding over the battle.
"Do you think we should start Plan B, master?" Glumshanks asked, his forehead puckered.
"No, Glumshanks, I have a better idea," Kaos magicked up a folder of plans and grabbed one marked 'Plan Z.'
As he pulled out the folder and skimmed through, his eyes widened before a wide smile stretched across his face.
"Glumshanks, release…The Hydra."
§
While the Skylanders fended off Kaos's minions, Eon gazed over them with attentive eyes from his balcony. His hands were still clammy with fear, but his heart pounded with a different kind of emotion, the nature of which was invisible to all but him.
Oh, if only I were younger than I am now, Eon lamented as his mouth dipped into a frown, I loathe leaving all this work to them, but my body just isn't what it used to be, and neither is my magic.
Eon looked up from his lamentations, and watched as an a giant shadow sneaked up from Kaos's fortress and eyed the Core of Light before it unveiled itself from the shadows.
And just then, his heart stopped.
This creature seemed to be one of the most evil things at the time, with four long, snake-like heads that all bore draconic fangs and beady eyes. The first head was a chromatic aqua, the second green, the third whitish and skeletal, and the final a bright red—but all were equally fear-inducing in nature. And worse yet, each one had a large beam of magic energy forming in its mouth—with all of beams aimed straight towards the center of the Core.
"No, not the core!" Eon pleaded, his voice cracked and strained.
However, Eon's plea fell on uncaring ears as this hydra shot a brilliant beam of light from one of its four heads and hit the Core straight in its center!
It all happened so fast—one moment, everybody was in the heat of battle, the next, the very thing they were defending was shot down right before their eyes and blown to tiny bits!
The Skylanders stopped dead in their tracks and fixed their eyes on the Core, breaths bated and hearts refrained from beating.
Spyro himself dropped the tiny cyclops he was battering in moments, his eyes so engrossed with the scene he didn't even notice its getaway. He only stared at the Core, his expression fallen while fear crossed his face.
"NO!" Spyro screamed, his voice strained as he reached out in some vain attempt to stop the explosion.
But he failed—the Core was blown to bits, and his vision went black.
As he fell unconscious, the other Skylanders followed suit. One by one, something came over them all and caused them to fall completely unconscious as they were enveloped in cages made of raw, orange magic.
These cages then shot off into the air, never to be seen again with only one witness to this awful defeat.
As he watched the Skylanders disappear into the stratosphere, Master Eon's body shuddered with pain so intense it made everything feel completely numb, his body slunk against a now-collapsed wall in his citadel. Everything around him felt blurry and unreal, and it seemed like every moment that passed caused the life to sap from his weakened body. With a resounding cough that shook every part of his body, Master Eon felt his heart sink.
It was over—the Skylanders were gone, and he knew that he was soon to follow. His fears really had come to life right in front of his eyes.
But as he felt his soul leave his body, Master Eon sent out one last prayer, in some kind of vain clutch to one last string of hope.
If I am leaving Skylands now, Eon thought as his eyelids bobbed up and down over blurry eyes, May someone else defend it in my place.
§
Hugo peeked up from a rock and tried to look around, but he couldn't see a thing. The world was completely dark.
"Master Eon? Spyro? Anyone?" he whimpered, but there was no response.
Hugo went outside of hole with barely-mustered courage. His heart pounded with fear every step of the way as he struggled to navigate through the thick dark clouds.
Everything around him seemed so hopeless, so lonesome.
So… Evil.
"What happened?" Hugo asked out loud, but no response was said.
Hugo trembled before he ran as fast as his stubby legs could take him until he arrived inside the stone walls of the citadel.
"Be brave, Hugo. I'm sure there's an explanation for all this. Maybe it's just a bad dream?" Hugo bit his lip as he tugged on the lapel of his jacket, "But if it was a dream, then why does it feel so real?"
Hugo's train of thought was soon interrupted as he tripped over… Something. He couldn't have told what, as his glasses had fallen off and rendered him unable to see.
"What in Skylands did I just trip over?" Hugo sat back up and put his glasses back on.
He looked down and his heart sank to his feet while his breath stopped momentarily.
There in front of his was a pale, feeble corpse. However, the corpse itself wasn't what scared him, surprisingly enough—it was of who the corpse was of.
It was the cold, lifeless corpse of Master Eon.
§
Meanwhile, the Skylanders were propelled through all space in these orange cages of energy. They had no idea where they were—but they definitely weren't in Skylands anymore.
Spyro opened his eyes as his head pounded and his entire body ached. He tried to flex out his paw, but found that he couldn't even move a muscle.
"We need to get out!" Spyro shouted.
"But, I can't move!" shouted another one of the Skylanders, voices noticeably higher than before.
"Neither can I!"
"Wait, are we shrinking?!"
Voices of all kinds were heard all around as the Skylanders were frozen in their very positions, with only their eyes able to move. But, they didn't pay much mind to this, as they were focused more on where they were headed—a giant blue, white, and green planet…
§
Treasure Lake had always prided itself on being an average, peaceful neighborhood in tune with nature. The large houses and their inhabitants coexisted with miles of forest and endless wildlife in an odd harmony, which made it the perfect place for retirees who ached for somewhere to settle down and enjoy the last stage of their lives in peace and calm.
Of course, nobody knew of what secret, what utterly devious plan was about to unfold in this peaceful neighborhood, all save for one…
"Chihiro, we're leaving for Mamoru's game, make sure to lock the doors behind us!" shouted a feminine voice from across one of many houses.
This voice belonged to a chubby, pale-skinned woman with dark hair, round monolid eyes with warm brown irises, and a flat, large nose. She donned fairly average attire—a t-shirt and some black leggings—and her eyes were currently fixed on the upstairs as she held the golden knob of her home's front door.
"Okay, mom!" Replied the voice of a young child as a black-haired head poked out from over the couch.
With an eager smile the voice's owner darted down the stairs and beamed up at the woman with a look of utter innocence, her true identity revealed.
She was a child of no older than eleven or twelve, with a head topped in shoulder-length, black hair that was cut in a spiky pattern near the bangs and sides. Her face had bright, brown eyes, pale peach skin and facial features very similar to her mother's, as they bore the same eye and nose shape and she wore a simple outfit—a white tank top and cotton candy pink shorts, both with loose-hanging strings and small tears and no shoes to be seen.
"Are you sure you'll be able to handle staying home alone tonight, Chihiro?" The woman asked with a frown, "I mean, your dad's working all night, and I'm gonna be gone for a whi—"
"Don't worry about it, Mom!" Chihiro said as she patted her mother on the arm and slowly pushed her mother out the door, "I've got my phone, and I know who to call if there's an emergency! Just worry about having fun at the game!"
"Well, you know what to do—don't answer the door or the phone, don't forget to turn off the oven if you cook, don't invite anyone over, don't go outside unless you absolutely have to, don't—"
"MOM, HURRY UP!" shouted a boyish voice from across the yard, "If we don't go now, I'll be late for the big game!"
"Coming, Mamoru!" Chihiro's mother gave Chihiro another concerned glance.
Chihiro only winked and gave her mother a thumbs up, then beamed with pure joy as she watched her mother smile.
"Bye! Have fun at the game!" Chihiro swung against the door and waved back at her mother.
"Of course we will!"
And with that, Chihiro's mother got into the family car and closed the driver-side door shut—and in accordance, Chihiro slammed their own house door shut and locked it tight.
As she heard the sound of the mother's car leaving the vicinity, Chihiro bolted up the stairs and peered out the giant living room. Her eyes fixed on the sight of her mother leaving the development as her innocent beam turned to a wicked smile. Her heart leaped with excitement, so much excitement she could practically rocket to the moon from sheer adrenaline!
As her heart spun, Chihiro slammed the curtains over the window and flicked on the lights. She couldn't help but cackle from sheer glee—after all, what was about to transpire was something she had been anticipating for weeks! It was time! Time for her absolutely brilliant, absolutely flawless master plan to unfold at last!
"You've been planning this out for weeks, Chihiro. Time for…"
Chihiro dashed off to her room with cackles and giggles and other excited noises made all the way. In one swift moment she slammed her door open, ran into her closet and darted out with a stack of video games in her arms.
"THE ULTIMATE VIDEO GAME-A-THON TO BE REMEMBERED FOR YEARS TO COME!" Chihiro shouted as she raced back into the living room with incredible speed.
Chihiro slammed the stack of games onto her coffee tale then bolted into her family's kitchen. In moments she arrived with her arms so full of various snacks that she herself couldn't even be seen, then sat these snacks onto the coffee table and paused.
"Let's see, sour cream and onion chips, assorted bowl of various candies, my special twenty-fruit smoothie, and most importantly…"
Chihiro beamed as she lifted one game from atop the stack and rotated its box. It depicted a group of teenagers with colorful hairstyles and elaborate outfits that had too many belts, with a T rating box positioned in its corner.
"The entire Last Fallacy series, borrowed from the local library under my parents' noses and hidden for this very moment! Now, time to get my game on!"
Chihiro bounced in place as she looked over her treasured stack of Last Fallacy games. There was no way her mother would let her play T-rated games when she was only eleven—but, her mother wasn't here! Chihiro could do whatever she wanted!
In a fit of excitement she yanked another game from the bottom of the stack, but this wasn't the wisest idea as all the games toppled down into a heap on the floor.
"Darn it," Chihiro huffed as she crossed her arms.
She then grabbed the cases from the floor and put them back into a neat stack. Once her work was finished, she pressed her hands against his hips and sighed.
"Okay, NOW it's time to get my game on!"
Chihiro took the disc out of the topmost case and placed it in the disc slot of a sleek, black console. As the game's title screen flashed on the TV, she grabbed a controller and bounced onto the couch, her heart filled with a mix of excited and anxious clatter. It was here! The moment she had been waiting for!
With not a moment spent hesitating, she pressed a button on the controller.
§About an hour later…§
"Victory! Three down, twelve more to go!" Chihiro cheered before she collapsed back onto the couch and heaved a wistful sigh.
"Man, I wish I could go on huge adventures like that—sure beats living in Snoresville anyway." Chihiro frowned as she felt her legs seemingly disappear, "I'd better walk around a bit. I can feel my legs going stiff."
Chihiro stood up, before she paused for moments and stretched out with a content yawn. She paced around the living room for a few circles, her mind ablaze with adrenaline and joy, before her eyes glazed over the curtains.
"I know mom says not to open the curtains while she's gone," Chihiro said as she lifted the blinds, "But one little peek couldn't hurt~"
Of course, there was nothing out of the ordinary—average houses lined in a row, average trees, blushes and all sorts of other flora, average concrete roads, average deer that occasionally galloped across the road and into the forest. Down on the road, two girls dressed in colorful autumn attire walked up the road while they laughed and talked like close friends are ought to. They owned not a care in the world, and everything around them seemed right.
Man, it'd be nice to have a friend like that, Chihiro thought, her smile turned to a frown as she clasped a hand against the window's glass, Not like anyone would wanna be mine. Unless I like, wish on a shooting star or something—
CRASH!
All around the block, a loud crash resounded as if the world was going to explode! The two girls that were walking around the driveway scattered as groups of deer, skunks, and other wild animals fled out of the woods in a frantic hurry.
WHAT WAS THAT?! Chihiro bolted away from the window, then poked her head through the curtains and looked up at the sky.
The evening sky was dotted with tons of white, streaky shooting stars… Or were they?
"Wait, we weren't expecting a meteor shower today! At least, I think we weren't!"
Chihiro then heard another loud crash and fell to the floor with her ears covered. Her whole body shaken with some kind of fear, she dashed to her kitchen and flung open a sliding glass door. With not a moment of hesitation, she rushed outside to her backyard. She wasn't supposed to leave the house unless it was an emergency… But she was pretty sure strange crashing sounds counted as an emergency. Her mother would understand, right?
Her backyard wasn't much of a yard, admittedly—there wasn't much grass, just a bunch of dirt and rocks wherever you went paired against a backdrop of looming forest. But today, also in it were various craters that were about the size of her hand and as deep as a small hole.
Chihiro's eyes narrowed as she changed her view towards one of the holes in question. Brows furrowed, she walked towards the crater and peered inside it.
In the crater was a figure of a purple and gold dragon, mounted on a dark blue pedestal that was covered in crescent moons, stars, and other runic symbols.
"What are you?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the figure as she rotated it.
Chihiro then noticed the thirty-four other craters, each a blemish in her not-so-perfect backyard. As she investigated, she saw several other figures and tried to pick them up… But after twenty or so she found that they all kept spilling out of her arms. Chihiro sighed before she dropped them all in a pile. Looks like she needed to come up with a different plant. After she dropped the last remaining figures in the pile, she dashed off to the last two craters and peered inside to find a stone podium and a sleek disc.
Now what might you be? Chihiro pondered as she gingerly lifted the disc out of the crater, examined the title on the disc… And promptly jumped back.
"Wait, Skylanders?! But that game won't be out until tomorrow!" Chihiro made a confused pout, "And more importantly, why did it fall out of the sky?"
Chihiro shrugged it off as she ran back inside and came out moments later with a giant sack in hand. Eh, she could worry about that later—for now, she had to focus on getting all these guys inside. As she opened the sack and sat it on the dirt, Chihiro grabbed the figures and tossed them inside with not a care whatsoever. She then flung the sack across her shoulder, grabbed the podium and disc and skipped back inside.
"Well, I guess it would be okay if I played it for a few minutes," she said to herself as she flashed the disk in the evening light.
Chihiro then heard the sound of a car driving down and stopped short.
Wait a second, shouldn't Mom be home soon?
And speak of the devil, what else could have resounded in that moment but a phone's buzz?
Chihiro gazed over at a black flip phone that rested on a cold marble island smack-dab in the center of the kitchen. As she dropped her haul on the floor, Chihiro scrambled over and flipped the phone open to find a text!
"Game just ended, driving home now!" It read in electronic light.
"FRICK!"
Chihiro grabbed her treasure and dashed to her room. She had to hide it, there was no way she'd be able to explain all this to her mother and have her mother believe her! Without a moment to waste she kicked open the door to her room, tossed everything on her bed before she looked over at the stashed bag.
"Oh second thought…"She grabbed the bag of figures, tossed the podium and disk inside the bag and shoved it under her bed, "Perfect! Now to clean up in the living room…"
§Several house later§
"Thank goodness, Mom didn't suspect a thing," Chihiro proclaimed as she spun through her room dressed in bright magenta fleece pajamas, "And finally, sleep! Oh my dearest sleep, how I have longed for your tender embrace!"
With a content smile, Chihiro flopped on her bed and turned off a nearby lamp. As she sneaked under bright purple comforters, she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep when…
"Wait, where am I?" shouted a voice from the unknown, "Is this one of Kaos's tricks?!"
Chihiro's eyes shot wide open and her heart pounded fast.
What was that?! Who's there?! Ohgodohgodsomeone'sbreakingin—
Beneath the confines of Chihiro's bed, Spyro's eyes trailed everywhere he could, but he couldn't see a thing.
Time to shine some light on things, Spyro thought as his figure glowed in the dark of night and gasped.
He was piled in some kind of haphazard pile of figurines. More specifically, figurines of his friends, stuck to podiums of all kinds and all stacked on top all collected in some dark and cold nothing!
"WHAT THE HE—"
Calm down Chi, thought a voice, a childish voice that was so loud it gave Spyro a bit of a headache, As long as you pretend that they're not here, they're not gonna hurt you, just stop shaking and pretend to be dead.
There was a pause for a moment, but soon the voice came back louder than before.
NOPETHAT'SNOTGONNAWORK! I'MDEADI'MDEADI'MDEADI'MDEAD—
Spyro recoiled back with a shout as his head pounded from this person's sheer volume.
Okay Spyro, gotta stay calm. Whoever this person is, they're more afraid of you than anything. Just stay calm and try to reason with them, he thought as he took a deep breath.
"CALM DOWN, PLEASE! I'M NOT GONNA HURT YOU! JUST STOP SCREAMING!" Spyro shouted back.
"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!" Chihiro shouted as she scrambled to turn her lamp back on, "NOW GET OUT HERE AND SHOW YOURSELF YOU—"
Chihiro turned on the lamp, and to her surprise, there was nobody there— just herself. As she grabbed a nearby baseball bat, Chihiro gulped and staggered out of bed. She crept around her room and checked every corner she could—but there was nobody there. She then glazed over her closet door and gulped, before she gently twisted the knob and opened the door to find…Coats.
"Is anybody there? Be warned, I-I have a bat!" Chihiro shouted, her voice much braver than she actually was.
But there was nothing there—nothing rustled from the pile of unworn jackets, no monsters were in the closet, nothing.
"Hey. Hey. I'm over here."
Chihiro turned around and looked over at her bed. Strange, the only thing under there was her bag of Skylanders from earlier… She went over to the bed and leaned down before she peeked under its frame and at the bag.
"Okay, buddy, I give. Where are you?"
"I can't tell, all I know is that it's dark and there's a bunch of figurines!"
Chihiro frowned and narrowed her eyes before said eyes lit up.
"I think I know what you're talking about!" Chihiro fell to the floor, crawled under her bed and grabbed the sack of figurines from under her bed.
"Yep, that's the one," Spyro said as he looked straight into his captor's brown eyes, then watched as her hand hovered over the Skylanders, "Getting warmer, warmer, warmest, you're on fire!"
"Am I imagining things, 'cause I'm not seeing anything?" Chihiro asked as she picked up Spyro and stared at him with a cocked head.
"Oh trust me, you're not imagining things," Spyro focused on her and kept his voice as calm as possible, "I can talk to you too, y'know. And read your thoughts, apparently."
"ACK!" Chihiro bounced Spyro in and out of her grasp for a few moments, and finally clasped him in her shaking hands, "H-HOW?!"
"I'd better explain," Spyro said, "But first, I'd like to know exactly what's going on here and why you have me captive."
"Captive?! What are you talking about, I'm not taking you guys prisoner or anything!" Chihiro pouted and pointed a finger at Spyro, "You and your buddies and your game and your weird stone pedestal thingie landed in my backyard!"
"Wait, we landed in your backyard?! And there's a game about us?!"
"And you kinda made a mess of the place while doing it, but hey, that place was a wreck anyway. So, Bobbie-o—"
"It's Spyro."
"Spyro. So, gimme the answers now," Chihiro said as she laid Spyro down on the bed and flopped down on it shortly after.
"Okay, but I'll warn you—what you're about to hear may change your knowledge of the world as we know it." Spyro could only frowned as Chihiro laughed in his face.
"Buddy, I just had toys that shouldn't have been released until tomorrow fall into my backyard from the sky. I think I'll be good," Chihiro chuckled, her voice lowered to a whisper.
Spyro only cleared his throat.
"I came from the Skylands, a world of infinite possibility and the center of the very universe," Spyro said with just a hint of joy in his voice, "An evil force and people with less than noble intentions that control it have been out to control the Skylands for as long as it's existed, but the Skylanders—me, my friends, and a bunch of others—have been stopping them for just as long…"—Spyro heaved a broken sigh—"But, then, we… We failed. Kaos, our archenemy, found a way to destroy the Core of Light—the very thing keeping the Darkness controlled, and…Well, I guess we were sent here. Not sure why we're toys though."
There was pure silence for a few moments before Spyro took a breath and spoke again.
"Now, I'm not entirely sure how I can talk to you either, but I'm betting it means that you're a portal master!" Spyro said.
Silence only resounded in the room for a few key moments.
"First off, what's that, second off, how would you know?" Chihiro asked while she looked at him like he was speaking gibberish.
"A portal master? Well, a portal master is kinda like a magician. Except they're a lot more powerful than your average magician, can control magical portals and basically every element known to the public and then some, and a lot of other stuff too." Spyro paused for a moment and caught his breath. "And well, what other explanation is there for us being able to talk right now? Chances are you have some kind of magic in you,"—Spyro's eyes then glazed over the portal, still visible from the opened sack—"And I think I know a way to find out for sure."
"Really?"
"Take that portal over there on top of the pile and the disc," Spyro said as he watched Chihiro follow his instruction, "We've got some work to do."
§
"Okie-dokie, Spyro, it should be set up now," Chihiro chirped, her voice lowered to a whisper.
The TV in the living room was now on, while the sleek black gaming console connected to it glowed ever so slightly. The Skylanders game had just started up, and a screen popped up and asked her to connect the portal.
Her mouth wavered into an uncertain frown as her heart pounded ever-so-slightly faster than usual, Chihiro then looked over to Spyro as if she was prompting him for guidance.
"Now's the moment of truth," was all he said.
"Okay, what do I do?" Chihiro asked with a trill in her voice as she looked over at the portal, picked it up and turned it around..
"Well, uh…" Spyro trilled as Chihiro looked over at him, "I don't…Really…Know."
Chihiro made the most frustrated face she could muster before she breathed in sharply as she slammed the portal onto the floor in a way quiet enough to keep from alerting anyone else.
"You're telling me that you don't even know how to do this?!" Chihiro harshly whispered, the most fake of smiles on her face.
"Well, I'm no portal master, all I remember is from what my portal master did!"
"You know what? I don't need your help, I'm sure I can figure this out myself!" Chihiro shot back, her voice raised to normal volume as she stormed over and grabbed the portal.
Once she got it, Chihiro gazed straight into its center with curious eyes. As she grasped it tight, it glowed faintly and all sorts of places flooded into her mind—lush fields, volcanic wastelands, summery beaches, craggy mountains, murky swamps, and even more.
"Whoa," was all Chihiro said as her eyes glowed in all sorts of colors and her mind raced with all sorts of magic.
All was tranquil for moments, until bright lights shot out of the portal in a rainbow formation and caused Chihiro to panic and scramble back, her heartbeat so fast it felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest.
"SPYRO, WHAT DID I DO?!" Chihiro screamed between hyperventilations.
"You did it! You opened a portal! Now quick, get me on there, the Skylands—"
"Chihiro?" whispered a feminine, familiar voice from a good ways back.
Chihiro's eyes widened, the lights in them dead. As she saw her mother walk into the living room, Chihiro turned off the console, grabbed Spyro and the now deactivated portal and shoved them under a fleece blanket before she stood inconspicuously in front of the couch.
"What are you doing up this late?" Chihiro's mother asked as she put her hands on her hips.
Chihiro giggled and scratched her cheek.
"Er, well, I was just going to get myself a glass of water 'cause I was so thirsty, but then I started thinking about something and I ended up going over my thoughts and kinda lost track of the time?" Chihiro leaned in front of where Spyro was hidden, a fake grin plastered onto her mouth.
"Well, just go back to bed, you've got a long day tomorrow." Chihiro's mother frowned and looked at Chihiro as she walked back down the hall.
"Understood, mom." Chihiro watched as the bedroom door shut, then dug the portal and Spyro out of the blankets.
"What was that?'' Spyro asked.
"That was my mother, reminding me that apparently gaming marathons are not the most appropriate thing to do late at night." Chihiro sighed as she walked back to her room, "Guess we'll have to start tomorrow."
As she approached the door to her room, Chihiro heard muffled talking from the other side and gave her door a confused stare. There shouldn't have been anyone in her room… Right? Right?
"Open the door," Spyro said with a hint of urgency in his voice.
Chihiro only looked down at him with a confused frown.
"Just do it!"
Chihiro shrugged her shoulders and opened the door. Just then, what seemed like hundreds of voices flooded into her mind, all in different tones and pitches but one singular thing expressed—confusion.
"What is this place?"
"Where are we?"
"What's going on?"
"GUYS!" Spyro shouted at the top of his lungs.
The room fell to a hush as Chihiro clutch Spyro's figurine close to her heart.
"Who are these guys, Spyro?" Chihiro asked with a whispered uncertainty.
"These are the other Skylanders." Spyro put his attention to the Skylanders and cleared his throat, "Guys, this is our new portal master, and the key to getting back to Skylands!"
"Wait, a new portal master?! Where?!" exclaimed the voices of those around.
"Oh right, you guys probably can't see me," Chihiro ran to her bed, laid Spyro on said bed and heaved the sack upwards before she flopped it on her bed, "Be warned, this is gonna be a bit of a ride!"
Whispers of confusion turned to screams as Chihiro turned the sack upside-down and dunked all the Skylanders into a pile on her bed. She then arranged them into neat rows of eight, cleared her throat, and awkwardly waved her hand with a chuckle.
"Uh, hey there? I'm Chihiro, you guys landed in my backyard and apparently I'm magic? Heh, it's been kind of a wild night."
The voices went silent, before a hoarse but friendly-sounding voice piped up.
"So you're the new portal master!" said the voice, "Huh, a little younger than I thought you'd be, but that's not a big deal. I'm Gill Grunt."
Chihiro's eye trailed over through the row, before she took notice of a figurine that resembled a giant blue fish who wore a diver suit and picked it up.
"I guess you're Gill Grunt, right?" Chihiro tilted her head slightly.
"You bet your boots!" Gill chirped as he watched Chihiro chuckle.
"I like you, Gill." Chihiro gently pressed her finger against the top of Gill's head, then clasped the base of his figurine in her hand and held him close to her cheek.
"So, who are the rest of these…?" Chihiro examined the figures and glazed a finger over their rows, "Elves, dragons, I'm not sure what that one is…"
"Guess we've got a lot of introducing to do." Gill cleared his throat, "Don't be shy, come on and introduce yourselves!"
A cough was heard from the back of the room, but utter silence resonated throughout it otherwise.
"You know what," Chihiro said, "How about I pick one of you guys and you introduce yourself!"—She then mused over the figurines, before she pointed at a figure of a gray-black and cream colored shark with milky white eyes and muscular arms—"Starting with you!"
"Uh, me?" asked the figure, who then watched as Chihiro nodded.
"Well then," said the figure before they cleared their throat, "Name's Terrafin! Twenty-time champion of the boxing ring, professional lifeguard, and veteran Skylander!"
"Quite the impressive resume," Chihiro said as she nodded her head in approval, "I like you, Terrafin."
"Glad it hear it, kiddo!" Terrafin said as he watched Chihiro gently bump his clasped fist with her own.
"BOOM!" they both shouted as laughter resonated all around them.
"Now, who's next…" Chihiro looked over the group with a beam as the laughter died, then gently nudged a figurine of an orange and cream-colored gremlin who wielded twin golden pistols, "What about you, buddy?"
"I'm Trigger Happy!" Trigger Happy chirped, "I'm the prince of a faraway land, but I was, uh, kidnapped! Yeah! By magical clown hippos who raised me as their own and taught me the fine art of crime-fighting! We all lived in peace and harmony until our homeland was attacked, by, by, er, rabid monkey swordsmen that I single-handedly fought off!"
"REALLY?" Chihiro's eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands tight.
"Don't listen to him, Chihiro," Spyro interrupted with just a hint of playfulness in his voice, "Trig's got a bit of an imagination,"—Spyro playfully rolled his eyes as both Chihiro and Trigger Happy moaned—"But, that's what we love about him."
Trigger Happy only giggled as Chihiro gently rubbed his forehead, and pointed towards a figurine of a violet dragoness attached to a giant skull pedestal.
"Now, spotlight's on you…" Chihiro trailed off and beamed, as if she was prompting the dragoness to speak.
"Cynder," said the dragoness.
"…. Anything else you'd like to add, Cynder?"
Utter silence, save for an awkward giggle that escape from Chihiro's mouth
"Don't mind her," said a windlike voice from across the row, "Cynder's not the most social dragon, but she's nice once you get to know her… I promise. Oh, and I'm Whirlwind, by the way."
"Okie dokie, Whirlwind!" Chihiro beamed and picked up a figure of a turtle on a tornado.
"That's not me, that's Warnado!" Whirlwind giggled as she watched Chihiro blush and place Warnado back on her bed, "I'm just a space up from him."
Chihiro tilted her head and lifted up the figurine of a dragoness with feathery wings, then chuckled and gently cuddled her.
"Nice to meet'cha, Whirlybird!" Chihiro then looked down at the others and made a kind smile, "What about the rest'a you guys?"
"I'm Stealth Elf!" proclaimed a whisperlike voice from the back row.
"Stump Smash!"
"Lightning Rod!"
"Bash!"
The awkward silence now completely dissolved, everybody happily introduced themselves and quipped around, the cold atmosphere turned warm and sweet like honey. It was so peaceful and happy, one couldn't help but smile so wide it could stretch out one's face—which is exactly what Chihiro did.
"Nice to meet you, everyone!" Chihiro chirped, "I'm sure we'll get along just fine!"
§A few hours later§
Laughter crackled like lightning throughout Chihiro's room, as all the Skylanders and Chihiro shared stories, told jokes, and bonded throughout the chilly autumn night. For a minute, the intense battles and chaos of that day melted away into a pot of warmth and security, as if all was well. However, it was getting late, and their attitudes showed it.
"That was some tale, Boomer," Chihiro yawned as she clicked her tongue, "Tell me, did you ever found out who replaced the gunpowder in your bombs with sugar?"
"Not at all!" Boomer chirped, "Though, I do have a few suspicious suspects on the mind…"
Nervous giggles were heard throughout the room and as the chatter died, Chihiro let out a long yawn.
"It's been fun talking guys, but I'm exhausted. It's been a long day, and I've got school in the morning. I'm going back to sleep," Chihiro said, her voice soft and dripped with exhaustion.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I'm pretty tired myself," Spyro said before he yawned loudly, "Yeah, I'd better get to sleep."
And with that said, several others chimed in with agreement, and the voices went quiet for the last time that night.
With a smile, Chihiro gathered each and every Skylander close to her and gently nestled them under her blanket, her own self blanketed with a feeling of security and belonging she couldn't quite put her finger on in the haze of midnight. Then, she turned off her nightstand lamp and fell back asleep, visions of excitement and adventure with her new friends adance in her head...