The Nicest Kids in Town

Snap Shot stood in front of the small restaurant. It had been extremely hard to get here; he had to sneak onto no less than three airships to get to this remote island. It had been busy back at the lair too, which made sneaking out harder than it should have been. Apparently, all his minions were busy setting up traps for unsuspecting children. Although what kind of child would want to trick-or-treat at the most infamous villain in Skylands' house was beyond him. I don't think any kid would be that stupid. He thought.

The place was mostly empty, and very quiet. Only the sound of the wind, and brief murmurs from inside the building could be heard. Snap Shot pushed through the glass door of the restaurant, entering the cool, air-conditioned room.

There were tiny bells tied to the door-frame, and they rang when Snap Shot entered the building. There were only two other customers in the building – a pixie couple – and they both gave him a suspicious look, before returning to their meal. But every so often, they would look up, and they would shoot Snap Shot a suspicious glare. Snap Shot was not used to this kind of treatment, but he decided that he could deal with it for now.

Snap Shot rang the bell at the counter a couple of times, pressing down at it hard. He could hear the couple talk about him, and it was rather annoying. Best to just figure out the problem, then get out of here fast.

The sharp bell noise immediately summoned a pixie to the counter. She had ginger hair tied up in a messy bun, a round, pale face, and wore thick pointed eye-glasses. Snap Shot has seen her before. She was the owner of this restaurant.

'Good morning, welcome to Lula's Bistro. My name is Ms Lula, and I'll be serving you. Would you like a seat, or are you here for take-out?'

'Actually,' Began Snap Shot. 'I'm here 'cause of a different reason.'

'Ya see, yesterday I was that crocagator that came in to buy the sixteen boxes of take-out.'

Ms Lula raised an eyebrow. 'You were a crocagator?'

Snap Shot nodded. 'I know it sounds kinda unbelievable, but just hear me out, okay?' She nodded tentatively.

'So, after dinner, I had a fortune cookie. I didn't think much of it then, but when I woke up this morning, I was in this troll's body. And what's more, I found the same fortune beside his bed, even though I threw my fortune away.' He pulled out the fortune, and gave it to Ms Lula.

She studied the paper carefully, squinting at it and trying to make out the words. Suddenly, a realization dawned on her. Her face began to change, going from a pale, ghost-like color shared by most pixies of her breed, to a bright red. 'Oberon! Come over here right now!'

The moment she yelled out those words, a tall, lean pixie dressed in a yellow shirt and dirty white apron stepped out of the kitchen. 'Urgh, don't call me Oberon, Ma! It's Ron! What is it?'

Ms Lula turned to face her son, looking up at him with an angry glare. 'Did you try to play any magical pranks on the fortune cookies yesterday?'

Ron kicked the ground softly. He had a sheepish grin on his face, and he was obviously trying not to look his mother in the eye.

'Well!?' Pushed Ms Lula.

'Maybe…' He gave an awkward smile. Ms Lula slapped his hand.

'Give me the spell book NOW!' Demanded Ms Lula. Her son immediately dashed into the kitchen, returning five minutes later with an old leather-bound spell book.

Ms Lula grabbed the book from her son's hands, and started flipping through the pages. Almost instinctively, she stopped at the section on body-swap spells. (Snap Shot was impressed at how she could do that without looking at the page numbers.) She skimmed through the portion, reading with her finger moving across the page. Until she stopped at the final portion. She tapped that portion. 'There. How to reverse the spell.'

Snap Shot took the book from her, and read the portion she indicated. 'When the two individuals involved with the body swap wish to swap back, they must recite this incantation together at the same time:

This time we shared has been fun;

But now our bonding is done;

I've walked a mile in your shoes;

Been through all your abuse;

Now I'll never assume anyone.

'So, all I have to do now is hunt down Glumshanks and get 'im to say this spell.' Mumbled Snap Shot under his breath. 'Well, that should be-'

'GLUMSHANKS!' Called out a familiar voice from behind him. Begrudgingly, he turned around to see Kaos glaring back at him.

'What are you doing here?! You know we need you back at MY SECRET EVIL LAIR! It's Halloween! We need to prepare the pranks before the kids come out to trick-or-treat!' He was dragging Snap Shot by the ear again, pulling him away from the island.

Kaos dragged Snap Shot onto a ship piloted by some drow elves. That was when he let him go. They sat in silence for a little while.

Snap Shot decided that it was the perfect time to ask him about his evil plan. 'So, what's the newest evil scheme you've cooked up?'

'I think I'm going to need more time to decide on it. I can tell it's going to be my best one yet! I can feel it. But I just need to figure it out. Of course, it does mean today you'll be setting up the decorations without my supervision, but I think you can handle it. I should figure it out by this afternoon. I'll tell you about it when I'm done.'

That settled it. Snap Shot decided then that he would stay until Kaos revealed to him his plan, and then head back to the Academy to see the performance and swap back with Glumshanks. It was the best plan he could think of under such short notice, but he would do anything to get that information on his latest scheme. Besides, what could go wrong?

OoOoOoOoOo

'Well, you guys sure did a great job on this haunted house.' Said Splat, grinning at Short Cut.

'I know right! We all really put in a lot of effort into this, and I'm glad that you like it. Speaking of effort, do you like the costumes? Because I spent all night getting them right! Everyone on my level of the hostel weren't very happy about it for some reason. They even tried to…' The little phantom buzzed on and on with the pink faun, bouncing up and down with each word, and waving his little pair of scissors precariously. Splat tried her best to follow the conversation, but it was a little hard to follow his train of thought when he was undergoing a sugar rush.

'I think that's our cue to go in.' Whispered Knight Mare. 'While he's distracted.' She had had to put up with him throughout the night and into the morning, including bringing him up for breakfast. It was hectic, and she really wanted to go through this full-dress rehearsal without a hitch.

Glumshanks nodded, then went into the haunted house with her.

He was wearing his costume; a dark grey coat with a white button-up undershirt, and a blue bow-tie. Knight Mare wore a similar outfit, as they were both going to be the guides in this event.

Earlier, he had found the cast list, along with several other notes, for this event in Snap Shot's drawer. From what he could gather, the Skylanders were preparing for their annual Halloween festival, and this year the Trap Team was performing a retelling of the old undead folktale "The Journey Under" in that old haunted house, for whatever reason. Well, that explains the costumes.

He stood beside Knight Mare, in the dark hallway. It was a surprisingly well-built hallway for something that was obviously home-made. There were even working sconces on the wall. Glumshanks took a closer look around, and noticed that there was a small hole underground. In it, he saw two pairs of eyes peeping out, looking focused. They seemed to be watching Glumshanks carefully. There was complete silence. A few minutes passed by, and still nothing happened.

'Well, aren't you going to give us the cue?' Asked Knight Mare.

Glumshanks didn't know that he was supposed to cue the performance. 'Uh, well then, you may begin now.'

Immediately, the two eyes looked down, and the lights dimmed. Suddenly, a fast swooping sound was heard, and a tall, hooded figure materialized in front of him.

'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Haunted House of Terrors and Tales. I am your story-teller for tonight, but you may address me as Enigma. Tonight, you have chosen to enter the world of folk lore. You will enter a world of tragedy. A world of kindness. A world of wonder and excitement and friendship. You may have heard of this story in your childhood, or you may have never heard it in your life. But whatever is it, just stand back, trust our guides and myself, and enjoy our story.'

Suddenly, Enigma picked up the corner of his cloak. He swirled it around, turning invisible in the process. For a few seconds, there was only silence. Then, without warning, a louder, booming voice was heard, as Enigma began the story. 'Ladies and Gentlemen! The Trap Team presents to you all, after months of hard work and preparation, "The Journey Under"!'

At that, Knight Mare began to move forward. Glumshanks followed suit.

They moved a little forward, until Knight Mare stopped in front of a little room. They stood in front of the room, one person on each side. But Glumshanks was curious about what was going on in the room, and turned his head slightly to get a sneak peek.

Immediately, the dark room faded into light, where he could clearly see the interior. The room was mostly barren, the only furniture in it being a long, wooden table in the middle of the room. A large, red-headed woman wearing a simple white dress was lying on the table. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were folded on her chest. Glumshanks recalled her name, Head Rush. 'Many, many years ago,' Began Enigma, 'There was a young lady who lived in a village. This young lady was the kindest in the land, beloved by all. But one day, she found herself in the Underworld.'

At that cue, Head Rush opened her eyes. She stretched, as if she was waking up. 'Good morning!' She jumped slightly from shock. 'Oh! Where am I?!'

'You are in The Underworld, darling.' Called a voice from behind her. Head Rush turned to look around.

'Who said that?'

'I did.' A walking suit of armor came into view, his arms folded behind his back. He wore a plum coloured cape, and walked with tall, proud strides. Glumshanks remembered him as Krypt King.

'Why are we in The Underworld?'

Krypt King leaned in to talk to her. 'In the dead of the night,' He whispered, 'A horrible evil gang attacked your village, and the brutes had killed you too! So, now you are down here.'

Head Rush buried her face into her knees. 'It can't be…'

'But don't worry, my dear. Being undead isn't all bad. Come, you may stay in my mansion while you're here.' The two of them walked out of the scene after that exchange.

Enigma continued his narration. 'Little did the lady know, that that man was not to be trusted! That was a young man from the Underworld. A rich socialite, who had seen her one day on the Surface, and had decided that she will be his bride, no matter what! So, in the dead of night, he had kidnapped her and brought her to the Underworld. Hoping that he could charm her into being his bride.'

'But the lady did not know that. And she trusted that he was a good man, as she was innocent and nice. It looks bleak, but she was not captured without anyone knowing about it. Someone saw her capture.'

They began moving again, Knight Mare once again taking the lead while Glumshanks trailed behind. The lights in the room behind them dimmed. They stopped in front of the next room, as the lights in this one went on. Glumshanks took another peek in, and saw that this time, the room contained the smallest tree elf that he has ever seen. Usually, tree elves were towering giants. Glumshanks recognized him as Bushwhack.

'The previous night, a young man had seen her being captured by the socialite, and was determined to get her back.'

Bushwhack began reciting his lines. 'I will go on a quest to find her now! Years ago, she helped my family when my mother was sick, so I must help her now!' He proclaimed, as he walked off into the next room.

Knight Mare immediately walked towards the next room, which was directly next to the previous. Is there some sort of tunnel connecting both rooms? Thought Glumshanks. He gave the room a closer look, and sure enough, there was a small passageway to the next room.

He walked to the next room to continue the story, just as the lights in the previous room began to fade. He stood by the door again, looking at the room from the corner of his eye again. Once again, the lights went on. This time, the room contained a small, papier-mâché tree stump. On it rested a man made of dark clouds. He was wearing a long purple robe, and leaned on a wooden shepherd's staff. When Bushwhack walked in from the passage, the cloud man looked up.

'When he went out of the little village, he encountered an old shepherd in the meadows outside. The young boy decided that he could possibly tell him where his bride had gone, so he went up to him to ask.'

Bushwhack went up to the cloud man gingerly. 'Uhh… hello sir. I am a young man from the village down there. I am also looking for a young woman. Have you seen any young women pass by here?'

The cloud man, Thunderbolt rubbed his chin. 'Hmm, I think I recalled seeing a young girl pass by here at night. She was being carried by a skeleton, if I recall correctly. They were headed towards there.' He pointed downwards.

'This alarmed the boy greatly. He knew that that meant that the kind lady had most likely been taken to the Underworld. But he, just like everyone in his village, was terrified of the Underworld. And for good reason. Rumor had it that once you enter the Underworld, you could never come back up. But he decided that he must at least try to get her back, so he made the choice to go down there. No matter what.'

'I will go down to the Underworld to find her! No matter what!' Parroted the tree elf.

'Hold on,' Began Thunderbolt. 'You cannot go alone! I will ask my four sons to come along with you. They all wish for adventure; they do not wish to become shepherds like me. I will ask them to accompany you as companions.'

The light faded slightly, as the two men held still. The narration continued over that. 'Now, climb upstairs, for the adventure will continue there.'

As Glumshanks walked up the dark staircase, he realized that there were a few wooden boards laid out on the stairs. He figured that they were set up for anyone that needed a wheelchair, so that they could see the show. How nice

The next room that Glumshanks saw had Head Rush in it again. This time, she sat crossed legged. A ginger colored cat sat on her left, holding a small sack. On her right sat a sort of robot. Glumshanks was certain that she was female.

'In the Underworld, the lady began making friends with the citizens. At first, she was reluctant to, but she soon found out about the troubles of the undead, and she went to help them out.'

Head Rush gave two sacks labelled "food" to the two girls. The ginger cat, Tuff Luck, began to speak. 'Thank ya fer helping us, lass. Most people think that all of us living in the Underworld are monsters. But you've been nothing but kind to us. Why is that?'

'Well, I just see people who need my help, and I help them! It's not really that hard.' She smiled.

'Whatever the reason,' Said the robot, Gearshift. 'I am glad you are so kind! Not many are like this to people like us!' Tuff Luck and Gearshift left the room.

Head Rush pulled out a flask. 'My host gave me this flask of juice to drink. He said that it tasted lovely, and I should try it.' She took a swig. After she did, her eyes widened, as if she was realizing something.

'I-I love my host!'

The scene faded to darkness, causing the narration to start up. 'But while she was making friends, the groom was making plans.'

In the next room, there were two figures. One was the walking armor from earlier, now wearing a plum colored suit and a clashing orange tie. The other was a golden lion, who wore plain white and blue robes. They huddled in a circle, and spoke in hushed voices.

'So, if I agree to wed you to this girl, then you would promise me a place in your mansion, is that right?' Went the lion, Wildfire.

'Of course.' Confirmed Krypt King. 'You shall be paid handsomely, of course. And a lifelong stay at my own home.' He paused. 'But what about anyone who comes after her? She was well liked in her old village.'

Wildfire chuckled. 'I have sent a colleague of mine to deal with anyone who tries. Trust me, you will not have to worry.'

The lights dimmed, and the two of them moved on again. As the lights came on in the next room, he realized that there were now five people in the room. Standing beside Bushwhack was Wallop, Snap Shot's best friend and second-in-command for the Trap Team. Standing right next to him was a tall, muscular man with bright red skin. In front of him was a small lobster. And finally, there was a large blue man, who had a round, cheerful face. The five of them stood right in the centre of the big, empty room, looking like they were ready to take on the world.

'The five companions walked for days. The journey to the Underworld was a long one, and there were several obstacles in the way.'

The narration turned out to be correct. Immediately, a large papier-mâché boulder was rolled onto the set.

'A boulder? Now!?' Recited Wallop.

'What do we do?!' Went Bushwhack. He was pretending to desperately push the boulder, making large struggling sounds as he heaved.

The red man, Ka-Boom stepped up to him. 'I know! I will use my strength to move the boulder out of the way!'

He did just that, easily picking the boulder up with one hand and throwing it out of sight. Bushwhack smiled. 'Thank you.' He smiled.

The group inched forward a little, before another obstacle came. This time, a large plush monster was thrown in their path. It looked rather lizard-like, with a lopsided tongue sticking out. On cue, everyone screamed.

Everyone, except for one man. 'Stand back, everyone!' Exclaimed the blue man, Gusto. 'I will fight this lizard! Hand to hand!'

He walked up to the lizard, holding a long rope. Using it, he lassoed the beast, looping the rope around it in quick circles. 'I am victorious!' He cheered, as he held up the plush toy, bound with rope.

They walked into the next room through another linking passageway. The lights faded as Glumshanks and Knight Mare followed the group. In it, there was a thin cardboard wall slotted in, almost like a barrier to the next exit. The five men clamored into the room, all stopping at the cardboard.

'What is it?' Said Bushwhack.

'It appears to be some sort of puzzle.' Said the lobster, Lob-Star. 'Stand back! I'm good with puzzles. Let me do it.'

The others gave him his space, and the lobster went to work. He pretended to tap on a keyboard, until he swung the cut-out door open. 'Easy!' He said.

The five walked through the hole that was cut out, where they met their final challenge.

'Halt!' Cried a voice. Immediately, a winged man flew into the scene. He wore red and black robes, and carried with him a small pocketknife. 'Who are you?'

'The young boy explained to this stranger who he was and what he came down for.'

This prompted the winged man, Knight Light, to give a confused look. 'Bu-but, I laid out traps to stop you! My business partner told me that tonight he would wed a happy couple, and that I must stop any unwanted guest!

'Unwanted?!' Went Bushwhack. 'She always said that if she was to get married, she would invite her entire village!'

'She did? But that can't be!'

The final man walked in between the two of them. 'Now, now. Calm down you two. Sir,' He directed the question to the winged man. 'has your business partner ever lied to you?'

'Well, now that you bring it up, yes!' Knight Light clenched his fist. 'I knew there was something amiss. But I didn't trust my intuition! Darn it!'

'They're being wedded tonight, you say?' Asked Bushwhack frantically 'How much longer do we have!?'

'Well, we can still catch them…'

'Then let's go! We don't have time to waste!' The scene ended there, the lights having been cut.

'Follow the story upstairs for the conclusion!' Went the narrator. Glumshanks turned to the nearest staircase.

OoOoOoOoOo

Unlike the other floors, the third room was structured like an attic. The furniture in it was set up like a traditional wedding. The room was decked with white lace and roses, with a grand wedding arch standing in the center of the room. Underneath the arch was Head Rush and Krypt King, their hands joint in front of Wildfire. The villagers stood at one side, beaming happily. The lights went on, and the lion began to speak. 'Now, I'm sure we know why we are all gathered here today, so let's just get this done with.' He cleared his throat. 'And if any of you have any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.'

'WE OBJECT!' Called out six loud voices, as the owners of those voices all leaped up from behind a table at the side, jumped on it and made their presence known.

'I know exactly what you're doing, partner!' Yelled Knight Light. Wildfire shot him an angry look.

'What did he do?' Asked Tuff Luck and Gearshift.

'He lied to everyone in this place!' Revealed Bushwhack. He looked angrily at the lion and suit of armor, gritting his teeth. 'They kidnapped her from my village!'

The two girls looked at them, betrayed. 'Is that true?'

'Of course, it's true!' Cried Knight Light.

'I thought that she was willingly wedded!' Went Tuff Luck.

Suddenly, Gearshift spoke up. 'Actually, I found this in the fields earlier.' She showed a flask. The same flask that Head Rush took a swig out of.

Lob-Star took the flask from her, and sniffed it. 'It smells like a love potion.'

'She looks like she's under a love potion too! Look, her eyes are glazed! She hasn't even spoke up!' Went Bushwhack.

Wildfire and Krypt King panicked as they saw the dirty looks of the villagers. 'Alright! They tell the truth! Bye!'

'Hey! Come back here!' Called out the girls as the two men bolted. They dropped their bouquets on the floor, as they chased after them. For a while, there was an awkward silence.

After a while, the narrator broke that silence. 'So, with the Corrupt Judge and the Evil Groom chased out of the village by the villagers, the smartest of the sons began to figure out a way to break the spell.'

'Here,' said Lob-Star. 'Give this to her.'

Another flask was given to her, and when they pretended to pour the liquid into her mouth, Head Rush blinked rapidly, as if walking up from a daze 'Wh-what happened?'

'I will tell you later. But for now, you need to go home.' Said Bushwhack. But when he was about to leave, Head Rush stopped him.

'I can't leave now! I have made friends down here, and they will need me to help them. I know that the undead might seem creepy, but they are good folks. Just give them a chance!'

'The boys were skeptical at first, but she encouraged them to spend a little more time in the Underworld. When they did, they found that the citizens really were just needing kindness. So, the decided to live down here, and help the needy undead citizens. And they all lived happily ever after. The end!'

The lights dimmed for a final time, before coming on again. Everyone walked to the center of the room, and took a bow.

Glumshanks had to admit, he was impressed. Sure, it was not the best thing out there, but it was still passable. It was clear that they were trying very hard. And he could appreciate the effort.

Almost immediately after Glumshanks though that, a small phantom popped out from a previously unseen trap door, clapping and cheering. 'Whooo! That was awesome guys! You did great!'

A small purple man floated out from the trap door after him. 'Splat went back to set up the face-painting booth up, so Short Cut got bored and came down here.' The shadowed man, Enigma, went up to him, and returned him a small microphone.

A large, bulky robot lumbered out of the trap door beside him, closing the door on the way out. 'In my defense, I did try to control him down there while Blastermind did the effects. But Short was pretty hyper. So, sorry if they were a little slow.'

'They seemed alright to me.' Went Glumshanks. The robot, Jawbreaker, smiled.

'Thanks.'

'Anything to say to us, Snap?' Asked Wallop. The Trap Masters all turned their attention to him.

Glumshanks panicked. What was he supposed to say? Looking at the eager faces staring at him, he decided that the best thing he could do was wing it. 'Uh, well, Enigma,' He began.

'Enigma, good job on that invisibility magic thingy. And great job on the narration.'

'Thank you.' He said. 'I hope the new invisible narrator trick was okay.'

'Oh, well, it is.' Glumshanks grinned. That was new? He pulled it off surprisingly well.

Glumshanks went on to try and give a little constructive feedback to the other Trap Masters. They all paid close attention to his words, nodding and taking note of possible improvements. It feels pretty good to be listened to. He thought.

Although he was not sure how it happened, him giving out feedback eventually derailed into a series of inside jokes among the Trap Masters. Most of it was led by Short Cut, but everyone contributed some form of joke. Glumshanks spectated through the jokes. To his surprise, he found himself laughing, even though half the jokes did not make sense to him. They were all mainly inside jokes, and rather nonsensical ones at that. He felt a peculiar feeling inside him that he couldn't name exactly.

But whatever that feeling was, he loved it. He loved this feeling that he felt when he was around the team. It was a feeling of camaraderie, of friendship, of love and trust and laughter. He never thought that he would get to experience something like this, but here he was. There was a feeling that everyone here loved to laugh and joke with each other, but when the going gets tough, they would still stand by each other. It was beautiful.

In the midst of the chatter, Glumshanks noticed the centaur woman, Knight Mare, look at him curiously. An eyebrow was raised, and she seemed to be deep in thought. As if she was analyzing something.

Suddenly, a shrill siren pierced through the air. He snapped his head up, searching for the source of the sound, which came from a speaker system outside. A loud booming voice followed the alarm given.

'Trap Team, please head down to the library for your mission briefings now. Thank you.'

To be continued

OoOoOoOoOo

Well, with a title like that, I'm sure that you would have expected a Splat cameo.

KamiXJeyeker-X - Your wish is my command. I have the whole story planned out, and all I have to do now is get it out.

-Tabbyluna