Short Disclaimer: All credit for story idea goes to TRikiD. I do not own any part of the Skylanders Franchise, save for the games and figures sold publically. I have borrowed the characters and locations from Skylanders for the sole purpose of telling a fanfiction story. Please read the unofficial first chapter for full disclaimers and notifications.
Additionally, part of Cadence's intro was inspired by Tigress's moves during the Dragon Warrior Selection from Kung Fu Panda.
An Awkward Homecoming
Flynn had risen above most other Mabu; courtesy of his mother via a letter of recommendation to Master Eon he had acquired a job as a pilot for the Skylanders, he was the owner of a grand new airship, traveled across the many lands, witnessed many battles and partook in awesome adventures with so many Skylanders. Flynn had gained many new friends along the way. In addition to new Skylander recruits, he a fox girl named Tessa, her noble bird steed Whiskers, and his childhood friend Cali also managed to lasso a job working with the Skylanders, using her renowned knowledge of exploration to guide them on missions. Flynn considered himself to be a very lucky Mabu.
Being one of the leading Alliance Officers on the Skylander Support Team, Flynn had been invited to attend a party in the fox hometown of Woodburrow that was being thrown in honor of the good deeds of the Skylanders. When Flynn heard that ALL Skylanders were invited, he was filled with excitement and he hoped that he would get to see Cadence again. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he did crush on Cali a few times after becoming an adult, but he still had his sights and his heart set on Cadence. Even after all the years she was away at the Specialized Training Academy, nearly four times longer than normal Specialized Training, he was still in love with the Matah…but that was one thing he wasn't ready to admit.
"Hey," shouted a voice overhead, breaking the Mabu's thoughts on his long lost friend.
"Huh," Flynn looked up at the owner of the voice who was standing up on a ladder, with a pile of streamers and a 'Great Job, Skylanders' banner.
"Could you give me a hand, Flynn?!" Cali asked in a less than polite tone.
"Oh, yeah, sure, hold on," Flynn said and quickly climbed up an adjacent ladder and without complaint, he helped Cali out with the decorations.
"Phew…thank you so much, Flynn," Cali sighed in relief and she slid right down the ladder.
She watched as Flynn climbed down the steps of his ladder with a smile on her face. Like most of the females in Flynn's life, she rarely ever showed gratitude towards Flynn. However, today, for the sake of the upcoming festivities, Cali was genuinely grateful for his aid. When he reached the ground, Cali noticed Flynn failed to flirt with her and attempt to get her to accentuate on her gratitude like he normally did. Then Cali figured out why Flynn was so out of touch with her and forgetting her own lack of interest in a dating relationship with the Mabu Pilot, she quickly switched gears.
"Hey, you excited for tonight?" Cali asked, hoping to strike up a conversation with him.
"Why wouldn't I be? It's a party," Flynn chuckled nervously.
"Right…" Cali said slowly.
She took a step closer to Flynn, trying to act as flirtacously as she could.
"And, uh, just what is it about the party that you're so excited about?" Cali asked slowly.
Flynn suddenly looked very apprehensive and uncomfortable when Cali flirtacously pressed the back of her left shoulder up against the front of his right shoulder and gazed up at him suggestively.
"Oh, well, uh…," Flynn said, laughing nervously and taking a step back from her.
"You know…" Flynn honestly couldn't find the right words, so he lied, "me, uh-ha-ha, the, uh…food?"
"Uh-huh…" Cali said with suspicion while slowly nodding and promptly dropped the flirtiness act.
"This is all about seeing Cadence again, isn't it?!" Cali asked him calmly and carefully.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Flynn asked with more than a little annoyance in his voice.
"Oh puh-lease, Flynn, it's totally obvious. You're easier to read than one of Hugo's books. You actively pursued a dating relationship with me, I know that your crush on me was somewhat genuine and yet when I am finally flirting with you, you show apprehension and discomfort. I know you had a crush on Cadie when we were kids. You've always had a crush on her. Don't you go thinking I haven't noticed, Flynn. You've always had a bigger picture of her than of me, and when new Skylander merchandise came out depicting the trainees at the Specialized Training Academy, you never hesitated to buy the merchandise of her," Cali mocked.
"Whatever," Flynn grumbled, but then he sighed and looked away from her and down at the ground slightly, "…I just… miss her is all. You know we grew up together, her and I, before they sent her away to that super special training school," Flynn said and then looked at Cali, "My mom fostered her."
"Your love for her goes much deeper than foster brother and foster sister," Cali said.
Flynn turned to walk away from Cali.
"Just please, Flynn, be careful with her," Cali said with concern; he spun around to face her.
"Why? What's wrong with seeing Cadence again?" Flynn asked, grumpiness in his voice and in his expression.
"Nothing! Nothing at all…but you know the rules; romantic relationships between Skylanders and non-Skylanders is forbidden. By all means, you can be close…but not THAT close," Cali said.
"Don't remind me," Flynn said with a groan.
"Those are the rules, Flynn. I am sorry. It's been this way since before even Nattybumpo," Cali said.
"I just don't understand why they have that dumb rule anyway. It's stupid. Romantic relationships and marriages between two Skylanders sound far too risky, if you ask me. If two Skylanders marry and have a kid, mom and dad could be out on missions at the same time, bad things can happen. And if not both of them, then one parent will be home while the other is out, which means that will be one less Skylander capable of fighting," Flynn said.
"I don't know why they have that rule in place, Flynn. It's just the rule," Cali said.
"Yeah, well, I guess it just can't be helped," Flynn said.
"So stop your griping about it? This is a party for all of us, not just for the Skylanders. So try to have some fun," Cali reassured with a smile.
A few hours later, the sun started its slow fade into the nighttime setting. Everyone in Woodburrow was ready and excitedly waiting for the Skylanders to start arriving; the first Skylanders to arrive were Magic, Life and Water, followed by the small handful of Light and Dark Skylanders.
Flynn recalled that Cadence had been publically designated as a Light Element Skylander, despite her unique ability to wield all of the elements. He figured that she would arrive with the other Light Element Skylanders and he desperately started scanning the growing crowd of Skylanders for her. Flynn was so distracted that he failed to notice the large orange bird named Whiskers glide in and land right behind him. Astride the bird's back was the fox town's Chieftess, Tessa.
She looked down at the Mabu Pilot and shook her head with amusement. Cali, Spyro and Gill Grunt had told her about his crush on one of the Skylanders and she could tell that he was looking for this Skylander. She gave Whiskers a gentle tap on the neck, when the bird looked back at her, she signaled for the bird to give the love struck Mabu pilot a peck on the head with his beak. Whisker whacked the Mabu pretty hard on the head.
"YEOW, HEY!" Flynn said, ducking down, placing his hands on his head and turning to look at what hit him.
"Oops, sorry. It was his idea, but I approved it," Tessa said with a fake innocent grin on her face and a shrug. Whiskers let out a chirping chuckle.
Flynn took his helmet and goggles off and rubbed his head to try to ease the pain.
"What was that for?!" Flynn exclaimed while rubbing his head in pain.
"Oh relax, Flynn, Whiskers and I did you a favor. You need to stop searching for Cadence. She will be here, but Master Eon and Buzz are holding her back from the other Skylanders because they want to give her a big introduction. She's completed her training. She's finally graduating and becoming a full-fledged Skylander," Tessa reassured him after jumping down from Whiskers.
"How did you know I-?" Flynn started.
"Cali, Spyro and Gill Grunt told me about your crush on her. And are you seriously trying to play dumb with me? You're crush on her is totally obvious with all of those figures, pictures and models you have of her in your quarters on Skylander Island," Tessa asked.
Flynn growled with annoyance and forcefully pulled his helmet and goggles back on his head, without taking care to make sure his ears got through the openings for them.
"There you two are! We're just about ready to start the festivities now, make our grandest announcement and introduce our newest Skylander!" remarked a loud voice with a southern accent.
Flynn and Tessa turned to see Mags, the Undead Inventor that worked tirelessly to build and repair gadgets for the Skylanders. Tessa let out an excited gasp and Flynn's mouth opened in a huge grin. Mags gave them both a nod.
"Well, c'mon then. I'm here to get you both up front for the grand reveal," Mags said.
Flynn and Tessa followed Mags through the crowd and came to stand at a roped off section at the base of the steps up to the Great Hollow. The translucent spirit form of Master Eon was standing at the top of the steps.
"If I may have a moment of your attention, I have a splendid announcement to make and a grand introduction to give to you all," Master Eon said loudly, causing everyone in the town square to quiet down and give him their attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, creatures of all kinds, it gives me great joy to announce to you all that the decision has been made to build a brand new, state of the art, Skylander Academy. A large academy where all Skylanders can train and anyone interested in our training processes can come and see how our Skylanders come to be the great heroes they are," Master Eon said.
"Wow, that is awesome. Ka-blam," Tessa said, with a huge smile.
"I'm the head architect," Mags said, proudly.
"Wouldn't expect anything less, Mags," Tessa said.
"And now, it gives me great honor and great privilege to introduce you all to our newest and greatest Skylander ever to exist. I'd like you all to meet my Wild Card Skylander and Chameleon of the Elements, that Mabu and King Cheetah hybrid, Cadence the King Matah," Master Eon declared majestically and gestured to a thick branch to the right of the entrance to the Great Hollow.
A light illuminated a feline figure standing tall and proud on the branch. It was a grown up Cadence, more fit and more gorgeous than ever. She wore a white leather tunic and black leather leggings that clung tightly to her body, showing off the curves and contours of her highly athletic body. Her left paw was held behind her back and in it was a long bo staff. Flynn smiled when he saw his old friend, immediately struck with desire for the Matah.
Cadence threw her bo staff down, causing one end of it to imbed into the floor of her demonstration stage, let out a war cry of a shout and jumped into the air from off the branch she was standing on. She used an air thrust to launch her and her jump was so incredibly high, that it was almost past the limit of the spotlight on her. She twisted and rolled in midair, maneuvering into a back flip, before dropping towards the ground, feet first in pencil dive form, performed a front flip half way down, then a horizontal twist, before landing on one foot on the ground, with her back to the crowd, she swung her other foot around in a round house kick, sending a gust of wind into the crowd watching. Cadence brought her foot down and followed through with a swipe of her arms and paws, sending out a wave of fire from her first arm and extinguishing the flames with a spray of water from her second arm.
"Whoa, three elements!"
"Remarkable!"
"Incredible!" came several remarks from the crowd.
Cadence then punched forward with her right paw, causing rocks positioned at the base of the steps to the Great Hallow to fly forward. Cadence then twisted her body again, spun around and whipped her tail forward. Vines from the tree shot up from the floor and snapped the rocks, reducing them to dust.
"Five elements!" remarked surprised spectators.
Cadence then performed a triple cartwheel over to her discarded staff, grabbed it mid a front flip, landed on her free paw, pushed herself up off the ground, reversed her front flip to a back flip and landing on one foot, she again swung her free leg around into a kick, then hesitating in that position she did a triple jab kick with her foot, sending arrows of purple light flying from her extended foot.
"Six!"
"That only leaves four elements left!" exclaimed two spectators in the crowd.
Cadence twisted around, swinging and twirling her staff around in an elegant fashion. From the shadows, Stealth Elf and Trigger Happy emerged and engaged her in combat. Trigger Happy started off with his Gatling Gun, firing it off at Cadence, who swiftly spun her staff in front of her, effectively repelling the coins from hitting her. Stealth Elf charged towards Cadence, her jitsu knives at the ready. Cadence let out a snarling hiss at Stealth Elf, dodged out of the way and suddenly vanished into one shadow. It was enough to take Stealth Elf completely off guard and the Life Elf was not prepared for it when Cadence jumped out of another shadow at her.
"The Dark Element," Stealth Elf remarked with awe after landing on her rear.
Trigger Happy let out his crazy laughing as he was in the middle of charging up his Yamato Gun Ray. Cadence twisted on her feet and turned to acknowledge him, taking up a defensive stance with her feet spread apart, knees bent, and her left paw holding her staff behind her back, she brought her right paw around in a backwards sweeping tiger scratch motion. Trigger Happy stopped laughing when his guns gave a harmless pop and flash before falling apart in his hands.
"Huh!" Trigger Happy exclaimed with shock.
Cadence then swung her staff around again, stood up straight and released ghosts from her outstretched paw, then twisting down into a bow, whipping around again with another round house kick and finishing off with a rapid sweep and jab of her paws, she sent a sweeping flash and wave of bright light moved out from her move.
"And there you have it folks. As you might have guessed by her demonstration, Cadence is fully capable of wielding, bending and blending with all of the Elements in Skylands. You saw in order of first to last Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Magic, Dark, Tech, Undead and finished off with the Light Element. In addition to her elemental powers, she is also an impressively proficient melee fighter. Cadence is our greatest Skylander ever. Her training is finally completed and today she joins her fellow Skylanders as a full-fledged Skylander," Master Eon said.
Cadence straightened up, brought her legs together, her arms to her side and gave an elegant bow to the Portal Master. Master Eon bowed back to her and gave her a nod. Cadence turned back to the crowd and raised her arms up into the air.
"LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!" Cadence proclaimed loudly.
The crowd erupted in cheers and before Flynn even had a chance, everyone else crowded in around Cadence to meet her. Flynn let out a gasp.
"Cadence," Flynn said with a panicked yelp, fearing he would not get a chance to greet his old friend and began making his way through the crowd towards Cadence.
"Poor guy. He's going to be too blinded by his love for that cat to follow the rules, huh Whiskers?" Tessa sighed while crossing her arms and glancing up at her bird.
Whiskers trilled in agreement and Tessa turned her attention to the crowd gathering around Cadence.
…^…
With much difficulty, Flynn pushed through the crowd that was also desperate to meet and greet the new Skylander. Flynn's luck took a turn for the worse when his scarf got under his foot and he fell forward and violently stumbled through the crowd. There was a startled cry from someone as he accidently fell onto them and took that someone down with him. Everyone around them let out a shocked gasp, stumbled back and stared wide-eyed at what had just happened before them. Flynn shook the dizziness from his head before opening his eyes and discovered who it was he had fallen on; he found himself lying right on top of Cadence.
"Ugh…" Cadence groaned, gave a shake of her head, when her head cleared and she opened her eyes, she let out a surprised gasp.
"Flynn!?" Cadence said.
"Uh, hi ya, Cadence. Uh, how's it goin'?" Flynn asked nervously. He pushed himself up into sitting position and failed to notice that he was now straddling her waist.
"This does not look good…would you please get off of me. People are staring at us," Cadence hissed at him in a harsh whisper.
Flynn realized the awkward position they were both in and quickly got to his feet. He offered a hand to Cadence, offering to help her up, which she took roughly. Cadence brushed herself off before turning her attention to the staring crowd.
"There is nothing to see here! It was just an accident! Nothing more and nothing less! And I think I've had enough of meetings and greetings for tonight!" Cadence said sternly. The festivities resumed and the crowd dispersed from their greeting of Cadence.
"Yep, that's right, we're just friends," Flynn reassured the crowd and walked away from Cadence.
"That's all we'll ever be," Flynn said quietly with a down tone as he again pushed his way through the crowd.
Cadence heard what he had said before he disappeared into the crowd and with concern in her heart, she followed after him.
"Flynn," Cadence called after him when she saw him.
He paused for a moment, but kept walking. Cadence caught up to him.
"Hey Flynn, don't feel bad. You do know we can still be friends. We are still friends, right?" Cadence asked with worry while following the Mabu.
"Of course you CAN still be friends. There's absolutely nothing in the rules that says you guys can't be," remarked a proud voice.
Flynn and Cadence stopped and turned to find that it was Freeze Blade who had said that and he came over to them, leisurely skating towards them.
"Oh, hey Freeze Blade," Cadence happily greeted the Water Feline Skylander.
"What? Freeze Blade? Wait, you two are…," Flynn said with surprise, but before he could finish his comments, Cadence began explaining things to the two of them.
"Freeze Blade, Flynn and I grew up together," Cadence said to Freeze Blade, then turned to Flynn.
"Flynn, Freeze Blade was one of my combat training partners. We met after the SWAP Force returned to Skylands. And yes, we are in a relationship," Cadence said to the Mabu.
"That's right, so trample off," Freeze Blade said.
Flynn was astonished by this news. And a little upset that the girl he had a crush on had spent a lot of time with this male Skylander. So out of jealousy, Flynn began to run interference in an attempt to drive a wedge between the two.
"Oh, yeah, hey there Freeze Blade. Ya know, Cadence, Freeze Blade and I were a pretty good team together in stopping Kaos from evilizing the Mount Cloudbreak Volcano," Flynn asked with a chuckle while grinning.
"Look here, Raccoon, why don't you scamper off and bug Cali?" Freeze Blade threatened.
"Raccoon!" Flynn remarked with shock and offense.
"Flynn, could you give us some time alone. I'll catch up with you later, I promise," Cadence asked sheepishly.
"That's right, BUDDY, so buzz off. The dance floor is waiting for Cadie and I to have our first dance," Freeze Blade said to Flynn.
Flynn was shocked that Cadence asked him to go away and he was irritated at hearing Freeze Blade call Cadence by the pet name he gave her. But he was now at a loss for words, so with a slow nod and a wave off, he let Cadence and Freeze Blade head back to the party together.
…^…
"Are you absolutely certain the two of you are JUST friends?" Freeze Blade asked with concern.
"I'm absolutely certain, Freeze Blade. You know him. Flynn can be a big-mouth and he does tend to stick his foot in it, but he's always had a big heart. Besides, I was fostered and raised by his mother, before I was sent off to the training academy. He's practically a brother to me," Cadence replied with a smile.
…^…
Flynn stood with Sharpfin on the sidelines of the dance floor, watching Cadence talk with Freeze Blade on the opposing sidelines.
"Cadence is incredible. Capable of wielding any element. A real Skylander of all Elements. And she's so lean, yet so strong," Sharpfin said, his voice was thick with his amazement.
"Look how she glows so brightly. Oh how I would love it if she would have a dance with me," Flynn said, longing in his voice.
Sharpfin looked at the crushing Mabu.
"Hey, you know the rules, Flynn! Rules are rules," Sharpfin said.
"That's absolutely right," said a stern commanding voice, breaking Flynn out of his daydream.
The dirt shark and Mabu turned to see an elder Mabu with a peg leg and an eye patch standing behind them. Flynn recognized the Mabu to be Buzz, Cadence's teacher.
"You know what the rules are, lad. We non-Skylanders can eat with the Skylanders, but we can't, ya know, dance with the Skylanders," Buzz said.
Flynn's head dropped and he had an annoyed look on his face.
"Yeah, I know the rules. You don't have to remind me," Flynn grumbled.
""Besides, even if Cadence wasn't a Skylander, she is WAAAY outta yer league," Buzz added.
Flynn snorted and with a grumpy huff, he walked away and left.
…^…
"Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. You are easily the most beautiful cat here," Freeze Blade said with much flattery.
"Oh Freeze Blade, you flatterer you," Cadence said with a smile.
"So, how about our first romantic dance? The dance floor is waiting," Freeze Blade asked seductively.
Cadence was suddenly struck with nervousness.
"Our first dance. Um," Cadence replied and frantically thought up an excuse.
"Come on, Cadie. I'll even take my ice skates off for ya," Freeze Blade said and with a flourish of his arms and legs, he caused his skates to melt away.
Cadence gave him a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, I'm still pretty tired from my demonstration. You know cheetahs, we can run faster than the wind, but only for a short while before we'll need to stop and take a nap," Cadence lied.
Amazingly and to Cadence's relief, Freeze Blade bought it.
"Hey Freeze Blade, there are some little fans of yours waiting to meet chya of at the meetin' and greetin' circle," Mags told him.
"I am on my way," Freeze Blade said.
Freeze Blade offered his arm to Cadence.
"You go on ahead without me. I am feeling a need to go out and get some fresh air," Cadence said.
"Alright, see ya later," Freeze Blade said and skated off with Mags.
With that, the Feline Skylander left Cadence alone. She went and headed out to quiet sky docks, thinking it would be empty and get a little alone time. Little did she know that she wasn't going to get any alone time, because that was where Flynn had retreated to. He was sitting at the edge of the upper sky dock where his ship was docked, moping all by his lonesome. Flynn let out a heavy sigh, but his sulking was interrupted when he heard the sound of boards creaking behind him as someone walked upon them. Curious to see who would be coming out to the sky docs at that hour, he looked back over his shoulder and was surprised to see it was Cadence approaching the docks. A small grin crossed his face as he watched her take the steps down to the lower dock directly below the dock he was on.
Cadence walked along the lower dock and once she was sure she was alone and out of sight, she finally stopped and leaned back against a sky dock post to the upper dock. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She oblivious to Flynn's presence and when Flynn suddenly dropped down, hanging by his legs from the upper docks and shouted at her, Cadence reacted by screaming back in fear. She growled with anger when she realized it was only Flynn. He let out a great belly laugh.
"Flynn!" Cadence remarked with annoyance and punched him in the shoulder.
"Relax, Cadie, I was just playing with you," Flynn said.
He dropped down from the upper dock.
"So, where's Freezy?" Flynn asked in a tone of mockery.
"It's Freeze Blade," Cadence corrected him sharply, "And he's off greeting his fans."
"And what are you doing out here all by yer lonesome," Flynn asked.
"I needed to get some air," Cadence replied.
"Needed some air, huh?" Flynn asked.
"Yeah…I'm not really one for large crowds or gatherings," Cadence said sheepishly.
"Oh yeah, I get yer drift. Yeah, I totally needed to get some air too. I guess that's why we both came out here to the AIR docks," Flynn said to her in a sarcastic tone as though he was implying that she really just came out to be with him.
Cadence rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.
"Flynn, go away and leave me alone," Cadence said and turned her back to him.
Flynn chuckled at this and rather than leave, he went and leaned back against the opposite post, crossing his arms and legs.
"Um, by the way, your sparring partner…he's not exactly what you would call a stud, no, certainly not stud, what's the word I'm looking for. It sounds like stud. Um, he's more of a…," Flynn said, he got up and walked around Cadence, trying to think of the right word. Then he stopped directly in front of her, leaned forward a little, gave her a 'duh' expression and plainly stated, "a dud."
"Oh what. A dud?! Ha!" Cadence said, looking at him with an amused expression.
"That's right," Flynn said and backed up to the post and once again leaned against it with his arms and legs crossed. "Nothing but a cold dud!" Flynn added with his own amused expression.
"No, he is not a dud," Cadence said and walked towards Flynn. "I know you've seen him in action, Flynn. You know Freeze Blade is…um…" Cadence said, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her chin with one finger, trying to think of the right words to describe Freeze Blade.
"Strong," Flynn offered smugly.
"Yes! That's it! He is strong! And oh so…um…" Cadence remarked and resumed her contemplating.
"Swift," Flynn gave, leaning towards her sideways, eyes closed with a smug grin and a shrug of his arms and shoulders.
"Yes! SWIFT! He is swift! Swift just like me! And he's also…oh, what is the word I'm looking for?" Cadence said, gently hitting the heel of her fist against her forehead.
"Smooth! Charming!" Flynn offered, with a gesturing of his hand.
"Yes! That's exactly it. He's smooth and so…wait, CHARMING!?" Cadence eventually realized what Flynn had just done and she glared at him as he smirked at her.
"OH, you make me SO mad!" Cadence growled at him with a huff.
"Dah, you know me, Cadie, I'm only messin' with ya," Flynn said, giving her a friend punch in the shoulder.
With Cadence focused on trying to verbally push Flynn away and with Flynn focused on charming the uptight Matah Skylander and with everyone else at the party, nobody noticed the evilized Greebles approaching the arguing pair from the shadows. With no warning at all, a chain shot came flying from the shadows and entangled itself around Cadence's ankles, the momentum of the two balls connected by a chain knocked the Matah off her feet. Cadence let out a startled yelp when she fell and hit the ground. Flynn shook his head in shock.
"What the-?!" Flynn cried out and looked in the direction the chain shot had come from, but before he could call for help, two Greeble Iron Clads charged out of the shadows and clubbed the Mabu and Matah over the head with their iron fists, knocking both of them out.
