Chapter 10

The Last of the Arkeyans

Trigger Happy had followed Bouncer and Drobot, as well as Chop Chop, to where they believed the last of the Arkeyans were located. It was an old mountain, called fittingly "Mountain of the Arkeyans."

Unlike many of the old Arkeyans, those who had survived the terrible war thousands of years ago had reformed and were living in secret. Now only those who actually were either completely, half, or partly Arkeyan knew where they were.

"Where in the heck are we going?" Trigger Happy asked. "My legs are getting tired! I want to go back and wait for the next order!"

"Just hold on a minute, bro," Bouncer told him. "We're almost there. Too bad you're not actually Arkeyan, or else you would know how far we are."

"Well, I know that we need them for this upcoming war against Vathek, but still, I'd rather be looking for Cynder," Trigger Happy explained.

"You're friends with that little thing?" Bouncer asked him. "Man, that ain't normal!"

Drobot was thinking of what he'd seen in Convexity, but he was too scared of what Spyro would say to him if he revealed it all to them, because he was sure they'd reveal it to everyone else.

"She isn't a thing!" protested Trigger Happy. "I don't know much about her past, but I do know that it was hard for her. It wouldn't surprise me if she was orphaned at a young age. But I trust her, and so does Spyro. After all, they are mates."

"I still trust her, and not only because she is my captain," Chop Chop told them. "I trust her because of how she never gave up hope when it came to defeating Kaos. But he still went over the edge, if you ask me, hurting Spyro."

"We all think that," Drobot said. "But still, isn't it weird to any of you that the little freak went missing after Kaos was defeated?"

Silence fell for a few seconds.

"Yes, but that might be because Kaos kidnapped her or something," Trigger Happy said back.

"Oh no." Drobot seemed to have a little edge in his voice all of a sudden. "She's too powerful for that. Her power is unimaginable."

Trigger Happy wanted to press on, wondering if Drobot knew something about Cynder that he didn't, but then he saw Bouncer stop.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No. We've arrived," Chop Chop said. "I can feel it."

"If you're Arkeyan, of course you can!" Bouncer exclaimed. "Now I just need to see if there's some way for us to enter. I haven't been in this place for quite some time, bros. Please excuse me for some few minutes."

Trigger Happy looked up and saw the mountain covered in fog that rolled away ever so slightly. The sun could be seen only a little, though the fog obscured it from his view. The mountain itself, meanwhile, was completely bare.

Bouncer looked around the bare surface in front of him. He stared for a little, and then went, "Open sesame!"

He turned around to see the annoyed expressions of the others. "That's all I can do."

"Oh, let me see!" Drobot exclaimed. "I've been learning some of the languages in the Skylands Library, and I was halfway through learning Arkeyan when Cynder was first taken, and I haven't been able to get through anymore due to all of this recent crap."

He made his way over to the wall and began speaking in the ancient language none of the others were able to understand.

"Non hotess. Ons soici. Coenedec osn tirno."

When he had finished, the secret entrance opened. Drobot turned around and saw that the others were staring at him in amazement.

"What in the heck does that mean? And how did you know it while I didn't?" Bouncer asked.

"It means: 'We are not enemies. We are allies. Allow us inside.' Maybe the reason you do not understand it is because you forgot it while you were missing for those hundreds of years," Drobot explained.

It was true. Bouncer was no ordinary Skylander. He was a Giant, which were twice the size of normal Skylanders. They had gone missing for hundreds of years before they were uncovered by Spyro, Cynder, and Sunburn.

As they entered, Trigger Happy's mouth dropped open. Everything was seemingly metal, the same kind that Bouncer was made of and that Chop Chop's armor was made of.

The secret entrance closed behind them. Lights turned on all around them. They suddenly saw several large Arkeyan robots standing in front of them.

"Who are you?" one of them asked. "What do you want?"

"Bros, do you not recognize me?" Bouncer asked. "It's me, Bouncer!"

They all peered at him, and their machine eyes widened.

"Holy crap, it's been a while!" one exclaimed. "It's good to see you again! What are you doing here?"

"Some of my Skylander friends and I have come to tell your leader about something," Bouncer said. "It's a little more serious, though."

"Ah. Well, then, we will take you to him," the largest guard said. "Come with me."

They entered into a larger room, which was almost the same as the one behind them, only much larger, and this time with a lift that would allow those who could not fly up to a high platform.

"Who are you?" came a deep, mechanical voice. "Why have you come to me here?"

"It is only the guards," the largest one said. "But we have brought friends."

"Friends?" said the voice. "What do you mean?"

"We're Skylanders," Drobot said. "And you might know Bouncer here."

"Bouncer?"

Out of the shadows came a robot larger than most they had ever seen. His machine eyes were red. The whole Arkeyan's body was golden.

"My name is Omega," he explained to them. "Of course, I already know who you are, Bouncer. Who are these others that have come?"

"They are Skylanders. This here is Chop Chop, who actually has Arkeyan armor on. He's one of the Undead Skylanders, but you could probably see that already. This is Drobot. None of the machinery on him is Arkeyan, but he did it all himself, so he's still pretty smart!"

"I see," Omega said. "And what of this smaller one?"

"This is Trigger Happy. He's probably one of the most fun guys I know. But our only problem is that Skylands is not full of fun and games at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Omega's eyes glowed brightly.

"The Wyvern Vathek has threatened us," Drobot explained. "He has killed two leaders in two locations. One was the Gillman Otoro in Leviathan Lagoon and the other was a skeleton down in a town in the Underworld. It is the largest town in the Underworld, if you must know. Three of our Skylanders have respectively witnessed these events, with Camo being there in Leviathan Lagoon. Meanwhile Sunburn and Whirlwind were there in the Underworld. They have both fought enemies that are abnormal. According to them, they control machines. We have come to ask you to join us against Vathek. You need your help. The Gillmen have already decided to join us, and we now need you. Sunburn has gone to warn the leader Ramses, Vathek's half-brother, of this, and we have Slam Bam and Whirlwind investigating Slam Bam's homeworld. I have also heard that the Life element Skylander Stealth Elf is going next to her world."

Having heard it all, Omega came closer to them.

"I am worried now, but I have decided that I shall join you. Both I and my army. We are ready."

"Thank you," Drobot said.

"Hallelujah," said Bouncer.

"I believe we will be going now," Drobot told him. "We came to give you this information, and we have succeeded. Now we shall leave and wait for you. Come to the Ruins as soon as you possibly can. That, we hope, will be before the week is over."

"Wait," Trigger Happy said as Bouncer and Drobot turned around. "I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" Omega asked.

"Have you heard anything about a Black Dragoness being held captive somewhere around here?"

The question made Drobot sigh, and Bouncer placed his palm on his face. They knew who he was asking about.

"What would this Black Dragoness be named?"

"Her name is Cynder," Trigger Happy answered. He saw Omega's eyes widen. "She has been missing for a couple of days, and we want her to be found. She is the mate of our leader, Spyro. He has nearly gone into a depression because of this, sadly."

Omega sighed himself.

"Unfortunately, I have not heard anything. I am sorry," he said. "I hope this does not hurt you too much."

Trigger Happy's face felt hot. He wanted to find Cynder and cheer Spyro up. They were both two of his greatest friends, and he wanted them both to happy for as long as they could.

Suddenly one of the Arkeyan soldiers ran into the room. He was looking frightened by something.

"What is it?" Omega asked him.

"There is a large monster coming. We do not know how it has found us, but it is not normal," the soldier hurriedly explained.

"What kind of monster is it?" Drobot asked.

"I'm not sure. It was flying, it was screaming...I know the name of the creature, but I do not remember!"

"Was the name 'Dreadwing?'"

"Yeah, that's it! But it's seemingly larger than any of those that I have ever seen! I do not know how we will be able to defeat it! They are so strong!"

"You have us!" Bouncer exclaimed.

"Wait, it was larger than normal?" asked Trigger Happy. "How is that possible? We fought some of those a few days ago, and they were about two feet larger than me. How big could this Dreadwing possibly be?"

"We must go and see!" Omega hurried to the opening, but Drobot stopped him from exiting the room. "What do you think you are doing?"

"You must stay here," Drobot ordered him. "If those two other leaders were killed, how do you know you might not be? This creature is larger than normal, and is more dangerous! We Skylanders are experienced, as we have fought many enemies like this."

He was simply lying about facing many like it. He just wanted the Arkeyan leader to be safe.

"Fine," Omega said. "I will wait. But when you are done, come to me. Be sure the creature is dead before you enter back in here."

As the three Skylanders made their way to the outside, they found the Dreadwing waiting for them. And it was big.

The creature was close to the height of Bouncer. This scared them, but they were ready to fight it.

Bouncer shot finger rockets at the Dreadwing, causing it to scream in pain. It reared back, and they dodged as it released its sonic scream. Trigger Happy then shot his two golden guns at it, with the golden coins painfully riding right into it.

Drobot shot lasers at it, burning it severely. The creature seemed to be weaker than they had at first believed.

But then the creature closed its and released fire at them. Trigger Happy was hit by an aftershock but not by the attack itself.

He hit his head on the side of a rock, causing there to be a small bleeding cut on his head.

Angry and confused, he combined his guns into a machine gun and shot as fast as he possibly could, breaking the Dreadwing's entire body.

As it was about to release the fire again, there was a large sword thrown out of nowhere. It sank deeply into the Dreadwing's body, killing it instantly.

Looking around for the source of the sword, they saw Omega standing above them. He retreated back inside, knowing his danger.

Trigger Happy looked over at the sword, seeing that it was made of pure plasma, which Arkeyan attacks that had to do with energy were normally fueled by. The sword disappeared, which made him realize it was just an attack, and that the sword wasn't one's to keep.

The three Skylanders returned. Thinking back to the reports from earlier, they had done the best, and they'd done without an injury. Although Trigger Happy had a cut, it was only that, a cut.

As they found themselves back where they'd first met Omega, he stood there in front of them.

"I will join you most certainly," he said. "I must tell my people of this, and then you may go."

"Where are your people?" Trigger Happy inquired. "I only see your guards here with us."

Omega turned around and beckoned them to join him on the lift. They did so, and when they had reached the top, he went over to a door.

As he opened it, the three Skylanders saw thousands of Arkeyan robots there. It was hard to tell which were male and which were female.

"Hello, my people," Omega greeted. "I have come with troubling news. These three Skylanders have told me that the dark Wyvern Vathek has planned to take over Skylands. They've asked us to join them, and they have proven themselves by saving my life, and now I am in their debt. Those of you who are of age or are old enough to fight may join us. We shall leave tomorrow for the Ruins to meet them, and then we shall prepare to attack Vathek and defeat him. This may be a daunting task, but we have power enough to win. Now, who is with me?"

Many of the Arkeyan soldiers yelled and cheered, ready to join him. Omega turned to the three Skylanders.

"There you go," he said. "Now, we must prepare. I'd suggest you leave just in case. We shall be seeing you very soon!" He turned his back and closed the door.

As they left, Trigger Happy smiled. "That wasn't so bad," he said. "Now we have the Gillmen and the Arkeyans on our side. Does anyone know if the Underworld has decided to join us?"

"No, because we left not long after Sunburn and Whirlwind returned from there," Drobot said. "But I am sure that they will. I am very sure, and most of the time, I am right."

"But you know Drobot, sometimes there are things that you may not completely say or know," Trigger Happy told him. "As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover!"

Drobot thought for a minute about that saying, and somehow it seemed to ring true to him.