Landscapes
The palace plaza of Uzern had been transformed; it was the most secure section of the city so far with a large gathering of gargoyles both outside and inside the palace hunting for every last drow. It was obvious the two enemy gargoyles that had set everything in motion had retreated, the spirits were roaming the streets freely by then and helped the gargoyles root out any drow that attempted to hide. Seraphina and Anicetus had left the mindscape and returned to Uzern; both looked terribly weary.
"The web of compulsion that was laid on their minds is anchored deep and drawn tight. It is nearly impenetrable I've been told." Wraith sat down heavily next to Seraphina, the Hexling was tired from her encounter with both Surpin and Shalu'Bane. Wraith always had admired her for her willpower, it was an honor to work with her. "The psionics are at a loss on how to free the Skylanders. But they will keep trying, failure is not permissible."
The elven psionic rubbed at her eyes and leaned back on Eloryn's chest, for once the dragon didn't complain about someone using her for support. "How long until the army has secured the city?" The question wasn't related to the topic exactly but it was important to the Hexling. Seraphina rested her head in her hands, if she was this tired hopefully that meant Surpin was as well and there was a chance to find him somewhere in the forest beyond the city. She doubted it but that didn't stop her from entertaining ideas about bringing him to justice. What were he and Shalu'Bane thinking by alerting Kaos to the presence of the gargoyle psionics?
"How long?" Wraith repeated, "Shouldn't be long. With the gargoyles and other Skylanders working to subdue the drow we should see armored elves any moment now."
"Get Windy to sit down and relax," Seraphina sighed. She had seen the Whirlwindling do nothing but pace around the lot of her friends where they sat in a trance amid a group of gargoyle psionics. The gargoyles themselves were under the watchful eyes of Hex and Camo.
"Good luck," Eloryn snorted from behind her sister. "She cannot seem to leave the psionics alone and has tried to shake them for answers while they are busing delving into the minds of her friends."
"She will only succeed in slowing their efforts," Seraphina replied. Light, her eyes burned and felt heavy. She just wanted to sleep but knew it wasn't over yet.
"Rest, Soothsayer," Wraith said with a gentleness he normally didn't possess. The giant laid an enormous hand on the Hexling's shoulder. "You drove the enemy psionics away and without them the drow are less inclined to confront us. It is safe to let sleep take you. I have a feeling you will be needed to set Windy's companions free."
"Let me get up," Eloryn prompted her sister. "Maybe Crevan or Meilyr has something to help you."
Seraphina leaned forward so the Flashwingling could move. "I do not want to rely upon potions. I will be even more worn out when all is said and done."
"The sooner we find closure the sooner you can rest. I know you, Sera," Eloryn said as she glanced over her shoulder, "you will not allow yourself to rest until those poor Skylanders are free. Let me do what I can to get you help." She turned away in a brisk walk after Seraphina gave her the barest of nods.
"You can't blame yourself," Wraith told her suddenly. "It's not your fault they came back to the city without your knowing."
Seraphina tilted her head slightly to look at the Hot Headling with one eye, "Without me none of them would have been here. Without that introduction we might not have found the drow out before it was too late." The undead elf sighed and slouched down further. "Good and bad are bundled together because of my choice."
Wraith looked up as Anicetus and Niall stepped beside him quietly. "Think only of the fact we found the drow before they could make their move."
"There is no need to fight sleep, Princess. We will make sure nothing surprises us. Rest now, you have done your part," Niall suggested.
"I know I could use a nap," Anicetus sighed. "At least my headache was taken care of."
Seraphina shook her head and rose to her feet as Eloryn returned with both of the Fizzlings. "I cannot, I promised Queen Elanniah I would see this through and it is not over."
"I have something for stamina," Crevan offered. He handed a milky purple potion to the Hexling. "The strongest I have. I do not know how many it will take to restore you as if you had rested through the night but you can only take two. The side effects are doubled with each one you take. As a Skylander when the potion runs out you will be sent back to Earth. For normal persons, well, they would find themselves waking up a day or two later."
Seraphina took the bottle, uncorked it and drank it. Her eyes bulged out and she seemed to struggle to finish it. She coughed a few times and wound up with her hands propped on her knees. "Are you sure the side effect is not the taste?" the Hexling croaked before another fit of coughs. "That was rancid!"
"Sorry," Crevan said sheepishly as he took the vial from her. He compressed the glass object between his hands and it simply vanished without shards or any trace. "Well?"
"Give it a moment," the princess sighed as she righted herself. She could feel it working and began to feel more refreshed steadily. Seraphina watched Windy's head perk up before she came racing over towards the group. Niall purposely put himself in front of the Hexling as Crevan and Meilyr turned to slow the Whirlwindling's run.
"They said you're the only one that can help my friends!" Windy spoke so quickly half of her words were lost. "Please!" she begged as she craned her neck to see around the two Fizzlings.
Seraphina put a hand on Niall's shoulder and gently moved him to the side. "Are you ready to go?"
Windy blinked at her in confusion, "What? Go where?"
The Hexling pointed back to the group of subdued Skylanders, "To help them. That is what you are asking me, is it not?"
"I don't," Windy pranced around when Meilyr and Crevan stepped away. "I don't understand. Where do we have to go?"
Eloryn was glad she was behind Windy, she had to work hard to keep the grin off her face and giggle in her throat. She coughed to cover it and took the liberty to back up and out of the area. Oh was Windy in for an adventure. Wraith turned to follow her, the giant was equally amused and engaged the Flashwingling in conversation quietly.
"Do you think it wise, Sera?" Meilyr looked at Windy skeptically.
The Hexling ignored her friend for the moment and addressed Windy. "Do me a favor first, Windy. Go speak to Nivaeus the Swarmling, tell him I am bringing you with me. Have him prepare you."
"Prepare for what?" Windy demanded with her ears drooping. "Where are we going?"
Seraphina raised her hands in a soothing gesture, "Please, ask Nivaeus. He can walk you through everything. I wish to bring one other with me and I need to speak with him about it."
Windy looked back to her friends and then Nivaeus as he stood conversing with the gargoyle psionics. "Okay," she said skeptically before she turned with just as much reluctance.
There was really only one other person Seraphina thought would be helpful in the situation. Not as a psionic but as someone that personally knew the corrupted Skylanders. Familiar faces would help to clean up the mess a little easier. Camo though wasn't quite sure what to make of it as Seraphina pitched her idea to the plant and dragon hybrid.
"Go with you, as in here?" Camo asked as he tapped a claw alongside his head.
"Precisely," Seraphina said with a nod.
The leafy dragon hybrid glanced over to Hex then back to the ragged looking Hexling, "Why me, why not one of the psionics?"
"Because you are a familiar face for those Skylanders, just like Windy. If the compulsion that holds them is as strong as the gargoyles said then even alone my efforts are for naught. I need you and Windy to talk with the others, break through to them so I can unravel the netting that has ensnared them."
"Go Camo," Hex said with a nod, "When else are you going to be presented with such an opportunity? I will admit to being envious at your luck." She didn't look it, as always Hex looked cool and unaffected by things around her.
"But I am just a tiny little sapling," Camo said in a voice that cracked. "I don't know what to do!"
"Leave the details to me," Seraphina raised a hand and closed her eyes. "It will be a familiar experience and not as strange as you seem to believe."
"Go, I will inform Spyro and Cynder when they return," Hex said. "Get those Skylanders back on our side where they belong."
Camo deflated in defeat. "Alright, I go. What do I expect?"
"Nothing more than what you already saw. They will try to attack. We help one at a time to make it easier on us."
"Sprint first," Windy nodded when she was joined by Camo and Seraphina. "Sprint gets set free first. Then Timber," she looked to the ent that still gave his captors grief. "He is hard-headed." She watched the Hexling psionic drift towards the Stealthling before she knelt next to her.
"Ironwood," Camo nodded in agreement to Windy's statement. "He is a danger to himself and all like that."
"Make yourselves comfortable," Seraphina waved at the duo once they joined her at Sprint. "Give me a moment," she said over her shoulder before she rose back up and went to speak with a gargoyle.
"I'm nervous, Camo," Windy admitted.
"I shake like a leaf!" he said with wide eyes. "I want to wilt away." Camo snorted and shook his head. "We are Skylanders. We can do this."
"Yeah," Windy sat down and looked from Sprint to Lunar and the rest of her friends. "We have to. I can't tell Krystal I lost them. I'm already in trouble for bringing them here in the first place. I have to get them out. I just have to."
Camo fell silent after that, all he could think about was the black tendrils of energy that held their figures back on Earth. Krystal must be sitting next to them in the portal room waiting anxiously for news. The plant hybrid looked to Windy, she was so intent on studying their friends that she seemed so far removed from everything. Camo closed his eyes, he would bring the news to Krystal. Bad or good, Windy would have to return to Haven alone to meet with the Queen.
Anxiety kept Camo and Windy next to their friend and allowed Seraphina to speak privately with the psionics she wanted to place as guards.
"As it is their first time I want someone standing by to pull them out at the first sign of trouble," Seraphina glanced back towards Windy and Camo. "I will do what I can from within but I need a spotter out here to bring them back in the event they accept things as fact."
"I will watch them," the red skinned gargoyle that resembled an elf with wings and a tail said with a thump of a fist to her chest. "It is an honor to serve you Soothsayer."
Again there was that title of respect. "Thank you," Seraphina thumped her chest in return as per gargoyle custom. "I do not know how long this will take or if you will need to reassure the other Skylanders when they arrive. I will work as quickly as safely possible." Seraphina was surprised when the gargoyle offered her hand for a shake in the elven fashion.
"I look forward to seeing what you can do. I have heard tales from the Marble Clan and am eager to see the truth in them."
Finally the Hexling glided back up to meet with Camo and Windy. The green hybrid looked up at her with his multicolored eyes and took a deep breath before he managed a timid smile.
"Are you ready?" Seraphina asked the both of them.
Windy had already sat down next to Sprint and had just moved a stray lock of hair out of her friend's face when the Hexling returned. She looked up and gave Seraphina a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess so." She looked back to Hex who had earlier joined her and Camo near the bound individuals. "Is Hex joining us?"
"No," the sorceress answered before Seraphina could, "This is not my battle. I understand this and accept it." She gave Seraphina a nod as she drifted back from the group.
"What do we do?" Camo asked as he more or less collapsed on the paving stones next to Sprint.
"Sit down or lie down, whichever you find most comfortable and relax. Windy you take one of Camo's paws in your own and give me your other." Seraphina placed one hand on Sprint's head after she had Windy's paw. "Camo, place your free paw somewhere on Sprint. You need to feel skin." She watched the dragon reach out for the elf's fingers. "Good. Remember to breathe." The contact wasn't needed but Seraphina had found it seemed to help the non-psionics adjust better. "Close your eyes and trust me. Let me guide you."
Windy felt a sensation similar to movement and only shut her eyes tighter. Her heart skipped a beat, she really didn't know what to think.
"Open your eyes," Seraphina said softly.
When Windy did she saw Camo looking at her with the largest grin on his face she had ever seen. Windy looked past him to Seraphina. She knew the golden skinned and haired elf was Seraphina because of the paintings she had seen before and the magic in the temple of Uzern during her first visit. The eirian before her was dressed in a soft lavender version of the white and gold thigh-length robe with trousers Windy was used to seeing her in and she carried an ivory staff topped with a rough cut amethyst gem. She no longer hovered like Hex but had her feet planted firmly on the ground. Only after Windy had confirmed she was in the company of Seraphina and Camo did she chance looking around.
The trio stood in a large room full of rows of seats, beautiful stained glass windows depicting acts of kindness, giving and community. An alter was in the front of the room flanked with large braziers topped with glowing crystals rather than fire and behind it all was a great statue of an elf with six wings. There was no mistaking it, the location was a temple. The three of them stood in the back behind the pews and in an area that lead to other doors and halls along the far walls.
"The Temple of Light in Mier Valan," Seraphina confirmed the thought with her statement. "That statue," she pointed towards the enormous stone carving complete with golden wings tipped in crimson, "Is the avatar my people choose to represent the Light. All races see this personification in their own way. Gillmen will represent the Light as one of their own and dragons picture the most majestic of their race. Here you can look like whatever you want." Seraphina paused for a moment and when Windy remained as she was the Hexling understood she already looked how she wanted to. "I brought you here first because this is a location of my choosing. It is neutral ground and where I will give you a crash course, so to speak. Understand that you do not have to accept anything that happens to you. If you refuse to let it affect you then it cannot harm you." It was a little more complicated than that of course but all Seraphina needed them to do was accept that as fact and they would fight as hard as needed on their own. Since they were visiting the mind of another non-psionic it would be much easier to shrug off anything Sprint tried to force on them. Seraphina wouldn't dare think of bringing a non-psionic into a mental battle with a psionic.
"Let me show you this, Camo would you help me in the first demonstration?"
"Yeah," he nodded and stepped towards Seraphina. "What do I expect?"
"I am going to restrain you, plain and simple. You are to try and get out of the restraints by believing that they cannot hold you. Not that you can loosen them enough to wiggle out." She smirked at the confused look Camo gave her. "They are not real, Camo," she explained. "By believing that you can loosen them enough to wiggle out you accept them as real. That is dangerous, simply deny them the ability to hold you and they will dissolve like fog." She hadn't even warned him, the next moment Camo was on his side bound just like the drow had restrained him with his front legs tied to his neck and his back to his tail with neck and tail tied together as well. Discomfort was all he could think about and that made him believe the bonds were real.
Seraphina held her hand up when Windy gasped and tried to advance on Camo. "Let him try, Windy. I chose a situation to illustrate how real your mind can make it. Let him show his willpower is stronger." In a real battle a psionic would monitor the bonds to reinforce them and keep them in place. Seraphina set them and left them be, she had to build up confidence in them and she couldn't do that by giving it her all.
Camo struggled to do as Seraphina had told him but it was harder than it sounded. He was uncomfortable, in pain even and no matter how he moved the ropes chafed. How could he pass them off as nothing if they felt so awful?
"Can't I just give him a little help?" Windy asked.
Seraphina bowed her head and closed her eyes, she didn't have time to run through methods of protection. If they wore themselves out on the training then the battles that laid ahead would be tougher. "Help him, Windy." She would just have to step in and offer aid herself and hope she could give them enough of an edge to get through anything Sprint's subconscious threw at them.
Windy chewed through the rope that held Camo's neck to his tail and instantly relieved a lot of pressure on the dragon. He shook his head and grunted when the ropes pulled on his front legs, at least it wasn't as bad as when he had been tied into a donut. There was just enough space between his front paws for Camo to gnaw through the ropes then turn to the ones on his feet. The hybrid climbed back to his feet and stretched out the stiffness. "Um, this is harder than a coconut shell," he said.
Seraphina gave him a smile, "I will watch over you. Handle things as you are comfortable with and we will be fine. I will not put you through the same Windy. I apologize for putting you through such discomfort. I will make sure you are not put through anything else like that. When you are ready open the door." She pointed towards the one nearest them that should lead out onto the streets of Meir Valan. Windy knew it wouldn't and felt apprehension over where it would lead.
For the reinforcements made up of additional Cores the scene at the palace had been undiscovered. They made their way carefully through the city's tiers as they headed towards the rendezvous point. The ethereal forms of long dead elves watched the visitors and guided them just as much as gave them something to point and talk about.
Morning Dew stood proud and tall as she and the Skylanders made their way deeper into the city of Uzern. She walked alongside Commander Roghallach just ahead of the Skylanders. The city appeared to be under control now with gargoyles and eirian patrolling the streets and nodding respectfully to the group of Skylanders.
"It is amazingly easy with so many allies," Flameslinger commented. "I am bored I think."
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Stealth sighed. "You won, celebrate! No need to drag something out. Quick, easy and simple. The best way to go." She thumped the edge of one hand into the palm of the other as she spoke.
"The lassie has a point, lad. See this as the start of something else, ye heard the news Morning Dew shared with us about the word on psionics gettin' out, right?"
"Get off the bird, Jet," Slam Bam rolled his eyes. The sky baron seemed content to continue riding the blue and green orniteryx right through the city. "There's no way you're gonna be able to keep it. Besides I think Rider feels like yer steppin' on his toes."
"My toes are fine," the mounted elf said as he looked to his armor clad feet in Fright's stirrups. Sonic Boom and Sunburn exchanged grins and eye rolls, they could never tell if Rider was being serious or goofing off. He could deadpan anything he said no matter how ridiculous it was.
"Ah know that. Let me enjoy it while Ah can. Beastie isna as bad as his rep states." Jet-Vac cooed as he scratched the orniteryx on the neck. His temporary mount chattered happily and walked as if he wanted to raise a foot to thump like a dog would.
Pop Fizz along with Trigger Happy in one of their random bouts of insanity decided it would be a fun game to try to roll one another in front of the orniteryx while the bird strode along. All it took was two steps and the war bird had passed them. Trigger Happy had been rolling the larger blue gremlin and threw his arms up in defeat when Jet-Vac gave him a funny look from the back of the orniteryx.
"Aw," Pop Fizz grunted as he came to a stop on his back and stared up into the purple canopy way above.
"If that pack were any bigger you would be bent in half just to reach the street," Double Trouble commented as he floated by without looking at the gremlin.
"Is that the palace?" Whirlwind asked while she spread her powder blue and white wings to extend her jump higher to see over the buildings. "It is!" she gasped with widened eyes, "I saw the others! Hurry, hurry!" she insisted. Whirlwind let her excitement move her feet and she barreled past Morning Dew and Roghallach.
The elven commander turned around in surprise to make sure he wasn't going to get stampeded. He tilted his head to the side before Morning Dew nodded and they moved to the side to let the Skylanders run ahead. Well, almost all of them. Wham-Shell and Drobot hung back and at least made a show of listening to Stump Smash mutter about how fast mammals, reptiles, avians and amphibians lived.
"Only Arbo and Tree Rex appreciate moving at a slow and steady pace, not even Zook or Shroomboom understand. And Zook is the first of his people to decide there's more ta life than standin' around in the dirt all the time!" Stump Smash shook his head. He didn't realize how that sounded to first mention how fast others lived then to state the very sedentary lifestyle of Zook's people as being too slow for Stump Smash himself.
"Race ya, laddie!" Jet-Vac said happily to Rider as the others followed Whirlwind's example.
"Laddie?" the undead elf scoffed, "Why I'm older than you!"
"Are ye now? Aye, who cares?" Jet-Vac held up the reins and gave Rider a hopeful look.
"You keep that thing away from our friends and allies and I accept." Rider had no doubts who would win, it was hardly a fair race. Jet-Vac's bird was larger and meaner but Fright was a speedy ostrich and had better maneuverability.
"That Ah can do," Jet chuckled. He flapped the reins and his blue and green bird took off in a dash.
"Let him have a head start," Rider said to Fright when he tried to lurch forward. "He is an inexperienced rider anyway."
"I must admit, Commander Roghallach, it has been an honor working with you. And with you, my dear Morning Dew," Wham-Shell said with a bow to the two.
"Your companions are too light-hearted this soon after battle," the gargoyle said.
"A life without humor is a poor life indeed," Wham-Shell said in their defense. "They are good folk," he nodded.
"Hey I'm all for laughin' and carryin' on but they are makin' us look immature," Stump Smash grumbled.
Roghallach shook his head, "A dose of levity is fine. Do not involve the elves in your antics and you will be alright."
No one noticed Drobot had slowed to hang back. The tech dragon seemed distracted by something as he raised a paw to his helmet to click something on the side of his head.
"Repeat transmission, my apologies for having the comlink silenced."
"Man, Dro, what's the point in having us up here if you aren't going to pay attention to our status updates?" a female voice grumbled at the dragon.
"Forgive me Sprocket," Drobot said in his normal machine voice. "I was engaged in combat and couldn't afford distractions."
"Yeah well we found some of the fleeing drow. Took out those we spotted but others could have slipped by us. There's only so much ground we can cover and someone still doesn't understand how to fly an Arkeyan copter!"
"You're just jealous that I do it better than you," Flynn's all too familiar voice drifted through the link.
"Anyway," Sprocket stressed, "we're in a holding pattern above the city. This flying horse thing won't let us descend. Is there anything you can do to remedy it?"
"I am in the company of one of the two commanders overseeing the elven movement. Allow me the opportunity to bring your situation to light and communication can be passed to the gargoyles."
"A-ha!" a third voice cackled on Sprocket's end. "See, I told you that's what that creature was!"
"Yes, your deductive skills are fascinating, Roaster." Sprocket's tone let Drobot visualize her rolling her eyes in exasperation. Ghost Roaster only cackled hysterically like usual.
"Transmission end," Drobot droned before he clicked the link off. Perhaps it was rather sudden of him and if he knew Sprocket she was sputtering over the forced radio silence. But if she wanted results then she had to let him work. The armored dragon gave a start when he realized how far behind the others he had fallen and broke into a trot to catch up.
In the psionic landscape the temple had been a safe haven, it radiated a sense of stability and comfort. But when the door had opened and the trio set foot into the drowned and muted world on the other side that feeling fled in a heartbeat.
"Where are we?" Windy whispered. Her voice had simply come out that way without a conscious thought; it was as if a louder voice would shatter something. The Whirlwindling felt heavy and thick air pushing in on her from all directions. There was an undeniable chill in the air and made her tuck her wings in tightly against her for warmth. It didn't help that she was ankle deep in water that covered an impossible landscape of rolling hills and valleys. The water never flowed off the side of the hills, it remained ankle deep and still in defiance of gravity.
"This place has some significance to Sprint. Be it a memory or a recurring theme in her dreams this is where she retreated to try and hide from the psionic influence. It is here to slow us, we are intruders as well."
"I have seen blueberries that look more cheerful that this!" Camo said while making a face. "This water is wrong, it doesn't feel right to me." It was thicker and slicker somehow. And worse it felt alive, the thought made Camo shudder as he stepped high to keep his feet out of it as long as possible.
Windy turned to Seraphina, "Is there anything here other than murky hills and grey skies?"
"Yes," she replied with her eyes closed. Seraphina walked like that, her staff still at her side like a walking stick rather than a cane to feel the way.
Camo cocked his head to the side as he wondered what she was doing and got the idea to close his eyes as well. He gasped sharply then opened them just as quick to look around the area.
"What?" Windy prompted. She had tucked her tail under her and kept her ears flat against her head.
"Close your eyes," Camo said in awe. "Trust me," he blinked at her. He felt frustrated over the lack of words to describe it and knew it was something she would have to see for herself. "Just do it!" he said urgently. "You're not going to believe what comes next."
Windy gave in after she watched Seraphina and Camo move off in the same direction all while their eyes were closed so they shouldn't be able to see where the other walked. The Whirlwindling was utterly confused by what she saw behind her supposedly closed eyes.
The grey landscape was gone. There was a world ripe with colors of all kinds and violently so. The whole of the place was nothing but neon and looked like a child's painting with colors thicker and darker in some places and washed out in others. The bright sun was smiling down at them and bore a halo of lines meant to represent rays. Even the lone cloud in the electric blue sky had a smile on its fluffy white face. Fat stalks of grass that seemed to have no more weight than cotton swayed in the breeze that left visible waves of air in its wake and swirled up leaves that vanished into the carpet of grass just as easily as they swirled up from it. Camo walked with his head down as he studied the way everyone floated off the ground and on top of the grass that magically held them aloft. It really did look like artwork from the imagination of a child.
A tree with a purple trunk was topped in the same vibrant green also used for the grass. The tree's greenery was drawn the same way as the cloud above with lots of loops and curves sans a smiley face. However a few overly large sunflowers popped up in the area wearing smiles and sunglasses. Windy was flabbergasted. She turned to spot Seraphina and Camo walking towards a pink and yellow structure that sort of resembled a square house with a triangle roof. Fat birds with short wings and legs almost as thick as their bodies darted through the air on wings that looked more like sails than anything else.
"Mind explaining this?" Windy dared to ask when they came to a stop outside the house. It had a large padlock on it that was just as out of place as the three of them. Unlike their surroundings the lock was very solid and a dull metal color. It was cold to the touch and seemed to pinch in the pink door frame around it.
"Her mind wanders freely. That is the only thing to explain, things get unpredictable in a mind at rest. Sprint herself likely has no control over what is happening if she has allowed herself to dream."
"This is what it's like to be a psionic?" Camo shook his head. "Reminds me of something else."
The reference was lost on Seraphina but she didn't care to dwell on it anyway. Rather she had turned her attention to the lock on the door and closed her eyes again.
Back in the flooded grey rolling hills there was no padlock. There wasn't even a door or house in front of Seraphina. Just more of the same rolling grey and her companions standing there with their eyes closed. She had to smirk; it would confuse them deeply if they knew they existed in both places at once. While their eyes were closed in one location they were open in the other. What they saw affected how they interacted with their environment. Seraphina took an experimental step forward and opened her eyes.
"She's gone!" Windy exclaimed in panic. She tried to pry open the door, even pounded on it in an attempt to knock it in. Nothing seemed to work. One moment Seraphina was standing in front of it with her eyes close and the next she simply vanished through the door like it had been opened somehow. "Camo!" the blue hybrid cried out in fear, "What do we do?"
Camo reached out with a paw and pulled Windy back. "Calm down!" he hissed at her. "She won't abandon us like leaves do trees in autumn. Wait for her return."
Seraphina was delighted, it had worked. She found herself on the other side of the door. When she looked behind her the door looked much as it had on the other side just with the padlock on the left hand side rather than the right. On her side of the door the environment looked normal. It was at dawn, the sky was colored pink before it turned orange then purple on the fringes that finally gave way to a powder blue sky ripe with the promise of a beautiful new day. Seraphina was in a small village made of thatched huts. Mud brick walls held up the dry grassy roofs and were arranged in rows to give the appearance of hard packed dirt streets along the way. Street lamps still burned softly and cast yellow haloes of light on the grass at their bases. A well stood directly to Seraphina's left, the bucket perched on the lip held a small amount of water. Birds sang and livestock milled about in their pens while an elven farmer tended them. For now Seraphina had seen enough. She turned back around, closed her eyes and stepped forward once she found herself back in the soggy grey wasteland. She closed her eyes there and opened them next to a startled Camo and Windy.
"Follow me," Seraphina said with a genuine smile, "I found the way in. Close your eyes."
"Here again?" Windy groaned when she found herself in the washed out grey landscape.
The princess took a step forward. "Here again. Step up next to me and close your eyes again." She waited to make sure both of them had done so before she allowed her perspective to shift.
"How did you figure all this out?" Camo murmured as he looked around the little village.
"Every mind and its defenses are different. Apparently Sprint likes to hide things under layers. Honestly I found it by accident. We have more to travel and this layer has heavy influences from another mind." Seraphina stepped in front of the two dragons and the first thing they noticed was the sudden appearance of a pack slung over her shoulders. She looked back on them as if she knew what they had just been wondering about. "We are travelers if anyone asks. Do not treat this as a figment of the imagination of Sprint. If she is here then it feels very real to her and the people that populate it will act how she expects them. We are outsiders to this village but residents of this world. Do not ask for Sprint, do not speak of being a Skylander or anything we have just been through. If you upset anyone defenses Sprint had set up will hone in on us."
"I… know where we are," Windy said slowly. "But it's all wonk." She squinted as she looked at the buildings. "This is our home but we lived in normal houses made of stone, brick and wood. The farm was out further," she said as she nodded towards the livestock pen. "We had a general store, an inn, city hall and market area with a stage for an outdoor theater. It was small but we had almost everything a larger city had. I see only homes and half of the farm. Where are the crops?"
"Where did the door go?" Camo asked in alarm when he turned back around. "It was there a moment ago."
Seraphina turned back to where it had been and stepped up to the space it had occupied. When she closed her eyes things remained black and she could still hear the shuffling of Camo and Windy's feet. "We must have set off one of her defenses," the princess said as she opened her eyes to see nothing had changed. "We cannot go back now."
The plant hybrid stiffened up, "Are we trapped?"
"No, I can still get us out." Seraphina turned back around and began to stride towards the center of the village. It was unspoken but her companions knew they were supposed to follow her.
The village began to come to life and strangely enough the deeper into it the trio strode the more of the village they saw pop up mysteriously. A quick glance behind proved that as more appeared ahead things behind began to fade away. The landscape remained a gently rolling plains with scattered copses of trees but anything not naturally occurring simply vanished. Villagers began to step out of huts and greet their neighbors warmly. The trio of strangers received mixed reactions. Some of the villagers gave a polite wave and nod, others openly frowned at them and some pulled their children in closer to them while hissing something to neighbors.
Windy's jaw would have hit the ground if it was propped open any more. She saw so many faces she recognized, people she missed and hadn't seen since she was banished. No one recognized her and she had to fight the urge to race up to them and talk about memories they shared. She had nearly forgotten she looked nothing like the elf they would have remembered. "Sprint," she breathed out suddenly. "And… me! When we were younger."
Camo hadn't known Sprint and Windy before he came to Krystal with them so he didn't know where he was supposed to look. After following Windy's stare he saw two elves, one was perhaps in her late teenage years and the other was around ten. Sprint always came off as the older of the pair so he pinned the older elf with pale mint green skin and frosted blue hair as Sprint with Windy being the blue-green skinned elf with white hair.
"Stay back, Windy," Sprint was saying as she put herself between her and the travelers.
"Keep walking," Seraphina whispered harshly to Windy when she tried to stop near them.
"Sprint! Who are they, why are those two so scary?" the elven Windy asked in a voice that shook. She entwined her little fingers in the back of Sprint's shirt and pulled it tight around her shoulders.
"They're dragons," Sprint replied. "She must be their keeper."
"I am my own person, thank you very much," Camo retorted. He barely flinched at the acid look Seraphina gave him.
"It can talk?" the younger elven version of Windy wailed. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes and she buried her face in the fabric of Sprint's shirt.
"We don't like outsiders," the farmer said. It startled the Whirlwindling, she could have sworn he had been left behind in the first part of the village that had faded from view when they moved far enough away from it.
As Windy turned back to ask Seraphina a question she froze in fear, the moment the farmer was just a vague object in the corner of her eye he stopped being an elf and was something else. Slowly Windy turned back to look at him, he was a normal elf. But when she turned again and he was seen out of the corner of her eye he was an enormous black creature with an elongated face, softly glowing amber eyes and a body covered in quills and spikes. His back was hunched and long spindly arms that touched the ground bore needle-like claws. He possessed not one pair but two pairs of powerful legs that ended in hooves. "Seraphina," Windy's voice shook as she called to the priestess. If possible her color seemed to drain when Seraphina shook her head just barely. Windy didn't dare say anything else but did tremble violently when other villagers approached and began to transform into the centaur-like beasts when only seen from the corner of an eye. She saw people she knew become monsters and it shook her to the core.
"We've overstayed our welcome, haven't we?" Camo snarled as he raised his back much like a cat did in warning. In retaliation the figures began to openly show their dark nature when looked at head on.
"You've always protected me, Sprint," the young elf girl that was supposed to be Windy said. She stepped in front of Sprint and put an arm out to keep the older elf behind her. "Let me protect you for once." She snarled and her form twisted, her colors turned black and she swelled in size until she was the same long faced, spiny and six-limbed creature as the rest of the village. "Let me rip them apart," the beast that had been the mock Windy said in a voice that was better suited for the small girl it had just been.
"Do what you know best," Seraphina said as she moved her staff into a weapons stance. "And deny them any sort of satisfaction when they try to bind you." Her hands twirled quickly in a blur of motion and cracked one of the monsters across the face with her staff when it loomed in close.
The late afternoon sun was slowly fading to dusk in Uzern. Plantlife similar to that on the forest floor began to glow softly in reply to add a further mystical and surreal look to the overgrown city. The splashes of blue and green only seemed to blend perfectly with the quiet flight a group of visitors to the city traveled in. Amid a somber procession made up predominantly of gargoyles were two lone dragons. Cynder glanced to the side to watch Spyro in midflight. Spyro's head was down lower than his body and gave him a defeated look. Cynder supposed she looked much the same. The gargoyles did, especially those that carried the litter between them holding the corpse of the gargoyle that had tried her best to stop Surpin. Rolling Brook was her name, Cynder had learned when the other psionics arrived. She was a new mother and the thought of her children growing up without their mother struck a chord with both of the dragons. Spyro was blaming himself for Rolling Brook's death and nothing Cynder said would make him see otherwise. Cynder could still feel the moisture in the corners of her eyes, part of her was confused over why she cried so easily over the death of someone she hadn't even known for an hour. The other part knew why, many times since the curse had been laid on her she had been put through situations that would have killed anyone else. But she lived and Rolling Brook was gone. It wasn't fair to the gargoyle's children or mate in the least.
Cynder felt as if she could have at least avenged Rolling Brook's death. She had her shadow dash in which she sank into her own shadow and became it for a brief period of time. She had tried to do what Surpin did and sank into the same shadow he had escaped through. What she found was something entirely new to her. A world of black and white; light and dark. So many pools and each one was a door to another part of the area. Cynder took a few blind leaps of faith and found herself so turned around and confused she had to wait for the gargoyle psionics to find her and lead her back to Spyro. There were too many paths to take, Cynder couldn't tell one shadow from another to follow Surpin even if she had seen where he emerged from. She was furiously frustrated with herself.
It was a surreal feeling to the whole procession; it was as if the wings around the group were silent in their slow beats. Cynder and Spyro both were so occupied with their own thoughts that they failed to notice another sound creeping into awareness.
"What is that?" a gargoyle that looked like a lion with a giraffe's spots asked.
"Machine," another replied. "It sounds… arkeyan?" the red, yellow and blue avian asked a companion of hers.
"Are we under attack?" Spyro had snapped out of his stupor and once again flew with his head in line with the rest of him. He looked to Cynder and noted that she was ready to follow him.
"Flint," the lion-like gargoyle called. A compact and stocky equine with grey skin flecked with rust colored spots swooped in close. "Accompany the Skylanders. Determine who approaches and either drive them off or lead them in for a landing."
"I'm on it," Flint murmured before he peeled away with Spyro and Cynder.
Flint didn't have to lead the dragons, their own ears pointed them in the right direction and before long the object they were looking for was in sight. A red and gold Arkeyan copter hovered in place with an equine faced gargoyle circling it slowly. The grey and white female turned to approach the grey and rust male with his dragons.
"Skylanders?" the female asked. Gargoyle wings weren't made for hovering and neither were those of the dragons so it looked like an aerial dance between the four as they spoke. "The pilot kept saying they would come. But I was told to expect only an envoy of gargoyles. No dragons." She glanced pointedly to Spyro and Cynder.
"My apologies," Flint ducked his head, "We came from combat and not where the others are based."
The female nodded and looked back over her shoulder. "Then you have a choice, either wait here with me or continue on with your mission."
"My objective was to either drive an enemy away or lead an ally in. I will remain."
"Oh thank the Core of Light!" an exasperated and overly dramatic voice said through a sound amplifier in the copter. "Spyro! My favorite purple dragon! The coolest Skylander there is, although not cooler than yours truly. I mean, if I was a Skylander then you'd have to settle for second best. Them's the breaks, kiddo. No hard feelings? Mind helping out Skyland's favorite, most famous and incredibly, undeniably handsome pilot out?"
The female gargoyle groaned, "Can you help me out and shut him up?"
"There is no help from Flynn. He's a force of nature," Cynder answered flatly before she angled in closer to the copter.
"Oh it's so good to see familiar faces!" Sprocket's voice said after a squeal from the sound system.
"Hey!" Flynn barked following a strange thump. "No touching the sensitive equipment, Goldilocks!"
"My skin is gold, my hair is red," Sprocket grunted.
Yet another voice drifted from the copter while the other two argued over who was more qualified to operate the equipment. "I heard they were offering a buffet?"
Spyro nearly fell out of the air, "Who decided it was a good idea to bring Olav along?" he hissed to Cynder. Both of them had that sinking feeling, the memory of Hex's tirade was still fresh in their minds after all.
"Oh I'll behave," Ghost Roaster said sourly. "Don't expect me to enjoy it though!"
