Leichter's cry shook the clouds. The sky was soon dyed red with the blaze of cannon fire and explosions consuming the Academy in flame. Debris rained down burning, as though the building screamed in pain. The crowd of teachers and students scrambled to find shelter, narrowly avoiding a fiery demise at every turn.
The man slammed his fist on the console, angered further with every second the Skylanders lived on. "Take no prisoners! I want these skies clear of every freak and freak-house! Open fire!"
His armada of ships followed suit and fired the full of their ships' weapons. Flashes came and towers fell, plants, trees, and animals being caught in the crossfire and consumed in the flame. Teachers guarded the students as best they could with their own skills, only to fall by the wayside and be dragged off. Most of the student body was left hiding behind collapsed rubble, trembling as more shots were fired.
The Skylanders and kids stuck close shielding each other from the wrath of the man who'd wronged both races. Rubble caked their heads and their blood ran cold. Hex's familiar, Skull, dared to look out and cross sight with him.
"Okay, somebody know a good doctor? Or shrink?" He shouted. "Somebody here's gonna need one!"
Cody, sheltered under Spyro's wings and clenching his eyes, felt a hand roughly grab him. He was now staring into rows of teeth and the glare of an enraged Terrafin.
"Fool! Why'd you gotta tick him off like that!? You tryin to get us blasted to kingdom come!?"
"I-I wasn't-"
Spyro pulled him back wrapping his arm around him. Cody felt the strength seeping through desperately. "Maybe you should talk him down, T-Fin. You've got such a way with people."
"Uh, guys. I'd like to remind the student body of the armada of warships raining fiery heck down on us!" Stealth Elf, who had flashed up to the remains of the tower to get a lookout, returned back in a green puff of smoke. Her fixed stare had, for once, become frantic. "Anybody got a plan for dealing with that?"
"I can handle irate teachers, even Doom Raiders!" Eruptor cried crouching. "But I did not sign up for total armageddon!"
Eruptor's cry echoed the crowd of students huddled. All their confidence and ego thinking of the heroes they would become now torn with the weight their roles would bring. They were finally starting to understand what they were up against. Cody could only stare at their clenched teeth and claws digging into dirt with frustration. Powerlessness, foolishness, anger over the harsh slap to the face the world gave them.
The boy turned to Master Eon for that guidance himself. The old sage did nothing but frown. He stood as a blast came close to their hiding spot and raised his hands glowing. A forcefield formed and rippled with the roar of flame, burning until it vanished. All the man could do was protect them all; no words could change the situation.
Jason rose from near Jet-Vac, never settled for hiding. "Hey, we got this! We have our powers – it's an even playing field!"
Anne looked at him, voice and body wavering, keeping any dust off her and her glasses straight to feign calm. "Leichter knows our numbers and his warships have been specially equipped with armor and advanced weaponry! I doubt a few sparkles will make a dent!"
"I'm afraid Cadet Anne is correct," said Master Eon, who raised his palm to shield them with his barrier once more. "His weaponry is well beyond what we are equipped to deal with."
"So… option dos?" Pablo asked. By some miracle or lac of common sense, he was remaining perfectly excitable. His frizzy hair remained coated in dust and bruises, though. "We invite him to a party with food!? No one feels like declaring a prejudice-filled war on an entire world after they got a taste of my abuela's cooking!"
"How bout I give him a cannon-full of dragon fire?"
"Are you daft, lad!?" Jet-Vac screamed at Spyro. "That lunatic would kill you the moment the moment you came into his sights!"
That was true – no doubt Leichter had years to steel himself for this war of the worlds. He probably invested millions in time, sweat, money, and resources to craft the army, and no doubt he'd already given up things that mattered most. But the cannons had to have some weakness. There was no way Leichter could have the foresight to prepare for the Skylanders and their various abilities.
Cody stared past the edge, fixing his gaze honed through all their battles onto the ships. Through the smoke and dust, sweat running down his face, blinking back whatever tried to snap his focus away he looked to the ships for anything. Some sort of failing, some drawback to the weapons drawing in heat and light and shooting back.
Closely, something… anything!
"Cody?" Katelyn asked.
Spyro rebelled further. "Come on, I could get at least one shot in before he makes his move!"
"That's it!"
The entire Skylander student body looked back at Cody. The boy squealed and jumped back, never used to so much attention at once. HE stammered trying to catch his train of thought again.
"We're going to have a party!?" Pablo asked.
"Um, no." Cody leaned over the fallen column, shaking dust off his jacket. He ducked as another blast hit before looking out again. "The cannons have a period of time before they can fire again. It looks like they need to recharge between shots. We can use that chance to take them out."
"They all fire at roughly the same time," said Jason "We'd need to move fast."
Anne adjusted her glasses, still unconvinced. "They have smaller weapons to use in between larger shots. How do you propose we approach those?"
"The soldiers know the Skylanders have power. I don't think they know we do here as well."
"So we get in close, and you guys can cover us with your barriers." Spyro jumped in, playfully punching his shoulder. "They'll be too stunned to make any move long enough for us to take their ships out! Awesome!"
Master Eon faced them, all his students together. They were ready as they would ever be. "All right then. We have a plan of attack. I am proud of you all – show our foes that we stand together, no matter the threat!"
His eyes glowed and body went outlined in a glow, bright as day. A projection of his head came as large as the building. It cried in a bellowing rally.
"SKYLANDERS, UNITE!"
The roar of guns and cannons had seared at the daylight and now it had turned to afternoon. The sun set the once blue into a blaze of red and the only clouds left were from explosives. Somewhere in the hateful frenzy of fire, Leichter and his troops had settled down – the armada still hovered, power still contained in their warships. But it was only the calm before they would set what remained of the Academy into raining ruin.
It was knowing this that Cody felt his limbs stiffen like stone as he rode atop Spyro. The two settled before Leichter, no doubt having the same chill run down both of their spines. Still, neither refused to turn away from the hateful dictator, who morphed his face into a crazed grin.
"So, finally showing yourself, boy!?" He spoke as though he was an animal, starving for months and eying its first prey. "You should have stayed hidden!"
Cody gulped. "Hiding from the world wasn't going to solve anything! I see that now! This won't solve anything either!"
"Well, nice to see you've learned a life lesson, in the final moments of your life!"
"Are you really going to kill me, a child? You'd spite my mother that much?"
Leichter threw his head back, cackling. "This coming from the boy who thought he'd killed his own mother? You're as selfish as she is! Doing whatever you want, taking things that aren't yours, acting in spite of everything!"
"For real? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!"
Cody looked beneath to see Spyro had let loose his mouth with flames tinging his every word. In a sense, he felt lighter that Spyro would speak on his behalf and say everything Cody didn't. His best friend had more of a knack for talking back than he did. Though as Spyro spoke, the boy could tell it wasn't just for his sake.
"You stole her only way back here and everything she got while here! What if she found friends here, done things she never could have done on Earth? What if she was doing something important for someone else? Maybe people here needed her, and maybe she needed them!"
"Shut up, you disgusting creature! She couldn't gain anything here! It was all just a childish game!"
"Uh-huh, yeah, there you go again!" He spat and shrugged. "You took it away because you thought you knew what was best for her. Also because you wanted it too!"
"Maybe you could have gained something," Cody piped in again. "Just because my mom had that Portal didn't mean you couldn't have found something here."
"Shut up! The only thing I want of this place is its death!"
"Did you always feel this way?"
"Of course I did! This place is worth nothing to anyone!"
That settled it, then. He supposed in the heat of the moment, real feelings were left on the table.
"…Then you weren't her friend after all. Everyone, now!"
From every hole in the rubble and patch of dirt came the armada of Skylanders, taking wing and vehicle in an armada of hopeful youths. The military men gasped as their ranks swarmed, circling around the ships. Their teammates led the charge in powerful looking vehicles that spun and burned roads of air towards Leichter and all around him.
"What!?"
"Incoming!"
A helicopter almost made of leaves circled, with Stealth Elf dropping towards an airship. The pilot jumped back as she twirled midair with a ring of light coming from the sheen of her blades. The slicing of metal was heard and Elf vanished as the barrel of his main cannon was cut in a clean half, falling into the unknown. They all looked to see her hanging out the side back in the copter and winking as it flew away.
"Burn, baby, burn!"
Eruptor was next, riding a flying saucer with spikes burning with a heated glow. Pablo was rocking the ship back and forth as the lava creature fired balls of magma melting at the barrel of a second airship. The rocking clearly made Eruptor sick to the point he vomited a blast of lava over the barrel and melting what remained. The pilot there screamed as the pair hovered away.
Leichter pounded on his console, turning wildly to his troops. "What are you doing, you idiots!? Fire, fire, FIRE! KILL THEM ALL!"
The remaining troops scrambled in their seats, their ships tilting, but all did as told. Everything was lost in the blinding light of all the cannons firing together and a deafening boom filled their ears. All the Skylanders pooled together as the merged blast came close.
As the light cleared, a merged shield of numerous colors spiraled outward. The Portal Masters covered the entirety of the school in a push of force between their barrier and the blast. It burned at their hands, like their skin was on fire, and the force grew greater. Cody huffed, turning to the others, and faced the blast once more. Power swirled and blazed across the surface, pounding with all its might, weakening his hands. After an eternity, it dissipated.
The Portal Master were out of breath, some on their knees, gasping for air. Cody saw their hands actually bruised from holding back such a force. Whatever it was that counted towards saving them, he thanked the stars for it.
"Okay, that was a little close!" Jason huffed.
"You brutes!" Katelyn raised her head through disheveled hair through the window of the helicopter. "Don't think you can do as you like!"
"Sir! They have paranormal abilities! What do we do!?"
"Hawk and awe!"
Gale winds engulfed the ships, the turbulence knocking the pilots from their seats. Jet-Vac took aim from the deck of Flynn's airship, smoking and spluttering through panels in the hull, Cody stared worried. Still the captain had done well enough in steering the ship away from the men's line of fire. The remaining cannons could not hope to catch the speed of the primitive airship rowing through channels of air.
"You boys ought to get some tips from a real pilot!" Flynn peeked from behind the wheel. "Don't go hovering around!"
"You little-!" Leichter screamed.
It was over; they had won the day. His ships were falling by the wayside and there was no way they could counter quick enough. Cody sighed as his heart soared. He saved someone this time…. Or so he thought.
Leichter's screams were morphing into cackles, crazed laughter. Both his and Spyro's blood went cold.
"You think I wasn't expecting a trick like this!? Pull out the sub-cannons!"
The ships, returned to stability, began to whirr. Their cannons, both intact and broken, retreated into an open hatch and folded into themselves. In their place came the vengeful stares of two more cannons per airship, all half the size of their predecessors but just as deadly, if anyone cared to wager. All charging their first shots.
"Oh, boy!" Spyro cried.
"Here comes the next round of blasts!"
Their friends came from the corners of the skies with their shields ready. Charging on hopes and courage didn't count for enough speed though as the shots came before their shields merged. The Portal Masters and Skylanders, hands reaching out to one another, were consumed in blasts of ash and flame.
Everyone looked to another, tried to pull them in time. The blasts fired, shattering their shields and letting fire and energy pour over them. Cody saw his friends vanish in torrents just as he had reached for the hand of anyone. Like stars they all fell from the sky onto the remains of the Academy. The boy himself no longer felt Spyro beneath him as he crashed onto a pile of bricks, feeling something break. He cracked open his sights, hair caked to his skin and jacket and flesh burned and dusted.
Eon's voice was in the distance, Spyro's cry could be heard muffled from somewhere. But there was only his breath, and the blinding sheen of the next attack from the general above.
"Goodbye, brats!"
He saw golden destruction as his sight blurred. But then a tinge of blue, and the sky returned to its deep red.
"Wait, WHAT!?"
Eon's voice came, shining blue like the moon and burning with protective fury. He struck the ship as it came into focus with waves of magic slashing from his hand. "Don't think you can threaten my students and get away with it! Begone, interloper!"
Leichter gripped the controls and fired back, straining their joints with his force. "I did not come this far to be defeated by a school of freaks! This entire damned world is going to be rubble before I'm done!" Eon's shield just negated the blasts though he was now ground-level with them. "You all think you're big heroes trying to fix everything, but I see you for the foul disease on humanity you are! You've infected Alice and those kids, and I am going to be the one to save Earth from you!"
"No!" Cody rasped out with choked breath.
"This is the end!"
"I don't think so!"
He came as a twisted repeat of Eon's head projection, a ghastly blue head with empty eyes, cackling across the land. IT faded, leaving the speck of a sorcerer with his head crest still shining brightly and an ominous glow emitting from his spell book. His robe fluttered in the air like a shadowy specter haling someone's end.
As ominous as he looked, the Skylanders still recognized who he was. At least in some form.
"Kaos!?"
The realized dark wizard descended to Leichter's level, dragging along a stair of currents as if mocking him. The general saw the undertone in which Kaos approached and gave him a smirk with his fangs glinting. It flushed his face with red.
"Who are you? Another infected punk?" He seethed with hands on the controls.
"When you're a guest in someone's domain, you should show the proper courtesy!" Kaos waved his hand, sending pages on the book with it. His finger landed upon a single page as he stared. "I don't care for your assumptions that you can simply destroy the Skylanders and do as you please! After all, that's what I'm here for!"
"No gritty monkey-faced brat is going to give orders to me! Eat cannon fire!"
Kaos raised his hand toward the ship's weapons in defiance. The metal behemoth swallowed its own fire and the taste of some magic poison as his power wrapped around the barrels. Holes outlined in violet opened, corroding the metal away, burning and disintegrating. This was the power he craved, to annihilate anything with the wave of a hand.
To think his mother attempted to take this power away from him. She dared to bark orders back when she no longer had it in her grasp, thinking her status as the dark sorceress of legend and nightmares something to fall back upon. He'd stripped her of it all the moment he snatched it away. Once one opened the cover of the tome they unlocked a gate to power and insight beyond anything in this realm to the powerless. It was why his mother wanted it, why the Golden Queen wanted it.
But it was his, now.
The first signs of dusk fell as he rose to the apex of the clouds. They swirled ominously around him as his voice boomed like thunder. "Hear me well! I am Kaaaoooossss! Supreme evil overlord of the darkness and destroyer of the Skylands! This is the power that will grant me that destiny!"
"What the-" Spyro gasped.
Master Eon rushed from below. "That book! No! How did he-"
Kaos flicked his hands again as if to tear open the sky, and sure enough, he did. From behind Leichter's armada, a giant vortex of black and violet appeared outlined by the haze collecting around him. Clouds, rubble, light itself, all were sucked in by the pull and disappeared into the inky void.
Sweat ran down Leichter's face as he was transfixed by the opening. "W-What is that thing!?"
Flashes came along the swirls of magic and show in the vortex, giving rise to a great beat. Its contents it had absorbed all mixed together into a monstrosity of a beast. Three times the size of the Academy, its black body almost phased in and out of reality born from darkness itself as its wingbeats still carried strength to knock away the still-standing pillars. Serpentine necks formed from the elements: flame, water, stone, metal, and bone, vibrated and huffed steam from their maws.
It raked its claws along the rim of the portal, raising its heads along the ships sending them spiraling out of control. They roared pounding a gravitic fear down and pressing its master's foes into the dirt. A creature befitting the power he rightfully acquired – a hydra.
"Five heads, and they all look pretty hungry!" Eruptor shouted.
"Now my pet, chow down!"
"No, no!"
The hydra's heads all extended to the first ship in sight. It made chew-toys of the humans' machines that tried to flee, slicing through their hulls in a single clamp per head. They exploded in the grip of their jaws with their pilots lost in the destruction. What remained of any bodies fell lost.
Kaos cackled and pointed to the one ship still standing.
"I think you need some time away, like in an alternate dimension bordering on non-existence!" His hand glowed again and a violet bolt emerged. It razed along the surface of the ship casting explosions in its wake. The general was blown out of his cockpit into the air, captured by the snare of the Portal beneath his hydra's form. He screamed babbling and clawing his way back in futility towards his ship.
"Hope you enjoy your stay!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
.
.
"… What did he do?"
Stealth Elf's question lingered as the field of battle went silent. Leichter had been dragged crying his last curses to an unfair world and prayers for his own life. He disappeared into a dense darkness along with his army, probably never to be seen again.
Kaos only stretched out his fingers, thinking nothing of the fact he'd doomed a human. It was a major win, being able to do away with his irritations so easily.
"Here I was hoping I could get rid of you the same way, but you Sky-dweebs are more persistent than cockroaches!" The grin on his face looped around in tone, going from casual to feral, to giddy with a sadistic razor edge. "No matter, my preparations are nearly complete."
"Preparations?" Cody asked.
Spyro launched towards the dark mage, leveling with him in the air. "Okay, time to fess up, mega melon! Just what have you been up to!?"
"Come back to 'my' castle and you'll find out soon enough! HAHAHAHAH!"
He phased into shadow and blew away. As the sky turned to black and the evening came, so to did an unsettling pall over the Skylanders. They had no idea what was coming for them.
I consider this one the penultimate climax. In all the drama with Leichter, I thought I'd provide a little reminder that Kaos is still a major baddie here.
Thanks as always for your patience and I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend. I don't know how well this one came out – frankly I think this one was a little too broad in terms of prose. Might be something to fix when I go back and edit the story, if I ever come to that.
For those wondering about the hydra, I thought that would be a cool feature to add since Kaos had a hydra that players faced as the final boss in the first Skylanders game. As for one other thing a couple of fans addressed in that Spyro got his powers back even after having his element sucked from him, the implications of that will be explained around the next couple of chapters. Keep in mind, Spyro is 'special.'
Anyway, onto reviews:
Crazyloop8888: Yeah, the thing with antagonists is that they always represent a flip side of the lesson being learned. They are the heroes of their own story and they go through their own trials, but ultimately the problem is that the develop unhealthy behaviors and their beliefs are taken too far. Spyro, in all likelihood, perhaps could have become another Leichter if he had set off on his own if he continued to believe he was better than everyone else. Cody, being the first to consider his circumstances due to being in similar ones, was able to change that. It was ultimately what allowed Spyro to be honest, because he knew he was speaking to someone who wouldn't judge him if he was vulnerable.
Scrappy Doo Fan: Glad to have you back. Leichter wasn't punched, but hopefully being sucked into another dimension works for you.
MYTHICBOY: I wish I was 21 again – lots of promise. And keep your fingers crossed for that; I am never one to spoil.
Bookwriter94: The heartwarming part was a lot of fun to write – I've seen a few times in the show that Spyro has a compassionate, caring side in addition to his usual cocky bravery. And for Leichter, ask and you shall receive.
GameHero95: Welcome! Always nice to see a new reviewer, and I'm glad you like the story so far. As I mentioned, the thing with Spyro and his element of magic being stolen will be address around the final battle. Also, Kaos and Leichter's endgame were pretty obvious by now. Kaos has always wanted to conquer the Skylands while Leichter has simply wanted to destroy them out of his own jealousy that they didn't choose him. He never understood how that worked, or the most important thing: that it wasn't that big of a deal. It wouldn't have stopped him from helping. Glad you're also having fun with Ring of Heroes – it's a fun game!
That about wraps it up for this chapter. Next chapter comes the first half of the final battle! Be sure to check it out! As always, review, favorite, follow!
Until next time!