FalcoLombardiUltimateHD, who owns Max, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! :) Enjoy! :)

Skylanders belongs to Activision. I only own Rachel and Bat Brawl.

An Eye On Friendship

Max was excited to play some more of his Imaginators game, placing a new Earth Creation Crystal on his portal to create a new Imaginator. "Hmm, what class should I make my new Imaginator be?" He asked himself.

No sooner had he asked that, his portal began glowing with a bright blue light and G-forces pulled him in before he could even blink. Closing his eyes, he tucked himself into a ball to protect himself, though he hoped he wouldn't land hard.

Moments later, he landed with a good thump, just enough to surprise him. Unfurling, he got up and his eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him.

A long meadow stretched out before him and he stood up, looking around in awe as he instantly recognized where he was. "Skylands," he breathed in surprise, recognizing the place from the games he had been playing. "Wow."

He was just about to start walking to find someone to ask directions when he was grabbed from behind. "Hey, lookie here," sneered a voice.

"Fresh meat," said another voice.

Max struggled to get free, but his captor's grip was too strong. "Please, I don't want to fight you," he said.

"Wimp," said a third voice. "Bet he's one of those goody-goody two-shoes Portal Masters like the others."

"And he's all alone," said the first voice. "Come on, boys. Let's show him what we do with wimps like him."

Max tried to cry out for help, but several punches to the stomach knocked the wind out of him and he fell to the ground, scraping his hands on some gravel in front of him and when he tried to get up, a punch to his shoulder knocked him back down and he cried out as his arms got scraped too as he tried to get up before a punch to the face had him seeing stars.

"Hey!" A voice cried out.

The bullies jumped up to see Eye Brawl, Dive Clops, and Ro-Bow coming towards them. Max was in too much pain to move, but he heard the running footsteps and it wasn't long before he saw the bullies get scared and run away. Wondering who had come to his rescue, the boy tried to lift his head, but his eyes closed and he lost consciousness.

Ro-Bow moved closer, kneeling down next to the boy. "He's injured," he said.

Eye Brawl kneeled down and carefully lifted the boy up into his arms, seeing the bruises and scrapes on his face and arms. Dive Clops gently lifted the boy's shirt up a little and they saw bruises on the boy's stomach. "Those bullies really hurt him," he said.

"Come on. Let's get him to the Academy," Eye Brawl said.

When they arrived, Mags and Drill Sergeant at once got to work tending to the boy while Luminous helped out. Rachel and Bat Brawl, the Earth Brawler Imaginator she had created some time ago, came running into the med bay after hearing the news about the injured boy from some Mabu. "What happened?" The Tech Portal Master asked in concern.

"Bullies," Dive Clops said with a growl. "They were beating up on the boy."

"And they did some damage, but he'll recover," Mags said as she and Luminous gently cleaned the boy's hands and arms and bandaged them up while Drill Sergeant wrote the report. "He's got mostly bruising and some scrapes, but for the most part, he's okay."

"No broken bones?" Rachel asked.

"None, thankfully," the inventor said.

Bat Brawl looked at the boy and sighed. "He's so young," he said. "Why did the bullies go after him?"

"We don't know," Ro-Bow admitted. "Eye Brawl, Dive Clops, and myself heard the commotion while we were passing by and when we saw them hurting the kid, we intervened."

"Well, guess it's a waiting game until he wakes up," Dive Clops said.

"Is it okay if Bat Brawl and I stay too?" The young woman asked.

The three nodded and the five stood watch over the boy.

A few hours later...

Max woke up, his body still a little sore, but feeling better. He turned to find a young woman he recognized, but he didn't recognize the person beside her, though his first thought was it was an Imaginator. "Rachel?" He asked, his throat feeling a little dry.

She smiled. "Hey, Max," she said before standing up. "Bat Brawl, can you help him sit up?"

The Imaginator nodded and moved beside the boy, gently pulling him up to a sitting position and arranging the pillows so that he could lean back against them comfortably. "This okay?" Bat Brawl asked.

Max nodded and saw Rachel bring him a cup of water, which he drank gratefully. "Thank you," he said. "How did I get here?"

"Eye Brawl, Dive Clops, and Ro-Bow saw those bullies hurting you and stepped in to save you," the young woman said.

The boy smiled. "They did?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'd like to thank them," he said.

"They got called on a mission about an hour ago," Rachel told him. "Eye Five escaped from the Villain Vault and they took off to find him."

"They asked that Rach and I stay here with you," Bat Brawl explained. "By the way, name's Bat Brawl. I'm one of Rachel's Brawler Imaginators."

"One?" The boy asked.

The young woman smiled. "I have two Brawler Imaginators," she said. "And several others. I can show you how to create one, if you'd like."

"I might take you up on that," he said. "For now, I'd like to go find the three that saved me."

Mags gave him a full checkup and nodded. "You're good to go," she said with a smile.

"Looks like we have a new Portal Master," Luminous said with a smile.

Just then, the alarm started blaring and Rachel stood up fast. "Oh, no," she said.

"What is it?" Max asked.

She looked at him. "Eye Brawl, Dive Clops, and Ro-Bow are in trouble," she said, racing out the door with Bat Brawl behind her. Max quickly followed and they were soon standing before Master Eon, who looked relieved to see them.

"Eye Five tricked the three into going to Honey Town," he said.

Rachel realized the problem. "A good town, but there's puddles of honey all around that can get you stuck but good," she said.

"And that's not the worst of it," Master Eon said gravely. "They are injured too."

When Max heard that, he made his decision right then. "Send me, Master Eon," he said. "I'll go help them."

"Are you sure, Max?" Bat Brawl asked.

The boy nodded. "They saved me, so I'm going to save them," he said.

Rachel nodded with a smile. "Then you're going to need this," she said, handing him her Light Trap. "Eye Five is a Light villain, but be careful, he packs quite a punch."

"Thanks," the young boy said before looking at Master Eon. "I'm ready."

The guardian of Skylands nodded and teleported Max to Honey Town before looking at Rachel. "What do you think of him, Rachel?" He asked.

"I think Luminous was right," she said. "We've got use a new Portal Master for the side of good."

In Honey Town...

Max landed on his feet and immediately saw what Rachel had meant about the honey puddles. Moving carefully so that he didn't step in them, he soon came across the injured Skylanders and what was worse, they were lying in the sticky honey and unable to escape. He knew he had to save them, but was unsure how until he saw a mabu nearby washing clothes. That gave him an idea and he went over to her. "Excuse me," he said politely. "My friends are stuck in some honey and can't get out of it. May I borrow some soap to help them?"

The mabu smiled. "You must be a Portal Master to want to help the Skylanders," she said sweetly before handing him a bottle of liquid soap. "This should do the trick."

"Thank you," he said. "How much do I owe you?"

"No charge," she said. "Just take care of that horrible villain, please."

He nodded. "You got it."

With that, the boy quickly ran towards the three Skylanders, who were surprised, but happy to see him. "Hang on, guys!" He said, using the soap on them.

The slippery substance did the trick and the three were able to get free of the honey, though were still injured a bit. Max looked worried. "We should get you guys back to the Academy," he said.

"First we have to capture Eye Five," Ro-Bow said.

The boy held up the Light trap Rachel had given him. "Rachel gave me a Light trap, but how does it work?" He asked.

"We have to beat him in battle," Eye Brawl said.

"Which won't be easy," Dive Clops said. "Eye Five's a tough one."

Max gave it some thought and saw the honey laying around. "I've got an idea," he said. "Get ready."

Though wondering what he had in mind, they nodded and watched as the boy got near the villain. "Hey, Eye Five!" Max said. "We're going to stop you!"

The villain laughed. "You may have gotten them free, but they can't fight me in their injured states," he boasted.

"Wanna bet?" The boy said. "Or maybe you're just too scared to face them?"

Enraged, Eye Five came after him and the boy ran towards the three. "Dive Clops! Blind him!" He called out.

Opening his face plate just as the boy dived out of the way, Dive Clops hit Eye Five's hands dead on with a geyser of water, the stream of water hitting the villain's eyes and making him scream in anger. Somewhat blinded by the water, the villain charged again towards Max, who ran towards Eye Brawl. "Eye Brawl! Can you give me a boost?" He asked.

Nodding, the giant placed a hand down near the ground and as soon as Max jumped into his hand, he tossed him up into the air before cartwheeling away as the last moment. Too late, Eye Five saw a puddle of honey that the giant had been standing in front of and he fell face first into it, the sticky substance making it impossible for him to escape.

Max found himself falling and he curled up, hoping to land feet first in the honey which would make it easier to use the soap to escape, but seconds later, two robotic arms caught him. "Compute and shoot!" A familiar voice cried out as it seemed like they were flying for a bit before Ro-Bow landed in a crouch, holding Max protectively in his arms.

Eye Five screamed in anger as he couldn't get up. Though he was in a small puddle of honey no bigger than him, it was very sticky. Max smiled as his plan had worked before he looked at the three. "Would tickling be just as effective as using your powers on him?" He asked.

"Not a bad idea, kid," Dive Clops said, looking gleeful. "My big bro is a master at tickling."

Eye Brawl cracked his knuckles. "Let's get him," he said.

"Count me in," Ro-Bow said with a nod.

Max stood by with some mabu and they all laughed as Eye Five was tickled into submission before the boy inserted the trap into the force field the defeated villain was in, smiling as the villain was successfully trapped. Eye Brawl placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well done," he said. "What's your name, kid?"

"Max," the boy said with a smile.

"Well, Max, I think you're Skylands newest Portal Master for the side of good," Dive Clops said, a smile in his voice.

"Totally!" Ro-Bow cheered.

Max felt Eye Brawl pick him up and place him on his shoulders. "Come on," he said. "Let's get back to the Academy."

Master Eon was very pleased to hear that the mission had been successful. "A very clever plan, Max," he said.

"Thank you, sir," he said before turning to the three Skylanders. "And thank you guys for saving me when I first arrived."

"You're welcome, kid," Eye Brawl said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Glad to do so," Dive Clops said.

"You bet," Ro-Bow said.

Rachel smiled as she accepted the Light trap from the boy. "So, what do you say, Max?" She asked. "You want to be a Portal Master?"

"Totally!" He said. "But...which element should I choose?"

She smiled again. "How about the Earth element?" She suggested. "You can always add on more later."

He liked that idea before looking at the three Skylanders. "Can Eye Brawl, Dive Clops, and Ro-Bow be my partners?" He asked.

"They can be," Master Eon said with a smile.

"Cool!" Ro-Bow said happily. "We are partners to more than one Portal Master now!"

"That is cool," Dive Clops said.

Max looked confused, to which Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Us Portal Masters often share our Skylander partners with each other," she said. "It helps us all become a stronger team."

"Cool," he said before jumping in surprise as Eye Brawl scooped him up suddenly.

"Not only a new Portal Master, but a new friend too," he said, hoisting the boy up to his left shoulder.

Max grinned at that idea. "You bet," he said, making them all cheer.

Later on, the young boy was walking towards the Sensei Earth Realm to try and learn a bit more about the Earth element when the same bullies that had gotten him before came back. "Hey, wimp!" One of them said.

"Get him!" Said another one.

Max didn't want to fight them but just as the first bully threw a punch, a large hand caught his fist and a huge shadow fell over them. The bully looked up to see he was looking at an angry Eye Brawl. The other bullies gulped, but when they turned around, they found Ro-Bow and Dive Clops glaring at them and they had the bullies in their crosshairs. "Picking on our Portal Master was a bad move," the Undead giant said, his voice deep.

"Leave him alone," Dive Clops growled.

"Or else," Ro-Bow said, also growling.

Panicking now, the bullies ran away, making the three Skylanders laugh and Max looked at them gratefully. "Thanks, guys," he said.

"Anytime, partner," Eye Brawl said.

"You're our friend and we always stand up for our friends, just like how you stand up for us," Dive Clops said.

"You're one of the coolest kids ever, Max," Ro-Bow said with a smile just before an alarm came in that Bruiser Cruiser had escaped again and was terrorizing Woodburrow.

Max stood tall. "Come on, guys," he said with a smile. "Let's go get him."

Rachel saw them come running up and she gave Max a Tech trap. "Good luck," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," he said before he and his new friends jumped onto the portal, teleporting to Woodburrow in an instant, ready to take on the villain together as best friends.

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GoldGuardian2418