I was going to make some kind of pun involving this being the seventeenth chapter, but I couldn't think of anything good so onto review responses!

Greenswitch: Honestly, the stuff involving the reapers was some of my favorite scenes to write in general, mainly because I wanted to do something a little different than a normal mission and ran with it! As for your theory, I won't say much because it would be major spoilers for latter installments, but I do have plans for SOME guest stars... Just not the ones you might be expecting! (Insert wink emoji here)

Also, I don't blame you for not remembering Camo being hatched at the Tree of Life given that it's only offhandedly mentioned in his backstory. (That was actually what inspired that part of the chapter, to be honest! I was thinking about how it was so briefly mentioned and thought, "What if it was because he didn't remember anything about being hatched at the Tree's roots?" and ran from there)

Watch Seeker: I'm so glad you enjoyed Camo's story, I had a lot of fun writing it! And yep, that was supposed to be his Thorn Horn form—I'm glad people could pick up on it!


"Are you sure this is going to work, Camo?" Stump Smash asked as he crossed his thick, wooden arms.

"Of course it will, Stump Smash!" Camo replied as he dropped the Life Seeds into an open plot dug within an offside cliff, "Who arrre you to doubt the Trrree of Life?"

"Oh, I'm not doubting it any." Stump Smash nudged his shoulder to the side, "But I think Hugo's got his fair share of concerns."

Camo looked to where Stump Smash was indicating and frowned.

As Zook and Arbo planted the other half of the Life Seeds in holes sized equal to the ones Camo himself had dug, Hugo paced around in a circle and muttered something under shrill breath—but what? Was he worried this wouldn't work?

"Oh, don't worrry about him, Stumps." Camo nonchalantly wagged his tail, "You know Hugo, he's always worrried about something!"—Camo turned his attention back to the Life Seeds—"Besides, I've got to take carrre of my sibs."

"You mean the Life Seeds?" Stump Smash raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Camo scratched the back of his head, then smiled as he gently teased the seeds with his claw.

He faintly heard soft, innocent giggles as he rolled them around in the dirt, which made him smile wider without even realizing it. Though he was still processing all that stuff about the Tree of Life being his parent and all… It was nice to have a family at last.

"Alrrright, little seeds!" Camo chirped as he spread dirt over the Life Seed-filled plots, "Time forrr you to grrrow big and tall!"

Camo smiled and stepped back as the covered plot glowed with thin, yet bright beams of light that poked through the few holes in the earth, then jumped back as the earth below his feet rumbled! While he stumbled back further, the light grew even brighter…

Then faded entirely as a gigantic bush sprung from the earth! The bush's leaves shimmered like jewels in the afternoon sun, then as they absorbed the light gigantic buds popped out from under their branches. These buds grew larger within seconds, bloomed into bright flowers… And then folded back as they blossomed into shiny, red apples!

They all gazed in awe for moments, all silent until Arbo started clapping his hands.

"Bravo, bravo! The miracles of life know no bounds!" Arbo proclaimed, "And now that they've matured, they should be able to tell us the way to the Eternal Life Source!"

"Alrrright then," Camo said as he walked towards the bushes and gently nuzzled one's branches, "How'rrre you feeling, lil' guys?"

We're feeling great! We're so full of life! The bush chimed, its voice like that of several youths in perfect sync.

"That's grrreat!" Camo ruffled the bush's top, "Since you'rrre feeling so good, do you think you can tell me where the Eterrrnal Life Sourrrce is?"

A soft hum whistled through the chilly autumn winds as the bush's leaves jostled with life… Then they all shuddered in unison.

We shan't, not right now! The bush replied, its voice trilled as if in a panic, There is a terrible presence rummaging throughout this area!

"A terrrible prrresence?" Camo whipped his head around, "Where?"

What was going on?! Had Kaos secretly planted forces here without notice?! Now that Camo paid more attention to the surroundings, he could hear something that sounded vaguely like a… Stampede?

"Did everybody get off patrols or something?" Stump Smash asked as he turned around, "What's with all that racket?"

Zook, Arbo and Hugo turned around as well… Then they all froze as a gigantic, fluffy, white wave crashed over the island with a symphony of baaing!

Sure enough, Camo was right! A gigantic herd of sheep stormed through the area with a bull's force! But, as he looked closer, Camo could've sworn he saw some light presence of auburn hidden within the fluffy clouds of white wool…

"Somebody!" Cried a shrill, muffled voice from within the herd, "Help me!"

"TRIGGER HAPPY?!" Hugo exclaimed as a furry auburn hand shot out from the crowds, "What's with all these—"—Hugo practically jumped out of his fur as the sheep stormed past him—"SHEEP!"

Hugo made no proper words from then on. All he did was scream and run about in a panic as he desperately tried to avoid the oncoming sheep storm!

Not that many noticed him, either. The others were just as concerned about not getting trampled as Hugo was!

Stump Smash jumped out the way as several ewes nearly plowed him other, only to get tossed out of the fray by a particularly large ram. He grunted as he soared through the crowds and fell onto the back of several more sheep with not a single mind paid from the sheep themselves!

"Oof! Owch! Hey, watch it!" Stump Smash cried out as he was tossed among the sheep, arms flailed the entire time, "I'm not here to crowdsurf!"

As Stump Smash barked at the sheep, one of his mallets for hands slammed onto the head of a particularly nasty-looking ram, who in turn bleated in shock! Stump Smash drew back his hand, then gulped as the ram he had hit glared him down.

"Nice sheepy?"

The ram snorted, then charged forwards and tossed Stump Smash out of the fray! Stump Smash screamed in horror as he went soaring… Only for a gigantic vine to catch him right where he flew!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—" Stump Smash stopped short as he looked down and saw the vine, "Wait, where'd this vine come from?"

"Me!" Camo trilled as he stomped his paws and sent several more vines into the fray, "Who else?"

With a final stomp, the vines stormed through the herd of frantic sheep and tossed them aside in rows! No one sheep was spared—ewe or ram, lamb or grown, it made no difference to the vines! While wool flew through the skies as clouds did, the vines wrapped themselves around Zook, Arbo and Hugo! With their targets secured, the vines lunged out of the herd as they laid the trio next to Camo and more importantly, far away from the sheep's woolly wrath.

"Thanks for that, man!" Zook exclaimed as he patted Camo's back, "I've seen some nasty crowds before, but nothing like that!"

Zook pulled out his bazooka, then shook out the ammunition and turned it around so that its open hole faced his mouth. "Maybe a nice tune will get these guys to chill out!"

Zook took a deep breath in, breathed out… Then jumped out of the way as a dazed Trigger Happy landed face-first just inches away from him.

"Oof!" Trigger Happy exclaimed as he got up and rubbed his head, "That's the last time I try wrangling sheep! Maybe being a cowboy isn't in my blood after all…"

"Trigger Happy?!" Hugo exclaimed as he stormed past the others and glared down Trigger Happy, "So you know where all these sheep came from?!"

"Yeah, I'd like some answerrrs too!" Camo exclaimed as he poked his head over Zook's shoulder.

Trigger Happy only made a very strained chuckle and looked away.

"Well, you see…" Trigger Happy scratched the top of his furry head, "It was all for the perfect prank! While you guys took care of those, I'd hide all these sheep I got from some elf farmer at the Perilous Pastures in Hugo's room!"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Hugo exclaimed as he shot Trigger Happy the most angered glare he could muster.

Trigger Happy gulped and carefully backed away.

"But, when I was getting all the sheep together," Trigger Happy continued, "They all smelled something that made them go buck-wild! Next thing I knew, they were all stampeding off like a crowd of angry hippos! Guess I know why that farmer was so eager to get rid of them…"—Trigger Happy looked to his side and gasped—"And that must be why!"

Everybody followed Trigger Happy's gaze and gasped.

"THEY'RRRE EATING THE APPLES!" Camo exclaimed as he pointed towards the sheep.

Sure enough, Camo was right! The sheep had all crowded around the bushes and dug into the harvest of fresh, juicy apples! The bushes were barely visible among the massive crowds of white fluff and shiny horns!

"Hey, stop that!" Camo scolded as he hopped over to one and tried to push a sheep away, though it was far too stubborn to even slightly lift a hoof, "Those arrren't for you to eat!"

Camo futilely tried to push the sheep for just a bit more, only to gasp and fall to his knees as ear-shattering screams echoed throughout his brain! Those had to be the Life Seeds' cries of fear, he had to save them!… Well, once this throbbing headache went away, anyways.

"Guh, guys…" Camo whimpered as he held his paws over his aching, throbbing head, "Calm down, they'rrre just… Sheep…"

Camo only laid down and groaned as he massages his scalp. He wanted to get back into the fray and get those sheep out of there, but all this screaming had set in a migraine so bad he could barely get off the ground!

"What's going on?!" Stump Smash demanded as he looked over at Camo.

"Ugh, it's those awful fluff-creatures!" Arbo whimpered as he held his own head, "They're interfering with the process!"

"Oh really?" Stump Smash crossed his arms and frowned, "I couldn't tell!"

"See! See?!" Hugo exclaimed as he pushed himself between Stump Smash and Arbo and pointed towards the sheep, "I told you sheep were evil! I told you so, I told you so! But does anybody believe poor old Hugo?!"

"Save it for another time, Hugo." Stump Smash pushed Hugo away and looked towards Zook, "Zook! Give me a hand here!"

"On it, Stumps!" Zook exclaimed as he locked and loaded his bazooka.

Stump Smash stormed towards the sheep that still feasted to the hearts' content on the apples, then grunted and raised the mallets that were his hands. He let out a breath… Then pounded down the mallets with the ground as his drum!

As he pounded and slammed away, firm shockwaves shot through the earth with such force that they flipped the sheep on the backs! The sheep themselves were so taken aback, they could only flail their legs and bleat in surprise.

"Now it's my turn!" Zook laughed as he clicked the trigger on his bazooka.

As soon as he did, the thorny missile that once resided retreated into the bazooka itself and shot out! Once it made contact with the ground, the thorn exploded and sent the sheep around it flying far away from the bushes! The remaining sheep watched as the others flew away, then frantically bleated and rolled back on their feet. With shouts of fear they stampeded far, far, away from the apple bushes, until they were no more than a fuzzy white cloud in the distance…

As the sheep finally disappeared over the horizon, Zook blew off his bazooka and rested it at his side.

Camo groaned as he pulled himself back to standing height, then watched with a smile as the bushes slowly grew back their apples.

"Thanks forrr that, guys!" Camo chirped as he swished his tail, "Talk about a pest prrroblem."

"A pest problem? More like no problem at all!" Zook beamed as he nudged Stump Smash's shoulder, "Right, Stumpy?"

"… Don't call me that," Stump Smash replied as he pushed Zook away, a steely frown on his face.

Camo rolled his eyes as the two of them bantered among each other then walked back to the apple bushes. His smile vanished into neutrality while he rubbed a paw against the one he was conversing with, who was thankfully undamaged by the sudden sheep ambush save for a few missing apples that were quickly regrown.

"Feeling any betterrr, now?"

Yes, dear sibling! The bush replied as its rustled with a new energy, In fact… We can now see the Eternal Life Source! It's hidden within a forest… Yes, a magnificent forest!

"That's the Great Forrrest, rrright?" Camo stroked his paw against the wood in a gentle, almost reassuring manner.

Indeed, it is! It's a great ways away… But…

The bushes all glowed in unison, then shot up to the heavens and entwined themselves into one. By the time the light had faded, they were bushes no longer—rather, they were now the trunk to a gigantic tree, with evenly-spaced branches for makeshift stairs!

We are more than capable of pointing the way!

"Thanks, lil' guys!" Camo smiled and nuzzled the base of the intertwined trunks, "I knew you could do it!"

"Well then, I suppose that's our cue!" Zook proclaimed as he walked towards the trunk, "Come on, guys!"—Zook hopped onto one branch—"We've gotta get that Source!"

Zook then looked down and frowned.

"Hey, Camo, something buggin' you?" Zook sat down on the branch and kicked his legs against its side.

"Actually, yes!" Camo replied as he looked left and right, "Where's Chihirrro, anyways? She'd usually never miss out on something like this…"

"Oh, I know, I know!" Trigger Happy butted in as he hopped up in down and waved his hands in the air, "She had a super top-secret mission today, so she had to leave extra early!"

"A superrr top-secrrret mission, huh?" Camo repeated as he looked back at Trigger Happy.

"No worries, we can just tell her about it when she gets back!" Zook said as he hopped onto the next branch.

"Hey, don't leave me behind!" Camo added as he leaped onto the first branch and hopped after Zook.

The two of them started towards the third branch… Then paused to look down at a very irate Stump Smash—actually, no, that was just how Stump Smash always looked.

"Stumps, aren't'cha coming?" Zook asked as he leaned against the trunk.

"How do you expect me to do that with hands like these?" Stump Smash asked as he held up his mallets for hands for emphasis.

Camo rolled his eyes, then snapped his claws and looked back down at Stump Smash. As soon as Camo's snap resounded, a bright green light manifested beneath the ground Stump Smash stood upon! This light was followed by a gigantic vine that burst from the ground, wrapped around Stump Smash's waist then slowly elevated him off the ground.

Camo and Zook then smiled and went back to climbing, but Stump Smash was still less than pleased.

"Don't you think there's a better way to do this?" Stump Smash grumbled as he shook a mallet at Camo.

"Aw, don't worry about it!" Zook said as he turned back to Stump Smash and waved a hand, "Just relax and enjoy the trip!"
"Easy for you to say!" Stump Smash's frown grew deeper than normal, the veins in his bark creased like wrinkles, "You're not the one getting dragged by a giant vine!"

"It can't be that bad…" Zook made a gentle chuckle, "Actually, it looks kinda fun!"

"FUN?!"

As Zook and Stump Smash bickered and bantered along, Camo groaned and held his head then hopped onto the next branch up. Something in his gut told him that this would be a very, very long mission…

§

"So you're saying the stupid Skyloser took those sheep?" Kaos asked his wrist communicator from within the confines of his utterly brilliant evil fortress, "Very well then, this better work… Or you'll pay for it!"

Kaos smirked an evil, absolutely nefarious smirk as his eyes fell to the picture that emitted from his portal. True, he may have lost one chance to obtain the Life Seeds… But he wasn't going to give up! He waved his hands over the portal, the mental picture of those sheep clear in his mind… And sure enough, a vision of the Skylanders' home island flashed across before it zeroed in on the flock of sheep that had hidden themselves away in some kind of forest!

Kaos snapped his finger, and in a bright flash of light the entire flock had been brought back to his evil plotting and scheming room. Those stupid beasts all baaed and looked about in confusion, but they radiated with such great Life Element energy… Surely, they must have consumed some of the Life Seeds' essence, if not the seeds themselves!

"Alright…" Kaos cracked his knuckles, "Time for my next act of evil brilliance!"

Kaos clapped his hands, and a bright glow emitted from the sheep's bellies for mere moments then vanished… Right as a bunch of shaking seeds manifested on the surface of his portal! Kaos's smile widened as he stepped over to the portal, then placed his hands on its stone rim and watched as a dark red glow encased the seeds.

"Now, you stupid seeds…" Kaos snarled and gripped his portal a little tighter, "Show me where the Eternal Life Source is, right this instant!"

Strained, loud cries echoed throughout Kaos's brain at such an intense volume that it made him lose his grip on the portal and stumble back! But, as he held his pained evil head, a green glow emitted from his portal, almost as if… No, could it be? As the headache faded, Kaos drew closer towards his portal and peered at its surface. It flashed across images of an island tucked away in a hemisphere above Skylands itself, then closer into the island...

"WHAAAAT?!" Exclaimed a shout loud as thunder while flocks of menacing-looking birds flew off into the dark, cloudy distance.

Kaos himself stood steadfast in disbelief with his gaze trained on his portal. He couldn't believe it, perhaps he didn't want to believe it, but there, laid right before his eyes by his trusty portal, was none other than the Eternal Life Source's location!

It was housed within the depths of a particularly gloomy-looking forest that sparkled with magic, inside a humble-looking acorn that any normal person probably wouldn't have even batted an eyelash at. BUT, Kaos was no normal person—he was an evil genius of the highest degree! And he knew that the simple green shine of the acorn indicated one and only one thing.

That acorn was the resting place of the Eternal Life Source, and it was being kept from him by… Ugh, trees. Those stupid, deceitful trees that looked so innocent as they soaked up sunlight and made their stupid green leaves. But, Kaos never trusted them to begin with, and now, he had ample evidence!

"CURSE YOU, YOU INSOLENT TREES!" Kaos exclaimed as he shook a fist at his portal.

"What did the trees do this time, Master?" Glumshanks asked as he poked his head through the door that lead to Kaos's evil plotting room.

"It's awful, Glumshanks! Absolutely horrendous!" Kaos hopped off of his portal, stormed up to Glumshanks, then pulled Glumshanks through the door and gestured towards the still-shining portal, "They stole the Eternal Life Source from me!"

Glumshanks took a cursory gaze at the portal's shining platform, then frowned and furrowed his brows.

"I don't see anything, Master." Glumshanks looked back at Kaos and shrugged, "Just some acorns!"

"Of course a foolish fool like you would believe that…" Kaos hopped back onto his portal and pointed towards an acorn at the top of the stack, "But take a closer look at this little acorn—it's positively green! It's the Eternal Life Source!"

"Oh portals." Glumshanks massaged his forehead.

"And those foolish trees thought they could pull the wool over my eyes, hiding it from me!" Kaos wagged a finger and smirked, "They may have everybody else fooled, but I, KAOS, EVIL LORD OF ALL SKYLANDS, AM NOT SO EASILY DECEIVED! IN FACT, I'LL SHOW THOSE FOOLISH FOOLS WHO THE REAL FOOLS ARE!"

"I think that's the tenth time you've used that word today, Master." Glumshanks raised a clawed finger.

"NO MATTER!" Kaos went to step down from his portal… But then lost his footing and fell face-first onto the stone floor with a hard grunt.

Kaos groaned and shook his head, then pulled himself into a stance of full height. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a crude communications device and tuned it a bit before giving it a quick tap.

"ATTENTION, DROW! I HAVE AN EXTRA-SPECIAL MISSION FOR YOU!" Kaos cleared his throat, "I, THE ALMIGHTY KAOS, HAVE LOCATED THE ETERNAL LIFE SOURCE!"

Excited, static-y chatter rose from the communications device but quickly silenced as Kaos gave it a few more taps.

"It has been found in some stupid Great Forest or whatever its called, hidden away from me by those insolent trees!" Kaos's voice grew louder with some kind of excitement, "And now, it's your job to raze down that forest and bring me the Eternal Life Source!"

All of a sudden, the cacophony of excited voices became hesitant, then rapid and enraged! What was going on down there?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DESTROY THE SACRED GREAT FOREST?" Kaos growled and shook his communications device, "YOU WORK FOR ME, NOT YOUR STUPID LEGENDS, AND I ORDER YOU TO—"

Kaos's eyebrow reached their highest height as the angry chatter persisted, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"YOU QUIT? NO, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO QUIT!" Kaos leaned so hard into the depth of his device that his spit flew all over it, "I, THE ALMIGHTY EMPEROR KAOS, FIRE YOU! THAT'S RIGHT! YOU'RE FIRED!"

As the resonant chatter grew angrier, Kaos yanked off his communications device, then tossed it to the ground and stomped over it! Who do those drow think they are, resisting orders from their now-former ultimate evil overlord?! It made his blood boil! In fact, they made him so mad that not even completely destroying the communications device was enough to quell his rage!

"Glumshanks!" Kaos exclaimed as he pushed a finger in Glumshanks' face, "Call for every lumberjack troll in our army!"

"What, to cut down a few trees?" Glumshanks asked as he tilted his head, his jaw slack.

"No, Glumshanks…" Kaos turned around and smirked as he drummed his fingers together, then turned back around and stood as menacingly as he could, "TO CUT DOWN ALL THE TREES!"

Kaos cackled so loud that it reverberated around the area, then he looked back his portal and jabbed his hand towards it in the way only evil geniuses cold.

"WHO'S LAUGHING NOW, TREES!?"

As Kaos went back to cackling and bragging about his absolutely genius ploy, a pop brought his attention back to the other side of the room! He turned his attention away from the portal, then watched as a puff of green smoke emerged out of nowhere, and from that green smoke emerged… Ah, yes, just who he wanted to see!

There before him was a minion that in terms of build and sculpt near-perfectly resembled that stupid Skylander Stealth Elf, but far superior. Its body was made of pulsating dark purple energy striped with veins of brilliant green, and its whole body from the slightest hairs on its head to the soles of its feet radiated pure, unhampered evil!

"Lord Kaos!" The minion called as it bowed in the presence of Kaos's sheer evil genius, "I had a feeling you needed me, so I came as soon as I could!"

"Indeed I did!" Kaos replied as he clasped his hands together, "Good on you for being attentive, Evil Elf Ninja!"

Kaos then cleared his throat, and gestured for the Evil Elf Ninja to come view his portal.

"Thanks to my latest brilliant evil plan, I not only stole those Life Seeds from under the noses of Skylameos and their poser master…" Kaos paused for a moment to shudder, "Oh how I loathe her, but anyways,"—Kaos shook his head and watched as the Evil Elf Ninja gazed into the portal—"I have found it!"

The Evil Elf Ninja gazed into the portal, then looked at Kaos and cocked an eyebrow.

"An acorn?" It guessed.

"WRONG ANSWER!" Kaos shook his head, then made a grandiose gesture of presentation with his arms, "I have located the Eternal Life Source, and that's where you come in!"

"Yes, Master!" The Evil Elf Ninja stood tall and firm.

"Gather the Evil Tree Ent and the Evil Bambozooker. The three of you will accompany my forces there and keep those Skylosers from taking my Eternal Life Source at any cost!"

"Understood." The Evil Elf Ninja dropped to its knees, then vanished in another cloud of green smoke.

"Now that that's taken care of…" Kaos brushed off his hands and turned to Glumshanks, "Glumshanks! Arrange a ship to take me to the Fairy Kingdom!"

As Kaos walked out of the room, Glumshanks trailed behind him and frowned.

"Lord Kaos, you won't be overseeing the Eternal Source retrieval operations yourself?" Glumshanks asked as he twiddled his fingers.

"Oh, I can always do that later." Kaos waved his hand, "For now, I want to see how progress on the fairy magic extraction project is going personally for a change!"

Glumshanks sighed, then pulled up a stone tablet and chiseled something down on its solid surface.

"Yes, Lord Kaos. Right away."

§

All was oddly quiet in the portal room, for once in the several months that had passed since all this nonsense had begun. Everybody else had either left on patrols or were busy scouting the island for any signs of ne'er-do-wells, unusual magic activity or inconveniently-placed sheep, which left only a team of six to rest and reside in the room.

On the leftmost side, Chihiro rested against a cold, stone wall. Though she seemed calm as she drummed her fingers against her arm, the twitchy smile on her face and the way she bounced her foot against the stone floors suggested otherwise. Beside Chihiro, Persephone fluttered in place as she held a worn paper map tight in sweaty hands, a look of suspense on her normally-cheerful face.

On the other side of things, Double Trouble rested on the side of an inactive portal as he toyed with his staff. Beside him was Hex, who sat on yet another inactive portal and stroked a ragged and particularly nasty-looking skull as she spoke with Stealth Elf in hushed whispers.

And of course, Spyro stood attentive as ever as he fixed his golden eyes on Chihiro. The way he looked at her and Persephone was inquisitive, as if his eyes asked the questions his mind surely held while he tapped his claws against the floor.

All stayed silent, then finally Chihiro cleared her throat and stood tall.

"Alright, everyone," Chihiro said as she stepped forward and brushed off her hands, "I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here today."

"Yes, actually," Hex affirmed as she turned away from Stealth Elf and hovered towards Chihiro, "What was so important that you needed us to take off from missions, specifically?"

Chihiro only beamed, then gestured to Persephone to hand her the map. As Persephone gave Chihiro said map, Chihiro beamed and unfurled it for all to see.

"This map, which Hex, Double Trouble, Dark and I retrieved from a troll hideout in the Symphonic Shrubs a little while back, contains your very answer!" Chihiro pointed to the slightly faded illustration printed on its paper, "Thanks to some extensive analysis on Persephone's part, we've discovered that it's none other than the map to the Fairy Kingdom!"

As soon as he heard that name, Spyro perked up and rushed to Hex's side.

"You finally found it?" Spyro asked as he glazed over the paper.

"You bet'cha!" Chihiro rolled the map back up and stashed it in her pocket, "And now that we know for sure where Kaos relocated it to, we can finally go there and liberate it from his clutches!"

Chihiro giggled and spun through the room, then fixed her hands on a nearby portal.

"It's been so long, but it's finally happening!" Chihiro said as she beamed back at Persephone, "Persephone, we can finally save your people!"

"I've been looking forward to this happy day as well, young honorable Chihiro," Persephone croaked as she wiped tears of joy from her eyes, "To think, I'll finally be able to save my people from that awful Kaos's clutches!"

Spyro smiled and placed a paw on Persephone's arm, only to grunt as she swept him up in a tight hug and sobbed even more.

But, Chihiro paid no mind to this scene—for her gaze was instead fixated on the portal before her.

"Now, portal…" Chihiro whispered as she placed her hands on the portal and closed her eyes, "Give us a way to the Fairy Kingdom."

All eyes fixed on Chihiro and the portal. It was almost nerve-wracking to watch as the portal filled with bright blue light, shot a bright blue beam from its surface… Then exploded in a storm of light! Everybody coughed and grunted as they were covered in opalescent magic dust that vanished in a single second, then frowned as they looked back to Chihiro.

"Huh, that's strange," Chihiro remarked as she cocked an eyebrow at the portal, a confused frown on her face, "Maybe I wasn't focused hard enough!"—Chihiro's frown turned to a smile as she slammed her hands on the stone rim of the portal once more—"Let's try this again!"

Chihiro inhaled then exhaled as she clutched the portal's rim tight. All around her, hearts beat in unison as everybody fixated on the portal with bated breath.

The portal shimmered for a bit, then cast swirls of magic all across the room as beams of light emerged from its surface. Finally, everybody gasped as an image of a kingdom covered in dead foliage emerged from the portal!… Only to vanish seconds afterwards as another explosion of light blast out from the portal!

Chihiro coughed into her hand as she fanned away the fog and glitter, then turned back to the portal and moaned.

"Seems like Kaos's must've blocked off portals there," Chihiro reasoned as she brushed glitter off the surface of the portal, "Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Now what are we going to do?" Persephone asked as she held her hands to her face, her eyes stung with tears, "If we can't portal there, then how—"

"Can't portal where?" Asked a familiar voice as Cali walked into the room and leaned against the doorway!

"Cali!" Chihiro chirped as she dusted glitter off of her hair and watched it disappear into nothingness, "What're you doing here?"

"Just went out for a stroll and heard something." Cali shrugged, then turned her gaze towards Chihiro, "What about you? What's going on here?"

Chihiro shrugged, then scratched her arm as she looked aside.

"Well, we WERE going to liberate the Fairy Kingdom from Kaos's grubby clutches…" Chihiro cast an aside glance at the portal behind her and hung her head, "But, it seems Kaos has other ideas. He's completely blocked off portals there,"—Chihiro heaved a sigh and kicked a pebble—"So, now we're just trying to figure out what to do next."

"If you can't portal there, then you'll have to find some other ride…" Cali scratched her chin.

"Yeah, but what?" Chihiro shrugged her shoulders as she stared at the ceiling, "We'll need something that won't stick out too much, and something that's sturdy and strong enough to take such a long trip…"

"Strong and subtle, huh?" Cali rubbed her chin, then looked back at Chihiro with a glint of certainty in her eyes, "Like a warship from Kaos's army?"

"Eh?!" Everybody else exclaimed as they looked back at Cali.

Chihiro stepped towards Cali and tilted her head. "Cali, what are you talking about?"

"Well." Cali smiled and crossed her arms, "In my time as an adventurer, I've made a lot of connections. And it just so happens that I know someone who snagged one of Kaos's ships and has been looking for a way to the Fairy Kingdom herself!"

"REALLY?" Chihiro's eyes glistened with a new elation.

Cali nodded her head, then looked back at Chihiro with a wide beam.

"Then…" Chihiro breathed in, then firmly bowed and stood straight, "Can you, please?"

"I'll see what I can do." Cali nodded yet again.

Chihiro jumped a foot in the air and hollered with excitement, then the moment she fell down to the ground she rushed over and hugged Persephone tight! Persephone, in response, returned that hug then spun Chihiro all around the room!

Their glee was so massive and infectious that the others couldn't help but smile and chuckle. Even the normally-stoic Hex nodded in approval! Finally things were all starting to come together after all their hard work!

"Chihiro…" Called a voice from nowhere as Chihiro looked to the ceiling.

"Chihiro…"

§

"Hey, Chihiro!" Spyro called as he gently shook Chihiro's shoulder, "Can you hear me?"

"Oh, Spyro!" Chihiro jolted out of her thoughts and turned back towards Spyro, "What's up?"

"When you're ready, meet the rest of us down in the captain's room." Spyro jumped up and flew off, "We need to discuss our plan before we get there!"

"Oh, right!" Chihiro looked back over the side of the warship, "We should almost be there."

Chihiro paused for a moment to run her finger over the shiny black metal that made up this warship. It was super small and run down in certain areas, but nonetheless it was more than enough for their journey—Cali sure knew what she was doing. Chihiro looked up, but all she could see was a sky coated in deep, regal shades of purple and pink flicked with rhinestone-like milky white stars. With how dark it was, it was almost hard to believe they had embarked early that morning, or that it should almost be the afternoon now! Time zone differences sure were fun.

Well, no use lingering on that now, Chihiro did have a game plan to go over. So, she turned away from the side of the warship, skipped over to a nearby door and yanked it open before she dashed down the stairs it unveiled.

There, everybody else was curled around a worn wooden table, a tired whiteboard marked with instructions right behind them. Across from them in a section only half-blocked by a simple curtain screen was their pilot Calliope, ever diligent as she sailed the ship further.

Chihiro had to admit, she didn't quite expect that connection of Cali's to be another fairy, but hey, life was quite good at throwing those surprises.

Though she didn't have the regal aura that Persephone carried herself with, Calliope was quite pretty nonetheless. Her skin was warm and the color of fresh peaches, her hair was red as roses and kept in a short pixie cut, and her emerald green eyes sparkled with a kind of a diligence to them. Her outfit was nothing ceremonious, to be honest. It was just a tattered plum-colored coat that covered everything from the neck down save for the pinkish-purple fingerless gloves she wore, the lavender wings that sprouted from her back, and the mist trail of the same color that acted as her legs, paired with a simple pinkish-purple crystal pendant.

Though she spoke not a word, one could easily tell that within her heart she carried a level of concern, or maybe diligence? She wasn't exactly an easy character to read.

"Chihiro, you're here! Great!" Spyro called as he cast a gaze towards Chihiro then turned back to Calliope, "Now, before we go over this plan…"—Spyro waved at Calliope, then bowed as she cast an aside glance towards him—"Calliope, right? Thanks for taking us here."

"It's nothing, really," Calliope said as she continued to steer with little mind paid to Spyro, her voice whisperlike but also somewhat raspy, "I just hope it isn't too late for them."

"What was that?" Spyro frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing!" Calliope shook her head then hung it low, "Just, nothing."

Strange, why was she so quick to dismiss… What was it that she just said? Being too late or something? Eh, whatever, it was of no use worrying about it now. Chihiro shrugged, then pulled the whiteboard closer.

"Alright, everyone, the plan's simple," Chihiro explained as she magicked a baton out of thin air and pointed towards the writing on the board, "Step one, we get in there! Step two, we find out what Kaos's done to the place since Persephone left, step three…"

Chihiro glazed over the third instruction, which only had a number of question marks in its slot, then shrugged and turned back to the others.

"I'll get to that later. Step four, we save everyone and send Kaos's cronies packing!" Chihiro waved her baton in a circle as she puffed out her chest, "Any questions?"

"Yes, actually," Stealth Elf said as she raised a hand, then pointed a finger towards the whiteboard, "That plan seems… Oddly simple. Shouldn't we have something a little more than just 'Get in there and beat everything up'?"

"Well, we don't really know what's going on there…" Chihiro scratched the back of her head, then giggled and shrugged, "So I'll just make up the rest as we go!"

Stealth Elf cocked an eyebrow, and though her mouth was covered by her mask it was fairly clear to tell she was frowning in disapproval.

"Whatever that plan is," Calliope said as she steered away at the wheel, "You'd better finish it soon, because we're almost here!"

Everybody jumped from their seats and crowded around the pilot deck's massive window to see that they had pulled the warship towards a gigantic, metallic dock which stuck out greatly from the masses of clumpy vines and leaves that surrounded it! It seemed a bit strange, intimidating, maybe, what with how wild and unkempt it looked.

Chihiro frowned, then took a peek back at the map. While this did lead here and all, a part of her had trouble believing this was the Fairy Kingdom Persephone called home. It looked so unlike the wonderful, fairytale-esque land Persephone had described to Chihiro so many times… But then again, maybe she shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or a kingdom from its front gates.

Persephone, meanwhile, frowned as well while Calliope pulled into the dock's open gates.

"Are you sure this is it?" Persephone asked as she gazed towards Calliope, "This looks nothing like the home I recall…"

Persephone pursed her lips as the ship passed by a sign that read "Fairy Kingdom Hideout — Property of Lord Kaos" in big, blocky Skylandian lettering, its paint red and drippy. Well, no denying it now. Persephone opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else, but before she could even get another word in, the ship ground to a halt and lunged her back into the prior room!

"What the—" Calliope exclaimed as she bonked her head on the steering wheel then shook it off, "Why'd we stop?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that myself!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pulled herself off of the floor.

Calliope flew towards the upper deck's stairs while Chihiro followed… But before they could reach, something dead and cold fell on their shoulders and made them freeze!

"I'd wait if I were you," warned Hex as she released her grip on their shoulders and closed the pilot room's open screen, "We don't know what could be waiting for us. For all we know, it could be…"

"Kaos?" Chihiro turned around to face Hex and tilted her head.

Everybody else in the room all shuddered at the very mention of Kaos's name.

"Exactly." Hex turned towards Double Trouble and ushered him closer, "Double Trouble, now's the time!"

Double Trouble hopped from the stack of empty crates he sat on and chirped back to Hex in that language of his that Chihiro couldn't quite understand. He then raised his staff to the skies and slowly swirled it around as Hex chanted something in another strange language…

Chihiro felt a strange, tingling sensation as Hex and Double Trouble chanted even louder, then frowned and looked down at her peachy hands… But they weren't peach anymore! Rather, they were now a minty bluish-green color! Chihiro yelped in surprise as she looked down and examined herself, only to find that she wasn't wearing her regular outfit anymore. Rather, she wore something that wouldn't look that unusual on a drow!

"Eh?! What's going on?!" Chihiro demanded as she snapped her fingers and summoned a magical mirror. She looked inside the mirror… Then gasped and stumbled back!

She wasn't human anymore! Her eyes were blank, her ears were long and pointed, and even her normally black hair was now a royal shade of blue. No, she was a drow now! Chihiro screamed again as the mirror vanished incredibly quickly—a bit strange since her effigies usually lasted for more than a few seconds, but maybe the shock had thrown her off.

"Don't panic so much, it's only a disguise," Hex chided as she turned back to Chihiro, her own morbid black robes now purple in color and striped with golden markings, "Just in case we get unwelcome company."

"Ohhhh." Chihiro nodded and beamed as she teased her now blue hair, "Well, I always wondered what I'd look like with blue hair. Guess now I've got my answer!"

Chihiro then turned to the others, who had all stopped to examine their own disguises.

Stealth Elf was no different aside from the fact that she now donned drow armor rather than her usual ninja garb. The same went for Persephone and Calliope, who both wore elegant black and red gowns that masked their wings and misty feet, but the others' changes were more radical by far!

Spyro's scales were now a cold, dull blue in color as opposed to his radiant purple, and the parts of his body that were only golden yellow were now a dead, bony white. Even those kaleidoscopic eyes of his were completely blank! At least that strange blue glow that peered out from under his scales looked kinda cool.

Meanwhile, Cali's fur was now more of a dullish green color that reminded Chihiro of a zombie's skin, and her eyes were now bloodshot and fully yellow save for completely black pupils. Her outfit had changed to a red top striped with golden buckles, black trousers and matching black boots practically coated in silver spikes that did well to match the sleek, black helmet she donned atop her head.

"If that's taken care of," Hex said as she adjusted the oversized wizard hat that now donned her head, then turned to a punk outfit-clad Double Trouble, "We should be going now."

Everybody nodded in unison, then Spyro flew towards the stairs with everybody else close behind.

As she walked behind him, Chihiro couldn't help but feel a little bit antsy. After all, this was such an important mission, and one she had prepared a long time for, too… What if something went wrong? All of a sudden, Stealth Elf's concerns about having such a barebones plan seemed a lot more prominent now…

"Alright, what's going on?" Spyro demanded, his voice echoed like a ghost as he pushed open the door that lead back to the warship's main deck.

The warship itself had arrived at what seemed like some kind of hanger or maybe another dock? Well, whatever it was, it didn't look anything like the docks she had seen before. It was all cold metal walls and weird posters and notices, right down to the platform which rested to the side of where their ship was now parked and lined with a couple of doors that all had troll guards stationed near them. And more importantly, it was filled to the brim with Kaos's soldiers!

The others all filed in and watched Spyro stare down a number of trolls, goblins, and all sorts of other soldiers that donned intricate weaponry! Geez, Kaos must've pulled out all the stops for this place.

"I don't know about this," Calliope whispered as she leaned towards Chihiro, "They seem pretty tough…"

"Alright, buddy!" Exclaimed a gruff-voiced troll with a voice so loud it caught everyone's attention, "How'd you get here? Only officiated officers of Kaos are allowed in this place!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Spyro swished his tail and snorted, which sent a puff of grayish-blue smoke out his nostrils, "We've been assigned here by Kaos."

"Really? 'Cause we didn't get anything from Lord Kaos about new arrivals." The troll huffed and crossed its bulky arms, "Besides, I've never seen your mug around here before. Just who are you duds, anyways?"

"What's there to be suspicious of?" Chihiro insisted as she pushed past Spyro and presented herself to the guards, a warbled smile on her face, "We're all working for Kaos here!"

Just then, a puff of smoke erupted around Chihiro and the rest of her motley crew, one that caused them all to break out into coughing fits! Geez, didn't she get enough smoke trying to work a portal here earlier?! Chihiro winced as she fanned away smoke and rubbed her stinging eyes then looked at her hand. As the smoke finally clearly, Chihiro's eyes widened…

Because her hand was no longer green, it was back to peach! Chihiro winced again, then clenched her teeth and looked back at her armor, except it was armor no longer—it was back to being regular clothes! Her disguise was broken! Chihiro whipped her head around in some vain hope it was just her, but no. Everybody else's disguises had vanished into thin air!

"ITS THE PORTAL MASTER AND HER SKYLANDERS!" The crowd of soldiers exclaimed as they jumped back and thrust their weapons in the air!

"Hah, thought you could trick us, huh?" Mocked a beefy goblin at the forefront of the mob as he banged his armor-covered hands together, "WRONG! Thanks to that fairy magic we've collected and one of the commander's contraptions, we've got a no-sell spell all over the island! Yer magic's completely useless!"

"YEAH!" Cried the rest of the soldiers from the back!

The goblin smirked, then pointed a finger towards Chihiro and her gang. "EVERYONE, ATTACK!"

As the crowds of soldiers cheered and stormed, Chihiro gulped.

"Welp, guess it's time for Plan B!" Chihiro shouted as she cracked her knuckles.

"Plan B?" Spyro shouted back as he looked towards Chihiro, "What was Plan B?"

"FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Chihiro grimaced, then snapped her fingers and watched as they were engulfed in magical cyan flames! She sprung forward and went to launch a punch at a particularly short and stocky troll, but the moment she made contact her flames were extinguished!

"Crap!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped back and snapped some more flames into existence… Only for them to vanish just as quickly, "That's right, they've got a no-sell spell."

Chihiro shook her head, then turned around to where she was sure Persephone was standing only to duck down and nearly dodge an axe's swing, "Crap! Again!"

Across from her, the Skylanders was hard at work as they guarded Persephone and Calliope from Kaos's forces!

Spyro and Stealth Elf nodded in unison then launched themselves towards two of the larger drow soldiers in the armada! The drow only stared with wide eyes as they came in… Then laughed as Spyro and Stealth Elf bounced off their chests and skidded along the floor.

Hex and Double Trouble, meanwhile, raised their hands to the heavens and summoned rains of skulls and bombs made of raw magic! The blasts from their attacks radiated down the sky like comets… But as they hit the ground, they fizzled out and harmlessly bonked the ground beneath their feet instead! They both grunted, then dodged out of the way as the soldiers charged towards them.

"Wait, where did Persephone go? I could've sworn she was with me a second ago…" Chihiro whispered as she swung out the way of the troll she was fighting with, "Hey, Persephone! Sound off if you're still alive!"

But, it was no use calling. The battles had kicked up so much noise and chaos that soon enough, nobody could be seen or heard over the chaos! Everything melded together in a soup of anarchy seasoned with the sound of clashing weapons and battle cries…

"So much for that." Chihiro shook her head as she turned back to her troll opponent, then cried out as she lunged forward and punched!

The troll, however, merely jumped out of the way!

Chihiro turned around and gritted her teeth as the troll mocked her slip-up, before she shouted out again as she raced forward and socked it right into the face! While the troll stumbled backwards, she snagged it off the ground and tossed it right at a gremlin across the way! Chihiro smirked as she watched them both stumble down, then fell to her knees herself as something crashed straight into her!

"Hey, watch it!" Chihiro snarled and turned around only for her eyes to widen, "Cali?"

"Can't talk!" Cali shouted back as she grabbed a knife from her pocket, "In the middle of something!"

Cali grunted as she slashed a goblin dressed in bulky armor… Only for her knife to snap clean in half! Cali gulped as she looked down at her broken knife, then clenched her teeth and looked up at the goblin who now sneered down at her.

Chihiro flexed her wrist and got ready to punch down the goblin, but before she could a big purple blur balled down both the goblin and her! Chihiro grunted as the purple blur crashed into her, then lifted up her head and watched as Spyro groaned and held his own.

"Spyro?" Chihiro exclaimed as she helped him back onto the floor, then winced as she heard a familiar shout of pain!

Her eyes followed the path of the scream and lead her to Stealth Elf, bruised and scratched up on the ground! All around her stood tall and armored trolls and goblins… Stealth Elf was completely surrounded! Stealth Elf grunted, then pulled herself to her feet and vanished in a puff of green smoke!

"There's way too many of these guys!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she dashed through the smoke and reappeared next to Chihiro.

"And they're far too powerful, too!" added another, chilling voice.

Chihiro turned back, and saw Hex as she hovered back to the ground with an exhausted Double Trouble behind her, who only chattered in what seemed to be agreement.

"I hate to say it." Stealth Elf clenched her daggers as tightly as she could with her trembling hands, "But I think we're outmatched."

Chihiro clenched her teeth and winced as the soldiers all crowded around them. Unfortunately, Stealth Elf was right. There had to be at least two hundred of these guys, and they seemed super tough to boot! How on Earth were they supposed to get out of this one?!

"Wait a second…" Cali whispered as she nudged Chihiro's shoulder, "Look, there's an exit!"

Chihiro gasped, then followed Cali's gaze. Sure enough, she was right. Not that far across the passageway beside them was a simple air vent just big enough for all of them to fit in! If they could just make a good enough distraction, surely they could escape…

"Stealth!" Chihiro called as she whipped her head around to face Stealth Elf, "Can you give us a distraction?"

"Distraction, huh?" Stealth Elf remarked as she dug through the pocket of her slacks and pulled out a murky marble-looking thing, "I've got just the thing!"

Stealth Elf bounced the marble thing a few times, then tossed it straight at the ground! The marble shattered as soon as it made contact, and from it emerged a gigantic cloud of green fog that enveloped all around!

The soldiers all coughed and shouted unintelligible words as they tried to make their way through the fog, but it was far too thick to escape from!

"Now's our chance!" Cali exclaimed as she ushered everyone along, "Go, go, go!"

The others were quick to follow Cali's command as they rushed through the more spacious crowds under the cover of the fog. The area around seemed completely identical with the fog all around, and for a while it just felt like running through a maze… Until they popped out of the clouds! Sure enough, they had run far out the reach of the crowds, and were now just inches away from the vent. Everybody breathed sighs of relief as they hopped onto the docks, then Chihiro cleared her throat.

"Alright, headcount," Chihiro heaved as she drew her finger across the group, "Spyro, Stealth Elf, Hex, Double Trouble, Cali…"—Chihiro raised an eyebrow—"Wait a second, we're missing people!"

Chihiro turned her eyes back to the smog-covered crowds and frowned. "Where's Persephone and Calliope?"

"UNHAND ME, YOU ABSOLUTE BRUTES!" Persephone cried from within the crowds

The fog faded and cleared moments afterwards to unveil Persephone and Calliope, now trapped in a gigantic cage! Persephone had her hands clasped against the bars as she glared down soldiers who bellowed with laughter, but Calliope seemed far more distraught. Calliope instead laid on the cage's floor with her head hung low, though for a moment she lifted her head and raised a hand… That seemed to glow purple? Maybe it was the distance creating illusions, but either way Calliope received one glare from the guards that held her captive and quickly went back to sulking.

"Persephone! Calliope!" Chihiro called, then with a shake of her head she hopped off of the docks and got ready to run.

"Chihiro, wait!" Spyro called as he reached out a paw, "Let me go with you, we—"

Chihiro only shook her head, then looked back towards Spyro with utmost seriousness resonate in her eyes.

"You go with the others, Spyro," Chihiro whispered as she let go of his paw, "We're both the leaders here, so it would be really bad if they got us both, right?"

"But…" Spyro clasped his paw as a ring of worry flashed in his golden eyes.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" Chihiro made a gentle smile and a nod to back it up, "I'll meet up with you later!"

Spyro frowned and looked aside, then nodded firmly.

"Come on, everyone!" Spyro then nudged the others through the docks' paths, "We've gotta get going, now!"

As everybody else vanished in the distance, Chihiro nodded and turned her attention back to the cage… Which was now being moved out of the hanger! Crap, she had to get going! Chihiro grunted, then bolted forward and slammed right into the side of the cage! Pain seared from every part of her body, but she couldn't worry about that right now! She had to get them out!

Shouts erupted from everyone else around as the soldiers tried to pry Chihiro off the cage, but with all the blood rushing in her ears she couldn't make out a word they said! All she could do was latch herself even tighter onto the cage and try to pry them out… Then something slammed the door open and tossed her to the floor!

Chihiro cried in agony as the pain that coursed through her body finally started to catch up with her. She was so weak, she could only look up as one of the soldiers plucked her up by the collar of her shirt and tossed her straight into the cage! The impact was so great to her already pained body that all she could do was close her eyes and let everything fade to black…

§

"Hup!" Camo exclaimed as he hopped off the final leaf and shook, "Man, it feels good to finally get off that thing! Forrr a moment, I—"

Camo's jaw dropped as he opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of forest surroundings. Or rather, the lack of forest surroundings!

Though many trees still stood tall, thankfully, the entire area rang with the sickening sound of revving chainsaws while gigantic trees toppled down as if they were no more than seedlings! What could have caused this? Camo looked up and unfortunately for him, found his answer. There, stationed above the cleaned and halved tree trunks were gigantic, troll-piloted chainsaws!

"Oh no…" Zook gasped as he walked up to Camo's side and took in the damage, "Who could've done this?!"

"Kaos, likely!" Camo replied before he bit his lip, "But how did he find out wherrre we werre? Therrre's no way he could've done that without the Life Seeds!"

"That doesn't matter!" Stump Smash scoffed as he finally dropped off from the vine, "Look at what he's doing to the forest!"

All stood in morbid silence for a few moments… Then finally, Stump Smash cried out and ran in for the kill!

"Stump Smash, hold on!" Camo and Zook exclaimed as they grabbed Stump Smash by the arms and pulled him back.

Stump Smash, however, was quick to thrust himself out of their grip and glare them down. "Why'd you stop me?! Those things are—"

"I know!" Camo said as he held up his front paws, "But we can't just jump in like that!"

"Yeah," Zook chimed in as he nodded in agreement, "You'd get yourself split up!"

"So we're just going to let them have their way?" Stump Smash shot back as he gritted his teeth, his wooden eyebrows clenched tight.

"No, of course not, man!" Zook shook his head, which sent tiny bamboo leaves cascading onto the stump they used as a floor, "But I can't have you getting beat up! You're a tree too, you know!"—Zook made a gentle grin—"I'm sure we can think of something if we just chill out!"

"Yeah, let's all think this through and…" Camo started, only to trail off as he saw Stump Smash glare Zook down further.

"We can't just sit around and wait! You're not taking this seriously enough!" Stump Smash shouted while he gestured towards the still-going chainsaws, "If we don't stop those things…"

Camo winced and stepped back, a part of him praying that whatever he thought was going to happen certainly wouldn't. But, the way Stump Smash and Zook shot back against one another, one fueled with rage and the other with concern, it didn't exactly ease his worries.

"Hey, hey!" Camo pushed himself between Zook and Stump Smash, "Knock it off you two!"

As both Stump Smash and Zook continued arguing, Camo sighed and held his head… Only to lift it up as he heard something that sounded like vines creeping across the floor. Had somebody found them? Camo turned around with full intentions of attacking, but all he found was a giant, red flower, its petals streaked with yellow, purple and black markings that vaguely resembled angry faces! When did that get here? He was sure there weren't any flowers here a second ago…

Whatever it was, it caught Stump Smash and Zook's attention as well! The two of them broke out of their spat to stare at the flower, which had folded its petals in and made some sort of sucking noise.

"What's with this flowerrr?" Camo asked as all three of them tilted their heads.

The three of them stared at the flower in anticipation for a few moments, only to reel back as the flower peeled back it petals and shot a cloudy, reddish-yellow substance at them—POLLEN! Camo was quick to mask his mouth with his tail, but Stump Smash and Zook weren't quite as fortunate! They could only cough and futilely fan the clouds away.

"That sure was rrrandom," Camo remarked as he watched the flower wither and disappear into a crack in the stump.

They all shrugged, then Zook and Stump Smash turned their attention back to each other. The moment they locked eyes again, it almost seemed as if their eyes glowed… Red, for moment? But no, that would be ridiculous, Camo was probably just seeing things!

"Anyways," Stump Smash said, his arms crossed and a prominent frown on his face once more and a ring of a red glow around his eyes for moments before it vanished, "Like I was saying, we can't just sit around and let these trolls have their way, you hippie-dip!"

"Like I told you, cool your head!" Zook shot back a little more defensively than before, his arms crossed with a rare genuine frown on his face while his eyes also flashed red for a second, "Do you wanna get turned into firewood or something?"

Stump Smash, however, didn't shoot back. He only looked back at Zook with wide eyes, as if what Zook had just said struck some kind of nervous chord in him… But only for a moment before he pushed his face into Zook's.

"You better watch your words, you walking bamboo stick!" Stump Smash growled as he shoved a hammer-hand in Zook's face.

"And you'd better watch your breath!" Zook shoved Stump Smash out of his face and shook a fist, "When was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

"I'm a tree, you idiot! I don't have teeth!"

Camo could only wince in pain as he watched Zook and Stump Smash bicker. Even though their personalities tended to clash, their arguments never got this intense before! Especially on Zook's end—he was normally the kind of bambazooker who just let things roll right off his back! Why was he so nasty and quick to fight all of a sudden?

"Hey, hey, brrreak it up!" Camo ordered as he pushed himself into the fray, "If we keep making all that rrracket, somebody'll—"

"SKYLANDERS!"

Camo only sighed as he caught sight of the area above, which now had a whole team of armed trolls panicked and chattering. "Find us."

Zook and Stump Smash looked towards the trolls, then shot one last glare towards each other.

"This was your fault, you know," they both said in unison.

The trolls chattered among each other, then screamed out cries of war as they charged towards Zook, Stump Smash, and Camo! Their axes and battalions were raised high as they went in to swing… Only to get blown away by the sprouting of an entire bamboo patch!

Zook smirked and blew off his bazooka's mouth, but Stump Smash only rolled his eyes and walked forward.

"Impressive… If you were at a birthday party," Stump Smash scoffed as he hit his hammers together and smiled, "I'll show you how to REALLY take care of things!"—Stump Smash pounded his hammer hands together even more rapidly—"DROP THE HAMMER!"

Stump Smash cried out once more, then he became a raging elephant as he dashes forward and pounded down on the trolls with lightning speed! Hammer-shaped indents formed on the grounds below as Stump Smash sped through the crowds of trolls, who could only watch in horror as they were knocked down in droves.

With the trolls cleared out, Stump Smash smiled and crossed his arms… Only for something to smash into him and toss him on the ground!

"Pfft!" Stump Smash spat as he hacked out dirt and turned around, "Hey, what was that—"

Stump Smash gulped as he saw a lofty troll who held a battering ram loom over him, all flanked by a line of other trolls so lengthy it probably stretched across half the forest.

"For?"

The troll charged straight into Stump Smash with the battering ram once more, with Stump Smash only able to scream as he was sent flying over their wooden floor! Before Stump Smash could fall over the edge, however, a pair of vines yanked him from the skies and dropped him back down on the ground! Stump Smash groaned and rubbed his head.

"Camo, was that you?" Stump Smash asked as he turned around, but Camo was far too busy tossing watermelons at unsuspecting trolls to answer Stump Smash's question.

Zook walked forward, then smirked as he spun his bazooka.

"I'd better take care of things from here," Zook said as he slung his bazooka over his shoulder, "LOCKED AND LOADED!"

With a simple pull of the trigger, Zook sent thorny missiles shooting straight towards the trolls and swept those nasty trolls off their feet!… But unfortunately, also rained thorns down everywhere in the process.

And these thorns, they couldn't tell just who was friend or foe! They attacked anything unfortunate enough to be in their paths, and that included Stump Smash and Camo!

"Watch we're you shooting those things, you numbskull!" Stump Smash yelled as he shook his mallet hands at Zook.

"At least I actually got rid of them!" Zook scoffed as he looked back at Stump Smash then dusted off his bazooka, "You just knocked them all down and called it a day!"

"Excuse me?!" Stump Smash charged over towards Zook at quite fast speeds for such an aged tree, "I was the one who did all the work here! You just sat around and cleaned the plate!"

The trolls that once fought them simply lowered their weapons and looked over in what seemed to be confusion.

Camo followed their gaze, then promptly groaned and cradled his face in his paws. Sure enough, Stump Smash and Zook were arguing again, their eyes... A bright red? But they had yellow eyes, not red ones! Was he imagining things?

"Again?" Camo sighed as he went to break them up… But before he could, then trolls grabbed their weapons and went in for the kill!

"Stump Smash, Zook, look out!" Camo called as he chased after the trolls and fireballed down whichever ones he could… Which wasn't much, admittedly.

Stump Smash and Zook pulled away from their argument, took one look at the stampeded of trolls, and then…

"WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE!" Stump Smash and Zook yelled as they both blasted the trolls away with a combined blast so intense, it could probably be seen at least a few feet over!

And more importantly, it was so intense the other trolls screamed and ran for the lives! As they cleared out of the way, both Stump Smash and Zook stopped to take a breather—and for a moment, it seemed like they had finally calmed down!

Camo bit his lip as he watched them look towards each other, his heart lifted with hope at the sight of them staring at each other. Had they finally stopped as this petty bickering?

"You could stand to not make things so flashy, you know," Stump Smash scoffed.

"Why are you complaining?" Zook exclaimed with a hapless shrug, "At least it got rid of them!"

"Guys, guys! Brrreak it up!" Camo shouted as he pushed himself in the middle of Zook and Stump Smash's conversation… Only to immediately get pushed out of the way.

The moment they went back to arguing, Camo's eyelid twitched. By the Ancient Elementals, he had enough of this! He was not going to play mediator for them if they weren't going to get along!

"Come on, you two! We've got an Eterrrnal Sourrrce to take back, you know!"

No use, they just continued to argue. Finally, Camo growled and stomped his feet on the stump below him.

"If you'rrre not gonna come, then I guess I'll just have to make you!"

Right as Camo said this, gigantic vines tore through the stump they stood on and yanked Zook and Stump Smash out of the ground!… However, Stump Smash and Zook were so busy trading insults, they didn't even notice they had been lifted off the ground!

"Blockhead!"

"Sap-mouth!"

"No good walking bamboo husk!"

While they traded insults, Camo made the loudest moan known to plantkind, then yanked some nearby weeds from the ground and crammed them into his earholes. Finally, peace! Now that their arguments were no longer on his mind, Camo strode away with them pulled along by his vines.

As he passed a branch made of tree bark, Camo frowned and looked down. It kind of felt like the ground was… Vibrating? Huh that was strange, but the sensation passed so he just moved along. His eyes were trained on the trees as they were razed down by the chainsaws, and his entire heart burst with fury!… Then extinguished as he caught sight of Stump Smash and Zook.

Ancients almighty, what were they arguing about this time? They were both frantic as they pointed ahead of Camo and shouted, only to turn back to arguing among each other while their eyes flashed red again. Okay, now that he saw that there was definitely no denying that their eyes had something up, but what? Oh, whatever, he'd worry about that later.

Camo rolled his eyes and turned back to the path he had traveled on… Then yelped and widened his eyes as a gigantic chainsaw barreled straight towards him! Luckily, he was able to roll out of the way just in time to avoid its blades… But in the process, the vines he held Stump Smash and Zook with got yanked and sliced clean in half! Stump Smash and Zook both screamed as they crashed down and fell flat on their faces!

"Next time, Camo," Stump Smash grunted as he staggered up and wiped his face, "Watch where you're pulling things!"

"What he said, man!" Zook added as he sat up and brushed dirt out of his leaves.

Camo, however, had no time to address their complaints (or the fact that his earplugs had apparently fallen out). He just grabbed their hands and ran!

"No time to talk!" Camo shouted, "Those chainsaws arrre everrrywherrre!"

Camo ran even faster despite having them in tow, his heartbeats pounded in his ears as he searched for sanctuary. Everywhere around him held nothing but more chainsaws and enemies and falling trees… Where could he go? Wait a second, there! Not that far across, but thankfully out of the chainsaws' reach, was a hollow tree stump with an open doorway!

A smile formed on his face, Camo bolted inside without a second thought and let go of Stump Smash and Zook's hands. They all breathed sighs of relief… But, that relief was too quickly held. Why? Because right while they were resting, the sound of lurching trees echoed from the outdoors.

"What was that?" They all asked at once… Right as a something large and wooden crashed right over the entrance.

The impact was so great it knocked everybody on their faces! All three of them pulled themselves up and rubbed their aching heads… Only to turn around and groan.

"And we'rrre trrrapped."

Sure enough, a gigantic tree branch had crashed right over the entrance! Camo frowned, then walked up to the branch and rapped on its surface.

"Seems prrretty solid too," Camo remarked as he turned back to Stump Smash and Zook, "We might not be able to brrreak it down."

"Just leave it to us, Camo!" Zook said as he threw his bazooka over his shoulder, "We'll blow that branch down in no time!"

Stump Smash smiled and rested his hand on Zook's shoulder. "We'll have that old branch pruned in no time!"

Camo, however, was more off-put than reassured by their sudden chumminess.

"Werrren't you guys about rrready to bite each otherrr's heads off a few seconds ago?" Camo asked as he pointed towards Stump Smash and Zook, who seemed equally as perturbed as he was.

"What are you talking about, Camo?" Stump Smash and Zook both turned towards each other while Stump Smash spoke, "I don't remember any—"

Stump Smash grew silent as he and Zook locked eyes, eyes that flashed red the moment they saw each other!

"You know what? Let me handle this!" Stump Smash exclaimed as he pushed past Zook, "One measly little combo attack isn't going to knock down something as strong as that! And definitely not one from your dingy little party cannon!"

"It's a bazooka!" Zook shot back as he clutched his bazooka and pushed past Stump Smash, "Besides, do you have any better ideas?"

"I'm sure I could come up with one better than that!" Stump Smash pressed a hand to his chin and shot Zook a look, "Just give me five seconds!"

One second passed as Stump Smash contemplated… Then two, three, four…

"Got any good ideas, wise guy?" Zook scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Don't rush me!"

Both Zook and Stump Smash seemed inches away from starting another fight, but Camo wasn't nearly as concerned. Rather, he was… Contemplative as he examined them. So he wasn't imagining that strange glow! Camo hummed a bit more, then grabbed Zook by the shoulders.

"Hey, Camo!" Zook exclaimed as Camo turned him around, "What's the big—"

Once Zook was fully turned away from Camo, the red glare and his face both relaxed.

"What was I just talking about?" Zook asked, a finger held to his face.

"Beats me! I can't remember a thing!" Stump Smash remarked from the other side.

So that's it… Camo thought as he rubbed his chin and observed both Zook and Stump Smash, Wheneverrr they look at each otherrr, they just lose theirrr marrrbles!—Camo beamed and chuckled—So just don't let them look at each otherrr! Sounds simple enough!

Camo jolted up as he heard the sounds of crashing and yelling, then turned around to find that the two of them had eyes locked and fist balled.

"Well, starrrting now."

Camo stormed forward and pushed past whatever petty argument Zook and Stump Smash had gotten, then turned them both away from each other's view.

"Rrregarrrdless of whateverrr you werrre talking about, we need to find some way of getting out of herrre!" Camo reminded as he looked back at the lofty branch that covered their way out, "Unless you wanna live in a trrree stump forrr the rrrest of yourrr lives…"

Camo frowned, then let go of Stump Smash and Zook so he could walk around the tree stump. "Anyways, I'm gonna take a look at things, so don't look at each otherrr while I'm gone."

Camo's frown grew deeper as he padded around the hollow tree stump. Around the area itself there was nothing of interest or use, but maybe there was something hidden in the walls or something? Camo stopped in front of a wall and patted it down… But as he did, he could've sworn he heard whirring in the backdrop? As the sound grew louder, Camo bit his lip and continued examining the walls… Then pulled his head back as a thorny missile zoomed just inches from his face!

"Hey! Wherrre'd that come frrrom?" Camo asked as he scrambled back, then jumped out of the way just in time for several large, spiny chestnuts to steamroll the place he once stood at!

Wait a second, he recognized those attacks…

"That can't be…" Camo turned back to where he left Zook and Stump Smash, "Oh no, not again!"

Sure enough, Zook and Stump Smash were at it once more, and this time their argument had grown physical! Zook had his bazooka at the ready, Stump Smash his hammers while their prior attacks bounced around the stump… But before either of them could strike the next blow, Camo weaved his way through the crossfire of their prior blows and slammed his paws on the ground.

"Alrrright, that's enough!"

The moment Camo spoke, vines jumped from the ground and completely entwined Zook and Stump Smash!

"We'rrre supposed to be figurrring this out, not fighting each otherrr!"

Stump Smash and Zook grunted as they tried to pry themselves out of the vines, only for their eyes to widen, though the red glow had yet to fade. What had them so worked up? For that matter, didn't he hear rolling in the backdrop?

"Camo, you gotta let us go, man!" Zook pleaded as he struggled further.

"Only if you agrrree to stop with all these stupid arrrguments!" Camo pinched the bridge of his muzzle, "I swearrr, you've been fighting so much you could prrractically arrrgue the fuzz of a peach!"

"Alright, alright! We'll stop fighting," Stump Smash and Zook pleaded in perfect unison, "Just let us go!"

"Prrromise?" Camo tilted his head.

"We will, we will!"

Stump Smash turned to Zook and raised an eyebrow. "Once he says he's sorry, that is!"

"What do I have to apologize for?" Zook scoffed, "You're the one who started it!"

As they bickered yet again, Camo sighed and hung his head. How long was this going to go on? He groaned as he looked up, but when he did… Something crashed into the wall behind him, exploded and blew them all back! And it wasn't an explosive watermelon, that was for sure!

Camo pulled himself back to his paws and turned around to the explosion's source, then smiled as he saw that a hole has been blown in the wall! Camo walked up to the hole to examine it further, then winced as he stepped on something hard and spiky—the fragments of a chestnut shell! Chestnut shell bits and burnt chunks of chestnut meat intermingled with thorn splinters in a small half-circle outside the giant hole!

"Well, that's one way to get out of a stump," Camo smirked as he ran outside and look around the stump, "And look, there's stairs!"

Stump Smash and Zook poked their heads out of the hole and grinned, a grin that made its way to Camo as well!

"I don't know what we did," Stump Smash remarked as he gently patted Zook's shoulder and turned towards Zook, "But we did it!"

"Yeah, man!" Zook chirped as he turned to Stump Smash… Then both their eyes flashed red.

"ANYWAYS!" Camo shouted as he pushed himself between Zook and Stump Smash and watched their eyes return to normal, "We'd betterrr get going!"

Camo turned Zook and Stump Smash's gaze away from each other, then led them both to the stairs and charged right up. All was thankfully silent as they trekked up, until…

"Hey, Camo, you know it was my missile that got us out of there, right man?" Zook asked as he planted a hand on Camo's shoulder.

"Don't listen to him!" Stump Smash groaned as he pushed Zook aside, "My chestnuts were what smashed it open!"

As they bickered yet again, Camo rolls his eyes and looks aside.

"You know what I think?" Camo whispered to himself and only himself, "I think I'm verrry tempted to light some pepperrrrs under people's feet rrright about now…"—Camo snickered at the thought and looked up—"Oh look, we've reached the top!"

Sure enough, in the time he had been momentarily distracted, Camo had reached the top of the tree stump! He hopped off the stairs and looked around, though there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary… Save for an abandoned pile of rockets, that is! Camo took one jump towards the rocket pile, then grabbed one and turned it around.

"These should work prrretty nicely…" Camo remarked as he turned back to Zook, "Hey Zook, can you come herrre?"

"Geez, that dude…" Zook grumbled as he stormed away from Stump Smash, then turned to Camo and smiled while the red light immediately faded from his eyes, "So, what'cha need, lil' buddy?"

Camo only passed the rockets to Zook and pointed towards the chainsaw. "Think you can mow that thing down with those rrrockets?"

"Who do you think I am, Camo?" Zook loaded the rockets into his bazooka, then smiled and positioned it just so, "Time to bring in the boom!"

Zook shoots off the rockets, which then immediately blow up the chainsaw!

"Nice job, Zook!" Camo said as he wagged his tail.

"Eh, it was alright, I guess," Stump Smash huffed, "For someone with bamboo for brains, anyways."

"What was that?!" Zook growled as he turned back to Stump Smash, "Bamboo's a perfectly good plant, thank you very much!"

"It was a compliment, you idiot!" Stump Smash growled and bonked Zook on the head, "Your head must be really hollow in there if you couldn't realize something as simple as that!"

"I'd hardly call that a compliment!"

Camo only winced as Stump Smash and Zook bickered once more and buried his face in his paws.

"Ai yai yai…" Camo moaned.

§

Chihiro whimpered as she pulled herself off from the cold metal of whatever surface she laid on. Her head throbbed with pain, her heart pounded faster than it probably should've and she barely even see what was around her, let alone focus. It was like she had woken up from a really bad dream…

"Young honorable Chihiro!" Called a soft, magical voice that Chihiro couldn't recognize, "You've awoken from your sleeping dance at last!"

Chihiro rubbed her head as her vision finally fixed itself. She sat in some kind of cold, metal cage with two metal benches, one on each side, and thick steels bars with just enough space to see brief glimpses of the outside world… Well, Chihiro could've, if her mind wasn't in such a haze that she could barely comprehend the sights around her.

Oddly enough, though, the cage seemed to be… Moving? How on earth could a cage move on its own?!

Chihiro shook her head then reached to scratch an obnoxious itch… But when she lifted her hands, she found them clasped together with black and blue handcuffs!

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she bit on, stomped on and tried everything else she could to pry off the cuffs, "What happened here?!"

Before Chihiro could do anything else, something tackled into her and slapped a hand against her mouth.

"Shhh!" Calliope shushed as she held a finger to her mouth, "They'll hear you!"

Calliope then gestured ahead to show that the cage had been stationed on an equally-sized wooden wagon of some kind, carted by a number of gremlin drivers.

"Huh?" Chihiro tilted her head, then rubbed her eyes and blinked, "Oh, Calliope!"—Chihiro's eyes passed Calliope and fixed on a corner of the cage—"And Persephone, too! What's going on here?"

Persephone sniffled, then rubbed her eyes and wiped her nose. Her hands were also bound tight with those strange handcuffs, and she seemed as if she was at her lowest point!

"You danced your happiest, young honorable Chihiro…" Persephone sniffed as she looked aside, "But they were far too much to handle."

"They?" Chihiro tilted her head. Just what was Persephone talking about?

Just then, fuzzy memories flashed back into Chihiro's mind. Memories of a trip, an ambush, an attack… Oh, now she remembered! Before getting locked up in this cage, she was trying to rescue Persephone and Calliope! Well, so much for that.

"What're they gonna do with us?" Chihiro shook her head and jumped to her feet, "Actually, why wait to find out? Why don't we just bust out of here already?!"

Chihiro thrust her hands in front of her and focused her entire body as she tried to summon an energy sphere, a nice, simple one powerful enough to bust the door of this cage wide open! Her heart slowed back down to normal as she closed her eyes, and she inhaled. Her entire body still with focus, Chihiro felt a crackle of magic against her fingertips.

"HI-YAH!" Chihiro exclaimed as she shot her hands forward, only to draw back as nothing emerged, "The heck?! Why didn't I summon anything?"

"It's those handcuffs!" Calliope whispered back as she held up her own handcuff bound hands, "They nullify all our magic!"

"Dang it." Chihiro sat back down, then turned her gaze to a metal bench underneath a glass window. With a soft frown, she scrambled up its surface and peered at the outside world. Maybe she'd be able to garner some kind of location from the scenery outside, at least that could help.

So, Chihiro poked her head out the window, then Calliope and Persephone flew over to see what she saw. As they looked outside, all three of them gasped!

The outside was… It was too awful to even watch in passing! The villages around had been razed to the ground, all that was left of them being rotted wood, dirty flora and broken sundry. The trees around had died and split in half, while the grass had all rotted away to reveal hard, rocky dirt. Even the skies churned a sickly shade of cloudless brown.

"Oh, no," Persephone whimpered as she held her hands over her mouth, tears formed in her normally-radiant red eyes.

"No…" Calliope whispered as she placed a hand against the window, her mouth agape and her eyes distant, "No… Please… This can't be…"

"Calliope?" Chihiro whispered as she placed a hand on Calliope's shoulder…

But Calliope only crumpled into a ball and sobbed so hard her whole body trembled! She tried her best to muffle it as she buried her head into her coat and curled the rest of her body inwards, but the sorrow in her was just so raw and powerful that little could be done to contain it.

Persephone whipped her head around to face Calliope and wiped away her own tears. Persephone then knelt down to Calliope and gently stroked Calliope's back in some quiet attempt to curb Calliope's sorrows.

Just seeing them, so sad and so hopeless… It made Chihiro furious! She wanted to do something, anything, that could help them, that could stop all this! But, with those stupid handcuffs her hands were completely tied, literally. Chihiro frowned, then looked back down at her bare hands. Couldn't she find some other way to get these things off? Well, actually… Chihiro plunged her finger into a round hole she presumed was the lock then teased and pushed against it… But nothing moved.

"Darn," Chihiro huffed as she gazed back at the ruined villages.

She wanted to stay optimistic, she really did… But just the sight of all the damage that Kaos had caused in this place, her allies far gone or enveloped in despair, and her own abilities now completely moot… It was really hard to find a bright side now, not gonna lie. And being surrounded by all this wreckage, to the point where she was faced by it every way she turned certainly didn't help.

But still, Chihiro thought as she pressed her hands against the window, There's gotta be something I can do! I can't just sit around here and do nothing!

Chihiro bit her lip and balled her hands into fists, then pounded those fists against the window.

Think, Chihiro, think!

But no matter how much she thought, nothing came to her. Her whole mind was as blank and desolate as the destroyed villages that laid right outside her window. Chihiro grumbled to herself as she bumped her head against the window, only to lunge backwards as her ride came to an unexpected stop!

Chihiro cried out in pain as her head slammed against the floor, while Persephone and Calliope both jolted their heads up in shock.

The sound of stomping resounded all around their prison as somebody flung the door open! Light poured through the cage's bars from the open world with such intensity it almost completely blinded them!

"ALRIGHT, YA LOT!" Cried some deep, bulky voice as the light started to fade, "OUT YA GO!"

Chihiro gulped, then she and Persephone helped Calliope back to… Well, her lack of feet. The trio reluctantly raised their heads, prodded out of the cage and exited into the world… Which, now that Chihiro paid a bit more attention, was rife with what sounded like screams? Yeah, screams and bright blue light that flashed ahead from an unknown source.

Chihiro turned back to try and find it, but was only greeted by rows of bulky goblins armed with sharp spears, swords and other blades you wouldn't want to fight with. The soldiers all glared at Chihiro as the furthest two of their ranks closed the cage's doors shut, and in response Chihiro turned back around and gulped. They sure weren't a friendly crowd, were they?

Chihiro turned her attention back to Persephone and Calliope, but neither of them paid any mind to her. Their attention was fixed on the thing that lied ahead of them, and the neon blue light it emitted served well to highlight the horror on their faces.

"What are you looking at?" Chihiro asked as she rejoined them and nudged Persephone's shoulder.

"My castle…" Persephone croaked, still utterly oblivious to Chihiro's presence, "What have they done to it?!"

Chihiro looked ahead, and every bone in her body froze.

There in front of her was something that looked like a fanciful, regal castle not unlike the ones she had seen in picture books when she was little… But it felt so much more horrifying. Every single window and crevice in the castle glowed a striking, almost fear-inducing neon blue every few seconds. And in time with those glows, symphonies of pained, horrified screams echoed out from the castle's walls!

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Persephone lashed out at last as she glared back to the soldiers behind, tears of rage flung from her face.

But, they were completely gone! In moments they had vanished and circled around Chihiro, Persephone and Calliope, their bodies like a makeshift wall as they squeezed in tight with no hope of escape.

"What have we done?" Crooned a shrill voice from behind them, "Why, what about what YOU did? All we did is bring you to the place your foolhardiness will lead!"

The soldiers all parted slightly as someone else stepped forward and positioned themself in the sole gap the forces had created.

"To. Your. Grave."

There before them was some kind of humanoid man, his warm peach skin probably the brightest thing around sans the castle. He was decked to the nines in fancy clockwork armor with too many knobs and switches that glowed the same neon blue as the castle, and an indigo cape draped down from the armor's shoulders. His eyes were so deep a shade of brown they were practically black, and that absolutely cheesy bowl cut he bore with strands of hair flown everywhere matched those eyes' shade. Above his smirking mouth was a handlebar mustache, like the kind villains in old cartoons had.

If not for the grim circumstances, Chihiro would've laughed her head off. After all, he looked absolutely ridiculous! But, now was no time for laughter, so she merely stayed silent and hoped that the glare she gave this rando would convey just how displeased she was with his appearance.

"Now, now, don't give me that look, child," the man crooned as he lifted Chihiro's chin, "This is a joyous day!"—The man cast an aside sneer—"For me, anyways!"

The man spun around and clasped his hands tight.

"To think, that not only the fairy queen and the portal master would fall into my grasp!" The man stopped for a moment then twirled his mustache, "Lord Kaos will surely reward me handsomely when I deliver the news~"

The man then shot a glare towards a shaking Calliope. "Wait a second… Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

Before the man could take a closer look at Calliope, however, Chihiro growled and pushed her face right into his!

"What is this place?!" Chihiro exclaimed at last as she flung her fists in the air.

The man growled as he withdrew his hand, but sneered as he cast a gaze back at the castle.

"This? This castle is by far my greatest achievement!" The man stretched his arms wide as the castle was, "These facilities contain within them machines that completely drain the magic of any living being! All the way down to the last drop!"

Chihiro winced as the man turned back to her. Something told her that was not necessarily a good thing… But then again, the screams and weird lighting was already a big hint.

"Uh, yeah, about that, boss?" Asked one goblin soldier as they nudged the boss's shoulder, "Isn't there another way to drain all the magic from those pixies? Preferably one that doesn't involve as much screaming?"

"NONSENSE!" the man exclaimed as he flicked the goblin's nose, "Lord Kaos wanted every last drop of those fairies' magic, and by the Ancients, I'll drain all that magic…"—the man shook his fist to the heavens—"Even if it means killing them all!"

The moment she heard this, Calliope shook so furiously that she couldn't even stand, let alone fly. She just fell to her foggy feet!

"Calliope!" Persephone and Chihiro called in unison as they both knelt down and held Calliope close.

"Did Lord Kaos really say that?" Remarked a second goblin as they scratched their chin, "I don't think killing all his future subjects would make him very happy…"

A rumble of agreeing choruses rippled across as the other goblin soldiers nodded and mumbled in agreement.

"Well, maybe not that exactly, but what Lord Kaos doesn't know won't hurt him! As long as he's getting the magic, he's perfectly happy to just let me do my work while he conquers Skylands!" The man replied as he turned towards the castle.

"You monster!" Persephone exclaimed as she bore an enraged scowl and glared up at the man.

The man only scoffed as he cast a scorning look down at Persephone.

"Anyways, enough chattering!" The man strode towards the castle, "Take the prisoners to the magic extraction facility, stat!"

The soldiers all nodded and focused their attention towards the trio once more… Right in time for a rock to smack right into one soldier's face!

"TAKE THAT!" Chihiro exclaimed as she kicked up sand and shot small rocks everywhere she could, "AND THAT! AND SOME OF THIS TOO! I'M ONLY GOING IN THERE OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

Chihiro paused for a moment to catch her breath, but not for long! As the soldiers fled from Persephone and Calliope in order to capture Chihiro, Chihiro herself went right back to causing a ruckus! She kicked soldiers in the groin, shot rocks and kicked sand into their eyes, and spun as wildly as she could! All the while, she screamed out obscenities and insults that were so utterly dastardly they couldn't possibly be repeated here!

"What are you doing?!" The commander man exclaimed as he shook a fist at his minions, "Get her already!"

"We're trying, boss!" Shot back a soldier as they made a hapless shrug, "But she's being a slippery little—"—the soldier reeled back as sand flew into their eyes—"AUGH, MY EYES!"

"Take that, you no-good walking meat pile!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped up and down, then pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at the soldiers, "Nyeh!"

One soldier growled, then snarled as they raised their cleaver to the heavens!

"That's it!" The soldier exclaimed as they swung down their cleaver, "Take this, ya brat!"

The cleaver swung down with such velocity that all the other soldier could only stand and watch as it swung down towards Chihiro… But Chihiro only flung her cuffed hands in front of her face and watched as the handcuffs split in half!

While the cuffs harmlessly slid off of her wrists, Chihiro smirked back up at the wide-eyed soldiers. She could feel the magic flow through her veins, and dang, it was such a good feeling!

"Hah! Looks like making all that nonsense was worth it," Chihiro crowed with a shrug, "Man, who knew insulting people could save your life?"

As the guards growled and lunged towards her, Chihiro kept her confident composure. Now that she had her powers back, surely the battlefield would be a little more even in levels! She flung her hands in front of her, ready to create a gigantic magic blast… But all that came out was a few sparks!

"No way?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she looked down at her hands, "Why aren't my attacks working? Those weird handcuffs are gone!"

Chihiro froze, then groaned and hung her head.

"Crap, that's right. I forgot about that weird no-sell spell!" Chihiro looked to her feet and snagged a large rock off of the ground, "Looks like I'll have to make a break for it!"

The soldiers all charged towards Chihiro at once, but she merely closed her eyes and vanished in a flash! With the limits of the no-sell spell, she'd only remain invisible for a few moments more. She'd have to act fast!

While the soldiers whipped their heads around and mumbled in confusion, Chihiro dashed towards a very confused Persephone and Calliope! She then lifted the rock above her head and crashed it down on Persephone's handcuffs! As the handcuffs split in two, Chihiro turned to Calliope and did the same thing!

Persephone's eyes widened as the handcuffs fell off of her wrists, but the moment she looked up she merely smiled. Yep, seems like that invisibility spell wore off…

And unfortunately for them, the commander noticed it too!

"There she is, you buffoons!" The commander exclaimed as he jabbed a finger towards Chihiro, "Get her!"

With no time wasted, Chihiro grabbed Persephone and Calliope's hands then bolted down the way! All these razed grounds would leave little cover for them, so all she could do for now was run as fast as her legs could carry and pray that sanctuary would find her way soon.

The pound of footsteps behind her swirled in her ears, but Chihiro could hardly think about that right now! She had to run! As Chihiro ran even further, the ache in her exhausted legs barely notable, her eyes glazed over the paths some more. Just as all hope seemed lost, those eyes of hers fell onto a hut that, while worn, still stood tall! Finally, a place to hide!

Filled with a new energy, Chihiro raced through the alleys and dodged behind the hut. As she heard the sound of stomping pass her by, Chihiro heaved a sigh of ultimate relief.

"That was a close one," Calliope remarked as she dusted off her coat, "We were almost done for."

"No kidding," Chihiro replied as she looked over at Calliope, "Everyone alright?"

"Somehow," Persephone said as she hung her head, her hands clasped against her skirt, "But we've danced ourselves into a truly unlucky situation. With that unhappy spell they've put on the kingdom… How shall we stop them?"

Chihiro hummed, then pressed her hand against her chin.

"Y'know, they said this no-sell spell was powered by fairy magic, right?" Chihiro remarked as she turned back to Persephone.

"I believe so, yes." Persephone nodded as if to affirm her statement.

"Well, if fairy magic is what created it…" Chihiro smiled, then pounded a fist against her hand, "Then maybe fairy magic is what we can use to fight it!"

"Yes, but how?" Persephone's eyes widened with intrigue.

"Can one of you two create a power-up spell?" Chihiro bounced a finger between Persephone and Calliope, "Or, well, whatever you call that kind of magic?"

Chihiro watched as Calliope's hands flared with purple light again. Oh, so Chihiro definitely wasn't imagining it that time!

"Calliope?" Chihiro tilted her head.

"Uh, well, you wouldn't really want me doing it…" Calliope winced as she looked aside, the light from her hands diminished, "Your Majesty, I hate to ask, but could you?"

"I'll try," Persephone replied as she nodded and held out her hands, "If it's for my people, I'll do anything!"

Persephone rolled her hands in a circle, then laid them out flat and watched as a swirl of pastel blue magic emerged from her palms.

"This happy power spell should last for about an hour's dance." Persephone turned to Chihiro, "Hopefully this will work…"

Persephone gently nudged the swirl, then watched as it flew over towards Chihiro. Chihiro winced for a moment as the swirl plunged into chest… Only to open her eyes when she realized nothing bad had happened. Heck, she felt great! It was like she had just gotten up in the morning and was full of life!

Chihiro bounced to her feet, then held out her hands as she tried to summon a magic sphere. Her mouth twisted into a frown as she closed her eyes and focused, then as she heard a familiar whoosh Chihiro opened her eyes.

"Persephone, you did it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she looked down at her hands, "The spell worked!"

Sure enough, right in her hands was a bright, cyan magic sphere! Man, she really took being able to summon these things whenever she pleased for granted!

"Indeed it did!" Persephone flew up and clapped.

The two of them basked in their accomplishment, but Calliope wasn't as quick to join. Instead, she only frowned and peered her head around the hut's shelter.

"Er, I hate to interrupt the celebrations…" Calliope said as she turned her head back around and clenched her teeth, "But they're getting closer!"

Chihiro's eyes widened, but her energy didn't recede. She merely smiled as she held her magic sphere tight.

"Perfect time to test this out, then!" Chihiro exclaimed before she turned to Persephone and Calliope, "You two stay hidden, I'll—"

Persephone only shook her head and flew to Chihiro's side.

"Young honorable Chihiro, please let me dance alongside you in battle," Persephone asked as she stared at Chihiro with a shimmer of seriousness in her bright red eyes, "These monsters have brought much unhappiness among my people. I cannot let their actions go unpunished."

Chihiro bit her lip as she looked back at Persephone. Persephone seemed… Kind of different, right now, like the playful mask she had donned had finally dropped.

"Very well." Chihiro nodded and ushered Persephone along, "Calliope, stay hidden. We'll take care of these goons!"

Calliope only nodded, then took further sanctuary behind a thickets of bushes with no leaves.

Once Calliope had hidden herself, Chihiro and Persephone nodded towards each other. With a mighty cry of battle, the two of them leaped out into the open!

There, past the front of the hut they had hidden behind, tons of troll and goblin soldiers dressed in bulky-looking armor and equipped with fancy weapons searched all around the premise. But with her powers back, they seemed a lot less intimidating to Chihiro. She could definitely take these guys!

"Thought you could hide forever, did you?" Crooned the commander as he twirled his mustache.

"I wouldn't call it that," Chihiro corrected as she shook her head, a small smile on her face, "More like preparing for battle!"

"HAH! HAH, HAH, HAH!" The commander cackled to the heavens then shot Chihiro an amused glance, "That's me, laughing at your overconfidence! With this no-sell spell, you're both chompies in a barrel!"

The commander than pointed towards Chihiro and Persephone. "Guards, get them!"

The guards all perked up, almost as if they were of one mind, then stormed all around Chihiro and Persephone! With how many there were, there was no clear escape path to be seen… But, Chihiro didn't come here to run, she came here to fight!

"You ready, Persephone?" Chihiro asked as she crafted a sword out of magic and turned to Persephone.

"Indeed, young honorable Chihiro," Persephone replied as she cast another swirl of magic and watched it solidify into a shiny blue handheld ribbon, like the kind one used in a dance class.

The two of them looked at each other, nodded once, then turned back to the massive amounts of soldiers before them.

"THEN LET'S KICK SOME BUTT!"

Chihiro grasped her magic sword tight and slashed it right at the guards that had charged her! As they all flew back into the rubble and wreckage, Chihiro tossed her sword to the air and shot it with a beam of magic energy that caused it to grow at least five times its size! As the sword dropped back into her grasp, Chihiro grunted and lunged it over her head. Then, with one powerful swing she slammed it down onto the ground and created a huge shockwave! While the shockwave sent the soldiers around onto their feet, she only smirked and blew off her sword.

"Man, it feels good to actually put up a fight," Chihiro remarked as the sword disappeared and she wiped off her hands.

"Now it's my turn!" Persephone proclaimed as she flitted forwards.

Persephone swirled the ribbon in the air with a dancer's grace, then as her eyes narrowed she cracked it as if it was a whip! Its silky-looking surface turned deadly as it wrapped around a number of tall trolls, then sent them spinning into the soldiers that Chihiro had incapacitated moments earlier!

The trolls and soldiers collided in one big crash! Stray helmets and weapons flew into the distance as the soldiers landed in a tired heap on top of each other and scattered dust all across the ghost town's paths.

Chihiro and Persephone both smiled and high-fived, but the shadows that cast over them reminded them of one key detail—the battle was far from won!

Chihiro grunted as a goliath of a goblin tried to punch her, but she merely ducked under their punch! She backflipped out of the way and kicked the goblin's arm back in the process, then tapped her heels and watched as magical wings formed on the base of her boots. She clapped her hands, and magical boxing gloves formed around them! Now it was time to have some fun!

Chihiro leaped forward as the goblin shook their head and charged right towards her with its chest pushed out. Big mistake, buddy! As soon as she got in range, Chihiro let loose a rapid fire barrage of punches straight to the gut! While the goblin groaned and shouted, Chihiro raised her right fist, watched as the glove around it grew twice its prior size, then hit the goblin with a punch so great it sent it and its teeth flying!

"Ew, teeth!" Chihiro grunted as she dodged an over-sized fang and watched it fly away, "Does this guy even brush?"

Chihiro yelped and ducked as a spinning blade soared just inches above her head, then popped back up as she heard a cackle. Aside from her, a skinnier troll soldier chuckled as they flung the blades right at Chihiro!

"So that's how you wanna play, huh?" Chihiro exclaimed as she clapped her hands and watched her boxing gloves disappear, "How about you have a taste of your own medicine?"

Chihiro pushed her hands in front of her body, then watched as a gigantic magic shield manifested in front of her! The blades bounced right off of the shield, then spun right back towards the troll soldier! The soldier screamed in terror as their blades were turned against them, then tried to run off… Only to trip on their own two feet and fall flat on their face! The soldier tried to stagger up, but was trampled behind the feet of their fellow soldiers before they could even get an inch off of the ground!

And why were those soldiers running in such a hurry, one may ask? Well… The gigantic magical bowling ball that sped after them were certainly an answer!

Persephone laughed so loud even the birds in the skies above could probably hear her as she sent gigantic bowling balls rolling down the beaten dirt paths!

"Goodness!" Persephone exclaimed as she spun in the air and clapped her hands, "I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

"And better yet, it looks like most of those goons are gone!" Chihiro remarked as she scanned the area then turned back to Persephone, "Looks like we can finally get out of here!"

"Not so fast, you!" Proclaimed a sickeningly familiar shrill voice.

Persephone and Chihiro both turned and looked around in search of the voice…

Only for something to slam into Chihiro and push her down the way! Chihiro dug her heels into the ground and growled as something squeezed her arm, then looked up to find that the commander held her tight! Chihiro's eyes widened as she dug her heels further and tried to yank herself out of grasp. However, it was to no luck—he had her tight in his grasp!

"Forgetting someone?" The commander scoffed as a pair of mechanical arms emerged from the back of his armor and turned the power dials on his gloves, "Normally I wouldn't stoop so low as to deal with prisoners myself, but you've been a special kind of thorn in my side!"

As the commander's armor grew a brighter glow of blue, he smirked and tossed Chihiro right into a pile of rubble! Chihiro cried out in pain as her back was pierced by the sharp bits of rock and glass, then coughed as she tried to pull herself out. However, the sudden pain was such a sock to her body, it was like she couldn't even move a muscle! All she could do was fall back into the wreckage.

"Chihiro!" Persephone called as she went to fly after Chihiro… Only for the commander to teleport right behind her and grab her shoulder!

"Not so fast, missy!" The commander exclaimed as he yanked Persephone back, "You're coming with me!"

Persephone grunted, then spun out of his grasp and crafted a firm shield out of magic. However, it seems like it wasn't firm enough, because the commander shattered it with only a single punch! Persephone gasped as he smirked over the remains of her broken shield, then flew over the rubble pile in a frantic flit.

"Young honorable Chihiro, wake up!" Persephone urged as she pulled Chihiro out of the rubble pile.

Chihiro grunted as she shook her head and pulled herself to her feet. Looks like she'd have to take care of this dude, then! Once her feet fell back on the earth, Chihiro dashed forward and glazed over the commander. His back was turned, and he was completely vulnerable to attacks!

So, she shot a magic blast straight at him… But he only turned around and shot it into the dead woods with a simple smack of his hand.

"Thought you could pull a fast one on me, did you?" The commander asked as he watched the sphere fly into the woods.

With a chuckle, he spun a dial on his suit, then held up a metallic, gloved palm which charged with cyan magical energy. "Well, you've got another thing coming!"

The palm glowed so bright that it was like it could barely contain the magic within it anymore, then a gigantic blue beam of energy shot straight at a wide-eyed Chihiro and Persephone!

Thankfully enough, Chihiro was quick to jump to her feet and create a shield… But even that wasn't enough! The beam only seared a hole straight through the shield and shot it to pieces, with Chihiro and Persephone forced to duck! When the beam faded, Chihiro pulled herself back to her feet… Only to lurch over while unrelated exhaustion seared through her body. No doubt about it, that spell was probably going to wear off soon—she needed to think fast!

So, in what she could only assume would be her last minutes of power, Chihiro grabbed Persephone's hand and teleported away! In moments, the blue light that ensnared her relented and showed that she was now behind their hut hiding place, with Calliope close by!

"Come on, we've gotta get out of here!" Chihiro exclaimed as she squeezed a shocked Calliope's hand.

Chihiro teleported again, and this time found herself back on track to her former battlefield! She gritted her teeth, then bolted down into a path flanked with rotted tree trunks. Though they were all rotted and split and dead, this dead forest could at least give them some kind of cover, right? Chihiro's heart beat so fast that she could practically pass out as she whipped around and rolled behind a particularly large broken tree trunk.

While Persephone and Calliope collected themselves, Chihiro made herself as small as possible… Oh god, she could hear stomping. Lots of stomping. Had they found her already?

"Where'd they go?" Asked a tough voice close to where she was.

"I thought I saw them run down here…" Replied another, slightly lower voice, "But I don't see a lick of 'em anywhere!"

"Must've seen things." The first voice cleared their throat, "ATTENTION! EVERYONE, GO BACK AND SEARCH THE PERIMETER AGAIN! WE CAN'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
"UNDERSTOOD!"

As the sound of stomping grew further in the distance, Chihiro paused and held her rapidly-beating heart. Man, she had been chased by bad guys before… But those chases were never this intense!

Well, whatever, there was no use dwelling on it now. Now that she was mostly in the clear, she had to find the others… Crap! Chihiro delved closer into the tree trunk and peered out one of its holes as a goblin soldier came close by, its jaw slack as it sniffed the air… Then the soldier growled.

"I smell meat," it grumbled as it lurched across the way, "Where is it?"

Persephone and Calliope both gasped as the scrambled further into the trunk… Only for Calliope to yelp as something grabbed her by her mist trail! Calliope dug her hands into the dead earth in some vain attempt to resist, but she sadly wasn't strong enough. The soldier yanked her out of the hollow and pinched the scruff of her jacket.

"Well, well, lookie here," the soldier sneered as it held a struggling Calliope even tighter, "A little fairy flying around where she shouldn't!"

"Calliope!" Chihiro exclaimed as she scrambled out of the trunk and glared at the soldier, her fists furled and eyes enraged with fire, "Put her down!"

However the soldier only frowned and flicked Chihiro back into the trunk!

"Come on, you!" The soldier stormed off and grinned, "You're going back to the extraction facility—"

"NO!" Calliope screamed at last as she slapped the soldier's face, her hand aglow with purple magic once more!

Then… Something strange happened, to say the least. Out of nowhere the soldier grew unfocused and dizzy, while his legs trembled so badly that it was like the strength had been completely drained from him!

"Ugh, I don't feel so good…" The soldier groaned as he stumbled about in some pathetic effort to regain his balance.

While the soldier groaned, Chihiro shook her head and smiled—now was her chance! With a grunt, she fell to all fours, shot herself towards the soldier and headbutted him right in the back!

With a pained shout, the soldier took a few shaky steps forward then fell flat on his face!

Calliope managed to wriggle out of his grasp just in time to watch him fall, while a dizzy Chihiro did the same. Chihiro's vision could barely focus thanks to the onset of pain that came from headbutting a heavily-armored person, but she was sure that Calliope's pendant was… Glowing, all of a sudden? Chihiro shook her head and took a better look at the pendant, but by then the glow had faded. Maybe it was just the dizziness, who knew?

"Calliope, your pendant..." Persephone remarked as she flitted closer to Calliope, "It's... Glowing!"

Welp, guess Chihiro wasn't the only one to notice that.

"Oh, yeah, it does that," Calliope warbled as she held up the pendant, like she was taken aback that anyone noticed, "It's, er, it was a birthday present from my mothers. It's one of those nice ones that glows sometimes, you know?"—Calliope rubbed her thumb against the crystal while its glow faded completely—"I never leave home without it. It's like my good luck charm."

Whatever that pendant was, Chihiro put it aside as she stumbled over to the soldier, then fell down to her knees and poked his arm a couple times. When he didn't stir, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Chihiro said as she pulled herself to her feet and held out her hands, "We can't stay here forever. More of them might come back and find us."

With understanding nods, Persephone and Calliope both grabbed onto one of Chihiro's hands while Persephone's hands flared blue and made Chihiro feel a bit stronger than before. Once Chihiro had their hands firm in her grasp, she closed her eyes and felt herself get whooshed away in a flare of magic…

§

Camo frowned and rubbed his chin as he, Stump Smash and Zook prodded further into the forest. Just what was going on with them? Ever since they got here, they kept going from being buddy-buddy to wanting to bite each others' heads off and back again just from one look! What had gotten into them?

That was the question of the day as Camo reflected on their past fights. There had to be something controlling them—after all, Zook was normally super laid back and not one to pick unnecessary fights, and while Stump Smash was the type to hold a grudge, it was never to this extent! But what could it possibly be?…

Camo frowned as he racked his brain, then a part of his mind drifted back to the strange flower they had seen when they first arrived. Their arguments hadn't gotten really bad until after they got spritzed by that flower… What even was it, anyways? Unfortunately, Camo wasn't as well-versed in flowers as he was fruits and vegetables…

"WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF WITH THAT RACKET?" Stump Smash demanded as he shook a fist at Zook, "I can't hear myself think!"

A shame, really, cause knowing about those flowers would sure come in hand right now.

"What, you mean this?" Zook asked as he started to whistle a tune as loudly and obnoxiously as he could.

"Yes, that!" Stump Smash gritted his teeth and placed his hands over his… lack of ears, "You'll get the entire forest here with all that noise!"

Zook just went back to whistling, but even louder this time—much to the disdain of both Camo and Stump Smash. Before they could start anything else, however, Camo promptly turned Stump Smash around and grunted.

"… What was I just talking about?" Stump Smash asked as he stared into space.

The fight now thankfully ended, Camo hopped along and smiled. Maybe he shouldn't be worrying so much about how this started, but rather how to fix it! Yeah, maybe a nice prank would get them back in high spirits… After all, a nice exploding watermelon always made him forget about what made him mad!

"CAMO, LOOK OUT!" Stump Smash cried at a volume so loud it caused flocks of birds to flee from the still-standing trees.

… On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. They seemed mad enough that even a silly little prank would probably make their heads explode! Camo looked down at his paws as he contemplated further… Then something yanked him back!

"Stump Smash?" Camo cried as he turned around and found himself in Stump Smash's arms, "What was that forrr? Lemme go!"

Camo squirmed and struggled against Stump Smash's grasp, but unfortunately for Camo, Stump Smash was far too strong! Stump Smash grunted, then pulled Camo back as a gigantic tree trunk crashed down on the area ahead!

"I don't know how you missed the giant chainsaw right ahead of you, Camo, but they've got one stationed right ahead of us!" Stump Smash scolded as he let Camo go and gestured ahead, "You're lucky I saw it in time!"

Camo winced and looked ahead, where a gigantic chainsaw wreaked havoc as it spun around and tore down every tree in its midst! How in Skylands did he miss that? Well, no use contemplating it right now. Camo jumped out of the way as the chainsaw sent a flurry of broken branches and wood chips his way, then dashed under the sanctuary of a particularly big mushroom.

Stump Smash and Zook followed Camo under the mushroom soon enough, then all of them paused to take a breath.

"Phew, made it out just in time," Camo said as he wiped his forehead and looked around, "We'll need to find some way to bust up that chainsaw if we wanna get any furtherrr…"—Camo stopped and rubbed his chin—"But what?"

All three of them hummed in contemplation, minds abuzz like the insects that flitted in panic around them.

"Yeah, I've got nothing," Stump Smash sighed as he looked up at Camo.

"Me neither," Zook added.

"That makes thrrree of us," Camo sighed as he turned around and examined the mushroom's stalk, "Maybe if we uprrroot this mushrrroom and tie a bunch of chili—"

"Wait, is that a rocket?"

Camo pricked up his ears as he heard Zook's voice, then turned around and looked towards a particularly tall tree stump ahead… Which, sure enough, had a gigantic rocket arched over its side!

"That's it!" Camo exclaimed as he pounded a fist against his paw, "We've just gotta firrre that rrrocket and we'll be good as golden apples!"

Camo took one step outside, just to see if there was some kind of stair or something on the stump itself, but all he found were stampedes of trolls as they flooded into the area! He had to hide behind a stray fallen branch just to avoid getting caught!

"Crrrap, therrre's a lot of these guys…" Camo winced and dashed back under the mushroom, his eyes fixed on Stump Smash and Zook once more, "Alrrright, herrre's the plan!"

Camo pointed to Stump Smash with one bright red toe.

"Stump Smash, you'll keep those trrrolls occupied." Camo moved his toe towards Zook, "And while he's keeping them busy, Zook, you'll create a bamboo plant that'll lift me to the rrrocket! Any questions?"

"Yeah, I've got one!" Zook said as he raised his hand, then turned Stump Smash as his eyes gained a red glow, "Why do I have to work with him?"

"Likewise!" Stump Smash scowled as he glared back at Zook, his own eyes bright red as well.

Camo just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The fasterrr we get this done, the fasterrr you guys can get out of each otherrr's rrrroots. How's that?"

Stump Smash and Zook both huffed but nonetheless pulled themselves off the floor.

"Fine," Zook receded.

"Let's just get this over with," Stump Smash grumbled as he stormed off.

Camo couldn't help but worry as he saw them both storm off, but it was better than nothing. Sp, Camo nonetheless hopped off and led Zook to the rocket's platform.

And while they did that, Stump Smash trained his eyes on the trolls, who all crowded around the currently-disabled chainsaw with lunches in hand… But not for long!

"DROP THE HAMMER!" Stump Smash screamed as he stormed into their break area and pounded on the ground with all the strength he could muster!

The trolls all yelped and dropped their sandwiches as shockwaves burst through the area, then broke into panic as they finally caught sight of Stump Smash! Their forks and knives traded for guns and maces, the trolls all charged towards Stump Smash… Only to get mowed down by gigantic chestnuts!

Camo and Zook, meanwhile, quietly crept away from the crowds, though with all the noise Camo couldn't help but take a peek back… And smile when he saw that the trolls were completely preoccupied!

"Coast's clearrr!" Camo whispered as he turned back and gave Zook a toes up

Zook returned his smile with a nod, then crept up to the rocket's stump and placed his hand on the ground. The earth rumbled beneath his fingertips for a few moments, and from one press of his hand came an entire platform comprised of tightly-knit bamboo stalks.

"Hop on!" Zook whispered as he ushered Camo on the platform.

Camo did just that, and in response Zook placed both hands on the platform. Slowly, but surely, the bamboo platform grew taller and taller, while the rocket grew closer and closer in sight…

But what Camo didn't notice was that as the platform grew, Zook had his eyes trained on Stump Smash's battle! Stump Smash himself seemed to be doing quite well… But while Stump Smash was pounding away at several larger trolls, a couple smaller trolls had sneaked straight past him!

"Crap, I'd better warn him!" Zook winced, then jumped away from the bamboo platform and waved towards Stump Smash, "Stump Smash, look out! Those trolls are getting away!"

Stump Smash thankfully heard Zook, judging by the way Stump Smash had turned around and knocked the tinier trolls out with a couple perfectly-timed chestnuts… But the moment he caught sight of Zook, he forget about the trolls and stormed over!

"I don't need you to tell me that, Zook!" Stump Smash shouted as he shook a fist, his eyes a crimson red in color.

"Hey man, I was only trying to warn you!" Zook winced and backed up a couple steps. What got Stump Smash in such a…

The moment Stump Smash had grown close enough to be seen, Zook felt his whole body shudder from anger while his vision turned red! What was Stump Smash complaining about? Who knows what those trolls would have done if he hadn't been warned?!

"Maybe next time..." Zook snarled and crossed his arms, his whole heart full of rage, "I'll let them beat you up!"

Stump Smash didn't seem to take this kindly (not that he was supposed to, anyhow) and spat out some kind of insult that only made Zook's sap boil! In fact, it made Zook angry he completely blacked out from rage when he heard it!

But while Stump Smash and Zook traded insults, they seemed to have forgotten one important thing… Camo! Camo stumbled back as the bamboo platform came to a sudden halt, then winced as it began going down!

"Uh, Zook, we've got a prrroblem herrre!" Camo shouted as he looked down the lofty bamboo leaves, "Zook?"

But, Zook apparently didn't hear Camo—because he was more invested in his latest spat with Stump Smash! Oh no, not this again! Looks like Camo was on his own now… So, Camo pounded his paws against the bamboo platforms and watched as they were completely enveloped in a green glow!

The bamboo platform began growing faster, and faster, and faster and faster… Wait, maybe a little too fast! Before Camo even knew it, the platform he stood on shot into the heavens and tossed Camo right into the air, well past his intended target!

"WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Camo screamed as he crashed down close to the stump… And by some miracle, grabbed onto the stump's side with one paw!

But, one paw was far from enough to carry his entire weight, and he could already feel his grip straining and slipping away! He winced as he tried to grab onto the side with his other paw… Then shouted out as his first paw's grip began to release!

"Zook, Stump Smash!" Camo called as he struggled to pull himself back on top of the platform, "Help!"

Down below, Stump Smash and Zook both saw red as they argued… Only for Stump Smash to freeze and draw back, as if he had heard something! He took one look above, then gasped and turned back to Zook!

"Zook, you know what?" Stump Smash exclaimed as his eyes flashed between red and their usual yellow, "Forget about this!"

"Why should I?" Zook demanded as he stepped forward, "I—"

Stump Smash, however, paid no mind to Zook's words, and instead turned Zook's direction upwards to show him…

"CAMO!" Stump Smash and Zook called in unison as they saw Camo lose his grip and fall off the platform!

In mere moments, their argument was completely forgotten as they dashed off to where Zook's bamboo had receded!

While Camo crashed down like a comet, Stump Smash and Zook looked towards each other and nodded. Stump Smash pounded the earth underneath Zook with a force so mighty, it sent Zook hurtling well above them! Zook soared in the air for what seemed like forever, then as he grew inches away from Camo he reached out his arms and snatched Camo in his grasp!

"Got'cha, little buddy!" Zook chirped as he shot a hand underneath and cast a bamboo platform below them. Zook chuckled as he hopped onto its soft leaves, then stood and let Camo crawl out of his arms.

Stump Smash, meanwhile, jumped onto the bamboo platform as it finally reached his height and beamed—but only for a few seconds.

"You need to be more careful!" Stump Smash scolded as he gently bonked Camo on the head, "You had me worried there for a second!"

"I will, I will," Camo said as he smiled and rolled his eyes, "But firrrst, let's take carrre of that chainsaw!"

So, Zook knelt down and placed his hands on the leafy top of the bamboo platform, which in turn caused it to grow once more. As they rode to the top, Camo took a gaze back at Zook and Stump Smash.

"You alright, Camo?" Zook smiled as the bamboo slowly lifted past the earth, "There's a lot of ways to fly, but I'm pretty sure that's not the safest one!"

"Thanks to you!" Camo sighed and wiped his forehead, "Forrr a moment, I thought I was gonna be one flat waterrrmelon!"

"Well, I can't take ALL the credit!" Zook looked aside and scratched the top of his head, "After all, Stumpy was the one who realized! And if he wasn't there to send me up top…"

"Wait." Camo blinked a few times in disbelief, "You two actually worrrked togetherrr?"

"Of course we did!" Stump Smash said as he looked towards Zook… Then his eyes went red.

"But I did the hard part, of course!"

"Hey, you can't take all the credit!" Zook shot back as he looked to Stump Smash with red eyes, "I was the one who actually saved him!"

"So much forrr them being back to norrrmal," Camo whispered as his face fell to solemn disappointment.

Camo rolled his eyes, then looked to his side to see that they had arrived at the stump's top! So, he hopped off the platform and left them to bicker. For now, he'd just take care of the rocket… But before he can, something grabbed him by the back of his neck and flung him aside!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Camo grunted as he crashed into Zook and Stump Smash, "Oof!"

All three of them pulled themselves back to their feet, right as something echoed around the room… Cackling? But from where? Footsteps intermingled with the cackling as troll soldiers crowded around the ground below, then… A cloud of dark green smoke appeared out of nowhere, right in front of them!

"There you are, Skylanders!" Cried a venomously, sharp voice as the smoke began to clear, which revealed… Stealth Elf? Well, Stealth Elf if she stepped into a vat of purple and dark green paint, anyways.

It had the same body and basic appearance of Stealth Elf, but it seemed like its entirety was made of dark purple magic with visible veins of green. Its blank white eyes could pierce daggers into one's soul… Assuming the sharp blades it held close by weren't the first to do so.

All around it, troll soldiers manifested from puffs of green smoke, while the sound of stampeding implied that this was only the beginning.

"I've been looking for you!" The evil Stealth Elf hissed.

Camo, Stump Smash and Zook only stared with wide eyes, then stormed forward and growled.

"The Evil Elf Ninja!" They all called at once.

§

Cali grunted as she popped off the air vent's grid and poked her head out the hole it provided. Her eyes scanned the premises for a few moments, then she turned back to the others still behind her.

"The coast is clear, everyone!" Cali exclaimed as she crawled out of the vent, "Just a bunch of dying forest."

Cali rested against the twisted trunk of a dead tree as she watched the Skylanders crawl out the vent and rest on the dry, broken earth.

"That was close," Stealth Elf sighed as she brushed sweat from her forehead, "We barely made it out of there with our lives!"

"No kidding," Spyro agreed as he sat up and shook his head.

Hex, however, spoke no words. She only made a somber look as she pulled out a skull and brushed its smooth, bony cranium.

Double Trouble toyed with the feathers on his staff, an equally-solemn look on his face. Finally, he perked up and said something with his eyes gazed on Spyro.

"Am I worried about the others?" Spyro repeated with a tilt of his head, "Well…"—Spyro hung his head for a bit then pulled it back up—"Yeah, I kind of am. But, I know they're gonna be fine!"

"You seem awfully calm about all this, Spyro," Stealth Elf noted as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. Chihiro's with them, after all." Spyro turned around and fixed his eyes on the bushes, "She's gotten herself out of some tough spots before. I'm sure she can get through this one."

Spyro then walked into the forest. "Anyways, we should probably get going. I'm sure they're waiting on us."

The others turned to each other and made weak smiles, perhaps put somewhat at ease by Spyro's calmness and confidence. As Spyro trailed deeper into the dead forest, the others followed close behind with their eyes trained for any sort of danger. With most of the foliage being dead and withered, it left very few options for hiding, so they had to stay on guard.

The only sounds heard were that of their footsteps as they pawed against the dead grass and frail pebbles… And something that sounded like faint crying?

Spyro frowned as he perked up and looked around.

"Do you hear that?" Spyro asked as he turned to Hex, who only nodded in response.

Double Trouble looked up as well, then nudged Stealth Elf with his staff and spoke to her.

"You're right, it does sound like crying!" Stealth Elf remarked as ears twitched, "But from where?…"

"I think it's coming from over here!" Cali exclaimed as she pushed aside a few dead bushes and prodded ahead.

As the Skylanders followed Cali, the scenery slowly started to change! The dead foliage had slowly sprung back to life, the grass a bit healthier and the trees with maybe about a quarter of what their leaves should've been. Even the dead bushes were covered in leaf buds.

"Hello?" Cali shouted as she cupped her hands around her mouth, "Is anybody here?"

"Over there!" Spyro proclaimed as he flew towards a large bush and pushed past the leaves.

Beyond that large bush was a beautiful, beautiful grove! Its trees had rich brown trunks and bright green leaves that brought summer to mind, its grassy fields were dotted with small flowers, and the bushes all rustled with life in their branches.

And in the center of it all… Was a sobbing fairy!

This fairy appeared to be a young woman with deathly pale skin, her face covered by her hands to presumably hide her sobs. Her hair was a rich, dark green striped with gold and kept in a long, loose ponytail with its top in a vaguely flowerlike shape, and she wore a white tunic decorated with elaborate green and gold patterns. Golden bangles decorated with emeralds cut to look like leaves hung from skinny wrists while colorful rings adorned her fingers, her harlequin green and light gold wings were folded together, and her fog tail legs were a rich, spring green streaked with a light gold color. She looked like something out of a picture, and a somber one at that.

It almost seemed like she'd cry forever as her tears poured down her face and causes flowers to manifest all around her… Until she stirred and looked back up at Spyro.

"NO!" The fairy wailed, her voice hoarse from crying as she scrambled away from Spyro, "PLEASE, DON'T TAKE ME BACK! DON'T TAKE ME TO THE AWFUL PLACE!"

"Wait, wait, it's alright! We're not gonna hurt you!" Spyro exclaimed as he stumbled over the bush and followed after the fairy, "We're the Skylanders, and we came her with Queen Persephone!"

"Skylanders?" The fairy woman stopped short, "Lady Persephone?"

"Yep!" Spyro nodded his head.

The fairy wiped her tears, then turned around to Spyro and revealed her face with its golden eyes flecked with green and button nose.

"Thank goodness!" The fairy exclaimed as she launched forward and squeezed Spyro tight, "I thought I'd never live to see the day you'd arrive!"

The fairy then let go of Spyro, took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"My name is Aura," Aura said as she rested a hand on her heart, "My apologies for my outburst earlier."

"It's alright," Cali interjected as she hopped over the bush and sat before Aura, "Tell me, Aura,"—Cali made a grave stare as she rested her hands on her knees—"What happened here?"

Aura trembled, the blood now drained from her already quite pale face which made her akin to a ghost.

"Oh, it was awful!" Aura bit her lip, "Kaos had stormed our kingdom and stole away Lady Persephone when she refused to ally with him! And after that…"

Small tears rolled down Aura's cheeks.

"He decided that if we wouldn't ally ourselves with him, he'd make us. We tried our best to stop him, but our armies were no match! Not only did he conquer our kingdom…" Aura shuddered, then shook her head, "But he put that awful Commander Ebonyomen in charge of it!"

"Commander Ebonyomen?" Cali sucked her lip.

"Oh, that awful man!" Aura shook her head as tears rolled down her face, "He turned Lady Persephone's castle into a gigantic magic plant! Then, he started taking away fairies and draining all their magic, all to power Kaos's forces! And that's not even the worst of it!"

Aura had broken down into sobs as she buried herself in Cali's arms, then pulled herself away and wiped her tears.

"When he, when he drains their magic…" Aura turned away and pressed her hands against her heart, "He drains ever last bit, until their very souls are no more!"

Gasps erupted all around as Aura broke down once more.

"That's awful!" Cali exclaimed as she held Aura tight and wiped away Aura's tears, "We have to stop this guy!"

"Indeed," Hex broke in at last as she passed through the bushes, "Where is this castle located?"

"That's the problem! Even if you could reach it, there's little chance of stopping him," Aura croaked as she bit her lip, "The castle is the most guarded part of the entire kingdom! And—"

Aura's words were completely drowned out by the screeching wail of sirens and the intense pound of feet!

Everybody ducked behind the foliage, then Spyro crawled forwards and peered through the bushes.

There through the hole he had created were what appeared to be three beefy soldiers, all circled around each other. Though they appeared to be talking to each other, their voices were so low that no words could be made out from their conversation!

"Whatever happens," said one soldier as the huddle split apart, "Remember the objective. Find those fairies and that portal master, and deliver them to the castle!"

"RIGHT!" Shouted the other two as they all ran away.

Spyro made a sharp gasp as he closed up the hole and turned back to the others.

"Did you hear that? They're looking for fairies and a portal master!" Spyro asked as his eyes sparkled bright, "They made it out! Now we just have to find them!"

Hex and Double Trouble both nodded, then stood up and raised hand and staff alike to the skies. As they began chanting, their raised appendages glistened with magic… Only to fizz out immediately. The two of them made confused glances as the magic faded, only for their faces to fall as they examined their hands.

"Oh, that's right," Hex said as she let her hands rest at her side, "That spell keeps us from performing any magic."

Double Trouble said something with a vaguely concerned tone towards Hex.

"Looks like we aren't performing any invisibility spells today." Hex made a grave nod.

"Well then," Stealth Elf interjected as she popped up from a cloud of smoke, "Looks like it's time for the good old-fashioned way."

"Old-fashioned way?" Everybody else repeated.

Stealth Elf nodded, then jumped right into work! She dashed around bushes, climbed up trees, grabs rocks and handfuls of dirt from the ground, and more! And most impressively, all of this was done at such a rapid speed that it was almost like there was three of her!

When she finally came to a stop, Stealth Elf turned around and presented herself. Her head was covered by a hat of bushy leaves, and her body a cape made of the same material with rocks to bind everything together while streaks of dirt covered her face.

"Hopefully this should disguise us well enough." Stealth Elf gathered more materials then walked up to the others, "Come on, we've got no time to lose!"

Stealth Elf jumped from person to person as she applied dirt to faces, covers of leaves to their bodies and all sorts of natural camouflage! By all accounts, everybody looked a bit like forest monsters when she was done… But sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do.

"Now." Stealth Elf trailed forward and beckoned for the others to follow, "Follow me!"

Everybody slowly crept over the bushes, then fell to the hands and knees as they crawled through the forest. The foliage was slowly faded, as if everything around them seemed to die the more they passed through, but for now there was enough to act as a decent cover.

Aura ducked under her camouflage cape and flinched as the sound of stomping echoed from ahead… Then stopped, peeped her head and smiled!

"Nobody saw us," Aura whispered as she placed a hand over her heart, "Thank goodness!"

"That's what camouflage does," Stealth Elf remarked as she lifted up a large branch and ushered everybody through.

Everybody else passed one by one through the makeshift tunnel Stealth Elf had created, then finally Stealth Elf herself crawled through and dropped the branch back down.

The entire scenery around had finally withered completely. All that could be found was miles of dead trees and even deader leaves and grass that crunched underneath their feet. Thank goodness there seemed to be nobody around, at least! The forest seemed infinite as they crawled up logs, sneaked around broken trees and climbed up gigantic rocks… Was there no end to all this?

"Hey, wait a second!" Cali exclaimed as she climbed up a rock and shielded her eyes, "I think I see something up ahead!"

Spyro flew up to her side and followed her vision.

Sure enough, the forest had completely parted and vanished, now morphed into alleyways flanked by broken houses in utter disrepair! Not the prettiest sight, but hey, it was a sign they were out of the woods!

Spyro and Cali both hopped off the rock, then everybody dashed into the alleyways and rested against the sides of the broken houses.

"Okay, we're out of there," Stealth Elf remarked as she crossed her arms, "But now what do we do?"—Stealth Elf peered across at the stretch of alleyway—"Without any forest, we'd stick out like sore thumbs!"

"Persephone, Calliope, over here!"

Spyro jolted his head up as he broke into a wide smile.

"I don't think we have to!" He exclaimed as he pointed a claw back to the distance, "Look!"

Heavy panting and light footsteps were just barely heard a three very familiar figures rounded the corner and stopped to catch their breaths—Chihiro, Persephone and Calliope!

"CHIHIRO!" Spyro called as he waved over to Chihiro.

Chihiro popped her head up and turned around, then dashed over to Spyro and tackled him in a tight hug!

"You're alright!" Spyro and Chihiro exclaimed in unison as they squeezed each other and broke into relieved laughter. As the two of them released their hug, Chihiro smiled and plucked the leaf hat off of Spyro's head.

"What's up with the fashion?" Chihiro teased as she licked her finger and wiped the dirt from Spyro's face, "Latest trends?"

"Camouflage, thank you very much," Stealth Elf interrupted as she took off her leaf hat and released her cape.

While the sound of flitting wings drew near, Aura turned around… Then broke into happy tears as she dashed forward.

"LADY PERSEPHONE!" Aura sobbed as she bolted into Persephone's arms and hugged her tight.

"Aura!" Persephone croaked as she reciprocated Aura's hug, "This truly is a lucky day!"

"Wait…" Cali said as she pointed towards Aura and Persephone, "You two know each other?"

"Indeed," Persephone replied as she let go of Aura and nodded her head, "Aura is one of my dearest retainers. She's my organizer, party planner, and most importantly..."—Persephone turned to Aura and made a kind gaze—"The luckiest thing that ever happened to me!"

"Apologies for not telling you earlier," Aura replied as she scratched the back of her head and blushed.

Everybody huddled together as they chattered and caught up with each other, and for a moment the mission that loomed over them and all the trouble that had happened prior was completely forgotten! In that moment, they were all just happy to see each other safe and sound.

"So, anyways," Spyro said as he stood up and wiped the rest of the dirt from his face, "What happened to you?"

Chihiro winced and looked away.

"Long story short, we ended up in a prison break before we were even in prison…" Chihiro replied before her eyes lit up, "BUT! I did find out something important!"

Chihiro gestured towards Persephone.

"That no-sell spell doesn't affect fairy magic! When Persephone powered me up for our little jailbreak, my magic worked perfectly fine!"

"REALLY?" Spyro beamed wider than ever, "That's great news! Now that we know this…"—Spyro turned his gaze towards everyone around—"We can finally figure out how to stop all this nonsense!"

So, Spyro ushered everybody in close.

"Alright, Aura?" Spyro called as he turned his attention towards Aura, "Where exactly is the castle?"

Aura squeezed her hands, then looked towards Spyro with a new kind of fire in her eyes.

"Well…"

§

Camo, Zook and Stump Smash all stepped back as the Evil Elf Ninja drew closer.

"Well, well, well," The Evil Elf Ninja crooned as it kicked the rocket off of the stump, "What a surprise! The Skylanders, here to ruin our hard work!"

"What are you doing here?!" Camo growled as he snarled, his leafy scales on edge like a cat's.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Evil Elf Ninja shrugged, then made a snicker as it held its hand to its mask, "Then again, with brains your size I wouldn't expect it to be!"

The Evil Elf Ninja cleared its throat.

"I'm here to keep you from getting the Eternal Life Source!" The Evil Elf Ninja cracked its knuckles, "After all, I promise Lord Kaos the Source, and I intend to deliver!"

Stump Smash gritted his teeth, then shouted out as he lunged forward and tried to smack the Evil Elf Ninja down! But, before he could even graze it, it merely vanished in a murky puff of green smoke!

"Sorry, woody," The Evil Elf Ninja whispered as it reappeared behind Stump Smash and kicked him forward, "But you're too slow!"

Stump Smash cried out in pain as he was sent flying, then grunted as a muscular troll soldier caught him! Stump Smash, however, was not one to be easily stopped! In moments he hacked out a spiky chestnut and shot his captor aside, then went back to charging after the Evil Elf Ninja! The Evil Elf Ninja stood quiet and steely as Stump Smash charged after it, only to chuckle as it vanished once more! Stump Smash cried out as he skidded to a stop, then looked around to find that the Evil Elf Ninja had reappeared a ways off.

"Am I over here?"

The Evil Elf Ninja asked as it stroked its chin, then narrowed its eyes and vanished, this time with its voice dangerously close to Stump Smash's own position.

"Or over here?"

Another POOF resounded right in Stump Smash's eardrum while the Evil Elf Ninja vanishes and reappeared yet again.

"Or maybe around here?"

The Evil Elf Ninja was so fast, it had completely stumped Stump Smash! (No pun intended).

Stump Smash could only stand and turn around, his mouth wide in confusion as the Evil Elf Ninja kept vanishing and reappearing. And to make things even harder, every time it disappeared a completely identical clone of it was left in its steed! With all these copies mirroring everything the original and mocking him all the while, there was no way he could figure out which one to attack!

"OH, FORGET THIS!" Stump Smash exclaimed at last!

With a couple powerful hacks, Stump Smash coughed out a bunch of gigantic, spiny chestnuts that balled down towards the clones! These gigantic chestnuts rolled all around and knock out every single clone with a mighty crash!

Soon all that was left was the original Evil Elf Ninja, who only growled and disappeared while the chestnuts continued to roll all around.

And without any clones to knock out, however, those chestnuts went from helpful to harmful in no matter of time! Zook and Camo's eyes practically jumped out of their skulls as they watched a particularly large chestnut race towards them and split like bananas before it could ball them over!

"Watch it, dude!" Zook shouted as he dodged another chestnut, "Are you trying to knock me off too?"

Stump Smash turned around at the sound of Zook's voice, then… Oh no. Both of them locked eyes that soon flashed an antagonistic red, while their mouths quickly dipped into snarls.

"How about you knock it off!" Stump Smash demanded as he stormed towards Zook and shoved his face in Zook's own, "Unlike you, I'M actually fighting here!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Zook growled, then grabbed and loaded his bazooka, "We'll see about that!"

A couple pulls of the trigger, and Zook's missiles shot everywhere across their wooden battlefield! They not only blew the chestnuts Stump Smash had summoned to smithereens, but they sent the troll forces that had started to crowd around the stump running off! Unfortunately for Zook, however, a couple of those missiles got rerouted by a particularly strong breeze and came right his way! Both Zook and Stump Smash grabbed each other's shoulders and pulled themselves down below the missiles' trajectory just in time for those missiles to whiz past them and fly into the great unknown.

"Look where you're aiming, you loose cannon!" Stump Smash growled as he caught sight of Zook and scowled.

"You should look where you're standing!" Zook retorted as he pointed a finger towards Stump Smash.

"Guys, we'rrre in the middle of a fight!" Camo reminded as he pushed them back and tried to move their vision away from each other, "Now's not the time!"

But while Camo tried to mediate once more, he didn't notice that the troll soldiers who had previously spectated had finally gotten bored of just watching! They started climbing up the tree, weapons at the ready and angry looks on their faces!

Camo gasped, then rushed forward and sent some watermelons to attack them with a quick stomp… But they were so heavily armored, the watermelons just bounced off and exploded in the sky!

"Okay," Camo winced as he dodged chunks of flying watermelon and stomped his back paws, "Let's trrry this then!"

The stomps he made echoed around the hollow forest and sent vines smashing out of the trunk! The vines were quick to shoot after the surprisingly-calm trolls… But the moment they came within the trolls' reach, they all froze and withered away!

Camo gasped as he watched his now completely dead vines fall on the battlefield, then looked up at the cackling troll soldiers… Whose armor now glowed a bright green!

"No way," Camo whispered as he further watched the armor's glow fade, "Theirrr arrrmorrr's immune to my plants!

"You bet it is, you overgrown fern patch!" Hissed the Evil Elf Ninja!

Camo gasped and looked around for the voice's source, but he was too slow. Before he could find it, the Evil Elf Ninja found him and kicked him aside! Camo, in turn was thrown through the air, so taken aback that he couldn't even catch himself—he simply flew off the platform's side and disappeared into the distance!

"CAMO!" Stump Smash and Zook screamed as they looked away, their conflict completely forgotten as they chased after Camo…

But it was too late. They could only watched as he fell down and out of the distance. Their faces were full of grief as they reached out further for him, but then they caught one tiny glimpse of each other and…

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" They both accused as they pointed fingers towards each other, eyes glowing crimson and all that.

"How is this my fault?!" Stump Smash demanded as he stepped back, "You were the one who showed off your fancy gunwork instead of looking out for trouble!"

"I wouldn't have done it if you weren't trying to knock us all off with your stupid acorns!" Zook shot back with a snarled frown.

"THEY'RE CHESTNUTS!"

The two of them pushed their faces in further and growled at each other, but not for long. While they were absorbed in their bickering, something knocked them off the platform's side! Luckily, they realized quick enough what had happened and grasped onto the side of the stump, but unfortunately on their own they didn't have enough strength to pull themselves back on top.

"Well, well, well," The Evil Elf Ninja crooned as it stepped over and glared down Stump Smash and Zook, "Looks like my little trick worked splendidly~"

"What trick?" Zook repeated as he raised a confused eyebrow at the Evil Elf Ninja.

"You wouldn't happen to remember seeing a weird flower on your way in, would you?"

Both Stump Smash and Zook were completely silent as the realization hit them. That strange red flower they had saw when they arrived… It was some kind of trick?

"That flower was no ordinary flower, it's an Aniblossity! One whiff of its pollen, and it makes those too weak-willed unable to stand whoever they saw when they inhaled it!" The Evil Elf Ninja crossed its arms, "Oh, and did I mention that it only activates when it senses the anger of those around it?"

So fraught with shame and dawning realization, Stump Smash and Zook said no words. Rather, they took one last glimpse at each other as the memory of their earliest argument flashed through, then quickly looked away.

"That's right! Sulk all you want, it makes no difference! Either way you're falling to your deaths!"

Stump Smash and Zook's eyes widened as they struggled to pull themselves up… but before they could, the Evil Elf Ninja swiped them off with a kick of its feet! Their hands flew off the stump's side from the surge of pain, and all they could do was scream as they fell into the distance.

"Have a nice drop, Skylanders—not!"

The Evil Elf Ninja cackled, then turned back to the troll soldiers that watched its evil laughter.

"What are you standing around for? Get back to scouting out the Eternal Life Source!"

So, the soldiers saluted the Evil Elf Ninja and dispersed back into the forest…


Author's fun fact: Aura is actually not an OC of mine, but rather a heavily redesigned and reimagined version of a companion from the now-defunct Skylanders Lost Islands app! The original Aura didn't have much in the way of personality and appearance wise was just Persephone but in a suit, so I spruced her up a bit for her appearance here!