The Skylanders were all armed and ready for whatever was hiding in the strange purple fog surrounding the Academy. Spyro peeked through the hexagonal forcefield to make out anything inside the mist. Suddenly purple flames crashed onto the shield and moved across it in a line before disappearing. Another burst of fire hit the shield on the side and then on another spot nearby. The Skylanders were as tense as ever and they gripped their weapons even tighter.

When Spyro carefully moved towards the shield and played with the thought of exiting it, a familiar purple visage appeared right in front of him. "Boo!" The dragon jumped back, and all eyes were set on Malefor who laughed maliciously before flapping his wings to lift the fog around himself. "You Skylanders never give up, do you?" The Undead King landed on top of the shield and scratched the surface with his steel claw, creating an unbearable piercing sound.

Spyro stood in front of his allies protectively and looked the villain straight in the eye. "You're not going to win, Malefor! We're not afraid of you!"

Malefor stared at Spyro with a deadly look and grinned. "I'm not the one you should be afraid of."

Upon those words, a tall and slim silhouette appeared inside the fog. The Skylanders were baffled to see a raven black robe slowly phase through the forcefield until the figure's ghostly face was revealed.

"Hex?" Everyone stared at the witch in disbelief as her dress floated in the wind accompanied by her dark purple cloud underneath. Spyro didn't understand. "How is this possible? Only-"

"Skylanders can pass through the shield." Hex finished his sentence. "Isn't that what I am?"

"H- how did you… Calliope." Spyro's confused look became furious after realizing that the fairy has once again deceived him. "I should have known!"

"It doesn't matter, we ripped her page out of the book! She shouldn't have been able to get through!" Stealth Elf previously checked every page in the Book of Skylanders to remove the witch before connecting it to the shield.

"Apparently it didn't work. The book must have embraced her even without a page, she was one of the first Skylanders after all." Spyro's eyes were set on Hex as she floated there with her intimidatingly cold expression. "But she's not one anymore!"

In the next moment, Buckshot pulled his bowstring back and aimed an arrow directly at the dark sorceress. Hex simply moved her head and grabbed the arrow when it was right next to her. While everyone stood there like frozen, she threw the arrow back in the direction it came from. The Skylanders moved out of the way in time, allowing the projectile to hit a stone wall instead and explode on the impact.

"Attack me again and Gearshift up there will lower the shield." Hex and the Skylanders looked up to one of the towers where a cursed Gearshift had her hand on the lever which could deactivate the forcefield and expose the heroes to Malefor's fury.

Spyro was once again at the mercy of his enemy and he hated it. "You may be powerful, but even you can't defeat all of us."

There were nearly a hundred Skylanders present. All representing an individual challenge for the undeads. "I'm well aware of that, but I'm not here to fight." Hex had no hint of fear or doubt in her eyes, she knew exactly what she was doing.

The witch began reciting an ancient incantation in a gibberish language. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, they were pitch black. She rose further into the air and a misty whirlwind appeared around her body as the sorceress lifted her arms above her head and her palms emitted dark magic.

"Skylanders, run!" Spyro exclaimed before the heroes fled into every direction trying to get as far away from the witch as possible.

When Hex finished her spell, the orb in her hands imploded before sending out dozens of dark projectiles. No matter where or how far the Skylanders went, the curse found all of them. It always hit one of a pair until half of the Skylanders were affected by the undead magic. They all began to choke and tremble before falling to the ground. Their friends and allies watched in horror as the cursed heroes laid there motionlessly before rising up with the haunting black eyes.

Spyro looked behind himself with shock when he saw the possessed Stealth Elf slowly walk towards him while pulling out her daggers. He turned his head towards Hex whose eyes reverted back to white before she calmly observed the chaos. The leader clenched his teeth with rage and his eyes lit on fire. "You're a monster!"

Both kept looking at each other with nothing but hatred. The witch then did something which she hasn't done in decades. She smiled. But it wasn't a happy smile, it was a dark, sinister smile. "I know."

The villainess turned around and passed through the shield again to leave the Academy, letting the Skylanders deal with the catastrophe she's created.

As the witch was floating away, Malefor appeared next to her. "Is this your plan? Making them destroy each other?"

"They will find a way to subdue the cursed ones, you should know that by now." A pessimistic statement, but that didn't worry Hex. "Once they come for me, they will realize that they have no choice but to surrender. Otherwise their friends will stay like that forever."

Malefor wasn't too thrilled about the lack of destruction in that plan. "And when will we destroy them?"

Hex suddenly stopped and spun around to forcefully hold the dragon in place with her magic. "You will not kill a single one of them, they will do that by themselves. Do you understand?"

Malefor nodded the best he could before the witch released him and descended back into the underworld. The Undead King however remained close to the Academy.

Knight Light was soaring high through the endless skies. The Light Skylander kept going straight ahead and didn't stop for a second. He passed one layer of clouds after the other until he finally reached the top – the Highlands.

The angel landed on the last layer of clouds underneath him. His divine origins allowed him to walk on them as if they were solid ground. No other area in the Skylands was this close to the sun. It felt almost like another world seeing the sky and clouds colored in yellow and orange hues. The Skylander kept walking for a while until he finally spotted who he was looking for. "Angelica!"

The Guardian with a halo over her head turned around to face her former companion. The white sash around her body had the golden Guardian symbol of a winged shield with a halo above it which shimmered in the sunlight. "That was sooner than I thought. You really want to be rid of those wings, don't you?"

"I'm not giving you my wings!" Knight Light wiped the confident grin off the Guardian's face. "I was deemed worthy of these wings years ago and I have done everything to prove it! I deserve to keep them!"

"How many more times do I have to say it until it gets through your thick skull!? The superiors have made their decision! There's nothing you can do about it!" Angelica's patience was wearing thin.

"They may be your superiors, but they're not mine anymore!" Knight Light remained persistent. He would not stand for such injustice. "They have no right to take what rightfully belongs to me!"

Angelica let out an annoyed, almost angry sigh. "Fine. You want to keep your wings and stay with the Skylanders? Then so be it!" The ambassador stepped across the clouds in a quick pace to get closer to Knight Light before creating a hole in the cloud next to him to present a gruesome sight. "You want to be with them? A bunch of good-for-nothing heroes that occasionally turn against each other?"

Even though it wasn't nearly as close, Angelica's powers allowed Knight Light to see the Academy as if they were only a few feet above it. He saw all of his friends and allies fighting against each other. Hex' curse has finally reached them. "No…"

"That Hex has to be stopped, and so do her little monsters." Angelica closed the gap in the clouds before walking away. She stopped after a short walk and turned around while stretching her arms out. Out of nowhere, an entire fleet of radiant soldiers riding on pegasi appeared behind her. "Now we will take care of it!"

Knight Light knew exactly what that was. The Holy Cavalry. An elite Guardian group that strikes to kill anything it considers bad or impure. They are one of the most powerful forces in all of Skylands. "You can't do that, they're innocent! There has-"

"Attack!" Angelica completely ignored the knight and commanded the cavalry to strike.

The winged horses rushed past Knight Light who shielded himself with his wings. He turned around to see them all head into the same direction. Without a doubt they were going for the Academy and the Skylanders. He couldn't let that happen.

Knight Light started to run before spreading his wings and letting himself fall through the clouds. The angel flew as fast as he could, but he could barely even keep up with the elite forces. The Trap Master gathered all of his strength, he tried to think of something that could make it possible for him to stop them. He thought about all the lives at stake, all his friends. He couldn't let them all die because of his feud with the Guardians. Suddenly Knight Light was glowing in a radiant light. He became faster with every passing moment until he turned into a bright orb.
With the speed of light, the Skylander flashed past the cavalry and appeared far ahead of them. The angel has gained a new shimmering pair of golden wings and his entire armor was upgraded to have yellow feathers and golden pieces of armor shaped like the sun. His new Traptanium scimitar, which now had a majestic golden handle and an even longer and sharper blade, was glowing as the Light Skylander turned his upper body and grabbed his weapon with both hands. He unleashed a mighty shout as he swung his scimitar with full force, sending a giant wave of light straight at the Guardians. The ones that got hit vanished upon impact, and Knight Light continued to swing his blade and send out light waves until there were none left.

When the enemy was defeated, Knight Light realized that something strange happened. He looked at his armor and wings before glowing once more and transforming back to his original look. As much as he wanted to know what that was about, there was something far more peculiar. The cavalry wasn't defeated, they simply vanished. No fallen pegasi or soldiers anywhere. Then it hit the Trap Master. They weren't real, they were an illusion. With newfound determination, Knight Light ascended back into the clouds.

The entire Academy was caught in the heat of battle. Skylanders fought against their allies like they were sworn enemies, but no one was capable of hurting them.

Smolderdash just dodged an incoming ice javelin from the possessed Chill while Spyro used his horns as gently as possible to keep Stealth Elf's deadly daggers away from him. "Spyro, what should we do!? Those are our friends, we… we can't fight them!"

"I know, I know!" Spyro had to keep it together, no matter how difficult the situation was. "We have to get them somewhere where they can't hurt anyone, then we have to take care of Hex!"

Nearby, Boom Bloom was using her thorn whip to grab the corrupted allies and throw them away from the others. She overheard Spyro's words and got an idea. By creating a barrier of thorns around her, the Sensei could escape the mob of zombie-like Skylanders and run away from the Academy.

Cynder was standing on the other edge of the island. Smash Hit, High Volt and Nightfall approached her with eerie noises. The dragoness braced herself for the worst, but to her surprise, the Superchargers just dashed past her and attacked some Skylanders behind her instead. When Cynder spotted more possessed heroes, she noticed that all of them completely ignored her. Nevertheless, the Skylander did her best to protect her allies and fight alongside them.

A portal near Cloudcracker Prison was activated and Boom Bloom exited the transporting light. Without hesitation, the Life Sensei stepped inside the crystallized building and sprinted past the cells filled with grunting and yelling villains. Finally, she reached the one she was looking for. "Dad!"

Dr. Krankcase was sitting on the small wooden bench inside his cell and lit up with surprise when he heard someone call for him. "Boom Bloom?" The scientist scuttered to the bars that separated him from the Skylander. "What are you doing here? Is-"

"There's no time to explain!" Boom Bloom pushed a button next to the cell to remove the bars. "Our best engineer is missing, so you'll have to help us."

"O- okay, but what should I do?" Krankcase pushed his hand underneath his hat to scratch his head before Boom Bloom grabbed his other hand to drag him back to the entrance.

"I'll explain it on our way there! I just hope it works." The scientist needed a moment to pick up the pace with his many legs, but once he did, the duo ran back to the portal that would get them to the Academy.

Spyro and some of his allies were able to barricade themselves inside Eon's office. They used the shelter to come up with a plan while the possessed Skylanders were trying to break through the door and windows.

"How do we stop this? Nothing we tried to undo the curse worked!" Smolderdash didn't want to panic, but it was obvious to everyone that she did.

"We need to get rid of Hex' powers, that's the only way to stop this!" Roller Brawl anxiously looked into every direction as loud bangs and hollow screams could be heard outside.

"We can't!" Cynder reminded everyone about what she told them recently. "We don't have anything powerful enough to contain her magic. We have to find another way!"

"There is another way." Spyro spoke and everyone's silent attention was on him. "We have to kill her."

"What!?" Cynder always feared that it would come to this. "Spyro, you promised-"

"I know what I said Cynder but look around you!" Spyro stepped closer to his friend and looked into her shocked eyes. "If we don't stop her, hundreds, thousands will die, including our friends!"
Cynder turned her head. No one was glad about that decision, but it's what had to be done. She looked back at Spyro and after some more moments, she sighed. The dragoness lowered her head and didn't say a word, Spyro knew what that meant. "I'm sorry."

All of a sudden, the door slammed open and Boom Bloom and Krankcase rushed inside before quickly closing it again. Boom Bloom summoned her vines to lock the door and keep all the possessed Skylanders out. She turned around to a bunch of bewildered faces. "I can explain!"

Before anyone could say a word, there was a loud blasting noise which got louder with each moment. The Skylanders peeked through the window to see a giant blue Arkeyan approach the Academy.

"Oh Ancients, what now?" Smolderdash was overwhelmed by the sudden flood of events.

"Don't worry! Whatever that is, it won't be able to get through-" Just before Spyro could finish, the Conquertron phased through the forcefield. "Nevermind that."

The robot landed on an island nearby and the Skylanders eagerly waited as the sounds of explosions and bullets could be heard outside. Once again someone attempted to open the door but failed due to the vines. Shortly after that, the door got blown up and Sprocket stepped in through the smoke before immediately creating a new impenetrable steel door.

Finally, Sprocket leaned against the door with an exhausted and terrified look on her face. "What in Skylands is going on here!?"

There was a moment of silence and tension. The Skylanders were face to face with a Doom Raider and Sprocket who's returned from her quest to find the Golden Queen. No one knew where to start. "I had an idea." Boom Bloom finally spoke up.

Everyone watched Krankcase wave carefully with a nervous smile, indicating that he had no evil intentions. Even though Krankcase was a villain, right now they had no choice but to try everything. Spyro sighed. "What is it?"

Krankcase took some steps forward to elaborate. "Boom Bloom told me everything. You need to find a way to get rid of your zombie friends without… getting rid of them." The scientist approached the many screens and technological devices behind the Skylanders and began to type. "During my time posing as a Sensei here, I had the opportunity to study your technology and I might just have a way to help you."

"How?" Cynder stepped closer.

"By redirecting the energy of the portal at the entrance of the Academy straight to Cloudcracker Prison." The Doom Raider pushed a button and the screen displayed a link from the Academy to the prison. "Now everyone who enters that portal will be sent directly to a cell and remain locked up there!"

While Krankcase kept explaining the operation and answering questions, Smolderdash looked over to Sprocket and got an idea as well. "I think I know how we can defeat Hex."

Sprocket needed a second to process what she just heard. "Wait, what?"

Everyone's attention was on Smolderdash while Sprocket figured out what was really going on. "Maybe we don't have to kill her, there might be a way to absorb her powers." Cynder didn't believe that anything she was about to suggest would succeed, but she was willing to listen.
"The Core of Light was destroyed, but not all of it." The Fire Skylander turned her head to look at the still confused Sprocket. "Sprocket could use the remaining parts to create some device that could store Hex' powers. The Core did hold the Eternal Undead Source after all."

That was a quite strange idea. Spyro wasn't sure what to think of it, but after allowing a Doom Raider to reprogram their security system, nothing seemed too far-fetched anymore. "We have to give it a shot. The less lives are lost the better."

Sprocket's confusion grew with every second, but Smolderdash and Roller Brawl made sure to catch her up to speed on their way to the remainders of the Core of Light.

Krankcase was hectically typing onto the keyboard as the corrupted Skylanders outside kept on pounding and screeching. The entire world was upside down, but there was something that Spyro least expected to see. After hearing that Hex might be spared after all, Cynder's mouth formed a subtle smile. It wasn't much, but it did bring Spyro some comfort in those trying times.

After Krankcase managed to connect the Academy's portal to Cloudcracker Prison, everyone was told to lead their corrupted friends to it. Meanwhile Tidepool made her way up to the control room. Inside was the possessed Gearshift, her hand on the lever which would lower the shield instantly. The robot's locked state was disturbed by something hitting her hand away from the lever.

Tidepool held her squid guns and aimed them at the Trap Master. "Hands off!"

Without saying a word, the robot summoned her Traptanium gear and started attacking the Sensei. Tidepool used her agile skills and summoned her marine friends to aid her, but Gearshift wouldn't be shaken off so easily. Her programming allowed her to precisely dodge each attack and calculate the most effective counter attacks. In an inattentive moment she was able to hit Tidepool and throw her against the wall. As the Trap Master slowly approached the Quickshot and raised one half of her gear, a lightning bolt suddenly struck and catapulted her back.

To Tidepool's surprise, Wild Storm entered the room. His sword still crackled with lightning bolts as he looked over to the fellow Sensei. "Are you alright?"

Tidepool nodded before seeing Gearshift build herself up again and get ready to take the knight on as well. The Air Skylander rushed forward to engage in combat with the robot. They both dealt heavy blows with their weapons, but neither one was able to defeat the other. When Wild Storm realized that Gearshift was only using his attacks against him by redirecting their force with her spinning gear, the Sensei leaped into the air and thrusted his sword downward. Gearshift simply turned her gear to be vertically in front of her and stopped the knight's sword right before it could pierce through her head by moving the gear inside the split of the sword. She did a backflip and the teeth of her gear caught and threw Wild Storm's sword away, leaving him defenseless.

Now Wild Storm only had one option. Tidepool observed in horror as the Sensei began to swell up and transform into a beast. Once he was done, he unleashed a mighty roar and dashed towards Gearshift on all fours. She could fight him back at first, but the beast quickly gained the upper hand and smacked the Trap Master with his claw to send her flying through the glass window. A few moments after Gearshift landed on the hard ground outside, she lifted herself up and twisted her joints and limbs back into place before heading off instead of returning to the control room.

Tidepool was relieved, but that was short-lived when she saw Wild Storm turn around, still in his beast form. The enormous creature slowly stepped towards Tidepool whose back was against the wall. "Wild Storm? It's me, Tidepool!"

The beast didn't listen and continued to get closer while growling menacingly. "I know we haven't been on the best terms lately and it's my fault, I know that. I should have never treated you the way I did, you didn't deserve that!" The beast was getting closer and closer and Tidepool just spouted everything that was on her mind. "Just the thought of my best friend leaving me made me so emotional, I didn't know what to do! I couldn't lose you, but in the end, I did."

Wild Storm's transformed face was now right in front of Tidepool. She felt its warm breath on her face as the beast towered over her. She could only think of one thing to say in that moment. "I love you, Wild Storm."

The beast's eyes opened wide and he backed up. He stared at the humanoid who just confessed her long-hidden feelings in silence. Suddenly he jumped out of the broken window and ran away from the Academy. Tidepool looked after him while the wind gently blew through her seaweed hair. She watched as he exited the forcefield and felt the urge to go after him, but she had to help the Skylanders first.

Knight Light returned to the Highlands looking for Angelica. He flew across the area above the clouds until he finally found the Guardian with her back turned towards him. "Angelica!" The Skylander landed at a safe distance from her. "What's going on here!?"

"I see you've managed to save your friends." Angelica didn't face the Skylander while talking. "That doesn't change the fact that your wings belong to us."

"That wasn't the Holy Cavalry that you summoned, it was an illusion!" Knight Light was confused and angry at his former companion. Why would she send out an illusion of the elite forces?

"Well if you don't give in already it will be them the next time!" Angelica finally turned around to face the angel with her spiteful blue eyes. "How many more times do I have to ask you!? The superiors want your wings! You have to return my wings!"

Angelica referring to the wings as hers made Knight Light realize what was truly going on. "Your wings?" He had to stop for a moment. The knight noticed Angelica's baffled gaze when she realized that she's exposed herself. "The superiors don't know anything about this, do they?"

Angelica stared at Knight Light and instead of further denying it, she finally told the truth. "I tried everything to convince them to take your wings. You're not a Guardian anymore, you don't need them! But they just waved their hands at me, they didn't care!"

"You can't just take them from me! They were given to me and they're a part of me now, you can't change that!" The wings of an angel were a privilege to have as a Guardian, but he always considered Angelica to be satisfied with her role despite not having any. "Why do you want my wings so badly?"

"Why I want them? You dare to even ask that!?" Angelica was in disbelief. "We used to be a team, Knight Light! We were both supposed to get our wings together!" Angelica thought back to the days when the two of them would go on missions without any wings or halos. They were equals. "But nothing was ever enough for you! You started to go on missions on your own, talk with high-ranked Guardians just to get those damned wings! And when you finally did, you took off without ever looking back. You left everyone! You left me!"

For the first time in a long time, Knight Light could see an emotion other than jealousy and hatred in Angelica's eyes, she was hurt. "When my time finally came to receive wings of my own, the superiors denied it, because they were afraid that I would follow the same path as you. Instead they gave me this." The Guardian pointed to the halo hovering above her head. "They made me a Divine Ambassador, the highest rank behind the superiors. One would think that any Guardian would kill to get that role, but once you get it you realize what it truly means." Angelica held her arms and looked down. "It's a loyalty oath to the Guardians. It binds you to the superiors like a chain so that you can never deny them. You can never leave."

Knight Light couldn't believe what he just heard. He knew that the Guardians had another side to them, that's why he left in the first place, but he never imagined that it would be this bad. "Angelica…"

"Don't 'Angelica' me!" The woman suddenly became furious again and glared at the Skylander. "This is all your fault! Because of your selfishness I'm destined to be a servant forever!" With a quick flick of her wrists, the Guardian pulled out her holy daggers. "You ruined my life!"

With those words the Guardian leaped towards Knight Light with both blades, which he managed to block just in time with his scimitar. They got into a feisty fight, dealing fast strikes and counters. They both went through the same training, so they knew each other's tricks. However, Knight Light's wings gave him a clear advantage. He used them to maneuver himself around Angelica and put greater force into his attacks. The Guardian on the other hand was able to move around in a floaty manner, granting her higher speed and precise slashes.

The former friends fought tirelessly, yet neither one of them could win the upper hand. Finally, Angelica was sick of it and decided to use her halos. She summoned a bunch of the light rings and sent them flying towards the Trap Master. He was able to fend them off with his Traptanium scimitar, but as the number increased, he became overwhelmed. Angelica used the opportunity to dash towards him and slash the angel with her dagger going upwards. She struck his face, leaving a cut across his left cheek, and sent his hawk mask flying. The Skylander fell onto the clouds with exhaustion and looked up as the Guardian stepped closer.

"I've spent years wondering what I did wrong to deserve this." Angelica clenched her fist and created halos around Knight Light's hands, legs and wings, keeping him pinned down and making him unable to move. "For such a long time I blamed myself, then the superiors, then even fate itself, until I finally realized whose fault it truly was." She grabbed Knight Light by his golden blonde hair and moved his head up to look her in her sinister cold eyes. "Yours."

Angelica directed her sight to Knight Light's wings and created another set of halos at the tips to stretch them. "Now I will finally take what has always been rightfully mine!"

Angelica gripped her blade and with a quick strike she cut the wings off. Knight Light felt an unbearable pain throughout his entire back. He didn't move, he didn't blink, he didn't even breathe. The pain rushed through his entire body as he heard his wings thump onto the clouds and blood ran down his back. Slowly the Skylander sank into the clouds until he fell through them and down the grey sky. His wings were gone, he couldn't catch his fall. Knight Light closed his eyes as the pain flooded his senses and he fell further and further down. Then it all went dark.

Back at the chaotic Academy, some Skylanders have decided to hide inside the library while their zombified allies were roaming outside. Star Strike and Enigma were sitting in a quiet corner where they could talk in private.

"I know that we have bigger worries right now, but Enigma…" Star Strike hesitated. "You remember that thing that escaped the Path of Doors the last time we went there? I just can't stop thinking about it."

The mage was sitting right next to the alien, yet his mind seemed to be somewhere entirely else.

"I feel like it was something dark… something evil!" Star Strike gasped and held in for a second. "What if it was the Darkness?"

"We have banished the Darkness years ago, that's impossible." Enigma finally engaged in the conversation before looking outside a window again to stare at the grey clouds through the shield and fog.

"The Darkness could have not been defeated that easily. We have to find out what that was before it becomes a problem as well!" The cloaked Skylander was deeply worried, but Enigma was barely listening.

Suddenly Enigma's Traptanium sigil started to glow. The Trap Master grabbed it and felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Then a vision appeared to him, he couldn't figure out what it was, but he sensed that it was urgent. "What is it, Enigma?" Star Strike asked.

"I have to go." Enigma pushed himself up before spotting an exit at the back of the library, leaving his distressed friend behind.

The Magic Skylander turned invisible and managed to sneak past all the possessed Skylanders before getting inside an air balloon. Before he could take off, his fear of heights kicked in. However, there was no time to cast his usual spell. After taking a deep breath, Enigma removed the rope bounding the balloon to the island and rose into the sky. For the first time in many years the sorcerer was facing his fear head-on.

Hours have passed. Hours of fighting and luring their possessed allies to the main portal at the entrance. Many of the Skylanders were already behind bars, but there were still more to go. However, the energy keeping the portal going was fading.

Spitfire was slowly hovering towards the portal as the corrupted Nightfall approached him. The black eyes combined with her dark skin and hair made her look like the piece of a night sky. Spitfire had to be careful, the dreadwalker was as dangerous as she was gloomy.

Nightfall used her hair to go after Spitfire who managed to dash away. She created pools of darkness underneath him and the speed demon had to move constantly if he wanted to avoid them. He zoomed from left to right and always made sure to move backwards as well, forcing Nightfall to follow him. Finally, the Dark Skylander teleported herself in front of the Supercharger and was about to strike him down with her hooks when a bright light engulfed and transported her inside a cell at Cloudcracker Prison.

Spitfire exhaled with relief. "How many more?"

"This is the rest of them!" Spyro shouted as he was fleeing from an entire group of zombified Skylanders. He noticed that the portal was flickering while he approached it. With worried eyes he turned his head to Boom Bloom who was responsible for delivering messages to Krankcase. The Doom Raider warned them that the portal would require a lot of power, and there was only one way to keep it up. "Lower the shield!"

Boom Bloom looked over to Krankcase who had his hands on the control panel and waited patiently. "Now!"

After the Sensei's command, the scientist pulled a lever and lowered the forcefield around the Academy. Spyro flew over the now fully powered portal and lead the remaining corrupted Skylanders right into it. It was done. All of their cursed friends were locked up.

There was a haunting tension when the remaining Skylanders stood silently inside the exposed Academy. They nervously looked around themselves expecting something. But nothing happened.

Cynder landed next to Spyro. "Okay, now we have to-"

And just like that the peaceful moment was diminished by a wave of wind swirling up dust and dirt across the entire Academy. The Skylanders shielded themselves with wings and hands as a looming shadow appeared over the Academy. "Malefor!" Spyro exclaimed upon the sight of the villain.

The Undead King grinned before he inhaled and unleashed a blazing trail of spectral fire upon the Academy. The Skylanders were already exhausted, how were they supposed to defeat Malefor as well? The giant dragon used his claws and tail to tear down the towers and roofs of the Academy before he got hit by something in the face which released a poisonous green cloud.

Boom Bloom shot her spore seeds at Malefor to prevent him from destroying the Academy any further. It worked as now the dragon directed his fury at her. The ninja quickly jumped out of the way and used that same movement to also swing her whip at him as he was passing by. She was able to strike his face and cause the villain to hiss.

When he turned around with a mouth full of flames, he suddenly received an uppercut from a spiky boulder. The dragon landed in the middle of the Academy, destroying some structures in the process, before turning his head to see Smash Hit with his chain gripped tightly in his hands. "Who's weak now?" The warsupial exclaimed with a mischievous grin on his face. Before the dragon could get back up, Smash Hit tossed his boulder at his face once again and used his chain to tie his hind legs together.

Malefor grunted as he swung his claws after the small Skylander without success and tried to break free. He was distracted by a magical projectile hitting the side of his face and saw Déjà Vu's past self just shoot another one. The undead dragon shielded himself with his wing as Smolderdash joined the ambush as well and whipped her fire orbs towards him. The Fire Skylander had already entered her eclipse form and was going after Malefor with two whips, while Déjà Vu was about to create a black hole. The dragon attempted to fight Smolderdash off with his fire breath but the Skylander floated through it like it was nothing.
Before he could hit her with his claw, Spyro shot another set of fireballs at the dragon and dashed into the steel hand to keep him from hitting his ally.

Malefor then flapped his wings with one powerful move that sent the Skylanders flying and rose back into the air. Déjà Vu ended up unconscious against a wall and Smolderdash rushed in to help her. Malefor was about to launch another attack when he suddenly felt a kick against the right side of his face. Then another on the left side. Malefor spun his head around furiously just to receive another kick up front from Buckshot. The faun used his portals to teleport himself from one spot to the other to confuse the dragon. Now the Sensei was free falling and Malefor followed him while already charging up a spectral flame. Buckshot looked at the threatening dragon while falling and focused to create a portal back at the Academy. He turned his body to create another portal underneath him and before entering, he turned around once again with his bow and pulled an arrow back to shoot at Malefor. The arrow struck Malefor right in the eye and the dragon unleashed a pained roar as Buckshot entered his portal and reappeared back at the Academy.

All the Skylanders were gathered and ready, only waiting for Malefor to emerge. "Enough!" Malefor appeared in front of the heroes and created a powerful gust of wind with his wings, sweeping all the Skylanders off their feet. "You fools have played me long enough! Now I will show you the true power of the Undead King!"

"First you'll have to get through me!" Someone shouted behind Malefor.

When the dragon turned around, he was quite surprised to see Cynder standing there alone on an island next to the Academy. He wasn't angry, he didn't smile, instead there was an almost baffled look on his face. "Cynder. After all those years you decide to confront me now?"

The two haven't seen each other ever since Malefor's first defeat through Hex, a lot has changed since then. "I'm done with you Malefor! I'm a Skylander and I will do whatever it takes to stop you!"

"Oh really?" Malefor lowered his head to look Cynder in the eyes. "Even killing your so-called friend?"

"We found another way." The dragoness hissed back at her former master before he towered himself over her again.

"You used to be strong, Cynder. You were feared across all of Skylands, no one could lay a finger on you!" Malefor reminisced about his glory days which Cynder despised to the core. "And look at you now! A pathetic little dragon softened by love and compassion."

"You have no idea what real strength is!" Cynder yelled at the top of her lungs. "All you ever taught me was hate and death. That wasn't strength, that was cowardice. You were too afraid to conquer the Skylands on your own, so you used minions like me!"

"Without me you would be nothing!" Malefor cut through Cynder's speech. "You would have perished alongside the rest of your kind without even seeing the light of day. You should be grateful for sparing your miserable life and raising you to become something you weren't worthy of!"

"Without you I would have had a normal life!" Cynder finally told the dragon king what she had wanted to tell him ever since she found out the truth. "You abused me! I was nothing more than a weapon to you! I wish you would have never taken me from my home!"

Malefor was quiet for a moment. "Cynder, we belong together." The undead dragon ignored all the anger and frustration of his former minion and attempted to get through to her. "As much as you may deny it, as much as you might think that the Skylanders are your family, you know the truth." He slowly lowered his head again and got it as close to Cynder as possible. "You belong to me."

"No!" The Undead Skylander opened her mouth and shot dark lightning bolts right at the dragon's face.

Cynder followed that up with a shadow dash underneath Malefor's feet, leaving ghosts behind that would attack him. The Undead King however didn't attack Cynder, he dodged her attacks instead. The other Skylanders eagerly observed as Cynder circled Malefor, summoning lightning and ghosts all around him. Finally, the dragoness landed on the island again and began charging up a powerful lightning blast. Malefor watched patiently and as soon as she unleashed her attack, the dragon ripped his mouth open and countered with a devastating fireball which resulted in a giant explosion.

"Cynder!" Spyro screamed while staring at the cloud of purple smoke.

Malefor flapped his wings inside the smoke and flew away from the Academy. Spyro hurried onto the island where the two dragons just fought. When the smoke ceased, there was a giant grey crater with Cynder lying in the center of it.

"Cynder!" The purple dragon sprinted as fast as possible and kneeled next to his friend. "Cynder? Are you alright?"

Spyro was waiting for a response, but nothing happened. Cynder just laid there with closed eyes, not moving in the slightest. The Skylander shook her in the hope of waking her up, but she didn't open her eyes.

"Cynder?" Spyro spoke in a quiet broken voice as tears formed in his eyes.

The Skylanders all gathered around the crater to look at the tragic scene with sadness.

Spyro clung onto Cynder's lifeless body and hugged her as if his love alone could bring her back. The dragon began to sob while calling out Cynder's name time and time again, but she never responded. Cynder was gone.

Underneath the grey skies and white clouds was the dark underworld. Hex was all on her own inside the Creepy Citadel, floating through the many wide hallways. When she reached the throne room, she took a moment to observe the once majestic royal chair which has crumbled over the centuries. The witch took a deep breath before heading towards and sitting onto it, gaining a view of the underworld unlike ever before. She was certain that this is where she's supposed to be, this is her destiny. But if it was, then why did it feel so wrong?