Chapter 4

Deep in the Netherrealm, things were stirring up and not in a good way.

Kaos lifted up his head weakly as he heard Scorpion pass by and the villain smirked. "Turns out you do have some use, Kaos," he said. "Too bad you're too weak to join us."

The dark Portal Master had to admit ruefully to himself that it had seemed like a great idea to go to this world to find Scorpion. His mind wandered back on when he had opened the portal.

A few days ago...

Kaos was practically dancing in glee. "Glumshanks, this warrior is very powerful," he said, pointing to a picture of Scorpion. "Imagine how it would be to team up with him. Skylands would finally fall at my feet."

The troll looked a bit worried. "Um, Master? Where did you find this book?" He asked.

"Oh, just got it from the Warrior's Library," the villain said casually.

Glumshanks gulped. "Um, are you sure that was a good idea?" He asked. "They...um...They don't like it when books are taken out."

"I know that, fool!" Kaos snarled before his expression changed. "But they won't know about it since I replaced it with a fake book."

The troll looked really worried now and while his master was still reading over the book, Glumshanks went to his room and found his secret stash of treasure, sighing in relief at seeing he had plenty of it. Perhaps if the Warrior Librarians came, the gold would be enough to placate them, though he knew for a fact that they wouldn't be satisfied until the book was returned.

Kaos read up on Scorpion, enjoying his reading until he made up his mind. "I'm going to find this Scorpion and join him," he said aloud. "He can help me gain the ultimate power."

With that, he opened a portal and looked back at his butler. "Glumshanks, see that the portal stays open until I return," he said.

"Yes, Master," the troll said. "Um...how long will you be gone?"

"Not long."

Grinning, Kaos stepped through the portal, finding himself in Earthrealm. Quickly making sure he was out of sight, he went to go find Scorpion.

Present...

Kaos had tried to impress the villain, but Scorpion mocked him and challenged him to a battle, a battle that the Portal Master lost at and in his weakened state, he had been chained and put in the cage he now was in, his magic being drained away by a machine that had been created by Quan Chi, who smiled at Scorpion.

"The little shrimp had a lot of power," he said to him. "It looks like us joining forces with you was a smart choice after all."

"Just think, Quan Chi. With this shrimp's knowledge of other worlds, we can conquer more than just Earthrealm and Outworld," Scorpion said.

"We can do what we want?" Kronika asked eagerly.

"Yes," came the answer to her delight.

Kaos groaned a little, berating himself for getting caught and though it left a bad taste in his mouth, he began hoping that his enemies, the good Portal Masters, would come rescue him.

Back in Skylands...

Glumshanks was getting worried. His master had been gone for almost a week now and the Portal Masters that had gone to find him hadn't returned yet, though they had only been gone a few hours. He looked around the castle and sighed before deciding to do the one thing that felt right, though he knew he'd get thrown in the dungeon later on for it.

He went to the computer and called up Skylanders Academy, placing a call in to Master Eon, who answered right away. "Glumshanks?" He asked, looking a bit surprised. "I wasn't expecting a call from you."

"My apologies, Master Eon," the troll said. "It's just that...Lord Kaos has been gone for almost a week and...well, the retrieval team hasn't come back either and...I'm getting worried."

A crack sounded behind him and he jumped, looking at the portal, sighing in relief when he saw all was well, though a book had fallen over, which had surprised him. "Plus...I'm a bit nervous about the portal," he continued.

Master Eon had an inkling as to what the troll wanted. "Do you want me to move the portal here?" He asked.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble," Glumshanks said, looking a bit embarrassed that he was asking.

"No trouble at all," the Guardian of Skylands said. "And Glumshanks, if you come to the Academy, you will have asylum here."

That was unexpected, but the troll was grateful that Master Eon was offering him refuge. "Thank you," he said, looking very grateful.

Moments later, the portal was safe in Master Eon's office and Glumshanks was standing in the hallway with the other Portal Masters, who looked at him unsurely, but agreed that as long at the troll behaved himself, he could stay.

Ambush was meditating with Hood Sickle and Dr. Krankcase when they got the news. "Wonder why Glumshanks would be so nervous about the portal being at Kaos' Kastle?" The Life Knight Sensei said.

"It probably spooked him a bit, especially where Kaos has been gone for so long," Hood Sickle said. "I'm worried about Rachel, though I know she, Blaze, Elliott, and Isabel can handle themselves."

"I'm worried about Izzy," Dr. Krankcase said. "Maybe some of us should have gone with them."

"That might not have been wise," Ambush said. "Even though Kaos is not a threat right now, we're going to need every Skylander available if another enemy tries to make a grab for power."

Hood Sickle nodded. "Just wish there was a way to call them, but we might attract unwanted attention if we do," he said.

The Tech Sharpshooter Sensei nodded. "You're right," he said. "Sorry, I'm just...I want Izzy to come back safely."

"I want the same for Rachel," Ambush said. "And for Elliott and Blaze."

"We have to have faith in them, guys," said Tae Kwon Crow, having come over just in time to hear Ambush. "Elliott is a master of both Water and Dark, Blaze has three elements he has masters and can call upon, Rachel has mastered both Tech and Fire, and Isabel may only have one element, but she's very resourceful. She's got her Emerald and has trained with her sword many times. Not only that, she's both of the Sorcerer and Knight Imagination classes."

Hood Sickle nodded. "Not only that, they've trained for every kind of situation," he said. "This one is no different."

Dr. Krankcase nodded and they saw Glumshanks come up to them and he looked at them. "Um...I know this may sound weird, but I'm worried about them too," he said. "If Lord Kaos has been missing for days now, what if the same fate that fell upon him happened to the Portal Masters too?"

"Let's hope it didn't," Tae Kwon Crow said. "By the way, how did Kaos open the portal?"

"I don't really know," the troll said. "Though I'm guessing from the book he got from the Warrior Librarians' Library."

The Senseis looked grim before Hood Sickle perked up. "Spellslamzer," he said. "He could no doubt tell us if Kaos got the portal opened from the book."

"I think he's at the Water Sensei Realm with Mesmerelda," Ambush said. "Come on."

They headed for the Water Sensei Realm with Glumshanks behind them, the troll hoping that his master and the other Portal Masters were at least alright.

I know Glumshanks is supposed to be evil, but you have to admit, he's just too sweet to really be a bad guy.

Next up: the Portal Masters discuss their next move.

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