It was a cloudy day in Skylands, almost stormy. There were barely any airships in the sky, but there was a one, travelling through the middle of nowhere. With the Magic symbol on its sails, those knowledgeable in the history of the Skylands would recognize that it was the ship of the travelling sorcerers. They were believed to be long gone, but the trio has been travelling and protecting fellow magicians for centuries now. Ace, Zion and Raven were their names, yet not many knew that. Even the Skylanders weren't aware of them, even though they were the very same people who rejected their former member Hex all those years ago.
"And you're sure?" Zion was steering the airship and worrying while doing so as usual. "I mean if it's true then-"
"He's back alright." Raven rolled her eyes whilst igniting and extinguishing a flame in her hand repeatedly. "He attacked the Skylanders before disappearing in the underworld, so that's where we'll find him."
Ace was standing at the edge of the ship and did his usual thoughtful stare into the distance. "I'm not surprised." He held his staff, which has turned dark and started to rot over the years, and thought of his countless conspiracies. "She never got the job done."
His companions looked at him and immediately knew what he was talking about. "What if she's with him?" Zion sounded concerned as he thought of the possibility of meeting their two enemies at the same place.
"She's a Skylander now, remember?" Raven sighed and wanted to forget about their long-lost friend. "I'm sure she's having a great time demonstrating her amazing powers at any chance she gets, that's what she's always done." There was so much spite and rage in the sorceress' words, that her eyes glowed in a fiery red light from the magic that she's been practicing her entire life.
"Or she's with Malefor right now." Ace wondered what the witch has been up to, since they didn't know what exactly happened with Malefor on that day. "They could be plotting a plan as we speak!"
"Enough of this Ace!" Raven had to listen to her leader's assumptions for centuries and she's grown sick of it. "It's always about Hex! She's a Skylander, she doesn't have any reason to worry about Malefor! And if she's done anything remotely evil, we would've heard about it by now. You need to get over it!"
"You saw what she did and yet you still don't believe me?" Ace turned his head around to face his ally with an equally angry look. "She was killing our village! If we hadn't banished her, we would have all been dead!" He took a step towards the sorceress whilst Zion observed the fight from a distance. "Not to mention that everyone who saw her since that day has been afraid to death of her. Even if she pretends to be a Skylander, everyone knows that there's something sinister about her."
Raven sighed and made a book appear in her hand. She wasn't interested in continuing the conversation and instead read the pages she already knew by heart.
"Just you wait. When we finally cross paths again, I will be the hero to defeat the witch!" Ace was eager and sure of himself, and he wouldn't let anyone, or anything stop him from achieving his goal.
"There it is." Zion pointed to a large cave entrance in front of them.
It was the biggest known entrance that lead to the underworld. Big enough for ships to pass. The group readied themselves before the spellpunk speeded right towards the fog inside the dark cave.
Far away from the mission of the sorcerers, Spyro called a meeting to discuss further plans and their search for the Golden Queen in full transparency.
"We have been hunting the Golden Queen for months now, and there's still no sign of her!" Spyro sounded frustrated, almost mad as he looked across the table with Skylanders sitting around it. "Stealth Elf, High Volt, you have encountered two elves that claimed to have seen her. What did you find out?"
"I didn't find out anything." High Volt crossed his arms and became annoyed at the thought of the elves refusing to share any information. "I called Stealth Elf hoping they'd talk to someone of their kind."
"They didn't tell me much either. They quickly realized I was a Skylander and… left." She didn't tell anyone, even Spyro, that those two elves were actually her parents and that she completely forgot to ask them about the queen after the emotional reunion and hurtful parting. She wanted to forget about them and continue her life as it is.
"Boom Bloom, what about you?" Spyro looked over to the Life Sensei who gave him a blank expression. "Was Krankcase of any help?"
"He was actually." Boom Bloom remembered how he disregarded his own pain in order to save her from the destroyed factory, but of course that's not what she was going to say. "But the tracking device wasn't there. He must have lost it."
Spyro sighed. He proceeded to look over to Roller Brawl and Chill, who was finally wearing her regular armor again. "You went to the Leviathan Lagoon. I've heard of a dead leviathan there, was that the queen's doing?"
"Um…" Roller Brawl nervously glanced over to Chill, since it was actually her who impaled the creature during their mission. "We don't know what happened, and everyone we asked said she wasn't there."
"Hmm…" Spyro finally looked over to Smolderdash, who was as nervous as ever. She was the only one who knew of Sprocket and her tracking device, but she promised her not to tell anyone about it. "Sprocket has been missing for a while now. Last time you were the first to notice Smolderdash, do you know anything now?"
The Fire Skylander hesitated to answer and stared at the anticipating faces next to her with distress. She gulped as a drop of burning lava ran down the side of her head. "No, she doesn't have a tracking device that she's been working on for months and used Golden Queen's jewel that she lost during their last battle to track her down."
The entire round was silently staring at the Skylander, who just realized what she said. "She did what!?" Spyro was furious. They were hopelessly looking for the villainess while the engineer has already tracked her down. "Why didn't she tell us that?"
"I asked her that too, but she said she wanted to confront her on her own to find out why she couldn't turn her into a golden statue." Smolderdash slapped her hand over her mouth and would have preferred for the ground to open up and swallow her than to be sitting with the others right now.
"Oh Ancients." Spyro pressed his fingers against his forehead and tried to sort everything out. "Did she tell you where she went?"
Smolderdash slowly removed her hand from her face. Even though she didn't want to say another word, she couldn't ignore her leader. "She didn't know the location herself. She took the device and followed the signal."
"Then we have to find Sprocket and join her." Spyro, irritated by his teammate's behavior, got out of his chair and rose up. "Everyone, there's a new mission-"
"Wait!" Smolderdash interrupted the dragon and immediately regretted it. But since she already stood up and caught everyone's attention, she had no choice but to continue. "Maybe we should let Sprocket just find her on her own?"
"Are you insane?" Spyro gave Smolderdash a confused look and wondered what was going through her head. "We're not letting her face one of the most dangerous villains on her own! Especially when we don't even know where Golden Queen is! She's your friend Smolder, aren't you worried?"
"Of course I am." The fire being turned completely serious, despite that she could tell how important this was for the Tech Skylander. "But the queen's powers don't work on her, that already gives her a huge advantage!"
"When did Golden Queen defeat us with just her powers?" Spyro made a valid point. The wicked goldling always had backup and another trick up her sleeve. "There is no discussion. We have to find Sprocket before she reaches the Golden Queen and defeat her together."
Smolderdash realized that there was nothing she could say to change the Skylander's mind, and she probably shouldn't. She also found Sprocket's idea quite risky and didn't fully agree either.
Spyro looked at the group in front of him and thought about their next steps. "Knight Light, Enigma. You two look for the most recent departures of airships."
"It's actually been a few days." Smolderdash informed Spyro, who could only roll his eyes once more.
"Departures of the last week. If a ship hasn't returned, Sprocket must have taken it." The leader was heated up and as determined as ever about the missions.
The addressed Trap Masters were baffled. It seemed as if they couldn't get rid of each other. "Don't worry Spyro, we'll take care of it!" Knight Light smiled and looked over to Enigma who simply turned his head to the side.
Spyro glanced over to the row of Senseis next. "Boom Bloom, Tidepool, you can go to Sprocket's home town. It's a long journey and she might have stopped there."
The Senseis nodded as Spyro continued to look for other suitable warriors. "Buckshot and Wild Storm can accompany you. There's many enemies lingering around the island so you'll need backup."
Another unfortunate pick from the leader. Tidepool and Wild Storm gave each other a hasty look before turning away again. They still didn't get to talk since their decision to put their relationship on ice, which made the team up the more awkward. At least they also had their new friends by their side.
"Spyro, may I suggest something?" Déjà Vu stood up from her chair and looked at the leader who held in to hear the suggestion. "Why don't we use my time powers to go back when Sprocket left and just stop her?" The time lord presented her mystical hourglass while talking which glowed in a blue light and surged with energy.
"No offense Déjà Vu, but the last time you tried something like that we got stuck in a time paradox and nearly tore apart reality trying to get back." Spyro reminded the Magic Skylander of the catastrophic effects time travel brings.
Déjà Vu responded to that with an easy shrug. "It was worth a try."
Spyro directed his sight back to the group in front of him and couldn't come up with anymore missions on the spot. "Everyone else, spread out and share the news! I'll assign everyone to missions as soon as we're all on the same page."
The Skylanders agreed and headed out of the assembly room. Stealth Elf and Cynder stayed behind to accompany Spyro who still had to process the information.
"Are you sure we shouldn't approach this differently?" Stealth Elf asked her friend. "Last time we looked for the Doom Raiders and Sprocket was the one to lead us to them. Now we're supposed to look for her?"
"What else should we do?" Spyro didn't want to admit it, but he was running out of ideas as well. "We can't contact her, and we have no clue where she went. This is our best shot."
Stealth Elf put her hand on Spyro's shoulder to calm him down from the stressful situation. Cynder on the other hand had something she urgently wanted to say, even though it might have not been the best moment. "I know this may not be the best time, but I wanted to ask about Malefor."
The elf and the dragon were baffled. Malefor was the last name they expected to hear today. "What about him?" Spyro was perplexed.
"He's still out there!" Cynder tried not to lose her cool, but it was hard considering the dragon who has been grooming her to become a harbinger of death has returned. "I think that he's a far greater threat than Golden Queen. Not to mention that Hex has been with him this whole time."
"Exactly!" Cynder wanted to use that as a reason to find the dragon and help their ally, but Stealth Elf misunderstood her statement. "You know Hex, she can take care of him. She's defeated him before, so keeping him at bay shouldn't be a challenge."
"I'm sorry, but Elf's right." Spyro looked at Cynder who was quite shocked to hear him agree. "Sprocket is in serious danger, and Golden Queen could have already sent an entire army to destroy us. Hex is with Malefor, there's nothing he can do."
The dragon and his elven friend turned around and left the room. Cynder stayed and couldn't believe her companions. Sprocket was in danger, but so was Hex. She knows best what it's like to be bound to the undead dragon, and she wouldn't want anyone else to go through that.
While all the Skylanders were being informed about Sprocket, Smolderdash retreated to the small room in the Academy which the engineer used while working on her newest invention. She held one of the pairs of communication devices she found before Sprocket left and gave her one as well. The Fire Skylander told her to call her as soon as she needs help, but it seemed like Smolderdash would have to be the one to use it first instead.
It didn't feel right. Letting one of her closest friends face one of the most dangerous villains on her own. But she knew how much Sprocket loved to solve things and that once she's put something in her head, it's impossible to stop her. If the Skylanders do find her and defeat the Golden Queen together, they would catch and lock her up right away, not giving Sprocket an opportunity to find out why she was immune to her powers. Even though she was scared, Smolderdash didn't want to take that from her.
She placed her finger on the button positioned on the side of the small box-shaped device and moved it closer to her mouth. "Sprocket listen to me! The others know about your plan. They are going to look for you and try to defeat the Golden Queen before you can find out the truth. You need to hurry! And please… be careful."
While some Skylanders have already begun to set out on their new missions, Cynder glided across the Academy looking for someone. With her precise vision, it didn't take her long to spot the person and dive down before landing in front of him.
"Enigma!" Knight Light, who was walking next to the sorcerer, jumped up in surprise when the dragon fell out of the sky while Enigma simply stopped and looked at the Undead Skylander.
"What is it Cynder?" Enigma turned his head to Knight Light who was doing his best to play his scare off.
"Yeah, what is it Cynder?" With the most heroic voice and a puffed up chest, Knight Light offered his help to the dragoness as well, which made Enigma roll his eyes under his hood.
"I know things are pretty complicated with Sprocket and the Golden Queen, but I've been thinking a lot about Malefor lately." The Skylander only looked at Enigma, even though Knight Light carefully listened as well.
"Malefor? Ha!" The angel proudly summoned his traptanium scythe with a blinding light in his hand and shifted into a battle stance. "That withered old dragon won't stand a chance if he dares facing us!"
"Knight, why are you acting like this?" Enigma has known the Light Skylander for a while now and even though he did consider him slightly obnoxious before, this behavior was simply annoying.
"Did you forget? I have to make a good impression for my former superiors." Knight Light reminded his ally of the constant pressure he was under, with the Guardians always keeping an eye on him and his performance. "If I don't show them that I'm a worthy Skylander, these won't carry me through the skies much longer." He flapped his shimmering wings to clarify his worries.
Cynder, utterly confused by the situation, used the moment of silence to explain herself. "Everyone is worried about the Golden Queen, but we all know what Malefor is capable of." Cynder wasn't there when he ambushed the Academy, but she has spent more than enough time with him to know exactly what she was talking about. "I wanted to ask you if you could help me find some way to get rid of that revival spell he has on himself and find him in the underworld. We-"
"Cynder, I know you're worried." Enigma had to interrupt the dragon before she could go on. "But I'm already on a mission regarding Sprocket. And even if I could help you, I fear that Malefor is out of my league when it comes to magic." Enigma was one of the most skilled magicians among the Skylanders, but the only one who could ever stand up to the dragon king was Hex.
"I understand. Thank you anyway." Cynder didn't bother the Trap Masters any longer and walked away.
The dragoness didn't know what to do anymore. Spyro didn't consider Malefor a threat, and everyone else was too busy with finding Golden Queen and Sprocket to help her. She knew that Hex was with him, but that didn't make things any better. Cynder thought that the days where she would have to worry about Malefor were over, but she felt more worried than ever before. She felt that something bad was going to happen.
The travelling sorcerers have been traversing through the underworld for hours. They felt the cold air of undead energy which was present throughout the entire realm engulfing them. As unsettling and terrifying as it was, they had a mission, and they wouldn't back down until they've fulfilled it.
"What if Malefor left? I mean why should he stay… here?" Zion's shaky voice and heavy gulp emphasized the undeniable fear the spellpunk felt as he tried not to close his eyes while steering the ship.
"He is the king of the underworld. If there's any place where he's most comfortable, it's here." Ace was certain that they would find their enemy there, even though he did feel a sense of unease as well.
"Why exactly do we want to fight him here again?" Raven was confused after hearing the facts. It seemed unwise to battle Malefor in his own element.
"Hex claimed to have defeated him by herself down here, so it shouldn't be a problem for the three of us." Ace didn't lose hope and tried motivating his allies as much as possible so they wouldn't decide to back off in the last second. "Besides, we have learned some new tricks since then."
Raven smiled proudly as she created a magical orb in her hand and sent it flying upwards just for it to explode in a radiant light that scorched everything it touched. "We will show that king what real magic looks like!"
Not too far away, still bound to the Creepy Citadel by Hex' superior powers, Malefor noticed the bursts of magic igniting the dark caves of the underworld. The dragon lifted his heavy body up from the floating island and investigated the direction the lights were coming from until he saw the ship approach. He would have recognized the symbol on the sails anywhere. Malefor smiled before flying away to hide from the sorcerers.
The trio soon arrived at the haunting citadel and landed their ship at the beginning of the long stone bridge above the foggy depths of the land of the dead. They got off their aircraft and cautiously observed the area, always holding their weapons and magic ready. The atmosphere was unsettling, chills ran down every magician's spine. The fact that there was no one nearby should have made them feel safer, but instead it just scared them further. They've reached the half point of the bridge when suddenly they noticed a large figure dashing by, creating a strong gust of wind that hit them.
"What was that?" Zion was already shaking on their way across the bridge, but now the spellpunk instinctively summoned an orb in his hand, which was just as shaky as himself.
"I don't know." Raven wasn't as terrified as her ally, but nevertheless prepared her book and flipped to the page with the most powerful spells she could perform.
Ace looked to his left as he sensed the large figure slowly creeping by the group, hiding in the shadows. "Guys." The leader was mortified while watching the ragged figure rise up into the air and land in front of them with a loud thump.
It was none other than Malefor. The malicious dragon grinned as the small magicians in front of him trembled and moved backwards while looking up to him. "So we meet again." The dragon didn't waste a second and opened his jagged jaw to shoot a spectral flame at his enemies.
Before it hit them, Ace was able to create a barrier around the trio with his staff, which he had to lower as soon as the attack was finished since it costs him a lot of energy to block such a powerful blow. Raven took advantage of Malefor's short pause to use her own magic and aim for the dragon's face. He groaned as he had to take two powerful orbs and clenched his teeth before shooting a trail of flames at the sorceress. Raven was able to dash away from it with one of her spells and appear behind the dragon where she delivered some more blows to his back and wings. Malefor roared in anger and turned around, continuing trying to hit the light-footed woman.
While Raven was busy distracting Malefor, Zion helped Ace to get back up after the draining protection spell. The spellpunk gathered all his courage and took a deep breath before joining his friend and firing at the dragon. The undead king had to deal with two of the sorcerers now, both of which he was unable to hit himself due to their quick movement.
It didn't take long until Malefor was fed up and decided to use his armored tail. In a moment of surprise after seeing the limb dissect itself into several parts held together by a chain, Raven was struck by it and sent flying against the low wall of the bridge, breaking her glasses in the process. Shortly after, Malefor turned around to hit Zion as well, catapulting him towards their ship where his fall was caught by the sail which was torn down with him.
While the two sorcerers tried to come to their senses and storm back into battle, Ace gained his full energy back and stepped up to the dragon. Malefor could only smirk at the sight of the puny elf. "What are you going to do with your stick? Pick my teeth?"
While Malefor was laughing, Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and focused. Raven and Zion were behind him, watching in awe as the sorcerer recited an ancient spell and his staff began to glow in a radiant blue light. Malefor stopped to cackle and stared at the spellcaster unimpressed. After listening to a few more of his gibberish words, the dragon charged another powerful blast in his mouth and unleashed it. To his surprise, Ace used his staff to create a laser that hit the fire breath, and the two got into an intense battle of forces. It was a constant shift of dominance over the colliding blasts, which Raven and Zion observed eagerly. The showdown was interrupted by another projectile hitting the collision point of the blasts from above and creating an explosion, which sent Ace flying backwards and landing right in front of his friends. Malefor shook his head after being hit as well and looked around to see where that projectile was coming from. After looking behind himself, the dragon sharpened his eyes and stared at a certain point angrily.
Malefor looked back at the devastated sorcerers who were confused as to what was going on. After an irritated groan, the dragon moved aside and left the bridge to fly to a nearby islands, observing the following scene from a safe distance. The sorcerers stayed in place and saw another, much smaller figure approach them. The low lighting and fog made it hard to recognize who it was, but after Ace took a very close look, he opened his eyes wide and was shocked. "It's… you."
After the other two sorcerers recognized the figure as well and were left speechless, Hex was finally close enough to look her former allies into their eyes. The magicians and their former member stared at each other blankly, not saying a word. Hex kept her distance, small enough to see and hear them clearly.
"Hex?" Zion got up from the ground and floated in front of his allies. "It's really you."
Raven experienced an overwhelming rage that she hasn't felt in a very long time. She pushed herself up with her bloody hands and set her glasses straight before standing next to Zion. "I was hoping we would never see you again."
"That hope is mutual." Hex responded coldly, not showing any emotions.
"Well, well, she got bold since our last encounter." Raven hissed the words while keeping her angry eyes on Hex, with her book tightly in her hand.
"What are you doing here?" Zion asked in a less angry, but more curious tone.
"I could ask you the same question." Hex looked over to the self-taught pilot she once valued. "And why you are foolish enough to challenge Malefor."
"Look who's talking." Raven countered and glanced over to the mentioned dragon, who observed the reunion with delight. "Why are you here with him? Are you finally plotting your plan to enslave the world with your powers?"
"If that was the case you wouldn't find us here." Malefor answered in Hex' place, making it sound like the assumption was right which didn't make Hex too happy.
Finally, Ace got up from his hard fall and stood in between his friends. He looked up and gave Hex a lasting look, longing for the truth. "You finally left the Skylanders to follow your true destiny."
"I did not leave them." Hex denied all the lies that were all too familiar to her. "I am keeping Malefor down here to prevent him from wreaking havoc across Skylands."
"You cannot lie to us!" Ace raised his voice and took a step forward while leaning onto his staff. "We know exactly why you're down here, we've known it ever since you crawled out of this pit!"
Hex was unfazed by the spiteful comments and realized something else. They all looked exactly the same as they did when she last saw them. "How are all of you still alive? It's been hundreds of years."
The sorcerers were silenced and didn't want to respond to the witch's question, but there was no need for them to say anything since she remembered the answer herself. "You used my spells, didn't you?" Her former friends remained quiet, which might have also been due to some shame. "We agreed that spells that undo injuries and freeze the body are only to be used in emergencies!"
"We?" Ace didn't care much about the rules Hex has set up in the past, the sorcerers did whatever they wanted since she left. "There is no "we" Hex. There is only us and you!" The group moved closer together while throwing Hex dirty looks. "We kept ourselves alive because the Skylanders, which include you, remained to be ignorant!"
"They don't care about sorcerers like us!" Zion added to the argument. "They think we don't need their help even though we're being targeted more than anyone else!"
"Not everyone has your kind of powers to defend themselves." Raven glared at Hex with even more hatred than before.
"We used your spells to keep us alive, but you made a deal with the devil!" Ace looked over to Malefor who continued to keep himself out of the conversation. "This is what you wanted from the start! Unlimited power, so you can do whatever you like!"
"What did I ever do to you!?" Hex finally broke her stale attitude and spoke up. "I protected you from Malefor, I risked my life for you, and you claim that I'm the villain! I never did anything bad!"
"What about the dying crops and the sick people then?" Zion reminded her of the unfortunate time when the town was at the verge of extinction due to deadly circumstances.
"That wasn't my doing! It was a regular plague that spread across the Skylands, it just happened to appear after I transformed." Hex did believe that it was her fault at first as well, but she did her research and found out that it wasn't connected to her in any way.
"Why are you still here then? Shouldn't your friends have come for you if what you're saying is true?" Raven always kept her book in front of her in a defensive manner, as if she expected Hex to strike her any moment.
The witch did wonder about that too. She expected them to help her by now, but there was no sign of the Skylanders. "They have other things to do, I told them I'd take care of Malefor."
"Face it Hex, they're not coming back for you." Everyone directed their sight to Malefor who suddenly decided to join in on the argument. "Just like your old friends they realized how dangerous you are and that it's best to keep you down here."
Hex gave him a cold glare before looking back to the magicians as Ace nodded in agreement. That nod and the rightful look in the elf's eyes is what truly angered the Skylander. She wasn't easy to provoke, but if there's one thing she couldn't stand it was unjustified assumptions. "I don't understand." She lowered her voice to a point where it almost sounded hopeless, sad even. "We used to be so close, yet you threw our friendship away like it meant nothing, just because I've changed. Instead of trying to help me or listen to me you isolated me and tried to burn me alive!"
"Do you want to know why Hex?" While the other two had no reason for their behavior other than their personal problems, Ace had a bigger picture in mind.
"I would love to." With a dark tone she looked at him to finally hear an explanation.
"We once went on a mission. The one where we discovered the portal that could lead us to different realms." A distant memory that all of the members could remember, even Hex. "We didn't investigate it in fear we could get lost, but while you were about to set off, I entered it!"
Zion looked at his leader baffled. "You never told us that!"
"Because I couldn't risk anyone hearing about the portal, we were being watched all the time!" Ace silenced the spellpunk with a quick look and continued. "Inside the place that I entered, I found a book. A book unlike any I've seen before. Naturally I wanted to see what was inside, but when I opened it, I was overwhelmed." Ace still remembers all the pictures and sentences that flashed before him. Things that he knew from historical books, it was like taking a trip through the past. "Nevertheless, I tried to read further, so I flipped the pages and the pictures became familiar. I even saw us!"
"How is that possible?" As much of a bookworm she was, Raven had never heard of the strange book Ace was talking about.
"I don't know, but it must have been an all-knowing book." Ace wasn't aware that the Skylanders have recently found out about that book and were already looking for it as well. "It showed me the past, the present and… the future." That's when the elf looked back at Hex with a suspicious look. "I flipped forward, and it showed me so many different outcomes, so many different possibilities, I couldn't make sense of any of them." Ace's psyche was severely damaged that day, but there was one picture that was burned into his mind permanently. "But then I saw it, the one picture. The one picture I never forgot." He eagerly took a step forward while keeping his eyes on Hex, almost obsessively. "It was you. You were in it Hex. And you were standing on a pile of bones, surrounded by flames. You have killed everyone, the Skylands were a wasteland. And that's when I knew that you were the true villain. I know the truth!"
Hex couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was that book real? Was it an illusion? Is what Ace saw really the truth? "It can't be."
"It can!" Ace gripped his staff tighter and started to approach Hex. "Malefor might have been the one to attack us and try to rule the Skylands, but he was nothing compared to you."
Even the dragon was listening and thought about what the elf was saying. It rubbed him the wrong way that he sounded like a pathetic pawn in comparison to Hex.
"You were always the true evil, even if you didn't know it yet." Ace's staff began to glow as the crazed sorcerer got closer and closer to the witch, who only gave him an angry stare without moving from the spot. "And once you would follow your true path and reveal who you really are, I would be there to stop you!"
Hex clenched her fists which were engulfed by her undead magic as the elven sorcerer got dangerously close to her.
Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and was ready to strike. "And now I can finally finish what I've started! I will destroy you, monster!"
The elf threw himself up into the air and was about to strike Hex down with his charged-up staff. Before he could do that however, Hex raised her hand and shot a phantom orb right at his chest, sending him back and throwing him to the ground. The effects of her undead powers were spreading across the elf's body. His veins turned dark and his skin became paler with each passing moment. He gasped for air and scratched the floor underneath him as he flinched in pain and his body withered away. When the dark magic has finally covered his entire body, he rolled his eyes back into his head until only the white of his pupils was visible, and then he stopped breathing. He was dead.
Zion and Raven rushed to their deceased leader. "Ace? Ace!?" The spellpunk called out in agony while watching the withered corpse with horror. "Please wake up!"
Raven was quickly skimming through her book looking for a spell. When she finally found one, she concentrated and used it on the elf, but without success. They tried a few more, but none of them could bring him back to life. "What have you done!?" Tears formed in Raven's eyes as she yelled at Hex, who emotionlessly observed the tragedy.
After not receiving an answer, the sorceress charged up a fireball in her hand and shot it towards Hex. The witch easily dodged it and created two orbs in her hands. Hex closed her eyes shortly and when she opened them up again, they were pitch black. The remaining magicians looked at the witch terrified as she let the magic in her hands flow towards them like snakes slithering through the air. Through their mouths, the sorcerers inhaled the dark magic and it choked them like Ace, but not for long. They suddenly both turned silent and closed their eyes. Upon opening them, they were black as well. They stared into the dark nothing with no expression or hint of anger or sadness and stood before Hex, whose eyes have turned back to their regular white glow.
Malefor, quite pleased by the scenery, got back onto the bridge and stood behind Hex. "Good job-"
Before he spoke another word, Hex twirled around and used her magic to slam the dragon's head down onto the bridge and look him into the eyes. "You are now under my command, do you understand?"
Malefor didn't say anything and instead tried to break free from the witch's grasp, who clenched her fist and pushed him even further down.
"Do you understand?" Hex raised her voice and looked at Malefor with the most furious look she has ever given the dragon.
"Y- yes." Malefor struggled to get the word out of his mouth since it was being pressed against the bridge, but after he finally said it, he was released. The king positioned himself up again. "What do you plan to do now?"
Hex took a moment to think about that. She looked at the people she once considered her family. Their leader was dead, and the other ones were mindless slaves that would follow her every word. She didn't believe that the book showed Ace the truth, but she did believe that it was time for her to finally seek revenge on all those that have wronged her. "No mortal creature wants me up there. They either fear or hate me, no matter what I do. Even the Skylanders don't truly trust me." Hex had her fists clenched once again and they emitted an even darker undead energy, flickering like flames through the thick fog surrounding her. "If they want a monster, I'll give them a monster."
