Spyrorocks asked me to write about Roller Brawl. I don't really focus on her backstory in this one- I thought this kind of chapter would help flesh out the character more. I think in the future, some chapters will be like this. For instance, I might opt to write about a scenario that molded Stealth Elf into the kind of character she is because there's not much to find in her backstory. (I might also do the same for Lightning Rod when I get to it, since the wiki has two conflicting backstories and I might not want to try blending them together.)
Chapter Eight: Question Authority
It is customary in the Skylanders regimes to elect the eldest of the Skylanders to train the new recruits. The eldest in each Element of the Skylanders is the one to train the new recruits of their Element. This is due to the experience and wisdom of elder Skylanders, which is a more reliable training selection than most.
However, Roller Brawl disagreed with this ideal.
She had been a Skylander for less than a year. It was the thick of summer, and the Skylanders had gone to the Cloudbreak Islands to protect the magical volcano that resides there. Roller Brawl was experienced in the ways that they operated on missions. She was wiser now than she was when first coming into the Skylanders, and felt that she could train new recruits as well as anyone else.
That wasn't her decision to make, however. Roller Brawl was an Undead Skylander, and the eldest in her regime was Chop Chop. As such, Chop Chop was the one to train the new recruits of their Element. In fact, Chop Chop was the eldest Skylander, and was given permission to train whoever he pleased. That deserved some kind of award- though what that award would look like, they hadn't decided.
Roller Brawl was currently in the courtyard of Woodburrow, the capital island of Cloudbreak. She was watching Chop Chop train some of the new recruits that had just arrived- Pop Thorn of the Air Element, Zoo Lou of the Life Element, and Grim Creeper of the Undead Element. These three were closely-knit, having been brought into the regimes at almost the exact same time. They were pretty powerful, but against Chop Chop, they were no match.
After a long training session, each of the three recruits fell down to Chop Chop's might. Pop Thorn flew toward a wall, Zoo Lou was kicked to the ground, and Grim Creeper simply crumpled to the ground when fatigue set in. Chop Chop stood above them, as if he were some kind of bony metallic god of the Underworld. Roller Brawl was frightened by his enjoyment of other's pain- even for someone of the Undead Element, it was a little excessive.
"Hey Chop, can I talk to you for a sec?" Roller Brawl asked as she skated toward him.
"What do you want?" Chop Chop asked.
"I was just thinking, maybe you could let up on the newbies a little bit? You know, we don't have to kill them."
"Pain is a measure of worth. If these three feel no pain, then they will be worth nothing in future battles."
Roller Brawl looked at the recruits, who were all on the ground in fetal positions. (Which was hard for Pop Thorn, a member of the Pufferthorn race that have especially stubby legs.) "I'm scared that they won't make it out there in the conditions you leave them."
"They'll make it. You made it. I didn't go easy on you, either."
"You went easier on me than you did these guys."
Roller Brawl came to another realization. Chop Chop went easier on the female recruits as opposed to the males that he brutally beats to near death.
"Wait a minute!" she yelled. "Did you go easy on me because I'm a girl?!"
"That's ridiculous," Chop Chop insisted. "Why would I do that?"
"You're from the far, far past, where women couldn't fight because it's 'unlady like'. You're living in the past."
"Are you suggesting that I'm old?"
"You are old. Everyone knows it. That's the only reason why they picked you to train the newbies."
"That wasn't the only reason. Master Eon spent a lot of time considering the qualifications of a teacher, and I fit all of those."
"Age is the only reason that counts these days."
Chop Chop walked away from her. "I'm sorry this frustrates you so much," he replied. "But there is very little I can do."
Oh, Chop Chop had held back, alright. Chop Chop had held back because he was sexist. Roller Brawl knew it. He couldn't keep it secret. Her whole undead life, people had held back from attacking Roller Brawl because she was a girl.
She'd heard every insult before. They mostly came from her older brothers. Roller Brawl had five of them, making life very difficult. Everyone in her family was super competitive, and that made it worse. "You throw like a girl!" "You run like a girl!" "You hit like a girl!" She'd heard them all. Of course she wanted to train new recruits, but she also couldn't help see if her teachers were all sexist.
Maybe she threw like a girl, they should reason, because she was one.
That night, Roller Brawl sat in the common room of the Skylanders' base in Cloudbreak. She was slumped on the couch, upside down, her feet over the back. Her hair had been undone from the braid it was in all day. Two Skylanders, Punk Shock and Star Strike, walked into the common room. They immediately spotted her.
"I guess it is true what they say about vampires hanging upside down!" Punk Shock teased her.
Roller Brawl shot her a mean glare.
"I kid, I kid! You seem upset, and not toward me."
"Life is unfair, alive or undead," Roller Brawl sighed. "Chop Chop ges to train everybody, merely because he's older than everyone else. When will the rest of us get a chance to train the newbies?"
"The rule of ages doesn't always apply to everyone," Star Strike insisted. "I mean, Spyro isn't the eldest of the Magic Element Skylanders, but he still trains new recruits."
"He can't train the wide majority that Chop Chop can. He's never beaten Chop Chop. Nobody has," Roller Brawl continued.
"You sound a bit jealous right now."
"Maybe I am a bit jealous. But I'm not asking for a lot. I just want a chance to train someone. When I was a kid, my brothers wouldn't let me go outside if they thought I'd get hurt. I'd grown up a lot by the time I was a roller derby champ, and they still thought I was a little kid."
"Do you still miss them?"
"Yeah...always. I'll forever miss those doofheads."
"We'll get them back one day."
Punk Shock flopped on the couch next to Roller Brawl. "You know what I'd do?" she asked. "I'd beat up Chop Chop! Set the rules straight once and for all! Fairness for everyone to train anyone!"
"It's not that simple," Star Strike explained. "Chop Chop is better than anyone else we've fought. He can take you down before you realize what has happened. You need a strategy in order to beat him."
"And it's not like defeating him is going to set things right," Roller Brawl added. "This thing goes all the way to Master Eon himself."
"Maybe beating him up won't change anything right away," Punk Shock continued, "but it would make everyone lose faith in him. 'Oh, Chop Chop got beaten by a little girl? He must be a wimp! Let's find someone else to train us!' In a few years, things will be different."
"What about right now?" Roller Brawl asked. "Who's to say that one of these times, maybe in the near future, that someone will be too afraid to become a Skylander because they hear that Chop Chop is a brutal trainer?"
"It would make things much more difficult, for sure," Star Strike insisted. "We should take this up to Master Eon tomorrow."
"And in the meantime, we can beat up Chop Chop," Punk Shock insisted. "No holds barred!"
"Who's to say we can do it? He wasn't at his strongest, and I still couldn't defeat him."
"What do you- that sexist jerk! Let's grind him up into sausage! No holding back! Make him suffer as us feminists have for thousands of years!"
"You're really itching for a fight, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious? Okay tomorrow, high noon, let's do it!"
Roller Brawl couldn't help but giggle. She liked her friend's spunk. It was a rather refreshing taste than most of the other Skylander girls, who were too serious for their own good. "Star Strike, you want to join us?" she asked.
"Of course," Star Strike replied. "We need to come up with a strategy to defeat him, and I might know what we could do."
The next day, the girls went out to the courtyard. There was Chop Chop, training the new recruits. This time it was Fryno of the Fire Element. He had a temper, which was bad when someone riled him up. He chased down Chop Chop in his flaming motorcycle, which everyone else had nicknamed the "Angry Bike." Chop Chop maneuvered around him with ease, swerving out of the way and knocking him off.
"See what he did?" Star Strike asked. "Fryno is a good fighter, but he lets his head get in the way. I know you two would like nothing more than to sucker punch Chop Chop in his face, but unless you keep a level head, you're not going to stand a chance, especially if he's not holding back."
They walked toward Chop Chop. The skeletal warrior was standing over Fryno, deciding whether or not to let him go. How badly would Fryno get off if their fight continued? Roller Brawl stood in between them, intent on keeping him alive and away from Chop Chop's insanity. Fryno snuck away as she did so.
"You, versus Punk Shock, Star Strike, and myself- no holding back this time," Roller Brawl demanded.
"Are you challenging me to a fight?" Chop Chop asked.
"No, I'm challenging you to tea. What else do you think I'm doing? If we win, you have to talk to Master Eon about letting everyone train new recruits."
Punk Shock interjected, "And you have to wear a sign that says 'beaten by three little girls' for the rest of the day!"
Chop Chop nodded. "Alright. No holding back," he agreed.
He slashed his sword at Roller Brawl. The vampire ducked and sped away from him. Star Strike and Punk Shock took their battle stances, posed to fight. Holding her electric crossbow, Punk Shot sent a bolt flying toward Chop Chop. He was pulled away from Roller Brawl, and headed toward Punk Shock. Star Strike peeled away from her, taking her stance a little farther back from them.
Roller Brawl had memorized Chop Chop's session with the boys, and had explained it to Star Strike so they could formulize a strategy. Chop Chop would sometimes head toward someone who looked like they would be more hazardous to his success. (For example, archers, firearms, magic wielders, etc.) He had to eliminate them first so the rest of his mission would flow more smoothly.
Chop Chop held his shield up, blocking the bolts and heading toward Punk Shock. Roller Brawl cut him off, bashing into him with her helmet. They both tumbled to the ground, and almost as quickly came back up. Roller Brawl was in close-quarters with Chop Chop, blocking his sword hits with the claws on her gloves. Punk Shock hit him once again, distracting him so they could both change positions.
Chop Chop also liked to thin out the enemies around him. He slammed his sword into the ground, bone brambles shooting up and away from the impact. Roller Brawl slid away, but a bramble scuffed her left leg. Punk Shock's arm was scraped as well. The injuries weren't too bad, and they could simply walk them off.
Star Strike had avoided injury altogether. She set her magic onto Chop Chop, allowing starry rain to strike down on him. Punk Shock hit him again with her crossbow, and Roller Brawl scratched him with her claws. He turned around, his sword hitting Roller Brawl. He unleashed the brambles again, scuffing Star Strike's right side as she tried to escape.
How to keep all of the girls up and fighting? Draw him away from them, of course! Punk Shock hit him again with the crossbow, and this time threw a waterball at his feet as he ran toward her. Another bolt electrified the puddle, stunning the warrior. Punk Shock whisked by Chop Chop, hitting him with her electrified tail to deal more damage. She didn't stay long- her duty was to stay as far away from him as possible.
As she did so, large blades came and hit Chop Chop, making him drop to the ground. The blades came from Roller Brawl, who stood proud and strong. This attack confused him- Roller Brawl enjoyed close-quarters combat, and this couldn't be something she would do. He was stunned by this as he tried to get up, allowing Star Strike to come back and klonk him on the head with her large fans.
The girls were fully aware of a new move that Chop Chop had learned in the past year. His shield disappeared, and he gained two large swords. The swords hit Star Strike, making her kneel on the ground. Punk Shock managed to get far enough away to prevent any injury. This was the last stretch. Roller Brawl sped up to them, determined to win this battle. She sent more blades toward Chop Chop. They gained his attention to her, but she'd come too close form him to get his swords up to attack.
Roller Brawl sliced her claws on his head, bringing him to the ground.
Punk Shock stepped closer to him, bringing her crossbow toward his head. Roller Brawl and Star Strike also kept their guard up. Had they won? He hadn't gotten up yet. It couldn't be this simple. It was better to keep their guard up just in case Chop Chop started to attack again.
It took several minutes. Chop Chop didn't get up.
Punk Shock kicked him. "Don't tell us you held back!" she insisted.
"I'd never hold back- it's too frustrating," Chop Chop groaned.
Roller Brawl hoisted him back up. He didn't even do the psych-out where you let someone pull you up so you could pull them down. Chop Chop stood up, looking broken and battered. They'd won!
A crowd had gathered around them. They applauded the girls on their victory. Whistling was even heard, mostly from the senior Skylanders. They thought it could never be done.
"I'll talk to Master Eon about your request," Chop Chop promised them. "You hit like true Skylanders."
That was a new one for Roller Brawl. But she liked the way it sounded.
You know what would be a good theme song for Roller Brawl. "Freak Out" by Avril Lavigne. I don't listen to her music as religiously as other people do, but I can't help but think about Roller Brawl when I hear that specific track.
