Probably one more chapter after this until I post a chapter that was requested from me. I've finally written one in a way that I can be happy with.

This chapter had been intended to conclude October requests, sometime before or after Day of the Dead. Can't have everything, huh?

Disclaimer: I have not played Skylanders Swap Force for the 3ds, so some of the information in this chapter might not be accurate.

Chapter Thirteen: Defiance

"Let's go over this again," Fiesta told his bandmates. "And this time, with feeling."

In the late hours of the night, Fiesta had been practicing with the members of his mariachi band. While he himself was a skeletal man, his bandmates were diminutive blue ghouls. This often shocked people when they went around the Underworld performing. They didn't mind it. Fiesta counted the ghouls as his family- his hermanos, perhaps. Even if their audience simply thought of them as "Amigos."

The spanish guitar was strummed. The cymbals clanked. The trumpet blared. Each tune moved in sync with one another. Fiesta himself played the horn, which had always been the leading instrument of the band.

The door of their flat opened, and a skeleton man wearing flashy clothing and a small moustache walked in. This was Count Moneybone, the band's benefactor, and richest man in the Underworld. He'd granted Fiesta and his bandmates a flat in his citadel, after having bought them out to play for him. Their performances were now mostly secluded to the citadel, though on their days off, they could play to other audiences. (As well as try to find a drag race to enter, though the likelihood of finding that time was minimal.)

"Ay, sorry senor!" Fiesta gasped, halting their practice. "We're not disturbing you, are we?"

"No, not at all," Moneybone insisted. "I was coming up to listen, actually."

Fiesta nodded in understanding. "So you must've heard some of our work, right?"

"That's right."

"Is it any good?"

"It's marvelous. But you know, it could always use a little more...cowbell."

Fiesta looked on with a blank expression on his face.

"Kidding! It's fine as it is. You know, I don't think I've heard that tune before."

"It's a new song I decided we should try and play. Waiting for the right opportunity to show it off."

"Well your band might just get that opportunity. I'm holding a large ball next week. Should bring an influx of new arrivals to the citadel."

Fiesta's eyes widened. An influx? How big was he thinking it was? "What happened to them all?" he asked.

"Nothing all too serious. It looks more like a simple curse than a mass genocide of a population. Stop being so serious, Fiesta."

No comment.

"Anyway, we're expecting shock, suspense, tears and sorrow. What better way to lift their spirits than with the serenade of your music?"

No comment.

"Hellooo? Anyone home?"

"Ay! Sorry! Yes, music probably would make them feel better. I'll have my calendar marked for that event."

Moneybone clapped his hands together. "Splendid!" he cheered. "Then I think it is in your best interest to get some sleep tonight. I don't want you and your band to work yourselves to exhaustion before the big event."

"But it's not until next week," Fiesta reminded him.

"No reason to keep from being well-rested, still. See you in the morning, Fiesta."

Moneybone shut the door behind him as he left. Fiesta's bandmates surrounded him, trying to ease his mind. Though he appreciated that, their efforts were futile. His mind was too troubled by the thought of millions of new arrivals coming to the Underworld. What had happened? Why were they coming here? That in mind, Fiesta doubted that he'd get any real sleep tonight.


A ghost girl looked up at Fiesta, green eyes filled with sorrow. "So I'm...dead?" she whimpered.

"Well, Undead is the most appropriate term," Fiesta explained. "Technically not dead, but also not...alive."

The girl's eyes welled up with tears. Clearly that didn't make her feel better. Why would it? Facts don't make people feel better.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I fell into a well," the girl explained. "No...I was pushed! My older sister pushed me in! There was water up to my neck, and she knows I can't swim, and..."

Fiesta wrapped the girl up in a hug. "Oh my, I'm so sorry," he sighed.

They stayed like that for a while. Fiesta allowed her to cry as much as she needed. These kinds of confrontations always made his heart ache. Sometimes all he could do was offer them a shoulder to cry on.

"What am I going to do?" the girl sobbed.

"Do you know of any family that might be down here?" Fiesta suggested.

"I had a grandmother who died a few years ago."

"Start with that. Do you need help finding her?"

The girl gently pulled herself away from him. "Thanks, but I think this is something I should do on my own," she decided.

"Okay, then."

"Thank you for coming to see me. I won't forget this."

"Don't mention it."

Fiesta watched her walk off. She seemed brave, determined to head out into the Underworld on her own. This part of the confrontation made him feel good. There were some times when all a person needed was a shoulder to cry on.

He and his bandmates had come to an entrance of the Underworld, a place where spirits manifested or cursed beings penetrated. They were often scared and confused, unsure of where to start their lives in the Underworld. Fiesta always wanted to make sure they were okay, so on their days off, they played music for the new arrivals. Of course, music isn't the cure-all for a broken heart, so after their little session, Fiesta would listen to the woes of the arrivals, see how else he could help them. It was tough on his soul- all he could do was feel sorry for them- but he had taken it upon himself to see them safely to the Underworld.

On this day, there were still concerns lingering on his mind from the previous night. Mainly, the idea of the influx of new arrivals coming here. When were they coming? Would they be brave enough to tell him what happened to them? Fiesta wanted to make sure they were okay. It made him sick to think of the dangers happening on the surface.

Three more arrivals came to the entrance. One was a blue Mermasquid with a fancy pirate hat, another was a furnace knight billowing with orange fire, and the last was a vampire wearing boxing gloves. Fiesta and his bandmates played for them, giving them the same kind of session they gave all other arrivals. When they were done, he could see the baffled expressions on all but the Mermasquid, who silently applauded them with a smile.

"Ahem, welcome to the Underworld!" Fiesta greeted them. "You must be visiting, since none of you seem cursed in any way. How may I help you?"

"You're probably confused with the term 'cursed'," the vampire spat. "I'm cursed to be on a mission with two buffoons."

"Hey!" the Mermasquid objected.

"And a hearty welcome back to you, senor vampire," Fiesta continued. "Mission, you say? Si si, so you must be Skylanders! Something important must have happened to bring you here, no?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where Count Moneybone's residence would be, would you?" the furnace knight asked. "We can probably find it on our own, but a refresher would be nice in case we're mistaken."

Fiesta nodded. "It's farther down the road to your right," he explained. "May I ask what you three need the Count for?"

"We're heading to stop Count Moneybone's diabolical plot to take over Skylands," the Mermasquid elaborated.

Fiesta's expression was blank.

"You know, attack the surface with his robot army?"

No comment.

"Use the Immortalizer Ray to turn the rest of Skyland's citizens Undead without resorting to curses?"

No comment.

"Kidnapped a girl who's way too good for him to be his bride?"

No comment.

"I told you they wouldn't understand, Wash Buckler," the vampire insisted. "Nobles will do anything to stay positive in the public eye- even if it means lying and cheating in order to keep up appearances."

"What are you talking about?" Fiesta asked.

"Count Moneybone is a heinous monster," the furnace knight persisted. "He's just another rich mastermind who wants to take over Skylands and remake it in his image. He's put several islands under martial law as he kidnaps innocent civilians and turns them Undead with his foul machines. He'd do whatever it takes to make sure he's on top."

"That makes no sense. Count Moneybone always told us that he was trying to assist the islands on the surface. Use some if his wealth to chip in to their reconstruction funds. To create equality amongst mortals and ghouls."

"Hasn't he ever said or done anything suspicious? Anything that seems the opposite of what he intended to do?"

Fiesta had a lightbulb flash on in his head. Moneybone had told him of the influx of new arrivals coming, the ones he was preparing the banquet for. What if it wasn't genocide or a curse that was bringing them here, but an enslavement plan? Turn the population Undead and welcome them all down here as equals. That could be something that could happen.

"They're not going to understand," the vampire argued.

"Maybe," the Mermasquid, who had been dubbed Wash Buckler, decided. "They might not understand now, and they probably won't understand even after we take him down. But this is something that needs to happen. Let's go, dudes."

They departed from Fiesta's band. The furnace knight handed him a gold coin, insisting it was "for his troubles." Fiesta watched them go. Maybe there was some truth to their words.


"Senor Moneybone, may I have a word with you for a moment?" Fiesta asked.

He'd walked down to the lower levels of the citadel, which held Moneybone's workshop. Fiesta had never dwelled on the workshop's existence before- maybe counts got bored having more money than they knew what to do with- but now he was terrified to know that it was here. Perhaps a robot army had been here, under his nose, and he'd never noticed it.

Moneybone was found down here, welding something together. It was a robot arm. Fiesta looked behind him, noticing a whole system of robots there.

"Fiesta, so nice to see you, as always!" Moneybone said, looking up from his work. "What do you think of my newest inventions?"

Fiesta felt faint. "They're...big...," he stammered.

"Oh you better sit down, you're not looking too good!"

Moneybone pulled out a chair and put it next to Fiesta. Fiesta found himself collapsing into it, his legs too wobbly with shock to keep standing. He stared at the massive robots, his jaw agape.

"Look at you, Fiesta! You can hardly stand!" Moneybone gasped. "I thought I told you to stay well rested before your performance in a few days."

"I've...been feeling a little under the weather," Fiesta fibbed.

"Well that's a shame. All the more reason for you to get some rest. Why did you come down here anyway?"

"What are you going to use these robots for?"

"They're worker-bots, built to fix roads and houses."

"They're almost big enough to take over Skylands."- Fiesta added this with a sheepish laugh.

Moneybone looked at him suspiciously. "Where does that idea come from?" he asked.

"I heard it from some of the new arrivals," Fiesta explained. "They somehow got this crazy idea that you're trying to take over Skylands with a robot army, bent on turning the civilians on the surface Undead."

"And you believe them?"

In the event that Moneybone really was a fraud, Fiesta wasn't about to tell him that the Skylanders were coming. "Well, they know more about what's happening on the surface than I do," he mumbled.

"Fiesta, you have to understand," Moneybone persisted, "these people are threatened by my awesomeness. Of course they'll have 'claims' that I'm doing awful things. Anything to try and besmirch my good name. You know me. Have I ever done anything to steer you wrong? To steer anyone wrong?"

"...I guess not."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Fiesta nodded. He slowly got up from the chair, walking back upstairs. He looked back, seeing that Moneybone had gone back to work. Those words hadn't made him feel better. If anything, Fiesta was almost certain that the count was up to something.


The thought terrified him. How could Count Moneybone be evil? He had always seemed so nice in the past. And he always insisted that he was trying to help people. Fiesta had heard that the most terrible evils hid behind a mask- Moneybone could've woven the best mask in the universe. With this thought in mind, Fiesta felt like kicking himself, at the point of actually hating himself for being so foolish. What could be done now, though, as the fool had already been made?

Fiesta had locked himself away in his flat for a nap. Sleep might clear his head, he figured, and help him figure things out, so he settled down to try and get some. He'd managed to fall into a nice doze when something pushed his side. The pushing didn't stop, so Fiesta opened his eyes and rolled over to see what it was. The pushing, it turned out, had been caused by the guitarist, his eyes looking at him frantically.

"What is it?" Fiesta yawned.

The guitarist pointed to the window, where the two other band members were sitting. They directed him to look outside as well. Fiesta did- and his heart fell into the pit of his stomach.

The robots stood at the entrance of the citadel, seemingly guarding it. Their shadows loomed over the ground, stretching for miles upon miles of land. A dot was hidden among the shadows- was it the Skylanders? What had taken them so long to get here, especially since Fiesta had given them directions to the citadel? Had they just been strategizing for their important battle? There was no way they could take on a whole robot army, at that size and magnitude, all by themselves.

Enough was enough. Fiesta slammed his hat on his head, grabbing his horn. The Amigos placed themselves on Fiesta, two riding on the brim of his hat, and one piggybacking on his shoulders. Together, they marched out of the flat, sneaking through the citadel, stepping through the entrance and outside. They slipped past the feet of the robots, moving so they were standing directly in front of them. The band was dwarfed in the shadow of the robots.

Though Fiesta was adamant in what he wanted to do, he was nonetheless scared.

Moneybone was bound to chase him down for this.

That didn't matter.

The Skylanders might not realize who had distracted the robots.

That also didn't matter.

The Amigos hopped onto the ground, trembling as they did so. "Hey, it's going to be okay," Fiesta convinced them. "Remember that song we've been practicing? Let's give them the whole performance!"

The spanish guitar was strummed. The cymbals clanked. The trumpet blared. Fiesta himself was on the horn, playing as loud as possible, leading the band. They marched in sync, each tune playing in perfect symphony. The song didn't seem to please the robots, who were angered by the interference. Fiesta and the band were soon chased, leading the robots away from the citadel entrance.

This made way for the Skylanders to enter the citadel, unopposed by the giant mechanized beasts. For a long time, they would have no idea who had helped them out.

The time for diversion was over. Fiesta scooped up the Amigos in his arms, hurrying away from the robots. Lumbering feet attempted to squish them, trying to catch the band on the ground. The band swerved around the citadel, the robots fast approaching them. They couldn't possibly outrun them.

The trumpet player pointed to their left, directing them to a large shed. This was where Moneybone had his fancy collection of cars. (None of which had ever touched dirt or pavement in years- he just liked to have them around.) Of course! They can outdrive the robots!

Fiesta ducked into the shed, heading to the very back. They'd made some distance, but the robots were still coming. At this rate, they were going to block them inside. Hopefully it wouldn't matter. Fiesta found the car he was looking for, hidden under a tarp. He pulled it off, revealing a car with a large wheel in the back, designed for drag racing- the Crypt Crusher! Oh, but it's been in the shed for such a long time- did it still work?

One of the robots had wised up and was reaching inside of the shed, trying to drag them out. No time to debate the issue. Fiesta put the Amigos inside the car before hopping in himself. He turned on the car, revving up the engine, preparing to blaze out of there. The robot's arm was long enough to reach to the very back where the band was located. The Crypt Crusher, having been warmed up, managed to speed out of the shed, missing the hand by a thin hair. They sped past the legs of the robots, all of them trying to turn around fast enough to try and grab them.

"I think we found the one flaw in the robot's design!" Fiesta shouted, looking behind to see the robots.

They sped away from the robots, fast enough to make it away from the citadel as well. The Crypt Crusher drove down the path that the Skylanders had come from. Fiesta had a destination in mind, and they weren't stopping until they got there. Well, maybe they would stop for a minute, depending on how much gas they had.

The cymbal player pointed in the direction of the citadel.

"We're not going back there," Fiesta insisted. "We can't. I can just imagine the look on Senor Moneybone's face the minute he figures out what we did."

The cymbal player nodded in agreement. Then he touched the side of the car, looking at the other members honestly.

"We're not drag racing, either. Well, not unless we find a race to enter, of course."

The Amigos looked at him, confusion setting in.

"The one thing I want to do is help people. There's very little I can do down here, and very little about what we know happening on the surface. So that's where we're going- the surface."

The Amigos cheered with joy.