Chapter Forty-Two: Portal Masters

Everything Slam Bam had held dear had been taken away from him.

A large laser had cut through his glacier, melting everything in its path. The ice sculptures he had made were cut down. The ice floes he surfed on were decimated. The snow cone boxes he'd stacked up were crushed. He would be the next victim of this attack if he didn't find a way to get off.

Slam Bam rushed through the glacier, just hairs away from getting caught in the melting snow and ice. He narrowly leapt onto an ice floe, gripping onto the icicles as the force of the attack pushed him away. On the ice floe he would stay, soaring through the skies, just floating...

A shaking in the ground woke Slam Bam. He was immediately on his feet, his heart pounding and his body trembling. That dream always stuck with him, no matter how far away he got from his destroyed home. Slam Bam took a look around, taking in the strange sights. His ice floe was a lot smaller than it had been, affected by the summer heat. In the beginning, it had been big enough to carry maybe three of him, but now the icicles were gone, and the ice floe didn't even seem big enough to hold one of him. But it didn't seem to matter, as the shaking he'd felt turned out to be a collision with a larger, more sturdy land mass. Odd foliage marked the land, as well as a tall building a few feet away, and he could hardly tell how tall it was.

Slam Bam stepped off of the ice floe, and onto the squishy green land. He found himself a bit weary, his head throbbing and his tongue swollen in his dry mouth. This heat wasn't good for a yeti such as himself, and chomping on ice as he had been wouldn't quench his thirst in the long run. He needed water, plain and simple, so he trudged along in order to find some. Slam Bam didn't get far before he sensed danger afoot.

Several creatures scattered the area ahead, chatting or fighting with one another. They were all alerted to his presence, and soon they were walking up to see him. Slam Bam felt sick to his stomach- what did these things want, and how violent were they? He took up a fighting stance, gritting his teeth in anger, puffing himself up to become more imposing.

"Whoa, settle down there, friend," a fish-like creature warned him, slowly picking up a strange harpoon weapon. "We don't want any trouble."

"I certainly hope not," Slam Bam growled. "I can take you all on, and I'm prepared to do it as well."

Cackling erupted from a shark-like creature. "I'd like to see you try," he scoffed. "Things are getting pretty boring around here."

The fish creature glared at him. "Knock it off, Terrafin," he sighed.

"C'mon, he's clearly bluffing! We have nothing to worry about with him! I'll take him on, even!"

Slam Bam pounded his four fists together, enraged at his words. "Come and face me, then!" he shouted.

Terrafin put up his fists, smirking with glee. Slam Bam launched at him, his attack blocked by the shark creature's arms. The shark launched a punch at him, which he dodged by just a hair. He grabbed Terrafin and slammed him into the ground, placing a blue foot on his chest. Terrafin grabbed his leg, flipping him off and burrowing beneath the ground. Slam Bam created a thick sheet of ice beneath his feet- it wasn't as strong as he'd like, given his dehydration, but it still served its purpose as a shield. The shark couldn't break through right away, focusing on scratching at the ice. Slam Bam stepped away, watching as Terrafin finally emerged. He created another ice wall as the shark charged at him, plunging his fist onto the hard surface. The yeti landed a fist square on his nose, knocking him onto the ground.

"Anyone else want a piece of me!?" Slam Bam yelled.

Terrafin stood up, swinging his arm about in order to stretch it. He wiped the blood dripping from his nose, the smirk refusing to fade. "I'm not finished, yeti," he dared him.

Slam Bam growled between bouts of panting, lifting his fists up once more. Their battle didn't continue, however, because a harpoon shot at the ground between the two of them. The fish creature held his weapon up threateningly, warning the both of them to back off. Slam Bam and Terrafin relaxed their stances, but kept glaring at each other.

"Knock it off, both of you," the fish creature spat. "I'm sure no one here wants trouble. Now friend, what did you want from us?"

Slam Bam crossed his top arms, letting his lower ones sag on the ground. "I can find it on my own," he insisted. "I'd like for you to leave me be."

The fish creature lowered his weapon, his expression lightening up. "We can do that," he decided. "Just make sure that your visit doesn't bring any more trouble."

Slam Bam nodded, walking away from them. He continued on his quest for water, hopeful that no one would bother him anymore.


Slam Bam found a pond nearby, its waters sparkling in the midday sun. He spent most of his time here, slowly drinking from it and snarling at the small creatures trying to get a drink. This was his pond, and he wouldn't let anyone have it.

His thirst quenched, he decided to walk around some more, trying to make out his surroundings. Any creatures he came across quickly stepped out of his way, aware of his stance around them. Slam Bam returned to the location of his ice floe, discovering that it had disappeared altogether. So he was definitely stuck here for the time being- though he didn't need the ice floe to tell him that. Slam Bam decided that he couldn't stay here forever, though where he wanted to go was a bigger question.

Maybe the tall building held the answer to that question.

So Slam Bam wandered over there. At this point in time, the creatures were getting a bit more curious about him, stepping close enough to get a look. He became fearful once again, keeping his distance from them until he made his way to the building. He stood just a few feet away from the entrance, frightened to see two creatures standing outside in front of it. One of them was a light blue quadruped, large wings on her back. The other was a horned creature with a long beard and blue robe. That horned creature made Slam Bam queasy in his gut, and he suddenly remembered that the force that had destroyed his home appeared to have similar soft skin.

"Your wing is fine, Whirlwind," the bearded creature said softly, patting the winged creature on the head. "I felt through it for anything out of place. There are no breaks or fractures to be had. You probably just stretched it too far on that last landing."

The creature, Whirlwind, nodded. "Yeah, and it doesn't hurt as much anymore," she added. "Thank you for checking. I think I'll go now."

"Hang on a moment. Is there anything else you want to talk about? You seemed rather worried about this."

Whirlwind tapped her claws on the ground. "I've always been flying. I've been flying from the moment I learned how to. There is nothing that gives me a greater feeling of freedom than that. But sometimes I fear losing my ability to fly. What would become of me if that happened?"

"You're strong of mind and heart. Whatever happens, you'll face it like you do everything else. And remember that you have friends here who can help you if you need it. We'll find another way, no matter what."

"We'd figure out another way for me to fly, if I lost that ability?"

"Of course. And remember, through everything here, you're not alone."

Whirlwind smiled, getting up and stepping away. "Thank you, Master Eon. I'll remember that," she concluded.

Slam Bam watched as she ran off, heading to different parts of the land mass. He found himself curious of the bearded creature. This one seemed nicer than the one that had attacked him. This creature had wanted to heal rather than damage. It was certainly strange.

The creature, Master Eon, waved at Slam Bam. "Hello there," he greeted him. "You must be the one that caused a stir at our Citadel earlier today. What might your name be?"

Slam Bam created an ice shield, feeling braver about talking to him like this. "Slam Bam," he grumbled. "Are you a Portal Master?"

"Why yes. Why do you ask?"

Slam Bam looked at the ground, brow furrowed in confusion. "I've heard tales of Portal Masters. Seen one. You can't be one," he argued. "They steal and destroy, holding no remorse for anyone or anything."

"I am the last good Portal Master, responsible for guiding the Skylanders here, as well as keeping Skylands safe from the Darkness. Not that I don't understand your confusion. What other tales to the yeti clans describe?"

"Not sure. None stayed at my home for long. Better that way. I prefer solitude."

"You don't have a clan?"

Slam Bam shook his head.

"You seem a bit young to be on your own, though. How did you end up like that?"

"Don't remember. Don't care."

"Yes, and you seemed uncomfortable with the crowds earlier, according to Gill Grunt. It's important to mind my Skylanders. Their bonds are strong, and they often flock together when searching for new things on this island. Anyway, what brings you here, aside from challenging them to random fights on the grass?"

This Master Eon seemed really nice. Slam Bam looked at his eyes, noting a soft warmth to them. He looked like he genuinely wanted to help him. Slam Bam slowly stepped out from the ice wall, hands clasped nervously. "I'm lost. I'm far from where my old home was, and I have no idea where I am," he stammered. "My coming here was an accident."

"Where is your old home?" Master Eon asked.

"Don't know. Doesn't matter- it's gone now."

"You're not hurt at all, are you?"

"Don't think so. I might be a bit weak from the way I was traveling, but I think I'm okay."

"You must be pretty scared, huh?"

He wouldn't admit to it, no matter how true it was. "Are you going to help me?" Slam Bam asked.

Master Eon nodded. "We'll help you build your strength back up, and then we can figure out where to place you in a new home. You have nothing to worry about here."

Slam Bam nodded.

"Let's figure out where you're going to stay, then."


A sliver of light hit Slam Bam in the face the next morning, rousing him from sleep. He could hardly recall the events of the previous day- his arrival to this Citadel, his tussle with the "Dirt Shark" person, his meeting with the fake Portal Master. He was still sure that the Portal Master couldn't really want anything good from this deal they made.

But so far, nothing bad had come from it. Slam Bam had been given a small flat on the higher levels of the Citadel, allowing him to have as much space as he wanted. He had enjoyed looking out the window as well, pointing out the shapes of the clouds that seemed to hover by the tower. The room was empty, save for a large cushy cot that Slam Bam currently laid in. The cot was soft and warm, much more comfy than any of the ice burrows he'd dug himself. He thought that he could spend all day on it.

So Slam Bam turned away from the window, his cheek hitting a damp spot his mouth had made earlier. (Discovered after jumping awake from a loud noise that turned out to be a Skylander dropping something.) Why not spend the day on that cushy cot? He was given time to recuperate after all.

He heard excited footsteps run down the hallway. Slam Bam cracked an eye open, watching as the Dirt Shark stopped in front the doorway. His jagged teeth grinned with glee, and he simply hovered by the frame. Slam Bam grumbled, burying his face in the cot. He knew he should've locked the door last night.

"What was your name, again?" Slam Bam muttered.

"Terrafin," the Dirt Shark replied.

"Right, right...leave me alone. Didn't the others tell you I wanted peace?"

"Don't tell me you're going to sleep through the lunch run, too?"

"Now you can't want me around just for that. You want to fight again."

"We need to pick up from yesterday."

"Do you hate me or something?"

Terrafin scoffed. "Oh no. I like you a lot. That's why I want to beat you. Everyone else here is no challenge for me."

Well at least he was wanted. "Go away. Maybe later. I want to get back to sleep now."

He heard a kick on the ground. "Hey, you think I got into this kind of shape by sleeping all day?" Terrafin growled.

Slam Bam smirked, opening an eye. "Long ago, I spent many days sleeping," he began. "And still, I sent you on your butt."

"Them's fighting words!" Terrafin shouted, raising a fist. "That does it! I'm heading outside, and you better be going after me!"

Then the Dirt Shark left. Slam Bam's eye slid closed, and he settled back into sleep.

Though it seemed he barely got a minute's worth of sleep before someone was shaking him awake. Slam Bam opened his eyes again, this time looking at the Portal Master.

"You've certainly riled up Terrafin," Master Eon giggled. "I don't believe I've ever seen him so frustrated before."

"He should be occupied waiting for me for a while," Slam Bam shrugged.

"Though he did have a point about sleeping all day. You are supposed to be building your strength back, right?"

"It's not like I'm in any hurry. I don't really have anywhere to go."

Master Eon stroked his long beard. "I suppose. And you didn't seem to have any difficulty getting to sleep last night. I was a bit worried that you'd be too scared to. I know I have trouble sleeping in strange places."

"Probably helps that this space is my own. People aren't constantly roaming the halls here."

"All of this must be pretty strange to you. To come from a place where you were alone to one where you're surrounded by people."

Slam Bam snorted.

"Perhaps we can start figuring things out for you. What do you think we need right now, at this moment?"

"Answers, maybe. On who exactly destroyed my home. It's a Portal Master, that I'm sure. The kind of power I saw was one that couldn't have been from anyone else."

Master Eon's brow furrowed in thought. "Hm, he was quiet for a while...I have a hunch, but I need to look into it."

Slam Bam nodded.

"I'd like for you to get out and do things, though. Try and get something to eat, maybe."

Footsteps came back down the hallway, and Terrafin stopped by the door frame again, fists clenched. "Hey! Come down and face me!" he yelled.

Master Eon laughed. "Perhaps you should pick up Terrafin's gauntlet before he roughs up the Citadel," he suggested.

Slam Bam sighed, getting up. "Alright, alright, let's go," he decided.


Slam Bam found himself in the mess hall the next day, hovering over a table of food. He'd been lured here that afternoon, wary of everything on the table. He'd never seen most of this food before- how could he be sure that any of it was safe?

So he brought Terrafin along to tell him.

"What's this?" Slam Bam asked, holding up a plate.

"Chicken leg," Terrafin said.

Another plate.

"Cheese slices."

Another plate.

"Pasta."

"This Citadel has a lot of food."

"There's a lot of people to feed."

Slam Bam's eyes looked at a plate, noting a pile of fried fish. He looked at this, picking the plate up. "Fish, right?"

"I don't know if you want that," Terrafin shrugged. "That's Gill Grunt's thing."

The fish man's? "Fish eats fish?"

"The big fish always eat the little fish, man. And it's not like it's fellow Gillmen on that plate."

The fish went into Slam Bam's mouth. He ate voraciously, finding it hard to recall the last time he had such a meal. How long had it been since his glacier had been destroyed? How much time had he spent on that ice floe before coming here? Slam Bam wasn't aware of actual time, just the idea of it going forward.

Maybe it was that Portal Master here. His guiding presence seemed to make everything go faster. And somehow it wasn't troubling to him. Master Eon was working to keep him happy and safe. Not to mention the other creatures here, all of whom seemed to be nice, no matter how clingy they could be.

Speaking of which, a flock of creatures was coming into the mess hall. Slam Bam stole the plate away, hurrying down the hall. He ran into the fish creature, Gill Grunt, who glared at the plate he was holding.

"Heh heh, got these for you," Slam Bam grimaced, handing him the plate.

Gill Grunt took the plate. "There are plenty of fish in the sea, I suppose," he sighed. "But that's not why I'm here."

Terrafin hurried down the hall, halting right behind the yeti. His face contorted itself in confusion as he noticed Gill Grunt's stance. "What's up? You seem worried," he asked.

"Eon wants to speak to you, Slam Bam," Gill Grunt muttered. "He says he's figured out who destroyed your home."

"What did he say?" Slam Bam muttered, hands shaking. "You look like he told you everything."

"I really don't think it's my place to say."

Slam Bam pounded an impatient fist on the ground. "Tell me."

Gill Grunt didn't seem frightened by this show, but he did relent in secrecy. "It was a Portal Master, like you suggested it might be. He appeared to be looking for ingredients of some sort, roaming around the tundra islands."

"Name?"

"Kaos."

Terrafin scoffed. "Kaos? Why, he's a nobody," he insisted. "I could take him out in one punch. Let's go right now!"

"His magic is too strong," Gill Grunt argued. "He'd flick you away with a wave of his hand. We'd need a bigger force of power to even hope on taking him on."

"Then what are we standing around for!? I'm itching for a real fight!"

Slam Bam staggered back, trying to register what he'd been told. Thoughts of his home's destruction came to mind, and his memories brought up a face. One that hovered about, in front of a floating fortress. One that declared his name, shouting about conquering the glacier.

That's right. That Portal Master had mentioned that his name was Kaos.

But it felt like Master Eon knew him more closely. As if they might be associated with one another. Like Portal Masters might be.

"Where is Master Eon now?" Slam Bam asked.

Gill Grunt looked back at him. "I can take you to him," he decided.


Gill Grunt had set Slam Bam in front of a door, stating that Master Eon was working in there. The yeti told him to leave, deciding that he had to face this on his own. Slam Bam's hand hovered over the handle. He found himself shaking, unsure of what to do. Taking a deep breath, he went a head and opened the door, stepping inside.

And then he paused again, nearly gasping at what he found.

Master Eon was there, certainly. He was hovering over a strange object, a color-changing light emitting from it. Strange markings were carved on the side, indicating different spells for it. This was a Portal. Slam Bam was sure of that. It was standing right in front of him. But...he didn't want to think about it.

"Gill Grunt told me you wanted to speak to me," Slam Bam muttered.

Master Eon turned to look at him, the troubled glanced he'd been sporting refusing to fade. "I suppose he already told you what I found," he thought.

"You can't be a Portal Master. You just can't. I can't be around another monster like that. You can't be like that!"

Master Eon sat at the edge of the Portal, saddened by this. "It's just a title. Nothing more, nothing less," he explained. "It's gotten a bit of a bad connotation, I'll admit. The Scrolls say we're supposed to do good for Skylands, to guard it as the Skylanders do. I'm the only one left who still thinks that way. Who still thinks that we need to be good-natured guardians. I am not a monster. But if you see me like that, it's not my place to argue."

Slam Bam found himself crying. No. He didn't see Master Eon as a monster. "What do you know about that monster, then?"

"Not much. I've only confronted him a few times," Master Eon shrugged. "Admittedly, the first few times we talked, I hoped we could ally ourselves, to better protect Skylands from threats. He turned my words around, saying that he did want the safety of the world- but only as a dictator."

"Did he say those words specifically?"

"He used the term 'emperor'. But dictators don't refer to themselves as dictators. Now he is an enemy, first and foremost. I want to protect Skylands, but I want to ensure that everyone is free to truly live."

Slam Bam's crying grew stronger. Eon wasn't an enemy. He knew he was happy about that. But why was he crying?

"I promised that you'd be safe here," Eon insisted. "You have nothing to worry about here. If you don't feel safe, let me know."

Slam Bam crept closer to him, trying and failing to quell the tears. "It's alright. I'm not scared to be here."

"Is it something else, then?"

"I don't...I don't know."

"What is it that you want to tell yourself?"

Slam Bam ran up to Eon, wrapping his arms around him and sobbing. "I'd watch the visitors sometimes, noting how close they seemed. Sometimes I found myself wanting something like that. I need a friend, especially out here."

"You're not wanting to stay here, are you?" Eon gasped. "I know you find it a bit crowded here. If you wanted to stay, that's fine, but I wouldn't force you to do so, especially if you're just settling on one option."

His sobbing quelled for a moment. Was that the reason for his tears, then? "You want to be my friend, right?" he whimpered. "I don't think I want to give that up. You wouldn't mind me staying here, would you?"

Eon placed a hand on his back. "If that's what you want, we don't mind," he promised him.


A few days passed after that as Slam Bam got used to his new routine. This Citadel wasn't like his old glacier, but it definitely had the warmth of a home. He wasn't quite used to the crowds, but it was getting easier for him to handle. An idea had come to mind a day before, one that Master Eon warmly accepted from him.

Slam Bam wandered to the yard early one morning, finding Terrafin training out there. He had been confused at first, noticing the Dirt Shark beating up innocent creatures- but on further inspection, they turned out to be dummies. Slam Bam tried it out, encasing one of those props in ice. Terrafin jumped, turning to face the yeti.

"Hey there," Terrafin greeted him warmly. "I heard that you were staying."

"You're happy about it," Slam Bam noted.

Terrafin shrugged, turning away. "Doesn't matter to me. Not my place to say."

"You didn't chase after me for a few days."

No comment.

Slam Bam sniggered. "You were going to miss me!"

"I said it wasn't my place to say!"

"But you're happy I'm here, right?"

Terrafin looked at him again. "Yeah," he admitted.

Slam Bam walked to the frozen dummy, using his power to shove it away- it was a move he'd wanted to try for a while. It didn't seem to have any real effect. Maybe if he put more force behind it?

"Isn't it a bit early for you, lazy bones?" Terrafin wondered.

"I thought I'd put more effort in training," Slam Bam explained. "I asked Eon to make me a warrior person here- one of you 'Skylanders'."

"Going after Kaos?"

"That's the plan. I'm nowhere near ready, though."

Terrafin crossed his arms. "Yeah you're not. You can hardly talk to people without running away. We'll need to work on that. But we have time."

"What do we do for now, then? Want to fight?"

Terrafin smirked, getting into a fighting stance. "Only if you're not too scared," he dared him.

Slam Bam got into his own fighting stance, grinning wildly. "I think you're the one who's scared!" he argued.