Hey guys. Yes, I realize I've been very late in updating all of my stories. I apologize for that, but I just want to say that it could be far worse. At least I'm not George R. R. Martin, since I'm still doing my best to give something to you. We're nearly done with this story, and from now on, since I'm no longer dealing with Writer's Block, I am going to do my very best to finish this story and all the others for you. Have a great day, and God bless!
Chapter Sixteen:
Soon Come Kaos, Kaos Soon Come
The first wave came at them, and Sunburn prepared himself. All it took was a few deep breaths, and then he was ready. He looked over at Sonic Boom, who smiled at him as a form of encouragement.
He would do anything for her, and he was almost certain that she would do anything for him. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and even though he had told her before, he wasn't sure if he had made his love as clear as he wanted it to be. He wasn't sure if she loved him quite as much as he loved her.
Even though they were facing some major odds, he knew that they would be able to work together and bring them down to size, allowing them to gain the upper hand with little to no issues.
"Sonic Boom," he said. She turned her head to him, though he could see one of her emerald eyes still looking over to the soldiers coming at them. "I know I've told you this before, but I feel like I just haven't confessed it quite as much as I should have: I love you. I would do anything for you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Even as we face possible death as we battle our enemies, I wanted to tell you so that could remain fresh in your mind."
"I love you, too," she replied without missing a beat. "I would do anything for you, as well, and even if we die here, I will die knowing that I have a reason to live. Not only my friends and my family—the Skylanders—but also you. Without you, I am not sure that I would have found as much happiness had I not joined the Skylanders and found you. Thank you for all that you have ever done for me."
"Before we enter the battle, there is something that I have to ask of you." He kept a firm gaze on her, even as the soldiers came closer. "Will you marry me?"
The question took her off-guard.
He wasn't sure if she was going to answer him. He had to admit it was a question that came out of the blue, especially given the fact they were in the middle of a battle. But he knew this might be the only time he would ever be able to ask her, in the case that they ended up dying.
He didn't think that was likely, given that Kaos's forces had never been the most powerful, but he had been trained well enough to know that one simple mistake could lead to death for even some of the greatest warriors in the history of Skylands.
As she looked him even deeper in the eyes, she smiled brightly, and her emerald eyes began sparkle. He was taken aback by just how beautiful she was.
"Yes!" she said. "I'll marry you. You've given me the greatest honor of falling in love with you, and I would happily spend the rest of my life with you." She dashed forward, and before he knew it, they were embracing. "I love you, Sunburn, and I will die for you."
"As will I," he replied.
Their faces drew closer and closer, and even though the soldiers were mere feet away from them, they didn't care. All that mattered to them now was that they were in love, and they shared a passionate kiss there in the midst of battle, not caring what would happen in the next few moments. It was perfection.
Then they broke apart and entered the heat of battle, now fully focused on taking all of Kaos's forces down. This army was not going to last, and they were going to make very short work of all of them.
"That was interesting," Whirlwind said to Camo as they watched from afar. "I don't think I'll ever see something like that happen ever again."
"If it does, then I don't think I'll ever be able to recover," Camo said. He and Whirlwind shared a glance, and then joined their allies in battling Kaos's forces.
Whirlwind found herself not far from where Sheila was hopping around and attacking enemies with her large feet and then jumping high into the air and slamming down on top of them. Several enemies were knocked back, with some of them fully decimated by the attack, and Whirlwind found herself in awe of the Kangaroo.
"That was awesome," she complimented as she sent an arc of energy at one of the other soldiers. "I wish I could do something like that. It would really help in these battles."
"Why can't you?" Sheila asked.
"I'm not a true Dragon, so my horn isn't quite as sturdy as those of Spyro and Cynder," she explained. She kicked another soldier back, and Sheila kicked them hard in the head, sending them into a wall. "So, it's possible that my Unicorn horn could break upon impact."
"Ah." Sheila grabbed one of the soldiers and threw them over to Whirlwind, who once again used the arc of rainbow-colored energy to take them out. "Well, it was good to meet you…"
"Whirlwind. My name is Whirlwind."
"That's a beautiful name. I hope to one day meet you again. Then, just maybe, we can come together and kick butt once more!"
"Here's hoping!"
Sheila hopped away, leaving Whirlwind wondering if she would ever see her new ally again. She had left an impact on her, and she really wanted to know just how much they could accomplish if they worked together when they were both at their strongest.
Camo was now a few feet away, and he found himself next to Sgt. Byrd, whom he was still a bit envious of, given that he could actually fly despite being a Penguin, while Camo was only half-Dragon and still unable to fly. He had never been made fun of since joining the Skylanders, but it was still a fact he was embarrassed about.
His Firecracker Vines made quick work of several enemies, and Sgt. Byrd used his rockets to blow up any who had survived the attack. Looking at this recent ally, Camo wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.
"Are you quite all right, chum?" Sgt. Byrd asked.
"Yeah, mostly," Camo answered. He breathed his Sun Burst and singed another soldier, then repeated the attack on another and turned them to ashes, much to his surprise. "I guess…that I'm a bit envious of you. It's kind of a stupid reason, but it's still something that I can't help but think about."
"And what might that be?"
"Well, you're a Penguin," Camo said. "A flightless bird. And yet, you're able to fly, and that's just…weird. Maybe it's not weird, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable to be around you because I can't fly, even though I am half-Dragon. I wish I had the chance to fly. But I'm just a flightless Dragon who may never know what it's like to fly on my own. Maybe it's a stupid thing to be sad about, but when there's a reminder of it not far from you, your mind kind of shifts to that, know what I mean?"
"I had something similar once," Sgt. Byrd said as he fired another rocket just past Camo, then did the same thing twice more. Each time, his rockets made their mark, obliterating their enemies. "I was laughed at by the some of the Hummingbirds that did not believe I could be similar to them, and it hurt at times. But I was able to overcome that and find ways in which I could prove myself. From what I can see, you're just fine. You have doubts, which we all do. What matters is that you keep looking at the positives!"
Camo nodded at this as he attacked another few soldiers and smashed them down on the ground, causing them to sputter and groan in pain before he finished them off. Sgt. Byrd's words gave him hope, and he felt as though he could do anything after hearing them. He never would have thought a Penguin who could fly would be able to give him such wisdom. Now if only he could find someone to give him advice about how to find the girl of his dreams.
"Thank you," Camo said, smiling widely. "That means a lot to me."
Sgt. Byrd flapped his small wings and flew away, and while Camo wished that he could one day do something like that, he was still happy enough to be who he was, and there was nothing that could ever take that away from him. He knew there was someone that he wanted to be with him forever, and while that might not happen for a long time, he was sure that she felt the same about him. Maybe one day, they would be able to share that love together.
Sunburn swooped in all of a sudden, and he looked at Camo. "Hey," he said. "I have an idea. Find the other Skylanders in your Element and remain in a group. If we can combine our abilities, then we might just be able to put an end to this quicker than if we're all separated."
Camo nodded. "That sounds good," he said. "If I find any Fire Skylanders who aren't part of your group, then I'll do my best to send them over to you."
"Thanks."
He watched Camo run past them and make his way to where Stealth Elf was working with Zook to take down a group of soldiers that had come together to try and overpower them. Watching closely, Sunburn wondered if Stealth Elf was about to run off after Zelophehad. He knew she wanted to do everything in her power to take him down, and he knew that she wanted nothing more than to go and help Spyro and Cynder against the Shadow Golem.
Ignitor and Eruptor joined him, and while there were other Fire Skylanders around them that had not joined their group, their trio was powerful enough to take several pairs of soldiers out. The vomit of lava from Eruptor turned several of the soldiers to ash, as did Sunburn's torrent of Fire from his maw. Ignitor's sword cleaved two of them apart in one quick slash. Sunburn saw a head flop onto the ground, and while it was a shocking sight, he knew there was no reason for him to focus on it.
There was his Nova Blast, but Sunburn knew not to use such an attack, since it was too long-range, capable of possibly injuring his allies, and also seriously hurting himself. He was not going to allow that to happen. He needed to find another way.
Sonic Boom had already been informed by Sunburn of his plan to gather together, and she, Whirlwind, Lightning Rod, and Warnado had come together to bring down whatever soldiers came their way.
A group of about six were already on their way, running fast. Sonic Boom unleashed her screech, causing a few of the soldiers to hold their ears and scream along with her, one of them even falling to his knees, hoping the pain might be extinguished forever. She obliged by grabbing him and kicking him across the room, into a column, where he slid down and remained still.
Whirlwind had dashed forward as Sonic Boom screeched, using her Tempest Cloud to electrocute one of the soldiers, taking them down, and then used her arc of energy to finish them off. Another Tempest Cloud was all that she needed to wound another and prevent them from recovering in time to stop the next attack. As if on cue, Lightning Rod used sent down a bolt of lightning that ended their life. Whirlwind now had a chance to defeat one that had not been part of the initial group of soldiers with her arc of energy. There was a name that had been given to the arc, but she was not much a fan of the idea of calling it a "Rainbow of Doom." She shook her head and moved on.
This left Warnado to perform his spin attack that knocked the last of the initial group across the room and stopped them another in their tracks as they approached. Just so that they would have enough time to recover after this quick squabble, he then summoned a tornado that picked up another two enemies and sent them high into the air, before finally being shot down by Whirlwind and Lightning Rod.
Bash had taken control of his Skylanders. While he was not very smart, he was still able to get the point across that they needed to take down their enemies by working together. Of course, maybe that was already understood by everyone around him the moment they realized they were in for another battle, but he could never be sure.
He slammed his clubbed tail into the leg of one of the soldiers, breaking it almost immediately. They screamed out in extreme pain, and Bash extinguished it by repeating the attack. He then rolled into a ball and made a quick dash towards another enemy, knocking them down and causing them to groan in pain. He would have taken them out, too, but his hopes were dashed by Flashwing.
Flashwing had seen Bash bowl over the soldier, and she wanted to go ahead and take them out in case the soldier was able to recover and wound him. She shot crystals into them, and their groans fell silent. Bash looked up at her in shock, and while some might have been angry with her, she saw there was still a lovestruck expression in his dark brown eyes. She grimaced, wishing that he could just give up on his quest to make her fall in love with him.
After that, she performed a spin attack that allowed the sharp crystals she was made of to slash any enemies that came near her. She was more reluctant to use this ability, as she feared that she would accidentally hurt one of her fellow Skylanders. When she was done, three more soldiers had been felled, and she felt very proud of herself.
Prism Break had seen this, and he was very happy with the progress of the Earth Skylanders. Maybe they would be the ones to take Kaos down even before Sunburn and Sonic Boom. He had no issues with them, but he did have a friendly rivalry that had begun when Sunburn first came to the Ruins to become a Skylander. Looking around the room, Prism Break located Sunburn and found that he was nearly up to Kaos. Seeing three enemies making their way to him, Prism Break concentrated and sent a beam of energy at the soldiers. They were pretty much destroyed by the attack. He did find it peculiar that these enemies didn't really bleed, but he guessed that had something to do with whatever Dark Magic Kaos possessed.
Sunburn looked back to Prism Break and nodded at him, which Prism Break returned before retaliating against a soldier who had tried to stab him with their sword. The blade glanced off the rocks and crystals he was made of, and there was no pain, but it still infuriated him that anyone believed they could try to harm him. So, he summoned a crystal out of the ground before him and used his energy beams to refract all around him, directing them towards any soldiers in his vicinity. He was able to concentrate and make sure they did not hit any of the other Skylanders around him.
When he was finished, there were very few soldiers left around him and the others.
It was Terrafin who did the most damage to the soldiers around him, tearing them apart in his sharp teeth and diving into the ground, swimming through the stone and bursting out, smashing them with his fists and ripping them in two with his bare hands. He felt so happy to be able to show just how powerful he was, because he felt there hadn't been many battles where he could actually present it to his friends and allies. Now, though, that had all changed, and he was glad of it.
Thanks to Prism Break, Sunburn's path to Kaos was clear, and he was able to jump right in front of the little tyrant. Two soldiers tried to attack him, but he turned them to ash right in front of their leader. Like Prism Break, Sunburn was not sure why these soldiers were suddenly not bleeding.
"These aren't regular soldiers anymore, are they?" he asked Kaos. "What is it that you have done to make them this way? Dark Magic?"
"Of course!" Kaos yelled. "Dark Magic is the key to everything now! Thanks to Zelophehad, we have been able to accomplish wonders!"
"'We'? You and Zelophehad, or you and whatever master you serve?"
He saw Kaos's eyes widen, and he guessed the little tyrant had just said something he had not been supposed to. A smile crossed Sunburn's face as he understood that he had caused Kaos's tongue to slip.
"You won't get anything else out of me!" Kaos continued yelling. "You and your precious Skylanders are going to be destroyed soon enough! You're already being overrun by my soldiers, after all!"
Sunburn looked around, trying to see if Kaos was actually right. But when he looked closer, he found that Kaos was trying to make everything look better for himself, to see the positives that were not there. When he turned his head back to Kaos, he could see that he was trembling. With fear or anger, Sunburn could not tell. But it didn't matter. What did matter was that he stopped this here and now, and that Kaos was defeated.
"Are we going to fight or what?" Sunburn asked. "Because it seems like you're just trying to stall me while you think of another plan." As anger flashed upon Kaos's face, Sunburn looked to the machine that was supposedly strengthening the soldiers. "Face it: Your machine does not work anywhere near as well as you want it to. You've lost, Kaos. Suck it up and surrender."
"NO!" Kaos roared. "I CANNOT LOSE! I CANNOT FACE EVEN MORE PUNISHMENT!"
Raising a brow as he heard this, Sunburn began moving closer to his foe. If he could go ahead and take him down now, then there might not be a fight. Then it might be possible to prevent any actual bloodshed.
Just then, Kaos was able to form a ball of energy that Sunburn had never seen before, and he was forced to dodge as the little tyrant sent it right at him. The ball hit a wall far behind him, and taking a quick look back, Sunburn saw that the wall had actually cracked.
This energy that Kaos somehow possessed was quite strong. If he was hit by the energy, then it was possible he would be seriously wounded. He couldn't let that happen, though. Or, even if he was wounded, he could not allow Sonic Boom or any of his fellow Skylanders and other allies to be wounded. He was going to have to end this here and now.
He heard a club slam on the ground, and he guessed it was Bentley the Yeti who had just destroyed one of the soldiers somewhere behind him. He felt satisfaction with that thought, as it meant they were one step closer to being done with everything. But he could not turn back and look to be sure. He was going to have to stay where he was and figure out a way to stop Kaos.
This was his only chance. If he did not take it here and now, he was not going to fully succeed in the mission he had been given. He would have to take Kaos on and stop him from accomplishing his hopes of destroying Charmed Ridge along with Zelophehad and the Heretic Jewel.
As another ball of energy flew at him, he dodged and sent a stream of Fire at Kaos. He was able to dodge it, but Sunburn had an idea that would allow him to come out on top in this fight.
He opened his wings and flew straight at Kaos, picking him up by the shoulders and flying him a few feet above the ground. He dropped the little tyrant, who was able to land on his feet thanks to the Magic he used to cushion his fall. Sunburn wasn't done yet, and he dove towards him. Kaos looked up and saw this, and he jumped out of the way. When Sunburn landed, a ring of Fire shot out all around him. It would have gone closer to the Skylanders, but Sunburn extinguished it just in time. It had come very close to Kaos, and he saw even more fear in the Human's red eyes. Taking advantage of this, Sunburn smiled widely and rushed towards Kaos.
Kaos sent another orb of energy at him, and Sunburn created another ring of Fire around himself. The orb exploded before it could hit him, but a concussive wave threw him back, and he hit the ground hard. Pain spread through his body, though it was not too bad.
Kaos laughed, and rage seeped through Sunburn's body.
"Now it's time for me to deal the final blow!" Kaos announced to everyone.
"I don't think so!" Sonic Boom said, appearing right behind him. "It's time someone shut you up!"
Watching from afar, Trigger Happy worked with Agent 9 to shoot down any enemies that dared to near Sunburn as he fought with Kaos. Thus far, they had been very successful, and Trigger Happy did not see how the Skylanders could possibly lose.
"We're doing good!" he said to Agent 9. He combined his golden guns and cackled as he shot the coins at every single soldier that took note of either him and the Tech Skylanders or Sunburn and Sonic Boom as they took on Kaos.
"I'd say so!" Agent 9 agreed. He then added to the soldiers, "Hey guys! I think you missed your dancing lessons! Let's boogie!"
He shot wildly at the soldiers, blasting one in the chest and another in the head. He then shot at the feet of another, resulting in them attempting to dance away from the attacks, only to find that Agent 9 was not about to let them out of his sights.
Trigger Happy finished them off when Agent 9 took a quick break to breathe, and the two high-fived when they realized that they and the other Tech Skylanders had been able to take down almost every soldier around them.
"You know, if you ever need a place to hang out and have fun," Trigger Happy said, "you're welcome to come to the Ruins and maybe even become one of the Tech Skylanders. You'd be perfect!"
"I'd love that!" Agent 9 said. "Unfortunately, I'm still needed here in the Forgotten Realms. But I might still visit one of these days." Right as he spoke these words, a soldier tried to sneak up on him, but Drobot swooped down and took care of them. "Not only to have fun with you, but also to meet that guy! He's nearly as awesome as you are!"
Behind them, Gill Grunt had taken control of the Water Skylanders and was trying to help them take down every last soldier that had confronted them. Besides himself, he had Slam Bam, Zap, and Wham-Shell, all of whom he was extremely proud of with their progress in taking down their enemies. Along with them was the Yeti known as Bentley. While it was strange to have two Yetis on the same team, he still felt Bentley belonged among them.
"Come here, you conniving beasts! You are not going to escape our sights!" Bentley boomed at the soldiers around them. He raised his giant club made out of ice and slammed it down upon the first one who tried to come close. When another attempted to do the same, all the tall creature from the Outpost had to do was lean down, grab them by the throat, and toss them over to Slam Bam.
The four-armed Yeti from the Empire of Ice was able to slam them down upon the ground, too. He then created his Ice Prison, freezing two soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be in the path of it. With them frozen in place, Slam Bam ran at them and broke the Ice Prisons, thus shattering the soldiers within them. While that did not always happen, he had to admit that he was happy whenever it did.
The two Yetis shared a look of happiness, and then they both high-fived. Even though Bentley was not the biggest fan of his four-armed counterpart, since he had seen and heard about how he treated his good friend Spyro's mate Cynder—whom he believed was truly beautiful and a perfect fit for Spyro—he still believed one should not treat their allies poorly in return.
Zap was not quite as powerful as those around him, and he was also much smaller, especially when he was near the Yetis, but he did not let that stop him from delivering blows that would stop the soldiers in their place and prevent them from taking over this beautiful Realm. He slid towards one who came at him, and then leaped out of their path when they were close enough, causing them to slip into the slime Zap had left behind. As they tried to orient themselves again, Zap concentrated and caused the slime to electrocute the soldier. That one then fell.
Another approached, more cautiously than the last, and Zap sent a blast of yellow Electricity at them. They were literally and figuratively shocked, and soon fell over from the damage the attack had caused. Zap felt very proud of himself as a result.
Wham-Shell was similar to Bentley in that he also had a heavy weapon that could be used to bludgeon his enemies. The difference for him was that his mace was also spiked, and so it caused even more damage than the ice club. As one soldier tried to dash at him and impale him with a sword, Wham-Shell brought down the mace, crushing that soldier but also electrocuting another who had come too close. Thus, with just one heavy smash, he had defeated both his enemies.
Gill Grunt could not have been prouder. His Element and Bentley had been able to show their prowess, and he was now the only one who still had enemies to deal with. He just had to raise his harpoon gun. Pressing one button released water that wet the floor and caused three soldiers to slip, and whilst they were distracted, he pressed another trigger that sent three harpoons into their chests, causing them all to fall over and die. With that, the Water Element was victorious.
The Undead Element Skylanders were maybe fifteen feet away from the Water Element, with Hex having taken control from Cynder as she went to confront Zelophehad alongside Spyro. The Dark Elf Witch did not have to do much to stay on top in this battle, simply sending Phantom Orbs that crushed the armor of many of these soldiers, or in some cases even went straight through them before hitting a wall behind them, and then raising her Wall of Bones attack that trapped several, allowing her allies to take them down without breaking a sweat.
It was Chop Chop who immediately went after the trapped soldiers, raising his sword and shield and lopping the heads off any soldier who could not find their way out. When he had finished with them, he turned his attention to another soldier that was trying to sneak up on Ghost Roaster. He slammed his sword on the ground, and a current of bramble—made of bones—appeared and knocked that soldier away from his ally.
Ghost Roaster eventually noticed this, but he was too busy with his own group of soldiers that he could pay it much mind. When one did come too close, he transformed into a giant skull blazing with green fire that barreled straight through the soldier, and then used the spiked chain ball on the end of his tail to whip another across the face, sending them flying towards Hex, who hit them with one of her Phantom Orbs.
With the three of them nearly done with their enemies, Hex began to wonder about Cynder and how she and Spyro were doing against the Shadow Golem. She worried for her friend and ally, something she had never done before, and thus she hoped that everything would go well.
It was Stealth Elf who was possibly the most worried for them. Having actually seen the damage the Heretic Jewel could cause, and having lost so much already to both it and Zelophehad, she wanted the chance to run to the aid of Spyro and Cynder. Maybe she would be able to avenge her father by taking Zelophehad down once and for all. If she was able to accomplish that goal, then that was all she needed in order to be happy.
"Stealth Elf!" she heard Camo call. "Are you doing okay? Need any help?"
"I'm fine," she said as she jumped at one of the soldiers and impaled them through the chest with her Dragonfang daggers. When another tried to grab her, she teleported to a spot behind them, jumped up, and slashed open their throat. "But I want to get out of here soon. Spyro and Cynder might be in danger, and I want to go and help them against Zelophehad. I don't want anyone else to lose something to him, like I did."
"Then go," Camo told her. "I'll take over the Life Element for you. Then you can go and do what needs to be done. Destroy the Heretic Jewel, and then everything will be right with not only the Forgotten Realms, but all of Skylands. Now go!"
Stealth Elf nodded, and she ran in the direction where Spyro and Cynder had last been seen. A soldier tried to stop her, but she stabbed them and jumped over their body as they fell, then teleported away from another.
When she was gone, Camo smiled, happy that she would have the chance to destroy the beast who had done so much wrong to used his Sun Burst again to incinerate a soldier, and then created his Firecracker Vines to confuse one enough where Zook could join in on the fun.
Zook appeared where Stealth Elf had just been and fired his plant bazooka, sending several rockets into the path of oncoming enemies. If the main explosions of those rockets did not stop them, then the resulting shrapnel did. It hit the soldiers and caused them to fall and either writhe or scream in pain. While it looked painful, Zook was just glad that Kaos was one step closer to losing. He hated the little tyrant, like everyone else, and wanted him to just shut up and surrender already.
Stump Smash was the last of Life Element present who was embroiled in the battle. He was actually having a fair bit of fun with the soldiers who tried to turn him into lumber. Whenever they came with swords and axes, trying to see if he was going to let his guard down and allow them to win, he instead performed a whirlwind of punches by spinning around and slamming his thick stump-like arms and hands into them. The soldiers who had the misfortune of being hit flew across the room and hit walls and the ground, then were finished off by any other Skylanders around.
"DROP THE HAMMER!" he roared at one of the soldiers who fell at his feet, before bringing down one of his stumps and smashing them.
The Life Element had been able to accomplish their mission. Now all Camo could do as he beamed at his fellow Skylanders was think about how Stealth Elf would defeat Zelophehad. If she was able to help Spyro and Cynder take him down without any of them suffering a single scratch or wound, then he would be even happier than he was right at this moment. Maybe it was a long-shot, but he had so much hope in him at that moment.
That left only the Magic Skylanders. With Spyro having gone to stop Zelophehad, they were being led by Voodood, who was doing everything in his power to lead them to victory. It was not an easy job, though, and Voodood had to admit that Spyro was made of much sterner stuff than he, as he had to not only lead his Element, but also the entirety of the Skylanders. How the heck was he able to do it?
"We can do this," he told himself. "We can do this, and we are not going to fail! Throw whatever you want at us, Kaos, and just see how badly you are going to lose!"
His axe had been sharpened just before they left for the Forgotten Realms, and he was going to use it to the best of his ability. Three soldiers came at him, and he used the axe to lop one's head clean off. It hit the floor, and one of the soldiers looked down at it and yelled in fear. Before he could continue yelling, Voodood put him out of his misery with a swing through their chest. There was only one left, and they looked up in fear, too. Voodood was not sure what these things were made of, but it did not matter. He had seen what Dark Magic could do to different individuals, and so he was sure these soldiers were no longer the same as truly living creatures. That meant he didn't mind using his axe and performing his Axe Reaver move, which swept sideways through the soldier. Moments later, the two halves of them fell to the floor, and Voodood sighed with relief.
Looking around, Voodood saw a soldier coming near Wrecking Ball. Without hesitation he sent the axe towards the soldier using his Zipline move, and the blade impaled them. When Wrecking Ball saw what had happened, he nodded at Voodood, who nodded back before returning to his oncoming opponents.
Wrecking Ball had always understood that he was at a disadvantage compared to the other Skylanders. He had no arms and only very small legs, but that did not prevent him from attempting to prove himself. When one of the soldiers stepped in front of him, Wrecking Ball sent his super long tongue at them and slapped them hard across the face. Before they were able to recover from the attack, Wrecking Ball jumped forward and opened his mouth wide, being able to swallow them. His exhaustion seemed to dissipate somewhat as a result, and he felt rejuvenated. Another that tried to squish him by jumping up and stepping on him was surprised when Wrecking Ball curled up into his ball form and rolled away. When they were trying to find him, Wrecking Ball turned around and rolled right at them without missing a step, with a forcefield now surrounding him. He hit the soldier, and they were thrown back.
Double Trouble was the one who caught them, and he used his staff to batter them to the ground, where they fell into unconsciousness. Ignoring them, he turned his sights onto four other soldiers and locked on to them with his staff before firing his Eldritch Beam at them, taking them all out before any of them could even blink. That gave him the chance to run forward and whirl around as the previous soldier woke up and stood to their feet, ready to attack Double Trouble. But before they could come any closer, Double Trouble conjured a mindless double of himself and sent it straight into the soldier. Upon impact, it exploded, and the soldier was gone. Double Trouble then smiled.
Voodood saw this, and he smiled to himself, too. As he looked around, he could not help but be shocked as he realized there were so few soldiers still around.
There were two more soldiers that stood among the Skylanders and their allies. Looking around, each and ever Skylander wondered who would be the one to take them out. Without any deliberation, however, Sunburn and Sonic Boom flew away from where they had been fighting Kaos and landed where those soldiers were standing.
"Looks like your 'stronger' soldiers have come to an end, Kaos," Sunburn said. "I thought they were supposed to pose a challenge, but honestly, I've found waking up in the morning to bring more hardship."
Kaos was now shaking with anger, fists clenched.
"This is the end," Sunburn continued. He inhaled deeply, and then unleashed another torrent of Fire that engulfed the penultimate soldier. When he stopped the flow from his maw, there was nothing but ash left behind.
All eyes went to Sonic Boom, who did not say a single word. She used her sonic screech, and the soldier in front of her fell to their knees and screamed. She stopped, and then dashed forward and twisted their neck, taking them out.
And thus, the soldiers were gone.
Every hero turned their attention now to Kaos, who was still shaking. It could be seen that he was also trying to figure out what he was possibly going to do.
"Do you even know what your next step is going to be?" Sonic Boom asked him. "Do you even know if you could ever stand a chance against the Skylanders? Because, judging from this whole adventure…it doesn't seem like it."
"THAT DOES IT!" Kaos roared. "I am going to kill every single one of you! I don't need those soldiers to take you all out! I still have my machine, and with that machine I can make myself more powerful than any of you!"
Sunburn returned his attention to the machine, and he knew he was going to have to destroy it before Kaos had a chance to use it to its fullest potential. Sure, it hadn't been able to help the soldiers Kaos sent after them, but that didn't mean Kaos couldn't somehow make it work.
He'd seen just how powerful Kaos could be in the short while since he'd been made a Skylander, and Sunburn did not want to see Kaos become even more powerful than someone like Eon. Maybe that wasn't possible, but he wasn't about to find out whether or not it was.
"We have to destroy the machine!" he announced to the Skylanders and other allies. "Concentrate all your power on it and stop Kaos!"
Kaos had already begun running to the machine, and Sunburn opened his wings so he could fly to it as fast as possible. When Kaos was only a few feet away, Sunburn blasted a ball of Fire at the machine. It collided, and the machine shuddered.
It didn't seem like it had done quite as much damage as Sunburn had hoped, but that didn't matter. So long as he could keep the damage coming, then Kaos would be prevented from gaining his power.
He was joined by Sonic Boom, who used her sonic scream to cause the machine to shudder again. She had to stop only a few moments later, though, and Sunburn saw that she was exhausted. After the number of battles and the long journey they had been on, he wasn't surprised. He was beginning to feel exhaustion, too, but he knew they could not stop. He looked around and saw Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy were now approaching. Kaos had already reached the machine, but Gill Grunt still sent three harpoons into the machine, and even greater damage spread through it. It worsened as Trigger Happy's coins hit and bounced off its surface. Dents appeared, and Sunburn was sure he saw cracks forming in the metal. Kaos whirled around, and Sunburn saw his eyes were beginning to glow. Fear found its way into his heart, but he pushed it away as he witnessed a ball of energy again form in his right palm, aiming it at…Sonic Boom.
Sunburn watched as the orb came closer and closer to the Griffiness he loved, and before it could hit her, he stretched his right wing into its path. He screamed in pain as it collided. Blood streamed from the wound the orb had created, and while it blended in with most of his wing's feathers, it dripped freely from the tips of his feathers onto the ground below. Kaos prepared another ball of energy, but he was knocked away all of a sudden by one of Whirlwind's rainbow arcs. He hit the ground, and while he raised his head moments later, he was clearly disoriented.
Taking this chance, Sunburn flew down and concentrated all his energy on the machine. Along with Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy, Sgt. Byrd, Agent 9, Whirlwind, and Hex, he threw as much power as he could in his attack. Fire, harpoons, coins, missiles, plasma bullets, a rainbow arc of energy, and Phantom orbs hit the machine. It cracked and sputtered and shuddered, and within moments Sunburn understood that he and his allies needed to get as far away from it as possible. He opened his wings again, despite the stinging pain left by Kaos's attack, and dashed away.
Moments later, the machine exploded, sending flames and machinery everywhere. It was now gone, and Kaos was powerless. They had succeeded. The Skylanders had won.
"NO!" Kaos shouted. "NO! I cannot have lost! I have to win! I have to win! This cannot be possible! No! No! NOOOO!"
"Oh, shut up!" Sheila said as she hopped forward, kicking him in the chest.
He went flying again, and Sgt. Byrd now flew towards him, sending a missile into him. It only knocked him back, not exploding until it hit a wall behind him. Bentley arrived and slammed his ice club into Kaos. Now Agent 9 ran at Kaos and began shooting at his feet like he had with the soldier before, causing Kaos to dance around, hoping he was not hit.
When it was done, Kaos was out of breath, and he did not know what he was supposed to do. His plan had failed, and he was surely be punished for his failure. What was his master going to say? What kind of punishment lay in store for him?
He did not know for sure, but it did not matter now. All that mattered was the fact that his punishment was coming, and he could not stop it. It caused him to tremble, and in the face of the Skylanders around him, he appeared as though he was afraid of them.
"It's over, Kaos," Sunburn said. "So, you're either going to come with us, or you are going to go far away from here. You will either remain in custody somewhere, or you will go into exile, where we will not see you again for a very long time, hopefully. So, what's your decision?"
"I-I-I don't know," Kaos replied. "But if I had to choose, then I assume that my worst punishment will come from returning to my master. Oh well. I'd prefer that to staying with any of you freaks. So long, Skylanders! You have not seen the last of…KAOS!"
With that, he used magic to disappear from their sight. When Sunburn turned back to the Skylanders, he saw Slam Bam looking at him incredulously.
"Why aren't we going after him?" he demanded.
"Because there are far more pressing matters to attend to," Bentley replied before Sunburn could even open his mouth. "Forgive me, Sunburn, but I believe it's better if we go and find out what has become of the Heretic Jewel and Spyro and Cynder, don't you think?"
"Yes," Sunburn said.
Before he knew it, Cali appeared, and she was running in the direction of the battle between Spyro, Cynder, and Stealth Elf against Zelophehad. "Cali, what is it?" Sonic Boom asked.
"We need to help them," Cali answered. "Something's gone wrong."
"Oh God," Sunburn said.
With that they ran in that direction, with Sunburn and Sonic Boom both praying that they would not find a truly horrible sight when they arrived.