And here we are! Chapter two baby! I wonder what will happen here~
Watch Seeker: Thank you for the kind words! And yes, Chihiro is Japanese, as are her family members!
"So, how long has she been gone again?" Cynder asked from the front row of Skylanders.
It had been several hours since Chihiro had left for school, and each of the Skylanders anxiously awaited their return from their positions on her dresser, which she had reassured would be safe to stay at since her relatives were all away. Schools on Earth seemed to last an eternity… Or maybe it just felt that way. There was no clock around to truly tell.
"About four, five hours now, maybe?" Spyro said before he heaved a tired sigh, "Listen guys, calm down. She'll be home anytime, and once she gets back we can go back to Skylands and stop Kaos."
The chatter died down for a bit upon hearing Spyro's words, before another voice piped up—Whirlwind's.
"What do you think happened to Master Eon? I didn't really see him when the Core was destroyed…" Whirlwind said before she gulped, "Do you think he's…dead?"
Spyro was struck by silence as he heard Whirlwind's words. The thought of Master Eon's body, incinerated to ashes by the sheer power of the Core's explosion, or battered under heavy wreckage from the battle made his blood turn cold with fear.
"Oh I'm sure he's alive, Whirlwind! I mean, he's been through a lot worse all these years, he could survive a little explosion, right? I mean, if we could survive it—"
"Nevermind, Spyro. Like you were saying, I'm sure he's fine, it was just…Nevermind," Whirlwind's voice faltered off as she stared out the window.
Outside, the streets of Treasure Lake were barren save for the ever-present rows of houses and forest, a few elderly people who walked their dogs or an occasional squirrel who crossed the road, and… Some kind of big, yellow machine?
Whirlwind watched intently as the big yellow machine parked itself outside of Chihiro's house with a grinding stop. In moments, somebody pushed open the door, skipped down its steps and waved goodbye as the machine drove away to its next destination—somebody with night black hair and a cheery beam…
"She's here!" Whirlwind exclaimed with utter glee as she watched Chihiro run up the flattened stone path that lead to Chihiro's house, a stone parh which was apparently called a "driveway."
"She is?" Spyro shouted as his eyes darted all around the room—but he was too far back to actually see anything.
Excited clamor bounced around the walls as all the Skylanders metaphorically pushed their way into the window's view. It was almost time! They could finally go back home! As if to amplify their excitement, the sound of a door opening reached all their ears as an ever familiar voice rang through the mostly-empty house.
"Guess who's baaaaaaaack!" shouted Chihiro, her voice peppy and upbeat.
"That's her!"
The sound of footsteps echoed through the house as the door to Chihiro's room swung open to reveal nobody else but Chihiro!
She, at the moment, was dressed in a pale gray vest with a silver zipper layered on top of a white sweater, gray-black sweatpants and lighter gray boots. A dark violet and black backpack was slung across her shoulder and a twinkle sparkled in her eyes. Her ever-trademark beam was present on her face, as if to show that she was just as eager to get to work as they were to get home.
"Who's ready to save Skylands?!" Chihiro announced, her voice eager and full of excitement as she heard cheers of joy and eagerness erupt across the room, "That's the kind of enthusiasm I like to see!"
She then tossed her backpack on her bed and gathered the Skylanders in her arms before she ran off to the living room.
"Let's go save the world!"
§A few minutes of setup later§
"Okie dokie, portal's set up, game's running, and everything should be good!" Chihiro chirped as she grasped the base of Spyro's figure in her palm and gently placed him on the portal.
As purple lights shone from the stone portal, Spyro flashed onto the screen and struck a pose.
"All fired up!" Spyro shouted while he took a proud stance.
And with that, he flew up and the image on the television changed to another—an image of a chain of islands broken apart from each other, the houses that topped them crumbled and debris scattered across their surroundings skies. On the largest island, there was what seemed to be a furry brown mole who wore glasses much too big for their head and a crisp green jacket with a book-filled lapel. With the way they paced around what remained of the island, one could tell they were only inches away from a nervous fit.
The sound of a crash was heard nearby, and the mole jumped at least three feet in the air before they turned around and found a deflated hot air balloon with a torn-up basket crashed nearby. The mole then sighed and rolled their eyes, their anxiety traded off for frustration.
"Who's that?" Chihiro asked, her eyes focused on the furry mole as she tilted her head.
"That's Hugo! He's alive!" Gill Grunt shouted, all manner of relief in his voice, "But what's he doing here? He almost never leaves the citadel, much less our island!"
"Hugo!" shouted a masculine-sounding voice as a person pushed through the rubble.
This person was a muscular, orange caracal-like creature with blue eyes and brown facial markings. They were dressed in a brown pilot's jacket and hat, gloves, and shoes, black pants, a red scarf, and goggles set neatly on top of the hat. They were covered in shallow scratches and clothing rips, yet still had the biggest smile on their face—whatever pain or shock they faced appeared to be minimal, as if this was routine for them.
"Wow, parking sure was easy! With all those balloons flying off, there were spaces everywhere!" exclaimed the caracal as they jumped out from the wreckage and dusted themself off.
Hugo gave them a very frustrated look as he twisted his lapel.
"Flynn, you do realize those balloons are EVACUATING, right?" Hugo asked as he frowned deeply, clasped his wrist and grimaced at the fleeing balloons.
"Ohhhh, that makes a lot more sense." Flynn's smile turned to a grimace, "So, why are they evacuating?"
"I'M NOT SURE! COULD IT BE BECAUSE THE WHOLE ISLAND'S COVERED IN TORNADOES?!" Hugo paced around the island and gnawed on his nails, "Oh, of all the places we had to land at, why here? The island's being blown to bits!"
"Now buddy, let's calm down, I'm sure it's not a TOTAL disaster—"
Hugo simply ignored Flynn and curled up into a ball on the ground. As he sat there, he fiddled with the lapel of his jacket while tears of fear and sorrow welled in his eyes.
"First, the Core of Light gets destroyed," Hugo muttered with a notable pained tone, "Then the Skylanders disappear to who-know-where and Master Eon,"—Hugo stopped himself and sniffled for mere moments before he burst into full-out sobs—"MASTER EON'S DEAD!"
Gasps were heard all around the room for moments before the Skylanders all fell silent, as some shook while others were numb from shock.
"Now guys, there's no need to panic," Whirlwind said, though the trill in her voice betrayed her true feelings, "Maybe Master Eon went into hiding or something and Hugo just thinks he's dead because he can't find him, I mean, that's always like Hugo, assuming the worst of every situation!"
Whirlwind chuckled, but it was clear to those around that her laughter came from anxiety, not glee.
"And now," Hugo croaked between tears and hard gasps, "I'm gonna die on this ransacked shell of an island all because of—"
"Because of what, Hugo?"
A familiar voice came to Hugo's attention as he turned around and was greeted by Spyro! Hugo's eyes cried tears of joy as he stumbled over and wrapped his arms around Spyro in a tight, gleeful hug.
"SPYRO! OH THANK THE ANCIENTS, YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE—"
"Okay, Hugo, personal space there," Spyro said as he reeled back just slightly.
Hugo giggled sheepishly and stepped back, before he wiped his tear-stained glasses on his jacket and made eye contact with Spyro once more.
"So, give me the details. What's been going on while we've been gone?" Spyro asked with a furrowed brow.
"WE?! YOU MEAN THE OTHER SKYLANDERS ARE ALIVE TOO?!" Hugo's eyes widened with glee once more.
"You bet!" Spyro nodded with a slight, toothy smile, "They're hanging out on Earth with the new portal master!"
'YOU FOUND ANOTHER PORTAL MASTER?!" Hugo tackled Spyro into a joyful hug once more, "THIS IS AMAZING NEWS, SPYRO! NOW WE FINALLY STAND A CHANCE AGAINST KAOS!"—Hugo then let loose on his grip and gave Spyro a confused look—"But first off, what's Earth?"
"Long story, explain on the way. But first, how have things been over here?"
"Not good," Hugo's tone turned solemn as he turned away from Spyro and fiddled with his jacket's lapel once mor, "In the time that you've been gone, Kaos has taken over most of Skylands! He's been conquering villages and laying entire cities to waste, and evil has had a stronger hold on Skylands than ever before!"
"In just one day?" Spyro asked, surprise in his voice, "I knew Kaos would've started his conquest as soon as possible, but that's fast even for him!"
"That's the thing, Spyro," Hugo said, his voice having grown even more solemn than before.
"You haven't been gone for a day. You've been gone for six months."
§
"SIX MONTHS?!" Spyro exclaimed as his pupils turned small.
There was no way six months could've passed in the hours he was gone! Anyone probably could have guessed that the passage of time would be different here but… Six months?!
Hugo only nodded his head. The somber look in his eyes tried to act sympathetic, but it only intesified Spyro's shock and worries.
"What happened to the others?! Flynn?! Persephone?! Cali?!" Spyro looked at Hugo with frantically-moving eyes before his voice grew desolate and weak "…Eon?"
Hugo heaved an empty sigh and clasped his hands together. Whatever he had it say, it wasn't good. Then again, he did say Eon had died earlier, but, that couldn't be true… Right?
"Eon's dead, Spyro."
Spyro's expression went from panic to complete shock. His jaw hung agape as the words escaped him, his mind surely filled with all sorts of potential conclusions, potential strings of hope that Master Eon hadn't perished in some form…
"No, he can't be dead!" Spyro finally exclaimed at last, his heroic facade cracked with desperation, "Maybe he's just—"
"Whatever you're about to say, I'm afraid it isn't true," Hugo croaked, barely able to speak himself as he hung his head while tiny tears dropped onto his glasses, "I found his corpse in the aftermath of the battle. We've lost him."
Spyro went completely silent. His eyes dodged Hugo's line of sight and his whole body drooped down as he stared at the ground. The solemnity of Hugo's expression and voice only proved that Hugo wasn't lying…
Master Eon was really dead.
"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way, Spyro." Hugo gently laid a paw on Spyro's shoulder.
Spyro then shook his head and stood tall. As he flared his wings, Spyro looked back up at Hugo with determination in his eyes and gently moved Hugo's paw away.
"There's no time for me to mourn when there's a universe that needs to be saved. What about the others?" Spyro asked, a noticeable crack in his voice.
Hugo then brushed his paw against his chin before his expression fell once more.
"Cali went to investigate some kind of disturbance a week ago, and we haven't heard from her since," Hugo wrung his hand against his chin and frowned, "Persephone was called back to the fairy kingdom after the Core's destruction, and we haven't heard a word from her since then either."
"So it's just us?" Spyro's tone became grave as he dug his claws into the earth.
"That's where you're wrong." Hugo's tone went from grim to frustrated as he made a grimace, "Unfortunately, Flynn is still with us."
Flynn awkwardly waved his hand as he bent down to meet Spyro's line of sight.
"Good. Without Eon around, we're gonna need him to get us from place to place," Spyro breathed a sigh of relief, "So, what's the situation here?"
Hugo breathed in, gathered his thoughts, and spoke up once more.
"We're not entirely sure ourselves. It looks like a tornado struck the island and now everything's in complete disarray!"
Spyro took to the skies and looked out to the rest of the island, where a tornado brewed with winds that whipped wildly about. As he flapped in place, fires of determination burned in his now-red eyes.
"That's good enough for me." Spyro's gaze turned steely while his voice grew more determined, "We're launching a full-scale evacuation—get as many people out of here as you can! I'll go up ahead and see who I can find, you guys investigate the rest of the area!"
"Got it, Buddy-O!" Flynn exclaimed as he saluted Spyro.
In moments, the unspoken plan was engaged—Flynn ran off to the western half of the island, Spyro himself flew off north to investigate more and Hugo stayed in his place, his frown having deepened as he watched Spyro.
"SPYRO, WAIT—" Hugo shouted, but he didn't get to finish what he was planning to say.
The winds' howls grew much stronger, and the winds themselves grew much more violent than before. They pushed against Spyro, who was unable to resist and got flung right into a nearby tree before he slid down weakly.
"Ugh, my head," Spyro moaned as he flopped over on his back with a paw rested on his forehead, "Okay, I flew right into that one,"—Spyro then shook his head and took back to all four paws—"This time, I'm staying on the ground. It's too dangerous to fly."
"That's what I was going to say," Hugo grumbled as he crossed his arms.
However, Spyro paid no mind to Hugo and instead flew off, while Hugo heaved a sigh and ran off to meet up with Flynn.
Chihiro watched the whole thing unfold with shining eyes, her hands clasped onto the controller loosely and her heartbeat slowed as a warm, excited feeling fell over her.
"What is this feeling?" She whispered as she let the controller fall to the floor, "Is this what being home feels like?"
Meanwhile, Spyro ran around the island as he looked around for any stray citizens that needed to be evacuated.
Just then, the winds grew wilder and orbs of whipping winds shot out from nearby tornadoes!
Spyro just nearly dodged one as it grazed his wing, but the other hit him straight in the chest and threw him into a nearby tree. As he shook his head, Spyro groaned and closed his eyes, focused on the tornado with all his might. With a deep breath inwards, Spyro's eyes shot open wide and he channeled the winds of the tornado. As he did this, he unraveled the tornado with all his might!
Chihiro watched all this from the safety and comfort of her couch with sparkling eyes, and felt this warm fuzzy feeling as it grew even stronger.
"Spyro's so cool!" She barely whispered, her smile having grown wider as she bounded off of the couch, "Go get 'em Spyro! You can do it!"
Just as Spyro finished deconstructing the tornado, the winds wrapped around him and caused him to hover in midair! Then, another tornado spat out three more of these wind orbs, though unlike the others they landed flat on the ground and stayed static.
Well, for a few moments anyway.
Spyro fell to the ground as his eyes returned to gold, before he tilted his head in confusion.
"So, is something gonna happen or…" Spyro asked with a tilt of his head.
The orbs then exploded before they reformed into monsters of wind with blank eyes, square jaws that had too many teeth and bulky, spike-covered bodies.
One of them immediately raced towards Spyro and slammed into his scaly body, which caused him to tumble backwards and fall on his back.
"Yeah, I shouldn't have said anything." Spyro staggered up before he regained his strength and turned to face Chihiro, "Chihiro, I don't know if you can hear me, but I could really use some backup right about now! Just saying!"
He then narrowly dodged the other two monsters as they ganged up on him while the winds around them whipped even more violently than before.
"Roger that, Spyro!" Chihiro shouted with an eager salute.
In moments Chihiro was on the case as her fingers danced between the other Skylanders, grabbed the first character she could lay hands upon and slammed their figurine onto the portal. She was admittedly in a bit of a rush—hopefully the character selected could be of use…
In mere moments, the image of Gill Grunt flashed upon the screen along with a splash of clean ocean water.
"Fear the fish!" Gill proclaimed as he cocked his harpoon cannon.
Then, with a flash of radiant blue light, he disappeared from the screen before he reappeared next to Spyro.
"Man, am I glad to see you, Gill," Spyro said with a toothy, relieved smile.
"Likewise," Gill agreed as he beamed back at Spyro.
They then focused their attention on the monsters before them. As they watched their foes, Gill cocked his harpoon gun once more and Spyro flared out his wings. For those five minutes or so, there was an peaceful standstill between them and their foes...
Then, all manner of chaos broke loose!
As the monsters blew gusts and threw punches, Gill doused them with heavy streams of scorching water from his cannon.
Weight increased from this new burden, the monsters couldn't help but collapse to the ground. They struggled as much as they could to get up, but they had grown so heavy that their bodies felt more like hundred ton weights against the forces of gravity.
"Your turn now, Spy!" Gill shouted as he drew back with a nod.
Spyro only nodded back in response, then his eyes flashed a deep cobalt in color as he stepped forward. Spyro took a breath in, screwed his eyes shut and became utterly focus on these monsters—and the water that weighed them down.
This caused the water to take to the skies in several powerful, unyielding streams with the monsters they once carried freed of their heavy burden!
As the monsters got up and tried to figure out what exactly was going on, Spyro combined the streams into one big orb of water and dropped it back down on the monsters into one big waterfall!
The monsters could only scream in garbled horror as the water assaulted their bodies, before the pain and tension grew too heavy for them to bear—so they merely vanished in midair!
With a smile, Spyro and Gill high-fived each other only to hear what sounded like cheers of delight! They turned around to find that hidden behind what looked like a ruined village were several furry, bear-like mabu who wore all sorts of plain-looking clothing.
"The Skylanders have returned to save us!" cheered an adult mabu who wore a simple tan shirt and trousers as they withdrew from the wreckage, "Three cheers for our heroes!"
"HIP HIP—"
"There's no time for celebration! We're arranging a full-scale evacuation of the island, you have to go before it's too late!" Spyro shouted as he glided over and pointed a paw towards Gill, "Gill Grunt here will take you guys back to the docks. There should be emergency balloons waiting to take passengers."
The mabu opened his mouth to speak once more, but Spyro gently nudged him with his horns.
"Go, go, go!"
The small crowd of mabu were ushered along in a quickly-moving line as Gill looked towards Spyro and opened his mouth.
"The docks should be at the beginning of the island, just keep following the path." As Spyro spoke, he pointed a clawed toe at a stone path that was mostly intact the fact that several stones were pulled out, "Keep an eye on them and make sure nobody gets hurt to the best of your ability. I'm gonna go up ahead and see if I can find the source of all this wind."
Gill nodded with silent understanding before he ran back and led the very back of the line, while Spyro, meanwhile, continued his journey up head. As they explored, the speed of their runs conveyed a sense of urgency—which was understandable, given hat they were standing in the heart of a natural disaster.
The other Skylanders impatiently watched all this unfold with Chihiro, who watched with excitement and a pounding heart.
"Chihiro?" said someone from the crowd of Skylanders, "Chihiro? Chihiro? Earth to Chihiro!"
Chihiro shook her head as she looked down and tried to figure out who was calling her.
"Chihiro, are you alright?" asked the voice, who Chihiro immediately recognized as Whirlwind.
"You bet'cha!" Chihiro chirped as she picked up Whirlwind until they were both face to face.
Chihiro then flopped back on the couch, her back slouched as she rotated Whirlwind in her hand.
"SOOOOO, you guys wanna hear a funny thing that happened to me at school today?" Chihiro asked, a sparkle in her eyes.
"I guess so…" Whirlwind said.
Murmurs of agreement rose throughout the crowd, while Chihiro then bounced back up with glee in her expression.
"Okay, get this!" Chihiro cleared her throat and spoke so rapidly it was almost impossible to hear her, "So, I'm walking down the hall, and this girl drops a banana peel on the floor…."
§
"Weird, right? You should've sent the look on the janitor's face when he went to put his broom back! It was like he saw a ghost or something!" Chihiro exclaimed between helpless bouts of laughter.
"Did you get a word she said?" whispered one member of the crowd to another.
"Not at all," said that other member.
Chihiro fell back and continued to laugh her head off, while the others cautiously laughed along with her. As she wiped a tear of joy from her face, Chihiro stood straight once more and smiled a genuine smile of happiness, one so infectious it made genuine joy break out among the others too.
"Guys, have I told you yet that you're the best friends a kid could have?"
The awkward mumbles dissipated as Chihiro's tone turned wistful and she continued to ramble.
"I seriously mean it guys." Chihiro hung her head a little bit, almost as if she was reflecting on something not quite as happy as her disposition, then giggled and clutched the fabric of her pants, "I know we've really only known each other for like, a day, but something in me kinda feels like we were just fated to be friends! Like a written in the stars kinda deal, y'know?"
Chihiro then felt her cheeks flush and made an awkward cough.
"That probably sounds weird, I know, but thanks for being my friends, even if we've only really known each other for like. A day."
"Of course, Chihiro! You're our portal master, after all!" Whirlwind smiled to herself.
Chihiro's eyes sparkled for moments, before she gained a sappy expression as tears of happiness welled and fell down her face, like she was so overwhelmed with liquid joy that her whole body couldn't contain it anymore! Then with a wide smile, Chihiro wiped the tears from her eyes and focused back on the TV.
There, Spyro looked over the face of a grassy cliff, focused on a large twister about five times the size of the ones they had faced before. Flanked all around it was much smaller twisters, each of which seemed to act as something of a guard to the largest one.
"This looks like it's gonna be good!" Chihiro's eyes sparkled, "I'd better get snacks!"
Then without a word, she dashed off to the kitchen in a frantic yet joyful haste.
Meanwhile, the other Skylanders watched the scene as it unfolded before them, all hearts stopped and breaths bated in anticipation.
It was all so slow, like the climatic scene of an intense action movie—Spyro flexed out his wings and watched the tornado with cold eyes, his movement slowed to a few footsteps. Then, he raced forward, jumped down and dashed straight into the heart of the tornado!
"WHAT!?" shouted a chorus of Skylanders.
Chihiro dashed back into the living room immediately, a half-eaten stick of taffy in her mouth and a bowl of popcorn in her arms.
"What'd I miss?" Chihiro asked over the sound of the Skylanders' confused jabbering.
"He—just—I—HE RAN STRAIGHT INTO THE TORNADO!" shouted one voice.
Chihiro looked up and saw Spyro, who was struggling to fight against the howling winds in a blue stone room. She then dropped the bowl of popcorn she held in awe, before she realized her mistake and looked down at her feet with a scrunched expression and a frown.
"Well, that was a waste of perfectly good popcorn." Chihiro cleared her throat, "Anyway,"—Chihiro's eyes widened as she grabbed her hair and pointed at the TV—"WHAT THE HECK'S HE DOING?! HE'LL GET HIMSELF KILLED!"
"Now I doubt that," said another voice from the back, a raspy, feminine one identified as Cynder's, "In all the years I've known Spyro, if there's one thing I've learned…"
Spyro's eyes then turned completely aqua blue as he charged forward and crashed through an invisible barrier in the very center of the room.
"… Is that he always has a plan."
Cheers and hollers were heard all around as Spyro investigated the center of the room, where a shimmering sky blue orb was hovering about.
"Gotcha!" Spyro exclaimed.
He then clasped the orb in his front paws and dug his claws into its soft exterior. With a sharp crack, the sphere split open and its color faded while the winds around him dissipated into nothingness. Then, with a bright blue glow, the room disappeared!
Spyro found himself back at the island, the large tornado having disappeared along with the smaller ones around it.
"Is it safe to come out now?" asked a young-sounding voice.
Spyro swerved his head around to see where it was coming from. His eyes then focused on a reddish-orange stone platform with a large stone wall, where a tiny, colorful propeller hat peeked just above said wall.
"The tornado's gone now, you can stop hiding!" Spyro shouted with a paw cupped around his mouth.
A tiny mabu boy who wore faded blue overalls timidly walked out and examined the area, before his eyes widened with glee.
"He's right! Mom, dad, you can come out now!"
Then, a mabu man dressed in fancy frilled shirts, frilled pants and a royal purple cape stepped out alongside a mabu woman wearing a purple and white frilly gown. Chuckles of joy and relief escaped them as they noticed that the skies were clear once more and the sun was happily beating down on their heads again. The mabu man then raced towards Spyro and vigorously shook his paw, a relieved grin on his face.
"Oh thank you, thank you, kind dragon! We thought we'd be goners!" exclaimed the mabu man.
"No problem, your highness, it's all in a day's work for me," Spyro said as he awkwardly smiled and took his paw back, then watched the king withdraw his own hand, "Do you have any idea how these tornadoes showed up? Because they definitely aren't natural ones."
"Kaos came and approached us about aligning with his empire, and when we refused to ally ourselves with him, he brought out this strange, glowing object and created a bunch of tornadoes, ones much bigger than what we've ever see!"
Spyro's eyes widened before he furrowed his brow.
"Can you describe the object in question?"
"It was shaped like either a very round oval or a very tall circle, was about yey big." The mabu king made as many hand gestures as he could, "It was a bright blue in color, and it had a bunch of winds circling around it! And it had to be a very powerful object as well—I could feel the power of the Air Element resonating from it!"
Spyro's facial expression turned grim.
"That's gotta be it! And if Kaos has it…" Spyro whispered at a volume so low only he could hear.
"Anyway, aside from that," said the mabu king as he watched Spyro jolt back up to face him, "Is there anything I can do to reward you? I feel bad leaving you empty-handed after all you've done for us."
"Tell you what." A confident smile crossed Spyro's face for the first time since he arrived, "If you want to do anything for us,"—Spyro then turned around and noticed three awfully familiar figures out the corner of his eye before his vision returned to the king—"Spread the word—the Skylanders are back in business!"
Those three figures then came into view as Flynn, Hugo, and Gill Grunt joined Spyro.
"Please excuse me, I have other business to attend to." Spyro faced Gill, "So, what are the details?"
"The evacuation has been successful," Hugo said before Gill Grunt could, "Everyone has been evacuated and is being taken to shelter right as we speak."
"Good," Spyro said as he took to the skies, "Now, we need to get back home. I have a few things that need to be discussed…Privately, if you get what I mean."
"Understood, Spyro!" Flynn shouted, "Thanks to some of those rescue guys, my balloon's in tip-top shape, so it'll just be clear skies and smooth flying from now on!"
"Now I highly doubt that," Hugo whispered under his breath.
"Anywho, back to Ancient's Peak we go!" Flynn shouted, "Or what's left of it anyway."
"What was that?" Spyro asked.
However, Spyro never got his reply, as everybody just went back to Flynn's balloon and set course for home…
§One very bumpy balloon ride later…§
"Home sweet home!" Flynn shouted as he docked the balloon on the island, hopped over its side and stretched out.
Spyro flew up to get a view of the island—and his jaw dropped.
There was wreckage everywhere, from piles of rubble to singed grass to destroyed books and other things, all looking hopeless and despondent. Overgrown vines and thorns that radiated with evil energy popped up in large patches, and everything looked like it was in chaos—which was maybe a little too appropriate for the situation at hand.
"THIS IS ANCIENT'S PEAK?!" Spyro shouted, his pupils dilated from shock.
"I'm afraid so, Spyro," Hugo said as he the balloon and joined Spyro, "It was left in quite a mess after your last battle. We've done the best we can to restore it, but it's been a bigger task than we anticipated."
Gill Grunt, who had amazingly enough fallen asleep on the balloon ride there, woke up and stumbled out of the basket.
"Hey, what's everyone goin' on about—HOLY SMOKES!" Gill Grunt exclaimed before his face fell, "This is what happened while we were gone?"
Hugo nodded with a frown as he faced Gill Grunt.
Gill's frown lasted for a couple minutes more, then turned into a determined smile as he grabbed his harpoon cannon and cocked it.
"Well, before we do anything else, we've got some repairing to do!"
Gill then rushed off near the brambles and shot them with harpoons, which cut them in half and caused them to wither away into the ground, never to be seen again—hopefully.
"Gill does have a point," Hugo said, "Before we can do anything, we need to clean things up here so we can have a decent base of operations."
"Just leave that up to us, Hugo, We'll have this place cleaned in no time!" Spyro exclaimed as he flew off and set the brambles on fire.
Chihiro observed the scene before her, before she smiled a maybe too eager smile and grabbed two of the Skylanders by the bases of their figurines.
"Y'know guys, they're gonna need a lot of help," Chihiro said with a wink, "Ready to go home?"
A chorus of cheers and agreement resonated among the crowd, while Chihiro only gave off a determined smile.
"Operation repair the ruins is go!"
And with that said, she slammed Skylanders two-by-two onto the portal. As she did this, the portal slowly expanded to accommodate the growing amount of figures on its surface.
Meanwhile more Skylanders appeared on the screen, and each one immediately went to help clean up the island in any way they could. Some destroyed unwanted weeds and rubble, others magically repaired broken objects, and some simply rearranged and collected objects that had been strewn about. Many started conversations with each other or directed each other on what to do, which made a cozy atmosphere fall over everyone.
Chihiro smiled as she placed the last Skylander necessary on the portal and went back to the couch to watch. Everything felt so peaceful after that hectic first mission back home, and time seemingly slowed to a crawl… That is, until the lights around her started flickering and flashing.
"That doesn't sound good," Chihiro remarked to herself, "I hope it isn't a power outage."
Unfortunately Chihiro tempted fate and lost, because shortly after the TV zapped off, as did the lights and everything else around her! Chihiro's expression turned panicked as she frantically pressed the power button on a nearby remote control.
"Turn on, turn on, please turn on!" Chihiro begged as her eyes dashed fifty ways to Sunday around the living room.
But alas, it was to no avail—the TV still remained blank.
"NONONONONONONONONONONONONO!" Chihiro dashed off and flickered the light switches in vain hopes that it would give the power a jumpstart, but nothing worked, "NONONONO IT CAN'T GO OUT NOW, THEY STILL NEED ME!"
In those few frantic moments, Chihiro tried everything she could think of to revive her electricity. However, no matter how many times she flicked switches, toyed with machines and panicked, it was no use—the electricity was still dead and gone, as was her link to the Skylandersz
"I need to find some way to get back in touch with them, but HOW!?" Chihiro paced in a circle while she tugged on her hair, "The power's out and who knows when it's gonna come back on, but I don't have any other way to keep in touch with them! What am I—"
Chihiro turned around and noticed the portal, which still glowed in all sorts of colors arranged in a rainbow-esque array. Just then, the portal glowed even more than it usually did, which was saying something! It was so colorful, so bright, so magical it almost drew her in...
As she noted the bright colors, Chihiro's eyes sparkled and her expression turned as bright as the rainbow of lights before her.
"I know what I'll do—I'll just send myself there!" Chihiro shouted as she grabbed the portal off of her console and dropped it on the floor.
With a gulp, Chihiro grabbed the stone sides of the portal as hard as she could. As she envisioned the island's ruins, Chihiro screwed her eyes shut and focused—on the island, on her friends, on Skylands, anything that could bring her to them.
Please let this work…
She then opened her eyes and smiled widely—because there, on the portal's surface, was the Skylanders' island!
"Skylands here I come!" Chihiro jumped straight on top of the portal—and her feet were promptly sucked in!
"Wait, what!?" Chihiro exclaimed as the rest of her body slowly followed, "Guys, someone, HELLLLLLPPPPPP—"
And just like that, she was gone. The portal stopped glowing and returned to its normal size. Now, it laid innocuously on the floor while everything went silent all around the room in an almost eerie way.
§
Meanwhile back in Skylands, Spyro and Gill observed the other Skylanders as they finished their work. With the other Skylanders' help, work had gone along fairly smooth—and while it wasn't perfect, almost everything necessary for their jobs had been returned to a state of usability.
"Now THAT'S much better. Now we have an actual base to work with," Spyro said as he smelled the fresh air and smiled.
"And since that's been dealt with," Hugo said as he popped up behind Spyro, "What were those important issues you had to discuss with me?"
"Hugo!" Spyro shot Hugo a dark look, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry," Hugo apologized as he stepped back and adjusted his glasses.
Spyro then took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. After a few moments spent pondering ominously, Spyro cleared his throat.
"Okay, so, I talked with the guy who ruled over the island we saved earlier."
"And?"
Spyro then recounted his earlier conversation with the mabu king to Hugo before he took a breath.
"And judging from what he said, I'm fairly certain that Kaos had the Eternal Air Source."
"WHAT?!" Hugo jumped back slightly before he stood straight and adjusted his jacket, "Well, that would explain those strange tornadoes."
"And if he has it, it's very likely that he has the other components of the Core as well," Spyro said, "The only question is, where is he hiding them?"
Hugo looked over to the side of the island, where a large, mechanical telescope was set up.
"Well, we could use the Far-Viewer, given that it can tap into the location of basically any magical artifact or power source in existence, but…" Hugo trailed off and made an awkward frown.
"But what?" Spyro tilted his head.
"Cali's the only one who knows how to use it, and well, she's been gone for a week."
"Of course." Spyro sighed as he let his head slump for moments before he stood tall once more, "Then we'll just have to find her. Do you know where she went last?"
"If I recall correctly, she went to Perilous Pastures to investigate a strange magical disturbance last I heard of her."
Spyro took to the skies and looked over to where Flynn gushed over his newly-repaired balloon. A smile broke out across his face and reveal his sharp, white fangs—time for some action!
"Then off to Perilous Pastures we go! Gill, you're coming with me, right?" Spyro announced as he turned back and watched Gill nod his scaly head.
"I'll make arrangements with Flynn about getting us there." Spyro turned to face Hugo.
"And I'll see if I can get the Far-Viewer working by myself. Good luck!"
Spyro and Gill dashed off to talk with Flynn, and in mere moments afterwards, boarded Flynn's balloon before they sailed off.
Hugo then heaved a sigh and adjusted his lapel, his expression gone from a reassuring smile to a solemn frown.
"Oh Master Eon, I wish you were still here. Maybe you could help me make some sense of this." Hugo paused and bit his lip, "I'm glad to have the Skylanders back, but without you I feel like we'll never be able to defeat Kaos! If only another portal master was here to guide us…"
Hugo then looked up to the skies and noticed a bright white blur that shot down from the stratosphere with a path towards the island!
"WHAT IN SKYLANDS IS THAT?!"
Hugo dashed out of the way while the object plowed into the grass with a blinding flash of light. When the light cleared, he peered out and noticed that a medium-sized crater was dug into the ground where he was once stood.
"Glad I got out in time." Hugo watched as somebody staggered up from the crater with a moan and jumped once more, "W-w-w-whoever you are, stay back! I know basic magic and I'm not afraid to use it!"
"Where am I?" asked a childlike voice.
Just then, a human child with pale skin, brown monolid eyes, a large, flat nose, and black hair with spiky bangs that was dressed in all white, gray and black clothes stumbled out of the crater and passed out onto the grass.
Hugo panted heavily, but when he noticed that the person was of no harm to him, he bent down and turned them over. Thankfully, he found that they were fast asleep.
"Hugo, is everything alright? I heard some kind of—" Whirlwind asked as she flew over to meet Hugo before she took notice of the unconscious person beside him, "CHIHIRO!"
"You know this person?" Hugo asked as he looked up at Whirlwind.
"She's the portal master we found on the other place, Earth." Whirlwind fixed her eyes on Chihiro, "But what's she doing here?"
"Whatever she is, she just fell out of the sky!"
"Fell out of the sky?" Whirlwind shook her head and turned serious, "You can give me the explanation later. For now, we need to make sure she's not seriously hurt. Is the infirmary still intact?"
"Thankfully, yes."
"Then come on, help me get her set up there."
§
Chihiro groaned a tired groan as she looked up, her vision blurred beyond belief.
"I think she's waking up!" shouted a nasally, masculine voice as what looked like a brown mole pressed a paw against her forehead, "Are you alright, Chihiro?"
Chihiro's vision finally cleared and she recognized him as Hugo! She breathed a gentle sigh as she rubbed her eyes.
"I dunno? My head kinda hurts, and I can barely stay awake, but I made it to Skylands so that's good," Chihiro mumbled when she was hit by a piercing headache.
As she let out a yelp, Chihiro hung her head in her hands and moaned weakly.
"What's wrong?!" Hugo exclaimed as he jumped back himself, "Evil curse?! Forbidden magic?! A fever?"
Chihiro looked back at Hugo with a sharp pain in the right side of her head and tiny tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
"Headache."
Hugo regained his composure and nodded.
"I'm sure we have something for that. Now stay here while I go check our medicine cabinet." And with that said, Hugo raced off.
Hours seemed to pass as she waited, and during that time Chihiro looked around and gained an idea of her surroundings.
She was sitting on a fluffy, white mattress with pastel peach and red plaid blankets and pillows with peach-colored pillowcases. The floors were made of white tile, and the walls were peach in color with diamond-patterned wallpaper. To her side was a brown cabinet with a white sheet of paper taped onto it, and to the right was another cabinet with all sorts of potions and medicine bottles arranged neatly. For an infirmary, it sure seemed fairly warm and friendly.
"I'm finally here…" Chihiro whispered with a serious grasp of her situation, "I'M HERE!"
And with that, she tossed the covers off of her person, swung out of bed… And found herself face-to-face with a very surprised and slightly irritated Whirlwind.
"Chihiro!" Whirlwind shouted as she watched Chihiro stumble back out of surprise.
"Whirlwind! What are you doing here?" Chihiro asked.
Whirlwind pressed a flash of pinkish-purple liquid into Chihiro's open palm.
"It's a potion for relieving headaches. Hugo asked me to give it to you since some other business came up."
"Ooooh." Chihiro made an understanding nod.
Whirlwind cleared her throat and gave Chihiro a dark stare.
"Now, how in the name of the Ancient Elementals did you get here?!"
Chihiro whimpered and skittered back on all fours, fear on her face. As she looked up and expected an even more furious Whirlwind, her face fell when she found that Whirlwind's expression had softened instead.
"I'm sorry for raising my voice at you." Whirlwind sat next to Chihiro and wrapped a feathery wing around Chihiro's shoulders, "But I am very concerned about how you got here. So, can you explain how?"
Chihiro gulped and cleared her throat, before she gave Whirlwind a nervous look once more.
"Well, there was a power outage where I was at, and the TV went out and I couldn't see you guys anymore, and I got really worried so I used to portal to send myself here and check on you guys!"
Whirlwind's jaw dropped and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
"Did I do a bad?" Chihiro curled into a ball and looked away from Whirlwind once more.
"CHIHIRO!" Whirlwind grasped Chihiro's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye, "PORTAL MASTERS SHOULD NEVER USE PORTALS ON THEMSELVES, IT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS DISRUPTIONS IN THE MAGICAL CONTINUITY! IT'S A MIRACLE YOU MADE IT HERE IN ONE PIECE!"
Chihiro winced, scuttled back anxiously and avoided Whirlwind's gaze, her head burrowed into her knees. As she heard Whirlwind take a deep breath, she looked up again and watched as Whirlwind gently nudged her shoulder once more.
"Forgive me for yelling, but it's true. You could have seriously gotten hurt, and even if you didn't, who knows where you could've ended up!" Whirlwind looked Chihiro straight in the eye as a concerned frown fell over her face, "Promise me you'll never do something like that again?"
Chihiro regained her composure before she nodded quietly, her eyes focused on the floor rather than Whirlwind herself.
"And on top of that, we have no way to send you home! For all you know, you could be stuck here forever!" Whirlwind exclaimed.
"I'd be okay with that," Chihiro mumbled before her eyes sparkled and she jumped back to her feet, "Besides, now I can help you guys defeat Kaos!"
"What?"
"Well, you guys need the help of a portal master to defeat him, right? And now that I'm here—"
The end of Chihiro's sentence was cut off from everyone's ears as the door slammed open! Chihiro then watched as Spyro stood straight in the hallway and stared right at her and Whirlwind, his eyes raw with shock and his front paws clenched.
"Hugo told me what happened as soon as I got back," Spyro shouted, "Chihiro, how in Skylands did you get here?!"
Chihiro and Whirlwind both gave him a tired look.
"I'll fill you in," Whirlwind sighed as she leaned over and whispered the summary into Spyro's ear.
"WHAT!?" Spyro shouted, now finally caught up on the situation as he scrambled back, then looked at Chihiro and furrowed his brow, "Chihiro, you should NEVER, and I mean NEVER—"
"I already told her, Spyro, you can calm down."
Spyro only nodded and shut up. The three of them sat in an awkward circle of tension and piercing silence, with nobody really eager to talk again.
"So, if we're all here and all," Chihiro said as she teased her hair, "Then now I can propose my ingenious—"
"That'll have to wait, Chihiro," Spyro said as he flew in place, "Now that we've brought Cali back, Hugo wants me to check out the Far-Viewer so we can find the Eternal Air Source. Whatever idea you have, it'll have to wait until after the next mission."
And with that said, Chihiro pouted and watched as Spyro flew off.
Whirlwind, meanwhile, gave Chihiro a silent, sympathetic look before she followed him.
Chihiro took a peek at the flask still in her hand, before she uncorked the bottle and downed the potion in one large gulp. Of course, this wasn't a wise idea as it tasted awful. While she gagged and choked, the pain from her headache subsided!
Chihiro corked the bottle back up before she tossed it on her bed. Then with a smile, she dashed out of the room and into the hallway without a moment of hesitation—after all, her big adventure was going to start right now!
§
Outside, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Whirlwind, Hugo, Flynn, and Cali were all gathered into a cluster around the Far-Viewer. In the center was Cali, who fiddled around with the controls on the panel in front of the machine in an utter focused trance.
"Okay, add a bit of this, press a few buttons, and now turn this knob and… Done!" Cali said as she stepped back from the machine and stretched her arms.
She was a female, caracal-like mabu with dusty orange fur decorated with brown stripes, pointed ears, emerald eyes, and a slender-built body. She wore a red tank top, a brown belt and half-skirt over tan trousers, and brown boots and gloves with golden buckles.
"Thank you, Cali," Hugo said as he fixated his vision on the Viewer, his mind oblivious to the noise of the crowd that chattered among themselves.
While all this was going on, Chihiro sneaked her way in and tried to hide herself behind the bodies of this small, oblivious crowd. This only failed as she lost her train of vision, accidentally bumped into someone and stumbled back onto the grass.
"What was that?" Flynn asked before he stopped himself as he saw Chihiro.
"Frick, so much for stealth," Chihiro whispered as she watched Flynn chuckle and offer her a bulky hand.
"You need a hand, kiddo?"
Chihiro quietly nodded and took his hand. With the boost from his strength, she bolted back up with a small jump and poked her head over the small crowd that surrounded this strange machine.
"A-ha! There it is! The Eternal Air Source!" Hugo exclaimed as he looked into the Far-Viewer, then zoomed in further with a frown formed on his face, "But something seems wrong. Like, it's… possessed."
"What on Skylands are you talking about, Hugo?" Cali asked as she joined him where he was at.
"It seems like it's been infected with Kaos's magic—it's creating huge tornadoes everywhere it goes, and I'm getting strong readings of wicked magic from the Far-Viewer!" Hugo peered up a Cali as his eyebrows furrowed.
Meanwhile, the Far-Viewer sent out a tiny probe that created a magical holographic map for all to see.
"I'd recognize that architecture anywhere—that's the Stormy Stronghold!" Cali exclaimed as she glazed over the holographic map.
"Then I guess I know where we're going!" Flynn exclaimed as he turned around and made his way back to his balloon.
But before he could reach it, Cali grabbed him by the back of his jacket.
"Not so fast, Flynn," Cali scolded as she turned Flynn around to face her, "That's one of the biggest Drow strongholds in Skylands, and it's plagued with humongous tornadoes at that. Going there without proper preparations would be a death sentence!"
Flynn flushed red for mere moments, before he regained his composure and knocked a hand against his chest.
"Sure, that's what I was going to say!"
Cali rolled her eyes as she let go of Flynn and watched him examine the twisters for himself and quickly reel back.
"WOWZERS! THOSE ARE SOME BIG TWISTERS!" Flynn exclaimed before he coughed into his hand, "Hmm… If we're gonna go here and get that Eternal Air Source thingamabob back, I'm gonna need something to push me… THROUGH this storm…"
"Like a propeller?" Cali asked dryly.
"No, nothing like that," Flynn shook his head back and forth and zoomed further when his eyes sparkled with inspiration, "I KNOW WHAT WE NEED—A PROPELLER!"
Cali rolled her eyes, let out the loudest groan known to mankind, and then proceeded to bury her head in her hands.
"Now, where to find one that can withstand those storms is the next question…" Flynn mumbled as he placed a hand on his chin.
"Now that I think about it." Cali withdrew her head from her hands and peered back at Flynn, "The Drow that patrol Sky Schooner Docks are rumored to have a zeppelin with a propeller made of literal gold! If it's real, it should be just the thing we need!"
"Then I know where we're going!" Chihiro shouted before she realized that she had attracted everyone's attention and hung her head, "Dang it, Hatsuki. You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"
Cali cocked her head in confusion, as did most others in this small crowd of magical creature, while Hugo gave Chihiro a scornful look.
"Chihiro, you were supposed to stay in the infirmary!" Hugo scorned as he shook a finger at Chihiro.
"Well, I'm feeling better now so there's no reason to stay there!" Chihiro stuck her tongue out at Hugo.
"Hugo, who is this?" Cali asked as she frowned slightly and tilted her head.
"This is—" Hugo let out a shout of dismay as Chihiro pushed him aside and faced Cali.
"I'll handle the introduction, Huges," Chihiro said as she stretched a hand out to Cali, "Name's Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master extraordinaire as of yesterday apparently."
Cali curtly nodded her head before she noticed Chihiro's limp hand and shook it.
"Now, I've met a couple humans in my life, but I've never known of a single one in Skylands with five fingers!" Cali examined Chihiro's hand with wide-eyed fascination.
"That's because I'm not from here!" Chihiro retracted her hand and placed it clasped against her chest, "It's a long story."
"Anyways, introductions are great and all, but we need to get going! I'm sure that propeller won't be waiting for us all day!" Hugo chided as he shoved himself between Chihiro and Cali.
"You heard the man—er, mole," Chihiro exclaimed as she strode off towards the area where Flynn kept his balloon, "To the Docks we go!"
But before she could get there, Spyro grabbed Chihiro by the back of her shirt. When Chihiro felt this, she turned around and gave him a frustrated expression, mouth turned to a twisted frown, arms crossed and all the likes.
"There is no way you're going there, not on my watch," Spyro said, his tone firm.
"Why not?" Chihiro asked as she pouted.
"It's too dangerous. You're way too young to be fighting serious battles and —"
"But you're not that much older that I am and YOU do it!" Chihiro poked Spyro's muzzle.
"But I AM more experienced," Spyro removed Chihiro's hand from his face and frowned, "Just stay here, okay? We can't lose another portal master so soon after we found them."
"FIINNEEE," Chihiro moaned as she stomped away.
Spyro then flew over to the balloon and plopped down onto the grass next to it.
"Spyro!" shouted Gill Grunt as he zipped over and joined Spyro, "Think you could use some backup, ol' buddy ol' pal?"
"Are you sure, Gill?" Spyro asked with a look of slight hesitation, "You've been doing a lot of work today and—"
"Nonsense, Spy! I can't let my little buddy tackle dangerous missions like this on his own!" Gill gave Spyro a hearty pat on the back.
"I'm sure I'll be fine, Gill, I am—"
"Spyro, you may be one of the first and most experienced Skylanders and all, but you're still a kid." Gill coughed into his fin and gave Spyro a serious yet caring gaze, "You can't put all the work on yourself."
Spyro's eyes avoided Gill's gaze before he quietly nodded and gave Gill a weak smile.
"Okay, I guess I wouldn't mind you tagging along."
"Great! So when do we shove off?" Gill asked as he cocked his harpoon cannon with a grin on his face.
"Whenever Flynn gets here, I guess." Spyro heard the sound of panting and made a teasing smile, "Speaking of Flynn, there he is now."
Flynn joined Gill and Spyro and panted. He slouched over and rested his hands on his knees for a few minute, then he sprung up with a wry smile on his face.
"Ready to go on a flight with Skylands' best pilot in history?" Flynn asked.
"Of course," Spyro said as he playfully rolled his eyes.
And with that, the three of them walked into the balloon. Flynn untied the ropes that kept the balloon bound to the ground and they flew off, all hearts fully ready for the dangers that would befall them…
§About halfway through the trip…§
"So, how long until we're there?" Spyro asked as his eyes watched the islands pass by below them.
"We should be about halfway there, Robbie-O—" Flynn said as he spun the balloon's wheel.
"It's Spyro." Spyro continued to look down when he heard some kind of rumbling come from the floor below them and frowned, "What's that sound?"
Spyro then moved away from the side of the basket and investigated the rest of the balloon. As he gazed over the door that lead to the balloon's storage compartment, he heard a rumble and scrambled back! His breath bated, Spyro watched in minute anticipation as the door rumbled even more…
Then slammed open as none other than Chihiro popped out!
"Wew! Sitting in the bottom floor of a hot air balloon's basket is no way to travel, let me tell you," Chihiro shouted as she crawled out from the balloon and slammed the door behind her, "So, are we there yet?"
Spyro's jaw practically dropped to the floor, as did the others before he gained the most frustrated look anyone had ever seen on him.
"CHIHIRO," Spyro shouted, almost beside himself with anger, "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT THE ISLAND!"
Chihiro jumped for a bit before she turned around and scoffed.
"Well I'm the portal master and the portal master does what they want!" Chihiro crossed her arms and huffed once more, "Besides, if portal masters have all those fancy magic powers like you said, I'm sure I'll be fine!"
Spyro made what sounded like incomprehensible noises of frustration before he buried his head in his paws and moved to a corner of the balloon, all while he muttered to himself.
"So, what are we gonna do about the kid?" Flynn whispered as he looked at Gill Grunt.
"Well, we're too far ahead to go back now, so I guess she's coming with us for the mission," Gill said before he turned to look at Spyro, "What do you think, Spyro?"
Spyro took a deep breath, recollected himself, and joined the others.
"Gill's right." Spyro made a hesitant sigh, "If we turn back now, it'll be dusk before we get to the docks. So I guess you're coming with us, Chihiro."
Upon hearing this, Chihiro squealed with joy and bounced up and down with a vigor and glee so great that the entire basket shook with every jump she made.
"Just make sure you don't get hurt aND QUIT DOING THAT!" Spyro grabbed Chihiro by her shoulders and forced her to stop bouncing, which made the basket still once more.
"Sorry." Chihiro made a sheepish giggle.
And with that, they continued their flight to the docks with an extra member in tow, the anticipation now even greater than before…