"ARE WE THERE YET?" Chihiro moaned as she stared at the clouds that passed by.
It seemed like an eternity had passed since she had revealed her presence to the group, and yet they still had yet to reach their target island, the… Sky-something docks? That's what she thought Hugo called it, but it was no matter of concern—what concerned her more was how slow this trip was taking! Maybe she should've brought a game or something before she stowed away...
"Chihiro, you've asked that ten times now, and the answer is still no," Spyro replied as he pressed a paw against his face, "Go count the clouds or something until we get there."
"Fine!" Chihiro glaredat Spyro for mere moments before she looked back down at the passing skies, "One, two, three, four, five, ten, seventeen, twenty-eight, forty-one—HOLY CRAP SPYRO LOOK AT THIS!"
"WHAT HAPPENED?! DID THE DROW ATTACK?!" Spyro dashed over to Chihiro's side… And watched as she excitedly pointed at a cloud that slightly resembled a sitting rabbit.
"That cloud kinda looks like a bunny!" Chihiro exclaimed as she fixed her eyes on Spyro.
Spyro furrowed his brow and frowned deeply before he looked over the side of the basket and chuckled.
"It actually kinda does." Spyro noticed another cloud and pointed to it, "That one looks like a cat!"
Chihiro followed his gaze and her eyes sparkled.
"You're right! It looks like a cute little kitty cat!" She pointed to another cloud, "And that one looks like ice cream!"
"You're right! And I see a dog, and a flower..."
"And a bee, ew, I don't like bees, ooh, ooh and there's a monkey!"
The two of them giggled before they burst into laughter and fell to the basket of the balloon. Chihiro gently wrapped her arms around Spyro and pulled him into a warm hug, and in response Spyro's eyes widened for a bit before he pushed Chihiro away and rolled around on his side.
"So, are we there yet?" Chihiro asked as she sat up and paid attention to Flynn for a change.
"Not yet, Cheerio, but we should be there any moment now!" Flynn said as his eyes glazed over the map taped against the balloon to his side, "At least, if the map Cali gave me is correct…"
Chihiro peered over at the map as well, but with all of its crossed lines and Skylandian writing, she had absolutely no idea what it was saying.
"Yeah, forget that. I'm just gonna go back to pestering Spyro," Chihiro flopped back on the floor of the basket, "Hey. Hey. Hey,"—Chihiro poked Spyro's back once more—"Dragon boy. You gonna acknowledge me or what?"
"What?" Spyro asked as he rolled over to meet her view.
"Wanna thumb wrestle?" Chihiro held up a curled hand with an outstretched thumb, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"What now?" Spyro cocked his head.
"Thumb wrestling! You just go like this." Chihiro grabbed Spyro's paw and gently locked it around her hand, "And then you do this!"—And with that, Chihiro pushed down Spyro's toe with her thumb and giggled—"That means I win!"
"Hey, I wasn't ready yet!" Spyro ripped his paw out of Chihiro's hand, "I demand a rematch!"
"Unfortunately, your thumb battles will have to take a break for halftime, because we're here!" Flynn announced as he parked his balloon next to a small island, "All thanks to your quite dashing and talented pilot!"
This island was made entirely out of dull gray stone that was covered in barrels filled with pointed spears and other weapons, its exit locked away by a tall wooden gate. From down below, you could easily spot the other islands, which were much larger and filled with strange, pale green-skinned humanoids with blank eyes covered in armor that brandished sharp weapons.
Spyro, Gill Grunt and Chihiro quickly jumped off the balloon and situated themselves on the island before they looked back at Flynn.
"I'm gonna go on ahead to the end of the islands! Meet you there!" Flynn shouted as he saluted the group.
And with that said, Flynn's balloon floated off, its basket drifted gently in the crisp autumn breeze.
"Race you there, Flynn!" Chihiro shouted as she frantically waved to him.
She then turned around and looked the wooden gate before she hit it straight in its metaphorical face. As she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, Chihiro racked her brain while her eyes fixed themselves on the door.
I could magic it open—but I don't know any magic spells, Chihiro thought as her expression zoned out—I could break it down until there's no gate left!—Chihiro looked over the gate one more time and shook her head—Nah, that gate looks pretty tough on second thought. Maybe if Spyro and Gill helped—
The sound of loud ruckus pulled Chihiro out of her thoughts as she turned around. There, she saw Spyro and Gill Grunt rummage through the various barrels of weaponry and other assorted objects stored on the island, their eyes fixed on everything around as they urgently search.
"CAN YOU GUYS KEEP IT DOWN?! I'M TRYING TO THINK HERE!" Chihiro shook a fist at them and huffed.
No response—they just kept digging.
Chihiro muttered some certain expletives she definitely shouldn't have been saying under her breath, then looked back at the gate, balled her hands into fist and clenched her teeth.
"I HATE YOU!" Chihiro side-kicked the gate and promptly reeled back in pain.
"A-ha!" Spyro exclaimed as he fished a golden key out from under a wooden barrel, "Found the key, now let's get this—"—Spyro turned around to face the gate, then took notice of Chihiro and dropped the key as he raced to her side—"HOLY—ARE YOU OKAY CHIHIRO!?"
"Side-kicking a wooden gate was not one of my best ideas," Chihiro moaned as she staggered up, noticed the key under Spyro's feet, then grabbed it and raced to the gate.
With a smile, she jammed the key into the lock and tried her darnedest to turn the key, but it was stuck! She tried to push it in further, turn it in fifty different directions, jiggle it, but none of the solutions that came to her mind worked. After what seemed like a good two minutes of struggling, Chihiro went back to Spyro's side and pushed him in front of the key, her facial expression darkened in frustration.
"It's your problem now, Spy."
As he rolled his eyes, Spyro investigated the key for a solid minute when a wave of understanding washed over him.
"I see what the problem is. You just jammed the key in all haphazardly." Spyro pulled out the key and carefully placed the key back in the lock.
After he was sure it was in, he gently turned the key. This caused the lock to unlock and fall to the floor with a clatter while the gate's door flung open as if by pure magic—though really it was just the result of a weight being lifted from its shoulders.
"I totally knew that, I was testing you to make sure you knew how to open gates properly," Chihiro said as she patted Spyro on the back with maybe a little more force than necessary, "Now, let's go find this propeller-thingie before it gets too dark!"
Both Spyro and Gill looked at each other with knowing glances and rolled their eyes.
"GOLDEN PROPELLER, GOLDEN PROPELLER! SAY IT WITH ME!" Chihiro hooted as she darted off with wide strides and fists pumped to the skies.
"Chihiro, stop! You'll attract the guards!" Spyro took to the skies and flew after her in hot pursuit.
"And I'd better go follow them so they don't get themselves hurt," Gill whispered as he smiled to himself and started up his jetpack, "Kids."
And with that, all three of them darted across the bridge—one was in pursuit of their objective, while the other two were in pursuit of the one…
§
As she strode forth, Chihiro embraced the wind in her hair as the feeling of adventure bubbled in her chest. She was filled with so much joy that she couldn't contain it—every moment that passed made her feel like running around at the speech of a race car!
Finally, my first real adventure! Chihiro thought as her heart pounded with excitement and pure elation…
That is, until she ran into something and tumbled back in pain. After she landed on her rear and looked up, her heart stopped.
There, straight in front of her, was a pale green-skinned humanoid with pointy ears and blank white eyes dressed in red and silver armor who brandished a shiny silver spear. Next to them, another elf of identical appearance dressed in silver and red armor that held a sword in their hand stood menacingly.
Both seemed to be completely stoic, their blank eyes fixed on Chihiro's figure and their mouths invisible under the cover of their metal masks. That is, until…
"K-2, how'd a kid get in here?! I thought you said that gate was impossible to open!" The first guard exclaimed as they glared at their companion.
"It was, C-4!" said the other guard, "At least, the guy who sold it to me said it was."
"Well, he certainly wasn't a reliable salesman, BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE A KID INTRUDING IN OUR IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS!" C-4 frantically gestured towards a grimacing Chihiro as if to make his point.
As the two guards bickered, Chihiro skittered backwards and bit her lip. Maybe if she ran while they were caught in their argument she could get to safety!… While she frantically scrambled away, Chihiro felt something grab her by the back of her shirt and gulped. Her whole body locked itself up in fear, completely unable to move a single joint or muscle, and yet her morbid curiosity forced her to look up and see a glaring K-2 was her captor.
"Oh no you don't, kiddo!" K-2 hissed.
Or not.
"Lord Kaos would skin us alive if he found out that we let a KID, of all things, sneak into our fortress—so we're just gonna hafta destroy the evidence."
Chihiro gasped as fear rushed through her. She forced herself with all her might struggled against his grasp and flailed with all her might, but it was no use—K-2's grasp was simply too strong.
"Now, C-4, what should we do with this kid?" K-2 turned to C-4, ears twitched with anticipation of an answer.
But C-4 didn't respond. Instead, C-4 stared out in the open, fear in his eyes.
"Hey, buddy, I think we should get outta here!" C-4 spat out as he trembled all over and shook K-2's shoulder.
"Why would you say that?! We're supposed to be guarding this place!"
"Because!" C-4 turned around and pointed towards the bridge.
K-2 rolled his eyes and looked over. As he looked, K-2's own expression turned panicked when he saw what was coming—a giant fireball that burned with the light of a hundred suns! As they panicked and screamed, K-2 let go of Chihiro and ran in circles while he tried to find an escape, but it was too late—the fireball hit him and C-4 straight in the chest!
Chihiro herself had narrowly dodged the fireball and fell to the floor just in time for it to whiz past her back. When the flame passed, she looked up to find K-2 and C-4, both collapsed to the floor in burning red armor while they screamed in pain, bloody, burnt cuts on the visible parts of their bodies.
"Chihiro Hatsuki, what in Eon's name were you thinking?!" Spyro exclaimed as he rushed to where Chihiro laid and gave her the most infuriated look he could muster, his brow furrowed so hard you could barely see his eyes and his teeth bared. "Do you have any idea what could've happened to you?!"
Chihiro winced and drew back from Spyro's gaze before she looked back at the burning guards.
"So, what are we gonna do with those guys?" Chihiro asked with a tilt of her head and a surprising level of calmness.
Spyro looked at the guards for mere moments, then walked to their backs and closed his eyes.
"W-w-w-what are you gonna do with us, Skylander?" they asked, an obvious trill in their voices as they trembled furiously.
"This." Spyro opened his eyes, which now flashed a sky blue.
He then blew a mighty gust of wind from his mouth, which caused the two guards to roll off the island and fall down into the sky! All that could be heard for mere moment was their screams, and then a thunk as they landed on what was presumed to be another, smaller island.
"We're okay!" shouted C-4.
"Yeah, if you count having a bunch of burns and broken bones as okay!" retorted K-2 as he moaned in between words.
Chihiro peered over the edge of the island and found that sure enough, the guards laid on a small grassy island in a pile on top of each other, their red-hot armor like an evening star or a flaming meteorite against the lush green grass of the island. She then turned around to face Spyro and gave him a smug grin.
"Ruthless."
"There's no time for remarks," Spyro said as he begun to fly, "We have to get going before they get away with the propeller,"—Spyro shot Chihiro a frustrated look—"And this time, actually stay with us and don't start a ruckus."
"Oh, you're no fun." Chihiro huffed as she crossed her arms, shook her head and whizzed past Spyro…
And then stopped short as she felt something grab her by the back of her shirt.
"Stay where I can see you." Spyro dragged Chihiro back to his side.
"'Stay where I can see you.'" Chihiro scoffed and pouted as she fell to the ground before a smile crept onto her face, "Then again, I am a portal master, and they can't tell the portal master what to do!"
And with that said, Chihiro dashed in front of Spyro and Gill. She looked like a blur to the untrained eye as she ran so fast that she spun them both around as if this was one of those old cartoons she watched on TV.
As the two of them staggered dizzily and tried to regain their balance, Spyro caught a faint glimpse of the multi-color blur in front of him and heard a shout of "Last one to the propeller's a rotten egg!"
And then, the realization hit him.
"CHIHIRO HATSUKI!" Spyro shouted, frustrated beyond belief, "IF YOU DON'T GET BACK HERE, SO HELP ME I'LL—"
"What? You'll hang me by my toes?" Chihiro stopped, turned around and giggled snidely.
"Chihiro, I'm not kidding!" Spyro's wings twitched as his cheeks puffed with an undignified rage.
However, Chihiro had grown too far away to hear him, and for him to hear her… That is, until she ran into yet another gate and shouted with screams of pain so loud you could hear them practically all the way across the island.
"STUPID GATE!" Chihiro's voice echoed across the skies and caused birds to fly off from their roosts.
Spyro only muttered something under his breath before he flew off to find Chihiro, his head ashake with frustration the whole time.
As Chihiro staggered back up and turned around, she found Spyro staring her down with an unamused look. As his gaze pierced her soul, her head slunk so far down that it was almost level with her shoulders.
"Did not see that gate there," Chihiro chuckled as she pressed a fist to her lips and looked to her side.
Spyro just continued to glare her down before his gaze fell over at the gate and transformed from frustration to a hint of intrigue. After he scanned it over, he bit his lip and went deep into thought.
"Doesn't look like there's a key," Spyro mumbled at a volume so low it could barely be heard, "And it looks too tough for the two of us to knock down by ourselves. Unless…"—Spyro motioned with his paw for Gill Grunt to come forward—"Gill! I could use your help here!"
As Gill went over and discussed a possible solution with Spyro, Chihiro's eyes trailed over to a nearby cannon. With a curious hmm, she climbed over the top of the cannon, rapped on its steel top and tilted her head curiously. As she pressed her fingers against her chin, Chihiro narrowed her eyes and focused hardly on the cannon. An idea formed in her head, Chihiro slid down the side of the cannon and looked at Spyro.
"Okay, that's it. This gate's not budging," Spyro said as he sat down and panted, a tired gaze directed towards the wooden gate and then towards Chihiro, "And what are you doing?"
Chihiro looked over to the skies, where several zeppelins were flying in a group overhead in a triangular formation. Their rich green and cream-striped balloons made them stand out well against the slowly-changing evening skies of bold oranges, yellows, red and purples.
"Spyro, hear me out," Chihiro said, a small smile across her face, "You see those zeppelins flying in the sky?"
"Yeah, what about them?"
"What if?" Chihiro gestured as much as she could while she looked Spyro straight in the face, "We took that cannon over there, knocked one of those zeppelins straight outta the sky, and crashed it into the gate? That'll knock it down for sure!"
"Chihiro, how on Skylands would that even work?" Spyro gave Chihiro a flat stare, "What would we even put in the cannon? There's no ammo anywhere!"
Spyro looked right and left as he spoke—and he was right, there was not a single piece of reasonable ammo anywhere to be found.
"Well do you have any better ideas?"
Spyro drew silent as they both stared each other down. Chihiro had to admit, he did have a point—they couldn't exactly fire off a cannon without any ammo. Unless…
Chihiro just gave Spyro a mischievous stare, a suspicious grin on her face as she eyed him.
"Chihiro, what's with that look?" Spyro asked, a hint of concern in his voice before it finally hit him exactly what she was thinking, "Oh no no no no no NO. You are not suggesting that I—"
"INTO THE CANNON YOU GO!" Chihiro shouted with an eager beam.
Then, without a moment's hesitation she grabbed Spyro by his front leg with one hand, opened the cannon's hatch with another, and shoved him into the cannon without a second thought.
"CHIHIRO—" Spyro wasn't able to get out another word.
Chihiro had shut the hatch behind him and grasped the cannon's handles, her eyes focused on the skies. As she grasped them, she watched the metal orbs on the cannon flash a shade of purple as magical energy radiated around the cannon, almost as Spyro itself was its battery. Muffled shouts of disapproval came from the inside of the cannon as Chihiro flipped up the handles to find bright red buttons.
"Now what does this button do?" Chihiro asked mischievously, a sly grin on her face as she slammed the button down with her thumb as hard as she could!
This caused a bright red and orange fireball to come barreling out of the cannon and smack right into the side of a small zeppelin! Chihiro's eyes lit up as she watched it fall, and she laughed even louder as she spun the cannon around and shot fireballs at everything she could see—zeppelins, clouds, the occasional bird… Fire rained down from the skies and set everything within its path alight as zeppelins crashed into each other and fell down below the skies like drops of rain.
"Chihiro, calm down!" Gill Grunt shouted as he ran to her side, grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her off the cannon, "You're gonna burn the whole place down if you keep this up!"
"Oh, I'm sure it's not THAT ba—" Chihiro said before she turned around and noticed her rain of destruction, "Whoops."
Just then, a fireball came raining down next to them and slammed straight into the gate! Chihiro let out a shrill squeal of fear and clung to Gill's side while Gill Grunt readied his water cannon and immediately hosed down the gate. Thanks to this sudden drink, the gate had been reduced to nothing but burnt wood and ash. As it crumbled to bits, an incoming breeze swept away the remains as if they hadn't even existed in the first place.
"Well, we got rid of the gate, at least!" Chihiro exclaimed, a nervous grin on her face as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
As she stood and basked, the cannon's hatch then flipped open and Spyro crawled out! Chihiro jumped and squealed as she heard the pound of the cannon's metal roof, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Spyro.
"Chihiro," Spyro groaned as he faced her and tried his best to keep his balance simultaneously, "Never, again, are you—"
Spyro never finished his sentence—he just stumbled, fell to the ground and moaned while he held his head.
"Guess I took you for a little spin, huh golden boy?" Chihiro asked, her eyes darted from side to side as a blush of crimson dusted her cheeks.
She had gotten so caught up in getting the gate taken care of that she didn't stop to think it would actually hurt him! A pang of guilt twanged in Chihiro's chest as she clutched her shirt before she gently lifted Spyro off the ground, carefully positioned him on her back and wrapped his front legs around her shoulders.
"Just hold on tight, alright?" Chihiro smiled and nuzzled Spyro's head with her own.
Spyro didn't reply, he just dropped his head onto the top of Chihiro's and closed his eyes.
"And away we go!" Chihiro shouted as the three of them marched onto the next path.
§
"Okay, I'm pretty sure we passed that tower like five times now." Chihiro said while Spyro still clung to her back.
Spyro pressed his head against the back of Chihiro's and made a soft groan, still in plenty of pain from his unexpected spin.
"I'm getting there, golden boy," Chihiro whispered as she nudged her head against his in a surprisingly gentle manner.
"It's Spyro," Spyro mumbled, before he shook his head and came to his senses, "Why do you keep calling me that, anyway?"
"Cause your eyes are gold, and so are your horns, and your claws, and—"
"Okay, I get it." Spyro climbed back down from Chihiro's back and situated himself on the ground before looking over his surroundings.
Chihiro, ever true to her word, was right—it seemed like they had been running circles around the same path with the same stone bridge, the same stone tower, the same spell punk…
"Wait a second," Spyro exclaimed as he noted the tiny spell punk, "What are you doing?!"
The spell punk looked confused and pointed at itself.
"Yes, you!"
The spell punk stood frozen like a sheep in the path of a mighty dragon that aimed to make it into an afternoon snack. Then, it panicked and zoomed off all while it exclaimed some kind of gibberish language.
"After it!" Spyro exclaimed as he stormed after the spell punk in hot pursuit, his mind so fixed on it that he only took slight notice to Chihiro and Gill running behind him.
"Krtz, krtz, Chihiro to home base, we've got a little hooded guy making a break on…" Chihiro said into an invisible walkie-talkie before she looked over the pathway and paused.
The spell punk had disappeared over a wooden gate with a shiny golden lock positioned next to a stone platform.
"Yeah, I probably can't jump over that." Chihiro heaved a sigh and gazed at the gate before her grin turned wide, "Y'know, if there's a gate, chances are there's a key somewhere too!"—She then peered upwards to find a mint-skinned drow soldier clad in black and silver armor who took a snooze on his job, a glistening golden key tied to his waist—"And there it is!"
Chihiro jumped onto the platform's edge and grasped it with pale hands as she struggled to pull herself up. But, it was to no avail—she struggling for all of five seconds before her arms turned to jelly and she fell on her rear.
As she whimpered slightly, Chihiro staggered back up and looked back at Spyro and Gill, who were still searching all over the passageway for a key, before she cleared her throat and waved her arms.
"Guys, I found the key!" she shouted.
Spyro and Gill turned around and saw her point to the sleeping drow guard with excitement. Before they did anything, however, Spyro went up and shushed her first.
"Keep it down, we don't wanna wake up the guard," he whispered.
Spyro flew up, looked over the guard for all of five seconds, and snatched the key from his belt. He then flew down to where the gate was standing, pushed the slender key inside and turned it. With a stoic walk back, Spyro watched the lock fall down onto the sun-warmed stone pathway!
"We did it!" Chihiro whispered, "Now let's get out of here before—"
The sound of clanking metal resounded through the area as the guard awoke and looked at them for all of three seconds before panicking.
"INTRUDERS!" he screeched as he grabbed his spear, "YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE PROPELLER, NOT ON MY WATCH!"
Chihiro squeaked and hid behind Spyro, which caused the drow to laugh.
"Hide all you want, child! It won't do you any good!" The drow narrowed his eyes.
Spyro snarled and stood his ground as he spread out his legs and flared out his wings. But, before he addressed the guard, he turned around and gave Chihiro a serious gaze.
"Stay back, we'll handle this," Spyro whispered.
§
"If you want a fight, then we'll give you one!" Spyro shouted as he stared the drow guard straight in the face, then took to the skies and charged up a flaming hot fireball!
The drow guard readied his spear and charged when the fireball hit him straight in the face and sent him reeling! Instead of enacting the assault he planned, the guard merely stumbled back and yowled in pain.
Spyro scoffed and dropped back down, about ready to carry on when the sound of pounding footsteps caught everybody's attention.
What seemed like a whole platoon of drow soldiers now stood right on the other side of the opened gate and stared them straight in the face. There were foot soldiers who brandished spears and curved swords, mages with shiny staffs and blades, muscular brutes with rippling chests… It seemed like at least a good fraction of their forces had arrived in response to the call!
The soldiers looked at them and they looked at the soldiers, everybody expressing emotions that ranged from fear to shock to absolute exasperation. Some soldiers even dropped their weapons in shock.
"Intruders?! In OUR stronghold?!" shouted one soldier decked out in shiny, elaborate silver armor as he glared daggers into the face of one of his subordinates, "You told me that those gates were impenetrable!"
"That wasn't me, sir, that was C-4!" retorted the soldier.
His higher-up scoffed and heaved a sigh.
"How would I know? You all look the same to me!" Shouted the officer as he turned back to Spyro and Gill and gave them piercing glares.
"Whatever, what's done is done, and if we don't want Lord Kaos to cut our salaries." The officer scoffed and cast an aside glance, "As if he even pays us in the first place,"—the officer raised his voice and glared down Spyro and Gill Grunt—"We should stop flapping our lips and get fighting!"
"Gladly!" Spyro exclaimed as he took to the skies and shot red-hot flames out of his mouth that scorched his opponents in a straight line below.
Meanwhile, Gill took the righthand side and cocked his harpoon gun. The gun's barrel rotated out, which left an open space where the harpoon once was—an open space that was quickly filled by streams of scalding hot water! Screams of pain and battle cries were heard all around as the drow collapsed in a wet, scalding pile.
Shielded by the heat of the battle, Chihiro got on all fours and crawled through the warfield before she hid behind a collection of rough wooden barrels. Once she was certain she was safe, she felt her limbs safely turn numb from panic.
Oh crap, oh crap, I didn't think things would get THIS bad! Chihiro panicked as her eyes shrunk and her heart pounded, What am I gonna do?! Maybe this is why Spyro wanted me to stay behind…
Chihiro ran her soft hands against the grainy surface of the largest barrel and observed the battle through a hole in its surface. As she watched, her mind raced with all sorts of possibilities. BAD possibilities.
I can hardly perform magic, I don't have any weapons, and I'm not good at fighting at all! There's no way I'll be able to hold my own…Unless…
Then, with a wicked smile stretched across her lips, Chihiro shoved the barrels in front of her into the crowd of drow. While the barrels hit many of them in the head, Chihiro dashed off to a group of crates.
Screams of shock and yowls of agony were heard all around as drow soldiers fell down due to sudden concussions and tried to pick splinters out of their uniforms.
"Who's there?!" shouted the drow's commanding office while his head swerved left and right.
But there was no solid reply—in the chaos of battle, there were so many voices that shouted about, nobody could tell who was who.
"If there's one thing I've learned from TV," Chihiro proclaimed as she heaved up a medium-sized oakwood crate and launched it at the commander's head, "It's that the element of surprise is your best friend in the heat of combat!"
As the crate hit the commander in the head, his helmet was knocked off and he fell to the floor. Meanwhile, the crate splintered open, which caused gunpowder-filled bombs to scatter everywhere—and as it just so happened, Spyro had been casting out flames overhead, which hit the wicker fuses of the bombs in mere moments of their casting.
"TAKE COVER!" Gill yelled as he noticed the sudden rain of bombs, gulped and dived to safety.
The few that heard him turned around in shock and mumbled among themselves, before they saw the bombs at their feet—and those bombs' burnt-away fuses.
One could probably guess what happened next—the bombs exploded from the heat of Spyro's flames, which sent off a chain reaction where one bomb exploded after the next. This caused a huge blast like a giant show of fire that scorched the drow soldiers and sent many of them aflame.
The battlefield erupted into incoherent screeching and babbling, and then into one loud, collective "RETREAT!" as the soldiers all ran off in the westmost direction, their flaming coats so unified that together they looked like one big bonfire. The few that couldn't run off stayed unconscious on the floor, which the few conscious ones moaned and wailed in pain.
Gill blinked, before he turned around and saw Chihiro, who only giggled and waved her hand.
"Chihiro, did you do that?" Gill asked as he blinked several more times, maybe a little unsure of his question.
Chihiro giggled for a solid five seconds before she beamed and nodded firmly.
"Let's just say that I'm better at improvising battle strategies than I thought I was," Chihiro trilled while her heart pounded still from the anxiety of earlier.
"What on Skylands was that?" Spyro asked as he flew down.
"That was me, heh." Chihiro stood as tall and proud as she could, though the twitch of her smile implied a bit of residual anxiety still..
"That was… Actually pretty impressive," Spyro admitted as he watched her and nodded firmly.
Chihiro beamed happily.
"But watch what you're doing next time—you could've gotten us all killed!" Spyro scolded as he looked at her and pointed a claw.
Chihiro was stung by his words for mere moments, before she nodded and made a weak smile.
"You're right, golden boy," Chihiro admitted as she scratched the back of her head, "And… Sorry for not listening to you earlier. I didn't realize how dangerous this actually was, and I thought you guys were just worrying too much, but... Now I know you were just looking out for me. I'll just let you guys take the lead from now on."
Spyro just stood silent, completely surprise by Chihiro's change in attitude, before he smiled himself and nodded.
"Apology accepted." Spyro then turned around and gazed down the open path, "Now follow me, we've got a golden propeller to get!"
Chihiro giddily skipped forward… And proceeded to snag her foot on a slightly-loosened brick, which caused her to fall flat on her face.
"OWCH!" Chihiro rubbed her face and looked up.
While she peered into the skies, she could've sworn she saw a shimmer of gold that glistened ever-so-slightly in the evening light. And she was right—there, among a swarm of smaller airships, was a giant, drow zeppelin propelled by what had to be their target—a propeller in a shade of gold so strong it stood proud against the evening skies!
"Guys, I think I found what we were looking for."
"What?" Spyro uttered as he turned around, saw the giant zeppelin and gained the widest smile on his face, "That's it! There it is!"—Spyro pointed eagerly at the zeppelin before turned to Gill Grunt—"Gill, do you see it?!"
"See what—" Gill Grunt said before he turned around to see the propeller and chuckled to himself, "Well, looks like we found what we're looking for."
They all stood proudly for all of five seconds, before their expression turned confused.
"Now how do we get it down?" Gill Grunt asked.
"Frick, I didn't think of that," Chihiro remarked.
She turned around and noticed a worn, wooden turret that was charred with black dust. Despite its stains, it seemed to be in perfect working order, which gave her an idea.
"Actually, I do have a little inkling of an idea~" Chihiro said, a mischievous look on her face.
"And that would be—" Spyro asked, turning around before noticing the old turret Chihiro was standing next to and froze, "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I am NOT going back in there!"
"Actually I was thinking about how good creamsicles would be right about now, but that works too!" Chihiro shouted as she grabbed Spyro by his front paws and heaving him up.
"WAIT WAIT STOP I'M SURE THERE'S A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS—OOF!"
Chihiro stopped and gently dropped Spyro back on the ground. Or so she thought—actually, he fell on his rump, toppled backwards, and hit his head on the stone pavement.
As he groaned, Spyro pushed himself forward and rubbed his head with one paw before he gave Chihiro a contemptuous look.
"Sorry 'bout that," Chihiro said before she ran a finger against the surface of the turret, "Now work your magic, golden boy!"
Spyro breathed in and slammed both his front paws onto the turret. His eyes flashed a bright purple in color, and he chanted something in a language Chihiro couldn't quite understand. Everything around him seemed to radiate with magical energy as he chanted like the magic around him bent to his will.
As his chanted intensified, the turret then clattered and came to life! It shot magical orbs into the sky, with such precision and accuracy it was hard to believe there wasn't a skilled user at the helm.
"That's awesome, Spyro!" Chihiro shouted as her eyes glittered.
As they sat in admiration, the turret turned around and shot an orb right above Chihiro's head! Chihiro let out a panicked squeal, she fell down to the ground and covered her head with her hands. Thankfully, the sphere then whizzed right past her and slammed straight into the side of a small zeppelin which caused it to come crashing down in flames.
"Yep, still awesome," Chihiro said as she smiled and looked back up.
Chihiro wrapped her arms around Spyro and squeezed him tight with her cheek pressed against his. She, however, squeezed him too tight and caused him to start gasping for air! As she noticed this, Chihiro loosened her grasp and let him breath.
Spyro then gently clasped onto her one arm and smiled slightly.
All was peaceful for those few moments… That is, until they were both snapped out of their thoughts by the sound of something crashing into the next area over! The backlash was so strong that it sent tremors throughout the rest of the islands and made Spyro, Gill and Chihiro all tumble down onto their faces as their legs had turned to jelly.
As the tremors died, Chihiro moaned and sat back up. She rubbed her face before she weakly stood and turned around to find the front of a giant zeppelin crashed into where there used to be a wooden gate.
"SPYRO! GILL! LOOKLOOKLOOK!" Chihiro exclaimed as she bounced up and down.
Chihiro then scrambled further into the wreckage and overstepped splintered wooden beams and holes in the balloon itself to get to the other side. When she got there, much like she had thought, there was the golden propeller in all its glory!… Or so she had believed.
Rather, upon examination, the golden glimmer she thought she had seen was just golden paint, which had peeled off and revealed a worn, normal propeller that certainly couldn't be used to traverse tornadoes.
"Great, just great, it was a decoy all along!" Chihiro exclaimed before she heaved a sigh and sat down on the floor, "By this time, they've probably escaped already!"
As she rubbed her finger against the dirt, Chihiro heaved another heavy sigh and pressed her cheek against her shoulder.
"Chihiro, what in the Elementals' good name are you screaming about?" Gill Grunt asked as he hopped over a stray broken wooden beam, Spyro close by his side.
He then examining the false propeller before he looked over at a distinctly low-spirited Chihiro and closed his mouth.
"Nevermind," she mumbled in distinctly low spirits, "Guess I was wrong."
"Hey, what's that?" Gill looked up at the sky with curious eyes.
"Huh?" Chihiro peered up and then scrambled to her feet.
There, a giant zeppelin at least twice the size of the one they had taken down flew through the clouds as fast as it possibly could, with a large, shiny golden propeller attached to its end!
Chihiro's eyes widened, her momentary time of sadness completely forgotten as she scrambled over to Spyro and Gill and pointed rapidly.
"THEREITISTHEREITISITSTHEGOLDEN—"
"Chihiro, please calm down! We can all see the zeppelin with the real golden propeller—" Spyro said before it hit him what he just uttered, "IT'S THE ZEPPELIN WITH THE PROPELLER!"
Spyro calmed himself in mere moments and scrambled after it with lightning speeds.
"Spyro, wait up!" Chihiro shouted as she sprinted after him, before that sprint turned to excited bounds and leaps.
§
"We're off to find a propeller, a propeller the shade the gold~" Chihiro sang as she swung her arms and strode jauntily.
Gill and Spyro followed suit, both with unsure looks on their faces, before Gill finally broke the ice.
"So…Does anybody know where the propeller went, right?"
Chihiro stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at the skies—which now lacked the zeppelin she was tracking earlier. A mixture of panic and frustration fell over Chihiro as she shook and anxiously looked back and forth, clasped her hands up, then turned back to them and gave them an anxious smile.
"Oh, I'm sure it's around here somewhere! I mean, it couldn't have gone too far—"
Just then, the sound of something hitting the ground echoed around the island! Chihiro whipped her head around to find none other the giant zeppelin they were following, which now just barely peeked above a wooden gate!
"It's right there!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pointed her finger at the gate with frantic motions.
That was oddly convenient, Chihiro thought as she avoided Spyro and Gill Grunt's gaze, I hope they didn't see me freaking out.
Chihiro darted over to the gate, noticed had two holes that were just barely big enough to peek through, knelt down, and peered through the larger of the two.
A bunch of drow soldiers in various shapes and sizes marched off of the parked zeppelin, while a tall, bulky drow dressed in what seemed like a black and blue military captain's uniform ordered them around.
As she struggled to understand what he said, Chihiro motioned for Spyro to come over.
"Me?" Spyro inquired as he poked a claw to his scaled chest.
Chihiro nodded frantically, strands of her inky black hair stuck up and astray.
Spyro flew over and peeked through the smaller hole.
"Can you understand a word they're saying?" Chihiro asked, her voice hushed to as soft a whisper she could make.
Spyro shushed her and went to listening, his eyes closed and focused for mere moments. Then, with optimistic eyes he drew his head back and focused on Chihiro.
"You were right, Chihiro! They've got the propeller!…" Spyro said before he looked at his paw, "Either that, or they were ordering pizza. I'm not very fluent in Drow, unfortunately."
"THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!" Chihiro shouted.
She then lodged her feet in the holes and grasped the top of the wooden gate before she looked at Spyro. She then bit her lip, hopped back down and looked at Spyro with a chuckle.
"You got a plan, Golden Boy?" Chihiro asked as she knelt down to his side.
"Actually…" Spyro whispered something into Chihiro's ear.
As Chihiro's eyes sparkled and her head nodded rapidly, Spyro looked at Gill Grunt and whispered the same plan to him. Once he finished, Spyro and Gill Grunt both shared a nod. Spyro then charged forward and knocked the gate flat on the ground!
The three of them charged forward into the next area… And right into where the drow were having their address.
"So, um, you guys still ordering pizza?" Chihiro giggled as she teased a strand of hair.
§
The soldiers in the vicinity proceeded to draw their weapons and brandish them in a circle around the trio.
Chihiro squealed and before she dodged behind a conveniently-placed group of barrels. As she trembled behind the barrels, Chihiro bit her nails while the drow shouted things in a language she couldn't understand. A bright orange light flared against the barrels' side, and Chihiro peeked out to find that Spyro and Gill had gained the drow soldiers' attention!
And with that, an epic battle between the many parties unfolded before her eyes! Harpoons and fireballs were tossed among the clanking and grinding of metal, the sound of slamming fists and so many more.
Chihiro's eyes sparkled in awe from what she watched, before she shook her head and gained a determined look.
Remember the plan, Chihiro, Chihiro thought as her eyes glazed over the scenery, While they take care of the soldiers, you have to find a way to get the propeller.
Chihiro continued to scan the area until she heard the sound of grunting and turned around. With the utmost of care, she crept behind the barrels with the lightest of footsteps and the barest of breaths, a bit less anxious now that she knew her foes were distracted. As she dodged behind crates and more barrels, her eyes glazed over to the nearby ship—the bridge of which had been completely unattended due to the fight! But, however, a more curious sight on it caught her attention next.
There, bound to the ship's mast with coarse, itchy rope was a peculiar-looking person!
They had bob-cut, bright blue hair, warm peach skin, fingernails that were painted a brilliant red and eyes the same color. They wore a bright red sleeveless top and skirt, and a red, oval-shaped jewel was planted on their forehead. What was most peculiar about this someone was that instead of legs, a trail of bright bluish-green mist was under their skirt, and a set of fairy wings of similar color sprouted from their back. Their face was etched with a frown as they tried desperately to escape, but nothing they did seemed to work—the ropes were too strong.
As she looked both ways to make sure nobody was watching, Chihiro scrambled on all fours towards the mast. That is, until she ran a few steps too far and stopped in her tracks. As she retraced her steps, Chihiro found herself at the back of the mast, then with an inquisitive look on her face she carefully untied the ropes.
After a few seconds of struggling, the ropes came undone and fell into a pile on the floor while the person realized they were free and flew upwards. As they stretched their arms upwards, the person surveyed the battlefield below them and scorned before they clasped their hands together and closed their eyes.
The drow soldiers were stuck in place while a mystical blue aura glowed around them before they were lifted into the air! They all screamed and squealed in shock as they spun around like dancers and juggled in mid-air while the winged person giggled.
Chihiro herself couldn't help but laugh at their predicament and watched the show with an amused heart. It was more like she was watching a circus act, like she wasn't even in the heat of the mission.
The drow soldiers then fell back down to the floor while the shock from their fall knocked them unconscious.
"Thank you for releasing me, strange, happy traveler!" The winged person said as they flew down to Chihiro's side and curtsied, "At least, I assume it was your doing?"
Chihiro nodded swiftly. Her bangs bounced up and down in the cool autumn air before she looked back at the stranger with sparkling eyes.
"Thank you very kindly for freeing me then, happy traveler!" The stranger held out their hand, "I am Persephone, queen of the fairy kingdom."
Chihiro's eyes kept sparkling as she shook Persephone's hands while Spyro jumped onto the ship's deck.
"There you are, Chihi—PERSEPHONE!" Spyro said before he realized just who stood next to Chihiro.
Spyro was wide-grinned for mere moments, before he gained a realization and turned around to Chihiro.
"Chihiro, this is Persephone, she's one of our allies and—"
"Don't worry, Spy," Chihiro said as she flapped a hand, "Her majesty Persephone already introduced herself!"
"I never caught your name, though~" Persephone injected with a gentle grin.
Chihiro giggled awkwardly, turned away from Spyro and focused her attention on Persephone as she bowed ever-so-slightly.
"I am Chihiro Hatsuki, current portal master and protector of Skylands as of yesterday morning. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your majesty," Chihiro said with all sorts of formality in her voice before she straightened herself back up.
"There's no need to be stiff, you may just call me Persephone." Persephone chuckled and flapped her hand playfully.
Chihiro blushed, her eyes dodged back and forth as she giggled awkwardly. After all, she had never met an actual queen before! She then darted off to back of the ship and peered over it to see its golden propeller. Just to be absolutely certain, Chihiro bent down, scratched the top of the propeller for a few moments, and sternly examined her hand.
"Yep, that's real gold alright!" Chihiro exclaimed as she bounced back up.
Persephone then flew over to where Chihiro stood and smile before she closed her eyes and lifted her arms up.
Possessed by Persephone's magic, the propeller detached itself from the ship and began floating in midair!
Chihiro clapped her hand with utter glee while Spyro and Gill joined them where they were. Spyro couldn't help by smile as he gazed over the propeller, which now sparkled in the evening light.
"We'd better call Flynn already and get back to the ruins. Chances are, he'll go wild when he sees this," Spyro said as he looked for Flynn, "Where is he, anyway? I thought he said he'd—"
"You called?" Flynn asked as his balloon flew up to them almost immediately.
"Speak of the devil," Spyro teased with a playful, fanged smile.
Flynn gave them one of his trademark smolders, which then turned to a look of pure, undulated glee when he saw the propeller.
"It's even better in person!" He squealed as he hopped out of the balloon basket and went to examine the machine with sparkling eyes.
"And it's made of real gold, too!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped down and gushed over the propeller and her adventure with Flynn for what seemed like the next hour.
Spyro and Gill, meanwhile, sat there and watched them impatiently for all of the time. They looked up at the darkening sky and realized just what time it was getting to be as they turned back to the chattering crowds.
"You know, instead of gushing about the propeller, maybe we could get back home so we can actually install it?" Spyro reminded sternly.
"Riiiiight, I was getting to that, Spyro buddy," Flynn claimed as he made a goofy smile, "Now, can you guys help me get this thing in the balloon?"
As they heaved the propeller into the basket, Chihiro looked over at Persephone, who watched them from the sidelines.
"Persephone," Chihiro asked, "What were you doing on the ship anyway?"
Persephone's happy smile turned to a look of shock, then to a frown as she sighed a decidedly unhappy sigh.
"It's a very long story, young honorable Chihiro," Persephone said as her eyes turned glassy, "But in short, I was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Chihiro's head tilted as a frown formed on her face.
Persephone nodded sadly as she looked over to the golden evening skies.
"But, why?" Chihiro asked before she looked back at her feet awkwardly, "I mean, if you're comfortable saying, of course, you don't have to—"
Persephone looked up and cast a swirl of sparkling blue magic.
"Fairy magic has this wonderful ability to increase the abilities of those it is given to. In largest amounts, it could make someone even stronger than Traptanium!" Persephone's frown then deepened. "As you could guess, many travelers wish for it, some for happy intentions, others less so,"—Persephone clutched her skirt as tears formed in her eyes—"And Kaos was one of them."
Chihiro quite easily picked up on Persephone's sorrow, which caused a swirl of emotion to form within her own heart.
"Shortly after the Core's destruction, I was crowned queen of the fairy kingdom! It was a wonderful time, but oh so short." Persephone then looked up at the skies and her tone turned somber, "Kaos came to my home with an army, demanding that we ally ourselves with him and use our magic to power his army."
"And you said no, he didn't like it, and he kidnapped you?" Chihiro's face turned concerned and upset as she saw Persephone nod.
"He took me captive in a fit of rage, and I never saw my kingdom again." Small tears formed in the corners of Persephone's eyes and slid down her plump cheeks, "My sisters could all be suffering, and I wouldn't even know it."
Chihiro was only shocked speechless, her jaw open just a little before she clenched it and furrowed.
"Don't worry, Persephone," Chihiro whispered before she raised her volume to a cry of determination and jumped up while fire burned in her eyes, "I'll set him straight! We'll rebuild the Core of Light and then we're gonna beat him and send him crawling back to where he came from!"
Persephone watched in shock for a few moments, before she made another gentle smile.
"Thank you, young honorable one." Persephone chuckled and wiped away her tears.
Chihiro's determined expression turned into another gentle smile to complement Persephone's until she felt something loom over them and turned around to find Spyro facing her.
"Now, what are we waiting for? We've got to get back home!" Chihiro exclaimed as she darted off before Spyro could tell her anything… Then zoomed back to Spyro's side and gave him a sheepish look.
"So, Spyro, what're we doing now?"
Spyro cleared his throat and looked at Chihiro.
"We just finished getting the propeller situated and we need to get back home so we can install it—Flynn says that unfortunately, he left all his tools there," Spyro informed with a formal nod.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Chihiro darted back off and vaulted into the basket of Flynn's balloon, "Last one in's a moldy piece of chicken!"
"Hey, I'm no moldy piece of chicken!" Spyro exclaimed as he jumped in and stood close to Chihiro and watched as she gave him a cheerful smile.
Gill jumped into the basket next and took a seat next to Flynn, while Persephone floated over and sat next to Chihiro.
"Guess you're the moldy piece of chicken!" Chihiro jested as she poked Persephone on the nose.
"Wait, you mean to say that I am rotten?" Persephone sniffed as her lip quivered.
"No no, I didn't mean it like that! You're a really nice person—er, fairy—I promise! In fact, forget I said anything, no moldy pieces of chicken here!" Chihiro shook her hands back and forth with genuine worry in her brown eyes.
"Very fair then!"
Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief and looked out of the side of the now-airborne basket.
The bright reds and oranges of the evening sky had faded to deep blues and purples—a sign of the incoming night.
"Man, this is one awesome propeller!" Flynn exclaimed, his eyes more focused on the propeller than the path itself, "I can't wait to get back and—"
Flynn stopped short because they had just bumped into the side of a tower. The tower crumbled immediately—though luckily, they had gotten out of the way before the wreckage landed.
"Flynn, can you focus on flying the balloon? You can obsess over the propeller when we get back to the island," Spyro complained.
"Sheesh, I'm going! Can't blame a guy for wanting to trick his balloon out," Flynn teased as he gave Spyro a playing stare.
He then pulled a lever that caused bright lights to unfold from the front of the balloon and light the way forward, a path of light made in the inky night sky.
"Whatever you say, Flynn, just focus on actually flying it." Spyro grasped the front of the basket with both front paws while he bit his lip and twitched his tail fretfully, almost as if he dreaded the return home.
§
Back home, everybody gathered at the island's hub in admiration of the Golden Propeller. Practically everybody on the island had come together while they chattered among themselves, Chihiro among them as she bragged about her (most definitely over-exaggerated) feats.
"Finally, you got it!" Hugo shouted as he gazed at the propeller with utmost joy.
"Yep!" Chihiro exclaimed with utmost glee, "You wanna hear about how we got it?"
"Maybe tomorrow, Chihiro." Hugo clicked his tongue, "It's getting late, we'd better get some sleep."
Hugo rubbed his eyes before he yawned again and turned towards the crowds behind them, which had finally dispersed as everybody broke off to rest or attend to night shifts.
As she was left with little company to commune with, Chihiro shrugged and bounced off.
"Speaking of sleeping," Hugo remarked as he saw Spyro cross his path, tapped Spyro on the back, and watched as Spyro jumped in his place.
"Hugo, it's just you," Spyro panted as he stumbled back for mere moments and regained his composure.
"Spyro, we've got something important to discuss," Hugo's gaze turned away from Spyro and towards Chihiro, "We need to figure out where she's going to stay while she's here. Do you have any ideas?"
"I was hoping you'd have thought of that." Spyro turned back to Chihiro and made a toothy frown, "Because I don't really have anything."
Nobody could come up with a suggestion, which lead to just an awkward silence. An awkward silence that was soon interrupted by Hugo as he snapped his fingers together.
"A-ha! I just remembered!" Hugo exclaimed, a smile now on his face.
"Remembered what?" Spyro's eyes trailed towards Hugo.
"Come on, I'll show you—and go get Chihiro, while you're at it."
Spyro shrugged and flew over to the center of the ruins, the place where the Core used to stand. As he looked over the empty space, Spyro felt a pit open up in his heart. The battle that happened what seemed like just days ago flashed back into his mind, and he just sat there, frozen, as the whole battle seemed to reanimate itself—the screams of anger and confusion, the sound of the Core being blasted to bits, the wreckage flying across the island while Spyro himself could only stand, petrified by shock—
"SPYRO!" Chihiro shouted.
This caused Spyro to jump in his place with a shout of surprise, before he fell back down and gave Chihiro an anxious gaze.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Spyro spat as he shook slightly.
"You okay, Spy? You look like you just saw a ghost!" Chihiro chirped as she chuckled and poked his forehead.
"I'm fine, now come on, Hugo wants to show us something." Spyro shook his head and bit his lip just slightly enough to go unnoticed.
Chihiro oohed and jumped in front of Spyro.
"What is it?"
"He's going to show us, now come on."
The two of them then rejoined Hugo, before all three of them nodded and walked off…
§
Hugo lead Chihiro and Spyro through the earthy path before them, while the overgrown trees loomed over them and provided shelter from the cold and chilly moonlight.
It was completely silent until Chihiro finally hummed and cleared her throat.
"What are you showing me, anyway?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head just so.
"You'll see," Hugo said as he gave Chihiro not one glance while they continued their trek through the path.
After that, the only sounds heard were their footsteps and the sound of insects and birds cricketing and cawing throughout the night.
"Are we there yet?" Chihiro asked as she gazed upwards.
But, she found that she could see barely anything and just moved forward.
"Don't even start," Hugo warned as he saw a shimmer of light, smiled and quickly walked towards it.
It was followed by an even brighter light as the trees dissipated, as if they were making way for what was ahead. They were soon lead to a large one-story building made entirely out of stone with a wooden door and a rusty bronze knob that seemed to be covered in cobwebs and dust but was otherwise intact.
"We're here!" Hugo announced as he rushed to the door and jiggled the knob open.
There, they found a humble wooden hallway that was covered in dust, with many, many wooden doors with the same rusty knobs of the house's door. It felt a bit concerning, like a haunted house filled with horrific ghosts, but surely there was nothing of the sort there… Right?
"This used to be a safe house for refugees of the Skylanders," Hugo explained as he adjusted his jacket, "If a prominent villain was chasing someone, we'd take them under our wing and let them stay here until the threat passed,"—Hugo then noticed the dust-covered corridors and coughed awkwardly—"Of course, we haven't had to use it in years, so it might be a bit run-down."
Hugo turned around and found that Chihiro was now gone and one of the doors was wide-open. The rusty knob had fallen off and rolled onto the floor, and dust floated in from the open room.
"Chihiro?" Hugo called as he walked into the room and peered in.
Inside, he found that Chihiro had already settled inside the room—a simple bedroom with tan walls, oakwood floors and a white mattress covered in thick white blankets—and had fallen asleep.
"You must have had a long day." Hugo closed the door and made a kindly chuckle.
Spyro nodded solemnly and they both exited the building before they nodded again and parted ways.
§
As Hugo grew further and further from Spyro's view, Spyro heaved a heavy sigh. The pit in his heart grew deeper as he flew off towards the heart of the island and took care not to lay an eye on the empty spot where the Core of Light used to be. He couldn't feel those awful feelings right now, he had better things he needed to worry about besides himself…
His flight took him to a large, stone tower that he immediately entered. After he entered the tower, he was greeted by a large, empty stone hallway, the coolness of which was emphasized by the autumn weather. As he bit his lip, Spyro flew through the hallway and towards a room on its righthand side.
It was a simple, large room which contained several glowing round objects that were embedded into the floor. Each one glowed with a different color—purple, orange, blue, red, and even more.
Spyro flew over to the purple orb, disregarded those around him and plopped down onto the orb before he was whisked away by the magic sphere. When he reappeared, he was in a large, purple room with lavender crystal walls that seemed to sparkle in the artificial light let out by the violet and hot pink crystal ceiling.
It's a good thing we were able to get the Sanctuaries set up again, Spyro thought with an unfaltering gaze, Even if they aren't as nice as they used to be.
Normally he'd stop and admire the view, but he was so tired in more ways than one that he just flew across the floor.
His flight lead him to a small cavern with dark purple stone walls and chiseled slate gray stone stairs. At the end of these stairs was a hallway with slate gray stone walls and floors and multiple wooden doors with stone name plates attached to them. The hallway itself was barren, and everything around seemed cold and lifeless.
Guess the others went to bed already, Spyro thought as flew towards the rightmost door and opened it.
Inside, it revealed a simple room with a large, straw nest and various assorted objects strewn about. The room he called home was far from fancy, but he kind of liked it that way—something about it was oddly comforting after the hectic chaos of the past several days… Months? Whatever, time conversion was too complicated for Spyro's exhausted brain at the moment.
I should get some sleep too, Spyro thought as he walked onto the nest and curled up, Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll wake up and this'll all be a nightmare.
And as that thought lingered in his mind, Spyro closed his eyes and fell to slumber…
§
It was the worst battle Spyro had ever seen.
The world around his was set ablaze and the Citadel's front yard burned like a holiday bonfire. All around, the Skylanders were fighting the assorted minions of Kaos, and weren't doing so hot at that. Whenever one minion went down, several others came back in its place and immediately took them all down. Everything was frantic as the Skylanders screamed out and cried for help, the whole battle adorned by the awful scent of blood and smoke mingled together like an awful holiday casserole.
Soon, everything was swallowed in an unyielding wave of black!
Spyro only watched in horror, completely frozen as he was helpless to stop the eternal black swallow his friends whole.
"GILL! TRIG! GUYS!" Spyro screamed as tears stung his eyes while he futilely reached out for the friends that were no more.
He then took to the skies and just narrowly avoided being swallowed himself.
"The Core!"
He flew further and further and occasionally dodged the large black slime that had take over the whole island, his eyes focused on the Core. As he flew over a large glob of black slime, Spyro looked over to find the Core, still shining in all its glory! A bright smile overtook Spyro's face before a large black wave crashed over the Core and uprooted it from its spot! In mere moments, it soon swallowed the Core—and Spyro's hope—completely whole.
"NO!" Spyro screamed as he reached out in pain.
Just then, the black, slimy wave grabbed his foot. With no other options, Spyro screamed and shouted as he struggled to escape, but the black slime pulled him in, and with one last scream, he was swallowed whole…
§
Spyro's eyes shot open and he panted, now awakened in such a cold sweat that the world around him seemed unreal and shaky and fake. As he still breathed heavily, Spyro stumbled out of his nest and looked around while he tried to get a grip on reality despite everything around him faded into a blur.
"Okay, Spyro, get a grip on yourself," Spyro said as he took deep breaths, "You're not in the middle of a battle, you're in your room, in the Magic Sanctuary."
Spyro closed his eyes for mere moments, before he inhaled, exhaled and looked around. His head throbbed slightly less than it was before, and his heart pounded slightly less as his vision returned and validated his statements.
"There's no battle going on, you just had a bad dream," Spyro whispered before a thought struck him and his eyes lit up, "If it was all just a dream, then maybe the Core's still there!"
Spyro lowered his volume and flew out of his room. He tried to peer outside, but it was pitch-black and almost impossible to see—it was a good thing that he practically knew the Sanctuary's layout by heart. As he flew through the Sanctuary's halls with a leaping heart, Spyro hunted out the glowing purple teleporter that lead back to the portal room. He then leaped onto it and was whisked away in mere moments…
§
When Spyro opened his eyes, he found himself in a moonlit warp room! Without hesitation he flew through the halls and then back outside, while a complete sense of relief washed over him.
Thank the Ancients, it was all just an awful dream! Everything's completely fine, we were never banished, and the Core's…
Spyro's train of thought was cut short by the fact that he had flown outside and the Core most certainly WASN'T there—just a large patch of ground where it once stood.
"Gone," Spyro croaked as tears stung his eyes, "I wasn't dreaming,"—Spyro whimpered as he fell to the ground with utter hopelessness in his eyes—"The Core really was destroyed."
And as the memories from the Core's destruction replayed in his brain, Spyro mustered up the will to walk over to where the Core once stood and flopped down.
"So we really did fail. I really failed," Spyro whispered as he burrowed his face into his paws, "The Core's gone and Kaos took over, all because of me."
Spyro tried his hardest to bury his sniffles, but it was no use anymore—the emotions he had been repressing finally coming to light as he cried in utter silence, nobody there to witness but the occasional insect or bird. He didn't know why all these emotions had overtaken him, but it was so strong, so overwhelming that it was like he was fighting against that awful black slime from his prior dream.
Hopeless.
Useless.
Just like he was now.
Look at you, Spyro, he thought as he tried desperately to wipe the tears from his face, How can you sit around and feel sorry for yourself? The Core's been destroyed, thousands of people are suffering, and this is all you can do? You failed! You failed as a leader, as a Skylander, and now everybody's suffering the consequences of your actions! What time do you have to feel sorry for yourself?!
Spyro then sat back down and quietly cried for what seemed like eternity—at least, until he felt something nudge his back leg. Spyro quickly wiped his tears and looked up to find none other than Chihiro, who looked down at him with a very concerned gaze. Wait, Chihiro?!
Now panicked, Spyro wiped away his tears and sputtered.
"Chihiro, but—I-I-I mean, what, what on Skylands are you mooing—D-DOING up at this hour? I thought you burr—were—"
Spyro heaved a heavy groan, took a deep breath in and looked down at his paws, seemingly uncharacteristically defeated. There was an awkward silence between the two, before Chihiro knelt down to Spyro's height and wiped a small tear from his cheek.
"You okay, Spyro?" Chihiro asked as she gently rubbed his back, "You seem pretty upset."
"It's nothing," Spyro muttered before he raised his voice slightly, "What I'd like to know is why are you here?"
"Well, I was trying to figure out where the kitchen was cause I got late night ice cream cravings, but you're more important." Chihiro bit her lip slightly.
"I'm fi—"
"Uh, uh, uh," Chihiro wagged her finger while her voice possessed just the slightest spark of lightheartedness, "You're all worked up about something and we both know it. Why don't you tell me about it?"
"You know what? I'll go show you the kitchen."
And with that Spyro walked off towards his left, still drained from crying so much.
"You're avoiding the question, Spyro—what's wrong?" Chihiro asked, a tone of impatience in her voice.
Spyro completely ignored her and instead walked up to a large, white stone building with an oakwood door before he opened it and went inside.
"Spyro? Spyro? Spyro?" Chihiro called as she trailed behind him.
"Here's the kitchen, now go get your ice cream," Spyro moaned while he watched as Chihiro shrugged and walked off.
Spyro then sat down on the oakwood floors and looked around the building before him.
It was as large as a small temple, with oakwood floors and walls and a chandelier of lamps that hung overhead and provided them with artificial light. In front of Spyro was a seemingly infinite number of wooden lunch benches with even more wooden chairs next to them, all lined up and ready to house. Fittingly enough for the Skylanders, it could have probably hosted a banquet for a whole army.
But for now, it was just him and Chihiro, completely alone in the emptiness. The sheer silence and slowness of the area made Spyro feel as if his heart was going to collapse again, but why?
"I'm back, Spyro!" Chihiro exclaimed as she sat on the chair nearest to Spyro and slammed a ceramic plate down on the table.
On that plate were two ice cream sandwiches, with the sandwich part made out of chocolate chip cookies and the ice cream itself being a sweet vanilla and covered in sprinkles.
"Come on, sit down. I made one for you too!"
Spyro warily took up her invitation as he sat down next to her, picked up an ice cream sandwich and gave it a critical gaze-over.
"It took me a little bit to navigate through that kitchen, but the ice cream sandwiches were worth it," Chihiro chirped
Spyro nodded and mumbled something under his breath while he eyed the sandwich apathetically.
"It's not poisoned or anything, scout's honor!" Chihiro giggled and twiddled her fingers, "I mean, not that, that even matters since I was never a scout or anything, it's just,"—Chihiro looked down at her own sandwich and grabbed it while her voice turned soft—"You seemed really upset, and I know you don't really wanna talk about it, but I wanna help you out and ice cream always helps me when I'm upset, so—"
"Why are you so worried about me?" Spyro paused and stared at Chihiro.
There was a pause for mere moments before Chihiro made a warm smile.
"Because you're my friend, silly!" Chihiro exclaimed before she took a bite of her sandwich and swallowed, "Of course I'm gonna be worried about you, especially when you were all curled up and crying like you were!"
Spyro jumped in his seat just a little bit before he looked down at the sandwich, then finally mustered up the effort to pick it up and take a bite. The sweetness of the vanilla did make him feel a tiny bit better about the situation, though ice cream wouldn't be enough to cure his woes. As he gulped it down, Spyro turned to Chihiro.
"You don't have to worry about me. I can deal with this by myself."
"A-ha!" Chihiro poked Spyro on the snout, "So there is something wrong!"
Spyro gulped, before he hastily finished the sandwich in his paws and pushed Chihiro's arm away.
"Chihiro, even if you are the new portal master, I still barely know you. I'm not just going to spill my guts to somebody I've barely known for a week."
Chihiro gave an aside look and shrugged her shoulders, a bit shocked by his harsh tone. However, her shock lasted for very little as she made an understanding smile and nodded.
"Well, I guess you have a point there." She then finished her own sandwich, licked her fingers clean, and gave Spyro a friendly look, "But, even if you don't wanna talk about it, just know that I'm always here if you need a shoulder to cry on. Or an ice cream sandwich. Or both."
Spyro looked at Chihiro one last time and nodded before he took to the air once more.
"Come on, you need to go back to bed. It's really late, after all." Spyro flapped in place for a few moments before he turned to the door.
"Do I have to?"
"YES."
"Fiiiiinnnnneeeee."
And with that, Spyro walked Chihiro back to her quarters. As he gazed over her one last time while she merrily skipped along, he felt a slight burden lift off his shoulders.
That sandwich was pretty good, Spyro thought as he smiled slightly.
§
"Lord Kaos, Lord Kaos!" shouted a slender drow witch draped in purple robes as she tapped the mechanical communications device on her wrist, "I have some important news for you!"
There was no response at first—just pure static, until a familiarly screechy voice responded from the other side.
"What is it, minion?! Can't you see I'm busy?!" Kaos shrieked from the other side of the device.
"With all due respect, Lord Kaos, I can't really see. This device doesn't have a screen."
Kaos vocally thought this over for a moment, hums and mumbles and all, before he cleared his throat and lowered his tone.
"Good point, minion. NOW WHAT IS IT?!"
"The Skylanders have returned! Two just made off with the Golden Propeller!" The drow reported, pure terror in her voice.
"Wait, they've returned?! But how?!"
"I'm not sure, Lord Kaos, but I have an idea." The drow gulped before her voice turned numb, "There was a little human child running around with them on the island, couldn't be much older than ten or eleven,"—the drow hesitated before she spoke again—"I think they might just be a portal master."
§
"A PORTAL MASTER?!" Kaos shouted, beyond furious and confused.
How could the Skylanders have found a new portal master, especially one that could've sent them to the Skylands?! Kaos broiled while his heart pounded so furiously it could've popped right out of his chest, I thought I sent them to the furthest corners of the universe, where no life could be found?!
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I mean, she could've just been a new recruit, or I mean, like, just some random citizen or something, it's very unlikely that—"
"If you wish to keep your life, pathetic fool, you'd better pray to your Elven gods that you are wrong! Actually no, I'd still execute you anyway for LETTING THEM GO!" Kaos hissed back from the safety of his portal.
And with the sound of strained sobbing in the background, Kaos ended the communication and sighed. Kaos then sneered as he gripped the stone edges of his portal before he vaulted onto its side. His fear was shed in favor of a pure, malevolent untamed confidence, one only befitting of someone who was quickly rising to the title of Skylands' all-powerful lord.
"If there is a new portal master out there, I will personally make sure that they learn to fear the maleficent, terror-inducing, utterly DOOMTASTIC name of KAAAAAAOOOOOSSSSSSS!"
And with that, Kaos cackled loudly and for as long as he could until he broke into a coughing fit.
"STUPID COUGHING FITS!"
Fun fact: The Sanctuaries were taken from the now-defunct Skylanders Lost Islands app! In the game their purpose was never elaborated beyond the fact that putting Skylanders there would give you resources and experience if I recall correctly, but I've always like the headcanon that they acted as something of barracks for the Skylanders!