Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders

by Tilde-Heart

Chihiro Hatsuki is an ordinary Earth kid whose life is turned upside down when the Skylanders, the magical guardians of another world, land in her backyard and promptly tell her that she's a magical portal master! Now, Chihiro must help the Skylanders defeat their archenemy Kaos and restore the Core of Light that protects their world. (Canon-divergent retelling of SSA)

6. Chapter 6

Whew, I'm so glad I was able to get this chapter out! Let me tell you, this took me a LOT of time to get it to a point I was happy with! Anyways, please enjoy what's currently CHS's longest chapter!

Watch Seeker: To answer your questions, my plan is to sort of rotate between which Skylanders get focus each chapter, to ensure that everyone gets a chance to shine! So yes, they'll show up later!

Guest: Thank you for the kind words! For starters, I'm very glad that you were able to pick up on Chihiro being neurodivergent—I was a little worried it wasn't apparent enough, but it seems I was mistake! Your ideas are quite interesting, but all I can say for now is to just keep reading to see where it goes!

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It was a crisp, surprisingly warm autumn morning in the Skylanders' corner of Skylands, and the whole island bustled with a newfound life. The Skylanders ran to and from missions, seemingly filled with a new energy thanks to Master Eon's return, and their allies were no different as they managed their daily tasks and jobs. Even the stray wildlife bustled with vigor as they went about their humble existences!

And as for Chihiro, she had important duties of her own—she and Hugo had arrived at Master Eon's now somewhat repaired citadel to discuss things of an important manner.

"There you two are!" Master Eon said as he hovered off of a worn chair, "Please, take a seat."

Hugo and Chihiro nodded, then looked around until they saw two half-broken chairs behind them, shrugged, and took their seats. As they got comfortable, their eyes glazed over the study.

The area had been tidied up some since Chihiro's last adventure there—the rubble and debris from the battle with Kaos had been mostly cleaned up, with only dirt-streaked floors and walls with disheveled pictures left behind. While some of the furniture had been magically repaired, many old tables and chairs were still split in half or covered in dust, but compared to how it used to look it was certainly an improvement—even if all the upset dust made Chihiro want to sneeze.

"Now, Chihiro, as I mentioned yesterday night," Master Eon said as he floated up from his chair and towards Chihiro, "There are still a lot of things you must know about being a portal master."

"Yeah, I get that," Chihiro remarked as she nodded weakly. Something about being with Master Eon after hearing so much praise about him made her feel… A bit small, for lack of a better phrase.

"And of course, I will be your teacher." Master Eon circled around Chihiro before he flew off, "Now, while there are many things you should know about being a portal master, our dire situation currently calls for some more… Hastened lessons,"—Master Eon then floated towards the stairs near the entrance—"Hugo, Chihiro, come follow me."

Hugo and Chihiro quickly complied as they followed Master Eon up the stairs. While the staircase itself was worn and full of holes—Chihiro herself nearly fell down a few—it was stable nonetheless. After a short trip up, they found themselves on a wooden platform filled with shelves upon shelves of books. The whole area was covered in minimal debris, with dust all over the floors and small piles of rocks gathered in distant corners, but seemed fairly clean overall.

Not sure what else to do, both Hugo and Chihiro stood at the top of the staircase and watched Master Eon.

Master Eon, meanwhile, flitted to and fro among the bookshelves and gathered as many books as he could.

"Now, where did I put that book?…" Master Eon said as he looked over a shelf quickly, "A-ha! There it is!"—He then magically levitated a book off of the shelf and onto his pile before he floated back to Hugo and Chihiro—"Now, follow me."

After a short trip back down, he had taken his seat back in his favorite chair and laid the books down on a wooden table in front of him.

Hugo and Chihiro then took their seats as well and watched as Master Eon levitated the book on top of the pile and showed it to them. It had a leather-bound, dark indigo cover, a picture of a portal engraved on its front and something written in ancient Skylandian characters that Chihiro couldn't recognize underneath that portal. Something about it seemed to radiate with an aura of importance…

"This book is a guidebook of sorts for new portal masters." Master Eon laid the book back down onto the table, "It covers all of the basic things you'll need to know."

"What about the other books?" Chihiro asked as her chestnut eyes glazed the dusty stack of books over.

"Those will be saved for a later time, young one." Master Eon floated towards Chihiro and cleared his throat.

"Young Chihiro, starting from today, you will be my apprentice—if you choose so." Master Eon's voice turned clear and firm, "The life of a true portal master is far from easy—you are responsible for protecting not just Skylands, but the universe as a whole from evils far beyond you or I's imagination,"— Master Eon spun around Chihiro—"It's a very dangerous and important job. You will face great dangers, perilous missions, and truly depraved villains who will stop at nothing to stop you and your allies—even if it means taking your or others' lives. Do you understand this?"

Chihiro's heart pounded furiously as she nodded slightly. A part of her heart couldn't help but feel concern as she heard Master Eon's speech, as if she had maybe gotten herself into a bigger problem than she thought, but she couldn't just leave! She came way too far to stop now! So, she grasped the arms of her chair tight with sweaty palms and an anticipating heart.

"Now, the decision you will make here is not one to be taken lightly." Master Eon stared her straight in the face, "Young Chihiro Hatsuki, do you wish to become a true portal master?"

Master Eon then withdrew from Chihiro's face and flew back to his chair

"Give yourself some time to think, young one."

Chihiro looked down at herself for mere moments as her brain throbbed, Master Eon's words resonant in both her heart and her mind.

You heard him, you could die! Chihiro sucked on her lip and closed her eyes. Are you sure you really wanna do this? You've seen the kind of danger they get into—and if you died here, nobody back home would know what happened to you! And besides, how can you handle the stuff he did? He's some great ancient master, you're just some kid from Earth! You don't even know how to fight! Surely he could—

No, he's dead! How could he do anything about this?! Chihiro stopped short and made a stern frown as she opened her eyes.

I came here for a reason, and it was to help my friends save the universe! They need me, this whole world needs me… If Kaos could cause so much trouble to just one village, just one place, imagine what he could do to the entire universe! Imagine what he could do to my home! And like it or not, I'm the one who found the Skylanders, I'm the one who came to Skylands—and I'm the only person who can fill these shoes.

Chihiro then breathed in and stood tall, a fist clutched to her chest. Something in her heart made her feel as if this moment was something the entire universe aligned for, as if she was born to say these words, to feel these feelings, to live in this very moment! Yes, her destiny awaited her, right here, right now!

It's time to be a hero, Chihiro Hatsuki.

"I do, Master Eon," Chihiro stated with a surprising amount of firmness as she looked Master Eon in the eye.

Her gaze trailed back to Hugo, who stared at her with shocked, withdrawn eyes, as if he was taken aback by the sheer amount of resolve that radiated off of her person.

But Master Eon, however, only chuckled.

"Very well then, young Chihiro." Master Eon floated towards Chihiro's side, "We will now begin our training—"

"Actually," Hugo butted in, "I hate to interrupt, but we still need to send the Skylanders out on morning patrols."

"Huh?" Chihiro uttered before she shook her head, "Oh, right, still need to start daily patrols."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," Master Eon remarked while he levitated the stack of books so that they hovered beside him, "Hugo, lead us to the portal room."

"Understood, Master Eon," Hugo said as he walked out of the citadel, Master Eon and Chihiro both diligently trailed behind him.

§

After a short walk, Master Eon, Chihiro and Hugo had arrived in the portal room.

There, most of the Skylanders were crowded around the area and talked among themselves while they were waiting for missions to start. The air brewed with a kind of tranquil energy, like the calm before a big race's beginning or the moments before the start of a big sports game.

"Thank you for your patience, everyone!" Hugo announced as he cleared his throat and pulled a list out of his pocket while the room went silent, "Before I say anything else, Master Eon has a very important announcement for all of us."

Hugo drew back and let Master Eon take center stage.

"Thank you, Hugo," Master Eon said before he cleared his throat and shone bright, "Now, as for my announcement…"—Master Eon then looked back at Chihiro while she walked to his side —"As of now, I have formally taken Chihiro under my wing as an apprentice. During her stay here, she will study the ways of a true portal master under Hugo and I's watchful eyes."

Shouts of joy resonated from the crowd, and some even pumped their fists in the air.

Chihiro giggled nervously, her cheeks flushed red from a mixture of embarrassment and sheepishness.

Man, I'd expect Master Eon to be super serious about this whole true portal master business, Chihiro thought as she looked away, but I didn't think everybody else would make such a big deal about it.

"Now, I trust that you will treat her with respect and aid her as necessary." Master Eon drew back as the crowd came to silence and allowed Hugo to take the stage once more, "Hugo, you may take over from here."

Hugo cleared his throat, looked over the piece of paper in his hands.

"Okay, first things first—Stealth Elf, Stump Smash, you've been assigned to the Perilous Pastures," Hugo proclaimed before he visibly shuddered, "To deal with, ugh, an outbreak of evil magic-infested sheep."

"Understood, Hugo," Stealth Elf remarked as she and Stump Smash walked out from the crowd.

Stealth Elf was a skinny, pale green-skinned elven girl with long blue hair that was tied into a braid and blank white eyes. She wore a crop top, fingerless gloves with golden buckles, a sash that was slung across her waist, trousers and boots all in shades of rich brown, and had twin curved blades clasped in her right hand. She had one hand on her waist while the other laid limp, and her head was slightly tilted as she gave Hugo a cold look. Next to her was Stump Smash, a large, brown and green tree ent who had black and yellow eyes and large mallets for hands. He had a deep frown on his face, and both his arms were crossed.

"Chihiro." Hugo looked at Chihiro, "Could you send them off?"

"Sure thing, Huges!" Chihiro chirped with a firm nod as she joined Stealth Elf and Stump Smash.

The three of them then walked over to a nearby portal, with the sound of Hugo making his other announcements only a faint notion in the back of their brains.

"Congratulations, Chihiro!" Stump Smash said as he gently nudged Chihiro with one of his mallet hands, his deep frown from earlier cracked into a small, playful smile, like a parent congratulating their child.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Master Eon's just mentoring me until I'm good enough to go in the fields with you guys, nothing to get all excited about," Chihiro giggled as she scratched the back of her head.

"To you, maybe," Stealth Elf interjected as she pushed past Stump Smash, "But Master Eon's the greatest portal master of his generation—getting to be his apprentice is a huge honor."

"Really?" Chihiro asked as she placed a hand to an o-shaped mouth.

Stealth Elf nodded firmly and made a soft grunt, as if to affirm her statement.

"Of course, you'll be working pretty hard—Master Eon took his work very seriously and I imagine he'll expect you to as well." Stealth Elf cast a dark aside glance, "Especially with how things are with Kaos."

"Well, I'll be ready for it!" A fire burned in Chihiro's eyes as she stared directly at Stealth Elf and balled her hands into fists, "If I'm gonna protect this place, I've gotta be the best there is! I'm not gonna stop until I'm good enough to help you guys fight Kaos!"

"See, you're already starting to sound like a true portal master." Stealth Elf chuckled, "Keep that attitude up, and you'll be working with us in no time."

"Okay, all this chit chat is nice and all," Stump Smash moaned as he gave both Stealth Elf and Chihiro a testy glare, "But shouldn't we be going to Perilous Pastures instead of making small talk?"

"Aah, Stumps has a point," Chihiro said as she walked over to the portal and stared down at it, "I'll go get the portal set up."

Chihiro breathed in and clasping her hands against the portal's stone rim. As she held it tighter, she focused on the thought of Perilous Pastures in her head, before she exhaled and let go. The portal shone bright, and Chihiro peered down to find the image of a field covered in rampaging sheep reflected on its surface.

"There's your ride, guys." Chihiro moved to the side and stretched her arms towards the portal.

Stump Smash and Stealth Elf both nodded in unison before they both immediately jumped onto the portal and vanished in a flash.

After she watched them disappear, Chihiro nodded firmly before turning around.

"Alright, who's next?" Chihiro shouted with confidence.

Several voices shouted out from around the room. Phew, they had a lot today— better not wait around. Chihiro heaved a sigh and ran across the room. She then came towards the next group, which consisted of Gill Grunt, Terrafin and Eruptor.

All three of them were talking among each other with arms crossed, but as soon as they saw Chihiro their eyes sparkled.

"Hey, there's the new apprentice on the block!" Terrafin shouted as he walked over to Chihiro and playfully ruffled her hair, "How's it feel being Master Eon's understudy, kiddo?"

Chihiro giggled and lifted Terrafin's hand off of her head.

"I don't know, not really that different, to be honest," Chihiro remarked with a playful shrug.

"Well, once Master Eon puts ya through the ringer, you'll be singin' a different tune." Terrafin drew his hand back and gave Chihiro a toothy grin.

"Anyways, where are you guys headed?" Chihiro gave them an attentive gaze.

"We were assigned to the Flaming Forest," Gill Grunt said as he walked up to Chihiro, "Kaos's trolls were making a ruckus over there, apparently."

"Apparently," Chihiro echoed as she cast an aside glance then smiled, "Well, stand back—I'll get the portal running."

And with that, Gill and Terrafin parted ways and allowed Chihiro to walk over towards the portal behind them.

Chihiro skipped over to the portal, closed her eyes and clasped her hands against the stone rim of the portal. With a whoosh, it was activated in moments, its surface now reflected with the image of a forest of trees that burned with bright blue flames.

"Wait, are those trees supposed to be burning like that?" Chihiro asked, concern in her voice as her brow furrowed.

Gill Grunt nodded before hopping on the portal.

"Good luck, Chihiro!" Gill Grunt shouted as the portal flashed with bright light and he disappeared from view.

As Chihiro, Terrafin and Eruptor watched Gill disappear, Terrafin turned around and patted Chihiro on the back. Terrafin and Eruptor then hopped on the portal and disappeared as well before the portal's lights dimmed and only faintly shone, now an echo of what they used to be.

Well, two down, a ton more to go. Chihiro skipped away towards the next group, Better not stand around here…

And with that, she bounced between the other Skylander groups and sent them away as well. Most of them greeted her with congratulations on her new position, or warnings about the lessons she'd have to learn or the big shoes she'd have to fill, or some tips on what to do. But of course, the main topic was all the same—her apprenticeship with Master Eon.

As she whisked away the last group of Skylanders, Chihiro bit her lip.

Man, this apprenticeship is a lot more important than I thought it was, Chihiro pondered as she felt her chest grow a little tighter than normal, Guess I'm just gonna have to do my best! I've got an important job now, and I can't let everyone down!

"Chihiro!" Hugo called from the back of the room.

Chihiro then jolted out of her thoughts and whipped her head around to see Hugo! He stood at the front of the room while Master Eon hovered beside him.

"Coming!" Chihiro shouted as she ran across the portal room, with extra care taken so as to not to run into any of the portals in the process.

"Was that the last one?" Hugo asked and then watched as Chihiro nodded.

"Good," Master Eon interrupted as he floated towards Chihiro, "Now, why don't we all go back to my Citadel? We can begin your formal training there."

As all three of them walked out of the portal room and through the cold stone hallways, Chihiro frowned deeply as she looked at Master Eon and then back at herself.

"So, Master Eon, what're we gonna do first?" Chihiro asked.

"Well, first, we are going to return to my citadel," Master Eon replied with not a peek back taken.

"Yeah, I know that, but I mean like lesson-wise—what are we starting with first?"

"Well, normally we'd start with opening portals, but you seem to have already mastered that. Once we arrive at the Citadel, I'll tell you what we shall start with first."

So much for prepping beforehand, Chihiro thought as she looked away from Master Eon and rolled her eyes, then gave Hugo a curious gaze.

"And I've been meaning to ask, why's Hugo tagging along?"

"Tagging along?" Hugo echoed before he shook his head, "I'm not just tagging along, Chihiro. As Master Eon's personal assistant, I aid him in all his endeavors—running errands, deciphering ancient texts, locating villains, grooming his impressive beard—"

"But… He doesn't have a beard." Chihiro looked above Hugo and towards Master Eon.

"Well, back when he was alive, anyways." Hugo went solemn and looked down at his feet.

Chihiro inhaled sharply and looked away. Eesh, must've touched a bad topic—she should shut up now. When she looked over, she saw that they had finally left the portal area and were inside the heart of the island once more.

It was a quiet, short journey back to the citadel from the portal building. There weren't many people within the heart itself—just them, the few Skylanders that were slated to guard the island, and Cali, who was messing with the Far-Viewer as she attempted to locate the next component of the Core of Light. The air was crisp and clean, and the only sounds you could hear were birds chirping and the few inhabitants of the island talking among themselves. Chihiro couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by how peaceful it was. It was like something was waiting to go wrong at any moment!

But thankfully, everything stayed peaceful as she, Hugo and Master Eon arrived at the citadel once more. Hugo opened the doors before they found themselves in the sitting room and took their seats. As they did this, Master Eon hovered around the table before he lifted up the indigo-spined book and showed it to Hugo and Chihiro once more.

"As I was saying before," Master Eon explained, "This book contains all the basics about being a portal master. Normally the curriculum is more extensive, but due to our dire circumstances, we've had to do some adjustments."

"What kinds of adjustments?" Chihiro asked as she leaned forward.

Hugo hopped out of his seat and joined Master Eon.

"Last night, while you were sleeping," Hugo explained, "Master Eon and I worked on condensing the material in this book! If all goes as planned, you should be able to complete your training within a few weeks!"

"A few weeks?" Chihiro repeated, a smile on her face as she leaned back and sighed with relief, "At least I won't be stuck training for months."

"Now, don't get the wrong idea." Hugo he wagged a finger, "Just because it's shorter doesn't mean it's easier. You'll have to do a lot of training over the course of the week, and it will be very tedious."

"What Hugo says is correct," Master Eon added as he floated towards Chihiro, "There will be many tasks that will require all of your strength and willpower, questions that will require you to call upon everything you know, and tests that will exhaust every skill, power and bit of knowledge you own. If you want to pass, you must be willing to push yourself towards your limits, and maybe even past them if necessary."

Chihiro gulped and tugged on her jacket. Dang, this sounds pretty tough—what if she can't pass?

"But do not fear." Master Eon's tone turned reassuring, "Hugo and I will mentor you every step of the way. If you have any questions, come to either one of us."

Chihiro then smiled and breathed a sigh before she bounced out of her chair.

"So, now where do I start?" Chihiro beamed back at Master Eon, a bit of her worries taken away.

"I will show you." Master Eon hovered over to the upper half of the room, "Follow me.

Chihiro nodded and diligently followed Master Eon up the stairs. When they both reached the top, she found herself in the library room once more, though its mess seemed much more noticeable than it did when she was first there. She then turned to her side and watched Master Eon flip the book open.

"Hugo." Master Eon turned to Hugo.

"Ah, yes!" Hugo chirped as he turned to Chihiro, "Now, over the course of your training you will be faced with ten Portal Master Examinations to test your abilities and judge whether you will be able to learn more advanced subjects—for the first examination, you will be expected to successfully perform the Ten Basic Spells—"

"Wait, hold up," Chihiro said as she tilted her head and frowned, a finger pressed against her mouth, "Ten Basic Spells? You've lost me,"—Chihiro turned to Master Eon—"Master Eon, what's he talking about?"

"Well, young Chihiro," Master Eon said as he floated to Chihiro's view, "The Ten Basic Spells are ten simple spells taught to every magic user as soon as they're old enough to cast a spell. Regardless of element, anyone who practices magic should know these spells—they're the cornerstones of every spell you will ever come to learn, and if you can master them, you can master even the toughest enchantments."

"Sounds about right," Chihiro remarked as she nodded her head in understanding.

"You will practice on all this debris that is scattered around my citadel." Master Eon floated away from Chihiro, "I will show you how to perform the spell, and you will then perform it yourself. Do you understand?"

Chihiro nodded firmly.

"So, what do we start with?"

Master Eon hummed as he seemingly glazed around his library—it was kinda hard to tell, what with him having no eyes and all—before he seemingly stopped on a simple rock. His soft hums faded, Master Eon cleared his throat.

"Size manipulation," Master Eon proclaimed as he floated over to a rock the size of a basketball, "In other words, making things shrink and grow."

Master Eon focused his attention on the rock, then made it glow with a cyan light. In moments, the light expanded so that the rock glowed with the light of a fresh lightbulb, then disappeared entirely when the light faded!

Chihiro and Hugo both gasped, then watched as a small cyan light lifted up from the ground and floated towards Chihiro! Chihiro snagged the light out of midair and looked into her palms to find that within its glow was that same rock, but now the size of a pebble.

"Now, you try, young Chihiro." Master Eon floated behind Chihiro and gently nudged her back, as if prompting her to go forwards, "Just focus on the object you want, and imagine it in a smaller state. The transformation should take place instantaneously!"

Chihiro made a chirp and nodded before she skipped up to another basketball-sized rock.

Okay, you heard what Master Eon said, Chihiro thought as she cracked her knuckles, Just imagine that rock shrinking down to the size of an itty-bitty ladybug!… Or something.

Chihiro took a deep breath in, then focused her whole mind on the rock and her image of its tiny transformation.

After all, the universe is counting on you! You can't afford to screw up!

Chihiro remained ever-silent as she envisioned the tinier rock, her heart a'skip with excitement. Finally, she just couldn't take the anticipation anymore and popped open her eyes!

"Did I do it?" Chihiro asked with an eager smile… Than quickly turned to a disappointed frown as she saw that the rock remained the same size as ever.

"Don't be downtrodded, young Chihiro," Master Eon encouraged, "Not everyone can get spells right on the first try! Just try again!"

Chihiro nodded as she closed her eyes and tried again, her mind a little shakier this time than before. She hadn't expected it to be this tough… But surely she could get it right this time, right?

Nope—when she opened her eyes it was still the same.

"Well, third time's the charm, right?" Chihiro trilled as she went back to practice.

But as it turned out, third time wasn't the charm. Neither was the fourth… Or fifth… or ninth…

"I'll be downstairs tidying things up if you need me," Hugo sighed as he walked down the stairs.

Chihiro flinched as she heard the sound of Hugo's footsteps. Great, she messed up so many times she got them bored, surely she has to do something right now!

"ROCK, JUST CHANGE SIZES ALREADY DANG IT!" Chihiro screamed at last.

Chihiro felt a harsh light on her face and peeped her eyes open. Had it worked? Her mouth broke into an expectant grin as the light faded… And then fell as she realized that she hadn't made the rock shrink!

In fact, it had grown at least two sizes.

"Well… You were able to perform it…" Master Eon trilled as he floated closer to a trembling Chihiro.

"DANG IT!" Chihiro screamed as she tugged on her hair, "Now what am I gonna do?!"

"Well, we could practice another spell to rid ourselves of this debris…"

"Huh?" Chihiro let go of her hair and looked over at Master Eon.

"Levitation. Just focus on the thing you wish to levitate, and imagine it being lifted into the air." Master Eon replied focused on a small rock that laid in front of them, right next to Chihiro's rock. Silence echoed throughout the room for mere moments before the rock floated in the air!

Chihiro gasped in awe before she clapped firmly, then saw Master Eon levitate the rock towards a side corner of the room and lay it down.

"Now it's your turn." Master Eon flew further from Chihiro, "Take that rock next to you and levitate it next to mine."

Chihiro then turned around and saw her rock, was now about the size of an old-timey box computer monitor next to her feet, smiled and turned so that her whole body faced it. With a crack of her knuckles, she screwed her eyes shut while her mind painted a picture of the rock next to her floating in the air, like a ballerina or a giant bird. As she breathed in, she kept focusing and focusing until she felt a surge of magic and peeped an eye open…

To find that the rock hadn't moved an inch.

Chihiro heaved a sigh, she sat down, crossed her legs and focused once more.

C'mon rock, float! Chihiro thought, her eyes trained on her feet as she stewed in her mind and felt a glow.

She then looked up and saw that the rock was now floating just an inch above the floor! Chihiro jumped out and let a squeal of glee, but this momentary rush had been her downfall—as it caused her to lose her concentration and caused the rock to fall back down. And it didn't just land on the floor, no—it landed straight THROUGH the floor, making a decently-sized hole in the process.

Chihiro gulped and giggled nervously as she knelt down and looked inside the hole, while Master Eon immediately flew over and did the same thing.

There, the rock sat in a hollow room covered in dust, dirt and more rocks. However, despite its fall it seemed to be perfectly intact!

"Okay, just a little slip-up," Chihiro reassured herself more than anyone as she breathed, "I can do this, I can do this."

"WHAT HAPPENED?! DID KAOS ATTACK AGAIN?!" Hugo screamed as he raced upstairs with wide panicked eyes that soon trailed over to the decently-sized hole in the floor, "AND WHAT'S WITH THAT HOLE IN THE FLOOR?!"

"Young Chihiro just had a training mishap, Hugo," Master Eon explained as he floated over to Hugo, "It happens at times."

Hugo cringed as he continued to look at the hole and a very sheepish Chihiro before he made a worn sigh.

"I'll just go get the broom in case we have any more 'mishaps.'" Hugo walked back down the stairs and out of the citadel.

With a scoff, Chihiro shrugged Hugo off and continued to work. She focused until her head strained with stress as she tried to lift the rock up once more, and occasionally sneaked glances only to find that the rock either didn't move at all, or only budged an inch before it stood strong once more.

As she heaved a loud groan, Chihiro continued to focus her whole mind on the rock—but after several more attempts, she was no more successful than she was the first time.

"Young Chihiro," Master Eon said as he floated over to Chihiro's side and examined the motionless rock in the hole, "Maybe it's time for you to move onto something else?"
"NO!" Chihiro shouted as she stood up straight and looked Master Eon in his glowing face, "I can do it, I just need to try again!"

She then fell back down to the floor and focused once more, all her raw determination poured into her mind. C'mon rock, move! Float! Bounce, for all anyone cared! Just do something!

Chihiro's brow grew more furrowed and her determined expression turned to a stern frown as she summoned every bit of magic in her bones. She inhaled, then exhaled and finally shot up and broke her hands apart before she raised her arms in the sky. Then, with a heave of a sigh and a fall on her back, Chihiro looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

"Did… I… Do it?" Chihiro panted, before she sat up and saw that no, she had not. The rock was still rested on the floor.

Chihiro made the loudest groan known to mankind and fell back onto her back.

"Okay… Maybe… I'll try something else…"

§

"So, Master, what's next?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head. She had finally recovered her exhausted energy, though her pride and confidence were of a different manner. Though surely, it was just a couple mistakes, right? This next one would probably go better…

"Channeling energy," Master Eon said before he breathed in, "I'd advise that you stand back for this one."

Chihiro quickly nodded and jumped back as Master Eon summoned all his energy and created a sphere of bright, white, energy. She then watched as he launched it at a large rock on top of the whole pile, which captured the rock and evaporated it into nothing.

"Now it's your turn, young one." Master Eon then floated away.

Chihiro nodded eagerly, hopped over to where Master Eon stood, then stared down the large pile of rocks and frowned. She placed her hands so that they faced each other and narrowed her eyes, a powerful fire brewed in her heart.

Alright, all I've gotta do is create an energy sphere and shoot it, just like in the TV shows, Chihiro thought with a smirk as she summoned every bit of magic energy in her body, Come on, gimme an energy sphere, just like those ones in Hydra Sphere!

Just then, a sphere of bright aqua magic energy formed between her hands! Chihiro smiled as she thrust it in front of her and watched as it slammed right into the center of the pile and exploded!

There was a flash so bright that Chihiro was forced to turn away, and small rocks flew everywhere—this whole place would surely be clean now!… But when Chihiro finally opened her eyes, she saw that the room she was in was even more of a mess than before!

Gravel and small pebbles were scattered all over the floor, the rocks that weren't blown up had been tossed all across the room, with some even lodged in the wall, and the place looked like a landslide had hit it!

Chihiro shuddered as she looked over her handiwork, a frown on her face as she realized how long cleanup would take.

"Well, I… I…" Chihiro put her hands together and pressed them against her lips a frown deepened across her face, "I think I might have made it worse. Whoops. Maybe I should have drawn inspiration from a different TV show."

"What's a TV?" Master Eon asked as he floated next to her.

"I'll explain to you later." Chihiro's frown turned to a blank expression as her shoulders slumped.

"Well, regardless." Master Eon floated away from her and examined the mess before them, "This does give me an opportunity to teach you your next spell—animation."

"Animation? Like a cartoon?"

"Whatever a cartoon is, that's not quite it," Master Eon corrected, "Animation as in bringing things to life, like this."
Master Eon breathed in (Could a ghost even breathe?) and focused his energy towards a nearby rock, then watched as the rock started glowing and seemingly came to life!

The rock rolled around the room, found another rock and went back to laying down lifeless as it sat down next to the rock.

"Now, Chihiro—" Master Eon was cut off by the sound of the door slamming open.

"MASTER EON!" Hugo shouted as he jogged up the stairs with a tall broom that had a dustpan attached to it in his furry paw, "It took me quite a while, but I found the—"—Hugo looked over the mess before them—"…Broom."

"Thank you, Hugo," Master Eon said, no mind paid to Hugo's gaping mouth as he took the broom out of Hugo's hand and levitated it towards Chihiro, "Now, young Chihiro, do as I just did and bring this broom to life."

"Okay," Chihiro said as she grabbed the broom from Master Eon and stared it down.

Let's see, how to make this broom come to life?… Chihiro thought as she frowned deeply and stared the broom down, Broom, clean up this mess for me!
Nothing.

Chihiro's shoulders slumped as she looked over the broom. That certainly didn't work. Was she forgetting something?…

"Oh, right!" Chihiro exclaimed as she closed her eyes and held the broom tightly in her grasp. Magic flowed through her whole body as she focused on the image of the broom coming to life and cleaning the room up for her.

"Okay." Chihiro raised her voice and grinned, "BROOM, TIME TO DO SOME CLEANING!"

The broom then glowed a bright aqua before it bounded out of Chihiro's hand… And promptly fell on the ground.

Chihiro only buried her face in her hands with a loud groan, then walked over to the broom, pointed her finger at it and gritted her teeth.

"Broom! Get off the floor and clean!"

But the broom didn't respond—it merely continued to sit on the ground. Its presence almost mocked Chihiro, with its inability to clean a reminder of her continued failure to perform any sort of magic.

"C'mon, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Chihiro's eyes started to water from frustration as she fell to her knees, "Two cherries? Three with lots of whipped cream and sprinkles too?"

Master Eon and Hugo only sighed.

"Abra cadabra alakazam!" Chihiro pointed at the broom, "Animus broomicus? Presto change-o? C'MON, GIVE ME SOMETHING, PLEASE!"

Master Eon then floated to Chihiro and gently rested his ghostly self on her shoulder.

"You seem awfully frustrated, young one," Master Eon remarked, "Perhaps you should rest for now?"

Chihiro sniffed and rubbed her eyes as her brow furrowed.

"I can get it," Chihiro insisted as she balled her hand into a fist, "I just need to try again!"

"Actually, Chihiro," Hugo interrupted, "We do need to change out patrols for the afternoon…"

As she heard Hugo's words, Chihiro made a weak, trembling sigh and trudged away. A feeling of doom and gloom emanated around her. She had failed practically everything she had tried—how was that even possible?

Hugo only made a frown as he trailed after Chihiro before he looked back at Master Eon.

"We'll be back soon, Master!" Hugo shouted before he went back to following Chihiro.

Master Eon only sighed as he watched her walk out of view.

§A few hours later…§

"Hugo, there you are!" Master Eon exclaimed as he saw Hugo walk through the doors of his citadels, "Please, take a seat. And where is young Chihiro?"

"Here I am!" Chihiro exclaimed as she raced through the door and practically bulldozed Hugo over.

Chihiro then jumped onto a nearby chair and sat crossed-legged on it before she looked back behind her.

"My poor, aching head," Hugo whined as he shot a dark glare at Chihiro.

Chihiro only giggled as Hugo's glare pierced into her soul before she looked away from him and towards Master Eon. Hugo, meanwhile, took the seat next to Chihiro and flopped down while he rubbed his head the whole time.

"Since you've been struggling with normal spells," Master Eon said as he flipped through the pages, "I figured that maybe another category of spells would be more your speed."

Chihiro's grin immediately faded as she clutched her sweatpants and looked down at her feet. She had just started to feel better, but then her failures had to come back and taunt her! She could feel her eyes sting as memories of her past attempts flared into her mind…

"A-ha!" Master Eon exclaimed, "Here we are—'Combat Magic.'"

"Wait, you mean I get to learn how to fight with magic and stuff?!" Chihiro looked much more eager than she probably should've, "YES!"

Chihiro pumped a fist in the air and leaned back. Of course, this caused her chair to lean back further than it should've as well. As Chihiro realized she was losing her balance, she panicked and flailed her arms with hopes of regaining her balance—but, it was to no avail as the chair fell on the floor and she was sent rolling out of it.

In one swift motion, she rolled backwards and hit her head on the doors! When she finally came to a stop, Chihiro felt a sharp pain in her head and found a small welt growing on her scalp. Then, with a weak moan she rubbed her head, trudged back to the sitting area and propped her seat back up.

"Now, follow me," Master Eon said as he floated away.

"Wait, we aren't practicing in here?" Chihiro asked as she gave Master Eon a confused look.

"No! Not at all!" Hugo insisted with an absolutely terrified look, "We don't need this place getting even more destroyed than it already is!"

Chihiro hung her head and followed Hugo and Master Eon out of the Citadel. Her eyes occasionally bounced back and forth between the various areas of the island, but nothing kept her interest for too long. After all, she was far too preoccupied by her failure.

After a short walk, Hugo, Master Eon and Chihiro found themselves at a large, dome-like building colored in shades of blue, white and gold. As they walked up to the large, wooden doors, Chihiro tilted her head and frowned just slightly.

"Is this the place?" Chihiro asked.

"Chihiro, could you open the door for me, please?" Master Eon said as he seemingly nodded

Chihiro smiled and nodded before she skipped in front of Hugo and pushed open the large wooden doors looming before her. As the doors opened, she peered inside, frowned and tilted her head.

"I dunno." Chihiro looked back at Hugo and Master Eon, "It doesn't seem like there's anything in there."

"That's because the lights are off," Hugo said as he walked in, "Allow me."
Hugo clapped his paws together and the room around them immediately lit up!

Chihiro peered inside once more, and her eyes sparkled as she took the area in.

Inside was a large dome with a dirt floor, and open, marble walls that had pictures of several of the Skylanders colored in striking dark blues and golds hung from them. The dome's ceiling was made of the same white marble that the walls were, and the whole place seemed to have something of a cold, empty feeling lingering around it.

"What is this place?" Chihiro whispered as her eyes darted back and forth.

"This is the training dome," Hugo explained as he snapped his fingers.

He, Chihiro and Master Eon then watched as a bunch of lifeless wooden training dummies sprouted up from the ground, each one tied down to a wooden stake in the ground.

"As you can guess, it's a place for the Skylanders to train and hone their abilities," Hugo explained as he walked forwards and watched more dummies sprout up from the ground like spring shoots, "And as of now, you as well."

Chihiro made an excited noise as she bounced over to where Hugo was and examined the training dummies.

"They don't seem very solid," Chihiro remarked as she gently brushed her finger against one's cloth body and frowned.

"Now, don't worry about durability." Hugo carried on with not even a peek back at Chihiro, "These dummies are enchanted to regenerate after taking a certain amount of damage. No matter how much you damage them, they'll go back to being as good as new!"

Chihiro nodded before she skipped back to Master Eon and gazed at him with intent eyes.

"So, Master Eon, what're we gonna start first? Blowing stuff up? Setting things on fire?" Chihiro asked maybe a little too eagerly before she shook her head and grinning wide, "No, no, don't tell me—we're gonna make them fight each other?!"—Chihiro dashed back to the dummy, grabbed one of its limp arms and made said arm slap its face—"Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you—"

"Now don't get too ahead of yourself, young Chihiro," Master Eon interrupted as he floated to her side, "You will learn all that in due time, but for now, we will focus on the basics."

"Okay, so, what would that be?" Chihiro sighed as she let go of the dummy and looked at Master Eon.

"Let me see." Master Eon looked through the book, "How about we start with projectiles?"

"Projectiles?" Chihiro echoed before she nodded, "Sounds simple enough. How do I do it?"

"Well, you already understand how to channel energy, yes?" Master Eon asked before he watched as Chihiro nodded again, "It's essentially the same thing as that."

Master Eon gazed over one of the practice dummies. Then, within moments, he crafted a bright sphere of light and shot an even brighter beam from it, a beam that shot a hole into the practice dummy! After Master Eon stopped, he watched the dummy slowly fill itself up with the stuffing it lost and sew the hole back shut, now good as new!

Chihiro watched all this in awe before she applauded loudly.

"Bravo, bravo!" Chihiro exclaimed before she narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"Now it's my turn."

And just like that, she leaped forward, closed her eyes and held her hands out before she crafted a small sphere of cyan-colored energy between her palms! She then smiled and snapped her fingers, which caused the sphere to shoot forward and ram into the dummy!

The dummy creaked as the sphere disappeared with a small hole left behind as a mark of her handiwork.

Chihiro's eyes sparkled as she smiled and clapped her hands.

"Well done, Chihiro." Master Eon bobbed up and down, almost as if he was nodding before he turned back to face Chihiro, "Now, try and see if you can make a larger one."

"Got it!" Chihiro gave Master Eon a thumbs up, then licked her lips as she thrust her hands in front of her person once more.

Her eyes narrowed as her whole body focused its power towards her hands, hands that now flashed with aqua light. In moments another energy sphere popped out… but it was no larger than the last! Chihiro scoffed as she watched it bob off and peter out, before she threw her arms out again. Another energy sphere popped out in response… But it was even smaller!

"C'mon, c'mon," Chihiro hissed through clenched teeth as beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, "Gimme a nice large one!"

This time, one the size of a dust speck fizzled out of her shaking palms.

"Uh… medium?"

No larger than a ladybug.

"C'mon, even baseball sized will do!"

This time, nothing shot out of her hands—just a simple aqua glow surrounded them before it faded into nothing. Chihiro shuddered and heaved a sigh as she rubbed her stinging eyes, her whole body shaken with frustration.

"But, but, it started out so good! I was so close!" Chihiro sniffed, "How could I mess that one up?"

"It's alright, Chihiro," Master Eon soothed as he floated up to Chihiro and perched on her shoulder, "Sometimes, these things happen. You feel like you master a spell once, but then can't recall how you did."

"R-really?" Chihiro rubbed her eyes again and looked back at Master Eon.

"Indeed." Master Eon hovered back off and magically levitated the book to his side, "Perhaps we should try another kind of spell? How about…"—Master Eon magically flipped through the pages before he made an intrigued noise—"How does summoning magical effigies sound?"

"Effigies?" Chihiro tilted her head, a slight frown on her face.

"They're simply versions of common objects made of magic energy. For instance, chairs, kitchen utensils, weapons—"

"WEAPONS?! LIKE SWORDS?!" Chihiro's sorrow was completely forgotten as her eyes sparkled and the widest grin found its way across her face.

"Well, theoretically, yes—" A wary Master Eon carefully hovered a ways back from Chihiro's side.

"COOL!" Chihiro stared down the training dummy.

With a smirk, she closed her eyes and held her hands together similar to how you'd hold a sword. Then, within moments, a longsword made of glowing aqua energy manifested in her hands!… Only to flicker out immediately! Chihiro heaved a small groan as she positioned herself again—legs apart, hands clasped, eyes focused…

Nothing.

Chihiro clenched her teeth as she looked over the training dummy, whose pristine condition only seemed to mock her like the wreckage before. As she looked back down at her hands, she gritted her teeth and held them open.

"Okay, let's try something smaller." Chihiro closed her eyes, her mouth still turned into a frown, "How about some bombs?"

Chihiro stayed focused for moments until she heard what sounded like the sizzle of a burning fuse and eagerly popped them open, only to find a faint hologram of a cyan-colored bomb nestled into the palm of her hand that quickly faded away.

"Maybe some boxing gloves then!" Chihiro closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists, the tone in her voice especially frantic.

She stayed silent and placid for so long that it probably concerned Master Eon and Hugo, then her eyes shot wide open and she made an angered cry of war. With enraged shouts she broke into a barrage of punches aimed at one of the training dummies, and onslaught of fists slung and curses shouted until she hit the pole and reeled back in pain. As she examined her now slightly red hand, she saw that her hands were completely bare—no gloves or anything!

Chihiro's lips trembled as she felt tiny, salty tears sting her eyes. How could she fail so much? Every single move she made, every spell she practiced… An utter failure! Just like she was! As Chihiro sniffled, she bit her lip and wiped away the tears. She couldn't cry, not in front of Master Eon and Hugo. It would be stupid for her to get so worked up over a couple failures—if she couldn't keep her calm here, how could she keep her calm in the heat of a serious battle?

"Let's try something else." Chihiro made a couple shallow pants as she tried and failed to disguise her disappointment.

"… Well, then," Master Eon said, a bit of wariness in his voice as he reluctantly pulled up the book, "Let's see what we have…"—Master Eon hummed as he poured through the book—"Magic barriers!"

Master Eon watched Chihiro summon a cyan-colored barrier about the size of her person… That promptly flickered out like a dead light bulb.

"Teleporting." Master Eon looked to his side and saw Chihiro sneakily shuffle over to the other side of the room, only to sigh and halfheartedly trudge back to his side.

"Magical afflictions!" Master Eon heard a shocked scream as a bright flash engulfed the area next to him, then looked over to see Chihiro stumble about in a dizzy haze.

As Chihiro fell on her bottom and shook her head, she sniffled and bit her lip.

"That didn't work either, did it?" She croaked as her sniffles grew louder and more stuffy.

"I am afraid not, Chihiro," Master Eon replied as he floated down to her side, "Perhaps we should stop here for now."

Chihiro made a soft gasp, then shook her head.

"But, we can't!" Chihiro balled her hands into fists, desperation reflected in her eyes, "I haven't even mastered a single spell yet! I need to keep working!"

"Pushing yourself to your limits won't make these spells come to you, young Chihiro." Master Eon's voice took a bit of sternness to it, "And besides, I am certain it is about time for us to check on the Skylanders, is it not?"

Chihiro sniffled again and just barely held herself back from crying. Master Eon was right—it was about time to move onto the evening patrols, at least, she thought it was. She was so wrapped up in her training—or rather, failure thereof—that she was barely keeping track of the time. Her head hung low, Chihiro stood and made a weak nod.

"Come now, Chihiro." Master Eon floated off the ground and towards the door, "Let us make our leave for now. We can practice tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?!" Chihiro stopped and cleared her throat, then hung her head again as she trudged after Master Eon, "… Coming, Master Eon."

Chihiro bit her lip and held back her tears as she left the arena. So many spells she had practiced, so much time taken out of the day… And she couldn't master a single one. What kind of a portal master could she call herself if she couldn't even get a simple spell that little kids could probably get right done? Not a good one, that's for sure.

"Well, it's just one day, right?" Chihiro whispered as she wiped her tears, "You know what they say, the first day's always the hardest one. Maybe tomorrow would be better…"

Her heart just barely reassured, Chihiro quietly followed Master Eon and Hugo out of the arena. Maybe tomorrow would be better, yeah?

§Three Days Later…§

Tomorrow was not, in fact, better than the last. Neither was the day after it. Or the day after that one. No matter what she did, how hard she tried… She failed. Every single time. And her heart wouldn't let her forget it, her defeats weighed upon it like crates full of dumbbells.

In fact, it hurt her so much that she could barely even bring herself to get out of bed—what's the use of embracing another straight day of failure? But nevertheless she did, and it lead her to once again seat herself in Master Eon's study.

"Today, young Chihiro," Master Eon said as he floated off of his chair, "We will—"

"I know, I know," Chihiro droned as she curled into a ball and looked aside, a small frown on her face, "More magic practice."

"Actually, that's not the case." Master Eon shook back and forth slowly, then floated closer to Chihiro, "Today, we will be doing something else."

"Eh?" Chihiro peered up at Master Eon, her frown stretched wider, "Like, what else is there?"

Master Eon cleared his throat and spun around the table.

"The relief efforts at Shattered Island are nearly finished, but they need a few more helping hands in order to finish repairs—and I had wished to converse with the island's king about his encounter with Kaos." Master Eon floated aside, "So, you and several of the Skylanders will be accompanying me on a diplomatic embark."

Chihiro only sat silently as Master Eon spoke a conversation with Hugo that she blocked out of her mind. Why weren't they training? Had he finally gotten fed up with all her mistakes?

"Wait…" Chihiro pushed herself to jump out of her seat stand tall, "Shouldn't I be staying back and studying? I mean, I've got all those spells I need to master—"

"Chihiro, being a portal master is more than just mastering spells and fighting enemies." Master Eon flicked from here to there, as if he was pacing while talking, "Diplomacy is a vital part of a portal master's duties—after all, one cannot be expected to keep the peace and safety of a sole island, let alone the entire universe if they cannot easily deal with others in a just way."

"So I'm coming because…" Chihiro tilted her head, "I gotta study how to talk to people?"

"Well, somewhat." Master Eon floated towards Chihiro and rested on her shoulder, "The will be a vital opportunity for you to study firsthand how both Skylanders and portal masters, as keepers of justice, are expected to engage with the civilian populace. So in simple terms, yes, you are learning how to talk to people."

Master Eon's tone was slightly playful, as if he was trying to crack a joke, but honestly it only made Chihiro feel worse.

"And more importantly, you've been training for so long that you seem to be burnt out!" Master Eon sat himself on Hugo's shoulder.

Chihiro bit her lip and cast an aside look. True, she was quite burnt out from constantly practicing… But that was only really because of her inability to actually complete anything! No matter how many times she tried, it all amounted to failure.

"Perhaps a change of routine would help you some." Master Eon flew off towards the open doors of his study with Hugo dutifully behind him, "Come along now, we'll leave once you change out patrols."

Chihiro made a soft groan, then pushed herself to follow them. She really didn't enjoy this sudden change in routine, but it was no use arguing with Master Eon. He was her mentor, and besides, she still felt too awful to argue.

She didn't even pay attention to the scenery as she, Hugo and Master Eon made their way to the portal room. Not that she wanted too, anyways—she was sure everybody around could tell that she was an absolute, utter, failure. She could feel their glares piercing into her soul and ground her teeth to keep from focusing on their judgmental, disappointed gazes.

Their entry into the stone halls that lead to the portal room was a bit more of a relief—at least she knew there was one thing she could do right. Still quite crestfallen, she pushed past Master Eon and Hugo as the glow of the portals from a nearby open entryway signaled that they were nearly there.

As soon as she stepped inside the portal room, Chihiro wiped her tears and grabbed a list off the nearby wall. Time to get to work. Her first stop was at a nearby whirring portal that she immediately activated without even thinking. Once it activated, Spyro hopped out alongside a muscular, blue-skinned, four-armed yeti covered in white hair with lemon-colored eyes and a dull reddish-orange gremlin with large pointed ears, cream-colored markings around his eyes and belly, and big black and yellow eyes that held two large golden pistols in their furry hands.

"Hey guys," Chihiro barely said as she made a weak smile and a weaker wave to match, "How was the mission?"

"Really great!" shouted the gremlin as they spun their pistols around like toys, "Those weird cyclopses—wait, what's the plural of cyclops? Cyclopses? Cyclopsi? Cyclopsus?"

"It's cyclopes, Trigger Happy," Spyro interrupted as he looked over at Trigger Happy and then Chihiro, "Anyways, the mission was a success—we were able to drive the cyclopes out of the village and called in emergency response. Within a week, the village should be completely back to normal!"

"That's great news, Spyro," Chihiro mumbled as she buried her face in the list, "Anyways, you guys take a break for now—you've been assigned to guard the island for the afternoon."

"Finally, something easy," sighed the yeti before they looked over at Chihiro, "So, how are the lessons with Master Eon going?"

Chihiro stood frozen and bit her lip.

"They, they went great!" Chihiro sputtered as she giggled and looked away, "I learned a ton of new fancy-shmancy magic spells, everything went swell, and I definitely didn't screw everything up like a total failure!"—Chihiro jolted up as the portals flared and whirred—"Crap, gotta get going!"

And with that, she waved goodbye to the group before she bounced over to the next portal and opened it up. She stopped only momentarily to make conversation with the Skylanders who arrived from it before she attended to the others—normally she'd love to talk with her friends, but she feared that lingering too long would bring about the inevitable questions.

How did your lessons go?

Did you master any spells already?

Are they tough?

Chihiro sighed and held the list close to her heart. She couldn't bring herself to tell them the truth and disappoint them—after all, they were counting on her to help them defeat Kaos. She couldn't possibly let them down. After a few minutes, she brought herself to the last portal and watched it glow.

"Okay, I've gotten reports from all the other afternoon patrols," Chihiro said as she grabbed another sheet of paper out of her pocket and wrote down the reports on it, "This should be the last one."

Chihiro gulped, then placed her hands on the portal's rim and watched as it flared with bright light before a few familiar figures hopped off its surface—or rather, rolled off in the case of one!

"Terrafin, Stealth!" Chihiro weakly chirped as she make a fake grin, "Nice to see you! How'd the mission go?"

Sure enough, Terrafin and Stealth Elf had arrived back from whatever their latest mission was—following up on a past investigation or something?—and stretched against the light of the portal. They were flanked by a red and gold, stout robot with wheels for legs and drills for hands, whose light bulb-like eyes seemed to drill into everything around them.

"Well, it went as good as it could have," Stealth Elf said as she rested her arms at her side, "We still don't have any clue on where Kaos has hidden the Fairy Kingdom, or what he's been doing there beyond what we can infer from his cronies. But, at least we got those spell punks taken care of."

Chihiro made a weak nod and immediately diverted her attention down to her list.

"Drills, you're on the night shift," Chihiro said as she gestured towards the robot, "You can just hang out here."

"Affirmative, sir!" Drill Sergeant whirred as he rolled past Terrafin and Stealth Elf.

As Chihiro watched Drill Sergeant make his leave, she couldn't help but smile. Even though Drill Sergeant called everyone "sir," out of habit, something about the title made her feel somewhat… Happier, for lack of a better word.

"Terrafin, Stealth." Chihiro turned back to her list and rubbed her eyes, "You guys are—"

"Actually, I have a special task in mind for them, young Chihiro."

Chihiro made a soft noise and turned around to find Master Eon float closer towards her! When she turned back, Terrafin and Stealth Elf had nodded and bowed slightly in Master Eon's presence, honored by their old mentor's appearance.

"What'cha got in mind, Eon?" Terrafin asked as he crackled his knuckles.

The three of them talked among each other for a while, then Terrafin and Stealth obediently followed after Master Eon's ghost and left Chihiro behind. Which was more than relieving for her—she didn't exactly want to worry about unwanted training questions.

"Young Chihiro, why are you standing there?" Master Eon asked as he stopped and turned around, "You're joining us as well."

"Eh? Oh, right," Chihiro uttered as she nodded her head, then quietly trailed behind Master Eon. Her head was hung down the entire time, her gaze drifted away from the room and its sights as her mind blended into a hundred questions.

I know Master Eon said he did this to try and help me, but… Is he really being honest? Chihiro thought as she bit her lip, What if he's just making me do this 'cause he's bored of watching me fail all the time? What if he's really fed up with me and just doesn't want to deal with me anymore?—Chihiro gulped and tugged on her sleeve—What if he thinks I can't really do this?

Well, it was of no use asking now—she had gotten outside in the time spent contemplating, and there was already a ship waiting to take them to their destination, parked over by a nearby ledge. It had white flags with red crosses plastered across its sides, which signaled that it was some kind of emergency vehicle like the ambulances she'd occasionally see on the streets at home, and it looked large enough to house an entire village!

When she finally walked on board, she found that Master Eon loitered near the top of the bridge, as if he was anticipating her arrival. To his side, Stealth Elf leaned against a wall beside a sleeping Terrafin, while a couple of ursine mabu dressed in pristine red and white robes scrambled from side to side on the occasion.

"We are ready to embark now!" Master Eon proclaimed as he watched Chihiro board the ship's deck, "Shall we depart?"

§

Chihiro heaved a sigh as she gazed across the sky, her body leaned against the ship's railing. The trip so far had been mostly uneventful, unfortunately for her—as it left her plenty of time to be alone with her own thoughts.

What am I even doing wrong? Chihiro thought, I've tried everything in the book and then some, and I still can't get anything right!—Chihiro looked down at her hands and frowned, her eyes stung with heartache—Is there something wrong with me?

As she heard the ship come to a halt, she bit her lip and looked aside to find them parked at a vaguely familiar-looking island covered in relief forces and mostly-repaired buildings. Surely, this was the same Shattered Island she saw Spyro rescue not a few days ago.

But still, with it being so clean she almost didn't recognize it at first—the ruined houses and other buildings had been patched and repaired so well they were practically brand-new, and most of the wreckage had been cleared off and replaced with fresh grass and greenery. If not for the fantasy floating island bit, it almost felt like she was back on Earth in her old neighborhood.

As they parked, the ship's drawbridge flung down with a clatter and the passengers all alighted. No time to procrastinate, there was work to be done!

"I am going to speak about matters with the king," Master Eon informed as he floated ahead of Chihiro, "I trust that you can supervise things here in my steed?"

Chihiro made a weak nod and a smile of equal strength to match. Well, all she had to do was watch things, right? That wasn't something she could easily mess up.

After she watched Master Eon float out of view, she skipped over to where Terrafin was helping a couple other mabu in construction worker uniforms heave up stray wreckage piles, while to his side Stealth Elf and a few others were looking over bags of what she could assume were seed or sand or something like that.

"Yo!" Chihiro called as she waved over to the group, "Anything I can help with?"

"We've got this covered, kiddo!" Terrafin yelled as he heaved a couple stone beams over his shoulder, "You just sit back and watch the show!"

Chihiro quietly nodded and sat on a particularly grassy patch of the ground as she watched them move to and fro. As they laid foundations for housing, planted new flora and rebuilt broken buildings, it seemed like there wasn't a moment to rest! But maybe that was because of the sheer enthusiasm that everybody held as they repaired away, their smiles prominent as they worked their hardest.

But, it was all the same to Chihiro, who only yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Doesn't seem like things are too bad here," she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes again and laid on her back, her head a bit fuzzy, "Maybe I could get away with a quick nap…"

But as Chihiro went to rest, something else decided to stir…

"Hey, Gary, can you help me move this one rock over?" Asked one mabu to another by their side as they watched their companion nod.

The two mabu got on both ends of a large, smooth gray rock and heaved it to the side, only to hear… Rumbling?

"You hear that, Larry?" asked Gary as they looked inside the hole they uncovered.

They were quickly joined by several of their coworkers, who all stared into this suspicious hole. Everything around started to quake and rumble, like they had uncovered some kind of masked, ancient evil only known in legends. Even Chihiro took notice of this as she sat back up.

"What's that sound?" Chihiro asked as she shook her head, her mind still in a sleepy daze, "An earthquake?"

Chihiro's eyes glazed over to where most-everybody had gathered—the unveiled stone pit. With a mighty roar akin to that of an entire pride of lions at max volume, something shot out from the hole while wild winds whipped everywhere!

"A WINDBAG!" Shouted one of the mabu workers as they stood completely fixed to their spot.

The sheer volume of noise caused everybody else to drop whatever it was they were doing and immediately focus their attention on the windbag. The large, angry windbag with its large tornado that housed an angry pair of eyes, that roared and summoned storms with every single breath of its mouth!

With narrowed eyes, Terrafin and Stealth leaped into action! As they positioned themselves in front of the trembling mabu workers, Terrafin leaned over his shoulder and looked back at Chihiro.

"Chi, get these guys outta here!" Terrafin shouted over the sheer volume of the roaring winds, which was probably an accomplishment in itself, "We'll take care of this nasty-lookin' dude!"

Chihiro made a nod of understanding as she waved over to the mabu.

"Hey!" Chihiro shouted as she pointed over to the open pathway, "Over here!"

The mabu dashed over in a giant herd, footsteps pounded against the ground as they ran past Chihiro!

"N-NOW NOW, PLEASE ESCAPE IN AN ORDERLY MANN—ACK!" Chihiro was spun around as the mabu stampeded past and stumbled about, "Er… Ugh…"

Chihiro shook her head and regained her senses, then watched where Terrafin and Stealth Elf were. It was almost mesmerizing to her to see them fight and dodge, block and battle—she couldn't even move her feet! So, she just sat down and studied their fight.

With a roar, the windbag cast a large bolt of lightning down at Stealth Elf, who only stood placidly.

"Wait, what's she doing?!" Chihiro whispered, "She'll get fried if she keeps standing there!"—Chihiro cupped her hands around her mouth and waved—"STEALTH! STEALTH, GET OUTTA THERE! THAT THING'S GONNA FRY YOU!"

But it was still no use—Stealth Elf just continued to stay still.

Its target in sight, the lightning crashed down and completely electrocuted her in the blink of an eye!

"STEALTH!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and tried to locate Stealth Elf, but the clouds from the shock's aftermath were far too plentiful.

The windbag seemingly smirked, until it looked down as the clouds cleared—and found that in Stealth Elf's place was a heavily-singed scarecrow with a striking resemblance to her instead!

It let out a shocked murmur, then screamed in pain! The windbag turned around and looked as steam leaked out its back, while something vaulted over its shoulder and landed flawlessly on the ground!

Chihiro's eyes sparkled as she watched Stealth Elf landed on her feet, her hands clasped tight around each other.

"THAT WAS AWESOME, STEALTH!" Chihiro shouted as she bounced up and down.

"Terrafin!" Stealth shouted as she stood tall, sharp blades clasped tight in her hands, "Now's your—"

Stealth's words were blocked by a furious yell, as the evening sky was coated in thick, churning gray storm clouds! Thunder and lightning crackled down onto the earth as Terrafin dove underground, while Stealth just barely escaped getting shocked by a bolt of thunder.

The thunder roared and cracked and shot everything around, which caused buildings to singe and be set aflame!

"Woah!" Terrafin shouted as he popped up near a half-repaired house that was set alight and promptly dove back into the ground.

Mounds of upheaved earth formed trails around the battlefield as Terrafin took sanctuary and occasionally popped up for air, only to narrowly dodge another thunderbolt and dive back in! His swimming had grown erratic as he tried to dodge, something Chihiro noticed instantly.

And Stealth Elf was no better as she bounced from spot to spot. She couldn't dive safely underground like Terrafin could, and her teleporting had grown frantic. She zapped from spot to spot in moments, all to desperately avoid the thunder. Just then, as she poofed and reappeared, a mighty gust of wind sent her reeling into a ravaged building!

"STEALTH!" Chihiro cried as she watched Stealth Elf stagger up from the attack, then heard a scream and turned to her side.

There, she saw Terrafin get lifted out of his tunnel from a mighty gust of wind akin to a geyser and get slammed into a tree!

"TERRAFIN!" Chihiro bit her lip and knocked her knees together without even realizing. They were definitely in a tight spot! She had to help them somehow!

But how?… Chihiro thought as she fell to the ground, I don't have any magic to fight that thing with! And I'm completely useless otherwise—Chihiro's eyes grew cold as she fell to her knees—I'm… Useless…

Chihiro's state grew almost numb and zombielike as she watched Terrafin and Stealth Elf struggle against the Windbag's beastly were struggling so hard… And she could only sit there and do nothing.

What good am I?

Chihiro's head began to spin and throb as she watched them fight, her mind in such a tizzy that she barely noticed Stealth Elf reappear and glare up at the windbag.

"Hey, breezy!" Stealth shouted over the raging electricity, "Bet you can't catch me!"
With a mischievous snicker, Stealth disappeared out of existence in a puff of green clouds and reappeared about a couple paces away from the windbag! As it roared and tried to blow her away, she poofed herself away and reappeared on the ground.

"Too slow!" Stealth disappeared again right as the windbag summoned a bolt of lightning to shock her and reappeared close to a worn house.

"Sorry, not fast enough!"

"Ooh, nice try!"

"Heh, and you call yourself a windbag djinn?"

As Stealth popped in and out of existence everywhere around the windbag, Chihiro tilted her head. What was Stealth thinking? All this teasing was only going to make the thing more mad, right? And besides, she normally never acted this teasing and cocky…

Chihiro carefully backed away just in case, her eyes glazed over the battlefield as something tunneled closer and closer to the windbag… Terrafin! Her eyes sparkled as Terrafin popped out of the ground, grabbed onto the windbag and punched it in its side!

The windbag could only howl in pain as Terrafin laid the pain on it with fierce punches and solid bites that caused some kind of mist to pour out of its funnel. The windbag roared with rage one more time as the clouds grew darker—surely it was furious enough to take down the entire island!

But, Terrafin tunneled down back underground as Stealth disappeared and reappeared next to the wound Terrafin tore in the windbag's funnel! With a rub of her hands she cast a cloud of dark green spores into the hole!

The windbag absorbed these spores, then coughed and hacked while its funnel turned a sickly shade of green. As it reeled from illness and panted, it grew smaller and smaller until it was no longer than the average tree. With a shudder it looked up—and promptly saw Stealth Elf and Terrafin leap over it!

With a weak scream, it could only watch as Stealth Elf ripped into its center with her blades and Terrafin did the same with his claws! With one large rip, all the mist and steam was expelled and vanished into nothingness!

The skies cleared of the storms and revealed a clear afternoon stratosphere as Stealth and Terrafin stopped and admired their handiwork.

"Well, better get back to cleanup," Stealth Elf said as she brushed herself off, "Hopefully that windbag didn't leave us too much extra work…"

§

"Thanks for all the help today, Skylanders!" A mabu donned in robes said as he withdrew the drawbridge, "We couldn't have gotten it done without you!"

"It's no big deal!" Terrafin shouted as he waved back, "That's what we're here for!"

The four of them all watched as the ship slowly flew away, until it was little more than a dot in the afternoon sky. Once it dispersed, yawns were heard all around.

"That was one heck of a repair job," Terrafin remarked as he stretched his muscular arms to the sky and walked off, "I'm heading out."

"Likewise," Stealth Elf chimed in before she completely vanished in a puff of green smoke.

All that was left behind of their quartet was Master Eon and Chihiro, who quietly stood together in the warmth of the afternoon.

"I will be headed to my citadel to rest for now," Master Eon said as he floated off, "I'd advise that you do so as well, young Chihiro—you'd had quite an afternoon."

"But, what about my training?" Chihiro asked, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"That can wait for now—I need to—"

"NO, IT CAN'T!" Chihiro shouted without even realizing, her body shaken with fury.

Master Eon paused and turned back to Chihiro. Though he had no face, he was clearly shocked by her sudden outburst.

"I NEED TO KEEP TRAINING! I CAN'T KEEP BEING SO USELESS!" Chihiro whimpered as hot tears streaked down her cheeks, "Everybody else is counting on me to be some great hero for them… You, and Hugo and everyone are working so hard, and the Skylanders are always facing so much danger—"

"Young Chihiro, there's no need to be concerned—we all understand how long training takes, and the Skylanders can handle themselves plenty—they're professionals—"

"But they're my friends too!" Chihiro grabbed her sleeve and bit her lip, "… If something happened to them, I don't think I could ever live with myself. Fin and Stealth, they could've gotten seriously hurt when that windbag thingie attacked them, and all I could do is stand there and watch!"

Hot tears streamed down her face, Chihiro bolted away from Master Eon's side.

"WHAT KIND OF A PORTAL MASTER AM I?!"

"Chihiro!" Master Eon called as he floated towards her path, then reeled back.

§

"Projectiles," Chihiro croaked as she thrust her hands in front of her, "Come forth!"

Nothing. Her hands didn't even glow as she stared down the arena training dummy before her.

"Dummy, shrink!" Chihiro pointed a finger at it, but nothing about it changed.

"C'mon, set yourself on fire or something!"

Nope. Nothing happened. Chihiro only gazed in sorrow at the dummy before she slunk down to her knees.

"Oh, what's the use?" Chihiro sniffled as she looked around the training arena.

It seemed perfectly pristine, as if it had been completely untouched, like her training sessions from the past days never happened.

My useless training sessions, Chihiro thought as she looked over the plush training dummies and felt tears well in her eyes, Look at me, I'm supposed to be some super powerful magical magician and I can't even do a bunch of simple spells that even a baby could probably do!—Chihiro bit her lip as hot tears salted with rage streaked down her cheeks—I'm useless!

With a cry of wrath, Chihiro balled her hand into a fist and punched the dummy straight in its chest. As her tears streamed down, the punches came nonstop—she didn't know why. All she knew was that beating these things up made her feel a little better about herself.

I should've mastered that stuff in minutes! Seconds, even! But I'm too much of a failure to even do that! Chihiro sniffled as she shot another punch at the dummy, Everybody's counting on me to learn all the spells and stuff and be some big hero… The Skylanders, Eon, Hugo… But what can I do?

Her energy now a bit depleted, Chihiro shot one last punch at the dummy before she unfurled her hand and let her palm rest on its woven cloth. Now too tired to even be angry or sad anymore, Chihiro only felt numb as she stood there and let her tears fall.

I'm completely worthless as a portal master, as a hero, as a…

"Chihiro?"

Chihiro let out a shocked squeak as she frantically wiped her tears and turned around, only to find Master Eon as he hovered in the arena's hallway!

"I thought I'd find you here," Master Eon said as he floated towards Chihiro and sat down next to here.

"Where else would I be?" Chihiro asked as she hung her head, "I have no business just lazing around when everybody else is working so hard!"

Master Eon seemingly frowned as his glow dimmed just a bit.

"Young Chihiro, your heart seems troubled." Master Eon flew up to her side and glowed just a little bright.

"What gave it away?" Chihiro only clutched her shirt and made a weak frown.

Master Eon stayed silent as he floated in place, then cleared his throat.

"You shouldn't fret so much about these spells, young Chihiro. You can still open portals, correct?"

"Well, yeah."

"Well, as a portal master, your main job right now is to open portals and send the Skylanders on missions—and you've done more than enough of that. As for all the other things, just do your best and things will work out—"

"But what if they don't?!" Chihiro trembled as small tears fell down her face, then sighed and looked weakly at Master Eon, "These spells are all supposed to be basic stuff, but I couldn't even get one right. ONE!"—Chihiro stared Master Eon straight down, then shuddered as she drew away from him, "Truth be told, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. You're one of the greatest portal masters of your time, right?"

"Well, I don't like to toot my own horn, but that is what many people have said." Master Eon circled around Chihiro, "But even I wasn't perfect, I still had moments where I struggled, too—"

"But you don't have to worry about some war and stuff!" Chihiro bolted up and glared down Master Eon, "I'm just some kid from Earth. I'm no Master Eon, heck, I'm no average Eon!"—Chihiro shuddered and made strained gasps as her tears fell—"But everybody's counting on me to help them fight Kaos and save Skylands… If I can't even get some simple spells right, even though I've tried a million times, what good am I?!"

Chihiro bit her lip again and fell to her knees.

"I don't think I can ever be a true portal master—I'm sure a true portal could actually cast a spell… Unlike me. I'm just dead weight."

Unable to speak at last, Chihiro only shuddered and hung her head low as tears rolled down her cheeks, only to feel something nudge her back and look around. Sure enough it was Master Eon, who looked at her with a calm, reassuring gaze.

"That's not entirely true, Chihiro." Master Eon shook his head as he spoke, as if to reinforce his words, "Spyro told me about the time that you and him were trapped in my library—when you created a shield that saved you two?"

"Ah…" Chihiro placed a clasped hand to her mouth, "Yeah, I did. I dunno how I did it though…"—Chihiro shook her head and squeezed her hand—"I was just so scared that I was gonna die and didn't want to, and then when I opened my eyes… It was there!

Master Eon went silent as his glow faded and brightened seemingly more absorbed in thought that the conversation at hand. Finally, his whole body brightened.

"I see now!" Master Eon floated in placed before he rested himself next to Chihiro, "I think I know why you have been struggling so much, young Chihiro."

"You do?" Chihiro's voice resonated with a tone of shock.

"You've been quite troubled by all this, haven't you? Training, and being prepared, and living up the expectations you believe everyone has for you…"
Chihiro nodded her head, then watched as Master Eon's gentle glow grew brighter.

"You see, Young Chihiro." Master Eon's body flashed purple as he summoned a magical apparition of a purple heart that shimmered with light, "The magic you and I and everyone casts comes from the heart. When the heart's troubled…"—As if to exemplify his point, the magical heart grew duller in color and stopped glowing before it faded entirely—"The magic just can't come out! I believe it might be what you're dealing with right now."

"So what you're saying is, me getting so worked up about whether I can do these spells or not is what's keeping me from doing them?"

"That's the hypothesis, yes." Master Eon nudged Chihiro's side, floated over to the training dummies, then sat himself down on the floor, "But we won't know for sure until we test it."

Chihiro shakily stood, then pattered over to the dummies.

"Try casting a spell—just any spell," Master Eon said, "And don't worry about me, or anyone and anything else. Just focus on your spell."

"I'll try." Chihiro's voice was feeble as she made a weak nod, then clutched onto her jacket as she stared down the training dummy. Her worries started to pile as she felt her head spin, but then disappeared as she bit her lip.

"What should I try…" Chihiro pondered before she held out both her hands, "Actually… Just give me an energy projectile. A nice, big one!"

Chihiro breathed in and held her breath, her mind completely blank save for the image of the projectile she wished to cast. It was blue, and bright, and about the size of a basketball—just big enough for her to hold in her hands—but most of all it was tangible and filled with pure magic. As her focus continued, she felt her body swell with magic energy at such a rate it made her feel numb, but these concerns were of no matter to her.

All that mattered was her projectile.

"Projectile…" Chihiro clasped her hands close to her chest then shot them forward, "RELEASE!"

Chihiro paused for a moment afterwards, almost a bit scared to open her eyes. Had it worked? Had she failed? As she felt a soft light shine against her face, she popped one eye opened to find…

A sphere, just like the one she had envisioned.

"It worked," Chihiro gasped, her voice breathy and full of shock as she clutched the sphere in her hands, "IT WORKED!"—Chihiro then stopped short and pursed her lips—"Wait a second, can I make more?"

Chihiro closed her eyes and focused hard, then opened to see several more spheres pop into existence and spin around her! With strangled sobs, Chihiro hugged the energy spheres tight before they burst, her heart finally lightened of its load. She sniffled quite a bit as tears streamed down her face once more, but she was the happiest she could be in that very moment.

"Young Chihiro, why are you crying?" Master Eon asked as he rotated his body slightly, "It worked, did it not?"

"I'm not sad, silly!" Chihiro bounded forward and captured Master Eon in a tight hug, "They're tears of joy! I, I'm happy…"—Chihiro snuggled closer to Master Eon and rested her head on his shoulder—"And it's all because of you! Thanks a bunch, I don't think I could've gotten it without you!"

"No need to thank me." Master Eon gently flew out of Chihiro's grasp, his glow soft and gentle, "I'm happy to help!"

Chihiro wiped away her tears and made a soft yawn.

"… I think all that crying must have tired me out!" Chihiro walked away to the door, and only stopped for a moment to wave to Master Eon before she closed it, "Master Eon, later today… Can we try to practice more?"

Master Eon only smiled and bobbed up and down in response as Chihiro closed the arena's door.

§Several Hours Later…§

"Come on Hugo, we don't have all day!" Chihiro exclaimed as she paraded into Master Eon's still-ruined library, a new fire in her steps as she walked.

Hugo only groaned and rubbed his eyes as he passed through the doorway.

"Chihiro, this better be good," Hugo snapped, a tone of surprising irritation in his voice, "I didn't even get to have my dinner yet!"

"Oh, bygones are bygones." Chihiro walked over to the staircase and happily hopped up two stairs at a time, "I've got something really cool to show you guys!"

Chihiro reached the top of the stairs and looked over the ruined library for a moment, then spun around and beamed as Master Eon and Hugo joined her at the top. She definitely had it this time, she could feel it in her bones!

"The library?" Hugo uttered as he made a small frown, "What about it?"

"Just watch!" Chihiro hummed and skipped over the various broken stones, then breathed in and closed her eyes.

Remember what Master Eon said, just focus, Chihiro thought as she clasped her hand against her heart.

Her mind focused on a small pile of rocks in front of her, Chihiro cast out her hand.
"Rocks, float!"

Nothing happened for a few solid moments, but Chihiro didn't notice—her mind was too fixed on the image of those floating rocks. All was quiet for those few moments, from an eerily tranquil Chihiro to Master Eon and Hugo as they watched with bated breath…

Then the rocks floated! As they lifted themselves off the ground, they flew off to an aside corner of the room and positioned themselves in a small pile.

Hugo made a sharp gasp and rubbed his eyes.

"Chihiro, you did it!" Hugo exclaimed, utter amazement in his voice, "You've performed a levitation spell!"

"But that's not all!" Chihiro chirped with a wink, then closed her eyes in focus. In mere moments, she disappeared and reappeared all over the place!

"Rocks, float!"

"Rocks, float up!"

"Rocks, do the floaty thing!"

As she spoke these words, her will sprung into existence! The rocks all floated in one big migration over to the pile Chihiro had crafted, until there was only dust and dirt left in the library.

Chihiro then walked over to the crater with her giant rock enemy and clapped her hands.

"Giant rock, shrink!"

Chihiro patiently watched the hole as a bright aqua glow emerged from it, then beamed and laughed as the giant rock shrank to the size of a baseball and gently landed on the bottom floor.

"Now, rock, float!" Chihiro contently watched as the rock floated out from the crater and rested near the others.

Her smile turned eager, she looked back and watched as Hugo broke out into a round of applause.

"And size manipulation as well!" Hugo proclaimed as he pulled a list and pencil out of his pocket and checked some things off of it.

"Now, Chihiro," Master Eon said as he floated to Chihiro's side, a kind of gentle prompting in his voice, "Do you think you can rid us of these rocks?"

Chihiro nodded furiously and made a few small chirps, then hopped on back to the small rock pile. As she pressed her hands together, she closed her eyes and felt… Something. All around her, magic energy crackled in the air and made her feel an oddly fuzzy kind of feeling she couldn't quite pin down, and though her eyes were closed she almost felt like she could see it fly around her!

Okay, got the easy part down—now for the moment of truth, Chihiro thought as she breathed in and screwed her eyes further shut, her heart at a standstill for a few moments, Energy, see those rocks over there?

Chihiro's breathing turned slow and rhythmic as she felt the energy swirl around her and fill her with a power so great it made her feel like her entire body would just implode!

Melt them.

Chihiro squeezed her hands tighter and felt all the energy disperse from her surroundings. Everything was tranquil for a few key moments, then she felt a harsh, aqua glow absorb her and her eyes snapped open!

She found the glow's source was the corner where she had pushed away all those rocks, and it was so intense that it lit everything around a bright aqua before it faded.

As the glow died, Chihiro's pupils grew wide with excitement—because the rocks were gone! All that was left was a few tiny sparkles of aqua magic that faded out as soon as they came.

"Now, just one thing left to do," Chihiro said as she looked over to where the broom was still stationed and lifted it up, "Okay broom,"—Chihiro focused hard as she lifted it to the heavens—"TIME TO DO SOME CLEANING!"

The broom glowed a bright aqua before it bounded out of Chihiro's hands and bowed towards her. It then detached its own dustpan and laid it on the floor before it swept up everything in sight! Dust, gravel, the few stray rocks that escaped Chihiro's capture, none were a match for the broom as it swept up the floors and gathered its collection in a large pile that laid on the dustpan. It even dislodged rocks stuck in the walls with its handle and swept those into the pile too!

After its job was done, the broom looked around the room one last time, bowed formally towards Chihiro and turned straight and fell lifeless on the floor.

Chihiro chuckled with glee as she took a look around herself—aside from a few holes in the floor and walls, the whole room was spotless and sparkling like it was brand new.

"Well done, young one!" Master Eon applauded.

Hugo smiled and clapped as well before he walked over to Chihiro and checked some things off of the list.

"Is there any chance you could do that for the portal building's library as well?" Hugo made an awkward laugh, "It's, ahem, in need of a good cleaning."

Chihiro made a hearty laugh, then felt a soft kind of warmth beside her and turned around to see Master Eon!

"While I'm sure young Chihiro would be kind enough to help you, Hugo, there's one other important matter she stills needs to attend to."

"There is?" Chihiro asked with a tilt of her head.

"Yes, indeed." Master Eon spun around Chihiro a few times, like he was pacing circles around her without a body to do so, "You do recall the combat spells we practiced, correct?"

Chihiro's mouth gaped open as her eyes sparkled.

"You bet I do!" Chihiro jumped into the air as she pumped a fist, "Let's cast some spells!"

§

Chihiro took a few quiet steps towards the center of the arena as Master Eon and Hugo made their way into the training arena. The training dummies that once seemed to mock her with their ever-pristine conditions a reflection of her inability to master spells now just seemed like… Average dummies!

"Remember Chihiro, you've got this in the bag," Chihiro whispered as a smirk crossed her face, "Just focus."

She then closed her eyes and focused, her whole body completely still for once in her life. As she stood, small spheres of cyan energy formed all around her body and shot themselves at the training dummies, which created a collection of holes in each one!

As she felt the last of the spheres fade away, Chihiro poked an eye open to admire her work, before she noted the small size of the holes and frowned as they sowed themselves shut. She needed something bigger.

"Okay, let's try that again." Chihiro closed her eyes and clasped her hands as she sensed the magic energy crackle around her, "Give me some nice, big energy projectiles… Please?"

Chihiro kept perfectly silent for what seemed like forever, her whole body still like stone as she focused her mind towards the spheres' creation. In fact, she was completely lost in her thoughts that she almost forgot the world around her existed until she felt a warm glow and opened her eyes…. To see that right in front of her was an aqua energy sphere about the size of a basketball!

Chihiro sharply gasped, then watched with an open smile as it rocketed forward and slammed into a training dummy! Then, she turned back to Master Eon.

"So, what's next?"

Hugo stood in shock for mere moments, while Master Eon looked down at the book and poured through its pages.

"Let's see, there's—"

"Lemme see it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she snagged the book from Master Eon and then examining its pages. However, as everything was written in Skylandian text, she did not understand it at all.

With a deep frown, Chihiro watched as Master Eon levitated the book out of her hands and cleared his throat.

"As I was saying." Master Eon scanned the book once more, "Next, we should practice summoning magical effigies."

"Those magical weapons and stuff, right?" Chihiro nodded and looked back at the dummies, "Got it!"

With a smirk, she closed her eyes and held her hands together similar to how one would hold a sword. Then, within moments, a longsword made of glowing aqua energy manifested in her hands! Chihiro opened her eyes, then let out a cry of war as she jumped forward and slashed the training dummy in half!

The dummy's stuffing fell out immediately and left behind a limp sack for a corpse, before it glowed and magically reassembled itself in moments.

"That is how you create magical effigies," Master Eon interjected as he scanned the book, "Now, let's move on…"—Master Eon hummed as he skimmed through the pages, then made a content sigh—"Magic barriers!"

"On it!" Chihiro shouted as she threw her hands in front of her body and summoned a barrier made of cyan-colored magic that was about as big as she was.

"Magical afflictions!"

Chihiro smirked and cast a bolt of energy towards another training dummy, then watched with pride as the dummy spun around in what seemed like a dizzy haze.

"Teleporting!"

Chihiro focused her energy and closed her eyes as she was engulfed in a puff of smoke and reappeared about a foot away from where she stood.

"Elemental channeling!"

Chihiro created several purple balls of lightning that crackled with eldritch Magic Element energy and shot them back at the dummies!… Of course, the impact was so intense that it creates tons of purple smog that made the area impossible to see, but oh well.

As Chihiro coughed and brushed away the smoke, she heard the sound of a door creak open as the fog dispelled! When it all disappeared she looked across the arena to see that Hugo had opened up the doors, his hoodie used as a gas mask.

"Heh, sorry about that!" Chihiro chirped as she scratched her head, "Didn't think that would make such a mess…"

"It is quite alright, Chihiro," Master Eon said as he swirled around Chihiro, "After all, you passed your first exam!"

Hugo applauded Chihiro, but she only frowned and tilted her head.

"Wait… I did?" Chihiro asked.

"Indeed." Master Eon flew away from Chihiro and towards Hugo's side, "Hugo, if you please?"

Hugo nodded in affirmation, then pulled a list from his pocket and cleared his throat.

"Portal Master Exam One," Hugo proclaimed as he straightened out the list, "Successfully perform the ten basic spells at least once."

Hugo then lifted up a page of the list and showed it to Chihiro. Its creased white pages all had names written in skylandian text with boxes next to them… All of which had a blocky check mark within them!

"And you, young Chihiro, have done that just fine," Master Eon intruded as he flew up to Chihiro's eye-level, "Now that you have a basic grasp on spellcasting, I can trust you to accompany the Skylanders on simple missions without my aid if needed."

"REALLY?"

"I certainly meant what I said." Master Eon bobbed up and down, "Now, keep practicing these spells, and soon you will be able to perform them in your sleep!"

"I will, Master Eon!" Chihiro nodded her head up and down, then rapidly stomped her feet and bounced at least a foot into the air.

"I PASSED MY FIRST EXAM! WOOHOO!"