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)

10. Chapter 10

Hello, hello, everyone, did you miss me?~ Well fear not, for I have returned with a few more college courses under my belt and a decently-sized chapter backlog, which means CHS comes off of its hiatus! Consider this my early Christmas present to you! (or any other holiday you celebrate if you don't celebrate Christmas, heh)

Watch Seeker: Regarding your question, I don't really "ship" Chihiro with any of the 'landers in the traditional sense, but there is one who I see her forming a bond with unlike any other... Who do you think that is?

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"And then, she just punched the thing like, BLAM! POW! Now tell me, how many people could just take on a fifty-foot monster without even blinking?" Chihiro exclaimed as she reiterated the scene for Spyro and Gill Grunt, complete with exaggerated arm gestures and stances.

"Well, there's a whole island full of them," Spyro remarked as he cast an aside glance to the portal building.

"Well, yeah, but you're a little different—you guys have all these cool powers and stuff, and you've been training to do this kinda stuff for a while. Marisa just's some ordinary girl that got chosen by fate to be some grand hero." Chihiro fell backwards onto the grass with a wistful sigh, "If only I could go on huge, cool adventures like she does…"—Chihiro sprung back up from the grass—"Oh wait, I already am! I'm here on the Skylands with you guys!"

And with that said, all three of them made the kind of hearty laughter that was so warm and friendly that it almost warmed them from the cold autumn chills. But as the laughter died, Chihiro's smile faded while she peeked over at the Far-Viewer, which was being toyed with by an ever-dutiful Hugo.

"You know, I wonder if Hugo found the Eternal Water Source yet—it's been taking him an awful long time."

"Oh, I'm sure he's working on it, Chihiro." Spyro swiped a paw at nothing, "The Far-Viewer may be able to locate any magical artifact, but it's not perfect—especially given that—"

"Yeah, I know, it's old and stuff." Chihiro beamed and waved back at Spyro and Gill Grunt, "Anywho, I'm going to pester Hugo now! See'ya!"

Chihiro dashed across to the Far-Viewer… Which was notably unmanned. Strange, wasn't Hugo just there a few seconds ago? Chihiro frowned as she toyed with the Far-Viewer's control panel, then peered inside its telescope… Only to jump back and gasp with excitement.

"HUGO! HUGO!" Chihiro called at the top of her lungs as she dashed across the autumn leaf-covered grass and waved her arms, "HUGO, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT I—OOF!"

Mid-transit, however, Chihiro saw something brown and green and furry that was right in her path—but she couldn't stop, for she was going too fast! The two parties collided in a flash and tumbled over each other in a haphazard collision course!

"Owch!" Chihiro trained her eyes on her feet with a scorning look before she looked up, "Hugo, watch where you're going!"

But instead of looking back at her, Hugo just brushed off his jacket and pulled himself back up.

"Chihiro, what were you running for?" Hugo asked as he gave Chihiro a very impatient look, tired eyes, cross frowns and all.

"If you must know." Chihiro scoffed before she dusted herself off and stood up, "I was trying to find you because I found something really important on the Far-Viewer!"

The very mention of the Far-Viewer caused Hugo's eyes to light up!

"That reminds me!" Hugo grabbed Chihiro's hand and lead her over to the Far-Viewer, "I had something important to show you as well!"

Hugo gently nudged Chihiro's shoulder as if he was prompting her to look inside. But, before either of them did, they both glazed each other down and beamed.

"I finally found the Eternal Water Source!" Hugo and Chihiro announced in unison… Then made double takes.

Chihiro then took another peek inside the Far-Viewer and frowned. This time around, it had focused on a sandy beach island with tropical trees and a grassy landscape that was, alas, infested with pirates. However, beneath the oceans, one could just barely spot a bright, blue glow…

"Hey, Hugo, how do you zoom in on this thing?" Chihiro asked as she twisted knobs and pressed buttons while she gazed.

"Chihiro, don't press that, you might make it—"

Hugo tried to pry Chihiro away with a tense gaze, but it was no use. Chihiro stood steadfast at the Far-Viewer, more interested in it than Hugo trying to take her away.

"Found it!"

Chihiro held down a blood-colored button down as she twisted a copper knob, then beamed as the Far-Viewer's focus transferred to the ocean depths!

There, cradled within the waters of the ocean, was an oval no larger than a wide dinner plate! It glowed in a shade of blue so striking that it stuck out well against the ocean's dark depths, and a sloshing pool of water was carried within it. It radiated with an intense Water Element magic that could be felt even from where Hugo and Chihiro stood at the Far-Viewer, miles and miles away from the oval's actual location.

"Alrighty! Now that we've found it…" Chihiro toyed around with the Far-Viewer's controls and watched as it zoomed out, "Let's figure out where this place is!"

As Chihiro fixed her view on the island once more, she spotted and focused on a sign that seemed to be long-forgotten with its splintered wood and fading paint. She zoomed in on it, but as zooming in didn't make the text any less unreadable she could only squint and try to make out the words.

"Viathan Lagoon?" Chihiro turned around to face Hugo, "Now who would name a lagoon Viathan? Was that guy the mayor of the island or something?"

"Chihiro, that isn't the island's actual name." Hugo's eyes widened, "What you're referring to is Leviathan Lagoon!"

"Leviathan Lagoon?" Chihiro stepped down from the Far-Viewer so that she was eye-to-eye with Hugo, "What's that?"

"Well, Chihiro." Hugo took a deep breath and gained a slightly calmer disposition, though he still trembled just a bit.

"Leviathan Lagoon was, once upon a time, the birthplace of a famous aquatic circus." Hugo focused on Chihiro as he toyed with his lapel, "People came far and wide for the dancing starfish, the clownfish, the tiger shark tamers, but most of all, they came for the Leviathan—a huge, monstrous fish that according to legend would eat entire villages for breakfast!"

Chihiro's eyes widened as Hugo spoke. Surely, she could just envision it—the cheers, the scent of freshly-baked popcorn, the feeling of the wooden bleachers… But most of all, the sheer excitement of seeing the Leviathan be unveiled for the final act!

"And then what happened?!" Chihiro asked, so excited that she could barely stand.

"Well, the Leviathan ended up eating one too many people during its act. As it turns out, having a carnivorous sea monster in your circus act and allowing people to feed it isn't the wisest idea." Hugo stepped up to the Far-Viewer and peered inside, "So, the ringmaster released the Leviathan into the island's oceans and made his act into a traveling circus. Since then, Leviathan Lagoon has been off-limits to the general public."

Hugo paused for a moment to zoom out of the sign and get a view around the island.

"And for that matter, that includes those pirates!" Hugo's gaze narrowed as his mouth twisted into a frown, "How they got here, I'm not quite sure—they weren't here when I checked a little while ago."

"I'll bet five bucks that we know the answer to that." Chihiro casually kicked her feet against the autumn leaves and dove her hands into her jacket, "Well, not actually since I don't have five bucks on hand, but you get what I'm talking about, right?"

"Unfortunately…" Hugo bit his lip as he stepped away from the Far-Viewer, "Kaos must have found the Source and sent those pirates to guard it from potential thieves—namely, us!"

"True, which brings me to my next point." Chihiro turned in the next direction and got ready to speed off, "Why are we standing around here when we should be defeating Kaos?!"

"Hold on, Chihiro—" Hugo stopped short as Chihiro dashed away to the portal room and left a cloud of dust and disturbed autumn leaves in her wake, "Aaand she's gone,"—Hugo sighed and hung his furry head—"Can she stay in one place for more than five minutes? Probably not."

As Hugo lifted his head, another shout erupted from the portal room in an ever-familiar voice—a shout so loud it could probably be heard all the way in the Outlands!

"HUGOOOOOOO! I NEED YOU HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

"Coming, Chihiro." Hugo shook his head, then walked over to the portal building.

§

"Am I a salesman?" Chihiro sputtered out with disgust as she stared into the portal, "No I am not a salesman, do I sound like I'm trying to sell you something?!"

"Chihiro, what did you need me for?" Hugo asked as he walked into the brick-walled portal room.

There Chihiro stood in front of the main portal, her gaze focused on the center where colors of all shades and hues swirled around… And she seemed to be talking to someone?

"Oh, there you are, Hugo!" Chihiro turned around to face him and smiled for but a moment, then directed her gaze back on the portal.

"Can you tell this guy that no, I am not trying to sell him shaving cream or whatever he said and get us permission to go to the island? Cause it seems that no matter what I say, he won't have a word of it!"

"Wait, you can't just portal there?" Hugo walked over to the center and peered in.

Chihiro gave him a flustered glare.

"Does it look like I didn't try that already?!" Chihiro's glare loosened as she peered down, "Actually, I didn't. I mean, I was about to, but this guy showed up and said there was a block on portals here or something and I had to identify myself!"

"Well, that's certainly a predicament." Hugo indicated the portal with his paw, "Portals link locations through an entirely different dimension. If someone could reach into that pocket dimension and block that area of it off, and if they're working for Kaos like we speculate…"

Chihiro hummed as she looked over at Hugo, then shrugged.

"Well, no harm in testing."

Chihiro turned her eyes back to the portal then narrowed them as she raised her arms. With a slap against the stone border and a wide-eyed gaze, Chihiro attempted to create a portal… But what came instead was a bright explosion!

After the explosion died, Chihiro and Hugo both found themselves covered from head to toe in shiny, iridescent magic dust! The two of them shook off the ash and watched it vanish into thin air, then Chihiro gave Hugo the most tired glare she could muster.

"Looks like that didn't work," Hugo remarked as he placed a furry finger to his chin.

"Gee, you think?" Chihiro's voice dripped with sarcasm before she looked over the portal, "Now, how the heck are we going to get to the island?"

The two of them stared at each other for mere moments, then Chihiro's eyes widened as she snapped her fingers.

"Wait, Gurglefin has a ship!"

Chihiro beamed as Hugo nodded, then she turned and made headway for the beach.

"Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Chihiro's voice echoed around the stone halls, "I'm sure he'd be willing to take us there after all we've done for him and all!"

§

"Nope! There is no way, no how that I'm going there!" Gurglefin shouted as he shook his head back and forth, his arms crossed.

"But, Gigglefin, we need to get there, that's where the Eternal Water Source!" Chihiro pleaded as she fell to her knees and peered up at Gurglefin with the saddest puppy-dog eyes she could make.

"First off, it would help your case if you got my name right for once." Gurglefin gave Chihiro a tired stare as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Second off, I'd love to help you get the Ethereal Source of Water or whatever it's called, but I am not going to Leviathan Lagoon!" Fear sneaked into Gurglefin's voice as he gulped and looked over the oceans, "After all, that place is called Leviathan Lagoon for a reason!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Chihiro smiled as she stood back up and shrugged, "But how bad can a giant, carnivorous monster that could eat whole villages for breakfast be?"

"Very bad?"

"Eh, not really. Look, I'm sure that thing is probably nothing—so are you gonna take us or not?"

Chihiro frowned as Gurglefin fearfully shook his head.

"Come on, pleaseee?"

Gurglefin continued to shake.

"Chihiro!" Hugo shouted as he ran down the beach's stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him, his breath heavy all the way, "Were you able to convince Gurglefin to take you there?"

"Does it look like I was able to convince him?" Chihiro asked as she pointed towards Gurglefin, who was now hiding behind a crate.

"Here, let me talk to him then." Hugo pushed though Chihiro and knelt down to Gurglefin's height, which actually wasn't too far from Hugo's own.

"Gurglefin, you do know where Leviathan Lagoon is, right?" Hugo watched Gurglefin nodded his head.

"Good, then you can take them!" Hugo clasped his hands together while he watched Gurglefin rapidly shake.

"B-but—" Gurglefin raised a finger, then drew it back down.

"Well, better get going then!" Hugo turned back to Chihiro with an oddly smug look on his face, "We don't want Kaos to make off with the Water Source!"

"You picked that up from me, didn't you?" Chihiro teased with a cock of her eyebrow.

"Who else?" Hugo teased back as he nudged Chihiro towards the stairs, "Now, you'd better tell the Skylanders that we're ready to go. The Eternal Water Source isn't going to return itself, much as we'd like it to!"

Chihiro chirped then dashed up the stairs and to the central part of the island.

"Hey guys!" Chihiro shouted with a wave that earned her the attention of each Skylander in the area, "Looks like we've got a ride!"

"Really?" Zap gargled as he ran to the forefront of the Skylanders that crowded around Chihiro.

"Hugo managed to talk Gurglefin into giving us a ride to the Lagoon!" Chihiro hastily nodded, then peered over her choices, "Now, to decide who's going."

About half of the Skylanders were crowded around her at the moment. It was surprisingly light on crime today, so many of them were assigned to guard the island—which was just enough of a varied pool for Chihiro! She hummed a bit, then pointed to Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell.

"Gill, Whammy, you're with me." Chihiro's tone was orderly, but still held some youthful excitement in its grasp, "The rest of you can just sit tight! We'll have the source back in no time."

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell came to Chihiro's side, then all the three of them nodded.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Chihiro backed up without even a moment spent to turn around, "I—excuse me, we—have an Eternal Source to—WHOA!"

Of course, not paying attention has its consequences—and for Chihiro, this meant falling down the stairs with a resounding shout of pain exclaimed from every bump she gained as she fell down!

As soon as the shouts stopped, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell peered down the stairs.

Down at their bottom Chihiro had plopped face-first in the sand and staggered upwards, then spat out a faceful of sand.

"I'm fine, just a little slip." Chihiro's voice carried the slightest hint of pain as she gave them a thumbs up.

Her message taken as a good sign, the two of them came racing down the stairs and joined Chihiro at her side.

"You sure you're alright, Chihiro?" Wham-Shell asked as he picked up Chihiro and gave her a concerned gaze.

"Yeah, Whammy, it's just a little fall," Chihiro said, though the crack in her voice betrayed her weakness.

"Well, just take it easy, Chi." Wham-Shell frowned Chihiro just passed it off with a giggle, "I don't want you getting hurt."

"You don't need to worry about me!" Chihiro smiled as the pain faded from her voice, "If anything, you should be worrying about those pirates that are gonna get a thrashing when we get there!"

As Chihiro punched and kicked the air while she made all sorts of fight scene noises, Wham-Shell rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Just be careful." Wham-Shell gave her one last concerned glance, then smiled as she squeezed his hand tight.

The two of them then went after Gill Grunt, who had already reached Delilah's parking spot and currently held a chat with Gurglefin.

"Gill! Is Gurglefin ready to shove off yet?" Chihiro shouted as she leaned over and waved her arms.

"Actually, it's Gurglefin!" Gurglefin corrected as he gave Chihiro a look of disdain.

"But, that's what I said." Chihiro gave Gurglefin a confused look then shrugged.

"Yep!" Gill Grunt proclaimed as he pushed past Gurglefin, "We just need to get on and he'll take us straight there!"

"Not saying I'll enjoy it," Gurglefin added under his breath as he ignored the others' faces of excitement, "But…"

"Hey Gurgles!" Chihiro shouted, her smile wide and her voice perky as she pushed herself next to Gurglefin.

"Er, hello there." Gurglefin shivered, then waved to Chihiro.

"So, you gonna start sailin' or not, Gurgly?" Chihiro tilted her head while her smile receded into something that vaguely resembled a cat's mouth, "'Cause—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, the Ethereal Source of Water or whatever won't wait all day." Gurglefin turned and looked at Delilah, "And neither will,"—Gurglefin gulped—"The Leviathan!"

"Oh hush, it's just a big fish!" Chihiro slapped Gurglefin on the back, then frowned as he screamed out.

"B-but, its gigantic! In fact, it's the size of a sky whale!" Gurglefin addressed Chihiro with a fearful gaze and trembling hands, only to frown as she laughed it off…

"Look, Gurglefin." Chihiro relaxed her shoulders, "I was born in a town where they sold giant fish in the marketplace for two thousand yen a pop! That Leviathan is probably nothing!"—Chihiro passed by Gurglefin and looked over at Delilah—"Now, when are we headed off?"

"Right now."

With a sigh, Gurglefin peered over to Delilah and whistled, then watched as she released the plank.

Chihiro, ever so eager to get the adventure started, dashed up the board and raced around the deck a few times before she took notice of the steering wheel. With a giggle, she reached out her hand and was about ready to touch the side of the wheel… Right when a seafoam green fin slapped it away!

"Not today you aren't," Gurglefin scolded as he gave Chihiro the stink eye and shook a webbed finger at her.

"You guys are no fun sometimes." Chihiro pouted and stuffed her hands into her pockets, then noted Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell.

As she saw them take their seats, Chihiro gained a dangerously excited grin on her face—the kind that was fueled by caffeine and unkempt energy, the kind of look that screamed mischief and mayhem.

"Hey guys!" Chihiro swung over to where the three of them sat down and were deep in conversation, "Wanna stand on the mast and see how long it takes for us to fall off?"

The two of them looked at each other with confused glances, and then looked back at Chihiro with those same confused expressions pasted on their faces.

"We'd love too, Chihiro, but that sounds a little…" Wham-Shell said before he pursed his lips and looked over at Gill Grunt, "Er, what's the word I'm looking for here?"

"Unsafe?" Gill Grunt suggested as he watched Wham-Shell nod—though is was hard to tell since Wham-Shell had no neck.

"Yeah, that's about right." Wham-Shell looked over at Chihiro, who shrugged and sat down.

"Heh, just kidding," Chihiro remarked as she stretched her arms and beamed, her tongue stuck out in a teasing manner, "Well, guys—"

"Chihiro, before you go off suggesting anything," Wham-Shell interrupted as he drummed his claws against the deck, "Do you have anything in mind that won't result in certain death?"

"Well…" Chihiro placed a finger to her cheek and made a sly smile, "I could tell you about Beautiful Remedy for the next hour or so?"

Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt looked at each other for a moment and shrugged.

"Well, you never did tell me how that nightmare kingdom story ended," Gill Grunt remarked with a gentle smile.

"Go ahead, Chi. Enthrall us," Wham-Shell said with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

Chihiro's smile grew the widest they had seen, and she let out a shrill scream of delight that caused everybody around to cover their ears.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU! THANK YOU! NOBODY'S EVER ASKED ME TO CONTINUE BEFORE!" Chihiro squealed as she bounced up and down on the deck, "Anyway, where was I at before we started?"—Chihiro snapped her fingers after a few moments of thought—"Oh right!"

Before Chihiro could speak, however, they all heard something lurch forward and rolled across the deck!

"We must've hit the edge of the island!" Wham-Shell shouted as he grabbed onto the deck's pole and held on tight, "Gill, Chihiro, you alright?"

With a grunt of pain Gill Grunt slammed face-first into the pole and wrapped his scaly arms around it. His panting were heavy as he lifted up his head, which now had a giant, purple bruise right where he had slammed his face.

"I'm fine, I swear," Gill Grunt panted as he looked around, "Wait, where's Chihiro?"

The two of them heard a scream, then looked down to find that Chihiro had fallen further down—MUCH further down. She had slammed against the back of the deck's leftmost tip, her back against the wood as she tried to climb back up… But it wasn't working. The further she climbed, the more the wind pushed her back, right until she was just inches away from falling off!

"Chihiro!" Wham-Shell shouted before he let go of the pole and dropped down.

As he fell to where Chihiro was, Wham-Shell corkscrewed himself over to where she laid and grabbed her off the edge, then pulled them both to a safer part of the deck.

"You're lucky, Chihiro," Wham-Shell panted as he sat down and caught his breath, "This ship's way too dangerous, I—"—Wham-Shell's eyes shot up as he snapped his claws—"Dangerous! That was the word I was looking for!"

Wham-Shell turned back to address Chihiro, but Chihiro only looked away with a frown, like her mind was completely elsewhere.

"Hey, Whammy, do you feel like you're moving?" Chihiro asked as she looked back at Wham-Shell.

Wham-Shell frowned, then stopped and thought for a moment—but that moment wasn't enough to response.

Why, one may ask, was that not enough time?

That was because while Wham-Shell tried to keep Chihiro from seeing her life flash before her eyes, Gurglefin had plunged Delilah straight down the waterfall! Thanks to the rapid speed of the plunge, Wham-Shell and Chihiro tumbled down the deck and onto the mast! The two of them wrapped their arms around the mast and clung to it as hard as they could—understandably, given that their grasp on it was the only thing that kept them from plummeting to their deaths.

"Heh, guess we got to play 'Who-can-stay-on-the-mast-for-the-longest' after all Whammy!" Chihiro shouted with an uneasy grin on her face.

"Not right now!" Wham-Shell shouted back as his arms struggled to keep from slipping off the wooden mast while the ship hit the skies.

As her grip on the mast slipped slightly, Chihiro let out a shrill scream and hastily pulled herself back up. Once she was safely wrapped around it, she breathed a sigh of relief… Only to peer down at the endless sky below her and gulp.

Wham-Shell dug his claws into the mast's wooden surface and pulled himself back up onto the top of the mast. His balance careful, he knelt down and grabbed Chihiro's hand from the mast before he tossed her back onto the deck.

"You alright, Chihiro?" Wham-Shell asked as he jumped onto the deck and sat down.

"Somehow." Chihiro briskly nodded her head and stood, "Y'know, that was actually pretty fun! Let's do it again—"

"NO." Wham-Shell promptly fell on his back.

§

"And then, right as everything seems to be going right, the big villain shows up and blasts Monika to bites and then Marisa breaks down crying!" Chihiro rambled, complete with exaggerated stances and hand gestures, "And honestly, I almost did that too, because honest to goodness, Marisa cares about Monika sooooo much, and seeing Monika nearly die in front of her just broke me."

Chihiro made a highly exaggerated weep as she swooned onto the deck.

"But get this…" Chihiro sprung back up and grinned, "It was all an illusion! Monika got a new power and then they sent him running with his tail between his legs!"

"And I take it Marisa and Monika are good friends?" Gill Grunt asked with a gentle smile as he watched Chihiro's eyes sparkle.

"Oh they're more than just friends, Gill, they're totally lovers." Chihiro had gotten so excited that she edged closer to Gill Grunt until she was in straight in his face, "In fact, Marisa and Monika are meant for each other and anyone who says otherwise is a filthy liar!"

"Are we there yet?" Wham-Shell groaned as he laid down on the deck with only half a mind paid to their conversation.

"Hey, that's my line!" Chihiro shouted as she let out a humph, "Anyways, I doubt we'll be there any time soon—looks like it's just ocean and ocean and more ocean,"—Chihiro got up and peered over the deck only to spy vast oceans and more, then turned back around—"Yep."

Chihiro turned her attention back to Gill Grunt.

"Anyways, Gill, it's totally true love, I can tell. In fact, I have two seasons' worth of evidence!"

Chihiro took a deep breath, the widest smile on her face.

"So, my first piece of evidence, and arguably the best piece, would have to be—" Before she could finish her speech, Chihiro was tossed onto her back as the ship lurched to a halt.

"Hey, I don't know if you noticed or not, but we're here!" Gurglefin shouted from across the steering wheel.

Chihiro stood up and peered over the edge, where sure enough, they had arrived onto the beach shores of Leviathan Lagoon!

The island looked a bit fancier now that they had arrived on its shores—there was grass all around the area with only a few chunks of area that were entirely sandy beach. Each one of these areas was decorated with rickety wooden bridges and fancy red and yellow stone pillars, like the beach level of some semi-obscure game. And of course, there were pirates in all shapes and sizes everywhere you turned!

"Ugh, great—pirates." Gurglefin moaned as he banged his head against Delilah's steering wheel, "Like I didn't get enough of these guys back at the Cove."

"Cove?" Wham-Shell repeated as he looked at Gill Grunt.

"It's a long story," Gill Grunt replied with a tired tone as he returned Wham-Shell's gaze.

"Guess my Marimoni evidence essay will have to wait for later!" Chihiro shouted as she watched the plank proceed out from the ship and run down onto the island below.

Once she was situated, she gazed down at the crystal oceans that enveloped the island as if there was something odd brewed beneath its surface-level beauty…

Wham-Shell stood up, dashed to Chihiro's side and peered over the edge with her. Together, they saw the image of a giant blue fish the size of ten whales as it swam underneath them, its shadow a dark blue, inky stain against the crystalline waters of the ocean blue.

"Think that's the Leviathan?" Chihiro asked as she looked over to Wham-Shell.

Gurglefin gulped in the background.

"Wouldn't doubt it," Wham-Shell replied as he looked over at Chihiro, "It's certainly big enough. Thing's probably the size of two Sky Whales!"

Gurglefin gulped again.

"Well…" Chihiro frowned as she looked over the shadow once more, then stood up and made a shrug, "It doesn't seem like it's going to bug us right now. Best we get going before it changes its mind!"

And with that said, Chihiro dashed down the road ahead before any protests could be made!

"Jeez, kid." Wham-Shell chuckled turned to address Gill Grunt, who nodded and started up his water jetpack, "Hey Gill, does she act like this when she's around you?"

Gill Grunt cracked a wry smile and a laugh.

"All the time, Wham. All the time," Gill Grunt replied as he hovered down the plank.

As the two of them left Gurglefin behind, Gurglefin only sputtered and made an awkward grin.

"Well, uh, I'll just stay here and guard the ship for you! And if you see any giant killer fish…" Gurglefin looked over the ocean and shuddered, then turned back to the island as he raised his voice, "DON'T call me!"

§

Chihiro dashed and darted across the island, all in expectancy of some kind of sign as to where the Eternal Water Source was located… But with no luck. All she saw across the islands was grass, sand, seashells, more grass, more sand, the occasional crab… Where on Earth would that source be?

"There's gotta be some kind of puzzle behind this whole thing," Chihiro said to herself as she tapped her foot, "Now, if I were Kaos, what kind of puzzle would I use in order to protect something that could very well bring about my downfall?"

As Chihiro contemplated, a gigantic wave of sand kicked up out of nowhere and slammed right in her face!

"THE HECK?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she coughed out gritty grains of sand, "What was that all about?!"

Chihiro perked up as a shrill giggle resounded not that far away from her and looked ahead. The giggle's owner was none other than an imp with a black statue held tightly in its arms! It looked a lot like those imps she had seen back at Dark Water Cove, but its skin was tomato red as opposed to yellow and its eyes were completely blank! Kinda reminded her a bit of devils in cartoons, to be honest.

The imp cackled as it balled straight into Chihiro and knocked her face-first onto the sand, then stuck its tongue out at her before it ran into a giant blue vortex and disappeared.

As she coughed out the sand once more, Chihiro squinted her eyes open and watched as a mob of pirates ran in that same direction.

"Get that imp!" Shouted the mob's head, a squid dressed in raggedy striped shirts and a crimson bandanna.

"What for?" Chihiro asked as her eyes trailed across to the head of a mob, a smirk played on her face.

"It's got one of the statues guarding the Eternal Source!" The pirate kept his eyes focused on the road ahead with no mind paid to Chihiro, "And we were specifically told to keep anyone who came here from getting those statues by Cap'n Kaos!"

"Okay thanks bye!" Chihiro dashed off in front of the mob, then paused for a moment to wave at them before she jumped into the vortex!

The moment she jumped in, she was spun and swirled and stretched around like the laundry in the washer—she now completely empathized with how her clothes felt when she did the laundry! As she screamed and yelped in surprise, her eyes drew themselves towards a shining white light… Then she was spat out of a small, red house placed on a bridge atop a steep cliff.

Chihiro grunted as she fell face-first onto the dirt, then sat up and brushed off her face before she looked down. There below her were the pirates she had talked to earlier, except they now seemed to be… Arguing among themselves?

"Hey Hookface, unless ye want to get fed to Cap'n Kaos's Doomsharks, ye'd better get going!" Shouted one of the other pirates from the mob front.

"But me could've sworn me knew that kid from somewhere…" Said the squid who was presumably Hookface as he placed a hand to his chin.

Chihiro chuckled as she watched them argue, then heard a snicker and looked to her side… Only to find that she wasn't alone! The imp she had been chasing was now beside her, statue still in hand! The imp pulled down its eyelid and stuck its tongue out, then cackled as Chihiro's face turned cherry rage with anger.

"Get back here, dude!" Chihiro exclaimed as she scrambled after the imp…

Only for it to jump out of the way and cause Chihiro to slam face-first onto the ground. Chihiro shook her head, shot up, then leaped after the imp once more.

The imp gasped with wide eyes, tossed something in the house and watched as a vortex appeared before it! It cackled once more and went to leap—but Chihiro managed to grab its leg before it did!

"Give me that statue, buddy!" Chihiro tightened her grasp on the imp's leg, "Or I won't let you go!"

As Chihiro pulled the imp closer to her, the imp grunted and tried to scramble away—but it was no use. The more it tugged, the tighter Chihiro held onto its leg, until they were both trapped in a fruitless game of tug-of-war! Finally, the imp yowled out as it kicked the back of Chihiro's arms and finally pushed itself out of her grip! The imp snickered for a few minutes as it jumped to freedom…

But when it did, the statue slipped out of its grasp and fell straight into the vortex!

Both Chihiro and the imp could only watch with wide eyes and gaped mouths as the statue slid into the vortex and disappeared along with the vortex itself! The two of them turned to each other in fury, then Chihiro picked up the imp by the scruff of its neck.

"Look what you did!" Chihiro exclaimed as she glared down the imp who thrashed about in her grasp, "You lost the—"

Chihiro stopped short as she heard something that sounded like… Conversation? Yeah, definitely conversation in the distance—which gave the imp enough time to wiggle free of her grip, create a new vortex and escape!

"Hey, get back here!" Chihiro turned to her side and saw the imp dive through the vortex, but by the time she jumped after it she was far too late.

All she could do was crash headfirst into the walls of the tiny house as the vortex became little more than a wisp of dullish blue smoke.

As she groaned and held her head, Chihiro felt around the ground only to feel her hand land on something kinda bumpy and leather-y. She took a peek over at it, and found her hand on a small, brown leather sack that was filled well with a bunch of small, round things that gave the bottom a bumpy texture.

"Did that imp drop this?" Chihiro picked up the sack and examined it, only to hear footsteps and gasp.

"I swear on me world, me sure that's it, cap'n!" shouted an awfully familiar voice from the outside world, "That was the kid from the Cove!"

"The portal master kid?" Replied another, deeper voice.

"Yep! Same looks 'n everythin', the kid had!"

They're talking about me! Chihiro sucked on her lip while beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, Crap, I need to get out of here, fast!

"C'mon, teleport…" Chihiro tried to focus, "Telepo—ACK!"

Chihiro's heart practically jumped out of her chest as she bumped her elbow against the walls of the house—geez, whose idea was it to make it so tiny, anyways?

"Cap'n, methinks me heard somethin'!" Hookface exclaimed from outside, "Think it's that no-good thieving imp?"

"Oh who knows, Hookface?" Shouted back the captain.

Please don't come in here, Chihiro thought as she curled into a ball and made herself as small as possible, Please, please, please…

"Me heard it from this lil' house 'ere!" Hookface remarked as the sound of wet, slapping tentacles drew closer… And closer… And closer…

Then a squiddy head peered through the open door of the house and straight at Chihiro. The two of them stared at each other in silence for all of five seconds, then Chihiro screamed and blasted Hookface away with a giant energy beam! As Hookface flew in the distance, Chihiro teleported out of the house and right onto the ledge—which was now coated with a mob of pirates.

"Hookface was right fer once, it really is the kid!" Shouted a gruff seadog in a red velvet pirate jacket as he reached for his cutlass, "Get 'em!"

"Not today you don't!" Chihiro exclaimed as she held up both hands and watched as they were enveloped by a blue glow, "I'm not goin' down without a fight!"

"Neither are we, laddie!" The seadog withdrew his cutlass and dashed for Chihiro!

Chihiro made a surprised peep, then dodged out of the way as giant, magical blue gloves formed around her hands! With a wide smile, Chihiro skidded forward and punched the seadog right in the gut! With a smile, she watched as rolled down the cliff with a cry of anguish.

But the battle wasn't over yet! The other pirates all jumped forward towards Chihiro, but Chihiro continued to punch them away. While the pirates flew into the distance, Chihiro created a barrier in front of her and hit the barrier with a mighty blow! The barrier slid forwards at max speed with all the pirates on its side, then slid straight off the island!

As a loud THUNK was heard followed by groans, Chihiro dusted her hands and watched as the gloves disappeared. Her attention then followed the leather sack she still held in her hands as she opened it with a curious hum—what could possibly be inside? Treasure? Magic artifacts? Or maybe…

"Marbles?" Chihiro remarked as she peered inside and fished one of the objects out.

Sure enough, it was a dull, bluish-purple colored marble decorated with ripples that shone against the afternoon sunlight. It was smooth and cool in Chihiro's hand, and within its confines was a dusty, swirling smoke cloud. Maybe it was a magic marble?

"What would that imp do with marbles?" Chihiro asked as she tossed the marble up and down in her hand for a few spells, then threw it in front of her person.

As it screeched across the cliff, the marble cracked and exploded in a puff of smoke which soon turned into a swirling, churning vortex about the size of her entire person!

Chihiro stood with her mouth agape for a few moments, then she tied the sack to her sweatpants with her eyes fixed on the vortex.

"Looks like I found my answer."

With a gulp, Chihiro ran forward and jumped into the vortex.

§

"So, did you see where she ran off to?" Wham-Shell asked as he stretched his arms up above his head.

Gill Grunt frowned as he looked over the path before them—nothing but open fields and beaches decorated with palm trees but otherwise almost completely void of life. And no sign of Chihiro, either…

"I'll take that as a no." Wham-Shell's voice held a hint of concern to it as he gripped his mace tighter.

Gill Grunt mused over the path before him once more—it had diverged into twin pathways that lead to two different islands, all covered by a canopy of tall, broad palm trees. But more importantly, the grass had given way to sandy paths that held…

"FOOTSTEPS!" Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell exclaimed in unison as they gazed over the twin trails of footsteps.

It was tricky—but of them had human-looking foot shapes, so Chihiro could've gone down either one. But which one was it…

"I think she went that way." Gill Grunt pointed a webbed finger at the righthand pathway.

"No, she went that way!" Wham-Shell pointed to the opposite side and glared down Gill Grunt.

"I'm sure of it, Wham, she went down this one!" Gill Grunt's face darkened a bit as he stared down Wham-Shell, tension thick in the air like churned butter.

The two of them shot tense glares at each other for a few moments, then…

"You know what, Wham?" Gill Grunt took a deep breath, a fin placed on his forehead, "This isn't really worth arguing over. How about we just split up and regroup when we find her?"

Wham-Shell mused over this for a moment.

"Yeah, that works." Wham-Shell nodded—or at least, did the best nod that he could've with his bodily structure.

And with that said, the two of them parted ways—Wham-Shell down the leftmost path, Gill Grunt down the rightmost. Gill Grunt narrowed his eyes as he resumed his search for Chihiro, his harpoon gun raised up slightly just in case he ran into a few unfriendly faces.

"She's gotta be around here somewhere." Gill Grunt locked and loaded his cannon absentmindedly, "Now, if I were Chihiro, where would I—"

"See that imp anywhere, cap'n?"

Gill Grunt's fins perked up as the sound of a gruff voice that spoke in some kind of strange dialect. A strangely familiar dialect, at that…

"Not that I ken tell," Replied another gruffy voice as something furry stepped between the trees, "Thing took off with the statue 'fore me could even catch a wee glimpse!"
Pirates! Gill Grunt realized as he gazed through the trees with a dour frown, Just the thing I need.

And with his focus on avoiding their attention, Gill Grunt pushed past the palms to try and find a hiding place—only for something to roll off of a palm tree and bonk him on the head! Gill Grunt groaned as he fell on his rump, his head a'spin as his vision turned shaky and blurry. When he came to his senses, he looked down to find a small, black statue with ruby eyes in the shape of some kind of strange canine creature's head had landed right in his lap!

"Hey cap'n, we've found some'un!" shouted a gruff voice from ahead of Gill Grunt!

Gill Grunt yanked his head up and found the very last thing he wanted to see—a mob of pirates in all shapes and sizes! Each one was covered in bandannas, tattoos, and any other kind of piratey gear one can imagine, and none of them looked particularly happy with Gill Grunt's sudden appearance.

"Hey, Hookface, don't we recognize this guy?" asked a feline-looking pirate draped in gold and jewels to a squid pirate covered from head to toe in striped clothing.

"I'd recognize him anywhere—it's one of them Skylandees!" Hookface replied as he made a narrowed glare, "Because of this Skylandee here, we lost those Golden Spouts!"—Hookface stormed up to Gill Grunt's front and pushed his tentacle in Gill Grunt's face—"Do ye know what happened to the cap'n when that Kaos fella found out we failed?"

Hookface snarled at Gill Grunt, then his eyes trailed lower and took notice of the black statue in Gill Grunt's arms.

"And he's been stealin' our statues too!" Hookface's eyes widened before he drew out a blunderbuss, "Get'em boys!"

And with that command heard the pirates all drew their weapons, whether they be hand-cannons or cutlasses, daggers or swords! There were so many of them, it would be hard to fight them off with sheer strength and will alone—Gill Grunt sure got himself into a heck of a pickle.

Great, Gill, just the kind of thing you wanted to avoid, Gill Grunt thought as he instinctively reached for his harpoon gun… But it wasn't there, just grass! Had he dropped it when he got hit by that weird statue?

Gill Grunt whipped his head around as the pirates cackled, then he heard the sound of a gun cocking and gulped! He quickly jiggled his jetpack and dashed off on a stream of hot water as the pirates fired, then wove his way into the forest.

"HE'S TRYIN' TO ESCAPE, MATEYS! AFTER 'IM!"

The pirates all cried out as they shot off their guns, which only made Gill Grunt fly away faster. Ammunition crackled and blasted just underneath his feet as he ran, but he couldn't worry about that. He was more concerned about finding his harpoon gun and getting out of here.

Now, where did it fall… Gill Grunt thought as he scanned over the forestation, his eyes trained for any sight of a familiar blue… Only to lose his train of thought as something whizzed right through his jetpack's water stream and nearly hit him in the foot!

Gill Grunt pulled his legs up just in time to avoid any harm, but his jetpack wasn't as lucky—the disruption caused by the ammo had messed with his flight! As he started to veer away left, Gill Grunt frantically pulled on the straps of his jetpack and leaned the opposite way, but the attacks wouldn't stop! Their ammo slammed into the water and made him fly every which way—it was like shooting fish in a barrel! Finally, something else slammed entirely into the barrels of his jetpack and caused him to completely lose his balance. With a surprised cry, his jetpack shot away into the palm forest and sent him tumbling down into the flora.

"OOF!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he hit a giant rock with his head and finally came to a stop.

Gill Grunt lurched up and rubbed the newly-formed welt on his head, then sat down and looked around.

There was nothing but dirt and vegetation wherever he looked—though thankfully, the vegetation was enough to shield him from everyone's view. The only ones that could see him in this humid forest were a couple of mosquitoes and dragonflies.

"Where'd he go, matey?" Asked one pirate from leagues above Gill Grunt.

"Me don't know—he just flew into the forest over there 'n disappeared!" Shouted back another.

"Split up and search for 'im, then!" The sound of footsteps grew louder as the first pirate spoke, "We can't 'ave 'im ruining Cap'n Kaos's plans!"

With a resounding chorus of "AYE AYE!", the footsteps pounded so loudly you'd be forgiven if you thought a herd of sky-elephants had found their way into the island! Clearly they were on the hunt—and Gill Grunt was their target.

I'd better stay low, Gill Grunt thought as he laid down on his belly and tried to go as flat as he possibly could, I can't let them find me.

So, Gill Grunt army-crawled along the forest floor, his eyes trained on the overgrowth as he shielded himself among the giant leaves.

"Ye find 'em yet?" Asked a pirate that sounded oddly close by…

Gill Grunt gasped, then jumped within a giant weed and closed himself up in the leaves. His curiosity overtaken him, he ever-so-slightly pushed away one leaf to see several tall seadog pirates dressed in stripes and bandannas while they all talked away.

"Not yet, matey," replied another as they crossed their arms, "That Skylandee's a slippery lil' fella, and I ain't sayin' that because he's a fish!"

"Whatever, matey." The first pirate pushed past the others, "Just keep seachin', he's gotta be around here somewhere!"

"Aye aye!" The second pirate left with the others close behind.

As they all vacated the premises, Gill Grunt heaved a sigh of relief. Thank the Ancients, they hadn't spotted him at all! Once he was certain they were gone, Gill grunt carefully crept out of the giant weed and looked ahead to spy… Something blue? Yes, something round and dark blue, hidden a little further away in a giant patch of weeds! Could it be?

As he took sanctuary under the plantlife once more, Gill Grunt crawled over to the spot he saw the object at… Then stopped, because right before him was his harpoon gun!

"There you are!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he cradled the harpoon gun in his grasp once more, "I've been looking all over for you!"

Gill Grunt toyed with the trigger just a little bit to see if it still worked. As he squirted out streams of hot water, then sent a harpoon straight into the ocean floor, Gill Grunt smirked—she worked just like a charm! Now, it was time to have some fun.

With a jiggle of his jetpack, Gill Grunt soared above the forest canopy and carefully positioned himself on top of a palm tree. Down below, he spotted two pirates who talked in a conversation inaudible to Gill Grunt's ears, but not like it mattered—he wouldn't be paying them mind for long, anyways.

Gill Grunt carefully positioned his harpoon gun, wrapped his finger around the trigger, then…

SPLASH!

A giant stream of hit water shot out from the barrel and doused one of the pirates! The pirate shook themself off, then yelled some kind of gibberish at their companion. The companion only stared in shock, but not before they were doused in water too! As the two sputtered out in shock, they shook themselves off and ran off in a clearly urgent panic—all paired with shouts that could be heard all over the isle.

"ITS THE CURSE OF THE LEVIATHAN!"

Gill Grunt chuckled as he watched them run along like headless chickenfish, then looked across the floor.

There, a more decorated pirate and their crewmates talked to the pirates he had soaked. Their conversation couldn't be heard from as far up as Gill Grunt was, but it was clear that the more decorated pirate had no tolerance for their crew's shenanigans. But, the crewmates that surrounded them seemed more nervous as they twiddled their thumbs and whistled among themselves. Looks like it was time to make a splash!

Gill Grunt cast the others palms an aside glance, only to catch one that had… Reversed leaves? Gill Grunt hopped along to it and found that he was right—directly above the pirate crew was a palm tree whose leaves were rightside-up rather than upside-down! And it gave him the perfect idea… With a smile, Gill Grunt cocked his harpoon gun and filled up the leaves with water, until the leaves were little more than the casing for a giant pool. Then, he pushed down one of the leaves and watched as a giant waterfall splashed straight onto the pirate crew!

The pirates all screamed in horror as they ran about in sheer panic! The most decorated one of all was the sole voice of reason among the anarchy as they shouted out for the pirates to come back. But, it was of no use—the others were too terrified to listen!

"And now, the finishing touch."

Gill Grunt cocked the barrel of his harpoon gun, then watched as a shiny harpoon popped out. As he held his grip tightly around the trigger and slowly floated down, the harpoon shimmered while its form grew brighter and larger until it was a harpoon no longer.

By the time Gill Grunt's feet hit the ground once more, it had turned into a giant, silver anchor!

The decorated captain had stopped ordering their crew to come back to their senses, but when they turned around and saw Gill Grunt it was far too late—for he already had them all in his crosshairs.

"ANCHORS AWAY!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he released the trigger and shot off the giant anchor!

The anchor soared like an eagle across the beach and caught every single pirate in its wake! All that could be heard was their cries of panic, and then KER-SPLASH as they anchor fell into the ocean with the pirates still attached.

Gill Grunt smiled as he gently rubbed the barrel of his harpoon gun—looks like getting those upgrades from Persephone was a good idea. As he placed the gun to his side, he felt his fin rub against something hard and smooth then looked down to find the obsidian statue! In all the chaos from earlier, he hadn't noticed he had dropped it.

"Better get out of here before I cause any more angry mobs." Gill Grunt picked up the statue then nestled it tightly in his grasp, "I hope Wham's doing better than I am."

§

Wham-Shell narrowed his gaze as he trodded the beaches of Leviathan Lagoon, still intent on his search for Chihiro. However, it seemed that he was out of luck—because he had been searching for what seemed like hours, yet no matter where he turned there was no sight of her.

"Just my luck," Wham-Shell remarked as he looked over the sandy, near-identical sprawls of the beach, "How can a kid her age be so hard to track down? You'd think she'd know how to stay in one place by now!"

Wham-Shell then looked at the path ahead of him, which, now that he looked over it did seem familiar for some reason… Then again, it was hard to tell when everywhere on the beach all that could be seen was endless sand, endless palm bushes and vaguely-identical seashells. Wham-Shell sighed, then looked down at the sand again to find footprints—his footprints.

As soon as the realization struck him, Wham-Shell groaned and cradled his face in his hand.

"And I've been walking around in circles this whole time! Just great."

Wham-Shell's frustration built up even more than before as he peered back at path before him, his face practically plastered into a frown, when he heard whispers.

Sinister-sounding whispers.

Wham-Shell knelt down into the palm bushes that surrounded the sandy roads, then peered through the leaves in such a way that wouldn't be noticeable. When he looked ahead, he found a small team of pirates in a group as they discussed something in hushed voices. Unfortunately for them, they weren't hushed enough—Wham-Shell could hear them perfectly clearly.

"They what?!" said one of the many pirates, a burly-looking octopus who wielded a giant anchor.

"The lad and the Gillman, from the coves—they're here to steal the statues that Cap'n Kaos wanted us to protect!" Whimpered a furry dog pirate who was quivering so badly that he could've caused the entire island to shake, "We've already lost two of them, in fact! Me heard from Hookface himself, the gillman, he, he—"

"Calm down, Snarl!" The octopus pirate thwacked Snarl on top of his head and rolled his eyes as Snarl yowled in sheer pain.

"Now, we still have two, so it seems we're at a stalemate. All we have to do is retrieve the other two from their clutches, and we be golden!"

"But that's easier said than done, Tentaclaw!" Snarl's face bore a worried expression as broken fangs poked out from his mouth, "That Gillman's a Skylandee and a formidable one at that! And I bet my booty that the little lad's the portal master Kaos warned us about!"

"So? Portal master or not, that lad's still a little lad all on their own—and against all of us, 'ey'd be absolutely helpless!" Tentaclaw's voice took a haughty tone in his voice, "That lad's fishbait!"

Wham-Shell's eyes widened as he heard Tentaclaw speak, before he dashed out of the bushes and back onto the sands.

"That kid's gonna be the death of me." Wham-Shell's voice was more concerned than griping as he off to hunt down Chihiro once more.

But, he didn't pay attention, and that turned out to be his downfall—literally, as he had tripped over something hidden in the sand and fell on his face. As he groaned and heaved himself up, Wham-Shell brushed away the lump of sand he tripped over and found… A statue? Indeed it was.

What Wham-Shell tripped over was a black statue shaped like some kind of vaguely canine face. It was made entirely of smooth, shiny obsidian that was completed with sparkly ruby eyes. It laid with an almost content feeling around it, as if it was saying, "Are you mad that I tripped you? Well, too bad! It's your fault for not paying attention!"

"Who leaves statues lying around like this anyway?" Wham-Shell picked up the statue and examining its smooth surface in the bright midday light.

As he drew a claw across the onyx statue, Wham-Shell couldn't help but frown—weren't those pirates talking about statues? Well, whatever it was, it probably shouldn't stay where they could find it. So, Wham-Shell stashed the statue under his arm and dashed off, once again on a hunt for Chihiro…

§

However, while the Skylanders were off hunting for Chihiro, she was climbing up palm trees, kicking down coconuts, and doing just about anything to satisfy her temporary boredom while her hunt for the imp continued.

So much for finding that imp, Chihiro thought as she kicked her legs against a palm tree's trunk, her person safely nestled into its leafy branches, Take one wrong left and you've completely lost the thing!

With a sigh, Chihiro's eyes gazed over the sandy beaches. For a place that was supposed to be the secret hiding place of a magical artifact, it was awfully quiet around here…

"Now that I think about it, Gill and Wham are probably searching for me." Chihiro thought for a moment before she sighed, "And I don't wanna come back to them empty-handed. I'd better go find this thing,"—Chihiro gently patted the leaves of her palm tree—"So long, palm tree hideout."

Chihiro looked down from the top of the tree, then gulped.

"I really should stop climbing up high places." Chihiro clasped her hands and legs around the trunk and shimmied down slowly and slowly, "Now, don't look down, Chihiro, don't look down…"

Chihiro screwed her eyes completely shut as she climbed down—can't fear what you can't see and all—but as fate would have it, she peered down out of one open eye… And flipped.

"EEK! THAT IS WAY TOO HIGH! WHAT WAS I EVEN THINKING?!"

Chihiro flailed her arms about as she screamed, but hadn't the mind to realize that in her fit of panic that she had let go of the trunk. And in the split-second that she had let go, Chihiro realized that she was no longer attached to the tree and fell into the sands with a yelp of fear. As sand splashed across the shores, Chihiro staggered out and spit out the yellow grains of terror from her mouth.

"This can't possibly get any—"

Before she could finish her sentence, something fell out of the tree and conked Chihiro on the head! This, once again, sent her falling into the shore.

"I stand corrected."

Chihiro stood and grabbed the object from the ground. It was an enchanting-looking obsidian statue with red ruby eyes that seemed to radiate with a kind of magical fascination, the kind that wouldn't let you leave it be. And for that matter, didn't it kinda look like that statue the imp had?...

As she tucked it under her arm, Chihiro dashed off and left not a trace of her body to be seen.

§

Meanwhile, halfway across the island, a fly was buzzing across the island. It was a simple, purple fly, no different from any other fly as it just tried to survive in a cruel, harsh world. That is, until a seemingly giant red foot stepped on the fly and rendered its existence moot.

"Chihiro," Wham-Shell called as he stormed across the sandy shores, "I'm not sure if you consider this a game or not, but it's not funny anymore! You can come out now!"

Silence. Piercing silence.

"Come on, this is getting annoying!"

Wham-Shell stopped short as he heard a rustling from the bushes, then twisted around to find… A crab as it bustled about on its own business.

Wham-Shell only heaved a sigh.

"Just a crab, Wham, just a crab." Wham-Shell pulled himself up and looked ahead, "I'd better go find Chihiro before this place gets the better of me…"

And as Wham-Shell dashed off on the track, another person darted through on the left—and as nature would have it, a crash collision happened next! As Wham-Shell fell back into the beaches, the other person shook their head and groaned as they rubbed their aching cranium. Wham-Shell peered up, then found that staring him in the face was none other than Gill Grunt!

"Oh, hi Wham, didn't see you there!" Gill Grunt chirped as he waved at Wham-Shell.

"Neither did I," Wham-Shell said as he rolled his eyes, "On to serious matters, have you seen Chihiro yet?"

"'Fraid not." Gill Grunt's smile turned to a frown as he shook his head, "She's a little too good at getting lost for her own good."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Wham-Shell stood up and dusted himself off, "And more importantly, have you seen any trace of the Eternal Water Source?"

"Not a sign, I'm afraid." Gill Grunt sighed and stood up as well, "Just a bunch of sand, insects, the occasional pirate or two… Oh, and these weird statues."

Gill Grunt then pulled out an obsidian statue shaped like a face, and in response Wham-Shell pulled out a similar-looking one from behind his back.

"How many of these are there, anyways?" Gill Grunt asked as he glazed over the statue once more.

Wham-Shell didn't answer Gill Grunt's question—instead, he focused on the pathway ahead of him as he frowned.

"Did you hear that, Gill?" Wham-Shell asked as he looked back at Gill Grunt.

"Hear what?" Gill Grunt rocked up his nonexistent ears and tilted his head.

A little ways across from where they currently stood, something that almost sounded like someone moaning out of pain resounded!

"It sounds like someone's hurt!"

The two of them nodded than rushed across—however, they didn't bother to see where they were going, which lead to Wham-Shell accidentally stepping on a peculiar thing that stuck out from the sand!

"Ouch!" exclaimed someone from underneath a pile of golden sand grains.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell back backed up to find a hand stuck out from the heap of golden sand. That hand was joined by another hand, and then two arms, and finally a head and torso as Chihiro pulled herself out from the pile she had dug her way into.

"Chihiro?!" Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt exclaimed in unison as they watched Chihiro shake the sand out of her hair.

"You guys always have the ruin my plans, don't you?" Chihiro asked, a playful look on her face as she made a chuckle, "So, did I look like I was buried alive or what?"

Chihiro pulled herself out of the sand and wiped down her clothes from any lick of sand, then frowned as she was greeted by a notable lack of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, pretending to be buried alive isn't actually that funny." Chihiro rolled her eyes before a thin smile broke across her face, "But you gotta admit, I got you pretty good there, didn't I?"—As Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell rolled their eyes and smiled, Chihiro crossed her arms and huffed—"Sheesh, where'd your sense of humor go?"

Wham-Shell just rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"All pranks aside, we still need to find the Eternal Water Source," Wham-Shell said as he crossed his arms, "And lollygagging around won't do us any good."

"Yeah, yeah, but what will?" Chihiro retorted as she flopped back onto the sand. "'Cause I've searched all over this darn island and I haven't found a thing!"

"Did you really?" Wham-Shell gave Chihiro a fairly humorous gaze, one that only grew more suspicious as Chihiro shrugged and giggled nervously.

"Well, maaaaybe I spent more time on a wild imp chase and turning a palm tree into my personal fortress, but that's not really important." Chihiro was struck by an idea as she sprang back up with stars in her eyes, "Unless my lead's correct…"

"Unless what lead's correct?" Gill Grunt echoed as he drew closer to Chihiro.

Chihiro rummaged around inside her pockets, then pulled out an obsidian statue and showed it to Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt.

"Do you guys recognize this statue?"

"Oddly enough, yes!" Wham-Shell said as he pulled out the statue he had from and allowed Chihiro to gaze over it, "Tripped on one of those darn things earlier."

"And for that matter, one of those statues knocked me on the head too," Gill Grunt added as he pulled another identical statue out from behind his back, "And got me chased by a pirate mob, but that's another story."

"Good!" Chihiro chirped with glee, then giggled and scratched the back of her head, "About finding the statues, I mean, not getting hurt by them,"—Chihiro snatched the statues from their hands, then made a saddlebag out of magic and stuffed them inside—"Now, I heard this weird mob of pirates talking about how Kaos wanted to keep these statues out of anyone's hands—and if he doesn't want us getting them, then surely there's something important about them."

"And you're sure their word is reliable?" Gill Grunt asked as he raised an eyebrow, "For all we know, they could just want to sell them for a pretty penny…"

"Well, I did hear some pirates say somethin' like that when I found that thing…" Wham-Shell said as he cast an aside look at the ocean.

"Maybe these things are the keys to getting the Eternal Water Source!" Chihiro realized as she tightened the magic saddlebag's strap, "Looks like right now, collecting these things is the best chance we've got!"

Chihiro then looked over at the others and urged them with a nod.

"Come on," Chihiro turned around and readied herself for a run, "I was chasing some imp that had one before it got—"

Chihiro stopped short as everybody heard some kind of gibberish cackling, then looked ahead of the path to find a red-skinned imp that looked vaguely like a cartoon devil not that far off! It was small and round, and within its skinny arms it caressed… An obsidian statue with ruby eyes!

"THERE IT IS!" Chihiro pointed at the imp with all manner of urgency, "AFTER IT!"

As Chihiro jabbed her finger frantically towards the imp's direction, the imp took one look at her and scrambled! Its little legs ran off in such a fury that all one could see was the gigantic cloud of dust and disturbed sand it left behind.

But, not one to be easily stopped, Chihiro zoomed off once more—though in the dust cloud, she couldn't see a thing and ended up tripping on a stray vine! While she fell on her face, her saddlebag's flap flew right open and tossed the statues into the air, then each one conked Chihiro right on the head in succession.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Chihiro sat up and rubbed her aching head, "Why do these kinda things always happen to me?"

§

"I think it went this way!" Chihiro shouted as she pointed ahead and ran, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell still hot on her heels.

Her breath heavy, Chihiro sprinted across the sand and kicked up dust wherever she went, her eyes trained on the track of imp footprints before her. The island's paths seemed to sprawl on forever and ever, the rows of palm trees completely identical in tune no matter how far she went, but Chihiro wouldn't let that stop her—she had to get that imp!

Chihiro stumbled forward and just barely dodged a stray vine, then stopped short as she heard a shrill scream! The scream faded into the atmosphere moments afterwards, so Chihiro only shrugged and ran forwards.

As she did, the trees around slowly dispersed now that she had gotten further into the path. Soon enough they cleared completely—and so did the imp's footprints! They just abruptly stopped at a pair of worn leather boots that sat devoid of ownership.

"Where'd that imp go?" Chihrio asked as she knelt down and examined the boots, "And for that matter, where am I?!"

Chihiro spread out her arms and gazed about. Of course, Chihiro's arms were full of statues, so as soon as they shot out the statues dropped to the ground once more! As she heard a loud clank, Chihiro looked down and giggled.

"Heh, don't mind me, just getting these statues, doo de doo de doo~"

Chihiro scooped up the statues, then gazed back over at the area.

The area before her was simple and much different compared to where they were before—it was a stone platform that held a cubic, black shrine posed with four square holes and not much else. No trees or any other kind of vegetation, no pirates, and other than one short dock that lead to an equally-small island… In summary, pretty much nothing. However, the shrine caught her intrigue nonetheless—something about it felt so… Mysterious.

"This thing's missing something…" Chihiro mused as she walked over to the shrine and gazed at its holes.

"Like whatever's supposed to go in those slots, bright-eyes?" Asked a familiarly gruff voice.

Chihiro turned around, then watched as Wham-Shell walked up to her with Gill Grunt close behind and pointed towards the empty slots.

"Ah, yeah." Chihiro picked up a statue and examined it, then hovered its base above the shrine's slots. It seemed to be the perfect size—what if…

Chihiro levitated all three statues she owned and slowly slid them into the slots… And it was a perfect fit! Like a key in its proper lock, the statues slid into the holes and stuck themselves tight with a magical whooshing noise. But there was still one slot open.

"That's gotta be the last statue," Chihiro remarked as she glazed over the empty slot, "But we have no idea where it is now,"—Chihiro heaved a sigh and looked over the ocean's cascading waves—"Okay, Plan A didn't work, time to go Eternal Source hunting—"

"Uh, excuse me? Were you talking about a statue?" Asked a familiarly whiny voice as all three heads turned to face a certain seafoam green Gillman!

"Gurglefin!" Chihiro exclaimed as she furrowed her brows, "How'd you get here?"

"I took the back way," Gurglefin said as he pointed his fin towards the side of the island, where another dock stood with Delilah parked next to it, "Didn't you know there was a back way?"

"Not really." Chihiro shook her head then turned her confused expression serious, "Now, what do you know about a statue?"

"Well, it just so happened that I saw some pirate carrying some strange onyx statue onto a boat!" Gurglefin turned around and gasped, "And would you look at that, there's the boat!"

As everybody else gasped, Gurglefin pointed towards the ocean! There, a brown oakwood pirate ship with black jolly roger sails cruised away as gentle waves caressed its hull. It seemed like it was awfully far off, too…

Chihiro's smile turned sour as her eyes glazed over the ship, then she took a deep breath and gazed down at the sea.

"Swimming lessons, don't fail me now!"

But before she could dash off once more, Wham-Shell grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her down to his height.

"Hey!" Chihiro turned back to Wham-Shell and frowned, "What was that for?"

"Think this through, Chihiro," Wham-Shell said as he stared her down, "There's a giant fish with a taste for flesh swimming in that water—do you really want to go for a dip?"

"No…" Chihiro gazed to the side with tear-stung eyes, then shook her head and balled his hands into fists, "But what can we do? Those guys have the last thing we need to get the Eternal Water Source!"

Chihiro stopped and looked down at the sack of marbles she still had tied to her sweatpants.

"Wait, I know!" Chihiro opened up the sack and dove her hand inside, but felt nothing other than felt. With a sigh she closed the bag and tossed it aside.

"Dangit!" Chihiro stomped her foot in frustration, "I must've used up all those marbles chasing that imp,"—Chihiro then sat down and huffed—"Now what?"

"We could shoot it down," Gill Grunt suggested as his eyes trailed off from Wham-Shell and Chihiro.

Both of them gave Gill Grunt confused glances.

"With what, Gill?" Wham-Shell asked as he crossed his arms.

"For starters, we have an empty turret right over there."

Gill Grunt pointed all four sets of eyes to an empty wooden turret in prime condition, stationed a little ways away from the statue.

Wait, when did that turret get there? Chihiro frowned and crossed her arms as she examined it—she sure was missing a lot of things today… But oh well, bygones are bygones. Chihiro gained a mischievous smile on her face, the kind of smile she got whenever she felt like causing trouble, then made an equally-mischievous giggle.

"That will work just swimmingly, Gill!" Chihiro exclaimed as she grabbed both Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell's hands.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell looked at each other and gulped, as if they knew full well what a look like that from Chihiro entailed—and it wasn't good.

Chihiro dragged them towards the turret, then let go and slammed glowing cyan hands against the top of the turret. With a mechanical whir, the turret spun around before it clicked and fixed itself on the ship!

And with that said and done, Chihiro grasped her hands around the wheel of the turret and began piloting! With crosshairs popped out and focused further, Chihiro trained herself on the hull of the pirate ship.

"Ehehehehe." Chihiro's eyes narrowed and a hyperactive grin spread across her face, "RAPIDFIRE MODE GO!"

Chihiro slammed her fingers against the handle's buttons, then watched as spheres of magic screeched toward the ship! Despite their relatively small size, they were fast and they were many as they crashed against the side of the pirate ship… But unfortunately, that wasn't enough to compensate for strength.

When the dust had setttled, they hadn't even made a scratch on the ship itself!

"No way!" Chihiro exclaimed as her face fell, "Not even a dent!"—Chihiro shook her head and pushed the wheel further—"What am I doing?! They're getting away!"

As the ship tried to sail further into the horizon, Chihiro sent rows after rows, battalions after battalions of those magic spheres towards it, but it was no use! They were still far too weak to damage the ship!

Chihiro winced and clenched her teeth as she held the wheel as tight as she could with her sweaty hands. She had to think of something, fast! That pirate ship was going to be out of shooting range if she didn't! But, no matter what her mind was at a complete blank.

She looked to her side, then loosened her jaw as she saw Gill Grunt whisper… Something, to Wham-Shell. What were they possibly talking about?

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose," Wham-Shell sighed as he pounded his mace against his fist.

Wham-Shell walked over to the turret, pried its top open, then gestured to Gill Grunt. The two of them hopped into the turret with no words spoken, then Wham-Shell pulled the turret's top back down! As he did, the two large, silver knobs on the turret's roof glowed a bright blue in color, while lighter blue teardrop symbols shone in their centers. A new power, perhaps?

Chihiro smiled as she slammed her fingers against the buttons once more—time to test this out!

"EAT THIS, YOU SCURVY DOGS!"

Out from the turret shot an entire gigantic barrage of gigantic, glowing water spheres that crashed into the ship's hull! By the time the assault had cleared, a sizable hole had formed while the ship slowly sank into the calm waters! Looks like they'd be joining Davy Jones in his locker.

Satisfied with her work, Chihiro jumped out of the pilot's seat and rapped against the top door of the turret. The door opened by itself to reveal a very exhausted Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell, who both panting and looked as if they were about ready to fall asleep.

"Sorry guys, I didn't mean to wear you guys out too bad!" Chihiro giggled and gently patted them on their heads.

And with that said, Chihiro skipped off and peered over the island's edge, fully ready to start swimming. That is, until she noticed something float closer in the distance.

"Now, what could that be?"

Chihiro knelt down as the object floating closer to her position and revealed itself to be none other than the statue she had been looking for! With a giddy smile on her face, Chihiro scooped up the statue and twirled it around.

"Guys, I've got the statue!"

Gill Grunt groaned and peered up, a still-tired gaze on his face as he fruitlessly tried to keep his eyes from closing.

"That's great, Chi, now if you'll excuse me," Gill Grunt said as he flopped back down on the wooden floor of the turret. "I'm gonna get some sleep."

However, Gill Grunt was not going to get his wishes today, for Chihiro dashed over and grabbed him by the collar of his wetsuit.

"You can sleep when you're dead!" Chihiro exclaimed as she yanked Gill Grunt out of the turret and ran off, "For now, we've got a source to get!"

As they ran off, Wham-Shell groaned and opened his tired eyes, then climbed out of the turret.

"Wai, wait up, you two!" Wham-Shell half-exclaimed as he stumbled across the shrine.

Chihiro sprang and leaped all the way through the shrine's island while she hummed a tune to herself, then slowed down as she arrived at the empty slot's spot.

"And here we are!" Chihiro shouted as she twirled around on the heel of her foot and fit the statue into its slot.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell groggily followed behind her, still clearly tired. As they groaned and looked up, something finally brought them back to alertness! Both their eyes grew wide as they pointed behind Chihiro and tugged on her sleeve.

"Geez, don't you know that it's rude to point?" Chihiro yanked away her sleeve, then turned around and gasped!

"There it is!"

There, right behind her was none other than the Eternal Water Source! It wasn't much larger than maybe a dinner plate, but yet it seemed to radiate with so much raw power, the kind that made Chihiro feel soaked to the bone even though she was mostly dry. Just being next to it made her feel so small…

Chihiro dashed onto a rickety wooden boardwalk, then paused to gaze at the Eternal Water Source's majesty some more. As she watched it with sparkling eyes, the Eternal Water Source carefully hovered down before it nestled itself tightly in Chihiro's grip.

"And now that we've got this baby, let's head back to the island." Chihiro smiled as she looked back at Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell, "Between the three of us, I'm pretty sure Gurglefin's gonna panic if he stays here any longer."

But as Chihiro walked back to their side, a mighty rumble shook the entire island and sent everybody on it to their knees!

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell pushed themselves back up while Chihiro shuddered as she clung to the Source.

"Did you guys feel that too?" Chihiro asked as she hugged the Eternal Water Source tighter than before.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell didn't have time to respond—another earthquake forced them down on the ground. While they struggled, the quakes grew more and more violent and not to mention more and more loud, until they couldn't even hear their voices.

Chihiro rolled over and peered over the side of the dock and proceeded to gulp.

"Guys…" Chihiro gulped once more, "I think we have a problem."

Chihiro looked under the docks once more, where a giant, blue fish swam all around and crashed into the island—was that the Leviathan? Probably.

Just then, the Leviathan jumped out as they scrambled to their feet and gazed it over. They couldn't help but freeze in sheer awe and fear as they watched it—after all, it was as big as a small island!

"Yeah, on second thought, the fish in the marketplace weren't nearly as big as that thing."

Before Chihiro could make one more smart remark, the fish screeched down and swallowed her, Gill Grunt, and Wham-Shell in one gulp.

§

Cold.

It was so cold, and so dark… That was the first thing Chihiro thought as she opened her eyes and looked around. All she could see in front of her was a giant, pink, bumpy surface with splintered, rotten wood and skeletons spread all across. Some kind of strange, hollow noise that was vaguely akin to something breathing echoed throughout, and the whole thing was something out of a nightmare.

"Guys, are we dead?" Chihiro asked, as she clung to the Eternal Water Source, the faint glow of the Source her only source of light in this room.

Chihiro bit her lip as she looked up towards the strange area's roof to find something that looked vaguely like… Tonsils? Wait a second, didn't they get swallowed by…

Is this the belly of the Leviathan? Chihiro thought as her knees started to quiver, If it is, then, have they…

"Guys? Please, say something!" Chihiro fell to her knees and sniffled, fear overtaken in her mind, "C'mon, please,"—Chihiro shuddered, then pushed herself to crawl forwards and look around—"We just got the Source, you can't give up on me now…"

Right as Chihiro was about ready to let her mind absorb her whole, she heard several moans and groans! She then watched as the Eternal Water Source's light grew brighter and the belly's lighting grew better. The area finally illuminated, Chihiro looked to her side and found Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell as they struggled to their feet!

"Guys! You're alive!" Chihiro's tears turned from ones of fear to ones of joy, then she wiped them away as she jumped back onto her feet.

"Chihiro? Where are you?" Wham-Shell asked as he stumbled a few feet forwards.

"Right here!" Chihiro let go of the Eternal Water Source and had its light illuminate the entirely of the cramped space they were in.

Completely overwhelmed by joy, Chihiro dashed over to their sides and hugged them as tight as she possibly could. She almost didn't want to let go of them, regardless of how cold and wet they were—she was just so, so, relieved that they were okay! Wait, were they?

"You guys alright?" Chihiro watched as they nodded their heads in unison.

"Are you?" Wham-Shell gave her a concerned look as he gently brushed a claw against her damp cheek.

"I'm a little beat up, but I'll survive." Chihiro looked back up at where the Eternal Water Source provided them with brilliant light, then frowned.

"Now, how're we gonna get out of this mess?" Wham-Shell asked as he peered up at the Eternal Water Source.

Chihiro let out a confused shrug.

"Maybe we could try tickling its tonsils until it laughs us out?" Chihiro suggested with a shrug, "I mean, it worked on TV!"

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell gained musing looks on their faces as they nodded.

However, those musing looks didn't last long as another bright light found its way into the scene! It shone so bright and in such a brilliant blue it practically absorbed everything around, and as it glowed a harsh cackle resonated around the belly of the beast.

"HAH HAH HAH! Look what we have here, some STUPID SKYLANDERS!"

Chihiro winced as she scanned the right and left and then right again in some hope that she could find the voice's owner, but no use. Everything was too coated in light! That is, until an even brighter flash shot off and everything faded away into… A giant, holographic blue head!

It had chiseled features covered in odd markings and a cloth hood, and was probably about ten times their size. It might have been kind of intimidating if not for the bald head and notably incorporeal form.

The head cackled for several minutes more, then opened its eyes and gasped.

"How did you get the Eternal Water Source?!" The head demanded.

"Why do you wanna know?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stepped forward and readied a magic sphere, "Who the hell are you, anyways?"

"Chihiro!" Gill Grunt scolded, "Language!"

But, she paid no mind to him as she glared daggers into the holographic head. Her whole body surged with some kind of magical energy, the kind that filled her with so much strength that she felt like she could conquer anything. And especially this weirdo who appeared out of nowhere!

"I could be asking you the same question, child!" The head spat back.

"Name's Chihiro!" Chihiro pointed a thumb at herself and took the coolest stance she could envision, "Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master and guardian of all that is good in Skylands! You better remember it!"

"PORTAL MASTER?!" The head cocked an eyebrow then cackled some more, "So YOU'RE the one who's been causing me so much trouble!"

"Causing you… So much trouble…" Chihiro's gaze faltered as a wave of realization crashed over, then she pushed herself to peer up at the head once more, "You're Kaos, aren't you?"

"Correct!" Kaos cackled again as he bore a fanged sneer.

"I'm surprised that such a puny child could be the source of all my misery! After all, I wouldn't have expected someone as small and weak as you to bring back the Skylanders, or stop my armies, or steal the Eternal—" Kaos quickly noted his surprise then cleared his throat, "I mean, I TOTALLY EXPECTED that you would steal the Eternal Water Source from under my nose, and that's why I prepared this spell!"

Chihiro, Wham-Shell, and Gill Grunt only stared in anticipation as they braced themselves for the oncoming spell, weapons bared and fists a'glow… But nothing happened. Kaos's head just frantically spun about.

"No, no, no," Kaos repeated as the sound of warbled, flipping paper echoed about before his eyes widened, "Ah here it is!"

Kaos's eyes flashed a bright white, then the windy vortex behind him grew stronger! With the power of a hurricane it sucked in spare wood, bones, and various other sundry, all while Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell tried their best to stay on the ground.

"Ack!" Chihiro exclaimed as a piece of flotsam flew right past her head and was sucked straight into the vortex, then dug her feet into the Leviathan's tongue.

"Look out!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he pushed Wham-Shell out the way of a splintered crate.

"Thanks, Gill—" Wham-Shell said before his eyes widened and he rolled both himself and Gill Grunt out the way of a rotted fish skeleton.

"CRAP!"

"WHOA!"

"WATCH IT!"

All these shouts and more were heard as they dodged the debris absorbed by the vortex. However, while they were trying to keep their feet on the ground, they had all forgotten about the Eternal Water Source—which was promptly sucked into the vortex and stolen right before their very eyes!

"HAH! Thanks for getting the Water Source for me, SKYLOSERS!" Kaos simpered before he floated down and gave Chihiro a condescending look, "And I can't possibly forget the portal loser who brought them here."

Chihiro gritted her teeth together and lunged towards Kaos, her hands flared with magic fire, only to be held back by Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell.

"Lemme go, guys, I can take him!" Chihiro exclaimed as she conjured up another sphere in her open hand, "Just one sphere to the head, that's all it's gonna take!"

"Chihiro, calm down, losing your head over this isn't going to help anyone!" Gill Grunt warned as he placed a damp fin on Chihiro's shoulder.

"And did I forget to mention that pungent panfish of a Gillman?" Kaos asked.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Gill Grunt's fins bristled and he let go of Chihiro's shoulder.

But, before he could run off, Wham-Shell grabbed both him and Chihiro by the backs of their clothes and drew them back before any damage could be done. They could only thrust and squirm against the tough grip of a very exhausted Wham-Shell.

"It works every time!" Kaos let out a bellow of laughter as his eyes glowed brighter than before and a wicked smile snaked across his lips.

"Now, I'll give you SKYLOSERS a little treat." Kaos's head floated back as forth as he watched the others look him down with bated breath and fearful eyes, "If you can beat my minions, which I doubt you can do, I'll let you have the Eternal Water Source."

"And if we don't?" Chihiro asked, her hands balled into fists as she stepped forward.

"Then you'll stay here. Forever." Kaos's smile turned smugger on his face as he floated dangerously close to Chihiro, "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"

"Are you done yet?" Chihiro crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"I was about to finish gloating if you hadn't so rudely interrupted me!" Kaos stopped short and pouted, "Now I'll just take even longer. MAUHAHAHAHAHAHA…"

Chihiro just gazed over and Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell.

"You're telling me this is the dude that destroyed the Core of Light?"

All three of them shrugged their shoulders as their attention turned back to Kaos, their expressions turned from neutral to sour. Just being around Kaos made Chihiro's skin crawl. As goofy as he was, this was the person that destroyed the Core of Light, that turned Skylands into his playground of evil…

The one she had to stop, no matter what.

"Ha, ha, ha." As Kaos's laughter stopped short, he cleared his throat and glared down the trio, "Now… Evil Gillman, Evil Water Dragon, Evil Ice Yeti!"

The moment Kaos spoke these words, three creatures popped inside the belly of the beast!

They looked exactly like Gill Grunt, Zap and Slam Bam in terms of form, but their bodies were made of something much different. Their bodies were made of dark purple, malevolent energy that throbbed and pulsed with power and was occasionally decorated by veins of blue water magic. Though their eyes were blank, one could only shudder at the malevolence that radiated from them.

Kaos whipped out the Eternal Water Source, then watched as a stream of water doused the trio of minions! As the water dripped into puddles at their feet, the evil minions glowed with a bright, blue light that radiated such power it made one feel meek and helpless just basking in their presence.

"MAKE THESE SKYLOSERS WISH THEY NEVER CAME HERE!" Kaos's holographic head began to fade, but not before he shot one last, cocky sneer at the heroic trio, "Good luck, Skyblunderers—NOT!"

All was silent for a few moments as the good trio stared down the evil and vice versa… Then the Evil Gillman cocked its harpoon cannon back and shot off harpoons in every conceivable direction! The metal weapons ricocheted off the walls and hit the long-abandoned crates and boxes in what was probably the world's most lethal game of dodgeball!

Harpoons bounced every which way Chihiro, Wham-Shell, and Gill Grunt turned as they all scrambled to dodge the harpoons' paths. Though, it was pretty darn hard.

"Eek!" Chihiro yelped as she dodged a harpoon that whizzed past her chest.

Then, with another yelp she jumped out of the way of yet another harpoon that had ricocheted off the wall behind her. As she summoned a sphere of magic, Chihiro narrowed her eyes and attempted to aim it at the Evil Gillman… But once more harpoons ricocheted around her and forced her to dodge left and right, back and forth, up and down! She even had to dash behind some broken crates a few times. And of course, she didn't notice that she had dropped her magic sphere in her attempts to escape until it was too late.

She only heard a blast and looked down to see the magic sphere burst into sparkles.

"Dang it." Chihiro ducked down with a squeal of shock as a harpoon flew in her general direction!

Meanwhile, Gill Grunt was trying to do the same thing as Chihiro—stay alive! He dashed and darted from one place to the other as he tried to anchor himself and fire from his own harpoon cannon, but the sheer volume of hazards around made it hard to do.

"Can't these things stay still for more than five seconds?" Gill Grunt asked, his eyes narrowed as he sat down once more and tried to focus on the Evil Gillman.

"Gill, watch out!" Wham-Shell shouted over the sound of clinking metal.

Gill Grunt looked up, then noticed another harpoon as it shot straight towards him! Before the harpoon could land and do any damage, Gill Grunt dropped and rolled over, which caused the harpoon to hit the wall and disappear into thin air.

"How long can that thing keep this up?" Gill Grunt sat back up then cast a glance at Wham-Shell, "Wham, can you give me a distraction?"

However, his message reached a different pair of ears instead—Chihiro's! Chihiro smirked as she bounced up from the crate she hid behind and gave Gill Grunt a thumbs up.

"One distraction coming right up, Gill!" Chihiro shouted before she jumped up and down and flailed her arms, "Hey, Fish-Face! Over here!"

As Chihiro shouted all kinds of nonsense, the Evil Gillman whipped its head around to face her with a confused stare. It was almost as if it was wondering whether or not she was addressing it!

"I bet a dog could shoot better than you, and a sleeping one at that!" Chihiro pulled down her bottom eyelid and stuck out her tongue, "Nyeh!"

The Evil Gillman scowled and cocked its harpoon cannon once more. But, instead of shooting out more harpoons, a steam of scalding hot water spat out of the cannon!

Chihiro squawked and dashed off all around the belly of the Leviathan, but the Evil Gillman didn't leave its spot at all! It simply turned around as it fired.

"Was that good enough?" Chihiro whispered as she cast an aside glance at the Evil Gillman and beamed.

There, a few feet away from the Evil Gillman were none other than Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt, who had weapons at the ready as they slowly crept up on the Gillman!

Chihiro made an excited gasp, but not for long! Unknown to them, two, shadowy figures crept up behind Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell…

"Guys, look out!" Chihiro shouted as she watched Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell turn around.

The minions went to work immediately! The Evil Water Dragon zapped everything in sight with lightning bolts while the Evil Ice Yeti dashed over to Wham-Shell's back and grabbed him with its four dark arms.

While lightning danced around the belly of the beast, Chihiro yelped and performed some fancy footwork! She twisted and twirled around then bolts, then when she had grown closer her breath stopped short at what she saw.

Wham-Shell, pinned down to the tongue of the best by the Evil Ice Yeti.

"Ready to give up, shellfish?" the Evil Ice Yeti asked, a prideful tone in its gravely voice.

Chihiro gasped as she lunged forward, only to get tackled to the ground by the Evil Gillman! As she staggered up, she swung her head around only to find herself face-to-face with a sharp, shiny harpoon and gulped.

"I wasn't able to get rid of you at Vindlevale," The Evil Gillman hissed as it cocked its harpoon gun, "But this time will be quite different!"

Chihiro tried to scramble back, but she only got a few steps back before she hit the wall. And worse yet, all around them, lightning bolts had hit puddles of saliva and turned them into electrically-charged death traps. There was nowhere to go. All she could do was stand back and watch as the Evil Gillman placed her in its crosshairs, then…

"How about you get ready to LET GO OF ME, YOU FURRY BRUTE!" Wham-Shell shouted.

The Evil Gillman uttered a confused noise and swung around—which gave Chihiro the perfect opportunity to sock it in the face and run! While the Evil Gillman fell unconscious onto the Leviathan's tongue, Chihiro bounced over its body and looked ahead.

Wham-Shell had swung his legs back and hit the Evil Ice Yeti in the shins, and in turn the Evil Ice Yeti let go of Wham-Shell and yowled in pain! While the Evil Ice Yeti nursed its wounds, Wham-Shell grabbed his mace and smirked.

"Brace for the mace!"

With his cry hung in the air, Wham-Shell whacked his mace on the head of the Evil Ice Yeti and watched as it fell unconscious onto the tongue.

Chihiro and Wham-Shell both beamed as he heaved his mace over his shoulder… Then a lightning bolt whizzed just inches above their heads and slammed into the walls.

Right beside them, Gill Grunt struggled with the pest that was the Evil Water Dragon! He flew off on his water jetpack as he shot harpoon after harpoon at it, but it was far too fast for him to even make contact! The Water Dragon made a gargling laugh as it jumped forward and got ready to zap Gill Grunt right in the chest…

Then Wham-Shell flung his mace outwards and sent starfish shooting from it! The starfish hit the Water Dragon straight in the chest and sent it flying a few feet away.

"That's why you brace for the mace!" Wham-Shell shouted as he heaved his mace back onto his armored shoulder.

"Thanks for the backup, Wham!" Gill Grunt said as he flew over to Wham-Shell's side.

"That was amazing, Whammy!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped forward and hugged them both tight.

The trio smiled and laughed as they were enveloped in Chihiro's warm embrace… Then they all heard a groan and turned around to see the Evil Gillman try to push itself off the ground.

"Not today you don't," Gill Grunt remarked as he let a smile crawl across his lips and cocked his own harpoon gun.

With a slight pull and release of the gun's trigger, a stream of scalding water flew out of the cannon and sent Gill Grunt flying backwards! The harpoon struck the Evil Gillman in the back, and with a yowl of pain the Gillman fell back onto the ground once more.

As the last of the water hit the Leviathan's side and crept down the wall, Chihiro stopped to skip over and examine the now-unconscious minions. Sure enough, they were out cold! They could only lie helpless on the ground as tiny dark blue spheres popped out of the wounds they had gained during the fight.

"Took us long enough," Chihiro said with a smile as she placed her hands on her hips.

As she stopped to bask in their victory, Chihiro heard a strange, warbling sound and turned around to look at the back of the Leviathan's belly. Surely that had to be the sound of Kaos returning the Eternal Water Source, right?

Wrong.

As the sound of rippling magic grew more intense, giant, swirling portals popped out all around the Leviathan's belly… Then from the portals emerged…

"SHARKS!"

Chihiro's eyes darted to the giant, evil magic-fueled shark that jumped out of the portal, then let out an inhuman shriek of fear as she jumped out of its way. Who could blame her? The thing was probably about three times her size!

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell stared out into space, then followed her example as more sharks leaped out of the portals with full intentions of taking a piece out of them!

Chihiro darted from spot to spot as the game of "Dodge the Sharks" commenced, then stopped. Her eyes followed several sharks that diverted themselves away from her and towards… Those evil minions of Kaos's?

Sure enough, the ones that got away all circled around the evil minions and suspended them in midair by some kind of magic force. The wounds the minions had gained slowly closed as they glowed with a faint blue light… Wait…

"They're trying to fix those guys up!" Chihiro exclaimed before she shrieked and side-stepped out the path of another medium-sized shark, "I've gotta stop them!"

But how?…

Chihiro hummed and pressed her hand against her face while she bounced out the way of the many sharks that tried to eat her. Then, she looked over to a shark that bumped into the wall as a smile crept across her lips! Before long, she jumped onto the back of the direction-confused shark, her smile widened as a loud shout reverberated around the room.

"YEE-HAW!"

Now comfortably seated on the shark's back, Chihiro dove into the crowd on the back of her shark and tossed the other sharks aside! Is this how those bull-riders she saw on TV sometimes felt? Probably. But no matter—she didn't linger long on it, as her focus fixed itself on the evil minions instead.

"Chihiro, what on Skylands are you doing?" Gill Grunt asked as he and Wham-Shell stared at her with wide eyes and gaped mouths.

"I'm shark-riding, what do you think?" Chihiro shouted back as she grabbed her shark by the fin on its head and rammed into a shark that was about to cut into her path, "Take that, you, uh, shark! Man, I need to work on my insults."

Chihiro wrapped her legs around the shark's body, then fixed her eyes on the center of her path. Even though all the other sharks flew all around her in a scene that she was sure looked awesome, she had to focus on her target. She saw the circle of sharks grow closer into view, then rubbed her hands against her shark's fin and watched as it glowed a bright cyan in color!

Now blessed with the speed of thousands, the shark zoomed right into the circle of sharks and sent them flying like they were pins at a bowling alley! Sharks crashed into walls, rained down from above…

But most importantly, those evil minions were released of the sharks' healing chamber and fell back onto the tongue!

Chihiro stopped and basked in her victory… Then the sharks all disappeared, including the one Chihiro was riding on, which caused her to fall face-first onto the wet, sticky floor.

"Oof!" Chihiro stood as well as she could with legs that felt like jelly, then gazed over at the minions.

They hadn't gotten off the ground yet… Were they still unconscious?

The tension was thick as hearts pounded so hard you could hear them echo around. Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell watched the evil minions with firm frowns…

Then the minions cackled.

"Thought you could get rid of us easy, huh?" Asked the Evil Ice Yeti as it cracked its knuckles and walked over to them, "Sorry buddies, you're out of luck!"

The Evil Gillman and Evil Water Dragon laughed as they walked towards the others as well.

"Well, you guys are out of luck too!" Chihiro shot back as she readied an energy sphere, "Because we don't give up!"

"That's right!" Gill Grunt shouted back as he readied his harpoon gun, "Skylanders never give up!"

Chihiro beamed as she heard Gill Grunt's words, then bent down and sneered.

"So prepare yourselves!" Chihiro pointed a finger towards the evil minions, "We've gonna wipe the floor with your butts!"

With a mighty cry of battle Chihiro launched herself at the Evil Ice Yeti and tossed an energy sphere at it… But it swatted the sphere away like it was nothing! The Ice Yeti growled and went to punch Chihiro, and in response Chihiro teleported away and stomped on its head as soon as she reappeared! Chihiro whisked herself away as the Ice Yeti tried to yank her off its head and all it could do was stare around in angered confusion.

"Hey! Musclebrain!" Chihiro shouted as she reappeared and stuck her tongue out at the Evil Ice Yeti, "Bet'cha can't catch me!"

The Ice Yeti yowled out and pounded its fists against its chest while Chihiro giggled and dashed off. The pound of footsteps alerted her to the fact that the Evil Ice Yeti was on her trail, but no matter, there was no way it could possibly catch up with—ACK! Chihiro sputtered and stumbled back as a splash of water hit her square in the face! While the water dripped onto the floor, Chihiro shook herself off and looked ahead.

There, Gill Grunt and the Evil Gillman were locked tight in a shoot-off! Their eyes were narrowed as their fingers were held tight onto their guns' triggers, guns that shot out scalding hot water at a dangerously high pressure! It was so intense, so oddly transfixing that Chihiro couldn't bring herself to look away…

Until she heard footsteps pounding and wild hooting, that is.

She turned around and stumbled back as she saw the Evil Ice Yeti runs towards her on all fours, then a giant purplish-blue blur smacked it straight into the wall! The Ice Yeti and the thing that attacked it slide down the wall, then the thing groaned as its popped its head up and shook it.

"Watch where you're going, you big lug!" Exclaimed the Evil Water Dragon as it jumped off the Evil Ice Yeti and snarled.

"You need to watch where you're flying!" The Evil Ice Yeti exclaimed back as it bore its teeth.

Chihiro rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, then looked over to see Wham-Shell give her a thumbs up. Wait a second—this would be the perfect opportunity!

As Gill Grunt and the Evil Gillman continued their showdown, Chihiro carefully crept up behind the Evil Gillman while it rocketed off another shower of sharp harpoons.

With it completely distracted, she yanked it away by the collar of its wetsuit! It could only yelp in surprise as Chihiro swung it around then tossed it right at the Evil Ice Yeti and Evil Water Dragon! The Water Dragon and Ice Yeti only watched as the Evil Gillman made head-on collision with them, then the three of them crashed back into the wall like bowling pins and fell down in a pile.

"Ugh…" The evil minions groaned as they staggered up and stumbled about.

The blow had clearly done well to disorient them. They could barely keep their footing as tiny magic spheres dripped down from the collision points, and their whole bodies shook as they walked in a dizzy haze.

"Be gentle on them, alright guys?" Chihiro asked as her mouth formed a frown and her brows furrowed, "They probably can't take much more."

Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt gave Chihiro a wary nod, then watched as she smiled.

And with that decided, Chihiro scampered off and flung herself in the Evil Gillman's face! She flicked it and watched as it fell over and dissipated into blue magic spheres.

"Buh bye now~" Chihiro said as she turned around and looked over at Wham-Shell.

He had heaved his mace above his head and gotten ready to strike the Evil Water Dragon, who cowered in fear. Then, Wham-Shell gently lowered his mace and tapped the Evil Water Dragon on it head, which caused it to explode into spheres.

Chihiro then smiled as she peered at Gill Grunt, who knelt down and spritzed the Evil Ice Yeti with some water from his gun.

In response, the Yeti stumbled back and hit its head on a nearby rock! The head trauma was so great, it completely explode into those strange glowing spheres from just that simple bump.

"We did it, guys!" Chihiro proclaimed as she bounced up and down, then stopped as she noticed the worried looks on Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell's faces.

"Not yet, Chi," Wham-Shell corrected as he let his mace rest at his side, "It's not over 'til we get the Source back."

Silence ran throughout the room for mere moments as Kaos appeared once more and gazed over the room. It was all filled with anticipation as his mouth etched into a tired frown, as if everybody expected him to have one last trick up his sleeve.

"Fine, if you want the Eternal Water Source, then take it!" Kaos shouted as his head slowly faded out of view—though it kind of looked like he was smiling?

"That sounded oddly apathetic," Gill Grunt said as he gave the space where Kaos's holograph once laid an uneasy look.

The blue magic spheres that littered the area slowly absorbed into the Leviathan's belly, and from them burst… Sores? Yes, giant, dark blue, round sores! Chihiro shouted out in surprise as one sprung up underneath her feet, then beamed and bounced up and down on it like it was a trampoline.

Just then, a blue light shone throughout the area!

Chihiro shouted out in surprise as she flung her arms in front of her eyes, then poked up a glace and smiled.

Sure enough, the Eternal Water Source was hovering right above them! It was all peaceful for a few seconds as everyone basked in the light and power of the Eternal Water Source.

Then finally, Chihiro bounded off of the sore she bounced on! As she soared up, Chihiro caught the Eternal Water Source in her grasp and fell back down onto the Leviathan's tongue with a thud. When she got back on her feet, a rumbling noise echoed around the chamber paired with a quake so strong it caused everyone to collapse on each other! Chihiro tried to stand, but another quake shook the ground and caused her to fall back down.

"Ouch!" Chihiro squealed as everything was enveloped by bright blue light.

§

With a mighty hack, the Leviathan spat Chihiro, Gill Grunt, and Wham-Shell back up and sent flying head-first into the sand. As they got up and shook the sand from their bodies, Chihiro's eyes and smile widened.

"Oh sweet land, I thought I'd never see you again!" Chihiro shouted as she kissed the ground beneath her feet.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell only gave her looks of pure befuddlement.

"What?" Chihiro gave them a confused look before her eyes widened, "The Eternal Water Source! Where is it?!"

Gasps were heard as they scrambled through the sands. The Source had been with them just a moment ago, had Kaos stolen it from them when they had least expected it?!

"Heh, found it." Chihiro pulled the Source out from a mound of sand located straight ahead of her, then giggled as Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt smiled and rolled their eyes.

"There you are!" shouted a familiar voice as a certain Gurglefin ran towards them and panted every step of the way. As soon as he joined them, Gurglefin hunched over and rested his hands on his knees.

"Gurglefin!" Chihiro exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Anyway, did you get that Water Source thingie you guys were looking for?" Gurglefin let out a chuckle and twiddled his fingers.

"You bet we did!" With a proud smile, Chihiro brandished the Eternal Water Source like a trophy as she held it up in all its wet, shimmering glory!

"So can we go now?" A nervous look befell Gurglefin as he craned his head from side to side, "Cause this place is giving me the creeps!"

"Sure, Gurgleswin. I was starting to get tired of looking at all this sand anyway." Chihiro spun around and went to march off, then paused as she noticed the frustrated look on Gurglefin's face, "Is something wrong?"

"GURGLEFIN! My name is GURGLEFIN!"

"WHATEVER!"

Chihiro pouted a little as she watched Gurglefin summon over Delilah, but her moodiness faded as she looked over the Eternal Water Source. With a gentle smile she hugged it tight, then watched Delilah's plank park onto the side of the island.

"Welp, no use standing around here!" Chihiro remarked as she walked towards the plank, "We've gotta deliver this baby to the Core of Light!"

Chihiro placed a foot on the plank, then paused as a slow rumble echoed throughout the area.

"Did you guys hear that?" Gurglefin asked as he turned back to the others and watched as they nodded.

"Probably just the wind," Wham-Shell replied as he shrugged, "Let's just get back…"

The rumble occurred once more, though this time it seemed a little… Louder? Closer? It was hard to tell.

They all shrugged once more, then boarded Delilah and watched her plank withdraw. In a few moments Delilah had peacefully sailed off, the ocean waves caressed at her hull as she braved the cold, slow waters of the island… Then the sound of hard, rushing waters resounded from the back of the boat!

"The heck is that?" Chihiro asked as she ran up to the upper part of the deck and peered over…. Then screamed.

"CHIHIRO, WHAT IS IT?!" Wham-Shell exclaimed as he ran to Chihiro's side and watched her point over the deck.

Wham-Shell followed her direction… Then gasped as his eyes shrank.

There, right behind them was the Leviathan! But, it was absolutely giant now—about the size of the entire island archipelago, maybe! And judging by how fast it swam, it was certainly in a hurry, like it was hunting something…

"Guys, what's going—" Gill Grunt asked as he ran up to their side and saw the gigantic Leviathan, "HOLY CODFISH!"

The Leviathan made a mighty roar as it bolted forwards and opened its mighty jaws, which promptly crashed down on the island's shrine area! As it swallowed, it made another bellow and dove back into the water, its swimming like that of a slicked-down Zap—fast and furious.

"What's that thing doing?!" Wham-Shell demanded as he tightened his grip on the railing.

"I don't know, but something tells me we don't wanna stick around and find out!" Chihiro shouted back before she turned to Gurglefin, "Gurglefin, can't you go any faster?"

"Why would I need to?" Gurglefin exclaimed, a tremble of fear in his voice, "Is there a—"

Before Gurglefin could finish talking, something crashed into Delilah and sent her spinning across the waves! Everybody screamed as they spun around like swirling cotton candy, then planted face-first onto the wooden ground of the ship's deck.

"Do you think Kaos did this?" Chihiro asked as she stood up and gripped tightly onto the railing.

"Wouldn't be surprised!" Wham-Shell shouted as he stood back up and scowled, "Should've known that ugly bugger had some kind of trick up his sleeve…"

"We can't worry about that right now, we need to get out of here!" Gill Grunt retorted as he staggered up, all while his legs shook like jelly.

"I don't think we can," Chihiro replied as she looked over the Leviathan and winced, "That thing's way too fast!"—Chihiro frowned as she looked closer at the Leviathan—"Huh?"

Chihiro leaned forwards and bit her lip before Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt pulled her back.

"Chihiro, what're you doing?" Wham-Shell asked, "Are you tryin' to become fish food?"

"I think I saw something on the Leviathan's back!" Chihiro pointed back to the Leviathan, "Look!"

Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt followed her order and peered over. Now that they all got a better look, which wasn't hard to do, since it was getting very dangerously close… It kind of look like its body was covered in sores? Yes, giant blue sores that pulsed with some kind of evil aura!

"Now that I think about it…" Chihiro placed her hand on her chin, "A bunch of those sores showed up in the Leviathan's belly when we beat those weird evil clones! Do you think that's what's making the Leviathan go haywire?"

"Probably, but—WOAH!" Wham-Shell stopped short as the Leviathan crashed into Delilah and sent her spinning once more, then regained his balance and shook his head, "How do we get rid of them?"

Chihiro bit her lip, then looked down at the Eternal Water Source and smiled.

"Actually, I do have AN idea…" Chihiro showed off the Eternal Water Source to Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell, "Kaos powered up those evil minion thingies with the Water Source, right? If we could harness its power too, then maybe we could get the power to undo it!"—Chihiro made a wary shrug—"Any objections?"

Before anyone could object, the Leviathan crashed into Delilah once more and made a loud, guttural growl as it charged again.

"NOPE!" Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell exclaimed as they struck their weapons into the heart of the Water Source.

As they withdrew them, the weapons glowed with a bright blue light the color of clear ocean waters! A new level of power resonated from them, a kind of pure and good power completely undiluted by evil bearings—hopefully this would be what they needed.

Chihiro gulped and dove her hand in, then drew back and watched as it glowed blue. With a smile, she peered over to the deck and held out her hand.

"On the count of three…" Chihiro proclaimed, "ONE!"

"TWO!" Wham-Shell held his glowing mace over the side of the railing like one would a rifle.

"THREE!" Gill Grunt heaved his gun over the deck and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

CRASH!

Before they could even fire, the Leviathan had slammed back into the side of the ship and sent them spinning once again!

Everybody screamed in panic as they fell flat on their faces, then tried to pull themselves up. Their legs shook with shock and their arms just barely kept them up, but they couldn't lie down just yet—they had to stop the Leviathan before it was too late! But, the Leviathan wasn't making it easy! Every time they tried to pull themselves up, the Leviathan would slam back into the side of Delilah's hull and sent them spinning across the waters!

It was all they could do to keep themselves on the ship!

Chihiro cried out in anguish as she slammed against the side of the deck, then sat up and shook her head… Only to fall on her back again as Gill Grunt crashed right into her!

"You alright, Gill?" Chihiro asked as she pulled them both back up.

Gill Grunt only nodded in response.

"Thank goodness…" Chihiro stopped as a shadow cast itself over the ship, "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

Chihiro froze as a loud rumble swept out throughout the ocean, then let go of Gill Grunt. She clenched her teeth, pulled herself to her feet and turned around… Only to fall back down.

Because there, right above them, was the Leviathan! It had leaped out from the waters, its mouth wide open as if it was ready to eat them all alive! But wait… Those sores, they were all completely visible inside as well!

"Now's our chance!" Chihiro turned back towards Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell and watched as they grabbed their weapons, "SHOOT!"

As the Eternal Water Source glowed brighter, a swirling blast of concentrated water, starfish and magic shot out from Delilah right as the Leviathan got ready to swallow her whole! The Leviathan was blown away as it was enveloped by the blast, while Delilah herself shot off like a firecracker.

Gill Grunt, Wham-Shell and Chihiro all trained their eyes on the skies as they watched the blast fade. Did it work?…

It sure did, because as the blast reached its end a noticeably smaller, normal-looking Leviathan fell back into the ocean! While the crash pushed Delilah a few inches back, the Leviathan rolled back onto its belly and swam over to Delilah's hull.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell readied their weapons just in case, but the Leviathan didn't attack. It merely nudged the side of Delilah's hull and purred, almost as if to say "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Chihiro shouted as she waved back at the Leviathan, then watched as it bellow and swam away.

Chihiro exhaled as the Leviathan swam out of sight, then smiled as she turned back to Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell.

"Anyways, we've got a while before we get home." Chihiro crackled her knuckles and smirked in an almost catlike way, "So, why don't I get back to my Marimoni essay…"

§

"And that is why Marimoni is irrefutably, undeniably canon, and anyone who says otherwise is a filthy liar!" Chihiro exclaimed, a smug look on her face as she cradled the Eternal Water Source as carefully as she could in her grasp.

"Think we're back yet?" Wham-Shell asked as he started into the vast skies.

Chihiro rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, before she turned around and smiled.

Though the sun shone high in the sky, it had slowly dipped into evening and colored the clouds a candy-like shade of pink that reminded Chihiro a bit of cotton candy. Mmmm, cotton candy… Chihiro felt her mouth water at the very notion, then her eyes flickered over to the front of Delilah.

As she peered ahead, she saw a speck of an island that grew closer… And closer…

"Guys, we're back!" Chihiro exclaimed as she ran up to the top deck and gazed ahead!

Sure enough, they were indeed back! Ancient's Peak set into view as Gurglefin steered them into the docks and parked. As the plank of the ship lowered, Chihiro raced off the deck, more than ecstatic to be home at last!

"Guess who's baaack?" Chihiro swept in with a wide smile, then watched as Hugo peered over from where he was reading a book.

"Chihiro! Did you get the Eternal Water Source?" Hugo asked as he put his book away and walked to her side.

"Of course, it's right…" Chihiro trailed off as she noticed that she felt no weight and looked down, "Here?"

Panic set in as Chihiro spun about and patted herself down several times in succession—where did she put it?! She could've sworn she had it with her when she left the ship!

"Looking for something, Chi?" Gill Grunt asked as he and Wham-Shell joined them on the scenes.

Chihiro turned around from a futile attempt to lift up a heavy rock and blinked for a moment, before she let out a nervous chuckle. There, right in Gill Grunt's grasp was the Eternal Water Source!

"Hah, of course it was on the ship, I totally…" Chihiro said, then trailed off and hung her head, "Yeah, I don't have an excuse for this."

And with that, she took the Eternal Water Source from Gill Grunt's arms and walked up the stairs. Unlike before, there wasn't a huge crowd gathered in the island's heart—unsurprisingly as everybody else was likely still on missions. But no matter, they could see the effects for themselves when they returned.

Chihiro skipped over to where the Core's reconstruction was based and laid the Eternal Water Source in its center. She then turned around and nodded to Hugo, who had joined her with his book in hand and Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell dutifully behind him.

As Hugo chanted out some ancient Skylandian message, the Eternal Water Source sunk down into the stone platform, vanished entirely beneath the bricks… And nothing happened.

"Should something be happening now?" Chihiro asked… Then she lost her footing and stumbled about as the ground beneath her feet violently shook.

"Ack!"

With another startled shout Chihiro jumped right into Gill Grunt's arms! But Gill Grunt could barely hold the weight and hopped backwards before he tumbled into Wham-Shell! The three of then fell into one big pile, then with a giggle Chihiro stood and wiped the dirt from her pants.

Once she had completely regained her balance, she stared over to the Core, then her eyes glazed over its statues… Now that she looked closer at them, it kinda looked like they were leaking? Chihiro walked up to the leftmost statue and investigated its spout to find that she was right! Water dripped down from its open spout for a few seconds, then burst into a full out stream which splashed Chihiro straight in the face!

Chihiro let out a garbled scream as she jumped out and shook herself dry, then giggled before she rushed back into the stream and danced about.

Gill Grunt smiled and made a chuckle, a smile that was shared with Wham-Shell.

"Come on in, the water's fine!" Chihiro exclaimed as she took notice of them both and beamed.

Chihiro grabbed both Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell's hands, then took them to the center of the stone platform. There, they all twirled and danced all throughout the shining light of the fading afternoon…