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)

11. Chapter 11

And now for chapter 11! Before we start, I want to give a quick warning that this chapter contains brief references to child death and short uses of medicinal syringes. If either of these subjects are uncomfortable for you, feel free to sit this one out, or DM me for a summary of what happens!

Watch Seeker: I'm really glad to hear that! About you liking the fight scene, I mean—fight scenes are some of my favorite scenes to write! As for your guess, well... I don't want to spoil anything, but you're definitely on the right track ;)

---

"Skylander Code number one!" Chihiro exclaimed as she drove a bruised fist that glowed with magic through a straw-filled training dummy, "Skylanders can't kill unless it's necessary!"—Chihiro pulled the fist out of the dummy and punched with the next—"Skylander Code number two! Skylanders must never hurt those they hold power over!"

Chihiro paused for a moment to catch her breath as she withdrew her fist, then punched the dummy once more.

"Skylander Code number three!" Chihiro panted heavily as she bit her lip, "Skylanders… Skylanders must… They must…"

Now completely fed up, Chihiro let out a bloodcurdling scream and set her fist alight with magical fire—which set the dummy on fire in the process! As it blazed a bright aqua, Chihiro withdrew her fist, blew it out, and smirked as she gazed over her accomplishment. Then, she heaved a sigh and fell to the floor.

"You sure don't like that training dummy, do you?" Spyro said as he rolled his eyes, a teasing smile on his face.

He then watched as the dummy magically extinguished itself before it returned back to a pristine, new state, as if it had just been taken out of the box.

"Thing hit me in the face like, seven times!" Chihiro rubbed her bruised right eye and winced, "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

Chihiro rubbed her cranium and looked up to see Spyro give her a fairly concerned look.

"I'm fine, just gonna take a ten-minute break." Chihiro gave Spyro a weak smile and a thumbs up, then picked up a nearby water bottle and attempted to unscrew the cap before she groaned and passed the bottle to Spyro.

"You get this."

Spyro chuckled and rolled his eyes as he unscrewed the water bottle's cap and passed it back to Chihiro, then watched as she took a large gulp of water and fell on her back.

"Say, Chihiro…" Spyro tilted his head as he watched her sit back up and look at him, "Why'd you think punching a dummy would help you study for your third portal master exam, anyways?"

"Well…" Chihiro hummed and put a finger to her face, "Since I've gotta memorize all this Skylander Code stuff, I've been trying to find different ways to memorize it, and somebody suggested that punching up the dummies would help!"

"It was Terrafin, wasn't it?" Spyro gave Chihiro a knowing side-glance.

Chihiro giggled and nodded, then as she heaved heavy breaths, she screwed the water bottle's cap back on.

"I still don't entirely get why I have to memorize all this stuff, to be honest." Chihiro let the water bottle fall out of her hand and roll onto the ground, "I mean, I'm a portal master apprentice, not a Skylander-in-training—why do I have to memorize your code of honor?"

"You may not be a Skylander, but it's still important to know." Spyro walked over to Chihiro's side and swished his tail as he held up a paw, "As a portal master, you're just as responsible for your Skylanders' actions as they are—you have to know how they should and shouldn't conduct themselves."

"Y'know, I think Master Eon said somethin' like that, too." Chihiro's eyes glazed over Spyro as she wiped her mouth, "Hey, Spyro, how long have we been out here?"

"Let's see, we went out here to train at nine, then add that and that…" Spyro's eyes glazed over his paws as he counted his toes before he looked back at Chihiro, "I'd say about three hours?"

"CRAP!" Chihiro sprang up from the ground, "I need to change out patrols! Come on, Spyro!"

And with that said, Chihiro grabbed Spyro's paw and practically dragged him out of the training dome, her course set for the portal building…

§

"Okay, so Cynder, Hex and Zook were successfully able to drive those zombies out of the Giggling Forest," Chihiro said as she wrote something down on a piece of paper, "Hey, how did zombies even get in there, anyways?"

"Kaos, who else?" Interjected someone else with a rough, tomboyish voice.

Chihiro practically jumped a foot in the air before she turned around and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you, Cynder." Chihiro frowned, "How long have you been there, anyways?"

"Chihiro, I've been standing behind you this entire time," Cynder said as she gave Chihiro a dark stare.

Cynder was a slender, violet-colored dragon with an almost beaklike muzzle, silver horns on the side of her head, piercing icy blue eyes and pink triangular markings on her forehead. Her body had red chest plates, violet and pink wings with silver claws on their tips, a long, violet tail with a silver arrowhead-shaped fin and silver claws. She wore a silver spiked collar and bracelets and her gaze almost pierced daggers through Chihiro as her frown deepened.

"Guess I didn't see you there!" A blush dusted Chihiro's face as she giggled before she looked away.

"Just tell me what I'm doing next." Cynder rolled her eyes.

"Let's see…" Chihiro levitated another piece of paper out of her pocket and glazed over it before she put it away, "You're guarding the island!"—Chihiro nodded—"You have fun now!"

Cynder just walked out of the building without a word to say. Her menacing aura seemed to radiate around the area and caused everybody else to quickly back away and let her pass.

"Did I say something wrong?" Chihiro just frowned and looked at Spyro.

"Don't worry about her, Chi! She's just being her usual grumpy self," said another voice with a pronounced Jamaican accent as someone slapped a hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

Chihiro jumped up again, then looked back to find a creature shaped like a green bamboo shoot with limbs and red stalks atop their head behind her.

"Oh, hi Zook." Chihiro winced before she cleared her throat and collected herself, "You and Hex are on island duty too, by the way."

Zook then nodded before he made his way out of the building beside a pale blue-skinned elf decked to the nines in black robes and other kinds of clothing.

As Chihiro watched them leave, she heard Spyro heave a sigh and looked down to where he was sitting.

"Something bugging you, Golden Boy?" Chihiro asked as she gently nudged Spyro's head.

Spyro shook his head before looking to his side.

"You sure?"

Spyro nodded his head firmly.

"Y'know, Spyro." Chihiro placed down the list and lifted up Spyro's chin, "You can tell me anything. We're friends, after all!"

"It's alright, Chi." Spyro made a weak smile, then clasped his paw and released as he looked up at Chihiro, "It's nothing, I promise."

Right before Chihiro could say anything else, the door slammed open and a bright blue something balled into the room and practically bulldozed Chihiro over! As Chihiro fell to the floor and hit her head, she let out a shout of surprise before she looked over her assailant.

It was none other than a round, bright blue monster with big green eyes, yellow spikes on the side of its body and a long, red tongue! Its eyes shone with a kind of childlike wonder as it looked down Chihiro.

"Chihiro, Chihiro!" The monster exclaimed as it bounced on Chihiro's belly with all the enthusiasm of a young child, its voice high and cutesy, "You won't believe what I found on the beach!"

"What is it, Wrecking Ball?" Chihiro asked as she sat up and gently pushed Wrecking Ball off her person.

"Follow me!" Wrecking Ball spun around and rolled out the room at the speed of light! All that could be seen was a fast blur and several people who had gotten knocked down thanks to his ride of terror.

"After that grubworm!" Chihiro exclaimed as she dashed off, her gaze trained on the dirty streaks Wrecking Ball left behind.

Spyro only shrugged and flew after Chihiro.

§

"So…" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head before the giant object presented before her, "What is this thing?"

The object in question was… Strange. It kind of looked like a giant robot, being made entirely of rusty metal that looked like it hadn't been carefully attended to in years, with the head and body of the robot being an old orange while the rest was in a dull, dark blue. Its head consisted of a round, closed object placed atop a grate, while its body was circular and had a giant door decorated with an intricate pattern that was sealed shut by rust. Two long, skinny "arms" rested at its sides, and something about it seemed so sad and lifeless.

"We don't know," Replied a rough, gravely voice as a golem made entirely of rock and crystals with blank yellow and red eyes walked around the side of the strange object, "We just found it during patrol duty—dunno how nobody noticed it before."

"Whaddya think it is, Prism Break?" Wrecking Ball asked as he bounced up and down in front of the machine, "Is it a giant warp machine that'll take us to another world? An oven filled with sweets? A big old picnic basket?"

"How does that look like a picnic basket?" Prism Break gestured towards the object with a crystal hand.

"I dunno." Wrecking Ball rolled on his back as his lengthy tongue lolled out of his mouth, "I guess I'm just hungry!"

"Wrecking Ball, you're always hungry!"

"What's going on here, guys?" Spyro asked as he flew up to the group and looked over the object.

"We don't really know—Breaks and Wrecks just found it here," Chihiro remarked as she looked over to Spyro and shrugged, then looked back at the robot, "But whatever it is, it sure needs a good oiling!"

Chihiro hummed as she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. With a few more bars of some unspecified song hummed, she darted over to the other side of the beach and disappeared over the horizon… Only to return a few minutes later with a container full of oil.

"Spyro," Chihiro called as she nudged Spyro's shoulder, "Take this thing of oil and dunk it all over that thing! I'm sure that'll get it running!"

With a nod, Spyro retrieved the container from Chihiro's slender hands, then flew over the strange object and began dunking the oil all over it.

"That thing's got like, a couple barrels' worth of oil in it." Chihiro held up a hand as she made the best informative tone she could, "If that doesn't get it nice and loose, I don't know what—OWCH!"

Chihiro hopped up on one foot as she held up the other and groaned. Her balance just barely maintained, she looked down at her foot to find a snide-looking clam that had latched onto her boot and refused to let go!

"Darn clams." Chihiro grunted as she yanked the clam off her foot and tossed it a few feet away, "I swear, you can't go to the beach anymore without them biting your feet and eating your sandwiches! Where'd they even come from, anyways?!"

"I'm no expert." Spyro shook down the container some more and watched as oil came flooding down on the object, "But if I had to guess, I'd say they probably got drawn here by the surge of Water magic that came with the Eternal Water Source—"

"GOOOOOOD MORNING SKYLANDS!"

Everybody around screamed in surprise from the appearance of a sudden, unidentified voice—Spyro even dropped the container he was holding onto the oil-covered object!

As it made a shout of pain, the oil that coated it drained into its body while the round, closed object atop its head flicked open into… An eye?

"Thanks for that, I've been needing a good oiling!" The object exclaimed while it looked down at the others, its voice the metallic equivalent of a charismatic news show host's.

Everybody else frowned as they looked over this strange machine.

"Uh, who are you again?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

"Pardon me for not introducing myself!" The object coughed and rubbed a metallic hand against its metal chest, "I'm a Clam-Tron 3000, classic model. Just give me some clams and I'll turn them into shiny new pearls!"

"Clams, huh?" Chihiro made a mischievous grin as she looked towards the swarm of clams behind her, who now had terror-stricken faces, then back at Clam-Tron, "Well, I do want to see what happens…"

As the clams hopped away in panic, Chihiro snapped her fingers, crafted a giant, cyan fishing net and watched as the net shot itself along the beach. The sound of terrified clam screeching was heard for a couple of minutes, then a swift tunneling sound took its place as the net dashed back to Chihiro.

As it arrived, sand fell out of the net's many holes, and all that remained was a gigantic stash of squirming, terrified clams!

Chihiro made an overly-excited giggle, then grabbed the net by its top and looked over at Clam-Tron. As he opened the hatch on his belly, Chihiro skipped up front and shook the clams into the fire!

"Now…" Clam-Tron slammed the hatch's door shut and shook around for a few moments, "Just toss it around, mix it up, throw in a little elbow grease, and…"

With a friendly chime, steam poured out of the hatchet while Clam-Tron slammed open his door. He then reached inside, shuffled around and pulled out…

"A shiny new BLACK pearl?!" Clam-Tron exclaimed as the steam cleared and he examined the object, "What in Skylands is this?!"

"Eh?" Everybody exclaimed at once.

"Black pearls?" Chihiro repeated with a sparkle in her eyes, "I've never heard of black pearls before! Lemme take a look!"

Chihiro snapped her fingers and crafted springy boots out of magic, then leaped up and snagged the object from Clam-Tron. As she landed and the boots disappeared, she paused for a moment and turned the black "pearl" around in her hands. It was a lot larger than the pearls she had seen in the jewelry stores, maybe about… Five times the size, if she had to take a gander? It wasn't as smooth either—its surface had a coarse, almost gritty texture to it. And on top of that, she swore she heard some kind of powder shake around in its inside.

Wait a second…

"IT'S A BOMB!" Chihiro exclaimed as she tossed the bomb in the air.

"What was that, Chi?" Wrecking Ball asked as his eyes shot up to the skies, "Oh no, the pearl! I'll get it!"

"It's not a pearl!" Spyro shouted as he flew up and snagged the bomb while fire crackled at his mouth, "It's a—"

Spyro stopped short as a sizzling sound resonated around, which caused everybody to slowly, fearfully gaze at Spyro's paws… Where a now-lit bomb rested.

"CRAP!" Spyro instinctively tossed the bomb aside, and it promptly landed in Chihiro's hands.

Chihiro screamed in panic as she fumbled the bomb around for a few seconds, then passed it to Prism Break, who only cried out in surprise as he tossed it back to Chihiro. This game of hot potato—or rather, hot BOMB-tato—carried on for a few more seconds with Wrecking Ball and a panicked Clam-Tron as the witnesses, until Wrecking Ball grabbed the bomb with his tongue and flung it as high as he could.

"Whadya say again, Chi?" Wrecking Ball asked as he watched Spyro fly down and take sanctuary on the beach.

"It's a bomb!"

Right as Chihiro shouted this out, the bomb finally exploded! Thankfully it was out of range to do any serious harm… But it did rain soot all over everyone.

"Oh, a BOMB!" Wrecking Ball replied before a pile of soot landed in his mouth and made him break into a hacking fit, "… Bombs taste yucky."

As everybody coughed out soot and wiped it out of their eyes, the sound of frantic footsteps as they ran across the sand paired with the pant of a familiar voice echoed around the island.

"I heard an explosion, is everything alright?" Hugo asked as he fell to his knees and panted, then looked back up at the others, "…Why do you have soot all over your faces?"

"No reason," Chihiro replied as she shook the soot off her face and watched as it fell in a pile by her feet, "Anyways, anything else you need to tell us, Huges?"

Hugo's eyes sparkled as he adjusted his glasses.

"Actually, now that you mention it." Hugo pulled a paper out of his jacket, "Well, I found the next part of the Core!"

"You found the Crystal Eye?" Spyro exclaimed as he pushed past the others and looked at Hugo, "Is it where I told you it was going to be?"

"Yep!" Hugo looked over the paper, "It's right at chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and bananas—wait, that doesn't sound right,"—Hugo looked over the list in his hand, then chuckled and put it away—"Yeah, that's… You know what, let's just forget about that! It's right at the Crystal Eye Castle, the home of the cyclops masons!"

"Knew it!" Spyro beamed as he sat himself on the beach, "Getting this one back won't be any trouble at all!"

"Wait, hold up," Chihiro interjected as she joined Hugo and Spyro, "I'm missing something here—aren't cyclopses like, evil and all?"

"Cyclopes, Chihiro," Hugo corrected.

"WHATEVER," Chihiro huffed and crossed her arms, "Potato potatoh!"

"Not actually, Chihiro," Spyro explained as he pulled away Chihiro, "The cyclopes here live in pursuit of their life's passion!"

"Oh, oh, lemme guess!" Wrecking Ball shouted from the back of the crowd as he bounced up and down, "It is cooking?"

"Sewing?" Prism Break guessed with a shrug of his rocky shoulders.

"Underwater basket weaving?" Chihiro suggested as everybody around gave her strange looks, "Hey, it's an idea!"

"None of those things—it was masonry!" Spyro exclaimed at last, "These cyclopes have had an alliance with us for years! In fact, most of the buildings here are cyclops masonry!"

"Cool!" Chihiro beamed and shoved her hands into her pockets, "So if we're buddies and all, I'm sure they'd let us have that Crystal Eye thingie, right?"

"Exactly!" Spyro snapped his claws then flew off, "They even set up a path between their castle and Ancient's Peak for quick communication, I'll just—OOF!"

Spyro rammed into something cold and hard, then slid down from that something—which was none other than an impressive stone wall. As he sat up and shook his head, Spyro took to the skies and flew back to Hugo and Chihiro.

"Was that wall always there?" Spyro asked.

"I don't think so," Hugo replied as he walked over to the wall and rapped his furry hand against it, "It seems pretty solid. I don't think regular attacks will take it down."

"Typical cyclops masonry." Spyro sighed then flew his way to the stairs, "Looks like we'll have to find another way there."

"It seems that way, Spy—" Hugo stopped short as he walked past Clam-Tron and did a double take, "Wait, is that a bomb?"

"Why, yes, yes it is," Clam-Tron replied as he made a curt nod and showed off another shiny, black bomb.

"Great! A bomb could open up the barrier!" Hugo exclaimed as he grinned and clasped his paws, only for his grin to fade into a look of nervousness, "… Or, blow us all up in the process, but hopefully the former."

"Worth a shot!" Chihiro exclaimed as she picked up the bomb.

Chihiro then nudged it over to Spyro, who lit it with a quick puff of smoldering embers. As the bomb sizzled and everybody stood back, Chihiro stood like a baseball pitcher, took a few wide swings then tossed it straight at the wall! Time seemed to stop as the bomb soared in the skies, then…

KA-BOOM! A loud, fiery explosion occurred as soon as bomb hit stone, then when the smoke started to clear they all saw that the wall had been reduced to little more than rubble.

"Man, that was some explosion!" Spyro whistled as he looked over the former wall.

"I know, right?" Chihiro made a wide grin as she looked at Spyro.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Cried out an elderly-sounding voice as the smoke finally dissipated, "And if you are, please tell me you're not cyclopes!"

With the smoke finally gone, a peach-skinned mole clothes in brown robes and goggles ran out of the walkway with a look of absolute terror on their face!

"Uh, no we aren't?" Chihiro replied as she scratched her head.

"THANK GOODNESS!" The mole exclaimed as they stumbled forward and hugged Hugo tight, "I've been trapped by those awful cyclopes in their horrible castle for weeks, making a tower for their Crystal Eye! I thought I'd never see the sun again!"

"So much for benevolent," Chihiro scoffed as she looked towards Spyro—but he seemed more concerned than angry.

"That's definitely wrong," Spyro remarked as he watched Hugo try to pry the mole off, "I've met those cyclopes myself, and none of them would do something like that."

Spyro's face darkened as he flew away from Chihiro and addressed the mole.

"They call me Diggs," the mole responded as they looked away from Spyro and frowned, "At least, I think they do."

"Then Diggs." Spyro adopted his most matter-of-fact voice, "You rest here for now. We Skylanders need to investigate something over at the castle."

Spyro then turned around and motioned for Prism Break and Wrecking Ball to join him.

"Wait, you're going?" Chihiro asked as she watched Spyro nod.

"Sorry, Chihiro." Spyro made an earnestly solemn expression, "I know I promised I'd help you with studying and all—"

"That's alright!" Chihiro made a chipper grin as she skipped up to Spyro's side, "I'll just come with you and we'll study along the way!"—Chihiro grabbed Spyro's paw and pointed towards the open pathway—"To Crystal Eye Castle we go!"

§

"Now, there's only one path to the castle, so it should be easy to get there," Spyro said as they crossed an amber-colored bridge.

"Should be?" Chihiro echoed as she tilted her head.

"Yep!" Spyro nodded his head as he flew ahead, "Photographic memory never fails and all—OOF!"

"Spyro!" Chihiro raced ahead and helped Spyro up, then looked at the thing he had collided with, which was a smooth, stone wall with an eye carved onto it.

"… Alright, maybe photographic memory does fail sometimes." Spyro sat up and shook his head, then frowned and placed a claw on his chin as he examined the gate, "Problem is, how are we going to get past this gate?"

Chihiro frowned and hummed along, then looked to the side of the gate.

There, a small, stone pillar stood tall and firm. It wasn't much bigger than Spyro, and would have seemed completely ordinary if not for the floating stone eyeball that hovered above it.

"I wonder…" Chihiro remarked as she held her hand up to the eye and watched as a small magic sphere formed in her palm.

With a snap of her fingers, the magic sphere shot straight into the eye and caused it to slam straight into the pillar! Then in turn, the gate slid down with a satisfying shing!

"Well, guess that's that!" Chihiro exclaimed as she straightened her vest and walked back to the group, "Now, let's go—"

"WATCH OUT!" Spyro shouted as he pushed Chihiro and the others out of the way.

"What was that for?!" Prism Break demanded as he fell on his rear and sat up, all while he rubbed his head.

Prism Break then stopped short as several large barrels with sparkling lit fuses rolled down the pathway ahead and fell off the ledge… Then exploded with a loud BANG!

"Okay, that definitely wasn't there the last time we paid a visit," Spyro remarked as he flew in place.

"Gee, you think?" Prism Break shot Spyro a glare as he stood up and rubbed his head.

Spyro just shrugged, then turned around and beamed.

"Hey, you, over there!" Spyro shouted as he waved over to the other side.

"What's he yelling at?" Chihiro asked as she turned to Wrecking Ball, who only made a hapless grunt.

The two of them leaned over a stone wall and looked up to find Spyro's targets. There, at the top of the path, was a pair of twin, teal-skinned cyclopes in heavy-looking stone armor who rolled the barrels down the way.

"It's us, the Skylanders!" Spyro called, then beamed as the cyclopes turned to face him, "We've come to pick up the Crystal Eye!"

The two cyclopes tilted their heads, then whispered between each other before they glared back at Spyro.

"So, is that a yes or a no?"

One of the cyclopes heaved a giant, heavy-looking gunpowder barrel over their head, then with a loud cry of war tossed it straight at Spyro!

"I'll take that as a no!" Spyro let out a yelp of surprise as he flew out of the barrel's trajectory, then watched as it exploded in midair thanks to a conveniently-timed laser from Prism Break.

"Guess the diplomatic approach is out of the question." Spyro sighed as he few back down and landed on the stone pathways.

"Then we'll just have to get through the old-fashioned way," Prism Break remarked as he turned over to Wrecking Ball and waved a crystalline hand, "Come on."

"Ooh ooh ohh!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he hopped up and down, "Does that mean I get to break things? Or eat things?"

"Sure thing!" Prism Break raced over to the mouth of the forwards path once more.

"Yay!"

As Wrecking Ball rolled over to Prism Break's side, Prism Break clapped his hands and summoned a giant crystal from beneath the earth! He then placed his crystal hands together and shot out a laser that refracted in ten different directions the moment it hit the crystal—all of which hit the barrels!

"Now's your chance, Wrecking Ball!" Prism Break proclaimed as he looked back at Wrecking Ball.

"YAY YAY YAY!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he leaped over Prism Break's crystal.

While the cyclops guards panicked, Wrecking Ball rolled himself into a ball then zoomed off at the speed of light! Wrecking Ball rammed himself straight into the cyclops guards with all the force of a dodgeball, then unfurled himself as the guards fell to the ground unconscious.

"Can I eat them now?" Wrecking Ball asked as he watched Prism Break walk up to his side.

"I don't think so," Prism Break said as he shook his head, "Cyclopes probably taste awful, anyways."

"Awwww, darn." Wrecking Ball pouted as he laid on his belly and sulked.

"I don't get it." Spyro's face turned a bit confused, a bit solemn as he flew up to join the others, "I've been to this place on errands more times than I can count, and nothing like this has ever been here! Why the sudden change?"

"Is it just me, or do you guys get the feeling we're being watched?" Chihiro asked as she looked over towards an eye statue, turned away, then did a double take, "I could've sworn I saw that thing move…"—Chihiro turned around and watched as everybody else proceeded—"Hey, guys, wait for me!"

When Chihiro rejoined the group, she looked over to Spyro and watched as he heaved a sigh.

"Still worried, Golden Boy?" Chihiro gently laid an arm around his shoulders.

"A little," Spyro replied as he nodded slightly, a tense smile on his face, "I can't possibly think of why they're all so hostile now!"—Spyro's tense smile dipped to an even tenser frown—"Well, I can think of a few, but…"

"They're not exactly pretty, right?" Chihiro tilted her head and frowned as she watched Spyro nod, "Well, if you need something else to think of…"—Chihiro made a grin—"I do still need help studying for that exam!"

"Oh, right!" Spyro snapped his claw, "Lemme think of a test question…"—Spyro placed his claws against his chin as he flew in place—"How about this? Skylander A intentionally wounds their portal master during an argument about patrol hours. What code would that be a violation of?"

Chihiro hummed and tapped her foot as she gazed up at the clouds.

"Code two?" Chihiro suggested at last.

"Well, you're close—it's actually code five!" Spyro held up a claw, "Code two is that Skylanders can't intentionally bring harm to those they hold power over without good reason,"—Spyro then clasped his paw—"But it's worded pretty similarly, I can't blame you for messing it up."
"Darn." Chihiro huffed and crossed her arms.

"Are you two just gonna stand over there forever?" Prism Break shouted from across the area.

Spyro and Chihiro both turned around and saw that ahead of them, Prism Break and Wrecking Ball stood beside an open gateway! The two of them then giggled and scratched the backs of their heads.

"Coming!" Spyro and Chihiro shouted in unison as they raced up the pathway.

"Now," Spyro said as he flew next to Prism Break, "Which code has had its regulations debated by portal masters over the past century in regards to the practice of merchandise based on a Skylander's image?"

"Uh…" Chihiro sputtered as she looked down at the earth and tapped her foot, "… Uh, er, well…"—Chihiro made a nervous giggle—"… Seven?"

Spyro only shook his head.

"Code three. A Skylander must not exploit their position for wealth or status."

"I had a feeling it was that one." Chihiro hung her head as she trudged forwards, then shook it off and looked back at Spyro with fire in her eyes, "C'mon Gold, gimme another one!"

Spyro flapped in place as he thought some more.

"Which code has come under fire due to concerns of portal masters exploiting it for unnecessary labor of their Skylanders?"

"Look out!" Wrecking Ball shouted from across the room.

Spyro turned around and casually shot a fireball at a flying cyclops soldier before it could hit him while Chihiro contemplated.

"One?" Chihiro asked with a bit of worry in her eyes.

"Six," Spyro replied, "A Skylander must be willing to face any task or challenge given to them."

Chihiro groaned as she watched Spyro fly ahead and reluctantly torch a platoon of cyclops soldiers, then trudged beside him as they passed another round of stone walls and ominous-looking eye statues.

"Which code has caused certain portal masters to come under fire for their choice of Skylander recruits?" Spyro asked once more as he flew up a slanted pathway.

"Nine?"

"Eight." Spyro shot an eye statue and odd look then flew up the next path, "Skylanders must always be diligent, courageous and kind. I think Master Eon got hit with that one a couple times, to be honest."

Chihiro made another tired groan as she followed Spyro up the pathways, then tugged on her jacket as her eyes darted back and forth.

"Which code acts as the basis of the vows that both Skylanders and portal masters give when they begin their formal training?"

Chihiro winced and racked her brain as she sucked on her lip, then finally sighed and hung her head.

"I give."

"Nine." Spyro flew further upwards, then sat down between Prism Break and Wrecking Ball, "A Skylander must be willing to protect the universe at all costs."

Chihiro heaved a defeated sigh as she trudged over to a nearby pathway and picked up a strange, worn plush doll that vaguely resembled a teddy bear—only it had an eye and a fanged mouth in place of a normal face.

"I dunno if I'm ever gonna be ready for this test," Chihiro sighed as she rubbed her thumbs against the doll's plush body before she stowed it away in her pocket, "I think that's the tenth time I messed up!"

"Don't worry too much about it, Chihiro," Spyro reassured as he flew next to her, "I'm sure you'll get it even—OW!"—Spyro stopped short as something hit him straight in the head and turned around—"Alright, who threw—"

Spyro stopped short as they all found that right in front of them was a giant platoon of cyclopes warriors! They were all dressed in heavy, polished stone armor and their eyes were bloodshot to no end as they wielded carefully-crafted stone spears, swords and other weapons. And most of all, they looked like they were ready to kill!

"That?" Spyro shook his head as he thrust a fist to the sky, "Skylanders, attack!"

The cyclopes shouted their own battle cry in retaliation, and then all heck broke loose! As the warriors tossed their spears and slashed with their swords, Chihiro and the Skylanders retaliated with whatever they could! Laser beams, magic spheres, burst of flames… But something seemed… Wrong about it all.

"What's going on?!" Spyro demanded as he slapped away a tiny cyclops with a swing of his tail, "I thought we were allies!"

"Not anymore, dragon boy!" Cackled a shrill, mocking voice from up high.

Spyro looked up, then gasped and reeled back.

"This castle is under new management," Proclaimed a lanky, blue-skinned cyclops dressed in a crown and magnificent robes as he stepped out and smirked, "KAOS'S MANAGEMENT!"

"You're not the king!" Spyro shot a ball of solid ice out at a bulky looking cyclops soldier then glared down this cyclops king, "What're you doing here?! Who are you, even?!"

"Little old me?" The king simpered as he placed a hand to his chest and coughed, "I'm just an agent of Lord Kaos's wills, nothing more. And his orders are clear,"—The cyclops king's smirk widened—"He doesn't want any Skylanders in his lobby!"

The king pointed a finger out to the army.

"ATTACK THOSE SKYLANDERS! MAKE SURE THEY DON'T GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE!"

As the cries of the army grew more determined, the heroes' will to fight did as well!

The cyclops warriors all encircled Spyro, who only stepped back and growled as his eyes flashed green. With an upwards thrust of his head, giant thorny vines sprouted out from the group and wrapped themselves around the cyclops soldiers that once surrounded him! And those vines were tough, too! No matter how much those cyclopes squirmed, they couldn't possibly break free. All they could do was watch helplessly as Spyro charged into the vines and sent the cyclopes flying! Spyro smirked as he flapped in place, then…

"Owch!" Spyro exclaimed as he whipped his head right and left, "Where this did—YIKES!"

As a high-pitched cackle echoed through the area, Spyro whipped his head around and saw a tiny cyclops spearman jab his spear into Spyro's tail!

"Get off of me! I'm not your ride!" Spyro shook his tail as hard as he could, but the spearman's grip was too strong…

That is, until a long red tongue shot into the skies and wrapped around the spearman! With a yell of surprise the spearman was yanked off of Spyro's tail and straight into the mouth of Wrecking Ball! Wrecking Ball made a content burp as he gulped down the spearman… Then gagged and spit him back out!

"Breaks was right," Wrecking Ball said as he watched the saliva-covered cyclops roll on the ground, "Cyclopses taste yucky."

The two of them smiled and waved at each other, then a giant laser shot into the sky and nearly singed Spyro! Spyro winced as he flew back down, only for a giant blur to fly right overhead of him!

"Incoming!" Chihiro shouted as she bounced over Spyro, now surrounded by a circling ring of magic spheres.

With intense grunt after intense grunt, Chihiro shot out a wave of magic spheres that knocked away the cyclops warriors who had them cornered… But only for a moment. The warriors cackled as they got up, while Chihiro gulped and stepped back.

"Need a hand, Chihiro?" Spyro asked as he flew over to Chihiro's side and grabbed her hand.

His eyes flashed purple while his clasped paw glowed in the same color, then they both smiled and watched as Chihiro's spheres grew larger and streaked with purple. The two of them winked at each other, then stared down the cyclopes—who now looked increasingly worried.

"You asked for it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pointed to the cyclopes with her free hand, "It's the Magical Allegiance Double Decker Special, coming right at'cha!"

One by one the giant spheres zoomed off like rockets and slammed into the cyclops warriors, all of whom were completely helpless against this barrage. All they could do was let the spheres slam them into the nearby walls.

"WOO-HOO!" Chihiro hooted as she jumped in the air and pumped a fist, then gracefully landed on her feet and beamed back at Spyro, "Not bad, right? I think that nearly won us the battle!"

"OWCH!" Exclaimed Prism Break from halfway across the battlefield before he turned around and gasped, "Get off of me, you big mutt! Do I look like a chew toy to you?!"

"… And I spoke too soon." Chihiro sighed, then jolted up as she heard a low growling behind her.

Chihiro turned her head, then screamed and stumbled into Spyro's grasp!

There, right in front of her was a giant, blue-furred monster with a bloodshot red eye and a giant, toothy maw drawn back into a snarl large enough to showcase all its razor-sharp fangs! It had to have been about five times Chihiro's size—maybe even more! And worse yet, it wasn't the only one. About ten more had completely encroached on the Skylanders, who were back into a circle as these strange monsters glared them down like they were prey. They were far too big in both size and numbers for the Skylanders to fight… What could they possibly do?

"CYCLOPS MAMMOTHS!" The king proclaimed with a gesture of his hands, "Have fun tearing up your new chew toys!"

Chihiro, Spyro, Wrecking Ball and Prism Break all gulped as the Mammoths' growling grew louder and louder while they got ready to lunge… Then the ground underneath their feet was stolen away from them—literally! A giant door had opened up underneath them!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The four of them screamed in unison as they fell through the suddenly-created trapdoor…

§

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—OOF!"

As everybody finally hit the ground, they all moaned and looked down to find themselves on… A mattress? Yes, a firm white mattress with a few holes and springs loose, but it was a mattress nonetheless, and it did break their fall so that was something to be grateful for.

"What was that?" Chihiro asked as she got up and rubbed her sore shoulders, "One minute those things had us cornered, next thing we know we're falling down a pit!"

"Beats me," Spyro replied as he jumped off the mattress and stretched as well as he could in that stuffy room, "But at least we got out of there…"—Spyro looked up at the now-closed hole and frowned—"Now if only we knew where we were…"

As the other three jumped off, they tried to look around for any clues or hints to their locations, but it was no use. Everything here was so dark that it was hard to see much of anything at all!

"Maybe I should shed some light on things," Spyro said as he held up a paw, "One light source, coming right—"

"Is that them?"

"Have they finally come for us?"

"What's going on?"

"… Did you guys hear that?" Spyro whipped his head around the dark, dark room.

"Yeah!" Chihiro remarked as she stepped back, "It kinda sounds like… Voices?"

While everybody looked around, a chill fell over the room as if a ghost had found their way in, or if someone was watching them…

"Is somebody there?"

Chihiro creaked her head around… And saw eyeballs. Lots of eyeballs, all of which were fixed on them!

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Chihiro screamed as she scrambled back onto the mattress and pointed at the eyeballs, "WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?!"

Alerted by Chihiro's scream, Wrecking Ball, Spyro and Prism Break all got into offensive stances and prepared to attack! Whatever those things were, they certainly weren't going to get the best of them!

"It's really them!" Cried a voice with a faint British accent, "The Skylanders!"

With this spoken, somebody clapped their hands and the lights came on!

The room's true identity was revealed, but it was nothing fancy—just a simple large stone room that looked more like a basement than anything. What with all its cobwebs and insects and dark lightless tunnels to what was probably nowhere, it bore quite the resemblance. And those eyeballs… Were cyclopes of all shapes and sizes!

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp as she drew herself into an attacking position as well, tension thick in the room until…

"THE SKYLANDERS ARE HERE TO SAVE US!" The cyclopes cried as they raced forward and swept the quartet up in their arms, "HIP HIP!"

"WHAT?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she was lifted to the top of the crowd, but she got no response—rather, they tossed her up in the air!

"HOORAY!" They exclaimed as Chihiro, Spyro, Wrecking Ball and Prism Break fell back down onto the mattress while the crowd dispersed.

"Uh, thanks for the warm welcome," Spyro said as he brushed off his chest, "But, what's going on here?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know too!" Chihiro exclaimed as she crossed her arms.

"Me three!" Prism Break called from the back of the crowd as he made a stony frown—literally.

"Uh, me four!" Wrecking Ball chimed in as he bounced up and down, "Me four!"

Chihiro pouted and grumbled a bit, then her eyes trailed down to the floors where the doll she had claimed earlier now rested in perfect peace.

"Whoops, you must've fallen out when we landed!" Chihiro remarked as she jumped off of the mattress and lifted the doll from the grimy floors, "Sorry 'bout that!"

Chihiro wiped the grime off of the doll with her sleeve, them looked up to see a worn-looking cyclops woman draw towards Chihiro from the crowds. Chihiro took a step back in response before she took a look at the woman's gaze—which was fixed on the doll Chihiro held instead!

"That doll," The woman croaked as she took it out of Chihiro's hands and turned it around, "It couldn't be…"

The woman only broke down in sobs while she held the doll close.

Chihiro took on a solemn aura as she stepped towards the woman and gently rested a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Uh… Are you alright, miss?" Chihiro asked as she watched the woman wipe away her tears.

"This doll…" The woman took a solemn gaze at the doll as her lip quivered, "It belonged to my little boy. He, he was going to turn five soon… He said he'd invite all his friends, and they'd all play stoneball together…"

"… What happened to him?" Chihiro pursed her lips, and the glisten of worry in her eyes made it clear that she was almost scared to hear what happened next.

"He was playing outside with his friends, and made up this silly rhyme insulting the king and his appearance. It was a childish thing, the kind of thing you'd expect a boy his age to say." The woman's voice turned hoarse as she buried her face into the doll's soft plush, "The guards overheard him and reported it to the king, and, he was furious! He, he… His life was taken away from me, right then and there!"

As the woman broke into sobs once more, a shocked Chihiro drew the woman into a tight hug and gently stroked the woman's back as she buried her face into Chihiro's chest.

"I'm… I'm so sorry."

Spyro, Wrecking Ball and Prism Break's jaws dropped wide open while a somberness fell across the room.

"Is that true?" Spyro asked as he stepped forward.

"I'm afraid it is," Said another, more serious voice as another cyclops drew out from the shadows—a medium-height, teal-skinned one dressed in muddy clothes that accentuated their bloodshot eye and tired demeanor. Despite this, they carried an aura of leadership with their presence.

"If you'll allow me to introduce myself," The cyclops said as they walked forward and placed a hand on their chest, "My name is Eyesha. I'm what you could call the leader of this group."

Eyesha cleared their throat.

"All of us here…" Eyesha drew a hand around the crowd of cyclopes, who looked noticeably more tired and scared than before, "We were all driven underground for speaking against that tyrant who dares call himself a king."

As Eyesha gritted their teeth, Spyro frowned and flew up to face them.

"Dares calls himself a king?" Spyro asked, "What happened here? I've met the king here before, and he was…"

"Nothing like that, I know." Eyesha shook their head and growled, "That dictator was a puppet, put in place by Kaos himself!"

Another round of gasps was heard, but only from the Skylanders and Chihiro—everybody else only held their heads in sorrow.

"When Kaos destroyed the Core of Light, the Crystal Eye was flung back to our homelands." Eyesha stepped over to the mattress and sat down as they heaved a sigh, "We had planned to keep it safe for when the Skylanders would arrive and take it back to its rightful place…"—Eyesha hung their head further down—"Kaos had other ideas."

Eyesha trembled as they spoke, their body filled with a kind of rage that could be felt by everyone around.

"Kaos's army stormed out homelands and demanded that we not only relent to him, but give him the Crystal Eye instead!" Eyesha clutched the edge of the mattress tight, "And when we refused, he took it by force… Then he killed our king and put that puppet in his place!"

As Eyesha looked up and saw the look of utter shock on Spyro's face, they only shook their head.

"That's not the end of the story, though, I'm afraid. Even since then, that puppet has been forcing our people to fight in Kaos's armies so they can take prisoners and make them do all his dirty work." Eyesha staggered off of the mattress, "And his first order of business was to have an elaborate fortress built for the Crystal Eye to keep it safe for Kaos."

"We've done all we could…" Piped up the woman who was sobbing in Chihiro's shoulder earlier as she wiped away her tears, "But against his armies, we're useless!"

"But!" Eyesha said as a glimmer of hope shone in their eye, "Now that the Skylanders are here, we finally stand a chance!"

"I knew hacking those surveillance eyeballs would come in handy someday!" Cried a voice from the cyclopes crowd.

"So that's what that was!" Chihiro exclaimed as she looked over at the crowd, "I thought I felt someone watching me!"

Chihiro's expression remained surprised for a few moments, then she coughed into her hand and let go of the cyclops woman. As she faced the crowds and dusted herself off, Chihiro gained the utmost of serious looks on her face, now filled with a kind of resolve that great warriors possessed in the heat of battle.

"As guardians of all that is good, I promise," Chihiro proclaimed in her most official and serious voice, "We'll liberate you all from Kaos's grubby clutches! Just say the word and we'll do it!"

Excited gasps and cheers were heard from the crowds of cyclopes, and even Eyesha broke out into a smile as they watched Chihiro.

"Very well then," Eesha said as they made an ushering motion with their hands towards a few cyclopes, "Bring out the diagrams!"

The cyclops nodded and marched away, then returned with what appeared to be a giant map that laid out what seemed like the entire island in the most elaborate detail one could think of.

"Insider?" Eyesha prompted.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Said a small cyclops dressed in camouflage as they retrieved a pointer stick from their pocket and tapped it on the map.

"Now, the Crystal Eye's treasury is sealed away by the two Seeing Towers. Each Seeing Tower is powered by four switches that fill it with the magic energy it uses to keep the structure afloat. Destroy those, and the towers are toast."

"Sounds easy enough!" Chihiro exclaimed as she smacked a fist against her palm and examined the map herself.

"I wouldn't be so certain." Insider slapped their stick against their palm, then went back to dragging it across the map, "The path to the first tower is guarded by intricate puzzles that take the most scholarly of the bunch to solve, and the second is heavily guarded by elite cyclopes militia. We've got teams prepped, but we'll need some extra hands on deck."

Chihiro frowned as she examined the map further, while Spyro flitted over to her side and looked over the map. The two of them hummed for a few seconds, then looked at each other and made firm nods.

"Alright!" Spyro proclaimed as he and Chihiro looked over the crowds, "We'll help you take down those towers! With our powers combined, I'm sure we'll be able to do it!"

The crowds cheered once more, then paused as Prism Break and Wrecking Ball shifted through their ranks and regrouped with Spyro and Chihiro.

"Alright then, just one question…" Prism Break asked as he crossed his arms together, "Who's going with who?"

Spyro hummed and rubbed a claw against his chin, then looked back up at Prism Break and Wrecking Ball.

"Prism Break, you're pretty sturdy." Spyro pointed a claw towards Prism Break, then drew it over towards Wrecking Ball, "And Wrecks, you're good at destroying things, right?"

"Yes I am!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he bounced up and down with the utmost of glee, completely ignorant to the concerned glances of everyone around.

"You two can go with the second team—with your powers and experience, you'll take down those guards in no time!" Spyro said as he looked over at Chihiro, "Chihiro and I will go with team one."

"Okay, that's taken care of," Chihiro closed her eyes and crossed her arms as she made a scholarly nod, then peeped open one as she ran ahead, "Now come on! We've got an evil tyrant to take down! Who's with me?!"

Cheers of agreement and excitement alike resounded all around as everyone filed into the tunnels, more than ready to take on their mission…

§

Soft whispering and quiet footsteps were the only sounds heard as the first team passed through the tunnels, voices raised to no more than a hushed whisper as they spoke among themselves in order to keep from drawing attention from unwanted outside sources… Well, not that there were many outside sources to draw attention from. Everywhere you went, there was nothing but stone passageways, faint light from cracks in the walls, the occasional rat as it scurried by… It was almost enough to drive someone up a wall!

"Alright, Chihiro…" Spyro whispered as he looked over towards Chihiro, "What code number is this—a Skylander must never bring harm to those they hold power over without good reason?"

"Hmmm, that sounds important…" Chihiro whispered back, her voice raised a smidgen louder than Spyro's as she racked her brain, "… One?"

"Two." Spyro shook his head and frowned as he just barely saw Chihiro pout in the faint light, "Alright then,"—Spyro tilted his head towards Chihiro—"Skylanders must never practice forbidden magic—which one's that?"

"Nine?" Chihiro cast Spyro a pleading look.

"Four."

As Chihiro made a tired groan, she was shushed by the cyclopes who lead the crowd ahead of them.

"Keep it down!" Insider scolded from the head of the group, "We can't have anybody notice we're here!"

"But…" Chihiro retorted as she tilted her head, "We're the only ones—"

"My apologies, she's a bit new," Spyro butted in as he flew in front of Chihiro, then turned around to see her frown and sulk, "Let's just keep practicing, alright Chihiro?"

Chihiro grimaced as she crossed her arms, then finally she reluctantly nodded.

"Skylanders can't kill unless necessary?" Spyro asked.

"Nine?…" Chihiro suggested, only to frown as Spyro shook his head, "Darn."

"It's actually one." Spyro flew around a corner and urged Chihiro forwards, "Skylanders must be diligent, courageous and kind?"

"Ooh, ooh, I know this one!" Chihiro bounced up behind Spyro and beamed, "Uhhhhh… Five?"

"Eight. Skylanders must never harm their portal masters without good reason?"

"Six?"

"Four."

So, the two of them traded questions and answers—largely incorrect answers, but answers nonetheless—as they passed through what seemed like endless dark tunnels and corridors.

"Skylanders must be willing to face any task or challenge?"

"Ten?"

"Six. Skylanders must not exploit their position for wealth or status?"

"Seven?"

"Three. Skylanders work as a team?"

"… Four?"

"Ten."

This continued on for what seemed like forever, until Chihiro finally heaved a loud groan and flopped her back onto the stone walkways.

"This is gonna take me forever!" Chihiro whined as she made a look of utter defeat, "Will I ever be ready for that test?"

Chihiro looked up to Spyro as if she expected him to answer, but he was gone! He had flown over to the back of the group, which was crowded around what seemed like a source of light? Though it was masked by the group, a bright white light could be seen a few feet ahead. And more importantly, it caught Chihiro's attention immediately. She jumped and skipped over to the rear of the crowd, then peered overhead—which was quite easy to do since they were all so short.

"Alrighty," Insider said as they grabbed hold of what seemed like a stone manhole with several others by their side, "If my analysis is correct, then just pull open this baby and…"

With heavy grunts the cyclopes all pulled the manhole off… And a bright, sunlike light shone through!

Everybody immediately popped their heads through, then found that they were no longer inside those strange stone tunnels!

Rather, they had found themselves in what appeared to be a town square! Whimsically-colored stone houses with impressive wooden roofs and fantastic decorations were scattered about, stone walls were painted in all sorts of colors and even the floor's stone was an inviting shade of peach. Yet, despite its lovely appearance… There was nobody there in that town square save for a couple of birds of squirrels. It was practically lifeless.

"It sure seems lonely here," Chihiro remarked as she looked over the scenery and frowned.

"You could say that again," Insider replied with a sigh, "Even since that puppet king took over, everybody's been too scared to leave their houses. You disobey even one of his laws, no matter how minor…"

Insider only drew a finger across their throat.

"Yeah, I see your point," Chihiro winced as she looked back at Insider.

"Get down! The guards are coming!" Shouted the cyclops woman from before—Eyeantha, they had since learned her name was—from the back of the ground.

As tough footsteps sounded from afar, everybody gasped and ducked back down, then drew the manhole back over its hole in one swift movement. From the few holes within the manhole itself they spied the bodies of several armored guards as they stationed themselves, looked around… Then passed the area by!

As their bodies drew out of sight, Insider carefully pushed away the manhole and peered back outside.

"Coast is clear, everyone!" Insider proclaimed as they popped outside, "You can come out now!"

Everybody else popped back outside and glazed the area over one last time as Insider and a few others closed the manhole back up.

"Now, if my calculations are correct, there should be a gate somewhere around here…" Insider looked over to the lefthand side and beamed, "And there it is!"

Insider trotted off towards the far left with the others close behind, then presented them with a large, stone gate covered in colorful, glowing rainbow markings.

"This gate should put us on path to the first Seeing Eye Tower…" Insider frowned and rubbed their chin as they looked it over, "But how do we open it?"

"It doesn't look like there a lock," Spyro added as he flew forward and analyzed the gate, "Or a key!"

"And I don't see any switches anywhere!" Chihiro remarked as she spun around and whistled.

"Then I guess we'll just have to find another way out," Insider said as they turned back to address the group, "Split up and scour every corner of this place if you have too—there has to be some alternate means of escape around here!"

With affirmative nods the groups soon dispersed and scavenged all around the town square, all with a hasty sense of urgency as they searched for warps, magical gates, key cards… Anything that could have possibly opened a way.

"Nothing under here!" Spyro announced as he pulled up a swath of crates and barrels using magic and peered underneath their wooden selves.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Cried an elderly-sounding voice as several of the cyclopes were kicked—literally—out of some rando's house.

"Nothing in there either…" The cyclopes groaned as they sat back up and rubbed their heads.

"Nothing in this garden!" Cried someone else as they held up a flowerpot.

"Or these walls!"
"Or this!"
"Or that!"
"Or any of these!"

As Chihiro watched them fruitlessly search from the alleyway she had been scouring, she sat down and heaved a sigh.

"Geez, how hard can it been to find a secret key or passageway or something?" Chihiro asked as she crossed her arms. Chihiro heaved another sigh as she brushed her feet against the cobblestone pathways, then…

"Someone, help!" Cried someone in the distance.

Chihiro jumped to her feet as the screams echoed across the horizons, then snapped her fingers and teleported onto a nearby house's roof. As she peered down from the rooftop with her balance kept with care, her eyes narrowed.

There, an alleyway across, several guards dressed in tough-looking stone armor had cornered an elderly cyclops man who shook so hard it might've caused an earthquake! The guards had gigantic stone cleavers that they rose in the air… As if they were getting ready to kill!

"Hey, that's not fair!" Chihiro exclaimed as she clasped her hands against the rooftop's edge and scowled.

With another snap of her fingers, Chihiro teleported in front of the cyclops man and threw up a shield made of magic! She cast the guards a smirk as their cleavers harmlessly clunked onto her shield, then in an instant she teleported right behind them as her hands glowed with cyan, magical light.

As she shot out a barrage of rapid punches, magic spheres shot out like lightning from a thundercloud and slammed straight into the guards' armor! But, unfortunately they weren't strong enough to completely destroy the armor or cause any other kind of serious harm! The most they did was create a few cracks in the armor itself.

While the guards turned around and faced her, the elderly man now completely forgotten in their minds, they lifted their cleavers… But they were too slow!

Chihiro merely teleported away once more as a magical hammer manifested in her grasp, then with a strained cry she slammed the hammer right onto their heads!

The hammer's blow resonated through the guards' whole bodies while the cracks in their armor grew more and more pronounced… Until the armor shattered completely into piles of tiny pebbles. All that as left was the white undershirts and striped boxers they wore! But, they were far too dizzy to notice—all they could do was stumble about in a concussed haze.

With a scoff, Chihiro ran over to the guards and slammed their heads together, then watched as they fell unconscious onto the pavement. Now that the battle was won, she looked up the elderly cyclops man.

"You alright?" Chihiro asked as she hopped over the unconscious guards and came to the man's side.

"I am, thanks to you!" The cyclops man proclaimed, his voice feeble and full of fear, "You saved my life, laddie!"

"It's no biggie!" Chihiro fanned a hand and cocked an eyebrow, "After all, the Skylander Code says… Er… Uh…"—Chihiro shook her head and shrugged—"Oh, whatever. What were those guards bugging you about, anyways?"

"Well…" The man trailed away from Chihiro's gaze and looked further down the alley, "I've been seeing these strange statues all over the place lately, so I went to investigate them further, but when I came up to this one those guards just jumped out and started badgering me out of nowhere!"

"Strange statues?…" Chihiro tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

"Indeed! I'll show you!" The cyclops man walked further into the alley and ushered Chihiro to follow him.

Chihiro trailed behind the cyclops for a few paces, then came to a stop the same time he did. As they both finished walk, he stepped aside and showed her a brown stone statue that housed a glowing eyeball on its top.

"I'm no detective, but I have a feeling these things are bad news!"

Chihiro hummed and rubbed her chin as she examined the statue, then balled her hand into a fist and punched the eye straight in its pupil! But, it was no use—her hand only phased through the eye and smacked straight into the stone exterior. As she yowled in pain and stepped back, Chihiro looked back at the statue and gritted her teeth.

"Doesn't look like these things respond to brute force…" Chihiro remarked as her hands glowed a faint aqua, "Maybe magic's the answer!"

As she said that very sentence, a sphere of teal magic formed in her hand! Chihiro squeezed the sphere a few times, then tossed it at the eye like one would a baseball!

The sphere slammed against the eye, then with a bright flash of magic the eye vanished and left behind only a hollow, spherical stone!
As they both beamed, the cyclops man walked up to Chihiro and shook her hand.

"Thank goodness, laddie! You did it!" The man said as he dug into his pocket and yanked out a crumpled paper list, "Take this,"—the man smoothed out the list and handed it over to Chihiro—"It's a list of all those stone statues I found! If anyone can bring them all down, it's you!"

"Can do, mister!" Chihiro nodded as she snagged the list, then closed her eyes and teleported away.

With a whoosh and a swirl of magic, Chihiro was whisked back into the heart of the town square, where she was greeted by the sound of confused, yet optimistic chatter.

"The gate's down?" Said a voice that was unmistakably Spyro's, "How'd that happen?"

"I happened!" Chihiro proclaimed as she opened her eyes and saw everybody crowded at the gate.

As she waved to the others and watched them crowd around her, Chihiro smiled and handed them the list.

"These gates are powered by these weird magic eyes—you gotta destroy them with magic to go on!" Chihiro handed over the list to Spyro, "Some old dude gave me a list of where they all are!"

"That's great, Chihiro!" Spyro said as he passed the list along to Insider.

Insider looked over the list, then nodded firmly and snagged the list inside their pocket.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Insider asked as they glazed all over the crowd, "Let's destroy some statues!"

With cheers of agreement, the entire group poured through the gate and ran so far away that the town square was little more than an afterthought in their minds… Because now, it was time to do some spelunking!

§

"Is the coast clear?" Prism Break asked as he poked his head around the corner of a stone house.

Their team's ventures outside the tunnels had lead them to what could best be described as a gigantic alleyway, walled with the backs of carefully-crafted stone houses and buildings. Barrels and crates were piled like leaves in autumn around the area, which gave them careful protection from…

"GUARDS!" Exclaimed a cyclops from their team in the quietest voice they could manage, "Quick, hide!"

Everybody took heed immediately as they dodged behind and inside crates and barrels, then peered just a smidgen around to see several rows of muscular guards in fancy storm armor march down the streets before they went back to hiding once more.

Prism Break grunted as he poked his head out from the stack of wooden barrels he had hidden behind and looked ahead.

Not that far away was a town square, but the only ones there were more and more soldiers—just how many soldiers did this king have, anyways? There had to have been at least seventy of them stationed at the square in a dutiful pace.

"You guys weren't kidding when you said this place was armed," Prism Break remarked.

"Can I eat them?" Wrecking Ball asked as he popped up from a crate, "I wanna eat them."

"NO!" Insisted a tiny cyclops as they yanked Wrecking Ball off the crates, "We can't make a fuss—they completely outnumber us! We can't go in without a plan!"

"Wrecking Ball, you need to stop thinking with your stomach!" Prism Break scolded as he poked his head over to look at them, "One wrong move, and we're all toast!"

"Toast? I like toast!" Wrecking Ball chirped as he jumped up once more, "And I bet it tastes good with cyclopses!"

Before anyone could retort, Wrecking Ball made a hyper giggle and zoomed out from the crates he once hid behind.

"WRECKING BALL!" Prism Break exclaimed as he groaned, then vaulted out from behind the barrels and chased after Wrecking Ball.

It wasn't very easy for Prism Break, unfortunately. Wrecking Ball was a fast little thing, and while being made of stone and crystal was good for many things, speed was unfortunately not one of them. As Prism Break stopped to catch his breath, he looked up and watched as Wrecking Ball eyed a particularly intimidating cyclops guard!

Wrecking Ball giggled and licked his lips, but Prism Break only gasped.

"Wrecking Ball, don't do it!" Prism Break warned, but he was far too late.

In one smooth second Wrecking Ball shot out his tongue, wrapped it around the guard's legs and yanked the guard into his mouth! The guard screamed in horror as Wrecking Ball gnawed on his torso… Then spat his back out and gagged.

"Ugh… Too big…" Wrecking Ball groaned and stumbled about in a haze.

Alerted by their companion's screams, the other cyclops guards all glared down Wrecking Ball and whipped out their weapons! Their mouths twisted into fanged scowls as Wrecking Ball shook his head and made a nervous giggle.

"So much for keeping a low profile," Prism Break scoffed as he brushed off his gravelly arms and charged into the heat of battle!

With a clap of his crystalline hands, bright lasers shot out and aimed straight at the guards! But, they did nothing. As soon as they hit the guards' stone armor, they harmlessly fizzled out!

Prism Break made a shocked gasp as he looked down at his hands, then back at the guards as they charged.

"HI-YAH!" Screamed the rest of the team as they hopped out from their hiding spots and raised their weapons high!

With shouts of combat they crashed towards the guards with their stone swords and spears, but their weapons were of far lower quality compared to the guards' polished stone armor and cleavers. Right then and there, they all just shattered!

A couple of Prism Break's teammates winced as they looked down at their broken weaponry, then looked up as a loud cry echoed from the skies!

Like a grubby blue bullet Wrecking Ball crashed down from the heavens and struck a guard in the head… Only to harmlessly bounce off of the guard's helmet and roll onto the floor with a groan.

Wrecking Ball groaned as he stood back up and shook his head, then heard a cry of pain and turned around!

A guard had tossed off a tiny cyclops dressed in rags from their cleaver, and it looked like the guard was ready to cut them right open!

"Not today!" Wrecking Ball chirped as he rolled with the speed of a greased pinball!

With intense speed Wrecking Ball wove through the crowds, then as soon as he got under the guard's legs he yanked the cyclops out of the guard's reach with his tongue! While the cyclops guard stumbled back in shock, Wrecking Ball gently laid the cyclops he had rescued down on the ground.

"Thanks!" The cyclops said as they wiped Wrecking Ball's slobber off their clothes, "… I guess?"

"No problem!" Wrecking Ball chirped as he waddled up to the cyclops and nuzzled their chest.

But while Wrecking Ball was able to rescue one of their ranks, the others weren't so lucky! They had been backed into a corner by the guards, who seemed to have multiplied in ranks as more faces joined the fray.

Prism Break grunted and bore his fangs as he felt his back hit the wall, then narrowed his eyes and cast an aside glance towards his hands…. Then back at the head guard's armor, which seemed to have… A tiny crack? Prism Break's eyes widened, then he thrust his arm forward and shot a laser straight at the crack… Or so he thought. Rather, he was off by a mark and ended up hitting a guard in the back of the crowd in the eye instead!

Prism Break made a soft gasp as he withdrew his hand, a glimmer of an idea seemingly in his eyes, but whatever it was he didn't get the chance to use it.

All the guards had crowded out any means of escape, and they seemed ready to kill.

"Any last words, traitor scum?" The lead guard asked as he held his cleaver up to Prism Break's neck.

"YEAH, I'VE GOT SOME!" Cried a childish voice from outside the crowd, "EAT THIS!"

Laughter echoed from the skies as a big blue meteor crashed down into the center of the circle and sent the whole team flying! Everybody screamed as the guards tried to cut down the strange projectile, but it only leaped back into the air and flew past a few cyclopes!

"WRECKING BALL?!" Prism Break exclaimed.

Wrecking Ball only giggled as he wrapped his tongue around Prism Break and the cyclops rebels, then tossed them onto the flat top of a tall stone building. As they crashed onto the top, Wrecking Ball crashed down with them and rolled into Prism Break's lap.

"You alrighty?" Wrecking Ball asked as he tilted his head.

"Wrecking Ball, I can't believe you just did that!" Prism Break exclaimed, more wonder in his voice than anger as he warily patted Wrecking Ball's head.

Wrecking Ball only giggled as he bounced up and down on Prism Break, his green eyes lit with eager energy.

As Prism Break glanced over Wrecking Ball, a small glimmer of inspiration glinted in his eyes.

"Wrecking Ball, come here." Prism Break ushered Wrecking Ball forward and leaned to whisper in his ear, "I've got a plan."

"Ooh, ooh, I like plans!" Wrecking Ball stopped bouncing and made a confused frown, "What plan?"

Prism Break whispered the plan into Wrecking Ball's… Holes, one would have to guess? Grub worms don't exactly have ears and all.

"Can you pull it off?" Prism Break asked with all manner of wariness in his voice, as if he wasn't entirely sure he could pull it off himself.

"You bet'cha!" Wrecking Ball chirped as he looked down at the guards that had gathered down below.

"Then let's do it."

Prism Break and Wrecking Ball looked at each and nodded, then leaped down the floor! As Prism Break sunk down first and crashed onto the floor, a giant crystal formed in front of him! While the guards chattered around him in angered orders, Prism Break shot a laser from his hands at the crystal… Right as Wrecking Ball slammed into the crystal and shattered it into a million pieces!

The pieces refracted Prism Break's one laser into a thousand different ones that shot out in every single direction one could think of—such as the eyes of all the guards around!

"AH, MY EYE!" Cried a cyclops guard as he stumbled into another.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DOOFUS!" Cried the guard he had bumped into.

"I CAN'T, I CAN'T SEE A THING!" The guard stumbled about in a sightless haze, "MY EYE'S BURNT!"

"The beam is supreme," Prism Break smirked as he looked down and blew the smoke off of his hands.

The other members of their team all leaped down from the top of the building they resided on as cries of victory escaped from their lips, then with smirks they fixed their eyes on the incapacitated guards.

They were a pack of angry elephants they charged forward and snagged the guards' weapons, right as the guards' vision returned to them!

As the guards look up to see that the ones that they once tried to imprison had them cornered, they only gulped.

The rebels attacked the guards in what could only be described as one big ball of violence, one so full of movement that it kicked up dust and shielded those around from any vision of the battle! By the time it cleared, all that was left were unconscious guards and cheering rebels.

"That was fun!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he bounced up and down, "Let's do that again!"

"NO!" Cried everybody else.

As Wrecking Ball pouted and fell on his belly, Prism Break awkwardly stroked his back.

"You did good out there, kid," Prism Break whispered as he cast an awkward glance aside to the rebels, who were now pilfering the guards' armor.

"Really?" Wrecking Ball asked as he looked up at Prism Break with wide eyes.

Prism Break made a slight nod, while Wrecking Ball beamed and went back to bouncing once more.

"Hey, everyone!" Called a cyclops in mage robes as he pulled a ring of something from an unconscious guard, "I found some keys on this dude! Think we could use them for anything?"

"How about that gate over there?" Suggested a brawny-looking cyclops as they pointed to someplace adjacent from where their battle had taken place.

There, right before them, was a wooden gate held fast with a golden lock! It was odd, seeing something made of any material other than stone in such an area… Could it lead to somewhere important?

"Worth a shot," remarked the mage cyclops as they walked over to the gate and unlocked it.

As the lock fell aside and the gate swung open, everybody crowded down the path it revealed…

§

"Hmmm…" Chihiro hummed as she tilted her head, her eyes fixed on the strange object in front of her.

"Hmmm…" A couple of the cyclopes mimicked as they tilted their heads much like Chihiro did.

As they stared at the strange object, Insider groaned and pushed forward.

"If we're done humming now," Insider said as they crossed their arms, "Can you give me an answer on how to open this gate?"

Insider then shot a glare at the object they were looking at.

It was a simple, unmarked stone gate, its only decoration a round, eye-shaped impression in the center of its surface.

"I'm completely stumped, buddy!" Chihiro exclaimed as she leaned back and rapped on the gate's stony surface, "There's no keys, no switches, nothing! I don't know how—"

"WHO DARES CHALLENGE MY RIDDLES?!" Demanded a booming voice.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Chihiro screamed as she jumped back and watched the eyelike impression shoot open!

A minty green mist wafted out from the impression, before it gathered together in a fluffy cloud and solidified into the ghost of a cyclops's head!

"You may only pass if you solve my riddles!" The cyclops head boomed as it glared down the party of rebels, "Who wishes to take on my challenge?"

Whispers and mutters echoed around the crowd as they turned inside their group… Then Eyeantha fluffed out her dress and stepped forward.

"I'll take on your challenge!" She proclaimed, a mighty fire in her eye, "I love a good brainteaser, after all!"

"I will warn you, these are more than just simple brainteasers!" The cyclops head proclaimed as it gave Eyeantha a concerned glance, "These riddles have stumped even the best of scholars!"

"If I didn't have a brain for puzzles, I wouldn't have become a nurse!" Eyeantha made a wry grin as she crossed her arms, "Hit me with your best shot!"

"Very well, here is my first riddle." The cyclops head nodded and closed its eye, then shot wide open, "I am dark, yet bright. I am quiet, yet full of life, I am both an end, and a beginning. What am I?"

"Midnight!" Eyeantha closed her eye and beamed a very smug beam.

"WHAT?!" The head's jaw dropped wide open, then it shook and collected itself, "Very well then… Bright as a rainbow, bursting with life, but take a bite and you'll lose yours! What am I?"

The look of pride on Eyeantha's face drifted away as she looked down and tapped her feet, clearly lost in contemplation.

"Hmm…" Eyeantha looked up at last, "A poisonous mushroom!"

"Why… That's correct!" The cyclops head looked at Eyeantha in sheer wonder, then growled so hard it was a wonder its eye didn't turn a flaming red right then and there!

"THIS IS MY HARDEST RIDDLE YET! MANY HAVE FALLEN AT THE TRICKS OF THIS CONUNDRUM!" The head let out a mighty bellows that stretched across the heavens, "ONE AND TWO, TEN AND FIFTY! HEADS ARE DUAL, BUT LEGS ARE PLENTY! OUTSIDE IS SWEET, BUT INSIDE IS SPICY! WHAT AM I?"

"Oh, that's an easy one!" Eyeantha exclaimed with a snap of her fingers, "It's a..."—Eyeantha's mouth twisted into a frown as she rubbed her chin—"Well... Err..."

"WRONG!" The cyclops head exclaimed with such force it never blew everyone away.

"Wait a second!" Eyeantha's jaw dropped wide open, "I didn't even get to answer…"

Eyeantha shook her head and turned back to the group, who all gave her puzzled stairs.

"Do you have any idea what it could be?"

Mumblings and mutters resounded around the ground as everybody fell deep into contemplation.

"Could it be an ostrich?…" Suggested one cyclops.

"No," replied their conversation partner with a shake of their head, "Doesn't have enough legs. If you ask me, I say it's a salamander"

"What are you kidding?" Butted in a third party, "It's clearly a dragon!"

"No, it's an ostrich!"

"It's a fire-breathing basilisk!"

"A chompy!"

As everybody dissolved into chaos and arguments about the answer's identity, Chihiro chirped and hopped back to the front of the gate.

"What about a two-headed, fifty-legged, strawberry candy ice cream sphinx?" Chihiro suggested as she looked up at the head.

"That's ridiculous!" Shot back a cyclops from the group, "There's no way—"

"EGADS!" Cried the cyclops head as its form started to flicker, "YOU WERE RIGHT! NOBODY HAS EVER GOTTEN THAT CONUNDRUM RIGHT BEFORE!"

"WHAT?!" Everybody else exclaimed from the group.

"Ah, it was nothing~" Chihiro said as she flapped her hand, "I can't believe I got it right, to be honest…"

"Very well then," The cyclops head said as it bowed its head and slowly faded away, "You may pass this area."

And with that said, the cyclops head faded away and the stone gate drew down with a mighty rumble.

"Be careful, everyone," Insider warned as the gate finally reached its lowest point, "For all we know, there could be traps—"

"Ah, I wouldn't worry too much!" Chihiro said as she spun in front of Insider and glazed over the grassy plains that made up their next travel destination, "All you can see is grass for miles on end!"

Chihiro then hopped a step ahead, only for a patch of dirt underneath her feet to depress and send her falling into the grass!

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Chihiro waved her arms and flailed about as she tried to regain her balance, but it was no use. She only plummeted face-first into the grass.

"OWCH!" Chihiro scoffed as she pushed herself back up and wiped the dirt off of her face, then frowned as she looked ahead.

"Wait, is something coming out of there?" Chihiro asked as she held a hand over her eyes and watched the plains ahead.

There, it seemed almost like two large cylinders were rising from the grass, complete with a slow rumble like something swerving into view… Then the cylinders stopped.

And with a hiss, then slid open to reveal… Armed cyclops guards!

The guards cried out and charged into battle as the rebels gasped, but Spyro and Chihiro were quick to react as they jumped in front of the herd!

"What're you doing?!" Asked one of the rebels.

"Skylander Code number eight!" Chihiro proclaimed as she tossed out a shield with one hand, "A Skylander must always be diligent, courageous and kind!"

Once those words left her lips, Chihiro's eyes widened with glee as she jumped into the air.

"I GOT IT!" Chihiro shouted to the heavens as she bounced up and down, "I GOT IT RIGHT, I GOT IT RIGHT, I GOT IT RIGHT!"

As Chihiro bounced, however, the shield she cast flickered out of existence—right as a guard swung their stone ax right at her! Before anyone could react, however, a circle of giant stone pillars formed around the team and blocked any sort of blow the enemies threw! Chihiro gasped, then turned around to see a brown-eyed Spyro wink back at her.

With a grin, Chihiro made a knowing nod them teleported outside the circle to see that the guards were now fruitlessly attempting to yank their axes out of the pillars. Chihiro giggled, then summoned a magical hammer, then swung it forward and slammed it into the ground! The resulting shockwave was so great, so mighty, that it not only shattered the pillars Spyro had summoned and the axes lodged within them, but the armor that the cyclopes soldiers wore as well!

Everybody shuddered in place from the shock, then as they came to their senses Spyro and the rebels cast smug looks over at the now-terrified soldiers.

"Not so big and tough now, are ya?" Chihiro asked as she whisked her hammer away.

"What, what, what are you gonna do to us?" Asked one soldier as he clung to his buddy.

"Are, are you gonna kill us?" Questioned the other.

"Nope! Skylander Code Number One, Skylanders can't kill unless it's absolutely necessary," Chihiro replied as she shook her head then smirked, "But, it doesn't cover this!"

With a snap of her fingers, a pastel-colored, sparkly mist emerged from her fingers and wafted around the soldiers, who took a few whiffs of it… Then crashed onto the ground, now completely asleep!

"Sweet dreams~" Chihiro playfully stuck her tongue out at the guards, then smiled as she whipped her head around and watched the cylinders sink back into the ground.

Chihiro hummed and tilted her head, then skipped ahead with an energy sphere held tight in her grasp. As she ran past the spot where the cylinders once stood, Chihiro beamed.

There, right before her was a tall statue with a glowing eye-shaped top! With a snap of her fingers, the energy sphere whizzed out of her hand and slammed straight into the eye portion of the statue, which caused it to fizzle out! As the eye harmlessly rolled off the statue, a gigantic rumble was heard from the westward portion of the fields.

"Follow that noise!" Insider ordered as they charged west.

"Y'know, I wonder what's next?" Chihiro asked as she rejoined the back of the group and rested her arms against her head, "Super intricate riddles? Warp puzzles? A cooking contest?"

The group then came to a halt as they gazed over the path before them, or well, what was left of it, anyways. Beyond the large, stone block underneath their feet that was likely once a gate, there seemed to be a long pathway made of grassy hills… Except the pathway was filled with gigantic, deep-looking square holes!

"And turtles," Chihiro remarked as she jumped up and poked her head over the crowd, "Lot of turtles."

Chihiro was right—also stationed through the path were large, sleepy turtles with sturdy-looking yellow shells. They seemed a lot bigger than the average turtle, maybe ten times its size?

"Hmmm…" Spyro hummed as he flew over and examined the turtles, a claw rested on his chin, "If that's that…"—Spyro flew down a hole for a few minutes and popped back up—"I've got an idea! These turtles are just the right size to fill these holes—so why not push them in?"

"Good idea, Golden Boy!" Chihiro said as she watched the cyclopes nod and disperse towards the various turtles.

They all pushed and prodded and tried their best to get the turtles into the holes… But, it didn't quite work out. The turtles were far too heavy and sleepy, and the cyclopes were far too weak to push the turtles in themselves, even with all hands on deck.

"Hey, need some help?" Chihiro asked as she skipped up to a group, "Cause that's what I'm here for!"

"No, we've got it, it's fine," insisted one cyclops as they joined the group in pushing the turtle… Before they all groaned and collapsed onto the ground, the turtle still stagnant where it stood.

"Okay, maybe a little."

"Well, that's what I'm here for!" Chihiro rested her hand on the side of the turtle's shell, "Skylander Code Number Six—a Skylander must be willing to face any task or challenge given to them!"

While Chihiro spoke, her hand and soon the turtle as well were enveloped in a cyan-colored glow, before the turtle magically floated off the group and into the hole. As the turtle slid inside the hole, Chihiro bounced off to the next group and did the same thing to their turtle… And the next… And the next…

Not one to be outdone, Spyro swooped down to a group stationed near the end of the path, then with a flash of purple in his eyes and a tap of his claws, the turtle soared into the air before it crashed straight into the hole!

Soon enough, the turtles that were once scattered around the area had completely filled in all the path's gaps. With smiles and nods all around, the group passed through the turtle bridge, though it felt like forever with the anticipation of what awaited them all around! There could be monsters, or intense riddles, or who knows what else! Everybody's hearts were bated as they finally hit the top, then…

"Wait a second…" Spyro said as he tilted his head, "Didn't we pass by this place before?"

Murmurs of concern were heard among the group as they examine the area before them.

It looked like an ordinary town square with its fancy buildings and colorful floors, but something about it seemed oddly familiar for reasons nobody could quite pin their fingers on…

"Hey, wait a minute!" Exclaimed a cyclops in the head of the group at last, "This was the place we started out at!"

Chihiro frowned, then skipped out the group and tilted her head.

"Really?…" She asked before she stepped a few paces forward and fixed her eyes on an open stone gate that seemed awfully familiar, "Wait a second, that's the same gate we passed earlier! He's right!"

"Have we been going in circles this whole time?!" Exclaimed a cyclops from the rear of the group.

"I wouldn't be so certain," chimed in another voice as someone stepped forth.

That someone was a teal-skinned cyclops of about medium height with a worn purple eye. Stained blue clothes decorated in stars and crescent moons and other magical symbols clothed their body, alongside a well-loved brown leather satchel that hung from the side of their hip.

The cyclops made an inquisitive hum, then burrowed their hands into their satchel and pulled out a glassy orb that shone with magical power! As they held the orb in one hand, they waved their free hand around in circular motions, then glazed over the town square!

The town square slowly warbled in and out of existence, then finally vanished entirely with only a vast, grassy field and a tall stone statue much like the one they broke before stationed among its lengths.

"It was actually an illusion!" Cried the wizard cyclops among shocked chatter from the crowd.

"Huh, who would've guessed?" Chihiro remarked with a shrug and a tilt of her head, "Anyways, let's get that switch!"

Chihiro skipped across the grassy fields with an occasional spin or two made as a few of the other cyclopes trailed behind her, the wizard included. However, as they walked, the wizard's eye cast suspicious glances here and there while they played with their hands in a way that seemed to indicate their anxiety.

"What're you so worried about?" Chihiro asked as she stopped spinning about and looked back at the wizard, "It's not like there's anyone here!"

"I wouldn't be so certain…" The wizard replied as they shook their head, "I can feel some very strange magic signatures in the air…"

"Signatures, smignatures!" Scoffed a cyclops man as they jabbed an elbow into the wizard's shoulder, "If whoever did this didn't want us around, they'd have knocked us out already!"

Chihiro made a shrug of what seemed like slight agreement, then turned around and looked up the switch. While the switch loomed over her in its entire glory, Chihiro whipped up a quick energy sphere and wound up her arm.

"AND SERVED!" Chihiro proclaimed as she tossed the energy sphere and watched it whiz right towards the eye… Only to hit some kind of light-constructed shield and bounce off to the side!

"A shield!?" Chihiro jumped back with her mouth completely agape, "How'd that get there?!"

Cackling broke into the air like disease as everybody panicked and looked every which way!

"WHO'S THERE?!" Demanded the wizard as they spun their head around then gasped.

Out of seemingly nowhere stepped an identical trio of cyclopes, all dressed in fancy robes with elaborate crystal and stone staffs wielded in their near-skeletal hands. Fanged smirks crossed their mouths as they watched the crowd turn around and face them, while an aura of menace was cast around their space.

"I knew there was something wrong!" The wizard exclaimed as they cast the doubter a glare, "Now will you listen to me?"

The doubter only crossed his arms and scoffed at the wizard, then whipped out and spun around a stone ax before he grasped it tight!

His lead followed, everybody else drew their weapons and magic, ready to attack…

But with a wave of their staffs, the cyclops mages shot out a burst of light and watched as the crowd all raced back!

The light stopped at the place in the fields where they once stood, before it slowly solidified and brought forth perfect clones of the team, all with scowls borne and a halo of rage surrounded.

The reals looked at their fakes in sheer shock in confusion, while the fakes grabbed their weapons and lunged forward! It was a battle of both mind and body as the groups went to war… Or at least they would've, if they could have actually told who was who! All around, friends became enemies, family turned against one another, and nobody could tell what was what!

"How're we supposed to tell who's real and who's not?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she narrowly dodged a cyclops that had thrust forward with a sword in hand.

"Try to look for a tell!" Cried the wizard as they teleported away from a furious-looking brawler, "Usually these kinds of clones have something small that sets them apart from the real!"

"That's easier said than done…" Chihiro only winced as she clenched her teeth and looked out at the brawling crowds.

There, a cyclops who wielded a stone hammer winced as they were flanked by a trio of cyclops warriors, all of which imposed over the hammer-wielding cyclops like the stone switch they had seen earlier.

"What are you standing there for?!" Exclaimed the ax-wielding cyclops as he glared down his ally, "Just knock them out already!"

"I can't!" Cried the hammer-wielding cyclops as they looked back at the one with the ax, "I can't tell which one's which!"

"Oh, forget this!" The ax cyclops groaned, then launched forward and smacked a cyclops on the head with the blunt end of his hammer!

"What was that for?!" Exclaimed the cyclops as they glared at the ax-wielder and rubbed the sore spot on their head.

Before he could respond, however, his victim's clone launched forward and knocked him out cold with the stone club they wielded! The illusion growled as it glared down the hammer cyclops and got ready to charge… But not before a syringe jammed into its neck!

Its eye closed as the syringe's fluid injected into it before it crashed back onto the ground and faded into light.

The syringe, meanwhile, flew back to its wielder… Eyeantha! With a smirk she blew off its needle and looked ahead, where her own fake stood tall and ready for a showdown.

The fake growled as it shot out a needle of its own, but Eyeantha swiftly stepped aside and watched the mistimed syringe hit the back of another illusion instead! As the illusion slowly started to fade, Eyeantha stepped up to it and looked at its eye… Then frowned, because the eye was completely blank! No iris, pupil, nothing! Just blank white space.

"Everyone!" Eyeantha exclaimed as she shot a syringe at the fake and watched it fade away, "The fake ones' eyes are blank up close—look for those!"

"Got it!" Chihiro exclaimed with a smile as she spun around and gave the medic a thumbs up.

Just then, Chihiro squeaked and ducked down, because Spyro had charged towards her and shot out a volley of flaming hot fireballs! With another chorus of squeaks Chihiro jumped out the path of each one, then high-tailed it north.

"Hey, stop it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she glared down Spyro, who was still in hot (no pun intended) pursuit, "Skylander code five says that Skylanders cant hurt their portal masters!"—Chihiro's eyes lit up as she jumped in the air and clapped her feet—"Woo-hoo! I got another one right!"

Chihiro's beam was short-lived, however, because a quick turn around saw that a fireball was fixed on her path! With a scream of panic she floated out of the way and watched it race into the stratosphere, then lurched over and breathed a sigh of relief… Only to hear a screeching sound and look up to see that even more of them were fixed on her path!

The battlefield had turned into a fiery game of dodgeball as Chihiro skidded and dodged each one, before she heaved an irritated sigh and looked back at Spyro.

"I really don't wanna do this to you, Spyro," Chihiro exclaimed as her hands flared with aqua, "But you're not giving me any other options!"

Chihiro let out determined shouts as she punched the air with her fists and sent a volley of aqua magic spheres hurtling towards Spyro… But not even one landed a hit! He merely dodged it like it was no more than a gnat!

"Just my luck…" Chihiro groaned and held her head, then cocked an eyebrow as she looked back, up, "Is it getting warmer out here, or…"

Chihiro looked back at Spyro, but he could barely be seen. However, the gigantic fireball he charged up certainly was!

"CRAP!"

Chihiro leaned forward and got ready to dodge, but before she could a purple blur zoomed past her and crashed straight into Spyro! Spyro screamed out in pain as the blur slammed into him, then… Began fizzling in and out of reality before he disappeared entirely?

Chihiro tilted her head in confusion, then smiled as the blur shook its head and revealed itself to be none other than the real, authentic Spyro! With smiles all around, Chihiro floated back down to the ground while Spyro flew down beside her, then Chihiro gave Spyro a thumbs up.

"Thanks for the save, Gold—" Chihiro said, before she stopped short as something leaped onto her back and caused her to stumble backwards, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Chihiro spun and flailed about in confusion as she desperately tried to get her mysterious assailant off of her back, then she finally got a hold of its arm and yanked off its balance! With a mighty yell she grabbed the thing and slammed it into the grass, its identity found to be… A clone of her!

"You!" Chihiro pointed right at the illusion of her, then put her hands on her hips as the illusion pointed back at her, "Stop copying me!"

The illusion Chihiro did not, in fact, stop copying its real self—it put its hands on its hips and stuck out its tongue, then snicked as the real Chihiro's face to turn as red as a cherry tomato!

"Alright, now you're asking for it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stormed forward and rolled up her sleeves.

Chihiro cried out as she punched her fake in the face! The fake stumbled back and rubbed the bruise on its cheek, then growled and leaped forward towards Chihiro before everything dissolved into one gigantic ball of violence that kicked up dirt and dust everywhere you looked!

Everybody else crowded around in some kind of odd fascination as they watched the two Chihiros fight, real and fake alike… Then the real versions looked at their clones and cried out! The fakes stumbled back in momentary confusion, but that moment of confusion was enough their real selves needed to launch forward and attack! The swift timing on their side, the real versions of the team broke into battle as they beat their fake selves back into nonexistence!

While the other clones faded away, Chihiro had pinned down her own clone and punched the clone right in the eye once more! The fake cried out in raw pain, then winced as Chihiro gripped its shoulder tight and looked up at Chihiro. Chihiro only smirked as lightning crackled at her fingertips, then with a snap of her free hand's fingers, lightning coursed through her body and electrocuted the fake self! As the fake self's body began to glitch out, it made a warped cry of pain then disappeared in a puff of sparkles.

"… Man, when people talk about beating themselves up," Chihiro remarked as she loosened her hand, which crackled with static still, "I don't think they mean it literally."

Frantic chatter gained Chihiro's attention as she looked over to the side, where the cyclops illusionists who had once looked pretty confident now seemed awfully terrified! As they waved their wands, Chihiro leaned forward and got ready to sprint after them…

But a couple of syringes beat her to the punch! Several of them launched straight into the illusionists and jabbed into their shoulders, which in turn cause the illusionists to fall asleep and crash onto the floor in a pile!

"Nothing like good old anesthesia!" Eyeantha proclaimed as the syringes flew back to her.

The other cyclopes rebels immediately went to work as they crowded around the illusionists with shuffling noises heard all around.

"Hopefully this will keep them here for a while," Insider remarked as they dusted off their hands and gazed over the illusionists, which were now bound together with tight, itchy rope a smidgen on the tight side, "Now, we've got no time to lose!"—Insider's gaze fixed itself on the stone switch—"Let's get those next couple switches!"

Spyro nodded in agreement, then flew up to the switch while his eyes flashed purple. He looked down at his paw and watched as an orb made of crackling magic formed inside, then tossed it at the eye! The eye's light faded as the orb made contact, then with a rumble it rolled off its pedestal and crashed into the ground!

Everybody cheered as Spyro flew back down to the ground, then gasped as a warp panel fizzled into existence in front of the switch's pedestal! With cheers and excited yells they all jumped on… But nothing happened.

"What's going on?" Chihiro exclaimed as she stomped on the panel, which only cast out a few sparks of magic in response, "Is this another trick?!"

"Nope, warp congestion," Insider replied as they stepped off the panel and sighed.

Everybody else groaned and mumbled as they all stepped off and crowded around the panel.

"Now, everyone, get in a straight line…"

§

A kind of morbid air lingered through the town as the second team trekked through its dusty, lifeless streets. Then again, it wasn't hard to feel sad just looking around the place… It was so sad and lonely. The stone was worn and its colors faded into sad-looking dullness, the only inhabitants of the streets besides them were dust bunnies and the odd mouse, windows were filled with cobwebs, dying plants rested in cracked windowsill planters… Everywhere you looked, there was just another sad, lonely sign of how lively this place used to be.

A couple of the cyclopes sighed as they fixed their eyes on their feet, clearly unwilling to be enveloped in the sights.

"This place seems really sad," Wrecking Ball remarked as he waddled up and looked around.

"No duh," scoffed a kid in the group as they tugged on their sleeve, "Everything here used to be so happy and fun, but now…"—they sniffed and looked at their feet—"Nobody even wants to leave their house."

"Y'know," whispered another child not much older than the first as they pointed to a tall stone house made of broken cobblestone, "Before mom and dad got forced into the army, I think that used to be our house. Dad would play the lithophone every night, and mom would sing the most beautiful songs…"

The second child sniffled as they pushed themself into the arms of the first, just barely able to hold back their tears. Their sorrow was far too big for their two bodies to hold, however, and soon they both cried into each others' shoulders.

"Eyeair, Eyedelle," whispered an elder member of the team as they drew Eyeair and Eyedelle into a gentle hug.

Wrecking Ball tilted his head and frowned as he looked back at the three of them, then turned back around and bounced up and down.

"You know what?" Wrecking Ball said, "All this sadness makes me hungry!"

"WRECKING BALL!" Prism Break scolded as he thwacked Wrecking Ball on the head with a crystal hand, "Can't you think about anything other than food?!"

Wrecking Ball whimpered as he rolled on his back, then jumped back up to his feet and stuck his tongue out at Prism Break.

"Don't you stick your tongue out at me, you—" Prism Break stopped as Wrecking Ball rolled off and out of sight and sighed.

"Stupid meanie Prism Break!" Wrecking Ball grumbled as he rolled further and further away from the ground, "He didn't have to hit me on the head like that!"

Wrecking Ball pouted as he finally came to a stop, then sighed as he flopped on his belly and felt it rumble. With a soft whimper he rubbed his aching belly, then sniffed the air and jumped right up!

"Mmm, something smells sweet!" Wrecking Ball sniffed and sniffed some more as his legs moved by himself, "Like strawberries!"

Wrecking Ball's mouth filled with drool, then with a cheer he curled into a ball and rolled straight to the scent's source! The further he rolled, the more and more intense the smell got, until finally…

"FRESH RHUBARB PIE!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he stopped short and popped out of his curl, "I'M LUCKY!"

Sure enough, right in front of Wrecking Ball on a simple stone plate was a slice of freshly-baked rhubarb pie. Its golden brown crust looked so crisply and flaky and warm, the strawberry jam and rhubarbs that made up its filling oozed with such flavor that it could make anyone's stomach rumble, and it was just so, so, tempting…

Wrecking Ball's mouth watered at the mere sight, then with an excited cheer he leaped forward and gobbled down the slice of pie in a fit of hunger! With a content burp he licked the strawberry jam off of his face… Then his eyes widened so big they practically took up half of his face!

There, right before him was a whole trail of delicious, sugary sweets! Bowls filled with all sorts of candy, plates of cupcakes, ice cream sundaes…

Wrecking Ball's mouth watered from the sheer sight! Then, with a hoot of excitement he rolled forwards and devoured the trail as he went down…

§

But while Wrecking Ball was doing this, Prism Break and the others had more important matters to attend to. He and the other members of his group had trailed through the town's empty roads, weapons trained in case of opposition, all in pursuit of the way to the second seeing tower!

"Y'know, it seems almost too quiet…" Remarked a cyclops that walked beside Prism Break with a stone hammer in hand, "There's no guards, no traps… Nothing. It feels kind of wrong, almost."

Prism Break cast the cyclops an aside glance and nodded. Truth be told, he did agree with them—this whole time they trailed down the way, nothing of serious danger had happened! It was almost like something big and menacing was right around the corner and ready to strike!

So with a grunt, Prism Break held a hand close and watched as it glowed with a bright light. At least he could be prepared. Just then, a rustling noise broke Prism Break out of his thoughts!

With a shout he swerved around and shot a laser to the heavens above, all in anticipation of some kind of military force or giant monster to fall down… But instead, a singed feather floated down from the skies.

Sure enough, a bird tweeted out in surprise as it flew further away in the sky!

"I really need to get out of here," Prism Break mumbled as he shook his stony head, "This place is doing weird things to my noggin,"—Prism Break turned back and looked at the cyclopes who joined him, all of whom stared at him with slight concern—"Does anybody here have a map?"

Mumbles and whispers bounced all across the group, then finally one cyclops woman stepped out of the group and pulled out a paper scroll.

"I have one…" She said as they unfurled the scroll to reveal the faded markings on its paper, "But it's only barely legible. Hopefully it can make do…"

"Here, let me see it!" The cyclops Prism Break was conversing with earlier spoke as they looked over the map and rubbed their chin, "Let's see, if that's that, and this is this…"

A few more cyclopes gathered around the map and tried to decipher its meaning, but Prism Break only heaved a sigh and turned away. Map-reading was never his strength, quite frankly, and he didn't really think he'd pick it up now. Besides, he had another matter on his mind.

Just what in Skylands is Wrecking Ball doing?… Prism Break thought as he gazed over the pathway, Shouldn't he be done with his little tantrum by now?

As Prism Break gritted his stalactites for fangs, his eyes zeroed in on the path he was sure Wrecking Ball had taken… Then a scream pulled him and everybody else out of their thoughts!

"Did you hear that?" Exclaimed the cyclops woman who held up the map.

"What do you think it was?" Asked another cyclops.

"Eyerene, if it's one of your pranks again…"

"It wasn't me this time, I swear!"

"Then what could it possibly be?!"

"I don't know," Prism Break interrupted as he turned back to the group and pointed down a split pathway, "But the sound came from there!"

The cyclopes put the map to the side as they ran down the path.

Prism Break watched them slightly and frowned. After all, he was pretty sure that following screaming noises down suspicious-looking paths wasn't entirely the best idea. But, he was assigned to help them, so unfortunately for him he had to follow through.

With a begrudging sigh, Prism Break tailed the group down the way, his eyes cast on the odd shadows and crevices all the way he saw. Something about this place felt foreboding and dangerous, like something was going to jump out at him right any second! However, nothing did any such actions as he finally rejoined the group, which was now crowded around something and whispering ominously.

"What's all this hubbub about?" Prism Break asked as he joined them, only to be met with concerned glances.

A few of them pointed to what seemed like a red splotch on the path—could it be?…

A cyclops dressed in blacks rags that brought to mind a secret agent knelt down on the ground, then swiped a finger through the red spot and sniffed it.

"Calm down, everyone, this isn't blood!" They proclaimed, "It's just strawberry filling! Like the kind you'd use in a pie!"

A few sighs of relief were heard from the crowd as some held their hands over their hearts, but Prism Break wasn't entirely as relieved. Something about this place didn't feel right… Who would be eating pie in the middle of a dark alleyway, anyways?

"For that matter, there's all sorts of foodstuff here!" Remarked the spyclops as they walked further down the pathway, "Crumbs… Whipped cream… Fruit…"

Everybody else trailed behind the spyclops with a kind of piqued curiosity, but Prism Break was only filled with worry. All that food couldn't have manifested out of thin air, it had to have been placed by someone… And didn't Wrecking Ball say he was hungry before he ran off?

I have a bad feeling about this… Prism Break thought as he focused his feet on the ground, then caught his rocky toe on a stray pebble and stumbled forward!

Unable to catch his balance in time, Prism Break fell like a stone onto the cyclops in front of him, which in turn caused a domino effect of everybody else in front falling down!

But it didn't stop there, no—they hadn't just fallen, just rolled down the slippery stone slope with a cacophony of screams!

Prism Break had wanted to tell everyone to shut up, quite frankly—he was not fond of loud noises and all—but between getting poked with every other person's elbow and jabbed in places he'd rather not mention, he couldn't get a word in!

Finally, the group crash-landed into a wide plaza, and for once Prism Break was glad he hit his head on something. At least he didn't have to listen to everyone's screaming anymore. With a groan he staggered up to his feet, then was immediately faced with a chorus of stone axes.

"Halt, intruders!" Cried a bulky cyclops in black stone armor, "You are in direct violation of the king's commands, and his majesty had demanded your surrender!"

Prism Break grunted and got ready to fight, his crystals lit a fluorescent green, and everywhere else his teammates were just as prepared while they drew their weapons and fists.

"What makes you think we'll go down without a fight?!" Demanded one cyclops from the group.

"Would this be of any inclination to you?" Said a dastardly voice as something stepped onto a stone balcony above them.

That something was a muscular cyclops dressed in armor decorated with fancy jewels—likely an indication of status, though that was hardly a matter of concern for Prism Break at the moment.

Rather, Prism Break was more concerned about what that cyclops had in his grasp, which was none other than a miserable-looking Wrecking Ball who was trapped in a solid stone cast!

"WRECKING BALL!" Prism Break exclaimed as he instinctively dropped his charged crystals.

The commander only cackled as he held up Wrecking Ball for all parties alike to see.

"It was all too easy to trick this little one into coming," he proclaimed as he bounced Wrecking Ball up and down like a cheap bouncy ball, "All it took was a little trail of baked goods…"

Wrecking Ball yowled in pain, then whimpered and turned his head away.

"And surely, you'll come just as easily!" The commander pointed a beefy finger at the crowds, "Guards, attack!"

And the guards did just that! They cried out as they traded blows with the rebels, whether they were exchanging punches, magic blasts or good old weaponry, but the battle was intense! However, those rebels were scrappy, Prism Break would give them that. Every time they were attacked, they'd pull themselves back up and fight right back!

But, Prism Break wasn't too concerned with fighting right now. He had to get Wrecking Ball out of there!

With a grunt, Prism Break threw his crystalline hands in front of his body, then watched as a gigantic laser tossed the soldiers collected in front of him aside. As they reeled back from the heat and the nasty burns they had gained, Prism Break ran as fast as he could, only a moment of pause taken to look up at Wrecking Ball.

The frown on Wrecking Ball's face stood present as ever, but it only grew deeper as the cyclops commander looked down at Wrecking Ball and cackled.

"Look what you got your buddies into, ya little worm!" The commander sneered from up above as he glared down at Wrecking Ball, "Because you couldn't control your appetite, they all fell into my trap!"

Wrecking Ball whimpered as he heard the commander's words, then struggled to squirm out of his stone cast—but his efforts were completely fruitless. The stone was far too strong to be broken from!

And the whole scene made the stones in Prism Break's body heat like volcanic rock. His eyes first cast aside to the cyclops guards he had attacked prior.

They were still reeling from the earlier attack, but a few of them had stumbled up and seemed like they were starting to recover. Clearly, he had to act fast!

Prism Break shot off a round of lasers at the recovering guards, then watched as they fell on their backs. As he watched them fall, his eyes glazed over his hands while they resounded with smoke and light… Wait, that was it! Prism Break smirked and clapped his hands, then watched as a gigantic crystal popped out of the ground from nowhere at all! His hands still fixed fast together, Prism Break rubbed them together and watched as sparks of heat formed in their surfaces.

Hopefully this'll get him out… Prism Break thought as he cast a glance at Wrecking Ball then looked down at the crystal, Now ready, aim…

"FIRE!" Prism Break shouted as a gigantic laser beam zoomed out from his hands and into the crystal!

From there, the beam became multiple as it shot out from the many different sides of the crystal and hit everything it could've—walls, barrels, the eye of unsuspecting enemies…

Prism Break then looked up and beamed—because from there, one beam had dug into Wrecking Ball's prison of stone and had slowly started to melt it! Yes, it was working!

But just then, that same beam shot backwards at him! With a shout of pain Prism Break watched as it dug right into his shoulder and made it so hot that it felt like he was in the core of the island, then stumbled back and held his shoulder. Well, tried too, anyways, what was his lack of fingers and all.

"Thought you could pull a fast one on me, huh?" The commander asked as he rubbed a fist against his chest, a fist that bore a shiny stone mirror, "I wasn't born yesterday, you walking pile of rubble! If I couldn't have guessed that, I wouldn't be a general!"

Huh, he was a general, not a commander. Figures. Prism Break didn't have enough time right now to care about that, however—the pain in his body engulfed him completely and made him fall to his knees.

"Prism Break!" Called a few of the rebels as they raced to his side, "Are you alright?"

Prism Break's head spun with so much heat that he could barely form the words to reply, and even if he could he didn't have the time!

The guards he had once blinded with his light had recovered and now had them all surrounded!

"GUARDS, TAKE THEM TO THE DUNGEONS!" The general proclaimed from above.