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)

16. Chapter 16

Next chapter of CHS incoming! Let me tell you, with how busy I was with my birthday weekend last week (I'm twenty now!) I almost forgot about this chapter - good thing I didn't!

Watch Seeker: Glad to hear that last chapter made your day a little less boring, I know a good read

Greenswitch: Glad to hear you enjoyed those scenes! The one between the captain and Jess was a personal favorite of mine too, mostly because I really enjoyed working with Jess! (And the issue you mentioned has been taken care of!)

(Also, small note but I am very glad that people responded so well to Terrafin, Slam Bam and Eruptor's relationship reveal!)

---

Though the outside world bustled with energy and life, this was hardly a concern for Chihiro as she trekked up one of the many spiraling stone staircases within the portal building, a simple but heavy-looking bag slung across her shoulder.

"Y'know, for something that's called the portal building," Chihiro panted as she sat down on a thick stair and caught her breath, "They really do have a lot of stuff that isn't portals. I should ask Hugo about that sometime."

Chihiro took a few breaths more, then slid her bag off her shoulders and flipped its flap open. As she examined its contents, she rubbed her hands against its burlap surface and smiled.

"Better make sure I have everything before I get there." Chihiro chuckled and gazed at the few sunbeams that filtered in through dusty windows before she looked back at her bag once more, "The instruction manuals, tools, snacks if things run late…"

Chihiro flipped the flap back over and heaved the bag onto her shoulders once more.

"Yep, that should be everything!" Chihiro stretched to the skies and bent her knees, "Better not wait any longer!"—Chihiro smiled and jumped onto the next step—"Hup!"

A newfound energy birthed itself in Chihiro as she jumped from stair to stair, her balance steady and careful so as to not fall all the way back down those stairs. After all, one slip up and it would be a long, painful trip back down…

Chihiro shuddered, then as she finally reached the top of the stairs she took a few steps towards a wooden door cracked just a smidgen open.

"And here we are!" Chihiro smiled and pushed the door open, "My workshop!"

The workshop itself was quite barebones save for the many stray papers and blueprints scattered across the floor, its dully-colored stone walls and floors only decorated by a clean workbench, a simple wooden chair cushioned with black pillows and… Something hidden under a white tarp tinted cream by the sunlight that poured in from the overhead window.

Chihiro slid her bag off of her shoulders as she skipped towards the table. As a twinge of excitement made shudders run down her body, Chihiro haphazardly flipped the bag open and dumped its contents onto the table.

"Now!" Chihiro spun around, then jumped on the chair and clapped her hands, "Time to get to work!"

As the last of her handclaps echoed through her tiny workspace, the books and tools she had dumped all over the table glowed with her trademark cyan light… Then sprung to their metaphorical feet!

"You know the drill by now, guys," Chihiro chuckled as she gestured towards the tools, who all nodded in turn to a worn drill, "And I'm sure you know what we're gonna do today! We've gotta make sure this thing…"

Chihiro jumped from her chair and walked over to the tarp-covered device.

"Is ready for presentation!" Chihiro grabbed the tarp then yanked it straight off!

As the tarp warbled in the wind, Chihiro beamed and gazed over the device rested under the tarp, a strange machine beyond any sort of description.

"So yeah!" Chihiro walked back to her chair and leaped right in, "Book, guide them along!"

The book bowed to Chihiro, then turned towards the tools and pointed its pages towards the strange machine. As the tools stood straight, the book leaped off the table and waddled towards the machine, the tools soldiers to a commander as they trailed behind the book.

"Hmmm…" Chihiro hummed as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixated on the strange machine while her tools did their thing, "Hmm…"

As she hummed and rubbed her chin, the book stood firm with its cover crossed behind its back. Its stance was diligent as it watched several mechanical tools, all of which were also animated with magic, carefully tweak the machine's inner workings.

"Okay, just a little more to the right…"

As Chihiro said this, the book stuck out a corner of its page towards the tools, who made some clanking sounds that vaguely sounded like words and went back to twisting a bolt tighter.

"Screw that screw in a few turns left…"

A screwdriver jumped from the cold, stone floors of the room and screwed a screw in tighter.

"Now just pair those two cables together…"

A pair of thickly-padded gloves leaped from the floor and did just that.

"And that should be all!"

Chihiro made a giddy smile as she leaped out of her seat, then spun around and giggled. As her eyes trailed over the machine, she paused in her celebration then walked over and rubbed her hand against its hodgepodge metallic surface with a kind of fondness.

"Man, I hope this thing helps everyone out some," Chihiro remarked as she wiped her hands off, "After all, I've been working on it for like half a week straight!"

Chihiro's gaze didn't fix on the machine long, however, for her eyes soon followed the warm beams of sunlight that poured in from the window above and brought a level of comforting warmth to the otherwise quite chilly stone room. From outside, one could hear merrymaking and cheerful chatter delivered from the outside world in a muffled symphony.

"Alright guys, take five!" Chihiro said as she watched the once lively tools become stiff and inanimate once more, "I think we deserve a break after all that work!"

And with that, Chihiro opened the room's sole door and hopped down the stairs without a thought even taken to close it. As she left, she paid no mind to the fact that her machine's panel was still wide open and accessible to any possible tampering and tainting…

However, the fly that flew into the room just did! It made a curious buzz as it flew over to the machine, then buzzed some more as it flew closer and closer to the panel's insides…

§

"Ah, this is the life," Chihiro spoke to the world as she plopped down onto the grass, "Just sitting down and relaxing on the grass. Man, I'm glad I picked now to take my break."

Truthfully, now was the best time to relax! Most everybody had preoccupied themselves with missions or indoor tasks, which left them precious little time to go outdoors. In fact, it was like Chihiro had almost all the space in the island! Her only companion was Stealth Elf, who peacefully meditated under the safety of a sturdy tree.

Chihiro smiled as she breathed in the crisp autumn air and closed her eyes… Only to open them once more as she heard muttering from above and saw Camo pacing about.

"Camo, what are you doing?" Chihiro asked, still half-asleep.

Camo, however, completely ignored Chihiro and went back to pacing and muttering. Strange, Camo was never really the contemplative type—what had him so worked up? Was there another beetle infestation in Master Eon's garden or something?

"Camo?" Chihiro leaned up and waved a hand in front of his face, "Camo! Hellooooo? Skylands to Camo?"

Camo dug his heels into the ground just in time to avoid slamming face-first into Chihiro's hand.

"Oh, Chihiro!" Camo chirped as he brushed his leafy tail against her back, his voice hinted with a slight trill of his Rs, "What's up?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" Chihiro tilted her head as she tapped Camo's muzzle, "What're you muttering about?"

"Well…" Camo looked down and scratched his head, "Last night, I had this really weird dream!"

Camo paced back and forth across the heart of Ancient's Peak, little mind paid to the crunchy, colorful fall leaves that littered the grass.

"Mm-hmm," Stealth Elf mumbled as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes.

"See, I don't remember anything about it. I don't think anything happened in it, really." Camo paused his pacing and sat down, a paw on his chin, "But, I do remember that I heard this strange voice!"

"Mm-hmm." Stealth Elf's ear twitched, but other than that she was still like a tall, sturdy tree.

"This voice… It was crying out for me to help it! And that's not the weirdest part!" Camo rubbed his head as he went back to pacing, "I'm sure I've heard this voice before! But I can't remember where for the life of me!"

"Eh," Chihiro uttered as she shrugged her shoulders, her gaze peaceful as she laid in the grassy fields, "It's probably not that big of a deal. I have weird dreams all the time!"

"I'm not so sure, Chihiro." Camo walked over to Chihiro and looked down at her, "I don't know why, but I feel like there's something super important about this dream! Like, I can feel it in my gut!"

Camo then frowned and shook his head. With another round of ramblings he continued pacing all around the area and crunching old autumn leaves underfoot.

Stealth Elf scrunched her eyebrows and twitched her ears, but took another deep breath and composed herself.

"Whatever." Chihiro shrugged her shoulders again and rolled on her side, "I think I'm gonna take a quick nap… Yeah, that sounds nice."

And with that, Chihiro smiled a quiet, peaceful smile as she closed her eyes. She seemed perfectly still and serene as she curled up into a snug, cozy ball… Until she snored as loudly as a human could snore!

Stealth Elf gritted her teeth and shuddered. Her brows furrowed even more than before, she took a deep breath in, exhaled, went back to her prior treelike stillness… Then fell face-first as Hugo barged in, completely absorbed in the papers he held as he muttered at the top of his lungs!

"Oh, sorry about that, Stealth Elf," Hugo apologized as he looked down at a very irate-looking Stealth Elf.

"It's fine," Stealth Elf hissed as she sat back up and returned to her prior position, "Just watch where you're going."

Chihiro stirred a bit in her sleep, then grunted and sat back up.

"Somethin' wrong, Huges?" Chihiro mumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes, their warm gaze trained on Hugo, "You seem more anxious than usual."

"Actually, now that you mention it," Hugo said as he walked over to Chihiro, "I've run into quite the predicament!"

"And that is?…" Chihiro brushed a couple leaves out of her inky hair.

"Well, I've found the Eternal Life Source…"

"And that's a problem?" Chihiro jumped to her feet as a new energy coursed in her veins, "Why aren't we going after it already?!"

"That's where the problem comes in." Hugo steepled his fingers and pressed them against his forehead.

"You see, it's located in the Great Forest, which we all thought was just a legend! So as you can imagine…"

"… You've got no idea how to get there?" Chihiro shoved her hands in her vest's pockets and frowned.

"Exactly." Hugo sat down on the grass and sighed, "I've looked through every textbook, every book of legends, every single resource I can think of!"—Hugo flopped down onto his back—"And it's gotten me no closer than before."

Chihiro just sat down next to Hugo and patted his head.

"I wouldn't worry so much about that kinda stuff, Huges!" Chihiro said as she ruffled his furry head, "Whenever stuff like this happens, something always conveniently pops up and helps us along!"

Chihiro laid down on the grass and made a content smile. "You just gotta lay back and let the universe do its work~"

"I hope you're right, Chihiro…" Hugo sat up and brushed the fur on his head back to normal. He seemed as if he wanted to say something more, but before he could speak his mind a low rumble resounded throughout the island!

"… Did you just hear that?" Hugo asked with a slight trill.

"If by 'that,' you mean that weird rumbling noise, then yeah!" Chihiro chirped as she shook her head, "Thought it was just me, to be honest…"

"It sounds like it's coming from that hole!" Camo prodded as he pushed into their conversation, his tomato red eyes fixed on an earthy hole not that far across from them.

Hugo, Chihiro and Camo all stepped towards the hole, and as they did the rumbling grew louder and intenser… Much to the disdain of Stealth Elf, who gritted her teeth underneath her mask.

"Will I ever get to meditate in peace?" Stealth Elf grumbled as she joined them over at the hole.

The four of them leaned forward as the rumbling grew the worst it had been, now so intense that the earth around the hole shuddered and crumbled in fear… Then something popped out from the hole!

Everybody screamed as they stumbled back, then caught their collective breaths as they examined the strange creature that had popped out from the hole.

It looked had the basic appearance of what seemed to be a leafy totem pole with limbs. Its skin was wooden and rough, with a grassy plain on top of its head and a pale yellow face covered in squarelike orange markings. It eyes were small, white and round, and a red tongue lolled out from its enormous mouth. Moss covered its shoulders and legs like clothing, and bare, pale yellow claws poked out from its hands and toes. Just what was it? None of them had ever seen a creature quite like it before…

"Ah, the water is fresh, the air is cool, and the earth is just right!" Proclaimed the strange creature with an incredibly goofy voice, "It's the perfect time to pop out!"

Everybody stood silent and blinked for a few moments, then...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT TALKS, IT TALKS!" Hugo screamed as he stumbled behind Chihiro and trembled.

"Geez, Hugo, don't be rude," Chihiro scolded as she nudged Hugo out from behind her back.

"Ah, my apologies." Hugo collected himself and tugged on his jacket, a trembling smile on his face, "Er, excuse me. But, who exactly are you?"

"Who am I?" The totem pole creature stretched its wooden arms towards the heavens.

"I AM ARBO! SON OF BARBO! CHILD OF LARBO! SPAWN OF CARBO! JUNIOR OF DARBO! SUCCESSOR OF HARBO!"

As Arbo continued on his spiel, everybody around stared him down with blank, confused stares… Save for Hugo, whose eyes sparkled with a light only intensified by his shiny glasses.

"Wait a second…" Hugo yanked a book out of his hood, "I recognize those names!"

Hugo poured through the book's well-loved parchment, then stopped on one section and gasped!

"I knew it! Larbo, Barbo, Darbo…" Hugo looked towards the others, "Those names are all documented here!"

"So you know what I am?" Arbo asked with a tilt of his head.

"Of course I do!" Hugo laid the book out for all to see, "You're one of the Tree of Life's emissary ents, aren't you?"

"I am?" Arbo scratched his chin, then made a wide smile, "I suppose I am!"

"Wait a second…" Stealth Elf said as she stepped forward, hands on hips, "You know all these names, but you don't even know what you are? What's going on here?"

"I'm not sure myself!" Arbo replied as he scratched his grassy top, "I've only just popped out of the ground, yet I have all these memories of things that aren't mine. For example, I can do something like this!"

Arbo gestured to a patch of weeds behind their group, and in moments it glowed with a powerful green aura! As its glow shone bright, the weeds twisted together and grew into a magnificent green tree!

Everybody oohed and aahed saved for a still-unimpressed Stealth Elf, who crossed her arms.

"So, if you're one of these emissary ents…" Stealth Elf crooked an eyebrow, "You wouldn't happen to know what those are, would you?"

"I…" Arbo rubbed his chin, eyes closed in contemplation before he opened them once more, "Don't know!"

So blown away by his answer, the strength in everybody's legs gave out at once as they faulted onto the leafy grass.

"Well, thankfully," Hugo said as he sat up and brushed himself off, "I can answer that question!"

Hugo retrieved his book from the ground and cleaned it off.

"Emissary ents are special ents born from the Tree of Life's powerful magic. They're created specifically for delivering messages from it to the people below its mighty resting place, the Treetop Terrace." Hugo closed his book and stowed it away back into his hood.

"That IS what I came here for!" Arbo exclaimed, his white eyes wide with realization.

"So what's your message?"

All eyes turned to Arbo with high levels of anticipation, but Arbo only cleared his throat and rubbed his fist against his chest.

"The Tree of Life has come to request help! The pointy ears have captured it and want to steal away its children, the Life Seeds!" Arbo explained, his voice matter-of-fact though its goofy tone made it seem less so, "And this is against nature's wish, for the Life Seeds are the only way to gain access to the Eternal Life Source's resting place!"

"WHAT!?" Hugo exclaimed.

"What did I tell you, Hugo?" Chihiro asked as she rested her arms behind her head.

"Pointy-ears?" Stealth Elf repeated as she stepped closer to Arbo, "Do you mean the drow?"

"Now that you mention it, that name does sound familiar…" Arbo tilted his head and sent flower petals cascading down onto the grass.

"That can only mean one thing…" Stealth Elf turned to an equally-concerned Camo.

"KAOS!" They both shouted in unison.

"Arbo, right?" Camo asked as he barged forwards, "Can you take me to the Tree of Life?"

"Me too," Stealth Elf added as she walked next to Camo, "My mentor told me the Tree of Life is the roots from where all Life Elementals came from. If something happened to it, it could hurt us all!"—Stealth Elf shot the area behind her a glare, her voice lowered to a whisper—"Besides, it doesn't seem like I'll get my meditating done anytime soon."

Arbo spoke not a word. He only nodded, then turned around and magicked up a gigantic beanstalk! This beanstalk had to be the length of the entire island stacked maybe twice over, its leaves as big as cars, and it stretched well past the stratosphere.

"After you," Arbo said as he gestured towards the lowest leaf on the stalk.

Camo and Stealth Elf warily stepped onto the leaf, then when they found it was quite stable they sat down and watched Arbo join them. With a clap of Arbo's hands, the beanstalk twisted up like a spinning staircase and they all slowly disappeared into the heavens…

Chihiro frowned as she watched the trio disappear, then with a sparkle in her eyes she turned over towards Hugo.

"Hugo, I just remembered!" Chihiro exclaimed as she clasped her fists, an excited grin on her face, "That thing's finally done! Y'know, for the exam!"

"It is?" Hugo made a wide grin as he cleaned his glasses, "I'll go get Master Eon!"

And with that, they both raced back to the island's collection of buildings…

§

"Here we are!" Arbo proclaimed as the creaking of the vine came to a halt, "The Treetop Terraces in all their glory!

Camo and Stealth Elf hopped off the leaf and onto a sturdy wooden platform, then gasped in awe as they took in the sights.

All around them were sturdy, life-filled trees with richly-colored leaves, large trunks covered in thick, solid bark and home to all sorts of fauna. Bugs, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, forestal dragonbunnies and a couple others they couldn't even name danced through the wild woods! Gigantic flowers bloomed from the sides of the various wooden platforms they stood on, their petals firm and colored in a rainbow menagerie of hues. Even the sounds of the forest were filled with life, from the chirping of birds to the singing of crickets to even the soft rustle of the trees' leaves as they were caressed by a passing breeze…

"It's so beautiful!" Stealth Elf whispered as she clasped her hands together, her voice laced with wonder.

And yet, Camo seemed almost discontent as he looked over the area, like it didn't quite live up to the expectations he had set… Or maybe there was something else on his mind? He looked troubled as his eyes drank in the surroundings, his snout curled into a frown.

"What's bugging you, Camo?" Stealth Elf cast Camo an aside gaze, "You're acting strange."

Upon hearing Stealth Elf's words, Camo shook his head.

"Oh, it's nothing," Camo said as he cast his eyes towards a gigantic hornet in some weird headdress that buzzed across the platform, "Hey!"—Camo looked up towards the hornet and made a friendly gaze—"You wouldn't happen to know where the Tree of Life is, would you?"

The hornet buzzed a bit more furiously as it watched Camo… Then its buzzing turned full of rage as it shot a stinger towards him! Luckily, Camo had dodged in the nick of time, but the surprised look on his face as he watched it vanish into the woods spoke all.

"Something tells me we need to do some pest control!" Stealth Elf proclaimed as she withdrew her daggers and somersaulted forwards, her blank white eyes fixed on the hornet!

The hornet buzzed loud as it readied its stinger to fire… But before it could, Camo leaped into the battle and tackled Stealth Elf out of the way!

The two of them tumbled backwards, groaned then shook their heads.

"Camo, what was that for?!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she glared down Camo, "I just about had that thing!"

"We don't need to attack it!" Camo shouted back, "The bugs here aren't aggressive!"

"Docile, my foot! That thing looks like it's ready to kill!" Stealth Elf took one look at the hornet that had just attacked them, then shot a glare back at Camo, "And how do you know that, anyways?!"

Camo only stepped back, a level of shock in his eyes. "I… I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?!" Stealth Elf cocked an eyebrow, out of sheer confusion, "Camo, that's—"—Stealth Elf's ear twitched as she looked ahead and ducked—"Bug!"

As Stealth Elf ducked, the hornet zoomed right over her back then stopped in midair and turned around. Its furious buzzing like ringing in everyone's ears, it readied its stinger and shot off a barrage of sharp, poison-laden missiles down at Stealth Elf and Camo!

The two of them cried out and jumped out of the way as these stingers tore through the area where they once sat and made a nice wall between the two. However, Stealth Elf wasn't one to be deterred! With a hup she jumped onto the top of one stinger, then sprung forward with her eyes trained on the hornet!

"Don't blink!"

The hornet readied its stinger to fire… And blinked as it released, only able to watch in surprise as the stinger slammed right into a straw scarecrow that bore a striking resemblance to Stealth Elf! It could only watch dumbfounded as the dummy fell into the depths of the forest…

"Told you not to blink!"

Stealth Elf smirked as she reappeared behind the hornet and kicked it in the back!

The hornet buzzed in pain as it shot forward and slid down onto the platform. It looked almost pitiful as it rested on its side, its wings crumpled slightly while its legs scrambled about in a hurry.

Camo made a frown as he stepped towards the creature, a sympathetic frown on his face.

"Now that's how you take care of things," Stealth Elf remarked as she popped back onto the platform with a confident aura in her stance… That soon turned to utter disbelief as she watched Camo stare down at the flailing hornet with sorrow.

"Come on, Camo, it's just a bug!" Stealth Elf walked up to Camo and crossed her arms, "I care about the environment too, but that thing did try to kill you!"—Stealth Elf shrugged as Camo shot her a glare—"Just saying!"

Camo shook his head, then gently tapped the ground below with his paw and wrapped the hornet in a gentle blanket of vines. As its struggling came to a close and its buzzes turned to soft snores, Camo stroked its worn head with an almost familiar level of fondness, as if it was someone he knew for years.

"Come on, Stealth!" Camo exclaimed as he looked back at Stealth Elf, a new level of worry in his eyes, "We need to find out why all the wildlife here's gone… Well, wild!"

Camo turned himself towards the northmost way of the platform, which held no traditional paths of gates. Rather, in its steed was a simple barrier made of tree bark with a crude wooden crank close by! With a simple few taps of his paws, vines manifested from the bark under him, then slowly cranked the crank!

In the few seconds it took Stealth Elf to teleport over to Camo's side, the barrier had gone down completely to reveal a series of wooden pathways covered in round, spiky cacti.

The two of them raced down the path as the cacti quickly receded, then stopped short as they found themselves before another bark barrier.

"The switch for this one should be…" Camo turned his gaze to the left, "There!"

His eyes trained on yet another branchlike crank stationed on a skinny, faraway tree stump, Camo summoned a ripe watermelon that just burst with flavor. As its rind grew more inflated, Camo parried it at the crank with his tail! Before it could even reach the crank, however, the watermelon exploded into a barrage of meaty fruit chunks!

Several of the fruit chunks slammed into the crank's handle and sent it spinning like a juiced-up soda bottle. The barrier shrank down in moments, which revealed a series of large toadstools attached to a gigantic tree stump positioned in a way that was almost akin to stairs!

Stealth Elf flipped herself onto the first, then the next, while Camo hastily jumped after her. With a grunt he pulled himself onto the third mushroom and panted, then looked up to see that Stealth Elf had already arrived at the top!

"Two can play at that game!" Camo proclaimed as he stomped his back paws.

A gigantic watermelon grew from where his back paws laid, then exploded and sent him flying over to the next mushroom! With another stomp he repeated the process again… And again… And once more… Until he finally vaulted over to where Stealth Elf stood!

"Took you long enough," Stealth Elf sneered, a hint of playfulness in her normally-serious voice, "You know, Camo…"—Stealth Elf stepped towards a wooden crank and took a grip on its handle—"The way you ran through this place, it's like you knew it by heart!"

"Oh, this is nothing!" Camo strutted over towards Stealth Elf and watched her lower the barrier, "Just wait till you see what's behind this one!"

The suspension hung tight as the barrier lowered and revealed that behind its wooden exterior… Was a series of gigantic, rubbery flowers!

"Time to have some real fun!" Camo exclaimed as he jumped up, spun in mid-air then slammed down onto one of the flowers, "WOO-HOO!"

Camo's cheers echoed throughout the forest as he bounced away from view, while Stealth Elf quickly followed. But as the two of them bounced further along the lengthy flight of bouncy flowers, Camo's lighthearted cheers faded into a quiet confusion.

"This is fun and all," Camo whispered as he flung himself towards the next flower, "But why do I know this place so well?…"

§

"BANBAN!" Chihiro exclaimed as she slammed the door to her makeshift laboratory wide open, "Welcome to where the magic happens!"

As Chihiro hopped away towards the machine, Master Eon and Hugo's eyes (Well, metaphorical eyes in Master Eon's case) glazed over the lab room with confusion and maybe a teensy ounce of concern.

"So, Chihiro," Hugo asked as he shook a stray torn page off of his foot, "Where is this machine, exactly?"

"You mean my pride and joy? The greatest accomplishment I've ever made in all eleven years of my life? The machine that'll surely let me pass my fifth portal master exam?"

Chihiro made a slightly concerning giggle, then stretched her arms towards a bulky machine to her left, "BANBAN! AGAIN!"

Chihiro pushed her arms a little further for emphasis.

"Introducing the Missionator!"

"Missionator?" Hugo frowned as he and Master Eon joined Chihiro in observing the machine.

It was… Certainly something, alright. The base consisted of three metal squares of varying length and attachments. The leftmost one was the smallest by far and had a metal slot akin to one that would belong on a printer smack-dab in the center. The rightmost one was a bit larger in comparison and had an open panel on its center, a crooked satellite on the top and a giant lever to the side.

The largest section by far, however, was the middle one!

It was about the size of the prior two sections stacked together, with a wide screen anf matching keyboard on its front paired with some kind of beacon on its top. The whole machine looked fairly worn with its old materials, various bandaging and hastily-covered flaws, and the rainbow hodgepodge of colors its metal came in… But it could probably work, right?

"Alright," Chihiro said as she placed her hands on her hips, "So, for my fifth exam you guys said I needed to make something that can help people using some kind of magic, right?"

"That is correct," Master Eon affirmed with a soft bob of his ghostly body.

"Well, using some animation magic, some tools and books I snagged off of Drobot and a little bit of elbow grease, I made this baby!"

Chihiro bounced up and down just slightly as she spoke, her fingers pointed towards all the various parts of the Missionator.

"You see, this satellite here gathers distress calls from all across Skylands, and then the hub of the machine—that's this big part here—processes it all…"

Master Eon and Hugo gave amused glances and chuckles as Chihiro rambled on and on with bubbling enthusiasm. Even though they laughed at her childlike joy, a ring of amazement flashed in their eyes as Chihiro described the machine's functions further.

"With all these different functions, organizing patrols'll be a snap!" Chihiro snapped her fingers and giggled, "Heh, just like that!"

"It's quite impressive, Chihiro!" Hugo replied as he adjusted his jacket, "But, that leads into our next question…"

"Does it actually work?" Master Eon finished as he flew above the Missionator and examined its exterior.

"See for yourself~" Chihiro said as she walked over to the machine's lever.

Chihiro rubbed her hands, jumped up and grabbed the lever tight! With a worn creak it slowly fell down from the sheer weight of Chihiro's entire body, while Chihiro herself stepped away and examined the machine.

A number of beeps and whirrs emitted from the machine itself as it began rattling with energy… Right as a bright flash of light enveloped the entire lab!

Chihiro screamed and flung her arms in front of her eyes, then let them fall back to her side as the light faded.

"Geez, that's definitely not supposed to happen," Chihiro groaned as she rubbed her eyes, "Did I leave a screw loose or something?"—Chihiro tilted her head and frowned—"And why the heck is everything gray?"

True to Chihiro's word, the entire room was now completely grayscale, from the colorful books and graphs to the stone on the walls right down to Master Eon and Hugo as they freaked out!

"Guys, calm down!" Chihiro exclaimed as she walked in front of Master Eon and Hugo.

However, they didn't even acknowledge her! Hugo just frantically paced back and forth as he ruffled his already quite frazzled fur while Master Eon flitted to and fro in a panic. Not that anybody knew what they were panicking about, since despite their mouths moving, Chihiro could barely make out what they were saying!

"Ch… Go… Wha…" Chihiro barely gathered from Hugo's distorted, warped speech.

"HELLLOOOOOOOO? Hugo!" Chihiro waved a hand in front of Hugo, "I'm right here, you know!"

No use, Hugo just kept running around like a headless chicken!

"EARTH TO HUGO!"

Chihiro bounced up and down, but when she saw that Hugo still didn't acknowledge her, she only groaned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine, be that way!" Chihiro huffed and turned back to the Missionator, "I'll figure this out myself!"

Surprisingly, the Missionator itself was still full-color, despite the fact that everything aside from Chihiro herself was muted gray! How could that happen?

"Eh, no use worrying about it right now," Chihiro said as she walked over to the Missionator and pressed a few buttons on its massive keyboard, "I should see if it actually worked first."

Chihiro turned a few knobs, then looked up at the screen with a hopeful grin… Only for that hope to fade as the screen emitted nothing but static.

"DANGIT!" Chihiro kicked the side of the Missionator, "Work, you stupid thing!"

A twitchy frown on her face, Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows as she twisted around a few more knobs on the keyboard panel. She made a quick gaze up at the screen… Then sighed and went back to pressing buttons and twisting knobs as it displayed only static yet again.

"Wait a second…" Chihiro let go of the knobs she held and stepped away from the keyboard, "Maybe I should check the inside!"

Chihiro walked back over to the rightmost side of the machine and made a deep frown.

"Strange, when did I leave that panel open?…" Chihiro stepped forwards and ducked her head under the panel itself, her eyes trained on the inner machinery, "I guess I must've forgotten to close it before I left for my—"—Chihiro jumped back a bit—"FLY!"

Chihiro shook her head, then peered back inside the cogs. Sure enough, a fly had gotten stuck in the inner workings and tried desperately to fly off!

"Don't worry, lil' guy!" Chihiro leaned against the Missionator with one arm rested on the panel and the other flailed about, "I'll get'cha out of there!"

As Chihiro pushed herself forward and leaned further over the panel, her free arm gripped onto something above her and unseen in an attempt to stabilize herself… Only to lose her balance and fall down as the thing she held lurched down! Chihiro groaned and shook her head, her eyes gazed on the Missionator to find that its lever had been pulled down!

"Wait, crap, what did I—"

Before Chihiro could say another word more, the Missionator made a sickly whir and vanished in a bright, all-engulfing flash of white, sparkly light…

"Do?"

§

With a hup from both parties, Stealth Elf and Camo jumped onto the final platform and shook themselves off.

"That was one trip!" Stealth Elf remarked as she plucked a leaf out of her braid, "Good thing you were here, though. You sure know your way around this place!"

"It's nothing! All just apple slices for me!" Camo chirped as he untangled a vine that had wrapped around his legs.

"Have you been here before?"

Camo stared into the open forest space with a blank stare as he heard Stealth Elf's question, his mouth gaped into a slow drop.

"I'm… Not sure." Camo held his head down low, his once blank expression now dusted with wide eyes and a deeper frown, "I don't really remember this place, but…"

Camo's mouth dropped open, then he shuddered and held his hand with both his paws.

"Camo, what's going on?!" Stealth Elf stepped back with wide eyes.

"I, I—" Camo looked at Stealth Elf with a heavy, pained frown, his pupils tiny and his leafy scales drooped, "I think something's—"—Camo grunted, then fell to his paws and shuddered further—"Ugh, my head…"

"A headache?" Stealth Elf asked as she knelt down towards Camo, "My master taught me a natural remedy for those,"—Stealth Elf grabbed Camo's horns tight—"Just let me grab on to…"

Stealth Elf's ears twitched as the sound of rustling leaves cried out from further ahead. Her grip on Camo's horns loosened while she looked over to the sound's source… Then tightened back up as she pulled Camo down to the platform and watched a sharp blade just narrowly graze their backs!

"Well, well, look what we have here!" Crooned a voice from ahead as someone else stepped closer and claimed the blade as it returned, "The Skylanders! What unwelcome visitors!"

Stealth Elf gritted her teeth beneath the cloth of her mask as she let go of Camo.

There, right in front of her were none other then drow! They were thankfully small in numbers, just a teal-skinned witch in darker teal robes and a couple of footsoldiers adorned in rusted armor that clasped tight onto metal spears. Nothing they couldn't handle, but it was still annoying to have them appear.

Stealth Elf reached for her daggers as the drow soldiers readied their weapons, then she heard a groan beside her followed by a thunk. Her eyes trailed back to Camo… But Camo didn't gaze back, for he was completely unconscious and asleep on the platform!

"Camo!" Stealth Elf called as she cradled his leafy body and hastily shook it, "Wake up! Now's no time for a nap!"

Camo didn't awaken—in fact, he made not a single noise as Stealth Elf continued to shake him. So, Stealth Elf only laid him back down on the platform and stood up, daggers in hand and brows furrowed in a way that almost invited a fight!

With a shout Stealth Elf leaped forward and plunged her blades down on the witch, but they didn't even make contact! The witch had cast a shield in the nick of time! So, Stealth Elf grunted and backflipped off the shield, then teleported away!

The drow soldiers and witch all frantically looked around, but no matter where they looked, they didn't find Stealth Elf, who teleported right behind the witch! Stealth Elf raised her blades and got ready to slice… only for several spears to shove their way in front of her! The drow footsoldiers had clearly found her! So instead, Stealth Elf slashed her daggers at them and sent them reeling back, visible rips torn in the poorly-kept clothing underneath their armor, then jumped in for the victory. She teleported out of the fray, only a straw scarecrow left to stand in her former place.

The footsoldiers stared in shock at the straw dummy, oblivious to Stealth Elf as she reappeared above them!

Stealth Elf dropped down, daggers at the ready, but midway through her drop something hard and magical slammed into her back and tossed her aside! Stealth Elf cried in pain as she crashed into the platform and skidded across, all while a chorus of laughter mocked her. She reached for her pockets to grab her daggers… Or so it seemed. Rather, she immediately shot out clouds of poisonous spores!

The soldiers and witch all broke into horrendous coughing fits as they tried and failed to clear the smoke… And better yet, they were wide open for attacks!

Stealth Elf kicked the soldiers aside and fixed herself on the witch, and in turn the witch opened her eyes, then gasped and flipped her blades in front of her.

These blades formed a turquoise light in their hollow centers which soon turned into a blast of energy! Thankfully, however, the sickness must have impaired the witch's aim, because the energy blasts just zipped out of the clouds with not a hair on Stealth Elf's head touched!

Stealth Elf smirked underneath her mask, then grabbed her daggers and leaped! Her daggers swiped inches away from the witch's face before the witch cast up a shield. Seems that the spores didn't impair the witch's magic, unfortunately. Stealth Elf went to attack against as the shield was cast, only for something to slash against her arm!

Stealth Elf cried out in pain as she fell to her knees, then looked to her side to reveal a nice gash with blue blood slowly poured out its surface. She only grimaced as she covered up the wound with her hand, then as a number of shadows cast upon her, Stealth Elf looked up. The soldiers and witch had imposed themselves above her, and were more than ready to attack!

But before she could, she heard a number of shocked screams and looked aside!

When Stealth Elf looked up again, all four of the Drow she faced were trapped tight in large, thorny vines and could only writhe around in a futile attempt to escape! But how?…

Stealth Elf's ears flicked as the soft prod of footsteps found their way towards her. She looked up as a shadow darkened over her… Then smiled at the figure she saw!

"Camo! You're alright!" Stealth Elf exclaimed with relief before she tilted her head in sheer confusion, "Why are your eyes glowing?"

Sure enough, Camo's eyes glowed with a bright, greenish-white light that masked their appearance. It almost made the normally goofy and lighthearted Camo seem… Intimidating, for lack of a better word.

"YOU WHO DESECRATE THE TREE OF LIFE!" Camo proclaimed with the voice of a thousand, "FALL BEFORE ITS POWERS!"

As Camo spoke, the vines he had cast glowed with a bright green light and tightened even further!

The Drow panted heavily as they tried to squirm, but it was still no use. All they could do was stand them and have the life squeezed out of them, literally!

"CAMO!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she raced over to Camo and shook him, "Snap out of it! What's going on?"

While Stealth Elf continued to shake Camo, Camo's eyes returned to their normal appearance… Right as he fainted in Stealth Elf's arms! Stealth Elf gently laid Camo down, then looked back at the Drow.

The vines hadn't faded from appearance, but at least they weren't hugging the Drow soldiers to death. They all heaved heavy, relieved breaths, then jolted up as Stealth Elf walked towards them.

"Alright, spill it!" Stealth Elf demanded, her eyes narrowed and furious, "What are you guys doing here?!"

The Drow grimaced and remained silent, save for one who broke out into a cold sweat.

"It was our commander's idea, I swear!" The nervous drow confessed at last, "Lord Kaos sent us out to find those stupid Life Seeds for him, and our commander told us to take over the whole place and make all the wildlife work for us!"

"And how would you accomplish that?" Stealth Elf crossed her arms.

"We have these special enchanted headset thingies that put the wildlife here under out control-ol-ol!" The drow sobbed a few more times, then glared back at the witch with watery eyes, "Well, we did before she lost them."

"LOST THEM?!" The witch exclaimed as she glared towards the soldier, "I would've still had them if you hadn't bumped into me on the way here!"

"YOU were the one who bumped into ME!"

While the two of them bickered like petty children, Stealth Elf shook her head and knelt down towards Camo, who slowly groaned as he stood up.

"Ugh, what happened? Did I eat a rotten fruit or something?" Camo groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head, "Stealth, do you—"—Camo's eyes grew wide as dinner plates as he saw the giant gash on Stealth Elf's arms—"HOLY ANCIENT ELEMENTALS!"

Stealth Elf looked down at herself and found the wound she had gained from the earlier fight, which still oozed with blue blood.

"Oh, must have forgotten about that," Stealth Elf remarked as she untied her bandanna and tied its cloth around her wound.

"How'd you even get that?!" Camo continued to fix his eyes on Stealth Elf's bandaged wound, too horrified to look away.

"Don't you remember?" Stealth Elf tilted her head, "Those drow attacked us, then you trapped them in those vines and practically squeezed them to death?"

"… I've got no idea what you're talking about, Stealth." Camo hopped onto all fours and shook his head.

Stealth Elf stood up, then raised an eyebrow down at Camo.

"Whatever, we've got things taken care of here." Stealth Elf dusted her hands off and walked passed the still-trapped drow soldiers, who only gawked at her as she left them hanging, "Let's move on!"

Camo hopped after Stealth Elf, an eager grin on his face as he rejoined her.

However, Stealth Elf wasn't very quick to return that eagerness—Camo couldn't remember a thing about that battle? Even the time he had jumped in himself? Why was he acting so strange?… Either he was playing one of those "elaborate pranks of a lifetime" he loved talking about, or something was wrong with him. And not in the "He doesn't know when to quit and is generally obnoxious way," but like. Something really wrong.

Stealth Elf sprung up as she heard an explosion, then heard a number of groans.

"WATERMELON?" Demanded the witch from the back of the crowd, "THOSE STAINS TAKE WEEKS TO GET OUT! WHYYYYYYY?"

Camo made a content giggle as Stealth Elf rolled her eyes at him. Classic Camo—guess he really did feel like himself now. Even so, as they moved on Stealth Elf couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with him, her eyes trained on Camo as they walked further on…

§

"So that's what happened up till this point," Master Eon explained as he hovered circles around Drobot while the light of his body glowed and faded in tune with his words, "Since young Chihiro borrowed the books she used to make the machine from you, perhaps you can help us figure out how she disappeared?"

"Potentially," Drobot replied as he drew his claws against the chin of his helmet, "However, I require data of the machine's design first. And unless you still possess a physical copy of the machine itself, that data would be quite hard to obtain."

Hugo and Master Eon both traded glances and gulped.

"Well… We could describe it!" Hugo said as he scratched the back of his head then held up a hand with three fingers, "It had three different parts, and I think the middle one was the largest?"—Hugo turned to Master Eon—"Or was it the right one?"

"It was the middle one," Master Eon replied as he bobbed up and down, then turned to Drobot, "And it had a lever on the rightmost side…"

"And a few panels…"

"And they all came in such a colorful array of metals! Also, I believe it had a gigantic screen in the center…"

"Yes, yes! And there were many different screws, and a gigantic keyboard…"

While Master Eon and Hugo continued to describe the machine, Drobot frowned and made what sounded like a mechanical hum. He perked up as a whooshing sound echoed through the room, turned around, then turned his gaze back to Master Eon and Hugo.

"This machine would not happen to look anything like that, perhaps?" Drobot asked as he pointed a claw backwards.

Hugo and Master Eon poked their heads over Drobot's shoulder and made twin gasps. Sure enough, there behind them all was Chihiro's machine!

"That's it!" Hugo exclaimed as he clasped his paws, his expression gleeful for mere moments before it fell once more, "But where's Chihiro?"

Drobot paid no mind to Hugo—he only hovered towards the machine and examined its open panel.

"I believe I have found the conclusion to your problem," Drobot proclaimed as he yanked something out of the panel and set it free, "A fly had gotten trapped in the inner mechanisms of the machine, a bug in the hardware, if you will."

Drobot then closed the panel, pulled the lever and watched as the machine whirred to life! He ignored Master Eon and Hugo as they joined him, for his attention was seemingly completely fixed on the strange machine as it bustled and buzzed and beeped with an excited tone. Then, finally, he walked up to the middle compartment, toyed with the keyboard and watched as it rattled off a list of potential assignments on its brightly-colored screen!

"So that was the issue after all!" Master Eon proclaimed as he watched the screen in amazement.

But, what Master Eon didn't notice was that Chihiro stood behind him in the strange, grayscale world, her arms crossed in contentment.

"See?" Chihiro remarked with a smirk as she watched the Missionator work away, "I told you guys it would work!"

Chihiro beamed in the success of her creation for a few moments, then shuddered and hugged herself.

"Geez!" Chihiro's teeth chattered as she rubbed her arms in some desperate attempt to warm herself, "Did somebody open a window?"

"Something is wrong here…"

"Huh?" Chihiro's arms dropped to her sides as she tilted her head, "What was that voice?"

"Something in this world does not belong…"

"WHO WAS THAT?!" Chihiro jumped at least a foot in the air, her face white as a sheet ghost.

"WHERE IS THE ANOMALY?!"

Chihiro screamed as her pale face turned purple from sheer horror, then with a gulp she reluctantly turned around… And screamed as she fell to her feet!

There, right before her were several gigantic grim reapers! Their beady pink eyes poked out from the shadows cast under their ragged purple hoods, and donned around their necks were giant pendants with intricate space patterns painted onto their surfaces in such detail that it almost looked as if they had an actual galaxy inside. The beauty would be admired normally… But their intimidating aura made it hard to enjoy the sights—and the gigantic, extremely sharp scythes they carried probably didn't help, either!

"CLEANSE THE ANOMALY!" The reapers proclaimed as one as they swung their scythes!

Chihiro screamed as she just narrowly jumped out the way of one and watched it crash into the wall, then frantically ducked underneath the second. As the third one went to swing, Chihiro spun around and made a beeline for the door.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Chihiro panicked as she jiggled the door's knob, "Open already, dangit!"

But it was no use—the knob didn't respond to her touch at all!

"Now's not the time to get stuck!" Chihiro yanked the doorknob some more, then kicked the door in a frantic motion, "OPEN UP!"

Still, nothing happened. The door didn't even make a sound as Chihiro's kick made contact, as if she hadn't even touched it at all!

"Crap! What's wrong with this thing?!"

"CLEANSE THE ANOMALY!"

Chihiro screamed once more as the reapers floated towards her with the speed of cheetahs, their massive bodies encased around her as they lifted their scythes, then rolled out of the way as they slashed straight through the door!

Chihiro panted and caught her breath as she looked up and briefly caught flashes of shock on Master Eon, Hugo and Drobot's faces... What got them so worked up? Chihiro didn't have much time to contemplate this, because the reapers had gone in for the kill once more!

With another scream, Chihiro closed her eyes and teleported out of their view! When she reopened them, she found herself within the hub of Ancient's Peak, her body leaned against the exterior of the tower that she once resided in. With a sigh of relief, she slunk down onto the grass.

"That was too freaky," Chihiro panted as she carded her hands through her hair, "Just what's going on in this place? Everything's gray and Hugo and Master Eon can't hear me and there's these weird reapers…"—Chihiro poked her head up—"It's like something out of a nightmare!"

Her breath now completely caught, Chihiro stood up and walked back into the heart of the island.

"Wait, maybe I'm just dreaming!" Chihiro pinched her cheek and yelped as the pain surged through her body, only to open her eyes and groan, "Nope, definitely not dreaming."

Chihiro groaned as she surveyed the island, still lively as ever despite the monotonous grayscale.

"Maybe…" Chihiro's eyes trailed over to the Far-Viewer where Cali and Persephone were engaged in deep conversation, "Master Eon and Hugo might not be able to see me, but someone else could!"

Chihiro hopped over to Cali and waved a hand in front of Cali's face.

"Hey, Cali!" Chihiro exclaimed, "I could really use your help right now! You see…"

Chihiro stopped short as she noticed that Cali had taken no mind to her. Rather, Cali was still just as engaged in her conversation with Persephone, which was barely audible and completely distorted to Chihiro's ears.

"Persephone?" Chihiro turned her gaze towards an elated-looking Persephone, who held a scrap of worn paper in her hands, "What'cha talking about?"

Chihiro's eyes glazed down to the paper.

"Oh, hey! That's the Fairy Kingdom map I found on my other mission!" Chihiro beamed back up at Persephone, "So, did you figure out when we're gonna leave—"

"ANOMALY!"

Chihiro made a sharp gasp as she felt a chill pour down over the area, then looked up and scrambled back. Right there, up in the grayscale skies were those reapers and they didn't seem very happy to see her!

"Crap, I need to get out of here!" Chihiro raced forward, only for a reaper to swing its scythe just inches away from her face, "ACK!"

Chihiro teleported away just in time for a reaper to plunge its scythe into the depths of where she once stood, which in turn sent giant fissures through the island! Entire chunks fell apart under her feet the moment she reappeared then plunged into the depths of the skies below, never to be seen again! Wait, hold a second... Chihiro shuddered as she noted that she was surprisingly light on her feet, then looked down to find that no, it wasn't her—the entire area below her had fallen below!

With another scream, Chihiro teleported back onto solid land and dashed into the forest, the chill of those strange reapers thick on her back. She knew for a fact that they were probably chasing after her, but she couldn't stop to check! She was more focused on getting out of this place! Chihiro hunched over and panted as she ran, then stumbled back into a nearby tree as more fissures formed under her feet!

Chihiro clung to the tree's trunk for dear life as she watched the ground below fracture further, then looked back to see another reaper yank its scythe out of the ground below. These guys sure were destructive, weren't they?

Chihiro gritted her teeth, then teleported in a flash of blue. As she found herself near the thankfully-unoccupied sanctuaries, she paused and rested against the crystalline walls of the Magic Sanctuary. Looked like everything here was still intact—maybe they couldn't find her here? If that was the case, perhaps she could rest here and figure out—

"FIND THE ANOMALY!"

Chihiro suddered as the reaper's bone-chilling voice echoed throughout the island and informed her that nope, that wasn't the case! Chihiro winced as she saw their shadows creep down across the ground, then gritted her teeth and teleported away. Hopefully this time she could shake them...

§

"Huh, there sure are a lot of pulleys here," Stealth Elf remarked as she crossed her arms.

Her blank eyes were trained up at a series of gigantic wicker baskets, all held together with an old-looking rope and wheel pulley system like something from the ancient times. It seemed awfully unsafe, but it didn't look like there were any other options for them to move around. So, looks like a little risk-taking was necessary.

Camo waltzed up to the first basket, then rapped his paw against its surface and watched as the front of the basket swung open. With a smile he hopped inside and beckoned for Stealth Elf to join him, which she did shortly afterwards.

"You know, Camo, there's something I've been wondering about…" Stealth Elf said as she grabbed onto the basket's rope and began pulling it down.

"What is it, Stealth?" Camo asked as he tilted his head, "You can ask, I'm all…"—Camo snapped his claws and watched a ripe pear grow in his paw—"Pears!"

If Stealth Elf had pupils, she surely would've rolled her eyes. However, she did not, so she only cast Camo a tired glance and continued to pull up the basket.

"Back at that place, before we got interrupted by those drow…" Stealth Elf twitched her ear as she brought the basket the highest it could go, "What were you going to tell me?"

"What are you talking about?" Camo tilted his head, then turned around and summoned a few vines.

Stealth Elf tugged the rope to make sure it was sturdy enough to stay, then walked over to Camo's side and watched him crank a nearby wooden lever with the vines he had summoned.

"You know." Stealth Elf jumped onto the edge of the first basket, then flipped into the second as it came close enough in range, "When I asked you about how you know this place so well?"

"Oh, right!" Camo jumped into the second basket and made an awkward chuckle, "Truth is, I don't really know myself…"—Camo's cheery gaze faltered just a bit as he looked down at his paws, "It's strange. I don't remember this place at all, but something in my gut feels like I've known it my entire life!"

Camo leaned against the basket's side as Stealth Elf pulled it up higher.

"I wish I did, though. It won't stop bugging me, like those obnoxious fruit flies that keep messing up the garden!"

Stealth Elf made a contemplative hum as she held the rope tight and steady.

"You probably wouldn't get it, though."

"No, I kinda understand what you're talking about." Stealth Elf pulled the rope once more, "I don't really remember what my life was like before I woke up in that tree trunk…"

Stealth Elf looked down at the endless forest below, her gaze more contemplative than afraid as she watched the leaves pass her by.

"All those years before then are just, gone. There's just a big part of my memory missing… It's like a whole part of my life just never happened."

"We're two apples from the same tree, then!" Camo made a slightly sympathetic, slightly uneasy chuckle, "I don't really remember anything that happened before I woke up on my old island. My family, my past… It's all one big blur!"

Stealth Elf had no more words to say on that subject, so she only went back to pulling up the basket once more.

"And those weird headaches?" Stealth Elf added as she cast Camo another glance, "Or the glowing eyes and stuff?"

"Glowing eyes? That's new." Camo heaved a sigh as he gazed up at the trees, then watched as a leaf fell onto his snout, "Your guess is as good as mine. I still don't remember a thing about that."

Camo shook his head and watched the leaf fly away on the autumn winds

"All I've got is this weird angry feeling I get when I saw those drow messing the place up! It felt like they were destroying a part of me!"

"Well, that's no surprise." Stealth Elf finished heaving up the basket and hopped into the next, "The Tree of Life is the where all life came from!"

"But it's not like that!" Camo insisted as he hopped into the next basket, then pulled the door shut and watched them slide down, "It was like they were destroying my home!"

"Destroying your home, huh?" Stealth Elf crossed her arms as the basket finally came to a stop, "Well, whatever, this should be our stop!"

Stealth Elf looked out towards the wooden platform they had stopped by, which had tons of worn barrels poured down its slopes. She hopped out of the basket, stretched her arms, then narrowed her eyes and vanished completely from the view of those around! This was only for a second, however. In moments, she reappeared on top of one of the barrels and somersaulted over that barrel to the next. Stealth Elf was a gymnast on stage while she bounced, flipped, and jumped across the storm of barrels as though this was merely a simple exercise for her.

"Stealth, wait up!" Camo exclaimed as he jumped over one barrels, then zapped another with a fireball that radiated with the sun's warmth.

That, however, wasn't a very good idea—because the moment the fireball made contact with the barrel it exploded into a flurry of red flames and baked seeds!

"Explosive peppers?" Camo chuckled as he shielded his eyes and licked his snout, "Mmmm, chili!"

Once the clouds cleared, Camo wiggled his rear and leaped on top of one barrel more! With a few shouts of surprise he struggled to keep his balance, then leaped onto the next one and the one that followed before he finally flipped forward and landed next to Stealth Elf.

"Not bad," Stealth Elf remarked with an approving cross of her arms… Well, if an arm cross could be approving, "Now, let's get going before—"

Stealth Elf and Camo ducked down as a flurry of yellow, orange and black swarmed just narrowly above them, all paired with the sound of frantic buzzing that had an almost fearful tone to it.

"WASPS!" Camo exclaimed, only to frown as they passed him by, "But, what are they running from?"

"GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID BEES!" Exclaimed a shrill voice from across the platform.

Frantic panting was heard as a drow draped in green clothing ran across the platform, a strange device that vaguely resembled a headset clasped tight in a sweaty, slender hand.

"Those things are faster than they look." The drow panted some more, his back leaned over for moments before he pulled himself up, "But so am I!"

The drow then trailed his eyes towards a hornet who had gotten trapped in a thicket and smirked, his grasp on the headband now a little tighter than before.

"Over here, little bee…" The drow crooned as he stepped closer and closer to the terrified hornet and raised the headband high "Just let me—ACK!"

Before the drow could even seat the headband on the hornet's head, however, something tossed him to the ground and sent the headband skidding!
And that something… Was none other than a furious, glowing-eyed Camo!

"HOW DARE YOU LAY HARM TO THE CARETAKERS OF THE TREE!" Camo proclaimed in that legion of a thousand voice again, "HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!"

"This is going to be a pattern, isn't it?" Stealth Elf bemoaned as she crossed her arms.

The hornet the drow had targeted frantically freed itself, then flew away in a hurry and for good reason, too. Camo was furious and fully ready to fight!

The drow grimaced as he shimmied away from Camo and jumped to his feet, but Camo was not one to give up! Camo only lifted his horns and sprouted vines all around the platform, everyone around now trapped inside its center… And everyone outside completely blocked out.

The drow screamed out in fear as he frantically tried to pry away the vines, only to gasp and run off as a gigantic fireball shot out of Camo's mouth and slammed straight into the vines! The vines themselves were firm enough to extinguish the flames the minute it made contact… But the drow was unfortunately not as fireproof. So, the drow screamed and stumbled about as Camo shot off round after round of flaming hot fireballs! Though, not a single one made contact. In fact, the volleys had grown so frantic and rushed that they seemed to just shoot whatever was in reach!

Stealth Elf herself had to teleport away from where she spectated the battle as a fireball crashed down nearby! Just what was he doing?!

"Watch it, Camo!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she poofed into existence near Camo and tried to pull him back, "You're shooting those things everywhere!"

But Camo didn't pay mind to Stealth Elf at all. He just thrust himself out of her grasp and went back to chasing after the drow, who was still trying to escape with increasing franticness. As Camo got ready to shoot off another fireball, the drow gulped and turned around, then screamed and teleported away! While the drow teleported every which way, Camo continued to shoot off gigantic fireballs, and, quite frankly, heat the place up by a few decades of degrees.

Stealth Elf, meanwhile, grunted and withdrew her daggers.

"Looks like it's my turn," Stealth Elf whispered as she closed her eyes, "Tag team!"

With that said, Stealth Elf blipped out of existence and reappeared in front of the drow as he tried to escape! In response the drow tried to run away once more, but Stealth Elf only teleported in front of him again! So, the drow just teleported a few feet away. Looks like two could play at that game… Stealth Elf teleported in front of the drow and watched as he fell on his rear from surprise with a hidden smirk.

She raised her daggers, now ready to strike… Then felt the heat of a thousand suns and gasped as she turned around! There before her was none other than a gigantic fireball hurtled her way!

Stealth Elf quickly teleported outside its path, but the drow she was about ready to stop was not that fortunate. He could only watch as the fireball slammed straight into him!

Stealth Elf reappeared and gasped as the fireball exploded into bright flames then quickly extinguished itself. Nothing was left behind of its attack other than a few black singe marks on the vines around, not even a corpse or a pile of ashes… Something was up!

Stealth Elf turned around, ready to speak… Then her eyes widened as she saw that same drow creep up beside Camo, his strange headband held over Camo's head.

"Camo, look out!"

Stealth Elf went to teleport, but she was far too slow just this once!

The drow slammed the headband onto Camo's head before he could even notice, they watched with pleasure as Camo closed his eyes and fell lifeless onto the floor!

"CAMO!" Stealth Elf popped beside Camo and cradled his unconscious body, her eyes filled with fury as she glared down the drow, "What did you do to him?!"

"Calm down, forest girl," the drow smirked as he looked down at Camo, "He's far from dead. In fact, I'd saw he's quite lively!"

As the drow spoke, Camo stirred a bit and pulled himself out of Stealth Elf's arms. When he stood up, however, he spoke not a word. He only stared down Stealth Elf, then stomped his feet and sent a giant vine of red-hot peppers in her direction!

"What the?!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she teleported away right as the peppers exploded, then reappeared a good few feet away, "Camo, what are you doing?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Sorry to say, but he's completely under my control now!" The drow proclaimed as he stroked Camo's head, "Dragon! Take that Skylander out, right now!"

Camo only nodded, then stomped his feet a few times in a row.

As he did this, gigantic vines sprung to life from the platform they were on and wrapped tight around Stealth Elf! Stealth Elf winced as they squeezed her tight, then closed her eyes and teleported out of their grasp. She fell to her knees and caught her breath, but was only given a few key moments to do so for right after, a barrage of fireballs flew towards her direction!

"Huh?!"

Stealth Elf looked up and winced. As the fireballs swung closer, she leaped and teleported out of the way, but didn't stop to watch them crash into the vines that walled off their arena. She was too busy fighting for her life!

"That's it, dragon!" The drow smirked and clapped his hands, "Oh, I love it when things go right!"

"Camo, what are you doing?!" Stealth Elf shouted as she somersaulted over a gigantic watermelon he sent her way, "It's me, Stealth Elf! We're allies, remember?!"

Camo spoke not a word. He just summoned several bananas and flung them towards Stealth Elf like boomerangs! It was so wrong seeing the normally energetic and talkative Camo like this, completely silent and still as he drove his ally into ruin.

"Camo, we're Skylanders!" Stealth Elf shouted as she kicked and punched the bananarangs out of her way, "We're not supposed to fight each other like this!"

"You're wasting your breath!" The drow smirked towards Stealth Elf, "Your little buddy is under my complete control now! He can't hear a word you're saying!"

"You're wrong!" Stealth Elf teleported out the way of a fireball, "The real Camo's in there somewhere, I know it!"

As another string of fireballs shot Stealth Elf's way, she teleported out of their trajectory and grimaced.

"I hope I'm right…"

§

"Wrench," Drobot said as he held a hand towards a sweaty Hugo.

"Here," Hugo replied as he handed a wrench towards Drobot, then watched Drobot turn a few bolts and place the wrench aside.

However, that was only for a few seconds before his eyes trailed back over to the door that had gotten split in half out of seemingly nowhere. The doors in this building were old, but not that old! And just splitting clean in half with no prior prompting? What could have possibly happened?

"Screwdriver." Drobot handed a paw out towards Hugo once more, his eyes still fixed on the open panel before him then pushed it again, "Screwdriver!"

"Here." Hugo handed off the screwdriver towards Drobot and bit his lip.

All remained quiet as Drobot and Hugo worked in silence on the machine, the only sounds being mechanical work and that of faint twinkling as Master Eon flitted about the room in a frantic haste and shuddering.

"So, have you figured out how to find her?" Hugo questioned as he pushed himself next to Drobot, "Have you?"

"I would be able to properly analyze the problem if you did not press me, Hugo," Drobot scolded as he pushed Hugo away with one of his mechanical wings, "In so far, I have come to negative conclusions."

"Of course." Hugo sighed, then turned his attention to Master Eon, who still shuddered.

"Is something wrong, Master Eon?" Hugo ran up to Master Eon and clasped his paws, "You're shaking an awful lot! Is there a draft bothering you?"

However, Master Eon paid no mind to Hugo—he continued flicking about and muttering something to himself.

"What was that strange presence?..." Master Eon mumbled as he glazed over Chihiro's tool-infested table.

Hugo wrung his paws together, then frowned as something that sounded like a soft rumble echoed throughout the room.

"Did everyone hear that?" Hugo turned to Drobot and then Master Eon, only to wince as they both nodded.

"Is that an earthquake?"

The rumbling grew louder as they were all tossed to the floor, though thankfully the machine itself remained intact. Hugo grunted as he hit the cold stone face-first, then moaned as he crawled about and reached for his glasses.

"Glasses, glasses…" Hugo patted his paws against the stone floors, then beamed as he grabbed onto his glasses, "Oh, here they are!"

Hugo smiled as he propped his glasses back onto his face, then frowned and tilted his head upwards.

"Wait, did anyone else hear screaming?" Hugo turned to Master Eon and Drobot then scoffed as they gave him strange looks, "Don't give me that look, it isn't me this time!"

Hugo scoffed again as his browns clenched, then he jumped to feet as footsteps and panting echoed through the room!

"Master Eon, it's awful!" Cali exclaimed as she stumbled into the room, eyes wide and sweat rained down her head.

"What's awful, Cali?" Hugo asked as he ran up to Cali, "Is something going on?"

"The island…" Cali made several frantic hand gestures as she spoke, "It's falling apart!"

"FALLING APART?!" Hugo jumped at least a foot in the air, then hastily ruffled his fur as he made his landing, "That can't be!"

"Just look outside if you don't believe me!"

As the rumbling grew more intense, Cali lead everyone down the stairs. The whole room shuddered and rattled along with the earthquake-esque rumbling that grew louder and louder. Crumbs of rock and sawdust cascaded down from the ceilings while larger bricks popped out of the walls like they were made of air! And, to be honest, that didn't exactly make Hugo feel any better.

Creeeaaaaakkkkkkkkkk…

What was that? Oh no, don't tell him… Hugo bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling, only to scream as part of it buckled and sent a gigantic bookshelf crashing down on the stairs behind them! The force from its blow was so great that it not only broke the staircase in half, but vaulted everyone off the stairs and out the doors!

They all collapsed in a pile, but only for moments as the crash of a nearby boulder made them jump back to their feet and face reality.

Sure enough, Cali was right… The island was falling apart! Gigantic fissures carved themselves in the earth while entire chunks of buildings crashed down into the abyss. Everything fell apart as if it was made of sand or children's crafting dough, it was horrible! Hugo could barely bring himself to keep his eyes open as everybody else gasped.

"How is this happening?!" Hugo croaked as he covered his mouth with his paws.

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Cali shouted back, before she turned around and widened her eyes, "Persephone, look out!"

Cali grunted and sprinted forward right to where Persephone was trying to race against a cliff face that was slowly falling off from the rest of the island. As Persephone scrambled to the top, Cali lunged forward and pulled Persephone to safety! Once Persephone was safely in her grasp, Cali jumped away and bridal-carried Persephone as they both watch the broken cliff-face sink into the oceans below.

"Are you alright?" Cali asked as she tightened her grip on Persephone.

"Thanks to you, happy Cali!" Persephone exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Cali, only to fly out and lift Cali up while the quakes grew more intense, "Come, now! I believe the rescue balloons are already on their merry way!"

As Hugo, Master Eon and Drobot watched Cali and Persephone take leave, Drobot flicked a switch on his mechanical wings and hovered above the others.

"I will aid in the relief efforts," Drobot said as he hovered ahead and turned around, "Will the two of you be able to calculate the root of this problem?"

"I'm sure Master Eon would know what to do!" Hugo promised as he turned and made a wide, shaky grin towards Master Eon, "Right, Master Eon?…"

"The strange presence is only growing…" Master Eon muttered to himself and shuddered, completely oblivious to Hugo's presence beside him, "Something is very wrong here."

"Yes, yes, I'm pretty sure the whole island falling apart is definitely something very wrong!" Sweats droplets formed on Hugo's brow as he forced himself to smile wider, "Now how do we fix it?"

Master Eon, turned to Hugo and glowed much brighter than before. "Hugo, we must return to the machine this instant!"

"But, Master Eon!" Hugo exclaimed as Master Eon grabbed his paw and pulled him back into the portal room, "What about the island?"

"I don't have time to explain!" Master Eon shot back as he flew ahead, "Just follow me!"

Hugo winced and made a slight waver of hesitation as he watched Master Eon slam the portal building's door shut with magic, but ultimately conceded as Master Eon levitated them both on the remaining part of the stairs that was still intact. No words were spoken as Hugo dashed up the stairs as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, but their urgent pants conveyed enough fear to last Hugo a lifetime.

As the two of them jumped through the vast, open space that once held a door, Hugo breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the room and all its bearings save for the door were still intact, but that way Master Eon kept shuddering indicated that something was still amiss.

"I was not sure at first, but now I'm fairly certain." Master Eon turned back to Hugo and bobbed with utmost urgency, "There's a disturbance in the spacetime continuity!"

"Spacetime continuity?" Hugo repeated as he took off his glasses and wiped them clean, "But how, and why?"

Master Eon floated towards the machine the machine and sighed.

"I had studied this subject extensively in my youth, so I have some ideas…" Master Eon glowed a bit brighter as he examined the machine, "I believe that when the machine disappeared, it dropped young Chihiro into another dimension entirely!"

"That would explain why she didn't return…" Hugo placed his glasses back on and bit his lip.

"Legends spoke about what happens in scenarios like these in my youth. Because she is not native to that dimension, the continuity had been disturbed! And when the continuity is disturbed..."

Master Eon shuddered once again. "It awakens the reapers."

"Reapers?" Hugo blinked and rubbed his glasses, "Like the ones who ferry the undead?"

"Somewhat." Master Eon bounced from area to area as he gathered up stray tools and whatever else, "These reapers, guard the spacetime continuity from any and all anomalies that dare disturb it. When they awaken, they'll stop at nothing to keep reality from unraveling at the very seams… Even if it means destroying everything in their wake!"

Master Eon looked towards Hugo. "And when something in one dimension is destroyed, the damage is immediately brought to all versions of it across dimensions as well."

"That means..." Hugo's eyes widened in shock, but nonetheless he pulled himself together and nodded.

"We have to bring her back, now!" Master Eon and Hugo exclaimed in unison, though their determined turned into frowns and confusion soon after.

"But how?" Hugo asked as he prodded up to Master Eon.

"I may have an idea…" Master Eon remarked as his metaphorical eyes glazed over Chihiro's machine.

§

When Camo opened his eyes, he found that he wasn't into the treetops anymore. Heck, he wasn't even entirely sure that he was anywhere anymore! All around him was nothing but blank, white space dusted with the occasional rain of faint sparkles… Had he died? Was he in the afterlife, waiting to be judged or something?

"Vitali!" Cried a voice from ahead.

"Huh?" Camo uttered as he tilted his head, "Who's calling my name?"

And more importantly, how would they know his real name? Only maybe a handful of others knew the name he had before he took on his Skylander name…

"Vitali!"

Camo grimaced, then reluctantly walked closer to the source of the voice. Its gentle, warm sound echoed all across the blank white nothingness, but it didn't do much to reassure him. Rather, Camo felt some kind of wariness as he heard it. He was absolutely certain that he recognized that voice from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where!

"Wait, now I remember!" Camo remarked to himself, "It's that voice! The one from that dream!"

Camo then looked ahead and gasped before he fell into the dragon equivalent of a formal bow… Because before him was none other than the Tree of Life in all its mighty glory!

Its strong, warm brown trunk glowed with luminescent, rainbow-colored veins, its leaves were as green as the rind of a ripe watermelon and gently rustled against the harsh white life, and all around it was an aura of powerful life. Came couldn't help but feel small as he stood before it.

Was this the source of the voice?

"Vitali, there's no need to be so formal," The tree said, its tone gentle and full of warmth, "Why would you have to bow to your own parent?"

"My… Own parent?" Camo echoed as he got up and stumbled back. True, the Tree of Life was one of the greatest sources of Life magic, so in a sense it was the parent to almost all who fell under that elemental alignment…

"Vitali, my dear child…" The Tree gently stretched out its branches towards Camo and cradled him in its arms, "Oh, how I've longed to hold you in my branches once more."

Camo spoke not a word, he could only blink from the sheer confusion of all this. He wanted to ask about it all, he really did, but something about the way the Tree of Life embraced him made him not want to open his mouth… He just wanted to bask in this strange, warm feeling of safety he now felt… Was it nostalgia, perhaps?

Camo's confused eyes widened as something finally came to him—a memory! He could picture it in his mind so clearly, of being small and furled in the grasp of branches so warm and sunny. Branches that nestled him so tenderly like that of a parent's… He could envision it so vividly, a picture-perfect memory of a distant past!

"You're starting to remember now, don't you?" The Tree asked as its leaves drifted down and landed on Camo, "Those days we spent together, you asleep in my branches while the wind whistled you songs of days gone by…"

Those memories… Camo felt them so clearly, but at the same time they felt so distant and wrong, like they weren't of his own?

"Err…" Camo finally brought himself to shake his head and hop out of the Tree's arms, "I'm sorry, but, I don't really know what you're talking about…"

The Tree only made a sigh of an almost disappointed nature.

"I suppose you wouldn't recall everything in this moment…" The Tree of Life receded its branches, "Vitali, you truly are my child, even moreso than most of your element. I've raised you since you hatched, after all."

"WHAT?!" Camo stumbled back and fell on his rump. No way, this had to have been a dream! The mighty Tree of Life, his parent? Surely he would've…

"When you were just an egg, you were left at my roots." The Tree's leaves were caressed by an invisible wind as its spoke with a level of fondness, "So when you hatched, you were ripe with Life Element energy beyond anything I had ever seen!"

A heart-shaped leaf fluttered down from the Tree and landed on Camo's paw.

"It was only natural that I'd take you in and raise you as my own…" The Tree's leaves shook as if it was shaking its nonexistent head, "No, all of us, from the hornets to the rodents to even the smallest flower, we all cared for you as our child!"

Camo gingerly picked up the leaf the Tree had given him and examined it as he tilted his head.

"Oh, it was such a lovely time." The Tree chuckled as its leaves shone bright, "You'd play with the squirrels and bunnies till sundown, then at night you'd rest in my branches while the tree told you stories of ancient days… You'd even surprise the insects with those exploding watermelons you loved so much!"—The Tree chuckled once more as it tickled Camo's chin with its roots—"It was quite humorous, if I'd say so myself."

Camo frowned deep as he clutched the leaf tighter, the Tree's words resonate in his head. All those things the Tree mentioned, they did sound vaguely familiar, but he still wasn't sure if any of that was true. Those memories felt so strange, like they were no more than a dream he had in passing sleep.

"If that's true…" Camo said as he left the leaf fly out of his paw, "Then why can't I remember any of it? None of these things you've said ring any bells!"

The Tree made another forlorn sigh as it withdrew its root from Camo's chin.

"There are many things I'd like to explain to you in due time…" The Tree's warm and parental tone turned serious, "But, now is not the occasion, I'm afraid."

"You mean, you're not going to give me any answers?!" Camo demanded as he stepped forward, his heart pounded against his chest in a slightly faster fashion than usual.

"You see, this isn't quite the reason I have contacted you." The Tree's light dimmed just a bit, "Vitali, you are in grave danger right now!"

Camo made a twisted frown as he tilted his head towards the Tree. Just what was it talking about? He could barely remember what happened till now…

"I had hoped that planting my roots within you would aid you in defeating the forces of evil that have taken our home, but I was misguided." The Tree's leaves drooped with remorse, "Those forces of evil have tried to take you under their branches, they've used their machines to repress your true self!"

"WHAT?!" Camo jumped forward and looked around. So that's why this place felt so strange! "How do I get out?!"—Camo whipped his head in fifty different directions—"Is there a door or something?"

"There is no physical door, Vitali," The Tree explained as its leaves perked up, "You have to break free from the strength of your own wills!"

"Alright!"

Camo grunted and groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut, his whole mind focused on breaking from whatever spell he had been trapped under. However, the strength in his body was minimal… All he could do was groan and fall back on his belly, all while he heaved heavy pants.

"Okay…" Camo sighed and pulled himself back up, "Let's try that again."

Camo grunted once more as he continued to pull himself out… But as he tried to focus, he heard something that sounded vaguely like the cracking of a whip right as a sharp pain seared through his body! Camo shot open his eyes, then looked down and gasped.

Thorny vines had shot out from nowhere and wrapped all around his body! They squeezed so tight it made it quite hard to breath, and their thorns were the claws of a predator that dug into their prey. Worse yet, despite his struggles more of the vines emerged and entwined him. It was hopeless! He could only sink further and further in as the vines wrapped around his eyes, which were now closed from sheer exhaustion. This was truly it…

"REMOVE YOURSELVES FROM MY CHILD AT ONCE!"

Camo's eyes shot back open as thick, woody roots sliced straight through the vines and ripped him out!

"Vitali, are you alright?" The Tree of Life asked as it drew Camo close to its heart.

"… Somehow," Camo panted, his whole body covered in sharp slices and his head hung, "I can't do it. Whatever's got me is way too strong!"

"That's not true at all, Vitali." The Tree drew Camo even closer and snuggled him tight against its trunk, "You've grown so much since the day you left my nest… I'm sure you can break the spell!"

As Camo felt the tree's warm embrace, he felt his mind expand with warm memories he had long forgotten… Days spent basking in warm sunlight that filtered in from the tree's leaves, happily chatting with forest animals, nights curled in tree cavities blanketed by leaves… But most of all the warm embrace of a beloved parent, one who he had long thought never existed!

Yes, the Tree was right, he could do this!

"Alright!" Camo exclaimed as he hopped out of the Tree's embrace, "Time to dish out a FRUIT PUNCH!"

Camo stomped his feet and summoned vines filled with ripe watermelons, then served the watermelons towards the thorny vines with a smack of his tail!

Camo watched the watermelons smack the vines down with a smirk before he gently closed his eyes. His mind, soul, body… They were all focused on regaining control of his body, of leaving this strange place and saving the Tree of Life, just like he had come here to do!

As he focused, Camo felt himself lifted into the air and enveloped in something warm and bright. At first he thought it might've been the Tree… But no, it didn't feel like the Tree's embrace, so warm yet rough and wooden. Surely, it was time he left this place!

Camo opened his eyes, but everything around him had evaporated into warm yellows and greens. Even the Tree of Life had disappeared! But yet, he was sure he could still feel its presence as it cheered him on from a place far away from where he would surely awaken.

"I'm so proud of you, Vitali!" The Tree cried as Camo was completely enveloped in light…

§

Chihiro's heart pounded as fast as her feet did against the cold, gray earth she raced around on. It seemed like no matter how fast she ran, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't shake these creepy reaper dudes—everywhere she went, they tailed behind her rambling about anomalies! Don't they have a day job or something?! Chihiro gritted her teeth as she found herself inches away from crashing into a ruined building, then dug her heels and turned around. Sure enough, the reapers were still behind her and closing in fast!

"You guys don't give up, do you?!" Chihiro panted as she held out her hand.

The sweat that dripped down her body intermingled with her magic, crafting sparkling of cyan lightning in addition to the signature glow of her magical attacks! A flick of her hands sent a series of magic spheres darting towards the reapers, who stood stagnant as the spheres… Phased right through them?!

"The heck?!" Chihiro jumped back and gulped as she pressed against the cold bricks of the ruined building before her. Just what were these guys?

Well, she didn't have much time to contemplate that, because…

"CLEANSE THE ANOMALY! REPAIR THE RUIN IT CAUSED!"

The reapers charged right towards her, scythes at the ready and eyes narrowed with glowering anger!

Chihiro tossed out a barrier in record time, she believed, but it was hardly noteworthy. One slice from a reaper's staff and it shattered like glass!

"Crap!"

Chihiro's eyes darted every which way in hopes of finding something, anything that would allow for her escape, but as the reapers' shadows covered her it became clear that she was cornered! With no other options, Chihiro scrunched her eyes shut and summoned every bit of magic within her aching body.

"GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

Chihiro felt her whole body go numb and fuzzy for a few seconds, then when she opened her eyes she breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was back in her lab and far away from those reapers. As she slunk down against the walls, her gaze captured Master Eon and Hugo! They were both stuck in what seemed to be an intense conversation…

"Huh, wonder what they're talking about," Chihiro remarked as enough energy surged through her body to stand.

Hugo grabbed a piece of paper while still deep in conversation, then snagged a nearby pencil and scribbled something on it before he held it up for all to see. Her curiosity piqued, Chihiro strolled over to him and placed a hand on her hip.

"'Don't worry, Chihiro,'" Chihiro read as she brushed the paper with her fingertips, "'We're coming to save you!'"

Chihiro sighed with utter relief as she wiped her brow.

"Thank goodness! I'm starting to get sick of all this gray!"

Chihiro smiled as she examined Master Eon and Hugo's hard work, but something in her still felt a little uneasy… Why, though? Well, the chill that raced through her bones paired with faint, ear-piercing whispers served well to remind her!

"Ugh, it's those guys again, isn't it…" Chihiro hissed through her teeth, then turned around and gulped, "Anddddd I'm right."

Chihiro groaned and hung her head. "Boy do I hate it when I'm right."

"ANOMALYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Under one hive mind the reapers flung themselves at Chihiro, but thankfully they were slow enough to dodge! Chihiro jumped out of their way and cackled as they slammed into a wall, only to yelp as one slashed its scythe and sent waves of energy crashing towards her!

Chihiro flicked her wrists, and from them came a wave of barriers that intercepted the blasts and sent out explosions of magic so intense they rattled the entire area!

Chihiro made a bloodcurling yell as she formed hand cannons with magic and shot lasers back at the reapers, who only spun their scythes together and absorbed the lasers! Chihiro yipped as the blast hurtled towards her, then teleported out just in time for it to fry an unsuspecting stack of papers instead.

As the reapers flew towards her, Chihiro jumped on the back of one, only to phase through and faceplant straight onto the floor!

Chihiro winced as she turned herself on her back and saw the reapers raise their scythes above their heads, then teleported out of the way! As she popped back up in midair, she smirked and crackled her knuckles.

"Y'know, surely you're getting tired of all this anomaly stuff, right?…" Chihiro asked as she held out hands charged with magic, her eyes trained on the reapers who trained their eyes on her in turn, "How about I PUT YOU TO SLEEP?!"

Yeah, that definitely sounded cooler in her head, but whatever.

And so, the battle raged on… But unfortunately for Chihiro, it had grown incredibly one-sided. Every blow she sent was dodged or phased right through them, every blow they sent was barely blocked or dodged. With how this dragged on, she might as well have been fighting a brick wall! As yet another sphere of hers flew right through a reaper's body, Chihiro rocketed towards them and tried to slam them with a barrage of punches, but the reaper she targeted simply leaned out the way of each one! As Chihiro grunted and went to collect herself, the reaper backhanded her with the blunt end of its scythe and tossed her right into a nearby wall! Chihiro screamed as the pain from the impact numbed her body, but nonetheless she pulled herself up.

Once she tossed herself back into the fray and the reapers did the same, the whole thing devolved into one big, dusty, incomprehensible ball of magic and violence! You could barely tell your left from your right!

A reaper screamed as one of its fellow reapers elbowed it in the gut, another one sent Chihiro spinning out the ball, then finally…

"OH FORGET THIS!" Chihiro exclaimed as her whole body glowed cyan.

That cyan glow enveloped the whole room then vanished as quickly as it came to reveal… A tea party, floating in midair! And all of them were invited!

"Hey, are you gonna eat the rest of those cookies?" Chihiro asked as she sneaked a ceramic plate filled with magic cookies away from one reaper.

The reaper blinked a couple times… Then growled and completely flipped the table!

"OKAY, OKAY, SHEESH!" Chihiro jumped out the way of the tossed table, "I'LL LET YOU HAVE SOME NEXT TIME!"

As the reapers grabbed their scythes, one swung forward and went to slice Chihiro in half… But she dodged in the nick of time! All it did was split a wall in half and make it crumble to bits.

"Hah" Chihiro scoffed as she watched the reaper reclaim its scythe, "Missed me!"

Chihiro frowned as the sound of vague, muffled screams pricked her ears. She cast a glance over at Master Eon and Hugo, who seemed awfully panicked as they pointed towards the wall the reaper had just shattered. What was they freaking out about?…

"Wait a second, you guys are tearing this whole place apart!" Chihiro turned back to the reapers and wagged her finger, "And you say I'm the one who's gonna do that!"

The reapers didn't seem to care, however! They only rushed towards Chihiro and swung their scythes!

Chihiro gasped, then flung a barrier around herself, Master Eon and Hugo. Her whole heart and soul went into keeping it strong, and thankfully this time it seemed like it was working! Though the reapers slashed away, the most they did was create giant scratches and cracks in the surface. Better than the last times she used barriers, anyhow.

I can't let them hurt Master Eon and Hugo! How do I get these guys off of our trail? Chihiro thought as she bit her lip, only for her eyes to glimmer with realization, Oh right!

Chihiro giggled, then teleported right to the broken doorway.

"You want me so bad?" Chihiro questioned as her whole body glowed with cyan light, "Then come and get me!"

Chihiro was engulfed in light for mere moments, then when she could finally open them again she was back at the island's heart!… Which was still crumbling to bits. And more importantly, it seemed that the reapers followed suit! Dark clouds manifested around the portal building's ruined towers for moments, then melded themselves into the reapers' solid forms.

The reapers slowly cascaded down, but this time Chihiro was ready for them! She raced off without even one look back, then as she found herself at a series of floating island chunks she came to a short stop. With an eager smile she hopped from one to the over with a ballerina's precision and a cheetah's speed, like this was nothing more than a game to her!

"Hah! You snooze you lose, buddy!" Chihiro exclaimed as she turned back to the reapers and stuck her tongue out at them, "There's no way you could catch me!"

Chihiro got ready to turn around and jump again, but before she did something exploded under her feet and tossed her onto the next platform! Chihiro screamed out, then opened an eye to see the remnants of a gigantic orb fizzle out behind her.

"Geez, since when could they do that?!" Chihiro grunted and pulled herself back to her feet. As she rubbed her bleary eyes, she could've sworn she saw the blobby silhouettes of… The reapers?!

"Crap, they're catching up!" Chihiro stumbled backwards, then narrowed her eyes and dug her heels into the earth, "I've gotta stall them!"

Frustrated and worn but still fighting, Chihiro held out her hands and shot off another round of magic spheres… But as the reapers drew closer, the spheres simply phased through them yet again.

Chihiro heaved a sickly groan and fell to her knees, now completely worn and only able to shake her head.

"No… I can't stop now!" Chihiro gritted her teeth and held up her hands, "I need to protect everyone from these guys!"

Her breath and heart were still heavy, yet Chihiro's hands still fizzled with a determined fighter's magic.

"Skylanders never give up," Chihiro panted as her hands glowed brighter, "And neither will I!"

And with that, Chihiro shot off another round of magic blasts at the reapers! This next blast was sudden enough that it stopped them in their tracks for a few precious seconds—all the time Chihiro needed to hop onto the final platform and run off…

§

Stealth Elf winced as she deflected yet another blow from the still-hypnotized Camo and backflipped out of his range.

"Camo, please!" Stealth Elf begged as she jumped out the way of yet another fireball, "Come back to your senses! We're friends, we shouldn't be fighting like this!"

Camo growled as he opened his jaws wide, like he was ready to shoot off another round of hot fireballs… Then his eyes closed and he passed out onto the platform!

"What's going on?!" The drow that had taken control of Camo demanded as he raced forward to grab Camo.

But, before the drow could, Stealth Elf poofed next to him and elbowed him back! With the drow sent reeling, Stealth Elf crept next to the unconscious Camo and got ready to lift him off the ground…

Only to jump back as Camo was enveloped in green light! This green light hardened around Camo and took the shape of a cocoon made out of leafy vines, then slowly unraveled itself as it dropped Camo back down to the platform. Camo stood tall as he was unveiled, and for that matter so did his horns, which had grown bigger and thorny while a new power radiated off of his body! It was like nature himself had given him a boost!

"Camo…" Stealth Elf took a step back, her daggers clasped tight in her hand, "… Are you alright?"

Camo stood silent, then made a soft chuckle as he gave Stealth Elf a thumbs up. Or rather, toes up given that he didn't have thumbs.

"Right as rainydew melon!" Camo proclaimed.

"Yep, that's him alright." Stealth Elf sighed and would have probably rolled her eyes if she had pupils, but nonetheless walked towards Camo and patted his shoulder, "Glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back!"

Camo made a happy chirp as he looked towards Stealth Elf, then both of them fixed their eyes towards the drow that had taken over Camo's mind, who now looked EXTREMELY worried.

The drow whimpered for a few moments, then frantically scrambled towards the vines and tried to pull them apart! Before he could make an escape route, however, a large shadow imposed over him and pulled him back towards a very testy Camo and Stealth Elf.

"Alright, buddy, you've got one chance!" Stealth Elf demanded as the trembling drow was brought before her eyes, "Where's your leader?!"

"Why should I tell you that?!" The drow spat back as magic sparked around his body, as if he were getting ready to teleport away once more, "I have no idea where she is!"

"You don't, do you?" Stealth Elf clasped her daggers tighter and shot the Drow the stink-eye.

"And even if I did, I still wouldn't tell you!" The drow huffed and turned his nose up at Stealth Elf, the sparks now brighter.

"We have ways of making you talk, you know," Camo broke in as he stepped forward, a smirk played on his bright green lips.

"Like what?!" The drow glared down Camo, only to gulp as Camo's small smirk grew wide.

Camo only stepped forwards and tapped the ground under the drow's feet… Then in moments, a bunch of gigantic, bright red peppers sprouted out from the cracks in the ground before they exploded completely!

Stealth Elf and Camo were lucky to escape in time, but the Drow was not so lucky! He could only helplessly squirm and scream as the peppers exploded and coated him in a cascade of spicy red pepper juice!

"AUGH! NOT PEPPER JUICE!" The drow cried and moaned as he fell down, the sparks faded and his whole body shaken, "IT BURNS! IT BURNS! THERE'S NO WAY I COULD PRESENT MYSELF TO OUR LEADER BEFORE THIS!"

The drow hung his head and winced.

"It's a good thing she's got forces at the Tree of Life!" The drow snarled as he glared down Stealth Elf and Camo, "At least she'll have others that can take care of this…"

Camo and Stealth Elf smirked at each other, then watched as the vines that crafted their makeshift arena receded back into its wooden platform. Their access to the world around them regained, then two of them raced up to the drow and swiftly patted the drow on the arm before they bolted off.

"Crap, did I really just say that?!" The drow's eyes widened with pure, terrified realization to his mistake.

"Thanks for the info, buddy!" Camo chirped as he left the drow in the dust.

"What?! No, get back here!" The drow growled and began sparkling once more, though the sparkles fizzled out just as quickly as they came, "Don't think you can outrun me! You insolent fools, you'll rue the day…"

As the drow's shouts became little more than distant cries, Camo and Stealth Elf looked at each other and shrugged… Then they both jolted up as they heard a sharp creak followed by a loud THUNK!

"OUCH!" The drow screamed from afar, "I HATE CHESTNUTS!"

Camo and Stealth Elf paid no mind to the drow's cries, however. They had already left the drow in the dust as they headed down the winding wooden paths of the platform. Unlike the ones before, these paths were long and complex, much like an actual forest trail… Oh, and they were filled with drow soldiers. That was quite an important detail that couldn't be missed, either.

All down the winding pathway before them, gigantic goliath drow rested with spell punks saddled in backpack carriers protected on the drows' backs, soldiers talked among themselves as they polished their spears… There were even a few sorcerers who waved their staffs and made birds manifest out of magic and thin air from sheer boredom!

The only thing that shielded Camo and Stealth Elf from the drow forces was a gigantic ball made of sticks and twine, seated right at the beginning of the path and just a few feet away from the army.

"Okay," Stealth Elf said as she leaned against the giant twine ball, "You handle the Drow on the left, and I'll—"

Stealth Elf lost her balance as the twine ball nudged forwards from her pressure,

"WHOA, WHOA!"

The twine ball became a mighty boulder as it rolled down the way, Stealth Elf stuck within its grasp! Drow soldiers were sent flying into the depths of the forest, stray twine and twigs were scattered everywhere, and the whole path was clouded with scattered dust!

"Stealth!" Camo called as he bolted down the pathway, "I'm coming!"

Camo charged down the pathway as fast he could, but the ball had gained too much momentum! He was only left in its dust, literally! Camo coughed and fanned away the dust with his tail, then grunted as he jumped over a fallen goliath drow and made a mighty leap! It was a valiant effort… But not valiant enough, unfortunately, for he only dove headfirst into the twine ball! His screams melded with Stealth Elf's as the ball rolled the fastest it could, then jumped off a ledge and smashed into a wooden platform!

The ball was now completely decimated. All that was left was Camo and Stealth Elf. They both sat in a dizzy haze, surrounded by the twine and stick debris that once made up their spherical prison.

"Well, that's one way to get rid of them," Stealth Elf remarked as she stood up and picked twigs out of her hair, "Camo, are you—"

Stealth Elf was stopped short as several blades were shoved in front of her face! With a steely look she gazed around and grabbed her daggers, because all around here were none other than more drow soldiers! Several of them charged towards Stealth Elf, but before they could even nick her with their spears and swords she teleported away and blindsided them with a slash of her own blades! As those soldiers fell unconscious more encroached in on her, but she only blasted them away with a cloud of poisonous spores.

While the guards fell asleep one by one, Camo groaned and awakened at last from his dizzy haze.

"What's going on?" Camo moaned as he stumbled around like he had four left paws, "Why's all the fruit dancing?"

Camo stumbled forwards, then reeled back as several sharp blades swung just inches away from his face! With a shake of his head he lowered his horns, charged straight into his attackers and tossed them aside like they were nothing more than cottonballs!

"These new horns sure are something!" Camo whistled before he glared down the other guards, "Who's next?"

The guards looked frantic as they pointed towards one or another or argued among each other, but Camo paid no mind! He just stormed through and charged into them all! While they were all tossed into the skies and crashed down onto the platform, Camo paused for a moment to bask in his victory.

As he stood though, a large shadow cast itself over his body! Camo looked up to see a gigantic Goliath Drow before him, its toothy sneer wide as it cracked its knuckles. Camo backed up a few paces… Then opened his mouth and released a fireball as hot as the still-shining sun! While the drow was tossed back, Camo backed up further only to stop short as he bumped into Stealth Elf.

"That all of them?" Stealth Elf panted, her grip on her daggers sweaty but tight.

"I hope so…" Camo replied in between labored gasps.

The two of them caught their breath as they watched the unconscious and defeated drow soldiers… Only to gasp as a bright, green light to envelop the drow!

"What the heck?!" Stealth Elf and Camo exclaimed in unison.

As they stood shocked, the enemies they once fought slowly got back to their feet and reclaimed their weapons. Their smiles were wide as they flexed their muscles and stood tall, as if the damage from earlier had been completely healed and vanquished! With loud cries, they all charged back at Stealth Elf and Camo!

"What's going on?!" Stealth Elf demanded as she tossed a spear-wielding soldier aside.

While several more drow went to charge, a proud cackle echoed from somewhere close by!

Stealth Elf's ears perked up, then she teleported out the way of the drow that had tried to bulldoze her with only a cursory glance back taken to see them crash into each other. Stealth Elf made a small chuckle as she reappeared on a tree branch and looked down.

It was hard to see at first, but hidden away in a grassy nook was none other than a spell punk! It had a wicked grin on its face just barely masked by its fingerless hands, and the green and yellow robes it wore did well to camouflage it from the rest of the fight… Even if the colors did make it look quite garish.

However, the nook it was hidden away in was consolidated with drow forces, all scattered around like security guards!

"There sure are a lot of drow there," Stealth Elf whispered as she rubbed her chin, "Even if I teleport in, it would be hard to land a blow without getting their attention…"—Stealth Elf made a smirk—"Unless…"

Stealth Elf then teleported off the branch and back to Camo's side! With a yank of his shoulder, Stealth Elf pulled Camo out from where he was fireballing drow and teleported away to the branch once more.

"What is it?!" Camo demanded as he regained his footing, "I'm kinda busy HERE!"

Camo hissed as he looked down at the vast space below them, before Stealth Elf turned his attention to the nook—literally.

"I found out what that weird glow was!" Stealth Elf pointed down to the spell punk, "It's a spell punk's magic!"

"Huh?" Camo narrowed his eyes then widened them once more, "Nevermind, I see it!"

"And if it keeps healing them, we'll never be able to get past this place!" Stealth Elf crossed her arms, "I'm gonna take care of it, but there's a lot of drow around that place."

"So what you're saying is…" Camo made a playful smirk, "You need a distraction?"

"If you please." Stealth Elf grabbed Camo's shoulder and teleported him back to the battlefield.

"Already on it!"

Camo leaped forwards and stomped his paws. From those simple stomps, gigantic vines exploded from the wooden platforms and burst to life with gigantic, ripe watermelons!

These watermelons, however, were maybe a little too ripe… Because the moment they came to life, they exploded and sent juicy, gooey fruit everywhere!

While the drow screamed and trudged and fought their way through the watermelon storm, Stealth Elf merely giggled and teleported away!

When she reappeared, she had popped up next to the spell punk that now watched the battlefield with concerned eyes… Before it turned its gaze to Stealth Elf and squawked! The spell punk had tried to zoom off, but Stealth Elf only teleported right in front of it!

"Sorry buddy," Stealth Elf said as she watched the spell punk skid back and dash north, "But you're not getting away!"

She then teleported in front of the spell punk once more, only for it to high-tail it east! So, she vanished, teleported again and watched as the spell punk headed back to its first choice of escape… Only to slam into a worn scarecrow with an uncanny resemblance to Stealth Elf herself. As it haphazardly floated around, Stealth Elf thrust her palms forwards and sent out a gigantic cloud of green spores!

The spell punk's gaze shot every which way as the cloud of spores enveloped it, ever frantic and confused, then it groaned and fell backwards. Judging by the snores it made, it was now completely asleep!

Stealth Elf placed her hands on her hips, pulled down some vines from above and tied them snug around the spell punk.

"Don't go anywhere~"

As Stealth Elf said this, she was enveloped with a dull green glow and teleported back to Camo!… Who was really not in a good position.

Even with his strange new power boost, Camo just barely fended off the drow while they threw themselves at him like mighty predators who had ganged up on their prey! It was no surprise that he looked extra relieved as he saw Stealth Elf.

"Just who I wanted to see!" Camo exclaimed as he shot off a round of cherry tomato bombs and looked back at Stealth Elf, "Is the thing taken care of?"

"It's catching some Zs right now." Stealth Elf cracked her knuckles, "Ready to finish these guys off?"

"You bet!"

Camo jumped up and down with a mighty force, and from his stomps vines grew all around him and Stealth Elf! Stealth Elf, meanwhile, slowly rubbed her hands… Then in one rapid movement cast them out and sent spores flying every which way! The spores hung in the air for moments before they drifted down onto the vines and covered them in a spring green powder.

As the vines stood stagnant, flowers that soon bloomed into brightly-colored fruit emerged from the vines, much to the confusion of the drow who only paused to examine the fruit… Then it all exploded!

A rainbow cacophony of dusty clouds cast over the battlefield as the fruity chunks burst everywhere, and from them the spores spread like dandelion seeds en mass! The dust cleared as tired moans were heard all about, and from its lifting, hordes of unconscious drow soldiers were unveiled.

In the center of it all was Stealth Elf and Camo, who both stood tall as Stealth Elf held up some kind of worn scroll that acted as a barrier. While the scroll rolled itself up and vanished, Stealth Elf dusted off her hands.

"Talk about a fruit punch!" Camo exclaimed as he did a backflip.

"I'll let you get away with your awful puns this time." Stealth Elf cast a smirk at Camo.

With the drow cast aside, the two of them fixed their eyes on the now clear path ahead. It seemed oddly straight and linear compared to the twisted paths they had previously traveled… Could it be that they had finally reached the end?

Camo and Stealth Elf both nodded and walked down the pathway. As they passed by, the trees and open pathways soon gave way to a short, grassy, mossy green tunnel with a carpet of leaves and mushrooms underfoot, then finally that itself gave way as well! When they exited, they found themselves in a small grove vacant of all trees. Well, save for one…

"Is that?…" Stealth Elf whispered as she stopped right in her tracks.

"The Tree of Life!" Camo exclaimed as he bounded forwards.

The two of them walked up to the tree in all its noble, majestic glory. It was absolutely massive, with bright green leaves that seemed to glow against the sunlight that filtered in from above and the rainbow veins etched into its trunk.

"It's even more beautiful than I imagined…" Stealth Elf whispered as she clasped her hands together.

Camo spoke not a word, but the concerned gaze on his face said all. With a gulp, he carefully stepped up to the Tree, then gulped again and went to place his paw on its sturdy trunk… But before he could even brush his paw against it, a stinger narrowly whizzed past his face and forced him to duck!

"I was wondering if you'd show up, Skylanders!" Cried a shrill voice from not that far ahead.

Stealth Elf and Camo turned around, then gasped as they saw none other than a drow witch!

This witch had minty bluish-green skin and was dressed in worn blue and dark green robes, but her blank white eyes shone with anger like any other. In one hand she held what looked like a gigantic, enchanted box remote, while in the other she clasped twin intricately-made golden blades. All around her, gigantic insects who wore enchanted headsets flanked her as bodyguards did, their eyes red with malice.

"You're the one behind all this, aren't you?" Stealth Elf proclaimed as she stepped forwards.

"How'd you guess?" The drow witch said with a chuckle.

"Leave the Tree of Life alone!" Camo demanded as he stormed forwards, teeth bared and eyes narrowed.

"Oh, so scary!" The drow witch whimpered as she stepped back and rested a hand on her forehead in some overdramatic fashion, "It looks like I really will have to pack it all up…"—The drow witch made a smirk—"NOT!"

The witch pointed towards Stealth Elf and Camo, her smirk soured into something more malevolent. "Now's the perfect time to enact my revenge!"

As the drow witch spoke, the insects that surrounded her buzzed even louder.

"MINIONS, ATTACK THOSE SKYLANDERS!"

"Revenge?!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she dodged a hornet that zoomed towards her, "What are you talking about?!"

Stealth Elf's ears twitched as she heard buzzing, then she teleported away as the hornet charged back at her like an angry bull!

"What did we ever do to you?!" Camo shouted, only to scream out in surprise as a ladybug zoomed after him.

While the ladybug chased after Camo in a twisted game of tag and the hornet continued to charge after a teleporting Stealth Elf, the drow witch made a scowl.

"Oh, you specifically never did anything to me," The drow witch said, her voice filled with a tranquil kind of rage as she squeezed her blades tight, "It was your comrades!"

The witch's scowl only deepened.

"When Lord Kaos found out that I lost the Eternal Air Source to your little buddies, he threw a fit! I barely survived with my life!"

The drow witch gritted her teeth as she spoke, her voice laced with anger.

"Because of you, I got demoted to the lowest of the low! I used to be a decorated officer, now I'm reduced to petty errands with a bunch of loons!" The drow witch's eyes narrowed, "And I want payback!"

As she finished speaking, however, the anger in her voice lifted just a little.

"And what better way to get it than killing you right as you try to obtain the very thing you need to get an Eternal Source and restore your dingy little Core of Light?"

With a snap of the drow witch's fingers, the insects all froze in their tracks while their bodies were enveloped by bright red light! All eyes focused on the bugs as they stood still… Then charged straight at Camo and Stealth Elf!

But Camo put up a vine barrier just in time! The insects rammed straight into it and fell on their backs, completely dizzy and harmless.

"Get up, you worms!" The drow witch exclaimed as she stomped her feet, "You have Skylanders to kill!"

However, her cries fell on oblivious ears. The insects remained still as they rested on their floor in a trance.

"Now's no time for a nap!" The anger in the drow witch's voice was only exemplified by her groaning and withdrawing her blades, "Well, you know how the saying goes. If you want something done right…"

With a flick of her wrist, the blades shot out of her hands and slashed through Camo's barrier of vines!

"Sometimes you just have to do it yourself!"

Camo and Stealth Elf jumped out just in time, but it wasn't enough to deter the blades! Rather, those blades turned right around and continued to chase them back and forth across the platform!

"Run, my babies!" The drow witch cheered as she shook a fist, "Tear those nasty Skylanders to bits!"

It was a mad chase as they narrowly avoided getting grazed, but finally Camo grew fed up!

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Camo yelled as he stomped the ground and summoned vines that caught the blades mid-flight!

The drow witch was so taken aback by Camo's display of anger, all she could do was sputter and stumble back from shock.

"You tried, you really did…" Camo narrowed his eyes, which were now fixed on the remote in the drow witch's hands, "But you made one big mistake!"

Camo stepped forward, and as he did his whole body glowed with life!

"You messed with my home, and my family…" Camo snarled as the glow became brighter in tandem with his words, "And nobody messes with them on my watch!"

"Give me back my blades!" The drow witch demanded as she pointed towards Camo.

Camo only shrugged and made a sly smirk.

"If you insist!"

With a snap of his fingers and a flick of the vines, Camo shot the blades back at the drow witch… But instead of returning to her, they ended up breaking her remote instead!

"My mind control device!" The drow witch screamed as she fell to her knees and frantically picked up the fragments, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The drow witch was so deep in mourning, she paid no attention to the fact that the insects had completely broken from their trance!

One by one, their headsets released and harmlessly dropped onto the wooden floors. They all seemed quite confused as they tilted their heads and made low buzzing, but the moment they saw Camo their confusion turned to joy! All at once, they swarmed towards him and sounded off with glee!

"Hey, hey!" Camo chuckled as the insects began nuzzling him, "I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but this is a but much!"

Camo's lighthearted attitude grew more serious as he shot a glare towards the frantic drow witch.

"Besides, we've got something we need to take care of!"

The insects buzzed in agreement, then huddled together and made some kind of strange insect noise that sounded vaguely like whispering. When their huddle released, they all glared down the drow witch.

"Alright, everyone!" Camo proclaimed as he lowered his head and scraped the earth beneath him.

"Huh?" The drow witch uttered as she looked back… Only to scream and scramble back as she saw Camo and the now-free insects. "NO, NO, NOT THIS!"

"CHARGEEEEEEEEE!"

All at once, Camo and the insects stampeded straight towards the drow witch, then with a collective thrust shot her into the skies!

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" The drow witch exclaimed as she disappeared into the stratosphere, hopefully never to be seen again.

Once the drow witch finally disappeared from view, the insects all crowded around Camo once more and tossed him into the air! They all buzzed with what sounded like joy and pride, the kind a parent held when their child finished a vast achievement.

"Okay guys!" Camo said as the insects tossed him into the air one last time, "Can I have a moment?"

The insects nodded and parted with Camo right as Stealth Elf walked up to him and nodded. With the two of them now reunited, Camo and Stealth Elf walked up to the still thankfully intact Tree of Life and took a breather—after all, being around the thing that birthed most of your element has a way of intimidating you.

Finally, Camo worked up the courage to step to the Tree's trunk and place his paw on its mighty surface.

"You were right!" Camo whispered as he nuzzled the Tree's trunk while his massive horns glowed green before they returned to their regular size and shape, "I did have it in me!"

Was there ever any doubt, Vitali? The Tree replied as its leaves were gently caressed by the breeze, After all, you are my utterly precious little appleseed~

The bugs that still surrounded all made what vaguely sounded like laughter, while Camo himself jumped back and cringed.

"Hey, stop it!" Camo hung his head ans scratched his cheek, "You're embarrassing me in front of the bugs!"—Camo made a soft chuckle and pulled his head back up with a proud smile—"But, you're not wrong!"

Oh Vitali…

Both Tree and Camo, parent and child, stood in simple silence for a few moments, then finally Camo frowned and sighed.

"But, there's one thing I still don't understand," Camo said at last as he sighed, "Why didn't I remember you, or the bugs, or anything here until now?"
In response, the Tree of Life made a sigh of its own.

That… Was my doing.

Camo's eyes widened as he scrambled backwards. "But, but why?"

I thought it would be for the best, Vitali. The Tree's leaves drooped with what seemed like regret, As you got older, you grew tired of your home and begged me to let you see the rest of Skylands. But, I feared that there would be beings who would persecute you for your connections to me.

The Tree's leaves shuddered and turned a tinge of ref.

Your powers are already something unlike anything before, Vitali. Had those of evil known of you being my child, who knows what they would have done to you!

The Tree stretched out a root and brushed it against Camo's cheek.

I had thought that if I hid your memories of me, of your home, you would be safe! If I had known it would have caused you so much pain, I never would have done it!

"Mmm…" Camo hummed as he brushed a paw against the Tree's root, a look of slight confusion on his face, "I… Guess I understand."

But, nonetheless… I could not be prouder of the splendid blossom you have become Vitali. I could not have asked for a better child. And to think, you protect all of Skylands now…

As the Tree of Life and Camo carried on with their conversation, Stealth Elf smiled and crossed her arms.

"I don't understand a word they're saying," Stealth Elf remarked as the breeze brushed against her dark blue hair.

Camo, meanwhile, made a soft chuckle and stepped back. With a nod to the Tree, Camo cast a glance aside and watched as a bag filled with seeds popped out from the grounds below.

"So, these are my sibs, huh?" Camo asked as he picked up the Life Seeds and smiled, "You know, for Life Seeds you guys sure are small!"

Camo stuck his tongue out at the seeds, then glanced back up at the Tree. "You want me to take them back to the base?"

As the Tree's leaves rustled once more, Camo smiled and nodded.

"I'll take good care of them, I promise!" Camo said as he picked up the bag of Life Seeds.

All was silent as Camo walked up to Stealth Elf and handed the bag of Life Seeds off to her…

"You did it!" Shouted a very goofy-sounding voice, "You saved the Life Seeds!"

Stealth Elf and Camo both screamed and jumped back, their grip on the Life Seeds tight, only to catch their breaths as they caught sight of the voice's owner.

"Oh, it's just you," Camo sighed as he looked over to Arbo, who stood tall on the leaf of a giant beanstalk.

"Come now!" Arbo commanded as he waved his wooden arms, "We must hurry back and plant the Life Seeds, so they can point the way to the Eternal Life Source!"

Camo and Stealth Elf looked once more back at the Tree of Life and smiled.

"Goodbye!" They exclaimed together as they jumped on the beanstalk and waved to the Tree of Life.

As the beanstalk began to recede, Camo ceased his waving and placed a clasped paw next to his heart, a warm, genuine smile on his face.

"And…" Camo whispered, "Thanks, par."

§

While the building around them crumbled to bits, Hugo and Master Eon raced around the machine with a sense of urgency—Hugo maybe a little moreso than Eon.

"THIS IS IT!" Hugo wailed as he took cover under a table, "THIS IS THE END FOR US!"

"Hugo, stay calm!" Master Eon ordered as he jumped to and fro in the chaos and desperately tried to toss away chunks of stone ceiling, "Have you found something that can replicate the fly?"

"Not yet, Master Eon!" Hugo crawled further under the table, "I'm trying, but it's hard to focus when the entire island's—ACK!"

Hugo screamed further as a gigantic stone slab fell from the ceiling and crashed straight into the floor! With a gigantic hole formed in its center, the floor started to crack and cave on itself in some kind of slow-motion death.

Master Eon noted this immediately as he jumped into action and held the floor together with his powers… But even then, it took all the magic in him to keep the floor in place. As he worked his hardest, however, he couldn't help but notice the ceiling crumble above him… And a pebble from the ceiling as it dropped down near the machine! His aura glowed brighter as the pebble lodged itself into the open panel they worked on—he had an idea.

"Hugo, start the machine now!" Master Eon commanded as he looked towards Hugo.

"But, Master Eon!" Hugo shouted back as he crawled out from under the table, "I haven't found—"

"Just trust me!"

The urgency in Eon's voice was conveyed well enough, for Hugo jumped across the floor and started up the machine! As it whirred and beeped, Master Eon floated over and landed on its top.

"Farewell, Hugo!" Master Eon proclaimed as the whole room was enveloped in a flash of light.

All was white and blinding for moments, then when the light cleared Master Eon found himself… In the lab room still! However, everything was now grayscale and noiseless saved from the faint, distorted screams of Hugo as he raced back under the table.

Master Eon bobbed towards Hugo, then dashed right through the wall to find himself outside in the gray, crumbling ruins of Ancient's Peak. The very sight shook him to his core, but he had to persist nonetheless. After all, not just young Chihiro but everybody on this island was in danger and counting on him.

"Now, where could she be…" Master Eon asked as he flitted down and scanned the area… Only to shudder as something large and not of this world phased right through him!

"And what was that?"

Master Eon turned around and saw no culprit—but in the distance, he was sure he barely heard young Chihiro's voice crying out for help!

"Young Chihiro!"

As he spied the remnants of a dully-colored cloth disappear into the distance, Master Eon hastily teleported after them. Though it took a few stops, he finally managed to bring up the rear of these strange cloths, which in turn belonged to demonic-looking reapers!

Thankfully he seemed to have flown under their radar, which gave him enough space to pop over and see them chase after Chihiro!

Chihiro turned around, but she didn't take notice of Master Eon. Rather, she only saw the reapers and screamed before running faster than Eon had even seen her run in his life.

Master Eon and the reapers both chased after her, only to find themselves cornered away in the remains of a wrecked building. All the other exits were blocked off either by debris or the reapers… There was no place more to turn.

Chihiro fell to her knees and caught her breath, sweat heavy on her face. For a moment, all seemed perfectly calm, then…

"ANOMALY!" Cried the strange reapers.

Chihiro gasped and turned around, only for her face to fall as she realized the reapers had her cornered! As she stepped back, her whole body glowed with magic as if she was getting ready to teleport… But all she did was fizzle out.

"This is it, isn't it?" Chihiro whimpered as she slunk down, only able to watch in horror as the reapers got ready to swing, "This is gonna be how I die…"

Before they could land a single blow, however, Master Eon crashed into Chihiro and enveloped her in light! His whole ghostly body felt warm with magic for mere moments as the light faded, but that warmth still remained as he found himself back in the lab!

"Master Eon! You really saved me back there!" Chihiro exclaimed as she hugged Master Eon tight, "Thanks a billion!"

"Do not thank me just yet, young Chihiro," Master Eon warned as he floated away from Chihiro and towards her machine, "We still need to leave this strange dimension!"

"Right!"

Chihiro nodded and raced towards the machine's lever, but as she reached out to grab it the whole floor finally caved in and took them with it! Chihiro was completely unprepared as well, only able to scream as she and her machine fell through the gigantic hole that was once a floor!

"Young Chihiro!" Master Eon called as he swooped down to Chihiro.

Chihiro, meanwhile frantically swam through the air and latched onto the machine! As Master Eon jumped on her shoulder, Chihiro grimaced and reached a hand towards the machine's lever.

"C'mon, c'mon, just a little…" Chihiro grunted as she reached her hand further, "Closer!"

With a firm yank, the lever slid down and the machine enveloped them in a bright flash of light! The light faded quickly enough to reveal that they were back in their home dimension… And they were floating up, apparently?

As they were lifted back to the lab room, everything around them slowly repaired itself! Soon enough, it became as if time had been reversed and nothing had ever happened—the room was just as relatively pristine as it was when Chihiro began!

"Master Eon, is that you?" Hugo asked as he poked out from under the table, "Did you find Chihiro?"

"You bet it's us, Huges!" Chihiro said as she turned around and gave Hugo a smile.

"Oh…" Hugo stumbled out from under the table and held his heart, his eyes weary, "Thank goodness…"

Hugo then fell face-first onto the floor while Chihiro and Master Eon chuckled. As their laughter passed, Chihiro walked over to her machine, then looked inside the inner works and magically flicked the pebble out of its place. Her normally cheery and youthful aura faded into a bit of solemness as she closed the panel and frowned.

"Hey, Master Eon…" Chihiro said as she brushed her hand against her machine's surface and looked towards Master Eon, "If it's alright, could we try this test again?"

"We could," Master Eon replied as he flew down towards Hugo and nudged Hugo up, "But I think we should wait for Hugo to recover first."

"Besides…" Hugo panted as he lifted up a claw, "We should see if everything's… Okay first."

And with that spoken, Hugo groaned and passed out from complete exhaustion, while Chihiro and Master Eon only made faint smiles towards each other.

§A little bit later…§

"Alright, this machine should be free of dust, rocks, flies, or anything else that should mess it up!" Chihiro proclaimed as she drew back from the Missionator, only for her eyes to widen as she looked inside it once more, "But maybe I should check again to be sure…"

"Young Chihiro, you've checked sixteen times now!" Master Eon reminded as he floated to her side, "I'm sure its fine."

Chihiro warily closed the open panel in response to Master Eon's words, then they all looked at the machine and gulped.

"Maybe."

All was silent for a few moments… Then Chihiro walked towards the lever and gripped it tight.

"Well, guess I'll do the honors."

Chihiro pulled the lever down, then rushed back as the machine started to whir…

But for once, it seemed to have actually worked! Its satellite spun around with a hiss, and as it did, rows of information scrolled down the screen. Everything was as it should have been!

They all exhaled their held breathes, then Chihiro skipped up to the keyboard and typed something in. Within moments of her input a list slowly trudged out of the printer slot, a list that was soon taken and examined by Hugo.

"This is perfect!" Hugo said as he smiled and tucked the list away in his pocket, "This will definitely streamline patrol organization!"

"So…" Chihiro said as she turned around and twiddled her fingers, "Does that mean I pass?"

"Indeed!"

While Hugo and Master Eon smiled in affirmation, Chihiro made a smile about as wide as her following jump was high. That is to say, very!

"Yes! Finally!"