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)

34. Chapter 34

Everyone's breath was bated as the spinning platform they all sat on drew closer and closer to what they could only assume was the entryway to Kaos's secret chambers. Though their gazes were steel cold and emotionless, the way several of them bit their lips or fidgeted with parts of their weapons or outfits showed they still had residual nerves. Not surprising, given the results of their last attempt at challenging Kaos.

However, they couldn't just give up right now! They had come too far to just give up and let Kaos undo all their hard work! If they could so much as hinder him for even a second, or a fraction of a second even, that would be good enough for them. Every second Kaos spent occupied with them would be a second he was away from the Core of Light, a chance to buy their allies time to keep their beacon of hope safe… And once they stopped him for good, then they'd all be able to rest easy at last!

A muffled clunk was heard as their platform latched onto the platform above, which was constructed of a series of what looked like luminescent glass tiles that seemed vaguely like fancier versions of ordinary light panels and glowed in a faint pinkish-purple. All around them, massive thorny tendrils not unlike they ones they had seemed prior loomed over the area like a twisted fence made to keep out intruders. Or perhaps lock in those stupid enough to trespass? Well either way, guess that meant them.

So, they all piled off their ride and took a step on the panels, which all glowed a stark white in response to their touch. They spoke no words to each other as they departed, but they understood the plan well—find Kaos and stop him!

Chihiro bit her lip as she took another shaky step forward. Even though she had been preparing for what seemed like forever for this very fateful moment, every part of her was shaking and telling her to run for the hills! But, she couldn't do that! Not now, when she had finally come all this way! So, she shook her head and released her bite.

"Alright, everyone," Chihiro said at last, her voice kept at such a volume that it could still be heard without alerting Kaos, "Whatever happens, just remember why we came here…"—Chihiro balled her hand into a fist and placed it close to her heart—"No matter what, we've gonna stop Kaos and keep him from destroying the Core of Light again! So we've gotta give it our all! We'll—"

"I'm sorry, you're going to do what now?" Asked a familiarly sinister gargling voice from behind!

Chihiro gasped and shot out a shield as a harpoon spiraled straight towards her! The harpoon bounced off the shield and fell to her feet with a harmless clatter, but the harpoon was the least of her worries now—because they had company!

Out from the few shadowy parts of the area, the sound of wet feet slapping against hard floors echoed around while a familiar foe unveiled itself as… The Evil Gillman! Sure enough, it had been hidden in the shadows all along, and it wasn't the only one! The Evil Lava Monster, Skeleton Knight and Elf Ninja had all followed its trail, and judging by the blank white eyes that flashed open like sharp, evil stars in the night, they weren't alone, either!

"It seems that the Evil Orc Warrior was right to patrol those halls for once, seeing as how it caught your little buddies rifling through the halls like mice," The Evil Gillman snarled as it stroked its harpoon gun. It cast a glance to the Evil Orc Warrior while the Evil Orc Warrior waved, then smirked as it turned back to Chihiro and the Skylanders.

"If you think you're going anywhere near Lord Kaos, then I'm sorry to say you have another thing coming!"

The rest of the evil clones revealed themselves as well, eyes narrowed and weapons at the ready, all while they glowed with a burst of power that made them seem more determined, more devilish than usual. Despite their varying appearances, though, it was clear what they were looking for—a fight!

"Lord Kaos ordered us to keep any unwanted intruders from interfering with his plans... And by all means, I INTEND TO FOLLOW THAT ORDER THROUGH!"

The Evil Gillman shot another round of harpoons towards the Skylanders, but the Skylanders were all quick enough to dodge! All those harpoons did was fly into the atmosphere, never to be seen again! But, the effect this attack left behind was present enough, for an all-out brawl broke out!

"Chihiro!" Spyro hissed as he turned his eyes back to Chihiro, "We'll keep these guys occupied! See if you can find a way to start this thing back up!"

Chihiro shared a nod with Spyro, then as she teleported away, Spyro turned a gaze burning with anticipation back on the swarms of minions.

Spyro was the first to jump into the fray, his wings flared while flames crackled at his lips… But before he could even shoot out a single fireball, the Evil Lava Monster diverged from the head of the pack and slammed into him! Spyro tumbled across the glowing glass floor, then shook his head and staggered up as Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy joined him.

The Evil Lava Monster, in response, just scoffed as the Evil Tree Ent and Evil Ice Yeti flanked both its sides with narrowed eyes and fists at the ready. The three of them snarled as they grew closer to Spyro, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy, their weapons so close to letting loose. But, Spyro didn't seem intimidated at all, and the same went for Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt! Spyro shared a nod with Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy, then Spyro turned back to the evil minions as he lowered his horns and scraped the stark ground below his feet. All was tense as the evil minions drew closer and closer, all while Spyro, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy stood stoic… Then finally, Spyro unleashed a flaming charge and rammed straight into the Evil Tree Ent!

The Evil Ice Yeti and Lava Monster both turned out of the way as the Evil Tree Ent soared across the battlefield, which gave Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt just the opportunity they needed! Their guns at the ready, Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt sent a flying frenzy of golden coins and harpoons in the Evil Lava Monster and Evil Ice Yeti's direction! This barrage was so fast and furious that by the time the Evil Lava Monster and Evil Ice Yeti turned around and caught sight, they were too late! They could only watch as the harpoon and coin storm slammed right into them before they exploded into a mixture of purple, blue and red spheres.

Spyro beamed at Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt while they gave him a thumbs up, then he turned around and fixed his eyes back on the Evil Tree Ent. The Evil Tree Ent had been quietly creeping away… But it wouldn't make an escape on Spyro's watch! Though it caught sight of Spyro and got ready to flee, Spyro just teleported in front of it and shot a red-hot fireball right in its face!

"NO, NOT THE FIRE! I'M A TREE!" The Evil Tree Ent cried as it was engulfed in flames, "MY WOOD CAN'T TAKE—"

Before the Evil Tree Ent could finish, its voice was completely engulfed by flames that extinguished themselves and left behind a pile of purple and green glowing spheres!

Spyro nodded in approval as the spheres sat stagnant on the floor, then stumbled across the battlefield as some purple and blue blur rammed right into him! Spyro winced as he slammed into the fencing, then his expression soured as the sounded of gargling laughter echoed around the battlefield.

"Zap, watch where you're going!" Spyro warned as he pulled himself up and froze as Zap zipped right past him with the Evil Elf Ninja hot on his tail.

"That wasn't me, dude!" Zap cried back as he shot a round of lightning bolts at the Evil Elf Ninja, "This chick's been on my tail since the battle began!"

The Evil Elf Ninja just chuckled before it disappeared in a puff of smoke, while Zap's lightning bolts passed right through the cloud and slammed into the battlefield's fence.

"Talk about bogus, man…" Zap grimaced as the smoke around him faded.

Spyro grimaced as well while he looked aside the battlefield. "If that wasn't Zap, then just who was it?"

"A little distracted, aren't we?" Crooned the Zap-like voice as someone else balled right into Spyro and tossed him against the fence, "I wouldn't be so careless, if I was you!"

As Spyro cried out and slunk down the fence, he shook his now very dizzy head and peered back up, then winced and fell down as something pressed against his belly and pushed him to the ground. He popped open an eye… Then found that there before him was the Evil Water Dragon, who sneered as it propped open its mouth and charged up a bolt of sparkling lightning that crackled and sparked at every given moment!

"SAY GOODBYE, SKYLAN—OOF!"

Before it could even fire that bolt, however, something slammed right into it and cast it along the cold, hard tile!

"Who did that?!" The Evil Water Dragon insisted as it jumped back to its paws and whipped its head around, "Show yourself!"

The Evil Water Dragon looked every which way, then froze and narrowed its eyes at a certain, faint elven silhouette in the distance. The Evil Water Dragon snarled and zipped forward on a trail of sticky slime, the slickness of which was only amplified by the tile floors underneath. But in the moment, it blinked and the silhouette vanished right before its eyes!

"Hey, get back here!" The Evil Water Dragon demanded as it kept sliding and sliding, with no attention paid whatsoever to the path ahead.

This turned out to be its downfall, because right on track for it was none other than the Evil Skeleton Imp as it charged forward in its giant skull form! The Evil Water Dragon took one look ahead and scrambled backwards, but slipped on its own slime and fell on its back right before the Evil Skeleton Imp slammed into it! The Evil Skeleton Imp wasn't entirely without injury, either, as the resulting collision broke it out of its giant skull form and toppled it over!

"Watch where you're going, you idiot!" The Evil Water Dragon spat as it shook its head and snarled at an equally-angry Evil Skeleton Imp.

"I could tell you the same thing!" The Evil Skeleton Imp shot back as it tried to pull itself up only to struggle against the slime.

"A little stuck now, aren't we?" Crooned another, more whisperlike voice as a puff of green smoke manifested behind them!

Stealth Elf crossed her arms as the Evil Skeleton Imp and Water Dragon snarled back at her and pulled themselves out of the slime pit.

"Alright, you stupid, sneaky leaf-lover!" They cried in unison as they finally leaped free, "You're not getting away this time!"

Well, that's what they thought… But before they could grab her she teleported away! Instead, they crashed right into the Evil Elf Ninja and fell onto each other in one big pile!

"LEAF-LOVER?!" The Evil Elf Ninja exclaimed as it popped its head out from under the pile, "What kind of person do you take me for?!"

"Wait, Evil Elf Ninja?" The Evil Water Dragon sputtered as it looked back down under the pile, "But, that Skylander was here a second ago!"

"Are you sure you're not losing touch? Because if you could mistake her, of all beings, for me, then—"

The Evil Elf Ninja, unfortunately, did not get the chance to finish its rant, nor did the Evil Water Dragon and Skull Imp get the chance to retort. While the three of them were bickering among each other, several flaming hot magma balls shot forward and smacked right into them! They could only scream in pain before the magma balls exploded and took them with it!

"Hey Fin, did you hear that?" Eruptor asked as he ran over with Terrafin in close pursuit.

The two of them frowned as they examined the pile of magic spheres and burnt rock bits that was just barely visible against the hole the magma had melted into the battlefield. While their gaze lingered on it for a few moments, they ultimately shrugged it off as they dodged under bamboo shrapnel and ran back into the heat of the fray!

And just where did that bamboo shrapnel come from? Well…

"Take this, you, you, you… Winged horse!" The Evil Bambazooker cried as it threw its bazooka over its shoulder and sent out a round of bamboo shrapnel, then sighed and hung its head, "Man, I need to come up with better insults."

At the heart of the battlefield, Whirlwind was up to her knees in cloud barriers as she blocked off attacks from the Evil Bambazooker, Skeleton Knight and Phoenix Dragon all at once! She winced as she just narrowly dodged the bamboo shrapnel, then squeaked and flitted aside as several large, bony brambles nearly cascaded over her! Though she was lucky enough to escape, she didn't seem particularly relieved as the brambles cascaded over her cloud barriers and popped them like balloons! Whirlwind held her front paws out and got ready to make more, but before she could a bright, hot stream of flames singed her wings! Whirlwind let out a cry of pain as she crash-landed on the ground and cradled her searing, burnt wing.

Whirlwind poked her head up and winced as the Evil Bambazooker, Skeleton Knight and Phoenix Dragon closed in on her, but her wince quickly turned into a snarl as her horn glowed in all the colors of the rainbow. She lowered her head and got ready to shoot… Before she could, though, out of nowhere the evil minions screamed in pain as they were shocked into extinction right before her very eyes!

"What could have…" Whirlwind whispered, then stopped short as Cynder slinked out of shadows and nodded towards her. Whirlwind jumped to her feet and beamed at Cynder, then the two of them took to the skies and jumped back into the fray!

And from across the battlefield, Chihiro grimaced and gripped onto her magically-summoned sword tight. Though she wanted to run, it was feasibly impossible. The Evil Elf Witch, Elf Archer and Gillman had her completely cornered, and were ready to shoot at any given moment! But, that was hardly anything, so she just smirked.

"You know, three against one is hardly a fair fight," Chihiro remarked as she haplessly shrugged and closed her eyes, then her smirk grew even wider as she leaned down and chuckled.

"For you guys, anyways!"

The Evil Elf Witch, Elf Archer and Gillman took her chides of mockery as a sign to fling their weapons towards her in unison, but Chihiro didn't even sweat it! She immediately threw out her sword and transformed it into a shield at the last moment, then beamed as their projectiles bounced off the shield and shot right back at them! The Evil Gillman ducked and rolled out the way, but unfortunately the Evil Elf Witch and Elf Archer weren't nearly as lucky! They could only watch in horror as their skulls and arrows slammed right into them and tossed them aside!

"What did I tell you?" Chihiro asked as she lifted the shield and stood proud, then raised an eyebrow down at the Evil Gillman while it staggered back up.

"I don't know what it is about you," the Evil Gillman said as it cocked its harpoon gun, yet stayed oblivious to the shiny, wet harpoon that popped out of the barrel and fixed its eyes on Chihiro instead, "It seems like whenever you're around, those stupid Skylosers are much stronger, perhaps even stronger than they ever were with Eon!"

The Evil Gillman's mouth drew into a snarl as it held its harpoon cannon even tighter.

"And whatever it is, it's been causing me far too much grief for far too long!" The Evil Gillman raised its harpoon cannon and fired, "That's why I'm going to rip your puny body apart and figure out what it is myself!"

Chihiro popped an eye open, then yelped and ducked as the harpoon darted forward and narrowly grazed over her back! Looks like that thing wasn't nearly as defeated as she thought it was… So, with a grunt Chihiro leaped towards the Evil Gillman right as it got ready to fire another stream of water at her, then teleported away instead!

"CURSE YOU, CHILD!" The Evil Gillman shouted right as Chihiro reappeared!

The Evil Gillman craned its head all around in pursuit of her, but not for long—because while it was distracted, Chihiro grabbed it by the straps of its wetsuit and body slammed it down into the floor! The force was so intense, or perhaps the Evil Gillman was just weak enough that the blow was decisive! Just that one slam caused it to explode into a pile of purple and blue spheres!

"Y'know, I think my math teacher said something like that when I failed my math test, too," Chihiro remarked with a shrug, "Anyways, let's get this thing rolling again!"

Chihiro grinned, then went to teleport across the battlefield. But before she stepped away, she craned her head back to where the rest of the Skylanders duked it out with their evil clones!

All around the battlefield, the fighting was still going strong with nobody ready to relent! Sparks flew as Drill Sergeant charged against the Evil Drill Robot, while overhead lasers soared down like rain thanks to a battle between Drobot and the Evil Robot Dragon! The Evil Unicorn Dragon shot deadly, dull-colored rainbows towards Sunburn as he teleported away and tried to blast away its cloud shields with flames, and all of this was set to a soundtrack of grinding weapons, battle cries and insults hissed out through gritted teeth!

The Evil Dirt Shark grinned as it punched an unsuspecting Trigger Happy into a path of flames crafted by the now-recovered Evil Elf Archer, then snarled as he quickly jumped out of the fire's way! The Evil Dirt Shark cracked its knuckles went to dive in and presumably finish off Trigger Happy itself, but before it could… An orb smashed right into it and tossed it aside!

While the Evil Dirt Shark flew across the battlefield, Hex snarled and dashed aside of a thunderstorm before she flung more orbs at the evil minions. And yet, despite her vigilance in dodging the haphazard attacks that strung across the battlefield, one thing had completely slipped her notice! Right as she fired off a round of skull orbs, something slammed into her and knocked her down! Hex grunted and turned around as she tried to get back up, but before she could, a purple foot stepped on the fringe of her dress's skirt.

"Not so tough now, are you, elfie?" The Evil Orc Warrior sneered as its ax retracted back into its handle. Its blank eyes cast a glance back to the ax, then it raised it high and swung down…

But before it could even graze her, Hex held out her hand and summoned a wall of bones between them! While her bone barrier shielded the brunt of the Evil Orc Warrior's blow, Hex's eyes flared with light as she jumped back to her feet and recited a chant.

The Evil Orc Warrior grunted as it finally yanked its ax out of the bones, then it snarled as it glared back at Hex. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Hex return its snarl with a glare, then cast out her hand and summoned a vortex above the Evil Orc Warrior—a vortex full of skulls that soon dropped on its head!

"Owch! Owch! Owch!" The Evil Orc Warrior cried as the skulls continually bonked it on the head.

Hex just scoffed, then snapped her finger. In response, the vortex expanded its range to the rest of the arena field as well! All around her, these skulls rained down on the evil minions, who completely forgot about their ongoing fights and just tried to escape! Or they just stood and cried in pain as they were beat down by the skulls, but either way they were completely incapacitated.

The Evil Storm Titan grimaced as the Evil Rock Dragon was bit clean in half by one of these skulls, then dodged out the way of another as it glared at Hex.

"That's it, I can't let this continue!" The Evil Storm Titan proclaimed as it clasped a lightning bolt like a sword and bolted towards Hex, "Take this, you—"

SHING!

"My apologies," Chop Chop proclaimed as he leaped in front of the Evil Storm Titan and intercepted its sword with his own, "But I cannot let you interrupt my lady in the midst of her work!"

The two of them clashed in a mighty, metallic fury as their swords slammed and bounced against each other, with both parties so fixated on the other that the entire battlefield around them vanished! All they cared about was their battle of blades as they side-stepped the hazards of the arena and ducked attacks without even noticing... Their focus were stuck to each other and only each other.

"Your lady?" The Evil Storm Titan scoffed, and it surely would have rolled its eyes if it had some, "How pretentious, have you sworn your heart to her or something?"

"Something like that."

The Evil Storm Titan completely froze in shock. "Wait, don't tell me she's your—"

"Hex, now!"

Chop Chop simply turned around and raised his sword, but his signal was good enough for Hex! She cast a swirl of magic in the air, then pointed straight towards the Evil Storm Titan and sent it flying!

That swirl of magic quickly transformed into a gigantic, flying skull that came in at such a velocity that the Evil Storm Titan didn't have time to run! It could only stand there as the skull slammed into it and tossed it across the battlefield!

"Ugh…" The Evil Storm Titan groaned as it got up and stumbled about, only to fall down once more, "Curse you, you stupid skull!"

And right as it fell unconscious, a particularly large skull leaped out of nowhere and chomped right down on the Evil Storm Titan, which in turn caused it to explode into a storm of purple and sky blue magic spheres!

Camo skidded just underneath this storm and grunted as he hit the floor face-first, then turned around as a high-pitched cackle sounded off behind him from none other than the Evil Gremlin! Camo snarled as he went to attack it…

But before he could, a furious drill shot towards him!

In that moment, he had completely forgotten the Evil Gremlin and instead rolled away from the drill, but it was stubborn and set it course for Camo once more! His attention had been turned to jumping and leaping out of the drill's way, all while the Evil Gremlin cackled with glee.

But in its glee, it didn't notice the flare of blue light that popped up behind it! Chihiro reappeared behind the Evil Gremlin, though it was oblivious to her appearance as it continued to gloat. However, it certainly noticed her when she yanked it off the ground and tossed it between Camo and the drill! It shot Chihiro a glare, then screamed in pain as the drill bored it to death!

Camo, however, just smirked as the Evil Gremlin exploded into spheres and hopped back over to Chihiro. Camo and Chihiro gave each other a thumbs up, then as Camo left to fight Chihiro just frowned and examined the battlefield.

This battle had gone on for long enough, and anyone could tell the Skylanders were growing weary. They didn't shoot off their attacks nearly as rapidly as when the battle began, and weren't nearly as alert, either, judging by how some of them kept getting tossed across the battlefield... But unfortunately for them, those minions hadn't lost any of their earlier gusto! They still fought as eagerly as they did when the fight began, and at this rate, it almost seemed as though they would win!

"Perhaps it's time I finish this!" Chihiro cried as she summoned a magical sword and stormed into the fray… Then stopped and skid back as the Evil Elf Witch and Elf Archer stormed in front of her!

"Halt right there!" The Evil Elf Archer proclaimed as it cast its arrows in front of Chihiro, "You shall not pass!"

"Indeed, this is as far as you'll go!" The Evil Elf Witch affirmed with a nod of its head, "You have been troubling us for far too long, but your insolence ends now! No longer will you plague us with your annoying taunts and jeers and your snotty grin, no longer will you…"

Chihiro just yawned and scratched her head as the Evil Elf Witch continued to ramble on.

"BO-RING!" Chihiro cried as she slashed them in half and watched them explode into piles of magic spheres!

Chihiro grinned as the spherical remnants of the Evil Elf Witch and Archer glistened at her feet, but the storming sounds of stomping and rampaging pulled her eyes up to the rest of the battlefield. Though, it certainly wasn't visible anymore, because what remained of the evil minions' forces had completely swarmed her!

"Trying to sneak off, are you, portal pest?" Remarked the Evil Drill Robot as it whirred up to Chihiro and stuck one of its drills in her face. As Chihiro instinctively flinched and stumbled backwards, the Evil Drill Robot beeped and narrowed its eyes. "Sorry to say, but neither you or your pesky little buddies will be going anywhere from here!"

The Evil Drill Robot wheeled backwards, then revved its engine as its wheels spun against the ground below with such intensity that it made sparks fly all around!

"Consider this your final resting place, portal poster!"

The Evil Drill Robot cackled with glee as it stormed right towards Chihiro, but before it could even lay a scratch on her, she summoned a shield at such short notice that the Evil Drill Robot couldn't even stop! It just bounded off of the shield and tumbled backwards across the battlefield! Not that this was a deterrent for it, as it immediately jumped back to its wheels and raised a drill into the air.

"GET HER!" It cried at the top of its mechanical voice!

The signal now given, the remaining minions all cheered and cried as they flung themselves at Chihiro! Their arms were bared as they completely swarmed a tense, sweating Chihiro, who only winced as she lifted her hands and summoned a round of swords!

With a snap of her fingers, the blades stood upright and shot down into the fray, then thrust their sharp blades into the minions' faces! The minions stopped their assault short and jumped back just before they could get sliced, and in that moment of hesitation a bright burst of light formed around the swords and shaped into a human form! These illusions of humans all grabbed the swords they came from and pressed them against the minions' faces. Though their faces bore no features, the subtle brightening of their glow was enough to convey their message—they came here for a fight, and they would leave as the victors!

The Evil Robot Dragon furrowed its brows and growled as the illusion it faced off with poked the blade in its face, then with a swing of its paws it slammed down the illusion and slashed it back into magical bits!

"QUIT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" The Evil Robot Dragon cried as its paws slammed against the cold tile floor, "YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A FACE!"

The Evil Robot Dragon leaned down and panted as it hung its head, but with it inciting the brawl, the other minions immediately jumped into the fray! Sparks and smoke flew across the battlefield while the sounds of clashing completely masked everything else as their attention became completely fixed on the illusions…

Much to Chihiro's content as she smirked and turned around.

"Since you guys are so preoccupied," she whispered as her boots started to glow with a small, cyan light, "I'll just make my leave now!"

Chihiro leaned down and prepared to jump, but just before she could make her leap…

"Hold it right there!" The Evil Orc Warrior, Evil Unicorn Dragon, and Evil Dirt Shark cried as they jumped in front of her!

Chihiro squeaked and stumbled backwards as they all closed in on her, then her confident look turned to a snarl as she regained her balance and clenched her hands into a fist.

"Sorry, kid!" The Evil Dirt Shark sneered as it cracked its knuckles, "But I'm afraid you aren't getting away that easily!"

"Yeah!" The Evil Orc Warrior and Unicorn Dragon cried as their blank eyes flared with bitter rage!

Chihiro scoffed, then made a hapless shrug as a magic cleaver appeared in her hand and cocked an eyebrow back at the Evil Dirt Shark. In spite of their sudden accost, she didn't seem tense or worried at all—she was the picture of confident as she brandished her cleaver and watched her reflection in its blade.

"I should've guessed I'd miss a few," Chihiro remarked as the Evil Dirt Shark's own confident look faded in favor of snarls and angry glares, "Oh well, I'll just take care of you creeps and get on my merry way!"—With her hands clasped tight around the cleaver's handle, Chihiro bolted forward and swung right down on the Evil Dirt Shark—"HI-YAH!"

Chihiro grinned as the blade flew right towards the Evil Dirt Shark's head, but right before the blade could make contact, the Evil Dirt Shark grabbed the blade between its hands and yanked the cleaver right out of Chihiro's hands!

"Oh, whoops!" The Evil Dirt Shark cried as it turned around and lobbed the cleaver back at the fence. While Chihiro gasped and stepped back, it only grinned and licked its lips. "You should be more careful with your toys, kid!"

Chihiro grunted, but she dispelled her shock as she shook her head and summoned a second cleaver. "That wasn't the only one I have, you know!"

And with a scream so loud it rattled the battlefield, Chihiro held her cleaver tight and charged right towards the Evil Dirt Shark! Her cry was so loud, so passionate that it not only escaped the grip of the sounds of war, from the grinding swords and explosions and insults… But it caught the Skylanders' attention as well!

Thirty-three pairs of eyes fell across the battlefield, past the swarms of magic spheres, dents and craters left behind by previous brawls, right towards the swarms of evil minions that sparred with Chihiro's swordsmen illusions!

The minions fought their hardest, but unfortunately, the illusions fought just as hard! For brainless illusions, they were incredibly good at fighting as they slashes against their opponents and used their blades to block their blows. In fact, they were so good that they had completely grabbed the minions' attention! It was like those minions had completely forgotten the Skylanders existed!

"Everyone!" Spyro cried as the other Skylanders gathered around him, his golden eyes lit with excitement as he looked from side to side, "We've got a chance! Quick, get those minions!"

"Got it!" Everyone cried at once as they rushed towards the crowd of evil minions!

While everyone run or flew with such might that their stampeding footsteps drowned out the insults and sound of clashing weapons, Boomer bolted forward and leaped over the battlefield, then yanked his bombs out of his backpack and lit them with a simple yank of their strings!

"Bombs away!" Boomer cried as he lobbed his bombs into the crowds of minions!

Boomer grinned from ear to ear as red-hot, flaming explosions scattered across the battlefield and ate up the minions' forces, then shot downwards and landed right on Drill Sergeant's back!

Boomer chuckled to himself as he patted Drill Sergeant on the head. "Thanks for the catch, Drills!"

"That is not my designation!" Drill Sergeant beeped as he turned his attention up to Boomer, "It is—"

Drill Sergeant yipped as a laser darted forward and slammed right into his grate! Thankfully, being a robot meant that the most it did was spark a bit and vanish, but it was still sudden enough that it caused Boomer to yelp and jump off of Drill Sergeant's back!

"EXCUSE ME!" Drill Sergeant exclaimed as his eyes turned narrow and red, "IT IS RUDE TO INTERRUPT PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE TALKING!"

Drill Sergeant's engine revved as his gaze trained on the Evil Crystal Golem, who held its belly as it bellowed out laughter, then he screeched forward and loaded his drill hands!

"TARGET ACQUIRED!"

With those two words spoken, Drill Sergeant fired his drills with a click! Though Drill Sergeant skidded to a stop, his drill hands burst forward and fixed their path right onto the Evil Crystal Golem, but it was so caught up in its laughing spell that it didn't even notice! Before it could react, the drills plunged through its chest and blew it to bits!

As it exploded in a shower of purple and brown spheres, Drill Sergeant made a content beep and wheeled back after Boomer. "Now, as I was saying, Boomer, sir…"

Zap and Camo both chuckled and rolled their eyes at each other as Drill Sergeant passed them by, then as the sound of sizzling shot off beside them, Zap gasped and tackled Camo to the ground!

"Look out, dude!" Zap cried as a massive breeze blew over their heads!

The two of them grimaced as their eyes fell back to the battlefield, where the Evil Griffon's gaze fixed on them! Its eyes were wide and its gaping jaw open even wider as it froze in place. But, it was hardly the only one!

The remaining evil minions had torn away from their own battles and had completely fixed themselves on the Skylanders! A couple of them snarled as they tried to jump into the fray, the Evil Griffon included. But before they could attack, the swordsmen illusions slid in front of them and brandished their swords in the minions' faces! Though a few of them tried to escape, the swordsmen tailed them and had them cornered at every turn!

All except for one, that is! The Evil Griffon flitted this way and that, then as the swordsman illusion that faced it blocked it off at every turn, it growled and tossed an egg right at it! The swordsman illusion immediately skewered the egg with its sword… But that turned out to be a big mistake, as the egg exploded from the damage and took the swordsman with it!

The Evil Griffon cackled as it flew out of the smoky veil the explosion left behind, but right when it thought it was safe, a horde of vines wrapped around it and yanked it to Camo's side!

"You're not getting away this time!" Camo cried as he stomped his front paws, "Time for a fried fruit punch!"

With that one stomp, a vine full of watermelons so ripe they could burst exploded out from the ground, then a blue blur dashed aside while a lightning bolt shot out from the side and blew them to bits! The explosions was a bright, fruit mess that shot smoking watermelon chunks at every angle, with the biggest ones bored right into the Evil Griffon and knocked it on its back!

The Evil Griffon grunted as it tried to pull itself up, but no matter what it did, it couldn't move from its spot! As it thrust its head up, it grunted and turned around to find…

"Slime?" The Evil Griffon exclaimed as it craned its head aside to find itself stuck to a patch of sticky slime, "Where'd this come from?"

"Me, dude!" Zap cried from across the floor! Zap grinned as he dashed forward in another blue blast, and his grin only grew as he looked down at the Evil Griffon. "You like my super secret slime patch technique?"

The Evil Griffon went to reply, but just as it opened its mouth, Zap shot a lightning bolt right between its eyes! The Evil Griffon screamed in agony as the lightning coursed through its body, then as it exploded into a shower of sky blue spheres, Zap chuckled and held a paw to his muzzle.

"And that was my super-secret lightning technique!"

"It's not super secret if you tell them about it, you know," Camo remarked as he strode over to Zap's side and brushed his tail against Zap's back.

Zap chuckled, and his gaze grew a little more coy as he looked aside of Camo's eyes. "Heh, guess you're right."

The two of them stood in a rare moment of peace together, then finally their eyes locked and they both blinked as their jaws started to drop.

"Hey, Camo…" Zap remarked as he looked aside for just a bit, "Er, well, were your scales always that, uh, what's the word… Colorful?"

KABOOM!

Right before Camo could answer, a bolt of black lightning crashed down on the battlegrounds and fried the Evil Drill Robot into oblivion beside them! As Zap and Camo turned around right as it exploded into a puff of spheres, a rain of purple flames and black lightning bolts forced Camo to grab Zap by the leg and dragged him away!

"Come on, we've gotta get out of here before we end up as barbecue!" Camo cried as he looked back at Zap and winked, "But, to answer your question, I have been sunbathing more lately!"

Zap blinked for a few moments, then giggled and winked back at Camo. "That's what I thought, dude!"

And where did that storm of lightning and fire come from, one might ask? Well, the answer lied in the skies above, where Cynder and Dark Spyro circled around the battlefield and sniped the minions down below!

"The weird evil Drobot clone is right where you're headed, Cyn! Give him a good zap for me!" Dark cried as he rushed past her and shot a purple fireball down on the ground.

"Roger that!" Cynder shouted back.

Cynder screeched to a halt mid-flight, then her eyes fell onto the battlefield and finally stopped as she caught the Evil Robot Dragon while it crept up on an unsuspecting Gill Grunt. As it got ready to fire, Cynder's muzzle twitched and her eyes turned narrow.

"Not on my watch."

Cynder yanked her jaw open, and a black lightning bolt shot out from her mouth and crashed into the Evil Robot Dragon! Cynder pulled herself up and shook her head as the Evil Robot Dragon exploded into spheres below her, then turned around and grinned as Dark Spyro flew up to her.

"Alright!" They both cheered as they high-fived each other.

Explosions echoed all across the battlefield as the minions were wiped out in one massive storm, their magic spheres blood that scattered across the battlefield and glowed against the cool tile surface of the battlefield below. Before anyone had known it, all that was left of their forces were the Evil Dirt Shark, Orc Warrior and Unicorn Dragon, and not even they noticed this as they continued to brawl with Chihiro!

Chihiro hupped as she jumped up and dodged a tackle from the Evil Orc Warrior, then as her feet landed on top of the Evil Orc Warrior's head, she summoned a magic sphere and slung it right at the Evil Unicorn Dragon before it could strike her! The Evil Unicorn Dragon squealed as it went rolling through the skies, but Chihiro wasn't concerned at all as she smirked and crossed her arms! Chihiro stomped on the Evil Orc Warrior's head and jumped off as it was shaken to its core and dropped its ax, her eyes still trained on the Evil Unicorn Dragon. With a flick of her hand, a magic sword manifested beside her and fell into her palm's grip, then she tightened her hold on it as she dashed for the Evil Unicorn Dragon…

But before she could reach it, the Evil Dirt Shark skidded in front of her and slugged a punch right at her! Chihiro was quick to block its blow with her sword, but the punch was so powerful that it shattered her sword to bits!

"Hah! Give up yet, kid?" The Evil Dirt Shark crooned as it leaned back and turned back to the rest of the battlegrounds, "After all, we've got you…"

The Evil Dirt Shark's confident look completely dropped, however, the moment its blank eyes fell on the battlefield, for aside from the Evil Unicorn Dragon and Evil Orc Warrior, the evil minions had been completely wiped out! All that remained of them was a colorful pool of magic spheres that laid on the ground and contently twinkled like stars.

"Outnumbered?"

The Evil Dirt Shark frantically blinked and shook its head as it stepped back. "Wh, what's going on? Where'd those guys run off too?!"

"What was that about outnumbering us, now?" Chihiro smirked as she summoned a new longsword and crept up to the Evil Dirt Shark, "Cause I don't know about you, but I think things look pretty evenly-matched to me!"

Chihiro grunted as she swung her sword and got ready to cut the Evil Dirt Shark in half, but before she could, it turned around and dove right into the ground! It tore through the ground around and left a massive tear in the floor as it tunneled up to where the Evil Orc Warrior pulled the Evil Unicorn Dragon off the ground, then popped out with such speed it caused the both of them to jolt up!

Though it was too far away for its words to be heard, the orders the Evil Dirt Shark barked out were understood well enough, for it gestured right towards the swarm of spheres beside them! All three of them stumbled across the battlefield and nearly tripped over their own feet as they scrambled for those spheres… But right before they could reach their goal, a gigantic sword manifested out of thin air and slashed them clear in half!

The three of them exploded into colorful showers of spheres that rained down across the battlefield, and all eyes turned to Chihiro as she wiped her hands and grinned.

"Welp, that should be the last of that!" Chihiro cried as she strode over to the spheres and raised a very self-satisfied eyebrow, "Not so tough now, are you?"

The spheres, in response, all started to shudder and tremble as if the evil minions were resenting that remark from beyond the grave, so in response Chihiro snapped her fingers once more and trapped the entire mass of spheres in a series of small, pink bubbles.

"There! You're not causing any more trouble on my watch!" Chihiro crossed her arms while the bubbles floated in midair, "These magic-proof bubbles should keep you from starting any funny business!"

Chihiro giggled as she basked in the gentle light of the bubbles as they reflected against the surface of the cold, dented, war-torn battlefield… But her grin quickly faded as her eyes fell across the rest of the battlefield. This platform, it wasn't moving anymore, in spite of the minions all being cleaned out. What could possibly need to be done now?

Apparently, the Skylanders had the same question, because a look behind showed they had all huddled together and whispered something so quiet it couldn't be heard, surely a plan of some kind.

"Alright, everyone!" Spyro cried as the crowds of Skylanders dispersed, "We'll look outside the platform for some way to start this thing back up. For now, look around here and see if you can get this thing rolling!"

The other Skylanders all cried out in agreement, and Chihiro herself got ready to bolt at first, but then stopped as a loud growl resounded in the air and turned around. That strange noise seemed to have come from under the castle, but from what? All the spheres their fallen enemies left behind were trapped behind her as proof of their defeat, so what else could be waiting for them at this point beyond Kaos himself? What could possibly be brewing under there?

Chihiro skipped over to the edge of the arena and took a peek underneath the fence's gaps, then yelped and stumbled backwards as a shadow fell over the arena! And she wasn't the only one to notice, as Spyro quickly swept down from the skies above and flew over to her side.

"Chihiro!" Spyro called as he swooped over and sat beside her, "What's going on?"

Chihiro couldn't make any words at first. She just started transfixed on the shadow's owner as the shadow itself grew longer and more massive, but at the very least she was able to point towards it!

"I think I found one of Kaos's super-secret weapons!"

§

All around them, the Skylanders and Chihiro completely froze as the battlefield underneath their feet began to rumble and quake with fear, as if something had completely shaken the battlefield they stood on! Out from underneath the battlefield, a large, long shadow crept across… Or rather, shadows! There, just above the battlefield, four thin, long and vaguely dragon-like shadows crept over the battlefield and glared down, their blank, white eyes the only thing visible in the mist

"What is that thing?" Spyro gasped as he stepped back.

"I don't know," Chihiro replied as she summoned a gigantic cleaver and charged towards the shadows, "But it's going down!"

Chihiro knelt down with cleaver in hand, then as cyan magic gathered around her soles she leaped up and got ready to slice! But before she could, a laser blasted off just nearby and sent out a rumble so intense it threw her on her back!

More and more of these lasers crashed down onto the ground and immobilized everyone around, and yet, the shadowy heads were perfectly still! What could have caused this?

Everybody whimpered and groaned as they got back to their feet, but they didn't stand for long! The ground began to rumble out of nowhere and forced everyone back down with its intense shaking, then, out of completely nowhere, the center of the arena completely withdrew and out popped…

"Well, well, well, look what we've got here!" Kaos bellowed, "The Skylosers and their portal-poster! What an unexpected surprise!"

As the arena floor closed up, Kaos glowered above them on top of some kind of twisted throne, one made entirely of blue crystal and metal that shone against the light of the battlefield below. The chair itself had twisted, golden thorns that jutted out from its back, while the base was round and decorated with intricate gold and silver markings paired off with crystals rockets on each corner. For such an odd-looking throne, however, it did well to accentuate the imposing aura he had clearly intense to bring to the table.

"Kaos!" The Skylanders called in unison as they all flocked to the throne and looked up at Kaos with venomous stares.

Tension thickened around the battlefields as the Skylanders all glared down Kaos and readied to attack, and it almost made the adrenaline spike in Chihiro's own heart! Kaos, however, only reveled in it as he grinned and glared back down at the whole group—but the way his glare pierced into Chihiro's heart told her his eyes were fixed on her specifically.

"While it's true that your appearance was a bit unexpected…" Kaos grinned for a moment, then froze and shook his head, "I, I mean, YOU WEREN'T UNEXPECTED AT ALL! I TOTALLY ANTICIPATED THAT YOU'D SHOW UP AND TRY TO FOIL MY EVIL PLOY TO KILL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

Kaos smirked as everyone watched in anticipation, all while their battlefield rumbled and shook once more. "And that's why I brought you a little treat!"

Kaos let out another ear-bleeding cackle, then stood to his full, albeit unimpressive height as he stretched his arms out wide!

"Take a look at the beast who destroyed the Core of Light the first time and will do so again! The beast who sent that fool Eon to his well-deserved death, and will do the same to all of you! TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT MY HYDRA!"

A chorus of loud, bloodcurling screeches rumbled the entire battlefield, then those four shadows leaned forward and unveiled their true identities! Loomed above them with blank eyes, shiny scales and sharp fangs were the four heads of a hydra! One head was blue like ocean waters, the second as green as tree leaves in summer, the third skeletal and stripped bare of any skin or scale, and the fourth and final a bright, fiery red… But all of them shared that same bloodlust in their eyes as they gazed upon the arena below them with full intentions to kill.

The Skylanders all gasped and stumbled back, eyes wide with fright as the hydra's four heads lurched backward and roared towards the dark, cloudy skies. The once adrenaline-filled air of battle had turned cold and rife with fear, and Kaos seemed to know that as he cackled with glee!

"Not so tough now, are you Skylosers?" Kaos crooned as he raised an eyebrow, "Especially now that you're doomed for sure!"

"No way…" Spyro whispered as he tried and failed to ease his shaking legs.

Chihiro winced as she looked back at Spyro, so terrified and unalike his usual leaderlike and noble persona, but she couldn't blame him for being afraid. Surely, this had to be the hydra that destroyed the Core of Light, the same one that Kaos was going to use to bring about its end once more! But, what was it doing here? Oh, Chihiro didn't have time to worry about that! Chihiro grunted as she turned up to the hydra, but the sight of it didn't fill her with fear or shock like it did the others—guess it was her turn to lead the charge!

"No way, Kaos!" Chihiro cried as she gritted her teeth and pointed a finger right at him and his stupid little throne, "That's not for you to decide! We came here to stop you from destroying the Core of Light, and we're gonna see that through!"

Chihiro whipped her head back and faced the Skylanders, then nudged it towards Kaos with an eager, anticipating glint in her eyes. "Right, everyone?"

But, none of the Skylanders replied! They just stood frozen with those terrified, wide-eyed looks and shaking bodies, though they all tried their best to hide it in one way or another. Some clenched their shuddering hands and forced a scowl, others grimaced as they stepped back and lowered their wings and tails… Even the bravest of their ranks gulped and steeled their gazes, as if they knew they had no chance against what they faced now!

"Er, guys?" Chihiro said as she stepped back, "What's going on?"

"They know they have no chance, that's what going on, foolish portal poster!" Kaos cried from above, his smile wider than before as his words caused another wave of tension and uncertainty to wash over everyone below, "This beast is the most powerful weapon in my hands! It shattered the Core of Light to bits and can kill with just a snap of my fingers! With its power under my control, none of you will make it out of here alive!"

Kaos then flew off the battlefield and hovered underneath the hydras' chins, and though he was far from view, they could all still tell he was completely snide with power, all giddy at the very prospect of wiping them out where they stood.

"Now, hydra!" Kaos gestured down at the arena floor below, "Do us all a favor and WIPE THOSE SKYLOSERS OFF THE VERY FACE OF SKYLANDS!"

The hydra's four heads all whipped back and roared in unison, then finally the blue head lashed out first as its whole body glowed with a bright, blue aura! As the hydra glowed and glowered, thunder sounded off while storm clouds churned around the arena's skies… And dropped down cold, wet rain!

"Rain?" Chihiro scoffed as she held her hand out and watched the rain droplets fall on her palm, "Is that the best you can do?"

Chihiro peered back up with a grin, then her eyes practically popped out of her skull as she narrowly jumped out the way of a gigantic shark.

"Okay, maybe not!"

Sharks rained down from the skies like, well, rain, and in the moment everyone scattered before they could become chum bait! But, while they were disorganized in formation as they tried not to get bit, Kaos found himself with the perfect chance to attack!

"Everyone!" Spyro cried as he started flapping his wings and took to the skies, "If you can fly, fly! Those sharks can't leave the ground—"—Spyro grunted as a magic sphere kicked into his gut and tossed him back to the ground—"Oof!"

As Spyro hit the ground and forced himself back up, the sound of cackles brought his attention to the skies, where Kaos laughed in pure, evil glee as he soared across the skies on his throne!

While the Skylanders wove around the swarms of vicious, ferocious sharks, Kaos swept around the battlefield on his throne and shot lasers and magic blasts down on the field with such ferocity that they could hardly be avoided! And if they tried to escape to the skies, then they were certain to get blown down as well! Cries of pain shouted out across the battlefield as unsuspected laser blasts tossed several of the Skylanders across the battlefield like toys, the sound only made worse as it intermingled with Kaos's cackles!

Chihiro grunted as she swept away from a shark's massive jaws, then as it snapped them and went on its merry way, another cry of pain was shouted out beside her! Chihiro froze and perked up her head, and right at a good moment, too—because Chihiro immediately caught Whirlwind as she soared across the battlefield!

"Don't worry!" Whirlwind cried as she disappeared into the distance, "I'm coming!"

Chihiro's brow tensed as Whirlwind became little more than a blur in the distance, then she kicked off a shark that tried to attack from behind and dashed across the battlefield! In the distance, she could just barely spy Whirlwind as she landed down beside… Was that Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang? Chihiro raised an eyebrow, then leaped forward and teleported straight to where Whirlwind was!

"Whirlwind, what happened here?" Chihiro asked as she reappeared beside the trio, then grimaced and stepped back, "Actually, I think I can guess!"

Sure enough, there on the ground were none other than Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang, who laid on their sides and looked as if they were in extraordinary pain, what with the clenched jaws and closed eyes and all that! Not that it wasn't obvious—Wrecking Ball had a nasty burn on his back, while Dino-Rang's armor had been partially bitten off to unveil a nasty wound that was bleeding fast!

"Don't worry, just hold still!" Whirlwind proclaimed as she lowered her head while her horn flared in a rainbow of color, "I'll fix you up in an instant!"

As her horn glowed brighter and brighter, Whirlwind knelt down beside Dino-Rang and gently pressed her horn against the wound, all while the blood that coated his side slowly seeped back into his body…

"Well, well, look what I have here!" Kaos crooned from the skies above, "A couple of sitting ducks waiting for me to make them my dinner!"

Chihiro gasped and spun around with her eyes fixed on the skies, where sure enough, Kaos had flown up on his throne! He cackled as a couple of the rockets on the throne lifted to reveal a cannon that was ready to strike at any moment and finish them off for good!

"Crap!" Chihiro whispered as her eyes turned back to where Whirlwind didn't move an inch, as Whirlwind's focus laid still on Dino-Rang while she healed his injuries.

"I can't let him do this!" Chihiro hastily snapped her fingers, and out from nowhere, several giant, cyan dragon effigies manifested above them, "Dragons, get Kaos, quick!"

With Chihiro's command firm in their minds, the dragon effigies roared and dashed right towards Kaos's throne, then merged into one humongous dragon right as they tackled into his throne! And they came with such speed, he couldn't even retaliate! All he could do was watch as the dragons crashed into his throne and tossed him across the battlefield!

And with him out of the picture, Chihiro turned back and grinned as Whirlwind helped a fully-healed Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang back to their feet. Yep, looks like Chihiro had made it just in time! And with their safety assured, Chihiro turned her attention back to the rest of the fight.

Across the battlefield, Kaos screamed at the top of his lungs as he came crashing in, a warning siren that alerted everyone around of his impact.

As she narrowly skirted becoming a shark's next meal, Hex looked up right as Kaos came crashing towards her, then blasted him aside with a gigantic skull!

While Kaos went flying sideways, the skull cackled as it pushed forward and exploded into a rain of cackling skulls that crashed down onto the battlefield!

The sharks, however, were too simple-minded to realize the danger above their heads, for they were more concerned with attacking the Skylanders! Right as they rushed forward and went to bite, they got conked in the head with skulls and fell over, completely beaten!

Kaos, meanwhile, pulled himself up and groaned as his eyes spun in circles… Then cried in pain as a skull hit him on the head and bounced off his throne!

"MY BEAUTIFUL EVIL HEAD!" Kaos cried as he shook himself to safety and formed a shield around his throne. Now safe from the skulls' rain of terror, Kaos dashed under the safety of his hydra's heads and scowled as the skull rain carried on, his grip on his arm rests tight.

"You know what?" Kaos exclaimed as he slammed his hands against the arm rests of his throne, "Two can play at that little game!"—Kaos glared up at the hydra and pointed a finger—"HYDRA, GIVE ME SOME SKULLS!"

The skeletal hydra head reeled back and let out a bone-chilling scream, then out of nowhere the rain stopped—or more actually, it stopped bringing down water! The sharks completely vanished to the shock of everyone around as a thin layer of mist coated the battlefield, followed by the sound of cackling from above!

"What is that?" Hex whispered as she stopped her own skull rain and lifted her head up… Then hastily teleported away as a gigantic skull crashed down from the skies!

Down from the changed skies rained gigantic skulls with glowing red eyes in lieu of the rain! These skulls were vultures that swooped in at every given moment and burned whatever was around with brightly-colored lasers from their eyes the moment they hit the floor. Nobody was safe from their fury!

"Geez," Dark Spyro exclaimed as he jumped out the way of one skull only to fly away from another and dash out of yet another's path, "Just how many of these skulls are there?"

As a laser singed him on the tail and made him yelp, Dark Spyro spun around and snarled at a cackling skull. He immediately dashed after it, but it just flew off and spun around in a circle with no cares to how dizzy it made Dark! By the time he had been thoroughly spun around, the skull just shrugged and jumped out of the way, then grinned as Dark Spyro charged into a skull behind it! Both the other skull and Dark Spyro flew on their backs, but the first skull just cackled and flew off.

"Ugh, when did these birds get everywhere…" Dark Spyro groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head.

Meanwhile, the other skull spun towards Kaos's throne and screeched as it shot lasers all across the skies—including where Kaos sat!

"Hey!" Kaos exclaimed as he narrowly dodged the lasers and flew down to where the skull haplessly spun about, "Watch what you're frying, you numbskull!"

But while Kaos berated the skull that had nearly fried him, the others all immediately stopped their laser show and started aimlessly flying about! In his rage, he had completely lost control of the skull! With their opportunity presented, the Skylanders immediately went to work!

Voodood turned to Double Trouble and shared a grin with him, then Voodood's own grin faded as he turned his attention to one giant skull that mindlessly swayed from side to side. Voodood took a step forward and grunted as he withdrew his ax, then he lifted it up and swung it towards the skull in a single movement! The ax slammed against the side of the skull's head with such force that it not only left a decently-sized crack, but it definitely got the skull's attention! It cried out in pain as it tottered forward, then as the ax flew back to Voodood the skull whipped around and growled.

"Hey, bonehead!" Voodood cried as he swung his ax over his shoulder, "Over here!"

The skull's blank, glowing eyes blinked for a few moments, then it rattled and gritted its teeth as its eyes glowed with a bright red light! The skull roared as it charged towards Voodood with its jaws wide and prepared to bite… But before it could even reach Voodood, it froze mid-run while a bright purple glow shone around its body! The skull spat out faint, pained grunts while its eyes dashed from place to place, but no matter how much it strained, it just couldn't break free!

Much to the pleasure of Double Trouble, who grinned as he held up his staff while its jewel glowed with a similar purple light. With a snap of his his fingers, the light that enveloped the skull grew brighter and brighter with such speed that it started to screech. Then, Double Trouble waved his staff and summoned a shield around him and Voodood right as the skull exploded into bits!

As the shield faded and bony bits dropped down across from then, Double Trouble and Voodood grinned at each other, but only for a moment as a cackle pierced the air! The two of them turned around, then screamed and dashed off as another giant skull chased after them! The two of them screamed as the skull snapped at their feet, then Double Trouble waved his staff and teleported him and Voodood across the battlefield! The two of them wiped the sweat of their brows, then screamed and dashed off again as the skull went running back after them!

"Wait a second," Dark Spyro mumbled as he pulled himself up. The sounds of screaming drew his eyes to where Voodood and Double Trouble were being chased, then those eyes narrowed as they fell on the skull that chased them. "That skull!"

Dark Spyro snorted with such anger that purple smoke flew out of his nostrils, then he scraped his paws against the ground and charged forward! His speed grew faster and faster by the second as purple fire flared and swirled around his horns, then finally the fires grew brighter and completely enveloped his body!

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!"

Right as Dark Spyro cried this out, he leaped forward and tackled right into the skull's side! The skull screeched as it went spinning aside, then finally it crashed into the fencing that surrounded the entire battlefield and shattered completely! As the flames vanished from his body, Dark smiled and stood with his head held high… Then screamed and flew aside as a massive wind whipped through the battlefield!

"Lightning Rod!" Warnado called as he herded a humongous tornado full of giant skulls right towards Lightning Rod.

As Lightning Rod turned around and glared down the tornado, Warnado retreated into his shell, then slammed right into the tornado and sent it hurtling towards Lightning Rod!

"You know what to do!" Warnado cried as he popped out of his shell.

Lightning Rod nodded and clapped his hands, then skirted back as the churning clouds above them grew more violent and loud! Right as he made his escape, a gigantic thunderbolt crashed down on the tornado and blew it to bits, which in turn completely fried the skulls and crumbled them to ashes!

As their ashes were scattered in the wind, Warnado flew over and high-fived Lightning Rod…

"Watch out!"

Then they turned around and dashed out of the way as several skulls were chased across the field by Sunburn! The skulls screeched as Sunburn singed them with a burst of fire ran towards Sonic Boom, but before they could escape, she let out a sonic screech so loud it rattled them to the bone! As the skulls shuddered in place, Sunburn rushed up and blasted them with another flaming burst so bright it set them all aflame!

The skulls blinked for a moment as the flames burned bright over their bodies, then finally the pain set in and they screamed as they flew right over the battlefield's boundaries and into the night!

"Nice going, Sonic!" Sunburn shouted as he flew over to Sonic Boom's side, "I'd be chasing those skulls a lot longer if you hadn't stopped them!"

"You did pretty good too!" Sonic Boom remarked as he stretched a wing across the battlefield, "After all, we're almost done with those skulls!"

And Sonic Boom was right! The battlefield had been completely cleaned of skulls, save for the one that Kaos currently berated… But even that one wouldn't last for long judging by the way Spyro eyed it!

"And if you want to spend the rest of your awful skeletal life in peace, I'd suggest not blasting your maker with the very weapons he gave you!" Kaos cried as he shook a fist at the skull that singed him, which now looked very repentant as it bowed its head. With a scoff, Kaos turned his attention back to the throne's controls. "Now, as I was saying—"

Right before Kaos could finish, however, Spyro charged forward and crashed into the skull with all his might, then dashed back across the battlefield!

"Anyways, if I recall correctly…" Kaos frowned and lifted his head, then shook it and rapidly blinked as his eyes fell on the battlefield, "Wait, where did my skulls go?"

While he was busy berating the one skull that slipped up, the Skylanders had made quick work of them all! Their shattered, bony fragments coated the battlefield like confetti, while the Skylanders just glared back up at the hydra as if they were asking of their next challenge!

"YOU ABSOLUTE INSOLENTS!" Kaos screamed as he jumped to his feet, "ALRIGHT THEN, YOU FORCED MY HANDS!"—Kaos snarled as he pounded his fists against his arm rests—"YOU MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE THE PAST ATTACKS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT WHAT ABOUT TWO AT ONCE?!"

This time, the green and red hydra heads cried out in unison, all while the clouds above them parted and revealed bright, harsh sunlight that could sear your eyes just from looking at it!

But while the Skylanders' eyes were fought against the skies, the hydra heads careened towards the ground and shot out blasts of fire and green smoke! These two blasts intertwined with each other right as they hit the ground in one big explosion of green and red smoke that settled over the floor… And from them sprouted gigantic, flaming vines! The vines immediately spun out and grappled for victims, forcing everyone to jump out and dodge!

Stump Smash and Zook screamed and ran in terror as one of the vines chased after then, but before it could reach them, Camo jumped in front of it and combated it with a vine barrier of his own!

"Hah!" Camo cried as the flaming vines lashed against his barrier, "You're not so hot now, are you?".

Camo winced and ducked as his vine barrier immediately crumbled to ashes afterwards. "Okay, I take that back!"

While the flaming vines whipped around and tried to grab Camo once more, he just stomped his paws and created another vine barrier! The vines were quick to burn that one as well, but Camo was just as fast in creating another! Both vines were unrelenting as both Camo and the flaming vines continued to war… Until something kicked Camo right in the back!

Right before a particularly sneaky vine could grab Camo from behind, Chihiro had kicked him out of the way and blocked the vines off from them with a massive shield! Though their flaming tips lashes out at her shield and charred its surface, it still stood strong. But Chihiro herself strained as she glazed over the battlefield.

All around her, the Skylanders had their hands full as they managed dodging the vines and trying to stop them at the same time, but those vines were fast and relentless! Any attack thrown at them was quickly dodged and dispelled! And combined with their massive presence across the battlefield, with them cropped up like weeds at every angle, they were definitely a pestilence!

"Crap, these things are everywhere! I've gotta find some way to put their fire out," Chihiro said as she peered up at the hydra, then gasped as her eyes shone with inspiration, "Wait, that's it!"

Chihiro readied a sphere and aimed it towards the blue hydra head… But before she could fire, a myriad of attacks from rainbows to rains of coins shot right towards it! Apparently a couple of the Skylanders had the same idea, judging by how the firing group of Whirlwind, Trigger Happy, Gill Grunt and looked at each other and grinned.

The blue hydra head, however, looked less than pleased as it shook off the injury, then growled and went to blast the Skylanders with water! However, they were fast, and quickly ran down the arena's floor as the hydra kept pumping water! But, instead of dousing the Skylanders, the hydra completely quelled the flaming vines' fire! The water soaked the vines so badly that all which was left of those once-fiery vines was withered, charred shells that crumbled to ashes almost immediately.

Kaos gasped as the vines crumbled to bits, then growled as he turned his furious gaze back up at the hydra.

"YOU STUPID HYDRA!" Kaos shouted as he shoot a fist at the very confused hydra.

The hydra, in turn, just grunted as it bent its heads down to Kaos's eye level and promptly got hit on each head by Kaos's fist!

"You completely extinguished my vines! Those were supposed to be for the Skylanders, you stupid, stupid—"

"That hydra's nothing for us, Kaos!" Chihiro remarked as she gestured towards the battlefield, "We can take anything you could possibly throw at us, just try it!"

Kaos perked up, then frowned and peered down at the battlefield… But oddly enough, he didn't seem concerned at all! Instead, he just started laughing!

"We'll see about that!" Kaos cried as he slammed the buttons on his throne's armrests! As his throne beeped and glowed, he latched his hands on the armrests and cackled as it slammed down on the ground.

"TAKE THIS!"

Right as Kaos cried out, the thorns on his throne flew open and out popped bright, glowing cannons that shot out waves of lasers, magic blasts and other magical attacks all through the battlefield! Screams and shouts erupted through the battlefield as everyone took cover… But even in the chaos of battle, a couple of them still tried to fight!

Boomer grunted as he rolled underneath one particularly massive laser, then rifled through his backpack and tossed a trio of bombs right towards Kaos's throne! However, just before the bombs exploded, Kaos's throne flew up and dodged their blow! The most they could do was graze the throne's underside as he escaped!

Kaos roared with laughter as he crashed down once more and shot a round of lasers towards where Wham-Shell, Ignitor, Zap and Camo were crowded. But none of them ran off at all! Rather, Wham-Shell slammed his mace into the ground and summoned a gigantic, crab-shaped shield! The shield completely nullified the lasers the moment it hit, then as it receded Wham-Shell pointed his mace right towards Kaos and held it like a gun!

"FIRE!" Wham-Shell cried as he shot off a giant starfish from his mace!

As the starfish whipped through the air, it soon was joined by a trio of flaming mortars, a round of lightning bolts and a few giant watermelons, then all of them combined into one massive attack that slammed against the front of Kaos's throne!

"Did we hit it?" Wham-Shell asked as he eyed the smoke that floated off of Kaos's throne.

Ignitor's flames burned a little less bright while Zap and Camo clenched their jaws, the air tense as they joined Wham-Shell in observing Kaos's throne… Then all four of them gasped as Kaos's cackles rang in the air!

The smoke finally cleared, and it unveiled that Kaos hadn't been damaged at all! Rather, a magic shield had enveloped his throne and shielded it from the brunt of their combined blow! Kaos's cackles grew louder as he rushed forward and mowed down the four of them with a tackle, then as they crashed against the fencing, he opened his front cannon and got ready to shoot. But before he could do anything else, a gigantic blast of magic energy tossed him aside!

As he went spinning around, Chihiro smirked and patted the side of a magic cannon, then ducked and somersaulted away from a wave of lasers Kaos shot just above her head!

"Something like that isn't going to stop me, you know!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stood tall, glared down Kaos… And gasped as he flew right past her!

"Thanks for falling for my plan, portal poster!" Kaos cackled.

Wait, plan? A loud pop sounded off beside her, and Chihiro turned around… Then her eyes went wide, because the sphere remains of the evil minions had been freed of their bubbles! In the heat of battle, she had completely forgotten about them! Chihiro winced and stepped back as Kaos cackled, then gasped as the spheres all flew off towards Kaos and the hydra in one big flock!

Kaos laughed as the spheres absorbed into him and the hydra both, while behind him the hydra shuddered and roared in pain as its head splayed out…

Then out popped four more hydra heads! One was a copper orange in color and made entirely of metal rather than scales with glassy green eyes instead of the usual white, the second was a bright cyan with wispy clouds for horns, the third brown in color with thick, rocklike scales, and the fourth and final had luminescent purple scales tinged with a bit of pink that sparkled against the light of the battlefield below!

Everyone gasped as the now eight-headed hydra cried out, but Kaos seemed hardly concerned! In fact, he just laughed as the remaining spheres flooded into his throne and completely restored it to its prime! Any dents, dings and damages that it had accumulated during the battle completely vanished as it shone against the light the battle provided like it had just been made!

"You see, I was stringing you along all this time!" Kaos proclaimed as he puffed out his chest, "The truth is, I wasn't planning to destroy your dingy little Core of Light at all!"

Gasps echoed across the battlefield, and all at once everyone's eyes went wide.

"So what you're saying is…" Spyro whispered, only to stop short as Kaos's grin grew wider.

"I JUST SAID THAT TO BRING YOU ALL HERE!"

Kaos let out another round of cackles as soft, worried talk and whispers echoed across the battlefield.

"Once you came here I'd use my minions and security to wear you down, then once you blew those useless minions to bits, I'd use their remains to power myself and this hydra up! Thanks to you, my hydra and I are even more powerful now! You have no chance of winning!" Kaos clapped his hands and raised an eyebrow at the Skylanders, "Thanks for sealing your ultimate doom for me, Skylosers!"

"We'll see about that!" Spyro proclaimed as he turned back to the rest of the team. He tried his hardest to puff out his chest and stand tall, but the way his limbs twitched seemed to suggest a hint of fear, "Skylanders, charge!"

And charge was what they did! The Skylanders all rushed towards Kaos like their minds and hearts were one, all with Spyro leading the charge and Chihiro holding up the rear!

But, right before they could leap, the entire arena became a walking hazard field! Sharks, bugs and living rock statues leaped out from the tile floors, tornadoes, rockets and magical blasts rained down from the heavens, and if that wasn't enough to deter them, well… The lasers and pillars of fire that sprouted from the cracks in the floor were definitely pretty close!

"Everyone, stick together!" Spyro shouted as he leaped over the head of a rock monster, "Stay coordinated!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Terrafin said as he punched away a couple sharks, then tunneled away from a magic blast and popped back up, "These things are everywhere!"

And Terrafin was right! All around them, the Skylanders tried their hardest to ward off the hazards Kaos had thrown at them, but it was hard! It seemed like every which way they turned, there was something ready to leap out and attack!

Wham-Shell stepped back and grimaced as he shot down a stack of raging gears and rolled off just before they could crash down on him, but in the process he rammed into Slam Bam and sent Slam Bam skidding across slick, wet floors and into the jaws of a large shark! Slam Bam frantically shot a large ice block into the sharks' jaws and jumped out of the way right as the shark crunched down and shattered the ice block to bits! He winced as the shark zoomed right past him, then ducked just as a massive flaming comet crashed down behind him and blew Bash across the battlefield!

As Bash crashed right into the fence and dented it, Gill Grunt zoomed out of Bash's way and started hosing down the pillars of fire that had emerged around him! Sweat crept down on his brow as he tightened his grip around the trigger… Then let it loose as Spyro teleported beside him and tackled him out the way of a raging tornado!

"That was close," Gill Grunt panted as he and Spyro sat back up, then he smiled as he patted Spyro's head, "Thanks for that, Spy!"

"Don't thank me yet!" Spyro said as he wrapped his front legs around Gill Grunt and got ready to teleport once more, "We're still in the fire right now!"

And with that said, Spyro teleported once more right as another storm of tornadoes crashes into the walls and reappeared right at a rare, trouble-free corner of the battlefield!

Well, mostly trouble-free anyways.

Just in front of them, Eruptor screamed as a swarm of bugs chased him across the way, then skidded back as a magic blast slammed down and exploded just inches away from him! He breathed a sigh of relieved as he wiped tiny pebbles from his forehead, then perked up as the sound of buzzing rang behind him!

"Oh no," Eruptor whimpered as he turned around, then screamed and scrambled back as the bugs got ready to pounce!

However, he had nowhere to run! He had backed up into the arena's fence, while all around him the bugs had completely blocked off the exits! He could only watch in horror as they rushed forward… But before they struck, a magical, cyan-colored dragon swept by and ate the bugs in one gulp! The dragon winked at a now very shocked Eruptor, then floated back off and joined several other dragons in cleaning out the hazards!

They knocked down the rock monsters and ate up the sharks and bugs, extinguished the flames and snapped vines in half, then swirled together and formed a gigantic bubble shield across the entire arena! A blue glow cast down from their bodies as the comets and magic blasts banged against them and tumbled down like pebbles, but the shield stood firm regardless!

"WHAT?!" Kaos exclaimed as he flew up to the shield, then flew up a little too far and bonked his head on it, "WHEN DID THOSE THINGS GET HERE?"

The Skylanders all gasped and made confused chatter as they looked among each other, then as a bright cyan glow lit up nearby they looked aside and grinned.

Right in the center of all, Chihiro hovered just inches above the floor as her whole body was encased in a cyan glow. Though she spoke no words, the gentle smile and nod she gave the Skylanders spoke all.

"I'll take care of these guys, you just worry about stopping Kaos!"

The Skylanders all shared Chihiro's nod, then fixed their eyes on Kaos with fire in their hearts and determination in their eyes. One by one, as they gathered together, a wave of blue magic washed over them ad made them glow not just with the courage and valor of heroes, but with a new strength as well! Gasps sounded off all around as their eyes turned back to Chihiro, who only smiled as the glow around her own body faded.

The Skylanders all nodded, then without even hesitating, they dashed forward and leaped off the ground, their jump augmented by a cyan glow! Though the hydra tried to shoot them down with blasts of water, fire and more, they all simply wove through the blasts and soared free, for nothing could stop them now!

Nothing would keep them from beating Kaos and saving all Skylands!

"FOR SKYLANDS!" They cried as they launched towards Kaos as one heart, one mind, one fiery soul that burned bright as they got ready to finish him for good…

Wait, why was his throne glowing?

"Nice try, Skylosers!" Kaos cried as he turned around and slammed his palms down on his throne's armrest!

Right as they launched their attacks, a bright white laser blast shot out from the middle of the cannon! They all grunted as they tossed out their own blows and pushed against the intense force of the laser blast, but even with their combined power it was a struggle! It was like trying to fight against the intense winds of a hurricane! Their rainbow-painted combination struggled and strained against the bright, white void of Kaos's laser…

But in the end, their efforts were fruitless. The laser completely overpowered them and slammed them against the floor in a bright, white explosion that sent everyone down on the ground!

Down on the ground, Chihiro herself grunted as she tried to fight the storm, but it was so powerful that even she couldn't keep her footing! Before she knew it, she was tossed like a ragdoll and skidded across the hard, tile floor! Chihiro grunted as bright, white light burned at her vision and blocked off everything around, all while her heart raced with anticipation. What was going on here? Had they won? She had given her all to power them up and make sure they could get to Kaos… But was their combined effort even enough?

The cries and groans of pained, weakened voices echoed throughout the arena as the light cleared, and revealed that unfortunately, Chihiro was wrong.

The Skylanders weren't the victors of this match! Instead, they were all curled up on the ground, beaten, bruised and barely alive within the craters their intense landings had formed in the arena floor. How could this have happened? They looked so strong, so powerful as they pressed against Kaos's attack, how could they have lost against him?

"Ha! Ever true to your name, looks like you SKY-LOSERS have LOST!" Kaos proclaimed as he stroked the chest of the hydra, the belly of the best, "Too bad, so sad… For you!"

Kaos cackled as the Skylanders strained and tried their hardest to pull themselves off the ground, but to no avail. That fight had taken so much out of them, just the very task of keeping their eyes open was hard enough!

"What're you gonna do now? You're completely powerless, completely outmatched, and not to mention completely outclassed!" Kaos continued to prattle as he clasped his hands in glee, "Just face it! I, KAOS, ULTIMATE EVIL OVERLORD OF ALL SKYLANDS, HAVE WON! AND NOW…"

Kaos stopped short as he glared down at the battlefield, where someone had finally gained the strength to stand and trudge through the crowds—Chihiro herself!

True, just moving even one step made her whole body ache and moan like it was getting ready to give up, and the bright shine of the hydra above her made her eyes water… But, she wasn't going to give up now! Even though she could barely bring herself to stand and couldn't even speak, she still had to do something! So, she just stood and glared at Kaos with a kind of defiance in her eyes, a powerful fire that refused to be extinguished no matter what was thrown on it to quell its spark.

"Oh, how precious! The portal-poster thinks she can stand up to me!" Kaos crooned with the smuggest of grins on his face, "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT A LAUGH!"

Kaos cupped his hands against his jaw as his grin grew even wider.

"I knew you were stubborn, but this is just pushing it! You've got no chance of beating me or my hydra, and here you are, just standing there and glaring at me like that's gonna scare me into stopping!"

Chihiro winced and hunched over as her arm throbbed with pain, which Kaos seemed to notice as he cackled again.

"But no matter what you do, portal loser, there's no way you'll stop me from killing you and your stupid little Skyloser friends!" Kaos proclaimed before he looked up at his hydra, "In fact…"

Kaos clapped his hands before he shot a glare back at Chihiro and the Skylanders.

"HYDRA, END THIS NOW!"

The hydra's eight heads roared as they lined up in a row and opened their jaws wide! Each jaw contained a bright, sparkling orb of light that grew wider and larger, fully ready to shoot down a laser or blast of some kind that would kill them all!

Wait, no… Kill them all.

Chihiro's whole body shuddered as she faced the blinding lights that came from the hydra's mouths, despite the fact that its brightness made her feel like her whole body was going to shrivel up and be set on fire. This was gonna be it, not just for her… But for the Skylanders, no, for her friends! That blast gets fired, and they'd all go up in flames, and surely once they were out of the picture all Skylands would be soon to follow. But, Chihiro didn't want that!

"… No, no…" Chihiro croaked out at last as she lifted her shaking, trembling arms in spite of all the pain they burned with, "No, I won't…"

I won't let you do this, Kaos!

That's what Chihiro wanted to say, but with all the pain she was in she could barely make her words out—and yet, what she sputtered out in the heat of the moment still range with her truth. Without even thinking, the pain bubbled out of her body as she shoved herself forward and held her arms out straight and firm. She wasn't just going to stand around and mope!

The lives of her friends, the world she called home… All of that was at stake! No matter how much pain she was in, she wasn't just going to stand around and watch as they got killed! Slowly, Chihiro's shaky breaths became fuller and more stable as she pushed her hands further, all while all those memories flashed back into her mind.

Meeting the Skylanders in her backyard for the first time… Learning magic and training as a portal master… Protecting each other in the worst times, celebrating the best times… All the laughter, the smiles, the warm nights and cheerful mornings… The great adventures… But most of all…

The love she had felt, not just from being around them and feeling wanted and protected, but the love she felt for them, the ones she called her most precious friends.

"No, no! This isn't going to end like this, Kaos!" Chihiro screamed at the top of her lungs as sparks of magic bolted through her body and swirled around her arms, "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM AWAY!"

The magical blue glow completely enveloped Chihiro's arms until they could no longer be seen among the thick, cyan glow, all while a new kind of power rushed through Chihiro's body and seemingly lifted the pain and ache of her earlier fight! Her whole vision was tinted blue as she glared up at the hydra, whose blasts were now just seconds away from firing.

But, she wasn't scared at all. All she felt was a kind of anger, a righteous fury that seared through her body and wouldn't relent until she finished what she had started!

"I WON'T LET YOU KILL MY FRIENDS!"

And right as the hydra fired, a bright cyan blast exploded out from Chihiro's palms and shot up right towards the laser at such an intensity that it pushed Chihiro back at least a mile! The two blasts fought each other for mere moments, then finally everything was engulfed in an explosion of light…

§

Was this the end?

That was the question that was on every Skylander's mind as they looked around. The last they remembered, Kaos's hydra had fired that elemental beam straight at them, at a momentum so fast that all they could do was stand and watch! Had it killed them? Perhaps this strange blue glow that surrounded them was a vision of the afterlife?
Had they failed?

They were all so confused, so concerned that the bright light overwhelmed them at first, but as it faded the once pale cyan light started to gradiate into a darker color… And now that they listened, they could kinda hear sparking? The sparking of crackling magic, paired with the sounds of sharp screeching and tired grunts…

"What… What's going on?" Spyro sputtered as he rubbed his eyes and looked ahead, then gasped and dropped his jaw wide open!

None, none of them had died, that was for certain! Because right in front of them, encased in a cyan glow…

Was Chihiro!

Her head was hung and her hands were pressed to the front of a gigantic shield that encased near the entire battlefield! She spoke not a word, but the grunts she made were indicative enough that she was giving her all to hold up this barrier—she had saved them! She had saved their lives at the last minute! And in fact… She looked so mystical, so magical, that for a moment it was like an angel had swooped down onto the battlefield and rescued them all.

But, she was in a pinch! That hydra was still going strong, and even at full force she couldn't possibly hold up for long. And the creaking, cracking noises her shield made as pale-colored but bulky cracks manifested in its surface confirmed this!

"SKYLANDERS!" Spyro called as he flew towards Chihiro, "YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

The Skylanders made no words, but they way they rushed forward spoke loud enough! One by one, they all pressed their hands against the shield, its weight bared just as much by them as it was Chihiro!

Spyro himself flew right next to her, then placed a paw on her hand and watched as the tiny cracks that manifested around it completely vanished. This action was enough to earn him a small grunt from Chihiro, who turned around to face him.

Her face was now covered in a number of cyan markings that striped her body like veins of blood or markings of some kind, and her eyes flared with an aqua glow so bright it masked their normally brown colors. The veins on her hands glowed aqua as well, with the power they radiated so great it would've almost been intimidating were it anyone else!

"Spyro?" Chihiro whispered as her eyes grew large.

Spyro only nodded, then they both looked up as another searing sound screeched out.

Not that far across, Whirlwind, Hex, Double Trouble and Voodood had all combined their magic to seal the cracks! The shining, multicolored beam that emitted from their collective party turned the shield into a disco ball as its light beamed across the arena and restored the shield to full strength!

And better yet, the hydra's assault had finally relented as well! From across the cyan surface of the shield, its heads panted as they hung down, eyes bloodshot and barely open from the pain of exerting itself so. They had managed to tough it out, but its existence only proved still that this was just the beginning.

"Everyone…" Chihiro whispered, her voice soft and trembling as if she hadn't expected any of this to happen... But then she smiled and fixed herself back on the front, "Thank you."

Chihiro's soft smile turned into a wider grin as her eyes furrowed.

"Alright guys, I've got a plan to put big-head here out of commission, but I'll need all your help!" Chihiro proclaimed as the shield started to waver, "If we're gonna beat Kaos, we'll need to combine our power and take him and his hydra down together!"—Chihiro smirked as she tilted her head—"Who's with me?"

Cheers of agreement shouted out throughout the crowds, and Chihiro's eyes sparkled with even more enthusiasm. That cold air that had enveloped the battlefield around turned warm and eager with everyone's hearts unified in one cheer, and it seems as though Chihiro felt its presence completely as she pulled her hands from the shield!

"THEN LET'S GET 'EM!"

Right as Chihiro leaned back, everyone else pulled away from the shield and stood back as it vanished into a bright flash of sparkles, though the sight it unveiled wasn't nearly as pretty.

There, Kaos sat on his throne with his exhausted hydra behind him, but he didn't share any of its weariness. No, he was wide-eyed and alert as his eyes fell on Chihiro and the hordes of Skylanders behind her, all of whom glared back at him as if one wrong move would set them off!

"WHAT? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Kaos cried as he scrambled backwards in his throne and panted so hard that his chest bobbed up and down with every breath, "MY HYDRA IS MORE POWERFUL THAN PRACTICALLY ANYTHING ELSE IN MY ARSENAL! NO ORDINARY BEING COULD HAVE POSSIBLY SURVIVED A BLOW FROM ALL EIGHT OF ITS HEADS AT ONCE!"

"That's where you're wrong, Kaos!" Chihiro proclaimed as she summoned a sword and pointed it right between his eyes, "We're not just any ordinary people! We're the sworn protectors of Skylands!"

"YEAH!" The Skylanders cried behind Chihiro as they pumped their fists to the skies!

Chihiro just barely gasped as she turned back at the Skylanders with sparkling eyes, then returned her gaze back to Kaos and smirked.

"No matter what, we're not gonna let you take us down that easily, not when we promised to protect Skylands from you and your little cronies! As long as we can breathe, as long as we can stand, we'll make sure Skylands never falls in your grubby little paws!"

"That's right!" Spyro cried as he flew up besides Chihiro, "After all, Skylands is our important home!"—Spyro shook his head and narrowed his gaze—"But more than that, it's the home of so many other amazing things, too! There's so many wonderful places…"

"So many people who are important to us…" Gill Grunt added as he flew up beside Chihiro.

"So many beautiful things to cherish and protect…" Whirlwind said as she flew above Chihiro.

"Lots of fun things, too!" Trigger Happy chirped as he jumped on Spyro's back, "Like the two-headed rhinoceros, and that chocolate ocean, and, and…"

Chihiro chuckled as she ruffled Trigger Happy's head with her free hand, but her gaze steeled as she glared back at Kaos.

"Skylands is an amazing place full of tons of precious people and things and places and memories, and it's counting on us to protect it from you! We came all this way and worked so hard to keep it safe…" Chihiro cried as she tightened her grip on her sword's handle, "So we're not just gonna lie down and die so you can do with it as you please!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Everyone else cried!

"We're not gonna give up!"

"We'll protect Skylands no matter what!"

"You're not going to win, Kaos!"

Kaos, however, just scoffed and rolled his eyes. He seemed hardly concerned as he drummed his fingers against the armrest of his throne, more displeased than anything as his hydra groaned and stood tall behind him.

"Oh, how scary, you made a fancy speech," Kaos groaned as his red eyes shot daggers into everyone's souls, "BAH! Do you really think some fancy words are going to save you from your ULTIMATE DOOM?!"

Kaos scoffed as the hydra's shadow cast over the ground behind him. "If you really think that, then you're more foolish than I ever thought you were!"

Though Kaos broke into a cackling fit, Chihiro just stood calm as she lowered her sword and hung her head.

"Oh, we don't just think that…" Chihiro replied as she shook her head, then lifted it up and shot a burning glare back up at Kaos, "WE KNOW IT!"

Chihiro heaved a breath as she pointed her sword back at Kaos, but this time, she wasn't alone—Everyone had raised their fists, pointed their weapons, and completely set their focus, all their rage and anger and determination, right at Kaos!

And he definitely seemed to notice this, because Kaos took one glance at their combined assault and all their hearts as one, and he immediately screamed and scrambled backwards on his throne!

"As Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master and guardian of all that is good…" Chihiro started.

"And as the Skylanders, the sworn protectors of Skylands..." The Skylanders added as one.

Chihiro and Spyro nodded towards each, then the two of them charged forward with all the other Skylanders right behind them!

"WE WON'T STOP UNTIL YOUR EVIL IS DEFEATED!" Chihiro and the Skylanders all cried as one heart and one soul they leaped up and got ready to throw everything they had at Kaos and his hydra!

"FOR SKYLANDS!"

Kaos screamed and ducked as Chihiro's sword flew right above him and lodged itself into his throne's seat, then he pressed his back against the throne and frantically jabbed his finger right at the oncoming storm before him!

"HYDRA!" Kaos cried as he kicked his feet against the throne's seat, "DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!"

The hydra roared as it flew up from behind Kaos, then it crashed down onto the battlefield with such forced that it crackled the tile panels below and shook the world around. The hydra's head all roared as one while their attacks manifested from thin air and rampaged across the battlefield…

But Chihiro and the Skylanders weren't concerned at all as they fell back to the ground and turned their attention towards the hydra. They just raised their weapons, narrowed their eyes, and stood this ground. This time, they were prepared for anything that hydra could throw at them! No matter what, they were going to win this!

The sharks and bugs charged forward first, but before they could make contact, Bash, Slam Bam and Dino-Rang raised a massive wall of stone and ice that completely blocked them off! Thunks and irritated grumbles sounded off just barely from the other side of the wall, then were completely muffled by crackling fire as flames ate away at the wall! Slam Bam, Bash and Dino-Rang immediately ran for cover as the flames crept down the wall, then ducked as a massive blast of water gushed forward and drove against the flames! They smiled as the flames around their wall started to dissipate…

But unfortunately, the fires up top weren't as quick to be drenched, for they were too high for the water!

"Zap, hit the flames over there!" Gill Grunt cried as he held his water cannon, which pumped out massive blasts of cold water by the second as tight as he could. With a grunt, Gill Grunt urged towards a particularly high corner of the wall with his head. "I can't reach this far!"

"Got it, dude!" Zap cried as he zipped past Gill Grunt on a slick, shiny trail of slime.

With one last stride, Zap leaped forward and slammed a glob of slime right at that one hard to reach flame… But the fires burned so bright, the slime immediately hardened and shattered! Zap gasped as he fell back down, but before he could try again, a massive waterfall dropped down from the skies and completely extinguished the flames!

Up above, a blue-eyed Spyro grinned and waved down at Zap, then gasped and flew down to the ground as screeching sounded off from above! Right as he hit the ground, Spyro careened his head up and winced as a massive skull slammed through part of the wall and shattered both that part of the wall and itself to bits!

Laughter rang throughout the skies as more of those skulls came raining down, but before they could hit anything, a storm of flames, lightning, lasers and giant skulls shot them out of the skies!

"Wave two incoming!" Hex cried as she headed a group comprised of Flameslinger, Lightning Rod, Cynder, Dark Spyro, Whirlwind, Drobot and Sunburn. Hex's narrowed eyes fixed on the murky skies, then summoned a massive skull of her own and leaned back. "Fire!"

As another wave of skulls was blown to bits by Hex's forces, the hydra lowered its heads and growled. It seemed almost concerning as it silenced its voice, its eyes fixed entirely on the Skylanders as they fought off its assault… Then the Tech Element hydra head screeched as it raised its head to the sky, and from its screech, massive statues of rumbling gears popped out from the ground around it!

As the gear statues cropped out all across the battlefield, Boomer dashed between two newborn gear statues, then leaped forward with his sights set on several statues that surrounded the hydra! As he flew through the air, he yanked some bombs from his backpack, then unplugged them and poured the gunpowder in them over the statues!

"Flameslinger!" Boomer called as he hit the ground and ran off, "Here's your chance!"

Across the field, Flameslinger nodded as he drew his bow, then plucked the string and shot a fleet of flaming arrows right towards the gunpowder-coated statues!

The moment the arrowheads hit their surface, the flames ripped across the gunpowder and completely blew the statues into flaming bits! And the explosion was so massive, it hit the hydra and threw it off balance! All eight of its heads cried out in pain as it fell to the ground, while scorching burns covered its underbelly!

With the hydra reeling and its attacks brought to a close, Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy rushed in for the kill… But just before they could strike, massive white lasers shot down between them and the hydra and forced them backwards!

"Not so fast, Skylosers!" Kaos cried as he flew in on his throne, which was prepped and ready to shoot once again, "You're not taking my hydra down anytime soon!"

The lasers fired once more, but before they could hit anything Chihiro and Spyro threw up bright purple and cyan shields that immediately neutralized the lasers! While the shields disappeared back into nothingness, Chihiro just grinned and pulled her eyelid down at Kaos.

"Bet'cha can't catch us!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stuck her tongue out at Kaos and ran off, "NYEH!"

"She's right!" Spyro cried as he flew after Chihiro, "You're way too slow, bighead!"

As the two of them cackled and flew off, Kaos gritted his teeth and immediately flew off from the hydra, his red eyes bright with fury!

"SLOW?! I'LL SHOW YOU SLOW, DRAGONFLY!" Kaos cried as he flew after Spyro and Chihiro, and far, far away from the hydra itself.

As Kaos drew closer and closer, Spyro and Chihiro winked at each other, then whipped around and shot a bright purple and cyan blast of magic right at Kaos… But he just swerved right past it and grunted. He turned around and went to fly back off, but before he could, Cynder, Whirlwind and Gill Grunt flew right in front of him!

Kaos tried turning left, but then Terrafin popped out of the ground while Stealth Elf manifested out of thin air beside Terrafin! So, Kaos clenched his jaws and veered right, but even that part was blocked off as Eruptor and Trigger Happy rushed forward just in time!

"You're really just dying to have an audience with me, aren't you?" Kaos remarked as he gripped the armrests of his throne tight, "FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!"

Kaos slammed his fist down on his armrest and scowled as his throne started to slowly spin around.

"I'll take you for a SPIN!"

The moment Kaos finished his sentence, his throne spun so fast it was little more than a blur to the naked eye! A bright, white streak circled around it as it spun, then out from it came bright white lasers!

Chihiro gasped, then slammed her hands together and tossed them out!

As her clap resonated across the battlefield, bright cyan shields cropped up around Kaos's spinning throne and reflected the lasers right back at him—and with their heat and his speed, they did well to completely fry his throne! The heat was so intense that thick smoke burst from the throne's body and burned it so badly that it couldn't spin any further! Finally, it started to clunk and groan as it slowed down to a rough stop.

"Hot! HOT HOT HOT!" Kaos shrieked as his throne glowed with white-hot heat. He groaned as his head spun around in circles, but the moment the smoke cast up in front of him, he shook it off and gasped!

"MY THRONE, MY BEAUTIFUL EVIL THRONE!"

Kaos snarled as his eyes fell on the damage his throne faced, its metal surface melted in some placed and scorched in others, all while smoke wafted off of it and the smell of burnt metal drifted across the winds.

"I'D OUGHT TO SMASH YOU TO BITS FOR THAT!" Kaos cried as he slammed his fist against another button on the throne's armrest, "In fact, that's what I'll do!"

Spyro, Cynder and Whirlwind gasped and flew into the air, but the others weren't as lucky! Before they could even realize what happened, Kaos slammed his throne down on the ground with such force that it sent a mighty shockwave through the battlefield and tossed them all to the ground!

While most of them moaned and stumbled around in circles, Spyro, Cynder and Whirlwind took one look at each other, then huddled together, whispered something quick into each others ears and nodded in sync.

Whirlwind dashed right past Kaos, but before he could notice, Cynder zapped him right in the head with a pitch-black lightning bolt! He yelped as the bolt left a bright red sore on his head, then as he rubbed it, his eyes fell on a snarling Cynder.

"Was trying to ruin my throne not good enough for you?" Kaos demanded as he zoomed after Cynder, "Now you have to ruin my beautiful evil head too?!"—Kaos growled, then pushed his throne forward and zoomed after her—"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

Cynder stood steadfast as Kaos drew closer and closer, then shrugged and dashed through the shadows! Kaos winced and screeched to a stop, then turned around and made chase against as she reappeared beside him. However, she just dashed away again! Their fight turned to a game of cat and mouse as Kaos would make chase and she'd evade, always slipping from his grip at the last moment…

Then as Cynder dashed south and panted, a bright rainbow flew over her head and caught her eye!

"Spyro!" Cynder cried as she turned around and shot a glance at Spyro, "Do it!"

"Do what?" Kaos demanded as he glared back at Cynder, then perked his head up and whipped around, "Wait, is that a storm I hear?"

"Why don't you find out?" Spyro asked from behind Kaos.

Right as Kaos turned around, Spyro tackled Kaos's throne and sent him flying into an electrical grid crafted with raging thunderclouds all manned by Whirlwind herself! Whirlwind giggled and waved at Kaos as he barreled towards her, then flew up right as his throne slammed into the grid!

Kaos screamed in pain as the lightning coursed into his throne and turned it into a literal electric chair, and his screams only continued as his throne finally lost its juice and crashed into the floor… Though at least the electric shocks came to a close. Kaos grunted as he lurched up and dusted off his cloak, but while he was preoccupied, Terrafin popped up behind him and punched him right in the back with such force that it shot Kaos right off his throne!

Kaos screamed and flailed his arms and legs as he hurtled forward, but his flight wasn't ending anytime soon, for Gill Grunt tossed him towards Eruptor with a scalding water blast! Eruptor smirked as Kaos flew towards him, then hacked up a flaming rock and punched it right into Kaos, who in turn grunted as the rock slammed into his side and tossed him away. Kaos groaned as he rubbed his aching side, then screamed as small but hot flames hit his hands! His breath was fast-paced and frantic as he blew out the flames on his cloaks, then lifted his head only to find that he was coming in fast towards a smirking Trigger Happy!

"Sorry, Kaos!" Trigger Happy sneered as he whipped a golden safe out of nowhere, "You're bankrupt!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Kaos cried as he came just inches within Trigger Happy's range… Then Trigger Happy slammed the safe right on Kaos's head!

Kaos's cries were immediately silenced by the safe's walls as his body fell to its knees, then the safe's door pops open to reveal that Kaos's head was spinning all around! As he groaned and finally collapsed on the ground, Chihiro teleported over and grinned as she snapped her fingers and crafted a set of magic rope.

"This should keep you tied up for a while," Chihiro remarked as she tied the magic ropes tight around Kaos… Then shuddered as a massive, dying scream sounded off beside her!

Chihiro turned around, then grinned as the rest of the Skylanders backed away while the hydra's head fell off of its body and disintegrated into nothingness! Smiles and laughter resounded all around as Chihiro and the Skylanders crowded around the beheaded hydra, but as they got a closer look those smiles turned to frowns and the laughter ceased.

Even though the hydra had been beheaded, even though it should have been dead, its body still twitched and slowly lurched around… But why?

"You know, looking at this reminds me of something," Chihiro remarked as she placed a hand on her chin, "In my history class, when we were studying Greek stuff, they told us a legend about hydras, but I can't remember what it was…"

The hydra's headless body shuddered for a moment, then it leaped back to its feet in an instant, all while the large buds of flesh spawned where its heads once sat… Then those buds bloomed into sixteen more hydra heads!

"Crap! Now I remember!" Chihiro cried as she jumped back, "When a hydra loses its head, it gets two more in its place!"

The newly revived hydra's heads screamed to the heavens as a signal of its rebirth, then it turned its eyes down to the ground and growled as it chased after the Skylanders, who could only scream as well while they scattered across the battlefield!

"We need a new plan!" Spyro shouted as he swerved away while an Undead Element hydra head snapped at his tail fin!

The hydra's Fire and Water Element heads growled as they caught sight of Spyro flying away, then they turned down to the ground and spewed out massive blasts of fire and water! On the ground, the Skylanders could only watch as the burning flames and rumbling water shot towards them…

But just when the blasts were about to make contact, Bash and Prism Break jumped forward and summoned pillars of rocks and crystal that blocked them off at the last minute! The two of them gritted their teeth as the blasts bored their way into the pillars, but in the end the blasts were so intense that they shattered and melted the pillars completely! And the force was so great, so massive that it blew Bash and Prism Break right across the fields! The two of them screamed as they went spinning in the air, then the two of them hit a pair of fluffy white clouds and bounced onto the ground. Bash and Prism Break wiped their faces in relief, then looked up and dashed off as a large fireball crashed where they stood not moments earlier!

Above them, the Fire Element hydra heads were mad, and that one little miss seemed to have fanned the flames! They spun all around and shot a rain of red-hot fireballs all across the battlefield, until their battle had turned as hot as an oven!

"Can't we just blow that thing's heads up?" Boomer asked as he skidded back and spun out the way of a flaming blast.

"Of course not!" Drobot spat back as he flung a wing in front of him and Boomer right as the blast burst into flames behind them. He grunted as he dug his claws into the ground from the impact, then glared back at Boomer. "That will just create more heads!"

Drobot's thrusters sputtered out flames as they burst into life, and Drobot dashed off the battlefield like a rocket.

"This hydra must have a weak point somewhere! I will try to find it, just keep it away from me!"

The Earth Element hydra heads grunted as they turned their attention to the skies and got ready to fire at Drobot, then grunted as red-hot lasers smacked them right in the side of their heads! Of course, with their rock-hard scales the lasers did little other than leave a few red spots on its head… But it still seemed fairly annoyed as its eyes fell on Drill Sergeant down below.

"That is right, turn your gaze over here, you foul beast!" Drill Sergeant cried as he waved his drill hands in the air, "You are among the most unpleasant, most obnoxious and irritating of—"—Drill Sergeant beeped and squealed away as the hydra heads shot a barrage of rocks straight towards him—"MY APOLOGIES!"

Drill Sergeant squealed and made the robotic equivalent of frantic, shallow breaths as he skidded across the floor, all while the rocks crashed into the ground and dented it inwards! His panting grew more frantic as the crashes rattled the ground under him, then finally he squealed and veered right towards Dino-Rang!

"Dino-Rang, I require your aid!" Drill Sergeant wailed as he zoomed past Dino-Rang!

Dino-Rang, however, just nodded and gave Drill Sergeant a thumbs up!

"On it!" Dino-Rang cried as he leaped into the air and spun around, then crashed down and slammed his palms into the ground!

The moment they hit the ground, massive stone pillars sprung up with such speed and force that they completely shattered the panels below, but more importantly, the rocks that came flying towards Drill Sergeant hit the pillars instead of him!

The rocks bounced right off the pillar and beaned the Earth Element hydra heads right between the ends instead of attacking their intended target! The Earth Element hydra heads snarled and narrowed their eyes as they got ready to fire again… Then their anger diminished as the Fire, Magic and Undead Element hydra heads cried out in pain!

Those six hydra heads wailed and shook themselves off as they dispelled bright hot flames and electrical charges from their bodies, save for one Fire Element hydra head that just groaned as its head spun around in circles. As the other Fire Element hydra head bonked it back into full consciousness, all six of them growled and whipped back around to the skies!

Lightning Rod, Sonic Boom, Dark Spyro and Sunburn all sneered down at the hydra heads while lightning and fire crackled around them. With the way they smiled, it was almost as if they were begging to be attacked!

The Undead, Fire and Magic Element hydra heads snarled as they opened their jaws, fully ready to blast them out of the skies, but right before they could, they got yanked back as the Life, Water and Tech Element hydra heads snapped at the ground!

Down below, Wrecking Ball and Camo cackled as Wrecking Ball yanked fruit off Camo's vines with his tongue and lobbed it at the hydra heads, while Zap just grinned and zapped the hydra's feet with his lightning bolts!

The hydra entered a stomping rage as its Life, Water and Tech Element heads all pulled its body towards Zap, Wrecking Ball and Camo, but the Undead, Fire and Magic Elment heads all whined as they pointed towards the skies, to say nothing of how the Earth Element heads snapped their jaws as they glared at Drill Sergeant! And in the middle of it all, the two Air Element heads grunted as they growled and yapped at the two torn sides… Then finally, all fourteen other heads growled at the two Air Element heads as if those heads were telling them to shut up!

All sixteen heads barked and yapped and growled at each other while they tried to pull the body in every different direction, then finally a Water Element hydra head shot a burst of water at a Fire Element hydra head, and in that moment, it seemed they all decided that instead of fighting the Skylanders, they'd fight each other! Bursts of magic, rocky blast and sharp, shiny gears flew all around as the hydra's heads snapped and bit and shot at each other, then finally everything dissolved into screeches and attacks so furious that it kicked up dust around!

All the fighting drew to a close while all eyes fell on the hydra, whose heads had become completely obscured by the massive dust clouds, then finally the hydra's cries came to a stop as it sat on the floor. The angered yelps and growls were replaced by pained groans and whimpers as the dust cleared and unveiled that in their frantic fight, the hydra's heads had all tied together in one big, dizzy knot!

From above the skies, Drobot hummed and narrowed his eyes as the hydra fell unconscious below his paws. While his humming continued, the eyes of his helmet flashed blue while all sorts of Skylandian text flew across their surface… Then finally it fixated on one flashing sentence!

"Ah!" Drobot gasped, "That's it!"

Drobot's thrusters spat out fire as they started up, while Drobot himself leaned in and got ready to zoom down, but before he could, Kaos flew in front of him and grinned!

"Kaos!" Drobot cried as he scrambled backwards, "You are still conscious?!"

"Did you really think one little safe would stop me?" Kaos sneered as he tilted his head upwards, his sneer grown wider as he reveled in Drobot's shock, "FOOL!"

Kaos cackled, then thrust his arms out and blasted Drobot with a burst of bright red magic! Drobot wailed in pain as he spun down towards the ground, his suit so completely out of his control that he couldn't stop himself at all from smashing into the battlefield and shattering the tiles below!

"Drobot!" Whirlwind cried as she dashed over and pulled a groaning, injured Drobot from the wreckage, "Are you alright?"

"I, I am fine…" Drobot groaned as he folded his mangled, dented wings in, "Just… Need… Some repairs…"

Whirlwind gasped and wrapped her wings around Drobot as he leaned his head on her back, then her blue eyes turned icy cold as Kaos laughed above them!

Kaos didn't seem to care at all about Drobot's damages, however. Instead, he turned his attention back to his throne, which still stood firm and sturdy on the battlefield despite all that had unfolded, then zoomed over and jumped right back in the seat!

With a couple button presses on Kaos's end, the throne whirred back to life and spun in the air as its bottom folded in on itself, until it resembled a saddle or a rider's seat rather than a throne. The throne whirred in the air for a few moments, then zoomed over and planted itself on the unconscious hydra's back and sent a massive jolt of electricity through the hydra's body!

The hydra's heads all started to groan and rumble, but their moans and noises felt more… Forced, more robotic as its eyes lit up and the heads lifted themselves off the ground one by one. Their moans of awakening were a blood-chilling chorus as they opened their mouths at once, then out from those mouths shot the largest swarm of combined attacks they had fired!

Flaming skulls rained down from the skies and chased down Stealth Elf and Camo while a tornado full of bugs raced after Warnado, while skeleton warriors armed with swords and shields made out of stone popped from the ground and traded blows with Chop Chop and Ignitor. Gigantic valves sprung from the ground and shot fast, concentrated bursts of water all across the fields and slicked them down while Eruptor and Prism Break slid across the battlefield. Just when their ride finally stopped, however, bursts of magic flared up out of nowhere and shot them into the fencing!

Whirlwind whipped her head around as she tried to find some sort of place to take Drobot to safety, then gasped and pulled aside as a comet crashed beside her! Her eyes were wide with fright as she looked around, but every part of the battlefield was covered in chaos! No matter where she looked, something was being blown up or a fight had occurred!

While she panicked and looked around, however, a burst of cyan light flashed beside her and two hands laid on both her and Drobot!

"Hold on tight, Whirlybird, Dro!" Chihiro's voice cried right as the two of them were enveloped in cyan light!

The two of them popped out of existence, then reappeared halfway across the battlefield and far away from danger in the blink of an eye! Whirlwind grunted and shook her head, then looked up and grinned as she found herself staring right into Chihiro's face! Whirlwind nodded as she wrapped a front leg around Drobot's back and pulled him away to safety, while Chihiro just grinned and waved back…

Then Chihiro froze as the sound of buzzing hit her ears! Chihiro grunted as she jumped out the way of a magic bug swarm, then turned around and gasped as a string of comets rushed towards her! Just before they could slam her down, she ducked and rolled right underneath them, then sat up and gritted her teeth as they crahsed into the ground below!

"We've gotta do something!" Chihiro cried as she sprung back to her feet, "If this keeps up, I don't know what'll happen!"

"Attention, everyone!" Cried Drobot's robotic voice from across the way, "I have located the hydra's weakness!"

Chihiro gasped, then her eyes turned aside of the massive swarm of dodging and failed attacks, where Drobot hobbled in as he leaned on Whirlwind for support! Though his suit was a little bent and dented in some places, he thankfully didn't seem too worse for wear… In fact, the moment he saw Chihiro he pulled away from Whirlwind and scampered right on up!

"You did?" Chihiro asked as she and Drobot finally met each other face-to-face.

"Indeed." Drobot nodded, then turned his attention to where the hydra flapped in place as Kaos sat on its back.

"While the hydra's heads are regenerative, its body is not. If we can completely destroy the body, then the hydra is finished!"

Chihiro beamed, then summoned a giant sphere and turned her gaze back to the hydra, which had now completely froze as it got ready to crash down. "Got it!"

The hydra roared as it slammed down and sent a wave of stone sharks ripping through the battlefield floors, but Chihiro wasn't worried about it at all! She just narrowed her eyes and shot the sphere right at the hydra, her lips pursed as it zoomed closer and closer in…

But before the sphere could land, a shield manifested around the hydra's body and tossed the sphere off!

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp as the sphere whizzed just above her head, but she wasn't allowed the privilege of lingering on her shock for long, as several of those stone sharks came rocketing towards her! Chihiro gasped and teleported away right before they could land a single bite, then as she reappeared, she fell to her knees and panted.

"No way…" Chihiro gasped as she pulled herself up in tandem with Kaos pulling the hydra up.

Kaos's wicked laughter rang throughout the skies as he yanked the hydra down and sent flaming comets flying everywhere, then jumped up and slammed down again while tornadoes full of bugs scattered everywhere, but… This time, something was wrong.

All sixteen of the hydra's heads lurched down and whimpered, with some of them panting as they dipped down to the floor. Had all that attacking finally done a number on them? The heads all hissed and jolted in pain as they shot back up, and a glance at Kaos's throne showed why! The throne had started to spark with electricity, as if the damage it had taken earlier had finally started to wear on it!

Chihiro's eyes widened as the throne continued to spark, then she staggered back to her feet and summoned a sphere… And right before she shot her own sphere, a giant block of ice flew out from beside her and slammed right into Kaos's throne!

"AUGH!" Kaos cried as the sudden blow tossed him backwards in his throne! Kaos grunted and rubbed his head as his eyes fell over to the side of the throne, where the now-shattered block of ice rested in pieces beside his dented throne, then scowled. "WHO THREW THAT AT MY THRONE?!"

"I did, sucker!" Slam Bam cried as he skated up beside Chihiro on a snowboard made entirely of ice!

As his snowboard slid out and disappeared into the distance with a simple kick on Slam Bam's end, Slam Bam himself just smirked and crossed all four of his arms. His bright yellow eyes glinted with a kind of smug confidence, and his smile only grew wider as Kaos steamed with rage!

Kaos, meanwhile, just screamed and kicked his legs against his seat as he grappled for his control panel!

"You'll pay for that!" Kaos cried as he went to press the buttons on his armrest, "Nobody dents my throne of ultimate evil and gets away with it!"

Right as Kaos started pressing buttons, however, a gigantic, flaming skull crashed into the front of his throne with such force that it nearly toppled the throne off the hydra's back! Kaos screamed as he latched on to the throne's armrests, but even those started sparking and crackling with electricity that he couldn't hold on for long!

The gigantic, flaming skull, meanwhile, backflipped and grinned as it unveiled itself to be none other than Ghost Roaster with his cheeks puffed like a squirrel's!

"GET A TASTE OF THIS!" Ghost Roaster cried as he opened his mouth and spat flaming acorns right at Kaos's throne!

The acorns crashed right into the massive dent Ghost Roaster had left behind, and with such rapid succession that the throne had no time to recover! It swung back and forth with every acorn that hit it, all while the electrical sparks that burst from it grew more intense and powerful! And as the throne swung around and malfunctioned, its control on the hydra had completely quit! The hydra wailed and thrashed about, its screams like a dying animal's as it swung around and shot its attacks into the skies, too pained to notice how they disappeared into the distance.

With a simple flip, Ghost Roaster transformed back into his original form, then grinned as he gave Stump Smash and Ignitor a thumbs up…

But in front of them, Kaos seemed hardly amused as he scrambled up his throne, all while the lightning nipped away at his feet!

"Hey, quit that!" Kaos cried as he wrapped himself tight around the top of his throne's seat, the one safe place from the lightning, and shook his fist at the hydra, "I'm your master, now listen to me and stop thrashing about! Those Skylosers are the real problem here, not a bit of stupid lightning—WOAH!"

Kaos screamed and wrapped himself even tighter around the seat's top as the hydra stumbled backwards, then grunted and went back to cursing out the hydra.

Chihiro, however, just grinned as she summoned a sword. Her eyebrows quirked themselves a bit higher as her eyes fell on Kaos insulting his hydra and occasionally getting zapped by a stray bolt of lightning. He was completely distracted, and she had the perfect chance! Chihiro laughed as she bolted forward, then she leaned down and leaped right on the throne's sparking panel! Though the lightning zapped at her legs and made her wince, she didn't flince as she looked up at Kaos and grinned.

"PORTAL-POSTER?!" Kaos snarled, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"THIS!" Chihiro cried as she plunged her sword right into the control panel, then laughed and backflipped off!

The sword let out a massive cry as it tore a gigantic gash right through the center of the control panel, then vanished as the lightning became unholy, massive thunder so bright it could melt the eyeballs of anyone around! Its shock grew more violent as its lightning spread all over the throne, then finally the sheer force of all that electricity in one place caused the throne to completely blow!

Kaos screamed as he flew through the skies, then crashed and rolled across the battlefield, his cries intermingled with the pained wails of his hydra!

"Hydra, what are you—" Kaos's jaw dropped open as the hydra collapsed on the battlefield, "Doing?"

The hydra's sixteen whimpered and hissed as they all dropped onto the battlefield, their eyes bloodshot as they struggled to stay open, all while smoke, blood and peeling, burnt scales poured off of its back… But finally, it whimpered as all its eyes came to a slow, tense close and its jaws snapped shut. At last, the beast that ransacked the battlefield, that tore the Core of Light to bits and caused so much pain, had finally been laid to rest—almost.

Chihiro grinned as her eyes fell on the unconscious hydra, then her eyes pivoted back and forth across the battlefield where the Skylanders watched the hydra with tense gazes. One thing was for sure now—this hydra was nearly done for!

"Everyone!" Chihiro cried as she snapped her fingers and summoned a single, glowing cyan sphere. A cyan glow surrounded her and only grew brighter as she held the sphere up and let it slowly grow in size. "Ready to finish this?"

The Skylanders all grinned as their eyes fell back on Chihiro.

"ALRIGHT!" Everyone cried as one.

"ON THE COUNT OF THREE, THROW EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AT THIS SPHERE!"

Chihiro's whole body crackled with magical lightning as she spoke, while the sphere in her palms sparked and crackled in response before it expanded until it was the size of a large comet! And as it had grown bigger, its light had gotten much brighter and more brilliant, as if Chihiro held the sun itself in her palms!

"AUGH, MY EVIL EYES!" Wailed Kaos, "WHAT ARE YOU SKYLAMEOS PLOTTING?!"

"ONE…" Chihiro screamed at the top of her lungs as the Skylanders all turned their attention back to her and her sphere.

"TWO…"

Everybody grunted and groaned as they readied their attacks, their focus on the sphere that Chihiro just barely up at this point.

"THREE!"

All at once, a colorful cacophony of attacks, from magic blasts to mighty flamethrowers to oddballs like gigantic burps and watermelons slammed straight into the shield! As the combined attacks swirled into it, it stayed a sphere no longer and transformed into a giant, swirling, bright blast that was ready to get set on its path!

Chihiro grinned and shot a wink back at the crowd of Skylanders, then the Skylanders who weren't magically inclined joined Chihiro at her side. They all wound their arms and readied their weapons, and in one mighty, collective blow, they punched the collective attack comet straight towards the hydra!

The hydra grunted as it got up, then gasped and fired out a combined beam of elemental attacks in response… But the moment the beam made contact with the combined attack, that combined blast ricocheted the hydra's beam on a path set for it! The hydra only watched in horror as its own attack was used against it, then screamed in agony as the combined attack slammed right into it and exploded! As rainbow-colored light flooded across the arena, the hydra's entire body shriveled into ashes, never to be seen again!

"MY HYDRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kaos exclaimed as he staggered up and saw the hydra breathe its last, "MY BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL HYDRA!"

Kaos turned towards the Skylanders and shouted out some insult of a kind, but it was pointless! The sphere had exploded in all directions, and the resulting explosion was so loud that Kaos couldn't even be seen, let alone heard before he was wrapped up in a cyan-tinted, rainbow-painted explosion of light and magic that engulfed the entire battlefield!

Everybody ducked down and braced themselves as if they were going to be blown away once more, but nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the explosion vanished just as quickly as it had came! But the sights it left behind, oh, that was another story.

The skies were as crystal-clear as the day the universe came into existence, perhaps, so bright and shiny and blue that they sparkled as a river did! The sun cast down warm sunbeams for victory medals, and above them, a rainbow colored wave of energy spheres cascaded down around them and became a breeze that swirled around them all. It was… Beautiful. Heck, even beautiful itself was barely enough to cover its majesty, and it really served to hammer in the aftermath of this battle.

They had won!

"EVERYONE!" Trigger Happy and Wrecking Ball exclaimed as they raced around their former battlefield, "WE DID IT!"

"Hell yeah we did!" Terrafin cried as he pumped a fist… Then looked over at Eruptor before he hugged Eruptor tight and kissed Eruptor on the cheek!

"FIN!" Eruptor exclaimed as he stumbled forwards a bit, then chuckled and reciprocated Terrafin's hug. As the two of them embraced, however, none of them noticed Slam Bam sneak up on them both and hug them just as tight!

Whirlwind chuckled as Slam Bam planted kisses on both Terrafin and Eruptor's heads, then beamed as she turned her head to the skies.

"That's the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen!" Whirlwind gasped as she looked up at the energy sphere rainbow that cascaded above them.

"According to my calculations…" Drobot hummed as he sat down next to Whirlwind. With a few twists and a soft hiss, Drobot's helmet popped open to reveal his normal face, which bore a shy smile. "It is quite magnificent."

Whirlwind chuckled, then cast a gaze over to where Sonic Boom and Sunburn admired the rainbow as well! Well, Sonic Boom would've if her chicks hadn't piled all over her head!

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" Cried one chick that held tight to Sonic Boom's neck as they tried to push through their siblings, "Lemme see!"

Sunburn chuckled, then gently lifted the chick with his wing and held them up to the skies.

"WOAH…" The chick's eyes widened as it took in the rainbow, "It's so pretty…"

Sonic Boom gave Sunburn a kind smile, and he returned it with a gentle wink.

"Chicks," Sunburn chuckled, "I think I wouldn't mind having a few of my own someday!"

"Well," Sonic Boom replied with a wink of her own, "Mine have certainly taken to you!"

"Impressive," Lightning Rod remarked as he stormed past Sonic Boom and Sunburn, "But not as impressive as I am, of course!"

As Lightning Rod struck a pose, Stump Smash shook a hammer-hand at him.

"Can it, musclebrain!" Stump Smash barked as he looked towards Prism Break, "We're trying to enjoy the view!"

"Ha ha, quite humorous!" Lightning Rod posed yet again, "But you must be mistaken! I am the view!"

"If I wanted to see hot air, I would've gone on a balloon flight!" Prism Break heckled before he turned back to Stump Smash, who was now… Chuckling?

"Hah, good one, Prism!" Stump Smash snorted as he patted Prism Break on the shoulder, "He really is full of hot air!"

"You're not so bad yourself." Prism Break turned around, looked Stump Smash in the eye, and for a moment everything around faded… That is, until Zook crashed into them both.

"Sorry, man!" Zook proclaimed as he stumbled back and scratched his long head, "Did I interrupt something?"

Stump Smash growled and ground his wooden teeth together.

"ZOOK!"

Stealth Elf chuckled to herself as Stump Smash and Zook bickered, then peered over to where Hex and Chop Chop stood. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it kind of looked like Hex was…

"Smiling? Hex?" Stealth Elf whispered as she turned invisible and crept over to where they sat and talked, "Now I've gotta see this!"

Completely invisible to their eyes and minds, Stealth Elf walked in front of them and watched over Hex and Chop Chop—and sure enough, Hex was indeed, smiling!

"I do believe I haven't seen you smile like this in a long time, my lady," Chop Chop remarked as he wrapped a skeletal arm around Hex.

Hex just clasped her hands as she cast that small, gentle smile towards Chop Chop.

"What's there not to smile about, Chop Chop?" Hex asked, his voice a bit kinder in tone, "We've finally won."

Chop Chop nodded as he stood and basked in the beauty of victory with Hex.

Stealth Elf did too… Until something crashed into her and bowled her over!

"Cynder, Cynder!" Dark Spyro exclaimed as he dashed over to Cynder and shook her shoulder, "You're smiling!"

Cynder shot a glare back at Dark, but finally she made a rare chuckle and rolled her eyes. "And so what if I am?"

Dark blinked for a few moments, then shook his head while his own smile became a little more earnest.

"No, no, it's not a bad thing!" Dark sputtered as he shook his head and beamed up at Cynder, "It's just nice to see you happy like that!"

Cynder's own smile withdrew as she leaned back and made a few small, taken aback blinks, then she herself smiled once more and gently bopped Dark's head with her paw.

"Geez, you…"

Stealth Elf rolled her eyes as Dark Spyro and Cynder laughed at each, then bounced around the rest of the crowds. As the energy, the sun and the clear skies all rewarded the Skylanders with their beauty, they all smiled and laughed as they congratulated one another. It truly did feel like they had won!

Drill Sergeant and Double Trouble shot lasers into the heavens like fireworks, Ignitor and Flameslinger both shouted in panic as they tossed away a lit bomb from Boomer, Zap and Camo stumbled on top of each other as they tried to get a better view… Regardless of where they were, everyone had devolved into a hectic, joyful victory parade!

However, aside from all the chaos sat Spyro and Chihiro, a good ways away from the crowds. They said no words, but they weren't needed right now. All they did was sit at the edge of the island and watch the skies together, in a kind of peaceful harmony as the rainbow glowed over them.

"We did it, Spyro," Chihiro whispered as she peered back at Spyro while her body finally returned to its normal appearance, "We won!"

"I wouldn't be so sure just yet, Chihiro," Spyro warned, "Kaos's completely gone now! For all we know, he could've…"—Spyro stopped short and looked up at the skies—"Wait, do you hear that?"

"Actually, now that you mention it… Yeah, I do!" Chihiro perked her head up as well, "Wait, is that a bird?"

"No, it's a plane!"

"Wait, no, no, it's a shooting star!" Chihiro yelped as she grabbed Spyro's paw and ran, "And it's coming straight for us!"

Chihiro's warning hit everyone's ears immediately and turned all eyes towards the skies, but only for a little as everyone screamed and scrambled out the way! Just above them all, something colorful and bright crashed down from the skies and left a sizable dust cloud in its wake! The dust cascaded over the grounds and forced everyone into coughing fits, but while they fanned away the dust and tried to get a hold of themselves, a familiar whiny groan echoed around the area while a silhouette emerged from the shadows… One that sent everyone on high alert as the dust cleared!

"KAOS!" Everybody shouted as they readied their weapons and powers alike.

Indeed Kaos was there, albeit in awful condition as his clothes were tattered and bruises and scrapes covered the bare parts of his body… And though it seemed for a moment like he was going to attack as he set his eyes on Spyro and Chihiro, he didn't fight back! He merely swayed back and forth, like he was barely conscious!

"Fear… my… giant… floating… head," Kaos's voice croaked out in the distance before he groaned and collapsed onto the floor!

Spyro frowned as he flew over to Kaos and tapped him on the head a few times, his muzzle locked in a firm frown, but it quickly let up into a smile when Kaos didn't respond at all!

"It's alright, everyone!" Spyro shouted as he swerved his head all across the platform, "He's unconscious!"—Spyro yanked up the unconscious Kaos by his hood while his smile grew wide—"This should make a great souvenir!"

Spyro made a soft chuckled to himself, then cleared his throat and turned back to Chihiro.

"Hey, Chi, can you page…" Spyro fell off as he looked back to Chihiro, "… Chihiro?"

Chihiro winced and held her hung head, her balance shaky as she stepped from side to side.

"Ye, yeah Spyro?" Chihiro whimpered as she lifted up her face, "Page Hugo, I'll get on that…"

Chihiro rolled up her sleeve to bare her communicator and fumbled with its controls. Her hands were shaky as she tried to start it up, then she winced and accidentally slipped it off as she fell down!

"Chihiro!" Spyro rushed over to Chihiro and caught her before she could hit solid ground, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Spyro, I…" Chihiro made a small, sickly burp and shuddered, "I'm fine, I just… I'm, kinda dizzy…"

Chihiro made a pained wince as she looked up, then winced again as she hid from the sunlight. Her breath had started to grow heavier, and her face had since gained a feverish blush that indicated she was most definitely lying. Chihiro tumbled down further, but quickly propped herself back up with both arms. She didn't even notice that she had slammed the pager button as she shook again, this time much more violently. Then with a last gasp, Chihiro fell to the fortress's floor! Her body was still and peaceful as she rested on the warm grounds, almost as if…

"Oh, no…" Spyro whispered as he flew over to Chihiro's side and gently roused her motionless body, "Chihiro, come on, wake up now!"

But it was no use, she was fast asleep! And that was more than terrifying enough for Spyro, his eyes small as he let her go.

"Hex, quick!" Spyro called as he ushered Hex over with his paw, "There's something wrong with Chihiro!"

Hex gasped, then teleported out of the crowds and rushed towards Chihiro's side! Though she tried to keep a strong face as she summoned a sparkling orb and ran it back and forth across Chihiro's forehead, the way her fingers twitched showed she still had her fair share of nerves. And who could blame her, given that all around the cheerful air had turned frightened as all eyes fell on Chihiro as she slumbered in Spyro's grip, their voices hushed as they discussed what happened to her…

Then they shushed themselves as Hex lifted herself tall.

"You can rest easy," Hex affirmed as she lifted her head and voice, while her eyes trailed across the crowds, "It's not a curse, or malevolent magic or anything of the sort,"—Hex shook her head in affirmation—"It seems as thought she merely overexerted herself during the battle and fainted from fatigue. She just needs some rest."

Sighs of relief were breathed from every angle as Spyro himself chuckled, then gently heaved Chihiro onto his back and patted her shoulder.

"Geez, Chi," Spyro chuckled, "You really scared us for a bit, you know?"

"Hello? Hello, anybody there?" Hugo's voice crackled from Chihiro's communicator's speaker, just across from where Spyro stood.

Spyro jolted up as he caught wind of Hugo's words, then snagged the communicator off the ground and held it tight in his paws.

"Hugo, it's time!" Spyro exclaimed, his paws still a bit shaky from the shock of earlier though he himself bore a smile of relief, "Warp us back to Ancient's Peak, we've won!"

§

The moment they arrived back down from their bubble vessels, the bright orange shield around the island lifted and everyone else on Ancient's Peak crowded around the Skylanders, from Flynn, Cali, Hugo and Master Eon to the various trolls and fairies to even the MDF themselves. Their eyes sparkled in tandem with their wide, expecting grins, as if they had a million questions they wanted to ask in that moment! And once the Skylanders touched down and were freed of their bubbles, they did just that!

"So, what happened?" Hugo asked as he pushed his face in Gill Grunt's.

"Just how tough was it?" Cali squealed with perhaps the most excited, wide-eyed look of all, but she coughed into her hand and collected herself, "I mean, was it just like they said, with all the traps and such?"

"Did you have any trouble without me to help?" Flynn mused as he placed a hand on his chin, "Now, I know you're capable heroes even without the assistance of the best pilot in all Skylands, but…"

"'Scuse me, coming through!" Spyro shouted as he pushed through the crowds and flew towards the forest with an unconscious Chihiro kept with care on his back.

Everybody cast concerned gazes back at the forest, but not for long as Master Eon and Hugo glazed over the unconscious Kaos, who was now held tight in Stealth Elf's grip, then nodded. With a hum, Master Eon magically levitated the still unconscious Kaos over to the Core's base and dropped him off, while Hugo rushed over and tapped a few things into the Core's control panel…

Then out of nowhere, a bright orange bubble popped out and captured Kaos inside!

"Huh, what?…" Kaos mumbled as he opened his eyes and softly shook his head, "Where am I?"—Kaos frowned and tapped his bubble prison—"Am I in some kind of… Bubble? How'd I get here?"

Kaos then frowned and shook his head.

"Bah, it doesn't matter!" Kaos grinned as his hands flared with magic, then he held them out, "I'll just pop this bubble and be on my—"

As Kaos fired, however, the magic blast he produced immediately smacked against the shield and burst into smoke!

"Way?"

Kaos's jaw gaped open from shock as he continued firing, but every attack he threw

"Don't even try, Kaos!" Master Eon warned as he floated up to Kaos, "This bubble is completely immune to any sort of magic! You have no power here!"

Kaos's shocked expression turned to a nasty snarl as he looked up at Master Eon, then with a frustrated scream he pounded his fists against the bubble.

"Let me out, you foolish fools! You have no idea what you're doing, imprisoning the great KAOSSSSSSSSSSSS in such a foolish manner!"

Kaos continued to shout out insults and expletives as he banged his fists on the energy cage that currently served as his prison, but it was to no avail. No matter what he did, he was still completely trapped! It was, perhaps, the most satisfying treatment to see him get for all those around. His entire army had left him behind, his worst enemies had cleaned the floor with him… And now, they reveled as he fruitlessly try to escape his own imprisonment!

Another round of laughter burst out as Kaos shouted a wide variety of colorful insults back at the crowds, but Hugo seemed slightly concerned still as his eyes fell on the forest opening.

"You're concerned as to how Chihiro is doing, I assume?" Hex asked as she looked back Hugo.

Hugo yelped, then made a nervous grin as he scratched his head

"Well, yes…" Hugo said as he shook his head and looked Hex in the eye, "It's not anything bad, is it?"

"Thankfully, no. She just needed a little bit of bed rest after such an intense battle." Hex floated off from the crowds with her path set for the forest, "Speaking of, I should check and see if she's doing better."

§

Chihiro groaned as she lifted her very tired, very fuzzy head and rubbed her eyes. She was back in her bedroom in Ancient's Peak, but, how did she get here? She was she wasn't here earlier! For that mater, she couldn't really recall much of anything really. All she remembered were vague flashes that came back to her, of her battle with Kaos and how she and Skylanders fought so hard… But what happened after that? Her head was such a blur, she couldn't even think!

"Feeling any better, Chi?" Spyro asked beside her.

Chihiro perked up a bit as she turned around to find Spyro on her bed beside her, a wide smile on his face and a warm look in his golden eyes. As she looked back at him, another memory flashed in her mind, of the two of them sitting together and watching a brilliant rainbow unlike anything she had ever seen before… It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it!

"Yeah, I'm good," Chihiro replied as she lurched up and stretched her arms to the ceiling. She was at ease for a bit, but then the memories of Kaos flooded into her mind and her arms fell back at her side. "Say, what happened to Kaos?"

Spyro just smiled, then flew up to Chihiro and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Chi! He's unconscious right now, and we made sure to bring him back here with us. I think the others said they were gonna lock him up soon…"

Oh, now everything that happened finally came back to her! They beat Kaos and knocked him out cold, and there was that big battle and that beautiful sky and that amazing rainbow and… The memories rushed into Chihiro's mind and almost grew so big and overwhelming that it made her head spin, so she just sat down and grinned!

"Thank goodness!" Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief as she brushed her hands against her blankets, "It'd really suck if he got away after we finally beat him!"

Chihiro fell back on the blankets and grinned as the warm light filtered into her bedroom and cast beams of warm yellow over the normally quite quaint and dull sights around. Everything around felt a bit more magical, a bit more dreamlike, but it was good.

"We really did it, huh?" Chihiro asked as she turned around right as Spyro sat back down next to her.

"You bet we did!" Spyro replied as his tail swished against the blankets. His smile grew just a little wider as he reached out his paw and nudged it against Chihiro's hands. "And if it weren't for you saving us from Kaos's blast, we might not've!"

Spyro chuckled as he sat up to full height and gazed at the ceiling.

"You've… You've really come a long way, Chi."

Chihiro just chuckled as she sat up and ruffled her hair, and though she played it off with a laugh, hearing that from him did make her feel all fuzzy inside again.

"Now where's this coming from?" Chihiro asked as she leaned up and gently tapped Spyro's muzzle.

Spyro himself chuckled as he lifted her hand away, then as his chuckles died, he swished his tail and turned aside.

"Well, I was just thinking about some things on our trip back…" Spyro flicked his wings and grinned as he turned back to Chihiro, "When we were first banished to Earth, I almost thought everything was over! As much as I didn't want to admit it, I wasn't sure we'd ever be able to come back from something as awful as that…"—Spyro lifted his head as his grin stretched wider—"But we did! We fixed the Core of Light, we saved so much of Skylands from Kaos's grip, heck, we even beat Kaos himself! I, well, I don't know how to say this—"

Chihiro, however, just chuckled as she returned Spyro's grin with a grin of her own. The sound of her laughter caused him to close his mouth, but his golden eyes sparkled with a bit of anticipation, of the eager prompting as he waited to see what she'd do next.

"I, I get it!" Chihiro replied as she stared up at the ceiling and kicked her feet against her bed, "That day I found you guys, I never would have imagined things would've ended up like this, or that we'd all come so far…"

As the sunshine cascaded over her face, Chihiro grinned and flopped back down onto her bed. "It all kinda feels like a dream, you know?"

The two of them shared another laugh, then Chihiro sprung off her bed in a fit of impulse and spun around the room! She didn't know why, but right then and there, some kind of energy possessed her and just made her want to get up and run around! Everything that had happened till now, it all resounded in her heart and mind—finding the Skylanders, coming to Skylands, training as a portal master and helping them on their missions… So much had happened in that short period of time, and she couldn't help but feel a little more excited, a little prouder of how much she, no, they had all done!

Chihiro broke into a fit of laughter as she yanked Spyro off the bed, and though he cried out in surprise, he didn't protest as she held him close and spun him around the room! Everything around them had faded away, and now it was just the two of them spinning around and basking in the feeling of victory, of their success, of that amazing feeling of finally being able to admire how far they've come!

But, Chihiro was getting a little dizzy, so finally she dug her heels into the floor and came to a stop as she leaned against the bedpost.

"Y'know, Spyro, if this is a dream, it's the best one I've ever had!"

Spyro laughed as he looked up at her with those same warm, golden eyes that made her feel so safe, so warm, so wanted all those times before, and the excitement in her heart melted into something softer and more warm… Love, she supposed it was? Yeah, that sounded about right.

"Hey, Spyro?" Chihiro whispered as she hugged him tight, "Thanks, for everything."

Spyro, however, just chuckled as his paws wrapped around her back and his claws gripped against her back, but in a way gentle enough that it felt just right.

"You too, Chi," he whispered back as he burrowed his face in her shoulder, "I love you."

Chihiro chuckled, then took in a deep breath and released as she buried her face into Spyro's shoulder as well. "I love you too."

Their embrace seemed to last forever as they squeezed each other tight, their hearts beat in sync as the world around slowed just for them, but finally they let go and grinned, as they faced each other not as the strangers they were when they first met, but as the partners they were now.

"Y'know," Chihiro said as she hid her hands in her pockets, "I think an occasion like this calls for some victory ice cream sandwiches!"

Chihiro chuckled underneath her breath as she strode towards the door.

"I'm thinking… Double chocolate-chip cookies, two whole stacks of the sweetest vanilla ice cream they have in the kitchen, practically buried in sprinkles, oh, oh, and whipped cream with even more sprinkles and extra chocolaty hot fudge on it, too! And maybe some brownie crumbles, to boot!"

"That sounds like a recipe for a stomachache," Spyro replied as he stuck his tongue out, "I'm in."

Chihiro beamed as she went to open the door, but before she could it was swung open by someone else instead!

"Hex!" Spyro called as he watched her stride into Chihiro.

Hex was silent as Spyro dropped in front of her and open his mouth, then finally she tilted her head and sprawled her fingers.

"Are you doing any better, Chihiro?" Hex asked as her blank eyes fell on Chihiro, "You gave us all quite the scare when you fainted back there."

Chihiro laughed and ruffled the back of her head as warmth gathered in her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, I just needed a little sleep!"

Hex breathed a sigh of relief, but still didn't seem entirely at ease as she looked back up at Chihiro.

"If that's the case, then I came to escort you back to the island's heart. We've finally locked up Kaos, but he's been getting quite rowdy and I'm sure Hugo wants all hands on deck... Just in case."

"Alright then, I'll make sure the pipsqueak doesn't mess things up again!" Chihiro nodded towards Hex, then beamed as she pumped a fist to the ceiling, "COMING THROUGH!"

Hex turned around and drifted out of the way Chihiro dashed out the door, then Spyro beamed and bolted right after her! The two of them grinned as they matched each other's pace down the room's halls… But then, Chihiro lost her footing as she ran, and though she tried to grab onto Spyro to steady herself, she just took him down with her! The crash collision had sent them both tumbling down the way, then when Chihiro opened her eyes she had landed right on Spyro, right outside of her quarters!

"Whoops, sorry about that, Golden Boy!" Chihiro giggled as she jumped off Spyro and pulled him back to his paws, "Those floors are slicker than I remember!"

Chihiro jolted up and careened her head around while screams echoed from the outside world. "Wait, is that Kaos?"

"Well…" Hex said as she floated up and grabbed both Spyro's paw and Chihiro's hand, all while she glowed with a faint blue light, "See for yourself."

In moments, Hex had teleported Spyro and Chihiro back to where Kaos was being kept. Though her face stayed neutral enough, her blank eyes were full of malevolence as they fixed on the sight of Kaos screaming obscenities towards the others from within the confinements of a round, orange bubble.

"Don't act like you've won, you foolish worms!" Kaos yelled as he shook a fist at the outside world, "Once I get out of here, I'll, I'll split you in half! I'll turn you into my personal crystal statues!"—Kaos's eyes widened—"No, I'll shrink you down, put you in a bucket, and KICK IT! REALLY HARD!"

"Can it, pipsqueak!" Flynn shouted back as he knocked on Kaos's bubble and sighed, "Man, that guy's annoying. I've heard balloons with less of a loud mouth than him!"

"Finally, we agree on something for once," Cali said as she rolled her eyes and made a small chuckle, "You know, you're not so bad after all."

"Of course I'm not!" Flynn winked back at Cali and nudged her shoulder, "I'm the best pilot in all Skylands!"

Cali chuckled a few more times and gently punched him in the arm. "Now, I wouldn't say that."

"EXCUSE ME! EVIL GENIUS TRAPPED IN THE WORKS HERE?!" Kaos yelled as he pounded his fist on the bubble.

"Oh, my," Chihiro snorted as she covered her mouth with her hands, though it did little to mask her laughter, "OH MY GOD! THIS IS WHAT YOU DID TO KAOS?! OH MY, OH MY…"—Chihiro let go of Spyro and walked up to Kaos—"I'VE GOTTA GET IN ON THIS!"

Chihiro smirked as she leaned against the bubble and cast Kaos possibly the smuggest grin she could ever make.

"So, Kaos, what's it like being trapped in there while we're out here?" Chihiro drummed her fingers against the bubble, and her grin only widened as Kaos seethed in her presence, "Really sucks, huh? Now I bet you understand how the 'landers felt when—"

"CAN IT, PORTAL-POSER!" Kaos shouted back as he went back to furiously pounding on the bubble, "Once you send me back to the Outlands and I take over again, you'll be the first to TASTE YOUR EVIL DOOM!"

"Actually," Master Eon said as he floated up to Kaos's bubble, "That's not what we had in mind."

"It isn't?" Kaos replied as his jaw dropped, then his bright red eyes widened, "Don't tell me you're going to EXECUTE ME?!"

"Oh trust me, we were very tempted." Master Eon's body flared red with rage. "After all, you destroyed the Core of Light and upset the balance of light and darkness, banished the Skylanders and took the majority of Skylands by force!"

"And let's not forget," Hugo remarked as he shot Kaos a glare, "That your forces drove so many kingdoms into ruins and brought upon the deaths of hundreds—"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Kaos snarled as he pounded his fist against the bubble, "I'm a busy evil overlord, I can't keep track of everything my minions do!"

Kaos frowned and stepped back as Master Eon's red glow faded. "Wait, why are you leaving?"

"Ultimately, though, we felt that there was something a little more… Appropriate for your punishment." Master Eon turned back to Hugo and bobbed up and down. "Hugo, will you please?"

"I will, Master Eon!" Hugo agreed as he fiddled with the control panel next to the Core of Light, "Now, I've set the Core up with some new coordinates, and Kaos…"—Hugo's eyes drifted over to Kaos with the smile to match—"You get the honor of being the first to test them out!"

Kaos, however, did not seemed very honored to be a part of this experiment. In fact, he was absolutely panicked! His pounding fits came to a conclusion as he broke out into wide eyes and cold sweats.

"Um, er," Kaos sputtered as he held out his hands, "If you let me stay, I'll split the Skylands... Eighty-five to fifteen! Of course, I'd get the eighty-five..."

Hugo paid no mind to Kaos, and instead continued to fiddle with the control panel's many buttons and switches.

"Er, alright, how about... Seventy-five to twenty-five?" Kaos adjusted the fingers he held up in accordance.

With a button press on Hugo's end, the Core of Light began to hum and glow with raw energy.

"Fifty fifty?"

Just then, the entire island began to shake! The energy bubble that served as Kaos's prison glowed a warmer orange that soon grew bright enough to mask Kaos himself completely… Then shot off into skies like a rocket!

As the bubble vanished from view, Chihiro beamed and shook a fist at the skies.

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" Chihiro shouted, then lowered her voice as her eyes trailed to Master Eon, "Say, where'd you guys send him, anyways?"

"See for yourself," Hugo replied as he ushered Chihiro over to the control panel, where a large screen had popped up.

That large screen depicted the vast galaxies, all dark blue with milky, faint stars, but hung in the center was a familiar green and blue planet… Wait a second…

"No way…" Chihiro whispered as she watched the screen, "You sent him to Earth?"

Sure enough, an orange comet streaked across the screen!

"Wait, what's going on?!" Kaos exclaimed as the comet passed by, "Why is everything getting bigger? Wait, am I—"

Before Kaos could finish, the comet vanished from view as it crashed into the earth's stratosphere!

"Serves him right." Chihiro scoffed as she watched the screen fold back into the control panel, then her eyes grew large as if she was hit by sudden realization, "But… Wait, oh no…"

"But what, kiddo?" Flynn asked as he patted Chihiro's back, "What's there to but about? We laid the boom on big-head and sent him flying off with his tail between his legs!"—Flynn smirked as he straightened his jacket—"If anything, I'd say it's time to party!"

"But there's still plenty of ways to get back to Skylands on Earth!" Chihiro retorted as she looked Flynn in the eye, "This whole thing… Back where I'm from, it's part of a game, and that game comes with a portal of its own! There's hundreds…"—Chihiro shook her head—"No, probably thousands of them!"

"Say what?" Flynn tilted his head and frowned.

"If he finds even one, he could use it to come back! And you heard him, once he gets back to Skylands he's gonna take over again!" Chihiro balled her hands into fists, "So, I'm gonna go back to Earth and find him!"

A wave of gasps was heard… And then solemn silence as everyone turned away.

Chihiro herself seemed shocked as she watched their somber faces, then she herself grew less enthusiastic as well.

"But… That means I'd have to say goodbye to you guys and go home." Chihiro seemed hesitant for a moment, "But, if it's to keep you…"—Chihiro shook her head—"No, the entire universe safe, then I'll do it! Hugo, fire up the Core!"

"Hold on now, young Chihiro," Master Eon said as he flew in front of Chihiro, "There's one more thing we have to do."

"What's that, Master Eon? I mean, we've already taken care of Kaos—"

"No, nothing of that sort!" Master Eon shook back and forth, "Before you make your grand leave, we need to hold your graduation ceremony!"

"Oh, yes, that's right!" Hugo exclaimed as he scurried away from the control panel, "Now that you've passed your exams, we need to crown you with your title!"

"Wait, you mean…" Chihiro's eyes sparkled with wonder, "I can finally become a true portal master?"

Master Eon only bobbed up and down, while Hugo nodded in time with Master Eon.

Chihiro made a wonderstruck gasp, then smiled and nodded.

"Alright then, let's get this ceremony started!"

§

Chihiro's heart practically pounded out of her chest as she gazed at the scene before her. She, no, they all had come so far, and look what they had accomplished! Kaos defeated, the Core of Light restored, peace returned to not just Skylands, but hopefully the entire universe as well, and now…

It was time. She was going to become a true portal master!

Chihiro tugged on her vest as she knocked her knees together. She couldn't even believe this was happening! It all felt like some really, really great dream! But no, this was real life—she thought so, anyways. She was too shaky to even try pinching herself!

Across from where she stood now, the Skylanders and all the other residents of Ancient's Peak sat in rows grouped by their elements and spread into twin aisles, all eyes fixed on the front. At the head of that front, Master Eon hovered next to a teary-eyed Hugo, his light faint against the striking orange sunset.

Well, Chihiro thought with a gulp, I shouldn't keep them waiting any longer.

Chihiro gulped again, then forced herself to take a step forward, then another and another after that one, until she finally strode down the lone vacant way between the two aisles. Regal-sounding music accompanied her walk and made her feel almost like a king or queen or something like that, which did ease her nerves a little… But not by much. After all, what do people even do at a portal master graduation ceremony, anyways?! Would she have to make a big fancy speech? Did she have one last test that would surprise her out of nowhere?! How could she prepare?!

Chihiro lost herself in her thought as she strode forward, then shook her head as a bright, warm light flashed against her face. She forced her gaze up, and sure enough Master Eon glowed before her with a kind of pride in his lighting. Well, she thought it was pride, anyways.

"Young Chihiro," Master Eon said as he gently nudged her shoulder, "Turn around."

Chihiro did as told and turned around to face the audience. Just the sight of all these eyes fixed on her caused her nerves to creep back up on her, and once again her legs shuddered like they were gonna turn to jelly. But then, Spyro waved at her from one of the front rows and completely dispelled her nerves! Chihiro beamed and waved back, but froze again as Master Eon cleared his throat.

"Now, kneel, if you will," Master Eon instructed as he hovered above her.

Chihiro nodded towards Master Eon, then knelt down and closed her eyes.

"Over the past few months, young Chihiro has dutifully studied under Hugo and I's watchful eyes. She has faced countless challenges and perils, enemies of a massive scale, and much more…"

No kidding, Chihiro thought as she rolled her eyes beneath her eyelids, her battle with Kaos still fresh in the mind.

"But, she has bloomed quite impressively in the face of this adversity! She's proven her strengths to all of us over the course of these months, from braving the challenges presented to her, to studying and improving her own talents, and even bringing us smiles and encouragement in our worst hours."

"WOOHOO!"

"THAT'S OUR KID!"

"GO CHIHIRO!"

As the crowds resounded with cheers and affirmations, Chihiro giggled. Warmth gathered in her cheeks as their praise resounded all around, but she was in no position to downplay it. This was her time, after all!

Master Eon cleared his throat yet again, and a silence fell over the crowds.

"And now that she has helped us conquer the evil that is Kaos," Master Eon continued, "I believe young Chihiro Hatsuki has proven to all of us that she is more than worthy of the title of a true portal master!"

The crowds erupted into cheers once more, then fell silent as Master Eon cleared his throat.

Chihiro stood steadfast, her heart so jumpy with nerves and all sorts of feelings that she felt numb everywhere else, then a twinkling sound resonated not that far from her. Chihiro opened her eyes and sure enough, Master Eon floated right before her!

"Young Chihiro, when I took you under my wing, you made these vows to me in the privacy of our quarters." Master Eon flew a bit further out, as if to indicate the crowds before them, "Now, before I can crown you with your title, I must ask that you renew these vows once more for all to hear."

Master Eon floated back to Chihiro and hovered right before her face.

"Young Chihiro Hatsuki, do you vow to become a true portal master?" Master Eon asked, a firm kind of seriousness in his voice, "Do you vow to protect the universe from all kinds of evil, even at the cost of your own life? To use your powers for the good of all that walk these worlds? To protect the weak and the oppressed from those that wish them harm, no matter what?"

Chihiro smiled, not a playful or funny kind of smile, but an earnest one. She remembered all that time ago, how she felt so conflicted and yet so decided on that decision… But now, she knew with all her heart what her answer was.

"Yes, Master Eon," Chihiro replied, her voice rung with a surprising level of maturity and earnestness as she bowed her head, "I do."

"Very well then!" Master Eon swirled around Chihiro then shot up to the skies, "Young Chihiro Hatsuki, kneel as an apprentice… And rise now as a true portal master!"

Chihiro's heart skipped a beat as she pulled herself to stand at full height, the sun bright and warm against her face.

All around, everybody in the audience cheered and hollered all sorts of things as they basked in her light! A couple of them held each other tight in glee, some tossed their hats in the air… Chihiro even heard a bit of sniffling and turned around to see Hugo wipe tears of joy from his glasses!

"You've done well, Young Chihiro." Master Eon bobbed up and down as if he was nodding, then shook, "No… Master Chihiro."

Chihiro's whole body turn warm with some strange mixture of pride and glee as she nodded.

"Thank you, Master Eon."

Chihiro's mouth stretched into the widest smile it could without her even noticing, but she didn't mind—this was her time now! After everything she did since that fateful day the Skylanders crash-landed into her backyard… She finally could taste the fruits of her labor.

Chihiro stood in admiration of Master Eon once more, then she nearly fell over as something tackled into her! She yelped in surprise as she hopped a few paces, and finally regained her balance to find that Spyro had wrapped her in a tight hug, his face buried into her shoulder!

Spyro jolted his head up, then let go and turned away.

"Oh, sorry, Chi," Spyro sputtered as he scratched his cheek, "I don't know what came over me, I just—"

"OH, GET OVER HERE, YOU!" Chihiro exclaimed as she laughed and pulled Spyro back into a tight hug.

The two of them laughed away all the troubles of earlier as they spun around and hugged… Then the two of them became three as Gill Grunt joined in the hug, followed by Trigger Happy, Terrafin, Eruptor… Soon enough, the entire crowd had formed around Chihiro, all to celebrate her! Normally these kinds of crowds would freak her out, but right now, she was too happy to possibly care! So, instead, she just smiled and laughed as everybody cheered her on and congratulated her on her achievement!

It was picture perfect, and Chihiro didn't ever want it to end. But, as she basked in everyone's cheers and praise and shouts, her eyes glazed over the Core of Light and the cheer in her heart disappeared.

"That's right…" Chihiro said as her smile fell, "I've… Gotta go back to Earth."

Chihiro looked down at her feet and tried her best to hide her disappointment, but it was hard. After such a high, her whole mood had crashed and she was about ready to fall to pieces. On one hand, she couldn't possibly go back, not right now! She had finally found a place all her own, the friends she had wanted so, and more importantly, she was a true portal master now! They needed her!

But on the other hand, she did have her family surely worried sick about her, and Kaos was on Earth, too. Who knows what kind of trouble he'd cause if left unchecked? And not to mention, as a portal master it was her responsibility to prevent whatever that was.

Chihiro winced then looked at Master Eon with pleading eyes, as if he'd rescind his words in the heat of the moment.

"That is true," Master Eon sighed as he floated over to Chihiro and nudged away the tears that had formed in her eyes, "But, before we part, there is one more thing we need to do."

"Really?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

Master Eon floated over towards Hugo and nudged his shoulder. "Hugo, I believe it's time to present Master Chihiro with the thing we've talked about."

"That thing?" Hugo asked as he wiped his puffy eyes, then his ears twitched as his mouth gaped open, "Oh, right! That thing!"

"Huh?" Chihiro uttered as her mouth sat agape. Her eyes trained on Hugo as he dug through his pockets, then sifted through the crowds and presented Chihiro with a humble wooden box.

"Chihiro, this is from Master Eon and I," Hugo explained as he pressed the box into her hands, "Think of it as a graduation present."

Chihiro gulped and nodded, then glazed over the wooden box that sat in her hands. Though it looked no different from your ordinary wooden box, something in it felt so much more… Extraordinary than a normal one. In fact, she was almost hesitant to open it! But nonetheless, Chihiro slowly pried the box open and gasped!

"It's so beautiful!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pulled out her present and held it up for all to see!

It was an absolutely striking, cyan-colored druzy crystal pendant that shimmered in at least ten colors more as the sunset's light hit its surface! Its golden base was absolutely radiant against the sunlight, and the sparkles that radiated from it made it seem even more magical than it already was!

"Master Chihiro," Master Eon explained as he flew next to the pendant and examined it, "This pendant is imbued with a special kind of warp magic, the kind that allows you to travel not just between short locations, but between entire worlds!"

Chihiro's eyes went wide and she made a shrill gasp. Entire worlds? Could that mean…

"I can use this to travel between Earth and Skylands?" Chihiro looked at Master Eon with an eager kind of pleading.

"Quite observant of you, Master Chihiro."

Chihiro let out another shrill gasp of glee, then she clumsily dropped the pendant around her neck and wrapped Master Eon in a tight hug.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Chihiro sobbed tears of glee as she spun Master Eon around, "THIS IS THE BEST GRADUATION PRESENT EVER!"

Master Eon chuckled, then floated out of Chihiro's grasp and glowed just a bit brighter.

"Now, why don't you test it out?" Master Eon flew towards the crystal and gently rubbed it, "Just think of where you want to go with all your heart, and channel your magic into the pendant."

"Alright."

Chihiro nodded, then gazed back at the island and crowds she was about to leave behind. Hopefully this would work…

"See you later, everyone!" Chihiro waved at the crowds all around her, then her eyes fell to Spyro as she squeezed his paw with her free hand, "I'll miss you!"

Spyro made a small gasp of his own, then nodded and squeezed her hand back.

"We'll…" Spyro looked aside and made a weak smile, "… I'll miss you, too."

Chihiro nodded and let go, then clasped both hands around the pendant. All the leftover emotions made her whole body tremble, but she couldn't really reflect on that at the moment.

Right now, all she had to think about was Earth. The planet that was her "true" home… How much had it changed in the time she had been gone? A lot? A little? Were her parents still around, waiting with bated breath for her to return? Did Mamoru ever notice her absence when he went to school? Would the Earth still have a place for her when she returned?

These questions, thoughts and more resounded in Chihiro's mind as she clasped her pendant tighter.

"Warp pendant…" Chihiro whispered with bated breath, "Please take me to Earth."

The wind blew harder as a bright cyan swirl of magic enveloped Chihiro, then in a brightly-colored flash everything faded into bright light…

§

Chihiro gently groaned as she stirred back up. Her head rang with a kind of exhaustion, but not the bad, "stayed up all night" kind of exhaustion. It felt more like a good kind, the kind one gets when you sleep in for the day to fully experience a wonderful dream.

What happened? Chihiro thought as her blurry, awakening vision started to clear, Am I still in Skylands?

Chihiro rubbed her eyes as they trailed all across the room before her. Wait a second, this wasn't the makeshift bedroom she had taken residence in back on Skylands! This was her house's living room! So she was back on Earth again?

Chihiro frowned and examined the room around her. The lights had gone back on and the TV now rang with the odd screen that showed up whenever her Gamestation had powered down improperly, and a nagging feeling tugged on her brain. Had she forgotten something important? Chihiro frowned and tapped her foot against the floor, then beamed as a distant memory popped back into her mind. Oh, now she remembered—the power had gone out before she went to Skylands! Looks like it finally came back on…

"Strange, how did I get back on Earth? I could've sworn that I was in—"

Chihiro sprung to her feet, then turned back to the array of Skylanders figures on her table… But they weren't there. They were all gone, with all that remained was the slick, clean brown wood of the table itself.

"Guys?" Chihiro's voice faltered just a bit as she looked over the table that filled her heart with an unyielding emptiness… Until she shook her head and smiled, "Silly me, they're all back in Skylands!"—Chihiro chuckled and gently bopped her head with her fist—"I'll just start up the game and say hello!"

Chihiro grabbed her controller from the couch, then passed by the various options on the menu, her mind fixed on opening up the game… But it wasn't listed. An empty, slightly-transparent icon with a disc printed on it stood in place of where the game option would be.

"Huh? Okay, I knew I had left the disc in there when I left!" Chihiro placed the controller back down onto the couch and walked over to the Gamestation, "Maybe it got a little fried when the power outage hit!"—Chihiro smiled as she hovered her finger over the disc eject button—"I'll just pop the disc out and put it back—"

When Chihiro pressed the button, no disc came out. Only a series of beeps that emitted with a friendly chime sounded off from her Gamestation, not the whir that it made as it spat out the disc.

"In."

Chihiro's hands trembled as she pressed the button a few more times, but every single time brought nothing more than the same chime of emptiness, the chime that swirled her head like a vulture over roadkill. No, no, what was going on?! She had definitely had the game in that console, and the Skylanders by her side. Everything that happened before… It couldn't have possibly just been a dream this whole entire time, could it? Chihiro's breath grew frantic as she stood in shock, then light shimmered in her eyes as she raced to the kitchen.

"That's right! A lot of time passed by in Skylands—surely it's probably been a day or two here at the least!"

Chihiro dashed into the kitchen, the appliances of which had green, unset zeroes set over their timers. But that was of no concern to Chihiro! She immediately dashed towards the kitchen's island, grabbed her phone from its marble surface and flipped it open to find…

No. No, it couldn't have been.

But, there on the screen of her phone was the date of that fateful day—October sixteenth, two thousand eleven. And worse yet, if the time on there was correct, maybe only about a half-hour had passed!

Chihiro's whole body trembled as the phone slipped out of her hands and fell onto the floor with a clatter. Normally she'd quickly retrieve it to make sure it was alright, but now she was in so much shock she couldn't possibly care about that!

"So, it was just a dream after all…" Chihiro whimpered as tears dripped down her eyes, "All those adventures, all my friends, everything that happened to us…"

Chihiro's soft sniffles grew louder as she fell to her knees and curled into a ball.

"It was all just a dream."

Unable to do anything else, Chihiro buried her face into her knees and sobbed so loud it probably echoed throughout the entire house, if not the entire neighborhood. But, she couldn't possibly care about that right now! She finally found people she could call her friends, a place where she felt loved and important… And it was nothing more than a figment of her imagination! Why?! Why would this happen?!

"If I had known that was a dream," Chihiro sobbed as she wiped her tears with her sleeves, "I wouldn't have ever woken up!"

Chihiro clasped her wet hand into a fist, then sobbed even louder as she held that fist against her heart, then froze. Something strange laid against her chest, something bumpy and hard and kinda gritty in texture? What the heck? Now that she had stopped wallowing in her own despair, she also felt something hang from her neck—but what? She wasn't wearing any jewelry when she came to Skylands… No, unless, could it be? Chihiro shook her head, wiped away her remaining tears, and unzipped her vest with wet, trembling hands. As she peered down at her sweater, the glimmer in her eyes grew brighter while her frown quickly shifted to a wide smile!

There, rested against her chest was that same shiny, colorful cyan warp crystal, on the very same pendant she had been given before she left for Earth! It was all coming back to her now—Kaos's defeat, the ceremony… No, it wasn't just a dream after all!

"Thank goodness…" Chihiro gasped as she shook her head and pulled herself back to a standing position, "Oh, what am I doing lazing around here? I'm sure everybody's waiting on me to come back!"

So, Chihiro clasped her hand around the warp crystal and held it out in front of her person. As she did, the magic bubbled in her soul and paired itself with the magic in the crystal, and in turn the crystal shone even brighter than even before. Just the sight almost made Chihiro feel like she was back in Skylands already!

"Crystal," Chihiro proclaimed in her most matter-of-fact voice, "Take me back to Ancient's Peak!"

Chihiro made a stern, commandeering look at the crystal as it glowed brighter and brighter… Then slowly, its light jumped out from its surroundings and swirled around Chihiro, its bright beams enveloped around her as if they were embracing family! Chihiro giggled as one nuzzled her head, then let go of the crystal and let it fall back to her chest.

Soon, the cyan light grew brighter and brighter, until the kitchen was no longer visible and all she could see was an endless wallpaper of skylike aqua. And of course, she loved it! She couldn't help herself but grin as the excitement burst from her heart at the sheer thought of returning to Skylands, of seeing the Skylanders again…

Of coming back home.

"Don't worry, everyone," Chihiro whispered as she closed her eyes, "I'm coming!"

And with that, a massive whoosh sounded around Chihiro, followed by a loud chorus of associated chatter.

"Chihiro!" shouted a voice that was undoubtedly Spyro's, "You're back!"

§

"OWCH! MY BEAUTIFUL EVIL HEAD!"

As birds cleared out from the hideously blue skies above, Kaos grunted and glanced around this awful, absolutely horrendous place the portal-poster and those utterly insolent Skylosers had sent him too!

It was some kind of dirty alleyway filled with huge dust bunnies and round metal bins as large as his castle, all lined against tall brick buildings that scraped the skies above him. Light poured in from an open passageway, light so bright it made Kaos's eyes water from the heat. Had they sent him to a world where everything was gigantic? If they thought that could stop him, the almighty Kaos, then they had another thing coming!

Kaos went to lift his arms, but he couldn't. No much how much he grunted and struggled, he couldn't move any part of his body save for his eyes! It was like he was a statue, doomed to only perceive the world around him as it passed him by… Or perhaps… A toy?

Bah, what a silly idea. It didn't matter if he was a toy or a statue or six inches tall! No matter was it to him if he was in the Outlands or some dingy little corner of the universe he couldn't bother to remember the name of! He'd find his way back to Skylands and make those stupid Skylanders and their even stupider portal master bow before him! That's right, after all, he was the almighty evil overlord, Kaos! No minor setback could stop him from conquering Skylands as its supreme evil overlord like fate had intended him too!

"MARK MY WORDS, SKYLANDERS!" Kaos proclaimed as he shook a fist to the skies—or at least, did so in theory, "WHEN I FIND MY WAY BACK TO SKYLANDS, YOU'LL ALL PAY! YOU'LL PAY IN THE MOST UTTERLY HORRIFIC, GRATIFYINGLY EVIL WAY I CAN THINK OF!"

Kaos then paused for a moment to clear his throat. "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"

"Uh, Lord Kaos? I can hear you."

"Eh?!"

Kaos stopped short of his evil rant while his eyes glazed around the dirty alleys before him. For a moment, he could've sworn that he heard Glumshanks' voice! But, why would Glumshanks be here? Glumshanks was nowhere near him when he was banished away to this dead-end place!

Kaos frowned as his eyes fell onto a speck of green hidden behind a particularly wide metal bin. Could it be? Kaos strained as he reached out for a moment, his inability to move completely forgotten… Then in a miracle itself, his arm stretched forward! Kaos gasped as a surge of magic burst through him while his whole body sprang with life! He wiggled his toes, swerved around his head… Finally, he could move at last!

Kaos immediately sprang to his feet, then as he got himself balanced he skittered over to the spec of green, which, sure enough, was Glumshanks! Oh, poor Glumshanks, frozen in a look of absolutely terror as he held up his hands. Now, Kaos would never say this to anyone's face, but at a time like this he couldn't possibly be happier to see his old, reliable butler!

"Glumshanks!" Kaos cried as he heaved up Glumshanks and leaned him against the bin, "How did you get here?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself!" Glumshanks replied, "One minute I was polishing your portal, then the next moment there's a big explosion, and the portal started glowing, and next thing I knew I ended up here!"

Kaos crossed his arms and turned around as he hummed. Truly an interesting predicament…

"Glumshanks! Pack our things." Kaos strode off into the bright open of the pathway in front of him, "We might be here for a while…"

"How can I?" Glumshanks cried, though his objections were on the back of Kaos's mind, "We're already here!"

"NO OBJECTIONS!" Kaos raised a finger to the sky, "If we're going to get back to Skylands, we'll need every—"

Kaos stopped short as he heard something that sounded like a dog panting while a shadow cast over him and gave his evil eyes sweet relief from that utterly atrocious light! But, there was no time to be relieved.

Instead, he whimpered as he gazed over a gigantic, shaggy mutt with a cherry pink tongue as it loomed over him!

"Uh…" Kaos winced and stepped back, "Nice doggie?"

The dog, in response, barked and chased Kaos down the lane! No, not this, anything but this! Kaos screamed as he darted over to Glumshanks, then heaved Glumshanks off the ground and frantically dashed further down the alleways, all while the resounding, utterly sickening barks of that ferocious dog rang in his ears.

"Glumshanks, pick up the speed!" Kaos demanded as he ducked under a stray piece of paper, "I can't run and carry you!"

"But Lord Kaos, I can't!" Glumshanks said in return, "I can't move at all!"

"GLUMSHANKS—"

Before Kaos could finish, he barreled towards a brick wall and skidded to a stop! Much to his utter, evil horror, he was completely cornered—walled off on one end and faced with the gigantic fuzzball that was his persecutor on the other!

"Er…" Kaos winced as he stepped back and turned around, "Nice doggie?"

The dog panted for a few more minutes, the wag of its mangy tail so great that it sent pounding beats through the air… Then it grabbed Kaos by the back of his robe and bound off.

"WHAT?! UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT, YOU WALKING FLEABAG! YOU MANGY MUTT!" Kaos screamed as he flailed around in some fruitless way of freeing himself from the canine's grasp, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!"

Kaos cringed as dog slobber dripped down from that stupid dog's maw and completely drenched him!

"CURSE YOU, SKYLANDERS! AND ESPECIALLY YOU, PORTAL-POSTER!"

And Kaos's angry cries were all that could be heard as the dog ran down the streets with him and Glumshanks still firm in its grasp…

---

And with that, the first installment of Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders has finally been completed! Man, after working on this almost non-stop since I started the fic back in May last year, it feels a little unreal that I've finally reached this point! But I did! Anyways, some obligatory trivia first:

- Kaos's threats towards the Skyalnders absolutely are references to Swap Force and Trap Team, and the bucket line was directly lifted from one of his villain lines in Trap Team. See, that line was kind of a meme between me and the rest of my family and we quoted it all the time so I had to put it in at least once
- Similarly, the six inches tall thing is actually a bit of a Spyro nod - before coming up with Skylanders, one of Toys for Bob's concepts for a Spyro game was one where a six-inch-tall Spyro would explore a post-apocalyptic world, but got scrapped because the staff didn't enjoy working on it and because it didn't feel like Spyro.

Anyways, now onto thanks! It's taken a lot to get to this part, so I'd just like to thank my friends for being the ones who encouraged me when I first announced that I would be posting CHS last year! If not for your encouragement, I might not have even had the confidence to post this in the first place, so thank you!

And more importantly, a big thank you to everyone who's read, favorited, followed and reviewed CHS over the past year! I'll be honest, when I first posted CHS that day in May, I never would have guessed that things would get to this point (And a special thanks to Watch Seeker for reviewing every single chapter since the fic first launched!) It's been a really fun and wild year or so following Chihiro and the Skylanders' mission, one full of twists, turns, ups, downs and surprises like nobody could ever imagine, and hopefully the coming years and the future adventures of Chihiro, the Skylanders and all their friends and foes will prove enjoyable to you as well!

Speaking of...

Please look forward to Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders: Here Come the Giants!, tentatively coming sometime in 2021!