twilightsage121, who owns Skelepyre and Twilight, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! :) Enjoy! :)

Skylanders belongs to Activision. Mythology belongs to its respective owners. Jocu, the Tickle Knights, and his brothers belong to guestsurprise. Blaze belongs to robotman25. I only own Rachel. :)

Bonding With The Unknown

Fiesta kissed his daughter's head affectionately. "Sweet dreams, mija," he said softly as he put the sleeping baby in her crib for a nap as Skelepyre watched with a fond smile. As the skeleton quietly walked away from the crib and out to his lovely fiancée, he carefully closed to door and then took Skelepyre into his arms. "Hello, mi amor," he whispered in her ear.

She giggled softly so that she didn't wake the baby, smiling up at him. "Hello, guapo," she said, making him beam as she called him 'Handsome' in Spanish. "I missed you."

"And I looked forward to coming home to you while I was on that mission," he admitted, holding her closer. "What do you say we cuddle for a bit while our little one is napping?"

She smiled at him in response, gasping softly when she felt him pick her up bridal style. Giggling again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her to his room.

Outside, Rachel and Grim Creeper were battling Kaos, who had come to the Academy. The bad thing was, most of the others were out on missions and wouldn't be there in time. "Come on, Grim!" The Tech Portal Master said. "We've got this!"

He nodded, knowing she was trying to keep their spirits up despite them being a bit bruised from a few lucky hits. He stood firm. "I won't give up!" He said.

"Neither will I!" She promised.

"Fools! It's too late!" Kaos gloated before he shot two balls of magic at them. Quickly, the two knocked them away, but as they did so, Kaos shot a third one at the Academy.

Right at the nursery window where Twilight was napping.

"NO!" Rachel screamed as the ball of magic vanished and Kaos laughed.

"YES! She's gone from Skylands!" He gloated. "Good luck finding her! If you can!" He sneered, vanishing before they could get him.

Grim looked horrified. "Come on! We got to get to Master Eon!" He said.

She nodded. "You find him and I'll get Fiesta and Skelepyre!" She said urgently as they split up.

Fiesta was gazing at his love when he all of a sudden sat up, feeling magic in the air and feeling it in his daughter's room. "Twilight," he gasped.

Skelepyre sat up, having noticed it too and ran for her daughter's room with her husband-to-be right behind her. A scream rang through the Academy as the mother saw her baby was gone. Rachel came running up to them, a look of horror on her face as she saw that her fears were right. "NO!" She screamed, punching the wall. "When I get my hands on Kaos, he's going to be so sore he won't be able to move for a week!"

The Dualander turned to her. "He has Twilight?!" She asked in anger.

The Tech Portal Master shook her head. "No, he teleported her somewhere far from here," she said. "He told us and I called Ambush to check Kaos' castle and he reported back that Twilight's not there."

Fiesta was worried. "Where did he teleport her to?" He asked.

"We shall soon know," came a voice and they looked to see it was Master Eon, Grim Creeper standing beside him. "I'm searching for her now as we speak."

Skelepyre looked ready to cry and Fiesta held her in a hug. "We'll get her back, mi amor," he promised.

"You can bet on it," Rachel said before wincing as her side hurt from the battle. Grim also winced as his back was hurting a bit.

"You two go see Mags in the medbay," Master Eon said gently. "I'll inform you of anything I find."

Nodding, the two headed for the medbay while Fiesta and Skelepyre waited patiently to see if Master Eon would be able to find their daughter.

Meanwhile, in another realm...

Captain Optimo was patrolling the grounds when he heard something followed by the cry of a child. His eyes widened as he realized it was a baby's cry and he quickly followed the sound, finding a baby laying on the ground and she was crying. Quickly getting over his surprise, he gently picked her up. "Shh, shh," he cooed gently, wrapping part of his cloak around the baby. "I've got you, little one."

The baby opened her eyes, still whimpering, but her crying had quieted down. "Oh, you poor little one," he cooed sympathetically. "What happened to you?"

Holding her close, he sprinted for the castle, heading inside and finding Jocu near the library with his brothers Jovi and Vivo. They turned as they heard the Captain of the Tickle Knights run up to them. He bowed to them in respect. "Your Majesties, look," he said, showing them the child.

As they gazed at her, the baby's whimpering got louder and Optimo realized with a start her small body was starting to heat up. "I think she's running a fever," he said.

Jocu's eyes widened. "Much worse, I'm afraid," he said. "She's scared and it seems her body is reacting to her fear."

The baby then closed her eyes and turned invisible for a moment before reappearing, surprising them before three skulls appeared in front of her and were soon on fire, which shocked them greatly. "Good gracious!" Vivo said in shock. "She's got some strong powers!"

Jovi yelped as a bit of flame was shot at him. "Fire breath?" He asked in shock. "That's not possible!"

Jocu knew the baby had to be calmed down and went to Optimo. "Let me see her," he said gently.

The Captain handed the baby to him and Jocu held her close to him. "Shh, calm down, sweet one," he cooed to her. "Shh, it's alright."

Twilight, feeling his soft fur against her cheek, stopped crying and opened her eyes, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Oh come now," he soothed. "You're safe, little one."

To his relief, her body started cooling off and the skulls vanished. Jovi and Vivo came up to their brother, still shocked. "She's just a baby, yet she's strong," said the yellow-furred brother.

"I wonder who she belongs to," Jovi said.

"I don't know," Jocu said. "We'll have to find out what she is and get her to her parents, but until then, we'll keep her with us."

The others nodded and it wasn't long after Blithe, Jape, Amio, and Jest came out to see the baby after their brother telepathically told them about her. "Oh, she's so adorable," Blithe cooed, gently rubbing the baby's arm with a gentle finger.

Twilight reached up and caught his finger in her hand, gazing at it curiously, making them laugh in amusement. "She's full of wonder, like all children are," said Jest with a smile.

Amio noticed something. "Hey, she's got magic residue on her," he said. "Like she teleported."

"He's right," Jape said, sensing it too. "This little one isn't from around here."

"I wonder what she is," Vivo said. "She doesn't appear to be human."

"No, not human," Jocu said. "Something else though." He looked thoughtful. "We'll keep our ears open for anything while we watch over her."

Blithe smiled and used his shape-shifting powers, noticing the baby seemed to really enjoy that as she giggled and reached for him. "Show off," Jest said good-naturedly.

Blithe smirked. "Let's see you make her laugh, brother," he said without heat.

Jocu rolled his eyes but handed the baby to Jest, who smiled at her and gently tickled her chin with his tail, making her giggle and grab onto his tail, looking at it with wide, curious eyes.

Jape chuckled. "Babies have a never-ending sense of wonder," he said as he came closer, seeing the baby reach for his face and he gently nuzzled her hand, making her giggle again.

"At least she's not afraid of us anymore," said Vivo. "Though, she seemed alright with Optimo."

"It could be that she knows knights are defenders," Jovi said gently. "Perhaps she knows someone who is a knight."

Optimo nodded. "It's a possibility," he said, seeing the baby reach for him with a smile and he gently rubbed her head, smiling at her.

All the brothers got to hold her and she giggled as they spend time with her. She was soon snuggled up into Jocu's fur, yawning a little. "Looks like she's a bit tired," he said, not having the heart to move her as she was falling asleep.

"She feels safe," said Amio with a smile.

Jocu smiled, seeing the little one was sound asleep and snuggled into his fur, which he made softer for her.

Back in Skylands...

Rachel sat up, feeling a bit better after Mags treated her. "You'll need to take it easy for a few days," the inventor said.

"Mags, I can't," the Tech Portal Master said. "Not until Kaos gets taught a lesson and Twilight is back home safe."

Mags had to smile as she knew Rachel would say that. Much like her fellow Portal Masters, the older girl didn't give up on a mission and wouldn't rest until all was right again. "You'd probably be okay for a retrieval mission, but no fighting for a few days," she said.

The girl nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Fair enough," she said.

Grim, having recovered too, but was still sore, came up to her. "We'll get Twilight back," he promised. "Why don't we go see if Master Eon has found her?"

"Good idea," Rachel said, standing up. Grim put an arm around her waist to help her.

"Brace your right hand against my right shoulder," he said.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I'm not exactly lightweight."

"I'm sure," he said. "And you're fine."

Grateful to him, she placed her right hand on his right shoulder, moving a bit slowly until they were both walking together to go see the guardian of Skylands, who smiled as they approached.

"I have good news," he said.

Skelepyre and Fiesta perked up. "Please say Twilight is okay," the mother begged.

"She is," Master Eon said. "She was sent to another realm, one that is ruled by creatures known as Lauhinians."

"Lauhinians?" Rachel asked curiously.

He nodded. "Better known as Tickle Monsters," he said.

"Tickle Monsters?" Fiesta asked in surprise. "I thought that was just a story."

"Guess not," said Grim Creeper.

Just then, they heard a familiar laugh that filled them with dread. "Kaos!" Rachel cried out in alarm.

Master Eon closed his eyes and moments later, Blaze walked in. "I got your message, Master Eon," the Fire/Undead/Water Portal Master said. "What's up?"

"Kaos needs to be stopped," the guardian of Skylands said. "He teleported Twilight away from here and I just located her."

Seeing the issue, Blaze nodded, recalling when Kaos had kidnapped his own daughters. "I'll take care of him," he said.

"I'll go with you," said Grim Creeper.

Rachel stood up. "I can go retrieve Twilight then," she said.

"I'll go with her," Skelepyre said firmly.

"As will I," said Fiesta, just as firmly.

Master Eon nodded. "Good luck," he said, teleporting the two women and the skeleton to the Tickle Realm while the others went outside to battle Kaos.

Jocu looked up at feeling something in the air. "We're about to have visitors," he said.

Optimo got his sword ready, blinking in surprise as a young woman and two strange figures appeared suddenly, the woman's hands glowing gold as she saw them, the glow dying down when she saw Twilight was in the red one's arms. "Twilight!" She said in relief.

Hearing her voice, the baby woke up and looked over, seeing her aunt and her parents and she gave a happy squeal, reaching for them.

"My baby!" Skelepyre said, moving forward to the red-skinned being, who smiled at her and gently handed the baby to her.

"She's alright," he said soothingly.

The Dualander cried happy tears at seeing her baby while Fiesta came up to them, hugging her. The young woman smiled before looking at them, noting the kind smiles the eight curious people had. "Thank you for keeping her safe," she said. "Our mortal enemy sent her here before we could stop him."

"Out of curiosity, what exactly is she?" Jovi asked. "She's not human, we know. But her powers are rather strong."

Fiesta chuckled. "She's a Dualander," he said. "A Skylander of two elements."

Seeing his daughter reach for him, he took her in his arms and held her comfortingly. "Mommy and Daddy are here, mija," he said soothingly.

Vivo went up to the young woman. "You look very much like someone we know," he said with a smile. "What is your name?"

"I'm Rachel," she said. "I'm the Tech Portal Master, who is someone that helps keep Skylands safe from enemies." She gestured to the other three. "That's Skelepyre, her husband-to-be Fiesta, and that's Twilight, their daughter."

The Tickle Monsters blinked in surprise. "You even have the same name as the one we know," Jocu said with a smile. "I'm Jocu and these are my brothers: Jest, Jovi, Jape, Blithe, Vivo, and Amio." He gestured to each one before gesturing to the knight beside them. "And this is Captain Optimo, leader of our Black Tickle Knights. He's the one that found Twilight here."

Skelepyre smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said to the Captain before nodding to the brothers. "Thank you all. I'm so glad my baby was found by you all."

Rachel smiled before closing her eyes and chuckling as Master Eon contacted her and sent her a funny image. "Looks like Blaze is making Kaos regret getting out of bed this morning," she said.

"No doubt he remembers how that villain kidnapped his own daughters," Fiesta said.

Rachel then glanced up as if hearing something and nodded. "Master Eon's calling us back," she said gently.

Twilight, as if sensing they would leave soon, reached for the brothers, making her parents smile. "She wants to say goodbye," said Skelepyre, handing the baby to Jest, who smiled at the little one.

"Take care, little one," he said, handing her to Jape.

"You'll always be beautiful just like your mother," the purple-furred prince said.

Skelepyre blushed at that and Fiesta chuckled as they saw Jape hand the baby to Blithe.

"Keep laughing and smiling, sweet one," he cooed to her before giving her to Jovi, who nuzzled her cheek with his nose.

"Always keep that sense of wonder," he said, handing her to Amio.

"Grow big and strong," he said, giving her to Vivo.

"Be yourself no matter what," he said before handing her to Optimo, who was next to him.

"We'll meet again one day, little one," the Captain said, handing her to Jocu, who cuddled her gently.

"You're welcome here anytime with your family," he said.

The baby giggled. "Jocu!" She said happily.

Everyone froze in surprise before smiling. "Oh, my goodness," said Skelepyre, chuckling a little.

Fiesta laughed. "That's our girl," he said.

Rachel smiled. "She knows who her friends are," she said. "As do we."

Jocu smiled and handed the baby back to the parents, who smiled. "Thank you for watching over her," the mother said.

"It was our pleasure," he said with a nod.

The family gathered close to Rachel, who smiled as she nodded. "We're ready, Master Eon," she said before looking at the Lauhinians. "Until we meet again, our friends. Stay safe."

"You as well, our friends," Jest said as his brothers and the Captain nodded.

Moments later, the four were back in Skylands and turned just in time to see Blaze kick Kaos away from him, making the villain fly through the air and land painfully on the ground. Before he could get up, the Fire/Undead/Water Portal Master was there, placing a boot on the villain's chest and pointing a flaming crystal sword at him. "Heed my words well, Kaos," he said. "You pull this stunt again, and not only will you be dealing with an angry mother and father, you'll answer to me too."

"And me," Rachel said, glaring at their enemy.

Kaos, who was very sore from the beating he received, gulped, to which Blaze removed his boot and Rachel picked up the dark Portal Master with her telekinesis before she sent him flying to his castle. His scream could be heard as he flew all the way there before landing with a painful thud.

Blaze turned to the parents. "Is Twilight okay?" He asked.

"She is," Skelepyre said. "We have some new allies in the Tickle Realm."

He nodded. "We could always use more allies," he said before noticing that Twilight was smiling. "I'm guessing our new allies watched over her and kept her safe."

"They did," Fiesta said with a smile.

Rachel smiled again. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could go for a nap," she said. "I think we've all earned it after dealing with that creep and teaching him another lesson about kidnapping."

"I agree," said Skelepyre.

Blaze smiled. "I agree too," he said before saluting and teleporting away to his family.

Twilight giggled. "Jocu!" She said again happily, making her parents and aunt smile again.

In the Tickle Realm, Jocu also smiled, having heard the baby's call. "I'll always be near, little one," he promised her.

Hearing that, the baby giggled again before settling down with a yawn, falling asleep with a smile on her face.

Please leave a review, but no flames! :)

GoldGuardian2418