Smolderdash was speechless. She was on the floor and stared at Sprocket, who was only smiling as if she's never been gone from the Academy. The Fire Skylander just witnessed the evil clone of the engineer go up in smoke. Gearshift and Knight Light, who arrived at the scene moments ago, were just as confused until Sprocket told them Golden Queen's wicked plan. The Skylanders hurried back to the main hall in the Academy to tell everyone about the new information, but when they opened the door they were greeted by dozens of saddened faces.
"What's going on?" Smolderdash asked while noticing Tuff Luck crying in a corner with Head Rush who was trying to comfort her.
Spyro looked over to the four Skylanders from the middle of the room. The leader was as depressed as everyone else and he knew that he had to deliver the tragic news, even with a heavy heart. He took a deep breath and finally revealed the reason for the looming sadness. "Wallop has passed away a few minutes ago."
"No…" Smolderdash put her hand over her mouth and was beside herself.
"He's… dead?" Sprocket didn't know that Wallop survived Snap Shot's attack in the first place, so hearing that he could've survived made it even more painful.
Knight Light didn't say a word and exited the room, followed by Gearshift who could no longer feel sad, but knew right away when someone else was.
Spyro sighed and continued his job with a downcast mood. "All we can do now is hope to find the Doom Raiders and-"
"I know where they are!" Sprocket pushed her grief aside to finally tell everyone the truth.
"We've been searching for every castle, but there's no sign of them." Spyro was running out of options and began to lose hope. "Maybe-"
"Forget everything you heard, it was false." Some Skylanders gave the engineer a curious look and wondered what this was about. "The Sprocket you all saw was a clone created by the Golden Queen to sabotage us."
Everyone was shocked to hear that, and the sadness started to fade away. "Is that true?" Spyro looked at Smolderdash to receive confirmation.
"Yes. She tried to attack me, but the real Sprocket arrived and got rid of her right on time." Smolderdash smiled and looked at her friend who returned the kind expression. She was glad to finally have the Tech Skylander back.
"And you escaped the Doom Raiders? You know where they are?" Spyro showered the goldling with questions and was eager to hear the answer.
"I stole one of their ships and found the way back. We can gather some Skylanders and head to the island, I know the way." Sprocket sounded determined and wanted to put an end to the Doom Raider's attempt to defeat the Skylanders.
"Then let's not waste another second!" Spyro looked around himself and saw the rest of the Skylanders grabbing their weapons, ready to fight their enemies. "We will get our fastest ships and set course to the distant island. Let's go Skylanders!"
On the yet to be found island, the Golden Queen and her subjects already prepared themselves for the arrival of the Skylanders.
"Your majesty, what should we do once the Skylanders find us?" Chef Pepper Jack asked with a worried tone in his voice. The queen reversed the effect her powers had on the vegetable during her furious outburst, so that she has the best chance to win. "There's far more of them than there is of us."
"Do you think the entire Academy will arrive to face us?" Golden Queen snickered and had no worries regarding the heroes. "Our minions are spread around the entire island. Even if some of them manage to get this far, they will be weakened and an easy match for us."
Dreamcatcher was hesitant, but she felt the need to point out an important detail. "But the Skylanders have beat us before."
"Well they won't this time!" Golden Queen turned around with a bright glow to underline her anger. "And you better make sure that they don't stand a chance."
"Y- yes, my queen." The floating head obeyed right away and continued the preparations for the upcoming battle.
"This time the Skylanders will not win." The goldling headed back into her golden tent with a smile. "They have no idea what kind of power they're messing with."
While many Skylanders readied themselves for the long journey ahead, Stealth Elf noticed Star Strike all alone in a small area at the Academy. The elf figured that she was going to meet with Enigma and try to open the door once more, but she wanted to talk to her ever since their last visit to the mysterious realm.
"Hey Star Strike!" The Life Skylander approached the alien and received a brief look in return. "Are you meeting up with Enigma?"
"No, he's waiting for me at the path of doors." Star Strike looked away for a second before continuing. "I'm just… not sure if I want to go."
Stealth Elf was riddled about the Skylander's response and wanted to find out what this was all about. "Is everything alright Star? You wanted to tell me something back when we were all together there, what is it?"
Star Strike sighed and finally overcame herself to tell the elf what has been on her mind. "When you helped Enigma to open the door, we were closer than ever before, and I feel like it will actually work this time." She paused for a moment. "And that's what I'm worried about. I'm worried that we will manage to open the door to my home."
Stealth Elf didn't understand Star Strike's argument. "But don't you want to go back home?"
"Of course I do!" Star Strike immediately denied the assassin's assumption. "And that's the problem… I want to stay there."
Stealth Elf had to process that for a moment. "You mean you want to leave Skylands?"
"I don't want to leave… but I want to go home." Star Strike felt terrible for telling one of her allies that, but she didn't want to go without saying anything either. "I was ripped out of my life without even getting to say goodbye. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead!" Star Strike remembered her old home and her friends and family that she left behind. "I love being a Skylander and I love all of you… but I never asked to be here."
Stealth Elf was surprised to hear all of that from the usually secretive being and had no idea how Star Strike truly felt until now. "I understand."
The Magic Skylander looked at the elf. "You do?"
"Yes." Stealth Elf took a deep breath and decided to share some of her hidden feelings as well. "I know what it's like to be in a world where you're all alone and where everyone is a stranger. I found my family here, but yours is out there, and you shouldn't feel bad for wanting to go back."
Star Strike didn't say anything and after a short thought she leaned in to hug Stealth Elf. "Thank you." The Magic Skylander looked her in the eyes and even though they couldn't see it, both of them smiled.
Stealth Elf heard the engines of the airships starting and quickly excused herself to join the others. Before she could leave, Star Strike called out to her one last time. "Stealth Elf!" The elf turned around and patiently waited for the intergalactic being to talk further. "If you found your family, would you go to live with them?"
Stealth Elf didn't expect such a question and she hasn't thought about her parents in a while either. All she knew was that they abandoned her in a forest where she was raised by a ninja master to become who she is today. After some more thinking, the Skylander knew her answer. "The Skylanders are my family." Stealth Elf turned around and hopped onto the last airship, joining Spyro and some other Skylanders on their journey to find the Doom Raiders.
The airships with dozens of Skylanders on top of them have been travelling for hours. Sprocket navigated them through the endless blue skies and did her best to fly the shortest route straight to the Doom Raiders. Knight Light, Smolderdash and Gearshift all tagged along after their experience with the sinister clone of the engineer and they wanted to make the villains pay for the loss of Wallop. Stealth Elf also joined them after her possibly final talk with Star Strike.
Spyro and Cynder haven't talked much after Cynder's breakdown some days ago, but the dragoness was willing to help when needed. While Sprocket tried to remember the right way with the help of Gearshift, Spyro noticed the Undead Skylander sitting at the edge of the ship and glaring at the clouds. He became worried and thought that her tormenter might have returned.
"Hey Cynder, are you alright?" The Magic Skylander sat down next to his friends and followed the pattern of clouds she was looking at.
"I just don't get it." The purple scaled dragon sounded irritated. "Why did they kidnap Sprocket in the first place? They should've known that she would escape."
Spyro thought about that for a second and did find it strange as well. "I guess they just needed someone for that clone." He also figured that Sprocket was supposed to lure them to the island in case they found it and that the Doom Raiders could've used that to hunt each Skylander down.
"But they didn't do anything." Cynder was restless and wanted to know what the Golden Queen was really up to. "They just disappeared and now we're going to stop them. Doesn't it seem pointless?"
"We don't know what they've prepared for us." Spyro was usually an optimist, but he knew that they shouldn't underestimate the villains. "There might not be as many Doom Raiders, but they have all of their minions by their side and they're powerful, especially the queen."
Cynder grunted and continued to look at the vast spread of clouds. "I don't know, something just doesn't feel right."
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of cannon fire nearby. The dragons quickly dived into the air and witnessed an assault on one of the Skylanders' ships.
"We have to help them!" Spyro was loud and clear and didn't hesitate to attack the enemies' ship and defend his allies. He was able to defeat some foes and lower the rate they fired the cannonballs at, but as soon as he thought he was done, another ship appeared. The Skylanders' aircraft couldn't take any more hits and was forced to land on the first island nearby. Before he could check for the Skylanders, an entire fleet of airships appeared out of nowhere and attacked the Skylanders.
"What are we supposed to do?" A distressed Knight Light joined the battle in the skies and was overwhelmed by the situation.
Spyro and his winged allies had to watch as one ship after the other landed on nearby islands and the Skylanders inside swiftly got out of them. The only airship left was the one steered by Sprocket. The leader glared at the damaged ships to make sure there were no injured allies before landing back on the main ship alongside Cynder and Knight Light.
"We have to get out of here!" The purple dragon exclaimed so that Sprocket could hear him.
"What!?" Cynder was shocked to hear that. "We can't leave everyone behind!"
"We have to make the enemies follow us, so they stop shooting at the others!" Spyro knew that the plan was insane and could end with all of them crashing into certain death, but it was the only way to protect their friends. "They don't have a reason to attack ships that are unable to fly when there's still one left in the sky."
Everyone was silent, and they weren't sure about the idea, until Spitfire dashed from an island with a damaged aircraft onto the ship, much to everyone's surprise.
"Full steam ahead! We have to get the enemies away from the others!" The leader of the Superchargers had the same plan as Spyro, which lead to Sprocket doing exactly that and flying further away from their allies.
As expected, the enemies followed the last flying ship and did everything they could to shoot it down. The vehicle took some hits before they came across an area filled with multiple smaller islands.
"If we want to survive, I suggest we navigate through those islands." Gearshift quickly calculated their chances in that scenario and decided that it would be for the best if they tried to crash the enemies into the islands.
"There's no way we will make it through that alive!" Knight Light wasn't fond of the idea and even less of dying. "I'll go and take the enemies out personally!"
"Wait!" Smolderdash grabbed the angel's arm before he could fly off. "I'm coming with you." She had a confident smile and was ready to burn up the enemies' ships.
"Gearshift is right, we have to go through those islands." Sprocket agreed with the robot and steered the ship towards the floating chunks of earth. "It's a shortcut anyway."
"This won't end well." Stealth Elf doubted their chances of survival and prepared herself for a possible crash.
After Sprocket entered the field of islands, with the enemies closely behind her, Knight Light, Smolderdash and Spitfire decided to take the battleships on by themselves. Blades were clashing, flames ignited, and cannonballs shot, everyone fought courageously to prevent the villains from succeeding. Smolderdash used her whip and solar orbs to blast enemies off their ships and destroy the cannons which kept on firing at them. Knight Light faced the bigger minions which wielded enormous swords and axes. The Trap Master used his advantage in the air and light powers to defeat them and force them to retreat. Meanwhile Spitfire dashed from one ship to another and made sure that no foe would be able to activate a cannon anymore. All the vile creatures could see was a blue blur before getting knocked down.
During that, Sprocket did her best to maneuver around the several islands without hitting anything. She scrapped a few edges here and there, but with the help of Gearshift's quick navigating she was able to get through it without crashing. Spyro and Cynder were on top of the cockpit and shot the last remaining ship with fireballs and spectral lightning. After they were finally able to destroy it, a giant drow leaped out of the smoke and jumped onto the deck. He carried an enormous longsword that was almost as big as himself and menacingly stared at the only Skylander currently on deck. Stealth Elf faced the enemy eye-to-eye as she pulled out her daggers and got ready to fight the green toned creature.
The drow began the battle by dashing towards the elf who quickly jumped out of the way before pouncing onto his back and slashing him with her blades. He grabbed the assassin with ease and tossed her against a wall of the ship. Before he could strike her, Cynder soared into the enemy's direction while spitting out a powerful blast of lightning at his face. The enemy stumbled backwards before Spyro shot multiple balls of fire at him as well. The foe was being bombarded by the lightning bolts and fire breath of the dragons while also dealing with Stealth Elf's quick slashes and kicks. It seemed like the Skylanders had won until the enemy bundled all of his strength to swing his gigantic sword at the heroes. He was able to hit Cynder's wing which caused her to crash onto the ship and shout in pain.
"Cynder!" Spyro was furious and charged at the enemy with full speed but was unable to hit him as he evaded the attack and the dragon charged through the floor instead. Stealth Elf was the last one standing. The villain grabbed his blade with both hands and smashed the elf, which turned out to be a decoy. The enemy quickly analyzed the situation and used the handle of his weapon to ram the real Stealth Elf who had just appeared behind him. Cynder was helplessly on the cold steel floor and could barely move. Blood poured from her injured wing and the Skylander hissed in pain. She saw the huge enemy slowly approach her and tried to get away, but the drow caught up to her before she could do so. Before he could deliver the finishing blow, Gearshift tossed her Traptanium gear and slashed the enemy's chest. The foe inhaled heavily before dropping off the ship and falling into the depths of Skylands. Stealth Elf and Spyro soon recovered as well and hurried to Cynder.
"Cynder! What did he do to you?" Spyro sounded angry and scared at the same time and tears started to form in his eyes after seeing the critical condition his friend was in. Half of her wing was almost entirely cut off from her body and the dragon was in great pain.
"You should use the medical supplies from the storage." Gearshift told the leader and his friends in a cold robotic voice. Stealth Elf went to get the supplies they brought along and treated Cynder's injury immediately.
Sprocket has left the dangerous area specked with floating rocks and headed straight to the island the Doom Raiders were on, which was just a few minutes away.
"We're almost there, guys!" Sprocket exclaimed before Smolderdash, Knight Light and Spitfire got back onto the ship as well and saw the injured Cynder.
"What happened!?" Smolderdash was in a state of shock and felt terrible for the undead dragoness.
"We were attacked by some giant monster, she took a heavy hit." Stealth Elf explained while wrapping a bandage around the cleansed wing.
"She can't face the Doom Raiders like that." Spyro almost lost one of his closest friends and didn't dare to risk her life. "Cynder is staying on-"
"No!" Cynder yelled while trying to get back on her feet and succeeding after a few painful seconds. "I will fight alongside you!"
"No way! You're going to get killed!" Spyro looked at the bandage which was now soaked in a dark red color. "You have to stay here and rest!"
"I came along on this mission because I want to put an end to this mess!" Cynder was aware of her dangerous state, but the dragon didn't want to back down. "I can still use my lightning breath and shadow dash, you have to let me help you Spyro."
Spyro looked around himself, almost as if he wanted to ask the others for advice, but they all looked as clueless as him. "But you-"
"I'm done letting others fight my battles!" Cynder finally admitted something that's been bothering her ever since she became a Skylander. "I was never strong enough to stand up to Malefor. I couldn't even break free from his control on my own! I at least want to help defeating the Doom Raiders once and for all." Cynder looked at Spyro with hopeful and hurt eyes. She knew how hard this was for him, but she also didn't want to sit around while the others fought the villains. "Let me show you that I can be a hero."
Spyro released a deep sigh before finally letting loose. "Fine. But I will stay with you and make sure no one gets too close."
Cynder smiled and hugged Spyro. Up until this point, she would only hug the dragon when she was lost and needed comfort, but for the first time it was out of gratitude. "Thank you, Spyro."
"We're here!" Sprocket shouted, and the others turned around to get a look at the enormous island ahead of them. The tall trees threw long shadows over the entire ship and it was hard to see far into the deep forest. "They're in the heart of the forest, but we should be careful from the moment we set foot on the island." Sprocket landed on an empty spot and turned the engines off before the eight Skylanders left the ship and stood next to each other.
"Are you sure we can face them on our own?" Spitfire asked his fellow leader Spyro with an uncertain sound in his voice.
Spyro actually wasn't sure either, but there was no backing off now. "They sent all their minions out beforehand, it's only the seven of them."
"Eight." Stealth Elf reminded the dragon that Snap Shot was also present, and they would have to face him as well.
"Right." They looked at the forest for a few more moments before Spyro took a step forward. "Let's go Skylanders!"
The group of heroes passed countless trees and traveled for a long time. Even though Sprocket recently wandered the woods herself, even she couldn't find the exact way back. They always held their weapons ready, in case the Doom Raiders found them first, and constantly looked around themselves. Finally, Smolderdash noticed a dim blue light in the distance.
"Hey guys!" She shouted as quietly as possible so that none of the enemies would hear them. "Do you see that?"
As the others looked into the same direction, the light grew bigger and brighter. Suddenly, a swarm of blue fireflies stormed through them before ascending into the night sky.
"The fireflies…" Sprocket gazed after them with a thoughtful tone in her voice.
"Have you seen them before?" Stealth Elf questioned her ally.
"Yes." Sprocket pushed her goggles down onto her eyes and clenched her wrench tightly. "We're close."
"Oh no." A distressed voice behind the group could be heard. The team turned around to see Dreamcatcher levitating in the dark and staring at the Skylanders. "The Skylanders are here!"
The Air villain floated away and back into the camp, where she alerted the rest of the Doom Raiders, including Snap Shot and Wolfgang who just emerged from the other side of the forest.
"How many?" The Golden Queen grabbed her royal staff and stood in front of the head angrily.
"I don't know, like, six?" Dreamcatcher only caught a glimpse of them and had no time to count. To their surprise, eight Skylanders soon arrived at the camp in a fighting stance.
"It's over Golden Queen!" Spyro stood in front of his teammates and boldly confronted the wicked leader. "Give up or we will have to force you."
The queen laughed. She didn't take the rather small group of Skylanders serious in the slightest. "The eight of you think you can take on all of us?" The rest of the Doom Raiders also gathered behind the goldling and tried to look as intimidating as possible.
"It's an even match!" Knight Light exclaimed heroically while swinging his scimitar.
"That doesn't change the fact that we will win." The Golden Queen smiled, she was certain that the heroes stood no chance. "Doom Raiders, attack!"
"Let's end this once and for all!" Spyro shouted and charged into battle alongside his companions.
Loud clashing noises could be heard throughout the entire forest. The Skylanders fought fearlessly, but unlike the Doom Raiders, they already wasted a lot of their energy on the previous fights. In the background, Snap Shot and Wolfgang disappeared inside of the forest again, unseen by any of the combatants.
"Come on Snap, this is our chance to be free!" Wolfgang was eager to join the Doom Raiders and fight the Skylanders off, so that they could continue their life outside of the Academy.
"No!" Snap Shot grabbed the wolf's hand before he could storm into battle. "We're going to lose, the Skylanders always win." As much as it hurt the former leader of the Trap Masters to exclude himself from the Skylanders, he knew that they would treat him as an enemy.
"Then what should we do?" Wolfgang looked at the clueless reptile and soon realized that he still didn't know what side he was on. The musician couldn't fight, but he also didn't want to go back to prison. Finally, he came up with another option. "Let's run away."
"What?" Snap Shot looked up and into the werewolf's eyes. "We can't just leave them."
"Of course we can!" Wolfgang was clearly sick of both the Skylanders and Doom Raiders and didn't want to follow anyone's orders anymore. "We don't belong to either of them, we can live without any orders if we go now!"
Snap Shot saw how desperate, yet hopeful Wolfgang was. His former enemy has cut off all ties, but Snap Shot wasn't ready for that yet. "I'm sorry Wolfgang, but I can't just leave it all behind." The crocodile sighed. "Not after everything I've done."
Filled with regret, the blue creature exited the forest and walked onto the campsite which turned into a battlefield. Knight Light and Stealth Elf soon took notice of the Water elemental and headed towards him. Before any of them could say a word, Wolfgang jumped in between the blade-wielding Skylanders and the unarmed reptile.
"If you want him, you'll have to take us both!" The wolf didn't have any weapon either. All he could do was present his deadly claws and clenched teeth to scare the Skylanders.
"Fine then." Knight Light didn't hesitate to charge at Wolfgang and get into a heated fight with him, leaving Snap Shot behind in surprise.
"How can you even show your face after what you've done?" Stealth Elf hissed at the former Trap Master.
Snap Shot only responded by stretching both of his hands up into the air. "I'm not going to fight you." He accepted his fate and allowed Stealth Elf to tie a rope around his arms to keep him from doing anything to escape.
Wolfgang was so caught up into the fight, that he didn't realize Snap Shot's capitulation until it was too late. "No." While the villain was distracted, Knight Light saw an opportunity to push him to the ground and keep him there with force. He soon got tied up as well and dragged next to Snap Shot, where the rebelling Skylander and Doom Raider had to watch the chaos unfold.
Meanwhile, Smolderdash was confronted by Chompy Mage and Dr. Krankcase at the same time. The humanoid tried her best to dodge their goo shots and chompies, but she could tell that they would soon overpower her. She reminded herself of all the times she helped her allies ever since the Doom Raiders escaped. She was able to overcome the feeling of uselessness and feel like a true hero. She collected all her strength and energy and used it to enter her eclipse mode.
A fiery blast surrounded the Skylander and knocked the two villains away. When they looked back up, they witnessed Smolderdash glowing with a deep orange aura and wielding two whips instead of one. The Fire Skylander used that to quickly strike the Doom Raiders down and triumph once more.
Cynder was busy shooting lightning bolts at the swift Dreamcatcher, who was able to avoid every single one of her attacks. Because of her injured wing, Cynder was unable to move a lot or fly, but she did her best to fight the sinister creature. In a moment of vulnerability, Dreamcatcher speeded towards Cynder attempting to head bash her before Spyro used his mighty horns to knock her away from his friends. He smiled at Cynder and ensured her that he has her back. The dragons teamed up and soon defeated Dreamcatcher as well.
While Spitfire used his fire claws and tornadoes to help Gearshift with the Gulper and Chef Pepper Jack, Sprocket and Golden Queen faced each other further off the center of the camp.
"So, you managed to escape and call your little friends." The two goldlings walked in a circular manner while never losing sight of each other. "And I had such big plans for you."
"Your plans never worked out, and they won't this time either!" Sprocket attempted to toss a mine at the queen who easily blocked it by shooting out a golden scarab.
"I never understood how someone like you could join those pesky Skylanders." Golden Queen quenched her red jewel eyes and looked at Sprocket.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sprocket didn't understand the statement, but she always kept her fierce attitude and didn't back off from the leader of the Doom Raiders.
"Unfortunately, there is something that we both have in common." Golden Queen sounded revolted before her next sentence. "We're both goldlings."
Sprocket didn't even think of that until now and understood what the queen meant. "So you can't be better than me." She smirked in an attempt to insult the queen's ego directly.
"No, I am better than you. We're not the same." Golden Queen quickly denied and explained the difference between them. "Unlike you, I am aware of my value. I know that I belong to one of the rarest species in Skylands." She sounded proud, but she knew that that alone wouldn't impress the fellow goldling. "And besides that, I have been blessed with powers that no other creature possesses, not even you." The queen shot a golden ray out of her hand and struck Sprocket with it, who was unable to react to the sudden attack. To both of their surprise, Sprocket didn't turn into a statue and could move freely. Golden Queen's powers didn't work on her.
"You're wrong." She looked at the bewildered villain who couldn't believe that the engineer resisted her attack. "I might not have your powers, but you can't use them on me either!"
Sprocket used the state of shock Golden Queen was in to assault her. They fought against each other and dealt some hits, but without the queen's special power, Sprocket had a big advantage. Finally, she was able to hit the villain's hand and knock her staff out of it. Golden Queen stumbled backwards and before she could perform another attack, Sprocket built two turrets next to her that would shoot the queen at any sign of movement.
"It's over, Golden Queen." Sprocket still held her wrench with suspense so that she could hit the tall woman, but they both knew that the Tech Skylander won.
"It's far from over." Golden Queen used her powers to telepathically place her staff back in her hand. "You might have won this battle, but you have no idea what forces you are messing with." She smiled sinisterly and looked at the engineer with a gloomy look before heading back to the rest of the standing Doom Raiders.
Sprocket was about to run after her before noticing something shimmering on the ground. She looked down and recognized a mint green jewel from one of Golden Queen's extended nails. She picked it up and looked at it curiously before safely putting it into one of her pockets and joining the fight once more.
Spyro and the rest of the Skylanders have almost defeated the remaining Doom Raiders. However, Golden Queen was able to prevent their victory by setting the captured villains free. It was once again an even fight and the Skylanders started to become more and more exhausted.
"We have to take them all out at once!" Knight Light just sliced an incoming golden sawblade and started to lose hope. "They're too powerful!"
"We don't have any traps here! There's no way to take them all out at once!" Smolderdash was still in her eclipse form which slowly faded away.
After some more fighting, the Doom Raiders were able to knock all the Skylanders down, leaving them all on the ground.
The enemies chuckled while looking upon the helpless heroes. "Looks like we've won after all." Golden Queen was gleaming after her triumph and was about to finish the Skylanders with one final attack.
Spyro collected all of his remaining strength to stand in front of his allies and shield them from the vicious queen. "I won't let you win." The leader couldn't watch his loyal teammates and friends get killed, so he decided to take the fall for them. "Take me, leave them alone."
"Spyro, no." Stealth Elf didn't agree on his decision. She didn't want to see him sacrifice himself for them. "We can still win this."
"No Stealth, you can." He looked back at his childhood friend with a smile before facing the villains again. "I am the leader of the Skylanders and it is my duty to protect my allies and make sure that we're victorious." A sparkling purple light appeared around Spyro and started to circle his body, erasing the smiles on the Doom Raider's faces. "It is my duty to stop you in order for my allies to survive, even if it's my demise." The sparkles started to circle faster and glowed even brighter. "It is my duty to stand up against injustice and make sure that no villain ever succeeds at their wicked plans." Golden Queen alongside the rest of the Doom Raiders started to move backwards after Spyro floated up into the air while being engulfed by the magical light. "It is my duty, as a Skylander!"
In the next moment, Spyro ignited in a bright light before gliding up into the sky with newfound power and an upgraded look. His horns grew massively, and his body was covered with signs that appeared like ancient runes. Everyone stared at the transformed dragon in awe and no one was sure what happened, but the Skylanders knew that it was their key to victory. Spyro then dived back down on the island and started bombarding the villains with powerful fireballs, which exploded as soon as they met the ground. When he used his dash attack, Spyro's horns became enormous and he gained even more speed, allowing him to take down several villains at once. The villains tried to flee but the Magic Skylander was able to force them all to gather at the center of the island. For his final attack, the dragon charged his fire breath up and shot it directly at the Doom Raiders. It was a flurry of magic rather than fire, which caught the villains one after the other and teleported them from the island right into the cells of Cloudcracker Prison. Golden Queen was the final one to get hit by the new ability. The goldling stood there without moving an inch and was easily swallowed by the magic which teleported her into a cell as well.
After every villain was behind bars once again, Spyro landed back on the island before another bright light engulfed him and transformed him back into his regular self. Everyone got back on their feet and cherished their leader.
"What in Skylands was that!?" Cynder was overjoyed and jumped up in excitement, regardless of her broken wing.
"I don't know." Spyro smiled with his friends but was more confused than happy. "I guess I unleashed some inner power I didn't know of."
"Well whatever it was, it got rid of the Doom Raiders." They looked at the empty camp and the few remainders of the tents that the villains built up. Only the Golden Queen's solid golden tent got through the fight without a single scratch.
"We should go back and make sure that our allies are not injured and return to the Academy safely." Gearshift reminded the team of the stranded Skylanders and that they still had to pick them up on their way home.
"You're right. Let's not waste anymore time!" Upon those words, Spyro rushed back into the forest followed by the others to find the way back to their ship.
Cynder was the last one to run after the leader, but before she could enter the dark woods, the dragoness heard something behind her. She stopped and turned her head around to observe the camp once more. At first, she thought that a Doom Raider was able to escape, but she soon got a far more eerie feeling.
"Cynder, are you coming?" Sprocket noticed that the dragon stopped and shouted after her, so they wouldn't leave her behind.
"Yeah, I'll be right there!" Cynder took one last look at the empty camp before following Sprocket to the ship.
They headed back to the several islands where the rest of the Skylanders had to crash land. Sprocket and Gearshift were able to fix a few ships, but most of the team members had to get on the few remaining ships that were able to fly. They arrived back at the Academy where they were greeted by applause and cherish. The villains were all locked up and they successfully fulfilled their mission.
While everyone at the Academy was celebrating the return of peace and harmony, Star Strike and Enigma were once again in front of the door they've been trying to open for the past months.
"Are you sure it will work this time?" Enigma became pessimistic after their countless failed attempts and understood if Star Strike wanted to stop.
"I have a good feeling today." The cloaked alien thought about her talk with Stealth Elf all day long and whether she should leave the Skylands or not.
Enigma took a deep breath and held his staff with both hands. The Trap Master spoke the usual spell and focused on the door. It started to open up again, letting a ray of light shine through. Enigma soon started to struggle again, but the door was nowhere close to fully opening.
Star Strike noticed that her friend would have to give up any second, until she finally decided to grab the staff as well and support him. With their combined powers, the door moved much faster and before Enigma fell to the ground, the entrance slammed wide open.
While Enigma was on the ground gasping for air, Star Strike gazed at the radiant entrance without blinking an eye. The light was too bright for her to recognize anything, but it started to fade and the mysterious being was eager to finally see her old home again. Her excitement turned into horror, after the bright light turned darker and darker before a spirit dashed out of it. Star Strike was thrown back and landed on the ground next to Enigma while the dark purple creature bolted through the area. The Magic Skylanders couldn't make out who or what it was, but they feared that they might have unleashed something bad. The doors to Star Strike's home slammed shut again and the mysterious spirit speeded out of the realm.
Star Strike got back up and slammed her fists against the closed door. "No! Please open again, please!" She desperately cried out to the door as if it could hear her bidding and tears started to form in her light blue eyes.
"Star Strike we have to leave." Enigma said very hectically as he tried to pull his companion away from the door.
"No, we have to open it again!" The Skylander refused to give up. "I want to go back home!"
"Star Strike the realm is collapsing!" He pointed at the endless path of doors which was shattering into pieces and fading into the dark blue sky. The cracks got closer to the Skylanders witch each passing moment and they would fall into an endless void if they didn't hurry out of the realm instantly.
The Magic Skylanders quickly dashed back to the air balloon Enigma arrived in. They were only a few steps away, but the floor underneath them started to crumble. The several doors fell and disappeared without the path, until there wasn't a single one left. Enigma stepped onto the few remaining pieces of the magical floor and jumped into the air balloon, while Star Strike was able to use her intergalactic powers to hover in mid-air and get into the vehicle as well before falling down. The dark purple mist which surrounded the area disappeared and they were back in the regular blue skies of Skylands. They took a few seconds to recover from the frightening experience before flying back to the Academy.
After the Skylanders were done celebrating the latest defeat of the Doom Raiders, Spyro and Stealth Elf visited the prison to make sure that every villain was locked up and unable to cause trouble. The foes sat in their cells with frustrated and angered expressions. When they passed Snap Shot's area, all they could see was the reptile's spiky back while the former Trap Master stared at the grey wall without showing his face. They finally reached the cell of the Golden Queen, in front of which Knight Light stood with a suspicious look on his face.
"Is everything alright?" Stealth Elf asked while looking at the queen who was standing straight up without moving in the slightest.
"I'm not sure. I've observed her for a while now and she hasn't moved at all." The Trap Master tilted his head and wondered what the matter with her was. "It's as if she's… frozen."
Spyro's eyes widened and the dragon knew immediately what was going on. "That's because she is!" He unleashed a mighty flame from his throat which engulfed the queen until she started to melt. The Skylanders watched in horror until the villainess was nothing more than a puddle of liquid gold. "It's a statue!"
"This can't be happening." Stealth Elf looked around the facility to see some curious villains peeking through the bars. "She's still out there!"
"Then we have to find her!" Knight Light was ready to act right away and find the lost leader of the Doom Raiders.
Spyro was frustrated. After he almost risked his life and thought that they defeated all of the Doom Raiders, the most powerful and dangerous one escaped and is probably already plotting her next move. "I'll announce the news right away. You two ask the others if they saw anything when we left the island."
Stealth Elf and Knight Light nodded before they all left the building and headed back to the Academy to announce the bad news and start another mission; the hunt for the Golden Queen.
Deep down in the dark depths of Skylands, Hex floated over the cold ground of the underworld. After Roller Brawl, Cynder and Hex herself fought Mesmeralda until she disappeared, the witch started to look everywhere for the twisted puppeteer. She has been in the underworld for a while now and her surroundings brought up old memories. They resembled the place she entered when she was on her way to fight the dragon king Malefor hundreds of years ago. Suddenly the Skylander felt a dark presence near her. The witch stopped and carefully looked around herself, but she couldn't see anything suspicious. When she was about to continue her journey, a giant shadow appeared on the ground in front of her. It grew larger and larger and the Undead Skylander noticed that the shape resembled a head with two giant horns on each side and one larger spike at the top. The sorceress then recognized the shadow and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She turned around and gasped after facing an enemy she thought was long gone.