Skylanders Academy: New Horizon
by andresponceb2002
Chapter 6) Any Last Wishes?
It was a quiet, pleasant day in the Falling Forest. The sound of the wind and falling leaves was soothing and the air was peaceful. There were usually a couple of greebles or wandering arkeyan robots around trying to cause trouble, but today was not the case. Today was a good day to just relax and let go. And that was exactly what Ninjini was planning on doing.
"Wow, it's almost too nice in here today." The genie said as she laid down on a pile of fallen leaves. "I don't think I've been this relaxed since I retired!" She said as she closed her eyes and smiled pleasantly, putting her arms behind her head and letting out a long breath. Ninjini felt her conscience drifted through the wall of sleep as the genie felt herself tire down and fall asleep.
Suddenly, Ninjini felt like a powerful call resonated in her head. She felt like she had been called somewhere, by someone. Someone important. She got got up from the pile of leaves and looked at the horizon. "Elf, dear?" She asked confused. Ninjini then saw as she began to glow out of nowhere. "Whoa, hey!" She exclaimed in bewilderment. Ninjini then glowed brighter and brighter until a loud pop sounded and everything went dark. Ninjini felt like her stomach dropped, as if she was riding a really extreme rollercoaster and had not waited long enough after eating. She felt like she was going to puke, and not being able to see did not help. Suddenly, Ninjini felt like she landed hard on a cold stone floor. She could feel her face pressed against the ground as she regained her barings slowly.
"Uhhh, guys? Are we sure we want this, to help us?" Someone asked, their voice was gravely and sounded a little angry. "I mean she is retired, and this is supposed to be really serious business." The voice continued.
"Of course we want her help!" Another voice replied. It sounded very familiar to Ninjini. "She might be retired, but believe me, she has not lost her touch."
"I can testify for that myself." Ninjini said as she opened her eyes and began getting up. "But it's good to see that you still haven't lost faith in me Elf, dear." Ninjini said warmly as she stood upright and looked at the Skylanders, all standing around her in what Ninjini assumed was the Skylander Academy common room. She then focused on her beloved pupil, Stealth Elf who was holding her genie lamp in her arms as she looked up at Ninjini with a broad smile on her face.
"Ninjini!" Stealth Elf exclaimed as she jumped over and hugged her old tutor, who hugged back lovingly.
"Heya, dear" Ninjini said happily. "Did cha' miss me?"
"Of course I missed you." Stealth Elf replied warmly, as she let go of Ninjini. "But, we really need to talk." the elf continued in a more serious voice.
"What's wrong dear?" Ninjini asked concerned. "Is there a problem?"
"I'm afraid so, Ninjini." Someone else said.
Ninjini turned around to see Master Eon, or what Ninjini concluded was an ethereal projection of Master Eon floating behind her. He had his arms behind his back and had a serious expression on his face.
"Master Eon." Ninjini said in surprise. "It's been a long time, since I last saw you."
"Indeed." Master Eon replied, a small smile tugged at his serious expression. "And yet we meet again, under such unfriendly circumstances." He finished, his expresion hardening again.
"What's wrong?" Ninjini asked intently. "Did I miss something?"
"A lot actually." Stealth Elf said from behind her. The elf took a deep breath as she readied to explain things to her tutor "Recently, a bunch of evil dragons who call themselves, The Knights of Solitude, have been loose causing trouble." Stealth Elf said, making Ninjini focus on her. "They also seem to want to kidnap Spyro and Cynder." Ninjini saw as Stealth Elf gestured at the two dragons in the room. The purple one she remembered from the first time she had trained stealth Elf, but the violet dragoness, Cynder, was a new acquaintance.
"They want to kidnap them?" Ninjini asked concerned. "That's awful! What kind of villain would want something like that?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Stealth Elf picked up. "We think we found their secret lair and we think that with the right help-" She paused and looked up at Ninjini. "We might be able to bring them down."
"We are facing very powerful dark magic wielders." Master Eon continued. "They have very dangerous powers and a very malevolent determination to their crimes. As we stand now, I fear we are unable to defeat them all in head to head combat without risking the integrity of the Academy or the safety of the rest of the Skylanders by sending too many Skylanders to one place." The portal master said gravely, stroking his beard. "However, you Ninjini, are one of the legendary Giants, some of the most powerful Skylanders to ever take up the mantle. I am certain that with your help, we can succeed in this endeavor and finally bring a much awaited end to this conflict."
Ninjini was a little overwhelmed by the influx of new information, she backed up and glanced nervously between the Skylanders, unsure of what to do. "Hehehe, guys I think you skipped a little detail." She said in a meek voice. "I'm retired. I haven't fought any powerful dark magic wielders in years! I don't even know if I can do it anymore." She finished in an ashamed voice, holding one of her arms and looking down.
"Ninjini." Stealth Elf began. "I know you think you're no longer able to do all the cool things you were able to do back in your prime." She said, making the gigant look over to her. "And if I were to guess, I'd say these villains think so too. But that's why the are gonna go down if you help us." She said confidently. "Because they'll be expecting the "Average" Ninjini, or the"Meh" Ninjini. They'll never see The Great Ninjini coming." She said with a smile.
Ninjini felt herself smile at the Skylander's praise. "I don't know, dear." She said, glancing to her side. "This is a little much."
"Oh c'mon. This is nothing!" Stealth Elf said confidently. "You already took out all the Doom Raiders almost completely by yourself without a scratch! These freaky dragons are no match for you!"
"And besides." Ninjini heard someone say from behind her. She turned around to see the purple dragon Spyro looking up at her. "It's not like you're gonna be alone." He said. "We are all going to do this together because-" He paused and looked over to his friends, before speaking once again. "This is our job. We can't let these guys go around unchecked. We have to stop them, and we need your help to do it."
"I heard stories." Ninjini turned to the Skylander she remembered being called Jet-Vac. "Stories of how the Giants were the strongest Skylanders ever. Believe me, if those stories hold even a little truth to them, these scoundrels don't stand a chance if you help us."
Ninjini looked around the room, seeing all the Skylanders look up at her, believing in her. She just couldn't bring herself to let them, or Stealth Elf down. So she swelled up with pride and spoke in a determined voice. "Alright. If it's the Great Ninjini you want, it's the Great Ninjini you're gonna get!" She said as she conjured her Wishblades onto her hands and spun them dramatically. "Where do we need to go?"
"According to intel given to us by a couple of ghosts, indigenous to the area and apparently confirmed by the Skylanders.." Master Eon spoke. "The villains' lair is located in a volcanic island in the Outlands. There are a total of six Knights of Solitude, accompanied by another dragon called Cyrus, who appears to be their captain. But we have reasons to believe there is a higher-up involved, which is why we need a higher-up of our own." Eon finished.
"Well." Ninjini began. "Let's not keep them waiting. When do we leave?" She asked boldly.
"Sprocket is currently working on the Portal Gates in order to allow you to reach the Outlands" Eon said. "When she is done, you should be able to go there immediately and catch these villains by surprise."
"Alrights, sounds like a plan!" Eruptor said, eager to get some but kicking done. "I can't wait to get this over with."
"Hold on Eruptor." Eon said, puting one of his hands up, signaling Eruptor to listen. "You will be going into enemy territory against an evil mastermind we do not know, who not only has already proven themselves to be more adept at the dark arts than any foe we have seen, but also in command of a very dangerous group of servants. You must all be on guard at all times during this mision, for I fell that mistakes made here will be, much more costly than usual." Eon said gravely, making the Skylanders darken slightly.
"Alright." Ninjini said, an undaunted expression on her face. "When do we get the show started?"
Spyro was walking beside his friends and Ninjini as they approached the Academy Portal Gates. Spyro saw Sprocket moving some machinery around the portals and installing some parts with her huge wrench. Master Eon was following behind them. Spyro turned around and faced his tutor.
"Master Eon." Spyro began. "I need to know something before we leave." He said as he stopped and looked over to his tutor, who stopped as well and waited, curious to hear Spyro's doubts. "What's going to happen to Cyrus if we capture him today?"
Eon realised what Spyro meant by that. Bringing another purple dragon to justice would be something difficult to accept, for both of them. "I understand your concern, Spyro." Eon said. "However, we cannot ignore his evil actions. Cyrus might be a purple dragon, but he is most definitely not a hero." The portal master stated. "If you bring him to justice today, he will most likely be sent to Cloudcracker prison, along with the rest of the evil-doers of the Skylands."
"Well." Spyro started, not very energetically. "Purple dragon or not, as long as he does not hurt anyone else, I can live with that."
"Guys!" Someone called.
Spyro and Master Eon turned to see Sprocket waving for them to come over. She was standing over the Portal Gates in front of the rest of the Skylanders and Ninjini.
Sprocket gathered everyone around and looked like she was about "The upgrades I installed to the Portal Gates will allow you to teleport to anywhere in the Skylands instead of using platform destinations!" She announced proudly. "The tricky part was finding a way to bring you all back. Since the teleportation is no longer uses platforms, I had to come up with a way to be able to get you all back, regardless of where you might be as well."
"And how did you manage that?" Jet-Vac asked eagerly.
"Using these." Sprocket responded as she grabbed something from one of the pouches in her belt. It was a small badge. It had a ring of glowing blue energy around it's coppery center. "These are Relay Badges. While wearing one, the Portal Gates can lock onto their signal and teleport you back here!"
"That's ingenious!" Jet-Vac exclaimed. "How do they work?"
"Just place em over your chest, they'll sick on and teleport you back here with them." Sprocket explained. "Tap the badge twice to get called back and hold it down to release it." She proceeded to demonstrate by placing the badge she had just shown her friends on her chest. The small apparatus stuck to Sprocket steadily. She then tapped twice and, with a flash of light, she disappeared, followed by a second flash of light and reappeared on the Portal Gate.
"Now, there's a couple of things I should warn you about." She continued holding her badge down and causing it release, just as she had designed it to do. "These things work on signal. If you are all going into a volcano, there's a good chance they won't be able to function inside or near it. So just keep that in mind for any quick getaway plans." She said warningly. "Also, if a lot of people teleport back here at once, the signals might get scrambled or saturated, and cause you to teleport somewhere else entirely or not to teleport at all. So try to come back here in groups no bigger than three, okay?"
"Right, but what about the Knights of Solitude?" Pop Fizz spoke up. "Aren't we like, supposed to bring them back with us?"
"The badges can allow you to carry up to two other people with you." Sprocket said. "If you're close enough, or touching them, just tap the badge to bring all of you back here. There will be seven of you and eight of them, so you should be able to handle the extraction."
"Alright, sounds like these are some pretty nifty gadgets!" Eruptor said excitedly.
"So once we get there, what's the plan?" Stealth Elf asked Master Eon.
"You must apprehend the one responsible for all of this Skylanders." Eon said. "We have little information about our enemies, so your success will depend on your ability to think on your feet and anticipate any move these villains throw. Your mission, is to locate and enter the enemy lair and to capture the Knights of Solitude and their master at all costs."
"Right!" The Skylanders all agreed, ready for action.
"Then waste no time Skylanders." Master Eon said. "Put an end to this evil, before it's malevolent intent spreads!" He said, filling the Skylanders with determination.
With that, the Skylanders began to take their places three at a time on the Portal Gates platform as they placed their Relay Badges on their chests. Sprocket began typing some coordinates on a keyboard she had installed into the platform. The coordinates she had acquired were given to her by a couple of awkward-speaking geists the Skylanders had found who were living in some ruins in the island they wanted to get to. The first group was Eruptor, Ninjini and Stealth Elf. The second was Jet-Vac, Pop Fizz and Cynder.
And last, but not least, Spyro stepped onto the platform, badge ready. He took a deep breath as he braced for the Gates to send him away. Spyro's view was overtaken by white light as the Portal Gates took him from the Academy, through the Skylands, and to his destination in an instant. Spyro was then able to see again as he felt himself touch down on solid ground again. Spyro then looked around to see his friends.
"Wow, this place is bizarre" Spyro said out loud as he looked around the area.
He and his friends were standing in a large town square in what Spyro assumed was an abandoned city. The buildings all looked quite strange to Spyro and he was a little unnerved at the fact everything was covered in a layer of grey ash.
"Tell me about it." Spyro heard Cynder say. He turned to see what it was she was looking at. When he did, Spyro was faced with an imposing sight.
The dragoness was looking in awe a gargantuan volcano. It was releasing huge clouds of dark grey smoke that obstructed the sunlight all around the area. Unnatural blue lava fell slowly down its sides. When Spyro absorbed the impressive sight, he had his mouth hanging slightly open.
"Alright Skylanders." Ninjini spoke, pulling Spyro and the rest of the Skylanders´focus over to her. "Those Knights of Solitude jerks you told me about are up there somewhere, right?" She asked.
"According to our friends, Spooky and Gallant." Jet-Vac began. "They are indeed holed up somewhere in the mountain. However, that." Jet-Vac said, pointing at the huge volcano. "Is a very big mountain. It will take us a while to find the entrance by ourselves."
"That's not necessarily true." Cynder stated, a little smile tugging at her face.
"What do you mean?" Jet-Vac asked eagerly as he turned around to face Cynder.
"I have a special tracking power, remember?" She reminded her friend. "I can track down the best way to reach a specific place. So I just need to focus on the inside of the volcano. That way, we can find an entrance!"
"That is one useful power young lady!" Ninjini said excitedly.
"Thank you!" Cynder replied with a smile. "Now, just let me focus for a bit." She said, as she closed her eyes, making everyone quiet down and wait patiently. Cynder began to shift her head slightly, tilting it to a side and then the other, her face began straining up slightly, making her friends concerned.
She then opened her eyes suddenly, and breathed through her mouth, as if she was tiered up.
"Cynder, are you okay?" Spyro said worriedly, moving a little closer to the dragoness.
"I'm okay." She said mellowly as she composed herself, making Spyro give a quiet, relieved sigh. "I just have some bad news." Cynder said gravely.
"What's wrong?" Pop Fizz asked. "Are we gonna have to swan dive into the volcano?" He asked uneasily.
"Not exactly." Cynder responded. "There is a way inside the volcano." She began, swaying her head to her left. "Buuut it's not the only one." She finished, swaying her head to her right.
"What does that mean?" Stealth Elf asked.
"That place." Cynder began, pointing to the volcano. "Is a maze. I found at least ten different way inside that all stretch and connect with each other." She said, making her friends grimace. "We are all going to have to stay in a group and let me lead if we want to get to this wierd central chamber, which I'm guessing is the bad guys' lair, in one piece."
"That sounds fine by me!" Eruptor stated. "You seem cool headed enough to lead the way. Besides, if we are all together, those punks don't stand a chance!"
"Well then let's get moving, Skylanders!" Ninjini said boldly. "Let's not keep the bad guys waiting!"
The room was huge. The ceiling was held in place by rows of massive black pillars, lit dimly by braziers that emanated blue flames. A constant tapping, echoed across the room. There were three rapid taps, that each had a small pause between the next three.
Three taps, a pause, three taps, a pause, three taps…
Silence. Absolute and flattening as the echo of the last taps faded.
"Master?" A quiet, slightly raspy voice broke the silence. "Is something wrong?" Cyrus asked concerned.
Then, a voice answered. Disembodied, metallic and disturbing. A hint of malice beneath it's horrible resonance.
"They are here."
Stealth Elf was following Cynder as the dragoness led her and the Skylanders to one of the entrances to the volcano she had said was closest.
As they walked and got closer to the mountain, they noticed something odd about their Relay Badges. The glowing blue rim on the badges suddenly began to flicker, and as they got even closer, it disappeared completely, making the badges look rather dull.
"Must be what Sprocket warned us about." Jet-Vac said. "We should all be careful about how we do this from now on. We aren't getting any timeouts." He warned, making everyone even more focused on their task.
The Skylanders then began ascending up a slope on the volcano. Despite being really close to the strange blue lava that was streaming down slowly beside them, they didn't feel any increase in temperature, something they found really strange. However, when Eruptor tried to stick his hand in one of the streams in curiosity, he howled in pain as he waved his hand rapidly, as if trying to extinguish a flame.
"Guys! Do not touch that stuff!" He warned loudly.
"Hard copy." Stealth Elf said in an unsurprised tone as she walked by Eruptor, who was blowing harshly at his hand.
"Guys!" Stealth Elf heard Cynder call. "Over here!"
The Skylanders rushed over to where Cynder was standing. When they met the dragoness, they found a what they assumed to be the entrance.
The tunnel was a perfect black, so pure the Skylanders could not see anything through it's opening. The opening was a crescent moon in shape. There was a black stone platform with strange carvings on its surface. The rim of the entrance was decorated grimly, with black stones and what looked like bones, unnerving the Skylanders slightly.
"What a nice decorator they must have." Spyro joked nervously.
"Alright." Cynder said determinately. "Is everyone ready?" She asked, as she approached the tunnel entrance.
The Skylanders looked at each other. This was going to be their greatest challenge yet. They were going to go up against the most evil they had ever seen, and honestly, once faced with it, that was a bit much to swallow. They all hesitated to speak, which made Cynder shrink a little herself.
Stealth Elf also was unsure of how capable she was. Would she really be able to get through this? Then, Stealth Elf felt as two large hands rested on her shoulders, holding her affectionately. She looked up to see Ninjini, smiling down at her proudly before speaking.
"They are ready." The genie said, not a single hint of doubt in her voice.
Hearing that, Stealth Elf was overwhelmed with courage. Her hero, the Great Ninjini, believed in her, and she believed in her friends. There was no way she was going to let her down. "Yeah, we're ready." Stealth Elf said as she looked down at Cynder, putting her brown bandana on and drawing her ninja daggers.
At this display, and Ninjini's words, the rest of the Skylanders composed themselves and were now looking ready to go on. Ready to give it their all.
"Alright then." Cynder replied. "Let's go guys!"
At that, Cynder entered the dark tunnel, followed closely by her friends and Ninjini.
Stealth Elf´s feet were beginning to hurt. The elf and her friends had been walking for what felt like hours. They had been following Cynder, who was leading them through a surprisingly intricate maze of black stone tunnels, with the help of Eruptor, who was using his faming body as a big lantern.
"Man! This place is huge!" Pop Fizz complained loudly, creating a huge echo, causing the Skylander flinch and lower his voice. "How much longer do you think we have to go?" He asked quietly.
"I'm not sure Pop." Cynder responded. "But we are definitely getting closer." She said confidently.
"Not to be rude or anything." Eruptor began, a little edge of rudeness in his voice. "But you said that twice in the last five minutes."
"I'm sorry Eruptor." The dragoness said. "But this place is pretty huge. However, we are definitely getting closer to the main chamber."
"Well alright." Eruptor said. "As long as we're, getting closer." He said rolling his eyes.
After a while of walking and taking turns through several forks in the tunnels, the Skylanders began to notice something strange. Through the darkness, a strange blue light shone on the walls. There were several veins of glowing blue ore, that ran through the dark rock of the walls like rivers. They got thicker and brighter as the Skylanders continued to advance through the tunnels, until they no longer needed Eruptor to shine the way.
"Wow." Spyro began. "Maybe they do have a nice decorator."
The Skylanders continued until they reached a strange, cavernous opening. The cave they now stood in, was rather large, so much so that Ninjini could fly with certain freedom across it. The ceiling and walls were all covered in the luminous blue veins, lighting the whole room and revealing five tunnel entrances, each one dark and uninviting in comparison the the chamber before them.
The Skylanders wandered across the room, spreading across and looking into the dark tunnels. Spyro was looking at the one in the far right, while Stealth Elf, Eruptor, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz were clustered around the ones in the middle. Ninjini was still standing in the center of the room, worriedly watching over Stealth Elf as the green Skylander peeked her head into one of the tunnels.
"Where to now?" Jet-Vac asked.
"Through that one." Cynder said, pointing at the tunnel on the far left. "Just through that one, there's a couple more turns before leading to the main chamber." She said.
"Alright everyone." Ninjini began, causing the Skylanders to focus on her. "From what you've told me, this is going to be tough. These guys sound like A-list baddies, so." She continued, conjuring her Wishblades. "We all stick together and we all work as one. For that, you all have to stop looking at me as The Great Ninjini, you have to see me as your partner, because that's how I will see you. If we do that, we can beat them." She said, making everyone fill up with determination. "If you can do that-" She paused and focused on Stealth Elf, who looked back at the Giant warmly. "-I'll be able to retire in peace, knowing someone greater than me has taken over." The genie finished, smiling caringly at Stealth Elf, who smiled back, moved by her hero's words.
"Alright then." Spyro said suddenly. "Let's do this team! Cynder,Lead the way!"
"You got it!" The dragoness replied boldly.
The Skylanders then followed Cynder through the last, dark stretches of the volcanic maze. They took a couple of turns until they reached another cavernous space. On it's far end, stood a large gate. It was made of a crystalline blue substance, and was adorned with strange carvings the Skylanders could not make anything out of. On each side of the gate, stood braziers made of black rock, each alight with strange blue flames,
"This is it." Cynder announced. "This is their lair."
"Okay." Ninjini began. "I think it's best if I lead from now on, dear." She said, moving in front of Cynder. "Everyone stay together, and stay behind me." She ordered, making the Skylanders all give her a nod before getting in battle positions. "Alright. Let's do this." She said as she pushed the heavy crystal gates open.
The Skylanders were then faced with a massive room. It's walls were a similar color to the cristaline gates, just of a darker shade. The floor was a deep black, like the rock from the tunnels. On the sides of the room, several huge pillars, made from a polished and elegantly carved variation of the black rock the Skylanders had seen, stretched up into the ceiling, the which the Skylanders noticed was covered with the glowing blue veins from earlier, making it seem like a stray night sky.
"Alright." Spyro said as he looked around the imposing room. "They really have a nice decorator."
"Yes actually, we do." A voice came from across the room. "His name is Craig, he is just a wonderful decorator. Would you like his contact information?"
The Skylanders frowned and got into battle positions. They already knew who the voice was. However, Ninjini was a little behind on the news, and spoke kindly. "Well if he works thike this, then sure! I'd love to have him work on my place!"
"Ninjini!" Stealth Elf said through her teeth. "That's Cyrus, the Captain of The Knights of Solitude, remember?"
"Oh, he is?" Ninjini said in an embarrassed tone. "Oh, sorry dear, my bad." She apologised before getting into combat position as well.
"Cyrus." Spyro growled, looking around the room for the evil purple dragon.
"Oh hello, friend." Cyrus' voice sounded again, disembodied and leaving a long echo through the room. "How's the side? I didn't hurt you too bad did I?" He said mockingly.
Spyro bared his teeth and started shaking. Anger was coursing through his veins as the evil dragon spoke. "How about you show yourself?" Spyro tried asking as steadily as he could. "Don't you want to show your guests around your home?"
At that, the Skylanders saw a shadow move through the room. It shifted and deformed, the awkward lighting making it hard to track. But then, the shadow moved steadily, continuously getting smaller and smaller as the Skylanders' eyes followed it. Once the the shadow stopped moving, the Skylanders were left staying at a purple dragon on the far end of the room.
His wings were dragging behind him and his eyes had a tired look. He moved slowly, walking closer to the Skylanders as his venomous eyes, glistened in the partial darkness of the room. "It's not actually my home." The captain of the Knights of Solitude spoke in a quiet voice. "But I'd still be glad to show it to you. Because you are going to have to spend a long time here, I'm afraid."He said with a fake looking smile as his eyes glared disturbingly at Spyro.
Spyro had forgotten how looking into those eyes felt like. He took a step back, almost instinctively when Cyrus looked at him. The Skylander shaked slightly but steadied himself. He wasn't going to let Cyrus get to him again.
"I'm going to stop you right there, buddy." Ninjini said, raising one of her Wishblades, and making Cyrus shift his gaze to her. "You and your little gang of creeps are going to come with us." She stated. "And you aren't going to be kidnaping anyone else from no on, either."
"What makes you think you could do that?" Cyrus asked, a bemused tone in his voice. "You are now in my master's house, and I'm afraid he is the only one who calls the shots here."
"Thaaaatssss riiiight!" A horrible voice boomed across the room. It sounded disembodied, sourceless. "And I'm afraid, I can't have you take my little henchman anywhere." The voice solidified slightly. It sounded like metal gears scraping against each other, and made the Skylanders cover their ears and wince in discomfort.
"I assume you're the boss, then?" Spyro asked, trying to tack down the source of the voice.
"Yup! That's me!" The voice confirmed.
Suddenly, a strange mess of abstract junk dropped loudly from the ceiling, startling the Skylanders, who jumped back in surprise. The lump of garbage looked weird. It was comprised of carved wooden parts, a cylindrical, spiky cage, some colorful rags and a lot of thick red string.
"Sorry." The voice apologised simply. "I tripped."
Then, the strange pieces began to shift and shuffle, seemingly piling up as some parts started floating unnaturally. Afterwards, the parts began to coordinate and assemble into a strange shape. The larger wooden part, that once not covered in the other mess, looked like a yellow mannequin torso floated in place while the rest of the parts assembled around it. The colorful rags, which were green orange and purple, connected to the waist using a clear blue rope as a sort of belt. The other wooden parts stuck to the sides of the torso, resembling shoulders. To the shoulders, the red string connected, leading to wooden mannequin hands. Finally, the creepy cage, slammed onto the top of the torso, and despite looking empty, once it did, a disgusting purple goo oozed out of the bottom of the cage, disgusting the Skylanders and connecting the cage to the torso and making it seem like a head.
After the parts assembled, forming an abstract humanoid shape, the empty cage began to release a cloud of thick, black smoke, thant clustered together around the cage. Then, from the dark smoke, too glowing eyes emerged. They were a pure purple color and seemed to glow through the bars of the cage, expressing abstract happiness.
The Skylanders now stood in front of a surreal looking villain, slightly bigger than Master Eon, and seemed to float idly off the ground, leaving it's colorful rags hanging down. It's hands, which were connected to its body by the red string, which floated strangely in the air as well, were posed awkwardly near the shape's midriff.
"That is one weird-looking bad guy." Pop Fizz stated as he took a step back from the strange villian.
"I'll take that as a compliment!" The villian spoke, it's voice still sounding disembodied, not apparently coming from the strange figure in front of the Skylanders. "I take it you are the Skylanders that have been giving Cyrus and my Knights trouble, yes?" The voice asked, no anger in it's metallic voice, rather amusement.
"You bet, weirdo." Spyro said, taking a step forward, refusing to be intimidated by the supposed mastermind behind this mess. Spyro tensed up in anticipation, he couldn't wait to get this guy to Cloudcracker prison.
"Hah!" The villian laughed suddenly. Taking its floating hands to what would have been it's belly. "Hahahaha, Ah, hahaha!" The strange villain's eyes showed joy as it laughed and laughed. The sound of it's laughter was reminiscent to metal cutlery falling to the ground.
"Ohhhhh, my boy!" The villian said, wheezing from his burst of laughter as he turned around to face Cyrus, who stood in place, smiling pleasantly. "This, is what's been keeping you busy?" The villian said with disbelief, pointing at the Skylanders before turning around again.
"What do we have here, eh?" The villian asked derisively, looking at the Skylanders. "The original Angry Bird-" It said, looking at Jet-Vac. "An elf on the shelf-" It continued, looking at Stealth Elf. "Chipotle night barf-" It said, pointing at Eruptor "A blue fur ball-" It pointed at Pop FIzz. "A mutated purple aligator-" It said mockingly to Spyro. "One of the Monster High rejects-" He spat at Cynder. "And last but not least-" The figure said as it was about to finish it's cruel roast of the Skylanders. However, when the figure turned to face Ninjini, the last of its victims, the villian became paralyzed and gazed speechlessly at the Gigant.
"Well?" Ninjiji asked angrily. "Any more insults you wanna throw, pal?" She asked, raising one of her Wishblades at the villian.
The villian looked at Ninjini, not responding at all, confusing the offended Skylanders. But then it spoke, all the mirth in it's metallic voice suddenly gone. "Cyrus." It called quietly, making the purple dragon focus on his boss.
"Y-Yes, sir?" The evil purple dragon asked shakily.
"What is she doing here?" The villian asked simply, pointing at Ninjini with one of it's wooden hands.
"She's a Skylander." Cyrus said quietly. "We were expecting them, right?" He continued, a little fear creeping into his voice.
Suddenly, one the strange villain's hands flew through the air, and grabbed Cyrus roughly by the neck, making the dragon choke and surprising the Skylanders. Then, the red string, which connected the villain's hand to its body, recoiled, dragging Cyrus, who had his head down, by the neck to his master's side.
"That." The villian said, lowering his head to Cyrus's level and letting go of the dragon's neck. "Is the Great Ninjini. One of the legendary Giants."
Cyrus looked up at the genie, a nervous look, of horrible anticipation on his eyes.
"You told me." The strange villian continued, it's metallic voice smeared with growing rage. "That we were going to have to deal with third rate Skylosers and my dragons, not one of the eight strongest Skylanders of all time!" It shouted, making Cyrus close his eyes and wince.
"I… I didn't k-know they could bring her here." The purple dragon said weakly, fear belittling his voice as he moved slowly to cover his red mark.
Spyro, who had remained silent during the exchange between the villains, felt a growing sense of dread building up inside of him. Something really bad was going to happen.
"You. Didn't. Know." The villian said slowly, steadily. "Well, I guess that means-" The villian paused, standing up, and making Cyrus compose himself a little. "That it wasn't your fault, then, wasn't it?." The villian said sarcastically, making Cyrus look up at him.
"Master?" The purple dragon said slowly, almost pleadingly.
Then, the strange looking villian, raised one of it's hands above it's cage-like head and made a fist, causing it to glow a dark red.
Then, the mark on Cyrus' forehead glowed the same color. The purple dragon's eyes went round from shock as he grasped his forehead and fell to the ground. A horrible scream of intense agony then came from the dragon's mouth, prolonged and blood-curling as the dragon's mark and his master's fist glowed the same bloody color.
Spyro had never had any cause to sympathize with the sarcastic purple dragon, but seeing him now, on the floor wailing in pain like Spyro couldn't imagine, made him feel no joy at all. It made him feel sorry.
Then, the strange villian released its fist, which stopped glowing and prompted the mark over Cyrus' left eye to do the same. At this, the purple dragon stopped screaming, breathing hard and shakily, still shaking on the floor while he covered his face with his paws, looking frail as small pained whimpers were coming from his throat.
The strange villian then slowly moved one of his hands over to Cyrus. It grasped the purple dragon by the back of his neck and lifted him to eye level with his master.
"We are going to have a looooong talk about this later, boy." The villian said maliciously at his henchman. "Get out. And take the Knights with you." It commanded, dropping Cyrus, who landed with a low thud on the ground. "This is going to be messy." It said sinisterly, as it moved to face the Skylanders.
Cyrus then started getting up, slowly and with his head down. He began to limp away from his master, not saying a word and not looking back before taking flight to the far end of the room, where another blue gate stood.
Spyro felt awful about what he had just seen and by the look on his friends faces, so did they. The sound of Cyrus' scream still resonated in their heads. The image of him, lying on the ground whimpering, persisted. Then, a thought appeared in Spyro's mind, out of pity for the purple dragon or out of hope for what it meant. "Is he really evil on his own, or did this monster make him that way?" Spyro though, his feelings as to who his real enemy was, shifting in his mind. But Spyro's train of thought was interrupted by the horrible, disembodied sound of the villain's voice.
"Anyhoo!" The voice said, wholesomeness seamlessly appearing in it's voice, contrary to the rage it was smeared with when it was being directed at Cyrus. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. I already know all of your names, so it's only fair you know mine." It said cheerfully, completely baffling the SKylanders with how easily it changed moods.
"My name is Omen!" The villian introduced itself, with an exaggerated bow, exactly as the Skylanders remembered Cyrus doing when he introduced himself. "The true master of the Knights of Solitude."
"Well, Omen." Ninjini began, staring down at the villian. "You seem to be quite the rotten apple. You'll be coming with us to Cloudcracker prison, where you are going to stay for a very long time."
Omen stood in his place. The glowing eyes on his cage-like head, glowed maliciously through the smoke erupting from his head. "And if I don't feel like doing that?" It asked maliciously as it's hands began to glow an eerie purple color, prompting the Skylanders to get on guard and take battle positions.
"Then it means you were right." Ninjini began. "This is going to get messy." She said, raising her Wishblades at Omen.
Omen's glowing eyes began to curl up, expressing a malicious joy. "You know." It started. "I'm starting to actually regret being so harsh on Cyrus just now." The villian continued as he looked at Ninjini. "This might actually be quite fun." It finished malevolently.
"I wouldn't count on that." Stealth Elf said, getting beside Ninjini and drawing her ninja daggers.
"Oh but I would, child." Omen replied sinisterly. "I rarely have any visitors in here. I'd be a shame for the only good thing to come out of Cyrus' mistakes to be undone so quickly." Omen continued, raising its hands above it's head. "So please try to stay alive for as loooong as you can."
Then, with a loud cracking noise, Omen rammed it's hands into the black floor, the red string that connected them to its body tensed up and glowing faintly.
"Skylanders, spread out!" Ninjini commanded as she flew off the ground.
The Skylanders did as Ninjini commanded. Spyro and Cynder took flight and the rest of the Skylanders spread across the room while Omen kept it's hands buried in the ground.
"Hmmm, I wonder which one should die first?" Omen asked himself. "Whichever one thinks their safest. That ought to teach them." It's said as it looked around the Skylanders, choosing a target. "You know what." Omen said. "You are the easiest one to catch, actually." The villian said, not specified to whom it was talking to, which made all the Skylanders tense up.
Suddenly, a dark wooden hand erupted from the ground near Jet-Vac. The senior Skylander was too late to react and failed to move in time. Despite being a fair distance away from the villain's body, the hand remained connected to it's wooden shoulder by a thick red string.
"Gotcha." Omen said maliciously.
"JV, watch out!" Spyro yelled.
But it was too late. Omen's hand gripped Jet-Vac by the neck, making the Skylander give a choked sound as he tried to get free. Then, the red string on Omen's hand, recoiled with surprising speed. As the hand returned to it's body, it slammed Jet-Vac head first into the floor, creating a loud impact which was so strong, the black floor cracked as the senior Skylander was slammed against it.
"Jet-Vac!" Pop Fizz cried when the impact came. He noticed that Jet-Vac's head was actually engraved into the rock, and that the Skylander was not moving. "No, no, no, Jet-Vac!" Pop Fizz cried again, rushing over to his fallen friend, frantically mixing potions.
"Welp. That's one down." Omen said maliciously. "Six to go!" The villain said as his hand erupted from the hole it had made in the ground and returned to him. "Who's next!"
"Hey!" Eruptor shouted. "No one hurts my friends!" The magma Skylander roared as he charged at Omen, flaming with rage.
"Eruptor wait!" Ninjini yelled, trying to stop the Skylander from a costly mistake. The genie then dived down and got between Eruptor and Omen, just before the two could brawl. "Remember what I said!" She told Eruptor, who was trying to push through Ninjini. "Don't lose control, Eruptor!"
"Listen to your friend, cranky." Omen said mockingly to Eruptor. "Wouldn't want to lose your head!"
From the floor behind Eruptor, Omen's second hand erupted, balled up into a fist and glowing with purple energy, about to hit the magma Skylander. But suddenly, with a movement so fast, the air whistled, the red string connecting Omen's hand to its body, was severed, causing the wooden hand to stop glowing and drop harmlessly to the ground.
Ninjini had swung one of her Wishblades behind Eruptor, in a swift and powerful move, she had severed Omen's hand and protected her fellow Skylander.
"Hey!" Omen shouted undignified as it retracted the severed red string through the ground. "It's against the rules to chop people's body parts off you cheater!"
"There's no rules to fighting you jerk!" Ninjini snapped back.
"Yu-huh!" Omen replied as he drew a grey book from behind his back using his remaining hand, labeled "The Rules of Fair Combat" in golden font. Then, Omen flipped a couple of pages through the book and stopped at "Chapter 10: No Chopping off body parts".
"See!" Omen said, showing Ninjini the book. "Right there!"
Meanwhile, Stealth Elf teleported behind Omen, ninja daggers at the ready as she dashed at the villian. When the elf got close to Omen, she teleported once again, slashing at the villian, teleported again and repeated her attack. The Skylander released a rapid flurry of attacks on Omen, who in surprise dropped his grey book and grunted in pain under Stealth Elf's blows.
Then, Stealth Elf teleported back, appearing at Ninjini's side. "Good job, Elf dear!" Ninjini congratulated her pupil. "Now it's my turn." She said, raising her Wishblades and flying towards the still, stunned Omen.
As Ninjin prepared to swing her weapons at the villian, it's body deconstructed suddenly, causing Ninjini's attack to pass harmesly through a pile of junk.
"Missed me!" Omen's disembodied voice sounded as it's body fell to the ground, avoiding Ninjini's attack. Then, the villain's body reassembled quickly, it's remaining hand tensed up and ready to deck Ninjini right in the face. The Giant was too close to the villain to dodge, so instead, she tried to use her Wishblades to block the rapidly incoming fist.
"Ninjini!" Stealth Elf cried as she saw her tutor about to be attacked.
Once Omen's fist connected with Ninjini's guard, a loud metallic impact, followed by a small shockwave came. The villain's hand had effectively been stopped, but the Wishblade that had allowed for this to happen was now bent back under the force of the villain's attack.
However, as Ninjini attempted to keep Omen's fist in place, she failed to notice as the red string from the villain's other arm flew through the air around her and tied itself around her chest and arms, restraining Ninjini as she attempted to struggle lose of the expandable red string that was tightening more and more around her.
"Well." Omen started. "One of the Legendary Giants, huh?" It said scoffingly at Ninjini. "What a disappointment." Omen finished as an intense yellow glow began to spread through the red string surrounding Ninjini. When the glow reached the genie, the sound of electricity crackling, followed by Ninjini's pained screams resonated across the massive room as the Giant was shocked into a blackout by Omen, who dropped Ninjini's now unmoving body to the black floor.
"Ninjini!" Stealth Elf cried as she watched her tutor defeated on the ground. Dread building up in her.
"And that's two." Omen said after a short sigh. "Five to go! Hey Purple!" Omen's voice called to Spyro. "You sure you don't just wanna come down here and help me put an end to this? If you come willingly, then it's not kidnapping!" The villain suggested wryly.
"I'd never help you!" Spyro shouted at the villian. "You are a monster! You're tormenting dragons and treating them like batteries just to do some crazy ritual! What in the Skylands makes you think I would help you!?" Spyro shouted in rage.
Omen looked a little shook by Spyros angry outburst and spoke in a meek voice. "Could we discuss it over a Crypt Robber match?" It said, pulling a video game controller from behind it's back.
That did it. Spyro had no patience for jerks who didn't take this kind of things seriously. Growling and with an intense look in his eyes, the purple dragon dived down from where he had been and released as big a fireball as he could at Omen, who hovered in place. Once the fireball struck Spyro rose over the villian again. As the smoke from his flames had not cleared, Spyro saw an opportunity.
"Guys, light him up!" Spyro shouted, as he dove down once again and released a second fireball.
At Spyro's command the Skylanders who were still on their feet released a flurry of attacks on the stunned villian. Eruptor fired several bolts of flames, Cynder released a huge stream of spectral lightning and as Spyro's own fireball landed from above. A thunderous noise came as all the attacks connected, creating a large cloud of black smoke around the target. And then there was silence.
"Did we get him?" Cynder asked as she flew above where Omen stood last.
Then, two wooden hands, instead of one, erupted from the dark smoke cloud moving at blinding speeds as the reached for Spyro and Cynder. The hands then grabbed the dragons by their tails and recoiled rapidly into the smoke, dragging the Skylanders into it with , several sound of wings flapping and struggling came from the dark smoke, like a fight was taking place in the mist. Then the struggle was followed by a long silence.
"Guys!" Eruptor shouted. "Guuuys!?" He called again, fright creeping into his voice as he called for his friends.
Then a voice sounded. "I thought I told you." The metallic voice spoke slowly as the smoke dispersed. "Chopping body parts off is cheating!"
As the smoke dispersed the Skylanders were faced with an impressive sight. Spyro and Cynder were both alright, backing away from the scene slowly side by side. At the middle of the scene stood Omen, a shining metal blade sticking out of it's chest and both of it's red strings severed.
"And I told you." Ninjini said in a quiet voice. "This was going to be messy." The genie finished, drawing her sword from the villain's chest causing it to slump to the ground. She then floated away and entered battle stance, a single Wishblade in hand. "Stealth Elf." Ninjini called. "You all need to leave." She said.
"What!?" Stealth Elf asked incredulous. "We can't leave! This guy is too strong for you alone!" She said.
"If you stay." Ninjini began. "He is going to kill all of us, and take Spyro and Cynder away. At least this way-" She said stretching out her hand and conjuring her genie bottle, which landed in her free hand. "You can get out of here in one piece."
"A courtesy you seem to deny me!" Omen's voice sounded, an undignified tone in it as the villian began to stand up, the red strings on it's shoulders stretching to reconnect with the villain's hands.
"Guys!" Pop Fizz's voice sounded. "Jet-Vac's in trouble!" He shouted. "I tried to make a healing potion, but he's in really bad shape!"
"Stealth Elf." Ninjini called her pupil. "You know what to do." She said, as she tossed her genie lamp over to Stealth Elf. "You have to protect your friends, just as I have to protect you."
Stealth Elf felt like a lump formed in her throat, her heart began to race. "I don't want to leave you." She said weakly.
Ninjini then turned to face Stealth Elf, a warm, carefree smile on her face. "You're the greatest ninja now, dear." She said, making Stealth Elf gasp. "You go make your own legend."
Stealth Elf then looked down at the purple adorned lamp she held in her arms. She closed her eyes in sorrow and rubbed the lamp with the side of her fist. "I wish, for my friends and I to return to Skylanders Academy." She said, a tear running down her face, caught by her bandana.
Ninjini smiled, a little relieved smile. "Your wish is my command. Break a leg dear." Then, Ninjini raised her free hand and snapped her fingers, a loud pop followed as the world around Stealth Elf turned white.
Sprocket was at the Academy common room with Master Eon and Kaossandra, who had just returned from delivering the Doom Raiders to Cloudcracker prison. The three of them were waiting for the Skylanders and Ninjini to return.
"I know this is supposed to be a difficult mission." Eon began. "But they are taking their time aren't they?" He asked nervously.
"They'll be fine." Kassandra said confidently. "Those kids are really tough and Ninjini will be with them all the way. There is no way a bunch of brainwashed deadbeats and their boss could beat them."
"Are you sure?" Eon asked. "Remember, we are talking about a foe more powerful than any we've seen before. What if one of them is captured? Or worse?" He asked.
Kaossandra looked like she was about to say something but, a loud popping sound which came from outside interrupted her.
"What was that?" Sprocket asked confused.
"Let's find out." Kaossandra said as she went to the Academy main gates to see what the sudden noise had been. She was followed closely by Eon and Sprocket.
Once Kaossandra opened the gates she was face with an unexpected scene. "Skylanders?" She asked.
"There back?" Sprocket followed up. "But the Portal Gates didn't trigger. How did you guys get here?" She asked her friends.
But, no answer came, the Skylanders were all glum and had their heads low. Except Pop Fizz, who was caring Jet-Vac, a distressed look on his face. "Help!" He shouted. "Jet-Vac is in trouble!"
"Oh, no." Master Eon said. He looked around and noticed something, something that made him fill up with dread. "Where is Ninjini?" Master Eon then looked at Stealth Elf, who was gripping the Giant's genie lamp tightly.
"She saved us." She said in a brittle voice, gripping the lamp tighter still. "She got us here, but she-" Stealth Elf stopped herself, the lump in her throat catching her voice before she could speak.
Eon however, didn't need to hear the rest. He knew what had happened, and he darkened and slumped his shoulders as he realized.
A great hero had died on this day.
Omen was breathing heavily. It had never remember straining itself so much in a single fight. "She was quite the kicker isn't she?" It though to itself, it hadent had a fight like that in an immesurably long time. Omen was watching the volcanic island on which it's previous lair stood. The volcano had erupted full force after the collateral damage of Omen's battle with Ninjini and as such, the volcano had effectively destroyed Omen's lair, and now that the Skylanders knew where it was, it wasn't that important of a side effect anyway.
However, Omen was still angry, this whole mess had been completely unnecessary and entirely one person's fault.
"Cyrus." Omen said slowly. "Can you tell me, what's wrong with this picture?" It asked, pointing at the sight of the island, covered in volcanic debris. After not hearing a response from the dragon, Omen continued. "Because I think that my secret volcano lait being destroyed, me still not having my dragons and all my Crypt Robber progress being deleted are not very good things for me." Omen finished, rage slowly bubbling in it's voice.
"I'm sorry." A weak, pleading voice came from behind Omen. "I'm sorry." The voice repeated beggingly.
Bur rather than make Omen feel pity, the beging made his rage tip over the edge.
"Sorry, Doesn't cut it!" Omen belowed, balling one of his fists, making it glow dark red and activating it's spell.
Then, a scream of anguish and suffering came from behind Omen. The purple dragon behind Omen screamed and wailed in agony behind it's back. Then, Omen released it's spell, and the screaming stopped, replaced instead, by low, shaky whimpers.
"You disappoint me boy." Omen said plainly. "You are hands down the best henchman I've ever had. You got me not four, not five but six dragons in like, two weeks! That was incredible!" Omen said, honest praise in its voice. "But now, you've been slipping up. And do you want to know why?" Omen asked as it began to turn around. "Because you, Cyrus, are a coward and a lazy schmuck!" Omen said cruelly at the dragon curled up on the ground before it. "If you don't have to do something, chances are, you won't do it all." Omen finished, turning around to face his destroyed lair once again.
After a long breath, Omen spoke again. "I have to find myself a new lair. You will continue to hunt my dragons down, just that from now on, you get one Knight as backup. No more no less." Omen stated. "It's time to man up or shut up Cyrus, I've waited long enough for this to happen. Get me those dragons boy, and I'll leave you be. No more pain, no more guilt, just as you always wanted."
There was a small pause. The only sound that came was the sound of the volcano spewing ash and magma all over the island. But then, a small, raspy voice spoke.
"Yes, sir." The dragon said submissively. "Of course."
Author's Notes
Well, there it is. Chapter six. This one took me a while to plan out, but here it is anyway. More chapters on the way!
-I still don't own Skylanders Academy
-RIP Nijini (2012 -2018)
-What did you think about Omen, the final boss?