Chapter 1: Phantom Thief vs. Doom Raider
There's always been a certain saying describing the period that comes after conflict. "April showers bring May flowers." That idea had been banging around in the head of Ren Amamiya as he waited for the rest of his friends to come. If you were to come across Ren in the street without knowing him, he wasn't much to look at: pale skin, messy black hair, grey eyes, one would probably think of him as being an ordinary high school student. It certainly helped that his default attire was a prim and proper winter school uniform, which consisted of a red-buttoned black blazer with the emblem of his old school, Shujin Academy, on the pocket, fake glasses, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar, slim red pants with a plaid pattern, and black-laced dress boots. That was until you heard what happened with him.
Underneath his plain appearance beat a heart of gold, one that sought to protect others and help them. It was this heart, though, that made him a criminal: one night, he stumbled upon a drunken man harassing a woman, and the drunkard possibly would have done much worse things to her given the opportunity. Fortunately for her, Ren was there, and he leapt into action and beat up the drunkard. Well, perhaps not beat up so much as pull the man away from his victim and have him stumble aimlessly before French kissing the pavement, minor in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, the man Ren 'viciously attacked' was Masayoshi Shido, a popular politician with a heart black as pitch and massive delusions of grandeur, intent on becoming Japan's Prime Minister. During his trial, Shido threatened the woman he tried to force himself upon and out of fear, she refused to speak in his defense. As a result of Shido's popularity and seemingly no evidence suggesting Ren's nobility, Ren became known as a violent delinquent, utterly destroying his social life and forcing him to change schools to Shujin Academy.
Even then, his criminal record continued to linger over him like a bad odor, leading to him being shunned by the rest of the school. However, once again he saw the powerful and well-connected trample over everyone else. The breaking point for him came when a lustful teacher ending up stripping, molesting, and almost deciding to rape a student in payback for her friend rebuffing his perverted advances, and with such stress and trauma weighing down on her, the student attempted suicide. Thankfully, she survived, but it was then that Ren decided enough was enough. Earlier, he and a rebellious yet good-hearted delinquent and former athlete named Ryuji Sakamoto found themselves in a brand new world parallel to Earth called Mementos via a bizarre smartphone application, alongside a strange, cat-like creature calling himself Morgana. Forged by the collective unconsciousness of humans, it was a place where the distorted desires of the people were made manifest, and powerful enough desires altered the fabric of Mementos, forming Palaces controlled by manifestations of how the desirers saw themselves and others.
Sick of the powerful constantly trampling on the underprivileged and using their connections to escape justice, they came up with a plan of their own: if justice wouldn't touch those at the top, they would make the criminals seek justice themselves. The Metaverse was more than just another world: it was directly connected to the unconscious minds of everyone in Tokyo. Since the Palaces were integral to forming cognitive dissonance within its owners, erasing them essentially meant forcing the owner to confront the true gravity of their actions, and while their distorted desires would vanish, their crimes would not. This left them with nothing but crippling guilt for the actions they did, leading them to seek to atone for their misdeeds. As such, he, Morgana, Ryuji, and the teacher's target of choice Ann Takamaki became the Phantom Thieves of Heart, literally stealing the beating, valuable hearts of the Palaces of the corrupt. Ren became the wild card Joker, Morgana came to be known as Mona, Ryuji was deemed as Skull, and Ann took the nom-de-guerre of Panther. Somehow, however, they went from trying to stop the rich and powerful adults from getting away with their crimes scot-free to stopping an attempt to erase all free will at the behest of an eldritch angelic manifestation of humanity's desire for order at any means necessary.
All of that was in the past, though, and with his name cleared, the delinquent status that came with his criminal record was now gone with the wind. Now, he was just an ordinary kid waiting for his friends to come over, waiting for the next semester to start when they'd all be together. Outside Café LeBlanc he waited, wondering when they'd arrive as he enjoyed one of its flavorful curries.
"Any minute now. Be good to catch up with them all," Ren thought out loud as he waited for the rest of the Phantom Thieves to arrive. Looking below him, he chuckled, "Isn't that right, Morgana?" This was to a black cat, and while normally ascribed with bad luck, Morgana was anything but. While he was a far less normal creature in the Metaverse, in the real world, Morgana was quite unimpressive. He simply resembled an ordinary cat, one with mostly black fur except for his limbs, tail, and muzzle, while also wearing a golden collar around his neck.
"Indeed," Morgana replied in an eager voice. "I'm quite excited to see how everyone's been! Especially Lady Ann!" Of course, Morgana's crush on Ann hadn't faded. However, when it became clear that her heart was set on Ryuji, Morgana had accepted the reality, recognizing that as long as Ann was happy, that was what mattered. Ren chuckled at Morgana continuing to hold a torch for the rising model.
"Calm down, Morgana," Ren worked to settle his friend. "We'll see how she's doing when she arrives."
At the same time in another world, another phantom thief was making his rounds, but with much less heroic intentions than the Phantom Thieves of Heart. Ever since the defeat of Kaos, Skylands had known relative peace. Sure, there were the occasional Trolls and Cyclopses who would try to follow in the Dark Portal Master's footsteps, but it seemed the villains of the world had gotten the message that it would do little good to go for any big schemes. That, unfortunately, wouldn't be enough to deter the most notorious thief in Skylands: the Doom Raider of the Dark element known as Nightshade. Deciding to try his hand at fixing his mistake ever since he'd been freed when the Sky Eater made its debut, he had snuck into the Midnight Museum to take one of the most dangerous magical artifacts in Skylands: the Dark Eye of Unvisibility. Looking more like an old-timey gumball machine filled with a purple-irised eye, it didn't look like much but its power made it very useful to any spy, thief, assassin, or ne'er do well in general. This artifact would allow one to become invisible to any form of detection: their footsteps, breathing, and heartbeat would be inaudible, their bodies would radiate neither heat nor odor, and they would be invisible to the naked eye.
"Ah, perfect! The artifact that shall unfurl my red carpet and etch my name into history forevermore! How I've missed you!" Nightshade declared as he appeared in a puff of smoke. The Dark Doom Raider was rather similar to the main race of Skylanders, known as the Mabu: he was mammalian, but not like a primate, but more like a bear or sloth, with matching ears. He was, however, far taller than most Mabu, towering to twice their height and having piercing blue eyes. His attire fit his profession, having a blackish-purple bandana with holes cut for his ears to pop out of, and a mostly black/purple attire, with purple gloves and leg-warmers, a black bodysuit, and an indigo coat over his chest, with a silver-buckled purple belt to complete his attire.
"Paws up, Nightshade!" A deep voice rang out. Looking behind him, Nightshade smirked. He would've preferred Knight Mare, the Dark Trap Master, but the dragon of the Dark element would be just as good. As Blackout emerged from a shadowy portal, one would see his body changed little, apart from being much bigger now that he was 18 years old, turning 19 in a few weeks, though he still stood at only half the height of the thief. "You've evaded justice for long enough!"
"Ah, well. I can't keep smelling the rose-scented fragrance of freedom forever, Blackout, my boy!" Nightshade smirked as he shrugged casually.
"You could be a free Mabu. If you were to overcome that histrionic personality of yours!" Blackout angrily retorted, shaking his claw.
"Histrionic? Whatever do you mean? I'm just getting what I deserve this way," Nightshade questioned in faux-curiosity, putting his gloved hands over his heart in mock-hurt.
"Your family is loaded with money without any form of debt, so it's not out of necessity. You don't bother giving your money to the underprivileged. All these crimes are is nothing more than a game and a publicity stunt for you! All the eyes of Skylands on you is what you crave isn't it?" Blackout explained.
Laughing heartily, Nightshade wiped a tear. "Alright, maybe that could be true. But I just can't help it. I just feel right at home basking in the spotlight!"
"You had best start feeling at home in a cell, because I'll be taking you in!" Blackout angrily retorted.
"Hmmm. Well, I'm sorry about this, but I really can't afford this right now. So here! Have some bombs!" Nightshade said as he shrugged in faux-shame, tossing a number of smoke bombs. Blackout's eyes were filled with eye irritants and smoke, leaving the Dark-elemental dragon to be sent into a coughing, crying fit. Hearing the footsteps of the Dark Doom Raider, Blackout took off, only to find himself suddenly hearing a distinctive sound of foot steps.
"You aren't evading justice forever!" Blackout declared. Concentrating his Dark-elemental powers, Blackout began to summon a black hole a few feet ahead of him, and formed one directly below him. The black holes weren't meant for damage, though, as he had another use for them. Jumping into one of them, he emerged out of the other one as he dashed forward, his body curled it up into a biological buzzsaw. Thanks to this, he began rushing forward rapidly, attempting to make up for time wasted in dealing with the smoke bombs. However, he soon found some more obstacles in his path. Ahead of him lay a swarm of Green Chompies. These little green creatures certainly didn't look too intimidating, but they were not something one would want to run into in the middle of the night: they had eye stalks similar to snails, stubby arms and legs with bony spines on the arms, and the most notable feature was their mouth, with long, sharp teeth that looked more like a bevy of knives.
"Chompies. Of course it was Chompies," Blackout grumbled as he uncurled himself.
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Bestiary Entry: Green Chompies
Family: Chompies (NEW!)
Constant annoyances to the denizens of Skylands, these ravenous planimals have an unending appetite for just about anything. Born from Chompy Pods, their sharp teeth make mincemeat of stone, wood, crops, and flesh, making them an omnipresent pest to anyone or anything they smell. Thankfully, Chompies are fairly unthreatening otherwise, though their ability to propagate rapidly makes it easy for them to overwhelm opponents with sheer numbers.
Origin: Skylands
The green Chompy is the common ancestor to all Chompies in Skylands. These little buggers are a major threat to farmers, both in eating their crops and occasionally eating the farmers themselves. Fortunately, green Chompies are very unintelligent, going for simple beeline strikes at their targets, and are also fairly pathetic, having a bad combination of frailty and stupidity. Due to the efforts of the reformed Chompy Mage, however, a project to domesticate them while lowering their appetite has shown some measure of success, as they are loyal to those they imprint on and once satiated, become very docile and playful as a result.
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Growling and snarling like rabid dogs, the Chompies all began lunging and, true to their name, chomping at the Dark-elemental Dragon. At this, Blackout's wings changed into shadows, and he began to use them as whips that sent them flying away. The Chompies, while numerous, were simply meant as a disposable distraction, and many of them fell quickly to Blackout's wing whips. They lunged only to chomp at nothing, and Blackout seized the opportunity to launch an orb of darkness, exploding to create shockwaves of darkness that swallowed them.
"Let's finish this, now! I have a crook to catch!" Blackout quickly formed a black hole within the group of Chompies, and forming another one below his feet, proceeded to turn into a buzzsaw that began to shred the Chompies like their jaws through rotten lumber. They yiped in pain, and they quickly disintegrated into multi-colored orbs that proceeded to get sucked into himself. Feeling some rejuvenation from the orbs, Blackout let out a relieved sigh, taking flight after the Doom Raider, blasting any remaining Chompies in his way with orbs of darkness.
"Hey, Ren! Got room at the table for more?" A brash voice rang a few feet away. Ren smiled as he recognized the arrival of his best friends and found family, the first being his first in Shujin: Ryuji himself. Ryuji had pretty much no change in attire or appearance. His hair was still dyed blonde and his eyes were dark brown. His attire consisted of a black blazer unbuttoned to reveal a yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!' He wore plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles, while also Hhaving black suspenders that hung down instead of being worn on his shoulders. Finally, he had a white belt, and his white sneakers had a rising sun flag motif.
"Yeah. Come on, Ryuji," Ren invited his friend. Indeed, Ryuji had gone through quite a bit. Suguru Kamoshida, ex-Olympic Athlete and the physical education teacher of Shujin Academy, was a vile man who'd make a sewer rat puke. A nasty ephobile and a power-mad dictator, he styled himself as king of the school, punishing students who got on his bad side, and had no issue being as petty as a playground bully if he didn't get his way, and when Ryuji stood up to him, Kamoshida saw fit to not only punish the track team, but order Ryuji's leg to be broken. Even now, he couldn't enjoy the sport he enjoyed in the past, and it was still a nasty damper at times. Now, however, things had improved: Kamoshida was finally forced to face the consequences of his actions, he made friends he'd happily take a bullet for, and had found himself a beautiful girlfriend that was supported him through his continuous recovery and rehabilitation as he supported her career.
"Hey, uh, I know it was supposed to be all of us, but some business came up for Ann, Yusuke, Haru, and Futaba," Ryuji said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Shiho's going to be attending school with us due to a move by her parents, so she and Ann are spending some time reconnecting beforehand."
"Ah! Good for Lady Ann to work to rebuild fraught bonds!" Morgana cheerfully noted.
"As for Yusuke and Haru, I think they mentioned something about a new advertising campaign," Ryuji continued. "Something about 'helping in the healing of the artistic community after you-know-who', but I'm not that sure what that would entail. Then again, it could just be code for another date between them."
"Fair enough," Ren noted. "It at least helps Haru prove she's not like her father, and Yusuke may get some more well-deserved publicity in the process. Not that THAT would ever be his main concern." Yusuke was an artist at heart, but money-management wasn't his best skill, considering he focused more on sharing his vision rather than taking commissions; sadly, the trauma of his mentor/father figure being a greedy, money-hogging plagiarist hadn't helped matters in the slightest. "But what about Futaba? I thought she'd be happy to come."
"Well, she...wanted some time to talk with her mother, y'know?" Ryuji answered. Ah, that made sense. Futaba, finally recognizing that she wasn't responsible for the death of her mother, taking the chance to finally speak with her would certainly be understandable. At this, another voice rang out, and Ren smiled as he turned to who approached.
"Sorry I'm late, I just had to handle some last-minute preparations beforehand," Makoto Niijima huffed as she ran to their meeting place. Ren smiled as he saw his girlfriend approach, and how she'd loosened up a bit. Her hair was brown in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled headband that matched her hair as well as reddish-brown eyes. She still ended up wearing her old winter attire out of habit, but considering he was no different, that wasn't something he could judge. Her attire consisted of a black halter vest over a long-sleeve white shirt with a turtleneck with a notable zipper, a black and red pleated plaid skirt, black pantyhose and black-brown ankle boots.
Once upon a few months ago, Makoto was the president of the Student Council of Shujin Academy, but her apparent inaction in dealing with abusers like Kamoshida gave her a reputation as a cold-hearted control freak more concerned with letters of recommendation than helping her fellow man, but the truth couldn't have been more different. Makoto did want to do something and had been outraged at the pervert's actions, but being a president made her nothing more than a glorified puppet for the corrupt principal to use for his own purposes, and one of said purposes was to find out about the identity of the Phantom Thieves of Heart. Even then, she decided to use her power for the good of her classmates, having the Thieves target a loan shark named Junya Kaneshiro that trapped them in debt, and after getting caught by Makoto, he attempted to blackmail her into paying a ludicrous sum or be pushed into prostitution. Suffice to say, the coward, bully, cad, and thief eventually squealed like the pig he was after a successful heart heist, and Makoto ended up becoming a Phantom Thief herself, taking on the fitting nom-de-guerre of Queen.
Since then, she'd found herself coming close to Ren, revealing aspects about her she was loathe to reveal to others. Her training in aikido, fear of ghosts and the dark, love of violent action movies, all were aspects she confided to the "delinquent". Their friendship was truly solidified when he helped with one of her classmates in dealing with a host tricking her into illegal businesses, and she shared her desire to follow in her deceased father's footsteps by becoming a police commissioner, and the two soon found themselves boyfriend and girlfriend soon afterwards.
"Not an issue, Makoto!" Ren chuckled as she ran to him, quickly enveloping him in a tight embrace. Ryuji chuckled as he watched his best friend's face become a tomato in terms of coloration while Morgana looked away, trying to hide the smile on his face. "How've things been these past few weeks? Especially with your sister?" Fate was funny, and what was funnier was his girlfriend's older sister being the chief prosecutor of the Phantom Thieves of Heart case. When they met, Ren and Sae were...less than amiable. Japan's brutal demands for conviction and the pressure of raising her and Makoto after their father's death had twisted and gnarled her values like ivy left to grow unchecked, simply wanting conviction rather than justice being done. Of course, she still had fundamentally decent values, and was appalled by her colleague's treatment of Ren in custody, but it took her snapping at her sister and badmouthing their father to realize how she'd changed, and eventually became a trusted ally of the Thieves, even faking a heist on her heart to play Shido and his cohorts for fools, finally getting him to pay for his crimes and exonerate Ren of all charges brought against him. After this, she decided she would step away from a prosecutor's path, and serve as the shield of the innocent as a defense attorney, while also working to rebuild the relationship between her and Makoto.
"Well, certainly a shake up for us both, but I'll definitely say that Sae seems to be doing better as a defense attorney," Makoto answered. "She's smiling a lot more, and definitely lightened up. I think the loss of pressure to convict at any price has taken plenty of pounds off her shoulders."
"I imagine," Ren smiled knowingly. "But I guess her happiness has been contagious, since you've lightened up a lot yourself. Where's the strict president of a few months ago?"
"Probably not coming back for a while," Makoto chuckled in response before her face faltered a bit. "Speaking of Sae, she actually wanted to see you at some point. In her words, she wanted to check about our future together considering your shared past?"
"Hmm..." Ren mused. "It definitely must be awkward. One of her old cases now dating her younger sister would definitely stir up an emotional storm."
That storm made its way to the party of four, somewhat dimming the mood.
"Nowhere to hide, Nightshade! I'm not Knight Mare, but I think she'll understand me appropriating her catchphrase for you!" Blackout growled as he caught up to the thieving aristocrat.
"Aww nuts!" Nightshade said in faux-defeat. "It looks I have no choice but to submit to you! You caught up to me!"
"Indeed! So come quietly, and maybe we can shorten your sentence!" Blackout offered.
"Perhaps. But you know I'm not going down without a fight. So while you caught up to me, it's time for you to actually catch me!" Nightshade chuckled, brandishing a double-bladed throwing dagger. "En Garde, Blackout!"
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Bestiary Entry: Nightshade
Family: Doom Raiders (NEW!)
A gang of Skylands' worst criminals, plaguing the innocents for years, especially under the gold-hungry leadership of the Golden Queen. Defeated by the Trap Team years ago, they were released in a plot by the Dark Portal Master Kaos to make them serve him out of gratitude, only for them to try to continue their previous plans before they were captured. Thankfully, their threat has greatly diminished thanks to the reformation of some of the more powerful members of the group, but the Gulper, Luminous, Chef Pepper Jack, Dreamcatcher, and Nightshade remain at large.
Origin: Skylands
Nightshade is the Doom Raider of the Dark element. Born into the wealthy Pecunia family, the lavish lifestyle he lived in bored him to total tears, and he began to find that he enjoyed the art of thievery. Soon, no baby's candy was safe, and no safe was secure enough to protect their contents. Nightshade committed crimes purely for the notoriety he received, not one piece of gold being added to his family's coffers. The attention he received from his awesome capers was all he wanted. Eventually, the Skylanders were able to stop him after he attempted to steal the Dark Eye of Unvisibility, but when the Sky Eater nearly tore Skylands to shreds, Nightshade escaped, and is still at large to this day.
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"Very well. But remember that you're the one who asked for this!" Blackout pointed out as he assumed a battle stance. Nightshade chuckled, and Blackout's eyes widened as he saw Nightshade's shadow lengthening, before it exploded into a swarm of clones of Nightshade.
"Hi, Skylander!"
"Hi, Skylander!"
"Hi, Skylander!"
"Hi, Skylander!"
Blackout recalled how Nightshade was a user of Dark magic, but he'd never seen it up close and personal until now. At once, every single clone, and the real Nightshade, pulled out their own knife and began to hurl it at Blackout. Gasping, Blackout quickly flew up to the skies, working to dodge the flurry of knives sent towards him in a particularly nasty game of dodgeball. Luckily, he managed to keep his wings safe from the knives, and although he got a few cuts, it was hardly anything serious. At once, he began sending orbs of darkness down to the ground, making the clones explode into wisps of black smoke. Managing to slam into the ground like a dark meteorite, he sent more flying before they dissipated into nothing. It was then Blackout decided to work on a new trick he'd been working on. Concentrating dark-elemental magic into his wings, he made them change from their normal whip form into a pair of wicked scimitars.
"Well, now!" Nightshade chuckled, his clones following suit. "That's certainly a sharp look for you!" That response was followed by another bevy of knives, though Blackout used his scimitar-wings to block the knives that came his way. Landing on the ground, he proceeded to charge forward, slicing copies into smoke with his horn and shapeshifted wings. While some Nightshades used their knives to block the attacks, they soon found themselves disarmed and impaled soon enough. However, even then, Blackout was still outnumbered 100 to 1, and all seemed more than happy to take him down.
"Time to cast a long shadow!" Blackout let out a battle cry, scimitars and horn at the ready as the latter was surrounded by flowing Dark-elemental magic. "Very long!"
"Well, it's certainly been nice seeing all of you again!" Morgana purred as he rubbed against Ren's leg, trying to add a bit of levity to the time after Sae's request was revealed. Noticing something on Ryuji's face, he quickly added. "Uh, Ryuji? Is something wrong?"
"What? Oh! It's...nothing," Ryuji quickly sputtered, though his troubled expression suggested otherwise.
"Really?" Makoto asked. "It doesn't really look like that. Something's got you upset."
"It's just a thought I had," Ryuji stated. "You know how it felt taking care of Masayoshi, Kamoshida, and the others, right?"
"I do," Ren smiled. "Definitely not something I saw myself doing years ago. But I won't deny that it feels good to have them no longer able to harm anyone else."
"Well, it's just a thought I had," Ryuji continued. "Do you ever wonder if...there are other worlds out there? Places with their own heroes and villains?"
"Hmmm," Morgana mused. "I'm not going to say it's impossible. Quite frankly, I'd actually be surprised if this was the only place where sentient life existed."
"Well, if there are other worlds, I don't doubt there's some form of corruption there," Ren pondered. "But if there's bad, there's got to be good people willing to fight for what's right."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Ryuji smiled at that idea. "Who knows? Maybe we'll fight alongside them one day."
"Ryuji! Be serious!" Makoto chided, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "There's no way something that could happen! That's what you'd see in a Featherman episode!"
"Makoto, need I remind that we encountered an angelic robot who tried to take away every iota of mankind's free will? One involved in a massive government conspiracy headed by a bunch of politicians and businessmen? Or heck, even me! A talking cat borne to fight against said robot through mankind's combined hope," Morgana pointed out. "I don't think something like that would be as unlikely as you think. After all, truth can be WAY stranger than fiction as we've seen."
"I suppose," Makoto conceded.
"Hey, if you don't think it's possible, why not bet on it?" Ryuji smiled. "If one of us encounters a hero from another world, you owe me 683 yen!"
"Considering that such a thing doesn't seem probable at all, I'm inclined to accept. 683 yen it is then if we somehow encounter a hero from some other world," Makoto smirked, holding a hand that Ryuji eagerly shook.
"Come on, if you're saying Sae wants to see me, let's see what she wants me for," Ren said. "It's been good to see you, Ryuji! Hope your recovery stays on track!"
"Trust me, Ren! I'm getting better every time I run! Just a bit further each time," Ryuji smiled in response.
"A fine battle, my friend, but what do you say we finish this?" Nightshade asked cockily. Blackout's wings, covered in scratches, had returned to normal and were aching in pain, as if he'd been flying against the gales of a hurricane for a long time. All of the Nightshades took out smoke bombs, and all readied to hurl them at the dragon. "You know, it would've been better had you joined us villains. You're a Dark-elemental being just like me. Sinister shadows and serving the forces of evil are our domain."
"Not...about...to happen," Blackout grumbled, gritting his teeth. His wings hurt, but not as much as he imagined the people would suffer as long as Nightshade was a free Mabu. "Maybe I'm a dragon of the Dark element...but I still have a vow...that someone taught me long ago. If I can help, I shall."
"That's noble of you, but I'm afraid that's rather nonsensical in light of what's about to happen to you," Nightshade chuckled. "Now, as your friend Flynn would say, BOOM!" The bombs were tossed, and a massive explosion covered Blackout's general area. "A shame it had to end this way, but that's what happens when you deal with me, the greatest thief in all of Skylands!" At this, Nightshade walked away with a cocky expression.
"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you," That voice caused Nightshade to freeze, looking around him. That search proved unnecessary, however, when Blackout, in his buzzsaw form, suddenly sprang out uncurled himself before he lunged onto Nightshade.
"What?! But you were blown up, nothing left of you!" Nightshade said in shock.
"You should've kept a closer eye," Blackout smirked. "I just created a black hole and hid there, keeping me safe from the explosions while the smoke clouded your eyes, waiting for a chance to strike. Now, I hope you like orange jumpsuits, because that'll be your fashion for the foreseeable future!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that won't happen!" Nightshade grunted before he proceeded to turn and fling Blackout off of him, making the dragon roll in a heap. "You're truly a worthy opponent, but I'm not leaving in chains again! So I'm afraid it's time I bid you ta-ta!" At this, he leapt into the sky and jumped from pillar to pillar with all the speed and agility of a cat given black coffee.
"GET BACK HERE!" Blackout let out a roar as he went in pursuit. Thankfully, he spotted a nearby blue bounce pad and went to it, being launched into the air onto another pillar. With that, his wings, still aching, were still useful as gliding implements, so he leapt from pillar to pillar, mirroring Nightshade. It was then that Nightshade noticed him, and threw several throwing knives at the dragon yet again.
"Persistent little bugger, aren't you?" He asked knowingly. "I'll give you that, and these in turn!" At this, more grenades were sent out, but Blackout proceeded to dodge them all as he continued to hop across the walls and pillars. To further avoid trouble, he began latching onto the sides of the pillar like a lizard, jumping at a lower trajectory.
"The more you run, the worse it becomes for you!" Blackout countered. "You'll not escape this time!"
"I don't think so," Nightshade readied another bomb and threw it at Blackout. Unlike the previous times, Blackout jumped towards the bomb before it could hit the pillar, grabbing it with his forelegs before he threw it back at Nightshade.
"Oh, crud!" Nightshade was launched away, falling into another pillar before smashing straight through it and landing on the floor, skidding to a halt and striking a wall. When Blackout landed before him, he coughed weakly as he smiled respectfully. "Well met. Turning my own bomb against me. Guess that's the end of this game, and you're the winner. Just know that I'll find a way to escape one way or another." After his declaration, Nightshade groaned before he fell unconscious.
"Master Eon, I have good news," Blackout called out. At this, the head of a more human-like figure emerged in a burst of light. The head had a long, white beard, his eyes were a deep blue, and the rest of his head was covered by a silver horned helmet. This was Master Eon, the Portal Master of all Skylanders, and the main leader for the forces of good for centuries.
"Yes, Blackout," Master Eon answered in a sagacious voice. "What is it?"
"Nightshade has been dealt with," Blackout explained. "He tried to steal the Dark Eye of Unvisibility once again, but I was able to stop him. He's ready to be transferred to Neo Cloudcracker Prison."
"Ah, excellent work, Blackout!" Eon smiled approvingly. "Return to Skylanders Academy at once so we can put Nightshade behind bars once again."
"Of course, Master Eon," Blackout smiled, relieved the mission was finally complete. "Never a shadow of doubt!"
Voice Cast:
Ren Amamiya - Xander Mobus
Morgana - Cassandra Lee Morris
Nightshade - Gavin Hammon
Blackout - Brian Bloom
Ryuji Sakamoto - Max Mittleman
Makoto Niijima - Cherami Leigh
Master Eon - Daniel Hagan
Author's Note:
So yeah. I'm really sorry about the long delay between chapters, but with this story being amongst my most experimental, it's difficult for me to determine how things should go. Here's the first present day chapter, and a bit of an introduction to some of the protagonists on both sides of the crossover. The two sides aren't quite ready to get introduced to each other just yet, though; the versus was more metaphorical than anything. The main villains still have to break out, and that'll be the next chapter's subject.
Next Time: A Breakout Reading!
For 3 years since their defeat at the hands of Blackout and Master Eon, the Dark Stygian have been serving their sentence, but when two strange guards join the dream jail they've been locked in, the gang all soon begin working together to get their companions out of jail, whilst bringing pain and suffering to those who watched over them. Meanwhile, Blackout, unaware of this, makes his way back to Skylanders Academy to meet with Master Eon and Spyro for a job well done and to drop off a defeated Nightshade, but a surprise Tarot reading courtesy of Star Strike may lead him on a journey so wild that he'll never see it coming.