Ch. 13: Dispatched
Whirlwind couldn't stop grinning. "We're going to the Winter Keep! OMG, OMG, I am so excited!" she squealed, then frowned at Pop Thorn, who was hastily scribbling down notes on a notepad that had apparently come out of nowhere. "What are you doing?" she asked in confusion. "Observing you. Just because you aren't my mentor doesn't mean that I can't learn from you," Pop Thorn commented, and Whirlwind nodded, looking over at what he was writing down, and frowned. "How to squeal like a schoolgirl, straight from the horse's mouth?" she glared. "I am not a horse, I am a dragoness that is jhalf unicorn. Completely separate things," she told him, snorting and rolling her eyes like a frustrated equine, and strutting away. "Horse is in denial," Pop Thorn carefully noted.
X
"Hey. You alright, Cyn?" Roller Brawl asked sympathetically. "I'm fine. I just miss Spyro," she sighed. Roller Brawl flopped onto the bed next to the dragoness. "I feel ya," she nodded. "Must be harsh,"
"Thanks," Cynder sighed, looking at her trainee. A brief flicker of nervousness flitted across the vampire's face, but it was gone and her casual smile returned within a moment, so Cynder decided she must have imagined it as Roller Brawl stretched and made herself comfortable. "So, whaddya think of Master Eon?" she conversationally asked.
"He's great. A little absent-minded, but both his head and his heart are in the right place. He's not around much anymore, since he's kinda a spirit, but he always shows up when we need him. What, haven't you met him?" Cynder frowned. "I thought all the Skylander trainees were hand-picked by the Portal Masters,"
"Not all of us," she shrugged. "You can also go through a test system to be selected for consideration by Cali, this old Mabu called Buzz, and a weird guy called Grizzo. That's what I did," the vampire explained.
"Cool," Cynder nodded. "Does Eon ever talk about any of the past Portal Masters?" she asked. "Occasionally, why?" the dragoness frowned. "I heard a lot of rumours and legends and stuff about the guy who came before the guy who trained Eon," Roller Brawl shrugged. "Wasn't his name Choh or something?"
"Naah, I'm pretty sure it was Hoh," Cynder frowned. "Who was the guy who trained Eon? Hoh's apprentice?"
"Nattybumpo," Roller Brawl told her. "Yeah, him. He just upped and vanished into nowhere, like, seven years ago. I joined the Skylanders a bit after that, actually. No one knows where he went - but that's actually normal for Portal Masters. They have a habit of vanishing into a peaceful tenure of retirement where no one can find them when they're done with their job. No one's seen Hoh in fifteen years. As soon as he was confident Nattybumpo could handle things, he vanished,"
"Weird," the vampiric rookie shrugged. "Eh. I like Loni a lot more than I did Eon. The old guy was nice, but so distant. Loni's a lot easier to get to know and hang out with, y'now?" Cynder shrugged. "Well, she is still a teenager. That's pretty unusual in itself, most Portal Masters are old men. What about the other one, Scott?"
"Not so easy to be around," Cynder sighed. "He's so intense. I'm pretty sure he wants to dethrone Spyro and take charge of the Skylanders," she sighed. Roller Brawl muttered something that sounded oddly like, "Hot a pen,"
"Eh. We won't be at the other side of Cloudbreak until tomorrow morning, so we should sleep," Cynder shrugged. Roller Brawl glared at her in irritation, and after a moment, Cynder realised her mistake. "Oh, uh, right. Vampires don't sleep," she paused awkwardly. "Sorry,"
X
"Okay, I'm bored," Freeze Blade declared after an hour of ogling the puppets. Grilla Drilla muttered, "About time," under his breath, and the SWAPlanders continued on their way through the town.
"What?" Mesmeralda demanded in shock. "They were supposed to keep watching that puppet show fir the next two weeks!" she fumed in frustration. Behind her, her puppets sighed and shook their heads in perfect unison.
"Sun's starting to set, maybe we should make camp, find a place to stay," Boom Jet recommended. "Yeah, there'll be a hotel somewhere. And we've got plenty of loose change after finding that little present earlier," the ape nodded. "Why are there so many of those little present boxes scattered around Skylands?" the Water Skylander absent-mindedly wondered. "Probably something to do with the Arkeyans," Grilla Drilla snorted. "Besides, treasure hunting has become so popular because of that that apparently they've actually set up some archaeological guilds,"
"What males you say that? I haven't heard about anything like that," Freeze Blade frowned. Grilla Drilla snorted and jabbed his thumb at the sign on the building they were walking past. It read, 'Captain Bristlestache's Treasure Hunters Guild,'
"That place looks nice," the ice cat commented, the picture of total obliviousness. "Maybe we should rent a couple of rooms there?" he suggested. "Why not?" Boom Jet sighed. "Hey, it'll be better than camping under a tree," Grilla Drilla optimistically pointed out, and his companions followed their teammate into the building.
Mesmeralda cackled with evil glee. "Perfect. Now I just need to sneak into that building when they're all asleep and board up their door! They'll be trapped in their room forever and be forced to eat food from the minibar! And they'll be so upset about how much it costs them that they won't even think of shouting for help! It's brilliant!" the sorceress grinned.
Several of the people nearby her in the street cast her disturbed looks and hastily backed away.
X
Jet-Vac furiously paced around the roof of the conjoined crafts. "Unbelieveable. Who the hell do they think they are, locking me out of my own house? What did I ever do deserve this?" he fumed. "I bet that annoying little Pufferthorn is sleeping on my perfectly kept bed right now, and probably shredding the covers to bits to boot! What in blazes is the world coming to, eh?" the Sky Baron demanded.
He stopped and absent-mindedly tapped his foot-like claw. "At least this gives me plenty of time to think about that invisible guy that bumped into me. Who in blazes was that?"
X
Pop Thorn tossed in his sleep, snuggling up to the soft, fur-lined pillows of Jet-Vac's bed. "So comfy," he muttered in his sleep, as one of his spines caught on the duvet and cut straight through it.
X
"I wonder where Spy Rise went?" Boom Jet questioned, pulling on a pair of boxer shorts that served as his pyjamas that he kept in his travel pack. Freeze Blade slipped on a set of striped flannel pyjamas, and the two turned to look at Grilla Drilla, who was pulling his armour off. The gorilla blinked at Boom Jet's eyes. "No matter how many times I see them, they still surprise me," he commented. "They're not that special," the pilot snorted.
"I wonder what his eyes are like?" Mesmeralda thought to herself from just outside the door to the room the three SWAPlanders were staying in.
"Don't you worry about him," Freeze Blade waved his paw as he hung his chakra from a convenient hatstand. "He's Spy Rise, he'll be fine," he winked, before flopping onto the bed in exhaustion. "Well, goodnight," the cat smiled, curling up and pressing himself into the pillows of the bed. Grilla Drilla watched with a soft smile. "He's so cute at times,"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your raging hormones in check, Girlla Drilla," Boom Jet snorted, and the Life Skylander punched him on the shoulder. "That's not what I meant and you know it. He's cute like a little kitten you can't help but want to play with," he snorted.
X
"Morning, master," Loni nodded to the astral projection of Eon's disembodied head in her quarters as she woke up. "Greetings, my apprentice. How goes your training?" Eon politely questioned, looking towards a pile of books. "The magic's fun and all, but why do I have to study the history of Portal Masters? It's just a long list of old people with beards that could open portals," she snorted. Eon couldn't help but feel a little miffed. "Speaking as an old person with a beard, you ought to understand the wisdom that comes with age. I understand you lack age and experience, but you should not overlook it," the spirit advised. Loni immediately realised her mistake. "Sorry. I guess you're right," she nodded self-consciously. "It's just easy to feel like I've already done a lot, given that I helped the Skylanders save Skylands twice," Eon graciously accepted her apology, but couldn't resist throwing in a last jab. "As I recall, Scott did most of the work in restoring the Core of Light two years ago,"
Loni groaned, recalling her unfortunate reaction to a little-known law of magic in Skylands two years ago. "Don't remind me, master,"
The law in question had been created many thousands of years ago. Humans were indigenous to Earth, a world that for the most part was without magic. As a result, unlike most beings humans acted like sponges of magic in Skylands, literally sucking the life out of everything they came across. To prevent this, the Ancients had woven an enchantment into the very fabric of Skylands, which caused any human that entered the magical centre of the universe to spontaneously become another species entirely. Loni and Scott were both human Portal Masters who had come to Skylands after Kaos had destroyed the Core of Light. Scott had gotten off lightly, becoming an elf, and had little trouble adjusting to the change. Loni, though, had become a dragoness, and it took her quite a while to get used to her new form. And in the process, she had gone a little over the edge.
"You have completely accepted it by now, though?" Eon asked for confirmation. "Yep," the cerulean dragoness smiled, flicking her tail nonchalantly. "So, is this a social call, or what, master?" Loni asked. "Not exactly. You are aware of the impending eruption of the Cloudbreak Volcano, yes?" the elderly Portal Master asked. "Please, it's the only thing anyone's been talking about for the past month. How could I not be?"
"I have been watching carefully, and I believe that evil intends to strike when the eruption commences. I want you to be ready when that happens," Eon explained. "I am sure you are aware that normal Portals of Power do not function around the Cloudbreak Volcano, correct?" Loni nodded. "An old friend of mine has been constructing a specialised Portal that will be able to get around the magical energies that prevent normal Portals from working. I want you to take a team of Skylanders and go to the Molekin Mountain to retrieve it, then go to the Cloudbreak Islands and set up a camp wherever you feel is best," Loni smiled at this, it meant that Eon was trusting her to make a plan for herself. Previously, he would have given her very specific instructions and hand-picked the Skylanders he thought best to go with her.
"Do you feel that you are capable of doing this?" Eon asked for confirmation. Loni nodded and the elderly spirit smiled. "Good luck, young Portal Master,"
"Thanks, Master Eon. See you," Loni paused. Eon did not appear much, as it took a lot of energy for him to appear in the real world, and he preferred to keep plenty of energy in reserve in case a crisis occurred and his counsel was needed. This was his first visit in two months.
"Whenever," she finally decided. "I am always watching you, young Portal Master. I will be here when you need me," Eon smiled at her, before vanishing into stardust, which in turn rapidly winked out of existence. Loni smiled too, before dashing away down the stairs to leave the building.
Eon watched the draconic Portal Master with a smile from the astral plane of existence. He would probably never admit it, but he cared deeply for the teenaged dragon. Eon had never had a wife or family, but he often regarded Loni as something quite similar to a daughter. And he intended to be a good parental figure.
He liked to think he succeeded.
X
Mesmeralda grinned gleefully as she silently floated down the corridor of Captain Bristlestache's Treasure Hunters Guild towards the room where the SWAP Force had taken up lodgings for the night. "Now to board them up!" she grinned. "Or you could take one of them hostage," one of her demonic puppets suggested. "Now what would that accomplish?" she snorted in irritation. "Wouldn't the other fifteen SWAPlanders be so angry that one of their own had been captured that they'd totally forget guarding the Volcano in their quest to retrieve their comrade?" the minion reasoned.
Mesmeralda thought for a second, then shook her head. "No no no, that's stupid. Boarding up the door makes a lot more sense," she snorted. "Besides, you're a puppet, what would you know?" And with that, she continued to creep along the hallway until she reached the end of the hall, where the door to the SWAPlanders' rented room. Snapping her fingers, a plank of wood appeared in one of her hands, nails in another and a hammer in the third. The spellcaster levitated the board into place, then pulled a nail from her own fingers and magically held it in place . Mesmeralda raised the hammer and slammed it into the nail, knocking it a few millimetres into the wood and creating an extremely loud BANG.
Heedless of the noise it created, she continued to hammer on the nail a d create a ruckus that was extremely likely to wake up anyone who was sleeping nearby. Say, on the other side of the door.
The door suddenly swung open, revealing a sleepy-looking Boom Jet. The Skylander blinked wearily, not really comprehending what had happened. "Mesmeralda? How nice of you to come visit," He paused. "Wait, you're evil . . . . . right?" he sleepily slurred.
The sorceress groaned. "Great, now he's going to tell the others I was here!" she panicked. "I have to shut him up somehow,"
"Take him hostage," a voice whispered. "You know it's the best thing to do," the voice continued. "I suppose," Mesmeralda sighed, before reaching out and snatching the groggy pilot's wrist. Behind her, one of her puppets smiled. She had finally listened to him. "You're coming with me," she hissed. "Coming where? To a party? Guys, dream-Mesmeralda's taking me to a party," Boom Jet shouted over his shoulder, before she clamped another hand over his mouth. Without further ado, she rushed back down the corridor, abandoning all attempts at silence, and rapidly left the building. "You'd better hope your stupid plan works!" she snapped at the ingenuitive puppet.
"Boom Jet?" Grilla Drilla slurred, looking around, before tottering out of bed and closing the door. The ape shrugged. "Eh, he probably went to the toilet,"
A/N
A/N
I'm sure you all noticed that I changed the title. I think 'Hidden Shadows' is a lot more fitting. :)
So I think this chapter went pretty well. Seriously, two chapters later than I planned, I managed to get Boom Jet kidnapped. I guess I'm good at dragging things out. There's a future in literature for me yet. :)
LiteFox, love your dedication, but you read a little too much into it. Slobber Tooth is animalistic, he has a really good sense of smell. He could smell anyone as easily as anyone could smell Stink Bomb. Honestly, Stink Bomb would probably make him pass out. XD But in all seriousness, it COULD have been Stink Bomb. I'm just saying it wasn't necessarily him. And of course leaving someone with Pop Fizz is a bad idea. But it's not like I can do anything about that. Blame whoever decided to make Super Gulp Pop Fizz.
Thanks, Best OC Maker. Whirlwind's mostly next chapter, when we get to Winter Keep. This was kind of a Portal Master-centric chapter.
samjax, oh you bet. Jet-Vac os gonna get in a little trouble. Or he might become a surprise hero. Or both. You never know. And yes, the villains are fine. We all know you're evil. XD
SnowPrincess, when I feel like it. :P
Next time, well, we get to Winter Keep, Molekin Mountain and LiteFox's Man Cave. And I have a prize lined up for anyone who can guess who Eon's friend who's making Loni's new Portal for him is. Hint: The second Chapter 13 of the franchise. Which is ironic, as this is chapter 13 of the story, XD Peace!