Chapter 18: Advancements and Additions
"Ooh, Wash Buckler?" Freeze Blade eagerly asked. "It's Captain, cabin boy. My ship, my rules," the SWAP Force leader commanded. "Yes, captain," the ice cat saluted. "Better. Now, what is it, kid?"
Freeze Blade anxiously looked towards a building perched on the edge of a nearby Skyland. There was a large neon sign that read, 'Cap'n Cluck's KING-SIZED Chicken!' in bright yellow letters mounted on top of it with a cartoonish picture of a scrawny-looking chicken dressed up like an admiral and waving a chicken drumstick in the air. There was also a series of windows with attendants in corny uniforms, the first of which had the words 'DRIVE-THRU' emblazoned above it. "Can we get lunch at the drive-through?" Freeze Blade eagerly asked, almost panting at the thought of the delicious fried chicken.
Wash Buckler thought for a second. "By Davy Jones' locker, why the heck not? Boom Jet, hard to port! We be docking at that there fast food joint!"
X
"Welcome to the Sanctuary!" Diggs declared as he lead them into an exuberantly decorated subterranean room. "From here, I can open a vortice that will take us to the Oracle," he explained. Loni blinked and thought back to the last time Diggs had taken Skylanders to the Oracle - she hadn't actually gone herself as she was still in training and Eon hadn't thought her ready for a proper mission at the time - and there had been no mention of a Sanctuary or a vortice or anything like this. "That ain't what happened last time, brohamma," Slam Bam frowned. "Yes, well, that time we were in a bit of a rush and did not have time to observe the proper rituals," Diggs explained. "Rituals?" Warnado skeptically frowned. "You aren't gonna have us all sitting in a circle holding paws and chanting some sort of spell, are you?"
Diggs impatiently shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that,"
X
Moments later, the five of them were sitting at the corners of a ruby Diggs had drawn in chalk on the floor, with Loni in the middle. "Now, everybody, repeat after me. 'Almighty Oracle, we beseech you to grant us an audience'," Diggs commanded.
"Almighty Oracle, we beseech you to -"
"Wait a second, how is this different from us all sitting in a circle holding paws and chanting some sort of spell?" Warnado demanded. "We're sitting in a square!" Diggs said as if that explained everything. "Completely separate things. Now, back at it! Almighty Oracle, we beseech you to grant us-"
"Alright, very well, I heard you the first time," a voice echoed throughout the room. And in less than a second, all five of them vanished.
X
"Hello, can I take your," the kitsune manning the reception window's eyes went wide. She trailed off at the sight of the SWAP Force crewing the S.S. REAL MAN. "Oh my gosh, you're Skylanders! This is so unbelievably awesome! I am serving real live Skylanders at Cap'n Cluck's!"
Trap Shadow tutted impatiently. "Can you just give us the fried chicken?" he irritably asked.
Suddenly a screech of horror filled the air and a miniature tornado swept on deck, crashing into Trap Shadow and bowling him over. The smilodon immediately snatched the tornado's leg and pulled it to the ground with him. As a result, a very annoyed Storm Chicken was glaring hatefully at him from a few centimeters away. "How dare you?" Free Ranger demanded. "Chickens are our friends! They are our brethren! They are -"
"Delicious?" Trap Shadow sarcastically finished the sentence. "Blasphemy!" the Storm Chicken declared, electricity sparking from his eyes.
"Freeze, swap with me. I need to get down there five minutes ago," Wash Buckler requested, and the young cat obligingly exchanged his legs for the Mermasquid's tentacles. Taking the opportunity, Wash Blade instantly skated at high speed down the stairs from the tiller and towards the two bickering SWAPlanders. Spy Rise watched in surprise. "Is he actually going to act like a capable leader?" he asked in shock.
"Bird-brained vegan!" Trap Shadow cursed. "Cannibalistic cat!" Free Ranger retorted. Wash Blade skated down towards them, and - with a deft turn went straight around them and turned to the kitsune waiting patiently for the order. "We'll have, ah, seven buckets of chicken, fourteen orders of fries, ahem, fifteen large drinks. One frozen cola slushie, two herbal poultice blendies, one lava smoo-" Spy Rise groaned and shook his head, tuning the Mermasquid out. So much for a competent leader, he reflected.
"And," Wash Blade paused and shot a quick glance back up at Freeze Buckler. "One kid's Clucky Meal with extra fries, no sauce and -" Wash Blade stopped as Free Range grabbed his leg. "Don't you dare order the six chicken nuggets," he hissed.
"And six chicken nuggets," Wash Blade resolutely placed the order. "Anything else?" the kitsune politely asked as he was pulled to the ground by the incensed chicken. "I just ordered enough food for fifteen people, you really want to give your kitchens any more to worry about?" the SWAP force's leader skeptically questioned, automatically deflecting Free Ranger's attempts to hit him. "I suppose not. Go through to the next window, but, ah," the fox girl winced. "That's a lot of food for them to prepare. You might be waiting a while," she cautioned.
"Got it," Wash Blade grinned from the floor, now wrestling with Free Ranger. "Need help, sir?" Trap Shadow offered. "Got a bola?" he responded. "Always carry a pair," the smilodon grinned, taking a pair of weights bound with a rope from his belt and casting them.
"I kind of meant for you to catch only him!" Wash Blade fumed from where he was bound head to toe to Free Ranger by the bola, utterly immobile. Trap Shadow guffawed, chuckling, "Whoops,"
X
"This is a nice place once you get past the cold," Spyro appreciatively commented. "Speak for yourself," Cynder shivered.
The two dragons were sitting on the edge of a balcony on Winter Keep. "Any headway on deciphering that piece of parchment? The logs of that mysterious unknown Skylander?" Cynder suddenly asked. "Nada. I need more clues, but I don't know where to look," Spyro sighed. "Well, we've got a week and a half. There has to be something we can do," Cynder frowned. Spyro thought. "Hugo and Cali didn't know anything, and Flynn only started working with the Skylanders five years ago after Sonic Streak retired," he listed. "What about that tree guy? Darbo or something?" his girlfriend frowned. "Arbo," Spyro corrected her, then realized the validity of the suggestion. "But yeah, he was buried under the Core for so long, he probably overheard all sorts of things! Cynder, you're brilliant!"
"First time anyone's ever said that sentence," the Undead dragoness sighed, but Spyro was too caught up in the moment to notice her sadness. "I'm gonna get a message sent back to the Core, there has to be a way for Argo to come here!" he declared, jumping up and dashing off. Cynder somewhat reluctantly followed him.
Roller Brawl appeared from behind a pillar and frowned. "The logs of that mysterious Skylander? Could he be talking about - no, no way. That's impossible - but what if he has somehow stumbled onto the truth, or at least part of it? Maybe I should make contact, explain the situation - no," the vampire anruptly cut herself off. "Hate to say it, but Spyro could easily be in league with him. I can't take the chance of the Hunters finding out anything that could lead them to the renegades," she decided. "Regardless, it has to be called in. Thunderstorm's my best bet, I'll tell him and first chance he gets he can pass it on to Hotshot," Roller Brawl finally settled on a course of action. "But I need to make sure I have my facts straight first," she continued, silently skating after Spyro.
Cynder was left alone, staring into the endless sky.
X
The S.S. REAL MAN advanced a few feet under Blast Zone's superheated guidance, stopping at the next window along where a young-looking black dragoness wearing a corny chicken hat awaited. "How much do we owe you?" Trap Shadow questioned. "That'll be five hundred and fifty-nine coins, sir," the dragoness nodded with a slight hint of annoyance. Trap Shadow instantly picked up on this and guessed that she didn't like her job, but needed it for some reason and her boss was forcing her to keep a happy face on. He procured the money and offered it to her. "Does Cap'n Cluck only employ women?" he asked with a grin. "Nope, all the guys work in the kitchen. Just only girls at the counters,"
"Well, that could just be a good thing," Trap Shadow paused to read the name tag strapped to the dragoness' chest. "Maya,"
"You flatter me, but I've got an even better catch for you," the dragoness smirked, reaching below the counter. "Oh?"
He immediately got smacked in the face by a cardboard box full of chips. "Catch," Maya smirked.
Free Ranger picked up a chip from the floor around the cat's head and pecked at it in a satisfied manner. "I like your attitude," he smiled at Maya, who immediately responded, "So do I,"
X
"Loni. Hello, young Portal Master," Octavius Cloptimus greeted Loni. "So you're the mysterious Oracle," Loni nodded. "I am Octavius Cloptimus. It is an honour to meet you, you will do great things," the Oracle nodded and gave the impression of a mouthless smile.
The Oracle looked like a massive pod with a dozen tentacles swarming around him. A single eye on a stalk rose from the front of his 'body'. "Will do great things? I see you finally got the hang of seeing the future, my old friend," Diggs smiled. "Diggs. Not quite yet, I can only see the near future. I must warn you, young dragon, be careful. There are forces at work that pose a grave threat to Skylands," the Oracle warned her. "What? But, with respect, sir, we will beat them, right? Everything will be okay, right?" Loni gulped, suddenly scared of the words the interdimensional being was saying to her. Octavius Cloptimus focused directly on her, his solemn gaze piercing her sky-blue scales and bringing a chill to her heart. "I cannot see that far ahead yet," he solemnly told her.
"Great lord of knowledge, surely this is not the truth? Some folly, some fabrication? Some mistake?" Ignitor practically begged the Oracle. "There is no mistake. I have not been wrong yet," Octavius told him.
There was a moment of stunned silence. Octavius Cloptimus suddenly broke it with an almost matronly air, declaring, "But in any case, whatever the situation will be you will be far better equipped to face it if you have your new Portal of Power. Specially and personally built to be able to penetrate the veil of magic around Cloudbreak and almost anything else that could interrupt the signal,"
"Yes," Loni nodded, banishing all else from her mind and focusing on the Portal. "Where is it?"
The Oracle suddenly looked almost awkward, which should have been impossible. "About that," he awkwardly paused, before making a confession. "It got stolen by time imps,"
X
The manager of the branch of Cap'n Cluck's that the SWAP Force had visited earlier watched in pride as his employees left at the end of the working day. But he paused as he realized that the most exotic recruit was missing. "Where's that dragon?" he frowned, thinking of the inky black beast that had recently been hired. "Maya!" he shouted through the establishment.
There was no response. "Where is she?" he growled to himself, walking out through the front door and locking it behind him. The manager rolled his eyes. "If she doesn't show up tomorrow with a very good reason for leaving early, she's fired,"
A/N
A/N
I'll admit, Loni's character is a little redundant now that Tails isn't here for her to be girlfriend to, but I needed a Portal Master and I just worked too hard on her character and frankly like her too much to just abandon her and come up with someone new. Seriously, thinking back the original version of Loni (she has changed a lot over the years, but regardless) was only the second OC I ever made. That counts for something, right?
{static - TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED}
Oh, bloody hell - the thing's broken. Anyway, a certain SOMEONE {angry glares} has had issues. The bit up there above was pre-written by Technow, as is his habit. So it falls to me to take care of his hobby. -.- I guess I did say I'd help him, but this? Blasphemy. Deep-fried shit on a priority skewer, I am not making a habit of this, you hear! Millicent Typhoon is not doing this multiple times! Now, if you don't mind I'm in the middle of a Doctor Who marathon and Planet Earth just got torn out of space and time so I want to enjoy it. Actually not a bad idea, that, but whatever. So peace, bye-bye, document submitter, post new chapter and name it whatever the hell I want. I'll get him to fix it later. Just so you all know, Epsilon says hi.
Also, that thing about Loni's Portal being stolen by time imps? Tech was just gonna hand it off to her, the time imps thing was totally my idea. Just saying! See yas never!