Ruined Courtyard (Night)
Though his face didn't show it, Dominic was livid. All that planning to make sure everyone would make it out safe, and two of his friends ended up dying.
His eye burned brightly as he stared down the woman responsible for it all. "If it's not too difficult, would you mind answering a question of mine?" he asked. "Do you think that the worst person in the world can be redeemed? That anyone, no matter how reprehensible, can be a good person if they just tried to be?"
"If this is some sort of attempt at making me feel bad for what I've done, it isn't working." the False Maiden said, getting irritated. Her hands ignited with the power she stole.
"Actually, it's the furthest thing from it." Dominic said, turning his head to the shattered Moon above him. Broken, just like him. With a sigh, he turned his gaze back to his best friend's murderer. "That expression you're wearing. You're really kind of a freak, huh?"
Since the day he unlocked his powers, Dominic could never fight another person without holding back. Being able to control flames capable of burning through every known material made it difficult to fight fairly with people without magic, after all. But now, he had no reason to keep his power contained.
Flames burned Cinder's body, spikes tore through her flesh, and her limp form was slammed into the ground countless times. She may have been strong enough to make the White Fang work for her, but that was nothing compared to Dominic's furious might. He gave everything he had in order to make Cinder pay.
And despite most of her bones being shattered, her muscles torn beyond repair, and several fingers being burned to oblivion, the Maiden managed to kill him. She copied one of Dominic's attacks and telekinetically stabbed him through the palm and into his arm with his own weapon. Ironic. The very blade that had cut down so many of her pawns ended up being the tool that ended his game.
As the boy collapsed, his HATE now unbound, he closed his eyes and drifted off. 'Yang, Gregory, Ruby. Everyone. I'm sorry.' Those were his last thoughts before his game came to an end.
Dream World (Day)
"Greetings, Portal Master. I am Eon. And I have come to guide you on a great journey." a mysterious voice said as Dominic's spirit flickered back into existence. The boy was only barely conscious enough to see what was around him. And what he saw amazed him.
Floating islands and flying whales. Dragons, elves, and other mythical creatures living on gigantic stone formations that seemed to remain suspended in the air. Hearing a foghorn, the blonde turned his attention to a large ship that was gliding through the clouds as if they were water.
"Welcome to Skylands! A magical world of wonder and adventure!" Eon said. "It is protected by the greatest heroes ever known. The Skylanders." Images flashed through Dominic's head. A purple dragon with bone-like horns blasting lightning from her mouth, a fishman with a harpoon launcher, and a man-sized eagle with a weapon that sucked in and shot out air. "It had long been my duty to watch over the Skylanders and lead them. But this task has now been given to you. Your power far exceeds that of any other being I have ever encountered, which is why I sought you out."
'Makes sense.' Dominic thought to himself. Of course, there wasn't anything he could do to refuse the disembodied voice as a spirit, so he might as well hear him out.
"To better understand your role here, let us look back. Back ten-thousand long years, to a time when Skylands was ruled by an evil empire of robots known as the Arkeyans." Eon said, opening a Portal.
A blinding light filled Dominic's vision, and he was transported to a place that unpleasantly reminded him of his... original home. Hundreds of furry bipedal creatures were carving out giant statues of menacing figures, all while being monitored by robots with blue and orange armor.
"This was a dark time for Skylands." Eon said with a grim tone. "The peaceful Mabu had been taken from their homes and forced to build massive monuments for the evil Arkeyan Empire. But the iron rule of the Arkeyans would give rise to a new age of heroes: The Skylanders. Since you currently lack a corporeal form, I shall grant you your previous one with the few remaining droplets of my power."
"Wait, what?" Dominic asked before his essence began to sear with white-hot pain. His very soul felt like it was being punctured with hundreds of tiny needles at once.
Ancient Skylands (Day)
When Dominic awoke, he was on a small patch of land underneath an Arkeyan statue. "So, not a dream." he said to himself as he picked himself up and began walking. If that voice was to be believed, and there was no reason not to, he needed to free these... 'Mabu' from slavery. After that was done, he needed to find a way back to Remnant.
Thankfully, the path seemed pretty straightfoward. And when there was an obstacle in the way, the blonde simply broke through it. After a few minutes, he passed by an iron gate that kept some sort of floating gem locked up. Since it was in his way anyway, he blasted the grate with fire, melting through it and freeing the gem. Upon closer inspection, the jewel had little bug-like wings that kept it aloft. For some reason he couldn't understand, Dominic grabbed the gem and pocketed it.
The next section of the area had a very steep drop about ten feet. Luckily, Dominic didn't have bones. The boy jumped down, feeling almost nothing as his momentum was brought to a sudden halt by the ground. Ahead was a blockade made from what looked like scrap metal. No problem for the blonde, as it took a single blast of flame to melt through the obstacle. Turning around, he saw a conveniently-placed cannon. Probably for people that couldn't easily rip apart thick steel beams.
Behind the blockade was a wooden bridge. But on top of said bridge, there was a large turtle that was at least 2 feet taller than Dominic. Unsurprisingly, the shell-bearing reptile was easily pushed out of the way by the blonde. As he made his way to the next area, namely called "Turtle Falls", he found an obstacle that no amount of brute strength would allow him to pass. Separating this area and the next was a small river. He waited for a few minutes, thinking, before an idea came to him. He went back to the turtle, then pushed it into the river. Shockingly, its cube-like shell fit perfectly in the gap, creating a makeshift bridge. The other side of the river led him downward until he came upon a platform made from what looked like bamboo.
As he descended the bamboo platform, he heard the sound of screaming. Rushing to the ground, he was met with the strange sight of a Mabu being terrorized by skeletal creatures that looked like they were walking jaws. "Ah! Stay back you... things! I-I-I'm warning you!" the Mabu cried out as he cowered.
Dominic's eye lit up, and he launched toward the skeletal monsters, breaking them apart with flame-powered punches and kicks. Although, it wasn't needed, as the monsters were so weak, a single attack from any being would've gotten rid of them. "There. You okay?" the boy asked.
"Oh, I'm fine. I knew help would come, and here you are!" the Mabu said, joyful. "Quickly, follow me!" He led Dominic into a cave, where several others of his kind were carving through stone. "Listen everyone, help's finally arrived! This person is going to free us so we can get home!" At the Mabu's proclamation, everyone cheered. He then turned back to face his savior. "I know a secret way into the tunnels, but we need you to take care of the guards."
"No problem. Just tell me who to smash!" Dominic said with a smile.
His new Mabu friend, who he would later learn was named Norticus, led him to a large, cavernous area. In the back of the room was a stone giant with a small tree sprouting from his head. "My name's Gigantus, and I wanna help too!" the stone being said. "I might be a little thick-headed, but maybe I can show you a few things." The large being took a few steps, standing before a boulder almost as big as him. "It's good to be giant, cause you can do stuff like this!" With a grunt of exertion, Gigantus lifted the boulder over his head and threw it.
"I might not be as big as you, but I think I'm strong enough for this." Dominic said, turning to his left, where another boulder lay. He approached the rock, grabbed it from the bottom, and used all the strength he had to lift it. With a yell, he threw the stone into the air, and it shattered upon hitting the earth.
"Nice one!" Gigantus praised. "Here's another thing Giants can do in certain places. Geronimo!" Out of nowhere, the giant leapt off the platform and onto a cracked section of rock below, breaking through without issue.
'Is he okay?' Dominic wondered, rushing over to the crash site. Gigantus was nowhere to be seen, but the hole he made was growing more and more enticing for the blonde. With minimal thought, he jumped in. He ended up landing in a barren pit with bloodstains on the walls. At the edge of the room was a spiked gate, and there was a platform above him with an Arkeyan standing with its weapon.
"This is a Chompy Pit, an unpleasant place Arkeyans often put prisoners." Eon explained. "Defeat all enemies here to open the gate."
From holes that resembled Arkeyan masks, Bone Chompies appeared. With almost no effort, Dominic got rid of them all. But then, just as he crushed the last Bone Chompy beneath his foot, a metallic clanging sound stung his ears. The Arkeyan jumped down from its platform, challenging the boy. It swung its weapon, only for Dominic to block with his arm, grab its head, and rip it from its shoulders.
"That was... underwhelming." he said, throwing the helmet away. True to Eon's word, the gate vanished. But it led to a dead end. The only thing beyond the gate were tall stone formations that were impossible to scale. Below each formation was a glowing blue circle. Curious, Dominic approached.
"Hey, up here!" Norticus said from the top of the stone formations, waving. "Just use those Bounce Pads! Come on!"
"Bounce Pads..." Dominic said to himself, tossing a pebble onto the circle. As soon as it touched it, the pebble rocketed into the air. Excited, the blonde jumped onto it, and was launched to the top of the formations, landing just to the right of Norticus. At the back of the room, he saw an area of the cave that was covered in moss and other plantlife.
Standing in front of this green area was another Mabu, Rizzopolus. "Ah, it's you! Norticus says you're helping us escape! If you're looking for a little extra power, there's something over there that might help." At that, several thorny vines sprouted from the ground and blocked the entrance into the green room. "Only problem is, you need to be of the Life Element to get to it."
'Life Element? Just like in that book I found...' Dominic realized. Knowing he couldn't enter, he moved on. At last, he was out of the cave again. There was construction equipment and Arkeyans everywhere. And towering over them all was a titanic robot with bright orange armor and glowing red eyes.
"Alright, that's the Arkeyan Conquertron guarding the mine." Norticus explained.
"Oh, if Steeldong could see this." Dominic said to himself, giggling. How humiliating it would be for the Atlesian General to see a civilization thousands of years old building robots that were hundreds of times larger than even his infamous Paladins.
"He's the one keeping us all here. And believe me when I say he's tough." the Mabu said as the Conquertron blasted a sleeping prisoner with lasers. "See? But if you could just break those chains holding him up, KA-BLAMMO! We'll be home free!"
Looking closer, Dominic saw that the colossal robot was standing on an island held in the air by three large chains that were connected to the construction site. "Don't worry. I got this." he said with a smile, running across the bridge that connected the island he was on to the one he needed to be on. Once he was within striking distance of the closest chain, he threw the strongest punch he could, shattering it and destabilizing the platform the Conquertron stood on.
The robot instantly took notice of the small being that dared to attack it. "You have trespassed on the site of our glorious temples. Return to your post at once and resume serving your Arkeyan masters." it said in a monotone voice.
Now, as someone who spat in the face of authority, Dominic was never going to obey. He made his way to the next chain, walking across a bridge that led to the construction site. As he ran across, the Conquertron tried swatting him, only to break off pieces of the bridge instead.
Bone Chompies and blocks of stone acted as more obstacles, but short-lived ones that were either incinerated or just pushed out of the way. The Conquertron's lasers didn't make things easier. More Arkeyan Jousters appeared, swinging around their axes, only to be impaled on stone spikes. After getting rid of them, a Bounce Pad appeared. Dominic used the circle to leap over another bamboo structure, causing him to land just in front of the next chain, which he promptly annihilated.
"Uh oh. Losing balance." the Conquertron said as it fell down, its platform becoming even more unstable.
"One left." Dominic said to himself, progressing further. Arkeyan Jousters did everything they could to halt him, only for them to be melted into scrap by his flames. It was at this point that the Conquertron let loose its lasers again, razing the earth in hopes that it would get rid of the blonde. The boy grinned madly as a plan formulated. He jumped onto the chain, then loudly yelled "Come and get me, you overgrown stapler!". Angered, the robot blasted him. But, dodging at the last minute with Time Break, Dominic had made his opponent destroy the last chain for him.
"Falling sequence started." the Conquertron said as its platform crumbled, causing it to fall into the endless sky.
"Run, quickly! Back to our village!" Norticus told the other Mabu as they ran away from the construction site. He then turned to face Dominic. "Yes, thank you. You have given us hope. Perhaps, with the help of the Skylanders, we can finally bring down the Arkeyans so all of Skylands can be free!"
"Maybe." Dominic said, watching the Mabu cheer. "Until I can find a way home, I'll do what I can to help."
Dream World (Day)
Once again, in a flash of bright light, the boy's vision was filled with images he had never seen before. "You see, Portal Master, that was just the beginning of a great battle." Eon said. "For the invasion of the Arkeyan Empire had already spread far and wide."
The sight of an army of giant robots, thousands of them, was what Dominic was met with. Leading them was a robot with something glowing brightly on its hand.
"To truly stop them, the first Skylanders, the Giants, had to face the robot king, and remove the source of his power. The Iron Fist Of Arkus." Eon explained.
Dominic watched in awe as eight colossal beings, each aligned with a different Element, clashed with the Arkeyan robots. They tore their way through the battlefield, allowing nothing to stop them until they reached the king. Using teamwork, each Giant utilized their unique abilities to amputate the Iron Fist from its wielder. As soon as it detached, every robot in the room shut down.
"Without the Fist Of Arkus, or a king to command them, the evil robot legions fell silent. But this victory carried a heavy price." Eon said. The Iron Fist began to emit a strange energy that captivated the Giants. In a burst of light, each Giant was reduced to pure magical energy and swept into a Portal. "The Giants were swept from Skylands, where they have not been seen again until now. Your power awakened both them and I. Something evil is stirring... Skylands needs your help. But fear not, Portal Master. You will not be on this adventure alone."
UP NEXT: Junkyard Isles
"Despite such snowy conditions, those who reside in the Frozen Wastelands have never seen an avalanche. Residents are know to throw bombs off the side of the islands in the hopes of triggering one. Just to have a story to tell their children, I suppose."