X-Squad: Skylanders

by garshishoe

Viewer discretion is highly recommended. Reading this saga might lead to unexpected side effects, such as involuntary summoning of defenders from other worlds, insatiable cravings for ice cream, and questioning the intricacies of interdimensional border control. Once you've ventured into this wild adventure, remember to contact your local holy figure.

9. In Which We Have A Beach Day

Silence. That's all that Chrysalis was accustomed to as she cackled maniacally to herself.

She had been shunned by her hive. She became an outcast. She was no longer queen, but don't tell her that. All she could do to pass the time was talk to herself...or in this case, logs with Changeling faces carved into them.

"One day, you'll see! I will defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends! Nya ha! And they will pay for stealing my kingdom!"

She got no response from the inanimate object. She sighed as she turned to carve another face on another log, when suddenly, she was teleported out of the forest to parts unknown.

---

Tartarus. A place where the absolute worst of the worst end up. The place where the irredeemable spend the rest of their lives. This was the case for Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow.

The two villains were sat next to one another. Not literally, mind you, but their cages were next to each other, so they were practically neighbors.

As Tirek carved another line, signifying the amount of days he has spent in Tartarus, Cozy Glow decided to get his attention, "Psst. Tirek."

Tirek sighed in annoyance as he turned around to face the manipulative filly.

"It is Lord Tirek. And what is it now?"

Cozy smiled, "I just wanna make sure you can see my best friends rock sculpture from over there!"

She gestured down to a sculpture of her and Tirek. The Centaur rolled his eyes as he turned around...only to be whooshed away by magic. Before Cozy could say anything, she too was sent away.

---

Inside a damp, old cave, a small branch was stabbed into the ground. The unknown figure then drew a symbol in the damp dirt. Once the symbol was drawn, a small, dark crystal shot out of the ground as a dark fog swirled around it, engulfing the cave in darkness.

The only source of light inside the cave was a pair of glowing, green eyes.

---

The Canterlot Vault. Filled with many ancient relics and weapons. But what was wanted here was not a weapon, but a living being. In the center of the Vault, was a statue. But it was no ordinary statue.

It was a statue of a brain-like being.

Normally the statue would be placed in the gardens, but both princesses agreed that Ch'rell was far too dangerous to be left out in the open. Even if he was a statue.

Suddenly, the statue was whooshed away by magic, leaving a very noticeable absence in the Vault.

---

Tirek and Cozy Glow appeared inside a castle, and looked at one another before they heard a whooshing noise. They turned to see Queen Chrysalis appear on the other side of the cavern.

She turned to face the other two villains, "Lord Tirek!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Tirek's eyes widened, "A Changeling?" He then turned to Cozy Glow, "See? She gets it."

Chrysalis then walked down the stairs as she smirked. "Chrysalis, queen of the changelings! Or at least I will be, when I'm restored to my rightful place! Why did you summon me? What do you want?!"

"Geez, somepony got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," the filly muttered, pressed against the centaur's leg for reassurance.

Tirek put his hands together and cracked his knuckles defensively.

He snorted, forming a small glowing ball of energy between his horns. "Like I need to take orders from someone who literally has to suck love from ponies just to be functional throughout the day."

Chrysalis stepped to the centaur, almost standing face to face. "Insult me one more time, and you are gonna be the one dysfunctional throughout the day!"

"We will see about that, you--"

The pegasus suddenly wedged herself between the centaur and the changeling.

"Now, hold on, you two," she said. "Shouldn't we first figure out how we got here in the first place before fighting with each other?"

The changeling slowly tilted her head to one side. "And who are you supposed to be?"

The filly cleared her throat. "My name is Cozy Glow!" she exclaimed, pointing at the centaur. "I'm Mr. Tirek's best friend!"

Chrysalis stared at the filly. Then she looked at the centaur. "Is she for real?"

Tirek winced. "If by 'best friend'," he grumbled, the two words leaving a sour taste on his tongue, "she means a very unfortunate mistake haunting me for the rest of my life that I somehow don't regret, then yes."

"Mr. Tirek!" Cozy Glow scowled, looking at the centaur reproachfully. "Don't be like that."

"It's true! And for the hundredth time, it's Lord Tirek!"

Cozy sighed. "Mr. Tirek is acting like a big meanie, but under all that hard skin is one big gold heart," she said.

Tirek rubbed his forehead. "Just by talking you really are stretching my nerves..." he moaned, "...with a rack."

Chrysalis watched them bicker for a few long moments, the green light around her horn draining away. "I have no idea what you two simpletons are babbling about, but you better leave me out of it. Unless you want to end up corpses, that is."

The pegasus rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why is everypony so tense today?" She fluttered her wings, jumped in the air and onto the pedestal, her legs dangling over the edge. A small stream of dust slowly poured to the ground as the filly shuffled into a sitting position.

"Pfft!"

Chrysalis paused and the other two looked to see a big ball of pink fluff next to Chrysalis.

"What the hay is that?" Cozy asked.

"Where did it come from?" Tirek asked.

"Oh golly! It's so FLUFFY!"

The pink ball of fluff moved as a head popped out the front and four legs popped out the bottom. It looked like a pony, covered in long and thick fluffy fur. The weird fluffy pony looked up at Chrysalis with sparkling eyes and a smile as she rubbed her face against Chrysalis' left foreleg. The ruler of the changelings blushed as she gently nudged the fluffy pony away.

"Fluffy, I can't play right now. I'm working," Chrysalis told the fluffy pony gently.

"Pfft," the fluffy pony responded.

"I know I promised to go out with you, but I'm trying to figure out where we are," Chrysalis continued.

"Pfft. Pfft."

"They are not guests. So I'm not going to introduce you to them," Chrysalis spoke sternly.

The fluffy pony's eyes went wide as her bottom lip trembled.

"You know that won't work anymore, Fluffy..." Chrysalis gritted out as she tried to resist.

The fluffy pony continued.

"OK! OK! Fine! I'll introduce you! You're so lucky you're cute."

The fluffy pony gasped happily and Chrysalis smiled as she booped the creature on the nose.

The duo were speechless as they saw the interaction.

"Tirek, am I hallucinating?" Cozy asked.

"If you are, so am I, because we're seeing the same thing," answered Tirek.

Chrysalis cleared her throat and said, "Alright. Allow me to introduce my pet, Fluffle Puff."

"Pfft!" Fluffle Puff blew a raspberry.

"I'm sorry, but did you say 'pet'?" Tirek asked carefully.

"Yes, my pet," Chrysalis affirmed. "Where do you think I get the love I need?"

Fluffle Puff nuzzled Chrysalis' side. It was a weirdly adorable sight and Chrysalis sighed.

"OK, what kind of brainwashing magic did you use on her?" Tirek asked.

"None, believe it or not. She came to me," Chrysalis confessed.

Fluffle Puff trotted to Tirek and put on a happy face as she hissed at the two. Cozy recoiled at the reaction.

"Good girl, Fluffy. You've learnt how to hiss like a real changeling," Chrysalis praised proudly.

Fluffle Puff beamed under the praise.

"So, she's not a changeling?" asked Tirek, fascinated.

"Fluffy here is from a race known as fluffy ponies. They all look like giant fuzzballs," Chrysalis explained.

"Pfft! Pfft!" Fluffle Puff blew a raspberry, which made Chrysalis blush.

"So, how did you two meet?" Cozy asked.

"Oh, it was after my changelings and I were blasted out of Canterlot. I was injured, but Fluffy here nursed me back to health," Chrysalis answered.

"I don't believe it," Tirek deadpanned.

"Neither did I, but she did. When I woke up, she was bandaging me up. Believe me, it was humiliating for me to be looked after by a mere pony, but she insisted on taking care of me until I got back to my feet."

"And then you kidnapped her?" Cozy wondered.

"No, she followed me home," Chrysalis countered. "It turns out she...she..."

"She loves you," Cozy finished, coming to the realization.

Fluffle Puff nodded happily.

"Yes, believe me. I was shocked as well. I didn't even need to disguise myself. She loved me for me, which is quite a strange thing," Chrysalis said.

"So, what now?" Cozy prompted, shifting her gaze back and forth between the centaur and the changeling, as well as the fluffy pony.

Tirek let out a sigh. "Well, the fruitcake here is not the sharpest knife in the drawer," he sneered, jerking his thumb at the filly, "but she has a point. We should figure out who freed us from Tartarus."

Chrysalis blinked. "Somepony freed you from Tartarus?" she asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Yes," Tirek confirmed.

"We thought it was you who freed us from Tartarus," Cozy said, nodding towards the changeling queen.

"Well, I didn't," Chrysalis proclaimed, cocking her head. "But it must be someone really powerful!"

There was a sudden burst of harsh laughter from above.

The changeling bared her fangs and arched up her back like an angry cat, as Fluffle hugged the changeling. Tirek again formed a ball of energy between his horns. Cozy hastily slid off the pedestal and hid behind the centaur's neck.

Above the villains' heads formed a whirlwind of dark fog, scattering dust and small bits of stones around. The stream of black smoke concentrated into a column, slowly taking the shape of a pony. It soon subsided, leaving a gray stallion standing on the upper landing of the cave.

The pony ran a hoof through his black mane and paced forward to get a better view from the platform, his armored hooves clacking on the stone floor.

"Wow," Cozy commented softly. "That was a pretty cool entrance."

"... King Sombra?" Chrysalis cocked her eyebrow.

King Sombra looked down upon the changeling, bared his fangs, then dissolved himself into a puff of black smoke and a moment later emerged before the rest of the villains.

"What are you doing here?" Chrysalis asked with a grin. "Did you return to exact revenge on your enemies?"

"Did you summon us in order to help you garner more power?" Tirek prompted.

"How do you make your mane float like that?" Cozy exclaimed, popping her head over Tirek's shoulder.

Sombra stared at the filly. Then he looked at Tirek, then at Chrysalis and finally back to the filly. "What in the name of the flaming pits of Tartarus is a filly doing in this company?" the gray stallion said at last.

"I'm Tirek's best--"

Tirek reached out behind his shoulder and firmly but gently gripped her lips with his fingers. "Please stop telling other villains that I'm your friend. I have a reputation to keep," he whispered to the filly.

"Let's just say that she is with me," he announced to Sombra.

The filly's smile brightened up. "So you admit that you are my friend!"

Tirek huffed. "I don't admit anything," he countered. "Especially not that I'm your friend. It's just faster this way."

Chrysalis stomped her hooves with a loud thud, earning her an annoyed look from Tirek and Sombra and forcing the filly to again take cover behind the centaur's shoulder.

"Fascinating discussion." She grimaced. "Now shut up and shift focus on a changeling who really deserves it--namely me--and try to figure out who summoned us here?"

She then felt a very demonic presence.

"You!" Chrysalis hissed at the mare that appeared.

It was an alicorn mare, or at least something that resembled an alicorn. Unlike the beautiful alicorn princesses which existed, this alicorn could only be described as terrifying. She had a deep brown coat and a long blood red mane . Her eyes were blood red and she had a mouth full of jagged teeth. The tips of her ears were pointed and so were the feathers of her wings. She sported black horseshoes and a black metal collar with a strange symbol that was also her cutie mark. Finally, she had two horns that were twisted in spirals around each other to give the appearance of a single horn.

"Welcome Chryssy..." the strange alicorn mare greeted in a deep, dark voice, as Fluffle Puff hugged the odd alicorn.

"Hello, Marksaline," Chrysalis greeted with a scowl.

"Oh, you know you can just call us 'Big Sis'. You're almost like family now since you've been taking good care of the little one," Marksaline replied, grinning wide with her sharp teeth showing.

"You know, I should've known it was you," Chrysalis fumed. "Only one being could fill me with such dread."

"Oh, the fear coming from you and your...now former...hive... is exquisite..." hissed Marksaline in satisfaction as she licked her teeth. She then nuzzled Fluffle Puff who giggled in response. Chrysalis laid on the empty space next to Fluffle Puff.

"You know I only tolerate you because of Fluffy, right?" Chrysalis reminded.

"Oh, yes, we know. That's how we know you care so much for her."

"The only reason I care so much is that she's a huge source of love for me to feast on," Chrysalis retorted.

"Hide your feelings, but the three of us know how you truly feel," said Marksaline, as Chrysalis blushed deeply and started stammering and making hissing sounds that could only be described as 'gay changeling noises'.

But suddenly, a large thump was heard behind the group. It sounded like something solid smashed against the ground. They all turned to see the statue of Ch'rell. They all looked at it with curiosity.

Tirek turned to Chrysalis, "What's with the slug?"

Suddenly, a crack formed in the statue, causing Tirek and the others to freeze in anticipation. The crack grew bigger as more cracks made themselves known. Ch'rell's eyes glowed red as the stone prison exploded. Everyone shielded their eyes. Once the debris from the statue fell to the floor, everyone present uncovered their eyes as they gazed upon the now free Ch'rell.

Ch'rell's eyes snapped open as he stood up straight, "Grah! I live!" He looked around at the other villains and two tagalongs, and scoffed as he smiled to himself, "And now that I am free. All in this world shall know TRUE despair!" The Utrom then laughed like the menace to society that he is.

Ch'rell stared at the other villains in the castle, eyeing every single one of them. Chrysalis looked baffled, "And what are you supposed to be?"

Ch'rell growled, "Wait, you don't know me?! Iam Ch'rell. Y'know, Oruku Saki? Duke Acureds? The Shredder?!"

Ch'rell leapt into the air and headbutt Chrysalis, sending her across the room to assert dominance. As Chrysalis tried to get back up, Ch'rell approached her at fast speeds. He would have attacked again, had he not been thrust into a wall by a deep blue glow. Ch'rell struggled against his bindings as Cozy turned to Chrysalis, "Nice timing."

Chrysalis looked confused, "You think I did that?"

"Nah, she didn't."

Everyone turned to the entrance of the castle as a figure slowly approached them. Once she stepped into the light, the girl in winter gear chuckled. "I did that, name's Kiko Yumisu, I'm sure you've heard of my mother."

Both Tirek and Chrysalis gasped in shock. They had heard the stories, but to actually meet the daughter of the Demon Queen, was a shock to both of them.

"The daughter of Mao Yumisu?" Chrysalis asked, Fluffle hugging the changeling as Marksaline chuckled.

Sombra transformed into his shadow form and joined the others on the ground. Tirek and the other villains walked forward towards Kiko, except for Ch'rell, who was still struggling against his bindings.

"I thought that she was but a legend!" Tirek stated.

"I've heard of her." Sombra added.

As Kiko walked around the table in the center of the table, keeping one hand on the glass, she chuckled, "I assure you, mom's real. And you have all been brought here as part of boss man Epoch's plan to rule everything!"

Ch'rell scoffed at the ice girl, "I do not know who you are and I do not care! You shall release me and I shall grant you a quick and painless demise."

Kiko turned to the Utrom and giggled, "Yeah, not sure you're in a position to demand anything, Ch'rell."

Ch'rell growled in anger, "You dare talk down to me! I am The Shredder!"

Kiko rolled her eyes, "Yep. I am aware of your shenanigans."

Cozy Glow then decided to speak up, "I am so sorry, but the name 'Moa Yimusi'? It just doesn't ring any bells."

Kiko slammed her hand on the table in rage, "Mao Yumisu, get it right, kid! Guess a demonstration of power is in order?"

Suddenly, a blue orb formed in her hand. She then chucked the orb towards Tirek, who took it in his hands and gobbled it up, as he then began to transform as the magic gave him more power, making him stronger. Tirek's body was now far more muscular and massive than before.

"Neat!" The centaur beamed, kissing one of his biceps. He stepped closer and leaned his hand against the stone surface of the pedestal. "Mao Yumisu, as the legend I heard as a boy goes, was an ancient and powerful master of magic and once ruled the entire continent as Empress. Back when what is now Equestria was a collection of farms and pastures."

"I heard the same legend too as a lad." Sombra chimed as he stretched his back in boredom. "She was also credited with making the first generation of the monsters in the world; manticores, hydras, sphinxes, chimeras, cockatrices, bugbears to list a few."

Cozy scratched her head. "Golly, it must be pretty hard to fit all that stuff on your business cards," she mumbled.

"Yeah, mom made some of the most wild creatures ever and let them go nuts. It was a glorious epoch of darkness." Kiko said, as she used the crystal orb to project the images of the many monsters laying waste and terrorizing ponies.

"Ha!" Chrysalis scoffed with a mocking sneer. "Until Gusty the Great rose up and banished her."

"Shut! Up!" Kiko barked, losing her composure for a moment, her glare forcing Chrysalis to sink into a cowed silence.

"That fool thought that taking mom's magic staff would defeat her, but she only got weaker temporarily." Kiko turned away and began walking around them. "I have spent some of my life gathering power, biding my time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reclaim my birthright," she declared. "And saw each of your humiliating defeats at hooves of six ponies!"

That statement made Chrysalis and Sombra snort.

"Do you know why Twilight and her friends won?"

"Because they caught me off guard!" Sombra snapped.

"Because they cheat!" Chrysalis snarled grimly.

"Because they are annoyingly lucky," Tirek grumbled, folding his arm across his chest begrudgingly.

"It was the first day on the job, so... " Cozy Glow replied innocently, lifting her hooves in helpless appeal.

"It's because they know how to do gang warfare," Kiko countered. "When one is weak but smart, and the other is dumb but strong, unified they're a formidable force that balances out each other." A big smile widened on her face, hidden by her mask. "But we'll play their game and beat them at it."

Chrysalis furrowed her brow. "What are you suggesting?" she said sharply, jerking a hoof in Kiko's direction.

"Kiko suggested nothing," Epoch replied, appearing on the table. "She said that you join us. Together, everything will be ours!"

"Like that's gonna happen!" Sombra spat.

Everybody stared at him.

"Not to rain on your parade," he mocked, "but just because all five of us have a grudge against Twilight Sparkle and her friends doesn't exactly make us one big happy family. This alliance will fall apart faster than a rotten timberwolf."

"Do you have doubts about my plan?" Epoch growled.

"You bet I have!" Sombra grinned widely. "I don't do 'ours'. I only do mine!"

Sombra vanished in a puff of black smoke and reappeared right before Epoch's face.

"I will take back the Crystal Empire on my own," he announced, placing a hoof on his chest. "And I will crush anypony who gets in my way!"

Epoch regarded Sombra closely. "Such confidence," he pointed out. "Go! I will send you there myself. If you prevail, you may keep the Crystal Empire, but when you fail, you will join me!"

"And if I refuse this deal?"

"Then I will return you back into the darkness from which you were summoned."

"Fine," Sombra retorted, "but this is a waste of time as I will defeat--" He suddenly felt his back being stomped on by Epoch, as Sombra screamed in agony as he felt his spine being cracked, leaving Sombra sprawled on the floor.

The changeling queen stared at Sombra, her snout quirked in a malicious smile. "Not so cocky now, huh?"

For several long moments, the former tyrant wasn't able to move a muscle, only breathing heavily as he looked up at Epoch.

"... you were saying something about teaming up?" Sombra said at last.

Epoch shifted his gaze to the other villains. "Let this be a warning," he declared, gesturing at Sombra. "One for those who defy me and those who oppose continuing with my plans."

The demon narrowed his eyes glittering with pure and utter spite as he telepathically transmitted his past escapades into their minds, and what the five new recruits saw was a demon who has slaughtered thousands and treated mass murder as a game, a casual game, a game of bones snapping as they were crunched up, a game of blood splattering and being sucked off walls, a game of limbs flying only to be devoured, a game of people screaming as they were eaten alive, a game of insides flying outside to escape such pure unbridled evil only to be feasted upon, and he was a pro at those types of games. They saw death, mayhem, and destruction of countless worlds. They saw a demon who made dynasties and kingdoms rise and fall. They saw a boogeyman to all people. They saw him utterly frightening the Goldtsuiker siblings. They saw him make the Balban void their pants. They saw Basco saying there isn't enough in the universe to discard to justify going up against him and gaining even the slightest thing. They saw his hunger knows no bounds, he has plundered or destroyed worlds to strip them of riches, ingredients and resources, or enslaved them and forced them to work as miners to dig up their own decaying worlds for anything valuable or worth making into a meal. They saw that he has no scruples to mess up the omniverse and the timestream to feast on the Imagin they spawn from it. They saw him collect those whom he thinks make for good chefs and brainwash them into 'cooks' so they can be his workers forever through implanting something called a Cuisine Coder, which acts as an extension of himself, his chefs only living to cook for him and with him even at the cost of their own health and well-being. Those who don't work are either killed, tortured for a quick giggle, or eaten. They saw the Master of Cannibal Cuisine. They saw the Don of Carnage. They saw the Baron of Bloodlust. They saw the Wendigo of Buckeye Valley. They saw the Patron Saint of Graveyards Being Emptied, of The Darkest Dread, of Evil Things Coming, of Tragedies and Sins, of People Being Fried On A Grill, Boiling in A Pot or Burning In The Oven, of the Darkest of Sins Finding New Life in the Modern Era, of Terror and Disgust. They. Saw. Cannibalism. Given. Form.

"Unless you have any doubts about me being, as the youth say, 'Him'," he said grimly.

The other five villains were petrified. Terrified. For the first time in their lives, they each felt genuine fear of what Epoch could do. All those lives. Gone. In the blink of an eye. Cozy was shaking in fear as she quickly flew behind Tirek, the centaur was actually scared. Although he didn't show it, his eyes were all Epoch needed to see. Chrysalis' eyes were wide open and her jaw practically hit the floor as Fluffle hugged the poor changeling to keep her stable. Ch'rell felt puke forming in his mouth a little, trying desperately to keep it down, to not show weakness. Marksaline chuckled at Epoch's audacity. Sombra felt his soul leave his body at such revelations of Epoch's carnage.

The changeling queen gave a kind of yelp. "Nope!"

"Not I," Tirek said carefully, beads of sweat raised on his forehead.

"I'm good," Cozy Glow gasped, chewing on her lip nervously.

"Never in my wildest ambitions..." Ch'rell said, shook to his core.

Sombra, still pressed to the floor, just nodded lightly.

Epoch then stomped his foot on the ground, a purple glow slithered across the ground and made its way to Ch'rell. The glow then encased the Utrom and lifted him into the air. Suddenly, a gust of magic swirled around him as something began to form. Gray samurai armor then began to form around him, starting from the feet, then the torso, and finally Ch'rell was encased by his helmet. The glow ceased as The Shredder stood upright and raised his fist into the air, trying to show confidence despite every neuron begging him to flee from this.

"At last! The Shredder lives! Like the Phoenix, I have risen from the ashes! And into my fire, my enemies shall fall!"

---

"I can't believe they got Aeron. She's got the information we need." Kraven said.

"Not to worry. I have already managed to solve the mystery. As long as we keep getting our powersource, our weapon will still be operational." Venomquake said.

"Does it include mounds of enchanted wood?" Edvard asked.

"No. Something a little less solid. It's stinkosity we so need, and we're already getting a steady supply from our source." Crystallon said. "The wood is for the Evilkin army."

"Oh, they're much better than those Wilikins, those freaks of nature are always think everything is fun and dandy." Edvard said, growling.

"Ah. But these new Evilkins are obedient soldiers who will risk everything, even their life, for us. It's the only reason I repurposed the Crimson Shores to make an army of aquatic ones to ravage the seas, with the Eternal Life Source and Eternal Undead Source as the fuel." Venomquake said.

Sirens then blared, as the four remaining Night Hooligans came to the mobilizing armies.

"A huge battalion of Mabu and Skylanders are approaching your mill, doc." Edvard said.

"Just like I was expecting." Venomquake laughed maniacally. "Crystallon, it's go time, get your foreman to let the Evilkins know it's time to go to war."

---

Meanwhile, the ship piloted by Roman soon crashed into view, Varian wiping puke from his mouth. "Hey, look! It's that Mabu Defense Force, better see if they need help." Roman said.

"Looks like they already got some. Look, someone's tearing through those wood bastard head on, literally." Leone said.

"I can't see who she is!" Whirlwind said.

They saw the girl keep moving as she ripped through the mill.

"Jeez, does she not stop for anything?" Mine asked.

"Follow her!" Tatsumi said as the Mabu were trailing her.

"Ya don't gotta tell me twice." Roman said as he began following her.

Tatsumi went into the turret and blasted the cannons below. "You gotta try harder than that, you...wooden sea monsters?" Tatsumi asked.

"They must be the Aquatic Evilkins whoever runs this place is working on." Seryu said. "Wood turned into sea beasts of evil."

The girl rushed into more soldiers before the others saw a dolphin creature with a ship wheel and spiked wood sword moving into a building.

"Was that Flip Wreck? Maybe he saw a villain there." Zap said.

"Making Waves!" they heard the dolphin say.

"Definitely Flip Wreck." Snapshot said as they landed and moved in.

They saw Flip Wreck battle a giant barracuda Evilkin with a chainsaw arm.

"Ready to become compost, Skylanders?!" the Evilkin said.

"Hey guys! Thought i'd take out Woodmince here." Flip Wreck said.

Woodmince! (Tech Trap)

"Fine by us. He's all yours." Akamei said.

Flip Wreck attacked with his sword and shield, riding on the former and catching Woodmince off guard the whole way before a large array of crystals rose from the ground and took out all of the enemies, even Woodmince. "Huh…"

"What?" Roman said.

"Ugh! This sucks!" a voice shouted higher up as they saw the girl, and realized that she had light pink hair, a purple jacket, pale platinum pants, a pink skirt, black boots, pale platinum gloves and a crown necklace stomping about.

"Dang it, dang it, dang it! Not here either!" she groaned. "Here I go thinking the omniverse's more precious gem was in Skylands, but all I get is wood and scraps."

"Uh… can we get your name there, missy?" Jet Vac asked flying over to her before he was nearly impaled by a crystal from the ground.

"Gotta look somewhere else." she said, hopping off the crystal and running off.

Woodmince defeated!

"Dang it, that SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Woodmince called out, vanishing through the vortex.

The girl was running before she saw the X-Squad running after her. "Oh great. Just get lost." she said raising a crystal wall before Drakus leapt over it and after her. "What the…" she said before he tackled her. "Let me go!" she said.

"No. Not until you rest." Drakus said.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You've been running over Skylands nonstop. You look like you haven't slept or eaten in days." Sora said, pulling out an apple. "So...please... sleep."

She growled for a moment before taking the apple and eating. "I'm only doing this cause I was hungry."

"So, what's with this...gem?" Drakus asked.

"Why do you wanna know?" she asked.

"I'm curious like that. Also the regal but practical fit really suits you." Drakus said.

"Well if you must know, the gem I'm looking for is a rare jewel that is said to be the most valuable object in the known omniverse. They call it...the Nega-Gem." she said.

"Nega-Gem?" Zap said as the others caught up. "Now you've got me curious."

"How so, fishy?" she asked.

"I read about the Nega-Gem a few times. Word on the street is that whoever holds the gem or wears it can negate any affliction, even death itself, and in theory, could practically live forever." Drakus said.

"Yeah. But it's not the immortality I'm after…. it's just the gem's looks." she said. "Imagine if that gem were in a necklace or a crown. People would have to look at that person for all eternity with happiness and envy."

"And this person just so happens to be you." Mukuro blankly said.

"Yep. I'm sort of a jewel maniac." she said, laughing.

"Yeah. I can tell that." Drakus said laughing. "Name's Drakus Hydrax, Prince of Drakonia, descendant of Satan, grandson of Gol D. Roger, soon to be top-tier fashion designer and the next Pirate King."

"Gemina Kesshōhime." she said.

"So, that crystal stuff...that was kinda cool.' Drakus said.

"Thanks. You see, I practice something called Color Fighting. What you saw was the Crystal Style, it basically lets me control crystals in the ground, even mold and shape them to whatever form I please." Gemina said.

The group moved on as Gemina went to a main factory shaped like an aircraft carrier mixed with standard factory, where they saw Crystallon strut out of his office, the Eternal Earth Source chained around his neck like a necklace, smirking as the centipede piloted his mech around, his hands gliding along the railing.

"So, you arrive, Skylanders and the Portal Masters." Crystallon commented from the deck above as he stared down at them. "Welcome to the Gilded Ocean. The naval pride and joy of the Night Hooligans. And the instrument that shall spell your destruction."

"Crystallon…" Taisho commented as she stared at the Earth Element of the Night Hooligans.

"We both know why we are here, so instead of the usual conversation, I shall instead regale you with my purpose." Crystallon leapt off of the railing and landed on the one that the X-Squad and Skylanders were standing on, as he pulled out a giant black anchor, treading it across the surface, cracking the floor as it quickly regenerated. "You know, the word 'prudence' means one singular thing. It means caution and safety for the future, when you use prudence, you don't think about the past or the present, and believe only in the path forward and strive to achieve absolution. There can be no room for diversion or misdirection on the path you walk. That's why I like that word, it fits me well."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We kinda figured that out for ourselves. A guy like you? Of course, you'd be the fifth Night Hooligan we get to fight." Konata tipped her fingers forward.

"It is more than that, Portal Master of Air. I have not survived because the will of the world has manifested this duel between us." He wagged his finger. "The reason I am here is because I have learned."

"Huh?" The group replied.

"Soda Sucker. Mignon. Sheep Mage. Aeron. I have seen your methods and how you went about subduing my fellow Night Hooligans." He cracked his knuckles. "I have studied extensively how they got caught, how they let their guards down, and how I can avoid the same fate. I learn, I adapt, I evolve, I overcome." He squeezed his right fist tightly as blue glares shot out of his mech's eye sockets. "And it is because I have learned that I know that I shall survive this battle. It is because I have learned that I have identified your weakness. And it is because I have learned that I know how I can serve Malice in this war."

"Well, bug boy, we ain't letting you win this. Cause fortunately for Eon, we're the best exterminators around." Roman smirked.

"Ah yes, Anubis' attack dogs." Crystallon paced around the squad. "Such interesting misfits. You think you know how this song and dance goes. But, in truth, you got led straight to my home turf, like a hunting dog with the scent of human flesh," he said. "I can see why my master showed an interest in Risotto. For such a rebellious hitman having seen the truth of his master's will, you still played to his tune regardless. How wonderfully ironic."

"Are you just gonna keep talking like this?" Stiffany added.

"My master has figured out how to start Midas. Your time is up." Crystallon brought his anchor down once again. The sound of the clanking metal reverberated through the ship. "Whether you win or lose, she is going to cover this world in gold afterwards." He reached down for the anchor and lifted it over his shoulders once more. As he did, storm clouds started to gather as the sky was concealed by the grey and black clouds. The thunder and lightning returned as the still waters now became choppy with waves lashing against the side of the ship. "We both share one thing in common, you and I. We both want to see the end of this together. So, by all means. Give me a battle. Prove that me and my foremen will be the last one standing when the storm settles." And then, with a final bolt of lightning, he swung his anchor into his combat stance, ready to unleash it against the team.

Crystallon! (Earth Trap)

That's when a tannish-brown alicorn, poked his head through an opening in the wall, and spoke in a Spanish accent. "You there…" he thundered at Drakus "You're ruining production, you are. No Me Gusta, I don't like you."

Drakus' eyes glowed with anger. "You dare say such things at me with your no Jordans having, stinky as hell, egotistical, disgrace to heroism, offensive Mexican, knockoff alicorn ass?!" The prince of Drakonia looked ready to shoot the pony, when suddenly the pony ducked down, and then quickly poked his head through another opening. "Hola, Señor! You are looking for me?" The X-Squad was just baffled.

Drakus started to shoot at the openings in the wall, but every time he caught the pony in his sights, he ducked down and then popped up somewhere else. This was causing Drakus to miss and hit the walls. "Enough of this!" Drakus growled and he fired a humongous emerald fire ball at the wall collapsing it into a pile of debris and revealed to his surprise, there were in fact two identical alicorns.

"Dyno…" said one to the other, "I think we are busted."

"Si, I agree with you, Myte." said the other.

Dyno and Myte! Ninja Class!

"Huh?!" Hera asked.

"I am Dyno Enrico Sebastian La Guava. Code-number: IW8K." One pony said. (AN: I am ashamed about the fact I know Spanish because of these two dimwits, I don't even know why the La Guava bros are peppering in random Spanish when they haven't even heard of Spain)

"I am his twin brother; Myte Roberto Diablo La Guava. Code-Number: JX9L." The other said.

"Are those the La Guava bros?" Flip Wreck said, concerned for his mental health.

"Yep. They are." Crystallon said, equally worried and not happy that he got the worst of the bunch. "Anyways, let us bring this to an end."

BGM: Rocking The Boat (Ice Nine Kills)

Crystallon planted his anchor down against the deck of his ship, then let it sink down through the hulls, with it drifting ethereally through each one. Once his anchor was out of sight, he held the chain and leapt off of the ground. The squad all rushed for him, but he just stayed there as the hatches of the deck started to open, revealing a series of concealed cannons as large as houses, pointed to the sky. The cannons fired off a barrage of missiles with crystalline bombs wrapped around each one. The missiles whined and swirled through the sky as the cannons sunk back into the ship. "Come forth, Skylanders! Fight with that strength and determination you are known for!"

The squad charged on Crystallon, and that was when the missiles acted. No sooner had they started crossing the deck when the missiles started flying back to the Gilded Ocean, each one homing in on the squad. By the time they noticed it, they skidded on the balls of their feet and performed flips over the missiles, with Drakus and Maya planting their hands on them as they vaulted over. As soon as they landed on their feet, Crystallon yanked his anchor back up through the decks of the ship and swung it as fast as a whip. The anchor smashed the squad on the cheek and threw them against the edge of the ship. The second that their bodies hit the side, the missiles struck them in the chest as they screamed in pain. Crystallon wasted no time in depositing his anchor back into the depths of his ship as he smirked.

"You disappoint me, Skylanders," he said, as the water started to lash against the ship more violently. Then, the waves became large enough that they broke against the sides of the Gilded Ocean. "But, then again, it is to be expected with entities your age." He clicked his fingers, and kicked them off the ship.

As the squad tried to reorient themselves and recover, they looked down and saw all they saw was water, the factory was an actual ship. Every square inch was water, to the point where nothing could have possibly lived except if it could breathe underwater. They puffed up their cheeks and tried to swim back to the surface, only to see a series of brown and gray barrel-shaped objects drifting down. The barrels pulsated with light. Then, the pulses got faster and faster. Finally, they exploded, launching the team against the ground. They couldn't say a word underneath the water, but they all knew what they were straight away. Depth charges.

Their breath starting to thin out, the squad could only just attempt to swim back to the water's surface. Even Drakus, Gecko, Perona and Absalom, who all had an inability to swim, were giving themselves a crash course on it as he swam like a bat crawling out of hell. The squad went directly upward, noticing more of the Gilded Ocean's depth charges being dropped into the water. They just swerved and swayed to the side to avoid the next series of submersed explosions. They were halfway to the surface when they saw a series of underside-mounted cannons pointed at them. Instead of firing missiles, however, these ones sucked in brown light before offloading it as laser beams of pure light that cut through the sea. The squad jumped and zipped to the side out of the way of the rays of light.

"Nngh…" Taisho grunted as she made her hands into fists again. Then, she tried to blast-jump her way out of the water. While each exploding punch and kick gave her more momentum, it wasn't nearly as much as she would have gotten on land. Regardless, she pressed on through the falling bombs and searing rays of brown light before bursting out of the water like a dolphin. The second she took in the air and stared at Crystallon on the ship, that was when the ship's broadside cannons pointed at her and fired their cannonballs against her gut. Taisho took the cannon fire instantly and was sent flying off into the distance. When the rest of the squad emerged from the ocean's depths, they were caught up in a wave that smashed them face-first against the ship's broadside cannons. To add insult to injury, the cannons fired straight away, launching the rest of the gang the same way as Taisho.

All of the X-Squad ended up further away from the Gilded Ocean than when they had woken up. And now, they could barely even see it over the rolling waves, cracking lightning, and the barrage of missiles that were plaguing the air. Crystallon was sitting on, for lack of a better term, the most impenetrable flagship the world had ever seen. And even if they could swim all the way back to him, there was no way that they could have bypassed his defences and then battled him at the same time.

"Everyone!" Taisho shouted over the rolling waves and lashing storm. "Are you alright?"

"We could be better!" Sabrina was trying her best to swim against the cataclysmic tides. "But this scolopendra cataracta is behind the ocean's might itself and an impenetrable aircraft carrier!"

"Well, this is a tough one if he's throwing all the stops at us!" Even exclaimed. "Did no one expect it to be this bad?!?!"

Before the others could say anything, they could see yellow targeting markers appear around them. They didn't see it, but the Gilded Ocean had a massive cannon with one barrel pointed in their direction. It fired a humongous golden ball into the air that whistled. When the squad could see it, they all started to swim as fast as they could toward the ship. They had just left the target marker's area when the ball slammed down onto it, causing the water to explode outward, washing the squad away effortlessly. They were thrown against the raging waters as the next wave of homing missiles charged in on them. Between the currents whipping them around and the missiles heading for their bodies, there was no feasible way that the girls could have escaped. So, they just braced themselves for impact as the missiles all collided against their stomachs and exploded with force.

"Is this all you can muster, Skylanders?" Crystallon's voice was carried by nearby rock-like drones as the squad could see the Gilded Ocean approaching them. "What a shame. I expected more from you. It would seem that, in the end, I will survive to the climax…" Once the Gilded Ocean was close enough, the front of the ship opened up to reveal a series of spinning saw blades, each revved up to a speed where it looked like they were spinning backwards. A large vacuum could be seen in the middle of the saw-blades, which also started to whirl to life and begin sucking in the squad. "Truly, I am the superior fighter."

The Gilded Ocean's vacuum sucked up more than just the squad. It ended up absorbing the ocean itself, to the point where it was starting to create a current that was too strong for any of them to swim away. They were rapidly pulled out of the water and straight to the saws as the vacuum retracted. A quick-thinking Spyro, High Five and Cynder spread their wings and started flapping away from the saws, the teeth mere inches away from them and their friends. Some were holding onto the dragons for dear life as others latched their weapons against the edge of the opened front. Taisho, on the other hand, kicked with both of her feet as a small burst shot out of both soles. The spinning saws charged forward and the squad scurried out of the front of the ship, clambering onto the side of the Gilded Ocean once again.

They tried to climb the ship, but with how hard it was rocking on the surging waters and how frequently the waves were slamming against it, the X-Squad found it difficult to make any moves. They were able to find a move at last and jumped across the cannons. When they did, they could see the deck that Crystallon was standing on, anchor in hand. They had no time to form a plan as they could see Dyno and Myte aiming giant cannons from behind them. The squad jumped up onto the deck again, weapons armed.

"As expected. You do not sink easily." Crystallon folded his arms. "But you have no hope. This ship was made to survive the most furious of punishment from all forms. Natural, physical, and even metaphysical. It will not sink so easily."

"Yeah, but you're just the same old bug you've always been. You don't have a super-sheep monster form or grow big from downing soda, or even have any giant chicken or grills or, heck, you don't even have wind powers." Zinner dashed on Crystallon and tried to bring her claws down against his mech suit, to which he just twirled his anchor and let it clash with her claws. "You're just the same old bug that you've always been and just in a mech suit. And that makes it easier on us."

"Oh, does it now?" Crystallon shoved Zinner away, then swung his anchor at inhuman speed, striking her across the face with it twice. Once Zinner was knocked back to the rest of her team, Crystallon launched his anchor from its handle, coiling it around the squad. He then smashed the entire team against the ground and yanked them in close. As they were stumbling, he brought the anchor over his head and shoved it straight through their backs. "Tell me. Did Soda Sucker get played? Did a sniper get the drop on Mignon? Did a T-Rex decide to bite at Sheep Mage? Did you or did you not break Aeron's beds?" He asked as he kicked the team away. "I am nothing like my companions. I have learned from their failures and will not repeat them. If you want to defeat me, you will have to EARN IT, Skylanders!"

"He's…pretty strong." Mystle grunted as she pushed herself back to her feet. Wasting no time, Giselle started to heal herself and her friends with her power. "Well, he is surprisingly smart. He ain't gonna—" Bambietta didn't even get to finish talking as Crystallon launched his anchor once again. It stopped mere inches away from Giselle's face before the hatches on the bottom of it started to open up and fire a gold burst at point-blank range against the Sternritter's face. She yelped in pain and tumbled over the side.

"Giselle!" The squad watched as she fell off, failing to notice that the Earth Night Hooligan stomped his foot against the ground. In doing so, a shockwave that was as tall and as large as Crystallon's mech suit raced out to the squad and washed them all over the side once more.

"You are not paying attention, Skylanders! Your lack of prudence when fighting me will be your undoing!" Crystallon barked as he watched the X-Squad re-emerge from the water yet again. "That recklessness of yours. That idleness. The inability to prioritise your safety over others. It sickens me, quite frankly." Then, Dyno and Myte pointed the cannons at the squad. "FIRE AT WILL!" He shouted, but instead of firing out cannonballs, the cannons instead shot crystals that not only pushed the Gilded Ocean away from the squad but also sent them spiralling across the water's surface. Once again, the distance between them had become immense.

The Gilded Ocean then switched to its mortars once again, painting the sea with its markers. The X-Squad knew that swimming straight through the storm would have ended in disaster, so they decided to swim underwater instead. There, they could see the water rolling above them. It was almost hypnotic to watch from underneath the waves. They had no time to rest, though, as the mortar hit its mark and made another detonation. This time, however, the team sunk deeper into the water instead of riding along its surface. In that brief instance, they could see just how far down the bottom was, the sun couldn't reach it.

That was when the depth charges started to drop again. The underwater lasers started to rain down on the X-Squad once more. They weren't safe here. They weren't safe anywhere. But it was better to be above the water than deep beneath its pull. Once the X-Squad was back above the water, they could see the Gilded Ocean pointing its broadside battery toward them. The cannons were launched once more, straight against their bodies.

"This is never gonna end!" Candice grunted as she slapped the water and dove underneath it to evade the cannonballs. She swam back out and Lune said, "So, what do we do?"

"That ship's gotta have a weakness. Surely…" Drakus squinted as the squad kept on swimming back to the Gilded Ocean. "So far, it seems OP, the weaponry has hacks, and Bug Boy seems to be able to cheat."

"Maybe instead of talking about the stuff we know, how's about the stuff we don't?" Ridley drove his claws through one of the missiles, which exploded on contact, shoving her back through the ocean. A rolling wave swept her and the rest of the team up. "Like any way that we can hurt him or weaken him?"

"He said that we're not playing this carefully," Maya commented as she landed against the side of the ship once again. Instead of climbing it, she gestured for Ridley to flap his wings. "He thinks that we're being too reckless. Well, if he wants to play it safe, then we'll just have to dance to his tune. Better than just getting smacked around like clothes in a washing machine."

"Kid, we'll go high. We've gotta keep Crystallon's attention divided." Ridley nodded. "You and the Portal Masters stick together and strike when you've got an opening. Everyone else, stay close to the bug and keep attacking him."

"Roger." The X-Squad nodded and hoisted themselves back onto the deck as Ridley and Maya floated out of reach.

"Well. You look much more organised now." Crystallon folded his arms. "Have you finally devised a plan? Then let us see how theory is put into practice." He clicked his fingers, causing the missile launcher to return and fire off another wave of missiles that danced in the air, waiting to rain down on the squad again. "But really, why do you keep on fighting? Even if you defeat me, the Midas Project will ensure the end of Skylands. Would you rather suffer the full wrath, or be severed early by my mercy?"

"Mercy this!" Zap rushed forward and swung his trident against Crystallon's anchor. Both weapons were equally matched as they pushed against each other. Neo shook her head in Roman's direction, giving him the command to charge in. As Roman sped for the Crystallon, Kanade pushed harder to try and overpower the centipede's mecha. Crystallon just stood his ground and stomped his foot against the ground. Shockingly enough, a pillar of water sprung up by his feet and lifted him into the air. The pillar of water caused both the trio to bonk their heads against each other as they crashed into each other.

As soon as the centipede was airborne, he was kicked in the chest by Ridley, with Maya bringing both of her blades down against his backside. Crystallon swung his anchor around in a circular motion, creating a bubble around him that burst straight away, splashing both Maya and Ridley with water. The missiles hit them in the back in accompaniment, allowing Crystallon to flap his wings, pull both girls beneath his feet and kick them down into the deck, rubbing his heel across their backs.

"You have a strategy, I see. But you forget that it is a concept. And I command that very concept." Crystallon saw the Portal Masters lobbing magic and bullets at him. He just sidestepped and dodged each one gracefully before tossing his anchor out at them, making their eyes widen as they jumped out of the way at the last second. "Look at how you run, X-Squad. The way that you jump and flail about carelessly. It hardly shows any sign of prudence. Are you really the same ones that captured my fellow Night Hooligans?!"

"Yes, we are." Roman slammed Crystallon straight in the face with his cane, causing his next anchor lash to miss its target and instead whip back and swat him in the stomach. "And you are not going to go free, Bug Boy." He slammed his cane down against his anchor, prompting the angel to spread his wings and fly out of the power struggle, before darting forward with his anchor hanging low. The end of the anchor whacked Roman straight in the jaw.

"There ain't no way that you're taking our worlds! Not now, not ever!" Taisho blast-jumped to Crystallon's height and ducked underneath one of his anchor swings, before grabbing hold of the anchor, backflipping for his helmet and kicking him straight to the deck of his ship. The second he landed, Mera brought her spear down against the mech's chestplate. The axe hardly dented Crystallon's body as he puffed out his chest. He barely got two inches off of the ground before Maya and Ridley dive-bombed him like vultures and held him down.

"We're taking you down, then Venomquake, then Edvard, then Malice, then Kraven, and then we can finally put this mess behind us!" Mystle pulled back her fist and the dream demon punched the mech in the stomach to make his head droop, then Ladd performed a vicious uppercut against the mech's sunken head, not only snapping the neck back but also dislodging the helmet to reveal the hardened human head of the captain inside.

"Heh. So you believe." Crystallon just cast a wicked smirk as he stared at the X-Squad. "But, let me tell you this, do you really know what you'll soon face."

"What are you talking about?" Ridley lifted a brow.

"You'll face Dark Lords, hellspawn, numerous nightmares." He stood up slowly, as the squad tried to keep him pinned. "We are not independent. We are not free. We are forever chained to our titles and our history." He pointed a finger at the other members of the X-Squad that weren't holding him down. "As are you, Skylanders."

"Oh, shut up. You're not gonna pull this on us. You're willing to enslave everyone." Deja Vu put her hands on her hips. "We're the ones trying to make sure that people don't die out there."

"Still you fail to understand. Typical." Crystallon shook his head. "Everyone is a martyr for a higher power. As the human race are martyred in our attacks, me and my...former...fellow Cardinal Virtues were martyred for the Paragon. The Paragon himself was to be martyred in the Father's name should you attempt to fight him." He finally shook the X-Squad off of his shoulders and the fight resumed. He quickly took his anchor and drove it into the ground, making a ring of water around himself that he swept away with his feet. A water plume burst out from his position and the ripple that it made pushed everyone else to the walls, as his body shifted into a new form, a new figure in armour. This one was wearing silver and had a sea blue glow, and there was an octopus motif on his chest, with a large metal tentacle running down both arms and both legs, with more tentacles dangling down the other side. "Even if you capture Malice—highly improbable, by the way—you cannot kill the very concept of crime itself. The reason why we say our concepts are absolute is because, no matter how physical and personified they might be, they have transcended mere physicality. People can steal. They can kill. Even without me, Furesto, the former Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, to guide their hand, they can choose to use their prudence for sin. Hence, we are martyrs. Born and doomed to die eventually. Either from years of service or by aggressors such as yourselves." When they got back to their feet, the X-Squad resumed their positions around Furesto as they noticed the light around his body had magnified.

Furesto! (Earth Trap)

"Watch yourselves. I think he's gotten even stronger now…" Sabrina had to squat slightly to maintain her balance. The ship's rocking had become more intense now and it was difficult for her to stabilise herself.

It didn't take long for Furesto to unveil his new power. As soon as Dabi and Spinner attempted to take him out at close range again, he just slammed his anchor down against his feet. The anchor itself just missed the two, but the waterfall that manifested itself into existence and drowned them did not. The two former villains, waterlogged and heavy from the sudden soaking, were quickly swept away by Furesto's anchor and thrown against the doors leading down into the ship. The X-Squad tried to attack next, but he just swung his axe in a crescent, creating a wave of water that attacked them from behind and made them lose their focus. He wrapped the chain of his anchor tight around their necks, then swung them over his body, with the anchor aimed at a door, only to slam them into the deck. When the squad got back up, they felt their vision start to blur and their balance dwindled.

"Forget the idea of victory. You are undeserving of it." Furesto shook his head. Then, he swung his anchor up and coiled it around the mast and catapulted himself high out of the Precures' reach. He then swept his hand across the deck, bending the waves to once again throw the Precure overboard. But instead of letting them drift back out to sea, he raised his other hand to manipulate the sea so that it spat the girls back onto the deck. Once they were sprawled on their stomachs, he jumped from the mast and aimed his anchor down at them, with his body becoming awash with white, blue, and golden light as he smashed his anchor down against the deck. A colossal explosion of light erupted from his body that bounced the Precure up into the air. They ended up on the deck above him. "How has your lack of prudence gotten you this far, Skylanders?! How can you be called worthy opponents of the Night Hooligans?!"

"Because we don't give up. Not now. Not when we're so close to the end." Taisho flipped herself back onto her feet and jumped over Furesto's anchor as it flew to her. She grabbed hold of the chain right as Furesto retracted his anchor and rode it all the way back to him, before kicking the angel straight in the face. As soon as the back of his head hit the ground, the X-Squad joined Taisho back on the lower deck. "We want this to end just as much as everyone else does, but we're not gonna be going out as the villains. We'll keep our heads held high and fight for victory, no matter how hard we have to fight for it."

"Then you shall fight forever." Furesto beat his wings against the team's face and flew to the edge of the ship, before flying high into the air to the top of the mast. "If you think that you're sinking the Gilded Ocean after all of your transgressions, you are horrifically mistaken!"

The X-Squad was about to chase after Furesto when they heard an inhuman roar louder than anything else that day. Louder than the lightning and waves, louder than Furesto, and much louder than themselves. Then, they could see a tentacle the size of the ship's mast bursting out of the ocean. The massive red appendage slammed down on the ship, before many more joined it. A colossal red squid emerged from the ocean, before bellowing at the squad.

"The ocean is far much more than me! Now you too shall know how infinite and unforgiving it truly is!" Furesto hollered as the squid threw itself onto the deck. Every single corner of the floating arena that the X-Squad were standing on was overwhelmed by the beast's colossal size and they were once again toppled from the ship's hull. This time, however, they grabbed onto the broadside cannons and hauled themselves onto the side. Before they could catch their breath, sharks rode on the waves directly to the Gilded Ocean. The X-Squad rapidly jumped back up to the ship once again right as the sharks collided head-first with the side of it.

"This is chaos!" Taisho wailed as the Portal Masters took to the skies again. From their altitude, they could see how little breathing room the squad had to fight Furesto. "He's completely shutting us out! The sea creatures and his ship's weapons, not to mention his own magic!" It was then that Stiffany noticed another series of tracking missiles being launched, prompting her and Ridley to start circling the ship in an attempt to make the missiles break their tracking.

"He is the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, after all. He's making sure that he's absolutely safe by using everything against us…" Sabrina just kicked one missile into another before a wayward bolt of lightning zapped Taisho from above, making her scream as she plunged down to the ship.

"Shit!" Megumin yelled, then was blasted by a similar bolt of lightning.

"Sky, sea, surface. You fail to adapt," Furesto commented as he watched the X-Squad trying to push the massive squid off of the ship as it swung its tentacles at them. The second they pushed it off, the sharks jumped on deck and swam across it, forcing the squad to backflip over them. "You are so fixated on your own pursuits that you fail to see the world around you, and now it is swallowing you whole!"

"Would you just can it already and let us end you?!" Yang was running to Furesto, who stood on the upper deck of his ship. Once she was within range, she and the Cardinal Virtue found themselves in another close-quarters scuffle, with Yang only able to dodge and weave around him as he swung his anchor. Any openings she had were even less now that his water magic was being used in tandem with his axe. With every swing, a wave or bullet of water. With each stomp, an aquatic burst. With each motion of his anchor, Yang could only backpedal and keep her distance, unsure as to what he would do with it next.

"He's so fast…" Mystle wondered as she tried to get close to Furesto as Yang was holding his attention. But even with her trying to blindside the angel, he still was barely touched by her advance. Once he noticed, he swiftly turned on the balls of his feet and clamped his hand around Mystle's neck. The dream demon grabbed his hand and let out a choked scream as she stabbed his arm, as it forced him to let go of her.

"Yeah, but he's relying on the world around him…" Taisho blast-jumped her way onto the deck Furesto was standing on. The second she jumped for him, he just flicked his hand to the right, prompting the squid from before to charge up from the ocean across the deck. Furesto jumped up and spread his wings as he watched Taisho's eyes widen and saw the girl spin in the direction of the squid. All she could do at that moment was punch the creature as hard as she could, launching it back into the ocean as a flame cloud followed it. "Sorry, little squid…"

"You call that little?" Gydeon cocked a brow as he hopped onto the upper deck as well. He ran for Furesto as the fallen angel stood at the very back edge of his ship. Gydeon tried to jump for him, but the moment he did, the fallen angel pulled the air in front of his hands apart as the ship suddenly nose-dived forward, jerking the X-Squad forward.

The squad grabbed hold of the mast and held on for dear life as the ship moved frenetically. Once they turned to the bow, they could see what Furesto had done. The Gilded Ocean was now riding the bowl of a maelstrom; a whirlpool which dwarfed the ship by comparison. The ever-spinning spiral of water, where the creatures of the sea kept swimming despite the vortex's pull. They looked back at Furesto briefly and saw the flames in his eyes as the lightning blotted his image out briefly.

"Drown," he said simply. "DROWN IN THE CLEANSING TIDES OF PRUDENCE! AND MAY MY GOSPEL AND RULES BE FOREVER BURNED INTO YOUR MINDS!"

The squad hauled themselves onto the mast of the ship and held on for dear life as the ship skirted around the vortex. Furesto stood his ground on the ship, clutching onto the steering wheel as magic linked itself between him and the wheel. He threw his anchor against the ground where it once more phased into the ship and became one with it. As he drove the ship, he watched the squad gripping the ship as tight as they could. He steered the ship down to the bottom of the vortex where the water started to part, revealing the top of the skyscrapers of a town.

"Is he trying to give us solid land? Not exactly the best play, it's gotta be said," Taisho commented.

"Somehow, I don't think he's giving us leeway." Mystle mused as she heard the roar of the squid. The beast emerged from the maelstrom, prompting Mystle to grab the wheel, kick Furesto off the wheel, and slam the ship against the creature's maw. This attack sent Furesto flying off the ship. The squid crashed down behind Furesto and flopped down to the bottom of the submerged city.

"Ugh, what a dolt…" Weiss just shook her head as she clung to the mast. The Gilded Ocean drove back up the walls of the watery swirl, further separating Furesto from the ship as he desperately tried to swim after his now hijacked ship.

"Yeesh." Mystle chuckled. "Man's got the tenacity of a wolf, but the swimming skills of someone that didn't swim a day in their life."

"Do not taunt me, Skylanders. You are not made for combat like this. But we are forged from it." Furesto lowered his brows. "I take no pleasure in killing, but I will do what I must to ensure that the Father's word is enacted to law. In this world, and all worlds…" He took the anchor into his hands, dragged himself out of the sea, and pointed the anchor at the heads of the X-Squad. As if to further sell the allusion that he'll end them, the lightning once more crashed down behind his body, blotting him out briefly.

"Why, X-Squad? What cause could you possibly be martyring yourself for?" Furesto asked as the squad regrouped once again. "The Midas Project will be the end of all Skylands. I am marytring myself for a cause that will bear fruit. But if you persist, then…I shall not hold back any longer."

"How has all of this been holding back?!" Gydeon asked as he banged his fists against the mast.

"Be careful what words escape your lips, thug. You will regret it." Furesto huffed as he soared into the air, hanging above the ocean. "It has been an extremely long time since I have had to do this. And I must apologise to my crew. But if you so eagerly await annihilation, then I have no choice but to grant it…" He threw himself down into the water's depths.

"Did…" Taisho's eyes widened at what Furesto had done. "Did he just throw himself into the water?" She walked over to the bow of the ship, peering over the edge. "I don't like this…"

The ocean, which had already been churning and bubbling intensely because of Furesto's power, was now starting to trail forward. The waves slowed, and the X-Squad could feel the Gilded Ocean being pulled across the sea. Just then, they could see the central hatch of the ship opening up, as legions of angels raced into the clouds above, disappearing into the skies.

"Is that the crew?" Mera asked as she caught a glimpse of the fleeing angels, leaving trails of light in their wake. "What is he planning to do with this ship?!"

Just then, the girls could hear creaking noises. They could hear wood splintering and feel the ship becoming less sturdy under their feet. At that moment, the Gilded Ocean shined with golden light as the ship started to deconstruct itself as Dyno and Myte fell through the Black Gates, and into the jaws of zombie sharks, inadvertently being erased from existence. Square and rectangle pieces shifted and moved as the ship broke itself down through the middle. The squad's eyes widened as they tried to climb the mast to keep themselves out of water, but it swiftly started to deconstruct itself as well. Rather than fall back onto the ship, the ship's many pieces broke down and flew to a huge boil of water that was starting to burst out of the sea.

"X-Squad." Furesto's voice grew ever louder as the boil started to warp into the shape of a humanoid. A giant made out of water, which started to wear the pieces of the Gilded Ocean as armour. The broadside cannons became mounted to the arms, the underwater lasers bound to the hands, the missile launcher could be seen attached to his back, and the massive mortar connected to the chest of the watery titan. "This is the first time IN EONS since this form has been used to quell my prey. You should consider yourselves honoured." A helmet for the creature was formed out of the mast and front of what the Gilded Ocean had once been. The rest of the ship's pieces slotted themselves around the arms, sides, and shoulders of the titanic watery entity. Finally, when the titan was completed, that was when the Precure could see Furesto at the heart of the monstrous water golem. The Kanji above his head started to shift and align itself behind Furesto until more characters in bright blue filled the air. They now read 'Prudence: The Subjugation Of All Danger'. "I hope you are grateful. You have awakened a side of me that I would have rather kept BURIED. Now, there is no turning back!"

"Aaaaaaand, there it is." Yuina deadpanned as she watched the water giant looming over their bodies.

[Man pulling a Poseidon from God Of War III]

[Damn boy, he big!]

"Okay, gotta admit though, Furesto is kinda hot." Drakus said. "Or in this case, making me wet with anticipation."

"Drak, we're literally drowning now!" Taisho yelled. "Save the jokes for later!"

[For all we know, Drakus could be another Courage the Cowardly Dog, only with a better father figure, and a lot more willing to put on a smug facade]

[dude, standing up to our fears is what makes us brave in the first place, I'm pretty sure Drakus' first name in Drakonian translates to courage!]

"It does actually." Drakus said, chuckling. "Dad did say he met a dog named Courage in his youth, the most scared beagle he ever saw, yet one of the most determined puppies he ever saw."

To say that the attack was calamitous was an understatement. It was an all-out, no-holds-barred, total decimation. Everywhere that the X-Squad looked, there was carnage. There was no safe haven for them to retreat to, both above and below water. They could only just brace as the angel's besieging battery collided with them. The water, clouds, and all the sensations of pain caused a total blackout of the senses to the Precure as they drifted helplessly along the rushing rapids.

Furesto and his new form sank into the watery depths as the dome remained. As soon as the Precure made their way to the top of the dome, they fell all the way down to the bottom of the arena. The moment that they hit the surface, Furesto, swift as a torpedo, burst out of the water, wrapped his chain around the team, and started to pull them all down beneath the waves again. Under the water, the disembodied pieces of the Gilded Ocean's weapons, pointed at different angles, altitudes, and positions, all shot on the Precure, creating a colossal golden, blue, and white explosion that dispelled the watery dome and launched the whole team into the stratosphere, beyond the storm clouds.

"Hey, do you think Furesto's mad?" Mera asked as the group plummeted through the air.

"He's so powerful…" Taisho put her hand to her chin as she and the rest of her team plunged. "So much power, so much coverage. But…"

"Hmm?" Bonehead noticed Taisho musing as she plunged. "What is on your mind, Jaakuna?"

"I have a plan. And it involves us getting to Furesto." Taisho could see the cloud cover approaching her. "Come closer." She beckoned the rest of the squad in. Once they linked arms with her, they burst through the clouds.

"If there is anyone to blame, it is yourselves, Skylanders…" The Cardinal Virtue of Prudence boomed as he clapped the hands of his watery golem together. A gigantic splash of water coated the arena, bending the walls and dome instantly. Now, it became a massive tunnel of spiralling water, where he waited at the other side of it. The centrifugal force of the water in the tunnel could be felt with the speed that it was at. One might have compared it to the world's longest and largest washing machine. "You were the ones who wished to fight against us in the first place. Now, you are beholding the consequences OF YOUR ACTIONS."

The squad was crawling their way up the vortex. Furesto, undeterred by the squad's terrifying level of survivability, pointed his ship's weapons at the girls as he manipulated his watery form into acting. The next barrage was unleashed, and the team flew through the watery tunnel towards him.

"Let's give Furesto something he can't suck up, maybe a giant metal box." Chelsea said

"Hold on, we don't have something like that." Akamei said.

Tatsumi then had an idea. "Wait, didn't we recently capture a box earlier?"

"Oh yeah. Hungagge, We need you!" Mine said.

Summoning...Earth!

Crack Down

Shake It

Kaboom! Whack it all!

Ding Dong Earth!

"Lemme at him! Toss me right into that funnel, and I'll clog him right up." Hungagge said.

"Alright." Ridley said picking him up. "Go.. get him!"

Hungagge opened his mouth and flew up the spiral, while also eating the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence's onslaught, consuming a lot of the beams, and once they were past the worst of it, Hungagge entered the space where Furesto was waiting in his water titan.

"What are you up to now…?" Furesto lifted a brow as he saw the briefcase advancing on his body. He made his titan clutch its hands together and reach as high as it could, before slamming both arms down at Hungagge. Unfortunately for him, his attack missed and the briefcase, having taken a deep breath, were inside of his form. Quick as a whip, Furesto reconfigured the parts of the Gilded Ocean and turned the barrels of the weapons around so that they all pointed inward at the squad. Once again, the weapons offloaded straight on the squad that was following Hungagge, yet, Furesto could see the feral and somewhat bored state in their eyes. Furesto's composure started to break. It was these same creatures, these animals, that had captured his companions. And after all this, they were still going. He could feel fear starting to build in his mind. He could feel their indomitable spirit and their will to keep going. He had thrown everything that he could at them and they were still willing to put him in the ground.

"Why? Why are you looking at me like that?!" Furesto finally spoke through an almost choked voice as Hungagge nommed on his arm, the fallen angel desperately trying to shake it off. "WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!" He instinctively caused the Gilded Ocean's weapons to fire. Once they did, the X-Squad stole some weapons and fired back at him, Furesto got blasted with his own ship's weapons, as a titanic explosion spread out across the water, shooting the squad off to the surface.

"STOP IT!" He screeched as he kept firing the weapons of his ship frenetically at the X-Squad. "JUST STOP IT! I WON'T LET YOU LIVE ANY LONGER! I DON'T WANNA DIE LIKE THE REST OF MY CARDINAL VIRTUES!" He grunted and yelped as he kept on tearing through the battlefield. As he did, the X-Squad felt a noticeable difference. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?! YOUR FATE IS SEALED EITHER WAY!"

"Hey, uh, is it just me, or are the ship's weapons hurting less?" Mera commented.

"Yeah, I feel it too. It's hitting, but it doesn't have the same kind of punch to it." Mystle was smashed in the face by a wayward cannonball, but her body didn't move an inch. "You think Furesto's power and his Cardinal Virtue is tied to how safe he thinks he is?"

"And he feels rumbled because we've not only lasted this long, but because we've also stolen his weapons and used them against him. He's relied on killing us fast and efficiently and he hasn't prepared for a long fight." Sabrina gave a nod as she watched Furesto's ship firing a mortar at her and her friends. It collided and swept them all away in another decimating blast, but none of them could feel anything other than the water lashing against their bodies. "Now, to finish this before he recovers."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ladd grinned as he turned back to Furesto. "Time's up, water boy! Take it away, everyone!"

"No… NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Furesto's light expanded ferociously as he stared at the squad. He knew exactly what was coming next. "I WON'T LET YOU! IF YOU BELIEVE YOUR INSIDIOUS VIOLENCE WILL BRING ABOUT AN END TO THIS, THEN YOU ARE UNFIT TO PREVENT MIDAS!" Furesto howled as he pointed the weapons of his ship at the X-Squad in a last-ditch effort to repel them. Taisho just danced around his ammunition effortlessly, jumped into his watery form and punched him out of it. His body bounced on the ground a couple of times before she delivered an uppercut that was accompanied by dozens of black and dark purple orbs smashing into him in sequence. "I SHALL NOT BE DETERRED BY YOU!" He flipped his body in mid-air, throwing his hands across his shoulders. The Gilded Ocean's many weapons reloaded, then fired on Taisho, who performed acrobatics to swerve out of the way.

Bonehead was the next one to engage the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence. He slid his chainsaw sword against the ground and swept it straight up, swatting Furesto into the ground before the pieces shattered. Sabrina stomped on his back repeatedly, making a large dent in the earth before one final stomp ruptured Furesto's armour and the ground he was standing on. The moment his body hit the ground, a bubble formed and burst in split seconds as he got back to his feet. The mortar of the Gilded Ocean aimed at the squad and fired another shot. Bubbles' mech collided with it as a tectonic explosion shook the pocket dimension.

"IF YOU THINK MALICE WILL ROLL OVER TO YOU DREGS, THEN YOU WILL BE SORRY…" Furesto realigned the watery titan that held him as Stiffany rushed in. Her gauntlets were already swinging, launching slivers of blue energy that were as pale as the evening moon. The projectiles landed against the Gilded Ocean's hull, which kept on spinning and dancing around his body in an attempt to safeguard Furesto from the attacks, but Stiffany just smirked and grabbed hold of the pieces, climbing through them as she rammed her fist through Furesto's flesh, making him grunt as she dragged him out of the titan once more and slid his face across the ground.

Konata bent the wind to remove what remained of Furesto's water titan, then rushed like a bullet across the surface of the battlefield like a hungry falcon. Quick as a flash, she grabbed Furesto, spun his body around frenetically, and threw him skyward. Before he could react, Megumin slapped him down with force. Ace punched him straight in the gut as his body fell. Furesto's gut was bruised, he put his hand to it, and let out a scream not of war, but that of terror. "I AM NOT SAFE! MY CARDINAL VIRTUE! IT… IT IS… SPOILED!"

Gecko punched Furesto with a shadow covered left hook, right hook, stomach jab, and uppercut, before Roxie grabbed his head and flipped it over her body. Tanya then took his legs and threw him straight forward where the squad performed a devastating flurry of attacks that broke and twisted his arms and legs, while further rupturing the bones in his body.

"YOU… VILE. INSIDIOUS. ABHORRENT. MALIGNANT. INSIGNIFICANT SPECKS!" Furesto threw his head to the heavens as water and white light pulsated out of him. "I! SHALL! NOT! KEEL! OVER! LIKE! THIS!" Furesto struggled to get himself back onto his feet. His form had been pummeled beyond recognition. Gone was the confident, undaunted, ruthless commander of water and prudence. Now, there was only an angel. Made to feel small, weak, unsafe. And as his eyes remained fixated on the X-Squad, he knew there was only one thing he could do as he saw them assemble a bazooka with a dragon skull.

"Drake Jawslammer! Hyper Strike!" The dragon skull was shot out of the bazooka and flew at Furesto, becoming an all-devouring ray of silver energy that was flying at Furesto.

"NOT YET!" Furesto, summoning what little stamina he had left, manifested the kanji for his Cardinal Virtue one final time. A blue spell circle formed around his feet and, as he levitated once more and became shrouded in water, the Gilded Ocean's weapons coalesced their battery into one titanic ray of blue, white, and gold that crashed against the blast.

The X-Squad let out a battle cry. Furesto made a similar one. The power struggle between light and dark was hypnotic to watch, awe-inspiring as it caused the landscape to rumble and shake, and equally as harrowing in all aspects. The X-Squad had the upper hand, then Furesto, then the X-Squad, then Furesto. Back and forth it went until at last, with one final scream from the squad, the light started to shatter. And when it did, Furesto could only gasp as his eyes widened, as he was sent flying towards a wall in the factory, making him feel dizzy as a barrier enveloped him.

END BGM

Furesto defeated!

The vortex tore what remained of his factory to shreds as it was sucked in. His breathing became laborious as he could barely see the X-Squad anymore as the concussion made his vision blur. And then, the vortex lifted Furesto up, its intent clear.

"Wait! No! This cannot be! Not again! FAAAAAAAAAAAATHEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" That was his final words as the vortex sucked him in, kicking and screaming, as a brown trap fell into Stiffany's hand. "Oof! You can't keep me here! I am not an animal! We'll see who has the last laugh soon, Portal Masters!"

Furesto trapped!

"I can only guess, that like the sea, I can change, just like the tides." Furesto said, accepting his new fate.

---

The sun shone down on Crimson Shores; a beach abundant with trees, red sand, and rippling waves. People were out on said beach, enjoying the sunshine. Dressed in swimsuits and swimming trunks, in and out of the water. Playing on the sand, swimming in the sea, bathing beneath the sunlight, or resting on loungers planted beneath parasols. All around the beach, there was a positive vibe among everyone. Especially among a certain band of misfits.

"BEACH DAY, BEACH DAY, BEACH DAY!" Drakus shouted to the skies and rushed through the sandy beach. He ran barefoot through the beach wearing blue and black swim trunks and a purple rash guard with a dragon on it, Julie was in a green two-piece bikini with a blue sarong, Neo was in a pink and white two-piece tankini, Roman was in a white rash guard and orange swim trunks, Chuluun was in a white and lavender bikini, Ora was in brown and dark green swim trunks, Eleanor was in a green and yellow one-piece swimsuit, Indus was in orange swim trunks, Mera was in a retro-inspired bikini that features a high-waisted bottom in indigo with a cream-colored bikini top. The top has a sweetheart neckline and prominent eyelash-patterned trim, adding a playful and flirty touch, skekSil was wearing his usual ensemble but added a blue sunhat, Albert was in red swim trunks and a white rash guard, Victor was in red swim pants, Vincent was in a black rash guard and black swim trunks, Taylor was in a blue and black two-piece bikini with frills on it, Taeko was in a frilly black and white two-piece bikini, Sho was in black swim trunks, Coco was in a blue and pastel pink two-piece skirtkini, Cyclonis was in a purple one piece with the Cyclonian symbol on it, Sapphire Ink was in a blue and black skirtkini with a moon with a paint brush going through it on the back off the top, Konoha was in a black and green two-piece bikini, Furina was in a white and blue striped bikini, Symonne was in a purple and black bikini, Lunarre was in a brown wetsuit, Maltran was in a white monokini, Ruler was in a black and white checkered bikini, Randall was in a purple wetsuit, Suigintou was in a black and violet bikini, Ryuko was in a blue and white bikini, Iggy was in a green wetsuit, Marx was in a red and blue floatie, Shalltear was in a purple and black frilly bikini, Aura was in a red rash guard and swim trunks, Mare was in a blue and white wetsuit, Demiurge was in a orange pinstripe wet suit, Daruizen was in his normal attire with a lifeguard hat on, Grima was in a purple two-piece bikini, Giselle was in a blue and black color block one piece swimsuit, Bambietta was in a red and white tankini, Candice was in a yellow and black bikini, Liltotto was in a yellow tankini, Meninas was in a pink one-piece swimsuit, Caim was in a black and red wetsuit, Stocking was in a blue and black bikini, Hera was in a frilly blue and white bikini, Iona was in a purple and black monokini, Ridley was wearing a blue lifeguard cap, Casey was in black swim trunks, Kanna was wearing a green and pink bikini, Riff was in his normal attire, Pong added a lifeguard hat to his ensemble, Meme was wearing a very revealing color-blocked one-piece swimsuit with sections in light blue, pink, yellow, and violet that hugged her curves perfectly, Tusk was in an elephant-themed wetsuit, Roary was in yellow swim trunks and a yellow rash guard, Sela was in a shark-themed bikini, Amy was in a tiger-themed one-piece, Harry was in a blue wetsuit, Robin was in red swim trunks and a brown rash guard, David was in green swim trunks and a lime green rash guard, Linda was in a strapless black two-piece bikini with a red and yellow harness, Zinnia was in a teal and pink one-piece swimsuit with frills on it, Monty was in purple swim trunks, Bangray was wearing a lifeguard vest, Jasmine was in a two-piece purple swimsuit with the sun on it, Nui was wearing a frilly pink two-piece bikini, Jeeves was wearing a lifeguard shirt and hat, Asami was wearing a black and yellow two-piece bikini with a cross on it, Mimi was wearing a red and black two-piece bikini with frills on it, Sheshe was wearing a blue and black one-piece swimsuit, Namue was wearing blue swim trunks with sharks on them, Lila was wearing an orange and white one-piece swimsuit, Cell was wearing a purple swim jacket, Kermit was wearing a lifeguard shirt and green swim trunks, Bakari was wearing a black wetsuit, Satsuki was in a blue one-piece swimsuit with green swirls, Hajime was in black swim trunks, Keiichiro was in a cow-print wetsuit, Leo was in red swim trunks, Momoko was in a pink one-piece swimsuit, Amanojaku was in a duck floatie, Aria wore a sweet blue bikini with a white sarong around her waist in addition to her hairband, Louise was in a black bikini, Rémy was in his usual outfit, but with a lifeguard cap on, same with Grany, Minami was wearing a yellow and blue color-blocked bikini, Mystle was wearing a playful bikini set with polka dots in both red and black, Lune was wearing a light aqua one-piece swimsuit resembling a sailor uniform, complete with white trim and a yellow tie detail, Free was in white and black swim trunks, Eruka was in a bikini set with a polka dot pattern similar to Eruka's dress, featuring a halter neck top and matching bottoms, Azfk was in a black wetsuit, Amoeba was wearing a cute lifeguard cap, Archibald was in a red wetsuit, Rhona was wearing a two-piece bikini with cascading layers of frilly ruffles along the top and bottoms, Miratrix was in a purple wetsuit, Kamdor was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt, Don Murasame was wearing a purple Hawaiian shirt, Evelyn was wearing a two-piece bikini featuring graphics that change color based on Evelyn's emotions, Sheridan was wearing a black Hawaiian shirt and shorts, Mackenzie was in a purple and white two-piece bikini, Maya was in a pink and white one-piece swimsuit, Tempus was in a white and black bikini, Hibiki wore a frilly pink two-piece: complete with a ruffly miniskirt, Kanade's swimsuit was still identical to her twin's, but because of her vastly larger breasts, it looked much smaller on her short frame. Not that Laura was complaining about the eye candy, as Laura was in a lacey, and scant, black and purple bikini, Zone was in a purple classic bikini, Ruby was donned in a one-piece swimsuit that was black at the top and red toward the bottom, with a fading effect near her midsection that blended the two seamlessly. Also, while they couldn't see it, there was a rose design on her upper back, Blake was in a black one-piece with some white details around the arm and leg holes, and it also had a cutout that exposed her midriff. She wore a purple sarong around her waist and had on her own sunglasses sitting atop her head as well, Weiss was in a blue two-piece swimsuit with a white sarong and her white sunhat, Yang was in a black and yellow bikini that had a triangle cut top, Yuina wore a pink and black two-piece frilly bikini, Kokone wore a blue one-piece swimsuit, Tomie wore a black tankini, Hogback added a lifeguard shirt to his ensemble, Cindry was in a black bikini, Georgia was in a pastel green bikini with dark viridian trims; and emerald green stripes, Burgundy was in a dark purple tankini with white polka for pattern and carmine ribbon; and a skirt at the bikini bottom, Raymond was in a pink speedo, Rebecca was in a black monokini, Kiwi was in her usual attire, Lucy was in a silver bikini, Falco was in a pink rash guard with the words 'Swim Demon' printed in bold letters, David was in yellow swim trunks, Smasher had a lifeguard cap on, Perona was in a red and white polka dot bikini, Absalom was in a black rash guard and black trunks, Seryu was in a green bikini with a double strap bottom and strapless top, Wave was in blue swim trunks, Dr. Stylish was in a yellow wet suit, Bols was in his normal attire, but added a lifeguard shirt to it, Esdeath wore a lovely snow-white bikini that allowed the mark of her Teigu to be seen in full view, Kurome wore black and bloody red bikini with the images of a skull on either breast, Kaguragi was in a very colorful rash guard, Yanma was in a blue futuristic wetsuit, Himeno was in a frilly yellow bikini, Gira was in a pair of red swim trunks and a white rash guard that said 'King Nothing' in dark red, Rita was in (after much convincing from Himeno) a purple and black bikini, Mine was in a pink one-piece swimsuit, Sunny was wearing a white two-piece bikini decorated in little black dots, Lala was in a blue two-piece frilly bikini, Even was in a Hawaiian shirt and black pants with goofy sunglasses on, Chris was in a black wet suit, Michael was in purple wim trunks and a black rash guard, Elizabeth was in a pink one-piece swimsuit, Graham was in a blue wetsuit, Ladd was in a white rash guard and swim trunks, the Tracer was in a red wetsuit, Chane was in a black bikini, Akira was wearing a two-piece swimsuit colored red and black with tyrannosaurus heads patterned on it, Mozu was wearing a one-piece swimsuit colored pink and black with raptor heads patterned on it, Tetsu was wearing a green and black thong with ankylosaurus heads printed on it, exposing every one of his many muscles, Sorra was wearing black and yellow swim trunks with pterodactyl heads printed on them, Kenji was wearing a blue and black speedo with Triceratops heads printed on it, and Malcho was wearing a lifeguard vest, Leslie was in a black and blue lightning bolt-themed bikini, Jax wore a striped full-body vintage-looking swimsuit. Pomni wore a two-piece that was red on one half and blue on the other, her usual jester hat replaced with a visor, and her short hair was up in a small ponytail. Zooble wore an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, Gangle wore a sunhat, Kinger sported a tropical-themed robe and Ragatha wore a modest purple one-piece swimsuit, Hosshiwa was in a white bikini, Namakelder was in a green wetsuit, Oresky was in yellow swim pants and a black rash guard, Chelsea was in a red and blue bikini, Sora was in a white and blue one-piece swimsuit, Naoto was in a solid blue one-piece swimsuit, Genis was in orange swim trunks, Xatra was in a black and magenta tankini, Motoko was in a white bikini, Mikoto was in a white and blue tankini, Junko was wearing a beautiful wine red monokini she had made herself after a quick tutorial from Drakus, and Mukuro was wearing a blue and grey digital camo bikini.

As for the Portal Masters, Taisho was dressed in a bright purple and black bikini with darker purple shades by the straps and sides with some shades on to soak up the sun; Megumin, who was in a red bikini as she splashed around on the water with Konata, who was in a Japanese school swimsuit, same as Tanya, Kagami was in a purple and yellow skirtkini, Miyuki was in a white and blue bikini, Tsukasa was in an orange bikini; Sabrina, who was quietly reading a book beneath a parasol with a small pink cocktail by her side. She was dressed in a cyan-and-black-coloured one-piece swimsuit; Ace was in a blue rash guard and black trunks, while Big Billy was in green swim trunks and a black rash guard, Snake was in a black wetsuit, Grubber was still in his normal attire, Arturo wore a red rash guard and black swim trunks, Bonehead put a lifeguard cap on, Bubbles was in a yellow one-piece, Stiffany was in a teal and black bikini, Roxie was in a two-piece bikini. It was purple and blue, with a top piece that exposed her midriff. The bottom had a frilled skirt portion that showed off her upper thighs. In addition, her white hair had been pulled out of its high ponytail, hanging loose around her shoulders and even including the bangs she had always pulled up, and finally, there was Powder, who was busy making a sand sculpture in the ground, while dressed in a blue and pink bikini. As for the Twitch Chat, Elle, Lucifer and Ark? Well, the duo were beside the bag that the squad had brought with them, with Ravage, Lami, Reflec, Talpi, Tro and Janja sitting beside the bag, with Shimura, Spinner, Foxfire, Operatic, Graffiti, Vector, Yule Man, Jason, Doctor Doom, Caim, Akamei, Tatsumi, the Badger crew, Daybreaker, Bad Humor, William, Clara, Dabi, Caine, Bubble, Toga, Vanoss, Wildcat, Delirious, Terroriser, Droidd, Mini, Lui, Nogla, Kurogiri, Twice, Gear Woman, and Magne beside the six, while Whiplash, Blizzard, Gricko, Frost, Gydeon, Hootsie, Kremy, Roy, Alicia, Scout, Engineer, Heavy, Soldier, Pyro, Spy, Sniper, Demoman, Shan Yu, Gecko, Lola, Spaulding and Hell's Chef decided to keep watch with Renegade and Wilhelm, as they watched as the Eternal Life Source grew a pair of flowers around the main structure that released a mysterious floating pollen; and their roots enveloped the mechanisms in the lower half, the Eternal Earth Source activated the inner structure's giant crystal, which fired a beam of brilliant light through its various lenses and the Crystal Eye, and the Eternal Undead Source awakened the ghosts that lay deep inside the structure, and they activated the Skull Mask before disappearing from view.

[Now we got an anime beach episode!]

[YES!]

[as it should be]

"Mukuro, get me another wine cooler!" Junko yelled at her older sister. Mukuro was right next to her. Both of them were laying down in beach chairs, their eyes closed and an umbrella shading them, not bothering to open her eyes or look over to Mukuro, despite the excessiveness of her yelling.

"Ridley, wine cooler me!" Mukuro yelled, as she caught the literal super-sized fridge Ridley chucked with her tattooed hand and handed it to her sister.

"Damn Mukuro, that was actually cool. Kinda ripping me off tho, dontcha think?" Junko laughed as she popped the cap off a bottle she got out and threw it back, dramatically taking a chug and letting out an "ahh". Mukuro blushed and giggled, turning her head away from her twin. Junko smiled both at her own antics and at Mukuro's reaction, more than comfortable with the fact that Mukuro couldn't see it.

"Although," Junko said, sounding more serious, "considering the circumstances, the repetition could be considered a form of comedy, especially due to how strong Ridley was the accuracy of both of you." Switching back to normal, she added "Thank you Ridley!"

"Honestly, it's amazing how he can do that. What's his secret?" Junko pondered. Mukuro facepalmed. Clearly Junko was in a playful mood.

"Hey, Yuina? Why is everyone dressed so strange here?" Ark asked, tilting his eye towards the swimsuits, trunks, rash vests, and related beach/swimming gear as Lucifer lifted the embodiment of malice up so it could see the beach better.

"Well, Ark. People use the beach for all kinds of things, well, ones that don't fight for the fate of the world or go scrounging for stuff." Yuina lifted a finger. "In the human world, people use the beaches to swim, make sand art, eat shaved ice, tan themselves in the sun, play beach games, all kinds of things, really. I could make a giant list of things that we like doing on the beach, but then we'd be here forever and ever."

"To make a long story short. People play and relax on the beach instead of fighting on it." Roman explained. "And, after all that we've been through, I think it's about time we take a break from all the fighting we've been doing."

"Yeah. Deadlight has really been making us break more than a few sweats." Hibiki put her hands on the back of her head and grinned at the beach. "All this stuff about Deadlight, Skylands and the Night Hooligans, it kinda gets strenuous. If we don't have a little bit of fun and vacation time in the middle of it all, I don't think we'd be able to see this all the way to the end..."

"Besides, it's nice to take a little bit of a break in between all the chaos." Mine nodded, as Ark looked weirded out. "I know that you've seen an awful lot of beaches, so you should know how they work. Still, I betcha that you can still get a lot out of today, Ark. Whether it's gliding over the water, making sand art, all that kind of fun jazz. Should be right up your street."

"Well, I'm still gonna try and hide where I can; y'know, not gonna relive the Daybreak incident." Ark metaphorically shrugged as he laid beside Lucifer and the Twitch Chat. "But if you think that today's gonna be a great day, then I'll be all in for it too!"

"Well, you're in luck, because we've got quite a lot of stuff planned today." Drakus slid back over to Ark's side. "Going swimming in the water, getting some shaved ice, maybe even playing some beach volleyball if we've got the time. I bought more than enough stuff for us to have fun with. I hope you all like 'em!"

"Lay it on us. What'd ya bring?" Zap asked with a grin.

"Well... we got inflatable balls, water guns, bodyboards, even some diving goggles if ya really wanted to get deep into the water." Drakus listed them off with his fingers, as they heard someone. "Taisho! Didn't expect to see you here!" Someone waved as she ran down to her girlfriend.

"Hmm?" Taisho tipped her shades and turned toward the voice that called her and when she saw a girl with brown hair in a gray bikini and her family, she could only smile. "Okami! You're here! And so's your family!"

"Yeah, Mom and Dad wanted a beach day but they were worried about the high-traffic areas," Okami put her hands behind her head when the two girls finally came within conversation distance. "Because, well, let's be honest. Who sees a family of werewolves and considers that normal at the beach? But this place looks nice and isolated. Plenty of space to run around in, non-commercial, we don't mind the long treks back for some big stuff, and hey, we could even mooch off of you and your friends if we wanted."

"This is... your girlfriend, right, Okami?" Yuna asked, holding her hands together by her collar as she approached Taisho and the squad. "Taisho, right?"

"Yep. That's me." Taisho chuckled. "And don't worry about a thing, Mr. and Mrs. Kodoku. And all the kids too." Taisho sat down to the kids' heights. "I'm from the Underworld as well. And pretty sure the X-Squad won't rat you out. In fact, if you wanted, you could change into your wolf selves right now if you wanted.

"Really?" Ren asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Yep! In fact..." And without another word, Taisho's body burned with purple flame as her monster self was revealed to the Kodoku family, with her tail poking out of the back of her bikini bottom. "Ya like it? I'm a devil."

"Ooh..." Kiku cooed at the sight of Taisho transforming in front of her. "You've got a pretty tail, miss!"

"Aww, thanks," Taisho commented as she showed it off for Kiku, who was curiously reaching for it. "Not many people tell me that these days."

"Besides that, most of us can be considered monsters too." Drakus chuckled, as a surprising amount of hands were raised to show it.

"So, you're all monsters too? That's a relief," commented Yuna as she and the rest of her family transformed into their werewolf selves, Okami included. "You know what? I think this place will do just fine. Let's set up our stuff, everyone." And after Yuni finished talking, the wolf children excitedly chatted among themselves and went to the left of where Taisho and the squad had set up their things.

"What are you all doing here anyway?" Okami asked as she stood with the X-Squad.

"Well, we did just fight a centipede in a mech who turned out to not be a centipede but an angel that tried to waterboard us into submission while yapping about how he'd win because he thinks things through, BUT we won that like total badasses." Kermit said. "And Lucifer and Ark are surprisingly good buddies."

"Unfortunately," Lucifer added, as he hugged Ark close, the embodiment of malice itself chuckling at the ex-demon king being a total dork.

Another girl, this one donned in a two-piece swimsuit, the upper part being seafoam green while her bottom piece was cream colored with a frilly seafoam green skirt, and also had undone her hair so that it was hanging freely without her bow, smiled brightly as she walked up to the X-Squad, gave a salute and sent Ruby her usual greeting: "Salutations, Ruby!"

Ruby wasn't sure how many times she had cried that day. The fact that she was crying so much was silly enough, but at that moment, she knew that the tears were justified. By some miracle, one of her best friends was standing there, alive. After fearing that she died, Penny Polendina was still alive and here, smiling at her almost as if nothing had happened. For all the redheaded android knew, no time had passed between then and now, which must have been confusing for her at the very least. But for Ruby, all that mattered at the moment was jolting up onto her feet, wrapping her friend in a hug as she bawled into Penny's shoulder. "PENNY!" she cried. "You're alive! I can't believe you're here!"

Penny shifted her eyes to Ruby and tilted her head. "Really? Where was I? I don't think I've been anywhere other than Vale recently."

Through her tears, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at what her friend was saying. 'Of course she's not going to remember, Ruby. …Oh, but we have to explain what happened to her. That's gonna be tough.' Ruby pulled out of the hug and wiped her eyes, giving Penny a small grin. "Hehe, let's just say that we've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Well, there's this surprisingly nice domestic terrorist group, and there's also these marauders called the Night Hooligans running around Skylands, and we caught four of the Night Hooligans, and have three more to go." Robin explained.

"We shut off the main solder supply, so now we head straight for the power source of the weapon." Akamei said.

"Now that I can totally help you out on." Aeron said. "Venomquake did say he needed something really stinky to combine with the Traptanium and Undergu energy. And there's only one place in Skylands he could possibly get that. The Black Twist Cheese Factory, the cheese there is smelly and highly toxic when not purified, with many corrosive effects. But one problem, a cheese monster's haunting it."

"So how are we supposed to stop it?" Chelsea said.

"Guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Okami said. "Besides, you're playing it way too safe by not wanting to do these things. The way I see it, ya go to the beach, ya live it up. It's not like some kinda tourist hotspot where people just come for the sights and that's it." Okami went over to the bag and started rummaging around. "You've definitely gotta learn to live a little. All this calm, lo-fi junk ain't gonna do you any good when you're squandering the potential of the beach."

"Squandering?" Taisho blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Let me show you how it's done. Or at least, how I assume the humans think it's done." Okami cracked a little grin as she got started with her various ideas, making Drakus' eyes widen as he agreed.