Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders: Here Come the Giants!

by Tilde-Heart

The past and present collide when an ancient evil from the bowels of Skylands' history is awakened by Kaos as he attempts to restore his empire of evil! Now, Chihiro and the Skylanders must team up with the heroes of Skylands' distant past in order to bring a stop to the revival of the Arkeyan Empire! (Canon-divergent retelling of Skylanders Giants)

2. Chapter 2

Greenswitch - Freeshadow: Well, things are bound to get a little KAOTIC when Kaos is around! (Ha, couldn't help myself). But as for the other guys, all I'll say is that you're gonna have to wait a little while for them still. But, we've still got plenty of new guys coming, too! (And hey, new username!)

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Though the night was quiet in the outer regions of Treasure Lake's sleepy little corner of the world, within the bedroom of one Chihiro Hatsuki, it was alive and bursting with chatter! Inside, the Elder Elementals all laid on her bed, snug and clean as they sat inside a magic sack beside a simple portal with a stone pedestal. But, while their bodies were frozen solid in their figurine forms, their minds were more than alive! Stimulated by the pour of dawn's light through the cracks in the windows, their conversations echoed through Chihiro's room, ones only they could here.

"When's that kid getting back here?!" Hot Head demanded as red light glowed from his flames. "If I have to stand here one minute more, I might just explode!"

"Now calm down, Hot Head," Thumpback replied while his arms glowed blue. "She'll be back any second now, and then…"—Thumpback's laid-back tone gained a bit more excitement to it as he glazed over the portal they all surrounded—"we can go back home!"

"I wonder how much has changed since we left?" Ninjini asked while her eyes and the smoky trail that made up her lower body glowed purple. "I'm sure we've been gone quite a while."

Tree Rex frowned as his own eyes and gauntlet glowed green. "I'd hope not…" Tree Rex rumbled as the glow from his body faded in and out. "This is all so strange, one minute we were fighting Arkilles, then the next—"

SLAM! Went the bedroom door as it flung open, and in came none other than Chihiro herself! She was drying her hair with a towel made of magic, and though her pendant rested firm around her neck, the rest of her outfit had been completely changed. She had traded out her old clothes for a gray-black sleeveless mini-jacket over a white and gray-striped long-sleeved shirt with a popped collar, dark gray suspender shorts that had been cuffed just a bit, white tights, and gray high-tops with white tongues and dark gray bands around the top, straps and soles. She smiled as she whisked away her towel with a snap of her fingers, and a new energy shone in her eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"Ahh, there's nothing like a good, warm bath! I'm nice and clean…" Chihiro said, then her eyes popped open and she giggled as she leaped onto the bed, withdrawing the Elder Elementals from the sack with a smile. "And all prepared to travel!"

"There you are, we were waiting for you! Were you able to find that bald guy?" Tree Rex asked as Chihiro sat him next to the portal.

Chihiro frowned and raised a brow. "How'd you know I was looking for him?"

"Natural intuition?"

Chihiro chuckled, but her laughter quickly faded as she turned away.

"'Fraid not. I looked all over the city for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere!" Chihiro sighed and shook her head. "In the end, the morning beat me out and I had to get back here before my folks woke up."

A couple of sighs came from all around, but Chihiro just smiled and shrugged.

"But, anyways, who's ready to do some traveling?"

The Elder Elementals all cheered at first… Then they all screamed as they went flying in the air and collapsed on Chihiro's bed as Chihiro bounced up and down! Chihiro chuckled and sat them back upright, and with them fixed, her eyes fell on the portal. The cheer in her eyes faded away while she lifted the portal off the ground and gripped it tight.

"It's a good thing Master Eon taught me how to shrink portals and bring them on the go!" Chihiro remarked as a blue glow glistened from her hands. "With this, I should be able to take you all back to Skylands!"

A whoosh echoed around the room, and Chihiro laid the portal back down on her bed as its surface glowed with a bright blue light and Ancient's Peak reflected on its stone top! The Elder Elementals all gasped and gazed in awe, then Ninjini and Bouncer both gasped as Chihiro lifted them by the base of their figurines.

"Ready to go home?" Chihiro asked with a wink.

Her question was met with a resounding cry of cheers and agreement, so Chihiro just chuckled and dropped them on! First Bouncer and Ninjini were whisked away, then Thumpback and Eye-Brawl, Swarm and Crusher… All six of them had been placed on while the portal grew larger in stature to accommodate, but not enough to make the bed bend underneath its weight, and only Tree Rex and Hot Head were left! Chihiro lifted the two of them off the bed, but while Hot Head cheered with enthusiasm, Tree Rex seemed a bit hesitant as he hummed.

"Something up, Tree Rex?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

"Well, er…" Tree Rex asked. "Aren't you coming along, too?"

Chihiro, however, just chuckled. "Of course I am! I can't exactly take portals, so I have to…" Chihiro placed Hot Head on the portal, then flicked her pendant with her newly-freed hand and sent sparkles cascading down onto the bed. "Take an alternate route of travel, if you get what I'm saying." Chihiro dropped Tree Rex on the portal and patted his head. "Have a safe trip!"

As Chihiro lifted her hand from Tree Rex's head, a bright pillar of blue and white light burst from the portal's surface and nearly tore a hole on the roof! Chihiro grinned and scooted backwards as she basked in the portal's light, then as the light faded her eyes turned on the portal. It had shrunk back down to its previous tiny size, but more importantly, not a single Elder Elemental was to be seen on top its surface! Within its surface, however, displayed a vision of the eight Elementals, all larger in status and seated within Ancient's Peak!

"Looks like they made it!" Chihiro remarked as she clasped her pendant tight. "And I'd better join them!"

Chihiro hummed as she gripped her pendant tight, while within her the magic flared in her veins and her heart pumped faster in response! A new life, a new excitement pounded in her veins, and she couldn't bear to stand in place for a moment more! So, she leaped off her bed and thrust her pendant forward.

"Crystal," Chihiro proclaimed with a clear, mighty voice. "Take me to Skylands!"

The bright white, cyan and purple sparkles that glistened off of Chihiro's pendant grew brighter and stronger, then bright cyan light leaped from the ground and swirled around Chihiro! It nuzzled her and kept her warm and tight as if it had embraced family, then finally it blurred out her sights until all she could see was light! And not just see, but feel, either—the floor underneath her had vanished, and it almost felt like she was levitating in mid-air!

Chihiro just closed her eyes and grinned, then as the faint tickle of light left her senses, she popped them open and found herself back in Ancient's Peak! Dawn had just started to break across the island and painted the skies in pastel candy colors, and the grass was still fresh with dew. The soft chills of autumn intermingled with gentle, sun-born warmth as it brushed against Chihiro's skin, and the peaceful beauty put her racing heart at ease for a few moments, enough to smell the fresh scents of a new day dawning!… Say, just what new day was it, anyways? Chihiro summoned a watch made of magic and slapped it around her wrist, then turned it on with a squeeze of its buttons and frowned. Huh, seemed like it had been a while since she last popped by! In fact, if she had to guess she'd say it was about a few months.

"Man, time sure flies fast over here!" Chihiro remarked as she whisked away the watch. "Say, I wonder how the others are doing…"

Chihiro's eyes fell over the ground for the few moments, then she squeaked and leaped in place—but not voluntarily! Something had completely shaken the ground below her feet with such force that it made everything not kept firm in the ground bounce as if the ground below was rubber! As Chihiro fell back to the ground and tried to regain her balance, an octet of large, gaping shadows fell over the island! Chihiro turned back around to the shadows' source, then giggled. The Elder Elementals had all crowded behind her, their faces rife with what seemed like both confusion and excitement as they surveyed the area. But most of all, they were huge! Chihiro had never put much thought to it from how small they looked in the figures and illustrations, but they all had to be about the size of most of the buildings on the island, and that was saying something!

"Man, you guys really are as giant as the game says!" Chihiro remarked as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her grin was wide, but it faded away as her eyes fell over the confused looks the Elder Elementals held. "Something up?"

"This place, it feels kind of familiar…" Tree Rex remarked as he scratched his horns. "Just what is…"—Tree Rex's jaw gaped a bit more open—"it?"

Chihiro tilted her head and followed Tree Rex's gaze to the reconstructed Core of Light, which still burned bright and strong as ever as it cast rainbow beams into the sky on occasion. However, while Chihiro didn't pay much mind, Tree Rex and all the other Elder Elementals regarded it with a sense of wonder, almost! Tree Rex slowly drew over to it as if the Core has cast a spell on him, then his eyes flickered open and shut with realization!

"The Core of Light! If this is here, then that can only mean…" Tree Rex's eyes went wide as he turned back to Chihiro. "This can't be Ancient's Peak, can it?"

Chihiro just giggled and nodded. "You bet'cha!"

A chorus of shock burst from the other Elder Elementals as they looked towards each other, then glazed around the rest of Ancient's peak.

"This is Ancient's Peak?"

"But, it looks so different from before!"

"Eye am pretty sure none of those buildings were here last time I checked!"

"What's going on here?"

As the Elder Elementals questioned and fretted behind her, Chihiro turned around to them and scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, that's kind of the thing…" Chihiro said as she turned aside. "See, you've been missing from Skylands for the past ten thousand years."

"TEN THOUSAND?!" All the Elder Elementals cried at once.

Tree Rex stormed back up to the rest, then his shocked gaze softened into confusion. He pursed his wrinkly, wooden lips, and his frown only drooped further as he gazed upon the rest of the island. "But, it hadn't felt all that long ago that we were sent away…" Tree Rex whispered as the tree leaves behind him snapped off their branches and fluttered away in the breeze.

"Yeah, time passes a lot faster here than it does in Skylands, it turns out." Chihiro floated up to Tree Rex and waved. "But, I can get you up to speed on what happened since you vanished, if you want!"

And in response, all the wide-eyed Elder Elementals shoved their faces right in Chihiro's! Chihiro gulped and floated backwards as they gazed her down, and chills raced down her spine. Having all these people looking her in the face at once was so choking and so, so uncomfortable…

"What happened to the other free magicians—er, portal masters? Are they alive too?"

"Are the Arkeyans still around?"

"When did this place get so many renovations?"

"Is Leafy's Wraps still around? I miss that place…"

All their questions dug into Chihiro, and in response she only gulped and floated backwards! Her whole brain had started to shut down from the sheer velocity of everything that was being flung her way, and the next thing she knew, she had started falling down! Crap, she had forgotten about her spell! Chihiro screamed and flailed around as she tried to regain control, but she didn't need to—because a pair of blue hands caught her in their massive palms!

"Everyone, calm down! You're overwhelming her, asking so many questions at once!" Ninjini scolded as she lifted Chihiro up to her sight. Ninjini chuckled, then gently ruffled Chihiro's head with her finger. "Don't worry about everything, just start from the beginning."

The soft tone of Ninjini's voice put Chihiro's heart at ease, so she just chuckled. "Alright, but just so you know, you're gonna be in for a wild ride!" Chihiro proclaimed before she turned around and cleared her throat. "See, right after you all defeated Arkilles…"

"Over here, Master Eon! I think this is where those weird noises came from!"

Hold on a second, that was Spyro's voice! Chihiro broke from her story and turned her eyes back to the collection of buildings that surrounded the heart of Ancient's Peak, as did the Elder Elementals. And sure enough, right in front of them all was Spyro, who bolted across the lawn with Master Eon close by! Spyro panted as he skidded to a stop, glazed the Elder Elementals up and down, then turned back to Master Eon right as Master Eon flew to his side.

"Phew, nothing out of the ordinary—it's just Chihiro and the Elder Elementals," Spyro said.

"That's a relief," Master Eon replied while his ghastly body turned a tranquil blue… Then it immediately swelled with bright purple light as Spyro rapidly blinked and shook his head.

"Wait—the Elder Elementals?!" They both cried as they gawked back at each other.

Spyro gasped and yanked his head back around, and in response Tree Rex only forced a smile and waved back at Spyro.

"Er, hello down there!" Tree Rex replied.

But instead of even giving so much as a hello, both Master Eon and Spyro fell to their knees in a bow! Or, at least the best bow a dragon and a spherical ghost could give.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, heralded Elders," Master Eon proclaimed as he floated back up, "I am Master Eon, one of the Portal Masters of this era, and beside me is Spyro."

Tree Rex blinked, then chuckled and stepped backwards. "It's, er, it's nice to meet you, too!" Tree Rex scratched his horns. "But, uh, just Tree Rex is fine."

"Hey, forgetting someone?" Chihiro chuckled as she sat on the side of Ninjini's hand and waved.

Chihiro chuckled as she teleported back off the ground, then curtly nodded towards Master Eon and wrapped Spyro in a tight hug! But, Spyro seemed more confused than before as he wormed his way out of Chihiro's grip.

"Chi, what in Skylands is going on here?!" Spyro asked as he furrowed his brows. "Why are the Elder Elementals here? Are they even the real Elder Elementals? How are they even alive?"—Spyro winced—"please don't tell me you're dabbling in time travel magic again."

"I learned my lesson with that last time, Golden Boy." Chihiro chuckled and rolled her eyes, then her tongue-in-cheek smirk grew to a genuine smile as she presented the Elder Elementals. "See, as it turns out, the Elder Elementals never actually died in the final fight! Somehow, they got sent to Earth!"

Chihiro cleared her throat.

"It's a funny story, really! See, apparently they were hanging out in this old archaeological dig site and got unearthed by this dude, and then there was this presentation and I tried to get 'em back, but then they got thrown away! So, Tree Rex and I had to tail them to a dump, and I hitched a ride on a garbage truck and nearly got stuck in a trash-eating machine, oh man, it was a ride! See…"

As Chihiro rambled on, Spyro cast a bit of a confused look at Master Eon, who in turn just vaguely shuffled back and forth as if he was shrugging while his body shifted to gray.

"And then, I yanked myself out of this trash-eating device right before it could eat us all alive! It was a close call, but I made it out with everyone intact! And then—"

"MASTER EON, WE'VE GOT NEWS!" Cried a nasally voice from the side!

Once again all eyes turned to the heart of the island, where Hugo ran as far as his stubby little legs could carry him! His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and stray furs popped from his head as he stumbled forward! They finally, he stumbled up to Spyro's side and collapsed on the floor, all while he panted heavy pants as his face bathed in the morning dew.

"Oh, oh my, I don't think I've run that fast in my entire life!" Hugo gasped as he pushed himself from the ground. Hugo fixed his glasses back on his nose as he lifted his head up. "But, we just—" Hugo's eyes fell on the Elder Elementals, then he screamed and leaped back. "Wait, are those the Elder Elementals of legend?! What in the name of the Ancients is going on here?"

"Funny thing, Hugo!" Chihiro replied as she clapped her hands, "I was just explaining to Spyro and Master Eon! But, I guess I can start from the beginning again…"

Hugo shook his head as he ran behind Chihiro and pushed her aside. "Actually, there's no time, Master Chihiro!" Hugo proclaimed. "We need to get to the portal building, stat!"

"But why?" Chihiro wrangled herself away from Hugo and raised a brow.

"We've finally got a lead on Kaos at last!"

Gasps of shock came from all around, but perhaps none of them were as shocked as Chihiro! She stumbled backwards as her eyes practically leaped out of her skull, and the color drained from her face until she was pale as a ghost! Chihiro's hands and legs started to tremble, but she clenched her teeth and tried to stand talk.

"Kaos is BACK?!" Chihiro cried!

§

"Kaos is BACK?!" Chihiro cried as her eyes went wide.

"Kaos is back?!" The Elder Elementals all cried in tandem as they joined in Chihiro's shock… Then Tree Rex coughed and knelt down to Chihiro's height.

"Wait a second, just who is Kaos?" Tree Rex asked.

Chihiro winced, then turned around and faced Tree Rex.

"You remember that bald guy from the presentation who made everything go haywire, right?"

Tree Rex slowly nodded.

"That's him. He's a portal master who uses his powers for evil!" Chihiro exclaimed as she clenched her hand into a fist. "He's tried to conquer Skylands like a bajillion times, and he's even destroyed the Core of Light and banished the Skylanders from Skylands!"—Chihiro winced and buried her face in her hands—"I'd almost had him if he didn't pull that cheap trick back there!"

Chihiro whimpered, then finally she breathed in and out as she pulled herself back to full height. "Hugo, give me the lowdown."

Hugo nodded, then with a wave of his paws, he teleported away and came back out with a massive corkboard on wheels! Huh, seems like he'd been getting better at his magic studies. Last time he tried that, he almost blew himself up!

Chihiro paused for a moment, then leaned forward as she skimmed over the corkboard. It was covered in all sorts of notes and wires connecting them to one another, from reports on suspicious activity to army recruiting drives with oddly doomy wording and plundering in all corners of Skylands. Oddly though, most of it seemed to be in small, unassuming places—wouldn't Kaos go for something bigger?

"Starting a few weeks ago, the Missionator started reporting lots of odd and otherwise suspicious activity all across Skylands," Hugo explained as he tapped the corkboard. "Things like recruitment drives, villages getting plundered, suspicious activity in nasty parts of Skylands. Nothing that would get eyelashes batted on its own…"—Hugo grunted as he flipped the corkboard over—"but, eyewitness accounts said different!"

Chihiro jumped away just before the corkboard could smack her right in the face, then stepped back and gasped as she caught a glimpse of its flipped side! There on it were papers listing eyewitness accounts of all kinds, and in the center of it all… A picture! A picture of a gigantic, red and gold robot that was definitely Arkeyan in nature with a tiny bald man clad in black robes floating in front of it with a grin on his face!

"Every eyewitness account we got mentioned something about a man with suspicious likeness to Kaos arriving and leaving the scene! Not to mention what we got today!"

"Yea, that's definitely Kaos!" Chihiro cried as she examined the photo. "But how'd he get an Arkeyan robot?"

"Forget about the how!" Tree Rex cried as he scowled over the picture. "That's a Conquertron, one of the most powerful robots in their arsenal! They've given us a run for our money more times than I can count…"—Tree Rex shuddered and clenched his teeth—"if he's as awful as you say, then something like this in his hands can only spell trouble!"

"Hugo, right?" Ninjini asked as she knelt down to Hugo's height. "What's this news you spoke of earlier?"

Hugo squeaked and bowed his head, then shuffled through his jacket's pockets. "Ah, it should be right…" Hugo grinned as he yanked a paper from his jacket's left pocket. "Yes, right here!"

Hugo brandished the paper in his hands like he was holding a gold trophy, then coughed and handed it off to Chihiro.

"We figured that if he was only doing small-scale things like this, he was still rebuilding his resources and was nowhere near prepared to launch any full-scale plans. Thus, we had been looking for his new hideout so we could nip his plans in the bud, so to speak. And as luck would have it, we just received a call with the information we need! It came from a hermit, named Ermit oddly enough."

A few chuckles came from around the group, but Chihiro just stifled her amusement and glazed over the paper.

"He claimed to have witnessed Kaos's return to Skylands and wanted an audience with us, and even gave us this picture as evidence—"—Hugo tapped the picture of Kaos on the Arkeyan robot and frowned—"—but he got cut off suspiciously before he could finish!" Hugo adjusted his lapel and frowned as he turned back to the portal building. "When you had returned, we were gathering our best forces to mount an expedition to his last place of residence, a town in the Outlands called Rumbletown."

Ah, no surprise there. The Outlands were some of the hardest, wildest parts in all Skylands—so harsh that villages and towns were much more sparse compared to what the rest of Skylands had to offer, and it only got worse the further in you went. If they had to go there, they'd need the best, the most experienced, the strongest of their forces!

"Well, looks like I showed up just in time!" Chihiro beamed as she cracked her knuckles, "I'll be sure to tag along and give you a little extra magic!" Chihiro's look grew more solemn as she lowered her hands.

Though she didn't want to admit it to a crowd, it was also her fault that Kaos even escaped in the first place—if she hadn't gotten distracted when she fought him, if she had just caught him instead of zapping him, he probably wouldn't be back! But, that was in the past, and there wasn't much she could do about it at this point. If he was still weak enough that he couldn't catch their eyes with the grand theatrics he favored, then Chihiro still had a chance to right her wrong and put that bald blowhard out of business! Chihiro smiled, then whispers caught her ear and she turned her head upwards.

Behind them all, the Elder Elementals whispered and mumbled among themselves, then finally nodded as one. Out from their crowds stepped Tree Rex, who knelt before Hugo with a thud! Though Hugo screamed and leaped back as he flew through the air, Tree Rex paid no mind as he bowed his head.

"And, if it's alright, we'd all like to offer our help as well," Tree Rex added as he narrowed his eyes. "If Arkeyans are involved, then it's our duty as the Elder Elementals to put a stop to it!"

"Alright!" Chihiro beamed as she stretched out her palms. "With all of you on the team, we'll have big-head down and out in time for lunch!"—Chihiro bolted right for the portal building—"I'll go fire up a portal—"

"HOLD IT!" Hugo protested as he grabbed Chihiro by the back of her shirt and dragged her back. "We're not taking any portals here!"

Chihiro, however, just frowned and tilted her head, her eyes creased with confusion. "Why not?"

"Think about it, Master Chihiro." Hugo clasped his hands and frowned as he twiddled his fingers. "Sending a portal with a large team of Skylanders is bound to make a fuss! It would be like putting out a gigantic, flashy sign announcing that you're here to shut everything down! And a huge show like that would give Kaos more than enough time to find out!"

Chihiro frowned and nodded. Hugo did have a point—and surely, Kaos would definitely be a bit more cautious given that he had just returned and still rebuilding. They couldn't exactly afford to let him know that they were coming after him.

"So, we're going to take a more subtle route if you get what I'm saying." Hugo clapped his paws and dismissed the corkboard, then turned around and headed for the portal building. "Follow me, I'll explain when we're all gathered in the portal room!"

Everybody else followed Hugo towards the portal building, then as they arrived, Hugo slipped inside. But just before the others could get inside, their eyes fell on the Elder Elementals, who all just frowned as they examined the door!

"Something wrong?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head, "you seem a little…"—Chihiro glanced at the door, then back at the Elder Elementals, and in that moment realized just how small the portal building actually was—"oh."

"Yeah," Tree Rex chuckled as he clasped a hand. "Being giant's good for a lot of things, but getting into buildings is not always one of them."

"Well, we can help with that!" Spyro remarked as he flew up to Tree Rex's height!

Spyro gave him a thumbs up, then flew back down between Chihiro and Master Eon. The three of them whispered among each other for a few minutes, then turned back to the Elder Elementals and held out their hands (Or not, in Eon's case).

"This might tickle a little, alright?" Chihiro remarked. "And don't worry, it's not permanent!"

"What isn't permanent?" Tree Rex asked as he quirked a brow—then, he and the other Elder Elementals cried out in shock as Chihiro, Spyro and Master Eon zapped them with a purple beam of magic!

Their cries only continued as they were enveloped in the beam's grip and shrunk further and further down to the ground, then when the beam lifted, they were no bigger than Spyro or Chihiro! The Elder Elementals gasped as they glazed over their smaller stature, then Tree Rex gasped as Chihiro jumped behind him and pushed him inside.

"Hurry up!" Chihiro cried as she shoved Tree Rex into the portal building. "That shrinking spell won't last forever!"

The other Elder Elementals shrugged and warily followed Chihiro and Tree Rex into the familiar halls of the portal building, then gasped and gawked across the attire! True, it might have been polished up a little and got a few extra paintings on its walls since last time, but Chihiro didn't think of it as anything fancy. Then again, she wasn't from ten thousand years ago, so she couldn't really say anything about that. So, they all trailed through the twisting halls and tunnels of the portal building and towards the portal room's open door, which already had a melting pot of chatter and conversations wafting out from its pathway.

Spyro and Chihiro grinned as they faced each other, then the two of them burst into the portal room! The sound of their entry was enough to get all conversations ended, but they only beamed.

"Alright, everyone!" Spyro proclaimed. "Eyes up front!"

Everyone else in the room immediately turned their gaze on Spyro and Chihiro, while, Chihiro just strode up and fixed her collar.

"We've got a big surprise for you all," Chihiro proclaimed as she and Spyro joined hands. "And when I say big, I mean it!"—Chihiro winked and wagged a finger—"in fact, it's so big, you could almost say it'll be legendary!"

Spyro and Chihiro turned to each other and nodded, then thrust their hand and paw to the ceiling! A purple and cyan glow formed around them and shot a beam up to the ceiling, then that one beam spread all across the room, and in response, the portal room expanded in size until those inside were completely dwarfed by the expansion! Everyone around asked questions in low whispers to one another or gawked at how massive the floors around had become, but Chihiro just released her hold on Spyro's paw and waved towards the now-gigantic door.

"Alright, you can come in now!" Chihiro cried.

The door gently creaked open in response, just a few inches at a time… Then finally, it slammed open and in came none other than the Elder Elementals! As all eight of them filed in and stood tall, screams and gasps of shock resounded from the crowds, and all eyes set on the Elementals! The Elder Elementals however, didn't seem very receptive to the attention. Though they forced smiles and waved, all these eyes on them and all these shocked questions and gawking faces made their smiles tremble.

"Er, hello down there!" Tree Rex said at last as he waved his hand, "I'm Tree Rex, leader of the Elder Elementals! We, er, just apparently got back after ten thousand years…"—Tree Rex swerved his view around the portal room as he rubbed his neck—"this place sure has changed a lot since we were here. I, uh, really like what you've done with it!" Tree Rex rubbed his chin. "I think it was you all, at least."

In response, however, all the other Skylanders crowded around Tree Rex and gazed at him and the other Elder Elementals with wide, sparkling eyes! A sea of questions and admiring remarks flooded in, but Tree Rex only winced and stepped behind as he held up his hands. Looks like he still wasn't quite used to all the attention that came from being a hero of legend just yet.

"Calm down, everyone, don't crowd!" Spyro cried as he teleported between Tree Rex and the crowd. "We'll take care of the questions and answers later!"—Spyro cleared his throat and puffed out his chest—"more importantly, for the time being, the Elder Elementals will be working with us for the time being to fight Kaos!"

A faint row of gasps formed amid the crowds, then cheers and hollers rang through the portal room, even with its considerable size increase! Not that it wasn't warranted. Having heroes of legend from ancient times with a considerable size and strength to them would definitely getting anyone cheering!

"That being said, the Elders are still getting used to life in modern-day Skylands, so be sure to help them out, alright?" Chihiro added as she teleported beside Spyro. Chihiro cleared her throat, then wiped her hands clean. "And with that taken care of, we move onto our next subject—our trip to Rumbletown."

"Ah, yes, about that!" Hugo cried as he popped out from behind the corkboard!

Chihiro jumped back and squeaked a little, then shook her head as Hugo walked up to her and patted her shoulder.

"The Elder Elementals should supply enough brute strength that we won't have to take too many other forces," Hugo advised. "Which is definitely a relief, seeing as how Kaos's armies have been giving us quite the handful even with their diminutive state."

"Roger that, Huges!"

Chihiro winked and gave Hugo a thumbs-up, then rubbed her chin and hummed as her eyes glazed over the crowds. It probably wouldn't hurt to have a little extra muscle, and they'd definitely need a healer or two, not to mention more specialized attackers, and Chihiro had just the picks!

"Trigger Happy, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder, Stealth Elf and Whirlwind, you're with us!" Chihiro cried as she waved over the crowds. "Everyone else, we'll need you all to take care of Kaos's cronies for us while we get a hold of big-head himself!"

Cheers of agreement came from the crowds as the ones who were called upon joined Chihiro at her side, and she herself cast a smile at Spyro before turning around.

"Now, seeing as how portal travel is out of the question, we're gonna have to find another means of getting there," Chihiro remarked. "I'd normally suggest Flynn, but—"

"HEY-O!" Cried a half-muffled voice as the door kicked open to reveal Flynn and Cali!

Chihiro, meanwhile, just shoved her hands in her pockets and tsked. "Speak of the devil."

As Flynn walked in with his eyes more fixed on the enchilada he was currently eating, Cali just beamed as she walked up to Chihiro.

"All the preparations are finished on our end!" Cali proclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips. "Are you all good to go?"

Chihiro, however, just winced as she examined their assembled team. "I mean, we've got everyone picked out, but…" Chihiro softly hissed as she glanced back at Flynn. "Are you sure all of us will fit on Flynn's balloon?"

Flynn, however, just finished off his enchilada and licked his fingers clean. "Never said we were taking old Balloony!" Flynn shouted as he balled up his wrapper and tossed it aside, perfectly oblivious to how it bonked Hugo on the head. "Heck, I don't even have her anymore!"

"You don't?!" Chihiro gasped, then raced up to Flynn. "What happened?"—Chihiro frowned a bit and turned aside—"I know how much you loved that balloon…"

Flynn just chuckled and ruffled Chihiro's hair. "Ah, don't worry a hair on your head, kiddo! Old Balloony ran her course, but,"—Flynn popped his collar—"I traded her in for something even better! It's perfect for the greatest pilot in all Skylands!"

The Elder Elementals all raised their eyes and grinned and they glanced among each other.

"The greatest pilot in all Skylands?" Tree Rex mused with a hint of wonder in his eyes.

"Don't believe a word he says," Terrafin scoffed as he crossed his arms and shot a glance back up at Tree Rex.

Flynn grinned, then bolted right for the door with Cali and Hugo hot on his heels. "Come on out and I'll show you!"

Chihiro and the eight Skylanders chosen for the expedition all dashed out the door behind Flynn, and the Elder Elementals all went to follow as well. But, the moment they opened the door and faced with the decidedly normal-sized halls, they all winced and drew back.

"Something tells me I'll have to teleport us out," Ninjini remarked as she rubbed her hands, "hold on tight!"

Ninjini's hands glowed purple as she rubbed them, then she cast out her hands and sent out a purple flash of light that enveloped them all! When the light faded, the Elder Elementals had completely disappeared from the portal room and reappeared on the beach's sands, right as the others had all gathered around the docks where a ship laid in the waters!

"Introducing the Dread-Yacht!" Flynn cried from the docks!

Surely, that ship had to be what Flynn was talking about, so everyone drew closer… And their faces fell. When talk of a ship fit for Skylands' best pilot came to mind, surely they all had envisioned something more grandiose, more awe-inspiring! But what they were greeted with was a run-down airship comprised of patchwork metal on the outside decorated by worn tires with holes in them, fraying ropes and rusted paddles that poked out its underside. The deck was rusted and its sails were tattered and stained, while the spotlight that poked out from the roof of the upper-left deck was cracked! Surely this had to be a joke right?

Well, judging by the look of absolute, utter glee on Flynn's face as he showed it off, it wasn't. "Just look at her, isn't she amazing?" Flynn cried as he gestured towards the Dread-Yacht. "She might look a bit worn-down, but she's got a lot of character! Plus, there's a ton of rooms inside, the doors can change size and shape, and it even has a built-in navigation system!"

The others, however, all glanced back at the ship and then at Flynn, almost as if they were expecting this to be some kind of illusion! Finally, while Flynn continued on his spiel, Chihiro stepped out from the crowds and cleared her throat.

"This is, er, nice, Flynn," Chihiro remarked as she clasped her hands together and cast a glance at the Dread-Yacht. "But, uh… You wouldn't have happened to keep the receipt on this, by any chance, would you?"

Flynn, however, just burst out laughing!

"Now why would I do that?" Flynn smiled as he patted the Dread-Yacht's side, oblivious to how several of the panels popped off and fell in the water. "This baby here is everything I could have ever dreamed of! And more importantly, she'll be perfect for this little mission!" With a snap of Flynn's fingers, a rickety steel bridge slammed onto the docks beside him and Flynn's grin spread even wider. "Come on!" Flynn cried as he bolted up the bridge. "Day's a wasting, and Kaos isn't going to wait for us!"

Well, Flynn did have a point—like it or not, Kaos wasn't just going to stand around and twiddle his thumbs waiting for them to find him, so they didn't have a moment to lose! In spite of their hesitation, everyone hopped on board the Dread-Yacht right as Flynn manned the wheel, then gazed over the side of the Dread-Yacht as the bridge receded in. Down below, everyone else on Ancient's Peak had rushed down and gathered at the docks, all with wide smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye and wished everyone the best of luck! Smiles broke on the face of every passenger aboard the Dread-Yacht as they gazed back down and waved goodbye, the tension of their mission forgotten! They just basked in the warmth of their friends' voices, and utter confidence bubbled in their souls!

"See you later!" Chihiro cried as she leaned over the side of the Dread-Yacht and waved. "We'll have Kaos back before dinner!"

"Now I wouldn't get that cocky," Gill Grunt warned as he pulled Chihiro back before she could fall off the decks. "But, we'll be sure to stop Kaos, no matter what!"

"So don't worry about us, alright?" Spyro cried as the docks faded out of view. "Just keep everything at home base intact!"

The cries and cheers faded along with the rest of Ancient's Peak as they flew further out of view, and Spyro drew into a hesitant smile as he planted his paws on the railing...

Then, a massive clunk sounded off as the Dread-Yacht tipped sideways!

Spyro, Chihiro and Gill Grunt all screamed as they went tumbling down the deck, and before they knew it, everyone else joined them as they rolled across the floor and pushed Spyro, Gill Grunt and Chihiro over the edge! They all screamed as they fell over and went tumbling down towards the endless blue abyss below—or at least, that's what they thought would happen! But rather, Tree Rex had slid forward and caught them all in his massive hands just in time! They all blinked and groaned as they steadied themselves, while Tree Rex just smiled and lurched up as the Dread-Yacht returned to its proper position.

"Talk about a close one," Tree Rex remarked as he laid them all down on the deck. "Everyone alright?"

"I think so," Whirlwind replied as she preened her wings.

Terrafin, however, just groaned and leaned against the side of the deck. "This is why I hate flying…"

As everyone came to their senses, Flynn forced a laugh and scratched his head.

"Oh, uh, almost forgot!" Flynn proclaimed as he spun the wheel. "Before we can track down Kaos, I need to pick up a few parts—this little baby here needs some spiffing up!" Flynn grinned as he toyed with the wheel. "Luckily, there's a place just on the way here, and it shouldn't be far!" Flynn winced as he looked aside. "And hopefully, none of the locals remember what happened the last time I was there…"

"Wait, what was that last bit?" Cali asked as she strode up towards Flynn.

"Eh, don't worry about it! They probably wouldn't remember something like that!"

But, while Flynn merrily sailed along and sung some kind of jaunty pilot's tune, everyone else just looked at each other and winced. Something told them all this little pit stop was going to bring some big trouble…

§

A gigantic crash marked the arrival of the Dread-Yacht as it quite literally slammed into the side of thee island and wiped the docks beside it out of existence. A couple of mabu who were scrounging around prior screamed as the blow sent them soaring in the air, never to be seen again as they twinkled in the distance!

But, Flynn didn't seem to care as he stumbled out of the pilot's chambers and fixed his hat.

"Here we are, everyone!" Flynn proclaimed as he gestured towards their island of landing. "The Junkyard Isles!"

Back on the decks, everyone else pulled themselves from the floors, the walls, up from the side of the ship itself and wherever else they had been flung from Flynn's impromptu parking attempt. Groans were heard all around as they stumbled over to the side of the Dread-Yacht and peered overboard, and all faces sank in confusion.

The island they had parked on was a veritable mess! Trash was piled up at every angle and nearly eclipsed the scattered huts and houses that occasionally peppered the area, while the ground was comprised of cold and rocky soil with no sort of grass to be found. A particularly large pile of trash eclipsed the sun and cast a large shadow over the area, so large that a good bit of it was indiscernible. But, at the very least, the massive flagpole to the left that flied all sorts of tattered flags remained still.

"This is the place where you wanna look for parts?" Cali exclaimed as she gestured to the island before them. "Flynn, are you sure you've got the right place?"—Cali turned to Flynn—"because, I don't know about you, but all I see here is junk!"

"That's the point, Cali!" Flynn proclaimed as he strode down from the captain's quarters with a wide grin on his face. "The Junkyard Isles are a resting place for anything and everything unwanted in Skylands! They've got everything and the kitchen sink here!"

Chihiro frowned and raised a brow at Flynn, then leaned against the railing and grinned. "Hey, I think I see a kitchen sink over there!"

"Exactly!" Flynn clicked his tongue and made a finger-gun at Chihiro, "This little archipelago has anything you could ever hope to find! Old machines, spare parts…"—Flynn chuckled and adjusted his scarf as he gazed to the skies—"maybe even love."

"Can love really bloom on a place like this?…" Cali remarked.

Flynn, meanwhile, just hopped on over to Chihiro, shoved a paper list into her hands and pushed her towards the Dread-Yacht's dock. "Anyways, that list I gave you should have all the parts we need," Flynn explained as he shoved her down the bridge with one last push. "Good luck, kiddo!"

"Wait a second, Flynn," Chihiro said as she turned around. "Why aren't you coming?"

Flynn clenched his teeth and hissed—ooh, not a good sign. Wait a second, didn't he say something about hoping they forgot what happened the last time he came here when they boarded? Chihiro raised a brow at Flynn, and he just responded by chuckling and looking aside.

"Well, Cali and I need to stay here and do repairs," Flynn explained as he scratched underneath his hat. "And, I, uh…" Flynn leaned further away and looked aside. "Might be kinda-sorta banned from this place. And also the entire archipelago. Funny story, I'll tell you later."

Chihiro winced, sighed as she turned her eyes back to the list in her hands, then winced again as it unfolded and trailed down to her feet. Looks like she had her work cut out for her, alright, so she turned back to the crowd of Skylanders and Elder Elementals around her.

"Golden Boy, Gill, Trig and Stealth are with me," Chihiro proclaimed as she tucked her list into her pocket. "And Tree Rex, I'd appreciate if you came too—we've got a lot of stuff we need to get…"

The five of them all nodded and joined Chihiro at her side, then right before she dashed down the docks, she grinned and waved back.

"Everyone else, keep an eye on things around here! Never know who might show up!"

And with that said, Chihiro dashed down and hopped back onto the island with everyone else close at her heels.

"Let's see, according to this list, we need a masthead, some new paint, a roof, a jukebox," Chihiro rattled off as Spyro flew up to her. "Some extra trinkets…"

Chihiro frowned as the shadows cast by the precariously-stacked trash piles overhead blocked her view, but for that matter, one of them seemed like it was getting pretty big! She narrowed her eyes as she glared down the one growing shadow, then frowned and clenched the list tighter in hand as she turned back down to her list and unfolded it... But a weird noise caught her ears right in that moment!

"Wait a second, is that creaking I hear?" Chihiro asked as she turned her head up from the list, then she and everyone else screamed and dashed off as a pile of trash collapsed to the ground!

Spyro, Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy all dashed to safety behind her, but right as they escaped, Chihiro snagged her foot and tumbled forward! With a grunt, Chihiro collapsed to the hard ground and pushed herself up, then turned around right as the trash came in fast! The trash crashed down before her while she could only stare wide-eyed…

But just before it made contact, Tree Rex leaped in front of her and shielded the blow! He grunted and strained as the trash fought against him, its massive weight a force reckoned against his mighty strength, but he dug his heels into the earth and pushed it back with a single charge! Unable to fight any longer, the trash tsunami seceded and formed into a massive pile as it spilled backwards!

Chihiro gasped as Tree Rex turned around and wiped sappy sweat from his brow, then she bolted forward and hugged his leg!

"Tree Rex, that was awesome!" Chihiro cried! She grinned up at him, then leaped off of his leg and bounced in place. "You really saved me back there!"

Tree Rex just chuckled, knelt down, and rubbed Chihiro's head with his finger. "Think nothing of it!"

Chihiro chuckled, and a warm feeling burned in her chest as he lifted his finger. But wait a second, that wasn't burning in her chest—no, it was more like something soft and warm had cast itself over her body, like a beam of light. But from where? Chihiro turned her attention back to the trash pile Tree Rex had made, where a beam of light shone from the golden surface of a round jukebox!

"And there's our jukebox!" Chihiro cried as she dove into the trash pile and waded through until she had reached it! Chihiro giggled as she stuffed her list in her pocket, then pulled the jukebox from the trash with a grunt and turned around. "Hey Tree Rex, think you could carry—"

A soft shimmer of green caught Chihiro's eye, and her grip on the jukebox slipped.

"This?"

Chihiro raised her brows, then turned her gaze down to her feet. There, rested by her boots on the cold, hard ground was a small wheel, probably big enough to fit in the palm of her hand! Its body was made of a translucent green crystal with Ancient Skylandian runes carved into its surface, and it sparkled like a jewel in the faint sunlight! But more than that, it carried some kind of strange feeling to it, something as magical and enigmatic as its ancient aesthetics. It was so fascinating, it was like it was beckoning for Chihiro to pick it up! And that's what she did as she lifted the wheel from the ground and gazed it over, then shrugged and stowed it in her pocket. Eh, she could marvel over it later—she had work to do! So while Tree Rex wandered over and plucked the jukebox from the pile, Chihiro jumped out and yanked her list from her pocket.

"So that's one thing off our list," Chihiro remarked as she walked up to Stealth Elf, Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt without even peeling her eyes away from the list. With a snap of her fingers, the jukebox crossed itself off the list. "Next up is a masthead, but where would we find that?"

"Did someone say we needed a mast?" Spyro cried from above!

Chihiro grinned as Spyro circled in the skies above her, then she stashed her list away and waved. "You find one, Gold?"

"Right over here, follow me!"

Spyro zipped over to the right, and Chihiro grinned as she dashed after him on the ground! The piles of trash cleared a bit around her the further she followed, while below her the hard earth gave way to softer soil with plenty of grass sprouting from its surface. Heck, she even caught sight of a few houses with signs and displays placed outside their limits—guess this island was capable of supporting life after all!

A dragon shadow that tailed along the ground informed Chihiro of Spyro's stop, where he was just inches away from an old, but still sturdy, bird's eye perched atop a wrecked ship! Its sails were little more than Swiss cheese, but the masthead that hung from it looked shiny and brand-new!

Spyro grinned and landed on top the bird's eye, then reached for the masthead and went to yank it off… But right before he did, a cannonball soared over his head! Spyro gasped and ducked just before he could get smacked in face, but that wasn't the end of it! He turned his gaze right, then scrambled right off the bird's eye as several more cannonballs shot over the horizon! While the bird's eye's buckled against their strength and fell to the floor as the masthead collapsed in the other direction, Spyro winced and landed behind Chihiro.

"Just what was all that?" Spyro asked as he turned to Chihiro.

Chihiro frowned and rubbed her chin, while the sounds of squabbling came from ahead! Their intrigue piqued, Chihiro and Spyro crept up to one of the few particularly large trash piles that littered the area, then peeked around it and glazed over the clearing ahead. There, at least a few small armies had formed, armed to the nines with cannons, blasters, swords and sorcery as they clashed! Their blasts and blows sent sparks flying in the air like fireworks, and occasionally the stray spell or cannonball would slam into a pile of garbage or spare parts and blow it to smithereens! But in the midst of it all, the masthead laid off to the side, completely unnoticed.

"That masthead is mine!" Cried one shrill voice between the screech of fireballs.

"No, I'm bringing it home! It's the last thing I need for my masthead collection!" Exclaimed another person as another round of cannonballs shot off!

"You're both fools if you believe either of you are worthy of that masthead! I'm the only one who can truly appreciate its beauty!"

While the insults and sparks flew, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy poked their heads over Spyro and Chihiro's.

"They seemed pretty riled up over one little masthead," Trigger Happy remarked with a frown.

"If you ask me, this would be the perfect time to pick it up and go," Gill Grunt added.

Then, he jumped back as Stealth Elf popped into existence between him and Trigger Happy!

"Not so fast, you two," Stealth Elf warned as the smoke cleared from around her, "We're not just jumping in there,"—Stealth Elf gestured out to the raging battle ahead—"They're all so riled up that one misstep and we're toast!" Stealth Elf smiled and rubbed her hands. "I'd say this requires a more delicate touch!"

Stealth Elf scoffed, and in the blink of an eye she had turned completely invisible! Even her footprints had been masked as she dashed away, her presence completely unnoticed as she lifted up the masthead and slipped away from the battle! Stealth Elf smirked as she dropped the masthead by everyone's feet, and with a puff of green smoke she returned back to visibility.

"And that's the masthead!" Chihiro cried as she checked it off. The sound of massive footsteps rumbled the ground below while a shadow cast over, but Chihiro paid no mind as she gestured aside. "Tree Rex, you can take that, and next thing we need is,"—Chihiro held the list closer to her face and hummed—"a new paint job!"

The aroma of freshly-opened paint wafted across Chihiro's nose, and the scent was so strong that she couldn't help but recoil! It was a bit overwhelming, but at the same time, if there was the scent, then surely there was paint around here somewhere! So, Chihiro trailed the scent off to the west, where the sun was slowly setting. Wait a second, it wasn't anywhere near evening yet! Why was everything so dark? Chihiro peered upwards, then grinned as she came to a stop. The sun had been completely eclipsed by a gigantic collection of paint cans, carefully arranged so that they made the shape of a sturdy castle!

Chihiro summoned a sphere of light and glazed over the labels on the cans—all of them had fancy names and patterns like Starry Night Sky, Floral Reef, Stripes Ahoy, and more. Oh, they all seemed so cool, how was she supposed to choose?

"Ah, interested in my wares, I see?" Remarked a voice from beside her!

Chihiro perked her head up and turned around to find that there beside her stood a brown bear dressed in a fancy suit, monocle and other clothes far richer than someone who set up shop in a junkyard should look. He had an inquisitive grin on his face as he covered a couple of paint jars rested on a fancy red and gold booth with shiny gold lids—guess that explained where the paint scent came from.

"I'm not surprised, my paint shop has the largest collection of premium paints in all Skylands!" The bear winked as he fixed his collar. "And we're having a sale, too! Everything's twenty-five percent off!" The bear cleared his throat. "These paints are some of Skylands' finest, made with an intricate blend of magic and carefully-selected colors, all blended by the most skilled of artisans—"

A gigantic pile of gold coins fell on the bear as he rambled, and Chihiro jolted back! Wait, where did that come from? Excited giggling came down from the skies, and down from the pile slid none other than Trigger Happy—should have guessed!

"Just keep the change!" Trigger Happy cried as he leaped into Chihiro's arms and chuckled. "I've got plenty!"

Trigger Happy leaped from Chihiro's arms in an instant, and he immediately jumped for the collection of paint cans closest! He grappled first for a can of shiny golden paint, but then another one with more of a rose gold finish caught his eyes! Well, gold was a nice color, but Chihiro wasn't entirely sure it was to Flynn's taste. Better pick up some alternatives! The Starry Night Sky and Floral Reef buckets were Chihiro's first picks, yanked carefully from the base of one of the pillars so that it wouldn't disrupt the entire display. But there was so many cool ones, Chihiro couldn't help but pick a bunch! So, she snagged a rainbow one, one that blended a cool purple with gentle monochromes, another similar to that but with rich greens instead, another one that was a bright pink, yellow and sky blue and brought to mind to a summer sunset… There were just so many, Chihiro just couldn't pick! Chihiro grinned as her eyes fell on a primary color bucket, and she immediately reached out to grab it—but just as she grabbed its handle, a furry hand gripped it too! Chihiro turned her eyes to the side, and there beside her, Trigger Happy had grabbed onto it too! The two of them blinked, then they both giggled as they let go.

"Well, we've got quite the selection here," Chihiro remarked as she lifted up her buckets. "But, I'm not sure which one to bring back! I mean, all these colors seem super cool and all."

"Then why not just bring them all back?" Trigger Happy remarked.

Chihiro's eyes went wide, and she giggled. "Perfect idea, Trig!" Chihiro remarked as she slipped the other paint cans out of Trigger Happy's hands. "We'll just take them all back and let Flynn pick!"

Chihiro teleported up to Tree Rex and dumped the paint cans in his arms, then popped back down and peered over her list.

"And now, we need decorations!" Chihiro remarked as she lifted her head. "Surely there's gotta be something nice-looking in here…"

Chihiro hummed as she strolled around the junkyards, her head careened from side to side as she examined the massive piles of trash, junk and knick-knacks. And yet, nothing seemed particularly appealing. It was all broken boxes and machines, things that had been left to rot for so long that they were beyond salvaging, or stuff that looked just plain tacky! Wasn't there something intriguing in this entire island? Chihiro crossed her arms and huffed as she passed by yet another unassuming mound of garbage, then a glimmer of faint gold in the distance caught her eye. Chihiro drew closer to the source with the light as her guide, and found something shiny and gold buried under a massive mound of dirt!

The dirt mound laid across from her on a cliff, but a quick teleport closed the gap immediately! Chihiro frowned and hummed as she came closer to the dirt mound. She tried to wipe it off, but it seemed that every time she pushed some dirt off, more slid down to take its place! So, with a snap of her fingers, she summoned a massive fan that blew the dirt away with a single flap! And with the dirt gone, the true identity of the dirt mound had been revealed! It was actually an old, rusted chest kept halfway-stuck in a hole, and in a particularly suspicious manner too—it seemed carefully positioned, as if it was locking something away! Or maybe it had gotten stuck at a weird angle? Chihiro wasn't sure, but either way she levitated it out and teleported down below as the others came to meet her.

"Alright!" Chihiro cried as she dropped the chest in front of the rest of her group, "Gill, can you hose this thing down?"

"Sure thing!" Gill Grunt affirmed as he hefted up his water cannon!

With a single pull of the trigger, a massive gush of water sprung from the cannon and slammed right onto the chest! The water dripped down and sunk into the ground with the dirt as the chest glimmered in the light, its murky surface cleansed! It was now a chest made of sparkly gold and red metal, so shiny that Gill Grunt could see his reflection in it—as did everyone else!

Chihiro raised her brows and chirped. This definitely seemed promising! So, she skipped around and unlatched its top, then pulled it open to reveal… Decorations! All sorts of them, too! From garlands of flowers, jewels and life preservers to light strings and crystal hearts, snow globes and all sorts of other trinkets, this thing practically had everything!

"Looks like we found our decorations!" Chihiro chirped as she closed the chest back up and leaned against it. "Now, why don't we load this thing up and—"

Right as Chihiro spoke, the ground rumbled with an immense fury! Rocks and pebbles leaped from the floor as everyone collapsed and struggled to stay afoot, while behind them piles of trash collapsed left and right, until their way out had been completely blocked! Chihiro herself slammed face-first into the chest, but the pain was only a back thought as she leaped up.

"An earthquake?!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stumbled back and forth amid the shaking ground.

A series of loud growls echoed across the skies, while in front of Chihiro, the bloated cliffside from where she snagged the chest started to retract and exhale, as if it was breathing! The cliff shook more furiously than anything else… Then finally, it completely exploded! Out from the open mouth came a trio of massive bark demons the size of buildings, propelled in the air by a geyser of round, green chompies! The bark demons crashed down in front of everyone while the chompies rained around, then licked trails of ripe, green liquid from their lips. Not only were they huge, but their eyes were bright with rage as they scanned the premises, then snagged some chompies from the sky and wolfed them down, growing even larger than before as the chompies' screams faded away!

Chihiro gulped, and cold sweat dripped down from her forehead as she drew away from her chest. "Well, guess I know what that treasure chest was blocking now."

Chihiro instinctively formed a few energy spheres in her hands as the bark demons turned around and fixed their eyes on her, while Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf drew their weapons and stood firm as the bark demons drew closer. They all narrowed their eyes, fully prepared to attack!

But right before they could, Tree Rex just put away their little collection and stood between them and the bark demons! A snarl crossed his face as he cracked his knuckles, while the cannon on his arm pulsed with green light!

"Hey, buddies!" Tree Rex shouted as he finished cracking his knuckles and flung his arms in front of the others. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The bark demons snarled and mumbled out gibberish as they looked around, but they seemed to take up Tree Rex on that proposition nonetheless! The first one leaped forward and slashed at Tree Rex with a hiss, but he just swerved out of the way and zapped it backwards with a blast form his cannon! While the first demon flew backwards, the second and third leaped for Tree Rex, and he charged right back at them in return! The three of them locked tight on each other as they pushed and prodded at each other, trails dug in the dirt as they struggled against each others' strength. But ultimately, Tree Rex won out! He pushed forward, then flung the bark demons away with a simple flick of his arms!

"I'll take care of these guys!" Tree Rex shouted as he turned back to Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Stealth Elf and Trigger Happy. "You just get the stuff back to the—"

Tree Rex gasped as the sound of gnashing teeth and fierce growling came down from below, then he tilted backwards and stumbled about! And a look down at his legs showed why—the chompies that had fallen to the ground had latched onto his legs and were chewing away! Not that they did much damage with how thick his bark was, but they were so numerous that they kept his footing off-kilter!

"Hey, hey, hey stop!" Tree Rex chuckled as he tottered to the right. "That tickles!"

Tree Rex broke into a giggling fit, then his giggles turned to sputtering cries as he windmilled his arms and veered to the left! He swayed from side to side as the chompies kept him on his toes. And with them keeping his occupied, he was completely open to everything else. If an attack were to strike, he'd be helpless! And the bark demons noticed this, because one immediately leaped forward and pinned him to the ground! The bark demon hissed in Tree Rex's face as it tried to take a bite out of his chest, but Tree Rex grunted and pushed it backwards as he tried to get up! And yet, he just couldn't get off the ground no matter what—the bark demons' grip on his arms and its weight kept him stuck firm, and if that didn't, then the chompies gnawing on his arms and legs and sending him into giggling fits as he tried to flail them off certainly did!

"Crap, Tree Rex's in trouble!" Chihiro cried. "We've gotta help him!" Chihiro snarled as she squeezed the energy spheres she had summoned, then she slung them over to the chompies. "Take this, you walking weeds!"

The sphere slammed into Tree Rex's legs and exploded on the spot! Green blood and fried chompies flew in all directions as the cyan light faded, while the surviving chompies' eyes all turned on Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf! Their beady eyes narrowed as Chihiro beckoned towards them, then they all squealed as they forgot about Tree Rex and swarmed over to them!

Chihiro smirked as the chompies flooded over, then she leaped in the air and snapped her fingers. As she hovered in midair, gigantic bombs made of sparkling purple magic manifested beside her, and with a spin and slap on her end, they slammed right into the ground! They burst into a purple, fiery explosion the moment they made contact! The chompies squealed as the inferno burnt them into piles of ashes, while the others all screamed and dashed away, but even they wouldn't escape the flaming wrath that awaited them! Up in the skies, Spyro stopped to high-five Chihiro, then soared over and sent a massive pillar of flames down on the ground! The fleeing chompies didn't even noticed until their comrades in the back cried out as they burned to ashes, then they turned around and squeaked! The chompies looked down and jabbered as they examined the ashes, but the rumble of a massive quake turned their attention back up! The sound of rushing water surrounded them as a massive tidal wave washed them all them all away!

And the tidal wave's source was none other then Gill Grunt, who stayed firm to his spot while his cannon pumped out massive blasts of scalding water by the second!

"Trig!" Gill Grunt called over the sound of furious water. "They're all yours!"

"Alrighty!" Trigger Happy cried back as he bounced from foot to foot. "Time for a little game I call…" Trigger Happy flipped into the air and whipped out a massive golden gatling gun, then slammed it down on the ground. "Target practice!"

Trigger Happy's laughter reached the heavens as he latched his finger around the trigger, and it only grew louder as he sent out entire waves of golden coins that slammed into the oncoming tidal wave and blew the chompies right out of it! The chompies shot through the waters and across the skies with gold in their mouths in droves, while their watery prison crashed over Trigger Happy and whatever chompies somehow remained! But, in spite of the heat, when the tide receded Trigger Happy was perfectly fine! A little wet, sure, but he quickly shook that off and giggled as he flipped back.

"Ten outta ten, me!" Trigger Happy chirped!

But while Trigger Happy was fine, the chompies that surrounded him just groaned as they laid on their backs, waterlogged and disoriented. A few stumbled up and spun on their feet as they tried to make some sense of what just happened. Right as they did, however, Stealth Elf popped out of nowhere and slashed them back down!

"This is too easy!" Stealth Elf cried as she popped away from one group of chompies and sliced down the next. "Almost makes me feel bad knocking them all down like this!"

Stealth Elf scoffed and crossed her arms as another chompy fell unconscious by her blade, then her ears twitched! A couple of the more intact chompies stormed after her, so she just scoffed again and disappeared in a puff of green smoke! When the smoke cleared and the chompies went for the kill, what they bit on was not her, but a bladed scarecrow in her likeness! While the scarecrow spun around and tossed the chompies away, Stealth Elf wiped the sweat from her brow, then jumped forward and cringed as a massive crash sounded behind her!

And that crash came from none other than Tree Rex, who wrestled against a bark demon that had pressed him into a pile of garbage! Worn machinery and trash crumbled around him as he strained to push the bark demon off of him, but the bark demon just pushed right back! The two of them struggled against each other, arms interlocked in a battle of wills that seemed to not relent… But then, Tree Rex snarled and lowered his head!

"Coming through!" Tree Rex cried as he charged right into the bark demon!

The bark demon wailed in shock as Tree Rex piledrived it, the fury and wind so fast that it was kept pinned to his chest, and in the confusion it bit right into his shoulder! Tree Rex grunted, but his charge didn't relent! He just slammed right into the cliff the bark demon came from, then conked it in the head with his own! The bark demon wailed and slunk down against the cliff as its grip relented, while Tree Rex just staggered backwards and held his bleeding shoulder. A snarl crossed his face as the two other bark demons surrounded him, then he lifted his sappy hand high to the heavens! With a mighty groan, he pounded it right into the ground and sent a string of shockwaves through the area!

The trash piles around rumbled and collapsed underneath the berth of the shockwaves, while Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf had to muster all their willpower to not fall to their knees as their legs turned to jelly. The bark demons, however, weren't so lucky! They screeched in pain as their bark started to peel, then they collapsed right on their faces.

Tree Rex smirked and lifted up his laser cannon, its front bright green and ready to fire. But, as he charged it up and got ready to shoot, he paid no minds to the sounds of creaking behind him…

"Tree Rex, look out!" Chihiro cried!

Tree Rex turned around, but he was too late! The bark demon he had tackled to the cliffside moments earlier had sprung back to life and tackled into him once more! He immediately grabbed onto it and tried to push it away, but with every push, he winced and strained while his legs trembled and slid in place before he'd force them to stand. He was clearly in no shape for a tussle with one bark demon of that size, much less three! And yet, the other two bark demons both jumped back to their roots and slammed into his back! Tree Rex grunted in pain as the two bark demons crashed into his back, and with him distracted, they all grabbed onto his shoulders and slammed him into the ground! The earth below him cracked as Tree Rex screamed in pain, then he growled and narrowed his eyes as the bark demons loomed over him. Tree Rex winced as he lifted his hand, then a single blast of solar energy burst from his cannon, while the bark demons screeched and slipped aside…

But it slipped right past them and across the stratosphere! It moved further and further away, its direction veered left and completely off course—it was like he had missed on purpose!

The bark demons just cackled as the energy blast disappeared from view, then they all dogpiled onto Tree Rex! Tree Rex grunted and screamed as he flailed underneath their weight, while the bark demons all gnashed and tore at his bark, leaving fleshy phloem and sap exposed in their wake!

"Tree Rex!" Chihiro cried. "We've gotta help him!"

Chihiro bolted forward, then screamed and shot a burst of energy right at one of the bark demons! However, its bark was so thick that the energy blast was completely negated the moment it made contact. Chihiro winced and scrambled backwards, then turned her eyes to the skies as fire ignited!

Up above, Spyro cast down fireballs bright and hot as the sun onto the bark demons, but none of his blows did any more damage than Chihiro's! The most they left behind was a couple of singe marks as they extinguished the moment they hit the bark demons. And for that matter, none of the other attacks worked wonders, either—Gill Grunt's scalding water just dripped down their sides while his harpoons and Trigger Happy's golden weaponry bounced off, and even Stealth Elf's daggers barely left a dent in their wooden armor! The five of them drew back and frowned, and the stature they held slipped a little as the sound of Tree Rex's screams turned them back to where he struggled. But as the other three just flinched, Chihiro and Spyro just turned to each other and nodded! They joined hands in that moment, then thrust their arms out while a shimmering, purple glow of magic and fire surrounded them!

"Everyone!" Chihiro cried as she turned her eyes to Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy. "When we say shoot, shoot!"

The three of them nodded, then immediately readied their weapons while Spyro and Chihiro's combined attack grew brighter and hotter! Its light was strong enough that the bark demons had drawn away from mauling Tree Rex and stared in bewilderment, and in response the flame took a life of its own! Its form had changed to a dragon's head that glared back at the bark demons and roared as embers fluttered from its mouth!

"SHOOT!" Chihiro and Spyro cried!

The two of them cast out their spell with such force that they fell to their backs clinging to each other, then pushed themselves up right as another trio of attacks fed into theirs! Their magic, flaming dragon was joined by poison spores, spiraling water and a massive beam of golden laser light, and it morphed into a gigantic blast that slammed right into the bark demons! Surely, it would be big and powerful enough to stop them, right?

Well, what was big and powerful to them was only relative, because the blast left at most a few smoldering burns as it crashed into the center bark demon and disappeared! The bark demon whimpered and stumbled back, then the entire trio gnashed their teeth and growled as they chased after Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf!

The five of them immediately screamed and dashed off, but while they were fast, the bark demons were larger and gained more traction with each step! It wasn't long before the demons had caught up, and they were forced to split up! Spyro and Chihiro dove left, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy right, and Stealth Elf just vanished in midair!

Chihiro grunted as she clutched onto Spyro and rolled them both underneath the roots of the bark demons that tailed them, but the sound of growls proved their struggles didn't end there! Chihiro grunted as she tried to stand up, but a sudden twinge of pain forced her back down! Chihiro winced as she fell to her knees—had she twisted her ankle right now, of all times? As Chihiro knelt down and prepared to cast a healing spell over her foot, the sound of growling echoed around her, and once again she cringed and peered back up at the bark demon.

But, another pair of growls distracted her from that soon enough! Chihiro turned backwards, and behind her the other two bark demons enclosed on Tree Rex once again! And Tree Rex, so covered in saplike blood and weak from his wounds, could barely stand! He could only watch in horror as the bark demons closed in on him, as did everyone else!

But just before they struck, dark purple smoke coated the arena out of nowhere! Everyone around broke into hacking fits, their fight completely forgotten as the smoke filtered through the area… But what did it come from?

"Any last wishes?" Cried a voice from within the clouds as they all cleared away!

In the center of the battlefield, Ninjini stood with swords at arms and Bouncer and Crusher beside her! Gasps echoed around as the three of them lowered their weapons, but they just smirked.

Ninjini turned her attention to Tree Rex, then knelt down as she hovered a hand above him. "We got your distress signal, Tree Rex!" Ninjini cried as her hand glowed purple. "Just let us take care of things from here!"

The purple glow from Ninjini's hand seeped into Tree Rex and slowly patched his wounds, while Ninjini herself just sprung up and zipped right towards the bark demon that had been chasing Spyro and Chihiro not moments earlier! The bark demon gawked in shock at Ninjini's sudden arrival, and that moment of surprise was all she needed to slice it in half with her blades! While the sliced halves of the bark demon collapsed on the floor with a thud, Ninjini cast its sap blood across the battlefield with a flick of her blades and smirked.

Chihiro and Spyro both gasped and grinned as they overlooked Ninjini, while beside them, Stealth Elf reappeared out of nowhere and gasped, her white eyes sparkling.

"So fast, and so powerful…" Stealth Elf whispered, and the faintest hint of a blush formed beneath her mask. "She's… Amazing…"

Ninjini turned around and perked up as her eyes fell on Stealth Elf, then she chuckled and winked as she flew out of Bouncer's way! Bouncer zipped right past her, fingers at the ready and eyes set on a second bark demon, then his eyes narrowed and fingertips glowed.

"Maximum overdrive!" Bouncer cried as he snapped his fingers!

A fleet of rockets emerged from his fingertips and swirled through the air as they slammed into the bark demon and exploded, but all it really did was crack the bark demon's bark! The bark demon squealed and rushed away before Bouncer could fire another round, but unfortunately it wasn't looking where it was going! Before it had known it, it had run straight into Crusher!

"Time for a SMASH HIT!" Crusher exclaimed as he swung his hammer over his head, then smashed it right over the bark demon! Crusher grunted as he lifted his hammer up and shook the sap from its head, then smiled and swung it over his shoulder.

And the sole remaining bark demon just whimpered as it looked around. Its allies had all been wiped out, and the shocked, deer in the headlights look it held showed just how badly cornered it had been! Its roots twitched and tapped as it tried to figure out just where to run, while behind it a healed Tree Rex lurched up and growled.

"Be warned, my bark's just as bad as my bite!" Tree Rex cried!

The bark demon jolted up, then screamed as Tree Rex charged it right in the back, so strong that it bent the bark demon in half! The bark demon hacked and coughed out sap as it fell to its knees, then its hacks had turned to screams as a huge beam of bright green light evaporated it where it stood! While it crumbled to ashes underneath the beam's power, Tree Rex just smirked and blew off his cannon.

"I tried to warn you."

"Geez, babe!" Bouncer smirked as he laid a hand around Tree Rex's shoulders and nuzzled his head. "You lucked out, you know!"

"If that pilot hadn't bored us all to death rambling about his ship, we might not've seen your distress signal!" Ninjini added as she popped up beside Bouncer. Bouncer, in return laid another arm around her shoulder and planted a kiss on her cheek, while Ninjini chuckled and returned his kiss with another.

Tree Rex, however, just smiled as he drew away from Bouncer and nodded.

"Oh, I wasn't worried," Tree Rex remarked with a nod, "I knew you'd see it."

The three of them chuckled, while behind them Crusher raised a brow and gently nudged the pile of amassed repair items and treasures with his hammer.

"Oh, almost forgot about those!" Chihiro remarked as she skipped over. "We made a lot of headway on getting stuff for the ship!"—Chihiro fished out her list and glazed it over—"just need two more things…"

Tree Rex let out a mighty cough above her, and Chihiro winced as Bouncer and Crusher immediately went to prop him up. "But, we should probably drop all this stuff off and let Rexy rest."

Ninjini nodded, then swirled her fingers while purple mist formed above her.

"Just let me handle the transportation!" Ninjini proclaimed as she clapped her hands!

As she did, the purple mist spiraled together and solidified into a bright purple vortex! The vortex's lavender light shimmered down as everyone gathered underneath it, and in the twinkle of an eye they all vanished from plain sight while the vortex itself closed!

§

Back on the Dread-Yacht, the faint rhythm of pounding hammers and the stench of cleaning supplies filled the air as tools laid scattered around the deck, a busy sight to accompany the business of its passengers! Everyone around was silent as they patched up broken metal panels, changed out old and long-gone materials with fresh new ones or even just tossed garbage off the side of the ship and into the unknown! Their work rhythm was steady and unrelenting, that is, until purple light from a forming vortex above drifted across everyone's backs! Their eyes turned up to the vortex as its purple light grew brighter, and they laid down their tools as a hole formed in its center. It rumbled a bit, and everyone stood back, unsure if they should fight or run or brace themselves...

"WE'RE BACK!~" Chihiro cried as she leaped out of the vortex's other side and onto the Dread-Yacht's deck!

And the tension dropped as the remaining members of their team followed her down! Those who boarded the Dread-Yacht all grinned as the vortex swirled above them, and with a smile they pushed their tools aside and swarmed around the vortex.

Flynn grinned as he pulled himself up from the side of the Dread-Yacht, a belt full of tools tied around his waist and oil smeared across his clothes. "There you are, kiddo!" Flynn remarked as he climbed over the side of the deck. "Didja get the—"—Flynn winced as something pulled him back across the deck—"STUFFFFFFFFF?"

Chihiro winced and immediately dashed over to the other side of the deck, then breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced over. Flynn was okay, thankfully—that is, if you'd count "Dangling over the side of the Dread-Yacht while hanging precariously from a cable attached to its side" okay, but…

"Yep, we did!" Chihiro replied as she pulled Flynn up by his cable. "Well, almost all of it. You can see for yourself!"

Right as Chihiro fished Flynn off from the side of the Dread-Yacht, a firm thunk sounded off while all their treasures were dumped onto the deck! Everyone else around immediately skittered out of the way before they could get buried, but while they were shocked, Flynn was ecstatic! He dashed over to the pile with all the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store, and marveled over it as he yanked its contents from the pile!

"Oh, this garland'll be perfect for the side of the ship!" Flynn cried as he pulled out a string of golden star-shaped lights and tossed them aside, then yanked out a shiny gold paint can and the masthead. "And this masthead will go great with a sparkly gold paint job!"

Trigger Happy smirked as he turned towards Chihiro. "Knew he'd like it!"

While Trigger Happy giggled and nudged, Flynn let out a sharp gasp! All eyes turned to him, but Flynn didn't particularly care as he unloaded the jukebox like he had just discovered buried treasure!

"A JUKEBOX! THE GOOD KIND, TOO!" Flynn squealed as he dashed away and dropped the jukebox aside. "NOW WE CAN FINALLY GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"

Flynn pressed a few buttons, turned a few knobs and awaited patiently as static crackled over the jukebox's speakers… Then he gasped with utter glee as loud rock music played over the speakers! While the others just quirked their brows or covered their ears and groaned, Flynn was rocking out, air guitar and all!

And he was so excited, Chihiro couldn't help but join in! With a couple spare paint cans for drums, Chihiro levitated them around and drummed them with her fingers! The two of them jammed together in pure glee, then froze in place as Cali turned off the jukebox and shot them a glare.

"Just what is all this for, anyways?" Cali asked as she turned to Flynn.

"Ah, Cali, don't you know?" Flynn replied. "Music is the most important part of an adventure! You can't have a road trip without a rockin' soundtrack!"

Flynn reached back for the dial, but Cali just slapped his hand away and shot him a glare.

"Well, we can't exactly have a road trip in this state!" Cali exclaimed. "The decorations are nice and fancy, but what about repairs? The sail's barely hanging on, the steering wheel's about ready to pop off, and this whole ship sounds like it'll die every time it starts!"—Cali crossed her arms and winced—"and I'm pretty sure I keep hearing weird noises from the engine room…"

Flynn whimpered as he rubbed his head, then sighed and hung it. "You're right, Cali, all this fancy stuff can wait for later." Flynn lifted his head and cleared his throat. "Hey, Chihiro, what do we still need?"

"Just the engine and the navigation system!" Chihiro replied as she glazed over the list, then frowned and peered over the ship's side as she stowed the list away. "Though maybe I didn't go far enough, but I didn't see anything like that here…"

"Something like that wouldn't be here, kiddo!" Flynn shouted as he rummaged through the pile of trinkets and decorations. "They take all the good stuff to their underground market!"—Flynn yanked out a pair of prank glasses with only a single lens, a sparkly cloak and a top hat from the pile, put them on and tossed a pile of clothes towards Chihiro—"speaking of, if we're going there, you might wanna put these on… Just in case."

The others all winced and shrugged at each other, but nonetheless yanked goofy hats, strange glasses and colorful shirts from the pile before donning them. They all looked like technicolor nightmares from Spyro's neon plaid suit and tie paired with star-shaped glasses to Gill Grunt's dancer getup, but hey, they were disguises!

Tree Rex frowned as he glazed over the pile, then scratched his head and lifted up a tiny, sparkly pink top hat. He popped it onto his horn and grinned as it stood there for all of five seconds, but a single jerk of his head popped it right back off and into the pile once more! A pout crossed his face as it disappeared amid endless seas of sparkly, tacky colorful fabric and cheap accessories, then he knelt down beside Chihiro.

"I don't think any of that's going to fit us," Tree Rex remarked.

"Eh, I think you'll be fine," Chihiro remarked as she tied her hair into twintails with blue hairbows and popped a golden crown atop her head, then clipped a blue tie with a white chevron attached to a golden heart-shaped brooch onto her jacket. "You've been gone for so long, I don't think anybody would notice anything too amiss!"

Tree Rex frowned, then drew back and shrugged. "If you say so."

Flynn, meanwhile, hopped up to the pilot's chambers and spun the wheel, then with a sputter and several hacks of black smoke, the Dread-Yacht craned around and flew off! The familiar sights of the massive junkyard expanses sank further and further out of view as they dove down lower, while just across the side of the island… Music played? Yes, peppy, poppy music like the kind of stuff they played in supermarkets, combined with the occasional flash of lights and what sounded like fighting and screaming? Whatever it was, though, it definitely had a bit of a bad air to it.

"Y'know, it's a good thing we're getting a new engine," Flynn remarked as he spun the wheel around. "Because right now, the one we have is just a family of angry raccoons!"

"I knew I heard something weird coming from the engine room!" Cali remarked as she snapped her fingers, then blinked rapidly and shot a look towards Flynn. "Wait, angry raccoons?!"

"Very angry raccoons, Cali." Flynn hissed through gritted teeth as he steered the Dread-Yacht into the entrance. "In fact, I'm already dreading telling them they're gonna be replaced…"

The lights of the outside dimmed as the Dread-Yacht soared through the caverns below, which were perfectly open save for the rocky walls and the large rock sidewalks that carried all sorts of stands and bazaars! Ships and schooners, sky-scooters and jets were all parked on the sides like cars while Skylandians in all shapes, species and sizes bartered, traded, sold and argued with the stand keepers. To say nothing of the wares! Fancy paintings and crafts at one stand, shiny crystals, metals and ores at another, potions and charms. There was just so much to look at!

Chihiro gasped with shimmering eyes as she admired the stands, then her face fell. At one stand lied purple chompies, phoenix chicks and other animals that she were fairly certain were endangered and definitely not to be sold legally, others had strange devices and artifacts that crackled with strange energy, and… Okay, Chihiro wasn't entirely sure what that stand had, but she was about seventy-five percent certain it was not the kind of stuff you'd find at a decent seller.

"Y'know," Chihiro winced as she drew away from the side of the Dread-Yacht. "I don't know about you all, but this place kinda gives me the creeps."

"You're not the only one," Cali winced as she crossed her arms, "Flynn, are you sure this is a reputable market?"

Flynn just shrugged and grinned. "Eh, as long as you avoid the creeps, it's a decent place!" Flynn swerved in between two jets at such a tight squeeze that it lead to him denting the bumper of one jet, but he hardly seemed concerned as he set out the Dread-Yacht's bridge. "Now, let's get going!"

Flynn whistled a jaunty tune as he stepped down, then side-stepped a brawl over what seemed like a fur coat that had been torn to pieces as he grabbed a map from a crate. It was amazing how he could be so nonchalant about a place like this! Just the sight of everything set every alarm bell in Chihiro's head off!

Chihiro winced, then clung to Spyro as the two of them left the Dread-Yacht, followed by Cali, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf and Tree Rex. They all drew closer to Flynn, but before they could say anything, Tree Rex gasped and yanked the rest of them off the ground!

"Watch out!" Tree Rex cried as he curled around them!

Tree Rex grunted as something exploded and burst into flames behind them, then he winced and turned back as two elves bickered over what seemed like the remains of a flame potion behind them. As the flames died, Tree Rex peered down at the others and winced.

"Okay, I think we're in the clear—"

"YOU FILTHY SCALPER! THOSE LIMITED EDITION CAPTAIN SKYLANDS ACTION FIGURES ARE WAY TOO HIGH A PRICE!"

"THIS IS A TOTALLY REASONABLE PRICE FOR A FIGURE THIS LIMITED!"

"THESE PAINTINGS ARE ALL KNOCKOFFS!"

"I DEMAND TO SEE A MANAGER!"

Tree Rex winced as another bundle of firecrackers soared between his horns and exploded nearby, then he tucked everyone close to his chest as he scurried and side-stepped the argumentative crowds.

"Actually, I think maybe we should go somewhere else!" Tree Rex cried as he ducked underneath a cavern's mouth and sighed.

As he drew to a stop and unfolded his hands, everyone else turned around and glimpsed over the surroundings. Compared to the beginning of the market, they were much more sparse with only a handful of shops and maybe a quarter of the patrons as before. But, judging by the patrons' irritated looks as they mumbled to themselves and kicked the rocks around, it wasn't any less iffy.

"Hey buddy!" Cried one mabu as they walked off. "Your Tree Rex costume needs work!"

While the mabu passed him by, Tree Rex's mouth gaped open. "Costume?…" Tree Rex remarked as he glazed down at his chest.

Chihiro chuckled to herself, then slid over Tree Rex's hands and prepared to drop down—but just before she jumped off, she froze. Was that rumbling she heard in the distance? Chihiro cocked a brow and climbed back into Tree Rex's palms, then she summoned a magic telescope and peered ahead.

The sound of screams pierced the air as a bear dressed in a fancy suit dashed down the halls! His monocle bounced against his chest while his fur stood on end, and he was all sorts of disoriented as an angry crowd bit at his heels! But wait a second, that bear seemed familiar! Where had she seen—wait…

"That's the bear who sold me those paint cans!" Chihiro cried as she stowed away her telescope. "But why's he being chased?"

"I ASSURE YOU!" The bear cried as he turned around and faced the crowds. "My prices are perfectly reasonable! Was giving you a one-percent discount not enough?!"

"NO!" The crowd cried! A few particularly angry customers grabbed rotten tomatoes and bananas from their pockets, then beaned them at the bear as they sprung forward. "WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK!"

And just like that, the clouds of dust turned to a near-dust storm as the crowd's speed picked up! Their fury transformed the clouds into a roaring dragon as they stormed forward and sprung for the bear, all while they pelted him with whatever rotting produce they could get their hands on! Man, his deals must have been really bad…

"SAVE YOURSELVES!" The bear cried as he dove for cover!

But while he managed to get to safety, Tree Rex wasn't so lucky! The crowd had descended upon him as the whole area devolved into utter chaos and completely threw him off balance as they rumbled the area! Tree Rex grunted as he tried to regain his footing, but before he knew it the crowd had swept him off his feet and tossed him towards the ceiling!

"Owch!" Tree Rex cried as his head slammed into the cavern's rocky ceiling! He grunted as he fell back down with a thud, then pushed himself back up and unfolded his hands. "Is everyone alright?"

From within the safety of Tree Rex's palms, everyone else groaned as they laid in his grip, eyes spinning around on their heads and bodies slunk against his fingers. They were alive, but with how dizzy and disoriented they were, it certainly didn't feel like it!

"I think so?" Chihiro groaned as she pushed herself up. With a shake of her head, Chihiro regained her consciousness and pushed her fake crown back onto her head, then screamed and ducked as a magic blast shot just inches away from her head! Chihiro gritted her teeth, then whipped around and shook a fist. "Hey, watch where you're slinging your spells!"

But whoever nearly shot Chihiro didn't seem to particularly care, because they were more interested in the spat that had occurred! In the heart of the cavern halls, the angry crowd that had been chasing after the bear moments earlier had apparently decided to settle for fighting each other instead. Insults and curses flew about along with fireballs, fruit and fizzling fuzzballs! People flew into the walls and broke stalls with a single smash, the walls caved as large spells broke holes into them, smolders and smoke grew so intense that it made eyes around water and sent people into coughing fits as they fought! The market itself was gone, replaced by a massive battlefield with only vague resemblance to what it used to be!

"Crap, this is bad!" Chihiro cried. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Well, there was one tiny problem with that—they had all been caught in the middle of it! Tree Rex was in the eye of the storm, kept in the center of the raging ring of fighters as he clung to everyone who sat in his hands, and all this fighting had left him utterly bewildered! He stumbled backwards and forwards as he tried to dodge blows, all while his eyes jumped from place to place in search of sanctuary. Alas, there was no escape to be found, for every angle had been boarded off by angry patrons! Tree Rex's eyes popped wide as the sound of torrenting water sounded from beside him and ducked, then staggered back up and sighed with relief as a blast of water passed him by But as he did, a bright yellow light shone on his face and popped those eyes of his back open! A bright fireball had come his way courtesy of a very angry red dragon, and it was coming in fast!

Tree Rex immediately went to blast it down, but before he could Chihiro cast up a shield and neutralized it midway through! While both the shield and fireball disappeared in a shower of embers and sparkles, Chihiro turned aside and gasped. She hopped off of Tree Rex's hand and levitated down, then jabbed a finger towards a large opening masked almost entirely by darkness!

"Hey, I think I found a way out!" Chihiro cried as she turned back to Tree Rex. "Just follow me!"

Chihiro immediately bolted forward, but as she did, an angry elf jumped in front of her and thrust a spear in her face!

"You, you looked at me funny!" The elf proclaimed as it pressed the spear's blades just inches away from her nose. "Die!"

The elf screamed as it immediately went to slice her open, but Chihiro immediately jumped backwards and clapped her hands! An electric fan made entirely of magic manifested beside her, and with a simple snap of her fingers, it flipped on and sent a massive breeze through the tunnels! The elf and its spear were sent flying down the tunnels, then the fan itself disappeared in a pop of sparkles!

"Quickly!" Chihiro cried as she dashed into the safety of the tunnels!

The sound of pounding footsteps indicated Tree Rex behind her, but Chihiro's eyes were fixed on the road ahead as she bolted through the darkness. The sound of the raging, angry crowds grew more and more distant to her ears. Then finally, light peered out from the tunnel and Chihiro drew to a stop.

"I think… I think…" Chihiro panted as she fell to her knees, "I think we're safe,"—Chihiro craned her head up to Tree Rex while he stopped beside her—"hey, Flynn, where were we supposed to go?"

Up in the safety of Tree Rex's hands, Flynn hummed as he unfurled the map and narrowed his eyes, the light pouring from the tunnel's end his sole lamp, then he grinned and rolled it back up!

"Actually, this is right where we need to be!" Flynn cried as he tucked the map into his pocket. "Just keep going straight ahead, Cheerio!"

So, Chihiro nodded as she bolted right into the open mouth ahead.

§

Chihiro panted as she stumbled into a free, empty room, then leaned against a wall as she patted down her hair. It was probably best described as a miracle that she was able to get out of there so quickly—she couldn't imagine how things would have gone if she didn't find that secret passage! But, as she rested, she couldn't help but frown. Something about this place still put her on edge, and the path ahead had a bit of an eerie ring to it. Somehow, she couldn't help but get the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong… But, that was just the weird atmosphere of this place talking, right? Chihiro adjusted the crown on her head with a frown, while behind her Tree Rex stumbled in and caught his breath. They may have only run a short bit, but the way everyone panted and slouched over showed just how strenuous it was! Chihiro frowned as she pulled herself off the wall, while the sound of sizzling fire wafted across her nose. Wait, fire?! Had somebody got set alight during that battle? Chihiro immediately checked herself over for any stray embers, but found nothing! She immediately turned to Tree Rex and went to speak, but before she could, sparkly red smoke filtered through the room!

"Welcome, welcome!" Cried a voice that brought to mind those used car salesmen Chihiro had occasionally seen on old-timey TV shows. "Welcome to my humble little abode!"

Everyone around Chihiro all gasped and fixed their disguises as the smoke cleared save for one lingering cloud, then hopped out of Tree Rex's hands as the cloud exploded! Facing them now was yet another bear with a suspicious resemblance to the one who sold Chihiro the paint, but this time he wore a tweed suit with an oil-stained tie and held a suitcase in hand. He seemed awfully suspicious with the way he smirked, but Flynn didn't seem to notice as he strode up to the bear.

"You know, we don't get many customers around this corner of the market!" The bear remarked with a wink. "What brings you here?"

Flynn smirked and popped his collar. "Oh, you know. Just dropped around, looking for some awesome parts for an equally-awesome ship, one befitting of the greatest pilot in all Skylands…" Flynn dropped off and frowned as the shopkeeper raised a brow at him. "Hey, something up, ol' buddy ol' pal?"

"I don't know why," the shopkeeper remarked as he tapped his chin. "But something about you seems oddly familiar…"

As he heard this, Flynn's eyes practically popped out of his skull! He start to sputter and chuckle as his smile faded, but before he could make an utter fool of himself, Cali pushed him aside and cleared her throat.

"What my friend means to say is, some of our ship's parts have just about had it and we need some replacements," Cali said as she gestured towards the door behind them. "You wouldn't happen to have an engine and navigation system in your shop, would you?"

The shopkeeper's discerning expression lightened up as he was faced with Cali, and with a wide grin he swung around and made his way towards the door.

"We've got all those and more!" The shopkeeper exclaimed as he swung the door open. "Just follow me!"

Everyone else followed his command and trudged inside, though the tension hadn't exactly lifted from their close call earlier. They all gazed from side to side as they were faced with rows and rows of assorted machinery parts, from pipes and motors to sails and oars, all while the shopkeeper rambled out some machinery nonsense…

But then, they stepped into a hall lit with golden light, and they all froze in their tracks! There in the glittery gold and silver halls were rows upon rows of ship engines! From magic wings that flapped and fluttered like the real thing, more traditional mechanical engines that puttered out steam and smoke, to even some that looked more like magic artifacts with their shiny runes and glowing bodies, it felt like a mechanic's dream! And they all seemed so shiny and pristine and new, it was so hard to pick!

Drawn in by the magic and wonder the engines exuded, everyone dispersed to glaze over the wares, but perhaps none of them were as excited as Flynn was! His eyes sparkled with all the joy of a child picking out a new toy as he jumped from engine to engine and pressed his face against the glass windows that kept them apart, and it seemed like he was gonna explode with excitement at any moment!

"That's the fanciest steam-propelled engine I've ever seen! I didn't even know they made them anymore!" Flynn cried as he jumped towards the shiny, magical engine. "And this self-fueling magic engine is one of the finest I've laid eyes on! And not to mention, having some like that would seriously cut down on the maintenance…"—Flynn's eyes glazed over to the engine beside it, and he scooted over and grinned—"but , you can't go wrong with a classic engine like this one! Oh, he's an absolute beaut! Just look at those pistons!"

Chihiro giggled as Flynn gushed over the engines—something about seeing him gush over stuff she knew nothing about was a bit charming, almost. But as he went to get a closer look at yet another engine, his hat started to slip from his head! Chihiro winced, then dashed behind him and carefully pushed it back on before anyone could notice…

"Something wrong, esteemed customers?" The shopkeeper asked. "You seem quite tense!"

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp as she turned around and found the shopkeeper right in her face! Jeez, how did he even get there that fast?! Chihiro gulped, but forced a laugh as she backed away and tried to keep from breaking out in a sweat.

"Ah, ah, well, it's nothing," Chihiro sputtered as she waved her hands. "I was just, uh, trying to think about what kind of engine we should get!"—Chihiro frantically nodded—"yeah, yeah, just thinking of what to buy! Certainly not doing anything suspicious here!"

Chihiro giggled and shoved her hands behind her back while the shopkeeper raised a brow, but ultimately he just shrugged it off and turned around. Phew, that was close, but… Wait a second. As he turned around and walked off, Chihiro could've sworn she caught the shopkeeper whispering something into the lapel of his jacket! Oddly suspicious. Chihiro frowned, then shoved her hand into her pocket as it charged with magic she quickly dismissed.

"Anyways," the shopkeeper proclaimed, his joyful tone regained. "These aren't even the best engines we have to offer! Come, come, I'll show you our finest stock!"

Chihiro bit her lip, but trailed along with the rest of them as they followed the shopkeeper from the silver and gold shelves of engines to bright, solid gold shelves encrusted with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and all other sorts of gems! Admittedly, the engines here didn't really seem any different from what the earlier selection had to offer, but Chihiro didn't know enough about this kinda stuff to say for certain.

"Now, this one we just picked up today!" The shopkeeper proclaimed as he ushered Flynn along to a large engine that resembled a wheel with gigantic bat wings attached to it. "It's the newest in its line, a self-fueling engine that runs entirely on wind power!"

Flynn rapidly and eagerly nodded as the shopkeeper rambled on, but before the shopkeeper could even finish his spiel, Flynn had made up his mind! He immediately yanked the shocked shopkeeper's hands and shook them as fast as he could.

"I'm sold, buddy!" Flynn exclaimed, "I'll take this one!"

The shopkeeper chuckled and forced a smile as he freed his hands from Flynn's grip, then snapped his fingers! In an instant, the sheet of glass that blocked off the engine from the rest of the world slid down, and a pair of gloved mechanical hands thrust the engine into Flynn's grip! Flynn grunted and stumbled back as he gripped the engine, but the shopkeeper only chuckled and adjusted his tie.

"Anything else you wanna look at?"

"Yes, actually!" Flynn wrapped his arms around the engine as he stumbled forwards. "We need a new, uh, uh…" Flynn frowned and tapped his foot. "Ugh, what was it called? Those navigator things that tell you where you need to go, the fancy maps that—"

"A navigation system!" Chihiro piped up. "We need a new navigation system!"

"That's the ticket!"

The shopkeeper chuckled and raised a brow as he popped out his lapel. "If a navigation system's what you need, we've got the best of the best in the back!" The shopkeeper strode down the glittering halls, and his tone seemed a bit more sinister as he walked. "I'll show you along now…"

Though Chihiro joined him down, something about the tone of his voice really set her on edge. Chills ran down her spine while the glow of her fist got bright enough that it peeked out of her pocket, but she steadied it enough as they left the halls.

The golden light faded away the moment they all passed through its exit, and what they were brought to was a simple stone dome more in line with an arena than some kind of shopping center! The only ware it held was a simple, shiny golden compass that laid on a stone pedestal, guarded by a thin drow man with pale green skin dressed in armor with a gold star-shaped name tag on the breastplate. The drow jolted up as they all came in, but his tension eased as he strode up to Flynn.

"I presume you're interested in our prized navigation system here?" The drow asked as he gestured towards the compass. The drow only let out a simple chuckle as Flynn nodded in return. "I'm not surprised! We drow have perfected the art of aerial navigation since the days of Nefarion's reign, and this simple system here is the fruits of our labor!"

The drow grinned as he leaped towards the pedestal and stretched his arms to present it.

"Though it may look like a simple compass, this contains an intricate navigation system that contains practically every known location in Skylands! With its voice-operated commands, automatic pilot function and convenient size, it's perfect for any travel!" The drow strode back to Flynn and quirked a brow. "So whaddya say? Are you interested?"

"YOU BET I AM!" Flynn cried! He thrust the engine over to Tree Rex's foot as he stormed past the drow, all absolutely giddy as he leaped for the pedestal and snagged the compass right off, then he craned his head up as he thrust it to the ceiling. "With this navigation system, the Dread-Yacht'll be perfect, a ship worthy of Skylands' best pilot!" Flynn proclaimed as he pumped his compass-holding fist for emphasis, "BOOM!"

And in that moment, Flynn's glasses and top hat slid off, and his true identity was revealed at last! Though Flynn was so caught up in his perfect elation that he took no notice, the others certainly did! The drow gasped and stumbled back as his blank eyes fell upon Flynn, while Chihiro, Cali and the others' respond ranged from blank looks to burying their faces in their hands.

"It's you!" The drow cried as he jabbed a finger at Flynn. "You're the one who wrecked our market!"

Flynn flicked his ears, then turned back and slowly frowned as the dawning realization hit him.

"Welp," Chihiro sighed as she buried her shaking head in her hands. "Looks like our cover's blown."

But while everyone else reacted in shock, the bear shopkeeper was oddly silent! A frown slowly crossed his lips as he glared down Flynn, then he stepped forward and hid his arms behind his back.

"I knew it," the shopkeeper hissed, his friendly salesman voiced dropped for a cold British accent!

The shopkeeper dashed for the walls, then flipped open a suspicious-looking rock and slammed the button it hid underneath! Sirens screeched as a red light descended from the ceiling and spun around, while behind them all entryways were sealed with silver bars!

Everyone gasped and turned their heads around as the room before them was blocked off, but Spyro and Gill Grunt immediately dashed for the blocked hallway! Spyro tugged on the bars, then flew backwards and slammed right into them… But all that achieved was shaking him to the bone as he collapsed!

"They're rock solid!" Spyro cried as he stood up on shuddering legs. "We're trapped!"

"You bet you are!" The bear proclaimed! With a snarl on his face, the bear strode up to Flynn and pushed a finger into Flynn's chest.

"You really thought you could come crawling back here after your bloody balloon crashed into our marketplace and left it in smithereens, didn't you?" The bear drew back and scoffed as he crossed his arms, "I. Think. Not!"

Flynn chuckled, then dropped the compass and stepped back. "Er, come on, buddy, it was just a few stalls! Sure I might've destroyed a couple wares, freed the animals in the animal stalls and sent maybe a few twenty people or so to the hospital, but—"

A glare from Chihiro zipped Flynn's lips shut, while Chihiro just cleared her throat and stepped in front of Flynn.

"Listen, I don't know exactly what my friend here did," Chihiro said as she gestured to Flynn. "But I'm sure we can probably sort it—"

"WHATEVER BOLLOCKS YOU'RE SELLING, I'M NOT BUYING!" The bear scowled as he pushed his face in Chihiro! Chihiro winced and drew back with a gulp, but the bear continued to shoot her daggers as he adjusted his tie. "Because of that buffoon, my shop was left in shambles! You have no idea how much I lost because of him!"

Chihiro winced and stepped back. "I mean, are you sure? If needing money to repair stuff's the issue, then Trigger Happy has a ton!"

Trigger Happy nodded, then yanked a pot filled to the gills with golden coins out of nowhere and waved it in the bear's face… But, the bear just pushed it back in Trigger Happy's face and knocked him over.

"No amount of money will replace what I lost! My most precious treasure was destroyed because of that accursed mabu!" The bear's eyes narrowed. "And now, I'm making him pay for it!"

As the bear spoke, a section of the pillar slid down and unveiled a sparkly silver button underneath, then the drow scrambled over and slammed it down!

The red lights that dyed the room turned to a tranquil, sparkly blue as they beamed down like sunbeams, then from their light formed holograms! Chompies, trolls with clubs and guns, elves bearing swords and shields, even an odd dragon or two was found amid the midst! But, none of them seemed happy! The holograms all shouted and grunted as they pointed their weapons in everyone's faces, and they all gulped and stepped back. Well, all save for Chihiro, who just frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Holograms?" Chihiro exclaimed as she puffed out her chest. "That the best you can do?"

A chompy hologram snorted as it wandered up to Chihiro and tilted its head as she smirked down at it, then it leaped forward and bit her right on the arm! Chihiro's eyes went wide as it sank its teeth, then she screamed and stumbled back before she pushed the chompy off with her foot.

"Okay, I guess that's pretty good!" Chihiro winced and zapped the chompy away with an energy sphere, then furrowed her brows as she turned to Flynn.

And yet, despite being the center of all this nonsense, Flynn wasn't worried at all! He just chuckled and dashed for the engine, a glint of confidence in his eyes as he gazed down the holograms that looked primed to bite his head off. Just what was he thinking?

"For you, maybe," Flynn remarked as he rolled up his sleeves and smirked. "But with my awesome strength, they'll be a piece of cake!"

Flynn shouted out as he prepared to throw a punch, but right before he could, a troll with a mace swung over and smacked him on his side with its mace! Flynn's shouts turned to cries of pain as he skidded alongside the dome's floor, and though he tried to grin and bear it, the pained grunts that came from him showed that he had plenty of aches and pains.

So, Chihiro just cast out her hands and shot bolts of magic light towards Flynn and the engine! The bolts expanded and transformed into magic bubbles that merged into one, larger bubble with both Flynn and the engine inside.

"Flynn, take the engine and hide! We'll take care of this!"

Flynn frantically nodded and rolled off with the engine in tow, while the bear and drow both snarled and thrust out their hands!

"Holograms!" The two shopkeepers cried. "Don't let that mabu escape!"

The holograms all snarled as they bolted after Flynn, but before they could, Chihiro, Cali, Tree Rex, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf all leaped between them! Weapons were drawn and disguises were tossed off as Chihiro stepped forward, and all eyes narrowed as they glared down the army of holograms that laid before them. The blue light from above dimmed slightly, and Chihiro snapped her fingers.

"Well, everyone, looks like we're not going to talk our way out of this one!" Chihiro cried as she summoned twin swords and leaped forward. "So we'll just have to fight our way out!"

Chihiro screamed as she slashed through a manticore hologram, then she leaped forward and stabbed a dragon effigy right in the back! The dragon wailed in pain as it collapsed to the ground, but she just pulled her swords out of its back and ran onto the next target! With a grunt, she slashed a row of chompies in half, then while they exploded in puffs of sparkles, a brighter, warmer yellow light caught her attention!

Above her, Spyro zoomed off the ground while his eyes flashed a bright yellow, and with a simple flap of his wings, bombs of shining light came from his body! The bombs slammed down and exploded the moment they hit the ground, and their light was so bright that it completely wiped out the holograms surrounding! All that remained of them was tiny blue sparkles that cascaded onto the ground.

Spyro smirked, then flitted aside as a tornado of scalding water and golden coins crashed down beside him and wiped out a wave of troll effigies! At the mouth of the wave, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy both smiled and high-fived, then slid out the way as a cloud of murky green sprung forward! The drow effigies that surrounded them narrowed their eyes and pulled out their swords, but Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy just smiled and lowered their weapons!

"Don't blink!" Cried Stealth Elf from within the cloud's grip!

The drow soldiers shrugged and blinked, and in that moment the cloud completely vanished! They shook their heads and turned towards each other with shrugs, and in that moment, then cloud zipped behind them and out popped Stealth Elf, who slashed them in the back with sharp, round golden daggers! While the two drow groaned and collapsed, their heads conked together and they exploded in a cascade of blue sparkles!

"Told you not to blink," Stealth Elf smirked as she crossed her arms!

Behind her, the world rumbled as Tree Rex charged after an effigy of a giant chompy, Cali seated snug on his shoulder! The chompy giggled and bounced up and down as if to taunt him, but Tree Rex just thrust out his arm and snarled!

"Timber!" Tree Rex cried as he fired!

The laser beam that emerged from his cannon was so mighty it pushed even him back a few paces, and it bored right into the chompy's belly! The chompy wailed in pain as it exploded, but not into sparkles! Rather, one giant chompy became a mass of smaller chompies that rained down from above!

"I'll handle them!" Cali proclaimed as she pulled a few dynamite sticks from her pocket. "Just need to get a little extra firepower!"

Cali withdrew a rope from her pocket and tied the sticks tight, then with another quick slip she yanked out a match and set the dynamite alight! As the fuse fizzled away, Cali flung the dynamite bundle straight into the chompies' heart!

"Cover your ears!" Cali warned as she shielded her own!

While everyone did as told, the dynamite bundle exploded in a miniature wildfire of hot flames! The chompies dissipated into sparkles and shimmered on the ground as the flames died… As did all the holograms around them! The whole battlefield was lit in a glittery blue coat—they had won!

"Alright, we beat your little holograms!" Chihiro proclaimed as she stormed up to the shopkeepers and thrust a finger in the bear's face. "Now can we just talk this out like normal people?"

"Are you sure about that, lad?" The bear asked with a smirk as he pushed Chihiro back. "Because I'd take a second look if I were you!"

Chihiro gasped while a twinkling sound came from behind, then she turned around…

And the sparkles shined even brighter as they slowly fed into each other! Their light grew brighter before it formed into the vague shape of animals and humanoid figures, then in miniature flashes of light before they reformed good as new and twice as big!

Spyro grimaced and stepped backwards as one particularly large fanged sheep loomed over him while flames popped at his lips, then a massive baa from the sheep blew him right into the wall! Stones crumbled around him as he groaned and popped back onto the floor, while he just flicked his wings straight and pushed himself back up.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have picked on all those sheep back in the Dragon Realms," Spyro groaned as he struggled to stand. Another massive baa came from above him as the entire area was tinted in blue light, and Spyro winced as the sheep charged forward and yanked him off the ground with its horns!

He stumbled and rolled through the air as the sheep yelled, but this time he caught himself in place! His eyes flashed red as he shook his head, then he snarled and reeled backwards as he shot a massive ball of fire right down at the unsuspecting sheep! A small baa came from it as it lifted its head towards the oncoming flames, then it squealed and galloped away… But not before the fireball slammed right into its woolly back! A pained bleat came from the sheep as the flames engulfed it and vanished with only blue sparkles left to speak of, and Spyro just smiled.

"Mess with the dragon, get the flames!" Spyro remarked as he floated back down.

But, as he grew closer to the ground, he paused and frowned. The sparkles, they had grown brighter and brighter than before, while a vague shape came from its cool blue light! Spyro winced, then floated backwards as the shape grew brighter and more detailed.

"Don't tell me…"

A bright flash of light shook the area down, and a loud baa rumbled the arena as the sheep came to be once more! Spyro gasped as it smirked and glared him down, then turned tail and cried out as the sheep bounded right after him! Frantic pants came from his mouth as he flapped his wings the fastest he could, but the sheep was much larger and had much more ground on him—it wasn't long before he was just inches away from his face! Spyro gasped and sped forward as the sheep nipped at his tail, then he grunted and teleported further ahead in a burst of flames!

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Spyro cried as he dashed on paw across the battlefield. "I know it was bad to set all those sheep on fire!"

A cold breeze rushed past as the sheep and Spyro chased each other around the arena, and Tree Rex grunted as the cold, bitter wind hit his bark! He flung his arms in front of his face as Spyro passed him by, then popped his eyes open and grunted as he blocked a blow from a massive bug with swords for arms! The bug chittered and licked its lips as it shot out a rubbery, long tongue with a forked end, but Tree Rex just leaned out of the way and grabbed the tongue! The bug's eyes popped open as Tree Rex yanked it free of the wall, then cracked the tongue like a whip and slammed the bug down into the ground! The floor cracked as the bug disappeared in a massive pile of sparkles, one oddly solid despite the damage done, and Tree Rex backed away.

"Something about this doesn't feel right," Tree Rex grumbled as he turned his solar cannon on the pile. "Why are those things so still?"

The shriek of charging light echoed from Tree Rex's hand as the sparkles all merged together, and in that moment the bug returned in a bright flash! It cackled as it jumped back and lunged for Tree Rex once more, but he jumped back and shot off rounds of solid light bullets right for it! The bullets screeched as they slammed right into the bug's chest… And bounced right off like they were rubber balls! The bug and Tree Rex both blinked as the light bullets vanished into the distance, then the bug cackled and slammed Tree Rex right into the wall!

And while the two of them wrestled, down below, Cali, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf all winced as they cut through waves of holograms that reformed in place with every blow dealt!

"What's with these things?!" Gill Grunt cried as he shot a trio of harpoons straight through three gremlins. "It's like whatever we throw at them—"—Gill Grunt grunted and swerved away as the gremlins reformed and lunged right for him—"they just jump right back up!"

Stealth Elf flipped forward and slashed away the holograms, then grunted and stood up. "Well, if reforming's the problem, then maybe we shouldn't give them the chance!" Stealth Elf proclaimed as she disappeared in a puff of green clouds. "Just give me a moment!"

A bladed scarecrow manifested in Stealth Elf's place and blew away the smoke with its rapid spins, while the holograms that surrounded it just frowned and tilted their heads. They all grunted and lunged for it at last with snarls and weapons held all around—but the moment they hit it blades, they were slashed right open and evaporated into sparkles! Everyone around grimaced as the sparkles flew up and tried to reform, but, the moment the sparkles reached the blades' length, they were slashed right open and disappeared once again!

Cali, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy all gasped as they examined the scarecrow, then grinned and turned back to each other.

"That's right, they can't reform if we don't give them the chance!" Cali exclaimed.

A scream shouted over the horizons, and Cali turned around and grinned as another scarecrow manifested from a cloud of green smoke. Her eyes turned back down to her pockets, and she immediately yanked them open and rummaged through.

"Let's not leave all the work to Stealth Elf, boys!" Cali proclaimed as she pulled out a trio of round, silver orbs and tossed them into the air. "Time to give them the assault of a lifetime!"

The orbs shone against the blue light as they nearly hit the ceiling, then they expanded in size and unfolded themselves as they turned from mere orbs to gigantic mechanical hands! The hands crashed back on the ground with thuds and thick, smoky dust clouds cast all around, while grenades of bright, crackling lightning formed at their palms as they leaned back! The hands all swung forward, and their grenades crashed down in the midst of an oncoming fleet troll effigies and blew them to bright light! The sparkles all cascaded down onto the ground and slunk towards each other as they tried to reform, but another lightning grenade slammed down and blew them all away!

Trigger Happy chuckled, then leaped forward and dug through the back of his fur. "Me next, me next!" Trigger Happy cried!

He yanked a machine gun made entirely of shiny gold, then slammed it down on the ground and flicked a switch! The machine gun whirred to life as Trigger Happy skipped open and yanked another machine gun out of nowhere, and the moment he flicked that one on, the first fired off round of golden coins! The coins smacked through a large, rabid dragonbunny that charged forward and riddled holes through its holographic body, then as it exploded its sparkles gathered back together and reformed it once more! The dragonbunny roared as it swept down on all fours… But just before it could charge, even more golden coins charged forward and tore it up once again!

Trigger Happy giggled with sheer glee as he clapped his hands and hopped from leg to leg, but behind him, Gill Grunt only winced and examined his harpoon cannon.

"Sure hope I can pull this off," Gill Grunt remarked. An ear-splitting screech came from behind him, then he looked up and grunted as a bat hologram yanked him off the ground by his water tanks and flew off!

Gill Grunt flailed and kicked and punch as the bat circled around the area, while his harpoon cannon just slipped from his grip and collapsed on the ground! Gill Grunt winced for a moment, then a scowl crossed his face as his eyes fell on the bat.

"Luckily, I've dealt with types like yours!" Gill Grunt cried as he gripped the straps of his water tanks tight! He flipped backwards, and as he did the tanks popped open and shot streams of scalding water right in the bat's face!

The bat screamed as scalding water splashed right through its face and scratched at its watery, burning eyeballs, while its grip on Gill Grunt slipped and he went falling down! Gill Grunt flipped upright once more and hovered back down on streams of boiling water, then as his fins hit the ground, the water dispersed and he claimed his harpoon cannon once more. He narrowed his eyes, then pulled the trigger and sent a massive column of water spiraling towards the bat hologram as it flailed and scratched at its face! The column shot right through the bat's center, and as it exploded into sparkles, the water washed them all away!

Everyone smiled as the sparkles stayed stuck to the ground, unable to reform at last! Or so it seemed.

While they stood and soaked in their victory, the sparkles swept off the ground and zipped right past them with such speed that it spun them right around! They all groaned and turned back around right in time to catch the sparkles seeping into the back of the bug Tree Rex was wresting with!

The bug squealed in glee as it absorbed the sparkles and grew so tall that it nearly slammed into the ceiling, and its teeth chattered as its bladelike arms hovered over Tree Rex! It towered over even him, and it was prepped and ready to slice him to bits—surely, Tree Rex knew that he'd be no match, yet he still snarled and lifted his cannon! Tree Rex only glared it down further as the bug squealed and jumped right for him… Then completely exploded into sparkles as the sheep that was chasing Spyro tackled right into it!

The sparkles seeped into the sheep's wool as it charged forward, then it bleated and skidded to a stop as it glowed with an even brighter light! The sheep frowned and examined its much more sparkly wool, then baaed in shock as its wool fluffed up and expanded! The sheep itself grew two, five, ten sizes as its wool brushed against the ceiling and its light glowed even brighter, then it chuckled and let out another mighty baa! That roar of its was enough to blow everyone off their feet, and they all grunted as they slammed into the wall!

"Don't be intimidated by its size!" Cali cried as she rolled back onto her feet and snarled. "If we can just keep the attacks coming, it'll be as stuck as the rest of them!"

"Everyone!" Stealth Elf cried as she popped up and turned to the others. "Re-route your attacks to the sheep!"

The others all nodded, and in moments they jumped back to their feet and scrambled! Trigger Happy jumped from machine gun to machine gun as he turned them all on the sheep, while Stealth Elf cropped up by its legs and dropped her scarecrows nearby! The sheep squealed in pain, its head swayed from side to side as it tried to shake off the masses of coins while its legs stomped around in a rabid fury while magic and sparkles seeped from its legs.

As the sheep was shot and slashed at, Stealth Elf popped up by Cali and helped Cali turn her mechanical hands so that they lobbed their electrical grenades at the sheep, while Spyro, Gill Grunt, Chihiro and Tree Rex all knelt between them and Trigger Happy!

"Ready…" Chihiro whispered as she slammed palms crackling with magic lightning on the ground. Chihiro lifted a head drenched in sweat, then slowly lifted her palms as she bit her lip. "FIRE!"

Chihiro yanked her hands from the ground, and a fissure of magic lightning shot across the ground and slammed right into the sheep's body! The sheep baaed in shock as the lightning ran through its legs, but that wasn't the only beating it received! Cali's electric grenades slammed right in its face and exploded, while magic laser cannons courtesy of Spyro leaped from the ground and shot cannonballs made of raw magic into its wool and tore holes through it! Streams of water and sunlight poured through and further drenched away the wool until it fell off in heaps and exploded into sparkles the moment it hit the ground!

Chihiro grinned as one lump of wool crashed down, then smirked as she turned back to the sheep. "Alright, lambchop!" Chihiro cried as she pointed a finger at it. "You're dinner now!"

The sheep roared as it slammed its hooves on the ground… And in that moment, all the sparkles leaped from the ground and sank right back into it, the oncoming onslaught completely bypassed! The wounds the sheep received were patched up, but its wool hadn't reformed at all—no, the sheep's body just glowed even brighter as fur stretched out from the light, while its fangs just grew long enough that they stretched well past its jaws! Wings stretched out from its back while its tail grew long and hooked as blades popped out in place of fur! Its eyes extended into lengthy, beady eyestalks that glared down all those below its hooves as it roared to the heavens, its voice so loud that it rumbled the area and sent rocks crumbling down! But not just that, either—out from its mouth came gigantic, monstrous holograms that crashed down and charged after them all!

Chihiro screamed and jumped aside as a boar hologram tried to tackle her down, then she teleported behind a part of the wall that had been knocked off from the fight and winced. A peek outside showed that everyone was in clear trouble as they ran and tried to escape from the onslaught of holograms that chased after them… They were completely outmatched! Wasn't there something that could be done about this? Chihiro clenched her teeth as she hid behind her rock, and her knees knocked together absentmindedly. Surely, there had to be something that would call off this mindless brawl, but what? Those shopkeepers didn't care for money at all, and they had no interest in telling her just what was missing! How could she possibly solve this? Chihiro flinched as a pebble bounced off of something and hit her arm, and turned back to her side.

There beside her, Flynn observed the battle with a grimace, then jolted back as another, larger rock hopped beside him, the engine kept snug beside him. His eyes fell on Chihiro, and immediately he cleared his throat! He went to say something, oblivious to how the bubble had started to roll away… But whoops, looks like the bubble was soundproofed—not a thing could be heard! So, Chihiro laser-cut a tiny hole into the bubble and knocked on it.

"What was that, Flynn?" Chihiro asked as she steadied the bubble with both hands.

Flynn blinked, then chuckled and turned aside. "I, I was just saying, a tiny little rock like that is nothing for someone as awesome as I am!" Flynn cried as he flexed an arm. "In fact, not even that giant sheep-thingie out there could stop me!"

"Forget about that!" Chihiro cried as she leaned forward. "Just what the hell did you do to those guys that made them so mad?"

Flynn gasped, and his eyes raised a bit as he leaned in and shook a finger. "Language, kiddo!"

Chihiro shot him a glare, and Flynn only chuckled and leaned back as he scratched his head.

"Well, the whole thing was kind of a blur, but…" Flynn turned his gaze away from Chihiro, then he sighed. "Now that I think about it, I did step on some shiny red rock and crack it a little, and he got really upset! The dude nearly blew his head off ranting about how it was some fancy gem that took him ages to find and how he'll never get another one, but…"

So that was it! Chihiro hummed, then her eyes fell on the still-enraged bear once more. Surely, getting him another gem would probably appease his rage, but where would she find one on such short notice? It's not like anybody here could create gems, nor did they have any lying around… Wait! A flash of her bedroom on Ancient's Peak came to mind, and a grin spread across Chihiro's face. That was it! She still had that red gem she snuck when they defeated the Eternal Earth Source monster from last year—maybe, just maybe…

"I think I know how to sort this out!" Chihiro proclaimed, but her face fell as the sound of clashing weapons behind her turned her back to the battle. "But we'll need to get those holograms out of the picture."

"Just how are we gonna do that though, kiddo?" Flynn replied as he gestured back to the fields. "Those holograms are tough for a bunch of sparkles! Every time you knock 'em down, they just find a way to get back up!"

"Don't remind me."

Chihiro grimaced as her view shifted from the ongoing battle, then towards the two shopkeepers who both smirked as they basked in the light of the battle. Wait a second, the light! Those holograms all came in when the light changed colors, so maybe that was what kept them going! So maybe, if she could get that out of the equation she could finish this!

"Come on, Flynn!" Chihiro cried. "I think I've got an idea!"

With a snap of her fingers, Chihiro turned invisible to the naked eye, then rushed into the fray and took a deep breath.

"EVERYONE STOP!" Chihiro cried at the loudest volume she could!

The shock was enough to shake off her brief invisibility spell, and good thing too—all eyes were on her now, and the fighting had ceased! Hopefully she could pull this off. Chihiro dashed up to Spyro, then pulled him aside and knelt down.

"I think I have an idea on how to take care of these things!" Chihiro whispered as she leaned in closer to Spyro and pointed up to the spotlights that hung from above. "See those things up there?" Spyro nodded, and Chihiro grinned as she turned away. "Think you'd be able to cover those up?"

Spyro craned his head back up to the spotlights, then grinned as his eyes changed to a deep cobalt with a ring of purple hidden within them.

"Sure can, Chi!" Spyro cried as he held up his front paws. "Just give me some cover fire!"

"On it!"

Growls and dripping water came from ahead as Spyro flew off, and Chihiro only smiled as she turned to the growling trio of holographic wolves with fur spiked like a porcupine's spines that glared her down. The wolves stepped forward and snapped at the air, but Chihiro just summoned her swords and held them up to the wolves' noses! The wolves scampered away as the swords' blades glistened in the hologram's light, and Chihiro's smirk grew wider.

"You act like you've got a bad bite, but it's all just bark!" Chihiro shouted as she rushed forward. "Time to put you in the doghouse!"

The wolves snarled, and the fur on their back bristled and hardened before it shot off not as fur, but as sharp, shiny needles! Chihiro skidded down and spun around as she slashed the needles in half with her sword, then she leaped up and turned her swords down as she stabbed them right through the first wolf's back! The first wolf squealed as it exploded in a shower of sparkles, while the other two scampered backwards and snarled as they shot even more needles right for Chihiro! Chihiro just jumped out of the way as the storm of needles intersected and bounced off the wall, then grinned as the needles passed right through each other and went straight for the wolves themselves! The wolves howled in pain as the needles tore through them and blew them to bits, while Chihiro dropped down and frowned as her eyes fell on the pile of sparkles that now rested. The sparkles shuddered as they rested at her feet, and for a moment it seemed like they were going to merge together once more… But then, the bright blue lights above them vanished, and the sparkles disappeared with them!

Above them all, Spyro had flown up to the ceiling and covered up the spotlights with discs of solid darkness! And with every spotlight that had been covered, the smaller holograms below shuddered and disappeared, until all that was left was the giant sheep! The sheep bleated in shock as it whipped its head around while all its allies disappeared around it, then it scowled and drew back as all weapons were turned on it!

"Looks like I was right, those spotlights were what was feeding the holograms!" Chihiro proclaimed as she pointed her swords towards the sheep. "And with them out, you're the only one left!"

Another shocked bleat came from the sheep, and the shopkeeper and drow themselves both jumped back in shock.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The shopkeeper demanded before he shook his head. "Actually, forget about that! Sheep, get them!"

A low growl came from the sheep, then it baaed and charged forth! It lowered its horns as it drew closer and closer to Chihiro, who only drew her sword and prepared to slice… But right before she could, something slammed right into the sheep and knocked it back!

"Take that, ya big ball of mutton!" Flynn cried as his bubble bounced off of the sheep! The bubble landed back down on the ground and bounced for the sheep right as it got back on all fours, and Flynn slammed it right into the sheep's underbelly. "I'm not standing around while you pick on my buddies!" The bubble hopped back a couple steps as the sheep fell on its back and flailed its legs in the air, while Flynn himself stood and smirked. "Boom!"

"It's completely open, now's our chance!" Cali cried as she withdrew a few more orbs from her pocket. "Let's get it!"

Cali tossed the orbs on the ground, but as they expanded and crashed down as mechanical hands, these orbs shot out not the lightning grenades of before, but fireballs! The fireballs slammed into the sheep's side and burned holes in its wool as it flailed its legs around, then grunted and flipped back to its feet! The sheep shook the flames off and let out another roar… But its roar quickly turned to a bleat as a magical rope wrapped around its legs! The sheep fell on its side, and it snarled as Chihiro walked up with the rope's beginning in her hand and pulled it tight.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you lambchop?" Chihiro smirked as she tapped the sheep's nose.

Chihiro jumped back and squeaked as the sheep snapped at her, then slid out of the way as Gill Grunt hosed the sheep down! The sheep cried out as the scalding water hit its face, while Gill Grunt just sighed and held his gun at his hip.

"It's all yours now, you three!" Gill Grunt cried as he waved his hand.

"Okie-dokie!" Trigger Happy shouted as he hopped off of Tree Rex's shoulder and whipped out his guns. "Let's finish this with a BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Golden coins shot out from Trigger Happy's guns and pelted the sheep right in the face, then it shook its head and yanked its eyes open as it roared in protest… But those eyes of its grew wide as it found that Trigger Happy was nowhere to be found! Rather, Stealth Elf and at least twenty different copies of her all screamed as they crashed into the sheep and kicked it simultaneously, then whipped out their blades and slashed it up! The fury of their slices created a storm of wool that flew in every direction, from splattering walls to coating the floors and even narrowly slamming into Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf themselves, until all that was left was a woolless sheep! The sheep bleated in shock as Stealth Elf's copies all vanished, with only the original left to hop off and cross her arms.

Tree Rex himself, meanwhile, just lifted up his cannon and charged not light, but murky green shadows! The cannon shrieked as the shadows completely clouded its front, then with a grunt he reeled back as a large mass of cloudy green spores leaped from his cannon and slammed right into the sheep's face!

The sheep coughed and hacked as the spores cleared, while around it, one by one the spotlights of blue faded away! The sheep's own glow started to fade and flicker as the light above it faded, then it turned its head to the single source of light that remained, a single blue spotlight that poured onto the sheep's face from above—but not much longer, as Spyro had slid a disc of darkness right in front of it!

"And that should be all!" Spyro cried. "All of those spotlights are covered up now, Chi!"

And as if on cue, the sheep baaed a warped, pained baa as it completely flickered away! The lights were all out, and all that remained was a dark room lit up only by the sight of Tree Rex's solar cannon as it glowed with light and the light that emitted from Flynn's bubble… But even the latter faded as Flynn popped the bubble and strode up to the shopkeeper and drow.

"Now will you hear us out?" Flynn asked as he crossed his arms and frowned. "Seriously, you're making such a big deal out of this! It was only one little gem!"

"That pigeon's blood ruby took me ages to find!" The shopkeeper shot back as he jabbed a finger against Flynn's chest. "And you just smashed it like it was some kind of common pebble!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that was some fancy-shmancy ruby? I—"

Chihiro pushed Flynn out of the way, then cleared her throat. "Allow me to handle things from here," Chihiro said.

With a snap of her fingers, a warp formed above her and her ruby dropped into her palms. Its bright red glow shone in the dark with a color so rich it immediately caught the shopkeepers' eyes.

"I heard what happened to your gem, and I'm really sorry," Chihiro explained as she walked up to the shopkeeper and held out the ruby. "This ruby is from my own personal collection. I might not be able to bring what you lost back, but I hope I can least make some amends!"

The shopkeeper and drow gave each other a wary look, but then finally the drow whisked away the defenses and brought the room back to normal with a button press, while the shopkeeper whipped out a magnifying glass and examined the ruby. The drow peered over the shopkeeper's shoulder and hummed as they both examined the ruby… Then, the shopkeeper's eyes slowly grew wider.

"Why, I can't believe it…" The shopkeeper gasped. "Surely, this is… This is…"

"Is what?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

The shopkeeper gasped for glee as he snatched the ruby out of Chihiro's hands. "This is a dragon's blood ruby!" The shopkeeper proclaimed as he admired the ruby's reflection in the light. "This is even rarer than the one I lost! It's worth hundreds, millions even in gold!"

"So what you're saying is, if I give you this, you'll forget everything Flynn did?" Chihiro tilted her head.

"Indeed!" The shopkeeper sprung forward and rapidly shook Chihiro's hands. "You can even take the engine and the navigation system! Just get out of our hairs!"—The shopkeeper whipped around and pounded a button before skipping out—"forget this shop, I'm going to the gem collector's association!"

Everyone cast frowns and odd looks all around, then finally shrugged. Well, all's well that ends well, they supposed… That it, until the ground trembled underneath their feet!

"Now what?!" Cali exclaimed as she peered down!

Right as they all got a good look, the floor completely opened underneath them! Everyone screamed as they fell down and tumbled for what seemed like an eternity through a dark, bumpy set of tunnels, twists and turns, then finally they popped back out and smashed headfirst onto the ground! They all groaned as they sat back up and held their faces, then grinned as they lifted themselves up and looked around! They were right back at the beginning of the market, and right beside the Dread-Yacht, to boot!

But, it definitely seemed a little more polished than when they left it—the sails and oars had been replaced, a mostly-dried coat of paint had been applied to the front and scent the aroma of fresh paint wafting through the caves, and aside of some weird creaks and thumping noises, most of the odd sounds had disappeared! And above the deck, everyone else was busy carting around tools, tearing down old and tired material and mending it with new, fresh material as they chatted amid each other!

"There you all are!" Bouncer shouted as he wheeled over, and a smile crossed his face the moment he met the others' confused ones. "Thought we'd polish this baby up a little while we waited on you!"—Bouncer clicked his tongue and made a finger gun—"like what you see?"

"You bet!" Flynn cried as he pushed through with sparkling eyes. "She's even more amazing than when I found her!"

Bouncer chuckled, then sent out the bridge with a smack of the ship's banister and wheeled down. "Did you get the stuff?"

"Yep!" Flynn lifted up the engine and navigation system. "Just need to get those repairs going!"

Cali and Flynn grunted as they heaved the engine and navigation system up, then disappeared down into the depths of the ship alongside Bouncer as the others boarded. The sounds of clanking, banging and screeching turned all eyes to the open door that lead down to the engine room, followed by a raccoon's hiss and a scream that was countably Flynn's!

"Sounds like they could use some help," Chihiro remarked with a cringe. She stepped forward and went to trek down the stairs…

And jumped back as Flynn, Cali and Bouncer burst out the door! Flynn grunted as he shook a winged raccoon off of his arm and sent it flying away, then smiled and popped his collar.

"Alright, everything's prepped and ready!" Flynn proclaimed! His trademark smirk lingered a few moments, but it melted into pure glee as he spun around. "And I've already got a whole list to places to go!"—Flynn stretched off his palms and counted off his fingers—"the Chocolate Ocean, the Lost Dessert, the Enchilada Archipelago—"

"And Rumbletown?" Cali remarked as she crossed her arms and shot Flynn a glare. "You know, the place we're supposed to go to pick up that lead on Kaos?"

Flynn's eyes went wide, and he chuckled as he scratched his head. "Yeah, and there!" Flynn added as he stumbled for the steering wheel, "I totally meant to say that!"

And so, everyone broke into laughter as the Dread-Yacht flew out of the caverns and towards its next destination—and hopefully, some answers.

---

Obligatory trivia bits:

- Several of the trinkets our heroes find here are actually several of the Legendary Treasures from Giants!
- Flynn's mono-lens prank glasses from his disguise are actually a nod to some concept art for Skylanders Superchargers, which depict, amid other things, Flynn wearing a similar pair of glasses!
- Tree Rex's shadow spores are technically a melding of Dark and Life Element energy - since it was mentioned in their Story Scroll back in Spyro's Adventure that the Giants/Elder Elementals have control over both light and darkness, I thought I'd integrate that into their moveset as well!