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)

5. Chapter 5

GreenSwitch - FreeShadow: I can see see why Swarm's portrayal would remind you of Ben Ten! I actually wrote Swarm with a "Plucky and brave but kinda foolhardy kid-appeal character" kind of personality in mind, specifically using Cheetor from Transformers Beast Wars as my inspiration since I was binge-watching Transformers shows at the time, so I imagine there's overlaps! And I imagine that Kaos isn't very happy either... But to be fair, would you be happy if an ancient king tricked you into getting your body possessed?

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Though the sun was dipping into evening, the Dread-Yacht was as lively as if the sun had just risen! Everyone had crowded around the heart of the ship amid a picnic blanket filled with all sorts of food! Sandwiches, steaks, salads, appetizers of all kinds and forms, drinks ranging from sodas and lemonade to waters and fruit juices, even a few chocolate cakes! Cheerful music played over the jukebox's radio as everyone took their dinner and ate, occasionally making small talk between bites of their food, and for them being in the middle of a mission's journey, it hardly felt that tense! Smiles were on every face, even Ermit's in spite of how grumpy he had been earlier…

Well, all but one.

At the outskirts of the table was none other than Chihiro, who frowned between bites of her sandwich as she caught glimpses of the Dread-Yacht's deck. Amid the sounds of talking and the music on the radio, the faint sound of clunking and crashing sounded, and with it happening so often, she could hardly find herself at ease. She'd already heard it, like, ten times now! Surely, there couldn't have been something wrong with the engine or something still, right?

"Hopefully not," Chihiro remarked as she finished her sandwich and reached for the rest of her dinner. "It would be a pain if we had to do repairs again!"

Chihiro grinned as she reached for an open bag of chips, but right as she did the chips toppled forwards and rolled towards the edge of the deck, as did the rest of her dinner!

"Hey, wait!" Chihiro stood up and snarled. "You're not escaping me that easily!"

Chihiro strode forward, then gasped as she planted face-first onto the deck! She groaned and pushed herself up, but she didn't get to rest just yet, because with a creak the Dread-Yacht tipped over! Surprised shouts sounded around her as she gasped and went rolling forward, but thankfully the Dread-Yacht's railing caught her! However, her dinner was far from lucky, because it just fell down the holes in the railing! Chihiro gasped and reached out for it, but by that time she was too late—it had collapsed and disappeared into the clouds, never to be seen again!

Chihiro pouted and plucked herself from the railing as the ship tilted back to its proper height, then turned her attention back to the table. Well, that was a bummer, but surely there had to be more food left? They did get a ton when they won those gladiator games! So, she teleported between Cynder and Spyro and peered over their shoulders, then grinned—there was still a bag of chips left! Chihiro chuckled as she reached out for it… But just before she could grab it, an auburn furry hand snatched it off the table!

"Did you all feel that just now?" Gill Grunt asked as he wiped his face with his arm.

"You bet!" Bouncer replied as he laid a can of oil aside. "It kind of felt like the ship was falling over!"

"Well that's not concerning in the slightest," Cynder hissed as she crossed her front legs. She scoffed and flicked her wings, then turned her attention back to Flynn. "Hey, Flynn! You weren't messing with the wheel or anything, were you?"

Flynn, meanwhile, dozed off at the wheel, his grip on its pegs loosened as his head bobbed up and down. A rare sight, really—Flynn, for all his faults, was always diligent when it came to steering. But for now, it seemed that the long day had taken its toll, and he had finally been tempted into resting his eyes… That is, until a lightning bolt from Cynder zapped him awake!

"I'M AWAKE!" Flynn cried as the lightning stood his fur on end, "TOTALLY WASN'T SLEEPING, NOPE, NOT AT ALL!"

"No sleeping at the wheel!" Cynder scolded as Flynn rubbed his forehead, the spot of impact. Cynder scoffed again, then folded her wings on her back as she toyed with her steak. "Anyways, I'm not so sure it was just that." Sharp rows of white fangs shot down from Cynder's jaws, then she grabbed her steak with both front paws and tore it in half. "Mi think mits mhose shmeap parmts me got—"

"Say that again?" Spyro asked as he backed away from Cynder.

Cynder gulped down the half of her steak. "I said, I think it's those cheap parts he got!" Cynder shot a glare aside. "I didn't like the looks of them or that place we got them from then, and I don't like them now."

"So you think the ship's still busted?" Trigger Happy asked, oblivious to Chihiro teleporting behind him and snagging chips from his bag.

Tree Rex shook his head. "Surely it can't be! After all, Flynn did spend all that time repairing it…"

"Personally, I say it's those clouds!" Ermit cried as he wagged a finger. "They always look so innocent and fluffy, but they've got an agenda, I'm telling you!"—Ermit scowled and scratched his nose—"it seems like whenever I'm around, those clouds make a point of ruining my day! I go out to run my errands, and they make it rain! I go to make a new sculpture, and they zap it to ash! I walk outside and go to tan—"

"Are you sure you just didn't bother to check the weather?" Cali asked.

Ermit paused, then scoffed and crossed his arms as he turned away from Cali. "Touche."

The ship clunked again with a shudder, and for a moment it tilted a bit to the right, much to everyone's shock as they stood frozen! Everyone immediately grabbed onto whatever they could, then loosened their grips and sighed as it reeled back in.

"Heh, looks like we're experiencing a little bit of turbulence!" Flynn remarked as he steadied his grip on the steering wheel. "But, it's nothing that I, the greatest pilot in all Skylands can't handle!" The ship clunked again, and Flynn flicked his ears. "Huh, I thought I got those weird noises in the engine taken care of." Flynn scratched his chin for a moment, then shrugged and went back to steering. "Eh, it's probably just the wind!"

And so, the journey continued as Flynn whistled along to the radio and steered further into the sunset, its orange light a gentle blanket that covered all. It was so serene, so safe in feeling that everyone onboard couldn't help but yawn and click their tongues, fully prepared to sleep. They did have a long day, too, surely they wouldn't be faulted for getting a few winks of sleep, right? Well, that's what they were going to do, but another clunk roused them wide awake. And not just that, either! The ship had started to dip forward, and everything around them tumbled down in turn!

Tree Rex grunted as he slammed into the back of the ship, then tried to push himself back off from the wall. Gravity kept him pinned to the spot despite how he strained—but he wouldn't be lonely there for long! The table slammed into his chest and sent him coughing, then Gill Grunt and Eruptor slammed right into it! Beside them, Swarm cried in pain as he hit his head on the wall, Ninjini jumped into her bottle as she and Bouncer crashed beside Swarm, while Trigger Happy fruitlessly attempted to rescue his bag of chips as it flew into the wind, far away from his grip!

"What's going on, Flynn?!" Spyro demanded as he flew up and snatched Gill Grunt from the ground and dropped both Gill Grunt and himself in the captain's quarters. "The whole ship feel like it's—"—Spyro grunted as the ship dipped further down and slammed both him and Gill Grunt against the wall, then plucked himself off and trudged back up—"sinking?!"

"Don't ask me!" Flynn exclaimed as he hugged the wheel. "It was perfectly fine just a few minutes ago! I don't know what happened!"—Flynn winced as the ship's wheel started to spin on its own, then clutched it with both hands and steered it around—"we adjusted the brakes, replaced the navigation system, patched up the sails…"

"Then why are we crashing?!" Terrafin demanded as he pushed himself from the ground. He took one look over the deck, then winced and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I swear to the Ancients, agreeing to this was the biggest mistake of my—"—Terrafin's eyes practically popped out of his skull as he slid down while the ship tipped over—"LIFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Back on deck, everyone screamed as the Dread-Yacht tilted back and forth like they were on the world's worst carnival ride in tandem with Flynn's desperate attempts to regain control of the ship! The Elder Elementals crashed to the left while Chihiro, Cali, Ermit and the remaining Skylanders all slammed into them as makeshift cushions for their fall, then they tilted right and went tackling down for the rails! Chihiro grunted as her back crashed into the rails, then grunted again as Trigger Happy landed in her arms. Her teeth clenched as the others slammed into the rails and let out cries of pain, then as they all grabbed onto the rails and tried to stagger up, they screamed as the Elder Elementals came in fast! For a moment they prepared to bolt, but the ship turned upright and their impromptu ride came to a cease! Or so it seemed.

Trigger Happy hopped out of Chihiro's arms while Chihiro herself wiped the sweat from her brow. "Is everyone alright?" Chihiro asked as everyone around her sat up and regained their senses, "That was some ride!"

Creeeeeeeaaaaaaaakkkkkk… Chihiro winced as the ship started to tilt down, then she instinctively grappled for the rails and practically wrapped herself around them.

"But something tells me it isn't over yet! Grab onto something, everyone!"

The Dread-Yacht's creaks grew even louder as it tilted further down, and the whole ship sunk down as if it was losing altitude! For a few moments it hovered it utter peace, just enough that everyone could get a glance of the vast skies below while the clouds cleared out of their way, then they all screamed as the Dread-Yacht shot down below at rocket speed! Eyelids, cheeks and clothing flapped in the wind as everyone clung to the Dread-Yacht for dear life while it nosedived so fast that flames grew around it and sparked across its side! Crates, jukeboxes, tables and more all flew into the sky as the Dread-Yacht turned into a veritable flaming comet while its speed grew even faster! Unable to close their eyes, everyone was forced to watch as the skies came in faster and faster…

Then, finally, the skies parted and revealed a gigantic island! Normally a crash wouldn't be a particularly good thing, but the island brought their fall to a rousing stop as the smoking hot Dread-Yacht landed on its grassy surface and created a massive crater in the earth, the grass nearby singed from the flames. A few puffs of smoke popped out of the Dread-Yacht's roof, and the paint peeled off while smoking metal panels dropped onto the earth and exploded into flames.

A dizzy Eruptor stumbled over to the rails and peeked down. "Yeah, this is definitely gonna need some repairs…" Eruptor groaned before he hacked a lava ball out.

"Not even his balloon was as bad as this!" Stealth Elf moaned as she patted down flyaways and brushed her arms free of soot.

"Balloony, I'm sorry for every awful thing I said about you," Whirlwind moaned as she sat up, then fell on her back while lightning fritzed around her horn, "I'd take you back in a heartbeat."

Flynn groaned as he swayed back and forth across the captain's quarters, then screamed as he snagged his foot and went tumbling down the stairs! As he hit the deck, Flynn groaned and pushed his head up, gasped and jumped to his feet.

"The engine!" Flynn cried as he scurried towards a door and yanked it open, "I'd better make sure it's alright!"

Still reeling from the sudden fall, Chihiro groaned and sat back up, but her legs had grown so numb from the fall that she couldn't bring herself to stand just yet. So, instead she leaned against Bouncer's wheel and sighed—that was the worst crash she had ever experienced, and she had experienced her fair share of crashes! Just what could have happened? As Cali and Ermit passed her by and followed Flynn down into the engine room, the numbness in her legs eased up and she finally brought herself to stand on her own two feet.

"Holy enchiladas!" Flynn cried from the engine room. "This thing's completely fried!"

… Yeah, that didn't bode well. Chihiro dashed through the engine room's door and tailed down the steps two at a time, then jumped off the final step and strode inside the engine room, lead there by a stream of gray clouds and the smell of burning. Her short trek through the halls lead her to an open door where thick gray smoke choked out most of the sights, and she ducked underneath its cover. The smoke cleared up as she walked through, and when she arrived on the other side, she found Flynn, Cali and Ermit all marveling the engine, except it didn't look like much of an engine now! It was crispy and most of its fancy detailing had either peeled off or melted away, with only a haphazard hunk of junky metal left behind! Half the parts were bent or had completely fallen off, and the stuff that was left wasn't much better with how it brimmed with heat and emitted smoke! In this state, it probably couldn't even be sold for scrap.

"But, the guy said this was a high-quality engine!" Cali exclaimed as she scratched his head. "How could it go out like this?"

As if on cue, one twisted pipe on the engine popped open, and out came a white flag with a picture of that very shopkeeper who sold them the engine, but he was grinning and sticking his tongue out, the audacity! Flynn plucked the flag off and glazed it over, then snarled and tossed it on the ground.

"It says we got punked!" Flynn exclaimed as he stomped on the flag. Flynn crossed his arms and huffed as another puff of smoke came from the engine. "That's it, that's the last time I get my parts from the Junkyard Isles!"

"With a name like Junkyard Isles, what'd you expect to find there?" Ermit remarked. "Gold?"

Flynn clenched his lips, then turned around and beamed as he caught sight of Chihiro.

"Oh hey, perfect timing, kiddo!" Flynn exclaimed as he strode up to Chihiro! His grin lingered for a moment, then it faltered as he shot a glance back at the singed engine. "Well, as you can see, the engine's toast." Flynn patted Chihiro on the shoulder. "Cali and I are gonna try and get things fixed up—in the meanwhile, can you and the 'landers see if there's a place we can get a new engine?"

Chihiro beamed and gave Flynn a nod—the awful scent of smoke was a bit much for her, so overwhelming she found it hard to speak. So instead, she dove underneath the smoke, raced back up the stairs and onto the deck, the flung the door wide open! Everyone else's eyes all turned on her, and she just sighed. Fresh, cool air, finally!

"So, how is it?" Eye-Brawl remarked in the midst of a thumb-wrestling match with Bouncer, his eye fixed on Chihiro. "Can we still get airborne?"

Bouncer grinned and took down Eye-Brawl's thumb, and Eye-Brawl snarled as he glared at Bouncer. "Eye saw that!"

"I've got bad news, unfortunately," Chihiro replied as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "The engine's a dud, and now it's completely busted to boot!"—Chihiro shrugged and strode up to the edge of the ship—"Flynn needs us to scout around this place and see if we find a place where we can get a new engine!"

"If we can find a place to get a new engine," Whirlwind added as she flew up beside Chihiro, her muzzle kept in a frown as she glazed over the island. "This place seems completely barren!"

Chihiro hummed as she glazed over the island in tandem. Like it or not, it did seem like Whirlwind was right, what with nothing but massive expanses of grass being the only visible thing for miles and all, but at the same time…

"It's not like we have any other options," Chihiro remarked. "It's either, that, or we're stuck here unless a miracle happens!"

Chihiro stomped her foot against the deck, and in response the bridge extended from the one open side of the Dread-Yacht and dug into the ground below! With a grin, she spun around and waved.

"Fin, Rupty, Gill and Whirlybird are with me! The rest of you stay here and keep an eye on things!"

Chihiro leaped onto the railing and prepared to leap again, but before she could, thunderous footsteps shook her down! As she fell on her back with a grunt, she peered up to find Thumpback and Swarm grinning down at her!

"And we'll come along and help too," Thumpback added as he swung his anchor over his shoulder. "I know my way around a ship…"

"And I can fly ahead and scout!" Swarm finished!

Chihiro grinned, then made a thumbs-up. "The more the merrier!" She proclaimed as she hopped back to her feet! Chihiro glazed over the side of the railing, then shrugged and shuffled off to the bridge. "Now let's get going!"

With a flap of his wings, Swarm zoomed away while Thumpback leaped off the Dread-Yacht's deck and hit the ground with a loud thud that shook everything around! Everyone else nearly fell on the ground once again, but quickly shook it off and raced down the deck. With everyone gathered, they all shared glances and nodded before they trekked into the vast unknown.

§

"Hello, hello?" Chihiro called as she strode across the vast plains, her voice amplified by the massive magic megaphone in her hands. "Is anyone here?"

Chihiro frowned and lowered her megaphone as the sound of her question echoed across the vast skies, then sighed and stowed it away. It seemed like they had been walking for hours now, but she was met with nothing but vast, open wilderness and the sight of grass, stretched across the skies as far as the eye could see! She wanted to be hopeful that there was some sign of life, but… She kinda doubted it.

"I don't know about you," Terrafin remarked as he cracked his knuckles, "but I'm not seeing any people here."

"Think we could've landed on a ghost island?" Gill Grunt suggested.

"Wait, ghost island?!" Eruptor sputtered. His eyes went wide for a moment, then he dove behind Terrafin and shuddered. "I hope not, ghosts give me the creeps!"

Terrafin just chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Not those kind of ghosts, Ruptor," Terrafin corrected as he pushed Eruptor out from his back.

"But it would be just our luck to end up on an abandoned island, wouldn't it?" Whirlwind sighed, "I mean, it seems like we've been running into mishap after mishap since this mission began!"

"I'm telling you, it's that ship!" Terrafin crossed his arms and huffed. "Thing's a walking hazard, and not just because of the dude piloting it!"—Terrafin shuddered a bit and turned aside—"it's given me a bad feeling ever since I saw it…"

"Isn't that just because you're afraid of flying?"

Terrafin's eyes grew wide as Whirlwind spoke, then he snarled and jabbed a finger in her face. "I, I'm not! What kind of coward would be afraid of a little flight, anyways?"

Whirlwind, in response, just winced and backed up. Terrafin and Whirlwind both glared daggers at each other, and the whole world tensed around them as all eyes fell below—that is, until Chihiro pushed herself between the two of them.

"Now, now, everyone, I know things look pretty bad right now," Chihiro said as she pushed them away from each other. "But let's not take our frustration out on each other!"—Chihiro chuckled and shrugged—"besides, we don't know for sure if it's abandoned yet! Swarm still hasn't gotten back from his scouting trip yet!"

The sound of beating wings flapped across the skies and sent powerful winds down onto the ground, so powerful that Chihiro, Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind had to dig their feet into the ground so they wouldn't get blown away—though above them, Thumpback was perfectly unaffected as he chuckled! Chihiro grimaced and brushed her bangs out of her face as she turned up tot he skies… Then, she grinned!

"And there he is!" Chihiro cried as she pointed to the skies, where a yellow and black blur zipped back and forth, "I'm sure he's gonna come here and tell us that there's a town or something—"

"Bad news, everyone!" Swarm cried as he came in for a landing. "The place's abandoned!"—Swarm hit the ground and sighed—"I flew as far as the eye could see, but all I could find was grass!"

Everyone else blinked for a moment, then Chihiro sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Well, guess I'd better fire up those communicators," Chihiro groaned as she snapped her fingers. A blue communications device landed in her lap, and she frowned as she fiddled with its dial. "Maybe if we're lucky, we can pick up some—"—Chihiro paused for a moment and dropped the device, then lifted her head and sniffed the air—"is that cinnamon I smell?"

Chihiro sniffed again, then grinned and leaped to her feet! The device collapsed to the ground and exploded into sparkles, but she didn't care in the slightest—because she was more concerned with what she smelled! Sweet cinnamon, the buttery scent of fresh popcorn and more, oh, it was such a welcome sight, er, smell!

"You all smell that too, right?" Chihiro asked as she turned to the others.

The others frowned and sniffed the air, then their eyes went wide.

"Yeah!" Terrafin remarked while everyone else nodded beside him.

Chihiro gasped, then turned and pointed to the grassy plains ahead. "And if a scent like that's here, then surely there's gotta be someone making something!" Chihiro pumped a fist and sprinted forward. "Come on, everyone! Follow that smell!"

Their fight forgotten and spirits renewed, everyone else ran behind Chihiro across the endless stretches of grassy fields. But soon, they became grassy stretches no longer! Just over the grassy horizon, the faintest trace of twin flagpoles with strings of flags between them poked over the distance, all while the scent grew way more intense! Finally, some buildings! Surely that meant there had to be people somewhere, right?

As Chihiro reached the top of the hill, she gazed down and gleamed! Sure enough, what appeared to be a carnival or fair or something had been set up at the base of the hill—and where there was a carnival, there were people! So, she leaped in the air, then slammed her feet down in midair and crafted a star-shaped platform underneath her!

"Last one to the bottom of the hill's a rotten egg!" Chihiro cried as she zipped down the hill!

The wind brushed against her face in a good, cooling kind of sort as she flew down the hill with such speed that blades of grass flew behind her, and god, did it feel amazing! Chihiro leaped in the air and squealed with delight as she pumped a fist in the air, then slammed back on the platform right as it landed at the hill's base! With a stomp from her feet, the platform disappeared and she fell to the ground, right in front of the carnival! But, now that she got a better look at it, that carnival didn't seem as appealing as it did when she saw it over the hill. The stone paths were cracked, and the various booths set up there seemed kinda shabby and run-down. Heck, the sign advertising some kind of dart-throwing game fell off and crashed onto the ground as she watched! And for that matter, it didn't seem like there was anybody there, either.

"Find anything, Chi?" Gill Grunt asked as he flew up to Chihiro, then deactivated his jetpack and hit the ground. He took a step forward, then frowned and stepped back. "It doesn't seem like there's anyone here."

"That's weird," Swarm remarked as he flew down. "When I flew over this hill, there was nothing here but grass and trees!"

As she heard Swarm's words, Chihiro shuddered and shook her head. That didn't exactly sound promising, either.

"Well, it's still our best shot," Whirlwind said as she flew up beside Chihiro. "It wouldn't hurt to at least get a quick look."

So, everyone else reluctantly nodded and entered the carnival's mouth. The stones creaked underneath their feet as they passed through the carnival, wary glances taken at all the stands, which, despite their emptiness, were stocked to the brims with fresh food and new-looking prizes! And the various carnival games operated as if they had just been started, all bright lights and smooth spinning and cheery music. But how could that be, if this place was so empty?

"I don't know about you guys, but this place gives me the creeps!" Eruptor cried as he clung to Terrafin's arm. "Something about it feels haunted or something…"

Eruptor yipped and jumped away while a stray breeze carried a few tattered leaves away, then he sighed and wiped the pebbles from his forehead.

"Hate to say it, but I kinda agree with the little guy," Thumpback remarked as he scratched his head. "Something about this place feels a little suspicious."

"Do you think we're really going to find help here?" Terrafin remarked as he crossed his arms and turned to Chihiro.

Chihiro frowned and tapped her foot against the stone. Even she was starting to have second thoughts about all this, what with how strange this whole place came off. She couldn't quite put her finger down on it, but this whole carnival had a bad feeling seeping off of it like poison! Maybe she should've just tried the communicator after all! Chihiro narrowed her eyes, then gasped as a blurry brown, white and red figure walked to a booth in the distance! Finally, a sign of life! Chihiro gasped, then turned back to the others who all grinned in response. Well, save for Gill Grunt who was giving the walls an odd look, but whatever.

"I'll go talk to that guy!" Chihiro proclaimed as she strode forward. "You all just stay here—"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Gill Grunt cried!

His cold, wet hand yanked Chihiro by the shoulder and back to their side, and his gaze turned just as cold as Chihiro glared back at him.

"Gill, what gives?!" Chihiro hissed as she tried to pull herself out of his grip!

Gill Grunt said no words, but instead pointed to the walls!

Chihiro frowned and followed his finger… Then she winced and clenched her teeth as she saw just what was on the walls! Pictures of the Skylanders and even Chihiro herself were hung from dartboards with several darts skewered in them, all alongside posters with red Xs painted over their faces and announcements denying their entry!

"I don't know who these guys are," Gill Grunt remarked as he let go of Chihiro's shoulder, "but something tells me they don't exactly like us."

"Well, that definitely throws a wrench in our plans." Chihiro scoffed as she crossed her arms, then tapped a poster of herself on the wall. "If these guys don't want Skylanders running around, then something's definitely up. But what?"—Chihiro scratched her head—"and more importantly, how'll we find out without getting caught?"

Thumpback and Swarm both knelt down as they examined the posters and dartboards, hands rubbing chins and humming and all, then Thumpback grazed a poster with his finger. But, with how massive his finger was, he accidentally tore a gash through it instead. Thumpback chuckled, then drew back and met Chihiro's gaze.

"They might not want you around, true," Thumpback remarked. "But we've been gone so long, they probably wouldn't recognize us!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Swarm affirmed with a hasty nod. "We'll just go in there and say we need help with the engine, then we can just go in there and find out what's up!"

"Killing two birds with one stone, I like it!" Chihiro proclaimed as she gave a thumbs up, "I'll leave it to you!"

Thumpback and Swarm chuckled in response, then the two of them turned around and made their way to the stands. But, just before they left, Swarm turned around and waved back at Chihiro.

"We'll take care of this before you can even blink!" Swarm proclaimed. "Just stay put, alright?"

"Trust me, we're not going anywhere!" Chihiro replied with a chuckle as she waved. She smiled as she lowered her hand, then quirked a brow as her eyes fell on Terrafin's uneasy look. "Fin, what's wrong?"

"I don't know about this, Chi," Terrafin remarked as he drummed his fingers against his biceps. "Those guys have been gone from this place longer than any of us could imagine! Are you sure they'll know what they're doing?"

"Eh, they'll be fine!" Chihiro waved her hand and grinned. "See, I'll show you!"

With a snap of her fingers, twin walkie-talkies appeared in Chihiro's hand, and she set one on the ground while the other laid in her palms. The other walkie-talkie slithered across the ground until it was little more than a speck to the eye, before it finally sat up and radioed in. Static crackled from the speaker on Chihiro's walkie-talkie for a moment, then finally…

"So ye're saying ye're the Elder Elementals?!" Crackled a voice on the other side, "Ye've gotta be pulling me leg!"

"No, no, we're being honest here!" Swarm cried, his voice strained with a bit of worry. "We're the Elder Elementals, honest to the Ancients! And we need a new engine for our ship!"

"That can't be right, the Elder Elementals died years ago!"

Chihiro winced, then turned off the walkie-talkie before the conversation could get any more awkward. "Alright, maybe they will need some help."

With a snap of her fingers, a costume consisting of a tunic and long trousers draped itself over Chihiro's body, then she strode up to where Thumpback and Swarm argued and wedged herself between their legs.

"Yeah, yeah, you're totally the Elder Elementals, right guys?" Chihiro claimed as she patted the sides of their legs.

She chuckled as Thumpback and Swarm gave her odd looks, then turned her attention to the person they were arguing with—an anthropomorphic dog with brown fur and beady black eyes who wore a red and white carny's outfit. The carny, in turn, also gave her quite the strange look, so she just chuckled and rested her arm on the counter between them.

"Sorry about all the fuss buddy, when they get in character, they really get into character," Chihiro whispered.

"So what yer saying is," the carny cocked a brow, "yer cosplayers?"

"What's a cosplayer?" Thumpback and Swarm asked as they tilted their heads.

Chihiro broke into rousing laughter, gut-slapping and all, then stood up and grinned as she pointed a finger towards Thumpback and Swarm.

"Good one guys! Good one!" Chihiro chuckled, then turned back to the carny. "Yeah, we were actually on our way to an ancient history fair, but then our ship broke down." Chihiro hissed and turned away from view. "Turns out, the engine our buddy got was a major dud." Chihiro forced a smile and turned back to the carny. "So, you wouldn't happen to have an engine here by perchance?"

In response, the carny only chuckled and leaned back in his seat.

"Oh, we've got plenty o' parts to spare here, engine included!" The carny's smile faded away as he leaned forward and looked Chihiro in the eye. "But, it'll cost ye."

"Oh, gold? How much?" Chihiro asked as she fished her hand into her pocket. Surely, she could summon some gold out of Trigger Happy's stash—dude had so much, he wouldn't mind if she borrowed some for something like this!

"Actually, we don't use gold here!" The carny corrected with another chuckle. "We've had uh, experiences with being conned out of pay before."

And Chihiro immediately silenced her glowing hand and pulled it out. They didn't use gold? Well, that was nothing concerning, lots of places around Skylands used different kinds of currency! She was sure whatever it was, she could grab some in the blink of an eye!

"Alright, then what do you use?"

"Glad ye asked! See, here at Cutthroat Carnival, we have our own specialized currency—pirate chips!"

Cutthroat Carnival, a name befitting of the surroundings but not exactly silencing the alarm bells ringing in Chihiro's head. Chihiro warily nodded, a silent sign for the carny to continue.

"And here, we get these by playing one of our favorite games!"

The carny slapped his booth's desk, and it immediately flipped over! Its plain wooden surface had been traded for a sleek, dark blue one that looked as if it had been made out of crystal, divided into nine sections with a stack of simple square rocks beside it.

"Skystones!"

§

As Chihiro talked it up with the carny at the booth, Gill Grunt, Terrafin, Eruptor and Whirlwind all crept behind an abandoned cotton candy stand and huddled together. Chihiro had dropped her walkie-talkie on the ground while she had fled, and they had all their ears pressed against it as they eavesdropped on the convo… And if necessary, looked for chances to intervene.

"See, Skystones is a simple little card game…" The carny spoke over the walkie-talkie's radio.

"Guy sounds like a pirate," Eruptor mumbled as he huddled into a ball. "What's with all the 'Yes' and 'Yers' anyways?"

"Pirates playing card games?" Terrafin remarked while rubbing his chin. "That sounds pretty familiar."

"Whatever it is, hopefully it's nothing too underhanded," Whirlwind whispered. Lightning sparked at the tips of her wings, and she dismissed it was a flap—but her nerves were still easy enough to see as she drummed her chest, "I don't like the looks of this place at all."

"You're telling me," Gill Grunt hissed as he clutched his harpoon cannon.

The four of them whispered among each other as they huddled closer to the walkie-talkie, then Terrafin blinked and peered up as soft footsteps made their way around the ground. He narrowed his eyes as several pairs of legs made their way around the stand while more chatter came from around the corner, then he turned around and pushed on Gill Grunt's shoulder.

"Someone's coming!" Terrafin hissed as he yanked the walkie-talkie from the ground. "We've gotta get—"

"SKYLANDERS?!"

Terrafin clenched his teeth as the sound of cotton candy splattering on the ground echoed behind him, then he turned around and found himself face to face with three of the carnies! One was a tall squid, the other two seadogs, but all of them wore similar outfits donned by the carny that Chihiro was talking with! But more than anything, they were all shaking as their eyes fell on Gill Grunt.

"I know ye!" The squid cried as he jabbed a hand at Gill Grunt. "Yer one of those Skylandees that stole the Eternal Water Source! Cap'n Kaos fired us because of you!"

"What're ye doing here?!" One seadog carny cried as they bit their nails. "Don't tell me yer gonna run us out of business here, too?!"

"Wait, this is your place?!" Gill Grunt cried.

Gill Grunt clenched his jaws and reached for his cannon's trigger, but just before he did, the second seadog slammed a button and dashed off! But where was it headed? Well, a quick glance showed where, and it wasn't good—because it was right on course for where Chihiro was talking!

"Matey, we've got a problem!" Cried the seadog, arms flailed with such speed that it knocked all the carny's Skystones off his deck. "The Skylandees found us!"

"THEY WHAT?!" The carny exclaimed as his jaw dropped. He flung all his remaining stones off the deck in a panic, then slammed a button and leaped forward. "Shut as much down as ye can! We can't let them escape!"

"Aye-aye, sir!"

The second seadog ran up to stands and slammed on them one by one, and in response the entire carnival seemed to fold in on itself and disappear! Stands sunk into the depths below, buildings folded over and rearranged themselves until they were no more than ordinary huts, banners sank back into the poles they came from… And most concerning, gigantic metal gates shot up in front of the paths back to the beginning! Guess escaping was out of the question!

The carny, meanwhile, snarled and ripped his carny outfit clean off to reveal a pirate outfit underneath! He growled as he flicked off his hat to reveal a bandanna underneath, then drew a cutlass from his belt and narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on a cotton candy stand that folded over to unveil Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind!

"Yer not getting' away this time, Skylandees!" The pirate cried as he ran forward with his sword at the ready. "En garde!"

"Crap!" Chihiro hissed. "They've been discovered!"

Thumpback and Swarm narrowed their eyes and went to fight, but just before they could take a step forward, Chihiro rushed forward and flung her arms out in front of them!

"Don't!" Chihiro cried. With a frown, she adjusted her tunic's position and winced as she glanced back to where Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind were being surrounded by pirates. "If they find out we're with them, our cover's blown! We need to get out of here!"

Swarm flitted backwards and frowned. "But—"

"Don't worry." Chihiro's tense look faded as she glazed over Eruptor, Terrafin, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind, who had already prepped to attack. "They wouldn't be Skylanders if they didn't know how to get out of a situation like this!"

Swarm frowned as he glanced back at Thumpback, but a simple, calm nod from Thumpback eased his nerves! The two of them beamed back at each other before they dashed off, and Chihiro was prepped to follow them. But just before she did, her eyes fell on the Skystones deck at her feet and she frowned.

"If Skystones is how we get money around here, then I'm gonna need these," Chihiro whispered as she knelt down and plucked the Skystones from the ground. "Hopefully, these should be enough to—"—Chihiro blinked as a flash of yellow light caught her eye—"play?"

Chihiro frowned, then tilted her head and shifted away one of the few patches of grass on the ground. There, amid the blades of grass and a stray Skystone was a yellow crystal wheel with ancient runes carved into it that shone with a star's light! Chihiro giggled as it shimmered in her presence, then she plucked it off the ground and lifted it to the heavens, where the sunlight only amplified its glow.

"Chihiro, hurry up!" Thumpback and Swarm cried from the distance!

Chihiro gasped, then stashed her stolen Skystones and wheel in her pocket. "Coming guys!" Chihiro cried as she leaped in the air and summoned her star platform. "Just give me a second!"

The star platform tilted a bit underneath Chihiro's weight, but it steadied just in time for her to kneel down and grip it tight! With her seated firm on the platform, then star spun around and dashed across the carnival ground, trails of sparkles and light left its its wake! It was so fast, it had found itself by Thumpback and Swarm's side in seconds!

"Told you I just needed a second!" Chihiro winked, then fished her wheel out of her pocket and turned it around. "I wonder why I keep running into these things…"

Swarm turned his gaze down at Chihiro, then tilted his head and flew in place. "Hey, where'd you find that thing?"

"Oh, this?" Chihiro held out the wheel, then when Swarm nodded she drew it back to her face. "It was on the ground with all those Skystones that guy knocked over… Why?"

"I don't know, something about it just seemed kind of familiar."

Swarm and Chihiro both shrugged, then dashed into the distance alongside Thumpback with the carnival forgotten in their minds!

But while they were running off, Eruptor, Gill Grunt, Terrafin and Whirlwind were kept stuck to their places! They had been completely surrounded by pirates at all angles, all of whom were armed with cannons and cutlasses, bombs and ropes, and all sorts of other weapons! The pirates all snarled as they closed further in on the quartet, but they just dug their heels in and stood their ground!

"Yer outnumbered, Skylandees!" Cried a pirate fish as he shoved a cutlass in Gill Grunt's face. "Ye might as well give up now!"

"Give up?" Terrafin chuckled as he rubbed his snout, "I don't know the word!"

"You may have us outnumbered, true…" Gill Grunt remarked as he cocked his harpoon guns and held it out. "But do you have us outpowered?"

The pirate fish who came moments away from slicing Gill Grunt into fish filet backed up and snarled as he clutched his cutlass's handle, a bit taken aback by Gill Grunt's words, then he yowled and raced forward! He grunted as he slashed the air between him and Gill Grunt, but just before coming in contact with Gill himself, Gill Grunt leaped backwards and pulled his cannon's trigger! A shiny silver harpoon shot out of Gill Grunt's cannon and slammed the pirate fish right in the gut, so fast and so powerful that he was left gasping for air! The pirate fish wheezed as the harpoon tossed him back, then grunted and pushed himself up—but there was no need, because several more pirates had dashed in front of him and knocked him back over! The pirates all screamed as they chased after Gill Grunt, but Gill Grunt just scoffed and held his trigger tight! The harpoon that laid inside his cannon shuddered for mere moments, then its body warbled and shifted until it transformed into a massive anchor!

"ANCHORS AWAY!" Gill Grunt cried as he released the trigger and flew backwards!

The massive anchor screeched towards the pirates as they screamed and ran off, but they were far too late! The anchor slammed them into the backs and tossed them into the first pirate, which in turn sent them all tumbling backwards! They had merged into a ball as they rolled, then slammed right into a stone wall and grunted as they split apart and collapsed on the floor.

Gill Grunt scoffed and shifted to his water cannon with a few clicks of the trigger, then jiggled his jetpack and went soaring into the air! Streams of rushing water poured down from his jetpack and drenched the pirates below, who reeled and grunted as they shook themselves off. The pirates snarled and leaped in their air as they bore their cannons and went to fire, but they just got blown away by massive bubbles! They slammed back into the ground with a grunt, while the streams that propelled Gill Grunt grew larger and more furious as he shot up into the air!

"Hopefully this'll work," Gill Grunt whispered.

The last of the water dripped from his jetpacks and left only dribbling drops of liquid left as the jetpack streams formed into one solid, babbling mountain of water, while the pirates only winced and backed away in sheer shock of the mountain of water's might. The mountain quivered for a few moments, shuddered some more, then water splashed everywhere as it transformed into a gigantic leviathan made out of pure water! Gill Grunt chuckled as he dropped onto the watery leviathan's back, then he punched the air as the leviathan roared and slammed down onto the ground! Tidal waves washed across the floor as the leviathan charged forward, and in one fell swoop, it tackled down the pirates and tossed them away! The pirates screamed as they were tossed into walls, slammed into the ground or eaten up by the leviathan and spat into the skies… But above all, they were drenched from head to toe, their clothes sopping, fur pressed to their bodies from the weight of the water and skin and scales shining with slick light!

Its job now done, the leviathan itself gurgled and dissipated back into water which then absorbed back into Gill Grunt's jetpack. Gill Grunt grinned and cocked his harpoon cannon, then his eyes shot open and he whipped right around, his cannon flung right in the way of a cutlass that had attempted to cut him down! Gill Grunt set his cannon down and shot the pirate away with a harpoon as the pirate reeled, then he himself collapsed on the ground as something slammed into him! As he fell at the pirate's feet, Gill Grunt pushed himself up and turned around, where Terrafin loomed over him and snarled.

Terrafin wiped the blood from his nose as he glared down a pirate with blood on their knuckles, then he shouted out as he rushed forward and punched the pirate right in the gut! While the pirate grunted and flew back, Terrafin just leaped up and dove straight into the earth, then zipped around at lightning speed. The earth churned and groaned as Terrafin's underground swim slashed its body up, while the pirates on it gasped and stumbled about! The quakes he had created had them completely off-kilter, and all they could do was stumble about and try their hardest not to trip!

Eruptor and Whirlwind drew back in shock for a moment, then grinned and nodded towards each other. Eruptor was the first to step forward, his round hands pounded together as the lava in his veins bubbled with a new fury! The pirates all blinked and glared him down, but Eruptor just strode in with arms extended and lava still broiling!

"Feel the burn!" Eruptor cried as his lava veins glowed so bright they started shrieking!

With a single clap of Eruptor's hands, fire and lava chunks exploded from Eruptor's veins and splattered everywhere! Their flames and heat ate away at the wooden walls and grassy patches that made up their battlefield, and even a few pirates' clothes! While those pirates screamed, flailed around, stopped, dropped and rolled, even, the ones left unscathed screamed and ran off—but they wouldn't be getting away that easily!

As they ran off, Whirlwind zipped in front of them, her horn charged with pulsating rainbows and sparkling lightning! The pirates gasped and stumbled backwards, but just before they could escape, raging stormclouds zipped behind them and blocked their path away! They were completely trapped, faced with thundering clouds at one end and a very angry Whirlwind at the other, so they all did the only thing they could do in this situation—they fell to their knees and shielded their faces!

"The storm's rolling in!" Whirlwind cried as she lowered her head!

Her horn crackled as a bright white light shone from it, then out from her horn came massive rainbow shockwaves that slammed not just into the pirates, but into the clouds as well! The clouds erupted into a massive storm of electricity that shocked the pirates so hard you could practically see their skeletons through their bodies, a rainbow-colored cacophony of lightning and light… Then finally, the electricity faded and the pirates collapsed to the ground, clothes and fur singed and lit with rainbow embers while their eyes spun. Whirlwind smirked as she fell to her paws, then craned her head back to the battlefield, where Terrafin wiped his hands as he strode up to Gill Grunt and Eruptor. All around them were unconscious pirates and the remnants of battle. But, they won!

"Seems like our job here is done," Gill Grunt remarked as he readjusted his jetpack. Water sloshed out from its top and tapped him on the head, but he just shook it off and grinned. "Now, let's get back to—"

"Forgetting someone?"

The sound of another pirate's voice turned all four of them around, but before they could get a good look, bright pink cotton candy fell at their feet and exploded! Before they knew it, their legs had been coated in the sticky, sugar stuff, and despite their struggling, they couldn't move an inch. The cotton candy had stuck them right to the ground!

"Just let me handle this!" Eruptor shouted as he tapped his hands and hovered them over the cotton candy, "I'll melt us out in a jiffy!"

Flames burst from Eruptor's veins and trickled down to the cotton candy, where their fires ate away at the sugary cotton candy and melted that away. But, instead of freeing them, the cotton candy just melted further into sticky pink glue that hardened them to the spot! The flames were extinguished the moment they hit the glue, and once again they were left stuck, perhaps even more stuck than before!

Eruptor winced, then his arms and face faltered as he gazed over the sticky pink glue. "This is why I hate cotton candy."

In front of them, a pirate seadog who had the torn remnants of a carny outfit over his clothes cackled and clapped his hands while the Skylanders glared him down from their positions. "My, my, never thought I'd be seeing the day when I'd catch a Skylandee, much less four!" The seadog smirked as the other pirates got up and crowded around him, and his gaze turned much more sinister. "But I suppose dreams can come true!"

Several other, bulkier pirates whipped out black licorice ropes from their belts, then wielded them like lassos and snagged them around Eruptor, Whirlwind, Terrafin and Gill Grunt! With a simple yank, the four of them were pulled out of the glue and stuck together by their legs and chests. Their heads bonked together as they got stuck, but the pirates only laughed harder!

"Fishface!" The seadog proclaimed as he pointed to a gillman pirate, "send 'em to the pits!"

"Aye aye!" Fishface proclaimed!

He saluted the head pirate, then scurried over to yet another switch and slammed it open! A hole opened in the ground as a siren blared on and on, and all the pirates turned their eyes on Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind, who only glared back in response… Well, save for Eruptor, who forced a smile and chuckled.

"Uh, one question," Eruptor asked as he shimmied around a bit. "Just what are these pits, anyways?"

"Ye'll find out!"

The pirates grabbed Terrafin, Gill Grunt, Eruptor and Whirlwind by the licorice ropes that held them bound, and with one swing they were tossed into the hole and went crashing down! Though they screamed at the top of their lungs, their screams were quickly muffled as the hole closed. And while it closed, the carnival itself restored back to its original position—stands and stalls at every corner, flags held high, damage cleaned up… It was like the battle had never happened!

The seadog smirked as he stowed away a remote and wiped his paws. "I knew that automatic cleanup system was a good idea," he remarked as he strolled back to his stand. "Now, time to get back to me newest suckers—"—the seadog's eyes went wide and he coughed into his paw, while a sickeningly sweet smile crossed his muzzle—"er, I mean, esteemed customers!"

But, when he arrived, his jaw dropped—for they were gone! And not just them, but his Skystones deck had been completely pilfered from his stand as well! The seadog gasped as he scoured around the stall for some sign of his Skystones, but they were nowhere to be found! He started to pant as he poked out from behind the stand, then, his sweet look turned sour as his eyes narrowed.

"Those punks must've been with the Skylandees!" The seadog cried! He slammed his fist against the deck while it twitched, then he yanked his head over towards the other pirates. "Sound the alarms!"

The pirates yelped in agreement as they slammed buttons at every turn, and in response red lights shone over the area while sirens blared out in alarm! Pirates poured in from every corner with weapons bared and angry looks on their faces, and yet the seadog remained perfectly calm as he sat down and steepled his fingers.

"Ye won't be getting the best of me this time, Skylandees…"

§

Chihiro winced and tugged on her tunic as she, Thumpback and Swarm trekked deeper into the carnival. They had long left the others behind, but she was absolutely certain that they could take care of things themselves… Maybe? That tiny inkling of doubt still tugged at her heart, and she couldn't help but worry. While Thumpback and Swarm ran ahead of her, Chihiro just stopped in her tracks and turned around, all so she could take a glimpse of the path she left behind.

"I just hope they're alright," Chihiro whispered as she toyed with her suspenders. She bit her lip, then turned back around and crept forward, her head craned from side to side in some pursuit of anything mechanical. "The faster I can find out what's going on here, the faster I can get back to them."

Chihiro frowned and took one step forward, and in that very moment, everything turned completely red! Had she stepped on something suspicious?! Chihiro scanned the ground for any sort of odd button or suspiciously light patch of ground, but as she did, ear-bleeding alarms shouted all across the way! Chihiro herself shouted in panic as she shielded her ears, a brief solace from the headache-inducing sights and sounds around her.

"INTRUDER ALERT, INTRUDER ALERT!" Blared a pirate's voice over the various loudspeakers set up across the carnival. "INTRUDERS HAVE ENTERED CUTTHROAT CARNIVAL!"

"Chihiro!" Swarm cried as he and Thumpback returned to Chihiro! The buzzing of his wings drowned out the alarms as he knelt down beside her. "What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Chihiro cried as she turned back to them. "The alarms just turned on all of a sudden!"—Chihiro winced and tugged on her tunic—"but whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it!"

Shing! Chihiro gasped and jumped back as a shiny, metal gate shot up in front of the path before her!

"We're trapped!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pointed to the gate!

"Not if I can help it!" Thumpback cried as he cracked his knuckles! His gaze fixed on the gate, Thumpback snarled and latched onto it, his muscles strained as he tugged against it, then finally, he yanked it out of the ground and tossed it off the side of the island!

"Alley-oop!" He cried as the gate flew into the clouds!

But while that gate was gone, more gates cropped up on the path ahead, and it wouldn't be long before they caught up! So, Swarm took to the skies and zipped ahead, while Thumpback fell to his belly and turned to Chihiro. He tilted his shoulders as if he was urging Chihiro to jump on, so she teleported onto his back and clung tight as he zipped ahead! The sound of slamming and crashing smashed behind them as more and more gates cropped up from the ground like weeds and nipped at Swarm and Thumpback's heels, but with every gate that came up, their speed only grew! They raced faster and faster ahead with every gate, and even those started to fall behind as they rushed past the paths… But the gates wouldn't be beaten yet! A gigantic silver gate slammed in front of them right as they passed into an open circle, and at the very last minute to boot!

Swarm, Thumpback and Chihiro all gasped, and Chihiro frantically tugged on Thumpback's blowhole as he zoomed forwards.

"Thumpback, slow down!" Chihiro cried as she hung on for dear life. "You're going to crash!"

"I can't!" Thumpback shouted back, "I'm going too fast!"

"Me neither!" Swarm cried.

The three of them turned to each other, then they turned back to the gate, which was now only inches away from their faces! Unable to stop, they all screamed as they slammed right into the gate and left a sizable dent in its bars, then they popped backwards and crashed onto the grass! Swarm and Thumpback collapsed with a loud thud, while just ahead of them Chihiro flew off of Thumpback's back and hit a particularly soft patch of grass.

"Ugh, talk about a crash landing," Chihiro groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head. As she sat on her knees, Chihiro turned her attention to where Swarm and Thumpback were groaning and pushing themselves off the grass. "You guys alright?"

"Think so," Swarm replied as he straightened his antenna out with a shake of his head. "I hate gates like that."

The two of them frowned and stood up while the ground shuddered from their weight… Or was it? All around them, the buildings' doors trembled as if they prepared to burst—and that was just what they did! The doors all slammed open, and out from them came waves of pirates in all species and sizes! Seadogs, octopi, gillpeople and even a few drow and cyclopes, all dresses in pirates' attire and bearing weapons stormed out from the houses and fixed their weapons on Swarm and Thumpback!

The two of them gulped and raised their hands, while below them, Chihiro dashed forward and stood between their legs.

"Hey, what's going on here?!" Chihiro cried as she stood face-to-face with the crowds of trigger happy pirates.

"I'll tell ye what's going on!" Cackled a familiar voice as one house's door flung open. "We've gotten wise to yer little act!"

Cackles echoed from within the house as out strode… Wait a second, that was the carny Chihiro had been talking to earlier! His pirate outfit had been only partly covered by the torn carny outfit he had donned not moments earlier, but now a devilish smile shone on his face as the waves of pirates parted in his grip. He clapped his paws as his eyes fixed on Chihiro, and his gaze was so devilish that it made her step back on instinct.

"I have to admit, ye were pretty clever, pretending not to be in cahoots with the Skylandees…" The carny's smile faded, then he yanked out a cutlass and pointed it in Chihiro's direction. "But the charade ends here! Nobody gets away with stealin' me Skystones deck and me lucky charm! Now hand it over and we might not send ye to walk the plank!"

Oh crap, her cover was blown! Chihiro winced and backed away, and by instinct she almost went to jump behind Thumpback's legs. But then, as she gazed down Thumpback and Swarm, she grinned and puffed out her chest!

"Actually, we're not beaten yet!" Chihiro proclaimed as she pointed a finger back at the pirate. Chihiro banished her costume with a snap of her fingers, and the light brushed against her face and added a bit of a glow to her act. "You may have pretty big numbers, but we've got something even bigger!"—Chihiro gestured up towards Swarm and Thumpback—"with the Elder Elementals on our side, you guys are nothing!"

"Are ye sure about that, laddie?" The carny asked. He raised a bow as he slipped his paw into his tattered coat, and out from it he pulled… Candy bars?

"Ye crewmates may be big, true…" The carny unwrapped the candy bars and grinned as their chocolate glistened in the light, then tossed them back into the crowds. "But with these super-sized candy bars, we'll be just as big a problem for ye!"

Several pirates cheered as they yanked the candy bars out of the air and gobbled them down, then they pounded their fists together as they grew huge! They towered over the area and stood eye to eye with Thumpback and Swarm, and their cries of glee shook the ground below! The other, smaller pirates fled as the bigger ones stomped around and kicked up dust wherever they went, but the bigger pirates wouldn't relent!

The carny hacked and fanned away the dust, and with one last cough he regained his composure and waved his sword towards Chihiro.

"Now how do you like these candy apples?!"

Chihiro gulped and stepped back. "Yeah, that's definitely gonna be a problem." She remarked.

"For you maybe," Swarm remarked as he slashed his arm blades against each other. "But for us, it's nothing!"

"We'll see about that!" One of the giant pirates cried as they pulled out a gigantic cutlass!

Swarm scoffed and narrowed his eyes and he and Thumpback glared down the pirates, while above them the wind howled and carried away dead, crumbling leaves… Which they took as their cue to battle!

The cutlass-bearing pirate howled as they immediately dashed towards Thumpback and went to slice, but before they could, Swarm swung in front of Thumpback and blocked the blow with his armblades! The pirate grunted as Swarm flung his arms and tossed them back, but the pirate just dashed forward and went to strike once more! As Thumpback slid away behind him, Swarm blocked blow after blow with his stingers, all while he stumbled backwards. Then finally, Swarm backed into a cliff and gasped as he found himself completely cornered! The pirate's cutlass slashed forward with a path set for his throat, and he gulped as he shouldered the blow with crossed arms.

"Seems like you've got your hands full there, honeybee!" The pirate hissed as he pressed his cutlass further against Swarm's arms.

Swarm grunted, and yet the smirk he held on his face didn't relent, he just grinned, while beneath him his abdomen twitched!

"That may be true," Swarm remarked, "But my stinger certainly isn't!"

The pirate yipped and jumped away as a stinger missile zipped forward and nearly skewered him in the stomach, then growled and gripped their cutlass tighter! Fingers shaken with rage from Swarm's sneak attack, he leaped back and traded blows with Swarm once more as he flew up from the cliff, but Swarm blocked them and tossed him aside! As the pirate skidded backwards and prepared to attack, however, another sticker flew forward and stabbed the pirate in the knee! The pirate cried out in pain as he hopped about on his free leg, all while he gripped the stinger tight and tried to yank it out! His pounding blows shook the world around as he yowled and squealed, then finally he yanked the sting out with a grin!

"Finally, that darn thing is out!" The pirate cried as he tossed the stinger aside and withdrew his cutlass. "Now I can…"—The pirate's eyelids started to droop as he swayed from side to side—"exterminate… This… Pest…"

The pirate groaned as he swayed around, then his eyes shut completely as he collapsed on the ground with a thud so great it tossed everyone smaller than himself in the air! The smaller pirates and Chihiro screamed as they went flying and crashing back down in seconds, then grunted as they stood up from the ground. But as they stood up, a mighty gust of wind blew them right into the unconscious pirate!

Above them, a seadog and an octopus pirate cried out and withdrew their swords as they raced right for Swarm! Swarm turned around and readied his arm blades, but right before the pirates came for him, a gigantic anchor swung out and wrapped around the pirates! Swarm paused for a moment as the pirates got pulled away, then he grinned as he saw just who caught them—Thumpback!

"Looks like I caught myself a pretty big fish!" Thumpback cried as the pirates swung back towards him! He side-stepped away as they crashed into the wall, then he yanked them out and spun then around. "You know, this reminds me of the time I caught the Bubble-Blobbery of the North, back in the good old days!"—Thumpback swung his anchor up and down, and in tandem the pirates were tossed in the air and back into the ground—"so there I was, aboard my old crew's ship, eyeing the skies for potential catches as I always was—"

"Save the fishing stories for later, Thumper!" Swarm cried as he flitted back. "We've got more pirates incoming!"

Thumpback blinked and turned around, then his gaze steeled! Amid the crowds of smaller pirates, even more pirates had snatched those candy bars from the carny and gulped them down! They grinned as they grew their way out of the crowds, then cracked their knuckles and stormed straight for Thumpback, but he just swung his anchor and slammed his captives right into the oncoming crowd! All the pirates flung into the nearby cliffside and smashed it, its remains buckling and crumbling underneath their weight, but they hardly noticed the wreckage falling on their heads as they fell unconscious. With his catch freed, Thumpback's anchor slid right back into his palms, while he just smirked and held his head high—but not for long! His eyes popped right open as a growl sounded behind him, then he whipped around and body-slammed a gigantic gillman right into the metal fence that blocked the path behind them! The fence creaked and buckled under their shared weight, its metal cracked and splintered like wood, while the gillman just groaned and slunk down.

"Hey, watch where ye're brawling!" The carny cried as he shook a fist at Thumpback. "We just had that fence steel-plated!"

"Then maybe you should let us through!" Chihiro retorted as she stormed up to the pirate and thrust a finger in his face. "You're the one who locked us in here and made us fight your cronies!"

The carny, however, just scoffed and turned away. "Yer out of luck, laddie! I'm under strict orders from the cap'n not to let anyone through!"

A gigantic shadow cast itself over the carny, who turned his head up, then screamed and stumbled backwards! There above him, Thumpback and Swarm imposed themselves as they cracked their knuckles and neither of them seemed particularly happy.

"Are you sure about that?" They both asked.

"After all, your little buddies here are down for the count!" Chihiro added as she gestured back to the crowds.

"And even if you don't, we can just tear this wall down anytime!" Swarm bragged.

Thumpback nodded in affirmation, but before he could say his piece, the sounds of groaning and stirring caught his ear.

"What was that?" Thumpback asked as he turned around.

Behind him, the gigantic pirates that Thumpback and Swarm had knocked down just moments earlier had started to stagger up and… Glow green? Yes, a sickly green and purple glow surrounded them, and yet they seemed much more lively before! Their bodies pulsed as they screamed to the skies, while they grew bigger, burlier, and not to mention monstrous! Their eyes turned a nasty shade of green and bloodshot, their bodies bulged with big, tight muscles while their veins practically popped out of their bodies, fangs jutted out of their mouths, and worse yet, they stood tall like they hadn't been any worse for wear than before!

Swarm and Thumpback both gasped, and in their moment of shock, the mutant pirates grabbed them by the shoulders and tossed them into a cliff! Swarm and Thumpback both screamed as they left dents in the cliff and sent out a gust so massive, it knocked everyone smaller than they were off their feet!

Chihiro and the carny both screamed as they tumbled across the grass, then staggered up to their feet and grunted.

"Just what's in those candy bars, anyways?!" Chihiro demanded as she shot a worried glance towards the mutant pirates.

"Legally not allowed to say, I'm afraid," The carny responded. He stood up and popped his collar as if nothing had happened. "Signed a contract and everything."

Chihiro scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Somehow, I doubt anything here is legal…" Chihiro whispered as she looked aside—then her brows raised in shocked!

There near the gate that blocked their way ahead was a booth with that very same Skystones setup they had been shown earlier, and it was somehow unscathed despite all the fighting and chaos around it! It seemed perfectly pristine and in good condition for playing… And better yet, it gave her an idea!

"Hey dude, you play Skystones, right?" Chihiro asked as she turned back to the carny.

The carny gasped, and his eyes sparkled as if he had been offered a pile full of gold bars. "Of course I do! It's only the finest card game this side of Skylands!" The carny grinned, then coughed into his hand and turned aside. "I mean, I suppose I play, what of it?"

Chihiro chuckled and shoved her hands into her pockets, a smirk on his face as she nudged her head towards the booth.

"Can't really cover it up, you told me how to play and everything. Anyways, how about I offer you a deal?" Chihiro asked. "We play a round of Skystones, and if I win, you let us through that gate there!"

The carny grinned, but just before he opened his mouth, he shook his head.

"The cap'n said that under no circumstance was I to let you through, and I lacks me special deck…" The carny mumbled as he paced back and forth, "but, the sweet allure of a Skystones game calls me!"—The carny chuckled to himself—"besides, I'm one of the top ten Skystones players in this crew! One little kid couldn't possibly beat me, even with a different deck!"

The carny chuckled a little more, and his smirk from before came to him again. "That's right! There's no way the laddie could possibly win!" The carny smirked as he turned around and pointed to Chihiro. "Fine then, I accept your challenge, laddie!"

The carny whistled a tune to himself as he walked over to the Skystones deck and set it up, while Chihiro warily followed behind with a moment of pause taken to examine the Skystones deck in her hands. She did have some vague recollection of the Skystones rules that carny had told her about but, would she actually be able to win this? Chihiro hesitated for a moment, then squeezed the stones in her palms and cooled her fears with their smooth, chilly texture. No, she had to win this! Chihiro took heer seat right as the carny finished setting up, both of them shot glares as they set up their decks… And a massive crash nearly blew them off their seats! They both clutched their seats as they rattled along the earth, then both pairs of eyes fell on where Swarm and Thumpback had been slammed into the earth! Chihiro winced, but the carny only cheered!

"Show that oversized fish who's boss!" The carny cried. He cleared his throat and coughed, then smirked towards Chihiro as he held out his paw. "Just like I'm about to do to you with this special deck I have stocked here!"

"Likely chance!" Chihiro scoffed as she took his paw and shook it.

As the two of them began their duel, however, another one unfolded beside them! On the open plains, Thumpback slid on his belly with his path fixed on a mutated gillman, but then a seadog ran right into him and flipped him on his back!

As Thumpback crashed down, Chihiro winced aside, but the sound of clacking stones turned her attention to the Skystones stand! There, the chompy Skystone she had placed moments earlier flipped over with a noticeable red border surrounding its art, completely unlike the blue it held moments earlier! Chihiro gasped, then lifted her head as the carny cackled.

"Why the long face, laddie?" The carny asked as he crossed his furry arms. "Don't tell me that was the best Skystone ye snagged from me?"

Chihiro clenched her teeth. "Of course not!" Chihiro scoffed as she turned her eyes back down at her deck. "I'm sure there's something in here…"

Chihiro perked her head up as a particularly gnarly crunch sounded over the horizon, then gasped and covered her mouth with her hands!

In front of her, Thumpback had bitten the seadog's shoulder so hard that glowing green blood dripped down its fur, then he grunted and flung it aside! Just as he stormed back for the gillman pirate he had his eyes on before, though, the seadog dropped down on all fours and charged right back for Thumpback—so, Thumpback just lowered his head and sent a cannon of salty seawater straight from his blowhole! The saltwater stream tossed the seadog into a huge tree and snapped it in half like it was a mere twig, but the seadog itself only groaned as it fell flat on its face!

Chihiro whimpered as the battle raged before her eyes, then she turned her eyes back down to the remaining Skystones in her possession. She hummed and drew her eyes across them all, then as her eyes fell on an enfuego chompy, she grinned and lifted it from her deck. Didn't this guy have a special move she could use?… That's right, it did! That pirate dude mentioned it to her when explaining the game and everything!

So, Chihiro lifted a few spikes from the tiny pile she had amassed, wedged them into the open slots on the Skystone's sides, then slammed it on the battlefield!

"I use my special move!" Chihiro proclaimed as the card's surface glowed. "Burning teeth!"

As Chihiro said this, a bright red burst of flame spun around the board with such fury, it not only singed the other cards, but flipped them back to Chihiro's blue! Now, it was Chihiro's turn to cross her arms and act smug as the carny tore his fur before her. And yet, he was quick to regain his cool as he whipped out another card!

"Fine, then I'll play me Spiderling here!" He cried as he tossed a spiderling card next to her enfuego chompy. "Take this!"

"No, take this!" Chihiro cried as she jabbed a finger in her face!

Down on the board, the spikes at the enfuego chompy's top jabbed right into the spikeless side of the spiderling card, and it immediately changed to blue! The carny snarled, then shook his head and forced a smile as he dropped a spiderling in the corner, while Chihiro placed a drow lance master in the next. The carny gritted his teeth and dropped a Skystone on the bottom of the deck... Not like he could win, anyways! Chihiro was still a stone above him, and there was no way he could get an advantage with only two spaces left on the board!

"So much for being a top ten player, huh?" Chihiro remarked as she crossed her arms! She was absolutely certain she had won… So why did the guy seem so confident still?

"Clearly, it must be time for the ace up my sleeve!" The carny remarked as he spiked up a Skystone. "I play me special move…"—The carny slammed his Skystone, a gargantula with spikes on all side—"web of connections!"

As he said this, the gargantula card glowed and out from it came a gargantula that spit out silk strands at all ends! All of a sudden, the spiderling Chihiro had claimed moments earlier had been turned back to the opponent's side—she was outnumbered!

Chihiro winced, then glazed down her card deck. She only had a few stones left and one move to go, what was she supposed to do? She was screwed no matter how she looked at it! So, she turned her gaze towards the fight behind her, to find that Swarm faced a similar problem!

Swarm had been cornered into a wall with several pirates crowded around him, their weapons bared and mouths wet with bloodlust—and worse yet, he was completely alone! Behind him, Thumpback had his hands full as he tried to pry his anchor from several other pirates! Swarm winced and clasped his trembling lips, and for a moment he seemed genuinely nervous as he gulped. But in that instant, his fear completely disappeared and a smirk crossed his face!

"You didn't really think you had me cornered, did you?" Swarm asked. He clapped his hands a couple times, and his whole body trembled while his voice turned distorted, as if multiple people were speaking at once!

"FORM THE SWARM!"

Right as Swarm cried out, his whole body dissipated into a swarm of gigantic, magical, and not to mention angry bees! They buzzed around the pirates, who in turn only stumbled around in shock, then all at once they turned their stingers on the pirates and jabbed them in unison! The pirates wailed in pain as the bees slid out of their bodies, while in the bees' places came welts so massive they made the pirates' whole bodies look puffy and uncomfortable! The pirates groaned and stumbled around as the welts blocked off their vision, while the bees just chuckled as they crowded together and transformed back into Swarm!

"Still got it, baby!" Swarm remarked as he scraped his armblades against each other. "And now, for the finishing touch!"

Swarm hupped as he jumped in the air, and with his wings keeping him propelled, he slashed his arms into an x-shape and sent a massive, glowing yellow blast right down at the pirates! The pirates all turned around as the light hit their swollen faces, but they realized just a little too late and were pinned to the ground! Their collapses sent a rumble through the island, but they weren't the only ones shaken!

The pirates who were brawling with Thumpback gasped and slipped away from his anchor as they caught sight of their fallen allies, and Thumpback had been given the perfect opening! While they gawked, Thumpback swung his anchor in the air and transformed it into a makeshift propeller, one he used to fly right over the pirates and body-slam them into the earth! The pirates wailed as they tried and failed to squirm out from underneath Thumpback, while the whole island rattled!

At the Skystones stand, Chihiro's stones rattled and shuddered for a moment before she steadied them with her hand. Then, her eyes went wide as they fell on a second enfuego chompy Skystone! Chihiro grinned as she snatched it from the deck, then smirked and spiked it up.

"Little do you know, I have a special move, too!" Chihiro cried as she spiked up the enfuego chompy Skystone and slammed it on the side of the board. "I PLAY FESTIVAL OF FIRE!"

The Enfuoge Chompy stone's glowed a bright red, and in that moment bright flames burst from all ends and singed the cards around! But more than just that, the flames turned the other Skystones red-hot, so hot that they immediately flipped over back to Chihiro's blue! Chihiro grinned as the cooling stones sat on the board, and more importantly, sealed her victory… Then a couple of thumps turned her attention back to Thumpback and Swarm, who grinned as the mutant pirates sat at their feet and groaned while they returned to their normal sizes!

"Ye little sneak!" The carny cried as he tore his fur out. "Ye only beat me cause ye stole all me good stones, remember that! If me usual deck were here, I'd had won!"

"Whatever, a deal's a deal!" Chihiro cried as she smacked her fists on the table. "Let us go through!"

"Absolutely not!" The carny snarled and curled up in his chair. "I was under strict orders from the cap'n not to!"

The sound of gigantic footsteps echoed as Thumpback and Swarm loomed over Chihiro with piercing looks directed straight towards the carny!

"You sure about that?" Chihiro asked as she crossed her arms.

The carny forced laughter as he stepped out of his chair. "Er, but, I suppose I could make an exception, he'd understand."

The carny pressed a button, and behind them the gate to the path ahead completely fell down! Thumpback and Swarm immediately passed ahead, but just before Chihiro could leave, the carny pushed a Skystone and a small pile of spikes towards her.

"As per Skystones rule, here's your spoils," the carny hissed, and while he forced a smile, his words were spoken through clenched teeth. "A Skystone and the spikes you'll need to perform its move."

"Sweet!" Chihiro cried as she snatched her spoils and stuffed them into her pocket. "Thanks buddy!"

Her spirits lifted, Chihiro giggled and followed Thumpback and Swarm through the path. If this Skystones stuff was really as easy as it was with that guy, they'd have that new engine in no time!

§

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—OOF!"

Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind grunted as they slammed face-first into a marshmallow mattress at the end of the massive tunnel they had slid down, then sat back up and shook off their heads. Luckily, their fall had shattered the glue that kept them bound… But unfortunately, the licorice ropes that kept them tied together were stuck tight as ever.

"Looks like there's nobody here," Gill Grunt remarked as he craned his head around. "Maybe we can try and break out—"

"NOT SO FAST!" Cried a pirate's voice!

The room shook as pirates stormed out of the darkness and completely surrounded Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind, their beady eyes wide with glee.

"My, looks like some fine people walked right into our carnival here!" Crooned one pirate, an anthropomorphic parrot dressed in pirate clothes. The parrot pirate grinned as he shoved his face in Gill Grunt's, and Gill Grunt snarled as he backed away. "I know those faces, aren't ye Skylandees?" The parrot cackled and spun away before Gill Grunt even got a chance to respond. "My, to think we'd have Skylandees in our very clutches! What a surprise!" The parrot chuckled and held a wing to his face, his beady blue eyes fixed on Terrafin, Eruptor, Whirlwind and Gill Grunt. "We'll get some good use out of you!"

The parrot snickered a bit, then his eyes fell on Gill Grunt's harpoon cannon, which laid still on the mattress and just outside of Gill Grunt's reach! And Gill Grunt noticed too, because he immediately shuffled forward and went to snatch the cannon with his leg… But he was too late! Just before he could grab it, the pirate snatched it away!

"My, my, we can't have you armed, can we?" The parrot crooned as he stroked the cannon, then tossed it to one of the seadogs in the crowds. "Beside, where you're going, you won't need silly things like weapons!"

The parrot snicked again, then the soft ding of a bell in the distance broke him out of his laughing fit!

"Finally, our lunch break!" Cried a pirate in the crowds!

"I've been waiting for this!"

"I've got the most delicious ham stew in me lunch today, finest thing in all the seven seas!"

"Wait a second!" The parrot cried as he turned to the crowds. "What about the captives?!"

The pirates all grinned at each other, then dashed away in a heartbeat!

"THEY CAN WAIT! IT'S LUNCH TIME!"

The parrot snarled, then stormed in front of the pirates. "Ye can't just leave them behind, they're Skylandees!" The parrot exclaimed as he gestured towards Eruptor, Terrafin, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind. "They're—"—the parrot gasped and jumped away as the pirates stampeded off—"WATCH OUT!"

But, the parrot's cries went unheard, for the pirates completely trampled her in their wake, their lunch a far more important concern in their minds! The parrot groaned and lifted his wings, then sat up and shook himself down as the swarm of pirates left him behind.

"Well, I suppose that I'll join them, I did have a nice birdseed smoothie prepared for today," the parrot remarked as he brushed itself off and stood up. He shot a glare back at Eruptor, Terrafin, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind, then grinned and spun around. "Don't go anywhere~" The parrot chuckled as he disappeared down the halls. "Oh wait, you can't!"

The parrot's shrill cackles echoed through the halls, and Terrafin just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I was wondering when he'd leave," Terrafin groaned before he turned to the others. "Anyways, how're we gonna get out of these things?"

"Well, I was going to tear them apart with my harpoons," Gill Grunt whispered back as he nudged closer to Terrafin. "But, they took my cannons."

"I could try burning them up!" Eruptor suggested as he leaned his head backwards. "Just one little lava ball…"

"No way!" Whirlwind hissed as she nudged Eruptor's shoulder. "You'll just end up burning us to a crisp!"

Eruptor scoffed and turned up his head. "Well, what else are we going to do?"

Terrafin hummed, then bit straight into the ropes keeping them bound! He tugged at them for a few moments while they tugged back in response, but when they refused to relent, he spat them back out and panted.

"I don't know what they put in this stuff to make it so tough," Terrafin panted, "but it tastes awful!"

Terrafin grunted as his tongue lolled back into his mouth, while aside of him Whirlwind hummed. Her ears flicked up and down while her horn vaguely pulsed with color, then she grinned.

"Actually, I think I have an idea!" Whirlwind cried!

Her horn sparked for a moment, then out from it shot a raging thundercloud! Lightning burst from the cloud's underside and formed into a blade which sliced right through the ropes, its heat so massive that it completely softened the ropes and their grip! With the ropes weakened, everyone shimmied out of their grip and hopped onto a floor so smooth their feet clacked against it.

"Alright, first order of business, we need to get Gill Grunt's cannon back, wherever those pirates took it," Whirlwind said as her horn flared with color, "and if we're going to do that, we can't be seen!"

Whirlwind shot a ring of white light into the air, then stood and grinned as the ring cascaded down over them and absorbed their colors! Its white light turned into a shiny rainbow as the four of them became completely invisible, then the ring vanished along with them! And with them hidden from view, they all crept down the halls.

The whole place looked surprisingly clean and polished compared to the ratty carnival upstairs, with sleek metal floors more reminiscent of a lab or other sort of polished building, their smooth dark blue halls lit by the fluorescent white lights overhead. It was so sleek and fancy, it was almost… Off-putting. And if not that, then the way the halls stretched on for all eternity seemed to be!

"Geez, isn't there a map or something around here?" Eruptor whined as he leaned against the wall.

Terrafin frowned and walked past Eruptor, then immediately backed up and glazed over the walls. "Hey, there's a map here!" He proclaimed as he edged closer to the map.

All four of them crowded around the map, then frowned as Terrafin's nails clacked against its sleek marble.

"Says here there's a break room just across from where we are now," Terrafin remarked as he tapped the square designated "Break Room" in Skylandian on its surface, "and they did say they were going on their lunch break."

"Probably as good a place to start as any," Whirlwind said. Her wings flapped, and she dashed right through the other three. "Come on!"

Eruptor, Terrafin and Gill Grunt grunted as they tailed Whirlwind down the halls, the flight guided only by the sound of their wings… But then, the sound of pumping machines and pained moans drew their run to a slow walk and then a stop. They turned their heads around, and their jaws dropped!

There before them, divided away by a large glass panel was a room full of tired-looking mabu, gillmen, elves and more, all working away in a slow harmony as they poured some weird-looking goop into a gigantic vat and stirred it with gigantic spoons! One exhausted gillman keeled over and fell into the vat without even noticing, not even as the vat drained into massive pumps that spat out odd-looking, glowing candy bars whose light was quickly masked by wrappers! But that wasn't the only odd sight! Further down the line, even more tired workers stirred cotton candy, twisted together funnel cake, coated candy apples and stuffed carnival prizes in a monotonous rhythm, so tired that they couldn't even sleep! They just worked in an endless haze, as if they were so exhausted even sleep wasn't an option!

"What the…" Gill Grunt gasped as he pressed his face against the glass. "They all look exhausted, why are they still working?!"

"What kind of a creep would do this?" Terrafin gasped as he removed a hand from the class. Chills ran down his spine as he drew away form the scene, then he stepped towards the other wall and yanked a poster off its steel surface.

There in his hands, the torn poster fluttered slightly as it depicted a picture of a seadog pirate captain wagging his finger and winking.

"'Captain Dreadbeard says keep working?'" Eruptor read as he poked over Terrafin's shoulder. The paper tore as Terrafin dug his claws into it, and Eruptor hummed. "Fin, do you know that guy?"

"Oh, I know him alright!" Terrafin scoffed as the poster slipped through his hand, and Terrafin stomped right on its face. "That dude was the guy who took over that island with his card-game playing crew last year! Slam, Zap and I helped run him off,"—Terrafin crossed his arms—"but I thought that dude was gone for good! How's he still kicking?"

"Actually, we can figure that out later!" Gill Grunt cried from further down the halls. "I found the break room!"

Terrafin, Whirlwind and Eruptor dashed up to Gill grunt's side, then peered inside a door that had been creaked open just enough to catch a glimpse of the insides. There, pirates in all sizes huddled around a table and enjoyed their lunches, while a box labeled "Confiscated" sat at their feet!

"My cannon has to be in that box," Gill Grunt whispered. "All I need to do is sneak it out of there!"

"Gill Grunt, wait!" Whirlwind whispered back just before he could run off. "You've gotta be careful—we may be invisible, but act too suspicious and they'll catch us anyways!"

"Got it—"

"Hey, I'm parched! Where're the drinks, anyways?" Shouted a pirate.

The four of them gasped and leaped out of the way as the door slammed open, then they pressed themselves against the wall beside them as two pirates walked down the halls. Their breath was held as the door slammed shut, then they released with a long sigh.

"Anyways, I'll be fine, don't worry," Gill Grunt whispered as he creaked the door back open, "I know a thing or two about stealth."

So, Gill Grunt fell to the floor and crawled across while the other three peered around the doorway—even if they couldn't make out just where he was, something about it seemed to ease their fears a tiny bit. Sweat crept down their backs as all eyes fell on the box, where the harpoon cannons moved just slightly to the left… Then, it nudged forward and floated out of the box! He had gotten it!

Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind went to cheer, but quickly zipped their mouths shut as the harpoon cannon floated back. The harpoon cannon carefully and slowly floated away, almost to the door when the chairs creaked from behind! It immediately dove behind some boxes as one pirate stood up and tugged on his collar behind it, and its body trembled and swiveled just a bit.

"Is it just me, or are things heating up in here?" The pirate remarked.

Both Terrafin and Whirlwind shot invisible glances towards Eruptor, whose invisible form was outlined by a red glow!

"Sorry!" Eruptor whispered as his glow faded. "When things get tense, I just get heated!"

"I dunno, maybe it's the heating system?" suggested a second pirate as all eyes fell on the break room. "It could be busted or something."

The first pirate turned to a box on the side, then sighed and sat back down. "It looks alright," the first pirate remarked as they turned back to their lunch. "Probably just my imagination."

The pirates all mumbled in agreement as they turned back to their lunches, and with them settled, Gill Grunt peeked back over the boxes and crept away once more! He was just inches away from hitting the doorway, almost home free! Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind all beckoned for him to come with haste. But right as he crept through, one of the pirates turned around and screamed!

"WHY'S THAT CANNON FLOATING!?" The pirate cried as they jabbed a finger at the cannon!

All the other pirates turned around, then joined in the screaming as they leaped out of their seats! They raced around in sheer panic while their chatter rumbled around the break room. All save for one, who stepped forward and cracked a can of whiskey!

"Take this!" The pirate cried as they flung their drink right towards Gill Grunt!

The drink splattered on Gill Grunt in an instant, and he sputtered as he shook the alcohol from his head while the rest dripped across his body and unveiled his true form! Gill Grunt turned his head up as the pirates' cries sounded around him, then winced as he looked down and found his cover had been blown!

"Well, it can't be helped!" Whirlwind cried as she stepped out. Her horn pulsed with rainbows, and in a flash of light, the color returned to their bodies. "Looks like we'll just have to fight!"

Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind all snarled and prepared to fight, fists raised and weapons at the ready, while the pirates faced them in tandem. Then, the pirates grappled at the open air, gasped and turned around as they realized there was one problem—they were weaponless!

"Hey, what happened to our weapons?" Cried one pirate as they all huddled together.

"We left them behind in our work rooms, remember?!" Scoffed another.

"Well, now what are we going to do? The Skylandees are right there, we can't just run off!"

The second pirate snarled, then turned their eyes back to their lunch tables. "Actually, I have an idea!" The pirate snatched a sandwich from the table, then tossed it forward and beaned Gill Grunt right in the head with it. "FOOD FIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT!"

The pirates all cried in agreement as they raced to wipe the tables clean and throw their edible artillery at the Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind, but Whirlwind only scoffed! With a few flaps of her wings, a shield of thick, puffy clouds formed between the food barrage and the four of them, while the food only bounced off and hit the floor!

"That the best you can do?" Whirlwind asked. She smirked a bit as she stepped back, wings flared… Then screamed and jumped backwards as some of the tomatoes they pelted exploded and shook the entire room as their sauce splattered!

"OKAY, MAYBE IT IS!"

Whirlwind panted as she, Terrafin, Eruptor and Gill Grunt all dashed down the halls, but the sounds of screaming showed that they weren't going to escape that easily! The pirates were hot on their trails, and they wouldn't relent as they threw explosive tomato bombs that left hot, sticky messes across the halls! So, Gill Grunt whipped around and brandished his harpoon cannon.

"How about I heat things up a little?" Gill Grunt asked as his cannon rattled and spurted with scalding water.

"Hey, that's my line!" Eruptor cried from behind.

But, Gill Grunt only pulled the trigger on his cannon and sent a burst of scalding hot water right for the pirate crowds! They all screamed as the sheer burning force of the water tossed them backwards and onto the floor, then as it dropped away and left thick puddles on the ground, the pirates moaned and collapsed. The water left searing, glowing red burns on their bodies and completely drenched their clothes—with all the damage done, they were completely drained!

"My turn now!" Whirlwind cried as she zipped up and flapped electricity-charged wings. "Hope you all can FEATHER THE STORM!"

With a grunt from Whirlwind, a massive lightning bolt jumped from her horn and zapped the pirates! And with them already soaked, the lightning coursed harder than usual and zapped them to the bone! Fur and feathers stood on end which sparks flew from clattering golden teeth, then as the lightning faded, they all groaned and collapsed once more.

Gill Grunt and Whirlwind grinned at each other, then drew back as Terrafin pressed forward and cracked his knuckles.

"And just to make sure they don't tail us," Terrafin whispered as his eyes fell on the floor. With a grunt, he punched it so hard that a massive earth pillar leaped from the ground! Terrafin grinned, then turned back to Eruptor and gave him a thumbs up. "Ruptor, do your thing!"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Eruptor chuckled as he skipped up to Terrafin's side, then with a few claps, lava spewed from his hands and melted around the earth Terrafin had churned up! The heat from the lava hardened the earth around the walls and melded it together, a functional gate that blocked everything else off… And the heat also set off the sprinkler systems, too!

Eruptor grumbled and shielded his head as water poured down from above, while Terrafin chuckled and patted Eruptor's shoulder. The two of them perked up as a cloud was cast above them, and Whirlwind only grinned as she flew up to them. With the cloud as their shield from the rain ahead, the three of them trailed back down the hallways. Gill Grunt straggled beside them, but he didn't seem particularly fussed by the rain that dropped down on him.

Terrafin, on the other hand, just frowned as he scuffed his feet against the halls. His brow was scrunched tight and occasionally twitched, and he occasionally stopped in place as if he had gotten lost in thought. But then, a droplet of rain hitting him on the head brought him back down to Skylands as he ran back under the cloud.

"Something up, Fin?" Eruptor asked as he tilted his head. "Are you still worrying about that Dreadbeard guy?"

Terrafin grunted and nodded in response. "I had no idea the guy was still around!" Terrafin exclaimed as he waved a hand in the air. "And doing all this, too. I don't know what he's planning, but it's not good, that's for sure."

Terrafin took a step forward, then came to a stop. Sobbing was coming from down the halls, faint but definitely there, and though words were spoken, they could barely be made out! Were they pirates?

"Wait a second!" Whirlwind cried as she stopped in her tracks, "I know that voice!"

Whirlwind dashed back down the halls, her speed amplified by the wind to where Eruptor, Terrafin and Gill Grunt could barely keep pace! The fluff of her ears fluttered as she dove down, her guide the sound of sobbing the grew louder and clearer as she went on. Then, she gasped and dropped down to the floor!

She had entered a large, round room filled with dungeon cells, all that contained wailing captives bemoaning their fate. But, at the front of the cells laid a familiar face, one none of them had expected to see!

Eruptor, Terrafin and Gill Grunt all panted as they joined Whirlwind, and in the moment they lifted their heads, they all gasped and leaned back.

"Blobbers?!" They all cried at once.

§

Chihiro kicked a pebble across the rocky ground, its cold, hard surface accentuated only by brief patches of grass, then sighed and leaned against what was probably the seventh unmanned food stand she had seen. Though the last path she faced was long forgotten in her mind, it hardly felt like they had gotten anywhere in this darn carnival! Everything had blended together, unmanned food stand and game after unmanned stand, flag-covered pole after flag-covered pole! It was like they had been walking in circles!

And judging by the way Thumpback and Swarm above her mumbled to each other as they cast glances around the area, it seemed as thought she wasn't the only one who felt that way! They both seemed just as confused as she did, and she could catch faint whispers of them asking about paths and directions from their conversation. Well, she wasn't sure if it'd be a good idea to ask for directions, but…

A soft rumble interrupted Chihiro's train of thought, and she blinked.

"Was that rumbling sound coming from you guys?" Chihiro asked as she peered up at Thumpback and Swarm.

The two of them frowned and whispered something to each other, then shook their heads. "Wasn't us," they admitted as they shook her heads.

Then who was it? Chihiro frowned and rubbed her chin, though she could hardly focus or gather her thoughts… But why? That same rumble came again, and now that she was paying attention, it sounded pretty close too! As it sounded off a third time, Chihiro frowned and looked down at her stomach—and finally, the realization hit!

"Oh wait, it's just me!" Chihiro cried! She giggled then scratched the back of her head. "Guess all this running around is making me hungry!"

Not just that, either—she hadn't really gotten to eat much before their unfortunate crash, and now it was really starting to bite her in the, well, stomach. She really needed to get going and find this engine, but she was so tired and hungry that it had finally started to sap the life from her—she could only trudge along, and every time she did it felt like a struggle. What she wouldn't give for a burger right now… Chihiro sighed and sat down, and as she did one of the sweetest scents she ever smelled wafted around her nose! It was a fresh, cinnamon-y scent, mingled in with something that kind of smelled like berries and sugar! And it was coming from right ahead!

Chihiro grinned, and her mouth started to water as the scent grew stronger and stronger! The thought of carnival sweets completely renewed her energy, and she dashed down the trails without hesitation! As she raced down, Chihiro gasped and grinned—for there, all around her were stands lined with fresh carnival food! Hot dogs and popcorn, cotton candy and funnel cake, candy apples and ice cream… None of the stands were manned, but , all the food looked so good, and with her empty stomach she had a ahrd time holding back!

"There you are, Chihiro!" Thumpback cried as he and Swarm ran up behind Chihiro, "I was wondering where you ran off to!"

"Heaven, that's what!" Chihiro cried as she gestured towards the stands around them, "look at all this carnival food!"—Chihiro clasped her hands together and giggled—"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I took a little bit…"

Thumpback grimaced as he shot a glance back at Swarm. "I don't know about this…" Thumpback remarked as he backed away from the stands. "Something about all these stands doesn't feel right."

"I'm with Thumper on this one," Swarm remarked as his wings buzzed. "Why are all these stands empty if all the food here's fresh?"

Chihiro blinked, then frowned and rubbed her chin. True, they did have a bit of a point… Besides, she wouldn't really be able to pay considering she didn't have any of those fancy pirate chips—and even though these stands were abandoned, she still had a bad feeling, as if somebody was watching her! But, her rumbling stomach only served to remind her of how hungry she was.

"Well, there's nobody here, I mean, they wouldn't mind if I just took one plate of funnel cake or two…" Chihiro mumbled to herself as her eyes fell on the funnel cake stands! She snatched a plate from a stand, then grinned as she leaped to the cotton candy stands. "And maybe some cotton candy would be nice!"

"Chihiro, no!" Swarm scolded as he tried to snatch her off the ground, but she slipped out of his hands right as she finished her cotton candy and made a beeline for the hot dogs. "I'm pretty sure suspicious abandoned food is abandoned for a reason!"

"Besides, I'm pretty sure we don't have enough chips for any of this!" Thumpback remarked as he knelt down and examined an ice cream cart's sign, then shuddered. "I don't know much about modern money, but five hundred seems like a little much for a tiny ice cream…"

Chihiro chuckled as she zipped in front of Thumpback, then snatched a chocolate-covered ice cream cone from the stand. "Ice cream, my favorite!"

She took one lick, and as the sweet, silky-smooth mixture of chocolate and cream hit her tongue, Chihiro couldn't help but hum her praises! It was so sweet and fresh, totally unlike the stuff they got from the store all the time!

"I'm telling you, Chihiro, this has bad idea written all over it!" Swarm proclaimed as he crept up behind her… Then, his antenna twitched and he turned around. "Wait, I think someone's coming!"

Chihiro perked up and turned away from her half-finished ice cream cone as talking hit the air, and she quickly jumped behind a stack of crates and tossed her ice cream in the air! With a gasp, she leaped up and snatched her ice cream out of the air, then giggled and licked it clean.

"Phew, I almost dropped my ice cream!" Chihiro remarked as she chucked the cone into a bin and cleared her throat, "But anyways…"—Chihiro poked her head around the crates, and her eyes fixed on a seadog in pirate getup leaning against an alley's wall—"who the heck is that?!"

Chihiro frowned and drummed her fingers against the crates while the seadog seemingly pulled out some kind of walkie-talkie and spoke, yet the distance was too great for her to pick anything up—all she could glean was faint whispers that were marred by the sounds around her. The pop of frying oil behind her rattled in her ears, the wind chilled her face with its cold slaps and even colder howls, the wood around creaked and howled, some of it even collapsing in loud, crashing piles, and it jerked the seadog's head away! Chihiro gasped and dove back underneath the boxes, but when she found that no footsteps came, she poked her head back over the boxes to find that the seadog was still deep in conversation.

"All this background noise is a pain," Chihiro grumbled as she cast out her hands and crafted a square listening device small enough to fit in the palms of her hands with magic.

She popped the earbuds attached to it in, tapped a few buttons, and in a moment a small satellite popped out from the device's top and scanned the area around. It brought those same sounds from before to her ears—the popping oil, the creaking woods and whistling winds, all intermingled with the sound of faint conversation! Chihiro raised her brows, then spun a knob on the device around as the other sounds all lowered in tone, the conversation brought to the forefront of the stage! She paused for a moment to shush Thumpback and Swarm as the conversation lulled, then turned back to the seadog as she carefully lifted the listening device up over the crates, just enough that it couldn't be seen but so that it could hear clearer.

"So, ye got those other mabu that tried to turn tail on us? Glad to hear it, matey!" The pirate crooned. The faint sound of chattering came from the other side of the speaker, and the pirate chuckled. "We've already get one of those fellas hangin' in the dungeons, so if ye could just drop 'em off shortly—"

Dungeons? They were taking captives? Chihiro knew there was something fishy about this place! She hummed, then twisted her listening device's knobs a bit more.

"Hey, let us out of this thing! It's cramped in here!" Cried a voice from over the walkie-talkie. "See, Snuckles? I told you not to get those hot dogs!"

"But, Captain Rizzo! They said the hot dogs were free…" Whimpered another, weaker voice.

"Yeah, free for five hundred of those weird chips! Because of you—"

"Silence, lads!" Cried another pirate over the walkie-talkie. "Keep that up, and we'll put ye in the next batch of funnel cake batter!"

"Rizzo? Snuckles?" Chihiro gasped. "That, that couldn't be them, right? What would they be doing in a place like this?"

And yet, those were definitely their voices she heard over the walkie-talkie! Whatever it was, Chihiro lifted up the listening device and craned it just a bit more, her hands trembling just a bit as she twisted the knob further… But her fingers slipped, craning it in a full spin around the device! A massive burst of feedback shot out from the device, and Chihiro screamed as she fell on her back, her ears ringing from the sound! Her hands dug into her ears and nearly tore them off just to get the ringing to stop, and as her vision blurred from the massive pain in her chest, the faint, blurry sight of someone running towards her came into view.

"Who, who the heck are you?" Chihiro asked as she forced herself back up—but was only met with a cutlass in her face in returned! Her blurry vision started to sharpen, and revealed the image of a snarling seadog clad in pirate clothes. Wait a second, Chihiro shook her head again, clearing the extra static from her brain, and her eyes fell on the walkie-talkie that was barely gripped in the seadog's other paw. Oh crap, this was the same guy! She had been spotted!

"I could ask ye the same thing!" Cried the pirate seadog as he pushed the cutlass's tip closer towards the space between Chihiro's eyes. "What're ye doin' snoopin' around me carnival? Ye a spy or something?!"

And then, Chihiro's little lunch started to sicken her stomach, or maybe that was her nerves, who knew.

"Er, well, I, er, uh…" Chihiro mumbled as she backed into Thumpback's leg. Thumpack gave her one of those tired looks, the ones that just screamed "I told you so," and Chihiro just scoffed before she turned back to the pirate. "Oh, I'll tell you something alright!" Chihiro cried as her hand flared blue. "Eat this!"

With a flash of blue light, a pair of energy spheres knocked both the cutlass and the walkie-talkie right out of the pirate's hands. The pirate, however, just blinked as he crept towards Chihiro! His amber eyes sparkled with confusion as he sniffed the air, then they shrank as he leaped back and screamed again.

"I know ye!" The pirate cried, "yer the portal master the cap'n warned us about!"—The pirate panted as he scrambled towards one of the stands—"yer not getting' out of here alive!"

Chihiro gasped, summoned a sphere and gripped it tight as he prepared to slam down a button on the stand, then squeezed it and smashed it on the ground! Cyan light tunneled through the earth underneath her feet before bars of light shot up right in front of not just that stand, but all those around! The faint tint of cyan brushed against her and everyone's faces as the terrified pirate sputtered and stumbled back, but Chihiro just smirked and summoned a cutlass of her own—and the heavy shadows that cast down around her from Swarm and Thumpback looming over her probably added to the super-intimidating aura she surely gave off! So, she just held the cutlass up and squeezed its handle tight, sending sparkles off as she narrowed her eyes.

"I heard your little conversation, you know." Chihiro's voice was cold, almost monotonous as she twisted the cutlass further. "Sounds like you've got a couple friends of mine in your clutches!" The cutlass shot forward in Chihiro's clutch, until it was the one that pointed close to the pirate's face. "Mind telling me where they are?"

The pirate sputtered for a moment, his eyes darting from side to side as he patted down his pockets. "Sure, laddie, they're, erm," the pirate began as he dove into one of his pockets and shuffled around it… Then smirked and yanked out a remote!

"Like me'd really tell ye that!"

He tapped the button, and as it sank into the remote, sirens blared all around the stands with such intensity that they blew Chihiro's light bars to sparkles! Surely, he was preparing to send in the guards—but luckily, she had plenty of energy now! She prepared to run as the world around shook, surely in anticipation of the pirate armies that were slated to come, and the rocks on the ground bounced as their floor rumbled and…

Unveiled a Skystones stand? That's right, out from the ground came a humble Skystones stands with a blank board and a stack of Skystones next to it, no pirates or tricks or any other dangers in sight! The sirens' wail came to a cease as the pirate strode up to the stand, then he grinned as he sat down and patted its boards.

"If ye really wanna know, then ye'll have to beat me in a game of Skystones!" The pirate proclaimed, his eyes like daggers as they dug into Chihiro. "Not like ye have any chance a' winnin'!" The pirate chuckled as he leaned closer. "I'm the best Skystones player here short of the cap'n himself, and ye've got newbie written all over yer face!"

Chihiro scoffed, but nonetheless nodded and took the seat in front of her—she did kind of have to find out, after all! The Skystones board shimmered as she and the pirate set up their decks, then finally she took a deep breath in. She may be new to Skystones, but she wasn't going to let that stop her!

The pirate grinned as he held out a paw. "I'll let ye go first."

Chihiro winced, then nodded and drew out her chompy stone. Something about the way he smiled didn't seem quite right, but, she'd might as well take the opportunity when she got it!

"I play my chompy!" Chihiro cried as she slammed her chompy Skystone on the board!

She grinned as she gazed it over for a moment… Then gasped as a drow lance master slammed beside it! An illusion of a lance master stabbing her Skystone glowed from its sleek stone surface, and as it faded into sparkle, her stone flipped over to her opponent's striking red!

Chihiro shook her head as the pirate cackled, the smugness in his voice like nails on a chalkboard to her. "Fine then! That was only one stone!" Chihiro cried as she spiked up another stone and slammed it beside her chompy. "I play my inhuman shield!"

As Chihiro made her proclamation, an illusion of an inhuman shield leaped from the stone and rammed right into her chompy! The chompy returned to her side in an instant, and with its job done the inhuman shield nodded and vanished!

"How do you like that?" Chihiro leaned back in her seat and smirked, "My inhuman shield has a passive effect too, so nothing you do will take it away!"

"Are ye sure about that?"

Chihiro paused and raised a brow, her leg wedged so that her chair wouldn't topple over. Just what was he talking about?…

"I play me drow blade witch!"

Chihiro leaned forward, then gasped and toppled over while her chair went with her! Back on the board, the pirate's drow had stolen away her inhuman shield—but, she was sure that one would be immune to anything! What happened?!

"Shocked, aren't ye?" The pirate sneered as he crossed his arms. "Only an amateur wouldn't know about how the drow witch can counterattack any passive effects!"

Chihiro gulped, then spiked up her drow archer and slammed it on the board, all while she dodged his gaze. After all, she was sure this dude could smell fear.

"I play my drow archer's special move!" Chihiro cried as her Skystone started to glow, "Flaming Arrows!"

Out from the card popped an effigy of a drow archer who cackled as it fired its bow and arrows to the heavens, then its arrows rained down and slammed into the cards! One by one they all flipped back to her blue as the effigy vanished, and Chihiro wiped the sweat from her brow. She had the entire board on her side now—this victory was in the bag! The pirate placed a stone on one of the lower corners, and Chihiro in tandem put another on an upper corner.

"My, my, ye look awful happy, don't ye?" The pirate crooned as he twiddled his fingers. "Probably think ye gots this in the bag, don't ye!"

Crap, that guy had completely read her mind! Cold sweat came from Chihiro's brow as she glared back at the pirate, who chuckled as he leaned forward and snatched a Skystone from his deck! He didn't even take his eyes off of her as he cackled and spiked his Skystone up… Just what did this guy have planned?

"I play me mohawk cyclops's special move!" The pirate cried as he slammed down a mohawk cyclops stone. "Ax Pirouette!"

As the pirate cried out, the Skystone he laid on the board twirled around and shot an ax that spun around through the board! Its ax slammed into the Skystones that Chihiro had claimed… And they immediately flipped back to red! Now, bright crimson stones outnumbered Chihiro's blue once again—and worse yet, she only had a space left!

"Don't count yer chickens before they hatch, laddie!" The pirate cackled. "Bet'cha regret challenging me now, huh?"

Not like I had a choice… Chihiro thought as she rolled her eyes. Her eyes fell towards her Skystones deck, and she frowned as she drummed her fingers against the table. I only have one move left, so I've gotta make it count! But how?

Chihiro's frown grew larger as she glazed over her stones—she only had a few, and none of them would be enough to win her this match. A chompy, a troll, an enfuego chompy she had snagged from the carny from before… Wait, an enfuego chompy, that was it!

"Actually, I'm not finished yet!" Chihiro cried as she snatched her enfuego chompy off the deck and spiked it up, "I play my enfuego chompy's special move…"—Chihiro slammed the Skystone on the board right as it started to glow—"Festival of fire!"

As Chihiro lifted her fingers from the Skystone, an effigy of an enfuego chompy leaped from the stone and bounced around! As it did, flames burst from its feet, then shot out all around it and flipped all the red Skystones over to blue! Its flames vanished along with it, but their effect was well-noticed—because it won Chihiro the match!

The pirate's eyes fluttered, then he gasped and fell back into his seat as he clutched his chest!

"But, but, I'm second to almost none!" The pirate cried between short, frantic pants, "How could I have lost?!"

"Yeah, yeah, spare us the sob show," Chihiro remarked as she pounded a fist on the table and leaned over, her eyes narrowed and a snarl forming on her face. "Speaking of others, you wouldn't happen to know where we could find our friends, would you?"

The pirate gulped as Chihiro glared him down, then he whimpered and sunk further into his seat. "Er, well, they're on the second loading dock! It's right past here, across the shipyards on the way to the captain's manor!"

While the pirate groaned and flopped out of his seat, Chihiro just grinned and waved towards Thumpback and Swarm.

"TB, Swarm, hear that?" Chihiro shouted, "We're not that far!"—Chihiro leaped out of her seat and grinned as they ran up to her—"come on!"

And so, the three of them grinned as they ran off… But with how big they were, Thumpback and Swarm left Chihiro in their dust in an instant!

Chihiro smirked as she swiped a few more Skystones and spikes from the deck, then stuffed them in her pocket as she ran off.

"Hey guys, wait for me!"

§

"The Skylanders!" Blobbers gasped as he wiped his tears away and gripped the bars of his cell tight. "What are you doing here?"

"Forget that, what are you doing here?" Whirlwind asked as she flew up to Blobbers and tilted her head. "And how you get in these cells?"

As Whirlwind asked, Blobbers flicked his ears, then broke into sniffles. "Oh, that? It, it, it…" Blobbers sniffled and whimpered, then broke into full on sobs! Waterfalls poured from his eyes, and though he tried to muffle his cries with his arms, it hardly work.

"IT WAS AWFUL!" Blobbers wailed between sneezes and sobs, "I, I, the rest of the MDF and I stopped here just to have some good, old-fashioned carnival fun after a patrol here, but, but, this whole thing was just a big old shame! They overcharged us and the others left me to pay…" Blobbers sobbed into his sleeve. "And when I couldn't pay them, they locked me up here with all these other people they conned! They make you stay in these dungeons and make a bunch of stuff for their carnivals, and then they sell it to everyone else and we don't even see a cent!"

"So that's what that pirate meant!" Eruptor gasped as he turned to Gill Grunt.

"That's horrible!" Whirlwind cried as she clasped the bars with her paws, "Locking people up and conning them into working for you and taking all the profits for yourself… It's unforgivable!"

"I know!" Blobbers wailed as he buried his teary, snotty face in his paws, "I just wanted to have a good time at the carnival, but look where it got me!"—Blobbers sniffled, and his voice cracked and strained even further—"now everyone left me and I'll be locked up forever!"

As Blobbers devolved into sobbing and pounding his fists on the floor, a chorus of moans and whimpers came from all the other cells, where even more people stayed locked up, dressed in stained clothes and teary eyes.

"I just wanted one little candy apple," sniffled an elf as they drew circles on their dusty floor, "I thought I had enough, but I was off only by one chip, so they sent me here!"

"I haven't seen my family in ages…" Bemoaned an anthropomorphic dragon as they scratched their horns, their wings twitching on their back. "I wonder if my sister is still doing alright…"

"They knocked me out and dragged me here before I even knew what had happened!" Exclaimed a more feline mabu as they kicked the wall, "I took one step on the island, and they immediately decided I was in debt to them!"

Everyone around sighed and slunk against their walls, their voices strained and laced with defeat.

"What were we thinking? Now we're gonna be trapped here forever!"

The cries and moans and sobs began once more, but this time, they were interrupted! The mighty crack of lightning came from a stormcloud above, and all eyes turned to Whirlwind as she sent the cloud away!

"Oh no you aren't!" Whirlwind vowed as she puffed out her chest. "We'll break you out and bring you back home in no time!"

"Yeah!" Cried Gill Grunt as he hefted up his cannon. "Those pirates aren't gonna get away with this!"

"Alright, everyone!" Eruptor cried as he pounded his fists together. "You might wanna stand back for this!"

The captives did as told as they leaped back in their cells, while Eruptor just smirked and shot magma blobs out from his hands! The blobs smashed into the cell's bars, then splattered and turned their metal red hot… But more importantly, it also completely melted the metal away! The lava cooled almost immediately and formed a bridge to the open world!

Whirlwind, Gill Grunt and Terrafin dashed inside and pulled the captives out, while the captives grinned and cheered. Freedom, at last!… Or at least, that's what they thought, but the moment they left, sirens blared and the whole room turned a blood red!

"Attention, attention, all faculty at hand!" A pirate's voice blared over the loudspeakers. "There has been damage to the cells in the holding chambers! I repeat, there has been damage to the cells in the holding chambers!"

The captives gasped as the siren's voice grew louder by the second, but before they could panic, a feline mabu dashed out of Terrafin's arms and punched a brick in the wall! They screamed and waved their hand around as it turned red and sore, but one simple creak set its pain aside in their mind—for they had opened a hole in the wall!

"Come on, everyone!" The feline mabu cried as they waved back, then dashed into the tunnel, "I've been mapping out an escape route from this place for forever now!"—The mabu's voice grew fainter as they disappeared further into the halls—"this way!"

Whirlwind's horn flared with rainbow light, and everyone nodded as they followed her down into the depths of the tunnel, her horn's light the only thing that brought some sense of the tunnel's inky black. Luckily, it in itself was a pretty straightforward path, and shortly it brought them away from the dungeons and to the foot of a large, spiraling staircase! The feline mabu had already begun their trek up its stairs—seems like they had to follow! Whirlwind was the first as she silenced her horn's light and dashed ahead, while the captives warily tailed behind her. But, even though they were making their great escape, they still seemed awfully wary! Their eyes shifted from side to side as they hiked up the stairs two at a time, and not just from the height.

"Is this really a good idea?" The dragon asked as they peered down at the flights of stairs below. "What if the guards find us?"

"Now I doubt that'll happen!" Terrafin remarked as he leaped up behind them and ran up the stairs. "We blocked off the way to those dungeons before we got here, and pretty well, too!"

"I doubt they'll be able to get through before we get out of here!" Gill Grunt added as he hopped up beside Terrafin, "It'll just be smooth sailing from here…"—A scream echoed around the room, and Gill Grunt's face fell—"on out."

Everyone hit the top stair in tandem, then gasped and backed away, with some even having to be grabbed before they could tumble back down the stairs! Right at the upper floor, an entire squadron of bulky pirate guards with rippling muscles stood and glared them down… But worse yet, one had the feline mabu tight in their grip! Though the mabu tried their best to get out, no matter how much they struggled, the guard just wouldn't relent. Ultimately, they were forced to stop as the guard squeezed them tight and made them catch their breath instead.

"But, I didn't think they'd have guards here, too," Terrafin admitted as he clenched his fists.

One of the pirate guards spit into an empty barrel aside, then cracked his knuckles as he stormed forward.

"I had a feeling something was brewin' when I heard all that rattling coming from the downstairs," the guard growled as his veins pulsed in his muscles. "So ye thought ye could get away with our employees, huh?"—The pirate scoffed as he slipped a pair of brass knuckles on his hands—"har de har har! Don't make me laugh—ye'll just end up joining them!"

"No way!" Gill Grunt cried as he cocked his harpoon cannon, "We're not going down without a fight!"

While all four Skylanders stepped forward, Terrafin turned a glance back at the quaking captives and smirked. "You guys might wanna stand back," Terrafin remarked as he squeezed his fists, "this could get a little messy!"

The Skylanders and pirates both glared each other, while the pirate who kept the mabu tight in his clutches snarled and drifted away! Whirlwind noticed this immediately and nearly drifted off, but before she could loud footsteps drew her back to the other pirates!

"BRING IT ON, SKYLANDEES!" The pirates roared as they jumped into the fray!

Terrafin snarled, then jumped right in and immediately blocked off one pirate's path! The pirate snarled and slugged a punch, but he just slid out of the way and flung a punch back at the pirate… Or so it seemed! While the pirate immediately went to shield his face, Terrafin just stopped his punch inches away from the pirate's face!

"Made you look!" Terrafin smirked! With a grunt, he leaped and flipped into the air, then bodyslammed the pirate right into the ground!

The guard grunted and stumbled up as Terrafin leaped off of him, but just before he could recover, a second pirate rammed straight into him and knocked them both back on the floor!

"Watch where ye're stumblin', ye buffoon!" The second pirate chided as he pushed the first pirate away and wiped his hands!

"I don't know, I feel like you should be looking out for yourself instead!"

The second pirate grunted and turned around right as a massive anchor hurtled straight for him and collided with his chest! The pirate grunted as the anchor tossed him back down the stairs, and with a scream he was sent rolling down the stairs! His jittery cries echoed more and more faintly as he disappeared down the staircase… But it didn't matter to the pirates, because they had reinforcements on the way! Several more pirates were storming down the staircase, and they were just as bulky and built as the others!

"Oh no you don't!" Whirlwind cried as she flew up to the door ahead and lowered her horn!

A burst of electricity shot out from her horn and slammed into the doorway, and the moment it made contact it formed into a grid of electricity! The pirates all stopped in their tracks and grunted as they examined the electric grid, then one tapped it… And got zapped so hard that he fell unconscious on the floor, fur on end and smoked with electricity! Just the sight was enough to send the other pirates screaming and racing back up the stairs!

"Cowards!" Hissed one of the first pirates as they glared down the fleeing pirates. They hissed through their fangs as the last of the pirates scurried up the stairs, then jumped back to their own feet. "They may have run, but I'm not giving in!"

"And neither are we!" Eruptor, Whirlwind, Terrafin and Gill Grunt retorted as they went to fight… But footsteps coming from the side froze them in place!

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were ye," said another pirate as they held a cutlass to the feline mabu's throat, "one wrong step, and this guy gets it!"

The four of them winced, then laid down their arms and fists. They did need to go past, but… If they did, who knows what would happen to the mabu! For a moment, they shot glances towards each other, as if ready to plan. But then, something pink and round tossed out from the crowd!

"Take that!" Blobbers cried!

As soon as Blobbers shouted out, the bomb exploded and sticky cotton candy wrapped around the pirate! He grunted and groaned as he tried to pull himself out of the sugary mess, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break free!

"Don't just stand there and gawk at me!" The pirate hissed as they glared at their comrade. "Get me out of this!"

The first pirate hesitantly nodded and rushed to the second's side, but before they could even tear into the cotton candy, another bomb flew forward and exploded! Now both of them were trapped tight in the cotton candy, and neither of them were getting out anytime soon!

Eruptor paused, then turned around and grinned as he caught sight of the captives behind him—for they all grinned as they surrounded a barrel filled with cotton candy bombs!

Terrafin and Gill Grunt rushed forward and tore apart the cotton candy, then pulled the feline mabu out with a grunt and carried them to safety.

And with them safe, Eruptor just smirked and held out his hands. "Feel the burn!" Eruptor cried as he shot out two lava blobs and conked the pirates right in the heads!

As their heads conked right into each other and knocked them both unconscious, the feline mabu stumbled over to a nearby wall with a suspiciously dark panel amid the others, then pressed it down and grinned.

"This should give us another route out," the feline mabu remarked as they rubbed their chin. "But I feel like there was something about this I was forgetting…"

"Forget about that!" Blobbers cried. "The electric's not gonna last forever, and neither will those pirates' comas!"

The ground rumbled as the Skylanders and the other captives all piled in, and the feline mabu just turned around and caught sight of it right as the others all toppled on them! Everyone groaned and collapsed in a pile as the door slid behind them, then as they stood up and shook themselves off, frowns fell on all faces.

"So, where are we supposed to go again?" Eruptor asked with a shrug. "Because with the sights around here, I can't see a way out."

And Eruptor was right—the whole place was a mirror maze, all ends blocked off by mirrors that occasionally flickered and flashed. There seemed to be no way out… But, it wouldn't be a hidden passage if it was just a dead end, right?

"That's right! This one was a mirror maze!" The feline mabu proclaimed before they yanked something out of their tattered pocket and unfurled it. "Luckily, I have a map! There's a path out here that should take us to the docks behind the captain's manor—there's airships there that can get us out!"

So, everyone followed them down as they trailed across the maze's paths, eyes occasionally drifting towards the masses of shiny mirrors as they glowed in the sparse light provided from the glowing crystals overhead. The faint twinkle of light in the distance earned a few oohs and aahs from the captives as they admired their reflections in the mirrors, some even tapping them and sending sparkly dust cascading onto the dark blue stone hallways, but their focus on the mirror was quickly forgotten as they joined the group in trailing through the halls. The faint sounds of wind howling sang through holes in the way, its tone low and echoing as it brushed against the mirrors and sent even more sparkly dust cascading down onto the mirrors, ad even onto the floors as the breeze sent a few mirrors creaking down and let the dust fall down onto the floors.

Another howl sent the fur on a few captives' backs up, and Blobbers' teeth chattered as he clung to one of the more lizard-like captives as they gnawed on their claw.

"What was that howling just now?" Blobbers sputtered between his chittering, chattering teeth, then yelped as another, louder breeze run through the area.

Ahead of them, Terrafin scoffed and waved a hand aside. "Probably just a draft or somethin'," he scoffed as he lowered his hand, "don't worry about it."

Blobbers frowned as another breeze, one that sounded more like laughter than howling, knocked a few captives' hats off their heads. As they went to reclaim their hats, Blobbers wrung his hands. His eyes trailed towards the walls, their cobalt rock so thick that the holes were barely visible, if there were even any at all, while the mirrors began creaking side to side—but more than that, a silhouette unlike any of theirs giggled as it passed through the mirror's reflection, disappearing in an instant!

"Wait, I know I saw a person there!" Blobbers cried as he turned to the other captives. "That had to be one of you, right?"

And yet, nobody was anywhere near the mirror in question—not enough that they could be seen, anyways. They all shrugged as Blobbers gulped, and the dragon captive just chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Calm down, buddy!" They hissed as they flicked their wings back and forth. "Breakouts put everyone on edge. You're probably just seeing things!"

And yet, as the captives left Blobbers behind, Blobbers himself just crept up to the mirror and frowned as he examined his reflection inside it. He tapped the glass with his finger, tilted his head, even waved and stuck out his tongue as he pulled on his cheeks! And yet, every action was perfectly mirrored, no signs of any odd characters or strange magic to be seen. There weren't any odd reflections in the mirror, no strange faces looking back at him, no motions that weren't perfect copies of his own! So, Blobbers just frowned and rubbed his chin, then warily shrugged as he stepped aside from the mirror… And yet, his reflection still stayed in its place! He turned back a little and frowned as he narrowed his brows, then screamed and collapsed as his reflection laughed right at him!

"Blobbers, what's wrong?" Cried Whirlwind as she flew over and helped him back up.

Heavy breaths pushed Blobbers' chest up and down, his fur pale and ghastly as he hastily jabbed a finger at the mirror. "My, my reflection! It's moving on its own!"

All eyes turned to Blobbers' reflection as it cackled and disappeared in a puff of smoke, while around them the howling of the winds grew louder—and yet, the wings themselves didn't grow any more furious than before, if they were even winds at all! The breezes blew no faster or stronger than before, the only thing intensified being the sound of howling—and yet, the whole area chilled significantly! The dust changed to frost as the mirror's surfaces glazed over, the chills sending fur on end and goosebumps running up people's spines. And the source? None other than the mirrors, from which the frosted, murky glass showed glowing eyes!

Blobbers sputtered and scrambled back, limbs trembling as the reflections in the mirror glowed brighter and brighter and took on wispy, faint forms, ones with those same shiny eyes and cackling teeth full of fangs! And not just in those mirrors, either—all the mirrors around froze over and gained ghastly reflections in their glass, their laughter multiplying and layering onto the howling sounds that already echoed through the caverns!

Terrafin gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists, while beside him Eruptor's legs trembled as the veins of exposed lava crackled and popped! Gill Grunt winced and lifted up his harpoon cannon, his hands wrapped around the trigger just in case. Their eyes all locked on the mirrors, which only flashed in an array of bright colors as they rapidly spun in their places, the mist condensing around them as they spun until they were trapped in an orb of thick white fluff, only their tops barely visible as they rattled and shuddered the mist… Then out from the mist shot wispy, translucent creatures that giggled with glee as they flew around the ceiling!

"GHOSTS?!" Eruptor cried as he leaped right into Terrafin's arms and knocked them both over. "Nobody told me this place was haunted!"

"It won't be for long!" Gill Grunt cried as he hoisted up his harpoon cannon and pulled the trigger. "Anchors away!"

A sharp shing pierced the air as a trio of harpoons burst from Gill Grunt's cannon and spun in place as they dashed right for the circle of ghosts flying overhead, but the moment they reached the ghosts, the harpoons phased right through the ghosts and hit the ceiling, ricocheting off and smashing right through three of the mirrors! They harmlessly clattered against the floor, their silver surfaces tinted with light reflected from the mirror's shattered shards, and everyone gasped as their eyes ambivalated between the ghosts still howling and cackling as they swirled around the ceiling and the harpoons that laid on the ground, and with one last glance up they all gasped and scrambled as the ghosts zipped down from the ceiling and came right for them!

One ghost cackled as they flew right up towards Terrafin, and with a snarl Terrafin slugged it right in the chest… Except, he didn't! His fist phased right through the ghost's body with only a ripple remaining, and as he gasped, the ghost cackled and spun him around! While Terrafin shouted out and stumbled over his own two feet, the ghost just cackled and zipped right up to Eruptor!

"I, I'm telling you," Eruptor warned, legs shuddering and pebbles popping from his body as he lobbed lava blobs at the ghosts, "you, you really don't wanna mess with me! I, I, I, I'll…" A ghost cackled in the distance, and Eruptor screamed as he hacked out a lava blob! Of course, the blob just passed through the ghost and slammed against the wall, cracking it and leaving its stones a hot, molten mess with shattered, melting rocks strewn about, but Eruptor hardly cared as he screamed and stumbled backwards!

"BOO!" The ghost cried as it flew in front of Eruptor!

Eruptor screamed and leaped to his feet as the ghost cackled, and his screaming carried on as he dove behind Gill Grunt and Whirlwind and cowered along with a few of the captives. They all sputtered and shuddered, knees knocking together as they huddled with eyes fixed on the ghosts that howled and cheered as they spun around the ceiling! And in front of the group, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind snarled as they fixed their cannon and horn on the swirling ghosts.

With a slight of the trigger, Gill Grunt sent another anchor shooting right for the ghosts, but it just phased right through them and smashed right through the ceiling! Rocks and rubble poured down, slipping right through the ghosts' bodies and smashing the windows underneath, and Gill Grunt just grunted and stepped back, his hands still wrapped tight around his cannon. His view shifted from the ghosts, then to where Terrafin fruitlessly tried to land a punch on the ghost that swept around him and taunted him with every move he made, and then Gill Grunt gaze turned back to Whirlwind.

"It's no use!" Gill Grunt cried, his teeth gritting against each other. "These ghost just slip through everything we throw at them!"

"Everything, huh?" Whirlwind cried as she lowered her head. "How about something they can't slip through?"

Whirlwind flattened her ears against her head, and a bright rainbow leaped out from her horn! The rainbow screeched as it soared, the attention of one ghost gained as the ghost turned around and examined the rainbow… They it screamed as the rainbow nailed it right between the eyes! The ghost screamed and covered its eyes, and the circling ghosts above stopped in their tracks as they surrounded their reeling teammates, a few propping up the ghost's back.

"Waythe, what's wrong?" cried one ghost. "What did those mean living ones do to you?"

But, Waythe didn't reply—he just kept wailing, then squealed and dashed right back into one of the mirrors, melting the frost that formed on its glass with a ripple! The rippling came to a stop as the ghosts scowled, and the air chilled further as they turned their gazes on Gill Grunt and Whirlwind!

"Seems like you're not as easy to scare as you seem!" Cried the ghost as they waved their arms and crafted a ring of ghastly blue fire. "How about this, then?"

The ghost flicked their arms and sent the flames crashing down, their fires growing bright and lighter by the second! Gill Grunt and Whirlwind both gasped as flames now the size of miniature suns came right for them… But the fires just passed right through then and exploded, vanishing in wispy fog with the faint scent of burnt flesh! The two of them gagged at the scent, but as they glanced down at each other, they blinked and tilted their heads—for they were perfectly fine! No scratches, burns or bruises to be found, and the only thing that had accumulated was some faint frost from the chilly atmosphere around, and even that melted away with a single flick!

The ghost blinked, then floated back and chewed on their fingers. "I forgot, that's only good for other ghosts! The living aren't affected by it!" The ghost cried.

"Let me try this, then!" Another ghost cried as they tugged on a large icicle that had formed on the ceiling. "Look out belowwwwwwwwww!"

Well, that's what they said, but the icicle wouldn't even budge! Despite all the pulling and prodding and pounding they did on the icicle's surface, it wouldn't even move! So, they moved on to a slightly thinner one and tugged away, but it refused to move as well! The ghost huffed and panted as they bounced from icicle to icicle in some hope of dislodging them, and yet not a single one would move! The ghost just panted and slid back down from the thin icicle they hung from, then wiped frost from their brown and huffed.

"You know what, this is getting boring!" The ghost proclaimed as they turned to the ghosts around them, then sneered as their eyes turned down to the quivering captives that hid behind Gill Grunt and Whirlwind. "How about we make things a bit more interesting?"

The other ghosts giggled and cheered around them, and the first ghost just cackled as they dove right down past Whirlwind and circled around the quivering captives! Whirlwind gasped and stepped towards them, head lowering by the second as her horn flared with light, but just before she could fire, a hard, frozen orange beaned her in the head!

"Owch!" Whirlwind cried as the orange landed by her paws. "Who threw that?!"

Cackling and giggles turned Whirlwind's attention back to the mirrors, where the ghosts giggled and stuck out their tongues as they poked halfway through! Whirlwind snarled and turned her horn on them instead, and in response they all dove back into the mirrors and tossed whatever they could get their ghastly little hands on right at her—fruit and vegetables, swords and scabbards, pirate clothing, and cheap carnival toys sprung out from the depths of the mirrors, and Whirlwind just screamed as she dashed away before she could get buried under the array! Cotton candy crashed and froze against the stone walls behind her while fruit splattered and left behind juicy splatters and sweet aromas, and Whirlwind winced as her eyes briefly fell upon the wreckage, then flicked her ears as a faint shing rang through the air! Whirlwind turned around, then gasped and dashed away as a sword hurtled right for her… Then her paws slipped onto the splattered fruit remains and she slid right into Terrafin!

The two of them grunted as they both crashed on the ground, then rolled away and jumped to their feet right as a cry came from beside them! Their heads craned to the side, where amid the bright glints of mirror's light, a ghost cackled as they yanked Blobbers into a mirror with them! A few of the other captives stood silent and shocked, and in that moment even more ghosts jumped up behind them and pushed them into mirrors!

Terrafin and Whirlwind gasped and ran off, but right as they took their first step, bright flashes of light burst from the mirrors, reflecting from the sparkly dust and the other mirrors to coat the room in a searing light! The two of them stopped in their tracks and shielded their eyes, and as the light faded their eyes popped open to find Blobbers and the others captives curled up on the ground, surprisingly chilled and motionless outside of their still, kind of chilling moans!

"Hey!" Terrafin cried as he and Whirlwind dashed over and sat Blobbers upright, "are you alright?"

Eruptor and Gill Grunt helped a few of the other captives back to their feet as they groaned a bit and hung their heads, but as Eruptor leaned one draconic captive against the wall, his eyes turned back to the mirrors and he screamed!

"Ruptor, what's the big deal?" Terrafin asked as he turned back to the still-glowing mirrors… Then gasped!

The light had faded some from the mirrors, just enough to show Blobbers and the other captives pounding against the glass and glazing around in confusion!

"Look out, Skylanders!" Blobbers cried. "They aren't really us! Well, those are our bodies, but you've got the wrong guys!"

Those around still gasped, but Blobbers' body only laughed as it staggered back to its feet with glowing eyes!

"Now this is what I'm talking about! Finally, something solid!" The ghost cried from within Blobbers' body, its voice morphed to match his but with a malevolent tint. It stretched its arms to the sky, then chuckled as it spun them around. "Feels a little strange to be in an actual body!"

Terrafin snarled and dove away from Blobbers, then cracked his knuckles. "You're not keeping that for long!" Terrafin cried as he sprinted towards the mirror. "Hold on, I'm—"

"Not doing anything, if you want your buddy here in one piece!" The ghost in Blobbers' body cried as it slid in front of the mirror. "You break these mirrors, and they'll be trapped in here forever!"

Terrafin winced, clenching his teeth as he drew his fist back, and the ghost just chuckled as it went to swing a punch at Terrafin! Terrafin was quick to block the blow and jump back while the ghost yowled and waved its red, sore hand, but in that moment the other possessed captives just cackled and surrounded Terrafin! He raised his fists, almost as if to fight for a moment, but just lowered them and snarled as he backed away, despite the way his fingers twitched.

Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind all trembled as they backed up behind him, when screams sounded off from their sides! To the left and right alike, more ghosts leaped out from the mirrors and grinned as they chased the captives through the mazes and attempted to drag some into mirrors! The four of them alike tensed, but in that moment the ghost possessing the draconic captive cackled and breathed fire right in their faces! The four of them rolled away as the fires crashed and extinguished against the rocky walls, and yet they still kept their tension as the possessed captives crowded around them, cackling and with fists raised!

And within the mirrors, Blobbers gritted his teeth as he pounded his fist against the glass, his eyes narrowed on Terrafin, Whirlwind, Gill Grunt and Eruptor. "Forget sitting and watching!" He cried as he continued to pound, swiveling the glass back and forth as he pounded. "Let me out of this thing! Give me my body back!"

Blobbers grunted and shouted out as he pounded away on the glass, and in that moment a beam of light caught on it! Blobbers screamed and collapsed as the light glinted across the mirror's surface and beamed over to where one ghost taunted Whirlwind, sending searing light right into its back! The ghost screamed as smoke burned and hissed from its body, falling to its knees while its ghastly soul leaped out and screamed in agony as it clutched its head!

Whirlwind winced and drew back at first, but then her eyes fell on the beam of light emitting from the mirror and her brows jumped up her face!

"Wait, that's right!" Whirlwind gasped as she turned back to Terrafin, Eruptor and Gill Grunt. "Those ghosts, they're weak to light!" Whirlwind flapped her wings, and a thin smirk formed on her face as she turned around, wrapping her wings against Gill Grunt and Terrafin's shoulders. "I've got an idea on how we can stop this!"

The four of them huddled together and whispered, while behind them the ghosts and captives alike just frowned and scratched their heads.

"What do you think they're doing?" One ghost whispered to the other, who only shrugged in response… Then they both gasped as Whirlwind, Gill Grunt, Eruptor and Terrafin dashed off in four different directions!

Whirlwind immediately yanked an empty mirror and spun it around, the light from above glinting onto its glass as it turned towards the possessed captives! The moment the beams hit their backs, steam wafted off of them as they broke into unholy screeching! They fell to their knees, clawing and scratching at their heads as the ghosts leaped from the bodies and wailed in agony! Whirlwind gasped, then dashed to another empty mirror and turned it just so it hit the light!

The ghosts' screaming grew even higher, cracking a few mirrors as their spirits stretched further and further out of the bodies! Behind them, Gill Grunt, Terrafin and Eruptor all huddled around the mirrors, twisting them in the light so that the beams of light that burned into the ghosts multiplied from two, to four, to an entire burning sun in the heart of the maze! Steam burst from the ghosts as they wailed…

And in the heart of it all, Whirlwind turned her attention to the mirror beside her and lowered her head. "And for good measure…" Whirlwind whispered as rainbow light flared from her horn. "How about some purifying, too?"

A rainbow burst into the mirror from Whirlwind's horn, and its light spread to the next mirror, and the one following… And in that moment, the milky white light beams that came from the mirrors shifted to a brilliant rainbow!

A wailing cacophony rang throughout the hall as rainbow light flooded the room, washing out the snow, drowning out the mirrors, walls, and everything else! A few people took cover behind rocks as the storm raged further, now threatening to blow people away—and yet, Whirlwind just stood still, rainbows funneling from her horn and her wings and tail flowing in the breeze as she continued to fire away! The mirrors amplified her light, frying the wailing ghosts that fell to their knees around her alive!

"STOP, STOP, PLEASE!" One ghost begged, "WE'RE GOING TO BURN AWAY WITH ALL THIS LIGHT!"

"Not until you give everyone their bodies back!" Whirlwind cried. "If you don't, I'll just keep this up!"

"FINE! I'LL GIVE THE MABU HIS BODY BACK, JUST MAKE IT STOP!" The ghost shouted back.

"SAME HERE, I DON'T LOOK GOOD IN SCALES, ANYWAYS!" Shouted another.

"BODIES ARE OVERRATED!"

"But, I was having so much fun…" Whimpered one ghost as they twiddled their thumbs. A round of glares came from Whirlwind and their companions alike, and the ghost gulped. "Fine, fine, I'll do it!"

A howl shook the room around as the ghosts leaped back into the mirrors, and their cries were soon joined by the startled shouts of the body-napped as their souls were ripped from the mirrors and tossed back into the bodies! The ghosts' wails continued as they hid in the mirrors, and finally the rainbow light seceded with a bang! Rainbow sparkles dusted the room and rained down from the skies, intermingling with the shiny dust and the mirrors' glass…

While below, the captives all groaned as they stumbled to their feet and rubbed their heads!

"Ugh, that was awful," Blobbers groaned as he dusted his clothes off and scratched his head, his eyes still spinning around in his skull, "I never wanna see another mirror in my life."

A few muffled agreements came from the captives around Blobbers as they stumbled back to their feet, their eyes fixed back on the mirrors as they rumbled and shuddered… Then they all screamed and jumped back as the ghosts jumped back out!

"We promise, we didn't mean you any harm!" One ghost pleaded as they floated down in front of the captives and shook their clasped hands. "We were only trying to have a little fun!"

"Yeah, yeah!" pleaded another ghost as they floated beside the first. "We've traveled through practically every inch in this carnival through these mirrors, and we've seen everything there is!" The ghost gestured towards one of the mirrors, changing its reflection to that of the carnival's alleyways, and with a snap the mirror returned to its normal glassy appearance! With a sigh, the ghost drifted ahead and leaned into Whirlwind's ear. "And between the two of us, pantsing pirates and swapping their tools when they're not looking really loses its charms after the first five times!"

"No harm? NO HARM?!" Blobbers cried, red tinging his face as he stormed up to the ghosts and shoved his finger in their faces. "You stole my body! You nearly locked me in a mirror for all eternity! I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty harmful to me!"

"Yeah!" Cried a few of the captives behind Blobbers, some crossing their arms and scowling as they spoke.

The red spread to Blobbers' face as he gritted his teeth, and the ghosts only winced and backed away, ectoplasm sweat dripping down their foreheads and forming glowing pools at the ground below as Blobbers and the captives closed in and grabbed a few shiny mirror shards from the ground… But before Blobbers or anyone else could do anything hasty, Whirlwind flew between them and flared her wings.

"You said you can travel anywhere in those mirrors, right?" Whirlwind asked, her wings folding. Blobbers raised his voice a bit, but a single glare from Whirlwind and he only winced and scuffled back.

The second ghost's eyes flickered, and they nodded as they floated up to Whirlwind. "Yes, yes indeed!" They cried. "These mirrors have a special link with this land! We can go everywhere!"—The ghost stretched out their fingers and counted off—"bathrooms, bedrooms, factories and halls… You know, there's this one manor owned by this pirate, I guess he's the head of everything." The ghost snickered. "But between the two of us, he's a total scaredy-cat! One time, we managed to convince him that Captain Frightbread haunted his manor, and he's slept with one eye open every since!"

"Wait, a manor, that has to be Dreadbeard's place!" The dragon called from the back!

"And where the docks are!" The feline mabu added.

Whirlwind flicked her ears, then she turned around and grinned.

"Tell you what, then!" Whirlwind said. "If you take us to Dreadbeard's manor with those mirrors, we'll forget this all happened, alright?"

"Sounds good to us!" The two ghosts cried.

They both floated up to one of the mirrors, then waved their hands around its glass and changed the reflection to that of a stone pathway with a dim light beaming at the very end of the tunnel!

"Just go through this mirror and you'll arrive at the tunnel! At the end of the tunnel, there's a path that takes you right to the manor!"

Whirlwind beamed, then shouted out as several of the ghosts flew beside her and pushed her right through the mirror!

"Now don't dilly-dally! That path's not going to wait forever, you know!"

The mirror's glass rippled as Whirlwind slid right through and collapsed onto the ground, and a string of shouts and thunks behind her showed that the others had arrived as well! They all grunted and sat up, brushing dirt and shaking themselves off as the mirror warp sealed itself shut. A few cast wary glances at the space where the mirror warp once rested… But with a flap of her wings, Whirlwind turned her attention back to the front.

"Well, might as well see if they were right," Whirlwind remarked as she flapped her wings and flew off.

The sound of footsteps and flapping wings echoed through the tunnel as they crept through and scattered dust, the faint streams of light from overhead slowly growing in intensity until they were as bright as a regular light! They cascaded over a dead end at the end of a tunnel with a rusted platform attached to a large rope rested over it.

"After you," Whirlwind said as she flew aside and gestured towards the platform.

So, they all took their seats, and with a single creak, the platform drew up to the top of the tunnel, while the light only grew brighter and brighter…

§

Chihiro grunted and pulled herself higher onto Swarm's shoulder as he flew ahead, her grip on him tight as he flew at the speed of light… Or maybe it just felt that way with his big he was and how small she was. Either way, they were making good headway across the stands, and she was sure they would be at the end of this stretched soon! Hopefully she'd be able to find out just where the MDF were being kept…

Chihiro frowned as she glanced down at Thumpback, who slid across the roads on his belly while Swarm flew, then she magically summoned a telescope and held it to her eye. The telescope zoomed around for a bit as it glanced over food stands, games, cells, a dock filled with ships at the end of the road—wait, a dock?! Chihiro turned her telescope back on the dock, then grinned and whisked it away.

"Keep going, guys!" Chihiro proclaimed as she patted Swarm's shoulder, "I can see the docks from here!"

Swarm and Thumpback grinned and nodded as they sped forward, but Chihiro didn't entirely share in their enthusiasm as she drew circles on Swarm's shoulder. With how much of a pain these pirates had been, she couldn't help but wonder—just what was going on around this place? People being kidnapped wasn't exactly a good thing… But just what was their plan for all this? Chihiro had a few ideas, and none of them were particularly pretty. So she sighed, then climbed further on Swarm's shoulder and sat down. But right as she did, Swarm came to an abrupt stop! The sudden jolt offset Chihiro's balance, and before she knew it she was sent flailing and screaming before she tumbled right off of Swarm's shoulder!

Luckily, her fall was brief, as Thumpback had stood up and she fell right into his blowhole! Chihiro caught herself on its edge, then grunted and pulled herself back onto the top of his head.

"Hey, what's with the holdup?" Chihiro asked as she shook stray saltwater from her body.

Swarm, in response, pointed over towards a large, gigantic, even gap between the path they stood on now and the path ahead. "That," Swarm replied as he lowered his hand, "That's the holdup." Swarm frowned as his wings flitted and fluttered. "Even though I could probably fly over it, there's no way I'd be able to carry the both of you over it—too much weight."

"Then we'll just have to find another way around it, I suppose," Thumpback remarked.

Chihiro frowned, then teleported onto the ground and slid her suspenders' straps back onto her shoulders. An alternate route, huh? Chihiro laid a hand on her elbow and rubbed the other on her chin as she glazed over the area around her, then her eyes fell towards a small, unassuming hut off to the side with a sign beside it.

"Intriguing…" Chihiro whispered. She teleported over and glazed over the sign and grinned. "Guys, I think I might've found our way through!"—Chihiro tapped the sign as Swarm and Thumpback turned to her—"there's a shipmaster here! Maybe, if I challenge him and win, I can get him to ferry us through!"

Chihiro chuckled and snapped her suspenders, then strode off to the hut and prepared to open the door… But just before she even grabbed the knob, heavy footsteps caught her attention instead!

"Actually, I have a better idea," Thumpback remarked as his eyes fell on an empty ship parked just aside from him. Thumpback smiled as he slung his anchor over his shoulder, then he dashed over to the ship and heaved up its chain. "If we don't have a bridge, then I'll just make one!"

Thumpback grunted as he heaved the chain over his shoulder and trudged forward, while Swarm flew behind him and grabbed on the chain as well! Their shared strength made the ship little more than a light piece of paper, unable to fight as the two of them heaved up the ship's chain and tossed it—and the ship—right through the gap! Of course, as they did, the ship's doors flung open and a bunch of seadogs were flung onto the decks! Huh, guess it wasn't as abandoned as it looked.

Chihiro chuckled, then teleported a few paces before she finally arrived at the ship's deck! While Thumpback and Swarm walked ahead, the terrified crew members screamed and ducked behind crates, barrels, whatever they could from sheer awe, or maybe fear, of their giant sizes!

Swarm paused as he caught sight of the quivering crew members, then grinned and knelt down.

"Heh, sorry for the little ride! We just need to borrow your ship for a moment," Swarm explained as he teased his antenna. "Hopefully you don't mind?"

"N, not at all, Mr Giant Bee!" Quaked a seadog with knocking knees. "Just, please don't stomp us!"

"Or eat us!" Cried the other terrified crew members.

Swarm sat up and shrugged then flew off, while behind him Chihiro just chuckled and skipped after him. She wasn't quite sure why they'd find Swarm that scary, but to be fair, having a gigantic bee and whale send your ship for a joyride wasn't something that happened everyday, she supposed. So, she waved to the terrified crew and hopped down off the ship…

But the moment she did, the air chilled and everything around turned misty and ominous! Chihiro shuddered as she summoned a magic jacket and slid it over his shoulders. Right as she slipped the sleeve on, though, she frowned and dropped it—she didn't know why, but she was sure that she could hear shouting in the distance, then another breeze shook her down and reminded her of its chills.

"Do you guys hear that?" Chihiro asked as she slipped her jacket on.

Swarm and Thumpback both perked their heads up, then frowned and nodded.

"Kinda sounds to me like there's a fight going on," Chihiro remarked as she flipped her jacket's hood over her head. "We should probably lay low."

Chihiro slipped behind an abandoned stall, as did Swarm and Thumpback… But while Chihiro could easily dive behind its stand, the two of them still stood out like sore thumbs as they knelt down! Chihiro winced, then crept behind a particularly tall stack of barrels with them close behind—but once again, Swarm and Thumpback's size betrayed the, as they knocked over the stack with one little shrug!

Chihiro winced as the barrels toppled over and burst, then sighed and shook her head. Above her, Swarm chuckled and scratched his head.

"Sorry," Swarm whispered. "It's kinda hard to lay low when you're building-sized!"

"No kidding," Chihiro chuckled. "Maybe we'll have more luck hiding behind the actual buildings!"

Chihiro hopped into Swarm's hand, then crawl up his arm and onto his shoulder as he and Thumpback tip-toed behind the massive, abandoned buildings that lined the area, much in the way they did on the streets back on Earth. Though the sights couldn't really be made out between the tall buildings and thick mist that lined the area, the shouts Chihiro heard before had gotten much more audible! In fact, she was sure she could make them out!

"You can't keep us locked in here forever, you know!" Cried that same familiar voice she heard on the walkie-talkie before, paired with the sounds of rattling chains!

"Of course I can't!" Cried another voice, one that sounded distinctly pirate-like in tone. "After all, ye'll need to work off yer debt!"

The voice from earlier growled, and the sound of rattling chains grew even more intense. "LET ME OUTTTTTTTT!"

Wait a second, those voices, Chihiro had heard it over the walkie-talkie! Chihiro frowned, then teleported on top of Swarm's head just as they passed by the last of the buildings. The mist around her finally let up some, with only thin trails dotting the area around, and she could finally catch a glimpse of what was going on down below! There, a seadog pirate cackled and leaned against a Skystones stand as they glared down a large, metal cage, where several people were kept trapped and angry! A few rattled and kicked the bars of their cage, but for the most part, they just sat in utter defeat!… All except for three ursine mabu around the front who bickered among each other, no mind taken to the pirates or captives around them! Those markings on their faces, the hats they wore—no doubt about it, they were definitely Snuckles, Rizzo and Nort!

"There they are!" Chihiro remarked as she whisked away her telescope, "I'm gonna check this out!"

"Wait, Chihiro!" Thumpback cried. "What happened to laying low?"

In a flash of light, Chihiro teleported back down onto Swarm's shoulder, then slid down to his hand and hopped off! As she floated down onto the ground, Chihiro stormed right up to the pirate and shoved her face in his, and despite the odd look he gave her, she didn't relent in her fury!

"Hey, buddy!" Chihiro cried as she gestured to the cage. "What's the big deal here!? Why d'you have these guys locked up?"

"Thank goodness, a friendly face for once! What a sight for sore eyes!" Rizzo cried. He pulled away from Snuckles and Nort, then grinned as he sneaked his head through the bars and waved. "You see, we've gotten ourselves into quite the pickle here!" Rizzo clenched his teeth as his eyes glazed over the rusted cage bars. "I knew the food here was just way too overpriced, but did Snuckles listen to me? Not a bit, even though I'm the captain!"

"Forget about that," Chihiro said as she pushed past the seadog and strode up to Rizzo with a brow raised, "what're you guys even doing here?"

The seadog cocked a brow, then chuckled as he leaned against his stand.

"Oh, it's the same old story," the seadog remarked as he spun around a cane. "These fine chaps here came to the carnival empty-handed and didn't even realize it! They've racked up quite the debt, so they'll just have to pay it the old fashioned way…"—The seadog's eyes narrowed—"by working for us for the rest of their lives!"

"You cheated us, that's what you did!" Cried an elf man who pounded on the cage. "You didn't even tell us that gold wasn't accepted here until after we played!"

"Yeah!" Cried another elf woman. "And I saw you change the price of those popcorn balls to five thousand chips when you thought nobody was looking!"

"You lied to me!" Cried another person in the back. "You said that game was free to play!"

The seadog growled, then slammed his cane against the side of the cage and sent a massive ring through the cage! The captives immediately jumped from the bars and covered their ears, but the seadog only laughed.

"Ah, technicalities, technicalities~" The seadog sing-songed as he spun his cane around. "That's what you get for coming to our carnival!"

The seadog whistled to himself a little more, and Chihiro just gritted her teeth as her blood boiled and popped beneath her skin. She balled her hand into a fist, and with a snarl she turned her attention back to Rizzo.

"They speak the truth," Nort sighed as he walked up beside Rizzo and took off his cap. "We came here because we'd been hearing reports of a lot of disappearances in this area and stumbled upon this carnival—literally, it just popped out of the ground right before us!" Nort chuckled as he rubbed his hat. "And we'd been running around so much, we thought it'd be a good way to just kick back and relax!"

"But, the whole thing was a huge scam!" Snuckles cried as he jumped between Nort and Rizzo. "They roped us in with food and games, and before we knew it, we had the wool pulled over our eyes—"

"What he's saying is," Rizzo scoffed as he pushed Snuckles aside, "we found out that this was how they were roping people in and trapping them here with extensive debt! We tried to stop 'em, but there were too many, so Blobbers stayed behind to handle things while we tried to get out and get help… But they enticed Snuckles with hot dogs, and next thing we knew they had us all surrounded!"

"The furball's got it all wrong!" The seadog cried from the back. "We knocked their buddy down the chute before we got the rest of 'em!"

Chihiro gritted her teeth as she glared down him down, the seadog forcing a smile as her eyes pierced into his while sweat crept down his matted fur. How could he just sit there and smile, knowing he cheated so many people into working for him?! Chihiro snarled, then stormed up to him and slammed her hand against a barrel, denting it as her hand flared with blue light. Though the seadog yipped and jumped in the air, Chihiro just steeled her gaze further.

"You're awful, you know! Tricking people into racking up debt just to make them do your dirty work, it's unforgivable!" Chihiro cried as she shoved her face in the shocked seadog's, "as portal master and guardian of all that is good, I won't stand for it!"

The seadog gasped, and immediately backed away as his eyes grew small. "Wait, did, did you say portal master?!" The seadog stammered. His eyes fluttered, and he immediately dashed towards a row of cells. "You're not getting towards the cap'n, no sirree! Not when I call in the guards, you won't!"

The seadog slammed down a large red button with his fist, and immediately the gates ahead shut down! Everyone gasped, but the seadog didn't relent—not just yet! His eyes turned to another flashing button as he reached out to press it, but before he could slam it down, Chihiro yanked him back by the wrist and squeezed it tight! His eyes turned tiny and the sweat poured even faster than before as Chihiro glared him down.

"Alright, buddy, I'll give you till the count of ten to let these guys go," she hissed, her grip around his wrist turning even tighter as blue light flared in her eyes. "One, two, three…"

The seadog winced as he struggled in Chihiro's grip, then he yanked his head around. "System, activate!" He cried.

The button beeped and sank right into the wall with a flash, and a harsh, screeching noise ran through the carnival! Chihiro gasped as the sound rattled her eardrums, and the pirate slipped from her grip as she moved to cover her ears, red light pouring down from all around her as the carnival stalls around her all sunk down and flipped into the ground! The rocks below her knees rumbled and danced across the cold earth, almost as if a kind of quake had shaken it, and though her vision was fuzzy from all the shaking and screeching and the way her head spun, she could barely make out some spots around her… Opening up? Yes, the ground had started to split and open, pits of black forming slowly in the ground as more faint, low rumbles that were more like growls that shaking quakes echoed from within the deep pits. Chihiro screamed and rolled back as the pits opened up further, but before she could completely roll away, her back hit something cool, bumpy and wet!

"Chihiro, what's going on?" Swarm cried as he yanked Chihiro from the ground and nestled her in his palms, both his eyes and Thumpback's beside him fixed on her. "The whole place just started shaking and screeching out of nowhere!"

Chihiro winced, then popped one ear open. "I don't know! I grabbed the guy, then he just shouted at the systems to activate and—"

"GRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Chihiro tumbled down in Swarm's grip and yelped as a louder, harsher growl echoed from the pits below, one so loud it sent Swarm and Thumpback stumbling over their own feet while it knocked the seadog and all the captives off theirs, and as she pushed herself to her feet, a string of blurs hopped out from the grounds below!

The blurs crashed down on the ground and rattled everything around, breaking windows and completely leveling the few stands and banners that remained! Shattered glass and splintered wood fell by their feet as the blurs shook, unveiling themselves to be large, hulking furry seadogs dressed in torn and tattered pirate clothing! Their fur coats were tinged in sickly shades of green, blue and tan while their blank eyes had turned swollen and bloodshot, and drool poured from their jaws in a torrent that streamed down onto the grounds like rain, washing away the wreckage!

Chihiro gasped and curled up further in Swarm's hand, but Swarm just smirked and buzzed his wings together as he laid Chihiro behind a stack of splintered barrels!

"Alright, so you let the dogs out!" Swarm shouted as he cracked his knuckles, his antenna twitching as he stepped further. "A few mutts never scared me! In fact, I'll put your little doggies—"

SNAP! Out from the pits snapped out thick steel chains that wrapped right around Swarm and Thumpback's arms and legs, locking them right where they stood!

"In the doghouse?!" Swarm gritted his teeth as he turned down to the chains that hugged his wrists and tugged at them, yet they barely budged. "Where'd these things come from?!"

"Beats me," Thumpback added as he slid his hand down some and yanked his anchor from his back, "but they won't be here for long!"

Thumpback grunted as he sawed the anchor's blade against the chains, but in that moment the chains pulled tighter and Thumpback fell off his balance! His anchor slipped from his grip and crashed onto the ground, kicking up dirt, and Thumpback himself followed as he tripped over his own feet while the chains yanked him down to the ground!

A shadow cast over Chihiro, and as she peered up, she screamed and teleported away just before Thumpback could crush her underneath his weight! While the dust and dirt leaped up behind her, Chihiro flashed back into existence and winced as the world shook underneath her feet! She stumbled a bit, leaning against a barrel to regain her balance as her gaze turned to where Swarm struggled to even stay on his knees, then winced as she pushed herself from the barrel and stumbled forward—and was met with a cutlass right between her eyes! Chihiro gulped and staggered backwards, her eyes now fixed on the seadog who now sneered as his mutated seadogs all sat behind him and snarled, their bloodshot eyes seemingly growing an even deeper red as they glanced down at Chihiro! The chills ran down her spine, and Chihiro gulped as her quivering back hit the rough, scratchy wood of the barrel. Her legs started to numb as cold wind slapped against her, the sound of the growling mutant seadogs ringing in her ears along with the sirens.

"Not so tough now, are ye laddie?" The seadog asked as he pushed his cutlass further, a sickening sneer on his face. His words fought to be heard over the roar of his growling army and the sirens that still blared alike, and yet they still twisted a knife through Chihiro's chest all the same. "What're ye gonna do now?"

Chihiro gulped as she leaned further against the barrel, those chills still running up her back while sweat crawled down from her face. Her vision blurred a bit as it jumped from that seadog, then to the mutant seadogs that dug their claws in the ground, prepared to strike… And then to the Skystones booth that rested before her, still shiny and pristine despite the world crashing and shifting around it!

"How, how about a bet?" Chihiro sputtered. The cutlass lowered from her path a little as the seadog raised a brow, and Chihiro forced a smile. "If I beat you at Skystones, then you'll let everyone here go free and let us pass!"

The seadog winced a little, turning his view from the captives in the cage and then to the deck, but finally shrugged. "Well, I can't pass up a good bet," the seadog said as he took his place at the booth and set up his deck. "But I'm not letting me guard down!"

Chihiro gulped, and the sweating started to recede as she dove her hand into her pocket. "And neither will I!"

Chihiro snarled as she took her place at the deck, then whipped her Skystones out of her pocket and spread them across their container. Her eyes occasionally drifted up to where the pirate sat, but the low growls that came from the mutant seadogs behind her fixed her attention firmly back on her Skystones. The seadog's low chuckles rumbled a bit above her, but she just squeezed her hands into fists and rested them on the deck's smooth crystalline surface.

"Why don't ye go first, laddie?"

Chihiro gulped, then waved her fingers over the Skystones she had set up—an inhuman shield, an enfuego chompy, the mohawk cyclops she had snagged from the previous pirate, a chompy, and a spiderling. She wasn't sure what kind of arsenal this guy had up his sleeve, but hopefully it would be what she needed. She gulped, then picked up the spiderling and pressed it on the center of the grid.

"I play my spiderling!" Chihiro cried as she drew back a bit and crossed her arms, hugging them tight to avoid any tells. "Your turn!"

The seadog sneered, grabbing a stone from his deck and spiking it up. "I play…" The seadog said, licking his lips as he slammed the stone just above Chihiro's spiderling, "my blaze brewer!"

Flames crackled around the stone, popping as a holographic image of a blaze brewer leaped up and cackled while it cast flames out from the gigantic flamethrower it hefted up! The fires burning and dancing, lighting the sleek dark blue crystal of the board in a hot red as flames in the shape of an X burned all across the grid… Including where Chihiro's spiderling stone sat! The flames roasted the card alive, a faint twisted screech intermingling with the scent of burning flesh as the card was reduced to a charred version of itself and shattered as the blaze brewer disappeared! The spiderling on its front has disappeared, leaving only a broken stone to obscure the middle spot, and in the corners around it, bright red Fire Element symbols glowed on the stones, tinting the area around them in faint reds and purples!

"Now that's the power of a blaze brewer!" The seadog grinned and slapped the booth, sending the stones shaking just a little. "With all these Fire Element spaces on the board, unless ye've got a Fire Element deck like mine, yer finished!"

"We'll see about that!" Chihiro hissed… Though as she turned her eyes to her Skystones, she paused and bit her lip. She had sounded confident enough, but looking over her deck, her enfuego chompy was the only one of the Fire Element! And something in her gut told her that anything that didn't match those glowing Fire Element symbols wouldn't befall a pretty fate. So she winced, then spiked up her chompy and placed it on one of the few squares free of Fire Element symbols.

"I play my chompy!" Chihiro cried as she lifted her fingers from the board… Then gritted her teeth and gasped as the seadog cackled!

"And I play me boom fiend!" The pirate cried as he slammed down another stone right above her chompy!

A boom fiend burst from the surface of the stone and cackled as it yanked a bag of bombs from out of nowhere, and with a single spill the bombs rolled over the battlefield and exploded! Small bursts of fire lit the battlefield in a warm array as the boom fiend disappeared, but even the flames themselves quickly extinguished as Chihiro's chompy flipped over from blue to red!

With a gulp, Chihiro turned her attention back down to her remaining Skystones, then yanked her enfuego chompy and spiked it up. "I play my enfuego chompy!" Chihiro cried as she dropped the stone on a corner with a Fire Element symbol burning bright on it.

A yowl burst from the stone as an enfuego chompy jumped up and sank its teeth into the blaze burner beside it, flipping the stone over to blue as the chompy disappeared, and for a moment Chihiro paused and glazed over the battlefield. Two stones rested on her end of the battlefield, and two more laid in the pirate's grip… They were evenly matched, she should have this in the bag!

"And I play me level three enfuego chompy's special move, Burning Ceremony!"

Chihiro gasped as another enfuego chompy Skystone, one with a shiny golden rim around the card's artwork, slammed down onto the field! From it leaped a trio of enfuego chompies who danced in a circle, and with every step they danced, flames burst around them and flipped the Skystones on the board to the striking crimson of the seadog's! The seadog's cackles rang in Chihiro's ears as the chompies disappeared from the board, and she bit her lip as a faint snarl came from behind her! She turned around, then immediately gulped and turned away as the mutated seadogs snarled and breathed down her back, their hot breath blasting against her and raising chills, ironically enough, against her skin. Faint shouts and grunts came in the distance from what were surely the terrified and confused captives, or Swarm and Thumpback as they fought against their restraints, and everything clouded her head—every time she tried to think of something, something distracted her, the noise a reminder of the tense situation at hand! Chihiro gulped, then slammed a fist against the desk, rattling the Skystones and snarling as she turned down to her deck.

"Having a bit of trouble there, laddie?" The seadog teased.

Chihiro had wanted to tell him to shut his trap, but the words just couldn't quite leave her mouth no matter how much she wanted to say them, so she instead turned her eyes back down to her deck. She was down to two stones now, and neither of them were Fire-aligned! But, what was she going to do with a drow witch and a mohawk cyclops?… Wait a second, the drow witch! Chihiro lifted it from the deck, then grinning as she turned the stone's cool body in her surface. That was right, it canceled out any passive effects—surely, she could use it for something like this!

Chihiro grinned as she picked up her spikes and went to spike it up… Then paused. She only had enough spikes left for one more attack! If she played this one, she wouldn't have anything left, and then she'd really be screwed! Chihiro gulped, and all the outside noise, the growling and the shouting and the grunting and the whistling of wind and rattling of chains rang in her ears, her vision turning blurry and… Yellow? A soft golden light warm as the sun brushed against her face, but not from the outside of the world, no—it came from her pocket! Chihiro warily laid the Skystone back on her deck, then dug into her pocket and raised a brow.

The wheel she had collected along with her deck laid still in her pocket, that soft golden light flashing and illuminating the rest of her pocket, showing a whole wealth of spikes that remained! Chihiro gasped, then smiled as she swept the spikes from her pocket and laid them on the desk.

"I'm not done yet, you know!" Chihiro cried as she spiked up her drow witch and slammed it against the board, right in one of the few free spaces that remained. "I play my drow witch's special move, Blade Storm!"

A cackle rang though the air as a hologram of a drow witch leaped from the air and slashed around the board with its blades, claiming the stones around the board by drenching them in Chihiro's blue—but more than that, it sent out a breeze that blew everything on the board away! The fire element spots flickered out until they were normal tiles again, and even the broken stone in the middle was completely blown over, returning back to the field as a normal spiderling stone once more!

The seadog gasped, then growled and gritted his teeth as he yanked out another stone.

"Ye think yer so clever, eh? But what kind of Skystones player would I be if I didn't have a better strategy up me sleeve?" The seadog cried as he slammed his stone down. "I play me blaze brewer!"

Once again, a blaze brewer leaped from the stone and cast the battlefield in its fires… But just as it its flames formed their Xs, they quickly extinguished! Not a single Fire Element zone formed on the board, and aside of collecting a stone or two, it had no effect!

"What?!" The seadog cried as he tugged on his fur. "What happened?!"

"That's the good thing about drow witches—they have a special little skill," Chihiro remarked as she picked up her mohawk cyclops and spiking it up once more, "they cancel out any passive effects, so your little fire zones are extinguished!" Chihiro chuckled, then raised up her spiked stone. "Now, time to finish this!"

Chihiro slammed down the stone on a corner and smirked as it glowed. "I play my mohawk cyclops, special technique—seeing double!"

The stone glittered as a projection of a mohawk cyclops leaped from it and spun around, twirling across the stone like a dancefloor as it swung its ax! But as it spun, the hologram on the stone duplicated, and an identical clone manifested and slashed the stolen stones back into Chihiro's blue! With not a space to the seadog's name and the rest to Chihiro's, it was clear who the victor was here!

"That wasn't even a challenge!" Chihiro smirked as she whisked her stones back into her pocket with a snap of her fingers. "Now, about our bet?"

"This, this can't be! I lost! At Skystones!" The pirate sputtered. His eyes drifted up and down, and his face seemed a bit more pale than before. "I, I feel dizzy…"

The pirate groaned as he fell unconscious, slipping from his chair and hitting the floor… And in that moment, the mutant seadogs had finally lost their patience! They all snapped, falling on all fours as they howled and rushed off at such a speed that they knocked Chihiro right on the ground! Chihiro screamed as she hit the cold grass, then grunted and brushed the dirt from her sleeves as she jumped up and whisked the stones and spikes back into her pocket.

"Just what do those things think they're doing?!" Chihiro snapped as she turned back around, following the sound of pounding footsteps and howls… Right back to where Thumpback and Swarm still laid chained!

"Thumpback, Swarm!" Chihiro called.

The two of them both grunted and lifted their heads from where they were busy attempting to saw the chains from their bodies, then they both scowled as the dogs came in! Swarm turned his attention back down to the chains, then with a click of his cannons, gigantic stingers burst out and pierced right through the chains that wrapped around his legs! They snapped like twigs as their metal remains fell down to the ground, and Swarm grunted as he stood to full height and uprooted the chains around his arms with a single yank!

"'Bout time I caused a buzz!" Swarm cried as he jumped up and zipped right for one mutant seadog!

Swarm shouted out as he stabbed the seadog right in the gut, and it screamed and winced, he flung it off to the side—only for another seadog to jump on his back and push him to the ground! Swarm gritted his teeth, his antenna rubbing together and singing with a frantic buzz as he rolled onto his back and glared down the seadog, then kneed it right in the gut! A pained whimper came from the seadog as Swarm kicked it right into another pair of mutant seadogs remaining and leaped to his feet… Right as a whole pack of mutant seadogs jumped on him, burying him underneath their fur and torn clothes! Swarm's muffled screams echoed from the pile of fluff and teeth as his hands wrangled against them, but even those sunk in soon enough!

Thumpback gasped, then snarled and clapped his hands together! The coral gauntlets that rested against his arms glowing with a blue tint as water burst from every little hole and cranny in them, soaking the chains that rested around his arms and legs until a thick layer of rust covered them! The chains rumbled and shuddered, barely able to stay around Thumpback as he trudged forward—and with one last charge, they completely shattered and evaporated into dust as Thumpback leaped up and fell on his belly, slamming right into the seadogs! The seadogs and Swarm all flew into the skies and screamed as Thumpback slid past them…

And while the battle raged, Chihiro teleported back to the cage and dove behind the control panel.

"C'mon, there's gotta be something here that can unlock these cages and stuff…" Chihiro grumbled as she pulled down a wooden panel. An entire mechanical panel of buttons, levers and knobs shone in the light, and Chihiro grinned as she rubbed her hands. "Perfect!"

Chihiro grinned and pulled down a bright red lever that seemed like the trick… But all it did was cause a few soda stands to pop out of the ground! She cringed and summoned an umbrella as Thumpback smashed one stand with a seadog and sent soda raining down in a monsoon, then let her umbrella float above her as she turned back to the panel.

"Maybe this one, then?" Chihiro asked as she flicked a few switches… But that just sent sirens blaring everywhere! Chihiro screamed and covered her ears, as did everyone around her, then she flicked the switches back up and sighed as the sirens went away, through the ringing in her ears still remained as she turned to the captives.

"Would any of you happen to know what stops this thing?"

A round of shrugs met Chihiro's view, so she just groaned and turned her attention back to the panel… And then, to the suspiciously large blue button that glowed as it rested in the panel's center! Chihiro paused as her finger hovered above it, then with a shrug she slammed it down!

A wave of blue light washed over the area around, and in that moment all the buildings and stands that had disappeared cropped right back up!

The mutant seadogs all drew back and grunted as they wandered around and sniffed the buildings, but behind them Swarm and Thumpback sneered and cracked their knuckles.

"Let's finish this, Thumper!" Swarm cried as his wings started to buzz!

"Gladly!" Thumpback shouted back!

A gigantic pillar of water erupted from Thumpback's blowhole and rained down on the streets below, and as it landed Swarm slashed against it, casting out massive bursts of wind that kicked at the waters and sent them spinning, raging right through the streets!

The seadogs grunted and turned around right as the waves came in, then screamed as the waters crashed into them and washed them away! Their yelping grew fainter and fainter as the waves washed them into the distance, and Swarm and Thumpback just smiled and turned back right as the cage rescinded!

The captives all cheered and ran off, splashing the puddles left behind from Swarm and Thumpback's tsunami as they raced to escape… All but three! While the others ran off, Snuckles, Nort and Rizzo just stumbled out and adjusted their hats as they walked up to Chihiro.

"Thanks for that, portal master!" Rizzo chirped as he patted Chihiro on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're gonna be on our way!" Rizzo turned around and adjusted his lapel. "The captain's manor is at the hill at the end of this carnival, and we've got a few things we'd like to tell him!"

"Then we'll join you guys!" Chihiro beamed back as she crossed her arms. "After all, you're not the only one who has a few choice words for that dude!"

Both Rizzo and Chihiro grinned, then gasped as Thumpback swept them, Snuckles and Nort into his hand and laid them on his shoulder.

"In that case, hold on tight, everyone!" Thumpback shouted as he yanked his anchor off the ground and squeezed its chain. His eyes turned to where the gates ahead rescinded into the ground, and a twisted frown crossed his face. "I'll have us there quicker than a flash flood!"

Chihiro smirked as she took a spot beside Rizzo, but right as Thumpback and Swarm strode ahead, the doors of the houses ahead all slammed open and out came an entire crowd of pirates! The pirates snarled as they whipped out their weapons, and the two of them just winced and drew back.

"Well, looks like we've got a fight on our hands!" Chihiro cried as she cracked her knuckles.

"Yeah!" Swarm and Thumpback cried!

And so, the six of them screamed as they ran straight for the pirates, and the pirates straight for them…

§

Within a massive row of abandoned houses, there stood a simple, unassuming alleyway lined only by stained, sticky barrels and decaying cardboard boxes that, not long ago, were probably filled with all sorts of things. But now, they were completely empty and abandoned, only left to decay as they sat in the alleyways… That is, until a trapdoor on the floor burst open and tossed them into the back!

"Geez, that was the worst maze I've ever had to run through!" Eruptor moaned as he crawled out of the trapdoor and rubbed his head. "And I've been through a lot of awful mazes!"

"It's a miracle we even got out of there," Whirlwind remarked as she flew out of the trapdoor and pulled Blobbers up. "If I have to look at one more mirror, I think I'll scream!"

"At least we got out of there," Terrafin panted as he and Gill Grunt hopped out of the trapdoor.

The two of them heaved up the remaining captives with a grunt, then as the trapdoor slammed down, Gill Grunt frowned and craned his head around. "Just where in this darn carnival did those ghosts send us? I thought we were going to Dreadbeard's manor!" He asked.

The dragon unrolled his map, then rolled it back up and sighed. "Not sure," he replied, "I only had the underground mapped out."

Terrafin frowned, then walked forward and shot a few wary glances at the walls as he disappeared further down the alleys…

"Actually, I think I found our answer!" Terrafin shouted!

The others all gasped and bolted down after him, and in response Terrafin only gestured across the grassy lawn that the alleyways lead out to! Just behind it, a large, white manor with sparkling gemstones roofs stood tall, while flags and banners bearing the face of a seadog pirate captain fluttered in the breeze! It hadn't seemed remarkable to most, but judging by the way Terrafin scowled and the captives panicked, it wasn't exactly a good sight!

"So they did take us Dreadbeard's manor!" Blobbers cried as he clung to a trembling captive, "I, I think we should get going now!"

"You guys can get moving, but we're staying here!" Terrafin remarked as he cracked his knuckles. The light shone against his pearly white fangs, and he looked a tad bit scarier than normal as he drew them aside. "I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"

"But, but, he's really scary when he's angry! The other pirates said so!" Blobbers cried back.

As he heard this, Terrafin's scowl faded a bit, and he just glanced back at Blobbers. "Listen, buddy, we've sent this guy running with his tail between his legs once, and we can do it again!" Terrafin smirked and knocked on his chest. "'Sides, I'm not just gonna sit around and let him keep doing this!"

"Terrafin's right!" Gill Grunt cried as he raised his cannon, while the harpoon loaded into it shimmered in the light. "If we just leave him be, he's only gonna rope even more people into doing this! We have to stop him!"

SLAM!

All eyes turned up to the manor's balcony, where the doors had shot open and a seadog, the very seadog whose face was plastered on every banner and flag hung from the manor before them, stumbled out! He groaned and rubbed his eyes as he stumbled out on the balcony, and his tongue clicked as he grabbed its rail.

"Now what's with all this racket here?" Dreadbeard groaned as he finished rubbing his eyes and glanced down the balcony, "I keep hearin' people yapping and yapping outside me front door, right in the middle of me afternoon nap! Who could it be at this…"

Dreadbeard blinked once, then twice, then gasped and drew back from his railing.

"SKYLANDEES?! IN ME CARNIVAL?!" Dreadbeard cried as he reached for his pocket, "HOW'D YE GET IN HERE?" Dreadbeard blinked, then stumbled back down to the railing and narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second, I know ye…" Dreadbeard snarled, then pointed a twisted claw right at Terrafin. "YER THE SKYLANDEE THAT HELPED TAKE ME DOWN AT PLUNDER ISLAND!"

"You bet I am!" Terrafin cried as he stepped forward. "What do you think you're doing here?! I thought you learned your lesson after we beat you back then!"

"Ye wish!" Dreadbeard slammed a fist on the rails, and it twitched as he slid it away. "Because of ye and that lass, I lost everything! Me crew, me riches, me base…"—Dreadbeard's brows tensed—"I had to start from scratch because of you!"

Dreadbeard's snarl lingered for a few moments more, but then it turned to a smile as he drew back and held out his arms.

"But, I have to thank ye. Because of what ye did, I got the idea to start to carnival here and rope people into working for me for all eternity! Because of this little setup here, I've made more riches than I ever did looting and plundering, it's genius!"

"No thanks needed," Terrafin hissed.

Dreadbeard scoffed, then he yanked a bright, red button from his pocket.

"And this time, I won't let ye Skylandees ruin it for me!" Dreadbeard cried as he slammed the button down.

"GUARDS, DEAL WITH THESE PESTS!"

Right as Dreadbeard said this, the bottom doors to his manner flung open and out flew an entire platoon of burly pirate guards! They growled and snarled as they whipped out their weapons and flexed their muscles, their beady eyes fixed on Eruptor, Terrafin, Whirlwind and Gill Grunt! But, the four of them just snarled and stepped forward as the captives cowered behind them!

Gill Grunt scowled, then leaped forward and cranked up his cannon! As he held it out and pulled the trigger, a massive burst of water shot from it while he spun around, and all the pirates around were soaked to the bone! The pirates groaned and sputtered as they spat out water and wiped it from their fur, but Gill Grunt just drew to a stop and grinned as Whirlwind flew in front of him.

"And away you go!" Whirlwind cried as she flapped his wings in a fury!

Our from her wings' blows came rolling, gray stormclouds that drew towards the pirates like magnets, while the pirates themselves just blinked. They glanced over the stormclouds for moments, then screamed as lightning burst from the clouds and shocked them down! Sparks flew from their fur as the stormclouds poofed out of existence… But they wouldn't get to rest just yet!

Eruptor grinned, and with a few clap of his hands, scorching lava leaped out and coated the ground ahead! The grass burned away and the earth turned hot and hard as the lava crept towards the unsuspecting pirates, who didn't even notice until the lava hit their toes! They all screamed and leaped in the air as they blew off their toes, then grunted as Terrafin leaped in and punched them down! The pirates slammed into the walls and cracked their paint as Terrafin leaped down on the cooled lava, but Terrafin just grinned and rubbed his fist against his chest.

"Hey, I just got those walls painted!" Dreadbeard cried as he shook a fist at Terrafin.

Terrafin, however, just smirked and winked at Eruptor. "That combo never gets old," he remarked.

"Never does!" Eruptor chirped as he laid an arm around Terrafin's shoulders. The two of them shared a loving glance for a moment, then both their gazes turned cold as they glared down Dreadbeard… Though, they still sneaked in one little hand squeeze.

"You're beaten, Dreadbeard!" Terrafin cried as he glared up at Dreadbeard.

"Now knock this whole carnival off!" Eruptor cried.

Gill Grunt and Whirlwind both nodded in affirmation, but Dreadbeard just cackled and clapped from the safety of his balcony!

"Well, I'll give ye points for beating those folks, I suppose," Dreadbeard smirked as he ran his paws against the balcony's railing. "But, we're just warming up!"—Dreadbeard smirked as his eyes narrowed—"after all, what kind of a pirate captain would I be if I didn't have more guards?"

Dreadbeard slammed his button down once more, and in came more, bigger guards—so big, in fact, that they tore off the door with their very exit! Their fur, scales, skin and more were in sickly shades of green and blue while their eyes were blank, and drool poured from mouths lined with sharp, jutted teeth in foamy waterfalls… They looked more like zombies in pirate clothing in anything, and the way they just absentmindedly stood and groaned only further solidified it!

"GUARDS, ATTACK!"

The guards hooted and hollered, then fell to all fours as they bolted forward! Terrafin, Gill Grunt, Eruptor and Whirlwind immediately went to arms and prepared to attack… But, the guards just pushed them aside and set their eyes right on the panicking captives as they tries to make their getaway!

"HELPPPPP!" Blobbers screamed as one of the snarling pirates launched straight for him! His eyes turned wide as the pirate came in for the kill, teeth and fangs sharp…

But just before it could strike, Terrafin flung forward and punched it aside! He grunted and fell to the floor, but just before he could gather himself, another pirate rammed into him and sent him tumbling across the floor!

Gill Grunt gasped and flew in front of the pirate, his crosshairs between his eyes, but another pirate just slashed through his jetpack's tanks! Gill Grunt gasped as he turned around, then screamed as he corkscrewed forward and slammed into a pole! Beside him, Whirlwind and Eruptor were tossed back by the pirates as they flew in front of two other cowering captives, and they both grunted as they shot him a tired look.

With the four of them out of the picture, the pirates all snarled as they turned their eyes on the captives, who only whimpered as they backed up further and further… Then finally, their backs hit cold metal! They were completely surrounded, the pirates at one end and nowhere to run—surely, they were doomed!

The dragon's scales turned cold, and they only gulped as their knees quivered. "We're doomed!" They cried as their knees knocked together. "There's no way we're getting out of this!"

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Cried the elf as they grabbed onto the dragon!

The two of them both sobbed into each other's arms as they curled in a shuddering ball, their faces buried in each other's shoulders while they rendered themselves undignified blubbering messes, and Blobbers himself just trembled as his eyes fell on them. Around him, the other captives all wailed and whimpered, cowering the best they could and lamenting to the skies, their wails ringing in his ears while he trembled further.

"This really was a bad idea!" Blobbers cried as he fell to his knees. "I really am a goner! And there was so much I wanted to do, to!" Blobbers trembled as he pulled up his hands and counted off his fingers. "I never got to travel the world, never got famous, never revolutionized the world of mathematics…" Blobbers' hands quivered, and he broke into sniffles as he buried his head in his hands. "And now it'll never happen! It's all over!"

The mutated pirates whimpered and shielded their ears as Blobbers cried, but while Blobbers was wailing, his eyes fell to where Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind laid on the ground, shuddering and trembling as they pushed themselves off the earth! Their limbs shuddered as the other monstrous pirates wandered off and closed in on them, and yet, the burning, fiery looks in their eyes didn't fade! They just stood their ground the best they could, snarling and standing with all the power in their bodies! Blobbers gasped at just the sight, and with one last sniffle, he wiped his tears.

"Wait, what am I doing?!" Blobbers exclaimed, "I can't just stand around here and cower! Not when I got this far!"

With a mighty scream, Blobbers bolted forward and pounded his fists on the knees of of one monster pirate! The pirate grunted as it turned down and glanced at him, and in that moment Blobbers relented and snatched the cotton candy bombs from its belt!

"This is what you get for messing with a member of the Mabu Defense Force!" Blobbers cried as he lobbed the bombs right at the monster pirates. "Eat cotton candy, suckers!"

Right as Blobbers shouted out, the bombs exploded and trapped the pirates in front of him in a sticky mess of cotton candy! They all grunted and struggled, but once again, the candy kept them bound tight! Blobbers just smirked and puffed out his chest as they writhed before him, then a soft chorus of gasps and whispers came behind as the other captives wiped their tears and came up to their feet! They gasped in wonder at first, but then the dragon yanked another string of cotton candy bombs from one of the captives and tossed them in the air!

"Skylanders, look out!" The dragon cried as they shot a mighty burst of fire out and singed the bombs' fuses!

Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind all jumped up and rolled away, and with good timing, too—the moment they made their escape, the bombs exploded and coated the monstrous pirates that surrounded them in cotton candy! The pirates grunted and snarled as they pushed against the sticky mess of sugar and glue, and yet no matter how much they thrashed, the cotton candy sealed them inside!

Terrafin paused and scoffed at the pirates while they moaned and groaned, then side-stepped the sticky mess and grinned as he walked up to Blobbers. "You did good there, buddy," Terrafin remarked as he patted Blobbers on the shoulder.

Blobbers beamed right back and nodded, but a loud groan and the sound of a tight rip sent his fur on end! His eyes glazed back to the pirates as they ate their way through the cotton candy and lurched ahead, and he screamed as he leaped in the air! For a moment he stumbled backwards, legs shaking so badly it was a miracle that he was even standing at all! But beside him, Terrafin just smirked and cracked his knuckles, and Blobbers just smiled and nodded.

"Now, let's say we send these pirates packing!" Terrafin cried.

"Gladly, Skylander!" Blobbers shouted as he grabbed a stick from the ground and brandished it like a sword. Blobbers swept the stick down, and his eyes narrowed. "Everyone, time to fight for your—ACK!"

A mighty crash sounded off as twisted metal and wood scattered everywhere, and the resulting gust of wind was so strong it knocked everyone alike onto the ground! The monstrous pirates fell onto each other like dominoes, the Skylanders and captives alike collapsed in a heap, and even Dreadbeard stumbled as he stood atop his balcony! The only ones left standing, it seemed, were two large silhouettes that emerged from the massive cloud of dust spanning over where the crash originated…

"Hey guys!" Cried a familiar voice, "sorry we're late!"

All eyes turned to the front of the lawn, where the gates had been completely torn down and in their place stood none other than Thumpback and Swarm, with Chihiro, Rizzo, Nort, and Snuckles riding on their shoulders! The six of them grinned as everyone gawked in their presence, while Chihiro slid down from Thumpback's shoulders and waved.

"Man, what happened here?" Chihiro remarked. "Did you have a party without us?"

"Don't worry, Chi," Terrafin smirked as he pushed himself off the ground. "It wasn't really exciting."

Rizzo, Snuckles and Nort grunted as they slid down Thumpback, and as they stretched and caught their breath, Rizzo turned to find himself right in Blobbers' face!

"Blobbers! Thank the Ancients you're alright!" Rizzo cried as he leaped up and planted his hands on Blobbers' shoulders. "I was so worried about you, you know!"

Blobbers snarled, then slapped Rizzo's hands from his shoulders. "If you were so worried about me, then why'd you leave me to get captured by the pirates while you ran off?"

Rizzo blinked and stepped back. "I, I wasn't leaving you for dead or anything!" Sweat crept down Rizzo's face, and he chuckled as he ruffled his wet fur. "It was just a diversion! I figured you could probably handle things while we—"

"Ran off and left me to do all the dirty work?"

"I'd never do that!" Rizzo huffed and crossed his arms.

"Really? Then what about that time with the blob monsters? And those rowdy chompies? And the garbage collection? You're always—"

A large thump tossed Rizzo and Blobbers into the air, and they both screamed as a monster pirate came charging right for them! Rizzo yanked a pen out of his pocket, and with a single press of its top, it transformed into a pellet cannon that knocked the pirate on its back as they hit the ground! Blobbers rushed over and examined the pirate's toolbelt as it groaned, then hummed as he yanked a lollipop from one of its slots.

"A lollipop?" Blobbers remarked as he shook the lollipop back and forth, "what's this supposed to—"—Blobbers grunted as the lollipop shimmered in his hand, then expanded into a gigantic, lollipop-themed hammer—"do?!"

Gripping the handle with both hands, Blobbers sputtered as the hammer's added weight sent him scuttling back and forth, while around him the pirates licked their lips and howled at the sight! Blobbers turned around and screamed as the pirates charged for him, but right in that moment the hammer's weight sent him falling backwards! The hammer's top hit the unconscious pirate right in the chest while Blobbers hung from its stick, and he himself just grunted as he heaved the hammer up and slammed it right on one pirate's head! Blobbers grinned and chuckled as he just barely lifted the hammer from the pirate's head, sweat still creeping down his face, then he screamed and slammed the hammer's blunt end on the head of another pirate as it jumped right for him!

As that pirate fell unconscious and the others started jumping right for him, Rizzo just chuckled and placed his pen aside.

"Put your back into it, Blobbers!" Rizzo cried as he waved to Blobbers. "Your form's a little off!"

Blobbers snarled, then tripped on his own two feet and grunted as his hammer slammed into the gut of another pirate!

Rizzo sighed as the pirate slid backwards and crossed his arms. "And hold that thing upright, too! You're not gonna get anywhere just teetering around like that!"

Blobbers heaved heavy breaths as he held the hammer up, then gritted his teeth and glared at Rizzo. "Well, if you know what you're doing, then why don't you fight these guys? I can barely hold this thing!"

Rizzo hummed and scratched his chin, then shrugged. "It's your fight, buddy, not mine! I'm sure you can handle it!"

"Just like I could handle the bill? And being captured by those awful pirates?" Blobbers grunted and slammed the hammer into another pirate, knocking it into its partner and tossing them both into the wreckage. "It was so cold and wet down there, you know! It was awful!"

"But you got out, didn't you?" Rizzo crossed his arms together and scoffed. "Now quit complaining and fight so we can get out of here!"

"Well, excuse me, captain, but I don't see you doing anything to help!"

A bright blue flash of light shone in the battlefield, and the faint shing of swords' blades sounded as the pirates flew back and bounced against the dirt like balls! Blobbers grunted and dropped his hammer as he shielded his eyes from the light, but as he finally popped them open, he was greeted by the sight of a gigantic magic cleaver… And underneath it, Chihiro!

"Save the bickering for later, guys!" Chihiro cried as she grabbed the cleaver's handle tight, so tight that it dissolved into raw magic energy. "We've got pirate to—"—Chihiro grunted and reshaped her cleaver into a hammer as she swung around and knocked a pirate right in the face with it—"fight!"

A few reluctant mumbles came from Rizzo and Blobbers as they picked up their weapons and jumped into the fray, their own arguments barely heard above the cries and shouts of war… But, Chihiro paid them no mind, for she had her own fight to attend to! She grunted as she slammed right into one pirate's chest and knocked it on its back, then slammed her hammer into the chest of another and kicked it back! A shadow crossed over her person, and she just flipped backwards and knocked the hammer right into another pirate's face! She smirked and dropped back to the ground with the pirate falling to its knees, coughing and spitting out rotted fangs as it crumpled behind her.

"Chi, duck!" Cried a voice behind her!

Chihiro gasped and ducked, and right in that moment Terrafin corkscrewed in front of her and punched down a pirate right in front of them! Terrafin fell to the ground as the pirate whimpered and scratched at its aching chest, but Terrafin just jumped back into the ground and tunneled through fast as he could, churning the earth and tripping the pirates underneath their own feet!

And while the pirates stumbled and struggled to stay afoot, two of the captives smirked at each other as one sneaked a roll of licorice ropes from the belt of an unconscious pirates and whipped them out! With a few twists and snaps, the licorice ropes flew out and swung around the uprooted pirates, tying them together with a quick squeeze! The pirates all jolted back to life as they nudged against the ropes, and both captives smirked as they gripped the ropes tight and slammed the pirates into the fence's remains! While the pirates groaned and collapsed on the ground, the two captives cheered and fist-bumped each other… But the roar of whipping winds brought their celebration to a quick close!

The two of them screamed and ran off as a giant tornado ripped through with a while pack of mutant pirates trapped within its winds, snarling and howling as they scrambled for some faint means of escape!

And who helmed the charge? Whirlwind of course, who sat behind Nort and Snuckles, her horn glowing as she strained and sweat while she guided the tornado around the yard and picked up as many pirates as she could! She bit her lip as sweat dripped down from her forehead, and her eyes could barely stay open, fighting with all their willpower not to end the tornado and shut off!

"Skylander, the pit's ready!" Cried two molekin captives to Whirlwind's side as they hopped out of a large ditch and waved. "Bring 'em in!"

Whirlwind gulped, and her horn glowed even more furiously as cold wind whipped around her and sent her feathers fluttering! With a single pulse, the tornado charged right across the floor, its winds lashing at everyone and everything in its path as it hurried for the pit! It jumped into the endless pit… And in that moment, its winds completely dispersed and dropped the pirates inside with a thunk! Whirlwind panted and hobbled over to the molekin captives as she wiped her sweat with her wings, and a soft chuckle her eyes turned to where the pirates howled and scrambled up the pit's walls just to slide down the cool, smooth earth.

"I didn't think I could make a tornado that big," Whirlwind remarked as she sat down and folded her wings against her back. "I guess… Even I…" More sweat fell across Whirlwind's face, and she just sighed and pressed her belly against the churned earth. "Oh geez, I need to lay down."

Whirlwind groaned as she rested her head underneath her wings, but right as she laid down, icy water splashed against her face and sent her screeching!

She stumbled backwards as a wave washed right past her with Gill Grunt chasing after it, feeding it with his cannon as it charged right for a mutated sea sponge dressed in pirate garb! The sponge grunted as the water poured right into it and pulled it down to the ground from the added weight, then it screamed as it slid across the battlegrounds and knocked a couple of other pirates on its back—and yet, despite the additions, its speed didn't lessen any! No, it charged full force for a few of the captives, who only chuckled as they grabbed lollipop hammers from the ground and shook them to full stature!

"FORE!" They all cried as they swung their hammers right into the pirates!

The pirates screamed as they soared through the air and slammed into the legs of two particularly burly monster pirates! The monstrous pirates snarled and gnashed their teeth as they knocked the smaller pirates into the earth, but the moment they did, Thumpback and Swarm immediately surrounded them! Before they could make a single move, they were conked right in the heads and collapsed to the floor!

And with those pirates defeated, Dreadbeard was defenseless! All his guards laid strung across the ruined front lawn of his manor, unconscious and unable to move, much less fight… Surely, he was done for!

"You're finished, Dreadbeard!" Chihiro cried as she glared up at him. "It's time we shut down this place!"

Dreadbeard blinked, a bit bewildered by Chihiro's proclamation… But then, he just broke into cackles!

"Am I, really?" Dreadbeard asked, "are ye sure about that?"

"Huh?"

Dreadbeard strode out from his balcony and down through the open gap where the manor's door once was, and out before him came a Skystones booth, all sleek and shiny and new—gold encrusted the crystal surface, cushions of red velvet rested on its seats, and even the desk was encrusted with jewels of all kinds! And yet, around it, an ominous ring held, not quick like a feeling but more like… A beeping? A soft, beeping sound that echoed faint and hollow.

"Well, I suppose I am! I'll just have to pack things up," Dreadbeard sneered as he took a seat and patted a table. "But, before we part, how's about we play a little Skystones together as an act of goodwill?"

Chihiro blinked, then frowned and stepped forward… But just before she could take up his offer, Terrafin grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back.

"I don't like the looks of this," Terrafin remarked, before his frown deepened. "Is it just me, or do you all hear beeping?"

Beep, beep, beep…

Everyone around blinked and craned their heads around, while Dreadbeard only cackled and rubbed his head.

"Oh, dear me, that must be the bomb under the Skystones table! Seems I forgot to turn it off before I started!" Dreadbeard cried.

"THE WHAT?!" Everyone cried as all eyes turned to him.

Dreadbeard smirked as he laid his hands on the table. "This little bomb here will only defuse if ye best me at Skystones… But that's quite unlikely!" Dreadbeard's eyes narrowed. "And if ye try anything funny, it'll go off anyways!"

Gasps and insults cast under breath were cast all around as their eyes fell on Dreadbeard, and for a moment everyone paused… But then, Chihiro stepped forward and pulled out her Skystones deck.

"Fine then!" Chihiro replied as she sat down and set up her deck, "Then I'll take you on!"

"Very well then, laddie!" Dreadbeard remarked, his mouth twisted into a sick grin as he drummed his fingers against the table. "But be warned, winning against me isn't an easy feat!"

"We'll see about that!" Chihiro hissed, her eyes piercing into Dreadbeard's own.

Dreadbeard, however, just chuckled as he waved his fingers over his deck, then grabbed a stone from it and spiked it up.

"I play me amazibarrel!" Dreadbeard cried as he slammed a stone bearing a simple wooden barrel on its front. "Special technique, Deck O' Fun!"

A holographic barrel emerged from the stone's front and rested atop its cold surface, and Chihiro only frowned as she leaned in and raised a brow.

"So, is that supposed to do something, or what?" Chihiro asked.

"Just wait, laddie." Dreadbeard twiddled his thumbs and whistled as he leaned back in his seat.

Chihiro frowned and tilted her head as she examined the barrel further, then she squeaked and leaned back as the barrel exploded into plumes of smoke that scattered around the desk! She hacked and covered her mouth as the smoke coated the battle and flew off, then when she opened her eyes, she gasped—for it had left elemental zones scattered around it! The corners all bore shiny element symbols on what was once a blank space, and the barrel itself remained no longer. All that rested in the center was a shattered stone!

"Alright, elemental zones! Nothing I can't handle!" Chihiro cried as she plucked a stone from her deck and spiked it up. "I play my drow witch!"

The drow witch fell on a square just underneath the shattered Skystone, and in a flash of light the drow witch on its front popped out and cast out its fans, blowing strong winds against the board… But the symbols just glowed and blew its winds back at it, leaving it to scream as the winds slammed into it and completely shattered it! Chihiro gasped as the light faded, but a chuckle from Dreadbeard steeled her shock.

"That's the fun part of this little barrel here! Nothing ye can do will stop it!" Dreadbeard smirked as he picked up another stone and twirled it around. "Anyways, I play me d. riveter!"

A Skystone of a troll bearing a rivet gun fell on one of the free squares of the battlefield, and Chihiro gritted as she slapped a square with an enfuego chompy on a Fire Element space underneath it.

"And I play my enfuego chompy!" Chihiro cried over the sound of crackling flames!

As the chompies claimed the d. riveter for Chihiro, Dreadbeard scoffed and pulled out another stone. "A few meager chompies aren't gonna stop me, laddie!" Dreadbeard slammed another stone on the board, this time on a Life Element space at the top of the row. "I play me root runner!"

The root runner roared as it sprung from the fields and dug its roots through the row, flipping both the stones to Dreadbeard's red before it disappeared! Chihiro gulped as her eyes fell back on the field—two broken stones rested amid three stones that shone in a bright crimson, and nothing was on her side! The tick of the bomb below rang in Chihiro's ears as she gulped and scanned her deck, then breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes fell on her mohawk cyclops.

"Phew, forgot I had that one!" Chihiro cried as she grabbed it and spiked it up, then dropped her mohawk cyclops Skystone on the righthand side of the board. "I play my mohawk cyclops!"

A giggle came from the cyclops as it leaped up and spun around, tossing an ax across the battlefield that spun well past the broken Skystones and into the crimson ones, flipping them to her blue! A soft smirk crossed her face as the cyclops disappeared, and a low growl showed that Dreadbeard wasn't nearly as pleased.

"Four to zero, how about that?" Chihiro remarked as she leaned back in her chair.

"Don't think ye've won yet, laddie!" Dreadbeard cried as he slammed another stone down. "I play me Trog Wanderer!"

A green zombie-like creature arose from the stone Dreadbeard laid down, and Chihiro gulped as it slammed into her mohawk cyclops and flipped it over to Dreadbeard's side! With three to two, she still held an advantage… But it was a close one, one that could easily be upset! She gulped as her eyes fell to her deck, where only a spiderling and an inhuman shield remained. But what to do? Chihiro gulped, then spiked up her inhuman shield and dropped it in the top of the row of broken Skystones.

"I play my inhuman shield! Special move: head bash!"

The inhuman shield groaned as it rose from the stone and charged into the two broken Skystones, tossing them back into their owners decks as if they had never been used! The inhuman shield disappeared as the spaces were cleared, and Dreadbeard only cackled.

"Ye played right into me hand, laddie!" Dreadbeard cried as he polished another Skystone and dropped in the center of the board. "I play me amazibarrel, once more!"

Chihiro gasped as the amazibarrel popped up once more… But instead of exploding and disappearing, its spikes split off towards the corners and shattered the spaces within its range! The broken rock fragments rested in pieces over the board, a crushing show of the situation at hand—they were evenly matched, with both having equal stones to their name, and no opportunities seemed to arise! What was she going to do?

Chihiro gulped as she leaned back and glazed over the board, and Dreadbeard only cackled, his laughter intermingling with the sound of the ticking bomb.

"Might as well forfeit now, laddie! It's not like there's anything ye can do!"

Chihiro gritted her teeth as the beeping screeched in her ears, then gulped as her eyes fell back on the battlefield.

"There's gotta be something…" Chihiro whispered as she glazed over the board, her stones, and then the board again… And then she stopped. "Wait a second!"—Chihiro's eyes narrowed on an open side of the amazibarrel card with not a single spike to its name—"that side doesn't have any spikes!"

"What?!" Dreadbeard cried as his eyes fell down on the amazibarrel card, then he gasped and stumbled back in his chair, nearly falling out. "How could I have forgotten?!"

Chihiro chuckled, then spiked up her spiderling and slammed it on the open square. "I play my spiderling card!"

The spiderling yowled as its effigy struck and took Dreadbeard's stone—and with it, his chances of winning! Chihiro had won out the board, and with it, the game as well! The bomb clunked as it defused and hit the floor, while all around her cheers cried as she leaped from her seat! But while she jumped out and basked in the cheers, Dreadbeard slunk back in his seat.

"I, I can't believe it... I lost…" he sputtered as the bomb's ticking dulled to a stop.

§

Dreadbeard's eyes went as small as ants as he gazed over the Skystones deck before him, the blue stones that dominated it amid cracked and shattered stones shining like stars. His eyes trembled, and he lifted his head to peer down Chihiro, who only grinned and crossed her arms. Around him, Chihiro's own allies just cheered and grinned as they tossed their hands in the air. Dreadbeard had lost, and they had won, a simple statement but one worthy of their celebration!

"Have, have I lost my touch?" Dreadbeard sputtered as he held a hand to his his face, "Oh, I don't feel so good…"

Dreadbeard groaned as he collapsed out of his seat, while several of the unconscious pirates finally came to their senses and gasped as their eyes fell on Dreadbeard!

"Cap'n!" They cried as they surrounded Dreadbeard and lifted him up. One shook him as if to rouse him awake, but to no luck, for Dreadbeard just sat unconscious as he slunk down in his seat.

"Speak to us!"

"It's no use, buddies!" Chihiro cried as she crossed her arms. "Your captain here was so shocked by losing to me, it knocked him out cold!"

The pirates gasped, and Dreadbeard slipped from their grip as they stood up and glared down Chihiro.

"So YOU did this to the captain?!" One pirate cried as he held out his cutlass. "You're not getting away with it!"

Chihiro scoffed, then summoned an energy sphere as she turned back to the others. "You know what to do, everyone! Let's—"

The pirates slammed a button, and the world around them rumbled! Chihiro gasped while her energy sphere slipped from her hands and vanished into a puff of sparkles, then her eyes turned to the manor… Where the doors flung open and a massive flood of carnival sweets came rushing in! Chihiro gasped, eyes so wide they practically popped out of her skull, then she turned around and crafted a star platform as she zipped off.

"RUN!"

Whirlwind took to the skies while Swarm and Thumpback swept up the others in their arms, and they all ran fast as they could as the sweet tidal wave stormed after them! Behind them, the pirates screamed as they chased right after. But, before these pirates could even lay a scratch on anyone, the sweet tidal wave swept them up and sent them spinning! Its sticky-sweet waves swept up everything in their grip, from buildings to pillars and game stands, and with everything it ate up in its grip, it seemed like it only added to its speed! Its waves lapped at Swarm and Thumpback's heels and splashed sticky goop like water against the others, who

"It's coming faster!" Blobbers cried as he climbed up Thumpback's shoulder and pointed to the wave!

"We're gonna get swept away!" The dragon cried!

"Not on my watch!" Swarm shouted! He held out his arms, and in that moment his stingers slammed into a building and knocked it over!

Swarm grinned and turned back as the building fell right over the tidal wave's path, its pink waves completely blocked off and only able to lap at the building's surface with a rumble.

"That should keep it away for a bit…"

Swarm paused for a moment and drew back as the rumbling grew louder, and cracks formed in the building's surface! Pink ooze bled from the cracks the tidal wave pushed against the building even more furiously, the building shuddering so heavily under the weight that finally, it cracked and buckled entirely! The pink ooze came in faster than before as the building's remains sunk into its depths and disappeared amid a sea of syrup and cotton candy, and Swarm leaped into the air!

"Or not!"

Swarm winced and flew faster, as did Thumpback who matched his pace, but it did little to help them—for in that moment, the tidal wave gained speed and threatened to wash them away! The waters leaped up and nearly blew Swarm out of the sky, and Thumpback flinched as he held the other close to his chest while the waves crashed against his back. Thumpback's eyes trailed over to a distant island, and with a soft grunt, he shoved the others into Swarm's arms.

"Carry them for me for a moment!" Thumpback cried as he whipped out his anchor, "I'm gonna try something!"

The tidal wave's roars only grew louder as Thumpback stood, but it did little to shake his concentration as he whipped out his anchor! He grunted, then with a few swings it tossed it out, wrapped it around the island and pulled! Strained sweat poured down from his brow as he tugged on his anchor's chain, dragging the island out of the skies!

"What does he think he's doing?!" Rizzo cried. "Heck, who does he think he is, an Elder Elemental?!"

"He is, now shush!" Swarm shouted as he nudged the passengers in his arms. "Let Thumps work!"

"Wait, he is?!"

Another loud splash hit the ground, and Chihiro winced as she floated down by Swarm's shoulder—though her focus wasn't on him so much as it was on the candy wave!

"Don't mean to alarm you, Thumps, but that wave's coming in really fast!" Chihiro cried as the wave raised up and roared. She gasped, then flew off as the wave slammed in and rushed for Swarm. "Swarm, look out!"

Swarm jumped out of the air just before the wave could hit him, but as he hit the skies, the waves leaped up, brushing against the soles of his feet as if they were beckoning for him to come down! Swarm wicned and flew up higher, but as he did, his and everyone's eyes turned down to where Thumpback stayed steadfast on the ground, his hands clinging tight to his anchor.

"Thumpback, watch out!" Everyone cried!

Thumpback grunted and strained as he pulled on his anchor, but the sound of their shouts broke him out of his concentration just enough to catch the oncoming wave! Its sticky, gooey masses charged right for him, but Thumpback just narrowed his eyes and yelled as he yanked the island out of the sky and slammed it right between them and the wave, a move that shook the entire carnival grounds and everyone around!

Buildings crashed and crumbled as the distant island slammed right onto the middle of the carnival grounds and not only forged a barrier, but knocked a couple of sheep off the island and onto the stray grounds! The candy wave smashed into the side of the island and pink goop trickled down its grassy top and around its rocky bottom—but in an absolutely miracle, the wave had completely stilled! A couple of drenched, sticky pirates crawled onto the island and collapsed, while others surfaced from the waves on broken, soggy boards and planks as they groaned.

"Looks like they got a little washed up!" Chihiro chuckled as she hovered before Thumpback, then leaped from her platform and onto his shoulder.

"And just to make sure they don't con anyone else," Blobbers remarked as he pulled out a device. With a few taps, the device flashed on and he tossed it down on the ground. "This should alert General Robot by the time we leave! He'll have them taken care of in an instant!"

Everyone else chuckled as the pager flashed, then paused as their eyes laid on the broken carnival, now so quiet and still without the pirates rummaging around. Their safety seemed guaranteed… But just to be safe, both Swarm and Thumpback high-tailed it across the grounds, until the background changed from carnival faire to grassy earth! They both panted as they hiked up the hill that lurched over the carnival and strode across the grounds, their steps so heavy that grass popped out from the earth and flew around them! The fresh scent of cut grass and the breeze in their faces chilled their heads.

And better yet, the Dread-Yacht could be spied over the horizon! As they drew closer, the faint images of Flynn, Cali and the others who stayed behind repairing the ship came in over the horizon!

With one last stride, Swarm and Thumpback leaped right in front of the Dread-Yacht and deposited their passengers on the deck, while the Dread-Yacht's own passengers glanced over the side of the ship.

"What happened to you all?" Flynn asked as he scratched his head with the wrench he held in his hand. "And where'd you get the extras?"

"That can wait!" Cali cried as she pushed Flynn aside. "Were you able to get a new engine?"

"It's a long story!" Chihiro said as she teleported onto the ship's deck and scratched her head. "But…"—Chihiro's eyes popped wide open, and she buried her face in her hands—"the engine! I completely forgot!"

"Wait, you're having trouble with your engine?" Blobbers asked as he tilted his head to Chihiro. When she nodded, he only grinned. "Don't worry, we'll get it fixed up in a jiffy!"

"Really?" Chihiro's eyes sparkled.

"It's the least we could do after you saved us!" The dragon remarked as they popped their head over Blobbers!

Blobbers chuckled and nodded, but his grin turned sour as he glared at Rizzo. "Besides, unlike some mabu who I won't name, we actually try to be somewhat reliable!"

"Hey, give it a rest already!" Rizzo shouted back as he shook a fist!

Rizzo and Blobbers both snarled and shoved their faces in one another's, but before things could get ugly, Nort and Snuckles just sighed and pushed them both apart.

"Come on, you two," Nort groaned as he and Snuckles dragged Blobbers and Rizzo into the engine room, "bickering won't get that engine fixed."

So, the captives grinned as they dove down into the engine room, while a gleeful Chihiro cleared her throat and sat in the center of the deck, while around her everyone else gathered.

"Alright, so!" Chihiro cried as she slapped her legs, which had been crossed together as she smirked. "This all started when we went out in search of a new engine!"

A faint chuckle came from Chihiro, then she leaped over Trigger Happy and dashed up the stairs! As she hit the top of the stairs, she grabbed a metal post and swung around with the gusto and glee of a dashing pirate, a chuckle on her face as she crafted a pirate's hat out of magic, and with a snap of her fingers, the sound of faint, but jolly music echoed down from the depths! Everyone below frowned and turned their heads around, all in search of wherever the music came from, but Chihiro just grinned and donned the hat as her boots clicked against the metal.

"We scoured the fields far and wide, not a sight to be seen! The vast green was empty and plain as could be~" Chihiro sang as she leaped from the pole and spun around, clicking her heels in tune with the beat. "We searched hard, we searched long, and yet it seemed we failed! There was no life upon this isle, or so it seemed!"

Spyro chuckled and clapped his paws, and Trigger Happy giggled and leaped up as he joined along! The others clapped along, and Chihiro just drank in it as she tipped her hat and danced along, swinging around poles and tapping her feet! She chuckled as she spun around and winked, and with a snap of her fingers, blue mist trailed out from her palms and swirled around her audience!

"Upon the hills of rolling green, we found quite the sight! A carnival full of dreams within its rugged stands!"

Chihiro sang, and the mist warped itself, changing before her eyes! It took the shape of her and her crew, entering the carnival in utter enchantment with its sights! Pirates strode up to them, and they all chatted it up with smiles on their faces.

"It was quite the sight, quite one to be seen! But unfortunately, it was, it was, it was…"

The mist cleared in an instant, and Chihiro's magic hat disappeared as she rubbed her chin. "… Crap, I don't know what to say next."

A few chuckles came from the audience, and Chihiro herself just chuckled as she skipped down the stairs and took a seat. "But anyways, yeah, we ended up at this weird carnival that was run by pirates, then it turned out that these pirates were all signed on by this Captain Dreadbeard guy and this whole thing was a scam to get people to rack up a ton of debts and stuff and —"

The engine room's door slammed open, and Rizzo popped out and whistled as he brushed soot from his paws! He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could Blobbers pushed him aside!

"Alright, took us some elbow grease, but your engine should be good as new!" He proclaimed as he pushed back against Rizzo, a forced, strained smile on his face as his voice strained to keep its cheerful tone. "Give it a spin!"

Flynn grinned, then jumped out of the little circle around Chihiro and back to the pilot's quarters! He gave the wheel a spin… And the Dread-Yacht lifted off with a creak! The wind soared against its hull while the ship drove into clouds and smashed them to wispy bits, and smiles crossed the faces of every passenger aboard!

"We have liftoff!" Flynn cried as everyone aboard cheered!

Chihiro grinned as the last of the captives emerged from the depths of the engine room and snapped her fingers. "Alright, and since you fixed the engine up for us…" Chihiro remarked as a pile of warp starts fell into her hands. "It's time I sent you all home!"

And this time, it was the captives who all cheered! One by one, Chihiro started up the warps and sent them away, then her gaze lingered over to Blobbers, Nort, Snuckles, and Rizzo and her smile disappeared. Blobbers and Rizzo were still glaring each other down and looked just moments away from tearing each other apart! Well, hopefully they'd get over it soon.

"Alright, you four! You're the last ones left!" Chihiro shouted as she waved them over. "The warp's ready for you!"

So, Blobbers and Snuckles just chuckled as they dragged Rizzo and Blobbers away from each other and onto the warp Chihiro had created, and they disappeared within a flash! A handful of sparkles rained down as the warp itself faded, but Chihiro didn't linger on it for long. No, the sparkles had reminded her of something!

So, she dashed down to the Dread-Yacht's dorms and yanked the door open, rushing into the halls just as the door closed behind her. Her eyes glazed over the halls for moment before she dashed into her temporary bedroom, but she didn't stop to rest.

Rather, she drifted over to a dresser and opened its drawer, then dropped her yellow wheel inside the draw alongside the green and red ones, and tilted her head. Green, red, and now yellow… That was the third of these strange wheels that she had run into!

"Just what are these wheels, and why do I keep running into them?…" Chihiro whispered as she closed the drawer and ran her hands over it.

---

Trivia:

- The enfuego chompy Skystone's attacks were directly taken from its attacks in Skylanders Battlecast!
- The amazibarrel Skystone is another development reference, with amazibarrel being a placeholder Skystone used in early versions of the game