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)

6. Chapter 6

Guest: I do have plans to integrate them down the line, but without getting into any spoilers it's gonna be a long time coming before they properly show up.

ohma flame: Yep, I'm back! And don't worry about being a little late to the party, I understand! And yeah, Stealth does have a bit of a crush on Ninjini, though it's less of a serious thing and more of an offhanded "Oh that person's hot" kind of thing, in the same way someone might see an actor or celebrity and offhandedly find them attractive.

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The night had long since fallen, and the gentle caress of starlight poured through Chihiro's bedroom window as she laid on her makeshift bed, the wheels she had amassed spun above her by magic. Their own crystal surfaces intermingled with the light and sent off sparkles of green, red and yellow color, a simple light show for herself alone in the dead of night. And a good thing, too, because she found it hard to sleep.

"It's nice that the Dread-Yacht has an autopilot setting so Flynn can get some sleep," Chihiro whispered, then cringed as a couple of strange thunks and bumps sounded off in the distance. "But, I'm not really sure that I trust it."

Memories of the recent crash came back to her, but she quickly shook it off. She was sure their newly-repaired engine was more than enough to ferry them to Kaos's new base, and besides, they'd already dealt with so much in one day! Nothing else could possibly—wait, wait, no, almost said the dangerously tempting words! So instead, Chihiro pulled her wheels closer and grinned as they twirled over her palm. They were awfully pretty, but, at the same time…

"Just why do I keep finding you everywhere?" Chihiro remarked as she lifted the green wheel up and spun it around in her palm. "It's almost like you're drawn to me or something!" Chihiro tilted her head and frowned. "But, that can't be right, right? I mean, that would be super weird—"

CLUNK!

Chihiro winced as the ship thunked yet again, and the magic she cast completely broke! Chihiro gasped and turned back to the other two wheels, but oddly enough, they still propelled themselves in their air, their light bright as ever! And it only seemed to get brighter by the second, to boot! Chihiro stood mesmerized as the light flickered and pulsed, almost as if something was going to happen! Their magic glows bubbled and stretched as if they were taking form...

But then, a massive crash sounded off, and the whole boat started to tip forwards! Chihiro screamed and snatched the other two wheels from the air as her bed slipped down, then she leaped away and went to run! Of course, with the boat tipping down she just ended up slamming into her bookshelf instead. Chihiro grunted as her back slammed into its wooden shelves, and another cry escaped her as a book fell on her head.

"Owch!" Chihiro cried as she grabbed the book and tossed it aside, then frowned as the ship started to creak. In fact, it almost felt like it was moving… Backwards?

Chihiro frowned, then gasped as the ship slipped back into position and sent her sliding downwards! Chihiro screamed once more, but as she slid, she latched onto her door's knob and yanked it right open! Right as the ship finally turned stable, she dashed back outside and down the halls!

"That's it, I have to figure out what's going on here!" Chihiro cried as she stuffed her wheels into her pocket.

The doors flung open behind her, and Chihiro looked back to find out that she wasn't the only one! Behind her, the Skylanders all poured out of their respective bedrooms, eyes wide with shock!

"Alright, just what's going on here?" Terrafin exclaimed as he and Eruptor stumbled out from one room.

"Beats me!" Spyro cried as he flew out of another. "The ship just started creaking and sliding out of nowhere, and I keep hearing these weird noises!"

"Calm down, everyone!" Cynder hissed as she flew up beside Spyro. "This ship's a hunk of junk, it's probably just having its issues again."

"I don't know about that, Cynder," Whirlwind remarked, and her gaze faltered as she looked aside. "Those noises were anything but natural!"

Another two doors rumbled, and out from them came Flynn and Cali! Both of them were wide-eyed and frantic as they dashed up behind Chihiro and the crowd of Skylanders—heck, Flynn was still in his pajamas and nightcap! Flynn gasped as he swapped his nightcap for his pilot's helmet, and he nearly tripped as he tailed behind Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy.

"Hey, what's all this ruckus about?!" Flynn slurred as he practically tripped over his own feet. "One minute I'm taking a well-deserved night's sleep, next thing I know the ship's sliding from side to side!" Flynn paused and tapped his chin. "Although, that would explain why I was dreaming about being stuck on a ship in the middle of a storm…"

"That's what we'd like to know!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he turned back to Flynn. "We all got a pretty rude awakening!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Trigger Happy cried as he hopped up and down, "I was counting my gold when all this happened, and I completely lost count because of all this spinning!"

Chihiro winced as the conversations grew below her, then teleported ahead and yanked open the door to the deck. The Elder Elementals were standing guard for the night out there—surely, they'd know what was going on here? Chihiro frowned as she went to exit, but just before she could, she jumped aside as a bright purple magic orb whizzed straight through the door! The orb spun around and forced everyone to duck before it slammed into a wall and exploded, and a glance outside showed right where it came from!

There on the deck, the Elder Elementals were wrapped tight as they battled with ghastly ghouls dressed in tattered pirates' clothes! Swords clashed with laser blasts and anchors, bursts of fire and ghoulish energy shot out from the deck like fireworks, and worse yet, the skies around were green and misty, with clouds just thin enough to show the ghost ships that had surrounded them!

"What's going on here?!" Cali cried as she shifted through the crowds and burst out beside Chihiro.

Ninjini grunted as she slashed away a particularly large pirate, then turned around and gasped!

"There you are!" Ninjini cried! She blocked another pirate's blow and tossed them from her wishblades, then flew over and crouched in front of the door. "I've been meaning to ask!"—Ninjini cringed as a burst of molten rock exploded behind her and ducked just before a smoldering rock could bean her in the head—"were we supposed to go through ghost pirate territory?"

"Ghost pirates?!" Flynn cried, before he rapidly shook his head. "No ma'am, our path was nowhere near ghost pirates!"

"Tell that to your navigation system!" Ermit cried as he popped out of a large box's cover and poked a finger in Flynn's face. "Your little ship here flew straight into their turf! I've been hiding under a box for the past hour while everyone's been fighting them off!"

Flynn shook his head, then pushed past Ermit and bolted off. "Give me cover!" Flynn cried as he wove through the battle, "I'll see if I can get us out of here!"

"There's a cannon system below deck!" Cali cried as she clutched her knives tightly, "I'll man that and see if I can't take down some of these ships!"

Chihiro nodded as Flynn and Cali disappeared into the depths (though Flynn's screams of shock could be heard clearly still), then turned back to the others and lifted her head.

"You heard him!" Chihiro cried as she crafted swords out of magic. "Let's get these pirates off our boat!"

The Skylanders all nodded, and cries of battle shouted out as they all stormed across the battlefield! Their guns were blazing as they joined the Elder Elementals in combat, and the bright colors of flames and water, poison spores and golden coins shimmered in the light, but they weren't the only ones! Down below, cannonballs shot out and glistened against the faint moonlight as they slammed into the hulls of the ghost ships that surrounded… It really did feel like a valiant battle!

Chihiro smirked, then grunted as she raced up to a ghost pirate and slammed her swords into its cutlass! The trio of blades ground against each other for moments, and while they fought, Chihiro kicked the pirate in the gut and tossed it across the deck! As the pirate reeled, Chihiro bound over and yanked the pirate up by the scruff of its neck, then tossed it into the sky!

"Golden Boy, catch!" Chihiro cried from down below!

Spyro grinned as his eyes flashed with a stunning violet, and with a single blink, arms made of shining purple magic sprouted from his back and snatched the pirate right out of the air! Spyro grinned as he lifted the trembling ghost pirate to his face, then his eyes fell towards the trio of pirates that flew straight towards him on miniature ship mounts! With a snarl, he wound up his magic arms, then tossed the pirate he once held tight right towards the airborne ones and knocked them all down!

"STRIKE!" Spyro called as he swooped down and loomed over his fallen foes. Spyro huffed while smoke burst from his nostrils, and his eyes shifted from purple to a bright red. But just before he could cast his flames, Ninjini came flying right for him and he was forced to scramble away!

Ninjini skidded against the deck, her bottle scraping against its metal floor like nails on a chalkboard as her wishblades held back a blow from a massive ghost pirate! The ghost pirate moaned like a zombie as it lifted its massive hands and prepared to strike, but right as it went for the hit she disappeared back into her bottle! The ghost paused mid-strike and blinked, then groaned and scratched its face as it peered back down at the bottle. And right as it did, shining rockets made of magic shot out from the bottle's spout and hit the pirate right in the eyes! The pirate wailed and shielded its eyes as it stumbled about, and in that moment Ninjini leaped from the bottle and slashed it in half!

Its ectoplasmic remains soared between Tree Rex and Hot Head as they brawled it off with a swarm of pirates, but while they were quick to dodge, the ectoplasm slammed right onto the pirates! The pirates wailed and stumbled about as they tried to wipe the gooey, glowy stuff off their faces, while Tree Rex and Hot Head just smirked and cocked their arms as they turned to each other! As the pirates finally wiped the gunk off, they turned around and were promptly blown off the ship by a combined blow of light and fire from Tree Rex and Hot Head!

Their cries echoed through the skies as they fell behind Crusher, who only clenched his jaw and gripped his hammer tight! His eyes were fixed on a large blob dressed in a pirate's hat that jiggled up and down in front of him, but quickly swept away every time he swung! Left, right, up, down, no matter the direction, it just skidded off and tossed blobs of ectoplasm right at him! Crusher gasped, then narrowed his eyes and shot bright green beams right at the blobs and turned them to solid stone!

"Time to hammer it home!" Crusher cried as he slammed into the solid ectoplasm rocks like they were baseballs!

The rocks shot right back to the pirate with such force that it tore holes into the pirate's gelatinous body, and before it knew it, it deflated like a balloon! The pirate whined as its hat slipped off its head, then its cries turned squeaky and terrified as a massive wave of water washed it and plenty of others away!

Above it, Gill Grunt grunted and cocked his harpoon gun as the soaked pirates flopped and reeled all over the deck, while Cynder and Whirlwind swept down beside him.

"How about we give them a little taste of volts and lightning?" Whirlwind teased as she glanced back at Cynder.

"Hey, that's my line!" Cynder shot back, but a twinkle remained in her eye still. "But, I'll let you get away with it, just this once!"

The two of them breathed in, and from them came massive bolts of black and rainbow lightning that swirled down like a vortex from above and rammed right into the shallow pool of water Gill Grunt's tidal wave left behind! A charge of electricity swam through the water, and not only did it leave a veritable death trap, but the soaked pirates were shocked from head to toe until they collapsed!

The other Skylanders, the Elder Elementals and Chihiro all turned around as the electrically-charged water's light show commenced, then they all grinned and glanced back at the pirates they fought! One by one, they tossed their foes right into the water, with those pirates only able to scream as the lightning coursed through their bodies! Soon, the entire pirate armada had been shocked to the bone, and laid unconscious on the ground!

"Alright!" Flynn cried as he ran up to the steering wheel and gripped it tight. "Now, just hang on, everyone! We're gonna be in for a little ride!"

Flynn snarled as he yanked the steering wheel and began spinning it away, and right as he did, the cannonballs that Cali shot down below swung around as well! The ships that surrounded the Dread-Yacht sank down into the depths as the cannonballs ripped holes in their hulls and blasted out their sails!

"Alright!" Eruptor cried as he absentmindedly shot a lava blob aside and straight into a rising pirate's face. "We've won!"

"There's no time to celebrate, you oaf!" Ermit cried as he poked out from the crate he was hiding under. Ermit shuddered as the pirate flew over him and slammed right into the wall behind him, then he quivered and hid back under the box. "We can celebrate when we're out of this place!"

"Righty-o!" Flynn shouted as he spun the wheel around. "Just leave it to me! With my piloting skills, I'll have us out of here in a—"—Flynn gulped as the skies glowed bright green—"jiffy?"

Flynn gulped as he peered out the captain's chambers' back window, where a massive vortex had opened up and even more ships flew out! They were just as large as the Dread-Yacht, some even larger, and worse yet, completely filled with pirates! They all swarmed around the Dread-Yacht, and everyone around gulped.

"Looks like we're not done yet!" Thumpback cried as he readied his anchor, "Prepare to be boarded!"

But, the ships didn't board at all! Everyone just hesitantly lowered their weapons and glazed around as the ghost pirates started at them with those blank, zombielike eyes.

Then, the vortex grew wider and louder while its winds blew much more furiously than before! Everyone slammed into the walls, and all fixed their eyes on the larger vortex, where something slowly emerged! It had a ship's front, with a mast shaped like a skeleton fixed to its front and cobwebs for nets, but it was completely ghastly and intangible. Another ghost ship? The object pulled out further and further, then finally emerged in full to reveal that it was no mere ghost ship… It was a ghost tanker! As big as five ships or maybe more and armed with even more weapons than one could shake a stick at, the other ships all hastily skittered away in its presence!

And aboard the Dread-Yacht, everyone gulped.

"That can't be good," Swarm remarked as his wings rubbed together.

A ghastly howl came from the ghost tanker as its mast receded back into the ship itself, and out from its front came a massive cannon charged with bright green light! The cannon screeched as its light grew bright like an evening star…

"It's preparing to shoot!" Flynn cried as he climbed onto the wheel and started spinning around. "We've gotta get out!"

But, Flynn was too late! In that one minute, a bright flare of green and white light forced everyone to shield their eyes and cover their ears, and the next, their ship was torn into pieces and collapsing!

"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa!" Ermit cried as he and his box started tumbling backwards and vaulted right off the ship's deck!

Everyone screamed as the ship tipped over, and the Elder Elementals were next to fall! They all grabbed onto the railing as they heaved themselves up, while Tree Rex held out an arm and caught Eruptor, Terrafin, Stealth Elf, Chihiro, and Trigger Happy in his arms.

"Everyone!" Tree Rex cried as he tried to pull himself onto the deck. "Just hang on, we'll, we'll…"

Tree Rex grunted as the ship tilted further against him, and before he knew it, his grip slipped! He screamed out as he fell into the skies below, but not before he launched the ones in his arms into the skies!

"Tree Rex!" The other Elder Elementals cried, but they didn't get much time to worry about him!

Their own grip started to slip as well, and it was slipping fast! Thumpback was the first to fall into the abyss, and Brawl went right down with him! Swarm and Eye both gasped and jumped down after them, but all the pressure from the wind around made it impossible for them to fly! So, they just ended up falling right down!

Ninjini was quick to whisk the remaining Elder Elementals back on deck with a cloud of magic, while above her, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Cynder and Whirlwind grunted as they held onto Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf, Eruptor and Terrafin!

"GUYS, HOLD ON!" Spyro cried as he flew further up the skies, "WE'LL GET YOU—"—Spyro grunted as a stray box slammed into him and knocked him out of the skies—"ACK!"

Trigger Happy slipped out of Spyro's grip and crashed onto the deck, while Spyro himself grunted as he went spiraling down into the abyss! His eyes flickered open and shut as he shot down like a bullet, with his path headed straight for the abyss! And though the others tried to chase after him, a stray breeze knocked Cynder and Whirlwind out of the skies and sent them tumbling beside him, while another knocked Gill Grunt and Stealth Elf back on deck!

"SPYRO!" Chihiro screamed!

Without even thinking, Chihiro leaped after Spyro, then latched onto him and tossed him back onto the deck! He landed with a grunt on the deck and rolled onto the few stable parts of the railing still, then lifted his head and shook himself off. But, Chihiro just smiled as she lost her air and fell right down into the abyss!

"CHIHIRO!" Spyro cried as he jumped up on the railing and prepared to jump, but another stray breeze knocked him backwards!

He scrambled back to his spot, then screamed and crumpled downwards, only able to watch watch as Chihiro and the others fell further and further down below.

"CHIHIROOOOOOOOO!" Spyro cried as he reached out for her just as she disappeared into the abyss…

§

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Everyone groaned as dawn came and poured its warmth on their cold, unconscious bodies.

Chihiro moaned as she found herself on something wooden and tough, with grooves and bumps all around its surface that made it hard for her to get comfortable and sleep. Her whole body ached and burned, but she couldn't recall for the life of her what. All she knew was that something happened last night, something big and awful that nagged at the back of her mind as if she was supposed to remember it. But every time she tried to remember, she kept drawing blanks! What was it?

Chihiro eyes fluttered open, and she found herself right on Tree Rex's chest! But, she wasn't the only one—Ermit, Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind all laid around her, their own bodies aching with exhaustion as they pulled themselves up. A splintered wooden box laid to Ermit's side, while Tree Rex himself had been pinned down by Thumpback, Eye-Brawl and Swarm, who all laid on his limbs! How did this happen?

"Ugh, is everyone alright?" Tree Rex groaned as he lifted his head and promptly dropped it back down. "Everyone besides me, anyways…"

"I, I think so," Chihiro groaned as she sat back up and shook her head. Chihiro turned back to the others as they sat up and moaned. "You guys?"

A faint, pained but definitely alive chorus of voices chimed back in agreement, and Chihiro grinned as she turned back to Tree Rex.

"If that's the case…" Tree Rex groaned as a bird came over and pecked him on the head before flying off, "I'd really appreciate it if you could get off of me."

A few gasps and hasty apologies came from around as Thumpback, Eye-Brawl and Swarm leaped off Tree Rex's arms and legs, while, Chihiro, Ermit, Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind slid off the side of his chest. With the extra weight lifted, Tree Rex himself sat up and shook his head, then winced and lurched down as a crack sounded off! He hastily covered his side as he reeled up, but streams of sap-like blood poured down across his fingers and dripped onto the grass below.

"Oh geez!" Whirlwind cried as she flew up to Tree Rex's side. She flew in place for a moment as her horn glowed with a rainbow light, then she closed in and pressed its tip close to Tree Rex's wound. "Hold still for a moment, I'll get that patched up!"

Whirlwind closed her eyes, and a bright burst of rainbow light leaped from her horn and seeped into the wound! The sap dripped backwards as it seeped back into Tree Rex's side, while his wound patched itself up and grew bark over its surface, as if it had never been injured in the first place! And with it recovered, Whirlwind flew back and grinned as Tree Rex heaved himself up.

"Thanks for that," Tree Rex panted, but the kind smile across his face turned to a frown nonetheless as he scratched his head.

"But, that begets the next question—what happened?"

Yeah, that was the question on everyone's minds, wasn't it? All around their tiny group, they mumbled and muttered to themselves as they racked their brains for some sort of clue as to what got them into that situation… Then a chilly autumn breeze rushed past them and sent chills down their spines!

But, as Chihiro shook and shuddered, her eyes shot open and the memories finally came back to her!

"I remember now!" Chihiro cried as she turned to the others and started gesturing. "We got ambushed by those ghost pirates, and there was that ship and those cannons and that vortex and…"

"Hey, I remember too!" Terrafin proclaimed as he snapped his fingers!

"Guess we landed here when we fell overboard," Cynder remarked as she flapped her wings, then turned around and frowned. "Wherever 'here' is, anyways…"

All eyes turned back to the world around them, and just about everyone around shuddered. After all, the island they had landed on did have a bit of an eerie feeling to it—beyond the vast grassy fields were not buildings, but cardboard stands made to resemble them! And not just those, either. The fences, the trees, the fountains and streetlights and other decor, all those were made of cardboard too! The only things not made of cardboard beyond the grass they stood on were masses of wooden dolls, all carved to resemble people! Adults in bridal wear and suits, children in dresses and trousers, babies with single curls of hair, all of them were strewn about on the lawn.

"Strange, something about this place feels oddly nostalgic," Tree Rex remarked as he scratched his chin. "But I can't tell what."

"Suit yourself, but I don't like the looks of this place," Whirlwind remarked as her feathers stood on end.

Cynder snarled, then gently pushed away a wooden baby doll with her tail. "It's giving me the creeps, and that's saying something," Cynder remarked.

"I think that one blinked at me!" Eruptor cried as he jabbed his hand towards a doll carved to resemble a girl with red hair who wore an orange dress.

Chihiro tilted her head, then grinned as she skipped over and lifted up the doll Eruptor pointed towards.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Chihiro remarked as she snuggled the doll, "I think they're kinda cute!"

"Cute?" Whirlwind, Cynder and Eruptor echoed as they turned towards each other with tired eyes.

Chihiro placed the doll back down on the ground with care, then gently patted its head before she stood back up.

"And more importantly, somebody had to make these dolls!" Chihiro gestured down to the town, "and I'm sure there's a good chance whoever created them is here, too! If we can find that person, then maybe they can help us get out of here!"

"One problem there!" Ermit scoffed as he raised his hand. All eyes fell on him, but he just scoffed and crossed his arms. "Everything here's just cardboard! Who in Skylands would live here?"

Ermit did have a point. Chihiro frowned as she examined the cardboard town, with not a single place that seemed apt for someone to live—but maybe they lived further on? Chihiro was about ready to mount an expedition when behind her, Eye leaped off of Brawl and flew past her.

"I spy with my little eye," Eye remarked as he came to a stop, "a switch!"

Chihiro followed Eye down, and found herself in front of a round switch—but wait a second, something about that switch seemed familiar!

"Wait, I recognize that switch!" Chihiro cried. "Back in Darklight Crypt, they had these switches that let up switch between the Underworld and our world!"—Chihiro rubbed her hands and hopped on—"and I'll bet these switches do something similar!"

The switch beeped the moment Chihiro landed on it, and as its top spun around, the world around began to shine! With cheery pops and whistles, the cardboard stands turned to fancy, but somewhat old-fashioned houses and other sorts of buildings, trees full of rich green leaves, shiny lampposts and fountains that spewed out rich, clear water! Chihiro herself couldn't help but step back and gawk in amazement—it was all so beautiful and magical, she had to take it in!

"Skylands never fails to amaze," Chihiro whispered as the lights cascaded down onto her.

And the surprise didn't end there! One by one, the dolls that littered the area started to come to life—a twitch of the fingers and toes first, then a few taps, and before they all knew it, the dolls jumped to their feet! Though their eyes were still void of emotion, their voices were full of cheer!

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Cried the dolls all at once as they swarmed around Chihiro. "This is Wilikin World, and we are the wilikin!"

"Where do you come from, friend?" Asked a woman wilikin as she shoved her face in Chihiro's.

"Is it near? Or far?" Asked a boy wilikin who jumped up and down behind Chihiro.

"Would you like some refreshments?" A wilikin man suggested as he shoved a platter of strange-looking glowing, bubbly drinks with eel tails in them in Chihiro's face!

The wilikin all crowded further and further in as they bombarded Chihiro with their questions, but Chihiro just wheezed and forced a grin as she backed away. There were so, so, many, so much that she couldn't find an easy out—everywhere she turned, there was a question to be asked, a wooden face pushed in her own and wooden limbs jabbing into her body! It was so crowded and loud and uncomfortable, Chihiro's mind started to go blank and fuzzy. Tears stung her eyes and her brain shut down, like she couldn't speak or gather her thoughts, and she clenched her teeth while sweat crept down. She wanted to ask them to calm down, but the words just wouldn't come, and—

"Hold it, hold it!" Terrafin called as he shoved himself through the crowds of wilikin and pushed them aside. "Calm down!"

"Please, one at a time!" Whirlwind cried as she flew behind Terrafin and held up her paws, "I think you're overwhelming our portal master!"

Chihiro jolted up as a firm hand came down on her shoulders, and she peered up and grinned as Terrafin stood by her side.

"You alright, Chi?" Terrafin asked as he gently shook Chihiro's shoulder.

Chihiro chuckled, then grinned and patted Terrafin's shoulder back. "Yeah, thanks to you!" Chihiro scratched the side of her head as the wilikin opted to surround a nervous Whirlwind instead. "Those wilikin are pretty friendly, maybe a little too friendly…"

Whirlwind chuckled as she gently pushed the wilikin away, but right as she did, a massive crash came down from behind! All eyes turned to the back of the town, and the moment they did, Whirlwind gasped while the wilikin screamed and fled in panic!

There at the town center laid several green chompies the size of giants! Now, Chihiro wasn't sure if chompies could ever get that size, but right now she didn't have time to worry, because the chompies already launched into their attacks with a snarl! One bit right into the fountain and not only snapped it apart, but sent water gushing upwards in a geyser! The others that flanked it, meanwhile, had opted to munch down whatever they could find—trees, houses, streetlamps, nothing was safe from their wrath!
The wilikin wailed out as they jumped in nearby bushes and hid, and as they did, Tree Rex, Swarm and Thumpback all stormed forward and snarled.

"We'll handle these guys!" Tree Rex cried as he stormed forward!

He immediately latched onto one chompy's arms and wrestled it away from the bank it had attempted to eat, while the chompy wailed and attempted to bite Tree Rex's face right off—but, he held it at just an angle that it couldn't even reach! The two of them struggled against each other while Swarm and Thumpback pinned down the other two chompies beside them, but while they were fighting, several smaller chompy pods skittered out between their legs and took root in the town square! The chompy pods rumbled and shuddered, then with a single spit they sent out rains of chompies in all species, and not just them, either!

From the largest pod came a man with pale skin, a long white beard, a large rectangular nose and green eyes with bushy white eyebrows! He was dressed in a green cloak that resembled a chompy, which rested over a green shirt with a brown belt that had a gold, square belt in the center, yellow trousers and green chompy-shaped slippers with brown cuffs. A wooden staff with a chompy rested in his left hand, while a chompy hand puppet laid on his right, and he didn't seem particularly happy as he scanned from left to right.

"Ah, it seems like you wilikin brought some friends!" The man cried as he pointed towards the cowering, his voice a bit squeaky and strange in tone. While the wilikin just gasped and dove back into the bushes, the man just narrowed his eyes. "I've never seen you around, but…"—The man narrowed his eyes—"since none of you are chompies, I, the Chompy Mage, don't like you!"

The Chompy Mage jabbed his staff at whee Chihiro, Ermit, Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind stood in a group. "Chompies, attack!"

The chompies that had amassed around the Chompy Mage grumbled and growled, and with their shiny pearly whites bared, they leaped forward and prepared to bite! Just as they came in range, however, Chihiro cast out a shield and tossed them backwards! As the chompies crashed onto the grass, Chihiro turned back to Ermit.

"Ermit, get the wilikin—" Chihiro had started, before her face faltered as Ermit dashed into a house with such speed that grass blades kicked up behind him.

"You're the professionals, this is your problem!" Ermit cried as he shut himself inside and locked the door tight.

Chihiro only sighed and shook her head. "Out of here."

Chihiro pinched the bridge of her nose, but a loud cry of pain distracted her from her momentary irritation! Above her, Tree Rex winced as the chompy he brawled with bit right into his arm and drew sap from its surface! He grunted as he punched right into its leafy flesh with his free arm, but his blows were hardly enough to shake it. The chompy just happily lapped up the sap it drew from Tree Rex, then a laser zapped the back of its head and yanked it off!

Both it and the chompies beside it forgot their current occupations as they turned around, and were immediately greeted by Eye! Eye chuckled as he flapped his wings, then he turned down while his eye sparkled.

"Eye suppose you didn't see that one coming!" Eye cackled as he turned tail and flew off. "Now catch me if you can!"

The chompies growled and leaned forward and they dashed right after Eye, only to be met with a swarm of smaller eyeballs instead! The eyeballs leaped from the ground and pelted themselves at the chompies, who in turn wailed as they tried to swat the eyeballs away with their stubby, leafy arms. They had watched their front plenty, but they didn't watch their back enough, as Brawl sneaked up beside them and punched them right down the way!

"Look out below!" Eye cried as the chompies flew towards Thumpback and Swarm!

Thumpback and Swarm immediately turned around, then Thumpback whipped out his anchor and spun it around like a lasso! With one last fling, he wrapped it around the giant chompies, then swung them and sent them flying in the air! While the chompies wailed and flailed as they hovered in the skies, Swarm zipped right up and shot them right back into the ground below with a single shot of his barbs!

The chompies groaned and tried to lift themselves up from the crater they had formed in the ground, but the damage and shock was so great that they failed! They only lifted their heads up, then groaned and fell right back in!

But while the bigger chompies were taken care of, the smaller pods were still alive and well! They skittered all around as they shot out chompies of all kinds, chompies that immediately circled around Terrafin and Eruptor!

Eruptor narrowed his eyes on several bright red chompies, then with a clap of his hands, he sent out a massive pool of lava and took them out. But instead of burning, they exploded in masses of flame! Eruptor gasped and jumped backwards as the flames burned around, then stumbled forward as they exploded behind him, too!

Up in the skies, Whirlwind winced and flapped her wings, and in response rainclouds came from her feathers and circled around the grounds below! With a single clap of thunder, their rain poured down on the explosions and nullified their flames with only thin smoke left in their wake. Whirlwind floated down and wiped her forehead as her clouds' storm carried on, then she jumped up as something bit her tail!

"YOWCH!" Whirlwind cried as she leaped up in the air, then glared down at the icy blue chompy that bit on her tail!

Whirlwind lowered her horn and zapped the chompy away with a single blast of lightning, wiped her tail free of the frost it left behind as she floated down, and jumped back up again even more of those icy blue chompies leaped for her once more!

Whirlwind snarled, and lowered her horn once more as it crackled with lightning. "Looks like my lightning'll have to strike twice!" She cried as the lightning crackled louder.
The air crackled with static as Whirlwind's lightning blast zapped the chompies' feet and sent them flying, then a gaggle of ghosts zipped from a purple blur that flew behind the chompies and grabbed their by their scruffs!

Cynder smirked as she flew in front of the ghosts, and with a clap of her front paws, the ghosts vanished and took the chompies with them! Only purple puffs of smoke were left in their place, and even those vanished as bone chompies sprung from the ground and leaped towards Terrafin and Eruptor!

Terrafin snarled, then rushed forward and punched the bone chompies away, while beside him Eruptor grinned! With his hands kept close to his chest, Eruptor punched away the chompies, or at least, he tried. Eruptor was slow enough that the chompies would dodge his every blow, and most of them soared right past him! Well, save for one that leaped up and tried to bite his face off, but Terrafin quickly took care of that one quickly enough.

"You know, your form could use some work," Terrafin teased as he gently tapped Eruptor's face.

"Then we'll just have to work on that~" Eruptor teased back.

The two of them leaned in close for just a moment, then jumped back as a wooden chompy soared right between them! The sudden blow turned their attention backwards, where Chihiro had used magic to toss several more wooden chompies wearing wooden clothes out of her way!

But, as she did, she lowered her glowing hands and frowned.

"Something about these chompies seems odd," Chihiro remarked as she yanked a wooden chompy out of the sky and glazed it over, oblivious to how it snapped at her. "I've never seen chompies like these before! Haven't even heard about them in books, either." Chihiro tossed the chompy aside and frowned as it hobbled off almost robotically. "Something doesn't seem right about this."

Chihiro frowned as she examined the wooden chompy a little more, then the sound of whizzing turned her attention back to the battlefield! In front of her, the Chompy Mage had leaped up and shot an orb of green magic at her from his staff, and it was coming in fast! Chihiro gasped, then summoned a magical baseball bat and parried it away! The green blast flew off to the side, and Chihiro grinned…

But then a scream caught her ears!

Beside her, the blast had slammed right into a nearby wilikin, who shuddered and twitched as the green light surrounded them! The wilikin beside them could only gasp and watch in horror as the green light enveloped the other wilikin whole—then finally, the light exploded into chompy-shaped clouds and the wilikin emerged a mechanical wooden chompy!

Chihiro gasped in horror as the chompyfied wilikin snapped and chased after its former friend, but the Chompy Mage only laughed!

"Now that's an improvement!" The Chompy Mage cried!

Chihiro, however, just snarled and glared down the Chompy Mage.

"How awful!" Chihiro cried. "Is that what you did to those other chompies too!?"

The Chompy Mage just scowled as he waved his staff around. "What do you have against chompies?" The Chompy Mage's staff glowed green, and he fixed it on Chihiro like a gun. "Whatever it is, maybe you'll have a change of mind when you're one, too!"

"Chompy power!" The puppet on his hand cried in a high-pitched voice as the staff shrieked with green light!

One by one, the Chompy Mage shot glowing green blows right towards Chihiro, but Chihiro just summoned a staff of her own and spun it around! At the speed it spun, it became a veritable shield that knocked the blows well aside of her and right into the nearby trees, but as those trees glowed and dropped chompies from their leafy branches, she just stopped! Chihiro squeezed her staff while it glowed with a brighter blue light, then it transformed into a longsword, shiny and sharp! Chihiro leaped forward, sword held high as she prepared to cut the Chompy Mage down, but he just screamed and waved his staff around! Its bright green light warded Chihiro off in that instance, but instead of striking her, it struck him! Pulses of bright green light rained down over him, and he transformed into a gigantic chompy!

The Chompy Mage cackled as he slammed down on the ground and sent the buildings around him jumping, but Chihiro wasn't intimidated in the slightest! She grunted as she fell down to the ground, then whisked away her sword with a snap of her fingers!

"Looks like I'll need to get some air on this guy!" Chihiro remarked as the sparkles that once comprised her sword swirled around her shoes. "Luckily, I have just the thing!"

Chihiro's shoes glowed a bright cyan, and around them formed bouncy platform shoes! Chihiro giggled as she squeaked her shoes for a bit, then she leaped up into the air and slammed down right on the Chompy Mage's giant head! The Chompy Mage yowled in pain as she bounced off and hovered in the air, while she turned around and summoned hand cannons made of glowing magic!

"Ready, aim," Chihiro whispered as she fixed her aim on the flailing Chompy Mage's back, "FIREEEEEEEE!"

Her hand cannons glowed bright, then out from them came a string of shining blue magic blasts that slammed right into the Chompy Mage's back! He cried out as the force from the blasts tossed him into the ground, but he quickly leaped up and turned his eyes back on Chihiro! His large, toothy mouth broke into a nasty scowl as he leaned down, then he leaped up and spun, all while his body slowly shifted in color. Its rich, grassy greens turned to an icy blue in an instant, and as he landed down he blew a chilly wind right in Chihiro's direction! Chihiro screamed as she went tumbling down, but just before she could hit the ground, a pair of magical wings manifested on her back! Chihiro soared back up, then corkscrewed through the air and tackled the Chompy Mage right in the stomach! The extra force from her flight sent him skidding backwards, and for a moment he was vulnerable!

"Quick, now's my chance!" Chihiro cried as she flew backwards, then rubbed her chin and frowned. "What should I take him down with? A giant weed cutter? A big bottle of pesticide?"

A massive roar that spat lava flecks everywhere nearly blew Chihiro out of the air, and she turned around and winced. The Chompy Mage's skin had turned to volcanic rock while veins of warm lava covered it like cracks, and his whole body burned with a new heat!

"Actually, I know just the thing!" Chihiro cried as she held out her hands.

The Chompy Mage roared and bounced up and down, while chompy eggs made of molten rock leaped out from behind him and flew right towards Chihiro! Chihiro gasped, then held out her hands and shot a round of large aqua energy spheres right towards the eggs! The sheer heat of the light completely melted them within and sent their liquid remains pouring down over the town, then she summoned a bucket of magic water and zipped right for the Chompy Mage!

"Why don't you cool down some, buddy?!"

The Chompy Mage's eyes fluttered as he bent down and examined the melted remains of his eggs, then screamed as a waterfall of cool, magical water poured over him! Steam hissed from every angle of his body as the water rained over him, then as it amassed in a puddle by his feet, he reverted back to his original giant chompy form. But, even that didn't last long, as soon he spun around and turned back to his regular, human form as he collapsed in the puddle.

"Purifying water," Chihiro remarked as she floated down and tossed her bucket aside. "Works every time!"

The Chompy Mage groaned and rubbed his head with his staff as he sat up, then his puppet bonked him right in the head and squealed! The Chompy Mage grunted as he struggled to pull his puppet away from his head, then finally he yanked it off and glared it down.

"Chompy puppet, what's gotten into you?!" The Chompy Mage demanded.

The puppet, in response, practically ripped the Chompy Mage's arm out as it gestured to the town around.

"Just look!" The puppet cried. "Our chompies are getting chomped! We need to get out of here!"

The Chompy Mage winced as he turned around, because his puppet was right! All around them, his chompies were getting wiped out by the Skylanders and Elder Elementals alike, with no sort of contest! Leaves and teeth scattered everywhere as the chompies were razed to the ground, and chompy bodies were strewn everywhere one could look!
So, the Chompy Mage cleared his throat.

"Well, well, it seems that you folks are more trouble than I bargained for!" The Chompy Mage proclaimed as he soared into the air, "I suppose I'll be making my leave now…" The Chompy Mage grinned while his staff turned a bright green. "But before I leave, how about I give you a parting gift?"

The Chompy Mage spun his staff around, and a bright green orbs of light shot down from it and slammed into as many as they could! Bursts of green light flared below as the unfortunate victims were morphed into chompies, their screams echoed in the air alongside birdsong! Amid the light and chaos, the Chompy Mage whisked himself and his chompies away in puffs of green smoke, but the effects of their tour were seen plenty!

Chihiro gasped and jumped out of the way as one orb nearly grazed her, but a pair of familiar screams from ahead quickly returned her attention. She lifted her head up, then gasped and covered her mouth—because where Eruptor and Terrafin once stood laid two chompies with their colors! And beside them, two other chompies that resembled Whirlwind and Cynder fell flat on their faces and jumped up without a care.

Wooden wilikin chompies ran around and bit into whatever they could, whether they tore down buildings and stoplights or just chased the few wilikin who hadn't been transformed down the streets, screams being the only thing heard even over the massive pound of footsteps coming from Tree Rex, who stumbled over and watched in shock. Thumpback, Eye-Brawl and Swarm all lowered their weapons and joined him, and as their eyes fell on Chihiro, she only winced and turned away.

Chihiro lowered her hands, then screamed as something bit into her foot! As she lowered her head, she snarled and yanked the chompyfied Cynder off her boot.

"Come on, Cynder!" Chihiro exclaimed as she held Cynder at arm's length. "You may be a chompy, but you don't need to act the part!"

Cynder, in response, just gnashed her teeth and growled, so Chihiro just sighed and shook her head. With a tap of her foot, a cage with an open lid manifested by her feet, and she quickly dropped Cynder inside. Cynder paused and turned her head around as she sat in the cage, but she wasn't lonely for long—because Chihiro had snatched up Whirlwind, Terrafin and Eruptor and dropped them inside too!

"I hate to do this to you," Chihiro said as she closed the cage's lid. "But we can't have you running off, not until we can figure out what's going on here." Chihiro winced as she turned back to the rest of the town, where the other wilikin all cried as they chased and were chased by their old, chompyfied friends. "If we can figure it out, that is…"

In the state things were in, Chihiro highly doubted that any of these guys would be willing to talk! She needed to get all these chompies rounded up, but with all of them scattered around, it would take a while—wasn't there an easier way? Right as Chihiro went to contemplate, a door slammed open beside her and out came Ermit!

"Hey, is everything done, here, because—" Ermit started, only to scream and scramble back for the door, "HOLY SMOKES! YEAH, I'M GOING BACK INSIDE!"

But right before he could, Chihiro yanked him by the collar of his tunic and pulled him back!

"Hey, what's the big idea, portal master?!" Ermit cried as he struggled against Chihiro's grip.

Chihiro, in response, dropped Ermit down on the grass, then donned a magic-crafted cowboy outfit with a snap of her fingers!

"Actually, I need you for something, Ermit!" Chihiro proclaimed! She summoned magic food effigies with a snap of her fingers, then leaned them towards Ermit with a grin. "Can you hold these for a minute?"

Ermit raised a brow as he tucked the food into his grip. "Er, sure. Why?"

The sound of snarling and squealing came from the wooden chompies around as they all fixed their eyes on Ermit, and Ermit, in tandem, just gulped.

"Oh, and one more thing… Run!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Ermit cried as he dashed off!

The chompies all squealed as they dashed right after Ermit, while Ermit, he tried his hardest to outrun them. But, he ended up tripping and falling flat on his face! He grunted as the food effigies rolled out of his hands and burst into shimmers, but he was more concerned with the storm of chompies that had threatened to descend upon him! He gasped as the chompies came in close… But right before they could take a bite or two out of him, a magical lasso wrapped around them all and pulled them back! The chompies all squealed as they landed right in the cage, and its lid latched on before they could jump back out! Laughter sounded off from above them, and all their beady little eyes looked up to find Chihiro.

"Get along, little doggies!" Chihiro giggled as her cowboy getup disappeared, "I've always wanted to say that."

Chihiro chuckled a bit more, then lifted up the cage as a worried wilikin man trailed over and examined the cage.

"I should probably be able to lift the spell on them," Chihiro remarked as she trailed off to a large building at the end of the town. Chihiro turned to the wilikin man and frowned. "In the meanwhile, what exactly was up with that Chompy Mage dude?"

The wilikin just frowned and clasped his wooden hands.

"We will tell you inside the town hall, friend," the wilikin man exclaimed as he shot the bushes a wary glance. "The Chompy Mage has friends looking around everywhere!"

So, Chihiro nodded and she and what remained of the town headed towards that large building…

§

Chihiro rubbed her hands together as she glared down the yellow wire cage where all the chompies had been amassed. The anxious chompies all shoved and pushed each other, with some even gnawing on the cage's wire bars as they tried to escape. But luckily, that cage had been reinforced plenty, and they weren't getting out anytime soon. Chihiro frowned for a moment as her eyes fell on the chompyfied forms of Whirlwind, Cynder, Terrafin and Eruptor, but she just shook her head and continued to rub her hands.

"So you're saying that Chompy Mage guy just showed up out of nowhere one day?" Chihiro asked as she turned to the wilikin man beside her.

"Indeed, friend," the wilikin replied with a nod of his wooden head.

"Ever since the Chompy Mage came here, he has attacked our homes and turned us into chompies," explained a wilikin woman who walked up beside the man. "We have been hiding and finding ways to keep us hidden from him, like our switches, but he always finds us anyways!"

"That's awful!" Tree Rex cried. "Doing that to people when they can't even fight back…"

"If we see that Chompy Mage fellow again, eye'd like to give him a piece of my mind!" Eye remarked as he popped off Brawl's head and flew around him, while Brawl only nodded in response.

"What a jerk," Chihiro replied, a slightly disgusted look on her face as she held out her hands. Her hands pulsed and glowed with bright cyan energy, while her eyes narrowed. "Now, you all might wanna step back!" Chihiro's glow grew even brighter while sparkles fluttered from her hands. "This might get a little messy!"

Chihiro cast out her hands, and bright cyan burst of magic blasted out from them palms and into the cage! A bright light show shone from the open spaces in the cages while sparkles and lasers flew about, and everyone else oohed and aahed in amazement while the light glowed brighter! But, their light soon faded… And revealed that the chompies were still chompies!

Chihiro's jaw dropped, then she shook her head and huffed.

"That can't be right! That spell should have undone any transformation spells cast on them!" Chihiro exclaimed. She placed her hands on her hips, and her brow piqued. "But, maybe I just didn't use the right kind of spell…" So, Chihiro cast out her hands once more, then gulped. "Alright, how about this?"

Chihiro shot a shining purple spark into the cage and tensed as it exploded in a flare of purple light, then groaned and slunk over as it faded to reveal nothing but chompies.

"Nope." She cast a cyan laser in the cage. "Maybe this one?"

Well, that one has some effects, but not the one they all desired—it left a couple of fried chompies in her wake, but they were still chompies!

"What the heck?" Chihiro exclaimed as she glanced down at her still-glowing hands. "Those spells should have completely restored them! What's going on?!"

"Don't try," a wilikin boy mumbled as he scuffed his wooden shoes against the floor. "Chompy Mage's magic is special. Nothing you can do will stop it."

Chihiro's eyes flickered, then she hummed and rubbed her chin.

"The Chompy Mage's magic is special, huh…" Chihiro whispered. She chuckled as she drew her hand away from her chin. "Then if that's the case…" Chihiro pumped her fist to the ceiling. "Then maybe he's the key to fixing all this!"

"What do you mean, friend?" The wilikin boy asked as he tilted his head.

"It was the magic from his staff that caused this, right? If we can get that staff," Chihiro turned to the boy and held out her hands, "maybe we can undo the spell that's turned everyone into chompies!"—Chihiro chuckled and placed her hands on her hips—"yep, that's a perfect idea! In fact, I've already got a plan!"

"You do?!" Tree Rex exclaimed as he knelt down. "Already?"

"But, what exactly are you going to do?" Thumpback asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Chihiro asked as she turned back to the kneeling Elder Elementals. "We're gonna find the Chompy Mage, stop his plans and turn everyone back to normal!"

Chihiro leaped in the air and pumped her fists, and the sheer amount of enthusiasm in her words spread to the wilikin crowds as well! They all cheered and mirrored her, pumping their fists in the air as they surrounded her and—okay, okay, they were getting way too close! As the wilikin crowded in, Chihiro backed into the cage, yelped as the chompies snapped at her, then waved her hands in front of her body.

"Alright everyone, calm down!" Chihiro exclaimed as she lowered her hands, "I still need to know where this dude is, you know!"

The wilikin all nodded and pulled away, while one of the wilikin men hummed as he rubbed his blocky chin.

"The Chompy Mage made a forest down back in Lower Facadeville," the man explained as he held out his hands. "He and all his chompies live down there. I think that's where the friends he turned into chompies are, too!"

"Then that's where we're going!"

Chihiro pumped her fist in the air and grinned, but the wilikin hardly seemed to share in her enthusiasm. They all looked from side to side as they clasped their hands, their jaws chattered and their eyes practically popped out of their sockets! Finally, that same wilikin man winced and turned back to Chihiro.

"But are you sure, friend?" He took Chihiro's hands in his own, and though his eyes were completely blank, they still rang with a level of concern. "The journey will be very scary! The Chompy Mage is very, very strong, and no matter what we do, he always finds a way to stop us from hurting him!"

"Will you really be alright, friend?" A wilikin woman asked.

Chihiro, however, just grinned and rubbed a fist against her chest. "Of course I'll be fine!" Chihiro proclaimed. "I'm a portal master, after all! He might be powerful, but I'm a pretty tough cookie myself!"—Chihiro grinned as she gestured up to Tree Rex—"and besides, I'll have the Elder Elementals here on my side, too! With them here to help me, it'll be a breeze!"

"That's right!" Tree Rex proclaimed as he nodded, while behind him Eye-Brawl, Thumpback and Swarm nodded in tandem. "We're not going to stop until we save your friends and bring an end to the Chompy Mage's reign of terror, we promise!"

"Yeah!" Swarm cried! He thrust his hand in the air, then winced as its barb jabbed itself into the ceiling and slid it back out. "We won't stop!"

"After all, that's what we do!" Thumpback affirmed as he cracked his knuckles and hoisted his anchor over his shoulder. "When the weak and innocent are in trouble…"

"Eye—I mean, we," Eye proclaimed as he popped off of Brawl, "will step up to the plate!"

Chihiro gasped, rapidly nodded her own head as a means of silent affirmation, and jolted up as the cage behind her rattled! She took a peek before, the sighed and crossed her arms as Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind banged on the cage and growled… But not with the usual malice and rage that chompies held, no. Instead, they seemed much more enthusiastic than anything, their beady eyes bright with fire—and though they couldn't say any words the message they sent was loud and clear.

"You wanna help too, right?" Chihiro asked. As the four of them rapidly nodded and squealed, Chihiro crafted a cage-shaped backpack out of magic and opened the lid. "Just hop in, I'll carry you guys there!"—Chihiro winked and chuckled—"then we can all tell him what's what!"

The four of them hopped in the cage backpack, and Chihiro chuckled as she sealed it back up and holstered it on her back! She turned around, and she was immediately greeted by the bright-eyed, wide-smiling faces of wilikin all around as they basked in the presence of her, the Skylanders, and the Elder Elementals… And Ermit, too, but he seemed pretty darn hesitant as he backed away.

"Well, er, you know," Ermit remarked as he twiddled his fingers, "somebody's gotta keep up the fort back here, I mean, what if that Chompy Mage guy comes back? I don't wanna get out there and get bitten by chompies, that's your line of work—"

The wilikin, in response, all dug behind their backs, then slapped thick, angry-looking eyebrows onto their faces and circled around Ermit, who gulped in response.

Ermit whimpered, and sweat crept down his shiny bald head as the wilikin came in closer and closer. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to come along," Ermit remarked as he scratched his head. He shuffled up beside Chihiro and forced a grin, but it immediately faded the moment they yanked off their eyebrows and cheered.

"Stupid puppets," he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Chihiro, however, just sighed and rolled her eyes as she hoisted her backpack higher up on her back. She skipped up, then turned back and grinned as she glazed over the party amassed—a portal master and hero of Skylands, four ancient heroes of legend, the Skylanders who, while chompyfied, were definitely still raring to go… And Ermit too.

"Personally, I'd say we have a pretty good party here!" Chihiro whistled as she turned around for the door. "Now, time's a wasting! We've gotta to this Facadeville place before the Chompy Mage comes—"

"Wait a second, friend!" Perked up a small wilikin girl as she skidded in front of Chihiro!

Chihiro gasped and stumbled backwards, but when she caught sight of the girl, she slunk over and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You will need a guide if you wish to make it to Lower Facadeville." The wilikin girl hopped in Chihiro's arms and grinned as she twiddled her wooden toes. "Let Seraphina show you the way!"

Chihiro rapidly blinked, then shrugged and grinned.

"Alright then, Seraphina!" Chihiro stretched out her arms and allowed Seraphina to hop out. "Lead the way!"

And so, the cries of wilikin wishing them goodwill and safety were their backdrop as they left the town hall and made their way to the gates. But as they raced up to the town gate and yanked it open, none of them paid any mind to the bushes! There, something sinister brewed as something with green eyes that sparkled like emerald watched them from the leaves' safety, then chuckled.

"Yes, yes," the creature spoke in the Chompy Mage's voice as it stepped forward, and unveiled itself as a chompy with glowing eyes, "I'll have plenty of tricks planned for you, my non-chompy foes!"

Sinister, low laughter escaped from the chompy's mouth as the glow in its eyes faded, then it collapsed over and popped up moments later as a chompy with normal eyes! The chompy blinked for a moment, then turned back around and hopped back into the bushes, not to be seen again…

§

Just on the outskirts of the village, the ground shuddered as Tree Rex, Eye-Brawl, Thumpback and Swarm trekked up the path, but the ground wasn't the only thing shaking! On Chihiro's back, the cage where she kept Whirlwind, Cynder, Terrafin and Eruptor rattled and trembled as they bounced within, and nobody was happy with it!

"Calm down!" Chihiro spat as she turned around and straightened out the cage. "You're just staying here until we can get out back to normal!" Chihiro scoffed as the four of them barked back at her. "I'm not exactly happy with their either, you know!" Chihiro sighed as she heaved the backpack a little further up on her back. "But, we're just gonna have to deal with this until we can get you fixed."

If we can get you fixed, Chihiro thought as she trudged back up the path. She sighed again, and paused as she ruffled a hand through her hair. I sure hope we can find that Chompy Mage again soon…

"Say, Seraphina," Tree Rex asked as he knelt down to Seraphina's height, though he still towered over her quite a bit. "Where exactly is this Lower Facadeville place, to begin with?"

Seraphina chuckled as she skipped forward. "It's right up this path!" Seraphina proclaimed with a finger pointed ahead. "Just keep walking!"

So, they all continued their trek up the path, while Chihiro groaned as the cage started to rumble once again. The noise grated on her ears like nails on a chalkboard, and she needed a distraction before it drove her bonkers! So, she skipped up to Seraphina and gripped the cage's straps tight.

"Say, Seraphina," Chihiro remarked as she kicked a pebble ahead. "Just who created you wilikin anyways?"

"Oh, the creator?" Seraphina replied. She chuckled, then twiddled her thumbs as her head swayed from side to side. "I did not know the creator. I was created after he left us here."

"So he doesn't live with you guys or anything?"

Seraphina shook her head. "The creator made the first wilikin long, long, time ago. They used to play with him and be his friends, but creator's family did not like them very much." Seraphina sighed and shook her head. "So, creator left wilikin at this abandoned island and never came back. The wilikin made more wilikin, and now we all live here!"

"Geez, that sounds awful!" Chihiro remarked.

"It's not bad! Wilikin have lots of fun living here and playing together!" Seraphina skipped forward and twirled around, but her spinning came to a stop as she sighed and sat down. "At least, we did until Chompy Mage came here."

Ah, the Chompy Mage again. Speaking of that guy, Chihiro couldn't help but wonder if they had inched any closer to where he was based, but she had asked that question like five times since the journey began, so she just sighed and clutched the cage backpack's straps. Beside her, her eyes fell on the rich grass beside… Though, a closer look showed that stalks or sprouts had manifested among the grass! Chihiro blinked, then crept closer to the sprouts, just to get a better look. But, right as she did, the sprouts shuddered and disappeared back into the ground! Chihiro frowned and raised a brow as she stood back to full height, then the rattling and shuddering of the cage behind her pulled her away from her thoughts!

"Alright, alright, I'll get going!" Chihiro said as she patted the cage. With a sigh, Chihiro turned back to the path ahead, but not before giving the odd patch where the stalks once rested a raised brow.

Ahead of her, Ermit, Seraphina and the Elder Elementals had congregated at a particularly tough-looking wall, and there, Tree Rex and Thumpback grunted as they pushed a large, dark blue and yellow bomb towards the wall while its fuse simmered away. Or at least, Chihiro thought it was a fuse. She couldn't see one anywhere, but she could hear the sizzling sounds, so it had to have one, right?

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea!" Ermit cried as the bomb inched closer and closer to the wall. "Bombs don't just pop out of nowhere!"—Ermit gestured towards the bomb and scoffed—"and besides, I didn't exactly see a fuse on that thing!"

Cynder growled and snapped at Ermit from the cage's limits, while Ermit winced and jumped backwards right as the bomb exploded! Bits of brick and wood flew everywhere as the flames burned, and the way ahead had been perfectly cleared! But, despite Tree Rex and Thumpback's relief as they wiped their foreheads, Ermit just frowned as he glared down the path ahead…

"Something up, Ermit?" Chihiro asked as she clutched her backpack straps.

"Yeah, actually!" Ermit pointed ahead and twitched his nose. "Why's that bomb still here if it exploded?!"

All eyes fell on the way ahead, and sure enough, the bomb laid firm and with a scratch, as if it had never exploded in the first place! But, more than that, it was shaking and shuddering, while tiny nubs formed on its sides! Those nubs twitched and wiggled as the bomb continued to shake, then they stretched out and formed into arms, legs, eyes… Wait a second! The bomb leaped up, and it revealed that it wasn't a bomb, but a gigantic chompy with an uncanny resemblance to one! The chompy slammed its stubby feet into the ground, then it roared with all its might!

"A chompy boomblossom?!" Ermit cried as she stumbled backwards and nearly fell over his own feet. "But those only live in the Cloudbreak Islands!"

"Try telling that to him!" Chihiro cried as she jabbed a finger back at the boomblossom!

The boomblossom roared, and red light flashed against its skin as it leaped right towards everyone! The sizzling sound from before rang again as it soared through the air, all while the flashing red lights on its body pulsed brighter and brighter, like a heartbeat… Or almost as if…

"It's gonna blow!" Swarm cried!

Tree Rex gasped, then he immediately charged forward and gripped the sides of the boomblossom! The boomblossom grunted while its eyes stood straight and tall, and in its moment of shock, Tree Rex spun around and tossed it right in the air! He held his massive hands over his head as the boomblossom exploded and sent sparks raining down, then he lifted his head and grinned as the sparks faded out just before they could hit the ground.

"That was close," Tree Rex remarked as he wiped his hands. He smiled as he rested his hands back at his side, but his smile turned to a frown as he glanced back at the road ahead. "But for that matter, just what was it doing here?"

"Do you think that Chompy Mage guy set it up?" Swarm asked as his wings flitted with anxiety. "Did he know we were coming?"

"Well, you heard what those creepy wooden dolls said," Ermit remarked, oblivious to how Chihiro covered Seraphina's ears and glared him down. "That guy knew whatever they had up their sleeves! I wouldn't be surprised if he had eyes everywhere!"

Growling and screeching echoed from the ground around, and eyestalks sprouted from the ground right in the places where all those shoots had stood just moments prior! Crap, Chihiro had thought there was something suspicious about those things!

Ermit gasped, then immediately turned around and scrambled right behind Tree Rex's leg. "And it looks like he brought us some company, too!"

The eyestalks twitched and shuddered, then from the ground leaped none other than chompies! Chompies in all shapes and colors sprouted from the ground at all angles, and with a collective growl they all leaped right for Chihiro and the others! Their pearly whites shone in the sun as they yanked their jaws open and shut, fully ready to feast!

Chihiro, however, just snarled and flung out her hands!

"Oh no you don't!" Chihiro cried as cyan light flared from her palms, "Shields, activate!"

Right as the chompies came within inches of eating them alive, a massive shield bubble formed around them all! The chompies all slammed into the shield face-first and grunted as they slid down, their drool streaked across the shield's exterior as they popped off and flopped on the ground. They all grunted as they lifted their heads and caught glimpses of Chihiro, who strode up from within the bubble's safety and smirked.

"Sorry, buddies!" Chihiro remarked as she snapped her fingers. "But we're not becoming plant food today!"

With that single snap, the shields exploded into bright puffs of cyan magic, then swirled around Chihiro and hovered above her head in a bubbling mass! Like clay, it shuddered and shifted as if being shaped by invisible hands, then finally it took some kind of solid form and shuddered with light! A bright burst of light popped out from it, then it crashed down on the ground as a functional steamroller!

"TIME TO DO SOME GARDENING!"

The steamroller revved like a race car as it leaped up, then it zoomed forth and spun all around the circle of chompies with such speed that it kicked up a massive ring of dust, one that clouded the entire area from view! From within the ring's safety, everyone coughed and covered their noses while the dust choked them out—even Cynder, Whirlwind, Eruptor and Terrafin covered their faces and shut their watery eyes! But while they couldn't see the steamroller's effects, the wails and cries of pain made it clear just what had happened!

With one last skid, the dust cleared and the chompies had been completely flattened, and clung so tightly to the ground that they could barely be discerned from the rest of the earth! The chompies moaned and whimpered as they eyes drifted open and shut, and green blood poured from their gaping mouths while their tongues lolled over. And finally, with one last closing of their eyes, they expired.

Whirlwind whimpered from within the cage as the chompies' remains sank into the ground before her, while beside her Cynder just groaned and crossed her leafy arms. Whirlwind snapped and growled at Cynder while she gestured back towards the ground, then, a chill hit the air and both of them shuddered as they examined the circle!
And they weren't the only ones either! Behind them, Chihiro herself shook and rubbed her hands against her arms as she curled in on herself!

"Is it just me," Chihiro remarked as she lifted her head. "Or did it get really cold here all of a sudden?"

"It's not just you!" Eye shuddered, while behind him Brawl pointed towards the chompy ring. "Look!"

All eyes turned back to the chompy ring, and soft chatters and cackled echoed around the skies… Or maybe that was just the wind? Well, actually, it definitely hadn't been the wind, because shortly afterwards, ghastly blue chompy ghosts leaped out from where the chompies' remains had decayed! The chompies giggled and cheered as they danced on their own graves, then with a snarl, they all licked their lips and turned their beady eyes on Chihiro!

"Oh geez, these guys just don't give up!" Chihiro cried as she crafted a sword in her palm. "Any more chompies wanna show up while we're here?!"

The ground rumbled around her, and Chihiro squeaked as she fell to her knees! Behind her, Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind all squealed and bounced in their cages, while she just grunted and yanked them to her front.

"Geez, what's going on with you?" Chihiro cried over the quaking, rumbling earth.

In response, they only pointed to the horizon overhead, where several large, round orbs rolled down from the hills and leaped off! They were so big they blocked out the sun as they soared along the sky, and when they crashed, the entire world bent itself in their presence, with grass splitting in half and all around falling to their knees! The orbs, meanwhile, just shuddered in response to the sudden burst of attention, then rocked back and forth… And finally, they came to a sharp stop and burst open to reveal they weren't orbs, but gigantic chompies!

"I just had to ask, didn't I?" Chihiro moaned. She grunted as she pinched the bridge of her nose, then blinked and lifted her head as Tree Rex stepped in front of her.

"We'll take care of the big guys!" Tree Rex cried as he cracked his wooden knuckles. "Just get to safety!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Ermit cried as he yanked up Seraphina and rushed off. "Come on, kid, we're not sticking around here!"

Chihiro snarled as her eyes fell on ghostly chompies, while around her came a rumble—but not from them, by any means! Rather, the cage on her back shuddered, then its lid burst open and out in front of her flew Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind! Chihiro gasped and stepped back for a moment, but when they all looked back at her and grinned, she just nodded and clutched her sword tighter!

Eruptor was the first to leap into the fray as he jumped around, hacked and coughed, but nothing seemed to come! He paused and blinked as the ghostly chompies all laughed at him, then slapped his leafy hands together and attempted to cast out lava, but that didn't work either! The chompies around held their bellies as they pointed and laughed even more furiously, while Eruptor seethed and gritted his teeth! Eruptor yowled out and pounded his feet against the ground while he spat out all kind of angry gibberish…

And in that moment, lava burst out from his veins and splattered everywhere! The ghost chompies all screamed as the lava waves washed over them, but they just phased through the lava like it was nothing at all! Both sides blinked as the lava cooled around them, then the ghost chompies giggled and leaped right for Eruptor!

Eruptor screamed and dashed off just in time, with the chompies only crashing into solid rock! They jumped back up right in time for Terrafin to try punching them—except for one tiny problem. He had no fists! His leafy arms curled up and down, and in that moment a chompy headbutted him and kicked him back! Terrafin bounced backwards like a rubber ball and squeaked the whole way, then he sat up and snarled as he leaped forward! He tried to attack them back, but his attempt at headbutting just phased right through them!

As Terrafin plopped down onto the cooled volcanic rock, a swinging blade twirled through the air, then phased right through the chompies as it landed back in Chihiro's hand! Chihiro winced as she gripped the blade tight, while in front of her the chompies' bodies warbled and shuddered. And yet, aside of that they were perfectly fine, and even those wounds healed quickly!

"Geez, everything was do passes right through these guys!" Chihiro cried as she squeezed her blade so tightly it exploded into sparks. "What'll it take to knock 'em out?"

Cynder just hopped in front of Chihiro, then snarled and bounced up and down! As she did, purple, smoky ghosts giggled and rose out from the earth, and all of them swirled around Cynder with eager, eager looks on their faces. Cynder simply had to point at the ghostly chompies, and her own ghosts were immediately on the case!

They all tackled into the chompies, and with them both being ghosts, this time it worked! The ghost chompies squealed as it flew in the air, then a bright light forced them to shield their eyes!

Above them, Whirlwind flew so high she covered the sky, but with her tiny wings, it was more like she hovered at just the right angle. Her tiny horn emitted with bright rainbow light, and with a single shot rainbows screeched through the air and blasted the chompies into nothingness!

Chihiro gasped, then grinned as she examined the glowing sparkles that laid down at her feet. She took one last glance at the rainbows that still hovered in their air, then she waved her hands and levitated the sparkles off the ground. As the sparkles swirled around her and bounced with glee, Chihiro snapped her fingers and consolidated them into a screeching laser cannon!

"Help, they're after me!" Ermit cried from behind as several ghostly chompies chased him and Seraphina! Though Ermit was in a frenzy as he ran as fast as he could, screeching as the chompies bit at his heel, Seraphina giggled with glee and waved at the chompies as if they were playing a game of tag!

"WHERE'S A WEED WHACKER WHEN YOU NEED ONE?!"

"Seems like he could use some help!" Chihiro remarked as she clutched her newborn laser cannon with a smirk, "and I've got just the thing!"

Chihiro grinned, then skidded backwards as a massive trine of lasers swirled and spun across the skies before zipping right through the chompies! Smoke wafted off their ghastly forms as holes formed in their bodies, while the chompies just looked down, blinked and groaned as they toppled over and dissolved into smoke.

"Alright!" Chihiro cried as she pumped a fist—but before she could cheer further, the ground shuddered and she fell to her knees! The laser cannon she held collapsed to the ground and exploded in moments, while she only looked up and gasped!

Above her, Tree Rex had charged forward, locked in combat with a chompy about as big as he was! The two of them pushed against each other, so evenly-matched that they could only grunt and push forward, but finally, Tree Rex let go of the chompy and stumbled backwards! The chompy growled and immediately went storming towards him, and Tree Rex just charged forward and slammed his arm right into its gut! The chompy hacked and coughed as Tree Rex dug his arm further into its gut, then with a single swing he tossed it right into the ground! The chompy slammed down and fissured the ground with a single smash, and though it itself fell unconscious, the quake it caused was plenty alive! The cracks in the ground spread across, and it rumbled as it buckled and shifted underneath everyone's weight.

"That's not good," Tree Rex remarked as the rumbling grew even more intense! He took a step backwards…

And finally, from the largest spaces in the cracks, an entire garden of chompy pods sprung out from the depths! The chompy pods trembled, then their petals peeled open and out from their hearts came an entire rain of chompy eggs, which soon burst open and sent a massive tsunami of chompies flying towards Tree Rex! Tree Rex stood in wide-eyed awe as the chompies came raining down…

And a massive burst of water washed the chompies away! While their squeals rang in the distance, Thumpback raced forward and fell to his knees, breath heavy and sweat creeping down his face. Tree Rex knelt beside him and gently rubbed his shoulder, while Thumpback only looked up and grinned.

"I'm, I'm alright," Thumpback said, though the heavy panting said otherwise. "Haven't done a wave like that in a while—AUGH!"

Behind him, a gigantic, icy blue chompy slammed into Thumpback and knocked him forward! The chompy pods were all squashed down underneath Thumpback's weight, but Thumpback just pushed himself up and snarled as the chompy licked its lips. Surely, it was planning to take a bite out of him! So, Thumpback just leaped forward and bit into its shoulder instead! Thumpback shook the squealing chompy back and forth for a few moments, then spat it right into a nearby wall! While the chompy popped off and fell on its face, Thumpback just sputtered and picked the ice chips out of his teeth.

"Chompies taste awful," Thumpback remarked. "Too much water."

Thumpback grunted as something back into him and nearly knocked him off his feet, while the sound of buzzing rang in his ears!

"Sorry about that, big blue!" Swarm cried as he cocked his arm barbs and glared down the trio of gigantic green chompies before him. "These guys gave me the run-around!" Swarm smirked, then zipped forward and thrust out his palms. "Time to go to plan BEE!"

Right as Swarm spoke, the buzzing around him grew more intense, and out from underneath him came a massive swarm of huge bees! The bees buzzed with rage as they turned their stingers towards the oncoming chompies, who just blinked and squealed! Two of the chompies immediately fled, but not before the bees repeatedly jabbed them and swelled up their bodies! The chompies squealed as they flailed their stubby arms, ran off the side of the island and fell into the abyss.

Swarm smirked and laid his hands on his hips, his eyes closed and pleased. "Buzzin, right?" Swarm remarked. "That should take care of those guys…"—Swarm popped an eye open as a shadow crept over him—"huh?"

But, Swarm had forgotten one! The last of the chompies had jumped over him, and with a vicious squeal it bit right into his shoulder with a nasty crunch. Swarm screamed in pain as he flailed his captured arm in some futile attempt to free himself, then he jabbed his free arm right into the chompy's side and blast it away! Both Swarm and the Chompy groaned and stumbled about, disoriented from the sudden freedom, then they both collapsed! The chompy's eyes closed as its tongue flopped out of its mouth, while Swarm groaned and collapsed on his belly. His eyes flickered open and shut while he panted, and he tried to push himself up, but his arms trembled and collapsed in an instant!

Both Eye and Brawl gasped, then Eye yanked himself off of Brawl and cast a glance back!

"You go get to Swarm!" Brawl signed before he nudged his shoulder towards the giant enfuego chompies that stared them down. "I'll take care of these guys!"

So, Eye nodded and zipped over to Swarm's side, then gently propped up Swarm's head.

"Swarm!" Chihiro cried as she teleported beside Swarm and examined his bleeding wound. "What happened?"

"I, I don't know," Swarm groaned as he struggled to lift his head. "That chompy bit me, and now I just feel so, so tired…"

Swarm indicated the chompy corpse beside him with a trembling hand, then as he groaned and collapsed, Chihiro rushed over to the corpse! She levitated up to its teeth and frowned as she glazed them over. They were pearly white like any other chompy's teeth, but had been stained with the crimson of blood, and some kind of purple substance, like…

"Poison?!" Chihiro cried.

Behind him, Tree Rex gasped, as did everyone else around! He immediately dashed to Swarm's side, then heaved Swarm only his shoulder and winced.

"Chompy poison's no laughing matter!" Tree Rex cried as he cradled Swarm in his arms. "We need to get him healed, quick!"

"Just leave it to me!" Chihiro cried as she flew up and held out her hands. "I'll get a healing spell working!"

Chihiro's hands pulsed with cyan light for moments, but the soft rumbles and growls that came from the battlefield below drew away her attention! She glanced down while the blood bubbled and broiled, then gasped as it swirled together and formed into an army of giant, sticky chompies! The chompies growled as they charged straight for Swarm, Tree Rex and Chihiro—but before they could strike, Thumpback jumped in front and swung them away with his anchor! He snarled and wrung the anchor's chain as the chompies collapsed and burst, yet instead of turning back to liquid, they just split into even more chompies! So, Thumpback screamed as he leaped forward and slashed through their ranks with his anchor, and yet every time he did, they just split into more!

Brawl joined in as he stomped away the chompies, but Eye wasn't as quick! He just peered over the horizon, then gasped and zipped back down.

"We've got trouble!" Eye cried as he jabbed his wing back to the horizon. "Chompies at two o'clock!"

The ground shuddered as shadows blocked out the sun, and all eyes turned back to the horizons, where gigantic chompies loomed over them with an army of even smaller chompies behind them! They were surrounded, and the chompies flanked them on every end!

"Now what are we going to do?!" Chihiro cried as she swept up the Skylanders in her arms. "We're surrounded!"

"Not yet, friend!" Seraphina cried from where she sat in Ermit's grip. She hopped out of Ermit's arms, then tugged on Chihiro's sleeve and dashed to the rock wall beside them. "There's a secret way here!" Seraphina gently knocked on the wall, then waved back and grinned. "Just stand here!"

Everyone exchanged worried glances, but with the oncoming storm of chompies and the ground quaking underneath them, they had no choice! So, they all rushed to where Seraphina stood, while the ground's rumbling grew even more intense… Then the floor shattered underneath them! They all screamed as they went crashing down below, while the shine of light above was masked from their sight as the ground above closed itself back up.

§

Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head as she finally came to. "That was one rough landing," she remarked. "Everyone here still?"

Groans and moans came from all around, and Chihiro sat up as she tried to get a sense of where she landed. The walls around were rocky and made of some mixture of stone and earth—a cave or tunnel, perhaps? But not an uninhabited one, as simple lanterns were nailed to the walls and provided a faint sense of light. Around her, everyone else laid down and tended to their wounds… Well, save for Seraphina who was happy to skip around and examine the odd drawings on the walls.

"These drawings are strange," Seraphina remarked as she tapped the walls. "Wilikin did not make them."

Tree Rex frowned as he leaned down and examined the drawings. "Strange," he remarked as he rubbed his chin. "I feel like I recognize this style…"

Tree Rex hummed in contemplation for a few moments longer, then the sound of squealing from behind sent him back up! He turned around and readied his laser cannon, then lowered it as he found that it was just Whirlwind, Cynder, Eruptor and Terrafin bouncing around on the floor.

As they growled and snarled, Chihiro sighed and lifted the cage that had fallen from her back from the ground.

"I know, I know, we need to get going," Chihiro remarked as she slid the cage onto her back. "Just let me heal everyone up, and we'll be on our way."

Chihiro clapped her hands, and in response a faint orb of light emerged from her palms. The orb hovered above her for a moment, then it fluttered up and sent waves of light pulsating through the tunnels and into everyone else's bodies! Their wounds sealed themselves up while blood retracted back into their bodies, bruises vanishing like they had never appeared!

Thumpback and Eye-Brawl both got up and stretched, but Tree Rex only wandered up to Swarm and helped Swarm back up.

"How're you feeling, Swarm?" Tree Rex asked, his eyes gentle as his hand twitched in anticipation of Swarm's answer. "Any better?"

Swarm, in response, just jumped out of Tree Rex's arms and grinned as he flexed his own. "Better than ever, boss!" Swarm cheered. "That poison's gone now!"

"Then I suppose we can get going!" Chihiro remarked as she skipped ahead and crafted a torch to guide them out of magic. "Seraphina, lead the way!"

Seraphina chuckled, then beckoned to the others before she skipped away. As she skipped and disappeared down the halls, the others were quick to make chase, the cyan light of Chihiro's torch their guide as they followed Seraphina down the testing stone tunnels. Occasionally, their cyan light mingled with faint, warm orange and yellow that came from the torches before, but their own light was faint and weak, as if they hadn't been tended to in a while. But, it was enough to showcase the drawings on the walls!

They were all fairly simple drawings, but they had enough detail to tell a story! They showed people gathered in villages, singing songs and harvesting from fields and playing games, a window into the past in its own right. Chihiro herself lingered on one of these drawings, and Tree Rex did as well. But, while Chihiro grinned as she ran her hands along the cool, bumpy walls, Tree Rex just seemed discontent, his eyes fixed on them in cold analysis.

"Something bugging you, Rexy?" Chihiro remarked as she lifted her torch to his face.

Tree Rex sneezed as the embers touched his nose, then chuckled and wiped it off.

"Ah, it's nothing, Chihiro," Tree Rex replied as he stood tall and wandered down the path. "Just felt a bit familiar, that's all."

Chihiro frowned—something about the way Tree Rex talked seemed like it was bothering him a little more than that, and the somber look in his eyes seemed far too great to be ignored. But, he didn't really seem as if he wanted to press the matter further, so she just sighed and trailed along. The torches had left them behind quickly, and the cavern turned a cool blue, illuminated by the warmth of the torch… Then, red as well! But, the red light that beckoned for them came from up ahead, and it was too strong to have been anything from a torch! Chihiro skipped ahead as their group jolted to a stop, and she herself jumped to the front then frowned as her eyes fell on the stream ahead.

There, a mass of glowing red orbs skittered like roaches across a less elevated road that laid before them, their group a firm block between the path Chihiro stood on now and the path ahead. These orbs looked harmless enough, yet something about them didn't seem quite right. Chihiro frowned, then jumped on a part of the path that was free for a quick second—only to get slammed by an orb in that very moment! As it exploded into puffy red lights, a massive jolt of electricity rumbled through her body!

"YIKES!" Chihiro cried as she hopped backwards and blew on her aching foot. "That stings!"

"That is because the red orbs are bad. They will hurt you," Seraphina explained as she patted Chihiro's aching foot.

"No kidding." Chihiro rolled her eyes, then frowned and turned aside as Seraphina skipped off.

"But, we can fix that!" Seraphina grinned as she stood beside a switch not unlike the one they had all seen at the beginning of the village. "Just press this switch!"

Seraphina tapped the switch, and with a quick warble, the orbs shuddered and flipped over to a bright, serene blue.

"And now, they are friends too!"

Chihiro raised a brow, then dropped her still jittery, still numb foot on the ground and dragged it across the floor. It was a lot more offsetting, having to walk when her foot had fallen asleep from being zapped so hard, but the moment the blue orbs rammed into it, it woke up immediately! And even better, they filled her with a new energy too, like she had just woken up and was raring to go!

"You're right!" Chihiro cried as she bounced on the orbs and leaped to the other side. "This feels great!"

"It does!" Seraphina chirped! Seraphina tapped a button on the switch, and in response it shrank till it could fit in one's pocket. "Now, before we leave, I will take this." Seraphina lifted the device and skipped along. "Switch could be helpful in future."

Seraphina joined up and hopped on Chihiro's back, and Chihiro squealed as Seraphina offset her balance and sent her stumbling back and forth! Chihiro windmilled her arms as she finally caught her balance, then she grinned and lifted Seraphina off her shoulders. A couple of squeaks and shouts came down from below, and Chihiro craned her head down and grinned as she met eyes with Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind, who had all stacked atop each other as they tried to reach up to where Chihiro stood—but alas, without fingers they couldn't reach! So, Chihiro just levitated them up and back into her cage backpack.

Behind them, Ermit winced as he eyed the stream, then he gently tapped it with his foot… And as the orbs ran over him and seeped into his body, he just grinned and strode along! With a smile he climbed up the rock and joined Chihiro at her side, then a massive thunk sounded behind them all and nearly knocked them off as the Elder Elementals crashed down behind them!

Eye flew off and pushed everyone back to their feet one at a time, then he cast out a laser and flitted down the dark caverns. With him guiding the way ahead, everyone else trailed down, while their eyes occasionally trailed to the stone walls beside them. The cavern drawings remained still, but this time, they had turned much more somber.

Eye paused in front of one, where a village, surely the one the prior drawings had depicted, was being attacked! Other people bearing larger suits and devices chased after the helpless villagers and knocked them down, while their houses and fields were set ablaze. Eye winced as he flitted away from it, while Tree Rex blinked and followed after him, his footsteps a steady pound that echoed within the cavern itself. Eye shuddered as Tree Rex thunked beside him, then he lifted himself up and shone the laser's light over Tree Rex's face.

"Is something bothering you?" Eye remarked as he spun around.

Tree Rex frowned, then twiddled his fingers and looked aside. "Nothing much. Just wanted to see what happened next."

So, Eye flitted his wings and turned his light back on the walls, where a new illustration had been carved on the walls! The village was still on fire and bodies littered its floor, but now, the ones who threatened the village had company! Larger beings had jumped in and stood in front of the villagers, and thought they shared the same stick figure-like style, they had a few discerning features. One had horns like a bull, some others had wings, one had a more lopsided head and another's head was on fire…

"Hey, these kinda look like you guys!" Chihiro remarked as she popped between Tree Rex and Eye and ran her fingers across the wall. "See, this one's got Tree Rex's horns,"—Chihiro pointed towards the horned figure on the wall, then dragged it across the wall—"and this guy's got Swarm's wings, and I think this one might be Thumpback."

Swarm, Thumpback and Brawl all crept up over them, and Swarm beamed as he examined the walls. "You're right, Chi!" Swarm chuckled as he pointed his barbs towards the wall. "I think this guy's supposed to be old Hot Head, and I'll bet this is Ninjini the Great herself!"

Swarm grinned and rambled on, but Tree Rex didn't share in his joy. In fact, his jaw dropped by the second while his eyes went wide with realization! He blinked for a few moments, then he stormed down the halls with a speed no one had seen out of him before! Heck, he nearly trampled Chihiro and Eye in the process!

"Hey, watch where you're going, Tree Rex!" Eye cried as he flapped his wings with a little more indignity. "What're you in such a hurry for, anyways?"

Brawl, however, just knelt down and signed to Eye. "Don't you think these look familiar?" Brawl asked Eye before he pointed towards the walls again. "These drawings, they remind me of that one village."

"That one village?" Eye remarked as he craned himself towards Brawl, then examined the walls again. "Now that I think about it, this style does remind me of something…"

Eye scanned the walls again while everyone followed behind him, now a teensy bit more wary than before. His lasers skimmed over the walls, and as they did, the cave drawings grew more and more somber—the larger protectors of the village fighting against the intruders, being wounded and broken, but still fighting their hardest. Then finally, the intruders' devices driving them into a corner, and the protectors fleeing! Eye stopped right in front of a drawing of the village residents fleeing themselves as the intruders wreaked havoc on their home, and finally, it seemed as though the realization had dawned on him! He fell down to the cavern floor, and Brawl just scooped Eye up in his arms and let Eye snuggle close to his chest. Eye, in response, just frowned the best an eye could while he wrapped his wings around his round body.

Beside them, Swarm and Thumpback examined the drawings, and Swarm started to frown as his antenna drooped.

"We'd better find the boss," Swarm remarked as he strode away from Thumpback, his usual cheer forgotten—even his wings didn't sing with the gentle buzzes and hums they usually carried. "Something tells me he's not really happy right now."

"Geez, what's got them in a twist?" Ermit remarked as he crossed his arms. "What, did these old cave drawings scare them or something?"

Chihiro, however, just frowned as she tugged on her suspenders' straps. She didn't really understand what was going on—were those really the Elder Elementals? She crafted an orb of light and examined the walls once more, and her eyes lingered on the drawings of the supposed Elder Elementals fleeing and leaving the villagers to their doom. If that really was them… Chihiro frowned, then clutched her sphere close as the series of drawings continued.

Beside her, the villagers who hadn't been killed had fled into what seemed like a cavern of some sort, where they all seemed to try and continue their daily lives. But, things were wrong—they no longer sang or played or harvested, they just sat and sulked until they died. Slowly, the numbers dwindled, until all that was left was one person, surrounded by the bodies of those they surely once called friends, neighbors, family! And then… Nothing. All the walls were barren and untouched, save for a couple of scratches that were probably incomplete drawings themselves.

Chihiro's spheres glimmered just a little bit duller than before as she ran her hands across the wall, then the spill of gentle yellow light from the path ahead caught her eyes. She whisked away her sphere with a snap of her fingers, dashed into the source of the light and found none other than Tree Rex, at last!

He had knelt beside the corpse of a rotting, dead tree, its leaves surely haven fallen and rotted a long time ago. But, despite the death of the tree itself, the orb that its roots curled around seemed bright as ever, its jewellike seafoam surface sparkly and bright as Tree Rex ran his fingers against its smooth surface. Stone markers had been placed all around the tree and Tree Rex, with carvings placed on them that resembled some kind of Ancient Skylandian text—graves, perhaps?

Either way, Chihiro just sat beside Tree Rex and ran her hand against his moss-covered leg. Though her touch was probably small and unnoticeable, Tree Rex was broken out of his stupor nonetheless, then he looked down and forced a tiny grin.

"Oh, Chihiro, it's just you," Tree Rex whispered as he lifted his hand from the orb. "I didn't see you."

Tree Rex's voice, normally so powerful and kind, carried with it a kind of weakness, so hoarse and pained as he sat in the center of it all. While he turned back to the orb, Chihiro just rubbed her hands against his legs and leaned in closer.

"Tree Rex," Chihiro whispered as her eyes turned to the dying tree. "Just what is this place? What's wrong?"

Tree Rex sighed, and once again he lifted his hands from the orb and forced a smile. "Well, it just so happens that I knew this place."

And yet, he didn't seem particularly happy to have said that. Tree Rex clasped his hands, and his eyes turned a bit glossy like he was going to cry.

"Ages ago, when we first became the Elder Elementals, we received a cry for help from a small village in the furthest outskirts of Skylands, saying they were being attacked by Arkeyan forces. We arrived as fast as we could, but we were too late."

Tree Rex's hands started to tremble, and he clasped them tight while his solar cannon flashed in and out.

"They had already stormed the village, and though we all fought our hardest, they had us outnumbered and outpowered. We fought our hardest, but they completely wiped the floor with us. In the end…" Tree Rex just shook his hung head and rested his hand on the ground. "I panicked, and ordered for us to flee."

So the stories on the wall did happen! Chihiro gasped as her eyes fell on Tree Rex's, which carried with them a somberness and tenderness she had never really seen in him before, then she pressed herself closer and tried to hug him the best she could. Though really, all she did was clutch the moss on his legs.

"I'm sorry," Chihiro whispered as she rubbed her head into the moss. "I'm sure you did everything you could."

"BUT IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH!"

SLAM!

Chihiro squeaked and jumped away as Tree Rex smacked his fist into the ground, and sap like tears crawled down his face. But, as he caught sight of Chihiro's shocked expression, he wiped them away and forced a smile—even as he grieved, he always tried to save face, it seemed. Tree Rex paused and examined the engravings on the markers, then sighed and laid his hand on his legs.

"They fought their hardest to survive, but even after fleeing underground to rebuild their home, they still perished…" Tree Rex whispered. "And if we, if I hadn't given up then, they might not have even had to! They might've gotten the chance to live, to be free, to not resign themselves to dying where the light didn't even reach!" Tree Rex held his head, and the tears plopped down onto his knees and turned his mossy legs sweet in scent, but choking nonetheless. "All because I gave up and ran off."

"There you are, boss."

Tree Rex's eyes widened, and he turned back to the entrance to find Swarm, Eye-Brawl and Thumpback all standing in the doorway! Swarm gave him a friendly wave, but one a bit more diminished compared to his usual cheer, then he flitted over and sat beside Tree Rex. Though Tree Rex was pretty hefty, he completely melted into Swarm's grasp, just enough for Swarm to prop Tree Rex's head on his shoulder.

"So, this was that place, wasn't it?" Thumpback asked as he knelt beside the monuments.

Tree Rex's eyes fluttered, and he slowly, gently nodded, just barely enough to be seen. Eye laid in his lap while Brawl placed himself beside Thumpback, and all five of them sat in a quiet vigil, no words spoken as they all glazed over the monuments. Their faces grew somber as they glazed over the monuments together, their heads bowed in remembrance while frowns and tears crossed their faces… Then, Tree Rex grunted as he pushed himself off the ground.

"This is no time to mourn," was all Tree Rex said, his voice cold as he lifted himself up to full head and held out his hand. All eyes turned on him, but he only frowned and laid a hand on his chest. "Everyone, listen." Tree Rex held out his hands. "We may have failed this island's residents once, but we're not going to fail them again! This island's peace, its people's safety, they're all being threatened just like before—and this time, we're not going to run away! We can't let history repeat itself!"

Tree Rex extended a hand, and a smile crossed his face.

"This time, we're going to save them! Who's with me?"

Swarm blinked, then he grinned and sprung to his feet as he slapped his hand on Tree Rex's. "You can count me in, boss!"

"I'm in too," Thumpback replied as he placed a hand over the others and squeezed it tight.

"And eye as well!" Eye remarked as he popped on top of the hand pile, then grinned as Brawl waved.

Chihiro beamed, then floated up and slapped her own hand on the pile! It was tiny compared to the others, and probably not much to remark on, but the quiet show of bravery was enough to earn her excitement!

"Same here! We'll all make sure to save everyone!" Chihiro proclaimed as she swung from the hands, while Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind cheered from their place on her back.

Behind them, faint panting echoed around the halls, and Ermit and Seraphina came bursting right out!

"What, what's going on here?" Ermit panted as he sat down.

Seraphina, however, just twirled around and giggled.

"I don't know, but it looks fun!" Seraphina chirped as she skipped ahead. "And we should be by Lower Facadeville now!"

Seraphina gently tapped a wall, and beside them the stones rolled away and light poured in from the outside world! Everyone around gave each other cold, determined glances, and with one last nod they all burst out the door and into the outside world! Their weapons were bared as they landed on the grass, in full expectation of the armies or tricks that awaited them…

But all they found was a ghost town! Though it didn't look too ravaged, the windows were coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, and tumbleweeds ran through the grassy paths. The stone fountains in the heart of the area were completely dry, and no sort of sound came but the rustling of wind.

Chihiro frowned and lowered her sword, while beside her Seraphina frowned and clasped her hands.

"This village has no more friends in it," Seraphina explained. "They have all become chompies."

Though Seraphina's words were simple, they set a feeling of melancholy through their humble little team. Frowns and aside looks came about everywhere as they all looked away, and even Cynder, Whirlwind, Eruptor and Terrafin seemed a bit more sad than usual as their eyestalks drooped. But then, Chihiro knelt down and smiled as she patted Seraphina's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Seraphina!" Chihiro said as she lifted her hand and beamed. "We'll make sure we save everyone and turned them back to normal, I promise!"

"Really?" Seraphina's eyes glistened with awe.

"Indeed. We're going to stop this Chompy Mage's evil ploys once and for all!" Tree Rex vowed as he cocked his arm like a gun and glared over the surroundings. "Now, where is his hideout?"

"Follow me!"

Seraphina's early sorrow completely vanished as she hummed a tune and skipped along, while the others warily followed them. The icy breeze ran across their heads and sent chills down their spines as they passed through the barren ghost town, but soon enough even that had left them behind in favor of a single cliff face… But, whatever it had rested over had seemingly vanished! Its surrounding had been blocked off by a gigantic castle front made of leafy vines, with a single dark opening where a door should have been, and the faint sound of squealing chompies came from within. No doubt about it, this had to be the place!

With a shared nod, everyone trailed inside the open gate, the cover of the leaves above a shield from the sunlight outside. Specks of light peered in from gaps in the leaves, almost as if they had traveled into an actual forest, and the gentle rustles of a cool breeze paired with the song of chompies served to accentuate the feeling. And if that wasn't enough, the massive walls of leaves and vines and the carpet of thin moss underneath really set the mood! And yet, nobody was at ease. Their hands were clenched as if they were prepared to attack at any given moment, and with every slight noise, they turned their arms right at the source? A birdsong? Arms bared at the walls from which it sung! The faint skitter of tiny feet? Weapons pointed towards the ground? And the massive rumbling of the ground below them?

Well… They actually didn't touch upon that at first, because something massive had jumped out of the ground and knocked them all backwards! A roar shook the leaves right off their vines as a trine of massive, green flying worms with a vague resemblance to chompies hovered in the air and roared, then set their eyes right on the heroes!

"Chompy worms?!" Ermit cried as he cowered behind Chihiro. "But how can they survive outside of the desert?!"

"I don't know," Tree Rex cried as he staggered back to his feet and cracked his knuckles. "But I'm not letting them stop me!"

The chompy worms snarled and gnashed their teeth as they came in fast, but Tree Rex only chuckled and waved at them!

"Come and get me, you oversized parasites!" Tree Rex chuckled as he charged off!

The chompy worms snarled and growled as they zipped off after Tree Rex, but he just took a sharp turn left! While two of the worms were quick to change direction, one wasn't as lucky and crashed right into the wall! As the leaves came down and coated it, Tree Rex took a glance back and scoffed. The other two chompy worms were hot on his tail… Then, as they ran, one of them flew ahead and intercepted Tree Rex where he stood! Just before it could bite him, however, Tree Rex dashed away and let the remaining two ram into each other!

With the three chompy worms down for the count, Tree Rex wiped his hands. "Looks like I took them to the wood shed!" Tree Rex cried as he laid his palms on the ground. "And just to make sure they stay down…"

Tree Rex closed his eyes and hummed while a green glow surrounded his body! The glow pulsed for a few moments, then it spread across the ground and formed veins of green light in the earth. These veins flickered and shuddered, and out from them sprouted vines that wrapped tight around the chompy worms!

"Come on!" Tree Rex cried as he lurched up, "We need to get going!"

Tree Rex stepped forward, but before he could go forward, the walls rumbled and an entire swarm of chompies burst out! They tore though the leaves that shielded them, then snarled as they leaped forward with teeth glistening in the light! Tree Rex snarled and readied his solar cannon, fully prepared to fire…

But just before he could, Chihiro leaped in front of him and summoned a massive laser cannon, then spun around and fried the chompies to a crisp! The first wave had been taken down, but the others were more than raring to go! So, Tree Rex backed up just inches from Chihiro and shot off blasts from his own cannon as well!

And yet, despite their intense light show, the chompies wouldn't relent! More flooded in every time a wave was taken down, as if there were an infinite amount being spawned!

"There's too many of them!" Chihiro cried as she punched a chompy away just before it could bite her face off, "We need more power!"

"Just leave it to us!" Swarm and Eye-Brawl cried.

Behind Tree Rex and Chihiro, the two of them grinned and held out their arms! With a cock of Swarm's barbs, a massive swarm of bees rushed out from underneath him, scattered around and stung the chompies, who turned from fighting to panicking as they tried to escape the bees' stingers! And while they panicked, Swarm just stepped back and nudged Eye-Brawl's shoulder.

Eye, in response, popped right off of Brawl's head and spun around as thick lasers shot out from his pupil! Smoke wafted to the ceiling as a dizzy Eye popped right back onto Brawl's head, but the damage he had done was more than enough—because the chompies had been completely fried! While Eye panted and snuggled into his seat, Brawl just patted Eye's top.

And with the chompies no longer a problem, their journey continued once more. The forest canopy grew bright as they sneaked past the front gates, and the leaves and vines turned more condensed and more akin to an actual building's walls as they passed by halls lined with rooms full of chompies—from egg-filled nurseries to gardens where chompies played, even specialized habitats for all sorts of rare varieties! It was a veritable chompy sanctuary, and it would have been quite the pretty site anywhere else, but at a time like this, it still seemed a little eerie. After all, the sound of gnashing chompy teeth and faint, jilted cries came through the air, and the smell of blood wafted in from the leaves and melded in with the scent of maple syrup and flowers in a way that churned stomachs.

As the halls came to a close, their last segment was blocked off by a flower-covered open door flanked by two particularly large, armor-bearing chompies. The chompies themselves only seemed half-alert as they half-heartedly turned their heads around and yawned, not a single moment of attention paid to the intruders standing right before their faces!

Ermit himself trembled and stumbled backwards as his eyes fell on the massive chompies, and a squeak slipped from his mouth and bounced around the halls! The chompies jumped up and snarled as their eyes fell on the floors, but Tree Rex whisked everyone behind a particularly large flower before the chompies could spot them! The chompies blinked, then shrugged as they sat back down and scratched their backs.

"This has to be where the Chompy Mage is," Tree Rex whispered as he peered up from behind the gigantic flower.

"Then just leave the guards to me," Thumpback remarked as he popped up beside Tree Rex, "I'll leave them washed up!"

So, Thumpback whipped out his anchor, then spun it around and wrapped it around the first chompy guard! Both chompy guards squawked as they witnessed the sudden attack, but they didn't linger on it for long—because Thumpback slammed them right into each other and against a wall! The disarmed chompy guards collapsed onto a pile of leaves that was once a wall, and Thumpback reclaimed his anchor.

Everyone nodded as they rushed up to the gate, then Tree Rex punched it open and they all rushed inside… Paused, and peered down to find that the ground below their feet was no more! No, all that laid underneath was a massive tunnel comprised of leaves the twirled in the breeze, accompanied by the sound of whistling grass! A few blinks came in that moment, and everyone screamed as they collapsed onto the tunnel's floor and went sliding down!

§

CRASH! Went the ground as the Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex, and Eye-Brawl fell through the leaf tunnel one by one and slammed down onto the forested ground. They all snarled and banged their fists together as they took solid footing, then parted as Chihiro floated down beside them! Chihiro grinned and stretched as her feet hit solid, leafy ground, but quickly turned around as screaming echoed from behind her… Then she herself screamed as Ermit and Seraphina crashed right into her! The whole group fell in a leaf pile and grunted as they sat back up, while Chihiro just pulled her cage backpack off her back.

The tunnel had dropped hem into a single wide room, where the floor was for once made of solid ground rather than the moss that made up the other rooms, and the leaves were either so tightly packed that they were barely distinguishable from wallpaper or perhaps were wallpaper itself! Orbs of light hung from the ceiling and cast a warm glow over the area, from the walls to the large throne of leaves at the very back of the room, and the scent of thick maple syrup wafted in the air. It was so intense that everyone scrunched their noses and groaned from the scent, and it almost clouded Chihiro's own vision too, to boot! So, she just turned her head down to the cage backpack.

"You guys alright?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head towards the chompyfied Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind. They all bounced up and squeaked in response, and Chihiro grinned as she patted their cage. "Don't worry, once we get this guy taken care of, then we'll definitely turn you back!"

"What's this about turning people back?!" Cried a voice from further down the room!

Chihiro slipped the cage onto her back as she jumped to her feet, then snarled and readied a sphere.

"That voice!" She cried as her sphere grew bright, "that's gotta be him!"

"Indeed! It is I, the Chompy Mage!" The Chompy Mage cried as he hobbled out from behind the throne! He snarled, then waved his staff at Chihiro and the others, "and you're still not chompies, so I still don't like you!"

"What do you think you're doing here?!" His puppet demanded as it shook a fist at Chihiro!

"It's simple!" Chihiro cried back as she pointed a finger at the Chompy Mage. "We're here to stop you and turn everyone back to normal!"

"Yeah!" Tree Rex cried as he pounded his fists against each other, and a snarl wide and sharp crossed his face. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!"—With one last pound of his fists, Tree Rex narrowed his eyes—"you can just turn everyone back now, or we'll make you!"

"No way!" The Chompy Mage's puppet cried. "Everyone here's much happier as chompies, anyways!"

"Somehow, I doubt that!" Tree Rex hissed. He lowered his fists slightly, then lowered his head and snarled. "If that's the case, then I'll make you turn them back!"

The Chompy Mage cried out and leaped in the air as Tree Rex charged right for him, but his puppet only stuffed its hands into its mouth and whistled!

The walls around shuddered, and Tree Rex immediately drew to a stop and caught a glimpse of the shaking leaves, just enough time for the Chompy Mage to teleport away! Tree Rex gasped as the Chompy Mage vanished… But while the Chompy Mage disappeared, out from the walls burst massive chompy pods in all sorts of colors and shapes, all helmed by an army of wooden chompies! The wooden chompies chattered like wind-up toys as they bounced from side to side, more robotic than alive, then they all turned and barked at Tree Rex!

"Don't hurt the chompies!" Chihiro cried as she summoned a sword. "They're still wilikin somewhere in there!"

Chihiro grunted as a Chompy Pod skittered up to her, then lowered itself and shot chompy eggs towards her like a cannon! With a gasp, she slashed the eggs away one by one, then flicked her sword and sent their goop splattering across the floor.

"But these guys are fair game!"

Across from her, a group of gigantic chompy pods blocked the way off to the Chompy Mage's throne, then shuddered as they spewed off chompies just as big as they were! The chompies snarled and bounced up and down, enough to send mini shockwaves rushing through the area—but not enough to sweep the Elder Elementals off their feet!

"We'll take care of these guys!" Tree Rex cried. "You worry about the rest!"

Chihiro nodded, but just before she herself could jump into the fray, the cage on her back rattled something fierce! She teetered back and forth as the shaking cage upset her balance, then finally the lip flipped over and knocked her in the head as Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind leaped in front of her! Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head as the cage's lip flipped back down, then frowned and tilted it as they chattered before her.

"Wait, lemme guess—you guys wanna fight too?" Chihiro asked.

All four of them all beamed and rapidly nodded, their grin only shared by Chihiro.

"Alright!" Chihiro cried as she dove underneath the giant chompies with Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind tailing along. "Let's kick some chompy tail!"

Chihiro leaped forward and grunted as she cut down a row of icy blue chompies just before they could chew her up, then she gasped as her eyes fell on the Chompy Mage's throne—and more importantly, the Chompy Mage as he sneaked away from it! She leaned in and charged for him, but before she could reach him, a row of wooden chompies leaped up and bore their fangs at her! She immediately reached out her hands and prepared to craft a shield…

But before she could, Terrafin body-slammed one chompy into the rest! The wooden chompies all collapsed to the ground and jumped back to their feet, and their bodies jolted up and down like janky robots as they turned around and snarled! Terrafin curled up his leafy arms like fists as he yowled and screeched at the wooden chompies, and the wooden chompies returned his cries with garbled nonsense as they charged for him instead!

Just as they stepped forward, however, a geyser of lava burst from the floor and tossed the wooden chompies everywhere! Behind them, Eruptor chuckled as he jumped up and down… Then screamed and ran away as one flaming wooden chompy nearly crashed into him from the skies! The chompy hopped up and run in circles as the flames burned away, then a massive torrent came from the skies and drenched it down!

The wooden chompy groaned and fell on its back, while Whirlwind just floated down in front of Eruptor. The two of them grunted and squeaked, then bounced up and down as another round of screams came from the rest of the chompies, all of whom were still flaming! Whirlwind gasped, then clapped her leafy hands. Rainclouds burst to life all across the fields and rained down on the flaming wooden chompies, and as they collapsed, purple ghosts rose from the ground and glared them down!

As Cynder whispered something to the ghosts, Chihiro just grinned and clutched her sword, her eyes fixed on the oblivious Chompy Mage! She rubbed her hand against the sword and transformed it into a laser cannon, then dove underneath the fray and dashed right towards him!

Seraphina blinked as Chihiro rushed past her, then giggled and skipped into the heart of the fray. "That looks fun!" Seraphina chirped as she disappeared between the chompies. "I'm coming too!"

"No you aren't!" Ermit cried as he yanked Seraphina from the ground and rolled underneath a particularly large pile of fallen leaves. Ermit whimpered as he piled the leaves over the two of them, though his fierce trembling made his position obvious nonetheless. "We are staying right here, where it's safe!"

And as they hid, Tree Rex snarled and lifted his hand, his solar cannon charged with a bright, flashing light! He cocked it once, then swung his arm around and sent a massive solar blast cutting through the chompy pods! A nasty squelch came from the halved pods as they exploded in a rain of slimy green gloop that splattered everywhere, but while everyone around him fled, Tree Rex just lowered his arm and snarled.

"Geez!" Eye cried as he popped off Brawl's head just before the slime could hit him. "All this slime is awful for my eye!"—Eye's wings flitted a bit more as he zeroed in on a chompy pod that shuddered and pumped up and down—"but eye know what's even worse!"

With one last pulse, the chompy pod burst open and gigantic chompy eggs leaped from the air! They cracked and shuddered as they prepared to open, but before they could hatch, a massive silver laser shrieked forward and completely halved them! Their gooey shells and the masses of green chompy blood splattered everywhere, from the walls to the floor to the ceiling, and it left a grassy scent around the area. Not that anyone noticed, given that they were more busy getting splatted!

Eye turned around, then gasped as he caught sight of Brawl, who rushed away as several large chompies tailed after him—and right towards a pool of bright green blood!

"Brawl, watch out!" Eye cried, but it was too late!

Just as Brawl turned around, his foot hit the pool and he went skating! The chompies tried to chase after him, but they, too, lost their footing and went sliding away! Brawl himself was taken away to the left by the current, but one by one the chompies slammed into the walls, then screamed as a large tree branch fell on them and knocked them out cold! Brawl chuckled as he skidded backwards, then the sound of growling and smashing turned him backwards… Right as he crashed into a gigantic chompy that Thumpback had been brawling with! The chompy slammed right into Thumpback and knocked them both into a wall, but Brawl only planted on the floor and moaned.

"Brawl, are you alright?" Eye asked as he hovered down beside Brawl.

Brawl just groaned and stumbled up, then waved a hand to Eye and shuffled his headless body as if he was nodding.

Eye chuckled. "If that's the case," Eye said as he popped back down on Brawl's head, his eye fixed on the trails of chompy blood around them and the chompies that lingered beside. "Then eye say we do a little skating!"

So, Brawl hesitantly tapped the trails, then leaped forward and skated around as if they were an ice rink! As they swung from corner to corner, Eye himself spun around and shot silver-hot lasers at the chompies around, and the faint scent of smoke wafted in the air as the chompies collapsed in droves! A wave of green blood crashed over one particularly large chompy just before it could bite Swarm, and as it turned around, Brawl leaped forward and punched it down!

The world around shuddered as the chompy crashed into the wall with a loud thud and knocked the leaves right off, then as it slouched down and collapsed, the Chompy Mage snarled! His grip on his staff was held tight as he examined the chompy, then jumped out the way of a bright blue laser!

"Hey! We're still in the middle of a battle, you know!" Chihiro cried as she cocked the laser cannon on her arm!

The Chompy Mage blinked, then squealed as his puppet grabbed onto his beard and practically yanked it off his face! The Chompy Mage shrieked in pain as he fruitlessly tried to yank his puppet away, but no matter how much he grappled and pulled, the puppet refused to leave!

"Hey, hey, what's gotten into you, Chompy Puppet?!" Chompy Mage demanded as he finally pulled his puppet off his beard!

"That!" The Chompy Puppet squealed as it pointed right towards Chihiro—or rather, the shining blue laser that she prepared to fire!

The Chompy Mage squealed and ducked right before the laser could blast him right in the face, then screamed and leaped up as another laser singed his feet! While he squealed and hopped from hot foot to hot foot as he blew them off, the cackles of Chihiro from beside him sent him snarling. He turned around and pulled out his staff, ready to cast a spell. But just before he could, another massive laser courtesy of Eye-Brawl grazed over him and singed the ground below! The Chompy Mage hit the floor once more, then rolled aside and dove underneath the shade of a mossy rock as the laser storm continued! He clenched his staff's stick tight, then skittered away as a massive shadow cast over him!

The mossy rock that was once his shield was kicked aside as Thumpback was pushed against a wall by a massive chompy, but Thumpback just snarled and gripped it by the shoulders! While the chompy blinked, Thumpback swung it around and tossed it into the wall in front of him! The chompy screamed as it crashed through the wall and broke a gigantic hole in it, then the wall ahead of that, and the next one after that… Soon enough, all that could be heard of it were its faint cries and the sound of splintering wood.

From the gigantic hole, more chompies poked their heads out and chattered, their beady eyes shiny and round with curiosity.

"Ah, yes, perfect!" Chompy Mage cried as he turned around and waved his staff. "Chompies, come and help your leader!"

"Not a chance!" Swarm cried as he zipped forward and cocked his barbs. "Time to get buzzin'!"

Swarm unleashed his clenched hands, and from them a massive swarm of bees came forward and chased after the chompies, whose eyestalks practically leaped out of their bodies and they screamed and ran off! The bees tailed them through the holes as they disappeared in the distance, while Swarm only smirked and placed his hands on his hips…

But below him, the Chompy Mage was far from pleased! His brows were clenched so tight they nearly blocked out his eyes as a nasty, twitchy snarl crossed his face, and his grip on his staff was so tight it almost split in half! His chompy puppet growled and clenched its teeth in tandem, then it leaped forward and nearly bit into Swarm's leg! Swarm jumped out of the way just in time, but that didn't exactly quell the puppet's rage!

"You stupid fleshies!" It cried as it hopped up and down the best it could. "You might think you're so high and mighty now…"

"But once I turn you into chompies and have you under my wing, you'll be singing a different tune!" Chompy Mage cried! His staff sparked with bright green magic, and he flung it right towards Swarm as it glowed bright. "Take this!"

"How about you take this?!" Chihiro cried!

The staff's light faded as the Chompy Mage turned around, and Chihiro tackled him right down and knocked his staff right out of his hands! The Chompy Mage grunted as the leaves that had fallen on the ground flew up from the pressure, then he pushed back against Chihiro, but she had him pinned tight to the ground! So, the two of them did the next best thing they could—rolling along the ground, through faint streaks of chompy blood and piles of leaves and the occasional wooden chompy too as they tried to push each other off! Chihiro grunted as they both slammed into a wall's wooden base, then the Chompy Mage growled as he flailed his legs in some futile attempt to kick her off. But, she just pinned his knee down and prepared to headbutt him! Just as she swung her head, though, Chompy Mage wrung away his own and yanked out his free hand!

"Staff, come to me!" Chompy Mage cried!

The staff rattled against the ground and glowed with a green light, then it zipped across the ground and right back into Chompy Mage's hand! Its green light migrated to its top as the Chompy Mage turned it on Chihiro, and she only screamed and leaped away! Now free at last, the Chompy Mage jumped back to his feet and spun his staff around as he sent a fleet of green blasts flying straight towards Chihiro! Chihiro screamed, then flung out her hands and tossed her own cyan blasts right back at him!

The blasts collided at once, then dropped down to the ground as sparkling cyan chompies made of pure magic. The chompies blinked for a moment, then completely vanished in puffs of cyan smoke!

"Hey, hey, let me do the fighting!" The chompy puppet cried as it bounced up.

"Why should I let you? I'm doing just fine on my own!" The Chompy Mage cried as he shot the puppet a glare. The Chompy Mage waved his staff towards Chihiro, then screamed as a laser shot right into his belly and knocked him down.

"That's why!" The chompy puppet scoffed, then cleared its throat and turned a deadly gaze on Chihiro. "Now, feel the chompy power!"

The chompy puppet shuddered for a moment, then sprung forward and hacked out massive, glowing acorns! The acorns' shells bubbled and shuddered as they screeched across the battlefield, then they turned red-hot as they shattered and sent burning blasts of magic hurtling towards Chihiro! Chihiro slipped away just as the first one crashed behind her and sent flaming chunks of acorn meat flying, then leaped right as the second one flew underneath her! The third one came in fast, but she just vanished away in a puff of magic!

The Chompy Mage and Puppet both gasped, then the Chompy Mage whipped his head towards the puppet.

"Where'd she go?!" The Chompy Mage demanded.

"I don't know!" The puppet cried back as it flung its arms in the air!

"You told me you'd take care of it! You stupid puppet, I knew I should've never let you do it!"

"Like you were doing any better! She was going to wipe the floor with you!"

"Well, I'll—"

The Chompy Mage grunted as a flash of blue light shone on his face and turned around right as Chihiro slugged him in the face! His face turned red and swollen as he stumbled backwards, then a bright cyan magic sphere punched him in the gut and knocked him on his back! His staff rolled out of his hands and onto the forest canopy as he groaned and writhed in pain… Now was Chihiro's chance!

She grinned as she teleported over and went to yank the staff off the ground—but just before she could, something bit into her arm! Chihiro yowled in pain and reeled back as she rubbed her aching arm, while beside her the Chompy Puppet chuckled as the Chompy Mage staggered back up.

"You really thought I'd fall for that, didn't you?" Chompy Mage cried as he lifted his staff off the ground and turned it on Chihiro. "Ha! Well now I'm the one who fooled you!"—The Chompy Mage's staff turned a bright green—"enjoy chompyhood!"

The staff shrieked and whirred as it prepared to fire, but before it did, something black and white slammed right into it and sent it twirling across the area! While the Chompy Mage screamed and chased after his runaway staff, that black and white blur spun across and landed straight in Chihiro's arms, then uncurled itself and revealed that it was none other than Terrafin!

"Thanks Fin!" Chihiro chirped as she rubbed his head. "You really saved me back there!"

Terrafin chirped back in response, then leaped on Chihiro's shoulder and snarled as they both glared at the Chompy Mage. The Chompy Mage, in turn, had just claimed his staff back, then gasped and stumbled backwards—because he had finally realized he was outnumbered! All around him, his giant chompies had been knocked out and beaten down by Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex and Eye-Brawl, while the wooden chompies he had summoned earlier had been locked in a wooden cage by Whirlwind, Cynder and Eruptor! Now, it was just him against all of them… And he was plenty outmatched.

The Chompy Mage snarled as Whirlwind, Cynder and Eruptor shared a few satisfied clicks, then squeezed the stick of his staff.

"It looks like I'll need to discipline you naughty chompies a little!" Chompy Mage cried! He spun his staff above him head, then hit the ground with its base while it rattled with a sparkly green glow. "CHOMPY POWER!"

A trio of green shockwaves pulsed out from underneath the shaking staff's base, and as they spread across the area, the wooden chompies, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind all stood straight and silent! Their beady eyes glowed a bright green, the only sign of energy in their otherwise-silent bodies, while the chompies who had been knocked out by the Elder Elementals stood up and joined them! All was eerily peaceful as the wooden chompies walked up to the edge of their case, their footsteps mechanical like robots... Then all at once, they bit the cages' bars in half and raced off in a rabid storm, their sights set on Swarm, Thumpback, Eye-Brawl and Tree Rex! Dust and leaves kicked up behind them with fury as the chompies all latched onto their legs and gnawed away, while the Swarm, Thumpback, Eye-Brawl and Tree Rex themselves screamed and bounced from foot to foot as they tried to shake off the chompies! But that wasn't the end of it, either. While their eyes were on their feet, they hadn't stopped to check their backs—which gave the bigger chompies the opportunity to attack!

Tree Rex cried in pain as one of the larger chompies bit right into his shoulder, while beside him the others struggled to break free of their wooden chompy assailants and avoid the larger chompies at the same time!

"What, what's going on?!" Chihiro cried, while a low growl sounded off beside her. She turned back around, then screamed and jumped back as Terrafin tried to bite her face off!

Terrafin landed face-first on the ground with a plop, but that didn't deter him—he just jumped back up and lunged for Chihiro once more! She gasped and jumped back once more, then with a hasty snap of her fingers, a burst of magic shot from her hands and trapped him in a solid bubble! Terrafin snarled as he bit and chewed and headbutted away, but no matter what he did, the bubble just wouldn't burst. And as he struggled, Chihiro lifted him in her arms and winced as the Chompy Mage laughed before her.

"All these little chompies are under my complete control now!" The Chompy Mage cried.

"That's right!" The puppet chimed in as it pointed a hand towards Chihiro. "You're all toast!"

Chihiro winced as Terrafin slammed the bubble into her face, then as she reeled back and held her face, she glanced over across the battlefield.

The Elder Elementals were completely outnumbered, their legs bound tight by the chompies that gnawed away at them while the bigger ones beat them down. And among those swarming, tiny chompies, were none other than Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind! So mindless and vacant, they just gnashed and gnawed away.

"Whirlwind! Eruptor! Cynder!" Chihiro cried, her voice strained with desperation as she stepped forward. "Get a hold of yourselves! This creep's controlling you, but I know you can fight it!"

"It's no good, kid!" Ermit cried from his sanctuary underneath a pile of fallen leaves! He grimaced and ducked back down as a chompy flew over his head, then he poked back up and glanced at Chihiro. "They're not gonna hear you! That guy's got complete control over them!"

Chihiro, in response, only stepped back and winced. The three of them still gnawed away as if Chihiro's words were nothing more than a faint song on the wind, the Elder Elementals were kept captive, and this Chompy Mage had an entire army of chompies ready to fight her if she made one wrong move! What was she supposed to do?! Chihiro clenched her fist and teeth as her eyes drifted across the battlefield… Then she gasped, but quickly silenced herself!

There, out underneath the sanctuary of Ermit's leaf pile, Seraphina was crawling across the floor, and with the way she was going, she was headed straight for the Chompy Mage! She turned back to Chihiro and winked before she continued her crawl, and Chihiro's confidence soared once more—because now, she knew just what to do!

"You really think you've won, don't you?" Chihiro asked as she glared down the Chompy Mage, her chest puffed out and her hands clasped tight.

The Chompy Mage frowned and tilted his head. "Well, of course I have!" The Chompy Mage replied as he waved his staff around. "All your little friends are defeated, and soon they'll all be under my control!"

"That's what you think!" Chihiro pointed a finger towards the Chompy Mage and smirked. "But we haven't lost yet! You may have stopped the others, but I'm still standing!"—Chihiro's eyes narrowed, and her hand glowed as if she was preparing to attack—"and as long as I'm alive, I won't let you win! I'll make sure to save everyone and stop you, no matter what! You're not turning anybody else into stinkin' chompies on my watch!"

"I don't like this kid!" The chompy puppet proclaimed. "Chompy Mage, do something about her!"

"Gladly!" The Chompy Mage cried! He waved his staff in the air, then pointed it right towards Chihiro. "Chompies, attack!"

Right as the Chompy Mage said this, several of the wooden chompies that had previously fed on the Elder Elementals plopped off and fell on their backs! Their eyes' glow faded for a few moments, then they leaped to their feet and lunged after Chihiro! Chihiro's glowing hand lost its light, and in that moment she screamed and jumped up as a chompy bit right into her foot! She had shaken it off just as she landed back on the ground, but the other chompies were still prepped to get a bite. She screamed and danced across the floor as the chompies all bit at her heels, a frantic dance from place to place as she bounced inches out of their grip!

And while Chihiro struggled to free herself from the Chompies, the Chompy Mage just chuckled and held out his staff.

"Not so braggarty now, are you?" The Chompy Mage asked as his staff started to glow. "Now, hold still!"—The Chompy Mage smirked as the staff glowed bright—"you'll be joining them here in a second!"

A soft giggle sounded from behind the Chompy Mage, then he grunted as something leaped right onto his back.

"Hello, friend!" Seraphina giggled as she crawled up and sat on his shoulders!

The Chompy Mage gasped and whipped around, but every time he did, Seraphina slipped just out of his view! He looked right, she turned left, she turned right as he looked left, and as he lifted up his head, she just slid back down! And the whole time, Seraphina just giggled as if she was playing a game!

"Who are you?! What's going on?!" The Chompy Mage demanded.

Seraphina, in response, just flipped back onto his shoulders and patted his head.

"I'm playing with you, of course!" Seraphina responded. Her eyes fell on the staff, and she giggled as she wiggled her wooden fingers. "Why don't we play catch next?"

The Chompy Mage grunted and turned aside, and he finally caught a glimpse of Seraphina—right as she yanked his staff right out of his hands!

"Catch, friend!" Seraphina cried as she tossed the staff right towards Chihiro!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The Chompy Mage cried as he grappled for his staff.

But it was too late, for Chihiro had already snatched it out of the air!

"Thanks, Seraphina! I'll take it from here!" Chihiro cried as she waved the staff around. "Now, turn everyone here back to normal!"

The staff glowed bright once more, but instead of green, it shone in Chihiro's trademark cyan! Its glow sparked and pulsed around it, then from the staff came a massive shockwave, one big enough that it shuddered the leaves and dried the blood on the ground. But more importantly, everyone who had been turned into a chompy was turned back to normal! The wooden chompies had returned to their true wilikin forms and slid down the Elder Elementals' chewed-up, battered legs, while beside them Eruptor, Whirlwind and Cynder sat down and hacked up leaves!

The Chompy Mage's eyes flickered, and he fell to his knees as his jaw dropped wide open, then he sniffled and flung himself up towards the ceiling!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT MY BEAUTIFUL CHOMPIES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEMMMMMMMMMMM?!"

Chihiro just chuckled and rolled her eyes, then shook the staff around a little… And out from its mouth came a sparkling, purple crystal wheel with runes carved on it! The wheel fell right into Chihiro's palm, but its light didn't dim any as it sat there. In fact, it seemed to glow even brighter next to her, as if it was responding to her presence!

"This's probably what he used to make his staff so powerful," Chihiro remarked as she examined the wheel, then stuffed it in her pocket. "Better make sure it doesn't cause any more trouble."

And with it taken care of, Chihiro snapped the staff in half over her knees, tossed its broken halves aside, then raced up to Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind.

"Are you alright?" Chihiro asked.

"Somehow," Whirlwind panted as she flicked her wings. "Man, am I glad I'm not a chompy anymore!"

"Agreed!"

"I still feel kinda funny…"

"I never wanna do that again," Terrafin groaned as he trudged up behind them.

Chihiro just chuckled and rolled her eyes, but an angered growl from the Chompy Mage turned her and everyone else's attention back to him! His brows were clenched tight, and his battered hands were clenched into fists while a deep frown crossed his face. Then finally, he let out another roar!

"You may have destroyed my staff, but you haven't defeated me!" The Chompy Mage vowed as he stood tall. "I have plenty of other tricks up my sleeves too!"

The Chompy Mage inhaled, and as he did, a massive wind kicked up around the area! Everyone dug their heels in as the winds swirled around the Chompy Mage and lifted him off the ground, while he just cackled and glowed a bright green! The winds grew even more powerful as they completely enveloped him and formed into a tornado, one so strong that it blocked out all noise but its own howls… And one single cry.

"CHOMPY POWER!" Cried a deep, bellowing voice from within the tornado!

The winds all slashed away and knocked everyone on their backs, and in that moment the Chompy Mage dropped back down, but not as himself—no, he came back as a gigantic green chompy instead! He landed on the ground and sent everyone around jumping up, then as they crashed down, he broke into bellowing laughter that blew massive winds throughout the forest!

Everyone screamed as they dug their hands and feet in the ground in some faint attempt to keep their footing, but the winds were so powerful that they were knocked right into the skies! They all screamed as they went tumbling like leaves, but before they slammed into everything, Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex and Brawl leaped in the air and snatched them out of the skies, just in time for the four of them themselves to slam into the walls! Leaves shook down from the canopy and cascaded onto them all as the winds died, and they all lifted their heads… But, much to everyone's disdain, the Chompy Mage was far from done! He just cackled still, then leaned down as his eyes glowed red!

"Say goodbye, pests!" The Chompy Mage bellowed! He puckered his lips, then spat out waves of bright red, glowing spheres!

"Wait, those spheres!" Chihiro cried as she climbed over Tree Rex's arms. "They can't be…"—Chihiro winced as the faint recollection of the cavern's spheres and the pain they caused, and she only gulped—"oh boy."

Everyone gasped as the spheres came crashing down, with some eyes squeezed shut as they prepared for the end. But then, the world around them rippled and shifted, and the spheres changed to a pleasant blue! Sighs of relief and pleased breaths came over everyone as the spheres seeped into their bodies and healed their wounds, while all around them, the forest disappeared! Its wooden posts and stands turned to cardboard, and the leaves the practically coated the entire area became mere paper that fluttered away in the breeze!

The Chompy Mage hastily blinked, then jumped back and gasped. "What?!" The Chompy Mage cried. "How did you do that?!"

"With this, friend!" Seraphina chirped as she crawled out of Swarm's grip and waved the pocket-sized switch in the air!

Chihiro grinned as Seraphina held the switch up, then she jumped to full height and pointed towards the world behind them.

"Ermit!" Chihiro cried as her eyes fell on where he laid in Thumpback's arms. "Take the wilikin to safety, we'll handle this guy!"

"Gladly!" Ermit cried as he slid off of Thumpback's chest and waved towards the others. "Everyone, follow me!"

Chatter and creaking keys sounded in the fresh, cool air as the wilikin all fled—all save for one. Just before she left, Seraphina tossed the pocket switch to Chihiro, then grinned and followed after a few wilikin children as the crowds disappeared back into the town below.

But before they could make their grand escape, the Chompy Mage leaped in front of them! They all screamed and stumbled backwards and some even tripped over each other as the Chompy Mage loomed over them.

"Oh no you don't!" The Chompy Mage hissed as he stomped up and down, "I'm not letting you get away after everything you did to me!"

The Chompy Mage snarled and went to inhale—but before he could, Tree Rex bounded forward and punched him in the gut! The wind was knocked right out of him as he crashed into the cliffs and sat back up, but Tree Rex just cracked his knuckles.

"Get out of here!" Tree Rex cried as he glanced aside to the crowds behind him. "Before he recovers!"

The wilikin and Ermit all hastily nodded and rushed off to the sides, but while they escaped, the Chompy Mage stood back up and snarled.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" Chompy Mage asked as he loomed over Tree Rex, his body stretched just so that he was a tower compared even to the massive height of Tree Rex himself. "After all, I'm much more powerful than you!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!"

Tree Rex snarled, then stormed forward and socked the Chompy Mage right in the gut! Of course, the Chompy Mage's skin was so rubbery that his fists just bounced off the Chompy Mage's gut, but Tree Rex just kept punching and punching away, in some futile attempt to stop the Chompy Mage.

"All I know is that I have to protect these people!" Tree Rex snarled as he continued to punch away. "I already failed this island's residents once, and I'm not going to let it happen again! I promised these people that I'd protect them…"—Tree Rex drew his arm back and wound it up, then punched the Chompy Mage right in the center of his stomach—"AND I INTEND TO KEEP THAT PROMISE!"

The Chompy Mage grunted as he slammed back into the cliffs, then hacked and popped back off! A smirk crossed his face still, and yet he swayed from side to side while his rubbery body jiggled along with him… Tree Rex had landed a hit!

"Hey, that tickles!" Chompy Mage giggled! He jumped back to full height, and drool dripped out of his mouth as he unhinged his jaws. "Was that supposed to hurt me?"

"THIS WILL!" Swarm cried!

The Chompy Mage turned away from Tree Rex, then screamed as a massive barb flew forward and jabbed him right in his stomach! The Chompy Mage wailed in pain as he bent down, yanked the barb out with his mouth and spat it away, but the effects were quick to remain—for his belly had become red and swollen, and more importantly, solid!

"Tree Rex is right!" Swarm said as he flew up to Tree Rex's side. "It doesn't matter how big or strong you are! We're gonna take you down!"

Swarm punched the Chompy Mage right in the gut, and this time, he wailed in pain—the hit had landed! But that wasn't the only hit coming, either—out from the depths, Thumpback's anchor flew forward and slammed the Chompy Mage right in the gut, while a laser only served to make the Chompy Mage's belly red hot! The Chompy Mage wailed and flailed his stubby, leafy arms as Thumpback and Eye-Brawl ran up to face him, then he slunk down and panted.

"After all, we're the Elder Elementals!" Thumpback cried as he yanked his anchor back!

"As long as we exist…" Eye started.

"We'll make sure to protect Skylands from evil!" Brawl signed before he pointed to Chompy Mage.

"And that includes you!" Tree Rex finished as he punched the Chompy Mage once more!

The Chompy Mage cried out and hacked as the blow slammed him right in the gut, then his eyes fell to the cliffs… Where the last of the wilikin disappeared just over the horizon! He snarled as they disappeared from view, then he broke into an ear-shattering wail as he leaped up and stomped up and down! The ground cracked underneath his feet as he stomped, while things smooth and green cropped up from the cracks… And with one last stomp, their true identity was unveiled—giant chompy eggs!

The chompies all hatched in mid-air, and as their eggs remains crashed on the ground and dissolved into the cracks, the chompies themselves leaped forward and attacked! The Elder Elementals all grunted and swerved away, just before they struck, only to get blown away by a massive gust from the Chompy Mage! As they grunted and skidded across the ground, the chompies loomed over them and chirped… Then, the chompies' eyes practically popped out of their stalks as a strong wind kicked up!

The chompies all screamed as the wind blew them off their feet, but not just them as well—the Elder Elementals, the Skylanders and Chihiro all got swept away as well! They all screamed as the winds pulled them closer and closer to the cliffs and right towards the Chompy Mage's open jaws!

Chihiro turned back and screamed as her eyes fell on the Chompy Mage's pearly whites and massive jaw, then she yanked the switch out of her pocket and frantically jammed on its buttons.

"Come on, come on, do something!" Chihiro cried, "Anything!"

With one last jam, reality shuddered once more! The world around didn't seem to change much… Save for the fact that the chompies the Chompy Mage had summoned changed from regular chompies to Enfuego Chompies! The newly transformed chompies blinked as they glanced down at their new forms, but they didn't get much time to contemplate, for the Chompy Mage had sucked them right in! And right as he did, the Chompy Mage's jaw yanked back shut while his eyes watered! His gut rumbled as a string of faint, muffled explosions sounded off, then he yanked open his jaw and screamed as a pillar of burning fire shot out!

"HOT! HOT HOT HOT!" The Chompy Mage wailed as he ran in circles, his eyes watery while the flames burned bright. "I'm on fire!"

But more importantly, he was shrinking as well! With every run, with every burst of fire, he grew shorter and shorter… Then finally, as the flames stopped and he got a chance to breath, he was no bigger than the Elder Elementals themselves! And the Elder Elementals certainly seemed to notice this, because they all surrounded him!

"Well, lookie here!" Eye remarked as Brawl cracked his knuckles. "It seems like now, you're just. Our. Size."

Tree Rex, Thumpback and Swarm all chuckled in agreement as they glared down the Chompy Mage, who in response only chuckled as sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Er, well, um," the Chompy Mage sputtered, before he turned to the sun and screamed. "Oh, would you look at the time! I really must get going now!"

The Chompy Mage panted as he bolted straight off, but Swarm just flew in front of him and smacked him right in the stomach! The Chompy Mage screamed as he went flying backwards and right into the grip of Thumpback, who smirked as he readied his anchor! Thumpback swung his anchor out and wrapped it around the Chompy Mage, then spun around and took the screaming Chompy Mage with him!

"Eye-Brawl, catch!" Thumpback shouted as he tossed the Chompy Mage towards Eye-Brawl!

Eye-Brawl chuckled, then latched onto the Chompy Mage and spun him around once more! The Chompy Mage screamed as his eyes spun in circles within his eyestalks, but Eye-Brawl only chuckled as he turned towards Tree Rex and shot the Chompy Mage right towards him!

"Tree Rex, finish him off!" Eye cried!

Tears ran from the screaming Chompy Mage's eyes as he went hurtling towards Tree Rex, but Tree Rex only held out his hand and charged his hand cannon with solar energy!

"GLADLY!" Tree Rex cried!

Right before the Chompy Mage could tackle him down, Tree Rex cocked his cannon and a bright burst of solar energy slammed straight into the Chompy Mage!

The Chompy Mage screamed in pain as he went soaring, then crashed and bounced across the vast, open fields… And finally, came to a stop! His body had turned battered and bruised as he groaned, then bright green magic sparkled around him as he shrank and morphed back into his original form! The Chompy Mage whimpered as he sat up and rubbed his head, then gasped as the sound of footsteps echoed.

"We'll take it from here!" Chihiro cried as she and the Skylanders dashed right for the Chompy Mage!

The Chompy Mage screamed, while his puppet just jumped out and shot acorns right towards him. But before the acorns could hit, Cynder swerved right in front of the herd and zapped the acorns with black lightning! The acorns exploded right on the spot, and the Chompy Mage went flying in the air!

"Alright, how about this, then?!" The Chompy Mage cried! With a wave of his hands, a ring of red spheres circled around him and zipped right for Cynder…

Then Whirlwind zipped right in front of them and blasted them back with a mighty gust of wind from her wings! The spheres shot right back to the Chompy Mage, and he only gulped as they came in!

"Oh no."

The spheres all slammed into the Chompy Mage, and he screamed and jittered as their red lightning coursed right through his body! As the lightning faded away, a puff of smoke emerged from his body and he crashed back down to the ground! Dust kicked up around him as he swayed around, then finally he groaned and collapsed!

"Alright guys, he's down for the count!" Chihiro remarked as she cracked her knuckles. Her eyes trailed between Eruptor and Terrafin, and all three of them smirked. "Let's finish this!"

"Agreed!" Eruptor and Terrafin replied in tandem.

Chihiro whipped out her hands and crafted a sphere of light, then Eruptor tossed a lava blob inside it! The blob turned into a solid blue ball of lava rock and magma that glowed and pulsed, and with a punch from Terrafin, the ball went flying straight for the Chompy Mage! A bright blue burst of light came from the crater where the Chompy Mage laid, and all three of them grinned towards each other as the Chompy Mage went flying…

But Tree Rex was less than pleased as he snatched the screaming Chompy Mage out of the air and held him up to eye-level! The Chompy Mage gulped and scrambled back as Tree Rex glared him down, but Tree Rex's grip on him was so tight that he couldn't escape!

"What, what's with the angry look?" Chompy Mage asked as he started to sweat. "I, I don't see why you need to be angry! I, I was only—"—Chompy Mage grunted as his puppet knocked him on the head—"owch!"

"Why am I angry?" Tree Rex mused, and a small chuckle came from him before his snarl returned. "Now, let's see. You attacked a village full of people who couldn't fight back, kidnapped its residents, and transformed them all for your own personal amusement!" Tree Rex jolted his head and scowled as the Chompy Mage shook in his grasp. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The Chompy Mage's hands trembled, and his eyes peered in every direction as he sputtered out gibberish and half-formed words. The sweat crept further and further down his brow as he tried to make some sense of his words… Then, he smiled as his hand slipped into his cloak's pocket!

"All I have to say is this!" The Chompy Mage cried as he yanked out his hand. "You may have defeated me now, but I'll be back!"

The Chompy Mage held his hand high, and revealed a smooth green sphere within it! With a simple squeeze, the sphere exploded in a burst of smoky green spheres that completely shielded him from view! Tree Rex hacked and coughed as he fanned away the spores with his free hand, then when he turned back… The Chompy Mage had disappeared, and all that was left was a handful of leaves that cascaded down on the ground!

"Chompies forever!" The Chompy Mage cried in the distance, his words carried by the cold autumn breeze.

§

"Well, that guy's taken care of…" Chihiro remarked as she made her way back to the town, "I guess."

"Hopefully he won't show up again," Terrafin remarked as he crossed his arms and nodded his head… Then a massive stampede caught his attention!

Terrafin clenched his fists, perhaps prepared for another round with the Chompy Mage—but instead of him, what came was a crowd of joyful wilikin!

"Three cheers for our new friends!" The wilikin cried as they yanked the everyone up and tossed them into the air, "hip hip!"—The others fell down, and the wilikin immediately tossed them back up—"hooray !"

Tree Rex cried out in surprise as the wilikin tossed him up and down in spite of their diminutive sizes and his massive one, but the others just grinned and basked in the joy. After all, they had succeeded! The wilikin had been saved, the Chompy Mage driven away, and everyone was back to normal… Yep, this was definitely a cause for celebration! And heck, even Tree Rex grinned as he basked in their smiles.

As the wilikin ended their cheers and let everyone fall back to the floor, a couple of the wilikin children giggled and swarmed around Tree Rex's legs.

"Thank you, friends!" They all cheered as they beamed up at Tree Rex. "You saved us all!"

Tree Rex, however, just grinned in return, a gentle grin that stretched from horn to horn as he knelt down before the wilikin. "It was nothing," Tree Rex remarked as he gently rubbed a baby wilikin's head. "That's what we do here!"

The wilikin all cheered and climbed over Tree Rex's legs, while Tree Rex just burst into hapless laughter and nearly toppled over.

"Hey, hey, that tickles!"

Chihiro giggled as the wilikin knocked Tree Rex over and climbed him like a jungle gym, then stretched her arms to the skies.

"Well, nice as this is, I'm afraid we can't stay," Chihiro remarked as she peered towards a wilikin man. "There wouldn't happen to be any ships here or anything, would there?"

"Yes, but…" The wilikin man said as he frowned and tapped his chin. "Why are you in such a hurry, friend?"

Chihiro frowned and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Well, you see, we need to reunite with the rest of our team!"

Tree Rex gasped, then sat up and gently laid the wilikin children down on the ground.

"That's right, I almost forgot!" Tree Rex remarked, while his grin turned grave as he knelt down to the wilikin's height. "You see, we ended up here because we got tossed overboard when our ship was attacked, and we need to find the rest of our crew!"

"You mean, you were separated from your friends?" The wilikin man asked.

"Yeah!" Chihiro interjected with a nod. "And we need to get back to them so we can find Kaos's hideout and stop him!"

The moment Chihiro brought up Kaos's name, however, all the wilikin around gasped! Their normally-blank eyes were wide with shock, and a few of them even dropped the things they were holding right on the grass! They all blinked for a moment, then one wilikin man stumbled up to Chihiro and grabbed her hands.

"You know Kaos?" The wilikin gasped, his eyes still fluttering as Chihiro nodded.

"Yeah, he's the super evil dude and—"—Chihiro paused, then shook her head and gasped as she turned her eyes back on the wilikin—"—wair, YOU know Kaos?"

"Kaos is the creator," a wilikin woman said as she shifted through the crowds and walked up to Chihiro. "He made us long, long, time ago! We spent much time playing in his castle before we were sent away."

Chihiro blinked again, then shook her head. "Wait, so if you know him, you know where he is, right?" Chihiro clasped the wilikin man's hands tighter, and a sparkle shone in her eyes. "Can you take us?"

The two wilikin peered towards each other, and with a solemn shake of their heads they drew away from Chihiro.

"I am afraid not, friend," the wilikin man said. "The creator's castle has very strong security from Troll Home Security, and nothing we make can stop it!"

"We have tried many times," the wilikin woman added. "But every time we are stopped by security." The woman shook her head. "They are not fun. Many cannons and guns and shields, very powerful."

Chihiro frowned, then rubbed her chin with a sigh. "So much for that," she remarked. "Even if we did catch up with everyone, I doubt the Dread-Yacht could handle that. If only we had something that could compete with mass security…"

Chihiro turned back to the rest of her group, then raised a brow as the faint sound of panting and shuffling came from behind them! Ermit grunted as he popped out between Terrafin and Cynder, then raised a hand.

"Wait, we do! I mean, I do!" Ermit cried.

Chihiro gasped, then raced up to Ermit and grinned as she knocked her fists together. "Really?!"

"Over in the Glacier Gully, I've got an Arkeyan Robot I won in a Skystones game some time ago! It's huge!" Ermit nodded, then pointed up to Tree Rex, who just shied away and scratched his head. "It's even big enough to fit these guys here!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Chihiro's eyes sparkled even brighter as she turned back to the wilikin and gestured to Ermit.

"Could you guys take us to where he said, then?"

"Indeed, friend!" The wilikin man replied.

The man whistled, and a large shadow cast over the area as a gigantic wooden ship flew in and docked at the edge of the town! For something of wilikin craft, however, it was far more impressed than what was to be expected for something made by wooden dolls—it was as massive as any other ship, with colorful flags strung across its hull and fancy metal detailing. Its body was shiny and carried a polish that made it look brand-new, and with a single snap, a shiny metal drawbridge shot out from its side and crashed into the side of the island, beckoning for someone to board it!

The wilikin man hobbled off and dashed up the drawbridge, then jumped up to the wheel and waved.

"All aboard, friends!" The man called.

Chihiro chuckled as she turned back to Ermit, then with a snap of her fingers she teleported right on deck! A grin crossed her face as she leaned against the side of the deck and waved down to the crowds of wilikin that chased after her, then she grunted as something crashed down on the deck and nearly knocked her off from the force! Just before she could go crashing down, however, Cynder and Whirlwind zipped up to Chihiro and pushed her back upright, tall enough that she could catch Swarm as he scratched his head and blushed.

Chihiro chuckled as Terrafin and Eruptor dashed up, while Ermit just groaned as he hiked up the drawbridge.

"Alright, when're we shoving off?" Ermit asked as he crossed his arms.

A trio of large shadows coated the deck, and everyone scrambled as Tree Rex, Thumpback and Eye-Brawl leaped on the deck and knocked everyone on their backs! Eye chuckled and popped off of Brawl, then flew up to Ermit and nudged him back to his feet.

"Now we can," Eye remarked as he pushed Ermit further onto the deck.

The wilikin man piloting the ship pulled a lever, and a whistle sounded off as the ship departed from the island! While its flags blew in the breeze, the wilikin still on the island all cheered and shouted their thanks and well wishes as they waved towards the ship. Everyone aboard all grinned as they waved at the wilikin with smiles like they were leaving old friends…

Except for Chihiro, who paused while her eyes went wide!

"Oh, that's right! I'd better let the others know our new rendezvous point!" Chihiro cried. Her hands flared with cyan light, but the light faded a little as she frowned. "If they're even alive still…" Chihiro clenched her fist tighter as the light faded away, but the light quickly returned as she shook her head. "No, I'm sure they're alright!"

So, Chihiro hummed as she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, then as she opened her hands and eyes, a butterfly made of solid magic energy emerged! The butterfly flew in place as it stared down Chihiro, then with a nod of both heads the butterfly flew off into the distance! Chihiro grinned and waved as the butterfly flew further and further up, till it was little more than a barely-visible speck in the sky. But as it disappeared among the clouds, her grin faded and her hand fell down.

"Looks like it'll take a little longer to get to Kaos…" Chihiro whispered as she clenched her hand into a fist. "Hopefully he's not doing anything too evil right now."

§

Back in the depths of Kaos's base, Kaos himself was very pleased… Oddly enough, despite his less than ideal circumstances. He laid snug in his plotting chambers, all while some greebles fitted him with elaborate red robes the color of royal blood, detailed with golden thread that shimmered like it was made of the real stuff!

"Ah, this is just what I needed!" Kaos proclaimed as he spun around! His robes fluttered in the faint wind, and he grinned and popped his collar as a greeble placed a golden, ruby-encrusted crown on his head. "The elegant reds and golds befit of a king truly make me feel like myself again!"—Kaos grinned and clasped his hands as he leaned towards Glumshanks—"don't you think so, er…"

Kaos pursed his lips and raised a brow. "What was your name again?"

"Glumshanks? Your butler and caretaker since you were a boy?" Glumshanks responded as he waved a chisel towards Kaos.

Kaos's eyes flickered, and he grinned. "Ah, yes, right!" Kaos leaned backwards and nodded. "Red and gold truly are the finest of colors!"

"But Lord Kaos, your favorite color is black!" Glumshanks pushed himself closer to Kaos and raised his own brows. "And for that matter, when did your voice get so deep?"

Kaos drew back, then chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Er, uh, I've got a bit of a cold?"

Glumshanks reached forward and brushed his hand against Kaos's forehead, then pulled his hand back. His brows dug further down into his scalp as he glazed over Kaos, and his nose twitched just a bit as he clutched his chisel even tighter. "Your temperature's fine, Lord Kaos." Glumshanks' brows knitted tighter and his frown stretched further as he finally raised one of those tight brows. "If you ask me, you've been acting strange ever since you came out of that robot…"

"Oh, nevermind that!" Kaos spat as he flung himself in Glumshanks' face! A stray hand of his knocked the tablet out of Glumshanks' hands, and he gulped as he drew back and cleared his throat. "How are our armies?"

Glumshanks winced and leaned back away from Kaos, and his hands opened and shut as his brown eyes fixed on Kaos while sweat drew down from his brow. Glumshanks opened his mouth for a moment, but then he just sighed and drew the tablet and chisel back off from the ground.

"Well, we've been spreading our recruitment drives across the Outlands, but not many have come." Glumshanks tapped the chisel against the tablet and hummed. "We've got maybe ten newcomers in so far, and we're thinking of expanding to places outside the Outlands. I still say we should have used aliases instead of plastering our names everywhere."

Kaos nodded as Glumshanks droned on, a smile on his face while he drummed his fingers against his belly. He seemed oddly peaceful for the moment with his patient position, eyes eagerly drinking in everything Glumshanks said and a smile on his face that was almost unfitting of the situation he was in!

But within the confines of Kaos's mind, where sheep bearing his face leaped across cackling picket fences as faint whispers and ideas for evil schemes danced on the winds like birdsong, Kaos wasn't the one in control at all! Another taller, leaner man grinned as he sat within a satin throne, his hand pressed to his face while his other drummed against the throne's arms. His legs kicked against the throne as he hummed a tune, that same stupidly giddy grin on his face as he drifted away from Glumshanks and his rambles!

"My, my, this new body has everything I could want!" The man remarked, a hint of joy in his baritone as his gaze shifted to the walls around. "To think, not only do I have armies and castles at my steed,"—the man waved his hand, then grinned as a sphere of pulsing red magic burst from his palm, bright and radiant as the sun while raw malevolence pulsed from its every beat. Glumshanks shuddered in the sphere's presence, but the man hardly noticed as he whisked the sphere away with another wave and leaped from the throne. "But I've possessed a portal master as well! I've really hit the jackpot!"

The man hummed and rubbed his chin, but the moment his eyes fell on Kaos's portraits on the wall, that haughty tune of his stopped.

"It could use a little more polish, though… And some hair…" The man crossed his arms and drummed his finger against his forearm. "I suppose I can call up someone to make myself something to obscure this body's awful shiny bald head. Perhaps some nice, long flowing golden locks as bright as the sun!" The man shook his head. "No, that's too obvious. Maybe an even more elaborate golden crown! No, a crown made entirely of the finest gems Skylands has to offer and more!" The man chuckled to himself, and a smirk crossed his face as he patted his shoulder. "Yes, now you're thinking—"

"What are you talking about?!"

The man blinked, then turned around and frowned as his eyes fell across the way. While another pair of evil sheep baaing in a twisted voice leaped over a singing voice, Kaos snarled and jabbed a finger right at the man.

"My glorious evil body is perfect, mind you!" A snarl cracked across Kaos's face, and he trudged up and jabbed it into the man's leg, for he was far too short to reach anything higher. "And more importantly, what the heck do you think you're doing in it?! Just who do you think you are, anyways?!"

The man's smirk turned to a snarl of his own, and he growled as he slapped Kaos away! That one little slap normally shouldn't have done much, but it was powerful enough that Kaos was knocked on the floor, gasping and wheezing for air as he stumbled back to his knees! Kaos's palms hit the floor, and he kept wheezing as he lifted his head and finally caught sight of the man who had invaded his mind, the man who loomed over him as thunder and lightning cracked behind!

"Who do I think I am?!" The man bellowed! Another crack of thunder crashed down and tinted the room purple, and the man gritted his teeth as he stormed towards Kaos. "Who are you to demand this of me, you insolent worm?!"

"Insolent WORM?!" Kaos gasped, then leaped back to his feet, brows clenched as flames formed at his fingers. "THAT DOES IT!"

Kaos screamed as he tossed his flames at the man, but the man just scoffed and raised his own glowing palm! A burst of light slashed right through Kaos's flames, then slammed right into Kaos's chest and shot him right into a wall! Kaos screamed a hoarse, harsh scream as he fell back down and curled in a shuddering circle, clutching his head and gritting his teeth as his head throbbed and pulsed. A shot of pain ripped through the man himself, and from behind him a scream came as the body collapsed!

"Lord Kaos!" Glumshanks cried as he rushed forward and went to collect Kaos in the outer world… But the body simply raised itself up as the man snapped his fingers!

The man strode forward, hands behind his back and his body held upright and tall with a king's grace as he stood over Kaos once more, and Kaos only gasped and scrambled backwards into the wall as his hands lit up once more. A flash of pink lightning struck behind him, and the faint light it provided brought to light the man's proper appearance—hair white as snow, skin deathly pale and blood-red eyes, all decorated with kingly getup like fancy jewel-encrusted crowns and silk robes made with only the finest of dyes and materials… But, their shiny looks were offset by how busted they were! His crown was crooked and dented, most of its jewels were cracked, and parts of his robes were torn and unveiled scarred, scratched and bruised limbs that were frightfully thin. And yet, he still held himself with a king's confidence, his head held high and posture upright as he cleared his throat.

"I am the glorious leader of the Arkeyan Empire, the sun of Skylands, the one who brings with him the enlightenment of the era!" The room rumbled as a burst of thunder crashed behind the man, but he just grinned and stretched his arms to the ceiling. "I AM KING ARKILLES!"

Another crack of thunder fell over the mind, but Kaos just sat and sputtered in utter awe! His eyes fluttered, and only half-spoken nonsense spilled from his lips as Arkilles smirked and turned away.

"Dumbstruck, I see? I tend to have that effect on people." Arkilles chuckled, then he strode away from Kaos and grinned as his eyes fell on the screen that showed him the outer world where his body laid. "Anyways, now that I have a body again, it's high time I finish what I started!" Arkilles gestured towards the screen and clenched his hand into a fist, one held and squeezed tight. "Those awful Elder Elementals won't know what hit them!"

"Sorry buddy, but you're ten thousand years too late for that!" Kaos shouted from the back of the room!

"What was that?"

Arkilles blinked, then turned around and dropped his mouth just a little as Kaos, dashed in front of him.

"You heard me!" Kaos exclaimed. "It's been ten thousand years since the Arkeyans last ruled! The Elder Elementals are all dead, and all your little Arkeyans have been buried under the ground for millennia now!"

Kaos flailed his arms and legs as he bounced up and down in some kind of heated ramble, but Arkilles just blinked and drew away. A frown crossed his face for moments, but he quickly pursed his lips and hummed as he drew his hand across his face and stroke his bony chin.

"Buried, you say?…" Arkilles remarked at just barely a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard. "That reminds me of something..."

Kaos tilted his head, but not towards Arkilles—no, he pushed right past Arkilles and towards where Glumshanks was looking at him, no, them both from the outer world!

"Lord Kaos, are you even listening to me?" Glumshanks asked, a frown on his face as he gently tapped the body's head. "Are you feeling alright? You nearly passed out back there."

"Glumshanks, what perfect timing!" Kaos cried as he rushed up to the screen. "You—"

A burst of magic sniped Kaos from above, and he screamed as he smashed into a wall! The crumbled rubble remains of the wall fell around Kaos as he shook his head, and in that moment bars of stone crashed down from above and locked him in! Kaos screamed and cursed as he pounded against the walls of his newborn cell… But across from his Arkilles, the guilty jailer, just scoffed and fixed his robes as he turned up to the screen.

"Ah, yes, that's right!" Arkilles proclaimed, a grin on the face. A subtle shift and groan came as the body heaved itself up, and Arkilles adjusted his crown's position as he chuckled. "And you know, Glumshanks, I have just the idea for how to bolster our armies!"

"You do?"

"We have a Conquertron in our possession, correct?" Arkilles grinned as Glumshanks slowly nodded. "Well, with that, we can use its databanks to unearth the locations of other Arkeyan armies scattered around Skylands! We'll use those to help bolster our ranks, and once we're stocked, all we have to do is get the Iron Fist of Arkus and revive the Arkeyans resting in its depths! All will be helpless before our robotic might!"

Glumshanks' jaw fell, and his eyes fluttered as Arkilles sat back in his throne. Back in the outer world, the body cackled and leaped on both feet, then turned around and dashed off, a spring in its step as it hummed an old song!

"But, sir, is that even possible—" Glumshanks sputtered as he stumbled back.

The body completely stopped in its tracks, and thunder crashed as it yanked around and shot a glare at Glumshanks. "DO IT!" It bellowed with the voice of a thousand!

Glumshanks gasped, then leaped back as his chisel and tablet slipped from his hands and clattered against the floor. Glumshanks gulped, then fell to his knees as he gathered his tablet and chisel in his arms. "Y-yes sir, right away, sir!"

"And while you're at it, expand our recruitment drives across as many corners of Skylands as possible!" The body held a hand behind its back and nonchalantly waved the other. "Until we can get to Arkus, we'll need as much help as we can get!"

Glumshanks hastily nodded as he pulled his tablet and chisel from the ground and started carving away. "Yes sir!"

"Also! Redecorate around here a little, it's too dreary! And I want a nice throne, and assistants who will agree with me no matter what, and the finest of feasts for dinner tonight…"

Stone pebbles flew off from the chisel as Glumshanks hastily carved away, all sweaty and chattering teeth as he wrote. Then, a chill raced down his spine and he gasped as the body flew in his face!

"And I want it all done…" The body bellowed as thunder and lightning crashed once more. "NOW!"

Glumshanks let out a sharp gasp, and once again his chisel and tablet nearly slipped from his hands! Just before they hit the ground, however, Glumshanks snatched them back up and dashed right off!

"Y-yes, yes, right away sir! I'll get to it immediately, sir!"

And while Glumshanks became little more than a speck in the distance, the body just chuckled and tapped its fingers together.

"At last, my empire will return to me…" Arkilles whispered from the body's throat as he turned around, his already quite deep voice even deeper as that wicked grin cracked across his face.

And finally, the body leaned back and let out a massive, howling laugh that shook the world around as the world drew to a standstill.

---

- The Chompy Mage's alternate Giant Chompy forms from the beginning were taken from his boss battle in Skylanders Battlecast