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)

11. Chapter 11

Guess who's back? It's me! Life kept me a bit busier this time around, but I managed to bang out a few more chapters so CHS is back once more! I hope the wait wasn't too long!

GreenSwitch - FreeShadow: Yep, Drill-X didn't get scrapped this time around! And thank you for being patient!

---

Deep within the Dread-Yacht's boarding areas, a small room had been converted into a makeshift medical bay with whatever medical supplies that could be scrounged up laid in small boxes on a stand. Soft candlelight flickered from a candlestick laid on the stand, giving a sort of warm atmosphere to the room despite the grim sights within. And in the heart of the room, Spyro and Ninjini both stood between two beds laden with carefully-made sheets. On those two beds, those strange, ghostly people laid tucked within, their cold sweats dried away and their stature much more peaceful than before as they snoozed. They seemed so tranquil, yet their very presence carried with it a sort of eerie ring… But maybe that kind of came with the territory of having ghosts in your faux infirmary.

Spyro himself frowned as he lifted his paw from the chest of the skinnier person bearing the orange pendant, then hummed as he sat down and examined them. His tail swayed from side to side and sent dust flying across the floor while he tapped his claw against his chin. His eyes glazed up and down over their patchwork overalls and the backpack of their that had been carefully laid to the side of the bed, and as they did his tail flicked faster.

"Is something on your mind, Spyro?" Ninjini asked as she floated over and knelt down beside Spyro!

Spyro gasped at Ninjini's sudden appearance, then he scratched his head and turned aside.

"Oh, it's nothing much," Spyro said as he laid a paw on the person's bed. "It's just, I don't know why, but something about these two seems kind of familiar to me. It's like I know them from somewhere, but it's on the tip of my tongue…"

Spyro's eyes trailed over to the sparkling pendant around the person's neck, and they fluttered. "Wait a second, now I do!"

Spyro leaned up towards Ninjini and grinned.

"I saw pictures of these two in that storybook Chihiro was reading to Wrecking Ball!" Spyro turned back to the person lying in bed and flapped his wings. "I'm guessing these two were your portal masters, right?"

"That's correct," Ninjini said with a nod, though her tone was a bit more somber compared to Spyro as she glazed down the two ghosts lying in bed. "They fought alongside us during the war against the Arkeyans, but…"

A soft grunt from the skinny ghost cut Ninjini off as they tossed and turned in their bed, wisps of sweat crawling down their face as they bit their lip. Their grunting only continued as Ninjini waved a hand over them, but as sparkles of purple magic cascaded down from her palm and seeped into their pendant, their frantic turning came to a close. The tightness in their face loosening and lifting, they released their teeth's death grip on their lips and curled on their side in bed. Slow, shallow breaths escaped from them as their death thin chest rose and fall, and as they rested, Ninjini clasped her hand and frowned.

"I had thought they'd be long dead at this point. Even with their enchantments, their pendants couldn't have possibly survived a blast like that."

Spyro frowned as well, folding his wings against his back as his tail dragged against the floor. He hummed as if he wanted to give an answer, but his tail only steadied and he sighed. "Beats me," Spyro only said.

Another groan, one lower, older and deeper-sounding, came from the bed across from the person with the orange pendant as the broad ghost donning the silver pendant groaned and pushed themself out of bed. They rubbed their head, slowly moaning as they pushed their crowd back to their head's top, and their eyes drew open to reveal a deep, almost black shade of brown within.

"Urgh, where am I?" The person gasped, their voice gruff, deep but with a sort of hollowness to it. Like a ghost that had revitalized itself from beyond the grave, the person pulled themselves from the bed, their dark purple shoes draped with the cloth from the many robes as they gained their footing. "What, what happened?" Rubbing their head, the person trailed down, their eyes glazing over the rows of identical metal planks on the floor. "There was, there was an explosion, and a bright light, and everything around was rumbling… I, I—"

"Nemir!" Ninjini called, her eyes growing wide as she pulled herself away from the other person's bedside. "You finally came to!"

"Is that?…" The person gasped, turning around and then taking a step aback as they came face to face with Ninjini. But, their shocked eyes and low-gaping mouth quickly drew themselves together, grinning and beaming with joy as they ran right up to her!

"Ninjini, you're here! Thank goodness, I—"

Nemir phased right through the other person's bed, and their whole body jittered in turn before quickly stabilizing. A soft moan left his lips as his body stabilized as well, and he took a seat on the bedside as he rubbed his head.

"Oh, Ancients, I need to lay down, it seems my body disagreeing with me again." Nemir paused, lifting up his hand… Then gasping as it phased in and out, like a flashing, flickering light. "My hand!"

Jumping from the bed, Nemir's eyes fell back to his hands as they continued to flicker back and forth, and he bit his lip. "Did I perish in battle again? Well, that would explain the out of body sensation."

Another soft, kind of hoarse groan came, and all eyes turned to the other person as they finally pulled themselves up and rubbed their hit. Sitting upright at last, their eyes drifted open to reveal their warm brown color.

"Where, where am I?" the other person asked, before their eyes drifted down to their hands. "Did, did I die? All I remember was—" the person's eyes snapped open wide. "Wait, Arkus! We, we were fighting Arkilles, and, then the fist, and the explosion and—"

"That's right, 'Enehana!" Nemir cried, eyes turning to Ninjini. "What happened, Ninjini? Did, did we defeat him?"

'Enehana janked their head left and right. "And for that matter, where are we, and where are our bodies? How long were we unconscious?" 'Enehana's eyes drifted towards Spyro, who forced a grin and waved. "And who's that dragon? Are they from one of the other strongholds?"—'Enehana rubbed their chin—"I don't believe I've ever seen them before."

"You haven't," Spyro chimed in as he raised a claw, "and as for your other questions, the answers to those would be, er, well…"

Spyro turned his gaze to Ninjini as he scratched behind his horns, and Ninjini just hissed between clenched teeth, forcing a smile as she planted her hands together.

"It's a very, very long story," Ninjini said, "but Arkilles is indeed dead, you did indeed die as well, the Arkeyan Empire is no more, and er, about your bodies, well we don't know…" Ninjini hissed again and brought her hands to her lips. "Because it's been ten thousand years."

"Ten thousand years?!" Nemir and 'Enehana cried as they glanced back at each other, and then at Spyro and Ninjini.

"You, you have to be joking, right?" Nemir asked, his voice straining some. "There, there can't possibly have been such a passage of time!"

'Enehana nodded furiously and went to add, but a sudden grunt came from them both as they collapsed on the bed and shuddered. Both their bodies flickered as sweat crawled down their skin, their pendants' lights fading in and out as it forced itself to sparkle!

"Their magic, it must be fading!" Ninjini cried, shooting bursts of magic with a swipe of her hand. "Quick, into the pendants, now!"

The purple bursts leaped into the pendants without a moment of hesitation, and both Nemir and 'Enehana's light faded as they panted shallow breaths. Glows of purple enveloped their bodies as they released the death grip they both held on the covers, and 'Enehana drifted back to their bed while Nemir slunk back into his. Two pairs of groans came as 'Enehana rolled around in bed, but Nemir just propped himself up and moaned as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You also lost an extraordinary amount of magic while dormant, too," Ninjini said, her voice turning concerned as she uncorked a nearby bottle and sent more swirls of magic floating towards them. "So just take it easy for now, alright? When you've rested up, we'll tell you everything you want to know."

Nemir winced, but gave a little nod nonetheless as he dove further into his covers. He took off his crown and rested it on the bedside stand momentarily before burying himself in the blanket's thick cloth, and beside him, 'Enehana's tossing and turning had finally settled. They themself laid in bed, almost dwarfed by their own covers and blankets as soft snoring echoed around.

The chaos had settled, replaced by only quiet snoring and breaths, and yet Spyro and Ninjini couldn't rest. The two of them glanced over at Nemir and 'Enehana one last time, sticking still as if they were preparing for another sudden loss of magic or spasm, but when they were met with nothing but sleeping souls, the two of them nodded and trailed over to the makeshift infirmary's door. The door stretched and expanded as Ninjini left, and Spyro turned to blow out the candle before trailing out behind her.

The door shut right behind him as it fell back to its normal height and size, and Spyro only sighed as he wiped his forehead with his wing.

"So, how're those weird ghost dudes?"

Spyro perked a brow, and lifted his head to find Flynn standing before him with crossed arms, Flynn's own trademark smirk wiped away for what almost seemed like a look of concern.

"Shouldn't you be piloting the ship?" Spyro asked.

Flynn only smirked a little and waved his hand. "Relax, little buddy, I put it on autopilot before I came down," Flynn replied, and his smirk disappeared as his arms fell down. "But anyways, what was all the racket about? Kinda sounded like how the bad guys scream in fear when I show up!"

"They're fine now," Ninjini cut in, leaning down to meet Flynn right as Spyro opened his mouth. "They're still a bit shaky from having lost so much magic, but they're been settling in with help from those supplements Spyro and I made. They just need some rest now."

"Righty-o, glad to hear it!" Flynn gave a thumbs up and lowered it. "So, who are they, anyways?"

"Our old portal masters, from all the way back then…" Ninjini bit her lip as she gazed back at the door. "It's a miracle in itself that they're still alive." Ninjini clasped her hands, then winced as she pushed herself towards Flynn. "Anyways, we'd better move this conversation upstairs, don't want to disturb them and all."

Flynn, Spyro and Ninjini all trailed down the empty halls, which seemed even bigger and lonelier than usual with only the three of them—or maybe that was just the impression they gave from having expanded to accommodate Ninjini's size. Spyro's claws clacking against the floor and the faint sounds of creaking metal that whooshed and called like wandering ghosts echoed from the halls as the beginning drew closer. They reached the hallway door at last, and with one push of the door from Ninjini, amber sunlight and the sound of idle chatter and laughter poured in from the open passage like a beacon beckoning for entrance.

"So, Flynn, how long until we reach Troll Home Security?" Spyro asked as he hopped through the door and onto the deck.

"Ah, shouldn't be long now… I think," Flynn remarked as he hopped up beside Spyro, and his brows jumped up a bit as he rushed up to the pilot's chambers. "Actually, speaking of that, better check the autopilot and make sure it didn't get messed up again!"

Spyro only sighed and shook his head as sparkly purple smoke filtered around him, almost sending him into a sneezing fit before it quickly passed right in tandem with Ninjini floating over to where Bouncer, Crusher and Hot Head sat at the end of the docks, faces somber and hands clenched in tense anticipation of the news.

Conversely, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf all seemed surprisingly cheery, chatting with Cali over lunch picked up on the way despite their unexpected guests. But, Spyro entertained none of it, instead dragging himself to the side of the deck and peering over the railing at the infinite mass of clouds and afternoon sky that passed the Dread-Yacht by. His eyes drifted over a cloud with a vague resemblance to a bee, and he chuckled as his wings drooped, then folded against his back.

"Heh, that kinda looks like a bee," Spyro remarked. "I bet Chi would've picked that out."

That's right, she would have—if she were here, Spyro was sure she'd be idly leaning against the railing, picking out all the shapes in the clouds or counting them until they finally grew too numerous to count or something like that. Then, Cynder might tell her to be quiet so she could get some peace, or Whirlwind would show off herself by making shapes in the clouds, while Terrafin and Eruptor would rib with each other behind the scenes. And he wasn't quite sure what the Elder Elementals would've done, or what that strange hermit would've done either, but they would've probably joined in somehow.

But, she wasn't here—none of them were. Instead, they were off god know where with the rest of the team, perhaps not even alive at that point! Maybe they had fallen into the abyss of Skylands' infinite stratosphere, or were seriously injured from their fall or succumbed to their wounds, or got attacked by raging beasts when they couldn't even fight back… Spyro's scales trembled, and he gulped down his fears—or at least tried to, with them still nagging at the back of his mind. It was already bad enough that they had run into such a massive complication on such a serious mission, but with his friends' fates completely unknown, his partner's fate completely lost to him, when it should have been him in that situation that she was in now! That shaking feeling rumbled in Spyro's scales, and he gulped again as he tried to clear his mind. No, he couldn't get worried, he had to hope that they'd be alright! They were all experienced, he was sure they could handle themselves in a situation like this, he was sure they were alive somehow—hopefully traveling to meet them all. At least, assuming his message had reached them.

Spyro bit his lip, and a cold, wet chill shot down his spine! His eyes popped wide as a familiar chuckle came from behind him, but the moment he turned around and found Gill Grunt smiling back at him, Spyro smiled and let his shoulders down. Gill Grunt took a seat beside him, leaning back as his eyes passed from clouds to cloud, and Spyro's wings started to relax as he did the same.

"Do you think they're going to meet us, Gill?" Spyro asked at last.

Gill Grunt, in response, just chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure they will, Spy," he replied as the sun shone a bit brighter. "They always do."

§

The air outside was cold and dry as the Machine Ghost piloted his robot body through the thinning skies of the area, passing by the occasionally tuft of mountaintop snow or wispy clouds. Though Glacier Gully had long since left them by, the area was still freezing cold, evident by the thick layers of snow that surrounded the mountains and islands below and the thin layers of frost that formed on the body's metal, and the cold, crisp scent of winter air lingered still. The faint caw of vultures sounded as the robot dove down, then turned to alarmed squawks and the flapping of frantic wings as his boosters fired up and zipped forward! The robot's eyes flashed yellow as he sped ahead, tearing through clouds at a breakneck pace that heated the air around and melted parts of the snow!

And inside, the Machine Ghost hummed a tune as he flipped a few switches, while a map popped up before him, displaying a bright blue diagram of the path ahead and a small, flashing red dot that inched forward with every mile they crossed.

"Good news, everyone!" he shouted, almost straining as he raised his voice. "We hopefully shouldn't be far from our target destination—in fact, we should be there within the next half-hour!"

But from the center where everyone laid, Chihiro only gave him a quick thumbs up, her eyes glued to the deck of magical cards she held in hand! Around her, Luz, Swarm and Ermit all clutched decks of cards made with magic tight to their chests, yet eyes still glazed from opponent to opponent with lightning flashing in their eyes so strong it practically leaped out and zapped those around! Luz hummed beside Chihiro as he shifted through his cards, then finally he leaned in next to Chihiro.

"So, what am I supposed to do with these things, again?" Luz asked, wiggling his fingers over his playing cards.

"It's simple, really!" Chihiro beamed back at Luz, laying her cards face-down in her lap and holding out her now free hand. "See, all you have to do is ask someone if they have any cards that match yours, and if they don't, you pick up a card! Like this!"

Chihiro cleared her throat and turned her eyes towards Ermit. "Got any queens, Ermit?"

Ermit hummed as he glazed over his cards, then shook his head, his ears flopping in his face. "Gotta go fish, portal master."

Chihiro leaned up to Luz's ear. "That means I have to draw a card," she explained, pulling a card from the stack and tucking it into her deck.

"It's simple, really!"

"Modern games truly are a marvel," Luz nodded sagely as he glimpsed his own deck.

"Yeah, we never had anything like this back in our time," Swarm remarked, fanning himself with his cards, "'cause if we did, hanging out at home base would've been a lot less boring! You guys are lucky!"

Ermit only scoffed. "If anything, I'd say you're the lucky ones! Back in your day, you didn't have to deal with door to door salesmen and noisy neighbors and obnoxious clouds!"

"Oh no, we had those too! We had all these people trying to sell us fancy doors, but I'm pretty sure they were Arkeyan spies, looking back…"

"Not door salesman, door to door! Like those obnoxious pests that go around pestering you to buy their latest potions and spellbooks and other dribble…"

Chihiro chuckled and shook her head as Ermit rambled to Swarm, who just drooped his antennae in confusion, but the feeling of someone looming over her shoulder left her shuddering! Chihiro huffed, then tossed out her free hand and crafted a solid shield of magic that blocked off Luz's view from her as she clutched her deck close to her chest. Her brows clenched, and she stuck out her tongue even though Luz couldn't see her from behind the thick, bright light of the shield.

"And no peeking!" she scolded.

Luz, however, just chuckled from behind the screen. "Do you really think a little thing like that's gonna stop me?" Luz asked, snapping his fingers as he spoke. "In that case, I've got a little surprise for you!"

The shield flashed, growing in brightness before Chihiro's widening eyes, then with one last flash it turned completely clear, a perfect mirror that reflected Chihiro's face—but not just hers either, as Luz stared her back down from the other side of the shield! Luz waved back, and Chihiro gasped. Her free hand reached out, brushing her fingers against the side of the shield, but she quickly drew it back.

"How did you do that?" Chihiro asked. "Did you study the Magic Element too?"

"Nope!" Luz leaned back and beamed wider as he crossed his legs and slapped his hands on them. "Light through and through!" Luz smiled and waved his own free hand, while before him the shield turned to solid light, then clear and back again. "See, all I did was mess with the light particles inside the magic itself—smear 'em around a little, and it turns a glow completely clear! It's a simple trick, really."

"That's amazing! I never thought you could do that!" Chihiro grinned, her cards now laid on her lap once more as she scratched her head. "Guess I still have a lot to learn!"

"Indeed you do! There's lots of fun things you can do with magic… And lots of little tricks you can do, too!"

With another snap, the shield turned clear and Luz raised a brow. "Speaking of tricks, got any fives?"

A soft, shocked noise came from Chihiro as she peered down at her deck, where a five of hearts rested amid her other cards, then back at Luz, then her cards, and she grunted as she scooped up her deck. "Hey, that's cheating!" Chihiro shouted, though the smile on her face hardly faded.

"I call it taking advantage of an opportunity," Luz remarked as he yanked the card from Chihiro's deck and chuckled!

Chihiro chuckled back with him, and their shared laughter bubbled louder, happier, till they both laughed so hard their guts started to ache! Chihiro's cackling continued as she held her sigh, but the slight cough that came from aside of the room stilled her laughter. She hoisted herself up, and her eyes turned to the other side of the room, where Vatra stood amid the rest of the ancient Portal Masters' ranks with his back to the wall and arms crossed.

"Something bothering you?" Chihiro asked as she raised a brow towards Vatra.

Though she hadn't given a name, Vatra immediately nodded. "Yes, actually," he said. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you about…"

Chihiro nodded, a silent prompt for him to continue.

"So, this Kaos person you were talking about, you said he's a free magician who uses his powers for evil, correct?" Vatra asked, belting out his question without hesitation. "What exactly is he like? Are we looking at a serious threat, or just some local menace with an inflated ego?"

"Oh, he's the worst! Not only is he dead-set on becoming the evil emperor of all Skylands, he's got an ego the size of the Jupiter and he's stubborn as a bull!" Chihiro scratched the back of her head. With a scoff, she added, "he was a real pain in the butt, too! Destroyed the Core of Light, scattered the Skylanders all the way to where I'm from, conquered most of Skylands in the blink of an eye… Sure was a pain stopping him."

"He destroyed the Core of Light? And you say he already has an Arkeyan robot and an army on the rise?!"

Vatra's eyes fluttered, and his scowl grew deeper as he pounded a fist against the wall—though being a ghost, his arm just phased right through instead.

"Then what are we dawdling around for?! We have to hurry up and get to his base of operations before he tries anything!"

Chihiro winced, drawing back and sweating a bit as Vatra's eyes burned like fires, and beside her, Luz gulped as well.

"Well, there's not much we really can do right now," Chihiro explained, "there's a really intense security system protecting his place, and until we can take it down—"

"Excuses, excuses! If he's a free magician, him having the powers he does puts Skylands in an immense amount of danger, even moreso with an Arkeyan! All those robots, they have entire databanks of every Arkeyan stronghold in their systems! He could locate all the Arkeyans he wanted with it, hell, he could even reach Arkus! Can't we just send another team to deal with this security system and take him ourselves?!"

Chihiro gulped and tugged on her collar. "That's the thing, we're already short staffed! We need to regroup with the rest of our team, and even with their numbers those security systems will probably be a huge pain! It's better to get the security out of the way, or—"

"So you came understaffed?!" Vatra gritted his teeth, crossing his arms once more and squeezing his forearms so hard it wrinkled the cloth beneath his fingers. "What kind of foolhardiness is that?! You see someone who's conquered Skylands before, would likely do so again, and even has Arkeyan forces at his disposal and your first response is to go completely understaffed?!"

Sweat crept further down, growing more numerous as she gulped and backed further away from Vatra's view, her back climbing against the wall as she sputtered.

"But, well, when the reports came in they said he barely had an army, so we figured—"

"You figured?! And how could you have known that he didn't just make himself seem weaker to trick you into a false sense of security, make you think he's weak so he can wipe you out when you actually arrived! Only a child would think that was completely in earnest!"

Ermit's ears lowered. "Actually, I—" he started, raising his hand before lowering it as a few flames burst from Vatra!

Vatra pulled himself from the wall, storming over to where Chihiro sat while the flames burst from his feet. Underneath his looming height, Chihiro's hands trembled, and the cards in her hands completely vanished as Vatra stood over her, arms crossed and brows scrunched as his eyes burned with those fires… Fires that left her whimpering.

"Don't panic! You knew you were walking directly into a trap, didn't you?!" Vatra shouted.

"Hey, Vats, calm down! You're literally burning up!" Luz cried, pointing to where flames burst from Vatra's legs.

"Yeah, buddy, calm down!" Swarm added, leaning down to face Vatra. "Listen, I was there when all this happened, I can tell you—"

"Silence, both of you!" Vatra cried, tossing out flames with a flick of his arms that sent Luz and Swarm scurrying back. His eyes fixed on Chihiro, who still trembled and sweat before him, and his scowl twitched.

"A child your age shouldn't be in charge of protecting Skylands, you should be in school, studying, worrying about other things while those with actual experience handle this! This mess wouldn't have happened if someone more experienced had taken control of things!"

"But, I—" Chihiro whimpered, clasping her hands and wringing them as she trembled.

"Tell me this, then, before you interrupt—if you stopped him, how was it that he came back? Don't tell me you just locked him in a cage and called it a day!"

"No, we banished him as far as we could!"

"Then how did he come back?"

Chihiro gulped, and her face started to pale.

"Ah, that guilty look." Vatra frowned, the flames in his eyes turning harsher and with a stern look, the kind of stern, worried look a teacher or a parent would give to a guilty child. "I'd seen that in my students plenty of times—surely, it's all your fault that this happened, correct?"

"But, but, I tried to stop him, I really did, but—" Chihiro pleaded, tears beginning to roll down her face.

"But you didn't! Excuses won't make up for the fact that he's running rampant because of your failure!" Vatra thrust a finger just inches from Chihiro's face, and despite her trembling and whimpering, his scowl growing deeper once more. "I can't imagined what must've been going through the mind of whoever mentored you, shouldering someone so young with so much responsibility—"

Vatra cried out in shock as a burst of black lightning exploded, sending sparks from the flames that grew beneath Vatra's feet! The flames extinguished as he sat down and rubbed away the sparks on his heels, and a chill ran down his spine. Vatra turned around and before him Cynder rose from the shadows, positioning herself right between Chihiro and Vatra. A cold look sharp as icicles shone in her eyes, and even Vatra, with all his cold stubbornness, flinched as he backed away.

"Buddy, I don't care if you're some ancient guy from thousands of years ago with all the experience in the world, nobody talks to our portal master like that," Cynder hissed.

Vatra gulped, sweat now dripping from his forehead as he backed away. "But—"

"Cynder's right," Whirlwind added as she flew down beside him and scowled. "If you'd had actually listened to Chihiro, she would've told you that aside of this security system, Kaos is still largely rebuilding his armies and resources. Getting this out of the way will leave him largely vulnerable. It'd be stupid to tackle him head on and waste our energy!"

Vatra scowled, and the flames started to burst from his gritting teeth. "But, I'm telling you—"

"And need I remind you," Terrafin added, cracking his knuckles as he lifted his head and shot a glare at Vatra, "the only reason you're standing here is because of our kid finding your stupid wheel on this 'easily-avoided' mission!"

Eruptor firmly nodded with a frown of his own, and the very sight sent the tips of Vatra's fingers alight! He snarled, but quickly shook his head and turned to Tree Rex. His eyes burned further as Tree Rex peered down from where he sat with Eye-Brawl and Thumpback, and Tree Rex himself gulped a bit.

"Tree Rex, you agree with me, right?" Vatra spat. "Surely, you think this child's completely unprepared for this sort of responsibility, correct?"

Tree Rex frowned, clasping his hands and opening them as he gulped—but Vatra just smirked and turned back to the group.

"See, Tree Rex agrees with me—"

"Actually, Vatra, I'm with the little guys," Tree Rex said.

Vatra's eyes popped open, and his arms fell as he turned to Tree Rex. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did you just say that you agree with them?"

"If not for Chihiro here, we wouldn't even be back in Skylands in the first place—she came to our rescue when we were stuck on her home planet!" Tree Rex held out a hand. "Not to mention—"

"Not to mention what?" Vatra seethed, steam bursting from his ears and pouring from the spaces in his clenched fists. "Bringing you back to this time may be one thing, but she still—"

"Stand down, Vatra," Sihiri commanded, her normally calm and pleasant voice with a more serious tone to it than normal. "We don't exactly have the full story here, nor are we inhabitants of this time. Let's just leave this to the ones from this time."

Vatra grunted, almost about to say something—but he just shut his mouth and shuffled over to a rare uninhabited corner of the small, cramped space they all shared, leaning in the dark parts of the corner and groaning. He mumbled something to himself as sparks and embers burst from his hair, but finally he just sighed and turned around as he patted them out.

Behind him, Sihiri frowned and held a hand to her face… But she, Inochi and Dej just trailed back to where Tree Rex sat, instead embarking on a conversation about the wonders of the modern Skylands as the lights shone above them.

Chihiro curled up into a ball and caught a glimpse of them, but as her eyes laid on Vatra, she quickly turned away before he could glance back at her. She pressed her legs to her chest as she strung her arms across them, one hand lifting her pendant by the finger as she twirled it around, occasionally catching glimpses of herself in its sparkly, druzy surface. She whimpered a bit as the reflections popped up and faded with single flashes, but as the latest one popped up, Cynder appeared beside it! Chihiro yelped at the sight, pulling her finger from the string as she pressed against the warm metal walls of the robot's inside, but breathed a sigh of relief when she turned and found Cynder beside her.

"Don't let that guy get to you, alright?" Cynder said, curling her tail around her legs and snarling. "He didn't know what he was even talking about—guy hasn't been here for more than a day, and he's already acting like he should run the show!" Cynder scoffed, and a puff of lightning escaped her as her wings flared and folded. "Can't stand those types."

Chihiro hummed, then lifted up her pendant and sighed as she turned it around, her reflection shining back at her once more.

"Well, he did kind of have a point," Chihiro admitted, pulling her crystal closer to her face, "if I had stopped Kaos back then, or even before that, we wouldn't be in this whole mess…" Chihiro's lips began to tremble, but she quickly shook her head and squeezed her pendant. "But, what's done is done. I'm just gonna have to work twice, no, three times as hard to stop him, and that means blowing up that security system, finding the others and storming his place!"

Cynder raised a brow, and at the sight of it, Chihiro raised her own.

"But don't worry, I'm not gonna let him get to me." Chihiro beamed. "I know you all believe in me, and that's all I need."

Cynder scoffed, and smiled back as she stretched out her wings. "Just don't get carried away, alright? You don't need to prove yourself—we already know how hard you've been working."

A few dings came from an overhead intercom system, turning the crowd's head up to the ceiling, though really their attention should have been directed at the Machine Ghost, who coughed as he held a speaker up to his lips.

"Attention all passengers," the Machine Ghost said, his normally quiet and whisperlike voice amplified to a normal volume by the intercom speakers. "We should be arriving at Troll Home Security soon. Please stand by while we look for a parking location."

And at the very notion of those words, everyone leaped from their seats and crowded around the pilot's seat, eyes set on the windows as they stormed by the masses of thick clouds and islands of varying sizes that dotted the sky to a small string of islands!

The first half of the islands were entirely organic, a mass of rocks covered in grass and flowers and cliffs with only a handful of stone walls and bridges dotting the area… But once it stretched past that, the grass made way for sleek blue tiles and steel walls, all topped with castles and gizmos and all sorts of other contraptions, from guns shooting lasers into the skies to robotic arms tossing rocks into the great orange yonder and even spiraling beacons that spun in place as electricity and magic bursts from the orbs on their tops! Thunder cracked and rumbled from the castles' tips, and the air was marked by the pungent scent of oil and grease rather than the crystal-clear airs of before.

Oohs and aahs came from the crowd as they choked closer in to get a better look, nearly crushing out the Machine Ghost as he scrambled for the panel and attempted to steer…

And their gasps only grew wider as they drove by one beacon and it nearly zapped them with a huge bolt of lightning! The Machine Ghost quickly swerved under before the electricity could strike, but the swerve came so quickly that they all collapsed on each other! While their noises of excitement turned to groans, the Machine Ghost just chuckled as he swerved in and docked at a string of wooden docks, smashing several of them in the process.

"Oops," was all the Machine Ghost said.

Behind everyone, steam poured from the back of the chamber as the door open and the drawbridge spewed out. The light poured out, and everyone scrambled to their feet, all feeding out of the robot in one big crowd—Tree Rex led them out first, followed by the ancient portal masters and Swarm, then Thumpback and Eye-Brawl went out with Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind.

And as they all left, Chihiro sprung to her feet and trailed after them, gripping her sleeve slightly. Had her message arrived? Would the others really be meeting them there? Had they even gotten there in the first place? Were they running late, or perhaps... No, she couldn't think of that right now, she was sure they were all safe. But, the sight of the open door and all the possibilities that awaited tied her stomach in knots, so she just turned her glance back to the Machine Ghost and Ermit as they stayed in place.

"We'll keep watch here!" the Machine Ghost cried.

Chihiro grunted and wiped off her sleeves, then hummed as she left the robot and planted her hands on her hips. Behind her, the robot hissed as its body drew back closed with a snail's pace, but the sound hardly registered as she stepped out and joined the rest of the group where they stood on the earth.

"Doesn't seem like anyone else's here," she remarked, a bit of disappointment in her voice as she scanned over the rest of the docks, all void of any sort of vehicle. "Strange, wouldn't there be at least a few employees or somethin'?"

Luz frowned as he walked beside her, and with a wave of his hands he summoned a telescope and stretched it out.

"Lemme see…" Luz remarked, sticking his tongue out as he craned his head. He hummed a little more as he swerved from left to right, then finally pointed out towards a lone corner of the docks. "Hey, I think I see a ship over there—and a pretty big one, too!"

"Wait, you do?!" Chihiro cried.

Her eyes practically leaped out of her head, and with a few taps of her heels, wings formed on her sneakers and she was off like a rocket!

Rushing past dock after empty dock, the faint notion of a giant ship parked near the end of the ship grew closer and closer, and at the growing sight Chihiro skipped and leaped!

"That's gotta be—"

Chihiro skidded to a stop, then turned around to the ship… And her face immediately fell.

"Them?!"

Well, there was a ship there, but it was nothing like the Dread-Yacht. No, it was a polished ship colored in shades of green and orange with troll faces painted on the sides, and out from it came two green-skinned troll women in mechanic's clothing that helped a few Mabu down from the ship and onto the docks. Wait a second…

"Dyna, Boomette?" Chihiro cried as she skipped ahead, "and the Mabu Defense Force, too! What are you doing here?"

The first of the troll women, the one with a more wrinkled face and her slick black hair tied in a short ponytail, frowned and pulled away with a grunt, but the moment she locked eyes on Chihiro, a grin spread across her warty face!

"If it isn't the portal master!" she shouted as she leaped from the side of the ship and onto the docks. "Never expected to see a friendly face in these parts!"

"I could say the same!" Chihiro remarked, forcing a smile as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "I never expected to see you out here!"

"Is it them, Chi?" Eruptor called from a distance as he ran up with the rest of the team in tow. "Is it—"—Eruptor skidded to a stop, and the others stopped in turn—"—oh!"

Dyna raised a brow, and behind her a slightly younger troll with her hair in twintails skipped up and paused to brush the dirt from her overalls. That other troll had to be Boomette, though she seemed a bit heavier in her step than before, almost like there was something egging at her mind.

"So, what're you all doing out this far anyways?" Boomette asked. "This isn't exactly a tourist destination or anything…" she raised a brow. "Wait, don't tell me you're on a mission!"

"You bet'cha." Chihiro nodded a bit solemnly. "See, there's been word that Kaos's back and rebuilding his armies, so we came out to find his base. But apparently it's guarded by stuff from this place…"

"That's a surprise," Dyna remarked as she wiped her own hands. "This place went out of business ages ago after all their customers died in the East-Western Regal Wars, and Boomette suggested coming here and salvaging the stuff for reuse. After all, they had some of the finest security tech there was." Dyna smiled. "But, I'm sure we can lend you all a helping hand, too."

"You can? That's great!" Chihiro grinned and bowed slightly. "Thanks for the help!" Popping open an eye, Chihiro lifted herself up. "so, where do we start?"

Boomette smiled, and with a twirl she turned back and waved. "Syracuse, darling, it's your time to shine!"

Out from the ship's quarters popped a troll with orange skin and a short buzz cut dressed in more worn mechanic's clothes covered by a coat, who stumbled out and mumbled something to herself as she hopped over the side of the boat. Her hands shoved in her pockets, she moved up to the rest of the group and pulled a device from it before handing it off.

"What'cha need, dear?" Syracuse remarked, her eyes not peeling from Boomette as she typed before a red flash and a beep from the device turned them back anyways.

Boomette chuckled and skipped ahead. "Hypothetically speaking, if someone had a security system powered by something here, where would it—"

A loud beep came from above, one so shrill it sent everyone doubling down and shielding their ears as it wailed. But as the beep cried out, sirens burst from the area and flashed red! And not just those either, for patches of the grass and dirt unfolded to pull out weapons of all kinds! Laser guns and cannons, mechanical arms and rocket launchers, even a few chompy blasters poked out from the earth—and the whole group was their target!

"Wait, how did we start the security?!" Dyna cried, turning to Syracuse. "Syracuse, I thought you were disabling it?"

Syracuse hissed, her eyes trailing down to the device in her hands, and then to Boomette. "Well, I, er…" Syracuse's ears flopped down, and a warm blush crossed her face. "I got a little distracted."

Boomette squealed as she rushed and hid behind Syracuse, while the beeping only grew louder as it was joined by the sound of weapons charging! The two of them winced, peering up as Dyna raced in front of them and readied a laser gun.

"We'll talk about this later!" Dyna cried as she held her laser gun up, sweating as her own tiny weapon was met with the vast array of weaponry before her. "For now—"

The sound of rockets and guns firing drowned out Dyna as the weapons shot as one collective, all of them rocketing straight for Dyna at the head of the group as her eyes grew wider…

Then the sound of magic flashing hit the air as Chihiro slid in front of Dyna and crafted a shield! The weapons all exploded against the shield, shattering it and sending Chihiro rolling back, but Chihiro just jumped back up and raced forward, crafting another shield as the weapons fired their second round! Chihiro grunted, shutting an eye as the weapons exploded and cracked her shield, but she immediately planted her hands on it and sealed the cracks right in time for the third assault to crack it again! Veins of cyan flashed on Chihiro's face and hands as she resealed the cracks, the smoke and fire and ear-shattering explosions seemingly white noise as she held up the shield with all she could, hands and legs trembling furiously as she kept the shield tall…

But with one last blast, it shattered so furiously that it blew Chihiro into the crowds! She grunted as Tree Rex swept in and snatched her up, then turned around in his palm and shuddered as the light from her veins faded.

The weapons charged up faster than ever as everyone grimaced and knelt down, readying weapons and attacks of their own. But, just before they struck, a massive blow of fire hit the weaponry and it all exploded in a plume of flame and burnt bits of metal! The smaller members of the team grunted and dug their heels in as they slid backwards, and all eyes turned to the skies as the shadow of a large ship passed over them.

"Wait a second…" Tree Rex gasped.

Below him, Chihiro moaned and pulled herself up, then she beamed and sprung to her feet.

"It's them, it's the Dread-Yacht!"

Sure enough, there in the skies was the Dread-Yacht! Granted, it was much more polished compared to the last time they had seen it, all shiny metal and fancy decor, but it was back! With one last swoop, the Dread-Yacht began to dock…

And as it did, a burst of purple leaped from the deck and slammed right into the crowds, nearly knocking a few people off the ground as it sniped Chihiro right out of Tree Rex's hand and into the grass! A pair of soft grunts came as Chihiro hit the ground, and the blur finally revealed itself to be Spyro, tears of joy in his eyes as he clutched Chihiro so tight!

"Chihiro!" Spyro cried, practically digging his claws into her clothes as he buried his head into her shoulder. "It's really you!"

"Spyro!" Chihiro cried, tears of joy forming in her own eyes as she hugged him tight, her own head nuzzling against his neck. "You're back!"

"You bet!" Spyro nodded, sniffing a bit as he wiped the tears from his eyes with his wings and nuzzling her again. "It feels good to hold you again." Spyro wrapped his wings around Chihiro. "I'm so, so, glad you're alright."

Chihiro chuckled, and she just hugged him back. "I knew you were gonna come back—you always do." Squeezing him tighter, a few small tears streaked down Chihiro's cheek and hit the earth. "Strange, I almost don't wanna let go," Chihiro sniffed, her voice starting to crack as she buried her face in his shoulder again.

Maybe the days she had spent separated from him made her more sappy or something without even realizing, but she missed being able to hold him like this, to have his warm, cozy scales close in her grip and his wings wrapped around her… Something about it made her wanna cry! In fact, something warm and wet dripped down her face and landed on Spyro's paws, prompting him to look right back up.

"Chi, what's wrong?" Spyro asked, wiping away her tears.

Chihiro let out a few strained giggles, then cuddled him tighter. "I, I'm fine, it's just…" Another sniffle slipped out, and Chihiro cuddled closer in. "I never realized how much I missed you until I saw you again."

Spyro stuck out his tongue, but quickly rescinded it as Chihiro thrust forward and squeezed him the tightest she could! Finally at a loss for words, Chihiro practically buried herself in Spyro's grip, head in his chest, arms wrapped tight around his back, hugging him so tight as if he'd disappear the moment she let go! Thick, blubbering sobs rattled from her as streams of tears poured down her face, diverting onto his scales and her clothes and drenching them as inelegant sniffling and sobbing continued. Her face had started to turn red… And yet Spyro just clutched her tighter as his own scales started to warm and tears of his own fell.

"It's okay, Chi, it's okay," Spyro whispered, his wings stroking against her back, "I'm back now, we're back together. It's gonna be okay."

With one last sniff, Chihiro pulled away from Spyro and smiled as she wiped her tears away. Though her other hand still clutched Spyro's paw tight, and her eyes were still a bit red and puffy, she still smiled and stood for the rest of the team.

"My, my," Boomette remarking, shaking her head. "You two are quite the item, aren't you?"

Hearing this, both Spyro and Chihiro's faces turned hot, both turning to each other and sputtering as they scratched their heads.

"Well, er, I mean," Chihiro mumbled, her gaze turning aside.

"I, well, we, we're…" Spyro mumbled, before his eyes turned to the Dread-Yacht in quick shock and he forced a smile. "Oh look, there's everyone else!"

At this, all eyes turned to where the Dread-Yacht had parked beside Dyna and Boomette's own ship, its drawbridge stretched out and unloading the passengers… As well as two other ghosts, both wearing wheel pendants colored in orange and silver!

"Wait, could that be?" Vatra gasped as he turned around.

Sihiri blinked once, then twice as she stepped back… And finally, she beamed as she rushed forward.

"'Enehana, Nemir!" She cried as she launched herself towards them. "You're here!"

'Enehana and Nemir both blinked, grunting as they turned around, then, they both smiled.

"Sihiri!" 'Enehana called as they raced up, then peered over Sihiri's shoulder to find the rest of the portal masters standing behind her. "And the others, too! You're all here!"

Nemir chuckled, the bags under his eyes seemingly growing a little lighter at the sight. "I never would have thought…"

The other ancient Portal Masters chattered and shouted with glee as they gathered together, and above them the Elder Elementals cried with delight as the reunion, Bouncer wrapping Tree Rex in a tender kiss as they both embraced each other for the first time in days, the others getting caught up from the sidelines. Even down below, the Skylanders chatted it up with each other and Flynn and Cali.

And from the sidelines Spyro and Chihiro watched with smiles on their faces… Then, Spyro's eyes popped and he rushed away from Chihiro's side!

"Actually, we should really save the happy reunions for later!" He cried. "I just remembered—while we were on our way here, we found out something important!"

"That's right!" Stealth Elf cried, her eyes also going wide as she pulled from the crowds. "Not only has Kaos unearthed a bunch of Arkeyans, but he's planning to go to Arkus too!" Stealth Elf shook her head. "Scratch that, he's already preparing to go there!"

A few gasps came from parts of the crowd, and Vatra scowled as he turned back to the rest of the ancient portal masters.

"See, what did I tell you?" He cried. "I knew he'd go right for Arkus!"

Pushing her way through the crowd, Chihiro ran up right to Dyna, Boomette and Syracuse. "You said you might have a clue where Kaos's security thingie would be, right?" Chihiro asked. "What is it?"

Syracuse hummed as she reached for the device in her hands, but Dyna yanked it away.

"I'll handle this, considering what happened when you tried to unlock security," Dyna scoffed, before turning back to Chihiro as she held out the device. "Anyways, according to the device, most of the stuff powering the outgoing security—" with a few taps, a diagram of an island covered in guns popped on the screen, "—is handled here, and guarded by a pretty thick defense system. However, underground there's a record database of exact locations, sales, all that fun stuff…"

"Hey, why do you get to do it?! Syracuse and I are the ones who discovered all this!" Boomette cried, yanking the console from Dyna and shoving it back into Syracuse's arms. "Isn't that right, darling?~"

Syracuse chuckled, but this time her smile felt more forced than anything as she peered down.

"So, as Dyna said—" Syracuse started, before yelping as Dyna snagged the console from her once more.

"—if you want to find wherever the gun powering Kaos's security is, going underground is your best bet!" Dyna finished, shooting Boomette the stink eye as she pouted.

Chihiro nodded, then cracked her knuckles and beamed. "Alright then!" she shouted, pointing towards the group.

But before she could speak, Vatra shoved past her and crossed his arms! Chihiro grunted, thrusting her sleeve away from his grip—yet for a ghost, it was rock-solid!

"Hey!" Chihiro shouted as Vatra dragged her towards the rest of the ancient Portal Masters, though Vatra paid her no mind.

"Seeing as how we have no time to lose, the rest of the free magicians and I will head down and find the location for this shield gun. In the meanwhile, the rest of you, clear the path for us if you will." Vatra swept around, but not before yanking Chihiro by the sleeve and dragging her back to the docks. "And you, child, will stay on the sidelines, where it's safe."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Spyro hissed as he flew in front of Vatra with eyes burning.

Vatra quickly gulped and released his grip on Chihiro's sleeve as he backed away from Spyro, and Spyro only huffed.

"I thought so."

Floating down to Chihiro's side, Spyro leaned closer to Chihiro and held a paw up to his muzzle. "I dunno who this person is, but if they give you any trouble, just tell me, alright?" Spyro whispered.

Chihiro smiled, then laid a hand on Spyro's shoulder. "Don't worry, I think I can handle him," Chihiro whispered back as she leaned closer to Spyro. "You just worry about getting the defenses taken down, alright? We'll find that shield generator thingie's location!"

Spyro pulled aside, his eyes lingering on Chihiro for a moment as that red-headed guy shot her a glance and seemed to say something... But then, the redheaded guy reluctantly nodded and left Chihiro's side to join with the others.

Well, seemed they'd be fine, so Spyro nodded nonetheless and flew back to the other group. There, everyone else crowded around Dyna and Boomette as the two of them bickered, with a whole row of explosives lined up around the tall gates behind them. Spyro himself lingered around the back, poking his head out as he spectated with a grimace shared by the rest of the crowd.

"I'm telling you, I can handle it! It's only a few explosives, I couldn't call myself a troll if I couldn't handle that!" Boomette spat, gesturing towards the explosives.

"It'll be quicker if I just light this and go! Just let me handle this!" Dyna insisted.

"Girls, girls!" Rizzo cried as he stepped in with both paws held up. "There's no need to bicker! Just let Dyna light the darn things and we'll be on our way…"

"Actually, why does Dyna get to light them?! Boomette was the one who set them up in the first place!" Blobbers cried from the back.

"Quiet, Blobbers!" Rizzo spat. With a sigh, he turned around and shook his head. "Why's it such a big deal who lights them? All we gotta do is blow this gate to chunks!"

And as the bickering continued, with everyone not involved covering their ears or exchanging awkward glances, Spyro only groaned and buried his head in his paws.

"Something tells me this is not going to go smoothly…" Spyro groaned.

Lifting his head up, Spyro fell down to his paws as Syracuse and Cali pushed through the crowds before him and lit the dynamite at the gate, with everyone else scrambling back and plugging their ears as the fires trailed along the fuses. A few eyes popped open to catch a glimpse at the display… And then immediately shut as a large explosion blanketed the area ahead!

Smoke and embers filtered through the air as the gates blew wide open, their stone and metal twisted by the fires and left to burn on the front lawn. Thick, black smoke and the scent of burning metal, smoky and charred and sickening, filtered through the air. The clouds spiraled towards the air, choking out parts of the sky as faint, coughing silhouettes poked their way through the black fog, but as the coughing fits cleared, the sounds of beeping took their place as Dyna stepped out of the smog!

"Alright, we may have busted through the gates," Dyna said, her eyes not moving from the shiny console sitting in her hands, "but that was the easy part."

Dyna tapped away at the console, a frown finding its way on her face as the others crowded around her, poking their heads over her shoulders and even her own to snatch a glimpse. With a shine of cyan light, a holographic map of the island burst from the screen of Dyna's console, earning some oohs and aahs from the Elder Elementals… Before a tiny red dot popped up with a blip.

"That's hardly anything!" Rizzo scoffed as he crossed his arms. "We could deal with that in our sleep."

"Just wait."

A few more beeps came from the console, and parts of it began to flash red as even more red dots burst across the screen, choking out the area ahead with a thick, almost complete layer of red!

Stumbling back, Rizzo winced and clenched his teeth. "Well, guess I stand corrected."

"They didn't exactly skimp out on their security, as you can see," Dyna remarked, earning her a few scoffs and a brief mentions of "No kidding" from those around.

With a sigh, Dyna brought the map up to the rest of the group as a holograph, its bright red and blue light shining down on them all. "Anyways, we're gonna need a plan."

"I've got an idea!" Snuckles shouted, raising his hand. "How about we split up into two teams, then draw their attention away and beat them separately?"

Dyna nodded and scratched her head. "That should work—it'd at least be better than taking them all head-on—"

"Are you sure you're not just suggesting that because you don't want to be around me, though?" Blobbers asked, shooting a glare at Snuckles as he crossed his arms.

Snuckles winced and held up both hands, backing away as Blobbers glared him down. "I, I didn't mean it like that! I just thought it would be easier than taking them all on at once!"

"Calm down, Blobbers, Snuckles is right," Dyna intervened, holding out a finger. "If we take all their forces on as one, they'd wipe us out in an instant! It'd be easier if we divided and conquered—"

"That's what you always say!" Blobbers cried out, Dyna completely ignored as he stormed forward towards a shuddering Snuckles. "But it's always 'Blobbers, do this!' and 'Blobbers do that!' and 'Blobbers, go away!'" Blobbers gritted his teeth, and his eyes turned to Rizzo and Nort behind him. "It's like you never want me around unless I'm doing stuff for you!"

"Yeah!" Boomette cried, crossing her own arms. "Give him a break!"

Rizzo sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose before he stormed up to Blobbers. "Now's not the time, Blobbers! We've got work to do!" Rizzo cried.

Hearing this, Blobbers' brow twitched, and he yanked his head towards Rizzo. "Oh, of course you say that! I never get any respect from you! You make me do all the dirty work, but you're always the first to run off whenever I need help! Some kind of captain you are! Remember when you abandoned me at that carnival?"

"Show him some respect!" Boomette chimed in.

"You're still not over that?" Nort cried. "Give the captain a break! We already told you, we were gonna come back for you!"

"And what's the point of even bringing that up, anyways? We've got work to do!" Dyna added in. "You can settle this after the salvage mission!"

A few gritted teeth and glares cast amid the group, and before everyone knew it, the whole planning session had dissolved into arguments! Petty insults and sharp tongues flew across as Dyna, Boomette, and the members of the Mabu Defense Force all broke into verbal war!

As they shouted and spat, tossing insults left and right, Spyro winced and flew between Boomette and Rizzo.

"Hey, everyone, calm down! Deep breaths!" Spyro shouted as he pushed the two of them away from each other. "Whatever issues you have, we can sort them out in a bit, but you'll all need to calm down first!"

However, the two of them just pushed Spyro away! He grunted as he slammed against the ground, then shook his head and flew back in as he dragged Rizzo away!

Beside him, Snuckles whimpered as he stood between Nort and Blobbers, and Syracuse just winced as she pinched the bridge of her nose, but a soft light shining on her turned her attention away from the conflict. Lifting her head up to the higher cliffs above, Syracuse gasped and rushed up to Dyna and Boomette.

"Might wanna cut the bickering short!" Syracuse cried as she shook Dyna's shoulders. "We've got trouble!"

But, Dyna didn't even budge! The most she did was brush away Syracuse, who just grunted as she dashed over to Boomette's side and shook her shoulder in tandem.

"Oh dearest dear, we've got a situation!" Syracuse hissed, her eyes not peeling off of the sight ahead.

Boomette gritted her teeth, then yanked her head back to Syracuse.

"Oh, we do, alright!" Boomette cried, earning a perk of the ears from Syracuse… That quickly drooped as Boomette went back to glaring at Dyna. "If this idiot doesn't admit when she's wrong!"

"I'm telling you, you should leave all this to me and go back to the ship! You don't need to come here and push yourself!" Dyna insisted.

"But Syracuse and I were the ones who found this place in the first place! You wouldn't even know this place existed if not for us!"

While the two of them bickered, Syracuse gritted her own teeth, then finally shoved herself between them and pushed them both aside. "Can you two knock it off for five seconds?! We've got bigger things to worry about here!"

Dyna grunted as she hit the ground, then dusted herself off and snarled. "Bigger things? Like what?"

Syracuse, however, only gestured to the back of the area, where several security cameras had locked onto them, glints of red glistening in their lenses!

"I don't know, the security cameras for one!"

That simple glint of red in the cameras' lenses glowed brighter as the Mabu Defense Force's members broke away from their own arguments, and it flashed all around the area, drowning it in a sea of crimson as sirens wailed! The bright blanket of red shielded the rest of the area from view, and everything was trapped in a haze as sirens wailed and the ground rumbled underneath, rocks and pieces of broken metal bouncing on its surface! A few people shielded their eyes or bumped into each other, toppling over legs or tripping on their own feet as the rumbling grew unbearable. The sirens' wails were joined by beeping and clunking and churning sounds, and the faint smell of oil rose over the horizon.

"Intruder alert, intruder alert!" droned an entire crowd of robotic voices as white and yellow dots burst from blanket of red. "Eliminate intruders!"

Tree Rex grunted as he pulled himself from the ground, then gasped and plunged his fist into the earth! Cracks formed in the dirt as a shield of thick vines towered over the group, only faint plinks heard from its other side before the vines sank into the earth in time with the red lights fading away. As the vines' tips disappeared back into the ground and the cracks sealed themselves up, what was left was none other than robots! Large robots, small ones, medium-sized ones even, all made of sleek, shiny metal and armed to the nines with guns, hand cannons, blades and more! The solid black spaces on their faces probably meant for eyes flashed red for moments, and they all raised their weapons.

"Eliminate intruders!" they all cried once more as they began charging!

Dyna and Boomette both growled as they glared at each other, but nonetheless they both sprinted from the ground, yanking sleek metal sticks from their pockets and turning them into full-scale laser pistols with a single toss and flip! They shot one last glare each other as they yanked the pistols from the air and loaded them. The gauges of light that resided on the pistol's sides filled up, going from red to yellow and then to a bright, verdant green, and Dyna and Boomette both scoffed.

"We'll finish this later," Dyna hissed. As Boomette scoffed and turned her nose up, Dyna only groaned…

Then both of them gasped and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over their own feet as they scrambled away from the tightly-packed masses of robots charging for them! The two of them were shoulder to shoulder, then back to back as the robots crowded around them in a circle, a ring where they were trapped with no escape! They gulped, raising their laser pistols and wrapping their fingers around the triggers—but right as they did, a large silver laser shot down from the skies and sent steam and smoke everywhere as it carved through the robots' frontlines! Bursts of electrical fire heated the area around them as the robots exploded into bits of flaming metal and rained down on the battlefield.

Dyna and Boomette lifted their heads, and were met with none other than Eye! They blinked in awe, but Eye just chuckled and zipped back into the battle!

The remaining factions of robots robots split in half, forming crowds of their remaining ranks as they all charged right for Eye. As they charged, a shadow cast over them and they scurried back, but not before Brawl landed and crushed them underfoot! Lifting his feet from the ground, Brawl grabbed Eye and wrapped his entire body around Eye, shielding him from the onset of fire and smoke and hat that came as the robots exploded into a massive pyre. While the flames started to die, Eye wriggled his way out of Brawl's arms, then popped on top of Brawl and lifted a wing as sirens sounded.

"We aren't done yet, I'm afraid!" Eye cried as he jumped back off of Brawl's head and turned down to the rest of the group. "There's more coming over the horizon!"

Hearing this, Blobbers rummaged through his pockets, then yanked out a pair of binoculars and turned his gaze up to the hills ahead, where a massive blob of lumpy shadows emerged between massive clouds of dust.

"He's right!" Blobbers cried. "They're already bringing in reinforcements!"

"Hey, lemme see!" Rizzo shouted as he barged in and grappled for Blobbers' binoculars.

Blobbers grunted, then snarled as he yanked away the binoculars from Rizzo. "Hey, these are mine! Get your own!"

"I'm the captain here! Quit talking back and let me get a peek!"

"The captain should have his own set of binoculars, then!"

Rizzo and Blobbers both shoved their faces together, binoculars completely forgotten as they locked eyes and balled fists. But right before they could fight, Syracuse shoved them apart and tossed laser blasters into their arms.

"Cut the chatter!" Syracuse cried. She loaded her own laser gun, then knelt down and shot a robot charging for them right through the chest before she turned back to Rizzo and Blobbers.

Rizzo and Blobbers both opened their mouths to speak, but right as they did a burst of fire shot up above them, the embers and heat from underneath it forcing them to duck! As they both took cover, the warmth of golden firelight caught their eyes and brought their attention to a further point of the battlefield, where Spyro stood with flames licking at his wings and horns, and a mangled, flaming robot corpse to his front. They both gulped as Spyro turned around to meet them, but Spyro only flared his wings and jumped back into the skies!

"She's right!" Spyro cried as he zipped overhead. "There's more reinforcements coming by the second—we've got no time to spare!"

Rizzo and Blobbers both muttered underneath their breath, yet nonetheless they heaved up their laser blasters and rushed into the fray, taking shelter behind lumps of cold, rock-hard metal that were probably robots at one point. Their crosshairs popped up on a fleet of robots that charged forward and they prepared to fire… But just before they did, entire torrents of water poured down before, completely drenching the robots!

And above them, an ocean-eyed Spyro and Gill Grunt both grinned at each other.

"There's no way they could survive a torrent that strong!" Gill Grunt cried, heaving up his harpoon cannon just a bit. "They're probably short-circuiting right now!"

The torrents finally relented, pooling underneath the robots' feet and turning the earth around them to mud… Yet the robots were perfectly fine! Their armor was sleek and shiny underneath the water's glaze, and the most they did was shake their heads and pop water out of their sockets before charging in!

Both Spyro and Gill Grunt's faces fell, and Spyro only groaned.

"Unless they're waterproof!"

The robots cried out hasty, mechanical beeps of anger as they rushed right for Blobbers and Rizzo and held up swords sparking with lightning, while the two of them just shot their pistols. Yet, the lasers they shot just bounced off the robots' chests and soared into the stratosphere, never to be seen again! So, Blobbers and Rizzo just dropped their blasters and ran off screaming!

The robots beeped and buzzed as they made chase, then skidded to a stop as Spyro planted in front of them. The blues in his eyes turned to more of an azure shade as lightning crackled around his wings, and with a flick, bursts of electricity shot from those wings and hurtled straight into the robots' chest! The electricity from the bursts danced around the robots' limbs, and the robots themselves dropped their weapons and jerked in fifty different directions as the lightning tunneled its way through their bodies! Sparks jumped from them as their circuits sizzled and fried, smoke leaking from their chests and sending an awful scent through the air as a shrill assortment of beeps burst from their bodies. Their bodies burst in a flaming explosion next, eating them alive as their armor melted and crumpled underneath the flames' weight, leaving only smoldering humps of metal in their place.

A few other robots beeped in confusion and concern as they ran over and witnessed the flames, and Spyro only smirked. His eyes shifted to red with a simple blink, and with a simple paw step, the flames leaped from the robots' corpses and jumped to their still-walking companions! The robots squealed and rushed off as the flames burned around them, and Spyro chuckled.

A chill rushed through the breeze while a burst of cold wind hit Spyro, and he turned around right as a vaguely dragonlike shadow leaped from the ground! The shadow dashed right through the way of a robot troll platoon, sending them spinning in place as their weapons dropped to the ground. Then, out from that shadow burst Cynder, who flicked her wings and ducked right as Trigger Happy leaped above her!

"My turn now!" Trigger Happy cried as he spun his pistols. His eyes latched onto a tree branch attached to a miraculously still-standing tree, and he wrapped his tongue around it before propelling himself in the air and turning his guns down on the spinning robots. "Bang bang bang!"

One slip of the trigger, and a whole barrage of golden coins and lasers burst from the barrels of Trigger Happy's guns, nailing the robots right in the chest and tearing holes in their bodies! The robots flew backwards from the sheer force and right over the island's edge, only their beeps heard as they plummeted down into the depths! And as they flew, Trigger Happy dropped down onto the ground, then prodded over and held a hand above his eyes as he peered over the edge.

"Yep, they're goners!" Trigger Happy chirped as he bounced from side to side.

He giggled to himself as he spun his guns, then grunted as something rammed into him and nearly pushed him over the edge! Trigger Happy screamed as he slowly teetered over, but quickly hopped away and regained his footing as his attention turned to his accidental assailant—Dyna!

Her brow was caked in sweat as she backed closer to the edge, teeth gritted and her laser pistol tight as it could be in her sweaty grip as she glared down the large robot that stomped after her and its electrically charged claymore. Dyna winced as she raised her laser pistol, but right before she fired, a gigantic, bright as the sun golden laser tore right through the robot's side!

Its shadow cast over her, and Dyna rushed off right as the front half of the robot collapsed on the ground. She herself just smiled as she turned to Trigger Happy, who winked back and chuckled before he rushed back into the fray. Dyna only gulped, then lifted her eyes to the rest of the battlefield.

The once grassy area had become a trench of mud and fire, flames from desolate robot corpses eating away the sparse grass and flowers that once covered the island, and the birdsong was drowned out by shouting and the clashing of metal and weaponry!

To her left, Terrafin churned the earth and leaped out before Eruptor poured lava into the trenches dug, sending robots tripping into magmatic graves, while above them Whirlwind tossed down storm clouds that trapped robots in grid of sharp electricity! Above them, Thumpback wrapped a couple of gigantic robots tight with his anchor's chains and tossed the robots into the air as Hot Head burned them down with his flames, while to his back, Bouncer, Ninjini and Tree Rex wiped out entire rows of robots with rounds of bullets and bursts of light and magic. And underneath their feet, Stealth Elf tore through robot after robot with her blades and tossed them towards fleets of other robots right before they exploded, taking the whole group with them!

Dyna frowned, eyes wide and lips limp as her grip on her laser pistol slipped just a bit from watching. The sound of footsteps caught her ears, and she gasped as a pair of robots charged right for her! Dyna just barely ducked underneath the swipe of one robot's electrically-charged lance, the sliced-off bits of her hair fluttering in the wind behind her, and she ducked yet again as another robot swung a mace right for her! She skidded backwards, then her ears twitched as a faint yowl and the sound of lasers colliding with metal came from beside her! Dyna jerked her head to the right and gasped as Boomette hit the floor, her laser pistol sliding out of her hand, and in that instant Dyna dashed over and slid in front of Boomette, brandishing her pistol high as she nailed the robots right in the heads! The robots' bodies collapsed on the ground, wires exposed and sparking as their heads flew off in the distance, but Dyna disregarded them and faced Boomette instead.

"I had it under control!" Boomette hissed as she jumped to her feet and snatched her laser pistol from the ground. With a scoff, Boomette shot away another robot, then she spun her pistol around and smirked as she blew the smoke from its tip. "See?"

Boomette raised a brow at Dyna, but Dyna just scoffed and walked aside.

"Sure, that looks like under control to me," Dyna hissed, charging her laser pistol with a rub then turned around and shooting another robot.

"Hey, what does that mean?!"

Dyna snarled, leaning down as a group of large, mechanical chompies with flames bursting from their back and cannons for arms marched towards her, then flipped a switch underneath the pistol's handle and turned it to a full-on blaster! Shrieks and light burst from the blaster's barrel as Dyna heaved it over her shoulder, and with a single swing a gigantic laser burst from the blaster and swerved over, cutting the robots right in half! Dyna scoffed as they all exploded into thick bursts of fire and smoke, then switched the blaster back into a pistol and turned to Boomette.

"Just let me handle this, okay? I don't want you getting into any unnecessary danger."

Boomette snarled, gritting her teeth, but the sounds of yowling and screeching over the horizon drew her attention away from Dyna! She gasped as she turned her own laser pistol up to the skies, then pulled the trigger and charged a blast.

"Boomette, what do you think you're doing?!" Dyna cried, her eyes fixed on the pistol.

"Duck!" Boomette cried.

"Duck?! Why would I—"

Dyna hit the ground as the laser soared above her head and nailed a chompy right about to pounce on her out of the air! Lifting her head, Dyna rolled over and winced as an entire rain of chompies soared down from the skies and hit the ground, eyes beady and hungry as they leaped in! Dyna blew a few chompies away with her laser pistol and backed right into Boomette, then winced as she leaped away from one chompy that tried to sneak a bite of her.

"Just where did those things come from?!" Dyna cried.

"If I had to guess," Boomette replied as she crossed her arms, "those robots you blew up were probably loaded with them!" Boomette scoffed as a smirk crossed her lips. "So much for having things under control, huh?"

Dyna growled underneath her breath, then turned around as a faint shriek hit the air! While several larger chompies flew out of the air thanks to a combined blast of light, water and lasers, the rest of the group stormed in right before her eyes. Dyna gripped the handle of her laser pistol, then flung it out as she rushed in and knelt down.

"Forget about that!" She shouted as she sniped several of the smaller chompies that hit the ground. "Just take care of these things!"

"Oh, so when you mess up it's not a problem, but when I do it's proof that I should just leave things to the rest of you, huh?" Boomette shouted back, transforming her pistol to a rifle and shooting away. "How fair is that, again?"

Dyna clenched her teeth, then lifted her pistol and held her crosshairs to an oncoming chompy. "Now's now the time—"

A laser blast sniped the chompy off the ground, and Boomette huffed.

"Of course it isn't! You always act like you're so perfect and can do no wrong, and I'm just the one who you have to drag along!" Boomette spun her rifle until it laid over her shoulder and shot away a few more chompies with maybe a bit more powerful a blast than needed, judging from the crater left behind in the air. A frown crossed her face, and it turned to a snarl as she stormed up to Dyna. "If it were up to you, you'd have me stay home so you can take credit for all my work!"

"Boomette, that's not true and we both know it!" Dyna tossed her laser pistol to the side. "I'm just trying to look out for you!"

Boomette tossed her rifle away in turn, glaring it down for just a minute before turning to Dyna. "I never asked you to!" Boomette cried. "You don't take me seriously at all! I might be the youngest here, but that doesn't mean I'm any less capable! If it weren't for me and Syracuse, we wouldn't be here—"

"Getting attacked by robots? Arguing like this?" Dyna crossed her arms.

"That's not the point!"

Boomette groaned, flinging her head back before she raised her hands and stormed off. "That's it, I give up with you! Trying to argue with you is like trying to argue with an unmade robot!"

"Boomette, get back here!" Dyna shouted, flinging out an arm. "I'm not done talking with you yet!"

"Well I am!" Boomette shouted back, not even bothering to turn back to Dyna. "I don't need you, anyways! All you do is nag me about everything and drag me down!"

Dyna gasped, but before she could even reply, a hot burst of fire hit her back and she shuddered as a massive explosion blew her onto the ground face-first! Dyna grunted as she pushed herself up, her eyes met by masses of fire that quickly diminished, sending smoke and ashes flying everywhere as a massive burst of wind extinguished the flames. And out from that came 'Enehana wiping their hands of soot, with Cali close behind.

"Quit arguing, you two!" Cali shouted. "We've got bigger things to worry about, you know!"

The sirens droned once more as if to amplify Cali's statement, but before they could cry a second more, a whole wave of lasers wiped them out! Their broken speakers collapsed to the ground and burned away… Save for one, which was only kicked off the side of the island by Boomette.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'll be happy if I never speak to you again!" Boomette shouted.

Dyna huffed, tears forming in her eyes before she wiped them away. Her frown turned cold and slight, and she just sighed as she hung her head and trailed off.

"That's fine by mine!" she shouted back as she dashed over the hill!

Cali winced as Dyna ran past her, but Dyna disappeared across the grass right before Cali could even lift a hand! A couple of worried whispers and glances came from the group behind them, and Cali only winced. A sigh turned her attention to Rizzo beside her as he scratched his head, and Cali raised a brow.

"I swear, those two have been going at it since we got here!" Rizzo shouted. "I don't know what's gotten into them!"

"Even earlier than that!" Blobbers remarked, crossing his arms. "They were bickering the whole flight here," Blobbers tsked and shook his head. "Talk about petty."

But while the others whispered and worried amid themselves, Eye only popped off of Brawl's head and perked up as Brawl turned to him.

"You know, Eye, this reminds me of something," Brawl signed before he turned out to the hills.

"Read my mind!" Eye remarked, "and that gives me an idea!" Eye turned back to Brawl and nodded. "You go find one of them, and I'll find the other, alright?"

Brawl nodded, then dashed over the hill while Eye flitted off! The smaller members of their group jumped up or fell over from the massive winds and stomps they produced, and as they gathered their bearings, Rizzo frowned. Adjusting his hat back into place, Rizzo pulled himself to his feet as his eyes fell over to where Brawl ran.

"Hey, where's he going?" Rizzo remarked as he ran off after Brawl.

"Captain, wait!" Nort and Snuckles both cried as they ran after Rizzo!

Blobbers, however, just frowned and trailed after Eye. "I wonder where he's going…" Blobbers whispered.

And as they all left, Cali frowned and walked off, but 'Enehana just smiled and grabbed her shoulder.

"Let's just leave them be," 'Enehana said, "I'm sure they know what they're doing." 'Enehana cracked their robotic knuckles, then turned back to the path ahead. "Besides, we've got a mission to take care of."

Cali drew back, hesitating for a moment before she caught sight of Spyro nodding in response.

"They're right, we can't hesitate, not with Kaos at large," Spyro said as he flew off. "Let's just do what we can!"

So, Cali nodded and trailed after the back of the group as they trekked through the remainders of the battlefield. A frown crossed Cali's face as she knelt down and lifted Dyna's laser pistol off the ground, then her eyes turned to where the rest of the group set up dynamite at a gate blocked off by shiny metal. Cali flicked the pistol and turned it back to its dormant state, and as she shoved it in her pocket, Cali rushed over and frowned.

"Whatever it is they're doing," Cali said as her eyes glazed over the battlefield, "I sure hope it works out."

§

Chihiro, Sihiri, Inochi, Vatra, Dej, Luz and Nemir all frowned as they stood before a gigantic boulder that rested at the base of the cliff. Its thick stone surface's dull red coloration was brightened a little, tinted a little warmer by the sunlight that came from ahead, and was free of chips and dents and scratches and solid looking, enough that the very glance of it was enough to show that it would be a pain to move! And yet, as a faint purple glow enveloped it, the stone rolled away with little fuss, unveiling a dark tunnel bored into the cliff.

As Sihiri wiped her hands and grinned, Luz smiled and summoned an orb of light with a simple gesture of the hand.

"Let's light this place up!" He chirped as he nudged the orb into the cavern with a soft push of his hand.

The warm, yellow light of the orb drifted further into the cavern and Luz prodded forward after it, taking only a moment to beckon for the others to follow. He hummed a tune, hands behind his back as the others walked in behind him with only Sihiri pausing for a moment to roll the boulder back in place, dimming the cavern until its only light source was the one Luz himself provided. The soft patter of Chihiro's footsteps as she hopped up beside him raised Luz's brow, and he turned around, stopping his song as he turned down to Chihiro.

"So, what's the plan?" Luz whispered, though within the silent confines of the cave it echoed a bit louder.

Chihiro, in response, only waved a hand and brought out a replica of the underground crafted with bright cyan light, its own luminescence tinging the cavern walls in shades of green as it mingled with the orb Luz created. It flickered in and out a bit as it came into existence, but quickly stabilized as a small group of white dots formed in a tunnel near its entrance.

"So, this is where we are right now," Chihiro said as she pointed to the group of white dots, then dragged her finger across the tunnel, "and this is supposedly where the records are being kept. Chances are, there'll probably be a few tech support drones there, keeping all the records intact and stuff."

Chihiro smirked, then toyed with her suspenders. "Luckily, this part should be pretty easy as long as we're clever. All we have to do is fool them into thinking we're associates of Kaos's family, and they'll give us the location pronto!"

With a snap of her fingers, the diagram disappeared and Chihiro turned back to the others. "Then, we can go there and smash the things to pieces! It's easy as pie!"

"And how are you so sure of that?" Vatra asked as he crossed his arms. "The longer we meander about, the more time this Kaos person has to go to Arkus! And that's assuming we don't make the security suspicious!" Vatra pointed a finger at Chihiro. "It'd be much easier to wipe out their security and check the records ourselves! Besides, a few drones shouldn't be much problem—"

"In your time!" Chihiro pointed right back and clenched her brows. "But tech's advanced a lot since you were walking the earth, and I'll bet these guys are some of the fanciest they come! Getting them angry at us would take way longer than messing with their heads!" Chihiro shook her head and stormed off. "Anyways, come on, we've got no time to lose!"

Vatra scoffed as Chihiro left him behind, but a soft punch in the arm turned him down to Luz. His eyes flared with anger as he glared at Luz, and yet Luz didn't even flinch.

"What's with you, Vats?" Luz asked, a teasing smile on his face. "Normally, you're the one getting on our cases about jumping in headfirst all the time!"

"That was before I found out we had Arkus to worry about and not some self-centered aspiring supervillain!" Vatra hissed back, before turning his eyes to where the others' light disappeared around the corner. Uncrossing his arms, he trailed forward and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't understand why they'd put a child in charge of such a high stakes mission, especially one that's already jeopardized so much. Children that young should be staying and studying at home, not risking their lives on the battlefield! And besides, I'm not letting our efforts defeating him go to waste because—"

Vatra shuddered as his foot hit sleek, white metal, then he lifted his head and gasped!

The walls of dimly-lit rock had turned to sleek, white metal lit with hints of cyan from veins of light in their tiling, which shone even brighter with the added light from lamps embedded in the ceiling overhead. To the front, tall, sleek robots with black screens for faces and wheels for legs zipped to and fro organizing cabinets and passing around thin tablets, and though their vision was completely fixed on the papers in their hands, not once did they even move around! The rows of cabinets themselves were more of a sleek black, with drawers that opened and closed without even being prompted and were filled to the brims not with papers or objects, but more thin, shiny tablets with sleek screens that glistened underneath the light, occasionally popping out projections of guns and elaborate contraptions. No talk came from any of the robots, just the faint sound of wheels turning and the occasional rumble from something overhead.

Vatra gasped, craning his head in every direction as he stepped forward, drinking in the sights.

"Even the Arkeyans weren't as sophisticated as this," he whispered, reaching a hand out for a robot as he walked forward…

But then his wheel pendant bumped into something and he flew backwards! Collapsing to the floor, Vatra groaned and rubbed his head before lifting it up right as the vague flash of a cyan wall vanished from view.

"Looks like it's locked," Chihiro remarked as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes, that's obvious enough to anyone around," Vatra replied as he jumped to his feet. "Surely, there's some kind of mechanism to…"

Vatra turned his head aside, then grinned as his eyes fell on a simple platform with glass carved to look like a hand on it. "A-ha! Seems like it has a heat-based sensor system! I'll just take care of that!"

Vatra grinned as he placed his hand on the glass for a few moments, then turned to the gate and walked through… Only to grunt and fly backwards as the gate blocked him off once more! With a groan, Vatra jumped back up and went for the plate once more.

"Must be a bit broken, let me try again," he muttered as he placed his hand on once more and walked for the gate.

But right as his pendant hit it, he flew backwards once more and hit the ground! As Vatra grunted, Chihiro frowned and hopped over his legs.

"Maybe it doesn't recognize you since you're a ghost and all," Chihiro said as she reached for the plate. "Let me try it."

"No, I have this under control!"

Vatra pushed away Chihiro, then snarled as he snapped his fingers and lit a fire. "If it won't recognize my hands, then maybe it'll recognize this!" Vatra cried.

"Vatra, wait—" Sihiri shouted as she reached for Vatra, but it was too late! By the time she went to grab his arm, the flames hit the plate!

The metal on the plate caught fire immediately, the flames bending and twisting it while the glass hand on it heated to a bright red! Smoke filtered through the cavern and sent everyone into coughing fits as it tickled the ceiling, sending sirens blaring through the room!

"Fire alert! Fire alert!" bellowed the sirens as the room turned red. "All employees, please take proper precaution as you initiate emergency protocol!"

Everyone let out sharp gasps as the sirens wailed, and Dej immediately pushed past Vatra to toss out a burst of water and dampem the flames! The plate sparked a little from the exposed wiring that came to surface as the melted metal dripped off, but thankfully the flames were gone. However, the sirens still blared!

"The fire's gone, why are those unholy things still screaming?!" Vatra cried as he covered his ears.

"I don't know, it must think there's still a fire!" Chihiro cried.

She jumped over to the panel, where the tiniest of flames burst from the sparking, uncovered wiring, and with a snap of her fingers she crafted a magic bandage and slapped it onto the exposed parts of the plate! The flames extinguished instantly as the bandage wrapped tight around the panel, and the sirens finally dulled as the red light faded.

Everyone around breathed sighs of relief, and all eyes turned to Vatra as he gulped.

"Geez, that was too close!" Dej said as he nudged Vatra's shoulder. "Be a little more careful there! If those drones found us causing fires, who knows what they would've done!"

"You're one to talk about safety!" Vatra snapped back. "I distinctly recall—"

A faint warble caught Vatra's eye before he could speak further, and he turned back to the front…

Right as one of the robots wheeled out and hummed.

"Strange," it beeped, its voice robotic and sharp, "why did the fire alarms go off if there is no fire? Maybe they need repaired?" The robot turned down to the tablet in its hand and tapped away. "Add 'Repair fire alarm' to monthly tasks…"

"Alright, let me handle this," Chihiro whispered as she leaned towards the others.

Chihiro then strolled in front of the robot and waved her hand in front of its face, all while forcing the biggest smile she could.

"Hello? Excuse me?"

The robot's screen flashed cyan a bit, then it lifted its head with a whir.

"Oh, customers!" it beeped, stashing the tablet away in a chest compartment before clasping its hands together. "How may I help you today, esteemed customers? Having trouble with setup?"

"Actually, that's not quite it." Chihiro cleared her throat, staring down at her first for a moment before she mustered a smile and stood tall. "I'm with the Kaos family. We came to check up on a security system thingie we purchased!" Holding out her hands, Chihiro gestured around. "You see, it's been really finicky lately, it'll just start up and turn off at the most inconvenient times, and it, uh, sometimes it'll lock me out for no reason it all! It locked me out of my house when I went out to garden, then it locked the fridge when I was getting something to eat… Oh, oh, and sometimes, it, er well, it constantly gets names and faces mixed up, and—"

Cyan dots flashed across the robot's face as it slouched over, then propped itself back up. "Serial number?"

"Eh?"

As Chihiro blinked, a string of numbers flashed across the robot's face. "Each Troll Home Security-certified security system comes with a serial number. If you wish to have further help with your product, you will need to provide a serial number."

Chihiro hissed, then backed away for a moment, but quickly shook her head. "Well, er, uh…"

A faint scent of smoke came from behind, and Chihiro whipped her head around and winced at the sight of smoke coming from Vatra's hands!

"Is there something wrong, esteemed customer?"

"N-nope, not in the slightest!" Chihiro sputtered as she turned back to the robot, sweat dripping down her face.

"My sensors indicate intense sweating and heightened nervous reactions."

Chihiro took a step back and blinked furiously. "That's just because the trip here was really long it hot! The ship we took had no air conditioning or anything, it was awful!" Chihiro cleared her throat then lifted her head. "Anyways, about that serial number…"

"Do you have a serial number?"

Chihiro rubbed the back of her head. "We, er, well, we didn't actually have one. See, they make us run all their errands, but they never actually tell us these things or anything! Employers, right?"

Those dots flashed across the robot's face once more. "If you cannot provide a serial number to prove your purchase, then I am afraid that I cannot help you."

"But, shouldn't there be something under a Kaos family name or something like that?" Chihiro spat back. "I mean, we've purchased it, shouldn't there be purchase records somewhere in your robo-brain?"

"… Very well, I will check our purchase databanks."

The robot slouched over once more, a dialing tune coming from its speaker as the dots flashed across its screen in a never ending string.

"Phew, close one," Chihiro whispered as she wiped her forehead.

A few other sighs came from behind her, but Vatra just frowned and tapped his feet.

"Just how long is this going to take?" Vatra asked. "The longer we stand around here the longer—"

In a flash of cyan light, Chihiro popped up beside Vatra and shushed him. "Quiet!" she hissed as she turned back to the robot. "If that thing finds out what we're really here for, it might go ballistic! We've just gotta be patient and wait."

The dialing tune echoed throughout the caverns, a soft droning noise paired with the running of wheels and opening of cabinets as the robot searched further. A few yawns came from the group as all eyes fixed on the robot, but even they slowly drifted away as the robot searched for what seemed like an eternity. Sihiri paused and crafted all sorts of magic objects, Luz toyed with light spells amplified by Chihiro's magic spheres, Inochi crafted flowers in the cavern's cracks and sent them away with a snap… And yet, while the others idled, Vatra just snarled and gripped his cloak, embers bursting from his fingertips as he gritted his teeth. For a moment, he raised a hand and prepared to fire off a fireball, but quickly pulled it down as the robot rose.

"There is a purchase record for a security system by a Kaossandra and Konkord of the east-western Skylands," the robot droned. "Is this what you are looking for?"

Chihiro yanked her head around, then jumped forward and nodded. "That's gotta be it! Yes!" She cried, rapidly nodding up and down with the biggest smile she could muster. "Just tell us where the thing powering it is and we'll be on our way!"

"I am afraid I cannot do that." The robot's eyes dulled for a moment. "Before I can show you the shield generating gun, you must provide proof of your affiliation with the buyers."

Chihiro blinked, then drew back and stuffed her hands her pockets. "Give me a second," she said as she disappeared into the crowds of the other portal masters. A soft flash hidden by the sparkles of their bodies came out, and Chihiro returned moments later with a scroll in hand. "Here you go, word from the lord and lady themselves!"

The scroll unwrapped in Chihiro's gingerly grasp, and the robot marveled over it for a moment. "Physical proof accepted."

"Yes!" Chihiro stuffed the scroll away and strode along. "Now, if you can just show us that gun—"

"Now, please present your verbal proof."

And Chihiro completely stopped in her tracks, her smile still fixed on her face as she blinked. "Verbal… Proof?"

"Our protocol dictates that should an outsider want to see any security on behalf of a customer, they must provide verbal and psychical proof of the customer's permission. So, please present your verbal proof."

Chihiro winced, then backed away further as she hid behind Dej and Vatra. "Forging a person's voice is gonna pretty tricky when I've never met them," Chihiro whispered as she held up her hands. "But I can try!"

Chihiro's hands began to glow, and that glow just as quickly faded as Vatra stormed past her, fire in his eyes as he marched right up to the robot!

"We don't have time for your protocols!" Vatra exclaimed, shoving his face in the robot's as he held up a burning hand. "There's a hot-headed supervillain of a free magician running around, and he has his sights set on reviving the Arkeyan empire for his own gains! If we can't break through his security and stop him, we could very see an Arkeyan revival on our hands!"—Vatra pushed himself further in the robot's face, until his very reflection sparkled in the robot's visor—"is that what you want? A revival of the Arkeyan empire's tyranny?"

The robot, however, just wheeled back and began to sputter, a rain of ones and zeroes cascading down its visor! A few of the other robots paused what they were doing and turned to the robot as it propped itself before Vatra and held its hands up. Heck, some had even wheeled to a suspicious switch behind the robot—an alarm, perhaps?

"There, there is nothing in my protocols for handling supervillains or Arkeyans, esteemed customer," the robot sputtered, "please try one of our support networks for your issue—"

"TRY THIS, THEN!"

Vatra grunted as he slung a flaming punch right through the robot's face, shattering its visor and sending broken bits of glass flying around him! Sparks burst from the severed wiring inside the robot's broken head as the sounds of dulling, distorted voices echoed from a corrupted voicebox inside the robot itself, then smoke coated the entire hole as it fell backwards onto the ground! The robot's head exploded the moment it hit the cold, metal floor, while the other robots gasped and rushed right up to it!

"Intruders detected! Forced eviction programming, activated!" The robots all bellowed as one!

Angry faces of red flashed across their visors as their body parts twisted and turned, stretching out and expanding as they grew larger and beefier! Cannons burst from their chest panels and shoulders, while shiny helmets topped their sleek heads and spikes ran down the fronts of their wheels! Guns and swords found their way into the robots hands as they all banded together, and their visors on their faces turned thin and sharp. The robots all squeezed their hands for a moment just to get a proper feel for their newfound weapons, and with a cry they charged right for Vatra!

The rest of his group winced as they stepped away, hands held up as if they were readying shields, but Vatra smirked as he lifted up his own still-flaming hands.

"Is this the best you can do?" Vatra sneered. "I've dealt with drones like you in my sleep!"

With another grunt, Vatra punched his hands forward and sent large, flaming fists rocketing towards the oncoming drones. But the moment his flames hit the robots, they exploded into puffs of smoke and embers before disappearing! And yet, not a single singe mark or dent was left on the robots' slick and shiny chests as they came in for him and the rest of the group. Not even as they crushed their fallen robot friend's body underfoot and sent it exploding did they relent!

Vatra gasped as he slid away from one robot just as it swung at him with its sword, and a sharp crack hit the air as another knocked him backwards! Vatra grunted and hit the cold metal of the office's inner workings as he groaned and rubbed his head, then he peered down at the scattered shards of light around him, back up at the office surrounding, and grinned.

"Alright, so you're fireproof! That's never been a problem before!" Jumping to his feet, Vatra slammed his palms against the wall and smirked in spite of the sweat crawling his brow. "Just have to turn up the heat!"

The lighting of the room turned red as intense heat seeped into the walls, melting away their metal to reveal red stone underneath, while around the room, the file cabinets melted and warped! Smoke started to filter in the air and send a few into coughing fits behind Vatra, and yet he stood stagnant, his hands pressed firmly against the wall as he glared at the robots!

The robots in turn beeped and charged right for him, their spikes digging trenches in the malleable and hot metal of the floor… Yet not even the intense heat stopped them! They remained lighting fast as ever, charging and swinging for Vatra in only a moment's time with no signs of wear or tear!

Vatra grunted and jumped away, then with a growl he stomped his feet and sent a small shockwave through the floor! The ground rumbled as miniature red stone volcanoes burst from the floor, and with a snap, lava burst from them and seeped into the trenches the robots dug! The lava trailed quick towards the robots, latching onto their wheels and legs and warping them at last! They melted slightly, twisting in a canopy over their wheels as those wheels began to deflate!

Vatra grinned for a moment, then grunted as lasers pierced right through his body and knocked him into the wall! His pendant turned a much shinier crimson and radiated with heat as he screamed out, then slunk down with red sparkly smoke bursting from the holes in his body. The lava he created faded away as the volcanoes sank back into the earth, and Vatra grunted as he keeled over, falling on his knees and then face-first on the ground as he gritted his teeth. He clutched his arm tight as he grunted and held back screams of pain, the smoky plumes that burst from his body growing thicker as his form fritzed, spreading out like a glitched projection and returning back to normal before flickering again not moments later!

"Vatra!" Sihiri cried.

Chihiro teleported forward in an instant, popping beside Vatra and propping him against the wall before lifting up his pendant. She squeaked a bit as its hot crystal burned her fingers, but quickly clasped it as her hands glowed cyan and magic poured into the holes. Veins of cyan magic quickly plugged the smoke, and Vatra's projection stabilized as he heaved heavy breaths and sweated.

"See, this is why I want to keep things on the down-low!" Chihiro hissed. "I knew these guys wouldn't skimp on security."

"Heh, would you look at that!" Luz chuckled as he teleported beside Chihiro. "Mister serious is the one getting in trouble for once!"

"Quiet, Luz!" Vatra hissed. One of his eyes shut for a moment as he staggered back up, clutching his chest as he stumbled a bit before finally leaning more to his left side. "After all…" Vatra hobbled forward, still favoring the left side as he forced himself to full height and held out a hand that crackled and popped with embers. "Those robots aren't showing any sign of slowing down!"

Chihiro grimaced, then with a flick of her wrists magic swords flickered into existence below her! Chihiro snatched the swords from the air and screamed as she turned them to gigantic cleavers with a single swing and cut through the robots' ranks, leaving halved metal carcasses in her wake as she kicked them back into the crowd!

A string of explosions rang around the area, painting the office in warm shades of fires started and extinguished just as quickly, and Chihiro stepped back. Her lips pursed as her eyes drifted back and forth, then the sound of a shaft opening above her turned her head up, and she screamed and teleported away as another fleet of guard robots poured down from the ceiling!

As the robots fell down before her, Chihiro gritted her teeth and tossed her cleavers into the air. The cleavers exploded into masses of magic, then shifted to the form of a bow with swords for arrows as they landed back down before being snatched up by Chihiro! She screamed as she loaded and fired away, hands nimble and slick as she summoned sword after sword and fired them into the crowds, skewering the robots and knocking them backwards—but for every one she severed, two more took its place!

So, the other portal masters frowned as they dashed into the fray, heads held high as their pendants sparkled in tandem with the raw magic that glistened at the hands, just waiting to be molded in combat.

The sight of them drew Luz away from Vatra's side with a grin, and Vatra himself tried to join. But the moment he stepped forward, he fell to his knees! Shallow breaths escaped him as he crawled back to a corner of the room and leaned against a warped file cabinet, then clutched his chest and grimaced as he lifted his head.

Before him, Sihiri flung out hands that glimmered with purple magic, her eyes set on a pair of robots that charged towards her! Sweat beads rolled down her face, and her teeth gritted tight as her arms shivered. But before her, the robots stopped in their tracks, their arms and legs shuddering and straining as Sihiri shuddered further. Sihiri's eyes narrowed, and she spat out strained grunts as she rotated the struggling robots towards each other, forcing them on a crash collision as they each sped for each other… But at the last minute, Sihiri's eyes turned wide as she gasped and fell to her knees! She hunched over and panted as the spell over the robots lifted, and she herself lifted her own head in turn as the robots screeched and charged for her!

With a gasp, Sihiri teleported away and left large purple crystals that quickly formed into suits of knightly armor armed with lances in her place! The robots grunted and beeped as they slashed the suits with their swords, but the knights just turned around and slashed back! The sound of blades crashing and magical whooshes surrounded the entrance as robot and knight alike fought. Yet as both robots battled away, neither noticed Sihiri pop up behind them and nail them in the back with large spheres of magic! The robots cried shrill, glitchy shrieks as they swayed back and forth, and Sihiri only swept backwards.

"Dear, now!" Sihiri cried as she turned to Inochi.

"Understood, darling!" Inochi cried as she held out her hands.

A burst of green glowed from Inochi's palms, and that single burst turned to thin vines of green light that grew larger and thicker before solidifying into actual thorny vines that whipped around the robots and squeezed them tight! The vines slammed the two robots into each other until they were dented and twisted, then finally slammed them full-force into the walls! Holes smashed in the stone as the robots exploded, their parts flying in fifty different directions as the flames ate away the vines.

A robot head flew towards Inochi, and she gasped and ducked, then swept aside as another robot nearly nailed her with a gun's laser blast!

The blast tore a hole through a filing cabinet instead, and Inochi only scoffed as she stomped the ground and sent giant flowers leaping from the rock instead! The ground's cracks were quickly sealed by thick green roots as the flowers' petals unfolded, and the flowers themselves shuddered and twittered before shooting out rounds of large nuts!

The nuts slammed right into the chest of Inochi's robot attacker, and yet all they did was bounce off like rubber balls, not a single dent left! The nuts cracked open as they hit the floor, their inner fruit smashed to bits as the robot zoomed past the flowers and sent them fluttering! The flowers twisted around, still pelting the robot despite the lack of damage their attack did, but the robot just veered away, leaving the nuts to fly towards Luz as he shouldered robot attacks with his shield!

Luz gasped as the nuts came in, jumping from spot to spot as the nuts bounced off robots and smashed into walls behind him! He jerked his head to the right as one came in, then raised his shield and prepared to spin it while its core glowed bright. He planted his hand on its rim, and a robot charged forward and punched him in the gut! Luz grunted as he flew backwards and tumbled across the floor, then as he hit searing hot metal, he jumped up and yowled! Luz staggered back up, and with a wave of his hand, bright, searing light burst from the walls and blanketed the area!

Screams and beeps came from all around, and though the white hot light was so bright, the sight of the robots swerving around and bumping into each other could just barely be made out! Luz chuckled, and with another wave of his hand, the light consolidated, transforming into solid lasers that rocketed right into the robots' chests… But they were so sleek that they reflected the light, tossing it into the walls and bouncing across the room! And with every bounce, bright light shot across the room and sent everyone else screaming and covering their eyes! Luz sharply gasped, then stepped back and winced.

"Alright, that did not go as planned," Luz hissed, before another laser shot into the wall beside him and burned bright as the sun!

Inochi winced as Luz screamed and shielded his eyes from his own attack before her, then she gasped and ducked behind a flower as a light laser shot right above her head. A bright flash of light shone before fading as the laser bounced away, and Inochi turned to the still-shining patch of metal on the walls it came from.

"The walls!" Inochi cried as she turned to the other. "They're reflecting from the metal on the walls! We have to stop them!"

In front of Inochi, Nemir grunted, holding his own with a thick shield of bone as one robot slammed against him. Sparks flew from the robot's wheel as it ground against the shield with its sword, but Nemir only tossed it off and grunted as he backed into Sihiri and Dej. As another light laser shot above his crown, Nemir gritted his teeth.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Inochi!" Nemir cried as his shield turned to a bony claymore in his grip.

Beside him, Sihiri prepared a trio of magic blasts while Dej created a crossbow of water and ice, and all three of their eyes fixed on the robots that encircled them.

"Yeah, we're a little tied up at the moment!" Dej shouted as he pulled back his crossbow and prepared to fire…

But right as he did, a scream hit the air while something crashed down and sliced the robot clean in half! A flash of cyan came as the robot's two halves collapsed and exploded into flames, and Chihiro grinned as she faced Dej! Dej returned her grin with a wink, and the two of them turned around as they fired bows and magic blasts at the robots who shot back in exchange! Sihiri joined their blasts with burst of magic, and Nemir clubbed away as the blows knocked back the robots… And yet, the most they did was dent them! The robots shifted back into gear, charging right for them and forcing the four to run!

And Vatra, he just grunted and pushed himself up, the sweat coating his head having evaporated long ago. Lasers shot around and forced the rest of the group to duck, and his eyes turned to the walls.

"If they're reflecting off these walls," Vatra whispered as he slapped his palm against the metal. "Then all I'll need to do it melt them away!"

A red-hot glow burst from Vatra's hand as the heat seeped from his palm and into the metal, painting the whole room in a hazy red as the heat cranked up! The metal of the walls and floor metal away as the file cabinets started to sink and melt like ice cream cones on a hot summer day. The portal masters, once spry and agile, were left sweating and panting as they fell to their knees, the heat burning against their skin and amplifying the light of ghostly sparkles. And the lasers, they shone bright for moment before slamming into the rock-hard walls and exploding into sparkles!

Vatra beamed for a moment, then gasped and dashed away as flames burst right for him! He fell to his knees, crouching below a melting desk for a moment as he gasped and clutched his stomach.

"Wait, where did those flames come from?!" he cried.

Vatra lifted his head, and he hissed first as he hit his head against the desk's top, then again as his eyes fell on the robots! They shone red-hot as they pulled out flaming swords and guns transformed into flamethrowers, hot fire bursting from every orifice as they charged around the room! One dashed right for Luz with a flamethrower ready, and Vatra gasped as he ran right in the path and slammed his hand on the barrel!

"Not today!" Vatra cried as he squeezed the barrel tight! Flames burst from tiny holes in the barrel, cutting through its metal and blowing up in both the robot and Vatra's faces!

Vatra grunted as he slammed into the wall, his pendant phasing through his body and hitting the wall before swinging back as he grunted. He snarled for a bit as something grabbed his arm, but loosened his snarl a bit as he faced Luz. Just before he could speak, however, another flaming pillar burst and the two of them ducked underneath.

"We've gotta get outta here!" Dej cried as he dashed ahead.

"Quick, there's a door over there!" Chihiro cried, pointing ahead as the others dashed behind her.

Vatra snarled as his eyes fixed on the robots that chased after them, and he and Luz pulled themselves up only to be grabbed by the arms by Nemir!

"Nemir, let me go!" Vatra protested, yanking against Nemir's grip with his eyes refusing to move from the robots that still chased them. The robots tossed out flames that nipped at his and Luz's heels with every spin of their wheels, and Vatra snarled. "We—"

"Have no chance of winning against those things, not in this state!" Nemir cried.

The door flung open before him, and Nemir pulled Luz and Vatra in with a single tug.

"Come on, we have to go!" was the last thing Nemir cried as the door swung closed right in front of the robots' faces!

§

Blobbers and Eye both panted as they rested against the walls of the sleek facility they had taken residence in, its cold metal a surprising relief that cooled the sweat from their journey. A faint, hollow knocking sound a bit like footsteps, or maybe just a tired machine toiling away for nothing echoed through the facility, but aside of that only their breath was heard in the vast expanses of sleek metal tinged blue by the dim lights overhead. The rest of the area was covered in shadows save for the faint light that came from those lamps, which showed off sleek tiled floors and conveyor belts with machinery coated in dust that surely hadn't been active for at least a decade. A faint smell of old oil or gasoline lingered in the air, adding a bit to the eerie feeling brought on by the mist that leaked in from place to place amid the significant parts covered in shadow, and Eye and Blobbers only cringed at the sight.

"I don't like the looks of this place," Blobbers winced as he rubbed his hands. "Are you sure she ran in here?"

"Eye'm certain," Eye said as he fluttered forward. "Nothing gets past my impeccable eyesight, after all."

Blobbers' shoulders slunk a little as he glanced around, his frown growing deeper as his eyes met lengthy stretches of machinery only. The faint sounds of mumbling carried themselves over the sounds of mechanical work, and Blobbers flicked an ear.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Blobbers asked as he tugged on Eye's wing.

Eye bobbed up and down, then flew off to the right. "It sounds like it came from here!"

The sounds of muttering and angered mumbles grew louder as Blobbers and Eye sank into the shadows, and Eye cast out a silver laser to act as a lamp while they walked through. Endless stretches of visible machinery and metal walls, floors, everywhere appeared before them, the only variance being the occasional corridor or corner… But then, soft blue light poured through the path! Eye and Blobbers trailed the light to a door that had been creaked open slightly, and Eye pushed it open with his wing before flying inside!

The room inside appeared to a control room of some kind, with screens plastered across a metal room with a widely-stretching keyboard set into a rusty counter to accompany. The blue, grainy light of the screens poured over its rusted metal walls, and at its helm was a single swiveling chair, where the muttering turned to a shocked gasp! The swivel chair spun around… And inside sat none other than Boomette, whose wide eyes lowered as she sighed.

"Oh, it's just you," she remarked, sounding a bit more disappointed than she seemed as she turned around and muttered.

Blobbers frowned as he turned to Eye, then he hopped up and turned the chair around slightly. "Are you okay?" he asked as he nudged Boomette's shoulder. "You got pretty worked up back there."

"It's nothing you should worry about." Boomette span the chair back to the front, then groaned and pounded the keyboard with her fist, sending a few keys flying before they fell back in place.

"It's just, well, Dyna's been way too self-centered! She's always getting on my case for everything and looking down on me! Even though my girlfriend and I found this place and brought up the whole idea of repurposing this to begin with, she still takes the whole thing for herself and gets on my case for so much as taking a step! She always looks down on me, but she's perfectly happy to take my ideas…"

"Even though she said that, she's still ranting after all," Eye remarked as his wings drooped.

Blobbers, however, just sniffled and rubbed his nose.

"Oh, I totally understand!" he cried. Crossing his arms, Blobbers scoffed. "It seems like the captain never appreciates anything I do! It's always 'Blobbers, do this!' and 'Blobbers, do that!' but when I need help, they just run off!" Blobbers turned to Boomette and leaned against the chair. "They even abandoned me when we got caught at a pirate carnival and left me to be taken prisoner, can you believe that?!"

Boomette gasped, then turned back to Blobbers. "That's awful, how could they do that?!"

"I know! It seems like they only want me around when it's convenient for them!" Blobbers sighed and hung his head. "Otherwise, they're always looking down on me and acting like they'd be better off without me!"

With a huff, Blobbers crossed his arms. "They just don't know how lucky they are! If I were gone, everything would fall apart! Maybe I should just quit, then they'll realize!"

"I know, right? Everyone looks down on me because I'm the youngest—they just think of me as some stupid kid!" Boomette shook her head, then turned back around and frowned as she glazed over the many security screens. "Syracuse and I were just going to tackle things ourselves, but Dyna insisted we wouldn't be able to handle it and we'd just spend the whole time making goo-goo eyes or something, so she demanded to come along and make a whole scene!" Boomette sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Heck, I'm always running around, looking for new places to make deals with and supply tech and stuff, but if you asked her all I do is laze around all day! She never appreciates anything I do!"

"Yeah! I don't know why I signed up in the first place!"

Boomette's ears fell, and she sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I stuck around cause I wanted to help out and all, especially since everyone else's doing their own thing now—Trollver's got a family of his own, Boomont's moving out and taking it easy, Trollance's got a new job making maps and other things that has him traveling all over Skylands, and I thought Dyna might've been taking it hard since everyone's going and she's the only one sticking around to take care of the family business… But if this is how I'm gonna be treated, I might as well leave too!"

Eye hummed, then flew down beside Boomette and took a seat, nearly crowding out the righthand side of the room as he wrapped his wings around his base. "Well, have you every really told them how you feel, then?" Eye asked.

"I've tried, but they don't listen! Every time I talk to the captain about it, he just brushes me off!" Blobbers shouted, throwing his paws in the air. He gritted his teeth, cheeks red as he prepared to rant further, but the sound of Boomette humming silenced him.

"Well, I…" Boomette twiddled her fingers, then huffed and stuck her nose up. "It's not like she'd listen, anyways!"

"But you care about her, don't you? After all, you said it yourself—you stuck around because you were worried about her!" Eye reached out a wing and gently nudged the chair. "And I'm sure she cares about you, but she might not understand how you feel if you don't sit down and tell her." Eye chuckled and drew back his wing. "I know that from experience."

"You do?" Blobbers chimed in, poking his head in. "How so?"

Another chuckle came from Eye, and he stretched out his wing once more. "Well, Brawl and eye weren't always as tightly knight as we are now," Eye explained, gesturing vaguely. "In fact, there was a time we almost split up for good!"

"There was?!" Blobbers and Boomette both exclaimed.

The two of them gasped, and Boomette leaned over in her seat. "That, that's impossible!" Boomette cried. "You two are the most famous team there is!"

"Ah, that may be true now, but back when we were first christened Elder Elementals and started freeing others from Arkeyan control, we had out fair share of bumps in the road. In fact, it all started during one of our first missions…"

§

From within the massive brush of plants and trees that the Elder Elementals hid inside, Tree Rex frowned and parted the leaves. There before them all laid a large building sight, of a monument that showed King Arkus himself brandishing his sword as he stood over the piled corpses of those he toppled, a monument to his sick and twisted conquest… Well, if it had been finished, but it had not. Instead, its half-finished state was surrounded by wooden barriers and masses of blocks heaved away by mabu, elves, humans, dragons, trolls and more, all with tired faces as they stacked and built away. Above them all, a massive Conquertron glared over the edge, its yellow eyes shining with the malice that otherwise couldn't be shown on its blank face. Even though it bore no expression, it almost seemed to revel in the moans and cries of the tired people that trekked along down below, as they slowly, slowly trudged along in their work.

"It's awful," Ninjini gasped, shuddering for a moment as she turned away before turning her gaze back on the leaves, "I had heard from the Ancients that this site had kept prisoners, but I didn't expect there to be so many!"

"I know," Tree Rex whispered back, pushing the leaves aside. "But, that's why we're here—to take it down." Squeezing his fist tight, Tree Rex stomped further out into the open. "Come on, follow me!"

Tree Rex stormed past the brush and on the very edge of the cliffs, a good distance away from the Conquertron but close enough to catch its attention. He hummed as he held out his arm, one eye closed as he prepared to aim while the node on top of his arm sparked with sunlight… Then, with a single shot he sniped the Conquertron, hitting its eye! It was solid enough that the light only bounced off its eye, but it threw it off balance enough that it stumbled and wavered a bit before stumping back down, sending a few people on the ground flying, then it stormed closer to the cliffs.

"Who goes there?!" the Conquertron demanded as it reached the furthest it could go without knocking over the construction site. "I must inform you that attacking an Arkeyan officer is a felony in the Arkeyan empire! Whoever you are, surrender yourselves immediately!"

Tree Rex clenched his mighty jaw shut, then yanked his head down to where the other Elder Elementals backed him up. All eyes were narrowed, fists clenched tight and weapons held at the ready while the powers of not just their elements, but of light and darkness, the core of Skylands itself, even, glowed right from their bodies. A bright, shimmering sight, perfectly fit for the battle up ahead!

"Alright, just like we planned!" Tree Rex cried. "Elder Elementals, battle formation!"

"Right!" the others called as they split…

But as they split apart, Eye scoffed and turned to Brawl.

"Don't mess this up, alright? We can't exactly risk any casualties!" Eye said.

"And likewise," Brawl signed with fast, furious hands. "Don't go showing off like you usually do!"

Eye gasped, jolting back in the air before he flung a wing in front of his, well, eye.

"Eye do not show off!" If Eye had an eyelid, he surely would've narrowed it in anger. But, he didn't, so he just opted for flapping his wings as angrily as he could. "Don't tell me you're still bitter that I burned down all those robots before you could even punch one—"

"You almost got us caught that time, is what you did! You were so busy blowing things up that you didn't even notice the security officer behind you! If I had pulled you out of there, we would've been stuck in Arkus's prisons right now!"

"Like I needed you to spot that for me!" Eye shoved himself in Brawl's lack of a face and growled. "If I hadn't noticed, I wouldn't even have the right to call myself a floating eyeball! I could've wiped it out—"

"Cut the chat, Eye! We need you on the aerial team, stat!"

Eye grunted as something yanked against his wing, and before he knew it he was pulled into the skies! He grunted and shielded his eye from the harsh winds that whipped around him, but finally whoever grabbed him let go, forcing him to flap away as he hastily jumped through the skies before he could fall and splatter. With a few more flaps, he passed through a cloud and found none other than Swarm and Ninjini, floating and flying beside him.

"What was that about?" Swarm asked as he flicked his antennae.

"Nothing a child like you needs to know about," Eye scoffed back as he flew ahead.

Swarm spat out some kind of bitter, angry insult in the back, but it was left unheard to Eye as he dove down and caught a glimpse of the ground below.

There, the Conquertron babbled out some kind of nonsense and smashed its fists against the ground as Brawl ran off with Thumpback and Crusher hot on his heels. But right as it went to smash them, a group of solar blasts, flames and robotic bullets hit the Conquertron right in the shoulder! The Conquertron craned its body left and right, alternating between attempting to smash Tree Rex, Hot Head and Bouncer as they shot away and Brawl's team as they lead the workers down the side of the site. But, Brawl was the only concern for Eye. Oh, he thought he was so full of himself, thinking he was doing all the heavy lifting while Eye just…

Wait, what was it that Eye had to do again? Blurs of purple and sky blue passed Eye by with such speed that it spun him around, and he teetered in a wobbly circle for moments before shaking himself down and turning down to where Swarm and Ninjini flew for the Conquertron.

"Aerial team, attack!" Ninjini cried in the distance!

That's right, he was supposed to attack! With a flap of his wings, a round shield of bones formed around Eye before he shot down fast as he could, just barely tailing behind Swarm and Ninjini as they crashed right through the Conquertron's eyes! The eyeglass completely shattered and rain down, only a few shards remaining when Eye crashed into the control room and knocked something against the wall. The bones around Eye shattered, and he immediately found himself face to face with an unconscious robot dressed from head to toe in red and gold garb—definitely an Arkeyan controller.

The air turned smoky, and Eye watered as hot, sparking noises burst from behind him. With a few hops, he turned to where Swarm and Ninjini drew their barbs and blades from a broken, fritzing control panel with wiring scattered everywhere, but before he could hop further, Ninjini swept him in her arms and zipped off.

"Quickly now! It won't be long before those core processors explode!" Ninjini cried!

The three of the hit the air as the faint sound of explosions echoed in the distance, then Eye wormed his way free of Ninjini and took to the skies. Thick, black smoke poured out from the Conquertron's eyes as its legs and arms stiffened, janking and jolting in almost every feasible direction as it slammed into mountains and structures, knocking them down like sandcastles. The smoke from it poured into the skies, leaving them dark and awfully smoky, so Swarm, Eye and Ninjini floated down to the ground.

As the three of them touched down on the space underneath the cliffs, they all panted. Footsteps brought their attention to the other Elder Elementals running up… And ugh, Brawl looked so smug, surely ready to rub things right in his eye! Thumpback came to them first, and Ninjini immediately floated up to him.

"How's the situation? Is everyone gone?" Ninjini asked.

"Every last prisoner was evacuated," Thumpback said with a nod. "Sihiri's group is bringing them to safety as we speak."

A massive, ear-ringing crash came from behind as the robot smashed into the cliffs behind them, and everyone dashed away as a massive landslide reduced the mountains below to a mountainous pile of rubble instead! Plumes of dust clouded around the area like morning mist, choking out everything else in favor of their dusty, eye-watering nastiness, and Eye coughed as he floated into something cold and hard. He peered up at Brawl, then he scoffed and flew off to where Tree Rex had stood in the center of the group.

Tree Rex, however, paid no mind to Eye—he just peered up at the Conquertron as it smashed into mountains and structures alike and sputtered out garbled, glitchy garbage.

"You, are, Arkeyan, conquer, build, destroy, regulations two point five state—" the Conquertron babbled as it smashed another mountain down.

Crusher cringed behind them as the mountain collapsed, but the others all had eyes on the Conquertron.

"If that's the case," Tree Rex remarked between cracks of his knuckles. "Then I'd say it's time to take this thing down!"

Tree Rex knelt down, then leaped up and hopped onto one of the still-standing structures, leaping from level to level with ease despite his massive structure.

"Conquertron assault formation, go!"

"Right!"

Once again Eye took to the skies, his vision tinted silver as he zoomed in and dashed alongside the Conquertron's neck while searing, hot light burst from his eye, its heat so bright and hot it left him watering!

And he wasn't the only one, either—the Conquertron's neck was left with a bright burning gash across the center of its neck, while the rest of it started to rust and decay in shades of silver as the light spread around it until it finally engulfed the neck in silver. The neck completely crumbled to dust, and the Conquertron's head crashed down onto its body, casting out dust everywhere while it teetered back and forth in time with its body's sways. The head swung backwards, and a burst of magic slammed into and knocked it off before it crashed into the ground below!

The body stood stagnant, its only movement being the stumbling of its legs, and even that was short lived as Thumpback's anchor wiped out its kneecaps and a slash of solar light and sharp leaves courtesy of Tree Rex halved it! The bottom half of the legs stood tall while the body fritzed and sparked, and Eye immediately flew down with the others as they stepped back.

"Quick!" Tree Rex cried as he stormed down a path along the back of a mountain. "It's gonna blow!"

Eye soared over and bolted down the mountain's side as a massive explosion rumbled the area, the heat of burning crimson flames beating against his back while the distinct smells of burning wafted in the air. The sounds of crackling firelight were joined by that of crashing rocks and crumbling buildings, and the mountain around rumbled and vibrated in time with the destruction of the structure ahead. With all that ruckus, there was no need for anything to be said or seen—anyone could tell the monument was gone for good!

So, Eye fluttered down to where the mabu had crowded alongside Sihiri, Vatra and Inochi, and he was immediately met with a chorus of cheers! He beamed and bowed as he floated up and down, but just before he could speak, something shoved him out of the way! Eye grunted as that familiar feeling of cold, hard metal hit him once more, and growled as he turned around to catch Brawl bowing in his place.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Brawl signed. "But please, try not to crowd too much—"

Eye shoved Brawl back, then chuckled and bowed. "Don't worry, that Conquertron is gone now, and you have me to thank!" Eye proclaimed.

"You to thank?" Brawl turned around and snarled. "You hardly did anything! Don't tell me you're taking credit for others' work now, too!"

Eye's wings fell down as he growled, and he yanked forward to where Brawl sat. "If I hadn't knocked out the pilot and corroded the neck of that thing, you would be a metal pancake right now! And last I checked, you were busy standing on the sidelines!"

"I was busy looking out for any intruders! And beside, bringing everyone to safety is much more taxing than shooting a few lasers!"

"I could've done that! But could you take down that robot? I was doing far more of the work compared to you!"

Brawl seethed, and brought up a hand, then—oh, Brawl did not just give him that gesture! Eye snarled, his eye turning red and swollen as he fluttered in Brawl's lack of a face.

"You take that back! I was the one doing all the heavy lifting while you ran around!"

"And I was the one making sure the very people we came here to save got to safety! That's far more work than taking down a robot!"

"And taking down a robot's much harder than you think, especially when you're not a metalheaded suit of armor!" Eye chuckled and nudged Brawl. "Oh wait, without me you don't have a head!"

"Hey, what's going on with you two?!" Swarm shouted as he flew down and pushed Eye and Brawl away. "Don't tell me you're fighting

again!"

"You two have been bickering ever since we got here," Crusher added as he slid in. "No, for the past week! What's gotten into you?"

"He thinks he did more during this mission than I did!" Eye shot, pointing a wing at Brawl. "Can you believe that?!"

"And he thinks blasting things makes him hero of the hour!" Brawl signed before pointing at Eye.

Tree Rex winced, then walked up and held out his hands. "Now, now, you two, nobody did more than anyone else. This was a team effort."

Eye groaned, turning himself around to Tree Rex. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about. What would you know, anyways?" Eye huffed and glared back at Brawl. "You two don't have to deal with the most insufferable partner in all Skylands!"

"Insufferable, how am I the insufferable one?" Brawl signed, hands fast and trembling. "You're the one who's constantly starting things!"

"Because you act like you're better than I am!" Eye's wings snapped, shooting bursts of cold air down below.

The people they had rescued crowded behind Tree Rex's legs, but Eye just huffed and pointed his wings back at Brawl.

"You never appreciate how hard I'm trying to make this partnership work! Do you have any idea how frustrating it is, constantly trying to fight as hard as I can with no body and only half the elemental powers the others have? I have to work twice as hard to do just a fraction of what you can do, and I still fight harder! But all I get from you is complaining!"

"Because you're always showing off! You're always jumping in headfirst and not thinking for a moment how much trouble you're causing for the rest of us! Do you have any idea how many times I've had to pull you out of trouble?!" Brawl signed furiously, his hands trembling even more. "If anything, I'm the one who doesn't get enough credit for having to put up with you!"

"So are you saying that you can work without me?!"

"Yes!" Brawl's hands spat out at last. "I don't need a partner who's always causing more trouble for me! I don't need a flying load of dead weight who doesn't even do his job right!"

And hearing this, Eye paused and gasped. The part of him that burned with rage completely extinguished, and all he could do was float, trembling as he struggled to stay airborne. Beside him, though the people just talked in confusion, the winces and bated breaths of the others beside him showed they definitely heard it.

"Come on, now, Brawl, don't you think that's too harsh?" Tree Rex winced, pulling Brawl aside. "You might have your differences, but Eye's just as much a team member as any of us—"

Brawl grunted as he pushed Tree Rex away. "No, I don't," he signed, letting out a small scoff as he turned to Eye. "In fact, I'm sure I'd be much better off if I were the only Undead Elemental here!"

Eye gasped, and he almost started to fall down before collecting himself and flapping back up. Something hot and wet dripped down his surface, splashing in pools underneath him—tears, maybe? The suddenness of the whole thing left him struggling to see, much less fly, his wings trembling and shaking. How could Brawl say that about him? He was always working so hard for all of them, for him, too! Eye sniffed, then gulped and turned away.

"Fine then! If that's what you really think about me, then I'll just leave!" Eye spat, flapping off with his eye firmly turned to the front so he couldn't see Brawl's reply. "I don't need you either! I'll just find someone who actually appreciates me!"

"Eye, wait—" Tree Rex called…

But Eye didn't hear. He just flapped further into the jungle, more of his tears pouring down and forming a quagmire in the dirt below as he dodged through the thin trees. He finally bumped into one, hitting him with rough, searing bark that knocked him into the mud, and he only sniffled as he wrapped his wings around his body and wiped off the mud. His vision turned bleary, but from the crying or the mud, he wasn't sure, so he hopped onto something cold and gray and kinda of rough as he sighed.

"He, he doesn't know what he's missing!" Eye sobbed, wiping away his muddy tears with his wings. "That metalhead, he'll probably rush into some robot ambush and get himself burnt up, or tossed into a furnace without me! That'd be it! He's always rushing into things like that!" Eye scoffed and rolled his eye. "And he says I'm the one who's always getting into trouble! But that hunk of metal's always rushing in, trying to save the day…"

Eye's wings drooped down to his sides and he passed a breath. "And he always does."

Well, that wasn't wrong—it seemed like whenever Eye got into trouble, Brawl was always there. When he got cornered by Arkeyans, Brawl was the one to knock them down and blow them back, if he got trapped Brawl was the first to pull him out… Heck, Brawl was even the first to suggest they stop fighting and team up! He had the smarts, the strength to go with it too! And with the powers of the Undead and Dark Elements at his fingertips, he had it all! He truly was a force to be reckoned with, partners or not! And with powers like that…

"It's like he doesn't even need me."

Eye sniffed, and a few more tears drenched the rock's front as Eye cuddled himself with his own wings.

"I don't need a partner who's always causing more trouble for me! I don't need a flying load of dead weight who doesn't even do his job right!"

"Maybe he's right—maybe I am just dead weight." Eye sniffed. "After all, everyone else had all their strengths, all their element's powers at their beck and call and more! And I…" Eye paused and unfolded his wings, turning down to his reflection in the muddy waters. "All I can do is shoot lasers."

Eye's wings sank down again, and he only heaved a sigh—but then, he shook and hopped off.

"Wait, what am I saying? If I'm worthy enough to get the Undead Ancient's blessing, then I'm worthy enough of a partnership! He just doesn't know what he's missing!" Eye scoffed. "Yes, why am I even letting punches for brains gets to me? He doesn't have a head, much less the smarts to see that I'm the best partner anyone could ask for!" Eye chuckled, then spun around and took to the skies. "That's it, I'll just find a partner who actually appreciates what I do! Then he'll really know what he's missing!"

Yes, that was perfect! He had the perfect plan! He'd find a new partner, a great partner, someone who truly did appreciate all his hard work and power, and then he'd make Brawl so jealous that he'd come crawling back! And when he did, he'd have the perfect opportunity to rub it all in Brawl's face! That'll show him, that's show that no-good hunk of—wait a second, was that rustling Eye heard from the bushes just then? He turned around wings drooping a bit at the bush he had passed, when the bush across from it began to rustle as well!

"Who's there?!" Eye demanded as he jerked over to the other bush. "Show yourself!"

But, whoever or whatever was in the bushes didn't come out! In fact, the bushes next to it rustled as well, and more started rustling and shuddering around him while footsteps stomped around! Eye shuddered, then snarled as he charged his pupil, eyes set on the bushes—if whoever was in there wouldn't come out, then he'd make them! A bright, solid silver laser shot right into the heart of the bush, burning its branches and wilting its leaves as Eye spun around and coated the bushes around in silver light and death…

Right in the midst of it all, a net leaped out of nowhere and wrapped around him—and so quickly that he couldn't even react! His laser's light faded as he crashed onto the muddy ground and splashed mud and muddy water everywhere! The net tightened around him while he pushed his wings against its thick, sturdy woven metal cords, and with a grunt he shot a laser right at it! However, the laser just seeped into the wiring and shocked him! Eye cried out, screaming at the top of his lungs as he flailed like a chompy in the grips of a venus flychompy, but the sound of robotic cackling drew him to a stop!

"Well, well, boys! Looks like we've got ourselves a nice little catch!" hollered a blue and gold robot of unmistakably Arkeyan origin as it stepped from the foliage!

A few more identical robots burst out from the bushes and cackled, their laughter ringing in Eye's ears so badly that he had to cover his sides with his wings. Though he towered over them, within the confines of this net he was no more than a scared squirrel to them. And they knew it, as they were puffing their chests and cackling as they gripped the corners of the net before lifting him up.

"Hey, let me out of here!" Eye hissed as he pressed and pushed against the netting. "Don't you know who you're dealing with?"

"Oh, we know, alright!" the head of the robots jeered. "The weakest of the Elder Elements!"

Eye winced as if he'd been stabbed in the pupil, and shrunk away from view. "Weakest?"

"That's right, you little floating, er, something!" one other robot cackled from the back. "We may not know who you Elder Elementals are or what you're doing messin' with our stuff, but once we haul you in and show you off to our supervisors, well…" The robot sneered as they lifted the net higher, high enough that their face with their jeering, glowing golden eyes met his. "Then we'll know everything!"

§

"And the cackling of the birds chimed in, jeering in time with the awful laughter of those robots as they carried me away…"

Eye cut short as Blobbers shoved his face in Eye's, his own eyes wide and hands clasped.

"And then what happened?" Blobbers asked, shaking his clasped hands as he spoke. "Did you break free, did they really bring you to those supervisor guys?"

"Well…" Eye cleared his throat, but just before he could speak, his wings perked up at the sound of thumping.

"Before eye start, just what was that?"

Boomette winced, then hopped from her chair and jiggling open the door. With a few steps she peered outside, then cast a few glances around.

"Strange, I don't see anything!" Boomette cried as she turned back to the open door. A looming shadow appeared behind her, but Boomette hardly noticed as she waved. "Must have been some old tech or something—"

"Boomette, watch out! Behind you!" Blobbers cried!

"Huh?"

Boomette frowned and raised a brow as she turned around… Then screamed and jumped away as a red hot laser zapped the ground where she once stood, searing it with intense heat! Boomette gasped and stuck to the wall as Eye and Blobbers rushed out the door, just in time for all three of them to catch the massive, glowing red eyes that poked out like stars in the night. The ground underneath them shook, and all three only gulped as the sources of those red eyes stepped out from the shadows.

Before them were robots so tall they were only a few feet down from the ceiling, their bodies rectangular and bulky like their limbs were! Their eyes glowered as dull, low beeps echoed from them, and their stomps shook the ground and sent the overhead lights swinging! With one chorus of beeps, their eyes glowered and zapped the ground once more, heating it a hot red.

Boomette winced and immediately dug into her pockets, then winced as she felt nothing but cloth.

"My laser pistol, where is it?!" Boomette hissed, digging further… Then her eyes went wide and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh no, I must have left it on that battlefield!"

"I, I don't think a laser pistol is gonna do anything against those guys!" Blobbers cried, arms and legs shaking so furiously they practically would've melted while his teeth chattered.

Eye snarled, then lifted himself up and shot a silver laser right into the core of one robot's eye… But it just bounced off, sniping an overhead light and shattering its lightbulb! The shattered glass rained down only to be crunched underfoot by the robots as they surrounded Eye, Boomette and Blobbers, their lasers charged and fists tight.

"And I'm afraid you're right, Blobbers!" Eye cried as he hopped back down.

"So what do we do then?!" Blobbers cried as he shuddered still.

But, nobody had an answer, so they all just backed up close to the wall and gulped as the robots glared them down.

§

Chihiro panted and collapsed on the warm metal floors, her hands the only thing keeping her body suspended up. Beads of sweat dripped down on the warm metal floors as the sounds of metal banging against metal and churning, spinning conveyor belts rang in her ears, and his vision blurred as she lifted up her heavy, heavy head to catch a glimpse of the road ahead. Amid endless blogs of gray, the lights that shone from the other portal masters' blurry bodies sparkled like stars, a perfect guiding light until the tension faded and her vision started to clear. So, she grunted as she crawled over and rested herself next to a mass of green and pink she guessed was Inochi—and the chilling feeling of ghastly energy paired with a feeling akin to walking outside on a fresh spring day confirmed it.

"Are you okay?" Inochi asked, and that same fresh spring feeling grew stronger as cool hands laid on Chihiro's shoulders. "Here, just rest a bit."

Chihiro nodded and leaned her head against Inochi's side, which was surprisingly solid for Inochi being a ghost and all, and a warm, green glow fell over her. Visions of fresh, grassy fields filled with flowers, clear blue skies and springs breezes came over her for a moment, and when the glow faded, Chihiro found herself staring right at Inochi, the haze in her head fading by the second! Chihiro smiled and leaned against Inochi's body, then pulled away while Inochi nodded and grew less solid.

Turning her gaze at the massive strips of dormant assembly lines barren of machinery and the tall balconies above, Chihiro frowned and drummed her fingers against her lap for a second before she peered up at the overhead lamps, then the boxes of what she guessed were machine parts. A couple of groans brought her to the side across from her, where the rest of the portal masters leaned down and caught their breaths. A red glow came from a few but quickly faded as they hit cold metal—save for the one surrounding Vatra, which still burned bright.

"What were you thinking, Vatra?" Nemir sniped, his face turning cross as he finished propping Vatra against some boxes.

"I don't know, maybe I was thinking about how to save your sorry asses?!" Vatra hissed as he slapped away Nemir's hand. He grunted, leaning over a bit as he clutched his chest, but still popped a glance at Nemir. "If I hadn't burned the metal away, you'd still have to deal with all those lasers bouncing everywhere and the robots!"

"The robots we wouldn't have had to fight if you hadn't agitated them!" Nemir drew back, a scowl on his face as he turned around. "What's gotten into you?! Normally you're much more level-headed than this, but ever since you came here it's like you've been—"

"Trying to hurry this thing up so we can stop whoever this Kaos person is from causing an Arkeyan revival? Protecting the innocent for the horrors of supervillainy? The things we're supposed to do?" Vatra grunted, forcing himself up. He still swayed from side to side, his feet slipping from tile to tile as he hunched over and grunted while clutching his chest, but he still found it in him to push up and thrust his face in Nemir's. "I don't know if all those years spent sleeping made you forget, but the Arkeyans are a serious threat, even moreso in the hands of someone who's conquered Skylands already! I'm not going to stand around and wait for some shoddy talk to end when there's real danger bubbling under the surface!"

"And I'm as concerned as you are—" Nemir pushed Vatra back, a stern glow in his nearly-black eyes, "—but rushing into things headfirst will only make things worse!"

"And so will waiting around and twiddling our thumbs!"

A couple of thumps came from the door, and Chihiro winced as she turned to Vatra and Nemir. "Uh, guys?" she started.

Vatra's eye twitched, and he snarled as he turned to Chihiro. "If you're going to start with me about how I should've been listening to you—"

Another, louder set of thumps came as the doors began banging, something on the other side slamming against them so hard that the door stretched out and nearly burst from its hinges! The dents on the door remained, leaving it in more of a crescent shape as something kept banging, and the sound of mechanical shouting echoed as light poured in from the spaces between the door and hinges.

As the thumping from the door grew louder, Chihiro gulped. "Actually, I was going to say that it looks like they found us!" she cried.

Both Vatra and Nemir's eyes fluttered, but Sihiri just jumped to her feet.

"Quickly!" Sihiri shouted, flicking out her hands while her purple glow consolidated at her palms. Around her, that purple glow spread to the assorted parts and crates that littered the room, and in turn they soared past her and piled up at the entrance, and she just narrowed her eyes as she conducted the magic with her hands. "Barricade the entrance, that should buy us some time!"

A large crash came as the door burst open, the assorted parts that sat at its door flying all across the room and crates splintering as the robots wheeled in! The door was crushed underneath their spiky wheels as they roller in, arms at the ready! Beams of red light fanned out from their lenses as they wheeled back in… And the moment those red beams hit the portal masters, they spun their heads around and shouted out in angry beeps and cries!

"Actually, let's save this for later!" Vatra cried as he hopped onto the assembly lines and dashed off. "For now, we need to get out of here!"

"You're telling me!" Chihiro cried as she hopped off!

"Surrender now, intruders!" the robots cried!

Lasers shot out from overhead as everyone ran against the smooth rubber of the conveyor belts, and a few gasps came as they ducked underneath the lasers, then leaped down and dodged another before hopping back on! Sihiri cast out a shield as the next round of lasers came screeching in, leaving the lasers to smash into the shield and explode into puffs of light as she escaped with the others!

"There, I see an opening!" Nemir cried, pointing towards a balcony above the endless stretch of production lines with a door at its very end!

Sihiri grinned, then cringed as the sounds of ramming and cracking came behind her. She clutched her skirt, running and bouncing as fast as she could before she finally leaped up, her bright violet glow turning even brighter as she floated up and reached for the balcony's edge… But right as she did, a mechanical arm phased right through her, shaking her so much that she collapsed right on the conveyor belt! Sihiri grunted as she pushed herself up and dusted off her skirts, but as she did, the world around her creaked and groaned like a machine coming to lift. Sihiri lifted her head, her eyes set on the balcony—except it almost appeared to be moving away!

"Wait a second, why am I moving?" Sihiri remarked, peering down at the conveyor belts.

The flaps at the end of the belts fluttered in the wind as assorted machinery emerged from the space behind them, and Sihiri frowned for a moment as she and the box moved down the conveyor belt line. A mechanical arm swept down, grappling for the machine as Sihiri ducked underneath it, then she popped back up and gasped as the sounds of shouting reached her ears! With a jolt of her head, she glanced back at the other portal masters… To find that the others had just as much trouble as she did! Behind her, they all scrambled over machinery and ducked underneath oncoming arms, while behind them the robots turned to each other as one released a lever from its grip!

"Looks like they've started up the belts!" Chihiro cried as she screamed over an engine, then squealed and ducked underneath a mechanical arm as it swept right over her. "Be careful!"

Another squeal came from behind as one of the arms yanked away Inochi's pendant behind them, and her ghost faded out as everyone's eyes fell on her! The arm lifted up Inochi's wheel its green light glistening and reflecting on the arm's surface, but even that was quickly dulled as Chihiro jumped onto the arm and wrapped it tight! The arm whirred, shaking back and forth as Chihiro screamed and clung to it tight, her fingers twitching and sweating as she flew from side to side, and she dug her fingers in tight as she could while bright purple flares of magic crackled and burst from her fingers. Chihiro dug further in as the magic started to pulsate, and an electrical surge of purple lightning burst from her fingertips and fried the machine! The lightning coursed through it, shooting sparks into Chihiro's face and showering them down as it janked in every direction it could, then finally a loud clunk came and smoke burst from its gaps as it went limp, dropping Inochi's wheel on the floor!

Chihiro dropped down soon after, lifting the wheel from the floor and charging it with magic with a single rub of her fingers. The wheel floated back out as a green burst of light shone from it, and finally Inochi fell to the ground and panted. Chihiro knelt down and gently nudged her arm, and in response Inochi just smiled.

"That was close," Inochi panted as she stood up. "Too close."

Inochi and Chihiro both smiled at each other then shouted, collapsing to their knees as a bright flash of purple light came from the back! Shattering hit the air as the fragments of Sihiri's barrier fell before the two, and they both gasped and jumped back onto the conveyor belt as the robots zoomed right for them, their laser guns readied!

Beside them, Vatra winced as he glanced back at the robots, then snarled and snapped his fingers. Fires burst from his fingers, and he cried out as he shot them back at the robots… But they just shifted gears and shot at his flames instead! Massive explosions of fire bombed the entire area, blowing up machines and crates and even parts of the construction line with their heat, and Vatra backed away before one explosion burst near him and tossed him off the belt! He grunted as he slammed against the walls while a shadow cast over him, and he only had moments to look up before a massive engine crashed down and smashed right in his place! His ghastly form completely disappeared, crushed underneath the metal weight of the engine!

The robots beeped, wheeling around the engine and lowering their weapons… But then, a chuckle sounded while a red wheel floated up from the side of the wreckage, and Vatra reformed once more!

"I suppose being a ghost does have some benefits," Vatra remarked.

The robots snarled, and he hopped back onto the belts and tried to fly right through an engine on the line—but right as he did, his pendant banged against the engine's metal and he shuddered, his form dissolving and reforming in minutes! Vatra grumbled and pulled back, before jumping ahead as a laser burst slammed into the engine and blew it to bits! Vatra winced as he slid away from the wreckage. Or at least, tried to, but his pendant slid over a lever on the wall and left him stuck! Vatra grunted as he yanked it away, then grabbed onto the lever and yanked it down, sliding his pendant off!

"Finally!" He gasped, catching his breath as his pendant rested against his chest. Vatra smiled and rubbed his pendant free of some stray dust, when the sound of fast, furious whirring and churning rumbled around the room. "Wait, what is that?"

Vatra frowned and peered up at the ceiling, then turned around and gasped as a screaming Dej and Luz flew right past him on a speeding conveyor belt! Another slew of lasers forced him to duck, but he poked himself up high enough to catch a glimpse of the conveyor belts—which were now speeding faster than ever! Their belts spun so fast that the rubber bounced along the metal surfaces, while the other portal masters shouted as they danced around mechanical arms and jumped over engines, all while the laser shows from the robots carried on!

Vatra gasped, then turned back to the lever he had pulled down and immediately pushed it up… But despite his intense straining and grunting as he pushed the hardest he could, the lever wouldn't budge! So, Vatra ignited his palms, their bandages turned warmer and hotter as he pushed the lever down further—and completely snapped it off!

Vatra gulped as he held the broken lever in his now-cooled hands, while in front of him everyone else screamed as the conveyor belts flew backwards instead! At the end of the belts, the robots all beeped and readied their weapons, leaving everyone wide-eyed and screaming—but one!

Luz teleported backwards in a flash of light, then summoned a shield and clasped it as tight as he could with the speed he went! As the shield turned a hot yellow, Luz's eyes turned to a mechanical arm flailing about at the top of the ceiling, then he flung his shield and sliced it clean in half! The arm collapsed down on him, but Luz only grabbed it and flung it right towards the robots!

The robots shrieked as the arm knocked them back into the wall, and the group converged at the base of the conveyor belts, all snarls and tight brows as the robots pulled away from the wall. They all held out hands charged with elemental energy… Save for Chihiro, who just backed away.

"You hold them back!" Chihiro shouted as she was enveloped in cyan light. "I'll see if I can find a switch or something!"

Chihiro teleported away with a pop, hiding behind some crates and pushing them aside with a frown. "Nope, nothing here!"

Ducking underneath a stray ice shard, Chihiro teleported back onto the balcony and tried to yank open the door… But the moment she reached out for the knob, all she felt was solid metal! A few knocks against the metal, and she scoffed and drew back.

"This is just a fake door!" Chihiro cried.

Another pop, and Chihiro teleported down by the belts, before diving near the back of the machine that housed them and flipping open a control panel. The first thing she was greeted with was all sorts of flashing buttons and shining lights… And a giant lever labeled "Emergency speed control."

"Hey, here's a switch!" Chihiro cried as she reached for the lever.

But as she did, something shone in the darker parts of the area and she drew back her hand. Chihiro hopped off the conveyor belts and drew over to the back of the room as the light shone, then summoned a sphere and tossed it into the darkness. As it splattered against the wall, light burst from its corpse and dusted the room in a glow of cyan glitter, unveiling stretched of stained metal walls and a single door labeled…

"Records room!" Chihiro cried. She spun around, pivoting herself on one leg, and with a hollow stomp that echoed around the room, Chihiro forced herself into a stop.

"Hey, everyone, over here!" Chihiro waved her hand up and gestured towards the door. "I found the records room!"

Nemir gasped, then jumped away from the robot he was locked in combat with—but not before slamming his hand across the wall! A barrier of bones so tall and thick that it stretched to the ceiling and completely blocked the room behind him from view burst from the floor, leaving twisted metal on the sides of the flooring, and Nemir nodded. He rushed off, adjusting his crown's position on his head as he dashed up beside Chihiro right in time for her to yank open the door and run inside!

They all piled in one by one, planting themselves against the window as Chihiro locked it tight while Dej mustered up a massive ice cube to act as a barricade.

While Dej pushed the ice cube into place, Chihiro wandered off and panted, finally taking a seat on a chair next to Nemir and wiping the sweat from her forehead. The lights embedded into the ceiling shone harsh, their bulbs occasionally flickering as they beamed down on the endless rows of file cabinets that lined the room, and on Chihiro herself as she finally sat up and stood tall.

"That barrier should buy us some time, but it won't hold off those robots forever," Nemir said, still short of breath and catching it between words. "If we want to find this thing before they find us, we need to hurry!"

As if to affirm Nemir's words, the sound of distant thumping and cracking echoed form the back room, a loud reminder of the little time they had.

A few of them cringing as they all poured over the filing cabinets, Chihiro being the first to approach one and gingerly grab one by the handle… Then, she gasped as it slid right out.

"Guess they must've forgotten to lock these things!" Chihiro remarked, giggling as she snapped her fingers. "Just gotta use a search spell, and we should have the record in no time!"

The magic swirled around Chihiro's hand before leaping into the air, then seeping its way into the keyhole at the top of the file cabinet! Chihiro hummed, swaying back and forth on her heels as she eyed the flashing keyhole and its occasional swells of sparkly cyan that faded just as quick as they came. Then finally, the magic spat right back in her face, dusting her in cyan glitter as she coughed and stumbled backwards! Chihiro coughed her last as she rubbed the glitter from her face, then she sighed.

"Well, looks like these must be magic-proofed," Chihiro remarked. "Should've thought of that."

"Let me try, first," Sihiri remarked as she swept up beside Chihiro and cast a swirl of purple magic into the keyhole. "A simple spell may not do much, but perhaps a more advanced one will."

Chihiro and Sihiri both frowned, eyes kept on the file cabinet and it rumbled and bubbled in time with the swells of purple magic that flashed and faded from the keyhole—but that, too, was also spat out by the cabinet and disappeared! Chihiro and Sihiri both frowned at each other, then sighed.

"Yep, they really are magic-proofed," Chihiro remarked. "Looks like we're gonna have to find another way to search these things."

Chihiro frowned and crossed her arms, then opened an eye and hopped over to a simple white button sitting in the wall, so small and clear that it could barely be seen. With a press of her finger, the file cabinets all rumbled, with the others gasping and jumping away as if they were going to explode… But all they did was open all their drawers at once, revealing shiny rows of tablets not unlike the ones the robots were carrying!

"Split up, everyone!" Sihiri shouted as she began pulling out record after record. "The one we're looking for has to be somewhere in here!"

Vatra frowned, lifting up a tablet from one of the drawers and tilting his head as it flashed on. "Is this supposed to be Common?" he asked.

"I believe so," Sihiri remarked. "It's certainly changed a lot over these past thousand years."

Vatra squinted, holding the tablet closer to his face. "Well, I think this says…" Vatra hummed, his eyes squinting further, brows twitching and all before he sighed and drew back his head. "Alright, I can't read this."

"Same here," Luz remarked as he shuffled through the tablets he collected. "I don't recognize any of these runes at all!"

"That definitely poses a problem," Sihiri remarked, seating her stack of tablets at the top of the file cabinet she drew them from as she rubbed her hands. "I wonder…"

Sihiri hummed, breathing in and out as she waved her hands around, then swirls of purple magic seeped around the room, coating it in a purple glow behind fading away! She smiled as she lifted up her stack of tablets, eyes trained on the top one as its screen glitched and flashed in an entirely different string of runes.

"Hey, now it works!" Vatra shouted.

"This should translate this into our Common," Sihiri remarked as she shuffled through tablet after tablet, while adding in a smaller voice, "it's a good thing they weren't magic-proofed, too."

A shattering sound came from outside, and Nemir winced as he snatched some tablets and rushed. "And not a moment too soon!" Nemir cried as he shuffled through the tablets. "Looks like they finally broke the barrier!"

"Everyone, get searching!" Sihiri cried!

So, the search began, footsteps and frantic panting just barely heard over the sounds of rolling and robotic cries from the other side of the door! The room was in a flurry as everyone yanked as many tablets from the drawers as they could and shuffled through them, tossing them aside and stacking them until the room was coated in stacks… And yet, as the piles of piles of tablets grew, their answers had yet to be found.

"Nothing here!" Luz cried as he held up a pair of tablets!

"I'm afraid this one's empty, too!" Inochi shouted as she closed a drawer.

Nemir glumly shook his head as he closed a drawer, then ducked as a tablet soared over his head! To his side, Vatra and Chihiro frantically shifted through tablet after tablet, eyes glued to their stacks and sweat pouring as they flung through each other.

"Nope, nope, nope," Chihiro sputtered, hands clammy as she tossed a few tablets aside.

"Not this one, or this one…" Vatra spat, tossing a few more tablets aside. As his stack came to its end, Vatra reached out for a drawer, then shuddered and phased out for a moment as something banged against the door!

"It's them!" Chihiro cried as she hastily yanked a bunch of tablets from the drawers and gathered them in her arms. "They found us!"

"This is pointless!" Vatra cried as he slammed a drawer shut with so much force that it bounced right back open. Vatra grunted as he kicked it right back in, then yanked another open and snarled before slamming it shut. "There's probably millions of records in this place! How in the Ancients' good name are we supposed to find it at this rate?!"

Another bang hit the door, and Chihiro winced as she poured a little faster through the records. "Now's not the time to flip out!" Chihiro hissed as she shut the drawer she held and moved to the next. "The longer we bicker, the more time those things have to break down the door!"

"And the longer we meander here, the more time the Arkeyans have to be revived!" Vatra slammed another drawer shut and spun around to face the other portal masters. "Tell me, has anyone found anything on this security system yet?!"

A few shrunk from view as Vatra face them, and Vatra only scoffed.

"See, I was right!"

Flames burst at Vatra's hands and feet as he stormed back and forth, occasionally slamming his hands against the file cabinets and dented their metal. "This is a fool's errand and we all know it! If you had just listened to me, we'd be on our way to beat this rogue portal master and prevent Arkus's arrival!"

Chihiro clenched her teeth and hand. "Now's not the time! The last thing we need right now is you being a hothead—"

"DON'T YOU LECTURE ME ABOUT WHAT THE RIGHT TIME IS!" Vatra cried as he whipped out his hand, the red hot flames that surrounded it crackled and burning brighter with every moment they had next to him. "YOU'RE THE REASON WE'RE IN THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"Vatra, watch where you're tossing that thing!" Sihiri cried!

The sound of whooshing flames and bursting explosions hit the air, and the whole area turned warm-tinted and hot as flames crackled in the air! Vatra gulped, slowly turning over to where the room's entrance laid… Except, it was an entrance no longer! The flames had not only completely melted the block of ice Dej used as a barricade, but the door as well! All that remained of it was a giant puddle of water and melted metal that lingered at the front and sloshed as the robots stormed right through!

"Surrender, intruders!" the robots bellowed as they smashed through the entrance and raised their weapons!

Vatra gasped, the flames around him extinguishing immediately as he backed away, but with a single gulp he stormed forward and raised his hands once more! The flames reignited in time with his screams as he charged forward and punched the robot helming the charge in the chest, but the robot just slapped his pendant away and knocked him into the wall! Vatra groaned, his form flickering for a moment as he slouched over and held his head, but the robots paid no mind to him.

No, they turned to where the rest of the group stood beside the filing cabinets, wide-eyed and frozen in place!

"ELIMINATE INTRUDERS!" They all bellowed as they slammed their charged weapons into the ground!

A pair of swords were the first to come, amplifying the lines into tiles and turning them into glowing cracks, ones that glowed even brighter as a gun slammed in and shot off! The energy that pulsed through the cracks glowed brighter, brightest, then finally erupted into a flash of light so bright it enveloped the world in a hot glaze, as if they had been trapped in an inferno! The beeping of robots, screams of others and whooshing of flames marked the only trace of damage that could be seen amid the white light that completely enveloped the center of the room… And then, it faded.

The light lifted its grip, leaving behind a completely devastated room with cracked, ruptured floor that peeled off and shattered to reveal stone underneath, toppled-over filing cabinets that were half-melted and filled with cracked tablets bursting from their lumped, misshapen and half open drawers, and the lights overhead had completely cracked, leaving only splintered beams of light to brighter the room—and even that didn't last as a few fell from the ceiling and shattered on the floor. Chihiro laid sprawled out and groaning between a pair of collapsed file cabinets, red burns covering her skin and her hair frazzled as her pendant fritzed and spat out bursts of magic on the floor, and nearby Vatra only groaned, shuddering as he forced himself up.

And the rest of the group had vanished, the only traces of their existence remaining being their wheels pendants as they sparkled and floated in the air!

Chihiro and Vatra both gasped, their eyes locked on the other portal masters' pendants as they fell. The strings around them disappeared as they hit the ground, only simple wheels remaining that barely held any light to them!

The robots zoomed in, but before they could do anything, Chihiro zipped right in and scooped the wheels off the ground, squealing as a robot lunged for her before a burst of fire slammed it in the face! As the robot screeched and rolled away, Chihiro rolled underneath the flames' cover and knelt forward, staying as low to the ground as she could while she bolted back to Vatra's side.

"We've gotta escape!" Chihiro cried, shoving the wheels in her pocket. "I don't know what happened to them, but we need to heal them!"

Vatra grunted as he shot and kicked flames down at the robots, who only screeched out jagged, angry beeps as the flames hit them and bounced off, extinguishing the moment they hit the metal. He drew back and panted, fists clenched and back hunched over as he snarled, then he turned to the back of the room and heaved a heavy breath.

"I can't imagine how we'll do that, seeing as how this whole place is locked off!" Vatra cried! A laser shot in from a nearby robot, and he gasped as he crafted a shield of fire that ate the laser full blast. "Unless you have some magical solution to beating these robots, that is!"

Chihiro winced, clenching her teeth as she teleported behind a filing cabinet and slunk down. Short, shallow pants left her lips as her eyes bounced from the endless walls and fake windows that lined the room, then back around the cabinet as flames and lasers burst and sent smoke burning through the room. Her eyes watered and she forced herself to keep from screaming as the smoky smell took hold of her head, then whimpered as she peered down at the tile underneath the thick coat of smoke that covered the entire upper half of the room and all above it, then the drawers, then the lasers that came from the smoke, then the sounds of banging and screaming that rattled in her ears, leaving her mind completely blank save for all the overwhelming thoughts and smells and sounds…

"Hey, over here!"

Chihiro gasped, lifting her head up and jumping back to her feet.

"Where'd that voice come from?" she whispered, before she doubled down and whimpered as the smoke coated her head once more.

She popped open a watering eye… and there in the distance, a faint brown light flashed from a gaping hole in the wall lined with crystals of all sorts!

"An exit, there!" Chihiro cried.

Vatra swept around, yelping for a moment as he dodged a laser blow, then he ducked underneath the cover of the smoke! He yanked Chihiro by the arm and held her close. The sounds of shouting robots grew louder, and he in turn shielded her the best he could as he ran, not a moment of mind paid to her surprised squeak as he rolled into the tunnel with the shouts of angered robots and firing of laser blasters behind him and Chihiro both as they hit warm, hard red rock… Then finally, darkness as the crystals sealed up and closed off the entrance.

---

- The story Eye mentions in the flashback where they're fighting the Conquertron is inspired by the Time of the Giants level from Giants!