So some of you might remember that I used to write a lot of Skylanders fanfics back when that video game series was still prominent and ongoing. In those fanfics, I had a recurring OC that I recall a few of you really taking a shine to.
Well, guess who I'm bringing back in a new iteration? (:
It's been a long time, fellow Portal Masters, but I'm finally back to writing Skylanders fanfics, complete with the return of my first ever fanfic OC.
Enjoy.
Sneakers And Skates
Chapter 1: BFF?
"Some legends are told,
Some turn to dust or to gold,
But you will remember me,
Remember me for centuries…"
His favourite song - 'Centuries' by Fall Out Boy. The young human closed his eyes, allowing a contented smile to creep across his face as he sat there on the grass, his back pressed up against the exterior of one of the Academy's stone walls, the earbuds of his portable music player pumping the lyrics straight into his brain at a frankly unreasonable volume, and just like that, he was home. No strange world of magic. No dragons or elves or other such creatures of a mythical or supernatural nature coming up and talking to him like it was nothing out of the ordinary. In this blissful moment, he was back on Earth in his own bedroom, sitting at his computer desk, surrounded by the posters of his favourite rock bands that lined the walls, his lopsided stack of comic books - sorry, 'graphic novels' - beside him, his superhero action figures that he owned solely for collecting purposes and definitely didn't play with when he thought no one was watching displayed proudly on the nearby shelf… Why, he could almost reach out and touch them…
"Gah!" the boy yelped when his outstretched hand made contact with someone else's hand - one that felt distinctly cool and almost mossy in terms of smoothness. His azure eyes flew open, reflecting how displeased he was at having his momentary fantasy completely shattered in a most untimely and unwelcome manner. As he reached up to wrench the bud from his right ear, an amused titter could be heard from the figure who was now knelt before him. The boy let out another yelp as he met the figure's eyes, which were completely white save for two glowing dots that were a slightly lighter shade of white, said dots almost indistinguishable from the shining scleras that surrounded them.
"You'll go deaf, listening to music that loud," the green-skinned elven girl told him, that soft voice of hers emanating surprisingly clearly from behind the brown warrior mask that covered the lower half of her face. "You should try listening to the sounds of nature some time. It's both relaxing and easy on the eardrums, not to mention good for heightening the senses."
The fifteen year-old boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes, his upbringing having taught him to be polite and respectful when he was being spoken to. He pulled the remaining earbud from his left ear and clicked a button on the music player, abruptly shutting the device off. He then sat there in silence, staring at the elf girl expectantly. She straightened up to her full height, flicked her braided dark blue hair behind her and stood at the ready, a dagger in each hand, said weapons appearing to have been carved from the tooth of some wild beast.
"Roller Brawl and I will be having a sparring session over by the pond in a few minutes, assuming she remembers to show up on time… for once," Stealth Elf said, glancing away as she said that last part. "You're more than welcome to watch, or even to take part," she went on, turning her attention back to the boy. "We could use some fresh blood around here, and I'm not just saying that because my sparring partner is a vampire." On that note, the elven ninja vanished in a puff of green smoke that had a distinctly herbal aroma to it, the young human coughing a little as he caught a whiff of the stuff. With a sigh, he slowly got to his feet, tucked the music player away in the pocket of his blue jeans, straightened the collar of his short-sleeved green t-shirt and started forward, the soles of his white sneakers pressing against the grass as he put one foot in front of the other.
Joshua Light knew exactly why Stealth Elf wanted him to come over and watch her and Roller Brawl duke it out in a friendly one-on-one bout, and while he didn't resent the elf girl for wanting him to socialise and get to know his new friends and neighbours, he also wasn't exactly the most socially adept person at the best of times. Strictly speaking, he was not against meeting new people, but he had always been pretty shy, and the fact that he now found himself to be the lone human amidst a plethora of otherworldly beings - many of whom were quirky or kooky to greater or lesser extent - wasn't doing anything to help him overcome that shyness. The fifteen year-old had been unceremoniously plucked from a less-travelled street of his hometown by a time-space rift that had opened up right beneath him one day, sending him plummeting into a new and fantastical world beyond his understanding - the world of Skylands.
What had caused Josh's untimely exile to another plane of existence? That was something that was still being worked out, apparently; one of the Skylander Academy's staff members, a decidedly barmy yet well-meaning woman named Mags who seemed to fancy herself a self-made inventor and scientist, had taken it upon herself to do some in-depth research into the matter. From what Josh had heard when occasionally walking by the stairway leading down into Mags' lab beneath the Academy, this 'research' seemed to entail round the clock explosions, a strong smell of sulphur wafting up the stairs and what sounded like several chickens squawking in panic. Josh wasn't the type to openly speak ill of others, but he privately felt that this Mags character might not be playing with a full deck of Skystones, so to speak.
The Skylanders. They were apparently the local peacekeepers, though unlike, say, the police officers back on Josh's home world, there was nothing uniform about them. They came in all shapes and sizes, and that was no exaggeration. Dragons, yetis, skeletons, lava monsters, gremlins, robots, anthropomorphic animals… Every sort of mythical or fantasy creature imaginable seemed to make up their ranks, including some really bizarre ones. Well, bizarre from Josh's perspective, at least. Pop Thorn sprang to mind; a sapient pufferfish-like being with bat wings. He'd given Josh quite a start the other evening in the Skylander Academy's cafeteria, the Air Skylander having suddenly puffed up in a fit of excitement, thrilled that his favourite food item was back on the menu - all while Josh had been sitting right next to him.
Then there were oddball characters like Ghost Roaster, a ghoul who spoke in a raspy sneer of a voice. He had seemed level-headed enough… until Josh witnessed him suddenly transform into a giant glowing green skull of an ectoplasmic nature and rocket away, cackling maniacally, his crazed laughter echoing unnaturally through the Academy's halls. It seemed that a lot of the Skylanders had a tendency to be… exuberant, often to a fault.
For every overly energetic Skylander, however, there seemed to be an overly serious and cold one. Tuff Luck had been watching Josh like a hawk with narrowed eyes the last time the boy had been browsing a row of bookshelves in the Academy's library, the no-nonsense feline seeming to be silently daring him to try and take a book out of the library without running it by the staff first, daring him to see what would happen. Just the sight of those bulky Traptanium scythes sheathed at her waist was more than enough to deter Josh from setting foot in the library unaccompanied… or at all, if he could help it.
Trail Blazer was another Skylander that Josh had no desire to get on the wrong side of; a talking horse with a mane and tail made of fire was surely dangerous enough at the best of times. It didn't help that the Fire Skylander had a short temper that burned just as hot as his flames. Trail Blazer had gotten into a fierce argument with Punk Shock, a Water Skylander who was an anthropomorphic electric eel, the other day, and even though he had been on the far side of the cafeteria, Josh had had half a mind to hide under the table until things settled down. Thankfully, Mags had come in and broken them up before things could get out of hand. For as kooky as she often acted, the undead inventor had no tolerance for adults who bickered like children, and she had lectured the two Skylanders like a fed up mother, even threatening to put them both on a time out if they didn't shape up and start acting their age. Josh didn't know if Mags actually had the kind of power - authoritative or magical - to do that, but her words were enough to make Trail Blazer and Punk Shock uncomfortably mumble apologies to each other, prompting the young human to make a mental note not to cross Mags, just in case.
Zany Skylanders, intimidating Skylanders… Between those two extremes, it was no wonder that Josh tried to keep to himself whenever he wasn't needed. Mags had assigned the young human a series of tasks to keep him active and responsible on a daily basis, but outside of delivering tools, handwritten notes or bagels in brown paper bags to a particular staff member or Skylander, or helping with odd jobs such as repainting a room's interior walls or washing a window or two, Josh just tried to stay out of everyone's way; the very last thing he wanted was to make an enemy of someone who could set him on fire. Or freeze him in a block of ice. Or wrap him up in thorny vines. Or turn him undead. Or… Actually, the possibilities were as limitless as they were worrying to think about.
"Wh-Whoa!" the young human exclaimed as he tripped over a small rock on the ground, stumbling forward several paces before coming to a stop at the very edge of the pond on one side of the Academy's courtyard, having thrown out his arms to keep his balance, the toes of his sneakers positioned precariously on the pond's bank, but an inch from the shallow water's clear surface. He sighed in relief, glad that he hadn't made a complete fool of himself in front of the numerous Skylanders that were currently present all across the courtyard. He reached up with one hand to wipe a hint of sweat from his brow, and then—
"Hey, new guy!" a voice as enthusiastic as it was familiar suddenly called out from right behind Josh, causing the boy to yelp in surprise, said yelp followed by a panicked cry as he lost his balance and started to fall forward.
SPLASH.
"Ugh!" Josh groaned in annoyance as he started to pick himself up, both his clothes and his mousy brown hair soaked. Behind him, Roller Brawl could be heard laughing at his expense, the Undead Skylander apparently very amused by the slapstick-like situation Josh had quite literally landed himself in.
"Oh, man!" the derby vampire exclaimed, the broad, fanged grin she wore present in her voice even before Josh turned around to see it. "There are so many water-related puns I could make right now; where do I even begin? Ha ha ha!"
This time, Josh did roll his eyes, neither amused by nor pleased with the situation. He reached up to brush his now waterlogged fringe out of his eyes and stood there with his arms folded, very aware of how silly he looked as he stood there, ankle deep in the pond, a water lily having become matted to his left shoulder, its pink flower in full bloom.
"Good thing Buzz moved the goldfish to a new home last week, or Mags would be having a fit!" Roller Brawl went on, still grinning like mad as she stood there decked out in full derby gear, complete with one-wheeled roller blades, said wheels seeming to be made from miniature saw blades, the girl's pale hands adorned with sleek black claws of a metallic nature. Her glittering purple eyes seemed to shine with an otherworldly energy, her braided bubblegum pink hair a notable contrast to her chalky complexion. "Shame about your sneakers, though," the girl went on, glancing down at Josh's soggy footwear. "I kinda liked them. Hey, did you know that a guy's shoes are typically the first thing a girl notices about him?" she then asked brightly, catching the boy's eye and giving a sly wink. "Little bit of trivia for ya."
Oh, goody. Another kook of a Skylander. That was all Josh needed right now. As if Roller Brawl hadn't freaked him out enough when he'd first met her, which was just over three weeks ago now. Hoo, boy, had that been a wild day, or rather, a wild night…
A few weeks earlier…
Roller Brawl yawned, making no attempt to cover her mouth as she did so, giving the whole world a first class view of her ivory white vampire fangs. She was leaning against the side of a small cottage in Lunar Lodgings, a relatively new settlement on a remote sky island meant to house those whose homes had been destroyed by Kaos' Sky Eater contraption during the infamous Dark Portal Master's short-lived conquest of Skylands a few years back. The village had been constructed with the help of the Skylanders, and it had been a peaceful and promising new home for its Mabu residents for a time… but recently, Lunar Lodgings had become a popular target for thieves, vandals and other such troublemakers due to its remote location. As a result, the staff at Skylander Academy had begun assigning two randomly selected available Skylanders to regular night patrols at the village. Roller Brawl and Stealth Elf were the ones who had drawn the proverbial short straws for tonight, and the derby vampire was by no means thrilled about this turn of events.
"Stuck doing this instead of going to the roller disco…" the Undead Skylander muttered bitterly to herself. "Me! Roller Brawl! Skylands' poster child for pulling off sick pirouettes on wheels to sick beats!" She sighed, glancing up and down the quiet, empty street. "Wonder how Stealthie's doing on her side of the 'burg…?"
Pop.
"'Stealthie' is doing just fine, thank you," Stealth Elf whispered as she appeared before Roller Brawl quite suddenly in a cloud of herbal mist, making the derby vampire jump, startled, "And she's already warned you about calling her by that nickname," the Life Skylander went on, stepping up to her fellow defender of the peace and narrowing her shining eyes at her.
"You've really gotta stop doing that," Roller Brawl declared, referring to Stealth Elf's teleportation habits. "Even an undead heart can skip a beat sometimes, y'know."
"I wouldn't be much of a ninja if I couldn't take others by surprise," Stealth Elf declared before letting out a soft, mischievous titter. "That's why I always tell you not to blink when I'm around."
Roller Brawl groaned in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, we all get it, okay?" she said, folding her arms in front of her chest. "You're the master of sub-terrain and nunchuck soup. You don't have to keep rubbing it in."
That's subterfuge and ninjutsu," Stealth Elf corrected her, rolling her eyes at Roller Brawl's determined ignorance when it came to the topic of ninja culture, "And I wouldn't talk about 'rubbing it in' if I were you, Little Miss Skylands' Poster Child For Pulling Off Sick Pirouettes On Wheels To Sick Beats," she went on, prodding at Roll with a gloved finger.
"Oh, you, uh… You heard that, huh?" Roller Brawl asked, putting a claw-adorned hand to the back of her neck sheepishly, her cheeks reddening as she smiled awkwardly. Then she winced. "Man, these things are sharper than I thought," she mused aloud, bringing her hand back around and gazing at the metallic black weapons that she wore over her fingers. She grinned at Stealth Elf. "Guess that's one way to…"
"Please don't say it," Stealth Elf pleaded, already casting her gaze to the moonlit sky above in preemptive exasperation.
"…Stay sharp," Roller Brawl finished, still grinning broadly, waggling her eyebrows at Stealth Elf, who refused to look at her. "Eh? Eh?"
Stealth Elf turned away, refusing to acknowledge her fellow Skylander's cringe-inducing pun… and yet, the forest elf couldn't help but allow a small smile of shameful amusement to play at the corners of her mouth beneath her leather mask. Roller Brawl, on her part, let out a quiet, knowing chuckle; she had known Stealth Elf long enough to know when the Life Skylander was trying to hide her amusement from others.
A decidedly shrill yelp suddenly rent the air, followed by the sound of laughter. Cold, jeering laughter. Stealth Elf and Roller Brawl froze in place, both Skylanders listening intently. The commotion sounded as though it was coming from behind the cottage three houses up the road. Stealth Elf's elven ears picked up on a few words that were being exchanged between the laughing individuals… and someone who sounded very, very scared.
"What's the matter, young blood? Never seen a vampire in the flesh?"
"Bet he's got a real rare blood type. I can practically taste it already…"
"N-No! Get away! Leave me alone! H-HELP!"
While Roller Brawl hadn't heard as much of the conversation as Stealth Elf's highly attuned ears had, that scream for help was all she needed to hear. Like the wind, she dashed off down the street, her movements both swift and methodical as she skated along, one roller blade-bearing foot in front of the other. Stealth Elf, on her part, vanished in another cloud of herbal mist, teleporting to catch up with her speedy comrade. Up ahead, behind house number thirteen on this particular street, a young human boy of fifteen was backed up against the cottage's side wall, very aware of the impenetrable barrier of bricks behind him as he stared, azure eyes wide and full of fear, at the trio of teenage vampire punks that were bearing down upon him, each of them taller than him and actively bearing their fangs as they sneered, leered and jeered at him, all three of them knowing full well that they had their prey cornered, that they had this poor sucker of a kid right where they wanted him.
"Heh. Look at him. Like a little pig cornered by a big bad wolf," the leader of the group of thugs, a vampire boy with a punk mohawk of neon purple and five o'clock shadow on his face, declared sadistically, his black vest torn in several places.
"Yeah! We're gonna huff and puff and, uh…" the youngest and skinniest of the trio began, struggling to put two and two together in his mind, which was somewhat dull due to the boy having been held back several grades at vampire school. "How does it go again, Dean?"
"We're gonna go right past his chinny-chin-chin… and take a nice, long sip from his necky-neck-neck," the final member of the group, a girl with flowing hair of scarlet who wore way too much dark makeup, concluded for her dim-witted accomplice. "Try to keep up, Toby. It's not hard, even for you."
"Zip it, Sheena!" The group leader, Dean, said sharply, lashing out with supernatural speed as he spoke, grabbing the young human by the throat with one hand and lifting him off the ground, holding him in place against the wall. "I'm getting first dibs tonight. Human blood doesn't exactly grow on trees here in Skylands, and I'm gonna enjoy this little once-in-a-blue-moon delicacy for all it's worth…"
The human boy struggled to scream, to make a sound, to do anything, but the vampire thug was too strong. The azure-eyed youth could only watch in horror as Dean's face started to draw closer, the fiend's mouth opening, fangs extending. The young human shut his eyes, awaiting the worst part of this nightmarish situation, awaiting the bite…
"HYAH!"
The young human landed rear-first on the grass as Dean suddenly let go of him, the vampire thug letting out an ear-splitting shriek as he did so, clasping at his own face as he stumbled back. His left cheek was now adorned with no less than three parallel slashes; he appeared to have been raked across the face by something sharp. With a vicious snarl, Dean whirled around once he had composed himself to face his attacker, only to gasp as the same metallic, razor-sharp claws that had raked one side of his face were suddenly inches from his right cheek, Roller Brawl scowling at him coldly.
"Not cool, bud," she told him, the other two vampire thugs just looking on, evidently unsure of what to do - not that it would've mattered much if they had, for Stealth Elf suddenly appeared before Sheena, holding one of her Dragonfang Daggers to the redhead's throat. Toby let out a yelp that was equal parts fearful and clueless, diving down onto the grass and trembling, his arms over his head protectively. "Picking on some kid, trying to sip 'em like a soda without even asking first?" Roller Brawl went on. "Guys like you set us vampires back hundreds of years, y'know that?"
For a moment, Dean looked genuinely afraid as he warily eyed Roller Brawl's metal claws, which were now little more than a millimetre from his face, but then he smirked and let out a derisive scoff.
"And I suppose you think you're all 'progressive' just because you joined up with a bunch of glorified samaritans?" He asked callously. "Real vampires don't answer to anyone, let alone the Skylanders."
"Yeah? Well, I'm a Skylander first and a vampire second, and you," Roller Brawl went on, flexing her claw-adorned digits threateningly, "Are gonna answer to my claws if you and your buds don't beat it, pronto!"
Dean grimaced, then scowled and finally sighed. "Fine. Whatever," he concluded bitterly. "Sheena, T, let's blow this dump."
"Whuh? But I'm still thirsty!" Toby whined, glancing up from his spot on the grass, a tiny ladybug perched on his fringe.
"Yeah, well, so am I, but this place is a 'no drinking zone', apparently!" Dean snapped back irritably. He then sighed again. "C'mon, you two. We'll go to Wailing Woods, see if we can't get the jump on a wild stag or something."
"Make sure it is a wild stag and not a sapient one," Stealth Elf piped up warningly as the trio of vampire thugs moved to make their exit, "Or you three might find yourselves in trouble with more than just two Skylanders in the coming days."
"Yeah, yeah, fine, whatever!" Dean called back dismissively before starting to mutter bitterly as he went, Sheena and Toby walking in stride with him. "The things a vampire's gotta do just to taste even a single drop of the red stuff in this 'enlightened' day and age…"
"Shut it! Or I'll come over there and 'enlighten' the other side of your face by carving my initials into it!" Roller Brawl called after him, Stealth Elf putting a hand on her shoulder, the elven ninja wordlessly telling the derby vampire not to act rashly.
"Yeah, you just try it, Skater Claw, or whatever your name is!" Dean called back. "I don't need this crap; it's after midnight, for crying out loud…!"
"Pathetic," Roller Brawl muttered coldly. She then turned to the young human, who was still seated on the ground and still appeared wide-eyed and fearful. This didn't change as Stealth Elf moved to approach him, kneeling down beside him.
"It's alright," she said in a hushed voice. Well, to her it was a hushed voice, but from anyone else's perspective, she was barely speaking below her normal volume, if at all. "You're safe now. We're here to help."
"R-Real elves," the boy could be heard murmuring, seeming to be talking to himself. "Real vampires…" He screwed his eyes shut and let out a frightened sniff, a tear flowing down his right cheek. "The heck is even going on?!" he finished in a choked sob.
"Yeesh. Either this kid doesn't get out much, or he's…" Roller Brawl trailed off, finally putting two and two together in her mind as she took in the boy's fearful demeanour, his clothing that appeared to be made of of thin-layered cotton that would hardly protect him from the cold, let alone any sort of attacker, his backpack which had evidently been partially torn open by the vampire thugs, revealing a series of notebooks, coloured pencils and a rectangular blue lunchbox depicting what looked like graffiti on its lid in illegible, meshed together letters… Everything about him just screamed 'fish out of water'. There was no doubt about it.
This kid wasn't from Skylands. No, he was most likely from Earth, the home world of those youthful but no less valiant Portal Masters who had helped the Skylanders from afar on numerous occasions.
"…Oh. Oh, wow, that's…" The derby vampire cleared her throat and skated slowly over to stand beside her fellow Skylander and before the human boy, the latter looking up at her with extreme apprehension, no doubt having noticed her fangs, no doubt keenly aware that she was a vampire, just like those who had just tried to make a midnight snack out of him.
"It's okay. You can trust her," Stealth Elf told the boy. She then smirked behind her mask. "Well, you can trust her not to bite you unprovoked. Other than that, she's kind of a wild card, not gonna lie."
"Hardy har," Roller Brawl said, rolling her eyes. "As you can see, Stealthie here is a real stand-up comedian. Also, maybe don't call her Stealthie - at least not within earshot. I can barely get away with it as her BFF."
"BFF?" Stealth Elf repeated, turning to look at her fellow Skylander, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know, Bodacious Forest Friend," Roller Brawl elaborated before bursting out laughing. "Ha ha ha…! Look who's calling who a stand-up comedian, am I right?" she went on, grinning at the young human on the grass, who now looked skeptical as well as wary. She let her laughter fade away somewhat awkwardly and then straightened up slightly. "Anyways… Name's Roller Brawl, but you can just call me Roll. How 'bout you?"
The teenage boy could only stare up at the derby vampire, seeming to be in disbelief over the fact that the Undead Skylander had just saved him. Roller Brawl chuckled knowingly.
"Heh. Yeah, I get that reaction a lot; I AM pretty cool," she declared smugly, twirling on the spot in a perfectly executed pirouette. "You won't find another Skylander who can skate like me; I'm the ultimate jammer!"
"That's right. She's a skilled skater, a dedicated Skylander, a self-proclaimed best friend, and above all, completely and totally modest," Stealth Elf said as she turned back to the young human, giving a sly, knowing wink as she said those last few words. The boy giggled in spite of himself, reaching up with one hand to wipe his watery eyes. "And I'm Stealth Elf," the Life Skylander continued more seriously. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet under less… stressful circumstances."
The boy nodded, seeming to be silently affirming the Skylanders' names to himself as he sat there, trying to rationalise the situation as much as he could. He really wasn't in Kansas anymore, so to speak - not least because he was actually from Brooklyn, New York. The seventh district of Brooklyn, to be exact.
And now he was here, in Skylands, countless miles, perhaps countless realities away from home with no apparent means of getting back to where he belonged. Just knowing that made his eyes well up with tears once more and he again screwed them shut before breaking down into a trembling fit of soft whimpers and sobs. Stealth Elf gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder. Roller Brawl grimaced; she hated seeing someone cry, not least because she was never sure of how to deal with such. She had a tendency to come across as insensitive at the best of times - unintentionally, of course.
'Poor kid,' she thought to herself. 'Must be a real head trip, being flung across time and space to a world populated by a bunch of… well, aliens, I guess we'd be from his perspective.'
"Hey, um, kid?" the derby vampire said quietly after a long moment. The boy didn't open his eyes, but let out a little inquisitive noise to indicate that he was paying attention. "I, uh… Oh, jeez, how do I do this without really upsetting him…?" she muttered to herself. "You, um, never did tell us your name." She then forced a grin. "Bet it's a real rad one, just like mine."
Stealth Elf turned and gave Roller Brawl a look that wordlessly said 'Seriously?' The boy, however, managed another little smile through his tears. He wiped his eyes again before opening them and gazing up at the Undead Skylander. "I'm… Joshua," he managed after a brief pause. "Joshua Light, but… just Josh is fine."
"Hmm," Roll said, tilting her head in mock thoughtfulness. She then shrugged. "Eh. My name's still cooler."
There was a pause, and then, the boy snickered. Then he guffawed, and then he utterly burst out laughing. Roller Brawl turned away, allowing herself a smug, fanged smile.
'Heh. Maybe I am a stand-up comedian,' she thought to herself. She then snorted. 'Yeah, right.' With that thought in mind, it was all she could do to refrain from bursting out laughing herself.
Present day
Josh smiled to himself as the memory of how that night had played out fully came back to him. While he'd definitely gotten the impression that Roller Brawl was a bit of a kook - possibly to a fault - he couldn't deny that she, much like Mags, was a well-meaning one.
"Heh, heh. What d'you say we find some place for you to towel off?" Roller Brawl suggested, prising the set of claws from her left hand as she spoke and offering her pale appendage to the boy. Josh smiled and nodded before meeting her fingers with his own, allowing her to help him step out of the shallow pool of water. "Maybe we can even salvage those sneakers of yours. I'll bet Mags has something that can dry 'em out… or turn them into oven mittens. She's weirdly good at repurposing stuff like that."
Josh's smile faltered slightly, the young human raising an eyebrow as he tried to imagine how one would turn shoes into mittens… or why one would want to. After a brief moment, he shrugged the notion off and followed after Roller Brawl, or 'Roll', as she apparently liked to be called. She let go of his hand and started to skate ahead, turning and glancing back at him.
"Tell you what, Sneakers," she said, a sly, fanged smirk on her face, "I'll race ya! Ready, set, TOO LATE, I'M ALREADY GONE!" With that rapid fire collection of words, the derby vampire took off at a swift pace, skating towards the Skylander Academy and leaving Josh very much in the dust, the boy momentarily dumbfounded before he once again found himself laughing at the Undead Skylander's antics.
"Ha, ha, ha…! Wait," he then mused, his laughter fading. "Sneakers? Oh, boy, that's gonna be her nickname for me, isn't it?"
As Kaos himself would say, "And there it is!" with 'it' being my first Skylanders fanfic in a good while, with this first chapter meant to reintroduce my old OC Josh Light. Hope you enjoyed.
Stay tuned for the next chapter!