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)

19. The Oracle, Part 2

Spyro groaned as he stumbled forward. His head throbbed and his eyes were bleary from fatigue. Something like cold metal pierced his paws so harshly that it was almost painful to stand, and the intense cold that surrounded him bit at his bones and sapped away his strength. The whole world was some muddy mixture of blue and gold, red and silver, that he could barely make out, and the awful stench of something warm and oily burned his nostrils. A few groans he recognized rumbled over the sounds of gnashing, churning machinery, and Spyro blinked a few times to find that the rest of his little ground surrounded him—Gill Grunt and Cynder to his left, Terrafin and Whirlwind to the right of them, and behind him Trigger Happy, Eruptor, and Stealth Elf all laid around.

"Hey, everyone alright?" Spyro mumbled out. Nobody responded, so he shook his head and raised his voice again. "Is everyone alright?"

"'Bout as okay as I can be," Terrafin groaned as he stood up and stretched his arms.

Other disoriented murmurs of agreement and confusion alike rose from the group, and Spyro took that with a nod. Well, that was one thing out of the way, but that brought him to his next problem—just where were they, and how did they get here? His head was so foggy that just trying to remember gave him a headache, or maybe that was just from the disgusting reek of oil that flooded the room. Spyro gagged as the scent filtered around him, as did the others (save for Stealth Elf, who seemed to be protected by her mask), but at least it finally jolted him awake.

His senses turned sharp once more, and he took a better look around him. But, he wished he didn't, for his heart sank the moment he saw where he was.

He found himself in a metallic palace of sorts with ornate walls and floors in all shades of red, gold, blue, and silver that shone under the light of searing artificial spotlights—and with a style distinctly Arkeyan in nature, at that! If that wasn't enough to tip off the area's nature, though, the massive statues, portraits, and other art forms that depicted Arkilles in various regal and confident poses scattered around the way, or the songs of Arkeyan praise and glory that eternally blared over crackling loudspeakers certainly did the trick. However, for all the Arkeyan pomp and circumstance around them, the machines that traversed the area while fixed deep in idle busywork seemed far too modern and hardly trademark of Arkeyan creation. Their bodies were industrial in nature and reeked of crude oil, nothing like the sleek and ornate aesthetics that the Arkeyans favored. But regardless, there was no doubt that this was an Arkeyan hideout, and more importantly…

"Are we in Arkus?" Spyro gasped.

A part of him couldn't really believe it; something about this place didn't quite remind him of the Arkus he'd seen in history books at Ancient Peak's libraries, but he couldn't ration anything else. He didn't know why, but something egged at his brain and told him that this had to be the place! But, was it? He couldn't remember a thing about what happened before, so he couldn't really trust himself. Spyro just snarled and raked his claws across his skulls. He was supposed to have a photographic memory, dang it! Why couldn't he remember something as simple as how he got here?

"Wait, weren't we trying to find a way to Arkus?" Eruptor recalled at last.

The link clicked in Spyro's mind. That was it! They were headed to Arkus to stop Kaos, or Arkilles, or whoever he was now, so this must be the place! He still couldn't quite reconcile the differences between Arkus and its historic depictions, though, especially with those robots. They looked more like something Kaos would cook up, not Arkilles. Arkilles seemed very concerned with preserving Arkeyan history from the few moments Spyro saw him in the ghostly flesh, and surely would have balked at the prospect of having more modern sights as those robots...

Who headed right towards them!

Everyone scattered as one of those worker drones that meandered to and fro the castle walked over to where they once stood. Spyro himself dodged behind one of many statues of Arkilles and peered around it with bated breath. The robot only glanced around and went back on its way, so he breathed a sigh of relief. A weight he never noticed he had lifted off of his chest, and he turned the other way to find the others expressing similar amounts of relief.

As the robots started to clear out, Spyro crept from statue to portrait to pillar, all in disguise as he tried to find some speck of life, something that could give him a hint of what happened here, anything! He found not a thing, however. All that could be seen were robots as far as the eye could see, and they all muttered instructions in mechanical voices or sang songs of Arkilles' praise. Not a hair of organic life showed in this eerily-polished metal palace, for it was all just robots obediently following orders as they had not a mind to do anything else.

"Creepy," was all Spyro could say as one chorus passed him by.

He winced, and once they passed, he sprung forward to try and get back to the next spot, but rammed into something hard and cold. He rolled backwards and grimaced as he held his head, and a shadow cast over him as his grimace deepened—for what he rammed into was far from what he wanted to find! One of the many robotic soldiers, and one at least twice his size at that, towered over him as its eyes flashed in a blue shade. Spyro growled as he jumped back to all fours, and backed away as a bright beam burst from the robots' eyes and scanned him down. Whatever this thing was, it was definitely trouble, and he didn't need it interrupting his stealth mission!

Just as he turned away to run, however, the scan finished and a chillingly metallic voice rang from the robot.

"IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE," the robot boomed. "LIFEFORM IDENTIFIED AS SPYRO, SKYLANDER AND MISSING PIECE OF LORD ARKILLES' COLLECTION."

"Wait, missing?" Spyro spat out, and the shock was enough to turn him around. "Collection?"

Spyro's sudden shock came to his disadvantage. The robot's eyes flashed red as it drew blades from its wrists, and with a clap of those blades, it sent a sonar blast flying right his way! The blast came so quickly and at such a short range that Spyro had no time to dodge, and it slammed him straight into one of Arkilles' many statues! The statue crumbled from the impact, and Spyro himself almost felt like doing the same. The pain got to him a bit more than normal, maybe from his surprise, but he shook it off and dodged as the robot shot another sonar blast his way. He skidded over to the right as more and more sonar blasts slammed into each place he passed, and with a swerve, he planted his paws down while his eyes flashed a cold blue. Ice coated the floor underneath him as he slid and gave him extra speed, just enough to leap forward and catch the robot off-guard!

The burning of fire seared within his blood as flames coated his claws, and in one swift motion, he tore straight through the robot's chest and yanked out its power core! A droning noise glitched from the robot's singed voice box as it fell to its knees, and Spyro smashed the power core across its side just for good measure. With his foe defeated, Spyro plopped back to the ground and flinched as footsteps echoed behind him—but luckily, it was just the other Skylanders as they emerged from their hiding places.

"Come on, Spy, let's get going," Gill Grunt urged as he grabbed Spyro's shoulder. "We're not gonna get our answers here!"

"I don't think we're gonna get the chance!" Stealth Elf cried as she turned around.

Her shouts caught Spyro's and everyone else's ears, and they all turned around while the familiar whir of angry buzzing rang in their ears next. Behind them, a bunch of those worker drones stepped out from the shadows, and in a slow wave, their eyes flashed from faint whites and yellows to burning, searing reds as they withdrew their weapons.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" they all cried as they charged after the Skylanders. "ELIMINATE THE INTRUDERS!"

Well, so much for a stealthy escape.

Gill Grunt and Whirlwind took to the skies first and charged the robots head-on, but as they did, Gill Grunt whipped out his water cannon and slicked down the metal floor instead! Whirlwind followed suit with a string of rain clouds, and in quick work, the floor became little more than a slippery skating rink! The sudden change in flooring caught most of the robots off-guard and sent them swirling and twirling across the floor, but a few sparse ones took to their new footing with ease. They skated forward in a swift motion and charged right into Gill Grunt and Whirlwind!

The sudden charge knocked them back right out of the air, and Spyro quickly caught them with a flap of his wings and the cast of a spell. He seated them down on the ground, turned his attention to the sleek floors, and breathed in and out. The water from the floors rose up in a furious torrent as he cast a breath that drenched the robots in its rains! The robots sparked and jerked around as the water slid off of their carapaces, and as they stood in place, an overly-enthusiastic laugh sounded from beside Spyro.

"My turn! My turn!" Trigger Happy cackled as he whipped out his guns and spun them around by the triggers.

He flung them both out and squealed with delight as he fired off coins with such ferocity that it knocked him back, but the coins only bounced off the robots with not a dent laid. Trigger Happy's laughter ceased as he got up and found the robots standing still, and he tossed his guns to the side.

"Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns!" Trigger Happy proclaimed as he rummaged through his back fur.

With not a moment of hesitation, he yanked a gigantic golden rocket that was far too big for him to have stored logically (though Spyro learned never to question these things when it came to Trigger Happy), and with a flick of the fuse, the rocket was off like, well, a rocket! It screeched as it burned around the battlefield, and tore the robot's bodies from their legs before it slammed a hole right through the wall!

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Trigger Happy squealed as he bounced from foot to foot. "Pow p-p-p-p-p-p-pow!"

A mighty rumble roused from the gaping hole Trigger Happy crafted, and his own laughter and cheers cut short as a bright red laser aimed itself near his feet. He jumped away right as the laser shot, and winced as he glanced back at that gaping hole. It quickly filled itself with larger, bulkier robots who bore the trademark colors and ornamentation of Arkeyan warriors, and they didn't look happy! They flooded out from the hole in bulky squadrons as they withdrew their weapons, and trampled the remains of their robotic allies underfoot as they charged out next!

Whirlwind took back to the skies, and this time, Spyro and Cynder rushed to join her as lightning crackled from her horn. Sparks seared from Cynder's muzzle, and Spyro himself charged his wings with crackling, buzzing lightning as all three of them swept forward and cast a swift, massive storm of lightning forward. The larger robots drew their shields immediately, but the bolts didn't hit them. Rather, the bolts veered down and slammed into the waterlogged corpses of the previous robot fleets! The robots exploded in flaming bursts, and their larger allies fell back as they own bodies burned and sparked!

Whirlwind, Cynder, and Spyro shared cheers of success, but a sudden chill stopped Spyro's rejoicing short.

He turned around right as one bulky Arkeyan warrior went to strike him with its ax, but Terrafin leaped forward and shielded the blow with a rocky formation which burst across his arms. The rocks disappeared as he drew back and a sneer spread across his lips.

"'Ruptor, now!" he shouted!

"On it, Fin!" Eruptor called back!

A flaming ball of magma tore right through the robot's chest, and its sparking, frazzled interior gained a wide enough gap that showed a grinning Eruptor on the other side! He waved goodbye, and scurried away right as Stealth Elf leaped in and tossed a sparkling crimson powder into the robot's exposed insides. The gigantic robot burst into flames as soon as the powder spores hit its sparking wiring!

Spyro turned around and high-tailed it for what looked like the exit while the other robots got up and stood transfixed as their ally burned, and the flapping of wings and pattering of footsteps behind showed that he wasn't the only one. The exit came closer and closer in sight, and Spyro beamed as he swooped forward—but screeched to a halt in midair as a scream sounded from behind. Spyro turned around, and gasped as Eruptor fought the iron grip one particularly bulky robot guard held on his hand!

"INTRUDER CAPTURED," the robot proclaimed as it turned around and dragged Eruptor away. "PREPARE TO JOIN YOUR ALLIES IN MECHANICAL EXECUTION!"

"Execution?" Eruptor gasped. His stomach churned, and he frantically wailed away at the robot with a burning hand that did little to impair his captivity. "What do you mean, execution? There's no way the Skylanders would—"

"DATA RECORDS SHOW THAT A GROUP OF SKYLANDERS, ELDER ELEMENTALS AND FREE MAGICIANS ATTEMPTED TO IMPAIR THE ILLUSTRIOUS EMPEROR-KING ARKILLES'S RECLAMATION OF HIS THRONE. HOWEVER, ALL ACCOUNTS STATE THAT THE ASSAILANTS WERE PERSONALLY EXECUTED BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS EMPEROR-KING ARKILLES HIMSELF AND ONLY A SELECT FEW MANAGED TO ESCAPE."

Spyro's head throbbed and he shook off the pain. "Executed?" Spyro exclaimed. He stepped forward, but his legs shook as he did and he barely managed to stay afoot. "What, there, there's no way—"

But then, a memory hit him. A great battle, all guns blazing, a massive blow, platforms crumbling under his feet, shouts to flee, a flaming blow that engulfed them all… And then, dark silence. Spyro's body locked up on itself save for his trembling legs, and the looks of shock that everyone else around him wielded as they mumbled in denial and faint protest shows that they surely received the same vision.

"NOW, TO CLEANSE THE PALACE OF THE OTHER INTRUDERS."

The robot shifted gears and stomped forward in slow, lumbering movements. Spyro wanted to run, he was to fight, he wanted to do anything other than just stand here! But, the memories all flooded in so quickly, and they were all so great and overwhelming that he could barely even process the world around him. The stench of oil mingled with that of fire and death, and the shouts and cries of battle and fear rang in his ears along with that of the hymns to Arkilles that screeched over the speakers. That robot came closer and closer, and Spyro could only watch.

That is, until the stench of hot magma burned his nostrils enough to shock him into his senses. His vision stabilized right as Eruptor shook himself free of the robot's grasp at last, for the hand it once gripped him with fell to the floor a molten mess.

"Book it!" Eruptor cried.

The others all turned tail and ran, though the exit seemed to grow further and further away with every step they took, or maybe the sudden shock distorted the world around them. But no, Spyro couldn't let this stop him, or stop them all! He, he had to stop Arkilles, or Kaos, or whoever was in control of that body at the moment! He, he had to figure out what really happened to everyone! He, he…

The ground rumbled as the piercing shrill of a laser sounded off behind him, and next thing he knew, the ground below shattered like glass—so it wasn't metal after all. The shock and the blow alike knocked Spyro off his paws and launched him into the air with such speed that he couldn't catch himself. The wind pushed him into the cracked grounds of what was once a pristine glass floor, and the sudden impact and all the glass shards that dug into his scales sapped his energy. Around him, the other Skylanders fell to the ground with thunks, all in similar pain as him.

The robot's footsteps echoed around the chamber as it grabbed a large net from its side panel, and spread it wide and went to toss. Its massive footsteps further cracked the already-shattered floor enough, and it completely gave out! Whether that was another unfortunate happening or a blessing in disguise, Spyro's wasn't sure.

Either way, he and the rest of the Skylanders all plummeted towards the deep abyss below with not a single sign of solid ground. The blood rushed to his dizzy, dizzy head as he fell, and even just keeping his eyes open turned to a struggle. He let out a small, faint groan as his eyes finally closed, and the rest of his body slowly gave out with him.

§

The wind rushed around the Skylanders as they fell into the dark depths below, and their bodies were weak like ragdolls and unable to protest against the forces that pushed them down. It seemed as though they were never going to land, and they would just float or fall forever in the expanding space around them, but finally a hard crunch rang through their bodies as they hit solid ground. Their eyes finally opened to relentless darkness; was this the afterlife? Well, none of them were sure, but after the fall they endured, none of them would be surprised.

Spyro staggered to all fours despite his legs begging to give out on him, and yet, he found the faintest notion of carved tunnels stretching out into the unknown. The others groaned around him or clutched their aching and bruised bodies, but Whirlwind at least managed to get up to all fours, which was more than could be said of the rest. She stumbled over to Spyro with a weary look in her eyes, and the two shared a nod before their view turned to that of the other Skylanders.

Spyro flapped his wings as the rush of life itself coursed in his blood, and Whirlwind's horn flickered in a pastel rainbow of hues. The two launched their spell at once, and it coated the other Skylanders in a rainbow of light before it faded just as quickly. The groaning ceased, and one by one, the other Skylanders stood to their full height and staggered back over to Spyro and Whirlwind. They gathered together, yet, none of them particularly spoke. They all carried a somber look in their eyes as they scratched at their hands or tugged at something or the other, and Spyro knew exactly why.

Now, he remembered. He remembered how they all got here, how everything happened. He saw a visage of Arkilles, large and looming and robotic, right before his eyes, of a massive battle where they launched as one to fight as they always did. Flames crossed metal skin and blows traded across an open armory, Arkilles' wails rang in Spyro's ears, the cries of battle seemed to affirm their victory...

And then, Arkilles struck.

It took one string of laser blasts, and the ancient portal masters were just GONE. Their wheels shattered and their spirits vanished into the thin air. The Elder Elementals screamed as they reached out for their fallen allies, and turned their rage on Arkilles in a single motion. They ran as one, but Arkilles merely blew them away as if they were ants and their bodies scattered. One by one they fell as their massive forms thumped against the ground in a pained, lifeless display.

It was down to the Skylanders and Chihiro, but they all knew they were completely unmatched. Spyro saw the hesitance in Chihiro's eyes as she backed away, and he himself couldn't possibly blame her.

"We need a new plan!" Spyro shouted over the wails of Arkeyan machinery. "Everyone, we—"

But, the ground rumbled, and Arkilles only cackled as he readied some sort of magic blast that was large and bright and blinding like the sun. The screech of its light drowned out Spyro's words, and its massive gold and white took out his eyes next. The magic spread across the land until it whited Arkilles out of view, and it went to fire.

But, a single, shining cyan shield carried the brunt of the attack, and pushed with all its might, against a foe much more mighty than itself, to shield the Skylanders from its attack. The shield cracked and shuddered with every push, and yet, it still stood firm as its caster strained with all her strength just to keep it flickering.

Chihiro gasped for breath, but managed to spare one glance, one last word to the Skylanders.

"RUN!"

The Skylanders backed away, unsure of what to do—they couldn't stay and fight, but there was no way they were going to abandon their portal master, their friend, either!

Spyro stood frozen, and his whole body shut down in fear for what felt like the first time in his life. His body could barely even tremble in fear at the prospects proposed before him—not like he got much chance to, either. The shield finally gave out and the light burst into flames as it flooded through the room, and Chihiro only said three last words to him as the recoil from the shield breaking pushed him, pushed all of them further and further away.

But by then, he couldn't even bear the memories anymore. His stomach churned with anger, grief, guilt, every awful emotion he could possibly think of and more, as his legs gave out and he clutched his muzzle to prevent himself from throwing up. He folded his wings over his body in some faint attempt to hide his pitiful state from the rest of the Skylanders, but he doubt it did him any good. In the midst of his trembling fit, a cool, scaly hand ran down his back, and he peered up to find Gill Grunt offering him a fin. Spyro nodded, and his shaking seemed to quell as Gill Grunt helped him back up. Spyro leaned against Gill Grunt as he examined first the sympathetic looks of the other Skylanders, and then the tunnels that stretched before them when their looks were too much to bear.

"Just where are we, anyways?" Trigger Happy asked.

That was a good question. The tunnels before them all were lengthy and elaborate, but on closer examination, they were hardly natural formations. The carvings barely visible in the darkness seemed to be handmade, and the tunnels themselves were unusually smooth and refined for the kind of stone they were made of. Whether these tunnels were Arkeyan-made or otherwise, however, Spyro didn't know. What he did know, however, was that these tunnels were where he landed, and they seemed to be the only path available.

So, he crafted a stick of wood with a quick channel of the Life Element, and lit it alight with a breath of fire. He held it up with magic, and motioned for the others to follow him before he himself made his way down. They all drew down with footsteps and their faint mumbles and musings as the only sound in an otherwise eerie quiet. There was no scent and barely any sight outside of Spyro's torch, but what little glimpses Spyro did get confirmed this tunnel was definitely crafted by hand. He spied illustrations and markings all along the walls, some warning of guards and others pointing out directions and advising against others.

As he spied one carved sign warning against going straight, Spyro took a detour down the leftmost past, another right turn, a left, an up and a down... Or maybe a down and an up? With how long and winding these tunnels were, it seemed as though they went on forever, or that time itself stopped passing so they could stay in their purgatory forever.

Spyro bit his lip and contemplated his last choice of path as someone talked, except the chatter grew louder by the second.

"Keep it down!" Spyro shouted as he turned to the other Skylanders. "I can't think!"

Spyro stopped as the others all gave him weary, confused glances. They were completely silent for these past few turns! But if they weren't talking, who was?

Spyro's wings twitched as faint silhouettes stretched against the halls ahead—Arkeyans? He braced himself, but all he saw round the corner was a mabu and a gillperson in tattered clothes and deep conversation with each other.

"I'm telling you, Gilly, there's no way there's anyone down," the mabu started as they turned around and locked eyes with Spyro. A shock entered their face, and they practically jumped out of their fur when they saw Spyro. "HERE?"

The mabu dropped the worn lamp they held, blinked for a moment, and completely forgot about it as they rushed up and grabbed Spyro's head. "Wait, you're not robots! You're completely organic!" The mabu gasped in amazement as they jerked Spyro's head this way and that.

Spyro grunted and pulled the mabu's paws from his face. "Yes, one hundred percent not robot, that's us," he spat. "Anyways, who are you two, and what are you doing down here? I can't exactly believe there'd be any organic life down here with all the metal and nuts and bolts up there…"

"It didn't use to be this way," the gillperson who was presumably Gilly scoffed as they retrieved the lantern. "This used to be a pretty nice island—clear lakes, grassy fields, pretty towns, you name it, we had it. But then Kaos or Arkilles or whatever he calls himself took over, and, well." Gilly shone the lantern around the tunnels with a worn sigh. "This is all we've got now."

"Come on, follow me! I can't wait to tell the others what I found!" the mabu cheered, then paused and turned around. "Oh, I'm Cammy, by the way."

Cammy and Gilly moved back down the tunnels, and Spyro shot a wary glance back to the Skylanders. Though these two were strange, they didn't particularly seem harmful, and the nods and shrugs the other Skylanders had seemed to show that they shared in Spyro's opinion. So, Spyro led his group down the corridor with the sound of Cammy's whistling and the visage of Cammy and Gilly's backs as his guide.

After a few more turns, Cammy and Gilly came to a stop at a surprisingly decently-lit area, and Spyro poked his head over their shoulders to get a glimpse of why. In front of them now laid a small group of mabu, elves, kangarats, and a few other beings all dressed in torn clothes. They huddled around a pot not even halfway full with a thin, scentless broth; well, Spyro guessed it was broth based on the pot it came in, but he could hardly tell without anything else. It looked more like dirty water than anything, and Spyro would not have been surprised if drinking that is what they had come to given the run-down state they were all in.

"Gramma Mally, you wouldn't believe what we found!" Cammy squealed with utter delight as they entered the chamber. "More survivors!"

Within the group, an elderly mabu with two children clinging beside her scowled, got up and thwacked Cammy on the head with a cane.

"How's that a good thing?" Gramma Mally barked with a hoarse voice. "More survivors means mouths to feed, and we can barely feed ourselves as is! Unless you can find a new source of food after those dern Arkeyans mechanized all the fields and rivers—"

"But, Gramma Mally, if there's more survivors, then—"

"I don' wanna hear it, child! We don't have a chance if we don't have fields to grow food or water to drink!"

"Wait, back up a little," Cynder said as she flew in and frowned. "Mechanized? Like, made them all robotic?"

"How does that make any sense?" Stealth Elf piped up as she crossed her arms. "With everything being robotic, how would they expect anything that isn't robotic to thrive?"

"They don't," Gramma Mally hissed. She took a seat as her joints creaked, and her hands trembled when she clung to the cane.

"The Arkeyans took everything for their robots, even the living. They turned our fields and towns into factories, our water supplies into Quicksilver reserves, they even tossed every person they could into their machines and made 'em the batteries for their soldiers! Oh, those scoundrels… Nobody is safe! No man, woman, person, no child or adult is spared! They took everyone from our village, they took the beings from every village they've conquered, they even took the Skylanders!"

A sharp gasp came from Cynder and Stealth Elf, who exchanged glances before Cynder bolted forward.

"They, they took the Skylanders?"

"Where have you been all this time? The Skylanders were the first ones to fall!" Grandma Mally outstretched her trembling, bone-thin fingers. "Hex, Camo, Flameslinger, even their buddies like that balloonist or the adventurer lady! They all came in swingin', but the Arkeyans made short work of 'em regardless. And without the Skylanders…"

Cynder and Stealth Elf's faces fell. So the Arkeyans got the rest of the Skylanders, too! Not only was getting help out of the question, but on top of that…

"But that's not true, Gramma!" Cammy protested before they chuckled and twiddled their fingers. "Well, not entirely! Don't you remember the legend?"

"That legend's a bunch'a hogwash!" Gilly spat as they jabbed Cammy in the arm. "Beings just tell themselves that so they don't feel so sad that they curl up and die!"

Spyro tapped Cammy on the should. "What legend?"

Cammy whipped around the moment Spyro finished and their eyes beamed with hope. "There's a legend that some of the Skylanders managed to escape getting caught, and one day, they're gonna come back and save us all from the Arkeyans! And when that happens, we'll all able to have our old lives back!"

Gramma Mally only spat aside. "Phooey. That's just some tall tale."

Spyro drew back in pause, but Trigger Happy immediately leaped past him with the wide smile he usually had.

"Well, you better start believing in tall tales then!" Trigger Happy proclaimed. "Cause we're—"

Spyro gasped and instinctively slapped his paw over Trigger Happy's mouth, and pulled Trigger Happy back as he muffled protests from behind Spyro's grip. The others gave Spyro a range of confused to judging looks, and Spyro only wearily smiled in exchange.

"Can my friend and I be excused for a moment?" Spyro asked, and flew off before he could get an answer.

Spyro flew only a few paces before Trigger Happy licked his paw, and sent him into enough shock that he dropped Trigger Happy. The moment he did, Trigger Happy gave him the most judgmental glare Spyro saw from him.

"Spy, was what that for?" Trigger Happy demanded. "Didn't you see them? They need the Skylanders' help!"

"I know, but—"

"Yeah, I'm with Trigger Happy on this one," Cynder scolded as she followed Spyro down the tunnels with the other Skylanders in close pursuit, and crossed her front legs. "Spyro, what's gotten into you? You're normally the first to lead the charge, and you'd never shy away when it comes to protecting others. Why are you hesitating?"

"I, I—"

The judgmental looks of the other Skylanders burned a hole in Spyro's already worn heart, and he only winced and held his head in shame. They were right in that he would normally never shy away, but…

"I can't. I just can't give them false hope." Spyro slunk down and turned away. That looming feeling of despair cascaded over him, and the shaking came next as his eyes stung. "All our friends are dead or living batteries for Kaos's cronies, we're completely outnumbered, and with how much they doubted it, I doubt they would believe us anyways. I, I want to help them, but I just…" Spyro slunk down to his belly as tears streamed down his cheeks. "I don't know what to do."

Cynder drew back, and the harsh look in her icy blue eyes turned sullen while Trigger Happy's ears flopped down as he sat beside Spyro. Though they hated to admit it, Spyro knew they agreed with him—they were completely outclassed and outmatched by Arkilles or Kaos or whoever it was's sheer power and armies, and barely even managed to escape with their lives! On top of that, they couldn't even save the friends they cared about most.

"Hey, Fin," Eruptor whimpered as he nuzzled Terrafin's arm. "What do you think happened to Slam?"

Terrafin's jaw clenched, and he turned away with a look of worry in his eyes. Surely they both knew the answer, but neither of them wanted to say it aloud—perhaps out of a faint hope that they were wrong? Beside them, Cynder plucked at her bracelets as her teeth unsheathed and ground against each other in frustration, and once again everyone fell into low spirits.

It seemed like all of them fell into the mourning of before, and Spyro couldn't blame them. The memory of his failure replayed over and over in his mind, and all he could think about was Chihiro. Her smile as she faced her own death, how she went to protect them all at the very last moment, those last words she said to him…

"I love you."

His, his partner, was dead, and all he could do was stand and stare. He, he could've saved her, he could've stayed with her, he could've done anything but let the blow take her away! The memories of her death choked him, they snared him in their vines and poisoned him with all the reminders of what he lost because of his own incompetence. He remembered the missions together, the nights they spent laughing over nothing, the lowest and highest moments they shared… Gods, he couldn't breathe anymore! The whole thing suffocated him in reminders of everything he failed to protect.

Spyro's chest tightened up, and he bolted off before anyone could see him cry. He couldn't let them see him like this, no, he didn't get the right to have sympathy! Hot tears streaked down his face as the memories stabbed his head until his legs finally gave out from how shaken he was as a whole. The beings he swore to protect, his friends, his partner… They were all gone, and all he could do was run away like he did then!

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I know you don't know what to do," resounded a familiar, kind voice, "but I do."

Spyro wiped his tears and just faintly lifted his head, and Gill Grunt smiled back down at him. Gill Grunt took a seat and gently stroked Spyro's back.

"Our friends wouldn't want us to give up and give in, you know. After all, we're Skylanders! We promised we'd always protect Skylands even when the odds were against us, and we're not gonna break that promise now." Gill Grunt forced a weak, weary smile, as if he wasn't entirely sure if he should say these next words but finally relented. "And I'm sure she would've told you the same."

Spyro blinked, and the tears seemed to dry somewhat, but something in him still wasn't entirely convinced. "But, where do we even start?"

That was all he could manage to say, but it seemed to convey his fears well enough.

"Even I'm not entirely sure, lil' buddy, but we'll find a way. We'll stop Kaos, or that ancient Arkeyan king guy, or whoever's in Baldy's body right now, and we'll save everyone! After all, we've been in situations like this plenty of times before, and we've gotten out of them no matter what!" Gill Grunt gently wiped tears that Spyro hadn't even noticed fell, and finally managed a genuine smile. "And we'll make sure our friends get their justice."

Spyro wasn't entirely sure that he believed Gill Grunt at first, but then he saw Chihiro's dying smile one last time and he warily stood up. He, he was sure Chihiro would've told him the same thing, that they weren't going to give up no matter what, that they would fight to stop Kaos no matter what! So, Spyro lifted himself back to stand, turned to Gill Grunt, and nodded even though he shook so badly he could barely stand.

"Let's go back, Gill," Spyro proclaimed. "They need the Skylanders' help."

"Now that's the Spyro I know!" Trigger Happy cheered as he bounced from side to side.

He rushed up with the rest of the Skylanders, and their own spirits seemed to lift at the sight of Spyro's renewed spirits. Terrafin nodded in affirmation as he punched his fists together, and the other Skylanders cheered in agreement. It finally felt like there was a spark of hope for the first time since they woke up in this strange place, even though they'd lost so much and Spyro still wasn't even entirely certain how they ended up in this situation in the first place. But now, they had an evil portal master to stop and a world to save!

So, they stormed back into the chamber where the survivors all mumbled over their cauldron of barely-flavored soup. All eyes turned to Spyro as he entered, and shivers ran down Spyro's spine for a moment, but he shook it off and puffed out his chest. These beings needed a hero, and he had to be that for them.

"Sorry for the outburst back there," Spyro said, before he cleared his threat. "What my friend meant to say is that the legend's true! We're the Skylanders who managed to escape from that battle, and we're going to stop Kaos!"

A few bowls of soup dropped to the floor, and the survivors all mumbled and spat among themselves.

"Wait, so the legend's true?"

"There's no way! These guys must've just hit their heads or something!"

"I don't know, they look kind of familiar…"

A kangarat in the crowd hummed for a moment, pulled out a book, and flipped it open. It took them a bit to skim it over, but when they did, they gasped and held it up for all to see.

"Everyone, it's true! Look, they look just like the Skylanders in this book!" the kangarat proclaimed.

All eyes turned to the kangarat and their book, and back to the Skylanders in swift motion. All their disbelieving and believing chatter alike died as the proof presented itself before them, and now they just stood in silence, unsure of what to say or do next. Good thing Spyro knew what he was gonna do!

"That's right, and we're gonna stop Kaos! We're going to get these Arkeyans out of here and get your home back to normal!" Spyro proclaimed.

Spyro expected a bit of shock or hopeful chatter, but what he didn't expect after that moment of silence was utter laughter! Gramma Mally clutched her thin sides as she nearly rolled off of the worn rock bench she sat on, and the others joined her.

"Stop Kaos? There's barely enough of you to stop an Arkeyan platoon!" one survivor jeered from the crowd.

"Hey, don't underestimate us!" Trigger Happy spat. He whipped out his guns and spun then around, all while a smile formed on his face. "There might not be a lot of us, but we can take down Kaos's cronies like they're old metal!"

"And besides, I'm not gonna sit around while Kaos's stomping around on my home turf!" Terrafin spat as he cracked his knuckles. "Makes my blood boil just thinkin' about it."

"Exactly!" Spyro affirmed. He turned to the crowds and flashed a smile. "Even if we can't do anything, we have to at least try! As Skylanders, it's our duty to protect Skylands no matter what! This is our home, and we're not just gonna stand by and let Kaos do what he wants with it! Who's with me?"

The small speech stunned the survivors in silence, and finally the kangarat with the book leaped from their seat and raised a hand. "I am!" The kangarat proclaimed. "I don't wanna live in a dirty tunnel for the rest of my life! I want my home back, no matter what!"

"Same here! Those Arkeyans took everything from me, and I'm not gonna let them take anything else!"

Rousing cries of agreement rose among the survivors, and even the early dissenters now nodded their heads in agreement or raised their voices to cry out their wishes of the Arkeyans' fall.

"But what are we gonna do?" asked one of the mabu children. "Those Arkeyans are so big and scary!"

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Spyro frowned and drummed his claws against his chin, for he honestly wasn't sure himself. For how gung-ho he was moments ago, he wasn't entirely sure of the full situation here, and they needed to find out where Kaos even was in the first place. A few mumbles sounded as they all tried to piece things together, and as they did, a string of beeps rang in the air. At first Spyro thought he might've been hearing things, but the kangarat blinked and pulled out a crude communications device with a gasp.

"I don't believe it, we have an in!" The kangarat cried.

"Wait, what?" Cammy gasped. "An in to where?"

"ARKUS!" The kangarat waved their device in the air for all to see. "The king's apparently hosting a banquet to celebrate the death of the last Skylanders, and every single Arkeyan stronghold is delivering resources!"

Death? Spyro had to assume it was referring to when they fell down to the underground. To be fair, not many could survive a fall like that.

"If we can just sneak onto one of those shipments, we can get right to there and mess up their plans! I don't know how—"

"Then we'll come up with a plan!" Spyro proclaimed as he motioned everyone together for a huddle and glanced at the kangarat. "Now, tell me what you know about Arkus…"

§

"So, are you sure this is going to work?" Cammy asked as they lifted up the helmet of their makeshift suit of Arkeyan armor.

"It," Spyro started, but hesitated.

He had to admit, digging out a bunch of old, dismantled Arkeyan armor and cobbling it together in haphazard disguises sounded like a good plan in theory, but he wasn't entirely sure he could make this work with how run-down these were. Trigger Happy and that kangarat, who Spyro since learned was named Aldrich, polished them up to the best of their ability, but…

Spyro shook his head. "No, it will. It has to."

Spyro's solemn tone seemed to convince Cammy enough, so they stayed quiet as their little group—themself, the Skylanders, Aldrich, and even Gilly, surprisingly enough—passed through the shiny halls of the Arkeyan stronghold. The floor that the Skylanders fell through were completely repaired to the point where one couldn't even tell it was broken in the first place. Either these Arkeyans worked quick, or Spyro was down there a lot longer than he realized. He frowned and mused on this for a moment as a throng of Arkeyans in chef's clothes passed him by—wait, Arkeyans?

He immediately pressed himself to the wall and made his most guardlike stance, as did the others. Spyro's muscles tensed as the Arkeyans gave him a glance, he in turn gave them a solemn, slight nod, and the Arkeyans saluted him and went back on their merry way.

"Phew, so these disguises do work," Spyro sighed as the Arkeyans rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

"See, I told you they would!" Trigger Happy chirped with a thumbs up. "I'm a master of disguise, after all!"

Stealth Elf gave him a glare like she was seemingly going to disagree, but instead she merely motioned and crept forward. Spyro recognized the hand signals she rapidly tossed—"the coast is clear, follow me,"—and crept down her path in a vaguely robotic fashion, while the entire group shadowed Spyro in turn.

As it turned out, they all shadowed another group of Arkeyans in chef attire to a massive storage hangar. There, several gigantic Arkeyan copters as big as the buildings in Ancient's Peak sat shiny, and unused, and just waiting to be filled and launched off.

"This is the place, according to my graph," Aldrich whispered as they held up a worn map and scanned the area. "Now, where's the ship we have to take…"

"YOU. GROUP 2.5!" barked a robot rushing in front of them. "DESIGNATION SHIP 8.21, DESTINATION ARKUS. BOARD IMMEDIATELY!"

Well, that answered that question. Aldrich hastily stuffed the map away as they all trailed down the hangar, and their footsteps reverberated around the massive walls as they walked and glazed over the numbered plates until Ship 8.21 landed in their view. Its gigantic blue and gold metal body shimmered like a star, and its door stretched open as it begged for new passengers. On the pathway, meanwhile, a large throng of Arkeyans crowded around as they pushed and shoved their way onto the ship.

Spyro and his group bled into the crowd of Arkeyan warriors, musicians, artists, and more who charged onto the ship, and in seconds they all boarded and the door shut tight. Spyro himself took a seat as the spotlights flickered on above him, and revealed a stark, barren inside crowded with so many Arkeyans that he could barely spot his own allies amid the endless seas of red, gold, blue, and silver metals. The whole room shuddered as the copter lifted off, and Spyro clung to the helmet masking his true face as the flight began, just in case. The other Arkeyans stayed firmly planted in their spots and stagnant like statues as the copter rushed at lightspeed; the copter veered and twisted all along the way, but they not once nudged from their spots. On the other paw, a few of the other Skylanders clung to what they could just to keep their footing and disguises.

Hopefully nobody will notice that, Spyro winced.

A thunk came from the side, and he nearly tumbled over his own paws if not for his tail instinctively wrapping around a nearby metal bar. The Arkeyans' heads craned around and turned all eyes on him, and Spyro's heart stopped for a moment as he ran through the best battle strategies for something like this—burn them to a crisp? Mow them down with a charge? Soak their circuits? A string of beeps sounded above him as the copter lost altitude, and the Arkeyans turned their attention to the front instead as the copter parked with a shrill hiss. The Arkeyans marched off the platform in batches as the door opened, and Spyro breathed a faint sigh of relief. Close one.

"Come on," Stealth Elf whispered as she sneaked up beside him, "we've got no time to lose."

Spyro's group mimicked the similar robotic marching formations of the robots as they stormed out of the copter and into the realms of Arkus. As they left, Spyro himself gasped and stumbled back.

This place was so huge and ornate, and barely akin to the illustrations of Arkus he'd seen in history books at the library! Shining blue and gold round pillars sprung up from the watery depths below and bustled with life as Arkeyans carted all sorts of decorations and party food to and fro in massive carts on paths illuminated by glowing amber lanterns, waterfalls poured from massive tunnels and presumably supplemented the below ocean, while statues made from marbles and metals unseen in Skylands for generations all bore… Ugh… Arkilles's face. Not just those, either—paintings of Arkilles hung from every pillar and wall, and if not paintings, glass chandeliers, light shows and more showed him off. Even the loudspeakers sung the praises of Arkilles in hymns with words long lost to the sands of time. Though the oil stench of the area before was gone, this place still reeked!

"So this is Arkus," Cammy gasped as they stumbled forward. "I knew it was big and fancy, but I never thought it was THIS big and fancy!"

Cammy said the words they all surely thought, yet Spyro couldn't quite share in their amazement, not when the sight of Arkeyans only reminded him of all the pain they caused Skylands. The pain throbbed, but stopped as a group of worn-down robots stumbled in the Arkeyans' former place as they left.

Spyro had to wonder what the dissonance here was as more of those worn-down robots from before stumbled across a platform and tripped over their own feet. He glanced over at the robots, frowned at their crude-oil stench and even cruder design, but his eyes narrowed as he spotted a familiar collection of triangles and circles engraved on the robots' back.

"YOU, STATE YOUR DESIGNATION AND BUSINESS!"

The clunky-looking robots stumbled back to their feet and scampered away as a taller, and much more imposing, robot clothed in heavily-decorated red and gold armor thrust a spear at Spyro's neck.

Spyro just faintly gulped underneath his armor. "WE ARE PARTY 2.5," Spyro shouted in his most robotic-sounding voice. "WE ARE HERE TO MEET WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS EMPEROR-KING ARKILLES—" he gagged a little internally as the words left his mouth "—TO DISCUSS DETAILS REGARDING THE CEREMONY."

The robot stood silent for a moment, and Spyro half-considered just sneaking out right then and there—but the robot scanned him over in the blink of an eye before he even got the chance! Red lights flashed in the robot's eyes, and its stature turned a bit more tense. Spyro wasn't entirely sure what it had scanned out of him, but it definitely wasn't good.

"MY DATABANKS DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR MAKE AND MODEL. IN ADDITION, THERE IS NO SUCH APPOINTMENT ARRANGED WITH THE ILLUSTRIOUS EMPEROR-KING ARKILLES IN THE GREAT THRONE ROOM."

Crap! Spyro's fangs ground together, and his wings flattened to his back to hide any trace of organicness. "I-I AM CERTAIN THAT THERE WAS TO BE AN APPOINTMENT WITH OUR GROUP. PERHAPS YOUR DATABANKS ARE ERRONEOUS?"

"NEGATIVE. MY DATABANKS ARE THE MOST UP-TO-DATE ON EVERY APPOINTMENT, CEREMONY, AND HAIR-STYLING ARRANGEMENT THAT EMPEROR-KING ARKILLES MAY HAVE."

"Are you sure about that?" Trigger Happy frantically asked as he scurried in. Trigger Happy cleared his throat and froze into a rigid salute when the robot seemed to give him a weird look. "I MEAN, SIR, EVEN THE BEST ROBOTS HAVE THEIR FAILINGS! PERHAPS YOUR DATABASES ARE NOT SUPER UP TO DATE?"

The robot went silent once more—as did Spyro's heart for a second—and it froze into a rigid, T-shaped stance as a string of lights flashed across its eyes.

"Downloading… Downloading…" droned a robotic voice quite unlike the robot's own booming one. This voice was soft and pleasant, and spoke in a tired tone as the lights continued to bounce and the robot froze still. "Downloading… Downloading…"

Spyro's wings tensed as the robot stood frozen, and his eyes crept behind the robot to find Stealth Elf slinking her way through the crowds. She traipsed in a robotic manner while her sharp white eyes glared like spotlights around the area, just to make sure she hadn't been spotted by any unwanted viewers. With the coast clear, she withdrew something shiny and round from underneath her armor and sash, tossed it in the air…

And a corrosive, rusty brown mist hit the winds! The mist seeped into the robot's body, and those of the robots surrounded as well, as a corrosive rust coated their bodies and ate away at their metal before they could even blink! For most, their limbs crumbled away like crumbling cakes as they screamed with distorted voiceboxes and tried to flee before the mist could take them, but some just shuddered and exploded into fiery piles of scrap! The sirens wailed, but not for long, as the mist chomped away at their circuitry and blew them up with the rest.

"That robot said Arkilles is in the throne room!" Spyro shouted as he rushed up to Stealth Elf. "Come on!"

Sprinklers rained like a shower over the area and dulled the mist, but left just enough of a haze that the Skylanders could take cover. Spyro's wings finally flared as he flew off and led the others to safety. As he did, the mist around him cleared, and he found…

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Cammy, Aldrich and Gilly lingered behind as they scooped up the guns, swords, and other weaponry the Arkeyans left behind in their dying moments, and fitted them tight as their eyes fell on the Arkeyan soldiers who stormed up the way in alarm. By all accounts it would have been best to run, but instead, they took up the arms and shot away! Despite the wear on the gun Aldrich snatched up, it mowed down the frontline of soldiers as if they were little more than grass, and Cammy and Gilly followed suit as they stormed forward and slashed the next batch of Arkeyan soldiers in half.

"Don't worry about us!" Aldrich cried as they yanked their head around for just a moment. "You need to stop Arkilles!"

Spyro flared his wings, and fire gathered in his throat as he stormed forward. He was not going to abandon his allies, not after everything that just happened, not after he failed the rest of them! He prepared to sweep forward and burn the Arkeyans to a crisp, but he found the barrel of Aldrich's gun pointed straight at his face before he could take flight.

"I said go! We'll handle it here!" Aldrich insisted. "If you don't, then I'll make you—"

An ax wedged itself into Aldrich's shoulder, and they wailed in pain as they fell to the ground. Their teeth ground together as they rolled around and shot the Arkeyan who sliced them dead-center in the chest, and with that, they collapsed and gasped for air as they twitched. They frantically gripped for the ax and yanked it out with a scream…

But before Spyro could intervene, they only glared at him and regained their gun. "GO!" they screamed with what little strength they could manage. "The rest of them, will be here, soon!"

As much as Spyro wanted to protest, the sound of marching echoed through the halls and proved that the reinforcements would, indeed, be here shortly. Spyro clenched his teeth, and the vague memories of that failed battle against Arkilles, of the loss of Chihiro, of his failure to protect everyone rang again. He didn't want to leave, but, there was no way they would be able to take all these!

His legs locked up, and his eyes locked on the battlefield next. Well, not that he could see much anyways. The fighting seriously kicked up, and all parties moved so fast that Spyro could barely keep focus. A scream sounded, a familiar one at that, and he glanced to the left where smoke curled towards the ceiling as Cammy stumbled back and clutched their shoulder!

That was it; Spyro couldn't stand here and watch anymore! He snarled and flared his wings as the fire bubbled and grew in his throat with such fury that it burned against his scales, and his trembling body seemed to silence itself long enough for him to stumble forward. He yanked his jaw open and prepared a blast—but, as he opened fire, that shaking, panicked feeling rattled his entire body and all that came out was a few embers. Spyro blinked, scratched at his throat as he tried so hard to get the flames to come back, to get SOMETHING to burst out! The world shook and shuddered underneath and around him as it slipped into a bleary haze of reds and golds, blues and silvers. Surely, the Arkeyans were closing in! He had to do something, quickly, he couldn't just stand around and panic! He, he had to—

SHING!

A large anchor mowed down the Arkeyans where they stood, and a cool, but shaky fin grabbed Spyro's shoulder.

"Come on, Spy!" Gill Grunt cried as he yanked Spyro off his paws. "We've gotta get outta here!"

Spyro shook his head and cleared his vision right as Gill Grunt pushed him towards a massive, gaping tunnel in the earth (well, what did he know, there was solid ground down there after all). He dove in without a second thought, but that probably wasn't the best idea as it led him into a rocky, bumpy tumble down the tunnel's paths. The stones smashed against his scales as his rocky trip finally came to a stop, and his legs shuddered as he pushed himself up.

The tunnel itself was dark as night, so Spyro cast out a sphere of dim light to act as a lamp. His eyes narrowed while he weighed whether or not it would be worth it to try and make it brighter. Another rumble came from behind him, but that was probably the other Skylanders coming, so it wasn't of any concern to Spyro. He couldn't alert the guards, but—

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

So much for not alerting the guards. Spyro grimaced and turned around as some bulky-looking Arkeyans tailed it into the tunnel with them and stepped back.

This tunnel doesn't look too stable, he thought as the earth above him crumbled, but maybe, if I could just—

A fine mist wafted through the air and engulfed Spyro as he thought, and everyone around save for the guards themselves turned completely invisible—Spyro included! He glanced down at his now lack of form, and back up at the guards who stopped in their tracks. A small tap on the shoulder caught his attention, and he turned around as footsteps imprinted in the ground.

"This way!" Stealth Elf hissed. "The invisibility powder won't last forever!"

Spyro nodded and ran off, but the sound of revving wheels tracked him down as he did. The sound grew louder and louder behind him as they joined with that of firing lasers. Spyro turned around and ducked as a laser shot right between his horns and singed his crest!

"HEAT SIGNATURES DETECTED!" wailed the Arkeyans as they revved around the corner. "INTRUDER ALERT!"

The earth rumbled around Spyro as he skidded to a stop and dug his claws into the ground. He prepared to fire off a few rocky blasts—but as he fired, a gaggle of ghosts swarmed forward and cackled with glee as they circled around the Arkeyans! The Arkeyans turned their attention to the ghosts as they prepared to fire, and the ghosts just cackled and fled right out of the tunnel!

Spyro didn't wait to run, and the pounding of footsteps around him showed the others felt the same. So, they ran through twisted corridors and crumbling tunnels, across near-identical stretches of metal and dirt, through deep, blanketing darkness… And then, light?

"Wait, I think I see something over there!"

Light sparkled from the end of the tunnel, and Spyro only barely glimpsed it as he raced through and popped out onto cool metal flooring. He splattered across the floor as its slick surface released his footing, and his legs ached as he pushed himself up and looked around. All around him stood intricate halls of blue and gold ornamental walls and endless mechanical shelves filled with all sorts of scrolls, tomes and other written works. Had he perhaps ended up in a library?

Spyro glanced ahead, and paused only for a moment as he caught a glimpse of his paws underneath him. "Good timing," he whispered, "seems like the invisibility powder finally wore off." Spyro raised his voice, and turned to the rest of the Skylanders as they scrambled out of the tunnel next. "Everyone, look around! There's gotta be something here that can help us."

The others dispersed across the room as they tore through piles of dusty scrolls and lengthy stone tablets almost as big as they were, and Spyro followed suit. He turned his attention to a basket filled with short stone tablets, and lifted one up to find carvings that, though eroded somewhat by age, were clearly in ancient Common. He wasn't extremely versed in the older versions of the language, admittedly, but he was well-versed just enough to make out what it said.

"'Daily record number sixteen, today's shipments were as follows,'" Spyro mumbled as he scanned over the tablet, sighed, and placed it back in the basket. "Seems like that's just minor records."

Spyro turned around and reached for another tablet. "Let's see. 'To my most secret records, day sixteen of my conquest is going well. The mechanizing efforts have not only stripped away any resource those pitiful commoners could have used to stop me, but also had the unintended benefit of bolstering the kingdom as well! Those commoners are too simple-minded to understand the benefits of the resources their islands provided, but I, the illustrious…'"

That was most like Arkilles' journal, and just reading the words left Spyro sick to his stomach. He intended to put the tablet away, but flung it so that it shattered into a million little clay pieces at his paws. Spyro winced, and instead turned his attention to a basket of scrolls and spread open one.

"'The Illustrious Emperor-King Arkilles has requested every spellbook containing spells regarding the banishment of ghosts from the Royal Archives today, and rescinded this request about five point five seconds later. He has also requested that we craft a wig of the finest materials to cover his new body's disgustingly bald head, but the request was also rescinded shortly afterwards. The court mages fear possession of the underwordly kind, and have called a meeting to...'"

"Spy, over here!"

Spyro perked up and turned around as Gill Grunt waved over for a moment, but only for a moment as Gill Grunt disappeared down a darker corridor of the library shortly after. Spyro's heart beat a bit faster, and he dove in after Gill Grunt with only the sound of Gill Grunt's webbed footsteps as his guide. The sound left his ears, so Spyro channeled the warmth of light and sent a spell to illuminate the room.

And what greeted him but Gill Grunt proudly standing in front of a gigantic map? The diagrams were dotted with small scribbles as they depicted a giant maze of corridors and tunnels and halls, but the gigantic Common writing at the top was easy enough to understand.

"Arkus!" Spyro cried. "This is a map to Arkus!"

"So that's what that said," Eruptor remarked as he rounded the corner and tapped part of the map. "Think you can read the rest of this? 'Cause I can't make out a single word."

Spyro swooped down to where Eruptor stood, and nudged him aside just a bit to get a closer look. Like the tablets and scrolls, the runes on the map had faded some with age, and Spyro had to amplify the light just to get a good look. Once he did, a grin spread across his face.

"This isn't just any old map to Arkus!" Spyro proclaimed. "This is the map to the inner workings of the throne room!"

The sight of some good news at last overtook Spyro with joy, and he couldn't help but yank the map right off of where it hung! It cascaded over Eruptor and Gill Grunt like a tarp, but Spyro hardly noticed as he scanned it over. Its cloth laid limp in his paws with a sort of firmness a bit unnatural for something so old, but he pushed it aside—well, it was probably made to last.

"This map says that from here, we can get to the power core that powers the whole city! If we can disable it, then we can knock out the whole city's security! It'll be completely defenseless!" Spyro's eyes shone as he turned to the others. "Come on, guys—" and stopped as he caught Gill Grunt and Eruptor trying to shuffle their way through the map's blanket "—oh, sorry."

The rush of magic flooded through his veins as Spyro cast a shrink spell on the map, and the map in turn complied and folded itself in until it was no more than a packet in his front paws. With Gill Grunt and Eruptor freed, the three of them wandered back out to where the others still stored through scrolls and maps and crumbling stone tablets, and the site of them brought everyone to a halt.

Spyro flew out and beamed as he unfolded the map. "Everyone, we've got our map and a way to bring the whole city to its knees!" Spyro shouted. He beamed even wider as everyone smiled and rejoiced in turn, and turned back down to the map. "Now, the map says here that from this library, there's a shortcut to the power core's room. But, where is it?"

A click resonated through the room, and Spyro lifted his head right as Cynder stepped away from a large switch previously hidden by a near mountain-high stack of scrolls. A door unveiled itself before his eyes and Spyro swept in without hesitation.

"Everyone, follow me!"

The tunnel itself was just as dark and winding as the other, but at least it felt more stable compared to the last one. The sound of footsteps underneath him rang of metal rather than dirt, and he made out the familiar designs of Arkeyan architecture in the halls around with a quick cast of a light. No other sounds rang other than their own, and the dust that gathered seemed to suggest nobody had thought to use these halls for quite a while.

"Finally, it's all gonna work out!" Spyro proclaimed. "Once we get this generator turned off, these Arkeyans might as well be sitting ducks!"

"I'm not so sure about that," Cynder remarked as she flew up to Spyro's side. "Something about this feels wrong. I don't know why, but I just don't trust this."

Spyro frowned and peered back down at the map. While he did think it was a little strange that a map this old was in such good condition still, Spyro was in no position to question anything; none of them were. With them being in such a hopeless position, anything was a blessing.

The light started to flicker on ahead, so Spyro flew off and found himself in the power source's room at last! Though coated in dust from ceiling to floor, the room itself seemed impeccably well-kept otherwise, and not to mention empty. The only thing there was a gigantic generator that glimmered with malice as electricity coursed up and down the tubes at its top, and the various buttons and switches at its panel flickered like stars in the night.

"Here it is! I'll get the generator!" Spyro shouted as he flew off.

"I don't know, Spyro, this doesn't feel right!" Cynder shouted, though her shouts grew weaker as Spyro grew distant. "This place seems way too abandoned for something as important..."

Cynder's words disappeared as Spyro flew over to the panels and examined them. There were so many things to switch and press that it almost made his head spin, and unfortunately, there were no instructions to be found. But, there did lay a big red button to the side; no, too obvious, that was probably for security. So, Spyro tapped a small blue button to the side instead and flicked a few switches. The power dimmed with a slow growl, and the lights in turn dimmed with it as the whole room turned cold and dark. Did it work? A mighty thunk sounded, and the power rushed back on to show that no, it did not.

All eyes turned to the center of the room, where two robots—a bulky, bipedal one with four arms and a quadrupedal one that vaguely resembled a dragon—now stood. Their armor was blue and silver with sleek, black, glass plates where their faces were, and both stood like they meant trouble.

"Well, look what we have here," the four-armed robot remarked as its cracked its knuckles. "Uninvited guests."

"Luckily, it's our job to take care of you!" the dragon robot, which had a much higher voice, sneered. "And not in a host's sense."

"And what do you think you're gonna do?" Terrafin sneered back as he cracked his knuckles. "There's only two of you!"

"Yeah! We can take these guys no problem!" Trigger Happy giggled as he spun his guns.

The four-armed robot laughed. "Oh, there's only two of us, true," it remarked, "but, we also have plenty of backup."

The room shook around them all, and the walls flung open as cannons, and electricity-powered tendrils, and all sorts of other security measures popped out! They were all shiny and new, odd for a room so abandoned and dull, and they definitely meant business. They crowded around the two robots the way soldiers would their leader, and they completely blocked off the rest of the room.

"I'm gonna need a bigger gun," Trigger Happy winced.

Terrafin, never one to back down, flung himself towards the four-armed robot, and Eruptor and Cynder quickly followed suit—Eruptor took Terrafin's side while Cynder dove towards the dragon robot.

"You guys take the extra security!" Terrafin shouted. "We'll handle these guys!"

Spyro grimaced as he looked back to where the others sparred with robots and the other security measures alike, and his wings flapped. He moved away, but Gill Grunt glared back at him as he shielded a blow from a sparking tendril with his harpoon cannon.

"Don't worry about us, Spy!" Gill Grunt shouted as he thrust off the tendril and shot it down. "Just work on that power source!"

So, Spyro warily nodded, and turned his attention back to the panels as he worked on pressing buttons and flipping switches.

§

While Spyro worked, the fights raged on! Terrafin grunted as he traded fisticuffs with the four-armed robot he fought, but blow after blow, jab after jab, everything matched with surprising precision! As the four-armed robot blocked his last blow, Terrafin jumped back and panted.

Eruptor took this as his cue and jumped in with a lob of lava, but the four-armed robot only flicked its wrist. A blast of hard, icy wind slammed into the lava and froze it to solid rock! Eruptor gasped as the rocky blow collapsed right before his eyes, and he himself collapsed next as the icy wind smacked him straight in the gut! Eruptor gasped for air as he fell to the ground and Terrafin jumped in his place.

Terrafin started with a left hook that the four-armed robot met with a similar blow, a second hook and a jab, but the four-armed robot once again blocked. So, Terrafin swung all-in and thrust both fists, and the four-armed robot threw up all four in turn—but instead of going for the chest, Terrafin leaned down and headbutted it straight in the gut! The four-armed robot creaked as it fell to the floor, but only chuckled as it pushed itself back up.

"Weird," Terrafin panted as the four-armed robot greeted him once more. "This feels almost like when I was sparring with Slam..."

He bit his lip as the memories seemed to floor back, and shuddered as an icy chill frosted over the floor. A thin sheet of ice formed over the four-armed robot next, and it swung forward to throw a punch. The punch seemed like it would connect, but Terrafin dove into the metal floors and tore them straight open! The ground quaked and trembled underfoot as Terrafin zipped from place to place, and the quakes tossed the four-armed robot straight into the air! Terrafin leaped up and socked it once more while it struggled to regain its footing, and this time, the four-armed robot slammed right into some cannons that unfolded from the walls!

The cannons flew off their hinges, slammed into the dragon robot Cynder fought with, and pushed it right out the way of her latest lightning blast! It groaned as it dented the wall, but popped out quickly and matched her next blow with a blast of crackling purple fire. The flames and lightning burst into sparks, and the dragon robot scurried back as more crackling flames burst from its maw. Cynder winced and disappeared into the shadows as the dragon robot stopped for a moment and let the flames build. It tracked a particularly janky, thin trail of shadow, and shot its burst of fire right then and there! Cynder screamed out as she leaped from the shadows, but cast the flames away with a quick flick of her wings and jumped back in! This time, her shadows darted straight towards the dragon robot...

"Making this easy for me, are you?" the dragon robot asked as it charged another flaming blast.

"No way!" Cynder shouted.

A gigantic skull leaped out from the shadows as they merged with the dragon robot's own and slammed it right back into the wall! A creak sounded as the dragon robot's armor cracked, and Cynder returned to her normal form as she readied a lightning blow. A shot sounded behind her, and she dove back into the shadows as a harpoon lodged into the wall above.

"Gill Grunt!" Cynder hissed as she popped her head out of the shadows. "Watch where you're shooting!"

"Sorry, Cynder!" Gill Grunt shouted back as he blasted cannon after cannon away with watery blows. "These cannons are getting a little too feisty for my liking!"

Cynder snarled and turned her attention to the dragon robot while Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf and Whirlwind tore down the rest of the cannons. Except, the dragon robot wasn't there! It disappeared from its spot, so she crept out of the shadows—and promptly yowled as the dragon robot tackled her back into the wall. She grunted as the blow set in, but not just for her.

The dragon robot's armor cracked further, as did its glass face. Parts of its helmet shattered off, and revealed scales... Reptilian scales paired with dull silvery horns. Familiar ones, so familiar that Cynder completely froze.

"Dark, Spyro?" Cynder gasped.

The dragon robot drew back and shuddered as stood back to all fours, while its cracked facial plating finally shattered and fell to its paws. Now, in its place was what was definitely Dark Spyro's face, but, something was wrong. Terribly wrong. His scales worn to a paling gray rather than their onyx color, and tubes dug into just about every part of his face. His eyes were bloodshot and worn with pain, but he could not rest; every time they drooped down, they jolted open as if shocked with energy, or perhaps the robotic prison that kept Dark Spyro restrained refused to let him rest.

"That is the name of this machine's battery, yes," Dark Spyro said, or was it the machine? The voice filter broke, and it now spoke in some warped distortion of Dark's voice.

Cynder stepped back, and her teeth unsheathed themselves and ground together as she glanced over the dragon robot, or Dark, or whoever was in control right now. The dragon robot moved with an assassin's grace, but with its face unveiled, all she saw was the pain in Dark Spyro's face as the robot puppeteered his twisted, weak body for its own ends. Dark grunted as he bore another shot of pain, and by then, Cynder lost control! She screamed as she flung herself at Dark, dug her claws into the robotic armor that covered him still, and slashed and tore at the metal.

"Give! Him! Back!" Cynder screeched, and her voice straining herself as she slashed. "Give! Dark! Back!"

Yet, her cries and shouts did no more damage than the faint scratches she left on the dragon robot's armor. The dragon robot forced Dark alert once more, and it tossed Cynder right off of its body and hard onto the floor with a blast of solid magic. Cynder heaved as she tried to stand back up, but the blast or the revelation did enough of a number to keep her back down.

Terrafin and Eruptor, meanwhile, took one harrowed glance at the scene before them, and then back at the robot they now faced.

"Why are you so hesitant?" The four-armed robot asked in its chilling, smooth voice. "Do you doubt your power after that display?"

No, they didn't, but the worry and shock in both their eyes showed that they had concerns of a different manner. Terrafin's teeth slashed and ground against each other with the same rage his fists trembled with. Beside him, Eruptor stepped back and bit his lip, as if he didn't want to know the truth he would get if he spoke, but finally he managed two words.

"Slam Bam?" Eruptor croaked.

The four-armed robot's facial plating sparked with surprise for a moment, but it regained its cold composure. "Yes, I suppose that was once my designation." It punched its fists together, and a solid coat of ice covered its armor to form a secondary layer of protection. "But, it of no matter now."

The four-armed robot fell to all fours and barreled across the floor with such speed that it punched Terrafin and Eruptor out in an instant! The two hit the floor in a coughing fit, but Terrafin immediately sprung up and tried to punch back. His fist flew towards the four-armed robot's face, and in an action completely uncharacteristic for him, he stopped short. His eyes widened and sweat crept down his brow as the four-armed robot paused, but double-socked Terrafin in the chest!

Terrafin fell back to the floor in a pained coughing fit. "Yeah, only, only Slam could throw a punch like that," Terrafin spat out in-between coughing fits as he clutched his gut.

The four-armed robot bellowed with laughter above them, and Terrafin growled as he staggered back to his full height.

"Give him back!" Terrafin spat. "Give, give Zemu back!"

Terrafin plunged forward, grabbed the four-armed robot by two of its shoulders, and growled as the four-armed robot yanked him with its free arms. It seemed as if it was going to strike as it wound the lower two arms up, but a sizzling sound entered the air and something red and magmalike pulled it back! Eruptor grunted as he pulled the four-armed robot's lower arms back.

Despite the loss of mobility, it laughed nonetheless!

"I am afraid I cannot do that. Zemu, or Slam Bam as he was known as during his years of heroics, is now little more than a dead man walking. Being used as my battery is the one thing keeping him going, and were you to defeat me, he would surely die with me."

Eruptor and Terrafin fell limp and breathless at the words. The four-armed robot yanked their arms in their moment of shock, and with a single spin, slammed them both into each other and knocked them across the hall! They slammed into the side of the wall with a firm thud and collapsed in a pile soon after, yet both struggled to push themselves back up. The four-armed robot stormed after them and battered them down, punch after icy punch, and neither party fought back. The black eyes and bruises accumulated on Terrafin's body with the same speed as the cracks in Eruptor's stony skin, but the life seemingly drained from them. They only laid limp as the four-armed robot formed an icy spear and prepared to deliver the killing blow...

That never came.

The power flickered, and the lights in the four-armed robot's armor faded as well while its icy armor and spear melted away. Instead, all that laid was the original four-armed robot frozen in position as it grunted and strained in some attempt to fight.

"I got the generator!" Spyro shouted as he swooped back out. "I—wait, what's going on?"

Terrafin flung himself back off the floor and pinned the four-armed robot down, and his strength returned as he tore at its metal casing. His claws cracked as he tore through metal sheet after metal sheet, wire and plug after wire and plug, until the metallic carnage piled around him. The armor peeled off under the weight of his blows, while Terrafin himself laid so focused that he didn't even notice the dragon robot creeping up on him.

Luckily, Cynder did. She tore across the room, pinned the dragon robot to the floor, and the casing broke away with a single, hard zap to the cracks in its armor! The dragon robot laid vulnerable, and Cynder grabbed it by its neck, dragged it to to where Terrafin laid, and join him in tearing the armor away.

"Wait, wait! Didn't you hear that robot guy?" Eruptor demanded as he yanked his head back and forth. "If, if you beat them up, they might, they might die!"

But, Eruptor's cried went unheard as Terrafin finally yanked off the chest armor—too both their horrors, Slam Bam did, indeed, lay inside. His skin turned cracked, and such a dull shade of blue that it was now nearly gray. What little remained of his fur thinned out to wispy strands just like how the rest of his once-toned body turned thin and weak. The light nearly left his eyes, and yet, he still managed to smile. Was this how beings reacted when they knew they were going to die?

"I, I knew you two would come back," Slam Bam croaked, "I knew you wouldn't leave me alone when I went."

"Ze, Zemu, don't talk like that!" Terrafin shouted. The sweat sped down his brow as he lifted Slam Bam's body into his arms, and his claws crawled around the wiring plugged into Slam Bam's body. "We, I'll get you out of here, I'll get this shit out of you, just, just don't talk like that!"

Eruptor winced and reached out a hand, but a sharp glare from Terrafin forced him back.

"Don't touch him!" Terrafin snapped. "The last thing he needs is something burning..."

The sound of Slam Bam's coughing pulled Terrafin out of his angered fit, and he immediately held Slam Bam closer.

"Hey, hey, don't fight like that," Slam Bam coughed out. "You, you're only gonna have each other soon, and I, I don't want you to hate each other. I, I couldn't die in peace if you did."

As he heard that, Terrafin fell to sputtering and confused mumbles, as did Eruptor. The three shuffled close, and Slam Bam managed just enough strength to push himself up and leave Terrafin with one last, feeble kiss. He barely held it, and yet Terrafin himself barely held back tears of rage, or grief, or whatever emotion he felt, as Eruptor wrapped himself tightly around Terrafin. Slam Bam motioned for him to come closer, so Eruptor leaned in and shared another kiss with him as well, one similarly weak and short.

"I'm, glad I got to see you one last time."

"Zemu, please," Eruptor croaked as pebbles popped down from his eyes and onto the ground, "please, please, don't go yet, we'll, we'll find something!"

"GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, DARK!"

Cynder's sharp, shrill scream brought all eyes to her as she shook the robot casing that held Dark Spyro, and yet, Dark didn't share in her rage. He only managed a meager chuckle, and tried to force a smile.

"Y'know, of all the ways I thought I'd go, powering a robot wasn't one of 'em," Dark chirped. Though his voice was so, so weak, he still carried his trademark smile. "But, hey, you never know—"

"Damn it, Dark, quit joking about this! This isn't the time!" Cynder croaked. "We need to get you out of here, or—"

"Hey, I was supposed to go a long time ago." Dark winced as his eyes forced themselves shut, and his whole body limped in Cynder's grip. "But, don't be too sad for me, Cyn. I made a lotta mistakes, and I guess this was my way of paying for them, but of all those, meeting you wasn't one of them."

Dark sniffled, and what seemed like tears started to drip down. Surely he was so scared, given that he was dying so young, and yet he kept it together.

"Cynder, thanks for believing in me. Don't, don't hate yourself too much because of me, alright?"

Dark's voice strained, and Cynder gasped as she held him close.

"Spyro! Spyro!" Cynder shrieked. "Come on, you've got Life magic, right? Isn't there something you can do?"

Spyro gasped and his eyes flickered green. "I, I don't know, but I can try—"

But it was too late. Dark breathed his last, and his body laid cold within the suit of armor that was his prison. Beside him, Slam Bam's arm fell as he tried to caress Terrafin and Eruptor one last time, and his eyes shut for the last time. There was no doubt about it—there was nothing they could do.

Cynder's breathing strained as her eyes fell on Dark's dying face, so peaceful as the tears he shed shimmered like jewels in the faint night. Her eyes shrank, her wings trembled, and she only gently laid Dark down on the floor. All laid quiet for a moment, and Cynder screamed and shot out a massive thunderbolt that singed the walls beside her!

Eruptor buried his sobbing face in his hands, though the pebbles he shed piled at his knees nonetheless, and Terrafin only lowered his head as he trudged over to where Dark Spyro's body laid. He was so gentle, so strangely tender as he laid Slam Bam's body down beside Dark and gently placed his four arms over his chest. With his love laid to rest, Terrafin snarled as he trudged over to the console...

And screamed as he slashed it wide open!

"I'LL KILL THEM!" Terrafin screamed at the top of his lungs as he slashed and punched away the console. "I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL RIP ALL THOSE DAMN ROBOTS APART MYSELF IF I HAVE TO!"

Despite the chills that their screaming sent down everyone's spines, nobody could be bothered to retort against Terrafin and Cynder's expressions of rage. Instead, what remained of the team gathered around Slam Bam and Dark Spyro's lifeless corpses all as the realization set in. If they were this close to death, surely there was no hope for the rest of their friends. All of them were cosigned to the same fate of living batteries for Arkeyan soldiers, and if their fallen allies' state was of any indication, there was no hope to save them as well.

Spyro, any one of them really, surely wanted to say something, ANYTHING, that would bring them back to their normal disposition. But for once, they couldn't think of anything, and neither could anybody else around. It truly did feel hopeless, and there was nothing they could do but sit in somber vigil. Not one word was spoken, for everyone only sat with the bodies of their fallen comrades. Some bit back tears while other stewed in rage as they clutched whatever they could to keep from flying into an angered fit.

The sound of rapid, pounding footsteps sounded beside him, and Spyro yanked his head around to catch Terrafin and Cynder as they stormed out with some kind of urgency. "Wait, what are you two doing?" Spyro sputtered.

"We're taking them down!" Terrafin shouted. "They killed our partners, and we're killing them!"

"All of them?" Stealth Elf shouted. She whipped her head around and stormed off after them. "There's way too many! You'll get killed!"

"I don't care!" Cynder shouted back with such venom that static crackled around her jaw. "I'm getting them back for what they did to Dark even if it kills me!"

The two ran off after that, and Spyro winced as he sped after them.

"Wait, I know you're upset right now, but we need to think this through!" Spyro shouted. Surely he hated having to play the rational leader in a situation like that, but it seemed he did not have much of a choice. "If we rush into this, you'll just get yourselves killed like they were!"

"Yeah, listen to Spyro!" Gill Grunt shouted as he hastily started his jetpack and followed after. "We can't just take on an entire army when we can barely even fight!"

But, neither Terrafin or Cynder listened. They stormed forwar, and slammed the doors open as their whole group poured out, and what immediately greeted them was the electrical sparks of Arkeyan sparkplugs! Arkeyan soldiers of all shapes and sizes surrounded them in such a thick, tight crowd that there was no possible method for escape.

"It seems the plan worked!" remarked an Arkeyan soldier at the head of the group. "That fake map caught the intruders right where we wanted them!"

Terrafin sharply inhaled and screamed as he went to throw a punch, but the robot only stabbed him in the chest with its sparkplug. His scream of rage turned to that of pain as the electricity filled him, and a moment later, he collapsed and heaved heavy breaths as the sparks danced around his body. He tried to push himself up, but only fell back down and gasped in pain.

Cynder snarled and took to the skies and turned her attention to the Arkeyan choppers that flew above them. She readied a lightning blast of her own, but squawked in alarm as one of the choppers shot a net that pinned her to the ground! She snarled and thrashed against the net, but one nasty volt and she was down just like Terrafin was.

Spyro winced as the Arkeyan soldiers closed in, and only hung his head. He didn't even have to say any words—they all knew they lost.

§

Spyro couldn't even bring himself to lift his head as the Arkeyan soldier led him across the throne room's halls; he latched onto the red satin carpets below his paws instead, but lifted his head slightly. All around him stood Arkeyan soldier after Arkeyan soldier, all in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some vaguely resembled mabu and gillpeople, others elves and humans... Were they all Skylandians transformed into vessels of Arkeyan war too, he wondered? Whatever the thought, he couldn't bear it, and the shudders and weary looks from the other Skylanders showed they shared his sentiment.

The robot guards who lead them ahead came to a pause, and parted in duos that lead up to one last trio of robots with frames that vaguely resembled that of a mabu, a gillperson, and a kangarat. Wait, it couldn't have been! Spyro's heart fell to his stomach as the three robots all parted to show a throne as tall as the largest tower. There, none other than a giant, red and gold robot Spyro recognized as the Arkeyan king sat with the Iron Fist of Arkus gleaming as it made up the robot's left hand.

"It's you, isn't it?" Gill Grunt spat with a burning rage. "You're that Arkeyan emperor who took everything from us!"

"Why did you do it? What made you use them like you did?" Whirlwind demanded.

"Silence!" the robot bellowed! It lifted itself from its throne for a moment, and when the cries silenced, it sat back down. "That would be Emperor-King Arkilles to you worms. You ought to remember that, as you are in no position to make any more missteps~"

The smug tone of Arkilles' words churned Spyro's stomach, and Spyro himself swept forward.

"They're right! Why did you do it?" Spyro demanded. "Why did you mechanize Skylands? Why did you make everyone into your soldiers? Why did you ruin Skylands like you did?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?"

Those words sent chills down Spyro's spine, and Arkilles must have noticed how he froze, for he laughed in Spyro's face.

"First, I had to break the spirit of that pesky little man whose body I used, so what better than to wipe out the very land he wanted to conquer and make it mine? And obviously, the Arkeyan Empire needed its revival as well! As for your little friends, at first I considered doing away with them like I did those pesky mages and Lesser Elementals, but, then I realized my army needs more soldiers! What better way to break the spirits of the land's people than by turning their symbols of hope against them? So instead, I used a special Arkeyan technique to make them the living batteries to my strongest soldiers! It was perhaps the most genius thing I thought of!"

Arkilles broke into another round of sickening cackles, and as his laughter settled, he rested his head on the Iron Fist.

"But now that I have the ultimate last of the Skylanders at my disposal, I'm not sure what to do with them!" Arkilles remarked. "I could kill you, but wouldn't it be FAR more poetic to make you into my robotic servants as well? After all, quashing the last of Skylands' hopes by making its last shot at resistance into the heads of my army would be delicious!"

"I'd never serve you!" Spyro screamed as he stormed forward. "Not after what you did to my friends, not after what you did to Skylands—" Spyro shuddered, and his whole body flared with a shaking sort of rage "—not after what you did to Chihiro!"

Spyro snapped his wings wide out, and a pulse of magic so great that it echoed along the room burst out! The chains that kept the Skylanders bound shattered all at once, and the sheer force knocked most of the guards off the bridge!

Arkilles jumped out of his throne, but quickly seated himself and iron-gripped it instead. "Guards! Quickly!" he cried. "Deal with these pests!"

The guards stormed in, but they blew back into the depths of the halls with a combined blow of lava, fire, lightning, and even golden coins alike! The ground rumbled, and the Skylanders all turned to find that Arkilles abandoned his throne and tossed it down into the abyss in the process! He stormed towards the hallways that stretched beyond the now-open path and shook the entire thing as well!

"After him!" Spyro shouted as he ran along the paths.

Spikes jutted out along the pathway as they ran down the crumbling bridge, and Spyro winced as the others' screams echoed behind him. He jumped to the skies as he dashed behind, caught Trigger Happy on his back, and grabbed Gill Grunt by the straps of his jetpack. The weight ached a little to carry, but he quickly swept out with them in tow, and the flapping of wings behind him showed he wasn't alone. Spyro yanked his head around in fear, but breathed a sigh of relief as he found that it was only Cynder and Whirlwind with Terrafin, Eruptor and Stealth Elf in their grip.

"The bridge is in sight!" Whirlwind shouted as she stormed ahead. "Quickly, before it crumbles!"

Crumbles? Spyro glanced ahead to find that sure enough, the bridge amassed so many cracks and fissures that it was more those than solid ground! It crumbled away like sand in the water's wake with every second they took to fly, and the entire bridge shattered as they made their landing.

Stealth Elf leaped off of Whirlwind back with a flip, and her form dissipated into that of a giant, green tiger's! She yanked the others off the ground with her jaw, and growled as she bolted forward. Everyone else clung tightly to her fur as they tried not to glance at the crumbling bridge behind them, though, the roars and cracks that the bridge let off as it collapsed didn't make that easy. Stealth Elf snarled and leaped as the last of the bridge crumbled underneath her, and her claws dug into what remained of the bridge as she pulled herself up. The others screamed behind her, and with another snarl, she swung around the bridge and flipped herself back on! She reverted back to her normal, elven form and panted as everyone flew onto the bridge with her, but quickly caught her breath as Spyro pushed herself up.

"Thanks, Stealth," Spyro panted.

"Tiger powers," Stealth Elf panted back. "Haven't failed me yet."

"Are you sure about that?"

Arkilles crooned as they glanced up, and with a single swing, he slammed the Iron Fist onto the bridge! The bridge crumbled in an instant, and once again they went falling, falling, falling as the world around them grew dizzy.

"See, Skylands was always destined to fall to my hands!"

Spyro snarled as Arkilles' words rang in his head. He wanted to protest, but he could barely catch the air he needed to fly. He, he couldn't lose, but, all he could do was fall, fall as he remembered the Skylands he called home, the friends he lost...

The partner who gave it all to save him.

Spyro's eyes snapped open. "What am I thinking?" he demanded of himself. "We're not giving up, Arkilles!"

"Yeah!" Trigger Happy shouted. "We've faced bigger problems than you, and we're not stopping at this one!"

"After all, Skylanders never give up!" Gill Grunt affirmed. "And after all you did to our friends, to Skylands..."

"WE'RE NOT GONNA LET YOU WIN!"

That rallying cry was just the wake-up call the Skylanders all needed! Trigger Happy flung one of his giant guns backwards as he pulled the trigger, and Gill Grunt did the same with his jetpack. A strong breeze kicked up behind them next, and with one combined blast, the Skylanders flew right onto the last stable part of the bridge!

They grabbed their footing quite quickly, and Arkilles snarled.

"Why won't you pests just die already?" Arkilles demanded. "Do your Illustrious Emperor-King a favor and perish!"

The white lights of Arkilles' eyes charged up and burned into the ground as shining lasers, and the ground team completely scrambled! Spyro, Whirlwind, and Cynder all took to the air as the rest of the Skylanders kept Arkilles occupied, and the lasers lit up and burned away Arkilles' face with a few shots of lightning and fire towards his eyes' plating!

"Ack, hot, hot!" Arkilles wailed as he slapped away the flames.

"Everyone, go for the hinges! Those are the weak points!" Spyro shouted as he dove towards Arkilles' elbow.

He fired off a white-hot flame, and beamed as it melted away Arkilles' arm! A massive explosion sounded off while smoke pooled from the other arm, and Spyro peered up and smiled as Cynder and Whirlwind emerged from the lightning-sparked blast.

"Hey, stop that! Those are my arms, you imbeciles!" Arkilles wailed. The flames finally extinguished, but left his face a melted, disfigured mess—quite befitting of his current enraged state. "Stop it!"

He flung what remained of his disjointed arms, but Spyro, Cynder and Whirlwind all flew out of his way! A massive golden blast smashed into his chest as he attempted another swing, and it followed with streams of scalding water, burning magma, and even a few sharks! Down below, the other Skylanders all laughed as they blasted down Arkilles, yet Arkilles himself found little humor in it.

"FINE, IF YOU WON'T STOP, I'LL MAKE YOU!"

Arkilles slammed down the Iron Fist once more, and out from its glowing core emerged a massive rainbow glow as it washed over them! The ground team's attention turned from Arkilles to the rainbow as it poured over and disappeared just as quickly.

Spyro winced, swooped down and fired away blast after blast of fire, magic, water, ANYTHING he could scrounge up to get these things out of the way! His vision glowed and blurred as his blasts started to slow. His body ached, but, he couldn't give in now! He had to get to Arkilles! He tried to fire another flaming blast, but as the glow left him, all he could manage were a few sparks.

Beside him, Gill Grunt groaned and fell to his knees, and Cynder winced and trembled as she tried to shoot out lightning, but only managed a puff of smoke. Spyro groaned and looked up to where that glow flashed, and only watched as that massive, rainbow shine poured into Arkilles' robotic body!

"Oh, a free magician's body has so many uses!" Arkilles chimed as the light faded. "Being able to take away my enemy's powers is so convenient—" Arkilles sneered and looked down at where the others all collapsed "—and seeing them in such a weak state is so pleasing to the eyes."

Spyro groaned, but his strength left him at last, and he could only collapse with the others. Arkilles's laughter rang in his ears, and he couldn't even bring himself to frown.

"Well, then," Arkilles bellowed as he rested the Iron Fist under his chin, "any last words?"

"You're a coward!" Spyro spat back. "You're nothing more than a coward!"

"What Spyro said!" Terrafin shouted in turn. "You act like you're so tough, but all you're doing here is sittin' around on your shiny little throne and lettin' your minions do the work for you! People like you are pathetic!"

The other Skylanders all shouted in agreement, and Spyro honestly expected Arkilles to fly into a rage. But, Arkilles only laughed! He laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach and keeled over, and stood with a smirk.

"Oh, I know," Arkilles crooned.

He balled the Iron Fist into a proper fist and sent it swinging down while Spyro snarled and waited for the blow. It came closer, closer, and, it stopped entirely just inches away from where the Skylanders stood! Spyro stood back and wondered if he should try and run, but the way the Iron Fist shuddered cast doubt onto whether he should. It trembled like it wanted to move, yet it stood perfectly sound.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" shrieked a familiar, screechy voice Spyro never knew he'd be relieved to hear. "THE SKYLANDERS ARE MY ARCH-ENEMIES, NOT YOURS! I SHOULD BE THE ONE TO BRING ABOUT THEIR ULTIMATE DOOM!"

Spyro scurried out from under the Iron Fist's shadow and found that Arkilles' body froze in place. The head jerked back and forth as its eyes flashed between white and red, and the body itself shifted as if it wasn't sure which form to take. Could that mean that Kaos took back control?

"Excuse you, this is MY empire! I thought I got rid of your pathetic little soul ages ago!" Arkilles exclaimed as the robot's eyes flashed white once more. "Why are you taking my moment of glory from me?"

"THIS IS MY MOMENT OF GLORY!" Kaos screamed. The robot's head jerked forward, and its eyes turned red once again. "YOU'RE THE ONE INHABITING MY BODY! YOU USED MY ARMIES TO CONQUER SKYLANDS! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY PLAN! MY EMPIRE OF ULTIMATE DOOM! YOU HARDLY GET ANY OF THE CREDIT!"

Spyro laughed, not out of amusement, but out of sheer disbelief. In a shocking turn of events, his worst enemy saved his life!

"I can't believe it," Gill Grunt gasped as he stumbled out, "it's Kaos!"

"And more importantly, he's got Arkilles distracted!" Whirlwind cried as she flew out. "Come on, now's our chance! We need to do something!"

"But what?" Cynder spat out. "Without our powers, there isn't a whole lot we can do about—" Cynder gestured over to the gigantic robot bearing the Iron Fist that was Arkilles "—that!"

Spyro frowned, and glanced over to the side where a Conquertron lumbered over as an idea glinted in his eyes.

"I have a plan!" Spyro cried as he flew over to the others. "See that Conquertron over there? Whirlwind, Cynder and I will fly over to it while he's distracted and take control, and then—"

"GIVE ME BACK MY BODY, YOU FOOLISH GHOST!"

The giant robot's fist slammed into the platform, and it completely crumbled away! The ground slipped out from under Spyro's paws before he knew it, and one by one, they all collapsed as the winds pushed them down. The bridge they once stood on fell into the abyss and disappeared in the twinkling of sparkling blue light...

And then, Spyro remembered that none of this was real—it was just a test.

A bright, searing light came over the room until it was engulfed in white, white so harsh and burning that Spyro shut his eyes to keep them from burning as well. When the pain seceded, he opened them, and once again he found himself in the Oracle's room. He cast out a bit of fire in shock, but breathed a sigh of relief when he found that his powers returned.

"Spyro, lil' buddy! You're alright!" Flynn shouted as he and Cali stumbled forward. A look of genuine shock rested on his face—for a moment, it seemed that Flynn's ever-confident facade had fallen. "It almost looked like you were a goner!"

"That would not have happened," the Oracle said.

Spyro's eyes met where the Oracle hovered, and he found that priest along with the Elder Elementals and the ancient portal masters crowded around him. Guess they finished their trial first? Well, whatever, they weren't his main concern right now—the Oracle was.

"Just what was that trial?" Spyro demanded in a fury he didn't even realize he had. "What was the reason for all that?"

"Yeah!" Terrafin spat. "Making us think we lost? That everyone we cared about was dead? What the hell kinda trial is that?"

Cynder fired up a lightning blast, and Eruptor similarly pounded his hands together while the other four back away in stunned silence. And then, all the Skylanders backed off as the Oracle laughed in their faces with no sort of concern. The attacks went down, and the Oracle floated near them.

"I recognize it may have been a bit harsh, but I can assure you that the knowledge you accumulated during this trial will be of great use to you in the future," the Oracle said. "Fret not, for your allies are all alive and well. I will show you."

The Oracle swiped the air with a tendril and screens popped back up. One screen reflected Ancient's Peak in its hustle and bustle, while others reflected a few missions the other Skylanders just finished, or Hugo stringing up a corkboard about the latest sheep conspiracy while Dark Spyro gently placed a lamb on his desk and flew away cackling. It seemed the Oracle was right, for they were all alive and well.

Terrafin clenched his fist as he watched one screen of Slam Bam offering snowcones to some beach-going mabu as storm clouds above cleared up. He glanced back at Eruptor who clung close to him, and next towards the Oracle with a scowl.

"Still, I'm calling foul," Terrafin insisted as he crossed his arms. "That was messed up!"

The others mumbled in agreement, but something still pulled at Spyro's chest. So, he flew out of the group until he was eye-level with the Oracle.

"Did we fail?" Spyro asked.

"There was no possibility for failure, for this is not that kind of trial," the Oracle said with a shake of his body. "Moreso, this is meant to arm you with the knowledge you need for your future mission."

"And how's that supposed to make any sense?" Whirlwind asked as she folded her wings against her back.

"Well, you passed with flying colors if it concerns you so much."

The others huffed and moved away. Some stood shaken with rage, others shaken by what they just witnessed, but Spyro stayed firm. He glanced over the screens in worry, and he turned back to the Oracle when nothing showed him what he wanted.

"Where's Chihiro?" Spyro asked. "Is she alright?"

"She is perfectly fine." The Oracle smiled and crafted another screen. "In fact, she is about to begin her own trial as well."

The screen formed at last, all bright and wide and the perfect view of Chihiro! Like the Oracle said, she was perfectly fine with no injuries or anything, and seemed kind of confused as she watched and walked through a room of endless dark.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called as she craned her head around.

§

"Hello? Hello?" Chihiro called as she walked through the void-like hallways. "Anybody home?"

No response still. Chihiro frowned and crossed her arms as she came to a stop. What kind of trial was this supposed to be? All she saw on the way in was endless light and endless darkness which didn't exactly give her any clues. So, she walked. And walked. And walked. But still, there was nothing but endless voidlands and… Crying?

Chihiro raised a brow. She wasn't hearing things—somebody was definitely crying ahead. So, she ran a little faster as the crying grew louder and louder with every step she tookm until the faint form of a small person came into view! It flickered for a moment like some kind of ghost or hologram, but when Chihiro rubbed her eyes, it looked perfectly normal! She came to a stop, and the person stopped crying as well.

The person was actually a kid, and a bit younger than Mamoru by the looks of it. They were kind of scraggly-looking with pale skin, a broad nose, silver eyes, and messy blue hair that poked out from underneath the cracked, dull blue viking helmet they wore. The light blue, long-sleeved shirt and blue trousers they wore both seemed way too big for them and eclipsed their small frame, but their white shoes seemed to fit. It seemed like they wore a necklace of some kind too, for she could faintly spy a string around their neck, but she couldn't tell just what it was and didn't get a good look either way as the kid leaped up.

"Who, who are you?" they squeaked out. "You're—"

"The better question, who are you?" Chihiro asked as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "I can't imagine there's anywhere here where someone would live. More importantly—" Chihiro knelt down a little to meet the kid's height and wiped their tears "—are you alright? It sounded like you were crying."

The kid sniffled and wiped their nose with their sleeve. "Well, my name's Varonis," Varonis said as they glanced back into the void. "I was supposed to take these trials, but, well, i, i—" Varonis sniffled and slunk down again "it's too scary! It's all dark and lonely here and I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and, and…"

Varonis? That name sounded vaguely familiar, but Chihiro could barely remember where she heard it before in the haze of everyone that happened at the moment. Something came over Chihiro, and she immediately dropped down and hugged Varonis close—not that they complained, as they just hugged her right back and cried into her shoulder. Poor kid, they were scared out of their wits! Not to mention, it seemed like they were taking the trial as well, and that gave Chihiro an idea.

"Name's Chihiro. You know, I'm taking a trial too, and if we're together, I bet we're probably taking the same one!" Chihiro said. She let go of Varonis and stood up as she offered them a hand. "So why don't we take it together? It'll be way less scary with someone else by your side! Heck, it might even be fun!"

Chihiro wasn't sure if Varonis was convinced with the way they stared, but they warily nodded and took her by the hand. So, they walked in the void together, hand in hand as Chihiro hummed a tune and swung their hands in some faint hope of easing Varonis's fears. Thankfully it seemed to work, as they slowly joined her in humming along even though they didn't know the tune at all, and soon the empty void felt a little less empty as they sang and swung their hands. Warmth bubbled in the room around, and even in the lights above…

"Wait, light! There's something up ahead!" Chihiro cried. She raced forward for a moment, but a scream from behind reminded her that Varonis still clung tight to her hand, so she chuckled and slowed down. "Sorry."

Varonis let go of her hand as they approached the source of the light, which turned out to be a simple, bronze speaker with a glowing button on its top. The speaker stood between two doors in ornate sapphire and gold carving, both identical in nature save for the signs on their fronts—the left door had a picture of a spider on it, and the right had a chompy.

"Is this part of the trial?" Varonis asked seemingly for them both.

Chihiro shrugged, wandered up to the speaker, and gently tapped its side. Static burst out from the speaker at a surprising volume, enough that Chihiro flinched and held her ears, but quickly let them go as a voice—a familiar one—crackled over the speaker.

"Hello, Chihiro and Varonis," the Oracle said over the speaker. "Welcome to the first trial. Beyond these doors lies a set of obstacles and enemies you must face, and you must defeat them and reach the end to pass."

"Wait, so it's just an obstacle course?" Varonis asked. A smile stretched across their face as they puffed out their chest with a surprising amount of confidence. "That'll be easy! I've done tons of obstacles courses with my brothers!"

Chihiro had to chuckle at the sight of the kid who sobbed in fear just moments earlier now acting so confident, and the Oracle joined in her laughter.

"I would not be so overconfident if I were you, as I have not even finished." The Oracle cleared his throat, and the doors glistened like the light atop the speaker. "To proceed, you must pick the door that represents which of the two you fear more. Spiders, or chompies? The answer lies within your heart."

Varonis seemed to flinch a little as the static died, but, maybe Chihiro imagined it. She frowned and rubbed her hand on her chin as she glanced over the doors. Spiders or chompies, huh?

"Well, I used to be really scared of spiders," Chihiro mused.

"Yeah, spiders are super scary," Varonis began as they went for the spider door, but quickly stopped themself, "but, but chompies are way scarier!" They rushed away from the spider door and grunted as they fruitlessly pulled on the chompy door. "So, so, we should do the chompy door instead!"

Why'd they change their mind? Chihiro thought but quickly shrugged. "Well, sounds good to me."

So, Chihiro joined Varonis in pulling open the door, but nope, it was not going to budge. She frowned and let it go, pressed her side against the door, and pushed it open! They both lost their balance in that moment and collapsed on soft, fluffy grass! Wait, grass?

Chihiro shook her head as squealing and squalling rang in her ears, and looked up to find herself in what she could only describe as the most beautiful forest she had ever seen! The emerald green leaves of the trees shone in the sun while the colorful flowers that lined the forest floor in batches twirled with glee, and the trees themselves stretched out to form a canopy of shadow. The breeze was sweet and mingled well with the sun, and birdsong rang over the sound of chompies' squeals!

Right, there were chompies running around everywhere in all shapes, and sizes, and species Chihiro had ever seen, and even a few she hadn't! There were chompies sleeping in the trees' branches, chompies running around in the fields and falling flat on their faces, and even a few eating the flowers! She was sure she could throw a rock and it would probably hit a chompy wherever it landed! (Not that she'd want to, because dealing with angry chompies is a pain in the butt.)

Varonis giggled. "Look at all those chompies!" Varonis chirped as they pointed ahead to where a string of chompies wandered in a row. "They look so silly waddling around like that!"

The chompies perked up at Varonis's laughter, and it only grew and grew as the chompies circled around them both. But, Chihiro did not find things quite as funny—in fact, she was sure something was up with these chompies! They bore their pearly whites and snarled, and their silly chirps and squeals turned to angered growls. The more Varonis laughed, the angrier the chompies seemed to get!

"Varonis," Chihiro urged as she gently shook their shoulder, "Varonis, I think you're just making them mad! Stop laughing!"

"Huh?" Varonis broke from their laughing spiel and turned to Chihiro. "What are you—"

Varonis squealed and hid behind Chihiro as the chompies all leaped for them, and Chihiro leaped straight into the fray! She whipped out one of her swords in an instant and sliced a row in half, but the noises attracted more chompies who quickly filled their slots! She heaved heavy breathes as she cut chompy after chompy, severed teeth and eyestalks from their leafy bodies. Pained, scared squeals caught her ear, and she zipped to a stop!

She turned to her side and found that Varonis decided to mimic her. A crude magic sword laid in their hands as they took wide swings and leaped forward, but they couldn't connect a single blow! The chompies swarmed around them and they screamed as their sword vanished into thin air!

"Varonis!"

Chihiro leaped in and grabbed them right before the chompies struck, and a magic burst from her tossed them all away! Chihiro kicked her heels and sped off like a cheetah as the chompies slammed into ground and tree alike, sped so fast that the world around her and Varonis blurred. Despite the running, the sound of squealing chompies still rang completely clear to her ears!

"They're following us!" Varonis cried.

"Not for long!"

Chihiro kicked her heels, and the magic trail she left behind exploded in a cyan and purple fury! The fires nearly eclipsed the forest itself as they burned, but left just as quickly as they came with only singed chompy corpses and raw, burnt earth as a reminder of their presence. With the chompies gone, Chihiro smiled and admired her handiwork, but beside her, Varonis sniffled and looked away the moment they caught sight of the chompy corpses, as if they felt guilty. Dang it, now there was a pit in her stomach, too.

Chihiro drew Varonis close and let them sniffle in her shoulder a little bit more, but the sound of pounding and growling tossed them out of their feelings—literally! Something slapped into the ground, and next thing she knew, both of them were in the air! Chihiro screamed and glanced down as the sound of screeching chompies came from down below, and found a gigantic chompy with jaws yanked open as it hurtled for them! Varonis screamed, and Chihiro immediately teleported towards them, grabbed them, and teleported into the tree branches!

The leaves rustled, and the branch bent a bit as they took their seats, but the chompy collapsed and snarled as it ran away. Chihiro tensed, and her grip was hard like iron as it clutched the tree branch. When the chompy passed them by, however, she loosened up and frowned.

"Alright, we're gonna need to wipe out those chompies if we wanna make it out of this trial in one piece, but how?" Chihiro mused as she kicked her legs. "There's so many of them, and individual fighting's getting us nowhere. If I could find like, a chompy pod breeding ground or something and wipe that out, that should knock them down a bit..."

"I don't know," Varonis mumbled as they kicked their legs, "I don't wanna hurt them."

Huh? Why were they upset about them getting hurt if they were so scared of chompies?

"Varonis, what's going on?" Chihiro tilted her head. "You told me you were scared of chompies, but you don't seem all that afraid."

Varonis gulped, and sweat crept down their brow as they avoided Chihiro's gaze. "Well, I, I am! But, Mother told me that it's important to take care of all creatures, even the ones you don't like." Varonis glanced down and twiddled their fingers. "So, I don't really wanna hurt them."

Varonis frowned and parted the leaves above as they glanced down at the grounds below. Chihiro followed their gaze, and what met her was a ground filled with chompy pods in all shapes and colors guarded by some particularly large chompies. The giant chompies paced in circles, and Chihiro could have sworn she saw patches of something shiny and round embedded on their backs as they paced around the back.

"See that?" Varonis pointed to the shiny round things on the chompies' backs. "It looks like they're carrying eggs! Maybe they're attacking us because they think we're gonna hurt their babies!"

"Huh, that makes sense. If they think their kids are in danger, they're probably gonna be way more aggressive."

"So, instead of fighting, we'll just sneak out of their view and make it to the exit!"

"Good thinking!"

Chihiro gently patted Varonis's helmet while they giggled, and joined hands with them once more. With a simple squeeze, the two of them turned invisible, and another one teleported them out of the trees' canopy and back onto the forest floor. The chompies perked up for a moment at the sound and sniffed around, and both Chihiro and Varonis froze in place—even though she couldn't see them, she could tell they were by her side from the iron grip they held on her hand. The chompies sniffed around, but shrugged and turned away.

"Phew, close one," Chihiro whispered.

She pulled Varonis to the side, crept along just until they both reached a seemingly chompy-free area, and Chihiro prepared to lift the spell. Just as she went to cast, however, the crack of a twig sounded behind her, and next the sound of chompy growling! She glanced down to find a thin twig snapped in twin halves, glanced up and froze as the giant chompies sniffed around. Those few seconds seemed to last an eternity, an eternity of giant chompies with shiny, pearly whites looking to scoop them up for breakfast or rip them to shreds looking for them. But, the chompies once again relented in their search, and Chihiro tip-toed away as fast as she could.

Once she was firmly free of chompykind, Chihiro let out a breath and let the invisibility spell rest once more. She and Varonis were perfectly visible once more, and more importantly, they were in the clear! The brimming of light from what seemed like the end of the woods showed that they'd be out of the forest soon!

"Come on, Varonis!" Chihiro said as she gently tugged on Varonis's hand. "We're almost out of the woods!"

The two walked along the forest with only the sounds of rustling leaves and birdsong to accompany them—and chompy squealing! Chihiro's hairs raised as she glanced aside and prepared to fight, but all she saw were a couple of small chompies gleefully frolicking in a flower field, and seemingly docile ones at that. Close one.

Varonis giggled as the chompies frolicked, but Chihiro gently nudged their hand to remind them of the mission at hand. She wandered back into the light that pooled at what seemed like the exit, and sure enough, she found the way out! A spiraling blue and gold vortex clearly trademark of the Oracle's work laid before her, and now she could surely get onto the next trial!

"Alright, Varonis, we made it through the first trial!" Chihiro proclaimed as she turned around. "It was tough, but we—Varonis?"

Chihiro looked behind herself, to the front and back again, and realized Varonis was missing! She knew her hand felt strangely light when she walked back there! But, where could they have gone? Did they get scared and run away? Chihiro winced as their failed attempts at fighting rang in her mind, and with a breath, she disappeared from vision and ran back into the forest.

"Varonis? Varonis!" Chihiro called at the least-alarming volume she could as she ran through the forest. "Varonis! It's me! Olly olly oxen free!"

There was nothing. She didn't seen hide or hair of them, or anything that would have indicated they had come anywhere near here—but, the constant blanket of grass that covered the forest made it hard to discern any footsteps. She groaned, pinched her brows, and frowned as she saw her hand in front of her.

"The spell wore off already?" Chihiro grumbled and crossed her arms. "I'd better recast it."

Chihiro took in a breath and envisioned herself completely disappearing from view, till she was little more than a breath in the wind or a flutter in the atmosphere. A sense of peace enveloped her as the magic raced up her arms, her legs, her spine...

SNAP!

A branch cracked once more, and the spell escaped as Chihiro glanced around.

"Varonis?" Chihiro called. "Is that you?"

The shadowy figure who presumably broke the branch darted from tree to tree, and Chihiro clenched her teeth. From what she could see of its form, it was far too bulky to have been Varonis, but too square a shape to have been one of those chompies she saw earlier. With how fast it moved, though, she couldn't be quite certain. A sword appeared in her hands, and she pointed it into the woods.

"Alright, I don't know who's there, but you'd better show yourself!" Chihiro shouted. "I'm not playing around here! And if you know where a kid named Varonis is, you'd better tell—"

The squeal of a chompy sounded at a skyrocketing rate, and Chihiro gulped as a chompy hurled right for her.

"ME?"

Chihiro transformed her sword into a giant shield, held it up right as the chompy made contact. It harmlessly bounced off the shield—but it wasn't the only one coming! Even more chompies burst out from the woods and ricocheted off her shield, and every one that fell off just leaped up and tried to bite the shield!

"Who's shooting these things?" Chihiro demanded as the chompies swarmed her.

The sound of creaking metal rumbled out from the fields as that shadow figure leaped out of the shadows and into the light. There before her stood a rusty, but quite bulky and formidable Chompy-Bot! Chihiro gasped as it turned its cannons on her with a rumble, and leaped out of the way just before the cannons fired!

The chompies bounced off the ground as she planted her feet once more. Chihiro turned her shield back to a sword with a flick, and shouted out as she slashed it against the Chompy-Bot's chest! The Chompy-Bot's gaping wound sparked out while it stumbled back, and she aimed for the cannons next. She went to swing, but stopped short as the hatch opened up and something dug its teeth into her shoulder! With a glance to her side, she found a spring green chompy with its fangs planted firmly in her!

"Hey, get off!" Chihiro squealed as she flailed her arm. "That hurts!"

The chompy dug further in protest, and Chihiro growled as she blasted it off with a magic flare. The blood stained her sweater, and Chihiro winced as she fell down and planted her free hand on her shoulder next. With a single flare of magic, the blood seeped back into the wound as the numbing pain fled with it, and while her body slowly regained its senses, her eyes laid stuck on the sparking, sputtering machine. Once her wound healed up, it would only take a few more slices to carve it to bits!

Not that she needed to, as something stomped in and shook the machine to pieces! The smaller chompies squealed and fled as shadows cast over the land, and when Chihiro looked up, those gigantic chompies with the eggs returned! Oh god, they meant business! They bore every row of pearly whites they had as they loomed over Chihiro, and she just backed away.

"Er, nice, chompies?" Chihiro uttered.

As she backed away, she calculated the odds. Three giant chompies against one person; Varonis is still missing and could be somewhere around here, so she couldn't risk doing anything too dangerous without worrying about them in the line of fire; thus, anything that could have easily taken these things out was out of the question... Oh, this was not looking good.

"Wait, stop! Don't hurt her!"

Chihiro gasped as Varonis ran in front of her and flung their arms in front, and who came toddling after them but those very same chompies she caught frolicking in the fields?

"Varonis! Where'd you go?" Chihiro shouted as she staggered up.

Varonis gulped and clenched their hands, but it was clear they weren't addressing Chihiro—no, their eyes laid firmly on those giant chompies. Their legs trembled, but they gulped again and the fear disappeared.

"My friend really, really didn't mean any trouble, I promise!" Varonis begged. "See, we got lost here, and we need to get out! Really, we were gonna leave earlier, but, I got a little lost and she had to stay to find me! If you let us go, I promise we won't bother you or your eggs!"

The larger chompies clenched their teeth as the smaller ones hopped up and yowled. Those smaller chompies, they seemed like they desperately pleaded for Varonis's case as they mimicked Varonis's movements, and it seemed like the giant chompies were interested. Their eyestalks flicked in a few different directions, and they huddled together as they mumbled something among themselves.

Chihiro's arms and legs alike tensed as the giant chompies mumbled. The giant chompies squawked out something, turned away and left; Varonis's pleading worked!

"Goodbye!" Varonis shouted as they waved to the chompies. "Sorry for the trouble!"

The smaller chompies followed suit, but one stopped by to leap up and lick Varonis's cheek. It squealed and waved as it ran away.

"I'll miss you too!"

Strange, still no fear from them. But, they did save Chihiro's skin, so she just got up and smiled as she took them in hand and wandered back to the end of the forest.

That shining void still stood tall as ever, so Chihiro entered. The void warbled and warped for a moment, and once again they were back in total darkness with only a small light to guide them. So, Chihiro and Varonis walked further and further, and followed the light until...

"Wait, something isn't right. Why are we back at the entrance?" Chihiro asked.

Sure enough, the two of them were back at the trial's entrance, speaker and doors and all. Dd they do something wrong? Maybe they needed to get back in the room? Chihiro frowned and made her way back to the chompy door to push it open, but chains of magic leaped out and locked the door up the moment her fingers laid on it! Chihiro gasped and jumped back as the door receded into the abyss.

"Okay, that didn't work, but why?"

Chihiro scratched her head as she ran through the events of their earlier trial. Did she miss a secret key or something? Did she hurt too many chompies? Did Varonis... Well, Varonis didn't seem to worry themself too much as they giggled and imitated the way the chompies growled. Now that she thought about it, Varonis didn't seem all that scared when they did the trial despite what they said. Maybe, just maybe...

"Hey, Varonis!" Chihiro called.

Varonis perked up, and quit their chompy impression session as they turned to Chihiro with a nervous look, the kind she'd often seen in herself and Mamoru when they were DEFINITELY in trouble. Oh, that's not a good sign.

"Yes, Chihiro?" they asked.

"You're not really scared of chompies, are you?"

Varonis winced, and they stood silent and frozen for a few moments before they finally hung their head and shook it.

"No, I'm not." Varonis whimpered and slunk down to the floor. "I'm actually way more scared of spiders, but I really, really, didn't wanna go to the spiders, so, so—" Varonis sniffled and buried their face in their knees "—I lied. I'm sorry."

Varonis sniffled some more, so Chihiro just walked up to them and gently patted them on the shoulders.

"I understand. Facing your fears is a really scary thing to do!" Chihiro met them at their level and smiled. "But, you know, you don't have to do it alone. I'll be with you the entire time, so let's face this trial together, alright?"

Varonis lifted their head, and for a moment, Chihiro wasn't entirely sure she got through to them. But, they nodded, wiped their tears away, and held their hand out with a smile.

"Okay!"

"Alright then! We're gonna face the spider trial together!"

The two grabbed hands, and with their grip firmly together, Chihiro approached the spider trial's door. Varonis's hand trembled in her grip, and for a moment, it seemed like it disappeared entirely, as if she held nothing but air. But with one squeeze, they came back and held her hand close as she pushed open the spider trial's door.

§

The bright lights of the room swelled, then faded as Chihiro stepped within the trial's room, and the first thing she was met with wasn't a sight or a sound, but the pungent smell of dust. Ugh, and it was itchy, too! Chihiro groaned as her nose twitched, and with a sneeze, the dust clouds cleared away and she finally found herself in the proper trial room.

It was a tomb coated from head to toe in a layer of dust with cobwebs stretched all across its stone walls. The sounds of skittering echoed out from the inner chambers of the tomb, but she couldn't quite tell where the sound came from. It echoed from the left, from the right, from everywhere! It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to assume that there were probably spiders hidden in every nook and cranny of this place. The skittering grew louder, and in the blink of an eye, the spiders emerged! There were tons of them, from moon widows to spiderlings, and none of them looked happy as they flooded in from their hiding places and glared at Chihiro with beady eyes and fangs beared.

Something tugged on Chihiro's sleeve, and whimpering sounded from behind her. When she looked to her side, she found that Varonis clung to her and buried their face in her back. Their whole body shuddered so badly that it was almost like they phased in and out of existence! Guess they weren't kidding when they said they were scared of spiders.

"Hey, don't worry," Chihiro whispered as she squeezed them close, "I'll deal with this, alright? You just stay behind and keep yourself safe, 'cause big sib Chihiro's gonna get it all taken care of!"

Varonis nodded and their trembling ceased. Their grip on her slipped so subtly she barely even noticed, and she had to turn around just to see them take shelter behind a pile of dusty old pots. Good, they were safe, so now all she had to do was take care of the giant army of spiders before her.

Her sword returned to her hands once more, and Chihiro rushed forward to slice through the mass of spider spitters that leapt out from the ground. Their goo splattered across the ground and coated it so well that it pinned the small spiders to their spots. With a flick of her wrist, the sword in her hand transformed into a mallet, and she slammed down and smashed those smaller spiders under its weight.

Another ground of pods popped out from the crevices, and ones quite unlike the spitters she saw before. These were oval-shaped and marked so that they resembled a black widow's abdomen. Were they poisonous? Chihiro raised her hammer and turned it back to a sword with another flick, and not a moment too soon; with a single twist, the pods turned to cannons and shot webs right at her! She slashed the air in front of her, and waves of energy shot out to slice the nets into harmless silk ribbons before they could even brush her. The waves didn't stop there, though! They steered themselves towards the spiders and slashed them in halves, while the spiders themselves squealed as they disappeared in puffs of cyan smoke.

Chihiro slunk down a bit as the smoke covered the room, and gripped her sword tighter. Her eyes focused on the silhouettes she could make from the clouds of smoke she crafted. She made out some spiders screeching and scurrying amid all the chaos, and something like a flower? No, those were the pods! How did they survive a blast like that?

The smoke cleared, and the pods themselves stretched and twisted while their forms dyed themselves a glaring red. They twisted their segments open once more, and out from them spewed spiders! Small spiders with a bomb-like glow flashed in what little light the crypt offered, and they soared through the skies before they landed around Chihiro in a perfect circle. They squealed like they counted down, and with another flash, they all exploded and formed a ring of fire around her!

A squeal came from behind and Chihiro yanked her head around.

"Varonis!" Chihiro called, but the wall of fire was so thick that she couldn't make anything out. Chihiro scowled and swung her sword. "It's about time you creeps cooled off a little!"

One slash of her sword, and a mighty blast of magic water blew out the flames. The ring around her laid drenched and dripping with water, and in front of Chihiro sat Varonis! Their eyes were wide as they lifted up a shoe covered in spider goo, but they were completely unharmed from the looks of it.

Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, and turned her attention back to the spider pods. The pods' red color cooled down to their regular cool-colored hues, but now, they resorted to spitting out spiderlings by the dozen! The spiderlings skittered and squealed as they swarmed her and tried to crawl up her legs, and Chihiro shuddered as she spun them off. She slashed and slashed away while the spiderlings flew towards the walls, but for every wave she sliced out, it seemed like two more took their place!

"Geez, how many spiders are in those things?" Chihiro asked. Her arms twitched, and she squeezed her sword's hilt a bit tighter so the pain faded. "I don't know if I can keep up much longer."

She hoped she'd said that too quietly for Varonis to hear and slashed again, but once again, the newer spiderlings filled out the ranks that fell. They formed a wall in front of the pods, a wall packed so tight that the pods couldn't be seen, and Chihiro winced. She gripped her sword's hilt a bit tighter and went to swing—

"Chihiro, watch out!"

—and ducked as a torch flew through the air and hurtled towards the spiders! The spiders squealed and scurried away before the flames could torch them, but the pods weren't so lucky. The torch hit the middle one square in the head and set it alight, and the other pods thrashed as the flames spread to them. They burnt to ashes, and the flames, content with their meal, vanished as well until only the remains of the pods and a seared torch's staff rested on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Varonis asked as they ran up to Chihiro. "I, I saw all those spiders and got really worried, and I saw this torch nearby, and then, I—"

"So you distracted them, then?"

Varonis nodded, and Chihiro smiled as she placed a hand on their shoulder.

"Good job! I might've been spider food if you hadn't acted sooner." A light trickled in from the hallway, and Chihiro smiled as she turned ahead. "Now, come on! It seems like the exit is up ahead!"

The two proceeded, but strangely, as they did, the ground started... Shaking? Chihiro stopped in her tracks as the rumbles and shakes of the ground below grew a bit louder. Now that she listened closely, that didn't sound like the average shake or earthquake to her. No, it sounded more like a monster's cries, and for that matter, they got pretty close!

"Chihiro, what is that?" Varonis cried as they clung to her sweater.

Chihiro grimaced, crafted a flashlight, and shone it towards the ceiling. As she looked up, she could have sworn she saw some giant mass shifting and shaking as it moved across the ceiling with surprising speed. The mass shuddered, dropped behind her, and roared with such force that she dropped the flashlight from shock! Chihiro whipped around, crafted the flashlight's released magic into a shield, and with good timing; toxic spittle burst out from behind her and melted holes into the shield! Chihiro lifted her head to find that there before her stood a massive gargantula with green, smoking spit drooling down its gaping jaws.

"I had a feeling this was too easy," Chihiro winced. She kicked her shoes against the stone, and rushed forward as they lit up with energy and filled her body with speed. "Come and catch me, you big garden pest!"

With a clap of her hands, a burst of magic shot forward and sniped the gargantula's head. The blast irritated it just enough to fix all its beady little eyes on Chihiro herself. It roared and shot off spiderwebs that splattered and stuck against the walls, and Chihiro winced and teleported above it. With another clap of her hands, she shot another burst of magic that shot the gargantula in the head once more. It roared, and she teleported off just before it caught her in its webs. She teleported and shot, again, and again, and again in a rapid stupor as the gargantula swung this way and that.

It's distracted! Chihiro thought as she readied a blast. Just one more strike, and—

Chihiro winced as the gargantula stabbed one of its legs into the space beside her and rolled down to the floor. The gargantula roared and screeched as it smashed its legs into the walls in some hope of striking her—but it would have no luck, as she rolled underneath it next. She summoned a cleaver, rolled forward and slashed open its underside! But, instead of a rain of goo or blood, what came out as she rolled back to the front was a rain of spiderlings! Their hisses rang out as Chihiro got back up, and they all hissed as they flashed red.

"Oh no."

The spiderlings exploded with such fury that it rammed Chihiro back into the wall, and into Varonis! The two screamed as the stone caught them, and while they gathered themselves together, a shadow crept up. Great. The gargantula yowled as it opened its jaws wide, and Chihiro snarled as she held up a hand. That last impact did a number on her, but if she managed just one blast, she could probably stall long enough to escape! She nailed the gargantula's head with a quick blast, but it barely even noticed—the magic just bounced off its carapace like a ball!

"Alright, that's not gonna work," Chihiro panted. The gargantula's spittle drooled down and burned holes in the stone before her, and Chihiro winced as she pushed herself further in front of Varonis. "Gotta think of something stronger."

The gargantula roared, and Chihiro winced as she thrust up another shield. Its drool splattered against the shield and burned holes in it, and its teeth came next as the gargantula banged its head against the shield! Its teeth gnashed and grappled for the holes it formed as more spittle lashed against the shield, and Chihiro winced as she tried to blast it back—but a few bits of spittle burned holes into her shorts and she leaped back! She thrust herself in front of Varonis once more, and her head rushed faster as the gargantula's roars and lashes rang in her ears. Come on, come on, there had to be something! Magic blasts, a hand cannon, was there anything else that could knock this thing out?

Varonis shuddered behind her, and Chihiro quickly turned to them to ask if they were okay. This time, it seemed like they weren't shaking out of fear—no, their hands clenched into fists and their eyes glowered with rage as they shuddered, while a faint, teal light made its way from their chest. They pushed their way out of Chihiro's shield, and flung themself in front of the gargantula instead!

"Leave us alone!" they cried as they leaped up and punched the gargantula right between the eyes!

But more than that, a shining white light burned from their fist, and that light turned to a giant laser which burned a hole right through the center of the gargantula's body! The gargantula screeched as its flesh burned away, but only for a moment. The laser cut it clean, and it fell in two halves as Varonis fell to the floor on their knees. Varonis panted as they lifted themself up; the light faded from them, and their rage turned to confusion as they glanced down at their hands, lurched over, and shuddered as if they'd grown faint!

"Varonis!" Chihiro called as she knelt down and helped them up. "Are you alright?"

Varonis, who seemed a bit more pale in the face, and almost ghost-like compared to their usual self, only nodded. "I, just got a little dizzy, that's all," Varonis mumbled.

"I don't blame you, that was a pretty big blow for such a little kid!" Chihiro chuckled. "That was awesome, though! You really saved us back there!"

Varonis recovered the color in their face and beamed upon hearing her praise. They took Chihiro's hand in theirs once more, and the two of them wandered out of the dusty crypt and towards a hall brimming with light that smelled of fresh air (a scent Chihiro never realized she missed). The swirling void of the Oracle's stood before her and Varonis once more, and the two of them entered without hesitation.

§

Chihiro and Varonis walked their way through the dark void that acted as the trial's interlude, and their footsteps reverberated around the room as they did. The echoes rippled into the room's darkness, almost as if they walked on water, but the solid steps confirmed they were still on hard ground. Light brimmed from the darkest corners of the room, and it formed into another speaker! Another shiny bronze speaker stuck up from the endless void and guarded a pair of doors identical to the last.

"Congratulations, you have conquered your fears and braved your first trial!" the Oracle praised over the crackling static of the speaker. "It was quite admirable of you both."

"It was nothing!" Varonis proclaimed as they puffed out their chest with pride.

Chihiro couldn't help but laugh. In Varonis's sudden confidence, she saw a bit of who she was last year, when she first came to Skylands and trained her hardest to be just like the heroes she always admired in her favorite stories, so eager and excited… But, something pulled at her heart in that moment and her face fell.

"Now before you stands your second trial. Before you pick your door and begin, riddle me this—would you rather be a big fish in a small pond, or a little fish in a big pond?"

Chihiro raised a brow at the riddle and got a closer look at the doors. Sure enough, the signs there didn't bear the spiders or chompies of before, and instead held two different illustrations. One was a large fish stuck in a pond that could barely fit it, and the other held a tiny fish that was barely a speck in a gigantic pond filled with schools of all kinds of aquatic creatures.

"Think carefully about this one."

The static receded and Chihiro frowned as she crossed her arms. This felt like some kind of hidden riddle, but what? Did the Oracle refers to something like strength in size? Well, being big meant she'd be super big and tough, but being small gave her a lot of opportunities for stealth. No, somehow that didn't feel right. Ugh, this reminded her of when they asked her all those weird questions for career day at school to determine what kind of job she'd had in the future, or something like that.

"Well, I'd wanna be a big fish, because bigger stuff's always better!" Varonis proclaimed. "Like, when you get a small thing and a big thing, it's always really nice to get the big stuff! Once, when my dads went out to work, they came back with this HUGE fish!" Varonis stretched their arms to the sky for emphasis. "It was almost as big as me!"

Wait, or it could be like a gift!

"That's it! We have to pick the smaller door!" Chihiro cried with a snap.

"Huh?" Varonis tilted their head in confusion.

"Well, when you get two gifts from someone, it's always polite to take the smaller one. That's what my parents say, anyways—they always told me it's better to save the bigger thing for the person giving it to you because it shows you're more humble or something."

"That sounds weird."

"Well, adults are weird." Chihiro nodded in firm agreement and turned herself towards the smaller door. "But, chances are, we're probably supposed to pick the smaller door!"

"I guess that makes sense."

Varonis trotted behind Chihiro as she pushed the door open, and they swept underneath her and entered the light. It was bright and searing, and something like massive footsteps shook the world inside with their rumbles, but it was their trial to face. So, Chihiro dove in after Varonis, and as the light faded…

"Woah, it's all huge!" Varonis cried.

Chihiro lifted her head because otherwise she could barely catch the world around—as true to Varonis's word, it was huge! The shiny marble floor seemed to stretch on forever, and the blue skies it floated in seemed ten times as massive as they normally did! Marble busts and pillars towered like titans over them, but perhaps that was because of how small they were in comparison. After all, everything here was so big that they were barely specks on the map!

"I've never seen a place so big!" Varonis cried as they gazed in wonder. "I bet that even the Elder Elementals aren't as big as this place!"

Chihiro highly doubted that, but she couldn't deny just how big this place was! It was almost humbling, like it reminded her of how small she was in the grand scheme or something like what her English teacher said in school once. She took a step forward and drank in the endless stretches of marble, took a breath of the chilling air in, and leaped off her feet—but not by choice.

A quake rushed through the area and tossed her into the air, and the screams she barely heard behind her showed that Varonis did the same! She teleported over, grabbed them, and teleported back onto the floor. The sudden jumps and distance left her barely able to stand on her own two feet, so she leaned on Varonis and caught her breath.

"What, what caused that?" Chihiro panted.

The rumbling started once more, but as she got a better listen, Chihiro realized that this wasn't an earthquake. No, what caused these were footsteps, ones so giant that they shook the world around! She looked up, and there before her stood three massive, towering jawbreakers that were taller than any she'd seen before! She gasped as she laid eyes on them, and the jawbreakers in turn laid eyes on her before they screamed like they'd seen a bug and stomped the floor!

The stomping tossed Chihiro and Varonis back into the air, and Chihiro caught sight of a crack in one of the nearby pillars! She teleported there in a flash and clung tight to Varonis as they both squeezed into the crack. She'd hope this would keep them away, yet something smashed into the pillar in that moment and cleaved it in half! Chunks of marble flew in every direction as the force pushed Varonis and Chihiro into the open blue sky! Chihiro tried to shoot off a laser blast while Varonis clung to her and screamed, but it barely even stung the skin of the Jawbreaker before her!

"Crap, these guys are way too big! We're gonna need some more firepower!" Chihiro shouted. "Maybe something like…"

Chihiro clapped her hands together and spread them wide as she could, all while a gigantic flashing burst of magic gestated within the gap she created. She slammed her hands together, and a gigantic burst of magic zapped into the jawbreakers! The light drank up the surroundings for moments, and faded away to reveal that the jawbreakers still stood tall with maybe a few singe marks at worst! They groaned and scratched their heads with barely any damage to be seen.

"We're gonna need something bigger," Chihiro winced. She turned her head to Varonis and clung tight. "Varonis, think you could do what you did to that Gargantula again?"

"I, er…"

The jawbreakers swept at Chihiro, and she yelped and teleported away.

"Come on, Varonis, we don't have a lot of time!"

"But, I don't know how I did it!" Varonis cried. "Those weird magic blasts just happen sometimes when I get really upset!"

That figures. The jawbreakers swept in for another punch, but Chihiro teleported under where the punch connected and teleported again. Her shoes clacked on solid marble, and with a few more kicks from her heels, she was off like a rocket!

"Wow, it's like lightstepping!" Varonis gasped.

Lightstepping? How would they know what lightstepping was? At least, that's what she thought they said, anyways. Between the shouting and shaking of the world around, and the wind screeching as she ran, Chihiro could barely make out anything around her! The world rumbled and shook as the jawbreakers made chase, and Chihiro grimaced and ran further, but a pillar rose from the floor as she did!

She yelped, teleported into a crevice within one of the other pillars, and poked her head out right as another pillar slammed back down and smacked one of the jawbreakers in the face as it did. Owch. It seemed the jawbreakers were preoccupied for now, so she retreated back into her crevice and sat beside Varonis.

Varonis, for their part, curled up in wide-eyed terror and tried to make themself as small as possible. Their body seemed to flicker before Chihiro's eyes for a moment, but maybe that came from their shaking. They were scared out of their wits, and surely any wrong noise or sound would break their cover. Chihiro needed to calm them down, and she had the perfect idea how.

"So your magic only activates when you're upset?" Chihiro echoed.

Varonis sniffled. "Well, that's the only time I can get it to work, anyways," Varonis admitted as they buried their face in their knees. "Every time I try to cast a spell or do something, it never works like I want it to! I hate it!"

Well, that sounded familiar. Chihiro gently patted their shoulder, smiled back at them, and lifted up their hands as they lifted up their head. Both pairs of hands glowed with a faint light, but Varonis's seemed paler, almost ghostly, and lacked the same residue of magic that spellcasting always gave Chihiro.

"You know, not everyone gets things right on the first try," she admitted, and when Varonis looked like they'd protest, she added, "or the fiftieth, or the hundredth. But that's why you just try again!" She took a glance back out of her crevice. "You know, I'm pretty sure those guys are distracted right now, so why don't we practice together?"

Varonis bit their lip and forced a nod. "Okay."

"Alright! First, we'll make a light sphere." Chihiro breathed in and closed her eyes. "Just think about a sphere. A round, bright one brimming with light, the kind you wouldn't mind using for a nightlight. Focus on it with all your mind…"

The sound of Varonis straining showed that they at least tried, so Chihiro continued.

"Now, summon the magic from within your soul, close your hands together tight, and open them up!"

The warmth of light brushed against Chihiro's face, and she smiled as a light sphere glowed over her palms. Her smile grew even wider as she saw the tiny one Varonis held! They frowned as they examined the pea-sized ball of light that shimmered within their palms and sighed.

"It's so small. I was hoping it be bigger," Varonis lamented.

Chihiro, however, just beamed and gave Varonis a quick hug. "You did it! That's awesome!"

Varonis smiled and glanced down and gently poked their sphere. Those words seemed to encourage them some, and the light seemed to shine a little brighter in turn.

"Well, I guess it's pretty good."

They both tossed their spheres up and giggled as they burst into specks of sparkling, quickly-fading light. Chihiro and Varonis turned to each other as the light danced around them, and for a moment, their hearts were as light as the light itself.

"Now, let's try summoning a few basic effigies. So, Varonis, what's something you want more than anything in the world?"

Varonis smiled and tapped their chin. "Well, I've always wanted a pet chompy, but Mother says we can't have it cause it would eat her gardens."

Chihiro winced a little bit—living effigies were a pretty tricky subject to start with.

"Okay, that's gonna be a little tough, but we'll start there!" she frowned as Varonis's face fell and held up her hands. "But, I'm sure you can do it! You just need the practice!" She sat down beside Varonis and held her hands close. "So, imagine your perfect pet chompy, and everything you'd want it to have. Its size, its color, every little detail you want the most."

Varonis nodded, squeezed their eyes shut, and strained in tight concentration.

"Hold the image in your head, as vividly and as well as you can. Now, bring out your hands and clap—" Chihiro clapped her own hands for emphasis "—just like that!"

"Think really hard," Varonis whispered as they held out their hands, "and clap…"

Varonis clapped their hands, and cyan magic swirled from their veins before it formed into a pudgy little chompy! Varonis gasped in glee as they held up their chompy, and though it was as stiff as a board, they didn't seem to care! They squealed with glee as they tossed it up and down and hugged it tight.

"I've got a chompy!" Varonis squealed before they twirled around. "I've got a little chompy, short and stout, he's got beady eyes and a teethy little mouth~"

Chihiro couldn't help but smile while Varonis spun around and sung their little chompy song. After all, it was cute to see how excited they were to have a little chompy of their own! Varonis went to hug their chompy once more, but it only burst into sparkles and faded away while their face fell. Chihiro sighed, walked over and patted Varonis's shoulder.

"Hey, you did it! Now you can make even more chompies!"

The sound of pounding footsteps shook the world once more, and she and Varonis rushed further into their little hiding spot. Gigantic black boots passed them by as they hid, and cursing sounded off in gigantic, booming shouts, but not once did the jawbreakers peer inside their hiding spot. They were free at last! Chihiro let go of the breath she didn't even realize she held, and Varonis did the same after a careful glance. Chihiro let Varonis go and peered around the way, just a few times to make sure she really was home free.

Chihiro turned back to Varonis when she saw no trace of the jawbreakers. "Come on!" she whispered as she motioned for them to follow her. "I'm sure the exit's not far from here!"

She carefully crept up the way, and stopped for only a moment to peer back and smile as Varonis poked their head out and skipped after her. The two leaped forward, twisted around, and slid across the sleek marble floors as they howled with laughter. Heck, Chihiro herself couldn't resist leaping in the air and twirling like she was an ice skater gliding along the rink! She pirouetted a few times, managed a few fancy spins, and strode for one last leap.

She went to spring forward, but stopped short as a giant cinder block crashed down in front of her! Chihiro yelped and scurried back as Varonis skated up to her, and a shadow came over them both as they scurried forward. The cinder block above slammed down right as they fled its shadow, and the wind it kicked up sent them flying across the way! Varonis clung to Chihiro as she dove and swept through fields of identical cinder blocks that smashed into and lifted themselves up from the ground in an identical rhythm, and they both crashed right into something springy that stopped their flight short!

The two of them rolled down something tall and leathery, and looked up to find a smirking D. Riveter that pointed its gun straight at them! The jawbreakers from before sneered as they all gathered behind the D. Riveter, all arms crossed and smug smiles. They got backup after all! Chihiro hadn't lost them!

Chihiro snarled as the D. Riveter cocked its gun, and crafted a shield as it shot off. The shield tried to stay strong, but it shattered to bits with the shot of a single giant bullet! Chihiro screamed as the force pushed her off her feet and tumbled along the ground. The force pounded into her head as she rolled to a stop, and she groaned as her arms and legs trembled with pain, pain so bad she could barely bring herself up.

Varonis scurried over and tried to pull her up, but the bullets kept flying and the winds they kicked up forced them both down! One bullet shot right for them, and Chihiro clenched her teeth as she grabbed Varonis's wrist. She screwed her eyes shut and gathered as much magic she could; it started from the feeling of burning power in her gut, spread across her body, and she teleported off to the side with one last squeeze! The pain finally receded, and Chihiro jumped up to her feet. Though she could barely see its face, she could hear the sound of the D. Riveter locking and loading its gun.

"I can't keep teleporting everywhere," Chihiro groaned as her stomach churned. "I've gotta find some way to get these guys off our tail, but how?"

A massive darkness covered the area, and Chihiro yelped and teleported away just before a jawbreaker could stomp her flat! Her feet fell on something soft and green and kind of squishy, and she found herself on the Jawbreaker's shoulder when she opened her eyes!

Varonis gasped and clung to her as they laughed. "Woah, we're up so high! I think we can see the whole place from here!" Varonis beamed. "I bet we can even see all of Skylands! Ooh, maybe I could see our base!"

Chihiro chuckled as Varonis tried to scout out their base (didn't they mean home, though? Well, she wasn't going to question it), but her eyes fell on the D. Riveter as it yanked its head around in pursuit of her. Now, she had an idea! A very, very devious idea at that!

"Hey, you big green bozo!" Chihiro shouted as she jumped up and flailed her arms and legs. "Over here! I bet you can't shoot us from here, can you? You probably couldn't even shoot an apple bolted to the ground!"

"Huh? Chihiro, what are you doing?" Varonis cried as they clung to her sweater and shook her hard. "We don't want those guys to shoot us!"

Chihiro only smiled and held Varonis close. "Good! You're already holding on tight!" The magic flooded through her body once more, enough that the glow of cyan brushed against her vision. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Chihiro teleported back on the ground as the D. Riveter's gun sounded off, and reappeared right as its bullets nailed the jawbreaker she formerly stood on right between the eyes! The jawbreaker stumbled and shook the whole world with it as it caught its balance, yet roared with fury as it hit the D. Riveter right on the head! The two argued like bears fighting for territory as they shook the world around with their roars, and the other jawbreakers came up and urged them to calm down. But, their cries were mere squeaks compared to their allies' intense argument.

"Good! They're too busy arguing!" Chihiro proclaimed. She gripped Varonis's hand once more, and turned her attention to the exit. "Come on, while they're distracted!"

Varonis cried in surprise as Chihiro bolted towards the door; she started first at a normal running speed, but soon the magic flooded her veins and she sped off! The wind rushed through her hair as the world around her blurred, but, she didn't need to see it. All she needed in her line of sight was the exit, all shiny and brimming with color and ready to take them in. Just one more stride, and she'd finally be home free!

But, something was wrong. Her body ached and creaked, and slowly her speed dropped down, down, down, until she walked once more! Chihiro panted as she fell to her knees, and clutched her chest as it started to tighten. Varonis laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her, but Chihiro just waved them off.

"I, I'm fine," Chihiro panted. "I, just, gotta, catch my breath."

Chihiro heaved a few more strained breaths as she tried to stand up, but the ground rumbled and pushed her back onto its grip! Varonis fell beside her with a shout, and she winced as she helped them back up. The world shook and rumbled in some desperate effort to keep her down, but what caused it? She lifted her head as clouds of dust and blurry color kicked up and winced; Those jawbreakers and that D. Riveter finally caught on to her trick, and they started to catch up! Their footsteps pounded and shook the world around, and with how quickly they came into view, surely it wouldn't be long before they cornered Chihiro and Varonis!

"Varonis," Chihiro panted as she lifted her hands and charged an energy blast, "get to the exit! I'll catch up!"

Varonis stood frozen as their eyes darting between the gates and Chihiro herself. "But, but, I don't wanna leave you behind!"

"I can handle these guys! You need to get out of here!"

Chihiro gritted her teeth as the Jawbreakers drew close, and yet, Varonis didn't leave her side. They stood steadfast, their arms and legs shaking as they clutched their hands together. A white glow formed around their fingers as they strained with worry or pain, and Chihiro knitted her brows. Just what were they doing? Those enemies would catch up any second!

The Jawbreakers closed in, but a bright, blinding flash of white burst out before they could strike!

Chihiro squealed, covered her eyes, and jerked aside as something grabbed her arm—but as the light faded slightly, she caught a glimpse of Varonis! They smiled back towards Chihiro, and panted as they raced towards the exit with her in tow! The light faded, but a second light replaced it as Chihiro and Varonis jumped into the exit and the world faded away.

§

The feeling of magic tickling her face lifted, and when Chihiro opened her eyes, she found that she and Varonis stood in one of those dark waiting rooms with one of those many speakers planted in front of them once more. Huh, nice of the Oracle to not make them walk this time—she wasn't sure her legs could carry her much longer after all the running she had done earlier.

"Close one," Chihiro panted as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She turned to a similarly-shaky and sweaty Varonis, and smiled as she patted their head. "Nice going, Varonis! Thanks to your little light show there, we managed to get out of that place in one piece!"

She was sure they'd take the compliment with pride as they did before, but instead, they just smiled and peered down. They seemed a bit shy as they pulled off their helmet and unveiled their fluffy shock of blue hair, but finally they gulped.

"Well, I could only do it because you taught me!" Varonis said. "I couldn't even make one of those magic sphere thingies before we met, but you taught me how to do all sorts of fancy stuff! Like this!"

Varonis beamed with pride as they crafted shapes out of magic and juggled them like a clown's toys, and Chihiro couldn't help but smile with them. The joy and confidence they held really did remind her so much of how she was last year, when she first started fighting for Skylands, when she first started studying magic under Master Eon, when everything started to feel like it worked out. That pit opened up in her heart again, and her smile faltered a bit, but she forced it back to full as Varonis raised a brow.

For that matter, another thing egged at the back of her mind. She'd been so out of it these past few trials, and she didn't know why! Varonis kept having to bail her out because she was just a little too slow, a little too weak, a little too inattentive! What kept throwing her off? This was the kind of basic stuff she did with the Skylanders all the time, and she fumbled every single thing! She racked her brain, and nothing really came to her; every thought she could have possibly brought up was just that of her past few missions. Her failure to stop Kaos multiple times by this point, her inability to get there fast enough to save the Machine Ghost… Chihiro's stomach churned, and her eyes stung like she could cry—but no, she couldn't do that in front of Varonis.

"Well done, Varonis. It seems that you are conquering your own weaknesses in addition to the trials I presented you."

As the Oracle's voices echoed over the speakers, both Varonis and Chihiro turned their eyes to him, or, rather, the speaker his voice came from.

"Now, for your next trial, I must ask you what you would do in a crisis situation—would you jump to save the princess, or defeat the villain?"

A pair of doors shimmered into existence as the Oracle spoke. They were both blue and gold and fancy and ornamental as all the past doors they passed through were. One door had a picture of a princess dangling from a rope inscribed upon it, and the other held a villainous figure cackling ominously over the world it stood on.

"I will leave you to make your decision."

The speaker faded, and Chihiro hummed and drummed her foot.

"That's a pretty tough choice," she mused.

"No it isn't!" Varonis protested. "It's obvious! We've gotta stop the bad guy!"

"Saving lives always comes first in a portal master's code of honor. Bad guys can always be stopped another day, but you can't always bring someone back from the grave! Besides, our mission isn't just about fighting the bad guys, it's about protecting everyone in Skylands!" Chihiro tapped her foot further. "But, if I let the bad guy go, they could kill a lot more people."

"Exactly, so we should fight the bad guy!"

"No, YOU'LL fight the bad guy."

Varonis froze in place as Chihiro chuckled and raised a brow.

"Obviously, this is a trick! Both of these are super important things to do, so we're not supposed to just take one! Instead, we'll split up and tackle both the problems head-on!"

All of a sudden, all that eagerness Varonis had to fight the bad guys faded away like the color on their face. They clutched their hands and scuffed their feet together. "Actually, maybe saving the princess is more important…"

"Huh? What's gotten into you?" Chihiro tilted her head and crossed her arms. "You were all itching to fight just a second ago."

"Well, er, I changed my mind! You were right, I was getting too eager to fight, and I can't fight that well anyways."

Oh, there it was. Varonis twiddled their fingers as they held their head down, but Chihiro just knelt down and patted their shoulder.

"You're just worried about fighting alone, aren't you?"

"How did you know?"

"You did just say you couldn't fight all that well."

Varonis whimpered. "Well, it's true! I just figured out how to do all these spells, and fighting a bad guy sounds like it'll be tough!"

"So we'll trade. I'll get the bad guy, and you can save the princess!"

Varonis still held their head low, so Chihiro just patted their shoulder once more. "I know it's scary, but you've gotten through everything so far, so you can definitely ace this!" she said. "And I'll be right behind you if everything else fails."

That did seem to reassure Varonis, even if she wasn't sure how true that would be. They lifted their head, smiled, and scurried away to the princess door as they eagerly watched Chihiro do the same with the villain door. They shared one last glance and a nod of understanding, and they both pushed the doors open as they bathed in the light that poured out; their footsteps resounded as one as they passed into the paths.

A shrill scream pierced Chihiro's ears, and forced her to take cover as the light faded. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a rolling course of bumps and hills and twisted paths. To her left, a princess in a fancy dress and shiny jewelry squealed and thrashed against her rope bonds as she slowly descended into a pit of ravenous beasts, and to her front, an elf decked out in fancy capes and robes hovered above her and cackled.

But, most importantly, to her side laid Varonis! They had the same trial like she thought!

"You'll never get past me!" the elf cackled as he held up the cheesiest, most obnoxiously supervillain-like pose—arms stretched to the sky, smug grin on his face as his cape fluttered in, all the fixings of a wannabe evil overlord. "The princess will face her doom at my hands, and with her gone, the kingdom will be—"

The elf screamed as Chihiro nailed him square in the chest with a sphere of magic, and she tossed him across the way before he could finish. Huh, looks like he wasn't so tough after all. Chihiro turned back to Varonis, crafted another sphere, and shot the elf back down before he could get back up.

"Varonis, you rescue the princess!" Chihiro shouted as she readied a sword. "I'll take care of this guy!"

§

Varonis nodded, and Chihiro leaped off to fight. While she reflected the elf's blows with her sword's blade, Varonis gulped and rushed over to where the princess descended. The princess squealed and kicked as furiously as she could while she swung across the pit, yet she couldn't break free! Those beasts looked extra ravenous too; Varonis gulped, turned their attention first to a group of large stone blocks to their side, and back to the massive gaps in the pit.

"Wait, I've got it!" they cried as they rushed to the first block. "If I push these blocks in and climb on them, I can jump over and rescue the princess!"

So, Varonis breathed in, breathed out, and ran full force as they rammed themself against the side of the first block! They grunted and pushed against the block's cold, stone surface, but despite their straining and all the strength they exerted, the block wouldn't even budge! They finally panted and collapsed as they wiped the sweat from their brow, but jumped back to their feet as a shrill scream hit the air.

"Help! Help!" the princess squealed. "Those beasts are getting even closer!"

The beasts squealed and roared with ravenous glee, or maybe anger? But whatever it was, it didn't sound good! Varonis poked around the side of the block and winced as the princess descended a bit faster while the beasts leaped up and nipped at her heels. Varonis rushed back around, slammed against their side and tried to push once more, but still, nothing.

"Alright, I guess I'm not strong enough for that," Varonis winced. They glanced at their hands, and as they glimmered with magic, a glimmer formed in Varonis's eyes. "But maybe I'm magical enough!"

Varonis flung out their hands and strained as magic leaped from their veins and swirled around the blocks. They screwed their eyes shut as the magic glowed even brighter. It shone like the sun as the block, and the block next to it, and the one after, all shuddered and rumbled like mighty quakes!

They screeched, and the blocks all budged about half an inch.

Varonis opened their eyes and winced as the blocks half-inched and half-inched forward. "Can't you go any faster?"

A clanging sounded from their side, and on instinct, Varonis panicked and hid behind the blocks. They glanced aside to where Chihiro and the elf traded blows, and whimpered as they turned back to their blocks. The momentary distraction let up their magic, and the blocks were now still as stone once more! Varonis groaned as they buried their hands in their face, and pushed their hands out once more.

"Make this easy for me, please."

Varonis strained and sweated as they focused their attention to one of the gigantic stone blocks, while the magic seeped from their fingertips and curled around the stone block. The block shuddered as the magic seeped into its cracks, and with a single, swift push, it moved right into place! Varonis gasped, swiped out their hands with a new vigor, and grinned in glee as a second block sat in front of the first. They focused their attention towards the third, but the sounds of clanging swords drew their attention away!

Behind them, Chihiro and the elf clashed sword-to-sword, blade-to-blade as they traded blows. The elf summoned a shiny sword of his own, and their two blades clashed like long-standing rivals—all sharp blows and clean slices. A slash here, a smack of the blade's dull side there...

But finally, Chihiro changed her sword to a claymore with a flick of her wrist and slammed its dull side right into the elf's chest! The surprise move combined with the sudden strength took the elf completely aback. He yowled out as the blow tossed him back into the skies, hopefully far, far away. He disappeared into the distance, and the sound of metal echoed through the room as the elf slid down the walls.

"Wait, those weren't even real skies all along!" Chihiro demanded as she glanced around the room. "Shouldn't expect anything less from the Oracle, but..."

The whole room rattled and rumbled, but another sound rose among the ruckus. It was like a rope got loose of the system it pulled, and spilled down in a shriek as it ground against the metal that held it. Another shrill scream came afterwards; Chihiro followed the path of the sound, and as she did, turned around and winced.

The ropes which held up the princess descended much faster, and the monsters grew so eager that they couldn't contain themselves anymore! They stomped and smashed each other down as they crawled out of the pit and attacked anything they could—stones, trees, Chihiro herself…

Chihiro gasped as a particularly large and furry beast launched itself towards her, and blasted it off with a burst of magic! A few of its friends came next, and Chihiro blasted them off accordingly, but she caught a glimpse of another monster bursting across the fields as the last monster fled!

This bursting monster held no interest for her or the scenery, or even the princess. Instead, it had its eyes set on a terrified, trembling Varonis! They lifted their head, ran off and screamed as they hid behind the blocks—but with one charge, the monster shattered the blocks to pebbles! It licked its lips as Varonis backed away from it, and leaped in for the killing bite!

It yanked its jaw wide, and another scream came, but this time from the monster! Chihiro teleported between them and shot out a burst of light that burned the monster to ashes! Its sullen remains fluttered in the wind as the other monsters squealed and ran away, and with them no longer a problem, she knelt down to match Varonis's look.

"Varonis, are you, alright?" Chihiro panted.

"NO!"

Varonis wailed and buried their hands in their knees as they sobbed, and their whole body trembled and wavered with light. "I don't know what to do!"

"Well, I can tell you what to do!" the elf's voice echoed as the squeal of charging energy sounded off behind them. "DIE!"

Chihiro gasped, turned around and cast out a shield right as a burst of light hurtled towards them! The burst bounced off her shield like a ball, and she leaped up and parried the blasts that followed. She curved her shield and tossed the light blasts back at the elf; as they finally connected, not one, but two screams sounded! Chihiro turned around, and the princess descended into the pit at a rapid pace!

"Varonis, she's falling!" Chihiro shouted as she shouldered another blast of light with her shield. "Quick, catch her!"

"But, I don't know what to do!" Varonis sobbed back. "The blocks are all gone and everything's going wrong and I don't know how to stop it!"

The elf cackled as he shot another burst of light at Chihiro, and she only grunted as she blocked it with her shield.

"Varonis!" she shouted as she turned back to them. "What's the most important thing to do right now?"

That seemed to shake them from their spiel, for they sniffled and fell into contemplation. "Saving the princess?"

"Then do it!" Chihiro shot a blast of magic back at the elf with eyes now fixed on him. "Just focus on that, and the answer will come to you!"

"What does that even mean?"

Chihiro no longer focused on them, for her focus laid entirely on her sparring match with the elf instead.

Varonis sniffled and turned to the princess, who fell quicker and quicker! They gasped and rushed forward to catch her, but stopped short as the ground left their feet. A few meager pebbles fell into the abyss, and Varonis winced as their eyes fell o the lengthy gap between them and the princess.

"I'll have to jump," Varonis whimpered, "but how?"

Varonis bit their lip, but a sparkle came to their eyes! They grinned, breathed in and leaped off the ground, but they quickly fell to their knees. They grunted and leaped up again as the breeze kicked up, but once again they ate the dirt as their knees and elbows scuffed against it. They shuddered, and a bright glow burst as they leaped up.

This time, however, they didn't fall. The wind circled them, and they flew off like a bird!

Chihiro fixed her eyes on Varonis and pursed her lips as they flew.

"Strange, I feel like I've seen that move before," she mumbled, "but where?"

A brief visage of Vaayu propelling himself through the skies with the winds at his fingertips came to her, but Chihiro shook her head and Varonis returned to her vision. She knitted her brows for a minute; the gears seemed to turn in her head as something stirred in her mind, but a flash of light to her side drew her attention away.

A barrier of orange light swirled and circled around the elf as he got up and cackled. Slowly, he rose back to the skies, and floated up in a sluggish way, as if he drank in every moment of the light's existence. He cackled and howled as he held up his hands, and the light swirled and shimmered brighter in response to his laughter! The light fed into every orifice of his body, and a bright orange glow shone off from the elf's body as it dyed his clothes and skin in warm hues!

"Who's laughing now, measly, foolish hero?" the elf cackled as miniature suns formed in his palms. "I have the power of the sun itself on my side! How are you going to stop me with your pitiful swords and sorcery now?"

The elf howled with even more laughter as he launched the suns at Chihiro with a punch, and she in turn crafted flames of bright blue and shot them back! The two bursts of fire, one red and orange and one blue and white, melded into each other and formed a bright, purple comet of fire. The comet now rested in the heart of the battlefield, with a fire brighter and warmer than any that came before it. Chihiro snapped her fingers, and the flames froze in their spots while they cracked and crystallized in a slow, gradual spill. Before long, the light rested inside the belly of a glittering, jagged crystal, and it flew right back at the elf!

"Return to sender!" Chihiro cried as the crystal hurtled away!

The elf growled and lifted up chunks of the earth to serve as barriers, but Chihiro only teleported away and hopped on the first one! The elf gasped as he caught her atop the platform and snarled. He shot even more of his miniature suns, and they homed in on Chihiro, who groaned and teleported away from each one! She hopped from platform to platform as the suns slammed into the platforms' sides and burst into chunks of fire and earth. She snapped her fingers, and a set of magic spheres leaped out and shot towards the elf!

Her eyes fell on a close platform as the spheres whizzed away, but a gigantic sun burst forth and smashed it to bits just as she leaped for it! Chihiro yelped and flailed in midair for a bit, yet teleported to the next one. Her footing settled, and she glanced to the side. A small smile formed on her face, but it didn't get a chance to grow larger, for another sunny burst smashed into her platform and blew it to bits! She screamed as she collapsed to the ground, and shuddered as the broken bits of fire and brimstone rained around her.

"Foolish, pitiful hero!" the elf goaded as he floated over her and puffed out his chest. "You are no match for the power of light itself! The whole kingdom will fall under the burning bright of the sun!"

The elf cackled in the typical haughty supervillain-type cackles, but Chihiro laughed with him! Small, weak laughs of her own puffed out as she staggered up, and as she finally reached half-height, she threw her head back and laughed so hard her sides ached. She knelt down and clutched them, but soon enough, it was only her laughing.

"Why are you laughing, foolish mortal?" the elf demanded. "You are the one who lost! Lost! Do you hear me?"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Chihiro spat back. She turned around, and her grin spread to both cheeks. "Varonis!"

"Here I am!"

Varonis floated down from the skies above with the princess safe in their arms! She hopped out of their grip and beamed as Varonis hit the ground, while Varonis wiped their brow.

"Phew, that was a close one!" Varonis said. "I was lucky I even pulled off that little trick!"

The princess beamed, Varonis beamed, Chihiro beamed, but the elf wasn't smiling at all. His confident facade faltered, and he laid with his jaw dropped and his body slouched over his shock. His confident spiel was gone, replaced with flabbergasted sputtering as he struggled to find the words to express how the rug was pulled from under him. Not that he got to, for a magic sphere sniped him in the chest and knocked him back to the ground!

The shiny, warm colors of before vanished from the elf's complexion, and he only groaned and slunk his head to the side. His body went limp, and orbs of light burst off from it as it grew ghostlike and clear before it vanished entirely! The lights bubbled up to the sky as his body faded from existence.

"Thank you for rescuing me!" the princess cheered as she hugged Varonis before she herself faded as well.

Varonis's eyes fluttered, and a blush dusted their cheeks as they tried to reciprocate the hug. By then, the princess disappeared, and they were left hugging air. Their smile faded for a moment, but they perked up as Chihiro clapped her hands.

"That was awesome, Varonis!" Chihiro cheered. "Bravo! You really moved on your feet there!"

"Oh, it was nothing," Varonis chuckled as they scratched the back of their head, "I just copied something I saw Dad do."

Wait, Dad? Chihiro raised a brow, but Varonis didn't seem to notice. Instead, they spun around and chuckled as they skipped across the beaten earth path.

"Come on, we've got a trial waiting for us!"

As they cheered and hollered, Chihiro chuckled; for a moment, she saw not Varonis, but herself. She saw the her from last year, cheering and shouting as the Skylanders followed her down the path of another successful mission. She shook her head, and that her was gone and only Varonis remained. So, she smiled and walked right after them.

§

"I am getting better at this stuff, huh?" Varonis chirped. "You know, maybe if I get good enough here, I bet my parents will let me help out at work more! Everyone else gets too, but they say I'm too young to do anything yet." Varonis pouted and crossed their arms, but their frustration quickly let up. "I could run super fast and fight a bunch of people all at once, and I could probably do so many cool magic tricks! Then maybe Mom will teach me all the cool and fancy magic stuff she does, and I could make all the chores super-easy so I could play with my brothers more…"

Varonis seemed so full of hope and eagerness as they rambled on about all the things they wanted to do with their newfound magic skill, and finally, Chihiro realized just why that pit opened up in her heart.

They reminded her of herself a little too much and it hurt. It hurt seeing someone who acted just like she did when she felt more confident and optimistic, who seemed to see her in such high regard while not knowing a thing of how she failed. She failed to stop Kaos from coming back to Skylands, and somebody died because of her negligence, and he died for nothing, at that! She was stuck here trying to find out how to stop Kaos, or that Arkilles guy who had possessed him, and who knows how she was going to do that? Her chest tightened up, REALLY tightened up, and for a moment the air sucked out around her and she could barely breath. She found herself back at the vault for a moment, but, that wasn't right, right? She was at the trials, and yet, she could see the broken, crumbling remains, the broken body of the Machine Ghost's robotic body, the flickering spirit of the Machine Ghost himself…

"You have come very far, Master Chihiro and Varonis."

The Oracle's voice called out and her vision returned to normal. That's right, that was all in the past, and she was here at her trials in the present. She latched onto that one bronze speaker as her link to the physical world, and nodded in turn.

"Your trials have almost concluded, but before you can pass, I must ask you one last thing." The shimmering of light brushed against the speaker. "What do you consider yourselves—strong, or fast?"

The doors appeared and bore their signs—one of a humanoid figure carrying a massive boulder, and another of a similar figure running so fast that the wind picked up behind them. Strong, or fast? That was a simple enough question, and with a simple enough answer!

"Stron—" Varonis started before Chihiro quickly cut them off.

"Fast, of course!"

Varonis raised a brow and frowned, and Chihiro smiled and huddled close.

"See, I've got plenty of speed spells under my belt!" she whispered. "I can just use those and get us in and out before you can even blink! It'll be a piece of cake!"

Truth be told, she was really itching to get out of this place. Something about it did nasty things to her head, and she really couldn't stand these weird voids and strange trials and everything else. Varonis frowned as if they weren't entirely certain about this decision, but they at least forced a smile as Chihiro smiled back. Something wavered in her heart for a moment, and she almost thought she made a bad decision. But, she was probably just on-edge from her episode earlier! Yeah, that, that was totally it. So, she rushed over to the speed trial's door, pushed it open without a second thought, and rushed back to grab Varonis's hand before she dragged them through the door.

The light shone and faded on cue, and when the room unveiled itself, Chihiro found not a room but a maze! A maze of endless drab brown stone with all sorts of twisty turns and tunnels that spanned around the room and a seemingly endless stretch of walls and turns laid before her now. Boring-looking, but nothing too tough to handle.

"For this trial," echoed the Oracle's voice as the speaker from before slowly emerged from the ground before her, "you must find your way through this maze while evading your pursuer. I assume this will be a simple task for you?"

Varonis trembled. "I, I'm not so sure."

"Of course it is!" Chihiro proclaimed. She pounded a fist against her chest, and a bright cyan glow burned off of her person. "I'll just teleport my way around and—"

KA-BOOM! A bright explosion of magic burst off of her, and next thing she knew, sparks danced in Chihiro's vision and her hair stood on end as magic dust coated her clothes.

"Okay, maybe teleportation isn't going to work out here." Chihiro shook the dust off of her person and cracked her knuckles. "But, just because we've gotta take the long way around doesn't mean it has to take long!"

Chihiro clicked her heels together and expected the surge of magic energy that always came with her speed spell. She expected energy, energy so electric and exciting that she'd burst with excitement and have to run right that very instant or else she'd explode! But nothing came.

"There's one more thing I forgot to mention," the Oracle explained, this time from a booming voice that came from nowhere. "You are forbidden from using any sort of magic during this trial, and must rely on your own wits and natural abilities. I wish you well."

The voice faded and Chihiro groaned and buried her head in her hands.

"Ugh, why didn't I think of that earlier? It would've been way too easy if I could just speed out of the place!" Chihiro took a breath and tapped her foot so fast she probably could've pounded a hole on the floor. "Calm down, Chihiro, you can do this. It might take a little longer, but, this is just an ordinary maze."

A low rumble sounded off, and Varonis winced as they glanced behind. The rumble grew louder, louder, but Chihiro didn't notice. Instead, she focused on the ground below as she tapped her foot.

"It might take longer to get through here, but, it's not like the walls are gonna pop out and crush you to bits!"

"Uh, Chihiro," Varonis whimpered as they tugged on her sleeve.

"I'll just follow the path and we'll be out of here just in time to hunt down—"

"CHIHIRO! THE WALLS!"

That rumbling sound grew massive as Chihiro turned around, and she gasped as a gigantic stone wall rushed forward and threatened to crush her to paste! She yanked Varonis by the sleeve and rushed away while the wall slammed into the walls of the corner before her and left presumably both wall and corner piles of rubble. Yet, the rumbling continued?

Chihiro gulped and turned around, gasped and ran further—for the wall somehow survived and it came in fast! She rounded the corner as Varonis screamed behind her, but the screech of wind showed that the wall still wouldn't relent. She passed the corner, shimmied through a few twists and turns, and went through so many veers and ways that her head spun by the end of it. Yet, when she glanced behind, that wall still flew behind her and it still stood determined to skewer her in its grip.

"Geez, doesn't that thing get tired?" she demanded as she prepared to take a step forward, but quickly scrambled to a stop.

Entire lanes of large, spiked wheels rolled by in stringent order, and the gaps between them were small and quickly-missed. However, the sound of wind rising and rushing as the spiked wall caught up with them rumbled in Chihiro's mind. It would be pretty risky, but...

"Varonis, hang on!" Chihiro shouted as she grabbed their wrist tight and bolted!

She squeezed right through the gap in one lane and steadied herself in the thin line that laid between the two lanes. Varonis wrapped themself around her and climbed on her back, yet no weight added at all, as if she carried a ghost! Chihiro held them up and clutched their hands so they wouldn't lose grip, and with eyes narrowed and body lowered, she bolted right through a gap in the next two rolling wheels! Even more rows and lands of spiky, large wheels rolled before her, and Chihiro grunted as she bounced between the small gaps between them.

As she passed through what seemed like the fifth or sixth gap there was, Chihiro gasped. The road ahead stood completely free of wheels! She rounded the corner, and not a moment too soon—the sound of creaking and splitting metal scratched at her ears as the spiked wall tore through every single wheel and slammed into the corner! Metal bits shed from its spikes as the wall withdrew and turned to Chihiro with a creak, and Chihiro winced and bolted!

As she did, her body ached with exhaustion. Her legs grew sore and tired and her chest tightened up with fatigue. Why was she getting tired now, of all times? She wanted so badly to sit down and rest, but Varonis groaned from their position on her back, and she winced and shifted them up. She couldn't keep this up, but if she faltered, both of them were screwed!

"I should've thought of this before I started that stupid trial!" Chihiro hissed. "Without magic to boost my speed, I don't know how long I can keep this up, but, I can't let that thing rip us to shreds!" Chihiro shook her head. "Stupid, stupid!"

The wall shrieked behind her, and Chihiro winced as she ran forward—but only a dead end greeted her! She gasped, but her eyes turned to a crack in the nearby wall that was just big enough for her to slip into! A savior!

She quickly slipped inside and panted as she crawled as fast as she could manage; thankfully, the adrenaline from running like her life depended on it seemed to give her a speed boost! She crawled so fast that the wall's shrieking and flying was little more than distant noise and finally she relented. Varonis slipped from her back and crawled up to her, and Chihiro glanced up. The ceiling lifted higher than the tight path before, so both stood and tip-toed ahead.

Chihiro wanted to say something, to apologize or berate herself again, but she bit her tongue. She couldn't risk blowing their cover with unnecessary noise! Varonis whimpered behind her, and she immediately reached out to them and held them close.

"Chihiro," Varonis whimpered. "What, what's gonna happen? Are we gonna fail?"

"We're not gonna fail, Varonis," Chihiro whispered back, though her voice cracked as if she was just as ready to panic as they were. "We're, we're gonna get out of this alive."

Chihiro shuffled through the wide, empty room that they entered. Strange, she didn't remember coming here, but she hardly paid attention to her surroundings as she walked—she was more concerned with not getting skewered alive. For that matter, where were the paths around them? She looked behind, and the path she took disappeared into the void. Wait, were they lost? Chihiro's chest tightened and her head spun. They, they definitely were lost, but, she could probably fix this. Yeah, she could definitely fix this!

"What happened to the exit?" Varonis asked.

"It, it must've been a trick or something," Chihiro mumbled at as low a volume she could manage.

"Wait, a trick?"

Crap, she thought Varonis wouldn't hear her, but perhaps she was louder than she thought. Now their legs shook, and they whimpered and glanced around the room. Great going, Chihiro, you got yourself lost AND scared the kid.

"It, it's okay, Varonis, we're not lost! We just, uh, had a slight change in direction!" Chihiro sputtered. "I, I'm sure there's probably an exist around here somewhere!"

A stone brushed against Chihiro's foot, and as she picked it up, it glimmered into a full-blown torch! Great, a light source! So, she ran around the room and scanned every inch, every corner and nook and crevice, for some kind of pathway or entrance…

And she found nothing. Her legs shook with every dead end she found, and no matter how badly she tried to stop them, it seemed like nothing worked! Her stomach flip-flopped as she collapsed and dropped the stone, and the words slipped from her without her trying.

"We're lost, and it's my fault!"

Chihiro's heart pounded against her chest like a caged animal trying to break free, and her head was the next to demand leave. Everything around her spun as Varonis ran up to her and gripped her arms, and they shouted something to her, but she could barely make out the words they said in her panic. Were they asking her if she was alright? Were they telling her to give up alright? It seemed somewhat urgent by how worried they looked, but Chihiro could barely keep it together long enough to figure out what.

"I don't know what you're saying!" Chihiro screamed in a desperate plea.

The world around rumbled, and Chihiro realized she made a very big mistake. The pebbles and crumbled ruins shook and bounced on the floor as something rammed into the very back of the room—surely that wall found them already!

Chihiro let out strangled breaths as her chest pounded even faster. That thing found them, and she needed to get herself together, but she could barely even think! All she could bring to mind was looping, panicked thoughts about what to do, visions of that wall slicing right through her and Varonis, words berating her for all the failures she'd accumulated like trophies, and nothing that could actually help! She shouldn't panic in front of Varonis, but, but, she could barely hold it together, not when all these thoughts ran in her head.

"Chihiro, what're we supposed to do?" Varonis begged.

"I, I don't know!" Chihiro sputtered at last. She forced a smile, but she was sure it wasn't a very good one going by how Varonis glanced at her with a shaky frown. "I, I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything! I shouldn't have dragged you into this!"

Chihiro gasped for air as if the words she spoke took all her breath, and Varonis's eyes turned away from her. They shuddered as the wall crashed and crumbled around them, but quickly turned to Chihiro and shook her. They shouted out something she could barely make, but with a point of their fingers and a shake of her head, she finally realized what they pointed out.

"There's a crack over there, and there's light! That would lead outside right? Right?" Varonis asked.

Chihiro shook her head and turned to the crack Varonis pointed out. Sure, it fit the description, but, it was so small! There was no way either one of them would fit in there!

"Yes, but, how are we going to get in there?" Chihiro asked. "Destroying it's not really an option when we can't use magic!"

"Who said we had to destroy it?"

Varonus dove their hand into their shirt, pulled something out, and held it before Chihiro—their full pendant! At the end of the string laid a sparkling, clear wheel with Ancient Skylandian runes engraved on its surface. Wait, did that mean?

"I'll go back into my pendant, and you can roll me through there! One I get out, I'll go around to the side and see if I can get the wall's attention!"

Varonis beamed like they just came up with the best idea in the world, but Chihiro had other thoughts.

"Varonis, what are you thinking?" Chihiro shouted as she gripped their arms. "That's super dangerous, you'll get hurt! I can't let you get hurt because I dragged you into this stupid plan!"

"But I WANT to do it!" Varonis insisted. They squirmed out of her grip and tensed as they let go of their pendant. "You helped me out all this time, and I wanna help you too! Besides, it doesn't look like we have any other choices!"

"I'm sure there are, just let me think!" Chihiro scratched at her head. "Well, we could—no wait, we don't have magic, and maybe—no, that's a dead end, and, well, er..."

The wall rammed again and sent bits of the ceiling crumbling down, and Chihiro leaped forward and pulled Varonis to the ground. Good timing, too, for a piece of ornamentation collapsed and broke to bits right where she once sat! Light poured in from the newborn holes in the ceiling, and Chihiro winced as they illuminated the room.

"We don't have time! Just let me do this!" Varonis insisted as they tried to squirm out of her grip.

Chihiro held them tight and pinned them down as best as she could. "No! Just let me figure this out! I already lost one person with my stupid ideas, and who knows if they'll be alright! I can't let that happen again!"

Another ram and shake of the room, and Varonis squirmed out.

"Please!" Varonis begged as tears formed in their eyes. "Just trust me! We don't have another way out of this!"

Unfortunately, Varonis was right; they didn't really have a choice in this matter. So, she relented with a nod as they withdrew back into the clear wheel on their pendant, which then dropped into the palm of her hand. She gulped, and with a strong flick of her arm, she rolled Varonis through the crack and listened as the sound of them rolling off grew more and more distant.

"Please be okay," was all she could bring herself to say.

When she no longer heard them rolling away, Chihiro slunk against the wall and winced.

"This is all my fault," she sobbed as she buried her face in her knees. "If I'd actually thought things through, none of this wouldn't have happened! Varonis and I wouldn't be trapped here, we wouldn't have lost the map to Arkus and the Machine Ghost would still be alive, Kaos would have never come back to Skylands... If I'd actually been smart and thought this all through, everyone would actually be safe!" Chihiro curled up until she was as small as she could make herself. "Why did I even think I could do this? I spent an entire year looking for Kaos and never thought to look right where he actually was, I never think these things through, I never get any of this right! Why do I do these things? Why am I so stupid?"

The smashing and crashing sounded off again, and Chihiro wanted to snap at the wall to leave her be so she could sulk in peace—but with one smash, the walls around her came crumbling down! Daylight poured into the room and illuminated the wall's spikes as it soared for her, and Chihiro veered around and rushed for the massive gap of rubble the wall created. Surely, she could flee now and find Varonis soon, and they could both get out of here! Not the most solid plan, but she couldn't really think with all the feelings swirling around in her head. She scrambled up the rubble, desperately clawed through mounds of broken brick and stone; the wall turned around, shot right for her and flew off. Its screeches sounded behind her, and Chihiro scrambled up the rubble pile before she slid down its other side.

She winced at all the dirt that now covered her clothes, but she couldn't really entertain her discomfort at the moment. She shot off as her eyes fell on a large opening and she gasped. Finally, home free! The rubble exploded behind her as the wall shot off, and with a glance behind, she found that the wall came in even closer! Chihiro gasped and flattened herself to the ground the best she could as the wall soared across from her and lifted her head.

"No!" she screamed.

But, it was too late—the wall already smashed into her one exit, her one chance of getting out and saving Varonis, and both the exit and her hopes reduced to rubbish. The rocks and rubble sealed up the opening as Chihiro watched, and she panted as she collapsed face-first into the rubble. Her body turned heavy as she tried and tried to push herself up, but her strength gave out on her and she could barely find the power to sit up. There was no way to leave, nowhere to turn, and all she could do was back into the corner as that spiked wall approached her like a furious lion cornering its prey. The wall swept in, and she threw her arms in front of her person as she hoped for the best.

CRASH!

Something else came smashing in and Chihiro opened her eyes. The spiked wall that once rushed in for her disappeared, and in its place laid a gigantic pile of rubble with Varonis at the top! They slid down with a smile on their face, a smile that hardly faded as they hopped up to Chihiro.

"Varonis?" Chihiro gasped as she stumbled to full height and grabbed them by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yep!" Varonis chirped. Their grin spread wider, and they spun around and gestured as wide as they could. "I was runnin' around and I saw another one of those giant spiky walls, and it started following me so I ran realllyyyyyyy fast and tried to get it to come here and destroy the other one! I was really worried that it wouldn't work, but it kept flying and flying…"

They're alright. They were alright. Chihiro breathed a small sigh of relief as the weight lifted from her shoulders, and somehow, she managed a smile as they continued on with their rambling. Once again she saw that reflection of herself from last year, but this time, the weight on her heart wasn't as heavy. It was a whole year, and a whole lot had changed—but didn't this happen before? Didn't she fumble and fail so many times, but find some way to carry on regardless? Yeah, there was, wasn't there? She recalled the time she lost the Eternal Undead Source and the spiral she fell into with a sort of bitter taste; then, she recalled Spyro's words from that night she spent locked up in her bedroom, the night cried her eyes out while the Machine Ghost's second death played over and over in her mind.

"Mourn the ones who we lost, and fight for the ones still here." Chihiro mused. "I think I understand that now. Heck, I think I understand everything about this now." Chihiro nodded and stood up as she gently patted Varonis on the shoulder. "Thanks, Varonis. You helped me remember something really important."

"Er, you're welcome, I guess." Varonis tilted their head and frowned. "I'm not sure what I helped you remember, but…"

Varonis scanned the room, and Chihiro's eyes fell on their pendant as it shimmered in the light. Ah, now she finally remembered where she heard the name Varonis before! She'd better get this trial done soon, for she was sure that there were quite a few people waiting for them.

"Ah, don't think anything about it. Let's just get through the rest of this place."

Chihiro and Varonis hiked over the rubble pile born from their earlier fight, slid down the other side, and carried on through the halls on the other side. They were quiet, for only their footsteps echoed throughout the empty stretches and no other presences made themselves known. Though, Chihiro did keep a keen eye on the walls, just in case. The sound of buzzing rang in her ears, and she tensed as she latched onto the walls. No, that seemed to come from somewhere a bit further away.

Varonis sped past the corner and turned back around with urgent speed. "Chihiro, we've got a problem!"

Chihiro joined Varonis at their side, and quickly she saw just what the problem was—the hall ahead had buzzsaws embedded into its floors that sped along at lightning speed! There were lots of them too, at that! She couldn't deny that the sight left a weird feeling in her gut, but she smiled as Varonis whimpered and slipped their hand into hers, and squeezed it tight.

"Just hold onto me, alright?" Chihiro whispered.

Varonis nodded, and squeezed her hand even tighter (well, as tight as a ghost could, anyways) as both of them knelt down in preparation to run. A few saws buzzed by, follow by just two, one, and then, none!

"Now!"

The two sprinted off at the speed of light, wove between the gaps that followed, rounded a corner, and slammed against the side as a particularly large buzzsaw buzzed right past them! A few more zipped by next, and with them gone, Chihiro leaped forward while Varonis clung tight to her waist! She slipped as she made her landing and both of them tumbled face-first. When she lifted her head, she found not buzzsaws waiting for her, but an exit! A swirling, blue vortex of an exit!

"Wait, we're at the end!" Varonis cried. "We won!"

"Not yet we haven't," Chihiro corrected with a click of her tongue.

Chihiro and Varonis stood tall and bathed in the bright, blue light of the vortex. It hummed a strange tune, a siren song calling for them to enter, and so, they did. The light flashed for a moment, and when they finally left the room, they found themselves in the void once more. This time, no doors presented themselves! Instead, all that laid before them was the speaker and a pair of worn, but sturdy treasure chests.

"Congratulations!" the Oracle cheered over the speaker. "You have beaten your trials, and now, you may pick your reward from one of these chests."

The chests creaked open as the Oracle finished speaking, and now their contents laid bare for all to see. One brimmed with shiny gold and jewels, while the other was filled to its brim with books and scrolls of all kinds. Surely, this was another secret test, wasn't it?

"Would you prefer vast riches as your reward, or is it knowledge that you seek? You can only pick one, so choose wisely."

Varonis's eyes glimmered as they laid on the chest of gold and jewels, but instead, Chihiro stormed over to the chest of scrolls.

"I'd like this one, please," Chihiro said in her most formal voice.

Behind her, Varonis sputtered and looked at Chihiro as if she grew a second head.

"But, look at all that gold! Wouldn't it be better to have all that shiny stuff? You'd be super rich!" they asked.

"But that's not what I came here for."

Varonis quirked their head as if they didn't understand still, so Chihiro took a breath.

"I took this trial because I needed the Oracle's help with something really important, like, everything is Skylands is counting on this important. He agreed to give me his wisdom if I did these trials here. Money's nice and all, but the knowledge is what I really need."

And besides, all that stuff wouldn't really mean much today, Chihiro thought, I think Hugo said a chest like that's worth like, twenty bucks? Gold is weird.

However, Varonis seemed to understand, so they ran up to the chest of scrolls and nodded furiously. "I want this one too, then!"

"A wise decision indeed," the Oracle remarked, "if you'll pardon my joke."

The sound of a door unlocking resounded throughout the void, and slowly it evaporated into raw, bright light.

"Your reward awaits you on the other side..."

§

A bright white light brimmed from the third door, and all eyes turned to it as that light grew stronger, louder, harsher with every passing second. The light wavered under the attention, and slowly, the form of a small, vaguely humanoid figure emerged from its overwhelming brilliance until out from it popped Chihiro! She stumbled out and held her head, and her face seemed to pale a bit with nausea.

"Geez, where am I?" Chihiro mumbled as she lifted herself up and stared with glazed eyes. "Back 'n the Oracle's room?"

"Chihiro!"

Chihiro turned around and screamed next as Spyro practically tackled her down! He wrapped himself around her and hugged her so tight, as if she'd disappeared the moment he let go, and he only shuddered and barely held back choked, strangled sobs.

"Spyro? What's wrong?" Chihiro asked as she hugged him back and stroked his head. "I, I wasn't gone that long…" Chihiro lifted her head, and her face fell to confusion as the other Skylanders all stared at her with wide, almost shocked looks, as if they barely comprehended that she was alive. "Did something happen in your trial?"

The Skylanders' faces fell the moment they realized Chihiro addressed her question to them. Some frowned furthered, others shied away from her gaze, and the whole air around them turned chilly. Spyro's shuddering grew even worse in front of her, so Chihiro just bit her lip and held him closer.

"Nevermind."

Chihiro held Spyro in a close, tight hug and drew her fingers in circles around his back. The feeling of his warm scales pressed against her and wrapped her in its embrace, so safe and so welcoming like it always was, so she bowed her head and let him wrap his wings around her. Something about that warm grip seemed to ease up the chilly mood, so after what seemed like an eternity, Spyro let go. He held his head down in a bit of embarrassment from his sudden outburst, but nobody seemed to judge, so he forced a smile and parted.

Another light shone from the door, and out popped Varonis next! They stumbled out and groaned as they held their head, and a wave of gasps came from a corner nearby. They lifted their head as the ancient portal masters' eyes went wide and their bodies froze.

"Mom!" Varonis called as they rushed forward and leaped into Sihiri's arms!

"Varonis!" the ancient portal masters all called as one as Sihiri caught Varonis in her grip!

They burst into laughter as Sihiri spun Varonis around, and they hugged each other so, so tight. In that moment, with all their wide beams and little bursts of laughter, they truly did seem like one big family. Varonis squirmed out of Sihiri's grip, and rushed over to Chihiro with that big grin still on their face.

"Come on, I've gotta introduce you! This is my family, the one I was telling you about!" Varonis shouted as they tugged on Chihiro's sleeve. "There's my moms, and my dads, and my parents and my brothers…"

"Oh, I already know them. Tree Rex told me about you, and I've been traveling with the rest of them for a while!" Chihiro chirped as she stopped dead in her tracks. "They're your family, aren't they?"

Sihiri chuckled.

"Yes, indeed," she said as she picked up Varonis and hugged them tight once more. "Varonis came into our care when they were still just a baby, and we all raised them together. They may not be our child by blood, but to all of us, they're family more than anything."

"So that's where you were hiding out, huh?" Luz chuckled as he lifted up Varonis's helmet and ruffled their hair. Varonis burst into laughter, and Luz did the same. "You sure love playing hide and seek on us, don't you?"

"I told you I'd win one of these days!"

As Luz and Varonis laughed while the Elder Elementals circled around and knelt down in wonder around them, they all brought a warm atmosphere that seemed to melt the cold tension of earlier. A few weary smiles came from those around the room, and for a moment, all seemed right with the world.

But, Vatra frowned, and his small hums showed that something still egged at his mind.

"This is all well and good, but," Vatra started, "Varonis, how did you end up here with the Oracle?"

"I can answer that question," the Oracle interjected. All eyes turned to him, and the Oracle cleared his throat. "I'm sure you recall how you were all stranded across Skylands when you passed on, but you may wonder, how exactly did that happen?"

Though worded like a curious inquiry, the Oracle's question did not receive a single answer. All went silent as all heads ran through whatever explanations they could, but finally, it was Nemir who stepped forward and spoke.

"It was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Indeed, it was." The Oracle stretched out a tentacle and gently placed Varonis's helmet back on their head. "This little one, in your dying moments, prayed to the highest powers they could think of for help—" the Oracle gently patted Varonis on the head "—and I was the one who answered."

The Oracle lowered his singular eye in a bow of shame.

"I heard your cries for help and attempted to save you, but I was young and much less powerful than I was now. Instead of bringing you all to my realm as I had hoped, I instead scattered you all across the Skylands you knew. Varonis was the only one I was able to bring with me, and they remained here in my company for the past ten thousand millennia, sleeping until the time for them to reunite with their family came." The Oracle bowed in the ancient portal masters' presence, a somewhat odd sight to see come out of a near-deity. "I truly apologize for my failure to aid you."

The ancient portal masters went quiet for a moment, but finally nodded in a sort of solemn understanding.

"You saved us regardless, did you not?" Nemir said. He took Varonis in his arms, and swaddled them in a tight hug with a smile. "Not only that, but you kept our child safe as well. All we have for you is gratitude."

"And I am grateful for you as well, as thanks to you, I have gained a tremendous amount of data for my studies." The Oracle rose back to his full height and beamed. "As promised, I will grant you a way to the Lost City of Arkus. Of course—" the Oracle made a small chuckle "—I doubt it will be lost by the time you arrive there."

Cheers and sighs of relief erupted around as the first good news they'd all heard that day made its way to them, but they died as quickly as they came. All eyes peered around the room, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were no fancy maps or compasses or ancient transportation devices to be seen, and nothing about this room changed any!

"Er, I hate to question an all-powerful oracle and all," Chihiro started as she crept up to the Oracle and looked around, "but, where is it?"

"Your reward will be waiting for you when you return back to your ship, and speaking of, it is probably time that I sent you back there. Safe travels, heroes of Skylands' present."

A bright white gripped the room around them and ate it up with a whisk of air and light, and with another sound, they stood on the Dread-Yacht once more! The Oracle was no longer with them—and for that matter, neither was the high priest, who he surely took back to Molekin Mountain. But, the beating of a helicopter's blades showed that they did have one new addition! An Arkeyan helicopter flew beside them steadily, as if begging for its pilot!

"Do you think that's it?" Chihiro started.

'Enehana frowned, walked over and poked their head inside. They hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, and popped their head back out with a smile.

"Yep, the autopilot's set for Arkus!" they shouted.

A few sighs of relief echoed throughout the Dread-Yacht, yet tension still rang. Sure, they finally got their way to Arkus, but they had to get going! Surely, Arkilles was already ahead of them and... Wait, what was that pounding coming from the bedrooms?

"What took you so long?" Ermit demanded as he slammed a door open. "He's been bugging me all day, and I haven't been able to figure out what to do about it!"

"Are you sure you are not in need of guidance, mister?"

Chihiro's eyes fluttered, and she shook her head. Wait, that voice! That soft, gentle, almost robotic voice, it couldn't be...

"If you are need of assistance," the Machine Ghost said as he flew out in front of Ermit, "I am happy to provide!"

"YOU'RE BACK!" Chihiro cried. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Chihiro rushed forward and flung into a hug, but with the Machine Ghost being, well, a ghost, she just phased right through him! Even thought she faceplanted right onto the Dread-Yacht's deck, she didn't even care! She just chuckled and scratched the back of her head as the Machine Ghost turned to her with a distant smile.

"Well, about as alive as a ghost can be, anyways," Chihiro remarked. "Are you alright? When you faded out right there, I thought I'd never see you again!"

"None of us did," 'Enehana remarked as they joined Chihiro. "Do you remember anything? No systems fried, or..."

'Enehana trailed off as the Machine Ghost stared at them with that same distantly polite look he gave Chihiro. Something felt wrong here. Sure he was back, but he seemed so out of it! In fact, Chihiro almost dreaded to hear what he'd say.

"I am sorry, but who might you be?" the Machine Ghost asked. "I am afraid that my databanks do not recall either of you in the ownership records."

Chihiro's face fell as she heard this. So he didn't remember a thing, did he? She should have guessed that coming back to the afterlife would have some consequences, but somehow, she hoped that everything would be alright still. Her lips trembled and she tried to force a smile regardless.

"Er, no, it's, it's fine."

"See? You're ruining the mood!" Ermit scolded as he pushed the Machine Ghost away. "Go back to your little robot if you wanna help anything!"

"I will do that, then," the Machine Ghost said as he phased through the wall.

Ermit sighed as the Machine Ghost disappeared, held his head and clicked his tongue in a bit of remorse. "This is worse than before I lost that darn ghost."

The cheerful mood faded immediately, and 'Enehana hopped into the copter and gave it one last look-over. Varonis skipped over, giggled as they plopped down, and kicked their feet together.

"Baba, can I pilot the helicopter?" Varonis asked as they watched 'Enehana work. "Pretty, pretty please with lots of sugar on top?"

'Enehana chuckled as they popped out of the copter. "I don't see why not!" they replied.

Vatra did a double-take and scurried over as 'Enehana heaved themself out of the helicopter.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Vatra asked as he raised a brow.

'Enehana leaned close and lowered their voice to a whisper as they helped Varonis in the pilot's seat. "It's on auto-pilot anyways. They won't be able to actually use any of the controls."

Vatra still seemed a little leery as Varonis buckled into the pilot's seat and bounced in place, but left the issue be as the helicopter locked up and flew off like a rocket.

"After that helicopter!" Flynn cheered as he raced to the Dread-Yacht's steering wheel and spun it with a vigorous fling. "We're going for Arkus or bust!"

The Dread-Yacht turned around and sped after the helicopter with a furious roar of its engine as everyone on the decks trained their eyes on the skies—and hopefully soon, Arkus as well.