"This must be the place," Chihiro remarked as she and Spyro stared over the open mouth of the pathway before them.

As the path stretched on, the eerie white space was replaced with the familiar singed greenery and taint of death that Spyro's worst nightmare held, complete with an oncoming sense of dread—but, they couldn't stop now.

"If we're gonna get out of here, we'll need to defeat that illusion of Kaos," Spyro said as he flew in place and put a claw to his chin, "but how?"

"Yeah, it's not gonna be easy." Chihiro frowned and looked back at the imaginary Kaos from the safety of their magical doorway.

That imaginary Kaos looked awfully powerful, but then again, being hyped up on all the Skylanders' energy would probably do that to a person. His whole body radiated with an aura of strength and intimidation as his skin turned to mottled patches of an entire rainbow—red, blue, yellow, green, purple, some things they weren't entirely sure WERE colors, even! Gigantic tendrils covered in bones, leaves, coral and other elemental accessories sprung out from his back, which only added to his monstrous appearance. How in Skylands were they supposed to beat that?

"Wait!" Spyro's wings flapped just a bit faster. "I think I have an idea!"

"You do?"

Chihiro turned back to Spyro as he flew over to her and whispered a plan in her ear. With a few rapid nods, Chihiro smiled and gave Spyro a thumbs up. Chihiro withdrew her thumbs up and looked at the battlefield once more, but gulped and nodded. Though her legs shook, her gaze was steely and resolute.

"Now, let's go!" they both shouted in unison.

Chihiro disappeared from view as she and Spyro crossed over the barrier that lead to the battlefield, but not before she winked back at him.

"KAOS!" Spyro called as he flew back into the imaginary Kaos's vision.

"So you've returned, have you?" Kaos sneered, his voice laden with mockery. "Hopefully it's to face your end with dignity. After all, that's all you have now!"

Spyro winced as Kaos cackled once more, but he shook his head and glared down Kaos nonetheless.

"Any last wishes, dragonfly?"

"Actually, I do have one." Spyro placed his paws behind his back, vaguely caught a glimpse of a multicolored light flare, and withdrew a faceted crystal sphere that shimmered with magic. "Could you destroy this sphere with one of your elemental attacks?"

"WHAAAATTT? THAT'S IT?" Kaos drew back with a scowl of disgust on his face. "You want the GLORIOUSLY EVIL KAOSSS to do something as simple as that? BAH!" Kaos scoffed and turned away. "Don't try and waste my time, dragonfly! You're only delaying the inevitable!"

Spyro laid down the crystal. "Well, if you're not strong enough to destroy something as simple as a crystal like this, that's fine I guess. I suppose even mighty, powerful evil villains have their weaknesses too."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Kaos pointed a finger at Spyro. "I could destroy that crystal any day of the week if I wanted!"

"You don't have to be so proud, Kaos. If you don't want to waste your time on the impossible—"

Kaos growled as a bright red blush of frustration dusted his face.

"—then I won't force you." Spyro placed a paw on the crystal. "I suppose it would be quite embarrassing, being unable to—“ Spyro stumbled back as a giant orange blast of energy slammed straight into the crystal “—ACK!"

"See?" Kaos glared with pride as he gazed over the flash of light that followed, "I could TOTALLY DESTROY—HUH?"

Kaos's proud look faltered into one of surprise as the glow faded, and revealed that the crystal sphere was still intact! It glowed with a faint glow of orange, and its few cracks even healed! It was like it was fresh out of the box!

"Well, guess I was right.", Spyro smirked as Kaos fumed with rage. "Messing with that sphere was just too hard for you—"

Kaos shot a blast of purple, magical energy at the sphere, which rolled away a few paces, but was still completely intact!

"Grr…" Kaos gritted his teeth with his tendrils flared with magic, then shot off a bunch of blasts at once. "TAKE THIS, YOU STUPID SPHERE! AND THAT! AND THESE TOO! WITNESS THE FULL POWER OF KAOSSSSSSSSS!"

As Kaos shouted out his cries of battle, eight more magic blasts all colored in a rainbow of hues homed in on the crystal sphere and smashed into it all at once! Spyro winced as the sphere glowed as bright as the sun, but smiled as the glow faded and unveiled the sphere, which was still intact save for being covered in slowly-sealing cracks!

"HOW?! HOWWWWWWWWWWWW?" Kaos demanded as he clasped his hands on his bald head. "HOW COULD THAT THING WITHSTAND THE SHEER POWER OF THE ALL-POWERFUL KAOS?!"

"Chihiro, the crystal, now!"

"GOT IT, GOLDEN BOY!" Chihiro's voice shouted back as a warbling sound echoed around the battlefield!

Sure enough, attached to the crystal was none other than Chihiro! She latched onto it with glowing hands as its cracks finally sealed away. With a smile, she jumped up and served the crystal like a volleyball!

"CATCH, SPYRO!"

Spyro scraped his paw against the ground, lowered his horns, and charged straight into the sphere! The sheer force of his charge cracked the sphere wide open, and with a giant flash of light, every single elemental attack Kaos sent into the sphere flooded out and into Spyro! But, they didn't hurt him in the slightest; rather, they welcomed him into their arms, enveloped him with a welcome smile as they wrapped around his body and surrounded him in a rainbow cocoon!

Kaos and Chihiro's eyes widened while their mouths gaped open—Kaos's from shock, Chihiro's from wonder.

"Now you're in for it, baldy!" Chihiro shouted as she glared down Kaos with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye. "You just fell for our plan!"

"WHAT?" Kaos demanded as he glared down at Chihiro.

"You see—" Chihiro smirked and crossed her arms, "—while you smacked all your attacks into that sphere, I kept healing it! So all you did was give us a chunk of your power!" Chihiro smirked as Spyro's cocoon faded. “Now, we've leveled the playing field!"

Spyro emerged from the light like a caterpillar from a cocoon, and his whole form radiated with power! His purple scales were now brighter and sleeker, like they were completely polished and shined, while his horns grew twice their length while vines and coral wrapped around them. His claws, crest and other spikes looked to have been made of shiny crystal, or maybe even gold, while skeletal arms acted as a sort of armor for his wings. His eyes flashed a rainbow of colors, the same rainbow that glowed around him and gave him a faint look of power!

"Now, Kaos," Spyro said as his voice echoed with that of a thousand. "What were you saying? About this being the end of me?"

Kaos looked almost taken aback as he took in Spyro's new form, but his eyes glazed over to Chihiro as he smirked. "Actually, change of plans!" Kaos proclaimed as he charged up a giant elemental blast and shot it off. "I'll get rid of your puny portal loser first!"

Spyro gasped as he got ready to fly over to Chihiro, but Chihiro was more than prepared! She summoned a giant, magical tennis racket, and parried the elemental blast right back at Kaos.

"Don't worry about me, Spyro!" Chihiro shouted as she gave Spyro a peace sign, "You just worry about beating Kaos's butt!"

Spyro nodded, and smiled as Kaos cried while he swiftly dodged the parried elemental blast. Now was Spyro's chance! Spyro shot through the skies, tackled Kaos straight in the chest, and smirked as Kaos fly back.

"WH-WH-WHOA!" Kaos cried out as he flew back then caught himself in midair.

When he finally steadied himself, Kaos growled while a molten lava tendril attached to his back shot off a giant fireball! But, Spyro was quick to retaliate as he shot out a giant blast of water! The water cooled the flames as soon as they made contact, and only steam could be seen from the battlefield.

"You go, Spyro!" Chihiro cheered as she looked up at Spyro and waved.

Spyro beamed and waved back at Chihiro, but that wasn't really the wisest idea as it gave Kaos the perfect opening! Kaos volleyed off another fireball, and this time, it slammed Spyro straight in the chest! Spyro let out a pained scream as he tossed back further into the skies! Chihiro gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth, but her fears disappeared as Spyro shook off the attack and charged back into Kaos once more!

Kaos screamed out as he barreled backwards, yet let out a gasp of shock as a giant vine from below wrapped tightly around his body. Kaos grunted and squirmed against the vine's grip while Spyro kept his gaze fixed on Kaos, and Spyro’s rainbow eyes now flashed a crisp, spring green. Kaos let out a growl that turned to a roar as a giant silver aura embodied him, and the vine rotted away into nothingness! Now free to fight, Kaos cackled while flaming skulls rained down on the battlefield!

Chihiro watched the fight with sparkling eyes and her vision fixed on Spyro as he swiftly dodged the skulls, but she let out a scream as one crashed just inches away from here. "Geez, talk about a fire hazard!"

Chihiro bounced away from the flaming skull and took sanctuary under a sturdy-looking rock formation. As she looked back up at the battlefield, Chihiro winced and bit her lip. This battle looked so intense, with both parties so powerful and neither of them willing to relent. It was impossible to predict how it would turn out!

"You can do it, Spyro!"

§

A cold wind blew through the alleyways as Slam Bam tightened his fists. Something about this whole place seemed suspicious, dangerous even, like something was going to jump him from the shadows at any moment!

"Who's there?" Slam Bam demanded as he whipped his head around, but looked down and saw a couple of crickets contently chirping away.

With a sigh, Slam Bam looked ahead and trudged further through the alleyways. The whole place was coated in a thin blanket of darkness that made it a teensy bit hard to see, but his ears were good enough direction as anything else.

"Hello?" faintly called a voice from further ahead. "Is anyone here? Hellooooooo!"

"A voice!" Slam Bam hid behind a couple of conveniently-placed crates and looked ahead, but found that nobody came his way. No footsteps, to shadows around the corner, nothing!

"Helllooooooo!"

But still, that voice continued to resound. Yep, Slam Bam definitely couldn't have been imagining it. So, with a wary push, he drew away from the crates and crept further down the alleyways.

"Wait, who's there? Is someone coming?" The voice grew louder and louder as Slam Bam came closer and closer. "Please tell me you have a key or something!"

A key? Slam Bam cocked an eyebrow as he rounded a corner. Why would someone need…

Slam Bam's train of thought came to a screeching halt as he saw what was stationed around the bend—a mabu trapped in a cage!

"Wait, you're not a pirate!" the mabu exclaimed as he jumped back and hit the bars of the cage. "At least, you don't look like the others. What are you doing here?"

"You're right, buddy, I'm no pirate," Slam Bam replied as he walked forward and examined the cage, "I'm the one who's gonna get you out of here!"

The mabu breathed a sigh of relief and rambled on more, but it was all background noise in Slam Bam's mind. He was more focused on the cage itself! While it was made of solid gold and had a keyhole and everything, it seemed frail enough that he could probably yank the door right off if he tried hard enough. So, that's what Slam Bam tried to do! He latched all four of his beefy hands onto the door, and strained and pulled as hard as he could! Sweat dripped down his face as his mouth twisted into a pained scowl, and the entirety of his strength focused on pulling off that door.

The mabu tilted his head. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you out!" Slam Bam peeked a slight glimpse at the mabu, but focused back on the door. "Stand back, this might—"

Before Slam Bam could finish, cackling echoed through the walls of the alleyways! The mabu gasped and drew back, while Slam Bam let go of the cage door and whipped around.

"Awfully bold of ye to try and break the rules while we were on our lunch break," cackled a hyena-like voice from the shadows, "but sorry, matey. Ye can't let the prisoners go without a game of Pirate Cards!"

Out from the alleyways' shadows stepped an entire crew of pirates! They were all dressed in stained rags and had crumbs woven throughout their beards and fur, but that didn't make the weapons in their hands look any less intimidating than usual.

"But, we could play a game right now, if yer interested~" the voice emitted itself once more, its source a seadog with spotted fur dressed in pretty fancy-looking pirate attire with slight ketchup stains—or was it blood? It was hard to tell.

Slam Bam cast an aside glance in front of the cage, where he spotted a wooden table covered in a deck of cards. He wasn't sure how he missed it the first time with how big it was, to be honest. His lemon eyes glazed over the table for a few moments, but he knocked it over and glared down the pirates!

"Sorry buddy," Slam Bam said as he cracked his knuckles, "but I don't trust your little card games. I'd rather get straight to the point!"

"Ye heard him, mateys!"

All the pirates around brandished, sharp, shiny cutlasses right at Slam Bam! Their fangs bared and their eyes narrowed as they pointed the blades straight at him, but Slam Bam was the furthest thing from intimidated. Rather, he shot out his hand and cast out a gigantic ice block that encased the cutlasses' blades! The pirates' jaws dropped as they tried to yank their weapons out of the ice, but it was no use! The ice block was far too cold and solid to safely remove the cutlasses out!

While most of them tried to retrieve their swords, a few got impatient and just pulled guns out of their coats! With a twitch of their fingers, they pulled the trigger and shot! Slam Bam only grunted as he tossed out more ice blocks that trapped the guns’ projectiles inside!!

"Y'know, is it getting a little chilly here?" Slam Bam cracked his knuckles. "OR IT IS JUST ME?"

Slam Bam punched his fists right into the center of the ice blocks, and sent gigantic shards of ice flying everywhere! The sheer force from both the blast and the collision with the giant ice shards sent the pirates flying backwards into the houses that surrounded with a mighty CRASH!

While they groaned and slunk down, Slam Bam walked forward and cracked his knuckles once again, his teeth bared and his eyes lit with the will to fight! The pirates jumped up and got ready to attack, but their footing and focus was so disoriented from their little crash that all they could do was get yanked up by Slam Bam! As the pirates squirmed against his grip, Slam Bam tossed them into the air four at a time, then shot them off with a storm of punches! The pirates screamed as they flew back into the alleyways, and a thunk sounded off as their screams became no more. They all fell unconscious, and left only Slam Bam and the mabu prisoner behind.

Slam Bam grunted, walked over to an unconscious pirate who fell close by, and fished his hand into the pirate's pocket. "A-ha!" Slam Bam yanked out a shiny golden key. "This should work!"

Slam Bam walked back to the cage and looked over the mabu. Slam Bam only made a gentle, warm smile, unlocked the door, and yanked it open! The mabu watched in wide-eyed wonder, but beamed as he ran outside the cage and stretched.

"Thank you for freeing me!" the mabu exclaimed as he shook Slam Bam's hand. "I'm the shipmaster of this island! When those pirates came here, I tried to stop them, but I somehow accidentally ended up in that cage instead!"

Slam Bam just smiled and rolled his eyes, but turned alert and jumped back as something shot the nearby table!

"What was that?" the shipmaster asked as he reeled back.

Slam Bam frowned, stepped ahead, and looked down at the wooden table to find a playing card wedged into the wood! Slam Bam gingerly picked up the card and rubbed a thumb against its surface.

"'Your friends need your help at the mayor's estate,'" Slam Bam read, his frown only deepened as he flipped the card over. But, there was no continuation, only the printed image of a Queen of Hearts.

Slam Bam frowned and flicked the card aside with a newfound worry in his chest. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good, he could tell right in that instance.

"Did you say you needed to go to the mayor's estate?" the shipmaster asked as he stepped forward and waved a hand, "I know a shortcut! Follow me!"

As the shipmaster ran ahead, Slam Bam nodded and ran after him. While he ran, he felt a sting of worry in his chest and grimaced.

Hopefully they aren't in too much trouble…