SHING! Chihiro and Spyro dashed through a flock of giant stacks filled with imposing-looking tests that held complicated questions on their pages with a mighty slash, and watched with satisfied looks as those tests exploded into shreds!

"Y'know, fighting my worst fears is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be!" Chihiro remarked as she floated onto the floor and placed her hands on her hips.

"This is only just the beginning, though," Spyro reminded as he sat himself next to her and blew a few shreds of paper away from his face. "We've still gotta find a way to get out of here, if we can even find a way—" Spyro cast an aside glance at the halls before him "—just how big is this school, anyways?"

"Beats me." Chihiro shrugged as she turned around and walked forwards. "Guess we're just gonna have to climb, climb and climb some mo—" Chihiro stopped short and whipped her head around. "Hey, is that a map?"

Spyro flew over to Chihiro's side. "Wait! Did you say you found a—"

Spyro stopped short as a broccoli stalk beaned him right in the head! He whipped around and snarled, but reeled back as a crowd of sentient broccoli monsters charged down the hallways.

"I know you're not supposed to play with your food," Spyro remarked as his eyes flashed green, "but I think I can make an exception! Time to get ALL FIRED UP!"

As Spyro started a food fight in the background, Chihiro fixed her attention on the school map. It was fairly worn, and its illustrations and lettering with both faded and the paper had plenty of stains on it, but it was somewhat legible! One could easily make out the five floors of the school and their doors.

"Let's see," Chihiro mumbled as Spyro prepared some grilled broccoli, "if that's the fourth floor and that's the fifth—" Chihiro placed her finger on the map and drew it around her pathway "—then that should be the door to the rooftop!"

"Hey, get back here!" Spyro shouted as he chased the broccoli monsters up and down the hallway, his breath alight with fire. "I'm not done toasting you yet!"

"Spyro, I did it!" Chihiro spun around and waved towards Spyro. "I found the rooftop door! It's at the end of the fifth floor!"

Spyro breathed out a superflame, sat down as it singed the broccoli monsters in one big bonfire, and smiled as he flew back to Chihiro. "What are we waiting here for, then?" Spyro remarked as he flew to Chihiro's side. "Let's get going!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Chihiro smiled as she raced ahead, but paused and drew back. She yanked a stalk off of a toasted broccoli monster and munched down. "Hmmm, needs more ranch dip."

Chihiro and Spyro raced down the halls, and a feeling of carefree joy found its way in their hearts for the first time since they arrived in this strange, strange mission. Though the halls were long and seemed to never end, a door soon popped into view.

"There, I see it!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pointed ahead. "The dooOOOOAAAAAA!"

As Chihiro ran forward, several giant oni dressed in colorful, fancy clothing stepped in front of the door! Chihiro tried to stop herself before she could run into them, she really did, but it was no use! She ran far too fast to stop and shot smack-dab into them instead! As she cried out in pain and rolled backwards, Chihiro sat up and shook her head before she glared up at the oni.

"Where'd you guys come from?" Chihiro demanded.

"The better question is," one oni with curly blonde hair said, its voice deep and rumbling. "Whaddya think you're doing here?"

"Yeah!" chimed in a second oni as they glared down Chihiro. "Just running around the place, acting like you actually belong here! What a laugh!"

The oni all laughed, but Chihiro winced and crawled back just a bit.

"That's more like it!" the first oni proclaimed as it slammed a giant metal club into the floor. "Get lost, you freak!"

"Yeah!" the other oni chimed in.

"But, I can't!" Chihiro retorted as she stood up. "Heck, what am I doing? I need to find that exit and get out of here!"

"You really think you can do that, though?" the first oni chided with another slam of its club. "You'd have to get past us first, but you don't stand a chance! You're too weak!"

"Yeah!" the chorus of oni chimed in.

"And you're a crybaby!"

"YEAH!"

"And you're super annoying!"

"YEAH!"

Chihiro winced and felt her legs turn to jelly as the oni continue to mock and laugh. She had to get past them to reach the other floors, but she couldn't bring herself to even move a muscle! All she could do was stand there and take in their insults, like she was trapped in their words...

"Look, she's shaking!"

"I bet she's gonna run away and cry now, just you watch!"

"Yeah, in fact, I think she'll—"

Before the oni could speak further, a giant fireball zoomed down the hall and smacked them right in their faces! As they screamed and patted themselves down, a familiar voice resonated around the hall.

"What gives you the right to say that?" Spyro shouted as he flew in and glared them down.

"Spyro!" Chihiro called as she looked back up at Spyro with a shining beam.

Spyro smiled and beamed back down at Chihiro, then glared down the oni. They looked even more furious than before, for their hair was strewn and their skin and clothes were covered in burns and singe marks.

"You don't know a thing about Chihiro!" Spyro continued to retort as he flew further. "She’s not your little punching bag! She’s one of our best friends!"

Chihiro’s heart stopped just a bit as Spyro's words touched her ears and her heart.

"She never fails to make us laugh, she's always there for us, and most importantly—" Spyro looked back down at Chihiro and smiled "—even when things are tough, she never gives up! Even when things looked hopeless, she never stopped trying! As far as I'm concerned, she's just as much a hero as any of us!"

Chihiro's eyes sparkled as Spyro spoke, and she smiled as she stood back up and wiped away her tears. "That's right," Chihiro whispered as the last of her tears disappeared and a confident smile bestowed itself onto her face, "I can't just let you guys beat me down! I barely even know you guys, anyways!"

Chihiro's hands balled into fists as they flared with magic while her eyes narrowed.

"NOW YOU'RE IN FOR IT!"

With a clap of her hands, Chihiro summoned a small crate that fit snugly in the palm of her hands and was filled to its brim with soybeans.

"BEGONE, FOUL DEMONS!"

Chihiro grabbed a handful of soybeans from the crate and tossed them straight at the oni. The moment the soybeans made contact with their skin, the oni screamed in horror, for the beams literally burned right into their body! The oni screamed shrill screams as Chihiro got ready to fling more, and fled in utter horror.

"They say I'm the scaredy cat," Chihiro remarked as she popped a few soybeans in her mouth and hummed with pleasure. "Tastes like holy power, yum!"

With a snap of her fingers, the magic soybean crate disappeared from Chihiro's grasp!

"Now, time to get climbing!"

§

Terrafin heaved a heavy groan as he pulled his dazed head up. "Where am I?" Terrafin asked as he looked around and frowned.

Though the lighting was really bad, Terrafin could tell that he was stowed away in the hull of a ship. It was all wood everywhere he looked, saved for the few large piles of treasure that were scattered about.

"How did I even get here, anyways?"

"I dunno, dude," Zap asked as he finally woke up and shook his head, "I could ask you the same thing!"

As they locked eyes, a wave of realization washed over the two of them, and everything exploded.

"See what you did, Zap?" Terrafin exclaimed as he nudged against the ropes that held him tight. "If you'd have just listened to me, we wouldn't be all tied up like this!"

"I was doing fine, dude!" Zap scowled back. "You were the one who kept messing me up!"

Terrafin's mouth twisted into a fanged scowl as his eyebrows knit themselves into a frown. "You missed half of them! I was just tryin' to help you out!"

"Some help you were!" Zap growled a moment before he cleared his throat and collected himself. "You got us tied up and trapped, dude!"

"Excuse me?! You were the one who—"

"Knock it off, you two!" whispered a harsh, yet somewhat familiar voice from the shadows. "You'll get those pirates' attention!"

Terrafin and Zap stopped short as they heard the voice and gazed around, but no use. It was too dark to properly see a thing!

"WHO'S THERE?" Terrafin and Zap demanded at once.

"It's no matter to you," said the voice as a slender figure became barely visible against the shadows of the ship's hull. "All you need to know is that I'm the one who's gonna get you out of here."

The figure stood over Terrafin and Zap, and with a flick of their wrist, a sharp-looking playing card manifested between their fingers! Their gaze fixed on the coarse ropes that bound Terrafin and Zap as they diligently cut away at the bondage.

"What were you saying, Zap?" Terrafin asked as he shot Zap another glare. "About me getting us stuck?"

"It's true!" Zap gargled back with such intensity that static-charged spit shot out of his mouth.

Terrafin leaned his head closer to Zap and scowled out, "Yeah, right! You're the one who got us stuck here trying to show off!"

"Did not!" Zap, shoved his head closer to Terrafin's. "If you didn't try to show me up, I would've won, dude!"

"Did too!" Terrafin shoved himself closer.

"Did not!" Zap only drew in even closer to Terrafin!

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"DID—"

"Will you two keep it down?" the shadowy figure demanded as they shot a glare at Terrafin and Zap, who got so close that their faces smashed against one another. "With the way you're bickering, it's almost like you WANT to get the entire crew down here!"

Terrafin and Zap glanced at the shadowy figure with wide eyes for a moment, but both of them scoffed and looked away.

"Just saying, if you hadn't tried to act cool, we wouldn't be stuck here!" Terrafin remarked as he shot another aside glance at Zap.

"And if you hadn't tried to stage me up," Zap retorted as he shot another lancing glare back at Terrafin. "I would've actually won—so YOU got us into this mess, dude, not me!"

"Say that again?"

"Well, if YOU hadn't tried to stage me up, then WE WOULDN'T BE—"

"What's all this racket down 'ere?" demanded a crusty-sounded voice from above.

In moments the hull's door flipped open! Light poured into the room as a crowd formed at the door's base, a crowd of pirates armed and ready to fight! The figure gasped as they stepped back into the shadows, though it was useless now that their appearance had been revealed.

The figure did, indeed seem to have a slender build, though it was covered by the black and white checkerboard cloak they wore, which was fastened with a buckler around the neck shaped like a playing card. Their hood draped over their face and shielded it from view, but if one looked closely underneath, they could probably spot the tiniest hint of what seemed like orange fur…

"INTRUDERS?! TRYIN' TO RESCUE ME CAPTIVES?" exclaimed the crusty voice, which belonged to a grizzled seadog who donned tattered getup. "NOT ON ME WATCH! C'MON BOYS, WE'VE GOT A STOWAWAY TO TAKE CARE OF!"

The shadowy figure dropped their strangely-sharp playing card with a sharp gasp and drew back. Their frantic movements made it clear that they sought a means of escape, but it was far too late! The pirates already piled into the basement and itched for a fight! So, the figure drew into a defensive stance as they summoned more playing cards with a flick of their wrists! They shot out the playing cards fast as lightning as those cards stunned the pirates with a bean to the head, but it wasn't enough to dissuade those pirates, unfortunately.

One pirate jumped forward and slashed their sword at the figure, who only narrowly dodged the surprise attack. Before they could retaliate, however, another pirate jumped the figure with a kick to the back! As they yowled in pain and fell onto the floor, they groaned and staggered up, but they could barely even lift their own weight.

"Now, tell me," asked one pirate as they drew closer to the figure, "who are ye?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the figure hissed as they got back up and tried to throw a punch!

However, they were far too slow! The pirate dodged immediately and elbowed the figure in the gut, and they cried out in pain as they fell back onto the floor! As they did, the hood of their cape flipped over and revealed…

"JESS?" Zap and Terrafin exclaimed at once.

Sure enough, there rested on the floor, hood flipped over and face fully exposed by the overhead light, was none other than Jess LeGrand herself! Her mouth drew into a scowl as she pulled herself back up and glared down the pirates that had her surrounded, but the twitching on her face could tell anyone she was pretty worn.

"What's going on here?" Terrafin demanded as he struggled against the ropes that held him tight.

"No time to talk!" Jess exclaimed as she staggered back up and summoned a playing card. "I've got pirates to fight!"

With a swift cry of battle, Jess stumbled forward and jabbed her elbow into a pirate's throat, then watched as they coughed and reeled back. However, that was only the start! Jess grimaced and leaned back as the other pirates yelled and dashed after her with cutlasses and blunderbusses in hand. Jess could only stand there and wince. It was as if she was completely frozen, unable to do anything but stand and watch as—

Zap shot off a round of lightning bolts and shook the pirates to the bone! While the pirates screamed in literal shock, Jess summoned another hand of cards with a flick of her wrists, shot them off and stood back as the pirates fell in droves. Now certain that they were unconscious, she only nodded as she returned to Zap and Terrafin's side.

"Jess?" Terrafin asked as Jess grabbed the extra-sharp card and whittled down the ropes that kept him tied once more. "What's goin' on?"

"Yeah, dudette!" Zap chimed in as he turned himself to look at Jess. "What's with that whole getup?"

"Well, it was part of my plan." Jess sighed as she dutifully cut away. "I was lucky enough to escape the island when those pirates took over, but I couldn't take them all down myself. As you can see, I'm not very good in combat of the physical nature." Jess looked up at Terrafin for a moment of seriousness. "And well, let’s just say that if they figured out who I was, I'd be their top target."

Jess looked down at the ropes once more.

"I was planning to call the Skylanders in to take care of the little guys, while I'd go for the head of the beast, the captain himself." Jess's mouth dipped into a scowl as she bore her teeth. "However, it's clear things didn't entirely go as planned."

Terrafin and Zap both awkwardly laughed as Jess shot them a glare, but she sighed as she returned to the ropes.

"But it's no matter now." Jess worked a little more furiously on the ropes. "I'll just get you guys free and—AUGH!"

Zap and Terrafin both gasped as a loud CONK rang, followed by Jess falling unconscious on the floor. As they watched Jess's comatose body, a dastardly cackle resounded around the hull of the ship!

"So the lassie wants an audience with the Captain, eh?" the voice remarked as its owner stepped from the shadows. "I'm flattered to comply~"

"Who are you?" Zap and Terrafin demanded in unison, but they only got a very shiny, very sharp-looking cutlass shoved in their faces.

"Don't try any funny business, Skylandees," the person said as they grabbed Jess by the collar of her cloak. "Yer talkin' to Cap'n Dreadbeard, after all!"

The light cast from overhead shed some light of a different nature onto the voice's owner. He was a furry, canine-looking pirate dressed in a fancy, black satin captain's hat with a white skull on its front. His piercing brown eyes struck a level of danger to his looks, and his roughed-up, tan fur seemed somewhat more intimidating when paired with his sharp, fanged sneer. He donned a blue jacket with golden buttons over a simple white shirt, a brown leather belt, striped red trousers, and brown boots. He had all the looks of a pirate captain and then some—yep, this was definitely the guy that caused all this nonsense.

"I'll go hear out this lassie's request," Dreadbeard said as he lifted up Jess and dragged her cold body up the stairs, "and as for ye—" Dreadbeard shot a glare at Zap and Terrafin "—ye can just sit tight!"

"HEY! GET BACK HERE, DUDE!" Zap shouted as he thrust against the ropes that held him tight, though it was no use. "WE'RE NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A—"

The door to the hull only slammed down and locked back up.

"Fight."

The darkness and quiet painted the room around them with a sense of regret and remorse. Time slowed to a crawl, and the whole scenario seemed so quiet that it almost made it perfect for reflecting on one's every last mistake. Though they could barely be seen against the midnight, the glimpses one could catch of Terrafin and Zap showed that sorry frowns crossed their faces.

"We really screwed up, didn't we, dude?" Zap asked as he hung his head with a surprising amount of reflection in his voice.

"Yeah," Terrafin admitted as he cast an aside glance.

Zap bit his lip, almost hesitant to say more before he finally exhaled. "Guess it's my fault we got into all this bogus, isn't it?" Zap admitted at last. "So much for being just as good as you, huh?"

"What was that?"

Terrafin craned his head and looked at Zap.

Zap inhaled and exhaled. "Well, you're like, a super-big champ in the sports world, right?"

"Twenty times!"

"I thought if I beat you at something, I'd show you I'm just as good as you!" Zap scoffed and looked aside, "You've got that whole twenty-time champion thing, and I've only won races against dolphins. If I won against you, I'd be one of the best!"

As Zap sighed against, Terrafin only smiled and chuckled. "Don't get yourself too down, kid!" Terrafin looked over at Zap with a genuinely warm smile. "You're pretty good in your own right! I probably shouldn't have looked down on you so much."

Both Terrafin and Zap laughed to themselves, and their regret replaced with resolve as they smiled and looked at each other.

"Now that that's taken care of…"

"Let's get out of here and save Jess!"

Zap glared at the spot in the ropes that Jess cut away, and with a soft growl, he gripped onto the ropes with his teeth, yanked them hard and grinned as the ropes fell into a pile at his paws! Once he found himself free once more, Zap skidded over to Terrafin and yanked the ropes that bound him off!

"Man, that feels good!" Terrafin exclaimed as he stood up and flexed. "Now, let's get outta here!"

The two of them raced up the door and pushed it, but it didn't budge in the slightest.

"Guess this could use a little force!"

Terrafin let out a shout as he punched the door with all his might, but still no dice. Not even a sliver cracked open.

"Lemme try!" Zap exclaimed as he charged up a lightning bolt and shot it at the door, but it only burst into sparks as it hit the wood.

As the sparks faded away, Zap and Terrafin smirked and looked at each other. "It might be able to knock off one attack," Terrafin said as he cracked his knuckles, "but I bet it can't handle both of us!"

Zap grinned as he leaned back and got ready to charged, while Terrafin merely stretched out.

"One, two," Terrafin started as they both finished warming up.

"THREE!"

They both shouted at once as they slammed against the door and burst straight out! The two of them landed on the deck of a pirate ship parked at an island covered in skeletons and foliage, and more importantly, pirates!

"Alright, dudes, tell us!" Zap exclaimed as he charged a bolt of lightning.

"Where's Jess?" Terrafin demanded as he cracked his knuckles.

"The cap'n's taken her for a game of Pirate Cards!" proclaimed a squidlike pirate in a bandanna and rags as they drew out a cutlass. "He specifically told us to keep you lot from interruptin' him!"

With smiles across their faces, Zap and Terrafin glanced at each other and nodded before they glared down the pirate crew.

"Sorry, dudes," Zap said as he leaned back as if he was preparing for a tackle, "but we've got other ideas!"

And with that said, Terrafin and Zap launched themselves into the heat of the fray.