"So, how long has she been gone again?" Cynder asked from the front row of Skylanders.

It had been several hours since Chihiro had left for school, and each of the Skylanders anxiously awaited her return from their positions on her dresser, which she swore would be safe to stay at since her relatives were all away. Schools on Earth seemed to last an eternity… Or maybe it just felt that way. There was no clock around to truly tell.

"About four, five hours now, maybe?" Spyro said before he heaved a tired sigh. "Listen guys, calm down. She'll be home anytime, and once she gets back we can go back to Skylands and stop Kaos."

The chatter died down for a bit upon hearing Spyro's words, before another voice piped up—Whirlwind's.

"What do you think happened to Master Eon? I didn't really see him when the Core was destroyed…" Whirlwind said before she gulped. "Do you think he's…dead?"

Silence struck Spyro as he heard Whirlwind's words. The thought of Master Eon's body, incinerated to ashes by the sheer power of the Core's explosion, or battered under heavy wreckage from the battle turned his blood cold with fear.

"Oh I'm sure he's alive, Whirlwind! I mean, he's been through a lot worse all these years, he could survive a little explosion, right? I mean, if we could survive it—"

"Nevermind, Spyro. Like you were saying, I'm sure he's fine, it was just…Nevermind," Whirlwind's voice faltered off as she stared out the window.

Outside, the streets of Treasure Lake laid barren save for the ever-present rows of houses and forest, a few elderly people who walked their dogs or an occasional squirrel who crossed the road, and… Some kind of big, yellow machine?

Whirlwind watched intently as the big yellow machine parked itself outside of Chihiro's house with a grinding stop. In moments, somebody pushed open the door, skipped down its steps and waved goodbye as the machine drove away to its next destination—somebody with night black hair and a cheery beam…

"She's here!" Whirlwind exclaimed with utter glee as she watched Chihiro run up the flattened stone path that lead to the house which was apparently called a "driveway."

"She is?" Spyro shouted as his eyes darted all around the room—but he was too far back to actually see anything.

Excited clamor bounced around the walls as all the Skylanders metaphorically pushed their way into the window's view. It was almost time! They could finally go back home! As if to amplify their excitement, the sound of a door opening reached all their ears as an ever familiar voice rang through the mostly-empty house.

"Guess who's baaaaaaaack!" shouted Chihiro, her voice peppy and upbeat.

"That's her!"

The sound of footsteps echoed through the house as the door to Chihiro's room swung open to reveal nobody else but Chihiro! She, at the moment, dressed in a pale gray vest with a silver zipper layered on top of a white sweater, gray-black sweatpants and lighter gray boots. A dark violet and black backpack rested across her shoulder and a twinkle sparkled in her eyes. Her ever-trademark beam was present on her face, as if to show that she was just as eager to get to work as they were to get home.

"Who's ready to save Skylands?!" Chihiro announced, her voice eager and full of excitement as cheers of joy and eagerness erupted across the room. "That's the kind of enthusiasm I like to see!" She tossed her backpack on her bed and gathered the Skylanders in her arms before she ran off to the living room. "Let's go save the world!"

§A few minutes of setup later§

"Okie dokie, portal's set up, game's running, and everything should be good!" Chihiro chirped as she grasped the base of Spyro's figure in her palm and gently placed him on the portal.

As purple lights shone from the stone portal, Spyro flashed onto the screen and struck a pose.

"All fired up!" Spyro shouted while he took a proud stance.

And with that, he flew up and the image on the television changed to another—an image of a chain of islands broken apart from each other, the houses that topped them crumbled and debris scattered across their surrounding skies. On the largest island, there was what seemed to be a furry brown mole who wore glasses much too big for their head and a crisp green jacket with a book-filled lapel. With the way they paced around what remained of the island, one could tell they were only inches away from a nervous fit. A crash sounded nearby, and the mole jumped at least three feet in the air before they turned around and found a deflated hot air balloon with a torn-up basket crashed nearby. The mole then sighed and rolled their eyes, their anxiety traded off for frustration.

"Who's that?" Chihiro asked, her eyes focused on the furry mole as she tilted her head.

"That's Hugo! He's alive!" Gill Grunt shouted, all manner of relief in his voice. "But what's he doing here? He almost never leaves the citadel, much less our island!"

"Hugo!" shouted a gruff-sounding voice as a person pushed through the rubble.

This person was a muscular, orange caracal-like creature with blue eyes and brown facial markings. They dressed in a brown pilot's jacket and hat, gloves, and shoes, black pants, a red scarf, and goggles set neatly on top of the hat. They were covered in shallow scratches and clothing rips, yet still had the biggest smile on their face—whatever pain or shock they faced appeared to be minimal, as if this was routine for them.

"Wow, parking sure was easy! With all those balloons flying off, there were spaces everywhere!" exclaimed the caracal as they jumped out from the wreckage and dusted themself off.

Hugo gave them a very frustrated look as he twisted his lapel.

"Flynn, you do realize those balloons are EVACUATING, right?" Hugo asked as he frowned deeply, clasped his wrist and grimaced at the fleeing balloons.

"Ohhhh, that makes a lot more sense." Flynn's smile turned to a grimace. "So, why are they evacuating?"

"I'M NOT SURE! COULD IT BE BECAUSE THE WHOLE ISLAND'S COVERED IN TORNADOES?!" Hugo paced around the island and gnawed on his nails. "Oh, of all the places we had to land at, why here? The island's being blown to bits!"

"Now buddy, let's calm down, I'm sure it's not a TOTAL disaster—"

Hugo simply ignored Flynn and curled up into a ball on the ground. As he sat there, he fiddled with the lapel of his jacket while tears of fear and sorrow welled in his eyes.

"First, the Core of Light gets destroyed," Hugo muttered with a notable pained tone. "Then the Skylanders disappear to who-know-where and Master Eon,"—Hugo stopped himself and sniffled for mere moments before he burst into full-out sobs—"MASTER EON'S DEAD!"

Gasps were heard all around the room for moments before the Skylanders all fell silent, as some shook while others were numb from shock.

"Now guys, there's no need to panic," Whirlwind said, though the trill in her voice betrayed her true feelings. "Maybe Master Eon went into hiding or something and Hugo just thinks he's dead because he can't find him, I mean, that's always like Hugo, assuming the worst of every situation!"

Whirlwind chuckled, but it was clear to those around that her laughter came from anxiety, not glee.

"And now," Hugo croaked between tears and hard gasps, "I'm gonna die on this ransacked shell of an island all because of—"

"Because of what, Hugo?"

A familiar voice came to Hugo's attention as he turned around and Spyro greeted him! Hugo's eyes cried tears of joy now as he stumbled over and wrapped his arms around Spyro in a tight, gleeful hug.

"SPYRO! OH THANK THE ANCIENTS, YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE ALIVE YOU'RE—"

"Okay, Hugo, personal space there," Spyro said as he reeled back just slightly.

Hugo giggled sheepishly and stepped back, and he wiped his tear-stained glasses on his jacket before he made eye contact with Spyro once more.

"So, give me the details. What's been going on while we've been gone?" Spyro asked with a furrowed brow.

"WE?! YOU MEAN THE OTHER SKYLANDERS ARE ALIVE TOO?!" Hugo's eyes widened with glee once more.

"You bet!" Spyro nodded with a slight, toothy smile. "They're hanging out on Earth with the new portal master!"

'YOU FOUND ANOTHER PORTAL MASTER?!" Hugo tackled Spyro into a joyful hug once more, "THIS IS AMAZING NEWS, SPYRO! NOW WE FINALLY STAND A CHANCE AGAINST KAOS!"—Hugo then let loose on his grip and gave Spyro a confused look—"But first off, what's Earth?"

"Long story, explain on the way. But first, how have things been over here?"

"Not good," Hugo's tone turned solemn as he turned away from Spyro and fiddled with his jacket's lapel once more. "In the time that you've been gone, Kaos has taken over most of Skylands! He's been conquering villages and laying entire cities to waste, and evil has a stronger hold on Skylands than ever before!"

"In just one day?" Spyro asked, surprise in his voice, "I knew Kaos would've started his conquest as soon as possible, but that's fast even for him!"

"That's the thing, Spyro," Hugo said, his voice having grown even more solemn than before. "You haven't been gone for a day. You've been gone for six months."