"So, do you think they're here yet?" asked one young fire spirit as they flitted to and fro among the crowds of fire spirits that formed outside the village limits. "Do you? Do you?"

"Does it look like there's anyone coming?" asked the fire spirit beside them as they raised an eyebrow at the first.

"I can't tell!" the first fire spirit groaned as they placed their flaming hands on their sides. "Everybody's all crowded, I can't see a thing!"

So, the first spirit hopped on top of the second's shoulders and scanned the crowds, but unfortunately, it seemed as though there was no sign of Flameslinger, Prism Break or Ignitor just yet. Nothing could be seen over the warmly-colored fields and horizons ahead, save for a cluster of specks that were slightly cooler and duller compared to the rest of the world ahead. Wait a second!

"They're here, they're here!" the first fire spirit cried as it leaned back and pumped its fists to the skies, but grunted as their friend lost balance and fell backwards. "Whoops!"

The other fire spirits gasped and rumbled among each other with anticipation and glee, all while they shuffled and pushed each other aside in one big pile to try and get a better look. Anticipation bubbled like lava ready to explode as those distant specks grew closer and closer to the crowds of fire spirits—and indeed, those specks were none other than Flameslinger, Ignitor and Prism Break!

The fire spirit crowds hooted and hollered as they went to run, but before they could, the guards flew in front of the oncoming stampede and pushed them back.

"Back, stay back!" the head of the fire spirit guard cried as they pushed back a few particularly excited spirits, coughed and turned their attention back to Flameslinger. The two of them stared in quiet understanding, and finally the fire spirit held out their hand. "Did you get the stones?"

Flameslinger just smirked and dove his hand into his pocket.

"See for yourself," Flameslinger said as he rummaged through his pocket, yanked his hand out and presented the guard with none other than the hearthstones!

The guards all gasped and crowded around the head of command while they all basked in the sparkling, warm glory of the hearthstones, and the head of command snatched them out of Flameslinger's palms.

"We need to get these to the Great Flame, stat!"

The crowds of fire spirits split in half and formed a path through the fire spirit's village, but once the guards, Flameslinger, Ignitor and Prism Break rushed through, the fire spirit crowd all stormed right behind them! This massive crowd made a beeline straight for the temple doors, and rushed through them with such intense they nearly bulldozed the doors down!

The civilian crowd spread across the temple floors. They watched with pursed lips and bated breath as the Great Flame coughed and hacked just as hard as it did when Flameslinger, Ignitor and Prism Break first arrived. Though they seemed so happy and certain this would work before, now that the moment of truth was here, the mood was completely different. Fire spirits mumbled and whispered to each other as the Great Flame shuddered and hacked away, but gasped as it shrunk in response to one of the guards yanking the Crucible of the Ages out from under its fire!

The other guards spread out, placed the hearthstones in a circle around the Great Flame, and floated back as the stones glowed with a faint, red light. For a moment, it seemed like nothing would happen aside from the stones glowing a little, and the worried chatter grew louder and more frantic. After a few moments, the light grew so massive that it completely engulfed the Great Flame!

Everybody gasped as the light poured over the temple room and tinted it a blood-like crimson, but their terrified gasps and panicked cries turned to cheers and smiles as the Great Flame emerged bright and strong from the light, like it was just lit! While it burned bright, everyone else's flaming bodies turned larger and brighter-colored in tandem!

The guards all breathed sighs of relief, and the head guard smiled as they took the Crucible of the Ages and handed it to Flameslinger.

"Well, a deal's a deal," the guard said as they pushed the Crucible closer to Flameslinger. "You held up your end of the bargain, we'll hold up ours!"

Flameslinger grinned as he lifted the Crucible out of the guard's hands, but unfortunately for him, it was still hot to the touch! Flameslinger yelped as he bounced the Crucible around in his hands, and finally Ignitor snatched it away in midair!

"Perhaps it would be best for me to cart this for the rest of our journey," Ignitor said as he cradled the Crucible close to his own flames.

Flameslinger chuckled, made a nod of agreement, and took a look around as all the spirits cheered and basked in the warmth of the great flame. Everything around turned a warm red from the glee and relief that everyone around felt, and it was so infectious that even he broke out in a smile!

"Hey, now that the Great Flame's saved, we should have a party!" cried one of the guards.

Rousing cheers of agreement shouted from the fire spirits as they dashed further into the temple, and Flameslinger grinned as he followed after them, but stopped in place as Ignitor and Prism Break shot him icy glares.

"Well, we'd all love to stay," Flameslinger said as he winced and turned towards the temple doors, "but, we have to get the Crucible back to the Core of Light!"

So, the three of them sifted through the crowds and made their way back to the temple doors. Before Flameslinger could make his leave, something tapped on his shoulder and caught his attention. He turned around, and there before him was Infernus again!

"If you're leaving now," Infernus said as they nodded towards Flameslinger, "at least let me thank you for bringing back the hearthstones. First you saved me, and then you saved our entire community!" Infernus looked back towards the Great Flame as it burned with pride. "Who knows what would've happened to the Great Flame if it didn't have a proper hearth…"

"You don't need to thank me," Flameslinger replied as he shook his head, "I was only doing what was right!"

"You said the same thing when you saved me all that time ago." Infernus just smiled even wider as they gently clasped their hands. "I was right to entrust you with my power."

A bit of warmth bubbled in Flameslinger's cheeks, but not the kind of intense fire and rush of pride. Rather, it was a sort of gentle, humbling warmth, one that only seemed a bit warmer as he nodded and made one last, curt bow towards Infernus.

"Flameslinger, are you coming or not?" Prism Break shouted as he jumped off the last of the temple steps. "If you keep lollygagging, we'll have to leave you behind!"

"Coming!"

Flameslinger turned around and dashed down the temple stairs as well, and with their party reformed, they all strolled through the town's paths.

Everything in town burned bright and warm once more; the buildings painted in stunning red and yellow flames while notably healthier-looking fire spirits waved and cheered out cries of gratitude, and in response, Flameslinger and Ignitor both smiled and waved back. Even Prism Break cracked a smile and the occasional nod of approval! It was a lot more welcoming than the reception was when they initially arrived at the village gates—heck, the guards even gave them approving smiles as they stepped out the village gates! It was so sweet and warm that it almost made them all want to stay a little longer.

But, they did have duties to attend to, so they left the village with one last wave and smile and trekked through the massive valleys of flaming flora once more. The path they traveled hadn't changed at all since they first entered, and yet, it seemed like it took forever to reach the entrance! By the time they stepped foot before it, they were all tired, and yet, oddly enough, they didn't feel awful at all! If anything, it was a good kind of tiresome feeling, the one that made them all sigh with relief as they sat down on the warm fire floor. For that moment, all they did was smile and sit in silence as the village burned bright from its place on the other hill.

"Y'know," Prism Break said as he stretched and finally stood to full height, "I think we did good today."

"As doth I," Ignitor replied as he stood with the Crucible still held tight in his grip.

Though Flameslinger said no words, the smile and nod he gave were indication enough that he shared their feelings. The three of them popped back through the white fire entrance, and in seconds, they found themselves back in the heat of the mines from which they came, though this time the heat didn't seem nearly as oppressive as before. In fact, they hardly noticed it as they walked back up to the sealed off entrance!

"You might wanna stand back," Prism Break said as he held his hands tight together.

As Flameslinger and Ignitor heeded his advice and stepped back, Prism Break fired off a gigantic laser straight through the center of the rock pile that sealed the entrance off! The whole pile rolled away and collapsed until it was little more than a short barrier, and Prism Break turned back to Flameslinger and Ignitor with a grin.

"Now, let's get that Crucible back where it belongs."

§

Chihiro made a weak smile as the light faded and she found herself back in the mission simulator room once more, though her smile started to shake and waver as she looked towards Master Eon and Hugo. She defeated that weird smoke ghost, true, but she ran it pretty close. The residual nerves popped and crackled in Chihiro's mind, but either way, she forced that smile as Master Eon and Hugo left their stations and joined her at her side.

"So, how did the mission go?" Hugo asked as he grabbed Chihiro's hands. "Did it feel any smoother to you? Nothing felt too strange or slow or odd, right?"

Chihiro just chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You guys were watching me the whole time!" Chihiro chirped as she stuck her tongue out at Hugo. "You should probably know the answer to that."

"That may be true—" Hugo let go of Chihiro's hands and clasped his own together "—but you can only glean so much from the observer's seat!"

"It was fine, Hugo, don't worry!"

Master Eon and Hugo both breathed sighs of relief, and Master Eon floated closer to Chihiro as he swirled around her. Though he seemed particularly pleased, judging by the pale pink shade his ghostly body was colored in, Chihiro still couldn't help but feel a bit antsy.

"Nonetheless," Master Eon said as he rested on Chihiro's shoulder, "is there something you wanted to ask about, young Chihiro? It seems as though something's on your mind."

Chihiro perked up and forced a smile. Yep, she could never get anything past Master Eon; might as well ask and get it over with. So, she pushed her head down and twiddled her thumbs.

"Well, er, Master Eon, I," Chihiro sputtered as she scuffed her boots against the stone floor, finally inhaled and exhaled as she looked back up, "did I pass the exam?"

Master Eon's glow flickered a bit as he flew back. "Pass? Why in Skylands wouldn't you?" Master Eon flew back and forth almost like he was pacing. "True, you did cut it close and nearly ran out of spell slots, but you still won!"

With that, all those crackling nerves finally settled! Geez, running it that close gave her quite the scare, but, she did it!

"Thank goodness! I really did pass!" Chihiro cheered as she pumped a fist to the ceiling, and looked down as her bracelet snapped open and clattered to the floor.

"The battle's far from over, however," Master Eon warned as he levitated the bracelet off the ground and dropped it into a stray box. "Your last exam will come soon, and it'll be harder than anything you've ever faced so far!"

Chihiro's eyes went wide while her whole body locked up like it was the depths of winter and she forgot to bring a coat outside. Harder than anything she's ever faced? Those words weren't exactly reassuring. Chihiro clenched her teeth and made a stiff, robotic nod in Master Eon's direction.

"Now, it won't be anything foreign to you." Master Eon bobbed up and down. "However, it will test everything you've come to learn in the time you've stayed with us."

Well, that was slightly more reassuring. The stiffness in Chihiro's body loosened up enough to make another, less stiff nod and make a slightly more genuine smile.

"Well, it's like I said when I started this exam, right?" Chihiro replied, while her voice wavered in a sort of way that seemed like she was reassuring herself more than anyone. "I didn't come this far to only come this far, right?" Chihiro softly giggled as the last of the nervousness fled from her body, and once again, she pumped her fists and grinned so hard her cheeks started to ache. "I'm gonna beat that exam and become a true portal master!"

Chihiro leaped in the air and broke into laughter, a kind of infectious laughter that Master Eon joined along in as she fell down to the floor.

"If you're so confident, then we'll perform the exam—" Master Eon flew over to the mission simulator and shut it down "— a few days. After all, we'll need to tweak the mission simulator and do some test runs to make sure it could handle something of that caliber." Master Eon turned back to Chihiro as he and Hugo sat by the control panel once more. "For now, just rest and review!"

"Okie dokie!"

Chihiro grinned and waved goodbye as she swung around the door to the mission simulator's room...

"Oh, and young Chihiro?"

Chihiro lifted her head and turned back around to face Master Eon once more. His body glowed with a gentle light striped in both yellow and pink, both colors so warm and gentle that it gave a kind of cozy feeling to the room around.

"I must commend you on recognizing your biggest strengths," Master Eon remarked as he bobbed up and down and floated up to Chihiro's ear, "Spyro told me that you were awfully troubled about your own capabilities the other night, but it seems as though this exam opened your eyes once more."

Chihiro's mouth gaped open, and she wanted to say something in return, but she wasn't entirely sure what. A tiny bit of emotion fluttered in her heart, but she couldn't entirely glean what it was: relief, surprise, maybe a bit of embarrassment given that she couldn't really bring herself to share these worries of hers earlier? Well, whatever it was, it seemed to calm down as Master Eon floated away.

"Regardless of how your last exam goes, just know that we are all quite proud of you, young Chihiro."

As Master Eon floated back to his spot with Hugo, Chihiro just nodded and smiled as she gripped onto the door. She let go of the door in a moment, but before she could fall down and hit the stairs, light enveloped her and whisked her all the way down to the bottom of the staircase!

The light faded while Chihiro found herself on solid floor once more, and she couldn't help but smile as she sat down and peered up the stairs. She could still faintly remember the days when she could barely teleport a few steps away, or heck, even at all! Back then, she was so convinced that she could never be good enough for something like this, but now, she was nearly done with her exams! It wouldn't be long before she beat them and got crowned with her title!

"Heh, I've gotten pretty good, haven't I?"

Chihiro smiled as she lingered on those words a bit, and for the first time in a while, she almost felt like she could actually believe them again. She made one last chuckle, and finally Chihiro stood and looked up at the ceiling as her question lingered with the sunbeams that filtered in through the windows. Chihiro teleported over to the portal building's entrance, pushed it open, and grinned as the light embraced her and the autumn breeze brushed through her hair.

But beyond it all, she was sure she could hearm talking? Excited talking, at that! It couldn't be…

Chihiro skipped out of the building and traced the source of the noise to the Core of Light's spot, where a tiny crowd formed around Prism Break, Ignitor and Flameslinger! Seems they finally got back from their little treasure hunt! Judging by the strange, hat-like golden object Ignitor held in his heavily-wrapped hands, that treasure hunt was a success, too!

"The Crucible!" Chihiro cheered as she dashed up to Ignitor. "You got it!"

Chihiro was so overwhelmed with glee that she immediately yanked the Crucible out of Ignitor's hands, but it was so hot to the touch that she immediately squealed and dropped it! Everybody around gasped as the Crucible headed towards the ground, though thankfully, Ignitor dropped down and caught it right before it could crash land!

"Careful now, Chihiro," Ignitor warned as he cradled the Crucible like it was his own child, "we went through a lot of trouble to retrievest the Crucible, after all!"

Chihiro chuckled as she scratched her head. "Sorry 'bout that!"

Chihiro reached her hands out towards the Crucible a bit more gingerly and hesitantly than before, and grinned as a magical bubble encased it completely. Now safe from any potential burns, Chihiro lifted the bubbled Crucible out of Ignitor's grasp, ran back up to the portal building and looked back up at its massive stature.

She could just take the stairs, but teleporting would be way easier. She teleported away, and popped back outdoors with a very frazzled Hugo by her side!

"Chihiro!" Hugo squealed as he shuddered and patted down his magical static-charged fur. "What in Skylands did you—"

Hugo stopped short in his scolding and gasped as his eyes trailed down to the Crucible of the Ages in Chihiro's hands, and he practically shook his own fur off in his haste.

"Actually, nevermind what I was going to say! We need to get the Crucible in the Core, fast!"

Hugo yanked the Crucible out of Chihiro's hands, but in the process, he completely popped the bubble that kept it safe! Hugo yelped and tossed the Crucible in the air the moment it landed in his paws, and Chihiro scrambled and grabbed it—but it ended up burning her hands as well! It forced her to toss it again! She and Hugo played a game of hot potato as they tossed the Crucible back and forth, but Chihiro finally cast out another bubble and caught the Crucible right before it hit the ground!

Hugo cleared his throat and looked aside as he and Chihiro stepped up to the Core while everyone crowded around them. Hugo, however, didn't mind them as he whipped out his book, flipped through the pages and came to a stop on a particular page with the Crucible inked onto it next to an inscription. He cleared his throat, recited the incantation…

And just like that, the Crucible flew out of its bubble with a loud pop and slid onto a small, stone platform underneath the massive machine within the Core's center. It was such a small change, and yet, something about it completely warmed the area around in both the literal and metaphorical sense!

Everybody's cheer and excitement over the nearly-complete Core was so infectious that it spread to Chihiro, and a new sort of determination and confidence rose in her soul! She craned her head to the evening-dipped skies as the birds flew away, and grinned as she raised her fist to the setting sun.

"I'm definitely gonna pass this last exam!" Chihiro vowed to the skies above. "I'll become a true portal master for sure! And when I do…"

A mischievous twinkle shone in Chihiro's eyes and she leaped into the air, and she tossed her hand out as she shot rounds of spheres that exploded underneath the evening sun's light like fireworks.

"I'M GONNA BECOME THE BEST PORTAL MASTER I CAN BE!"

§

Kaos, the evil overlord of, maybe around a quarter of Skylands, now? Whatever that number was, he was not having a good day. He paced circles around his evil portal in his evil plotting room of absolute evil magnificence, Glumshanks positioned by his side as he stirred Kaos's hot chocolate just the way Kaos liked it. Yet, the prospect of hot chocolate did little to ease Kaos's concerns.

Though he hadn't shown it, and continued to hold his head high like any evil overlord would, Kaos was worried. The Skylanders made much more progress on the Core of Light's completion than he ever thought they would! In fact, surely they were nearly done with it at this point! To make matters worse, his evil empire of ultimate evil shrank faster that he could ever anticipate, his minions abandoned him in droves, and on top of that, his luxury hot cocoa supply was nearly done for and none of those no-good greebles he sent out to get more had returned! What was an evil genius to do?

"Is something bothering you, Lord Kaos?" Glumshanks asked as he looked up from stirring Kaos's cocoa. "You seem kind of worried."

Kaos gasped, turned around and made the biggest smile he could as he puffed out his chest. "Me, worried? HAH!" Kaos exclaimed as he forced his smile to stretch wider. "Why would I be worried, Glumshanks?" Kaos looked aside as sweat formed on his evil brow, but went back to pacing and making wild hand gestures. "Sure, we've have a few, er, setbacks here and there, but it's nothing to worry about! Any evil empire has its fair share of stumbles and bluffs—"

"I don't know, Lord Kaos." Glumshanks' ears drooped as he clenched his teeth. "I wouldn't call this just a few stumbles. Really, it's more like a few trips down a steep cliff."

Kaos turned back to Glumshanks and clasped his hands while the sweat on his brow fell faster than before. "Now why would you say that?"

"I mean, it's pretty obvious to anyone that our empire's falling apart!" Glumshanks pulled out the cocoa spoon and flailed it around, which sent drops of steaming hot cocoa all across the floor that Kaos just had cleaned, thank you very much! "After all, we fired the pirates, the drow quit, our troll armies started seceding en masse ever since the Trollfields and Trollcoys rebelled, and the undead forces we got from the new king of the underworld fled after a single fight with the Skylanders. Our armies haven't been the same!"

Glumshanks sighed as he placed the spoon back in the cocoa cup and stirred. "We've barely got any competent soldiers, and without proper enforcement to keep our empire under control, those beings we conquered have been taking their islands back and shrinking our empires!"

Kaos made a sharp, hissing inhale and looked aside, though he tried to keep his chin high.

"Now, that's hardly an issue worth fretting over, Glumshanks! We may have lost them, but we can always—"

"And that's not even touching on the Skylanders!" Glumshanks twitched his ears as he hit the side of the cup with the spoon. "They've been mobilizing now more than ever, and I'm sure they've almost got everything they need to finish the Core of Light at this rate! They'll get the last components and finish it before we even know it!"

Wait a second! Kaos paused as Glumshanks' words rang in his ears, and he grinned and clapped his hands. Yes, that was it! The key to ailing his woes was right in front of his face all along, and he overlooked it like some bumbling mabu!

"That's it!" Kaos cried as made another loud clap for emphasis. "That's just the thing we need!"

Glumshanks jolted up his head and grimaced. "Lord Kaos, what in Skylands are you talking about? We've got—"

Kaos, however, just jumped up to Glumshanks' side, made a shushing noise, and pressed a finger against Glumshanks' mouth just for a little more emphasis.

"True, things might be—" Kaos squeezed his hand together and looked aside "—kind of bad for us right now."

Kaos hopped away from Glumshanks and spread his arms to the ceiling.

"But even though we might be down to mail-order greebles, lab-engineered gremlins, those stupid clones that can't do anything right, and whatever else I can scrounge up, and we may have some—" Kaos snarled as he looked aside "—issues with those stubborn peasants who don't know how to stay conquered." Kaos shook his head and grinned back at Glumshanks. "That doesn't matter a bit! We just need to get the Eternal Fire Source, and we'll be golden!"

Glumshanks, sweet, oblivious Glumshanks, just tightened his brows further. "Lord Kaos, I'm not sure—"

"And WHY the Fire Source specifically?" Kaos leaped out in front of Glumshanks specifically. "You see, Glumshanks, if we can keep the Skylanders from getting even one of the Eternal Sources, it'll completely throw a monkey wrench in their plans!"

Kaos whipped around and rubbed his hands from sheer glee. That was all he needed all along, why didn't he think of this earlier? Oh, well, he had thought of it now, and that's all that possibly mattered!

"In fact, the best part about this is," Kaos said as he turned around and smiled so hard that his cheeks started to hurt, "I know exactly where the Eternal Fire Source is already! We can just go ahead and get it before the Skylosers even have a chance!"

Kaos snapped his fingers and closed his eyes. "Oh Evil Phoenix Dragon~"

Kaos waited a few more seconds, but oddly enough, the Evil Phoenix didn't show at all! No bursts of flame, no teleports, nothing! Kaos opened his eyes as his smile loosened just a little, and confirmed that no, the Evil Phoenix Dragon had not arrived.

"He-hem!" Kaos cleared his throat and snapped his fingers once more. "Oh Evil Phoenix Dragon!"

Once again, it didn't show at all! Just where was that no-good oaf of a turkey? Kaos clapped his hands, stomped his feet, pressed the button on his super-evil minion pager of ultimate doom, even hit his fists against the walls! Yet, that stupid bird still didn't appear!

"EVIL PHOENIX DRAGON, GET IN HERE BEFORE I TURN YOU INTO MY NEXT THANKSTAKING TURKEY!"

Kaos lunged forward and snarled as his vision turned red, but he cleared his throat and composed himself as a bright burst of red and purple flames manifested in the middle of his evil plotting room. The flames lingered for a moment, transformed into a red and purple cone of that awful Skylander Sunburn!

"Ugh, what do you want, Lord Kaos?" the Evil Phoenix Dragon groaned as the fires dissipated and unveiled it. It lazed around on the floor with one claw pressed to its face. "I was in the middle of my nap…"

"There you are, you good-for-nothing bird!" Kaos scolded as he shook a fist at the Evil Phoenix Dragon. "I was calling you for hours!" Kaos cleared his throat and waved his hand. "Evil Phoenix Dragon, tell good old Glumshanks here the results you got from you little project!"

"What project? That project?" The Evil Phoenix Dragon pulled its head up and sighed. "I'd hardly call that a project. All that happened was that weird elf witch throwing some stuff in a pot and saying that it found the Eternal Fire Source in the Law Lakes Railways or Lava Lakes Railways, or something."

The Evil Phoenix Dragon groaned and hung its head as it teleported away in a burst of flames. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my nap."

"Buh-bye now~"

Kaos's grin stretched even wider without him even realizing as he spun and bounded around his plotting room with all the joy of a small child given a shiny new toy. Oh, he was so beside himself with excitement, he could hardly contain it! He could already envision the terrified looks on the Skylosers' faces as he wiped them to ashes, and the cries of horror the portal poster would make as she begged Kaos for her life. Just the very thought sent evil chills down his spine!

"Oh, I can hardly wait to start!" Kaos proclaimed as he spun around in a circle.

"But, Lord Kaos," Glumshanks said as he pricked up his large ears, "don't you usually let the minions handle these things?"

"Not this one, Glumshanks!" Kaos whipped around and shook a finger at Glumshanks. "After all, with everything at stake, I can't possibly count on those incompetents to handle this themselves! We'll both personally oversee it!"

"Wait, both?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Kaos quirked a suspicious eyebrow towards Glumshanks, who seemed oddly concerned with that strange frown on his face, and turned around.

"With all hands on deck, there's no possible way those Skylosers and that stupid portal-poster will de-rail our plans!" Kaos let out a hearty cackle at his own brilliantly evil pun. "That's right, I said it! And that's not all! With this, we'll get our evil empire back on the right track! Those Skylosers's train is wrecked!"

Kaos continued to cackle and spew off puns by the earful, paused for a moment to magic up a pickax, and turned around to Glumshanks, who, buried his head in his hands and groaned? Did Glumshanks get another one of those migraines? Whatever, it was of no concern to Kaos himself, so he just tossed the pickax at Glumshanks and watched as Glumshanks caught said pickax with his head.

"OWCH!" Glumshanks cried as he jolted his head up right as the pickax fell into his hands.

"Oh, by the way," Kaos said as he clapped his hands, "you're going to need that~"