As Kaos grinned and teleported away, the sound of broiling, bubbling magma poured out from the halls below, all while the heat grew more intense! The ground underneath them rumbled and crackled with the heat, and finally, the rocks shattered and spewed out hot, fresh magma!

Sunburn jumped to his paws and scurried away as a magma fountain spewed out from where he laid prior, buy slammed straight into Eruptor as Eruptor tried to escape a row of magma geysers!

"Come on!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stumbled forward, but before she could say anything more, another surge of pain dropped her to her knees! Looks like that blow really did a number on her.

Chihiro grunted as she tried to force herself to stand, and her body turned light as something pulled her to the ground! While the area around them rumbled and fell apart, Eruptor and Flameslinger yanked her off the ground and carried her down to the next exit!

"EVERYONE!" Sunburn shouted as he dashed down in a burst of flame. "AFTER KAOS, NOW!"

Eruptor and Flameslinger dashed in accordance with Sunburn, but Sunburn quickly left them in the dust! By the time they rounded the tunnel's first corner, he already passed them by! Marma spurted all around from the cracks in the walls, too! Eruptor screamed and stumbled back as one spurt of magma nearly blasted him in the face, and ducked down as another poured from the ceiling.

Flameslinger winced as his head spun all around, but finally, he relented and dashed ahead with literal rapid-fire speed. However, it only lasted a spurt before he slowed down and panted. He tried to race again, but surely, it was a lot harder to run off with the extra weight Chihiro posed to him.

Chihiro bit her lip while tears stung her eyes. They came so, so close, yet Kaos still managed to make off with the Eternal Fire Source! This wreckage from the crumbling caverns was catching up fast, and they’d all be buried if they didn't speed up—in more ways than one! Another surge of pain reminded her that she was still in no shape to run around, much less fight!

In fact, she had to be carried by Eruptor and Flameslinger, and surely she dragged them down. So, Chihiro tried to yank herself away from Eruptor and Flameslinger's grasp. It wasn't easy given how much stronger they were compared to her…

"Chihiro, what are you doing?" Eruptor asked as he looked over at her, "All this yanking won't get us any fast—"

"Eruptor, let me go!" Chihiro exclaimed. "You need to leave me behind!"

Eruptor blinked and completely froze, but screamed and leaped out the way of a falling rock before Flameslinger dragged him and Chihiro further into the caverns.

"Chihiro, what are you talking about?" Flameslinger looked back at Chihiro and frowned.

Chihiro sniffled as the rumble and pound of exploding magma filtered in every which way. "I'm only slowing you down!" Chihiro shook her head and wiped away her tears as she continued to try and wriggle out of their grasp. "At this rate, we'll lose the Eternal Fire Source to Kaos!"

"So?" Eruptor and Flameslinger said in unison.

Chihiro completely froze from the sheer shock of hearing this, shook her head and snarled! "What do you mean so? If we lose this, how will we finish the Core?"

"Chihiro, we can take on Kaos and get that Eternal Source back at any point! Heck, we already did it once!" Flameslinger explained as he looked down at Chihiro, and though his eyes weren't visible, his frown was cold enough to get his emotions across. "But, if we lost you, we'd never be able to get you back!"

Chihiro blinked back tears while her lip started to twitch. She wanted to shoot back with some kind of response, some kind of argument, anything! At the same time, those words echoed in her head and kept her from saying anything more, almost as if they kept her silent until Eruptor and Flameslinger finished.

"Yeah!" Eruptor chirped as he gently ruffled Chihiro's hair the best he could. "You're more than our portal master, you're our friend! You're just as important as any of those Eternal Sources!"

Flameslinger nodded to affirm Eruptor's words, his smile gentle and sincere.

"But, but," Chihiro sputtered, and nearly jumped out of her skin as magma bubbled behind them. Seems as though the magma was catching up, so Chihiro grunted and pulled away.

"Looks like we'll have to speed things up a little!" Flameslinger exclaimed as he squeezed Chihiro's hand a little tighter than before! He knelt forward, and dashed ahead until Sunburn was back in their sights once more!

"And if speed's the problem," Eruptor said as he looked back up at Sunburn, whose tailfeathers could just barely be seen around the corner, waved over and jumped up and down. "Hey, Sunburn!"

Eruptor grinned as Sunburn teleported over to his side, and both of them leaped back as a rock fell down between them! Behind them, the magma poured around the corner and started to seep through the path behind.

"Hold on to me, you three!" Sunburn spat out as he held out his paws. "Seem like we'll have to take the teleport express!"

All three of them latched on to Sunburn's paw, and in a flash fire, Sunburn whisked them further down the cavern path in bits and spurts! As they popped in and out of the gentle, radiant warmth that was Sunburn's flames, Chihiro turned her gaze down at the ground and pursed her lips.

You're more than our portal master, you're our friend!

That's, that's what Spyro said, too! That she was their precious friend, the glue that held them together with that heart of hers. She forgot for a bit in the heat of the moment, but now, those words took her mind captive and forced her to think. After all, by all accounts, they would probably have a better chance of succeeding if they left her behind, but they would rather lose the Eternal Fire Source than lose her! They were willing to sacrifice so much for her…

And heck, not just Eruptor, Flameslinger and Sunburn, either! As she closed her eyes, those faint, faint memories of all her past missions came back to her, of all the times the Skylanders—her friends—protected her from harm's way and did their hardest to cheer her on through everything.

When she got cursed that past time, Boomer and Trigger Happy and Drobot did everything the could to rush her to the infirmary, and everyone took turns spending time with her and cheering her up when she was still bed-bound and recovering! When she accidentally activated that Guardifound and got the whole island invaded by monsters, they still made sure she was safe and helped her clean the whole mess up! Even when she lost the Eternal Undead Source, they all banded together with her to figure out where it was with no sort of grudge held towards her failure. That wasn't even touching on all the times Spyro saved her and helped her through some of their worst moments…

Just know that we are all quite proud of you, young Chihiro.

Those words Master Eon said to her returned to mind as it filled with memories of all the times they shared together, the good, bad, and in-between. Something made those worries she used to have of losing them, and not being what they needed, seem so small and distant and irrelevant. Now, from seeing how they were so determined to see this to the end together, she finally started to understand.

As the realization finally dawned on her, the pain in Chihiro's body subsided enough for her to leap out of Eruptor, Flameslinger, and Sunburn's grasp and bolt down the halls. She had good timing, too! Just ahead, light poured out from an open space that was surely the exit to these caves! With a new spring in her step, Chihiro sprinted outside and found herself blasted with intense heat and the sound of cackling!

She was back outside, now on a particularly large lava rock island with a firm crack in its heart, but she wasn't the only one, either. Just across from her, Kaos grinned as he toyed with some kind of communicator on his wrist, all while the Eternal Fire Source hovered beside him!

"To think, my plan's gone off without a hitch!" Kaos crowed as he toyed another knob. "There's no way those Skylosers and that portal poster haven't been buried under six feet of volcanic rock at this point! Now, I can finally have the Eternal Fire Source all to my—"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, KAOS!" Eruptor, Flameslinger, and Sunburn cried at once as they all burst out of the caverns!

Kaos gasped, and lifted his head up with a snarl as he caught sight of the three of them and Chihiro. He swept away his hand and let his sleeve cover his communicator, but a subtle red glow of power still emanated from his hands.

"How?" Kaos exclaimed as his snarl grew wider by the second. "How are you still alive? That explosion should have completely taken out those caverns!"

"Sorry, Kaos!" Chihiro shouted as she leaned back and smiled. "But it'll take more than an explosion or two to knock us down!"

"Yeah!" Flameslinger cried as he whipped out his bow. "You can throw whatever you want at us, but we're not gonna give up until we get back the Eternal Fire Source!"

Eruptor and Sunburn both nodded as their bodies grew bright with flaming warmth, and Chihiro herself summoned a magical sword and clasped its hilt tight. Confidence bubbled in her soul as she glared down Kaos. In this moment, she was entirely certain that they'd be able to stop Kaos and get back the Eternal Fire Source!

Kaos didn't seem any more intimidated that he did before as he stood before them. In fact, he seemed even more confident as he held out his arms and grinned.

"You can say that all you want, but there's little chance for you to win now!" Kaos proclaimed as he gestured to the Eternal Fire Source. "After all, I have the Eternal Fire Source! With it, I'm much more powerful than all of them combined! How can you possibly hope to stop me now, huh?" Kaos grinned as Chihiro stepped forwards. "And especially you, portal poser! You're being ridiculous if you think you stance a chance against me!"

Chihiro bit her lip and twisted her hand into a fist, but stepped further up with her head hung low. In that moment, she was sure she gave off a different kind of energy than she usually did, a kind of cold defiance that turned all eyes on her, yet it wasn't enough to break her concentration.

"You might be right, Kaos," Chihiro admitted as she bit her lip, then shook her head and lifted up eyes filled with fire, "I might not be as strong as you are, and I might not be as experienced either. Heck, on my own I might as well be toast!"

Kaos cackled so hard that he reeled forward like his sides hurt.

"BUT, I CAN'T GIVE UP!"

Kaos jolted up and broke out of his laughter as Chihiro drew a circle in the earth and shoved a hand into her pocket.

"After all, I've got my friends right with me!" Chihiro grinned as she turned to Eruptor, Flameslinger and Sunburn, and then back to Kaos with a new confidence in her eyes. "Not just here, either! Back home, everyone's cheering me, no, they're cheering us all on! They're counting on us to take back the Eternal Fire Source and add it to the Core!"

"So?" Kaos said as he hands flared red. "What does that have to do with anything? How does that matter?"

"Oh, it matters a lot!" Chihiro narrowed her eyes as she leaned forward, all while cyan magic crackled around her and wings sprouted on her heels. "As long as I have them, as long as they're there to cheer me on and fight by my side, I can't give up! No, I WON'T give up!"

Chihiro dashed forward in rapid, zig-zag motion, so fast that not even Kaos could keep track as he whipped his head from side to side!

"The Skylanders, Hugo, Master Eon, all the friends I've made since I came here…" Chihiro leaped above Kaos. "They're what gives me the strength and will to keep fighting, even when things seem hopeless!"

Chihiro crackled in the heavens like a sparkling cyan comet, powered solely by her raw determination!

"So, you know what, Kaos? I'm not gonna let you scare me away from the fight! In fact, I'm gonna take you head on!"

Chihiro launched herself at Kaos like a crashing comet! Kaos had looked up and gasped as she rocketed towards him at the speed of light, but it was too late! She slammed him against the warm stone, grabbed him and tossed him against the walls of the cavern's exit! Chihiro chuckled as she stood up while the magic around her vanished. Man, it felt good to finally get one over Kaos for once, but, she couldn't let her guard down just yet. After all, despite being tossed into a stone wall, Kaos quickly jumped off and snarled.

"HOW DID YOU GET SO FAST? HOW?" Kaos demanded.

"Speed augmentation spell!" Chihiro smirked and snapped her fingers. "Rule number twenty-five of TV! Fancy monologues are the perfect distraction for your secret plot unfolding!" Chihiro grinned as she turned back to the Eternal Fire Source. "And now, I'm going to get myself a little present~"

Chihiro bolted towards the Eternal Fire Source, but before she could reach it, a magic blast blew her off her feet!

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Kaos cried as he dashed towards Chihiro. "I'm not going to let a STUPID PORTAL-POSTER LIKE YOU RUIN MY PLAN!"

Kaos snarled as he went to toss another magic blast at a recovering Chihiro, but before he could Eruptor sprung forward and tackled him out of the way!

"How about some stupid Skylosers then?" Eruptor asked as he pinned Kaos to the ground.

Kaos snarled, slapped a glowing hand on his chest and kicked Eruptor away with a new strength! He leaped back to his feet and ran towards the Eternal Fire Source once more, but once again he was stopped, this time by a wall of fire! Kaos leaped away from the wall just in time to avoid getting burnt, but unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for the arrow that Flameslinger shot at his toes!

"OWCH! NOT MY EVIL FEET!"

Kaos yanked the arrow out of his shoe and hopped around as he blew the flames off of his feet, yet snarled as he turned back to Eruptor and Flameslinger. "Oh, you'll pay for this!" Kaos reached out his side. "ETERNAL FIRE SOURCE, TO MY SIDE!"

But, it didn't come! Kaos just grappled at nothingness, turned around and snarled.

"I SAID, COME TO ME, ETERNAL FIRE SOURCE! BURN THESE SKYLOSERS TO A CRISP!"

"Sorry, Kaos!" Chihiro proclaimed. "You won't be doing any more burning any time soon!"

Chihiro grinned and brandished the Eternal Fire Source like a first-prize trophy! Its warmth poured into her body and filled her with a new energy, a new kind of power that made her invincible!

Kaos gasped, snarled and teleported in front of Chihiro before he swung his arms towards the Eternal Fire Source!

"YOU'LL GIVE THAT BACK!" Kaos demanded as Chihiro teleported out of reach and followed after her. "I WON'T LET YOU ADD IT TO THAT CORE OF LIGHT! IT BELONGS TO ME! ME I TELL YOU, MEEEEEEEEE!"

Chihiro grinned and teleported again, and once again Kaos followed! Soon, it turned into a battle of teleports as Kaos popped in and out of existence to fling attacks at Chihiro or try to snatch away the Eternal Fire Source, all while she just popped away again and again! No matter what he threw or did, she managed to escape every single time!

Finally, Chihiro popped back to Eruptor, Flameslinger and Sunburn's side, and grinned as she held out the Eternal Fire Source.

"Ready to kick Kaos's butt?" she asked.

The three of them all grinned as they fixed their eyes on Chihiro, or more specifically, the Eternal Fire Source in her hands.

"You bet!" they all cried at once!

A wall of fire shrouded Eruptor, Flameslinger, Sunburn and Chihiro from Kaos's prying eyes and barrage of attacks, while the Eternal Fire Source glowed with an even more brilliant scarlet light than before! All at once, that same scarlet light spread to Eruptor, Flameslinger and Sunburn, who all puffed out their chests and grinned as they glowed with that same warmth and power that the Eternal Fire Source held! The flames cascaded down soon enough, and when they did, they all greeted Kaos with their powered-up selves! He seemed a bit taken aback as he stumbled backwards, but snarled and stretched his fingers.

"I'd prepare for a beating if I was you, Kaos!" Chihiro grinned as she hugged the Eternal Fire Source like a warm blanket.

Kaos, however, just scoffed. "Alright, so you may have managed to get the Eternal Fire Source and give yourself a little power boost," Kaos said as bright red glows swirled around his arms, "but even without it, I'm still the ULTIMATE EVIL OVERLORD OF ALL SKYLANDS! I DON'T NEED A FLIMSY ETERNAL SOURCE TO SEND YOU TO YOUR DOOM!"

Kaos shot out his hands, and out from them came burst of magical fire that hurtled straight towards Eruptor and Flameslinger! Before those flames could hit, however, a massive birdlike figure made entirely of raw white and blue flames seared through the magical fire blasts and blew them up in midair!

"WHO DID THAT?" Kaos demanded as he shot his head left and right. "WHO'S THERE?"

Sunburn grinned as he stopped behind Kaos and flared his wings, all while his mouth crackled with fire. Before he could shoot, Kaos whipped around and shot Sunburn down with a gigantic magic blast! Sunburn squawked as he skidded along the floor, yet Kaos only grinned as he reveled in Sunburn's pain!

He whipped around and shot off more magic blasts towards Eruptor and Flameslinger, but Eruptor stepped forward and windmilled his arms around! Out from his hands came flaming magma blasts that shot towards Kaos's own magic blasts and incinerated them before they screeched towards Kaos! Kaos growled and teleported away, hovered and held out hid hands like he was prepared to shoot more. He screeched, and teleported away as a barrage of gigantic flaming arrows headed right his way! Kaos teleported back on the ground and wiped his head, but the crackle of flames behind him told him he wasn't done yet!

As he whipped around while the arrows tailed him across the island, Kaos gasped and ran away! His breath was heavy and frantic as he tried to shoot back magic blasts at the arrows, yet every single thing he threw their way, the arrows dodged! They spread out as he shot magic blasts in their center, skidded away as he tossed lasers their way, and only grew bigger and more powerful as they absorbed his flames!

While the arrows grew in size, Kaos screeched and dashed off—but he didn’t pay attention to where he went at all! Before he knew it, he ran straight towards Chihiro and got slammed with a burning blue fireball!

Kaos grunted as he rolled backwards and just underneath the fleet of arrows, frantically patted himself down as he tried to blow out the flames, and went flying yet against as a magma blast blew up beside him and tossed him into the air! Kaos grunted as he hung in midair, and shuddered as a burst of flame sounded off behind him.

"FEEL THE FLAME!" Sunburn cried as he manifested from the flames and dashed right into Kaos's back!

The force tossed a screaming, disoriented Kaos back down to Chihiro, who just smiled as she crackled her knuckles.

"This is going to be very cathartic," Chihiro whispered as the Eternal Fire Source glowed beside her.

Kaos snarled as he shot off a round of magic blasts, but Chihiro just snapped her fingers and flung her arm across the open space! A series of blue energy spheres that crackled with bright, hot blue flames manifested in the space she swiped. They burst through Kaos's spheres, launched themselves at Kaos and tossed him every which way!

"OWCH! OWCH! OWCH! OW! THAT BURNS!" Kaos cried as he was tossed left, right, up, down, and all around as the fire spheres punched into him!

The last sphere smacked straight into his back and tossed him right into the heart of the rocky island! Kaos landed into the ground with a massive crash that left a decently-sized crater, and groaned as he crawled back out. He tried to stand, but couldn't even bring himself past his knees! After all, that battle left him decently worn. His face was covered in nasty bruises, and his breath was heavy and strained from wearing himself down so much. Even the magical glows that usually surrounded him had completely faded, and left behind a sad, nasty little man.

Kaos snarled as he trudged around and forced himself to stand, then pointed a finger towards Chihiro and the Skylanders. "You, you haven't won, won, just yet! I, I—"

"LORD KAOS!"

An orange pillar of light formed behind as that Glumshanks dude, who now held a half-melted pickax in his hand while soot coated his body from heat to toe, teleported onto the battlefield.

"Glumshanks!" Kaos whipped around and frowned as he held his chest, "You, you look different, somehow. New haircut?"

Glumshanks let out a sharp hiss as his brows tightened, but as he got a closer look at Kaos, he shook his head and frowned.

"Forget about me! Look at you, Lord Kaos!" Glumshanks gestured towards Kaos's very worn form. "You need to get back home and rest!"

"But, but!" Kaos stumbled forward and fell to his hands and knees as he lifted his head back up at Glumshanks. "I can't leave now! I can't leave until I bring back the Eternal Fire Source!"

"With the state you're in, we'll be bringing you home in a body bag if this keeps up!" Glumshanks's eyes went wide as he yanked Kaos off the ground. "Besides, we've already activated out backup plan!"

"BACKUP PLAN?" Chihiro, Eruptor, Flameslinger and Sunburn exclaimed at once.

Kaos gasped and grinned as he looked back at them. "That's right!" Kaos squirmed around in Glumshanks' grip and shook a fist. "Fine then, take the Eternal Fire Source! It's not like you'll be able to bring it back to the Core of Light when this volcano explodes!"

"Explodes?" Chihiro stormed forward and scowled. "Kaos, what's going on here?"

Kaos just chuckled as he pressed a hand against his chest.

"You see, in the unlikely event that my absolutely brilliant evil plot was foiled, I concocted an equally brilliant backup plan!" Kaos's eyes narrowed as the whir of a teleporter sounded around him. "My minions tossed dynamite straight into the railway's volcano! With all that disruption, the volcano will explode and blow you insolents to bits before you can bring home the Eternal Fire Source!"

Chihiro let out a shrill gasp, and snarled as she tackled right for Kaos—but before she could reach him, he and Glumshanks vanished into thin air!

"HAVE FUN DYING~" Kaos cried as the teleporter light started to fade.