All around them, the Skylanders and Chihiro completely froze as the battlefield underneath their feet rumbled and quaked with fear, as if something completely shook the battlefield they stood on! Out from underneath the battlefield, a large, long shadow crept across, or rather, shadows! There, just above the battlefield, four thin, long, and vaguely dragon-like shadows crept over the battlefield as they glared down, their blank, white eyes the only thing visible in the mist

"What is that thing?" Spyro gasped as he stepped back.

"I don't know," Chihiro replied as she summoned a gigantic cleaver and charged towards the shadows, "but it's going down!"

Chihiro knelt down with cleaver in hand, and as cyan magic gathered around her soles, she leaped up and got ready to slice! Before she could, a laser blasted off just nearby, and sent out a rumble so intense that it threw her on her back.

More and more of these lasers crashed down onto the ground and immobilized everyone around, yet, the shadowy heads were perfectly still! What could have caused this?

Everybody whimpered and groaned as they got back to their feet, but they didn't stand for long! The ground rumbled again out of nowhere, and forced everyone back down with its intense shaking.

Out of completely nowhere, the center of the arena completely withdrew and out popped…

"Well, well, well, look what we've got here!" Kaos bellowed. "The Skylosers and their portal poster! What an unexpected surprise!"

As the arena floor closed up, Kaos glowered above them on top of some kind of twisted throne made entirely of blue crystal and metal that shone against the light of the battlefield below. The chair itself had twisted, golden thorns that jutted out from its back, and the base was round, and decorated with intricate gold and silver markings paired off with crystals rockets on each corner. For such an odd-looking throne, however, it did well to accentuate the imposing aura he clearly intended to bring to the table.

"Kaos!" the Skylanders called in unison as they all flocked to the throne, and looked up at Kaos with venomous stares.

Tension thickened around the battlefields as the Skylanders all glared down Kaos and readied to attack, and it almost spiked the adrenaline in Chihiro's own heart! Kaos, however, only reveled in it as he grinned and glared back down at the whole group—but the way his glare pierced into Chihiro's heart told her his eyes fixed on her specifically.

"While it's true that your appearance was a bit unexpected," Kaos grinned for a moment, froze and shook his head, "I, I mean, YOU WEREN'T UNEXPECTED AT ALL! I TOTALLY ANTICIPATED THAT YOU'D SHOW UP AND TRY TO FOIL MY EVIL PLOY TO KILL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Kaos smirked as everyone watched in anticipation, all while their battlefield rumbled and shook once more. "And that's why I brought you a little treat!"

Kaos let out another ear-bleeding cackle, and stood to his full, albeit unimpressive height as he stretched his arms out wide!

"Take a look at the beast who destroyed the Core of Light the first time and will do so again! The beast who sent that fool Eon to his well-deserved death, and will do the same to all of you! TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT MY HYDRA!"

A chorus of loud, bloodcurling screeches rumbled the entire battlefield, and those four shadows leaned forward as they unveiled their true identities. Loomed above them with blank eyes, shiny scales and sharp fangs were the four heads of a hydra! One head was blue like ocean waters, the second as green as tree leaves in summer, the third skeletal and stripped bare of any skin or scale, and the fourth and final a bright, fiery red. But, all of them shared that same bloodlust in their eyes as they gazed upon the arena below them with full intentions to kill.

The Skylanders all gasped and stumbled back, eyes wide with fright as the hydra's four heads lurched backward and roared towards the dark, cloudy skies. The once adrenaline-filled air of battle turned cold and rife with fear, and Kaos seemed to know that as he cackled with glee!

"Not so tough now, are you Skylosers?" Kaos crooned as he raised an eyebrow. "Especially now that you're doomed for sure!"

"No way," Spyro whispered as he tried and failed to ease his shaking legs.

Chihiro winced as she looked back at Spyro, so terrified and unalike his usual leaderlike and noble persona, but she couldn't blame him for being afraid. Surely, this had to be the hydra that destroyed the Core of Light, the same one that Kaos would use to bring about its end once more! But, what was it doing here?

Oh, Chihiro didn't have time to worry about that! Chihiro grunted as she turned up to the hydra, but the sight of it didn't fill her with fear or shock like it did the others. Guess it was her turn to lead the charge!

"No way, Kaos!" Chihiro cried as she gritted her teeth, and pointed a finger right at him and his stupid little throne. "That's not for you to decide! We came here to stop you from destroying the Core of Light, and we're gonna see that through!" Chihiro whipped her head back, faced the Skylanders, and nudged towards Kaos with an eager, anticipating glint in her eyes. "Right, everyone?"

But, none of the Skylanders replied. They just stood frozen with those terrified, wide-eyed looks and shaking bodies, though they all tried their best to hide it in one way or another. Some clenched their shuddering hands and forced a scowl; others grimaced as they stepped back, and lowered their wings and tails; even the bravest of their ranks gulped and steeled their gazes, as if they knew they had no chance against what they faced now!

"Er, guys?" Chihiro said as she stepped back. "What's going on?"

"They know they have no chance! That's what going on, foolish portal poster!" Kaos cried from above. His smile grew wider than before as his words washed another wave of tension and uncertainty over everyone below. "This beast is the most powerful weapon in my hands! It shattered the Core of Light to bits, and can kill with just a snap of my fingers! With its power under my control, none of you will make it out of here alive!"

Kaos flew off the battlefield and hovered underneath the hydras' chins. Though he was far from view, they could all still tell he was completely snide with power, all giddy at the very prospect of wiping them out where they stood.

"Now, hydra!" Kaos gestured down at the arena floor below. "Do us all a favor and WIPE THOSE SKYLOSERS OFF THE VERY FACE OF SKYLANDS!"

The hydra's four heads all whipped back and roared in unison, but it was the blue head lashed out first as its whole body glowed with a bright, blue aura! As the hydra glowed and glowered, thunder sounded off while storm clouds churned around the arena's skies, and dropped down cold, wet rain!

"Rain?" Chihiro scoffed as she held her hand out while the rain droplets fell on her palm. "Is that the best you can do?"

Chihiro peered back up with a grin, but her eyes practically popped out of her skull as she narrowly jumped out the way of a gigantic shark.

"Okay, maybe not!"

Sharks rained down from the skies like, well, rain, and everyone scattered before they became chum bait! They were disorganized in formation as they tried not to get bit, and Kaos found himself with the perfect chance to attack!

"Everyone!" Spyro cried as he started flapping his wings and took to the skies. "If you can fly, fly! Those sharks can't leave the ground—" Spyro grunted as a magic sphere kicked into his gut and tossed him back to the ground "—oof!"

Spyro hit the ground and forced himself back up, and the sound of cackles brought his attention to the skies. There, Kaos laughed in pure, evil glee as he soared across the skies on his throne!

The Skylanders wove around the swarms of vicious, ferocious sharks, yet Kaos swept around the battlefield on his throne, and shot lasers and magic blasts down on the field with such ferocity that they could hardly be avoided! If the Skylanders tried to escape to the skies, they were certain to get blown down as well. Cries of pain shouted out across the battlefield as unsuspected laser blasts tossed several of the Skylanders across the battlefield like toys, and the sound grew worse as it intermingled with Kaos's cackles!

Chihiro grunted as she swept away from a shark's massive jaws, and as it snapped them and went on its merry way, another cry shouted out beside her! Chihiro froze and perked up her head, and right at a good moment, too—for Chihiro immediately caught Whirlwind as she soared across the battlefield!

"Don't worry!" Whirlwind cried as she disappeared into the distance. "I'm coming!"

Chihiro's brow tensed as Whirlwind became little more than a blur in the distance, and she kicked off a shark that tried to attack from behind as she dashed across the battlefield! In the distance, she could just barely spy Whirlwind as she landed down beside… Was that Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang? Chihiro raised an eyebrow, leaped forward and teleported straight to where Whirlwind was!

"Whirlwind, what happened here?" Chihiro asked as she reappeared beside the trio, grimaced and stepped back. "Actually, I think I can guess!"

Sure enough, there on the ground were none other than Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang, who laid on their sides, and looked as if they were in extraordinary pain, what with the clenched jaws and closed eyes and all that! Not that it wasn't obvious—Wrecking Ball had a nasty burn on his back, and Dino-Rang's armor was partially bitten off to unveil a nasty wound that bled fast!

"Don't worry, just hold still!" Whirlwind proclaimed as she lowered her head while her horn flared in a rainbow of color. "I'll fix you up in an instant!"

As her horn glowed brighter and brighter, Whirlwind knelt down beside Dino-Rang and gently pressed her horn against the wound. The blood that coated his side slowly seeped back into his body…

"Well, well, look what I have here!" Kaos crooned from the skies above. "A couple of sitting ducks waiting for me to make them my dinner!"

Chihiro gasped and spun around with her eyes fixed on the skies. Kaos flew up on his throne, and cackled as a couple of the rockets on the throne lifted to reveal a cannon ready to strike at any moment!

"Crap!" Chihiro whispered as her eyes turned back to where Whirlwind didn't move an inch, for Whirlwind's focus laid still on Dino-Rang while she healed his injuries. "I can't let him do this!" Chihiro hastily snapped her fingers, and several giant, cyan dragon effigies manifested above them. "Dragons, get Kaos, quick!"

With Chihiro's command firm in their minds, the dragon effigies roared, dashed right towards Kaos's throne, and merged into one humongous dragon right as they tackled into his throne! They came with such speed that he couldn't even retaliate. The dragons crashed into his throne, and tossed him across the battlefield!

Chihiro turned back and grinned as Whirlwind helped a fully-healed Wrecking Ball and Dino-Rang back to their feet. Yep, looks like Chihiro made it just in time! With their safety assured, Chihiro turned her attention back to the rest of the fight.

Across the battlefield, Kaos screamed at the top of his lungs as he came crashing in, a warning siren that alerted everyone around of his impact.

As she narrowly skirted becoming a shark's next meal, Hex looked up right as Kaos came crashing towards her, then blasted him aside with a gigantic skull. While Kaos flew sideways, the skull cackled as it pushed forward, and exploded into a rain of cackling skulls that crashed down onto the battlefield!

The sharks were too simple-minded to realize the danger above their heads, for they were more concerned with attacking the Skylanders! Right as they rushed forward and went to bite, they got conked in the head with skulls and fell over, completely beaten!

Kaos pulled himself up, groaned as his eyes spun in circles, but cried out as a skull hit him on the head and bounced off his throne!

"MY BEAUTIFUL EVIL HEAD!" Kaos cried as he shook himself to safety and formed a shield around his throne. Now safe from the skulls' rain of terror, Kaos dashed under the safety of his hydra's heads and scowled as the skull rain carried on, his grip on his arm rests tight.

"You know what?" Kaos exclaimed as he slammed his hands against the arm rests of his throne. "Two can play at that little game!" Kaos glared up at the hydra and pointed a finger. "HYDRA, GIVE ME SOME SKULLS!"

The skeletal hydra head reeled back and let out a bone-chilling scream. Out of nowhere, the rain stopped—or more accurately, it stopped bringing down water! The sharks completely vanished as a thin layer of mist coated the battlefield, followed by the sound of cackling from above!

"What is that?" Hex whispered.

She stopped her own skull rain, lifted her head up, and hastily teleported away as a gigantic skull crashed down from the skies! Down from the changed skies rained gigantic skulls with glowing red eyes in lieu of the rain. These skulls were vultures that swooped in at every given moment, and burned whatever was around with brightly-colored lasers from their eyes the moment they hit the floor. Nobody was safe from their fury!

"Geez," Dark Spyro exclaimed as he jumped out the way of one skull, but flew away from another and dashed out of yet another's path. "Just how many of these skulls are there?"

Dark Spyro yelped as a laser singed him on the tail, spun around, and snarled at a cackling skull. He immediately dashed after it, but it just flew off and spun around in a circle with no cares to how dizzy it made Dark! By the time he was thoroughly spun around, the skull just shrugged, jumped out of the way, and grinned as Dark Spyro charged into a skull behind it! Both the other skull and Dark Spyro flew on their backs, but the first skull just cackled and flew off.

"Ugh, when did these birds get everywhere?" Dark Spyro groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head.

Meanwhile, the other skull spun towards Kaos's throne, and screeched as it shot lasers all across the skies—including where Kaos sat!

"Hey!" Kaos exclaimed as he narrowly dodged the lasers and flew down to where the skull haplessly spun about. "Watch what you're frying, you numbskull!"

Kaos berated the skull that had nearly fried him, and the other skulls immediately stopped their laser show as they aimlessly flew about! In his rage, he completely lost control of the skulls.

With their opportunity presented, the Skylanders immediately went to work! Voodood turned to Double Trouble and shared a grin with him, but Voodood's own grin faded as he turned his attention to one giant skull that mindlessly swayed from side to side. Voodood took a step forward, grunted as he withdrew his ax, and he lifted it up as he swung it towards the skull in a single movement! The ax slammed against the side of the skull's head with such force that it not only left a decently-sized crack, but it definitely got the skull's attention! It cried out as it tottered forward, and the skull whipped around and growled as the ax flew back to Voodood.

"Hey, bonehead!" Voodood cried as he swung his ax over his shoulder. "Over here!"

The skull's blank, glowing eyes blinked for a few moments, and it rattled and gritted its teeth as its eyes glowed with a bright red light! The skull roared as it charged towards Voodood with its jaws wide and prepared to bite, but before it could even reach Voodood, it froze mid-run while a bright purple glow shone around its body! The skull spat out faint, pained grunts as its eyes dashed from place to place, but no matter how much it strained, it just couldn't break free!

This was much to the pleasure of Double Trouble, who grinned as he held up his staff while its jewel glowed with a similar purple light. With a snap of his his fingers, the light that enveloped the skull grew brighter and brighter, and with such speed that it started to screech. Double Trouble waved his staff, and summoned a shield around him and Voodood right as the skull exploded into bits!

The shield faded and bony bits dropped down across from them, but Double Trouble and Voodood only grinned at each other. It lasted only for a moment as a cackle pierced the air. The two of them turned around, screamed and dashed off as another giant skull chased after them! The skull snapped at their feet, but Double Trouble waved his staff and teleported him and Voodood across the battlefield. The two of them wiped the sweat of their brows, screamed, and dashed off again as the skull went running back after them!

"Wait a second," Dark Spyro mumbled as he pulled himself up. The sounds of screaming drew his eyes to where Voodood and Double Trouble fled, and those eyes narrowed as they fell on the skull that chased them. "That skull!"

Dark Spyro snorted with such anger that purple smoke flew out of his nostrils; he scraped his paws against the ground and charged forward! His speed grew faster and faster by the second as purple fire flared and swirled around his horns, but finally, the fires grew brighter and completely enveloped his body!

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!"

Right as Dark Spyro cried this out, he leaped forward and tackled right into the skull's side! The skull screeched as it spun aside, crashed into the fencing that surrounded the entire battlefield, and shattered completely. As the flames vanished from his body, Dark smiled and stood with his head held high, but flew aside as a massive wind whipped through the battlefield!

"Lightning Rod!" Warnado called as he herded a humongous tornado full of giant skulls right towards Lightning Rod.

As Lightning Rod turned around and glared down the tornado, Warnado retreated into his shell, slammed right into the tornado, and sent it hurtling towards Lightning Rod!

"You know what to do!" Warnado cried as he popped out of his shell.

Lightning Rod nodded, clapped his hands, and skirted back as the churning clouds above them grew more violent and loud! Right as he made his escape, a gigantic thunderbolt crashed down on the tornado and blew it to bits. The tornado, in turn, completely fried the skulls and crumbled them to ashes!

Warnado flew over and high-fived Lightning Rod as their ashes scattered in the wind…

"Watch out!"

They turned around, and dashed out of the way as Sunburn chased several skulls across the field! The skulls screeched as Sunburn singed them with a burst of fire ran towards Sonic Boom, but before they could escape, she let out a sonic screech that rattled them to the bone. The skulls shuddered in place as Sunburn rushed up, and he blasted them with another flaming burst so bright it set them all aflame!

The skulls blinked for a moment as the flames burned bright over their bodies, but finally, the pain set in; they screamed as they flew right over the battlefield's boundaries and into the night!

"Nice going, Sonic!" Sunburn shouted as he flew over to Sonic Boom's side. "I'd be chasing those skulls a lot longer if you hadn't stopped them!"

"You did pretty good too!" Sonic Boom remarked as he stretched a wing across the battlefield. "After all, we're almost done with those skulls!"

Sonic Boom was right! The battlefield was completely cleaned of skulls, save for the one that Kaos currently berated, but even that one wouldn't last for long, judging by the way Spyro eyed it!

"And if you want to spend the rest of your awful skeletal life in peace, I'd suggest not blasting your maker with the very weapons he gave you!" Kaos cried as he shook a fist at the skull that singed him, which now looked very repentant as it bowed its head. With a scoff, Kaos turned his attention back to the throne's controls. "Now, as I was saying—"

Right before Kaos could finish, however, Spyro charged forward, crashed into the skull with all his might, and dashed back across the battlefield!

"Anyways, if I recall correctly…" Kaos frowned and lifted his head, shook it, and rapidly blinked as his eyes fell on the battlefield. "Wait, where did my skulls go?"

While he was busy berating the one skull that slipped up, the Skylanders made quick work of them all! Their shattered, bony fragments coated the battlefield like confetti, and the Skylanders just glared back up at the hydra as if they asked of their next challenge!

"YOU ABSOLUTE INSOLENTS!" Kaos screamed as he jumped to his feet. "ALRIGHT THEN, YOU FORCED MY HANDS!" Kaos snarled as he pounded his fists against his arm rests. "YOU MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE THE PAST ATTACKS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT WHAT ABOUT TWO AT ONCE?"

This time, the green and red hydra heads cried out in unison. Above them, the clouds parted and revealed bright, harsh sunlight that could sear one’s eyes just from looking at it!

The Skylanders' eyes fought against the skies, but the hydra heads just careened towards the ground and shot out blasts of fire and green smoke! These two blasts intertwined with each other right as they hit the ground in one big explosion that settled over the floor, and from them sprouted gigantic, flaming vines. The vines immediately spun out and grappled for victims, forcing everyone to jump out and dodge!

Stump Smash and Zook screamed and ran in terror as one of the vines chased after them, but before it could reach them, Camo jumped in front of it and combated it with a vine barrier of his own!

"Hah!" Camo cried as the flaming vines lashed against his barrier. "You're not so hot now, are you?" Camo winced and ducked as his vine barrier immediately crumbled to ashes afterwards. "Okay, I take that back!"

The flaming vines whipped around and tried to grab Camo once more, but he stomped his paws and created another vine barrier! The vines were quick to burn that one as well, yet Camo was just as fast in creating another. Both vines were unrelenting as both Camo and the flaming vines continued to war until something kicked Camo right in the back!

Chihiro kicked Camo out of the way right before a particularly sneaky vine could grab him from behind, and blocked the vines off from them with a massive shield! Though their flaming tips lashes out at her shield and charred its surface, it still stood strong. Chihiro herself strained as she glazed over the battlefield.

All around her, the Skylanders had their hands full as they managed dodging the vines and trying to stop them at the same time, but those vines were fast and relentless. Any attack thrown at them quickly dodged and dispelled, and combined with their massive presence across the battlefield, what with them cropped up like weeds at every angle, those vines were definitely a pestilence!

"Crap, these things are everywhere! I've gotta find some way to put their fire out," Chihiro said as she peered up at the hydra, and gasped as her eyes shone with inspiration. "Wait, that's it!"

Chihiro readied a sphere and aimed it towards the blue hydra head, but before she could fire, a myriad of attacks from rainbows to rains of coins shot right towards it! Apparently a couple of the Skylanders had the same idea, judging by how the firing group of Whirlwind, Trigger Happy, and Gill Grunt looked at each other and grinned.

The blue hydra head, however, looked less than pleased as it shook off the injury, growled and went to blast the Skylanders with water! The Skylanders were fast, and quickly ran down the arena's floor as the hydra pumped water! Instead of dousing the Skylanders, the hydra completely quelled the flaming vines' fire! The water soaked the vines so badly that all that was left of those once-fiery vines was withered, charred shells which crumbled to ashes almost immediately.

Kaos gasped as the vines crumbled to bits, and growled as he turned his furious gaze back up at the hydra.

"YOU STUPID HYDRA!" Kaos shouted as he shoot a fist at the very confused hydra.

The hydra just grunted as it bent its heads down to Kaos's eye level, and Kaos promptly bonked it on each head!

"You completely extinguished my vines! Those were supposed to be for the Skylanders, you stupid, stupid—"

"That hydra's nothing for us, Kaos!" Chihiro remarked as she gestured towards the battlefield. "We can take anything you could possibly throw at us, just try it!"

Kaos perked up, frowned and peered down at the battlefield. But oddly enough, he didn't seem concerned at all! Instead, he just started laughing!

"We'll see about that!" Kaos cried as he slammed the buttons on his throne's armrests! As his throne beeped and glowed, he latched his hands on the armrests and cackled as it slammed down on the ground. "TAKE THIS!"

Right as Kaos cried out, the thorns on his throne flew open, and out popped bright, glowing cannons that shot out waves of lasers, magic blasts and other magical attacks all through the battlefield! Screams and shouts erupted through the battlefield as everyone took cover, but even in the chaos of battle, a couple of them still tried to fight!

Boomer grunted as he rolled underneath one particularly massive laser, rifled through his backpack and tossed a trio of bombs right towards Kaos's throne. Kaos's throne flew up and dodged their blow just before the bombs exploded. The most they could do was graze the throne's underside as he escaped!

Kaos roared with laughter as he crashed down once more, and shot a round of lasers towards where Wham-Shell, Ignitor, Zap and Camo crowded—but none of them ran off at all! Rather, Wham-Shell slammed his mace into the ground and summoned a gigantic, crab-shaped shield. The shield completely nullified the lasers the moment it hit, and as it receded, Wham-Shell pointed his mace right towards Kaos and held it like a gun!

"FIRE!" Wham-Shell cried as he shot off a giant starfish from his mace!

As the starfish whipped through the air, a trio of flaming mortars, a round of lightning bolts and a few giant watermelons all joined it. All of these blows combined into one massive attack that slammed against the front of Kaos's throne!

"Did we hit it?" Wham-Shell asked as he eyed the smoke that floated off of Kaos's throne.

Ignitor's flames burned a little less bright while Zap and Camo clenched their jaws, the air tense as they joined Wham-Shell in observing Kaos's throne. All four of them gasped as Kaos's cackles rang in the air!

The smoke finally cleared, and it unveiled that Kaos hadn't been damaged at all. Rather, a magic shield enveloped his throne, and shielded it from the brunt of their combined blow! Kaos's cackles grew louder as he rushed forward, mowed down the four of them with a tackle, and prepared to shoot his front cannon as they crashed against the fencing.

Before he could do anything else, a gigantic blast of magic energy tossed him aside! As he went spinning around, Chihiro smirked and patted the side of a magic cannon, ducked, and somersaulted away from a wave of lasers Kaos shot just above her head!

"Something like that isn't going to stop me, you know!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stood tall, glared down Kaos, but gasped as he flew right past her!

"Thanks for falling for my plan, portal poster!" Kaos cackled.

Wait, plan? A loud pop sounded off beside her, and Chihiro turned around.

Her eyes went wide, for the sphere remains of the evil minions were freed of their bubbles! In the heat of battle, she completely forgot about them! Chihiro winced and stepped back as Kaos cackled, yet gasped as the spheres all flew off towards Kaos and the hydra in one big flock.

Kaos laughed as the spheres absorbed into him and the hydra both, and behind him, the hydra shuddered and roared in pain as its head splayed out…

As out popped four more hydra heads! One was a copper orange in color, and made entirely of metal rather than scales with glassy green eyes instead of the usual white; the second was a bright cyan with wispy clouds for horns; the third was brown in color with thick, rocklike scales; and the fourth and final had luminescent purple scales tinged with a bit of pink that sparkled against the light of the battlefield below!

Everyone gasped as the now eight-headed hydra cried out, but Kaos seemed hardly concerned! In fact, he just laughed as the remaining spheres flooded into his throne, and completely restored it to its prime. Any dents, dings and damages that it accumulated during the battle completely vanished as it shone against the light the battle provided, like it was just made!

"You see, I was stringing you along all this time!" Kaos proclaimed as he puffed out his chest. "The truth is, I wasn't planning to destroy your dingy little Core of Light at all!"

Gasps echoed across the battlefield, and all at once everyone's eyes went wide.

"So what you're saying is…" Spyro whispered, but stopped short as Kaos's grin grew wider.

"I JUST SAID THAT TO BRING YOU ALL HERE!"

Kaos let out another round of cackles as soft, worried talk and whispers echoed across the battlefield.

"Once you came here, I'd use my minions and security to wear you down, and once you blew those useless minions to bits, I'd use their remains to power myself and this hydra up! Thanks to you, my hydra and I are even more powerful now! You have no chance of winning!" Kaos clapped his hands and raised an eyebrow at the Skylanders. "Thanks for sealing your ultimate doom for me, Skylosers!"

"We'll see about that!" Spyro proclaimed as he turned back to the rest of the team. He tried his hardest to puff out his chest and stand tall, but the way his limbs twitched seemed to suggest a hint of fear. "Skylanders, charge!"

Charge was what they did! The Skylanders all rushed towards Kaos like their minds and hearts were one, all with Spyro at the head the charge and Chihiro back at the rear!

But, right before they could leap, the entire arena became a walking hazard field! Sharks, bugs, and living rock statues leaped out from the tile floors; tornadoes, rockets and magical blasts rained down from the heavens; if that wasn't enough to deter them, well, the lasers and pillars of fire that sprouted from the cracks in the floor were definitely pretty close!

"Everyone, stick together!" Spyro shouted as he leaped over the head of a rock monster. "Stay coordinated!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Terrafin said as he punched away a couple sharks, tunneled away from a magic blast and popped back up. "These things are everywhere!"

Terrafin was right. All around them, the Skylanders tried their hardest to ward off the hazards Kaos threw at them, but it was hard. It seemed like every which way they turned, there was something ready to leap out and attack!

Wham-Shell stepped back and grimaced as he shot down a stack of raging gears. He rolled off just before they could crash down on him, but in the process, he rammed into Slam Bam. He sent Slam Bam skidding across slick, wet floors, and into the jaws of a large shark! Slam Bam frantically shot a large ice block into the sharks' jaws, and jumped out of the way right as the shark crunched down and shattered the ice block to bits! He winced as the shark zoomed right past him, but ducked just as a massive flaming comet crashed down behind him and blew Bash across the battlefield!

Gill Grunt zoomed out of Bash's way as Bash crashed right into the fence and dented it, and hosed down the pillars of fire that emerged around him! Sweat crept down on his brow as he tightened his grip around the trigger, but he let it loose as Spyro teleported beside him, and tackled him out the way of a raging tornado!

"That was close," Gill Grunt panted as he and Spyro sat back up. He smiled as he patted Spyro's head. "Thanks for that, Spy!"

"Don't thank me yet!" Spyro said as he wrapped his front legs around Gill Grunt, and got ready to teleport once more. "We're still in the fire right now!"

Spyro teleported right as another storm of tornadoes crashes into the walls, and reappeared right at a rare, trouble-free corner of the battlefield!

Well, mostly trouble-free anyways. Just in front of them, Eruptor screamed as a swarm of bugs chased him across the way, but skidded back as a magic blast slammed down and exploded just inches away from him. He breathed a sigh of relieved as he wiped tiny pebbles from his forehead, yet perked up as the sound of buzzing rang behind him!

"Oh no," Eruptor whimpered.

He turned around, screamed and scrambled back as the bugs got ready to pounce. However, he had nowhere to run! He backed up into the arena's fence, and all around him, the bugs completely blocked off the exits! He watched in horror as they rushed forward, but before they struck, a magical, cyan-colored dragon swept by and ate the bugs in one gulp. The dragon winked at a now very shocked Eruptor, floated back off and joined several other dragons in cleaning out the hazards!

They knocked down the rock monsters, ate up the sharks and bugs, extinguished flames, snapped vines in half, and swirled together as they formed a gigantic bubble shield across the entire arena! A blue glow cast down from their bodies as the comets and magic blasts banged against them and tumbled down like pebbles, but the shield stood firm regardless!

"WHAT?" Kaos exclaimed as he flew up to the shield, flew up a little too far and bonked his head on it."WHEN DID THOSE THINGS GET HERE?"

The Skylanders all gasped and spoke confused chatter as they looked among each other, but as a bright cyan glow lit up nearby, they looked aside and grinned.

Right in the center of all, Chihiro hovered just inches above the floor as a cyan glow encased her whole body. Though she spoke no words, the gentle smile and nod she gave the Skylanders spoke all.

"I'll take care of these guys, so you just worry about stopping Kaos!"

The Skylanders all shared Chihiro's nod, and fixed their eyes on Kaos with fire in their hearts and determination in their eyes. One by one, a wave of blue magic washed over them as they gathered together, and they glowed not just with the courage and valor of heroes, but with a new strength as well! Gasps sounded off all around as their eyes turned back to Chihiro, who only smiled as the glow around her own body faded.

The Skylanders all nodded, and without even hesitating, they dashed forward and leaped off the ground with their jump augmented by that cyan glow! Though the hydra tried to shoot them down with blasts of water, fire and more, they all simply wove through the blasts and soared free, for nothing could stop them now!

Nothing would keep them from beating Kaos and saving all Skylands!

"FOR SKYLANDS!" they cried as they launched towards Kaos as one heart, one mind, one fiery soul that burned bright as they got ready to finish him for good…

Wait, why was his throne glowing?

"Nice try, Skylosers!" Kaos cried as he turned around, and slammed his palms down on his throne's armrest!

Right as they launched their attacks, a bright white laser blast shot out from the middle of the cannon! They all grunted as they tossed out their own blows, and pushed against the intense force of the laser blast, but it was a struggle even with their combined power. It was like trying to fight against the intense winds of a hurricane! Their rainbow-painted combination struggled and strained against the bright, white void of Kaos's laser…

But in the end, their efforts were fruitless. The laser completely overpowered them, and slammed them against the floor in a bright, white explosion that sent everyone down on the ground!

Down on the ground, Chihiro herself grunted as she tried to fight the storm, but it was so powerful that even she couldn't keep her footing! Before she knew it, she flew like a ragdoll and skidded across the hard, tile floor! Chihiro grunted as bright, white light burned at her vision and blocked off everything around, all while her heart raced with anticipation.

“What’s going on here? Did we win?” she whispered.

She gave her all to power them up, and made sure they could get to Kaos—but was their combined effort even enough? The cries and groans of pained, weakened voices echoed throughout the arena as the light cleared, and revealed that unfortunately, Chihiro was wrong.

The Skylanders weren't the victors of this match! Instead, they all curled up on the ground, beaten, bruised, and barely alive within the craters their intense landings formed in the arena floor. How could this have happened? They looked so strong, so powerful as they pressed against Kaos's attack, so how could they have lost against him?

"Ha! Ever true to your name, looks like you SKY-LOSERS have LOST!" Kaos proclaimed as he stroked the chest of the hydra, the belly of the best. "Too bad, so sad… For you!"

Kaos cackled as the Skylanders strained and tried their hardest to pull themselves off the ground, but to no avail. That fight took so much out of them that just the very task of keeping their eyes open was hard enough!

"What're you gonna do now? You're completely powerless, completely outmatched, and not to mention completely outclassed!" Kaos continued to prattle as he clasped his hands in glee. "Just face it! I, KAOS, ULTIMATE EVIL OVERLORD OF ALL SKYLANDS, HAVE WON! AND NOW…"

Kaos stopped short as he glared down at the battlefield, for someone finally gained the strength to stand and trudge through the crowds—Chihiro herself!

True, just moving even one step made her whole body ache and moan like it was ready to give up, and the bright shine of the hydra above her made her eyes water, but she wasn't going to give up now! Even though she could barely bring herself to stand, and couldn't even speak, she still had to do something! So, she just stood and glared at Kaos with a kind of defiance in her eyes, a powerful fire that refused to be extinguished no matter what was thrown to quell its spark.

"Oh, how precious! The portal-poster thinks she can stand up to me!" Kaos crooned with the smuggest of grins on his face. "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT A LAUGH!"

Kaos cupped his hands against his jaw as his grin grew even wider.

"I knew you were stubborn, but this is just pushing it! You've got no chance of beating me or my hydra, and here you are, just standing there and glaring at me like that's gonna scare me into stopping!"

Chihiro winced and hunched over as her arm throbbed, and Kaos seemed to notice as he cackled again.

"But no matter what you do, portal loser, there's no way you'll stop me from killing you and your stupid little Skyloser friends!" Kaos proclaimed before he looked up at his hydra. "In fact…"

Kaos clapped his hands before he shot a glare back at Chihiro and the Skylanders.

"HYDRA, END THIS NOW!"

The hydra's eight heads roared as they lined up in a row, and opened their jaws wide! Each jaw contained a bright, sparkling orb of light that grew wider and larger, fully ready to shoot down a laser, or blast of some kind that would kill them all!

Wait, no… Kill them all.

Chihiro's whole body shuddered as she faced the blinding lights that came from the hydra's mouths. Its brightness burned her, as if her whole body was going to shrivel up and set on fire. This was gonna be it, not just for her… But for the Skylanders, no, for her friends! That blast gets fired, and they'd all go up in flames. Surely, once they were out of the picture, all Skylands would be soon to follow.

But, Chihiro didn't want that!

"… No, no…" Chihiro croaked out at last as she lifted her shaking, trembling arms in spite of all the pain they burned with, "No, I won't…"

I won't let you do this, Kaos!

That's what Chihiro wanted to say, but with all the pain she was in, she could barely make her words out—yet, what she sputtered out in the heat of the moment still rang with her truth. Without even thinking, the pain bubbled out of her body as she shoved herself forward, and held her arms out straight and firm. She wasn't just going to stand around and mope!

The lives of her friends, the world she called home… All of that was at stake! No matter how much pain she was in, she wasn't just going to stand around and watch as they got killed! Slowly, Chihiro's shaky breaths became fuller and more stable as she pushed her hands further, and while all those memories flashed back into her mind.

Meeting the Skylanders in her backyard for the first time… Learning magic and training as a portal master… Protecting each other in the worst times, celebrating the best times… All the laughter, the smiles, the warm nights and cheerful mornings… The great adventures… But most of all…

The love she felt, not just from being around them, and feeling wanted and protected, but the love she felt for them, the ones she called her most precious friends.

"No, no! This isn't going to end like this, Kaos!" Chihiro screamed at the top of her lungs as sparks of magic bolted through her body and swirled around her arms. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM AWAY!"

The magical blue glow completely enveloped Chihiro's arms until they could no longer be seen among the thick, cyan glow. A new kind of power rushed through Chihiro's body, and seemingly lifted the pain and ache of her earlier fight! Her whole vision tinted blue as she glared up at the hydra, whose blasts were now just seconds away from firing.

But, she wasn't scared at all. All she felt was a kind of anger, a righteous fury that seared through her body, and wouldn't relent until she finished what she had started!

"I WON'T LET YOU KILL MY FRIENDS!"

Right as the hydra fired, a bright cyan blast exploded out from Chihiro's palms, and shot up right towards the laser at such an intensity that it pushed Chihiro back at least a mile! The two blasts fought each other for mere moments, but finally, everything disappeared in an explosion of light…