Was this the end?

That was the question on every Skylander's mind as they looked around. The last they remembered, Kaos's hydra fired that elemental beam straight at them, at a momentum so fast that all they could do was stand and watch! Had it killed them? Perhaps this strange blue glow that surrounded them was a vision of the afterlife?

Had they failed?

They were all so confused, so concerned that the bright light overwhelmed them at first, but the once pale cyan light started to gradiate into a darker color as it faded. Now that they listened, they could kinda hear sparking? The sparking of crackling magic, paired with the sounds of sharp screeching and tired grunts…

"What, what's going on?" Spyro sputtered as he rubbed his eyes and looked ahead.

He gasped and dropped his jaw wide open! None, none of them died, that was for certain! Right in front of them, encased in a cyan glow…

Was Chihiro!

Her head hung, and her hands pressed to the front of a gigantic shield that encased near the entire battlefield! She spoke not a word, but the grunts she made were indicative enough that she gave her all to hold up this barrier; she saved them! She saved their lives at the last minute! In fact, she looked so mystical, so magical, that for a moment, it was like an angel swooped down onto the battlefield and rescued them all.

But, she was in a pinch! That hydra still went strong, and she couldn't possibly hold up for long even at full force. The creaking, cracking noises her shield made as pale-colored, but bulky cracks manifested in its surface confirmed this!

"SKYLANDERS!" Spyro called as he flew towards Chihiro. "YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

The Skylanders made no words, but they way they rushed forward spoke loud enough! One by one, they all pressed their hands against the shield, its weight bared just as much by them as it was Chihiro!

Spyro himself flew right next to her, placed a paw on her hand, and watched as the tiny cracks that manifested around it completely vanished. This action was enough to earn him a small grunt from Chihiro, who turned around to face him.

Her face was now covered in a number of cyan markings that striped her body like veins of blood or markings of some kind, and her eyes flared with an aqua glow so bright that it masked their normally brown colors. The veins on her hands glowed aqua as well, and the power they radiated was so great that it would've almost been intimidating were it anyone else!

"Spyro?" Chihiro whispered as her eyes grew large.

Spyro only nodded, and they both looked up as another searing sound screeched out.

Not that far across, Whirlwind, Hex, Double Trouble, and Voodood had all combined their magic to seal the cracks! The shining, multicolored beam that emitted from their collective party turned the shield into a disco ball as its light beamed across the arena, and it restored the shield to full strength!

The hydra's assault finally relented as well! From across the cyan surface of the shield, the hydra’s heads panted as they hung down, eyes bloodshot and barely open from the pain of exerting itself so. They managed to tough it out, but the hydra’s existence only proved still that this was just the beginning.

"Everyone," Chihiro whispered. Her voice was soft and trembling, as if she hadn't expected any of this to happen, but she smiled and fixed herself back on the front. "Thank you."

Chihiro's soft smile turned into a wider grin as her eyes furrowed.

"Alright guys, I've got a plan to put big-head here out of commission, but I'll need all your help!" Chihiro proclaimed as the shield started to waver. "If we're gonna beat Kaos, we'll need to combine our power and take him and his hydra down together!" Chihiro smirked as she tilted her head. "Who's with me?"

Cheers of agreement shouted out throughout the crowds, and Chihiro's eyes sparkled with even more enthusiasm. That cold air that enveloped the battlefield around turned warm and eager with everyone's hearts unified in one cheer, and it seemed as though Chihiro felt its presence completely as she pulled her hands from the shield!

"THEN LET'S GET 'EM!"

Right as Chihiro leaned back, everyone else pulled away from the shield and stood back as it vanished into a bright flash of sparkles!

The sight it unveiled wasn't nearly as pretty. There, Kaos sat on his throne with his exhausted hydra behind him, but he didn't share any of its weariness. No, he was wide-eyed and alert as his eyes fell on Chihiro and the hordes of Skylanders behind her, all of whom glared back at him as if one wrong move would set them off!

"WHAT? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Kaos cried as he scrambled backwards in his throne, and panted so hard that his chest bobbed up and down with every breath. "MY HYDRA IS MORE POWERFUL THAN PRACTICALLY ANYTHING ELSE IN MY ARSENAL! NO ORDINARY BEING COULD HAVE POSSIBLY SURVIVED A BLOW FROM ALL EIGHT OF ITS HEADS AT ONCE!"

"That's where you're wrong, Kaos!" Chihiro proclaimed as she summoned a sword and pointed it right between his eyes. "We're not just any ordinary beings! We're the sworn protectors of Skylands!"

"YEAH!" the Skylanders cried behind Chihiro as they pumped their fists to the skies!

Chihiro just barely gasped as she turned back at the Skylanders with sparkling eyes, returned her gaze back to Kaos and smirked.

"No matter what, we're not gonna let you take us down that easily, not when we promised to protect Skylands from you and your little cronies! As long as we can breathe, as long as we can stand, we'll make sure Skylands never falls in your grubby little paws!"

"That's right!" Spyro cried as he flew up besides Chihiro. "After all, Skylands is our important home!" Spyro shook his head and narrowed his gaze. "But more than that, it's the home of so many other amazing things, too! There's so many wonderful places…"

"So many people who are important to us…" Gill Grunt added as he flew up beside Chihiro.

"So many beautiful things to cherish and protect…" Whirlwind said as she flew above Chihiro.

"Lots of fun things, too!" Trigger Happy chirped as he jumped on Spyro's back. "Like the two-headed rhinoceros, and that chocolate ocean, and, and…"

Chihiro chuckled as she ruffled Trigger Happy's head with her free hand, but her gaze steeled as she glared back at Kaos.

"Skylands is an amazing place full of tons of precious beings, and things, and places, and memories, and it's counting on us to protect it from you! We came all this way and worked so hard to keep it safe," Chihiro cried as she tightened her grip on her sword's handle, "so we're not just gonna lie down and die so you can do with it as you please!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" everyone else cried!

"We're not gonna give up!"

"We'll protect Skylands no matter what!"

"You're not going to win, Kaos!"

Kaos just scoffed and rolled his eyes. He seemed hardly concerned as he drummed his fingers against the armrest of his throne, more displeased than anything as his hydra groaned and stood tall behind him.

"Oh, how scary, you made a fancy speech," Kaos groaned as his red eyes shot daggers into everyone's souls. "BAH! Do you really think some fancy words are going to save you from your ULTIMATE DOOM?" Kaos scoffed as the hydra's shadow cast over the ground behind him. "If you really think that, then you're more foolish than I ever thought you were!"

Though Kaos broke into a cackling fit, Chihiro just stood calm as she lowered her sword and hung her head.

"Oh, we don't just think that," Chihiro replied as she shook her head, lifted it up and shot a burning glare back up at Kaos, "WE KNOW IT!"

Chihiro heaved a breath as she pointed her sword back at Kaos, but this time, she wasn't alone—Everyone raised their fists, pointed their weapons, and completely set their focus, all their rage and anger and determination, right at Kaos!

He definitely seemed to notice this, for Kaos took one glance at their combined assault and all their hearts as one, immediately screamed and scrambled backwards on his throne!

"As Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master and guardian of all that is good…" Chihiro started.

"And as the Skylanders, the sworn protectors of Skylands..." the Skylanders added as one.

Chihiro and Spyro nodded towards each, and the two of them charged forward with all the other Skylanders right behind them!

"WE WON'T STOP UNTIL YOUR EVIL IS DEFEATED!" Chihiro and the Skylanders all cried as one heart and one soul they leaped up, and got ready to throw everything they had at Kaos and his hydra!

"FOR SKYLANDS!"

Kaos screamed and ducked as Chihiro's sword flew right above him. It lodged itself into his throne's seat, and he pressed his back against the throne as he frantically jabbed his finger right at the oncoming storm before him!

"HYDRA!" Kaos cried as he kicked his feet against the throne's seat. "DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!"

The hydra roared as it flew up from behind Kaos, and it crashed down onto the battlefield with such forced that it crackled the tile panels below and shook the world around. The hydra's heads all shouted as one while their attacks manifested from thin air and rampaged across the battlefield…

But Chihiro and the Skylanders weren't concerned at all as they fell back to the ground and turned their attention towards the hydra. They just raised their weapons, narrowed their eyes, and stood this ground. This time, they were prepared for anything that hydra could throw at them! No matter what, they were going to win this!

The sharks and bugs charged forward first, but before they could make contact, Bash, Slam Bam, and Dino-Rang raised a massive wall of stone and ice that completely blocked them off! Thunks and irritated grumbles sounded off just barely from the other side of the wall, but they completely muffled underneath crackling fire as flames ate away at the wall! Slam Bam, Bash, and Dino-Rang immediately ran for cover as the flames crept down the wall, yet ducked as a massive blast of water gushed forward and drove against the flames.

They smiled as the flames around their wall started to dissipate, but unfortunately, the fires up top weren't as quick to be drenched, for they were too high for the water!

"Zap, hit the flames over there!" Gill Grunt cried as he held his water cannon, which pumped out massive blasts of cold water by the second as tight as he could. With a grunt, Gill Grunt urged towards a particularly high corner of the wall with his head. "I can't reach this far!"

"Got it, dude!" Zap cried as he zipped past Gill Grunt on a slick, shiny trail of slime.

Zap leaped forward, and slammed a glob of slime right at that one hard-to-reach flame, but the fires burned so bright thatthe slime immediately hardened and shattered! Zap gasped as he fell back down, but before he could try again, a massive waterfall dropped down from the skies and completely extinguished the flames!

Up above, a blue-eyed Spyro grinned and waved down at Zap, gasped, and flew down to the ground as screeching sounded off from above. Right as he hit the ground, Spyro careened his head up and winced as a massive skull slammed through part of the wall and shattered both that part of the wall and itself to bits!

Laughter rang throughout the skies as more of those skulls came raining down, but before they could hit anything, a storm of flames, lightning, lasers, and giant skulls shot them out of the skies!

"Wave two incoming!" Hex cried as she headed a group comprised of Flameslinger, Lightning Rod, Cynder, Dark Spyro, Whirlwind, Drobot and Sunburn. Hex's narrowed eyes fixed on the murky skies, summoned a massive skull of her own and leaned back. "Fire!"

The hydra lowered its heads and growled as another wave of skulls blew to bits from Hex's forces. It seemed almost concerned as it silenced its voice, and its eyes fixed entirely on the Skylanders as they fought off its assault. But, the Tech Element hydra head screeched as it raised its head to the sky, and from its screech, massive statues of rumbling gears popped out from the ground around it!

As the gear statues cropped out all across the battlefield, Boomer dashed between two newborn gear statues, and leaped forward with his sights set on several statues that surrounded the hydra! As he flew through the air, he yanked some bombs from his backpack, unplugged them and poured the gunpowder in them over the statues!

"Flameslinger!" Boomer called as he hit the ground and ran off. "Here's your chance!"

Across the field, Flameslinger nodded as he drew his bow, plucked the string, and shot a fleet of flaming arrows right towards the gunpowder-coated statues. The moment the arrowheads hit their surface, the flames ripped across the gunpowder and completely blew the statues into flaming bits! The explosion was so massive that it hit the hydra and threw it off balance. All eight of its heads cried out as it fell to the ground, and scorching burns covered its underbelly!

With the hydra reeling and its attacks brought to a close, Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy rushed in for the kill—but just before they could strike, massive white lasers shot down between them and the hydra and forced them backwards!

"Not so fast, Skylosers!" Kaos cried as he flew in on his throne, which was prepped and ready to shoot once again. "You're not taking my hydra down anytime soon!"

The lasers fired once more, but before they could hit anything, Chihiro and Spyro threw up bright purple and cyan shields that immediately neutralized the lasers! While the shields disappeared back into nothingness, Chihiro just grinned and pulled her eyelid down at Kaos.

"Bet'cha can't catch us!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stuck her tongue out at Kaos and ran off. "NYEH!"

"She's right!" Spyro cried as he flew after Chihiro. "You're way too slow, bighead!"

As the two of them cackled and flew off, Kaos gritted his teeth and immediately flew off from the hydra, his red eyes bright with fury!

"SLOW? I'LL SHOW YOU SLOW, DRAGONFLY!" Kaos cried as he flew after Spyro and Chihiro, and far, far away from the hydra itself.

Spyro and Chihiro winked at each other as Kaos drew closer and closer, whipped around, and shot a bright purple and cyan blast of magic right at Kaos. Kaos just swerved right past it and grunted. He turned around and went to fly back off, but before he could, Cynder, Whirlwind, and Gill Grunt flew right in front of him!

Kaos tried turning left, and then Terrafin popped out of the ground while Stealth Elf manifested out of thin air beside Terrafin! Kaos clenched his jaws and veered right, but even that part blocked off as Eruptor and Trigger Happy rushed forward just in time!

"You're really just dying to have an audience with me, aren't you?" Kaos remarked as he gripped the armrests of his throne tight. "FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!" Kaos slammed his fist down on his armrest and scowled as his throne started to slowly spin around. "I'll take you for a SPIN!"

The moment Kaos finished his sentence, his throne spun so fast that it was little more than a blur to the naked eye! A bright, white streak circled around it as it spun, and out from it came bright white lasers!

Chihiro gasped, slammed her hands together and tossed them out! As her clap resonated across the battlefield, bright cyan shields cropped up around Kaos's spinning throne and reflected the lasers right back at him. With their heat and his speed, they did well to completely fry his throne! The heat was so intense that thick smoke burst from the throne's body, and burned it so badly that it couldn't spin any further! It started to clunk and groan as it slowed down to a rough stop.

"Hot! HOT HOT HOT!" Kaos shrieked as his throne glowed with white-hot heat. He groaned as his head spun around in circles, but the moment the smoke cast up in front of him, he shook it off and gasped! "MY THRONE, MY BEAUTIFUL EVIL THRONE!"

Kaos snarled as his eyes fell on the damage his throne faced. Its metal surface melted in some placed and scorched in others, all while smoke wafted off of it, and the smell of burnt metal drifted across the winds.

"I'D OUGHT TO SMASH YOU TO BITS FOR THAT!" Kaos cried as he slammed his fist against another button on the throne's armrest. "In fact, that's what I'll do!"

Spyro, Cynder, and Whirlwind gasped and flew into the air, but the others weren't as lucky! Before they could even realize what happened, Kaos slammed his throne down on the ground with such force that it sent a mighty shockwave through the battlefield, and tossed them all to the ground! While most of them moaned and stumbled around in circles, Spyro, Cynder and Whirlwind took one look at each other, huddled together, whispered something quick into each others’ ears and nodded in sync.

Whirlwind dashed right past Kaos, but before he could notice, Cynder zapped him right in the head with a pitch-black lightning bolt! He yelped as the bolt left a bright red sore on his head, and as he rubbed it, his eyes fell on a snarling Cynder.

"Was trying to ruin my throne not good enough for you?" Kaos demanded as he zoomed after Cynder. "Now you have to ruin my beautiful evil head too?" Kaos growled, pushed his throne forward and zoomed after her. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

Cynder stood steadfast as Kaos drew closer and closer, shrugged and dashed through the shadows! Kaos winced and screeched to a stop, turned around, and made chase against as she reappeared beside him. However, she just dashed away again! Their fight turned to a game of cat and mouse, for Kaos made chase and she'd evade, always slipping from his grip at the last moment…

As Cynder dashed south and panted, a bright rainbow flew over her head and caught her eye!

"Spyro!" Cynder cried as she turned around and shot a glance at Spyro. "Do it!"

"Do what?" Kaos demanded as he glared back at Cynder, perked his head up and whipped around. "Wait, is that a storm I hear?"

"Why don't you find out?" Spyro asked from behind Kaos.

Right as Kaos turned around, Spyro tackled Kaos's throne, and sent him flying into an electrical grid crafted with raging thunderclouds all manned by Whirlwind herself! Whirlwind giggled and waved at Kaos as he barreled towards her, but flew up right as his throne slammed into the grid!

Kaos screamed as the lightning coursed into his throne, and turned it into a literal electric chair. His screams only continued as his throne finally lost its juice and crashed into the floor, but at least the electric shocks came to a close. Kaos grunted as he lurched up and dusted off his cloak, yet while he was preoccupied, Terrafin popped up behind him, and punched him right in the back with such force that it shot Kaos right off his throne!

Kaos screamed and flailed his arms and legs as he hurtled forward, but his flight wasn't ending anytime soon, for Gill Grunt tossed him towards Eruptor with a scalding water blast! Eruptor smirked as Kaos flew towards him, hacked up a flaming rock and punched it right into Kaos, who in turn grunted as the rock slammed into his side and tossed him away. Kaos groaned as he rubbed his aching side, yet screamed as small but hot flames hit his hands! His breath was fast-paced and frantic as he blew out the flames on his cloaks, and lifted his head only to find that he came in fast towards a smirking Trigger Happy!

"Sorry, Kaos!" Trigger Happy sneered as he whipped a golden safe out of nowhere. "You're bankrupt!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHH?" Kaos cried as he came just inches within Trigger Happy's range, and Trigger Happy slammed the safe right on Kaos's head!

Kaos's cries immediately silenced from the safe's walls as his body fell to its knees, and the safe's door popped open to reveal that Kaos's head spun all around! As he groaned and finally collapsed on the ground, Chihiro teleported over, grinned as she snapped her fingers and crafted a set of magic rope.

"This should keep you tied up for a while," Chihiro remarked as she tied the magic ropes tight around Kaos, but shuddered as a massive, dying scream sounded off beside her!

Chihiro turned around, and grinned as the rest of the Skylanders backed away while the hydra's head fell off of its body and disintegrated into nothingness! Smiles and laughter resounded all around as Chihiro and the Skylanders crowded around the beheaded hydra, but as they got a closer look, those smiles turned to frowns and the laughter ceased.

Even though the hydra was beheaded, even though it should have been dead, its body still twitched and slowly lurched around—but why?

"You know, looking at this reminds me of something," Chihiro remarked as she placed a hand on her chin. "They told us a legend about hydras in my history class back when we were studying Greek stuff, but I can't remember what it was…"

The hydra's headless body shuddered for a moment, and it leaped back to its feet in an instant. Large buds of flesh spawned where its heads once sat, and those buds bloomed into sixteen more hydra heads!

"Crap! Now I remember!" Chihiro cried as she jumped back. "When a hydra loses its head, it gets two more in that one’s place!"

The newly revived hydra's heads screamed to the heavens as a signal of its rebirth, and it turned its eyes down to the ground with a growl. It chased after the Skylanders, who could only scream as well while they scattered across the battlefield!

"We need a new plan!" Spyro shouted as he swerved away while an Undead Element hydra head snapped at his tail fin!

The hydra's Fire and Water Element heads growled as they caught sight of Spyro flying away, and they turned down to the ground as they spewed out massive blasts of fire and water! On the ground, the Skylanders watched as the burning flames and rumbling water shot towards them.

Bash and Prism Break jumped forward, and summoned pillars of rocks and crystal that blocked the blasts off at the last minute! The two of them gritted their teeth as the blasts bored their way into the pillars, but in the end, the blasts were so intense that they shattered and melted the pillars completely. The force was so great, so massive that it blew Bash and Prism Break right across the fields! The two of them screamed as they went spinning in the air, but hit a pair of fluffy white clouds and bounced onto the ground. Bash and Prism Break wiped their faces in relief, looked up, and dashed off as a large fireball crashed where they stood not moments earlier!

Above them, the Fire Element hydra heads shrieked with rage, and that one little miss seemed to have fanned the flames. They spun all around as they shot a rain of red-hot fireballs all across the battlefield, until their battle turned as hot as an oven!

"Can't we just blow that thing's heads up?" Boomer asked as he skidded back, and spun out the way of a flaming blast.

"Of course not!" Drobot spat back as he flung a wing in front of him and Boomer right as the blast burst into flames behind them. He grunted as he dug his claws into the ground from the impact, and glared back at Boomer. "That will just create more heads!"

Drobot's thrusters sputtered out flames as they burst into life, and Drobot dashed off the battlefield like a rocket. "This hydra must have a weak point somewhere! I will try to find it, so just keep it away from me!"

The Earth Element hydra heads grunted as they turned their attention to the skies and got ready to fire at Drobot, but red-hot lasers smacked them right in the side of their heads! Of course, the lasers did little other than leave a few red spots thanks to their rock-hard scales, but the heads still seemed fairly annoyed as their eyes fell on Drill Sergeant down below.

"That is right, turn your gaze over here, you foul beast!" Drill Sergeant cried as he waved his drill hands in the air. "You are among the most unpleasant, most obnoxious and irritating of—" Drill Sergeant beeped, and squealed away as the hydra heads shot a barrage of rocks straight towards him "—MY APOLOGIES!"

Drill Sergeant made the robotic equivalent of frantic, shallow breaths as he skidded across the floor, all while the rocks crashed into the ground and dented it inwards! His panting grew more frantic as the crashes rattled the ground under him, but finally, he veered right towards Dino-Rang!

"Dino-Rang, I require your aid!" Drill Sergeant wailed as he zoomed past Dino-Rang!

Dino-Rang nodded and gave Drill Sergeant a thumbs up!

"On it!" Dino-Rang cried as he leaped into the air.

He spun around, crashed down and slammed his palms into the ground! The moment they hit the ground, massive stone pillars sprung up with such speed and force that they completely shattered the panels below, but more importantly, the rocks that flew towards Drill Sergeant hit the pillars instead of him!

The rocks bounced right off the pillar, and beaned the Earth Element hydra heads right between the ends instead of attacking their intended target! The Earth Element hydra heads snarled and narrowed their eyes as they got ready to fire again, but their anger diminished as the Fire, Magic and Undead Element hydra heads cried out!

Those six hydra heads wailed and shook themselves off as they dispelled bright hot flames and electrical charges from their bodies, save for one Fire Element hydra head that just groaned as its head spun around in circles. As the other Fire Element hydra head bonked it back into full consciousness, all six of them growled and whipped back around to the skies!

Lightning Rod, Sonic Boom, Dark Spyro, and Sunburn all sneered down at the hydra heads while lightning and fire crackled around them. With the way they smiled, it was almost as if they begged to be attacked!

The Undead, Fire, and Magic Element hydra heads snarled as they opened their jaws, fully ready to blast them out of the skies. But, they got yanked back as the Life, Water, and Tech Element hydra heads snapped at the ground before they could.

Down below, Wrecking Ball and Camo cackled as Wrecking Ball yanked fruit off Camo's vines with his tongue and lobbed it at the hydra heads. Beside them, Zap grinned and zapped the hydra's feet with his lightning bolts! The hydra entered a stomping rage as its Life, Water and Tech Element heads all pulled its body towards Zap, Wrecking Ball and Camo.

The Undead, Fire and Magic Elment heads all whined as they pointed towards the skies, to say nothing of how the Earth Element heads snapped their jaws as they glared at Drill Sergeant! In the middle of it all, the two Air Element heads grunted as they growled and yapped at the two torn sides, but finally, all fourteen other heads growled at the two Air Element heads, as if those heads told them to shut up!

All sixteen heads barked, and yapped, and growled at each other while they tried to pull the body in every different direction. Finally, a Water Element hydra head shot a burst of water at a Fire Element hydra head, and in that moment, it seemed they all decided that instead of fighting the Skylanders, they'd fight each other! Bursts of magic, rocky blasts, and sharp, shiny gears flew all around as the hydra's heads snapped and bit and shot at each other; everything dissolved into screeches and attacks so furious that it kicked up dust around!

All the fighting drew to a close while all eyes fell on the hydra, whose heads were completely obscured by the massive dust clouds. The hydra's cries came to a stop as it sat on the floor. The angered yelps and growls replaced with pained groans and whimpers as the dust cleared, and unveiled that in their frantic fight, the hydra's heads all tied together in one big, dizzy knot!

From above the skies, Drobot hummed and narrowed his eyes as the hydra fell unconscious below his paws. While his humming continued, the eyes of his helmet flashed blue while all sorts of Skylandian text flew across their surface, but finally, it fixated on one flashing sentence!

"Ah!" Drobot gasped. "That's it!"

Drobot's thrusters spat out fire as they started up, while Drobot himself leaned in and got ready to zoom down—but before he could, Kaos flew in front of him and grinned!

"Kaos!" Drobot cried as he scrambled backwards. "You are still conscious?"

"Did you really think one little safe would stop me?" Kaos sneered as he tilted his head upwards. His sneer grew wider as he reveled in Drobot's shock. "FOOL!"

Kaos cackled, thrust his arms out and blasted Drobot with a burst of bright red magic! Drobot wailed as he spun down towards the ground, for his suit grew so completely out of his control that he couldn't stop himself at all from smashing into the battlefield and shattering the tiles below!

"Drobot!" Whirlwind cried as she dashed over, and pulled a groaning, injured Drobot from the wreckage. "Are you alright?"

"I, I am fine…" Drobot groaned as he folded his mangled, dented wings in. "Just… Need… Some repairs…"

Whirlwind gasped and wrapped her wings around Drobot as he leaned his head on her back, but her blue eyes turned icy cold as Kaos laughed above them!

Kaos didn't seem to care at all about Drobot's damages, however. Instead, he turned his attention back to his throne, which still stood firm and sturdy on the battlefield despite all that unfolded. He zoomed over and jumped right back in the seat! With a couple button presses on Kaos's end, the throne whirred back to life and spun in the air as its bottom folded in on itself, until it resembled a saddle or a rider's seat rather than a throne. The throne whirred in the air for a few moments, zoomed over, and planted itself on the unconscious hydra's back as it sent a massive jolt of electricity through the hydra's body!

The hydra's heads all groaned and rumbled; their moans and noises felt more forced, more robotic, even, as its eyes lit up and the heads lifted themselves off the ground one by one. Their moans of awakening were a blood-chilling chorus as they opened their mouths at once, and out from those mouths shot the largest swarm of combined attacks they fired!

Flaming skulls rained down from the skies and chased down Stealth Elf and Camo while a tornado full of bugs raced after Warnado, and skeleton warriors armed with swords and shields made out of stone popped from the ground before they traded blows with Chop Chop and Ignitor. Gigantic valves sprung from the ground, shot fast, concentrated bursts of water all across the fields, and slicked them down while Eruptor and Prism Break slid across the battlefield. Just when their ride finally stopped, however, bursts of magic flared up out of nowhere and shot them into the fencing!

Whirlwind whipped her head around as she tried to find some sort of place to take Drobot to safety, gasped and pulled aside as a comet crashed beside her. Her eyes were wide with fright as she looked around, but every part of the battlefield was covered in chaos. No matter where she looked, something blew up or a fight occurred!

While she panicked and looked around, however, a burst of cyan light flashed beside her, and two hands laid on both her and Drobot!

"Hold on tight, Whirlybird, Dro!" Chihiro's voice cried right as the two of them disappeared in cyan light!

The two of them popped out of existence, and reappeared halfway across the battlefield and far away from danger in the blink of an eye. Whirlwind grunted and shook her head, looked up and grinned as she found herself staring right into Chihiro's face! Whirlwind nodded as she wrapped a front leg around Drobot's back and pulled him away to safety.

Chihiro just grinned and waved back, but froze as the sound of buzzing hit her ears. Chihiro grunted as she jumped out the way of a magic bug swarm, turned around and gasped as a string of comets rushed towards her! Just before they could slam her down, she ducked and rolled right underneath them, sat up, and gritted her teeth as they crashed into the ground below!

"We've gotta do something!" Chihiro cried as she sprung back to her feet. "If this keeps up, I don't know what'll happen!"

"Attention, everyone!" cried Drobot's robotic voice from across the way. "I have located the hydra's weakness!"

Chihiro gasped, and her eyes turned aside of the massive swarm of dodging and failed attacks. There, Drobot hobbled in as he leaned on Whirlwind for support! Though his suit was a little bent and dented in some places, he thankfully didn't seem too worse for wear. In fact, the moment he saw Chihiro, he pulled away from Whirlwind and scampered right on up!

"You did?" Chihiro asked as she and Drobot finally met each other face-to-face.

"Indeed." Drobot nodded, and turned his attention to where the hydra flapped in place as Kaos sat on its back. "While the hydra's heads are regenerative, its body is not. If we can completely destroy the body, then the hydra is finished!"

Chihiro beamed, summoned a giant sphere, and turned her gaze back to the hydra, which now completely froze as it got ready to crash down. "Got it!"

The hydra roared as it slammed down, and sent a wave of stone sharks ripping through the battlefield floors, but Chihiro wasn't worried about it at all! She narrowed her eyes and shot the sphere right at the hydra, her lips pursed as it zoomed closer and closer in…

But before the sphere could land, a shield manifested around the hydra's body and tossed the sphere off!

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp as the sphere whizzed just above her head, but she wasn't allowed the privilege of lingering on her shock for long. Several of those stone sharks rocketed towards her! Chihiro gasped and teleported away right before they could land a single bite, and as she reappeared, she fell to her knees and panted.

"No way," Chihiro gasped as she pulled herself up in tandem with Kaos pulling the hydra up.

Kaos's wicked laughter rang throughout the skies as he yanked the hydra down and sent flaming comets flying everywhere. He jumped up and slammed down again while tornadoes full of bugs scattered everywhere, but…

This time, something was wrong. All sixteen of the hydra's heads lurched down and whimpered; some of them even panted as they dipped down to the floor. Had all that attacking finally done a number on them? The heads all hissed and jolted as they shot back up, and a glance at Kaos's throne showed why. The throne started to spark with electricity, as if the damage it took earlier finally started to wear on it!

Chihiro's eyes widened as the throne continued to spark. She staggered back to her feet, summoned a sphere—and right before she shot her own sphere, a giant block of ice flew out from beside her and slammed right into Kaos's throne!

"AUGH!" Kaos cried as the sudden blow tossed him backwards in his throne! Kaos grunted and rubbed his head as his eyes fell over to the side, where the now-shattered block of ice rested in pieces beside his dented throne, and scowled. "WHO THREW THAT AT MY THRONE?"

"I did, sucker!" Slam Bam cried as he skated up beside Chihiro on a snowboard made entirely of ice!

As his snowboard slid out and disappeared into the distance with a simple kick on Slam Bam's end, Slam Bam himself just smirked and crossed all four of his arms. His bright yellow eyes glinted with a kind of smug confidence, and his smile only grew wider as Kaos steamed with rage!

Kaos, meanwhile, just screamed and kicked his legs against his seat as he grappled for his control panel. "You'll pay for that!" Kaos cried as he went to press the buttons on his armrest. "Nobody dents my throne of ultimate evil and gets away with it!"

Right as Kaos started pressing buttons, however, a gigantic, flaming skull crashed into the front of his throne with such force that it nearly toppled the throne off the hydra's back! Kaos screamed as he latched on to the throne's armrests, but even those sparked and crackled with such electricity that he couldn't hold on for long!

The gigantic, flaming skull, meanwhile, backflipped and grinned as it unveiled itself to be none other than Ghost Roaster with his cheeks puffed like a squirrel's!

"GET A TASTE OF THIS!" Ghost Roaster cried as he opened his mouth, and spat flaming acorns right at Kaos's throne!

The acorns crashed right into the massive dent Ghost Roaster left behind, and with such rapid succession that the throne had no time to recover! It swung back and forth with every acorn that hit it, all while the electrical sparks that burst from it grew more intense and powerful. As the throne swung around and malfunctioned, its control on the hydra completely quit! The hydra wailed and thrashed about; its screams were like a dying animal's as it swung around and shot its attacks into the skies, too pained to notice how they disappeared into the distance.

With a simple flip, Ghost Roaster transformed back into his original form, and grinned as he gave Stump Smash and Ignitor a thumbs up.

Kaos, however, seemed hardly amused as he scrambled up his throne, all while the lightning nipped away at his feet. "Hey, quit that!" Kaos cried as he wrapped himself tight around the top of his throne's seat, the one safe place from the lightning, and shook his fist at the hydra. "I'm your master, so listen to me and stop thrashing about! Those Skylosers are the real problem here, not a bit of stupid lightning—WOAH!"

Kaos screamed and wrapped himself even tighter around the seat's top as the hydra stumbled backwards, grunted and went back to cursing out the hydra.

Chihiro grinned as she summoned a sword. Her eyebrows quirked themselves a bit higher as her eyes fell on Kaos insulting his hydra and occasionally getting zapped by a stray bolt of lightning. He was completely distracted, and she had the perfect chance! Chihiro laughed as she bolted forward, leaned down and leaped right on the throne's sparking panel! Though the lightning zapped at her legs and made her wince, she didn't flinch as she looked up at Kaos and grinned.

"PORTAL-POSTER?" Kaos snarled. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"THIS!" Chihiro cried.

She plunged her sword right into the control panel, laughed and backflipped off! The sword let out a massive cry as it tore a gigantic gash right through the center of the control panel, and it vanished as the lightning became unholy, massive thunder, thunder so bright that it could melt the eyeballs of anyone around! Its shock grew more violent as its lightning spread all over the throne, and the sheer force of all that electricity in one place blew the throne to bits and pieces!

Kaos screamed as he flew through the skies, crashed and rolled across the battlefield, and his cries intermingled with the pained wails of his hydra!

"Hydra, what are you—" Kaos's jaw dropped open as the hydra collapsed on the battlefield "—doing?"

The hydra's sixteen heads whimpered and hissed as they all dropped onto the battlefield. Their eyes were bloodshot as they struggled to stay open, all while smoke, blood and peeling, burnt scales poured off of its back. It whimpered as all its eyes came to a slow, tense close, and its jaws snapped shut. At last, the beast that ransacked the battlefield, that tore the Core of Light to bits, and caused so much pain, had finally been laid to rest—almost.

Chihiro grinned as her eyes fell on the unconscious hydra, and her eyes pivoted back and forth across the battlefield where the Skylanders watched the hydra with tense gazes. One thing was for sure now—this hydra was nearly done for!

"Everyone!" Chihiro cried as she snapped her fingers and summoned a single, glowing cyan sphere. A cyan glow surrounded her, and only grew brighter as she held the sphere up and let it slowly grow in size. "Ready to finish this?"

The Skylanders all grinned as their eyes fell back on Chihiro.

"ALRIGHT!" everyone cried as one.

"ON THE COUNT OF THREE, THROW EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AT THIS SPHERE!"

Chihiro's whole body crackled with magical lightning as she spoke, and the sphere in her palms sparked and crackled in response before it expanded until it was the size of a large comet! As it grew bigger, its light got much brighter and more brilliant, as if Chihiro held the sun itself in her palms!

"AUGH, MY EVIL EYES!" wailed Kaos. "WHAT ARE YOU SKYLAMEOS PLOTTING?"

"ONE!" Chihiro screamed at the top of her lungs as the Skylanders all turned their attention back to her and her sphere.

"TWO!"

Everybody grunted and groaned as they readied their attacks; their focus fixed entirely on the sphere that Chihiro just barely held up at this point.

"THREE!"

All at once, a colorful cacophony of attacks, from magic blasts, to mighty flamethrowers, to oddballs like gigantic burps and watermelons, slammed straight into the shield! As the combined attacks swirled into it, it stayed a sphere no longer, and transformed into a giant, swirling, bright blast that was ready to set on its path!

Chihiro grinned as she shot a wink back at the crowd of Skylanders, and the Skylanders who weren't magically inclined joined Chihiro at her side. They all wound their arms and readied their weapons, and in one mighty, collective blow, they punched the collective attack comet straight towards the hydra!

The hydra grunted as it got up, gasped and fired out a combined beam of elemental attacks in response—but the moment the beam made contact with the combined attack, that combined blast ricocheted the hydra's beam on a path for it! The hydra only watched in horror as its own attack was used against it, and screamed as the combined attack slammed right into it and exploded! Rainbow-colored light flooded across the arena, but below it, the hydra's entire body shriveled into ashes, never to be seen again!

"MY HYDRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kaos exclaimed as he staggered up and caught the hydra breathe its last. "MY BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL HYDRA!"

Kaos turned towards the Skylanders, and shouted out some insult of a kind, but it was pointless! The sphere exploded in all directions, and the resulting explosion was so loud that Kaos couldn't even be seen, let alone heard, before a cyan-tinted, rainbow-painted explosion of light and magic engulfed the entire battlefield!

Everybody ducked down and braced themselves as if they were going to be blown away once more, but nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the explosion vanished just as quickly as it came!

The sights it left behind, oh, those was another story. The skies were as crystal-clear as the day the universe came into existence, perhaps, for they were so bright and shiny and blue that they sparkled as a river did! The sun cast down warm sunbeams for victory medals, and above them, a rainbow colored wave of energy spheres cascaded down around them and became a breeze that swirled around them all. It was… Beautiful. Heck, even beautiful itself was barely enough to cover its majesty, and it really served to hammer in the aftermath of this battle.

They won!

"EVERYONE!" Trigger Happy and Wrecking Ball exclaimed as they raced around their former battlefield. "WE DID IT!"

"Hell yeah we did!" Terrafin cried as he pumped a fist. He looked over at Eruptor before he hugged Eruptor tight and kissed him on the cheek!

"FIN!" Eruptor exclaimed as he stumbled forwards a bit, chuckled and reciprocated Terrafin's hug. As the two of them embraced, however, none of them noticed Slam Bam sneak up on them both and hug them just as tight!

Whirlwind chuckled as Slam Bam planted kisses on both Terrafin and Eruptor's heads, and beamed as she turned her head to the skies.

"That's the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen!" Whirlwind gasped as she looked up at the energy sphere rainbow that cascaded above them.

"According to my calculations," Drobot hummed as he sat down next to Whirlwind. With a few twists and a soft hiss, Drobot's helmet popped open to reveal his normal face, which bore a shy smile. "It is quite magnificent."

Whirlwind chuckled, and cast a gaze over to where Sonic Boom and Sunburn admired the rainbow as well. Well, Sonic Boom would've seen it if her chicks hadn't piled all over her head!

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" cried one chick that held tight to Sonic Boom's neck as they tried to push through their siblings. "Lemme see!"

Sunburn chuckled, gently lifted the chick with his wing and held them up to the skies.

"WOAH!" The chick's eyes widened as it took in the rainbow. "It's so pretty…"

Sonic Boom gave Sunburn a kind smile, and he returned it with a gentle wink.

"Chicks," Sunburn chuckled, "I think I wouldn't mind having a few of my own someday!"

"Well," Sonic Boom replied with a wink of her own. "Mine have certainly taken to you!"

"Impressive," Lightning Rod remarked as he stormed past Sonic Boom and Sunburn, "but not as impressive as I am, of course!"

Stump Smash shook a hammer-hand as Lightning Rod struck a pose. "Can it, musclebrain!" Stump Smash barked as he looked towards Prism Break. "We're trying to enjoy the view!"

"Ha ha, quite humorous!" Lightning Rod posed yet again. "But you must be mistaken! I am the view!"

"If I wanted to see hot air, I would've gone on a balloon flight!" Prism Break heckled before he turned back to Stump Smash, who was now… Chuckling?

"Hah, good one, Prism!" Stump Smash snorted as he patted Prism Break on the shoulder. "He really is full of hot air!"

"You're not so bad yourself." Prism Break turned around, looked Stump Smash in the eye, and for a moment everything around faded…

That is, until Zook crashed into them both. "Sorry, man!" Zook proclaimed as he stumbled back and scratched his long head. "Did I interrupt something?"

Stump Smash growled and ground his wooden teeth together.

"ZOOK!"

Stealth Elf chuckled to herself as Stump Smash and Zook bickered, and peered over to where Hex and Chop Chop stood. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it kind of looked like Hex was…

"Smiling? Hex?" Stealth Elf whispered as she turned invisible, and crept over to where they sat and talked. "Now I've gotta see this!"

Completely invisible to their eyes and minds, Stealth Elf walked in front of them and watched over Hex and Chop Chop. Sure enough, Hex was, indeed, smiling!

"I do believe I haven't seen you smile like this in a long time, my lady," Chop Chop remarked as he wrapped a skeletal arm around Hex.

Hex just clasped her hands as she cast that small, gentle smile towards Chop Chop. "What's there not to smile about, Chop Chop?" Hex asked, his voice a bit kinder in tone. "We've finally won."

Chop Chop nodded as he stood and basked in the beauty of victory with Hex, and Stealth Elf did too, until something crashed into her and bowled her over!

"Cynder, Cynder!" Dark Spyro exclaimed as he dashed over to Cynder and shook her shoulder. "You're smiling!"

Cynder shot a glare back at Dark, yet she made a rare chuckle and rolled her eyes. "And so what if I am?"

Dark blinked for a few moments, nd shook his head while his own smile became a little more earnest. "No, no, it's not a bad thing!" Dark sputtered as he shook his head and beamed up at Cynder. "It's just nice to see you happy like that!"

Cynder's own smile withdrew as she leaned back and made a few small, taken aback blinks, but she herself smiled once more and gently bopped Dark's head with her paw. "Geez, you…"

Stealth Elf rolled her eyes as Dark Spyro and Cynder laughed at each, and bounced around the rest of the crowds. As the energy, the sun, and the clear skies all rewarded the Skylanders with their beauty, the Skylanders all smiled and laughed as they congratulated one another. It truly did feel like they won!

Drill Sergeant and Double Trouble shot lasers into the heavens like fireworks, Ignitor and Flameslinger both shouted in panic as they tossed away a lit bomb from Boomer, Zap and Camo stumbled on top of each other as they tried to get a better view… Regardless of where they were, everyone devolved into a hectic, joyful, victory parade!

However, a good ways away from the crowds and aside from all the chaos sat Spyro and Chihiro. They said no words, but words weren't needed right now. All they did was sit at the edge of the island, and watch the skies together in a kind of peaceful harmony as the rainbow glowed over them.

"We did it, Spyro," Chihiro whispered as she peered back at Spyro while her body finally returned to its normal appearance. "We won!"

"I wouldn't be so sure just yet, Chihiro," Spyro warned. "Kaos's completely gone now! For all we know, he could've…" Spyro stopped short and looked up at the skies. "Wait, do you hear that?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, yeah, I do!" Chihiro perked her head up as well. "Wait, is that a bird?"

"No, it's a plane!"

"Wait, no, no, it's a shooting star!" Chihiro yelped as she grabbed Spyro's paw and ran. "And it's coming straight for us!"

Chihiro's warning hit everyone's ears immediately and turned all eyes towards the skies, but only for a little as everyone screamed and scrambled out the way! Just above them all, something colorful and bright crashed down from the skies, and left a sizable dust cloud in its wake! The dust cascaded over the grounds and forced everyone into coughing fits. While they fanned away the dust and tried to get a hold of themselves, a familiar whiny groan echoed around the area, and a silhouette emerged from the shadows—a silhouette that sent everyone on high alert as the dust cleared!

"KAOS!" everybody shouted as they readied their weapons and powers alike.

Indeed, Kaos was there, albeit in awful condition; his clothes were tattered, and bruises and scrapes covered the bare parts of his body. Though it seemed like he was going to attack for a moment as he set his eyes on Spyro and Chihiro, he didn't fight back! He merely swayed back and forth like he was barely conscious!

"Fear… my… giant… floating… head," Kaos croaked out before he groaned and collapsed onto the floor!

Spyro frowned as he flew over to Kaos and tapped him on the head a few times. His muzzle locked in a firm frown, but it quickly let up into a smile when Kaos didn't respond at all!

"It's alright, everyone!" Spyro shouted as he swerved his head all across the platform. "He's unconscious!" Spyro yanked up the unconscious Kaos by his hood while his smile grew wide. "This should make a great souvenir!"

Spyro made a soft chuckled to himself, cleared his throat and turned back to Chihiro. "Hey, Chi, can you page…" Spyro fell off as he looked back to Chihiro. "Chihiro?"

Chihiro winced and held her hung head, her balance shaky as she stepped from side to side. "Ye, yeah Spyro?" Chihiro whimpered as she lifted up her face. "Page Hugo, I'll get on that…"

Chihiro rolled up her sleeve to bare her communicator and fumbled with its controls. Her hands were shaky as she tried to start it up, but she winced and accidentally slipped it off as she fell down!

"Chihiro!" Spyro rushed over to Chihiro and caught her before she could hit solid ground. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Spyro, I…" Chihiro made a small, sickly burp and shuddered. "I'm fine, I just… I'm, kinda dizzy…"

Chihiro forced out a pained wince as she looked up, and winced again as she hid from the sunlight. Her breath grew heavier, and her face gained a feverish blush that indicated she was most definitely lying. Chihiro tumbled down further, but quickly propped herself back up with both arms. She didn't even notice that she slammed the pager button as she shook again, this time much more violently. With a last gasp, Chihiro fell to the fortress's floor! Her body was still and peaceful as she rested on the warm grounds, almost as if…

"Oh, no!" Spyro whispered as he flew over to Chihiro's side and gently roused her motionless body. "Chihiro, come on, wake up now!"

But it was no use, for she was fast asleep! That was more than terrifying enough for Spyro, and his eyes turned small as he let her go.

"Hex, quick!" Spyro called as he ushered Hex over with his paw. "There's something wrong with Chihiro!"

Hex gasped, teleported out of the crowds and rushed towards Chihiro's side! Though she tried to keep a strong face as she summoned a sparkling orb and ran it back and forth across Chihiro's forehead, the way her fingers twitched showed she still had her fair share of nerves. Who could blame her? All around, the cheerful air turned frightened as all eyes fell on Chihiro, who slumbered in Spyro's grip.

Their voices hushed as they discussed what happened to her, buy they shushed themselves as Hex lifted herself tall.

"You can rest easy," Hex affirmed as she lifted her head and voice, and her eyes trailed across the crowds, "It's not a curse, or malevolent magic or anything of the sort. It seems as thought she merely overexerted herself during the battle, and fainted from fatigue. She just needs some rest."

Sighs of relief breathed from every angle as Spyro himself chuckled, gently heaved Chihiro onto his back and patted her shoulder.

"Geez, Chi," Spyro chuckled. "You really scared us for a bit, you know?"

"Hello? Hello, anybody there?" Hugo's voice crackled from Chihiro's communicator's speaker, just across from where Spyro stood.

Spyro jolted up as he caught wind of Hugo's words, snagged the communicator off the ground and held it tight in his paws.

"Hugo, it's time!" Spyro exclaimed. His paws were still a bit shaky from the shock of earlier though he himself bore a smile of relief. "Warp us back to Ancient's Peak—we've won!"