It was a chilly autumn morning, but despite the sheer cold everybody was bustling about the Ruins with plenty of energy to spare. Between the Skylanders running to and from missions, Cali and Hugo fiddling with the Far-Viewer as they tried to locate the next part of the Core and everything else, it seemed nobody had a moment to rest!

Well, with the exception of Chihiro—she just finished sending the Skylanders away on their morning patrols and finally had a moment to herself. She paced around the heart of the island, her eyes trained on the ground below her and her hands pressed against her chin. However, while her body was on Skylands, her mind was in the clouds.

Let's see, Chihiro thought as she softly hummed to herself. What to do, what to do? I could try practicing magic, but I've been practicing all week. I need a break before it breaks me. Chihiro heaved a sigh and stopped in her tracks for a moment. I could try exploring the island, but where would I go? Chihiro sat down and hummed even more. Let's see, where haven't I gone yet… The sanctuaries? Spyro showed me around there a while ago. The beach? Nah—wait, the beach! Chihiro jumped up and snapped her fingers. I've never been to the beach before! Yeah, I'll just go there!

Chihiro ran off from the heart of the island! Her feet stomped across the cold earth of the ground below her as she reached the island's edge, and with a swift turn, she piloted herself towards the staircase that lead towards the beach. Of course, she forgot to stop, tripped and rolled down the stone staircase before she fell face-first onto the sand. As Chihiro moaned and staggered up, she spat sand out of her mouth and shook her head.

"Next time, I gotta remember to stop."

Chihiro looked up and smiled as she gazed over the beaches. The beaches themselves looked like the average beach with their yellow sands and vast oceans. They sat positioned against the cliffs that made up the higher parts of the island, and felt slightly smaller than your average beach as a result, yet still had all your typical beach charms—the smell of salt water, the feeling of grainy sand under your toes, the bone-chilling breeze…

"Wait a second!" Chihiro exclaimed as she shuddered and looked around, "Why'd it get so cold? I know it's fall and all, but I feel like it should be—" Chihiro looked in front of her and stopped short as she saw some big, blue mass slowly float towards the beach "—warmer?"

It was so far away that she couldn't easily discern it at first, but it was moving in fast! In fact, within moments, it gently parked itself on the shoreline and gave Chihiro a much better view. The thing in question seemed to be some kind of large island shaped like an iceberg, with a large, looming palace made out of ice and topped with a dome-like igloo imposed over everything else. With how large and cold it was, it seemed to chill the entire area surrounding! Snowflakes fell from its icy top and onto the sands, cold winter breezes flew in every so often, and the cold atmosphere that surrounded it seemed to kill the normally cheery mood of the beach.

Chihiro stared at the island in awe at first, her jaw dropped wide open and her eyes practically bulged out of her head. With no time to lose, she completely hightailed it! She heaved heavy breaths as she ran back up the stairs as fast as she could, and shouted only one thing.

"GUYS, GUYS, GET OVER TO THE BEACH, YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!"

§

"So, you're saying this just showed up on the beach a couple minutes ago?" Spyro asked as he looked over the large island.

He, Gill Grunt, Master Eon, Hugo and a couple of the other Skylanders slated for island patrols all gathered themselves around the beach, and each and every one of them fixed eyes on the large icy island.

"Yeah, pretty much," Chihiro replied as her eyes glazed up and down over the island.

Spyro looked back at Chihiro and back at the island. "What is it?"

"No clue." Chihiro made a hapless shrug and looked to her side.

Meanwhile, Hugo grabbed a book out of his lapel and furiously flipped through it, his eyes fixated on its pages.

"I can't find anything in my book about it," Hugo said, "So it can't be a nomadic island, a dimension wormhole, a magic sandwich… I'm completely stumped!"

"Then we'll just have to find out what this thing is!" Chihiro stared directly at Spyro and Gill Grunt. "Come on, we're going in!"

"Not so fast, Chihiro," Spyro said as he placed a paw on Chihiro's shoulder, "I've already told you, it's not safe for you—"

"Actually, Spyro," Master Eon interjected as he floated between Spyro and Chihiro, "Young Chihiro's proven to me that she's more than capable enough to accompany you on simple missions."

"Yeah, yeah!" Chihiro exclaimed with a furious series of nods, "I learned a bunch of spells and I passed my first exam and everything!" Chihiro's gaze fixed itself on Master Eon with an almost prompting urgency. "Right, Master Eon?"

"Indeed—in fact, this would be the perfect time for you to practice for your second Portal Master Exam!" Master Eon gently nudged Hugo, "Hugo, would you care to elaborate?"

"Oh, yes, Master Eon!" Hugo exclaimed as he yanked a crumpled piece of paper form his jacket's pocket, smoothed it out and cleared his throat.

"The Second Portal Master Exam involves the apprentice accompanying a team of Skylanders on a simple mission and aiding them, or another esteemed group if the apprentice’s mentor has not sworn in any Skylanders. If the team succeeds, the apprentice will have passed."

"And finding out the nature of this strange palace sounds simple enough to me," Master Eon interjected as he flew to Chihiro's side. "As long as you stay close to the Skylanders and listen to them, I see no problem with you accompanying them here."

Chihiro gasped, and grabbed Spyro's paw and Gill Grunt's hand. "Well then, what are we standing around here for,?" Chihiro exclaimed, "Let's go check out this—"

Something laid down on her shoulder as Chihiro let out a shocked squeak, before she turned around and smiled wide.

"Slam! What'cha need, my dude?"

Behind her was none other than Slam Bam, a blue-skinned yeti with white fur around his head, neck, four arms and legs, black claws on his hands and feet and highlighter yellow eyes.

"Oh, I don't need anything, but you're going to need some help," Slam Bam interjected as he pointed a clawed finger towards the frozen island. "You don't know what kind of dangers you're going to face there— " Slam Ba, smiled and pressed another clawed hand against his chest "—so that's why Eruptor and I are going to tag along! With my knowledge of ice and his fire, this mission'll be a snap!"

"Wait, when did I agree to this?" shouted out a rumbly voice from the back of the crowd.

The voice’s owner walked out, and revealed themself to be a burgundy-colored monsters made entirely of volcanic rock. Veins of lava peeked out and flowed through the cracks in their body, while their eyes held yellow sclera, orange pupils, and no lack of irritation. Their mouth twisted into a toothy frown, and their large arms crossed together.

"You have to, Ruptor! We were supposed to patrol the island today," Slam shouted back to Eruptor before he looked back at the castle of ice before them, "and this definitely needs investigating."

However, Eruptor didn't speak—he instead looked with worried eyes at the giant, icy castle that towered in front of him and back at Chihiro.

"Ruptor?" Slam Bam turned back to look at Eruptor.

"That place looks awfully cold." Eruptor winced as he gazed at Slam Bam and then the castle. "Do we really have to go there?"

"Unfortunately so, Rupty," Chihiro said with a gaze directed at Eruptor. "We just need to do some investigating and figure out what's wrong with the place so we can fix it—we'll be out in a flash, mmkay?"

Eruptor considered this for a moment before he gave her a grumpy stare. "I'll deal with it, but I can't guarantee that I'll like it."

"I'll be right behind you, Ruptor," Slam reassured as he walked up to Eruptor and wrapped a muscular arm around Eruptor's shoulders. "Don't worry a bit."

The five of them breathed in as they entered the palace of frost and ice, ready to take on whatever challenges came their way.