When the magic faded, Chihiro found herself back on the docks. They were still filled with pirates, and that included that awful, awful captain. However, being around them didn't feel as scary as before, not when she had her friends by her side.

"Me knew ye'd come crawlin' back as soon as the gates closed," the seadog captain sneered as he drew his cutlass, "but if ye wants to open the gate, ye'll have to go through me and me hearties first!" The seadog sneered. "Or, ye could just give us those Spouts ye have there and me'll let ye go free."

"We're not giving up these spouts! We need them to remake the Core of Light!" Gill Grunt shouted, and his eyes narrowed as he clasped his harpoon gun tight.

"Well, why didn't ye say so?" Sympathy dripped from the seadog captain's voice as his sneer softened. "We'll let ye go free."

"Really?" Zap asked as he looked around at the captain's crew members, who slowly sheathed their swords and putted away their weapons.

"Not" smirked the seadog captain, "after all, our client promised a hefty sum of booty for this little piece a'gold!" The seadog captain unsheathed his sword and held it to the heavens. "Mateys, get the Spouts at any cost!"

And with that, the battling went all-out! Pirates pounced from all angles onto the trio, and they were more than ready for a fight! Gill Grunt whipped out his harpoon gun and hosed down the pirates with scalding water! The pirates reeled in pain from the water's heat, so Zap, ever true to his name, zapped the pirates with bolts of lightning from his mouth and shocked them all in a row!

With teeth chattering and sparks flying around the battlefield, Chihiro took the opportunity to get a slice of the action herself! She sprinted forward with a huff and punched a seadog straight in the face, spun around, and shot off a barrage of magical energy spheres! Yowls of pain became a symphony to her ears as at least a quarter of the crew fell!

Unfortunately, that quarter didn't seem to be enough, for more pirates flooded in by the moment until they overcrowded Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Zap! The three of them backed up till they had no room left.

"Geez, how big a crew does this guy have anyway?" Chihiro shouted with her back towards the ocean as the pirates crowded around her.

"I'm not sure, Chihiro, but I don't think we can fight them all off!" Gill Grunt cried while furiously trying to blast away the pirates in his sights.

"Gee, you think?" Zap gargled as he blasted away a large cephalopad with a giant lightning bold.

"Well, if we can't beat them, then we'll just have to shake them!" Chihiro frowned and bit her lip. "But how—ACK!"

Chihiro's sentence faltered halfway as a yellow imp with bloodshot eyes that could barely reach her knees sneaked under her and snatched the Spouts from her!

Everybody stared at the snickering imp for mere moments, and watched as it dashed away into the crowd of pirates. Everybody blinked as it faded out of view, for it seemed that the momentary shock from the event forced them out of their minds.

"Get that imp!" the seadog captain exclaimed as he pointed his cutlass towards the direction the imp ran!

The pirates completely forgot about Chihiro, Gill Grunt, and Zap in that moment! They tripped over themselves and pulled at their crewmates' hairs while they tried to reach the imp, and all fell in one big ball of chaos. Within mere moments, they all vanished along with the imp!

"Now's our chance, guys!" Chihiro proclaimed as she looked at Gill Grunt and Zap. "You guys see if you can get the gates open, I'll get the Spouts back!"

Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Zap all nodded in unison as Chihiro sprinted away from the docks and back into the forest.

Now, the forest was still as dark and confusing as before, but this time Chihiro had a guide in the faint sounds of pirates yelling and cursing out the imp in the furthest distance. As she crushed the earth underneath her, Chihiro dashed over the twigs and leaves that littered the dirt path. Her only light came from the magic sphere she conjured, but it was more than enough for now.

"Now where did that little snot go?" Chihiro whispered as she slowed down while her eyes darted back and forth. "Its legs are so short, so it couldn't have gone far."

"He he he!"

A cackle broke its way through the surface, one sharp and mocking in tone! As the cackle reached her ears, Chihiro whipped around in every which way. She heard it! It was definitely here!

"Where are you, you little pest?" Chihiro jumped up and down as she shook her fists in the air. "Stop hiding like a-a-a—" Chihiro stopped midway through her rant and shrugged "—I don't know what you are, but stop hiding like something really cowardly and fight me, you little rat!"

The sound of the pirates' cacophony grew louder and louder as Chihiro shook her rage and ran ahead, and she could've sworn that she saw the flash of a cutlass against the newly-present torchlight. Chihiro prodded forward, pushed against the leaves and found that she was right! She found herself at the back of the pirate crowd with pirates in all shapes and sizes, yet every single one was in a rush to reach the thing ahead of then—the imp! Sure enough, there was the imp, who held the Twin Spouts up to the air as it bounced back and forth with its mocking giggles a clear aggravation to the pirates it teased.

"Get back here, you filthy something-or-other!" Chihiro shouted as she tumbled over a loose paw of anonymous ownership. She muttered something to herself that most certainly shouldn't have be said by an eleven-year-old, and stumbled back through the crowd.

"He he he he!"

The imp's laughter rang in Chihiro's ears, and she dashed forward without even thinking! She pushed aside the pirates as she faced down the imp, shot her hand back, and created a giant barrier that blocked off the pirates! Now, it was the two of them in a mighty showdown for the Twin Spouts.

"Now, you little rat, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Chihiro said. "You can hand over the Spouts nicely, and I'll let you go. Or, you can keep them—" Chihiro cracked her knuckles "—and we'll fight for them."

The imp just cackled once more and dashed forward!

"Oh no you don't!" Chihiro exclaimed as she shot her hand forward and crafted another wall ahead of the imp!

The imp gasped as the wall manifested in front of it, but it went too fast to stop and crashed right into it! It groaned as it shook its head and came back to its sense, and looked up at Chihiro. Chihiro summoned an energy sphere and flicked it forward! The sphere hit the imp immediately, and wrapped it in bright light that immediately solidified into a firm bubble!

As the imp floated upwards, the Twin Spouts clacked against the ground, for they were now free from the enemy's grasp! Chihiro wasted no time in recapturing them as she cradled the Spouts in her arm like one would a young child. A level of fondness fell over her as she brushed her thumb against their smooth, gold surface, and all seemed peaceful for a few minutes…

Chihiro heard a crack, and looked back to find that the pirate crowd as they attacked her barrier with everything they had!

"Crap, forgot about those dudes," Chihiro remarked as she summoned another magic sack, placed the Twin Spouts inside, and tied it to her sweatpants, "Looks like I'm gonna have to—"

One last blow from a cannon burst out and shattered the barrier completely!

"—fight my way out after all." Chihiro gulped as the pirates all stampeded towards her, and looked down at her feet.

“Let's hope this works. Feet, jump really high!"

Chihiro’s boots glowed with a shiny, aqua light that evolved into magical boots with springs! Chihiro smiled, bounced up to the heavens—and right out of the crowd's way! Chihiro smirked as the crowd of pirates chattered and looked around in confusion, dropped down and beamed as her springy boots vanished. After she regained her balance, Chihiro created a giant sphere of cyan magic and tossed it in the air!

"Batter up," Chihiro exclaimed as a baseball bat made of cyan magic formed in her hands while the sphere came down, "and swing!"

As she shouted out those words, Chihiro slammed her magic bat against the sphere and it shot off like a rocket! As it zoomed into the air, it split into what seemed like a hundred tiny spheres that immediately slammed into each pirate with a bright flash!

The pirates all closed their eyes in anticipation of some great attack. By the time they opened those eyes, they had all been trapped inside magical blue bubbles that floated a few feet off the surface! They all screamed and cursed and yelled as they pounded against the bubbles, but it was no use as those bubbles were completely soundproof.

Chihiro chuckled to herself for a bit as she watched them in their miserable state, and smirked as she leaned forward, pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue.

"Later gators!" Chihiro shouted as she turned around and ran off.

§

Gill Grunt and Zap frowned as they looked over the area before them. They were now at the back of the island thanks to another warp that they happened to find a little off the shoreline, and hopefully they could find another way to open the gates—or at least get out of here.

"Ahoy, mateys!" Gargled a familiar voice as Gill Grunt and Zap turned around.

There they caught a ship as it came into view, a ship with carefully-tended wood and a mermaid-shaped mast… Wait, Delilah? Sure enough it was! Delilah sailed into view and safely parked next to the grassy ledge that Gill Grunt and Zap currently stood on, while Gurglefin leaned over the top of the deck.

"I found out two things," Gurglefin said as he held up two fishy fingers. "Firstly, I overheard the pirates say that there's a switch that opens the gates! It should be on that ship over there!" Gurglefin pointed to a large, fancily-decorated ship a few feet away, chuckled, and scratched the back of his head. "Second, pirates lie a lot. So, uh, good luck, I guess."

Gill Grunt and Zap rolled their eyes as they focused on the ship ahead. It was pretty far away, but surely Gill Grunt's jetpack could fly them over there, or if not, they could have Gurglefin bridge the gap with—

"THERE YE ARE, SKYLANDEES!"

In the blink of an eye, several pirates ships sailed in and blocked off the one with the switch! The first ship's plank dropped onto the island with a clatter as crowds of hollering pirates swarmed down its wooden surface in just as much time!

"Thought ye'd gotten away from us, did ye?" asked a gruff-voiced octopus buccaneer as he scraped his hooks together and made the most awful noise. "Sorry, buckos—ye're in fer some rough seas now!"

The pirates all cheered in agreement as they raised their weapons to the skies, and circled around Gill Grunt and Zap. There were a lot of them; would them be able to take them all?

"You wanna fight, huh dudes?" Zap asked as slime formed at his paws. "Bring it on! We can take ya!"

"Ye sound awfully confident in yerself, Skylandee." The buccaneer swooped forward with a mighty slash. "But can ye really take all of us on at once?"

"Of course we can!" Gill Grunt shouted as he jumped onto the buccaneer's muscular arm. "We're Skylanders, after all!"

Gill Grunt shot the pirate in the face with a mighty stream of hot water and jumped back! His jetpack started mid-jump and proceeded to douse the pirates underneath with equally-boiling water. All the pirates could do was yowl in shock as they were soaked to the bone!

Zap smirked as Gill Grunt flew away from them, and wagged his tail while static crackled and popped at his fangs. The pirates cried out and chased after him, and Zap zoomed off on a sticky slime trail that caught the pirates as they passed through! With a majority of them safely stuck on the trail, Zap shot a lightning bolt at the trail and watched as the pirates screamed out in shock—literally.

The buccaneer gulped while the other pirates fell unconscious, and he frantically looked for any means of escape. However, it was too late; Gill Grunt and Zap had him cornered.

"Y'know," Gill Grunt said as he cocked his harpoon gun, "I've never liked pirates. Always pillaging and plundering and leaving nothing but destruction in their wakes." Gill Grunt's face darkened with a serious nature. "So as you can imagine, I have little patience for someone like you."

"Please, let me go, Skylandee!" the buccaneer pleaded as he got down on his knees. "Me'll give ye anythin'! Tell ye anythin' ye wanna hear!"

"Then tell me—" Gill Grunt shot a lancing glare into the buccaneer's very soul "—is it true that the ship you just blocked off has a switch that'll open these gates?"

The buccaneer wailed as he fell on his face. "YES, YES, IT'S TRUE!"

Gill Grunt and Zap only gave each other aside glances, and shrugged as Gill Grunt put down his harpoon gun.

"I'll let you go, then." Gill Grunt noted the roll of seaweed tape that hung from the sobbing buccaneer's belt, and snapped it off without the buccaneer even noticing. "But you're not getting away with all this, understood?"

"UNDERSTOOD!" The buccaneer sobbed some more before his head jolted up. "Wait, what?"

Gill Grunt only handed over the seaweed roll to Zap, who pulled out a strand, and zoomed around the buccaneer until he was wrapped tight in seaweed! The buccaneer struggled against the bonds, but the seaweed was far too sticky to escape from—much to Gill Grunt and Zap's pleasure.

"Hang tight, dude!" Zap shouted as he skated off on another slime trail. "We're gonna get that switch now!"

Gill Grunt and Zap then walked onto the first ship's plank and boarded the ship. The ship itself was nothing special; it was an average wooden pirate schooner with wooden decks, and barrels, and jolly roger flags everywhere one looked—but from its deck, one could see…

"Hey, Gill, look over there!" Zap shouted as he gently nudged Gill Grunt's shoulder. "I think I see that switch thingie!"

Gill Grunt craned his head above and found that a little further away from their current location, on a wooden platform suspended by a tall wooden pole, was a giant stone cylinder! The cylinder's top glowed with a faint, blue light that just barely stood out against the night sky—surely that had to be it!

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he started up his jetpack and picked up Zap. "Let's get it!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Zap chirped as he and Gill Grunt flew across to the second ship's deck.

As the two of then landed, their eyes glazed over the ship's deck. There didn't appear to be a plank—just a couple of bounce pads that practically littered the ship's deck!

Zap grinned, then zoomed off and leaped straight onto the first bounce pad. "YAHOO!" Zap hooted as he flew up, landed on a wooden lookout platform, and looked down at Gill Grunt. "C'mon dude, what'cha waiting for?"

Gill Grunt chuckled to himself and carefully stepped onto the bounce pad. With a boing, he shot off into the skies, then started up his jetpack mid-flight and flew onto the lookout. As they looked across from where they stood and saw yet another bounce pad, Gill Grunt and Zap nodded in unison then jumped on. Another sproing shot them across the ships, and they landed face-first onto another platform! The two of them shook off the pain as they lurched up, and smiled as they found themselves face-to-face with the stone cylinder they saw earlier!

It looked a lot fancier now that they could see it in person; its stone surface had intricate markings carved all over it, and it was smooth and clearly carefully tended to. Finally, atop its surface was a smooth button that glowed in a bright shade of blue.

"Let's hope this works," Gill Grunt said as he flew up and pushed down on the cylinder's button.

The button beeped in a friendly tone, and a great lurching sound groaned all around!

Gill Grunt turned around in an attempt to locate the sound's source, and found that behind him, a large stone gate had receded into the ocean!

"We did it, dude!" Zap cheered as he slapped a paw against Gill Grunt's hand.

"You bet we did!"

Gill Grunt smiled as he picked up Zap and started up his jetpack. As the water gushed down from his jetpack's barrels, Gill Grunt soared across the ships and landed back down on the grassy hill they had started at. Zap let go, the two of them stretched out, and the sound of panting alerted Gill Grunt and Zap that Chihiro just caught up with them! The two of them turned around to find her bent over with her hands on her knees, and she looked up at them with a tired smile.

"Took me long enough to find you guys!" Chihiro said with a playful wink. "Anywho, I got the Spouts back!" Chihiro stood up and gently rustled the bag that was tied to her sweatpants. "Now, let's get these babies into the Core of Light."

The three of them watched as Delilah's plank positioned itself on the island.

Chihiro smiled at them and bowed in a gentlemanly manner. "After you, good sirs."

"Last one there's a rotten piece of kelp!" Zap shouted as he dashed up the plank with an eager Chihiro behind him.

"Guess that makes me the piece of kelp," Gill Grunt said as he sighed with a smile, "and here I come!"

Gill Grunt dashed up the plank and onto the deck, and he positioned himself next to Zap and Chihiro on the deck railing, the three of them stood silent as Delilah's plank receded back inside and she sailed off once more.