"And then, she just punched the thing like, BLAM! POW!” Chihiro exclaimed as she reiterated the scene for Spyro and Gill Grunt, complete with exaggerated arm gestures and stances. “Now tell me, how many people could just take on a fifty-foot monster without even blinking?"

"Well, there's a whole island full of them," Spyro remarked as he cast an aside glance to the portal building.

"Well, yeah, but you're a little different. You guys have all these cool powers and stuff, and you've been training to do this kinda stuff for a while. Marisa just's some ordinary girl that got chosen by fate to be some grand hero." Chihiro fell backwards onto the grass with a wistful sigh. "If only I could go on huge, cool adventures like she does—" Chihiro sprung back up from the grass "—oh wait, I already am! I'm here on the Skylands with you guys!"

And with that said, all three of them made the kind of hearty laughter that was so warm and friendly, it almost warmed them from the cold autumn chills. Yet, as the laughter died, Chihiro's smile faded while she peeked over at the Far-Viewer, which an ever-dutiful Hugo toyed with.

"You know, I wonder if Hugo found the Eternal Water Source yet. It's been taking him an awful long time."

"Oh, I'm sure he's working on it, Chihiro." Spyro swiped a paw at nothing. "The Far-Viewer may be able to locate any magical artifact, but it's not perfect, especially given that—"

"Yeah, I know, it's old and stuff." Chihiro beamed and waved back at Spyro and Gill Grunt. "Anywho, I'm going to pester Hugo now! See'ya!"

Chihiro dashed across to the Far-Viewer, which was notably unmanned. Strange, wasn't Hugo just there a few seconds ago? Chihiro frowned as she toyed with the Far-Viewer's control panel, peered inside its telescope, and jumped back as she gasped with excitement.

"HUGO! HUGO!" Chihiro called at the top of her lungs as she dashed across the autumn leaf-covered grass and waved her arms, "HUGO, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT I—OOF!"

Mid-transit, however, Chihiro caught something brown and green and furry right in her path—but she couldn't stop, for she went too fast! The two parties collided in a flash and tumbled over each other in a haphazard collision course!

"Owch!" Chihiro trained her eyes on her feet with a scorning look before she looked up. "Hugo, watch where you're going!"

But instead of looking back at her, Hugo just brushed off his jacket and pulled himself back up.

"Chihiro, what were you running for?" Hugo asked as he gave Chihiro a very impatient look with tired eyes, cross frowns, and all.

"If you must know." Chihiro scoffed before she dusted herself off and stood up. "I was trying to find you because I found something really important on the Far-Viewer!"

The very mention of the Far-Viewer let up Hugo's eyes. "That reminds me!" Hugo grabbed Chihiro's hand and lead her over to the Far-Viewer. "I had something important to show you as well!"

Hugo gently nudged Chihiro's shoulder as if he prompted her to look inside. But, before either of them did, they both glazed each other down and beamed.

"I finally found the Eternal Water Source!" Hugo and Chihiro announced in unison before they made double takes.

Chihiro took another peek inside the Far-Viewer and frowned. This time around, it focused on a sandy beach island with tropical trees and a grassy landscape that was, alas, infested with pirates. However, beneath the oceans, one could just barely spot a bright, blue glow.

"Hey, Hugo, how do you zoom in on this thing?" Chihiro asked as she twisted knobs and pressed buttons while she gazed.

"Chihiro, don't press that, you might make it—"

Hugo tried to pry Chihiro away with a tense gaze, but it was no use. Chihiro stood steadfast at the Far-Viewer, for she was more interested in it than Hugo trying to take her away.

"Found it!"

Chihiro held down a blood-colored button down as she twisted a copper knob, and beamed as the Far-Viewer's focus transferred to the ocean depths! There, cradled within the waters of the ocean, was an oval no larger than a wide dinner plate! It glowed in a shade of blue so striking that it stuck out well against the ocean's dark depths, and a sloshing pool of water carried within it. It radiated with an intense Water Element magic that could be felt even from where Chihiro stood at the Far-Viewer, miles and miles away from the oval's actual location.

"Alrighty! Now that we've found it—" Chihiro toyed around with the Far-Viewer's controls and watched as it zoomed out, "—let's figure out where this place is!"

As Chihiro fixed her view on the island once more, she spotted and focused on a sign that seemed to be long-forgotten with its splintered wood and fading paint. She zoomed in on it, but as zooming in didn't make the text any less unreadable, she could only squint and try to make out the words.

"Viathan Lagoon?" Chihiro turned around to face Hugo. "Now who would name a lagoon Viathan? Was that guy the mayor of the island or something?"

Hugo's eyes widened. "Chihiro, that isn't the island's actual name. What you're referring to is Leviathan Lagoon!"

"Leviathan Lagoon? What's that?"

Hugo took a deep breath and gained a slightly calmer disposition, though he still trembled just a bit.

"Well, Chihiro. Leviathan Lagoon was, once upon a time, the birthplace of a famous aquatic circus." Hugo focused on Chihiro as he toyed with his lapel. "Beings came far and wide for the dancing starfish, the clownfish, the tiger shark tamers, but most of all, they came for the Leviathan—a huge, monstrous fish that according to legend would eat entire villages for breakfast!"

Chihiro's eyes widened as Hugo spoke. Surely, she could just envision it—the cheers, the scent of freshly-baked popcorn, the feeling of the wooden bleachers; most of all, she could feel the sheer excitement of seeing the Leviathan be unveiled for the final act!

"And then what happened?" Chihiro asked, now so excited that she could barely stand.

"Well, the Leviathan ended up eating one too many people during its act. As it turns out, having a carnivorous sea monster in your circus act and allowing people to feed it isn't the wisest idea." Hugo stepped up to the Far-Viewer and peered inside. "So, the ringmaster released the Leviathan into the island's oceans and made his act into a traveling circus. Since then, Leviathan Lagoon has been off-limits to the general public."

Hugo paused for a moment to zoom out of the sign and get a view around the island. "And for that matter, that includes those pirates!" Hugo's gaze narrowed as his mouth twisted into a frown. "How they got here, I'm not quite sure. They weren't here when I checked a little while ago."

"I'll bet five bucks that we know the answer to that." Chihiro casually kicked her feet against the autumn leaves and dove her hands into her jacket. "Well, not actually since I don't have five bucks on hand, but you get what I'm talking about, right?"

"Unfortunately." Hugo bit his lip as he stepped away from the Far-Viewer. "Kaos must have found the Eternal Water Source and sent those pirates to guard it from potential thieves—namely, us!"

"True, which brings me to my next point." Chihiro turned in the next direction and got ready to speed off. "Why are we standing around here when we should be defeating Kaos?"

"Hold on, Chihiro—" Hugo stopped short as Chihiro dashed away to the portal room and left a cloud of dust and disturbed autumn leaves in her wake. "Aaand she's gone." Hugo sighed and hung his furry head. "Can she stay in one place for more than five minutes? Probably not."

As Hugo lifted his head, another shout erupted from the portal room in an ever-familiar voice—a shout so loud it could probably be heard all the way in the Outlands!

"HUGOOOOOOO! I NEED YOU HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

Hugo shook his head and walked over to the portal building. "Coming, Chihiro."

§

"Am I a salesman?" Chihiro sputtered out with disgust as she stared into the portal. "No, I am not a salesman, do I sound like I'm trying to sell you something?"

"Chihiro, what did you need me for?" Hugo asked as he walked into the brick-walled portal room.

There Chihiro stood in front of the main portal, her gaze focused on the center where colors of all shades and hues swirled around, and she seemed to be talking to someone.

"Oh, there you are, Hugo!" Chihiro turned around to face him and smiled for but a moment, then directed her gaze back on the portal. "Can you tell this guy that no, I am not trying to sell him shaving cream or whatever he said and get us permission to go to the island? Cause it seems that no matter what I say, he won't have a word of it!"

Hugo walked over to the center and peered in."Wait, you can't just portal there?"

Chihiro gave him a flustered glare. "Does it look like I didn't try that already?" Chihiro's glare loosened as she peered down. "Actually, I didn't. I mean, I was about to, but this guy showed up and said there was a block on portals here or something and I had to identify myself!"

"Well, that's certainly a predicament. Portals link locations through an entirely different dimension. If someone could reach into that pocket dimension and block that area of it off, and if they're working for Kaos like we speculate…"

Chihiro hummed as she looked over at Hugo and shrugged. "Well, no harm in testing."

Chihiro turned her eyes back to the portal then narrowed them as she raised her arms. With a slap against the stone border and a wide-eyed gaze, Chihiro attempted to create a portal, but what came instead was a bright explosion! After the explosion died, Chihiro and Hugo both found themselves covered from head to toe in shiny, iridescent magic dust! The two of them shook off the ash as it vanished into thin air, and Chihiro gave Hugo the most tired glare she could muster.

"Looks like that didn't work," Hugo remarked as he placed a furry finger to his chin.

"Gee, you think?" Chihiro's voice dripped with sarcasm before she looked over the portal. "Now, how the heck are we going to get to the island?"

The two of them stared at each other for mere moments, and Chihiro's eyes widened as she snapped her fingers.

"Wait, Gurglefin has a ship!" Chihiro beamed as Hugo nodded, and she turned and made headway for the beach. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Chihiro's voice echoed around the stone halls. "I'm sure he'd be willing to take us there after all we've done for him and all!"