Cold.

It was so cold, and so dark. That was the first thing Chihiro thought as she opened her eyes and looked around. All she could see in front of her was a giant, pink, bumpy surface with splintered, rotten wood and skeletons spread all across. Some kind of strange, hollow noise that was vaguely akin to something breathing echoed throughout, and the whole thing was something out of a nightmare.

"Guys, are we dead?" Chihiro asked as she clung to the Eternal Water Source with its faint glow her only source of light in this room.

Chihiro bit her lip as she looked up towards the strange area's roof to find something that looked vaguely like tonsils. Wait a second, didn't they get swallowed by…

Is this the belly of the Leviathan? Chihiro thought as her knees started to quiver. If it is, then, have they…

"Guys? Please, say something!" Chihiro fell to her knees and sniffled as fear overtook in her mind. "C'mon, please!" Chihiro shuddered, pushed herself to crawl forwards, and looked around. "We just got the Source, you can't give up on me now!"

Right as Chihiro was about ready to let her mind absorb her whole, she heard several moans and groans! She watched as the Eternal Water Source's light grew brighter, and the belly's lighting grew better. The area finally illuminated, and Chihiro looked to her side to find Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell as they struggled to their feet!

"Guys! You're alive!"

Chihiro's tears turned from ones of fear to ones of joy, and she wiped them away as she jumped back onto her feet.

"Chihiro? Where are you?" Wham-Shell asked as he stumbled a few feet forwards.

"Right here!"

Chihiro let go of the Eternal Water Source, and its light illuminate the entirely of the cramped space they were in. Completely overwhelmed by joy, Chihiro dashed over to their sides and hugged them as tight as she possibly could. She almost didn't want to let go of them, regardless of how cold and wet they were—she was just so, so, relieved that they were okay! Wait, were they?

"You guys alright?"

Chihiro watched as they nodded their heads in unison.

"Are you?" Wham-Shell gave her a concerned look as he gently brushed a claw against her damp cheek.

"I'm a little beat up, but I'll survive."

Chihiro looked back up at where the Eternal Water Source provided them with brilliant light and frowned.

"Now, how're we gonna get out of this mess?" Wham-Shell asked as he peered up at the Eternal Water Source.

Chihiro let out a confused shrug. "Maybe we could try tickling its tonsils until it laughs us out?" Chihiro suggested. "I mean, it worked on TV!"

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell gained musing looks on their faces as they nodded.However, those musing looks didn't last long as another bright light found its way into the scene! It shone so bright and in such a brilliant blue that it practically absorbed everything around, and as it glowed, a harsh cackle resonated around the belly of the beast.

"HAH HAH HAH! Look what we have here, some STUPID SKYLANDERS!"

Chihiro winced as she scanned the right, and left, and then right again in some hope that she could find the voice's owner, but no use. Everything was too coated in light! That is, until an even brighter flash shot off, and everything faded away into a giant, holographic blue head! It had chiseled features covered in odd markings and a cloth hood, and was probably about ten times their size. It might have been kind of intimidating if not for the bald head and notably incorporeal form.

The head cackled for several minutes more, and opened its eyes and gasped.

"How did you get the Eternal Water Source?" tje head demanded.

"Why do you wanna know?" Chihiro exclaimed as she stepped forward and readied a magic sphere. "Who the hell are you, anyways?"

"Chihiro!" Gill Grunt scolded. "Language!"

But, she paid no mind to him as she glared daggers into the holographic head. Her whole body surged with some kind of magical energy, the kind that filled her with so much strength that she felt like she could conquer anything, and that especially included this weirdo who appeared out of nowhere!

"I could be asking you the same question, child!" the head spat back.

"Name's Chihiro!" Chihiro pointed a thumb at herself and took the coolest stance she could envision. "Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master and guardian of all that is good in Skylands! You better remember it!"

"PORTAL MASTER?" The head cocked an eyebrow and cackled some more. "So YOU'RE the one who's been causing me so much trouble!"

"Causing you… So much trouble…" Chihiro's gaze faltered as a wave of realization crashed over, and she pushed herself to peer up at the head once more. "You're Kaos, aren't you?"

"Correct!" Kaos cackled again as he bore a fanged sneer.

"I'm surprised that such a puny child could be the source of all my misery! After all, I wouldn't have expected someone as small and weak as you to bring back the Skylanders, or stop my armies, or steal the Eternal—" Kaos quickly noted his surprise and cleared his throat. "I mean, I TOTALLY EXPECTED that you would steal the Eternal Water Source from under my nose, and that's why I prepared this spell!"

Chihiro, Wham-Shell, and Gill Grunt only stared in anticipation as they braced themselves for the oncoming spell. Weapons bared and fists glowed, but nothing happened. Kaos's head just frantically spun about.

"No, no, no," Kaos repeated as the sound of warbled, flipping paper echoed about before his eyes widened, "ah, here it is!"

Kaos's eyes flashed a bright white, and the windy vortex behind him grew stronger! It sucked in spare wood, bones, and various other sundry with the power of a hurricane, all while Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell tried their best to stay on the ground.

"Ack!" Chihiro exclaimed as a piece of flotsam flew right past her head and sucked straight into the vortex, and she dug her feet into the Leviathan's tongue.

"Look out!" Gill Grunt exclaimed as he pushed Wham-Shell out the way of a splintered crate.

"Thanks, Gill—" Wham-Shell;s eyes widened, and he rolled both himself and Gill Grunt out the way of a rotted fish skeleton.

"CRAP!"

"WHOA!"

"WATCH IT!"

All these shouts and more were heard as they dodged the debris absorbed by the vortex. However, while they tried to keep their feet on the ground, they all forgot about the Eternal Water Source—which was promptly sucked into the vortex and stolen right before their very eyes!

"HAH! Thanks for getting the Water Source for me, SKYLOSERS!" Kaos simpered before he floated down and gave Chihiro a condescending look. "And I can't possibly forget the portal loser who brought them here."

Chihiro gritted her teeth together and lunged towards Kaos, her hands flared with magic fire, only for Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell to hold her back.

"Lemme go, guys, I can take him!" Chihiro exclaimed as she conjured up another sphere in her open hand. "Just one sphere to the head, that's all it's gonna take!"

"Chihiro, calm down! Losing your head over this isn't going to help anyone!" Gill Grunt warned as he placed a damp fin on Chihiro's shoulder.

"And did I forget to mention that pungent panfish of a gillman?"

"EXCUSE ME?"

Gill Grunt's fins bristled, and he let go of Chihiro's shoulder. But, before he could run off, Wham-Shell grabbed both him and Chihiro by the backs of their clothes and drew them back before any damage could be done. They could only thrust and squirm against the tough grip of a very exhausted Wham-Shell.

Kaos let out a bellow of laughter as his eyes glowed brighter than before, and a wicked smile snaked across his lips. "It works every time!" Kaos's head floated back as forth as the others looked him down with bated breath and angry eyes. "Now, I'll give you SKYLOSERS a little treat. If you can beat my minions, which I doubt you can do, I'll let you have the Eternal Water Source."

"And if we don't?" Chihiro asked, and her hands balled into fists as she stepped forward.

"Then you'll stay here. Forever." Kaos's smile turned smugger on his face as he floated dangerously close to Chihiro. "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"

Chihiro crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Are you done yet?"

"I was about to finish gloating if you hadn't so rudely interrupted me!" Kaos stopped short and pouted. "Now I'll just take even longer. MAUHAHAHAHAHAHA…"

Chihiro just gazed over at Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell. "You're telling me this is the dude that destroyed the Core of Light?"

All three of them shrugged their shoulders as their attention turned back to Kaos, their expressions turned from neutral to sour. Just being around Kaos made Chihiro's skin crawl. As goofy as he was, this was the person that destroyed the Core of Light, that turned Skylands into his playground of evil… The one she had to stop, no matter what.

"Ha, ha, ha." Kaos's laughter stopped short, and he cleared his throat as he glared down the trio. "Now, Evil Gillman, Evil Water Dragon, Evil Ice Yeti!"

The moment Kaos spoke these words, three creatures popped inside the belly of the beast!

They looked exactly like Gill Grunt, Zap and Slam Bam in terms of form, but their bodies were made of something much different. They were comprised of dark purple, malevolent energy that throbbed and pulsed with power, and was occasionally decorated by veins of blue Water Element magic. Though their eyes were blank, one could only shudder at the malevolence that radiated from them.

Kaos whipped out the Eternal Water Source, and watched as a stream of water doused the trio of minions! As the water dripped into puddles at their feet, the evil minions glowed with a bright, blue light which radiated such power that it made one meek and helpless just from basking in their presence.

"MAKE THESE SKYLOSERS WISH THEY NEVER CAME HERE!" Kaos's holographic head began to fade, but not before he shot one last, cocky sneer at the heroic trio. "Good luck, Skyblunderers—NOT!"

All was silent for a few moments as the good trio stared down the evil and vice versa, but the Evil Gillman cocked its harpoon cannon back and shot off harpoons in every conceivable direction! The hapoons ricocheted off the walls, and hit the long-abandoned crates and boxes in what was probably the world's most lethal game of dodgeball!

Harpoons bounced every which way Chihiro, Wham-Shell, and Gill Grunt turned as they all scrambled to dodge the harpoons' paths. Though, it was pretty darn hard!

"Eek!" Chihiro yelped as she dodged a harpoon that whizzed past her chest.

She jumped out of the way of yet another harpoon that ricocheted off the wall behind her with another yelp. As she summoned a sphere of magic, Chihiro narrowed her eyes and attempted to aim it at the Evil Gillman, but once more, harpoons ricocheted around her and forced her to dodge left and right, back and forth, up and down! She even had to dash behind some broken crates a few times!

She poked her head up a bit, and Chihiro ducked down with a squeal of shock as a harpoon flew in her general direction. Of course, she didn't notice that she had dropped her magic sphere in her attempt to escape until it was too late. She only heard a blast, and looked down to see the magic sphere burst into sparkles.

"Dang it."

Meanwhile, Gill Grunt was trying to do the same thing as Chihiro—stay alive! He dashed and darted from one place to the other as he tried to anchor himself and fire from his own harpoon cannon, but the sheer volume of hazards around made it hard to do.

"Can't these things stay still for more than five seconds?" Gill Grunt asked, and his eyes narrowed as he sat down once more and tried to focus on the Evil Gillman.

"Gill, watch out!" Wham-Shell shouted over the sound of clinking metal.

Gill Grunt looked up, and noticed another harpoon as it shot straight towards him! Gill Grunt dropped and rolled over before the harpoon could land and do any damage, and the harpoon hit the wall and disappeared into thin air.

"How long can that thing keep this up?" Gill Grunt sat back up and cast a glance at Wham-Shell. "Wham, can you give me a distraction?"

However, his message reached a different pair of ears instead—Chihiro's! Chihiro smirked as she bounced up from the crate she hid behind and gave Gill Grunt a thumbs up.

"One distraction coming right up, Gill!" Chihiro shouted before she jumped up and down and flailed her arms. "Hey, Fish-Face! Over here!"

As Chihiro shouted all kinds of nonsense, the Evil Gillman whipped its head around to face her with a confused stare. It was almost as if it wondered whether or not she addressed it!

"I bet a dog could shoot better than you, and a sleeping one at that!" Chihiro pulled down her bottom eyelid and stuck out her tongue. "Nyeh!"

The Evil Gillman scowled and cocked its harpoon cannon once more, but, instead of shooting out more harpoons, a steam of scalding hot water spat out of the cannon!

Chihiro squawked and dashed off all around the belly of the Leviathan, but the Evil Gillman didn't leave its spot at all! It simply turned around as it fired.

"Was that good enough?" Chihiro cast an aside glance at the Evil Gillman and beamed.

There, a few feet away from the Evil Gillman were none other than Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt, who had weapons at the ready as they slowly crept up on the Gillman! Chihiro gasped in excitement, but not for long! Unknown to them, two, shadowy figures crept up behind Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell!

"Guys, look out!" Chihiro shouted as Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell turned around.

While Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell stood hapless, the minions went to work immediately! The Evil Water Dragon zapped everything in sight with lightning bolts, and the Evil Ice Yeti dashed over to Wham-Shell's back as it grabbed him with its four dark arms.

Lightning danced around the belly of the beast, and Chihiro yelped as she performed some fancy footwork! She twisted and twirled around then bolts, and when she grew closer, her breath stopped short at what she saw—Wham-Shell pinned down to the tongue of the beast by the Evil Ice Yeti.

"Ready to give up, shellfish?" the Evil Ice Yeti asked with a prideful tone in its gravely voice.

Chihiro gasped as she lunged forward, but the Evil Gillman tackled her to the ground! As she staggered up, she swung her head around and found herself face-to-face with a sharp, shiny harpoon.

"I wasn't able to get rid of you at Vindlevale," the Evil Gillman hissed as it cocked its harpoon gun, "but this time will be quite different!"

Chihiro tried to scramble back, but she only got a few steps back before she hit the wall. Worse yet, lightning bolts hit puddles of saliva and turned them into electrically-charged death traps all around her. There was nowhere to go. All she could do was stand back and watch as the Evil Gillman placed her in its crosshairs, and…

"How about you get ready to LET GO OF ME, YOU FURRY BRUTE!" Wham-Shell shouted.

The Evil Gillman uttered a confused noise and swung around—and gave Chihiro the perfect opportunity to sock it in the face and run! The Evil Gillman fell unconscious onto the Leviathan's tongue, and Chihiro bounced over its body as she looked ahead.

Wham-Shell swung his legs back and hit the Evil Ice Yeti in the shins, and in turn, the Evil Ice Yeti let go of Wham-Shell and yowled in pain! Wham-Shell grabbed his mace and smirked while the Evil Ice Yeti nursed its wounds.

"Brace for the mace!"

With his cry hung in the air, Wham-Shell whacked his mace on the head of the Evil Ice Yeti, who fell unconscious onto the tongue. Chihiro and Wham-Shell both beamed as he heaved his mace over his shoulder, but ducked as a lightning bolt whizzed just inches above their heads and slammed into the walls.

Right beside them, Gill Grunt struggled with the pest that was the Evil Water Dragon! He flew off on his water jetpack as he shot harpoon after harpoon at it, but it was far too fast for him to even make contact! The Water Dragon let out a gargling laugh as it jumped forward and got ready to zap Gill Grunt right in the chest, but Wham-Shell flung his mace outwards and sent starfish shooting from it! The starfish hit the Water Dragon straight in the chest, and sent it flying a few feet away.

"That's why you brace for the mace!" Wham-Shell shouted as he heaved his mace back onto his armored shoulder.

"Thanks for the backup, Wham!" Gill Grunt said as he flew over to Wham-Shell's side.

"That was amazing, Whammy!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped forward and hugged them both tight.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell smiled and laughed as Chihiro enveloped them in her warm embrace, but they all heard a groan and turned around to see the Evil Gillman try to push itself off the ground.

"Not today you don't," Gill Grunt remarked.

He broke free of the hug, and let a smile crawl across his lips as he cocked his own harpoon gun. A stream of scalding water flew out of the cannon with a slight pull and release of the gun's trigger, and Gill Grunt flew backwards! The stream struck the Evil Gillman in the back, and with a yowl of pain, the Evil Gillman fell back onto the ground once more.

Chihiro stopped to skip over and examine the now-unconscious minions as the last of the water hit the Leviathan's side and crept down the wall. Sure enough, they were out cold! They could only lie helpless on the ground as tiny, dark blue spheres popped out of the wounds they gained during the fight.

"Took us long enough," Chihiro said with a smile as she placed her hands on her hips.

As she stopped to bask in their victory, Chihiro heard a strange, warbling sound and turned around to look at the back of the Leviathan's belly. Surely that had to be the sound of Kaos returning the Eternal Water Source, right?

Wrong.

As the sound of rippling magic grew more intense, giant, swirling portals popped out all around the Leviathan's belly… And from the portals emerged…

"SHARKS!"

Chihiro's eyes darted to the giant, evil magic-fueled shark that jumped out of the portal, and let out an inhuman shriek of fear as she jumped out of its way. Who could blame her? The thing was probably about three times her size!

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell stared out into space, and followed her example as more sharks leaped out of the portals with full intentions of taking a piece out of them!

Chihiro darted from spot to spot as the game of "Dodge the Sharks" commenced, but stopped. Her eyes followed several sharks that diverted themselves away from her and towards… Those evil minions of Kaos's?

Sure enough, the ones that got away all circled around the evil minions and suspended them in midair by some kind of magic force. The wounds the minions gained slowly closed as they glowed with a faint blue light—wait!

"They're trying to fix those guys up!" Chihiro exclaimed before she shrieked and side-stepped out the path of another medium-sized shark. "I've gotta stop them!"

But how? Chihiro hummed and pressed her hand against her face while she bounced out the way of the many sharks that tried to eat her. She looked over to a shark that bumped into the wall, and a smile crept across her lips! Before long, she jumped onto the back of the direction-confused shark, and her smile widened as a loud shout reverberated around the room.

"YEE-HAW!"

Now comfortably seated on the shark's back, Chihiro dove into the crowd on the back of her shark and tossed the other sharks aside! Is this how those cowboys she saw on TV sometimes felt? Probably. But no matter—she didn't linger long on it, as her focus fixed itself on the evil minions instead.

"Chihiro, what on Skylands are you doing?" Gill Grunt asked as he and Wham-Shell stared at her with wide eyes and gaped mouths.

"I'm shark-riding, what do you think?" Chihiro shouted back as she grabbed her shark by the fin on its head and rammed into a shark that was about to cut into her path. "Take that, you, uh, shark! Man, I need to work on my insults."

Chihiro wrapped her legs around the shark's body and fixed her eyes on the center of her path. She had to focus on her target, even though all the other sharks flew all around her in a scene that she was sure looked awesome. She saw the circle of sharks grow closer into view, rubbed her hands against her shark's fin, and watched as it glowed a bright cyan in color!

Now blessed with the speed of thousands, the shark zoomed right into the circle of sharks and sent them flying like they were pins at a bowling alley! Sharks crashed into walls, rained down from above, but most importantly, those evil minions broke from the sharks' healing chamber and fell back onto the tongue!

Chihiro stopped and basked in her victory as the sharks all disappeared, including the one she herself rode on. She floated for moments, and fell face-first onto the wet, sticky floor.

"Oof!"

Chihiro stood as well as she could with legs that felt like jelly, then gazed over at the minions. They hadn't gotten off the ground yet; were they still unconscious? The tension was thick as hearts pounded so hard one could hear them echo around. Chihiro, Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell watched the evil minions with firm frowns…

And the minions cackled.

"Thought you could get rid of us easy, huh?" asked the Evil Ice Yeti as it cracked its knuckles and walked over to them, "Sorry buddies, you're out of luck!"

The Evil Gillman and Evil Water Dragon laughed as they walked towards Chihiro's group as well.

"Well, you guys are out of luck, too!" Chihiro shot back as she readied an energy sphere. "Because we don't give up!"

"That's right!" Gill Grunt shouted back as he readied his harpoon gun. "Skylanders never give up!"

Chihiro beamed as she heard Gill Grunt's words, bent down and sneered. "So prepare yourselves!" Chihiro pointed a finger towards the evil minions. "We've gonna wipe the floor with your butts!"

Chihiro launched herself at the Evil Ice Yeti and tossed an energy sphere at it, but it swatted the sphere away like it was nothing! The Ice Yeti growled and went to punch Chihiro, and Chihiro teleported away and stomped on its head as soon as she reappeared! Chihiro whisked herself away as the Ice Yeti tried to yank her off its head, and all it could do was stare around in angered confusion.

"Hey! Musclebrain!" Chihiro shouted as she reappeared and stuck her tongue out at the Evil Ice Yeti. "Bet'cha can't catch me!"

The Ice Yeti yowled out and pounded its fists against its chest while Chihiro giggled and dashed off. The pound of footsteps alerted her to the fact that the Evil Ice Yeti was on her trail, but no matter, there was no way it could possibly catch up with—ACK! Chihiro sputtered and stumbled back as a splash of water hit her square in the face! While the water dripped onto the floor, Chihiro shook herself off and looked ahead.

There, Gill Grunt and the Evil Gillman locked themselves tight in a shoot-off! Their eyes narrowed as their fingers held tight onto their guns' triggers, guns that shot out scalding hot water at a dangerously high pressure! It was so intense, so oddly transfixing, that Chihiro couldn't bring herself to look away…

Until she heard footsteps pounding and wild hooting, that is. She turned around and stumbled back as the Evil Ice Yeti ran towards her on all fours, but a giant purplish-blue blur smacked it straight into the wall! The Ice Yeti and the thing that attacked it slide down the wall, amd the thing groaned as its popped its head up and shook it.

"Watch where you're going, you big lug!" exclaimed the Evil Water Dragon as it jumped off the Evil Ice Yeti and snarled.

"You need to watch where you're flying!" the Evil Ice Yeti exclaimed back as it bore its teeth.

Chihiro rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, and looked over to see Wham-Shell give her a thumbs up. Wait a second—this would be the perfect opportunity!

Chihiro carefully crept up behind the Evil Gillman as it and Gill Grunt continued their showdown with another shower of sharp harpoons. With it completely distracted, she yanked it away by the collar of its wetsuit! It could only yelp in surprise as Chihiro swung it around, and tossed it right at the Evil Ice Yeti and Evil Water Dragon! The Evil Water Dragon and Evil Ice Yeti only watched as the Evil Gillman made head-on collision with them, and the three of them crashed back into the wall like bowling pins before they fell down in a pile.

"Ugh," the evil minions groaned as they staggered up and stumbled about.

The blow clearly did well to disorient them. They could barely keep their footing as tiny magic spheres dripped down from the collision points, and their whole bodies shook as they walked in a dizzy haze.

"Be gentle on them, alright guys?" Chihiro asked as she frowned and her brows furrowed. "They probably can't take much more."

Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt gave Chihiro a wary nod, and she smiled.

With that decided, Chihiro scampered off and flung herself in the Evil Gillman’s face! She flicked it and watched as it fell over and dissipated into blue magic spheres.

"Buh bye now~" Chihiro said as she turned around and looked over at Wham-Shell.

He heaved his mace above his head and got ready to strike the Evil Water Dragon, who cowered in fear. Then, Wham-Shell gently lowered his mace and tapped the Evil Water Dragon on it head, and it exploded into spheres.

Chihiro smiled as she peered at Gill Grunt, who knelt down and spritzed the Evil Ice Yeti with some water from his gun. The Evil Ice Yeti stumbled back, and hit its head on a nearby rock! The head trauma was so great that it completely explode into those strange glowing spheres from just that simple bump.

"We did it, guys!" Chihiro proclaimed as she bounced up and down, and stopped as she noticed the worried looks on Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell's faces.

"Not yet, Chi," Wham-Shell corrected as he let his mace rest at his side. "It's not over 'til we get the Source back."

Silence ran throughout the room for mere moments as Kaos appeared once more and gazed over the room. It was all filled with anticipation as his mouth etched into a tired frown, as if everybody expected him to have one last trick up his sleeve.

"Fine, if you want the Eternal Water Source then take it!" Kaos shouted as his head slowly faded out of view—though it kind of looked like he was smiling?

"That sounded oddly apathetic," Gill Grunt said as he gave the space where Kaos's holograph once laid an uneasy look.

The blue magic spheres that littered the area slowly absorbed into the Leviathan's belly, and from them burst… Sores? Yes, giant, dark blue, round sores! Chihiro shouted out in surprise as one sprung up underneath her feet, and beamed and bounced up and down on it like it was a trampoline.

Just then, a blue light shone throughout the area! Chihiro shouted out in surprise as she flung her arms in front of her eyes, but poked up a glace and smiled. Sure enough, the Eternal Water Source hovered right above them! It was all peaceful for a few seconds as everyone basked in its light and power.

Finally, Chihiro bounded off of the sore she bounced on! As she soared up, Chihiro caught the Eternal Water Source in her grasp and fell back down onto the Leviathan's tongue with a thud. A rumbling noise echoed around the chamber when she got back on her feet, and it paired with a quake so strong that everyone collapsed on each other! Chihiro tried to stand, but another quake shook the ground and sent her back down.

"Ouch!" Chihiro squealed as everything was enveloped by bright blue light.

§

With a mighty hack, the Leviathan spat Chihiro, Gill Grunt, and Wham-Shell back up and flying head-first into the sand.

Chihiro's eyes and smile widened as they got up and shook the sand from their bodies. "Oh sweet land, I thought I'd never see you again!" Chihiro shouted as she kissed the ground beneath her feet.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell only gave her looks of pure befuddlement.

"What?" Chihiro gave them a confused look, and her eyes widened. "The Eternal Water Source! Where is it?!"

Gasps were heard as they scrambled through the sands. The Eternal Water Source was with them just a moment ago; had Kaos stolen it from them when they had least expected it?

"Heh, found it."

Chihiro pulled the Eternal Water Source out from a mound of sand located straight ahead of her, and giggled as Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt smiled and rolled their eyes.

"There you are!" shouted a familiar voice as a certain Gurglefin ran towards them and panted every step of the way. As soon as he joined them, Gurglefin hunched over and rested his hands on his knees.

"Gurglefin!" Chihiro exclaimed with wide eyes.

Gurglefin let out a chuckle and twiddled his fingers. "Anyway, did you get that Water Source thingie you guys were looking for?"

"You bet we did!" Chihiro brandished the Eternal Water Source like a trophy as she held it up in all its wet, shimmering glory!

"So can we go now?" A nervous look befell Gurglefin as he craned his head from side to side. "Cause this place is giving me the creeps!"

"Sure, Gurgleswin. I was starting to get tired of looking at all this sand anyway." Chihiro spun around and went to march off, and paused as she noticed the frustrated look on Gurglefin's face. "Is something wrong?"

"GURGLEFIN! My name is GURGLEFIN!"

"WHATEVER!"

Chihiro pouted a little as Gurglefin summoned over Delilah, but her moodiness faded as she looked over the Eternal Water Source. She hugged it tight, and watched as Delilah's plank parked onto the side of the island.

"Welp, no use standing around here!" Chihiro remarked as she walked towards the plank. "We've gotta deliver this baby to the Core of Light!"

Chihiro placed a foot on the plank, and paused as a slow rumble echoed throughout the area.

"Did you guys hear that?" Gurglefin asked as he turned back to the others who nodded.

"Probably just the wind," Wham-Shell replied as he shrugged. "Let's just get back…"

The rumble occurred once more, though this time it seemed a little… Louder? Closer? It was hard to tell. They all shrugged once more, boarded Delilah, and watched her plank withdraw. Delilah peacefully sailed off in a few moments, and the ocean waves caressed at her hull as she braved the cold, slow waters of the island before the sound of hard, rushing waters resounded from the back of the boat!

"The heck is that?" Chihiro asked. The rumble sounded again, so she ran up to the upper part of the deck, peered over, and screamed.

"CHIHIRO, WHAT IS IT?!" Wham-Shell exclaimed as he ran to Chihiro's side and watched her point over the deck.

Wham-Shell followed her direction, and gasped as his eyes shrank. There, right behind them was the Leviathan! But, it was absolutely giant now, about the size of the entire island archipelago, maybe! Judging by how fast it swam, it was certainly in a hurry too, like it was hunting something…

"Guys, what's going—" Gill Grunt asked as he ran up to their side and saw the gigantic Leviathan. "HOLY CODFISH!"

The Leviathan roared as it bolted forwards and opened its mighty jaws, which promptly crashed down on the island's shrine area! As it swallowed, it made another bellow and dove back into the water. Its swimming like that of a slicked-down Zap—fast and furious.

"What's that thing doing?" Wham-Shell demanded as he tightened his grip on the railing.

"I don't know, but something tells me we don't wanna stick around and find out!" Chihiro shouted back before she turned to Gurglefin. "Gurglefin, can't you go any faster?"

"Why would I need to?" Gurglefin exclaimed with a tremble of fear in his voice, "Is there a—"

Something crashed into Delilah and sent her spinning across the waves before Gurglefin could finish talking! Everybody screamed as they spun around like swirling cotton candy, and planted face-first onto the wooden ground of the ship's deck.

"Do you think Kaos did this?" Chihiro asked as she stood up and gripped tightly onto the railing.

"Wouldn't be surprised!" Wham-Shell shouted as he stood back up and scowled. "Should've known that ugly bugger had some kind of trick up his sleeve!"

"We can't worry about that right now! We need to get out of here!" Gill Grunt retorted as he staggered up while his legs shook like jelly.

"I don't think we can," Chihiro replied as she looked over the Leviathan and winced. "That thing's way too fast!" Chihiro frowned as she looked closer at the Leviathan. "Huh?"

Chihiro leaned forwards and bit her lip before Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt pulled her back.

"Chihiro, what're you doing?" Wham-Shell asked. "Are you tryin' to become fish food?"

"I think I saw something on the Leviathan's back!" Chihiro pointed back to the Leviathan. "Look!"

Wham-Shell and Gill Grunt followed her order and peered over. Now that they all got a better look, (which wasn't hard to do since it was getting very dangerously close), it kind of look like its body was covered in sores! Yes, giant blue sores that pulsed with some kind of evil aura!

"Now that I think about it—" Chihiro placed her hand on her chin, "—a bunch of those sores showed up in the Leviathan's belly when we beat those weird evil clones! Do you think that's what's making the Leviathan go haywire?"

"Probably, but—WOAH!" Wham-Shell stopped short as the Leviathan crashed into Delilah and sent her spinning once more. He quickly regained his balance and shook his head. "How do we get rid of them?"

Chihiro bit her lip, looked down at the Eternal Water Source, and smiled.

"Actually, I do have AN idea!" Chihiro showed off the Eternal Water Source to Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell. "Kaos powered up those evil minion thingies with the Eternal Water Source, right? If we could harness its power too, maybe we could get the power to undo it!" Chihiro made a wary shrug. "Any objections?"

The Leviathan crashed into Delilah once more before anyone could object and made a loud, guttural growl as it charged again.

"NOPE!"

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell struck their weapons into the heart of the Eternal Water Source without a moment’s hesitation. The weapons glowed with a bright blue light the color of clear ocean waters as they withdrew them, and a new level of power resonated from them, a kind of pure and good power completely undiluted by evil bearings. Hopefully, this would be what they needed.

Chihiro gulped as she dove her hand in, drew it back, and watched as it glowed blue. With a smile, she peered over to the deck and held out her hand.

"On the count of three!" Chihiro proclaimed. "ONE!"

"TWO!" Wham-Shell held his glowing mace over the side of the railing like one would a rifle.

"THREE!" Gill Grunt heaved his gun over the deck and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

CRASH! Before they could even fire, the Leviathan slammed back into the side of the ship and sent them spinning once again!

Everybody screamed in panic as they fell flat on their faces, but tried to pull themselves up. Their legs shook with shock and their arms just barely kept them up, but they couldn't lie down just yet! They had to stop the Leviathan before it was too late! But, the Leviathan wasn't making it easy; every time they tried to pull themselves up, it would slam back into the side of Delilah's hull and send them spinning across the waters! It was all they could do to keep themselves on the ship!

Chihiro cried out in anguish as she slammed against the side of the deck, sat up and shook her head, only to fall on her back again as Gill Grunt crashed right into her!

"You alright, Gill?" Chihiro asked as she pulled them both back up.

Gill Grunt only nodded in response.

"Thank goodness." Chihiro stopped as a shadow cast itself over the ship. "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

Chihiro froze as a loud rumble swept out throughout the ocean and let go of Gill Grunt. She clenched her teeth, pulled herself to her feet and turned around, but fell back down.

There, right above them all, was the Leviathan! It leaped out from the waters, and its mouth wide open as if it was ready to eat them all alive! But wait, those sores, they were all completely visible inside as well!

"Now's our chance!" Chihiro turned back towards Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell as they grabbed their weapons. "SHOOT!"

The Eternal Water Source glowed brighter, and a swirling blast of concentrated water, starfish and magic shot out from Delilah right as the Leviathan got ready to swallow her whole! The Leviathan flew away as the blast enveloped it, and Delilah herself shot off like a firecracker.

Gill Grunt, Wham-Shell, and Chihiro all trained their eyes on the skies as they watched the blast fade. Did it work? It sure did, because as the blast reached its end, a noticeably smaller, normal-looking Leviathan fell back into the ocean! The Leviathan rolled back onto its belly and swam over to Delilah's hull while the crash pushed Delilah a few inches back,.

Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell readied their weapons just in case, but the Leviathan didn't attack. It merely nudged the side of Delilah's hull and purred, almost as if to say "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Chihiro shouted as she waved back at the Leviathan, and watched as it bellow and swam away. Chihiro exhaled as the Leviathan swam out of sight, and smiled as she turned back to Gill Grunt and Wham-Shell. "Anyways, we've got a while before we get home." Chihiro crackled her knuckles and smirked in an almost catlike way. "So, why don't I get back to my Marimoni essay?"