"Skylander Code number one!" Chihiro exclaimed as she drove a glowing, bruised fist through a straw-filled training dummy, "Skylanders can't kill unless it's necessary!" Chihiro pulled the fist out of the dummy and punched with the next. "Skylander Code number two! Skylanders must never hurt those they hold power over!" Chihiro paused for a moment to catch her breath as she withdrew her fist, then punched the dummy once more. "Skylander Code number three!" Chihiro panted heavily as she bit her lip."Skylanders, Skylanders must, they must…"

Now completely fed up, Chihiro let out a bloodcurdling scream, set her fist alight with magical fire, and set the dummy on fire in the process! As it blazed a bright aqua, Chihiro withdrew her fist, blew it out, and smirked as she gazed over her accomplishment. Yet, it was only for a moment, for she heaved a sigh and fell to the floor.

"You sure don't like that training dummy, do you?" Spyro said as he rolled his eyes, a teasing smile on his face. He perked a brow as the dummy magically extinguished itself and returned back to a pristine, new state, as if it was just taken out of the box.

"Thing hit me in the face like, seven times!" Chihiro rubbed her bruised right eye and winced. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

Chihiro rubbed her cranium and looked up to see Spyro with a fairly concerned look. "I'm fine, just gonna take a ten-minute break." Chihiro gave Spyro a weak smile and a thumbs up, picked up a nearby water bottle, and attempted to unscrew the cap before she groaned and passed the bottle to him. "You get this."

Spyro chuckled and rolled his eyes as he unscrewed the water bottle's cap and passed it back to Chihiro, but watched as she took a large gulp of water and fell on her back.

"Say, Chihiro." Spyro tilted his head as he watched her sit back up and look at him. "Why'd you think punching a dummy would help you study for your Third Portal Master Exam, anyways?"

"Well…" Chihiro hummed and put a finger to her face. "Since I've gotta memorize all this Skylander Code stuff, I've been trying to find different ways to memorize it, and somebody suggested that punching up the dummies would help!"

"It was Terrafin, wasn't it?"

Spyro gave Chihiro a knowing side-glance. Chihiro giggled and nodded, and she screwed the water bottle's cap back on as she heaved heavy breaths.

"I still don't entirely get why I have to memorize all this stuff, to be honest." Chihiro let the water bottle fall out of her hand and roll onto the ground. "I mean, I'm a portal master apprentice, not a Skylander-in-training—why do I have to memorize your code of honor?"

"You may not be a Skylander, but it's still important to know. As a portal master, you're just as responsible for your Skylanders' actions as they are. You have to know how they should and shouldn't conduct themselves."

"Y'know, I think Master Eon said somethin' like that, too." Chihiro's eyes glazed over Spyro as she wiped her mouth. "Hey, Spyro, how long have we been out here?"

"Let's see, we went out here to train at nine, then add that and that…" Spyro glazed over his paws as he counted his toes before he looked back at Chihiro. "I'd say about three hours?"

"CRAP! I need to change out patrols! Come on, Spyro!"

And with that said, Chihiro grabbed Spyro's paw and practically dragged him out of the training dome, her course set for the portal building.

§

"Okay, so Cynder, Hex and Zook were successfully able to drive those zombies out of the Giggling Forest," Chihiro said as she wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Hey, how did zombies even get in there, anyways?"

"Kaos, who else?" interjected someone else with a rough, tomboyish voice.

Chihiro practically jumped a foot in the air before she turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you, Cynder." Chihiro frowned, "How long have you been there, anyways?"

"Chihiro, I've been standing behind you this entire time," Cynder said as she gave Chihiro a dark stare.

She was a slender, violet-colored dragon with an almost beaklike muzzle, silver horns on the side of her head, piercing icy blue eyes, and pink triangular markings on her forehead. Her body held red chest plates, violet and pink wings with silver claws on their tips, a long, violet tail with a silver arrowhead-shaped fin, and silver claws. She wore a silver spiked collar and bracelets and her gaze almost pierced daggers through Chihiro as her frown deepened.

"Guess I didn't see you there!" A blush dusted Chihiro's face as she giggled before she looked away.

Cynder rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what I'm doing next."

"Let's see!" Chihiro levitated another piece of paper out of her pocket and glazed over it before she put it away "You're guarding the island! You have fun now!"

Cynder just walked out of the building without a word to say. Her menacing aura seemed to radiate around the area, and everybody else quickly backed away and let her pass.

Chihiro just frowned and looked at Spyro. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Don't worry about her, Chi! She's just being her usual grumpy self," said another voice with a pronounced Jamaican accent as someone slapped a hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

Chihiro jumped up again, and looked back to find a creature shaped like a green bamboo shoot with limbs and red stalks atop their head behind her. "Oh, hi Zook." Chihiro winced before she cleared her throat and collected herself. "You and Hex are on island duty too, by the way."

Zook nodded before he made his way out of the building beside a pale blue-skinned elf decked to the nines in black robes and other kinds of clothing.

As Chihiro watched them leave, she heard Spyro heave a sigh and looked down to where he sat.

"Something bugging you, Golden Boy?" Chihiro asked as she gently nudged Spyro's head.

Spyro shook his head before looking to his side.

"You sure?"

Spyro nodded his head firmly.

"Y'know, Spyro." Chihiro placed down the list and lifted up Spyro's chin. "You can tell me anything. We're friends, after all!"

"It's alright, Chi." Spyro forced a weak smile, clasped his paw, and released as he looked up at Chihiro. "It's nothing, I promise."

Right before Chihiro could say anything else, the door slammed open and a bright blue something balled into the room and practically bulldozed Chihiro over! As Chihiro fell to the floor and hit her head, she let out a shout of surprise before she looked over her assailant. It was none other than a round, bright blue monster with big green eyes, yellow spikes on the side of its body, and a long, red tongue! Its eyes shone with a kind of childlike wonder as it looked down Chihiro.

"Chihiro, Chihiro!" the monster exclaimed as it bounced on Chihiro's belly with all the enthusiasm of a young child, its voice high and cutesy. "You won't believe what I found on the beach!"

"What is it, Wrecking Ball?" Chihiro asked as she sat up and gently pushed Wrecking Ball off her person.

"Follow me!"

Wrecking Ball spun around and rolled out the room at the speed of light! All that could be seen was a fast blur and several people who had gotten knocked down thanks to his ride of terror.

"After that grubworm!" Chihiro exclaimed as she dashed off, her gaze trained on the dirty streaks Wrecking Ball left behind.