The cold, murky skies of the pirate's territory were long left behind in everyone's minds as the Dread-Yacht soared through the skies, yet the endless skies of blue and puffy white clouds hardly put them at ease. They may have escaped ghost pirate territory, but how long would it be before they finally got back on track? Three days had passed, and no familiar sights crossed their eyes at all! In fact, a few grumbles already started about how their captain probably got them lost. Spyro could hear them right at the moment as he leaned over the Dread-Yacht's railing!

"Flynn, are you entirely sure we're going the right way?" Cali asked as she leaned over and examined the map Flynn had taped next to the ship's wheel.

Flynn chuckled as he spun the ship right through a cloud and broke it into vapory puffs.

"Of course I am, Cali!" Flynn said as he steered away from another gathering of clouds. "I'm the best pilot in all Skylands! I know these maps like I know the back of my hands! I'm sure we'll get to Kaos's place in no time at all!"

"Somehow, I have a hard time believing that."

Flynn paused and peered at the map again, frowned, and peered over at the window. "Wait a second, were the skies here always this cloudy?"

Cali groaned and buried her face in her hands (a common recurrence across their trip), but Spyro sighed again and peeled his eyes away from their argument. He couldn't find it in himself to smile, not just yet, he had a mission to worry about, a wannabe supervillain on the loose, lost teammates that might not even be alive still…

Spyro!

The sound of Chihiro's voice rang through Spyro's head again, and he shuddered as he shook it off. That vision of Chihiro sinking into the clouds that marked the ghost pirate's territory during that night, it stuck to him hard and he just couldn't shake it. He could hardly imagine where she was, or what happened to her. Surely, she had to be alive and with everyone else, right? She was a portal master, so Chihiro could handle things, right? But, even a portal master would have trouble surviving a fall that long! Spyro winced at the thought, and his claws wrapped tighter around the railing.

Smoke flitted across his snout and sent him into a coughing fit. Spyro hacked away as he fanned the smoke away with a flap of his wings, coughed one last time and popped his eyes open. The awful smell of burnt material hit his snout, and he couldn't help but frown further as his eyes fell back on the skies.

Thick, murky gray smoke clouds intermingled with the puffy white ones as the skies changed from their signature blue to more of a seafoamish color, and then to a sickly, murky green. By that point, the clouds were completely enveloped by smoke, and the smell of oil and burning completely filtered the air! It was absolutely disgusting, and it was all Spyro could do to cover his snout so the smell didn't completely overwhelm him.

"What's up with this place?" Spyro asked aloud.

"Don't ask me!" Trigger Happy added as he hopped up beside Spyro and pointed across the skies. "Ask that oil rig up ahead!"

Spyro unplugged his nose as the others crowded around him, and craned his head across the Dread-Yacht's deck. Sure enough, past the masses of dark, smoky clouds was a gigantic, mechanical oil rig that spat out masses of thick smog as it churned away. The screech of metal and machinery rang from its machines. Though it was distant, the repugnant reek of oil exuded from every angle and well across the area, to say nothing of the strange, awful feeling Spyro got just from looking at it! Just what was that thing doing here?

"Just what's with that thing?" Gill Grunt asked as he stood beside Spyro, almost as if he read Spyro's mind in that instant. "I don't recall seeing an oil rig on the map!"

"To be fair, I doubt it's very accurate if our pilot sources his maps that same way he sources everything else," Stealth Elf added as she crossed her arms.

"I don't know what's up with that place, but just looking at it gives my core processor a glitch," Bouncer groaned as he rubbed his head. "My auditory processors are ringing just looking at it!"

Flynn grinned as he spun the wheel and pushed on further. "Nice, an oil place!" Flynn remarked as he steered. "The good ol' Dread-Yacht here was getting' low on fuel!"

The melody of mechanical rhythm grew louder as Flynn soared closer to the rig, and its mechanical platforms coated in oil and rust grew closer in view. The metal was dull in color, but patched in all sorts of shades, and its quality seemed shaky at best. The panels were corroded in most areas, cobbled together, and hardly matched in terms of shapes and sizes. The bolts that held them together were barely fastened; in fact, a few of them popped off and slammed right into an overhead platform, which knocked it down and sent the machines atop it crashing down! Whoever made this thing was clearly short on gold.

"I'm not sure this is the best place to stock up on fuel, Flynn," Cali remarked as she cast a wary glance at the sparking machinery that hung near the Dread-Yacht. "Something about it seemed a little… Mmm…" Cali stepped back as a cable fell from a machine and sparked in her face, and winced as the machine itself passed her by. "Run-down?"

"Ah, it's part of the charm!" Flynn chirped as he parked the Dread-Yacht and popped out from the captain's quarters. "'Sides, next gas station is miles away, and we don't exactly have that kind of fuel. We either get it here, or risk plunging into the great blue yonder" — Flynn popped his collar and strode down the stairs — "and I'm not willing to find out what's down there yet."

The bridge unfurled and dented a plate on the mechanical platform, yet Flynn whistled a tune and strode down. "Anyways, fuel ho!"

Spyro winced, and flew down the platform with Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf close in tow. Seems they were all of the same mind: something about this place gave them a bad feeling, and they couldn't exactly let Flynn get himself caught up in trouble. They all took a step forward, but as they did, the panels below rumbled and shuddered! Spyro immediately pushed everyone else back, grabbed Flynn with his tail and yanked Flynn back too!

Flynn grunted as he slammed back into Spyro, and wrangled himself away and scowled. "What was that for, Spyro? What's so scary about a couple of rumbling panels?"

A screech sounded off as the panels shot into the skies, and out from them leaped a bunch of robots! They were simple ones, with mismatched metal parts that shot sparks from every joint and angle in their bodies, but they were armed nonetheless! More than that, a strange emblem was carved on their chests, one Spyro couldn't piece together. It looked something like a vaguely stylized crown or wreath with all its branches, but nothing about it rang any bells.

"Halt, intruders!" the robots all cried as one mechanical voice while they pointed sparking spark plug swords at Flynn. "In the name of our great leader, you will be defeat!"

Flynn screamed and ran behind Spyro as the robots charged forward, but Spyro charged forward as flames swirled around his horns. Right before the robots could strike, a rain of flaming arrows shot down from the heavens and skewered them in their robotic heads! The sparks that flew from the robots grew even more furious as they screeched and beeped, and they exploded in a shower of sparks and fires! Spyro himself jumped back, flapped his wings, and cast mighty winds that blew away the flames with only faint warm mist remaining.

The mist eschewed most things from view, but it was thin enough that a pair of silhouettes—ones thin and tall and vaguely familiar—crept through its shield.

"Just where did that breeze come from?" remarked someone with a Francian accent as they tried futilely to fan away the mist.

The figure beside them, who appeared to be wearing armor of some kind, stopped in their tracks and pointed what appeared to be a sword towards Spyro.

"Actually, I think I might know, Flameslinger!" cried a deep, haunting voice.

The mist cleared, and in that instant, it unveiled Flameslinger and Chop Chop! They both stood and peered at each other for mere moments, but as they both turned around, Chop Chop gasped.

"Spyro, what are you doing here?" Chop Chop cried. "I hadn't expected to see you at a place like this!" Chop Chop craned his head and chuckled. "And the others are with you as well?"

"I could ask you two the same thing!" Spyro cried as he flew up to Chop Chop and Flameslinger. "What're you doing at this weird place?"

"Wait, Spyro? That was you?" Flameslinger cried. "You're alive?"

Spyro turned to Flameslinger and frowned. "Alive? Why wouldn't I be?"

Flameslinger burst into a smile as he rubbed Spyro's head. "You had us all worried sick when we lost contact with your team! Some of us thought you were all dead!" Flameslinger chuckled and removed his hand. "Of course, I never doubted you for a moment, but…"

Oh, that. In all that time, Spyro got so caught up in everything that happened that he hadn't even stopped to think about checking in with home base! He felt a little bit bad about it now, knowing how worried everyone must have been, but he could shoot them a message later.

"Yeah, we um, ran into some complications." Spyro scratched his horn and chuckled. "Long story, we can get you caught up later. For now—"

CRASH!

All heads craned up as the crashes and clangs echoed through the rig, and their eyes immediately locked on the very top where a gigantic robot gleefully drilled away! Its round yellow face with glowing white eyes was practically dwarfed by a large body made of orange and brown metal cobbled together. The massive drills it held for hands burrowed away as mist and bright lights poured from the top! Oil spurted out from around its drills, and the stench of raw, stinky oil it carried turned Spyro away from the sights.

"Actually, you get me caught up first. Just what's going on here?"

"Something bad, that's what," Flameslinger replied as he wrung his hands. "This strange drilling oil rig's been running around Skylands for a good bit now, and word on the street is that Kaos's behind it!" Flameslinger took hold of his bow and frowned. "That's why we came to investigate."

"Kaos, huh?" Bouncer repeated as he wheeled down the bridge. "That's that little guy that's been giving you some big problems, right?"

Chop Chop stepped back, winced and knelt in Bouncer's presence, but Flameslinger casually adjusted his blindfold's position.

"You bet'cha!" Flameslinger replied. "That’s why we've come here to investigate and, if necessary, shut the place down!"

A shrill, robotic scream sounded out, and Flameslinger winced as he turned back to where several guard robots stabbed a fleeing Drill Sergeant as Hex chased after them all.

"Unfortunately, we're a bit short-staffed…"

"Then we'll just have to offer a hand!" Ninjini cried.

She grinned as she popped up beside Spyro, Flameslinger and Chop Chop. Beside her, Hot Head and Crusher jumped off board and rattled all the paneling below—it was a miracle nothing fell off. Underneath them, Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy whispered among themselves, grinned and stepped up.

"And we'll help out as well," Stealth Elf said as she crossed her arms. "If Kaos is running around and causing trouble, then we've gotta stop it!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Stealth," Spyro replied as he turned to them and nodded.

Flynn coughed, cleared his throat, and his trademark smirk returned to his face as he strode up and popped his collar. "Of course, I've gotta make sure you guys don't run into any trouble, if you catch my drift!" Flynn replied as he flexed his arms. "Once those bad guys see my muscles, they'll go crying for their moms!"

"And I'd better make sure you don't run into any trouble yourself," Cali mumbled as she left the ship.

Flameslinger beamed, nodded and turned around. "Great! Spyro, Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy, come with me," Flameslinger said as he knelt down and fixed his blindfold. "The rest of you, go with Chop Chop. We'll reconverge back here when all's said and done, alright?"

"Right!" everyone else cried.

With that said, everyone dissolved into their groups and burst off against the rig, all while the sound of drilling poured through the air above them—but hopefully, not for long!

§

"I should probably explain what's going on here, shouldn't I?" Flameslinger asked as he lead Spyro, Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy through the rig's metal jungle.

Their feet pattered against the warm metal floors below, and added a bit of rhythm to the endless melancholy of sloshing oil and churning machinery. The other four prompted him on with a nod,. Flameslinger ripped out a map from his pocket and unfurled it.

"We received a string of distress calls about an island drilling its way through everything it could back at home base," Flameslinger explained. His fingertips brushed against the map's paper, and he frowned in tandem. "We had a bad feeling that Kaos was involved, so we shipped up here to get some answers, but that hasn't exactly been easy with all the security,."

Flameslinger passed the map onto Spyro, who gingerly lifted it from his hands and frowned as he peered it over. The map itself contained a detailed diagram of the rig itself, from the towering oil machines to the masses of scattered buildings and even the inner working. Most concerning was the emblem printed onto the corners: a fancy thing of vague resemblance to a crown, similar to the emblem that Spyro saw on the robots. It was nothing like Kaos's emblem, yet the presence still struck the same amount of concern it did, even though it still didn't ring any bells.

"We snatched this diagram of the rig from some robot just before you got here." Flameslinger pressed a finger to the top of the map. "This robot here is the mastermind behind this entire rig. If we can stop it, that should shut the whole thing down!" Flameslinger drew his finger back and frowned. "Problem is, the way to the top is completely blocked off by an electromagnetic gate, and a pretty strong one at that. Any unauthorized personnel try to sneak in, and…"

Flameslinger grimaced as he drew a finger across his neck, and everyone else shuddered in tandem. Yet, Flameslinger grinned as he tapped the map once more.

"But, luckily, there is a way to disable it! There's three platforms containing generators for the barrier, and if we can destroy them, we're home free!" Flameslinger drew a finger across the map and tapped one of the circled spots on it. "The first generator should be somewhere around here, I think…" A sharp crack of lightning sounded off from behind, and Flameslinger grinned as he turned away from the map. "And judging by that lightning crack I just heard, we've found it!"

Spyro rolled up the map, passed it back to Flameslinger, and frowned as he flew forward while bright blue and purple light fell over him. There before him was a massive pillar with a quite-literally electric purple plasma ball at its tip. The ball sparked and cracked with energy as it beamed a gigantic stream of lightning up into the skies! Glowing blue rings that cracked with equal amounts of electric energy surrounded its metal pillar, and shocked everything within range. Yeah, this definitely felt like a generator for an electromagnetic barrier!

"Guess we know what to do, then!" Spyro cried as his eyes flashed brown. Just a couple of large crystals would be all it took to take this down, he was sure of it.

Behind him, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy readied their guns. Flameslinger held out a bow loaded with embers that sparked with fire at their tips. The light of the arrows' fire beamed off of their arrows, and tinged Gill Grunt's harpoons and Trigger Happy's guns in shades of sunset orange, all bright and brilliant like the attack they were ready to give.

"Ready, aim," Spyro called as the breath in his throat hardened and ached with a sharp sting, "FIRE!"

Sharp, shiny crystals burst out from from Spyro's mouth and shot straight for the generator, and soon enough, golden coins, anchors, and an entire barrage of flaming arrows flanked them! They all melded together into one bright burst as they hurtled straight for the generator, their power as bright and crackling as the hot flaming energy that spewed from them. Just as they came within inches of the generator, the entire blast completely evaporated! Its components crackled and burst into tiny bits as it froze in midair, only able to rain down on the floor before a breeze whisked them away.

"What the! What happened?" Spyro cried as he stepped back. "How did that just disappear?"

A shriek hit the air, and the lines between the floor's panels glowed a bright blue as a cage made entirely of energy formed around the generator! Electricity crackled off of the cage as sirens blared, and down from the rigs hopped even more run-down robot enforcers. Though the lightning that burst from the cage zapped them forward, the robots still stayed still as ever as they clutched their weapons.

"Halt, intruders! Step away from the generator!" the robots cried as one as they turned their swords and plugs on Spyro's group.

"… Ah," Flameslinger said as he lowered his bow just slightly. "I had a feeling this was a little too easy."

Spyro snarled, lowered his horns and scraped his paws against the metal. It tore and cracked underneath his blows, but he hardly cared as he charged forward while fire engulfed his horns! Spyro shouted out as he slammed right into one of the robots and tossed it back into two robots behind him. His eyes turned on the trio of robots that glared him down, and they pointed their sparking, crackling plugs in his face. Spyro chuckled and blinked. His eyes flashed an azure the color of clear skies, and the flames that engulfed his horns turned to electricity instead! A ball of electric energy formed between his horns, and Spyro jumped up and grinned as the lightning shot down and completely fried the robots.

Flameslinger rolled through the smoke as they sputtered and exploded into fumes of black smoke. He knelt down, and trained his bow's line on sight on the robots who charged right for him. He smirked as they came within his range, let slip the bow's string and skewered their chests with his arrows! The robots exploded into flaming bursts…

And the cage flickered!

Spyro blinked, soared back down and grinned as he examined the smoldering spot where the robots once rested. Except now, it only carried a burnt, round object that flickered with orange fire! He circled around the cage with care paid to the ground, where two other orbs rested on the floor, dodged a bolt of lightning, and swept back to Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy, and Stealth Elf.

"Hey, everyone! I've got an idea!" Spyro cried as he pointed his tail fin towards the orbs. "See those orbs?" Spyro grinned as the trio nodded. "See if you can bust up those robots beside them. We should be able to take down the cage that way!"

Gill Grunt smirked as several robots charged towards him and clanked the whole way, but he shot them with a burst of steaming hot water as they came just inches within the orb! The robots wailed and sparked as the water seeped into their circuit, exploded into an electrical burst, and took the orb below their feet with them. The cage flickered out once more. Gill Grunt smirked as he held his cannon at his side, gasped and flew off as a gigantic green tiger crashed forward.

"Woo-hoy, ride 'em cowboy!" Trigger Happy shouted as he rid on Stealth Elf's back, his guns literally blazing with golden fire! He leaped off of Stealth Elf's back and grinned as several robots pointed their spears towards him—but his gaze fixed more so on the orb they stood behind!

"POW POW POW!"

With one click of his guns, flaming gold coins burst out from Trigger Happy's guns and completely cut off the robots' heads! Their cables and inner machinery sparked and flames as the coins bounced off behind them. A massive explosion burst from their bodies and completely took out the last orb! Trigger Happy chuckled and spun his guns around his fingers as the light faded. Spyro, Flameslinger, and Gill Grunt all smirked with him as they walked right back to his side.

"Alright, this time for real," Spyro said as he yanked open his jaw. His eyes flashed brown, and that choking feeling came back as the crystals formed in his throat. "Ready, aim…"

Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy both pointed their guns, and Flameslinger loaded his bow and stretched out its string.

"FIRE!"

Once again, their combined attack shot off into the distance and merged together as it hurtled straight for the generator. The burst slammed right into the heart of the generator and forged a hole in its center, but the generator itself sparked and exploded! The lights around them all flickered and dimmed as the generator expired, but quickly restored themselves save for one. Over by a passageway with a large barrier, the twin, ringed pillars that flanked both its sides flickered as the color in their top rings faded!

All of them grinned as they faced each other, and Stealth Elf leaped down as he returned to normal. She yanked the map out of Flameslinger's pocket, stretched it open, and rolled it back up as she shoved it back shut.

"The next generator shouldn't be far from here!" Stealth Elf shouted.

She flipped back into the air, and transformed back into her tiger form with a mighty roar as he crashed back down! Spyro, Flameslinger, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy all flinched as she turned around and gazed at them with an open jaw full of sharp teeth, but she just nudged her head aside. Their eyes flickered; they warily climbed her back and clutched her fur tight as she stormed forward.

The ground underneath Stealth Elf’s paws shuddered and panels popped out as she strode forward. Her eyes narrowed on a generator that flashed with blue and purple light ahead, and the blue orbs of light that surrounded it. With a pound of her footsteps, she leaped forward and pounced on one orb, shattering it to bits underneath her paws; raced forward and smashed the next two underpaw…

As the sight of blue light shone in the air, she strode and slammed right through the generator! Her massive jaws snapped the generator in half and tore it up like it was a chew toy. Once again, the lights flickered as the generator died. Beside her, the middle rings of that passageway's pillars faded away, and Stealth Elf purred as everyone slid off her back. She returned back to her normal form in a puff of smoke, smiled and brushed green fur from her clothes.

"Thank you for riding the Stealth Elf express," Stealth Elf chuckled to herself, and a chuckle sounded behind her.

"I never would've expected you could pull off something like that," Flameslinger remarked.

"Beats walking." Stealth Elf snatched the map from Flameslinger once more and turned around as she examined it. "Anyways, that last generator should be somewhere around" — Stealth Elf tore her eyes from the map for a second, gasped and slammed it shut — "here!"

Stealth Elf shoved the map back in his arms, yanked out a smoke bomb, and slammed it on the floor! While everyone coughed and hacked around her, Stealth Elf pushed them behind some barrels and frowned as she popped her head over one.

"What was that for, Stealth Elf?" Spyro spat as he popped his head up.

Stealth Elf shushed him, and her brows dug into her eyes as she jabbed a finger to the path ahead.

More robots trekked across the pathways as Stealth Elf's smoke bomb finally cleared up, but they looked nothing like the shabby patchwork robots they all fought against! No, these robots were tall and sleek in build, and covered from head to toe in shiny red and gold armor. They said no words as they clutched their sparking maces tight and trekked down the halls. They didn't need to, for their appearance alone was enough to show their Arkeyans origins!

"Arkeyans? What are they doing here?" Spyro cried.

"I have a feeling I know why, but it's not good." Stealth Elf hissed underneath her breath. Her fingers dug into the rim of the oil barrel she hid behind, flipped over it and motioned towards the others. "Come on, we need to find out where those things are going!"

The others crept out from behind the barrels, and tip-toed across the floor behind her.