Though the night was quiet in the outer regions of Treasure Lake's sleepy little corner of the world, it was alive and bursting with chatter within the bedroom of one Chihiro Hatsuki! Inside, the Elder Elementals all laid on her bed, snug and clean as they sat inside a magic sack beside a simple portal with a stone pedestal. While their bodies were frozen solid in their figurine forms, their minds were more than alive! Stimulated by the pour of dawn's light through the cracks in the windows, their conversations echoed through Chihiro's room, ones only they could hear.

"When's that kid getting back here?" Hot Head demanded as red light glowed from his flames. "If I have to stand here one minute more, I might just explode!"

"Now calm down, Hot Head," Thumpback replied while his arms glowed blue. "She'll be back any second now, and then" — Thumpback's laid-back tone gained a bit more excitement to it as he glazed over the portal they all surrounded — "we can go back home!"

"I wonder how much has changed since we left?" Ninjini asked while her eyes and the smoky trail that made up her lower body glowed purple. "I'm sure we've been gone quite a while."

"I'd hope not," Tree Rex rumbled as the glow from his body faded in and out. "This is all so strange. One minute we were fighting Arkilles, then the next—"

SLAM went the bedroom door as it flung open, and in came none other than Chihiro herself! She dried her hair with a towel made of magic, and though her pendant rested firm around her neck, the rest of her outfit completely changed. She traded out her old clothes for a gray-black sleeveless mini-jacket over a white and gray-striped long-sleeved shirt with a popped collar, dark gray suspender shorts that were cuffed just a bit, white tights, and gray high-tops with white tongues and dark gray bands around the top, straps and soles.

She smiled as she whisked away her towel with a snap of her fingers, and a new energy shone in her eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"Ahh, there's nothing like a good, warm bath!" Chihiro said. Her eyes popped open, and she giggled as she leaped onto the bed, withdrawing the Elder Elementals from the sack with a smile. "I'm nice and clean, and all prepared to travel!"

"There you are, we were waiting for you! Were you able to find that bald guy?" Tree Rex asked as Chihiro sat him next to the portal.

Chihiro frowned and raised a brow. "How'd you know I was looking for him?"

"Natural intuition?"

Chihiro chuckled, but her laughter quickly faded as she turned away. "'Fraid not. I looked all over the city for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere!" Chihiro sighed and shook her head. "In the end, the morning beat me out and I had to get back here before my folks woke up."

A couple of sighs came from all around, yet Chihiro just smiled and shrugged.

"But, anyways, who's ready to do some traveling?"

The Elder Elementals all cheered at first, but they all screamed as they flew in the air and collapsed on Chihiro's bed, for Chihiro bounced up and down! Chihiro chuckled and sat them back upright; her eyes fell on the portal with them fixed,. The cheer in her eyes faded away while she lifted the portal off the ground and gripped it tight.

"It's a good thing Master Eon taught me how to shrink portals and bring them on the go!" Chihiro remarked as a blue glow glistened from her hands. "With this, I should be able to take you all back to Skylands!"

A whoosh echoed around the room, and Chihiro laid the portal back down on her bed as its surface glowed with a bright blue light, and Ancient's Peak reflected on its stone top! The Elder Elementals all gasped and gazed in awe, but Ninjini and Bouncer both gasped as Chihiro lifted them by the base of their figurines.

"Ready to go home?" Chihiro asked with a wink.

Her question was met with a resounding cry of cheers and agreement, so Chihiro just chuckled and dropped them on! First Bouncer and Ninjini were whisked away, next Thumpback and Eye-Brawl, Swarm and Crusher… All six of them were placed on. The portal grew larger in stature to accommodate them, but not enough to make the bed bend underneath its weight, and only Tree Rex and Hot Head were left! Chihiro lifted the two of them off the bed, but while Hot Head cheered with enthusiasm, Tree Rex seemed a bit hesitant as he hummed.

"Something up, Tree Rex?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

"Well, er," Tree Rex sputtered, "aren't you coming along, too?"

Chihiro chuckled. "Of course I am! I can't exactly take portals, so I have to…" Chihiro placed Hot Head on the portal, flicked her pendant with her newly-freed hand, and sent sparkles cascading down onto the bed. "Take an alternate route of travel, if you get what I'm saying." Chihiro dropped Tree Rex on the portal and patted his head. "Have a safe trip!"

As Chihiro lifted her hand from Tree Rex's head, a bright pillar of blue and white light burst from the portal's surface and nearly tore a hole on the roof! Chihiro grinned and scooted backwards as she basked in the portal's light, but her eyes turned on the portal as the light faded. It shrunk back down to its previous tiny size, but more importantly, not a single Elder Elemental was to be seen on top its surface. Within its surface, however, displayed a vision of the eight Elementals, all larger in status and seated within Ancient's Peak!

"Looks like they made it!" Chihiro remarked as she clasped her pendant tight. "And I'd better join them!"

Chihiro hummed as she gripped her pendant tight; the magic flared within her, and her heart pumped faster in response! A new life, a new excitement pounded in her veins, and she couldn't bear to stand in place for a moment more! So, she leaped off her bed and thrust her pendant forward.

"Crystal," Chihiro proclaimed with a clear, mighty voice, "take me to Skylands!"

The bright white, cyan, and purple sparkles that glistened off of Chihiro's pendant grew brighter and stronger, and bright cyan light leaped from the ground as it swirled around Chihiro! It nuzzled her, kept her warm and tight as if it embraced family, but finally it blurred out her sights until all she could see was light! Not only did she miss the sights, but their feeling vanished as well—the floor underneath her vanished, and it almost felt like she was levitating in mid-air!

Chihiro just closed her eyes and grinned.

As the faint tickle of light left her senses, she popped them open and found herself back in Ancient's Peak! Dawn just started to break across the island as it painted the skies in pastel candy colors, and the grass was still fresh with dew. The soft chills of autumn intermingled with gentle, sun-born warmth as it brushed against Chihiro's skin, and the peaceful beauty put her racing heart at ease for a few moments, enough to smell the fresh scents of a new day dawning! Say, just what new day was it, anyways?

Chihiro summoned a watch made of magic and slapped it around her wrist, turned it on with a squeeze of its buttons and frowned. Huh, seemed like it had been a while since she last popped by! In fact, if she had to guess, she'd say it was about a few months?

"Man, time sure flies fast over here!" Chihiro remarked as she whisked away the watch. "Say, I wonder how the others are doing?"

Chihiro's eyes fell over the ground for the few moments, but she squeaked and leaped in place—not voluntarily, though! Something completely shook the ground below her feet, and with such force that it made everything not kept firm in the ground bounce as if the earth below was rubber! As Chihiro fell back to the ground and tried to regain her balance, an octet of large, gaping shadows fell over the island! Chihiro turned back around to the shadows' source and giggled.

The Elder Elementals all crowded behind her, their faces rife with what seemed like both confusion and excitement as they surveyed the area. Most of all, they were huge! Chihiro never put much thought to it from how small they looked in the figures and illustrations, but they all had to be about the size of most of the buildings on the island, and that was saying something!

"Man, you guys really are as giant as the game says!" Chihiro remarked as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her grin was wide, but it faded away as her eyes fell over the confused looks the Elder Elementals held. "Something up?"

"This place, it feels kind of familiar," Tree Rex remarked as he scratched his horns. "Just what is" — Tree Rex's jaw gaped a bit more open — "it?"

Chihiro tilted her head and followed Tree Rex's gaze to the reconstructed Core of Light, which still burned bright and strong as ever as it cast rainbow beams into the sky on occasion. However, while Chihiro didn't pay much mind, Tree Rex slowly drew over to it. It was as if the Core has cast a spell on him, a spell that made his eyes flicker open and shut with realization!

"The Core of Light! If this is here, then that can only mean…" Tree Rex's eyes went wide as he turned back to Chihiro. "This can't be Ancient's Peak, can it?"

Chihiro just giggled and nodded. "You bet'cha!"

A chorus of shock burst from the other Elder Elementals as they looked towards each other, and glazed around the rest of Ancient's peak.

"This is Ancient's Peak?"

"But, it looks so different from before!"

"Eye am pretty sure none of those buildings were here last time I checked!"

"What's going on here?"

As the Elder Elementals questioned and fretted behind her, Chihiro turned around to them and scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, that's kind of the thing," Chihiro said as she turned aside. "See, you've been missing from Skylands for the past ten thousand years."

"TEN THOUSAND?" All the Elder Elementals cried at once.

Tree Rex stormed back up to the rest, and his shocked gaze softened into confusion. He pursed his wrinkly, wooden lips, and his frown only drooped further as he gazed upon the rest of the island.

"But, it hadn't felt all that long ago that we were sent away," Tree Rex whispered as the tree leaves behind him snapped off their branches and fluttered away in the breeze.

"Yeah, time passes a lot faster here than it does in Skylands, it turns out." Chihiro floated up to Tree Rex and waved. "But, I can get you up to speed on what happened since you vanished, if you want!"

All the wide-eyed Elder Elementals shoved their faces right in Chihiro's! Chihiro gulped and floated backwards as they gazed her down, and chills raced down her spine. Having all these beings looking her in the face at once was so choking and so, so uncomfortable…

"What happened to the other free magicians—er, portal masters? Are they alive too?"

"Are the Arkeyans still around?"

"When did this place get so many renovations?"

"Is Leafy's Wraps still around? I miss that place…"

All their questions dug into Chihiro, and she only gulped as she floated backwards! Her whole brain started to shut down from the sheer velocity of everything flung her way, and next thing she knew, she started falling down! Crap, she forgot about her spell! Chihiro screamed and flailed around as she tried to regain control, but she didn't need to—a pair of blue hands caught her in their massive palms.

"Everyone, calm down! You're overwhelming her asking so many questions at once!" Ninjini scolded as she lifted Chihiro up to her sight. Ninjini chuckled and gently ruffled Chihiro's head with her finger. "Don't worry about everything. Just start from the beginning."

The soft tone of Ninjini's voice put Chihiro's heart at ease, so she just chuckled. "Alright, but just so you know, you're gonna be in for a wild ride!" Chihiro proclaimed before she turned around and cleared her throat. "See, right after you all defeated Arkilles…"

"Over here, Master Eon! I think this is where those weird noises came from!"

Hold on a second, that was Spyro's voice! Chihiro broke from her story, and turned her eyes back to the collection of buildings that surrounded the heart of Ancient's Peak, as did the Elder Elementals.

Right in front of them all was Spyro, who bolted across the lawn with Master Eon close by! Spyro panted as he skidded to a stop, glazed the Elder Elementals up and down, and turned back to Master Eon right as Master Eon flew to his side.

"Phew, nothing out of the ordinary—it's just Chihiro and the Elder Elementals," Spyro said.

"That's a relief," Master Eon replied while his ghastly body turned a tranquil blue…

But it immediately swelled with bright purple light as Spyro rapidly blinked and shook his head.

"Wait—the Elder Elementals?" they both cried as they gawked back at each other.

Spyro gasped as he yanked his head back around, and Tree Rex only forced a smile and waved back at Spyro.

"Er, hello down there!" Tree Rex replied.

But instead of even giving so much as a hello, both Master Eon and Spyro fell to their knees in a bow! Or, at least, the best bow a dragon and a spherical ghost could give.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, heralded Elder Elementals," Master Eon proclaimed as he floated back up. "I am Master Eon, one of the Portal Masters of this era, and beside me is Spyro."

Tree Rex blinked, chuckled and stepped backwards. "It's, er, it's nice to meet you, too!" Tree Rex scratched his horns. "But, uh, just Tree Rex is fine."

"Hey, forgetting someone?" Chihiro chuckled as she sat on the side of Ninjini's hand and waved.

Chihiro chuckled as she teleported back off the ground, nodded towards Master Eon and wrapped Spyro in a tight hug! Spyro seemed more confused than before as he wormed his way out of Chihiro's grip.

"Chi, what in Skylands is going on here?" Spyro asked as he furrowed his brows. "Why are the Elder Elementals here? Are they even the real Elder Elementals? How are they even alive?" Spyro winced. "Please don't tell me you're dabbling in time travel magic again."

"I learned my lesson with that last time, Golden Boy." Chihiro chuckled and rolled her eyes, yet her tongue-in-cheek smirk grew to a genuine smile as she presented the Elder Elementals. "See, as it turns out, the Elder Elementals never actually died in the final fight! Somehow, they got sent to Earth!"

Chihiro cleared her throat.

"It's a funny story, really! See, apparently they were hanging out in this old archaeological dig site and got unearthed by this dude, and then, there was this presentation, and I tried to get 'em back, but then they got thrown away! So, Tree Rex and I had to tail them to a dump, and I hitched a ride on a garbage truck, and nearly got stuck in a trash-eating machine, oh man, it was a ride! See…"

Spyro cast a frown and a raised brow at Master Eon as Chihiro rambled on; Master Eon, in turn, just vaguely shuffled back and forth as if he shrugged, and his body shifted to gray.

"And then, I yanked myself out of this trash-eating device right before it could eat us all alive! It was a close call, but I made it out with everyone intact! And then—"

"MASTER EON, WE'VE GOT NEWS!" cried a nasally voice from the side!

Once again, all eyes turned to the heart of the island as Hugo ran as far as his stubby little legs could carry him! His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and stray furs popped from his head as he stumbled forward! He stumbled up to Spyro's side and collapsed on the floor, all while he panted heavy pants as his face bathed in the morning dew.

"Oh, oh my, I don't think I've run that fast in my entire life!" Hugo gasped as he pushed himself from the ground. Hugo fixed his glasses back on his nose as he lifted his head up. "But, we just—" Hugo's eyes fell on the Elder Elementals, and he screamed as he leaped back. "Wait, are those the Elder Elementals of legend? What in the name of the Ancients is going on here?"

"Funny thing, Hugo!" Chihiro replied as she clapped her hands. "I was just explaining to Spyro and Master Eon! But, I guess I can start from the beginning again…"

Hugo shook his head as he ran behind Chihiro and pushed her aside. "Actually, there's no time, Master Chihiro! We need to get to the portal building, stat!"

"But why?" Chihiro wrangled herself away from Hugo and raised a brow.

"We've finally got a lead on Kaos at last!"

Gasps of shock came from all around, but perhaps none of them were as shocked as Chihiro! She stumbled backwards as her eyes practically leaped out of her skull, and the color drained from her face until she was pale as a ghost! Chihiro's hands and legs started to tremble, but she clenched her teeth and tried to stand talk.

"Kaos is BACK?" Chihiro cried.