A gigantic crash marked the arrival of the Dread-Yacht as it quite literally slammed into the side of thee island, and wiped the docks beside it out of existence. A couple of mabu who scrounged around prior screamed as the blow sent them soaring in the air, never to be seen again as they twinkled in the distance!

But, Flynn didn't seem to care as he stumbled out of the pilot's chambers and fixed his hat.

"Here we are, everyone!" Flynn proclaimed as he gestured towards their island of landing. "The Junkyard Isles!"

Back on the decks, everyone else pulled themselves from the floors, the walls, up from the side of the ship itself, and wherever else Flynn's impromptu parking attempt flung them. Groans were heard all around as they stumbled over to the side of the Dread-Yacht and peered overboard, and all faces sank in confusion.

The island they parked on was a veritable mess! Trash piled up at every angle and nearly eclipsed the scattered huts and houses that occasionally peppered the area, and the ground was comprised of cold and rocky soil with no sort of grass to be found. A particularly large pile of trash eclipsed the sun and cast a large shadow over the area, so large that a good bit of it was indiscernible. At the very least, the massive flagpole to the left that flied all sorts of tattered flags remained still.

"This is the place where you wanna look for parts?" Cali exclaimed as she gestured to the island before them. "Flynn, are you sure you've got the right place?" Cali turned to Flynn. "Because I don't know about you, but all I see here is junk!"

"That's the point, Cali!" Flynn proclaimed as he strode down from the captain's quarters with a wide grin on his face. "The Junkyard Isles are a resting place for anything and everything unwanted in Skylands! They've got everything and the kitchen sink here!"

Chihiro frowned and raised a brow at Flynn, leaned against the railing, and grinned. "Hey, I think I see a kitchen sink over there!" Chihiro chirped as she pointed off the deck.

"Exactly!" Flynn clicked his tongue and made a finger-gun at Chihiro, "This little archipelago has anything you could ever hope to find! Old machines, spare parts" — Flynn chuckled and adjusted his scarf as he gazed to the skies — "maybe even love."

"Can love really bloom on a place like this?" Cali remarked.

Flynn hopped on over to Chihiro, shoved a paper list into her hands and pushed her towards the Dread-Yacht's dock.

"Anyways, that list I gave you should have all the parts we need," Flynn explained as he shoved her down the bridge with one last push. "Good luck, kiddo!"

"Wait a second, Flynn," Chihiro said as she turned around. "Why aren't you coming?"

Flynn clenched his teeth and hissed—ooh, not a good sign. Wait a second, didn't he say something about hoping the locals forgot what happened the last time he came here when they boarded? Chihiro raised a brow at Flynn, and he just chuckled and looked aside.

"Well, Cali and I need to stay here and do repairs," Flynn explained as he scratched underneath his hat. "And, I, uh…" Flynn leaned further away and looked aside. "Might be kinda-sorta banned from this place. And also the entire archipelago. Funny story, I'll tell you later."

Chihiro winced, sighed as she turned her eyes back to the list in her hands, and winced again as it unfolded and trailed down to her feet. Looks like she had her work cut out for her, so she turned back to the crowd of Skylanders and Elder Elementals around her.

"Golden Boy, Gill, Trig and Stealth are with me," Chihiro proclaimed as she tucked her list into her pocket. "And Tree Rex, I'd appreciate if you came too—we've got a lot of stuff we need to get…"

The five of them all nodded and joined Chihiro at her side, but right before she dashed down the docks, she grinned and waved back.

"Everyone else, keep an eye on things around here! Never know who might show up!"

Chihiro dashed down and hopped back onto the island with everyone else close at her heels. "Let's see, according to this list, we need a masthead, some new paint, a roof, a jukebox," Chihiro rattled off as Spyro flew up to her. "Some extra trinkets…"

Chihiro frowned as the shadows cast by the precariously-stacked trash piles overhead blocked her view, but for that matter, one of them seemed like it got pretty big! She narrowed her eyes as she glared down the one growing shadow, frowned and clenched the list tighter in hand. She turned back down to her list and unfolded it, but a weird noise caught her ears right in that moment!

"Wait a second, is that creaking I hear?" Chihiro asked as she turned her head up from the list.

She and everyone else screamed and dashed off as a pile of trash collapsed to the ground! Spyro, Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy all dashed to safety behind her, but right as they escaped, Chihiro snagged her foot and tumbled forward! Chihiro collapsed to the hard ground, pushed herself up, and turned around right as the trash came in fast! The trash crashed down before her while she could only stare wide-eyed…

But Tree Rex leaped in front of her and shielded the blow just before it made contact! He grunted and strained as the trash fought against him, its massive weight a force reckoned against his mighty strength, but he dug his heels into the earth and pushed it back with a single charge! Unable to fight any longer, the trash tsunami seceded and formed into a massive pile as it spilled backwards!

Chihiro gasped as Tree Rex turned around and wiped sappy sweat from his brow, bolted forward and hugged his leg!

"Tree Rex, that was awesome!" Chihiro cried! She grinned up at him, leaped off of his leg and bounced in place. "You really saved me back there!"

Tree Rex just chuckled, knelt down, and rubbed Chihiro's head with his finger. "Think nothing of it!"

Chihiro chuckled and a warm feeling burned in her chest as he lifted his finger. Wait a second, that wasn't burning in her chest—no, it was more like something soft and warm cast itself over her body, almost like a beam of light. Where was it from, though?

Chihiro turned her attention back to the trash pile Tree Rex had made, where a beam of light shone from the golden surface of a round jukebox!

"And there's our jukebox!" Chihiro cried as she dove into the trash pile and waded through until she reached it! Chihiro giggled as she stuffed her list in her pocket, pulled the jukebox from the trash with a grunt and turned around. "Hey Tree Rex, think you could carry—"

A soft shimmer of green caught Chihiro's eye, and her grip on the jukebox slipped.

"This?"

Chihiro raised her brows and turned her gaze down to her feet. There, rested by her boots on the cold, hard ground was a wheel small enough to fit in the palm of her hand! Its body was made of a translucent green crystal with Ancient Skylandian runes carved into its surface, and it sparkled like a jewel in the faint sunlight! More than that, it carried some kind of strange feeling to it, something as magical and enigmatic as its ancient aesthetics. It was so fascinating that it was like it was beckoning for Chihiro to pick it up, and that's what she did as she lifted the wheel from the ground and gazed it over.

Chihiro shrugged and stowed it in her pocket. Eh, she could marvel over it later—she had work to do! So, Chihiro jumped out and yanked her list from her pocket while Tree Rex wandered over and plucked the jukebox from the pile.

"So that's one thing off our list," Chihiro remarked as she walked up to Stealth Elf, Trigger Happy, and Gill Grunt without even peeling her eyes away from the list. With a snap of her fingers, the jukebox crossed itself off the list. "Next up is a masthead, but where would we find that?"

"Did someone say we needed a mast?" Spyro cried from above.

Chihiro grinned as Spyro circled in the skies above her, stashed her list away and waved. "You find one, Gold?"

"Right over here! Follow me!"

Spyro zipped over to the right, and Chihiro grinned as she dashed after him on the ground! The piles of trash cleared a bit around her the further she followed, and below her, the hard earth gave way to softer soil with plenty of grass sprouting from its surface. Heck, she even caught sight of a few houses with signs and displays placed outside their limits—guess this island was capable of supporting life after all!

A dragon shadow that tailed along the ground informed Chihiro of Spyro's stop. He was just inches away from an old, but still sturdy, bird's eye perched atop a wrecked ship! Its sails were little more than Swiss cheese, but the masthead that hung from it looked shiny and brand-new!

Spyro grinned and landed on top the bird's eye, reached for the masthead and went to yank it off… But right before he did, a cannonball soared over his head!

Spyro gasped and ducked just before he could get smacked in face, but that wasn't the end of it. He turned his gaze right, and scrambled right off the bird's eye as several more cannonballs shot over the horizon! While the bird's eye's buckled against their strength and fell to the floor as the masthead collapsed in the other direction, Spyro winced and landed behind Chihiro.

"Just what was all that?" Spyro asked as he turned to Chihiro.

Chihiro frowned and rubbed her chin as the sounds of squabbling came from ahead. Their intrigue piqued, Chihiro and Spyro crept up to one of the few particularly large trash piles that littered the area, peeked around it and glazed over the clearing ahead.

There, at least a few small armies formed, and they were armed to the nines with cannons, blasters, swords and sorcery as they clashed! Their blasts and blows sent sparks flying in the air like fireworks, and occasionally the stray spell or cannonball slammed into a pile of garbage or spare parts and blew it to smithereens! In the midst of it all, the masthead laid off to the side, completely unguarded.

"That masthead is mine!" cried one shrill voice between the screech of fireballs.

"No, I'm bringing it home! It's the last thing I need for my masthead collection!" exclaimed another person as another round of cannonballs shot off!

"You're both fools if you believe either of you are worthy of that masthead! I'm the only one who can truly appreciate its beauty!"

Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy poked their heads over Spyro and Chihiro's while the insults and sparks flew.

"They seemed pretty riled up over one little masthead," Trigger Happy remarked with a frown.

"If you ask me, this would be the perfect time to pick it up and go," Gill Grunt added.

Gill Grunt jumped back as Stealth Elf popped into existence between him and Trigger Happy!

"Not so fast, you two," Stealth Elf warned as the smoke cleared from around her, "We're not just jumping in there!" Stealth Elf gestured out to the raging battle ahead. "They're all so riled up that one misstep and we're toast!" Stealth Elf rubbed her hands. "I'd say this requires a more delicate touch!"

Stealth Elf cleared her throat, and she turned completely invisible in the blink of an eye! Even her footprints masked as she dashed away, her presence completely unnoticed as she lifted up the masthead and slipped away from the battle! Stealth Elf smirked as she dropped the masthead by everyone's feet, and she returned back to visibility with a puff of green smoke.

"And that's the masthead!" Chihiro cried as she checked it off. The sound of massive footsteps rumbled the ground below while a shadow cast over, but Chihiro paid no mind as she gestured aside. "Tree Rex, you can take that, and next thing we need is" — Chihiro held the list closer to her face and hummed — "a new paint job!"

The aroma of freshly-opened paint wafted across Chihiro's nose, and the scent was so strong that she couldn't help but recoil! It was a bit overwhelming, but at the same time, if there was the scent then surely there was paint around here somewhere! Chihiro trailed the scent off to the west, where the sun was slowly setting. Wait a second, it wasn't anywhere near evening yet! Why was everything so dark? Chihiro peered upwards and grinned as she came to a stop.

The sun was completely eclipsed by a gigantic collection of paint cans carefully arranged so that they made the shape of a sturdy castle! Chihiro summoned a sphere of light and glazed over the labels on the cans—all of them had fancy names and patterns like Starry Night Sky, Floral Reef, Stripes Ahoy, and more. Oh, they all seemed so cool, so how was she supposed to choose?

"Ah, interested in my wares, I see?" remarked a voice from beside her!

Chihiro perked her head up, and turned around to find that there beside her stood a brown bear. He dressed in a fancy suit, monocle, and other clothes far richer than someone who set up shop in a junkyard should look. He had an inquisitive grin on his face as he covered a couple of paint jars rested on a fancy red and gold booth with shiny gold lids—guess that explained where the paint scent came from.

"I'm not surprised, for my paint shop has the largest collection of premium paints in all Skylands! These paints are some of Skylands' finest, made with an intricate blend of magic and carefully-selected colors, all blended by the most skilled of artisans!" The bear cleared his throat, and winked as he fixed his collar. "And we're having a sale, too! Everything's twenty-five percent off—"

A gigantic pile of gold coins fell on the bear as he rambled and Chihiro jolted back! Wait, where did that come from? Excited giggling came down from the skies, and down from the pile slid none other than Trigger Happy—should have guessed!

"Just keep the change!" Trigger Happy cried as he leaped into Chihiro's arms and chuckled. "I've got plenty!"

Trigger Happy leaped from Chihiro's arms in an instant, and he immediately jumped for the closest collection of paint cans! He grappled first for a can of shiny golden paint, but then another one with more of a rose gold finish caught his eyes! Well, gold was a nice color, but Chihiro wasn't entirely sure it was to Flynn's taste. Better pick up some alternatives! The Starry Night Sky and Floral Reef buckets were Chihiro's first picks, and she yanked them carefully from the base of one pillars so that it wouldn't disrupt the entire display. There was so many cool ones, though, and Chihiro couldn't help but pick a bunch!

She snagged a rainbow one, one that blended a cool purple with gentle monochromes, another similar to that but with rich greens instead, another one that was a bright pink, yellow and sky blue and brought to mind to a summer sunset… There were just so many that Chihiro just couldn't pick! Chihiro grinned as her eyes fell on a primary color bucket, and she immediately reached out to grab it—but just as she grabbed its handle, a furry hand gripped it too! Chihiro turned her eyes to the side, and there beside her, Trigger Happy grabbed onto it too! The two of them blinked and they both giggled as they let go.

"Well, we've got quite the selection here," Chihiro remarked as she lifted up her buckets, "but, I'm not sure which one to bring back! I mean, all these colors seem super cool and all."

"Then why not just bring them all back?" Trigger Happy remarked.

Chihiro's eyes went wide and she giggled. "Perfect idea, Trig!" Chihiro remarked as she slipped the other paint cans out of Trigger Happy's hands. "We'll just take them all back and let Flynn pick!"

Chihiro teleported up to Tree Rex, dumped the paint cans in his arms, and popped back down as she peered over her list.

"And now, we need decorations!" Chihiro remarked as she lifted her head. "Surely there's gotta be something nice-looking in here…"

Chihiro hummed as she strolled around the junkyards, her head careening from side to side as she examined the massive piles of trash, junk and knick-knacks. All this stuff, but nothing seemed particularly appealing. It was all broken boxes and machines, things that had been left to rot for so long that they were beyond salvaging, or stuff that looked just plain tacky! Wasn't there something intriguing in this entire island?

Chihiro crossed her arms and huffed as she passed by yet another unassuming mound of garbage, and a glimmer of faint gold in the distance caught her eye. Chihiro drew closer to the source with the light as her guide, and found something shiny and gold buried under a massive mound of dirt. The dirt mound laid across from her on a cliff, but a quick teleport closed the gap immediately.

Chihiro frowned and hummed as she came closer to the dirt mound. She tried to wipe it off, but it seemed that every time she pushed some dirt off, more slid down to take its place! With a snap of her fingers, she summoned a massive fan that blew the dirt away with a single flap! With the dirt gone, the true identity of the dirt mound had been revealed: it was actually an old, rusted chest kept halfway-stuck in a hole, and in a particularly suspicious manner too. It seemed carefully positioned, as if it was locking something away, or maybe it got stuck at a weird angle? Chihiro wasn't sure, but either way, she levitated it out and teleported down below as the others came to meet her.

"Alright!" Chihiro cried as she dropped the chest in front of the rest of her group. "Gill, can you hose this thing down?"

"Sure thing!" Gill Grunt affirmed as he hefted up his water cannon!

With a single pull of the trigger, a massive gush of water sprung from the cannon and slammed right onto the chest! The water dripped down and sunk into the ground with the dirt as the chest glimmered in the light, its murky surface cleansed. It was now a chest made of sparkly gold and red metal, so shiny that Gill Grunt could see his reflection in it—as did everyone else!

Chihiro raised her brows and chirped. This definitely seemed promising! So, she skipped around and unlatched its top, then pulled it open to reveal… Decorations! All sorts of them, too! From garlands of flowers, jewels and life preservers to light strings and crystal hearts, snow globes and all sorts of other trinkets, this thing had practically everything!

"Looks like we found our decorations!" Chihiro chirped as she closed the chest back up and leaned against it. "Now, why don't we load this thing up and—"

The ground rumbled with an immense fury right as Chihiro spoke! Rocks and pebbles leaped from the floor as everyone collapsed and struggled to stay afoot, and behind them, piles of trash collapsed left and right until their way out was completely blocked!

Chihiro herself slammed face-first into the chest, but the pain was only a back thought as she leaped up. "An earthquake?" Chihiro exclaimed as she stumbled back and forth amid the shaking ground.

A series of loud growls echoed across the skies, and in front of Chihiro, the bloated cliffside from where she snagged the chest started to retract and exhale as if it was breathing! The cliff shook more furiously than anything else, but finally, it completely exploded!

Out from the open mouth came a trio of massive bark demons the size of buildings, all propelled in the air by a geyser of round, green chompies! The bark demons crashed down in front of everyone while the chompies rained around, and licked trails of ripe, green liquid from their lips. Not only were they huge, but their eyes were bright with rage as they scanned the premises, snagged some chompies from the sky and wolfed them down. They glowed as they devoured their afternoon snack, and grew even larger than before as the chompies' screams faded away!

Chihiro gulped, and cold sweat dripped down from her forehead as she drew away from her chest.

"Well, guess I know what that treasure chest was blocking now."

Chihiro instinctively formed a few energy spheres in her hands as the bark demons turned around and fixed their eyes on her. Behind her, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf drew their weapons and stood firm as the bark demons drew closer. They all narrowed their eyes, fully prepared to attack, but right before they could, Tree Rex just put away their little collection and stood between them and the bark demons! A snarl crossed his face as he cracked his knuckles, and the cannon on his arm pulsed with green light!

"Hey, buddies!" Tree Rex shouted as he finished cracking his knuckles, and flung his arms in front of the others. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The bark demons snarled and mumbled out gibberish as they looked around, but they seemed to take up Tree Rex on that proposition nonetheless! The first one leaped forward and slashed at Tree Rex with a hiss, yet he just swerved out of the way and zapped it backwards with a blast from his cannon! While the first bark demon flew backwards, the second and third leaped for Tree Rex, and he charged right back at them in return! The three of them locked tight on each other as they pushed and prodded at each other, trails dug in the dirt as they struggled against each others' strength, but ultimately, Tree Rex won out! He pushed forward and flung the bark demons away with a simple flick of his arms!

"I'll take care of these guys!" Tree Rex shouted as he turned back to the others. "You just get the stuff back to the—"

Tree Rex gasped as the sound of gnashing teeth and fierce growling came down from below, tilted backwards and stumbled about! A look down at his legs showed why—the chompies that fell to the ground latched onto his legs, and they chewed away! Not that they did much damage with how thick his bark was, but they were so numerous that they kept his footing off-kilter!

"Hey, hey, hey stop!" Tree Rex chuckled as he tottered to the right. "That tickles!"

Tree Rex broke into a giggling fit, but his giggles turned to sputtering cries as he windmilled his arms and veered to the left! He swayed from side to side as the chompies kept him on his toes. With them keeping his occupied, he was completely open to everything else; he'd be helpless if an attack were to strike!

The bark demons noticed this, for one immediately leaped forward and pinned him to the ground! The bark demon hissed in Tree Rex's face as it tried to take a bite out of his chest, but Tree Rex grunted and pushed it backwards as he tried to get up. Yet, he just couldn't get off the ground no matter what. The bark demons' grip on his arms and its weight kept him stuck firm, and if that didn't pin him down, the chompies gnawing on his arms and legs and sending him into giggling fits as he tried to flail them off certainly did!

"Crap, Tree Rex's in trouble!" Chihiro cried. "We've gotta help him!" Chihiro snarled as she squeezed the energy spheres she had summoned, and slung them over to the chompies. "Take this, you walking weeds!"

The sphere slammed into Tree Rex's legs and exploded on the spot! Green blood and fried chompies flew in all directions as the cyan light faded, and the surviving chompies' eyes all turned on Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf! Their beady eyes narrowed as Chihiro beckoned towards them, and the chompies all squealed as they forgot about Tree Rex and swarmed over to her!

Chihiro smirked as the chompies flooded over, leaped in the air and snapped her fingers. As she hovered in midair, gigantic bombs made of sparkling purple magic manifested beside her, and they slammed right into the ground with a spin and slap on her end! They burst into a purple, fiery explosion the moment they made contact. The chompies squealed as the inferno burnt them into piles of ashes, while the others all screamed and dashed away, but even they wouldn't escape the flaming wrath that awaited them!

Up in the skies, Spyro stopped to high-five Chihiro, soared over and sent a massive pillar of flames down on the ground. The fleeing chompies didn't even noticed until their comrades in the back cried out as they burned to ashes, and then they turned around and squeaked! The chompies looked down and jabbered as they examined the ashes, but the rumble of a massive quake turned their attention back up.

The sound of rushing water surrounded them as a massive tidal wave washed them all them all away, and the tidal wave's source was none other then Gill Grunt! He stayed firm to his spot while his cannon pumped out massive blasts of scalding water by the second.

"Trig!" Gill Grunt called over the sound of furious water. "They're all yours!"

"Alrighty!" Trigger Happy cried back as he bounced from foot to foot. "Time for a little game I call" — Trigger Happy flipped into the air, whipped out a massive golden gatling gun, and slammed it down on the ground — "Target practice!"

Trigger Happy's laughter reached the heavens as he latched his finger around the trigger, and it only grew louder as he sent out entire waves of golden coins. The coins slammed into the oncoming tidal wave and blew the chompies right out of it! The chompies shot through the waters and across the skies with gold in their mouths in droves, but their watery prison crashed over Trigger Happy and whatever chompies somehow remained. In spite of the heat, Trigger Happy was perfectly fine when the tide receded! A little wet, sure, but he quickly shook that off and giggled as he flipped back.

"Ten outta ten, me!" Trigger Happy chirped.

Trigger Happy may have been fine, but the chompies that surrounded him just groaned as they laid on their backs, waterlogged and disoriented. A few stumbled up and spun on their feet as they tried to make some sense of what just happened. Right as they did Stealth Elf popped out of nowhere and slashed them back down!

"This is too easy!" Stealth Elf cried as she popped away from one group of chompies, and sliced down the next. "Almost makes me feel bad knocking them all down like this!"

Stealth Elf scoffed and crossed her arms as another chompy fell unconscious by her blade, but her ears twitched. A couple of the more intact chompies stormed after her, so she scoffed again and disappeared in a puff of green smoke. When the smoke cleared and the chompies went for the kill, what they bit on was not her, but a bladed scarecrow in her likeness! The scarecrow spun around and tossed the chompies away, but Stealth Elf wiped the sweat from her brow, jumped forward and cringed as a massive crash sounded behind her!

That crash came from none other than Tree Rex, who wrestled against a bark demon that pressed him into a pile of garbage! Worn machinery and trash crumbled around him as he strained to push the bark demon off of him, but the bark demon just pushed right back! The two of them struggled against each other, arms interlocked in a battle of wills that seemed to not relent…

Yet just then, Tree Rex snarled and lowered his head!

"Coming through!" Tree Rex cried as he charged right into the bark demon!

The bark demon wailed in shock as Tree Rex piledrived it, the fury and wind so fast that it kept pinned to his chest, and it bit right into his shoulder in the confusion! Tree Rex grunted but his charge didn't relent! He slammed right into the cliff the bark demon came from, and conked it in the head with his own! The bark demon wailed and slunk down against the cliff as its grip relented, but Tree Rex just staggered backwards and held his bleeding shoulder.

A snarl crossed his face as the two other bark demons surrounded him, and he lifted his sappy hand high to the heavens! With a mighty groan, he pounded it right into the ground and sent a string of shockwaves through the area!

The trash piles around rumbled and collapsed underneath the berth of the shockwaves, and the others mustered all the willpower to not fall to their knees as their legs turned to jelly. The bark demons weren't so lucky; they screeched as their bark peeled in small curls, and they collapsed right on their faces.

Tree Rex smirked and lifted up his laser cannon, its front bright green and ready to fire. But, as he charged it up and got ready to shoot, he paid no mind to the sounds of creaking behind him…

"Tree Rex, look out!" Chihiro cried!

Tree Rex turned around, but he was too late! The bark demon he tackled to the cliffside moments earlier sprung back to life and tackled into him once more! He grabbed onto it and tried to push it away, but with every push, he winced and strained; his legs trembled and slid in place before he'd force them to stand. He was clearly in no shape for a tussle with one bark demon of that size, much less three!

Yet, the other two bark demons both jumped back to their roots and slammed into his back! Tree Rex grunted as the two bark demons crashed into him, and with him distracted, they all grabbed onto his shoulders and slammed him into the ground! The earth below him cracked as Tree Rex screamed, but he growled and narrowed his eyes as the bark demons loomed over him. Tree Rex winced as he lifted his hand.

A single blast of solar energy burst from his cannon while the bark demons screeched and slipped aside, buy it slipped right past them and across the stratosphere! It moved further and further away, its direction veered left and completely off course. It was like he missed on purpose!

The bark demons cackled as the energy blast disappeared from view, and they all dogpiled onto Tree Rex! Tree Rex grunted and screamed as he flailed underneath their weight, but the bark demons all gnashed and tore at his bark, leaving fleshy phloem and sap exposed in their wake.

"Tree Rex!" Chihiro cried. "We've gotta help him!"

Chihiro bolted forward, screamed and shot a burst of energy right at one of the bark demons! However, its bark was so thick that the energy blast was completely negated the moment it made contact. Chihiro winced and scrambled backwards, but turned her eyes to the skies as fire ignited! Up above, Spyro cast down fireballs bright and hot as the sun onto the bark demons, but none of his blows did any more damage than Chihiro's! The most they left behind was a couple of singe marks as they extinguished the moment they hit the bark demons.

For that matter, none of the other attacks worked wonders, either: Gill Grunt's scalding water just dripped down their sides as his harpoons and Trigger Happy's golden weaponry bounced off, and even Stealth Elf's daggers barely left a dent in their wooden armor! The five of them drew back and frowned; the stature they held slipped a little as the sound of Tree Rex's screams turned them back to where he struggled.

Chihiro and Spyro just turned to each other and nodded as the others flinched. They joined hand and paw, and thrust their arms out while a shimmering, purple glow of magic and fire surrounded them!

"Everyone!" Chihiro cried as she turned her eyes to Stealth Elf, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy. "When we say shoot, shoot!"

The three of them nodded, and immediately readied their weapons while Spyro and Chihiro's combined attack grew brighter and hotter! Its light was strong enough that the bark demons drew away from mauling Tree Rex and stared in bewilderment. The flame sparkled underneath their views, and took a life of its own! Its form changed to a dragon's head that glared back at the bark demons, and roared as embers fluttered from its mouth!

"SHOOT!" Chihiro and Spyro cried!

The two of them cast out their spell, fell to their backs as they clung to each other, but pushed themselves up right as another trio of attacks fed into theirs! Their magical, flaming dragon joined up with poison spores, spiraling water, and a massive beam of golden laser light, and it morphed into a gigantic blast that slammed right into the bark demons!

Surely, that would be big and powerful enough to stop them, right?

Well, what was big and powerful to them was only relative, for the blast left at most a few smoldering burns as it crashed into the center bark demon and disappeared! The bark demon whimpered and stumbled back, and the entire trio gnashed their teeth and growled as they chased after Chihiro, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf! The five of them screamed and dashed off, but while they were fast, the bark demons were larger and gained more traction with each step!

It wasn't long before the demons caught up, and they were forced to split up. Spyro and Chihiro dove left, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy right, and Stealth Elf just vanished in midair!

Chihiro grunted as she clutched onto Spyro and rolled them both underneath the roots of the bark demons that tailed them, but the sound of growls proved their struggles didn't end there! Chihiro grunted as she tried to stand up, but a sudden twinge of pain forced her back down! Chihiro winced as she fell to her knees; had she twisted her ankle right now, of all times? Chihiro knelt down and prepared to cast a healing spell over her foot, yet the sound of growling echoed around her.

Once again she cringed and peered back up at the bark demon, but another pair of growls distracted her from that soon enough! Chihiro turned backwards, and behind her, the other two bark demons enclosed on Tree Rex once again! Tree Rex, so covered in saplike blood and weak from his wounds, could barely stand; he could only watch as the bark demons closed in on him, as did everyone else!

Just before the bark demons struck, dark purple smoke coated the arena out of nowhere! Everyone around broke into hacking fits, their fight completely forgotten as the smoke filtered through the area… But what did it come from?

"Any last wishes?" cried a voice from within the clouds as they all cleared away!

In the center of the battlefield, Ninjini stood with swords at arms and Bouncer and Crusher beside her! Gasps echoed around as the three of them lowered their weapons, but they just smirked.

Ninjini turned her attention to Tree Rex, and knelt down as she hovered a hand above him. "We got your distress signal, Tree Rex!" Ninjini cried as her hand glowed purple. "Just let us take care of things from here!"

The purple glow from Ninjini's hand seeped into Tree Rex and slowly patched his wounds. Ninjini herself sprung up, and zipped right towards the bark demon that chase Spyro and Chihiro not moments earlier! The bark demon gawked at Ninjini's sudden arrival, and that moment of surprise was all she needed to slice it in half with her blades! While the sliced halves of the bark demon collapsed on the floor with a thud, Ninjini cast its sap blood across the battlefield with a flick of her blades and smirked.

Chihiro and Spyro both gasped and grinned as they overlooked Ninjini.

Beside them, Stealth Elf reappeared out of nowhere and gasped, her white eyes sparkling. "So fast, and so powerful," Stealth Elf whispered, and the faintest hint of a blush formed beneath her mask. "She's… Amazing…"

Ninjini turned around and perked up as her eyes fell on Stealth Elf, but chuckled and winked as she flew out of Bouncer's way! Bouncer zipped right past Ninjini with fingers at the ready and eyes set on a second bark demon, and his eyes narrowed and fingertips glowed.

"Maximum overdrive!" Bouncer cried as he snapped his fingers!

A fleet of rockets emerged from his fingertips; they swirled through the air as they slammed into the bark demon and exploded, but all it really did was crack the bark demon's bark! The bark demon squealed and rushed away before Bouncer could fire another round, yet unfortunately, it didn’t look where it was going! Before it knew it, it ran straight into Crusher!

"Time for a SMASH HIT!" Crusher exclaimed as he swung his hammer over his head and smashed it right over the bark demon! Crusher grunted as he lifted his hammer up and shook the sap from its head, smiled and swung it over his shoulder.

The sole remaining bark demon just whimpered as it looked around. Its allies were all wiped out, and the shocked, deer-in-the-headlights look it held showed just how badly cornered it was! Its roots twitched and tapped as it tried to figure out just where to run, but behind it, a healed Tree Rex lurched up and growled.

"Be warned, my bark's just as bad as my bite!" Tree Rex cried!

The bark demon jolted up and screamed as Tree Rex charged it right in the back, so strong that it bent the bark demon in half! The bark demon hacked and coughed out sap as it fell to its knees, yet its hacks had turned to screams as a huge beam of bright green light evaporated it where it stood! Tree Rex just smirked and blew off his cannon while the bark demon crumbled to ashes underneath the beam's power.

"I tried to warn you."

"Geez, babe!" Bouncer smirked as he laid a hand around Tree Rex's shoulders and nuzzled his head. "You lucked out, you know!"

"If that pilot hadn't bored us all to death rambling about his ship, we might not've seen your distress signal!" Ninjini added as she popped up beside Bouncer. Bouncer, in return laid another arm around her shoulder and planted a kiss on her cheek, and Ninjini chuckled as she returned his kiss with another.

Tree Rex smiled as he drew away from Bouncer and nodded. "Oh, I wasn't worried," Tree Rex remarked with a nod, "I knew you'd see it."

The three of them chuckled, but behind them, Crusher raised a brow and gently nudged the pile of amassed repair items and treasures with his hammer.

"Oh, almost forgot about those!" Chihiro remarked as she skipped to the pile, fished out her list and glazed it over. "We made a lot of headway on getting stuff for the ship! Just need two more things…" Tree Rex let out a mighty cough above her, and Chihiro winced as Bouncer and Crusher immediately went to prop him up. "But, we should probably drop all this stuff off and let Rexy rest."

Ninjini nodded and swirled her fingers while purple mist formed above her. "Just let me handle the transportation!" Ninjini proclaimed as she clapped her hands!

The purple mist shuddered under the sound of Ninjini’s clap, spiraled together and solidified into a bright purple vortex! The vortex's lavender light shimmered down as everyone gathered underneath it, and in the twinkle of an eye, they all vanished from plain sight while the vortex itself closed.