Chihiro panted as she stumbled into a free, empty room, and leaned against a wall as she patted down her hair. It was probably best described as a miracle that she was able to get out of there so quickly; she couldn't imagine how things would have gone if she didn't find that secret passage! She couldn't help but frown as she rested. Something about this place still put her on edge, and the path ahead held a bit of an eerie ring to it. Somehow, she couldn't help but get the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong, but that was just the weird atmosphere of this place talking, right?

Chihiro adjusted the crown on her head with a frown, and behind her, Tree Rex stumbled in and caught his breath. They only ran a short bit, but the way everyone panted and slouched over showed just how strenuous it was! Chihiro frowned as she pulled herself off the wall, and the sound of sizzling fire wafted across her nose. Wait, fire? Did somebody get set alight during that battle? Chihiro checked herself over for any stray embers but found nothing! She immediately turned to Tree Rex and went to speak, but sparkly red smoke filtered through the room before she could!

"Welcome, welcome!" cried a voice that brought to mind those used car salesmen Chihiro occasionally saw on old-timey TV shows. "Welcome to my humble little abode!"

Everyone around Chihiro all gasped and fixed their disguises as the smoke cleared save for one lingering cloud, and they all hopped out of Tree Rex's hands as the cloud exploded! Facing them now was yet another bear with a suspicious resemblance to the one who sold Chihiro the paint, but this time, he wore a tweed suit with an oil-stained tie and held a suitcase in hand. He seemed awfully suspicious with the way he smirked, but Flynn didn't seem to notice as he strode up to the bear.

"You know, we don't get many customers around this corner of the market!" the bear remarked with a wink. "What brings you here?"

Flynn smirked and popped his collar.

"Oh, you know. Just dropped around, looking for some awesome parts for an equally-awesome ship befitting of the greatest pilot in all Skylands…" Flynn dropped off and frowned as the shopkeeper raised a brow at him. "Hey, something up, ol' buddy ol' pal?"

"I don't know why," the shopkeeper remarked as he tapped his chin, "but something about you seems oddly familiar…"

Flynn's eyes practically popped out of his skull as he heard this! He sputtered and chuckled as his smile faded, but Cali pushed him aside and cleared her throat before he could make an utter fool of himself.

"What my friend means to say is, some of our ship's parts have just about had it and we need some replacements," Cali said as she gestured towards the door behind them. "You wouldn't happen to have an engine and navigation system in your shop, would you?"

The shopkeeper's discerning expression lightened up as he faced with Cali, and he swung around and made his way towards the door with a wide grin. "We've got all those and more!" the shopkeeper exclaimed as he swung the door open. "Just follow me!"

Everyone else followed his command and trudged inside, yet the tension hadn't exactly lifted from their close call earlier. They all gazed from side to side as they faced with rows and rows of assorted machinery parts, from pipes and motors to sails and oars, all while the shopkeeper rambled out some machinery nonsense.

They stepped into a hall lit with golden light and they all froze in their tracks. There in the glittery gold and silver halls were rows upon rows of ship engines! From magic wings that flapped and fluttered like the real thing, more traditional mechanical engines that puttered out steam and smoke, to even some that looked more like magic artifacts with their shiny runes and glowing bodies, this whole hall felt like a mechanic's dream! The engines all seemed so shiny and pristine and new, too, that it was so hard to pick!

Everyone dispersed to glaze over the wares, drawn in by the magic and wonder the engines exuded, but perhaps none of them were as excited as Flynn was! His eyes sparkled with all the joy of a child picking out a new toy as he jumped from engine to engine, and pressed his face against the glass windows that kept them apart. It seemed like he was gonna explode with excitement at any moment!

"That's the fanciest steam-propelled engine I've ever seen! I didn't even know they made them anymore!" Flynn cried as he jumped towards the shiny, magical engine. "But, this self-fueling magic engine is one of the finest I've laid eyes on! Not to mention, having some like that would seriously cut down on the maintenance." Flynn's eyes glazed over to the engine beside it, and he scooted over and grinned. "But, you can't go wrong with a classic engine like this one! Oh, he's an absolute beaut! Just look at those pistons!"

Chihiro giggled as Flynn gushed over the engines. something about seeing him gush over stuff she knew nothing about was a bit charming, almost. But, his hat started to slip from his head as he went to get a closer look at yet another engine! Chihiro winced, dashed behind him and carefully pushed it back on before anyone could notice…

"Something wrong, esteemed customers?" the shopkeeper asked. "You seem quite tense!"

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp as she turned around, and found the shopkeeper right in her face! Jeez, how did he even get there that fast? Chihiro gulped, but forced a laugh as she backed away and tried to keep from breaking out in a sweat.

"Ah, ah, well, it's nothing," Chihiro sputtered as she waved her hands. "I was just, uh, trying to think about what kind of engine we should get!" Chihiro frantically nodded. "Yeah, yeah, just thinking of what to buy! Certainly not doing anything suspicious here!"

Chihiro giggled and shoved her hands behind her back while the shopkeeper raised a brow, but ultimately, he just shrugged it off and turned around. Phew, that was close, but… Wait a second.

Chihiro could've sworn she caught the shopkeeper whispering something into the lapel of his jacket as he turned around and walked off! Oddly suspicious. Chihiro frowned, and shoved her hand into her pocket as it charged with magic she quickly dismissed.

"Anyways," the shopkeeper proclaimed, his joyful tone regained. "these aren't even the best engines we have to offer! Come, come, I'll show you our finest stock!"

Chihiro bit her lip, yet trailed along with the rest of them as they followed the shopkeeper from the silver and gold shelves of engines, to more engine-stocked, bright, solid gold shelves encrusted with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and all other sorts of gems! Admittedly, the engines here didn't really seem any different from what the earlier selection had to offer, but Chihiro didn't know enough about this kinda stuff to say for certain.

"Now, this one we just picked up today!" the shopkeeper proclaimed as he ushered Flynn along to a large engine that resembled a wheel with gigantic bat wings attached to it. "It's the newest in its line, a self-fueling engine that runs entirely on wind power!"

Flynn rapidly and eagerly nodded as the shopkeeper rambled on, but he made up his mind before the shopkeeper could even finish his spiel! Flynn immediately yanked the shocked shopkeeper's hands and shook them as fast as he could.

"I'm sold, buddy!" Flynn exclaimed, "I'll take this one!"

The shopkeeper chuckled, forced a smile as he freed his hands from Flynn's grip, and snapped his fingers! The sheet of glass that blocked off the engine from the rest of the world slid down, and a pair of gloved mechanical hands thrust the engine into Flynn's grip! Flynn grunted and stumbled back as he gripped the engine, but the shopkeeper only chuckled and adjusted his tie.

"Anything else you wanna look at?"

"Yes, actually!" Flynn wrapped his arms around the engine as he stumbled forwards. "We need a new, uh, uh…" Flynn frowned and tapped his foot. "Ugh, what was it called? Those navigator things that tell you where you need to go, the fancy maps that—"

"A navigation system!" Chihiro piped up. "We need a new navigation system!"

"That's the ticket!"

The shopkeeper chuckled and raised a brow as he popped out his lapel. "If a navigation system's what you need, we've got the best of the best in the back!" The shopkeeper strode down the glittering halls, and his tone seemed a bit more sinister as he walked. "I'll show you along now…"

Though Chihiro joined him down, something about the tone of his voice really set her on edge. Chills ran down her spine while the glow of her fist got bright enough that it peeked out of her pocket, but she steadied it enough as they left the halls.

The golden light faded away the moment they all passed through its exit, and what they came to was a simple stone dome more in line with an arena than some kind of shopping center! The only ware it held was a simple, shiny golden compass that laid on a stone pedestal. It was guarded by a thin drow man with pale green skin, who dressed in armor with a gold star-shaped name tag on the breastplate. The drow jolted up as they all came in, but his tension eased as he strode up to Flynn.

"I presume you're interested in our prized navigation system here?" the drow asked as he gestured towards the compass. The drow only let out a simple chuckle as Flynn nodded in return. "I'm not surprised! We drow have perfected the art of aerial navigation since the days of Nefarion's reign, and this simple system here is the fruits of our labor!"

The drow grinned as he leaped towards the pedestal and stretched his arms to present it.

"Though it may look like a simple compass, this contains an intricate navigation system that can map practically every known location in Skylands! With its voice-operated commands, automatic pilot function, and convenient size, it's perfect for any travel!" The drow strode back to Flynn and quirked a brow. "So whaddya say? Are you interested?"

"YOU BET I AM!" Flynn cried! He thrust the engine over to Tree Rex's foot as he stormed past the drow, all absolutely giddy as he leaped for the pedestal and snagged the compass right off.

Flynn craned his head up as he thrust it to the ceiling. "With this navigation system, the Dread-Yacht'll be a ship worthy of Skylands' best pilot!" Flynn proclaimed as he pumped his compass-holding fist for emphasis. "BOOM!"

And in that moment, Flynn's glasses and top hat slid off and his true identity was revealed at last! Though Flynn was so caught up in his perfect elation that he took no notice, the others certainly did! The drow gasped and stumbled back as his blank eyes fell upon Flynn, and Chihiro, Cali, and the others' respond ranged from blank looks to burying their faces in their hands.

"It's you!" the drow cried as he jabbed a finger at Flynn. "You're the one who wrecked our market!"

Flynn flicked his ears, turned back and slowly frowned as the dawning realization hit him.

"Welp," Chihiro sighed as she buried her shaking head in her hands, "looks like our cover's blown."

Everyone else reacted in shock, but the bear shopkeeper was oddly silent! A frown slowly crossed his lips as he glared down Flynn, and he stepped forward as he hid his arms behind his back.

"I knew it," the shopkeeper hissed, his friendly salesman voiced dropped for a cold British accent!

The shopkeeper dashed for the walls, flipped open a suspicious-looking rock and slammed the button it hid underneath! Sirens screeched as a red light descended from the ceiling and spun around, and all entryways sealed with silver bars behind them.

Everyone gasped and turned their heads around as the room before them blocked off, but Spyro and Gill Grunt immediately dashed for the blocked hallway! Spyro tugged on the bars, flew backwards and slammed right into them—but all that achieved was shaking him to the bone as he collapsed!

"They're rock solid!" Spyro cried as he stood up on shuddering legs. "We're trapped!"

"You bet you are!" the bear proclaimed! With a snarl on his face, the bear strode up to Flynn and pushed a finger into Flynn's chest. "You really thought you could come crawling back here after your bloody balloon crashed into our marketplace and left it in smithereens, didn't you?" The bear drew back and scoffed as he crossed his arms. "I. Think. Not!"

Flynn chuckled, dropped the compass and stepped back. "Er, come on, buddy, it was just a few stalls! Sure I might've destroyed a couple wares, freed the animals in the animal stalls, and sent maybe a few twenty beings or so to the hospital, but—"

A glare from Chihiro zipped Flynn's lips shut, and Chihiro just cleared her throat as she stepped in front of Flynn.

"Listen, I don't know exactly what my friend here did," Chihiro said as she gestured to Flynn, "but I'm sure we can probably sort it—"

"WHATEVER BOLLOCKS YOU'RE SELLING, I'M NOT BUYING!" The bear scowled as he pushed his face in Chihiro! Chihiro winced and drew back with a gulp, but the bear kept shooting her daggers as he adjusted his tie. "Because of that buffoon, my shop was left in shambles! You have no idea how much I lost because of him!"

Chihiro winced and stepped back. "I mean, are you sure? If needing money to repair stuff's the issue, Trigger Happy has a ton!"

Trigger Happy nodded, yanked a pot filled to the gills with golden coins out of nowhere and waved it in the bear's face—but, the bear just pushed it back in Trigger Happy's face and knocked him over.

"No amount of money will replace what I lost! My most precious treasure was destroyed because of that accursed mabu!" The bear's eyes narrowed. "And now, I'm making him pay for it!"

A section of the pillar slid down as the bear spoke, and unveiled a sparkly silver button underneath. With a nod from the bear, the drow scrambled over and slammed it down!

The red lights that dyed the room turned to a tranquil, sparkly blue as they beamed down like sunbeams, and from their light formed holograms! Chompies, trolls with clubs and guns, elves bearing swords and shields, and even an odd dragon or two was found amid the midst—but none of them seemed happy! The holograms all shouted and grunted as they pointed their weapons in the faces of Chihiro’s party, and they all gulped and stepped back.

Well, all save for Chihiro, who just frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "Holograms?" Chihiro exclaimed as she puffed out her chest. "That the best you can do?"

A chompy hologram snorted as it wandered up to Chihiro, tilted its head as she smirked down at it, and it leaped forward as it bit her right on the arm! Chihiro's eyes went wide as it sank its teeth; she screamed and stumbled back before she pushed the chompy off with her foot.

"Okay, I guess that's pretty good!" Chihiro winced and zapped the chompy away with an energy sphere, and furrowed her brows as she turned to Flynn.

Despite being the center of all this nonsense, Flynn wasn't worried at all! He just chuckled and dashed for the engine, a glint of confidence in his eyes as he gazed down the holograms that looked primed to bite his head off. Just what was he thinking?

"For you, maybe," Flynn remarked as he rolled up his sleeves and smirked, "but with my awesome strength, they'll be a piece of cake!"

Flynn shouted out as he prepared to throw a punch, but right before he could, a troll with a mace swung over and smacked him on his side with its mace! Flynn's shouts turned to cries of pain as he skidded alongside the dome's floor, and though he tried to grin and bear it, the pained grunts that came from him showed that he held plenty of aches and pains.

Chihiro just cast out her hands, and shot bolts of magic light towards Flynn and the engine! The bolts expanded and transformed into magic bubbles that merged into one, larger bubble with both Flynn and the engine inside.

"Flynn, take the engine and hide! We'll take care of this!"

Flynn frantically nodded and rolled off with the engine in tow, but the bear and drow both snarled and thrust out their hands!

"Holograms!" the two shopkeepers cried. "Don't let that mabu escape!"

The holograms all snarled as they bolted after Flynn, but before they could, the rest of Chihiro’s team all leaped in front of him! Weapons drew and disguises tossed off as Chihiro stepped forward, and all eyes narrowed as they all glared down the army of holograms that laid before them. The blue light from above dimmed slightly, and Chihiro snapped her fingers.

"Well, everyone, looks like we're not going to talk our way out of this one!" Chihiro cried as she summoned twin swords and leaped forward. "So we'll just have to fight our way out!"

Chihiro screamed as she slashed through a manticore hologram, leaped forward and stabbed a dragon effigy right in the back! The dragon wailed as it collapsed to the ground, but she just pulled her swords out of its back and ran onto the next target. With a grunt, she slashed a row of chompies in half, but a brighter, warmer, yellow light caught her attention while they exploded in puffs of sparkles!

Above her, Spyro zoomed off the ground while his eyes flashed a bright yellow, and with a simple flap of his wings, bombs of shining light came from his body! The bombs slammed down and exploded the moment they hit the ground, and their light was so bright that it completely wiped out the holograms surrounding. All that remained of them was tiny blue sparkles that cascaded onto the ground. Spyro smirked, and flitted aside as a tornado of scalding water and golden coins crashed down beside him and wiped out a wave of troll effigies!

Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy both smiled and high-fived at the mouth of the wave, but slid out the way as a cloud of murky green sprung forward! The drow effigies that surrounded them narrowed their eyes and pulled out their swords, but Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy just smiled and lowered their weapons!

"Don't blink!" cried Stealth Elf from within the cloud's grip!

The drow soldiers shrugged as they blinked, and the cloud completely vanished in that moment! They shook their heads and turned towards each other, and the cloud zipped behind them as out popped Stealth Elf, who slashed them in the back with sharp, round, golden daggers! While the two drow groaned and collapsed, their heads conked together and they exploded in a cascade of blue sparkles!

"Told you not to blink," Stealth Elf smirked as she crossed her arms.

Behind her, the world rumbled as Tree Rex charged after an effigy of a giant chompy with Cali seated snug on his shoulder! The chompy giggled and bounced up and down as if to taunt him, but Tree Rex just thrust out his arm and snarled!

"Timber!" Tree Rex cried as he fired.

The laser beam that emerged from Tree Rex’s cannon was so mighty it pushed even him back a few paces, and it bored right into the chompy's belly! The chompy wailed as it exploded, but not into sparkles! Rather, one giant chompy became a mass of smaller chompies that rained down from above!

"I'll handle them!" Cali proclaimed as she pulled a few dynamite sticks from her pocket. "Just need to get a little extra firepower!"

Cali withdrew a rope from her pocket, tied the sticks tight, and with another quick slip, she yanked out a match and set the dynamite alight! Cali flung the dynamite bundle straight into the chompies' heart as the fuse fizzled away.

"Cover your ears!" Cali warned as she shielded her own!

While everyone did as told, the dynamite bundle exploded in a miniature wildfire of hot flames! The chompies dissipated into sparkles and shimmered on the ground as the flames died, as did all the holograms around them! The whole battlefield was lit in a glittery blue coat—they won!

"Alright, we beat your little holograms!" Chihiro proclaimed as she stormed up to the shopkeepers and thrust a finger in the shopkeeper’s face. "Now can we just talk this out like normal beings?"

"Are you sure about that, lad?" the shopkeeper asked with a smirk as he pushed Chihiro back. "I'd take a second look if I were you!"

Chihiro gasped while a twinkling sound came from behind, and turned around as the sparkles shined even brighter and slowly fed into each other. Their light grew brighter before it formed into the vague shape of animals and humanoid figures, next in miniature flashes of light before they reformed good as new and twice as big!

Spyro grimaced and stepped backwards as one particularly large fanged sheep loomed over him while flames popped at his lips, but a massive baa from the sheep blew him right into the wall! Stones crumbled around him as he groaned and popped back onto the floor, but he just flicked his wings straight and pushed himself back up.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have picked on all those sheep back in the Dragon Realms," Spyro groaned as he struggled to stand.

Another massive baa came from above Spyro as the entire area tinted in blue light, and he winced as the sheep charged forward and yanked him off the ground with its horns! He stumbled and rolled through the air as the sheep yelled, but this time, he caught himself in place. His eyes flashed red as he shook his head, and he snarled and reeled backwards as he shot a massive ball of fire right down at the unsuspecting sheep! A small baa came from it as it lifted its head towards the oncoming flames, and it squealed and galloped away—but not before the fireball slammed right into its woolly back! A pained bleat came from the sheep as the flames engulfed it; it vanished with only blue sparkles left to speak of, and Spyro just smiled.

"Mess with the dragon, get the flames!" Spyro remarked as he floated back down.

Spyro paused and frowned as he grew closer to the ground. The sparkles, they grew brighter and brighter than before, and a vague shape came from their cool blue light! Spyro winced and floated backwards as the shape grew brighter and more detailed.

"Don't tell me…"

A bright flash of light shook the area down, and a loud baa rumbled the arena as the sheep came to be once more! Spyro gasped as it smirked and glared him down, turned tail and cried out as the sheep bounded right after him. Frantic pants came from his mouth as he flapped his wings the fastest he could, but the sheep was much larger and had much more ground on him; it wasn't long before it was just inches away from his face! Spyro gasped and sped forward as the sheep nipped at his tail, but he grunted and teleported further ahead in a burst of flames!

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Spyro cried as he dashed on paw across the battlefield. "I know it was bad to set all those sheep on fire!"

A cold breeze rushed past as the sheep and Spyro chased each other around the arena, and Tree Rex grunted as the cold, bitter wind hit his bark! He flung his arms in front of his face as Spyro passed him by, popped his eyes open, and grunted as he blocked a blow from a massive bug with swords for arms. The bug chittered and licked its lips as it shot out a rubbery, long tongue with a forked end, but Tree Rex just leaned out of the way and grabbed the tongue! The bug's eyes popped open as Tree Rex yanked it free of the wall, cracked the tongue like a whip and slammed the bug down into the ground! The floor cracked as the bug disappeared in a massive pile of sparkles, one oddly solid despite the damage done, and Tree Rex backed away.

"Something about this doesn't feel right," Tree Rex grumbled as he turned his solar cannon on the pile. "Why are those things so still?"

The shriek of charging light echoed from Tree Rex's hand as the sparkles all merged together, and the bug returned in a bright flash! It cackled as it jumped back and lunged for Tree Rex once more, but he jumped back and shot off rounds of solid light bullets right for it. The bullets screeched as they slammed right into the bug's chest—and bounced right off like they were rubber balls! The bug and Tree Rex both blinked as the light bullets vanished into the distance, yet the bug cackled and slammed Tree Rex right into the wall.

And while the two of them wrestled, Cali, Gill Grunt, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf all winced as they cut through waves of holograms that reformed in place with every blow dealt down below!

"What's with these things?" Gill Grunt cried as he shot a trio of harpoons straight through three gremlins. "It's like whatever we throw at them" — Gill Grunt grunted and swerved away as the gremlins reformed and lunged right for him — "they just jump right back up!"

Stealth Elf flipped forward and slashed away the holograms, grunted and stood up. "Well, if reforming's the problem, maybe we shouldn't give them the chance!" Stealth Elf proclaimed as she disappeared in a puff of green clouds. "Just give me a moment!"

A bladed scarecrow manifested in Stealth Elf's place and blew away the smoke with its rapid spins, but the holograms that surrounded it just frowned and tilted their heads. They all grunted and lunged for the scarecrow at last with snarls and weapons held all around, but the moment they hit it blades, they slashed right open and evaporated into sparkles. Everyone around grimaced as the sparkles flew up and tried to reform, but the moment the sparkles reached the blades' length, they slashed right open and disappeared once again!

Cali, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy all gasped as they examined the scarecrow, grinned and turned back to each other.

"That's right, they can't reform if we don't give them the chance!" Cali exclaimed.

A scream shouted over the horizons, and Cali turned around and grinned as another scarecrow manifested from a cloud of green smoke. Her eyes turned back down to her pockets, and she immediately yanked them open and rummaged through.

"Let's not leave all the work to Stealth Elf, boys!" Cali proclaimed as she pulled out a trio of round, silver orbs and tossed them into the air. "Time to give them the assault of a lifetime!"

The orbs shone against the blue light as they nearly hit the ceiling; they expanded in size and unfolded themselves as they turned from mere orbs to gigantic mechanical hands! The hands crashed back on the ground with thuds and thick, smoky dust clouds cast all around, and grenades of bright, crackling lightning formed at their palms as they leaned back. The hands all swung forward, but their grenades crashed down in the midst of an oncoming fleet troll effigies and blew them to bright light! The sparkles all cascaded down onto the ground and slunk towards each other as they tried to reform, but another lightning grenade slammed down and blew them all away.

Trigger Happy chuckled, leaped forward and dug through the back of his fur. "Me next, me next!"

He yanked a machine gun made entirely of shiny gold, slammed it down on the ground and flicked a switch. The machine gun whirred to life as Trigger Happy skipped open and yanked another machine gun out of nowhere, and the moment he flicked that one on, the first fired off round of golden coins! The coins smacked through a large, rabid dragonbunny that charged forward and riddled holes through its holographic body. As it exploded, its sparkles gathered back together and reformed it once more! The dragonbunny roared as it swept down on all fours—but just before it could charge, even more golden coins charged forward and tore it up once again!

Trigger Happy giggled as he clapped his hands and hopped from leg to leg, but behind him, Gill Grunt only winced and examined his harpoon cannon.

"Sure hope I can pull this off," Gill Grunt remarked. An ear-splitting screech came from behind him and he looked up.

Gill Grunt grunted as a bat hologram yanked him off the ground by his water tanks and flew off! He flailed, kicked, and punched as the bat circled around the area, but his harpoon cannon just slipped from his grip and collapsed on the ground! Gill Grunt winced for a moment, yet a scowl crossed his face as his eyes fell on the bat.

"Luckily, I've dealt with types like yours!" Gill Grunt cried as he gripped the straps of his water tanks tight!

He flipped backwards, and as he did, the tanks popped open and shot streams of scalding water right in the bat's face! The bat screamed as scalding water splashed right through its face; it scratched at its watery, burning eyeballs, and its grip on Gill Grunt slipped as he went falling down! Gill Grunt flipped upright once more and hovered back down on streams of boiling water. As his fins hit the ground, the water dispersed and he claimed his harpoon cannon once more. He narrowed his eyes, pulled the trigger, and sent a massive column of water spiraling towards the bat hologram! The column shot right through the bat's center, and as it exploded into sparkles, the water washed them all away!

Everyone smiled as the sparkles stayed stuck to the ground, unable to reform at last—or so it seemed. While they stood and soaked in their victory, the sparkles swept off the ground and zipped right past them with such speed that it spun them right around!

They all groaned and turned back around right in time to catch the sparkles seeping into the back of the bug Tree Rex was wresting with. The bug squealed as it absorbed the sparkles, and grew so tall that it nearly slammed into the ceiling. Its teeth chattered as its bladelike arms hovered over Tree Rex! It towered over even him, and it stood prepped and ready to slice him to bits—surely, Tree Rex knew that he'd be no match, yet he still snarled and lifted his cannon.

Tree Rex only glared it down further as the bug squealed and jumped right for him, but completely exploded into sparkles as the sheep that chased Spyro tackled right into it!

The sparkles seeped into the sheep's wool as it charged forward, and it bleated and skidded to a stop as it glowed with an even brighter light. The sheep frowned and examined its much more sparkly wool, but baaed in shock as its wool fluffed up and expanded! The sheep itself grew two, five, ten sizes as its wool brushed against the ceiling and its light glowed even brighter, and it chuckled and let out another mighty baa. That roar of its was enough to blow everyone off their feet, and they all grunted as they slammed into the wall!

"Don't be intimidated by its size!" Cali cried as she rolled back onto her feet and snarled. "If we can just keep the attacks coming, it'll be as stuck as the rest of them!"

"Everyone!" Stealth Elf cried as she popped up and turned to the others. "Re-route your attacks to the sheep!"

The others all nodded and they jumped back to their feet! Trigger Happy jumped from machine gun to machine gun as he turned them all on the sheep, and Stealth Elf cropped up by its legs as she dropped her scarecrows nearby! The sheep squealed, its head swaying from side to side as it tried to shake off the masses of coins. Its legs stomped around in a rabid fury while magic and sparkles seeped from them.

Stealth Elf popped up by Cali and helped Cali turn her mechanical hands so that they lobbed their electrical grenades at the sheep, oblivious to the sheep’s squeals from being slashed and shot. Beside them, Spyro, Gill Grunt, Chihiro, and Tree Rex all knelt between them and Trigger Happy!

"Ready," Chihiro whispered as she slammed palms crackling with magic lightning on the ground. Chihiro lifted a head drenched in sweat, and slowly lifted her palms next as she bit her lip. "FIRE!"

Chihiro yanked her hands from the ground, and a fissure of magic lightning shot across the ground as it slammed right into the sheep's body! The sheep baaed as the lightning ran through its legs, but that wasn't the only beating it received: Cali's electric grenades slammed right in its face and exploded, and magic laser cannons courtesy of Spyro leaped from the ground as they shot cannonballs made of raw magic into its wool, and tore holes through it! Streams of water and sunlight poured through and further drenched away the wool until it fell off in heaps, and the discarded wool exploded into sparkles the moment it hit the ground!

Chihiro grinned as one lump of wool crashed down, but smirked as she turned back to the sheep. "Alright, lambchop!" Chihiro cried as she pointed a finger at it. "You're dinner now!"

The sheep roared as it slammed its hooves on the ground. All the sparkles leaped from the ground as they sank right back into the sheep, the oncoming onslaught completely bypassed! The wounds the sheep received were patched up, but its wool hadn't reformed at all.

No, the sheep's body just glowed even brighter as fur stretched out from the light, and its fangs grew long enough that they stretched well past its jaws! Wings stretched out from its back while its tail grew long and hooked as blades popped out in place of fur. Its eyes extended into lengthy, beady eyestalks that glared down all those below its hooves as it roared to the heavens, its voice so loud that it rumbled the area and sent rocks crumbling down! Not just that, either—out from its mouth came gigantic, monstrous holograms that crashed down and charged after them all!

Chihiro screamed and jumped aside as a boar hologram tried to tackle her down, teleported behind a part of the wall that had been knocked off from the fight and winced. A peek outside showed that everyone was in clear trouble as they ran, and tried to escape from the onslaught of holograms that chased after them. They were completely outmatched! Wasn't there something that could be done about this?

Chihiro clenched her teeth as she hid behind her rock, and her knees knocked together absentmindedly. Surely, there had to be something that would call off this mindless brawl, but what? Those shopkeepers didn't care for money at all, and they had no interest in telling her just what was missing! How could she possibly solve this? Chihiro flinched as a pebble bounced off of something and hit her arm, and turned back to her side.

There beside her, Flynn observed the battle with a grimace, the engine kept snug beside him, but jolted back as another, larger rock hopped beside him. His eyes fell on Chihiro and he cleared his throat. He went to say something, oblivious to how the bubble started to roll away, but whoops, looks like the bubble was soundproofed—not a thing could be heard!

Chihiro laser-cut a tiny hole into the bubble and knocked on it. "What was that, Flynn?" Chihiro asked as she steadied the bubble with both hands.

Flynn blinked, chuckled and turned aside. "I, I was just saying, a tiny little rock like that is nothing for someone as awesome as I am!" Flynn cried as he flexed an arm. "In fact, not even that giant sheep-thingie out there could stop me!"

"Forget about that!" Chihiro cried as she leaned forward. "Just what the hell did you do to those guys that made them so mad?"

Flynn gasped, and his eyes raised a bit as he leaned in and shook a finger. "Language, kiddo!"

Chihiro shot him a glare, and Flynn only chuckled and leaned back as he scratched his head.

"Well, the whole thing was kind of a blur, but…" Flynn turned his gaze away from Chihiro and sighed. "Now that I think about it, I did step on some shiny red rock and crack it a little, and he got really upset! The dude nearly blew his head off ranting about how it was some fancy gem that took him ages to find, and how he'll never get another one, but…"

So that was it! Chihiro hummed, and her eyes fell on the still-enraged shopkeeper once more. Surely, getting that shopkeeper another gem would probably appease his rage, but where would she find one on such short notice? It's not like anybody here could create gems, nor did they have any lying around… Wait!

A flash of her bedroom on Ancient's Peak came to mind, and a grin spread across Chihiro's face. That was it! She still had that red gem she sneaked out when they defeated the Eternal Earth Source monster from last year—maybe, just maybe…

"I think I know how to sort this out!" Chihiro proclaimed, but her face fell as the sound of clashing weapons behind her turned her back to the battle. "But we'll need to get those holograms out of the picture."

"Just how are we gonna do that though, kiddo?" Flynn replied as he gestured back to the fields. "Those holograms are tough for a bunch of sparkles! Every time you knock 'em down, they just find a way to get back up!"

"Don't remind me."

Chihiro grimaced as her view shifted from the ongoing battle, and towards the two shopkeepers who both smirked as they basked in the light of the battle. Wait a second, the light! Those holograms all came in when the light changed colors, so maybe that was what kept them going! Maybe, if she could get that out of the equation she could finish this!

"Come on, Flynn!" Chihiro cried. "I think I've got an idea!"

With a snap of her fingers, Chihiro turned invisible to the naked eye, rushed into the fray and took a deep breath.

"EVERYONE STOP!" Chihiro cried at the loudest volume she could!

The shock was enough to shake off her brief invisibility spell, and good thing too—all eyes were on her now, and the fighting had ceased! Hopefully she could pull this off. Chihiro dashed up to Spyro, pulled him aside and knelt down.

"I think I have an idea on how to take care of these things!" Chihiro whispered as she leaned in closer to Spyro, and pointed up to the spotlights that hung from above. "See those things up there?" Spyro nodded, and Chihiro grinned as she turned away. "Think you'd be able to cover those up?"

Spyro craned his head back up to the spotlights, and grinned as his eyes changed to a deep cobalt with a ring of purple hidden within them.

"Sure can, Chi!" Spyro cried as he held up his front paws. "Just give me some cover fire!"

"On it!"

Growls and dripping water came from ahead as Spyro flew off, and Chihiro only smiled. She turned to the growling trio of holographic wolves with fur spiked like a porcupine's spines that glared her down. The wolves stepped forward and snapped at the air, but Chihiro just summoned her swords and held them up to the wolves' noses! The wolves scampered away as the swords' blades glistened in the hologram's light, and Chihiro's smirk grew wider.

"You act like you've got a bad bite, but it's all just bark!" Chihiro shouted as she rushed forward. "Time to put you in the doghouse!"

The wolves snarled, and the fur on their back bristled and hardened before it shot off not as fur, but as sharp, shiny needles! Chihiro skidded down and spun around as she slashed the needles in half with her sword, leaped up, and turned her swords down as she stabbed them right through the first wolf's back! The first wolf squealed as it exploded in a shower of sparkles, and the other two scampered backwards and snarled as they shot even more needles right for Chihiro!

Chihiro jumped out of the way as the storm of needles intersected and bounced off the wall, but grinned as the needles passed right through each other, and went straight for the wolves themselves! The wolves howled as the needles tore through them and blew them to bits, but Chihiro dropped down and frowned as her eyes fell on the pile of sparkles that now rested. The sparkles shuddered as they rested at her feet, and it seemed like they were going to merge together once more…

But then, the bright blue lights above them vanished, and the sparkles disappeared with them!

Above them all, Spyro flew up to the ceiling and covered up the spotlights with discs of solid darkness! With every spotlight that was covered, the smaller holograms below shuddered and disappeared until all that was left was the giant sheep! The sheep bleated as it whipped its head around while all its allies disappeared around it, but it scowled and drew back as all weapons turned on it.

"Looks like I was right, those spotlights were what was feeding the holograms!" Chihiro proclaimed as she pointed her swords towards the sheep. "And with them out, you're the only one left!"

Another shocked bleat came from the sheep, and the shopkeeper and drow themselves both jumped back in shock.

"What do you think you're doing?" the shopkeeper demanded before he shook his head. "Actually, forget about that! Sheep, get them!"

A low growl came from the sheep, and it baaed as it charged forth. It lowered its horns as it drew closer and closer to Chihiro, who only drew her sword and prepared to slice—but right before she could, something slammed right into the sheep and knocked it back!

"Take that, ya big ball of mutton!" Flynn cried as his bubble bounced off of the sheep! The bubble landed back down on the ground, bounced for the sheep right as it got back on all fours, and Flynn slammed it right into the sheep's underbelly. "I'm not standing around while you pick on my buddies!" The bubble hopped back a couple steps as the sheep fell on its back and flailed its legs in the air, but Flynn himself stood and smirked. "Boom!"

"It's completely open, now's our chance!" Cali cried as she withdrew a few more orbs from her pocket. "Let's get it!"

Cali tossed the orbs on the ground. As they expanded and crashed down as mechanical hands, these orbs shot out not the lightning grenades of before, but fireballs! The fireballs slammed into the sheep's side and burned holes in its wool as it flailed its legs around, grunted and flipped back to its feet. The sheep shook the flames off and let out another roar, yet its roar quickly turned to a bleat as a magical rope wrapped around its legs! The sheep fell on its side, and it snarled as Chihiro walked up with the rope's beginning in her hand and pulled it tight.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you lambchop?" Chihiro smirked as she tapped the sheep's nose.

Chihiro jumped back and squeaked as the sheep snapped at her, but slid out of the way as Gill Grunt hosed the sheep down! The sheep cried out as the scalding water hit its face, while Gill Grunt just sighed and held his gun at his hip.

"It's all yours now, you three!" Gill Grunt cried as he waved his hand.

"Okie- dokie!" Trigger Happy shouted as he hopped off of Tree Rex's shoulder and whipped out his guns. "Let's finish this with a BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Golden coins shot out from Trigger Happy's guns and pelted the sheep right in the face. It shook its head and yanked its eyes open as it roared in protest, but those eyes of its grew wide as it found that Trigger Happy was nowhere to be found!

Rather, Stealth Elf and at least twenty different copies of her all screamed as they crashed into the sheep; they kicked it simultaneously, whipped out their blades and slashed it up! The fury of their slices created a storm of wool that flew in every direction, from splattering walls, to coating the floors, and even narrowly slamming into Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf themselves. Soon, all that was left was a woolless sheep! The sheep bleated as Stealth Elf's copies all vanished, and only the original was left to hop off and cross her arms.

Tree Rex lifted up his cannon behind them, and charged not light, but murky green shadows! The cannon shrieked as the shadows completely clouded its front, and with a grunt, he reeled back as a large mass of cloudy green spores leaped from his cannon and slammed right into the sheep's face!

The sheep coughed and hacked as the spores cleared. Around it, the spotlights of blue faded away one by one! The sheep's own glow started to fade and flicker as the light above it faded, yet it turned its head to the single source of light that remained. A single blue spotlight poured onto the sheep's face from above—but not for much longer, as Spyro slid a disc of darkness right in front of it!

"And that should be all!" Spyro cried. "All of those spotlights are covered up now, Chi!"

The sheep baaed a warped, pained baa as it completely flickered away! The lights were all out, and all that remained was a dark room lit up only by the sight of Tree Rex's solar cannon as it glowed with light, and the light that emitted from Flynn's bubble…

But even the latter faded as Flynn popped the bubble and strode up to the shopkeeper and drow.

"Now will you hear us out?" Flynn asked as he crossed his arms and frowned. "Seriously, you're making such a big deal out of this! It was only one little gem!"

"That pigeon's blood ruby took me ages to find!" the shopkeeper shot back as he jabbed a finger against Flynn's chest. "And you just smashed it like it was some kind of common pebble!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that was some fancy-shmancy ruby? I—"

Chihiro pushed Flynn out of the way and cleared her throat.

"Allow me to handle things from here," Chihiro said. With a snap of her fingers, a warp formed above her and her ruby dropped into her palms. Its bright red glow shone in the dark with a color so rich it immediately caught the shopkeepers' eyes. "I heard what happened to your gem, and I'm really sorry," Chihiro explained as she walked up to the shopkeeper and held out the ruby. "This ruby is from my own personal collection. I might not be able to bring what you lost back, but I hope I can least make some amends!"

The shopkeeper and drow gave each other a wary look, but the drow whisked away the defenses and brought the room back to normal with a button press. The shopkeeper whipped out a magnifying glass and examined the ruby. The drow peered over the bear shoulder and hummed as they both examined the ruby, and the shopkeeper’s eyes slowly grew wider.

"Why, I can't believe it…" the shopkeeper gasped. "Surely, this is… This is…"

"Is what?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

The shopkeeper gasped with glee as he snatched the ruby out of Chihiro's hands. "This is a dragon's blood ruby!" the shopkeeper proclaimed as he admired the ruby's reflection in the light. "This is even rarer than the one I lost! It's worth hundreds, millions even in gold!"

"So what you're saying is, if I give you this, you'll forget everything Flynn did?" Chihiro tilted her head.

"Indeed!" The shopkeeper sprung forward and rapidly shook Chihiro's hands. "You can even take the engine and the navigation system! Just get out of our hair!" The shopkeeper whipped around and pounded a button before skipping out. "Forget this shop, I'm going to the gem collector's association!"

Everyone cast frowns and odd looks all around, but finally shrugged. Well, all's well that ends well, they supposed… That it, until the ground trembled underneath their feet!

"Now what?" Cali exclaimed as she peered down.

The floor completely opened underneath them right as they all got a good look! Everyone screamed as they fell down and tumbled through a dark, bumpy set of tunnels, twists and turns for what seemed like an eternity, but finally they popped back out and smashed headfirst onto the ground! They all groaned as they sat back up and held their faces, yet grinned as they lifted themselves up and looked around. They were right back at the beginning of the market, and right beside the Dread-Yacht, to boot!

The Dread-Yacht definitely seemed a little more polished than when they left it. Someone replaced the sails and oars, a mostly-dried coat of paint covered the front, the aroma of fresh paint wafted through the caves, and most of the odd sounds disappeared aside of some weird creaks and thumping noises! Above the deck, everyone else carted around tools, tore down old and tired material, and mended it with new, fresh material as they chatted amid each other!

"There you all are!" Bouncer shouted as he wheeled over, and a smile crossed his face the moment he met the others' confused ones. "Thought we'd polish this baby up a little while we waited on you!" Bouncer clicked his tongue and made a finger gun. "Like what you see?"

"You bet!" Flynn cried as he pushed through with sparkling eyes. "She's even more amazing than when I found her!"

Bouncer chuckled, sent out the bridge with a smack of the ship's banister and wheeled down. "Did you get the stuff?"

Flynn lifted up the engine and navigation system. "Yep! Just need to get those repairs going!"

Cali and Flynn grunted as they heaved the engine and navigation system up, and they disappeared down into the depths of the ship alongside Bouncer as the others boarded. The sounds of clanking, banging, and screeching turned all eyes to the open door that lead down to the engine room, followed by a raccoon's hiss and a scream that was countably Flynn's!

"Sounds like they could use some help," Chihiro remarked with a cringe.

She stepped forward and went to trek down the stairs, and jumped back as Flynn, Cali, and Bouncer burst out the door! Flynn grunted as he shook a winged raccoon off of his arm and sent it flying away, smiled and popped his collar.

"Alright, everything's prepped and ready!" Flynn proclaimed! His trademark smirk lingered a few moments, but it melted into pure glee as he spun around. "And I've already got a whole list to places to go!" Flynn stretched off his palms and counted off his fingers, "The Chocolate Ocean, the Lost Dessert, the Enchilada Archipelago—"

"And Rumbletown?" Cali remarked as she crossed her arms and shot Flynn a glare. "You know, the place we're supposed to go to pick up that lead on Kaos?"

Flynn's eyes went wide and he chuckled as he scratched his head. "Yeah, and there!" Flynn added as he stumbled for the steering wheel. "I totally meant to say that!"

Everyone broke into laughter as the Dread-Yacht flew out of the caverns and towards its next destination—and hopefully, some answers.