The sun shone high in the sky, a rare source of warmth amid the chills of the aestival season, and the Dread-Yacht steered across the skies and creaked with every stroke of its oars. It traveled long and hard, across miles upon miles of open sky, vast clouds, and the occasional Cloud Crab that streaked through the heavens and shrieked as it crossed the sun… Yet, its destination laid no closer in sight than before, or so it seemed. The journey was long and tedious as Flynn steered away the wheel, but the tension on deck came from a reason far beyond their anticipated destination or all the trials it would hold.

The Dread-Yacht's passengers all curled together in a circle at the heart of the deck, all eyes laid on the center of their little huddle. There, a pile of colorful cards laid on a table between Chihiro, Spyro, Cynder, and Whirlwind, who stood silent as they held decks of cards in their hands and paws. Their eyes, icy cold, shot discerning looks between each other as if they calculated the next move everyone on the table prepared to make, and their own next moves in turn. Chills tensed the air around, and not just because of the tiny snow clouds that flitted from Whirlwind's wings and vanished in puffs of glittery snow.

Whirlwind's eyes tensed, and her claws gripped for one card while her horn flashed in a shade of blue, but her brows tensed up as she drew her paw back. It was a slight, simple gesture, one that seemingly went unnoticed by most—except for Chihiro, who raised her brows before she fixed her eyes on her own deck.

Spyro hummed as he laid a yellow card with a two drawn on its surface and drew back.

"Alright, I've moved," Spyro proclaimed while he nudged Chihiro with his wings. "Your turn, Chi."

Chihiro chuckled and waved her fingers over her deck. Only two cards laid in her possession, but which one was she going to pick? That was the question that surely laid on everyone's minds as everyone looked towards her, but Chihiro wasn't tense at all as she bounced her hand to card to card. She smiled so slyly, so thinly as she peered up at Whirlwind with her fluttering wings, and dropped her hand over one card.

"I change it to green!" Chihiro proclaimed as she slammed down a card with a colorful wheel drawn on it and leaned back in her seat, the smuggest of expressions on her face as she crossed her arms and nodded. "Un!"

Spyro and Cynder both winced and glanced at each other, but Whirlwind just groaned and buried her face into her paws.

"Sorry, Whirlybird~" Chihiro leaned back in her chair, and rocked back and forth by the push of her leg as she waved her final card in the air. "Your tells are a little too obvious!"

Whirlwind said nothing in response. Instead, she just grumbled under her breath as she drew a card from a neatly-kept stack and held her head.

"Your turn, Cynder," Whirlwind moaned as she shielded her face with her wing.

Cynder clutched her muzzle, and if she weren't a reptile, surely sweat would be covering her brow. But she was, so she only twitched her tail as she shielded her gaze away from Chihiro's own, her cards clutched close to her chest. With a wince, she dropped a card with a green two into the pile.

"Spyro, your turn," Cynder said as she turned her head away.

Spyro glanced down at the two cards in his paws, but his eyes turned to Chihiro and narrowed just a little bit. Their eyes fixed on each other, the friends turned to chilling enemies as they sat at the card table, the site of their battlefield, with their cards as their weapons! With them so close in pursuit of the goal, who would win?

Surely, that was the question on everyone's minds as they spectated, mouths closed tight and fingers twitchy with anticipation.

"Alright, alright, place your bets!" Trigger Happy cried as he hopped up between Stealth Elf and Gill Grunt with an empty golden pot in his furry hands. "Who's gonna win? Spyro, the daring purple dragon and leader to us all?" Trigger Happy gestured over towards Chihiro. "Or Chihiro Hatsuki, the portal master who stares death in the face and laughs?"

Terrafin and Eruptor just rolled their eyes at Trigger Happy while he hopped around and collected everyone's bets, yet fixed their gaze back on the table.

"Un!" Spyro cried as he laid down a card with a blue two on it. "How about that, Chi?"

The tension really started to boil! Spyro and Chihiro both had only one card left, just one card away from seizing victory with both hands! They both glared down at their single cards in their hands, their fingers clutched tight around it…

"So, who d'you think's gonna win?" Eruptor asked as he nudged Terrafin's shoulder, "Spyro seems pretty confident right now."

"I don't know about that," Terrafin replied as he crossed his arms. A smirk crossed Terrafin's lips and he narrowed his eyes. "Chi seems like she's got a trick up her sleeve."

Spyro leaned back in his seat, grinned and raised a brow at Chihiro. "So, do you give up?"

Chihiro just chuckled and leaned forward, her card drawn like a sword. "Well, all I have to say to that is…"

SLAM! Chihiro slapped her card onto the haphazard pile of cards, right over where Spyro's card laid, to unveil a green two!

"I CHANGE IT BACK TO GREEN!"

A sharp gasp left Spyro's mouth as his card fell out of his paws, and a hearty round of applause and cheers came from all around! Well, save for Trigger Happy, who just groaned as he pushed the pot towards a smirking Gill Grunt, but it did little to damper the mood.

Chihiro only drank in it as she laid a foot on the table and bowed. "Thank you, thank you," Chihiro cheered as she stood up and puffed out her chest. "Once again, the champion of Un-Deux-Trois reigns supreme!"

Spyro chuckled as he cleaned the cards off the table, and stacked them into his paws. "I'll get you someday, Chi, I swear!" Spyro cried as he stuck out his tongue, a playful smirk on his face. "Now, how about I shuffle for this game?"

"Fine by me!" Chihiro plopped back down in her seat and leaned over. "Hey, who wants to join us for the next round?"

A couple of hands, paws, and the likes raised among the audience, but retracted as the faint sound of cheering echoed in the distance! It wasn’t cheering from them, either; the cheering came from a faint distance, one that slowly grew louder the further the Dread-Yacht flew. Had they finally arrived? Either way, the crowds dispersed from their spot around the table, and leaned over the Dread-Yacht's side as they peered across the skies.

"Hey, hey, what's all that cheering coming from?" Chihiro asked as she squeezed into a spot between Whirlwind and Stealth Elf, and leaned over the railing. "Are we here?"

Right as Chihiro asked, a large blimp with a waving banner that had "Welcome to Rumbletown!" tied to its end whizzed past. A flurry of hot air balloons in a smorgasbord of colors and shapes closely tailed behind it as they rushed towards the docks!

"Well, that answers my question."

For a place dubbed Rumbletown, though, the outer sights seemed a bit big, hefty, and quite unlike a name that brought to mind chaos and wreckage! The entire island was covered in villages walled off with hard stone and towers that scraped the sky, and they were occasionally accented by the stray cavern or grassy area.

But more than anything, the whole place was decked to the nines in anticipation of what could only be some kind of game or ceremony! Banners and balloons were tied to buildings; roofs were painted to carry messages for beings, some encouraging and some less so; murals of gladiators were scribbled on the walls… It was like the entire island was in celebration! If all the decor didn't seal it, the docks certainly did! Blimps, airships, balloons, and even large aerial steeds rested at their rickety wooden stands, all choked and crowded in together with such volume that one couldn't move an elbow without bumping into someone! Just outside of it all, balloon pilots bickered and spat with each other as they tried to squeeze into parking spots, but screamed and flew away as a ship chased after them with cannons at the ready.

"Man, parking sure is serious business here, isn't it?" Chihiro remarked as she tilted her head. "Then again, I suppose it's pretty big business on Earth, too."

"Alright," Flynn remarked, a frown on his face as he swung around the docks, "let's find this Ermit guy and get out of here. I don't like the looks of this place."

"That is, if we can even park!" Cali remarked with a sigh. "This place is more cramped than a tin of sardines!"

"You've got that right," Chihiro scoffed as she pressed her face against the railing. "It'll be midnight before we find a place to park!"

Chihiro wasn't exaggerating, either—practically every dock was completely packed with all sorts of aircraft, and they had to have passed at least seven docks by this point! In spite of that, the parked aircrafts did little to block out the island's entrance. The entrance stood jam-packed with Skylandians in all shapes, species and sizes that donned foam fingers, caps, mock jerseys, and other sports gear as they shuffled through the island's paths.

"Just what are they here for?" Chihiro remarked as she rested her arm against the side of the Dread-Yacht, but jolted back as the whole ship shuddered!

The Dread-Yacht clunked and shifted as it finally squeezed into a spot between a rainbow blimp and a sleeping green dragon donning a harness, and its gangplank shifted out as it hit the docks.

"Man, what in Skylands could have this place so packed?" Flynn asked as he walked up to Chihiro and the others. He grunted as he drew a map out of his pocket, glazed it over and stowed it away. "I don't think I've seen a crowd that large before!" Flynn smirked and crossed his arms. "One that didn't gather to see me, anyways."

Cali just rolled her eyes, but nonetheless drew down the bridge with her hands in her pockets. "We can worry about the fuss another time," Cali said as she trailed down the drawbridge. "For now, we need to find Ermit."

Chihiro pulled her right back just before Cali could trail down!

"Hold it!" Chihiro cried as everyone zipped to a stop. Cali eyed Chihiro as Chihiro let go, and Chihiro only cleared her throat. "Don't you all remember what Hugo said? They'll make a big fuss of us all coming if we all go out there like we normally do! Having Skylanders come all the way out here would probably be a pretty big deal!"

Chihiro clapped her hands, and grinned as clothes made of magic popped onto everyone's bodies! Gigantic hats and sunglasses, bulky jackets and scarves, even face masks and gloves made an appearance! Whatever the attire, though, it did well to mask anything about them that could've been particularly notable. Amid the massive swathes of sparkly cyan fabric, one could barely make out who was who!

"There!" Chihiro cried as she wiped her now-gloved hands. "Now we should be able to sneak around without anyone noticing us!"

So, everyone departed the Dread-Yacht and followed Cali across the bridges. Beside them, the cliffsides all donned banners with pictures of famous sports teams bearing their equipment and holding trophies, or hopefuls dressed in armor vying for fancy prizes. At the end stood a banner of a muscular drow sitting on a throne, a smirk on his face as he overlooked a crowd of beaten gladiators.

"'Rumbletown's 50th Annual Gladiator Games?'" Spyro read as he lifted up the bottom of the banner. "So there's a tournament going on here?"

"Duh!" cried a snooty voice from ahead. "What do you think all this is for?"

Spyro perked a brow, and turned around to find himself face to face with a drow! A very tired-looking drow at that. They slurped the cup of ramen in their hands like an energy drink, and their eyes were baggy as they pulled a clipboard from a saddlebag laid over stained, torn referee clothes that looked like they’d seen better days.

"Alright, do you have any tickets?" the drow asked.

"Tickets?" Spyro flew back and tilted his head. "We're not even here for the games!"

"And just what are they, anyways?" Cali asked as she pushed through and walked up beside Spyro.

The drow blinked, cackled and leaned back withone hand on their gut and the other swinging their cup around. "Excuse me, I must be really tired!" The drow proclaimed as they leaned forward and smirked. "Did you just tell me that you've never heard of Rumbletown's Gladiator Games, the biggest attraction in all Rumbletown where hopefuls and fans come from all across the Outlands to duke it out and watch their favorite athletes duke it out?"

Cali rapidly blinked and shook her head. "Er, no, I haven't heard of Rumbletown's Gladiator Games, the biggest attraction in all Rumbletown where hopefuls and fans come from all across the Outlands to duke it out and watch their favorite athletes duke it out."

The drow blinked again, sighed and shook their head. "Either you're living under a rock, or that secret prize the organizer planned out wasn't as newsworthy as he thought. Then again, he isn't the brightest tool in the shed." The drow lifted their head and gestured towards Spyro and Cali. "Anyways, tickets, please?"

A faint roar of an angry crowd drew in the distance, and Chihiro jolted up as her eyes fell on the back. There, a massive cloud of dust from which blasts of fire and strained shouts echoed! She winced, immediately turned forward and shoved her way through her own merry band.

"A-actually, like my friend said, we're not here for the games!" Chihiro cried as she pushed herself between Spyro and Cali. "We came here to visit someone, and we should really be going now!"

Chihiro stormed past the drow with the others hot on her heels. Their faint cries of shock could just barely be heard over the sound of the Elder Elementals' thunderous footsteps in the distance, but Chihiro didn't care as she drew to a stop. Rather, she had a bigger question in mind.

"Just where exactly is this Ermit guy, anyways?"

Chihiro paused and rubbed her chin, but the slow rumbles of the world around kept her from thinking it over. There weren't any of the Elder Elementals' trademark shadows to be found, yet the rumbles only got louder and louder. That could only mean one thing—a stampede! Chihiro turned around, but she reacted just a tad too late. A swarm of eager spectators swept her up in their grip and carried her away from the spot! She grunted as she tried to squeeze herself out, but it was no use. No matter how much she squirmed and thrust against them, their tightly-packed crowds reflected it like a shield, keeping her stuck to the spot!

"Hey, lemme go!" Chihiro cried as she tried to press and push her way out of her captors' grip! But, they hooted and hollered cheers so loudly that she couldn't be heard!

Chihiro grunted, clenched her eyes shut and tried to teleport away, but she couldn't! The crowds' cheers and how tightly they squeezed around her overwhelmed her senses, and she couldn't focus at all between the way the shouts rattled her ears and numbed her head. Her head melted into her skull as she popped her eyes open and panted, all while a small glimpse of the crowds around her became visible! The spectators caused a ruckus around, and unfortunately, it seemed as though the others got caught up as well!

Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy were caught in the middle of an argument between what appeared to be two rival teams' fanbases, Spyro got carried off by a particularly rowdy group, and Stealth Elf struggled to escape as she teleported from spot to spot. The others just screamed as they flew to and fro among the crowds! Even the Elder Elementals struggled plenty. Tree Rex struggled to wade through the crowds while he held the others on his shoulders, and grappled for Bouncer as the crowds swept him away! Eye popped off of Brawl and floated in front of the spectators only to get knocked back into Swarm, Thumpback went surfing through rowdy passerby, and Hot Head and Crusher bounced and danced around as they tried their hardest not to step on the scurrying passerby. Ninjini couldn't be seen anywhere amid their ranks, but it was hard to tell against all this chaos!

Chihiro winced and shut her eyes, but somebody jabbed their shoulder into her back and popped them back open! Chihiro cried out as she wormed away from that being when a twinkle hit the air, and purple magic wafted over her face. Chihiro blinked as the sparkles cascaded down on her face, and the entire world around her turned purple! Chihiro gasped and instinctively shut her eyes, but as she did, her body started to loosen up, almost as if the crowds around her dispersed. Her feet hit solid ground and turned a little numb from the shock, but she stabilized her footing just as she opened her eyes…

And found herself on solid land, just among a rare spot of empty land between two particularly large crowds! Beside her, shiny purple silhouettes sparkled into existence, popped into bursts of light and unveiled the rest of her group one-by-one! They all seemed pretty disoriented, some more so than others as they spun around or fell on their rumps while their eyes spun in their heads, but they all seemed alright aside of a few small scratches and bruises! Just who got them out of there, though?

Another pop sounded off next to Chihiro's feet, and she peered down to find a familiar blue and pink bottle! Smoke the color of cotton candy poured out from the bottle's lip, formed into a gigantic cloud, and with a whoosh, it dispersed and revealed a grinning Ninjini!

"Phew, that was close!" Ninjini remarked as she knelt down to Chihiro's height. "I've never seen a crowd that furious before!" Ninjini tilted her head and grinned as she flicked her ears. "Everyone alright?"

"Thanks to you!" Spyro remarked as he flew up to Ninjini. Spyro winced as his wings locked up and dropped him on the ground, then he rubbed his shoulder and forced a smile. "A little sore, but it's nothing to worry about." Spyro turned back to the others and lifted his head. "Say, does anybody know where we're supposed to find this Ermit guy?"

"Hugo gave me a map to his place before we left," Flynn remarked as he pulled a white scroll from his pocket and unrolled it. "Kinda weird that a hermit would have a house, but…"

"STORMY SPEARS FOR THE WIN!"

"NO WAY, THE CANOPY CLIMBERS ARE THE REAL SHOO-INS HERE!"

"EXCUSE ME, YOU MEAN THE CUBE DUNGEON CLUB!"

Flynn ducked as a spear flew over his head and stabbed into the ground between them all, winced and rolled the map back up. "Actually, we should probably get out of this place first!"

Chihiro winced as she side-stepped a rotten tomato just before it could bean her in the head, leaped aside and clung to Ninjini's bottle as another slew of dying fruit torpedoed ahead.

"Agreed."

Chihiro beamed up at Ninjini, who in turn smiled and laid out a hand towards Chihiro. Her gaze was so warm and welcoming that Chihiro climbed over her fingers and pulled herself onto Ninjini's palm without thinking. Chihiro smiled as Flynn, Cali and the Skylanders did the same.

"Alright, everyone!" Ninjini shouted as she pushed the group onto her shoulders and held out her free palm. "Hold on to me, alright?" Ninjini grinned as she gently nudged Chihiro with her cheek. "And Chihiro, give me a bit of help with this!"

"Just leave it to me!" Chihiro replied as she pumped a fist!

Chihiro’s hands glowed cyan, and she slapped them down on Ninjini's shoulder while the other Elder Elementals laid their hands on Ninjini's open palm. In a flash of sparkling purple and cyan light, they all completely vanished!

The light dropped them off at a smaller town far enough that the jeers, cheers, and cries of the rampant crowds were only a faint whisper in the wind, and it only served the eerie atmosphere of the town itself. All the houses' lights were out, their doors were boarded up, and notes just barely clung to those doors before the breeze carried them away. No signs of life existed other than a few stray mice the scurried to and fro, or the occasional tumbleweed that bounced around. It was practically a ghost town, completely unalike the lively sights of earlier.

Chills ran down a couple spines as Chihiro, the Skylanders, Flynn, and Cali left their spot on Ninjini's shoulder via a quick teleport. They all clutched their weapons as they walked down the loose cobblestones paths. Though the houses were completely abandoned, something was still wrong, like someone would jump out and strike at any moment! The rustling of leaves kept everyone frozen in place for a few moments as all eyes turned to a nearby rose bush, but they all sighed as a dragonbunny hopped out and scampered away.

"Just where is everyone, anyways?" Chihiro asked as she spun her pendant's crystal back and forth.

"Probably at those games back there," Stealth Elf remarked as she flicked her ears. "Man, I get liking sports, but this is ridiculous!"

"You're telling me," Cynder scoffed. "I don't think I've seen crowds that angry before in my life!"

Sighs and shaking heads formed all around the crowds as they passed by, but Flynn didn't pay them much mind as he whipped out the map and unfurled it once more. He frowned for a moment as he stopped his walking and shoved his face in the map's, peered up and over it a couple times, grinned and stowed it away!

"We're here!" Flynn cried as he bolted towards a small brown house near the end of the path. "The map says his house is right this way!" Flynn fixed his collar and cleared his throat, dashed right through the path and straight towards the house. "Now, mister hermity dude!" Flynn proclaimed as he slammed the door right open. "I, the great Captain Flynn, have come here to save—OWCH!"

The door swung back and slammed Flynn in the face, and right in the middle of his grand speech at that! He winced for a moment, lifted his head and blinked as he peered inside.

"You?"

The others caught up with him quickly enough, and jaws dropped as their eyes fell on the insides of the house! It was completely turn up and disheveled. The furniture was splintered and halved, papers were torn and scattered, decorations laid fallen from their spots, and dirty tracks were printed everywhere! It was like a herd of bulls tore through the place!

Flynn blinked for a few moment, turned to the door and swung it back and forth. "That's strange, the door's completely unlocked!" Flynn remarked as he stepped back and rubbed his chin. "Doesn't this hermit dude know anything about basic safety?"

"Well, he was pretty frantic when he called us earlier," Spyro said as he flew inside and rubbed his chin, "and I could've sworn I heard other voices at the end of that transmission we got…" Spyro dropped down to the floor and widened his eyes. "Wait, don't tell me he's been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?" Gill Grunt echoed. He clenched his teeth as he stepped inside, and tugged on the straps of his wetsuit.

"That makes our job a lot harder," Eruptor grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Who knows who took him, or where he even is! How are we gonna find him now?"

Spyro hummed, lowered his head and lifted a scrap of brown fabric from the floor. "Actually, I have an idea," Spyro said.

Spyro breathed in and out, and closed his eyes as a purple glow surrounded both him and the scrap of fabric. It flashed in and out for a few moments, and as its glow finally faded, Spyro released the fabric scrap—but instead of falling, it floated in the air! The scrap hovered in place for a few moments, folded itself into the shape of an arrow and flew outside the house!

"Looks like the homing spell worked! That means he’s still on this island!" Spyro cried as he dashed outside. "Come on, everyone!"

"Follow that arrow!" Trigger Happy cried as he dashed outside!

Everyone dashed out and tailed Spyro as he chased after the arrow, which soared through the sky as it lead them all back down the path… But a massive screech froze everyone in place! The arrow's spell let up, and it dropped back down onto the path a simple cloth scrap, but everyone else grimaced and covered their ears!

"Testing, testing, one, two, three," remarked a gruff voice over grainy static, the kind that came with poor radio transmissions. "Is this thing on?"

Blue orbs manifested all across the way and formed into grainy screens. They were pretty simple and primitive compared to the stuff Chihiro saw elsewhere, but the Elder Elementals were completely entranced! A few of them crowded around, and gazed at the screen in wide-eyed awe as a bulky drow's face popped up on it—the same drow who was on that one banner, in fact!

Spyro gasped as he flew up to an adjacent orb. "Wait a second, I know this voice! I heard it on that transmission!" he proclaimed.

"Brock the Arena King's here to announce that registration is still open for the gladiator games!" Brock proclaimed as he leaned back in his throne and smirked. "Don't miss out on your chance to brawl, battle, and win tons of amazing prizes!"

The screens blipped for a moment as it cycled through a series of images: a huge pile of meat that could probably scrape the sky as it balanced on a platter, a giant collection of gold, a chest full of shiny jewels… But finally, it cycled back to Brock!

"But that's not all!" Brock smirked and left his seat, the camera taken with him. "We've got a special prize this year!"

The faint sounds of banging and screaming echoed from the screens, and the view shifted over to a dungeon cell! There, kept locked tight behind a cell, was some kind of pale-skinned dwarf with long pointed ears, beady black eyes, and a large nose with a silver nose ring in it! He had a bushy gray beard, wore a brown cloak with thin, dark brown stripes running down its cloth alongside warmer brown shoes and gloves, and he didn't seem particularly happy as he clutched the bars of his cell.

"I'm telling you!" the dwarf cried as he pounded on the bars. "The Skylanders are coming for me, I swear!"

He didn't seem particularly remarkable, but a gasp from Spyro showed that this guy must have been important!

"That voice, I heard it on the transmission! That has to be Ermit!" Spyro cried as he flew up to the screen. "But what's he doing in there?"

Back on the screen, Brock rolled his eyes, groaned, and banged his fist on the bars as he snarled. "Pipe down, ya little shrimp!"

Ermit winced and stumbled backwards, but Brock chuckled and turned back around to face the screens.

"Also, we've got this little weirdo here!" Brock exclaimed as he gestured to the bars. "If you win you could" — Brock shrugged — "I dunno, eat him or something?"

"Let me out of here, for the love of the Ancients!" Ermit cried as he resorted to banging on the bars with a cup. "Kaos is back and I have to warn the Skylanders!"

Brock cackled and crossed his arms. "See, he even tells jokes, too! He can be your personal jester or something! Point is, be sure to sign up before it's too late!"

Now, it was everyone else's turn to widen their eyes! So that’s where Ermit was; he really had been kidnapped! But what for? Oh, there wasn't time to worry about that right now! The screens all shut off in that moment and the lights vanished into sparkles, but the light show was hardly a relief to everyone as they glazed over the space where it once laid with twisted frowns.

"We have to get Ermit back!" Whirlwind cried as she flew up to the others. "But how?"

"Something about this doesn't entirely feel right," Spyro said. "With that transmission we got ending out of nowhere, and him showing Ermit off and all, it's almost like that guy was trying to lure us here!"

"But why?" Cali asked as she glanced over.

Spyro frowned and lowered his head. "If I had to guess, he'd want us to enter that tournament to get him." Spyro gulped, and glazed down at the coliseum before him as he bit his lip. "But I'm not sure if that's a good idea. If he's baiting us in there like this, he probably doesn't have the best intentions."

"But if we don't get in there, who knows what'll happen to Ermit?" Whirlwind retorted as she flew closer to Spyro.

"And with all those beings there for that tournament, crashing the party would be pretty hard, especially if they recognized us," Chihiro remarked as she rubbed the sleeve of her disguise's coat. She frowned as she ran her fingers over its fabric, peered down and gasped. "Wait, recognizing us, that's it!"

All eyes turned to Chihiro, and she grinned as she held her arm up.

"As long as we're in disguise, they won't be able to recognize us!"

Chihiro stepped forward and smirked as she crossed her arms. "So everyone, how do you feel about being actual, real-life gladiators?"

The others frowned and stared her down, but Spyro just flew up beside her.

"Wait, so you're saying we should join those games?"

"Yep!" Chihiro beamed and nodded in affirmation. "As long as we're in disguise, they won't think anything of us actually participating. It's the perfect way to blend in!" Chihiro turned back to the rest of the crowd. "And while we're doing our thing and keeping that Brock guy occupied, we'll have another group go in and rescue Ermit!"

Everyone seemed a bit hesitant at first as they glanced at each other and whispered, most of all Spyro who frowned and swished his tail as he peered between the others and Chihiro. Finally, everyone else nodded and grinned as they stepped forward. Spyro's eyes lit up at the sight, and he himself grinned in affirmation.

"Alright, guess we'll do it!" Spyro remarked as he ushered everyone in for a huddle. "Now, here's the plan…"