Cheers and pounding feet echoed through the inside of the arena as spectators and gladiator hopefuls alike crowded within the coliseum's dark inside, the air ripe with sweat and ambition. A few spectators holed up in front of the concessions stands, some gathered together to place bets or chat before the matches, and of course, plenty of gladiator teams lined up at the desk, preparing to register!

Chihiro herself stood within the registration lines. Her finicky hands toyed and teased her pendant underneath the cloak she donned, and she tried to ignore the massive, hulking gladiators with muscles that would make a bodybuilder sob into their pillow from sheer envy around her! These guys all looked super tough and way more prepared for this than she was. Would this really work? Chihiro bit her lip at first, but shook it off. As long as she had her magic, she had nothing to worry about! After all, she faced gigantic monsters, the toughest of foes, and even Kaos himself, and won! Something like a little gladiator game would be nothing, right?

"Next!" cried the very tired drow at the register.

Oh, that was her cue! Chihiro dashed up to the table and grinned, but the drow just cocked a brow at her.

"Ticket line is at the other booth, kid," the drow remarked.

Chihiro winced and shook her head. "Actually, I'm not here to spectate!" Chihiro corrected as she slammed her hands on the table. "I'm here to compete!"

"You? Compete?"

The drow glazed Chihiro over for a moment, and guffawed so hard they fell out of their seat! The drow grunted as they sat back up with a noticeable bump on their head, but shook it off and grinned.

"Are you sure you're thinking straight, kid? You, competing with all these tough gladiators? In your dreams!"

Chihiro gritted her teeth and bit back the urge to raise her voice. Okay, now she really had to compete! Who did this guy think they were, talking to her like that? Did they have no idea who she was? Chihiro Hatsuki, portal master and guardian of all Skylands, the one who sent Kaos running home with his tail between his legs? She was half-tempted to bring that up, but she couldn't blow her cover and risk the entire mission… Not that it wouldn't have been satisfying!

"I'm certain." Chihiro hissed as she shot the drow a glare.

She pressed her hands against the desk and leaned forward, enough to glare down the drow—but in that moment, her glasses slipped from her face! She gasped and swiped them up just before they could hit the desk, but as she hastily fixed them, the drow at the counter gave her an odd, kind of inquisitive look as they hummed. Something about the way their blank eyes stared right at her bored into Chihiro's soul, so she quickly fixed her glasses and coughed into her hand.

"I mean it."

The drow hummed, and a thin, almost kind of knowing smirk crossed their face. "Well, it's your funeral." The drow pushed a paper towards Chihiro and dropped a feather pen with an ink-tipped quill beside her. "Just sign here, list your team name and teammates, and you're good to go."

Chihiro huffed, lifted the pen from the table and scribbled away. For a moment she almost dropped in her real name out of habit, but hastily shook her head.

"Champions of Skylands, member number one, Hitomi Yougetsu." Chihiro whispered at a low enough volume that only she could hear. She smiled, and nodded as she scribbled the name onto the sheet. "Yeah, that's good enough." Chihiro twiddled her pen back and forth, and scribbled it across the rest of the paper. "Titan of Life, Golden Cheat, Midnight Dragoness…" Chihiro winced and twiddled the pen further as she gritted her teeth. "Er, uh… Elf Ninja…" Chihiro grimaced as her eyes drifted from side to side. "Pete…"

Chihiro lifted the pen from the paper, and took a moment of pause to make a glance back at the rest of the team behind her. She had Tree Rex, Spyro, Cynder, Trigger Happy, and Stealth Elf with her—enough to fill out a full team roster. She and Spyro took the time to pick up info from the locals on how many team members they needed for the gladiator matches just before they entered, and with their pool of abilities, surely they were prepped for anything these games could throw at them!

If things went south, Flynn, Cali and the others would be in the audience, just in case, but that wouldn't be a problem. After all, the other Elder Elementals would've probably broken Ermit out by then, and then they could skedaddle! It was the perfect plan!

Chihiro grinned, signed away and pushed the paper back to the drow.

The drow picked it up and glazed it over for a few moments before they stashed it away in a box. "Alright, you're all set." Their hand drifted into a nearby box, and they grabbed something out and dropped it in front of Chihiro with that thin smirk back on their face. "Here's your proof of registration. Just show it to the guards when the games begin and they'll take you to the locker rooms."

Chihiro nodded, and lifted her proof and lifted it up in the faint light. It was a small wheel with Ancient Skylandian runes engraved around its body, and it was made of a translucent red crystal of some kind. Now that she thought about it, it kind of reminded her of the wheel she picked up at the Junkyard Isles. Heck, it even had that kind of strange and magical feeling her first wheel held, the kind that left her hand shaking just from holding it! Whatever it was, Chihiro stowed it away and grinned as she skipped back to where the rest of her group waited.

"We're in!" Chihiro chirped as she held up her wheel for all to see—and not a moment too soon! The familiar chimes of the announcement system sparked ahead, and her eyes turned to the top.

"Attention! The gladiatorial games will begin soon!" proclaimed the voice over the speaker. "All teams head to the locker rooms in an orderly manner…"

"Seems like that's our cue," Spyro remarked as he took flight. "Come on!"

Spyro, Chihiro, Tree Rex, Cynder, Stealth Elf, and Trigger Happy all filed in line with other teams of bulky, highly-trained gladiators. Their hands twitched and their weapons stayed at the ready from anticipation, anticipation that was not helped by the slow pace of the lines! It went at the speed of molasses as the guards checked registration and ushered teams away one by one, and it only put Chihiro further on edge. She withdrew her wheel and ran her fingers across the runes engraved on its surface as the world around her blurred out.

"Hey, you!" cried a tough voice. "Are you coming or not?"

Chihiro winced, perked her head up, and gasped as she shook it. The line cleared up and the drow at the front didn't look particularly keen on waiting! Chihiro skipped up and held out her wheel for them to see.

"Here's our proof of registration," Chihiro explained as she handed the wheel off.

As the drow frowned and examined it, she couldn't help but frown as well. After all, they kept whispering between each other as they examined it, almost as if there was something going on! For that matter, wasn't that drow at the registration booth acting kind of suspicious too, what with the weird looks and the smirks? Chihiro's frown twisted, and she crossed her arms as her eyes fell on the whispering drow.

"Is there something wrong with it?"

The drow just grinned and shook their heads as they handed the wheel back to Chihiro. "Not at all! In fact, it's the opposite!" the drow explained. "You get the special locker rooms!"

"Special?" Chihiro tilted her head and frowned. "What do you mean, special?"

"GUARDS! ESCORT THESE GLADIATORS TO THE SPECIAL ROOMS!"

With a single snap of the drow's fingers, more tall, muscular drow guards appeared practically out of thin air behind Chihiro’s team, then cracked their knuckles and pushed them all away! Grunts and groans came from everyone around as the bulky drow guards shoved them all into a damp, dimly-lit room with a surprising amount of force as they shouted. Tree Rex just barely squeezed himself in right before the doors slammed behind them. The doors locked tight as they all got up, so they all stumbled through the locker rooms with a shrug.

Water dripped from the ceilings while they passed by rows and rows of dented lockers, and they finally took a seat at some rickety old benches… The legs of which immediately gave out and crashed the moment they sat down. For a special locker room, the stuff here sure was low-quality.

Chihiro scoffed, scuffed her shoes against the stone floors and frowned. She recalled the sneers and tough looks of the competing teams she saw before without even thinking. A strange feeling crept down her spine and chilled it to the core. Something about this didn't really seem right, like she was walking right into a trap—had she really made the right call? Were they somehow able to see right through her disguises and knew who she really was? Did this place just have a bad feeling to it? Were these gladiator games tougher than they looked?

She wasn't sure, so she just curled up to Tree Rex while he sat behind her. His mossy legs were nice and soft, almost like a natural blanket, and it almost made her kind of sleepy. Say, she couldn't help but wonder what the other teams were doing right now. Last-minute training, perhaps? Were they ribbing and joking with each other, or gushing about what they'd do with their prizes? Perhaps they sat in nervous anticipation much like Chihiro did now? Well, she could worry about all that another time; for now, she just cuddled up to Tree Rex and drifted off.

"Hey, what's this?" Stealth Elf asked as she lifted a half-drenched pamphlet from the floor and shook it dry. "'Your Intro to the Rumbletown Gladiator Games?'"

Chihiro peeked up, pulled herself from Tree Rex, and curled around Stealth Elf, as did all the others who peered over her shoulder. Stealth Elf shot them a glare as she leaped from the broken bench, turned around and cleared her throat.

"'Rumbletown's gladiator games are a time-honored tradition spanning back to the days of the town's beginning, where teams of gladiators fight their way through grueling trials in the name of glory, honor, and most of all, prizes beyond imagination!'" Stealth Elf droned like she was a teacher reading off of a textbook despite the excited tone of the words on the page. With a hum, she flipped the pamphlet's pages and narrowed her eyes. "'The three preliminary rounds, which consist of jousting, team battle, and a free-for-all brawl, see teams fighting to the best of their ability for an audience with the Arena King and a shot at victory!'"

Well, at least they knew what was in store for them now! But, Chihiro still felt a little uneasy. Those gladiator games sounded pretty tough from what Stealth Elf read, and they'd have to beat all of them if they wanted to free Ermit—to say nothing of that Arena King dude! Whoever he was, he surely wasn't going to bring an easy fight. Chihiro took in a breath. After all, she faced foes like this in her sleep! Surely, something like this was nothing to worry about at all, right?

"Champions of Skylands, we're ready for you!" cried a voice from across the locker room!

"Oh hey, our team name! That's our cue, everyone!" Chihiro chirped as she hopped to her feet, and she snapped her suspenders underneath her magic cloak. "Let's get going!"

They all nodded and scrambled towards a trio of faint white lights in the distance, ones that glowed brighter and brighter while a few bulky silhouettes formed in the distance. As they nearly closed in on the lights, the silhouettes, now revealed to be armed, muscular drow guards, raised their palms and stopped Chihiro’s team in their tracks!

"Hold it!" the drow cried as they pushed Chihiro back into Tree Rex's leg. "Where do you all think you're going?"

"Uh, to the games?" Chihiro remarked as she popped off and brushed herself off. "Didn't you say we were ready?"

The drow in the center scoffed and crossed their arms. "You're not going in just yet!" the drow proclaimed. "We're taking you to the prep rooms first!"

"Oh, alright!" Chihiro nodded and turned around. "Just let us make sure we have everything together, we'll be there in—"

"Who said you get to wait?"

Chihiro blinked and tilted her head as something yanked her off the ground! Before she knew it, one of those drow guys grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and dragged her away with Spyro, Cynder, Trigger Happy and Stealth Elf in his hand! While they were dragged away, Tree Rex was herded behind them as the drow raised their weapons!

"Geez!" Chihiro hissed as she turned around, and avoided the blades that the drow withdrew. "Security here isn't exactly careless, are they?"

Feet scuffed against the cold, stone floor below. Chihiro cringed and pulled her cloak's hood over her head in some attempt to ignore the awful, screeching noises as the drow carried her further and further away. But finally, Chihiro grunted as the drow guard tossed her, Spyro, Trigger Happy, Cynder, and Stealth Elf onto the cold, stone floors. Chihiro pushed herself up and shook her head. Her body turned numb from being carried along for so long, but the feeling returned as she stood up and grappled for the bars nearby as an anchor. Chihiro frowned and ran her hand over the chilly steel bars that lined the stone walls around her, but winced and drew her hand back from the shock of cold.

The faint sound of mumbled apologies and cracking wood came from behind as Tree Rex awkwardly tried to squeeze his way through the halls. Chihiro couldn't help but cringe at the sight of him and the drow, all squished so hard that the drow almost popped as Tree Rex finally popped out of the hallway's entrance—so, she just turned back to the others as they got off the ground.

"Come on," the drow guard scoffed. They shot Spyro, Cynder, Trigger Happy, and Stealth Elf a glare as the four of them staggered up and regained their senses, snorted and turned away. "The prep room is right this way."

Chihiro winced, but nonetheless obliged as she trekked up the stairs with a grimace. So there were three rounds to these preliminaries, but which of them would they end up in? The jousting? The free for all battle? The team battle? She wasn't sure, but hey, she'd be fine as long as she had magic! Well, that was the adage she had repeated to herself, yet that weird, bubbling feeling like butterflies in her stomach still wouldn't rest. Heck, it was like the more she said that, the worse she felt! Chihiro just turned her attention back to the stairs, and tried to avoid the nagging voice in her head.

After a few more hops, Chihiro hit the top of the stairs and warm, red light greeted her as it bathed the otherwise-empty stone room before them. Oddly enough, this room seemed pretty sparse compared to what she’d seen on TV in sports games and stuff. There were no benches, no lockers, and not even a vending machine! For that matter, they were the only ones here, too! Where were the other teams?

"Now, before we begin, we've gotta ensure that everyone gets a fair shot," the drow guard said as they pulled something out of their pocket. "First, if you've got any weapons, we'll have you drop those off here."

Chihiro winced and cast a wary glance at Spyro, who in turn shared it with the others. It might've seemed reasonable at first glance, but between them being shuffled away by themselves, the odd feelings they were all surely getting about this, and now the relenting of weapons, something about it felt suspicious. They did need to get Ermit back, though…

"Fine, we'll do it," Chihiro relented as she, Tree Rex, Cynder, and Spyro stepped back while Stealth Elf and Trigger Happy went to hand in their weapons.

Stealth Elf reluctantly tossed her blades and other ninja weapons inside, and Trigger Happy threw in his pistols. But, Trigger Happy seemed oddly uncomfortable as they passed on,. His lips puckered, and he sweated hard as he skirted past the drow guard without even so much as a glance back!

The drow guard grabbed Trigger Happy by the floor and yanked him off, complete with Trigger Happy squeaking like a dog's squeaky toy. "I said all of it, buddy!"

Trigger Happy whimpered and drooped his ears, but sighed as his arms and legs went limp.

"Fiiiiiiineeeeeeeee."

Trigger Happy dug through his fur and whipped out all sorts of golden weaponry with twice a cheetah's speed! Gatling guns, pistols, cauldrons, gigantic coins, solid gold missiles… The pile only grew more and more by the second, much to the shock of everyone around!

Spyro, Tree Rex, Cynder, Stealth Elf and Chihiro's jaws all dropped as the golden weaponry pile continued to amass, but Stealth Elf rapidly blinked.

"Just how many weapons was he holding?" Stealth Elf asked as she scratched her head.

"Forget that, how can you even hold all that stuff in the first place, Trig?" Chihiro asked back.

Trigger Happy completely ignored her question! Instead, he just glared down the guard and crossed his arms, a large pout on his face as he kicked his stubby little legs at nothing.

"Now can I go?" Trigger Happy asked.

"Are you sure that was all of it?" the guard asked with a quirked brow. He snarled and squeezed Trigger Happy a little tighter as Trigger Happy glared him down yet again. "Really sure?"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Trigger Happy wailed as he struggled to escape. "I have one more!"

Trigger Happy grunted, dug through the back of his fur, tossed a tiny golden pistol onto the already massive pile of golden weaponry… And the whole thing completely toppled over on him and the guard! Trigger Happy giggled as he popped out of the pile, but the drow guard only groaned.

"You're clear to go," the guard moaned as they flicked an ear towards the door at the end. "Entryway's over there."

The drow guard groaned again as he sank into the golden depths of Trigger Happy's entire weapons catalog, but Trigger Happy just giggled and hopped into Chihiro's arms! He sat snug in her grip as Chihiro and the others drew away from the pile, and towards the white light of the door ahead—and more importantly, whatever waited for them.

They passed through the white light of the doorway, and the first thing they met with was rousing cheers and cries mixed with the rhythmic stomping of feet. Though they seemingly came from a coliseum a few miles away, they were so loud, so strong that they sounded like they were just nearby! What they cheered for wasn't very reassuring, either—though their voices all melded into one and made it hard to discern exactly, all of them cried out for blood, violence, and death. Lovely crowd, wasn't it?

Cynder winced as the drow walked up to their fellow guard and whispered something in the guard’s ear that made them both smirk, but she reluctantly trailed after them along with the rest.

Chihiro frowned, stepped just a few inches closer to the guards as they all walked down the dirt path, and perked up her ear. Those guards whispered about something, but just what was it? Something about the way they smirked and giggled about what they talked about didn't exactly ease her nerves any, either.

"You already placed your bets for this match?" one guard asked the other.

"You bet I did! I'm telling ya, I'm gonna rake in the gold this time!" the other guard whispered back as a small smirk crossed their face. "Then again, this time I knew this was gonna be a really one-sided fight."

A one-sided fight? Oh boy, that did not bode well. Chihiro winced and drew back as she clutched Trigger Happy tighter, and judging by the frown on his face, it seemed as though he shared her worries. Or maybe he was just upset about not having his guns. Maybe a little of both.

Either way, Chihiro didn't have much time to mull over the things she just heard, for they all drew to a stop in front of the arena's open gates! The drow guards who escorted them all both smirked, walked aside and gestured towards the gate, which had a smaller drow who held a box full of strange bracelets with a smirk on their face.

"Come on," remarked a drow guard as they pushed Cynder's shoulder, "you're up."

Cynder winced as she turned up to the drow, who in return sat the box down and slipped the bracelets from Cynder's front legs.

"These power-nullifying bracelets will disable any fancy magic powers and such that any of you may have for the games' duration," the drow explained as they clicked their own bracelets onto Cynder's legs, and withdrew a few more pairs from the box. They snickered for a moment, but their laughter silenced itself thanks to a jab from one of the guards. "You know, just, just making things fair and all!"

Chihiro raised a brow at the drow, reluctantly snagged a pair of bracelets and put them on. The cold metal of the bracelets hugged her wrists and gave her a bit of a cold, uncomfortable shock, but she gritted her teeth and bared it. Behind her, Spyro, Tree Rex, Trigger Happy, and Stealth Elf all put on their bracelets, and a faint glow surrounded them. Well, all save for Tree Rex, whose own glow was much brighter as he shrank back down to the others' size! They all gasped as they basked in Tree Rex's smaller stature, but they didn't get much time to remark on it as the guards pushed and shoved against them!

"Go in," the guards said in tandem. "This is your stop, Skylanders!"

Chihiro shot Spyro a wide-eyed look, and she let Trigger Happy jump from her arms as she turned to the guards.

"Wait, Skylanders?" Chihiro cried. "What are you talking about?"

No response came from the guards. Instead, Chihiro, Spyro, Cynder, Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf and Tree Rex were all pushed right into the arena and tossed straight onto its dirt floors!

The chants and shouts of the crowds around grew even louder and more overwhelming as Chihiro pushed herself off the floor and glanced of the stone arena around her. She gasped and jumped up as silver bars slammed over the arena's entrance—guess they really were serious about this! The sound of gnashing teeth and jeers turned Chihiro's attention to the front, where a whole host of gladiators blocked off the way ahead while they rode their steeds. They must have been slotted in the jousting porting first, and more importantly, their competition looked tough! They were all super muscular, armed with tough armor, shiny weapons and strong-looking steeds—but wait a second, something was up here!

"None of these guys are wearing these bracelets!" Chihiro cried as she held up her arm as proof. "What's going on here? This isn't fair at all!"

"That's the point, kid!" jeered a gruff voice from above, a familiar gruff voice!

Chihiro craned her head up, and there above her sat that Brock guy from those announcement screens! He held a chicken leg in hand, gleefully tore its meat to pieces with his fangs, and a smirk crossed his face as he looked down at all the gladiators from his throne.

"Wait a second, you're that guy from the announcements!" Spyro cried as he jumped to all four paws. "What's going on here? What'd you do to Ermit?"

Brock just chuckled as he gulped down another bite of his chicken leg and twirled around its bone.

"It's simple, ya see!" Brock pounded a fist down on his throne, and his snide smile faded away immediately in favor of a frown. "These gladiator games have been getting too squeaky-clean lately! We've been needing a good bloodbath, and with the games' fiftieth anniversary comin' up, Brock needed to get something that'll really get the crowds goin'!" Brock frowned and rubbed his chin. "Brock was really stumped, but then Brock caught that hermit calling for ya!" Brock leaned back in his throne and crossed his legs, his earlier frown replaced with a snide smile. "So Brock thought, with Brock's big, gigantic brain…"

Brock's eyes narrowed while his smirk widened. "How's about Brock use that hermity dude to lure the Skylanders here and get 'em to fight Brock's gladiators here?"

The crowds cheered and stomped harder in response and Brock just chuckled.

"It was perfect! Gettin' some Skylanders in these games to get torn up by gladiators was just the thing Brock needed to get the crowds rollin' in!"

Chihiro growled as the cheers continued, slapped her hand around her bracelet and dug her fingers underneath its ring.

"Not a chance, buddy!" Chihiro cried as she tugged at the bracelet. "Once we get these weird bracelets off, you're gonna be" — Chihiro yipped as a bolt of electricity zapped her — "TOAST!"

Chihiro whimpered and leaned on Spyro, and Brock broke into cackles above her.

"Brock wouldn't do that if Brock were ya," Brock smirked. "Those little bracelets have lil' lightning creatures in them! You take them off and they'll zap ya to death!"

Chihiro grimaced and peered down at the one open slot in the bracelet. There, a creature made of solid electricity with lightning bolts limbs and arms and glowing red eyes giggled and stuck its tongue out at her. She knew she had a bad feeling about this; she really needed to trust her gut more.

Brock chuckled as he leaped from his throne and waved his arms in the air, all as he drank in the cheers of the crowd. "Pipe down, all of ya!" Brock cried as he banged his fists together. "Save your breath for when the Skylanders here get shredded!"

The crowds all came to a close with a few claps of his hands, and he flexed his pecs as he rested his arms on his hip. Brock smirked a bit more and cleared his throat.

"Alright, for the first round, you're all gonna be jousting!" Brock explained as he trailed back to his throne. "Use your weapons and your steeds to knock your opponents out, and the last team standing wins!" Brock smirked and pressed his fist against his face as he sat back down. "And remember, try not to die!"

A couple of skinnier drow sounded off their trumpets as the audience cheered, but Chihiro was far from content!

"But wait, what about us?" Chihiro exclaimed as she waved her arms. "We don't have any of that!"

The trumpets all came to a close as Brock groaned. "Technicalities, technicalities!" Brock replied. "You're all Skylanders! Brock's sure you can do just fine without 'em!"

"Not without our powers or weapons!" Stealth Elf retorted as she walked up beside Chihiro and pointed a finger at Brock. "This isn't fair at all!"

"Yeah!" Cynder, Tree Rex, and Trigger Happy chimed in as they glared at Brock.

"Of course it isn't fair, it's a gladiator game!" Brock scoffed, leaned back in his seat and waved a hand. "Now, let the games begin!"

The cheers and trumpet music sounded off once more, and all the gladiators cheered as they ran in for the kill! Chihiro and the others all gulped and looked towards each other, completely helpless compared to their opponents' massive power. With no other options, they all screamed and made a break for it!

The sound of crashing hooves and clashing weapons like thunder trailed behind them as they dashed back to the gates and yanked on them in some futile hope of getting out—but they were locked tight! No amount of pulling and pushing was getting them out of here! Chihiro gritted her teeth and turned her eyes to the crowds. They said during their planning that were anything to go wrong, Flynn and Cali would hang in the crowds and call for backup, yet the two of them were nowhere to be seen! So much for that.

"Come on, come on!" Chihiro cried as she rammed against the bars, then winced and stumbled back. "There's gotta be some way out of this!"

"Yeah, there is!" cried a nasally voice behind her while the shing of metal pierced the air. "Death!"

Chihrio turned around, winced and clutched her teeth as a lance's blade sat right between her eyes! She backed up closer to the gate's metal without even taking her eyes off of the blade's point, and sweat crawled down her back as she pressed her back against the bars with the blade still fixed on her. Beside her, Spyro, Cynder, and Trigger Happy all joined her as the other gladiators' weapons closed in on them, and all seemed pretty hopeless…

But while they were at their wits' end, all wide eyes and shaky looks towards one another, Stealth Elf didn't relent at all. She just stood silent as a troll gladiator dressed in armor charged towards her with a lance in hand, and a bull steed that came in fast!

"Stealthie, look out!" Trigger Happy cried before he yelped and ducked underneath a sword that nearly skewered his forehead.

Stealth Elf didn't even notice his cries at all. She just stood perfectly still and silent as the troll gladiator came in closer and closer, and as they jabbed their lance forward, she leaped up and landed right on top of the lance!

"Didn't see me coming, did you?" Stealth Elf remarked. She chuckled a bit as her blank eyes fell on the troll's bulging eyes and gaping jaw, jumped onto the troll's head and leaped off. "Catch me if you can!"

The gladiator grunted as they fell off of their steed, snarled and pushed themself up as they waved their lance in the air!

"After that elf!"

The crowd of gladiators screamed and yelled as they all charged after Stealth Elf, and Chihiro and everyone else were completely forgotten in their minds! Their hasty trampling kicked up clouds of dirt and dust all across the arena, and choked out the sights for all. It was a thick fog that completely shielded the chaos's effects from all… Well, save for a handful of gladiators who collapsed on the ground and got trampled in the wake. They all groaned as they laid with twitchy limbs and marks all over their armor, and their weapons all fell out of their hands.

"Look everyone, we've got a chance!" Chihiro cried as she pointed to the ground. "They've dropped their weapons!" Chihiro snatched a lance off of the ground, grinned and held it up for them all to see. "Let's get them before they get a chance to recover!"

Cynder, Spyro, and Trigger Happy all grinned, dashed forward, and dove underneath the cover of the dust and dirt! Spyro and Cynder swept underneath Chihiro and Trigger Happy's legs, and dropped the two of them on their backs as Chihiro and Trigger Happy snatched an extra couple weapons off the ground.

Trigger Happy whistled as loud as he could as Spyro and Cynder took flight. "Hey, everyone! Over here!" Trigger Happy cried!

The dust clouds cleared in an instant, and the gladiators who brawled with each other pulled away. They fixed their gaze on Spyro and Cynder, who just grinned and flew in the air with an armed and dangerous Chihiro and Trigger Happy on their backs! Their faces radiated with a new confidence, for they knew full well that the tables had been turned now. Now, the real fight could begin!

"Come and get us!" Chihiro cried as she beckoned with a free hand!

Several gladiators snarled as Chihiro smirked back at them, waved their weapons in the air and screamed as they charged forward!

A frost elf manning a large polar bear with massive teeth was the first to strike as they swatted the air with their club, but Spyro flew around their back and kicked them off. As the elf screamed and tumbled to the ground, a skeleton atop a slobbering mutticus leaped forward; they snapped at Spyro, who jolted backwards as the mutticus nearly bit his face off! Spyro grimaced as the mutticus stopped for a breather, charged forward and knocked both ride and rider onto their backs! Spyro grinned and panted as the skeleton crashed and split into a pile of bones, but Chihiro grabbed his shoulders and pivoted him left!

"Look out!" Chihiro cried as she buried her head into his shoulders!

Spyro instinctively flew off and with good timing, too! A cyclops on a cyclops mammoth steamrolled the ground ahead, and instead of hitting Spyro and Chihiro, he just slammed into an identical cyclops and knocked that one off of their steed. While the second cyclops collapsed on the ground, the first one just turned back around. Their mammoth scraped the ground as it prepared to charge once more, like a bull waiting to strike!

Before it could run, Chihiro and Spyro charged forward, and Chihiro knocked the cyclops off the mammoth with a single smack of her lance. Chihiro grinned and turned around as the cyclops fell to the ground while its confused mammoth sniffed it, but a formidable gust snapped at her back! Chihiro yipped and clung to Spyro as the wind blew at her back and nearly knocked them both down, turned around and grinned.

Behind her, Cynder zipped from gladiator to gladiator and knocked them off their steeds with slashes from her claws and strikes from her tail! While she did the heavy lifting, Trigger Happy hung from her head with one arm wrapped around her horn as he spun the dial on the lance he had obtained! His eyes narrowed, and he stuck his tongue out as the lance shifted to a sword, a spear, a club, a guitar… And finally, a gun! Trigger Happy's eyes lit up as it shifted into a shiny bronze and silver gun, and he swung back onto Cynder's back!

"Now this is more my speed!" Trigger Happy giggled as he propped himself up on Cynder's head and took aim. "Eat metal, suckers!"

Trigger Happy pulled the trigger, and silver coins spun out from his gun in a massive wave that washed over the other gladiators. They all grunted and screamed as the coins nailed them square in the head, but the ones who Trigger Happy spared screamed and ran off. As they fled from Trigger Happy's wake, he just chuckled and blew the smoke from his barrel!

At the center of it all, Tree Rex kicked a person off of their two-headed dragon steed! Tree Rex hopped onto the dragon's back and cracked its reins, and winced as the original rider faceplanted onto the ground.

"Sorry! It's for the greater good, I promise!" Tree Rex shouted down as he cracked the reins a second time!

The dragon flung its heads to the skies and screeched as it reeled back, and Tree Rex clung to its necks like his life depended on it! His wooden teeth chattered, and they sent bark shavings everywhere as the dragon flew higher and higher with every flap of its mighty wings. The dragon lowered its heads, and screeched as it sent twin blasts of flames and ice crashing down on the arena floors!

Spyro, Chihiro, Cynder, Trigger Happy, and Stealth Elf all screamed and dashed away, as did a handful of the gladiators, yet nobody was quick enough to escape the blow that followed! The fire and ice combined in a massive explosion that engulfed the arena in a bath of flames and frost, and when the mist it left behind had cleared, everyone was down for the count. Most of the gladiators were either encased in ice, or hacked out smoke as they shook the flames and ashes from their bodies, and even the front rows of the audience stood coated in soot and frost!

Chihiro groaned as she and Spyro popped off the wall and dusted the frozen soot from their arms and legs. Beside them, Trigger Happy crashed down and bounced off of the floor. Frost dusted his fur, but he didn't seem any worse for wear as he grinned and gave a thumbs up! Just ahead, Cynder lifted Stealth Elf from the ground amid all the unconscious and afflicted gladiators, but Tree Rex crashed down on the ground and pushed himself up. They were frozen in places, sore with sunburns in others, but they were the last ones standing—they won!

"So much for your bloodbath, huh?" Chihiro remarked as she and Spyro ran up beside Cynder, yet their eyes all fixed on Brock. "We're not going down that easy, Brock!"

Chihiro grinned and turned to the audience, but gasped and steered Spyro out the way as a tomato hurtled straight for them both! Chihiro winced as the tomato splattered on the ground beside her, yelped and jumped off Spyro's back as even more tomatoes came hurtling in. The two of them dashed across the arena grounds as the tomatoes shot after them in a line, all set to a chorus of booing from the crowds above!

"I didn't pay for this!" cried one patron as they lobbed tomatoes. "I wanted blood, I wanted action, not a bunch of chaos and running around!"

"YEAH!" affirmed the crowds as they shook their fists!

"I was told this year'd have more violence than before, but not a single being’s gotten skewered! There's barely been any scratching!" shouted another. "I want my money back!

"YEAH!" the crowd cried as they lobbed more tomatoes!

Chihiro winced and ducked underneath a particularly large tomato, turned around and scoffed as it splattered behind her. "Geez, talk about a tough crowd!" Chihiro groaned as she side-stepped another tomato without even looking back. "Personally, I thought I was doing pretty well!"

"Forget about them!" Stealth Elf cried as she chopped down a cyclops guard before he could get back up. "The gate's down! We can go back and get out weapons!"

Chihiro perked up her brows, turned around and grinned. Stealth Elf was right! The gate behind them completely let up, surely because of her victory, and they had they perfect distraction with the crowd in utter chaos!

"Come on, everyone!" Chihiro cried as she dashed for the gate. "Let's get back and get our stuff before anyone notices!"

"WRONG ANSWER!" Brock screamed, his volume so loud it shook the entire arena!

Everyone winced and turned back to Brock, who only frowned as he got up from his throne and stepped forward. His scowl grew deeper by the moment as he strode up to the balcony's tip, and his fists clenched so tight that his veins practically popped out of his body! Geez, they won, right? Why was he stopping them?

"You may have won, but Brock'd hardly call it earned!" Brock cried as he gestured to the crowds. "That was one of the most boring fights Brock'd seen in Brock's life, and the crowd thinks so too!" Brock's lips twitched, and they lowered enough to bear his fangs. "If anything…" Brock extended his fist, turned it down and made a thumbs down sign. "Brock would call that a loss!" Brock retracted his thumb and groaned. "But, ya were the last team standing, so Brock guesses this means ya get to pass to the next round!"

Chihiro squeaked and fell to her knees as the whole ground around her rumbled and shuddered! Spyro, Cynder, Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf, and Tree Rex all grunted and collapsed around her as the ground rumbled further. In the stands, the arena patrons all screamed and dove underneath their benches…

But no earthquake came!

Rather, a gigantic white hand leaped out from the open arena door and snatched Chihiro’s team up! They all screamed as the hand hung in midair, and their screams only grew louder as it yanked back and retracted into the darkness of the arena depths! They disappeared as their screams with them, and the gates behind them retracted to a close.