"Hello, hello?" Chihiro called as she strode across the vast plains, her voice amplified by the massive, magic megaphone in her hands. "Is anyone here?"

Chihiro frowned and lowered her megaphone as the sound of her question echoed across the vast skies, sighed and stowed it away. It seemed like they walked for hours now, but she met with nothing but vast, open wilderness and the sight of grass stretched across the skies as far as the eye could see! She wanted to be hopeful that there was some sign of life, but she kinda doubted it.

"I don't know about you," Terrafin remarked as he cracked his knuckles, "but I'm not seeing any people here."

"Think we could've landed on a ghost island?" Gill Grunt suggested.

"Wait, ghost island?" Eruptor sputtered. His eyes went wide for a moment, and he dove behind Terrafin with a shudder. "I hope not! Ghosts give me the creeps!"

Terrafin just chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Not those kind of ghosts, Ruptor," Terrafin corrected as he pushed Eruptor out from his back.

"But it would be just our luck to end up on an abandoned island, wouldn't it?" Whirlwind sighed, "I mean, it seems like we've been running into mishap after mishap since this mission began!"

"I'm telling you, it's that ship!" Terrafin crossed his arms and huffed. "Thing's a walking hazard, and not just because of the dude piloting it!" Terrafin shuddered a bit and turned aside. "It's given me a bad feeling ever since I saw it."

"Isn't that just because you're afraid of flying?"

Terrafin's eyes grew wide as Whirlwind spoke. He snarled and jabbed a finger in her face. "I, I'm not! What kind of coward would be afraid of a little flight, anyways?"

Whirlwind winced and backed up. Terrafin and Whirlwind both glared daggers at each other, and the whole world tensed around them as all eyes fell below. That is, until Chihiro pushed herself between the two of them.

"Now, now, everyone, I know things look pretty bad right now," Chihiro said as she pushed them away from each other, "but let's not take our frustration out on each other!" Chihiro chuckled and shrugged. "Besides, we don't know for sure if it's abandoned yet! Swarm still hasn't gotten back from his scouting trip yet!"

The sound of beating wings flapped across the skies and sent powerful winds down onto the ground, so powerful that Chihiro, Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind dug their feet into the ground so they wouldn't get blown away. Though, above them, Thumpback was perfectly unaffected as he chuckled! Chihiro grimaced and brushed her bangs out of her face as she turned up to the skies, but then she grinned!

"And there he is!" Chihiro cried as she pointed to the skies. There, a yellow and black blur zipped back and forth. "I'm sure he's gonna come here and tell us that there's a town or something—"

"Bad news, everyone!" Swarm cried as he came in for a landing. "The place's abandoned!" Swarm hit the ground and sighed. "I flew as far as the eye could see, but all I could find was grass!"

Everyone else blinked for a moment, but Chihiro sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Well, guess I'd better fire up those communicators," Chihiro groaned as she snapped her fingers. A blue communications device landed in her lap, and she frowned as she fiddled with its dial. "Maybe if we're lucky, we can pick up some" — Chihiro paused for a moment and dropped the device, lifted her head and sniffed the air — "is that cinnamon I smell?"

Chihiro sniffed again, grinned and leaped to her feet! The device collapsed to the ground and exploded into sparkles, but she didn't care in the slightest. She was more concerned with what she smelled! Sweet cinnamon, the buttery scent of fresh popcorn and more, oh, it was such a welcome sight, er, smell!

"You all smell that too, right?" Chihiro asked as she turned to the others.

The others frowned, sniffed the air, and their eyes went wide.

"Yeah!" Terrafin remarked while everyone else nodded beside him.

Chihiro gasped, turned and pointed to the grassy plains ahead. "If a scent like that's here, surely there's gotta be someone making something!" Chihiro pumped a fist and sprinted forward. "Come on, everyone! Follow that smell!"

Their fight forgotten and spirits renewed, everyone else ran behind Chihiro across the endless stretches of grassy fields. Soon, the grassy stretches were grassy stretches no longer. Just over the grassy horizon, the faintest trace of twin flagpoles with strings of flags between them poked over the distance, all while the scent grew way more intense! Finally, some buildings—surely that meant there had to be other beings somewhere, right?

Chihiro reached the top of the hill, gazed down and gleamed! What appeared to be a carnival, fair, or something was set up at the base of the hill, and where there was a carnival, there were others! She leaped in the air, slammed her feet down in midair, and crafted a star-shaped platform underneath her!

"Last one to the bottom of the hill's a rotten egg!" Chihiro cried as she zipped down the hill!

The wind brushed against her face in a good, cooling kind of sort as she flew down the hill with such speed that blades of grass flew behind her. God, did it feel amazing! Chihiro leaped in the air, squealed with delight as she pumped a fist, and slammed back on the platform right as it landed at the hill's base. With a stomp from her feet, the platform disappeared and she fell to the ground, right in front of the carnival!

Now that Chihiro got a better look at it, that carnival didn't seem as appealing as it did when she saw it over the hill. The stone paths were cracked, and the various booths set up there seemed kinda shabby and run-down. Heck, the sign advertising some kind of dart-throwing game fell off and crashed onto the ground as she watched! For that matter, it didn't seem like there was anybody there, either.

"Find anything, Chi?" Gill Grunt asked as he flew up to Chihiro, deactivated his jetpack and hit the ground. He took a step forward, frowned and stepped back. "It doesn't seem like there's anyone here."

"That's weird," Swarm remarked as he flew down. "When I flew over this hill, there was nothing here but grass and trees!"

Chihiro shuddered and shook her head as she heard Swarm's words. That didn't exactly sound promising, either.

"Well, it's still our best shot," Whirlwind said as she flew up beside Chihiro. "It wouldn't hurt to at least get a quick look."

Everyone else reluctantly nodded and entered the carnival's mouth. The stones creaked underneath their feet as they passed through the carnival with wary glances taken at all the stands. Despite their emptiness, the stands were stocked to the brims with fresh food and new-looking prizes! The various carnival games operated as if they were just started; they were all bright lights and smooth spinning and cheery music. How could that be if this place was so empty?

"I don't know about you all, but this place gives me the creeps!" Eruptor cried as he clung to Terrafin's arm. "Something about it feels haunted or something."

Eruptor yipped and jumped away while a stray breeze carried a few tattered leaves away. He sighed and wiped the pebbles from his forehead.

"Hate to say it, but I kinda agree with the little guy," Thumpback remarked as he scratched his head. "Something about this place feels a little suspicious."

"Do you think we're really going to find help here?" Terrafin remarked as he crossed his arms and turned to Chihiro.

Chihiro frowned and tapped her foot against the stone. Even she started to have second thoughts about all this, what with how strange this whole place came off. She couldn't quite put her finger down on it, but this whole carnival had a bad feeling seeping off of it like poison! Maybe she should've just tried the communicator after all. Chihiro narrowed her eyes, but gasped as a blurry brown, white, and red figure walked to a booth in the distance. Finally, a sign of life! Chihiro gasped, and turned back to the others, who all grinned in response. Well, save for Gill Grunt, who gave the walls an odd look, but whatever.

"I'll go talk to that guy!" Chihiro proclaimed as she strode forward. "You all just stay here—"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Gill Grunt cried!

His cold, wet hand yanked Chihiro by the shoulder and back to their side. His gaze turned just as cold as Chihiro glared back at him.

"Gill, what gives?" Chihiro hissed as she tried to pull herself out of his grip.

Gill Grunt said no words, but instead pointed to the walls!

Chihiro frowned, followed his finger, and winced between clenched teeth as she saw just what was on those walls. Pictures of the Skylanders and even Chihiro herself hung from dartboards with several darts skewered in them, all alongside posters with red Xs painted over their faces and announcements denying their entry!

"I don't know who these guys are," Gill Grunt remarked as he let go of Chihiro's shoulder, "but something tells me they don't exactly like us."

"Well, that definitely throws a wrench in our plans." Chihiro scoffed as she crossed her arms, and tapped a poster of herself on the wall. " Something's definitely up if these guys don't want Skylanders running around, but what?" Chihiro scratched her head. "More importantly, how'll we find out without getting caught?"

Thumpback and Swarm both knelt down as they examined the posters and dartboards, hands rubbing chins and humming and all, then Thumpback grazed a poster with his finger. But, with how massive his finger was, he accidentally tore a gash through it instead. Thumpback chuckled, then drew back and met Chihiro's gaze.

"They might not want you around, true," Thumpback remarked, "but we've been gone so long that they probably wouldn't recognize us!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Swarm affirmed with a hasty nod. "We'll just go in there and say we need help with the engine, and we can just go in there and find out what's up!"

"Killing two birds with one stone, I like it!" Chihiro proclaimed as she gave a thumbs up. "I'll leave it to you!"

Thumpback and Swarm chuckled in response. The two of them turned around and made their way to the stands. Swarm turned around and waved back at Chihiro just before they left.

"We'll take care of this before you can even blink!" Swarm proclaimed. "Just stay put, alright?"

"Trust me, we're not going anywhere!" Chihiro replied with a chuckle as she waved. She smiled as she lowered her hand, but quirked a brow as her eyes fell on Terrafin's uneasy look. "Fin, what's wrong?"

"I don't know about this, Chi," Terrafin remarked as he drummed his fingers against his biceps. "Those guys have been gone from this place longer than any of us could imagine! Are you sure they'll know what they're doing?"

"Eh, they'll be fine!" Chihiro waved her hand and grinned. "See, I'll show you!"

Twin walkie-talkies appeared in Chihiro's hands with a snap of her fingers, and she set one on the ground while the other laid in her palms. The ground-bound walkie-talkie slithered across the ground until it was little more than a speck to the eye before it finally sat up and radioed in. Static crackled from the speaker on Chihiro's walkie-talkie for a moment, and finally…

"So ye're saying ye're the Elder Elementals?" crackled a voice on the other side. "Ye've gotta be pulling me leg!"

"No, no, we're being honest here!" Swarm cried, his voice strained with a bit of worry. "We're the Elder Elementals, honest to the Ancients, and we need a new engine for our ship!"

"That can't be right! the Elder Elementals died years ago!"

Chihiro winced, and turned off the walkie-talkie before the conversation could get any more awkward. "Alright, maybe they will need some help."

A costume consisting of a tunic and long trousers draped itself over Chihiro's body with a snap of her fingers. She strode up to where Thumpback and Swarm argued, and wedged herself between their legs.

"Yeah, yeah, you're totally the Elder Elementals, right guys?" Chihiro claimed as she patted the sides of their legs.

She chuckled as Thumpback and Swarm gave her odd looks, and turned her attention to the being they argued with: an anthropomorphic dog with brown fur and beady black eyes who wore a red and white carny's outfit. The carny also gave her quite the strange look, so she just chuckled and rested her arm on the counter between them.

"Sorry about all the fuss buddy. When they get in character, they really get into character," Chihiro whispered.

"So what yer saying is" — the carny cocked a brow — "yer cosplayers?"

"What's a cosplayer?" Thumpback and Swarm asked as they tilted their heads.

Chihiro broke into rousing laughter, gut-slapping and all, stood up and grinned as she pointed a finger towards Thumpback and Swarm.

"Good one guys! Good one!" Chihiro chuckled and turned back to the carny. "Yeah, we were actually on our way to an ancient history fair, but then our ship broke down." Chihiro hissed and turned away from view. "Turns out, the engine our buddy got was a major dud." Chihiro forced a smile and turned back to the carny. "So, you wouldn't happen to have an engine here by perchance?"

The carny only chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "Oh, we've got plenty o' parts to spare here, engine included!" the carny's smile faded away as he leaned forward and looked Chihiro in the eye. "But it'll cost ye."

"Oh, gold? How much?" Chihiro asked as she fished her hand into her pocket. Surely, she could summon some gold out of Trigger Happy's stash. Dude had so much that he wouldn't mind if she borrowed some for something like this!

"Actually, we don't use gold here!" the carny corrected with another chuckle. "We've had uh, experiences with being conned out of pay before."

Chihiro immediately silenced her glowing hand and pulled it out. They didn't use gold? Well, that was nothing concerning. Lots of places around Skylands used different kinds of currency! She was sure she could grab some in the blink of an eye, whatever it was!

"Alright, then what do you use?"

"Glad ye asked! See, here at Cutthroat Carnival, we have our own specialized currency—pirate chips!"

Cutthroat Carnival, a name befitting of the surroundings, but not exactly silencing the alarm bells ringing in Chihiro's head. Chihiro warily nodded, a silent sign for the carny to continue.

"And here, we get these by playing one of our favorite games!"

The carny slapped his booth's desk and it immediately flipped over! Its plain wooden surface traded for a sleek, dark blue one that looked to be made out of crystal. It was divided into nine sections, and had a stack of simple square rocks beside it.

"Skystones!"

§

Gill Grunt, Terrafin, Eruptor and Whirlwind all crept behind an abandoned cotton candy stand and huddled together as Chihiro talked it up with the carny at the booth. Chihiro dropped her walkie-talkie on the ground while she had fled. They all pressed their ears against it as they eavesdropped on the convo, and if necessary, looked for chances to intervene.

"See, Skystones is a simple little card game…" the carny spoke over the walkie-talkie's radio.

"Guy sounds like a pirate," Eruptor mumbled as he huddled into a ball. "What's with all the 'Yes' and 'Yers' anyways?"

"Pirates playing card games?" Terrafin remarked while rubbing his chin. "That sounds pretty familiar."

"Whatever it is, hopefully it's nothing too underhanded," Whirlwind whispered. Lightning sparked at the tips of her wings, and she dismissed it was a flap—but her nerves were still easy enough to see as she drummed her chest. "I don't like the looks of this place at all."

"You're telling me," Gill Grunt hissed as he clutched his harpoon cannon.

The four of them whispered among each other as they huddled closer to the walkie-talkie, but soon Terrafin blinked. He peered up as soft footsteps made their way around the ground. Terrafin narrowed his eyes as several pairs of legs made their way around the stand while more chatter came from around the corner, turned around and pushed on Gill Grunt's shoulder.

"Someone's coming!" Terrafin hissed as he yanked the walkie-talkie from the ground. "We've gotta get—"

"SKYLANDERS!"

Terrafin clenched his teeth as the sound of cotton candy splattering on the ground echoed behind him, turned around and found himself face to face with three carnies! One was a tall squid, the other two seadogs, but all of them wore similar outfits donned by the carny that Chihiro talked with! More than anything, they all shook as their eyes fell on Gill Grunt.

"I know ye!" The squid cried as he jabbed a hand at Gill Grunt. "Yer one of those Skylandees that stole the Eternal Water Source! Cap'n Kaos fired us because of you!"

"What're ye doing here?" One seadog carny cried as they bit their nails. "Don't tell me yer gonna run us out of business here, too?"

"Wait, this is your place?" Gill Grunt cried.

Gill Grunt clenched his jaws and reached for his cannon's trigger, but just before he did, the second seadog slammed a button and dashed off! Where was it headed? Well, a quick glance showed where, and it wasn't good—because it was right on course for where Chihiro talked!

"Matey, we've got a problem!" cried the seadog, arms flailed with such speed that it knocked all the carny's Skystones off his deck. "The Skylandees found us!"

"THEY WHAT?" the carny exclaimed as his jaw dropped. He flung all his remaining stones off the deck in a panic, slammed a button and leaped forward. "Shut as much down as ye can! We can't let them escape!"

"Aye-aye, sir!"

The second seadog ran up to stands and slammed on them one by one. In response, the entire carnival seemed to fold in on itself and disappear! Stands sunk into the depths below, buildings folded over and rearranged themselves until they were no more than ordinary huts, banners sank back into the poles they came from… Most concerning, gigantic metal gates shot up in front of the paths back to the beginning! Guess escaping was out of the question.

The carny snarled and ripped his carny outfit clean off to reveal a pirate outfit underneath! He growled as he flicked off his hat to unveil a bandanna, drew a cutlass from his belt and narrowed his eyes. His gaze fixed on a cotton candy stand that folded over to unveil Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin, and Whirlwind!

"Yer not getting' away this time, Skylandees!" the pirate cried as he ran forward with his sword at the ready. "En garde!"

"Crap!" Chihiro hissed. "They've been discovered!"

Thumpback and Swarm narrowed their eyes and went to fight, but just before they could take a step forward, Chihiro rushed forward and flung her arms out in front of them!

"Don't!" Chihiro cried. She adjusted her tunic's position, and winced as she glanced back to where Terrafin, Eruptor, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind stood surrounded by pirates. "If they find out we're with them, our cover's blown! We need to get out of here!"

Swarm flitted backwards and frowned. "But—"

"Don't worry." Chihiro's tense look faded as she glazed over Eruptor, Terrafin, Gill Grunt, and Whirlwind, who already prepped to attack. "They wouldn't be Skylanders if they didn't know how to get out of a situation like this!"

Swarm frowned as he glanced back at Thumpback, but a simple, calm nod from Thumpback eased his nerves! The two of them beamed back at each other before they dashed off, and Chihiro prepped to follow them. Just before she did, her eyes fell on the Skystones deck at her feet and she frowned.

" I'm gonna need these if Skystones is how we get money around here," Chihiro whispered as she knelt down and plucked the Skystones from the ground. "Hopefully, these should be enough to" — Chihiro blinked as a flash of yellow light caught her eye — "play?"

Chihiro frowned, tilted her head, and shifted away one of the few patches of grass on the ground. There, amid the blades of grass and a stray Skystone, was a yellow crystal wheel with ancient runes carved into it that shone with a star's light! Chihiro giggled as it shimmered in her presence, plucked it off the ground and lifted it to the heavens, where the sunlight only amplified its glow.

"Chihiro, hurry up!" Thumpback and Swarm cried from the distance!

Chihiro gasped, and stashed her stolen Skystones and wheel in her pocket. "Coming, guys!" Chihiro cried as she leaped in the air and summoned her star platform. "Just give me a second!"

The star platform tilted a bit underneath Chihiro's weight, but it steadied just in time for her to kneel down and grip it tight! With her seated firm on the platform, the star spun around and dashed across the carnival ground, trails of sparkles and light left its its wake. It was so fast that it found itself by Thumpback and Swarm's side in seconds!

"Told you I just needed a second!" Chihiro winked, fished her wheel out of her pocket and turned it around. "I wonder why I keep running into these things?"

Swarm turned his gaze down at Chihiro, tilted his head and flew in place. "Hey, where'd you find that thing?"

"Oh, this?" Chihiro held out the wheel, and when Swarm nodded, she drew it back to her face. "It was on the ground with all those Skystones that guy knocked over. Why?"

"I don't know, something about it just seemed kind of familiar."

Swarm and Chihiro both shrugged, and dashed into the distance alongside Thumpback with the carnival forgotten in their minds!

While they ran off, Eruptor, Gill Grunt, Terrafin and Whirlwind kept stuck to their places! They were surrounded by pirates at all angles, all of whom armed themselves with cannons, cutlasses, bombs, ropes, and all sorts of other weapons. The pirates all snarled as they closed further in on the quartet, but they just dug their heels in and stood their ground.

"Yer outnumbered, Skylandees!" cried a pirate fish as he shoved a cutlass in Gill Grunt's face. "Ye might as well give up now!"

"Give up?" Terrafin chuckled as he rubbed his snout. "I don't know the word!"

"You may have us outnumbered, true," Gill Grunt remarked as he cocked his harpoon guns and held it out, "but do you have us outpowered?"

The pirate fish who came moments away from slicing Gill Grunt into fish filet backed up and snarled as he clutched his cutlass's handle, a bit taken aback by Gill Grunt's words. He yowled and raced forward. He slashed the air between him and Gill Grunt, but just before coming in contact with Gill Grunt himself, Gill Grunt leaped backwards and pulled his cannon's trigger! A shiny, silver harpoon shot out of Gill Grunt's cannon, and slammed the pirate fish right in the gut. It was so fast and so powerful that the pirate fish fell gasping for air! The pirate fish wheezed as the harpoon tossed him back, grunted and pushed himself up, but there was no need. Several more pirates dashed in front of him and knocked him back over!

The pirates all screamed as they chased after Gill Grunt. Gill Grunt just scoffed and held his trigger tight! The harpoon that laid inside his cannon shuddered for mere moments; its body warbled and shifted until it transformed into a massive anchor!

"ANCHORS AWAY!" Gill Grunt cried as he released the trigger and flew backwards!

The massive anchor screeched towards the pirates as they screamed and ran off, but they were far too late! The anchor slammed them into the backs and tossed them into the first pirate, which in turn sent them all tumbling backwards. They merged into a ball as they rolled, slammed right into a stone wall, and grunted as they split apart and collapsed on the floor.

Gill Grunt scoffed, shifted to his water cannon with a few clicks of the trigger, and jiggled his jetpack as he went soaring into the air. Streams of rushing water poured down from his jetpack and drenched the pirates below, who reeled and grunted as they shook themselves off. The pirates snarled and leaped in their air as they bore their cannons and went to fire, but they just got blown away by massive bubbles! They slammed back into the ground with a grunt, but the streams that propelled Gill Grunt grew larger and more furious as he shot up into the air!

"Hopefully this'll work," Gill Grunt whispered.

The last of the water dripped from his jetpacks, and left only dribbling drops of liquid left as the jetpack streams formed into one solid, babbling mountain of water. The pirates only winced and backed away in sheer shock of the mountain of water's might. The mountain quivered for a few moments, shuddered some more, and water splashed everywhere as it transformed into a gigantic Leviathan made out of pure water! Gill Grunt chuckled as he dropped onto the watery Leviathan’s back, and he punched the air as the Leviathan roared and slammed down onto the ground!

Tidal waves washed across the floor as the Leviathan charged forward, and in one fell swoop, it tackled down the pirates and tossed them away! The pirates screamed as they tossed into walls, slammed into the ground, or got ate up by the Leviathan and spat into the skies. Above all, they were drenched from head to toe; their clothes sopped, fur pressed to their bodies from the weight of the water, and skin and scales shone with slick light!

Its job now done, the Leviathan gurgled and dissipated back into water which then absorbed back into Gill Grunt's jetpack. Gill Grunt grinned and cocked his harpoon cannon. His eyes shot open, he whipped right around, and his cannon flung right in the way of a cutlass that attempted to cut him down! Gill Grunt set his cannon down, shot the pirate away with a harpoon as the pirate reeled, but he himself collapsed on the ground as something slammed into him! As he fell at the pirate's feet, Gill Grunt pushed himself up and turned around to where Terrafin loomed over him and snarled.

Terrafin wiped the blood from his nose as he glared down a pirate with blood on their knuckles. He shouted out as he rushed forward, and Terrafin punched the pirate right in the gut! The pirate grunted and flew back, but Terrafin just leaped up, dove straight into the earth, and zipped around at lightning speed. The earth churned and groaned as Terrafin's underground swim slashed its body up, and the pirates on it gasped and stumbled about. The quakes he created had them completely off-kilter, and all they could do was stumble about and try their hardest not to trip!

Eruptor and Whirlwind drew back in shock for a moment, grinned and nodded towards each other. Eruptor was the first to step forward, his round hands pounding together and the lava in his veins bubbling with a new fury. The pirates all blinked and glared him down, but Eruptor just strode in with arms extended and lava still broiling!

"Feel the burn!" Eruptor cried as his lava veins glowed so bright that they shrieked!

Fire and lava chunks exploded from Eruptor's veins with a single clap and splattered everywhere. Their flames and heat ate away at the wooden walls and grassy patches that made up their battlefield, and even a few pirates' clothes! While those pirates screamed, flailed around, stopped, dropped and rolled even, the ones left unscathed screamed and ran off—but they wouldn't get away that easily!

Whirlwind zipped in front of them as they ran off. Her horn charged with pulsating rainbows and sparkling lightning! The pirates gasped and stumbled backwards, but just before they could escape, raging stormclouds zipped behind them and blocked their path away! They were completely trapped, faced with thundering clouds at one end and a very angry Whirlwind at the other, so they all did the only thing they could do in this situation. They fell to their knees and shielded their faces!

"The storm's rolling in!" Whirlwind cried as she lowered her head!

Her horn crackled as a bright white light shone from it, and out came massive rainbow shockwaves that slammed not just into the pirates, but into the clouds as well! The clouds erupted into a massive storm of electricity that shocked the pirates so hard one could practically see their skeletons through their bodies. It moved in a rainbow-colored cacophony of lightning and light, but finally, the electricity faded and the pirates collapsed to the ground. Their clothes and fur were singed and lit with rainbow embers while their eyes spun.

Whirlwind smirked as she fell to her paws and craned her head back to the battlefield. There, Terrafin wiped his hands as he strode up to Gill Grunt and Eruptor. All around them were unconscious pirates and the remnants of battle, but they won!

"Seems like our job here is done," Gill Grunt remarked as he readjusted his jetpack. Water sloshed out from its top and tapped him on the head, but he just shook it off and grinned. "Now, let's get back to—"

"Forgetting someone?"

The sound of another pirate's voice turned all four of them around, but before they could get a good look, bright pink cotton candy fell at their feet and exploded! Before they knew it, their legs were coated in the sticky, sugar stuff, and they couldn't move an inch despite their struggling. The cotton candy stuck them right to the ground!

"Just let me handle this!" Eruptor shouted as he tapped his hands and hovered them over the cotton candy, "I'll melt us out in a jiffy!"

Flames burst from Eruptor's veins and trickled down to the cotton candy, where their fires ate away at the sugary cotton candy and melted that away. Instead of freeing them, the cotton candy just melted further into sticky pink glue that hardened them to the spot! The flames were extinguished the moment they hit the glue, and once again they were left stuck, perhaps even more stuck than before!

Eruptor winced, and his arms and face faltered as he gazed over the sticky pink glue. "This is why I hate cotton candy."

In front of them, a pirate seadog with the torn remnants of a carny outfit over his clothes cackled and clapped his hands while the Skylanders glared him down from their positions.

"My, my, never thought I'd be seeing the day when I'd catch a Skylandee, much less four!" the seadog smirked as the other pirates got up and crowded around him, and his gaze turned much more sinister. "I suppose dreams can come true!"

Several bulkier pirates whipped out black licorice ropes from their belts, wielded them like lassos, and snagged them around Eruptor, Whirlwind, Terrafin and Gill Grunt! With a simple yank, the four of them flew out of the glue and stuck together by their legs and chests. Their heads bonked together as they got stuck, but the pirates only laughed harder!

"Fishface!" the seadog proclaimed as he pointed to a gillman pirate. "Send 'em to the pits!"

"Aye aye!" Fishface proclaimed!

He saluted the head pirate, scurried over to yet another switch and slammed it open. A hole opened in the ground as a siren blared on and on, and all the pirates turned their eyes on Gill Grunt, Eruptor, Terrafin and Whirlwind, who only glared back in response. Well, save for Eruptor, who forced a smile and chuckled.

"Uh, one question," Eruptor asked as he shimmied around a bit. "Just what are these pits, anyways?"

"Ye'll find out!"

The pirates grabbed Terrafin, Gill Grunt, Eruptor and Whirlwind by the licorice ropes that held them bound, and with one swing, they flew into the hole and crashed down! Though they screamed at the top of their lungs, their screams quickly muffled as the hole closed. The carnival itself restored back to its original position while the hole closed. Stands and stalls popped up at every corner, flags held high, damage cleaned itself up… It was like the battle never happened!

The seadog smirked as he stowed away a remote and wiped his paws. "I knew that automatic cleanup system was a good idea," he remarked as he strolled back to his stand. "Now, time to get back to me newest suckers" — the seadog's eyes went wide, and he coughed into his paw while a sickeningly sweet smile crossed his muzzle — "er, I mean, esteemed customers!"

But, when the seadog arrived, his jaw dropped—for his “esteemed customers” were gone! Not just them, but his Skystones deck was completely pilfered from his stand as well! The seadog gasped as he scoured around the stall for some sign of his Skystones, yet they were nowhere to be found. He started to pant as he poked out from behind the stand, and his sweet look turned sour as his eyes narrowed.

"Those punks must've been with the Skylandees!" the seadog cried. He slammed his fist against the deck while it twitched, and yanked his head over towards the other pirates. "Sound the alarms!"

The pirates yelped in agreement as they slammed buttons at every turn, and red lights shone over the area while sirens blared out! Pirates poured in from every corner with weapons bared and angry looks on their faces, yet the seadog remained perfectly calm as he sat down and steepled his fingers.

"Ye won't be getting the best of me this time, Skylandees."