Chihiro kicked a pebble across the rocky ground, sighed, and leaned against what was probably the seventh unmanned food stand she saw. Though the last path she faced was long forgotten in her mind, it hardly felt like she’d gotten anywhere in this darn carnival! Everything blended together, from unmanned food stand and game after unmanned stand, and every flag-covered pole after flag-covered pole! It was like they walked in circles!

Thumpback and Swarm mumbled to each other above her as they cast glances around the area, and it seemed as thought she wasn't the only one who felt that way! Swarm and Thumpback both seemed just as confused as she was, and she could catch faint whispers of them asking about paths and directions from their conversation. Well, she wasn't sure if it'd be a good idea to ask for directions, but…

A soft rumble interrupted Chihiro's train of thought, and she blinked.

"Was that rumbling sound coming from you guys?" Chihiro asked as she peered up at Thumpback and Swarm.

The two of them frowned, whispered something to each other, and shook their heads. "Wasn't us," they admitted.

Then who was it? Chihiro frowned and rubbed her chin. She could hardly focus or gather her thoughts, but why? That same rumble came again, and now that she paid attention, it sounded pretty close too! As it sounded off a third time, Chihiro frowned, looked down at her stomach, and finally, the realization hit!

"Oh wait, it's just me!" Chihiro cried! She giggled and scratched the back of her head. "Guess all this running around is making me hungry!"

Not just that, either. She hadn't really gotten to eat much before their unfortunate crash, and now, it really started to bite her in the, well, stomach. She really needed to get going and find this engine, but she was so tired and hungry that it finally started to sap the life from her. She could only trudge along, and it felt like a struggle every time she did. What she wouldn't give for a burger right now…

Chihiro sighed and sat down. As she did, one of the sweetest scents she ever smelled wafted around her nose! It was a fresh, cinnamon-y scent, mingled in with something that kind of smelled like berries and sugar, and it came from right ahead! Chihiro grinned, and her mouth started to water as the scent grew stronger and stronger. The thought of carnival sweets completely renewed her energy, and she dashed down the trails without hesitation! As she raced down, Chihiro gasped and grinned.

There all around her were stands lined with fresh carnival food! Hot dogs and popcorn, cotton candy and funnel cake, candy apples and ice cream… None of the stands were manned, but all the food looked so good, and she had a hard time holding back with her empty stomach!

"There you are, Chihiro!" Thumpback cried as he and Swarm ran up behind Chihiro. "I was wondering where you ran off to!"

"Heaven, that's what!" Chihiro cried as she gestured towards the stands around them. "Look at all this carnival food!" Chihiro clasped her hands together and giggled. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I took a little bit~"

Thumpback grimaced as he shot a glance back at Swarm. "I don't know about this," Thumpback remarked as he backed away from the stands. "Something about all these stands doesn't feel right."

"I'm with Thumper on this one," Swarm remarked as his wings buzzed. "Why are all these stands empty if all the food here's fresh?"

Chihiro blinked, frowned and rubbed her chin. True, they did have a bit of a point. Besides, she wouldn't really be able to pay considering that she didn't have any of those fancy pirate chips. She still had a bad feeling though these stands were abandoned, too; it was as if somebody watched her! But, her rumbling stomach only served to remind her of how hungry she was.

"Well, there's nobody here. I mean, they wouldn't mind if I just took one plate of funnel cake or two," Chihiro mumbled to herself as her eyes fell on the funnel cake stands! She snatched a plate from a stand, and grinned as she leaped to the cotton candy stands. "And maybe some cotton candy would be nice!"

"Chihiro, no!" Swarm scolded as he tried to snatch her off the ground, but she slipped out of his hands right as she finished her cotton candy and made a beeline for the hot dogs. "I'm pretty sure suspicious abandoned food is abandoned for a reason!"

"Besides, I'm pretty sure we don't have enough chips for any of this!" Thumpback remarked. He knelt down, examined an ice cream cart's sign and shuddered. "I don't know much about modern money, but five hundred seems like a little much for a tiny ice cream."

Chihiro chuckled as she zipped in front of Thumpback, and snatched a chocolate-covered ice cream cone from the stand. "Ice cream, my favorite!"

She took one lick, and Chihiro couldn't help but hum her praises as the sweet, silky-smooth mixture of chocolate and cream hit her tongue! It was so sweet, fresh, and totally unlike the stuff her parents got from the store all the time!

"I'm telling you, Chihiro, this has bad idea written all over it!" Swarm proclaimed as he crept up behind her. His antenna twitched and he turned around. "Wait, I think someone's coming!"

Chihiro perked up, turned away from her half-finished ice cream cone as talking hit the air, and quickly jumped behind a stack of crates. She tossed her ice cream in the air, leaped up and snatched it with a gasp. Chihiro giggled and licked it clean.

"Phew, I almost dropped my ice cream!" Chihiro remarked as she chucked the cone into a bin and cleared her throat. "Anyways" — Chihiro poked her head around the crates, and her eyes fixed on a seadog in pirate getup who leaned against an alley's wall — "who the heck is that?"

Chihiro frowned and drummed her fingers against the crates. The seadog seemingly pulled out some kind of walkie-talkie and spoke, yet the distance was too great for her to pick anything up. All she could glean was faint whispers marred by the sounds around her. The pop of frying oil behind her rattled in her ears, the wind chilled her face with its cold slaps and even colder howls, the wood around creaked and howled as some of it collapsed in loud, crashing piles, and it all jerked the seadog's head away! Chihiro gasped and dove back underneath the boxes, but when she found that no footsteps came, she poked her head back over the boxes to find the seadog still deep in conversation.

"All this background noise is a pain," Chihiro grumbled as she cast out her hands.

She crafted a square listening device small enough to fit in the palms of her hands, popped the earbuds attached to it in, and tapped a few buttons. A small satellite popped out from the device's top and scanned the area around. It brought those same sounds from before to her ears: the popping oil, the creaking woods and whistling winds, and they all intermingled with the sound of faint conversation!

Chihiro raised her brows, and spun a knob on the device around as the other sounds all lowered in tone while the conversation came to the forefront of the stage! She paused for a moment to shush Thumpback and Swarm as the conversation lulled, and turned back to the seadog. She carefully lifted the listening device up over the crates, just enough that it couldn't be seen, but it could hear clearer.

"So, ye got those other mabu that tried to turn tail on us? Glad to hear it, matey!" the pirate crooned. The faint sound of chattering came from the other side of the speaker, and the pirate chuckled. "We've already get one of those fellas hangin' in the dungeons, so if ye could just drop 'em off shortly—"

Dungeons? They took prisoners? Chihiro knew there was something fishy about this place! She hummed and twisted her listening device's knobs a bit more.

"Hey, let us out of this thing! It's cramped in here!" cried a voice from over the walkie-talkie. "See, Snuckles? I told you not to get those hot dogs!"

"But, Captain Rizzo! They said the hot dogs were free!" whimpered another, weaker voice.

"Yeah, free for five hundred of those weird chips! Because of you—"

"Silence, lads!" cried another pirate over the walkie-talkie. "Keep that up, and we'll put ye in the next batch of funnel cake batter!"

"Rizzo? Snuckles?" Chihiro gasped. "That, that couldn't be them, right? What would they be doing in a place like this?"

Those were definitely Rizzo and Snuckles’ voices that she heard over the walkie-talkie! Whatever it was, Chihiro lifted up the listening device and craned it just a bit more, her hands trembling just a bit as she twisted the knob further—but her fingers slipped, craning it in a full spin around the device! A massive burst of feedback shot out from the device. Chihiro screamed as she fell on her back, and her ears rang from the sound! Her hands dug into her ears, and nearly tore them off just to get the ringing to stop. As her vision blurred from the massive pain in her chest, the faint, blurry sight of someone running towards her came into view.

"Who, who the heck are you?" Chihiro asked as she forced herself back up—but only met with a cutlass in her face in returned! Her blurry vision started to sharpen, and it revealed the image of a snarling seadog clad in pirate clothes. Wait a second!

Chihiro shook her head again, clearing the extra static from her brain, and her eyes fell on the walkie-talkie barely gripped in the seadog's other paw. Oh crap, this was the same guy! She was spotted!

"I could ask ye the same thing!" cried the pirate seadog as he pushed the cutlass's tip closer towards the space between Chihiro's eyes. "What're ye doin' snoopin' around me carnival? Ye a spy or something?"

Chihiro's little lunch started to sicken her stomach, or maybe that was her nerves, who knew.

"Er, well, I, er, uh," Chihiro mumbled as she backed into Thumpback's leg. Thumpack gave her one of those tired looks, the ones that just screamed "I told you so," and Chihiro just scoffed before she turned back to the pirate. "Oh, I'll tell you something alright!" Chihiro cried as her hand flared blue. "Eat this!"

With a flash of blue light, a pair of energy spheres knocked both the cutlass and the walkie-talkie right out of the pirate's hands. The pirate blinked as he crept towards Chihiro. His amber eyes sparkled with confusion as he sniffed the air, but they shrank as he leaped back and screamed again.

"I know ye!" the pirate cried. "Yer the portal master the cap'n warned us about!" The pirate panted as he scrambled towards one of the stands. "Yer not getting' out of here alive!"

Chihiro gasped, summoned a sphere, and gripped it tight as the pirate prepared to slam down a button on the stand. Chihiro squeezed the sphere, and she smashed it on the ground! Cyan light tunneled through the earth underneath her feet, and bars of light shot up right in front of not just that stand, but all those around. The faint tint of cyan brushed against her and everyone's faces as the terrified pirate sputtered and stumbled back, but Chihiro just smirked and summoned a cutlass of her own. The heavy shadows that cast down around her from Swarm and Thumpback looming over her probably added to the super-intimidating aura she surely gave off.

She held the cutlass up and squeezed its handle tight, sending sparkles off as she narrowed her eyes. "I heard your little conversation, you know." Chihiro's voice was cold, almost monotonous as she twisted the cutlass further. "Sounds like you've got a couple friends of mine in your clutches!" The cutlass shot forward in Chihiro's clutch until it was the one that pointed close to the pirate's face. "Mind telling me where they are?"

The pirate sputtered for a moment, his eyes darting from side to side as he patted down his pockets. "Sure, laddie, they're, erm," the pirate began as he dove into one of his pockets. He shuffled around it, smirked and yanked out a remote!

"Like me'd really tell ye that!"

He tapped the button, and sirens blared all around the stands with such intensity that they blew Chihiro's light bars to sparkles as the button sank into the remote! Surely, he prepared to send in the guards, but luckily, she had plenty of energy now! She prepared to run as the world around shook surely in anticipation of the pirate armies slated to come.

The rocks on the ground bounced as their floor rumbled, and…

They unveiled a Skystones stand? That's right, out from the ground came a humble Skystones stands with a blank board and a stack of Skystones next to it. There were no pirates, tricks, or any other dangers in sight! The sirens' wail came to a cease as the pirate strode up to the stand, and he grinned as he sat down and patted its boards.

"If ye really wanna know, then ye'll have to beat me in a game of Skystones!" the pirate proclaimed, his eyes like daggers as they dug into Chihiro. "Not like ye have any chance a' winnin'!" The pirate chuckled as he leaned closer. "I'm the best Skystones player here short of the cap'n himself, and ye've got newbie written all over yer face!"

Chihiro scoffed, but nonetheless nodded and took the seat in front of her. She did kind of have to find that info out, after all! The Skystones board shimmered as she and the pirate set up their decks, and finally she took a deep breath in. She may be new to Skystones, but she wasn't going to let that stop her!

The pirate grinned as he held out a paw. "I'll let ye go first."

Chihiro winced, nodded and drew out her chompy stone. Something about the way he smiled didn't seem quite right, but she might as well take the opportunity when she got it!

"I play my chompy!" Chihiro cried as she slammed her chompy Skystone on the board!

She grinned as she gazed it over for a moment, but gasped as a drow lance master slammed beside it! An illusion of a drow lance master stabbing her Skystone glowed from its sleek stone surface, and as it faded into sparkles, her stone flipped over to her opponent's striking red!

Chihiro shook her head as the pirate cackled, the smugness in his voice like nails on a chalkboard to her. "Fine then! That was only one stone!" Chihiro cried as she spiked up another stone and slammed it beside her chompy. "I play my inhuman shield!"

As Chihiro made her proclamation, an illusion of an inhuman shield leaped from the stone and rammed right into her chompy! The chompy returned to her side in an instant, and with its job done, the inhuman shield nodded and vanished!

"How do you like that?" Chihiro leaned back in her seat and smirked, "My inhuman shield has a passive effect too, so nothing you do will take it away!"

"Are ye sure about that?"

Chihiro paused and raised a brow, her leg wedged so that her chair wouldn't topple over. Just what was he talking about?

"I play me drow blade witch!"

Chihiro leaned forward, gasped and toppled over while her chair went with her! Back on the board, the pirate's drow stole away her inhuman shield—but, she was sure that one would be immune to anything! What happened?

"Shocked, aren't ye?" the pirate sneered as he crossed his arms. "Only an amateur wouldn't know about how the drow blade witch can counterattack any passive effects!"

Chihiro gulped, and spiked up her drow archer and slammed it on the board, all while she dodged his gaze. After all, she was sure this dude could smell fear.

"I play my drow archer's special move!" Chihiro cried as her Skystone started to glow. "Flaming Arrows!"

Out from the card popped an effigy of a drow archer. It cackled as it fired its bow and arrows to the heavens, and its arrows rained down as they slammed into the cards! One by one, the cardsall flipped back to her blue as the effigy vanished, and Chihiro wiped the sweat from her brow. She had the entire board on her side now, and this victory was in the bag! The pirate placed a stone on one of the lower corners, and Chihiro in tandem put another on an upper corner.

"My, my, ye look awful happy, don't ye?" the pirate crooned as he twiddled his fingers. "Probably think ye gots this in the bag, don't ye!"

Crap, that guy completely read her mind! Cold sweat came from Chihiro's brow as she glared back at the pirate, who chuckled as he leaned forward and snatched a Skystone from his deck! He didn't even take his eyes off of her as he cackled and spiked his Skystone up. Just what did this guy have planned?

"I play me mohawk cyclops's special move!" the pirate cried as he slammed down a mohawk cyclops stone. "Ax Pirouette!"

As the pirate cried out, the Skystone he laid on the board twirled around and shot an ax that spun around through the board. Its ax slammed into the Skystones that Chihiro claimed, and they immediately flipped back to red! Now, bright crimson stones outnumbered Chihiro's blue once again—and worse yet, she only had a space left!

"Don't count yer chickens before they hatch, laddie!" the pirate cackled. "Bet'cha regret challenging me now, huh?"

Not like I had a choice… Chihiro thought as she rolled her eyes. Her eyes fell towards her Skystones deck, and she frowned as she drummed her fingers against the table. I only have one move left, so I've gotta make it count, but how?

Chihiro's frown grew larger as she glazed over her stones. She only had a few, and none of them would be enough to win her this match: a chompy, a troll, an enfuego chompy she snagged from the carny from before… Wait, an enfuego chompy, that was it!

"Actually, I'm not finished yet!" Chihiro cried as she snatched her enfuego chompy off the deck and spiked it up, "I play my enfuego chompy's special move" — Chihiro slammed the Skystone on the board right as it started to glow — "Festival of Fire!"

As Chihiro lifted her fingers from the Skystone, an effigy of an enfuego chompy leaped from the stone and bounced around! Flames burst from its feet as it did, and shot out all around it as it flipped all the red Skystones over to blue! Its flames vanished along with it, but their effect was well-noticed, for it won Chihiro the match!

The pirate's eyes fluttered, and he gasped and fell back into his seat as he clutched his chest!

"But, but, I'm second to almost none!" the pirate cried between short, frantic pants. "How could I have lost?"

"Yeah, yeah, spare us the sob show," Chihiro remarked as she pounded a fist on the table and leaned over. Her eyes narrowed and a snarl forming on her face. "Speaking of others, you wouldn't happen to know where we could find our friends, would you?"

The pirate gulped as Chihiro glared him down, and he whimpered as he sunk further into his seat. "Er, well, they're on the second loading dock! It's right past here, across the shipyards on the way to the captain's manor!"

Chihiro just grinned and waved towards Thumpback and Swarm as the pirate groaned and flopped out of his seat.

"TB, Swarm, hear that?" Chihiro shouted, "We're not that far!" Chihiro leaped out of her seat and grinned as they ran up to her. "Come on!"

The three of them grinned as they ran off, but with how big they were, Thumpback and Swarm left Chihiro in their dust in an instant! Chihiro smirked as she swiped a few more Skystones and spikes from the deck, and stuffed them in her pocket as she ran off.

"Hey guys, wait for me!"

§

"The Skylanders!" Blobbers gasped as he wiped his tears away and gripped the bars of his cell tight. "What are you doing here?"

"Forget that, what are you doing here?" Whirlwind asked as she flew up to Blobbers and tilted her head. "How you get in these cells?"

Blobbers flicked his ears as Whirlwind asked, and broke into sniffles. "Oh, that? It, it, it…"

Blobbers sniffled, whimpered, and soon broke into full on sobs! Waterfalls poured from his eyes, and though he tried to muffle his cries with his arms, it hardly worked.

"IT WAS AWFUL!" Blobbers wailed between sneezes and sobs. "I, I, the rest of the MDF and I stopped here just to have some good, old-fashioned carnival fun after a patrol here, but, but, this whole thing was just a big old shame! They overcharged us and the others left me to pay…" Blobbers sobbed into his sleeve. "And when I couldn't pay them, they locked me up here with all these other beings they conned! They make you stay in these dungeons, and make a bunch of stuff for their carnivals, and then they sell it to everyone else and we don't even see a cent!"

"So that's what that pirate meant!" Eruptor gasped as he turned to Gill Grunt.

"That's horrible!" Whirlwind cried as she clasped the bars with her paws, "Locking others up, conning them into working for you, and taking all the profits for yourself… It's unforgivable!"

"I know!" Blobbers wailed as he buried his teary, snotty face in his paws. "I just wanted to have a good time at the carnival, but look where it got me!" Blobbers sniffled as his voice cracked and strained even further. "Now everyone left me and I'll be locked up forever!"

A chorus of moans and whimpers came from all the other cells as Blobbers devolved into sobbing and pounding his fists on the floor. There, even more beings stayed locked up, and they dressed in stained clothes and teary eyes.

"I just wanted one little candy apple," sniffled an elf as they drew circles on their dusty floor. "I thought I had enough, but I was off only by one chip, so they sent me here!"

"I haven't seen my family in ages," bemoaned an anthropomorphic dragon as they scratched their horns, their wings twitching on their back. "I wonder if my sister is still doing alright."

"They knocked me out and dragged me here before I even knew what had happened!" exclaimed a more feline mabu as they kicked the wall. "I took one step on the island, and they immediately decided I was in debt to them!"

Everyone around sighed and slunk against their walls, their voices strained and laced with defeat.

"What were we thinking? Now we're gonna be trapped here forever!"

The cries and moans and sobs began once more, but this time they were interrupted! The mighty crack of lightning came from a stormcloud above, and all eyes turned to Whirlwind as she sent the cloud away!

"Oh no you aren't!" Whirlwind vowed as she puffed out her chest. "We'll break you out and bring you back home in no time!"

"Yeah!" cried Gill Grunt as he hefted up his cannon. "Those pirates aren't gonna get away with this!"

"Alright, everyone!" Eruptor shouted as he pounded his fists together. "You might wanna stand back for this!"

The prisoners did as told as they leaped back in their cells, and Eruptor just smirked as he shot magma blobs out from his hands! The blobs smashed into the cell's bars, splattered and turned their metal red hot, but more importantly, they also completely melted the metal away. The lava cooled almost immediately and formed a bridge to the open world!

Whirlwind, Gill Grunt and Terrafin dashed inside and pulled the prisoners out as the prisoners grinned and cheered. Freedom, at last—or at least, that's what they thought would happen. The moment they left the cells, sirens blared and the whole room turned a blood red!

"Attention, attention, all faculty at hand!" a pirate's voice blared over the loudspeakers. "There has been damage to the cells in the holding chambers! I repeat, there has been damage to the cells in the holding chambers!"

The prisoners gasped as the siren's voice grew louder by the second, but before they could panic, a feline mabu dashed out of Terrafin's arms and punched a brick in the wall! They screamed and waved their hand around as it turned red and sore, but one simple creak set the pain aside in their mind—for they opened a hole in the wall!

"Come on, everyone!" the feline mabu cried as they waved back, and dashed into the tunnel. "I've been mapping out an escape route from this place for forever now!" The mabu's voice grew fainter as they disappeared further into the halls. "This way!"

Whirlwind's horn flared with rainbow light, and everyone nodded as they followed her down into the depths of the tunnel. Her horn's light was the only thing that brought some sense of the tunnel's inky black. Luckily, it in itself was a pretty straightforward path, and shortly it brought them away from the dungeons and to the foot of a large, spiraling staircase!

The feline mabu already began their trek up its stairs, and seems like the others head to follow! Whirlwind was the first as she silenced her horn's light and dashed ahead, and the prisoners warily tailed behind her. Even though they made their great escape, they still seemed awfully wary! Their eyes shifted from side to side as they hiked up the stairs two at a time, and not just from the height.

"Is this really a good idea?" the dragon asked as they peered down at the flights of stairs below. "What if the guards find us?"

"Now I doubt that'll happen!" Terrafin remarked as he leaped up behind them and ran up the stairs. "We blocked off the way to those dungeons before we got here, and pretty well, too!"

"I doubt they'll be able to get through before we get out of here!" Gill Grunt added as he hopped up beside Terrafin. "It'll just be smooth sailing from here" — a scream echoed around the room, and Gill Grunt's face fell — "on out."

Everyone hit the top stair in tandem, gasped and backed away; some of them nearly tumbled back down the stairs in shock if not for others grabbing them!

An entire squadron of bulky pirate guards with rippling muscles stood and glared them down right at the upper floor. Worse yet, one had the feline mabu tight in their grip! Though the mabu tried their best to get out, the guard just wouldn't relent no matter how much they struggled. Ultimately, they stepped as the guard squeezed them tight and forced them to catch their breath instead.

"But, I didn't think they'd have guards here, too," Terrafin admitted as he clenched his fists.

One of the pirate guards spit into an empty barrel aside, and cracked his knuckles as he stormed forward.

"I had a feeling something was brewin' when I heard all that rattling coming from the downstairs," the guard growled as his veins pulsed in his muscles. "So ye thought ye could get away with our employees, huh?" The pirate scoffed as he slipped a pair of brass knuckles on his hands. "Har de har har! Don't make me laugh! Ye'll just end up joining them!"

"No way!" Gill Grunt cried as he cocked his harpoon cannon. "We're not going down without a fight!"

While all four Skylanders stepped forward, Terrafin turned a glance back at the quaking prisoners and smirked. "You guys might wanna stand back," Terrafin remarked as he squeezed his fists. "This could get a little messy!"

The Skylanders and pirates both glared each other, and the pirate who kept the mabu tight in his clutches snarled and drifted away. Whirlwind noticed this immediately and nearly drifted off, but before she could, loud footsteps drew her back to the other pirates!

"BRING IT ON, SKYLANDEES!" the pirates roared as they jumped into the fray!

Terrafin snarled, jumped right in and immediately blocked off one pirate's path! The pirate snarled and slugged a punch, but he just slid out of the way and flung a punch back at the pirate—or so it seemed! Terrafin just stopped his punch inches away from the pirate's face as the pirate immediately went to shield it!

"Made you look!" Terrafin smirked!

With a grunt, he leaped, flipped into the air, and bodyslammed the pirate right into the ground! The guard grunted and stumbled up as Terrafin leaped off of him. Just before the pirate could recover, a second pirate rammed straight into him and knocked them both back on the floor.

"Watch where ye're stumblin', ye buffoon!" the second pirate chided as he pushed the first pirate away and wiped his hands!

"I don't know, I feel like you should be looking out for yourself instead!"

The second pirate grunted, and turned around right as a massive anchor hurtled straight for him and collided with his chest! The pirate grunted as the anchor tossed him back down the stairs, and he went rolling down with a scream. His jittery cries echoed more and more faintly as he disappeared down the staircase, but it didn't matter to the other pirates, for they had reinforcements on the way! Several more pirates stormed down the staircase, and they were just as bulky and built as the others!

"Oh no you don't!" Whirlwind cried as she flew up to the door ahead and lowered her horn!

A burst of electricity shot out from her horn and slammed into the doorway. The moment it made contact, it formed into a grid of electricity! The pirates all stopped in their tracks, grunted as they examined the electric grid, and one tapped it. The grid zapped the pirate who touched it so hard that he fell unconscious on the floor with fur on end and smoked with electricity! Just the sight was enough to send the other pirates screaming and racing back up the stairs.

"Cowards!" hissed one of the first pirates as they glared down the fleeing pirates. They hissed through their fangs as the last of the pirates scurried up the stairs, and jumped back to their own feet. "They may have fled, but I'm not giving in!"

"Neither are we!" Eruptor, Whirlwind, Terrafin, and Gill Grunt retorted as they went to fight, but footsteps coming from the side froze them in place!

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were ye," said another pirate as they held a cutlass to the feline mabu's throat. "One wrong step, and this guy gets it!"

The four of them winced, and laid down their arms and fists. They did need to go past, but it they did, who knows what would happen to the mabu! They shot glances towards each other, as if they were ready to plan, but then something pink and round tossed out from the crowd!

"Take that!" Blobbers cried!

As soon as Blobbers shouted out, the bomb exploded and sticky cotton candy wrapped around the pirate! He grunted and groaned as he tried to pull himself out of the sugary mess, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break free!

"Don't just stand there and gawk at me!" the pirate hissed as they glared at their comrades. "Get me out of this!"

Another pirate hesitantly nodded and rushed to the stuck pirate’s side, but another bomb flew forward and exploded before they could even tear into the cotton candy! Now, both of them were trapped tight in the cotton candy, and neither of them would get out anytime soon!

Eruptor paused, turned around and grinned as he caught sight of the prisoners behind him. The prisoners in turn all grinned as they surrounded a barrel filled with cotton candy bombs!

Terrafin and Gill Grunt rushed forward, tore apart the cotton candy, and pulled the feline mabu out with a grunt as they carried the feline mabu to safety.

With them safe, Eruptor just smirked and held out his hands. "Feel the burn!" Eruptor cried as he shot out two lava blobs.

The lava blobs conked the pirates right in the heads! As the pirates both fell unconscious, the feline mabu stumbled over to a nearby wall with a suspiciously dark panel amid the others, pressed it down and grinned.

"This should give us another route out," the feline mabu remarked as they rubbed their chin, "but I feel like there was something about this I was forgetting…"

"Forget about that!" Blobbers cried. "The electric's not gonna last forever, and neither will those pirates' comas!"

The ground rumbled as the Skylanders and the other prisoners all piled in. The feline mabu turned around right as the others all toppled on them! Everyone groaned and collapsed in a pile as the door slid behind them, but frowns fell on all faces as they stood up and shook themselves off.

"So, where are we supposed to go again?" Eruptor asked with a shrug. "Because I can't see a way out with the sights around here,."

Eruptor was right. The whole place was a mirror maze, and mirrors that occasionally flickered and flashed blocked off all ends. There seemed to be no way out, but it wouldn't be a hidden passage if it was just a dead end, right?

"That's right! This one was a mirror maze!" the feline mabu proclaimed before they yanked something out of their tattered pocket and unfurled it. "Luckily, I have a map! There's a path out here that should take us to the docks behind the captain's manor. There's airships there that can get us out!"

Everyone followed the feline mabu down as they trailed across the maze's paths, eyes occasionally drifting towards the masses of shiny mirrors as they glowed in the sparse light provided from the glowing crystals overhead. The faint twinkles earned a few oohs and aahs from the prisoners as they admired their reflections in the mirrors; some even tapped the mirrors and sent sparkly dust cascading onto the dark blue stone hallways. Their focus on the mirrors quickly disappeared as they joined the group in trailing through the halls.

The faint sounds of wind howling sang through holes on the way. Its tone was low and echoing as it brushed against the mirrors. It sent even more sparkly dust cascading down, and some dust even fell onto the floors as the breeze sent a few mirrors creaking down.

Another howl sent the fur on a few prisoners' backs up, and Blobbers' teeth chattered as he clung to one of the more lizard-like prisoners while they gnawed on their claw.

"What was that howling just now?" Blobbers sputtered between his chittering, chattering teeth, and yelped as another, louder breeze run through the area.

Terrafin waved a hand aside ahead of them. "Probably just a draft or somethin'," he scoffed as he lowered his hand. "Don't worry about it."

Blobbers frowned as another breeze, one that sounded more like laughter than howling, knocked a few prisoners' hats off their heads. Blobbers clasped his hands as they went to reclaim their hats. His eyes trailed towards the walls, their cobalt rock so thick that the holes were barely visible, if there were even any at all. The mirrors around him creaked from side to side—but more than that, a silhouette unlike any of theirs giggled as it passed through the mirror's reflection, disappearing in an instant!

"Wait, I know I saw something there!" Blobbers cried as he turned to the other prisoners. "That had to be one of you, right?"

Nobody was anywhere near the mirror in question—not enough that they could be seen in it, anyways. They all shrugged as Blobbers gulped, and the dragon captive just chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Calm down, buddy!" the dragon captive hissed as they flicked their wings back and forth. "Breakouts put everyone on edge. You're probably just seeing things!"

As the prisoners left Blobbers behind, Blobbers himself just crept up to the mirror and frowned as he examined his reflection inside it. He tapped the glass with his finger, tilted his head, and even waved and stuck out his tongue as he pulled on his cheeks! Every action he made was perfectly mirrored with no signs of any odd characters or strange magic to be seen. There weren't any odd reflections in the mirror, no strange faces looking back at him, and no motions that weren't perfect copies of his own! Blobbers frowned and rubbed his chin, but warily shrugged as he stepped aside from the mirror…

Yet, his reflection still stayed in its place! Blobbers turned back a little, frowned as he narrowed his brows, but screamed and collapsed as his reflection laughed right at him!

"Blobbers, what's wrong?" cried Whirlwind as she flew over and helped him back up.

Heavy breaths pushed Blobbers' chest up and down. His fur turned pale and ghastly as he hastily jabbed a finger at the mirror. "My, my reflection! It's moving on its own!"

All eyes turned to Blobbers' reflection as it cackled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Around them all, the howling of the winds grew louder, yet the winds themselves didn't grow any more furious than before—if they were even winds at all! The breezes blew no faster or stronger than before, and the only thing intensified was the sound of howling, yet the whole area chilled significantly! The dust changed to frost as the mirror's surfaces glazed over, the chills sending fur on end and goosebumps running up people's spines.

The source of all this? It was none other than the mirrors, from which the frosted, murky glass showed glowing eyes!

Blobbers sputtered and scrambled back. His limbs trembled as the reflections in the mirror glowed brighter and brighter. The reflections took on wispy, faint forms, ones with those same shiny eyes and cackling teeth full of fangs! Not just in those mirrors, either. All the mirrors around froze over and gained ghastly reflections in their glass, their laughter multiplying and layering onto the howling sounds that already echoed through the caverns!

Terrafin gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists, but beside him, Eruptor's legs trembled as his veins of exposed lava crackled and popped! Gill Grunt winced and lifted up his harpoon cannon, his hands wrapped around the trigger just in case. Their eyes all locked on the mirrors, which only flashed in an array of bright colors as they rapidly spun in their places.

The mist condensed around the mirrors as they spun until they stood trapped in an orb of thick white fluff. Only the tips of their tops were barely visible as the mirrors rattled and shuddered in the mist, and out from the mist shot wispy, translucent creatures that giggled with glee as they flew around the ceiling!

"GHOSTS?" Eruptor cried as he leaped right into Terrafin's arms and knocked them both over. "Nobody told me this place was haunted!"

"It won't be for long!" Gill Grunt cried as he hoisted up his harpoon cannon and pulled the trigger. "Anchors away!"

A sharp shing pierced the air as a trio of harpoons burst from Gill Grunt's cannon. The harpoons spun in place as they dashed right for the circle of ghosts flying overhead. The moment they reached the ghosts, the harpoons phased right through the ghosts and hit the ceiling, ricocheting off and smashing right through three of the mirrors!

The harpoons harmlessly clattered against the floor, their silver surfaces tinting with light reflected from the mirror's shattered shards, and everyone gasped! Their eyes bounced between the ghosts still howling and cackling as they swirled around the ceiling, and the harpoons that laid on the ground. With one last glance up, they all gasped and scrambled as the ghosts zipped down from the ceiling and came right for them!

One ghost cackled as they flew right up towards Terrafin. Terrafin slugged it right in the chest with a snarl—except, he didn't! His fist phased right through the ghost's body with only a ripple remaining, and as he gasped, the ghost cackled and spun him around. While Terrafin shouted out and stumbled over his own two feet, the ghost just cackled and zipped right up to Eruptor!

"I, I'm telling you!" Eruptor warned. His legs shuddered, and pebbles popped from his body as he lobbed lava blobs at the ghosts. "You, you really don't wanna mess with me! I, I, I, I'll—"

Eruptor screamed and hacked out a lava blob as a ghost cackled in the distance! Of course, the blob just passed through the ghost and slammed against the wall. The blob cracked the wall and left its stones a hot, molten mess with shattered, melting rocks strewn about, but Eruptor hardly cared as he screamed and stumbled backwards!

"BOO!" the ghost cried as it flew in front of Eruptor!

Eruptor screamed and leaped to his feet as the ghost cackled. His screaming carried on as he dove behind Gill Grunt and Whirlwind, and cowered along with a few of the prisoners. They all sputtered and shuddered, knees knocking together as they huddled. Their eyes fixed on the ghosts that howled and cheered as they spun around the ceiling!

In front of the group, Gill Grunt and Whirlwind snarled as they fixed their cannon and horn on the swirling ghosts. With a slight of the trigger, Gill Grunt sent another anchor shooting right for the ghosts, but it just phased right through them and smashed right through the ceiling! Rocks and rubble poured down, slipping right through the ghosts' bodies and smashing the windows underneath.

Gill Grunt just grunted and stepped back, his hands still wrapped tight around his cannon. His view shifted from the ghosts, next to where Terrafin fruitlessly tried to land a punch on the ghost that swept around him and taunted him with every move he made, and then Gill Grunt’s gaze turned back to Whirlwind.

"It's no use!" Gill Grunt cried, his teeth gritting against each other. "These ghosts just slip through everything we throw at them!"

"Everything, huh?" Whirlwind cried as she lowered her head. "How about something they can't slip through?"

Whirlwind flattened her ears against her head, and a bright rainbow leaped out from her horn! The rainbow screeched as it soared, and it gained the attention of one ghost. The ghost turned around, examined the rainbow, and screamed as the rainbow nailed it right between the eyes! The ghost covered its eyes, and the circling ghosts above stopped in their tracks as they surrounded their reeling teammates, a few propping up the ghost's back.

"Waythe, what's wrong?" cried one ghost. "What did those mean living ones do to you?"

Waythe didn't reply. He just wailed, squealed and dashed right back into one of the mirrors, melting the frost that formed on its glass with a ripple! The rippling came to a stop as the ghosts scowled, and the air chilled further as they turned their gazes on Gill Grunt and Whirlwind!

"Seems like you're not as easy to scare as you seem!" cried the ghost as they waved their arms and crafted a ring of ghastly blue fire. "How about this, then?"

The ghost flicked their arms and sent the flames crashing down, their fires growing bright and lighter by the second! Gill Grunt and Whirlwind both gasped as flames now the size of miniature suns came right for them, but the fires just passed right through them and exploded! The fires vanished in wispy fog with the faint scent of burnt flesh lingering. Gill Grunt and Whirlwind gagged at the scent, but as they glanced down at each other, they blinked and tilted their heads. They were perfectly fine! They had no scratches, burns or bruises to be found. The only thing that accumulated was some faint frost from the chilly atmosphere around, but even that melted away with a single flick!

The ghost blinked, floated back and chewed on their fingers. "I forgot, that's only good for other ghosts! The living aren't affected by it!" the ghost cried.

"Let me try this, then!" another ghost cried as they tugged on a large icicle that formed on the ceiling. "Look out belowwwwwwwwww!"

Well, that's what they said, but the icicle wouldn't even budge! Despite all the pulling, prodding, and pounding they did on the icicle's surface, it wouldn't even move! So, the ghost moved on to a slightly thinner one and tugged away, but it refused to move as well. The ghost huffed and puffed as they bounced from icicle to icicle in some hope of dislodging them, yet not a single one moved! The ghost panted, slid back down from the thin icicle they hung from, and wiped frost from their brown as they huffed.

"You know what, this is getting boring!" the ghost proclaimed as they turned to the ghosts around them. The ghost sneered as their eyes turned down to the quivering prisoners that hid behind Gill Grunt and Whirlwind. "How about we make things a bit more interesting?"

The other ghosts giggled and cheered around them, but the first ghost just cackled as they dove right down past Whirlwind and circled around the quivering prisoners! Whirlwind gasped and stepped towards them, head lowering by the second as her horn flared with light, but a hard, frozen orange beaned her in the head just before she could fire,!

"Owch!" Whirlwind cried as the orange landed by her paws. "Who threw that?"

Cackling and giggles turned Whirlwind's attention back to the mirrors. There the ghosts giggled and stuck out their tongues as they poked halfway through! Whirlwind snarled and turned her horn on them instead, and they all dove back into the mirrors. The ghosts tossed whatever they could get their ghastly little hands on right at her: fruit and vegetables, swords and scabbards, pirate clothing, and cheap carnival toys sprung out from the depths of the mirrors. Whirlwind just screamed as she dashed away before she could get buried under the array!

Cotton candy crashed and froze against the stone walls behind her, and fruit splattered as it left behind juicy splatters and sweet aromas. Whirlwind winced as her eyes briefly fell upon the wreckage, but flicked her ears as a faint shing rang through the air! Whirlwind turned around, gasped and dashed away as a sword hurtled right for her—but her paws slipped onto the splattered fruit remains and she slid right into Terrafin. The two of them grunted as they both crashed on the ground, rolled away and jumped to their feet right as a cry came from beside them!

Their heads craned to the side. There, amid the bright glints of mirror's light, a ghost cackled as they yanked Blobbers into a mirror with them! A few of the other prisoners stood silent and shocked, and even more ghosts jumped up behind them as they pushed the prisoners into mirrors!

Terrafin and Whirlwind gasped and ran off, but right as they took their first step, bright flashes of light burst from the mirrors! The light reflected from the sparkly dust and the other mirrors as it coated the room in a searing light. The two of them stopped in their tracks and shielded their eyes. Their eyes popped open as the light faded, and they found Blobbers and the others prisoners curled up on the ground. Blobbers and the prisoners were all chilled and motionless outside of their still, kind of chilling moans!

"Hey!" Terrafin cried as he and Whirlwind dashed over, and they both sat Blobbers upright. "Are you alright?"

Eruptor and Gill Grunt helped a few of the other prisoners back to their feet as they groaned a bit and hung their heads. As Eruptor leaned one draconic captive against the wall, his eyes turned back to the mirrors and he screamed!

"Ruptor, what's the big deal?" Terrafin asked.

Terrafin turned back to the still-glowing mirrors and gasped! Their light faded some, and it was just enough to show Blobbers and the other prisoners pounding against the glass and glazing around in confusion!

"Look out, Skylanders!" Blobbers cried. "They aren't really us! Well, those are our bodies, but you've got the wrong guys!"

Those around still gasped, but Blobbers' body only laughed as it staggered back to its feet with glowing eyes!

"Now this is what I'm talking about! Finally, something solid!" the ghost cried from within Blobbers' body, its voice morphed to match his but with a malevolent tint. It stretched its arms to the sky, and chuckled as it spun them around. "Feels a little strange to be in an actual body!"

Terrafin snarled, dove away from Blobbers, and cracked his knuckles. "You're not keeping that for long!" Terrafin cried as he sprinted towards the mirror. "Hold on, I'm—"

"Not doing anything, if you want your buddy here in one piece!" the ghost in Blobbers' body cried as it slid in front of the mirror. "You break these mirrors, and they'll be trapped in here forever!"

Terrafin winced, clenching his teeth as he drew his fist back. The ghost just chuckled as it went to swing a punch at Terrafin! Terrafin was quick to block the blow, and jumped back while the ghost yowled and waved its red, sore hand. In that moment, the other possessed prisoners cackled and surrounded Terrafin! He raised his fists, almost as if to fight for a moment, but lowered them and snarled as he backed away despite the way his fingers twitched.

Eruptor, Gill Grunt, and Whirlwind all trembled as they backed up behind him as screams sounded off from their sides! More ghosts leaped out from the mirrors beside them. The ghosts grinned as they chased the prisoners through the mazes, or attempted to drag some into mirrors!

Eruptor, Terrafin, Gill Grunt, and Whirlwind tensed, and the ghost possessing the draconic captive cackled as they breathed fire right in all four faces! The four of them rolled away as the fires crashed and extinguished against the rocky walls, yet they kept their tension as the possessed prisoners crowded around them, cackled and raised fists!

Blobbers gritted his teeth as he pounded his fist against the mirror’s glass, his eyes narrowed on Terrafin, Whirlwind, Gill Grunt and Eruptor. "Forget sitting and watching!" he cried, swiveling the glass back and forth as he pounded. "Let me out of this thing! Give me my body back!"

Blobbers grunted and shouted out as he pounded away on the glass, and a beam of light caught on it! Blobbers screamed and collapsed as the light glinted across the mirror's surface.

The light beamed over to where one ghost taunted Whirlwind, and sent searing light right into its back. The ghost screamed as smoke burned and hissed from its body; it fell to its knees while its ghastly soul leaped out, and the ghost screamed as it clutched its head! Whirlwind winced and drew back at first, but then her eyes fell on the beam of light from the mirror, and her brows jumped up her face!

"Wait, that's right!" Whirlwind gasped as she turned back to Terrafin, Eruptor, and Gill Grunt. "Those ghosts, they're weak to light!" Whirlwind flapped her wings. A thin smirk formed on her face as she turned around and wrapped her wings against Gill Grunt and Terrafin's shoulders. "I've got an idea!"

The four of them huddled together and whispered, and behind them, the ghosts and prisoners alike just frowned and scratched their heads.

"What do you think they're doing?" one ghost whispered to the other.

The other ghost only shrugged in response, but they both gasped as Whirlwind, Gill Grunt, Eruptor and Terrafin dashed off in four different directions!

Whirlwind immediately yanked an empty mirror and spun it around. The light from above glinted onto the mirror’s glass as it turned towards the possessed prisoners! The moment the beams hit their backs, steam wafted off of the prisoners as they broke into unholy screeching. They fell to their knees, clawed and scratched at their heads, and the ghosts leaped from the bodies as they wailed! Whirlwind gasped, dashed to another empty mirror and turned it just so it hit the light. The ghosts' screaming grew even higher, cracking a few mirrors as their spirits stretched further and further out of the bodies!

Behind them, Gill Grunt, Terrafin and Eruptor all huddled around the mirrors. They twisted the mirrors so that the beams of light that burned into the ghosts multiplied from two, to four, to an entire burning sun in the heart of the maze! Steam burst from the ghosts as they wailed.

In the heart of it all, Whirlwind turned her attention to the mirror beside her and lowered her head. "And for good measure," Whirlwind whispered as rainbow light flared from her horn. "How about some purifying, too?"

A rainbow burst into the mirror from Whirlwind's horn. its light spread to the next mirror, and the one following… And in that moment, the milky white light beams that came from the mirrors shifted to a brilliant rainbow! A wailing cacophony rang throughout the hall as rainbow light flooded the room; it washed out the snow, and it drowned out the mirrors, walls, and everything else!

A few beings took cover behind rocks as the storm raged further and threatened to blow others away, but Whirlwind just stood still. Rainbows funneled from her horn, and her wings and tail flowed in the breeze as she continued to fire away! The mirrors amplified her light, frying the wailing ghosts that fell to their knees around her.

"STOP, STOP, PLEASE!" one ghost begged. "WE'RE GOING TO BURN AWAY WITH ALL THIS LIGHT!"

"Not until you give everyone their bodies back!" Whirlwind cried. "If you don't, I'll just keep this up!"

"FINE! I'LL GIVE THE MABU HIS BODY BACK, JUST MAKE IT STOP!" the ghost shouted back.

"SAME HERE! I DON'T LOOK GOOD IN SCALES, ANYWAYS!" shouted another.

"BODIES ARE OVERRATED!"

"But, I was having so much fun," whimpered one ghost as they twiddled their thumbs. A round of glares came from Whirlwind and the ghost’s companions alike, and the ghost gulped. "Fine, fine, I'll do it!"

A howl shook the room around as the ghosts leaped back into the mirrors. Their cries soon joined with the body-napped’s startled shouts as their souls ripped from the mirrors and flew back into the bodies! The ghosts' wails continued as they hid in the mirrors, but the rainbow light seceded with a bang! Rainbow sparkles dusted the room and rained down from the skies, intermingling with the shiny dust and the mirrors' glass.

Below, prisoners all groaned as they stumbled to their feet and rubbed their heads!

"Ugh, that was awful," Blobbers groaned as he dusted his clothes off and scratched his head, his eyes still spinning around in his skull. "I never wanna see another mirror in my life."

A few muffled agreements came from the prisoners around Blobbers as they stumbled back to their feet. Their eyes fixed back on the mirrors as they rumbled and shuddered, and the prisoners all screamed and jumped back as the ghosts jumped back out!

"We promise, we didn't mean you any harm!" one ghost pleaded as they floated down in front of the prisoners and shook their clasped hands. "We were only trying to have a little fun!"

"Yeah, yeah!" added another ghost as they floated beside the first. "We've traveled through practically every inch of this carnival through these mirrors, and we've seen everything there is!" The ghost gestured towards one of the mirrors, changing its reflection to that of the carnival's alleyways. With a snap, the mirror returned to its normal glassy appearance, and the ghost drifted ahead as they leaned into Whirlwind's ear. "And between the two of us, pantsing pirates and swapping their tools when they're not looking really loses its charms after the first five times!" the ghost whispered.

"No harm? NO HARM?" Blobbers cried. Red tinged his face as he stormed up to the ghosts and shoved his finger in their faces. "You stole my body! You nearly locked me in a mirror for all eternity! I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty harmful to me!"

"Yeah!" cried a few of the prisoners behind Blobbers, some crossing their arms and scowling as they spoke.

The red fully spread over Blobbers' face as he gritted his teeth. The ghosts only winced and backed away from him; ectoplasmic sweat dripped down their foreheads and formed glowing pools at the ground below them. Blobbers and the prisoners closed in as they grabbed a few shiny mirror shards from the ground.

Whirlwind flew between them and flared her wings before Blobbers or anyone else could do anything hasty. "You said you can travel anywhere in those mirrors, right?" Whirlwind asked, her wings folding.

Blobbers raised his voice a bit, but a single glare from Whirlwind, and he only winced and scuffled back.

The second ghost's eyes flickered, and they nodded as they floated up to Whirlwind. "Yes, yes indeed!" they cried. "These mirrors have a special link with this land! We can go everywhere!" The ghost stretched out their fingers and counted off. "Bathrooms, bedrooms, factories and halls… You know, there's this one manor owned by this pirate, I guess he's the head of everything" — the ghost snickered — "but between the two of us, he's a total scaredy-cat! One time, we managed to convince him that Captain Frightbeard haunted his manor, and he's slept with one eye open every since!"

"Wait, a manor? That has to be Dreadbeard's place!" the dragon called from the back!

"And where the docks are!" the feline mabu added.

Whirlwind flicked her ears, turned around and grinned. "Tell you what, then!" Whirlwind said. "If you take us to Dreadbeard's manor with those mirrors, we'll forget this all happened, alright?"

"Sounds good to us!" the two ghosts cried. They both floated up to one of the mirrors, waved their hands around its glass, and changed the reflection to that of a stone pathway with a dim light beaming at the very end of the tunnel. "Just go through this mirror and you'll arrive at the tunnel! At the end of the tunnel, there's a path that takes you right to the manor!"

Whirlwind beamed, but soon shouted out as several of the ghosts flew beside her and pushed her right through the mirror!

"Now don't dilly-dally! That path's not going to wait forever, you know!"

The mirror's glass rippled as Whirlwind slid right through, and she collapsed onto the ground. A string of shouts and thunks behind her showed that the others arrived as well! They all grunted and sat up, brushing dirt and shaking themselves off as the mirror warp sealed itself shut. A few cast wary glances at the space where the mirror warp once rested, but Whirlwind turned their attention back to the front with a flap of her wings.

"Well, might as well see if they were right," Whirlwind remarked as she flew off.

The sound of footsteps and flapping wings echoed through the tunnel as they crept through and scattered dust. The faint streams of light from overhead slowly grew in intensity until they were as bright as a regular light! They cascaded over a dead end at the end of a tunnel with a rusted platform attached to a large rope rested over it.

"After you," Whirlwind said as she flew aside and gestured towards the platform.

The others all took their seats, and with a single creak, the platform drew up to the top of the tunnel as the light grew brighter and brighter.