V.

"Breaka, look out!" Dino-Rang sat up with a start and blinked in confusion at his surroundings. Early evening sun peeked through the thin, white curtains that covered the window in the room Dino had taken over in the farmhouse on Earth. "Just a dream," he muttered and ran a scaled hand over his eyes. "Oi. Wish this part was tha dream." The saurian Skylander swung his legs over the edge of the bed and propped his elbows up on his knees. He hadn't really looked over the room when he entered at first but now he found his gaze wandering. The Earth element cringed when he noticed the vanity in one corner. Taped to the round mirror were pictures taken out of magazines that displayed different makeup styles on human women. Scrawled over them, under the faces was the unmistakable handwriting of Hex. The vanity was the only clue he had been shown to her old room. The undead elf had never been one for many belongings. Dino supposed it helped the others not feel awkward in giving her room to someone else. While Dino-Rang didn't think they had intentionally withheld the information from him that the only open room was Hex's no longer needed one, he wasn't quite comfortable in it.

"Hex," he said to the air. Dino sighed and looked up, even in Skylands they believed the righteous souls would find their way above the mortal plane while the corrupt would be trapped forever below. The Underworld was just the receiving station and the undead were those not ready to move on; a limbo of sorts that had escape possibilities but life could never be reclaimed. "Hex," Dino began again with his eyes cast on the ceiling, "I know we didn't always see eye ta eye when we worked togetha but I never even expected something such as this ta happen. I'm sorry Earth did this ta ya. No one deserves it. And Light, the otha Skylandas don't even know. We can't properly honor ya or mourn ya."
Dino's jaw opened again and his lips were pursed to form words but his voice didn't emerge. After a moment he closed his mouth with a click of teeth and a grunt. He shifted on the edge of the bed and looked back to the vanity. The reptile slid off the bed and walked softly towards the little desk with its drawers, cabinets and frilly little stool. Dino-Rang sat down on the stool and looked first at himself. His broad head, pebbled skin and rows of red spines were nothing new to him but on Earth he was a monster. Dino-Rang snorted and looked to the pictures Hex had ripped out of a publication aimed for women. One had the word innocent written on it. Another said business woman while a third said enchantress. She had a collection of six photos all with different words on them. Dino assumed they were plans, styles for her to apply to make her human disguise work for her in the way she wanted it to for any specific reason.

"Alright, Hex," he said softly. "I hope ya don't mind me taking tha room. I think I'll leave tha pictures up. When I get back ta Skylands they're gonna come along. Sumthin ta give ta Bushwhack. The bloke'll wanna know what happened afta all."
Dino reached out to gently touch a claw to the words business woman on one image when he heard yells from outside and the blaring of horns as well as the hammering of a bell. It wasn't the normal sound for an attack but Dino-Rang understood it all the same. He didn't have time to put his armor back on but he did snag his boomerangs before he flew out of the room, down the hall and took the stairs three at a time.
"No! No! Turn around, you can't go out right now!" Click met him at the front door with wide eyes. She planted her clawed hands on the Skylander's shoulders and pushed him back.
Dino-Rang backpedaled a few steps into the row of seats nearest the door before he realized the entrance room turned meeting hall was filled with Landians. "What's goin' on? I can help out there," he growled and pointed to the door with his boomerang.
"Not right now you can't," Click shook her head and flattened her ears against her skull. "When you hear those horns and that bell it means get inside, stay away from the windows and be quiet. Humans are here. You don't want to be found out. Trust me." The sand cat reluctantly let Dino-Rang go. He brushed past her and moved up to a window.

"You heard the lady, stay away from the windows!" a sea dog wearing an eye patch barked at Dino.
"I know what I'm doing," the Skylander scowled. Carefully he moved the heavy curtain aside so a bar of light splashed his green scales and his pupil tightened up as he adjusted to the brightness outside. "Why's Rod out there?" he asked.
"He, Wu and Sprocket along with three others meet the humans each time. They turn them away. They keep us safe. Let him do his thing," Click replied. She took Dino by the shoulder and tried to pull him back. The saurian growled and brushed her hand away before she gave up and moved deeper into the farmhouse.
"Izzy's out there," Dino-Rang gasped. He watched the little human girl run towards Rod and throw her arms around his legs to hug tight. "Lil' sheila shouldn't be out there if things go south!"
"Rod will protect her, please, get away from the window!" Click pleaded.
Dino-Rang let the curtain close before he turned back around to face the room. He was shocked by the looks of fear on the faces of people he would have taken for tough and scrappy. What had Earth done to them?

Rod's hand gripped Izzy's shoulder tightly. The magic she had used to rekindle his dark skinned disguise left a tingle in the air that Rod hoped the people approaching the farm lacked the ability to sense. "You should have stayed inside, sweetheart," he murmured softly to her.
"I can help, Mister Rod," she insisted. "They see me and they act nicer." She held the Skylander tighter and buried her face into his hip. He now wore jeans and an old shirt paired with heavily creased and dirty boots. When coupled with his musculature he looked the part of a farmer relaxing after a long day.
"You run into Sprocket's garage if you get scared, you understand?" the Air element said before the first of the beat up sedans came to a stop and the cloud of dust in their wake began to settle. "You hide with Moe. The gillman will keep you safe." Rod narrowed his eyes as the other two vehicles pulled up next to the first and the passenger side door on the first vehicle opened to allow a medium skinned woman dressed in a blouse that barely covered her breasts and a miniskirt of all things to step out on heels meant for a night out on the town. "Light, what could bring them out here?"

"Hello," the woman said. She remained by the open door of the car and seemed hesitant to step away. "I was hoping you could help me. You see, we seem to be lost." Well manicured nails drummed along the top frame of the door. She spoke slowly as if she was unfamiliar with the language or it was an intentional slight towards the intelligence of the 'farmer' in front of her. "What a quaint little setup you have here," she murmured as she eyed the shanties constructed by the Jumpers. It was obvious she was trying to find the other occupants of the farm.
"Just make her go to the city, Mister Rod," Izzy whispered. "I don't like her."
"You are quite lost," Rod replied. His theatrical and deep tone surprised the woman, her eyes widened and her nails stopped in mid-cadence as she focused a little harder on him. "I'm afraid the only road is what you are currently on. If you stay on it and drive back the way you came you'll find civilization easily enough." Rod took to rubbing Izzy's shoulder gently as the driver in the woman's car stepped out. He too looked like he was ready for a night on the town with a dress shirt partially unbuttoned and untucked from a pair of loose black slacks. "If you need to refuel we have little to offer in the form of gasoline," the storm giant added in hopes of getting the people to speak. He was just as wary as Izzy; he had no idea what people such as those before him would be doing in the middle of the plains.
"Are you sure? The directions we were given pointed this way," the woman pursed red lips, while her driver watched them both closely. Rod could feel the gazes of others in the second and third cars, and his spine tingled.
He gave them an apologetic smile, hoping to convince them of their mistake, "Your directions may have been wrong, I'm sorry. Our farm is the last stop on this road, whereas the city is in the opposite direction."
The woman paused after his reply, almost as if she didn't quite believe him. She cast another look around the farm, and it seemed that she decided he was sincere.
Her driver spoke next, "Do you mind if we use some of your gasoline? This long drive was not kind on our tanks," he said in low gravelly tones.
"Go fetch Liam out of his garage, sweetheart, and tell him to bring some gasoline with him," Rod nudged Izzy gently, who nodded and sped off gladly to Sprocket's garage. Liam was the fake name for the golding they used around humans so as not to arouse suspicion with his real name. She returned quickly with Sprocket, his freckled guise back on, carrying a case of gasoline. He handed it off to the driver, who set about topping up all three cars. Once he was done, the woman spoke again.
"Thank you for the correct directions and the gas. We'll get out of your hair now," the woman gave them a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, before she turned and seated herself back in the sedan. Her driver smiled more warmly at them, and dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"Our pleasure," Sprocket replied, nudging Rod, who barely contained his sigh of relief as the driver entered his vehicle. The cars backed up, turning onto the road, and kicked up sand as they roared away.

Dino-Rang turned to Click, who had risked a peek out through the window when they heard the sound of engines starting back up. "Is it all clear?" The green saurian asked, and the sand cat nodded, ears perking back up from their flattened state. Unlike Rod she didn't bother containing her relief, and let out a held breath noisily. Flint, the elf boy, tugged gently at Click's pants.
"Why do humans still come here? Do they want to take us away?" The boy's stormy grey eyes were wide and scared, and Click knelt down and stroked his head softly, his tufty violet hair flattening and then springing back up.
"Flint, they made a mistake in their directions, that was all. We're still safe," Rod's soothing voice sounded as he entered through the door with Izzy and Sprocket at his heels. Oriel, the gremlin girl, came up behind Flint and poked his side.
"You scared?" She teased, and Flint turned around and poked his tongue out at her. Dino-Rang was only mildly surprised to see that the boy's tongue was an electric green shade. Elves had the oddest colouring sometimes. Oriel stuck her tongue out in response, and Rod tutted at both of them.
"Tongues belong in mouths, you two," he scolded, and both children pouted. Oriel turned to Rod.
"Can we still play outside? Lockdown isn't for ages yet," she begged, and Rod gave her a sly look.
"Only if I… get to play too!" Rod lunged forwards suddenly and tickled her. The gremlin squealed and ran out the door, ears bouncing as the storm giant chased her. Izzy and Flint ran after her, laughing. The mood of the room went from feeling tense to relaxed and amused. The ent with the blue face chuckled.
"They're gonna be hungry with all that runnin' around," she smiled, and held up a basket that rested in her hands, "so I better get a move on with the cooking. Everyone back here in an hour, understand, or all you get'll be bread crusts. Pepper, if I catch you sneaking around the kitchen like last night you won't even be gettin' that." The sea dog Pepper huffed good-naturedly at her, and she held up a claw to wag at him, and with that, the gathering broke up.

Click didn't leave, though, and turned to Dino-Rang. "You want a tour of the farm before it gets dark? You've still gotta lot to see, and we have to figure out what you'll be doing to help out around here too."
Dino-Rang shrugged. "Okay. I suppose I have ta earn my keep," the dinosaur followed Click out the door. She gestured to the paddock, where the dirt shark was working. Dino-Rang hadn't noticed it was there before, even when Rod and Sprocket had gone to show him the graveyard. Beside the paddock was a big building, and the sea dog, gillman and elf were hauling hay inside.
"That's the barn and paddocks, as you can see. I don't know if you're much of an animal rustler, but you can always help haul the feed. You don't look like a techie, so no delicate repair work for you, but you could always help us out by hauling parts around the garage for us, maybe even pumping the bellows in the forge. It's in that building over there, by the way," Click gestured to a large shed that glowed through the door slit. Dino-Rang nodded, not listening as Click ploughed on.
"Brother! Brother, are you okay?" Dino-Rang's eyes widened, and he stopped dead still. He could hear Breaker!
"Breaka? I'm alive, I'm fine, there's a safe house and Rod and Sprocket are here-" Dino-Rang felt the temporary rejoin in their Familiar link break and he felt like crying. He'd been so torn up over Hex's death he'd forgotten about his own Bonded brother. Dino-Rang turned and raced back to the main house and his room, and threw himself onto his bed, hating himself for not trying to connect to Breaker sooner. He didn't come down for dinner, and when Rod went up to fetch him he saw the wet patch on the pillow and left the dinosaur where he was.

How long had Breaker sat on the foot of his bed trying to reach Dino-Rang again? The sun had crept up enough to shine in Breaker's eyes before he finally grunted and moved. The night had seen very little sleep and what the minotaur golem had found was fretful; filled with uneasy feelings and horrible nightmares. With a groan of effort Breaker pulled himself off the bed. He slid his backside along it rather that stood straight away so the covers bunched and pulled down with the golem's weight. He neither saw nor cared about the state of disarray he'd left his bed in as he clomped towards his small sitting room and the halls beyond.

Fellow Portal Masters of Light greeted Breaker as he shuffled down the hall. Breaker nodded back each time he was greeted but hardly paid attention to the faces. He knew they shared the same rank as he held, Elder, but he wouldn't be able to tell who he had seen exactly. Then again knowing they were Elders wasn't any real accomplishment. The citadel housed very few Guardians and only those that had served as long or longer than Breaker had permanent rooms within. Elders and their elite, the Archons, filled the last available rooms in the citadel. Surrounding islands held housing for less experienced Guardians and of course outposts held even more as well as the bulk of the Skylander forces. The Isle of Light simply wasn't big enough to house the impressive numbers the team had swelled to in recent years.
"Hey, Seraph was looking for you," an Elder nymph said. He was a peculiar specimen with his head shaved nearly bald except for the long braided topknot he wore his stark white hair in. He was so heavily tattooed it was hard to even determine his original skin color. "She uh," he smirked, "You know what, nevermind. She'll be with Pop Fizz if you want to go find out what she wanted."
"Okay," the golem replied as he kept walking. He hadn't even registered what he had heard. Rather Breaker had his own destination and task in mind.

Past the wing that held the personal rooms for Guardians and beyond the sitting rooms as well as war room Breaker found the main library. Eon had a smaller one up higher in the tower but the large one was open to everyone that wished to visit it. And it was usually a very bustling hub of activity in the citadel. The hour was early enough for it to still be relatively silent, though.
"Can I help you?"
Breaker finally looked up to see who had addressed him. His eyes met Hugo's, distorted behind his thick lenses as the short mabu pushed his spectacles up his face to sit them just right. "I came to pen a letter for Jet-Vac."
With a shake of his head the stubby mabu frowned, "She's probably in the mess hall. I can tell her you came by if you wish."
The golem shook his head. "Then you can pen it for me and make sure she gets it off. I have rough coordinates to work with."
Hugo huffed and folded thick clawed paws on his round hips. "I am sorry, Elder, but I am not a secretary. I have my own responsibilities to see to. You're either going to have to wait for Jet-Vac to get in or ask a fellow Guardian. My hands are full at the moment sorting through reports of Shrouds popping up in areas supposedly protected by Augments."
The gravity of the situation escaped Breaker in his sorrow. "I am here now," Breaker growled. "And I don't know how long Dino-Rang will be in this location on Earth!"
The bespectacled mabu deflated, his small ears flattened as best they could with guilt. "I'm sorry," he said again in a softer and gentler tone. "I really am. But this needs to be done. There are plenty of Guardians and even Skylanders around to aid you."

With a low growl Breaker turned fast on his heels and nearly stomped out of the library and down the hall. He passed many Guardians and Skylanders, not all of them residents of the Isle of Light itself. Still the golem kept going; if he was going to get his letter penned and show the emotion during it he was fully expecting then he wanted to be in the company of someone that had been there for the Jump to begin with.
The dark mood the golem radiated kept people out of his way as he went straight for the front door of the citadel. It was breakfast time and that meant Seraph would possibly be in the mess hall with Pop Fizz. The gremlin was always hungry and Breaker wasn't about to try his lab unless as a last resort.
The grass was wet with dew and the air was cool, Breaker took no notice of it as he tromped down the stairs and around the side of the citadel to enter the mess hall from outside. It was a shorter trip than the winding halls of the citadel itself. Out to his right Breaker saw the Core of Light shining radiantly and bustling as the portals that flanked it flickered to life for both departures and arrivals. When the sun rose the Isle of Light awoke instantly for a busy day.

Breaker didn't notice the dark dragon that had called to him before she turned away from the Core and bound up towards him easily.
"You look terrible, did you sleep at all?"
"No," Breaker answered Shadow. His tone was so short and clipped she stopped in mid step and simply let him plough on past her. Cynder was at the furred dragon's side a moment later and murmured softly to her to let him be for the time being.
"Well fine," Shadow snapped. "I just thought you might want some company. We both lost someone, you know!" she called half heartedly after the golem.
"Let it go," Cynder said again. "Grief is a fickle thing."
Shadow shook her head and simply turned away with her tail thrashing in irritation.

"Breaker! Breaker! I've been lookin' for you, where have you been?"
The minotaur whirled around at Seraph's voice. "I was looking for you too." He blinked in confusion when he didn't see the elf behind him. He turned his head from side to side to see if he had heard wrong. The only other person he saw besides Shadow and Cynder a ways back was a lavender gremlin with golden accents in the form of stripes on her face and a solid section that started at her bottom lip and vanished into her plain white shirt. She didn't look like anyone special in a satin blouse with black slacks.
"Yeah, uh, I'll explain later," the gremlin said sheepishly before she rubbed the back of her head. "It's me. You're not sleep walkin' or dreamin'."
All at once Breaker's foul mood evaporated. It wasn't replaced with amusement or confusion, he just automatically knew what had happened. "Potion?"
"Ah, yeah," the little gremlin shrugged. "Please don't make me explain it right now. I was comin' to see how you were holdin' up."
"I made contact, Seraph," Breaker stepped up to the smaller figure and accepted her appearance as if she had always looked as such. "I found him. I found Dino on Earth." The golem's eyes shone with a mixture of pride, joy and fear. "But the distance wouldn't let us talk. I need your help. Can you write a letter for me?" He held his nubbed arms up out of reflex as if to cut her off from trying to wiggle out of it.
The temporary gremlin's ears stood up straight, "Of course. Dino would appreciate it as well. Come with me to the library. Unless you have everythin' with you?" she eyed him skeptically, the golem didn't seem to be carrying anything but at times it was hard to tell.
"No. But I'm not looking forward to seeing Hugo again so soon," he replied sourly with a face to match.
"Well I know how much you hate the lab," Seraph murmured as she walked past him. "Your call."
"Library," Breaker sighed as he fell into step behind the gremlin that walked fast enough to almost look like a run.

Seraph finished reading the letter back to Breaker and he nodded slowly. "Thank you for putting in the part about everyone else's reactions. Thanks for even writing it."
The lavender gremlin tapped the sand off the parchment she had shaken over it to help the ink dry before she smiled warmly. "Dino's one of us, Breaker. I know what he means to you. I can't imagine losing Pop."
Breaker's arms slid across the table he was seated at with Seraph before he rested his chin on the cool surface. He watched her carefully with sad eyes. He couldn't find any amusement in the fact the gremlin had to sit on a stack of books in the chair to see over the table properly. "I hope you never have to experience it. I hope no one else anywhere has to. I just want this to be over. I want magic on Earth to stabilize so it will quit stealing from us."
"Eventually," Seraph said. She carefully rolled up the parchment and tied it with a ribbon before she held it out on an open palm. "Do you want the honors?" The thick roll tilted from side to side slightly as she shifted on the books under her.
A small portal opened a heartbeat later and Seraph stretched out towards it as Breaker reached up to tap the parchment in through it. "Find your way to Dino," the golem murmured softly. "Find my brother. Give him hope. Light knows I need it as well."
Seraph waited for the portal to close and halfway picked up her ears from the droop they had been in. "Care to join me for some breakfast? Don't turn me down!" she said firmly a moment later with her lip curled up to show a small pointed canine, "You didn't sleep last night so I'm gonna make sure you get somethin' to eat. Understand? You're not gonna wallow Breaker. That's not gonna help anything and if the connection with Dino comes alive again you'll just worry him. We're gonna get him back, Breaker. We'll get everyone back."
"I hope so," the Guardian sighed before he rose to his feet. "Light willing it will be before Earth experiences the Darkness."

Note from Seraph: About a year later, here comes an update! There will be more to follow slowly as I get back into the groove of things.

Note from Shadow: I would like to continue, though I am unsure about how much time I can commit and if I'm honest, I think I've forgotten a large part of what we were doing here, lmao.

Second note from Seraph: I forgot too. Luckily we have files full of notes to look back on and since a new game has been released in the time it took to get this update posted we will be including Superchargers. I've already edited the prologue to include a quick note about how our Superchargers will be handled so if you've come back to this story after our hiatus it's worth re-reading it just to get an idea of how the Superchargers play into this AU.