It was chaos. Utter and complete chaos.

The day was starting out good. He slept in, his meal was prepare not to his taste but filled its purpose in ridding his hunger, the mid-morning studies were quickly over with as the chapter was short today, and, for the best part to his knowledge, the rest of the day was free.

Free.

It was such a rarity to have free time to himself. And he spent every minute of freedom carefully, making sure that it lasted just for a while longer until his freedom was over and had to go back to his unlikable schedule of dual high standers and mask his true self. Freedom was the only time where no one could control or correct whatever he seemed to do something wrong. And, it was the only time that he would have the chance to visit his grandfather.

His grandfather, as one who would happen to bump into out on the street, was an exuberant type of person. He would smile, greet and introduce himself, and if someone was lucky enough, they would be told an enriching story that opened one's eyes, filling their minds with imagination of how the story unfolded in their minds as they listen intently to his story. To say the least, his grandfather was not easy to forget for years and years.

But friendly as he was, he was no push over.

Upbeat and friendly was just the very tip of the mountain. His grandfather was also stubborn, tough as a rusted nail lodged in stone. When his mind was set, there was no persuading him, no matter how hard one had tried. And…

He had the mightiest temper anyone had ever seen.

Mightier than anything that he would ever know.

Kind and friendly was his grandfather's main personality, but never, ever, no matter what, had he known anyone who had such a temperament that matched his grandfather's. It was rare, to say, as it was hard for the old man to snap, but once he did, it was hell.

But his grandfather never snapped or got angry with him. No. He never raised a hand against him, or shouted at him, or scowled him, or corrected him in any of his teachings. No, he would smile at him, encouraging him to keep going, letting him learn from his own mistakes and help him whenever it seemed that he didn't know what to do.

It seemed that he was the favorite grandchild. Why? He wasn't too sure. He wasn't as smart as his younger brother Leo, or as big and muscular as his two older brothers, or clearly as cunning as his twin sister. No, in truth, he was more of a runt in the sibling line. He was weak, small, much smaller than his younger brother who was a foot taller than him and the worst of it all, he didn't meet to the expectations that his father wanted him to be. He wanted a strong son, a big strong son. A son that he could look with pride and brag bout for years and years until he died. But instead, he got him. The weak, little, runt who was a sore to his eye sight.

But his grandfather loved him the most. Even more than his siblings as he never gave them the acknowledgement he was given. Not even to his father. His own son.

What was it about him that made his grandfather love him so much yet ignore his siblings and father so much? What was special about him? He didn't know. No one knew. He wanted to know though. But even at all the chances he had to ask his grandfather, he never had the courage to bring it up.

But, maybe. Maybe today. Maybe he could finally some up the courage to ask him.

His small fingers traced against the strings of his violin, pulling the bow delicately across them. Its sweet soft sound reached his ears. Playing the violin was the only thing he did right on his own. Even when he once was a small child, playing the violin came so easily to him. His mother quickly saw potential when he showed her, and taught him the basic skill of how to play it more correctly. Soon basics were turned into lessons, lessons became harder and longer, harder and longer were soon turned into master learning, and master learning was soon concord and his skill with the violin was far superior to that of his own mother.

His mother was proud of him, doting on him whenever he did his lessons correctly. Which by some miracle, he never messed up on them, earning more praise from his mother. He soon found himself making songs and finding himself head lead musician in many concerts that his mother would put him in. He loved those moments of being up on the stage, actually doing something useful for once. The spot light on him, the soft music that he poured his whole soul into, the audience applauding after he was done playing, his mother's proud smile…

The bow traced the strings, drawing out the final note to the song, his face wet with tears. In two more weeks, it would mark the seventh year of his mother's passing. A tragic accident that claimed her life so long ago. Since her passing, his father neglected him more than ever, his brothers rarely ever talked to him anymore unless they wanted something, and only his twin gave him comfort when he needed it.

He placed his treasure back down in its case, closing it carefully as if the smallest movement would break it. Soft silk gloves ran over the case, tracing the engraved designs craved elegantly into the wood, creasing it like it was a delicate flower. His twin had gotten him this case for his seventeenth birthday, handpicked and well-crafted by the best carver there was. It was her way of showing her support and care for him, even when she hardly ever talked to him.

No, hardly wasn't the right word. She never said a single word to him, or even anyone. At least it made him feel a bit better to know he wasn't the only one she wouldn't speak to. But words didn't matter; it was her actions that spoke for her. All the little movements and jesters that she made with her body, it was her way to communicate with everyone, even if they didn't get it as well as him and his family did.

A sigh left his lips as he leaned against the stone rail, gazing out wishfully at the horizon. She was almost like their mother. Sweet, kind, supportive. But she was a little more outgoing than mother. He knew that she hated their rich life, wanted to prefer to get her hands a little dirty and do her own work. If father wasn't looking she would undo her hair and put on some more relaxing cloths to wear instead of the stiff fashion that hugged her body too tightly. Thank the ancients that she was a skilled needle worker, otherwise he and his siblings would have died from suffocation from their cloths long ago.

A light breeze of air blew past, moving his hair slightly out of place. Without her, he was sure that the whole family would fall apart. Without her support, he would be lonely and sad. Without her attention, he would think he was a shadow without a caster. Without her love of his music, he would have given up on playing his violin ever again. Without her with her ears ready to listen, he wouldn't have anyone to tell his secrets or dreams to. Without her hand work, things would have ended worse for the family. Without her crafty cunningness, he was sure that he and his sibling would feel caged up in here if she hadn't found ways to sneak them out once in a while and mingle with the regular people that their father deemed as filth. They weren't filth, they were people just like them.

She was so important to the family. More important to him as he was for her. He would listen to her even if she never said a word, be there for her, play his music for her, give her a reason to keep moving each day with her head held up high, and most importantly, keep her safe and happy.

His ear twitched, swiveling to the back of his head before turning his body around. He was surprised to see his twin, running in high heels and an extremely fancy looking dress that father had no doubt made her wear today, running towards him. But what was really concerning was her face. Her sweet, passionate, clear face covered in tears and running mascara. He quickly ran to her, enveloping her in a tight hug once he caught up to her. His hands rubbed her back slowly as she cried on his shoulder, not letting him go.

Something was wrong. His twin hardly ever cried let alone be moved by emotions. He let her cry for a few long minutes, holding her close to him and rubbed her back gently. When she finally was calm enough for him to ask what was wrong, the most unbelievable happened that he thought would never come true for years.

"… i-it… it's gr-randf-f-f-father… h-he… he's… gone."

Shock ran through him. His sister, is silent twin, had finally spoken to him, and she brought the most terrible news in all his life. His world went crashing down, and everything went dark.

Trap Shadow wasn't sure what he liked most about today. Sleeping in late to the afternoon, watching Spy Rise's futile attempt to keep his stick or whatever he called it out of Slobber Tooth's reach, which ended badly for the tech as he had learned the hard way on how heavy their Dino friend was and that nothing escaped from Slobber Tooth once he see's something most would label 'inedible' and devour it. He was pretty sure that it was the seventh stick thing this week that Slobber Tooth ate.

Buuuuut, if he had to choose, it would be the mayhem of the so called professionals of the SWAP Force were getting into that he had stumbled upon.

He watched as Fire Kraken, or Fire Rise, ran around the closed off pool with the other swappers chasing after him. Or maybe they were actually chasing after Spy Kraken? He sure did look like he wanted to kill their friend the moment he caught his target. He couldn't tell which could be more amusing, watching Fire Rise drive Spy Kraken up the wall, or waiting for a potential fight to start out that he could join in on. Either way, both options would be fun to watch.

"Isn't there ever a moment were things could be just quiet for once?"

Faint traces of a musky scent alerted Trap Shadow who was coming up behind him. "Well then there wouldn't be any fun around."

Stink Bomb sighed, stopping beside Trap Shadow and watch the show with crossed arms and unimpressed look on his face. "Mind telling me what happened while I was away?"

"Our little fireworks maker thought it be funny to steal Spy's legs for the time being." Crossing his own arms, Trap Shadow shifted some of his weight on one leg, watching the fiasco with a smug expression. "Truthfully, I'm hoping that our enraged friend there gets his target."

Stink Bomb glanced at the tiger before turning back to the show. "Hopefully not."

Spy Kraken seemed to be ready to pull out any sharp objects out and wanted to use Fire Rise as an excellent cutting post. Blast Zone was struggling to keep the android away from the firework rouge. Turns out, techs can be just as scary as the undead if provoke in a certain way from what he learned from a past experience long long ago, and basically he did not want to see what Spy Kraken would do once he caught their friend.

Fire Rise on the other hand didn't seem to notice the fury of Spy Kraken's face. He was just enjoying himself too much. Maybe a little too much. But there was an old saying in the SWAP Force, if someone in the SWAP Force is incredibly bored, chaos is insured.

Tessa watched from a good distance. The noise had brought her out earlier from her chieftess duties to investigate. It was amusing sometimes to see a Skylander cause some sort of ruckus now and then since nothing amazing had happened for some time. The villagers seemed to adapt to the peace very well, but Skylanders… were a very different topic. Especially when it came to the SWAP Force. Everything that they did, every movement, every choice, every action, there was no telling what would happen with them around. They were utterly unique. Every one of them, just utterly, one of a kind, unique.

"Incompetent fools."

Tessa looked over at her companion. Night Shift, not wanting to deal with such idiocy, floated beside her, watching his teammates run about, failing to catch Fire Rise. Or maybe they were trying to catch Spy Kraken? His ever present scowl seemed even more mean looking than ever.

"Come on Night Shift, give them a break. They haven't had anything to do for a long time." She smiled, nudging the vampire a bit with her elbow.

"Ba! It still doesn't give them a reason to act like children." He huffed, crossing his nonexistent arms and looked away.

Tessa was about to argue with the undead Skylanders view on his team, when something in his glove caught her attention. "Is that… me?"

Night Shift blinked, ears pointed high, shifting his gaze to his glove where the ice Tessa was being held. He had almost forgotten the ice statue. Freeze Blade had basically asked him to hold onto it, not wanting it to get damaged as he chased after Spy Kraken.

"… Yes." He held the glove out, showing the real Tessa the full detail. "I don't know the reason why, but Freeze Blade has done a good job on this."

"Kablam." She had to admit, the statue almost seemed real and alive. "It almost looks like a real mini me!" She took in her hands, examining it as a smile grew on her face.

Night Shift nodded. The cat had real hidden talent.

"GET BACK HERE THIEF! I WANT TO SHOW YOU PAIN!"

"SPY KRAKEN NO! HURTING YOUR FRIENDS IS NOT THE ANSWER!"

Their attention was back on the chase scene. Fire Rise, finally seeing the death look Spy Kraken was giving him, visibly paled. But quick as it was to appear, it instantly disappeared, replaced by one of his devious smirks. "SWITCH UP MIX UP!" Before anyone could process what he said, he came to a complete stop. The others weren't so fortunate to notice that he what did till they were all piled on top of each other.

"Whoa!" Freeze Blade, having years of dodging obstacles jumping out in his path, dodged the Skylander pile, circling around to the front. "Jeez, that was close. You guys alright?"

"SWITCH UP MIX UP!"

Freeze Blade had no time to dodge a trigger happy back in one Fire Kraken, who jumped on his head and bounced off, cackling like a little kid while Freeze Blade fell backwards from the force.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PEST!" Spy Rise shouted, getting out of the pile and went back to chasing Fire Kraken.

Night Shift rolled his eyes, hovering over to his team as they picked themselves up off the ground. "Very graceful. I almost pity you lot for failing to stop Spy Rise." He shook his head.

"You could of help Night Shift." Wash Buckler, now Wash Shake, commented, picking up his hat and dust it off. "You are a part of the team dude." He glanced at the vampire, putting his hat back on his head.

"Feh! Don't lump me in with you fools." Night Shift huffed, crossing his 'arms'. "You could barely even do anything right if not do anything at all."

"That's not true!" Freeze Blade skated up, putting an elbow on the vampire's shoulder with his ever present grin show. "We can do all lot of stuff right!"

A scoff come out from the vampire. "Name one thing." He mocked, shoving the arm off him.

"Well for a major point, we're really good at kicking bad guy butt!" Freeze Blade smirked, punching the air while leaving trails of ice mist behind before they evaporated.

"That's true." Wash Shake agreed, hooping his thumbs into the buckle. "We're really good at that."

Night Shift nodded, having to agree with them there. They were certainly good at putting evil in its place when it got too far out of line. And, it was slightly fun to knock some heads together. It was some use to put their chaotic skills at their best. No one did a better job at sending some bad guys to the infirmary than them.

"And another thing we're good at is keeping everyone safe."

"Safe from evil or safe from us?" The vampire questioned, only receiving a shrug from the cat.

"O! O! O! I know one!" Fire Kraken shouted, suddenly coming up and jumped on top Freeze Blade's head with the cat struggling to stay standing under the weight of his friend. "We bring lots of joy to everyone we meet and make them happy!"

"GET BACK HERE OVER SIZED REPTILE!"

The said reptile just laughed, jumping off Freeze Blade's head and bounded off with Spy Rise not too far behind him.

"That I also have to question deeply." Night Shift huffed, shaking his head.

"Come on Shifty! Lighten up a bit!" Freeze Blade smiled skating over to his side with his arms held high. "We've been like this for, what? More than a century right? And only now you're questioning our actions?"

"I've been questioning our actions longer than you can count kitten." He gave the cat a side glance. "And each and every day we pull out more surprises more unpredictable than the last."

"… Well, you got me there." Freeze Blade smiled at him, folding his arms behind his head. "But while we're on the subject of questioning things, I've got a few of my own I want to ask you."

Everyone who was in a five mile radius away from him could hear his groan clearly. "If you want someone to answer your questions, ask Spy Rise." He pointed at the tech, turning to leave.

"But there questions only you can answer Shift!" He bit back an upcoming growl building in his throat as Freeze Blade followed after him. "Spy Rise can't help me answer them because he wouldn't know the answers to them!" Casting a glaring gaze to his side, he quickened his pace slightly as Freeze Blade skated alongside him. "Besides, he's busy trying to kill Fire Kraken at the moment."

"Then why don't you go help him, hm?"

"Nope!"

A small growl managed to escape him this time.

Taking it as a que to start, Freeze Blade smiled and opened his mouth, ignoring the groan from the vampire. "Okay! First question! Is Night Shift really your name? Or is that just some name you used for the boxing ring?"

"What type of question is that?" Night Shift asked, slightly taken back at the question and looked at the cat fully.

Freeze Blade shrugged. "I'm just curious. I read online somewhere that boxers often chose different names to cover up their real names, so I thought that you did the same too."

Night Shift blinked a couple of times at the cat, trying hard to understand where on the internet he could have possibly read such a thing. "That's… quite true… but not in my case." He turned his head away, continuing his path. "My name has always been Night Shift, and it will never change."

"Okay, just checking." Freeze Blade smiled, catching up to him as he raised a brow at him. "Second question! Has your hair always been white or is that just old age?"

"W-w-w-what?! Why would you ask such a dumb question such as that?!" He asked, a little irked that he was asked such a dumb thing.

"I've always thought what your hair would look like if it was a different color when you were younger." Freeze Blade answered, unfazed by the rude remark.

"Well you'll have to keep wondering because I will never tell you."

"Awwwww! Come on Shift!"

"No! That question is unremarkably rude and stupid!" He growled, quickening his pace. "… not to mention I have no idea if my hair was any other color when I was young." He muttered under his breath, though he was certain that the ice cat still heard him as he caught up to him.

"Oh… well then, how rich was your family?"

He stopped, straitening his back as he gave the cat a look that seriously questioned his brain level. "… They… were rich enough that they could buy mountains upon mountains of land and still have plenty cash left without trouble for years. Centuries even if they wanted to." That wasn't a lie. His parents were very well off and unimaginably wealthy beyond anyone's belief. Last he had heard of them, or even cared to hear of them, they had bought an exquisite amount of land for one of his brothers as a birthday gift. From he heard back then, it was a very high price as the land was very rare and unique with good sport to hunt, not that he hardly cared for such a dumb thing to buy as his joy was punching out peoples lights in the ring at the time.

"Huh, that's interesting."

Surprised, both brows went high on his face. He didn't expect that kind of response. Most people he had told about his parents' wealth would stare at him with their mouths hanging open or question him why he ever gave up such an opportunity at a luxurious life to a low career such as boxing. Low career? HA! Living in a lavished life with nothing but boredom and constant demand for expectations would be a prison to him had he not given up everything to pursue his dream.

"Okay, next question!" Freeze Blade cut him off before he could say a word. "Are you an only child or do you have siblings?"

"… I have siblings, yes." He shifted his arms, propping what would be where an elbow would go in one glove as he rested his chin on top the other glove, giving the sky a thinking glance.

"Really?"

"Yes. Two brothers and a sister." The glove tapped against his fangs as he glanced off to the side. "My brother are older than me but my sister is younger than I."

"Oh cool! What are they like?"

A glare was shot at the cat. "What do you mean what they are like?"

"I mean what their personalities are! What do they like to do? Did they have hobbies? Did they do anything at all? How old were they the last time you saw them? What did they look lik—"

"ENOUGH!" A boxing glove covered Freeze Blade's mouth as the other rubbed his head. "You're giving me a headache. And for the record, I do not like to talk about my past life." With a growl he shoved the cat lightly, turning and heading off again.

"Why not?"

"Because I do not like my past life."

"Why?"

"Because I disliked it back then."

"Why?"

"Because everything back then was horrible."

"Why?"

"Because it was."

"Why?"

"Because it just was!"

"Wh—"

"FREEZE BLADE!" He held a boxing glove next to the cat's head, giving him the best death glare he could manage. "No more asking why… got it?"

The feline nodded his head, knowing when he was pushing the limit with Night Shift.

"Good. Now no more questions." With a huff, he turned, ready to teleport away as quickly as he could.

"Why do you always wear gloves?"

"Why do you always wear a mask?" Freeze Blade flinched as Night Shift quickly turned and snapped at him, placing his boxing gloves on his hips and made himself looked bigger to be more intimidating.

While it may work on others, Freeze Blade however merely shrugged it off. "Because I like wearing it."

"We both know that's a lie Freeze Blade."

The harsh glare may not have worked on him, but the sudden soft tone in Night Shift's usual gruff voice really threw him off. But he shrugged it off, crossing his arms across his chest, his usual grin failing to show itself as he looked up at his friend. "We both know we have our reasons."

"That we do." He nodded, crossing his own arms. "That we do."

"SKYLANDERS!" Their heads snapped over, seeing Blast Zone racing towards them at high speed.

"What's the trouble now?" Night Shift groaned mixed with a heavy huff. He could already imagine the struggle everyone was having to pry Spy Rise's death grip off of Fire Kraken's throat.

"WE GOT TROUBLE! SOME TROLLS HAVE TAKEN A VILLAGE SHIP HOSTAGE!"

All thoughts were thrown out the window.

There was trouble that the Skylanders were needed for action now.

Dark, everything was dark.

Everything in sight was dark. But it was fine. She was use to the dark ever since she was younger. She wasn't scared of the darkness. The village leader had assured her that it was for her safety that she only saw darkness and it wasn't a burden that she could only see darkness. She understood. Her safety was important to everyone in the village, everyone kept her safe and sound.

Yet she couldn't understand the hushed whispers that they thought she couldn't hear. What was so bad about her eyes? What was the problem with her fur color?

She asked the village leader and he told her not to worry until the time came.

But when would the time come? She had been so patiently waiting for the time to come, being the good little girl that she needed to be and obeying her mamma's rules to stay inside and listen to her music. She loved mamma's music. It was so pretty and nice. She loved it even more when she sang that song. Mamma never sang it too often, but it was okay, mamma was busy helping the village leader but would always have time to take care of her.

Mamma was so nice to her, she loved mamma, and mamma loved her. Mamma always knew what was best for her and was always right.

"Shh. Be quiet my baby. Be quiet now." Mamma whispered to her, petting between her ears down to the back of her neck, just how she liked to be petted. She snuggled closer to mamma, burying her nose in mamma's silky fur that held a faint scent of roses from her flower garden that she loved to tend to. Mamma always loved to bring her to her garden so she could smell all her flowers. They smelled so sweet and nice.

"Oh my baby. My little baby." Her mamma whispered, hugging her closer in her arms. She smiled, hugging her small arms around mamma's chest. "Everything will be alright my baby. They won't find us here."

They? Who were they? Was it the villagers? No, it couldn't be. Mamma trusted the villagers just like how she trusted the village leader when he came over to see her. She never saw any of them and mamma always held her when they came, but mamma always talked so nice to them, so they were alright.

"Who's they mamma?"

"Shh, no talking now. It's time to be quiet."

She nodded her head, burying her face deep into mamma's fur. She would never disobey her mamma. Mamma always did what was best for her and she loved her for it. Mamma was never wrong and always did her best for her.

CLANK!

Her ears flicked up, hearing new noises high above her. There was shuffling heavy feet, feet that she didn't recognize. She knew every feet of the village and none of those feet sounded like they were from the village. Snuggling closer to mamma, she tried to block out the sounds as mamma curled around her, petting her gently just the way she liked to be and hummed a sweet soft song in her ears.

"Mamma's here now. Mamma will protect you." She whispered, hugging her close.