Order to Chaos

"Put me down!" Trigger Happy yelled over the roar of cannons and troll war cries. When the Portal Master obliged he vanished in a flash of white light.
Sarah was dumbfounded, she stared at the trolls that leered at her and leveled weapons. She flung her arms up as if they would protect her and out of reflex raised a shell of amethyst around her. The shots fired bounced off the unexpected shield and hit trolls in the shoulders, legs and more fatal areas as well. In the resulting chaos she didn't feel the magic that signified a portal had opened near her nor did she hear Trigger Happy laugh insanely as his newly restored golden guns embedded gold coins in troll hides.
It wasn't until the little orange ball of fur climbed up the purple crystal and dropped down on Sarah thereby causing her to shriek in terror that she understood what had happened.
"Thought I abandoned you, huh?" Trigger Happy grinned as he leaned over the top of the Portal Master's head. "Never," he assured the human. As Trigger Happy sat square on the woman's shoulders he tried to orient himself from behind the barricade. "Get the wall down and move towards the Core. Put one of these around it," he reached out to knock on the crystal. "That's where you need to say, got it?"
The human nodded as she dispelled the magic that held the crystal in place. It simply faded away as if it were a hologram that had been shut off. "I can do that," Sarah replied in a shaky voice. She flicked her eyes out over the battle and the horde that seemed to fill the night with dark shapes lit only by the fires that had sprung up across the Isle of Light. "I can do that," she repeated as she let the gremlin guide her towards the flaming wall around the Core of Light while he took pot shots at enemies. Even though each time his guns fired made her flinch Sarah never once complained. The battlefield was loud and chaotic and doubt sat heavy on her heart. Could she really help the Skylanders? She couldn't help Crevan after all. The Portal Master faltered in her movement.
"Keep walking," Trigger Happy said softly. "I've got your back. Or at least your shoulders," he chuckled.
The sincerity and the lucidity of Trigger's voice was as much of a shock as a balm to Sarah's nerves. She picked up the pace and held the gremlin by the ankles to keep him on her shoulders. It was reassuring having him perched where he was despite how the extra weight made her feel slower.

In the thick of combat there wasn't much time to think about anything other than staying alive. Skylanders worked side by side to beat back the invaders and keep their allies on their feet. The invaders weren't quite as well oriented but that didn't make them any less dangerous. They had come with heavy artillery and ranged weapons meant to pick off Skylanders without having to engage them directly. It didn't mean they weren't overwhelmed by defending forces however.
With a roar Wraith the Hot Headling slammed both of his fists down on the armored cyclops that thought he stood a chance against the giant. He kicked at the next cyclops that rushed him. The much smaller figure was punted back into a group of gazermages. The mages were scattered and their spells terminated before they could be cast. The giant opened the shutters on his palms and let loose two streams of fire that he swept out and over the area directly around him. He glared up at the ships that kept dropping more ground teams. Drobot and his unit were doing their best but Kaos had come with an army while the Skylanders hadn't really been given the chance to shore up their defenses.
"I don't see Nivaeus anywhere, do you?"
Wraith glanced out the corner of his eye to the Ninjiniling dressed as a gargoyle warrior with spiked guards on the backs of her hands and her armor replaced with black and purple clothing. The dreadlocks she had tied her long red hair into were still restrained in a ponytail at the back of her head where they looked almost like snakes ready to strike. "There are too many ships in the skies. It will be easy to miss him and the others," the Hot Headling replied. Word had spread about the boarding tactics used in Gleam and several Skylanders had decided to try it again. If they could commandeer some of the enemy craft for their own use it might help even the odds a bit.
"Eirian craft approach from the south," Ginny-Li pointed out for Wraith. In the dark of the night it was hard to tell but beyond the flames that ravaged the island something did seem to block out the stars strong enough to shine over the firelight.
The Ninjiniling's eyes must have been better than his for her to distinguish just what they were. "Don't alter your tactics now," the Hot Healing told her. "Fight as if we're on our own!" He roared and summoned a massive rain of oil from his reserves before he lit it up and scorched enemies as well as the already blazing landscape.

There were so many figures dashing about on the island, so many ships in the air followed by so many Copies of Drobot. There were other Skylanders with flight capabilities going after the enemy craft but Drobot had been privy from the start on the plan thus the redundancy of his Copies. Sometimes they brought the ships down and other times they managed to take control and turned the craft on Kaos' forces. Portals flashed overhead and splashed the orange-washed land in purer swaths of white for brief moments as multiple Portal Masters tried to bring down ships and banish attackers before they could overwhelm the Skylanders.
Fully healed Meilyr the Pop Fizzling and Flameslinger had met and joined up with Dino-Rang, Pop Fizz and Ashlina the Cynderling. Both of the gremlins were in berserker mode and their hulking furry forms dwarfed their companions as they bellowed and snagged paratrooper trolls and cyclopses right out of the air only to hurl back up at the ships they had left moments ago. Meilyr's black armor gleamed in the orange of the fires and made him appear to be banded by lava. Ashlina scooted around the field trailing ghostly allies to help the gremlins keep the two ranged fighters safe while they tried to bring ships down.

"Oi, mate, aim for the fuel tanks!" Dino-Rang called out to Flameslinger. He caught his boomerangs on the return and hesitated throwing them again to watch the elf pull taunt his bow strings only to not take the shot.
"I am to be doing this already!" the elf growled back. "But it is the fault of the little zippy dragons that I am missing!" He lined up another shot and just as he let it go a Drobotling changed direction and moved into the line of fire, he barely avoided being shot under the chin. Still the dragon's neck caused the arrow to change trajectory and slam into the aft of the ship harmlessly. "Like that!" Flameslinger scowled as he threw an arm out in frustration.
Dino-Rang held a hand up to catch a returning boomerang "Yer brilliant with that thing, work around it!"
Flameslinger muttered under his breath and took aim again only to be thrown off by the flash of a portal. "Oh come on!" he howled into the sky.
"Take it as a blessin'," Dino-Rang laughed as the ship the portal hit spiraled down. "We're all on tha same side."

The Isle of Light was a sprawling landmass connected so smaller islands linked by swaying bridges. The combat was focused near the beacon the citadel protected and the farther reaches were calm, peaceful and quiet. But looks could be deceiving.
Seraphina's breath came out in pants as she crashed through the thick growth that was as of yet untouched by battle. She was still clad in the oversized clothing she had liberated from a drow in the Low Lands and coupled with the tall growth of flora around her made her look wild and lost. Kaelin ran beside her, still sharing Rider's form allowed him to run without getting out of breath. Light came by way of the fires across the island and the flares of rockets above but it still made for treacherous ground when the vegetation was so thick. The two were followed by several axecutioners. They were commonly referred to as cyclopses but the fact they possessed two eyes made that an inaccurate portrayal. Rather the vertically placed eyes marked them as ogres that lived side-by-side with the cyclops people.
"Something is wrong," Kaelin murmured after he ducked an axe throw. His attacker used the opportunity to teleport ahead so he could reclaim the axe and swung it at the Riderling. Kaelin backpedaled and bumped into Seraphina in the process. She gasped and jerked him to the side to avoid another thrown axe.
"The psionics should have been on us by now," Seraphina agreed. What had happened? All of a sudden the psionics simply stopped assaulting them. It wasn't that they were expecting a physical battle with the corrupted gargoyles but the lack of a mental battle made both elves feel uneasy. Surely the gargoyles wouldn't give up on them so easily.
An ogre teleported right next to Kaelin and grabbed the undead elf by the arm. He leered at the Riderling with a grin full of broken teeth. Without much effort Kaelin wrenched his arm from the ogre's grip and shoved the much larger figure back physically with a little help from his psionics. "This is a distraction," he concluded.
"The psionics are shut off," the former Hexling informed Kaelin. She moved fluidly from a crouch to stand tall and stare an ogre right in the eyes before he found the seat of his pants set ablaze via the unique twist on her psionic skills. "I cannot find them. There must be something else afoot for them to so shut themselves away from us."
Kaelin used a psionic wave to knock all of the axecutioners down before he dropped down on his belly in the undergrowth and pulled Seraphina down with him. The Riderling held a finger to his lips and pointed off to the side. The light just barely hit his armor so Seraphina could see. She nodded and crept in the direction he had pointed towards while trying her best not to make a sound or cause a visual clue in how the foliage moved to give their position away.

The ogres growled and complained in their native tongue as they started to crash through the undergrowth in search of the two elves. A little psionic manipulation turned them in the opposite direction on a wild goose chase so Seraphina and Kaelin could at least move in a crouch.
The sky was lit up brightly by a sudden flash and an enemy ship spiraled out of control streaming thick black smoke. There was another boom and another ship was hit. One of the ships went down in the field they were hidden in and the ground vibrated with the impact.
"Eirian cannons!" Seraphina gasped upon recognition of the sound. "Help has arrived!" she cried out in excitement.
Kaelin slowly stood up; his dark armor would provide a bit more cover for him to look around. He grinned when he saw a ship pass by with the Capricorn of Meir Valan painted on the hull. "Your father," the Riderling laughed. "Help from your family has arrived. Our family," he added warmly.
"Then we should seek out the psionically corrupted individuals and free them. There is no place for us in the battle while there is another task that we must see to."
Kaelin looked back the way they had come to the sound of combat. "To the Core of Light, then. My Portal Master is going to protect it and we will find sanctuary from which to work there."

The bridge of the lead eirian craft in the small fleet that had arrived at the Isle of Light was awash in the glow of the magic that coursed through the ship like its life's blood. Captain Avon De'clan of Meir Valan's army narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the battle. "Choose your targets wisely. Provide ground cover when the opportunity arises. Only gun down the ships that have taken aim on the Skylanders or the Core of Light. Some of those craft are now flown by Skylanders." The dark copper skinned eirian folded his hands behind his back and searched desperately for any signs of the Skylanders that were also from Meir Valan or her allies. He had seen three Portal Masters on the island and was taken aback by the two that walked Skylands physically. It could be both a very good sign as well as a very bad one.
"Captain," one of the officers on the bridge said with a wrinkled nose. The pearl skinned female eirian had her ashen brown hair tied into a severe bun on her head and looked slightly confused as she rose to her feet and took off the headset that allowed her to communicate with the other ships as well as different departments on her own. "The daughter of King Hayden, Queen Seraphina of Haven just contacted me. She says the psionics Kaos possesses have turned Skylanders on one another. They are currently in hiding for some reason and not active. She warns us to be vigilant in case it is a ploy."
"The Skylanders or psionics are in hiding?" Avon prompted.
"Both," the officer replied after a moment. "She feels something might have happened to change allegiances. Asmodeus is at odds with Kaos."
"You heard the lady, keep an eye on one another and if you feel even the slightest thing is out of place warn those around you." Avon looked back to his seat, there wasn't much he could do from the bridge of a ship other than verbally direct his force but he couldn't find the will to simply sit and watch things unfold.

The relative calm of the eirian ship wasn't matched by Kaos' flagship. He was determined to not lose ground to the gargoyle psionics and used his magic to level the field as best as possible. "And you thought you would have an easy time?" Kaos' voice boomed. He laughed madly through the blackness that had suddenly clouded the bridge of his ship. Sparks showered down from ruined terminals and a light flickered in a corner. There were groans from cyclops officers and gargoyles alike. "Even your psionics are no match for my magic!" the dark Portal Master snarled. Five gargoyles remained, Kaos had taken out the two young children in the ranks. It wasn't much but it was progress. The Portal Master ducked down when he saw a large shadow lunge for him. Claws rent the air and an aggressive hiss sounded from behind him as the figure righted themselves again. They made enough noise for Kaos to launch a fireball that hit the gargoyle square in the chest. A beaked face howled in pain before he toppled over and Kaos stomped the ground to send out tendrils of electricity to further incapacitate the gargoyle. The arcs of light gave him enough warning to glide out of the way from another gargoyle's charge.
Zaltana, the hulking crocodile styled gargoyle, didn't slip as easily as the avian that had gone before her. Kaos wasn't expecting her to be as sure footed and was surprised when her thick arms wrapped around his midsection and tackled him to the floor.

"But you aren't untouchable," Zaltana growled in Kaos's ear. Her breath was hot on his skin and made the Portal Master cringe, he could have sworn she was a dragon preparing a fire breath attack by the heat. "And your spells are useless at this range." Her tone said she was smiling as she pressed down on the short figure. "Asmodeus will be pleased."
Kaos snarled and thrashed under the weight of the gargoyle, he felt her intrusion in his mind keenly as well as that of three other psionics. His will was strong but they came at him hard and fast and made the Portal Master work. "You will not!" Kaos roared. The door to the bridge had been blocked by debris and the pounding from the outside was like a promise of help that would take hours to arrive. "I cannot be defeated in such a way!"
"But the Skylanders do it all the time," Kimeya's voice said from somewhere to the right. "Maybe this time someone else would like the credit."

The light from the Core made the night look bright and the ice wall that Sarah now stood behind only seemed to intensify the light. She was forced to shield her eyes, the Core Trigger Happy had done much the same as he muttered about the brightness. The duo had been granted passage through the walls set up defending Skylanders only after convincing Chill the Portal Master could further increase fortifications. Finally Trigger Happy had abandoned his perch on the Portal Master's shoulders to pace about in the grass.
"It's drying out my skin!" Zap complained. The water dragon had decided to stick nearby the Portal Master out of sheer fascination of her material form in Skylands. Walking in a patrolling circuit were Chill and the two Slam Bamlings to keep an eye on the ice wall.
On one particular round a Slam Bamling wearing a leather vest and gloves pushed another flesh and blood Portal Master up to the group. "Man, you guys are gonna make Kaos come right at us. Keep an eye on one another, alright?" he scowled at first Sarah then the dark haired youth.
Ben straightened his jacket and shrugged away from the yeti with a sour look. "I can take care of myself, Snowman." The yeti rolled his eyes before he walked off grumbling. "Ben," the teen said as he held a hand out to the older woman.
"Um, Sarah," she took it to shake with a timid sort of smile. "Trigger Happy and Zap," the Portal Master next motioned to the Cores with her. "I take it you were told to take refuge here too? Kaos will focus on us, he knows we're here now."
Ben shook his head and held his hand up, "I ain't worried about short, dark and ugly. How'd you get to Skylands?"
The older Portal Master looked first to Trigger Happy. He wasn't paying attention so she tried her best to answer honestly but cryptically. "I just... traveled here. I tried to send my consciousness and all of me followed."
Trigger Happy's head turned back around to the Portal Master suddenly and he narrowed his eyes slightly at Ben. "Hey, ignore the outside distractions. You were trying to get another shield up, remember?"
"The adults are talking, Short Stack," Ben pushed Trigger Happy away.
"I hold seniority over you!" the gremlin huffed and swatted at the human's hand.
"Bet you don't even know the meaning of that word."
"Hush," Sarah said with a furrowed brow. "Or I'll ask Zap to shock you both."
Zap laughed, "Can I? I'm getting bored."
"No," all three of the others said at once.

The older of the two Portal Master sighed deeply and let her shoulders relax. "I'm sorry," Sarah told Trigger Happy. "I guess I still doubt."
The gremlin's ears went down. "Don't. You can do it." Ben watched them carefully and it made the corner of Trigger's lip curl up into a slight snarl. He didn't have time to bring the youth up to speed nor did he have the desire. "You protect, remember?" the gremlin said as he looked back to Sarah. "You prevent anything from happening in the first place. I will make sure you are safe to do so."
Ben seemed to understand enough with that and nodded furiously. "Yeah man, I'm here to keep the jerks out of your hair. You do what you do best and I'll do the same. It's cool."
With a deep sigh she reached out for the magic needed and relished the feel of the pure, untainted substance flowing through her like a current. It was warm, comforting and safe and Sarah simply drank deeply of the support it offered. "Got it," Sarah sighed.
"Told ya so," Trigger Happy beamed.
"You uh, gonna go all Dragon Ball Z on us or what?" Ben asked as he tugged on the woman's ponytail as it levitated off her back. "You start glowing and I might force you to go hide in the pit they tried to keep me in."
"No glowing," she replied softly, serenely. "If you had been through what I just came from you might enjoy the Mana just as much." She flicked her wrist and in the blink of an eye an amethyst crystal wall ringed the Core of Light. It nearly touched the stone water spouts on the outside track and arched up to almost make a solid dome above. Only enough space to allow the pillar of light to shine freely remained. Sarah sighed deeply and released the flows of Mana. "Man, that felt amazing," she smiled softly. She shivered softly as she released the source.
"Looks like you enjoyed that a little too much. Weak in the knees?" Zap teased. He walked around the outside wall and placed a webbed hand on the purple crystal. "Well, it seems to have blocked the reflection off the ice that irritated my skin so much. That's a good thing. But, are we trapped in here?" He glanced sideways when Ben joined him.
Commotion on the other side drew attention back to it. "What is t'is?" Chill demanded loudly.
"S'cool!" Zap yelled over the sound of the Slam Bamlings similarly announcing their displeasure. "Portal Master magic. The Core of Light is safe!" the water dragon said aloud. Murmurs of needing warnings for next time were the only replies.
"Anyway," the dark haired Portal Master said. "If she can't take it down I know I can." he rapped his knuckles on it. "Sturdy though, nice try for a novice."
Zap snorted and rolled his eyes before he walked away, no way was he about to get involved in a discussion over who could do something better.
"I didn't take it personally," Sarah told Trigger Happy softly when he lifted his chin, stood up straight and prepared to march towards Ben. "Just, stay here with me, please. I'm not too proud to admit I'm scared."
"Wanna hold my hand?" Trigger Happy laughed when she smiled and shoved him. "Good, that's all I wanted to see. We've gotta stay focused on the now, right?" He elbowed her in the hip. They were both trying to put the events of the Low Lands on a back burner. Grief could wait in the face of danger.

The beach wasn't as safe as Krystal would have liked it. There were no Skylanders on it, just her and Quartz. Yet no less that two lightweight and speedy airships had honed in on her location and made the Portal Master run for cover. The friendly craft that had arrived either didn't see the two ships at the beach or were too involved elsewhere to get involved.
"Stay down, Krystal. Be careful. You never know when you might actually get hit." Quartz warned her Portal Master.
Krystal's ability to interact with Skylands was fluctuating. At times she was a simple hologram but more than once she had felt the coarse sand against her skin when it got up under her pajama pants. She was beginning to regret not telling anyone of her very real and solid moments in Skylands. Was that how Ben started?
"Keep your head down, sweety," Quartz warbled as she placed an indigo wing over the cowering Portal Master. "The gates are open on the cave. We could hide away there."
"Are you kidding?" Krystal cried with a crack in her voice, "Those're the gates to the Underworld! I'm not going there, no way and no how!"
Quartz clacked her beak and ducked when more sand was sprayed up from the pelting of small rounds of ammo striking the beach. "We will not go deep enough to be hit by the curse. But unless you want to risk getting gunned down by an airship it's the best bet. Or you could return to Ear-"
"No!" Krystal cut her off. She swallowed hard and looked again at the open gates. "How far do you think it is?"
"You can do it," Quartz assured her. "Take a few deep breaths. When you're ready I'll count to three."
The spray of bullets got dangerously close to Krystal's hiding place. Even if she escaped harm Quartz wouldn't. She had to protect her Skylander just as much. "Ready!" the Portal Master screamed.

"One," Quartz shifted and moved her wing. Her emerald eyes glanced up as she watched the two ships. They passed at exact counts and the Sonic Boomling had been counting the time between each movement they made. "Two," she hunkered down lower to the sand as Krystal shifted into a runner's start position. "Three!"
Both Portal Master and Skylander took off in a mad dash towards the open gates of the Underworld cave. Quartz's heart was in her throat, Krystal's feet were kicking up sand and leaving footprints behind. The Portal Master's connection to Skylands was growing stronger by the moment. "Dodge to the right!" Quartz shrieked. One of the ships had broken out of the predictable circuit it had been flying in and angled right for them.
Krystal did as she was told right as the strangest boom she had ever heard made her flinch. The air around her rippled and the Portal Master felt as if she were slipping away. "It hit me!" she screamed. "Quartz!" the holographic image reached out to the Sonic Boomling. She felt as if she were falling, like the sand below her suddenly wouldn't support her. Quartz let out an ear splitting scream and as Krystal watched the gryphon seemed to split into two before her form wavered like seen through water and a brilliant flash of light engulfed her, Krystal saw nothing but the light and it burned into her eyes with a green afterimage as it faded.

The Portal Master hardly realized she was screaming until the darkness she had been cast into suddenly was shattered with the flick of a switch. Krystal looked around in a panic and found herself in her game room with her game systems, gamer chairs and other assorted items around her. She looked back to the door when she realized two figures were pushing in to see her.
Krystal looked up at the faces of her parents as tears ran down her cheeks. She was shaking badly as her father then her mother knelt down to tug her tightly against them.
"What's wrong, honey?" her mother asked softly.
"Did you fall asleep in here? I told you that your bedroom would be more comfortable."
Krystal balled her fingers into her father's sleep shirt and sniffled a few times as her frame continued to shake. Vaguely she was aware of every single Skylander on the shelf calling out to her asking what had happened. A few that weren't even involved in the fray sounded the loudest asking why she had pulled them out. "I can't," the Portal Master said softly.
"You can't what, honey?" her mother asked as she threaded her fingers through Krystal's rose colored hair.
"I can't feel Skylands, I can't send my Skylanders back!" she choked out.
Her father looked up to the shelf and scowled deeply. "Out of the room, now," he demanded. He pulled away and let Krystal's mother help her to her feet. "I told you it was dangerous," he growled.
"She's been fine up until now!" Krystal's mother snapped back. "Come one, honey," she tugged Krystal tighter against her side. "Let's get you back to your room and into bed. You just had a bad dream. That's all. Stress gets to us all sometimes."
Krystal tried to push away from her mother but she was stronger and all the Portal Master managed to do was look over her shoulder before her father shut the door and the voices of the pleading Skylanders grew louder.
"Krystal, come back!" Windy's voice sounded the loudest.
"This happens again," her father said in a warning tone as he lingered in the hall near the game room, "and we sell them all off."
"Now that's over the top," her mother said. "We discuss this later."
"Please, don't take them away from me," Krystal blubbered. "It's not fair to them!"
"In the morning," her mother said softly. "It's after midnight, dear. You have school tomorrow. Just try and get some rest, alright?"

"Damn it all!" Chill roared when the Hexling she had been talking to suddenly vanished. The bone wall went with the Copy that had raised it. The Nord looked at her ice wall and grimaced, the flames on the other side had no buffer between them and her ice any longer and melting would be a problem. Worse still the inundation of water would destroy the ring of fire. They would only have the barrier raised by an inexperienced caster. "Blasted Portal Masters," Chill growled. It had to be Lunar's Portal Master that pulled her out of Skylands. But why? Chill turned around and frowned at her ice wall, she was outside it and had no idea if events inside were still in the favor of the Skylanders. The water element scowled at her reflection in the smooth wall she had crafted. Yellow and orange danced on it from the fires and the frosted look it had was already turning into slippery glass. "I am going to spend my time repairing t'e wall. Exactly what I wanted to do!" she yelled towards the sky. At least the shaft of light that made up the heart of the Core of Light was still burning brightly. "I t'ink I hear combat moving closer as well," she snarled to herself.

On the other side of the flaming wall a Sunburnling cocked his head to the side and moved slightly closer to the inferno he had taken over the tending of with the loss of Sunburn himself. "Chill?" he questioned, "Is everything alright?"
"No!" she shouted back. "T'at Hexling has left! Her wall is gone! How far is t'e nearest enemy?"
"The ring of Skylanders before me is holding them back still. We have time to make repairs." With a grunt the fire element stuck his head through the fire. "I can help."
Chill turned around and snorted at him. "It is your fire t'at is hurting my wall!" she waved. "You do not fix fire wit' fire." She gave the Sunburnling a startled look when he chuckled.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly a moment later when she threw an ice javelin at him. "We have not been introduced. I am Galvin Killian," he dipped into a slight bow.
Chill's back stiffened as an air ship roared overhead. "I am not looking for a date."
The Copy blinked stupidly. "Oh no, I just," he sighed and while his shoulders were hidden by fire his posture said he had slumped them. "I can help," he said again with conviction. "Stone will take the heat away."
"Oh, so you plan t' abandon your post?" she scowled.
"Not at all, Lady Chill," he bowed deeply. A moment later and a deep rumble as well as vibrations forced Chill to back up as rock pushed its way out of the earth and stretched up high enough to hide everything but the tallest flicker of flames from the Core.
Armor clanged against armor as Chill's hand met her helmet. "You came from t'at elven kingdom everyt'ing recently has been about," she groaned. Well now she felt like the idiot. Or was she, he was talking like his fame should have preceded him. Or was it just because she had been introduced to him the day before during the briefing? Chill growled, she didn't care whose fault it was. Both of them had been made into fools in the same conversation. "Thank you," she said once her voice was strong enough.
"You are welcome," he replied after a slight delay.
There was silence for a moment. The sounds of combat were held away from the Core of Light for the time being. Chill decided to just go ahead and ask the question burning in the back of her mind. "Earth element, before t'e change?"
"Magic," Galvin replied.
"Ah," the Core acknowledged his answer before the conversation simply ended.

Aboard Kaos' flagship the pounding on the bridge door was relentless. The darkness and silence on the bridge was all encompassing. Shattered control panels sparked up to cast flashes of light over the motionless corpses of officers slumped over the ruined controls. Debris was strewn across the floor, illuminated by the sporadic flares of light and just as easily hidden. Motion appeared in flashes as large figures with monstrous features converged on a single point. A smaller figure pushed up off the floor with a groan. A bald head appeared ghostly in the flickers of harsh light. Six points, like a disjointed star, flickered with a muted glow in the center of the figure's forehead as he rolled his shoulders back and stumbled to find his balance. Once completely upright his shoulders rolled forward and his arms hung limply at his sides.
A deep rumbling laugh began as a massive black shadow came up behind the dazed Portal Master. "All bark and no bite, Kaos," the voice nearly purred as a face styled after a horse lowered down next to the figure's rounded ear. Sharp teeth that didn't belong in the mouth of an equine creature flashed with a grin. "We're done here, yes?"
"Yes," Kaos replied slowly, almost as if he were half asleep or in a trance.
The larger shadow shorted as he drew himself up to his full height. "Show a little more life, runt!"
"Of course, Kimeya," Kaos answered in a more normal tone. "I'll have the rest of the ships withdraw immediately." The Portal Master walked up to the point on the the bridge he passed all of his orders from.
"No," the gargoyle snorted. "Leave them. Let them keep the Skylanders busy. Asmodeus will be pleased to see you, his newest loyal subject."
Kaos swept into a deep bow before the gargoyle, the irregular strobing of the lights made it seem like a disjointed and jerky motion. "I will be pleased to return."
A predatory grin spread across the gargoyle's face. There was no mocking tone, no pretending in Kaos' words or postures. He was as surely under Asmodeus' thumb as the psionics themselves were. "How do we move this ship? Your careless spell slinging has destroyed the panels your crew used."
"The Arkeyans in the engine room," Kaos snapped his fingers. "They can integrate directly into the ship's guidance systems and fly it from there."

The gargoyle looked to the blocked bridge door and the frantic pounding on the other side stopped almost instantly. "Then go to the engine room, Kaos. Have the Arkeyans take the ship back to the cyclops rally point to the south."
A few of the other gargoyles began to move debris so the bridge door could open. Kaos waited patiently for them to finish. He blinked against the light that flooded the bridge and raised a hand to his eyes as he walked into the hall. The cyclopes and trolls that stood there had their backs to the wall and stared straight out at each other.
With light on the bridge it became apparent the gargoyles hadn't escaped harm. Kimeya had a burn in the middle of his chest from the dark magic Kaos employed. The wound seeped blood but the gargoyle hardly noticed it. The black horse styled gargoyle watched Kaos stride through the hall as a troll and cyclops each broke away from the others to follow him, "Chetansi, Ometaway. Go with Tuwa and join the fray on the island above us. The Skylanders won't dare assault you." Kimeya watched the three gargoyles he had named head towards the bridge door. Chetansi was an avian of a bright green color with a long fan-like tail of feathers that had a pattern like an eye at the tip in black, blue and white. Her feathered wings followed the same style and the crest of feathers on her head had a single feather with the same design on it. She was maybe ten years old and nursed her left arm where a slash left rivulets of blood to run down her skin and patter on the floor. She had a few broken or out of place feathers but not enough to prevent her from flying. Likewise Ometaway was perhaps thirteen and elven faced with rust colored skin and dark hair to go with his wing membranes. He had no cuts but his left eye was bruised and swollen shut. Other such dark marks had begun to bloom on his body as well from blunt force trauma. Tuwa was the lone adult of the group. She looked like a ram horned house cat with brown skin decorated with white and black spots on her shoulders, arms and thighs. One of her ram horns was significantly shorter than the other, the edges on the broken one looked fresh and ragged. A thin trickle of blood dribbled from a busted lip before she took the back of her hand to wipe it away. "Find their psionics. Kill them," Kimeya commanded with his lip curled into a snarl.

Kaos led his two followers through the halls. The evil Portal Master was strangely silent as he took turn after turn. Not once did he look to his followers to command them to carry out Kimeya's orders instead. While Kaos still strode about as if he owned the place his interactions with others had changed. At last Kaos reached the engine room. He flung the door open and stared into it. "The bridge was destroyed. The ship will be piloted from here. Return us to the cyclops rally point."
The Arkeyan workers reacted without question. Two broke away from other tasks to tap directly into the engines. The room grew louder and warmer as they came out of idle and roared with the increase of power. Kaos merely stood in the door and folded his arms over his chest to watch them. The control Kimeya had on him was more severe than it had been on others. Kaos wouldn't act without first being told to do anything. Until he was summoned Kaos would stand right there in the engine room door.

Wind roared as the door to the lower decks opened to permit the three gargoyles out topside. The battleship had a small top deck, it was a modernized ship that encapsulated the important parts with armor plated hulling. Chetansi's feathers were ruffled wildly by the wind and the gargoyle child was forced to tuck her wings in tight against her body. Her tail was folded in as much as possible but the colorful ends still whipped around as freely as the feathers that replaced the hair on her head. She squeezed her milky pink eyes into a squint to keep the wind from bothering them and hunkered down low to the deck as Ometaway and Tuwa followed her out.
"To the edge, leap and fall before you open your wings," Tuwa yelled over the howling currents. Kimeya wasn't experienced with ships and their power or speed, he had sent the three out without realizing the adversity his order to Kaos caused. Still the gargoyles had their assignment and were going to see it through. Tuwa's uneven horned head turned back to usher the slightly older gargoyle child off the side of the ship next. Once Ometaway was once again sailing upwards the feline flung herself off next.
The whistling of the wind was nearly unbearable as the ship moved ahead and the currents it left behind tried to tug Tuwa back towards it. She flattened her ears against her skull and expertly opened just one wing a small amount to alter her direction. Once she no longer felt the pull from the flagship her wings opened and she beat them to sail back up and after the rusty figure of Ometaway. All Tuwa could hear was the roar of the wind and the sporadic boom from a rocket explosion. Occasionally the dark sky flared up in yellow, orange and red when the fireball from an explosion was close enough to cast light on the underside of the island.

Tuwa navigated her way through the upside down mountains. The landscape looked alien and reminded her of a cave. The gargoyle had to constantly remind herself she was under an island and in open space so as not to let the illusion of being trapped take hold. Before long she broke away from the island and started to climb up the side of it. The sounds of combat were louder, the wind was less loud. Voices shouting all manner of languages and curses mixed with the sounds of combat. Tuwa's wings stopped beating once land was under foot and she wheeled up to touch down next to Chetansi. The avian child took her by the arm and lead her into the cover of trees where Ometaway was anxiously scouting the battle.
Tuwa crouched down behind the elven faced youth. "If you can't find the psionics search the minds of the combatants. Someone will have seen them, someone will have seen them do something they can't explain."
"An eirian woman dressed in rags and a Riderling," Ometaway replied. "I'm looking now."

The ancient machinery that made up the Core of Light groaned, rolled, whispered and similarly made it known it was churning away to keep the brilliant shaft of light it supported shining brightly in the night. On the innermost track of the ring of protective elemental walls four figures made the last defense of the heart of Skylands. Two Skylanders and two Portal Masters were held safely out of combat and away from the carnage beyond their protecting walls.
"So," Ben began as he looked at the only other human near the Core of Light. "How long have you been here in Skylands like," he waved first to himself then her, "and not, you know," he waved his fingers and stood on the tips of his toes.
The older woman wrinkled her nose as she watched the teenager's antics. It took her a moment to figure out what he was trying to pantomime. She swept hair that had already come loose from her ponytail back over her ear before she answered. "Um, I've been in Skylands physically for all of... six, seven hours?"
Ben whistled. "Newbie alright. Me?" he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked up to the amethyst wall she had erected. He looked back to where Zap and Trigger Happy were discussing things Ben didn't understand, something about the Low Lands and Trigger Happy's ears were drooping so low and he seemed to be wiping moisture from his eyes while Zap stared at him wide eyed. "I've been," the Portal Master began before he tore his eyes off the Skylanders, "I've been here for a year or two already."
Sarah's head whipped back to stare at him. "I'm surprised I haven't heard about it yet."
Ben shrugged, "Master Eon said to-"
"Hold that thought," Sarah murmured and held her hand up. She placed her other on the crystal wall and part of it simply dissolved before a Riderling and a metallic skinned elven woman dressed in clothing several sizes too big stepped in. "Kaelin, Seraphina," the woman smiled at them. The Portal Master was about to repair the wall when a green, wooden-like hand grabbed the edge of the temporary door way.
"Room for one more, mon?"
"Zook!" Zap cried out. The water dragon skated around in a heartbeat. He was only too eager to get away from whatever tale the burnt orange gremlin was telling. "Hey, you're supposed to be with Stealth and the others. What happened?"
The bambazooker waved and shouldered his bazooka. "Dey all been sent back ta Earth. Poof!" He flicked the fingers of his free hand out to mimic an explosion. "Gone. Alla dem." He looked behind him to watch the female Portal master close the crystal wall up again. He looked from her to Ben then took note of everyone else at the Core of Light. "So, we de last ting standin' between dem and de Core?" he asked. The two elves he had followed were speaking with the woman Portal Master and for the moment the younger one seemed more interested in their conversation as well. Trigger Happy gave Zook a meek sort of smile before he rubbed at his eyes then nose and trotted up to the other new arrivals.
"Yeah man, just us," Zap nodded. "How's it looking out there?"
"Goin' in our fava," Zook grinned. "Won't be long now."
The water dragon sighed and relaxed. "Good, I'm starting to get bored being all cooped up in here like this."
Zook laughed, his belly shook with the act, "Be careful what ya wish for, mon!"

The aerial dogfight had at least made it harder for enemy ships to drop troops. The more agile eirian craft were easily able to outmaneuver the clunky troll craft and their swiftness put the cyclops ships to shame.
"Why is the flagship leaving?" Captain Avon questioned once his officer alerted him to the departure of the lead enemy craft.
The officer dipped her head. "Sir, we have been able to tap into every line of communication between the ships and the flagship has not made any contact with the others in over fifteen minutes. They have tried to hail it to no luck."
Avon pursed his lips then pinched his chin between a knuckle and thumb as he curled a fist up in thought. "Follow it. Alert the wing leaders to our pursuit. Have two break away to escort us. Keep islands between the ship Kaos commands and our own." The captain lowered his hand and turned to look at others on the bridge. "I do not plan to engage Kaos but rather glean information. I believe his gargoyle psionics may be compromised a second time. Remember the warning Queen Seraphina gave?" Avon had nearly stumbled over the title of queen, he was still used to princess preceding Seraphina's name.
The officer laughed as she turned back to relay his orders to the rest of their forces. "I suppose I should take comfort in the fact Kaos likes to put all his eggs in one basket."
Avon leaned back in the captain's chair once he sat back down. "He does. But Asmodeus is another story. Still, I find it hard to believe Kaos will lead us to the drow. We follow him as far as we can before it becomes questionable. We will be ill prepared to match forces with the drow if my hunch is incorrect. Anything we can learn that might lead to finding Asmodeus will be helpful." Avon still hadn't had a chance to personally speak to anyone from the Low Lands to learn anything. As much as he could assume about the drow's dealing below Skylands he couldn't believe Asmodeus wouldn't still have some sort of base of operations in Skylands.

The eirian craft had done a good job of driving off enemy ships alongside those taken over by Skylanders. Only the largest drop ships braved the hail to deposit more troops. It allowed Skylanders to take a much needed breather.
With his sides heaving Pop Fizz reverted to his normal size. "What happened?" he asked those with him. "The Cynderling just... vanished."
"Not a clue, mate," Dino-Rang replied as he ran a gauntleted hand over his brow. "Ya alright there?" he asked Meilyr when the Fizzling collapsed in a heap.
"Never better," the muffled reply came as a hand waved tiredly.
"Mon amis," Flameslinger said as he turned back to them. "The Core, we should regroup near it. These fools, they will press on it if the ground is too dangerous for them with us on it."
Meilyr groaned loudly as he rolled over, the spikes on his black armor tore at the earth as he did so. "Seraphina and Kaelin are asking for the same thing. The queen just found me to ask for assistance. We have been shifted to subduing tactics. She and Kaelin are going to find corrupted Skylanders. We get to take them down." The gremlin stared up at the starlit sky, the roar of engines echoed all around him and he could still hear Skylanders calling for rank alongside the invaders in their own languages as well as Common. "I can hardly wait," he added sourly.
"Wait, she told ya just now?" the saurian Skylander looked around. "Like," he tapped the side of his head, "up hea?"
"Yes, I heard a little voice inside my head," Meilyr replied and adjusted one of his gauntlets. "Psionics, remember?"
"Aye mate," Dino-Rang thumbed his nose. "I 'erd about that. I'm not rightly sure I can take bein' cooped up inna 'nother person's mind." He flinched when Flameslinger slapped him on the back.
The elf grinned widely and slipped his hand up to squeeze one of the dinosaur's shoulders. "It is the adventure you will not be soon to forget."
Pop Fizz groaned as his ears sagged. "Yeah but it gets old." He scratched the back of his head and looked to his Copy for further details.
Meilyr stood up while making a terrible amount of noise then stretched. "No. We just round them up. No one is digging around in the mind of someone else unless they are named Seraphina or Kaelin. We do not have the time to free anyone right now." He snorted and his ears laid down. "And our first target is a Ghost Roasterling hiding alongside three Boomerings and a Zookling. Only the Rosterling is compromised.." He turned in a full circle and raised a clawed hand. "There," he pointed to the group before the angry orange of an explosion hid them from view. "Anicetus and his group will be helping us round up the puppets. Rafer too leads a group" The Fizzling took a few steps in the direction he had pointed the others and stopped when he realized only Flameslinger was following him. With a grunt he turned to face the original owner of his face as well as the other Core with him, "You may not know them personally but they are your teammates. They need your help just as much as the Core of Light does. We can help them. If you would rather knock around troll skulls then by all means," he held his arms out, "get to it. Or you can help make sure people that wear friendly faces are removed safely before they can undermine us."
Dino-Rang broke into a trot followed quickly by Pop Fizz with cries of not leaving him behind.
"Your motivational skills in the area of speech need the help," Flameslinger laughed. "But it is effective."

Note from Seraph: The first half of this chapter is about three years old while the rest is recent. I'm not sure if there's a big change in style or not since I did go through and do edits but yeah, the style might feel different and suddenly changed because of the long hiatus. Further updates will come along as they're done. I'm not keeping my old tight regime of one chapter a week. I want to polish them off as much as possible first.