Hi, guys! Here's a new project to get me back into the spirit of Skylanders! And have fun with the other authors here, of course!

Anyhoot, on with the story!

Earthlanders: The Terminal Spell

Chapter 1 – One and Owl

"Airy, come on! Everyone's waiting on us!"

"I'm going, I'm going!"

Hootie Hoot sighed and bonked her forehead against Air's bedroom door, the collision resounding with a hollow thunk! Her straight, chestnut hair hung down and framed her face like a curtain, and her necklace, a bejeweled owl pendant inlaid with purple and pink gemstones on a silver chain, dangled loosely.

Her pocket vibrated, so she dug out her cell phone and checked the message on the screen. It was from Jane: OMG Where the dickens r u?!

Waiting on Airy. Hootie typed. She hesitated. Not sure why. she added as an afterthought.

Right as she hit "Send," the door opened up, revealing a small middle school girl with blonde hair and bright, eager eyes.

…At least, that was how she usually looked. Hootie found herself staring and had to shake her head a few times. She glanced back down at her phone and texted: Never mind. "Air, you look like you were hit by a twister!"

The distraught Air Spirit looked ready to cry. Her hair stood up at all conceivable angles, forming bunches of knotted and tangled blonde hair. "H-Hootie…" Air whimpered. "I need your help…"

Hootie sighed with a knowing smile. "Did you…try to use your Element to dry your hair?"

"Uh-huh."

Hootie chuckled. "Okay, let's see if we can fix it."

Hootie followed Air through her room to her bathroom counter, setting down her backpack and rummaging through it until she found what she needed: a bottle of detangler.

As she set to work on Airy's hair, the younger Portal Master stared at the bottle curiously. "Why did you bring that?"

Hootie, at eighteen and short for her age, didn't stand much taller than Air, allowing her a favorable vantage point from which to work on her hair. Air stared in the mirror at Hootie's reflection as she sprayed the fine mist and grappled with the brush. "Well, it's a slumber party, so I figured we'd be doing each other's hair at some point." And I have a very tender head…

She grabbed a large tuft and tried to brush the tangles out as gently as she could manage. "I didn't figure we'd be doing it before the party…" she muttered, trying to sound good-natured about it to put Air at ease.

"Sorry, Hootie," Air mumbled. "I'm making us late."

Hootie's phone vibrated in her pocket again as if to prove her point. "It's no big deal, Airy," she brushed off (pun completely intended). "Seraph might say it was a learning experience." She scowled at a particularly large wad of tangles and dowsed it with the slimy solution. "Where's Drip with her ridiculous arsenal of hair products when you need them?"

Air was thoughtful at the mention of her sister. "She's having a sleep over at her friend's house, I think. She might not have left yet."

"You didn't invite her?"

Air shrugged. "She'd already made plans. I thought we'd invite her to the next one."

"Oh, okay then."

Air's gaze drifted over to a small mobile portal sitting on the counter. Hootie noticed it was still glowing silver with the Air Element.

"Why can't I control it, Hootie?"

"That's an easy one," Hootie replied. She was finally getting somewhere with the blonde mop, smoothing it back down to its original state. "Care to guess?"

"Because I'm young and inexperienced?"

"Well, there's that," Hootie conceded. "But none of us are experts. Try again."

Air looked at Hootie in confusion. The older Portal Master tapped the edge of the portal, and it glowed a gentle lavender in response. "It's no big secret, Air. Portal Masters summon the Elements; they don't control them. The same way we can summon Skylanders and guide them to their target, we can call upon the Elements to help us out if we need them."

She picked up a silver bow barrette sitting on the counter and fixed it to her friend's hair. "If we try to control them, well…it's just like anything else. They don't like it. There! Nice and pretty again!"

Airy frowned at the bow and pulled it back out. She fixed her attention on the portal again. "But if we just summon them, how do we know they'll help us?"

Hootie stared off into space (read: the bathroom wall). "Because the Elements make up the Light in Skylands. They work together with the Skylanders, us Portal Masters and each other to keep things bright." She looked down at her wrist solemnly. "We're all nothing without each other."

She shook her head, grinning. "Heh, I'm starting to sound like Miss Enigma herself. Anyway…" she reached down and picked up her backpack again, shouldering it. "Ready to go? Got your stuff?"

"Yeah!" Air enthused, striding back to her bed to grab her own bag. Hootie picked up the mobile portal and joined her, holding it out for Airy to place her hand on its swirling surface.

"Here we go…" Hootie said, powering it up.

"Wait!" Airy stopped her. "I want to do it!"

Hootie quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure?"

Airy put her hands on her hips. "I'm not a child, Hootie! Besides, I need to practice!"

Hootie threw up her hands. "Okay then!" she conceded, handing the portal to Air while keeping her hand firmly clamped on the edge. "Just remember to focus on the citadel."

"I know, I know, you don't have to hold my hand!" Airy complained.

The mobile portal lit up, silvery light pouring out of the stony runes embedded in the edge. Airy's eyes were closed, concentrated fully on their destination…

FWASH!

With a bright flash, they found themselves on a massive stone bridge, flanked by clouds shining in the soft sunset light. The bridge led to a familiar castle, sprawling several yards away from where Air and Hootie stood.

Hootie took a deep breath and smiled at the gorgeous sunset. "And here we are in beautiful, scenic…!"

She paused, noticing where they were. Airy shifted uneasily as Hootie turned to face the castle, taking in its unique architecture, specifically the distinctive eye motif. "…Crystal Eye Castle?"

She faced Airy again, her expression unreadable. "Well, it's…close."

Airy buried her face in her hands, trying to cover the blush creeping across her face. Hootie, fearful that she might have started crying, rushed to her side. "Air, it's okay! We're not that far off!"

"I got distracted!" Air wailed, though her face was dry. "You said 'citadel,' and I thought 'castle!' And now we're gonna be even more late!"

"Okay, well, that's a mistake on my part, not yours!" Hootie tried to cheer her up. "It was a simple mistake. Nothing worth getting upset over." She grabbed Air's wrist, gently taking the mobile portal from her. "Now come on, we can walk there in ten minutes."

Hootie started walking down the bridge with Air following sullenly. "I don't understand how you can be so patient with me after all the time I've wasted."

Hootie's gaze kept flicking over their surroundings: they were in enemy territory, so keeping a lookout was a must. "It's just a slumber party, Airy, it's not like the fate of the world depends on us getting there on time."

She dug her phone back out of her pocket: five missed texts from Jane. "Although Jane seems to think otherwise…better call her."

"Maybe I should talk to her?" Airy suggested, to which Hootie shrugged.

"If you want to."

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The duo whirled around at the familiar voice. Their eyes widened at the sight of a throng of Cyclopses barreling toward them.

"Airy, get behind me!" Hootie put herself in front of her younger friend, holding her arm out protectively.

Air wanted to stay beside her friend and stare down their enemies together, but something in Hootie's tone left no room for argument.

At the head of the horde was a tiny green Cyclops wearing a royal purple velvet crown, an axe resting in his grip. Standing guard next to him was a Shadow Knight, towering above his superior and the rest of the Cyclopses.

The monsters all looked outraged at the Portal Master's presence, hoisting their weapons up and down in the air and roaring indignantly. The crowned Cyclops held up his hand for silence.

"Well, well, well," he drawled in an oddly nasally tone. "A couple of human Portal Masters all alone on my turf. There's something you don't see every day." He tapped his chin mockingly. "I honestly expected your kind to be smarter than that. I guess I was expecting too much."

Air seethed at him. "Why you little—"

"We don't want any trouble, Pipsqueak," Hootie cut in. In truth, she was just as angry as Air, her wrist burning up. "We just had a little warping accident and now our portal—" she held up the object in question, which no longer glowed. "—is fried. Now, if you'll just let us be on our way, we'll be out of your Mohawks."

Pipsqueak grinned maliciously, fixing his one eye on Hootie's owl pendant. "You of all people should know that things are never that simple. Judging from that pendant, I'd say that you're the Portal Master known as Hootie Hoot, one of Eon's famed disciples, am I right?"

Hootie said nothing.

"Of course, the human with a name even more ridiculous than mine."

He really thinks that's my real name? Hootie thought, stifling a laugh even despite the situation. Now that's ridiculous!

"You and your little friend will make a fine ransom. And as long as your portal doesn't work, you can't summon backup." Pipsqueak leveled his axe at them. "If I were you, I would come quietly. Oh, and if you even think about running in the opposite direction, I'll give the order to release the mammoths."

The Cyclops grunts advanced on the girls. Air grabbed Hootie's arm, desperately wanting to take action, and Hootie responded by holding up her free hand. "You don't have to do this," she warned. "Turn around now and I won't be forced to fight you."

"And that goes for me, too!" Air exclaimed, pushing past Hootie, who nearly protested, but decided against it. Air had been right, she figured, in that she tended to hold her hand too much. In truth, the younger girl was more than capable; she'd just been having a rough day.

Pipsqueak broke down laughing and his entourage, save the Knight, followed suit. "Thanks for that, I've been needing a good laugh!" he taunted before abruptly growing serious. "Enough stalling. Seize them."

"I don't think so!" Hootie roughly pulled back her violet sleeve, revealing the mini portal strapped to her wrist. It glowed an angry shade of amethyst, and lavender mist gathered around the Portal Master.

She brought her portal arm to her chest and grabbed it with her other hand, aiming the surface of her weapon at their opponents. A stream of colorful arcane energy shot forth, striking most of the warriors forming the front line and felling them with cries of dismay.

Pipsqueak somehow managed to get over his shock quickly, growling at the sight of his fallen underlings blinking out of sight, sent back to where they had originated. He signaled to his Shadow Knight. "Don't just stand there! Attack!"

Galvanized into action, the black suit of armor lurched forward, sword held aloft. The remaining minions flanked it with determination.

"Take this!" Air held her hands up and gave a silent prayer to the wind, remembering what Hootie had said about control.

A sudden gale whipped up around the duo and Hootie had to cross her arms over her head. Air seemed unaffected, only her hair giving way to the wind (though not as wildly as Hootie's), and she pointed to her adversaries, directing the wind to knock into them full force.

The Cyclopses were all knocked straight back into the air, tumbling head over heels until they hit the castle gate with enough momentum to knock them out. All but Pipsqueak, who had the right mind and proximity to grab hold of the Shadow Knight, and held on stubbornly, his minute form wracked about by the onslaught of wind.

Air couldn't keep it up forever, and the gale died down steadily, allowing Pipsqueak to shakily drop to his feet again and follow the Knight on its continued path.

"Hootie, it didn't work!" Air turned frantically to a disheveled Hootie Hoot, who lowered her arms. "That Knight's too heavy!"

Hootie held her wrist out to Air. "Then let's up the ante!"

Air got the idea and grabbed hold of Hootie's mini portal. Together they held out their hands, another gust of wind starting to whip up in a tornado around them.

"Don't stop, it's a just a little wind!" Pipsqueak ordered his automaton.

"With a little Magic in the mix!" Hootie shouted over the strengthening wind. Pebbles and rocks were swept up off the bridge and into the vortex, along with shining violet lights trailing out of Hootie's mini portal.

The Shadow Knight pushed steadily through the gale, though it was clearly struggling. It finally closed the gap between them and lifted its sword for a strike.

Air and Hootie, teeth gritted, stood their ground, the howling purple winds whisking their hair about every which way. Hootie saw her portal flickering precariously and realized with horror that she had reached her limit, unable to summon any more Magic to power up Air's tornado. No! That can't be it! I have to protect Airy!

***With no Skylanders here, there is no one else! ***

No one noticed Hootie's pendant begin to glow, and an unexpected pulse of Magic erupted from her mini portal. The wave of enchantment rippled through the air, passing harmlessly through the girls and throwing the Knight and Pipsqueak off of their feet and straight up into the windstorm.

Hootie and Airy watched with great smiles as the Knight fell apart, its pieces flying higher and higher and sometimes smacking into the screaming Pipsqueak.

The Magic twister died down once the monsters were out of sight. With windblown hair and hearts still pounding, the girls cheered their victory.

"Aw, yeah!" Air held up her hand for a high five, which Hootie returned with a smile.

"Eat it," Hootie added.

They looked straight up for any sign of their foes. "You think they're gonna land any time soon?" Air asked.

"Just give it a minute."

They waited. Air shuffled her feet and Hootie checked her portal, forgetting that it wasn't a watch.

"So, what was that back there?" Air asked suddenly. Hootie didn't have a good answer.

"I…don't know…" she trailed off, the question troubling her. "I just…felt desperate and…poof." She spread her hand in an exploding gesture.

"Well…I'm sure glad you did!" Airy expressed. "I wonder if you could do it again?"

Hootie decided to change the subject. "That was an excellent bit of Air power there, Airy," she praised. "I mean, just a few minutes ago, you were having trouble drying your hair!"

Airy blushed. "You were right about the control thing."

"I learned that from Master Eon," Hootie informed her. She began to fiddle with her pendant, noticing the odd warmth that seemed to emanate from it. "He's also the one who convinced me to switch to the Magic Element."

"I was wondering about that," Air admitted. "You seemed to be having fun with the Fire Element."

Hootie lowered her gaze, refraining from commenting on the matter.

CLANG!

They turned in time to see Pipsqueak hit the bridge with a squeak, the armor pieces clattering around him. The Shadow Knight's helmet landed neatly on his head.

Air smiled at Hootie deviously and Hootie nodded with a scowl. They marched up to the Mohawk Cyclops, who sat dazedly.

"I don't understand…" he mumbled unhappily, voice muffled through the mouth guard. "You're just a couple of girls! A damsel in distress, times two!"

Hootie scoffed. "Damsel in distress? You've got another thing coming."

"Do you want another tornado to the face?" Air threatened, eyeing Hootie's portal. "Because I'd be happy to oblige!"

"I think he's had enough, Airy," Hootie calmed her. Air settled down and Hootie knelt down to Pipsqueak's level, staring. "Just be glad it was me and not Prowess. She's not nearly as tolerating as I am."

Pipsqueak fell backward, presumably unconscious (although it was impossible to verify with the helmet over his face).

Hootie stood back up and motioned for Air to follow her. "Now let's go, we've got a slumber party to get to!"

Air gasped. "OMG, we're laaaaaaate!" She grabbed Hootie's hand and ran off, dragging her stumbling friend behind her.

"Ack, Airy! Slow down!"

I matched up the Elements according to our favorites. I may not have gotten them all right, be sure to correct me if you guys want changes! Also, I have nothing against more than one person using the same element.

They are listed as follows:

Hootie: Magic (changed from Fire)

Airy: Air

Seraph: Life

Dustin: Fire (although he specifically requested Life)

Prowess: Undead

Jane: Tech

Again, if you want in on the fun, don't be shy! Leave a review or PM me to tell me about yourself! Just remember to ask nicely! :3

Additionally, because our author selves retain a certain sense of privacy, I'm leaving our physical descriptions a little vague on purpose. Just use your imaaaaaginaaatioooon. *rainbow hands*

Question of the chapter: "Which Skylander do you nominate to appear in this story? Only pick one for now, please!"

Hootie's answer: "Why, Hoot Loop, of course! Not that it matters, since I'm writing the story, so...yeah...I'm a genius, I know..."

What's your answer? These questions can help me out in the story!

See you guys next time in Chapter 2 – Wings of Mystery! Bye!