The first arc in my Skylanders AU. Takes place after Superchargers and before Imaginators.
After a mini-mental-breakdown, Kaos (and Glumshanks by association) leaves Skylander Academy to become a villain again. There's a lot he must do to regain what he once had, and that would be hard on its own, but making it harder is his terrible mental state. Memories of the past keep bubbling to the surface, and though he tries to act like everything is fine, it really isn't.
- In-universe racism and slurs
- Body-shaming
- Bullying
- Child abuse
Darkness. Darkness as far as the eye could see. Or rather couldn't see. A pure black abyss, void of all things “good” in this world. Cold, yet comforting. Empty and undisturbed. Yes, it was the ultimate, all-encompassing darkness...of sleep.
How Kaos loved that darkness. Especially in the conditions he lived under currently. Sleep was the only place he could see that darkness. Whether it was dreaming of the darkness to come, or just seeing the pure black endless void of half-consciousness, he loved it all the same.
Currently, he was spending some quality time in the aforementioned void- just conscious enough to know what's happening, but just gone enough to remain within the bliss of the blackness. Yes, such wonderful darkness... Far, far away from everything at the academy...
Suddenly, a sensation cut through the darkness, forcing him to gain full consciousness. What was that feeling on his face, in his eyes? It was warm, bright, and-- the answer hit him before he could finish that thought. Light. Of course it was light. Even though he had woken up to that light every morning for that past six months, it still burned just as much as the first time.
He rolled over to his side to get away from that horrible light, and it did work, but a part of him was still furious to have been woken in the first place. He wished he could've just slept through it all, never having to experience the horrors he knew were to come. He knew he had to get up, but he really, REALLY didn't want to.
He begrudgingly sat up, but still couldn't make himself fully get out of bed quite yet. He absentmindedly looked around the room while thinking about how horrible the Academy and everyone in it was. This continued until something caught his eye. Or rather, someone. It was Glumshanks. He was in the kitchen making... something. Kaos couldn't quite tell what it was from his bed. While what he was seeing wasn't unusual, it was more interesting than just staring at the wall.
Kaos decided to keep watching him. Watching. And watching. After about five minutes of this watching, Glumshanks turned around and saw him. At first, the troll's eyes widened in surprise, but his expression quickly softened.
“Oh, good morning, sir,” he said, smiling.
He received no response from Kaos. But that wasn't a shock. He'd never been much of a morning person.
“Breakfast will be ready soon,” his butler offered.
No response again. Now that one was odd. Kaos would usually perk up a bit after that part. He'd never said it out loud, but Glumshanks knew he enjoyed his cooking. For him to not seem interested...
“Um, sir? Are you o--”
He was interrupted by Kaos, “Yeah, yeah, I'll get up. Just stop whining already,” he said as he dragged himself out of bed.
That was more like it, Glumshanks thought. Again, he was worrying over nothing. Yes, today was going to be another normal day. Another day where he and Kaos just...live. No schemes, no trying to take over the world, no danger... The life they were living here, while a bit boring at times, was great. To him, at least. He knew Kaos didn't feel the same way about living here at the academy, but he remained hopeful that his master would eventually come around to it (even though it had been quite a while, and he showed no signs of liking it anytime ever.)
He began to wonder what he could do to make his master more comfortable living here, but then remembered he had a job to. A very important job that only he could do... cooking. Meals didn't make themselves, after all...
The morning was bright and cheerful for everyone else who lived at the Academy. People like Flynn, Cali, and Hugo. And speaking of those three, they, along with some of the Skylanders, were in the Academy doing a very, very important task... decorating.
It had been six months since they defeated The Darkness, and they had decided to have a party to celebrate Skylands being evil-free. The team were working together to make the entire Academy festive. Most of the Skylanders were on the floor, putting tablecloths on the tables and then setting those tables. The Skylanders who could fly were tying long, flowing ribbons to the ceiling and putting up colorful lights.
A certain Mabu trio, however, were not currently doing any work. They had gotten into a conversation while opening up a box of party supplies and had forgotten all about the task at hand. The talk started amicably, but had gotten a bit heated...
“I'm just saying I don't trust him. Is that really so wrong?” Cali snapped.
“Yeah, Cali, I'd love to agree with you, but I'm afraid I can't this time,” Flynn replied.
“Oh, come on! Kaos has been trying to kill us all and take over Skylands for years, and now I'm supposed to just trust him after only six months of good behavior?! Really?!”
“I know how you feel, Cali,” Hugo nervously began, “But he really has been trying to be better. I mean, if he wasn't then why would he still be here?”
Cali rolled her eyes. They'd been over this before. “Because he doesn't have his powers. He said it himself several times- he's just waiting until he finds a way to regain his powers and then he'll be right back to trying to take over Skylands.”
“Maybe. But also maybe being here at the Academy around all the most heroic people in all Skylands is rubbing off on him,” Flynn suggested, “...Mostly me rubbing off on him, but still,” he slyly added.
“Flynn, I know you're saying this because you think Kaos is your friend, but he's not. He's nobody's friend. He hates friendship, and he hates everything good in the world. Seriously, this man is comically evil, how can you guys not see this?!”
“But Cali, we at least need to give him a chance to change. How can he ever change if we don't trust him and support him?” Hugo proposed.
“But he's--” Cali was interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind her and the steps of someone entering the room.
“Hugo's right, soldier.” It was Buzz. Everyone turned to look at him.
“Buzz? Have you just been standing outside listening to us this whole time?” Cali asked.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Head of Security shouldn't be revealing those kinds of secrets, now should he?”
The other three Mabu exchanged looks of bewilderment and skepticism. They all worked together, why wouldn't he be able to tell them? Typical Buzz behavior... He was weird- even for someone at the Academy.
“Anyway, as I was saying...” Buzz continued, “While Kaos hasn't had the most...glowing past in the world, he did help us defeat The Darkness. And he's been working with us ever since. His actions are proving that he is changing for the better. We need to have faith in him.”
Cali crossed her arms and looked down, away from Buzz. It was true that Kaos had been helping them, and he hadn't shown any signs of a possible plan for betrayal, but something still didn't feel right. Maybe she was being too hard on him. Buzz didn't trust people so easily, so for him to trust Kaos... It meant a lot. But still, the feeling remained in her. She couldn't quite pin down what it was exactly- was it...dread? She felt like keeping Kaos around was like keeping a ticking time bomb, and she had no idea how long it would take for it to explode.
Suddenly, Cali felt Flynn's hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and he said, “Cali, I know you're worried that something bad's gonna happen, but don't be. I'm sure it'll be fine, and even if it isn't fine, I'll be here to protect you.”
She just stared at him. After a bit of this stare, Flynn realized what she meant.
“...Me and the others too, I guess,” he finally added.
Cali smiled, “Thank you.”
Flynn let go of her shoulder and she looked back at Buzz.
“I'm going to trust you. I'm not trusting Kaos himself, just your decision about Kaos.” she said.
“Good,” Buzz replied, “And if I'm wrong about him, you have my full permission to say 'I told you so.'”
“Thanks. And...I hope you're not.”
With that discussion over, the Mabu went back to their work- now being assisted by Buzz. They all had high hopes for today, and it was their top priority to make this party the best it could possibly be...
Kaos and Glumshanks sat across from each other at their room's small dining table. They were currently having that breakfast Glumshanks was making. It was pancakes. The troll took a bite of the dish. It was light, fluffy, and sweet. He did a good job, he thought.
He looked up from his plate to see Kaos just...sitting there. He was looking down, but at nothing in particular. Not even at the food. And speaking of the food, he hadn't eaten any of it at all. He was holding his fork, but wasn't doing anything with it. He only occasionally tapped it on the side of the plate.
This was very unusual behavior from Kaos. Sure, he sulked sometimes, but typically he'd end up ranting to Glumshanks about whatever was bothering him. It seemed like he'd been upset since the moment he woke up, and he hadn't said anything about it.
Everything about this made Glumshanks worry. What could possibly be so troubling that Kaos wouldn't tell him about it?
“Lord Kaos?” the troll inquired, “Is something on your mind?”
Kaos looked up at him. His expression was clear now, he had a particularly nasty scowl on his face and was no longer trying to hide it. He didn't really want to talk about this. The situation filled him with a strange sensation. It felt familiar...familiar in a bad way. He didn't want to think about that feeling any more, but Glumshanks asking about it had subconsciously given him permission to talk.
“It's pointless,” he said, bitterness tingeing every word, “It's all pointless. There's nothing I can do to stop it.”
“S-Sir..?! What are you--”
Glumshanks was silenced by Kaos yelling, “It's that damn party those Skyfools are throwing! They're forcing me to attend and I HATE IT!!”
Oh. It's just that. Glumshanks wasn't surprised to hear Kaos was upset about it. He didn't like parties, and he didn't like the Skylanders. What was strange was that he hadn't mentioned feeling this way until just now, and they had known they were going for multiple weeks. Had he been avoiding talking about it this whole time? Weird, but at least he was now...
Glumshanks finally responded, “That's reasonable, sir. I'm pretty anxious about going too...”
“ANXIOUS?! I am not 'anxious', Glumshanks! I'm FURIOUS!” Kaos screamed, “For that entire ruse of an event, I will have to pretend that I'm sooooo happy to be there, and that all these people are my friends, and that I'm thrilled that Skylands is free from evil! WELL, I'M NOT!”
As he yelled that last part, he stabbed his fork into the pancakes in front of him with the force of someone ready to kill. Though the utensil went straight through the food, it stopped at the plate. Kaos did not have the physical strength to break a plate.
After that outburst, the Dark Portal Master just sat there. He said nothing more. He seemed a bit exhausted by the effort of screaming like that- he was panting softly. He still looked mad, but his expression also conveyed a bit of distress.
Glumshanks wanted to do something to make his master feel better about this. He thought about what to say for a bit before speaking, “I...I understand, sir. But I'm sure it won't be that bad.”
Kaos shot him a disapproving glare.
“I-I mean, the whole party is about us beating The Darkness. Everyone will surely be praising you for your part in it,” Glumshanks said.
Kaos considered this, “Hm. Well, yes. And what I did was amazing, it's true. But they think that just because I destroyed The Darkness, that suddenly makes me their friend. I am not their friend!”
“But, sir, aren't you supposed to be pretending to be? You're their consultant, you know?”
“Ugh, yes, I know! It's horrible! I should've never gone with that, it's too much work. It made the Skylosers think they can just barge into my house any time they want and get me to help them- and I always have to or they'll think I'm acting suspicious! I hate this.”
“I know, but we have to keep this up. We can't leave until you get your powers back.”
“And that's the worst part! I'm trapped with these fools and I have no idea when I'll get to leave! It's torture!”
“Well, yeah, I guess so...”
Glumshanks wished he had something better to say than that. He wished he could tell Kaos that they'd be out of here before they knew it, but he knew that wasn't true. Neither of them had any idea how Kaos would get his powers back without The Darkness, or if it was even possible. He knew Kaos was miserable here, and of course he didn't want that, but he also knew that if they left now they'd be in all on their own. They'd have nowhere to go, and with Kaos in the state he was in now, they'd be in terrible danger. Just imagining that scenario made Glumshanks nervous. They had been through something like that before, back when they lived in the Outlands. It was truly one of the hardest, most grueling experiences of their entire lives- and that was back when Kaos had his powers. Both of them preferred to forget about those times...
“Why are you staring at me?” Kaos asked.
His master's voice snapped Glumshanks out of his thoughts. He had no idea, but he'd been staring at Kaos the whole time, and he did not appear to be pleased with that.
“S-Sorry, sir!” Glumshanks said, “I didn't mean to, I just...”
He paused. He didn't know what to say. No, that's not true. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. It felt so embarrassing for some reason, even though it was how he really felt.
“Just what?” Kaos snapped.
His master was waiting. The troll had no choice but to just say it. He fought to ignore the anxiety buzzing in his chest as he met Kaos' eyes.
“L-Lord Kaos, I know this is all really hard for you, but I know you can get through it. You're very strong, sir. Always have been,” he struggled a bit before saying the next part, “A-And about the whole party thing... Sure, it's scary, but if we stick together it shouldn't be that bad, right?”
That last sentence sent a shock through Kaos' entire being. Glumshanks had said that once before. A really long time ago. And in a very similar situation too.
“S-Sir, did I say something wrong?” the troll asked.
Kaos hadn't realized until now, but his surprise was showing on his face. He immediately changed his expression.
“N-No,” he cleared his throat and changed his tone to one of pure (fake) confidence, “I believe you staying by my side would be a given, being that you are my butler and that is your job. But if you feel the need to say it again, I wont stop you.”
“Oh, um, okay...” Glumshanks paused, “So, we are going to the party later, right?”
“I never said we weren't.”
Glumshanks felt a bit relieved to hear him say that. Maybe what he said did help, or maybe it didn't. You could never quite tell with Kaos. But regardless, he seemed a bit more relaxed now. That was a good sign, and he hoped that more good things would follow the rest of the day. If things were to go wrong somehow- well, he didn't want to think about what would happen then...
Cali ran her finger around the rim of her glass, staring into the red fruit juice inside. The party had started about an hour ago, and all of the attendees were having fun... all of them except Cali. She had been waiting for Kaos to show up, and he still wasn't here. That was very suspicious, she thought. What could he be doing for all that time? She didn't know. She wouldn't be able to rest easy until he arrived, and even after he got there she wouldn't let him out of her sight. Despite what everyone had said, she still couldn't bring herself to completely trust him.
“What's the frown for, Cali?” Flynn asked.
Cali quickly turned to him. He had totally come out of nowhere.
“You know, you're much more beautiful when you smile...” he added, leaving out that he also thought she was beautiful when she was upset. She was beautiful all the time to him.
“First of all, ew,” Cali replied, a bit insulted. Flynn frowned at that, but she didn't care, “Second of all, I'm upset because we invited Kaos to this party and he's not here. Who knows what he's off doing? Probably something evil...”
“Cali, you just said earlier today that you'd trust him more.”
“Yes, but this is suspicious behavior.”
“It's suspicious to be late to a party?”
Cali nodded with a very serious look on her face.
Flynn tried his best to not show his confusion to her (and was terrible at it, as he is Flynn,) “Riiiiiight...”
Suddenly, the large wooden doors of the Academy burst open with a very loud BANG. Everyone at the party turned to look at the source of the noise, and it soon revealed itself to be...
“It is I, KAOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!” the Dark Portal Master announced, “I am here to attend your gathering. You may now rejoice.”
Glumshanks entered the room after his master, “And me. I-I'm here too.”
Nobody rejoiced at Kaos' arrival, as they all went back to doing whatever they were before. The only person who was close to “rejoicing” was Cali, who sighed an internal sigh of relief. Buzz was right. He wasn't up to something. He wasn't being evilly late, he was just being normal late.
Kaos walked into the room. The Academy was covered in blue and white decorations. Such was the Skylanders' motif, he supposed. Probably because they were the colors of Eon. And the colors of The Light. He couldn't tell which part of that bothered him more, because he hated them both equally.
The further he walked into the Academy, the more Skylanders he could see in the distance. With that and the Light-branded stuff everywhere, it felt like he had just stepped into his worst nightmare. A room full of the people he hated having fun and being happy. And he had to pretend he was happy too.
Suddenly, he heard somebody call out to him, “Hey, buddy! Over here!” It was Flynn.
Kaos cursed internally. That stupid pilot just HAD to start a conversation. He mentally prepared himself to the best of his ability and walked over to him and Cali.
“Hello, Flynn,” he said, trying to sound friendly, “How are you this fine afternoon?”
“Pretty awesome!” Flynn replied with a big smile, “This place really has it all-- friends, food, and, of course, endless praise for my incredible heroic deeds.”
Nobody had praised him for his 'heroic deeds.' And everybody knew that.
“That's great,” Kaos said, cringing inside. He turned his attention to the other Mabu, “And hello to you too, Cali. I assume things are going just as well?”
“Yeah, they are. Now that I know you're actually gonna be here, that is,” she replied, a hint of venom behind her polite demeanor.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked, his mask also cracking slightly, “Did you think I wouldn't?”
Hearing Kaos try to sound nice sent chills up Cali's spine. She wanted to be civil here, but looking him in the eyes made her remember everything she hated about him. He still had that look... that underlying malice.
“To be honest, yeah. I didn't think you had it in you to come to a party crawling with the Skylanders you've hated for so many years...” she replied.
Kaos was trying not to think about that part, and Cali bringing it up made him break his pleasant act, but only for a second. For that one moment his disgust showed on his face, and Cali noticed.
“I'm right, aren't I? You still hate us,” she said.
Kaos put on his best performance to say, “No, of course not! You all are my--” he gagged a bit before saying, “--friends. You are my friends.”
“Really? Why'd you gag then?”
“Oh, did I? Sorry about that, I must've had something stuck in my throat.”
Cali did not buy that for a second. She was about to say more when Flynn interrupted.
“Okay, guys, let's all just take a breather here. We're on the same team now, remember?” he said, putting his hands on both of their shoulders.
Kaos hated being touched but tried not to show it, “Y-Yes, Flynn is right. I'm saddened you think so lowly of me to believe I'm still evil,” he put on his best sad face and looked at Cali, “I've learned my lesson. I have left my past in the past, and it pains me that you cannot do the same...”
His act worked like a charm. A wave of self-doubt washed over her. She'd never seen him look sad before. Maybe he was telling the truth right now. Or maybe he was lying. But he didn't seem to have any kind of plan. If he was going to do something, he would've done it by now. But what if that was what he wanted her to think? Or was she just reading too far into it? She didn't know what to think anymore.
“I-I'm sorry, Kaos. I'll try to be better to you...” she said quietly, avoiding Kaos' eyes.
Kaos was about to respond when Flynn switched from touching them to full-on hugging them. Actually, it was more-so squeezing them. Really tight.
“See? Everything's gonna be okay!” he let go of them (which they were very happy about), “Let's all just forget about all the drama and have fun today.”
“Yes, I agree. And in the spirit of said 'fun', I am going to go talk to some of my other f-friends. On the other side of the Academy. Do not follow me,” Kaos quickly turned around and began walking away, “Come on, Glumshanks.”
His troll was right behind him, “Yes, sir.”
And that was it. They were gone. Cali and Flynn just stood there, taken aback by how suddenly that conversation ended. There was a silence between them before Flynn finally spoke.
“Uh. So. Wanna go get some cake?” he offered.
Cali smiled softly, “Sure.”
Kaos snuck away from the crowds of Skylanders and now stood at the wall, looking on at those pitiful fools. They were still partying and having fun. Disgusting.
Now that he was sure there were no eyes on him, he began furiously wiping himself off. He felt so dirty after Flynn touched him. That man disgusted Kaos more than anyone else at the Academy. When he was done he turned to his butler.
“See, Glumshanks? THAT is what I was talking about. I cannot stand speaking to these fools..!” he said, trying not to raise his voice too much (which was very hard for him.)
“I know, sir, but--” Glumshanks began.
“Don't finish that sentence. I don't want to hear it.”
Kaos continued observing the party. The whole scene was sickening to him. The bright lights, the gaudy decorations, the loud music... And then there were the attendees, all happy and smiling, chatting with their friends and having a good time. Something about seeing all this stung deep down. And he knew why- he just didn't want to think about it.
Glumshanks tapped him on the shoulder, “Um, Lord Kaos?”
Kaos didn't look at him, but he was listening.
“I just wanted to make sure you're okay,” the troll continued, “You know, with all the party stuff.”
“I'm fine,” Kaos replied flatly.
He said that, but a horrible feeling was boiling within him. He was trying his hardest to keep it contained, to not cause a scene. He had to play nice with them. And that itself was part of the problem. Being civil with the people he hated so much. He had done this sort of thing before, and he despised the fact that he had to do it again.
Kaos' thoughts were interrupted by the loud screeching of a microphone being turned on. He heard it being tapped a few times, then the voice behind it.
“Hello? This thing working?” it was Buzz.
He was standing behind a podium on a makeshift stage made for the party. From it, he looked out on the crowd. Everyone was looking at him, even Kaos. And a bunch of the Skylanders were nodding and giving him okay signs.
“Good,” he cleared his throat, “Hello, everyone! Today is a very special day. One we have all gathered here to celebrate. And I'm sure you all know it, but just in case you didn't, we are celebrating the six month anniversary of us defeating The Darkness once and for all!”
Everyone cheered at that part. Everyone except Kaos (and Glumshanks, by association.)
“Yes, yes, I know,” Buzz continued, “It truly is what I believe to be our greatest accomplishment as a team. And in honor of that accomplishment, I would like to personally thank the amazing people who made it all possible.”
He straightened his stack of cue cards, “First, there's of course, the Skylanders!”
This came with more cheers.
“You are truly the finest group of soldiers I've ever had the privilege of training. You are all powerful, courageous, selfless, and most importantly of all, unique. You guys are the heart of the Academy, and I'm sure I can speak for us all in saying that we thank you for your service.”
The crowd all clapped for the Skylanders. Though it was mostly made up of Skylanders who were clapping for all the other Skylanders in the room.
Buzz waited for the sound to quiet down before continuing, “But the Skylanders aren't the only ones responsible for our victory- though you all were a pretty big part! I'd like to thank a few special soldiers for their service.”
As the speech continued, he addressed every member of the team. Flynn, the pilot with a big ego and an even bigger heart. Cali, the adventurer who keeps the others in check. Hugo, the librarian and the brains of the group. Sharpfin, their vehicle guy with quite the list of connections. Mags, the high-spirited inventor who always has just what you need. And Glumshanks, though he had no official role, he was a person they were all happy to have around. The troll was very embarrassed when his name was said. Receiving so much praise was not something he was used to.
Kaos breathed a small sigh of relief. This was one of the only moments in his life where he didn't want attention. He didn't know if he could handle another interaction with these people, no matter how small. And it looked like he would get just what he wanted. Every time Buzz called a name that wasn't his, he felt nothing but joy. And since he just addressed Glumshanks, that must mean he's done. Because people always addressed Kaos before him. It was kind of an unspoken rule.
“And finally, I'd like to thank one last guest... Kaos!” Buzz said.
Damnit. Why did that rule not apply here? Kaos tried to look normal and happy as everyone started looking at him.
“I know we haven't always had the best relationship with him, but he rose above his nature and his past to destroy The Darkness. And now he's even helping us protect Skylands! He's really come a long way, and for that, he deserves our greatest thanks,” Buzz continued.
Huh. Well, it was annoying to have all the attention on him, but at least he didn't say anything too bad. If that was all, then he could live with it...
“Seeing as it was Kaos who finished off our greatest enemy, I thought it would be remiss if we didn't hear a few words from the guy himself. So, come on up here and talk to the people, boy!”
Kaos could not hide his shock from that one. First of all, he was not a boy, he was a grown man. But mainly, what the hell was Buzz thinking? Why would he even trust him enough to let him onstage in the first place? Kaos cursed himself for being such a good actor. He did too well in gaining their trust and look where that had gotten him. Though he really didn't want to talk to these fools any longer, he knew he had to.
He walked up onto that stage (followed by Glumshanks), took Buzz' spot at the podium, and looked down at the crowd below. Everyone was looking at him. Waiting for him.
Being here, above the crowd, on this stage, and under the glowing party lights, that feeling came back to him. And it was worse than before. Much worse. He had tried so hard to fight it, but in that moment, a memory flashed in his mind...
It was many years ago. Tonight was graduation day at the Dark Portal Master School Kaos attended. They had begun the part of the ceremony where everyone gave their graduation speeches, and he had been called to speak next.
He stood on a dark wooden stage, behind a podium, with Glumshanks beside him to his left. There was a crowd of about fifty or so people below, and they were all looking at him. And there was another person standing to his right. A very tall man. A dark, brooding man. He had slicked back black hair, eyes sharp enough to pierce through your soul, and pale skin. He wore a form-fitting black suit and held an ornate, black cane (though he didn't need it to walk.) He was the kind of man that people respected out of fear, because if you crossed him...well, let's just say you'd be more than in for it.
That man was Kaiser, the headmaster at Dark Portal Master School. He was in charge of everything at this school, and he was also Kaos' personal tutor. He was paid off by Kaos' mother to “whip him into shape,” and he was doing his job very well. A little too well, actually.
Kaos could feel his heart beating in his chest as he stood next to the headmaster. He stood up as straight as he could, and put on a neutral, polite face. He had to look good- to look like a model student. Because if he didn't... The mere thought of it made his heart beat faster and his back tense up.
“Students,” the headmaster spoke in a loud and stern voice, “Next to give his graduation speech is Kaos. Give him a fitting welcome.”
The crowd did as they were told and collectively booed him as loud as they could. Some of them even called him names. While they were impossible to identify in the cacophony of sound, Kaos knew they weren't good. They were never good.
“Thank you, thank you,” the headmaster continued, “Kaos, you may now begin your pathetic speech.”
“Yes, sir,” Kaos said, steadying himself on the podium, “I would like to begin by saying--”
“That I'm a troll fucker!” a voice shouted from the crowd in a mocking impression of him.
It made Kaos stop. He knew who that was, and after a quick glance at the people below, he could see that person snickering and nudging their friends. That was Keller, the queen bee of the school. While he looked pretty on the outside with his long golden hair, bright blue eyes, and naturally clear skin, on the inside he was a vile, vindictive, and violent man. He'd had it out for Kaos since day one, and Kaos still barely had a clue why. He hadn't done anything wrong, but you didn't have to to incur Keller's wrath. All you had to do was be different, and Kaos was very different.
“What's the pause for?” Keller continued, “Your silence is speaking volumes...”
Kaos took a moment to regain and maintain his composure, “N-No, I've told you many times that's not true.”
“Oh, really? Then why's that bridge-dweller onstage with you? You know, its one thing for it to be at this ceremony, but its a whole other for you to take it to prom with you!”
The crowd laughed.
“We all remember! You wore that pretty dress and danced with your little boyfriend all night! And I bet you guys fucked nasty after that too. There's no point in denying it. We all know you're a pair of filthy queers!”
The crowd was now beside themselves. Kaos was starting to panic. This was not going how he wanted. He just wanted to say the speech and be done with it. Then he would walk off that stage, lay low for the rest of the party, get out, and proceed to never speak to any of these people ever again. But it seemed like his peers didn't want that to happen.
“Yeah! That twink of a troll is one thing, but having to look at you and your endless forehead is something else!” one of Keller's groupies shouted.
Another groupie laughed, “I know! How the hell does someone go bald at fourteen? Honestly, it's just embarrassing.”
“I'd almost feel bad for you if you weren't so repulsive,” a third groupie added.
Kaos was starting to get visibly upset, but was still trying to hide it. He felt anger burning within him. These people had been doing this every single day for three years and they still hadn't gotten tired of it. He wanted to fight back so bad. He had wanted to for his entire time at this school. But he couldn't. Because if he did, there would be hell to pay for it.
“Oh, did all that strike a nerve? I'm so sorry,” Keller asked, putting on a fake sad tone, “I didn't know you were a pansy and a pussy.”
The crowd laughed again. Kaos felt his mask slipping even more.
“I-I'm glad I've...entertained you,” he said, his voice straining from the effort it took to not scream at them, “Now, if you're done with the jokes, I'd like to--”
“You think those were jokes?! Wow, you're thicker than you look- which is saying a lot!” Keller responded with a snicker, “Oh, and for the record, that was about your weight AND your big ass head.”
The crowd were beside themselves at that one. Kaos was beginning to tremble. He was that kind of mad where you just want to cry. He felt so powerless. He couldn't stop them, and nobody else would bother stopping them. Not a single person in this school cared about him, not even any of the staff. It was like they all got off on torturing him...and Glumshanks, too.
His troll was better at hiding the hurt, but he still felt it. The students were awful to Kaos, but they were even more awful to him. At least Kaos was given enough grace to be addressed as an actual human being. To them, Glumshanks was just another bridge-dweller. A thing that had no feelings or rights, one that could be tossed around and torn apart with no consequences. He knew all this, and it felt terrible, but somehow, he wasn't concerned for himself nearly as much as he was for his master.
Glumshanks leaned closer to him, “Lord Kaos, are you okay?” he whispered.
Kaos batted him away, “Don't talk to me now, I--”
“Awww! Do you need your sweetheart to comfort you?” Keller asked mockingly, “You need him to kiss you and tell you everything's gonna be okay? How adorable! Wait, did I say adorable? Hm, yes, I think what I meant to say was abhorrent! And not in the good way!”
The crowd shouted various statements of agreement.
“See? We're all on the same page here. We all know how pathetic you two are. Its a wonder you're even getting to graduate at all. You're the living embodiment of everything a Dark Portal Master shouldn't be.”
That sentence. That one hit Kaos harder than any other. Being a Dark Portal Master was his life's purpose. It's what all this suffering at this retched school was for. Logically, knew Keller was wrong- he had been born a Portal Master and nobody could take that away from him- but hearing it still made his blood boil and heart pound.
Keller could see he was getting a reaction. He smirked. He just had to push a little harder and he was sure Kaos would do something.
“It's true, you know. Everyone thinks so,” he looked at the rest of the crowd, “Right, guys?”
The crowd unanimously agreed. They got his message, they knew what to do.
“He's the lamest guy I've ever seen!” one crowd member shouted.
“I can't believe he's actually a member of this family,” another added.
“Yeah! He's a disgrace! He should just be disowned at this point!” a third one yelled.
The insults and laughter continued, every word and snicker ringing in Kaos' head. This could not be happening, not on his graduation day, but it was. This would be his reputation forever. He'd always be a fraud in their eyes, a nobody. The kind of person that would get written out of history books because nobody wanted to admit he was ever there. Not a soul in Skylands would ever respect him. He'd never be a real threat, a real ruler. He would never rule Skylands- or rule anything, for that matter. He couldn't even take charge of a school full of dumb teenagers. Why did he ever think he could be a real Dark Portal Master..?
Wait. That was what they wanted him to think. They were doing this to ruin him. They wanted him to believe them. Because if he did, then he would submit and become the pathetic coward they wanted him to be. But, this was his chance. Would he continue letting them make a fool of him, or show them he's someone who should be feared? The choice was obvious.
Kaos allowed the rage to boil through every part of his body. He felt it burn in his veins as it combined with his power. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was like every cell in his body was about to explode. This was it, it was now or never...
Even in the all the noise, Kaos' voice cut through like a knife, “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” he screamed as he released a massive blast of energy.
After that, the memory got fuzzy. The only thing that remained was the sound of crackling fire and overlapping screams. He knew people were running, but he couldn't see any of them in the blur. He wanted to run too, he knew he had to get out of there before he got burned alive with them, but he couldn't move. The amount of power he put into that blast must have drained him more than he expected. His vision started going black, then he felt someone grab him by the wrist, and then... the memory ended.
Though it was incomplete, he knew what happened in the end. Those people were never heard from again. Dark Portal Master School was no more. They got what was coming to them, he thought. They were all nothing but disgusting vermin.
Kaos' focus returned to him, and he found himself looking down at the crowd once more. Again, he resided in a place full of people he hated, that he had to appease on the daily. In his mind, the Skylanders were no different than the students from that school. Though they didn't say it out loud, he knew they all despised him. They either wanted him to become like them, or disappear completely. And in this moment, standing before them all, that he realized he couldn't do it anymore. He would not continue humiliating himself, lowering himself to their level, just to live in this place that he didn't even like. He decided right then, that this was his last day at the Academy.
From everyone else's perspective, Kaos was just standing there. Silent. For a minute straight. That was very strange. Buzz thought to speak up, “Uh, soldier? You can start any time now.”
“Shut up...” Kaos muttered.
“Wh-What was that?”
“I SAID SHUT UP, YOU SENILE FUCK!!”
His shouting shocked everyone in that room. The air became filled with gasps and concerned murmuring. Nobody had any idea how to deal with this. Not even Glumshanks. He was just as surprised as everyone else. He genuinely didn't think his master would do this after all this time. But he knew he couldn't say anything that would stop him, so he just stood there.
Buzz had stepped back when Kaos screamed at him. He didn't want this to be a “situation”. He really hoped this was a one-time slip of the tongue, but something told him that wasn't true.
“Now, Kaos,” he began cautiously, “I thought we were allies now. With you being our consultant and all?”
“We have never been allies, and I will no longer be performing that farce of a role at your stupid Academy!” Kaos snapped.
“But, Kaos, we all--”
“SILENCE! I'm the one who's supposed to be speaking now, right?! You asked me to talk about my time at the Academy, so if that's what you want, that's what you will get. And you'll get nothing but the truth. And the truth is, I HATE IT HERE!!”
The energy in the room transformed as he spoke. Everything felt tense and heavy. The crowd was beginning to look at Kaos the way they did before, as a villain. And that was exactly what he wanted.
“The time I have spent here has only proven how idiotic and infuriating you people are! Every mission you forced me to be a part of made me lose brain cells!! You should consider yourselves lucky that I even allowed you to waste this much of my time!!! Well, not anymore. From this day forth, I am no longer a part of your retched Academy! I am taking Glumshanks and I AM LEAVING!!” Kaos yelled, completely unrestrained. His voice was so loud it echoed off the Academy walls.
Down in the crowd below, Flynn and Cali were watching, and neither of them were happy. Flynn was mostly just shocked, but Cali... she was absolutely pissed.
“I can't believe you!!” she screamed, “Despite everything you've done, we let you stay here! We let you into our lives! We trusted you! Even I was starting to trust you..!”
“Well, that was your mistake, and its not my problem,” Kaos said as he turned around and began walking to the back door of the Academy, “Farewell, fools! Have fun crying about my horrible but inevitable betrayal of you all!”
Before he got very far, Buzz grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back.
“Oh, no you don't,” he said, “Did you really think we'd just let you leave?”
“Yes,” Kaos replied.
“Well, you're wrong and you're stupid. If you don't want to be rehabilitated, then we're just gonna have to send you off to Cloudcracker Prison. They've improved their security since your attack. You'll be locked up for a long, long time, ex-pal.”
Kaos stepped as far back as he could from Buzz (which was not far.) That man was staring directly into his eyes. But he didn't look furious like Cali, he looked calm and calculated. Kaos could actually admit to himself that it was kind of intimidating. But it didn't sway him for long.
“I didn't want it to come to this...” he began, a sly grin growing on his face, “Actually, no, I totally wanted it to come to this.”
Suddenly, Kaos shoved Buzz off him. The Mabu crashed to the floor, and everyone in the room started either shouting at Kaos, or moving towards him to physically give him a piece of their mind.
Glumshanks started trembling, he was panicking now, “S-Sir?! H-How are we going to--”
“Stop whining, I've got this,” Kaos replied. He turned to the Skylanders. They were almost close enough to start shooting at him (the ones that could do that, at least.) He slipped his hand into his coat pocket, “Farewell for real this time, fools!”
With that, Kaos pulled a small device out of his pocket and threw it to the floor. As soon as it touched the wood below, it violently exploded, releasing thick smoke that filled the entire room. The Skylanders stopped in their tracks. Nobody could see anything though the smog- hell, they could barely breathe in the stuff. And all that meant Kaos' trick had worked perfectly.
However, he hadn't let Glumshanks in on what he was planning. The troll was now panicking even more. He, too, couldn't see anything- not even Kaos.
He whipped around, looking for any sign of his master, “L-Lord Kaos?!”
Before he could shout more, he felt someone grab his wrist and start pulling him away. Now, considering the situation, anyone else would probably be horrified. But Glumshanks could tell by the way he was being griped and the texture of their skin that this was Kaos. He was glad to know they hadn't gotten separated, but also surprised to be pulled this hard and this fast.
In a matter of seconds, the two of them had exited the Academy and were on the back pathway. This was the fastest Glumshanks had seen Kaos run in their entire lives. Even though he was usually the more physically capable one, the troll was having a hard time keeping up.
“S-Sir..!” he said through pants, “That smoke was you, wasn't it? But how did you...”
“I stole that smoke bomb from Mags' room,” Kaos replied, “She has tons of gadgets like that in there. Y'know, if she wasn't such a goody-two-shoes, she might actually make a halfway decent evil genius. Not as amazing as me, of course, but still decent.”
“Okay... So, where are we going now? How will we leave the Academy if you can't use your Portals?”
“Glumshanks, please. I've been planning for this day for the past six months. I know what I'm doing. Just follow my lead.”
“But the Skylanders are going to be after us when the smoke clears...”
“Do you really have to ask so many questions? My genius needs no explanation.”
“Y-Yes, I know, but I really wish you told me what we were doing before we started doing it...”
“I SAID I DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN! MY PLAN IS FLAWLESS!”
“O-Okay, sir...”
Turns out Glumshanks was right. As soon as she could find the back door, Cali had run out of the Academy and started chasing them. She was followed by Flynn, who only followed her because he wanted to make sure Kaos didn't do anything to her. Seeing as he was evil again and stuff.
The chase continued through a few back areas of the Academy. Ones mostly used for storage. It was strange they were heading this way, Cali thought. What could they possibly hope to gain by coming here? That's when something appeared in her line of sight that answered her question. The dock for the cargo ships. Of course, he was planning to steal one and use it to get away. And she was too far away to stop it. She was still trying to get to him, but knew she wouldn't make it in time. She watched as the figures in the distance boarded a small cargo ship, fired it up, and left. She and Flynn made it to the dock about thirty seconds after they had flown off. The ship was a ways away by now, but maybe...
“Flynn, can you fly one of these things?” she asked.
“I can fly anything. But I don't know if chasing them is the best idea in the world...” Flynn replied.
“I understand that its dangerous, but we have to stop Kaos before he can do anything horrible. Well, more horrible than theft of an airship, which is a pretty serious crime already.”
“Got it. To be honest, I've always wanted to try flying one of these.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
The two Mabu hopped on the ship, and in a few seconds, they were off.
The wind whipped by Kaos and Glumshanks as the ship soared through the sky. The flight had been smooth so far, no islands or rocks in the way. That was a bit strange, considering Skylands' skies are usually not this barren, but Kaos didn't mind. It just meant that the ship could fly straight ahead. No obstacles meant no turning, and no turning meant no unnecessary movement. That was exactly what he wanted. Just a smooth ride away from the Academy...
“So, um...” Glumshanks began, shuffling a bit closer to his master, “I'd still really like to know what your plan is here...”
Kaos didn't look at him, he was too busy piloting this thing and looking at all the nothing in the sky, “What do you think I'm going to do? I'm going to regain my powers and take over Skylands, obviously.”
“Yes, but how will you do that? Sure, we have this ship now, but we still don't have a lair. Or an army. Or money to buy a lair and an army.”
“I'm going to get all those things! Do I seriously need to spell this out to you? I—AAAAGH!”
Kaos screamed as the ship lurched forward and shook violently. It only lasted a moment, but that moment was absolutely horrible. Glumshanks was also shaken by it, but recovered quickly.
Kaos steadied himself by holding onto the helm, “Wh-What the hell was that?!”
“I-I know what, but you're not going to like it...” Glumshanks said, facing the back of the ship.
“What are you talking about, you--” Kaos had turned around to see what his troll was looking at, and what he saw made him absolutely furious, “SKYLANDERS?! THEY'RE FOLLOWING US?!”
Indeed they were. Hot on their tail were Flynn and Cali. The former had taken the wheel, while the latter was figuring out how to stop Kaos. She had just tried the canons, but that seemed like it would cause too much damage. They just wanted to stop them, not kill them... What's that? Why would a cargo ship have cannons? Well, anything can happen in Skylands. You can never be too prepared.
“Okay, so the cannons are a no-go, what's next?” Cali asked, this question both being for Flynn and just being her thinking out loud.
“I'm gonna be honest here, I do not know,” Flynn replied, “I wish there was a way to just pull them to us.”
“Pull them to... wait,” an idea struck her, “The anchor! If we can launch it somehow, it might be able to latch onto their ship and reel it in! And hopefully it wont tear it to shreds as it does.”
“Great idea, Cali! For the record, that's totally what I was thinking too, I just didn't have the words to describe it.”
The adventurer navigated to the ship's anchor and pulled it up onto the deck. That thing was heavy, and understandably so, considering it was made of solid iron. If she could barely drag the thing up here, how in Skylands was she going to throw it over to Kaos' ship?
“Flynn, how close do you think you can get to them?” she asked.
“Well, they are going pretty fast and we are pretty far behind them,” Flynn replied.
“So? I thought you were supposed to be the best pilot in Skylands...”
“I can get us about fifty feet away from them before the engine explodes.”
“Good enough for me! Let's do it!”
Flynn pushed a lever and flipped some switches and then...it happened. The ship shot forward at a speed that would surely be considered very unsafe and illegal. It felt like everything around them was telling them to stop. The ship was making some very abnormal creaking noises, and the pressure of the wind against them was so intense that Cali thought they might be tossed off the ship. But none of that was going to stop her. She picked up the anchor and started dragging it and herself to the bow. She watched as her target got closer and closer, until it was finally in range.
“It's now or never, Cali! Literally! Because we're gonna die if you don't do it now!” Flynn yelled as he tried desperately to keep the ship steady.
She didn't have to be told twice. She lifted the anchor and started running. The ship was exactly where she wanted it now. Using every ounce of strength in her body, she tossed the anchor into the sky. It flew for a few seconds and then it hit Kaos' ship. It pierced through the wood on the stern and burrowed itself inside. Cali looked at what she had done in shock-- it actually worked!
“Good job,” Flynn said as he frantically tugged at the ship's many control levers, “I'm slowing her down now- just a warning, this is gonna be rough!”
Back on Kaos' stolen ship, things were not going so great. Having an anchor forcibly attached to your ship and it now reeling you in would definitely dampen your mood. And it all happened so fast, too. It felt like one minute the Skylanders' ship was far away, and then the next, BOOM! There it was, right behind them. The only good thing was that the other ship was slowing down a lot, and it was giving them some distance to work with. Although, to Kaos, that one shred of hope was not nearly enough to make up for everything else that had happened. Said “everything else” being the ship having to move in a direction that wasn't just straight, and also the intense shaking every time they were hit. Although, they were only actually hit twice, that was still enough to trigger some serious vertigo. But that wasn't important, (at least, he had to pretend it wasn't important.) What was important was that the Skylanders had them exactly where they wanted them.
“L-Lord Kaos,” Glumshanks began, “What are we going to do?!”
Kaos faced him, trying his hardest to look composed, “We're going to escape, obviously. I'll keep flying this horrid thing, and you will get the Skylamers off our back.”
“Okay, but how will I--”
“I DON'T CARE HOW! JUST DO IT!”
Glumshanks knew that was the end of the conversation. He would have to figure this out on his own. He didn't blame Kaos for that though. He could tell his master wasn't exactly in the best headspace right now. Air travel kind of did that to him. A lot.
The troll rushed down to where the sound of the second impact had come from. It was in the storage room (which was not surprising, considering this was a cargo ship, and the storage room took up like 90% of it.) He saw the anchor latched into the floor, piercing through it and down into whatever was below. It had also broken a big hole in the back of the ship. The scene looked rough, but he knew the anchor wouldn't be the hard part. Said “hard part” would be finding a way to stop the Skylanders from doing it again. He knew he needed to stop their ship somehow. It had to be something that would make them turn around and leave, but also not kill them. Because even though Kaos was his top priority, he was still friends with the people at the Academy. He would like to avoid murdering his friends, if at all possible. After thinking it over for a few seconds, he decided to deal with the smaller problem first.
He approached the anchor, and the closer he came, the more damage he noticed. When he got next to it, he saw it was about half as tall as him, and very thick. Maybe this part wasn't such a small problem. Still, he remained undeterred.
He wrapped his hands around the hunk of iron and began lifting it out of the floor. With great effort, he managed to pull it out of the floor and toss it out of the ship. After that was done, he took a moment to catch his breath. He absentmindedly glanced down at the floor, and that's when he saw it. The thing below that the anchor had pierced into was the ship's generator.
Pure shock and horror shot through him. He had no idea if he had seconds or minutes until the ship went down, and either way, he knew it wouldn't be flying for much longer. The situation was totally hopeless. He knew that. But he still had an order to fulfill. He would not disappoint Lord Kaos.
Glumshanks examined the room around him. There wasn't much left, as the ship had already docked and unloaded, but there were still some remnants of the cargo. He rummaged through one of the boxes he spotted, looking for anything that could be a weapon. Luckily for him, this ship just so happened to have carried mostly weapons and other combat-related items. Still, he didn't find much. There was a dagger, a broadsword, a mace, and a...a bow? With arrows?? By the Ancients, that was exactly what he was looking for!
He took the newly acquired bow and stood at the hole in the ship. It was pretty big, he could shoot through it for sure. But actually hitting their ship? That would be a long shot. Literally.
Glumshanks took a deep breath, “Okay. You can do this,” he lifted the bow and pulled back the string, “Lord Kaos would be proud... Maybe. On the inside. And he'd never say he was proud of me, but...but he'd still...be happy..! Maybe!”
His nerves grew stronger as he aimed his shot. He wanted to hit one of the turbines. He hoped that if he could make one of them malfunction, that would force the Skylanders to leave before it broke down entirely. But there was a lot that could go wrong with that idea. And all of those possible scenarios were playing in his head on repeat. But despite those thoughts, his racing heart, and his total lack of confidence, he continued the task. And I'm sure you can guess who it was for.
He steadied his shaking hands, pulled the string back further, and took the shot. For a moment, the arrow thrust through the sky, and the next moment, it connected with the turbine. It lodged itself into the fan, making it stop spinning immediately. Glumshanks almost couldn't believe it, he did something right for once! Maybe Lord Kaos actually would be proud! Wait. Hold on. Thinking of Kaos snapped him out of his excitement. He had no time to stand here being happy for himself, he had to tell Kaos what was happening. Although, he already knew his master would not take the news well...
Everything was going wrong on the Skylanders' ship. First, Cali had watched the anchor somehow get dislodged from Kaos' ship and thrown back to her, and now, her and Flynn's ship was malfunctioning. It was shaking and making horrible sounds again (but not the same sounds as the first time.) Something had gone very, very wrong.
“Flynn! What's happening?!” Cali shouted.
The pilot tugged at the controls, fighting to keep the ship in the air, “O-One of the spinney things got hit!”
“You mean the turbines?!”
“Yeah, one of those!” Flynn pressed some random buttons, hoping that they would do something good, “Anyway, we need to leave now before she goes down!”
“But what about Kaos?! If we leave now, he'll get away with this!”
“I know this sucks right now, but I promise we'll find him. Not today, of course, but we're with the Skylanders. With their help, we'll stop Kaos, just like we've done, like, at least six times now!”
Cali paused. Flynn was right. She had let her anger cloud her judgment, and she had gotten them into a lot of danger. They had to turn back now or they wouldn't live to see Kaos caught.
“You're right, Flynn,” Cali said, “I'm sorry I got us into this mess. I shouldn't have.”
“Well, you didn't have to apologize, but I appreciate it,” Flynn replied. He pulled a lever down and took the wheel, “Hold on to something, Cali! This flight won't be pretty- but I will pull it off, and it will be awesome!”
Cali laughed, “I expect nothing less from the greatest pilot in Skylands.”
“You know it, baby! BOOM!”
Flynn haphazardly turned the ship around, and they left to return to the Academy...
Kaos stared out into the still empty sky as he piloted the ship. Though he still felt a bit lightheaded, the ship hadn't shook like before in a while. In fact, they hadn't gotten hit at all since Glumshanks left. Did that mean...he actually stopped them? The possibility that his troll could have done something undeniably right was terrifying. Would Kaos have to... to... thank him?! No, surely he could find a way to get out of saying “thank you.” He always did.
“Lord Kaos!”
Kaos turned around to see Glumshanks running towards him.
“What is it? And why are you running?” he snapped.
The troll came to a stop at his master's side, “Sorry, sir. I have news.”
“Go on then.”
“Um, okay... So, there's the good news. I stopped the Skylanders, and they're leaving now.”
Kaos tried to hide his surprise, but it still showed on his face. Glumshanks had done it. He had fulfilled Kaos' orders correctly, and in a timely manner too. Would he really have to... Actually, wait. Saying “good news” also implied there was bad news. Maybe things haven't gone so flawlessly, after all.
“Yes, and what else?” Kaos asked expectantly.
“Ah, th-that...” Glumshanks wrung his hands together, “The bad news is that their attacks damaged the generator. This ship is going down any minute now.”
“WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'GOING DOWN?!'”
“It means we're going to crash... And probably die.”
“AAAAGH! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!”
Kaos didn't know whether to scream or cry or both. He could not form a coherent response to this situation. After all this work, it would all amount to nothing. Everything he did today was meaningless. He'd never see another day of doing evil, of crafting schemes, of trying (and failing) to take over Skylands...
The genuine possibility of death had fully sunken in, and Kaos was unable to conceal his fear, “I'm going to die...” he whispered, “I'm actually going to die...”
“L-Lord Kaos...” Glumshanks muttered. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Kaos genuinely afraid. He gently pulled Kaos into a hug, “I'm sorry, sir... I wish I could tell you everything is going to be okay, but...let's be honest...it probably won't be...”
Kaos had listened to him without a word, but as soon as his troll was done talking, he realized what he had just allowed to happen, “GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” He shoved Glumshanks away as hard as he could (which was not very hard,) “If I really am going to die, then I don't want your remains anywhere NEAR mine!”
“I can't really say the same. Because...if this really is the end, then...I'm glad I'm spending my last moments with you.”
“Grrgh, you..! What do you expect me to say to that corny line?! You know I hate it when you say stupid shit like that!”
“I know, but...”
“NO! SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR WRETCHED--”
Kaos' shouting was stopped by the very ground below him falling away. They were so wrapped up in processing the situation that they hadn't noticed the ship shaking, clanking, and creaking. The generator had finally given up, and now the ship was in free-fall. He and Glumshanks fell with it, down into the empty blue sky. Though it was gravity that pulled them down, they felt completely weightless as they cut through the air. Somehow, they couldn't feel anything else at all. It was like their senses couldn't even process what was happening. They couldn't even scream. They couldn't do anything but fall. Their bodies went numb, their consciousness began to fade, and then...everything went black.
This was one of the most picturesque days Kaos had ever seen. The evening sky cast a warm orange glow on the world. Every part of Kaos' family kastle looked gorgeous. The walls, the statues, the plants...all of them seemed more inviting than usual today. And, sure, part of it was because of the beautiful weather, but most of it was probably because of what day it was in particular.
A young Kaos and Glumshanks were walking down the path to the kastle. This was their normal commute back home from Dark Magic School, but the atmosphere of this walk was different. Usually, the mood was quiet and downtrodden. Almost every day there was something that happened at school that hurt one or both of them (be it physically or mentally.) But even though they did endure the usual bullying today too, it didn't seem to matter. At least, not to Kaos.
He looked at Glumshanks with the biggest, purest smile he had smiled in months, “We're almost home! I can't wait!” he squealed.
“You've been saying that sort of stuff all day. Do you really think Lady Kaossandra will follow through?” Glumshanks asked, trying to sound hopeful when he was anything but.
“Yeah! She said she had a surprise for me today, and that can only mean one thing- she finally remembered my birthday!”
Glumshanks' expression showed his doubt, but he tried his best to positive, “I-I hope she did.”
“She definitely did! Maybe its because I did so well on that last test. I got a C, remember?”
“Yes. It is better than your usual scores. And better than mine...” Glumshanks had gotten a D on that same test.
“It is! You know, maybe the school is finally starting to recognize my kind of ultimate evil. My kind being the best type of evil there is, of course...” Kaos stopped, “Ah, we're here!”
They had finally reached the kastle. Its large wooden doors loomed over them. Kaos quickly reached out to open those doors, but was pulled back by Glumshanks.
“What is it?” Kaos asked.
“Oh, um... Its just... I wanted to say...” Glumshanks looked at him and gently smiled, “Happy birthday, Lord Kaos. No matter what happens, I'll still want to be your butler forever, okay?”
Immediately after finishing that sentence, Kaos pulled him into a tight hug, “Mhm! Forever and ever!” He squeezed his troll even more (which was a quite painful for him,) “And you're the only one I want!”
“Thank you, sir,” Glumshanks wheezed.
Kaos let go and gave his butler a moment to recover from having the air squeezed out of his lungs. Then, he grabbed Glumshanks' hand, and started towards the doors, “Now come on, let's go!”
The kids hurriedly dashed through the kastle, checking every room until they eventually found Kaossandra in her study. She was at her desk, reading over some scrolls. She hadn't noticed the children when they opened the door, nor did she notice the sound of them walking up to her.
“Mother! It's me! I'm home!” Kaos said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
“Oh. So you are,” she replied. She barely even glanced at her child before looking back at her scrolls.
“You had something for me? Something to say?”
“Ah, yes, that,” she actually turned to look at her kid this time. She seemed pretty serious, “You will be attending Dark Portal Master School ahead of schedule. You start this fall. And Glumshanks is going with you. Congratulations.”
Kaos gasped. His heart soared in his chest. He couldn't believe it- was he dreaming right now?
“REALLY?!” he shouted, “I thought you said I couldn't go until I was fifteen!”
“Why are you complaining? You should be grateful you are getting this opportunity in the first place,” Kaossandra snapped.
“N-No! I'm very grateful, Mother! I was just wondering--”
“I don't have to tell you anything. Now, leave me be. I have much work to do. Important Dark Portal Master work- nothing you would understand.”
“Um, but... I thought... I thought you had more to say than that...”
“Why would I?”
“Because its my...birthday..?”
Kaossandra laughed, “You thought I'd actually remember that?! Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me!”
“Wh-What do you mean..? I thought you wanted to see me today. I thought you wanted to actually talk to me...”
“You're far too sentimental for your own good. No, I don't want to see you, and I most certainly don't want to talk- whether its your birthday or not.”
Kaos started tearing up, “B-But, I just wanted to spend time with you... I wanted you to care about-- AH!”
He yelped as Kaossandra grabbed his hair and pulled him up by it. She brought him up high enough to be directly in front of her face. Kaos winced. It felt like she'd tear the hair out of his scalp if she continued. He couldn't stop his tears from flowing anymore. He was clearly in pain, but that wouldn't stop his mother. It never had before.
“Cry all you'd like. Your feeble attempts at manipulation won't work on me,” Kaossandra said, her tone as icy as her expression, “Know this, child. I only got you into that school early to get you out of my hair. The sooner you graduate, the sooner you can move out, and then the rest of Skylands can deal with you and your incompetence.”
“M...Mother..!” Kaos choked out between sobs.
“SILENCE, FOOL! I don't care what pathetic dribble you're going to spew next, it will not change my mind! Now get out of my sight or I will throw you in the dungeon for a month!”
As soon as she finished her sentence, she tossed Kaos out of the room and watched as he flew through the air and smashed against the wall outside. He soon slipped off of it, his body falling limp and hitting the floor.
“Lord Kaos!” Glumshanks shouted as he ran to his master's side.
When he left the study, the door slammed behind him. Kaossandra had now locked them out, but Glumshanks didn't care about that. He lifted Kaos up off the floor and held him in his arms.
“Sir, are you okay?” he asked, his voice shaking from concern.
Kaos forced his eyes open so his butler would know he was conscious, though he felt he would slip away from it at any moment. But the physical pain from this wasn't the worst part, it was everything else. His mother really didn't remember. Kaos wanted to believe so badly that she cared, but everything she did fought against that belief. And yet, even after all this, he wanted to keep believing in her. He had no idea why. He only knew that, contrary to any logic or reason, he wanted his mother to be with him...
Kaos snapped out of his slumber and shot upright. His heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn't control his rapid breathing. For a moment, he felt like he was still there. Living in that nightmare. But after a few seconds, he realized it was just a memory. That was in the past, not the present. He was in the present. The tension in his body eased a bit and his breathing began to slow back down to normal.
“Why was it...that memory?” he asked himself, “It's not even close to my birthday...”
He remained in that state of slightly dazed consciousness for a few minutes, trying to get himself to calm down. He shouldn't be upset about these things anymore. That was forever ago. He was twelve back then. It's been literal centuries. He's well into adulthood, so why was he still thinking about things that happened when he was a kid?
Kaos was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the sound of a door opening near him. Nor did he notice the sound of someone walking into the room. He only did notice when they finally spoke.
“Oh my! You're awake!” they shouted. Though, “shouted” wasn't entirely the right word. They had raised their voice, but still sounded very polite.
Kaos looked to where the voice came from. It was a short creature. Shorter than Kaos, even. Maybe a little under three feet tall? Its skin was a blueish green, while its leaves were a greenish blue, its eyes were mostly white and-- wait. Its...leaves? Kaos looked a bit closer and realized it was actually a plant creature.
“AGH!” he screamed, “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!”
The plant creature was visibly surprised, and rightfully so, “A-Are you referring to me, sir?”
“What other 'things' are there to be referring to? ANSWER THE QUESTION, FREAK!”
“U-Um, okay... My name is Squill, and I am a Petalling.”
“What...What even is that?” Kaos was too confused to yell anymore.
“We are flower beings who bloom from the Magna Arbor. Ah, but you probably don't know who They are either...”
Kaos was too bewildered to speak. Petallings? Magna Arbor? Why was it all plants with these people? And how could anyone consider a filthy tree to be great? Where even was he right now??
He examined the room around him. It felt like the whole place was glowing with a blueish white light. All the furniture in this place was made out of wood, or worse, leaves and vines. Even the bed he was on right now. The mattress seemed to be made of many layers of meticulously wrapped vines, and the blanket was just a bunch of leaves sown together. That was all bad, but the strangest part was the walls. They were white with golden veins, and they had this bark-like texture. It was so weird. It almost looked like a tree. Hold on, was he IN a tree?!
Kaos shivered. This was the absolute worst-case scenario to him. He wished he never woke up to face this horrid reality. The trees had finally gotten him. Now that the bastards had him trapped in their internal prison, what in Skylands would they do next? Infect him with it's pollen? Suffocate him in it's vines? Burrow it's roots into him and drain the very life out of his body? Whatever it was, it was sure to be a fate worse than death.
“I-I'm so sorry, Kaos. This must be a lot to take in, and you've only just woken up...” Squill said.
The horror grew deeper. The plant thing knew his name. And the way he was talking implied he knew more than just that too...
“HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?! WHAT HAS THIS VILE TREE TOLD YOU?! WHAT GAME IS YOUR MASTER PLAYING?!” Kaos screamed.
Squill yelped and jumped back, “I-I don't understand...” he said, his voice trembling slightly, “What are you talking about..?”
“Isn't it obvious, fool?! You're a minion of this tree, and you're trying to keep me here so that it can enact it's whatever horrible plot it has been scheming! But I will not allow you to trick me!”
“N-No, that's not it at all! Please, just let me explain!”
“Try all you'd like! I know what you are!”
“You've got it all wrong, Kaos! I'm a doctor. I've been caring for you and your friend ever since you two got here. Or rather, crashed here.”
“My 'friend?' Who are you talking about?”
“The green fellow that was with you. Glumshanks.”
It all came flooding back to Kaos. How could he have forgotten? The escape, the chase, the crash... He couldn't believe he was alive right now. And it wasn't just him, Glumshanks was alive too! That knowledge made his fear dissipate, but only slightly.
“What do you know about him? What's happened?” Kaos asked, staring daggers into that poor Petalling.
“W-Well, he woke up a few days ago, and pretty much since the moment he did, he's been asking about you. I told him I would take care of everything, but he insisted on staying here,” Squill's expression dropped and he sighed, “Of course, the one time I convince him to leave is the moment you finally wake up...”
Yes, that did sound like Glumshanks, Kaos thought. He seemed to be as annoying as ever, which meant he was probably doing fine. But still, the Portal Master wasn't sure about that. They were inside a despicable tree, after all.
Kaos' voice returned to a slightly normal volume, “Do you know where he is now?”
“Um, yes, I think so,” Squill replied.
“Hm. Well, if you're as trustworthy as you say, you'll take me to him right now.”
“Th-That's a strange way of phrasing it, but I can do that. Follow me, sir.”
In the center of the Magna Arbor lied the heart of Petalling civilization, the rings. The rings were a series of layers on which the Petallings themselves spent most of their time. Each ring had a different purpose, like, for instance, the market ring. That ring was for (like the name implies) shopping. There were many different stalls with all kinds of stuff at them. Fruit, vegetables, leaves, vines, wood, goods made out of any of the above materials...a lot of things. But all of it was natural, of course.
Now, my mention of the market ring was no coincidence, because Glumshanks was actually there right now, socializing. Although, it wasn't going well so far. Most of the Petallings looked at him weird and kept their distance from him. Whenever he would try to talk to one of them, they would look scared, make up some reason why they had to leave, and then quickly walk away. He was used to this kind of behavior, though. Being a troll (and an unconventional-looking troll, at that) meant that most people treated him with the same kind of apprehension and suspicion. But after a while, he did manage to find someone who was willing to talk to him. A yellow Petalling at little stall selling herbs. His name was Primrose.
He was a pleasant man, but was also a little too passionate about his wares. What had started as a casual conversation quickly turned into him quizzing Glumshanks on the stuff. So far, the troll had correctly identified about twenty species of herbs, and with each one he knew, Primrose became more and more impressed.
“You are quite knowledgeable for an outsider!” the Petalling behind the stall said. He reached into a small box and placed its contents on the table, a small bag of dark purple-ish green herbs, “What do you think of these? Pretty unique, aren't they?”
Glumshanks' eyes widened in shock, “Th-That's..!”
He knew this one too, of course, but it was much different than the others. He remembered reading about it in an old book of medicine. It's for thousands of years- evidence of its existence going all the way back to the time of The Ancients. But unfortunately, the only island that grew and exported the stuff had disappeared about a hundred years ago. That sounds like a long time to us humans, but in Skylands time, that's pretty recent.
“You're not talking... Have I finally bested you, great herb-knowing outsider?” Primrose asked.
“O-Oh. Sorry to disappoint you, but no,” Glumshanks replied, “Its Samnia.”
“Wow, you're really good... I didn't think any outsiders knew about that one.”
“Th-Thank you...” Glumshanks paused for a bit before meeting Primrose's eyes with a more serious expression, “Uh, sorry if this is sudden, but would you please sell that to me? I'll pay. I have, uhhh...” the troll sifted around in his pockets for a bit, “N-No gold... I can pay you in labor, maybe? I'll do anything you ask!”
The Petalling laughed, “Oh, you outsiders sure are funny things! We don't have money here. We simply give out what is needed to those who need it. And if you need some herbs, then I would be happy to give them to you.”
“R-Really? It doesn't feel right to just take something...”
“That's just the outside's programming talking!” Primrose shoved a small bag of Samnia into the trolls hands, “Its fine by me, I promise. So there's nothing to feel bad about!”
“Ah... Um... O-Okay. Thank you very much.”
The two exchanged their goodbyes, and Glumshanks walked away. Now he was back on the street, but he didn't have any clue where to go next. Squill had told him to “relax,” but what exactly did that mean? Whatever it was, there was no way he could do it. He was thinking about Kaos, and he had been the entire time he'd been out. How is he right now? Is he okay? Will he ever wake up? Squill said everything would be fine, but that didn't stop the anxiety Glumshanks felt.
He stopped walking, looked at the herbs in hands, and sighed, “Lord Kaos...”
Suddenly, a sound rang out, pulling him away from his thoughts. It was loud; it sounded like somebody was yelling something. The troll's ears perked up and he listened closer. It sounded like a name... like his name...
“GLUMSHANKS! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, NOW TURN AROUND!”
He did just that, and saw two figures a ways down the street. It was Kaos! ...And Squill was next to him, covering his ears, but Glumshanks didn't care about that. He immediately ran over to his master.
“Sir! You're awake!” he exclaimed, resisting the overwhelming urge to hug him, “Oh, I was so worried... I--”
Before his butler could say anything more, Kaos cut him off, “Yes, yes, I know. Now, if you'll stop whining for a moment...”
He grabbed Glumshanks' arm and moved himself and his troll away from where Squill was standing. Kaos pulled him down to his level and began whispering to him.
“Listen, I need to get out of here immediately. I don't know if you're feeble mind has processed this yet, but you and I are inside a filthy tree right now.”
“Y-Yes, Squill told me,” Glumshanks whispered back, “I know you don't like this, but we can't leave. We don't have a ship anymore. And I have no idea how we'll get one here...”
“Typical. You never have ideas,” Kaos muttered under his breath.
His troll looked slightly taken aback, “W-What?”
“Shut up, I'm trying to come up with a plan.”
After a short moment of silence, Kaos felt someone tap on his shoulder. He whipped around to see who would dare touch him.
“Squill...” he hissed.
The Petalling looked very confused. He adjusted his glasses as he began speaking, “What are you two doing exactly? You know you're still my patients, right? If there's something you need help with, I would be happy to do so.”
“I DO NOT--” Kaos paused. He thought for a moment before continuing, “Actually, yes, there is something. Does this DISGUSTI-- I-I mean, l-lovely tree have a library, perchance?”
“Why, yes, They do!”
“Excellent. Take me there.”
In the days since Kaos' escape, the Skylanders had made several changes to their operations. First, they upped security, for obvious reasons. No criminals would be escaping the Academy walls ever again. After that, Buzz assigned all the Skylanders extra training. Kind of an excessive amount of training, some of them thought, but that's Buzz for you. He'd given them all stuff like battle training, enemy observation, tactical meetings, and team building activities. The team building activities were one of the weirder ones. It was basically just hanging out disguised as training. Take, for instance, the session going on right now.
Bushwhack, Punk Shock, and Terrafin all sat at a small round table. The Trap Master had a container in front of him. It was full of little, folded up pieces of paper. The two others looked at him in anticipation, it was his turn to draw from the box.
The game was simple. The “Chooser” would take a paper from the container and read the question on it aloud. Then, the other players, the “Chosen”, would have to respond. Answer truthfully, and you get to move on. Chose not to answer (or lie,) and get struck by the Chooser's powers. Usually, everyone would tell the truth, but some Skylanders just liked to “test their mettle,” so to speak. After everyone answered (or didn't answer) the question, the box would be passed to the player to the left of the Chooser, at which point, that player will become the Chooser, and the game would continue. And it goes so on and so forth like that until all the questions were answered or everyone got bored and decided to do something else.
Bushwhack pulled a paper out of the box. He smiled as he read its contents, “Ooooh, this is a good one!”
Punk Shock and Terrafin leaned in to listen closer. That reaction had piqued their curiosity.
Bushwhack continued, “'What would you do if Kaos was in front of you right now?'”
“Punch him in the face!” Terrafin shouted.
“That was an oddly quick answer, but I can't say I completely disagree...” Punk Shock said, “Although, if it were me, I'd probably paralyze him with my lightning and capture him.”
Bushwhack nodded, “Mhm. Pretty solid answers. I'd wanna make that little freak pay too,” he pushed the question container to Punk Shock, “Okay, your turn now!”
She smiled as she pulled out another paper, “Let's see...” Her expression changed to confusion as she read, “'What would you do if one of your allies turned evil..?' What kind of a question is that?!”
“Yeah, that's, uh... unconventional. I wonder who wrote that one,” Bushwhack said.
“Doesn't matter,” Terrafin punched his fists together, “I'd beat some sense into them! That'd change their mind real quick.”
“You can't just punch every problem that comes your way!” Punk Shock exclaimed.
“Yeah, I can! It always works!”
“No, it doesn't! People don't suddenly start listening to you after you hit them!”
“Well, they don't listen if you talk to them either!”
“I- Uh- S-Sometimes, yeah. But we're Skylanders. We--”
“--'have to try to help people,' yeah, I know. But sometimes people just can't be helped.”
“Terrafin, you--”
“Guys, stop!” Bushwhack yelled. His gaze continuously switched between them as he continued, “This is totally not what we're supposed to be doing right now. We're team-building. Being friends. Not yelling at each other.”
There was silence.
“...But for the record, I do think we should try to talk to someone before resorting to violence.”
“I knew it!” Terrafin shouted, “You're both total pussies!”
“I am not!” Punk Shock yelled back.
“Please, can we all just agree to disagree so you guys stop fighting?!” Bushwhack begged.
The other two exchanged glares, then looks, then nods.
“Fine,” they said in unison.
“Thank you,” the Trap Master sighed, “Oh, yeah, it's your turn now, Terrafin.”
Punk Shock pushed the box over to the land shark and they continued playing the game. Although, a bit of spite still hung in the air...
Kaos repeatedly tapped on the table as he read the end of the fifth history book he'd taken off the library shelves. There was a lot of interesting stuff in those books. How the society formed, how they made a name for themselves in Skylands, how it all came crashing down... Fascinating, truly.
He closed the book and rested his head on his hands. He was deep in thought. For as horrible as this tree place was, perhaps he could use these people and their resources to his advantage. The Petallings were weak, after all. Their attempts to preserve their society were so radical that they had completely closed themselves off from the rest of the world. Nobody would know if anything happened to them. Because who would they tell? Those filthy, traitorous outsiders? Kaos didn't think so.
“Lord Kaos, are you plotting something?” Glumshanks asked.
Oh. Right. He's here. Kaos was so immersed in those books and his own thoughts that he had forgotten everything else around him. The books weren't the only thing at the table. They had also been served tea by a lovely Petalling librarian named Strelitzia. And his troll had been sitting across from him the whole time, being quiet, as he was told. Well, quiet until now.
“Of course I am. I have to escape, don't I?” Kaos snapped.
“Y-Yes, I know, but I still don't think you should do anything so soon. Besides, how would studying their history help with that?”
“You have to know your enemy to conquer them.”
“Um. You don't mean that literally, right?”
“Do I ever say things I don't mean?”
Glumshanks made the executive decision to not answer that question. But he did get the point.
“Sir, please, whatever you're thinking of doing, do not--”
“Quiet, Glumshanks!” Kaos hissed, “I know what I'm doing. Observe.”
The Portal Master set his sights on that librarian woman. She was dusting one of the many nearby bookshelves. Getting her attention would be as easy as--
“You there!” Kaos shouted, “Get over here!”
The Petalling complied, but she didn't look pleased about it, “Um, can I help you?”
“Yes, that's what I called you for, isn't it?”
There was a short, venom-filled pause between them.
Kaos continued, “I have a few questions for you. About what I've read...is all of this true?”
“What do you mean by 'all of this?'” Strelitzia asked.
“Oh, you know, the war.”
The entire library went silent. It was like every sound had been sucked out of it. No more breathing, or page turning, or book closing. Nothing.
The librarian spoke quietly and sharply, “...It did happen, if that's what you're asking.”
“I see. And how have things been since then? There doesn't seem to be much writing on that,” Kaos prodded.
“Things are fine. We are fine.”
“Really? Because it looks like you people are in desperate need of guidance.”
“We will not take part in whatever you're suggesting. Now, if you don't stop this nonsense, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
Kaos sighed, “Leave? Oh no, I don't think I will. I have other plans... Far greater plans..!”
The moment he finished speaking, he shot towards Strelitzia and punched her square in the face. She didn't even have the time to scream before she was on the floor, with the Portal Master's figure looming over her. The rest of the Petallings in the room were panicking now. The volume of their screams very much made up for their librarian's lack of one.
“Wh-What do you want, you monster..?!” Strelitzia asked, her voice trembling.
Without a word, Kaos turned away from her and hopped up on the nearest table. The crowds of Petallings stared at him, horrified. Just like he wanted.
“Listen up, you foul creatures!” he shouted, “What you've just seen was a demonstration- a mere taste of my power! If you do not bow down to me and become my subjects, I will be forced to show you my true strength!”
“What power?! You--” Glumshanks exclaimed.
His master immediately clamped his mouth shut and started whispering, “Quiet! They don't know that.” Kaos looked back at the Petallings like nothing happened, “Now then, what do you say?”
They said nothing. They were speechless. Such a scene had never happened since the war. Most of them had never seen a confrontation in their entire lives- they'd only heard stories of things like this. They had no idea what to do. Or if they should do anything at all. Or if they COULD do anything.
“So?” Kaos said.
Nothing.
“Really? Are you things going to crown me emperor already or am I going to have to get violent again?!”
That got them talking. Most yelped or started screaming but some were able to form sentences.
“Please, don't!” one yelled.
“We'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt us!” another followed.
Kaos smiled a particularly evil smile, “Excellent. Just what I wanted to hear.”
Now that he had his power, the Portal Master happily jumped off the table and sat back down. Glumshanks considered saying something to him about how this is completely insane and a very bad idea, but he knew his mind was set on this.
“Now then, what shall I do with them..?” Kaos asked himself, speaking just loud enough that the Petallings could hear. Filling innocent people with fear was very enjoyable to him.
The plant people murmured to each other, voicing their feelings of horror. That, too, Kaos greatly enjoyed. It had been a long time since he had had a taste of that power he loved so much. ...Well, six months, but that was a long time to him.
Suddenly, the library doors opened and someone walked in, “Hello? Kaos? Glumshanks? I brought some cookies to go with your...tea...” It was Squill. He stopped and looked at the scene before him. His people were cowering in fear, but his patients seemed to be fine. He approached the two of them and continued, “What is going on here? Did something--”
“Ah, it's you. Good timing, for once,” Kaos said.
“What do you mean by--”
“Silence!” Kaos motioned towards the Petallings, “As you can see, I have just taken over these miserable saps. And as your new ruler, I am giving you the honor of being my personal slave. ...If only because you seem more capable than the rest of these disgusting things.”
“What are you talking about?! First, I'm a doctor, not a slave. Second, we don't HAVE rulers! We never have and we never will!”
“That's why this whole society is such a mess. You need direction. And I am going to give it to you.”
“You will not be giving us direction! Or anything else for that matter! I do have the authority to banish you, you know!”
“Oh, really? And how would that work?”
“Well, we'd all have to get together and have a debate and then vote and then count the votes but...but you get the point!”
“Ah, but that's not how it works anymore. Because I'm in charge now. I can do whatever I want. And I want...”
Glumshanks tapped on Kaos' shoulder, “Um, sir?”
He didn't respond. He just looked at him with a mildly nasty scowl on his face.
“Why do you need Squill to be your servant?” the troll continued, “You have me...”
“You've always said you wanted a day off, haven't you?” Kaos replied.
“I-I meant I wanted a day off from you trying to take over Skylands, not--”
“Ah-ah-ah. Don't say another word. Squill will be my manservant for my reign here and that is final. Besides, I need somebody who knows about this wretched place and he's better than nothing.”
“I guess that makes a bit more sense..? Oh, who am I kidding, no it doesn't...”
“Uh, guys? I'm still here,” Squill interjected, “Why are you talking like I can't hear you?”
“Because you don't matter to this.” said Kaos very matter of fact-ly.
There was a period of extremely awkward silence after that line. Neither Glumshanks nor Squill had any coherent response to what Kaos just said. And he didn't really notice.
Kaos continued, “Now, show me to my new throne room, Squill-thing.”
“We don't... we don't have that,” he said with a look of extreme confusion, “I already said we've never had a ruler...”
“Then it looks like your first task will be to make me that throne room.”
“But, I-- I don't--!” Squill stopped. He was smart, not strong. He knew he couldn't stand up to Kaos by himself. He'd have to figure out some way to save his people from this freak, but for now...
“Fine. I'll do it,” he said coldly.
A week later, back at Skylander Academy, Terrafin, Punkshock, and Bushwhack stood in the Portal Room. Eon had a very grim look on his face- that look was never good news. They knew that could only mean one thing...Kaos. Or worse but, really, what was worse than Kaos?
Eon looked at his students, “Good, you're all here,” he turned to the blue shark standing beside him, “Care to start us off, Sharpfin?”
The shark nodded in reply. He approached the Skylanders and unfolded a piece of paper to show them. It was very white, and the handwriting inscribed on it was very elegant. So elegant, in fact, that Terrafin and Bushwhack couldn't read it.
“Kaos..?!” Punkshock gasped.
“He's what that chicken scratch is talking about?!” Terrafin exclaimed.
Bushwhack lightly bonked Terrafin on the head, “Hey, that's disrespectful to chickens and whoever wrote this thing.”
“Ugh, you guys are useless...” Sharpfin sighed. He pulled the letter away from them and continued, “This letter says its from the Magna Arbor. And if what they're saying is true, then Kaos has taken over that place. Needless to say that's a problem. Bigger problem is, the Magna Arbor hasn't existed for over a hundred years.”
“WHAT?!” the Skylanders exclaimed in unison.
“Yes, it is quite strange,” Eon said, “But I sense that what this letter has said is true...”
“Hm. Well, if Eon thinks so, then I guess it must be,” Bushwhack
“But what if it isn't? What then?” Punkshock asked.
“Then its probably a trap,” Terrafin said.
Punkshock's eyes widened a bit, “That's what I was thinking!”
“But what if it IS true?! There's people there who could be in trouble!” Bushwhack retorted.
“Those possibilities have crossed my mind,” Eon began, “However, I believe it would be best to go there and see for ourselves what the truth is. Sharpfin has already agreed to take you. So, if you are ready...”
The Skylanders look at each other, nodded, and looked back at Eon.
“We're ready,” Punkshock said.
“It's risky, but it's still worth it,” Bushwhack added.
“And if that little freak is there, I'm gonna kick his ass!” Terrafin shouted, punching his fist into the air.
“Th-That's nice,” Eon's expression shifted from an awkward smile back to his regular look, “Now, go. The people of the Magna Arbor need you.”
The Skylanders replied with various cheers of affirmation. They and Sharpfin then set off...
A few hours later, they had made it to the island. And it was beautiful. On that mass of land was a giant white tree with golden veins flowing through it. It had long branches covered shimmering green-ish blue leaves. It felt like it made the whole island glow.
The Skylanders landed their ship at the base of the tree and walked out. Before them was a large hole in the bark that resembled an open door. This must be the entrance, they figured, so they went inside. And the entrance it was.
The interior of the tree expanded before them, the first of its rings filling their views. This one was for housing. Rows upon rows of simple huts lined the ring, all of them made out of wood, leaves, and vines. Their construction was primitive in comparison to a normal home, but they still carried the same elegance the tree that contained them had. The group would have stopped to gasp and take in how different it was, but they didn't have time for that. They barely got to glance at the rest of the tree before they noticed the hundreds of Petallings staring them down.
The Skylanders stood there awkwardly. None of these people looked happy to see them.
“Okay, what should we do?” Punkshock whispered.
“I don't know...” Bushwhack muttered.
“Me neither,” Terrafin nudged Sharpfin, “Got any ideas?”
“You're the heroes here. You deal with it,” he curtly replied.
The rest of the Skylanders looked at each other, then back at the crowd. It was subconsciously decided that Bushwhack would be the one who tried to talk to them. He was of the Life element. If anyone had a chance with plant people, it would be him.
He stepped forward and raised his voice enough for everyone to hear him, “H-Hey, guys. We mean you no harm.”
The Petallings replied to that with screams of terror. The Skylanders could tell this was going to be rough.
Glumshanks stood before the door to the throne room. His heart twisted in his chest from nerves. The past week had been so strange. Not being with Kaos all the time was...just weird. Nothing felt normal without him. Everything felt bland. Colorless. Luckily, he'd had one thing to occupy his time. Something he was doing for Kaos.
Now it was time to show him what had come of it. Glumshanks was proud of what he'd done, yes. But even though he thought it was great, he was sure getting Kaos to feel the same way would be a battle. A battle he was about to step into right now.
He steeled himself and opened the door.
“Lord Kaos?” he called as he walked inside.
Kaos was there, of course. On his new throne. A throne which was solely made of wood, as he wouldn't allow the Petallings to use any plants for it.
He glanced at Glumshanks, then looked away. The glimpse of his face the troll saw did not seem pleased.
“Oh, it's you. What are you doing here? I thought you had not-me-related things to do,” Kaos said.
“No, I didn't. And I have something to tell you,” Glumshanks approached the throne and stopped in front of it, “I'd prefer it if you would come down to my level, please.”
“Fine.”
He stepped off the throne and onto the ground below. Ironically, he and Glumshanks were no longer at eye level.
“Okay. So, ah...” Glumshanks took a deep breath in as he collected his thoughts, “First of all, I think you should get rid of Squill. I want things to go back to how they were before.”
“Really? But you've said several times before that you wanted time off,” Kaos replied.
“I... I didn't mean it like that. I've never wanted time off from YOU, sir. I want... I want to be with you.”
Kaos' heart skipped a beat. He had no idea why that last sentence made that happen, and to be honest, it kind of pissed him off.
“What? I-I mean, it's only natural that you would realize that now, I am amazing, after all. But still...”
Kaos stopped. He couldn't finish that. He didn't know what to think, much less what to say.
“Still...what?” Glumshanks asked.
“Nothing. I don't have to explain myself to you,” Kaos snapped, “Are you done yet?”
“No.”
Kaos audibly groaned.
“Um... will you listen to what I have to say or...?”
“Just make it quick.”
“O-Okay...”
Glumshanks pulled a small, metal container out of his pocket and presented it to Kaos. It was simple, but very pretty. Its body was a deep shimmering black, and its edges were made of gold.
“I made this for you. N-Not the tin- I could never make something like that. I made what's in it,” Glumshanks paused for a moment. He knew this next part would not be received well, “I-Its...um...”
With a click, the container opened, revealing its contents. They appeared to be small gummy-like candies.
Kaos looked disgusted with him, “Sweets? You know I have no interest in--”
“N-No, its not that! Its, uh...Samnia. Its medicine.”
The Portal Master's expression switched from disgust to genuine offense.
“How dare you...” Kaos shook with anger, “We've talked about this before. I'm not changing my mind.”
“No, please, just hear me out! Because your portals are down, we're going to have to use air travel until you get your powers back. So...”
“So what?! Do you really think so lowly of me to assume I can't handle these things myself?”
“No, that's not it! I just think you shouldn't have to suffer through something that is completely preventable!”
“SILENCE! You can't trick me! This is obviously just a thinly veiled insult!!”
“It's not! Why can't you ever believe--”
At that moment, the doors to the throne room flung open and slammed against the walls. Kaos and Glumshanks looked and saw Squill enter the room, panting.
“Emperor Kaos..!” he took a moment to breathe, “Th-There's a situation!”
Kaos snatched the container out of Glumshanks' hands and shoved it in his pocket. He couldn't risk Squill seeing it. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
“Um...” Squill looked back and forth between them. They looked like deer in headlights. “Did something happen here..?”
“No,” Kaos said, straightening his posture to look composed.
“Uh, okay... Anyway, the Skylanders are here.”
“WHAT?! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN, YOU FOOL?!”
“I-I don't know. Maybe some traitor decided to send a distress letter or something...”
“Ugh, DAMNIT!! Send every miserable plant-thing in this place to get rid of the Skylanders! And find that traitor!”
“How am I supposed to do both at the same time? Also if we send every Petalling to fight the Skylanders, then there wont be anyone left to work on the ship--”
“YES, EVERYONE! AND I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT- JUST DO IT!!”
“O-Okay!” Squill yelped as he ran out of the room.
The doors shut behind him, leaving Kaos and Glumshanks alone again.
“So, um... what do we do now?” the troll asked.
“We leave, obviously,” Kaos didn't wait for a response and started walking away.
Of course, Glumshanks had no idea what he was thinking. And of course, he had no choice but to follow him.
Back on the first ring, things were going about as expected for the Skylanders. More Petallings had gathered around them and were trying to get them to leave. This would be a problem under any other circumstances, but the Petallings were far too kindhearted to be a real threat.
“Please leave right now,” one of them said.
“Y-Yeah! We're warning you..!” another added.
“If you don't... I-I don't know what we'll do, but we'll do something!” a third shouted in the most polite way possible.
The Skylanders had their backs metaphorically against the wall. Physically, they hadn't moved an inch since they first came inside.
“O-Okay, calm down, guys...” Bushwhack stammered, “We really, truly, mean you no harm.”
“Oh yeah? The last outsider said the same thing, and he took over the Magna Arbor” a Petalling yelled.
“I don't mean to gaslight you guys, but I really don't think Kaos would say that,” Punkshock said.
“You don't know that, you filthy outsider!” a different Petalling retorted.
Sharpfin pulled the Skylanders together and started whispering to them, “Guys, this is not going well. We need to change our approach.”
“I know, but I don't know what we can say to them,” Bushwhack said.
“I don't know if we can change their minds at all,” Punkshock replied.
“I say we just fight our way through 'em,” Terrafin suggested, smiling deviously.
“No!” the others immediately shouted.
“Well, what else are we supposed to do?!”
The team looked back at the Petallings. They were just standing there. All with displeased looks on their faces. Neither side knew what to say. So they both stood in silence. A very tense silence. One that neither side was willing to break. And luckily for them, they wouldn't have to.
“Hello? May I have everyone's attention, please?” a voice called out beyond the crowd.
Everyone looked at who said that. It was Squill. The other Petallings started murmuring. From what the Skylanders could make out, they sounded very confused.
“I know you are all very afraid, and understandably so, but I assure you that these people are here to save us. I know you won't take their word for it, so take mine. Because I'm the one who called them here,” Squill said.
The Petallings were too stunned to speak. They were all waiting with bated breath for what he would say next.
“I...I understand why you all are so upset with me, however, I believe this was the only way to save us and the Magna Arbor. We do not have the resources or skills to defend ourselves, so in times like this, it is necessary to rely on others. And getting help isn't bad, it is a sign of strength. To admit that we cannot go on like this is how we grow. So, please, let the Skylanders help us. They are our only hope.”
The crowd once again began murmuring- this time louder. From the sound of things, it seemed like Squill's speech may have swayed them. They were saying things like, “Well, if Squill is saying it...” and “Maybe these outsiders really DO have good intentions?”
Eventually, the crowd began to part, giving the Skylanders a path through the Magna Arbor.
“Th-Thank you so much, everyone!” Squill gasped.
He ran up to the team and grabbed Bushwhack's hand.
“W-Woah!” the Life Skylander yelped in reply.
Squill let go, “Ah, sorry! I was going to show you to where Kaos is..!”
“Alright, but we don't need literal hand-holding.”
“Understood! Now follow me- time is of the essence!”
On a large branch outside the Magna Arbor laid an airship. Kaos had asked (or rather, demanded) the Petallings build it for him since the one he stole earlier was now in pieces. The project had gone well, and the ship was almost complete. But “almost complete” wouldn't cut it if Kaos wanted to fly out of here (and he did.) So, he asked (demanded) that Glumshanks finish it for him. And of course, he agreed.
The troll twisted another screw into place and exhaled. The work was rough. He didn't do construction stuff- Kaos had his army for that. At least, he used to.
“It must be hard for Lord Kaos...” Glumshanks thought, “Nothing is like it was before...”
He looked over the edge of the ship and at Kaos below. He was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. Glumshanks couldn't see his face from here, but he didn't need to see it to know it was dour.
“Lord Kaos? Sir?” he called.
Kaos looked up at him, “What do you want? You should be working.”
“I-I know, but I was wondering, um... do you have a plan for if the Skylanders show up?”
“What a pointless question. Of course I do.”
“Oh, good! What is it?”
Kaos was silent.
“...You do have a plan, right?” Glumshanks asked.
“I do! Its just...i-its a work in progress!” Kaos snapped.
That was a lie. He had no plan. Actually, he did have something. Just one step. Leave. But that couldn't happen until the ship was finished, and he didn't exactly know how long that would take. He did wonder what he would do if the Skylanders got here, and honestly, he had no idea.
Just after he finished that thought, the heard several sets of footsteps run onto the branch. He cursed internally, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was...
“Alright, hands up, Kaos!” Bushwhack yelled, his axe at the ready.
Damnit. Kaos turned around and saw the Skylanders. And they looked prepared for a fight. He couldn't let them know he was unprepared. He had to match their energy.
The Portal Master switched his initial bewildered expression to a confident smirk, “Ah, the Skylanders. It seems you've fallen right into my trap...”
“What trap?!” Glumshanks exclaimed.
“SILENCE! DO YOUR JOB!”
“Yes, sir...”
There was a few seconds of awkward silence.
“So, uh... what's the trap?” Punkshock asked.
“I'm so glad you asked!” Kaos lied again, “Why, it is possibly the most devious and despicable thing I've ever come up with! So prepare yourselves! For I am going to... to...”
He had nothing. But he still tried to appear assured as he wracked his brain for something, ANYTHING, he could do. And soon, he found it. The one thing he could think of.
“...fight you!” he concluded.
There was more silence at this. This time, it was shocked silence. The Skylanders were absolutely bewildered. Baffled, perhaps. Befuddled, even.
“Wh-What?” Bushwhack stammered.
“You're joking, right?” Punkshock added.
“I AM SERIOUS! I am challenging you! Right here, right now! If you win I promise to go quietly with you back to the Academy...that's only IF you win, though!” Kaos laughed after that.
“You're on! Get ready to lose!” Terrafin shouted.
“What?!” Bushwhack gasped, “A-Are you serious?!”
“Yep. I'm gonna punch that freak in the face.”
He stepped away from the other Skylanders and closer to his foe.
The land shark punched his fists together and smiled, “Okay! Ready when you are, baldie!”
“Don't EVER call me that again,” Kaos hissed.
“Whatever you say, little man.”
Kaos' blood boiled, but he remained where he was. He couldn't make the first move. That would be far too risky.
“...You gonna do anything?” Terrafin asked.
“Oh, I thought you should do the honors,” the Portal Master replied, lying.
“That's weirdly generous of you, but I'll take it!”
Terrafin lunged forward and launched a punch at his enemy. Kaos leapt out of the way, successfully dodging the hit. The Skylander launched a volley of attacks at him, but he evaded them all. After about the 20th attempted punch, Terrafin stopped. It hadn't taken long for Kaos to get tired, but other than that, he didn't have a scratch on him.
“Can you stop doing that?!” Terrafin snapped.
“Doing what?” Kaos asked through heavy breaths.
“Running away! Its really annoying!”
“I'm not running away, I am tactically evading you.”
“That's the same thing!”
“To a simpleton like you, maybe.”
“Oh, you little--!”
Terrafin dashed towards Kaos and threw a hard left-hook at him. He, again, dodged.
After that failed attack, the land shark growled, “Okay, fuck this.”
He jumped up and came back down claw-first into the ground. He burrowed deep into the branch and began moving around within in. Kaos' eyes darted around as he stepped away from any noise or vibration in the ground he thought might be the Skylander. His caution wouldn't matter though, because in a split second, Terrafin burst out of the ground and struck Kaos in the jaw with an uppercut. The Portal Master was sent flying up and then fell back down, hitting the ground hard.
“Alright,” Terrafin cracked his knuckles as he walked up to Kaos, “Can't run away this time, bitch.”
He was right. Kaos couldn't run. He tried to move his body, but it just wouldn't. The Skylander picked up his enemy by the collar and pulled his other fist back.
“This one's for lying to us for six months!” Terrafin shouted before punching Kaos in the face, “And this one's for everything you did before that!” he punched him again, harder, “And this one... Well, this one's just from me!” he hit him one last time as hard as he could.
After that, Terrafin dropped him to the ground. He was smiling. Kaos felt his face burning in pain and embarrassment. This was one of the most humiliating moments he'd experienced in a while. He tried to get up, but was barely able to lift his head off the ground.
Terrafin laughed, “Damn, you are so bad at this! I thought you'd put up a bit of a fight at least, but I guess not!”
Kaos growled and tried again to move, but failed.
“Well, that means I win,” the Skylander shrugged, “Time to come back to the Academy, baldie.”
No. No, anything but that. If he got taken back there after everything he just did to get away he would never be able to live that shame down. As Terrafin approached him, every cell in his body started screaming one thing: get away. Every other feeling faded from him. It was just that. Escape.
The land shark nervously gestured to him. He could tell there was something off here, but not what, “C-Come on, man. Hands up.”
Immediately after he said that, Kaos shot up off the ground and punched him in the face as hard as he could. That was surprisingly hard, because Terrafin stumbled back after the hit and clasped his hand over his cheek. For a few seconds he just stood there in shock.
“I'm...never...going...back,” Kaos said, struggling to form the sentence through the pain that was now returning.
Terrafin had no response. He was still completely flabbergasted at what just happened. Suddenly, the ship behind Kaos flared to life. Its engines roared and its turbines sent gusts of wind flying around them.
“Lord Kaos, it's ready! Get on!” Glumshanks shouted from the wheel.
His master turned around and climbed onto the ship. The boarding ladder retracted and then it was off. They were gone. The rest of the Skylanders were just as baffled as Terrafin. But part of their surprise was for different reasons.
“Terrafin, what the hell was that?!” Punkshock yelled.
“He...He actually hit me...” Terrafin muttered, “I didn't think he had it in him...”
She grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face her, “Yes, he can hit you! HE'S EVIL!”
“Guys, calm down. He might've gotten away, but we still saved the day,” Bushwhack offered.
“I don't care about that- I care that we let Kaos get away!” she looked Terrafin dead in the eyes, “YOU let him get away.”
“I-I...” he stammered in response.
“I can't believe you. After all that talk about how you were gonna kick his ass and stuff...”
Terrafin sighed, “You're right, Punkshock. I'm sorry. I messed up big time. I was too confident, and I just... I fucked up.”
Punkshock looked down, “Okay...glad you can acknowledge your mistakes. And I'm sorry for yelling at you just now.”
He laughed softly, “Nah, you were valid for that. But still, thanks.”
Bushwhack pulled them both into a tight hug, “Good job, guys!” He let them go, “Glad you could talk things through this time.”
“Look! Its the Skylanders! They did it!” a voice suddenly called out from behind them.
They turned around and saw the crowd of Petallings from before, standing in the doorway to the branch.
“The ship is gone, and so is that horrid little man!” one of the Petallings exclaimed.
“See? I told you guys the Skylanders would protect us!” Squill cheered.
The other Petallings began cheering too. For the first time this whole day, they looked happy.
“So, are we all, like, chill now?” Bushwhack cautiously asked.
“I'd say so,” Squill approached the Skylander and stretched out his hand, “Thank you for saving us. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that you are the kindest outsiders we have ever met.”
“Yeah! You guys are the best!” a Petalling shouted.
“The good outsiders got rid of the bad outsiders!” another added.
Bushwhack laughed nervously, “You're welcome. And I hope you guys open up more. You know, let the world know you're still alive..?”
“Y-Yes, we will have a meeting about that. I'll make sure of it.”
Kaos' new ship gracefully soared through the sky. It ran far better than the ship they stole before. Glumshanks, still at the wheel, wondered how the Petallings had done that. The ship was almost entirely made out of wood, not metal like most of Kaos' old warships. But no metal didn't inherently mean no technology... Maybe he'd have to take a look at the internals later.
But aside from that, he had a more important question on his mind. More important to him, anyway.
“So, um...” Glumshanks began, “How did you fight the Skylanders, Lord Kaos?”
He got no response.
“I-I'm asking because I was working on the ship, I couldn't watch...”
Again, nothing. Confused, he turned around only to see his master collapse and fall to the floor.
“Lord Kaos..!!” Glumshanks gasped as he ran over to Kaos.
The troll reached out to help him get up, but stopped when he noticed him glaring back at him. He just had to watch as Kaos slowly sat up, leaning on the side of the ship for support. Glumshanks still didn't know exactly what happened, but he could tell it wasn't good. There was a small stream of blood dripping from his nose.
“Ah, hold still, sir...” Glumshanks muttered as he produced a small handkerchief from his pocket. He started to wipe the blood off his master's face before he shoved him away. He couldn't put much force into that shove, but Glumshanks understood the message.
Kaos wiped it off with his coat's sleeve instead, “Quit babying me,” he hissed, “I'm fine.”
“Are you sure?” Glumshanks asked, “From the looks of things, you just got beat up...”
“I did not.”
“Wh-?? Yes you did! Look at you!”
“You said yourself you didn't see it, thus you wouldn't know.”
“I do know, I know because you were literally bleeding! You can't possibly think I wouldn't--”
He paused. Being upset would not make the situation better. And as much as he hated to admit it, nothing he could say would change Kaos' mind. Maybe he just needed space.
“I...I'm sorry,” Glumshanks continued, “Please just get some rest. I'll be here if you need anything.”
“I was going to do that anyway,” Kaos said as he got up, “I didn't need YOUR input!”
And with that, he was gone. He went off to his quarters. Glumshanks sighed. This sort of thing had become all too common. It seemed like Kaos had gotten a bit better since the Darkness incident happened, so why was he now back to the way he was before? Glumshanks supposed he'd just have to wait until Kaos was ready to tell him. Waiting for Kaos... The troll wearily laughed to himself. That was nothing new...