Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head as she finally came to. "That was one rough landing," she remarked. "Everyone here still?"

Groans and moans came from all around, and Chihiro sat up as she tried to get a sense of where she landed. The walls around were rocky and made of some mixture of stone and earth—a cave or tunnel, perhaps? It wasn't an uninhabited one, as simple lanterns stood nailed to the walls and provided a faint sense of light. Around her, everyone else laid down and tended to their wounds. Well, save for Seraphina, who was happy to skip around and examine the odd drawings on the walls.

"These drawings are strange," Seraphina remarked as she tapped the walls. "Wilikin did not make them."

Tree Rex frowned as he leaned down and examined the drawings. "Strange," he remarked as he rubbed his chin, "I feel like I recognize this style…"

Tree Rex hummed in contemplation for a few moments longer, yet the sound of squealing from behind sent him back up! He turned around and readied his laser cannon, but lowered it as he found that it was just Whirlwind, Cynder, Eruptor, and Terrafin bouncing around on the floor.

Chihiro sighed and lifted the cage that fell from her back from the ground as they growled and snarled. "I know, I know, we need to get going," Chihiro remarked as she slid the cage onto her back. "Just let me heal everyone up, and we'll be on our way."

Chihiro clapped her hands, and a faint orb of light emerged from her palms. The orb hovered above her for a moment; it fluttered up next, and sent waves of light pulsating through the tunnels and into everyone else's bodies. Their wounds sealed themselves up as blood retracted back into their bodies, and bruises vanished like they never appeared!

Thumpback and Eye-Brawl both got up and stretched, but Tree Rex only wandered up to Swarm and helped Swarm back up.

"How're you feeling, Swarm?" Tree Rex asked, his eyes gentle as his hand twitched in anticipation of Swarm's answer. "Any better?"

Swarm jumped out of Tree Rex's arms and grinned as he flexed his own. "Better than ever, boss!" Swarm cheered. "That poison's gone now!"

"Then I suppose we can get going!" Chihiro remarked as she skipped ahead and crafted a torch to guide them out of magic. "Seraphina, lead the way!"

Seraphina chuckled, and beckoned to the others before she skipped away. The others were quick to make chase as she skipped and disappeared down the halls; the cyan light of Chihiro's torch was their guide as they followed Seraphina down the stone tunnels. Occasionally, the torch's cyan light mingled with the faint, warm orange and yellow that came from the torches before, but those torches' own light was faint and weak as if they hadn't been tended to in a while. That being said, it was enough light to showcase the drawings on the walls!

They were all fairly simple drawings, but they had enough detail to tell a story. They showed beings gathered in villages, singing songs, harvesting from fields, and playing games, a window into the past in its own right. Chihiro herself lingered on one of these drawings, and Tree Rex did as well. While Chihiro grinned as she ran her hands along the cool, bumpy walls, Tree Rex just seemed discontent. His eyes fixed on them in cold analysis.

"Something bugging you, Rexy?" Chihiro remarked as she lifted her torch to his face.

Tree Rex sneezed as the embers touched his nose, chuckled and wiped it off. "Ah, it's nothing, Chihiro," Tree Rex replied as he stood tall and wandered down the path. "Just felt a bit familiar, that's all."

Chihiro frowned. Something about the way Tree Rex talked seemed like it was bothering him a little more than that, and the somber look in his eyes seemed far too great to be ignored. He didn't really seem as if he wanted to press the matter further, so she just sighed and trailed along.

The torches left them behind quickly, and the cavern turned a cool blue, illuminated by the warmth of Chihiro's torch. Soon, though, it turned red as well! The red light that beckoned for them came from up ahead, and it was too strong to have been anything from a torch. Chihiro skipped ahead as their group jolted to a stop; she herself jumped to the front, and frowned as her eyes fell on the stream ahead.

There, a mass of glowing red orbs skittered like roaches across a less elevated road that laid before them. The orbs' group was a firm block between the path Chihiro stood on now and the path ahead. These orbs looked harmless enough, yet something about them didn't seem quite right. Chihiro frowned, jumped on a part of the path that was free for a quick second, and got slammed by an orb in that very moment!

A massive jolt of electricity rumbled through her body as it exploded into puffy red lights. "YIKES!" Chihiro cried as she hopped backwards and blew on her aching foot. "That stings!"

"That is because the red orbs are bad. They will hurt you," Seraphina explained as she patted Chihiro's aching foot.

"No kidding." Chihiro rolled her eyes, frowned and turned aside as Seraphina skipped off.

"But, we can fix that!" Seraphina grinned as she stood beside a switch not unlike the one they all saw at the beginning of the village. "Just press this switch!"

Seraphina tapped the switch, and with a quick warble, the orbs shuddered and flipped over to a bright, serene blue.

"Now, they are friends too!"

Chihiro raised a brow, dropped her still jittery, still numb foot on the ground, and dragged it across the floor. It was a lot more offsetting, having to walk when her foot fell asleep from being zapped so hard. The moment the blue orbs rammed into it, though, it woke up immediately! Even better, they filled her with a new energy too, like she just woke up and rared to go!

"You're right!" Chihiro cried as she bounced on the orbs and leaped to the other side. "This feels great!"

"It does!" Seraphina chirped! Seraphina tapped a button on the switch, and the switch shrank till it could fit in one's pocket. "Now, before we leave, I will take this." Seraphina lifted the device and skipped along. "Switch could be helpful in future."

Seraphina joined up and hopped on Chihiro's back, but Chihiro squealed as Seraphina offset her balance and sent her stumbling back and forth! Chihiro windmilled her arms as she finally caught her balance, grinned and lifted Seraphina off her shoulders. A couple of squeaks and shouts came down from below.

Chihiro craned her head down, and grinned as she met eyes with Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder, and Whirlwind. They all stacked atop each other as they tried to reach up to where Chihiro stood—but alas, they couldn't reach without fingers! So, Chihiro just levitated them up and back into her cage backpack.

Behind them, Ermit winced as he eyed the stream. He gently tapped it with his foot, and as the orbs ran over him and seeped into his body, he just grinned and strode along! He climbed up the rock and joined Chihiro at her side with a smile. A massive thunk sounded behind them all, and nearly knocked them off as the Elder Elementals crashed down behind them!

Eye flew off as he pushed everyone back to their feet one at a time, cast out a laser, and flitted down the dark caverns. With him guiding the way ahead, everyone else trailed down as their eyes occasionally trailed to the stone walls beside them. The cavern drawings remained still, but this time, they turned much more somber.

Eye paused in front of one. There, a village, surely the one the prior drawings depicted, was attacked! Other people bearing larger suits and devices chased after helpless villagers and knocked them down, and their houses and fields got set ablaze. Eye winced as he flitted away from it.

Tree Rex blinked and followed after Eye, his footsteps a steady pound that echoed within the cavern itself. Eye shuddered as Tree Rex thunked beside him, lifted himself up and shone the laser's light over Tree Rex's face.

"Is something bothering you?" Eye remarked as he spun around.

Tree Rex frowned, twiddled his fingers and looked aside. "Nothing much. Just wanted to see what happened next."

Eye flitted his wings and turned his light back on the walls, where a new illustration stood carved on the walls. The village was still on fire and bodies littered its floor, but now, the ones who threatened the village had company! Larger beings jumped in and stood in front of the villagers, and though they shared the same stick figure-like style, they had a few discerning features. One had horns like a bull, some others had wings, one had a more lopsided head, another's head was on fire…

"Hey, these kinda look like you guys!" Chihiro remarked as she popped between Tree Rex and Eye and ran her fingers across the wall. "See, this one's got Tree Rex's horns" — Chihiro pointed towards the horned figure on the wall, and dragged it across the wall — "and this guy's got Swarm's wings, and I think this one might be Thumpback."

Swarm, Thumpback, and Brawl all crept up over them, and Swarm beamed as he examined the walls.

"You're right, Chi!" Swarm chuckled as he pointed his barbs towards the wall. "I think this guy's supposed to be old Hot Head, and I'll bet this is Ninjini the Great herself!"

Swarm grinned and rambled on, but Tree Rex didn't share in his joy. In fact, his jaw dropped by the second while his eyes went wide with realization. He blinked for a few moments, and stormed down the halls with a speed no one saw out of him before! Heck, he nearly trampled Chihiro and Eye in the process!

"Hey, watch where you're going, Tree Rex!" Eye cried as he flapped his wings with a little more indignity. "What're you in such a hurry for, anyways?"

Brawl knelt down and signed to Eye. "Don't you think these look familiar?" Brawl asked Eye before he pointed towards the walls again. "These drawings, they remind me of that one village."

"That one village?" Eye remarked as he craned himself towards Brawl, and examined the walls again. "Now that I think about it, this style does remind me of something."

Eye scanned the walls again while everyone followed behind him, now a teensy bit more wary than before. His lasers skimmed over the walls, and as they did, the cave drawings grew more and more somber: the larger protectors of the village fighting against the intruders, being wounded and broken, but still fighting their hardest. Finally, the intruders' devices drove them into a corner, and the protectors fled! Eye stopped right in front of a drawing of the village residents fleeing themselves as the intruders wreaked havoc on their home, and finally, it seemed as though the realization dawned on him. He fell down to the cavern floor. Brawl scooped Eye up in his arms and let Eye snuggle close to his chest. Eye frowned the best an eye could as he wrapped his wings around his round body.

Beside them, Swarm and Thumpback examined the drawings, and Swarm started to frown as his antenna drooped.

"We'd better find the boss," Swarm remarked as he strode away from Thumpback, his usual cheer forgotten. Even his wings didn't sing with the gentle buzzes and hums they usually carried. "Something tells me he's not really happy right now."

"Geez, what's got them in a twist?" Ermit remarked as he crossed his arms. "What, did these old cave drawings scare them or something?"

Chihiro frowned as she tugged on her suspenders' straps. She didn't really understand what went on—were those really the Elder Elementals? She crafted an orb of light and examined the walls once more, and her eyes lingered on the drawings of the supposed Elder Elementals fleeing and leaving the villagers to their doom. If that really was them… Chihiro frowned, and clutched her sphere close as the series of drawings continued.

Beside her, the drawings showed that the villagers who hadn't been killed fled into what seemed like a cavern of some sort, and they all seemed to try and continue their daily lives. But, things were wrong. They no longer sang, played, or harvested; they just sat and sulked until they died. Slowly, the numbers dwindled, until all that was left was one person surrounded by the bodies of those they surely once called friends, neighbors, family, and then… Nothing. All the walls were barren and untouched, save for a couple of scratches that were probably incomplete drawings themselves.

Chihiro's spheres glimmered just a little bit duller than before as she ran her hands across the wall, but the spill of gentle yellow light from the path ahead caught her eyes. She whisked away her sphere with a snap of her fingers, dashed into the source of the light, and found none other than Tree Rex, at last!

He knelt beside the corpse of a rotting, dead tree, its leaves surely haven fallen and rotted a long time ago. Despite the death of the tree itself, the orb that its roots curled around seemed bright as ever. Its jewellike seafoam surface sparkly and bright as Tree Rex ran his fingers against its smooth surface. Stone markers stood all around the tree and Tree Rex, and on them were carvings that resembled some kind of Ancient Skylandian text—graves, perhaps?

Either way, Chihiro just sat beside Tree Rex and ran her hand against his moss-covered leg. Though her touch was probably small and unnoticeable, Tree Rex broke out of his stupor nonetheless. He looked down and forced a tiny grin.

"Oh, Chihiro, it's just you," Tree Rex whispered as he lifted his hand from the orb. "I didn't see you."

Tree Rex's voice, normally so powerful and kind, carried with it a kind of weakness. It was so hoarse and pained as he sat in the center of it all. While he turned back to the orb, Chihiro just rubbed her hands against his legs and leaned in closer.

"Tree Rex," Chihiro whispered as her eyes turned to the dying tree. "Just what is this place? What's wrong?"

Tree Rex sighed, and once again he lifted his hands from the orb and forced a smile. "Well, it just so happens that I knew this place."

He didn't seem particularly happy to have said that. Tree Rex clasped his hands, and his eyes turned a bit glossy like he would cry.

"Ages ago, when we first became the Elder Elementals, we received a cry for help from a small village in the furthest outskirts of Skylands that was attacked by Arkeyan forces. We arrived as fast as we could, but we were too late."

Tree Rex's hands started to tremble, and he clasped them tight while his solar cannon flashed in and out.

"They had already stormed the village, and though we all fought our hardest, they had us outnumbered and outpowered. We fought our hardest, but they completely wiped the floor with us. In the end…" Tree Rex just shook his hung head and rested his hand on the ground. "I panicked and ordered for us to flee."

So the stories on the wall did happen! Chihiro gasped as her eyes fell on Tree Rex's, which carried with them a somberness and tenderness she never really saw in him before. She pressed herself closer and tried to hug him the best she could. Though really, all she did was clutch the moss on his legs.

"I'm sorry," Chihiro whispered as she rubbed her head into the moss, "I'm sure you did everything you could."

"BUT IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH!"

SLAM!

Chihiro squeaked and jumped away as Tree Rex smacked his fist into the ground. Sap-like tears crawled down his face, but as he caught sight of Chihiro's shocked expression, he wiped them away and forced a smile. Even as he grieved, he always tried to save face, it seemed. Tree Rex examined the engravings on the markers, sighed and laid his hand on his legs.

"They fought their hardest to survive, but even after fleeing underground to rebuild their home, they still perished," Tree Rex whispered, "and if we, if I hadn't given up then, they might not have even had to! They might've gotten the chance to live, to be free, to not resign themselves to dying where the light didn't even reach!" Tree Rex held his head. The tears plopped down onto his knees and turned his mossy legs sweet in scent, but choking nonetheless. "All because I gave up and ran off."

"There you are, boss."

Tree Rex's eyes widened, and he turned back to the entrance to find Swarm, Eye-Brawl, and Thumpback all standing in the doorway! Swarm gave him a friendly wave, but one a bit more diminished compared to his usual cheer. He flitted over and sat beside Tree Rex. Though Tree Rex was pretty hefty, he completely melted into Swarm's grasp. Swarm propped Tree Rex's head on his shoulder.

"So, this was that place, wasn't it?" Thumpback asked as he knelt beside the monuments.

Tree Rex's eyes fluttered, and he slowly, gently nodded, just barely enough to be seen. Eye laid in his lap while Brawl placed himself beside Thumpback, and all five of them sat in a quiet vigil as they all glazed over the monuments. Their faces grew somber, their heads bowed in remembrance as frowns and tears crossed their faces, but Tree Rex grunted as he pushed himself off the ground.

"This is no time to mourn," was all Tree Rex said, his voice cold as he lifted himself up to full height and held out his hand. All eyes turned on him, yet he only frowned and laid a hand on his chest. "Everyone, listen." Tree Rex held out his hands. "We may have failed this island's residents once, but we're not going to fail them again! This island's peace, its beings' safety, they're all being threatened just like before—and this time, we're not going to run away! We can't let history repeat itself!"

Tree Rex extended a hand and a smile crossed his face. "This time, we're going to save them! Who's with me?"

Swarm blinked, but grinned and sprung to his feet as he slapped his hand on Tree Rex's. "You can count me in, boss!"

"I'm in too," Thumpback replied as he placed a hand over the others and squeezed it tight.

"And eye as well!" Eye remarked as he popped on top of the hand pile, and grinned as Brawl waved.

Chihiro beamed, floated up and slapped her own hand on the pile! It was tiny compared to the others, and probably not much to remark on, but the quiet show of bravery was enough to earn her excitement.

"Same here! We'll all make sure to save everyone!" Chihiro proclaimed as she swung from the hands, while Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind cheered from their place on her back.

Behind them, faint panting echoed around the halls, and Ermit and Seraphina came bursting right out!

"What, what's going on here?" Ermit panted as he sat down.

Seraphina twirled around and giggled. "I don't know, but it looks fun!" Seraphina chirped as she skipped ahead. "We should be by Lower Facadeville now!"

Seraphina gently tapped a wall, and beside them, the stones rolled away as light poured in from the outside world! Everyone around gave each other cold, determined glances, and with one last nod, they all burst out the door and into the outside world. Their weapons bared as they landed on the grass, in full expectation of the armies or tricks that awaited them…

But all they found was a ghost town! Though it didn't look too ravaged, the windows stood coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, and tumbleweeds ran through the grassy paths. The stone fountains in the heart of the area were completely dry, and no sort of sound came but the rustling of wind.

Chihiro frowned and lowered her sword. Beside her, Seraphina frowned and clasped her hands.

"This village has no more friends in it," Seraphina explained. "They have all become chompies."

Though Seraphina's words were simple, they set a feeling of melancholy through Chihiro's humble little team. Frowns and aside looks came about everywhere as they all looked away, and even Cynder, Whirlwind, Eruptor, and Terrafin seemed a bit more sad than usual as their eyestalks drooped.

Chihiro knelt down and smiled as she patted Seraphina's shoulder. "Don't worry, Seraphina!" Chihiro said as she lifted her hand and beamed. "We'll make sure we save everyone and turned them back to normal, I promise!"

"Really?" Seraphina's eyes glistened with awe.

"Indeed. We're going to stop this Chompy Mage's evil ploys once and for all!" Tree Rex vowed as he cocked his arm like a gun and glared over the surroundings. "Now, where is his hideout?"

"Follow me!"

Seraphina's early sorrow completely vanished as she hummed a tune and skipped along, and the others warily followed her. The icy breeze ran across their heads and sent chills down their spines as they passed through the barren ghost town. Soon enough, even that left them behind in favor of a single cliff face, but whatever it rested over seemingly vanished! Its surrounding were blocked off by a gigantic castle front made of leafy vines and a single dark opening where a door should have been. The faint sound of squealing chompies came from within the castle. No doubt about it, this had to be the place!

With a shared nod, everyone trailed inside the open gate, the cover of the leaves above a shield from the sunlight outside. Specks of light peered in from gaps in the leaves, almost as if they traveled into an actual forest, and the gentle rustles of a cool breeze paired with the song of chompies served to accentuate the feeling. If that wasn't enough, the massive walls of leaves and vines, and the carpet of thin moss underneath really set the mood!

Yet, nobody was at ease. Their hands clenched as if they prepared to attack at any given moment, and with every slight noise, they turned their arms right at the source! A birdsong? Arms bared at the walls from which it sung! The faint skitter of tiny feet? Weapons pointed towards the ground! The massive rumbling of the ground below them?

Well, they actually didn't touch upon that at first, for something massive jumped out of the ground and knocked them all backwards! A roar shook the leaves right off their vines as a trine of massive, green flying worms with a vague resemblance to chompies hovered in the air. They roared and set their eyes right on the heroes!

"Chompy worms?" Ermit cried as he cowered behind Chihiro. "How can they survive outside of the desert?"

"I don't know," Tree Rex cried as he staggered back to his feet and cracked his knuckles, "but I'm not letting them stop me!"

The chompy worms snarled and gnashed their teeth as they came in fast, but Tree Rex only chuckled and waved at them.

"Come and get me, you oversized parasites!" Tree Rex chuckled as he charged off!

The chompy worms snarled and growled as they zipped off after Tree Rex, but he just took a sharp turn left! While two of the worms were quick to change direction, one wasn't as lucky and crashed right into the wall! Tree Rex took a glance back and scoffed as the leaves came down and coated it,. The other two chompy worms were hot on his tail, but as they ran, one of them flew ahead and intercepted Tree Rex where he stood. Just before it could bite him, Tree Rex dashed away and let the remaining two ram into each other!

With the three chompy worms down for the count, Tree Rex wiped his hands. "Looks like I took them to the wood shed!" Tree Rex cried as he laid his palms on the ground. "And just to make sure they stay down…"

Tree Rex closed his eyes and hummed while a green glow surrounded his body! The glow pulsed for a few moments, spread across the ground and formed veins of green light in the earth. These veins flickered and shuddered, and out from them sprouted vines that wrapped tight around the chompy worms!

"Come on!" Tree Rex cried as he lurched up. "We need to get going!"

Tree Rex stepped forward, but before he could go forward, the walls rumbled and an entire swarm of chompies burst out! They tore though the leaves that shielded them, and snarled as they leaped forward with teeth glistening in the light! Tree Rex snarled and readied his solar cannon, fully prepared to fire.

Just before he could, Chihiro leaped in front of him! She summoned a massive laser cannon, spun around and fried the chompies to a crisp! The first wave fell down, but the others were more than raring to go. Tree Rex backed up just inches from Chihiro, and shot off blasts from his own cannon as well yet, the chompies wouldn't relent despite the intense light show. More flooded in every time a wave went down, as if there were an infinite amount spawned!

"There's too many of them!" Chihiro cried as she punched a chompy away just before it could bite her face off. "We need more power!"

"Just leave it to us!" Swarm and Eye-Brawl cried.

Behind Tree Rex and Chihiro, Swarm and Eye-Brawl grinned and held out their arms! With a cock of Swarm's barbs, a massive swarm of bees rushed out from underneath him, scattered around and stung the chompies. The chompies turned from fighting to panicking as they tried to escape the bees' stingers! While they panicked, Swarm just stepped back and nudged Eye-Brawl's shoulder.

Eye popped right off of Brawl's head, and spun around as thick lasers shot out from his pupil! Smoke wafted to the ceiling as a dizzy Eye popped right back onto Brawl's head, but the damage he did was more than enough—for the chompies were completely fried! Brawl just patted Eye's top while Eye panted and snuggled into his seat.

With the chompies no longer a problem, the journey continued once more. The forest canopy grew bright as Chihiro's team sneaked past the front gates, and the leaves and vines turned more condensed and more akin to an actual building's walls. They passed by halls lined with rooms full of chompies: egg-filled nurseries, gardens where full-grown chompies played, and even specialized habitats for all sorts of rare varieties! It was a veritable chompy sanctuary, and it would have been quite the pretty site anywhere else, but it still seemed a little eerie at a time like this. After all, the sound of gnashing chompy teeth and faint, jilted cries came through the air. The smell of blood wafted in from the leaves, and melded in with the scent of maple syrup and flowers in a way that churned stomachs.

As the halls came to a close, their last segment got blocked off via a flower-covered open door flanked by two particularly large, armor-bearing chompies. The chompies themselves only seemed half-alert as they half-heartedly turned their heads around and yawned. They paid not a single moment of attention to the intruders that stood right before their faces!

Ermit trembled and stumbled backwards as his eyes fell on the massive chompies. A squeak slipped from his mouth and bounced around the halls! The chompies jumped up and snarled as their eyes fell on the floors, but Tree Rex whisked everyone behind a particularly large flower before the chompies could spot them. The chompies blinked, shrugged as they sat back down, and scratched their backs.

"This has to be where the Chompy Mage is," Tree Rex whispered as he peered up from behind the gigantic flower.

"Then just leave the guards to me," Thumpback remarked as he popped up beside Tree Rex. "I'll leave them washed up!"

Thumpback whipped out his anchor, spun it around and wrapped it around the first chompy guard! Both chompy guards squawked as they witnessed the sudden attack, but they didn't linger on it for long—for Thumpback slammed them right into each other and against a wall! The disarmed chompy guards collapsed onto a pile of leaves that was once a wall, and Thumpback reclaimed his anchor.

Everyone nodded as they rushed up to the gate, and Tree Rex punched it open. They all rushed inside, paused, and peered down to find that the ground below their feet was no more! No, all that laid underneath was a massive tunnel comprised of leaves that twirled in the breeze and accompanied the sound of whistling grass! A few blinks came in that moment, and everyone screamed as they collapsed onto the tunnel's floor and went sliding down.

§

CRASH went the ground as Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex, and Eye-Brawl fell through the leaf tunnel one by one and slammed down onto the forested ground. They all snarled and banged their fists together as they took solid footing, but parted as Chihiro floated down beside them. Chihiro grinned and stretched as her feet hit solid, leafy ground, but quickly turned around as screaming echoed from behind her. She herself screamed as Ermit and Seraphina crashed right into her! The whole group fell in a leaf pile and grunted as they sat back up, but Chihiro just pulled her cage backpack off her back.

The tunnel dropped them into a single wide room. The floor was made of solid ground rather than the moss that made up the other rooms for once. The leaves were either so tightly packed that they were barely distinguishable from wallpaper, or perhaps were wallpaper itself! Orbs of light hung from the ceiling and cast a warm glow over the entire area, from the walls to the large throne of leaves at the very back of the room. The scent of thick maple syrup wafted in the air. It was so intense that everyone scrunched their noses and groaned from the scent, and it almost clouded Chihiro's own vision too, to boot!

So, she just turned her head down to the cage backpack. "You guys alright?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head towards the chompyfied Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind. They all bounced up and squeaked, and Chihiro grinned as she patted their cage. "Don't worry, we'll definitely turn you back once we get this guy taken care of!"

"What's this about turning things back?" cried a voice from further down the room!

Chihiro slipped the cage onto her back as she jumped to her feet, snarled and readied a sphere. "That voice!" she cried as her sphere grew bright. "That's gotta be him!"

"Indeed! It is I, the Chompy Mage!" the Chompy Mage cried as he hobbled out from behind the throne! He snarled, and waved his staff at Chihiro and the others. "And you're still not chompies, so I still don't like you!"

"What do you think you're doing here?" his puppet demanded as it shook a fist at Chihiro!

"It's simple!" Chihiro cried back as she pointed a finger at the Chompy Mage. "We're here to stop you and turn everyone back to normal!"

"Yeah!" Tree Rex cried as he pounded his fists against each other. A snarl wide and sharp crossed his face. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!" With one last pound of his fists, Tree Rex narrowed his eyes. "You can just turn everyone back now, or we'll make you!"

"No way!" the Chompy Mage's puppet cried. "Everyone here's much happier as chompies, anyways!"

"Somehow, I doubt that!" Tree Rex hissed. He lowered his fists slightly, lowered his head next and snarled. "If that's the case, I'll make you turn them back!"

The Chompy Mage cried out and leaped in the air as Tree Rex charged right for him, and his puppet only stuffed its hands into its mouth as it whistled! The walls around shuddered. Tree Rex immediately drew to a stop and caught a glimpse of the shaking leaves, which was just enough time for the Chompy Mage to teleport away! Tree Rex gasped as the Chompy Mage vanished. While the Chompy Mage disappeared, out from the walls burst massive chompy pods in all sorts of colors and shapes, and they were all led by an army of wooden chompies! The wooden chompies chattered like wind-up toys as they bounced from side to side, more robotic than alive, and they all turned as they barked at Tree Rex!

"Don't hurt the chompies!" Chihiro cried as she summoned a sword. "They're still wilikin somewhere in there!"

Chihiro grunted as a chompy pod skittered up to her, lowered itself and shot chompy eggs towards her like a cannon! With a gasp, she slashed the eggs away one by one, flicked her sword and sent their goop splattering across the floor.

"But these guys are fair game!"

Across from her, a group of gigantic chompy pods blocked the way off to the Chompy Mage's throne, and shuddered as they spewed off chompies just as big as they were! The chompies snarled and bounced up and down. It was enough to send mini shock waves rushing through the area, but not enough to sweep the Elder Elementals off their feet!

"We'll take care of these guys!" Tree Rex cried. "You worry about the rest!"

Chihiro nodded, but just before she herself could jump into the fray, the cage on her back rattled something fierce! She teetered back and forth as the shaking cage upset her balance. The cage's lip flipped over, and it knocked her in the head as Terrafin, Eruptor, Cynder, and Whirlwind leaped in front of her! Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head as the cage's lip flipped back down, frowned and tilted her head as they chattered before her.

"Wait, lemme guess. You guys wanna fight too?" Chihiro asked.

All four of them all beamed and rapidly nodded, their grin only shared by Chihiro.

"Alright!" Chihiro cried as she dove underneath the giant chompies with Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder, and Whirlwind tailing along. "Let's kick some chompy tail!"

Chihiro leaped forward, and grunted as she cut down a row of icy blue chompies just before they could chew her up. She gasped as her eyes fell on the Chompy Mage's throne—and more importantly, the Chompy Mage as he sneaked away from it! She leaned in and charged for him, but before she could reach him, a row of wooden chompies leaped up and bore their fangs at her!

She immediately reached out her hands and prepared to craft a shield, but before she could, Terrafin body-slammed one chompy into the rest! The wooden chompies all collapsed to the ground and jumped back to their feet; their bodies jolted up and down like janky robots as they turned around and snarled! Terrafin curled up his leafy arms like fists as he yowled and screeched at the wooden chompies. The wooden chompies returned his cries with garbled nonsense as they charged for him instead!

Just as they stepped forward, a geyser of lava burst from the floor and tossed the wooden chompies everywhere! Behind them, Eruptor chuckled as he jumped up and down, but screamed and ran away as one flaming wooden chompy nearly crashed into him from the skies. The chompy hopped up and ran in circles as the flames burned away, but a massive torrent came from the skies and drenched it down!

The wooden chompy groaned and fell on its back, and Whirlwind just floated down in front of Eruptor. The two of them grunted, squeaked, and bounced up and down as another round of screams came from the rest of the chompies, all of whom still flamed! Whirlwind gasped and clapped her leafy hands. Rain clouds burst to life all across the fields, and they rained down on the flaming wooden chompies. As the wooden chompies collapsed, purple ghosts rose from the ground and glared them down!

Cynder whispered something to the ghosts, but Chihiro just ignored them. She instead grinned and clutched her sword, her eyes fixed on the oblivious Chompy Mage. She rubbed her hand against the sword, transformed it into a laser cannon, dove underneath the fray and dashed right towards him!

Seraphina blinked as Chihiro rushed past her, giggled and skipped into the heart of the fray. "That looks fun!" Seraphina chirped as she disappeared between the chompies. "I'm coming too!"

"No you aren't!" Ermit cried as he yanked Seraphina from the ground and rolled underneath a particularly large pile of fallen leaves. Ermit whimpered as he piled the leaves over the two of them, though his fierce trembling made his position obvious nonetheless. "We are staying right here where it's safe!"

Tree Rex snarled and lifted his hand, his solar cannon charged with a bright, flashing light! He cocked it once, swung his arm around, and sent a massive solar blast cutting through the chompy pods. A nasty squelch came from the halved pods as they exploded in a rain of slimy green gloop that splattered everywhere, but while everyone around him fled, Tree Rex just lowered his arm and snarled.

"Geez!" Eye cried as he popped off Brawl's head just before the slime could hit him. "All this slime is awful for my eye!" Eye's wings flitted a bit more as he zeroed in on a chompy pod that shuddered and pumped up and down. "But, eye know what's even worse!"

With one last pulse, the chompy pod burst open and gigantic chompy eggs leaped from the air! They cracked and shuddered as they prepared to open, but before they could hatch, a massive silver laser shrieked forward and completely halved them. Their gooey shells and the masses of green chompy blood splattered everywhere, from the walls, to the floor and the ceiling, and it left a grassy scent around the area. Not that anyone noticed, given that they were more busy getting splatted!

Eye turned around and gasped as he caught sight of Brawl. Brawl rushed away as several large chompies tailed after him—and right towards a pool of bright green blood!

"Brawl, watch out!" Eye cried, but it was too late.

Just as Brawl turned around, his foot hit the pool and he went skating! The chompies tried to chase after him, but they, too, lost their footing and went sliding away! Brawl went away to the left from the current. One by one, the chompies slammed into the walls, screamed as a large tree branch fell on them and knocked them out cold. Brawl chuckled as he skidded backwards, but the sound of growling and smashing turned him backwards, and right as he crashed into a gigantic chompy that Thumpback brawled with! The chompy slammed right into Thumpback and knocked them both into a wall, but Brawl only planted on the floor and moaned.

"Brawl, are you alright?" Eye asked as he hovered down beside Brawl.

Brawl just groaned, stumbled up and waved a hand to Eye. He shuffled his headless body as if he was nodding.

Eye chuckled. "If that's the case," Eye said as he popped back down on Brawl's head, his eye fixed on the trails of chompy blood around them and the chompies that lingered beside, "eye say we do a little skating!"

Brawl hesitantly tapped the trails, leaped forward and skated around as if they were an ice rink! As they swung from corner to corner, Eye himself spun around and shot silver-hot lasers at the chompies around. The faint scent of smoke wafted in the air as the chompies collapsed in droves! A wave of green blood crashed over one particularly large chompy just before it could bite Swarm, and Brawl leaped forward and punched it down as it turned around!

The world around shuddered as the chompy crashed into the wall with a loud thud and knocked the leaves right off. The Chompy Mage snarled as it slouched down and collapsed! His grip on his staff held tight as he examined the chompy, but he quickly jumped out the way of a bright blue laser.

"Hey! We're still in the middle of a battle, you know!" Chihiro cried as she cocked the laser cannon on her arm!

The Chompy Mage blinked, but squealed as his puppet grabbed onto his beard and practically yanked it off his face! The Chompy Mage shrieked as he fruitlessly tried to yank his puppet away, but no matter how much he grappled and pulled, the puppet refused to leave.

"Hey, hey, what's gotten into you, chompy puppet?" the Chompy Mage demanded as he finally pulled his puppet off his beard!

"That!" the chompy puppet squealed as it pointed right towards Chihiro—or rather, the shining blue laser that she prepared to fire!

The Chompy Mage squealed and ducked right before the laser could blast him right in the face, but screamed and leaped up as another laser singed his feet! While he squealed and hopped from hot foot to hot foot as he blew them off, the cackles of Chihiro from beside him sent him snarling. He turned around and pulled out his staff, ready to cast a spell. Just before he could, another massive laser courtesy of Eye-Brawl grazed over him and singed the ground below! The Chompy Mage hit the floor once more, rolled aside, and dove underneath the shade of a mossy rock as the laser storm continued. He clenched his staff's stick tight, but skittered away as a massive shadow cast over him.

The mossy rock that was once his shield got kicked aside as a massive chompy pushed Thumpback against a wall, but Thumpback snarled and gripped it by the shoulders! While the chompy blinked, Thumpback swung it around and tossed it into the wall in front of him. The chompy screamed as it crashed through the wall and broke a gigantic hole in it, and the wall ahead of that, and the next one after that… Soon enough, all that could be heard of it were its faint cries and the sound of splintering wood.

More chompies poked their heads out and chattered from the gigantic hole, their beady eyes shiny and round with curiosity.

"Ah, yes, perfect!" the Chompy Mage cried as he turned around and waved his staff. "Chompies, come and help your leader!"

"Not a chance!" Swarm cried as he zipped forward and cocked his barbs. "Time to get buzzin'!"

Swarm unleashed his clenched hands. From them, a massive swarm of bees came forward and chased after the chompies, whose eyestalks practically leaped out of their bodies! The chompies screamed and ran off. The bees tailed them through the holes as they disappeared in the distance, and Swarm only smirked as he placed his hands on his hips.

Below him, the Chompy Mage was far from pleased! His brows clenched so tight that they nearly blocked out his eyes as a nasty, twitchy snarl crossed his face, and his grip on his staff was so tight it almost split in half! His chompy puppet growled and clenched its teeth in tandem; it leaped forward and nearly bit into Swarm's leg! Swarm jumped out of the way just in time, but that didn't exactly quell the puppet's rage.

"You stupid fleshies!" it cried as it hopped up and down the best it could. "You might think you're so high and mighty now…"

"But once I turn you into chompies and have you under my wing, you'll be singing a different tune!" Chompy Mage cried! His staff sparked with bright green magic, and he flung it right towards Swarm as it glowed bright. "Take this!"

"How about you take this?" Chihiro cried.

The staff's light faded as the Chompy Mage turned around, and Chihiro tackled him right down as she knocked his staff right out of his hands! The Chompy Mage grunted as the leaves that fell on the ground flew up from the pressure; he pushed back against Chihiro, but she pinned him tight to the ground. So, the two of them did the next best thing they could: rolling along the ground through faint streaks of chompy blood, piles of leaves, and the occasional wooden chompy as they tried to push each other off!

Chihiro grunted as they both slammed into a wall's wooden base, and the Chompy Mage growled as he flailed his legs in some futile attempt to kick her off. She just pinned his knee down and prepared to headbutt him! Just as she swung her head, the Chompy Mage wrung away his own and yanked out his free hand!

"Staff, come to me!" Chompy Mage cried.

The staff rattled against the ground and glowed with a green light. It zipped across the ground and right back into Chompy Mage's hand! Its green light migrated to its top as the Chompy Mage turned it on Chihiro, and she only screamed as she leaped away! Now free at last, the Chompy Mage jumped back to his feet and spun his staff around as he sent a fleet of green blasts straight towards Chihiro. Chihiro flung out her hands and tossed her own cyan blasts right back at him! The blasts collided at once, and dropped down to the ground as sparkling cyan chompies made of pure magic. The chompies blinked for a moment, but completely vanished in puffs of cyan smoke!

"Hey, hey, let me do the fighting!" the chompy puppet cried as it bounced up.

"Why should I let you? I'm doing just fine on my own!" the Chompy Mage cried as he shot the puppet a glare. The Chompy Mage waved his staff towards Chihiro, but screamed as a laser shot right into his belly and knocked him down.

"That's why!" The chompy puppet scoffed, cleared its throat and turned a deadly gaze on Chihiro. "Now, feel the chompy power!"

The chompy puppet shuddered for a moment, sprung forward and hacked out massive, glowing acorns! The acorns' shells bubbled and shuddered as they screeched across the battlefield. They turned red-hot as they shattered, and sent burning blasts of magic hurtling towards Chihiro! Chihiro slipped away just as the first one crashed behind her and sent flaming chunks of acorn meat flying, but leaped right as the second one flew underneath her. The third one came in fast, yet she just vanished away in a puff of magic!

The Chompy Mage and puppet both gasped, and the Chompy Mage whipped his head towards the puppet.

"Where'd she go?" the Chompy Mage demanded.

"I don't know!" the puppet cried back as it flung its arms in the air!

"You told me you'd take care of it! You stupid puppet, I knew I should've never let you do it!"

"Like you were doing any better! She was going to wipe the floor with you!"

"Well, I'll—"

The Chompy Mage grunted as a flash of blue light shone on his face, and turned around right as Chihiro slugged him in the face! His face turned red and swollen as he stumbled backwards, and a bright cyan magic sphere punched him in the gut as it knocked him on his back! His staff rolled out of his hands and onto the forest canopy as he groaned and writhed.

Now was Chihiro's chance! She grinned as she teleported over, and went to yank the staff off the ground—but something bit into her arm just before she could! Chihiro yowled and reeled back as she rubbed her aching arm. Beside her, the chompy puppet chuckled as the Chompy Mage staggered back up.

"You really thought I'd fall for that, didn't you?" Chompy Mage cried as he lifted his staff off the ground and turned it on Chihiro. "Ha! Well now I'm the one who fooled you!" The Chompy Mage's staff turned a bright green. "Enjoy chompyhood!"

The staff shrieked and whirred as it prepared to fire. Before it did, something black and white slammed right into it and sent it twirling across the area! While the Chompy Mage screamed and chased after his runaway staff, that black and white blur spun across and landed straight in Chihiro's arms, then uncurled itself and revealed that it was none other than Terrafin!

"Thanks Fin!" Chihiro chirped as she rubbed his head. "You really saved me back there!"

Terrafin chirped back, leaped on Chihiro's shoulder, and snarled as they both glared at the Chompy Mage. The Chompy Mage claimed his staff back, gasped and stumbled backwards—for he finally realized he was outnumbered! All around him, his giant chompies were knocked out and beaten down by Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex, and Eye-Brawl. The wooden chompies he summoned earlier were locked in a wooden cage by Whirlwind, Cynder and Eruptor! Now, it was just him against all of them, and he was plenty outmatched.

The Chompy Mage snarled as Whirlwind, Cynder, and Eruptor shared a few satisfied clicks, and squeezed the stick of his staff.

"It looks like I'll need to discipline you naughty chompies a little!" Chompy Mage cried! He spun his staff above him head, and hit the ground with its base while it rattled with a sparkly green glow. "CHOMPY POWER!"

A trio of green shockwaves pulsed out from underneath the shaking staff's base, and as they spread across the area, the wooden chompies, Eruptor, Cynder, and Whirlwind all stood straight and silent! Their beady eyes glowed a bright green, the only sign of energy in their otherwise-silent bodies, and the chompies the Elder Elementals knocked out stood up and joined them! All was eerily peaceful as the wooden chompies walked up to the edge of their case, their footsteps mechanical like robots…

And all at once, the wooden chompies bit the cages' bars in half and raced off in a rabid storm, their sights set on the Elder Elementals! Dust and leaves kicked up behind them with fury as the wooden chompies all latched onto their legs and gnawed away. Swarm, Thumpback, Eye-Brawl, and Tree Rex themselves screamed and bounced from foot to foot as they tried to shake off the chompies! That wasn't the end of it, either. While their eyes were on their feet, they hadn't stopped to check their backs, and that gave the bigger chompies the opportunity to attack! Tree Rex cried out as one of the larger chompies bit right into his shoulder, and beside him, the others struggled to break free of their wooden chompy assailants and avoid the larger chompies at the same time!

"What, what's going on?" Chihiro cried as a low growl sounded off beside her.

She turned back around, screamed and jumped back as Terrafin tried to bite her face off! Terrafin landed face-first on the ground with a plop, but that didn't deter him. He jumped back up and lunged for Chihiro once more! She gasped and jumped back once more. With a hasty snap of her fingers, a burst of magic shot from her hands and trapped him in a solid bubble! Terrafin snarled as he bit, chewed, and headbutted away, but no matter what he did, the bubble just wouldn't burst. As he struggled, Chihiro lifted him in her arms and winced while the Chompy Mage laughed before her.

"All these little chompies are under my complete control now!" the Chompy Mage cried.

"That's right!" the puppet chimed in as it pointed a hand towards Chihiro. "You're all toast!"

Chihiro winced as Terrafin slammed the bubble into her face. As she reeled back and held her face, she glanced over across the battlefield.

The Elder Elementals were completely outnumbered. Their legs were bound tight by the smaller chompies that gnawed away at them, and the bigger chompies beat them down. Among those swarming, tiny chompies were none other than Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind! So mindless and vacant, they just gnashed and gnawed away.

"Whirlwind! Eruptor! Cynder!" Chihiro cried, her voice strained with desperation as she stepped forward. "Get a hold of yourselves! This creep's controlling you, but I know you can fight it!"

"It's no good, kid!" Ermit cried from his sanctuary underneath a pile of fallen leaves! He grimaced, ducked back down as a chompy flew over his head, and poked back up as he glanced at Chihiro. "They're not gonna hear you! That guy's got complete control over them!"

Chihiro stepped back and winced. Eruptor, Cynder, and Whirlwind still gnawed away as if Chihiro's words were nothing more than a faint song on the wind, the Elder Elementals were kept captive, and this Chompy Mage had an entire army of chompies ready to fight her if she made one wrong move! What was she supposed to do? Chihiro clenched her fist and teeth as her eyes drifted across the battlefield… And then she gasped, but quickly silenced herself!

There, out underneath the sanctuary of Ermit's leaf pile, was Seraphina! She crawled across the floor, and with the way she went, was headed straight for the Chompy Mage! Seraphine turned back to Chihiro and winked before she continued her crawl. Chihiro's confidence soared once more, for now, she knew just what to do!

"You really think you've won, don't you?" Chihiro asked as she glared down the Chompy Mage with her chest puffed out and her hands clasped tight.

The Chompy Mage frowned and tilted his head. "Well, of course I have!" the Chompy Mage replied as he waved his staff around. "All your little friends are defeated, and soon they'll all be under my control!"

"That's what you think!" Chihiro pointed a finger towards the Chompy Mage and smirked. "But we haven't lost yet! You may have stopped the others, but I'm still standing!" Chihiro's eyes narrowed, and her hand glowed as if she was preparing to attack. "And as long as I'm alive, I won't let you win! I'll make sure to save everyone and stop you, no matter what! You're not turning anybody else into stinkin' chompies on my watch!"

"I don't like this kid!" the chompy puppet proclaimed. "Chompy Mage, do something about her!"

"Gladly!" the Chompy Mage cried! He waved his staff in the air, and pointed it right towards Chihiro. "Chompies, attack!"

Right as the Chompy Mage said this, several of the wooden chompies that previously fed on the Elder Elementals plopped off and fell on their backs! Their eyes' glow faded for a few moments, and they leaped to their feet as they lunged after Chihiro. Chihiro's glowing hand lost its light, and she screamed and jumped up as a chompy bit right into her foot! She shook it off just as she landed back on the ground, but the other chompies still prepped to get a bite. She screamed and danced across the floor as the chompies all bit at her heels, a frantic dance from place to place as she bounced inches out of their grip!

While Chihiro struggled to free herself from the Chompies, the Chompy Mage just chuckled and held out his staff.

"Not so braggarty now, are you?" the Chompy Mage asked as his staff started to glow. "Now, hold still!" The Chompy Mage smirked as the staff glowed bright. "You'll be joining them here in a second!"

A soft giggle sounded from behind the Chompy Mage, and he grunted as something leaped right onto his back.

"Hello, friend!" Seraphina giggled as she crawled up and sat on his shoulders.

The Chompy Mage gasped and whipped around, but every time he did, Seraphina slipped just out of his view! He looked right and she turned left, she turned right as he looked left, and as he lifted up his head, she just slid back down! The whole time, Seraphina just giggled as if she played a game.

"Who are you? What's going on?" the Chompy Mage demanded.

Seraphina flipped back onto his shoulders and patted his head. "I'm playing with you, of course!" Seraphina responded. Her eyes fell on the staff, and she giggled as she wiggled her wooden fingers. "Why don't we play catch next?"

The Chompy Mage grunted and turned aside, and he finally caught a glimpse of Seraphina—right as she yanked his staff right out of his hands!

"Catch, friend!" Seraphina cried as she tossed the staff right towards Chihiro!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Chompy Mage cried as he grappled for his staff.

But it was too late, for Chihiro already snatched it out of the air!

"Thanks, Seraphina! I'll take it from here!" Chihiro cried as she waved the staff around. "Now, turn everyone here back to normal!"

The staff glowed bright once more, but instead of green, it shone in Chihiro's trademark cyan! Its glow sparked and pulsed around it. From the staff came a massive shockwave, one big enough that it shuddered the leaves and dried the blood on the ground. More importantly, everyone who was turned into a chompy turned back to normal! The wooden chompies returned to their true wilikin forms and slid down the Elder Elementals' chewed-up, battered legs, and beside them, Eruptor, Whirlwind and Cynder sat down and hacked up leaves!

The Chompy Mage's eyes flickered, and he fell to his knees as his jaw dropped wide open. He sniffled and flung himself up towards the ceiling!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT MY BEAUTIFUL CHOMPIES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEMMMMMMMMMMM?"

Chihiro chuckled, rolled her eyes, and shook the staff around a little. Out from its mouth came a sparkling, purple crystal wheel with runes carved on it! The wheel fell right into Chihiro's palm, but its light didn't dim any as it sat there. In fact, it seemed to glow even brighter next to her, as if it responded to her presence!

"This's probably what he used to make his staff so powerful," Chihiro remarked as she examined the wheel, and stuffed it in her pocket. "Better make sure it doesn't cause any more trouble."

With the wheel taken care of, Chihiro snapped the staff in half over her knees, tossed its broken halves aside, and raced up to Eruptor, Cynder and Whirlwind.

"Are you alright?" Chihiro asked.

"Somehow," Whirlwind panted as she flicked her wings. "Man, am I glad I'm not a chompy anymore!"

"Agreed!"

"I still feel kinda funny…"

"I never wanna do that again," Terrafin groaned as he trudged up behind them.

Chihiro just chuckled and rolled her eyes, but an angered growl from the Chompy Mage turned her and everyone else's attention back to him! His brows clenched tight, and his battered hands clenched into fists while a deep frown crossed his face. Finally, he let out another roar!

"You may have destroyed my staff, but you haven't defeated me!" the Chompy Mage vowed as he stood tall. "I have plenty of other tricks up my sleeves too!"

The Chompy Mage inhaled, and as he did, a massive wind kicked up around the area! Everyone dug their heels in as the winds swirled around the Chompy Mage and lifted him off the ground. The Chompy Mage just cackled and glowed a bright green! The winds grew even more powerful as they completely enveloped him and formed into a tornado, one so strong that it blocked out all noise but its own howls—and one single cry.

"CHOMPY POWER!" cried a deep, bellowing voice from within the tornado!

The winds all slashed away and knocked everyone on their backs. In that moment, the Chompy Mage dropped back down, but not as himself—no, he came back as a gigantic green chompy instead! He landed on the ground and sent everyone around jumping up. As they crashed down, he broke into bellowing laughter that blew massive winds throughout the forest!

Everyone screamed as they dug their hands and feet in the ground in some faint attempt to keep their footing, but the winds were so powerful that they got knocked right into the skies! They all screamed as they tumbled like leaves, but Swarm, Thumpback, Tree Rex and Brawl leaped in the air and snatched them out of the skies before they slammed into anything. The four of them slammed into the walls. Leaves shook down from the canopy and cascaded onto them all as the winds died. They all lifted their heads, but much to everyone's disdain, the Chompy Mage was far from done! He just cackled still and leaned down as his eyes glowed red!

"Say goodbye, pests!" the Chompy Mage bellowed! He puckered his lips, and spat out waves of bright red, glowing spheres!

"Wait, those spheres!" Chihiro cried as she climbed over Tree Rex's arms. "They can't be!"

Chihiro winced as the faint recollection of the cavern's spheres and the pain they caused came to her, and she only gulped.

"Oh boy."

Everyone gasped as the spheres came crashing down, and some eyes squeezed shut as they prepared for the end. But then, the world around them rippled and shifted, and the spheres changed to a pleasant blue! Sighs of relief and pleased breaths came over everyone as the spheres seeped into their bodies and healed their wounds. All around them, the forest disappeared! Its wooden posts and stands turned to cardboard, and the leaves that practically coated the entire area became mere paper that fluttered away in the breeze!

The Chompy Mage hastily blinked, jumped back and gasped. "What?" the Chompy Mage cried. "How did you do that?"

"With this, friend!" Seraphina chirped as she crawled out of Swarm's grip, and waved the pocket-sized switch in the air!

Chihiro grinned as Seraphina held the switch up. Chihiro jumped to full height and pointed towards the world behind them.

"Ermit!" Chihiro cried as her eyes fell on where he laid in Thumpback's arms. "Take the wilikin to safety! We'll handle this guy!"

"Gladly!" Ermit cried as he slid off of Thumpback's chest and waved towards the others. "Everyone, follow me!"

Chatter and creaking keys sounded in the fresh, cool air as the wilikin all fled—all save for one. Just before she left, Seraphina tossed the pocket switch to Chihiro, grinned and followed after a few wilikin children as the crowds disappeared back into the town below. Before they could make their grand escape, the Chompy Mage leaped in front of them! They all screamed and stumbled backwards, some even tripping over each other as the Chompy Mage loomed over them.

"Oh no you don't!" the Chompy Mage hissed as he stomped up and down. "I'm not letting you get away after everything you did to me!"

The Chompy Mage snarled and went to inhale—but before he could, Tree Rex bounded forward and punched him in the gut! The wind got knocked right out of him as he crashed into the cliffs and sat back up, but Tree Rex just cracked his knuckles.

"Get out of here!" Tree Rex cried as he glanced aside to the crowds behind him. "Before he recovers!"

The wilikin and Ermit all hastily nodded and rushed off to the sides, but while they escaped, the Chompy Mage stood back up and snarled.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" Chompy Mage asked as he loomed over Tree Rex. His body stretched so that he was a tower compared even to the massive height of Tree Rex himself. "After all, I'm much more powerful than you!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!"

Tree Rex snarled, stormed forward and socked the Chompy Mage right in the gut! Of course, the Chompy Mage's skin was so rubbery that his fists just bounced off, but Tree Rex just punched and punched away in some futile attempt to stop the Chompy Mage.

"All I know is that I have to protect these beings!" Tree Rex snarled as he continued to punch away. "I already failed this island's residents once, and I'm not going to let it happen again! I promised that I'd protect them" — Tree Rex drew his arm back and wound it up, and punched the Chompy Mage right in the center of his stomach — "AND I INTEND TO KEEP THAT PROMISE!"

The Chompy Mage grunted as he slammed back into the cliffs, hacked and popped back off! A smirk crossed his face still, yet he swayed from side to side while his rubbery body jiggled along with him, Tree Rex landed a hit!

"Hey, that tickles!" Chompy Mage giggled! He jumped back to full height, and drool dripped out of his mouth as he unhinged his jaws. "Was that supposed to hurt me?"

"THIS WILL!" Swarm cried.

The Chompy Mage turned away from Tree Rex, and screamed as a massive barb flew forward and jabbed him right in his stomach! The Chompy Mage wailed as he bent down, yanked the barb out with his mouth and spat it away, but the effects were quick to remain. His belly became red, swollen, and more importantly, solid!

"Tree Rex is right!" Swarm said as he flew up to Tree Rex's side. "It doesn't matter how big or strong you are! We're gonna take you down!"

Swarm punched the Chompy Mage right in the gut, and this time, he wailed in pain—the hit landed! That wasn't the only hit coming, either. Thumpback's anchor flew out from the depths and slammed the Chompy Mage right in the gut, while a laser made the Chompy Mage's belly red-hot! The Chompy Mage wailed and flailed his stubby, leafy arms as Thumpback and Eye-Brawl ran up to face him, but soon he slunk down and panted.

"After all, we're the Elder Elementals!" Thumpback cried as he yanked his anchor back!

"As long as we exist…" Eye started.

"We'll make sure to protect Skylands from evil!" Brawl signed before he pointed to Chompy Mage.

"And that includes you!" Tree Rex finished as he punched the Chompy Mage once more!

The Chompy Mage cried out and hacked as the blow slammed him right in the gut. His eyes fell to the cliffs, where the last of the wilikin disappeared just over the horizon! He snarled as they disappeared from view, and broke into an ear-shattering wail as he leaped up and stomped up and down! The ground cracked underneath his feet as he stomped. Things smooth and green cropped up from the cracks, and with one last stomp, their true identity unveiled— they were giant chompy eggs!

The chompies all hatched in mid-air, and as their eggs remains crashed on the ground and dissolved into the cracks, the chompies themselves leaped forward and attacked! The Elder Elementals all grunted and swerved away just before they struck, but got blown away by a massive gust from the Chompy Mage! As the Elder Elementals grunted and skidded across the ground, the chompies loomed over them and chirped. Then, the chompies' eyes practically popped out of their stalks as a strong wind kicked up!

The chompies all screamed as the wind blew them off their feet, but not just them. The Elder Elementals, the Skylanders and Chihiro all got swept away as well! They all screamed as the winds pulled them closer and closer to the cliffs, and right towards the Chompy Mage's open jaws!

Chihiro turned back and screamed as her eyes fell on the Chompy Mage's pearly whites and massive jaw. She yanked the switch out of her pocket and frantically jammed on its buttons.

"Come on, come on, do something!" Chihiro cried. "Anything!"

With one last jam, reality shuddered once more! The world around didn't seem to change much, save for the fact that the chompies the Chompy Mage summoned changed from regular chompies to enfuego chompies! The newly transformed chompies blinked as they glanced down at their new forms, but they didn't get much time to contemplate. The Chompy Mage sucked them right in! Right as he did, the Chompy Mage's jaw yanked back shut while his eyes watered. His gut rumbled as a string of faint, muffled explosions sounded off; he yanked open his jaw and screamed as a pillar of burning fire shot out!

"HOT! HOT HOT HOT!" the Chompy Mage wailed as he ran in circles, his eyes watery while the flames burned bright. "I'M ON FIRE!"

More importantly, he shrank as well! With every run, with every burst of fire, he grew shorter and shorter! Finally, as the flames stopped and he got a chance to breath, he was no bigger than the Elder Elementals themselves. The Elder Elementals certainly seemed to notice this, for they all surrounded him!

"Well, lookie here!" Eye remarked as Brawl cracked his knuckles. "It seems like now, you're just. Our. Size."

Tree Rex, Thumpback, and Swarm all chuckled in agreement as they glared down the Chompy Mage. The Chompy Mage, for his part, only chuckled as sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Er, well, um," the Chompy Mage sputtered, before he turned to the sun and screamed. "Oh, would you look at the time! I really must get going now!"

The Chompy Mage panted as he bolted straight off, but Swarm just flew in front of him and smacked him right in the stomach! The Chompy Mage screamed as he flew backwards, and right into the grip of Thumpback, who smirked as he readied his anchor! Thumpback swung his anchor out and wrapped it around the Chompy Mage, spun around and took the screaming Chompy Mage with him.

"Eye-Brawl, catch!" Thumpback shouted as he tossed the Chompy Mage towards Eye-Brawl.

Eye- Brawl chuckled, latched onto the Chompy Mage and spun him around once more! The Chompy Mage screamed as his eyes spun in circles within his eyestalks, but Eye-Brawl only chuckled as he turned towards Tree Rex. He shot the Chompy Mage right towards Tree Rex!

"Tree Rex, finish him off!" Eye cried.

Tears ran from the screaming Chompy Mage's eyes as he hurtled towards Tree Rex, but Tree Rex only held out his hand and charged his hand cannon with solar energy.

"GLADLY!" Tree Rex cried.

Tree Rex cocked his cannon right before the Chompy Mage could tackle him down, and a bright burst of solar energy slammed straight into the Chompy Mage! The Chompy Mage screamed as he went soaring, crashed and bounced across the vast, open fields. Finally, he came to a stop! His body turned battered and bruised as he groaned. Bright green magic sparkled around him as he shrank, and he morphed back into his original form. The Chompy Mage whimpered as he sat up and rubbed his head, but gasped as the sound of footsteps echoed.

"We'll take it from here!" Chihiro cried as she and the Skylanders dashed right for the Chompy Mage.

The Chompy Mage screamed, and his puppet just jumped out and shot acorns right towards Chihiro. Before the acorns could hit, Cynder swerved right in front of the herd and zapped the acorns with black lightning! The acorns exploded right on the spot, and the Chompy Mage went flying in the air!

"Alright, how about this, then?" the Chompy Mage cried.

With a wave of his hands, a ring of red spheres circled around him and zipped right for Cynder, but Whirlwind zipped right in front of them. Whirlwind blasted them back with a mighty gust of wind from her wings! The spheres shot right back to the Chompy Mage, and he only gulped as they came in.

"Oh no."

The spheres all slammed into the Chompy Mage, and he screamed and jittered as their red lightning coursed right through his body! As the lightning faded away, a puff of smoke emerged from his body and he crashed back down to the ground. Dust kicked up around him as he swayed around, but finally he groaned and collapsed.

"Alright guys, he's down for the count!" Chihiro remarked as she cracked her knuckles. Her eyes trailed between Eruptor and Terrafin, and all three of them smirked. "Let's finish this!"

"Agreed!" Eruptor and Terrafin replied in tandem.

Chihiro whipped out her hands as she crafted a sphere of light, and Eruptor tossed a lava blob inside it! The blob turned into a solid blue ball of lava rock and magma that glowed and pulsed. With a punch from Terrafin, the ball flew straight for the Chompy Mage! A bright blue burst of light came from the crater where the Chompy Mage laid.

All three of them grinned towards each other as the Chompy Mage went flying, but Tree Rex was less than pleased as he snatched the screaming Chompy Mage out of the air and held him up to eye-level! The Chompy Mage gulped and scrambled back as Tree Rex glared him down, but Tree Rex's grip on him was so tight that he couldn't escape.

"What, what's with the angry look?" the Chompy Mage asked as he started to sweat. "I, I don't see why you need to be angry! I, I was only" — the Chompy Mage grunted as his puppet knocked him on the head — "owch!"

"Why am I angry?" Tree Rex mused, and a small chuckle came from him before his snarl returned. "Now, let's see. You attacked a village full of beings who couldn't fight back, kidnapped its residents, and transformed them all for your own personal amusement!" Tree Rex jolted his head and scowled as the Chompy Mage shook in his grasp. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

The Chompy Mage's hands trembled, and his eyes peered in every direction as he sputtered out gibberish and half-formed words. The sweat crept further and further down his brow as he tried to make some sense of his words, but he smiled as his hand slipped into his cloak's pocket!

"All I have to say is this!" the Chompy Mage cried as he yanked out his hand. "You may have defeated me now, but I'll be back!"

The Chompy Mage held his hand high and revealed a smooth green sphere within it! With a simple squeeze, the sphere exploded in a burst of smoky green spheres that completely shielded him from view! Tree Rex hacked and coughed as he fanned away the spores with his free hand. When he turned back, the Chompy Mage disappeared, and all that was left was a handful of leaves that cascaded down on the ground!

"Chompies forever!" the Chompy Mage cried in the distance, his words carried by the cold autumn breeze.

§

"Well, that guy's taken care of," Chihiro remarked as she made her way back to the town. "I guess."

"Hopefully he won't show up again," Terrafin remarked.

Terrafin crossed his arms as he nodded his head, and a massive stampede caught his attention! Terrafin clenched his fists, perhaps prepared for another round with the Chompy Mage—but instead of him, what came was a crowd of joyful wilikin!

"Three cheers for our new friends!" the wilikin cried as they yanked everyone up and tossed them into the air. "Hit hip!" The others fell down, and the wilikin immediately tossed them back up. "Hooray!"

Tree Rex cried out as the wilikin tossed him up and down in spite of their diminutive sizes and his massive one, but the others just grinned and basked in the joy. After all, they succeeded! The wilikin were saved, the Chompy Mage driven away, and everyone was back to normal. Yep, this was definitely a cause for celebration! Heck, even Tree Rex grinned as he basked in their smiles.

As the wilikin ended their cheers and let everyone fall back to the floor, a couple of the wilikin children giggled and swarmed around Tree Rex's legs.

"Thank you, friends!" they all cheered as they beamed up at Tree Rex. "You saved us all!"

Tree Rex grinned in return, a gentle grin that stretched from horn to horn as he knelt down before the wilikin. "It was nothing," Tree Rex remarked as he gently rubbed a baby wilikin's head. "That's what we do here!"

The wilikin all cheered and climbed over Tree Rex's legs, and Tree Rex just burst into hapless laughter as he nearly toppled over.

"Hey, hey, that tickles!"

Chihiro giggled as the wilikin knocked Tree Rex over and climbed him like a jungle gym. She stretched her arms to the skies.

"Well, nice as this is, I'm afraid we can't stay," Chihiro remarked as she peered towards a wilikin man. "There wouldn't happen to be any ships here or anything, would there?"

"Yes, but," the wilikin man pondered as he frowned and tapped his chin, "why are you in such a hurry, friend?"

Chihiro frowned and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Well, you see, we need to reunite with the rest of our team!"

Tree Rex gasped, sat up and gently laid the wilikin children down on the ground. "That's right, I almost forgot!" Tree Rex remarked, and his grin turned grave as he knelt down to the wilikin's height. "You see, we ended up here because we got tossed overboard when our ship was attacked, and we need to find the rest of our crew!"

"You mean, you were separated from your friends?" the wilikin man asked.

"Yeah!" Chihiro interjected with a nod. "We need to get back to them so we can find Kaos's hideout and stop him!"

All the wilikin around gasped the moment Chihiro brought up Kaos's name! Their normally-blank eyes were wide with shock, and a few of them even dropped the things they held right on the grass. They all blinked for a moment, and one wilikin man stumbled up to Chihiro as he grabbed her hands.

"You know Kaos?" The wilikin gasped, his eyes still fluttering as Chihiro nodded.

"Yeah, he's the super evil dude and" — Chihiro paused, shook her head and gasped as she turned her eyes back on the wilikin — "wait, YOU know Kaos?"

"Kaos is the creator," a wilikin woman said as she shifted through the crowds and walked up to Chihiro. "He made us long, long, time ago! We spent much time playing in his castle before we were sent away."

Chihiro blinked again and shook her head. "Wait, so if you know him, you know where he is, right?" Chihiro clasped the wilikin man's hands tighter, and a sparkle shone in her eyes. "Can you take us?"

The two wilikin peered towards each other, and they drew away from Chihiro with a solemn shake of their heads.

"I am afraid not, friend," the wilikin man said. "The creator's castle has very strong security from Troll Home Security, and nothing we make can stop it!"

"We have tried many times," the wilikin woman added, "but every time we are stopped by security." The woman shook her head. "They are not fun. Many cannons and guns and shields, very powerful."

Chihiro frowned and rubbed her chin with a sigh. "So much for that," she remarked. "Even if we did catch up with everyone, I doubt the Dread-Yacht could handle that. If only we had something that could compete with mass security…"

Chihiro turned back to the rest of her group, and raised a brow as the faint sound of panting and shuffling came from behind them! Ermit grunted as he popped out between Terrafin and Cynder, and raised a hand.

"Wait, we do! I mean, I do!" Ermit cried.

Chihiro gasped, raced up to Ermit and grinned as she knocked her fists together. "Really?"

"Over in the Glacier Gully, I've got an Arkeyan Robot I won in a Skystones game some time ago! It's huge!" Ermit nodded and pointed up to Tree Rex, who just shied away and scratched his head. "It's even big enough to fit these guys here!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Chihiro's eyes sparkled even brighter as she turned back to the wilikin and gestured to Ermit. "Could you guys take us to where he said, then?"

"Indeed, friend!" the wilikin man replied.

The wilikin man whistled, and a large shadow cast over the area as a gigantic wooden ship flew in and docked at the edge of the town! For something of wilikin craft, however, it was far more impressed than what was to be expected for something made by wooden dolls. It was as massive as any other ship with colorful flags strung across its hull and fancy metal detailing. Its body was shiny, and carried a polish that made it look brand-new. With a single snap, a shiny metal gangplank shot out from its side and crashed into the side of the island, beckoning for someone to board it!

The wilikin man hobbled off, dashed up the gangplank, and jumped up to the wheel as he waved. "All aboard, friends!" the wilikin man called.

Chihiro chuckled as she turned back to Ermit, and she teleported right on deck with a snap of her fingers! A grin crossed her face as she leaned against the side of the deck and waved down to the crowds of wilikin that chased after her. She grunted as something crashed down on the deck and nearly knocked her off from the force. Just before she crashed down, Cynder and Whirlwind zipped up to Chihiro and pushed her back upright. She stood tall enough that she caught Swarm as he scratched his head and blushed.

Chihiro chuckled as Terrafin and Eruptor dashed up, and Ermit just groaned as he hiked up the gangplank.

"Alright, when're we shoving off?" Ermit asked as he crossed his arms.

A trio of large shadows coated the deck, and everyone scrambled as Tree Rex, Thumpback and Eye-Brawl leaped on the deck. The three of them knocked everyone on their backs! Eye chuckled as he popped off of Brawl, flew up to Ermit and nudged him back to his feet.

"Now we can," Eye remarked as he pushed Ermit further onto the deck.

The wilikin man piloting the ship pulled a lever, and a whistle sounded off as the ship departed from the island! While the ship's flags blew in the breeze, the wilikin still on the island all cheered; they shouted their thanks and well wishes as they waved towards the ship. Everyone aboard all grinned as they waved at the wilikin with smiles like they left old friends—except for Chihiro, who paused while her eyes went wide!

"Oh, that's right! I'd better let the others know our new rendezvous point!" Chihiro cried. Her hands flared with cyan light, but the light faded a little as she frowned. "If they're even alive still." Chihiro clenched her fist tighter as the light faded away, but the light quickly returned as she shook her head. "No, I'm sure they're alright!"

Chihiro hummed as she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. A butterfly made of solid magic energy emerged as she opened her hands and eyes! The butterfly flew in place as it stared down Chihiro, and with a nod of both heads, it flew off into the distance. Chihiro grinned and waved as the butterfly flew further and further up till it was little more than a barely-visible speck in the sky. As it disappeared among the clouds, her grin faded and her hand fell down.

"Looks like it'll take a little longer to get to Kaos," Chihiro whispered as she clenched her hand into a fist. "Hopefully he's not doing anything too evil right now."

§

Back in the depths of Kaos's base, Kaos himself was very pleased… Oddly enough, despite his less than ideal circumstances. He laid snug in his plotting chambers as some greebles fitted him with elaborate red robes the color of royal blood and detailed with golden thread that shimmered like it was made of the real stuff!

"Ah, this is just what I needed!" Kaos proclaimed as he spun around! His robes fluttered in the faint wind. He grinned and popped his collar as a greeble placed a golden, ruby-encrusted crown on his head. "The elegant reds and golds befit of a king truly make me feel like myself again!" Kaos grinned and clasped his hands as he leaned towards Glumshanks. "Don't you think so, er…" Kaos pursed his lips and raised a brow. "What was your name again?"

"Glumshanks? Your butler and caretaker since you were a boy?" Glumshanks responded as he waved a chisel towards Kaos.

Kaos's eyes flickered and he grinned. "Ah, yes, right!" Kaos leaned backwards and nodded. "Red and gold truly are the finest of colors!"

"But Lord Kaos, your favorite color is black!" Glumshanks pushed himself closer to Kaos and raised his own brows. "For that matter, when did your voice get so deep?"

Kaos drew back, chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Er, uh, I've got a bit of a cold?"

Glumshanks reached forward, brushed his hand against Kaos's forehead, and pulled his hand back. His brows dug further down into his scalp as he glazed over Kaos, and his nose twitched just a bit as he clutched his chisel even tighter.

"Your temperature's fine, Lord Kaos." Glumshanks' brows knitted tighter, and his frown stretched further as he finally raised one of those tight brows. "If you ask me, you've been acting strange ever since you came out of that robot—"

"Oh, nevermind that!" Kaos spat as he flung himself in Glumshanks' face! A stray hand of his knocked the tablet out of Glumshanks' hands, but Kaos gulped as he drew back and cleared his throat. "How are our armies?"

Glumshanks winced and leaned back away from Kaos. His hands opened and shut as his brown eyes fixed on Kaos, and sweat drew down from his brow. Glumshanks opened his mouth for a moment, but then he just sighed as he drew the tablet and chisel back off from the ground.

"Well, we've been spreading our recruitment drives across the Outlands, but not many have come." Glumshanks tapped the chisel against the tablet and hummed. "We've got maybe ten newcomers in so far, and we're thinking of expanding to places outside the Outlands. I still say we should have used aliases instead of plastering our names everywhere."

Kaos nodded as Glumshanks droned on. A smile stuck to Kaos's face while he drummed his fingers against his belly. He seemed oddly peaceful for the moment with his patient position; his eyes eagerly drank in everything Glumshanks said, and the smile on his face was almost unfitting of the situation he was in!

But, within the confines of Kaos's mind, where sheep bearing his face leaped across cackling picket fences, and faint whispers and ideas for evil schemes danced on the winds like birdsong, Kaos wasn't the one in control at all! Another taller, leaner man grinned as he sat within a satin throne. His hand pressed to his face while his other drummed against the throne's arms. His legs kicked against the throne as he hummed a tune, and that same stupidly giddy grin plastered on his face as he drifted away from Glumshanks!

"My, my, this new body has everything I could want!" the man remarked, a hint of joy in his baritone as his gaze shifted to the walls around. "To think, not only do I have armies and castles at my steed…"

The man waved his hand, and grinned as a sphere of pulsing red magic burst from his palm, bright and radiant as the sun while raw malevolence pulsed from its every beat. Glumshanks shuddered in the sphere's presence, yet the man hardly noticed as he whisked the sphere away with another wave and leaped from the throne.

"… But, I've possessed a free magician as well! I've really hit the jackpot!"

The man hummed and rubbed his chin, but the moment his eyes fell on Kaos's portraits on the wall, that haughty tune of his stopped.

"It could use a little more polish, though, and some hair…" The man crossed his arms and drummed his finger against his forearm. "I suppose I can call up someone to make myself something to obscure this body's awful shiny bald head. Perhaps some nice, long flowing golden locks as bright as the sun!" The man shook his head. "No, that's too obvious. Maybe an even more elaborate golden crown! No, a crown made entirely of the finest gems Skylands has to offer and more!" The man chuckled to himself, and a smirk crossed his face as he patted his shoulder. "Yes, now you're thinking—"

"What are you talking about?"

The man blinked, turned around and frowned as his eyes fell across the way. While another pair of evil sheep baaing in a twisted voice leaped over a singing voice, Kaos snarled and jabbed a finger right at the man.

"My glorious evil body is perfect, mind you!" A snarl cracked across Kaos's face. Kaos trudged up and jabbed it into the man's leg, for he was far too short to reach anything higher. "And more importantly, what the heck do you think you're doing in it? Just who do you think you are, anyways?"

The man's smirk turned to a snarl of his own, and he growled as he slapped Kaos away! That one little slap normally shouldn't have done much, but it was powerful enough that it knocked Kaos on the floor. Kaos gasped and wheezed for air as he stumbled back to his knees. Kaos's palms hit the floor; Kaos himself kept wheezing as he lifted his head, and finally, he caught sight of the man who invaded his mind, the man who loomed over him as thunder and lightning cracked behind!

"Who do I think I am?" the man bellowed. Another crack of thunder crashed down, tinting the room purple, and the man gritted his teeth as he stormed towards Kaos. "Who are you to demand this of me, you insolent worm?"

"Insolent WORM?!" Kaos gasped and leaped back to his feet, brows clenching as flames formed at his fingers. "THAT DOES IT!"

Kaos screamed as he tossed his flames at the man, but the man just scoffed and raised his own glowing palm. A burst of light slashed right through Kaos's flames, slammed right into Kaos's chest and shot him right into a wall! Kaos screamed a hoarse, harsh scream as he fell back down and curled in a shuddering circle, clutching his head and gritting his teeth as his head throbbed and pulsed. A shot of pain ripped through the man himself, and a scream came from behind him as the body collapsed!

"Lord Kaos!" Glumshanks cried as he rushed forward and went to collect Kaos in the outer world.

But, the body simply raised itself up as the man snapped his fingers!

The man strode forward, hands behind his back and his body held upright and tall with a king's grace as he stood over Kaos once more. Kaos only gasped and scrambled backwards into the wall as his hands lit up once more. A flash of pink lightning struck behind him, and the faint light it provided brought to light the man's proper appearance.

The man's hair was white as snow, his skin deathly pale, his eyes blood-red, and he was all decorated with kingly getup like fancy jewel-encrusted crowns, and silk robes made with only the finest of dyes and materials. But, their shiny looks offset from how busted they were! His crown was crooked and dented while most of its jewels were cracked. Parts of his robes were torn, and they unveiled scarred, scratched, and bruised limbs that were frightfully thin. Still, he held himself with a king's confidence, his head high and posture upright as he cleared his throat.

"I am the glorious leader of the Arkeyan Empire, the sun of Skylands, the one who brings with him the enlightenment of the era!" The room rumbled as a burst of thunder crashed behind the man, but he just grinned and stretched his arms to the ceiling. "I AM KING ARKILLES!"

Another crack of thunder fell over the mind, but Kaos just sat and sputtered in utter awe! His eyes fluttered, and only half-spoken nonsense spilled from his lips as Arkilles smirked and turned away.

"Dumbstruck, I see? I tend to have that effect on people." Arkilles chuckled. He strode away from Kaos, and grinned as his eyes fell on the screen that showed him the outer world where his body laid. "Anyways, now that I have a body again, it's high time I finish what I started!" Arkilles gestured towards the screen and clenched his hand into a fist, one held and squeezed tight. "Those awful Elder Elementals won't know what hit them!"

"Sorry buddy, but you're ten thousand years too late for that!" Kaos shouted from the back of the room!

"What was that?"

Arkilles blinked, turned around and dropped his mouth just a little as Kaos dashed in front of him.

"You heard me!" Kaos exclaimed. "It's been ten thousand years since the Arkeyans last ruled! The Elder Elementals are all dead, and all your little Arkeyans have been buried under the ground for millennia now!"

Kaos flailed his arms and legs as he bounced up and down in some kind of heated ramble, but Arkilles just blinked and drew away. A frown crossed his face for moments, yet he quickly pursed his lips and hummed. Arkilles drew his hand across his face and stroke his bony chin.

"Buried, you say?" Arkilles remarked at just barely a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard. "That reminds me of something."

Kaos tilted his head, but not towards Arkilles. No, he pushed right past Arkilles and towards where Glumshanks looked at him, no, them both from the outer world!

"Lord Kaos, are you even listening to me?" Glumshanks asked, a frown on his face as he gently tapped the body's head. "Are you feeling alright? You nearly passed out back there."

"Glumshanks, what perfect timing!" Kaos cried as he rushed up to the screen. "You—"

A burst of magic sniped Kaos from above, and he screamed as he smashed into a wall! The crumbled rubble remains of the wall fell around Kaos as he shook his head. In that moment, bars of stone crashed down from above and locked him in. Kaos screamed and cursed as he pounded against the walls of his newborn cell.

Across from him, Arkilles, the guilty jailer, scoffed and fixed his robes as he turned up to the screen.

"Ah, yes, that's right!" Arkilles proclaimed, a grin on the face. A subtle shift and groan came as the body heaved itself up, and Arkilles adjusted his crown's position as he chuckled. "You know, Glumshanks, I have just the idea for how to bolster our armies!"

"You do?"

"We have a Conquertron in our possession, correct?" Arkilles grinned as Glumshanks slowly nodded. "Well, with that, we can use its databanks to unearth the locations of other Arkeyan armies scattered around Skylands! We'll use those to help bolster our ranks, and once we're stocked, all we have to do is get the Iron Fist of Arkus and revive the Arkeyans resting in its depths! All will be helpless before our robotic might!"

Glumshanks' jaw fell, and his eyes fluttered as Arkilles sat back in his throne. Back in the outer world, the body cackled and leaped on both feet. It turned around and dashed off, a spring in its step as it hummed an old song!

"But, sir, is that even possible—" Glumshanks sputtered as he stumbled back.

The body completely stopped in its tracks, and thunder crashed as it yanked around and shot a glare at Glumshanks. "DO IT!" it bellowed with the voice of a thousand.

Glumshanks gasped. He leaped back as his chisel and tablet slipped from his hands and clattered against the floor. Glumshanks gulped, and fell to his knees as he gathered his tablet and chisel in his arms. "Y-yes sir, right away, sir!"

"While you're at it, expand our recruitment drives across as many corners of Skylands as possible!" The body held a hand behind its back and nonchalantly waved the other. "Until we can get to Arkus, we'll need as much help as we can get!"

Glumshanks hastily nodded as he pulled his tablet and chisel from the ground and carved away. "Yes sir!"

"Also! Redecorate around here a little, it's too dreary! I want a nice throne, and assistants who will agree with me no matter what, and the finest of feasts for dinner tonight…"

Stone pebbles flew off from the chisel as Glumshanks hastily carved away, all sweating and chattering teeth as he wrote. A chill raced down his spine, and he gasped as the body flew in his face!

"And I want it all done" — the body bellowed as thunder and lightning crashed once more — "NOW!"

Glumshanks let out a sharp gasp. Once again, his chisel and tablet nearly slipped from his hands! Just before they hit the ground, Glumshanks snatched them back up and dashed right off.

"Y-yes, yes, right away sir! I'll get to it immediately, sir!"

While Glumshanks became little more than a speck in the distance, the body just chuckled and tapped its fingers together.

"At last, my empire will return to me," Arkilles whispered from the body's throat as he turned around, his already quite deep voice even deeper as that wicked grin cracked across his face.

The body leaned back, and let out a massive, howling laugh that shook the world around as the world drew to a standstill!