Cynder Confronts the Weather Wizard

by Onk Beakman

  And then—BLINK—the rose changed color. The rose wasn’t red anymore—it was blue, the bluest blue in the history of blue things. The kind of blue that the sky and the sea and even Lightning Rod could only dream of. The sort of blue that made you forget other colors even existed . . .

  Until the rose turned yellow—a yellow so bright that the sun looked dull in comparison. The color of buttercups, daffodils, and fresh custard all rolled together. A shade so cheerful that . . . well, you get the idea.

  Let’s just say that this was a very special rose.

  “Please,” the Weather Wizard pleaded, shuffling toward Kaos on his knees. “Not the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose!”

  The Portal Master’s smirk spread even wider. “What, you mean the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose in this pot here? The only Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose in existence? The very same Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose that only flowers once every hundred thousand years?” Kaos clicked his fingers and a huge pair of pruning shears appeared in one of his hands. Chuckling his most evil chuckle, the Portal Master jabbed the shears toward the rose’s now-purple flower.

  “The Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose that I could destroy with a single snip?”

  “Yes,” wailed the Weather Wizard. “The very same. Please, don’t cut it off.”

  Kaos looked up at the trapped Skylanders. “Now do you see why he does what I tell him?”

  “Because of a flower?” Cynder asked, incredulously.

  “It is a very pretty flower,” admitted Zook.

  “And unique,” added Hex.

  “But is it worth all this?” Cynder asked, not believing her ears. “All the Undead souls he’s harvested, all the pain he’s caused the Undead, not to mention the chaos all across Skylands. The storm over the Cloudless Desert. That was you, wasn’t it? And the freak weather conditions at the Snowcone Mountains and Popcorn Volcano?”

  “And don’t forget the hailstorms inside the citadel,” reminded Zook, trying not to think of Hugo in the bathtub.

  “Yes. That was all you, wasn’t it?”

  Hurrikazam’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t worry about all that,” shushed Kaos, waving the pruning shears in the air. “All you need to be concerned with is the fact that you are all doomed like you’ve never been doomed BEFOOOOORE!”

  “But why?” Hex asked. “That is what I do not understand.”

  “Why are you doomed?” The Portal Master snickered. “Because I, KAOS, have you at my mercy, of course!”

  “No,” continued Hex. “I mean, blackmailing the Undead Island Dwellers, making them un-Undead. What is the purpose?”

  “Oh, that.” Kaos grinned. “It’s simple really. I haven’t just been making the Undead un-Undead. I’ve been stealing their Undeadishness and storing it up in a huge tank of Undead energy around the back.”

  “You’re stockpiling it,” said Cynder, realizing what the Portal Master was saying.

  “You’re smarter than you look, dragonfly.” Kaos chuckled. “And when I have enough I will send clouds to every island in Skylands. Unless I am crowned Emperor of AAAAAAAALL . . .”

  “You will shower every island with Undead rain,” gasped Cynder.

  “Transforming every living soul into a member of the Undead.” Hex snarled.

  “Wiping out every other Element,” completed Zook.

  “Oh,” said Kaos, looking a smidge disappointed. “That’s what I was going to say. But basically, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! You are, I believe the phrase goes, DOOOOOOOOOOOMED!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Stormy Weather

  Kaos’s maniacal laugh lasted for a good five minutes. Even the lines of Drow started checking their watches.

  “Um, Master?” piped up Glumshanks, expecting to be clipped around his flapping ears at any moment. “Shouldn’t we stop talking about your evil, dastardly plan and actually carry out your evil, dastardly plan before the Skylanders escape and, you know, stop you?”

  “WHAAAT?” yelled Kaos, so loudly that Glumshanks took a step back. “Can’t an evil genius brag about his work anymore? Oh, very well. WEATHER WIZAAAAAARD, continue with the Undead EXTRACTIOOOOOON.”

  Hurrikazam looked at Kaos, then up at the Skylanders, before letting his gaze fall upon the cringing Undead—even the spiders.

  “No,” he said, quietly, rising to his feet.

  “WHAAAAAAT?” screamed Kaos, using twice as many letter A’s as before. “Have you forgotten what I’ll do if you defy me?”

  “No, I haven’t,” said the Weather Wizard proudly. “But Cynder is right. Yes, the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose may be beautiful; yes, the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose may be the rarest flower in creation; yes, the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose may be my most-prized possession—but these people are worth more than that. You can do what you want, but I won’t help you hurt anyone ever again.”

  “I’ll do it!” Kaos threatened, placing the shear’s blades around the rose’s fragile stalk. “I’ll cut its pretty little head off faster than you can say, ‘No, please, spare the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose . . .’”

  “Which admittedly would take quite a long time,” added Glumshanks.

  “I don’t care,” the Wizard said, jutting his chin out defiantly. “I’ve done enough storm damage in your name. It stops here and now.”

  “Go, Wiz!” cheered Zook from up high.

  SNIP went Kaos’ pruning shears.

  “Sob!” went Hurrikazam as the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose’s head tumbled from its stalk.

  “What’s happening?” said Brock, finally waking up.

  The Weather Wizard crumbled back to his knees.

  In one fluid movement, Kaos leaped forward and grabbed the conveyor belt’s controls. The belt hummed back into operation, and the Undead Island Dwellers began rushing toward the cloud machine.

  Kaos flicked another switch, and the conveyor belt got quicker still. “Running at double speed!” Kaos cried in victory as another ghost got drenched by the un-Undeading waters. “Nothing can stop me now. NOTHIIIIING!”

  “I don’t feel so good,” moaned Brock, as two of the Drow rushed over to haul him back to his feet. The hulking Goliath Drow swayed and then tottered forward, throwing out his arms to break his fall. One of his huge, plate-like hands hit a switch.

  “NOOOO!” screeched Kaos. “Not that one, IDIOT!”

  But the damage was done. The winds that had kept the Skylanders pressed against the ceiling vanished, and they were free. Cynder and Hex swept down majestically—while Zook dropped like a bazooka-wielding stone. Not that plummeting from a great height seemed to faze the Bambazooker. He was firing at the Drow before he had even reached the floor. Upon landing, he bounced straight back up into an attack position.

  “Destroy THEEEEEEM!” bellowed Kaos, pulling levers expertly. Micro-storms whirled into life all around the Skylanders. Lightning shot toward Cynder, tornadoes surrounded Hex, and Zook was bombarded by a particularly persistent blizzard.

  “What is it with these cold snaps?” Zook shivered, still emptying his bazooka into the Drow horde. “Why can’t I be attacked by nice weather for a change?”

  “Oh, a sun worshipper, are you?” cried out Kaos, pressing a button. “Then catch these rays.”

  A beam of brilliant sunlight blazed down on Zook, knocking him off his feet.

  “No . . .” He groaned, his bark instantly cracking in the heat.
“Drying up.”

  Cynder had her own problems. She had dropped down to protect Hurrikazam and was fighting off the dozens of Drow that were trying to surge forward, while Hex dealt with Brock.

  “Can’t you use your powers?” Cynder asked Hurrikazam between bolts of spectral lightning. The Weather Wizard shook his head sadly.

  “I’m afraid not. I’m not even a real wizard. My machines produce the weather, not me. And by the looks of it, Kaos has mastered the controls.”

  “I’ve had plenty of practice,” the Portal Master yelled, sending a hailstorm thundering toward Cynder. “While you were tending to your stupid plants, I was taking the Cloud Citadel for a test drive, fool!”

  “Stupid plants?” Hurrikazam said, eyes flashing with fury. “You can call me whatever you want, but my plants are NOT STUPID!”

  The Weather Wizard twisted his head to the side, and his unfeasibly long mustache whipped out toward the control console. It wrapped around a lever, and with another flick of his head Hurrikazam pulled it toward him.

  BOOM!

  The huge door behind the control console slammed down, trapping the Drow on the other side. Kaos squeaked in shock and then dived for cover as Cynder saw her chance. She spat out a stream of spectral lightning that danced across the controls. Sparks flew everywhere as circuits fused amid the onslaught. All at once, the artificial weather conditions ceased, and the Skylanders were free to turn their attentions to Kaos.

  “BROCK!” Kaos screamed, looking everywhere for his Drow bodyguard. “Protect me. Protect KAOOOOOS!”

  “I don’t think he’s even capable of protecting himself.” Cynder smirked, pointing out the Drow, who was pinned against the wall by seven floating skulls, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets.

  “FOOOL!” shrieked Kaos. “You are officially SACKED!”

  “No,” wheezed the punch-drunk Drow. “Brock resigns.”

  “Heh-heh,” chuckled Zook, covering Kaos with his bazooka. “Looks like we beat you bad, baldie. Better luck next time.”

  Kaos pressed himself against the wall, his eyes darting from Zook’s blaster to Cynder’s grinning jaws.

  “Let’s not be hasty,” he whimpered. “Can’t we make a deal?”

  “I’d say nice try,” Cynder said, rearing up on her back legs, “but it wasn’t. You never stood a chance.”

  She opened her mouth wide, ready to blast Kaos with a no-holds-barred zap of black lightning, when . . .

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  Bones burst from the floor around Cynder, trapping her in an ivory prison.

  “Woah, what gives?” Another ring of ribs erupted around Zook, knocking his bazooka from his hand. The two bone circles grew and tightened, stretching over the Skylanders’ heads so they couldn’t escape.

  Cynder peered helplessly through the gaps. “Hex?” she asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “What are you doing?”

  The sorceress floated between them, never taking her eyes off the cowering Portal Master.

  “Saving Kaos,” she purred. “What else?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Betrayal

  “This is not cool!” exclaimed Zook, trying to break the bone bars that encircled him. “Not cool at all!”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” simpered Kaos, a smile returning to his thin lips. “I think things are definitely looking up!”

  “Is the machine broken beyond repair?” Hex asked, gliding to stand beside Kaos. When Hurrikazam didn’t respond, the sorceress flung out a long, graceful arm. The Wizard shot into the air where he hung, wringing his mustache in fear. “Answer me, fool.”

  “Ooooh.” Kaos giggled. “I usually don’t let other people say ‘fool,’ but you say it so well.”

  With a flick of one of Hex’s black fingernails, Hurrikazam spun towards the control console.

  “N-no,” he gabbled, peering over his snotty, hooked nose. “Cynder fused the weather controls, but the Undead Energy Extractor is still operational.”

  “Hex,” Cynder called out from behind the bones. “Let us out of here. We’re your friends.”

  “No,” Hex snapped, cutting Cynder dead. “You are not my friends. I haven’t had friends since the day I became a member of the Undead. You saw those people on the beach. Even when I saved them, they still feared me. Everyone fears me. I see the way even you look at me when I use my powers. You don’t trust me. None of you do. Not even Master Eon.”

  “That’s not true,” argued Zook. “You gotta believe us. We’re on your side!”

  “Talking of sides . . .” Kaos sidled up to the Undead sorceress. “Am I to understand that you have switched allegiances and decided to throw in your lot with Kaos, future Emperor of Skylands?”

  Hex spun to face the Portal Master, eyes burning with white fire. “Do not flatter yourself,” she spat, looking down her nose at the tiny man. “You are the most hideous individual I have ever had the misfortune to meet. You disgust me. Evil runs through your veins like blood. Your wickedness knows no bounds. Destruction follows you like a shadow. You are hate incarnate.”

  “And you say the sweetest things.” Kaos smirked. “Your point is?”

  “You want Undead energy.” Hex ignited a glowing orb in her palm. Kaos’s eyes grew wide as he stared into its unnatural light. “I am the most powerful Undead sorceress in the history of Skylands. I have more energy than you’d know what to do with.”

  Cynder’s dragon-blood ran cold as she realized what her fellow Undead Skylander was saying.

  “Hex! No! You can’t do this.”

  Hex turned and stared Cynder in the eyes.

  “I grow tired of being feared.” She shifted her attention back to Kaos. “I want to be a normal elf again. Use your machine on me. Wash my Undead powers away.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kaos’s Finest Hour

  It was useless. Cynder blasted her bone prison with wave after wave of spectral lightning, but it wouldn’t budge. Zook was the same. He’d tried to dislodge the bones by generating his own rings of blooming bamboo and freaky fungi, but his arboreal assaults shattered as soon as they touched Hex’s Undead defences.

  Cynder had even tried sending a message back to Master Eon for reinforcements, but the Cloud Citadel blocked her call for help.

  Desperately, she summoned an army of exploding ghosts, but they didn’t even scratch her bone prison’s surface. Here, in a part of Skylands already brimming with Undead energy, Hex’s magic was just too strong—and soon all that power would belong to Kaos.

  Hex had just watched as the last of the Undead were processed by the Weather Wizard’s cloud machine. Even the Gargantulas had been shrunk down to the size of helpless money spiders. And now it was her own turn.

  “You don’t have to do this!” Cynder cried out as Hex took her place beneath the metallic cloud. “There must be another way!”

  Hex wouldn’t even look at her former friend now. She simply shook her head. “No,” she whispered, sadly. “There is not.”

  “Are you ready, my dear?” Kaos cooed, batting his eyelids from behind the control panel. Glumshanks stood beside his master, clutching Hurrikazam’s clipboard, the traitorous Weather Wizard having been tied to the chair by his own mustache.

  Hex nodded. “Yes. Do it now, before I change my mind.”

  “Gladly,” Kaos smirked and pulled the big red lever.

  The metallic cloud thundered and the rain started to fall.

  “No!” Cynder cried out, slashing at the bones with her claws, trying to cut her way through to Hex. She wanted to dive in and pull the sorceress free before it was too late. This could not be happening.

  The cloud machine sparked with dark unearthly energies.

  “Look at these readings, Glumshanks,” Kaos cried out, clapping his hands together. “Such power, and it’s all mine, MINE, MIIIIIIIIINE!”
<
br />   But the little troll was beginning to look worried. “You’re right, Lord Kaos. It is a lot of power.”

  “More than I ever dreamed we’d collect. More than even the Mask of Power would have granted me. I will be UNSTOPPABLE!”

  “Do you think it is too much power?” Glumshanks asked.

  “Too much power?” Kaos laughed. “That’s a good one. There’s no such thing as too much power, my foolish fool.”

  Cynder’s ears pricked up as Glumshanks continued to worry aloud. “There is if the machine gets overloaded!”

  “What?” snapped Kaos, stopping his cackling immediately. A warning light started to flash on the console.

  Glumshanks was frantically throwing switches and yanking levers. “The Undead batteries are full.”

  A second light began to flash.

  “The generators are at full capacity.”

  Half a dozen lights began to flash and, obviously feeling left out, a warning siren began to wail.

  “The entire grid is going to blow!” Glumshanks yelled.

  “Turn it off,” commanded Kaos in complete and utter panic. “Turn it off!”

  “You can’t!” realized Cynder, and turned back to the Cloud Machine. “That’s what Hex was planning all along.”

  Zook had also figured out what was happening. “She wasn’t lying when she said she was the most powerful Undead sorceress in Skylands—more powerful than your machine can handle.”

  “She’s going to blow it sky-high!” shouted Hurrikazam, laughing despite his predicament.

  “Never!” Kaos shrieked, lunging across the console for the door control. Behind the Skylanders, the wall slid back into the ceiling to reveal Kaos’s Drow minions—most of them still singed from Cynder’s earlier attacks.

  “What are you waiting for, fools?” Kaos demanded, pointing towards the cloud machine. “Get that witch out of the rain!”