Cynder Confronts the Weather Wizard

by Onk Beakman

  The Drow forces surged forward as one, barging past the bone prisons, before pausing in front of the Undead Energy Extractor. The metallic cloud was glowing white hot and the torrent of rain was a bright luminous green.

  “Lord Kaos, it’s going to explode,” Glumshanks yelled, pulling on his Master’s sleeve. “Get down!”

  Sure enough, with a boom that sounded like the universe itself being torn in two, the cloud machine erupted into brilliant emerald flames.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Final Battle

  If you’ve ever wondered what the universe being torn in two actually sounds like, then imagine the shriek of a metal sheet being ripped down the middle. Add to that the sound of a brick wall being demolished, half a dozen pianos being dropped to the ground from the moon, a million elephants blowing their noses, and every cymbal in the galaxy being crashed at the same time. The resulting cacophony would seem like a mouse’s whisper compared to the noise the Cloud Machine made when it went bang. Even Sonic Boom would have struggled to be heard above it.

  The good news is that the shockwave not only shattered the Skylanders’ bone prisons but also sent the Drow smashing into the walls.

  Cynder had covered her ears seconds before the machine had blown up, while Zook had crammed mushrooms into his lug-holes just in time. They ran over to the broken glass tube where the Cloud Machine had once stood and paused nervously in front of the slumped figure at its feet with its back to them.

  “Hex?” Cynder ventured, reaching out with a claw and then thinking better of it.

  “Can you hear us?” Zook asked.

  The figure in black stirred and turned to face them. Cynder gasped. It was Hex’s face, but her skin wasn’t its usual deathly pale. It was green, her cheeks flushed dark emerald. Her eyes, which were usually white, were now dark, dancing with life.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, her voice softer than it had ever sounded.

  “You’re no longer Undead,” said Zook in awe. “The machine cured you.”

  Hex looked at her green fingers, seeing them that way for the first time in hundreds of years.

  Cynder felt a lump in her throat. “It’s what you’ve always wanted, Hex.”

  Hex raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend with an amused expression. “You are joking, aren’t you?” She closed her eyes and muttered a secret spell. The other Skylanders gazed as the sorceress floated into the air, arms raised. Energy crackled around her hands as her fingers became blue once more. The color crept across her hands, up her arms, and over to her neck before covering her whole face. When she opened her eyes, they were blazing white. “Nothing more than a lingering effect of the Undead Energy Extractor. This is who I am, and this is the way I want to be. I embrace my dark side. I always have.”

  “Woo!” Zook cheered, punching the air. “That’s our Hexy, right there.”

  “And not a moment too soon,” said Cynder, looking over her shoulder. “We’ve got company.”

  Zook turned to see what remained of Kaos’s Drow army creeping towards them, lances at the ready.

  “These guys never give up,” the Bambazooker complained, although he sounded anything but disappointed.

  “We do not stand alone against the forces of Darkness,” Hex announced, summoning a storm of skulls. “Behold. As my power was returned to me, so is theirs.”

  The Lance Master at the front of the legion looked puzzled at Hex’s words, but was soon distracted as a money spider crawled across his nose. He was even more distracted when the money spider transformed into a hungry, hairy Gargantula.

  All around, the un-Undeaded Undead became Undead again and joined the fight with gusto.

  “Heh-heh. Good to have you back!” shouted Zook to Hex while pumping mushroom mortars into the dark Drow hordes.

  “I never went away. Oh, and if you call me Hexy again”—Hex smiled, blasting a Drow Archer with an enchanted troll skull—“I’ll turn you into a toad!”

  It made Cynder smile to hear her friends joking with each other. This was more like it. The Drow didn’t stand a chance.

  Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Weather Wizard desperately trying to get her attention.

  “Skylander,” Hurrikazam cried out, still bound by his own mustache. “It’s Kaos!”

  Cynder glanced around. The Portal Master had gone.

  “Where is that creep?”

  “He’s heading for my botanical gardens, where I grow my plants. Oh, the damage he could do. For a start there’s my Slime-encrusted Geranium. And my Lesser-spotted Pig Orchid. And . . .”

  Cynder didn’t wait to hear the rest of the list. Checking that the other Skylanders could handle the Drow, she sped out of the control chamber.

  “Where is it?” Kaos was screaming when Cynder found him, upending flowerpots beneath an old oak tree. “WHERE?”

  Glumshanks gulped when he noticed Cynder watching them, and tapped his master on the shoulder.

  “Um, Lord Kaos. We have company . . .”

  Kaos span round, his red eyes widening when he saw Cynder.

  “Oh, it’s the little dragonfly. Am I supposed to be scared?”

  “Yes,” admitted Glumshanks glumly, receiving a sharp elbow in the ribs from Kaos.

  “What are you looking for, Kaos?” Cynder asked, taking a step forward. “An escape route? I’m shocked.”

  “Shocked? Ha-ha-ha-HAAAA!” the Portal Master laughed, throwing his arms wide. “You will be. Summon my Fearsome Flock of Flying Flowerpots . . .”

  “Your what?” Cynder sniggered. “And that’s suppose to scare me?”

  “You have to admit, flowerpots aren’t that scary . . . ,” pointed out Glumshanks, scratching his ear absently.

  “Really?” Kaos asked, biting his lip. “Hmmmm. Okay, how about this? Summon my Fearsome Flock of Flying Flowerpots OF DOOOOOOOM!”

  “Better.” Glumshanks nodded.

  All at once, every flowerpot around the gardens rose into the air and flung themselves at Cynder. She leaped back, smashing them in midair with her spectral lightning. The only problem was that for every flowerpot that she destroyed, three more were ready to beat her senseless.

  “Now, Glumshanks,” she heard Kaos say, “let’s find the seed and go.”

  There was nothing Cynder could do. If she stopped firing at the flowerpots, she would be battered.

  And then she noticed something. A large oak tree was starting to transform. Its branches were becoming arms, a face appearing on its trunk. It was Dogwood the Stump Demon! Or at least it would be by the time it had become truly Undead again.

  “Kaos,” she cried out between blasts. “If you’re looking for the Weather Wizard’s special seed, I definitely didn’t see it beneath that old tree.”

  Kaos’s head snapped around.

  “What’s that, Skyblunderer?”

  “I said there’s no point searching beside that old oak tree. It won’t be there.”

  The Portal Master threw back his head and laughed. “Ha! Do you really think I, KAOS, would fall for such a transparent ploy?”

  Well, it was worth a shot, thought Cynder as she dodged a particularly large low-flying flowerpot.

  “If you’re saying the seed isn’t beneath the tree, then it obviously is! You have to get up early to trick Kaos! Come on, Glumshanks.”

  Cynder grinned. Gotcha!

  “Um, Lord Kaos,” mumbled Glumshanks. “You know, I think this might actually be a trick.”

  “Nonsense,” shrieked Kaos, rushing over to the tree. “The seed is here. I can feel it. No one makes a fool of . . .”

  “KAOS!” growled Dogwood, his transformation complete.

  “Whoops!” said Kaos as the Stump Demon grabbed both Portal Master and gangly troll in his strong wooden arms.

  Cynder
smashed the last of the flowerpots and stalked toward the Stump Demon.

  “Have you met my friend, Dogwood?” she asked slyly. “Don’t worry, his bark is worse than his bite.” She paused, considering this. “Or is it the other way around?”

  “Let go of me!” Kaos screamed. “I am Kaos, I am . . .”

  “Well and truly beaten?” asked Zook, running up behind Cynder. “As are your Drow, by the way. Heh-heh!”

  “They took a walk on the dark side,” Hex confirmed, appearing beside them.

  “Do you really think my plans have been foiled, FOOLS?” screamed Kaos.

  “Yes,” said Glumshanks.

  “Not you!” snapped the Portal Master, before turning his attention to the Skylanders again. “Okay, so my plans have been foiled, but there will be other plans. Oh yes. Unstoppable plans. Unstoppable plans that will never be stopped. Unstoppable plans that will . . .”

  “Oh, just summon a Portal and escape back to your lair, already,” Cynder said, rolling her eyes and sighing.

  Kaos’s face fell. “You people have no sense of melodrama!” he moaned, snapping his fingers. There was a flash of light, and Kaos and Glumshanks were gone.

  Chapter Seventeen

  An Unexpected Offer

  “What a terrible day!” cheered Mayor Morbo when the Skylanders returned from the Cloud Citadel, every Undead Island Dweller safely returned—including a very grateful Flunky. “Truly horrendous!”

  “I’d thought he’d be pleased,” said Zook.

  “He is!” laughed Cynder. “Remember?”

  “Heh! I’ll never get the hang of Undead talk,” admitted Zook with a grin.

  Hex swept towards the mayor. “And we have brought others with us. Others who want to apologize.”

  She moved aside to reveal Hurrikazam and a bashful looking Brock. The hulking Drow was the first to shuffle forward.

  “Um, Brock, sorry. Brock just wanted to make Master happy. Oh, and the pies. Brock an idiot!”

  “No, Brock,” Hurrikazam said softly, stepping towards the Night Mayor. “I’m the biggest idiot of them all. I am truly sorry for what I have done to you and your people. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I promise you this. I will build you your own Weather Machine so you can be sure of dark and stormy nights all year round.”

  Morbo rattled his chains in delight. “How hateful. I despise it! Thank you, Weather Wizard. You will always be unwelcome here on the Isle of the Undead.”

  The mayor turned toward Hex.

  “As will you, sorceress.”

  The Undead Skylander looked shocked.

  “Really?”

  “Of course. We would be honored if you came to live here, where you belong.”

  Cynder frowned. Surely Hex wouldn’t stay? Not after everything they’d been through.

  “Thank you, Mayor,” Hex said softly, with real warmth in her cold voice. “But I already belong somewhere. With my friends. The Skylanders.”

  “Heh-heh! You sure do.” Zook chuckled.

  “What about you, my boy?” Hurrikazam asked Brock. “Where will you go now?”

  The Goliath Drow shrugged his broad shoulders. “Brock hasn’t a clue.”

  The Weather Wizard started searching his robes for something. “Have you ever heard of Rumbletown?” he said, pulling out a small velvet bag. “I think you’d like it. They love a good scrap there. And there are plenty of pie shops. I could drop you off?”

  As Brock beamed, Hurrikazam turned to Cynder. “And I have something for you, my dear. Hold out your paw.”

  Cynder did what she was told for once, and the Weather Wizard tipped a small yellow seed into her palm.

  “What is it?” she asked, peering at the seed.

  “The only Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, Surprising, Unfathomable All-Colored Rose seed in existence,” Hurrikazam said sadly. “Thanks to Kaos.”

  “But why give it to us?” Hex asked.

  “Because it’s so much more,” the Weather Wizard smiled. “A seed bursting with life, with potential, the complete opposite of the Undead Element. Take it to Master Eon. He’s been looking for it.”

  “Hey, hey, hey,” said Zook. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying?”

  Hurrikazam nodded.

  “It’s the Undead segment.” Cynder gasped in awe.

  “Of the Mask of Power, yes,” Hurrikazam confirmed. “Kaos knew I had it, but I wouldn’t tell him where for obvious reasons. Take care of it.”

  “We will,” promised Cynder. “Thank you.”

  “We should transport the segment back to the archive immediately,” insisted Hex, placing a finger on her temple. “I shall call for Master Eon to send a Portal.” The sorceress paused. “Hmmm. That’s strange.”

  “What is?” asked Zook.

  “I can’t reach Master Eon. He’s not answering.”

  Cynder felt a shiver run down her tail. “That’s bad. And not in an Undead way.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Hurrikazam, pulling a control out of his pocket. “I have a portable weather machine here. I can summon a storm to blow you all the way back to the Eternal Archive.” He flicked a switch, and three tornadoes spun into life above them. “Hop on!” he grinned.

  “Here we go again.” Zook laughed and jumped into one of the twisters.

  By the time Hurrikazam’s tornadoes dropped the three Skylanders outside the Eternal Archive, Spyro was already running up to greet them, with Hugo scampering behind.

  “Thank the Benevolent Ancients you have returned,” blustered Hugo.

  “Hey, hey, hey, little fella. What’s happened?” asked Zook.

  “Squirmgrub has vanished,” Hugo replied, “Completely disappeared.”

  Cynder couldn’t pretend to be upset. “Well, good riddance, I say. I’ve never trusted him.”

  “You’ll trust him even less now,” Spyro added, his face grave.

  “Master Eon!” Hex said. “Has something happened to him?”

  Spyro nodded. “Wherever Squirmgrub has gone, he’s taken Master Eon with him.

  Master Eon has been kidnapped!”

  Chapter One

  Missing!

  Stump Smash was having a bad day. All the Skylanders were. A day they thought would never happen. Could never happen.

  Master Eon had disappeared.

  No, it was more serious than that. Master Eon had been kidnapped, spirited away by agents of Kaos, their archenemy and the most wicked soul Skylands had ever produced. The Skylanders had no idea where Master Eon had been taken. They weren’t even sure how—although they had some very nasty suspicions.

  As he stomped through the echoing corridors of the Eternal Archive, Stump Smash played through recent events in his mind. The Skylanders had been searching for the eight Elemental fragments of an ancient weapon known as the Mask of Power. They were still a bit confused about what the Mask of Power actually did, although legend suggested it made its wearer all-powerful. Kaos was also searching for the fragments, and had managed to get his evil little hands on the Tech segment already. Fortunately, the Skylanders had beaten him to four of the other fragments, guided by the Book of Power and Other Utterly Terrifying Stuff (Vol. 3).

  The book was held right here in the Eternal Archive. Or at least it used to be.

  The book had gone missing, along with Master Eon. Only a Portal Master could read its pages. A Portal Master like Eon or Kaos.

  At least Kaos hadn’t managed to reach the fragments that the Skylanders had already collected, thought Stump Smash as he strode through the archive’s vast vaults. The Water, Air, Earth, and Undead segments were safely locked away. Nothing could get them.

  “What do you mean, Kaos got to them?” Stump heard Spyro the dragon splutter as he rounded a corner.

  Spyro was standing open-mouthe
d, staring at a large robotic figure in disbelief. Chief Curator Wiggleworth was a Warrior Librarian, the protector of thousands of powerful books here in the Archive. Like all Warrior Librarians, he was an imposing figure, towering over Spyro in a suit of gleaming mechanical armor. At the heart of the suit squirmed Wiggleworth’s true form, a tiny and incredibly old bookworm who was also one of Master Eon’s most trusted friends.

  “I don’t know what’s happened,” Wiggleworth said. “No one should have been able to open the vault but Squirmgrub and I—”

  “Squirmgrub.” Stump Smash rumbled, interrupting the conversation. “The Warrior Librarian you assigned to help us guard the fragments.”

  Wiggleworth’s mechanical head drooped. Squirmgrub had been one of the curator’s most trusted librarians, until he was revealed to be an agent of Kaos himself. He had spirited Master Eon away to goodness knows where and stolen the fragments of the Mask for his dark master.

  “He was a traitor,” Spyro growled. “A double-agent.”

  Stump Smash had never seen Spyro look so angry. The purple dragon was many things. Adventurous, yes. Impulsive, definitely. But he always kept his temper in check. Unlike Stump himself.

  This time was different. Spyro’s red eyes were burning with rage.

  “Don’t you see, Wiggleworth?” Spyro said. “This means Kaos now has five of the eight fragments.” The dragon turned toward the open safe door. “We should never have stored them here. We should have taken them to Eon’s citadel. They would have been safe there.”

  The Curator shrugged, mechanical shoulders whirring. “But Master Eon said . . .”

  “Master Eon is gone,” Spyro snapped, whirling around. “Because of you!”

  Stump Smash raised his mallet fists, trying to calm the situation. “Spyro, this isn’t helping . . .”

  The dragon turned on the Life Skylander. “But we let him down, Stump. We let Master Eon get captured.”

  “We didn’t even know he was in danger,” Stump insisted.

  “We should have! We’re Skylanders. We protect Skylands. That’s what we do!”