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Trap Team (R.O.B. AU)
Forum-Index → Fanmades → Fanfictions → Trap Team (R.O.B. AU)
Posted: Sat, 05/11/2022 17:51 (4 Months ago)
Cat and Ganondorf have been working for the Skylanders for almost three years now. The new Skylander Academy is about to have its grand opening to the public, so they can continue learning and also help teach any future protectors of Skylands, when something big and blue lands in the Soda Springs, disrupting the ceremony. Cat, Ganondorf, and several Skylanders are sent to check it out.
What follows is the start of defending Skylands from evil.
Important Info
(Fic does NOT include any continuity from the comics or the show)
(Spyro’s appearance is that from the original games/Reignited Trilogy, not Skylanders)
(This fic is part of the Reincarnations, Oh Boy! series.)
(Text that looks like this means telepathic communication between Skylanders and Portal Masters from the Skylanders/Portal Masters POV. If it happens on Earth, it’s the Skylanders speaking from the figures they are stuck as, OR in the case of person-turned-Pokemon speaking, will also be in the same text. If text looks like “this” it is communication between Portals Masters and Skylanders in the Portal Masters’ POV, since a cloud-like vision is appearing above the portal.)
(The portal is similar to the one used for Trap Team. However, the Traps get sent back to Skylands as well so the Skylanders can use them.)
Posted: Sat, 05/11/2022 17:58 (4 Months ago)
Title: Chapter 1
A part of Cat was glad she wasn’t as widely known as many of the Skylanders. If she was, she was sure she would be swarmed by fans asking for autographs. Of course, she still got fans anyways, but not nearly as many as everyone else.
Before the grand opening was announced, the Skylanders had received some new members. Since Cat was busy during that time, she never got to meet them personally. However, today would be the perfect opportunity to meet one or two of the new recruits before the ceremony started.
Cat looked around for one of them, but could only spot some familiar ones. Spyro and Cynder were talking with Hugo and Cali. The Minis, miniature versions of some of the Skylanders, were playing in the area where Persephone resided. The Minis appeared one day when a magic spell went in a direction no one intended, and it cloned some of the Skylanders, though smaller than the original counterparts.
She felt Tucker start to move, and she paused, allowing the little Drow to climb on top of her head.
“See anyone, Tucks?” she asked. She was careful enough not to make any sudden movements that would dislodge him and cause him to fall. There was a couple seconds of silence from Tucker, before he pointed to her left, “Over there! That’s High Five!” Cat glanced in the direction he pointed, spotting the High Five.
He was a hybrid of a dragon and a dragonfly, and he donned what looked to be racing gear. He was hovering a ways away from the crowd, looking around as if he were a little anxious. She looked up at Tucker, “Sounds like you know him.”
He hopped off of her head and landed on the ground, “Yeah! And he’s really cool!” Then, he paused, speaking in a lowered voice.
“Well, he’s not as cool as you, but still!”
With that, he rushed off in the direction of High Five with Cat following closely behind him. Thankfully, the crowd shifted to let them pass, and she silently let out a sigh of relief when they exited it. At that moment, High Five spotted them, and he seemed to relax a little. “Hi, Tucker,” he greeted. “Who’s this?”
She held her hand out and smiled, “I’m Cat, one of the part-timers.” He looked at her hand before grabbing it with his own, “High Five, at your service.” He landed on the ground, “So, where’d you come from?”
Cat hesitated. Her past wasn’t really something she talked about freely. But, she could try to answer the best she could. Hopefully without revealing the horrors she had experienced.
“Well,” she started, taking a deep breath. “I’m not really from Skylands. More like, outside of it, to be exact.” High Five seemed to be intrigued by this. “That’s actually pretty cool. Mind telling me what it was like?”
Again, she hesitated. She had to leave out a lot of details. “Eh, I took part in a three year war because I wanted to help people. When it was over, my family moved to Skylands. I guess the urge to help others stayed, so I joined the Skylanders.”
Not the full truth, but only a small piece of it.
“I see. Well, I’m one of the most skilled racers among the dragonflies. There was a race a few weeks ago, but because I was the fifth son, I couldn’t join. But I learned that the Troll Racing Team stole the Trophy of Sparx, which is said to contain some sort of magic. So, I jumped into the race and stopped them. Of course, I was given the trophy as a reward for my heroics, then Eon came to me and asked me to join the Skylanders.”
“Well, you did a good thing that day. It’s one less group of baddies trying to take over Skylands, however long it lasts.”
She could see a familiar spark in his eyes. He was young, but he sounded confident in himself. Something that was like a double-edged sword. She would know, since she had experienced it firsthand.
“Wonder if we’ll ever have to fight some big evil or something. It’d be cool, especially with Portal Masters on our side.”
She looked to the sky. The Skylanders did have two more Portal Masters other than Eon. The Portal Masters were responsible for bringing several missing Skylanders back when they went missing. The location they resided on was called Earth. However, it appeared to be a different Earth than the one she knew of. The other Skylanders mentioned that they were called upon when Skylands was in trouble, and that they had a form of telepathy. Warning Skylanders of potential ambushes, showing them paths to treasure, and much more. Cat had never heard the Portal Masters speak, so she assumed that Skylands wasn’t in trouble.
“You alright?”
Her current train of thought was broken when he spoke. She looked back and nodded, “Just thinking.”
When they heard the crowd becoming excited, the three of them took that as a sign that the ceremony was starting. “Hope it’s a good one,” she heard High Five say as he zoomed past her. “Nice meeting you!”
She smiled, “Was nice meeting you as well!”
Cat turned to Tucker, and he climbed back onto her shoulder. Together, they made their way back into the crowd so they wouldn’t miss anything. She spotted Ganondorf sitting on a bench, which wasn’t too hard to miss, since he was taller than literally everyone except the Giants. Hugo, Cali, and Flynn were close by.
“Mind if we sit here?” she asked. He glanced over, then shook his head, scooting over so there was room for them, “So, where did you two run off to?”
Tucker shot up excitedly, “We were chatting with High Five!”
The Gerudo chuckled softly, “You did? That’s great to hear.” Cat got comfortable on the bench, “He reminded me of myself, back when during the first year of the Clone Wars.”
“Young and confident?”
“Mhm. Maybe a little experienced. But, with training, he will be a good Skylander.”
“You’re starting to sound like your father.”
“What can I say? He was my general back then.”
When they saw a familiar looking Mabu veteran walking up to the front of the building, the conversation was quickly stopped. Buzz looked around at the audience, waiting for the cheering to die down a little. When it did, he spoke proudly;
“As head of security- and secret ninja commando operations,” he coughed once after saying operations. “Let me welcome you to the grand opening of Skylander Academy.”
The crowd cheered again, a little louder than before.
And for some reason, she had the sense that someone else was there with them in spirit, watching the events unfold.
She noticed that Hugo was talking with Cali and Flynn while Buzz told one of his stories, which she lost focus on.
“This is great, Cali! I mean, a new Skylanders headquarters? There hasn’t been one in ages!” he exclaimed in an almost joyous tone. Cali herself seemed to be on the same page, “I know, Hugo. And Buzz is the most legendary Skylander trainer ever!” She paused, “There’s something familiar about him-”
Flynn interrupted, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve seen his kind before. Big showoff.”
Speak for yourself. Cat said silently, though she had to admire Flynn a little. He still flew the Skylanders to mission locations, even if it meant risking his hide. Flynn rolled his eyes as Buzz continued his little story, “Sheesh, and he’s still talking!”
Buzz pulled out a sword from his belt, “With the opening of the new Skylander Academy, may it usher a new era of safety, security, and…”
At that moment, her cybernetic ears registered something falling from the sky. She barely had time to register what it was when something blue streaked by, crashing somewhere in Soda Springs. A flash of light emitted for a few seconds, followed by the sound of a sort of explosion. The three of them bolted up from the bench when the crowd nearly panicked.
Buzz exclaimed, “Holy guacamole! That thing landed smack dab in the middle of our Annual Soda Festival! Stay put, folks, while the Skylanders and I check it out.”
Cat glanced at Ganondorf, “Well, today got a little more interesting to say the least.” He nodded in agreement, but they both quickly turned to Tucker when they noticed he started shaking.
“Is that bad?” he asked, almost fearful. Cat turned to Buzz, who was walking down the steps towards them.
“Cat, Ganondorf! You two are with me.”
She looked back at Tucker, “Looks like it might be, Tucker.” Tucker slid off her shoulder and onto the ground, “What about me?” Buzz shook his head, “You can stay here with the others. Might be a little too dangerous for you.”
His ears fell down and a sad look decorated Tucker’s face. Cat patted his head gently, “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll be alright.” She knew that Tucker didn’t like the idea of being separated for too long, and countless times, she had to reassure him that everything would be alright. Not that she didn’t mind, he was still a kid.
The Drow lightened up, before holding his arms out for a hug. She accepted it, and then Tucker ran off towards the Minis, who weren’t experienced enough to deal with these kinds of things yet. Soon, they would be fighting alongside the Skylanders, though.
She turned to the group she would be a part of; Spyro, Cynder, High Five, Ganondorf, and Buzz.
“Well, shall we get started?”
“Good morning, brother! Breakfast is on the table!”
Wayne groaned as his sister, Elle’s, cheerful voice woke him up. Sitting up, he checked the clock, which read 9:30 AM.
Huh. Must’ve overslept.
It would probably be the same time in Skylands, since for some reason, Earth and Skylands were connected. Or, at least him and his sister were.
They had moved out of their parents’ house years ago, and had remained together when the Skyalnders first appeared to them. Ever since the portal showed up in the living room, along with some of the Skylanders scattered here and there, they had been helping the Skylanders push back the evil known as Kaos, stopping him from taking over Skylands.
Wayne decided not to change out of his pajamas. It had been awhile since they were needed, so what was the point? He could stay cozy for an hour or so longer. He got out of his bed and stretched before he made his way out of his room and down the stairs. The smell of coffee and scrambled eggs filled the room, and when he entered, his plate was on the table, just as his sister had said.
He decided he would check on the portal first before eating. He grabbed the cup of coffee in one hand, and carried it down the hall, taking careful sips occasionally. The trip wasn’t that long, and eventually, he reached the portal room. As he entered, he took note of what was in the room.
Faint glowing, some random crystals, the portal now has a crystalline structure-
He took a sip of his coffee, but then, realization hit him, and he spat it out.
“Elle! What the heck happened to the portal?!”
Wayne heard her walking down the hallway, and soon, she came into view through the doorway. “Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. Long story short, I believe Skylands is in danger again, and we’re being called upon. Again.”
He sighed, then took a glimpse at what was on the ground near the portal. The crystals, as he had seen earlier, were of different colors and shapes, with each one having symbols etched into them. He recognized most of the symbols for each of the elements.
A droplet to represent the Water element.
Three leaves for the Life element.
Flames for Fire.
A swirl standing for the Air element.
A star for Magic.
Gear for Tech.
A mountain for earth.
A skull for Undead.
The last two, a moon and a sun, left him a little puzzled. These were new, since they were not present the last three times they’ve helped Skylands. Perhaps they were newly discovered?
The rest of the objects were a handful of Skylanders. Eighteen to be exact. Upon closer inspection, these Skyanders appeared to have weapons made of some sort of crystal. Elle left for a few seconds, then brought him his plate of eggs, “You still haven’t had breakfast. Can’t fight on an empty stomach.” Wayne nodded, taking the plate, and he began to eat as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, Elle went ahead and grabbed the Skylanders and placed them on the portal. “Whatever happened, we can help fix it. Don’t worry.”
Thanks, Portal Masters.
The voice seemed to come from the golden lion, who held a ruby shield.
“One more thing,” Wayne asked after he finished a bite, “What are these two elements, and what are these crystals?” He held up the crystal in question, along with the two unknown elements.
Well, two new elements have been discovered; Light and Dark. The Dark element has no connection to the Darkness, don’t worry. And those crystals are called Traptanium, used for trapping villains.
You see, we’re Trap Masters. We were guarding a prison called Cloudcracker Prison. One notorious group of villains called the Doom Raiders were being held there. Then, out of nowhere, the whole prison exploded, releasing them, and trapping us here temporarily. We assume the remains of Cloudcracker Prison that made it here were turned into traps.
“Ah, that makes sense,” he replied, eyeing a trap that was shaped like the villain who seemed to constantly endanger Skylands.
“Oh cool, looks like a certain someone has a trap entirely dedicated to him.”
He picked it up, then showed it to Elle. She narrowed her eyes, “Something tells me we’ll have to trap him.” They looked back at the portal as the Trap Masters were waiting to be sent back. There were no visible spots to place the crystals, other than on the portal itself.
You can set the Traps on the portal, Portal Masters. We can handle the rest once we arrive in Skylands.
Elle nodded to Wayne, and he grabbed every Trap he could find, then placed them on the portal. At least the portal was just big enough to fit everything without everything piling up. Once that was done, a cloud-like vision appeared above the portal, showing them what was going on.
“Looks like some sort of celebration,” Wayne noted as he saw a crowd of Mabu, Elves, Faun, and Foxes. He could recognize several Skylanders among the crowd, and he guessed that the rest were probably busy. The two spotted a few unfamiliar faces as well. A human with cybernetics that made her look like a cat, a taller dark-skinned human wielding a greatsword, and a small drow hybrid were all sitting on one bench.
“New Skylanders, probably,” Elle whispered. They saw a Mabu walking up to the front of the building, clearing his throat.
“Hey, isn’t that Buzz?”
“Yeah. We’ve been keeping touch with each other after the whole fiasco with Cloudbreak’s volcano.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that.”
They kept watching, even giggling a little when Flynn complained about Buzz being showoff, since they both knew Flynn was the same way. When Buzz went to cut the ribbon for the new Skylander Academy, they saw the streak of blue fly by and crash on the nearby island, interrupting the ceremony.
That was one of the Doom Raiders.
The two Portal Masters steeled themselves with determination, then nodded to each other.
“Let’s get this show on the road.”
With a flash of light, the Trap Team and the Traps vanished back to Skylands.
It was time to save Skylands again.
Posted: Thu, 19/01/2023 13:06 (2 Months ago)
Title: Chapter 2
Buzz had already gone ahead to get a lay of the land so he could lead them safely to the area affected.
As they were flying closer and closer, they could hear something grumbling, and noticed several objects being flung. Empty soda barrels. One came close to hitting the ship, Flynn ‘expertly’ dodging it, yelling, “Hey! Watch my ship!”
He noticed that High Five seemed a little nervous. So, he knelt down, “Do not worry, you’re among skilled warriors.” The hybrid turned and looked at him, some of the tension disappearing.
“What if I mess up?”
Ganondorf replied with a gentle tone, “Mistakes are to be expected. However, you can still make up for those mistakes.”
He gestured to Cat, “In her time, and mine, we’ve made mistakes. Things we wish we could have done differently. But we managed to live past them, and we learned and adapted.”
The fear and nervousness in High Five’s eyes seemed to dissipate, being replaced with confidence. He stood up straight, “You’re right. I should focus on the mission, not worrying about how I do.”
As they got close to reaching the landing point, they could sort of see what was causing trouble. A giant, blue slug-like thing was grabbing barrels of soda and downing the contents, before flinging them away once they were empty. It laughed before making another demand.
“Me want soda!”
It reached down and grabbed another soda barrel, drinking it in one gulp, before tossing that barrel as well. The barrel hurtled towards them as they got off the ship, but was quickly and effortlessly shot down by Buzz’s boomstick.
“Wonder where my Skylander operatives are,” he grumbled slightly, before he turned around and spotted them.
“Boomsticks! Took you long enough.”
He walked over to one side a little bit, “To anyone who’s new to the Skylanders, or needs a reminder, the name’s Buzz. Head of security and secret ninja commando operations around here.” Buzz cleared his throat before continuing. “Now, how’s about we go investigate all this ruckus?”
The group made their way across the bridge that was built over the river of soda, the barrels of soda that were being flung no longer a worry to them. They were still too far away to make out any details of the giant blue slug in the distance, and Ganondorf glanced at Buzz, hoping he would know. For a brief moment, there was worry in his eye. However, it was washed away with a steeled expression when he turned to the group.
“The door’s locked. The Mabu working here said they couldn’t find the key.”
He looked around, before spotting a full soda barrel. It’s cork was pointed at the gate that stood in their way. Buzz smiled confidently, “Only thing better than a key is a loaded cannon pointed at a locked door.”
Ganondorf turned to the barrel, only to find Cat assisting High Five with the barrel’s valve. “The pressure’s gonna fire the cork at the door and knock it down,” she said as they turned the valve. Just as she said, the pressure built up fast. It became too much for the cork to hold, and it shot off at the door, knocking it down with ease as a stream of soda spilled out of the barrel. It came to a stop when it ran out.
Behind the gate were a total of three giant, and scared, tortoises. With everything going on around them, he wouldn’t blame the gentle creatures for acting like this. He walked up to one of them, placing both hands on the shell. “I’m sorry about this, but I need to make a path,” he spoke gently, before shoving it into the gap that it was unintentionally blocking. There was room for it to move, and the soda stream wasn’t deep enough to get into its shell, so eventually, it would move when it wasn’t endangered. He turned back to his allies, “Shall we continue?”
Spyro, Cynder, and High Five all just flew over, with High Five nodding his head in thanks. Cat was the last, and Ganondorf stepped back. “Ladies first,” he said respectfully. She smiled as she hopped onto the tortoise, “Don’t mind if I do.” Ganondorf followed after, and watched as Spyro and Cynder shoved the other tortoises into the larger gap and crossed.
As they approached the clearing, they stopped when they noticed a single sheep standing before them. Spyro and Cynder both spread their wings out, growling, and a new person, a blue crocodile-like - or was it alligator-like? - with what appeared to be a blue, crystal-like bow and arrow, between them and the sheep. High Five hovered above them, confused. “It’s… just a sheep?”
Buzz walked a little closer, but not close enough to be within grabbing range. “Careful there, Skylander,” he said to High Five. “This may look like an ordinary, harmless little sheep, but I can personally assure you that Sheep Creep here is bad news.”
“In fact,” he continued. “He’s supposed to be in Cloudcracker Prison for leading an ill-fated sheep rebellion.”
Wait, that sheep’s a bad guy?!
The new voice caught him slightly off guard, and he looked around for its source. The other Skylanders didn’t seem to be concerned. Instead, they talked back. “Yes, Elle. The sheep’s a bad guy,” Spyro replied, being the first to respond. The crocagator had taken out a green crystal and stepped back, speaking in an accent, “I want to see what the new Skylanders can do.”
Ganondorf, Cat, and High Five stepped forwards. “Three against one. Sounds easy enough,” Cat said, rotating one of her shoulders before getting into a fighting stance. Ganondorf unsheathed his greatsword, holding it out in front him and pointed at Sheep Creep. High Five stood between them, claws gripping the ground as he readied himself.
Sheep Creep bleated, as if he were laughing at them. From under his wool came two cannons, and he pointed it at them and quickly rapid-fired… corks? Cat was quick enough and rushed forwards, the small shields on her cybernetic arms coming to life as she blocked the projectiles to defend her friends.
Their opponent seemed to growl, or attempted to, though it came out as a baa. Suddenly, High Five zoomed out from behind Cat, tackling the evil sheep and disrupting his attack. Ganondorf took the opportunity to send a ball of magic fire at Sheep Creep, which knocked him out, rendering him defeated.
The crocagator Skylander stepped forwards, holding the green crystal up high. Behind Sheep Creep, a green, swirling portal opened up in the sky with a thundering boom, and he looked up at it in what looked like fear. In an instant, he was grabbed by the vortex and sucked into it, and a glowing green light was absorbed into the crystal. Various sheep noises were heard coming from it afterwards. For now, the fighting was done. Ganondorf and his friends turned to the lion, confused and curious as to what happened.
“Snap Shot! Glad to see you here,” Buzz greeted. “Mind explaining why Sheep Creep’s here and not in Cloudcracker?” Snap Shot turned to the Mabu veteran. “It’s a long story. Right now, we need to contain the Gulper before any more damage is done.” He then turned to Ganondorf, Cat, and High Five.
“You three fight well. Don’t get overconfident. I fear that this is only the beginning of our problems.”
“The beginning? You mean to tell us that there’s more people like that Sheep Creep guy running around?” Cat asked, and Ganondorf swore there was a tiny hint of excitement in her voice. Snap Shot nodded, before leading the way up a hill.
There was another tortoise to move into another gap in order to proceed. Ganondorf sighed inwardly. Three years living in Skylands, and he keeps forgetting that these tortoises were abundant. They crossed with relative ease, and reached a point where they couldn’t progress any further. The giant tree stump in front of them was too high. Buzz grumbled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small device. He tossed it onto the ground, and a bounce pad spawned before them.
Everyone then turned their attention to Cat, who was halfway up the stump thanks to her cybernetic claws. She paused and glanced back, noticing them staring.
“What?”
High Five snickered, jumping onto the bounce pad and passing Cat on his way to the top of the stump. Again, Ganondorf waited until everyone (but Cat) reached the top. He then ascended via the bounce pad, the sudden acceleration launching him with enough force to get to the top of the stump. When he landed, he turned around, a smug grin growing on his face as he watched Cat finally pull herself up.
“Shabuir,” she muttered in what Ganondorf understood as Mandalorian. The clones she served with during the war had taught her. He almost burst out laughing, “Should’ve waited.” He composed himself quickly, focusing on the mission.
There was another stump below they were standing on. In the middle of it stood an unknown, light blue mass of crystals that hummed with a mysterious energy. Chompies swarmed the place, along with a malicious-looking plant creature standing on the ledge above. It had no visible eyes, but on the ends of its arms were hardened shoots, which were used to stab at its enemies. The creature itself was better known as a ‘Plant Warrior.’ On the other side of the stump, the way forward was blocked by a gate. One that would only open once all hostels in the area were defeated.
The strange voice from before spoke up again.
Whoa! Is that-?
And was promptly interrupted by Buzz. “Wait a dag burn minute! That looks like… Traptanium! I haven’t seen that magical stuff in a long time!”
He turned to Snap Shot, giving him a light elbow to the arm, “I’m guessing the arrival of Traptanium might have something to do with you being here too, eh compadre?” Snap Shot didn’t answer. Instead, he jumped down into the Chompy infestation without fear. Buzz called after him, “Go bust that sucker open with your righteously awesome crystal weapon!”
The Chompies, who took notice of the new ‘prey,’ began to charge at the blue crocagator. The rest of the group (save for Buzz) jumped down after him, focusing on the Chompies. The Plant Warrior, who had jumped down as well, was dueling Cat. She had grabbed hold of both arms with her own. To anyone who hadn’t fought her before, they would think she had nothing else to fight with. Her tail snaked over her shoulder, and a blue energy blade the size of a butcher knife ignited itself and quickly struck the weed monster in the head several times. Her enemy was defeated, vaporizing and dropping several small orbs of light, which gravitated to Cat.
Ganondorf took his greatsword and slammed it on the ground, sending several Chompies flying, and subsequently defeating them. They, too, vaporized and dropped a small clump of orbs.
The orbs themselves only appeared when certain enemies, such as Chompies, were defeated. They were used for many purposes, such as creating an endless supply of minions, or healing someone if said minion made from said power was defeated. The process of an enemy made by the orbs was termed ‘poofing’ by several.
He could feel the rush of adrenaline as he absorbed the orbs. Then, he heard the sound of crystals shattering, and an explosion of energy followed after. It shook the ground they were on, and in an instant, it crumbled away. They didn’t fall down far, only a few feet, but it was still enough to catch them off guard. The flyers recovered quickly and managed to stay in the air, while the ones who couldn’t fly landed on their feet on the floor below.
He and Cat stared at Snap Shot. He stared back.
“I apologize for the sudden drop,” he said. They heard Cat chuckle.
“Well, it’s not like any of us knew what was going to happen.”
High Five flew down to them, hovering just above the ground, “Is everyone alright?” Ganondorf nodded, and High Five smiled. He waited patiently in the air while the three of them made their way out of the stump, and through the now opened gate. Ganondorf climbed up before Cat, so he turned around and reached a hand out.
“How about I help you this time?” he said, kneeling down so she could reach. Cat reached up, grabbing his hand with her own, “Thanks.” He assisted her up, though he might’ve used a little too much strength, because she nearly fell forwards when she got up. And fell into him. He caught her, and for a moment, they stared into each others’ eyes.
It was a good five seconds before they looked away. Cat was blushing slightly, and Ganondorf felt like he had butterflies. “We should probably catch up with the others,” she said quickly. Ganondorf shook off the feeling, chalking it up to the sudden close interaction being awkward.
They jogged around the corner, finding Spyro, Cynder, and Buzz standing near another gate. The gate itself had the symbol for the Water element on it, and was spraying water from the sides. An Elemental Gate. This one was different from the others they’d come across in the past. Perhaps it needed a specific type of Skylander, like the ones that reacted to the Swap Force.
Buzz would know.
“You’re all showing a lot of promise, recruits. I like that,” he complimented. Of course, it was obviously more directed at High Five, but he and Cat had never had a serious mission until now, so they at least appreciated the sentiment. Buzz continued, gesturing to the gate, “But if you really wanna stay ahead of the game, you’ll need to check out these Elemental Gates.”
“They can only be opened by a Skylander, or in this case, a Trap Master of that same element. When they are - BOOMSTICKS! You now have access to a brand new area which contains a magical hat!”
Ganondorf saw Cat open her mouth, as if to ask a question.
“Why do you want a magical hat? Because they’re awesome!” Buzz stated, and Cat immediately shut her mouth. “And they make you stronger. That’s the magical part.”
They turned to Snap Shot, who started walking past them. “I’ll catch up with you guys when I’m done here. The Gulper is the last villain on the island that needs capturing, but considering these areas don’t take too long, we have nothing to worry about.”
He disappeared through the gate, the sound of footsteps and splashing being heard. And so, they continued forwards. It really wasn’t that long of a walk to a peculiar looking bounce pad. One that had arrows pointing in the direction of another part of Soda Springs, which was too far to jump to, or fly across.
“You remember the bounce pads from earlier?” Buzz asked, and everyone nodded. He grinned, “Well this here’s a SUPER bounce pad!”
“And it’s super because…?” Cat asked.
He simply stood there, the grin not leaving. “Take it and find out why.”
He saw Cat shrug, stepping forward. She jumped onto the super bounce pad, almost acting a little cocky, “If you say-”
And was promptly flung to the other island.
“-soooooooooooooooo!”
They all had a good chuckle as Cat had found out, the hard way, why they were called ‘super’ bounce pads. When she disappeared in the small distance, they waited for her to respond. Sure enough, Ganondorf could make out the small, black cat-like ears on her head as she stood up.
“Cool ride!” she shouted, her voice distant. “I almost feel bad Skywalker’s missing out!”
Well, good to know she was alright, and already liking the super bounce pads. He just hoped she didn’t tell her former general. Who knew what kind of crazy plans he would make involving super bounce pads.
“You coming or what?”
Well, it was time to catch up to Cat this time.
He jumped onto the super bounce pad, and ascended to the neighboring island.
“Well, the new Skylanders seem to be able to handle themselves against the easier enemies,” Elle remarked, watching them with interest.
Wayne nodded, “And they’re really cool, too!” Pointing to Cat and Ganondorf, he added, “I wonder where these two are from. I mean, clearly they’re not from Skylands.” She looked at the two humans, thinking. While they were human, or at least some form of human, they weren’t exactly the same species of human as Eon and Kaos. “We’ll ask when the current mission is over. Right now, we need to at least provide some help.”
They watched as they began to get closer to another super bounce pad, with Cat nearly jumping when she turned around to see Buzz standing behind her.
“What the- I- you-,” she stuttered, startled.
“How did I get here without you seeing me walk past, hmm?” he seemed to ask the question for Cat. “Exactly! Secret ninja commando skills!”
Wayne and Elle both chuckled. Seemed like Cat still had a lot to learn from Skylands.
A grumble could be heard, louder than the ones before it. They were indeed getting closer to stopping the Gulper, and he could be seen just over the ridge. “I can see some enemies ahead, be careful,” Elle warned, spotting movement on the next island over. She could see Cat leaning forwards a little, a cybernetic hand above her eyes as she took a look.
“Yep. Enemies. Thanks for the warning, um… Elle, was it?”
“Yeah, I’m Elle.”
“Elle. I’ll be sure to remember that.”
Elle smiled, and watched the group use the super bounce pad. When they landed, they took to their battle stances, ready to fight. They had to clear the enemies again in order for the gate to come down. The Chompies, as per usual, ran up to the group. They were dispatched quickly. The two Plant Warriors rushed in, and, instead of Cat dealing with them like she did earlier, she did something else.
Fire engulfed her entirely, before dissipating as something roared from within. A roar not unlike a lion’s.
That was because she had indeed turned into a lion. While on Earth, lionesses don’t have manes, the one Cat had turned into had a red mane only on the top of her head, which flowed backwards, a yellow stripe running down the middle. The fur on her main body was dark brown, with her legs, face and neck, and the tuft of her tail, being light brown. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, and were steeled with confidence.
“I just need to stretch my legs,” she said, her mouth not moving to her own words. She rushed forwards, and Elle could see fire spark from her mouth, almost as if she had fangs made of fire. Cat bit down on one of the Plant Warriors, shaking it violently. It lasted only a couple seconds before poofing. Another Plant Warrior ran up to Cat from behind, leaping in the air, its arms poised to attack.
“Behind you!” Elle shouted quickly. The lioness turned around, a ball of fire manifesting within her jaws. She roared, and a stream of fire lashed out at the enemy, and it, too, was quickly defeated. With the enemies defeated, Cat turned back into herself, her hands on her hips as she smiled.
“Nothing a Pyroar can’t handle!”
With that, the gate opened, and the group passed through, stopping at another super bounce pad. Buzz was next to it, having pulled out a file. “His name’s the Gulper,” he reported, “and strange thing is, he’s supposed to be locked up in Cloudcracker Prison, too.” The Mabu took a moment to think, before adding, “Something very peculiar going on here and I suggest we get to the bottom of it - pronto!”
Another grumble interrupted them, and they all turned their attention to the Gulper. They could fully view his appearance now.
He was, indeed, a blue, slug-like creature, with barnacles growing on his body. He had two arms, for which he used currently for grabbing barrels of soda and drinking. A crown sat on his head, as if he were a king in his own right.
He had turned a barrel upside-down to drink the contents. However, when he discovered there wasn’t any, he tossed it aside, his voice booming as he reached for another barrel.
“Soda… I must have soda!”
He looked to his right, spotting a barrel of soda sitting atop a stone tower. He reached over and grabbed it with a barnacled arm, swiftly downing it in a matter of seconds. Once he swallowed, his body suddenly grew, and he was bigger than before, the empty barrel crushed in his grip like it was nothing.
“See?” he said, his voice deeper. He flexed his arms in a show of strength, “That’s why I must have soda!”
They all shared a look, as if asking each other, What do we do now?
Elle looked at Buzz through the vision. “Anything?”
“Just had another thought,” he replied, an idea clearly formed in his mind. “If it’s soda that Gulper wants, it’s soda he’s NOT gonna get.” He pointed to a barrel of soda that the super bounce pad’s arrows pointed to, “So all you need to do is bounce on over to that next building and destroy the soda vat before he can drink it.”
Another familiar voice spoke up, “And we’ll make our way to those two barrels over there.”
Elle looked behind the group, spotting Snap Shot. He had finally caught up to them, and was wearing a sort of hat on top of his head. A turtle shell, to be exact.
“Before you ask,” he said. “Yes, it’s magical. Increases defense, so I take less damage.”
“Ah. So magical as in it boosts certain stats,” Ganondorf stated. Snap Shot nodded, satisfied that the information was at least decently received. He began to walk towards the super bounce pad, “Now, let’s deal with the Gulper.”
Then, he proceeded to jump on the super bounce pad, continuing the mission. Elle watched in awe as the Skylanders, both new and old, followed suit with strong loyalty. The Gulper had spotted them, turning his head to face them, but must’ve thought that they posed no threat, and continued to root through the mass of soda barrels, a majority of them empty. When he grabbed one of the empty ones, he would promptly crush it in anger.
“We gotta be quick with taking out the vats,” the crocagator said, aiming his bow at the first vat and releasing the crystal arrow that he notched. It impaled itself in the vat’s side, a crack forming. It wasn’t enough to destroy the vat, but some of the soda spilled out of the crack that had formed, splashing on the ground. Spyro stepped forward, launching a fireball at the vat and successfully destroying it, along with the rest of the soda.
Spyro turned to the nearby Mabu workers, who had watched him and Snap Shot destroy what was essentially their property, “Don’t worry. We’ll pay for the damages.” The workers believed him, with several saying ‘thank you’ in response. Then, the group made their way over the wall, and down a slight ramp, where there were unfinished vats of soda closed with corks all lined up towards the next vat.
That was when things got a little more difficult.
The accumulated amount of soda that the Gulper had drank caused him to belch, shaking the ground. In fact, the ground shook so much that the vats below them shook, causing the soda inside them to build up pressure, lifting the corks up with the streams of soda at varying heights. Some of the corks lowered occasionally before the pressure would build back up, raising them back to the height they were initially. Elle and Wayne watched as the group, one by one, began to traverse the corks. The flyers flew low and above the group, helping out when one of their own fell behind. Cat had nearly been flung by one of the corks, only to be caught by Cynder, who carried the rest of the way. Her face scrunched up, “By the Maker, the Gulper’s breath stinks.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Elle said, glad that she wasn’t down there physically to deal with it. Wayne shifted beside her, “The next vat’s coming up.” But, as the group crossed the bridge of corks, the Gulper had found another barrel of soda, lifting it up the drink. His left hand came up and rested on the ground in front of them, barring the way to the vat.
Buzz swore under his breath, before looking over across from the giant hand.
“We need to get his hand out of the way. Let’s blast it with a soda cannon!”
This time, Snap Shot was the one to launch the cork. It shot off, hitting the Gulper’s hand and causing him to lift it up with a loud yelp. He shook it in the air, then held it with his other hand, glaring down at the group, unable to stop them when they destroyed the second vat of soda.
“Yup! That’s exactly what I was thinking!” Buzz shouted in response to the humongous villain’s cry of pain.
Another cry of pain came from the Gulper. “What are you doing?” he asked, his hand clearly still stinging. “Why would yo-,” he burped, cutting himself off. “Gulper burping on his own rage here!”
They noticed that Ganondorf had grabbed Cat, cutting her off from saying something. “Do not anger him anymore than he already is. You’ll make the situation worse.” She appeared to think about it for a moment, eyeing the Gulper. She turned back to Ganondorf, “Eh, you’re right.” They then followed the rest of the group up two more ledges. There in front of them were two more vats of soda. They looked like they were about to charge at the sodas, but were stopped when Buzz stepped forward.
“Just had the most awesome idea. Even for me.”
He continued, a mischievous grin on his face, “See these two vats here?” He pointed to the vat that had a smiley face drawn on it, and had a ribbon on it, indicating it won first place, “This orange ambrosia cooler was named Soda of the Year.” He then gestured to the one next to it, which had no ribbon, and a skull and crossbones was drawn on it instead of a smiley face. “The other green stuff is bottom-feeding suction eel-flavored and tastes even worse than it sounds.”
Elle cringed at the name of the second soda flavor, nearly gagging. Wayne looked at her, apparently sharing the same feeling, “How about we don’t drink soda today.”
“Agreed.”
“But if we can switch them up and trick the Gulper into drinking the eel stuff, it might just bring him down to size.”
The group exchanged glances, and half of them, consisting of Cat, Ganondorf, and High Five, stood near the eel soda, while the rest, Snap Shot, Spyro, and Cynder, went to shove the orange ambrosia soda off the edge of the building. They were lucky the Gulper hadn’t bothered to look over in their direction as the first place soda tumbled over the edge, its contents spilling. The rest of the group then began to move the eel soda to the spot the other soda used to be. It took a little bit, but they managed to not spill it, and the trap was ready. They scattered, hiding so the Gulper would only see the soda and not them. He glanced over, spotting the soda and grabbing it eagerly, licking his lips. He tossed the contents in his mouth, but, unlike every soda before, the disgust on his face was instant.
In fact, the repulsiveness of the soda was so strong that the Gulper began to shrink. First his hands, then the ‘fins’ on top of his head, then the rest of him. “Noo-” he cried out, the booming voice changing midway into a smaller, less-threatening tone. He was in the air for a couple seconds, before zipping to the ground with a thud.
The Skylanders came out from hiding, peering down at where he had landed. Wayne began to move the vision to see, as well.
He had indeed shrunk, and stood there with his trident, his previous strength gone. Snap Shot stood up, bringing out a blue Trap out and holding it high in the sky. Another flash of light accompanied by a booming sound, and the Gulper looked up fearfully, holding a hand up in defense. A swirling portal manifested in the sky, this time, it was the same color as the Trap. The Gulper swung, then pointed, his trident at it, “Stay back, swirly thing!” Instead, it got sucked into the portal, and he shouted, “Hey! My trident!”
The pull that the portal was unleashing strengthened, and some empty barrels began to roll its way, the Gulper trying to run away from the pull. “I just wanted to drink some soda!” he yelled this time, before he lost the battle with the portal and was pulled in. Once he entered the portal, it vanished, and a blue ball of light traveled to the Trap, indicating he was captured successfully.
The team cheered, their mission now complete. Spyro and Cynder walked up to the newer Skylanders, smiling.
“You three did great out there,” Spyro commented. “I wouldn’t rest for too long, though. If the Gulper and Sheep Creep broke out of Cloudcracker Prison, then it’s like the rest have, too.”
“So, there’s more?” Cat asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. Cynder nodded, “They will most likely be tougher than the Gulper, so don’t let your guard down. But for now, we need to head back to the Academy and report to Eon.”
Elle and Wayne sat there, wondering how many villains there were that had broken out of Cloudcracker Prison. If they were right, and they were out there running rampant, they would need all the help they could get. And they had a sneaking suspicion Kaos had something to do with the new situation.