Spyro the Dragon 1. Chapter 1

Sonny flew through the sky, feeling the wind sweep over her. She turned her head to the side to see her babies flying after her. The child in the lead was her youngest son Cyrus. Following behind him was Sony's youngest daughter Angia. Her two eldest children followed behind. Sonny clicked her beak at the griffin chicks, signaling to them to hurry up. The griffin chicks came to there mother, and lined up so they could continue there practice flight.

Sonny was about to show them how to dive when a falling light caught her eye. Sonny felt a shock of fear run through her. _"It can't be. It just can't be…" _Sonny thought in horror. She had to report to Eon immediately. "Children. We have to return home now." Sonny said to her babies. A chorus of complaints rose from the fledglings, but a stern click issued by Sonny shut them up. Sonny flew beneath Cyrus and Angia letting them ride on top of her back.

Her older children flew at her side. Sonny quickly flew off to warn her master about the comet.

Cyrus rested on his mother's back, feeling the wind fly through his feathers. He stared mournfully at the sky, yearning to resume his lessons. He wondered what had unnerved his mother so much. It had to be something terrible to make her fly away so quickly. Excitement ran through Cyrus as he thought about tracking the mysterious something down. Maybe if he defeated the creature then Eon would allow him to become a skylander, despite the fact that he was underage.

It had always been Cyrus's and his siblings' dream to be skylanders and follow in there mothers footsteps. Besides wanting to be like his mother, Cyrus wanted to be a skylander so that one day, when he found his father, the young griffin would be looked upon with respect. Cyrus sighed contently as he daydreamed about becoming a skylander. In his hazy visions, he saw himself and his siblings as fully fledged skylanders. Cyrus looked upon the cheering croud in his daydream and noticed an unfamiliar face.

He had no clue how he aquired this knowledge, but he knew the mysterious face was the face of his father. Cyrus smiled at the gryphon, and the stranger smiled back in his mind Cyrus heard his father saying "I'm proud of you my precious son…" the words his father spoke had an echoing dreamlike qualitie to them. The sound sent waves of peace and happiness over Cyrus, and he knew he had to do something, anything to become a skylander and please his father. He then vowed to himself that he would find the mysterious something that alarmed his mother, and destroy it, so when he finaly met his father, he would be known as a hero…

_Mean while in another world… earth._

A young girl sat at the edge of a lake. She had planed on going to school today but had ditched and ran to the lake instead when she saw Tobin and his gang. Tobin was the school bully, and often tormented this particular young girl because she lived under the care of the child protective services. The girl dangled her feet in the lake letting the cool waters swirl around her. She looked at her reflection in the lake, studying her self. The lake showed the face of a young girl with pale skin, short mouse brown hair, with long bangs that hung over one eye. The eye that wasn't covered seemed to be a strange green color. What captivated the girl the most about her reflection was no trait of hers, instead it was an object that hung on her slender neck.

The object was a golden heart shaped locket that her grandmother had given her. The girl had adored her grandmother, and looked to her as her mother figure since her own mother had been deemed unfit to care for her. The girl Thressa had lived with her grandmother for four years until the old woman's death. An obnoxious voice jarred Thressa out of her memories. "Well if it isn't the lovely Theresa. To lazy to show up at school again eh?"

"Go to Hell Tobin." Theresa said, trying to ignore the fury she felt towards him. ever since she was seven years old, Tobin had taunted and tormented her, Thressa had had enough of his constant insults. Tobin grabbed Theresa by the neck of her black shirt, and brought her close to his face. "You go to hell you fucking parasite." He snarled at her. Theresa looked in to Tobin's ice blue eyes, and looked at his brown skin caked with sweat and some mud. He had obviously had PE before he was let out of class. His breath stank of what smelt like rotten onions. "Parasite. That's the best insult you could come up with?" Theresa responded.

Tobin shoved Theresa harshly to the ground, he then gripped the locket that she wore, tore it from his victim's neck, and hurled it in to the lake. "NO!" Theresa screamed. "Fetch bitch!" Tobin said kicking Theresa harshly, and then he walked off laughing. Theresa leapt to her feet and ran to the lake. She then leapt in the lake and started to look for her beloved locket.

She had to resurface and go back under multiple times before she finally found it. Theresa "who was under water at this point." Grabbed the locket off of a rusty tin can and breathed a sigh of relief, only to have a mouthful of water rush in to her lungs.

Theresa quickly resurfaced and then coughed up some water. She clutched the locket to her chest for a moment before tying it back around her neck. Theresa looked at the locket and saw that it seemed to glow. "I guess lake water is good for cleaning things." Theresa muttered. A bright light started to radiate around the locket, engulfing Theresa. She had no clue what was happening, but she now knew that this was more then just a heavy duty cleaning.

The ground beneath Theresa seemed to vanish, and she felt the sensation of flying. Bright purple lights swirled around her, and silver stars leapt at her face. Thressa screamed as the odd sensations continued. She wondered briefly if she was sick, or if Tobin kicked her to hard. Those thoughts quickly vanished when she suddenly felt as if she were in freefall. She screamed loudly, terrified of what was happening around her. She saw a patch of dirt materialize beneathe her, and hit the patch with a harsh impact. Theresa felt her teeth rattle, and felt like her brain was in a blender. she barely had time to catch her breath when an obnoxious hateful voice flowed through Theresa's ears.

"Well, if it isn't a portal master apprentice. Won't Eon be pleased? Theresa glared angrily at the ground; she then looked up and screamed "shut up Tobin!" Theresa stared in shock as she saw the owner of the voice. She had no clue who he was, but she could say with certainty that he defiantly wasn't Tobin. Theresa started to laugh uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing at?" The stranger shouted.

"You. You look like a monkey. Mr. Monkey man." Theresa said breaking in to another fit of giggles.

The stranger's eyes filled with outrage. He summoned a black ball of energy, and hurled it at Theresa. The energy struck Theresa, throwing her backwards in to a rock. A burning pain filled her shoulder, and she briefly wondered how the hell summoning a ball of black light was possible when the stranger summoned a black sword that radiated with magical energies. Theresa closed her eyes, expecting to feel the rest of her body on fire like her shoulder, but the sensation never came. She opened her eyes a crack to see the monkey man cornered by other strangers.

Black wings grew on her attackers back, and he flew in to the sky. Thresa wondered how this was also possible, and the other people Theresa saw looked confused by this but said nothing. One of the strangers advance toward Theresa and asked

"are you ok?"

"I'm fine…" Theresa grumbled.

"My name is Sophia. The stranger said. "I'll take you to master Eon so you can recover."

Theresa nodded her head, like what she saw was perfectly normal. She looked around, wanting to find out where she was at. She noticed a large black bird staring at her. the bird had the paws, and tail of a lion, as well as the face and body of a bird. Thressa knew that she was looking at a gryphon. Memories of her grandmother assailed Thressa as she looked at the magnificent creature before her. her grandmother had told her stories about griffins and dragons, she had also told Thressa stories about people known as skylanders, for some reason this creature made Thresa remember those stories. Thressa turned to the gryphon, and said

"Your real!"

The gryphon stared oddly at Thressa upon hearing this comment, but she simply said,

"Of course I'm real! Why wouldn't I be?

Thressa steped towards the gryphon, and put her hand on the creatures head. She stoked the gryphon's pointed yet soft ears, and felt the cold metal helmet that the majestic creature wore. Thresa smiled as she felt the feathers of the gryphon. They felt so real! This was deffinatly one of the better hallucinations Thressa had.

The bird stared at her oddly, but didn't order the human to stop petting her. Thresa turned to the Sophia, and the green person besides her. she then started to touch the face of the two green skinned creatures. She pet there hair, and gently tugged there ears.

"Your real…" Thresa sighed in ecstasy.

For so long she had dreamed of her grandmother's stories, and prayed that something like that existed, and now here she was, living in one of the stories her grandmother told her. a sudden cold feeling swept over Thressa as she realized this was all just a hallucination. Sure it felt more realistic then the other hallucinations she had experienced, but that didn't change the fact that this was only happening inside her mind. She decided to forget that she was dreaming, and just enjoy her time in this deranged vision. Her heart aced knowing that any miniute this strange new world could vanish from her grasp, and she would be stuck in New York City again, with Tobin and his gang. She shook that thought away, and decided to enjoy her time here. Thressa followed the two green people who mentioned that they wanted to take her to meet someone.

The two green people took hold of Theresa, noticing that she couldn't walk to well on her own, and half dragged her to there home. When Theresa and the others arrived at the ruins, Theresa collapsed by a tree.

"Flameslinger, wait with her while Sonny and I tell master Eon what has happened." Sophia instructed. "

Of course." Flameslinger replied. Theresa watched Sophia run away. Black spots filled Theresa's vision, making her feel dizzy.

"Are you alright?" Flameslinger asked.

"I don't think so." Theresa groaned. She couldn't even be sure of what she was seeing. Her head felt like daggers were being put in to it. Theresa wondered briefly if she was waking up, and returning to reality. The Thought made her panic.

"Not now, please not now… I don't want to return…" Thressa moaned. Blackness swamped her vision, her protests died away, and she saw no more.

Flameslinger stared in horror as he watched the girl faint. "Don't die, don't die!" Flameslinger called, slapping the girl over the face. Sophia had charged him to look after the girl they rescued. Yet the girl seemed to be dying at this very moment. "Please wake up." Flameslinger whispered. He groaned at the girl's lack of a response. "Flameslinger!" his mate called to him "shit…" Flameslinger muttered. He really didn't want to tell Sophia about the girl. Sophia leapt down to the girl's side.

"Hey, you wake up." The girl's eyes opened and she mumbled in a groggy tone

"I'm still here?"

"Yeah why wouldn't you be?" Flameslinger asked.

"I expected to be back at the lake, that's where I last fell asleep."

"No you fell asleep here." Sophia said.

"No… I… I'm so confused aren't I?" the girl said.

"Do you remember your name?" Flameslinger asked.

"Of course, I may be confused but I'm not stupid. My name is Theresa.

"Do you remember my name?" Sophia asked. Theresa paused for a moment concentrating intently.

"You are Sophia." She said.

"Yes, very good. Do you know his name?" Sophia asked pointing at Flameslinger.

More concentration and then

"you are Flameslinger."

"Very good." Flameslinger said. Theresa's eyebrows knitted up and she said

"who is he?"

Flameslinger and Sophia turned to see Eon walking towards them.

"Master Eon." Sophia and Flameslinger greeted him in unison, bowing there heads in respect to him. Eon nodded to the skylander signaling them to rise up.

"Is this the apprentice?" Eon asked.

Flameslinger and Sophia nodded there heads yes.

"Hello young one, what is your name?"

"My name is Theresa. Who are you?" Theresa croaked.

"My name is Eon. I am leader of the skylanders."

"Skylanders… I have heard of them before." Theresa sighed, as once again memories of her grandmother assailed her.

Welcome to the skylands Theresa. Come with me and I'll find you some place to stay."

Theresa stood, limped a few steps, and then fell. Eon caught her and led her rest of the way, to a place he called the StarWay tower.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaos flew though the clouds, silky black wings trembling in fury. Despite the calming image of the bright blue sky, and the soft cotton like clouds, Kaos felt a wild and untamable dark energy churning inside him as he recalled the strange girl's insult to him. She had bluntly stated about how he looked like a monkey to her, and in Kaos opinion monkeys were some of the stupidest and ugliest animals in existence." How dare that rotten little pest speak to me in such a tone!" Kaos growled aloud to himself. He knew the insult she used wasn't very harsh, and could have been more creative, but years of putting up with brash comments about his appearance had made him snap at any comment that implied he was ugly.

Kaos growled as he thought about his recent defeat at the skylanders hands. The defeat that sent him to the damned world known as earth. Everyone on that damned planet had stared at him, and whispered about his odd appearance. Some fool by the name of Tobin had even gotten right in his face and called him a hideous looking parasite. Kaos had quickly put the young boy in his place by blasting him with dark magic. That was another strange thing about the planet known as earth. It seemed to be a fountain of dark magic. Every where Kaos had traveled there, he had sensed the malicious energies of dark magic. He wondered if some foolish portal master apprentice was fooling around with his or her skills, but whenever Kaos searched for the person causing the dark energies he had found no one suspicious. Kaos dragged his thoughts away from earth, and back to his defeat at the skylanders hand.

He had no clue how his hydragon had been defeated, but he did know that if he had tried to deal with the skylanders himself, he would have won. And that thought made him all the more furious. Kaos looked down scouting for any sign of his former lair. He wondered how his minion's and Glumshanks were doing. Then he wondered why he should care. It was because of Glumshanks's weakness and his minion's stupidity that he lost to the skylanders In the first place!

Kaos stopped his musings as he saw a small crevice in the ground. This was the entrance to his first lair. He dove downwards in to the crevice and abruptly hit the ground. Kaos rested for a moment, winded by the impact; he then looked around at the dirt covered ground beneath him. There was nothing luxurious about the cave that he and his minions lived in. spider webs coated the walls of the underground cave, often times trapping his less then observant minions. Puddles decorated the floor, turning it to mud. The rust colored ground was often frozen, causing most of the minions to fall ill. Both Kaos and his minions were often scratching at themselves from all the dust and bugs that gathered on them during the night. Kaos's internal complaints about his home ceased abruptly as he heard voices and laughter coming from a nearby tunnel in the underground cave. The noise disgusted him. He snuck over to a wall, and listened in on the following conversation…

* * *

><p>~*~<br>"Shit, shit, shit, oh that's a pretty one!" an elf sorceress exclaimed as she sorted threw a pile of rocks.

Ever since her master had been defeated by the skylanders there had been nothing to do, except for sorting through her rock collection.

"Hey Sai! Still sorting your rocks?" a voice called to her playfully. Sai turned to glare, as a ninja like elf crept toward her. The elf's name was Tenbra. She was always in Sai's business.

"First off there stones. Second off, scram!" Sai said to Tenbra.

Tenbra just laughed at her roommate.

"All right I'll go. For the record, stones and rocks are the same thing!" with that said Tenbra ran off.

Meanwhile at the other side of the cave another discussion was taking place.

"How do you think the skylanders beat him?" Magmaspurt asked Glumshanks for the hundredth time.

Glumshanks responded with the answer he gave every time. "I don't know. Please don't ask. I don't want to think of Kaos now okay."

The goblin said to the magma giant. Glumshanks never wanted to think of his former master anymore, yet no one seemed to understand that. Glumshanks sighed mournfully as he thought about his former friend, and how he had been killed in battle with the skylanders. Upon hearing the news of Kaos's death Glumshanks had been tempted to take his own life, but had been too scared to.

Magmaspurt grumbled and insulted Glumshanks under his breath, but did not pester the goblin again.

"Hey Magma, Glum, you two discussing how Kaos and his hydragon got there ass's whooped?" Tenbra shouted to her companions.

"Yeah, I still wonder how he lost. I mean if he had fought the skylanders single handedly he would have fallen quicker, but he had the hydragon! How could the hydragon have lost?" Magmaspurt ranted.

"Probably because stupid Kaos kept yelling at it and freaking it out. If Kaos had let me fight though, I'm positive we would have won." Tenbra stated.

Upon hearing those words, Magmaspurt started to laugh in hysterics. Magma started to spurt past his lips "Hence why he is called Magmaspurt." Forming a puddle at his feet.

"Like you could take the skylanders on all alone!" he shouted to Tenbra.

"Maybe I wouldn't be able to fight them all. But if I separated a skylander from its pack, I'm certain I could kill it!" Tenbra defended herself.

"Keep, dreaming." Magmaspurt said, walking off to pester Glumshanks. "

"I could to beat a skylander." Tenbra muttered.

Tenbra continued to sulk around on her own, until she realized that all the chatter she had heard earlier, had ceased. The elf turned her head around, to see her comrades clustered around in a circle. She wandered over to them, and saw her former master standing in the middle of the circle.

"Kaos?" Tenbra gasped. She thought he had died!

"Why hello Tenbra." Kaos growled at her. "What is it you said about me being stupid?"

Tenbra felt fear run through her as her master said that. She knew that if he was agitated enough her master would not hesitate to kill her, so she decided to dodge the question, with a question of her own.

"How did you survive?" Tenbra asked weakly, her legs going limp as she stared in to the hate filled eyes of her master.

Kaos walked up to the elf, grabbed her throat and hissed "That is none of your business." He then threw Tenbra roughly to the dusty ground.

Laughter erupted from the crowd until Kaos glared at them. Silence immediately followed. "Its time we take our revenge on the Skylanders. Follow me." Kaos declared.

* * *

><p>When Theresa awoke she was lying on a bed instead of grass. Much to her surprise it wasn't her own bed. She looked around the room she was in. the room had white walls and a silver ceiling. By her bed there was a short pedestal like shelf. A potted plant sat on the shelf. The ceiling fan above her was turned on, but it was spinning in slow, lazy circles. The white sheets of Theresa's new bed were tangled slightly around her feet.<p>

She came to the conclusion that she was in a hospital. But why? Had Tobin hurt her that badly? Had she drowned? Theresa then remembered the dream she had woken up in, and realized that the hazy world of her grandmother's stories was gone. She felt a large lump swell up in her throat as she recalled that world. She had felt so close to her grandmother in that dream, and Theresa briefly wondered about what would happen if she stayed in the dream. She wondered if her grandmother would have come to her, and they would stay together until she awoke. Pangs of loss tore at her heart as she remembered her grandmother. Suddenly she wondered if she still had her locket with her. Theresa lashed her hand around her neck, and to her relief she felt her locket there. She sighed briefly, as relief swept over her. At least she still had her locket… Theresa carefully untangled the cotton bed sheets from her feet, and then cautiously crawled out of bed and down the hall way of the hospital. Theresa noticed many different paintings on the metallic hospital walls. She noticed a painting that depicted a purple dragon, and a black dragoness. The two majestic creatures in the painting were hovering over a clump of lush grass. The black dragoness flew slightly above the purple dragon, her black and red wings beating with vibrant energy, and a radiant smile on her face. The purple dragon in the painting seemed to be the calmer one of the duo. His face had a serious expression, and yet his eyes had a light smile in them. Theresa couldn't help but smile at the painting, considering how content the dragon and his dragoness looked. She turned her head away from the beautiful painting, and noticed a sliding glass door. Theresa stumbled to the door, opened it, and walked out.

A wave of fresh air hit the girl as she exited the hospital, and she had the sudden impulse to run around, and skip through the soft grass that tickled her bare feet. Unfortunately she still felt a little shaky and therefore couldn't risk moving to quickly. Theresa looked at the landscape around her, and saw that she did not recognize it. She quickly came to the conclusion that she was still hallucinating, after all she would have known where she was at if she was still in New York. A wave of bliss struck Theresa, and she almost collapsed from the strength of her emotions. Realizing that she was still dreaming she decided to explore the land, hoping that she would find her grandmother.

Theresa wandered aimlessly through the land taking in the ruin like appearance of the place, when suddenly a bird came crashing on to her head. Theresa fell to the floor, shocked by the sudden impact. She then raised her hand and gently removed the bird from her face, not wanting to accidently damage its wings. She held the bird gently in the palms of her hands.

Theresa looked at the little bird and began to analyze him. His glossy, black feathers had a scruffy appearance to them, and his rabbit like ears were slightly spiky. His eyes were a pale shade of blue, and radiated a warm smile.

"Sorry about that miss. I didn't mean to crash in to you, but I'm still learning how to fly." The bird said to her.

"That's okay. Um, do you know where I am?" Theresa asked the little bird.

"You're in the skylands, more specifically the ruins." The bird explained to her, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Thanks." Theresa replied, relief flooding her now that she was certain her dream continued. She felt limp with relief as she realized she hadn't gotten her hopes up for no reason. She then started to question the bird about himself.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Cyrus" the bird in her hand replied.

"I'm Theresa." Theresa replied.

"Theresa… that's a pretty name." Cyrus replied in a dreamlike voice.

"Thank you!"

"Cyrus! Are you alright?" a voice from above called.

"I'm fine mom!" Cyrus called to the above voice.

A large bird landed beside Theresa and Cyrus. Her paws were the size of a tiger's and she had a lion like tail. Two rabbit like ears perched on top of her head. Her feathers were a night black color, and her eyes were a gleaming emerald. Theresa recognized the gryphon she had met earlier. She then realized that Cyrus was a gryphon to then.

"Cyrus, I told you to stay close to me." The gryphon scolded with a click of her beak.

To avoid even more scolding from his mother Cyrus blurted

"Hey mom meet Theresa!"

The gryphon turned her head away from her son to see the human girl, hesitation in her emerald eyes. She had no clue what to say to the human after its odd behavior, but she figured if she woke up in a strange land and got attacked by Kaos, she would be slightly confused as well.

"Hello, my name is Sonny. Your name is Theresa?" Sonny said, trying to keep her discomfort out of her voice.

"Yes my name is Theresa. It's great to meet you Sonny." Theresa responded in a cheerful voice.

"It's great to meet you to. I'm really sorry about my son disrupting you."

"That's okay. It was nice to meet him." Theresa said to the gryphon.

"MOM!" more voices from above called out. Three gryphon chicks came tumbling to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Sonny asked the children anxiously, running over to inspect them. The baby griffins were laughing too hard at there fall to reply to her. Sonny sighed in exasperation. She then turned to Theresa and spoke.

"These are my other little rascals. There names are Echo, Angia, and Hakkon." Sonny said pointing to each child in turn.

Theresa looked upon the gryphon hatchlings, taking in their appearance. Angia had black feathers like her mother, except they were a lighter shade. Her eyes were blue like Cyrus's eyes except they were a darker shade. Tufts of feathers stuck up on her rabbit like ears, making her look as if she had been electrocuted. Angia's sister Echo had grey black feathers, and dark silver eyes. Her feathers had a smoother look to them then her sibling's feathers. Hakkon had the same coloration as his mother, but he had dark amber eyes. He had a more rounded face then his mother and siblings as well, and his feathers were spiky looking like Cyrus's.

Theresa smiled at the babies. The gryphon chicks smiled back, opening their beaks widely, and showing tiny teeth. Hakkon walked up to Theresa, and spoke in a shy voice.

"Would you like to fly with us?"

"She can't fly airhead! She doesn't have wings!" Cyrus replied disdainfully to his brother.

"Sorry…" Hakkon whimpered in embarrassment.

"That's okay, I could try to fly." Theresa replied. She was eager to show the griffins that she could fly, despite not having wings.

Sonny cast a worried expression at Theresa. She didn't want the strange human to hurt herself in an effort to do something that wasn't possible.

"Maybe she could fly with us another day…" Sonny said hesitantly.

"Okay… can she play tag with us though? Hakkon asked, his wide amber eyes held a pleading expression.

Sonny looked at her son and said, "It's up to Theresa." Sonny then looked at Theresa with a slightly threatening expression, trying to use her eyes to say, "You better play tag with them."

Theresa smiled at the young griffins, not even looking at Sonny, and spoke to them in cheerful voice.

"Of course I'll play tag with you!

A chorus of cheers rose from the baby griffins. The group of five then ran into a grassy field and began to play.

Sonny watched the children play, and smiled at them; the gryphon cast her emerald eyes at Theresa. Despite Theresa being slightly odd, Sonny found herself wanting to trust the young girl. Theresa had the same innocence that her own children had. she briefly wondered what the young girl's parents were like, or if she even had parents. Sonny's thoughts abruptly ceased as a dark cloud emerged over head causing the Theresa and the baby griffins to look like silhouettes. The mother gryphon looked up at the dark sky, an expression of pure terror on her face.

"Oh no…" Sonny whispered.

The group of five ran to Sonny, and all started to talk at once.

"Are we going to get rain?" Cyrus asked.

"I don't want to get wet!" Hakkon complained.

"If we get a flood, can I play in it?" Angia asked enthusiastically.

Echo stayed silent, and ruffled her soft, silver gray feathers.

"What's going on Sonny?" Theresa asked nervously. Although she knew she was dreaming, the dark ominous clouds still scared her, and she had no clue why. What terrified her most though was the look of panic on Sonny's face. Theresa wondered why the gryphon was so terrified, after all the majestic creature must have known that Theresa wouldn't let her come to harm.

"Children." Sonny said addressing Theresa as well as her own children. "Get to safety. I need to go investigate those clouds." With that said Sonny flew skywards, casting one last look of despair at the children.

"Bye mom!" the gryphon chicks chorused. The four baby birds then looked expectantly at Theresa. Theresa realized that the baby griffins wanted her to lead them to safety.

"Um, follow me." Theresa said uncertainly, turning away from the babies.

The four siblings turned and flew after Theresa. Theresa looked for a suitable hiding spot that could protect her as well as the griffins. After a while of searching, she came across a small warren. The warren was covered in thorny vines, but there was an entrance she and the griffins could go through. Theresa ran in to the warren, four tiny griffins in tow, she was surprised to feel herself loose her footing and fall. Just as she was about to make a harsh impact with the ground, the baby griffins grabbed her. Cyrus and Angia grabbed her arms, while Echo and Hakkon grabbed her legs. The four siblings lowered there companion gently to the ground.

For a moment Theresa was terrified that there would be no way to get to get out of there hiding spot. Much to her relief she saw vines draped over the stony wall that could help her and her friends escape. Theresa looked around the cave taking in its sight. On one side of the warren there was a puddle of water. There was a crack in the side of a wall that would allow light to shine through. The temperature in the cave was uncomfortably cold, so Theresa was pleased when she saw some moss that the baby griffins would be able to cover up with.

Theresa was jolted out of her thoughts as she saw Cyrus anxiously pacing the floor.

"Are you alright Cyrus?" Theresa asked her nervous companion.

"I'm worried about mom. I know she does dangerous things all the time, but there was something different about those clouds. What if she doesn't come back?" Cyrus replied, his voice quivering.

"She will come back." Theresa said confidently. If this was her dream then surely she would be able to control Sonny's fate.

"How do you know?" Cyrus whimpered.

Theresa considered telling Cyrus that she could control every ones fate. She wanted to explain to the young gryphon that the world he lived in was created out of her thoughts, but she knew that implying to the gryphon that he, his mother, and siblings weren't real would only upset him more, so she kept those thoughts to herself.

"She will come back, because I'll bring her back!" Theresa assured, with those words, she raced to the vines and climbed out of the hole.

* * *

><p>Sonny flew through the dark clouds trying to find Kaos so she could end his pathetic life. She wasn't going to risk losing her children to him again. Sonny flew to the side, as a gear came spinning towards her head. Lightning bolts rained down through the black clouds, almost hitting her on numerous occasions. Turbulent rain pounded the battle field below, turning it to an ocean of thick, sucking, mud. Sonny was relieved that she didn't have to do battle on the ground. As the gryphon flew through the sky, she noticed her friend Sunburn crashing through the clouds, many winged beasts trailing after him.<p>

Sonny wanted to go after her friend and save him, but she suddenly felt cold claws gripping her back. Sonny instinctively whipped around in a full circle to throw her opponent off of her. Sonny's adversary went flying through the air, she spread her wings and caught herself before she could come crashing to the ground. Sonny noticed that her opponent was a gryphon like her; and had a feeling that she knew this gryphon. The strange gryphon had tawny feathers instead of the typical black feathers. Her face was a light shade of brown, making her look like someone had thrown mud on her. Her eyes were a sharp ice blue color, and she had a jagged scar across her right eye. Sonny knew only one other gryphon who looked like this, and yet she did not want to believe that she was fighting her former best friend.

"I've seen you around before." The strange gryphon stated bluntly. This comment distressed Sonny. She knew that only her former best friend Gildara would recognize her after all this time. Sonny knew she had to focus on the battle, so she hid the distress she now felt consuming her.

"Yeah, I probably fought you the last time I confronted Kaos!" Sonny snarled at the gryphon. She bared her teeth in a threatening manner.

The other gryphon cocked her head to the side and spoke in a cool tone.

"Right I'll keep that in mind." With those words the strange gryphon flew away. Sonny couldn't force down the nagging feeling that this gryphon was indeed Gildara.

* * *

><p>Tenbra scanned the rocky battle field whilst trying to keep herself from sinking into the mud beneath her feet. Tenbra was searching for a worth while skylander to fight; she knew that her master would reward her if she defeated a skylander in battle. Tenbra continued scouting until a ninja like elf caught her eye.<p>

"Perfect." Tenbra said licking her lips in anticipation of the kill.

Tenbra crept over to the elf and lunged on top of her, hacking at her with the blade. To her surprise straw and feathers came off of her victim.

"What the hell!" Tenbra shouted.

"Looking for me?" a voice hissed.

Upon hearing those words Tenbra felt a cold steel blade touch her throat. Instinctively Tenbra rose up her blade and whacked the other blade away from her throat.

She then turned and hacked at her opponent's face. Tenbra's adversary lunged backwards nimbly dodging the blades.

"You got good moves," Tenbra admitted grudgingly, "but not good enough to defeat me!"

"Try me!" the other elf said confidently. The two girls swiped, and hacked at one another with there blades, forming a puddle of blood around them.

Tenbra found that she rather enjoyed the feeling of the fight, and briefly wondered why her master had never let her experience this powerful sensation before. Tenbra admired how graceful her opponent was when it came to dodging attacks, and she loved the energy she felt as the tangy scent of blood washed over her. Tenbra wanted this sensation to last forever, but she knew it would end soon, so she decided to elongate her fight for as much time as possible. Tenbra decided not to go in for a killing blow, and to simply hack at her opponent in order to increase the battle's longevity. She felt bloodlust rising inside her, as warm blood spilled over her face. She had no clue if it was her own blood or her adversary's, but she enjoyed the sensation of it being spilled any way. The way that the warm liquid coated her, made the young elf feel powerful, as the pungent scent assailed her nostrils. Tenbra suddenly felt as if she were living for the first time, she felt herself become aware of emotions that she never felt before. The iron taste of blood bathed Tenbra's tongue, making her feel like a wild predator. Oh how she loved this strange, new, sensation!

Suddenly a searing pain ran through Tenbra's arm, cutting off all feelings of life and energy inside her. She felt as if she were being set on fire, and the scorching heat tore at her. Tenbra looked at her arm and saw a flaming arrow sticking out.

"Just great." Tenbra sighed bitterly. She had no clue where the arrow had come from, but she knew that it would impair her arm for a while. The adrenaline of the fight left Tenbra all too soon, making her feel hollow inside.

Tenbra watched as an elfin archer landed, in front of her adversary, defending the other elf from Tenbra's attacks. He held his bow up and pointed it at Tenbra.

"I surrender!" Tenbra cried, knowing that if she was outnumbered she would be beaten. Sure she was only outnumbered by two, but the hollow feeling inside her was slowly sentencing her to collapsing.

The archer turned to the ninja girl behind him and asked if they should let Tenbra go. Tenbra flattened her ears, and braced herself for the inevitable, knowing she was about to be sentenced to death. There was no way she would be able to fight back, not when the hollow feeling was consuming her.

"Let her go." Tenbra's adversary said.

Tenbra stared and shock as she heard those words. They were giving her a chance to escape?

"You heard her. Go away!" the archer said.

Tenbra wanted to stick around and fight still, despite how weak she felt, but her legs instinctively moved her away from the two elves. Exhaustion weighed inside Tenbra, as the bloodlust and adrenaline fully abandoned her. Tenbra felt the hollowness inside her swell up, and she felt utterly worthless. She wondered what point there was in living if she could no longer fight. Tenbra mentally slapped herself, realizing that there would be other battles. She closed her foggy eyes and collapsed to the floor. Her final thoughts were "She let me go. She could have sentenced me to death but she set me free."

* * *

><p>Sunbright stood on a tall cliff besides her master. She watched the battle, her violet eyes filled to the brim with terror. She ruffled her pale, light orange feathers in agitation. She knew her master would want her to fight, but she just couldn't fight. She was too afraid to. Sunbright felt a cold, bony hand touch her back. She leapt slightly.<p>

"What are you waiting for?" a dark voice asked.

"Get out there and fight!"

"I can't master, I just can't" Sunbright wailed in terror. Oh how she loathed battle.

Kaos kicked the phoenix –dragon hybrid roughly on the legs. Sunbright yelped in pain, and she stumbled forward.

"Get off your lazy ass and fight you worthless piece of bullshit!" Kaos snarled at her.

Sunbright leapt off the cliff, terror of her master driving her forward. She hovered lightly in the air, staring sadly at her master. Something had changed in the kind friend Sunbright had once known, and in his place was a brutal monster. Sunbright felt tears swell up in her eyes as she remembered how kind Kaos had once been to her. He had fought off a gang of hunters in order to save her life, and despite not knowing her; he had welcomed her and cared for her. "Kaos…" Sunbright whimpered. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, and struck the phoenix dragon, almost throwing her to the muddy earth below.

"That's to get you moving along!" Kaos shouted from where he perched on the cliff. Tears slid down her face as Sunbright flew through the sky looking for someone to fight "or in her case run away from." When she saw a dark red shape plummeting to the ground. Sunbright darted downward towards the shape and picked it up so she could get a closer look at it. Much to her surprise it was a phoenix dragon hybrid like her.

The phoenix dragon opened his eyes, and kicked Sunbright with his back legs. Sunbright yelped. The phoenix dragon leapt out of her arms, and gripped her roughly by the throat.

"Take me to Kaos!" he snarled. Fear flooded Sunbright, as she realized she could die in that instant. She felt her mind freeze up, and she heard herself babbling, yet she could not tell what she was saying, never mind control her words. Tears burst in to Sunbright's eyes as she wailed in hysteria

"Please don't kill me! I don't want to kill you, or any other skylander! I don't want to harm your friends! I don't want my friends being harmed and I don't want my master to die!"

Sunbright went completely limp. The only reason why she was still in the air was because her attacker was holding her up. Sunburn looked upon the pathetic phoenix dragon. The girl in his grip had started to hyperventilate. Sunburn could feel the shudders running through his enemy. He didn't want to fight this girl. Not when she was in total hysteria. He sighed bitterly as he realized he had to let her go. He was rather suspicious, assuming that she was faking, and yet the terror in her voice sounded so sincere. Sunburn wrapped his arms around the phoenix dragon, and began to fly towards the ground.

Sunburn noticed a rocky outcrop, and put the hysterical hybrid under it. He then flew back in to the fray.

* * *

><p>Theresa ran up the cliff where she saw Kaos standing. She ran towards him and shouted in order to gain his attention. "Hey monkey man! Over here!" Kaos whipped around to face Theresa, eyes blazing black fire. Theresa leapt towards him, and tried to do a ninja kick she had seen on a Jackie Chan movie, but her feet slipped on wet stone and she fell on her rear end.<p>

"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" Kaos mocked. Theresa stood up, but was sent flying backwards as a bolt of black energy struck her.

She tried to summon her own bolt of energy "believing she could in this "dream" of hers." But nothing happened. Theresa felt a wave of fear run through her as yet another bolt of black magic struck her. She fell to the floor, and vomited up a mouthful of blood, her body shuddering. Why was this happening? Why wasn't she able to fight back? She felt her thoughts tear her mind apart. All rational thoughts flew apart as a jarring pain ran through Theresa. Tears fell from her eyes, merging with the blood she had coughed up. Kaos's mocking laughter filled her ears. Theresa felt the world spin around her, and she wondered if she was waking. It was true that she wanted to be out of this dream now, but she at least wanted to say good bye to the gryphon family she met here.

"Grandmother, why can't this vision at least let me speak to you before I wake?" Theresa murmured, her voice choked with tears. She had prayed to any higher power there was that she could speak to her grandmother one last time.

This beautiful dream of hers had suddenly turned in to a grueling nightmare, as she lie on the rocky cliff ground, coughing up blood and crying as she waited to return to New York. Theresa watched as Kaos prepared to strike her, just as she was about to be struck yet again, a voice called out,

"Stop right now Kaos!"

"Well, if it isn't Eon. Are you here to save your portal master apprentice?" Kaos snarled at him, turning away from his victim.

"Theresa is just a child. She can't hurt you, so let her go."

"Make me!" Kaos responded, summoning a tidal wave of black energy.

Theresa watched in horror as the wave swept toward her and Eon, just as the black wave was about to strike, a shield of light rose over the duo. The black wave struck the shield, and recoiled. Theresa watched as Kaos drew back as well. The shield trembled slightly from being struck by the wave, but it did not fall. The black wave split in half, sending the black magic back at Kaos.

Kaos absorbed the black magic, causing his body to contort grotesquely. He barred his teeth in agony. His skin turned a black color, and his eyes turned blazing amber. He screeched his agony out loud causing Theresa to shiver. The grueling transformations continued. Black wings rose up on Kaos's back, and his nails grew long and pointed like the claws of a cat. Kaos gripped his head with his claws, and blood flowed from his scalp. His wings beat franticly against the rocky ground, dislodging many pebbles. His eyes blazed with agony, and his screams chilled the air around Eon and Theresa. Theresa instinctively curled over herself, trying desperately to block out the cries she heard.

"What's happening to him?" Theresa asked nervously, her voice trembling.

"I don't know." Eon replied. Eon cast a baleful glance at Kaos, as the corrupt wizard's transformations continued. Blood started to seep out of Kaos as his skin shredded. It seemed to Theresa that invisible claws were tearing him apart. Kaos's jaws widened in a sharp scream of agony.

The whole battle field fell silent, and only Kaos's shrieks could be heard. The screams of agony faded away, and Kaos fell to the ground, trembling. His skin was now a pale white color and his eyes turned to a faded black. He looked hatefully at Eon and spoke in a voice filled with venom.

"You will pay for that Eon… I swear to God you will pay…" Kaos stood, and shakily called for his army to retreat. Black light glowed around Kaos, and miniature black lights glowed on the battle field.

Kaos vanished, his horrid screams still ringing in Theresa's ears. The shield around Theresa and Eon dispersed, and Eon called out to the skylanders to return home.


	3. Chapter 3

Theresa walked with Eon around the bloody battle field, taking in the carnage that surrounded her. The few patches of grass growing in the rocky field were stained with blood and guts. Theresa was horrified to see bones littering the floor. She winced as she accidently kicked a skull. Theresa felt herself stop cold as she came across black feathers floating in a puddle of blood. One of the feathers sank, as some blood covered it. Theresa bit her lips, anxiety threatening to overwhelm her. She broke in to a cold sweat as she gazed at the destruction.

Why had this happened? What would happen next? Was she truly able to control what happened in this realm? Were the baby griffins alright? Most importantly, where was Sonny?

"Where could she be?" Theresa asked aloud.

"Where could who be?" Eon said.

"Sonny. I promised Cyrus that I would bring her back to him."

Eon shook his head and said "you shouldn't have made that promise Theresa, not when you can't control Sonny's fate.

"But I can control her fate, as well as yours and everyone else's." Theresa murmured. Though now she wasn't to sure if she could. Tears rolled down her face as she thought about Sonny dying, Theresa tripped over a skull and fell to the ground, a mixture of mud and blood now coated her face.

"Are you alright?" Eon asked in concern. Theresa nodded mutely, and tried to stand. Eon grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Theresa gazed once more around the battle field, desperate to find any sign of Sonny.

Theresa saw Flameslinger and Sophia sitting by a puddle of blood. Sophia appeared to be crying about something, while Flameslinger was trying to comfort her. She turned her head away from where the two elves sat, and spotted a black dragoness and a purple dragon limping side by side. The two dragons collapsed by a red dragon and a pink dragoness.

Theresa continued her frantic for Sonny, when an agitated blue and white dragoness came up to her.

"Have you seen my brother and sister? There names are Flame and Ember, Flame is red, while Ember is pink. Have you seen them? I need to find them!" there were tears forming in the creatures eyes, as she spoke in a terrified voice.

"I think I saw them somewhere over there." Theresa said pointing to where she saw a pink dragoness and a red dragon.

"Thank you!" the dragoness said ready to run off.

"Wait! Have you seen a black gryphon by the name of Sonny around here?" Theresa asked. The dragoness bit her lips, and concentrated for a while before speaking.

"She was with Sunburn and Drobot earlier." With those words the dragoness ran off to find her brother and sister.

Theresa looked around the battle field, despair tearing at her. She had no clue who Sunburn and Drobot were, so she had no way of using them to locate Sonny. Theresa continued her search, and suddenly spotted Sonny standing by what looked like a red bird, and a dragon wearing armor. Relief flooded Theresa as she saw that he friend wasn't to badly hurt.

"Sonny!" Theresa shouted separating herself from Eon and running toward the gryphon.

"Theresa! It's great to see you! How are my children doing?" Sonny asked, slight fear in her voice.

"There hiding in a warren by the river. I'll bring you to them."

"Thank you so much!" Sonny replied. Her voice becoming lighter as relief flowed through her.

With those words, Theresa and Sonny broke away from the group so they could see the baby griffins.

* * *

><p>Cyrus paced the floor anxiously, wondering if his mother and Theresa were dead. The thought made Cyrus feel like he had an ice cold dagger in his chest. He sighed mournfully for the hundredth time. Cyrus's heart ached worse with each minute that passed. He knew his mother should be back by now, and yet she had not returned. Cyrus started to believe his mother was dead.<p>

"Any sign of them?" A voice called. Cyrus turned to see his older brother Hakkon glancing at him.

"No sign of them." Cyrus sighed.

Hakkon walked up to Cyrus and wrapped his wings around him. Usually Cyrus resented this kind of affection, but right now all he wanted to do was curl up with his siblings and sleep.

"She'll be fine…" Hakkon murmured.

"But what if she's not?" Cyrus choked out. Tears poured over the rims of his eyes, splashing his brother's wings. Hakkon picked Cyrus up and rocked him gently.

Cyrus felt his heart break as he realized that his mother could be dead, those thoughts sent him in to hysterics. Cyrus wailed, and choked as tears flooded his eyes. Hakkon began to cry to. Echo and Angia who heard their sibling's cries began to weep as well. This continued as a clattering sound rang around the warren.

The baby griffins continued to cry, not caring what the noise they heard was, all they cared about was having their mother with them.

"Cyrus, Hakkon, Angia, Echo, what's wrong?" A voice asked fearfully. The four siblings stopped crying as they heard their mother's voice.

"Mother!" Cyrus shouted joyfully. The baby griffins rushed up to there mother and jumped on top of her, happiness at her return filling them.

Sonny wrapped her wings around the children in a tight embrace, tears trailing down her eyes. She was so glad to see them!

"Mama, you're bleeding." Angia said in a frightened tone. The young gryphon recoiled as blood dripped on to her glossy black feathers. Sonny turned away from her daughter, and saw a large gash on her wing. She briefly wondered how deep the wound was, but she didn't want to worry her children so she simply said,

"I'll be fine dears."

"Maybe I should take a look at your wing Sonny." Theresa said. "Make sure you truly are alright." Sonny hesitated for a moment, but when she saw the looks of concern on her children's faces she decided to lie down, and extend her injured wing to Theresa. Theresa saw dark stains of blood coating Sonny's wing, there was no way she could properly analyze it if it wasn't cleaned up. Thressa scooped up some moss from the side of the cave, dipped it in the water, and walked over to Sonny. She then rubbed the damp moss gently on the gryphon's injured wing. Sonny winced, but did not protest. When most of the blood was washed away, Theresa mentioned what she saw.

"The gash is pretty deep, but you'll be fine." Theresa told Sonny.

Sonny gave Theresa a grateful look knowing that Theresa said that to make sure her children didn't worry. Cyrus and his siblings sighed in relief as they curled up by there mother. Sonny wrapped herself around her children, and decided to spend the night at the warren. Both she and her family were too tired to return to their cave.

Theresa walked to the front of the warren, and began to climb the vine on the wall. She turned her head to Sonny and spoke.

"Are you coming?"

"I'm too tired to travel right now. My family and I will rest here until I'm strong enough to take them home. Thank you for taking them to safety."

Theresa nodded her head, acknowledging Sonny's words. She then climbed the vine, and trekked back to the ruins.

* * *

><p>The black light disappeared, allowing Kaos to see his gloomy surroundings. Resentment flooded him as he realized he was back at his home. Kaos glared around the cave for a moment before he stumbled over to the hall, "which was just one of the underground tunnels connected to the main chamber" he attempted to walk through the dust filled hall and reach his room, but he fell to the floor, sharp stones reopening gashes he had received in the fight. Kaos felt his stomach churn and his hands tremble as he retched all over the ground, pain coursing through his head and stomach. He shuddered as he spewed blood and bile on to the dirt floor. The dirt changed to a vile mud, as blood and bile merged inside of it. Kaos looked at the ground in disgust, and then he turned away from the putrid puddle and faced his minions. Much to his anger and dismay he realized that his minions were staring at him, he noticed that some were even sniggering. Kaos knew that he looked pathetic to them, and that fueled his fury. He hated to show such weakness; especially to the people he was supposed to command.<p>

Kaos stumbled to his feet and faced his minions.

"What are you staring at?" he snarled at them. No one replied, until Sunbright stepped forward.

"Are you all right master?" Sunbright whimpered.

Kaos glared in disgust at her. After the battle, Kaos had seen the phoenix dragon hybrid bawling her eyes out as the black light engulfed her. He realized that she hadn't fought at all and had hidden for the whole battle. Resentment flooded him as he realized how useless the hybrid was to him.

Sunbright shrunk back from Kaos's glare, causing many minions to snigger.

"All of you get out of my sight!" Kaos snapped. He was weary of dealing with his minions. Exhaustion seeped in to Kaos as he faced the people he was forced to lead. All their eyes were still cast on him, and he felt chills run down his spine. One thing he hated most was being stared at.

"You heard me! Scram! Kaos, commanded once more.

"But master…" Glumshanks muttered feebly.

"AWAY!" Kaos roared.

All the minions quickly scattered not wanting to enrage there master. Glumshanks turned to Kaos and attempted to speak but his master cut him off

"Don't make me have to kill you Glumshanks. You've been useful; it would be a damn shame to have to destroy you!"

Glumshanks gulped and then ran off. Kaos let a brief feeling of accomplishment flow over him as he watched his minions scatter. This brief moment of high self esteem was abruptly cut off as a searing pain tore at Kaos's head. He clutched at his head, and limped through the dimly lighted halls, trying not to collapse from the strain he felt. Kaos suddenly remembered why he lived in this wretched cave in the first place. The cave that he and his minions lived in had been his and Glumshanks old hide away, after they had fled their old school. This cave held many memories for both him and Glumshanks, many of the memories it held for Kaos though, were events he wanted to forget. Kaos paused in the hall way, and stared at one of the dim lights that perched on the dust covered wall. He then began to once again think about why he hated this place. The dusty cave was damp practically every day, and it was always freezing in the winter. Rockslides and floods would often occur during heavy rain fall, and many stray pests would crawl through his room. Kaos had been pleased when he had moved in to his most recent lair. After returning from earth he would have went there if the skylanders hadn't destroyed it. Kaos stopped staring at the dim light, and continued to his room. His feet shook as he walked, and he collapsed to the ground multiple times. Kaos eventually resorted to dragging himself over the gravel floor. The use of dark magic had taken its toll on him, and yet Kaos felt he had to use the wild energy that surged inside him. The dark magic was like a drug that Kaos couldn't live without. Despite how sick it made him feel, he had to use the dark magic constantly.

Five minutes passed before Kaos managed to reach the metallic door that led to his room. This was actually rather quick considering how he had dragged himself to the door. He pulled himself in to a standing position, and then opened the door. Kaos stumbled through the door, and looked around the room that he was forced to sleep in. A dark dreary place that always leaked during heavy rainfall, and was infested with spiders and other bugs. He glared at his bed, which was simply a damp moldy mattress, lying lamely on the ground. Kaos limped over to the mold clump as he called it, and collapsed on the mattress, crushing an unfortunate spider that happened to be crawling there. He sighed in resentment, planning to keep the best bed at the ruins for himself once he defeated the skylanders.

Kaos thrashed around restlessly, sleep seeming to elude him all night. He continued to thrash and tremble as he thought about his most recent defeat. He expected to win that battle because of how powerful he had become, and yet he had still lost. Kaos snarled to himself as he thought about that humiliating defeat. The defeat that nearly killed him. Although he would never admit it, the one thing that terrified him most was dying. That was rather odd to him considering he despised living, and yet he was too scared to die.

The sound of the door grating against the dirt floor caught Kaos's attention; he immediately turned to face the intruder.

"Who's there?" Kaos snarled, his black eyes blazing. His hands radiated with dark magic, signaling that he was ready to strike.

"It's only me master…" A feeble voice muttered. Kaos growled in disapproval as Glumshanks cautiously walked in to the room.

"What are you doing here?" Kaos muttered, slightly less irritated now that he knew who was trespassing in his room.

"I wanted to know if you were alright master. You didn't look to well when you returned…" Glumshanks trailed off, and didn't finish his sentence. Kaos glared resentfully at Glumshanks, he then dragged himself off his bed and stumbled over to Glumshanks.

Kaos lifted his hand and gripped Glumshanks's throat roughly. Dark magic swirled around him and Glumshanks.

"You think I'm weak do you? You think I'm not fit to be ruler of the skylands, you want to have all the power for yourself, well listen here Glumshanks I'm ruler of this cave, and you are only second in command, therefore you must obey me!" Kaos roared furiously.

Glumshanks trembled as the dark magic continued to swirl around him; fear shined brightly in the goblins eyes. The thick dark magic began to wrap around Glumshanks, causing the goblin to vomit mouthfuls of blood on to the dirt floor. The dark magic withdrew suddenly, leaving Glumshanks gasping for breath. Glumshanks collapsed on the floor, and stared at Kaos, turmoil swirling in his eyes. For a moment Kaos felt guilty about what he had done, but he forced the feeling of guilt away.

"Get out of my sight!" Kaos spat, kicking Glumshanks roughly. The injured goblin cast one last sorrowful glance at his master before dragging himself away. Kaos walked back to his mattress and collapsed again. He stared at the ceiling and wondered why he had attacked Glumshanks for a moment; he then decided that his reason for attacking his second in command wasn't important. Kaos closed his eyes and fell asleep, terror flooding him as he prepared himself to face his nightmares once more.

* * *

><p>Sunburn lay in his nest, attempting to sleep. Unfortunately his mind was too turbulent at the moment for him to sleep. Sunburn sighed as he thought back to the battle. This battle had been much like every other battle he had been in, until he had been struck by lightning. The shock had sent him tumbling to the ground; he had been unable to beat his wings for they had locked up. Sunburn was certain he would have died that night if he wasn't grabbed by a strange phoenix dragon hybrid.<p>

Sunburn hadn't thought much of her at the time, considering he had to concentrate on the battle, but once the rush of battle had died down, and he finally realized that he had seen another phoenix dragon, his mind felt like it had been set ablaze. For one thing he had always thought that he was the only phoenix dragon hybrid, so where had this one come from? Another question that tore at him was why did the stranger not fight him, why had she burst in to tears and pleaded with him to spare her life?

All these questions tore at him, causing him to thrash, and shift restlessly in his nest. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep, so he decided to investigate the skylands for any sign of Kaos, and the phoenix dragon. Sunburn beat his wings, and shot up out of his nest. He flew out of the cave that he roosted in, and flew in to the night sky. Beautiful silver stars shone down on Sunburn, coaxing a smile out of him. Ever since he was a child he had loved and admired the stars, they always reminded him of sentinels who watched over the world during the night.

Sunburn ceased flying for a moment as he noticed a bird like creature gliding gracefully through the air. He gasped as he recognized the phoenix dragon he saw earlier. The phoenix dragon glanced at him, and gasped. She beat her wings franticly in an effort to escape.

"Wait!" Sunburn called out, "Don't fly away! Please, I won't hurt you…"

"Promise?" The stranger whimpered turning to face Sunburn.

"I promise." Sunburn whispered gently, staring intently at the stranger's violet eyes.

"What is your name?" Sunburn asked.

"My name is Sunbright." The girl replied.

"Sounds beautiful." Sunburn said to his companion.

"Thank you." Sunbright said softly.

"So um, where do you live?" Sunburn asked hesitantly. He wanted to keep talking to the beautiful creature he had met.

"There is an underground tunnel that lies on the western border of the ruins where you and the skylanders live. My friends and I live there…" Sunbright whispered.

Sunburn's mind went blank for a moment as he listened to Sunbright's voice. The voice sounded so soft and sweet to Sunburn that he felt he could listen to it for hours with out getting tired of it. Sunburn was awoken to reality when he realized the signifigance of what Sunbright said.

"You can't live there, that's Kaos's home!" Sunburn shouted in horror.

"Kaos is my master." Sunbright whispered.

"Why?" Sunburn croaked, unable to ask anything else. His mind spun violently as he thought about what he had learned. Another phoenix dragon, possibly the only other phoenix dragon in existence worked for Kaos, which meant that she really was his enemy.

"Kaos saved my life when I was a child. If he had not fought off some hunters, I wouldn't be alive today. I stayed with him out of gratitude for what he did for me. He was so kind and generous back then, he took care of me whenever I was sick or injured, and I did the same for him. Then one day he changed, and now he is always trying to hurt me and my friends…"

Sunburn could only stare in shock. The thought of Kaos being kind hearted was just plain ludicrous, but the fact that Sunbright actually decided to stay with Kaos disturbed him. Sunburn suddenly had a whole new view on the mysterious hybrid that he was speaking to. Fury flooded him as he realized that he had been deceived, and that this girl was indeed his enemy. The fact that Sunbright had been a phoenix dragon like him had made Sunburn less defensive, and he briefly wondered if that was what Kaos's plan was. His expression of shock changed to one of hatred and he turned away from Sunbright. He then flew away without a second glance at her.

Sunburn landed in the cave that he made his nest at. A chill seeped in to Sunburn as he padded across the stone floor of his home. He looked forward to being able to lie in his warm moss lined nest. The exhausted hybrid stumbled to his nest and collapsed. A tear streaked down his cheek as he realized what had been wasted. Sunbright may very well be the only other phoenix dragon in existence, and yet Sunburn knew he could never be with her as long as she worked for Kaos.

Sunburn felt his chest tighten in sorrow as he thought about how alone he was, and he murmured a prayer that someday he would find someone like him who wasn't a slave to the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 part 1

Glumshanks dragged himself out of Kaos's room, and was met by harsh mocking laughter. Glumshanks looked up and saw the face of an elf witch glaring down at him with disdain. The goblin sighed as he thought about having to put up with one of her fits.

"Kaos beat you up eh?" Sai asked scornfully.

Glumshanks tried to reply, but was interrupted by a fit of coughing. Sai continued to laugh.

"Honestly Glumshanks, why does Kaos even keep you around? You've showed everyone that you're completely worthless." Sai grumbled bitterly. Sai had yearned for the position of second in command for a long time; she was always hoping that Glumshanks would mess up and loose his position.

Glumshanks stumbled to his feet, and glared at Sai. He wanted to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he just walked away, not wanting to cause any trouble.

Sai continued to complain. "Maybe Kaos will finally get tired of you and he'll give someone who's actually useful the rank of second in command."

Glumshanks froze when he heard Sai say that. A cold chill ran through him as he thought about loosing his position of second in command. Glumshanks knew that he hadn't been chosen as second in command because he was strong. He was chosen for the position because he and Kaos had been friends for a long time. Glumshanks felt that if he lost the position of second in command that would mean that Kaos no longer wanted him around. Glumshanks felt his legs tremble as he thought about his master. Kaos was Glumshanks only friend and the goblin didn't want to loose him…

"Why so nervous Glumshanks?" Sai asked in a cold tone. Her eyes blazed with fury, as well as another emotion that Glumshanks couldn't identify.

"I'm not nervous…" Glumshanks muttered.

"That's not what it looks like to me." Sai purred changing her voice to a seductive tone. The elf sorceress floated up to Glumshanks, and placed her hand under his chin, she then lifted his head up so he was looking directly in to her eyes.

"Come with me Glumshanks, you have no need for Kaos; after all he certainly despises you…" Sai murmured in a soft, persuasive tone. She gently scratched the goblin's chin, and continued purring.

"Get away from me Sai!" Glumshanks snarled, raising his hand and shoving Sai backwards. The goblin broke in to a cold sweat as he thought about what Sai was trying to do. Glumshanks turned away from Sai and tried to run.

Sai cast a hate filled glance at Glumshanks, and leapt at him. The elf witch pinned the goblin down, and sat on top of him, she then stroked his face with her hand, continuing her seductive purring. Glumshanks shivered as the deranged elf forced herself on him. He tried to break free of her grasp, but she continued to rest on top of his chest.

"Get off of me Sai." Glumshanks pleaded. This was possibly one of the most humiliating moments of his life.

"No, no pretty boy, not until you resign from your position and I become second in command."

"Never." Glumshanks croaked.

Sai glared at Glumshanks, furry blazing in her eyes. The elf witch raised her hand and slashed at Glumshanks with her nails, causing blood to stream down his face. She then tore a strip of his tunic off of his shoulder. Sai climbed off of Glumshanks and allowed him to stand up, she then screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Rape!" Sai shrieked, the sound of her voice echoing off the walls.

Glumshanks stiffened as he heard Sai's words. The witch was accusing him of raping her! He had no clue what he would do now, so Glumshanks simply ran away before anyone could come to Sai. Glumshanks ran out of the underground tunnel, and up to the surface. He then darted in to the nearby forest.

Many oak trees grew in the forest, towering over any creature that walked through it. Glumshanks looked up at the trees, and noticed that their long jagged branches looked like fingers, and the tips of the branches looked like cat claws. Many odd shaped leaves grew on the finger like branches, and blocked the sky. There were some gaps between the trees that allowed light to shine through. The sky was a dark blue color, and silver stars gleamed above.

Glumshanks sighed as he looked at the stars. For so many years Glumshanks had looked to the stars as a source of solace, but now they seemed so distant. Glumshanks had no clue what was in store for him now, all he knew was that he didn't want to face his master. A rustling sound caught the goblin's attention, and he turned to see a strange gryphon staring at him.

The gryphon had dark blue eyes, with a scar covering the right one. His beak was twisted and covered with scars. His dark silver grey feathers were ruffled, as if he had recently been in a fight. The gryphon smirked maliciously at Glumshanks.

"You are a servant of Kaos are you not?" The gryphon asked.

"Yes, what is your business here gryphon?" Glumshanks replied tensely. There was something about this gryphon he didn't trust.

"The words I speak are for your master's ears alone, therefore you will not hear my message." The gryphon replied indifferently

Glumshanks burned with fury as he heard the griffin's arrogant tone. The goblin spat at the gryphon.

"I am Kaos's second in command, and you will tell me what you have come for!" Glumshanks snarled.

"A real pity your second in command." The gryphon muttered. The stranger then flew toward the underground tunnel where Kaos lived.

Glumshanks ran after the gryphon, hoping to reach his home first. The gryphon could after all be a threat to his master. Glumshanks stopped running as he noticed that all of Kaos's minions were standing outside of the tunnel, all except for Sai anyway. Glumshanks ran to join the others and hid himself behind Tenbra and Arkniss. Arkniss was a sky blue grub with black eyes and paws. The spikes that lined his back were silver, and there were silver markings beneath his eyes.

Glumshanks looked up and noticed Kaos standing by the strange gryphon. Glumshanks winced as he analyzed his master. Kaos's hands were trembling, and he looked thin and ill compared to the gryphon he stood by. Kaos's skin had turned pale, and there were multiple scratches on his arms and face. His eyes were a dull black color, and Glumshanks was shocked to notice a look of fear in his master's eyes.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Kaos asked the gryphon. Glumshanks felt chills run through him as he heard the strain in Kaos's voice.

"I hear that you are at war with the skylanders." The gryphon said coolly.

"Yes, how is that significant to you?" Kaos snarled.

"I have a personal score to settle with So… with the skylanders, and I know of exits and entrances that you can sneak through to avoid being noticed by the skylanders." The gryphon stated.

Kaos paused for a moment, thinking about the stranger's words, he then spoke up.

"What is your name gryphon?"

"My name is Cyross."

"Well then Cyross, if you truly know the skylanders as well as you say you do, then by all means help us defeat them." Kaos ordered.

Cyross bowed to Kaos, and walked over to where Glumshanks was at. Cyross smirked maliciously at the goblin, and followed Kaos in to the underground tunnel. Glumshanks could only hope that Cyross didn't betray them.

* * *

><p>Tick, tick, tick. The hands of the clock continued to sway back and forth, continuously emitting an irritating clicking sound. Theresa stared blankly at the clock. She had been awake for hours, unable to get Kaos's agonized shrieks out of her mind. Through these hours she had stared at multiple different objects in her room.<p>

First she had stared at the metallic walls, and then her gaze shifted to a night stand that stood on the right side of her bed. A potted plant perched on top of the night stand, its long slender leaves dangling over the edges of its dark brown clay pot. Theresa continued to look around her room and stare. She had been unable to look at the white sheets of her bed, because she imagined them stained with blood.

Theresa stopped staring at various objects in her room when she heard a loud shriek. She lifted the covers of her bed, and scrambled beneath them. Questions assailed her mind as the shriek died away. One major question that tore at Theresa was why the battle had taken place.

What in her mind had made such blood shed occur? Was she really that blood thirsty?

Discomfort flooded her, and she knew she couldn't stay in her room. She was far too restless to fall asleep, so she decided that she wanted to explore.

Theresa pulled herself out from under the sheets, and stepped off of the bed she sat in. the young girl darted to the door, and opened it, she then ran out in to the night air. Silver stars shined down on Theresa, causing the girl to smile. The dark green grass tickled her feet, and she spun around in a circle, letting the grass rub her feet gently. Theresa fell to the ground, no longer able to keep her balance. She laughed lightly as her earlier terror receded.

"Theresa, what are you doing out here at this hour?" A voice called out.

Theresa turned to see Eon staring at her.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore the skylands." Theresa explained.

"At four in the morning?" Eon questioned.

"It's only four o'clock?" Theresa groaned. This night felt like it would last forever.

"Yes." Eon replied.

"Well I still want to explore the skylands." Theresa said firmly.

"Why don't you wait until morning? It's too dangerous to be away from the ruins at night."

"How is it dangerous, it's not like Kaos can hurt me." Theresa grumbled, walking away from Eon. Eon ran toward Theresa and stopped her.

"Kaos is a powerful wizard Theresa, one of the strongest in the skylands, and you are an untrained child, your no match for him."

"Yeah well at least he can't kill me…" Theresa muttered.

"Why are you convinced your immortal Theresa?" Eon sighed.

"Because I am! Or at least in this world I am, this world was created by my mind after all, and I'm certain that my mind won't let me die."

"You're convinced that life here is all just a dream…" Eon mumbled.

"Of course this is a dream, there's no way any of this could really exist, especially in New York, so the only logical explanation is that I'm still asleep." Theresa stated with conviction.

Eon paused for a moment, and just stared at Theresa. He then turned away from the young girl and walked away, mumbling under his breath. Theresa watched Eon walk away, and then turned her face toward the sky. She tried to see if she could find any constellations she would recognize. Her grandmother had told her that if you make a wish on certain constellations on a specific night then your wish would be granted.

Theresa noticed a cluster of stars that formed the Ursa Minor, she then began to whisper.

"Ursa minor, please grant my wish this night. I wish that I can see my grandmother again and that she and I could live in the skylands forever…" tears rolled down Theresa's face as she continued to speak.

"There nothing left for me in New York. I'm never going to get out of foster care; no one ever adopts the older girls, only the younger girls leave."

Theresa's voice began to choke up as she continued her monologue to the stars.

"Why did my mother hate me? Why didn't she want me? Why was I not good enough for her? Why did my father abandon us? And most importantly of all, will my mother be here, and will she care for me? Please great Ursa Minor, grant my wish tonight, let me be with my grandmother again, let my mother and father be here, and let them love me…"

Her voice cracked as she spoke the words "Let them love me." She collapsed to the grassy ground as exhaustion gripped her. The scent of grass trickled in to her nose, and soothed her, lulling her in to a peaceful slumber. Theresa's tears dried as she thought about how her wish could possibly be granted. If she thought of them maybe they would come to her. All through the night she saw images of her grandmother, and the Ursa Minor.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile in a tunnel on the western border of the skylands….<em>

Tenbra roamed through the underground tunnel that she and her companions lived in, trying to reach her bed. Tenbra wasn't to certain about if she could call her sleeping spot a bed, considering that she slept in a pile of torn and dusty cloth that Kaos had no use for, but at least the old cloth pile gave her something soft to lay on. When the exhausted elf finally found her pile of cloth, she collapsed and closed her eyes.

Tenbra expected sleep to claim her immediately, considering how exhausted she had been after the battle, but instead it eluded her. Tenbra's mind was far too wild in that moment to allow sleep to take it. The elf tossed and turned restlessly in the pile of dirty cloth, trying to get her mind to calm down, and yet failing to do so. Tenbra sat up abruptly, and tried to focus on the source of her frenzied mind. She finally realized that the source of the turmoil inside her mind was the fight she had been in with the skylander that day. Tenbra had slashed and hacked at her opponent, and enjoyed the other girl's suffering; the minute that Tenbra had been outnumbered was when she stopped yearning for the bloodlust. That was also the moment that Tenbra was convinced she would die.

The elfin archer that Tenbra fought had been prepared to kill her, and deep down she knew that her death would be justified, and yet the ninja elf she fought had told the archer to release her. Tenbra knew that the archer had been hesitant to set her free, and yet he had obeyed Tenbra's adversary. Tenbra clenched her fist as she thought about the girl who spared her.

"Why did she let me go free?" Tenbra murmured to herself.

Why did the girl she fought show her mercy? Wouldn't it have been easier to let her die? A strange emotion stirred inside Tenbra, and she had no idea what the emotion was. This strange emotion she felt tore at her like a knife. She felt as if she couldn't face anyone anymore, not even herself. She wanted to hide away where no one could find her, and let the darkness devour her soul. In that moment she wished she was dead so the agonizing feeling would let her go.

Shock coursed through her as she realized that the strange emotion she felt was shame. She was ashamed that she attacked the skylanders. That knowledge made Tenbra burn with furry. Why should she be ashamed? She was after all abiding by her master's orders, and doing what Kaos told her to do was doing the right thing. Or was it? Everything that Tenbra thought she knew started to fall apart around her.

"Why should I be ashamed of that though? They hurt my master, and they wouldn't hesitate to kill me!" Tenbra snapped out loud, desperate to end the turmoil that was churning with in her. _"But they had a chance to kill you and they didn't." _A cold voice whispered to her.

Tenbra shuddered as the voice spoke to her; she then curled up close to herself, and covered up with the cloth she slept in. Tenbra tried to sleep, but the shame continued to gnaw at her. She started to shred the cloth she slept in, in a desperate attempt to stop the turmoil she now felt.

Tenbra suddenly realized that she was trembling, and when she touched her face she felt tears. She bit her tongue and grasped her arms in an effort to stop from trembling. When that failed she quickly uncovered herself from the cloth she lie in, and ran out of the underground tunnel she lived in.

Tenbra ran blindly through the nearby woods until she came across a river. The river swirled in rapid circles, causing many twigs, weeds, and other debris to float by. Lithe willow trees lined the side of the river banks, looking down in to the river's turbulent depths, silent witnesses to the sins the river held. Tenbra could easily compare the river to her mind right now.

She looked up at the sky and saw a full moon casting its elegant rays on to the river, causing the rapid stream to become liquid silver. Multiple silver specks glimmered in the sky, acting as sentinels, guarding the river and the trees that grew around it. The young elf might have thought the place she was at beautiful, if there wasn't so much chaos in her mind.

Tenbra looked at her reflection in the river and snarled.

"What have I done wrong? Why do I feel such shame? Why must I hurt so? How do I end this agony?" all those questions raced through her mind, causing Tenbra to gasp for breath. Tears streamed down the tormented elf's face, and were swallowed up as they fell in to the river. Tenbra's body became racked with spasms as emotional agony tore at her. Her chest tightened violently, and she felt her windpipe close off. Panic filled the stricken elf and she immediately tried to calm herself before she suffocated.

Once she gained control over her breathing, Tenbra bent down and analyzed her reflection in the river. She gasped at what she saw. The river showed a small girl with dark green skin, and disheveled black hair. This strange girl had dark brown eyes that were soaked with tears. Under the eyes, were jagged scars, causing the area to look like a cat had clawed it. There was a dark ring around her eyes as well, making her look as if she hadn't slept in months. Tenbra could only stare in disgust at her reflection.

"So this is why she took pity on me… because I am a beaten creature, a creature who requires mercy, despite how loathed she is…"

"It's all very well though. Because she let me go free, I can continue to serve my master."

Tenbra continued to stare in to the river, and realized she didn't want to serve her master anymore. She didn't want to be the wretched beast she saw in the river, she wanted to be beautiful. She wanted to be loved instead of feared and loathed. She wanted to be able to love herself, or at the very least have tolerance for herself. Tenbra dragged her gaze away from the river, and looked upon the full moon her mind still in a tormented daze. She realized that she wanted to be like the moon, beautiful and adored by all, she wanted to shed her rays and give people hope, not snatch it away from them. Unfortunately this sudden wish of hers could never come true, for she was destined to live her life in shadow.

Tenbra sat and stared at the moon for hours, not even bothering to think about how her master would punish her if she wasn't at the camp, soon the moon was dipping behind the sky, and Tenbra began to grow restless. Just as Tenbra stood up to go home, an idea came to her, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of this idea sooner. Tenbra ran away from the river, and in to the territory that the skylanders lived in. she had decided to talk to the skylander she fought earlier that day, and ask the strange elf why she had let her go free. Tenbra smiled as she ran, and said a prayer of thanks to the moon for giving her the idea. The young elf only hoped she could get to the ruins and back home before Kaos awoke.

* * *

><p>Sophia limped over to the balcony of her and Flameslingers home, trying not to damage her leg more in the process. Her leg had been badly injured in the battle against Kaos; she now had to walk with crutches to help her get around. She looked up at the stars and started to count them. For some reason counting stars helped Sophia calm herself down. A rustling sound in the tree caught Sophia's attention. She looked up at the nearby palm tree to see an elf sitting there.<p>

The elf had dark green skin and brown eyes; her hair was black and disheveled, Sophia recognized the elf she had fought in the battle against Kaos.

"What are you doing here?" Sophia snarled at the intruder.

"I want to talk to you." The elf replied. Sophia didn't reply. The elf leapt from the tree and on to Sophia's balcony.

"My name is Tenbra, and I want to know why you let me go free." Tenbra stated bluntly.

"I let you go because it was the right thing to do." Sophia said to the annoying intruder.

"Right by whom?" Tenbra pestered.

"I don't know! I don't kill with out reason ok!"

"But you had a reason; I was trying to kill you!" Tenbra exclaimed.

Sophia glared at Tenbra before asking "Do you want me to kill you?"

Tenbra flatted her ears and spoke.

"I just want to know why you let me go free…" Sophia saw a look of pure turmoil in Tenbra's eyes.

"I don't know why I let you go free." Sophia admitted, confusion churning in her mind. Why did this girl care about being allowed to flee from the battle? Surely it had benefitted her.

"What's your name?" Tenbra said changing the subject, noticing the confusion in her companion's voice.

"I'm Sophia." Sophia replied, not fully understanding why she was putting up with this stupid intruder.

"Why do you work for Eon?" Tenbra questioned. This question shocked Sophia but she answered it anyways.

"I work for master Eon because he is my friend. He gave me a home when I had no where to go. He took care of me when no one else would. I guess I work with him out of friendship and gratitude."

Sophia paused for a moment before asking, "Why do you work for Kaos?" a look of grief flashed through Tenbra's eyes as she spoke up.

"I work with him because he was my friend once. He saved my life when I was a child. He and his friends raised me. Then one day our friend Taresa vanished, and Kaos was depressed all the time. When I asked him what was wrong he would break down in tears, or lash out at me until he collapsed from exhaustion. Often times I let him hurt me, because when ever I tried to defend myself, he would cry and say how I was just like everyone else. He would say I betrayed him, and ask why I didn't just abandon him. I tried to make some sense out of his outbursts, but I had to give up. Eventually he called me and some other ragtag people together, and he started sending us to attack the skylands. I went on these raids because I knew Eon had hurt Kaos. I don't know how or why, but I'm certain that Kaos is so crazy all the time because of what Eon did to him."

"What do you mean Eon hurt him?" Sophia asked confused and saddened by what she had heard. She felt bad for Tenbra now that she knew Tenbra hadn't sold her soul to the darkness, but had sold her loyalty to Kaos.

Tenbra shrugged unable to answer the question. She simply leapt in to the palm tree over looking the balcony, and cried out

"Thank you for talking to me!" then she was gone. Sophia stared for a moment at the odd girl, and then limped back to her and Flameslingers room, and collapsed on the bed. She closed her eyes and reflected on all Tenbra had told her.

* * *

><p>Authors Notes: Yeah, I'm not to pleased with how this chapter turned out. The beganing scene is kinky, the scene with Theresa is corny... I could complain about this chapter all day... The only part of this chapter that I'm actually satisfied with is the scene with Tenbra. I'm just going to hope chapter five is better.<p>

See you then!


	5. Chapter 5

Theresa awoke to the scent of grass, and noticed a bee landing lightly on a dandelion. She looked up to see the sky. The sky was no longer black; instead it was a pale blue color. White clouds drifted lazily across the sky, reminding Theresa of cotton. The young girl stood up, and stretched, hoping to feel the warm rays of the sun on her back. She smiled as a butterfly fluttered past her.

"Hey! Um, girl!" a voice called out nervously. Theresa whipped around to see a mole like creature scurrying toward her. The mole had wide brown eyes, and a small black nose. A pair of black glasses were perched on the moles nose, and he wore a light green vest. On his back was a small brown satchel, with various books and maps poking out. Theresa found the odd looking creature rather cute.

"What are you doing outside at eight o'clock in the morning?" the mole asked.

"I fell asleep out here…" Theresa replied.

"Sounds dangerous, especially with Kaos on the loose."

"He can't hurt me." Theresa said confidently.

"Well its best you come to the dining hall," the mole said, changing the subject, "You're probably hungry if you didn't eat dinner last night."

Theresa tried to say she wasn't hungry when her stomach growled loudly. Even in a dream Theresa found her body's response humiliating.

The mole spoke up once again.

"I can take you to the dining hall since you probably don't know where it's at; my name is Hugo by the way."

"My name is Theresa." Theresa replied, introducing herself.

"Come with me Theresa." Hugo instructed. The mole began to walk away, and Theresa followed after him.

* * *

><p>Along the way to the dining hall, Hugo pointed out various land marks that they passed. One land mark that stuck out to Theresa was known as the Core of Light.<p>

The Core of Light was a large tower with a beam of light radiating from its top. Two stone creatures stood on each side of the core, each one spewing water at the tower. Two flowers rose out of the ground around the core, and entwined themselves around the base of the core, their elegant pink petals rising towards the sky in an effort to grasp some of the sun's rays.

Theresa smile at the beautiful plants and rushed towards them. She raised her hand and gently stroked the flower petals, her hand shaking slightly as she felt the soft fuzz on the flower. A sweet scent rose from the flowers, and tickled Theresa's nose. Hugo ran to Theresa and called out to her.

"Don't touch the flowers!"

"Why not?" Theresa asked.

"You could damage them." Hugo wheezed. Theresa doubted that she could damage the petals, but she decided to listen to Hugo's warning anyway.

"Follow me, if we don't get to the dining hall on time we'll have to miss breakfast." With those words Hugo grabbed Theresa's hand and dragged her to the dining hall.

* * *

><p>Theresa stared in shock as she looked around the dining hall. The room that she and Hugo stood in was like a vast lobby. The walls of the dining hall were a light brown color, and wooden tables with white and blue checkered table cloths rested upon the white tiled floor. Theresa gasped as she saw a colossal chandelier hanging delicately on the rafter of the ceiling. The chandelier was decorated with glimmering blue crystals. Each tiny crystal revealed the reflection of different people. Theresa smiled as she saw Cyrus's reflection in the crystal.<p>

"Well, this is the dining hall. I think you'll be able to find the food line on your own." Hugo said.

"Thank you Hugo." Theresa said. She then wandered away to find the food line.

When Theresa finally found the food line, she was pleasantly surprised to see the griffin family standing in line. Cyrus turned away from his family and saw Theresa, his eyes then widened in pleasure. The young gryphon hurled himself at Theresa and hugged her.

"Hi Theresa! I didn't expect you to be here, I thought you would still be asleep." Cyrus exclaimed.

"It's good to see you Cyrus." Theresa murmured to the child. Ever since she met the gryphon family she had felt a strange fondness towards Cyrus.

"Um, excuse me, can you please move." A voice from behind called.

"Oh, sorry." Theresa apologized, walking forward as the line drifted along.

A few minutes passed and Theresa finally reached the front of the line. Cyrus had departed from the line, and joined his family at table nine. Theresa stared at the options for breakfast. There were salads, and milk, and there was bland cereal. Theresa chose some cereal and milk, and then wandered over to table nine.

On the right side of the table Sonny, Cyrus, Angia, Echo and Hakkon sat. Sophia and Flameslinger sat on the right side of the table as well. Theresa sat on the left side of the table with three dragons. Two of the dragons were female, and the third was a male. The male had bright red scales and a gold scaled chest and belly. His eyes and horns were also gold, as were the insides of his wings. The female who sat next to him was a light pink color, with pale cream colored scales on her chest and belly. Her eyes glowed with an intense green light. She had two black and bronze horns on top of her head, and she wore a golden locket with a red heart in the center. The dragoness that sat next to Theresa was pale blue and white in coloration. She had a white face that was rimmed with blue on the outside. There were silver markings beneath her eyes, and Theresa found the dragoness strangely beautiful.

Theresa looked away from the dragons, and cast her gaze to the right side of the bench where her friends sat. She smiled at the griffin family, and said good morning to them. The griffins said good morning to her as well.

"How is your wing doing Sonny?" Theresa asked her friend.

"It's doing much better thank you." Sonny replied.

"That's great!" Theresa said smiling.

"Hey I know you!" the white and blue dragoness suddenly called to Theresa. "You're the one who helped me find my brother and sister!"

"What's your name?" Theresa asked the dragoness, turning to look at her once more. Theresa was shocked to see that the dragoness had black eyes, which didn't match her white and blue scales at all.

"I'm Skylara." The dragoness exclaimed. "These are my siblings Flame and Ember." Skylara said pointing out her siblings.

"Hi!" Flame and Ember responded.

"My name is Theresa." Theresa said to them.

"Nice to meet you Theresa!" Flame and Ember exclaimed before Flame said,

"That was some fight wasn't it?"

"Don't even mention it!" Sophia snapped.

Flame shrunk back from Sophia, terror of being yelled at flooding him. The fear abruptly changed to resentment as he stared in to Sophia's pale blue gaze. Flame growled resentfully and turned away, letting his anger burn him.

"You didn't have to snap at him." Ember grumbled to Sophia, furious that the elf had snapped at her younger brother.

"I'm sorry." Sophia said, guilt filling her. She didn't mean to upset the red dragon; she just didn't want to talk about the fight, not after what Tenbra told her anyways. Sophia got up from the table and ran away, unable to face her tablemates.

"Sophia!" Flameslinger called out to his mate. There was no response.

"What's her shit!" Flame shouted furiously, causing a majority of the skylanders to look at him. Flame ducked his head in embarrassment.

"I'll go see if she's alright." Flameslinger sighed. He then departed the table to find Sophia.

Cyrus picked absentmindedly at his salad, highly concerned about all the shouting. A bell rang signaling the end of the breakfast hour, and all the skylanders plus the gryphon babies and Theresa got up and went off to there own agenda. Theresa cast a mournful glance at the table staring intently at her bland cereal and milk. She had been so busy talking to her friends that she didn't have a chance to eat any of it. Theresa sighed and walked away from the table.

Just as she was about to reach the exit of the dining hall, Eon walked up to her and spoke.

"I have to speak to you."

"About what?" Theresa asked.

"You need to learn how to defend yourself against Kaos incase he tries to attack you again."

"But I don't need to know how to fight; I told you before that Kaos can't kill us, if things get too rough we'll all just be saved by…. something. And even if I did need training, how would I learn?" Thressa stated in exasperation. She was getting quite aggravated with Eon constantly telling her that she needed to learn how to fight.

"Theresa, you need to learn that life is not a dream, and that people can die because of your insistence that it is. You need to understand that you aren't invincible, and that you could die as well."

Theresa glared furiously at Eon, she knew for fact that she was dreaming, after all how could any of this exist if she wasn't. Theresa turned away as resentment flooded her.

"Theresa wait!" Eon called out, let me teach you how to defend yourself against Kaos. Then you don't have to listen to me again."

Theresa stared at Eon for a moment, contemplating rather she should deal with him or not. On one side of the situation, there was the fact that she could awaken at any moment and return to New York, and then she would have wasted her dream dealing with Eon. On the other side was the fact that if she decided to learn how to fight, the old man would leave her alone. In that moment Theresa made her decision.

"Teach me how to fight." She grumbled.

"Excellent, but first you'll need a weapon. I'll have and Cracky (Trigger Happy) and Drobot forge one immediately."

"Cracky?" Theresa asked, rather nervous about the name.

"I'll introduce you to him later." With those words, Eon and Theresa exited the dining hall and walked to an empty spot in the training grounds.

* * *

><p>The training grounds consisted of many small clearings that the skylanders could go to have mock battles with each other. Tall weeds rose up around the clearing that Theresa and Eon entered, and there was a small bench like boulder on the side of the clearing. There were some rough patches of dirt, but most of the ground consisted of weeds and smooth white sand, so that if a skylander fell they wouldn't be injured.<p>

"The first thing you must learn is how to cast a spell." Eon explained to her.

"How do you do that?" Theresa asked excitement clear in her voice. Finally something interesting was happening in this dream!

"Watch." Eon closed his eyes and concentrated, he then murmured words under his breath. His hands began to glow, with blue and white light. His eyes opened and a ball of light appeared in his hands. He then handed the light to Theresa.

"Concentrate on holding the light in your hands young one. It helps to think of light as a solid object like a stone."

Theresa concentrated and caught the light, it vanished in a flash.

"What!" Theresa shouted in frustration.

"Calm yourself Theresa. You can try again." Eon told her.

Over and over, Theresa tried to keep the light in her hands, and each time it vanished. Theresa eventually had to give in because she couldn't concentrate. Her frustration had simply grown too much.

"Take a break young one and try to calm down. We can try again tomorrow young portal master."

"What is a portal master? Kaos said something about me being one, but I don't know what they are." Theresa asked Eon.

"A portal master is a human who has bonded with a skylander. Once a skylander and portal master are bound, they are inseparable. Despite a skylander being bound to their portal master, they are not slaves. They serve there portal master out of respect and friendship." Eon replied to his student.

For some reason the explanation triggered something inside Theresa. She recalled her grandmother telling her a story like that, and once again was in awe to live inside one of her grandmother's creations.

"You are dismissed." Eon said to Theresa.

Theresa bowed her head and ran off to think about what Eon had told her. She knew she should have been able to catch the light, and yet she had been unable to. Why was she unable to catch the light? What in this dream was she able to control? Perhaps the dream had certain rules to obey? But what were those rules, and how would she figure them out?

"I guess I'll just go with the flow." Theresa mumbled, as stress began to fill her.

"How can I control this dream if I can't even catch a ball of light?" She murmured in a distraught voice. Theresa felt as if her stomach was being tied in knots as she thought about situations she may not be able to control. Her hands began to tremble as she thought about what could happen to her. What if Eon was right and she could die?

"No!" Theresa shouted out loud. She couldn't die, it wasn't possible, and yet, was there a possibility that Cyrus and his family could die? Her legs started to tremble as well, and she lowered herself to the ground so she couldn't fall over. She rocked herself back and fourth until her legs stopped trembling, she then dragged herself in to a standing position.

Theresa sighed as the trembling receded; she then turned to go back to the ruins when she suddenly felt herself being pinned to the floor. "muff!" Theresa grunted as she collided with the ground.

"Sorry!" a voice said and the weight lifted. Theresa turned and saw Ember staring at her.

"I didn't mean to knock you down." Ember said in an apologetic tone.

"That's alright. I get knocked down all the time any way. What were you running from though?" Theresa asked the pink dragoness.

"I was running after a butterfly." Ember explained.

"Aren't you a little too old to chase bugs?" Theresa asked.

"I guess I am… but I really want to catch up on what I have been missing." Ember said.

"What do you mean catch up on what you've been missing?" Theresa asked.

Ember looked sadly at the ground. "Most children get to run around in the grass and catch bugs when they are young. Most children get to have fun. My siblings and I never had that chance though. We lived in a volcano, so there was no grass or butterflies. The games we played involved sharp rocks, even then father never bothered to let us play. He tortured us constantly beating us when ever we made a mistake…"

Ember gulped before continuing her tale. "Father killed our youngest brother Magma. He raped Skylara once, and tried to kill me on numerous occasions. We didn't have a mother to protect us because she died giving birth to Magma. I wish I had a chance to see her again…" tears streamed to Ember's eyes, and Theresa reached up a hand wiping the dragoness's tears away.

"I'm sorry I upset you Ember." Theresa said to the pink dragoness wondering why the young girl had gone through so much hell. Theresa briefly wondered if the people in this dream suffered from the darkness in her own mind. Guilt flooded through her as she thought about that. She knew these creatures were figments of her imagination, and yet she still felt pity for them when they were hurt or depressed.

"I'm fine… I'll be fine…" Ember choked out.

The butterfly Ember was chasing suddenly flew toward her and Theresa. Theresa extended her hand and caught the bug. She then handed it to Ember.

"Here. Take it. Theresa said. Ember gently took the butterfly from her friend, smiled kindly at the graceful creature, and then released it in to the sky.

"Why did you let it go?" Theresa asked, confusion at Ember's actions flooding her.

"Oh Theresa. Don't you know that joy does not come from the capture or the kill? It comes from the chase. The liberation and energy that the hunt brings to you." Ember said. "And of course the innocent bliss that come to you when you grant a creature its freedom."

Theresa paused and pondered Ember's words. She was about to ask a question when she saw Ember had gone back to skipping around the butterfly, the sound of her laughter filling the air like music.

Theresa closed her eyes, and let Ember's cheerful laughter put her to sleep.

* * *

><p>Tenbra roamed aimlessly through the tunnels. She couldn't stop remembering her conversation with Sophia. Why had she told Sophia about her and Kaos? Why had she spoken about why she desired to kill Eon? The most disturbing thing to Tenbra was the fact that she wondered if Sophia was still thinking about her. But why would Sophia cast any thought to her? And why should she care?<p>

All these questions roared around Tenbra's mind, leaving her more confused then she was before. Tenbra continued to roam aimlessly around the tunnels, her legs trembling violently. Each foot step caused pain for Tenbra as her knees buckled do to the spasms running through them. Tenbra started to mutter the conversation she had with Sophia under her breath, wanting to remember every detail from it incase she could get any information out of it. Each time she spoke of the conversation aloud to herself, she only felt more confusion.

Tenbra continued muttering, and suddenly crashed in to molten rock, she gasped as she heard a low voice growl at her.

"Watch where you're going you lump of bullshit!"

"Fuck off!" Tenbra muttered to Magmaspurt, still trembling violently.

"What did you say to me bitch?" Magmaspurt asked grabbing Tenbra roughly by the throat.

"I said fuck off!" Tenbra screamed. She kicked at Magmasput trying in vain to get his grip on her to loosen.

Magmaspurt only gripped Tenbra's throat tighter. Tenbra was about to faint from lack of oxygen when a voice called out,

"Magmaspurt! Stop!"

Magmaspurt turned to see Sunbright staring at him in horror; he then loosened his grip on Tenbra as he thought about the desperation in Sunbright's wail. Tenbra took in a deep breath of air when the restriction on her throat lessened.

"Put her down…" Sunbright pleaded feebly.

Magmaspurt dropped Tenbra roughly to the ground, and walked away.

Stay out of my way bitch!" he called to Tenbra over his shoulder. Tenbra slumped to the floor, clutching at her throat painfully. Sunbright dashed over to her.

"Are you okay Tenbra?" Sunbright asked in concern.

"No…" Tenbra whimpered, tears rolled from the elf's eyes, and fury flooded her at the weakness she was showing. Kaos would punish her severely for showing such weakness, and that made Tenbra cry even more. Sunbright wrapped her wings around Tenbra in a comforting embrace, and let the elf cry.

Sunbright sighed sadly at what happened to Tenbra. She hated it when her companions fought! And she hated it when her master suffered. Sunbright sniffed as tears came to her eyes. now was not the time to cry. She had to be strong for Tenbra. Sunbright murmured soothingly to Tenbra, and the elf finally fell in to a troubled sleep.

* * *

><p>Authors notes: Yeah, yet another chapter that I'm not to pleased with. I swear that the next chapter is better though! Seriously, there's actually some action in the next chapter. "Not exactly fighting, but interesting plot bits come up.<p>

PS: In the scene where Hugo shows Theresa the Core of Light, you may want to listen to the song "The Lamest Place In The World." That song is from Thirteen the musical, and I find it oddly fitting for that scene.


	6. Chapter 6

Cyross stood upon a high ledge in an underground tunnel. This ledge was where Kaos stood when he wanted to address his minions. Cyross smirked as he looked down at the crowd taking in their pathetic appearance. Most of them were covered in dirt and had matted hair. One elf had dark circles around her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in months. There was one female however who didn't share her companions matted looks.

The female had pale orange feathers and dark violet eyes. She had a long fiery tail, and smooth, elegant looking talons. Cyross bit his tongue in shock as he realized the female he was looking at was a phoenix dragon. He had always thought that the only phoenix dragon in existence was the skylander Sunburn. Cyross turned his gaze away from the female and continued to analyze the crowd. A tawny mud faced gryphon soon caught Cyross's attention.

Cyross looked down at the pathetic gryphon and smirked. She was no doubt the filthiest of this lot. Cyross smirked at the gryphon, until she turned to face him. Cyross's breath caught in his throat as he noticed the scar on the gryphon's right eye.

"Gildara…" Cyross murmured in shock. Memories of his old life swept over him as he looked upon one of his enemies….

* * *

><p>Cyross's flash back<p>

Cyross sat on a smooth boulder that rested in the clay ground of a canyon. Many griffins stood beside Cyross, each one of them yelling threats. A hateful mass of snarling rose in to the air, and Cyross smirked as he looked toward the center of the canyon. In the center of the canyon, a small female gryphon sat her ice blue eyes wide with terror. Despite how far away he was from her, Cyross could see shudders running through the gryphon's body.

The tawny female had a large gash over her right eye, and many other gashes decorated her wings and face. Her bloodied wings were bound to her back by thick metal chains, and the gryphon's paws were stapled to a ragged wooden platform. An old dark purple feathered gryphon calmly walked up to the tawny gryphon and spoke.

"Gildara, you stand here today because of a grave crime you have committed. You have murdered an innocent family, four children and there mother, this behavior has demonstrated to us that you are a threat to the clan, and that you are also not worthy to live amongst us."

Gildara began to hyperventilate as she heard those words, tears and blood filled her eyes, and she stared desperately around the canyon, as if she were looking for someone. The old gryphon stepped forward, and removed the chains around from Gildara's feet.

"Gildara, you will live the remainder of your life as an outcast, if you ever come near our canyon again you will be executed at once, and you will bear a reminder of your sins. The chains you where can only be broken by a gryphon of the high council, and the council members have all agreed that that they will never break your chains…"

Gildara collapsed on top of the splinter filled wooden platform, and wailed. Her high pitched cries of agony cut the jury like a knife. Cyross smirked in satisfaction as he watched Gildara get what she deserved.

"NO!" A voice in the distance called out. Cyross's mouth gaped in shock as he saw a gryphon land beside Gildara. This gryphon had sleek black feathers and striking emerald eyes, her wings had a shade of midnight blue on them, and she wore a glistening metal visor over her long tufted ears. The gryphon's stomach bulged for she was close to laying her eggs. The newcomer shot a defiant, yet fear filled gaze at the jury.

"Sonny, what are you doing here?" Gildara choked out."

"I've come to set you free…" Sonny murmured soothingly to Gildara. She then walked up to the chained gryphon and wrapped her wings around her. Sonny stared at the jury and spoke.

"You make a grave error by sentencing Gildara to exile, she did no wrong, Cyross accused her of a crime she did not commit."

Whispers erupted from the crowd as they heard Sonny's words. Cyross felt his feathers burning, and he broke in to a cold sweat as anxiety flooded him. What in the name of the skylands was Sonny trying to do?

The old gryphon judge stepped forward and spoke to Sonny.

"Sonny, I do believe your mind has been addled…"

Sonny broke away from Gildara, and looked the judge straight in the eyes before speaking.

"With all do respect your honor; I do know what I am saying. If you saw the murder of the family you may know that there was another gryphon there besides Gildara."

"Yes, Cyross was there, he said that he caught Gildara standing over the dead family with blood all over her claws…"

"How did she get the blood on her claws? And more importantly, why is she covered in scratches?"

"Sonny…" The old judge muttered in a warning tone.

"Your honor, unbeknownst to Gildara and Cyross, I witnessed the murder of the family." Gasps erupted from the crowd, cutting off any other words Sonny wanted to say. Cyross felt himself trembling as he realized what Sonny was doing. The bitch was going to tell the crowd what she saw! Which meant that he was now ruined in this land…

"Order! Order! Sonny you will explain yourself at once!"

"Gladly your honor. Like I said I was a witness to the murder, Cyross speaks the truth when he says Gildara was standing over the gryphon family, however there was no blood on her claws at the time, in other words she didn't kill the family!"

Gasps once again erupted from the crowd, until someone cried out, "Who killed the family!"

Sonny seemed to shrivel in that moment, all her strength and courage turned to dust. She tried to speak but the words caught in her throat. Sonny coughed multiple times, but still couldn't get her beak to move.

"Who killed the family?" The judge asked.

Sonny coughed out a name, but no one was able to hear, so the judge spoke.

"Tell us now what you saw, or you will be out casted!"

Sonny murmured her words softly, but they grew stronger as she repeated them, soon her voice gained so much power that it filled the canyon.

"Cyross killed them! He blamed Gildara so he wouldn't be punished! He is the traitor, not Gildara!" Sonny's surge of strength ended, and she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Gildara walked over to where the dazed gryphon lie.

"Why did you speak up for me?" Gildara asked in astonishment.

"You're my best friend Gildara; I couldn't let you get punished for a crime you did not commit. Please tell me why you didn't speak up for yourself…"

Gildara looked down in sorrow before speaking.

"I didn't want Cyross to be killed or exiled; I know how much he means to you…"

"You mean how much he meant to me. He is nothing to me anymore!" Sonny muttered bitterly. Tears rolled down the gryphon's face, causing her eyes to glow with sorrow. Gildara wrapped her wings around her friend in an effort to comfort her. Meanwhile Cyross had his own problems to deal with…

"Traitor!"

"Coward!"

"Murderer!"

"I say we exile him!"

"Blind him!"

"Burn him!"

"Make him suffer for his crimes and his lies!"

All those words and many more assailed Cyross's ears, as the crowd roared at him. Each gryphon glared at him with a look of pure hatred on their faces. Cyross felt his feathers burning, and turned away, suddenly he felt a cold chain warp around him. Cyross turned to see the judge staring at him, bitter disappointment swimming in his jade gaze.

"Well it seems that the cat has finally caught the mouse. We see clearly now Cyross and we see that you are to blame for the death of an innocent family!"

"Bite me." Cyross growled, unable to think of a better reply. Despite all the insanity that was happening, Cyross felt an eerie sense of calmness fill his soul. Is this what a creature feels before its death? Cyross wondered.

"You will now where the chains of your sins Cyross! There will be no freedom for you!"

In that moment a burning fury erupted inside Cyross. How dare these bastards try to chain him! how dare they say he was in the wrong! Cyross felt his paws tremble violently, and a flash of red light poured in to his gaze. he leapt at the old judge, his eyes blazing with hatred. Cyross raised his claws and slashed at the judge's throat. Blood spilled fourth causing a puddle around the old gryphon, his beak gapped open in a plea for help, or perhaps an exclamation of shock. The crowd murmured in horror as they watched the judge fall before them, the judge collapsed in his blood and tried to speak, but was cut off as blood gushed out of his mouth. Soon the light faded from his jade eyes, and the old gryphon was no more.

Cyross didn't allow the crowd to recover from their shock before franticly beating his wings. Satisfaction filled him as he felt himself rise in to the air, and he felt the weight of the chains vanish. Apparently the chains weren't locked correctly, but Cyross didn't care. The powerful gryphon rose in to the air and shrieked letting his powerful voice fill the canyon. As he departed from his old life, Cyross made a promise to himself.

"Sonny, Gildara, I swear to God that you will pay for what you have done today, and that you will pay with your lives…"

* * *

><p>The memory ended abruptly, and yet Cyross still felt its powerful impact. He felt himself shaking slightly, and he stiffened his legs in order to stop himself from trembling. Cyross glared resentfully at Gildara until he felt a bony hand touch his shoulder, he looked down to see Kaos glaring at him.<p>

"You said you had away to defeat the skylanders! Care to enlighten us Cyross?" Kaos growled at the gryphon.

Cyross didn't reply, instead he spoke to crowd.

"As I said, I know of many exits and entrances in the skylands. All of you need to be trained first before we can launch a successful attack though."

Murmurs of displeasure echoed around the room, and one elf cried out.

"What do you take us for? Untrained idiots! We know our way around a battle, we've been fighting the skylanders far longer then you have!"

"Oh, is that so? Then why haven't you defeated them yet?" Cyross questioned, sharp edged sarcasm coating his tone. The elf shut her mouth and stared at Cyross as she heard those words, many of the crowd started to snigger.

"Tenbra I would greatly appreciate it if you would shut up and let Cyross explain his plan!" Kaos snapped at the elf. Tenbra glanced away, unable to meet her master's glare.

"As I was saying, you need to learn how to properly fight your enemies, and I will be the one to train you, considering whomever you learned from was an inept teacher."

"Kaos isn't an inept teacher!" Tenbra snapped.

"Oh so your portal master taught you all, eh?" Cyross muttered.

"Yes!" Tenbra responded fiercely.

"Leave Tenbra! I will speak to you later!" Kaos snarled. Tenbra stood still for a moment, confused at being sent away, but one look at her master sent her scrambling.

"I will take a group of you and show you the layout of the skylands. You will have to learn the terrain at night as well so the attack can be more effective, we want the skylanders to be beaten in one attack because we have the element of surprise. If we don't chase them out in one attack then we loose that advantage. Also we should launch miniature raids so they are occupied and can't concentrate on fighting against us. Make sure to do as much damage as possible on the smaller raids, we don't want the skylanders to recover easily…" Cyross instructed.

"Won't we loose the element of surprise if we launch small raids?" Lizark asked. Lizark was a dark green wingless dragon with bright yellow eyes, his eyes often turned violet depending on the time of day. He had a long leafy tail, and ragged claws.

"We won't loose the element of surprise because we will disguise ourselves as bandits. The skylanders will have no clue who they are really fighting." Cyross responded.

Lizark nodded his head in acknowledgement, pleased that they had some sort of plan.

"Now follow me, and I will show you how to defeat the skylanders!" loud cheers erupted around Cyross. The gryphon smirked in pleasure at how easy this group was to manipulate. Cyross's smirk fell off his face when he realized that one voice in particular wasn't cheering. The battle scarred gryphon looked down to see Gildara creeping away from the crowd, a leaf like lizard following her.

The meeting was dismissed and the crowd dispersed. Cyross felt a cold anger churn inside him as he watched Gildara vanish. Cyross leapt off the cliff he stood on and wandered away, plotting about ways that he could torture Gildara.

* * *

><p>Kaos wandered through the halls toward Tenbra, fury churning inside him. It was bad enough to know that the stranger thought his minions were weak, but it was made a hell of a lot worse by Tenbra blurting that he was the one who trained them! Kaos growled with resentment as he reached Tenbra.<p>

"You wanted to speak to me master?" Tenbra asked calmly. It was clear to Kaos that the young elf had no clue what she had done wrong. Kaos didn't reply, instead he grabbed Tenbra roughly by her ears and dragged her away to his room.

"Master what…" Tenbra gasped, before Kaos cut her off.

"Silence you wretched little bitch!"

Tenbra shut her mouth, and was painfully dragged across the floor. Kaos opened a metallic door, and threw Tenbra through it. He then walked in after her. After closing and locking the door, Kaos turned to face Tenbra and was satisfied to see the expression of terror on her face. Kaos glanced around his room and realized what Tenbra was so terrified of.

The elf sat frozen, staring at two shapes that were crammed in to a small metal cage. Both shapes had many open wounds on their faces and bodies, blood was dripping form both figures, forming a puddle around the wretched duo. Tenbra shuddered as she recognized Glumshanks and Sai.

"Glumshanks, Sai, what happened?" Tenbra asked in a strained voice, neither one responded to her question.

"They disobeyed me Tenbra. Since they were to busy fooling around, I decided to teach them a lesson."

"But… they didn't deserve to be locked up in a confined cage. Why won't you let them go free?"

Kaos clenched his fist as he heard Tenbra's question, he had to restrain himself from lashing out at Tenbra in that instant. Kaos paused to calm himself down before he spoke to Tenbra in a voice full of malice.

"There is one more part to their punishment before I can let them go free…" Kaos growled softly. He stepped toward Tenbra and raised his hands. Dark magic radiated around his fist, and then leapt towards Tenbra. Once it found its prey, the tendrils of dark magic wrapped around Tenbra, causing her to shudder.

Many welts and blisters grew on the elf's body, some blisters that grew to large popped under the power of the dark magic. Tenbra' ears flicked as more dark magic wrapped around her. The young elf started to choke violently, and mouthfuls of blood gushed out from between her jaws. Tenbra's flesh cracked, and fell off of her, exposing some cartilage and bone. The victim of the grotesque spell fell to the floor and clutched at her head, she then began to shriek loudly.

Tenbra's screams echoed off the metallic door, and dusty walls of his room, and yet Kaos did not care. He glanced away from Tenbra, and noticed Glumshanks and Sai trembling. Kaos smiled coldly at them. Tenbra's shrieks continued to escalate, until finally Kaos withdrew the dark magic. Tenbra lie still for a moment, and then her whole body became racked with spasms. She weakly pulled herself to her feet and stumbled to the door. The wounded elf tried to open the door, but it was locked. Tenbra realized with horror that Kaos had cast a spell on the door to keep it shut.

"Master…" Tenbra choked out. Her hands started to tremble violently, and she fell to the floor again. Kaos sent tendrils of dark energy to the door, the tendrils also drifted over to where Sai and Glumshanks were imprisoned. Two sharp clicking sounds echoed through the grime covered room, and the doors swung open. Tenbra stared blankly at the open door, too dazed to go through.

"Get out of my sight Tenbra, and take these others with you!" with those words Kaos grabbed Glumshanks and Sai, and shoved them towards Tenbra, he then shocked all three with a bolt of dark magic.

"Clear out of here!" Kaos snarled. The three minions stumbled weakly through the door, and staggered down the hall. Kaos left the room as well, and followed his minions out.

* * *

><p>Cyross and a group of Kaos's minions sat in the branches of a tall oak tree. This oak tree stood in front of the West entrance in to the central skylands. Dark green grass lined the ground, and the oak trees roots jutted slightly above the grass. A slight breeze blew through the trees, causing the leave to rustle softly. A few fireflies drifted lazily over the sleeping flowers.<p>

Cyross looked up and saw a bright full moon, and stars shining in the inky sky above him. He briefly wondered if he should have waited for a night with no moon, or a foggy night, but he figured that these fools should learn how to conceal themselves in any situation.

Cyross analyzed the ground for a while longer, looking out for any sign of the skylanders. Once he was certain that there were no enemies in sight, he signaled to his group that it was safe to journey on. Upon receiving the signal, the group leapt out of the tree they were in, and landed roughly on the branches of another oak tree, causing the branch to shake, and spew its leaves to the ground. Cyross winced as the rustling leaves struck the ground, and the branch continued to shake and bang against the trunk of the tree. If his group kept this performance up, then the skylanders would locate them in no time at all.

"Okay, I have come to the conclusion that you guys need to learn how to make your steps quieter. If you march through the skylands as loudly as when you guys struck these tree branches, then we will be discovered far too easily." Cyross exclaimed, in disapproval.

"How are we supposed to make our steps quieter?" An elf by the name of Flametosser asked. Flametosser had short, frizzy orange hair and dark green skin. His eyes were a pale lavender color, and he had small tan freckles lining his face.

"You simply land without putting to much weight on the tree branch! Are there anymore idiotic questions?" Cyross snapped. No one spoke.

"None, good now come on." Cyross said, signaling for the group to follow him. Cyross wondered if putting up with these idiots was worth it, but the thought of getting revenge on Sonny, made him tolerate what he had to do.

The group continued to land on various tree branches, until they entered some trees in the skylanders territory. Cyross signaled for everyone to climb down, and creep along the grass. The battle scarred gryphon cast his gaze around, and was horrified to see a skylander walking along the ground.

"Hide!" Cyross hissed to his group. Once everyone was safely hidden, Cyross decided to observe the skylander. He noted that the skylander looked like a male version of the phoenix dragon he observed.

"The hybrid…" Cyross hissed under his breath. Training would have to be delayed until this skylander was on his way.

* * *

><p>Sunburn padded wearily through the forest, his thoughts filled with turbulent betrayal. He knew he was being stupid, and that Sunbright didn't betray him, After all how could she have betrayed him if she was never with him? And yet misery had filled Sunburn ever since he departed from her company. A cold aching loneliness tore at Sunburn's heart, yet he knew he shouldn't feel so alone.<p>

He had friends, Sonny, and Spyro, were his best friends, and Sonny's children were like family to him, and yet he wished he had a family of his own, and that there were other phoenix dragon hybrids.

"They say that I'm special because I'm the only phoenix dragon, but do they even know the price one pays for being one of a kind?" Sunburn murmured, a tear dripping down his cheek.

The distraught hybrid continued to wander until he came across a small puddle. Sunburn looked at his reflection, and loathed it. He loathed how there were no other phoenix dragons besides him and Sunbright, he loathed the aching loneliness that gnawed at him. He tried to talk to Sonny and Spyro about the ache that was slowly consuming him, but they just told him that he would find somebody some day, and that he would always be special to them. His friends' words did nothing to assuage his pain; the fact was their words only aggravated the cold ache in his chest.

Sunburn gasped as his breath caught in his throat. His grief was getting worse. Sunburn collapsed by the puddle, and began to weep, his chest heaving as waves of grief and agony washed over him. His body became racked with shudders, and he screeched. In that moment he wanted to die, he wanted to end the agony he felt. Sunburn felt as if a chunk of ice was caught in his chest and throat, making it near impossible for him to breath.

Sunburn rested his head on his paws, and prayed that the misery he felt would end. All through the night the hybrid stayed in that position, yearning for someone like him to come in to his life.

"God help me," he murmured, "Please let there be someone out there for me, please end this ache I feel…"

With those words, the hybrid was claimed by sleep.

* * *

><p>Authors Notes: and you get to see Kaos abusing his minions, how's that for interesting? Yeah the ending of this chapter was lame. I seriously need to come up with better ways to end my chapters. Sunburn seriously needs to take Cymbalta or something. _<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Note: Well, this story hasn't been updated in forever! I honestly kind of lost interest in it, but for some reason I missed this story, and actually wanted to write some more of it. So now you have an extreamly random update. Enjoy it or not, I'm just writing this for myself now.

* * *

><p>Cyross wandered aimlessly through the tunnels, reflecting on what he had learned from working for Kaos. So far this group had no potential what so ever, and yet he had to put up with these fools if he wanted to take his revenge on Sonny.<p>

"Well, at least some good has come out of this…" Cyross mumbled, resting his paw close to his right eye.

A long jagged scar used to cover his right eye, but now the battle mark had almost faded away completely. You would have to look very closely at Cyross to see his scar. It took a while for the battle scarred gryphon to figure out what had happened, but when he finally discovered why his scar was healing he realized that he was far more powerful then he originally thought. Cyross smirked as he remembered how he discovered his talent.

The battle scarred gryphon had been walking with Kaos, when a strange energy had filled him. Cyross had investigated in order to find out where the magic was coming from, when he discovered that Kaos was the source of the dark magic. At first Cyross had no clue how this strange discovery could be used to his advantage, when he realized that shadow magic was one of the most deadly kinds of magic.

Upon this realization, Cyross was trying to work out how to manipulate his human companion to the highest advantage, when a surge of shadow magic rushed toward him. Cyross had tried to call out, but the wave had struck him, and yet he felt no pain. Instead of the pain he expected to feel, he had actually felt stronger.

After patrolling the territory, Cyross had flown to the river to get a drink of water when he noticed that the scar over his right eye was nearly gone. The dark magic had healed him! Cyross had followed Kaos closely after that event, often times trying to manipulate the magic that Kaos possessed. Soon after the event, Cyross realized that he was able to drain the energy from Kaos in order to heal himself. the sound of paw steps on the ground dragged the gryphon out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the phoenix dragon pacing across the cave floor.

Cyross felt his feathers puff up, and his paws trembled. The battle scarred gryphon walked up to the phoenix dragon.

"Well hello there miss." Cyross purred seductively.

"Oh hi…" the phoenix dragon replied with a distracted tone.

Cyross growled in indignation at the hybrids tone, she wasn't paying attention to him at all!

"What's your name little lady?" Cyross asked in a snake like tone.

"Sunbright." the hybrid responded.

"Sunbright…" Cyross muttered letting the name roll on his tongue.

Cyross walked over to Sunbright, and brushed his leg against hers. He growled softly in satisfaction as he felt the hybrid stiffen.

"So Sunbright, you planning on going anywhere tonight?" Cyross asked in a seductive tone. His eyes locked on Sunbright's tail, and he had the sudden urge to leap on top of her.

"N-No…" Sunbright whimpered, a look of horror filling her eyes. Cyross licked his beak, and he inched closer to Sunbright. The battle scarred gryphon draped his wing over the hybrid's shoulder, and he pulled her close to him.

Shudders ran through Sunbright's body as she was dragged closer to Cyross. The battle scarred gryphon smirked as he felt her trembling.

"I know of a place where we can go… no one comes near that place anymore, it will just be us…" Cyross murmured. Sweat began to trickle down Sunbright's face, and tears started to form in her eyes. Clearly this situation was degrading to the poor hybrid.

"Come on Sunbright; let's go before anyone catches us." Cyross growled at Sunbright. A look of pure turmoil appeared in the phoenix dragon's eyes, and her whole body shuddered violently. Sunbright took a few moments to contemplate her choices before lowering her head in resignation. Cyross smirked at his companion, picked her up roughly in his claws, and flew off.

* * *

><p>Gildara stood at the entrance to the underground caves, her body ridged with scorching fury. She had witnessed Cyross harassing Sunbright, until he finally kidnapped her. Gildara had been intending to kill Cyross tonight, but that would have to wait until Sunbright was out of harms way.<p>

"Sunbright…" Gildara whispered, old memories churning inside of her. Sunbright had been one of Gildara's first friends when she started working with Kaos. Whenever life was at its roughest peak for her or her friends, it was Sunbright who encouraged them, and showed them that life was worth living.

"And now that bastard seeks to destroy her spirit." Gildara growled softly. The gryphon's voice rose in power as her fury mounted. "Well I won't let him!" Gildara wailed furiously, "I won't let him hurt Sunbright or my master ever again! I won't loose to him again!"

With those words Gildara beat her wings. The mighty gryphon rose in to the air, and screamed her fury to the distant stars. She then rode off in to the night, searching for her friend.

* * *

><p>Sunbright and Cyross rested in a hollow in an old oak tree. Dead leaves and grasses lined the hollow, forming a nest for the two creatures to rest in. a stream of starlight flowed in to the hollow, causing the leaves and grasses to take on a silver hue. The distant stars seemed to be the only source of solace for Sunbright at the moment.<p>

Shudders racked her body as she reflected on all that had happened to her. Earlier that day Sunbright had spoken to Cyross. The battle scarred gryphon had made many advances on her, attempting to seduce her. Sunbright would have refused and called out for help, but memories of what happened to Sai and Glumshanks had kept her silent. When Sunbright had seen Sai again, the elf witch had been badly injured and close to death. When Sunbright asked what happened, Sai had explained that Kaos had beaten her as punishment for falsely accusing Glumshanks of raping her.

"Why did you accuse Glumshanks of raping you?" Sunbright had asked.

"I thought that if Glumshanks got in trouble, then I would gain the rank of second in command. Unfortunately my plan didn't go as I intended it to." Sai sighed mournfully.

Sunbright had shaken her head, not being able to muster any other reply to what Sai had told her.

Sunbright was jolted back to the present when she felt Cyross shift beside her. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she stared at the battle scarred gryphon. She wanted to go home, and pretend that this wretched night had never happened, but Cyross had told her that if she spoke of what happened or tried to leave him, she and all her friends would have hell to pay.

A feeling of weakness and despair took over Sunbright, and once again she was reminded of how worthless she was. The hybrid sighed sadly as sorrow rose inside her. Her breath caught in her throat as she thought about what her master had said to her after the battle with the skylanders. He had called her a good for nothing pest that's sole purpose in life was to burden others. And to add insult to injury, or injury to insult as it were, Kaos had roughly kicked Sunbright, and broken one of her paws.

"I am nothing…"Sunbright murmured, her tears drying as a cold feeling of hatred swept over her. The hybrid grew stronger as the strange emotion swelled inside her. She had never felt this ice cold hatred for anyone before, and experiencing it now unnerved her. Her paws trembled, and she growled. Ice began to form on her claws, and her eyes blazed. The hateful hybrid opened her mouth, and launched a large sphere of ice at her battle scarred companion. She watched in satisfaction as he jolted upright and screamed in pain.

Sunbright smirked in pleasure, until the gryphon leapt at her and pinned her down, sending waves of his rancid breath in to her face.

"You little bitch!" Cyross snarled at her. The surge of strength that Sunbright felt faded immediately and was replaced by horror.

"You wretched creature, I told you that you were not allowed to rebel against me! Know that you have now damned yourself and your friends!" Cyross hissed furiously. Saliva flew past the enraged gryphon's beak, and struck Sunbright's face. The hybrid winced as saliva dripped in to her eyes.

"P-plea-please Cyross…" Sunbright stammered, making one last desperate attempt to save her friends from the gryphon's wrath.

Cyross raised his claws, and slashed at his victim's face, causing blood to roll from her face like tears. The battle scarred gryphon smirked as he saw how petrified Sunbright was.

Tears filled her eyes, and she cried out. "Please don't hurt my friends! Do whatever you want with me, but don't hurt my master or friends!" Sunbright began to wail and thrash beneath Cyross's claws, but the gryphon held her tightly. Suddenly a shadow swept by the den that Cyross and Sunbright were in, and a large shape bowled the battle scarred gryphon off of his victim.

"You leave her alone!" a voice snarled, trembling with rage.

Sunbright gasped as she saw Gildara pinning Cyross against the wall.

"Let her go Cyross!" Gildara commanded.

Cyross smirked, and then spoke in a tone filled with venom.

"Why should I let her go Gildara? I know for certain your master doesn't take kindly to whores, so if I let her go she will be thrown in to more horrid peril."

Gildara hesitated as Cyross's words sunk in to her mind. If Kaos knew about what happened, he would slaughter Sunbright. Gildara realized that it was now or never to end this threat, and so she spoke.

"Cyross, your quarrel is with me. If you tell Kaos about what happened, tell him that I forced myself on you. Sunbright was never involved in this mess, okay?"

Cyross looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. If he went along with Gildara's plan then his vendetta against her would be complete.

Sunbright stared in shock as she listened to what Gildara and Cyross had agreed to. Gildara was putting her life at risk for her. The hybrid's mouth dropped in shock, and Gildara spoke to her.

"Run now Sunbright, you were never here this night, no one will ever know how you were involved."

Sunbright raised one of her trembling paws, and stepped forward, she then beat her wings in an effort to fly. The phoenix dragon flew out of the hollow, and quickly landed, knowing that she would fall if she if she stayed in the air to long.

Her whole body trembled once more as she thought about what happened. She said a quick prayer for Gildara, and shakily made her way home.

* * *

><p>Gildara and Cyross burst out of the hollow, and ascended the night sky. Cyross opened his mouth and sent a wave of shadow energy at Gildara. Gildara dodged the attack, and retaliated by blowing a gust of cold air at her adversary. Cyross rolled to the right in order to avoid the gust; he then shot another bolt of dark magic at Gildara.<p>

Gildara who was to busy preparing for her next strike, was unable to dodge the blast. The dark energy struck the gryphon in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Despite the lush grass beneath her, the tawny gryphon was still winded by her impact with the ground. She rose up and beat her wings, only to have a sharp pain run through the right one. Horror filled Gildara as she realized her right wing had been broken.

"What hope is there for me now?" Gildara moaned in despair.

The gryphon's distress was driven away as comets of dark energy rained down on her. Gildara covered herself with her wings, and screamed in agony as her broken wing was struck by the dark energies.

Cyross descended the sky, and launched himself at Gildara, raising his claws and tearing at her feathers. Gildara twisted her neck to avoid having her throat torn open; she then bent her head and bit down harshly on Cyross's wing. Cyross screamed fury and agony as his opponent's teeth pierced his flesh.

Gildara put more pressure in to her bit, hoping to snap Cyross's wing bone in half. That would after all be appropriate punishment for what he did to her wing. Cyross lifted his claws, and sliced at Gildara's face, causing blood to spray in to the air. Gildara reeled back memories of her last fight with Cyross filled her. That had been the day that she had nearly been exiled for a crime she did not commit.

Cyross noticed Gildara's hesitation, and leapt at her, pinning her down, and sinking his claws in to her throat. Tears filled Gildara's eyes as she realized that this fight was going to be her final moment in life. Despite the tears that streamed down her blood stained face, the gryphon felt no fear. A sigh of relief passed her beak as she realized she would no longer have to suffer.

"Take me now…" The gryphon murmured as claws dug in to her flesh and blood trickled from her throat.

Suddenly the claws were torn away from her throat, and Gildara watched in awe as Cyross was flung in to a nearby oak tree.

"What is the meaning of this fight!?" A voice snarled furiously. Gildara craned her head to see her master charging toward her and Cyross.

Cyross dragged himself away from the tree he was flung in to, and marched towards Kaos.

"I was going to the stream for a drink of water when this whore attacked me." Cyross explained, pointing a claw at Gildara. Kaos glanced at Gildara, astonishment in his eyes. The look of astonishment was quickly replaced by a look of suspicion and disgust.

"What do you mean by "this whore" Cyross?" Kaos questioned. For a moment Cyross looked stupefied, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Well you see Kaos, that gryphon tried to force herself upon me, when I refused her she attacked me, as you can tell from the bite marks on my wing." Cyross responded, extending his injured wing to Kaos.

"I believe that you know "that gryphon's" name." Kaos muttered.

"Yes I know her name…" Cyross growled, a note of venom creeping in to his voice.

"Cyross, Gildara, come with me; I will speak to you each individually later."

The two griffins followed their leader, heads and tails drooping. Gildara was still disgusted by the fact that Cyross had called her a whore, but she kept silent, knowing that if she spoke Sunbright would suffer.

When the three reached the underground tunnels, Kaos beckoned for Gildara to follow him. The tawny gryphon followed her master, despair tearing at her. She had no clue why she was so afraid now, but she figured that it had to do with her master's fierce temper. The wizard and gryphon entered Kaos's room, and Kaos immediately went over to the moldy mattress he sleapt on. Gildara winced, realizing how awkward of a situation she was in. She was alone with her master, in his room, and he was sprawled on his bed. The tawny gryphon felt her paws tremble as she thought about what could happen to her.

"Come here Gildara…" Kaos called.

Gildara limped over to her master, feeling as if her paws were weighed down by stone. Her feathers quivered in unease, and she found herself struggling to breathe as the scent of mold crawled up her nostrils. When Gildara sat beside him, Kaos spoke to her.

"Is what Cyross said true?" Kaos questioned.

Gildara hesitated for a moment, wanting to scream about how Cyross was lying, however if she told the truth Sunbright would suffer.

"Yes…" Gildara muttered, feeling sick to her stomach.

Kaos glared at Gildara, and slapped her across the face. Gildara was tempted to swat him back, but that would only serve to infuriate her master.

"Don't lie Gildara!" Kaos snarled, "I know that you would never force yourself on anyone, let alone Cyross, I know that you aren't a slut Gildara, so tell me, why are you letting him get away with his crimes?"

Gildara felt her stomach drop as she heard her master's words, and her self-esteem fell to an all time low. Once again she was tempted to scream about the crimes Cyross had committed, but she didn't want Sunbright to be hurt.

"I… can't tell you master." Gildara murmured.

"And why not?" Kaos questioned in a biting tone.

"To tell the truth, would hurt a friend."

"Gildara, how am I supposed to sort out what happened, if you don't tell me about the situation!?" Kaos snapped.

Gildara lowered her head, not knowing how to reply.

"If you don't tell me anything, then I will have to listen to Cyross, even though I know he is lying."

In that moment, Gildara decided to speak.

"I didn't force myself on Cyross, he forced himself on Sunbright, and I told him to leave her alone. I told him that I would take the blame for the incident as long as he didn't let Sunbright get in trouble."

"That sounds like the truth, but tell me, why did you want to hide the fact that Sunbright was raped?"

Gildara stared at Kaos in disgust. Clearly being raped wasn't something anyone would want to advertise, and yet Kaos still asked the idiotic question. She was tempted to tell Kaos that he was an idiot, but she was already in a terrible situation, and didn't want to make it worse.

"You beat up Sai and Glumshanks when Sai said he raped her." Gildara muttered.

"That's because Sai lied about what happened, and Glumshanks should have known not to interact with her."

Once again Gildara was tempted to point out that Kaos was an idiot "After all how could someone avoid interacting with their colleagues?" yet once again common sense won and Gildara stayed silent.

"You'll have to be punished Gildara." Kaos sighed.

"Even though I've done nothing wrong?" Gildara asked, putting as much venom as she could in to her tone.

Kao glared at her, and then spoke in an equally venomous tone.

"You did wrong by lying to me about what happened." "See that cage?" Kaos asked, pointing to a small cage with metal bars.

"Yes." Gildara replied.

"As punishment, you'll spend the night there."

Gildara winced, once again thinking about how awkward this situation was. Unfortunately defying her master now would most likely result in her death, so Gildara jumped off the mold covered mattress, and went inside the confined cage. The tawny gryphon began to cough violently as the acrid scent of blood entered her nose. She could taste the blood because of how strong the scent was.

Gildara curled up on the floor of the cage, trying desperately to get some rest, unfortunately the scent of blood kept her wide awake.

* * *

><p>Kaos ran through a forest of shadows, calling out to Taresa. Long black thorn covered vines snaked around him, threatening to trip and tangle him. Kaos continued to run until he came across a dark crimson river, the wizard winced as the acrid scent of blood flowed over him. Kaos slowly stepped in to the blood stained river, trying not to throw up as he swam through it. The thick liquid pulled at him, threatening to drag him beneath the surface. Black serpents slithered through the river, biting at Kaos, and whipping him with their slender scaly tails.<p>

When Kaos finally reached the bank, he crawled out of the dark crimson river, and ran to where a cave covered with black thorn vines stood. The thorn covered vines hissed at Kaos, their thorns growing larger as the wizard drew near. Kaos glared at the vines, and blasted them with a sphere of fire.

The vines hissed once more, and then shriveled, revealing a small girl hiding inside the cave. Kaos walked inside the cave, noticing that the girl was slumped against a crystal that radiated with dark magic.

The girl's once pale skin had turned a dark shade of black, and her eyes had turned white and empty. Her once blond hair was now gray, and was falling off of her head in considerably large clumps. The young girl wore shredded dark blue robes, which revealed patches of dead flesh. Kaos could see the girl's ribs jutting out.

"Taresa…" Kaos murmured gently as he knelt before the girl. Grief coursed through him as he saw the appalling conditions his friend was in.

The girl looked up with a blank gaze, and then a spark of recognition entered her eyes.

"Kaos?" Taresa whispered, not believing that her friend was really with her.

"I'm here Taresa." Kaos whispered, tears falling from his eyes. It had been so long since he had seen her.

"Kaos, you have to destroy the crystal, it's corrupting this realm. This land will know no peace if something isn't done!" Taresa whimpered.

Kaos could hear the desperation in his friend's voice, and he quickly sought out the crystal she spoke of. The wizard stopped searching when he realized the crystal he had to destroy was the one Taresa was lying against. Kaos raised his hand, and summoned a sphere of fire. He blasted the dark crystal with the fire, and watched in satisfaction as shards flew all around the cave.

The wizard turned to Taresa, and watched in horror as she began to fade away.

"Thank you…" the young girl said as she faded.

"Taresa don't go! Please don't go…" Kaos pleaded.

"The crystal was the only tie I had to this world Kaos; it was the only thing keeping me alive."

Kaos felt his blood turn to ice as he heard those words. He had destroyed his friend's only lifeline, and in doing so killed her.

"Why did you have me destroy it?" Kaos asked, his voice choking up.

Taresa spoke in a faint wispy voice, and light surrounded her.

"It was the only way to save this land."

"So you had to die for this realm to survive?" Kaos questioned, his voice cracking from emotion.

Taresa's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Kaos wrapped his arms around her, in a desperate attempt to keep her with him. Tears fell from his eyes, and splashed Taresa's hair, which was now radiating with a bright light.

"Please don't go, I love you Taresa, please don't leave me again." Kaos begged, sounding like the child he had been when Taresa died.

"Goodbye…" Taresa murmured, and then she faded away.

* * *

><p>Kaos awoke with a start, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His hands trembled violently, and tears were streaming down his face. Kaos tried to take deeper breaths, so he could regulate his heartbeat; unfortunately he only wound up hyperventilating. Three minutes passed, and his heartbeat finally returned to normal, unfortunately his hands still trembled.<p>

Kaos dragged himself off of his moldy mattress, and paced the floor in agitation. The wizard whipped around as he heard a voice call out to him.

"Master, are you alright?" Gildara asked.

A chill ran down Kaos's spine as he realized that Gildara had probably witnessed his panic attack.

"What did you see?" Kaos asked, afraid that his suspicions were correct.

"What do you mean what did I see?" Gildara responded with genuine confusion.

Kaos ran up to the cage Gildara rested in, stuck his hand through the bars, and slapped her.

"Don't play dumb!" Kaos shrieked furiously.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Gildara shrieked back at Kaos, "I just asked if you were alright!"

Kaos froze for a moment, not bothering to say anything to Gildara in fear that his voice would quiver.

"What was your dream about master?" Gildara asked, "You kept crying out the name Taresa."

Kaos stiffened as he heard Gildara's words, and he scratched at his eyes to prevent tears from forming.

"Who was she?"

Kaos unlocked the door to Gildara's cage, and let her out, he then summoned tendrils of dark magic.

"Master, what are you doing?" Gildara asked, her voice trembling with fright.

"What you heard and saw this night must be kept silent…" Kaos growled in a deranged tone.

His eyes were now filled with tears and blood, and there was a wild look in them. Kaos advance toward Gildara, and wrapped her up with dark magic, he then summoned a whip, and slapped at the gryphon.

"Master, please stop!" Gildara pleaded.

"Shut up you little rat!" Kaos shrieked.

The wizard whipped Gildara violently, causing flecks of blood to fly everywhere. Gildara's screams filled the air, and sent shudders through his spine. Kaos summoned a shadow knife, and began to carve words in to Gildara's back. More blood seeped forth, and the tawny gryphon whimpered. Once her back was thoroughly covered in scratches, Kaos started to carve scribbles in to her stomach.

"Master please stop…" Gildara sobbed, as blood began to gush from her stomach.

Fury flooded Kaos at her constant whining, and an idea ran through his mind. The wizard pried Gildara's beak open, and stuffed his knife in her mouth, slicing at her tongue. The gryphon tried to scream, but all that came forth was a gurgling sound. Blood seeped out of Gildara's mouth, and stained the dirt floor, turning it to mud. The gryphon had to breathe through her nose, for her mouth was blocked by her severed tongue and the pools of blood inside of it.

The gurgling sounds disgusted Kaos, and he took a few steps away from Gildara before vomiting all over the floor. Once he regained control over his stomach, Kaos went back to punishing Gildara. The wizard pried his minions jaws open again, and pulled out the severed tongue. He then shoved it down her throat and cackled as she gagged.

"No more!" The gryphon's eye seemed to say, "Please no more!"

Kaos jabbed his hand back down Gildara's throat, and removed her tongue, throwing the now useless organ in to a puddle of blood and bile. Tears filled Gildara's eyes as she watched her tongue hit the floor.

"Oh quit your sniveling you little rat!" Kaos shouted in a deranged tone as he scratched at Gildara's eyes with his knife. He was careful not to blind her, what use would her torture be if she couldn't see and anticipate the agony she would feel.

Gildara twisted and thrashed inside the tendrils of dark magic, desperately trying to escape; unfortunately she could not break the dark bonds. Kaos scratched at Gildara's ears with his knife, and then cut off her toes. Blood pooled around Gildara as her toes were brutally torn off. The tawny gryphon hoped that the pain would knock her unconscious.

Kaos raised his knife, and started to scrape the feathers off of Gildara. The deranged wizard cackled madly as he saw the gryphon twist in a vain effort to escape. Crimson blood poured forth, staining Kaos's hands, and knife. After all the feathers were shorn, Kaos summoned an ax out of dark magic, and chopped off both of Gildara's wings. He then used some dark magic to close off some of Gildara's wounds so she wouldn't bleed to death.

Gildara was still covered in multiple open gashes, but the largest wounds had turned in to raw, inflamed scars. The tendrils of dark magic faded suddenly, and Gildara collapsed to the floor, shudders running through her body.

"Scram!" Kaos shouted, literally kicking Gildara out of his room.

Kaos looked at his blood stained room, and momentarily felt disgusted with himself. Gildara was one of his most loyal minions; would she really have told the other's about his nightmare?

"I couldn't risk it…" Kaos growled. He tried to shove his thoughts aside, and yet the guilt continued to eat him alive.

* * *

><p>Well, I honestly don't know what to make of this chapter. It has a bit of gore in it, but I fear the gore was really cheesy and forced. Also, now we know how batshit insane Kaos is. Please review and tell me if this chapter sucked or not, because I honestly don't know... Also, are my OCs too sue-ish? That's what I'm really afraid of.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: Half way through this chapter, the style changes from being told in past tense to being told in present tense. I apologize if that messes up how you read the story, but I wanted to see how it would work half way through the story, and I was to lazzy to edit the rest of the style. Also, for the readers who have forgoten about Theresa, you get to see more of her perspective in this chapter.

* * *

><p>Cold waves lapped at her feet, stinging them slightly with the salt they contained. The sand beneath her had turned squishy, and oozed slightly from all the water it contained. The scent of salt and water was carried on the breeze that flew over the beach, and seagulls squawked in excitement as they flew over the sea.<p>

Theresa reclined on the beach, watching as her gryphon companions played. Echo was carefully constructing a sandcastle, and Angia was gathering seashells. Hakkon was poking at a crab, and Cyrus was covering himself with a pile of kelp. Cyrus quickly dashed out of the kelp as a wave came towards him, and instantly darted back when the wave receded. It was days like these that Theresa enjoyed most, days where nothing really eventful happened, so she and her friends could go off and do whatever they wanted to.

As much as she enjoyed these types of days though, this specific day was strangely unpleasant. She couldn't help recalling the first fight she had been in, the way that blood had been spilled all over the ground, and the way that everyone had collapsed out of pure exhaustion. It was bad enough seeing her friends so worn down and beaten, but then a deranged wizard had attacked her.

She had been in so much pain that she could hardly stand, and when she begged for her grandmother to come to her, the old woman never came.

"This whole realm is a dream, so why is it that it causes me such pain?" Theresa wondered.

"Why has my grandmother not come to me, and what's with all the dreams I'm having within this one!?

The eleven year old found it strange that when she fell asleep in this realm, she didn't wake up somewhere on earth. Even stranger was the fact that she was capable of having nightmares within this dream.

"Why is the pain I feel here, almost of the physical plain?"

Once again she felt as if she was burning, and she couldn't stop the shivers that were wracking her lithe frame. She felt her heart freeze with terror as she remembered Kaos's shrieks of anguish. Her nights had been haunted by memories of that fight, and despite how much she pretended everything was alright, it really wasn't. She hadn't been able to accept that this place was reality, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that it was more then just a dream.

"I don't understand…." Theresa murmured, her distress heightening with each passing second.

How was it that her reality was tied to this dreamlike landscape? Never in her life had she encountered this before, and it wasn't discussed at her school either. How was she going to return to earth, and back to the Skylands at will? Was it even possible to go between the two realms?

A strange weight settled within her chest, and her heart beat at unnaturally quick pace. She could feel the adrenaline building up inside her, just waiting to burst in to her blood stream. Her flight instinct strengthened, and she had the sudden urge to leap away from the beach.

"There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong!" Theresa's mind chanted fearfully.

"Theresa…" A voice like nails on a chalkboard called.

"What!?" Theresa gasped, turning her head from side to side in order to pinpoint the sound's location. Her breath hitched in her throat when she recognized Kaos's voice.

"Theresa!" The voice repeated, this time in an urgent tone.

"What do you want?" Theresa muttered, her voice trembling with fear. Her hands clenched in to fists, and cold sweat poured from her brow.

"Theresa, help!" Cyrus called suddenly.

"Cyrus!?" Theresa replied, her paranoia dying slightly as her friend darted toward her.

"Hakkon is stranded in the ocean, you have to save him!" Cyrus squawked with horror.

Theresa was already darting towards the salty waves before Cyrus finished speaking. The world around her changed drastically as she entered the waves. Cold water nipped at her hands, face and feet, and her eyes began to sting from the salt. The eleven year old shut her eyes tightly, and then opened them upon realizing that she wouldn't be able to find Hakkon if her eyes were closed.

Seaweed wrapped around her feet, and pulled her beneath the waves, and her chest ached from the lack of air in her lungs. The young girl swiveled her head from side to side, and yet she was still unable to locate any sign of her young friend. A feeling of panic gripped her as the pressure in her chest intensified, and she rapidly swam to the surface. Theresa quickly gulped up a mouthful of air, but retched and gagged as a wave struck her in the mouth.

The young apprentice was tugged beneath the waves, and her throat constricted painfully. Her eyes began to water from the salt that entered them, and she began to shiver. A feeling of terror pierced her heart when she found no sign of Hakkon. She spent three more minutes beneath the water, and then resurfaced. She was being dragged down by the weight of her soggy cloths, and her eyes were stinging so much that she could barely see. She ignored her discomfort however, and focused on getting back to the beach, all the while she tried to wrap her mind around what just happened.

She had witnesses the panicked expression on Cyrus's face, and the terror in his voice. She had entered the ocean in order to find Hakkon, and yet there was no sign of him. She couldn't accept that the young gryphon was dead, and yet if he wasn't dead, then where was he?

"He_ isn't dead, I know he isn't dead. Everything that happens here, happens in my mind, and I wouldn't let him die! But if he isn't dead, where is he, how can I find him?_

The second she got to shore, she felt herself grow ridged with terror. Her heartbeat quickened, and a brutal realization settled on her mind. Ice cold waves continued to lap against her, and yet she could not bring herself to move. Time seemed to stop completely as her terror gnawed at her mind.

"_We may not be able to die, but we can be tortured. We can still feel pain. If Hakkon isn't on the beach, then he must have been captured by Kaos, and if Kaos captured him, then he will torture him!" _

The realization was like a bullet to her brain. The rigidity in her body vanished abruptly, and pitched her in to the soggy sand beneath her. The waves behind her grew stronger, and tugged fiercely at her legs. Saltwater and sand filled her mouth, and her throat stung, and yet she could not bring herself to move. Her thoughts were filled with Hakkon, and about everything he could be going through. Her eyes grew misty from her sorrow, and yet no tears leaked out.

"Theresa, Theresa!" Cyrus called, darting up to his friend.

Theresa felt her heart wrench as she saw the look of relief in her friend's eyes.

"I'm sorry Cyrus…" she murmured, her voice heavy with sorrow and exhaustion.

"Sorry about what?" Cyrus questioned, tilting his head to the right side.

"About Hakkon." Theresa replied, her eyelids growing heavy.

"It's okay, you tried your best." Cyrus soothed.

For some reason Cyrus's words stung her, and she felt as if she were burning. Hakkon had been captured by Kaos, and yet the young gryphon didn't even care! For a moment Theresa couldn't say anything, but suddenly she began to snarl with indescribable rage and disgust.

"How can you say that!? Hakkon has been captured by Kaos and you don't even care! I know he can't be killed, but that doesn't mean he can't be tortured! He could be going through hell right now, and you're not even the least bit afraid! He's your brother, you're supposed to care for him!" Theresa's voice rose to a wail, and ended abruptly as the sound died.

Her throat felt as if someone had rubbed it with sandpaper, and her whole body felt heavy. She had used the last of her strength to express her disgust toward Cyrus's apathy.

"What are you talking about?" Cyrus asked in genuine confusion, "Hakkon is okay, my mom saved him!"

It took a moment for the words to register, but when they finally did, Theresa felt her heart pound and her gut twist. Hakkon was safe? Her feverish mind swam with relief, and she felt as if she were floating. Despite the fact that she was on shore, she could still feel the waves tossing beneath her, each one trying to consume her.

"Hakkon is safe… Theresa murmured in a daze.

"Of course he is, what were you thinking?" Cyrus asked, a hint of anger creeping in to his tone.

A sense of guilt and shame stung Theresa, and she wanted nothing more then to apologize for her harsh accusations. Unfortunately her mouth had sealed shut, and she could barely open it.

"Why does this always happen when I need to apologize to someone?" Theresa wondered in despair.

"I…" Theresa croaked, the words she wanted to say nestling painfully in her throat. A broad shadow came across her and Cyrus, and the duo looked up to see Sonny glaring down at them in disapproval.

"So this is how it is then? You let my children go off on their own, and then blame my son for your failure to properly care for them." The gryphon growled in a threatening tone.

A pulse of adrenaline filled her, and yet, even the adrenaline burst couldn't help her to move. Theresa stared numbly at Sonny, taking in the gryphon's rigid posture, and distant gaze. Sonny continued to glare down at the human, scorn and fury in her emerald orbs. The eleven year old couldn't bear the shame she felt, and so she turned away from Sonny.

"You don't have anything to say in your defense!?" Sonny screeched, her voice trembling with rage and another emotion Theresa couldn't identify.

Theresa continued to look away from Sonny, her heart growing heavy with guilt. Her eyes continued to mist over, and her whole body ached.

Sonny turned away from Theresa, and rallied her children. The gryphon family then took flight, and left Theresa behind. The young girl rested on the shore, letting the events of the day sink in. it was hard enough for her that she couldn't save Hakkon, and that she had snapped at Cyrus, but then Sonny had to come to her, and rub her failures in her face. Sonny's words had stung more then they should have, and Theresa couldn't understand why.

"_I did nothing wrong did I? I mean, snapping at Cyrus was kind of bad, but Hakkon's accident wasn't my fault! If anyone's to blame, it's Sonny, she should have been looking after her family, but she left them behind. And yet when I went to save Hakkon, she blamed me for his accident. How dare she… how dare she!?"_

The more Theresa dwelled on the day's events, the more furious she became. She had risked her life for Hakkon, and yet Sonny could only say she failed. Cyrus had told her that the accident wasn't her fault, and that she had done her best, and yet Sonny somehow couldn't see that.

The waves continued to lap at Theresa, each one mocking her. Her clothes were heavily bogged down by sand and water, and her hair was matted and tangled. Seaweed hung over her head, and dripped stinging water in to her eyes. Her skin was burnt from the sun, and each grain of sand that scratched her, sent a stinging pain through her. The sun was slowly dipping beneath the horizon, telling Theresa that she had to return to the ruins, and yet the young girl could not bring herself to obey.

"What's the point? I'll just ache no matter where I go, so why not stay here?" Theresa wondered.

The sun continued to scorch her, and with a weary sigh, Theresa weakly rose to her feet. Each step she took wracked her feet, and sides with pain, and her legs trembled beneath her. She didn't even bother watching where she was going, she just walked away from the beach, and let her despair poison her mind.

"Is Cyrus still my friend? I snapped at him, and he seemed pretty upset. I said such awful things to him, and my accusations were completely groundless. And beside that, am I even aloud to go near Cyrus anymore? Sonny seemed so furious, and I don't think she'll allow me to talk to her children again-"

Theresa's thoughts broke off as the realization settled like a weight in her heart. She was more then likely forbidden to see Cyrus anymore, and if that was the case, then she wouldn't be able to apologize to him.

"But… How can I resolve this misunderstanding if I can't even talk to him?"

The fact was that there was no way for her to apologize, and that fact tore at her.

"Sonny how could you? He's my best friend, how could you forbid me from seeing him, how could you forbid me from setting things right?"

The poison in her mind shifted, and suddenly became directed solely at Sonny.

"If she had been watching them, this situation would never have happened! If she hadn't blamed me for Hakkon's accident, I would be able to visit Cyrus and apologize! How can she be so ungrateful, I lead her back to her children, I healed her wing when she was injured. I was kind to her and her family, and yet she forbids me from seeing my friends!" Theresa shrieked the rage in her flowing out through her voice.

The ache in her body slowly died away, and her sunburns seemed to heal. Her eyes still stung, and she still felt exhausted, but she wasn't in pain anymore at least. Her hands began to tremble with fury, and her eyes seemed to bubble. Without warning, a dark flame blossomed in the palm of her hands, and quickly engulfed her arms. Her mind seemed to fall in to a state of slumber, and the black flames around her swelled. The dark fire branched out across the beach, and ran over to the waves.

The pink and orange sky turned dull, as if all the life was being sucked out of it. A powerful gust of wind swept over her, and the eleven year old felt her feet slowly rising off the ground. Her whole body became racked with tremors and sparks of dark magic leapt off of her. The sand beneath her swirled, and darkened, and formed a barrier around her. Theresa couldn't help but smile sadistically as the storm continued to brew around her.

A cold hearted chuckle passed her lips, and her eyes narrowed scornfully.

"Foolish skylanders!" She hissed, "You may think that you're so great, but you're not! And I swear before God that I will destroy you!" her voice morphed in to a low growl, and suddenly sounded masculine as opposed to feminine. A bullet seemed to pierce her mind as she realized that she was speaking with Kaos's voice.

"What!?" Theresa thought the power she felt starting to fade. She fell to the ground and the sand she lifted fell on top of her.

Shudders ran through her as she saw that the world around her still looked ill. Her heart pounded rapidly, ramming itself in to her ribcage, and her pulse quickened. Feelings of dread brewed inside her, and built to an agonizing climax as she realized that she had sucked the life from the land.

"Hurgh!" Theresa retched suddenly, a stream of yellow bile passing her lips. Spasms began to rack her small frame, and she continued to vomit on to the sand. Her throat burned, and her mouth tasted like rotten milk and eggs. The contents of her stomach were mostly washed away by salted waves, but some of the vile fluid and chunks remained on shore. Theresa shivered when she saw that the remaining bile was a dark purple and black hue, the same color of dark magic.

"God help me…." Theresa murmured weakly, her stomach growling furiously as it tried to resettle itself.

The young girl sat upon the beach for an hour, trying to forget about what had happened. Her legs grew stiff from her vigil, and the waves slapped at her. The eleven year old finally decided to drag herself in to the nearby woods, having grown weary of the beach.

"God help me…" Theresa murmured painfully as she limped away.

* * *

><p>By the core of light.<p>

A gentle breeze blew across the skylands, stirring the flowers that grew by The Core of Light. The sky had taken on a soft pink and orange hue, and a flock of seagulls flew overhead, chattering on about the day. Despite the serenity of his surroundings, Eon knew he couldn't afford to relax. The old portal master was currently looking through the telescope for any sign of Kaos; unfortunately, he saw no sign of the deranged wizard.

"I know you're out there Kaos," Eon thought to himself, "Why haven't you attacked us yet? Have you truly fallen so far in to your curse that you can't even launch an attack?"

Eon's thought broke away from Kaos, and suddenly turned to Theresa.

"Where can you be young one? You were supposed to meet me at the training grounds, but you weren't there. Why are you hiding? I want to help you Theresa."

"Master Eon, have you found any sign of him?" A soft voice questioned.

Eon turned his head to see Hex and Spyro standing behind him. The two skylanders were rigid from anxiety, and Hex's eyes kept darting about, as if she expected to be attacked from behind.

"I've not found any sign of him." Eon replied, careful to keep his own anxiety out of his voice.

Spyro and Hex glance at each other, and then turned back to Eon.

"Where is Theresa?" Spyro questioned, "Shouldn't she be helping us search for Kaos?"

Eon fought the urge to stiffen, and just glanced at Spyro with a neutral expression. How was he supposed to reply to that comment? Was he just going to say that Theresa was missing? If it was just Spyro, he would have been honest, but Hex was with them, and despite all her fearless deeds, she was still considered a relatively new skylander.

"She told me that she would meet at the training grounds, but she seems to have forgotten." Eon said in a tactful tone.

"You mean she ditched!" Spyro replied bitterly.

"Spyro, tell Sunburn, Hugo, and Callie that they are to take their watch now. I want you to check the beach for Theresa, and I want you Hex, to check the Starway Tower for any sign of her. I'll search in the woods."

"Maybe you should search the tower…" Hex states hesitantly.

"I'll search the woods." Eon replies firmly, already marching off in to the wooded area.

Tall oak trees tower above his head, and pine trees drop their nettle like leaves. The foliage beneath his feet is soft, and smells heavily of the pine that builds the majority of it. Beams of light are filtered through the fork like branches of the trees, and create dapple pattern on the forest floor. A river gurgles soothingly in the distance, and yet fills Eon with a pang of despair.

Now that he is on his own, he can try to make sense of his scattered and tormented thoughts. His nights have been tormented ever since his daughter vanished, and that was more then fifty six years ago! A long while after that devastating situation, he had begun to teach students. Teaching the students and watching them grow had helped to heal his broken soul, but that had all gone to waste when they were all murdered.

"They're not all dead." A voice in his mind whispers to him, "Amrya still lives!"

"And he still lives…" Eon thinks weakly.

The old portal master had expected the bitter pangs of nostalgia to assail him once he entered the woods, but he didn't expect them to be so strong. He did not expect the tearing ache in his heart, or for his throat to close off with sobs that instinctively would not escape him; he did not anticipate the sorrow to knot up his insides, or the feeling of betrayal to cut in to him like a knife. With a weary sigh he trudges on, the sweet scent of pine suddenly making him feel ill.

Every drop of sunlight on the ground is a twisted joke. Every leaf that falls mocks him. "You did this." The forest hisses, "If it weren't for you, the Skylands would be at peace."

"I know…." Eon thinks a sudden feeling of guilt overwhelming him, "And I will atone for my crimes!"

"Too late," The forest replies cruelly, "Far too late."

Eon desperately tries to block out the voices, and tries to find Theresa. Fear for the child tears at his mind, and frays his nerves; fear that she may become like his first favored student pulls his thoughts apart. The old portal master breathes deeply, trying to fight through the dread he feels. Each breath is heavy and forced, and soon he is panting and wheezing from the strain of his battered body and psyche.

"Great time for age to catch up with me." He thinks bitterly.

His bitter thoughts leave his mind as he hears the sound of a weeping girl. He hurries towards the sound, and stops as he sees the girl he was seeking. Theresa is hunched over a slow flowing river. Her hands are trembling, and her hair is wild and matted. On closer investigation, Eon notices a grimace plastered on his apprentice's face. The old portal master cautiously approaches the girl, and kneels beside her.

"Theresa?" Eon asks in a concerned tone.

Theresa doesn't reply, instead she continues to stare in to the river. Eon fights the urge to retch as he sees thick crimson fluid staining the river. The same crimson fluid is dripping off Theresa's wrists, and the palms of her hands. Her skinny legs bear crimson gashes as well, and her face is in a similar scarred state. Her once lustrous emerald eyes have become dull and vacant, shamefully bearing the marks of sleepless nights.

"What have you done to yourself Theresa?" Eon asks, his tone saturated with sorrow.

"What do you think I've done?" Theresa snips.

Dread surges over Eon as he hears how the girl's voice has changed. It is no longer perky, and blissful, but is now filled with pain and hidden fear. It is hoarse as if she suffers from a sore throat, and it grates like nails on a chalkboard.

"What started this?" Eon asks, referring to much more then Theresa's sudden self harming.

"Kaos…" Theresa mutters in a venomous tone.

Eon stiffens as he hears her words, and his breath hitches in his throat as he tries to force out another question.

"I can hear his voice in my head. He speaks to me, and preys on my fears and insecurities. He haunts my nightmares and revels in my torment. I didn't want to cut myself…" Theresa trails off abruptly, and takes a shaky breath. She then begins talking in a shaky monotone.

"I had no control over myself. My hands no longer belong to me, but to him. I can't tell if the hellish thoughts in my brain are mine or his…"

Another pause and bitter laughter fills the air.

"Then again, I don't really have a brain anymore, because everything I had belongs to him."

A tense silence forces itself between the duo, and Eon patiently waits for Theresa to speak again.

"Please help me. This is unbearable. I can't trust in my own judgment or actions, because they may not even be mine. I can't trust myself to be around my friends, because he may turn me against them. My life is a nightmare, dreams or reality, whet ever this place is, its hell, and I want my patch of heaven back…" the girl's voice breaks off, and tears roll out of her eyes, and mingle with the dried blood on her face.

Eon finds emotions of pity and empathy churning in him as he listens to the girl's heart filled plea, and he resists the urge to brush her disheveled hair out of her face to soothe her. He slowly rises to his feet, and helps Theresa do the same.

"Come with me Theresa, let me help you."

Theresa cautiously takes her mentors hand, and they walk side by side out of the woods.

* * *

><p>"<em>What started this?" Eon asks, referring to much more then Theresa's sudden self harming. <em>

"_Kaos…" Theresa mutters in a venomous tone._

_Eon stiffens as he hears her words, and his breath hitches in his throat as he tries to force out another question._

"_I can hear his voice in my head. He speaks to me, and preys on my fears and insecurities. He haunts my nightmares and revels in my torment. I didn't want to cut myself…" Theresa trails off abruptly, and takes a shaky breath. She then begins talking in a shaky monotone._

"_I had no control over myself. My hands no longer belong to me, but to him. I can't tell if the hellish thoughts in my brain are mine or his…"_

_Another pause and bitter laughter fills the air._

"_Then again, I don't really have a brain anymore, because everything I had belongs to him."_

_A tense silence forces itself between the duo, and Eon patiently waits for Theresa to speak again. _

"_Please help me. This is unbearable. I can't trust in my own judgment or actions, because they may not even be mine. I can't trust myself to be around my friends, because he may turn me against them. My life is a nightmare, dreams or reality, whet ever this place is, its hell, and I want my patch of heaven back…" the girl's voice breaks off, and tears roll out of her eyes, and mingle with the dried blood on her face._

Kaos gnashes his teeth together in fury as he plays the conversation over in his head. How had he lost control over Theresa long enough for her to beg for help? The thought of loosing control infuriates him to no end, and on impulse he shakes the ground with a violent burst of shadow energy.

"How could I loose control so easily?" the deranged wizard hisses in a strained tone.

He paces around his room, trying to ward off his frustration and think of a way to resolve the issue. His mind buzzes with ideas, and soon he come up with a decent plan.

"Yes… I will break her, I will tear her thoughts apart bit by bit until she becomes my willing puppet, and once she does, she will obliterate the skylanders for me!"

* * *

><p>Authors Note: Yes the ending is sloppy and rushed because I had no clue how to end this chapter. Kindly review so I can hear if you Liked this chapter, hated it, or want to burn it in a firey Hell.<p> 


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