Dream Weaver and Leaf Fall deboard the Dread-Yacht 2.0. on the Academy's roof, the hub's leitmotif playing. The latter turns to the former. "Is there anything else I can help with?"
She shakes her head. "All that is left is brewing the elixir."
He nods and begins moving away. "Well, see ya."
*******
Dream walks into the Academy's kitchen, where Firefly and Dreamcatcher are preparing dinner. The former is fanning the stove's flames, the latter flipping eggs in a frying pan with the aid of her Bow Bots.
"Yo, Dream!" The moth calls. "Get the flower yet?"
"We did, and we also eliminated the Rotter." She moves over to an alchemy station near the duo. "What is on the menu?"
"Scrambled eggs," the head answers. "Nightshade won't need to worry about spider parts being in them."
"Good." The spider person removes the Forget-Me-Nots and other herbs from a pouch. She next looks through a notebook with the memory elixir's recipe, brow furrowing. "Hm. That could be an issue."
"What's the matter?" The moth asks.
She looks up. "This recipe needs a chaotic essence from someone specializing in Magic arcane. It is like a spark of creativity that helps a person get past writer's block. I forgot about it earlier because I was tunneling on getting the flower." She begins walking out. "I will be right back with Spellslamzer."
*******
(Warning! Up ahead are huge spoilers for an unfinished arc in Skylands Legends! Proceed at your own risk.)
Dream finds the Spell Punk flying inside the study, reading a book as Faceless replaces Sky Test Area. "I hope I am not interrupting anything important, Spellslamzer."
He closes the book with one hand, descends to her level. "There is nothing to interrupt now that Buzz just has to restore his memories." His eyes focus on her. "Speaking of which, why did you not just unblock them yourself? It is what I would have done."
Haze pops into existence between the two members of the Shrink Squad. "Forcefully altering memories is unethical."
The spider person nods. "I learned that the hard way on April Fool's Day, when I made everyone in Winter Keep think I was Mons." She stares off into space, smiling.
*******
The cutscene's art style again changes to a pre-rendered 2D slideshow, an instrumental cover of Beauty of Annihilation playing. Frost Elves are marching through the icy streets of Winter Keep towards an imposing ice palace, chanting: "Tagann Si!"
Brain, a penguin, and Whiplash are standing in front of a sculpture of an elf, looking positively perplexed about what the Mons is going on.
Back in the Dream Realm, the hunter is observing all of Winter Keep's inhabitants, having way too much fun with herself.
*******
(The arc spoilers for Skylands Legends end here.)
The cutscene's art style reverts to rendered 3D in the Academy, where Dream is still smiling. "Alas, it was fun while it lasted." Remembering why she came to the Spell Punk, she returns to reality and looks at him. "In any case, Spellslamzer, I wanted to see if I could borrow some of your chaotic essence for Buzz' elixir."
His eyes widen in understanding. "Ah. So we are going to forcefully unblock his memories."
She scowls. "It is not by force if he is doing it of his own free will. If it were that," she grabs a startled Haze, going through the actions. "I would tilt his head back with one hand while pouring the contents down his throat with the other."
Spellslamzer crosses his arms as Haze shoves her away. "Have it your way. How do you want me to channel my essence into the elixir?"
"Cast a simple spell on the alchemy station." The hunter begins walking out of the study. The Spell Punk flies ahead of her.
*******
The two are back in the Academy's kitchen, where the spider person has prepared the equipment for the concoction. She nods to the Spell Punk, Lorne Balfe's Spellslamzer Boss Battle - Part 1 playing. "Fire when ready."
He returns the gesture. His right index finger glows with an amethyst aura as it touches the alchemy station. Lightning the same color as the aura begins dancing around the monochromatic equipment.
Dream nods one last time. "Thank you. Now all that is left is to mix the ingredients together."
Spellslamzer flies out as she begins making the elixir.
*******
Half an hour later, Dream joins the other Skylanders and the rat carney (if he was rescued) in the main hall as Fire and Dreamcatcher bring out the scrambled eggs. She approaches Buzz, holding a gray vial in her hand. "The memory elixir is ready, Buzz."
He eyes it warily.
"Do not worry, I did not put whipped cream in it." She shoots Flynn a glare.
He holds up his hands in defense. "What harm could adding a simple confection do?"
"I learned from Pop that alchemy recipes rely on strict interactions between their components. A 'simple confection' like whipped cream has so many processed components that something is bound to go wrong if it was added to this elixir."
Buzz shrugs. "In that case, I suppose the worst that could happen is it tasting bad." He extends his hand towards it.
Dream takes a step away. "I strongly recommend clearing your mind before taking it. After you ingest it, it should perfectly restore every single one of your memories. You need to be ready to concentrate on what you saw on the map before the King of Chaos snatched it." She looks at the avian. "Day, you are the closest thing we have to a counselor. Would you mind helping him prepare for drinking the elixir?"
Day stands up. "I'd be more than happy to." He turns to the general. "Let's do it in the Light tower."
Meanwhile, Shock Wave has been pulling down a projector screen. He announces to everyone: "To celebrate finally getting the computer fixed, I thought we'd humor Face and End by putting on the latest Roboto-Ball development during dinner."
The eel commands his suit to bring out a TV remote not unlike the one the wolf used. He begins pointing it at the screen, then pauses and laughs nervously. "Uh, you might wanna cover your eyes. Most of us haven't seen a lot of color in the past few days, and the saturation may be overwhelming."
"Psh," the Monster Marsh rolls his eyes through his vines. "how bad could a little saturation be?"
Shock shrugs, clicks a button.
The room floods with blue light, the music changing to Mark Willot's NHL on TNT | Main Theme. Everyone begins screaming about their burning eyes.
The light slowly becomes more tolerable. When the Skylanders can see again, two Mabu are facing the screen. They're wearing headsets as a Roboto-Ball game plays behind them. The rectangular sports arena has eight pylons, four at either end. In each endzone is a hoop, elevated via Tech arcane. There are two Arkeyan teams duking it out: one with a wrench as its logo, the other with a dog resembling Blade Wolf.
"And it appears Crank will be inbounding the ball there," the first announcer says as one of the dog players throws the metal ball into the arena.
"Crank has been having a spectacular day here at Techalon Field," their partner adds. "racking up nine assists in just the first period!"
"Ah, yes," the first nods. "The star center is surely the reason the Metal Hounds have their early lead." A scoreboard appears on the screen. "Currently they lead the opposing Rusters 5-4-2-4 to 7-1-2-2."
"What in the Seven do all those numbers mean?" Cloud Jumper asks.
"Each corresponds to a scoring type," End mutters. "The Hounds have tossed five balls through the hoops, carried four into the Rusters' endzones, chucked two under the hoops, and hit the pylons with four."
"Both teams can get a maximum of ten points in each category," Face adds. "The score is currently 15-12. If neither can get to 40 in the allotted time, the one with the most points wins." He then points at the screen.
"Here comes the inbound," the first announcer is saying. "Crank passes to Mecha. Mecha crosses to Copper. Copper to Telo. And..." they gasp. "Oh! A huge cross over the center of the field, and it's caught by Crank!!"
The skeleton and robot both cheer.
"Crank fakes for the pylon, rolls the ball beneath Entomere's feet. And here comes Mecha with a shot on goal... and it's-"
The video feed cuts out, replaced by an angel with an avian mask who the game introduces as: "Knight Light, Protector of Starlight".
"Boo!" The skeleton gives Knight Light the thumbs down. "Couldn't you have waited five more seconds? The Hounds were about to score another goal against the Rusters!"
The angel's exposed jaw drops slightly. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but I greatly apologize for the inconvenience."
The device he's holding turns around, revealing he's in a place similar to Suncraper Spire. Black Mist a hundred times larger than the Academy is surrounding the area, barely held back by a dome of blue light. A winged figure is flying outside the shield, occasionally sending out blasts of Dark arcane, accompanied by Rok Nardin's The Mad Prince.
"This Mist seems to be seeking to destroy the Core of Light," Knight continues.
Flynn's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "But I thought it was already destroyed by the Sky Eater."
"It was heavily damaged, not destroyed. I helped relocate it here, to the Realm of Light, so it could be repaired while the Superchargers dealt with The Darkness."
"Why is Spyro not with you?" Brain asks.
"He has been losing sleep because of intense nightmares as of late. He did not want to talk about them with me."
Thoom!
The device spins towards the source of the noise, where cracks in the shield are forming. Knight gasps, flies to the damaged spot. "Besides, it'd help morale if the Mabu Defense Force and some folks specializing in Light arcane were here!"
A Mist tendril breaks through the shield, touching another seraph. Knight's device shakes as metal clangs off of metal, in time with the music. "Gotta go! Lumen Videre!"
The video feed cuts out. The Shrink Squad exchanges a look with each other.
Luminous is the first to speak, the music changing to A Pair of Aces. "It's better late than never to prove that I've been redeemed. Who else is coming?" (This track can be found on apmmusic.com because I can't find an official artist channel on YouTube.)
Sunrise stands up. "I've been waiting for the right moment to put my skills to use."
Brain looks at the alien. "Supernova?"
He shakes his head. "I'm on dishwashing duty."
"Day is also unavailable," Dream adds.
Whiplash nods to the fireplace. "See if Sol can join y'all. I think I saw him slip into the Light tower earlier."
"Thanks." Sun moves upstairs while the Roboto-Ball broadcast resumes.
*******
The Light tower, true to its name, is brightly lit. David Peacock's piano cover of Christopher Larkin's Radiance plays as the masked person passes by various maps detailing the known limits of Skylands.
"Sol?" Sun pokes her head into the common room. "Sol, it's time to get going on a mission."
"Not now!" The angel calls from a table. Near him are Red, Hood, and the Sheep Mage, all of whom are wearing sunglasses to counteract the tower's environment. "Can't you see I'm busy proving myself as the Shrink Stones champion?"
"Yes," the Sheep Mage laughs. "we all know you're the best player." His puppet shakes their head at Sun. Red rolls her eyes at the nonsense.
The masked person shakes her head. "Solar Flare, are you really willing to put a card game above your duties as the Deputy of the Shrink Squad?"
He shoots up, the Fiechters' Sigurd playing over Radiance. "Never! What's needed of me?"
"The Mist is seeking to destroy the Core of Light-"
"Say no more!" He flies out of the room, scattering the board's contents on the floor while Sigurd fades away.
She reaches an arm out. "But I didn't even tell you where-" She sighs, maskpalms. "Ah, forget it."
"I thought the Core got destroyed long ago," the nymph says.
"It's a long story. The point is, it's still standing, and Luminous, Sol, and I need to help Knight Light protect it."
*******
The Dread-Yacht 2.0. is soaring through a darkened sky, The Mad Prince playing. On its main deck are Flynn, Cali, and Mags. Next to it is another ship holding the Mabu Defense Force.
"How wasn't I told that the Core of Light survived the Sky Eater?" Flynn's asking.
Cali steps up to the cockpit. "You were probably told about it; you simply may not have been paying attention."
"If that's the case, I probably had a good reason not to."
The other Mabu rolls her eyes and turns to the vampire, who's tinkering with the turrets. "Mags, how are the Anti-Mist Blasters coming along?"
She raises her goggles. "Prototype Anti-Mist Blasters. I've done some small-scale testing, but the scale of Knight's situation is anything but small."
Cali sighs. "Hopefully they'll be enough to get us through because we're arming the Core with them-"
"Mist incoming!" Snake Attack's voice crackles over the Farspeakers. The pilot relays the message through the comms.
The other Mabu rushes inside the cockpit. Up ahead is the situation seen from Knight's video call, but from a different angle. A single beam of light is breaking through the mass of black clouds.
The three Skylanders emerge onto the main deck, just outside the cockpit.
"Sol," Luminous orders. "serve as our light."
"I was already thinking that!" The angel raises his glaive, a bright light surrounding it, and flies in front.
"You know," the pilot begins. "my Flynnstincts are starting to tell me that flying into the dome of destruction may not be the best idea."
"Get out of the way, then!" Sun shoves him outside, taking a seat at the controls. She and Sol direct the ships through the Mist, and enter the blue dome.
Chaos reigns on the four towers surrounding the Core of Light as the Mist takes on the form of Mist Monsters, fairies, and the Trap Master's seraph and mechanical allies. The north and south buildings are down, and the west and east don't look like they can hold out much longer.
More tendrils break through the barrier. Some touch the MDF's ship, bolstering the Mist's ranks with the Mist Buffoon Force. Others crash down onto the Shrink Squad's ship, forming a random assortment of Mist Monsters, fairies, and clowns.
The masked person drags the pilot back into the cockpit while the angelic Shrink Squad member lands on the deck. "Dodge the Mist while we take out the attackers!"
The Skylanders literally light up the ship with their attacks as they protect Flynn. With the last enemy dissipating, a larger tendril begins smashing the shield.
"Get into the PAMBS!" Luminous calls as it bores.
They repel it with Light arcane, and another begins circling the eastern tower. They reposition and again shoot at it.
(If the player gets a game over here, this plays:)
The Mist tendrils rip apart the PAMBs, throwing the Skylanders into the abyss while The Mad Prince's composition changes to a kazoo that mocks the player for their below-average performance. More swirl around the ship, molding into a colossal werewolf who snaps it over their knee with ease.
(And now, to the rest of the level.)
With the coast clear, they leave the turrets and observe their surroundings. The MDF look shaken as they finish dissolving the Mist, carefully moving over their fallen. Mags, Cali, and Flynn all seem to be unharmed.
Whomp!
A patch of inky Mist flies through the barrier, making a beeline for the tower the Skylanders were just defending. Black wings spread from it as it breaks the sound barrier, piercing the power crystal at the tower's top. The shield shrinks, letting the Mist encroach further. Everyone on the main ship, even Sol, looks close to fainting.
"Are you kidding me?!" Mags exclaims.
Thud!
She turns around. Faint dubstep notes of Resist and Disorder are added to The Mad Prince while long, black wings unfurl around the figure seen in the video call.
The King of Chaos makes a lopsided grin. "You have me to thank for that."
Mist and Dark arcane surround his outstretched paw, his grin turning into a snarl. He rears back, getting ready to pitch a baseball.
A beam of Light arcane flies into the wolf's shoulder. His projectile instead smashes against the cockpit.
Metal flies in every direction as the ship begins tipping forward. Another beam hits the disoriented wolf in the chest, throwing him into the abyss while Resist and Disorder fades away.
"Nice job doing something, for once!" Sun calls to Cali, who's emerging from a turret.
"Thanks! It feels great to have some time in the spotlight!"
A screaming, sooty Flynn runs out of the cockpit, grasping the steering wheel in his hands. "WE'VE LOST ALL STEERING!"
"Leave it to me!" Sol leaps off the deck, flying in front of the ship.
Someone's already there, and their exposed lower jaw grimaces. "Solar Flare!"
The member of the Shrink Squad smiles smugly. "Knight Light!"
Back on deck, Cali slaps the pilot across the face. "Pull yourself together! What is it you always say?"
"That enchiladas and sandwiches are delicious alone, but deadly together?"
"NO!" She smacks him again. "Who would be able to land this ship without any steering?"
At the front of the ship, Light auras surround the angels as they push against the hull. Knight turns his head to the other. "Of all the people Brain could have sent, I didn't expect them to be you!"
"Well, why not? I am a gift from the Ancients, after all!"
He scoffs. "No, you're a stuck-up mockery of me!"
The camera returns to the deck, where Flynn's exasperatedly saying: "I dunno, the best pilot in all of Skylands?"
"And who's the best pilot in all of Skylands?" Cali asks.
He pauses in thought. He then slowly straightens up, staring out into the Mist, letting the wheel fall to his feet, calling upon every ounce of courage he can muster. "I am."
"Then prove it!"
He nods, runs up to the destroyed cockpit, and grabs a length of rope. He calls to Mags: "Get the stabilizers up and running!"
"They're almost there!"
He runs to Sun, hands her one end of the rope. "Get one of your whatchamacallits to wrap this around the dingy!"
Back at the bow, the two angels are still bickering.
"Exactly how many times have you done deeds out of good will, not just because of your fake title?" Knight's asking.
"More times than you had before Cloudcracker exploded!"
He sighs. "Trying to reason with you is like trying to reason with a brick wall."
He then looks behind himself, and gasps. The eastern tower is far closer to the Dread-Yacht 2.0. than he thought. He turns back around. "HURRY UP, UP THERE!"
"YEAH, YEAH!" The vampire continues tinkering with the stabilizers.
Knight presses his back against the ship, focusing his arcane into creating a feeble barrier due to overexertion. There's soon less than five feet between them and the tower, and he inhales sharply in preparation for the end.
Mags flips a switch. "AND THAT SHOULD DO IT!"
The ship's stabilizers kick in, halting the descent. Flynn pulls on the end of the rope that Sun's familiar fastened offscreen, and a pair of masts and sails extend from the starboard and port sides of the ship. He then retreats into the cockpit's ruins, pulling a lever. Knight exhales in relief as the ship arcs back towards the Core.
"IT'S GONNA BE A BUMPY LANDING!" The pilot yells to everyone on deck, who each grabs a railing.
Another heave of the lever, and the bottom of the ship's hull pulls up just enough for it to land on a barren portion of the island, not wedge itself inside.
A few moments pass before an unsteady Flynn stands up on the railing, hyperventilating. "WHO IS THE GREATEST PILOT IN SKYLANDS? ME, CAPTAIN FLYNN!" He stretches his arms out like Cloud in the prologue. "BOOM!"
The other Mabu leaps onto the island's checkered terrain, looks up at him. "Now's not the time for celebrating!"
Knight (who measures 6'9") and the Shrink Squad join her, the music changing to Lorne Balfe's Sunscraper Spire - Main Theme (also known as Light Realm - Main Theme). The former says: "Cali has got a point. Your ship is wrecked, so getting back to the Academy will not be easy."
"That won't be a problem so long as I'm around," the vampire says.
He nods his understanding. "That just leaves the issue of repelling the Mist, then. While I do not have much arcane left, I will make the most of it while you repair the towers."
"I'll come with you," the other angel volunteers.
"Absolutely not! You got in the way when I was trying to prevent the ship from crashing; you would only serve as a distraction."
He laughs. "Like it or not, I am coming with you."
The other two Skylanders exchange a nod. The masked person then announces: "Solar Flare, as the Deputy of the Shrink Squad, I order you to stay with Luminous and I until we finish repairing the towers."
The Shrink Squad member looks at them and lets out a long, disappointed sigh. "Fine."
The Trap Master prepares to fly away. Before he does that, he turns back to the others. "Before I forget, the Mist also turned some of our defenses against us. The Vanguards can fly and normally use Light arcane to restrict invaders' movement. The Goliath mechs take a lot of punishment before they are destroyed."
(From here, the player has six minutes to fix the western, southern, or eastern tower in any order before Knight's arcane reserves run out, triggering a game over. Successfully fixing one of them adds six minutes to the timer, and fixing all of them removes the timer entirely and allows access to the northern tower. The game over sequence is as follows:)
Knight's gulping in air as he desperately tries cutting away the Mist's clones that are surrounding him. For every one his scimitar dissipates, two more take their place.
"Leave him to me," a voice commands.
The Mist parts, revealing the King of Chaos. He snaps his fingers, drawing the aberrations to him, increasing his height from 6'3" to 7'5". One of his wings wraps around the angel's neck. He then haphazardly flies over to the Core, giving the camera a malicious grin. "Game over, Portal Master."
His wing hurls his stunned victim at the machine. Volatile Light arcane blasts out from it, quickly expanding to the surrounding four islands and vaporizing everything it comes into contact with, Shrink Squad and MDF included.
(And now, for the rest of the level.)
The MDF's ship crashed near the Skylanders'. Their leader moves towards Cali and Flynn, who are loading the PAMBs onto carts similar to the one that Pepperjack, Whip, and Frost Bite used in the Rolling Dunes Resort & Spa. "My soldiers will help you to the best of their abilities. Where do we go first?"
The Shrink Squad nods to each other. The masked person says: "Follow us."
She guides them to the western tower. Luminous quickly shoots a laser from his hands, and the bridge's reactivated. As they cross over, Sheepapalooza's Mist Monsters leap down and the music changes to Lorne Balfe's Sunscraper Spire - Fight/Battle 1. The Skylanders and MDF dispatch the attackers, look up to see another massive tendril snaking around the building.
The angel begins flying up. "Let me handle this!"
The masked person grabs his wing, flings him towards one of the carts. "Not so fast! That's way too big for you. I recommend using one of the PAMBs."
The MDF unloads one of them. Sol takes control of it and repels the Mist, the music returning to Sunscraper Spire - Main Theme.
He gratuitously cracks his back as he gets out of the machine. "One down, three to go. You know, if they're this easy, I may be able to-"
Luminous rolls his eyes. "Oh, quit it."
The group returns to the central island, where the masked and crowned people activate the southern bridge. As they cross over, the music again switches to Sunscraper Spire - Fight/Battle 1 as Mist Monsters again drop down from the tower.
With the coast clear, Luminous looks up at the building. "Looks like we lucked out on this one." He turns to his companions. "Flynn, Cali, set up some PAMBs here while we lead the MDF inside."
They open the doors into the tower, where the Mist Buffoon Force is clumsily making their way up a series of platforms.
The crowned person looks back at his Mabu companions. "On second thought, how about you protect Flynn and Cali?"
The trio then fights off the MBF and make their way to the second floor, where the fairies from Persephone's home are having an easier time ascending. The same process repeats, and they find the King of Chaos' clowns on the third floor.
A power coil's on the roof. Sol flares up, reactivating it. The three members of the Shrink Squad cry out as the tower shakes, extending upwards as a light beam connects itself to the Core. The music briefly changes to a snippet of Lorne Balfe's Spell Punk Library - Book 5: The Core of Light before going back to Sunscraper Spire - Main Theme.
Luminous counts the number of beams connected to the Core under his breath. Then: "There's still two towers left. Sol, fly us down."
"You needn't ask!" He flies him down first, then goes back for Sun.
The Shrink Squad leads Cali, Flynn, and what remains of the MDF to the deactivated eastern tower. One of the Goliaths that Knight was talking about is just inside. They wreck it as the music briefly switches to Sunscraper Spire - Fight/Battle 1.
Sun looks at the MDF. "Thanks for the help. We can take it from here."
She and her Skylander companions then step on the red, orange, green, blue, and purple buttons clustered on the left side of the room. Each button raises a platform of its respective color in the middle.
They follow the steps to the second floor, where one of Knight's Vanguard clones is. They knock her out, and repeat the process from the last floor with the green, yellow, purple, orange, red, blue, and gray buttons.
The shattered power crystal is on the roof, protected by a Mist Goliath and Vanguard. The two parties clash, and the Skylanders come out on top. Sunrise's sun familiar splits itself up, gathering the crystal shards. The trio then stands in a circle, calling on a small portion of their arcane reserves to repair it.
Sol flies up, inserts it into the tower. A light beam connects to the Core in the exact same way as the southern.
Luminous nods to the north. "There's one left before I redeem myself. Let's go."
Sol flies them down, and they guide the MDF, Cali, and Flynn over to the last tower, where two Goliaths and a Vanguard are again waiting. They're once again defeated, and the Shrink Squad and their allies enter.
This tower is the tallest of them all, boasting bright lights and chandeliers. A stained glass window depicts a Storm Giant, a Mabu, a dinosaur-dragon, two elves, a brain, and a seraph smiling in front of a castle.
Knight crashes through the brain, followed by the King of Chaos as The Mad Prince replaces Sunscraper Spire - Main Theme. The latter's wings shatter all of the lights, making the window the only light source.
"I know what you're thinking," the wolf's outline begins. "I'm quite hard to kill off." One of his wings points down at them, Dark arcane and Mist gathering around his opposite paw. "Doing it to mortals, on the other paw, is hilariously easy."
Cali pulls a rainbow orb out of her pocket. Smashing it on the ground, she creates a rainbow rail that stretches around the tower. "Get Knight, and get out of here!"
Luminous calls a Sky Beam around the angel, suspending him before joining the others in grinding.
The King of Chaos flies after them, voice deeper with rage. "Where do you think you're going?!"
He chases them around the tower, throwing smaller versions of his oversized sword at them. Seeing another series of stained glass windows, he gets another idea. He flies around them, parking himself in front of the last one.
As planned, the Skylanders crash into him, falling to a smaller island. His own wings catch another updraft before he can join them down below.
Flynn struggles to his feet, holding his head. "Ow."
"The Core will not be safe so long as that werewolf is around," Knight coughs, having rolled out of the Sky Beam. "I tried fighting him off, but you saw what he did to me."
Luminous looks around at the other Skylanders. "All four of us may be able to take him."
Sun turns to Cali. "Do you have another rainbow sphere?"
She spikes another on the ground. "Good luck!"
Sol smiles at his companions. "Gather round. I'm gonna do something that's only possible as the strongest draocht!"
They move in closer to him as Really Slow Motion's Suns And Stars replaces The Mad Prince. Light arcane surrounds the quartet, forming a four-person motorbike. On its front, where the headlight would be, is a glaive resembling his own. Painted on its side is a golden arrow.
As they drive up the wider rainbow rail, the wolf flies down to greet them. "So you're back for more? I'll eagerly see to your demise!"
The game reminds the player that he's the "King of Chaos, Handsome Wolf".
His eyebrows furrow, the music cutting out with a record scratch. "Wait a minute. Why haven't my subtitles changed?"
Sun looks around. "I don't see subtitles anywhere."
"Of course you can't. They're in the UI. When I was introduced two levels ago, the writers called me a "Handsome Wolf"." He sighs. "That does not seem appropriate for a situation like this, does it? Please excuse me for one second." He looks up, cupping his paws over his muzzle. "HEY! WRITERS! HOW ABOUT GIVING ME MORE APPROPRIATE SUBTITLES?"
Their letters quickly move around and/or fade away, ultimately spelling: "King of Chaos, Mad Wolf".
He nods. "Much better." He then snaps his fingers, summoning four trolls and an airship to his side. "Last time, I gave Pepperjack, Whiplash, and Frost Bite the option to select the background music as they saved Flynn and Buzz. I am now doing the same for you."
What happens next is largely up to the player. The default music is Howard Shore's The Black Rider. The options for vocal tracks, which have the vocals from the get-go, are:
Tyler Smyth and Andy Bane's Infinite,
Clark Nova's Carrion,
Merry Kirk-Holmes' I'm Here,
KIT Walters' The Stains of Time,
Beauty of Annihilation,
Kellin Quinn's Break Through It All,
Casey Edward's Bury the Light,
and Crush 40's Knight of the Wind.
As his troll band either begins rocking out or playing The Black Rider, Sol guns the bike and dodges the wolf's swords, staves, and concentrated Mist. Each time his glaive hits the wolf, the latter grunts as he flies farther away.
(If the player gets a game over, this plays:)
Growing tired of battle, the wolf snaps his fingers, covering the area surrounding the Core with dense, purple fog. Sol parks his bike, joins the others in getting out.
Shadows gather on the edges of their vision, gigantic swords held in both paws, multiplying until they're in the tens. One of them says: "All for one..."
The Skylanders aren't prepared for the skewering storm that follows.
When the speaker next talks, they sound like they're smiling. "and one for all!"
(And now, for the level's real conclusion.)
The King of Chaos's wings dissipate after getting hit three times, sending him falling to the ground.
Sol's bike drives up the rainbow rail until it reaches the top of the northern tower. The quartet gathers around the crystal, channeling as much of their arcane into it as they can.
The Core roars with the combined energy from all four towers. The blue barrier protecting it from the Mist strengthens, doubling in radius, repelling the entity. With the threat dealt with, they see that the color capacity's at 10%.
The angel places his hands on his hips. "I knew I was strong enough to-"
Sun stands on her toes, slaps him on his back. "It's the Core, idiot!"
He shrugs, drives them back down to the main island. Down below, the remnants of the MDF are cheering while Mags and Cali are hauling the shackled wolf off to the repaired Dread-Yacht 2.0.
"Listen up, fleabag!" Flynn begins from atop his ship. "I can handle being tied over a vat of boiling lava, BUT DESTROYING MY SHIP IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE!"
The King of Chaos grins. "It's nothing personal, Flynn. It's all part of the video game."
"I DON'T CARE IF THIS WHOLE REALITY IS A VIDEO GAME!"
"Flynn," Cali interrupts. "stop talking to the prisoner. Super will want to know that fairies and the Core can both resist the Mist."
"Ah, right." He begins turning to the cockpit when the wolf laughs. He whirls back around. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, just the fact that you think I'm your prisoner."
The shadows surrounding the smiling wolf amplify themselves as his band resumes playing The Mad Prince. He flexes his wrists, shattering his bonds, and flies up just out of reach of everyone. "I have had a lot of fun today, thanks in no small part to my band." He nods to them, who stop playing to wave down at the Skylanders and their allies. "So much fun, in fact, that I would like us to repeat it tomorrow morning in a place you have all been before. Perhaps even a base of operations. A place of light and joy."
His smile turns grim. "Woodburrow."
Cali pulls out her Farspeaker while his band's airship flies into the horizon with him. "Did you catch all of that? Email Tessa a warning."
Luminous turns to the Trap Master. "So, Knight, would you say I've redeemed myself as a hero?"
"I think so." He nods to everyone except the other angel. "Everyone, thank you for the assistance. If you had not arrived in time..." he shudders.
Sun returns the gesture. "It was our pleasure. In return, can we ask something of you when your arcane is restored?"
"What do you want help with later?"
She looks up at the device above them. "The Core seems to be able to resist the Mist's color-draining effects, like the fairies." She looks at Knight. "When you're rested, could you see about moving it to the Academy so we can work with the fairies to restore all of its color?"
The angel nods. "That should not be too much of an issue after I help with cleanup over here."
To be continued with the Woodburrow reflections.
**Gaming Scientist's concluding note**
Things are heating up with the King of Chaos. Quite literally, as far as three Skylanders are concerned. Will the Shrink Squad be able to save Tessa's village?