geminiamethyst

[geminiamethyst]

Skyline Gang: Sky Crystal. Chapter 14

Prologue: click HERE

Chapter 13: click HERE

Chapter 15

Sorry this took so long. This is a short-ish chapter just to help me back into the story.

The moment that Team Bud had stepped out of the portal, everyone felt like their stomachs had been doing somersaults at least ten times in a row. Their legs were wobbly and the world just seemed to tilt on its side.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Sprout moaned as he held his stomach, looking more green than usual.

“A little warning would’ve been nice!” Misty shouted behind her. However, since the portal had closed behind her, anyone else who happened to be passing by would believe that she was shouting at thin air. As Candi stumbled about, doing an involuntary small twirl as she did so, she tried to find a centre point. The more she focused on her chosen target, the dizziness started to die away. She didn’t like that trip through the portal, but she had a feeling that she was going to have to get used to it if it’s going to be the norm. It was when she could finally see straight that she noticed that there had been a change.

“What’s happened to our clothes?” She suddenly asked, jumping back a little as she took in her own appearance. Everyone else, once their stomachs had settled, took in what she meant and had a look at themselves. Misty was wearing the same attire that she had worn when she snuck off after Mimi and Dude when they travelled up to London. Candi was wearing a pink dress with a light pink cardigan and white pumps. Sprout was wearing black trainers, green shorts and a cameo patterned t shirt. Bud was wearing loafer style shoes, pale blue jeans and a red shirt that had a structure of an atom in a cartoon style. Both Bud and Sprout were missing their headwear, revealing Sprout’s curly hair and made Bud’s hair look less spiked up than usual. Everyone had their faces wiped perfectly clean of all of their make up.

“The magic is probably responsible for this, most likely to keep us from being recognised.” Bud concluded as he readjusted the sleeves of his shirt to make it feel more comfortable on his skin. “For the best if you ask me.” While everyone else was getting used to their new outfits, Sprout took a look around. There were different tents surrounding them, each one a different size and colour. There was a scent of popcorn, greasy food and various other scents in the air. Music and the whirring and clanking of machinery was heard along with laughter and shouting. All the smells and sounds reminded Sprout of the fairground that they had at Skyline. He poked his head around one of the tents and took in the sight around him. Multiple families were walking around, young children sticking closer to their adults. Staff at their stalls presented prizes for various games, food and the rides that they were operating. There was a big circus tent on the far side, the standard red and white stripes causing it to stick out like a sore thumb. The whole area felt like being back in the Skyline on a busy day, the sense of being homesick loomed on Sprout’s shoulders. Then the homesickness faded upon seeing a rollercoaster.

“Hey, Gang?” Sprout called out to the other members of the team. They all stopped taking in their looks and joined him. “Is it just me, or does that ride look familiar?” They all took in what he had meant. A rollercoaster with a bright red track that had various loops and drops, most of which at dizzying heights that made Candi feel wobbly. The name of the ride was a huge give away as to where they were. The Mega Looper. This wasn’t just some random carnival that the magic had transported them to. This was the same carnival that they went to not too long ago.

“Now it’s making sense.” Bud concluded as he took in the surroundings.

“What is?” Misty asked.

“The reason why the Crystal was moving and not in a fixed place.” Bud explained, gesturing to the rides and stalls. The others looked at him with a raised eyebrow, prompting him to explain further. “The carnival moved, and so did the Crystal. The reason why it’s stopped moving is because the carnival was being set up. It must be stuck on a ride or part of a prize counter somewhere. I recommend that we split up and have a look around. Just like Dude had for his Crystal, use your Fragments to find a more accurate location.” Everyone immediately checked their pockets for the Fragments. They were met with a surprise to find tiny compartments sewn into the pockets, the Fragments tucked safely inside. Hidden and secure. A perfect detail to be added within their plain looking clothing. Might be a bit awkward but it was necessary. After checking that her Fragment was tucked safely inside her cardigan pocket, Candi glanced over at Misty. She wasn’t sure it was just her but her opposite seemed paler than usual. She was also rubbing her temple as if she had a small headache. Something didn’t seem right and she needed to figure it out quickly before it gets worse.

“I’ll go with Misty!” Candi volunteered before anyone else could start choosing their partners.

“Are you sure?” Bud asked, shaking off his bewilderment momentarily. “I’m more than happy to keep an eye on her instead.”

“I can handle it. Don’t worry about us.” Candi smiled brightly as she grabbed Misty’s hand. Before her opposite could do anything, she had already started to pull Misty away, leaving the boys behind. “Good luck!”

“H-hey!” Misty stuttered but she was already gone with Candi dragging her off. Bud and Sprout shared a bewildered look. Candi’s actions had really taken them off guard. She did say that she wanted to keep an eye on Misty before they left the Sky Crystal. They just didn’t realise how serious she was about it until now. Maybe she could sense something that the others didn’t.

“Try to keep an eye out!” Bud shouted after the pink and grey girls. “That Crystal could be anywhere!” He didn’t hear either of them respond back verbally, but he thought that he could see Candi’s hand waving back at him in acknowledgment. There was a lot of ground to cover, Bud thought as he pulled out his scanner. There was a signal, but there must be some kind of interference because he wasn’t getting a fixed reading. He looked towards Sprout, only to find that the joker had started to walk away, scanning the crowd in a comical manner.

“If I was a Crystal, where would I be?” He mumbled out loud as he searched. Bud sighed a little, already mentally bracing himself for the jokes that Sprout will undoubtedly be saying very soon. Bud quickly re-centred himself. A lot of ground to cover, and a race against time. There was no point in standing there. Not wanting to lose Sprout or be delayed any further, Bud hurriedly caught up to him.

———————————————————————————

It wasn’t the sounds nor the atmosphere. It wasn’t the crowd nor the overstimulation of being in the carnival in general. Those factors might be contributing a little, but they were nothing compared to the dizzy spell that Misty was feeling right now. She felt it the day before in London and she was feeling it again now. It took everything she had to not sway and rely on a solid form for support. She had a feeling that it was because of Mr Conjurer using magic. Sure it wasn’t meant to be something that was reckless, it was important. But it put a small strain on the magic, Misty could feel it.

“Misty? What’s wrong?” Candi suddenly asked. Misty silently cursed Candi out for being uncharacteristically sharp. Then again, Candi always had this sense of what Misty was feeling or notice that something was wrong. And Misty knew that Candi wouldn’t quit until she got an answer.

“Just a little dizzy.” Misty confessed. And without thinking, she blurted out her next words. “It happened before back in London yesterday.”

“What?” Candi exclaimed before she looked around quickly. She then spotted a spot that was behind another tent, one where not many people were walking around. She quickly led Misty to the area. “Come over here where it’s quiet.” Misty complied, wanting to shirk away from the crowd while she was able to stay standing. Once she had her own personal space, with Candi standing a couple of ft away from her, Misty tried to focus on her own breathing. She took one deep breath. Then another. After a minute, she no longer felt like the world was tilting at unpredictable odd angles and her head didn’t feel like a hole was being drilled into it. As Misty started to visibly relax, Candi glanced back towards the direction they came from and thought back to the portal. Conjurer did say that he can reopen the portal when he sensed someone coming back to that exact location. Maybe he can open it again just for Misty. “Maybe you should go back to the Sky Crystal.”

“No way!” Misty glared at her, appalled by the mere suggestion that she should go back. She then took a second to recompose herself and looked back at Candi with a fierce determination. “Look, I get that the magic fading is affecting me, but I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and watch you guys have all the action. Believe it or not, the Skyline is my home too. I want to be helpful in this. So don’t you dare tell me to stay behind! Got it?!”

“Misty…” Candi spoke softly. Misty was expecting her to keep trying to convince her to go back. She expected some begging with the puppy dog eyes that her opposite can pull out of nowhere. What she didn’t expect was a sudden hug. “That’s so nice of you!”

“Didn’t you hear a word I had said?!” Misty exclaimed, pushing Candi off.

“Of course I did.” Candi beamed, even as she was shoved away. Then her smile faded as she started to take a slightly more serious tone. “I understand that you want to help. But if you get any worse, please go back to the Sky Crystal and recover. Please, at least do that.” And there was the look that Misty was expecting. Big blue eyes with small pouty lips, accompanied by a slight whimpering noise that was almost exactly like Rainbow. The one look that everyone except Misty couldn’t say no to. The one look that may as well have the power to all manners of war. Misty was the only one that was immune to that look. She found it bothersome and childish but even if she tells Candi that, she knows that she wouldn’t stop with that look at all.

“You know that look doesn’t work on me, right?” Misty rolled her eyes. However, it didn’t stop Candi from keeping the look up. Misty couldn’t feel its effects, but she knew that Candi made a valid point. She wasn’t going to be much use to anyone if she was at the point of collapsing. “But I’ll listen to you.”

Candi giggled a little. She was fully away of the look not working, but she was glad that she won out this one. She couldn’t feel the magic affecting Misty, the link between them that let them gain each other’s injuries or feel their emotions seemed to not allow Candi to have that burden. Now she understood a little more about what was happening to Misty. She wanted to help Misty. Despite all the trouble that Misty had caused for her and the rest of her friends, she was still a part of her, she was still her opposite. And she wanted to do whatever it took to save not only the magic and the Sky Crystal, but also Misty and all those that were touched and connected to the magic.

[geminiamethyst]

Skyline Gang: Sick

1shot stories list: click HERE

This is a request made by one of my readers on Wattpad.

The day started off like normal.

Dude was the first to wake up and went on his usual morning jog.

Mimi woke up second to start her usual morning routine of staying fabulous.

Dude would return and have a shower, exchanging a morning greeting with Mimi as their paths crossed.

As Mimi started boiling the kettle, Bud had graced her with his presence and let Rainbow out into the garden. Pip joined them soon after that, with Dude following a couple of minutes later.

Dude woke up Sprout, literally dragging him out of bed since Sprout was that heavy of a sleeper that particular day.

It was only when Bud had finished preparing Rainbow’s breakfast, that was when the usual routine stopped. Usually, whenever Dude did his bit of waking Sprout up, Candi would wake up at the same time, often holding her favourite pink teddy in her arm and tiredly encouraging Sprout to wake up to help Dude out. However, she didn’t appear in the doorway like normal. Dude didn’t think about it too much, neither did Sprout. They both assumed that she woke up a little late and was in the midst of getting ready for the day. It was only when she didn’t join for breakfast at her normal time they started to get a little concerned. Misty didn’t show up either. That wasn’t abnormal. Being a night owl, the mischief would sometimes wake up late. If Candi was awake at that moment, she would have woken up Misty. Misty was usually less grouchy if Candi was to do it for some unknown reason, most of the Gang thinking that it might because they were opposites of each other and Misty being slightly more comfortable with the pink girl waking her up. Seeing as how both were seemingly still asleep, Sprout and Dude both decided to wake them up. Sprout volunteered for Candi, while Dude braced himself for the attitude that Misty would give him.

“Candi? You okay?” Sprout asked after he knocked on the door and crept into the pink room.

“Misty?” Dude asked at the same time, gently knocking on the grey door. Nothing, not even a groan or even a shout. Dude knocked again, a little louder that time. “Come on. Time to wake up.” There was a muffled groan from inside the room, but nothing after that. Dude rolled his eyes. It seemed like Misty might have been awake until who knows when again. No doubt plotting her next round of mischief making for the day. Dude felt generous and decided to let her take a nap later on once she’s done her round of chores for the morning, but he needed her to wake up. After knocking a third time, Dude opened the door. “Misty, I’m not telling you again.”

“Go away, Dude…” a voice came from the bundle on the bed. Normally Dude would’ve retaliated with a remark himself, but he didn’t this time. There was something off about Misty’s tone of voice. It lacked the usual bite that it would’ve carried. It was quiet, vulnerable. And if there was something that Misty hated more than anything was to openly admit when she was vulnerable, quite often opening up to Candi of all people the most.

“Are you okay?” Dude asked gently as he approached the bed. Misty moaned and seemed to try to bury herself in the covers. She didn’t shout or push away. She didn’t throw her pillow at him like she did that one time. She just turned her back on him. When Dude reached her bed, in the dim lighting, he could see the flushed cheeks and tiny droplets of sweat on her forehead. Taking a small chance, he reached out and brushed his hand on Misty’s forehead. She almost seemed to lean into his cool touch before he carefully pulled back. “You’ve got a fever…”

“My stomach hurts too…” Misty groaned, curling up under the covers as if to protect her abdomen from any further harm. If it weren’t for checking for a temperature, Dude would’ve thought that she was faking being sick. She had tried to do it before, only to be called out on it. However, with this burning sensation on her forehead, the fact that her stomach appeared to be tender and the lack of her usual mischievous spirit made the situation very clear. This was too real to fake.

“Dude?” Sprout’s voice suddenly appeared from the doorway.

“What’s up?” Dude asked as he turned to face the joker and Misty pulled the covers over her head.

“Candi’s sick.” Sprout answered, his eyes briefly darting to the bed before he looked up at Dude.

“What?” Dude exclaimed, the surprise in his voice immediately caused Misty to sit up a little.

“She’s got a fever and complaining of a stomachache.” Sprout stated, glancing back towards the direction of his sister’s room.

“How…oh no…” Dude sighed as he pieced the puzzle together.

“What?” Sprout asked.

“The link the two have…that explains why they’re both sick.” Dude stated, gesturing to Misty. Sprout finally noticed how flushed Misty appeared to be and how her eyes didn’t have that much of a spark in them. Exactly how Candi looked when he checked on her. Being opposites, Candi and Misty shared a link that often made things complicated and difficult for the two to live with. If one got hurt, the same thing was true for the other. Everyone should’ve known that it was the same thing if wither one of them had picked up an aliment from somewhere. With dozens of visitors a day, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

“So what do you suggest that we do about it?” Misty rasped as she carefully wrapped her arms around her stomach.

“The answer’s simple, Misty.” Dude smiled sympathetically. Misty only responded with a slight groan and couldn’t look up at him. “Plenty of rest for you and Candi.”

“I wanted a day off…but this is not how I imagined it…” Misty moaned. She then made a strange noise and looked between Dude and Sprout. “Do either of you have a bucket?”

“No. Why?” Sprout asked, scratching his head.

“Move!” Misty shouted. Then with a sudden burst of energy, she leaped out of her bed, her duvet fanning out on the floor. She charged to the door, almost knocking Sprout over in the process as she covered her mouth. There was an additional sound of running feet as she dashed to the bathroom. Dude and Sprout exchanged a look for a brief second before they heard a horrible noise from the bathroom. They rapidly got there only to stop in the doorway. Both Candi and Misty were there just as they had predicted. Misty had gotten there just in time. Candi however wasn’t that lucky. 

“What’s happened?” Mimi asked as she came up the stairs with Rainbow following her. The noise had more than likely alerted those that were still downstairs.

“Sorry…” Candi whimpered from inside the bathroom. Mimi looked inside just as the boys had and her nose crinkled slightly before she gave a more sympathetic glance to the two girls. Rainbow shared a similar sentiment as he gave a small whine. He was about to step into the bathroom when Mimi gently held him back.

“It’s fine, Candi.” Dude spoke calmly before he looked at Mimi and Sprout. “Sprout could you get the mop and bucket and Mimi can you get some clean pyjamas for Candi.” With that, Sprout rushed downstairs, nearly falling down them as he did so. Candi stepped around the mess, with Misty following her lead. Mimi gently stirred Candi back to her room, while Rainbow escorted Misty to her own room. Meanwhile, Dude looked back at the bathroom and sighed internally. He thought to himself that the day was going to be quite tough to juggle everything along with taking care of both sick girls. Then he thought that hopefully it won’t be as bad as he initially thought.

 ———————————————————————————

After that morning’s events, a routine was set in place. The Gang had decided to 9th have Dance With Us as the show for the day and allow other acts to have their turn due to their shortage. It was more manageable that way. They also decided to do rotations to look after the pair and make sure that they were comfortable. It limited some contact with everyone involved and it was easy enough to keep the house mostly disinfected after Candi or Misty needed to be in another room such as the bathroom for whatever reason. The girls were mostly bedridden, so they didn’t go too far. They drifted in and out of consciousness, shifting in their beds uncomfortably. They still had a high temperature. Luckily the fever wasn’t so high that the gang would need to call a doctor or have the girls taken to the hospital. Honestly, avoiding the hospital was probably for the best. The magic that brought Misty to life was real, but people outside the Gang didn’t know that. They all thought that the magic was just part of a plot line in one of their shows. If people found out that the magic was real, the Gang didn’t know what could happen. It was best to not risk it.

It was during Dude’s rotation being swapped with Mimi’s that they both noticed that Misty and Candi were soaked in sweat and decided to change their bed covers and have them change into a fresh set of sleepwear. Both of them waited in the den as it was the second most comfortable place for them to relax.

“Here’s some clean sheets.” Mimi spoke up as she passed a grey set of duvet covers to Dude. He had just finished stripping Misty’s bed, while Mimi volunteered to do Candi’s at the same time.

“Thanks, Mi.” He said as he gently took the clean bedding. Mimi then took off to finish off her own part of changing Candi’s bedding. The quicker it was done, the quicker the two can get back into bed to recover.

Downstairs, with blankets wrapped around their shoulders to combat a slight chill, Misty and Candi had confined themselves to the sofa. They weren’t happy about having to get out of bed but they agreed that clean bedding was better than sleeping in their own sweat for another minute. They both kept a bucket each close to them to prevent a repeat of that morning’s incident.

“We’re not going to die right?” Misty asked groggily as she struggled to keep her eyes opened.

“Don’t be silly, Misty.” Candi whispered as she felt her throat scratching her while she used her voice.

“Says you.” Misty attempted to scowl but it only ended up being a whine. “This is my first time being sick…”

“We’ll be fine.” Candi smiled a little as she sympathetically patted Misty’s shoulder. Misty only groaned dramatically as her head flopped back. Candi only sighed internally only for it to turn into pity. She vaguely remembered what it was like to be sick for the first time when she was little. She remembered being a little scared and even a little grouchy, much like how Misty was now. She couldn’t hide her pity for the opposite. Her first time being sick was pretty much similar for the same thing happening to a child. Of all the illnesses to pick up, Candi would rather have Misty pick a common cold for the first time instead of an awful tummy ache.

The rhythmic padding of paws came into the room from the kitchen and Rainbow made his presence in the house known after he finished off the last of his breakfast. He barely ate that much since he picked up on the fact that two of his human friends were sick, his worry being more consuming than his hunger.. He stubbornly decided to stay in the house. He couldn’t do much, but whenever Misty and Candi were sleeping, whenever one of the others didn’t for one reason or another, he would check in on them. A couple of times he caught them awake only for them to fall asleep again after a couple of seconds. It was his way of making sure that they were comfortable.

“Hi, Rainbow!” Candi smiled, feeling slightly better.

“Hey, fleabag.” Misty mumbled, sharing the same feelings. Rainbow gave a small bark as he placed his head between the girls on the sofa. Candi didn’t hesitate. Being careful to not aggravate her stomach, she got down on the floor and wrapped her arms around him. Misty didn’t do the same but she showed her own appreciation by patting his head. Feeling the fur and having the presence of the orange dog there, it took some of the ache away and caused the girls to relax a little. Rainbow seemed just as content as he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh of content.

“Girls?” Dude gently cur through the quiet after he and Mimi poked their heads into the den.

“Hi, Dude.” Candi whispered as she was caught once more on the edge of sleep. “Hi Mimi.”

“Bed covers are changed.” Dude smiled kindly as he walked closer to his pink and grey friends. He gently felt their foreheads. They were still burning hot, and for a brief moment, Dude thought that their temperature had gotten worse while they were down here. “How are you both feeling?”

“Dizzy…” Candi sighed, snuggling more into Rainbow’s fur.

“Same…” Misty added, nearly going limp from saying that one word.

“Let’s help you back to bed then.” Dude decided as he stood up straight. “Think you can walk?”

“I think so…” Candi sighed again and she slowly started to detach herself from Rainbow.

“I don’t need an escort.” Misty tried to retort but all of her bite was still gone.

“At least let us make sure that you both go back up the stairs safely.” Dude offered a compromise. “Especially if you’re feeling dizzy.”

“Better to be safe than sorry.” Mimi added. Misty wanted to keep fighting it but her eyes were drooping, much like Candi’s were right at that moment. Her body too lethargic, almost like it would take whatever strength she had left just to stand up, let alone walk. She was fully convinced that if she didn’t have help she could put herself in a bit of trouble. She really hated when she had to, but she had to agree with what was being said to her. As Dude helped Candi to her unsteady feet and took her bucket, Misty gathered up her strength and stood up with as much as she could manage. Mimi was the one that helped her back to her room and took her own bucket with them as Rainbow followed the four as patiently as he could. When Misty climbed back into bed, she didn’t hold back a sigh of content, wrapping herself up in the fresh clean bedding. Warm but not too hot. Cool but not too cold. A perfect combination. Without another word nor thought, Misty fell back to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

———————————————————————————

After Dude’s rotation had finished, it was Sprout’s turn. Everyone had to give him credit for being quiet and held back on the jokes while the two sick friends were asleep.

He mostly stayed downstairs in between checking on them. Their temperatures had gotten a little higher since that morning. He knew the saying that it was bound to get worse before it gets better, but he wasn’t sure about that in all honesty. He knew that when he checked the temperatures, he needed to make sure that they weren’t above a certain number. It gave him a little insurance that they didn’t need to be seen by a doctor and/or taken to the hospital. He tried to keep things lighthearted whenever he saw the pair awake. He would crack a joke and even do a little slapstick to make them feel a little better. He believed in the saying that laughter was the best medicine. Misty wasn’t that impressed, but he had a small feeling that she appreciated it, even if she didn’t show it. Candi would smile and giggle sluggishly but nothing else other than that. Then they would go back to sleep. Rainbow meanwhile continued to stay in the house. He was taken for a small walk at the start of Sprout’s rotation, Dude heavily insisted that the dog should stretch his legs and get some fresh air. It was only for ten minutes and then he stubbornly went back to the house.

While Sprout was attempting to put something together, he suddenly heard a noise. Rainbow’s ear twitched a little (he was taking a short nap) and his head pricked up a little as he heard it too. It sounded like shuffling from upstairs. It gave Sprout a short fright, making believe for a second that the house had a ghost roaming around in it all of a sudden. Then he remembered that he wasn’t the only human in the house. Who was awake then? Candi or Misty? Without much hesitation, Sprout went upstairs. Misty’s door was closed. Sprout thought that it was strange as he was sure that he left it open ajar. He guessed that Misty must have closed it without his knowledge. Candi’s door was still open, and that was where the sound was coming from. Wondering if Candi had woken up, Sprout peered into the room. Candi was out of bed. She was walking around, still wobbly on her feet. However, her face was blank, her eyes half open and bleary. Her feet were also dragging slightly, which was the cause of the shuffling sound. She was walking in a circle almost blindly.

“Candi?” Sprout asked as he stepped into the room. Candi stopped her movements for a moment before she started walking again. It was like she didn’t hear him nor see him when Sprout waved at her to get her attention. It took a minute, but that’s was when he realised that she must be sleepwalking. Trying his best not to panic, he closed the door and started to try to think about the situation. His mind reeled for what he should do. When it went blank in just five seconds, he finally pulled out his phone and called Bud. If there was anyone who should know what to do, it was him, at least that’s what Sprout believed. Like clockwork, after two rings, the call was answered.

“Sprout?” Bud’s voice calmly spoke through the speaker.

“Bud…I think Candi’s sleepwalking.” Sprout answered without being asked more. He thought that he heard Bud take a small sharp inhale but couldn’t be sure. “Do I wake her up?”

“No, don’t do that.” Bud responded as the sound of him walking briskly could also be heard. “It’ll potentially put her in more danger. Where is she right now?”

“In her room.” Sprout said, still watching Candi’s odd behaviour. “I’ve closed the door and I’m standing by it.”

“Outside or inside her room?” Bud asked again, sounding a little relieved for Sprout’s quick thinking.

“Inside, but I don’t know if Misty’s doing the same or not.” Sprout said as he quickly spared a glance down the hall. There was still silence from Misty’s room, but without leaving Candi there was still no way of knowing if the grey friend was still tucked up in bed or not. “Her door was already closed.”

“Keep an eye on Candi, make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Bud ordered, his movements sounding a little quicker. “Try to gently guide her back into bed. I’ll come back and help keep an eye on Misty.” Sprout felt relieved to hear that. An extra hand was the best thing that he could ask for. Before he could come up with a pun, Bud had already hung up. Sprout closed the door again and went back to watching Candi. She had stopped walking and was now kneeling before her plushie pile. She looked like she was about to crawl inside it, but she didn’t. She only picked one up only to put it back again. She continued to do this, her moments were methodical. It was as if she was reorganising her collection. Sprout scratched his head from this display. How was he going to get her back into bed without waking her up suddenly?

As Sprout was thinking that, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He figured that it was Bud as the steps could be heard going to Misty’s room. After a few seconds, the footsteps came to Candi’s door. Sprout didn’t wait for anyone to knock as he carefully opened it. Like he predicted, Bud was there, looking a little haggard from having to speed walk (not run) back to the house.

“Misty’s still in bed.” He gestured before he looked into the room. “How’s Candi?”

“Still sleepwalking.” Sprout said as he glanced back towards Candi. She was still doing her routine of picking up a random plushie and putting it back on the pile. She still hadn’t looked up in his direction, nor seemed to acknowledge that Bud had made his presence known. Sprout’s hands started to shake a little as he started to feel a tidal wave of uncertainty. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Calm down.” Bud spoke calmly as he awkwardly and calmly patted Sprout’s shoulder. “That’s why I came back.” As he said that, he then started to plan out what they should do. It’s possible that if they left Candi alone, she might wake up on her own or fall back to sleep. The problem is that if she fell asleep, she would need to be carried back into bed. Neither of the two were strong enough to lift Candi on their own so they’d have to work together or ask Dude to come back as well if he was available. As Bud was thinking about it, his leg was suddenly but gently nudged. He glanced down and found Rainbow standing there.

“Rainbow?” He asked, but Rainbow didn’t answer. He only pushed his way past, nearly knocking over Sprout. He started to trot up to Candi. “Careful, boy.” Rainbow didn’t stop his trotting until he was a couple of metres away from Candi. He gave a small quiet whine. The sound seemed to wake her up a little as she finally stopped “reorganising” and looked at him. Not past him as if he was invisible, but full on made eye contact with Rainbow.

“What’s going on?” Misty suddenly asked as she slumped over to Bud and Sprout, a grey blanket draped over her shoulders.

“Candi is sleep walking.” Bud stated before he turned all his attention to Misty. “You should be in bed. I thought that you were sleeping.”

“You shouldn’t have woken me up then, you klutz.” Misty rasped, giving Bud a side glare. A small shuffling of movement brought all the attention back towards Candi and Rainbow. The gentle dog had lowered himself to be lying down on the floor. Candi, still wrapped up in her sleepwalking state, slumped over. She curled up on the floor, the upper half of her body snuggling into Rainbow’s soft fur. The three standing by the door waited with baited breath. They didn’t know if Rainbow’s plan was going to work, but they weren’t in any hurry to stop him. After a minute, Candi let out a contented sigh and she finally went back into a deep sleep. Rainbow nudged her head gently, but she remained in dreamland.

“Candi…sleeping…” the dog spoke as quietly as he could manage. He then laid his head down between his paws, prepared to take a small nap himself. Bud and Sprout both shared a sigh of relief. While they still preferred that Candi was safely tucked back into bed, they didn’t have the heart to try to wake Candi up to do so. Not to mention, she looked beyond comfortable as she cuddled up to Rainbow. Deciding to keep the chill off of her, Sprout tiptoed in a cartoonish manner to her bed and grabbed the blanket that was folded up at the foot of it. As Misty watched him cover Candi with the blanket, she felt a little envious. She wasn’t one for hugs or that much physical affection, but she couldn’t deny that the temptation to cuddle Rainbow much like how Canid was, was too much to ignore. Stumbling a little, she walked over to Rainbow. Without waiting for an invitation or a question, she sat down and practically draped herself over his back. Rainbow raised his head in surprise, but then he calmed down once he realised what Misty was doing. Misty meanwhile let out a small sigh as she made herself comfortable, the breathing motion under her being a balm on her aching body. Her eyes started to droop, her body growing more limp by the second.

“Don’t get used to this…” she grumbled, her face half buried in the soft fur.

“We won’t.” Sprout smiled as he readjusted Misty’s blanket on her shoulders. “Have a nice sleep. Dream of being pillow-ionaires.” Misty grumbled again, but she was already so far gone on her journey back to sleep that it was incoherent. Sprout took the opportunity to hop, skip and jump away and back to Bud. After double checking that the two girls were back in a deep sleep, Bud carefully closed the door, leaving it ajar should Rainbow decide that he needed to leave at any point, a gap big enough for him a to poke his nose through and open the door with ease. As soon as both he and Sprout were in the clear, they let out subtle breath of ease. The whole incident went better than they hoped for.

“What’s that smell?” Bud suddenly asked, his nose picking up a rather peculiar scent. Sprout took one sniff before his eyes widened in shock.

“The soup!” He exclaimed, suddenly remembering what he was doing before he was distracted by Candi’s sleepwalking.

“Sprout, please don’t tell me that you’ve been experimenting in the kitchen again.” Bud sighed in exasperation. Sprout didn’t seem to listen to him as he took off running back downstairs. Afraid that the commotion had woken up Candi and Misty, Bud looked back into the pink bedroom. Both girls were in a deep sleep, the illness that they had picked up being the root cause of that. Bud felt like he couldn’t have some peace of mind upon seeing that the scene hadn’t changed in the slightest.

He just had to stop Sprout from nearly burning the whole house down. Again…

[geminiamethyst]

Really loving these fanarts! THANK YOU!

Some doodles for "Let the Flames Begin" chapter 13 by @geminiamethyst

[ID: Two Images. Image 1 is Flameslinger looking through a pyre to a town. He looks contemplative. Image 2 is the vision being vanished in a puff of sparks as Flameslinger gets startled by Stealth Elf. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Since I’ll be going to Butlins soon, I decided to draw the Skyline Gang. Made a couple of mistakes but I’m happy with how each one turned out.

[geminiamethyst]

So lovely to see more of this fanart again!

Thank you!

Fanart of chapter 6 from @geminiamethyst's "Let the Flames Begin".

[ID: Stump Smash is leaning towards Flameslinger, who is leaning away. They are in a bedroom at the academy. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Thank you again!

From chapter 5 of “Let the Flames Begin” by @geminiamethyst .

The fan doodles are gonna pause for a bit. Summer semester starts Monday, so my doodle battery will go to that.

[ID: Flameslinger and Fright Rider are interacting, and in the background between them, Stealth Elf is teasing Spyro. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Perfect reaction.

Thank you!

From chapter 4 of @geminiamethyst's "Let the Flames Begin".

[ID: Flameslinger jolting back at the sight of Stealth Elf. A dissipating green cloud behind him and around her suggest she teleported in front of him. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Love this OC!

From Chapter 3 of @geminiamethyst's fanfiction "Let the Flames Begin".

Hope you don't mind gemini, I used one of my OCs Flare. When I created her years ago, she was written as the flame spirit Flameslinger saved. She's usually a bit brighter, but she did nearly drown.

[ID: Flameslinger is with a flame spirit who is enchanting his bow. the flame spirit's hands and eyes are glowing. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Thank you again!

Told you I have an itchy doodle hand.

This is from chapter two of @geminiamethyst’s “Let the Flames Begin”

[ID: child Flameslinger hiding in the branches of an ent. A female elf is walking past while holding a lantern off sight. A crowd of elves with lanterns are in the background. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

MORE AWESOME FANART! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

More fanart for @geminiamethyst's fanfic "Let the Flames Begin". This is from chapter one.

Listen, I have an itchy doodle hand and am gonna be at this for a bit.

[ID: Flameslinger as a child with his back to a wall covered in bruises, the shadows of his parents on the other side of the wall. This is before he found the blindfold, so his eyes are illuminating parts of him. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

I LOVE THIS!

Thank you so much! Very happy that you’ve enjoyed the fanfic!

Fanart from a Skylanders fanfic “Let the Flames Begin” by @geminiamethyst . It’s on ao3 if you want to read it.

[ID: Split screen image of Stealth Elf and Flameslinger in separate states of despair. Both have their hair down, and their face coverings (her mask and his blindfold) are missing. End ID]

[geminiamethyst]

Skyline Gang: Sky Crystal. Chapter 13: Splitting up

Prologue: click HERE

Chapter 12: click HERE

Chapter 14

Sorry this chapter took so long. Writers block and uni assignments were in the way. Now that I’m finished with uni for the year, I’ve got more time for writing.

The ride back up to the surface was less daunting than it was going down to the Core. The rhythmic sound of the lift and the sense of relief spoke volumes over the silence. One Crystal. One step forward. One step but it was more than enough to keep everyone motivated. As Pip and Candi took the first ride up with Mr Conjurer, leaving the others with OJ temporarily back with the Core. Similar to how Misty was on the way down, Pip was uncomfortable for being in a literal cage but at least she had some company. When she felt on the verge of becoming stressed, she squeezed Candi’s hand and the pink girl would squeeze her hand back to keep her grounded. Aside from being a source of comfort for the rock chick, Candi was unusually fascinated by the texture of the walls. She would trace some of the lines in the natural walls in her head, almost making them look like train tracks with some crisscrossing one another. Mr Conjurer seemed to be in better spirits now that they took that first step into fixing the Core. He was quiet, but his amber eyes told his emotions as brightly as a lighthouse in a storm. As another of Candi’s improvised railway line came to an end, she glanced over at the magician that kept the two company. She wasn’t sure if it was the dim lighting or the small jolts of the lift, but something caught her eyes.

���Mr Conjurer?” She suddenly piped up, tilting her head curiously.

“What is it?” The magician asked patiently. 

“Your clothes…I see blue strips on them.” Candi pointed out, looking at the cuffs of his sleeves and the top hat. Mr Conjurer glanced down at his sleeves and blinked in astonishment.

“Well, I’ll be.” He spoke with a slight gasp. He removed his top hat and inspected it. His white gloved fingers traced along the blue stripes and inspected them, as if he was expecting to see that blue dye had stained them. “It’s about time I get a bit of colour back.”

While Pip and Candi waited, Mr Conjurer made another trip down to the Core to collect the others. As they all walked back to the library, Bud couldn’t help but notice something along the walls. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought that he could make out small cracks. Barely noticeable, so Bud thought that he was seeing things. However, there was that gnawing feeling in his gut, almost alerting him to the change in the interior’s appearance. There was also something under his feet, going through his legs. A tremor?

“Don’t suppose you know any time travel spells?” Dude blurted out suddenly as everyone filed into the library.

“That depends.” Mr Conjurer’s responded, his eyebrow morphing into a small arch.

“When Dude, Misty and I went to the British Museum in London, we found a Crystal.” Mimi quickly started to explain. Mr Conjurer opened his mouth to ask why he wasn’t told sooner, but the fashionista raised a hand to stop him. She hurriedly continued: “The bad news is that it’s part of a prehistoric fossil.”

“That is a problem.” Mr Conjurer agreed, rubbing his chin.

“So can you help us go back in time then?” Bud asked patiently. For a while, the magician didn’t say anything. His brow furrowed slightly, deep in thought. The Skyline Gang glanced between themselves and OJ, each one looking just as concerned as the other. This didn’t look like it was going to bode well if this plan wasn’t possible.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mr Conjurer pondered out loud, his eyes calculating his next move, trying to keep as many steps ahead as he could in this game. “But I am going to warn you right now, if I’m able to send you back and forth through time, it might make time run out faster.”

“Then save all the magic you can until we decide to go for the Crystal.” Dude immediately jumped in. Too big of a risk to take, something that needed to be thought out carefully. “We’ll leave it to last if we have to. We need all the time that we can get.”

“There’s another problem.” Bud interjected as he pulled out his tablet. “We might need teleportation magic too. Look at where each Crystal is.” Upon saying that, Bud showed the screen. The night before, he downloaded a live feed of the map that he had made. As soon as Mr Conjurer looked at the screen, he made an obvious gesture that he wasn’t used to looking at screens. He blinked a few times rather quickly and held the device with caution. As his eyes adjusted to the light from the screen, he once again looked like he was deep in thought.

“Another problem…” he muttered as he gently placed the tablet on the table. “Telepotion shouldn’t use up the amount of magic that I would need to send you through time.” That sounded positive but at the same time, it was also carrying a risk.

“How many portals can you keep open at once?” Pip asked, curious to know where this conversation was going.

“I can open two, but I will need to close them the moment you step through them.” Mr Conjurer said as his brow furrowed.

“I hate to ask this, but do you think you can do that for the rest of the Crystals?” Dude asked with a tone of regret for asking too much.

“I think I can.” Mr Conjurer said confidently. “I just-ouch!” With a sudden yelp as he straightened up, the magician slumped a little, holding the table being used to keep himself from falling over. With one hand, he was massaging an area in his lower back. As he involuntarily bent over, his top hat shifted a little. It revealed most of his dark hair that started to be peppered with thin silver strands.

“What’s happening to you?” Candi stammered as the magician slowly sat down to regain some comfort.

“Is this what it feels like to be old?” Mr Conjurer tried to joke as he repositioned his top hat. However, everyone in the room could hear the strain in his voice. “How do you people cope?”

“What do you mean?” Mimi asked, voice laced with concern and confusion.

“Never mind that right now.” Mr Conjurer hurriedly waved off. No one liked the way that he had been so quick to move on. Then again, time wasn’t on their side and pointless talk was the least of everyone’s concerns. Mr Conjurer was quick to grab the tablet once again and studied the map. “Let’s see where you need to go. I’m assuming that this is the one in the museum.”

“Affirmative.” Bud confirmed as he looked over Mr Conjurer’s shoulder. While the magician remained silent in his contemplation, he started to plan where the gang should be going next. As he was planning, the Gang started to look around and get lost in their own worlds. Pip was glancing around the room, almost daring to request for her guitar and try out the acoustics of it. She wondered how it would sound and what kind of music she could bring into the place. Nothing too hard, just something simple to test out what kind of music Mr Conjurer and OJ would like to listen to. She would love to have a fresh audience to listen to her ideas other than her friends. Sprout and Candi had decided to look at one of the books. Being that they were in a place filled to the brim with magic (even if it’s currently starting to run out), they both thought that they could have some fun by trying out some spells, much like the magic book that was in the house they lived in. However, when they both opened a book each, they were disappointed. The pages were in a language that they didn’t recognise. It was complete gibberish to them. Bud was in a similar position. When he found an unknown language in a different book, he tried to analyse it and work out what it was. He briefly wondered if it was an ancient language that was deemed to be a “dead language” and wondered how it ended up in this library in the first place. He mentally put up a memo to ask Mr Conjurer if he could translate or explain the contents of each book. Meanwhile, Misty decided to start her mischief making plans again. Since the magician that ran this place was distracted, she thought it would be fun to start messing with him a little by “reorganising” all of the books that had been meticulously placed perfectly on the shelves. However, when she turned her back to move on to the next section, the books seemed to have gained a life of their own and returned to their original places. When she realised what had happened at the last second, she looked like a storm cloud was looming over her head.

OJ seemed to have this odd look on her face as she looked over towards Misty’s direction. Her hand twitched too, as if she was prepared to reach out and say something, only to have some invisible force stopping her. Eventually she stood back and took a silent place beside Mr Conjurer, observing the map herself. Dude had noticed the whole thing, but couldn’t bring himself to comment about it. Whatever OJ wanted with Misty, so long as it wasn’t anything that would hurt anyone, was between just them, he had noticed right to meddle with it. He turned his attention to an open window, the curtain swaying a little from a small breeze. He couldn’t help but be drawn to it and take at the look outside. The sky that the Sky Crystal had created had slowly transitioned to become a soft orange with dark blue hues. The garden was enriched with many flowers that started to close their petals in response to the sunset. The air felt a little nippy as what seemed to be crickets could be heard from somewhere in the garden. In the distance a cluster of fireflies started to make themselves known. So it wasn’t just the two residents that lived inside this crystal; it housed its own wildlife of insects and maybe even small animals. What else was this place able to create? What kind of magic does it house? As Dude watched the garden, Mimi snuck a glance over to him. She was still upset at how the dive went and how he wasn’t careful. However, it wasn’t as intense as it was before. She knew that it wasn’t his fault. Still, she had one resolve in her head; she wasn’t letting Dude out of her sight again so soon.

“I’ve planned out a strategy for now.” Mr Conjurer finally said after a while. Everyone who had done their own thing, immediately stopped everything to listen and gather around (with Misty trying one final attempt to disorganise everything). “I’ll be sending one team here since the Crystal appears to have stopped moving, and the other to Egypt. They’re the closet locations that I can send you to other than the museum. If I’m going to send you all even farther, I’ll have to conserve all I can and leave enough for the time travel spell.” Simple and logical enough. The more magic that they attempt to save, the better. With that in mind, Dude took charge.

“Bud, you’ll be in charge of the team going to the first Crystal.” He said. Bud looked like he was going to bulk, but he quickly regained his composure. “I’ll take the other team with me to Egypt.”

“I shall accept those terms.” Bud agreed, trying not to think about how much pressure he felt from this plan.

“Why does Bud get to be put in charge?” Misty shouted, stamping her feet.

“Because I said so.” Dude patiently stated. “Also, out of all of us, he’s the most sensible and level headed.” Misty’s eye twitched, like she wanted to pull a face or say some kind of snide remark. However, she showed a lot of restraint. She didn’t see the point in fighting on this, but that didn’t mean that she won’t hold back in winding Dude or Bud, depending on which team she’s on.

“I’m going with you.” Mimi declared as she was took her self designated place beside Dude. “I’m not letting you out of my sight again after this morning.”

“I’ll come too, just in case that mummy is still running around.” Pip immediately volunteered. “You’ll need someone to watch your backs.”

“Dibs on Bud!” Misty suddenly declared, looking a little pale.

“Despite you not liking that he���s in charge?” Sprout challenged.

“Do you want me to steal the Orb of Ra again?!” Misty exclaimed. While that was one reason to not have Misty go to Egypt, everyone else had the feeling that she didn’t want to go because she was scared by the mummy.

“I’ll help to keep an eye on Misty.” Candi volunteered trying to sound confident.

“Where Candi goes, I go too.” Sprout beamed. Then he suddenly faltered a little as he remembered who’s going to be on his team. “Wait…”

“Too late, Sprout! No take backs!” Pip laughed at Sprout’s expense. She then patted Rainbow on the head. “Looks like you’re with us, boy!” Sprout groaned upon the realisation that he might have picked the wrong team since Misty was under Candi’s watch. However, teams were already picked, and it was too late for him to change his mind. Misty looked like she was already planning to cause trouble for the joker.

“I’ll try to keep some distance between the two.” Bud whispered to Dude as he fished out a small bag from his pocket. He quickly pulled out the Crystal Fragments and passed them around to everyone’s colour coordination. He then pulled out a duplicate of the tracker that he had made and gave it to Dude. With the teams picked and locations assorted to them, everyone was ready to move out again.

“I’ll try to get the portals as close as I can to the Crystals’ locations.” Mr Conjurer explained as magic started to weave in between his fingers, the white on his gloves starting to be decorated with some sparks of colour. “Once you’ve found the Crystals, go back to the location where the portals had dropped you off. As soon as I sense you, I’ll be able to reopen them without draining the magic unnecessarily.” With a flourished flick of his wrist, two lights shot out from Mr Conjurer’s hand. They distanced themselves before they got bigger. The portals opened in seconds, round swirling colours of white and indigo, a small breeze being drawn in to each of them.

“Good luck everyone!” Candi cheered on. “Stay safe!”

“You too.” Dude returned the sentiments. “Watch each other’s backs.”

“Ladies first?” Sprout feigned gentleman like behaviour. Candi happily skipped into the portal, the surface rippling as she passed into it. Misty looked a bit skeptical. However, she brushed past Sprout anyway, treading on his toe a little. Whether it was by accident or on purpose was anyone’s guess.

“Please, behave you two.” Bud sighed, already dreading the work he was going to have to put in to keep his team together.

“Try telling that to Misty!” Sprout shouted as he hopped a little on one foot. He and Bud entered the portal and it closed behind them.

“Here we go again with the heat and sand.” Mimi moaned a little, checking her pockets for a small hair tie.

“Just…don’t get distracted by the market again.” Dude advised. The less distractions the better, but it was best to just say those words before anything else could happen.

“Don’t turn into an overweight belly dancer and you’ve got yourself a deal.” Mimi smirked, crossing her arms with a teasing stare.

“Hey! That was the curse! Not me!” Dude exclaimed, his cheeks flashing bright red from the reminder. Even if he didn’t remember what happened completely, just reliving it during the shows was more than enough to give him an idea of the event. Pip barely held back a laugh as Mimi and Dude walked on ahead of her and Rainbow. The moment that the rock chick and canine, walked into the portal it also closed behind them.

“Good luck, all of you.” Mr Conjurer bided as there was silence in the library. He felt the teams walk away from the drop off points before they slowly vanished, like a footprint being washed off from beach. Then, almost like it was timed perfectly, he felt this pain in his chest. He couldn’t hold it back any longer. OJ jumped out of her skin as he started coughing harshly.

“Mr C…?” She asked cautiously as Mr Conjurer fought to keep himself steady.

“I’ll be fine…” he groaned, hand covering his mouth.

“Sit down.” OJ insisted, pulling out a chair. While Mr Conjurer took his seat, she decided to do something. Just because she’s confined to the Sky Crystal and doesn’t possess any magic, doesn’t mean that she’s going to sit by and do nothing. Even if it’s just ensuring that the man in front of her was at least comfortably, it was something that she can do. “I’ll get you something to drink. Just don’t do any magic unless those kids need to come back.”

“Thank you OJ.” The magician said quietly, catching his breath. OJ didn’t look back as she took off to the kitchens. She didn’t see Mr Conjurer pulling his hand away from his mouth and grew pale. The white of his glove was stained with small crimson dots.

[geminiamethyst]

Is it alright if I make fanart for you Skylanders fanfic?

Yes of course it is. Any fanart of my fanfics are always welcome.

[geminiamethyst]

Let The Flames Begin. Chapter 16: Searching

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 15: click HERE

Chapter 17:

Short chapter but hope you all like it.

“Stealth? Stealth Elf, can you hear me?”

Stealth Elf’s eyes flickered open upon hearing that voice, staring into a small light. She was laying down on something soft. Her entire body felt tingly with pins and needles and heavy like lead. She tried to move, but the most that she could do was twitch her fingers. The light stopped shining in her eyes as she blinked. As Stealth Elf’s eyes adjusted to normal lighting in the room, she could make out a couple of shapes; one brown and green while the other seemed to be purple and black. Her vision was fuzzy and she couldn’t distinguish what the shapes were. One of the shapes suddenly disappeared saying something about Master Eon. Stealth Elf closed her eyes, groaning from the headache that threatened to split her skull in half. Someone placed a hand on her shoulder as if they were trying to keep her grounded. It worked since when Stealth Elf opened her eyes again, she had a clearer picture of what was around her. Mags was standing above her. She must have been placed in the infirmary back at the Academy.

How long had she been here for?

“Welcome back, my dear. You had us worried for a minute.” Mags beamed. Stealth Elf stared at the ceiling from where she was lying. She tried to think back to what happened before her world went dark. The mission, searching the forest. She was in the trees, keeping an eye on her team from the canopy. She briefly remembered spotting one of the Skylanders flying above her before her attention was drawn to Flameslinger. She didn’t know why he wondered off nor why he didn’t say anything to Fright Rider and Jet Vac. She remembered following him, watching his back. Then she remembered the trap that the Doom Raiders had set. She recalled seeing a glint of gold being reflected from the shadows and pushing Flameslinger out of the way as a beam fired by Golden Queen was aimed at him. That was when her memory went dark.

“Where’s Flameslinger?” Stealth Elf asked, ignoring all the questions that Mags had been asking her at that point. Mags stopped her jabbering. Her eyes went downcast as she seemed to try to put the right words together. Stealth Elf could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Flameslinger had to be alright. He had to have fought back and maybe even had back up arrive in time to help.

However, what Mags said next caused the ninja’s world upside down:

“We don’t know.”

———————————————————————————

“Master Eon?” Hugo announced as he reached the Portal Master’s study. The door was wide open, allowing anyone to enter without needing to stop and knock. Eon was by the window, seeming to have been lost in thought before the Mabu had made himself known. “Stealth Elf is awake.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” Eon said, a little more uplifted now that he heard the news. He had planned to talk to the Skylander once Mags had reversed the golden curse that had been put on her. He needed a full account on what had transpired. “Has there been any other news, Hugo?”

“No, Master Eon.” Hugo sighed in defeat. “Even the Undead Skylanders in the Underworld aren’t finding any clues. It’s like they’ve vanished off the face of Skylands.” Eon pressed his lips into an extremely thin line and his eyes looked desperate. It wasn’t the first time that a Skylander had gone missing, but usually they would make contact to report what had happened as soon as they could. But one being kidnapped, by the Doom Raiders no less? That was something to be extremely concerned about.

“Send out word to keep searching.” Eon ordered, his brow furrowing as he looked out of the window.

“Master Eon? Why would the Doom Raiders take Flameslinger?” Hugo timidly asked, wringing his hands. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I have my suspicions.” Eon answered ominously. He recalled something that he had encountered years ago and something that he had confided Flameslinger in fairly recently. If he was right, this could be disastrous for Skylands, the Skylanders and Flameslinger himself.

[geminiamethyst]

Let The Flames Begin. Chapter 15: Some Answers

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 14: click HERE

Chapter 16: click HERE

As Flameslinger started coming back to the waking world, the first thing that he registered was having this throbbing pain in the back of his head. The feeling in the rest of his body hadn’t returned yet, so he couldn’t do anything about it. All he knew was that it made him dizzy and that his skull had threatened to split it in half. As the rest of his body started to catch up, he was under the notion that he wasn’t in a lying down position. The ache in his wrists and shoulders as well as his legs indicated to him that he was forced to stand. As the world started to become a little brighter to him, with a persistent ache in his neck, he could see through a couple of lit torches that were in the room. Only two torches but it was enough for him to see where he was. The room that he was in was small and didn’t have that much in it. There wasn’t even a window. The door was locked, Flameslinger was sure of it. He continued to scan the room for anything that could tell him more about his surroundings. He felt his stomach drop when he finally realised why he was standing up. He was standing under an arch that reminded him of a horseshoe. He was suspended into a standing position by his wrists which were encased in cuffs. His ankles also had chains coming from them and connected to the arch. These were to keep him from kicking out or trying any other attempt of escaping. The cruel metal that was holding him was made out of gold.

Flameslinger’s final memories before blacking out came flooding back to him. The search in the forest, the campfire, the trap that the Doom Raiders had set and Stealth Elf pushing him before she was turned to stone. He felt sick upon remembering that. How could he have been so stupid? He should never have strayed away from his team. Even if it seemed that Stealth Elf was watching his back the moment he wondered off, he still let himself be vulnerable to some of the most dangerous criminals in Skylands. He wasn’t careful of his surroundings and he let his guard down for too long. And now he was locked away and Stealth Elf was a gold statue somewhere.

Somewhere?

She wasn’t in the room with him. Was she somewhere else?

Flameslinger tried to expand his sight to other rooms that had lit torches. A treasure trove of gold in a giant room, a throne room, planning room and several others. One room that caused Flameslinger’s heart to stop was filled with gold statue’s of other victims. Golden Queen had been busy with this thing about turning people into gold statues. As Flameslinger hoped that it wasn’t too late to save any of them, he searched them all. Stealth Elf wasn’t there. Did the Doom Raiders leave her where she was turned into a statue? Then that would mean that she was probably found and already being restored at that moment. At least that was one thing to be positive about.

While Flameslinger was consumed by his momentary relief, he failed to hear footsteps approaching nor the door being opened. By time the light from the doorway hit him, it was wide open. The Doom Raiders were all standing there, with Golden Queen front and centre. They all stared at Flameslinger with some form of curiosity and cruelty mixed in a toxic blend. Flameslinger glared at them through his blindfold. He didn’t know why he was their prisoner but he knew that it wasn’t good.

“Our guest is finally awake.” Golden Queen smiled mockingly as she approached the Skylander. Flameslinger fought the urge to try pulling away from her advancing form. If he allowed these fiends that he was scared then they would find more of a reason to keep taunting him. He believed that if he didn’t show that they were getting to him, they might leave him alone or cut him a short break. “How was your nap?”

“It was fine…” Flameslinger glared, continuing to keep still. “Pardon me for not being…let’s just say “a happy guest”.” The Doom Raiders chuckled at his misfortune more than his sarcasm. Not that Flameslinger cared all that much. “Why am I here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Golden Queen smirked and raised her hand. The moment Flameslinger felt her nails lightly scrap the skin around his blindfold, his heart rate sky rocketed.

“No!” He shouted and he automatically yanked at the chains holding his wrists. He attempted to pull away, but Golden Queen was too fast and pushed the blindfold up to rest on his forehead.

“Open your eyes!” She demanded as the elf closed his eyes. Flameslinger kept his head down and clamped his eyes shut so hard that it started to hurt. Not the eyes. He couldn’t show these villains his eyes. If he did and they found out what he can do, it could be a disaster. “Did you not hear me?! I said open your eyes!” Flameslinger continued to keep his eyes closed. He couldn’t let anyone else see them. He had already shown them to Eon, someone he trusted, after so many years. He refused to willingly allow the Doom Raiders see them too. Unfortunately, the Ancients weren’t on his side. He heard two sets of footfalls go behind him. One hand grabbed his hair, jerking his head up. Another pair of hands gripped his face and forced his eyes open. No matter how much he tried to force them to remain closed, he was powerless to stop it.

“There we are. Perfect!” Golden Queen grinned as she finally saw the bright eyes from Flameslinger. Chef Pepperjack and Wolfgang appeared from behind the elf and joined the others. All of them stared at Flameslinger with awe and curiosity.

“Is it me, or is it hot in here?” Chompy Puppet asked as Chompy Mage wiped some sweat from his brow.

“This better not set off your pepper grenades, Chef?” Wolfgang taunted.

“Not unless I happen to drop one, mutt!” The chef replied waspishly.

“This heat had better not frizz up my hair.” Dreamcatcher moaned.

“Do you think that he can find soda for me?” The Gulper asked. Flameslinger couldn’t keep up with their voices. He focused on breathing, and tried to keep himself from panicking. He tried to think of his first meet with Stump Smash during his first night of freedom. He recalled being the saviour of the grateful Fire Spirit and the gifts he got from them. He recalled Eon recruiting him as a Skylander and the successful trial that he had at the Academy. Reuniting with Stump Smash and making new friends. Defeating bad guys. Stealth Elf offering her support. The forest, how large and peaceful it was. How it offered all the serenity and security that he needed in his life when his childhood lacked it back at his “home village”. Seeing those memories were what kept him grounded, away from the oncoming panic attack. He pushed himself to keep holding out until there would be a moment when he was alone.

“What do you want?” He finally asked, his voice hoarse from the strain.

“Why bother asking me? I’ve already got what I want.” Golden Queen continued to grin mockingly. Got what she wanted? Was she planning to use him for ransom? Or was there something more that he didn’t understand? There was the sound of two more approaching the room. The Doom Raiders seemed to part a path and once Golden Queen stepped aside herself, Flameslinger’s heart once again stopped beating for a moment. Standing in front of him with an air of smugness, were the two elves that continued to call themselves his parents. Why were they there? They had no business with these villains. Unless…

“Told you we’d deliver him to you.” The father smirked, looking pleased with himself. “Or at least tell you how to find him.”

“Yes, you both did well.” Golden Queen agreed. However, there was a slight shift of tone in her voice. Was that annoyance?

“You were selling me to HER?!” Flameslinger exclaimed as a fresh wave of panic mixed with anger threatened to envelop him again. That couldn’t be true. He recalled the pronouns that his parents used in their discussion that night were “she/her”, he knew that it was a lady that was interested in buying him. He always believed that the buyer was some rich, eccentric aristocrat that was looking to acquire him for some selfish game. But the Doom Raiders, more specifically Golden Queen by the sounds of it? That was something that Flameslinger would never think about suspecting. This was much worse than he had feared back then.

“If only you had cooperated in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.” The mother scolded. If she had any regard to the situation, Flameslinger didn’t hear it in her voice nor see it on her face. Just why? And how could anyone be so careless to a situation like this? What kind of people would you have to be in selling your own child to the most notorious villains in Skylands? Flameslinger wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was willing to give his parents the benefit of the doubt last time he had seen them at the Academy. But to think that they went this far, all faith that he had in them changing was drained dry.

“When I heard about your eyes and what you could do, I figured that you would be quite valuable to me.” Golden Queen gloated, once again stepping into Flameslinger’s view. “When you ran away I was very, very upset. Your parents were lucky that I didn’t turn them to gold for that mistake. We kept in touch, in case you ever returned. And now here we are. Before we were captured again, we had been told by your parents about you being a Skylander. You could say that us getting caught was on purpose. We were just biding our time until the good Doctor finished with his machine to break us out for good.”

“It was a little risky though.” Dr Krankcase remarked, with a slight bragging tone in his voice.

“And now that you’re here, you can help me…” Golden Queen continued before Wolfgang cleared his throat obnoxiously loud. The Queen paused in her declaration as she glanced back at her fellow Doom Raiders. “I mean us find all the gold in Skylands.”

“I’m sorry? Gold? That’s all I’m here for?” Flameslinger asked with a raised eyebrow. Upon seeing the expectant face on Golden Queen’s face, he couldn’t hold back a small bout of laughter. “I know you’re villains and you in particular are obsessed with it, but seriously? And here I suspected that you were going to use me to find something secret weapon for you. Why don’t you take up a hobby or something instead?”

“One more remark like that, and I’ll cut out your tongue.” Golden Queen snapped as she grabbed Flameslinger’s face.

“Cut out my tongue and you won’t have me tell you where any gold is.” Flameslinger fired back. Golden Queen clenched her teeth and tightened her hold, her nails digging into the green skin. If her grip got any tighter, it would’ve broken the skin.

“I am curious about something though.” Dr Krankcase suddenly piped up as he strutted up to the arch. He then held up something golden in his hands. Flameslinger’s bow. “This bow. How and where did you get it?” Flameslinger wanted to scream and shout, protest that the weapon was his and that he was rewarded for doing a good deed for the Fire Spirit. However, he bit the inside of his cheek, the force so hard that he began to taste blood. He couldn’t give up how he got it. If he did, only the Ancients knew what the Doom Raiders would do with that information. They could use so kind of ploy or some other way to use the Fire Spirit in some way. Or even do something worse that Flameslinger didn’t want to think of. He can’t put that Fire Spirit in danger, not after saving them from a watery grave that day.

“No matter. He’ll tell us eventually.” Golden Queen mulled over, unimpressed by the elf’s silence. She plucked the bow from Dr Krankcase’s hand and inspected it for herself. “It’s gold so it can be put with the rest of the treasures.”

“You can’t do that! It’s mine!” Flameslinger protested automatically, pulling at the chains in his desperate anger.

“And you’re mine.” Said Golden Queen, her eyes shining with sick amusement from Flameslinger’s struggles. “So everything that you have owned, belongs to me now. You really shouldn’t have run away all those years ago. This would’ve been so much easier for everyone involved.” Flameslinger couldn’t help but lower his head, glaring at the floor. If only he could move his feet freely. He would’ve at least landed a kick, maybe even burned his tormentor if he could. Even if it wouldn’t have mounted to anything in the end, he would’ve get some satisfaction from it.

“Now, our payment.” The father suddenly cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry?” Golden Queen asked.

“You said that you’d pay us monthly.” The father continued to explain. “All of our weight in gold, I believe you put it.” Why did that send a shiver down Flameslinger’s spine?

“Ah, yes. I remember now. Your payment.” Golden Queen sighed. Before Flameslinger could shout a warning, before anyone could’ve done anything for that matter, she pointed her staff towards the eleven couple. There was a bright golden light and both elves let out a scream that was cut short. As the light died down both elves were frozen in place, their faces twisted in horror. “Add them to my collection too. The fools. Don’t they know that I never part with my gold.” As Wolfgang picked up the two statues effortlessly, and Dr Krankcase reclaimed the bow, Flameslinger couldn’t help but feel some pity towards the two. Golden Queen was right about one thing; the couple were fools and their greed led them to their fate.

“You didn’t need to do that.” He whispered, knowing that he wouldn’t get those faces out of his mind for a long time.

“If I didn’t, I know that they would keep making excuses to come back. Or to pay them more gold. It’s to save me from getting a headache.” Golden Queen sighed, massaging his temples at the thought of that scenario. She then tuned to Flameslinger, eyes full of scrutiny. “Why do you care anyway? After the way that they treated you? Neglecting you, letting others abuse you, making you feel less like a child. At least I’m kinder than them.”

“You call this kind?!” Flameslinger snapped, once again, tugging at his wrist restraints. “You’re no better than them! You’ve chained me up like an animal!” At least his parents allowed him to come and go as he pleased within reason in that life. They never resorted to chains. The most they did was lock him in the house when they went out at night.

“To keep you from escaping. Duh!” Dreamcatcher rolled her eyes.

“But, so long as you behave, obey my every command, maybe I’ll reward you with some freedom.” Golden Queen continued. “I’ll let you dwell on that until the morning.”

“WAIT!” Flameslinger screamed in frustration. There was just one more thing that he needed to make clear, no matter how powerless he was at that moment. “My friends…if you’ve done anything to them-”

“Don’t worry.” Golden Queen said, her tone emotionless. “Aside from the stupid ninja girl, your friends are safe. No doubt Eon is working to bring your friend back from being turned to gold right now.” Flameslinger couldn’t hold back a sigh of relief. Stealth Elf was going to be okay. And all of his friends were unharmed too. They were all safe for now. That gave him something to hope for.

However, the moment the Doom Raiders left and sealed him away in the darkness, that relief moulded into something else. As his eyes and the torches continued to light up the small room, Flameslinger felt a darkness surrounding him. This whole time, all his life, he had been running away, only to wind up in the fate that he tried to escape. Everything he thought he had put behind him came back so hard and fast that he felt sick. And his friend had paid the price for him being too careless. He hoped that Stealth Elf would forgive him for it. He shouldn’t have risked going alone.

He should never have strayed from the group.

He should never have gone to Cloud Cracker Prison to help with the investigation.

He should never have accepted that offer to become a Skylander.

He should never have done those archery tournaments.

He should never have taken up archery at all.

He should never have saved the fire spirit.

He should never have ran away.

For a moment, one selfish, self loathing moment, he wished that he had never existed at all.

[geminiamethyst]

Let The Flames Begin. Chapter 14: Trap

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 13: click HERE

Chapter 15: click HERE

Yeah I have no excuse for the long hiatus other than I was hyperfixated on other fandoms and had no motivation to continue this sooner than I should have.

This isn’t dead…just slow updates.

Everyone available was spread out thin in the forest. They had all split off into several groups and more Skylanders that were available were on their way to help with the search. Any that could fly tried their best to see through the canopy. Some of the Doom Raiders like Golden Queen, Chef Pepperjack and Dreamcatcher would be the most likely to stand out. Chompy Mage and Wolfgang might find it easier to camouflage, providing how much greenery and shade that they could dive into at short notice. If anything was seen from a gap or even movement in the canopy, those in the sky would sound the alarm. It was still a lot of ground to be covered. In each group, those on the ground were ordered to tread lightly and to not stray from anyone. Flameslinger was assigned to Jet Vac, Fright Rider and Stealth Elf originally. He was at the back of the group. Formally that was Stealth’s position but then she vanished. No one panicked, they had all believed that she was still close by in the shadows or in the trees somewhere. She had most likely decided that if a Doom Raider was stupid enough to try attacking, she would surprise them herself. Flameslinger was in a similar position, an arrow already equipped in his bow. He trusted his reflexes enough to shoot if he needed to. However, for now he couldn’t help but feel like there was no danger nearby. For a group of villains that had been known to be outgoing with their schemes, they had seemed to master being hard to track.

As the sun started to set, everyone was thinking that the Doom Raiders either had too good of a head start or they had a vehicle hidden somewhere and got away with that. Once it started to get dark, they all decided that it was best to call it a day and wait until the Doom Raiders started causing trouble again. Just a couple more hours of searching.

Flameslinger suddenly felt something. Saw something. It was a brief flash for a split second. A flame that was just lit. Halting in his stride, he tried to focus on it. It could’ve been nothing. Could’ve been something. He decided to be quick in checking. He didn’t want to assume that it was the criminal gang. It could’ve been something innocent like lighting a mere candle, igniting a bonfire for a campsite or a fireplace brightening up a room. However, it was much closer than he thought. It was in the forest. Through the flickering flames, Flameslinger could make out faces: the Gulper, Chompy Mage (and his puppet), Dr Krankcase, Dreamcatcher, Wolfgang, Chef Pepperjack and Golden Queen. All the Doom Raiders were right there.

They were that stupid? They had just escaped and already they risked being located. They didn’t know about Flameslinger’s ability to see through the flames, their location clear in his mind. However, even without the use of his second sight, they would’ve given away their position due to smoke from the small bonfire. Flameslinger was ready to signal that he knew where they were, spinning a story to make it seem like he heard something. However, his tongue became tied and he couldn’t say anything. The flames were enticing him, pulling at him, to go to them. In a trance like state, Flameslinger had found himself going towards the source. He had been so consumed by it that he didn’t realise that he was separated from his group. He kept his footsteps as light as he could manage. He avoided low hanging branches that would give his position away. The closer he got to the flames, the harder the pull became. The Fire Skylander couldn’t explain why he was getting this pull. He just knew that it was too enticing for him to ignore. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that it was a direct clue to finding the Doom Raiders or he felt like he had something to prove or that the fire was calling out to his element. No matter how he tried to look at it, this feeling was impossible to overcome.

Flameslinger reached the location of the fire, he was on the edge of a small glade. He crotched down low, keeping his bow out of direct light. He watched the area for a bit. Nothing. There was nothing but the small campfire that was perfectly in the centre of it. There was nothing problem with the fire, it just needed to be put out before it has a chance to get out of hand again. However, there was just one thing missing.

The Doom Raiders.

Flameslinger scanned the glade, but there was no sign of anyone being here other than the fire. The Doom Raiders have seemingly left the area where they had lit the fire. They must have moved pretty quick. But why did they light a fire in the first place? A distraction? With his arrow still ready to fly, Flameslinger dared to take a step out from his hiding place. Nothing had happened, so he took another. Then another. Still, there was nothing.

“Why…” he whispered to himself, crouching to the fire a little. This wasn’t making any sense at all. There was no reason for the Doom Raiders to make a campfire. If it was a distraction of some kind then it would work for a little bit. In his vision, Flameslinger could see all off them so it wasn’t like they had all decided to split up and cause more confusion by lighting more fires or maybe even attempt to burn the forest down entirely for the perfect ploy.

Suddenly, Flameslinger felt like there was a horrible feeling in his stomach. The same one that he experienced before he and the others started to comb through the forest. The hairs on the back of his neck started to stand on end. This was wrong, very wrong.

“Like a moth to a flame.”

Flameslinger spun on his heels, bowstring pulled back in alarm. Chef Pepperjack and Dr Krankcase came out from the bushes. They moved slowly, methodically. They caused Flameslinger to back up, a which almost made him step on the flames behind him. Flameslinger sidestepped and walked backwards. His arrow was ready to be loose, the tension causing the bow to shake a little from how long he held fire like that. There were only two Doom Raiders. He could ruin or fight back.

Just fire! Loose the arrow now! Scare them!

“Foolish Skylander. Why are you all alone?”

Flameslinger’s head turned. Just like their fellow comrades, The Gulper and Wolfgang had come out from the foliage, with the werewolf ready to strum a painful tune with his boneharp at any second. Flameslinger almost froze up completely to the spot. Those words couldn’t have hit him harder than a charging Goliath Drow. He had strayed away. He remembered the warning Eon had given him before the search, and he ignored it when it was needed the most.

Where were the Skylanders that were in the air? They should’ve seen the smoke at that moment! Or his team…they should’ve noticed that he was missing; it had been long enough for them to notice.

“Stay back!” Flameslinger shouted, avoiding the flames once again as he felt like he was being backed into them.

“Or what?”

“It’s not like you could take us on all on your own.”

Two voices: one that sounded old, the other forcefully high pitched. Chompy Mage and Dreamcatcher came out on a different side. All three sides started to slowly close in, almost backing Flameslinger into the fire. He needed to be careful. Most of the fire Skylanders like Eruptor, Sunburn and Hotdog were beings that can withstand being in flames. But Flameslinger? He was an elf, he didn’t have that kind of protection. His boots might let him stand on top of them for a few seconds, but he wasn’t willing to test that theory out. He can’t stay there. He needed to leave!

Flameslinger used the flames to get a full view of the area. There was a gap. He knew that he was fast enough, that he could have gotten away. He could’ve leaped over the flames and take full advantage of that gap. He could’ve ran and sound the alarm. He counted each Doom Raider that surrounded him. However, there was a problem. The Gulper, Chompy Mage, Dreamcatcher, Dr Krankcase and Wolfgang were all there. Only one member was missing; Golden Queen. From what he heard, she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to make herself known. However she wasn’t here.

Where did-

“SLING!”

Flameslinger didn’t have any time to process that familiar voice. He didn’t have time to be aware of his surroundings. He didn’t register that someone was much closer to his position than he thought. By time he realised that someone else was there two hands already pushed him rather suddenly. Through the flames, he could make out a mix of green, blue and brown. Stealth Elf! She was watching his back all that time! Flameslinger didn’t see much else as gravity took over and he fell to the ground. His grip on his bow loosened, the arrow sent flying, narrowly missing Dreamcatcher before it was imbedded in the ground. There was a strange sound. Then there was silence. For a moment, Flameslinger couldn’t hear anything. It was like when Boomer accidentally set off dynamite close by and resulted in the elf being partially deaf temporarily. After several seconds, Flameslinger started to hear the flickering flames. He started to slowly right himself, getting to his hands and knees. He sensed that there was someone still there from where he was standing.

“Stealth? Stealth Elf!” He asked before he exclaimed in disbelief. Stealth Elf was there, arms outstretched in front of her. Her eyes were frozen wide in determination. She didn’t move didn’t speak. The last of the sun’s rays and light from the fire reflected off of her now golden surface. Flameslinger’s jaw dropped upon seeing her. He wanted this statue to vanish and the real Stealth Elf come out somewhere unharmed. He wanted this to be something kind of nightmare scenario that he dreamed up in his head. He wanted to wake up in his bed, all the days events being nothing more than a phantom.

Why didn’t he loose an arrow when he had the chance?

Why didn’t he run away?

He didn’t have a spare second to do anything. There was a sharp blow on the back of his head.

Then darkness.

[geminiamethyst]

After a couple of years I felt like drawing my favourite Skylanders again. It has been a while since I’ve drawn them so these aren’t perfect. Flameslinger and Stealth Elf have always been my favourite Skylanders to play as and I still have them along with the other Skylanders that I’ve had since the first game came out right up until Trap Team.