Skylanders Universe - Trigger Happy Targets the Evil Kaos Page 4

  “No, Lord Kaos. Although there was that one time in—”

  “SIIIIILENCE!” Kaos boomed. “I ASSUME YOU HAVE COME FOR THE MASK? MY MASK! TELL ME, HOW IS HUGO? STILL FEELING”—Kaos paused to snicker—“SHEEPISH?”

  “What are you trying to do?” Lightning Rod shouted. “Bore us into submission? Come out and face us like the worm you are!”

  There was more laughter at this. This time it was so loud that the foundations trembled and dust fell from the ceiling.

  “FACE YOU, YOU SAY? WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA! YOU WILL LEARN TO FEAR MY FEARSOME FACE, SKYFOOLS!”

  “What does that even mean, Lord Kaos?” the Skylanders heard Glumshanks cut in. “I thought we’d discussed your lines.”

  “SHUT UP, IDIOT!” Kaos snapped, and the doors at the top of the stairwell crashed open by themselves. “YOU WANT THE MASK, SKYLANDERS? COME AND GET IT!”

  “You heard the man,” shouted Spyro, already racing up the thick-carpeted stairs. “We’ve got an arch-nemesis to defeat! Come on!”

  Chapter Nine

  The Mask of Power

  It was like running through a maze. Corridors twisted in all directions, strange winged creatures flapped overhead, and flaming torches cast strange shadows against the walls. Kaos’s cruel voice taunted them at every turn.

  “THAT’S RIGHT, SKYLOSERS. GETTING WARMER! COME AND FIND ME. BWA-HA-HA-HAAAA!”

  “I’m looking forward to making him eat his words,” muttered Spyro.

  “As long as he eats my veggies first,” said Food Fight, sprinting beside the dragon.

  Trigger Happy, meanwhile, was just shouting “Pow, pow, pow!” over and over as he scurried ahead.

  After a while, the corridors all started to blur into one. Spyro began to suspect that they were running around in circles.

  “No, look!” yelled Trigger Happy as they skidded around a corner to reveal an arch up ahead.

  “That’s got to be it!” cried Smolderdash.

  “Only one way to find out,” said Food Fight.

  The Skylanders barreled through the arch to find themselves standing on a balcony. Below them was a colossal room dominated by a ridiculously large throne. And in front of the throne . . .

  “Kaos!” Trigger Happy shouted, not waiting for the others. Before Spyro could stop him, the Tech Skylander spat out his long tongue. It wrapped around a dusty chandelier, allowing Trigger Happy to swing down toward the evil Portal Master, firing coins all the while.

  Kaos didn’t even flinch. He just threw up his hands and hollered, “Invisible Wall of Unseeable Protection!”

  THUMP!

  It was like Trigger Happy had swung into a huge window. Spyro and the others winced as he flattened against the invisible wall and slid down to the floor with a painful squeak.

  “Ow, ow, owwwww!”

  “Is that the best you can do, FOOL-LANDERS?” Kaos cackled as Spyro and the others jumped over the balcony edge to surround the Portal Master.

  “I wouldn’t rile them up, master. There are an awful lot of them . . . ,” pointed out Glumshanks, cowering behind his boss.

  “Yeah, and only two of you!” Food Fight grinned, trying to decide who he would splat first.

  “Indeed there are.” Kaos grinned. “But I also have these!”

  Kaos spread his hands wide, and the eight segments of the mask flew from his sleeves to spin in a large circle in front of him.

  “The segments!” Spyro gasped.

  “Thank you so much for collecting the last piece for me, Spyro,” Kaos said with a sneer. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “That explains why you backed off,” Smolderdash hissed. “Not because you were scared. You wanted the remaining segments in one place so you could send your Drow to steal them.”

  “Give hot stuff a medal!” Kaos laughed. “Handy little things, those shape-shifting pendants. I’ll have to thank Auric for lending his to me . . . when I am LORD OF ALL!”

  “That’ll never happen,” promised Spyro.

  “Yeah,” said Trigger Happy, who was still rubbing his squashed face. “We’re gonna bring you down, down, down!”

  “I’d like to see you try,” Kaos said, “especially when I’m wearing this. Mask of Power, I, KAOOOOOS, command you to restore yourself. Be one so that I may be ALL-POWERFUL!”

  “Don’t let him combine the segments, Skylanders,” Spyro shouted. “Give him everything you’ve got! Now!”

  If the storm Lightning Rod had summoned in the skies above Kaos’s Kastle was noisy, it was nothing compared to the din caused by every Skylander attacking at once. There were golden coins and Solar Orbs, exploding fruit and bolts of lightning. Fists pounded, horns butted, and mallets stomped, but nothing even dented Kaos’s invisible barrier.

  As Glumshanks rammed his fingers into his big flappy ears, the eight segments of the mask came together in front of Kaos’s face. The individual pieces glowed with terrible power and merged—eight becoming one.

  “Behold!” Kaos shrieked. “The Mask of Power, whole again.”

  “Spyro, he’s done it!” Trigger Happy shouted as the completed Mask hung in the air.

  “Stop him before he puts it on!” Spyro cried out, but it was too late. The mask shot backward, slapping into Kaos’s face all by itself. As the Skylanders watched in horror, the wood molded itself to their enemy’s features. The Portal Master’s body began to grow to twice its normal size. Even Glumshanks looked scared.

  “Yes!” Kaos hissed. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for! The moment when I finally meet my destiny. The moment that I receive the POWER OF THE MASK.”

  As the villain spoke, Trigger Happy looked down at his own fur. “Huh? Why am I glowing?”

  Spyro glanced around. It wasn’t just Trigger Happy. “We’re all glowing!”

  “Bet you didn’t expect that, eh, DRAGONFLY?” Kaos jeered, now floating in the air before them.

  “What’s happening?” asked Food Fight as the glow from the Skylanders intensified. It felt like they were being pulled apart.

  “I . . . don’t . . . like . . . it!” screamed Trigger Happy as his glow abruptly left his body, streaked away from him, and shot into the air like a crazy firefly. The same thing happened to each Skylander in the room, until the air was buzzing with eerie, luminous globes.

  Smolderdash fell to her knees. “I feel so weak,” she said with a gasp.

  “Me too,” said Spyro, almost unable to stand.

  Kaos stuck out his wooden bottom lip, the Mask of Power having now completely merged with his face. “Awwwww, do the little Skylanders feel unwell? TOO BAD! I feel GREEEEEAT!”

  The first of the flying lights darted forward, breaking through the invisible barrier and smashing into Kaos’s hovering body.

  “YES!” he shouted as the others followed suit. With each light that Kaos absorbed, the Portal Master glowed brighter and brighter.

  “Spyro? What do we do? He’s got us beet!” Food Fight said, but the purple dragon was too dazed to reply.

  “What’s the matter? Chompy got your tongue?” Kaos thundered. “Here, let me loosen it for you!”

  Kaos opened his mouth and breathed out a column of flame. It took all of Spyro’s effort to roll out of the way just in time.

  “Can’t stand the heat, huh?” Kaos grinned. “What about you, Smolderdash?”

  As the Fire Skylander watched the scene openmouthed, Kaos summoned a trio of familiar fiery balls out of thin air.

  “My Solar Orbs,” she gasped.

  “Oh, you want them back?” Kaos laughed. “HERE!”

  Kaos lobbed the flaming orbs at Smolderdash, only missing the Fire Skylander because Food Fight knocked her out of the way. The Life Skylander rolled and came up ready to fire his fruit cannon. Food Fight pulled the trigger and—

  CLICK.


  That was it. No tomatoes. No zucchini. No fruit or vegetables at all.

  “It must have jammed,” Food Fight muttered, slapping the barrel against his hand.

  “No, it’s worse than that,” Spyro said as Kaos threw an exploding pot of gold into the crowd of Skylanders.

  “Those are our weapons!” Trigger Happy spluttered, ducking out of the way of the blast.

  “Yeah,” Spyro said. “Kaos has stolen our powers!”

  Chapter Ten

  Skylands’ Darkest Hour

  “This is AMAZING!” Kaos shrieked, juggling a crop of fresh tomatoes that had appeared from nowhere. He was standing on a cloud that looked very much like Lightning Rod’s—much to the annoyance of the Storm Titan.

  “Give that back!” the big blue hero called out, but it was to no avail. He could barely raise his fists, let alone throw a lightning bolt.

  Standing in front of the Skylanders, Trigger Happy raised his golden guns with shaking hands. The invisible barrier was gone now. Kaos was too powerful to need protection.

  “Big mistake,” Trigger Happy whispered to himself as he aimed. “Enormous mistake.”

  Closing one of his yellow eyes to take aim, Trigger Happy fired, and his golden pistols spat a pair of shining coins.

  “Going to hit you right between the . . .”

  Trigger Happy’s voice trailed off, his jaw dropped, and his tongue unfurled. No, that wasn’t possible. As he gaped, the coins flew wide and embedded themselves in the stone pillars behind the villainous Portal Master.

  “Oops,” said Kaos. “Missed!”

  “But I never miss,” muttered Trigger Happy. “Never, never, never!”

  “Neither do I!” Kaos smirked, holding up a lightning bolt in one hand and a Solar Orb in the other. As he spoke, giant curved horns grew out of his already transformed head, and an army of ghosts shimmered into existence behind him.

  “Not my ghosts, too!” Cynder moaned as Kaos threw his first lightning bolt. It screamed down toward the ailing Skylanders, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Trigger Happy was still staring at his guns in disbelief, Smolderdash’s light had gone out, and Spyro could hardly stand. After all their battles, after all their victories, the Skylanders were finished.

  “NO!”

  The voice echoed around the Kastle, strong and defiant. It was accompanied by a flash of light. At first Smolderdash thought that the lightning bolt had hit, but when the glare faded she realized they weren’t in Kaos’s Kastle anymore.

  “There you are,” someone said in a small, friendly voice. “Thank goodness that you’re safe.”

  The Skylanders looked up to see Hugo scampering toward them.

  Food Fight glanced around. “We’re back in the Portal Room. In the Citadel.”

  “Indeed you are, my Skylanders,” said the voice they’d heard in Kaos’s lair. Master Eon was standing next to the Portal of Power, leaning heavily on the stone platform.

  “You summoned us back with the Portal?” Trigger Happy asked.

  “All of us at the same time?” Smolderdash added. “But that’s . . .”

  “Tiring. Yes, it is,” admitted the Portal Master. He tried to smile weakly, but even that seemed too much effort. “But I couldn’t leave you there, in Kaos’s clutches.”

  Spyro pushed himself to his feet and padded forward. “Master Eon, Kaos . . .” He faltered, unable to bring himself to say the words.

  “Kaos has stolen your powers. Every last one.”

  “It was the mask,” Food Fight said. “As soon as he put it on . . .”

  Master Eon nodded. “I know. Finally we know the secret of the Mask of Power.”

  Hugo’s eyes went wide behind his thick glasses as he realized what Master Eon meant. “The ancient scrolls, they say that the mask makes its wearer all-powerful, but that’s not the case, is it?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Master Eon said. “It appears that the mask doesn’t make you all-powerful. Instead, it lets you steal all the powers.”

  “All the powers of the Skylanders!” Trigger Happy gasped.

  “So that’s how he did it,” Spyro spluttered. “As long as he wears the mask . . .”

  “He can use your abilities against you,” Master Eon confirmed. “It seems even Nefarion didn’t understand the mask’s true potential.”

  “But what about the others?” asked Food Fight. “Yeah, he stole our powers, but there are lots of other Skylanders besides us.”

  “It’s no good,” said Hugo sadly. “You’d better come outside and see.”

  Without another word, the librarian led the weary Skylanders into the lush grounds that stretched out beneath the Core of Light.

  “Oh no!” Spyro gasped. “It can’t be.”

  But it was. The lawn was covered with the rest of the Skylanders, each looking as tired as Spyro felt. Pop Fizz looked frazzled, Fright Rider had given up the ghost, and Sonic Boom wheezed, having completely lost her voice. Worst of all was Eruptor, who was shivering violently. His usually red-hot skin was blue—the living lava that ran through his veins had frozen solid.

  “So c-c-c-cold,” he stammered, his teeth chattering. “Has someone g-g-got a b-blanket?”

  Spyro tried to breathe some fire to warm his friend, but instead could only hack up a small wisp of smoke.

  “This is hopeless,” said Smolderdash, feeling a chill herself for the first time in her life. “How can we defeat Kaos without our powers?”

  “No,” Master Eon insisted, striking the end of his staff against the ground in frustration. “There is always hope. We’ll find a way.” The Portal Master glanced up at the Core of Light, the tall beacon that kept The Darkness at bay. “We simply have to.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Ultimate Kaos

  It wasn’t long before news of Kaos’s antics started to spread. It appeared that the evil Portal Master was practicing his newfound skills whenever possible.

  The first attack happened on Oilspill Island. Gillmen were setting out for a day with their nets when a giant figure came skating across the ocean on a surfboard made of ice. Before the Gillmen could paddle back to shore, they were trapped in ice prisons that bobbed around in the sea.

  “Frozen fishy fools!” Kaos cheered, before teleporting away. “Have an ICE day!”

  Later that same morning, the forest folk of Treetop Terrace were minding their own business when Kaos dropped down from above. As the Treemen ran for shelter, the Portal Master turned his attention to the trees themselves.

  “I’ve never trusted you,” he ranted. “Standing there all leafy and still. I know you’ve been plotting against me all along. In fact, you’ve been driving me NUTS!”

  Without further warning, Kaos spat a huge, spiky acorn at the nearest tree, which exploded on impact.

  “SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU LEAFY FOOL!” Kaos screamed, before proceeding to make a new clearing in the middle of the forest, just for the fun of it.

  Next, Kaos swept into the Frostfest Mountains. The yetis living there thought they were ready for anything, but never expected to have a wicked Portal Master spew boiling-hot magma all over their alpine villages. Even their ice cream sundaes melted, which was Kaos’s real goal (it’s a little-known fact that he has always resented the yetis for refusing to share their ice-cream recipe with him).

  Back at the Citadel, the Skylanders’ moods darkened with every new report.

  “We need to stop him,” grumbled Smolderdash.

  “But how?” Food Fight said, his hopes squashed. “Without our powers, we’re helpless.”

  “No!” Spyro said forcefully. The more he’d listened to the news about Kaos’s exploits, the more he’d scowled. Now, he’d had enough. “We’re Skylanders! We’re never helpless and we never give up!”

  Trigger Happy didn’t comment. He just aimed his golden pistols at the C
itadel walls—and still managed to miss!

  “See?” Food Fight said. “Even Trigger Happy can’t shoot straight.”

  “So?” Spyro asked. “Our powers may be gone, but we’re more than just our abilities.” He thumped a claw against his scaly chest. “It’s what’s in here that counts. Do we want to see Kaos win?”

  “No,” the Skylanders murmured.

  “Do we want to protect Skylands?”

  “Yes!” they responded, louder now.

  “Are we ready to quit?”

  “NO!” Spyro’s friends yelled back.

  “So, what do we do?” Trigger Happy asked, almost jumping up and down with his usual enthusiasm.

  Spyro looked up at the towering beacon above them. “Kaos is still experimenting with the powers he stole from us, learning how to use them. But soon he’ll come after the Core of Light.”

  Master Eon had been sitting in the shade of a tree, quietly watching Spyro rouse his fellow Skylanders, but now he stood up and spoke. “I have no doubt of that, Spyro. The Core is the only thing that can stop him from spreading The Darkness across Skylands.”

  “And do you think he can destroy it?” asked Food Fight.

  “With the amount of power he’s wielding?” Master Eon replied. “It’s certainly possible. Thanks to the Mask of Power, he can tap into all eight of the known Elements. Such power hasn’t been seen in Skylands for millennia. Who knows what he can do?”

  “So we have to act,” Spyro said, flying above the heads of the assembled Skylanders, which took more effort than usual. “We need to prepare ourselves so we’re ready when Kaos comes knocking! Are you with me?”

  “We’re with you, Spyro,” responded Smolderdash, speaking for them all. “What do you want us to do?”

  Spyro grinned. “We’re going to build a wall!”

  Chapter Twelve

  Protecting the Core

  Kaos was having the time of his life. He swooped through the clouds, diving and looping. He’d flown before, of course, but only in machines and hot-air balloons. This was different. This was exhilarating.