Skylanders: Second Leaf

Chapter 4 ~ Side Affects

The crowd gasped. Up in the highest row of the stands, Spyro sat motionless, his eyes wider than they had ever been before. His mouth was left gaping open. What in Skylands was Kaos talking about?!

"The heck is he saying!?" Wolfgang cried. Skeleborg rose his hand to shush him.

"I'm tired of always being defeated. For once, I want to be on the winning side." Kaos paused for dramatic effect, then smirked, "I want to turn over to the side of good. The side of light. I want to become a Skylander."

"I-I saw it all. Him turning Stealth Elf to gold. If you're asking about that, I have no idea how Kaos got my powers. But... he-... he did try to chain me up. Onto the frame of my bed. I think those chains sapped my powers. Look..." Golden Queen pulled up her sleeve roughly to reveal her forearm bearing normal, human skin, "I know what he's going to do. He'll do this to all of us. Take our powers until we're nothing."

Shade and Mammagma looked at one another, their expressions as baffled as Golden Queen's. They needed to get back to the arena. Back to the battle. Before anything bad could happen to Stealth or anyone else. They didn't fully believe Golden Queen's tall tale, but they needed to make sure. This was Kaos they were dealing with after all.

Everyone fell silent, including Kaos, anxiously awaiting their response. Kaos walked over and tapped Stealth on the head. A flash of bright light engulfed her. Stealth gasped for air, her eyes wide and panicked. She was back to her normal flesh and blood self. While no one was looking, Kaos clapped his hands together lightly. A single, small black chain snaked out of the earth and wrapped around Stealth's ankle. Stealth tried to tug away from the chain, but she could not. She could feel something leaving her, being torn away from her, but she did not know what it was. She grew tired quickly, then realized she was stronger than this. She should have been stronger than this. Then it finally hit her; Kaos was sapping her strength through the chain. Stealth grabbed at her leg and tugged. Everyone was silent as this whole fiasco went down.

"Let me go... let me... go, Kaos! Stop this! Spyro, help!"

Kaos' eyes widened in alarm, "Oh, oh my!" Kaos clapped his hands twice and the chain disappeared in a puff of light grey smoke. The kind that wafts off of a fire., "I am so sorry, Stealth! I didn't even realize I had done that! Sometimes I have trouble keeping track of my magic... my- my sincerest apologies-"

"What in Skylands is going on!?" Spyro growled, swooping down beside Stealth a little too late. Kaos shrunk back, startled by Spyro's hostility.

Shoria ran out of the commentator stand and up to the three. Holding her hands out in front of her. The same ripping feeling filled Kaos as before and the orb of magic floated out of his chest. Shoria grabbed it without a moment's hesitation this time and stuffed it into a jar with all of his and the other villain's magics. She closed the lid tightly so that it wouldn't float out. Kaos stumbled slightly, feeling more empty inside than ever. Shoria walked up to him and spit salt water in his wounds.

"What are you trying to do, midget!?" She spat.

"Nothing" Kaos cried, holding the stinging gash on his arm, "I just want to start over! That's why I came here!" Kaos seemed genuinely frantic and worried, "I don't want to be the outcast anymore..."

Shoria narrowed her eyes to slits, detecting the sadness in the back of Kaos' voice.

"Something tells me you're lying... yet something tells me, in the back of my mind, that you're genuine." She turned to Spyro, who had helped to Stealth to her feet, "I'm not sure which to believe."

Spyro seemed as confused as Shoria. He shrugged, "Stealth, you're sure this whole chain thing wasn't an accident?"

Stealth wobbled around, trying to keep her balance. Finally, she gave up and leaned against Spyro, who didn't seem to mind much. Stealth thought about this, "I'm not quite sure, actually... it might have been around my ankle during the battle and I just didn't notice. You know how I get when I'm fighting..."