Skylanders: Found

10. Exhaustion

Skylands, Stump Smash had noticed, was not designed in such a way that things stay all good and dandy for a long time. Something came up most years – some new disaster which would endanger the entire universe. Yet, this was precisely why he was a Skylander. Nothing could truly be as noble a cause, could it? So, in the heat of a moment, a Skylander just has to do what was necessary to protect as many people as possible.

Yet, this does become a difficulty when considering 'rift exhaustion' was not within his expertise, nor was it – presumably – within the skillsets of Cali or Chill. He was helpless to failure, but he had to put this aside and give it a shot. Yet, briefly, he paused and waited for the golden fairy to disconnect the portal. It was a necessary step, but one which would inevitably strand them. But what else could they do? Whatever was emerging from the portal, it was immeasurably powerful and its expansion had to be prevented at all costs. But how?

With a click, the situation changed all at once. Oro shot back out of the storm and crashed into the ground, leaving a small crater. Her glow fainter still. Her eyes were closed shut, but she was still breathing; yet, it was clear her work was successful. The colourful sphere began to rise from the portal, forming a cloud overhead. It loomed menacingly over them, sparks crackling through the air. It was regrettable that Stump had never researched portal mechanics, but he trusted that Cali would have a better idea. He turned to her, and she shook her head.

"We need to contain whatever that is, but we've got nothing," she explained, rummaging through her bag for anything that could be of use. Nothing. Chill stepped forward and threw her blade towards the cloud in an attempt to pierce it. Any effort was worth it. Alas, nothing still; she darted aside as the blade fell and lodged itself into the dirt. She collected it after making a frustrated grunt, articulating the feelings of all three helpless heroes.

"I've never seen anything like it before," Chill inspected, scowling. She examined the surrounding area, trying to discover anything that could help.

"We can't leave it," stated Stump Smash as took a step forward. He gazed into the vibrant cloud, finding himself mesmerised. The lightning emanating from it seemed to be growing more frequent. It was still growing in power. They may have shut off its source, but it was sustaining itself even now. "it'll only grow more powerful." Cali and Chill concurred, but it was clear that the trio were completely powerless in this scenario. They all considered their options, and eventually Stump took a step back, kneeling before Oro. She was the only one who might know what to do.

"What do we do?" He whispered, hoping dearly to get a response; he knew very well that getting the help he required was unlikely, yet he was still disappointed when she didn't respond. Indeed, she was as unconscious as a dormant tree. It was simply no use.

"Do we even know what this is?" Chill interrogated, frustration escaping every feature on her face. Cali sighed, shaking her head. Stump had the uneasy feeling that it was watching him somehow and – by the looks on his companions' faces – he believed the feeling was mutual within the group.

This idea of exhausting the rift had Stump Smash stumped, but he did ponder over it for a while longer. He even tried using his full strength on it, but he could not pierce it. However, it was becoming increasing more apparent that the threat it posed was increasing. Whilst before it was simply an impassable barrier, now it seemed intent on harm. As Stump fired one last acorn at it, the nut caught alight and turned to dust. This was new and, frankly, terrifying. To the average viewer, this might have seen inconsequential, but the orb was impenetrable and could potentially reach a level of infinite strength. Thus, the universe was doomed if they didn't 'exhaust the rift'.

In Cali's mind, she imagined the rift engines and made attempts to think about their inner workings. Yet, nothing came to mind. Chill, meanwhile, had yet to completely give up on destroying it and made frequent attempts to pierce it, even jumping on top of it by climbing a tree. The orb ejected Chill quickly with a sudden jolt, demonstrating the impossibility of destroying it.

"Oro, we need your help," Stump demanded, resting her upon his shoulder. So, this is the legendary Stump Smash, eh? Did legends ever fail? No. So, Stump Smash realised that he – and Chill for that matter – would be the buck in the trend. The ones to make the legendary status worthless. What did it matter, though? Skylands was doomed and the entire universe would follow. "Okay," Stump yelled, putting Oro down and approaching the orb, "you've got me angry now. DO YOU WANT ME TO DROP THE HAMMER ON YOU?"

"Haven't you already tried that?" Sulked Chill, rolling her eyes. Before Stump could turn and argue his frustrations with Chill, something extraordinary occurred. An explosion of light, coloured a majestic ocean blue, caught their attention. It had suddenly erupted from behind, some distance from the orb. "What now?" Chill fumed, beginning to tighten her grip on her blade and speedily went to attack the new anomaly. The light seemed to jitter, forming some kind of image. It moved left, then right, then began to fly in a hazardous fashion, going up and down and side to side until, eventually a metallic object hit the ground.

It looked almost like a large, hollow chess piece, though its insides would suggest it was intended for use as a helmet of some description. It was a dark brown in colour but was riddled with occasional patches of rust. Indeed, it hadn't been polished in millennia. Cali stepped forward an analysed it. "I- This is Mags' helmet!" She exclaimed, turning to Stump and Chill. Of course, it was, Stump realised, how could he have been so blind? But, if this helmet belonged to Mags, then-

"Well, hot buttered toast...!"