Legacy of the Portal Masters: The War for Earth

Chapter 5: Aaron, Portal Master of Magic

Aaron was... odd. More so than most. He was an orphan. His hair was purple, yet it turned blond at his bangs. He loved artwork and fantasy, so it was only natural for him to play Magic: The Gathering, though he kept this secret, as he was very embarrassed of the fact. He was of average build, but slightly under-average strength. He also had a small metal ring, a curled dragon, that was said to have been left to him by his father, which Aaron never seemed to outgrow. The ring seemed to fit no one but him, though many had tried to wear it. And any time Aaron lost it, or it was stolen, he always found it again. It was the only possession left with him in his cradle when he was left at the orphanage door, but he prized it more than anything. He knew nothing about his parents. No one did. Once, he had a sample of his blood run through a police DNA matcher, trying to find his parents. It didn't work. He seemed to have been born without parents.

(Earth: New York City, Present Day)

Aaron was walking back to his orphanage, taking a shortcut through Central Park. He was strolling along, deep in thought about the Magic tournament tomorrow night. Suddenly, he stopped. He didn't know why, but he felt like something was approaching him, something... Familiar. He looked to the sky, and saw a purple star shooting across the sky. He realized that it was no star, but a collection of five small, glowing meteorites. And it was coming for him. He ducked, and the meteorites soared over his head and landed in the grass behind him. He turned, and saw four tiny statuettes looking like creatures, and a purple gem. Curious, he grabbed the gem. As his mind flooded with information of Skylands He looked on to Spyro the dragon, Double Trouble the tiki mage, Voodood the axe-wielding orc, and Wrecking Ball the blue grub worm.

"Well well, somebody's out past their bedtime, aren't they?" A voice rang out from behind him. Aaron spun, and found himself confronted by four men in black, their faces covered in bandannas. He saw a flash of silver, and realized the men had pistols, trained on his head "Just give us your money, and you can go on home." the leader said.

"Portal Master, release the Skylanders before it's too late." said a voice in his head, Eon. Aaron collapsed like a frightened child, sobbing and focusing the men's attention on him.

"Please, don't shoot! I'm an orphan, I have no money!" he cried.

The men stepped forward.

Their fingers tightened on their triggers.

Spyro leapt at them.

A great fireball struck the men from behind, and they disintegrated.

An evil laugh rang out as Spyro scrambled to retreat.

"Fools! They think they can steal MY prize!? HA!" An evil voice rang out. "Now, child," Said a figure, stepping out of the shadows. A tall, dark haired woman in a black cloak with a purple cuff on her sleeves, "hand over the Crystal. I have much more use for it than you do. I have a master to please, and a world to help conquer." She stated.

"Never." Said Aaron defiantly. "I don't care who you are, but conquering worlds is considered evil!"

"I am the Mage of the Magic element, pesky human. Now hand it over!"

Aaron's mind dropped into the Crystal, and he saw the world hued in purple. His enemy glowed, and he saw a light flash of purple streaking towards him. He rolled left and stood again. Not knowing what to do, he flung his hand at the Mage as if he were pushing her, and surprisingly, she flew backwards as if hit by a semi truck. She landed on a tree, hitting her head with a loud SMACK! She landed and crumpled for a second, but stood again. With a snarl, she flicked her wrist and a small rod dropped into her hand. The Mage pointed it at Aaron, and he realized it was a wand.

Magus... Said a voice in his mind, seeming to come from the Crystal itself. As Aaron repeated the word, a purple cape appeared on his back, and he wore purple leather armor and a purple magicians cap on his head. The Crystal transferred itself to a leather cord around his neck, and in his hands appeared an ivory staff and wand. The Mage screamed and threw a bright gold fireball at Aaron. He simply flicked his wand and sent his own one, colored purple, smashing into the Mage's, and they both exploded with a blinding light. Both Aaron and the Mage were temporarily blinded. When Aaron's sight returned, he saw Spyro charging at the Mage, his head bent forward and his horns flaming. Aaron watched as she swung a staff of her own at Spyro. Aaron flung his hand at Spyro, but arcing upward. The Mage's staff struck nothing but air as Aaron levitated Spyro. Aaron dropped Spyro so he was heading for the Mage again, but she twirled her staff above her head and a purple square of magic formed above her and blocked Spyro. He landed hard on the platform, but immediately began to claw at it. Wrecking Ball, Voodood, and Double Trouble charged the Mage. She swung her staff in a circle around her, and the Skylanders were met with a shield dome. They bounced off and landed on the ground, dazed. The Mage laughed and sent bolts of magic at the Skylanders, which wrapped around them, restraining their movements. Aaron sent great arcs of lightning at the Mage, but her shield absorbed the blows. The Mage opened a small hole in her shield, and sent an orb of energy hurling towards Aaron. He just barely managed to throw up a shield of his own before the projectile, but it shattered upon contact.

Again and again, the Mage sent projectiles at Aaron, who just barely managed to shield himself. During a brief respite, Aaron saw the Mage chanting under her breath. Aaron got an idea. As the Mage opened a firing hole, Aaron aimed his staff. And as the Mage released the spell in her wand, Aaron threw up a shield. But instead of guarding himself, he opened it on the Mage's firing hole, blocking it. A great column of flame erupted from the Mage's wand, but it ricocheted off of Aaron's shield, and bounced around the Mage's dome at lightning speed until it struck the Mage in the back. She screamed and crumpled, her clothes smoking. Aaron crept towards her slowly. When he was a foot away from the Mage, she vanished into thin air. Aaron jumped back in shock. He brought his Crystals energy back, and looked around. Everything seemed peaceful. The Skylanders were released, and they came to stand by him. As he looked around, he noticed a large object. It had a rounded edge, and its top glowed purple.

"A Portal..." breathed Spyro. "Come on Aaron, we have to go back to Skylands!" He said, and ran towards it and jumped on with the rest. But as Aaron reached into his Crystal, A bomb flew from within the trees and struck Spyro. The force of the projectile sent Spyro hurling away, but then it exploded, encasing him in Evilized Fire. Spyro yelled in surprise and pain. But as Aaron watched, Spyro seemed to inhale the fire. His scales turned black, and his claws, wings, and horns turned silver. Dark Spyro roared. A small army of Bomb Shells dropped out of the trees, too many for Aaron to count. Ignoring Aaron, they took aim on Spyro. Aaron knew what would happen if Spyro was hit by any more Evilized Fire. Spyro would turn to the Darkness. He would kill Aaron. And Skylands would be doomed. As the enemies launched the first volley of bombs, Aaron swept his hand and pushed away all the bombs.

"Skylanders, to battle! Destroy the enemy! Spyro, don't get hit!" cried Aaron. He whipped out his wand and sent bolts of energy streaking at the enemy. With his staff, he created shields to block the bombs thrown. Dark Spyro leapt at the enemy, clawing and slashing, and taking out half of the enemy force. When the battle was done, the Mage leapt from a tree and sent wild magic hurling at Aaron. He barely managed to shield himself from the onslaught. As his shield went down, he pivoted to the left and sent his own magic at the Mage. As she created her shield, Dark Spyro leapt at her from the right. His talons gouged the Mage's shoulder, and she wailed in agony. She crumpled under Spyro's weight, and he started to tear her apart, sending blood flying everywhere.

"Stay... Away... From... AARON!" He shouted over the Mage's screams. When her body lived no more, Spyro flew to stand by Aaron. As the Mage's body disappeared again, Aaron's hand flew to his Crystal, but Spyro shook his head. "She's gone now. Come on, I have to get to the Core." He stated simply, and jumped onto the Portal. Aaron and the Skylanders followed after him. Aaron's mind sunk again into the Crystal, and he saw a glowing blue tunnel of magic in the sky. Using the Portal, he shot himself and the Skylanders home.