Nighttime

Mayflo: (quietly) Alabra.
Alabra: *groan*
Mayflo: (quietly) Alabra!

May shook Alabra awake. She didn't want to, but she felt Alabra was the only one she could turn to at this hour of the night. She expected Alabra to be mad since not only was it close to midnight, but she was supposed to be asleep ages ago.

Alabra: *groan* M-may? What time is it?
Mayflo: (quietly) ...11:34?
Alabra: *sigh* Nightmares again?
Mayflo: ...No...
Alabra: Did you even take any sleeping pills tonight?
Mayflo: ...Well... I-I thought I could do without tonight...
Alabra: *sigh* So you haven't even slept a wink huh?
Mayflo: ...No...
Alabra: ...Does this have anything to do with what happened with- what was her name?- Ajey?
Mayflo: ...Y-yeah...
Alabra: (nods) Was it something she said May?
Mayflo: I-I don't know. She was a real tough fighter out there Al. I really thought for a moment she was gonna kill me. Honest.
Alabra: So I hear. Well, she's probably an expert May. She knows what she's doing out there and that's probably part of the reason they let her in in the first place.
Mayflo: I know... But, I think I saw things she didn't want me seeing...
Alabra: Like?
Mayflo: ...O-one of her gloves got burned by one of my magic orbs. And it exposed her paw...
Alabra: ...And?
Mayflo: ...Her paws... they looked as if the claws that should've been there were ripped out... horribly...
Alabra: Ouch. That's understandable for her to not want people seeing. But May, Earth cats get their claws ripped out sometimes for a number of reasons. Ajey is no different... I guess.
Mayflo: Well whatever the reason was she didn't want me knowing. I asked her and all she said was "don't remind me". I feel she's been through more then we know Al. Besides, I feel bad for not taking her hand and talking mean to her like I did. I-I can't even believe I did that. I never slapped anyone o-or talked anywhere close to mean before...
Alabra: Everyone gets a little antsy with other people sometimes May. It's perfectly normal. Sometimes you gotta let out some hot air and people kinda catch you at a bad time occasionally. You're fine May, trust me. Besides, after that stunt she pulled on you I probably would've gotten up in her face about it myself.
Mayflo: I guess... But... There's something else bothering me... Earlier when that Muerte lady showed up and brought out treats for everyone, Vilay held me back. I wasn't even going to get any and she held me back, as if she didn't want me getting near Muerte. Why would she do that?
Alabra: *yawn* W-well... Maybe she knew Muerte before Muerte became a skeleton. Muerte may have been a bad person before the Undead and now, after seeing her ways, Muerte changed a new leaf and Vilay was just unsure about the whole thing. I don't know. If Master Eon trusts Muerte then I think we can trust her too.
Mayflo: ...I guess... It still bothers me though...
Alabra: Enough to keep you awake?
Mayflo: ... (nods)... Is it ok if... you know...
Alabra: 😏 Of course May. *yawn* Come on and get comfortable.

Alabra lifted his blanket to let May underneath. May almost immediately went under the irresistible fabric and wrapped her arms around Alabra's waist from behind him. Alabra straightened the blanket before laying his head down onto his pillow again and fell asleep within an instant.

Next morning

Sun Dragon and Eteru were hanging out after class at the smoothie shop. Sunny was having wild cherry, while Eteru had, what else, sour apple! The matter of Eteru's powers was brought up, and Eteru began to be reclusive somewhat after the mentioning. Who could blame him? He had kept the powers from almost everyone to keep not only other people from finding out about him, but to protect everyone else from whatever he was involved in due to his heritage.

But when you're already knee deep in hot water, the steam is the nicest part.

Sun Dragon explained to Eteru that it didn't matter what powers he had, but how Eteru used them. It didn't matter what Eteru was, as long as he remembered how far he had come. As long as Eteru enjoyed what he was doing and that he did good wherever he was, he was welcomed at the Academy or really anywhere in Skylands. Just keep being the oriental dragon everyone knew him to be, no matter what.

And boy, that cheered Eteru right up!

A little bit after that discussion, something caught Sunny and Eteru's eyes. At first they thought Emolition was walking by and they turned to say something, but they saw that it wasn't it wasn't him at all.

It was an elf, like Emolition, but her face was drained of any color. All of her skin was pure white like May or Emolition, but the main difference in the skin was that there were actually small cracks in this elf's skin, as if it was dehydrated and thirst for water. Her pitch black hair coveeed her eyes from just every side, but if you did see her eyes you'd see they were blank and dreary with no expression or emotion to see. And arguably the strangest part was that she was dressed like a... ballerina?

Sun Dragon: Um... Excuse me miss. Do you... need anything?

The elf's ears twitched at Sunny's voice and she turned around, looking dead at Sun and Eteru. She still kept going in he direction she was headed in though. Come to thinkmof it... was she levitating?!

She spoke finally, and it was equally strange as was her looks. She spoke analytically like a robot would, but the very sound of her voice was like a ghost. Other then that, her voice seemed pleasant sounding.

???: "Need"?
Sun Dragon: Yes, um... Mind if I inquire who you are miss, while I'm at it?
???: I am Verraten le Muerte's servant, and she has presently sent me to search out and inform the team she hath sent for to a mission they are required for. Does that settle your inquiry?

Oh! She was Muerte's assistant! Considering Muerte was an Undead, it would've made sense that she had a ghost- or whatever this elf was- as an assistant to her. The whole ballerina look must've been what this elf may have been before the Undead "life".

Sun Dragon: Ah! Well, I suppose it does settle that. If possible, I'd like to help you find the members of this new team of yours. Who all is in this new team?
???: ...There is a miss Lassea and Phobia I was told to search for.
Eteru: Oh, I know them! They were lucky enough to share a room together! I can show you where they are if you like.
???: Excellent. There is also the matter of finding a Voltair, Terra, and Obleak here. Any information on them?
Sun Dragon: What? They're here as cadets? I didn't know that! What a happy surprise!😁
???: I assume that you don't know their location.
Eteru: We didn't know those three were even here. But maybe Lassea and Phobia know. Anyone else?
???: There is also Mystic and Cosmic I was told to search for.
Sun Dragon: Oh! I know Cosmic! I can tell ya where she is! Not sure about this Mystic though.
???: Very well. That's all whom I was told to search for. If it pleases you, you can merely tell me the locale of Lassea, Phobia, and Cosmic so you may not be bothered from your activities.
Sun Dragon: Are you sure miss? Can you find their rooms alright?
???: Yes. I can seek out the rooms myself. If they are not there then I can simply look at their schedules for more information.
Eteru: Well, alright. If you say so.
???: Excellent. Inform me of their room numbers now please. I was told this mission was of high importance.

Later

Mission: Last night, a meteorite crashed into an empty field just outside Iron Jaw Gulch. This morning, a dragon with a ferocious thrill for terror has attacked the main town of Iron Jaw Gulch. Coincidence? Afraid not. Find and, if possible, capture said dragon and bring him to justice!
Location: Iron Jaw Gulch
Jobs:
Lassea: Leader
Phobia: Tactician
Cosmic: Intelligence
Terra: Analysis
Voltair, Obleak, and Mystic: Offensive/defensive

As anyone who knew Eteru should know, Lassea was a Aquadog with some Undead ties due to the result of a battle she fought a few years prior. And Phobia was an elf with the power to go to/from the Dream Realm as well as manipulate the dreams and nightmares and even visual perception of others.

Obleak, as anyone would likely know by now, is a phoenix that has been corrupted with Dark powers and has recently been freed of the rage Darkness holds.

Terra and Voltair were two of Furori's victims and felt they owed the Skylanders for saving them. Terra was a Life Elemental kitsune with control over plant life, and Voltair was a electric Air Elemental dragon who could summon clouds and ride them.

Cosmic, as most would know, is a dragin with star power in her veins. Literally born on a shoorting star, she is a good friend of Sun Dragon and nearly all his friends.

As for Mystic, she was a Magic Elemental fox Eon, Buzz, and Voodood found in some ancient ruins. She had no memory of her past- nor why she was in those ruins- but she is highly curious of what her future has in store. She was blue and teal with runes marked all over her body, allowing her to do multiple kinds of magic spells. Her and Cosmic were both classmates and roommates, and they got along like BBFs!

Mystic: Ooo, our first mission together! I'm so excited!
Phobia: Calm down! We have a dragon to fight, remember!? We have to be on our A-game!
Lassea: Yes, this is no laughing matter. What if Scorpius tries to recruit this thing or something? We have to deal with it now, not later.
Obleak: I doubt that would ever happen Miss Phobia. I remember Scorpius quite well and he would never ally with another dragon unless it was in his best interest to.
Voltair: Well, good thing we have you eh?😁 Good old powerhouse Obleak here, ready to turn the tables on Scorpius and all his nasty trolls!
Cosmic: Speaking of which, it is a rather nice surprise to see you three have decided to attend the Academy!
Terra: After all me and Voltair have done under Furori's control, how else can we repay you?
Obleak: And how else do I atone for what I've done in blind dark rage? It's the least we three could do.
Phobia: Focus people! We're approaching Iron Jaw Gulch, and I can already tell things are pretty nasty there!

She wasn't kidding. A majority of the town was in some way or another trashed. Some of the local landsharks were trying to defend their turf with their pistols, but that wasn't effecting whatever beast was attacking. Especially since he was in a brawl with another dragon!

As the group approached these twosome, the smaller dragon actually threw the large ice dragon several meters away into a building, causing it to fall! The smaller dragon then turned and saw our group of cadets, and he chuckled darkly as he faced them. For his size and shape he was surprisingly menacing... to an extent. He was a small chibi like dragon. He was almost entirely covered in black, with his short arms and legs and the membrane of his wings colored light purple. The ridges along his back, the round circles on his cheeks, and the color of his pupils were red... blood red. And his claws and teeth were sharp and pearl white, so he meant business.

???: (chuckles) Soo, you're the heroes around these parts?
Voltair: Yeah. Something like that!
Terra: What brings you to do this dragon!?
???: Oh, that. (Chuckles) Don't mind me. I do these things ALL the time. I just LOVE destruction and fear! How else to rule the universe? I am a dragon that legends speak of. I am a dragon that all fear to see. I am a dragon with a passion for darkness! I... am... DEVELON! (Cackles maniacally)
Lassea: Um...?
Obleak: Cosmic?
Cosmic: Sorry I have no clue who that is.
Develon: (falls over face first in disbelief) WHAT!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I'm only the most feared dragon in the known galaxy! What're you talking about "have no clue who that is" ?!😠 You know what, forget it. I just came here and lured you heroes out for one thing anyway. I know she's here somewhere in... um... what's this world called?
Mystic: Um... Skylands.(?)
Develon: Skylands! Yes! I've come for that danged sorceress! Don't hide it; I know she's here!
Cosmic: Sorceress?... She wouldn't happen to be, oh, 5ft tall by chance?
Develon: Yeah.
Terra: Indigo cloak, gloves, and shoes?
Develon: Yeah!
Lassea: Pale skin and demon blood?
Develon: Yes yes yes! That's the one! Where is she? We have an old score to finish!😈
Phobia: Yeah, about that. You missed her by a week dude. She left.
Develon: WHAT!? (Falls over again in disbelief) Oh... Dangit, curse all and fiddlesticks! *growls*😠... *sigh* Well, it's not a huge loss I guess. I'll just catch her at the next stop here. Besides, this "Skylands" place looks real nice. Probably has plenty of stuff around here to take over the universe with! Oh, so much to do, so little heroes to CRUSH! (Cackles) 😂
Obleak: Here he comes! Brace yourselves!

Let the fight begin!

Just when you thought Develon was going to ram into the team of cadets, he immediately stopped and spit out fireballs at point blank range! The ground exploded in chunks at the blast, causing the team to be thrown back! Lassea got up and used her natural Aquadog powers to shoot orbs of water at Develon, believing it would cool the fiery dragon's temper. Develon merely tanked the attacks, seeing as how they hadn't caused any real damage to him physically. However, Mystic sent a pink magical rune at him, causing Develon to slow down more then enough for Lassea to throw a water orb right in the dragon's mouth!

Develon recovered and coughed huge puffs of smoke from the water attack. It looks like his fire was put out! Voltair immediately took the chance and charged at Develon to knick him out!

But Develon had another trick up his scales...

Develon grinned maliciously as his body started blowing up like a balloon, then just before Voltair could land a hit, Develon spit out a massive bubble that trapped Voltair inside!

Voltair: Hey! What is this!? Let me out!
Develon: (Laughs) Don't mess with a Bubble Dragon, or you get popped! Better watch it, or I'll turn you into a delicious piece of fruit! (Laughs) Actually, I could go for some tomotoes about now.
Voltair: That's tomatoes, you moron!
Develon: Shad up! It's tomotoes!
Cosmic: Grr! YOU better watch it bud, or I'll make ya see stars!
Develon: Actually Bud is a completely different dra- OhmiGod!

Develon immediately started flying around and away as soon as he saw that Cosmic turned herself into a living shoorting star! Develon flew as desperately as he could, which was just faster then Cosmic's shooting star form. As Develon twisted and turned, Cosmic would bounce off walls and hone in on the black chibi dragon. Obleak started flying beside Develon before finally going several feet in front of him, hoping to stop the dragon in his tracks. Unfortunately, Develon immediately went under Obleak, causing Cosmic to ram right into the phoenix!

Hopefully the house they tore down wasn't too important...

Develon: (Cackles) 😂 You guys suck at your job you know that!?
Phobia: Hmph. You obviously haven't thought of what I could possibly do to you.

Phobia teleporting around Develon, striking him every time she did. Develon couldn't keep track of her, so he tried his bubble ability. But Phobia wasn't going to get trapped in one of those anytime soon. She turned herself into dark mist, surprising Develon. But he wasn't frightened. Perhaps his fire will do the trick?

He started spitting out fireballs at a rapid fire pace, aiming for Phobia's mist form. She managed to dodge them, but then Develon tricked her into going into a nook and he blazed some planks right in front of Phobia, knocking her back into her original elf form from the shock. Develon would've finished her off if the black ice dragon that he was fighting previously didn't freeze half his side at that moment!

And that wasn't all. The dragon had a friend this time.

???: Some dragon you are. You should at least finish what you started.
???: Like I will finish you! Let's RAM IT!

The newcomer, a large red ram, charged at Develon and with a fiery swing of his horn smashed the chibi dragon through a two layer brick wall! Since when coukd a ram do that!?

Develon eventually came right back up though. And he was ticked off.

Develon: Grr! 😠Not fair! You know what? Screw this! I need to know what this "Skylands" really has in store for me! We'll see each other again real soon "heroes". Develon, the future emperor of the universe, going to plot his next devious scheme now! (Cackles maniacally)

Develon flapped his wings and started to take off. Terra tried to summon his vines and go after him, but then Develon shot out a big fireball in Terra's direction. Terra managed to dodge out of the way just as the ground blew up from the attack. By the time the smoke cleared, Develon was just a small black speck in the sky.

Lassea: Phobia! Are you alright!?
Phobia: *groan* Yeah, I'm fine. I've handled worse. I fought Eteru once or twice, remember? Heh.
???: Whoo hooo! Aries wins again! Hahaha!😃 You were were awesome too Rhudan!
Rhudan: Yeah... Whatever. Where were you Aries?
Aries: 😕 Uhhh... See, what happened was that I was minding my own business, when suddenly I saw this most luxurious, gorgeous, and utterly delicious field of grass just waiting for someone to come and eat it up.
Rhudan: 😐Aries... This is Iron Jaw Gulch, a western style landshark town. There aren't many patches of grass here, let alone a whole field.
Aries: Well, a patch is better then nothing.
Voltair: Whoo! That was AWESOME dude! The way you smashed that puny dragon was off the charts cool! You were like WHAM and he was like ARGH! What a kicker!
Aries: (chuckles) Well, I ram to please.
Phobia: Thank you both.
Cosmic: Man, we did kinda suck back there didn't we? I mean, even Sun was able to handle Scorpius single handedly before Pegaslash's team came. We only provoked Develon further.
Aries: Aw come on! Don't put yourselves down like that! You softened him up for me and Rhudan there! 😅
Mystic: But he was really really tough for a small dragon like him.😟
Terra: That's not all. I heard him mention other worlds and interstellar travel. That must mean he's not from here.
Lassea: Yeah... He didn't even know about Skylands. And he directly stated he was here for Raven. If he could tell Raven was here at all from wherever he was, he must be more powerful then he's leading us to believe.
Obleak: And he states to be quite powerful. He wishes to take the whole universe under his command. That's... not unlike Kaos really.
Aries: Can I say something? I'm completely lost in this conversation.
Phobia: Oh, sorry. I'm Phobia. This is Lassea, Obleak, Voltair, Terra, Cosmic, and Mystic. I believe your names were Aries and Rhudan?
Rhudan: Yes, that's right. And did you mention the name Scorpius? As in a scorpion tailed serpentine dragon by chance?
Lassea: 😐Yeah... How do you know?
Rhudan: I... I encountered Scorpius a few years ago... Things didn't go well between us.
Cosmic: Really? Wow, we could use your help with him. He's been a real pain since he teamed up with Kaos.
Rhudan: Oh.. So those rumors were true... Thank you. I would actually like to help. In fact, that's why I have been helping Aries here. He claims that not only was he and his brethen kidnapped by Scorpius and his trolls, but that he needs the help of the Skylanders to fulfill some ancient prophecy. Something to do with the Zodiac or something.
Mystic: Oh. Is that why your name is Aries?
Aries: Hmph, are you kidding? I AM Aries! The fiery ram! Don't you know?
Voltair: (scratches head) Um... Not ringing any bells man.
Aries: 😦I knew a long time has passed since our last appearance... but, really? Does no one know?... Take me to a Portal Master! I need to discuss this with a Portal Master. Any Portal Master!
Terra: Unfortunately, the one Portal Master on our side left just yesterday on important private business. We have no information as to his whereabouts.
Aries: Grr... Then take me to whoever is in his place right now! Please! The time of Taurus is fast approaching! We must find him!

Later, nighttime

Kamua: *whispering* Ihala.
Ihala: (sleeping)
Kamua: (alittle louder) Ihala!
Ihala: (sleeping)
Kamua: IHALA!
Ihala: What!? Huh? Kamua? What's wrong!?
Kamua: *whispering* Are you asleep?
Ihala: 😐... No! I'm not!
Kamua: *whispering* Couldn't sleep either huh?
Ihala: Kamua what domyou want!?
Kamua: *quietly* Well... Look, I went into the future alittle bit- just a little bit- a-and something bad is going to happen!
Ihala: 😧 What?
Kamua: *quietly* Some mean old doggie lady is going to come and attack Skylands! And it involves our good friends Eteru, Sailiga, and Sirin!😦
Ihala: What? Hmm... Got any info on this lady?
Kamua: *quietly* N-not really... She was with two other doggies. Real tough ones too. Other then that I didn't catch anything. Didn't want to get caught by them and screw the time flow or anything. Sorry.
Ihala: No, no, you did good Kamua. Hm... If this is true... then we must prepare. First we need to learn more about what exactly is going on with the Eteru dragon and his little girlfriend Sirin. And Sailiga too while we're at it. Somehow I knew there was more to Eteru then what he lead on...

---

Done! Phew!

So now Aries has made his full deput! Who's this mysterious dog that Kamua warns of? And who is the equally mysterious Rhudan the ice dragon? And just how is Sailiga involved with Eteru?!

Rhudan belongs to Hans4475.

Mystic belongs to Foximator.

Aries belongs to me. I'll put a drawing up of him some time.

As for Develon, he's a dragon from the game series Bubble Bobble (also sometimes called Bust-a-move). He needed some love so I figured "hey, what if he visited Skylands?" Here's a pic of him.

Ain't he cute! For an evil little dragon that is.

Welp, hope to see ya'll next chapter! Cheers!🐉