When they all went through the portal, they were met with a new scenery as they found themselves in a new world.

"Whoa... what is this place?" Darington asked.

"Welcome to the Boiling Isles, everyone," Blaze told them with a smile.

"Wow... it's really something!" Starla grinned. "So, where did that Belos coward get to?"

"If we had to guess, to his castle," AJ replied as he removed his helmet, revealing his pointy ears.

"Woah, your ears are pointy!" Gabby gasped.

"Well, yeah, all witch ears pointy," AJ smiled.

"How do we head to the castle?" Stripes asked.

"We can use this," Blaze twirled his tire around, and from flames came a huge staff with a fire symbol on top.

"What's that?"

"My Witch Staff," Blaze replied with a proud smile. "I had it since I was a kid. It was the last present I got from Mom before I…" He stopped himself mid-sentence before he could speak and shook his head. "Never mind. It's just a special staff,"

"So, what does it do exactly?" Crusher asked, not recognizing the staff.

"It'll help us fly towards the palace without being spotted," Blaze grinned as the staff flowed fire and began to hover from the ground.

"Whoa..." the group gasped.

"Hop on, everyone!" AJ urged.

"Is it be big enough?" Zeg asked.

"We can fit, don't worry," Blaze twirled his tire, causing the staff to grow in size. "Come on! Let's go!"

They all hopped on the staff and flew off through the sky with a dash, catching the group in surprise as the staff zoomed.

"Whoa! This thing is fast!" Darington yelled.

"And look at the view!" Starla gasped, glancing down at the many creatures roaming the streets.

"Yep-- the Boiling Isles is great to live."

They all soon flew over a school then over mountains and plains before the sky suddenly darkened as they approached a castle.

"Yeesh... I bet this Belos is a cheery fella..." Crusher said sarcastically, trying to hide the shiver running down his spine.

He was heading back to the castle.

THE castle.

The one where he had been tortured for MONTHS.

"Let's head through the back, so we don't get spotted," Blaze said, snapping the dark blue truck out of his thoughts as his tire gripped the staff to turn it.

They swooped over through the back of the palace. As soon as they were at the back, they hopped off the staff and snuck inside.

They went through the dark halls where statues of petrified witches stood by the sides of the hallways they passed. The whole place was eerie, giving them all chills.

"What is this place?" Stripes asked.

"The Hall of the Wild Witches," Blaze explained. "These were the witches who opposed the emperor, were without a coven and were petrified,"

"What coven?" Zeg asked.

"It's collection of individuals with similar interests or activities a coven of intellectuals," AJ answered. "And here, we have a Coven System,"

"Witches who don't have a coven are called rogue witches," Blaze explained.

"So all these witches had all been turned to stone because they don't want to obey the emperor?" Crusher acted oblivious as he spoke.

"Exactly," Blaze nodded. "When you join a coven, all of a witch's magic except for the magic of choice is sealed away. Some witches didn't react to that well."

"Wow... when you think about it, that's really wrong!" Gabby said sadly.

"It is," AJ agreed. "That's one of the reasons we ran off,"

"So, where do you think he's keeping Pickle?" Starla asked.

"Dungeons, like where they kept Aunt Eda," Blaze replied. "Come on, we gotta go before Belos finds out we're here,"

They zoomed through the halls as quickly as they can. As they did, Crusher looked around the place cautiously before shuddering.

Every memory in the halls…

Every torture…

"Guys, this way!" Blaze's voice snapped him out of thought, and they headed down a staircase leading to the dungeon.

The dungeons were full dark, and were full of guards guarding the place.

"Well... this is a bright cheery place..." Stripes hissed quietly

"How are we going to pass the guards?" Watts asked.

"With a little magic help," Blaze twirled his tires around and raised it up, summoning flaming abominations from the ground.

"Whoa..."

The group gasped as the abominations attacked the guards, who tried to use their own magic to fight, but the abominations were stronger and got them scampering off.

"Ha! Love that..." Blaze chuckled to himself.

"The coast is clear now!" AJ grinned. "Come on!"

They all zoomed across the halls in search for their friend. As they approached the last dungeon cell, they heard a familiar roar from inside.

"There's no doubt it's Pickle in there..." Crusher sighed.

Blaze used flames to burn the door then they all dashed inside to see their friend in his cursed form, chained to the floor by his neck.

"Easy, Pickle..." AJ soothed.

Pickle turned to them, eyes still black and savage before roaring out, eager to be set free from the chains.

"Is there a way for us to break these chains?" Darington asked.

"Let me try!" Stripes offered, releasing his claws. "Rawrr! Tiger claws!"

He attempted to slash the chains off, but the metal remained intact.

"Whoa..." he frowned. "that ALWAYS works!"

"It's because these aren't regular chains," AJ told him.

"Yeah," Blaze nodded. "These are magical chains,"

"That explains it, but how can we break them?" Crusher asked.

"It won't be easy," Blaze sighed and twirled his tires. "but let me see if my flames can do the trick,"

He caused flames to sprout out from the ground and onto the chains. For a moment, it looked like it was going to work, but suddenly, the fire evaporated, leaving the chains still clean and intact.

"Sheesh..." Blaze shook his head. "Guess it's TOO strong for my fire alone,"

"Then how are we going to get Pickle out?" Starla questioned.

"Maybe you should not." a voice from behind them spoke, causing them to turn towards the emperor in horror.

"EMPEROR BELOS!"