Chihiro Hatsuki's Skylanders

by Tilde-Heart

Chihiro Hatsuki is an ordinary Earth kid whose life is turned upside down when the Skylanders, the magical guardians of another world, land in her backyard and promptly tell her that she's a magical portal master! Now, Chihiro must help the Skylanders defeat their archenemy Kaos and restore the Core of Light that protects their world. (Canon-divergent retelling of SSA)

33. Chapter 33

KA-BOOM!

Thick, gray smoke and blazes of red and orange flames billowed up from the floor as massive troll bombs rained down all across the battlefield and ate up the massive steel walls that gated off the way ahead with their explosions. Their fires were a striking source of warmth among the cool, dull colors that allowed Kaos's fortress to blend in with the dark skies it hid among, almost like a flare or some kind of signal.

But more importantly, it made for the perfect beacon for the rest of the Skylanders as they floated in from those cold, black skies above! Swarms of orange bubbles dashed across the skies as they came in for a landing…

Well, not that Boomer noticed as he wiped the sweat from his brow and closed his backpack back up. With one simple shake he dispelled the fine layer of gunpowder that had accumulated on his head, then a crooked grin spread across his face as his eyes fell back on Hex, Double Trouble and Voodood. The three of them looked a little haphazard and dismantled with the tears in their clothes and the scratches on the skin, but they were alive and well!

"I think there's easier ways to take those walls down than blowing them up, Boomer," Hex remarked as she straightened out her dress's skirt.

"Ah, true," Boomer replied as he shrugged and flicked his ears, "But, blowing them up's way more fun than just waving a wand and casting a spell!"

"Fun, maybe." Hex frowned as she lifted her head and gestured towards the burning wall of fire before them both, then expelled the flames with a snap of her fingers, "But hardly practical."

Double Trouble frowned and mumbled something as he straightened his staff's feathers, then his voice grew louder as he turned to Voodood and pushed Voodood's skull hat upright.

"Soon," Voodood replied as he yanked a massive chompy fang out of his skull hat's eye and tossed it aside, "If that signal we received earlier is of any indication, Chihiro's team managed to remove the no-sell spell over the area, so we can expect the others…"

POP!

"Any moment now."

All four eyes turned to the back of the platform, once stark and vacant… But not anymore! The whole place turned lively with chatter as the remainder of their forces crowded around in a colorful swarm that pushed and shoved against itself as everyone dispersed into their designated groups.

"Hey'a, everyone!" Boomer chirped as he waved back to the crowd, "You arrived just in time!"—Boomer chuckled and pointed his ears upright as he turned back to the halls ahead—"The places you're looking for should be just down this hall! Everyone ready to go?"

"I am," Whirlwind said as she flew out of the crowds and up to Boomer with a nod.

Whirlwind gulped, then dropped back down to the ground and flared her wings as her cool, blue eyes turned back to the crowds before her. The massive crowd of Skylanders had dispersed into a couple smaller groups, all huddled together like penguins with their eyes fixed on Whirlwind in sheer anticipation, frozen in expectancy of what she'd say next.

"Is everyone else?" Whirlwind asked as she flew up once more, all while her lips quivered and tensed with anticipation… Then, she broke into a smile as her question was met with a resounding chorus of cheers!

"You bet!"

"I'm always ready!"

"Just say the word!"

Whirlwind's eyes glistened with glee as her jaw gaped open without her even trying, then she turned that joyful gaze back at Boomer and nodded.

"SKYLANDERS…" Whirlwind and Boomer cried as one as they bolted down the halls, "CHARGE!"

As Whirlwind and Boomer bolted down the halls, their footsteps were drowned out by an entire stampede of cheering and stomping as the rest of the Skylanders stormed forward behind them! Everyone was of one heart, one mind, one goal as they poured through the halls, weapons at the ready and fully ready to strike! Even though they weren't anywhere near facing Kaos, they all seemed so eager as they dashed down… Then their assault came to a screeching halt as a gigantic chompy soared right towards them!

As everyone else scrambled backwards before the chompy could flatten them, Boomer leaped up and slugged the chompy in the gut with a punch so powerful it sent the chompy rocketing away into the skies, never to be seen again. Hopefully.

"Took… Ya long enough…" Terrafin panted from up ahead.

Boomer frowned and flicked his ears while Whirlwind flew back up to his side, then both of them frowned as their eyes fell on the path ahead.

There, Terrafin lurched over and panted as he held his side, his body covered in bloody scratches. And yet, he still had a bit of fight in his eyes that only burned brighter as the light of the flaming battlefield around shone against it.

Around him, the whole hall had been set alight and ransacked from the battle ahead, while in the heart of it all Dino-Rang, Gill Grunt, Slam Bam, and Wham-Shell all lingered around and panted. Just like Terrafin, they were covered in wounds and scars and stumbled from side to side, with some barely even able to hold their weapons… But the moment a bunch of massive monsters dropped down from the skies above and roared like thunder, they all became alert once more!

Terrafin, Gill Grunt, Dino-Rang, Slam Bam and Wham-Shell stumbled back and went to attack, though their legs trembled as if just standing there was taking all their strength! They took one step forward and readied their arms, but right before they could strike, a bright rainbow blast enveloped them all!

The light was so great that it shielded them from view, then when it vanished they had been completely healed! Their wounds had closed up and faded back into their body as if they had never existed in the first place, and they shone so bright that they were practically starts against the night! The five of them all grinned as they examined their healed bodies and pulled themselves back to full height, then reeled back as a bright burst of blue streaked across the field!

"You should be good to go!" Whirlwind cried as she zipped across the fields, "Boomer, we'll leave these guys in your care, alright?"

"Got it, Whirlybird!" Boomer called from the back of the crowd as he shot her a thumbs up!

Whirlwind nodded as the rest of the Skylanders all flooded through the halls with such pace that they overwhelmed the monsters that had arrived and almost crushed them underfoot of their crowd. Whirlwind, however, didn't pay much mind to them. Rather, she just frowned as she flew ahead, just past a round platform with a suspicious door, then stopped as she hit a round platform that divulged into three paths—a straight way ahead, a gate on the leftmost side decorated with purple thorns and one on the right marked by a metal archway.

The rest of the team poured in after her and dismissed into their own groups quickly enough, and while they did Whirlwind dropped down to the floor and opened her mouth.

The moment she took her breath, everyone turned still and silent as they all addressed her. But, even though all eyes were fixed on her, everyone's minds were elsewhere, including Whirlwind's own as she spoke…

§

As the glow faded and the markers disappeared, nine more markers appeared and charged through the halls before they diverted into two separate rooms.

"As for the traps, those have three switches that power them, but they've got lots of stuff guarding them! Whirlwind, Cynder, Dark Spyro, Sonic Boom and Sunburn, you'll take the ones in the revolving platform room, while Bash, Warnado, Prism Break and Stump Smash will take the ones with the electrifying pinchers!"

Then, as their markers disappeared, twelve more appeared and charged right across the path before they sat at the round, massive room at the end while five more split off.

"Last, we've got the most important job of all!" Chihiro grinned as she spun her stick around in circles.

"At the end of the halls, there's a platform that leads directly to where Kaos is based. Zap, Zook, Camo, Chop Chop, Ignitor, Lightning Rod and Eruptor will locate the platform and make sure everyone arrives there safe, while Flameslinger, Ghost Roaster, Drill Sergeant, Drobot, and Stealth Elf will activate the platform!"

§

Chihiro's smile and confident look lingered in Whirlwind's mind and brought a smile to her own face as she lifted her own head, then she flared her wings as she flew towards the thorn-laden gate.

"And remember, everyone!" Whirlwind proclaimed as Sunburn, Sonic Boom, Dark Spyro and Cynder followed after her, "All of Skylands is counting on us, so do your best!"

As she ducked underneath the archway, Whirlwind frowned and flapped her wings. Her ears twitched as the rest of her team crept up behind her, then poked their heads over her shoulders and with their eyes trained ahead.

Before them, the thorny, vaguely intimidating aesthetics of the paths behind had been traded off for sleek, marble platforms dyed in waves of cool colors, with pale bluish-silver marble floors that clacked with every step and ascended to pillars striped in waves of dark pink, purple, teal and black… Well, save for the sharp, golden blades that whipped around each and every platform.

"This should be where those two power sources are," Whirlwind remarked as she scratched her paws against the cool, marble floors, "Sure are a lot of blades, though."

"Good thing we can fly~" Dark Spyro said as he jumped over Whirlwind and flapped his wings, "I'll have those power sources destroyed before you can even say chompy!"

Dark Spyro's grin drew wider as he charged forward and got himself a headstart, then he leaped into the air and glided across the blades… And he immediately got pushed down into the wreckage!

As he nosedived into the cold marble floors, Sunburn pulled him away from the blades and back onto the free pathway, all while Dark Spyro groaned and held his head.

"Ugh, talk about a bad landing," Dark Spyro groaned as he stood up and shook his head, "What's going on here? I was flying fine just seconds ago!"

Sunburn frowned, then took to the skies himself and flew over to the platforms, but the moment he did he was immediately pushed down as well!

"The heck?" Sunburn groaned as he lurched back up from the cold floors and shook his head, "I can't fly at all!"

Whirlwind, Cynder and Sonic Boom all frowned as they shot each other concerned looks, then flapped their wings as they tried to take to the skies, but it was no use! Every time they tried, they were immediately slammed back down to the ground! As they pulled themselves back up and swayed around, the three of them stumbled over to Sunburn and Dark Spyro and nudged into a huddle.

"What's going on here? This can't be right!" Whirlwind exclaimed as she laid her wings around Dark and Cynder's shoulders, "Flight isn't controlled by magic, and even if it was, we already got rid of the beacon with that no-sell spell! So what's throwing us all off?"

"I don't know," Sunburn panted as sweat evaporated into steam from his feathers' heat, "But something tells me we aren't flying anytime soon."

Whirlwind just sighed as she turned away from the huddle and eyed the platforms ahead, with their sharp spinning blades and tall, daunting pillars that seemed a tad more imposing without the gift of flight on their side.

"Guess we have no choice—we'll just have to walk through it."

And walk they did as they trudged into the fray, but even that was a struggle in itself! Every step they took was labored and forced, and they strained just keeping their bodies up as they lumbered from the entryway through the platform! It was as if they were trying to walk through butter, with how every step was so small and yet so exhausting! Sweat dripped from all five of their brows as their paws fell on the platform, then finally they all collapsed and broke into panting fits while they pressed their bellies against the cool, marble floors.

"I, I… Don't get… It…" Whirlwind panted as she pressed her tired head against the floor, "That was… Barely… A… A short walk… Why… Am… I Tired?"

"I… Don't… Don't know…" Dark replied as he tried to lift his head, only to groan as it fell back down to the floor, "It's like… Something's… Pressing… Me down…"

Whirlwind grunted as she pushed herself off the ground, but the moment she even tried to stand up, her legs shuddered and she went crashing back down! So, all she did was join the others in groaning as their bodies ached and shuddered. Whirlwind whimpered as she rolled herself over enough to just barely lift her head, then flicked her ears as the sound of blades slicing in the wind hit the air… And gasped as a blade swung just inches away from her face!

"Actually," Whirlwind panted as she nudged Cynder forward, "We should, we should probably get out of these things' way!"

Whirlwind nudged her head under Cynder's shoulder as she tried to lift Cynder up, but the weight was so much that she could barely even push Cynder up an inch! She grunted and strained as she tried to push Cynder up, then finally she managed to push Cynder… Backwards, that is! Cynder screamed as she went tumbling into Dark Spyro, who slammed into Sunburn, who in turn slammed into Sonic Boom, then all of them rolled backwards and slammed into something solid!

"Crap!" Whirlwind cried as she bolted forward, "Is everyone alright?!"

Whirlwind took one more stride ahead, then skidded to a halt and looked down at herself. "Wait a second, I don't feel heavy anymore!"

"Me neither!" Dark replied as he popped his head up and stretched his legs, "Heck, I feel light as a feather!"

"But I don't!" Cynder grunted! A peek down below showed that somehow, Sunburn, Sonic Boom and Dark had all landed on top of her, and with all their combined weight she could barely get out! "Now get off of me!"

"CRAP!" Dark cried as he leaped about a foot in the air, then swooped down and yanked Cynder out from under the pile, "Sorry about that Cyn, I promise, it was entirely an accident—"

Cynder, however, just sighed and shook her head. "You're alright, Dark."

The two of them sighed, then frowned as their eyes turned back to the entryway behind them. Weirdly enough, even though they had stopped midway through their little tumble, there was nothing that could have stopped them! It was all open space as far as the eye could see!

"But I could've sworn we ran into something…" Cynder remarked as she flew back up to Sunburn and Sonic Boom, "What's going on here?"

"Ooh, ooh, I know what to do!" Dark cried as he clapped his paws, then held his paws out as they flared with bright purple light, "Visibility spell, go!"

Right as Dark said this, the bright light from his paws expanded outwards and flashed across the area with such intensity that it drowned everything out, then when it faded… A large box with a planet carved into its metal side appeared right behind Sunburn, Sonic Boom and Cynder!

"So that's what stopped our little trip?" Sunburn remarked as he walked up to the box and laid a claw on its front, where one large, red button shone against the dull, cool lighting around the area, "What is it?"

Whirlwind frowned, then flew over to where Sunburn sat and brushed her paw against a string of Common letters carved at the very end of the box's front.

"This says it's a gravity augmentation device," Whirlwind said as she turned back to the others, "This thing must have been what was keeping us down the whole time!"

"So it was messing with gravity to keep us from going on?" Sunburn asked as he looked back at Whirlwind.

Whirlwind nodded, then grinned as she turned back to the device. "But, seems like your little collision with it reversed the effects! We should be fine now!"

"Sure we shouldn't smash the thing to bits, just to be safe?" Dark asked as he turned to Whirlwind, all while purple embers burst from his lips, "After all, I'd happily burn the thing down!"

Whirlwind, however, just shook her head.

"Better not risk it. We have no idea what this thing's capable of." Whirlwind folded her wings against her back, "If we destroy it, for all we know it could end up seriously messing up the gravity in this place!"

Whirlwind flicked her tail as she strode off. "For now, let's just worry about getting those—"

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE DESTROYING THAT SWITCH!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks while all eyes turned to the entryway, where three spell punks in tattered purple robes snarled as they glared down Sunburn, Dark, Sonic Boom, Whirlwind and Cynder! A faint, draconic shadow crept out from underneath them and slunk back to the entrance, but the shadow was quickly forgotten in everyone's minds as the spell punk's spindly hands grew bright with magic.

"That gravity augmentation device took us weeks to perfect!" Cried one spell punk as it readied a magical orb and snarled, "We're not letting you ruin all our hard work without a fight!"

"Yeah!" Cried the other two spell punks as they summoned orbs of their own!

The spell punks screamed as they sent their orbs hurtling towards Cynder, Whirlwind, Dark, Sunburn and Sonic Boom… But right before the orbs could make contact, Sonic Boom leaped forward and screeched so loud it made the entire area quake in fear!

The spell punks shuddered in place as their orbs exploded into a small rain of sparkles, and with them being so shaken, Sunburn had the perfect opportunity to strike! He teleported behind them without a second thought, then hacked out a pillar of flames and toasted their backs! The spell punks yowled in pain and leaped up, then squealed and ran around in circles as they tried to pat the flames off of their tattered robes. Not that it was doing them any good, as the flames still burned bright.

"Great, they're distracted!" Dark cried as he turned his attention back to the gravity augmentation device.

With a snap of his claws, a bright purple bubble formed around the device, its body so solid and strong that it shone against the cool light that coated the ground. While it stayed stagnant, stormclouds flew all around it and crackled with hot, black lightning, the kind that made any sort of approach seemed daunting and dangerous.

"That should keep them from messing with that thing for a little bit!" Dark replied as he turned to Whirlwind and Cynder. The three of them shared a nod, then all at once they took to the skies and flew off. "Sun, Sonic, come on! We've gotta take down the switches!"

"Okay!" Sunburn and Sonic Boom cried as they turned around from where they stood down the still-dizzy spell punks.

Sonic Boom immediately took off after Dark, Whirlwind, and Cynder, but Sunburn wasn't quite as quick. Rather, he just shot a smirk at the spell punks while they shook their heads.

"Sorry, we'd love to stay and play with you," Sunburn said as he flapped his wings and leaped into the air, "But we just remembered we have some business to take care of and switches to destroy, so we'll be on our way!"

And with that said, Sunburn flapped his wings, then turned into a blazing comet as he enveloped himself in fire and zoomed off after the others!

The spell punks just sat there in completely shock, jaws dropped and eyes wide as they watched Whirlwind, Cynder, Sunburn, Dark and Sonic Boom fly off towards the switches, then their spindly hands twitched as the realization finally dawned.

"Switches, to destroy?" Whispered one spell punk, "They can't mean…"

"Of course they mean that! They're probably trying to get access to Lord Kaos!" Cried the second spell punk as it spun around in circles, "What're we gonna do? He's gonna kill us and take our robes as trophies if we don't stop them! He's gonna, he's gonna—"

"QUIET!" Shrieked the third spell punk as it bonked both its companions on the head!

While the other two punks squealed in pain and rubbed their heads, the third spell punk just scoffed and crossed its arms.

"You two see if there's a way to reactivate the gravity augmentation device." The third spell punk dashed into the skies, then paused in midair and turned back to the other two punks, "I'll try and reel in those Skylanders!"

"Got it, boss!" The other two spell punks cried as they saluted the third!

The two of them panted as they rushed over to the gravity augmentation device and tried to reach past its barriers… But the moment they ran into it, they ended up getting completely electrocuted by black lightning!

"ACK!" They cried as they floated backwards. The two of them grunted and shook the clinging static off of their robes, then turned around and rushed back into the stormy fray. But alas, they just got shocked again. "DOUBLE ACK!"

The spell punks whimpered as they brushed scorch marks off their robes, then snarled as they rolled up their sleeves and charged back in! But, it was no use, as they only ended up getting shocked and tossed back once more! And yet, despite being shocked thrice, the pain hardly discouraged them from running back in and getting shocked once more!

"ACK! OOF! OWCH! OWIE! AUGH!"

The two spell punks cries of electrical pain shot through the air and made the third spell punk roll its eyes as the other two splendidly failed, then the third spell punk turned around as the sound of a massive fire being lit hit the air! Just across from it, its eyes fell on a purple and red bonfire as tall as a tower that beaconed from across the area, then it scowled and flew off!

And what was the source of that fire, one might ask? Why, it was none other than Sunburn and Dark Spyro, who smiled and wiped embers from their lips like sauce as they backed up and joined the other three in examining the burning beacon before them!

"One more hit, and that switch's going down!" Dark cried as he turned to Cynder, "Care to do the honors, Cyn?"

"Gladly," Cynder smirked as she winked back at Dark Spyro.

Cynder stepped forward and cleared her throat, then breathed in, out, and shot out a massive black thunderbolt that slammed straight into the beacon!

The force from the lightning was already so great that it moment it combined with the raging flames, it completely seared the beacon's inner mechanisms! Lightning crackled out from behind the flames and completely shielded the beacon from view, then the beacon exploded in a massive burst of flames! Its metal bits rained across the area with such speed and volume that Whirlwind had to summon a gigantic cloud as a shield from its fury, but nobody around was scared at all! They all beamed as the flames crumbled down to nothing, and revealed only a scorched, melted patch of metal where the beacon once sat!

"Alright!" Dark cried as he held his wing up to Cynder, "Wing five?"

Cynder rolled her eyes, but nonetheless chuckled and gently bumped Dark's wing with her own. "Wing five!"

The two of them laughed as they drew their wings back, their fiery red and icy blue eyes locked on each other for moments… Then the sound of something shrieking through the air pulled their gaze aside, and they both screamed and jumped out of the way as a large magic orb slammed into the ground and exploded into a flash of purple light!

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, SKYLANDERS!" Cried that third spell punk as it hovered above the ground, "You're not going anywhere near that switch!"

Sunburn, Sonic Boom, Cynder, Whirlwind and Dark all winced and backed up, but the shock from being found lasted only a moment! Their gazes turned steely and assured as they all nodded towards each other, then Sunburn and Sonic Boom dashed off without a second thought!

"Hey, get back here!" The spell punk cried as it zoomed after Sonic Boom and Sunburn, "Didn't you hear me?! You're not supposed to go after those switch—"

"Don't care, buddy!" Dark cried as he, Cynder and Whirlwind flew in front of the spell punk and blocked it off from Sunburn and Sonic Boom, "Besides, what're you gonna do about it?"

The spell punk snarled, then floated backwards and wrapped its thin hands into balls. "Stop you, of course!"

While the spell punk puffed out its chest and tried to seem as intimidating as possible, however, Dark just cackled and pointed a toe at the spell punk!

"You? Stop us?" Dark howled as he covered his mouth with his paw, "What's one little spell punk gonna do against all of us, huh?"

"This!"

The spell punk huffed and inhaled as much as it could until it was little more than a round balloon in the vague shape of a spell punk, then with one single exhale, its body expanded and grew in size until it was little no longer… Rather, it was so gigantic that it towered over the entire area as it puffed out its chest and cackled!

While the giant spell punk's mighty laughter shook the area around, Cynder and Whirlwind all watched the spell punk with wide eyes and gaped jaws.

"I had no idea spell punks could do that," Whirlwind whispered.

"That's one big punk…" Cynder remarked as she took a step backwards and growled.

Dark, however, hardly shared in the others' shock, and instead opted to groan as he buried his face in his front paws.

"I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut…" Dark whined.

With one last cackle, the spell punk heaved itself up and loomed over Cynder, Whirlwind, and Dark, then raised a hand and got ready to slap them down! Dark and Whirlwind winced as the punk's hand came in fast, but Cynder just snarled and flapped her wings! With that simple flap, an entire group of gigantic purple ghosts squealed with delight as they flew out from underneath Cynder's wings then flew out and swirled all around the spell punk!

As the ghosts spun around the spell punk, cackled and stuck their tongues out at it, the spell punk snarled and lifted its massive hand! Cynder, Whirlwind and Dark were completely forgotten in its mind as it swatted at the ghosts like they were annoying flies, but every time it tired to land a hit, the ghosts just swept out of the way and returned!

"Stay still!" The spell punk demanded as it failed to smack down yet another ghost, "You're even worse that flies!"

That ghost, however, just giggled as it flew out of the spell punk's range and blew a raspberry right in the spell punk's face! The spell punk growled as its face filled with warmth, then it let out a mighty yowl that shook the ground around as it dashed after the ghost… But the ghost just giggled and dashed off!

And aside of them, Whirlwind and Dark just stood in awe as all this unfolded! Their eyes were the only part of their body that moved as they tried to trace the spell punk's movement, then finally Dark yelped as Cynder grabbed him by the paw!

"Dark, come on!" Cynder cried as she leaped into the shadows with Dark still firm in her grip, "We've gotta hit that thing while it's still distracted!"

Whirlwind whipped around just in time to catch Dark and Cynder disappear in the shadows, then she herself nodded. With a flap of her wings, she tossed a gigantic storm cloud across the skies, then shot up and vanished within the cloud's soft, fluffy surface!

The spell punk, meanwhile, ducked underneath a strike from a duo of ghosts and grunted as the ghosts slammed into each other instead, then looked down and let out a sharp gasp!

"There's no escaping me, Skylanders!" The spell punk demanded as it swung its head all around, "Come out and face me right this instant!"

"You asked!" Dark cried from the shadows!

The spell punk gasped as it turned frontwards, then screamed as Cynder and Dark Spyro dashed out from its own shadow and tackled it right in the back! The spell punk cried in pain as the force sent it hurtling forward and towards a suspiciously large storm cloud that was rife with rainbow-colored lightning… Then it screamed as Whirlwind charged out from the clouds, now completely enveloped in searing rainbows and lightning! And the new look wasn't for show, either—she was so slick and fast that she tackled the spell punk in the stomach before it could fight back!

The spell punk yowled in pain as it slammed into the ground and left a nasty dent in the crackled tile, but it wasn't going to stop yet! It groaned as it creaked up from the ground, then it waved its arms and shot a round of magic orbs into the skies!

Whirlwind, Cynder and Dark all swept out of the way of the orbs just before those orbs could make contact, narrowed their eyes as they zipped around the spell punk and zapped it with a mix of fire and lightning!

All across the area, the spell punk stuck out across the massive pillars and buildings whose shadows blocked out most, it head held tall as it tried to swat away Whirlwind, Cynder, and Dark Spyro to little luck… Then screamed as it got zapped once more!

Its scream resounded across the skies and blew the thing clouds away, but Sunburn and Sonic Boom stood firm as they flew in place and examined the battle.

"Looks like they've got that thing pretty occupied!" Sunburn said as he turned to Sonic Boom, "We'd better get going before it realizes!"

Sonic Boom nodded, then she and Sunburn swept down and flew across the lower parts of the area, where the shiny tile floors had been replaced with cold, cracked stone that had way too many tiny holes in it. Wait, tiny holes? The two of them frowned and craned their heads down as those stone floors rumbled, then dashed up as sharp spikes leaped from the ground and stood just inches away from their paws!

"Something tells me flying low is out of the question here," Sonic Boom panted as she flapped just a bit higher.

The two of them kept their eyes on the spikes as they flew above the spike pits, which stood sharp and unrelenting as they flew forward… Then finally, Sonic Boom lifted her head and gasped with glee!"

"Sunburn! Over there!" Sonic Boom cried as she shook Sunburn's shoulder and jabbed a paw ahead, "There it is!"

Sunburn shook his head as he wrangled his shoulder out of Sonic Boom's grip, then groaned as he turned his eyes over to where Sonic Boom indicated. The moment he laid eyes on the path ahead, however, his exhaustion was completely forgotten as he broke into a smile!

"That's it!" Sunburn cried as he dashed across the skies, "The second beacon!"

There across from them laid a tall, silver beacon with a large blue jewel positioned above its top that glowed with a bright, aqua light completely unalike from the soft and dull lightning of the ground around. It shuddered and pulsed with magic as it beamed out light like a lighthouse at sea… There was no mistaking it, this was the beacon they were looking for!

Sunburn and Sonic Boom broke into wide grins as they flew right for the beacon, but those grins quickly faded as they started drifting lower and lower, all while tired pants escaped their bodies. Their legs drooped down and hung from their bodies as they struggled to keep their eyes open, almost as if the energy had been completely sapped from them!

"Just… Just what's going on?" Sunburn panted as he forced his head high enough to get one small glimpse of Cynder, Dark and Whirlwind's fight with the giant spell punk…

Then all of a sudden, his and Sonic Boom's wings completely gave out on them and they both went plummeting into the spiky abyss! The two of them clung to each other and winced as their eyes fixed on the spiky pits, so dreadful that they couldn't turn away, but trying to fly again was no use. Their wings were so exhausted, just one flap was an effort in itself.

So, they did the next best thing—scream! Their cries shot through the air as they dove down below, and they were loud enough to pull Cynder, Dark and Whirlwind away from their fight!

"Sunburn! Sonic!" Whirlwind croaked as she pulled herself up and tried her hardest to stay airborne, though it was a fight in itself! She practically waded through molasses as she tried to fly back up, and every time she succeeded, she grew so exhausted that she just dripped back down and forced herself up again in a never-ending cycle.

"What…" Cynder panted as she heaved heavy breaths that grew strained with every flap of her wings, "What's going on?"

Dark grunted as he forced himself to turn around, then he winced as he turned back to Cynder.

"Cyn, Whirlwind, we've got a problem!" Dark cried as he pointed towards the ground, "Look!"

All eyes turned back to the ground, but while Cynder, Dark and Whirlwind's eyes shrank with fear, the giant spell punk just broke into a round of hearty laughter!

Down on the ground, the barrier that had been set around the gravity augmentation device had been completely dismantled, and the button on its box glowed a bright red while the other two spell punks flew away from it!

"They… They started it…" Whirlwind gasped as her ears drooped down, "No…"

"You bet we did!" The other two spell punks cackled as they hovered over the gigantic spell punk's shoulders, "And now we're going to finish it!"

The gigantic spell punk cackled as the two smaller spell punks spun around its head, then the two spell punks dove into the giant spell punk's hood and completely disappeared! The gigantic spell punk warbled as its face rippled like a disturbed pond, then as its face settled, its body giant another ten feet in size! The giant spell punk chuckled as it examined its larger body, lifted its head and slapped Whirlwind aside!

"Whirlwind!" Cynder cried as she dashed down to Whirlwind's side and tried to grab her, then they both just crashed onto the floor instead!

Dark Spyro grunted as he slammed down into the floor beside them, then all three of them lifted their heads and bit their lips as the spell punk shot a massive magic orb right at them!

Cynder, Dark and Whirlwind cried in pain as the magic orb crashed into the ground, exploded between them and tossed them across the field, then as they finally hit the ground, they all grunted and curled up into shivering balls of pain. The blow had taken a ton out of them already, and with the added problem of the heavier gravity, it was like they had been hit by a truck!

They all grimaced and clenched their teeth as they tried to lift themselves up, but a simple wave of the gigantic spell punk's hands kept them on the ground well enough—for it summoned a trio of massive thunderbolts that crashed down on Dark, Cynder and Whirlwind! Their cries of pain pierced the skies and resounded well over the sounds of crackling electricity, and the thunder coursed through the bodies with such volume that it kept them pinned to the ground! They could barely even open their eyes as they gritted their teeth in pain…

But finally, Whirlwind collapsed to the ground and forced her eyes open long enough to focus on the gravity augmentation device.

"That's it!" Whirlwind winced as she dug her claws into the cracked ground.

Her teeth gritted against each other as she tried to repress the screams of pain she surely wanted to scream, then she dug her second paw into the ground and pulled herself across the floor with all she had.

"If I… Can just…"

Whirlwind shrieked and screwed her eyes shut, then bit back the pain as she lowered a horn that crackled with rainbow light.

"Get one good shot in…"

Whirlwind's horn shrieked with power as it was enveloped in bright, rainbow light that soon bled into a raw, hot white that crackled with rainbow lightning.

"That… That would be it!"

And right as Whirlwind said this, a massive bolt of rainbow lightning leaped out from her horn and charged right towards the gravity augmentation device! Whirlwind cried out in pain as the force sent her on her back, then she snarled and forced herself up as her eyes fell on the switch… Just in time for her lightning bolt to slam into its button and flick it back to normal gravity!

Whirlwind gasped and staggered back up to her full height as the strength returned to her body, while beside her Dark Spyro and Cynder grinned as they did the very same thing!

The spell punk, however, didn't seem to share in their joy! It gasped as it tugged on its hood, then a sonic shockwave rocked the area around and sent it spinning! The spell punk screamed as it went spinning backwards, then it shook its head and regained its balance right as the sound of cracking glass cried out! It turned its attention back to where the second beacon had laid… But the second beacon was no more!

That sonic shockwave had completely shattered its top, and its base quickly followed as Sunburn set it on fire with a massive flaming burst, a beacon that signaled well across the area!

The flames reflected in the spell punk's massive eyes as its jaw dropped in slow motion, then...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The spell punk cried as it pulled down the hood of its robes, "IT'S OVER, IT'S ALL OVERRRRRRRRRRRR!"

The spell punk that once seemed so cool and composed shrieked in panic as it spun around in circles and spat out panicked gibberish banter, then finally the panic just became too much for it! Its eyes shrank as its whole body started to rumble, then finally the giant spell punk was no more—for the shock split it back into the three spell punks that originally comprised it!

The spell punks grunted as they hit the floor, then rolled over and groaned as they rubbed their heads… Then their eyes went small as Cynder, Dark Spyro and Whirlwind loomed over then with wicked, snide grins on their faces.

"Now, what was that about stopping us from destroying those switches?" Cynder remarked as she swished her tail back and forth.

Her normally cool and composed air had turned to one sharp, snide, and almost kind of scary as she glinted down at the spell punks and let off a sneer… Then rows of sharp, pearly-white fangs popped out of her mouth and made the spell punks shriek!

The spell punks devolved into panicked, angry gibberish as they pushed all over each other in a mad dash for the entrance, but before they could reach it, Dark Spyro spun all around them and locked them into a ring of blazing purple fire! The spell punks all broke into a cold sweat as they huddled together and tried their best to dodge the flames, then their sweating grew hotter and more furious as Dark leaped out from the ring of fire and tagged in Cynder!

Cynder flapped her wings and bore her teeth as she leaped up and seemed like she was going to pounce right on the spell punks… But instead of pouncing, she leaped into the shadows and popped out from behind, then tackled the spell punks in the back and sent them flying across the skies!

The spell punks wailed and flailed as they tried to regain their balance, then screamed as Sonic Boom and Sunburn swept down in front of them—but they weren't the only ones doing the screaming! Sonic Boom inhaled as deep as she could, then with a single breath she blasted the spell punks back with a super-loud sonic screech!

Sunburn tailed them across the skies as they went crashing down into the ground, then flew beside Whirlwind and shared a nod with her. The two of them craned their heads up right as the spell punks rocketed towards them, then blasted those spell punks aside with a combined burst of flames and lightning!

The spell punks grunted as they crashed into the floor, then staggered up and winced as their eyes turned to Whirlwind, Cynder, Sunburn, Sonic Boom and Dark… Then they all shrieked as a sharp blade just narrowly grazed their backs and teleported away!

Whirlwind, Sonic Boom, Sunburn, Dark and Cynder all shared a grin as they looked towards each other, then with a flap of their wings they all took to the skies and flew back to the entryway!

"Now, if I didn't know any better," Dark remarked as he nudged himself between Sunburn and Cynder, "I'd almost say that victory gravitated towards us!"

And just like that, the cheerful air that surrounded them all completely vanished as everyone else shot Dark cold, lancing glares and made a couple tired coughs.

Dark, meanwhile, forced a chuckled as he flew back just a bit.

"What, are my puns that bad?"

§

"Well, looks like this's the place," Bash remarked as he walked through the halls, then yelped and jumped back as a massive, mechanical claw smashed into the ground and completely electrocuted it!

As the lightning flooded out of the claw and into the floors, the floor panels glowed a striking cyan and crackled with electricity so bright that it was more white than cyan, but only for a few moments before both the lightning and glow of the panels faded out once more.

Warnado winced, then tapped the panel ahead with his paw. Was it safe to proceed?… Actually, no, because while he was tapping it, another mechanical claw smashed into the floor and electrified it—and Warnado—once more! Warnado screamed as he spun back and stopped just moments before he could crash into Stump Smash, then clenched his teeth as he popped his head back out while the claws ripped through the floor below.

"Geez, talk about a shocker!" Warnado remarked as his face fell, "That was the nastiest zap I've ever felt in my life! And I got caught in a thunderstorm once!"

As Warnado shuddered and shook his head, all while tiny crackles of electricity flew off of his ears and sparkled as they hit the ground, Stump Smash winced and drew back.

"Don't ask me, buddy!" Stump Smash exclaimed as he shook his hammer hands, "I'm a tree! Trees and lightning are mortal enemies, just like trees and termites! I see those things…"—Stump Smash winced and drew back—"And it makes my bark shudder!"

Prism Break, meanwhile, stayed silent as he gazed over the thorns, all while they crashed and latched into the ground like a hawk's dug into their prey.

"We're gonna have to make it fast, but if I get one of my crystal waves going, I could probably surf us through there," Prism Break whispered as he cleared his throat and turned to Bash, "But, I'll need a strong enough swing from Bash to get it moving! Hey, Bash—"

However, Bash didn't listen to a word that Prism Break said! Rather, Bash's eyes were fixed on a simple, metal remote with a bright red button on its that had something written above it in words that couldn't be made out from Prism Break's distance!

"Bash, did you even hear a word I said?" Prism Break scoffed as he stormed up to Bash, "You can't just go glazing at random buttons, we need to hurry up and figure out a way to get past these things!"

"Oh, Prism Break!" Bash shouted as he jumped up and looked up at Prism Break, "I found a way to get past these things!"

"You did?" Prism Break tilted his head and frowned.

Bash nodded, then pointed towards the button he was eyeing—which, sure enough, had a label that read "Button to deactivate the electrocution system!"… Along with something else, but the text was so tiny and had been obscured in parts with what smelled and looked a bit like gunpowder, so it could barely be made out!

"Huh, that was easy," Prism Break remarked as he looked over the button.

Bash grinned as he leaned down, then he smacked his tail against the button and turned around just in time to catch the thorns completely freeze!

As all eyes fell on them, those thorns twitched a few times less, then stood tall and frozen before they folded back and disappeared into the side of the castle! And more importantly, with them gone, the electricity went away, too!

Bash, Warnado, Stump Smash and Prism Break all grinned as they dashed ahead on the now electricity-free platforms, but as they passed them by, none of them notice something long and sharp pop out of the ground below and pull itself out of the floor…

In fact, they were more concerned with rushing through the stark, vast hallways and getting to that beacon they were looking for!

"You know, for such an important mission," Stump Smash remarked as he strode down the guardless halls, "This sure is going smoothly!"

"No kidding," Warnado remarked as he cracked a smile, "I'd almost expect it to be a little tougher!"

Warnado chuckled as he spun forward, then his little spin came to a screeching halt as he rammed into a wall and spun backwards! Warbled cries echoed out from Warnado's shell as he dashed back into Stump Smash, Prism Break and Bash, but just before he could crash, Bash leaped forward and planted his front paws on Warnado in just enough time to stop him! Warnado grunted as he popped back out of his shell, then shook his head and turned back to the massive wall he had bumped into.

"This isn't a problem at all!" Warnado cried as he spun around and summoned a massive tornado, "Up, up and away!"

Warnado boomed with laughter as his tornado stretched up to the very top of the wall, its winds so powerful that they nearly blew Stump Smash off his feet if not for Bash and Prism Break holding onto him, then Warnado dissipated the tornado as he leaped onto the wall's top.

"Hey, guys!" Warnado shouted as he trailed further across the top of the wall, "I found something!"

Bash, Stump Smash and Prism Break all gasped and grinned towards each other, then turned their attention back to the wall and followed Warnado without hesitation! Stump Smash launched himself up with a mighty slam from his hammer-hands, while Prism Break summoned a crystal ramp and rode it up like a surfboard! Bash rolled up Prism Break's ramp right as Prism Break and Stump Smash leaped on top of the wall, then all three of them gasped as their eyes fell on the area before them!

Right in the center of a massive platform paneled with shiny glass laid a tall beacon with a bright orb on its top that beamed a cyan glow all across the area! It rang with a certain kind of magic as it stood tall. Surely, this had to be the beacon they were looking for!

"Care to do the honors, guys?" Warnado asked as he walked out from behind the beacon.

Bash, Stump Smash and Prism Break all nodded as they gathered around the beacon and lifted their arms, fully ready to smash to beacon to bits… But just before they could slam down and attack, something ovular and large jumped out of nowhere and tackled them all back!

They all dug their feet into the floor as they skidded backwards, then lifted their heads to find their assailant—a round, black object with a glowing red eyes that vaguely resembled some kind of seed pod, with sharp claws underneath its body like tentacles! The pod shrieked as it skittered back and forth across the floor, then finally it slammed its claws into the ground and sent shockwaves through the floor!

Stump Smash and Warnado bounced on their feet and screamed as the shockwaves passed underneath them, but Bash seemed hardly affected as he narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the pod's clawed legs.

"Bash, what're you doing?" Prism Break asked as he turned to Bash, then flinched and ducked as the pod shot a bolt of lightning towards him!

"That thing, its legs kinda remind me of something…" Bash whispered as he clenched his teeth, "But I can't remember what…"

Bash frowned and pursed his mouth tight as he racked his brain, but he was so fixed on that first pod that he didn't notice any else—like for instance, the second pod that cropped up beside him and tackled right into him!

Prism Break, Stump Smash and Warnado stepped forward and went to attack as Bash went flying, but right before they could, a third pod jumped out of the ground and zapped them with a massive laser!

Bash grunted as he slammed into the fence that surrounded then arena, then staggered up and winced as those three pods crowded around Stump Smash, Warnado and Prism Break. But, then his eyes fell on those mechanical claws that the pods skittered around on and grew wide.

"Wait a second, when I slammed that button," Bash whispered to himself as he lowered his head, "Wasn't there something scribbled next to it, too?…"

Bash winced as he lifted his head back up to the pods themselves, his jaw shut tight in contemplation, then he groaned and shook his head.

"Looks like I made a really made a big mistake!"

So, Bash knelt down and tucked his head underneath his chest, fully prepared to roll… But before he could, more of those pods cropped up from the ground like weeds, and with such speed that he screamed and jumped up! Bash winced and stepped backwards as the pods all crowded together, but his fear faded as they all completely passed him by!

Rather, their eyes were entirely on the beacon as they skittered around the platform, then with a shared screech they all shot their electrical lasers into the beacon's base and formed a round barrier made entirely of bright, crackling electricity around the beacon! It was completely blocked off, and unless they wanted to receive the shock of their life, trying to break through probably wasn't an option either.

Bash winced and stepped back as the beacon's yellow light poured across the arena, all while his eyes trailed between the pods, the blocked-off beacon and Stump Smash, Warnado and Prism Break, then he rolled forward and smashed right through the pods that cornered off Stump Smash, Prism Break and Warnado!

"Alright, guys!" Bash proclaimed as the other three all shook off residual static, "If we wanna smash that beacon down..."—Bash frowned as his bright red eyes fell on the pods—"We'll have to smash those pods first!"

"Right!" Stump Smash, Warnado, and Prism Break cried as all four of them jumped into the fray!

Bash immediately rolled forward and smashed through several of the pods, but before he could get any more, several of the surviving pods screeched and latched their tendrils onto him! The pods narrowed their eyes and hissed as their grip tightened, then those hisses turned to ear-bleeding screeches as electricity coursed their tendrils and right into Bash!… Except, Bash wasn't hurt at all! He just stood there and blinked as the lightning hit his scales and vanished in seconds, while the pods just hissed as they shocked him again and again to the safe effect!

"Awww, is that supposed to hurt?" Bash chuckled as the zapping continued, "Sorry, but my scales are rock hard. A little shock or two isn't going to keep me down!"—As another flash of lightning hit his body, Bash chuckled and held a paw over his muzzle—"Kinda tickles, though…"

Right as Bash said this, the pods all blinked, then turned to each other and whispered as they retracted their tendrils from Bash! Bash perked up and tilted his head as the pods whisper among each other… Then he cringed and broke into a cold sweat as the pods turned at him with burning eyes!

"Er, uh, am I interrupting something?"

Bash grimaced and backed up further as the pods' eyes glowed brighter and brighter, and just as he tried to scramble off, he got slammed in the side with a twin blast of bright, electrical lasers! Bash screamed as the electrical lasers' force sent him rolling backwards, then as he slammed into the electrical fencing, he grunted and planted face-first onto the floor.

"Okay, seems like I'm having a lot of bad ideas right now," Bash moaned as he pulled himself back to his shaky feet.

Bash snarled as he leaned in and got ready to roll back into the fray… But before he could attack, Prism Break jumped in front of him and mowed down an entire row of those pods with a massive green laser!

"Hold off on the rolling for a bit, Bash!" Prism Break cried over the sound of booming, blazing explosions as he grunted and fixed his eyes on the pods that skittered, "We'll take care of these things, just get—WHOA!"

Prism Break clenched his stalactite teeth and leaned back as a lightning blast narrowly grazed him and Bash, but it wasn't the only one! An entire string of massive lightning bolts crashed down from the skies and carved into the ground below, and all of them had their sights set for Bash and Prism Break!

The two of them screamed as they got ready to bolt out of the way, but before they could a bunch of tornadoes stormed by and completely blocked off the lightning! Instead of giving Bash and Prism Break the shock of a lifetime, the lightning just fed into the tornadoes and shot back into the pods!

The pods shrieked like dying animals as the lightning coursed through their circuitry and blew them to bits, but Bash and Prism Break didn't worry at all! They just stared with wide eyes as bursts of massive red and orange fire sprouted up from across the battlefield. They turned their heads around as the sound of whipping winds came from close by, and grins spread across their faces!

"Talk about a close call!" Warnado chirped as he spun up to Bash and Prism Break and grinned, "Seems like I spun in right on time, though!"

Another explosions sounded off close by and dyed the arena in red heat, and in response Warnado turned back to the battlefield, then his grin spread even wider as the flames died down!

All around him, the remaining pods were so disoriented from Warnado's onslaught, they had forgotten about everything else! They all beeped and skittered about as they tried to find some kind of sanctuary from the flames, or laid half-beaten on the floor as flames crept closer and closer to their metal bodies. Some of them even shrieked and dashed across the floor as flames burned at the top of their heads! But most importantly, they were all so distracted that they were completely open to attack!

And Warnado was definitely going to take that chance! He popped into his shell without a second of hesitation and zipped across the battlefield so fast that he could barely be seen to the naked eye… But the remnants of his trip left a big enough impression!

The pods' eyes dulled as they were split clean in half and collapsed onto the ground en masse alongside the rest of their fallen brethren, and with them gone, the electrical barrier that blocked off the beacon had finally vanished!

Warnado swerved back around and stopped behind Bash, then licked his lips as he got ready to withdraw back into his shell and hit the beacon! But, just as he drew his head back into his shell, Stump Smash bolted in front of Warnado with such speed that Warnado popped his head back out just to watch!

Stump Smash screamed at the top of his lungs as he bolted forward, then with one slam of his hammer-hands he propelled himself right off the ground and straight towards the beacon!

"HERE COMES THE SMASH!" Stump Smash cried as he slammed his hammers down on the beacon and shattered it to bits!

The fragmented remains of the beacon scattered across the floor as Stump Smash hit the ground, but Stump Smash just staggered up and grinned.

"Well, we came, we saw, we smashed." Stump Smash strode up to Bash, Prism Break and Warnado with the smuggest smile on his face, "Now, let's meet up with the others!"

"Right!" The three of them shouted back.

All four of them bore pleased, peaceful looks on their faces as they strode across the platform and got ready to embark back… But right as Prism Break lifted his hands and prepared to create a crystal ramp for them all to slide down on, the entire floor lit up in a bright, burning shade of yellow! Those happy looks of theirs completely faded as all eyes fell on the floor, which glowed even brighter by the second as the whole place whirred like a machine coming to life.

"Er, did anybody turn on the lights, by any chance?" Bash asked as he chuckled and stepped backwards. He took one more step back, then Bash screamed and bounded off the floor as a massive lightning bolt sprung from the ground and singed his feet!

Prism Break, Warnado and Stump Smash all gasped as their eyes turned to the floor, which glowed even brighter than before as electricity crackled from the panels! And it wasn't just the floor, either—the walls, the structures, the fences coursed with electricity so intense that it scorched everything around and turned the entire area into an electrical storm!

Bash panted out fast, quick breathes as he blew his feet off, while Prism Break grunted as the lightning zapped his stones, but otherwise the two of them were fine! Their bodies were so hard and rocky, the lightning barely even left a dent! However, the same couldn't be said for Warnado and Stump Smash! Stump Smash cried out in sheer agony as the lightning seared through his body and set his charred bark skin alight, while beside him Warnado leaped into his shell and shuddered as lightning lashed against his shell and sent sparks of electricity flying everywhere!

"Warnado, Stump Smash!" Bash cried!

He flinched as a thin streak of lightning zapped him between the eyes, but he quickly shook it off as he dashed over and swept Warnado onto his back. Bash nudged Warnado's shell a little bit while Warnado himself shuddered from the residual effects of the lightning, and in response Warnado popped out of his shell and twitched his ears.

"Hold on tight, Warnado!" Bash cried as he glazed over the edge and tucked his tail underneath his torso, "We're in for one bumpy ride!"

Warnado wrapped his legs around Bash right as Bash curled into a ball, then Bash bounded off the ledge and zoomed through the floors below at such speeds that it shattered glass and dug trenches into the stone! But, he wasn't alone on the mad dash either!

Just above him, Prism Break had formed a crystal wave and swept Stump Smash out of the electrical storm, then bolted right after Bash! The crystal wave was so mighty that it tore through the arena around—the fencing was snapped in half like it was made of twigs, structures crumbled and shattered into rubble and even entire ledges were smashed off like nothing. Stump Smash, however, didn't seem very concerned as he sat up and blew the embers from his hands, nor did Prism Break as he rode the wave like a surfboard!

For a moment, it seemed as though aside from the crackling lightning that burst from the floor and fencing in sparks, they'd almost have a chance for a quick and easy getaway. But right above them, several of the spiky, thorn-like tendrils twisted open and shot out massive electrical lasers!

The lasers crashed into the ground and sent electrical explosions all across the already-ravaged battlefield, and worse yet, they were skewing dangerously close to Bash! Bash grunted as he swerved out the way of one laser, right as another one shot just inches away from him and forced him to skid right! He breathed a sigh of relief as the laser's explosions sounded off a good bit away from him… Then froze and unrolled himself as the screeching resounded behind him.

"What the…" Bash whispered as he turned around, screamed and rolled back up as a massive laser chased right after him!

Bash booked it across the floor as the laser chased after him, but no matter how fast he rolled, the laser kept its speed! Bash sweat bullets and panted deep, heavy pants as he tried to keep his pace, but slowly even he started to lose speed—his rolls trailed back down across the paths he had scaled, and as his rolling stared to slow it almost seemed like he'd pop out and admit defeat... Well, until a quick zap from the laser sent him bolting forward with a yowl!

"I can't keep rolling on like this, not with the both of us together," Bash whispered under his breath as he pushed further, "Looks like I've got no choice!"

Bash whimpered as he went back to rolling as fast he could, then finally he veered right and zoomed right up a ramp that had been formed from the broken remains of a pillar and leaped into the skies.

"Hang on, Warnado!" Bash cried as he soared across the stratosphere, "I'm gonna need to shed some extra weight here!"

"WHAT?" Warnado shouted back as he looked down at Bash.

So, Bash spun around fast enough to shake Warnado off his back, then smacked Warnado with his tail and sent Warnado soaring straight towards Prism Break and Stump Smash! While Warnado screamed and soared through the air, Bash rolled back up and slammed into the ground, then bolted off with a new speed!

Warnado slid onto Prism Break's crystal wave and into Stump Smash's arms right as Bash disappeared from view, but he didn't really notice. After all, he was so disoriented that all he could do was pop out of his shell and groaned!

"Why are there birdies everywhere?…" Warnado groaned as he stumbled back to his feet.

Prism Break just sighed and shook his head as he cast a glance back down at Warnado, but the bright light and crackling of electricity gained back his attention! He turned his head frontwards, then screamed and hit the floor as a massive grid of electricity formed right in front of him! Luckily, his quick duck caused the wave to duck underneath as well, and they all just barely grazed getting a nasty shock, though they weren't out of the fire just yet! All around the top of the area, grids of raw electricity formed out of nowhere!

Prism Break clenched his jaw so tight that tiny cracks formed in his stalactite teeth, then swept aside of one grid and ducked underneath another! He wiped pebbles from his forehead as he lifted up his crystal wave… And sharply gasped as the way ahead was completely barred off by a massive grid! The grid was so tightly-woven, not a single escape route seemed to exist within it—all that could be seen was bright yellow light!

"Hold onto your hats," Prism Break cried as he stomped his foot on the wave, "We're going for a spin!"

Right as Prism Break said this, the back of the wave leaped up from the ground, and the crystal wave itself morphed into a crystal dart that encased Prism Break, Stump Smash and Warnado! Though the three of them screamed at the top of their lungs, the crystal's casing was so thick that they couldn't be heard at all as the crystal shot right through the grid completely unscathed! Sparks of electricity flew everywhere as the crystal burst through the grid, then with one last spin it turned back into a wave and tossed Stump Smash, Warnado and Prism Break into the air!

The three of them grunted as they landed back onto the wave, but while Prism Break immediately jumped back to his feet with a grin, Warnado and Stump Smash were less than pleased.

"Ugh, I never wanna do that again…" Stump Smash groaned as he hacked up acorns.

"That was worse than a nasty tornado…" Warnado moaned as he popped out of his shell.

Prism Break, however, just stayed cool and quiet as he narrowed his eyes, his gaze focused towards the oncoming entrance… Until the sound of screeching pierced the wind! Prism Break lifted his head, then gasped as a massive cannon leaned down and prepared to shoot a massive electric blast right at him! Just as it fired, however, Prism Break stomped his foot and raised the wave high enough to deflect it!

The electrical blast pushed against the crystal wave with all its might, and the crystal wave warred equally as fast while the electricity's heat spread to its rocky surface. Then finally, as the crystal was dyed red from heat, the front of the crystal wave melted and trapped the blast inside!

Stump Smash, Warnado and Prism Break leaped off as the electrical blast rattled around inside the crystal, then as they landed by Bash, the four of them all nodded and walked off to the entrance…

But froze in their steps as the sound of shattering crystals sounded off behind them!

Shards of green crystal rained down from below as that electrical blast leaped into the skies, while a face emerged from its surface and cackles rang across the skies. The electric blast squealed with delight as its electricity popped with energy, then it exploded and split into an entire horde of electrical spirits! The electrical spirits all chattered and giggled as they swept around Prism Break, Stump Smash, Bash and Warnado, then held their hands out as burst of lightning charged at their palms!

The four of them backed together while the spirits' lightning orbs grew brighter and brighter, then Prism Break snarled and smashed his hands into the ground! The floor quaked as green crystals tore through it from Prism Break's blow, then those crystals leaped from the ground and revealed that they weren't tiny at all! In fact, they were so massive that they completely blocked off the electrical spirits! While the spirits' angry chatter sounded out from behind the barrier, Prism Break dashed towards one of the back crystals, then carved a decently-sized hole into its surface! A round disc of solid crystal popped out from the hole Prism Break had carved, one he immediately leaped on as he dashed out of the crystals' shield!

"Everyone, this way!" Prism Break called as he gestured towards the entrance!

As Warnado, Stump Smash and Bash dashed out from the hole, Prism Break turned around and got ready to bolt towards the entrance… But before he could even take a step forward, the sound of ear-bleeding shrieks froze him in place!

All eyes turned to the top of the crystal shields, where the electrical spirits' faces had turned red with fury as they all pointed towards Prism Break! The spirits squealed and chattered among themselves, then they all spun around higher and higher into the skies, until finally they fused into one giant electrical monster! The crystals shattered like glass as the monster slammed its hands to the ground and roared, while the skies above it raged with lightning as if they shared in the monster's rage!

Bash, Stump Smash, Prism Break and Warnado all looked on in horror, then jumped back as a massive thunderbolt struck down right in front of them! As more thunderbolts crashed down around them, Bash, Stump Smash and Warnado all scattered in some desperate attempt to not get hit… Not that they had much luck!

Stump Smash screamed and bounced on his heels as the lightning nipped at his feet like an angry dog, and in his moment of carelessness he was swept up in a massive tornado charged to the gills with electricity and piloted by a very dizzy Warnado! Their screams harmonized as they slid across the floor and into Bash, who had just turned around the moment they came in, and all three of them were tossed into a nearby wall right as the tornado died! They all groaned as they slid down, but the crash of lightning beside them sent them on their feet and running once more!

But while all this was going on, Prism Break sat frozen as he watched the monster in silent contemplation. His eyes seemed a bit glassy as he glazed over the crashing lightning, then finally his stone silence was broken as a snide chuckle left his mouth.

"Hold on, I've got an idea!" Prism Break cried as he threw up a crystal wall!

Bash, Stump Smash and Warnado all dove underneath the wall's shelter right as the electric monster shot another massive thunderbolt, then all three of them crowded tight into a huddle around Prism Break. They all spoke in hushed whispers as they directed their eyes away from the monster… Then finally Prism Break released the wall and the all glared down the lightning monster.

The monster wailed as it got ready to smash its claws into the ground, but before it could, Stump Smash hacked out a bunch of acorns and slammed them right into the monster's face! The monster screeched and wailed as it clawed fried acorn shells from its face, then it snarled and directed its flare at Stump Smash!

Its hands crackled with electricity as the monster baled it into a fist and got ready to smash, but as its fist crashed down, a massive tornado blocked its blow! The tornado's winds sucked up the lightning and shot it right back at the monster, who wailed in pain as its own lightning was used against it! The monster swayed back and forth as it buried its face in its hands, then lifted its head and grunted as a gigantic crystal formed in front of it! The monster completely forgot about the pain as it clawed against the crystal, buts its surface was so firm that it couldn't even land a scratch!

Down on the ground, Prism Break slumped over and panted as his crystals shone with a faint green light, then he winced as he turned back to Bash.

"Bash… Now…" Prism Break grunted as he caught his breath.

Right as Prism Break pulled himself up, Bash rolled into a ball and slammed right into the base of the crystal! He rolled as fast as he could as he pressed further and further into it, and though it didn't fracture the crystal at all, it certainly heated it up!

The crystal turned from green to red as the heat seeped into its surface, but the monster didn't notice as it continued to screech and claw at the crystal… Then finally, part of crystal got so hot that one punch from the monster melted a hole into it! The monster gasped as its arm slid right into the crystal and tried to yank it out, but instead the rest of its body got sucked in!

Prism Break gasped with glee as the monster turned around in confusion, then he stumbled over to Bash and yanked Bash away from the crystal! And without Bash to heat it up, the crystal finally started to chill!

The monster slammed its electrical fists against the cooled crystal walls, but to no avail. The crystal had hardened completely, and this time the monster was trapped for good!

So, Stump Smash, Prism Break and Warnado smiled at each other and chuckled, then turned their gaze aside while Bash stumbled in and collapsed onto the floor.

"Did we do it?…" Bash groaned as his eyes spun in fifty different directions.

Stump Smash and Prism Break both chuckled and rolled their eyes, then knelt down and lifted Bash back to his paws.

"You bet we did," Stump Smash said as he and Prism Break lead Bash down to the entrance, "Now let's get back to the others!"

§

"Now, according to the map," Drobot said as he lifted his head, all while the eye slots in his helmet glowed with a faint light as a map's reflection overlayed on their glass, "The platform we seek should be straight ahead… But, it's heavily guarded."

The massive crowd of Skylanders behind Drobot peered ahead and steeled their gaze, because he was definitely right.

Up ahead, just far enough for the Skylanders to see but not be seen, greebles marched in rows like palace guards with their massive cannons and shiny swords that were practically as big as they themselves were! And though greebles weren't the brightest creatures in the book, there were way more greebles that they were Skylanders. Heck, those greebles practically flooded the halls until they were no more than a sea of pink and purple!

As a fleet of greebles marched down the way, everyone scrambled behind a particularly large string of talons that lined the halls, their chests raised and breath held as the greebles looked around. Then, they exhaled as the greebles shrugged and walked back up the halls.

"That was a close one," Stealth Elf whispered as she poked her head around the talon, "If those greebles found us, we'd be done for!"

"Precisely, which I why I planned ahead," Drobot whispered as he lowered the volume of his helmet, "Now, stand still, everyone."

All eyes turned to Drobot as he lowered his helmet, then out from it shot twin, massive spotlights that enveloped everyone… And in moments, they all turned invisible! They all gasped and raised their voices just a little as they examined their no-longer-visible forms, only for Drobot to immediately shush them.

"With this cloaking mechanism, we run less of a risk of getting caught," Drobot whispered as he turned around and ushered them ahead, "Now follow me."

So, they all tip-toed behind the fencing, all while they occasionally caught glances of the greeble guards as they sneaked past, then finally they stopped as they hit the end of the pathway!

There beside them was the largest concentration of greeble guards, all of which stood steadfast as they guarded a large, open platform with a second, equally big platform decorated in fancy thorns beside it. Surely, that had to be the platform they were looking for! And luckily enough, it seemed they arrived just in time—as the shields were down!

So, Zook grinned as he slung his gigantic bamboo bazooka over his shoulders, then with a click of the trigger, a mass of invisible mortars shot out from his bazooka and slammed right before the greeble guards!

The explosion was massive enough that it sent the greebles raining above them or flying down the halls… But thankfully, it cleared them all out! So, the Skylanders all dashed back into the halls, then rushed up to the end of the halls right as the cloaking device wore off.

"So, this is the platform we're supposed to take, huh?" Ghost Roaster asked as he examined it, then frowned as he trailed inside… And gasped as a large, metal gate with three keyholes popped between him and the platform!

As he drew back, however, Drobot just scanned it over and made a firm nod.

"All according to plan," Drobot proclaimed as he turned back to the crowds, behind him, "The keys that unlock this gate are on a string of islands just ahead of this one,"—Drobot raised his wing and jabbed it at a smaller platform beside them—"Those on the key retrieval team should head over to that platform there and depart."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere!" Boomer's voice cried!

Everybody gasped and looked around, but no matter where they looked, they couldn't find a trace of Boomer anywhere! He wasn't running up the halls with the rest of the Skylanders who held up the back, or swinging in from any mystery platforms or hidden doors! Just where was he?…

"I'm right up here, you dummies!"

Drobot narrowed his helmet's eyes as he lifted his head up, then snarled as the eyes turned from their warm, calming yellow to a bright red instead!

"Incoming attack detected!" Drobot cried as he lifted his wings and cast a massive shield of light over the area!

And he was right on time, too, because right as he lifted the shield, a massive storm of bombs flew down from above and crashed right into the shield! The sound of explosions rang across the battlefield as massive, brightly-colored flames burst against the shield's surface, then vanished and left behind nasty cracks and dents in the shield's exterior!

Drobot winced as he rushed to the shield's front and planted his paws on its surface, while his muzzle was clenched into a twisted frown. Though the lights on his wings were bright as the shield's cracks slowly healed, the way Drobot frantically pawed and tinkered with the controls on his suit showed that it wasn't easy! And worse yet, the bomb storm was just as unrelenting as before, and it seemed like every time one crack was repaired, another one crashed and left a new crack or dent in the cured one's place!

"These bombs are ruthless!" Drobot proclaims as he grappled for a knock on his suit with clammy paws, "Increasing shield volume…"

Right as Drobot started to turn the knob, however, something shot out from the skies and pounded on the shield with such force that it sent a mighty rumble through the entire area! And worse yet, the shield was already so weak that this one blow was just the thing needed to completely do it in! The shield exploded into bursts of orange light, while a mighty wind burst through the are and knocked Drobot down to the ground!

Drobot grunted as Camo and Zap rushed over and helped him up, then his eyes fixed on the very front of the arena, where an orange and purple clone of Boomer with blank eyes, a strange bracelet around its wrist and an ugly sneer stood in front of them and crossed its arms.

"Nice going, Evil Bomb Troll!" sneered a voice quite like Cynder's in tone as a purple and silver Cynder clone leaped out from the shadows beside the Boomer clone, "You stopped them right on time for once!"

All eyes turned to the dark skies above as the sound of spinning and whipping wind came from above, then down from several round platforms came evil clones of Warnado, Wham-Shell, Dino-Rang, Camo, and Ignitor, all of whom were made of the same energy and brandished the same strange bracelets! They all cackled and shot ugly grins at the Skylanders as they gained their footing, but the Cynder clone was the first to act as it stepped forward and raised an eyebrow.

"Remember us?" The Cynder clone asked as it licked its lips.

"It's you!" Everyone cried at once as they stepped back, "Those guys!"

Shocked gasps, pointed fingers and dropped jaws were seen all around as the Skylanders all stood transfixed on the strange clones… But their shock faltered as they pursed their lips and scratched their heads.

"Wait, just who were you again?" Camo asked as he tilted his head.

And just like that, the tension completely dissipated from the arena as the evil clones dropped their jaws, with some so shocked that their strength in their legs gave out and they planted face-first on the floor. This included the Evil Bomb Troll, who grunted as it stood up and rubbed its nose.

"Wait a second," the Evil Bomb Troll sputtered as it rapidly blinked, "You don't remember who we are?"

Drobot hummed as he tapped his chin while blue light flashed from the eyes on his helmet, then as the light faded he shook his head.

"I have no records of clones such as yourselves in my databases," Drobot affirmed as he shook his head.

"Same here," Flameslinger piped up as he shrugged his shoulders, "Don't ever recall seeing you around."

"Same here!"

"Not a clue."

"You all new or something?"

The Evil Bomb Troll snarled and gritted its teeth as those same cries of ignorance resounded from the crowds, and its snarl only grew wider as its eyes fell on a pensive Camo, who had his eyes set right on the Evil Bomb Troll.

"And what are you looking at?" The Evil Bomb Troll scoffed.

Camo hummed for a few seconds, then finally his eyes lit up with realization.

"Wait, I know you!" Camo cried as he pointed to the Evil Bomb Troll, all while a small sneer crossed his face, "You're the guy that I tricked into eating one of my exploding watermelons that time!"—Camo chuckled as he pressed a paw against his mouth—"I still can't believe you actually fell for that!"

The Evil Bomb Troll's mouth gaped open with rage as Camo laughed right in its face, but before it could say anything, Zap joined in the laughter as he raised an eyebrow at the Wham-Shell clone!

"And weren't you the guy that hit Kaos in the head with your mace when you tried to smack me and got him laid up with a concussion for a week?" Zap asked as he flicked his tail at the Wham-Shell clone.

A faint blue blush dusted the Wham-Shell clone's face as it stepped back and twiddled its fingers. "Er, maybe…"

"And for that matter," Lightning Rod boomed as he flew up from the crowds and landed at the head of the pack. He scratched his beard in contemplation as his eyes glazed the crowds, then finally his eyes fell on the Warnado clone. "I spy a foolish turtle who I tricked with my awe-inspiring mind into ripping Kaos's airship to pieces with its own tornado!"

"YOU!" The Warnado clone cried as it leaped forward and snarled, "He made me clean up the kitchen for weeks because of you!"

"Was that so?" Ghost Roaster remarked as he manifested out of nowhere and shrugged, "I guess you guys are so unremarkable, we just forgot that happened!"

And this time, it was the evil clones that gasped in horror as they all stepped back, their jaws dropped practically to their floor and their eyes wide as dinner plates!

"YOU FORGOT?! HOW COULD YOU FORGET WHAT YOU DID TO US?!" The Evil Bomb Troll cried as it stomped up and down and pulled on its ears!

"It's because of you that Lord Kaos demoted us! Since you beat us so many times, we got relegated to castle duty!" The Warnado clone cried as it spun forward, all while furious winds whipped around its shell, "We never get to go on missions anymore, and it's all your fault!"

"Yeah!" Cried the Wham-Shell clone as it swung its mace around, "I wanna hit stuff again!"

The evil minions' confidence completely vanished as they broke into angry gibberish and sputter, their blank eyes now alight with rage as they waved their weapons in the air like pitchforks and scrunched their brows…

"QUIET, ALL OF YOU!"

But then, they all fell silent as the Cynder clone sneaked out from the shadows and reappeared right in front of them all! It shot a scoff and a dismissive flick of its tail at the Skylanders, then its momentary scorn turned to confidence as it smiled back at the other clones.

"Now, I know you're all frustrated with those Skylosers right now, but don't forget why we're here!" The Cynder clone cried as it grinned and raised its bracelet-bound leg to the skies, "Once we beat them and prove ourselves to Lord Kaos, he'll make us some of the most powerful members of his armies!"

The other evil minions all blinked and frowned as they gazed back down at their bracelets, then smiles broke out across their faces as they jumped in the air!

"That's right!" The Evil Bomb Troll cried as it bounced up and down, "Once I blow up you Skyblunders, everything'll be smooth sailing for me!"

"Once I get that position, I'm going to ask Lord Kaos for the finest sword collection in all Skylands!" The Ignitor clone cried as it spun its sword around like a toy, "All those swords, my flames are stoked just thinking about it!"

"I'll be able to suck the life from every living being in Skylands with a position like that!" The Camo clone gasped as it nearly swooned, then turned its blank eyes to the Wham-Shell clone, "Evil Mace Crab, catch me!"

However, the Evil Mace Crab just blinked and stood silent as the Camo clone crashed onto the ground!

"Owch!" The Camo clone cried as it glared back at the Evil Mace Crab, "Evil Mace Crab, you were supposed to catch me!"

The Evil Mace Crab blinked and scratched its face. "I was?"

The Camo clone sighed and buried its face into its paws.

"I don't know why I bother."

"Now, I wouldn't count your hens before they hatch," Lightning Rod scoffed as he crossed his arms and shot them a smirk, "After all, you're no match for the likes of me, the mighty, awe-inspiring champion of all…"—Lightning Rod flexed his muscles as thunder crashed down behind him—"LIGHTNING ROD!"

Then, as several of the other Skylanders glared at him, Lightning Rod chuckled and withdrew his stance. "And the other Skylanders, of course."

"Oh, is that so?" The Cynder clone asked as it strode up. It wrapped its paw around the bracelet on its leg, then squeezed the bracelet and let go as it beeped. "Perhaps I should call in some reinforcements, then?"

That same, faint beep grew louder and louder as the Cynder clone held its arm to the skies, while the other evil minions squeezed their own bracelets and joined it. They seemed perfectly content and confident as they stood still and statuesque, all while those beeps grew louder and louder…

Lightning Rod snarled as he balled his hands into fists, then let out a mighty scream as he rushed forward and went to sock the Cynder clone in the face—but right behind he could, the ground rumbled and shuddered underneath everyone's feet! Lightning Rod gasped and flew out of the way right as the ground opened up below, then dashed right back to the other Skylanders' side! Just as he came within inches of them, however, something shot out from the ground with such force that it tossed him right into the crowd instead! Lightning Rod grunted as he slammed face-first into the ground, then got up and hastily dusted himself off.

"You saw nothing," Lightning Rod hissed as he shot a glare towards Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster.

But, they didn't pay any attention whatsoever to his little blunder, and neither did anyone else for that matter! All eyes were on the massive hole that had opened up in the center of the ground, where all sorts of monsters leaped up from the depths and landed on the ground right as the hole closed up!

They were all as large as houses, and ranged from all sorts of beasts and creatures recognizable and unidentifiable! Massive spell punks with tattered, patchy hooded robes that masked faces which leaked out strange magical mist, gigantic chompies that had faces made entirely of sharp teeth, mutated monsters that were haphazard mish-mashes of limbs and eyes and flesh, massive suits of knightly armor and weird spirits made of what could only have been some kind of unstable fusion of elemental energy that shrieked with even second they stood, as if their very existence caused them pain!

While the monsters all stumbled across the platform and tried to make some sense of their sights, Ghost Roaster shot a glare at Lightning Rod and scoffed.

"You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?" Ghost Roaster asked as he crossed his arms.

Behind them, Drill Sergeant beeped while his metal brows furrowed against his eyes, if such a thing was even possible for a robot such as himself. Silvery oil dripped down from his front as he drove in reverse across the battlefield, while his drill hands and laser blaster spun around like pinwheels.

"This is definitely a problem, sirs…" Drill Sergeant whirred as his gaze locked onto the monsters before them, "Now what are we supposed to do?"

Drobot clenched his jaw as his suit's eyes locked onto the monsters as well, then strings of Skylandian text ran across his suit's eyes before they turned a bright green. A soft chime echoed from Drobot's helmet as he released his tense jaw, then he nodded and turned back to the rest of the Skylanders.

"Flameslinger, take the rest of the key retrieval team and head for the platform!" Drobot cried as he turned back to the monsters and flicked out his wings' cannons, "I will join you once we eliminate these pests!"

"Understood!" Flameslinger cried as he zipped over and yanked Ghost Roaster from the front of the crowd, "Stealth Elf, Drill Sergeant, come on!"

The four of them bolted out from the crowds with their path fixed on that smaller platform they had eyed before, which remained sparsely noted or guarded in spite of the amplified forces. But just as they went to jump on, a massive red shield of crackling energy flew up in front of it and completely blocked it off!

"Sorry, but you're not getting out that easily!" The Cynder clone cried as licked its lips, "We've got far too much on the line to just let you go running around as you please!"

Snarls and low growls sounded around as all eyes turned back on the minions and monsters alike. It was a pretty crowded places, and those monsters looked super tough, to say nothing of how those minions seemed awfully snide compared to before. Surely, they had some kind of trick up their sleeve… But, the Skylanders couldn't just stop right there!

"If that's the case…" Drobot said as he swung his tail back and forth while his eyes flashed red.

"THEN WE'LL JUST FIGHT OUR WAY OUT!" Everyone else finished as they charged into the fray!

Zap and Camo stood back to back as they glared up at a trio of massive shadow knights with shiny armor covered in spiky bits and even sharper, shinier swords, then stumbled backwards as the knights charged right at them! For massive hunks of metal, the knights sure were fast as they strode over and got ready to swing… But Camo was even faster to slam down his paws and summon massive, thick vines out of nowhere! Camo grunted and narrowed his eyes as the vines lashed out and wrapped around the knights, but his tension quickly released as the vines tightened even further around the knights armor and crushed them like tin cans!

With the knights completely incapacitated, Zap zipped up from beside Camo and cleared his throat, then shot out a trio of massive lightning bolts right at the vines! The lightning was so powerful, it immediately set the vines aflame, and the knights with them! The knights screeched out hollow, ghastly screeches as the flames ate away at their metal and their bodies melted into hot, silvery goop.

Zap, however, just grinned as he basked in the fire!

"Now that's what I call taking charge!" Zap remarked as he held his head high!

Zap let out a few proud chirps as he slapped his paws against the floor, then screamed as a bolt of lightning zapped him in the back and tossed him right into the fire! Luckily, Camo had noticed immediately and pulled Zap back with a vine just before Zap could become flame-boiled dragon, but neither of them seemed particularly relieved as raspy cackles sounded out from beside them.

"Ha! Two can play at that game, you know!" The Cynder clone cried as it slunk out from the shadows with static at its lips.

It opened its jaw further as it got ready to fire, but right before it could, a pair of red-hot lasers slammed right into it and tossed it away from Camo and Zap!

While the Cynder clone stumbled backwards, Drobot lowered his wing cannons and charged up another laser blast. Before he could fire, though, the Evil Bomb Troll leaped right onto his back! Drobot's blast completely vanished as he thrashed back and forth in some vain effort to get the Evil Bomb Troll off his back, but it was no use! The Evil Bomb Troll was stuck tight!

"Woo-hoo!" Ride 'em cowboy!" The Evil Bomb Troll cheered as it held onto Drobot like a horseback rider stood firm and stuck to their horse… Or with all the thrashing Drobot did, the comparison of a raging bull was far more apt!

"I am not a horse, and you are not a cowboy!" Drobot cried as he bounced and spun around, then skidded across the floor, "Now, can someone get this thing off of me?!"

"You asked!" Cried a voice suspiciously like Camo's!

Drobot perked up and grinned as he turned aside with some expectancy of Camo's colorful foliage and cheerful grin, but what he was greeted by was Camo's evil clone instead! He gasped and tried to scramble away, but before he could a massive, thorny vine leaped from the ground and wrapped him in its grip! Drobot strained and gasped for air as he tried to escape the vine's grip, but he didn't even need to. Soon after, the vine flung forward and tossed Drobot right into the open jaws of a massive lava king! Drobot winced and grappled for his helmet's controls as the lava bubbled underneath him…

Then Drill Sergeant tackled the lava king aside! While Drobot landed on the ground and dashed off, Drill Sergeant swerved around and whipped out his laser cannons, his gaze fixed on the Evil Plant Dragon while targets crossed his eyes.

"Target…" Drill Sergeant boomed as bright light formed at the mouth of his laser cannon, "ACQUIRED!"

Scorching hot lasers screeched out from Drill Sergeant's laser cannon and raced right for the Camo clone, but the Camo clone just squealed and scampered off! Sweat poured down its brow as the lasers grazed over it and seared into the hearts of a trio of magic energy monsters instead, then it dug its paws into the ground and caught its breath.

For a moment, it seemed as though the Camo clone was finally in the clear, then a tidal wave of bony brambles lurched above and smacked straight into it! It cried out in pain as it slammed against the fencing, then grunted as its body slunk against the thorns. As it laid unconscious on the battlefield, Chop Chop chuckled and drew his sword high above his head, perfectly poised to finish it off for good…

But right before he could swing, his whole body completely locked up! All he could do was twitch and rattle as he stood frozen with his sword above his hands, at most only able to rock back and forth!

"What? I can't move!" Chop Chop cried as he twitched and grunted, "What happened to my body?"

Just behind Chop Chop, a spell punk cackled as it held its twisted, gnarly hands to its invisible face, then squealed as the Ignitor clone slammed straight into it!…

Not that Chop Chop could notice, seeing as how he couldn't even turn his head around. Chop Chop's limbs twitched and shuddered as he tried to fight against the spell punk's curse, but unfortunately he had no such luck! No matter how much straining and grunting he did, he was still frozen stiff! And unfortunately for him, that left him completely open!

The Evil Mace Crab grinned as its eyes fell on the completely frozen Chop Chop, then it dashed up to Chop Chop and smacked him in the chest with its mace!

Chop Chop screamed as he slid across the ground, then slipped right between two of the fenceposts and tottered over the side of the island! Chop Chop screamed as his whole body tottered over the edge, fully ready to fall off—but before he could plummet to his foreseeable doom, Stealth Elf leaped out of nowhere and yanked him up by his feet! With one swing, she tossed him back onto the battlefield, then withdrew her daggers and flipped off!

Chop Chop grunted as he slammed against the floor, then winced and pushed himself up.

"Thank goodness," he grunted as he turned around and drew back to his feet, "That curse seems to be dispelled now,"—Chop Chop stretched his arms for a moment, then turned around and waved towards Stealth Elf—"Thank you for the aid, Stealth Elf!"

Stealth Elf didn't seem to hear him at all, for her attention was entirely focused on the Dino-Rang clone as she launched up and slashed her daggers right across its face! The Dino-Rang clone wailed as it lumbered backwards, then winced as it held a hand over the massive gash Stealth Elf had left in its face. Its mouth twitched just enough to unveil rows of sharp, very angry teeth, then it reached into its armor and tossed its boomerangs at Stealth Elf as she jumped back! However, Stealth Elf just shrugged and disappeared right as the boomerangs came within range of her! They only ended up clashing against each other and clattering to the floor!

"What?!" The Dino-Rang cried as it whipped its head back and forth, "Where'd that thing go?"

"I don't know if you should be worrying about that!" Cackled Ghost Roaster's shrill voice from afar, "I think you should be more worried about what's coming for you!"

The Dino-Rang clone grunted as it turned towards the source of Ghost Roaster's voice, only to get railroaded by a gigantic flaming green skull—or in other words, Ghost Roaster himself! Ghost Roaster cackled with glee as he smashed into the Dino-Rang clone and tossed it right into the Ignitor clone, then as the two clones crashed into the fence, Ghost Roaster turned his attention to a cluster of trembling spell punks!

The spell punks squealed as they dashed off, but Ghost Roaster just zoomed in front of them and smirked.

"Boo!" Ghost Roaster cried, much to the spell punks' horror!

The punks all squealed as they leaped into the air, then zipped into the skies fast enough that Ghost Roaster couldn't make chase! As the spell punks dashed off into the horizon, Ghost Roaster released his giant skull form and wiped off a few stray embers from his forehead… Then turned around and screamed as a massive bamboo mortar flanked by massive flaming comets shot down from the skies and exploded into a massive patch of bamboo and flames!

Ghost Roaster gasped as he turned back into his skull form and zoomed off across the battlefield, all while more bamboo mortars smashed into the ground around. But just where were they coming from?

One look at the heart of the battle gave that answer, as over there Zook and Eruptor shot their attacks everywhere they could as they raced after the Warnado clone! The Warnado clone jeered and laughed as it flew off on its tornado, but Zook didn't seem to find it funny at all as he clenched his teeth and wrapped his finger around the trigger!

"Hey, get back here, man!" Zook cried as he fired another mortar right for the Warnado clone's tornado. But, the Warnado clone swerved out of the way just before it could land!

Zook winced as the mortar slammed into the walls and exploded into another patch of bamboo, then slunk down and panted as his bazooka rolled out of his hands. Sappy beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he grappled for his bazooka and went to lift it up… But he was so exhausted that just lifting it caused him to topple backwards!

Eruptor growled as Zook collapsed beside him, then wound up his arms as if he was getting ready to fire once more, then he screamed and tumbled backward as the Warnado clone zoomed off and cast massive winds across the area, winds so powerful it tossed everyone off their feet!

And Ignitor seemed to note this as he slashed a shadow knight in half! His flames dulled a bit as he turned to Zook, then he turned his attention to the Warnado clone as it cackled and flew all around the arena. Ignitor scoffed, then he dropped his sword and leaped out of his armor!

His one soul split into twin flaming mortars as he left his armor, but while one returned to his armor, the other burst forward and slammed right into the Warnado clone's hurricane! The flames ate away at the wind and completely nullified the hurricane, much to the shock of the Warnado clone as it collapsed and bonked on the head on the floor.

The Skylanders all frowned as they drew back, their eyes trained on the battlefield. All around them, both the minions and their monsters had been rendered unconscious and sprawled across the floor among pools of blood and melted armor, dents in the floor and patches of damage and the remnant of massive attacks… But was it really done?

Beep!

Flameslinger and Stealth Elf both flicked their ears as they turned around the arena.

"What was that?" They asked each other.

Beep beep!

The other Skylanders all winced as that faint beep grew slightly louder than before… Just where was it coming from?

Beep, beep beep!

Drobot winced as he toyed with the control panel on his suit, then his paw slipped from the panel as his eyes fell back on the battlefield!

"Everyone, look out!" Drobot cried as he flared his wings out, "It seems as though we are not done yet!"

Back on the battlefield, the minions' bracelets beeped and glowed with an ominous light, a light that spread further to the minions themselves as they squeezed their bracelets with all the power they could muster.

"You really thought you won, didn't you?" The Cynder clone glowered as it snarled and squeezed its bracelet, "Sorry, but we're not going down that easily!"

The Cynder clone released its paw from its bracelet and held that bracelet to the skies, then massive winds pressed down from above and nearly blew everyone off their feet!

While the Skylanders and minions alike struggled to keep their footing, a swarm of platforms descended from the skies, and the sounds of rushing wind were drowned out by gnashing teeth and growls… Could it be? The platforms screeched to a halt as they hovered above the battlefield, then down from their tops dropped even bigger, even nastier mutant monsters than before!

The Skylanders all winced as the mutants piled in, but nonetheless they pushed forward and charged, but the mutants just rushed forward and slammed them all back! For once, they were evenly matched as the mutants swept through and beat them down, with the Skylanders barely able to hold their own against the onslaught!

Ignitor and Chop Chop were tossed backwards from a knight's blow, while not far from them, Eruptor soared through the skies and crashed into the ground with such force that he completely dented the floor below! A spell punk's blast sent Zap and Camo tumbling across the battlefield aside of those three, while in the skies above lightning crashed down and caused flames to erupt across the floor as Lightning Rod struggled to take down the energy monsters that had surrounded him...

Then ultimately, Lightning Rod himself was shot in the back and slammed into the ground, right beside Drobot! Drobot winced as he helped Lightning Rod back to his cloudy feet, then Drobot cranked a knob on his helmet and winced.

"Everyone, it seems as though we are outmatched!" Drobot cried as he let go of Lightning Rod and fired up his thrusters, "We must retreat immediately!"

An eagerness to battle turned to desperation as everyone lurched back up to their feet and tried to flee, but no matter which way they turned there were mutants ready to fight, or minions ready to take them down! Was there any sort of hope to win?

Drobot frowned as he swept underneath a massive chompy's bite, then frowned and turned on a scanner as his eyes fixed on the Cynder clone. While the Cynder clone happily zipped around and zapped whoever it could with its lightning bolts, Drobot stood still and silent as the scanner quietly beeped and spun.

"What odd signatures…" Drobot whispered as he zeroed in on the bracelet the Cynder clone wore, then turned his attention to the other bracelets, "Perhaps…"

Drobot smirked, then twisted a knob on his suit and pushed it in! As the knob sank into his helmet, a large megaphone popped out of his helmet's crest and blared out the loudest wail it could!

All parties alike completely dropped their battles as they crumpled to the floor and covered their ears, so petrified by the siren's cry they couldn't even bring themselves to move… All save for Drobot, who just zipped around the battlefield, yanked the other Skylanders from their places and dropped them off at the edge of the fields!
With everyone deposited, he summoned a holographic shield made of light so bright it shielded them all from view, then dropped the siren and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, I have an announcement," Drobot proclaimed as all eyes fell on him, "I believe I know how we can stop these minions."

Though the other Skylanders were still a bit disoriented as they rubbed their eyes and flicked their ears, the words Drobot spoke were enough for them to completely jump back to their senses!

"So, what is it, then?" Stealth Elf asked as she crossed her arms.

Drobot ushered everyone into a tight huddle as he whispered out his plan, paw motions and all. The shield dropped right as Drobot withdrew from the huddle, and his eyes turned on the Cynder clone as it reeled back and stumbled to its paws…

Then he shot a laser right at its bracelet and shattered the bracelet to pieces! The Cynder clone lifted its paws as its broken bracelet clanged to the floor, then gasped as beside it, the barrier that blocked off the smaller platform flickered and shuddered!

All eyes went wide as they fell on the flickering barrier, then the Skylanders cheered as they jumped into the fray!

The minions all gasped as they rushed forward and went to intercept… But right as they did, a massive barrage of flaming arrows and lightning bolts shot right at them! They all flung their arms in front of their bodies as the storm rushed towards them—and little did they know, this was exactly what the Skylanders wanted!

One by one the arrows and bolts slammed into their bracelets and completely fried them, and with those bracelets gone, the barrier that blocked off the smaller platform completely vanished!

Flameslinger, Zap and Lightning Rod all smirked at each other, then cast those smirks back at the minions! However, the minions didn't seem to share in their joy. If anything, they were more terrified than anything as their eyes fell on the unveiled platform!

"Secure the platform!" The Cynder clone cried, "We can't let the Skylanders escape!"

The minions made a mad dash for the smaller platform, but before they could reach it, a thick, green fog coated the entire area! They completely stopped in their tracks as they coughed and hacked out verdant smoke, and the ones that didn't were at a complete loss as they looked around for any sight of their surroundings but were met with a blanket of green instead!

On the other side of the fog, Stealth Elf yanked two empty smoke bomb shells off the ground and stuffed them into her pocket, then beckoned towards the others before she disappeared into the fog.

As Stealth Elf's faint silhouette grew further and further in the distance, Drobot twisted a knob on his helmet, and in response faint beams of light emerged from Drobot's eyes!

"Follow me, everyone!" Drobot cried as he turned back to Ghost Roaster, Drill Sergeant and Flameslinger, "We have no time to lose!"

So, with Drobot as they guide they dashed through the fog as its grip on the arena started to thin enough that some of the area around had become visible once more, then popped out right in front of that smaller platform!

Stealth Elf had already climbed on by the time they arrived, so she just sat over its edge and quirked an eyebrow as they finally arrived.

"Took you long enough!" Stealth Elf cried as she stood up and gestured towards the platform, "Now hop on!"

So, one by one Drobot, Flameslinger, Drill Sergeant and Ghost Roaster all leaped onto the platform, then Stealth Elf slammed a button on the inner part of one of the tendrils!

As the button receded into the tendril itself, sharp thorns cropped up in front of the platform's entrance and blocked it off from entry or exit, then the platform itself clanked and whirred as it slowly spun away from its base.

"Now exiting, now exiting…" Droned a dull mechanical voice akin to that of a dying machine as the platform whirred further and further out of view.

The fog dissipated in an instant from the winds the platform cast down, and all eyes turned to the skies as the platforms flew further and further away!

The Cynder clone growled as it bolted forward and got ready to fly off, but before it could even take off, a bolt of lightning zapped it in the side and completely threw it off balance! It clenched its teeth as it skidded back, then finally it dug its claws into the ground and huffed.

"Sorry 'bout that, dudette," Zap cried as he skated in front of the minions on a trail of sticky slime, "But we're your opponents now!"

As Camo, Lightning Rod, Zook, Ignitor, Eruptor and Chop Chop all ran up behind Zap, the Cynder clone just huffed and drew back. Its eyes first trekked back to its fellow minions, then towards the massive monsters that were scattered across the battlefield… And finally, it sighed and lifted its head.

"Fine then," it said as it drew back and fired up another bolt of lightning, "We've got plenty of muscle for all of you, anyways!"

§

Flameslinger frowned and bit his lip as the main sight of the fortress below them drew further and further away, until it was no more than a barely visible dot in the distance. Though he didn't say it, it was clear what was on his mind—surely, he was worried for the rest of their teammates as they fought against the oncoming storm of minions below them.

After all, that certainly seemed to be what Stealth Elf, Drobot and Drill Sergeant were worried about as they leaned against the thorns that blocked off the platform from the rest of the world.

As Flameslinger brushed his hands against the thorns that kept them from falling into the sky below, Ghost Roaster frowned and floated over beside him, almost as if he was just as worried… But not for the same reasons, given the way he eyed the thorns above them.

"Hey, you think these things are just for show?" Ghost Roaster asked as he rubbed his bony knuckles against the massive, dark purple thorns that decorated the platform.

As Ghost Roaster rubbed his hand against it, the thorn above them twitched just slightly enough to not be noticed. Well, at first. It twitched again, then a third time, and soon enough it started shuddering and twitching enough while Ghost Roaster winced and jumped back.

"What did I do?" Ghost Roaster asked as the thorn jerked up… Then screamed as it slammed right into the platform and sent a massive shockwave around its center! Yeah, those thorns were definitely not for show.

Luckily, everyone had jumped away right before they could get caught in the crossfires but it seemed as though their concerns weren't over quite yet! While they gathered their bearings as the thorn pulled itself up, the platform underneath them warbled and shook.

"Yeah, that's definitely not a good thing," Stealth Elf remarked.

They all looked down and caught sight of the platform while pulses of purple energy burst from its floor, then they all gasped as it shuddered and split in three!

Before they knew it, they were all separated onto three spinning platforms—Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster on one, Drill Sergeant and Drobot on a second, and then finally just Stealth Elf on the third and last.

Flameslinger gasped as he ran up to the platform's entrance and grabbed right onto the thorns, then grunted as he pulled on them in some sort of faint attempt to re-route or stop the platform.

"Drobot, what's going on?" Flameslinger cried as he pushed his face between the thorns.

"I am not sure!" Drobot called back as he fiddled with his suit, though the platform he sat on had grown so far away that he could barely be heard, "I am trying to re-combine these platforms, but I am not coming up with any solutions!"

"Forget about that!" Stealth Elf cried from the other side, "What's that over there?"

Drobot frowned and lifted his head as all eyes turned to the distance, where three colorful specks—one red, one orange and one green—stood out among the endless spreads of dull blue skies and thick gray clouds. They glowed with a kind of ominous feeling, almost as if there was something about them that was kind of important…

"It is just me," Ghost Roaster said as he peered at the red speck between the platform's fence, a moment taken to dodge their looming tips, "Or does it seem like we're going over there?"

Sure enough, it did seem as though their platform was trailing closer and closer to that red speck… For a minute. Right as Ghost Roaster pointed this out, the platform itself immediately drew to a stop and hung in midair, yet its engines whirred and revved as if it was still going!

Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster frowned as they tilted their heads down at the floor, then peered at each other as a dull chime sounded from the floor.

"Attention passengers, your destination has been located," said an emotionless, robotic voice, "Thus, your platform will now engage in full-speed mode. Please keep all arms, legs, wings, tails and other appendages within the platform, and make sure all belongings are secured…"

As the announcer droned on, however, the platform's engine onto grew louder and louder, until finally all its revving and screeching completely drowned out the announcer's voice! Something in it clunked as the platform tilted just slightly… Then finally, with one last clunk, it sped off at such a high speed that it was practically a blur!

Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster screamed as they were tossed backwards and pinned to the thorns that blocked off the entrance, and their clothes flapped in the intense wind as the platform drew closer and closer to the island. Then finally, it smashed right into something with such force that both of them were tossed face-first onto the floor! The platform gently turned around as the two of them groaned and pulled themselves off the floor, and with a friendly chime the thorns that blocked off the platform's entrance receded!

"Attention, passengers, you have arrived at your destination," the announcer droned once more, "Please make sure all belongings are still in your possession as you exit the platform, and thank you for riding the…"—The announcer's dull voice swapped to a crackly, static-filled recording of Kaos's voice—"EVIL FLYING PLATFORMS OF ULTIMATE DOOM!"

Flameslinger's head spun around as he groaned in sheer agony, his face tinged a shade of green so sickly that it stood out well against his bright green skin, and it only grew greener with illness as Ghost Roaster tugged onto his arm.

"Flameslinger, you can whine later!" Ghost Roaster cried as he yanked Flameslinger back to his feet and pointed ahead, "Look!"

Flameslinger whimpered as he swayed back and forth across the platform, then finally he found it within him to pull his head up and gently pull his blindfold down far enough to catch a glimpse.

The red speck they had come to, as it turned out, was actually an entire island made of warm red stone and covered in cracks that glowed white with heat! Waterfalls of lava poured down from twin fountains shaped like the heads of massive lava kings and formed a pool of lava at the very back of the island, while at the very top rested some kind of tall, mountain-like formation of volcanic rock with a top obscured by thick gray clouds. But most importantly, laid at the heart of the island was a round, red orb seated atop a cone made of metal! Its round top was about the size of the round depression in that gate from before… Surely, this had to be the key they were looking for!

"Talk about lucky!" Flameslinger cried as he fixed his blindfold around his eyes, his illness now completely forgotten, "We can just get the key and go!"

Right before Flameslinger could run off, however, Ghost Roaster grabbed Flameslinger by his forearm and yanked him back!

"Hold your horses there!" Ghost Roaster scolded as he glared back at Flameslinger, then snarled as he turned that glare back to the key, "Something about this doesn't seem right. Why would something important like this just be sitting around here, all on its own?"

"Maybe someone dropped it?" Flameslinger wormed his way out of Ghost Roaster's grip and shrugged, "Whatever it is, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth!"

Flameslinger chuckled and dashed off with such speed that flames formed in his tracks, then he skidded to a halt right as he came up to the key!

"I'm telling you!" Ghost Roaster cried as Flameslinger knelt down and went to grab the key, "This isn't right!"

"Nothing about this place is! It's Kaos's stomping grounds!" Flameslinger shot back as he turned around to Ghost Roaster and chuckled.

Flameslinger drew his hands forward and came just inches within wrapping his hands around them and taking off… But then he stopped. His ears twitched as underneath him, small pebbles of volcanic rock bounced up and down across the floor.

"I can hear something!" Flameslinger cried as he yanked the key off the ground and cradled it tight.

"What?" Ghost Roaster cried.

Flameslinger grimaced as he stretched his legs. "Yeah! There's something rumbling underneath here, and it sounds really strong!"

Flameslinger bent his knees and prepared to dash off, but right as he took his first step, the ground underneath him completely exploded into a shower of hot lava! The force was enough to toss him onto the ground, while the key flew out of his hands and wedged itself between two particularly large volcanic rocks aside of him! He wasn't very worried about that, however. Rather, he jumped to his feet and dashed aside as a massive volcanic rock smashed onto the place he stood just moments earlier and smashed in two halves!

Fire and lava burst everywhere as the eruption burned brighter and brighter, but those weren't the only things to come out! Growling and gnashing noises echoed among the spew of lava as faces formed in the eruption's massive lava geyser, then out from the lava spew jumped a trio of huge lava kings that were more lava than rock, all flanked by an entire fleet of strange creatures that seemed as though they were made of pure light!

The floor closed up behind them as their feet hit the ground, almost as if there was never an eruption in the first place, but the lava kings and light creatures didn't seem to mind as they set their eyes on Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster and licked their lips.

Flameslinger snarled as the lava kings and light monsters all crowded around him, then dashed across the molten rock floors! With one last stride, Flameslinger leaped into the air and flipped around mid-jump as he whipped out his bow, fully ready to shoot them down with some explosive arrows. Before he could fire, the light creatures fired their own blasts of explosive light right at him!

They acted so fast that Flameslinger had no time to react, and before he knew it Flameslinger was blown out of the air and sent tumbling back onto the floors! His bow slid out of his grip and spun around on the floors as he grunted and tried to push himself up… But, the surprise blow had taken so much out of him, he just collapsed back onto the floor and groaned.

And with him incapacitated, the lava kings had some easy prey! They all cackled as they bounded forward and opened their jaws, all while white-hot lava bubbled in their mouths! They cackled as they grew inches away from Flameslinger, and lifted their claws, ready to strike!

Then just before they could, another cackle pierced the air as Ghost Roaster bolted forward and tackled them down with one fell swoop from his giant skull form! Ghost Roaster hovered in front of Flameslinger and detransformed as the lava kings piled onto the floor and groaned, all while their massive shadows cast over the light creatures…

Who then shrieked as their bodies shrunk within the shadows' grip!

Ghost Roaster hummed as he raised an eyebrow at the panicking light creatures, then his light trailed to the massive, mountain-like rock formation that loomed over the island and occasionally rumbled with the rest of it. Ghost Roaster bobbed his head and grinned, and with one flip he transformed back into his giant skull form! Ghost Roaster cackled as he slammed into the side of the rock formation and left a massive dent in its stone, but that wasn't all! With every crash on his end, the rock formation shuddered and rumbled while thin streams of lava burst from its cracks… Then finally, the rock formation was revealed to be a rock formation not, but rather a volcano as it exploded and spewed lava everywhere!

Flameslinger gasped and scrambled backwards as the lava rained onto the arena, then dashed over and grabbed his bow from the floor just before it could get eaten by the oncoming lava rain.

"Ghost Roaster, what in your right mind do you think you're doing?!" Flameslinger demanded as he dashed away from another massive glob of lava that rained down from the skies.

Ghost Roaster just grinned as he turned back to normal and turned to Flameslinger. "You'll see!"

A chorus of groans sounded from the skies as tens of lava kings burst through the clouds and rained down on the island… But they came down from such great heights that the moment they hit the ground, they immediately fell unconscious! More and more lava kings crashed down onto the floors and littered the area in piles, while their shadows cast over the area until it had all turned mostly dark.

And without the light to power them, the light creatures shrank further and further until they completely blipped out of existence!

Ghost Roaster beamed as his eyes glazed over the masses of unconscious lava kings… Well, unconscious save for one that groaned as it lifted its head, then cried in pain and fell unconscious once more as Ghost Roaster bonked it on the head with his chain.

"And now that that's been taken care of…" Ghost Roaster said as he flipped back into his giant skull form and flew across the area, "Time to get what we came here for!"

Ghost Roaster's cackles faded into the distance as he disappeared between two large piles of lava kings, and a clink sounded off as he dashed back with the key held tight between his jaws! He flipped back to normal, then grinned as the key dropped into his hands.

"I'm getting back on the platform," Ghost Roaster said as he trailed back to the platform, the key still tight in his grip, "This place is too hot for me."

Flameslinger nodded as Ghost Roaster disappeared from view, but he wasn't quite ready to leave just yet. Rather, he drew his bow with his arrows fixed on the piles of lava kings that twitched and stirred in their unconscious sleep… Then with a single pull of the string, his arrows soared right towards them and blew them all up in a fury of hellfire!

"Can't be too safe," Flameslinger cried as he dashed back on the platform just before he could be engulfed in fire!

The platform's gate shot back up, and with a clunk the platform spun away while the red glow of the island faded into nothing. The island's cold, volcanic rock grew duller and colder the further apart they grew from it, but Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster just smiled down at the key they had retrieved. Flameslinger gently patted the key's round top, then he drew back his sleeve and tapped his communicator's screen. A bright green glow emerged from its shiny glass surface, then with a simple tap it changed to a blue screen with some kind of pointy line on its surface.

"Stealth Elf? Drobot? Drill Sergeant? Can you hear me?" Flameslinger asked as he held the communicator to his mouth, "We managed to get the first key! How are things on your ends?"

At first, nothing but faint crackling emitted from the communicator's speakers, but finally panting and louder static emerged from the speakers as waves ripped through the line on its surface!

"I'm… On… Green… Key…" Garbled out a voice that sounded vaguely like Stealth Elf's, though the static was so thick that her voice could barely be made out among its noise, "Punk… Blast… Talk…"

Flameslinger frowned and flicked his ears as the transmission stopped short out of nowhere, then drew his sleeve back over his wrist. He lifted his head to Ghost Roaster, who only shared his concerns with a nod.

"She's probably on that one," Ghost Roaster remarked as his eyes fell on the green speck that stood to their right, "Hope she's doing alright…"

Flameslinger said no words, but the nod he shared as he turned his head to the skies was probably good enough a sign that he shared Ghost Roaster's concerns.

§

And was Stealth Elf doing well? Well…

"Hyah!" Stealth Elf cried as she backflipped off of a massive chompy's belly and drew her daggers, "Didn't see me coming, did you?"

The chompy groaned as it waddled backwards and collapsed on the floor, then it disappeared in a puff of lavender smoke and unveiled a council of spell punks in colorful robes who cackled as their blank eyes had fallen on her.

Their gazes were so piercing despite their cheery laughter that Stealth Elf couldn't help but draw back, then she grunted and gripped her daggers.

Around her, she rested on a bright green island with a carpet made of dark green leaves that had spring green grass poked out from their massive barrier, while thick vines trailed down over walls of verdant bark. Behind her, a massive, crystal-clear waterfall poured from a canopy of tree leaves, so bright that it shone like jewels in the light! A sight like this might have been a refreshing change of pace in any other situation, but the spells punk that completely crowded the arena spoiled the mood.

While the spell punks laughed, a couple of spell punks clad in purple and pink robes waved their arms and grinned, then shot their hands out while masses of lavender, glittery smoke leaped from their fingertips! The smoke coated the arena in a thick mist at first, then it solidified into bulky, humanoid forms before it transformed into the image of shadow knights!

One of the shadow knights raised its swords to the heavens as it dashed after Stealth Elf, but Stealth Elf just side-stepped its blow! While it got its sword lodged into one of the thick vines that covered the walls and futilely tried to pull the sword out, Stealth Elf rolled underneath another knight's swing, then twitched her ears and vanished just before the next knight could strike! While the knights craned their heads back and forth as they scratched their helmets, Stealth Elf slipped out of the fray underneath the cover of invisibility and winced.

"These guys sure are persistent," Stealth Elf whispered as her eyes fell on the spell punks, then zeroed in on the purple and pink-robed spell punks as they chatted among each other. "But, if I could just get those ones out of the picture, that should make things easier!"

Stealth Elf leaned in, then dashed right towards the purple and pink-robed spell punks and whipped out her daggers! She cried out as she leaped in the skies, and in the moment her invisible cover shed itself—but that didn't matter at this point! She had come in so close, those spell punks could only watch in horror as Stealth Elf slashed her daggers right across their faces!

Stealth Elf backflipped away as the spell punks collapsed to the floor and wailed as their covered their faces, while sparkly purple liquid leaked across their bodies like blood. She smirked underneath her mask as she spun her daggers around and went in for the kill… But right before she could jump, a spell punk in green and yellow robes rushed over to the ones she injured and cast a spell over their bodies! Green sparkles cascaded down onto the spell punks' faces, and in response the blood seeped back into their bodies and they leaped back into the skies!

Stealth Elf immediately stopped in her tracks and drew back, then clutched her blades close to her heart as her brows furrowed down.

"Crap, they've got a healer!" Stealth Elf cried as dashed forward, "Guess I know which one I'll really need to take care of!"

Light on her feet as ever, Stealth Elf had become one with the wind itself as she dashed across the carpet of leaves and grass with such speed that leaves flew everywhere in her wake, then she raised her daggers and slashed at the green and yellow-robed spell punk… Except instead of hitting it, her daggers hit a barrier of solid wind and flew out of her hands!

Stealth Elf grunted as she herself tumbled backwards thanks to another gust of powerful wind from the barrier, then snatched her daggers off the floor and stuffed them in her pockets! She knelt down and flipped forward, then with one last leap she transformed from an elven ninja to a massive green tiger! Stealth Elf roared as she pounced back onto the green and yellow spell punk, but in response the barrier of wind grew into a massive shield that blew her back into the wall! Stealth Elf's disguise vanished into fumes of green mist as she slunk down from the wall, then she grunted as she staggered back up and leaned back.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" Stealth Elf asked.

Ahead of her, the green and yellow spell punk chittered as it high-fived another spell punk clad in robes of cyan and white fabric, something that only seemed to irritate her as she slipped out a round orb of some sort from underneath her gloves… Then she lifted her head and slipped the orb back into her glove as she flipped out the way!

Right as she escaped, a massive blast of fire and water slammed into the wall behind her and burned a hole into the walls of vines behind her, but it wasn't the only one! Stealth Elf dashed aside as more of those blasts crashed into the ground and completely destroyed the vegetation below her feet. Then finally, one exploded by her feet and sent her skidding across the floor! Stealth Elf jumped back to her feet in an instant, and yet in spite of her quick recovery she didn't seem very relieved. She clenched her hands into fists as the spell punk's cheers and cackles resounded all around her, while aside of them, the shadow knights fixed their gazes on her and pointed right in her direction!

"There's too many of these things!" Stealth Elf whispered, "No matter where I go, there's always something waiting to strike!"

As if to affirm to her statement, one of the shadow knights charged right for Stealth Elf and slashed its sword right at her! Luckily she had noticed in the nick of time and jumped onto its blade right before it could strike. But, the shadow knight still seemed quite displeased as it swung its sword around in some attempt to shake her off!

So, Stealth Elf wrangled that ball out from under her glove, then slammed it between her palms and released! The ball itself had completely shattered underneath her, while a cloud of green poison shout out from her hands and right into the knight's helmet! As the poison seeped into the knight, its whole body rattled and its sword slipped out of its hands right as Stealth Elf jumped away from it. It shuddered with an impressive fury as it stumbled backwards, then fell to its knees and exploded!

The lavender smoke that was once the entire source of its being had grown infected by the poison, and it had transformed into a massive poison mist that coated the entire island. The foliage withered away and unveiled sparkly green stone as the poison hit its surface…

And more importantly, seeped into the rest of Stealth Elf's foes as well! The other two knights rattled and exploded the same way the first did, but the spell punks covered their mouths and shuddered as they all collapsed to the ground. Their whole bodies shuddered as they groaned in pain, and their eyes could barely stay open as they curled into shaky balls.

"Finally," Stealth Elf whispered as she whipped out her daggers, "A chance!"

Stealth Elf chuckled as she disappeared among the fading poison mist, then reappeared right beside the spell punks! One by one, she dashed through and conked them all on the heads with their daggers! But, they were already in so much pain that they couldn't even fight back—all they could do was look at her and groan as they all fell unconscious!

As Stealth Elf bonked the last spell punk on the head and turned around, she chuckled and crossed her arms. All around her, the poisonous mist finally let up and the world became clear again, while the spell punks beside her glowed and vanished in puffs of smoke! She nodded her head in approval as silence resonated through the island, then perked up her head as a small, round orb of glowing green light manifested on the floor!

Stealth Elf twitched her ears as she crept up to the orb, then gasped as the light disappeared in a flash and unveiled a conical key with a green orb-shaped jewel on its top! For a moment she stood in awe, but finally she chuckled as she knelt down and swept it up in her arms.

"Looks like my work here is done," Stealth Elf said as she strode back to the platform she rode in on, then froze as the sound of muffled beeping echoed from underneath her gloves.

Stealth Elf frowned as she pulled back her glove to find a bright blue glow coming from her communicator, then she gently tapped the buttons on its side and shifted its screen to that of a spiky line against a blue background.

"Hello, is anybody listening?" Drobot's voice echoed with a slightly staticy tone from the other side, "I just noticed that I received a message earlier!"

"Yeah, that was me!" Cried Flameslinger's voice as a second wavy line manifested on the screen, "What's going on, Drobot?"

"Oh, my apologies, Flameslinger. I was a bit… Preoccupied at the moment." Drobot cleared his throat, "Anyways, how have things been on your end?"

"Great! It took us a little bit, but we managed to get one of those keys—"

"And we nearly got roasted doing it!" Ghost Roaster cried over Flameslinger's voice.

"Eh, it wasn't that bad~"

"WASN'T THAT BAD?! I NEARLY BURNED TO DEATH! I'M A CHEF, I SHOULD BE DOING THE ROASTING, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!"

As Ghost Roaster and Flameslinger squabbled over the communicator, a mute symbol appeared over their line while Drobot cleared his throat.

"… Moving on, Stealth Elf, how about you?" Drobot asked.

"Same here," Stealth Elf asked as she walked onto the platform, "Had a run-in with some obnoxious spell punks, but they didn't stop me from getting the key!"

"Good, that means we have two of the three. That just leaves me and Drill Sergeant…"

"Speaking of." Stealth Elf tilted her head as the platform whirred to life, "How about you two, Drobot? How're things going?"

Right as Stealth Elf asked, a massive crash sounded from from the communicator! Stealth Elf's eyes grew large as she leaned in, while the sounds of crashing blows echoed among muffled static. Stealth Elf winced, then her ears drooped as she gazed over at the orange speck in the skies…

§

On the other end of the conversation, Drobot winced and covered his communicator as he lifted his head up.

Around him was an island made of solid orange metal, from its firm floors to walls made of haphazard mishmashes of gears and metal chunks and other technologically-aligned objects, right down to the streams of oil that poured into a massive oil pool at the back of the island. Above them, a cone-shaped key with a bright orange orb on top sat in a cage made of bright lasers, while an orange haze glowered over the entire area and was bright enough that it almost made everything kind of hard to look at… But, Drobot didn't need to focus on that.

Rather, his attention was fixed on Drill Sergeant, who wailed and beeped as he zoomed back and forth all across the floor while a group of greebles in tattered robes and pointed hats chased after him! The greebles cackled as they waved their wands and shot out bright blasts of magic that crashed against the floor, and rattled it with such intensity that it tossed Drill Sergeant into the air!

"ACK!" Drill Sergeant cried as he crashed back onto the ground and zoomed off. Drill Sergeant grunted as his wheels spun in place, then finally he wailed and dashed off the greebles cackled again.

Drobot, meanwhile, winced and placed a paw over his communicator.

"I am not certain as to why Kaos thought it would be a good idea to arm greebles with powerful magic…" Drobot whispered, "But it certainly worked!"

"Drobot, sir, I am pleading with you!" Drill Sergeant wailed as a gigantic pig chased after him, all while several of the greeble sorcerers clung to his top and shot blasts of magic all around, "End the transmission and help me!"

Drobot gasped as one of those magic blasts exploded dangerously close to where he sat, then jumped away before he could get caught in a second one!

"Unfortunately, they are not good!" Drobot shouted into his communicator right as he pressed its side buttons, "I am afraid that I will have to call you back!"

And just like that, the communicator went silent, but the battle was loud and chaotic enough! Drobot winced and bounded off as a row of magic blasts exploded behind him, all while the greebles sorcerers cackled and pointed at him like excitable kids at a circus show! Drobot's lip twitched as their laughter resonated around the area, then as the last blast exploded behind him, he skidded around and flicked out his wings!

"You greebles behave like animals!" Drobot exclaimed as round, disc-shaped cannons popped out from his wings, "It is about time you learned some manners!"

As Drobot said this, massive bladegears popped out of his cannons and slammed into the greebles, then knocked them right off of Drill Sergeant! The greebles grunted as they hit the floor and rubbed their heads, but they weren't the only ones shocked by Drobot's sudden attack!

The pig they had summoned to chase Drill Sergeant was so frightened by the attack that it had completely ditched Drill Sergeant in favor of rampaging all around! It squealed and oinked as it ran around in circles, then finally it let out a shrill yell as it charged right towards the greebles!

The greebles screeched as their eyes practically popped out of their heads, then they scrambled for their staffs and whipped those staffs right at the pig! The greebles all spat out terrified gibberish as they shook their staffs up and down, all while their staffs glowed with a bright blue light… Then a massive blue burst of magic shot out from their staffs and slammed right into the pig!

The pig and blast both completely vanished into smoke the moment they made contact, while the greebles just sighed in relief and wiped smoke from their foreheads… Then chills ran down their spines as a large shadow crept up behind them.

"I would not exhale with relief quite yet," Drill Sergeant rumbled from behind them, "After all, there is something that you are forgetting about…"

Drill Sergeant whipped out his laser cannon while his eyes glowed with an ominous red light.

"ME!"

The greebles all gulped and turned around, then the moment their eyes fell on Drill Sergeant, they all ran off screaming! But, Drill Sergeant wasn't going to let them off easy! He immediately zoomed after them as they dashed across the island, all while his laser cannons shot red-hot lasers at their feet!

"Ha! Ha ha! Now I am the one chasing you!" Drill Sergeant proclaimed as he zoomed across the floor, still hot on their trail, "And this time, you are not getting away!"

The greebles all squealed as they ran even further, but as they ran one greeble lost its footing and tripped right into the others! The entire group's screams reached an all-time high as they tumbled across the floor in one big ball, then finally slammed into a wall and crashed onto the ground, their staffs scattered across the floor and their eyes spinning within their heads.

"Give up yet?" Drill Sergeant asked as he wheeled over and imposed himself over the greebles with the most intimidating face he could muster.

The greebles all screeched as they turned around and grappled for their staffs, then waved those staffs around and teleported away in an instant! And with them gone, the laser cage that the key rested in completely vanished and allowed the key to clatter onto the floor!

Drobot smiled as he hovered over and snatched the key off the floor, then he zoomed over to Drill Sergeant's side and nodded. The two of them beeped in correspondence as they flew back onto the platform, then as they took their seats the platform whirred back to life and flew off.

The orange island became little more than a speck in the vast skies as the platform drew further and further, then as it burst through the clouds, it was the sole platform in the skies no longer! Beside it, the platforms that carried Flameslinger, Ghost Roaster and Stealth Elf flew beside it!

The three platforms drew dangerously close to each other, then with one warble they all fused back into one gigantic platform while Kaos's fortress came in sight!
Flameslinger, Ghost Roaster, Stealth Elf, Drobot and Drill Sergeant said not a word… But the grins they made as they held out their keys said everything they needed!

"Now," Drobot said as he peered through the platform's thorny fence and down at Kaos's fortress, where the colors of battle glowed like stars in the night, "Hopefully our allies were able to stand their own…"

§

Camo and Zap grunted as they were tossed into each other by the lava kings, then Camo bit his lip as as he jumped to all fours. As the lava kings swarmed forward and trapped him and Zap in a circle, Camo just released his lip and struck his tail against the open air like a whip.

"So, you wanna mess with us, huh?" Camo asked as his tense look quickly turned a smile, "Well, all I have to say to that is…"

Camo chuckled, then backflipped into the air as vines swarmed all around him—vines that immediately grew ripe, hard watermelons that were inflated so large they looked like they were about to burst!

"FRUIT PUNCH!"

Right as Camo cried this out, he whipped around and sent these watermelons crashing straight into the ground! The moment they hit the floor, the watermelons exploded everywhere and knocked down the lava kings with massive chunks of juicy fruit… But they weren't the only things that hit!

Zap grinned as he watched the watermelons explode around him, then opened his mouth and shot a round of thunderbolts that slammed right into the lava kings!
And since the lava kings were already covered in watermelon juice, the thunder had the perfect conductor! Its already massive strength was amplified even further as it ran through the lava kings' bodies and shocked them with such intensity that they outright exploded into blasts of magma and chunks of volcanic rock!

More lava kings rushed onto the scene, but they and all the other minions immediately jumped back as lava rained down and splashed before them! And in that moment of hesitation they looked up… And got punched backwards by another round of gigantic watermelons! As they fell down and glazed over the watermelon, however, they didn't seem annoyed at all—rather, they drooled out fountains of magma as they jumped towards the watermelons! They all chomped and tore through the watermelons with such fury, such hunger that it blew massive watermelon chunks everywhere!

Zap and Camo turned around and gasped right as two particularly large chunks flew towards them, but they reacted a little too late! Before they could blow these chunks away, the chunks crashed into them and smacked them right into the path of a hulking greeble! The greeble reached out to grab them, but a massive, pineapple-shaped missile blew it back!

While Zap and Camo slammed against the tendril fence that lined the battlegrounds, Zook stormed forward and panted, all while he heaved up his bamboo bazooka that was now practically the size of a tank!

"Geez, this bazooka is getting way too heavy!" Zook moaned as he slouched down and sat on the cold floor, "I don't know if I can take another step…"

Zook sat on the floor and panted for a few moments more, then jumped back to his feet as something zapped him from behind!

"What was that?"

From behind Zook, Lightning Rod flew back as he was cornered by a trio of gigantic chompies, then turned around and forced a smile as he examined the nice singe mark he left on Zook's back.

"My apologies, my comrade," Lightning Rod said as he turned back to the chompies and snarled, "But it appears these foes are some of the mightiest I've faced!"—Lightning Rod's snarl faded into a grin—"But, that they won't stop me, the mighty LIGHTNING ROD!"

With one flex, Lightning Rod's entire body turned into a giant thunderbolt that radiated crackling lightning in every direction! And now only was it powerful, but it was so bright that it completely blinded the chompies around! They screeched and stumbled back as the light grew brighter, which only seemed to feed Lightning Rod's enthusiasm!

The chompies stumbled back and groaned, then squealed as they were pinned down by a swarm of flaming bone brambles! While the chompies struggled under their weights, Ignitor and Chop Chop leaped up and slashed them down in one mighty slash! The two of them lifted their juice-coated swords as chompy leaves flew everywhere, then a thunk turned their attention back to Lightning Rod…

Who had planted face-first onto the floor. Lightning Rod held up a trembling hand and made a weak thumbs up, while Ignitor and Chop Chop just sighed and shook their heads.

"I suppose even the strongest athletes burn out eventually," Chop Chop remarked as he rested his sword against the ground.

"Or the most pompous," Ignitor scoffed as he sheathed his sword.

Lightning Rod grunted as he pushed himself off of the ground, but as he did, someone bumped into him and tossed him back on the ground—Zook! The two of them screamed as they crashed into each other, all while Zook's bazooka skidded across the floor and helplessly spun around!

Zook winced as he reached for his bazooka, but before he could Camo and Zap were tossed right in front of it, followed by Chop Chop, Eruptor and Ignitor as they slid back onto the floor and grunted!

They all winced as shadows fell over them, then as they looked up those winces turned into gasps of horror! They had been completely surrounded by the mutants they were fighting, and worse yet, those evil minions helmed the charge!

"Say your prayers, Skylanders!" The Cynder clone crooned as it stroked the head of the mutant chompy it rode on, "You'll be meeting your graves soon enough!"

The monsters drew closer and closer as they raised their weapons, fully ready to strike… But before they could, a massive, churning black rain cloud formed above them and did a good chunk of the mutants in with a rain of gigantic skulls!

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Cried Hex's voice from outside the crowds!

Everybody's gaze turned to the few gaps between the monsters, where they could just barely spy Hex, Boomer, Voodood and Double Trouble rush down the halls!

As Boomer raced forward, he leaned down and leaped over the monster circle, conked one of the monsters right in the head, then bounced off of it and landed in front of Lightning Rod and Zook!

"Sorry for taking so long!" Boomer exclaimed as he plucked a gigantic tooth out of his beard and tossed it aside, "We had a bit of a hold up!"

As Hex, Double Trouble and Voodood joined their fellow Skylanders in the circle, everybody's faces seemed to lighten up… Well, save for the Cynder clone who only snarled.

"Bah, what's four more pitiful Skylanders going to do for you?" The Cynder clone insisted as it leaned forward on its chompy mount, "We still have the advantage here! We still have even more forces than you could dream of having!"

The other evil minions howled and yelled in agreement as they turned the monsters on the Skylanders, who in turn stood up and prepared to fight… Then they froze. Just behind them, it almost sounded like a stampede was bursting through the halls behind them! But, from who?

"Is this enough for you then?" Chihiro cried as she dashed through the halls, all while massive clouds of dust kicked up behind her!

All eyes turned to Chihiro as she raced through the arch that bracketed off the two areas, but she wasn't the only one, either! Right behind her was an entire crowd of Skylanders, all of who were ready and primed to fight! The fires in their eyes glowed bright as they flooded into the room, then crowded around the arch and blocked it off from any avenue of escape—or reinforcement!

The Cynder clone gasped, then growled as it furiously scratched its head. Sweat dripped down its head as it scanned over the crowds of Skylanders, then it yowled as it got tossed aside by a bright cyan magic sphere!

While it screamed and tumbled across the battlefields, the rest of the evil minions winced. Fear crossed their faces as sweat trickled down their brows, and in all honestly, they had good reason to be afraid—they were surrounded on every avenue by souped-up and powerful Skylanders, all ready to fight no matter what… And more importantly, ready to win no matter what! Even with all the monsters that surrounded them, the minions were absolutely toast!

"Looks like we'll have to crank things up a notch," The Camo clone remarked as its blank eyes fell on a couple of the bulky monsters that surrounded them all. A small, thin smirk crossed across its lips, then with a slight draw of its paw, several long, skinny vines crept up behind it.

"Hang on, Evil Shadow Dragon! We're going to level the playing field a bit!"

Right as the Camo clone cried out, these vines grew bulkier and thornier as they dashed out from behind the Evil Plant Dragon and stabbed right through the gigantic mutants that surrounded them all!

The mutants' cries turned to wails and shrieks of pain as the vines skewed through them, but they didn't try to fight against the vines' grip. Rather, they just fell limp and silent with gaping mouths and closed eyes as the vines glowed green and pumped the magic right out of their bodies! With every glob of bright, glowing green energy that passed through the vines like water passed through a pipe, the monsters grew smaller, wrinklier and weaker, until finally all the life had been sapped from their bodies and nothing remained of them by tiny, shriveled corpses that dropped to the ground like flies!

The Skylanders all gasped as they skirted away from the mounds of shriveled corpses, then shadows cast over the battlefield and forced them all to freeze. Though those monsters were clearly dead, the vines that had killed them were full of life as they pulsed with bright green light! The vines loomed over everyone on the battlefield for moments, then shot down towards the Skylanders, who all screamed and hit the floor as the vines tunneled straight for them… But the vines didn't hit them at all! Rather, those vines just flew right over them and wrapped around the evil minions!

Their green glow faded away as their energy pumped into the minions, while the minions just smiled as their bodies glowed with that same green light! With every pump, every new spurt of energy, the minions' bodies grew larger and muscular while sharp fangs emerged from their mouths, and their bodies shone with a new light, a new sort of feeling that transformed them from meddling to malicious.

While they grew bigger, the vines grew smaller and more wrinkled until finally their thin, wrinkled bodies could no longer hang onto the minions' bodies and crumpled onto the floor. Their wrinkled bodies shuddered and bounced from the ground alongside the monsters' corpses as the minions stomped down on the floor and loomed down over the Skylanders, all wide eyes and licked lips.

In any other situation, somebody might have cracked a joke or made a quip by now, but everything was so tense from the mass murder and transformation that the Skylanders could only stare in wide-eyed, clenched-fist anticipation. The minions, however, hardly shared in the tension! They all cackled and clapped their hands in glee as they imposed themselves over the Skylanders, their bodies so large that they completely blocked out the skies above. All that could be seen was their faces as they loomed down and pressed themselves into the Skylanders' faces…

Then a massive cry sounded out as the Evil Mace Crab leaped above the rest with its now gigantic mace held right above its body! All eyes turned to the skies as it rushed down and swung, but before it could strike, a massive floating platform charged out from nowhere and slammed right into it! The platform floated back into the skies as the Evil Mace Crab crashed into the ground and left a massive dent in its surface, but as it floated away one could spot a few specks drop down from its side.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone!" Flameslinger cried as he, Ghost Roaster, Drobot, Drill Sergeant and Stealth Elf dropped onto the ground and crowded around the Evil Mace Crab, "Had a couple bumps along the way, but we finally got those keys! We're ready to go anytime!"

Chihiro blinked for a few moments as her eyes trailed across the battlefield, but the moment she caught sight of Flameslinger, she beamed and summoned a sword!

"Alright, looks like everyone's here!" Chihiro cried as she lifted her sword to the skies and raised an eyebrow, "Now, why don't we get this party started?"

The tension that ripped through the Skylanders before as Chihiro's sword shone in what little light the area around provided, and all at once they broke into cheers and smiles!

"Right!" The Skylanders cried as one as they dispersed from the massive crowd they had formed!

The minions whipped their heads around and frowned as the Skylanders dispersed into their respective groups, then finally they shook it off as they leaned forward and launched themselves into the fray!

Voodood, Hex, Double Trouble and Boomer winced as the Evil Shadow Dragon backed them into a wall, with its wide eyes locked on them and its snakelike tongue lolled from a massive, gaping jaw. The shadowy purple armor that covered it from head to paw shot wisps of smoke into the sky as it licked its lips, fully prepared to attack… But right before it could strike, Hex simply snapped her fingers!

"NOW!" Hex cried as a trio of gigantic skulls manifested behind her!

The skulls cackled as they charged right for the Evil Shadow Dragon, and as they flew through the air, a trio of massive laser blasts slammed into their backs and pushed them along at rapid speed, while a magical tripwire flung out and bound them into one attack that would surely hurt once it hit! And the Evil Shadow Dragon definitely realized this, because just before their combined attack could strike, it dove into the shadows and disappeared! Instead of landing its hit, the skulls just smashed into the island's fencing and crumbled to bits!

Hex, Boomer, Voodood and Double Trouble all gasped as the combined attack died right before their eyes, but while Double Trouble, Voodood and Boomer stood dumbfounded, Hex's fingers twitched.

"There's something behind us!" Hex proclaimed as she whipped around towards a large, draconic shadow!

A shrill screech sounded off as the Evil Shadow Dragon leaped out from the dark, but before it could attack, Hex slammed her hands together and shot a massive, cursed orb right at its chest!

The Evil Shadow Dragon squealed as it slammed into the fence and slunk down, then before it could recover, Boomer burst forward and pounded his fist into its helmet! A loud, gong-like sound resonated all across the island as the Evil Shadow Dragon's head shook and shuddered from the force, while its armor cracked like glass! But though those cracks were firm, they wouldn't take out the armor anytime soon…

So Double Trouble waved his staff, them summoned a small army of clones! He grinned and waved his staff towards the Evil Shadow Dragon as it spoke to the clones, who all nodded and withdrew tiny staffs of their own! All their staffs whirred with energy as they pointed right towards the very shaken and confused Evil Shadow Dragon, which perked up its head and screamed as both Double Trouble and his clones slammed its armor with large laser beams rife with magic! The Evil Shadow Dragon cried in pain as the magic coursed through the cracks in its armor, then as it finally fell unconscious and collapsed on the floor, its armor shattered into inky bits of shadow that seeped back into the shadows!

Voodood smirked as the Evil Shadow Dragon's tongue lolled across the floor, then he banged the base of his ax against the ground and aimed it right towards the Evil Shadow Dragon! With a simple shake, a trio of magical tripwires jumped out from its ax's head and wrapped around the Evil Shadow Dragon, then zapped it with bright purple lightning!

"Can't be too safe," Voodood remarked as he rested his ax at his side, oblivious to the Evil Shadow Dragon's cries of pain, then he cringed and whipped his head around.

Across from where Voodood stood, Terrafin, Slam Bam, Wham-Shell, Gill Grunt and Dino-Rang had their eyes fixed on the evil Dino-Rang clone, who hulked over them while the light reflected off of its shiny, spiky armor and even shinier, spikier boomerangs! The five of them were seated at five different corners as they glared it down, then grabbed their arms and charged… But right as they charged back at it, the Dino-Rang clone roared and sent an entire wave of rocky boomerangs hurtling right towards them!

Their assault was completely forgotten as Terrafin, Wham-Shell, Gill Grunt and Dino-Rang all dove for cover underneath the unrelenting force of stone, then Slam Bam hurtled forward and slammed all four of his fists into the ground! The tiles underneath cracked from the sheer force as a massive wall of ice sprung up between them and the Dino-Rang clone.

And more importantly, it completely blocked off the boomerangs from them as well! Cracks and dents formed on the wall as the boomerangs slammed into it, but despite the damage it stood firm and strong.

Terrafin staggered back up and wiped the dirt off his arms, then he and Slam Bam looked towards each other and nodded in sync. They both grinned as they wound up their arms, their eyes fixed on one particularly large crack in the wall… Then they both punched into it at the same time and sent a gigantic chunk of ice directly into the Dino-Rang clone's mouth!

The ice wall shattered into pieces, but there was no need for it anymore, for the Dino-Rang clone was more concerned with yanking the gigantic ice block out of its mouth! It grunted as it dug its claws into the ice, then completely shattered it and snarled as it spat ice fragments onto the ground.

"Bah, did you really think that was enough?!" The Dino-Rang clone spat as it pounded a fist against its chest, "A little block of ice won't stop me, the Evil Boomerang Dragon!"

"Wait…" Dino-Rang whispered as he stepped back, "Dragon?…"

Dino-Rang blinked, then his tepid demeanor turned nasty in a split second! His brows clenched while his frown turned to a snarly that unveiled rows of sharp, pearly-white teeth, then he yanked a gigantic boomerang from his armor and tossed it right towards the Evil Boomerang Dragon!

"I'm not a dragon, dang it!" Dino-Rang cried as the boomerang beaned the Evil Boomerang Dragon right in the head, "I'm a dinosaur! DI-NO-SAUR!"

The Evil Boomerang Dragon grunted and stumbled backwards, but it quickly regained its footing as it huffed.

"Oh, who cares?!" The Evil Boomerang Dragon shot back as it tossed a boomerang back at Dino-Rang, "A lizard's a lizard!"

Dino-Rang summoned a pillar of stone with a single stomp, then snarled and flung another boomerang that completely intercepted the Evil Boomerang Dragon's boomerang!

"I'll show you who's a lizard!"

The fight had completely ground to a halt as Dino-Rang and the Evil Boomerang Dragon glared at each other and snarled, then whipped out as many boomerangs as they could summoned and engaged in an all-out boomerang brawl!

Terrafin, Gill Grunt and Slam Bam stood quiet and blinked in bemusement as Dino-Rang and the Evil Boomerang Dragon tossed insults and boomerangs at each other, but Wham-Shell just crept out from behind him with his mace held tight.

Wham-Shell leaped above the Evil Boomerang Dragon, and in one fell swoop slammed it right on the head with his mace! As Wham-Shell fell down to the floor, the Evil Boomerang Dragon groaned and twirled about, then finally stuck out its tongue as it collapsed on the floor. Wham-Shell gently nudged the Evil Boomerang Dragon's head with his mace, just to be safe, then jumped out the way as a gigantic vine laden in thorns sprouted out of nowhere!

As more vines cropped up across the battlefield, Wham-Shell stumbled out of their way and lead Terrafin, Slam Bam Gill Grunt and Dino-Rang out of the fray…

While Chihiro just jumped into it! She teleported away just as another vine exploded out form where she once sat, then grunted and rolled across the floor while a string of vines burst from the ground and wiggled in the air! Chihiro huffed as she finally came to a stop, then she slammed her hands on the ground and pushed herself up.

Just across from her, Spyro skidded through the skies as he tried to avoid the vines that grappled at his paws, while on the ground Trigger Happy clung to Wrecking Ball as Wrecking Ball weaved through the vines that had blocked off most of the arena below. All three of them clenched their jaws as sweat dripped down their brows, for the vines were so unrelenting that no matter where they dodged, the vines followed! Left, right, up, down, it mattered not—the vines were always there!

And in the center of it all laid the Camo clone, who cackled as it held its head to the skies! It had grown to a giant's size, while its body was covered in thorny vines and flowers that dripped with some kind of liquid that was probably toxic, judging by the way it melted holes into the floors below with every drip.

"Run all you want, Skylanders! It matters not!" The Camo clone proclaimed as it swished its tail, "I'll sap your energy sooner or later!"

Chihiro winced, then jumped forward just as another vine leaped up from the ground! She turned around and winced as the vine wiggled in midair, then shot towards her like a rocket… But before it could stab her, a gigantic fireball crashed into it and swallowed it whole!

While the vines crumbled into ashes, Spyro flew down to Chihiro's side and gently nudged her back to her feet.

"You alright, Chi?" Spyro asked as he grinned back up at her.

"Yeah, thankfully," Chihiro panted as she dusted herself off.

She met Spyro's grin with a weak smile of her own, but that quickly faded as her eyes fell back on the Camo clone. After all, it was still cackling with almost drunken glee as its vines cropped up all across the arena and crashed into the ground, and with such a rate that it would become more than just an annoying hazard if it kept it up!

"This thing's been a thorn in our side for too long," Chihiro remarked as she turned back to Spyro, "Maybe it should get a taste of its own medicine!"

"Just what I was thinking!" Spyro said as he looked up at Chihiro with bright green eyes.

The two of them nodded, then thrust out their hands and paws with their eyes focused on the vines! Their bodies glowed with a bright, green and cyan-streaked light as they narrowed their eyes, then with a simple clap on their end, the light jumped out from their bodies and poured into the vines!

All at once the vines immediately froze straight and still like statues around the battlefield, then their tips slowly creaked as the vines pointed themselves towards the Camo clone… Much to the Camo clone's concern.

"What are you doing?!" The Camo clone demanded as it backed up and bit its lip, "Go look at the Skylanders, not me!"

However, the vines just glared down the Camo clone, then shot forward and stabbed it all through its torso! The Camo clone squealed and wailed in agony as the life was sapped from its body, while the thorns and flowers that once enveloped its body withered and shriveled away as the Camo clone itself shrank in stature! In just moments, the Camo clone had shrunk back down to its original size and collapsed back to the floor. It groaned as it lifted its head and thrust it around in some feeble attempt to make sense of its surroundings, then yelped as Wrecking Ball zoomed over and yanked it off the ground with his tongue!

"Trigger Happy!" Wrecking Ball called as he pulled his tongue back and tossed the Camo clone, "Catch!"

Trigger Happy grinned, then pulled a gigantic gold cauldron out from nowhere and slammed it down on the ground! Another push from Trigger Happy, and the cauldron fell on the floor and caught the Camo clone right in its grasp!

"Huh, what?" The Camo clone's voice echoed from within the cauldron's confines, "What's going on?"

Trigger Happy just giggled as he pushed the cauldron upright, then leaped up and yanked out a gigantic golden safe! His grin was wide as he screwed its dial till it was unlocked, then yanked open the door and cackled!

"You're getting a gold bath, that's what!" Trigger Happy cried over the sound of rushing gold as a gigantic mass of coins poured out from the safe!

"A what?"

Before the Camo clone could be answered, the gold coins poured into the cauldron and packed it so tightly that it was near impossible to escape! It was all the Camo clone could do to squirm its way to the top and pop out its head… But despite its grunts and strained attempts to pull itself out, it couldn't break free!

"Evil Wind Turtle!" The Camo clone cried as it struggled from within the gold's grip, "Lend me a hand here!"

However, the Evil Wind Turtle had a threat of own to deal with—or five! It had been completely cornered at all angles by Whirlwind, Cynder, Dark Spyro, Sunburn and Sonic Boom, and all of them were perfectly eager to fight!

The Evil Wind Turtle, however, just smirked back at them while the strange, spiral-shaped markings carved into its glowed with a bright cyan light, then it spun around and surrounded their arena with an entire circle of tornadoes!

All five of them winced and huddled in the eye of the storm as the Evil Wind Turtle leaped into one tornado, then Dark Spyro frowned and lifted his head a cackle ripped through the area!

"Over there!" Dark Spyro cried as he shot a purple fireball right as the Evil Wind Turtle leaped from the tornado! Dark grinned as the fireball slammed right into the Evil Wind Turtle, but his grin turned to a gasp as the Evil Wind Turtle poofed into a mass of wispy clouds!

"What the heck?!" Dark cried as his jaw completely dropped.

"Dark, behind you!" Sunburn cried as he flew over and blasted another Evil Wind Turtle with a pillar of fire… But that one just poofed into clouds as well!

Sonic Boom zapped away two Evil Wind Turtles with a sonic screech, then winced as they both poofed into clouds.

"Are any of these things real?" Sonic Boom cried as she craned her head around and winced.

"There's gotta be some way to find out which is the real one!" Whirlwind cried as she flew back, then ducked underneath another Evil Wind Turtle right as Cynder zapped it out of existence.

As it evaporated into clouds, Whirlwind winced and lifted her head, then let out a pensive hum as her eyes fell on the raging tornadoes. So, Whirlwind summoned a thundercloud with a simple zap from her horn and grunted as she looked over towards Cynder.

"Cynder, shoot this with one of your lightning bolts!" Whirlwind cried as Cynder flew over to her side!

"Got it!" Cynder cried!

Cynder opened her mouth while Whirlwind lowered a horn that radiated and crackled with static, then the two of them zapped the thundercloud with lightning so powerful, it short-circuited the cloud itself!

The cloud crackled and shrieked as it shot lightning bolts into each of the tornadoes and turned them into functional thunderstorms that brewed with raw lightning, then it poofed out of existence as a trio of cries sounded through the arena!

The cries grew louder as three Evil Wind Turtles popped out of the tornadoes at once, and they were so dazed and confused that none of them notice the triple attack of fireballs and sonic blasts headed right their way! Two of the Wind Turtles poofed into clouds as the fireballs slammed right into their faces, while the real one glow blown aside from the sonic screech and slammed right into the Evil Bomb Troll!

The Evil Bomb Troll grunted as the Evil Wind Turtle slammed right into it, then it grunted as it tossed the Evil Wind Turtle aside and twisted its mechanical wrists. Its arms and legs had turned muscular and wholly robotic while veins bulged out of its shiny bald forehead, and that combined with its newfound large size only added to its intimidating factor as snarled. It rubbed its bruised head as it glared down at Bash, Warnado, Prism Break and Stump Smash, then it shot its hands to the heavens and summoned a rain of bombs down on the battlefield!

Bash, Prism Break and Stump Smash immediately ducked for cover, but Warnado wasn't concerned at all! He just craned his head towards the bomb-filled skies with a smirk, then spun around and shot out a massive tornado that sucked in all the bombs with a single spin!

The Evil Bomb Troll hastily blinked and shuffled backwards as the sound of muffled explosions echoed from within the twister, then it screamed as the twister shot its bombs all across the battlefield! As the bombs crashed down, the Evil Bomb Troll grimaced and whipped out a metal shield, then paused and wiped the sweat from its forehead… But it took its breather too soon, because a single giant laser from Prism Break seared a hole right through the shield and burned right into the Evil Bomb Troll's eye!

"Augh, my eye!" The Evil Bomb Troll cried as it reeled back. Its shield fell over and completely unveiled it, but it just turned around and rubbed its aching, watery eye. with no other concerns whatsoever.

"There's your opening!" Prism Break cried as he ushered Bash and Stump Smash forward, "Now go get it!"

Bash rolled forward as the Evil Bomb Troll lurched backed up and wiped the tears from its face, then smashed into the ground and summoned a gigantic rock pillar with a single smash of his tail! As the pillar shot up into the skies, Bash landed back on the floor with such force that he skidded against its tile, then came to a stop right as Stump Smash ran up to his side. The two of them cried out as they bolted towards the pillar once more, then they leaped off the ground and smashed into it with such force that it smashed the pillar into massive chunks of rock!

The rock chunks scattered all across the battlefield in a massive shower of stone, and that included where the Evil Bomb Troll sat! Before it even realized what had happened, a gigantic slab of rock hit it in the head and knocked it out cold!

And while it collapsed to the floor, Bash and Stump Smash just looked at each other and shared a content smirk.

But while they basked in their victory, Zap and Camo had a problem of their own as they dashed through with the Ignitor clone hot on their tails—literally! Its whole body had grown so white-hot that its flames could be felt from a mile away!

"Get back here, you stupid lizards!" The Ignitor clone demanded as it slashed its sword and just barely grazed Zap's tail, "I promised Lord Kaos I'd bring you Skylanders in, and I intend to follow that promise through!"

As he heard this, however, Zap swerved around and stopped in his tracks!

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Zap remarked as he clicked his tongue, "Of course I'll go in!"

The Ignitor clone froze in its tracks, then the flames that made up its face almost formed some kind of smile. "Really?"

Zap, however, just smirked and shook his head.

"No way, dude! Who do you think I am?"

Zap grinned, then spat a massive glob of slime in the Ignitor clone's face and slid off cackling!

The slime glob latched onto the Ignitor clone's face and completely blocked it off from view, but the way its flames burned twice as hard was enough to show that it was angry! The heat from its fire hardened and shattered the slime immediately, while the Ignitor clone itself squeezed its sword handle and cried as it charged forward! Its flames stretched to the skies as it came just inches within Camo and Zap's range, but before it could strike, Chop Chop skidded in front of it and flung twin swords in front of his body!

"En garde!" Chop Chop cried as he pointed a sword right in the Ignitor clone's face.

The Ignitor clone growled, then backed up as it gripped its sword tight… But as it did, a chill swept through its flames and it whipped around just in time to intercept a blow from Ignitor.

"I doeth believe that thou hast no means of escape!" Ignitor cried as he drew back his sword and swung again!

The Ignitor clone and the real Ignitor grunted as their swords clashed against each other, for each time one struck, the other perfectly intercepted the blow! They were evenly matched in all ability. And Chop Chop seemed to notice, because he dashed forward and slashed at the Ignitor clone with his own swords!

"You know," the Ignitor clone remarked as it blocked Chop Chop's swords the moment he swung, then turned around and intercepted a blow from Ignitor, "Two against one is hardly a fair fight!"

"Actually, it's four!"

The Ignitor clone perked up, and in that moment it found itself face-to-face with Drill Sergeant and Eruptor! It grabbed its sword and got ready to strike, but before it could a massive lava rock slammed into its face and tossed it back... Then to add insult to injury, Drill Sergeant charged at it with such speed that he completely steamrolled it! The Ignitor clone groaned as it fell flat on the floor while its sword flew out of its hand and dug into the ground, then got snapped in half as the Evil Mace Crab stepped right on its handle!

Across the battlefield, the Evil Mace Crab winced and held its larger and gold-engraved mace close to its chest while its eyes dashed around the battlefield. At every turn it had been surrounded by identical clones of Stealth Elf, who all crossed their arms and chuckled as they eyed the Evil Mace Crab.

"Now, which one's the real one?" They all crooned as one choir, "Can you tell?"

"Is it me?" One of the Stealth Elves giggled as she spun around in a circle.

"Or is it me?" crooned another one as she leaned forward and waved at the Evil Mace Crab.

The Evil Mace Crab just whimpered and backed up as all the Stealth Elves broke out in laughter and dance, all while it clutched its mace like a child clutched their toy. Its lips trembled as it wrapped its hands tight around the mace's staff, then finally it snarled as it held its mace like a gun!

"I don't know!" The Evil Mace Crab cried at last as it held its mace so tight that it cracked the mace's staff, "So I'll just get all of you!"

The Evil Mace Crab swung its staff forward, and out from it spun massive starfish that tore right through the Stealth Elves! Green smoke exploded and coated the room as the Stealth Elves were cut clean in half and vanished, and it was so thick that it made the Evil Mace Crab break into a coughing fit, but it kept its smile as the smoke cleared and it looked up… Then it dropped its jaw as a Stealth Elf-themed scarecrow stood in front of it!

"So much for getting me, huh?" Stealth Elf teased as she poked out from behind the scarecrow and waved, "I bet you couldn't even hit this scarecrow!"

Stealth Elf chuckled as she disappeared from view, but the Evil Mace Crab hardly found her funny! It screamed as it slammed its mace into the scarecrow and tore it in half, then scoffed as it stood back to full height.

"You betted wrong!" The Evil Mace Crab proclaimed as it grinned... Then frowned and whipped its head back and forth, "Hey, where'd you go?"

Sure enough, Stealth Elf had completely vanished from the battlefield, or maybe it was the chaos that shielded her from view? It was hard to tell. Either way, the Evil Mace Crab craned its head around as it tip-toed across the field, then squealed as bright red lasers courtesy of Drobot shot out from the clouds and zapped it down!

As it hit the floor face-first, the Evil Mace Crab grunted and pushed itself up, then its jaw gaped open as another cloud of green smoke burst from the floor and transformed into an entire field of bamboo that encircled it everywhere it could turn. But, it didn't seem concerned as it yanked its mace off the ground and leaped to its feet! With one strong swing, it completely snapped all the bamboo in half! The Evil Mace Crab cackled as it swung its mace over its shoulder, then its cold, blank eyes narrowed with scorn as they fell on a surprisingly cheerful-looking Zook.

"What, was that supposed to stop me?" The Evil Mace Crab asked as it pointed its mace at Zook.

"Nah, man," Zook said as he shook his head. He chuckled for a moment, then a smirk of surprising eagerness fell across his darkened face, "It was just supposed to stall you!"

The Evil Mace Crab perked up as something cried out behind it, then turned around right as Ghost Roaster tackled into in and tossed it aside! The Evil Mace Crab wailed in pain as it soared through the air, but Ghost Roaster was hardly concerned as he veered off and returned back to his normal form!

"Flameslinger!" Ghost Roaster cried as he signaled to the skies, "You're on!"

The Evil Mace Crab grunted as it hit the floor, then as it got up and rubbed its head, a whoosh sounded off beside it while flames sprouted from the ground around! However, the Evil Mace Crab seemed hardly concerned as it lifted its head and sniffed the air.

"Is something burning?" The Evil Mace Crab remarked as its fingers twitched.

"Yeah! It's you!"

The Evil Mace Crab gasped and jolted up as Flameslinger dashed in front of it, but before it could react, Flameslinger pulled the string on his bow and shot an entire barrage of flaming arrows right at the top of its head! The Evil Mace Crab yelped and staggered up as Flameslinger dashed off, but before it could make chase, the arrows' flames grew so strong that it set the Evil Mace Crab's head alight with fire!

The Evil Mace Crab paused and patted its head, then yelped in pain as it pulled back its flaming hand!

"NO, FIRE, FIRE!" The Evil Mace Crab cried as it raced around in a circle and flailed its arms around, "GET IT OFF ME!"

While the Evil Mace Crab squealed and raced around in a panic, a gigantic green tiger roared as it leaped forward and tackled the Evil Mace Crab to the ground! The still-flaming Evil Mace Crab yowled as it slammed back into the floor, but the tiger smirked as it jumped back and transformed into Stealth Elf! Stealth Elf grunted as she dropped back down to the floor, then narrowed her eyes as she turned back to the Evil Mace Crab. Though it stayed completely still and silent, she gripped her daggers tight… Then released her grip as it squealed and flailed its arms!

"Hello! Crab on fire here?!" The Evil Mace Crab whined as it unsuccessfully tried to flail its way off the ground.

Stealth Elf, however, just sighed and shook her head as she drew back. Seems as though that crab wouldn't be much of a problem anymore...

And in the heart of it all, Chihiro frowned and clasped her hands while her eyes trailed all along the battlefield. All around them, the minions were unconscious, incapacitated, both, or in the case of one, panicking as its head burned with bright flames. Looks as though they were of no harm to anyone now!

"Guess it's time we finished this up!" Chihiro proclaimed as she wiped off her hands, then thrust them forward and narrowed her brows.

While her hands glowed with a bright cyan light, Chihiro breathed in, then out, then closed her eyes while the light glowed stronger and stronger and with such speed that a shrill screech caught the attention of everyone around—including the minions! The minions' eyes fell on Chihiro as they woke from their slumbers and tried to pull their weak, wounded bodies off the battlefield…

But while they trudged and pulled along, Chihiro just smirked and snapped her fingers, then sent a massive pulse of blue energy right through the fields! Though that pulse just slid through the Skylanders' bodies like nothing, for the minions it was a different story!

The moment the energy hit them, the minions screeched in pain and collapsed to their floor, all while cyan light poured into their bodies while tiny holes ripped through them! Though they tried to get up and fight, that single attack put them in such agony that they could only cry out in pain as the holes grew larger and larger…

Then finally, those holes grew so big that they completely tore the minions' bodies open and expelled a massive amount of purified magic energy! What remained of the minions' bodies fell to the floor and vanished, but that was nothing compared to the shower of rainbow sparkles that poured down from the heavens! The magic that was once the fuel for their bodies became a symbol of victory, one that everyone basked in as the light trickled down and vanished the moment it hit solid material.

"Ha! I just keep getting better at those purification spells!" Chihiro chirped as she shook the sparkles out of her hair and strolled towards the locked platform.

"Now come on, everyone! We've still got a pint-sized, loud-mouthed portal master to take on!"

Cheers and hollers resounded among the group as the Skylanders all crowded behind Chihiro, then Drobot, Flameslinger and Stealth Elf pushed out of the crowds with the three keys in hand. Chihiro nodded and stepped aside as the three of them took her spot, then smiled back to the crowds of Skylanders as Drobot, Flameslinger and Stealth Elf pushed the keys in.

"Alright, everyone, final headcount!" Chihiro proclaimed as she raised her arm to the heavens and let her sleeve droop down just enough to unveil her communications device, "Sound off your communications devices if you're here!"

A series of beeps resounded through the crowds as everyone tapped their devices, then Chihiro peered down at her own and grinned as a single thirty flashed across the communicators screen.

"And Dro, Flames and Stealth are right here." Chihiro grinned back as them as they all simultaneously turned the keys in their locks, then stepped back as the keys sank into the gate itself. "So we should be prepared for liftoff!"

And right as Chihiro said this, the shield that covered up the gigantic platform before them vanished into nothingness and opened the way back to the platform! With Chihiro at the head of the charge, everyone piled onto the platform and took their seats as the platform unhinged itself from its base! Though they were filled with such enthusiasm, all eyes around turned tense as the platform floated higher and higher across the skies and closer towards a massive, floating castle that loomed above the rest. Surely, Kaos laid waiting for them in the castle above, and if what they had gone through now was of any indicator, whatever else he had in store for them definitely wouldn't be pretty.

"Just you wait, Kaos!" Chihiro hissed as she tightened her hand into a fist, all while it gleamed with a faint cyan glow, "We'll definitely stop your plans!"