A kind of morbid air lingered through the town as the second team trekked through its dusty, lifeless streets. Then again, it wasn't hard to feel sad just looking around the place. It was so sad and lonely. The stone was worn and its colors faded into sad-looking dullness, the only inhabitants of the streets besides them were dust bunnies and the odd mouse, windows filled with cobwebs, dying plants rested in cracked windowsill planters… Everywhere one looked, there was just another sad, lonely sign of how lively this place used to be.

A couple of the cyclopes sighed as they fixed their eyes on their feet, clearly unwilling to be enveloped in the sights.

"This place seems really sad," Wrecking Ball remarked as he waddled up and looked around.

"No duh," scoffed a kid in the group as they tugged on their sleeve. "Everything here used to be so happy and fun, but now—" they sniffed and looked at their feet "—nobody even wants to leave their house."

"Y'know," whispered another child not much older than the first as they pointed to a tall stone house made of broken cobblestone, "before Mom and Dad got forced into the army, I think that used to be our house. Dad would play the lithophone every night, and Mom would sing the most beautiful songs…"

The second child sniffled as they pushed themself into the arms of the first, just barely able to hold back their tears. Their sorrow was far too big for their two bodies to hold, however, and soon they both cried into each others' shoulders.

"Eyeair, Eyedelle," whispered an elder member of the team as they drew Eyeair and Eyedelle into a gentle hug.

Wrecking Ball tilted his head and frowned as he looked back at the three of them, then turned back around and bounced up and down. "You know what?" Wrecking Ball said, "All this sadness makes me hungry!"

"WRECKING BALL!" Prism Break scolded as he thwacked Wrecking Ball on the head with a crystal hand. "Can't you think about anything other than food?"

Wrecking Ball whimpered as he rolled on his back, jumped back up to his feet and stuck his tongue out at Prism Break.

"Don't you stick your tongue out at me, you—" Prism Break stopped as Wrecking Ball rolled off and out of sight and sighed.

"Stupid meanie Prism Break!" Wrecking Ball grumbled as he rolled further and further away from the ground. "He didn't have to hit me on the head like that!"

Wrecking Ball pouted as he finally came to a stop, sighed as he flopped on his belly, and felt it rumble. With a soft whimper, he rubbed his aching belly, sniffed the air, and jumped right up!

"Mmm, something smells sweet!" Wrecking Ball sniffed and sniffed some more as his legs moved by himself. "Like strawberries!"

Wrecking Ball's mouth filled with drool, and with a cheer, he curled into a ball and rolled straight to the scent's source! The further he rolled, the more and more intense the smell got, until finally…

"FRESH RHUBARB PIE!" Wrecking Ball exclaimed as he stopped short and popped out of his curl. "I'M LUCKY!"

Sure enough, right in front of Wrecking Ball on a simple stone plate was a slice of freshly-baked rhubarb pie. Its golden brown crust looked so crispy and flaky and warm, the strawberry jam and rhubarbs that made up its filling oozed with such flavor that it could make anyone's stomach rumble, and it was just so, so, tempting!

Wrecking Ball's mouth watered at the mere sight as he leaped forward and gobbled down the slice of pie in a fit of hunger! He contently burped as he licked the strawberry jam off of his face, but soon his eyes widened so big they practically took up half of his face! There, right before him was a whole trail of delicious, sugary sweets! Bowls filled with all sorts of candy, plates of cupcakes, ice cream sundaes…

Wrecking Ball's mouth watered from the sheer sight! He hooted with excitement as he rolled forwards and devoured the trail as he went down.

§

But while Wrecking Ball had an all-he-could-eat buffet, Prism Break and the others had more important matters to attend to. He and the other members of his group trailed through the town's empty roads with weapons trained in case of opposition, all in pursuit of the way to the second seeing tower!

"Y'know, it seems almost too quiet," remarked a cyclops that walked beside Prism Break with a stone hammer in hand. "There's no guards, no traps… Nothing. It feels kind of wrong, almost."

Prism Break cast the cyclops an aside glance and nodded. Truth be told, he did agree with them; nothing of serious danger happened this whole time they trailed down the way! It was almost like something big and menacing was right around the corner and ready to strike! Prism Break held a hand close and watched as it glowed with a bright light. At least he could be prepared. Just then, a rustling noise broke Prism Break out of his thoughts! He swerved around and shot a laser to the heavens above, all in anticipation of some kind of military force or giant monster to fall down, but instead, a singed feather floated down from the skies. Sure enough, a bird tweeted out in surprise as it flew further away in the sky!

"I really need to get out of here," Prism Break mumbled as he shook his stony head. "This place is doing weird things to my noggin." Prism Break turned back and looked at the cyclopes who joined him, all of whom stared at him with slight concern. "Does anybody here have a map?"

Mumbles and whispers bounced all across the group, but finally one cyclops woman stepped out of the group and pulled out a paper scroll.

"I have one," she said as they unfurled the scroll to reveal the faded markings on its paper, "but it's only barely legible. Hopefully it can make do…"

"Here, let me see it!" The cyclops Prism Break conversed with earlier cried as they looked over the map and rubbed their chin. "Let's see, if that's that, and this is this…"

A few more cyclopes gathered around the map and tried to decipher its meaning, but Prism Break only heaved a sigh and turned away. Map-reading was never his strength, quite frankly, and he didn't really think he'd pick it up now. Besides, he had another matter on his mind.

Just what in Skylands is Wrecking Ball doing? Prism Break thought as he gazed over the pathway. Shouldn't he be done with his little tantrum by now?

As Prism Break gritted his stalactites for fangs, his eyes zeroed in on the path he was sure Wrecking Ball had taken, but a scream pulled him and everybody else out of their thoughts!

"Did you hear that?" exclaimed the cyclops woman who held up the map.

"What do you think it was?" asked another cyclops.

"Eyerene, if it's one of your pranks again…"

"It wasn't me this time, I swear!"

"Then what could it possibly be?"

"I don't know," Prism Break interrupted as he turned back to the group and pointed down a split pathway, "but the sound came from there!"

The cyclopes put the map to the side as they ran down the path. Prism Break watched them slightly and frowned. After all, he was pretty sure that following screaming noises down suspicious-looking paths wasn't entirely the best idea. But, he was assigned to help them, so unfortunately for him he had to follow through.

Prism Break tailed the group down the way with a begrudging sigh, and his eyes cast on the odd shadows and crevices all the way he saw. Something about this place felt foreboding and dangerous, like something was going to jump out at him right any second! However, nothing did any such actions as he finally rejoined the group, which now crowded around something and whispering ominously.

"What's all this hubbub about?" Prism Break asked as he joined them, only to be met with concerned glances.

A few of them pointed to what seemed like a red splotch on the path—could it be? A cyclops dressed in blacks rags that brought to mind a secret agent knelt down on the ground, swiped a finger through the red spot, and sniffed it.

"Calm down, everyone, this isn't blood!" they proclaimed. "It's just strawberry filling! Like the kind you'd use in a pie!"

A few sighs of relief were heard from the crowd as some held their hands over their hearts, but Prism Break wasn't entirely as relieved. Something about this place didn't feel right; who would be eating pie in the middle of a dark alleyway, anyways?

"For that matter, there's all sorts of foodstuff here!" remarked the spyclops as they walked further down the pathway, "Crumbs, whipped cream, fruit…"

Everybody else trailed behind the spyclops with a kind of piqued curiosity, but Prism Break was only filled with worry. All that food couldn't have manifested out of thin air; it had to have been placed by someone, and didn't Wrecking Ball say he was hungry before he ran off?

I have a bad feeling about this, Prism Break thought as he focused his feet on the ground, but caught his rocky toe on a stray pebble and stumbled forward!

Unable to catch his balance in time, Prism Break fell like a stone onto the cyclops in front of him, which in turn caused a domino effect of everybody else in front falling down! But it didn't stop there, no—they hadn't just fallen, they rolled down the slippery stone slope with a cacophony of screams! Prism Break wanted to tell everyone to shut up, quite frankly—he was not fond of loud noises and all—but between getting poked with every other person's elbow and jabbed in places he'd rather not mention, he couldn't get a word in!

Finally, the group crash-landed into a wide plaza, and for once, Prism Break was glad he hit his head on something. At least he didn't have to listen to everyone's screaming anymore. He groaned staggered up to his feet, but was immediately faced with a chorus of stone axes.

"Halt, intruders!" cried a bulky cyclops in black stone armor, "You are in direct violation of the king's commands, and his majesty had demanded your surrender!"

Prism Break grunted and got ready to fight, his crystals lit a fluorescent green, and everywhere else his teammates were just as prepared while they drew their weapons and fists.

"What makes you think we'll go down without a fight?" demanded one cyclops from the group.

"Would this be of any inclination to you?" crowed a dastardly voice as something stepped onto a stone balcony above them.

That something was a muscular cyclops dressed in armor decorated with fancy jewels—likely an indication of status, though that was hardly a matter of concern for Prism Break at the moment. Rather, Prism Break was more concerned about what that cyclops had in his grasp, which was none other than a miserable-looking Wrecking Ball trapped in a solid stone cast!

"WRECKING BALL!" Prism Break exclaimed as he instinctively dropped his charged crystals.

The commander only cackled as he held up Wrecking Ball for all parties alike to see. "It was all too easy to trick this little one into coming," he proclaimed as he bounced Wrecking Ball up and down like a cheap bouncy ball. "All it took was a little trail of baked goods~"

Wrecking Ball yowled in pain, whimpered, and turned his head away.

"And surely, you'll come just as easily!" The commander pointed a beefy finger at the crowds. "Guards, attack!"

The guards did just that! They cried out as they traded blows with the rebels, whether they were exchanging punches, magic blasts or good old weaponry, but the battle was intense! However, those rebels were scrappy, Prism Break would give them that. Every time they were attacked, they'd pull themselves back up and fight right back!

But, Prism Break wasn't too concerned with fighting right now. He had to get Wrecking Ball out of there! Prism Break threw his crystalline hands in front of his body as a gigantic laser tossed the soldiers collected in front of him aside. As they reeled back from the heat and the nasty burns they gained, Prism Break ran as fast as he could, and only took a moment of pause to look up at Wrecking Ball.

The frown on Wrecking Ball's face stood present as ever, but it only grew deeper as the cyclops commander looked down at Wrecking Ball and cackled.

"Look what you got your buddies into, ya little worm!" The commander sneered from up above as he glared down at Wrecking Ball. "Because you couldn't control your appetite, they all fell into my trap!"

Wrecking Ball whimpered as he heard the commander's words, then struggled to squirm out of his stone cast—but his efforts were completely fruitless. The stone was far too strong to be broken from!

The whole scene heated the stones in Prism Break's body like volcanic rock. His eyes first cast aside to the cyclops guards he had attacked prior; they were still reeling from the earlier attack, but a few of them stumbled up and seemed like they were starting to recover. Clearly, he had to act fast!

Prism Break shot off a round of lasers at the recovering guards, then watched as they fell on their backs. As they fell before his eyes, he glazed over his hands while they resounded with smoke and light. Wait, that was it! Prism Break smirked and clapped his hands as a gigantic crystal popped out of the ground from nowhere at all! His hands still fixed fast together as Prism Break rubbed them together, and sparks of heat formed in their surfaces.

Hopefully this'll get him out, Prism Break thought as he cast a glance at Wrecking Ball and then down at the crystal. Now ready, aim…

"FIRE!" Prism Break shouted as a gigantic laser beam zoomed out from his hands and into the crystal!

From there, the beam became multiple as it shot out from the many different sides of the crystal and hit everything it could've: walls, barrels, the eye of unsuspecting enemies… Prism Break looked up and beamed—for from there, one beam dug into Wrecking Ball's prison of stone and had slowly started to melt it! Yes, it was working!

Just then, that same beam shot backwards at him! Prism Break yowled as it dug right into his shoulder, and it was so hot that it felt like he was in the core of the island. He stumbled back and held his shoulder. Well, tried too, anyways, what was his lack of fingers and all.

"Thought you could pull a fast one on me, huh?" The commander asked as he rubbed a fist against his chest, a fist that bore a shiny stone mirror. "I wasn't born yesterday, you walking pile of rubble! If I couldn't have guessed that, I wouldn't be a general!"

Huh, he was a general, not a commander. Figures. Prism Break didn't have enough time right now to care about that, however—the pain in his body engulfed him completely and made him fall to his knees.

"Skylander!" called a few of the rebels as they raced to his side. "Are you alright?"

Prism Break's head spun with so much heat that he could barely form the words to reply, and even if he could, he didn't have the time! The guards he once blinded with his light recovered, and now had them all surrounded!

"GUARDS, TAKE THEM TO THE DUNGEONS!" the general proclaimed from above.