The peninsula's surroundings and rocky plains all slowly, but surely, blended into one as Chihiro and the Skylanders traveled forth. Everywhere they looked, there was nothing but grass, cliffsides, rocks, and some very strange rock statues. The statues were all stationed in neat rows, and their appearances were completely identical—heads with legs and odd-looking faces that were all carefully constructed from bleached white stone. They looked so crude and dull that it was almost unnerving.

"There sure are a lot of statues here," Dino-Rang remarked as he examined one of the strange rock statues with a chin on his hand.

"No kidding!" Chihiro said as she giggled and patted one. "They sure are funny-looking, though!"

Chihiro jumped towards another statue and rattled its head, moved to another as she picked up its legs and made it dance. Her giggles echoed across the valley as she toyed and teased the statues in all sorts of ways, but while she did this, she was completely oblivious to how the statues trembled and shook.

However, Terrafin, Bash and Dino-Rang were quick to notice!

"Chihiro!" Dino-Rang called with a frown, "You might wanna stop messin' with those things!"

Chihiro looked up from knocking on the head of one trembling statue. "Why?"

Just then, the statue Chihiro toyed with rumbled and spewed out lava from its gaping mouth! Chihiro screamed and jumped back as the lava trailed down the hills, but soon slunk down and caught her breath. As she panted, however, even more statues poured out lava out of nowhere!

"What the heck?" Chihiro jumped to her feet and looked all around. "Where's Eruptor when you need him?!"

Chihiro yelped as the lava drew a few inches too close and teleported back to Terrafin, Bash, and Dino-Rang's side. Not that it did her any good, anyways, because all the lava from the statues converged into one, gigantic river of magma! Soon enough, their tiny circle was one of the few places safe from it, but with how fast the magma was coming, it wouldn't be for long!

As they squeezed in closer, Chihiro flung her hands in front of her person and crafted a bubble shield around the four of them! The heat was so intense that her shield cracked immediately! Chihiro winced and pressed her hands against the shield as the cracks sealed back up.

She breathed a sigh of relief, but fell down and panted. "Is it just me," Chihiro remarked as she tugged on her collar, "or are you guys getting hot too?"

"Yeah, it's not just you, Chi," Terrafin winced as he watched the shield. "That shield's getting pretty hot under the collar!"

Chihiro winced as a flash of red light cast itself over her, complete with much more intense heat than before. The heat beat down asshe turned back to her shield, which was now completely red and cracked!

"Yikes! Better fix that!" Chihiro ran towards the shield and placed her hands on it, but instead yowled and leaped back. "Dang, that's hot!"

Chihiro grimaced and held her red hot hands out. Sweat rained down her face as she exerted every bit of magic within her to cast beams of energy out at the shield, and she panted heavily. Clearly, this heat affected her just as much as it did the shield! The same was true of Terrafin, Dino-Rang and Bash, who all panted and held their heads. As they tried to collect themselves, however, a thunk sounded and turned their attention back to a shuddering Chihiro! It was hard to tell if it was the shield's lighting or the heat, but Chihiro's face was red as a cherry! Worse yet, she shook something fierce; her legs were practically jelly as she forced herself to keep the shield up, but finally fainted.

"Chihiro!" Terrafin called as he ran over and caught her before she hit the ground.

Terrafin knelt down as Dino-Rang walked over and examined Chihiro. Intense cracking noises popped out, and their attention turned back to the shield. Though Chihiro did well to repair it, the cracks were still there—and they'd only get more intense if they stayed among all this magma!

"Time to get this ball rolling!" Bash exclaimed as he clenched his teeth and bent down.

He curled up and rolled straight into the side of the shield! The impact from his attack completely dislodged the bubble shield from the ground, and sent it rolling all the way down the magma river! Everybody screamed as Bash rolled the shield all the way down the magma river, and it intermingled with the heat-induced screeches the shield squealed to to perform a symphony of terror!

The screaming only continued as the shield rolled right off a cliff, leaped into the air, and finally shattered as it slammed straight on the top of a watchtower! It was a good thing it had a nice, flat platform, or otherwise they might've been done for! The cool autumn air was for once a welcome change as the heat subsided and everybody faceplanted.

"Everyone alive?" Chihiro groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head.

Everybody else just groaned.

"Geez, that was one rough landing." Chihiro bit her lip. "Did I hit something?"

Chihiro stood up, looked down, and found that she was right! There below her was a simple, golden key! Chihiro hummed as she lifted it from the ground and watched it sparkle in the afternoon light.

"Why would somebody just leave a key lying around?" Chihiro shrugged as she put it away in her pocket. "Whatever, finders keepers."

Once everybody collected themselves, the four of them walked down the watchtower's spiraling staircase, which lead to a humble, largely untouched dirt road. With nowhere else to go, they followed the road down. The autumn breeze cooled them down as they walked in silence, but they stopped short as they caught sight of a gate not that far ahead!

"Oh, that's why!" Chihiro exclaimed as her eyes widened. She retrieved the key from her pocket and beamed!

Chihiro rushed up to the gate, then plunged the key into the lock and turned it open. "Kinda wonder why someone would just conveniently drop that nearby." Chihiro pushed the door open. "Whatever!"

The path beneath them changed from dusty dirt to carefully crafted stone floors as the gate swung open. Those floors revealed a stone fortress of some kind, filled with wooden barrels, tall stone walls, and pathways that changed from stone to dirt once more. At the front of the furthest wall was the most interesting sight—a gate with three locks, all of which already had keys inserted and a sign hung above them that read "To Stonetown!"

"Lucky!"

Chihiro rushed forward, grasped her hand around the first key, and turned it in a slow, almost dramatic manner.

"Something about this doesn't feel right, guys," Bash remarked with a frown as Chihiro opened the gate.

"What doesn't feel right, Bash?" Terrafin asked as he looked down at Bash.

"It feels a little too easy." Bash zeroed his gaze in on the gate. "Why would those keys just be conveniently in the locks already?" Bash turned his gaze towards the many barrels that surrounded them. "Also, what's with all these barrels? Why would there be so many in one place?"

Chihiro turned the second key in a similar slow manner and reached for the third, but something pushed her back before she could even move it an inch! Chihiro screamed as she fell to the ground, and gasped as the sound of laughter echoed through the realm.

She shook her head as a shadow cast over her, and looked up to find an evil clone of Terrafin who was all purple and brown and mean all over with the keys spun around its finger!

"You!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and pointed at the Terrafin clone.

"Me!" the Terrafin clone replied as it smiled and pointed to itself.

Chihiro shoved herself in its face, but it quickly pushed her back before she could even move further. However, Chihiro only grunted and stood her ground.

"Give us back those keys!" Chihiro shook her fist at the evil Terrafin clone, her eyes narrowed.

"Why should I?" The Terrafin clone raised an eyebrow. "Cause you'll cry if I don't?"

"Nah," Terrafin interrupted as he shook his head and cracked his knuckles. "We'll just fight you for them!"

"Yeah!" Bash and Dino-Rang added as they followed Terrafin forwards.

"Four against one? That's hardly fair!" the Terrafin clone remarked as it looked up above. "Seems like I should level the playing field!"

The Terrafin clone whistled and trained its gaze towards the clear skies! As a shadow dropped down from nowhere, it stepped back right as the shadow's owner crashed to the ground.

"Evil Dirt Shark!" The first person, a purple and brown doppelganger of Prism Break, called as it knelt down before the Evil Dirt Shark. "You called?"

While the Prism Break clone knelt, another shadow barreled into the ground, shook its head, and stood up.

"You better have a good reason for this, Evil Dirt Shark!" the Evil Rock Dragon snarled.

"You?!" Bash exclaimed as he caught sight of the Evil Rock Dragon. "How'd you get back here?"

The Evil Rock Dragon glared down Bash in response. "You really think one little flight was gonna stop me?"

"Evil Rock Dragon, Evil Crystal Golem!" the Evil Dirt Shark called as it tossed a key to the other two.

The two of them turned around, caught their keys immediately, and turned their attention back to the Evil Dirt Shark.

"Take those keys somewhere where the Skylanders can't find them, right now!"

As the two of them nodded and ran off, the Evil Dirt Shark dove underground and swam away!

"You! You!" Chihiro exclaimed as she chased after the Evil Dirt Shark, her cheeks puffed like a squirrel's as she shook her fist. "Get back here and face me like a shark!"

Terrafin lunged forward and got ready to chase after Chihiro, but the moment he took a step forward the whole area began to rumble. As he stopped, Terrafin looked behind to see that all those barrels were… Shaking?

"That can't be good," Terrafin remarked.

Terrafin was right! The barrels all exploded in unison and forced Chihiro, Terrafin, Bash, and Dino-Rang to take cover! As they narrowly dodged a showed of splintered wood, a chorus of gnashing teeth and incoherent gremlin noises shouted out around the area. The four of them all looked up as the shower cleared, but found an army of blue chompy-looking things before them instead of any sort of sky!

"I had a feeling those barrels were a bad thing," Bash remarked as he held his head. "Crunchers, of all the things…"

"Crunchers?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head.

"They're like chompies—" Bash winced as he looked up at the cruncher army, which looked about ready to pounce "—but way worse!"

The crunchers growled and barked as they jumped after Chihiro, Bash, Terrafin, and Dino-Rang, who were just as quick to launch themselves into the fray! Dino-Rang was the first to jump into battle as he tossed his boomerangs at the crunchers, but the crunchers only latched onto the boomerangs as they returned to Dino-Rang's side! Dino-Rang grimaced as they flew over to him and bit onto his snout!

"Not again!" Dino-Rang exclaimed as he tried to pull the crunchers off of his snout. "Get off'a me, ya little weeds!"

Right as Dino-Rang fruitlessly tried to pull the crunchers off of him, a gigantic rock crashed nearby and created such a blast that it blew the crunchers straight off! Dino-Rang blinked, and looked behind as Bash frantically smashed through rock pillar after pillar! In Bash's defense, his rock assault DID knock the crunchers away—but there was no discernment between friend and foe in the heavy rain of rocks and boulders!

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, Bash!" Terrafin exclaimed as he narrowly dodged a giant boulder.

Bash looked over and cringed as Terrafin jumped away from the crash site of another large boulder. "Heh, sorry guys," Bash remarked as he looked towards Terrafin. His eyes widened as he leaped a foot in the air. "OWCH!"

As Bash landed, he turned around to find that several crunchers had latched onto his tail! He frantically stomped about and shook his tail as fast as he could, but those crunchers latched on tight. There was no shaking them!

"Get them off me!" Bash shouted as he jumped around. "Get them off me!"

Chihiro caught sight of this, teleported over and latched onto Bash's tail. She tried to yank the crunchers off herself, but their grip was far too strong for her own! Instead of shaking them, she ended up getting shaken as well!

"Whoa, oah!" Chihiro exclaimed as she was flailed up and down. "Bash! Stop, You're making me dizzy!"

As Terrafin punched away a few crunchers, he looked over to see Bash and Chihiro still screaming and unsuccessfully trying to drive away crunchers. "Looks like they could use a hand," Terrafin remarked as he cracked his knuckles. "Or a fist!"

So, he dove underground and tunneled over to Bash and Chihiro's side. Chihiro, meanwhile, grunted as she reached out her hand and tried to pull a nearby cruncher off, only to pop right off of Bash's tail as something slammed right into the ground! Chihiro winced as she fell on her back, pulled herself up and beamed! There before her was none other than Terrafin, who pulled himself up from what appeared to be a bodyslam. At least, judging by the Terrafin-sized imprint in the ground, anyways.

For that matter, Chihiro wasn't the only thing shaken! The various crunchers that latched onto Bash's tail all fell off and stumbled around, barely able to keep their footing. Now was her chance! Chihiro held out her hand and shot out a pulsating wave of magic! That wave of magic enveloped the crunchers as they looked about in confusion, and shocked them so badly that they were left completely fried! Smoke emitted from their bodies as they whimpered and passed out.

"Thanks for that, Terrafin," Bash said as he rubbed his now red and sore tail.

"No prob, Bash!" Terrafin replied as he walked over and playfully smacked Bash on the back.

The crunchers all looked around at the chaos the battle had brought, then huddled together into one big, blue blob. From up close, it kind of looked like they were whispering to each other!

"Wha'dya think they're doing?" Chihiro asked as she examined the crunchers. "Are they planning something?"

"Nah, there's not smart enough for that, Chi!" Terrafin said as he patted Chihiro's shoulder.

Chihiro giggled and held a hand to her mouth. "You got that right! I bet they have weeds for brains!"

"As if they have any brains at all!"

Terrafin and Chihiro both laughed, but it seems the crunchers didn't find their smart remarks so funny. Instead of laughing, they all twitched and turned to the quartet with bared teeth and low growls! Terrafin and Chihiro both cut short their laughter as they all stared down each other in one big stalemate. It was a moment of tense peace, with both parties in anticipation of the others' next move…

But finally, the crunchers huddled together and stacked on top of each other until they created one gigantic wave! It was as tall as the fortress they fought in, and worse yet, it came in fast!

"Crap!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped into action and crafted a shield around her group.

But as the crunchers rained down, her shield started to crack under the pressure, literally! Chihiro squeaked as white cracks formed in its surface, held out her hands and watched the cracks vanish.

Bash, Dino-Rang and Terrafin watched Chihiro hold up the shield for moments and shuffled together.

"We gotta do something about those crunchers," Terrafin whispered as he cast the cruncher wave a glance, "but what?"

"Those pillars worked pretty well the last time!" Bash whispered back as he followed Terrafin's gaze. "Maybe we should use those!"

"Yeah, and with my stone traps it'll be a piece of cake!" Dino-Rang added as he slammed a scaly fist against his palm.

Terrafin nodded. "That does sound pretty good, but I have a better idea!"

The three of them discussed their ideas in hushed whispers far too low to be heard, and finally broke away and nodded.

"Chi," Terrafin called as he walked up and tapped Chihiro's shoulder. "Drop the shield!"

"But, why?" Chihiro asked as she turned to Terrafin and back up at the shield. "There's no way we can tackle all these things at once!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, cause we've got a plan!"

Chihiro took one look at Terrafin, next at Bash and Dino-Rang in the background. With an understanding nod, Chihiro let go of the shield as her hands' light flicker out. Chihiro shuddered as the quake struck, teleported to the safety of a nearby rooftop, and watched the battle unfold.

The shield flickered at last in unison with Terrafin, who dove underground and tunneled at a massive speed! His speed was so great, in fact, the ground around shook and cracked so badly that the cruncher wave completely dissipated! While the crunchers stumbled about dazed and confused from the shock of Terrafin's little swim, Terrafin popped out of the ground! He looked over the cracks that now formed in the ground, and signaled towards Bash.

Bash, in response, slammed his tail into the ground as the cracks enlarged. "Dino-Rang, now!" Bash exclaimed as he turned back to Dino-Rang.

Dino-Rang nodded, slammed his fists onto the ground, and sent dozens of stone traps shooting out from the fissures! With every sent out, dozens of crunchers went flying away! Bash, Dino-Rang and Terrafin were more than content to watch as the mostly-unconscious crunchers rained from above, but when the earth started to rumble and the cracks grew wider, well, they were definitely singing a different tune as they scurried to safety!

"Guess it's my turn!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pressed her hand against the rooftop and teleported away.

Chihiro popped back down and held out her glowing hands. As she held them, magic sprung from her palms and flew into the fissures, which glowed a bright blue—but only for a few seconds before the magic faded out entirely.

"Guess I'll need a little backup!"

Chihiro clenched her teeth and clapped her hands. As she clapped them, a bunch of magical glue bottles manifested out of thin air! Once there was enough to nearly blot out the sky, Chihiro clapped once more and watched as they grew to a giant's size!

"Glue bottles!" Chihiro pointed towards the growing fissures. "Seal up these cracks!"

The glue bottles bowed as if they were nodding, and immediately went to work as they glued the fissures back together with magic! Soon enough, the magic glue sealed the area back in place, and in the process, completely coated the crunchers in a sticky prison! The crunchers struggled and struggled, but it was no use! They were completely trapped!

Chihiro smirked as she rested her hands on her hips while the glue bottles disappeared, and turned her attention back to Bash, Terrafin and Dino-Rang. "That was awesome, guys!" Chihiro exclaimed as her smirk turned to a genuine smile, "Up top!"

Cheers erupted all around as Chihiro high-fived the others, but died as soon as they looked at the gate. Even though that was taken care of, there was still the issue of finding that keys and getting past that gate.

"Looks like we've still gotta find those keys, don't we?"

Chihiro sighed and hung her head, but shook it as she turned back to the others. Their gaze trailed to the gate's sides, where two paths resided. Both went from stone to dirt, but while the leftmost was wide open and covered in grass and flowers, the other was more cavern-like with its cobweb decorations and black depths. Two paths, four beings—guess the decision to make here was obvious.

"Bash, DR, you guys take that grassy path. Fin and I will check out the crypt!" Chihiro let go of the huddle and stood tall. "Got it?"

"Got it!" the other three proclaimed as they split into their respective groups and began to part ways.

"Good luck, guys!" Chihiro exclaimed as she waved back at Bash and Dino-Rang.

§

Birds flew en masse out of the nearby trees as screams echoed from the valley, only amplified by the vast nothingness that its plains provided. The birds weren't the only thing that flew, however. If one were to look closely in the distance, the silhouettes of what seemed to be two people in bulky armor soared against the vast blue along with what sounded like screaming.

Bash smiled as he rolled back and unfurled himself with his eyes trained on the objective: the stone gates of what appeared to be a gigantic fortress which was flanked by two remaining guards. The guards narrowed their eyes as they held their shiny spears tight, but that was of no matter to Bash. His skin was far too hard for them to even dent it to begin with! So, he got ready to curl up…

"Incoming!" Dino-Rang exclaimed from beside Bash.

Right before Bash could make his move, a familiar pair of boomerangs soared over his head and slammed the guards right into the walls of the very fortress they were trying to protect! The boomerangs flew back into the scaly green hands of Dino-Rang as the guards groaned and slunk down, and Dino-Rang blew them off like they were smoking guns. The two of them watched the guards with a wary kind of intentness, but finally Bash walked up to them and gently prodded their heads to gain no response in return. Yep, these guards were definitely out for the count!

"Nice one, Dino-Rang!" Bash cheered as he gently batted Dino-Rang's shoulder with the mace of his tail.

"Ah, it's nothin', mate!" Dino-Rang brushed away Bash's tail, a slight smile on his face. "These kinda techniques are stuff they'd teach ya as soon as yer old enough to hold a 'rang where I'm from!"

"Still cool, though."

Bash smiled and furled himself into a ball and rolled into the open gates of the fortress. Even though it paled in comparison to flying, Bash loved the freedom that came with rolling through the plains as the breeze dusted his scales with its gentle kisses… And he slammed into a wall. Ouch. Bash groaned as he rolled back and popped open, then shook his head and looked up.

There before him was a gigantic beaten pathway made out of a large cliff face, except a good chunk of its sections was hollowed out. Beside these broken segments were none other than massive stone blocks. These stone blocks were big enough to easily fit into the various gaps in the pathway, but they did look quite heavy. Good thing Bash was as tough as a rock!

Bash only walked forward, pressed his head against the first block in front of him, and pressed the entire side of his body when that didn't work. And then slammed it with his tail. But even so, the block itself only pressed forward a few inches! Bash stopped and heaved his breath, but he wasn't going to give up just yet! He backed up and charged forward, and slammed his head straight into the block as it slid right into the spot it was meant for.

Bash stepped forwards, a moment taken to rub the dust off of his snout, then walked through the path, but found yet another massive stone block. With a sigh, he stepped back and got ready to charge it…

"Hey, Bash!" Dino-Rang called as he stepped to Bash's side. "Blimey, that's one big rock!" Dino-Rang paused and looked down at Bash. "What're ya doin'?"

"Trying to charge into it to push it in?

"Or we could just push it together?"

Dino-Rang walked up to the stone block and pushed against it with all his might! Bash shrugged, walked up to the block and pushed against it as well. The stone laboriously slid against the earth as they pushed, and finally slid straight into the hole! Not to mention with half the pain of slamming his face full-force into it, too! Bash smiled, and he and Dino-Rang looked at each other with a nod before proceeding.

"You know, Rang, I've always wondered," Bash remarked as they climbed up the way, "what was your old homeland like?"

"My old home?" Dino-Rang repeated Bash’s words with maybe a bit of surprise, but he made a small chuckle and looked out at the vast plains. "Well, it was a lot like this old place, to be honest!"

Bash pressed himself against another cinder block that masked the way ahead. "Really?"

"You bet'cha!" Dino-Rang pushed as well as the block slid into the slot ahead. "Lots of dunes and grassy plains whereva ya looked, tons of wild animals as far as the eye could see, clear skies all day…" Dino-Rang smiled as Bash hopped onto the cinder block. "Why, I'd go so far to say it was a regular paradise!"

"It sounds really nice! Like the perfect place to roll around…"

"Ya certainly could've!" Dino-Rang and Bash walked ahead with their footsteps brisk and almost kind of relaxed. "Never did much rollin', though. I always spent my time huntin' or practicin' with my 'rangs!"

Dino-Rang flicked one of his boomerangs ahead, watched it fly back and caught it without even flinching. "As you ken see, it really paid off!"

Dino-Rang smiled as he rubbed his thumb against his boomerang, a sense of loneliness in his orange eyes. Bash couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Dino-Rang as he heard him talk. Something about the way Dino-Rang spoke of his homelands felt almost… Yearning, like a desire for something so long gone that you'd never see it again, but you still can't help but want for it to come.

"Do you miss your home?"

Dino-Rang's smile fell for a bit, but it returned nonetheless as he made a small nod. "Can't help but miss it sometimes. You'll always find yourself missing the place ya grew up in eventually." Dino-Rang clutched his boomerangs tight. "Or the folks ya grew up with. " Dino-Rang looked to the skies as a flock of birds flew overhead. "But 'cha know, Skylands has a lot of charms of its own, so I don't get too upset now!"

As Dino-Rang smiled, Bash couldn't help but smile as well. Dino-Rang's optimism was contagious, to be honest. When he smiled and cracked his jokes that didn't really make any sense, everybody else burst into smiles, too!

Dino-Rang shook his head and stomped forward. "Ah, I got carried away again, didn't I? C'mon, Bash, we've gotta find that key!"

"Oh, right!" Bash exclaimed as he ran forwards, "I completely forgot!"

The two of them ran up to the next stone block, and pushed it in its path to find that ahead, the pathway had ended! Instead, what greeted them was another row of stone walls and gigantic tower fortresses.

Geez, just how big is this fortress, anyways? Bash thought with a toothy frown. It feels like we've been walking through this place forever!

As Bash reflected, his eyes trailed over to the top of the tallest pillar in the fortress, which had a shimmer of gold reflected and just barely visible to the naked eye!

"Dino-Rang, did you see that?" Bash asked as he nudged Dino-Rang's arm and pointed to the top of the fortress. "We've found our key!"

Dino-Rang frowned, held a hand over his eyes and watched the fortress. "Looks like we 'ave!" Dino-Rang smiled and nudged Bash's shoulder. "Come on!"

The two of them ran towards the pathway with a spring in their step, but soon, that run turned to a walk then stopped altogether. Something seemed almost strange about this. They were alone in a fortress with no traps or guards or enemies in sight, and it was quiet in a way that felt almost wrong. Either way, they carried on to the large pillar, which, much like the path before, had several gigantic cinder blocks strewn about a pathway full of deep holes. They walked up to the first block in the way, pushed it into the hole, but they heard a click followed by what was possibly the loudest siren blare they ever heard!

As they stumbled back in confusion, trolls, drow soldiers and only the Ancients know what else dropped in from nowhere, weapons brandished and ready to fire! Bash gritted his teeth, ready to roll out and attack, but one of the trolls jumped back in fear.

"Evil Rock Dragon, sir, it's you!" the troll proclaimed in a sheer level of panic. "Our apologies, sir!" The troll frantically bowed and shook their head. "What brings you to the fortress, sir?"

"… Huh?" Bash uttered as he crooked an eyebrow, and yelped as Dino-Rang gently nudged his elbow.

"Mate, listen, now's our chance!" Dino-Rang whispered as he nudged himself just close enough to Bash for nobody to notice. "We just gotta convince these blokes that yer on their side!"

"But how do I do that?" Bash looked towards Dino-Rang and cringed. "I'm not really good at lying or making things up on the spot."

"Just follow my lead."

Dino-Rang whispered something into Bash's ear and drew back with a scowl as Bash nodded and turned back to address the waves of Kaos's cronies.

"Well," Bash said after a quick clear of his throat. "I managed to take one of the Skylanders captive in a fit of luck! I was going to take him in to Lord Kaos—" Bash nudged his head above "—but, I need the key up there to reach Lord Kaos's prisoner ship!"

"Yes, sir!" The nervous-looking troll froze into a salute and ran over towards the pillar. "I'll just go take care of that pesky alarm system for you…"

"Hold up a second," said a lanky drow from the crowd as they pulled back the troll. "We don't have a ship for prisoners, just a warship! Even then, we have teleporter wristbands for that! Why would you need a key?"

"W-well," Bash sputtered as he broke into a slight sweat. "My teleporter wristband broke in the fight with the Skylander!"

"Oh, is that so?" The drow shook their head and walked closer to Bash. "Let me see it, then. I'm sure I could fix it up a little—"

"NO, NO! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Bash jumped back while sweat dripped even faster down his brow. "I, I mean, it's well beyond repair, I doubt you could do anything about it."

The drow crossed their arms as their ears twitched. "Then why not have Lord Kaos portal you back to the warship? You have a communicator device, don't you?"

"THAT GOT BROKEN IN THE FIGHT TOO!" Bash spat out as his legs shook. "A-and, besides, Lord Kaos does get pretty testy when people interrupt his evil plotting!"

"Don't you mean glorious evil plotting?" The drow finally pushed their face in front of Bash's. "For that matter, you look kind of dirty… Have you not been bathing lately?"

"I DIRT-BATHE DAILY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Bash shot back as he pushed his face in the drow's.

"What's going on here?"

All eyes turned to the back of the crowd as a voice much like Bash's own echoed throughout the field, and in that moment, Bash knew that the jig was up. Right behind the crowd was none other than the Evil Rock Dragon with the Evil Crystal Golem by its side!

"EVIL ROCK DRAGON!" The drow exclaimed as it looked back at Bash and then at the Evil Rock Dragon. "WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU?"

The Evil Rock Dragon's jaw dropped as it stared down Bash, but soon it growled and pointed a claw.

"YOU'VE HAD WOOL PULLED OVER YOUR EYES, YOU BUFFOONS!" The Evil Rock Dragon exclaimed as it bore its teeth. "That's a filthy Skyander!"

"He's the real imposter!" Bash exclaimed as he pointed a claw back at the Evil Rock Dragon. "Get him! Please!"

"PLEASE?"

The minions cried out in unison as they brandished their weapons at Bash and Dino-Rang.

"The Evil Rock Dragon never says please or thank you!" The drow exclaimed as they withdrew a mechanical stick that soon expanded into a long scythe, but it cast a glance aside. "Sure wish it would though—" the drow shook their head and pumped their scythe to the skies "—HE'S THE REAL FAKE! ATTACK THEM!"

The minions all readied their weapons and pointed them towards a shaking Bash and a sighing Dino-Rang.

"Well, it was a nice plan in theory." Dino-Rang sighed as he withdrew his boomerangs, his brows tightened. "Guess we're gonna have to do things the old-fashioned way!"

Dino-Rang flung the boomerangs straight towards the troll and drow that harassed him and Bash just moments earlier, and watched with pride as they beaned the minions in the head! He reclaimed his boomerangs and basked in a momentary victory, but jumped back as the other minions cried out and charged!

"Guess that's my cue!" Bash exclaimed as he curled into a ball and charged!

Bash razed down the crowd with a cheetah's speed, and created a clean path as he knocked the petty soldiers to the skies! It was all so exhilarating as he dashed through the crowds and poured down the grassy green hills, so much that he was fully ready to turn around and do it again—but before he could, something blindsided him and slammed him down!

"Though you could get away with impersonating me, did you?" The Evil Rock Dragon exclaimed as it pushed against Bash. "You're not good enough to be my fake!"

"Fake?" Bash shouted back as he pushed further against the Evil Rock Dragon. "You're the real faker around here!"

"I'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!"

The Evil Rock Dragon pushed forwards with a renewed strength just strong enough to slam Bash against a nearly tree! Bash flew into the tree and snapped its trunk in half, but he wasn't deterred! He merely jumped back to his feet and rolled again! Bash and the Evil Rock Dragon slammed and slammed against each other like combating pinballs in a tilting pinball machine, neither party willing to fall into the deep…

But while Bash and the Evil Rock Dragon went at it, Dino-Rang held a battle of his own! he shot out boomerangs through the massive crowds of enemies with ever spin and twist and flick of his wrist, all of which were knocked down like flies in seconds!

"Y'know, you lot are a lot easier than you look!" Dino-Rang proclaimed as he sent a wave of gremlins down for the count with a shot of his boomerangs. "I've faced kittens tougher than you! Where's the challenge, mates?"

Dino-Rang reclaimed his boomerangs from the skies and held them high, but yelped as something seared his hands! Dino-Rang dropped his boomerangs and gasped as he found them fried and charred! He knelt down and went to pick them back up, but they were so hot that he couldn't even touch them!

"What're you gonna do now, dragon?" The Evil Crystal Golem sneered as it stepped past the crowds of fallen soldiers. "Your novelty act's been burned!"

Dino-Rang scowled, clasped his fists together and slammed then straight into the ground! With the force of an earthquake, rows of stone traps exploded from the ground and sent the unconscious soldiers flying into the distant skies.

"I AIN'T A DRAGON, YA BLOKE!" Dino-Rang exclaimed as he snarled, his fists still clenched tight.

The traps resided, and soon revealed that the battlefield was now completely cleared out save for Bash, Dino-Rang, and the evil clones. It was an even field at last; two versus two in the vast nothingness of the open plains. But, which side would come out victorious? Bash grunted as he rolled back to Dino-Rang, who only recollected the now-cooled down boomerangs from the grass.

The two of them glared down the evil clones, but soon they both pounded the ground once more and gated off the fortress with a wall of stone pillars! All that came from the other side was pounding and annoyed screams as the clones tried to break the walls, but to no avail. These walls were tough, sp they simple wouldn't crack or budge.

"Now!" Dino-Rang shouted as he and Bash bolted up the pillar's pathway!

The two of them ran like their lives, or perhaps the fate of Skylands itself, depended on them obtaining this simple key! As they ran up the path and faced another cinder block, however, Bash paused and frowned as he looked down on Dino-Rang's precious boomerangs. They were completely covered in char and soot; there was no way they'd still be usable after all that!

"Sorry about your boomerangs," Bash whispered as his crimson eyes fixed on them.

"Oh, these old things?" Dino-Rang only smiled and brushed them off. "They're a lot more durable than ya think, mate!" Dino-Rang held the boomerangs out towards Bash as the soot fell into a pile at their feet. "See? Good as new!"

Bash smiled as he looked down at the boomerangs, which sure enough, were now free of any contamination! Dino-Rang's homeland must have had some pretty impressive woodsmiths, or boomerang-smiths, or whatever one calls people who make boomerangs.

Bash heard something that sounded like splitting stone and looked back at his gate—hat was soon to be no more! A gigantic, circular crack had formed in the center of the gate, and it spread with every passing minute. At this rate, it probably wouldn't last much longer!

Dino-Rang seemed to understand this as well, as he stowed away his boomerangs and pushed the cinder block ahead! He only grunted and carried on as Bash joined him in pushing the block, and ran ahead as it finally slid into place! The cracking stone was a backdrop to their adventures as Bash and Dino-Rang ran up paths and pushed blocks into place. Though they ran fast, the cracks spread even faster than they could run, and soon enough…

SMASH!

A loud, crumbling sound froze Bash and Dino-Rang in place, then finally they pushed themselves to turn back and see that their barrier had completely cracked and crumbled into itty-bitty pieces! And who else would be in the center of the fray but the Evil Rock Dragon and the Evil Crystal Golem? Both evil clones looked up at Bash and Dino-Rang (Or at least seemed to. It was hard to tell from the distance).

The Evil Crystal Golem raised a crystalline hand that glowed harsh and bright against the afternoon sun, and from there, a cavalry of lasers sprung in all directions! Dino-Rang ducked as a laser shot just inches away from his head, but Bash only curled himself into a ball.

"I'll take care of these creeps!" Bash exclaimed as he rolled straight off of the pathway. "You just get the key!"

Dino-Rang nodded as Bash rolled onto the grass and began chasing down the evil clones. As Bash worked, Dino-Rang stood back up and bolted up the free pathway! While Dino-Rang climbed the pathway, Bash mowed down grass and kicked up dust everywhere he rolled; which was a perfect masquerade as he chased down the Evil Crystal Golem! While the Evil Crystal Golem panted and fell to its knees, Bash smirked. Now was the perfect opportunity to raze it down!

"Oh no you don't!" the Evil Rock Dragon shouted as it slammed straight into Bash from behind!

This unexpected assault tossed Bash straight into the air, and with a labored grunt, Bash landed right onto his back. He groaned as he tried to stagger back up, but then, the Evil Rock Dragon crashed right into him again and slammed him straight into the pillar! Bash stumbled up and winced as Dino-Rang ran further and smiled at Bash as he passed.

Dino-Rang glared down the Evil Rock Dragon, but Bash roared as he coiled into a ball and bolted straight for the Evil Rock Dragon! The Evil Rock Dragon snarled, and did the same! The more Bash ad the Evil Rock Dragon traded blows, the more they blew across the battlefield that was once the plains. Neither party was quite willing to relent, but Bash was starting to get a bit more worn down from all this fighting.

Bash uncurled himself and panted as he flew away yet again. His head hung low as he regained his breath and strength, and he looked up but flew back as a laser hit him square in the chestplate! Bash groaned as he slammed into the cliff.

"Ooh, birdies, everywhere," Bash groaned as he popped out of the cliff and stumbled about.

With Bash out of the way, the Evil Crystal Golem smirked and blew off its hands. Its attention turned towards the pillars as it held up its shining crystalline hands, which whistled like a machine building power.

Dino-Rang gritted his teeth as he ran further up the path, but faced with a gigantic cinder block right in front of the final stop! A gigantic laser shot right in between him and the block as he walked closer towards it, and forced him to jump back! Dino-Rang fell down as even more lasers shot out from all angles. After he took shelter, he glanced down to find the Evil Rock Dragon rolling up the way!

"Crap, I gotta make this quick!" Dino-Rang whispered as he tried to crawl further towards the block again, but crawled back as another laser shot through.

Dino-Rang narrowed his eyes and withdrew his boomerangs. He gritted his teeth, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent the boomerangs swirling around the cinder block! Dino-Rang ducked as another laser passed over him, but popped his head up as a golden key slid onto his snout!

"Alright!"

Dino-Rang grabbed the key off of his snout and stood while the laser light show came to a close. He took another quick look down, and smiled as he found both evil clones completely unconscious and his boomerangs on their way back! He recollected them in a swift movement and jumped down the paths.

"Bash!" Dino-Rang called as he finally reached the beginning of the path, "Look what I got!"

Bash shook his head and smiled as Dino-Rang came into view with the key in hand. "Nice going!" Bash exclaimed as he jumped to his feet.

"Couldn't have done it without'cha, mate." Dino-Rang patted Bash's head, turned around and walked off. "Now c'mon, we've gotta get back to the others!"

The two of them smiled as they walked down the silent, notably less grassy plains with a new sense of accomplishment in their hearts.