Chihiro peered through the tiny hole in the wooden-door shelter she and Trigger Happy sealed themselves inside. This shelter was pretty dingy. If for some reason they got found out, they had to be prepared for whatever could come—because she was sure it wouldn't keep them safe for long.

"What're they saying? What're they saying?" Trigger Happy whispered as he jumped on Chihiro's back and peered through the hole.

"I'm trying to find out!" Chihiro hissed back as she promptly shushed Trigger Happy as she pushed him off her back, then peered back into the hole.

Chihiro winced, and pressed her ear up to the hole.

"Evil Gremlin!" Tangerine exclaimed with maybe a hint of nervousness. "What brings you here?"

"Cut the small talk," the Evil Gremlin hissed back, though that fact that it retained Trigger Happy's high and squeaky voice made it more ridiculous in sound than intimidating. "There's been reports of the Skylanders and their portal master wandering around this area, and I want to know if you've spotted them!"

"Portal master? Skylanders?" Tangerine turned to the whispering crowd of trolls, and turned back to the Evil Gremlin. "Well, what do they look like?"

"Portal master's a human kid, all black hair and loud mouth and colorless clothes…"

"Excuse you, black and white is a great color combo!" Chihiro hissed at the Evil Gremlin, though she knew it couldn't hear her. However, her anger morphed into concern as the trolls shuffled around and looked down.

"And the Skylander with her looked like me, but all orange and white and… Ugh, good…" The Evil Gremlin turned a blank eye to a contemplating Tangerine.

In that moment, Chihiro froze—because it looked like the jig was up! They'd figure it out, realize she was only masquerading all along, sell her out, and, well, who knows what would happen next! Maybe they'd all turn and attack her and Trigger Happy at once, maybe they'd try and force her to spill where the others were—oh god, what if they tried to deliver her to Kaos? Chihiro shuddered at the very thought, and turned her eyes back on Tangerine while a pair of furry hands wrapped around her shoulders and a weight gained on her back.

Tangerine seemed quiet and contemplative as they stroked their chin and examined the crowds behind, and they turned up to the tower where Chihiro and Trigger Happy hid! Chihiro squeaked and jumped away from the door, but shuddered as she crept back up to the door and peered through the hole again, just out of some kind of morbid curiosity.

"What's going on, Chi?" Trigger Happy whispered as he pulled his tiny, furry body up onto Chihiro's shoulders. "What're they doing?"

"Trig, quiet!" Chihiro whispered back, her eyes practically glued to the door. "Lemme listen!"

Chihiro gritted her teeth as Tangerine finally stopped stroking their chin, and her heart practically stopped as Tangerine turned back to the Evil Gremlin and opened their mouth…

"Nope, can't say I have!" Tangerine chirped as they hid their hands behind their back. "Just us Trollcoys here!"

Wait, what? Tangerine didn't sell them out? Chihiro's jaw dropped, but she quickly clenched it once more from sheer anticipation as she gazed back outside.

The Evil Gremlin proceeded to give Tangerine the stink eye. "Are you sure about that, troll?"

"Wouldn't say it if I wasn't, troll's honor!" Tangerine nodded as they spoke, all while their ears flopped in the winds.

The Evil Gremlin raised an eyebrow at Tangerine, sighed and turned around as Tangerine nodded again. "Very well then, we'll look around the rest of the fields." The Evil Gremlin shook a warning finger at Tangerine. "Be warned, you will be punished greatly if you're lying!"

"Good thing I'm not~" Tangerine sing-songed.

They trained their eyes on the fields, and turned back to where Chihiro and Trigger Happy hid. With a smile, they motioned for Chihiro and Trigger Happy to leave!

"They're gone, you can come out now!"

Chihiro winced, reluctantly pushed open the door and crept back onto the battlefield. Sure enough, Tangerine was right. The Evil Gremlin and the Evil Drill Robot completely left the premises! She stumbled around a bit at first as she looked over the trolls, as her legs went numb from a mixture of shock and sitting around way too long, but finally she steadied herself and gulped.

"You," Chihiro sputtered as she pointed towards herself, eyes fixed on the Trollcoys in wonder, "you didn't tell them? Why?"

"Of course not!" Tangerine walked up to Chihiro and patted her arm. "We swore you in, and that means you're one of us! We'd never betray a family member!"

Chihiro's jaw only dropped as she watched Tangerine's eyes sparkle. They saved her and Trig, knowing the risk it could come to them because they considered her family? That, Chihiro only smiled and sniffled a bit, her heart a bit warmer now.

However, Trigger Happy was far more emotional! His eyes welled with tears, and his nose with sniffles before he launched himself straight into Tangerine's arms and sobbed!

"PAR!" Trigger Happy wailed before he jumped into the next troll's arms. "Mom!"

Trigger Happy proceeded to do this with pretty much every troll currently in their team, almost overjoyed at the prospect of having a family!

"Brother! Grandpa! Second cousin once removed!"

Chihiro and Tangerine both giggled as they watched Trigger Happy's exuberant display of emotion, but Tangerine looked aside and crossed their arms.

"Besides, we don't want Kaos handling the Eternal Tech Source, anyways!" Tangerine scoffed. "Not when we have a much better use for it!"

"Wait, really?" Chihiro tilted her head.

Tangerine nodded and turned away, the smile on their face now completely soured. "You probably wouldn't believe it, but we used to be some of the finest crafttrolls in all Skylands! People came from the furthest corners of the universe just to get our wares! Our inventions practically flew off the shelves, business was booming and all was right with the world!"

Tangerine sighed and shook their head.

"But, I guess sometimes there really is such a thing as too much demand and not enough supply. So many people wanted our wares that we just couldn't keep up the pace!" Tangerine's ears flicked once, and twice. "Soon enough, we ended up using all the materials our home had to offer, and we were left in the dust because we couldn't provide those machines anymore!"

Tangerine's ears drooped in tone with their voice. "Our whole kingdom fell into poverty, and we got so desperate that when Kaos came here, claiming he could give us enough riches to get us back on our feet, our old king ate it up…"

Tangerine gritted their teeth as they looked around with narrowed, furious eyes at the battlefield before them. But, the look in their eyes almost made it seem as if their attention was focused on something else entirely, as if something other than the current mission troubled their heart.

"And look how well that worked out for us! Got strongarmed into fighting his battles, making second-rate machines, dying on the frontlines, and he didn't even fulfill a single promise he made!" Tangerine frowned as they turned back to Chihiro, but their gloomy look lightened as they smacked a fist against their hand. "That's why we're taking matters into our own hands! We're gonna take the Eternal Tech Source and use it to make enough resources to build all the machines we could dream of! With it's power, we can break out from Kaos and make our own way of living again!"

Tangerine made a small chuckle as they turned ahead. "Sure wish Trollamor was here to see it, but I s'pose I can fill him in later."

Everybody else departed towards their goal, but Chihiro herself couldn't find it in her to move forward. So she just stood there, eyes wide and legs a bit numb. She never really thought about why they would have needed the Eternal Tech Source—just that she needed to get it for herself. After the kindness they showed her, she couldn't just turn on them like that! After all, they had every reason to turn her and Trigger Happy in, but they didn't. A part of her felt like it would be betraying their trust to take the Eternal Tech Source from them, but at the same time, a tugging feeling in her gut told her it would be wrong to not bring the Eternal Tech Source to the Core! But…

"Hitomi, you comin' or not?" Tangerine shouted from across the way.

Chihiro shook her head, and ran down the pathway despite the numb, disjointed feeling in her body. "Coming!" Chihiro shouted.

Chihiro's feet pounded against the cold stone with a drum's beat as she ran up the path, but the trolls already beat her to it! By the time she arrived, they completely swarmed the strong, wooden exterior of a gate with a shiny golden lock on it!

"Alright, everyone, all together!" shouted the troll who headed the charge as the other trolls all shuffled around them and crowded the gate's front.

"Heave," everyone shouted in unison as they slammed into the gate, "ho!"

However, they all bounced off and fell on their backs. Not that this discouraged them, as they immediately got into formation and charged again, this time with a bit more speed than before; not that it did them any good, as the gate tossed them aside with the same amount of force! So, they staggered back up and seemingly got ready to charge again, it seemed like. But, instead of charging, everyone just groaned and fell flat on their tired, sore faces.

"Guess we'll have to find those keys after all," the troll who headed the charge groaned as they rubbed their sore, throbbing red head.

So, everyone dispersed and went to handle the keys, while Chihiro dove towards a small pile of rocks and tried her best to stay out of their line of sight.

What do I do? Chihiro thought as she bit her lip while she sifted through a small pile of rocks. I know we need the Eternal Tech Source for the Core of Light, but…

Chihiro went from biting to pursing her lips as she looked back at the trolls, all worn and beaten down yet still strong enough to smile. A few of them laughed and cracked jokes with Trigger Happy as they turned over barrels, a couple smaller ones cheered as they slid down a makeshift slide composed of dirt and rocks, and two particularly old ones leaned against the walls as they spoke about times gone past.

Even though they knew the stakes at hand, they still came together and had fun like any family would! That's what they were, after all; a family that despite all odds, tried their best to stick together and keep each other safe in such harrowing situations, that grappled for a single chance to get out and make a better life for themselves. Heck, for a moment, she saw a bit of herself and Mamoru as their parents embraced them again when she saw two larger trolls laugh and lift the two smaller ones that slid down the makeshift slide moments earlier…

No, no, she couldn't get distracted! Chihiro shook her head as the vision cleared and sighed. For as bad as she felt for them, Chihiro couldn't endanger her mission—beside, what good was saving them going to do if the Core was left unfinished and Kaos was still at large, ready to take them down again? She couldn't just let them have the Eternal Tech Source for the rest of all time, but she couldn't exactly leave them like this, either.

Isn't there some way to do both?

Chihiro frowned as she tossed a few rocks against the wall and watched them bounced off. "Maybe we could loan it to them for a little while? Just until they get back on their feet?" Chihiro whispered before she smiled and made a tiny nod. "Hey, that sounds like a good idea."

Chihiro smiled as she looked over the trolls, who all cheered as a smaller member of their ranks withdrew a rust-covered, but still golden key! By the time Chihiro rejoined them, they all made a path while the small troll drew towards the gate and stuck the key in its lock.

"Five, four, three," everyone chanted at once as the small troll slowly unlocked the gates, "two…"

The small troll unlocked the lock with a click, and pressed their hands against the gate's wooden surface.

"One…"

The small troll pushed the gates open, and everybody cheered as they merged into one, big crowd that stormed into the next area! This was it, the moment they all waited for!

"Time to get the Eternal Tech Source!"

§

Within the confines of a dusty, lonely part of the warfield, all was silent save for the sound of pattering footsteps and soft chatter. In moments, the Trollfields had popped out into the open and silenced themselves as they stared into a skies, a moment taken to admire the sights.

"AT LAST!" Boomont exclaimed as he pumped his fist to the skies. "We're nearly there!"

Everybody else cheered in tune with Boomont, and turned their eyes towards the gigantic barrier ahead. Their trek was close to finally concluding; everyone around could feel the intense presence of Tech Element energy as it radiated from behind the barrier's confines!

"We're here!" Tangerine proclaimed as they lead the Trollcoys through the open gate. "See, we even got here before the Trollfields—" Tangerine turned around and looked Boomont straight in the eye "—did."

Tangerine and Boomont only looked at each other in pure shock, jaws dropped and eyes bulged out of their heads and the likes. "YOU!" Tangerine and Boomont exclaimed in unison, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?" Both parties glared and clenched their brows. "GETTING THE ETERNAL TECH SOURCE, THAT'S WHAT!"

"If you think you're getting the Eternal Tech Source, buddy—" Tangerine grabbed a grenade from their belt, pulled its cord and tossed it into the open "—you can kiss my—"

The grenade blew up in a shower of fire and sparks that not only completely cut off Tangerine's sentence, but forced the Trollfields to take cover! As they sought shelter under a nearby cliff, Boomont snarled and pulled a bomb from his belt alongside a lighter.

"If that's how you want to play," Boomont growled as he lit the bomb and tossed it into the open, "so be it!"

With no further warning, Boomont tossed the bomb out and watched as the Trollcoys scattered before it hit the ground!

"Trollfields, charge!" Boomont proclaimed as he turned back to the other Trollfields, who already had their weapons at the ready!

But as the Trollfields raced full-throttle towards the open gates, they didn't catch sight of Tangerine as they stumbled out of the smoke. However, Tangerine sure saw them!

"Everyone!" Tangerine screamed as the other Trollcoys jumped back to their feet. "They're trying to take our Eternal Tech Source! Hurry!"

The Trollcoys shouted and rumbled as they grabbed their weapons and charged after the Trollfields! Before anyone knew it, the entire place devolved into chaos and fighting once more!

"Take this, Trollfield scum!" cried Atom as he yanked the pins out of an entire handful of grenades and shot them right towards Trollance and Trollcey!

Trollance and Trollcey turned around and watched with wide eyes as the grenades shot right towards them, but Dyna intercepted the grenades with a blast from a laser gun!

"Trollance, Trollcey, get to the gate!" Dyna shouted as she blew the smoke off of her gun. "I'll take this old dud!"

Dyna fixed her eyes on Atom as she shot off a round of laser blasts, but Atom was surprisingly spry despite his old age, as he managed to dodge every single one! Atom reached for another weapon, but before he could grab his arms, Dyna sniped the ground below him. She tossed him aside, all while the dynamite sticks he grappled for flew into the air and rained down on the battlefield below!

While the dynamite rain poured across the battlefield, Chihiro screamed as a dynamite stick narrowly flew over her head and straight towards… Oh no, Trigger Happy! He wandered about in a smoky cloud, completely oblivious to the dynamite stick that was about to land next to him! Chihiro teleported over to Trigger Happy's side, yanked him off the ground, and teleported away right as the dynamite exploded!

"Phew, close one!" Chihiro sighed as the dynamite erupted into a massive explosion of fire and smoke. She knelt down and went to drop Trigger Happy back off, but yelped as a lit bomb landed right by her feet! "Spoke too soon!"

Chihiro stumbled back and teleported again, but the moment she reappeared, she found herself caught within the confines of a laser gun battle! She teleported this way and that, but it seemed like there was danger at every turn! She grimaced as she stumbled away from one blast, jumped from another explosion, and whimpered as she hid behind a rock. Only to lift her head as something tapped her on the shoulder.

"You must be the portal master and the Skylander, right?" asked a kind of hoarse voice from behind Chihiro. "Come with me!"

Chihiro grunted, and turned around to find…

"Boomer?" Chihiro sputtered. "When'd you get here?"

"Boomer? Who're you talking about?" the troll asked with a shake of their head. "My name's Trollver!" Trollver shook his head and grabbed Chihiro by the hand. "But nevermind that, we need to get out of here!"

Okay, so this troll wasn't actually Boomer, but with how similar they looked, could Chihiro really be blamed for thinking that? They had the same bald head, rich green skin and bushy orange beard—though now that she got a better look, Trollver's eyes were a bright orange compared to Boomer's red, and his ears were a little droopier compared to Boomer's. Plus, his arms and hands were actually organic, though it could barely be seen as his whole body was covered in worn leather clothing that vaguely reeked of gasoline.

"DUCK!" Trollver shouted as he yanked Chihiro forward and sent them both tumbling into a ditch.

Chihiro grunted as she slammed face-first into a particularly hard rock, sat back up and rubbed her aching forehead. She stopped as she heard a shrill groan from below; whoops, in all this chaos, she forgot she had Trigger Happy with her!

"Sorry, Trig," Chihiro winced as she let Trigger Happy stumble out of her arms, and turned back to Trollver, "but seriously, dude, what was that for?"

KA-BOOM! A loud explosion coated the entire area in fiery shades of red and orange right outside their ditch sanctuary,! Well, looks like Chihiro got her answer.

Trollver shot her a tired look, but nonetheless crawled forward and poked his head out of the ditch. "Coast should be clear," Trollver whispered as he ducked back into the ditch and pulled Chihiro back up, "now come on!"

All three of them jumped out of the ditch, and with Trollver as their guide, they ducked into what seemed like a wayside ditch and tunneled under it. As it turned out, their little wayside ditch was actually a path, one that was thankfully far and safe enough from the ongoing battle. But, Chihiro couldn't help but turn around and look back as smoke wafted into the tunnels…

"Say, where are you taking us, anyways?" Chihiro asked as she turned back to Trollver.

"Some people were looking for you, you know. Think they were friends of yours." Trollver turned back to Chihiro and winked. "Portal master, Skylander."

Chihiro frantically blinked, and she and Trigger Happy gasped and stepped back.

"You know who we are?" Trigger Happy asked.

"Portal master, Skylander, thank goodness you're here!" cried a shrill, vaguely strained voice ahead.

Chihiro turned back around, beamed and let go of Trigger Happy as she saw none other than Snuckles standing in the halls! His clothes were torn just a little and his eyes were a bit puffy like he was crying, but he was alive and otherwise unharmed, thank goodness!

"Snuckles, there you are!" Chihiro exclaimed as she hugged Snuckles tight. They were both so, so, relieved just to see each other again, even though they barely even knew each other. Funny things being stuck in a battlefield does to you, huh?

Snuckles sobbed tears of joy as he hugged Chihiro, but shook his head bolted out of Chihiro's grip. "No time to talk, follow me!"

Chihiro nodded, and she raced after Snuckles with Trigger Happy's hand held tight and Trollver close behind her. The explosions that sounded off from behind became background noise as a bright light shone up ahead, and with one last spurt of running, they all raced into a massive, stone building almost like a coliseum with three other mabu men hidden within its confines! The three mabu men mumbled something to each other, and cheered as they turned around and caught sight of Chihiro!

"You must be the rest of the Mabu Defense Force, right?" Chihiro asked as she walked up to a mabu man in a particularly fancy hat.

"Yep! Name's Rizzo!" the hat mabu replied as he walked up to Chihiro and shook her hand. "Captain Rizzo!"

Chihiro grinned, and as she released Rizzo's hand, she turned back to Snuckles and tilted her head. "What happened?"

Snuckles, in response, chuckled and adjusted his hat. "Well, when I got left behind after that battle, I ran into Trollver here!" Snuckles explained as he gestured back to Trollver. "Turns out, he and his partner Trollamor found my buddies and brought them here, cause they heard we were looking for you!"

"We would've told you," Rizzo interrupted as he forced a chuckle, "but our communicators got broken in the battle. Sorry about that."

"Well, that's one thing taken care of." Chihiro sighed, and she lifted her head and blinked as the sound of footsteps sounded off against the stone.

"Come on!" said another, kind of scratchy-sounding voice as three figures made themselves barely seen against the shadows. "They should be in here!"

Out first from those shadows was an orange-skinned troll with kinda greasy black hair and small bags under their eyes, and yet the makeshift uniform of fancy leather belts, a worn leather backpack and mish-mashed camouflage was incredibly well-kept given the circumstances surrounding. They leaned down and caught their breath for a moment, but the moment they looked up and saw Trollver, their eyes lit up like stars!

"Trollver!" The orange troll shouted as they bolted off with a new energy and flew straight into Trollver's arms. "You made it alright!"

"Trollamor!" Trollver exclaimed, before he smiled and drew Trollamor into a short peck on the cheek.

The two of them held each other so softly and tenderly, it was like for a moment the entire world around them completely disappeared!

"So you're Trollver, huh?" asked a familiar voice as the other two figures stepped out from the shadows. "Yeah, I can definitely see the resemblance!"

Chihiro turned around yet again, and out from the shadowy halls came none other than Boomer and Drobot! They were a little frazzled-looking and covered in shiny dust, but thank goodness, they were alright!

"And that's the other thing!" Chihiro exclaimed as she bolted over and wrapped Boomer and Drobot in a tight hug. "You guys alright?"

"Thankfully," Drobot panted as he wormed out of Chihiro's hug. "Boomer was mistaken for one of the Trollfields' own, and we were able to take cover with them for a while!"

Boomer just chuckled, and turned to Trollver as he and Trollamor walked closer to their motley little crew.

"Heh, sorry for any weird questions you get after today, buddy!" Boomer said as he looked towards Trollver.

"Ah, it's alright, I suppose," Trollver remarked, "I'm just amazed that we have such an uncanny resemblance."

Boomer and Trollver both hummed as they examined each other, and drew back as Chihiro shoved herself between them.

"Welp, now that that's taken care of—" Chihiro dusted her hands free of the shiny dust she contracted from Boomer and held her head high "—you guys know what that means!"

"Yep!" Boomer chirped as he adjusted his backpack.

Chihiro and Boomer placed their hands together. "It's time to get the Eternal Tech Source…"

Chihiro and Boomer's little pause gained the attention of everyone around, but none more than Trollver and Trollamor, who both made gentle gasps and wide smiles.

"For the Trollfields!" Boomer proclaimed.

"For the Trollcoys!" Chihiro cried.

Chihiro and Boomer both pumped their fists to the air for moments, but promptly froze and did double takes in their general direction. Their eyes turned narrow as their smiles faded to frowns, and everyone around turned tense and backed away as the two of them shoved their faces together.

"But, the Trollcoys really need the Eternal Tech Source!" Chihiro explained. "Without it, they'll have no way to get away from Kaos!"

"Well, so do the Trollfields!" Boomer retorted. "They're stuck working with him cause nobody wants their tech anymore!"

Chihiro placed her hands on her hips and scoffed. "That's hardly an issue! If anything, the Trollcoys need it more! Their kingdom's completely out of resources!"

"Well, they can just move to another place!" Boomer gestured wildly with his free hand, turned back to Drobot and beamed. "The Trollfields need it more so they can get their machines back in business, right Drobot?"

"Uh," Drobot muttered as he looked at Boomer.

"That's ridiculous!" Chihiro exclaimed as she turned back to Trigger Happy. "It's not nearly that easy to just pack up and move, right Trig?"

"Well, er," Trigger Happy sputtered as he looked aside and scratched his cheek.

Boomer and Chihiro glared straight at each other, the tension between them like thick butter that not even a knife could cut through! They both opened their mouths with full intentions of arguing more, but before they could start…

"Uh, isn't the Eternal Tech Source supposed to go in the Core of Light?" Rizzo asked as he stepped forward and frowned.

"Yeah, Captain Rizzo is right!" Snuckles said as he pushed forward, grimaced and drew back. "I mean, we need the Core of Light to stop Kaos, and we can't complete it without the Eternal Tech Source, right?"

Snuckles looked up to receive sharp looks back from Chihiro and Boomer, whimpered and drew away. Chihiro and Boomer froze, and both of them bit the lips as they looked down at their feet. A flush of warmth formed in their cheeks, the kind born from some kind of shame on embarrassment, but finally, they both reluctantly drove away from Rizzo and Snuckles' looks.

"Yeah, but, we can just loan it to them for a bit, right? I mean, they lost their homes and got roped into all this because they lost those resources!" Chihiro winced as she looked back at the hallway that led them outside. "We can't just leave them like this! I don't know what else to do other than that!"

"Yeah!" Boomer affirmed. "After all they've gone through, we can't just leave them floundering! If we can't use the Eternal Tech Source to help them, what else can we do?"

Chihiro and Boomer both turned to Trollamor and Trollver with tense, anticipating stares. "You agree, right?" Chihiro and Boomer asked in unison.

Chihiro shoved her hands into her pockets as her eyebrows clenched further. "After all, Trollamor, you experienced this stuff firsthand! You'd understand it better than anybody else!"

"No, let Trollver do the talking!" Boomer intervened. "He's the one that knows what we're talking about!"

From beside them, however, Trollamor shuddered while a wary Trollver gently laid a hand on his shoulders, but Trollamor just swung out of Trollver's arms and stormed towards Chihiro and Boomer!

"If you don't know, how about you stay out of it?" Trollamor asked, his voice cold and venomous. "This is our problem to solve, not yours!"

Boomer and Chihiro both gasped, and drew back as Trollamour pushed his face into theirs!

"Do you think we aren't trying to fix this or something? 'Cause we sure as hell are!" Trollamor shouted as he poked a finger at Boomer. "Trollver and I have been doing everything we can to help our families get out of here so nobody else would have to get hurt because of us!"

Trollamor shuddered as he bit his quivering lip. "I'm tired of all Skylands having to suffer like we did! I don't want that stupid Eternal tech Source if it means that Kaos will get to keep gallivanting around and putting all Skylands through the same things we were put through!"

Trollamor sniffed and rubbed his nose.

"I, I, I…" Trollamor sniffled once more as his voice started to crack. "I was hoping that you'd come to take it back so we could get it out of the picture and get our folks to come to their senses, but you, you, you… You were no help at all!"

Trollamor shuddered as he pursed his lips the best as could while a pair of green arms wrapped around him.

"Trollamor's right," Trollver said, his voice tired and resigned as he stroked Trollamor's back. "The longer it takes to rebuild the Core of Light, the more time Kaos has to take over all Skylands, right? We don't want the Eternal Tech Source if it means the rest of Skylands will suffer the fallout." Trollver sighed as he hugged Trollamor a little tighter. "We were hoping that getting the Eternal Tech Source out of the picture would get our families to listen to us and cease this quarrel, but I suppose that's going to be a lot harder than we thought."

With one last scoff, Trollamor wormed his way out of Trollver's grip and dashed back down as halls. "Looks like we'll have to take care of this ourselves!" Trollamor proclaimed as he grabbed Trollver's hand. "Come on, Trollver! We can't let this battle go on any further!"

Trollver nodded, but just before he and Trollamor disappeared down the halls, he sighed and gave one last look back at Boomer and Chihiro. Something rang in his eyes, but nobody around could tell what it was; disappointment? Resignation? Concern? Whatever it was, it disappeared along with him as he and Trollamor vanished into the halls' darkness.

As their last traces vanished into the dark depths, Chihiro pursed her mouth shut and clenched a hand. She took a step forward, as if she wanted to go after them, but a glare from Snuckles and a shake of Rizzo's head caused her to draw back and sigh.

"We messed up, didn't we?" Chihiro whispered as she wiped her face.

"We really did," Boomer affirmed as he lifted his hand from Chihiro's back.

Tiny tears formed in Chihiro's eyes as Boomer patted her on the back and looked down the halls. After all, there were a lot of questions that surely pressed on their minds, and none of them were exactly easy ones. So, they stood in silent, confused contemplation, but a mighty roar rumbled as a long shadow cast itself over the area and caught everyone's attention!

"What's going on?" Chihiro shouted as she stepped back, then frowned and looked to the skies. "Wait, hold on…"

There in the heavens above, a large, round rocket slowly descended onto the battlefield!

"What's that rocket doing?"

"I don't know, but it looks like it's landing on the battlefield!" Rizzo shouted as he rushed for the hall's entrance. "We need to check it out!"

So, they all bolted out the halls and dashed out onto the battlefield, which now had a noticeable lack of battling! The Trollfields and Trollcoys completely vacated the outer section, and any other noises were completely drowned out by the rocket's noise! Rather, everything was centered at the heart of the battlefield, where that shadow grew larger and larger as the rocket came down!

So, with a nod from Chihiro and Boomer, everyone dashed into the heart, right into the fray. Despite the intense winds that the rocket whipped down, the trolls' humble groups rejoined the heart of the battlefield where all the warring parties had consolidated. Now, there was no fighting; Trollfield and Trollcoy alike laid down their weapons and fixed their eyes on the giant rocket that sat down on the rocky, wartorn ground and opened up with a hiss!

"I thought you trolls were acting suspicious," remarked a shrill voice quite similar to Trigger Happy's as three figures emerged from the rocket's smoke, "Seems as though my gut was right!"

Tangerine turned around as the smoke cleared, gasped and dropped the gun they held. "You guys!" Tangerine exclaimed as they pointed to the rocket's former passengers…

Who were none other than the Evil Gremlin and Drill Robot, who were now flanked by an orange and purple copy of Drobot!

"Us indeed." The Evil Gremlin sneered for a few moments, but its confident disposition turned sour as it glared at the trolls. "We've been keeping an eye on your little escapades for a while now. Evil Robot Dragon?"

The Evil Gremlin ushered the Evil Robot Dragon forward, and with a nod, the Evil Robot Dragon drew forward as its eyes glowed!

"This footage was found in quadrant three point fourteen point one hundred eleven at approximately two hours thirty minutes—" the Evil Robot Dragon droned before the Evil Gremlin promptly bonked it on the head.

"Get to the point already!" the Evil Gremlin growled and shook a fist at the Evil Robot Dragon.

The Evil Robot Dragon wailed and shook its head, but nonetheless resumed its projection—much to the shock and horror of the Trollfields! After all, there on that very projection, was none other than recordings of them as they crept through the confines of an old, magical-looking cavern made of blue stone!

"You're the one who set off those mega bombs, aren't you?" Boomont gasped.

"Precisely," the Evil Robot Dragon sneered in its warped, mechanical voice as its projection faded from view.

"And now that we have the evidence, we can't just let traitorous scum like you walk free! That would be a disservice to Lord Kaos!" The Evil Gremlin stepped in with a smirk. "So, we'll just have to start up the Ultimate Weapon and wipe you all out, here and now!"

The trolls gasped, yet snarled as they grabbed their weapons and raced forward! Trollfield and Trollcoy alike, it no longer mattered as they grabbed their arms! With a collective pull of their triggers, they sent a wave of laser blasts towards the minions, only for the Evil Gremlin to stop it mid-course with a blast from its guns!

Everyone gasped as the laser blast shimmered into nothingness, and with a snarl Tangerine, grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and rushed forward as they tossed the grenade towards the evil minions! Their one act of defiance sent a wave of rebellion through the crowds as the rest of the trolls grabbed their bombs, guns, and fists as they followed after Tangerine!

The Evil Drill Robot blasted the grenade in midair without a second thought, and as it wheeled around and caught sight of Tangerine, it just rumbled and shot out its drill! Tangerine gasped and swerved away just in time to avoid being hit between the eyes, but the drill still managed to slash through their arm and leave a nasty, bloody cut! Tangerine yowled as they fell to their knees and tried desperately to press the cut down with their hand.

"Tangerine!" Syracuse cried as she raced to his side and dug through her pocket. "Don't worry, I'm sure I've got some bandages in here somewhere—"

"DUCK!" Tangerine cried as he pulled Syracuse down right as a laser blast flew above them! Tangerine snarled as the laser blasted into a nearby stronghold and crafted a massive dent in the stronghold's rocky walls, but as they turned around, they directed that snarl towards the Evil Robot Dragon!

The Evil Robot Dragon chuckled as it flicked a switch on its helmet, zapped away a bundle of dynamite and chased after the troll who tossed it.

"You stupid trolls are years away from being able to defeat us!" the Evil Gremlin exclaimed as it tossed away several trolls with a blast from its guns, and looked back to the door that blocked off the Eternal Tech Source's storage room, "Unfortunately, you won't have that kind of time anymore!"

The Evil Gremlin, Drill Robot and Robot Dragon all cackled as they raced towards the door and slammed it open—or at least, they would have if a bright blue energy blast hadn't knocked them off course!

"You'll start that weapon up over my dead body!" Chihiro vowed as she, Boomer, Trigger Happy, and Drobot jumped in front of the door.

"You accursed Skylanders!" the Evil Gremlin yelled. "You'll pay for that!"

Though the evil minions snarled and reached for their weapons, Chihiro stood tall and unrelenting while she readied her next magic blast. But while Chihiro stayed confident, the Trollfields and Trollcoys seemed much less so! They drew back and huddled together with wide eyes and quivering, shaky lips, yet they seemed to settle some as Chihiro, Trigger Happy, Drobot and Boomer looked back at them and nodded.

"Stay behind us," Chihiro ordered as she and the Skylanders grabbed their weapons and turned back to the evil minions. "We'll handle these guys!"