"Well, looks like this's the place," Bash remarked as he walked through the halls.

He yelped and jumped back as a massive, mechanical claw smashed into the ground and completely electrocuted it! As the lightning flooded out of the claw and into the floors, the floor panels glowed a striking cyan. Soon, they crackled with electricity so bright that it was more white than cyan, but only for a few moments before both the lightning and glow of the panels faded out once more.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bash nodded and pointed towards the button he eyed. Sure enough, it had a label that read "Button to deactivate the electrocution system!" along with something else, but the text was so tiny, and also obscured in parts with what smelled and looked a bit like gunpowder. It could barely be made out!

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

Bash grinned as he leaned down, smacked his tail against the button, and turned around just in time to catch the thorns completely freeze! As all eyes fell on them, those thorns twitched a few times less, stood tall and frozen, and folded back as they disappeared into the side of the castle. More importantly, with them gone, the electricity went away, too!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stump Smash and Warnado bounced on their feet and screamed as the shockwaves passed underneath them, yet Bash seemed hardly affected as he narrowed his eyes. His gaze fixed on the pod's clawed legs, and the static just bounced off of his rock-tough scales.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Er, uh, am I interrupting something?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Warnado was definitely going to take that chance. He popped into his shell without a second of hesitation, and zipped across the battlefield so fast that he could barely be seen to the naked eye.

But the remnants of his trip left a big enough impression! The pods' eyes dulled as they split clean in half and collapsed onto the ground en masse alongside the rest of their fallen brethren, and with them gone, the electrical barrier that blocked off the beacon finally vanished!

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

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

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

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

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

"Right!" the three of them shouted back.

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

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

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

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

"Warnado, Stump Smash!" Bash cried.

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

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

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

Just above him, Prism Break formed a crystal wave, swept Stump Smash out of the electrical storm, and bolted right after Bash! The crystal wave was so mighty that it tore through the arena around—the fencing snapped in half like it was made of twigs, structures crumbled and shattered into rubble, and even entire ledges smashed off like nothing. Stump Smash, however, didn't seem very concerned as he sat up and blew the embers from his hands, and neither did Prism Break as he rode the wave like a surfboard!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stump Smash, Warnado, and Prism Break leaped off as the electrical blast rattled around inside the crystal. As they landed by Bash, the four of them all nodded and walked off to the entrance, but froze in their steps as the sound of shattering crystals rang off behind them!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All this chaos erupted around him, but Prism Break sat frozen as he watched the monster in silent contemplation. His eyes seemed a bit glassy as he glazed over the crashing lightning, and finally, his stone silence broke as a snide chuckle left his mouth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bash rolled into a ball and slammed right into the base of the crystal right as Prism Break pulled himself up.

Bash rolled as fast as he could as he pressed further and further into it, and though it didn't fracture the crystal at all, it certainly heated it up! The crystal turned from green to red as the heat seeped into its surface, but the monster didn't notice as it continued to screech and claw at the crystal. Part of the crystal got so hot that one punch from the monster melted a hole into it! The monster gasped as its arm slid right into the crystal and tried to yank it out, but instead, the rest of its body sucked in!

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

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

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

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

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

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