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

The massive crowd of Skylanders behind Drobot peered ahead and steeled their gaze, for he was definitely right. Up ahead, just far enough for the Skylanders to see but not be seen, greebles marched in rows like palace guards with massive cannons and shiny swords practically as big as the greebles themselves were tight in grip! Greebles may not be the brightest creatures in the book, but there were way more greebles that they were Skylanders. Heck, those greebles practically flooded the halls until they were no more than a sea of pink and purple!

Everyone scrambled behind a particularly large string of talons that lined the halls as a fleet of greebles marched down the way; their chests raised and breath held as the greebles looked around. The greebles shrugged and walked back up the halls, and the Skylanders collectively exhaled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He was right on time, too, for a massive storm of bombs flew down from above right as he lifted the shield, and they all crashed right into its barrier of light! The sound of explosions rang across the battlefield as massive, brightly-colored flames burst against the shield's surface, but soon they vanished and left behind nasty cracks and dents in the shield's exterior.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It's you!" everyone cried at once as they stepped back. "Those guys!"

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

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

The tension completely dissipated from the arena as the evil clones dropped their jaws, and some grew so shocked that their strength in their legs gave out and they planted face-first on the floor.

This included the Evil Bomb Troll, who grunted as it stood up and rubbed its nose. "Wait a second," the Evil Bomb Troll sputtered as it rapidly blinked. "You don't remember who we are?"

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

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

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

"Same here!"

"Not a clue."

"You all new or something?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"QUIET, ALL OF YOU!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Camo clone sighed and buried its face into its paws. "I don't know why I bother."

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

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

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

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

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

Lightning Rod grunted as he slammed face-first into the ground, got up and hastily dusted himself off. "You saw nothing," Lightning Rod hissed as he shot a glare towards Flameslinger and Ghost Roaster.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drobot winced and grappled for his helmet's controls as the lava bubbled underneath him, but Drill Sergeant tackled the lava king aside! Drobot landed on the ground and dashed off as Drill Sergeant swerved around.

Drill Sergeant whipped out his laser cannons with his gaze fixed on the Camo clone while targets crossed his eyes. "Target," Drill Sergeant boomed as bright light formed at the mouth of his laser cannon, "ACQUIRED!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Evil Mace Crab grinned as its eyes fell on the completely frozen Chop Chop, and it dashed up to Chop Chop before it smacked him in the chest with its mace! Chop Chop screamed as he slid across the ground, slipped right between two of the fenceposts, and tottered over the side of the island. Chop Chop screamed as his whole body tottered over the edge, fully ready to fall off—but before he could plummet to his foreseeable doom, Stealth Elf leaped out of nowhere and yanked him up by his feet! With one swing, she tossed him back onto the battlefield, withdrew her daggers and flipped off.

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

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

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

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

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

The Dino-Rang clone grunted as it turned towards the source of Ghost Roaster's voice, and got railroaded by a gigantic flaming green skull—or, in other words, Ghost Roaster himself! Ghost Roaster cackled as he smashed into the Dino-Rang clone and tossed it right into the Ignitor clone.

As the two clones crashed into the fence, Ghost Roaster turned his attention to a cluster of trembling spell punks. The spell punks squealed as they dashed off, but Ghost Roaster just zoomed in front of them and smirked.

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

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

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

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

"Hey, get back here, man!" Zook cried as he fired another mortar right for the Warnado clone's tornado.

But, the Warnado clone swerved out of the way just before it could land! Zook winced as the mortar slammed into the walls and exploded into another patch of bamboo, slunk down and panted as his bazooka rolled out of his hands. Sappy beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he grappled for his bazooka and went to lift it up, but he was so exhausted that just lifting it toppled him backwards!

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

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

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

The Skylanders all frowned as they drew back with their eyes trained on the battlefield. All around them, both the minions and their monsters were rendered unconscious and sprawled across the floor among pools of blood and melted armor. Dents in the floor and patches of damage served as the remnants of massive attacks, but was it really done?

Beep!

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

"What was that?" they asked each other.

Beep beep!

The other Skylanders all winced as that faint beep grew slightly louder than before. Just where did it come from?

Beep, beep beep!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ultimately, something shot Lightning Rod in the back. He slammed into the ground, right beside Drobot; Drobot winced as he helped Lightning Rod back to his cloudy feet, and he cranked a knob on his helmet with a wince.

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

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

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

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

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

All parties alike completely dropped their battles as they crumpled to the floor and covered their ears, so petrified by the siren's cry they couldn't even bring themselves to move.

All save for Drobot, who just zipped around the battlefield, yanked the other Skylanders from their places, and dropped them off at the edge of the fields! With everyone deposited, he summoned a holographic shield made of light that was so bright it shielded them all from view, dropped the siren and cleared his throat.

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

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

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

Drobot ushered everyone into a tight huddle as he whispered out his plan, paw motions and all. The shield dropped right as Drobot withdrew from the huddle.

His eyes turned on the Cynder clone as it reeled back and stumbled to its paws, and he shot a laser right at its bracelet that shattered the bracelet to pieces! The Cynder clone lifted its paws as its broken bracelet clanged to the floor, and gasped as beside it, the barrier that blocked off the smaller platform flickered and shuddered!

All eyes went wide as they fell on the flickering barrier, but the Skylanders cheered as they jumped into the fray! The minions all gasped as they rushed forward and went to intercept, yet, right as they did, a massive barrage of flaming arrows and lightning bolts shot right at them. The minions all flung their arms in front of their bodies as the storm rushed towards them—and little did they know, this was exactly what the Skylanders wanted!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, they dashed through the fog with Drobot as their guide. The fog’s grip on the arena started to thin enough that some of the area around became visible once more, and with good timing, for they popped out right in front of that smaller platform!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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