When Slam Bam awoke, his vision was as blurry as blurry could be! But, with a groan and a quick shake of his head, his consciousness turned clear. Though the pain from the nice little bump those evil clones gave him lingered, he did feel a little more rested and recovered now.

Those grunts are going to beg for mercy when I'm done with them, Slam Bam mentally growled as he cracked his knuckles. For now, though, I need to find out where Ruptor is—and where we are.

Slam Bam heard a soft moan close by and turned over to find Eruptor, who was still unconscious but otherwise intact. Slam Bam then breathed a sigh of relief and gently shook Eruptor.

"Ruptor, wake up," Slam whispered as his eyes darted around the area. "C'mon, Ruptor, now's no time for a snow-cat nap!"

"N-no ma, I don' wanna go to school, all the other lava monsters will make fun of me..." Eruptor mumbled as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Slam Bam furrowed his brow. "Eruptor, what are you talking about?"

With another groan, Eruptor's eyes scrunched together and then slowly opened. He seemed oddly peaceful as he blinked a couple times, probably still in a sleepy haze—but that was not to last as he awoke fully and swerved his head left and right, his eyes wide with panic.

"Slam Bam, are you there?" Eruptor yelped as he looked around, now raw with panic.

Slam Bam cautiously placed a clawed hand on Eruptor's shoulder, but that wasn't so wise. Eruptor's anxiety made him burn up a thousand times more—literally—and seared Slam Bam's hand! With a burn and a yelp, Slam Bam quickly retreated his hand and blew on his scorched palm.

Eruptor stopped short, then looked up at Slam Bam and beamed. "Slam, there you are!" Eruptor exclaimed as he wrapped Slam Bam in a hug, his body notably cooler now. "For a minute I thought they took you away!"

Eruptor looked around the area, as did Slam Bam, and they both found that it was the polar opposite—pun intended—of where they once were. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all around them grew a wide variety of flowers and lush green grass.

"Slam, where are we?" Eruptor clung to one of Slam Bam's muscular arms as his mouth dipped into a soft frown.

"I have absolutely no idea," Slam Bam whispered in awe as he watched a pair of butterflies fly by them.

"Well, wherever this place is, they need to fix their air conditioning! It's getting really chilly!"

Eruptor shivered as Slam Bam lifted him off the ground..

"And wherever this place is, we need to get out of here. We've got to get back to Vindlevale!"

Slam Bam hugged Eruptor tight and made a heavy sprint across the grassy green fields. As they ran, Eruptor's eyes glazed across the fields before he saw something that made those eyes of his practically pop out of his skull!

"Slam, stop! Look at this!"

"Look at what, Rupt—Woah!"

Slam Bam stopped, and turned around to find out what Eruptor was pointing at! There, frozen in a giant block of ice that was slowly melting away were Spyro and Gill Grunt, both completely unconscious!

"Spyro? Gill Grunt?" Slam Bam asked as he tilted his head, heard mumbling, and ducked behind the giant ice block. "How'd they get trapped in there?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Slam." Eruptor tilted his head as well before he frowned and jumped out of Slam Bam's arms, "But we need to get them out!"

Slam Bam crackled his knuckles and nodded, about ready to throw some punches when…

"Yes, Lord Kaos, the Skylanders have been secured," said someone with a gargling, malevolent voice, who then paused as the person they communicated with said something just out of Slam Bam and Eruptor's hearing range.

As Slam Bam and Eruptor looked over, someone else came by while they mumbled something to someone else via a small, metal communicator pinned to their wrist. This person looked almost exactly like Gill Grunt, except its body was made of nothing but black darkness and the occasional speck or piece of blue Water Element magic, whatever it was doing, it seemed perfectly absorbed in that thing, as its eyes were completely trained on the grassy ground.

"The others? Oh, don't worry about them, they're unconscious thanks to the Evil Lava Monster and the Evil Ice Yeti. Four whole Skylanders, in our clutches and primed to be delivered to you! What joy~" the Gill Grunt clone said as it brushed a webbed foot against the grass.

Eruptor and Slam Bam exchanged panicked glances at each other. "He's talking about us!"

"We need to get them out." Eruptor shook just a tiny bit more as his body heated up a few degrees. "Because I have a feeling that they're going to do something to them, and it won't be something pretty. Not like this place, anyway."

"Wait, who needs to get them out, Lord Kaos?" The Gill Grunt clone said, "Lord Kaos, what are you—" the Gill Grunt clone looked up and its jaw promptly dropped. "… I'll call you back, Lord Kaos."

As it turned off the communicator, the Gill Grunt clone growled and whipped out a giant harpoon gun, while Eruptor and Slam Bam readied their battle stances. The Gill Grunt clone pulled the trigger on its gun and shot out rapid-fire blasts of water, but Slam Bam was equally quick to respond as he tossed out blasts of ice in exchange! The two forced collided in a mighty blasts that froze the water blasts into solid icicles! But nevertheless, they followed their trajectory—not that Slam Bam was worried. As soon as they flew near him, he grabbed each and every icicle and shot it back at the Gill Grunt clone!

The Gill Grunt clone only scoffed as it darted out the way of every single icicle and laughed. "You really think that's going to stop me?" the Gill Grunt clone asked with a remarkable snide tone.

"Not really," Slam Bam admitted as he shook his head, "But this might!"

Slam Bam raced off with a heavy dash, his bulky hands balled into fists, and punched the Gill Grunt clone right in its slippery gut! Slam Bam watched with pride as the Gill Grunt clone choked and flew a couple feet across the air! It was definitely done for now… Except the Gill Grunt clone grabbed tight onto the straps of its jetpack and sent itself flying! Water pounded down onto the ground and probably gave the plants a good drink as it flew back around and landed in front of Slam Bam with a sneer on its slick lips.

"What does Kaos want with that place?" Slam Bam growled as he cracked his knuckles and went after the Gill Grunt clone once more.

"I wouldn't know, snow for brains!" the evil Gill Grunt clone shot back as it dodged a punch from Slam Bam and jumped on his extended arm. "I just follow orders! And besides, even if I supposedly did why would I tell you?"

The Gill Grunt clone whipped out its gun and shot a stream of scalding water directly at Slam Bam, which sent him stumbling backwards and right on his back! As he wiped the water off his face and stood back up, Slam Bam clenched his teeth.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Slam Bam crafted several giant blocks of ice and shot them at the Gill Grunt clone. "Tell me, now! What does Kaos want with Vindlevale?!"

"You don't seem to like listening, do you?" the Gill Grunt clone casually dodged every single ice block Slam Bam threw its way. "I told you already, you giant—OOF!"

Another, even larger ice statue promptly body slammed the Gill Grunt clone and sent on its back.

"Listen, this place has to have something Kaos wants." Slam Bam walked forward as he stretched his arms, completely ready to fight. "What is it?"

"I told you, I don't know!" the Gill Grunt clone glanced to its side, saw its harpoon gun and promptly rolled across to it. "You Skylanders are all the same, so obstinate!" The Gill Grunt clone grabbed its harpoon gun, and in a flash, it loaded a harpoon into the barrel and fired straight at Slam Bam. "And I've lost my patience! Good talking to you, yeti!"

The harpoon barreled dangerously close to Slam Bam, about ready to strike… And promptly flew out the way as what could only be described as a giant blob of magma pushed it out!

"HUH?"

"Forgetting someone?" shouted a familiar, gravely voice as another magma blob slammed into the Gill Grunt clone and rolled it across the battlefield, a path of flames left in its wake.

"Ruptor!" Slam Bam called as he turned around and saw Eruptor blow off his giant, flaming hands.

Eruptor beamed up at Slam Bam witha peaceful silence between the two, until a giant stream of hot water blew Eruptor back! Slam Bam gasped and looked ahead to find the Gill Grunt clone back on its fins!

"Ruptor!" Slam Bam called as he ran back to Eruptor's side.

Thankfully, Eruptor wasn't harmed at all by the sudden blast—just a little annoyed as he shook the water off. Eruptor looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled, but his stomach rumbled and he gulped.

"That can't be good," Eruptor grimaced.

He rubbed his stomach, his cheeks puffed, and within moments, Eruptor hacked up a stream of lava that poured through the fields! It scorched the Gill Grunt clone, who jumped at least a foot in the air as it yowled in pain.

"Seriously, Ruptor?" Slam Bam exclaimed as he shot Eruptor a dark, lancing glare.

Eruptor gave Slam a sheepish look as he shrugged his rocky shoulders. "Sorry, allergies acting up."

The Gill Grunt clone landed on its back as its body disappeared into dark blue spheres of magic that laid dormant on the grass. All around, the lava quickly cooled into volcanic rock and made the fields a lot less prettier than before.

"Well, at least that took care of that." Slam Bam stepped out from the giant ice prison, walked past the spheres and frowned. "Now, next order of business—how do we get them out?"

Slam Bam and Eruptor looked back up at Spyro and Gill Grunt's icy prison, and narrowed their eyes.

"I'll go first." Slam Bam readied his fists. "I've got a lot of experience working with ice!"

Slam Bam promptly punched the ice, felt a sharp pain surge through his body, and released his fists. "It's rock solid!" Slam Bam exclaimed as he rubbed his aching hands.

"Alright then, let me try! Maybe we just need to turn up the heat!" Eruptor gleefully skipped ahead and held out his hands. "You might wanna stand back."

As Slam Bam heeded Eruptor's warning, Eruptor clapped his hands and caused molten hot lava to spill out molten hot lava that promptly cooled and turned to rock in seconds. Both Slam Bam and Eruptor stood with jaws gaped. Clearly they needed a new plan…

"You think this is magic ice or something?" Eruptor asked as he looked over at Slam Bam.

"I doubt it.” Slam Bam shook his furry head as if to affirm his statement. “I've worked with magic ice plenty, and this ain't it."

"And why's it gotten so cold?" Eruptor shuddered and looked aside, only to see several snowflakes fly past them. "Snowflakes?"

As more snowflakes flew past them, the two of them ran over to what they presumed was the snowflakes' source. As they ran farther and farther, the wind grew even more chilling and frost started to decorate the flora—as if winter was on its way…

Slam Bam frowned and looked around to see small snow piles formed and scattered across the snow, and a chill rush through his bone. It was awfully cold—and he didn't mind that by itself, no, but why was it so cold in a place that was so sunny and warm? Slam Bam stared over at the snowdrifts a few more times with concern, then felt something warm brush against his skin.

"Slam, look at this!" Eruptor exclaimed as he looked in front of them.

Slam Bam followed his gaze and gasped! There in front of them was a giant wall made entirely of snow and ice! It was massive, about the size of several castles stacked on top of each other, and its snow glistened in the sunlight but refused to melt.

"Wait a second," Slam Bam said as he placed a hand on his furry chin, "I don't think they took us away FROM Vindlevale, I think this place IS Vindlevale!"

"What?" Eruptor turned back to Slam Bam and frowned.

"Remember what that Haldor dude was talking about?" Slam Bam rubbed his chin further, his mind in contemplation. "About how this was warm and sunny until how this ice wall was built?"

"Oh, that thing!" Eruptor chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't really paying attention to him."

Slam Bam playfully rolled his eyes as he looked over the wall. There was a thin, round crack in the shape of a door near the bottom of the wall. The crack was done in what seemed to be a perfect image, almost a little TOO perfect, even. With a frown, Slam Bam walked over to the ice that surrounded the crack and gently pushed on it—and reeled back just a bit as the ice receded and revealed a pathway! Slam Bam peered inside, and saw that at the end was indeed the icy Vindlevale they once roamed.

"C'mon Ruptor!" Slam Bam raced inside the pathway. "We've got no time to lose!"

§

"Spyro? Gill?" Chihiro called as she shuddered and drew her magic parka close to her body. It was so, so cold, and even with the intense heat her parka provided, she still felt chilled to the very bone. "Are you there, guys?"

Tears formed in Chihiro's eyes as she sat in the snow piles. She should have never taken that wrong turn. For all she knew, Spyro and Gill could be lost or hurt or even worse!

"What am I gonna do?"

Chihiro sighed to herself as she glazed over the lands before her—which were still covered in snow, snow and more snow, still completely lost to her mind, still had those oddly familiar voices...

"Have you gotten any messages—"

"Is that Slam Bam?"

Chihiro’s ears perked up and her face gained a half-smile. She turned around, saw a faint, yellow light, and her grin grew even wider as she tumbled over the snow banks and found that she was correct! There, right in front of her, were Slam Bam and Eruptor! Granted, they hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet, and something about them seemed off, but she couldn't pin down what… Oh, what did that matter? She found them, at least, and that was all that really mattered right now!

"Guys!" Chihiro shouted as she waved towards them.

The two of them looked over to Chihiro and stopped short, then muttered something among themselves.

"Uh, uh, you kid!" Slam Bam called as he walked towards her in a manner that seemed just a bit distant…

Chihiro frowned and tilted her head. "My name's Chihiro, silly!" Chihiro replied, then frowned a bit deeper as Slam Bam froze.

"Oh, oh, yes, I knew that, it's just the cold getting to me and all!" Slam Bam said. "Anyways, what's been going on—"

Slam Bam stopped short as Chihiro grabbed his rough hands and looked up at him with teary eyes.

"Look, after the blizzard I got separated from Spyro and GillandIcan'tfindthemandIthinktheymightbe—"

Slam Bam and Eruptor just blinked once, twice, three times in a row as they blankly watched Chihiro cry.

"Uh, slow down, start from the beginning," Eruptor said as he broke into a wary frown.

"Yeah, slow down," Slam Bam added. "What're you crying about?"

As her tears fell and froze on her cheeks, Chihiro wiped the tiny icicles away and meekly stared at them. "Well, when we split up Spyro, Gill and I were trying for that catapult part that wizard dude wanted, but then the blizzard got really nasty and I lost sight of them!" Chihiro sniffled as she bit her lip. "I tried looking for them, but all this snow covered up everything and now I can't anything apart! And on top of all that, I still haven't found that stupid catapult part!"

Chihiro sniffled and rubbed her nose, then looked up to see Slam Bam and Eruptor… Smiling? What the heck? What's there to be happy about right now?

"Why're you guys smiling?"

Slam Bam jolted as his grin turned uneasy. "Well, er, uh, we're just, um so happy to see that you're alright!" Slam Bam exclaimed as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah!" Eruptor affirmed before he grabbed Slam Bam's arm. "Can Slam Bam and I talk for a bit?"

"Uh, sure, I guess?" Chihiro tilted her head as she watched them walk away.

That was strange. Eruptor almost never called Slam Bam by his full Skylander name—had they gotten into a fight with each other while they were split up? Chihiro was too preoccupied to worry that much about it. Her eyes glazed over where Slam Bam and Eruptor discussed something among themselves in hushed whispers; they turned around and waved at her before they talked some more, and with another nod, the two of them walked back to Chihiro with oddly wide grins.

"Don't you worry a hair on your little head," Eruptor said as he gently tapped her head to affirm his statement. "We'll find the other Skylanders and make sure this place gets taken care of!"

"Are you guys feeling alright?" Chihiro whispered as she dusted the powdery snow from her person.

"O-oh course!" Eruptor giggled and held his hands together. "What could possibly make you think otherwise?"

"Well, you keep talking really funny and you keep making these weird smiles and—"

Eruptor only continued to laugh as tiny rocks dropped form his body.

"Well, er, you see—"

"LET'S NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW!" Slam Bam exclaimed as he pushed Eruptor aside. "Right now, we should probably worry about getting that catapult thingie you were looking for!"

"I guess you're right."

Chihiro shrugged it off as she stampeded forward. As she walked though, she couldn't shake this feeling of unease—like there was something loomed over her and ready to strike! With a frown she turned around to find Slam Bam and Eruptor both leaned so far over her they looked like they were about ready to topple over! They had abnormally wide grins on their faces, and all their arms were behind their backs.

"Slam? Eruptor?" Chihiro tilted her head. "Do you feel funny too?"

"Like what?"

"Like there's something getting ready to attack you at any moment funny?"

Chihiro raised a brow as Slam Bam and Eruptor both laughed.

"It's probably just the tension from the mission," Slam Bam said as he patted Chihiro's shoulder and turned her to the front, "Don't worry about it!"

Chihiro bit her lip and threw her hand in her sweatpants. As she did, it made a subtle glow—just a warm-up, a precaution just in case. As she walked further, she felt that dangerous presence again and turned around, but once again, it was just Slam Bam and Eruptor walking through the snow. While Slam Bam could easily traverse the snowy banks and mounds of ice, Eruptor could only trudge through the bone-numbing cold. Surprisingly, not one complaint came from his mouth.

That's weird, Chihiro thought as she cast Eruptor a glance. Usually, he'd be complaining about how cold it is, or how he can't get anywhere with his stubby lil' legs! Something's definitely up, but what—

Chihiro stopped short as she looked forward and saw something vaguely brownish poke out from a snow pile. "There!"

Chihiro scrambled forward, yanked the object out of the snow pile and smiled widely. There in her hand was what appeared to be the broken and splintered parts of a catapult's bottom, complete with worn wheels—the first part she sought for so long!

"Guys! Guys, I found it!" Chihiro shouted as she looked around—but Slam Bam and Eruptor were nowhere to be seen!

"Guys?"

Chihiro bit her lip as her head swerved all around, and a sense of dread crawled up on her.

"So you did, did you?"

As footsteps made their way towards her, Chihiro looked up and froze in fear. The beings that stood in front of her weren't Slam Bam and Eruptor—they were evil clones! As she held the piece of the catapult close to her heart, Chihiro climbed up a snow bank and narrowly missed a statue of ice shot by the Slam Bam clone.

"You guys are Kaos's cronies!" Chihiro exclaimed as her heart pounded.

"Ding, ding, ding, give the girl a prize~" crowed the Eruptor clone, who had an evil sneer across its molten lava lips.

"Yeah, yeah, can we get to the fight now?" the Slam Bam growled as it crackled its knuckles and bore its sharp, sharp teeth.

Chihiro just kept backing up with the catapult piece still clutched to her heart. She knew something was up! She really should've trusted her gut!

"What did you do to the real Slam Bam and Eruptor?" Chihiro demanded as her brow furrowed. "You better not have—"

"Oh, don't worry, Lord Kaos will be very kind to them—if you come along quietly."

As the Slam Bam and Eruptor clones advanced on her, Chihiro threw her hidden hand out in front of her person! A bright, cyan light shot out from her hand, its harshness only amplified by the shining snow. While the evil clones reeled back in shock, Chihiro dashed off with a pounding heart.

"She's getting away, get her!" The evil Eruptor shouted in the distance.

As Chihiro ran, she heard the sound of pounding footsteps and upturned snow, then turned around to see they were hot on her trail! With a gasp, she tried to run faster, but her body weakened and buckled from exhaustion.

I need to cast that speed spell again! Chihiro thought as she held the catapult close to her heart and closed her eyes. C'mon, c'mon…

Chihiro felt a soft glow emit and opened her eyes to see her feet glow for a minute and go out instantly. No magic sensation, no increased speed—nope, nada.

Okay, let's try this again! Chihiro focused a second time, but with the same results as before—looks like she was too unfocused to cast! Chihiro smacked her hand against her forehead as she ran to a snowbank. Of all the times to not be able to use my powers, it had to be this time!

Finally at her limit, Chihiro collapsed onto the snow and panted heavily as she hugged the catapult piece close to her heart. As her whole body ached from the cold and the running, she felt a shadow cast over her and looked up to find that the evil clones had caught up!

"You gave us a lot of trouble, kid," the Slam Bam clone said as it clasped its hands together and grinned, "but I'm sure the promotion from Lord Kaos will be worth it!"

The two of them laughed and walked forward as Chihiro scrambled back, only to bump into something cold and hard—crap, she was stuck! As the two of them imposed themselves over her, Chihiro gulped and bit her lip, stuck in a frantic haze when…

SMACK! A snowball hit the Slam Bam clone in the back of the head! In a fit of shock it shouted out and fell into the snow.

"Back off of her, you creeps!"

Chihiro heard another familiar voice and her soul soared. There, right across from her, were the actual Slam Bam and Eruptor armed with snowballs and not afraid to use them!

"Slam! Rupty! It really is you!" Chihiro shouted before her smile turned into a frown. "It, IS you, right?"

"No time to talk, Chi! We've got some evil clones to handle!" shouted back Slam Bam as he tossed another snowball!

The Eruptor clone growled as the snowball slammed on its face and immediately melted, only for at least ten more to smack it square between the eyes!

Eruptor went to grab a snowball… But it just melted in his grasp. He only sighed, then shot out blobs of magma at the evil clones! However, before they could make contact, giant blocks of ice matched the magma blobs and blew them to rocky bits! Eruptor gasped, and looked ahead to see that the Slam Bam clone finally pulled itself out of the snow and growled. Judging by the snarl on its face, and the fact that all four of its hands were balled into fists, it was most certainly not happy.

"You know what?" Slam Bam said as he tossed the snowballs aside. "Forget snowballs! We're settling this the good old-fashioned way!"

Slam Bam launched himself forward and locked hands with the Eruptor clone! The Eruptor clone grunted and yowled as Slam Bam locked it in a headlock and tossed it to the ground. With a growl, it staggered back up, opened its mouth, and spewed molten hot lava everywhere! Slam Bam yelped and jumped out of the way, but Eruptor merely smirked.

"Two can play at that game!" Eruptor proclaimed as he clapped his hands together and shot out flaming hot balls made of magma and rock!

The Eruptor clone's jaw dropped as the magma balls steamrolled through the magma and absorbed said magma into their bodies without a second thought! The increase of material caused the magma balls to grow triple their prior size and speed, and soon enough, they barreled straight towards the clones.

"That can't be good," the Eruptor and Slam Bam Clones said in unison as they looked up at the now dangerously close magma balls that promptly slammed into them!

The sheer amount of raw force caused the evil clones to explode into a shower of energy spheres as the magma slowly cooled. All that was left now were Chihiro, Slam Bam and Eruptor, who watched in awe as the scenery returned to a state of piece. With a judging look, Eruptor waddled closer to the magma balls, only to drop into a snowdrift and get buried up to the near-tip of his head in snow!

"How do I get myself into these messes?" Eruptor moaned as the snow piled around him.

Chihiro only giggled, closed her eyes, and snapped her fingers. When she popped them open, Eruptor levitated outside of the snowdrift and landed safely next to her! With a smile, Chihiro hugged him tight and laughed.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Chihiro exclaimed as she let go of Eruptor. "Say, what happened to you guys, anyways?"

"Those things happened," Slam Bam growled as he crossed his muscular arms. "Those clowns knocked us out and tossed us on the other side of that ice wall! If I hadn't woken up when I did, they probably would've shipped us, Spyro and Gill Grunt to Kaos—"

"Wait a second!" Chihiro jumped away from Eruptor and looked up at Slam Bam. "You know what happened to them?"

"I do, but it's not good." Slam Bam shook his head and frowned. "Kaos had them frozen solid. We tried to get them out, but it seems like the cold's keeping them frozen in."

Chihiro's face fell as she heard Slam Bam's words, but only for a moment—she immediately shook her head as fires built in her eyes. "Then we'll just have to make that catapult, break down that ice wall and save them!" Chihiro proclaimed as she proudly held out the catapult piece in her hands. "And I've got just the thing to start us off with!"