"Well, looks like Haldor was right," Chihiro said as she gazed upon the place before her. "It does look slippery."

The trio found themselves underneath the snowy hill, andinside a maze that looked to be made entirely of ice and filled with all kinds of gaps. On the other end of the maze was a gate covered in chilly frost and snow powder that hid away something made of wood and metal.

"I'm betting the part we need is on the other side of that gate!" Chihiro said witheyes narrowed as she clutched the collar of her parka. She gulped as gazed at the icy path before her. It was covered in wide holes and what looked to be icy cacti that littered the floor—surely, it wouldn't be very easy or safe to navigate.

"I'll be there the whole way," Slam Bam said, as he placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry."

Upon hearing him, Chihiro smiled up at him and nodded. With a smirk upon her face, she began skating as fast as she could! She was like a lightning bolt as she slid and sped all across the maze of ice… Wait a second…

"CRAPCRAPCRAPBRAKEBRAKEBRAKE—" Chihiro screamed as she slid to and fro among the maze. Yep, she forgot how to stop.

"Chihiro, remember, it's all in the knees!" Slam Bam shouted before he laid down and slid. " She's gonna need some help."

Eruptor watched Slam Bam slide down the fluffy snow, shrugged and joined him.

Meanwhile, Chihiro gulped as she saw herself veer straight towards a giant gap in the maze! She wanted to stop, but there was no way—she was going way too fast! How the heck would she brake on these things anyways? Just as she reached the edge and said her prayers, she felt something grab her back and spin her into a pair of tough arms, and looked up to see Slam Bam holding her close!

"Phew, that was a close one!" Chihiro exclaimed as she brushed the sweat from her brow and beamed up at Slam Bam. "Thanks for that, Slam."

Slam Bam nodded and let go of her waist as the two of them looked over the maze. Not that there was much to look at—all there was to see was nothing but the ice and snow that was everywhere on this empire of winter, except formed into the pattern of a maze.

"See anything yet?" Chihiro asked as she placed a hand over her eyes and spun around. "Because I sure don't!" Just then, right as Chihiro looked over the maze for the fifth time, probably, something sparkly caught her eye. "There!"

Chihiro was off like a flash as she ran back across the ice. But of course, the minute she hit the ice, she slipped and slid! Chihiro let out another panicked scream until her eyes widened and she promptly braked.

"Remember, all in the knees," Chihiro whispered to herself with a small smile.

With that done, she strode forward and skated across the maze with a smile.

"What do you think she's doing, Slam?" Eruptor asked a smiling Slam Bam as he carefully slid to Slam Bam's side.

"She's skating, that's what!" Slam Bam proclaimed with the pride of a father as he watched Chihiro. "You're doing good, Chihiro! Just take it slow!"

Chihiro grunted and nodded as she cast a gaze at Slam Bam, and then towards her sparkling target. It stood positioned against a wide gap, and while the gap seemed intimidating, something in her gut told her she could make it! Chihiro pushed herself forward with rapid speed, leaped forward, and pirouetted in midair before she landed on the target! Chihiro beamed and bowed as she heard something that sounded like grinding metal, and looked ahead to find the gate receded! Chihiro's smile widened as as waved over at Slam Bam and Eruptor.

"Thank you, thank you, please, don't hold your applause!" Chihiro exclaimed as she made a gentlemanly bow.

Eruptor clapped his rotund hands together, though the sound they made was more of a resonating banging noise. Slam Bam chuckled and made a toothy smile as he clapped along. Both Eruptor and Slam Bam smiled at each other as Eruptor's rotund hand found sanctuary in Slam Bam's, and the two skated across the ice in a slow, tender manner; Eruptor kept close to Slam Bam and smiled in a way that was oddly peaceful for someone like him, while Slam Bam's grip on Eruptor was firm, but in a protective, loving manner.

The two of them clung close as they skated in sync, and an aura of peace surrounded as they laughed together. With wide smiles, the two of them shot their conjoined hands out as they skated through the maze's icy paths and found themselves just a few feet away from what was surely the next catapult piece they sought.

Her heart bubbly with joy from seeing them so happy, and Chihiro jumped across the gap once more and stopped right in front of Slam Bam and Eruptor. There in front of them all was another part that resembled the prior one they had rescued—a wooden mace with a steel spiky ball for a head carefully fastened to a splintered wooden shield. Unlike the prior part it looked as if it had seen better days; the metal was rusted and the wood's splintering was much heavier. But, nevertheless, it was the part they sought.

Chihiro picked up the piece, and all three of them vanished! All that was left was the thin scratches on the ice left behind by Chihiro's ice skates.

§

Like the past two times, they all returned to where they had laid the first catapult part! Right next to the slowly-rebuilt catapult was Haldor, who paced—or rather, floated—in a circle around the catapult until he saw them and beamed.

"Think you can fix this up?" Chihiro asked as she handed off the part to Haldor while her brown eyes darted in all directions. She couldn't sworn she heard something strange?

"Is Kaos a monkey's uncle?" Haldor chortled as he took the part away from Chihiro and examined it.

Haldor waved around his staff and, in mere moments, restored the part back to its former state! Its splintering was completely cured while the rust was cleaned off—all that was left was pristine wood and shiny metal.

"Now, to add these things to the catapult!"

Chihiro's eyes shone as she snagged the piece and bounced over to the catapult. Chihiro tried to fit the piece onto the catapult, but it wasn't exactly working out for her. No matter how many times she clanged them against the wheels of the catapult it just wouldn't fit!

"I think I'll handle that thing, kiddo."

Haldor floated over to Chihiro and zapped the piece in her hands! The piece floated upwards as it was surrounded by a glow of green, magically resized itself, and attached itself to the leftmost side of the base! Now, it formed the almost-complete catapult; all it just needed was the actual catapult.

All of them gazed in pride, but not for long—there was work to be done, and now that they were nearly done, it was like a burst of energy warmer than any fire overtook them!

"So, Haldor, where's the last part?" Chihiro turned to Haldor and tilted her head.

Haldor gulped and pointed his staff over to the next part of the island, which was barricaded off by a wall of barbed wire and splintered wood. "It's over there." Haldor's voice warbled as he spoke, "But, I wouldn' be moseyin' on over there, if I were you."

Chihiro frowned as Haldor shook his bearded head. "Why not? I could just blow up the barricade."

"No, that's not what I'm worryin' 'bout, it's, well…"

Haldor created a small fly out of purple magic and sent it flying over the barrier, which it easily passed. However, as soon as it passed the barricade, an unholy screech squealed as a giant bomb fell from the sky and grounded the fly in the blink of an eye! Haldor gulped again and turned back to Chihiro.

"I see your point." Chihiro gained a smile and shrugged. "But, as long as we avoid them, I'm sure we won't have a problem, right guys?"

Chihiro turned to Slam Bam and Eruptor for support, but they were absolutely silent. Instead, they had turned their attention over the cliffside with quiet, twitchy frowns!

"Sheesh, what's their problem?" Chihiro asked herself before she turned back to Haldor. "Now, how do we get this barricade down?"

Chihiro's eyes trailed off to her side, where she saw something buried almost to its tip in snow—and her curiosity took over from there! Chihiro scrambled over, then grabbed the object and dusted off the fresh powder to reveal that, underneath all that snow, there was a gray-black bomb with an unlit wicker fuse!

"Looks like I found our solution, boys!" Chihiro smiled as she rushed to Eruptor's side, and placed the bomb to her side. "What're you guys staring at?" Chihiro asked as she tilted her head, "All I see is snow."

After all, the snowstorm was starting to get a little worse now—even this area that was surprisingly light at first was now bombarded by icy-cold, fresh snow. But now that she thought about it, she also heard something that sounded like marching? Why would there be marching? The only others here were those ice ogres, but she hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since their close call a while earlier.

Slam Bam's hands balled into fists as a scowl crossed his face.

"There you are, Skylanders!" called a familiar voice from across the cold tempests!

Right as the voice reached their ears, an army of what seemed to be around a hundred… No, a few hundred ice ogres marched up the platform, and they were closing in fast! They bore weapons of all kinds, and at the head of the charge was none other than Noodles with a deep scowl on his face and teeth bared.

"You Skylanders thought you could make a fool out of Noodles, didn't you?" Noodles shouted, and his goofy-sounding voice was now intimidating as it beat out the winds. "Well, Noodles has other ideas! Noodles and his entire ice ogre army is going to beat you down good! Then we're gonna take you in to Lord Kaos! And then you'll be sorry!"

"I should've known something was up when all those ogres disappeared," Slam Bam growled as he turned to the others. "They're closing in too fast, there's no way we can get out of here in time!" Slam Bam cracked his knuckles and glared. "Looks like we're gonna have to fight!"

Eruptor's stomach growled from what Chihiro could only guess was fear, but Haldor seemed oddly serious—his staff was clasped tight, and though his wrinkled hands trembled while sweat dripped from his brow, he clearly wasn't going to give up on standing his ground.

"What about that last catapult piece?" Chihiro asked as her grip around the bomb tightened, and she looked down at it as she hummed. "Actually, I have an idea!" Chihiro nudged Slam Bam's shoulder and looked up at him with raw fire. "Can you guys hold them off? I'm going in myself!"

"Chihiro, that's dangerous!" Slam Bam protested, and his teeth bared in a way that seemed warning in nature.

"And this isn't?" Chihiro held up the bomb as her eyebrows furrowed. "If we don't get that catapult piece, that army'll wipe us out completely, and who knows what they'll do next! Everything's counting on that catapult—we've gotta finish it!"

Slam Bam's jaw dropped agape for a moment, as if he was shocked by the sudden shift to seriousness in Chihiro's words, but it closed as he made a firm nod.

"Be careful, then."

Chihiro nodded, and lit the bomb's fuse with a stroke from Eruptor's hand. After a spin of her arm, Chihiro tossed the bomb with a perfect pitch and watched proudly as it splintered the barricade into pieces.

"Now, to finish this up." Chihiro darted inside, and looked back once last time as the sounds of shouting and stomping drew closer. "You too, guys. Stay safe."

Chihiro's heart pounded as she walked inside the area, but it seemed oddly tranquil—tranquil enough to let her heart rest anyways. The whole area was covered in crates and barbed-wire fences and other warlike decorations, but other than Chihiro, nobody was there. There was just falling snow and icy breezes.

"All the others must have gone off to fight the guys," Chihiro remarked as she smiled and tugged on her parka, "This'll be a piece of cake!"

Just then, Chihiro felt a soft glow and looked down to see a red light reflect on the icy paths, followed by… A screech?

Oh no.

Chihiro gasped as she skated away, then tripped and slid just out the range of an explosion! When she staggered up and looked back, she saw thick, black smoke and fumes rise up from a crater that covered the area she once stood at, a clear sign of war—and occupation. Chihiro panted and held her rapidly-beating heart—that was a close one! Just then she heard another screech and skated away just before another bomb dropped. Her head was spinning as she skated as fast as possible, while bombs all lined up and blew up her path.

"Where are all these coming from?" Chihiro exclaimed between pants when she leaned just a bit too forward and rolled down the icy pathways.

When she finally came to a stop, Chihiro winced and sat back up. Her foot radiated with pain—intense pain, like she twisted something. She tried to stand, but the pain and the imbalance it brought was so great that she could only fall on her bottom again. Cold tears fell onto her cheeks and froze where they sat, but Chihiro wiped them away—now wasn't the time to cry. As she sat and rubbed her foot, all was quiet, until she heard…

Screeching. Like the screeching of a bomb… With a gasp, Chihiro looked over and saw a cave a good bit up from the warzone! She tried to crawl to it, but the ice was so slippery that she kept sliding away! Her gasps turned frantic as she crawled further and further, and the screeching now so loud it rang in her ears.

She looked up, and saw a giant gray metal bomb just seconds away from impact! Chihiro closed her eyes, prayed for a miracle, and opened them to find herself in the cool shelter of a rocky, snow-filled cavern. Chihiro heaved a sigh of relief as she laid her pained leg onto the snow and smiled as the chill killed the pain just a little.

"Thank goodness—I was afraid that teleporting spell wouldn't work!" Chihiro remarked as she rubbed her leg some more, paused, and looked out at the warzone from the cave's safety.

It was far up enough that her assailants couldn't find her, yet she still had a bird's eyes view of the battlefield below her. It was covered in ashy gray craters dusted with frosty snow, and smoky fumes rose up to the heavens and nearly made Chihiro want to cough. However, without the bombs being dropped, it went back to the state of tranquility she felt when she first got there.

"Maybe from here I can figure out what's dropping all this stuff," Chihiro remarked as she poked her head outside of the cave and peeked down.

Near the mouth of the warzone, the place that all the various paths lead to were several stone towers! They seemed awfully sturdy for stone, and inside them were several large blobs colored… White? Gray? Off-green? Whatever color they were, surely they were the ones dropping all these bombs!

"There's my targets," Chihiro remarked as she balled her hand into a fist. "Now, time to give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Chihiro snapped her fingers and watched as her skates turned to a snowboard! Chihiro's smirk widened as she slowly slid down, but she hit the hill and sped down! Her eyes widened with sheer glee as she slid down, then her eyes glared over a ramp and glistened. She shifted a bit leftwards, drew closer to the ramp and closed her eyes and held out a hand that glowed with cyan magic.

"Now…" Chihiro spun her hand in a circle, created a ball of cyan magic that crackled with cold, and flipped upside-down and spun around her board. "EVERYBODY FREEZE!"

As soon as the board made contact with the magic ball, the ball split into several smaller pellets that shot everywhere! Cyan-colored mini-explosions erupted all across the warfield as Chihiro flipped back up and landed on her feet, and cleared with cyan fog so pale in color it was almost white.

Chihiro brushed off her hands, snapped her fingers, and turned her snowboard into regular snowshoes. With another snap, she popped up to the balcony of one stone tower, latched onto it and pulled herself up.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Chihiro sneered as she looked its other inhabitant in the eyes.

Sure enough, it was a bulky ice ogre dressed in blue camouflage who stood with its pupils tiny and its massive jaw gaped. It was completely stiff and frozen—literally this time, as its whole body was coated in a cyan glow that kept it stopped tight in this spot.

"Now, if you don't mind, officer." Chihiro walked past the officer with a sneer and went inside the tower. "I'd like to take a little peek at your weaponry~"

Inside the cold, barely-lit tower was a giant pile of metal, heavy bombs, and next to them, a catapult made entirely of steel save for its arm, which was solid wood.

"Wait a second…" Chihiro walked over to the arm and peered inside to see that it was plugged into the steel! With a frown she yanked out the arm with all her strength, and promptly fell on the floor from the sheer weight. "Something tells me I found the last thing our catapult needs!"

Chihiro closed her eyes and vanished in a cyan glow with the arm in tow.