"Flynn, look out! Behind you!"

"Look out for what, CaliIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

A crash sounded off, and Flynn's screeches echoed around as the explosions blew him into a nearby wall! Flynn groaned as he collapsed on the floor and pushed himself up, screamed, and ran off as another electro-bomb courtesy of the robot bomber before him! Flynn snarled as the robot sneered in his face, its own grip fastened tight to the next bomb it prepared to throw.

"Alright, I'll bite, you got that one over me," Flynn remarked as he dusted off his jacket, "but, there's no way you can—"

"Cut the chat, Flynn!" Cali cried as she rushed in front of him with dagger in hand. "We've got robots to scrap!"

Cali screamed as she slashed a gaping hole in the bomber's chest, kicked it back into the crowds, and plugged her ears as it exploded into a swarm of blue flames! The fires burned down the smaller robots that littered the area around it, but while they burned, even larger robots came in and stomped them down! The newer robots held round bodies with glowing eyes and round hands, and they all creaked as they turned their hands up and revealed glowing cannons inside!

"Ultrons?" Ninjini cried as she turned around. "They've got ultrons too?"

The ultrons' hands screeched as they charged up a shared blast, and Ninjini winced as she held out her hands, prepared to fight or cast a shield. Before she did anything, something giant, red, and gold slammed right into the ultrons and knocked them off kilter! Their intended blast slammed into a few robots behind them and wiped them out completely. The ultrons themselves were completely crushed under their mystery assailant's wheel!

Massive robotic cries shot out as this mystery assailant held their head, but in spite of this, Ninjini didn't attack! She gasped and lowered her glowing hands.

"Bouncer?"

Bouncer wailed as he dug his hands into his head. Behind him, everyone else stood their distance. Nobody was quite sure just what he was going to do: was he going to attack them again? Run off? It was hard to tell with him screaming incoherently and standing there. Bouncer growled and gritted his robotic teeth. While the sparks flew, he zoomed off and crushed another fleet of robots underfoot!

"Get, get," Bouncer growled as he slammed into the wall and banged his head into it, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Bright, orange light flooded out of Bouncer's eyes as he screamed and slunk over, and they dulled as he collapsed chest-first onto the ground. A few of the molekin dropped their fights and scampered up to him, but drew back as his head rolled up to face them. His eyes flashed white, and he only chuckled.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," Bouncer said as he rolled back up and puffed out his chest, hands planted on his hips, "I just had to get my head back in the game!"

"Robot dude, you're alright!" Flynn cheered as he and Cali rushed up with the molekin.

The two of them joined the molekin in cheering on Bouncer's return, but everyone swerved away as a massive skull slammed past them and shattered against the metal walls!

"I'd hate to interrupt the celebration," Hex spat as she cast another round of skulls from the safety of a wall of hard bones, "but need I remind you we still have work to do?"

Flynn and Cali both grimaced as the Arkeyans veered forward—but not at the Arkeyans themselves. Rather, their eyes fixed at who headed the charge: Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant! Both their eyes glowed a bright red as they waved their weapons in the air, their voices cold and robotic as ever!

Bouncer zoomed right past everyone else and immediately shielded the blow! Their attempts at banging up his hull just harmlessly bounced off. Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant stepped back as they drank in Bouncer's tall stature.

"Get a hold of yourselves, you two!" Bouncer cried. "This isn't the real you, and you both know it!"

Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant grunted as they faced each other, shrugged and waved their weapons in the air as they went after Bouncer once more. But, Bouncer wheeled away! Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant chased after him still, yet all he did was frown.

"I know it's hard, but you can do it! You can fight those voices! Don't listen to them! Your real selves aren't mindless machines!" Bouncer grunted as he cast away a rocket's blast. "You're Skylanders, you're heroes! You're not just some mindless drones! You've got hearts of your own, sparks of a soul! Try and remember!"

Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant stopped mid-charge, and their heads raised. The red glow in their eyes flickered just a bit, but that one little blip was enough to make Bouncer grin.

"That's it! Just keep digging deep there and remembering! Think about everything that's important to you—your friends, your lovers, your home! Hold onto those things you care about, and awaken who you truly are!"

Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant groaned as they stepped forward, but that grunt came from them again, and much more pained to boot! Their eyes flickered in color as they slunk down, and strained, pained groans echoed from their bodies. Their limbs trembled as their groans turned shaky and hollow, and finally, they both screamed with such shrill pain that all eyes turned on them!

Their screams ended as they slunk against the floors. The yellow lights of Chop Chop's eyes flickered on as he groaned and pushed himself from the ground. Drill Sergeant's eyes flickered on behind him, and Chop Chop hummed and frowned as he examined Drill Sergeant.

"What, what happened?" Chop Chop gasped. "Everything's so hazy. All I was remember was a voice, and, and…"

"The same is true of me, sir," Drill Sergeant remarked as his drills turned. "It seems there must be a glitch in my memory circuits, for I cannot remember a thing!"

Bouncer grinned and nudged their heads! They both peered up, and Bouncer gave them a thumbs up.

"Good to have you two back!" A rocket whizzed past Bouncer's head and exploded beside him, and he winced as his eyes fell back onto the battles below. "Actually, we can probably save the chat for later—we've got a battle to fight!"

Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant nodded, and the three of them tailed right behind Bouncer as they zipped into the fray!

Chop Chop leaped beside Cali as she slashed through a string of robots with a shiny dagger, slashed his own sword against their gaping wounds and cut them clean in half! The robots all exploded and send plumes of massive cyan smoke pouring through the fields while Chop Chop and Cali both smirked. They both shuddered, and stepped back as a large robot charged through, swinging for them with a massive fist! Chop Chop shot his shield up immediately, but the robot pushed and ground against it as its eyes glowed bright. Chop Chop’s footing started to slip as he pushed the shield forward with both hands, grunts and pants slipping from his mouth the whole time.

As his feet finally started to slip, a wall of bones blocked the robot off from Chop Chop, and a trio of bright cyan orbs tore holes into the robot's chest as they knocked it into the smaller robots behind! The robot exploded into smoke as Chop Chop gasped, but soft cyan light poured beside him and caught his attention. Hex hovered beside him, and though her face was cold as ever, she still lifted up his hand and clutched it close.

"It's good to have you back," Hex whispered.

"It's good to be back, my lady," Chop Chop whispered back as his own fingers folded around hers.

The two of them stood hand in hand as the bones that blocked off the remaining robot forces from them finally sank back into the floor. The robots screeched right for them. Hex let go of Chop Chop's hand, but the fragments of their embrace remained—for a new power flowed through Chop Chop's body! His sword and shield grew even larger as he slashed away the robots, and beside him, Hex shot out massive skulls that smashed right through the robots!

Between them, Drill Sergeant zoomed forward as he completely mowed down the robots! Their fragmented bodies and heads shot up into the air, and fritzed as Drill Sergeant skewered the robots' bodies. He swerved around as his laser cannon jolted out of his head!

"Laser protocols, ACTIVATED!" Drill Sergeant cried as light gathered at the cannons' mouth.

A flurry of lasers rocketed from Drill Sergeant's cannon with so much force that he flew back. The robots that charged right for him froze in place as the laser shot through and riddled them with holes! Their smoking bodies keeled over, collapsed on the floor, and exploded in a fury of blue fire that engulfed the robots behind them as well.

Flynn screamed and hit the floor as explosions sounded all around them, but Cali stood tall and winced.

"C'mon, gotta be something in here," Cali mumbled as she dug through her pockets, grinned and yanked out a bomb. "A-ha!"

Cali chuckled as the bomb rested in her hand, but Flynn screamed the moment he laid eyes on it.

"Cali, what do you think you're doing?" Flynn cried. His eyes only grew wider as Cali raised the bomb up. "That's gonna—"

KA- BOOM! An explosion of light burst around Flynn and Cali, and faded to reveal a dome-shaped shield that completely shielded them from the flames! Cali smiled, and below her, Flynn chuckled as he stood up.

While Flynn and Cali sat in their bubble, the molekin turned their eyes to the masses of sparking robot corpses yet to explode, and then to the larger robots locked tight in combat with the Elder Elementals. They paused and rubbed their chins for moments, grinned as they yanked the corpses from the ground, and tossed the corpses across the air!

Sparks flew from the robot corpses as they landed right in the middle of the fray. The Elder Elementals dashed off as the corpses exploded and sent blue flames and smoke in every direction! They lifted their heads as the flames faded, and grinned as their eyes fell back on the robots they faced. Now, the robots were burnt and damaged; they could only stand there as the more singed parts of their bodies fell off, completely wide open!

Ninjini rushed forward and slashed one with her wishblades, and Hot Head shot up beside her as he blew another one back with his flames! As the two robots flew back, they joined with the remaining two thanks to a blow from Crusher's hammer and punch from Bouncer. All four robots crashed right into the terminal and exploded! Blue flames poured out from the back of the room as the Elder Elementals all gasped, and they swept the smaller members of their party up in their arms as the other Arkeyan robots fell inactive all around them.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Bouncer cried. "This thing's gonna blow!"

They all panted as they rushed out the halls, but the flames were much faster than they were! Next thing they knew, they were completely blown right out of the cavern, flames smoking and heating as their back as they vaulted through the tunnel, the hangar, everything! They all grunted and crashed just outside the entrance as masses of metal and rock crashed over the doorway and sealed it tight. They all groaned as they pushed themselves up.

"Yeah, there's no way that thing could have survived that!" Bouncer cried as he jumped back to his wheel and zipped off. "Now come on, we've gotta get with the rest of the team!

§

Flameslinger raised his bow and snarled as his fingers wrapped tight around it. Beside him, the others all carried similar levels of concern as they raised their weapons. They were surrounded at every angle by these Arkeyan robots, and all the while, those snide, snide minions of Kaos's just smirked and crossed their arms.

"There's no way you'll be able to beat us now!" those snide-looking gremlins crooned from the spot behind the crowds.

As much as the Skylanders all hated to admit it, those gremlins seemed to be right! Not only were they surrounded at every angle by these massive robots—from the knights and brawlers that loomed over them, to the ones in copters above the sky—but these robots were larger and seemed much more powerful to boot! The odds may not always be decided, but right now, things weren't exactly looking in their favor.

Spyro snarled and huffed out smoke as he prepared his fires as several the robots raised their arms and prepared to fight. The robots stood still and frozen in the moments as their weapons hovered above him… Yet, they didn't move a step more. They stood still as statues in their little circle, and their eyes became the only source of movement as they pulsed in and out.

Stealth Elf frowned, and lowered her daggers just a little as she eyed the robots before her. "So, is something going to happen, or?"

Those minions of Kaos's frowned. Amid their ranks, a gremlin wove between the crowds, hopped up, and waved their hand in front of the only robot they could reach.

"Hello, robots?" the gremlin said. "Skylands to robots! Go beat up those Skylanders for us!"

The robots in response just continued to stand still, as if they froze in time, almost. The lights in their faces dulled as low creaks came from their bodies, and their weapons slipped from their hands as they fell to the floor! Spyro and Stealth Elf grimaced and jumped back as an ax fell beside them and crashed into the ground. Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy joined them next as a sword slipped out and smashed a hole into the floor. Even Flameslinger lowered his bow as the rows of Arkeyan robots that completely cornered them before fell down like dominoes… Just what was going on?

"Er, uh, well," another gremlin sputtered back they cleared their throat. "So, those robots turned out to be duds, but we've still got plenty of fight in us!" The gremlin turned back to the rest of the forces and forced a grin. "Right, boys?"

The other minions forced smiles and warily cheered, but even those faded as Spyro stepped up while his eyes glistened with an almost eerie purple light!

"Oh, really?" he remarked. The fallen robots beside him glowed with a warbling purple light, and his smirk grew as he sat down. "Need I remind you that we've got a trick of our own?"

"Hah!" The gremlin forced a grin from chattering teeth as they crossed their arms. "And what could that possibly be?"

"This!"

The smug gremlin grunted as one of the unconscious robots slammed right into them and knocked them backwards, and the others screamed! Not for long, though, as robotic body slams knocked them all down by as well—save for one who just rolled underneath the fray and ran off! The gremlin panted and adjusted their lab coat as they ran as fast as their stubby legs could carry them. Before they could get to safety, Trigger Happy popped up right in front of them with robotic arms in hand! He grinned and waved as the gremlin sputtered and stumbled back, bonked them on the head, and slapped them away with the robot arms!

As the gremlin flew backwards, it slammed into a draconic minion and conked it on the head. The draconic minion roared as it held its aching head, and a snarl crossed its face as it spat out a massive column of flames! The fire burned bright for a moment, but then, a fresh column of water slammed into the draconic minion and knocked them back on the ground. The draconic minion sputtered and stumbled around as steam flew from its jaws, groaned and fell to the floor.

The minions all screamed and ran off as their remaining forces failed them, but right as they did, Flameslinger shot off his arrows and sent flames bursting at their feet! The minions cried out and jumped off as they blew flames from their bodies, but grunted as spheres of magic, streams of water, and bursts of golden coins tossed them out of the skies and back onto the ground! They all groaned as they planted face, rump, belly-first onto the ground, all plopped down like walnuts fallen from a tree.

With them incapacitated, Stealth Elf stepped forward and rubbed her hands. She flicked her wrists out, and a massive cloud of misty green spores poured out and cast themselves over the minions. They all groaned and hacked in their semi-conscious state as the spores cast over them, but as the spores faded, their screams turned to snores!

"That should probably keep them down for a little while," Stealth Elf remarked as she wiped off her hands.

"There you all are! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Stealth Elf and Flameslinger's ears flicked, and both of them turned around right as the rest of their team wheeled in! Everyone looked a bit banged up and dented, and a handful of molekin seemed to have joined them since, but hey, they were alive and well it seemed! So, the five of them rushed up to the rest of the team and grinned.

"So, did you find anything out?" Cali asked as she stepped forward.

"Oh, we did alright, and it's not good," Stealth Elf replied, and the faint moment of joy faded away as she crossed her arms. "Turns out, Kaos's been using this place to unearth Arkeyan ruins and beef up his armies with their robots! He's already gotten a ton, and worse yet, he's already plotting his way to Arkus!"

"Wait, Arkus? If he gets there, he'd have the whole Arkeyan army at his control! And he's already planning to get there?" Bouncer cried as he wheeled back. "Dang it, that guy works fast!" Bouncer blinked, but grinned as he balled his hands into fists. "But, we're just gonna have to work faster! We've already busted that control terminal, so those robots won't be bugging us anytime soon!"

"Then all we have to do is take on the heart of the rig itself," Flameslinger added. He nudged up beside Stealth Elf as he rolled out his map, pulled up his blindfold just a tad, and frowned as he glazed it over. "The last of the generators should be somewhere around here." Flameslinger scratched his head as he lifted his up. "Problem is, it doesn't seem like there's anything around here where it could be…"

Everyone else frowned and hummed as they examined their surroundings. As Stealth Elf joined them, her foot brushed against one of the unconscious robots scattered around the facility. Her brows perked up, and she heaved up the robot with a smirk.

"Actually, I have an idea!" Stealth Elf proclaimed.

Stealth Elf hoisted the robot up with all her might, withdrew her dagger and slashed its chest wide open! Sparks flew from its wide-open chest as she kicked it back towards a suspiciously-placed wall near the end. She turned around and covered her ears as it exploded into flames! The blue flames ate away around the rig as the explosion ate up the other robots in its wake, but soon, by a massive wave of water from Spyro and Gill Grunt drenched away the flames! As the flames turned to mere embers and smoke that brushed away with a single gust of wind, the wall itself was no more. The flames blew its surface to smithereens, and all that remained was a cold, dark metal passageway.

"That's what I thought. It must be in a hidden passageway!" Stealth Elf cried as she crossed her arms.

"We'll stay here and make sure none of those guards try anything," Hex added as she gestured to Drill Sergeant and Chop Chop. "The rest of you, go find that generator."

Stealth Elf nodded and stormed inside with a wave of her hand. "Come on!"

So, with Hex, Chop Chop and Drill Sergeant flanking the way in, the rest of them all made their way inside. Some took moments to dodge the remaining smolders and embers, but paused as their feet hit the cold, cool metal. The faint crackle of electricity echoed from down the halls, and paired with the occasional crack and flash of blue light. This had to be where the last generator was!

They all trekked their way through as the outside light grew fainter and fainter until they stuck to wandering through the dark twists and turns. A faint sizzling joined the crackles and pops as they proceeded. Yet, nothing that could have caused it could be seen!

"Just what is making that awful noise?" Stealth Elf hissed.

Hot Head frowned, grinned as he held out his hands and jiggled them. "I don't know, but I think I can shed some light on them!" Flames burst out from Hot Head's hands, and the warmth of red, orange, and yellow completely lit up the halls. "Firelight, that is!"

Hot Head chuckled at his own cheesy joke for a few moments, blinked and lifted his head as smoke flitted across the halls. "Wait, is something burning besides me?"

As it turned out, it was! The warmth of Hot Head's flames unveiled entire rows of bombs stuck to the walls and ceiling, and the flames completely lit them! Everyone blinked as the flames ate away at the bombs' strings and drew dangerously close to the insides… And as the fuses disappeared within the bombs, they all screamed and ran ahead! Massive, thundering explosions sounded from behind as the fire of the blasts burst forward, and the flames ate away at the last little bit of strings of bombs they left behind! Everyone panted and sweat as the hot fires tickled their backs and sent sweat pouring down, yet the fires behind burned even brighter as they swept through the entire room.

Trigger Happy grunted as he snagged his foot and tripped on his face, but Spyro quickly swept Trigger Happy on his back and zipped off.

"The flames, they're getting faster!" Spyro cried as he whizzed past everyone else. "Keep running!"

Ninjini winced and turned back as another explosion sent flames around the corner, zipped ahead and grimaced. "At this rate, the fires will get us before we get out!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Hot Head cried as he stood behind and glared down the flames.

Hot Head snarled, shouted out as he flung out his hands—and the flames sucked right into his hands, searing his body! The magma veins that fueled him grew even brighter and hotter as the flames warmed their bodies. Hot Head's magma stone skin turned singed and charred as the flames warmed his body. A plume of fire burst from his head as he screamed out, his cries shriller and louder as even more flames fed into him by the second. The last of the flames vanished, and he fell to his knees! His whole body charred and smoked as he fell on his side and sputtered, but he saved them.

"I'll take care of Hot Head!" Crusher shouted as he knelt down beside Hot Head and rested Hot Head's chest on his lap. "Just get to the generator!"

Ninjini turned back with a nod. What remained of their team burst through the light that poured from the end of the tunnel, and into a shiny, sleek metal room full of light! The overhead lamps swung to and fro, and cast their light over the sleek checkerboard floor with no doors or windows to be found whatsoever. The only entrances laid on several metal balconies with chains hung from their railings, one that added a slick, metallic scent to the otherwise stark room. More than anything, something that sounded oddly like beeping kept echoing from the room? Yet, nothing in a room as stark and minimal as this could have caused it, right?

That's what everyone thought, yet the beeping gleefully carried on as they tip-toed across the across the floor. The beeps and their footsteps kept a steady rhythm as they crept from tile to tile, all eyes moving from side to side as they kept eyes trained for any sort of oddities and traps.

Flynn stepped on a tile without noticing, and screamed as it launched him into the ceiling!

"Flynn!" Spyro cried. He flew up and caught Flynn on his back just before Flynn could crash back down, but that didn't stop the rest of the tiles from bouncing up and down below them.

Trigger Happy screamed as one tile sprung up from underneath him, slamming him into the ceiling and ricocheting him right into Spyro's back! Spyro grunted, yanking Flynn up by his arm and straining as he tried to pull Flynn back onto his back. He swept away as Cali flew up and slammed right into the ceiling beside him.

Cali groaned, her eyes spinning around in her head as she shot back down and right into Gill Grunt's arms. She grunted and shook her head as her eyes met his. His jetpack poured entire waterfalls onto the floor below, slicking down the tiles and sending a gurgling, bubbling noise that echoed through the chamber. Gill Grunt smiled, and flew over to a particularly large balcony and sat down on its railing, allowing Cali to step down with a loosening of his arms.

"Thanks for that, Gill Grunt," Cali panted as she stumbled out of his arms. She leaned against the balcony's railing, absentmindedly rubbing the bruise on her head that poked its way out of her fur as she glazed over the floors below.

Spyro panted and fell to his paws as he stumbled over the balcony, sending Trigger Happy and Flynn rolling across the floor. He shook his head and grimaced as he joined Cali in peering over the balcony.

Down below, the others all screamed and ran as the floor rumbled and popped out tiles behind them, its speed increasing at such a rate that entire rows of the floor behind them disappeared with only dark voids left in their wake! Bouncer and Ninjini took a quick look back at the floor and swept across, scooping Flameslinger, Stealth Elf, and a few of the molekin in their arms as Ninjini's eyes narrowed.

"The exit's there!" Ninjini cried as she pointed towards one of the balconies.

She and Bouncer ducked underneath the balcony's crumbling bottom, and began disappearing down the halls. As they ran, one of the molekin tripped over their own feet, and planted face-first onto the ground right as the floor gave way underneath them!

"Help!" the molekin screamed as they plummeted into the depths.

A few of the other molekin leaped from Bouncer and Ninjini's arms. They dashed back to the edge of the halls as they grabbed the falling molekin by the hand and pulled them back up, but even with their combined strength, they could barely hold on. Instead, they teetered over and collapsed into the void, hands unwrapping as they scrambled and scratched against the walls before falling in!

"Hang on, lil' guys! I'm comin—" Bouncer started as he wheeled over.

Purple and cyan blurs dove right in front of him, forcing him to wheel back! Grunts and strained groans echoed through the room as those blurs flitted back into view, revealing themselves to be Spyro and Gill Grunt, yet not just them either. A pair of dizzy molekin groaned as they leaned against Spyro's back while he strained with all his might to pull them to the balcony. Gill Grunt flew sideways beside him. The streams of water that burst from his jetpack slammed against the walls, and the molekin he collected clung to him for dear life!

"Don't, worry about, us!" Spyro grunted as he flew out of view. "Just take care of, that machine!"

Bouncer grimaced for a moment, his metallic teeth clenching together, but finally he nodded. He clutched the remaining few molekin close to his chest as he wheeled down the hallway. Though, it was more a tunnel really, with its almost claustrophobic stone walls of red lit by a warm yellow light coming from the end of the tunnel.

Bouncer grunted as he ducked underneath the ceiling. As his eyes trailed across the floor of crumbly red brick, he wheeled away from a suspiciously light patch in the otherwise rich, red earth. Red lights like a warning sign flashed in his eyes as he kept his head craned towards the ground, eyes fixed on the bricks.

In his arms, Stealth Elf wiggled out and pulled a round orb from her pocket. "Just to be safe," she whispered as she windmilled her arm and tossed the orb onto the ground.

The orb’s glassy outer covering shattered the moment it hit the earth. It sent thin layers of smoke cascading through the room before they disappeared into thin air, save for parts that sank into the earth and left squiggly markings on the tiles and spaces underfoot.

Stealth Elf's ears flattened against the side of her head, and her grip on Bouncer's arm tightened a bit. "Those ones with the marks on them activate traps, everyone," she warned as she wiggled her way out of his grip, and pulled away a molekin before they could step on one of the line-marked tiles. "Try not to step on them!"

Hearing this, the molekin yipped and stumbled away from Stealth Elf's grip. Right as they did, they stepped right on her feet and knocked her over! The two of them both screamed as they hit the rocky floor headfirst, but underneath the weight of their screams, a small click sounded off! The walls rumbled just slightly, faint tremors barely noticed as Stealth Elf and the molekin both got up and held their heads, yet their low rumbles continued nonetheless.

Its roars grew in volume at a slow pace, enough to catch Stealth Elf's attention as she got up and flicked her ears. Right as she did, the walls rumbled and shuddered as they drew closer to her! All eyes turned back to the space where she and the molekin landed, and sure enough, a tile covered in squiggles sunk into the ground!

"Just great," scoffed one of the molekin as they crossed their arms. "Sandy, look what you—"

"There's no time for arguing!" Stealth Elf spat. She grabbed Sandy and the other molekin by the hand and dashed off. "We've gotta get going!"

Flames burst and crackled behind her, sending a thick smoky scent through the room as Flameslinger rushed behind her with several of the other molekin in tow! Whistles of magic sparks and the sound of wheels grinding in the dirt joined the symphony as Bouncer and Ninjini rushed behind them. Their eyes fixed on the faint speck of light that shone at the end of the tunnel and grew fainter by the second.

Stealth Elf winced as the flames from behind nipped at her ears. The walls around her continued to rumble and quake as they gained speed, making the already quite cramped tunnel even tighter as they pressed forward! Stealth Elf grunted as she flipped forward and tossed the molekin ahead. A roar sounded from behind as she transformed into a tiger and rushed forward, knocking them onto her back!

Behind her, Flameslinger dashed up and leaped onto her back; the added speed gave him enough extra air that he scored the landing even with the molekin who clung to him in tow! The molekin paused for a moment and applauded him as he chuckled and bowed. Well, all but one, who only chewed up their long, sharp fingernails as their eyes fell on the path ahead and its shrinking light!

"We're not gonna make it!" the molekin cried over the rumble of the squeezing walls. "It's too far ahead!"

Stealth Elf growled, her eyes fixed on the faint, thin string of light that streaked along what remained of the floor as the walls pressed on even faster than before! A snarl stretched along her muzzle as she leaped across what remained amid the floor, but as she did, the light vanished underneath her paws. She gasped, screwing her eyes closed as she prepared for the inevitable pain of being crushed to death by moving walls…

But it never came. She only dropped along a gap in the walls, one just big enough to fit her! As all four paws hit the warm stone, the sound of grunting and strained turned her back to the back of the group. There, Bouncer and Ninjini both gritted their teeth as they pressed against the walls! Sweat and oil crept down their faces. Their hands trembled as they fought against walls that, in turn, screeched and pressed against them with all their might.

"Just hurry up and destroy this thing!" Ninjini cried as she leaned her side against the wall and fought against its push. "We'll be fine!"

A faint, low noise came from Stealth Elf. Nonetheless, she dashed down the path in large sprints, passing through the restored light. She transformed back into her normal self as she passed through the halls; her feet and hands hit warm, vent-filled metal as she panted and wiped the sweat from her face, but the sound of metal screeching and steam blowing sent her upright immediately.

Her eyes fell across the much more spacious room before her. It was all fancy, intricate stone and metal pathways filled with vents to an area too dark to be seen through their gaps. The faint sound of bubbling and the heat that came from them was probably a good enough guess as to their contents, however. The whole room lit in warm tones from the flames and hot red steam that emerged from the massive, pulsing generator stuck at the end of the metal platform. With the way that generator rattled and popped, it seemed as though it was already on its way out!

"Looks like this is the place!" Stealth Elf remarked as she drew one of her daggers and squeezed its handle. "Let's make this quick."

Stealth Elf grunted as she sprinted forward and drew her dagger high. Her eyes fixed on a weak, rumbling point within the generator that was sure to strike an explosion if hit. Right before she struck, something burst from the shadows and leaped for her!

A sparking mace crackled, its electricity popping against Stealth Elf's face. She pressed her blades against the mace's handle, her eyes fixed on its wielder. The sleek-looking robot dressed entirely in red and gold armor that wielded the mace sent out some kind of beeping taunt, lifted its leg and prepared to kick. But, Stealth Elf beat it to the punch! She kicked it right in the chest, and knocked it into the floor while its mace slipped from its hands and slammed into its breastplate.

The robot exploded in a shower of sparking metal as the electricity hit its circuits, and an entire platoon of similar robots leaped in from the shadows!

Stealth Elf landed on her feet, scowling underneath her mask as Flameslinger dashed up to her side and readied his arrows. He readied his bow, but it was the molekin who raised their weapons and screamed as they charged for the robots! The robots charged right for the molekin; Stealth Elf and Flameslinger were completely forgotten to the robots as they swung their maces and lances against the molekin's own hammers and sickles!

Stealth Elf and Flameslinger both winced for a moment, turned to the generator and nodded as they raised their weapons. They charged forward—but stopped right as a large shadow dropped down from the sky. The two of them scrambled backwards as a large, armored dark blue robot with glowing eyes and halves of a circle on its arms landed in front of them, groaned and gripped their weapons tight.

The robot beeped and whirred as it slammed its arms together, crafting a shield with a burning light coming from the glowing core in the shield's center! The light burned brighter by the second; as it reached its brightest, a hot, large laser shot from the core and aimed right for Stealth Elf and Flameslinger! The two of the split as the laser charged for them. Instead, it hit the flames Flameslinger left behind, and sent a massive white hot flame wall bursting from behind them!

Flameslinger's teeth gritted as his head turned to the giant Arkeyan robot that stood before him, its deep blue carapace tinted in shades of purple and red from the flames that emerged from around it. Its arms creaked as it split its shield back in two, and it slammed a half of the shield down on the ground right as Stealth Elf dashed away from it. Hot steam and fire burst from the dent in the floor that its attack left behind, but the robot lifted its head and turned around at a glacially slow pace. Its footsteps were slow and laborious as it chugged after Stealth Elf, but as it turned its back to Flameslinger, the faint sound of dripping water came from in front of it!

Flameslinger gasped, pulled down his blindfold, and grinned as his eyes fell on the beads of liquid metal that dripped down its back. "That's it!" Flameslinger cried as he dashed ahead. "Stealth Elf, I know how to beat this thing!"

"You do?" Stealth Elf shouted back. She rolled away as the robot attempted to cleave her once more, pushed herself upright and squeezed her blades' handle.

Flameslinger smirked, and was off with a tap of his heels! Flames burst across the floor as he circled around the robot, which slowly turned around, switching from left to right as a ring of flames surrounded it. Flameslinger's laughter echoed all around the robot as its eyes flashed from red to yellow. It slammed its shield's halves together and shot off a massive, blue-hot laser, but Flameslinger dashed away in that moment, and the robot's laser only hit the thick ring of fire he left behind! The flames ignited in a large plume, swallowing the robot whole and burning bright. It earned the attention of all the robots and molekin as the flames finally extinguished, and left a smoking, charred robot covered in liquid hot metal!

Stealth Elf smirked, transformed back into a giant tiger with a flip, and lunged right for the robot! A loud, guttural growl burst from her throat as she raised her paws, and scraps of metal flew across the arena as her claws raked against the robot in quick slashes! Stealth Elf skidded backwards as the burnt robot fell to its knees.

The sparks that burst from the robot’s open wounds intermingled with the flames that ate away at its body, melting it and twisting it into deformed mounds. Stealth Elf grabbed everyone by the collars of their shirts, and dashed off to the room's door as the robot burst into a fiery explosion of lightning and heat! The flames engulfed the entire room in a searing coat as their flames ate away at the platform, melting and twisting away its metal before finally stopping at the shield Stealth Elf left. Between the gaps in their fires, the generator's wreckage could be spotted as it collapsed and burned along the platform!

Stealth Elf grinned, turned back to normal with a shake and wiped her hands. The power flickered out and coated her in darkness for a moment; in another quick moment, a few of the lights flickered back on. The flames died somewhat, but their fires still burned enough to provide a comfortable source of firelight in the otherwise darkened room.

"Hey, the walls stopped!" Bouncer cried from down the hallway.

Stealth Elf chuckled. Her whole group rushed down the hallways to meet with Bouncer and Ninjini! The two of them were covered in sweat and their arms still trembled slightly, but thankfully, they were intact. Better yet, the walls that once charged for them sunk back into the sides of the hall.

"I'm guessing that was your doing?" Ninjini asked as she turned around and lowered her head.

Stealth Elf smiled and lowered her head. Her ears wiggled for a bit before lavender smoke trailed in front of her face.

"We'd better find the others and let them know."

They all trailed back out the hall and into the room from before. There Spyro and Gill Grunt's voices faintly echoed as the faint, fuzzy sight of them lowering beings on the reassembled floor appeared in the distance. Their little group turned around and grinned, waving at Stealth Elf as she nodded towards them.

Another quick walk led their two groups back to the beginning hallway, where Hot Head smiled and leaned against Crusher as Crusher helped him up. The char marks on his stone skin faded significantly. Though it was still a duller shade of red than his normally vibrant crimson, he at least seemed alright compared to when he laid collapsed on the floor.

"You really had me worried, you know," Crusher scolded as he finally slipped his arms from Hot Head. "Taking on all that fire—"

"But, it worked! The generator's gone!" Ninjini proclaimed as she slipped between the two.

The two of them grinned and nodded. With one last walk, all of them slipped back out to where Hex, Drill Sergeant and Chop Chop stood guard outside! The three of them turned around as the sound of footsteps echoed from outside of the tunnel, but no words were spoken. The cold, but knowing look in Hex's eyes, and the lights that flashed in Drill Sergeant's showed that they knew enough. The trio parted as everyone stepped back out into the open, and all eyes turned to the platform at the top of the structure.

There, the barrier faded, but the large robot that stood atop it drilled away still, bursts of flames and lasers coming from its platform as it worked.

"Looks like that robot's still kicking," Clay scoffed. "Of course they wouldn't have their biggest one connected to the same thing as the others."

"Well, guess this is our cue," Bouncer said before he turned to the molekin. "You guys just stay here. We'll take care of their star player!"

So, the molekin nodded and drew away as the Skylanders, Elder Elementals, Flynn, and Cali marched their way towards the platform's staircase.