The fighters were flying through the cyan Rift, their vehicles dancing around each other within the turbulence of the magic transporting them to the Cloudscraper Mountains. Everyone was trying to hold onto their steering wheels and throttles as best as they could, trying their best to make it to the other side.

"Hey, Hat Kid!" Bowser called out to the alien child on Donkey Kong's Barrel Blaster. "How are you doing over there?" Hat Kid clinged on tight to the back cannons, trying her best not to throw up.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…!" Hat Kid groaned. "I didn't experience these kinds of… rough air currents ever since… I was sucked out into space by messing with the Mafia…!"

"Eh, it ain't so bad!" Sonic replied, resting his feet on the Flash Drifter's steering wheel and pulling out a peculiar, steampunk tablet from his blazer. Everyone on the team seemed to notice the blue hedgehog had one just now.

"Where did you get that?" Pit asked.

"Hugo was saving this for some Skylanders to save him and his pals, and he gave one to me while Alchemo passed out," Sonic answered, pressing a small red button on the side of the tablet. The device turned on, and Hugo's face could be seen on the screen.

"It's working!" Hugo spoke through the communicator. "Hey, guys! I've established a stable connection with the Skylanders!"

"Hi, Hugo," Sonic greeted. "Sup?"

"Here. Let me take a look at this doohickey," Flynn spoke through the device, taking it from Hugo. "Hey there, Skylanders. Hope you're doing okay over there without a little face-to-face with… yours truly." Cali pushed Flynn's face away from the video chat, holding the transmitter in her hands.

"Alright, Skylanders," Cali spoke through the device. "Looks like you're almost at the Cloudscraper Mountains!"

"Once you get there, remember to call the Cloudbreather Dragon with the summoning gong at the other side of town," Hugo reminded. "But be extra careful! Kaos and his forces have taken over the surrounding villages."

"Got it!" Banjo replied.

"We'll let you know once we get the information we need, alright?" Fox McCloud responded. "We'll come back soon." Sonic pressed the button on his steampunk tablet, ending the video chat, and he slipped it back into his blazer and put his hands on the steering wheel again.

"Alright, guys! We're gonna be re-entering the physical realm, so get ready and brace for impact!" Bowser told everyone, grabbing hold of the yoke on his Clown Cruiser. "You're all ready?"

"Ye-squi-wy (Ready)!" Clementine chirped, the music visualisation on the metal earcups of her headphones and on her shirt generating with the synchronization with the beat she was hearing.

"We're ready!" Kazooie squawked.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Ridley proclaimed, squeezing his gas lever at maximum. The Smashers pressed down on their gas pedals and gripping on tight to their wheels and yokes, hitting the brakes once the light at the other end flashed around them. The Land Vehicles were skidding across a cobblestone path before completely halting, the Air Vehicles were ejected into the air, and the Sea Vehicles landed into a nearby lake filled with lilies. The fighters driving all three of those types were looking around the mountainous islands, which were interconnected through bridges and cherry blossom trees. The overall houses had a strange look and feel of various Asian villages, but most of them were either burned down to the ground or flooded.

"Hey, Hat Kid," Ridley asked the sickened alien girl. "You okay?"

"...I think I swallowed my own puke…" Hat Kid gagged, woozingly falling onto Donkey Kong's back as the Barrel Blaster transformed back into a Rift Engine.

"Wow… what happened here…?" Banjo asked as he got off the Jinjo Jetski, catching the miniature Rift Engine as his vehicle vanished. "I mean, the architecture of the place looks good, but still..." A small, bipedal fox wearing Valkyrian armor ran up to the Smashers as they got off their disappearing vehicles, her face filled with hope masked underneath the expression that she doesn't know what's going on.

"Wow, real Skylanders!" the fox greeted. "Welcome to the Cloudscraper Mountains! My name is Nayu, and I'm here to tell you we've recently been conquered in the name of Emperor Kaos and have been… forced to serve him."

"Forced to serve him?" Sonic asked. Nayu yelped upon the fear that she might die if she didn't put on a happy face for her tyrannical ruler.

"I mean… willingly serve him. Happily. Please help us…" Nayu corrected before she whispered. "You can thank some clown named Jevil for that. He's flooded the town and has given the Dark Drow a chance to lay siege."

"Jevil, huh?" Fox asked. "Any idea where he is?"

"Right on top of the houses, houses, where I can see you lovely folk from a bird's-eye point of view," Jevil answered on a nearby rooftop. The Smashers looked up at the court jester and pulled out their weapons, ready to attack him again.

"Oh, relax, relax," Jevil giggled. "I'm not here to fight you, aren't I? I only set all this up for some entertainment. Thanks to the powers of the klondike infested in me, me, I had managed to block all the natural irrigation shafts beneath the village. A wide majority of the Cloudscraper Mountains has been transformed into an aquatic paradise, paradise! But I guess the Dark Drow mistook my leisure for domination and have invaded the domiciles at the higher peaks. I don't blame them, however. The flooding has limited any chance you have of reaching the Dragon Gong on the other side of the islands, and the footsoldiers Kaos has sent out would be assisted by me to make sure you never awaken the Cloudbreather Dragon to advance the game, game. I'm sure whatever excitement that will be joying in your heart upon this stay will be… very, very interesting." The jester vanished in a flash of light, supposedly disappearing into the surviving aspects of the decimated village.

"It seems like Jevil might make this mission more difficult than it needs to be," Mewtwo telepathized. "However, we must save these villagers from the forces of Kaos, no matter what. Banjo and Kazooie… you lead the Inkling and Ridley around the flooded parts of the city and take down the blockages damming the irrigation shafts. Bowser… you fly to the other side of the village and ring the gong. The rest of us will stay behind and clear these troops in order to reach the Cloudbreather Dragon. Does everyone understand?" The Smashers nodded in agreement, ready to get going with the mission.

"Follow us, guys!" Kazooie called out to the squid girl and the space dragon as Banjo tossed his Rift Engine into a nearby flooded area, the bear jumping into the seat of the Jinjo Jetski. Clementine, still having a strong sense of hydrophobia from all natural water resources with the fear they could be polluted with radiation, slowly dipped her hand in to make sure it was safe.

Ridley flew over the water and tossed his Rift Engine into it, landing inside the Phazon Hunter. The water displacement of Ridley's additional weight mixed with his vehicle splashed over Clementine before she tested the water for herself, annoyingly confirming the fact to her that it was not toxic. The Inkling threw her Rift Engine into the water next to the Jinjo Jetski and the Phazon Hunter, jumping onto the Salmon Devourer and giving a thumbs-up to her pals on land.

"Please… just go ahead and save us already," Nayu spoke in timidness. Bowser, Kirby, and Pit tossed their Rift Engines into the air, by which they jumped up into the air and landed in the seats of their vehicles. Bowser drove off in his Clown Cruiser, and Kirby and Pit followed him into the distance. Hat Kid rode on Donkey Kong's shoulders as he walked into the dry parts of the Cloudscraper Mountains while Sonic, Fox McCloud, and Mewtwo followed behind.

"Hey! It's the Skylanders!" a Dark Drow called out upon spotting the Smashers marching into the town.

"SuperChargers, no doubt!" another replied. "Sound the alarm!" A small Dark Drow elf picked up a large drumstick and rammed it into a nearby gong, which rang out across the village and alerted every Dark Drow away from the area.

"Be careful now!" Mewtwo warned the other three fighters, dancing around with his scythe floating around his body to attack the larger Dark Drow.

"Yeah, we know," Fox answered, pulling out his blasters and shooting the dark elves at the distance. "We've been facing plenty of enemies like these before. I don't think we need a reminder of how dangerous they are." While the group was walking across the bridges and streets that weren't flooded, Donkey Kong pulled out two barrels and began playing them like bongos so he could release powerful shockwaves to knock back the Dark Drow approaching them.

"You know what?" Sonic asked as he jumped to the middle of some Dark Drow wielding curved blades and performed a windmill breakdance. "We haven't been given codenames yet." Lightning clouds formed out of Sonic's shoes, knocking back the dark elves surrounding him.

"Codenames?" Hat Kid asked, hopping off Donkey Kong's back and performing a homing attack upon a couple of Witch Pitchers that ran into the fight.

"Yeah, you know… codenames that Buzz said we would use in our time in Skylands," Sonic replied, using a roundhouse kick to knock back more of the Dark Drow in front of the group. "We haven't even got any super-cool names, like Lava Lance Eruptor or Deep Dive Gill Grunts." The Smashers looked behind themselves to see a building toppled over behind them, and they saw a large group of Dark Drow archers getting ready to fire flaming arrows from small blimps emerge from the destroyed house.

"Whoopsie-doopsie," Jevil giggled, floating behind the blimps. "I guess I must have forgotten the fact that these elvish folk wanted to be let outside, so I was happy to oblige. And don't worry about your friends in the air, air. I'll be off to give them quite a scare." The jester floated off into the direction that the Sky Vehicles were flying off to, and the Dark Drow fired their arrows at the SuperChargers.

"Anyways: As I was saying, we should give ourselves some codenames," Sonic continued, kicking some of the Dark Drow off the bridge with his supersonic speed while Fox shot lasers at a few of the dark elves the blue hedgehog missed while Mewtwo and Donkey Kong attack the elves trying to ambush them from behind.

"Is this really important right now?" Fox replied, pulling up his reflector and bouncing the flaming arrows aiming at him. "This town is under attack, you know. I don't think we should stop and talk about the names we should be referred to."

"Oh, it's alright!" Sonic replied with a cocky attitude, kicking a pint-sized elf like a soccer ball for Hat Kid to whack with her umbrella. "I've been thinking about some names that can fit each other, as well as our own abilities. I'll go first with myself, of course. I'll think I'll go with…" The blue hedgehog got down on all fours before swinging his legs around his body in a circular motion, breakdancing with the flare move as electricity was building up in his legs.

"Thunder Tempest Sonic!" Sonic declared, sending lightning shockwaves at a bunch of Dark Drow, both on the ground and in the blimps.

The fighters piloting the Sea Vehicles were speeding across the water, diving beneath bridges while firing Jinjo-shaped bullets, orange ink, and harpoons at some incoming rockets piloted by some of the Dark Drow preventing them from getting to the blockages clogging the irrigation shafts.

"Here's one!" Kazooie called out, spotting a blockage marked with the emblem of the Dark Drow. Banjo piloted the Jinjo Jetski down into the water and began attacking the blockage until it crumbled into a bunch of rocks. The bear-and-bird duo gasped for breath as they re-emerged onto the surface.

"Next few blockages are just straight ahead!" Kazooie called out to Clementine and Ridley. "Let's move before this whole area drains." Banjo revved up his Sea Vehicle and drove off, and the Space Pirate dived down to attack another blockage while the Inkling surfed on the waves with her Salmon Devourer and attacked the incoming rocket-riding elves.

"Alright, guys!" Bowser called out to Pit and Kirby as he maneuvered his Clown Cruiser through the crags. "Looks like this trip's gonna be pretty easy."

"Easy? Easy?!" Jevil asked, attacking Kirby's Star Sparkler with a few spades. "How boring! How dull! I'll help the lot of you be rid of it all!" The pink puffball was at least glad he was moving fast enough so that the spades only nicked the tip of the Sky Vehicle's tail feathers, but Jevil was flying after them in hot pursuit.

"Ah, Bowser!" Pit called out, barrel-rolling through the various suit-based projectiles. "Jevil's on our tracks!"

"You don't think I notice?" Bowser asked, paying more attention to gunning down the Dark Drow blimps in front of him than the fact that joker was attacking them. "Try Improvising! That should get him off our backs!" As the three Sky Vehicles danced around the hearts and diamonds, Pit saw a large bronze gong decorated with two dragons breathing clouds imprinted in it - which also happened to be the Dragon Gong. The gong itself was several meters away, and Pit quickly flipped Viridi's Voice backwards and drove straight towards Jevil with his flower cannons armed.

"Hey, Bowser!" Pit called out to the Koopa King, swiveling around the clubs. "You and I are going to distract Jevil while Kirby rings the gong!"

"You go on without us, kid," Bowser told Kirby. "We'll be distracting this clown!" The Clown Cruiser turned around and began attacking the jester with Koopa red shells. Jevil quickly pulled out his scythe, spinning it like a fan in his hands to grind the shells into red powder. However, Pit began attacking him in the back, he and Bowser distracting Jevil from stopping Kirby as he drove his Star Sparkler towards the Dragon Gong.

The pink puffball drove faster away from Jevil as Pit and Bowser kept distracting him, diving straight towards the Dragon Gong. The gong rang out quite loudly, echoing throughout the mountainous islands. Kirby performed a sharp turn on his vehicle and flew back straight to the Koopa King and the angel, terrified by the roaring of the Cloudbreather Dragon waking up from his slumber.

The Cloudbreather Dragon was flying around in the sky upon answering the call of the Dragon Gong, his deepened roar deafening the ears of all who came close to his presence. The azure, winged beast was massive for his size, representing a mix between a western dragon and an eastern dragon as streaks of clouds generated from his back. He seemed as though he was struggling against magical violet reigns coming from the temple that created those clouds, attempting to defy resistance as hard as he could.

As Kirby was flying back to Bowser and Pit, the Dark Drow inside the temple on the dragon's back tried to fasten the reigns and keep the Cloudbreather Dragon in control. The dragon during his resistance slammed into Kirby's Star Sparkler, knocking the pink puffball out of his Sky Vehicle. As Kirby lashed his whip out to catch the tiny Rift Engine that the Star Sparkler transformed back into, he quickly swallowed it before he began riding across the scales of the Cloudbreather Dragon still flying in the same direction.

"Kirby!" Pit exclaimed, unaware that Jevil was about to use that situation as a distraction. He pulled out his scythe and slashed forward, knocking the angel off Viridi's Voice. Bowser slammed his fist on the control panel on his Clown Cruiser, blasting a bunch of red Koopa shells at the jester. Jevil left himself open during his attack, and he was knocked straight into one of the flooded areas of the Cloudscraper Mountains. The Koopa King dived down to catch Pit in his cockpit, with Pit's Sky Vehicle suspended in midair.

"We have to go and get Kirby!" Pit told Bowser, jumping from the Clown Cruiser and making his way back to his plant-covered hoverbike with the multiple jumps assisted by his wing-flapping. "He's riding on that dragon's back!" The angel drove Viridi's Voice straight to the colossal dragon, and the Koopa King's Clown Cruiser followed behind.

As Jevil's head emerged out of the water to take a deep breath of air, he quickly dived in when he saw the SuperCharger Smashers driving on their Sea Vehicles unknowingly coming his way to get the last blockage. The jester hid behind one of the algae clumps in the water, watching as Clementine attacked the last blockage with soundwaves coming from her Sea Vehicle's speakers. Once the Inkling drove back up to the surface, Jevil swam through the unclogged irrigation shaft to the bottom of the islands. The clown flew into the air, coughing up some of the water that got into his mouth and taking off his two-tone hat to wring the amount of Adam's ale that was soaked in.

Jevil had snow-white locks of hair that were rather messy, and a pair of typical, blueish-gray devil horns that poked out of the white tresses. The jester plopped the hat back onto his head before draining his cape, and he floated away from the Cloudscraper Mountains in general.

"Ah, what fun, what fun," Jevil laughed. "There will be a lot more fun where that came from. I guess the second round will begin, begin... when they get to the little freedom the old mentor is staying in."

The Inkling jumped off her Salmon Devourer onto one of the large wooden decks as the water flooding the village began to drain, with her Sea Vehicle transforming back into its Rift Engine form and floating into her hands. Banjo and Ridley hopped onto land as the water was draining, their Sea Vehicles turning into the Rift Engines and caught by their drivers.

"We gotta tell the other guys that we're done here," Kazooie told her pals, shaking her feathers dry. "Hey, Fox! Mewtwo! We've cleared out the irrigation system!" From a reasonable distance, Donkey Kong, Mewtwo, and Fox McCloud were attacking more of the Dark Drow approaching them while Sonic and Hat Kid were going at their own pace and hitting the elves in front of them.

"...Oh, and maybe Ridley could call himself Terror Slash Ridley, and Donkey Kong can be named Turbo Charge Donkey Kong, and-"

"We better get onto that dragon's back," Fox told the blue hedgehog, grabbing onto his blazer and pulling him away as he saw the Cloudbreather Dragon fly around the other side of the town. "Let's go!" Donkey Kong tossed an explosive barrel at the Dark Drow in front of the group, and Mewtwo used his telekinesis to fling the elves chasing them down off the islands and popped the balloons lifting the blimps, with Hat Kid picked up by the Pokémon and carried along with him.

"Alright! The irrigation shafts are drained!" Sonic laughed, pulling out his Rift Engine and spawning the Flash Drifter before jumping in and revving the engine. "Let's get up on that dragon's back!" The blue hedgehog waited until Donkey Kong, Mewtwo, and Fox got into their Land Vehicles, with Hat Kid being placed between the Giratina's Quad's yoke and Mewtwo.

The fighters drove off to the unflooded areas of the Cloudscraper Mountains, with Banjo waving over for their pals to pick him and Kazooie, Ridley, and Clementine up. Mewtwo, Sonic, Fox, and Donkey Kong stopped their Land Vehicles so Banjo & Kazooie could get on the Barrel Blaster, Ridley got on the back of the Flash Drifter, and Inkling held on tight to the crystalline surface of the Land Master.

"Alright, so we're gonna be taking a ramp up to that Cloudbreather Dragon and get to that temple on his back," Fox told the SuperChargers as he and his comrades raced across the open ground across the islands. "We're kinda hoping the guys driving the Sky Vehicles can catch us flying through the air and we can all… regroup at the dragon's back."

"Hey, while we're driving there, can I ask you some of the codenames I came up with?" Sonic asked, drifting through enemy lines of Dark Drow while the kitsune villagers wearing Viking armor watched from the sidelines, cheering the Skylanders on. "I was thinking: for Banjo & Kazooie, maybe they can use… Clod Fist Banjo & Kazooie!"

"That sounds pretty interestin' for a name," Banjo noted. "Don't know what a clod is, though…"

"Um… Sonic's referring to a lump of clay, so we might have literal clay on our hands when they're more of a corundum source-" Kazooie corrected.

"We're taking the name!" Banjo interrupted in excitement, holding on tight to the back cannons of the Barrel Blaster.

"Keep your eyes in front of you and stay on track!" Mewtwo telepathized. "The Cloudbreather Dragon is flying below us. Get ready!" The fighters who didn't have their vehicles out clinged on tight to the Land Vehicles as the drivers drove off a slanted part sticking over the edge of the village, feeling the rough gust of wind blowing from the dragon as all four vehicles were about to land between the spikes running down the beast's back. The Barrel Blaster and Land Master landed on the azure scales, with Giratina's Quad and the Flash Drifter racing off at a faster speed than the other two.

At the temple between the dragon's wings, Pit parked his Viridi's Voice at the entrance with Kirby in his arms. Bowser landed beside him, with the both of their Sky Vehicles transforming back into their Rift Engines. Two foxes dressed in monk-like outfits ran up to the Smashers at a convenient timing, considering the fact there were plenty of Dark Drow fleets trying to tighten the reigns on the Cloudbreather Dragon itself.

"Thank goodness you've reached the Sacred Dragon Temple, Skylanders," the anthropomorphic kitsune pointed out. "These wicked Drow have captured the Cloudbreather Dragon. He can't struggle against these chains forever."

"And if he's gone… who's going to fill Skylands with clouds?" another fox asked. "The skies would be completely empty!"

"Oh geez…" Pit spoke in a heartfelt tone as he let go of Kirby. "Clouds are soft and fluffy. I can't imagine what a day would be like to not feel a single one of them…"

"Ech… quit your lamenting and let's save this dragon if clouds mean so much to you," Bowser replied, grabbing the angel's arm and dragging him up the short but large staircase to where the magical chains restraining the Cloudbreather Dragon were hooked up to the Sacred Dragon Temple.

Bowser smashed through the gate at the top of the stairs with his hammer, a fiery breath streaming through his nostrils as Kirby pulled out his barbed whip and Pit aimed his bow at the Drow troops on the wooden floor. One of the Rush Crushers marched over to the three Smashers, his violet eyes glaring with an annoyed attitude.

"I know what you guys are planning to do," the Rush Crusher snapped. "You just want to release this dragon from our trip? Well, I won't let you! Attack!"

"Guess we should have knocked, then," Bowser answered, gripping on tight to his mallet as he, Pit, and Kirby prepared to attack. The elves charged straight ahead, pulling out their weapons in an attempt to kill the Skylanders that intruded the temple they captured. Bowser began pulling out some red-shelled and green-shelled Koopas, whacking them with his hammer and having them bounce around on the floor while he breathed fire at the intruders.

Pit dislodged his bow, turning it into two separate blades and attacking the dark elves with rapid flurries. Kirby lashed his whip out at a Rush Crusher, wrapping him up in the rope and flinging him out of the temple, by which the collision between the Rush Crusher and one of the miniature blimps involved its balloon popping.

"Looks like one of them dropped a key," Pit told the pink puffball as he reassembled his blades back into a bow and began firing light arrows. "I think it belongs to the reigns holding the Cloudbreather Dragon hostage. Grab it! Quick!" Kirby noticed that a golden key was lying on the floor where a Rush Crusher was defeated, and he quickly inhaled a group of Pint-Sized Prodders and spat them out at some Witch Pitchers. The pink puffball nabbed the key with his whip, and he ran over to one of the two posts with the magical chains. Kirby managed to find a keyhole on the post to stick the key in, twisting it and loosening the first reign on the titanic dragon, which vanished as a result.

"What do you think you're doing!?" one of the Twilight Twisters asked in furious anger, grabbing the pink demon from the back and holding him by his squishy body. "Trying to loosen the beast? I don't think so!" Pit rushed to Kirby's rescue by using his Upperdash Arm, knocking the Drow elf with blades away from the pink puffball.

"No one… is going to harm those clouds… and our squishy friend Kirby!" Pit snapped, spinning around in circles and firing barrages of light arrows at the elves. Bowser was still whacking the tougher troops, surprised that the angel cared deeply about them both. The Koopa King felt a couple of Dark Drow elves attempt to claw his shell with their blades, but he simply tucked his head, arms, and legs in and spun around to knock them off.

Bowser stopped spinning the second he felt another golden key touch his shell. He quickly pulled his head and limbs out and grabbed the key, slamming a nearby Witch Pitcher hard in the face with his hammer. While Pit and Kirby kept the dark elves busy, the Koopa King marched over to the second pillar and rammed the key into the keyhole to get rid of the second reign, freeing the Cloudbreather Dragon.

Everyone on the top floor of the Sacred Dragon Temple stopped attacking as the gargantuan dragon looked behind himself and saw the evil elves that had enslaved him. The Cloudbreather inhaled a large breath of air, forcing Bowser to grab Kirby and Pit and duck near the walls before the dragon released a strong gust of cloud-filled wind. The Dark Drow was blown away, flying across the sky. The other fighters that arrived at the temple in their Land Vehicles watched the strong clouds blast above them as soon as they were just about to go in.

"They freed the Cloudbreather Dragon!" one of the kitsune monks rejoiced. "We're saved!"

"Guess we might get some answers," Ridley spoke. "Alright, Mewtwo. Do you still have that sock?"

"I never forget a thing," Mewtwo answered, activating his telekinesis to pull out the sock. The Land Vehicles that were parked near the entrance reverted back into their Rift Engine forms, floating into the hands of their drivers as everyone ran upstairs through the broken-down gate. Bowser, Pit, and Kirby got back up after crouching near the wall, and they were regrouped with their companions again.

"Look!" Hat Kid told the group, pointing out to the sky as the blimps flew by. "I think the elves are retreating!"

"They seemed to have surrendered after we saved those foxes and their dragon," Fox McCloud noted. The Cloudbreather Dragon himself gazed upon the SuperChargers in the temple on his back, willing to show gratitude to his saviors.

"Welcome, small ones!" the Cloudbreather Dragon spoke, his whiskers flowing across his face. "What brings you to the Temple of the magnificent Cloudbreather Dragon, which, of course, is me?"

"We come here asking for the whereabouts of the one you all call Eon," Mewtwo telepathized, pulling out the sock with his psychic powers embedded with the Dark Element inside him. "We hope this will be enough to suffice in what you need to locate him." The enormous dragon inhaled the scent of the sock through his nostrils, getting a good idea of the location of the wisest Portal Master to exist.

"Strange… This carries a foreboding stench…" the dragon replied.

"Hey! Don't look at me," Sonic objected. "I didn't even eat yet."

"We all didn't, Sonic," Kazooie pointed out. "Ever since we got here."

"Your Master Eon is trapped beyond the borders of the living," the Cloudbreather Dragon answered, puffing out clouds that shaped the location of the wonderous city. "In the Land of the Undead. But the way there is no easy task, oh no. It requires only the work of the Thunderous Bolt, located in the citadel of Skylantis, the Cloud Kingdom. It has the equivalent of ten jillion thunderbolts, the energy necessary to get there, while your Rift Engines only have about 2 or 3 jillion. I hope the information I have presented to you would be enough to push you to your destination."

"Hm… maybe with the Thunderous Bolt in our possession, we could have Mags upgrade our Rift Engines to take us there," Pit pointed out. "It might be the only way we could break Eon free."

"The only way?" Sonic asked, tossing his Rift Engine on the floor and bringing out the Flash Drifter. "Why can't we just head to the Land of the Undead regardless?" A fiery Rift opened up in front of the Flash Drifter, and Sonic drove straight into it. The Rift closed, but just a few seconds later, it opened again and spat Sonic and his Land Vehicle out. The blue hedgehog landed on his back beside his vehicle, by which it transformed back into its Rift Engine.

"Let me guess… something having to do with a barrier that only zombies and ghosts can go through unless we've got a special item?" Sonic responded for the Cloudbreather Dragon, not getting up as he looked at his friends while not rolling over his back. "Tsk… alright. Let's go get that bolt. To the Cloud Kingdom - away!"

The Smashers arrived at the city of Skylantis through a dark indigo Rift filled with stars and a black mist, which was filled with thick clumps of clouds covering its islands. However, there were patches of land poking out from the clouds that gave off the feeling of Roman architecture and lucious pastures.

"Wow… would you look at that?" Hat Kid asked, amazed by the design of the Cloud Kingdom as she walked alongside her friends once they got their Rift Engines from the disappearing vehicles yet again.

"It reminds me of Skyworld in a way… except without all this fog," Pit noted as he and the Smashers walked through the quartz bridges connecting the islands. The blue hedgehog walked in front of the group, trying to clear the fog as best as he could.

"Yeah," Sonic added, waving his hand in front of his face to blow away the mist. "It's so thick I can't even see the end of my nose." The blue devil bumped into something in front of him, causing him to land on his behind.

"Hey! Watch where you're standing!" Sonic snapped, he and his pals unaware of who he bumped into as the fog was still too thick. "We're walking over to get that Thunderous... Bolt..." The group heard the sound of a blower turning on, and they felt a large gust of wind blow away the fog over the small portion of the area they were currently in. Standing in front of the group was an armored, bipedal eagle-griffin with a jetpack to commemorate his lack of wings, a green-skinned elf with white eyes, wooden armor, and a gnarled cannon, and Lava Lance Eruptor.

"I believe you should be the ones apologizing to us," the masked birdman replied, twirling a strange vacuum in his talon-hand. "We're on patrol duty, and we've heard this place is stinking up with Kaos's presence. Codename's Hurricane Jet-Vac. And these here are my comrades: Super Shot Stealth Elf and Lava Lance Eruptor."

"Things have gotten a lot worse ever since Master Eon disappeared," Stealth Elf sighed. "We've got so many monsters and enemies we have to take care of. Do you mind telling us your names?"

"Stand aside, guys. I'm a master of conversation," Sonic spoke to the Smashers, licking his hands and rubbing them over his quills in one smooth streak. "Factomundo, my name is Thunder Tempest Sonic. These are the names of my pals that I… clearly and totally didn't make up just before we got here. Hammer Slam Bowser, Turbo Charge Donkey Kong, Clod Fist Banjo & Kazooie, Terror Slash Ridley, Copy Wizard Kirby, Mollusk Rave Inkling, Cyber Canid Fox, Imperial Paladin Pit, and Twilight Genesis Mewtwo. Oh, and there's also Hat Kid."

"Did you just pick those names for us without our permission?" Bowser asked the blue hedgehog.

"Just go along with it," the blue hedgehog softly replied as he held his grin, not moving his teeth as he answered the Koopa King.

"Hey, wait a minute… These are the guys I and Roller Brawl bumped into!" Eruptor told the two Skylanders upon sudden apprehension. "They're the guys who found some Rift Engines for their own!"

"Rift Engines?" Jet-Vac asked. "Let me see them. Just for analysis." The Smashers took out their tiny Rift Engines, handing it to the birdman as he studied the golden objects with a literal eagle's eye.

"Fascinating… the Rift Engines you have chosen have not only given you different elemental signatures, but they've also each completely shifted to a different element upon having been installed into your vehicles," Jet-Vac concluded, giving the Rift Engines back to their drivers.

"Yeah, we know," Fox noted.

"Elements that don't match the SuperChargers with their vehicles?" Stealth Elf asked. "This is quite some interesting information! Normally, when a Skylander is assigned the role of SuperCharger, they're also given vehicles to match their own elements. You guys are quite interesting. Come to think of it, I don't think any of us have seen you around before…"

"Well, they kinda came here through a Rift, from what I've heard," Eruptor made clear. "Just showed up. Now they're Skylanders, for whatever reason." Kirby, despite having the supposed mental state of a child, had a keen memory of what happened to Jet-Vac, and he tugged at Mewtwo's left hand. The Pokémon was well-aware of what the pink puffball remembered.

"...Hm… Just out of curiosity, Jet-Vac: were you a trophy upon death?" Mewtwo asked through telepathy. "I ask you this because Hugo mentioned something about you and a bunch of other Skylanders described as turning into plastic husks of your various battle poses upon death or defeat."

"I… think I was one of those," Jet-Vac replied. "I mean, I've heard the rumors, but I didn't expect them to be true…"

"Jet-Vac was the only one we managed to rescue before he was snatched away by Jevil like most of the Skylanders," Stealth Elf filled in. "As far as us few SuperChargers know, we don't know the whereabouts of where everyone else could be, or even if we know where Eon is."

"Well, we've recently visited the Cloudbreather Dragon, and he's told us your old man Eon's in the Land of the Undead," Bowser answered. "However, we apparently need some sort of Thunderous Bolt from the Cloud Kingdom in order to power our Rift Engines to like… 10 bajillion bolts or something…"

"So we need the Thunderous Bolt to power our Rift Engines to get to the Land of the Undead and break out Master Eon?" Jet-Vac asked. "That's rather easy. We just need to ask Queen Cumulus for that relic, of course. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Speak of the devil…" Eruptor pointed out, seeing a figure behind Stealth Elf and Jet-Vac approach them through a thin portion of the fog. Both the veteran Skylanders and the Smashers saw the appearance of an aristocrat dressed in a golden-and-black dress floating towards them to greet them. Her skin was violet with a bronze tint, and the lower half of her body was nothing but clouds. Accompanying her were two guards wearing gladiator helmets and wielding partisans, having macho bodies colored blue and clouds to replace their legs.

"Welcome to Skylantis, Skylanders," the woman greeted. "My name is Queen Cumulus, and we welcome anyone with open arms… for the time being."

"For the time being, huh?" Jet-Vac asked. "Well then, Your Majesty. We're seeking out your permission for us to use your Thunderous Bolt to fuel our Rift Engines so we can go rescue Master Eon from the Land of the Undead."

"Oh, I would be happy to give it to you since you asked so nicely… if I had it with me and wasn't kicked out of my own villa," Queen Cumulus replied with nervous laughter in her voice at some parts. "You see… a funny-looking clown arrived and… promised us the pleasure of abandoning all morality for the sake of true freedom and safety from the underclasses if we gave in to… what I can assume was his ideology of madness. I guess you could say he was, um… kind of nihilistic. Naturally, most of us thought this was an absolutely horrid idea, but Lord Stratosfear… he's a bit more conservative. Had a… dissenting opinion. After taking the Thunderous Bolt for himself, he threw me out of my villa and declared himself ruler of the Cloud Kingdom, saying that storm giants should hold extreme prejudice against inhabitants of the lower realms. Just to rub salt in the wound, Kaos's forces arrived and, well… stormed Skylantis. No pun intended."

"Oy vey," Ridley groaned with irritation. "Sounds a whole lot like Jevil. Everywhere he goes, bad luck follows."

"Oh, is that the name of the jester? I assumed he would be someone like Jeffery or Archibald," Queen Cumulus added. "Well, if you need to find Stratosfear and get that scepter, I suggest you should clear out this fog first. It was created by Lord Stratosfear, and only our Stormhorns can blow it away temporarily. We're heading to the towers at the center of the kingdom and activating the Stormhorns there, but thanks to the Inflatrators and Storm Spawners occupying the town, it's becoming far more difficult. Aircrafts aren't going to help either since you're basically flying through a death trap. So you're pretty much walking on foot… unless you're brave enough to blast through troll-infested clouds."

"Thanks for giving us the scoop," Fox responded.

"We'll be clearing your town clear of these monsters!" Stealth Elf added.

"Thank you, mortals," Queen Cumulus blessed, curtseying in gratitude. Jet-Vac reached his hand out into the fog, taking out a clump from the thick clouds that it almost felt like cotton candy.

"So it looks like we're going to have to stick together," Jet-Vac explained. "Under my guidance, we should reach the city in no time."

"I don't know…" Fox objected. "Perhaps you might lead us astray either off an island or even worse… into enemy territory."

"Do you know about this place?" Jet-Vac asked with the utmost certainty that he might lose his status on protecting others before himself. "Have you been coming here every single day for the sole purpose of studying its architecture, as well as every street and corner? I suggest you rookies should follow us. Maybe you might learn a thing or two about being Skylanders." The birdman walked off into the fog, and the fighters followed behind the veterans. Everyone stuck close together as Queen Cumulus and her guards stayed behind.

"Psh. Who knew this guy could be a bit of an angry bird?" Sonic muttered, giving Hat Kid a piggyback ride and holding Kirby's stubby hand as they stuck close to their friends.

"Remember: if ever you get lost, try raising your voice," Stealth Elf pointed out. The Smashers jumped upon hearing lightning blast above them when they began walking through the fog, with Clementine shrieking and hiding in Banjo's backpack in her squid form.

"Hey, make some room in there," Kazooie told the frightened Inkling. "You're not the only one scared." Far off at the other end of the Cloud Kingdom, a small fleet of transport ships were leaving in and out of the entrance to a grand and splendid villa, which was decorated with quartz, olive vines, and Roman-like designs. A portly, pink-skinned storm giant wearing full-suited Roman military armor was standing outside, holding a bronze scepter with lightning streaming from the curved, lightning-shaped tip.

"Ah, it won't be long now before the forces of Kaos can establish peace upon the Cloud Kingdom," the storm giant declared, feeling the raw energy of ten jillion lightning bolts vibrate in his fingertips through the scepter. "Queen Cumulus, you just don't understand. Pessimism? What's so pessimistic on having freedom for all of Skylantis?"

"Apparently, the sovereign and her people would disagree otherwise, Stratosfear," Jevil answered behind the storm giant, surprising him ever so slightly without warning. "They're still not giving into my offerings and Kaos's, simply dismissing it as temptation, temptation." Lord Stratosfear pointed the Thunderous Bolt at the jester who was bearing that sharp-toothed grin of his.

"Just what exactly do you want, clown?" Stratosfear snapped. "This better not be yet another excuse to take that villa I was promised, you low-life vagabond."

"Relax, relax," Jevil chuckled, gently pushing the Thunderous Bolt away from his face. "I'm not here to take this residence, by which I remember clearly you stole from Queen Cumulus. She's planning to reclaim it and inflict unspeakable punishments upon you in what she declares as treachery upon her kingdom, and what's better: the Skylanders have arrived to take your Thunderous Bolt and complete the next stage to create a mutiny against Kaos, Kaos."

"...How is an uprising against Emperor Kaos better?!" Stratosfear asked, with some of the Roman-armored trolls and electric golems stopping work upon the transport ships sent to the different parts of Skylantis the second they heard the storm giant yell. "I don't want any more mortals immigrating to our kingdom, let alone Skylanders!"

"In times like these, the best course of action is to flee and live to fight another day. The coalition's arriving fast, and chances are they've got a plan. You best get out of here while you still can," Jevil finished, bowing at Stratosfear before disappearing through teleportation. Stratosfear was left with no other option.

"Send in as many trolls and golems as you can!" Lord Stratosfear ordered, by which Kaos's minions complied. "Make sure the earthlings never escape the Cloud Kingdom! I was born to rule the skies, and I will not stoop down to the levels of the lower classes!" The storm giant flew off to a nearby ship that looked like a glider with insect-like wings. As for the minions working for Kaos, they got into the ships and flew off into the Roman-esque parts surrounding the Cloud Kingdom.

"We must be close," Jet-Vac told the SuperChargers, using his vacuum-gun to blow away the fog in front of the group. "Any minute now we should be getting close to the transport ships."

"I don't think we need to bother you, but we've been in this spot three times in a row," Mewtwo telepathized.

"Three times?" Jet-Vac asked, thinking what the Pokémon was saying was something preposterous. "Don't be ridiculous. I have keen eyesight equivalent to that of most sky barons. I know where to go." The sound of the Stormhorns in the distance echoed across Skylantis, temporarily blowing away the fog so Jet-Vac could see that he and the group were standing next to a waterfall running down a blue mosaic, two storm giants of opposite sexes were playing a strange tiles game with various creatures native to Skylands, and potted plants in painted vases stood.

"See? We've found that couple playing Skystones over there, everywhere we go," Eruptor added. "Let's face it: we're walking around in circles."

"Yeah," Stealth Elf complied as the fog rolled in again. "The fog's so thick not even your eyesight can pierce through it."

"Not to mention you're relying on using that gun of yours, which won't help," Mewtwo added. "My telekinesis can help get us through the city and reach Lord Stratosfear."

"But you're still a newcomer," Jet-Vac objected, walking over to the Pokémon. "As a rookie, it's important to understand that there are dangers that you can never predict."

"But I am the most powerful Pokémon," Mewtwo replied through telepathy. "And I know when to sense danger and know where to go."

"It's still a new world for the likes of you!" Jet-Vac replied. "We're trying our best to keep you safe. Just let me lead the expedition and we can get the staff."

"Fighting is going to get us nowhere," Stealth Elf interrupted. "Why don't you both come to an agreement on what you can do to solve our way through this fog?" Lightning flashed in the air, striking down between Mewtwo and Jet-Vac. The fighters looked up to hear the evil laughter of Stratosfear riding on his large vehicle.

"Foolish mortals!" Stratosfear shouted. "Only Kaos can preserve the Cloud Kingdom, and well… you know, grant me that villa I've been planning to steal from Queen Cumulus for a long time. If you wish to harness the power of the Thunderous Bolt, then come and get it. Guards!" As the large ship flew away, the transport ships flew in and began releasing hordes of Meteo-Trollogists, Inflatrators, Storm Spawners, and Bitning Bugs surrounding the fighters. The Stormhorns from various parts of the city echoed throughout the Cloud Kingdom, blowing away the fog and revealing just how many of each enemy there was from several feet away. The couple playing Skystones noticed this and flew away into the fog, not wanting to get involved.

"That is a lot of bad guys," Hat Kid stated, getting off Sonic's back.

"Draw your weapons, Skylanders!" Jet-Vac commanded, pulling out his vacuum-gun. Stealth Elf held her wooden dagger cannon like a minigun and Eruptor formed a lance growth from his right arm. Everyone took out their weapons, with Sonic the only one having to resort to lightning kicks.

"Uh… I don't mean to alarm you guys, but I think the fatman's getting away with the Thunderous Bolt," Sonic pointed out as the large horde of monsters drew in closer.

"Not now, my spiky friend," Jet-Vac responded. "We're going to need a cold and calculated plan to charge through these enemies and clear out the fog.

"But Stratosfear will be gone by the time we get rid of all these monsters," Fox added.

"We'll just have to blast through them then," Mewtwo advised as the trolls and golems got closer. "I can use my telekinesis to push away these enemies."

"Hey, elf-lady?" Sonic asked.

"Stealth Elf," the green-skinned Skylander corrected.

"Sorry," Sonic apologized. "Anyways, I was wondering if you can help me push us all off."

"Are you crazy?!" Eruptor asked. "You're gonna kill us!"

"He's not," Ridley replied. "I think he knows what he's doing."

"Well, I think this is ludicrous," Jet-Vac agreed with the lava creature. "You're basically accomplishing suicide."

"Fighting all these enemies will only slow us down," Pit responded. "Don't you want to save Eon as quickly as possible? Don't you want to know how to stop Kaos?" Jet-Vac took the moment as one of consideration, all while the Skylanders tensed up their fingers as the golems, trolls, and lightning bugs charged straight at them.

"They're coming!" Hat Kid exclaimed, holding her umbrella like a sword in front of her face. Mewtwo raised his hands and stopped all the minions in the foggy area with his telekinesis powers, slamming them into the ground hard. Sonic quickly grabbed Stealth Elf's hand and dashed off to his right. As the blue hedgehog jumped, he propelled himself to the left with a midair jump from his boosted Air Boots, tossing Stealth Elf so she could knock the team off the island they were standing on with a push. Stealth Elf landed, starting to have second thoughts about this.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Stealth Elf asked the blue hedgehog as she was dragged along with the speedy hedgehog. "I don't think you thought this through!" Mewtwo and Ridley once again dove down with their gifts of flight to make sure their friends were alright. Everyone was falling from the sky at this point.

"What are you doing!?" Jet-Vac asked the blue hedgehog.

"I'm improvising," Sonic replied, becoming rather chill about this as he had his back facing the nonexistent ground.

"You've doomed us all, that's what you've done!" Jet-Vac snapped, quickly activating the jet-pack on his back.

"No, I haven't," the blue hedgehog replied, trying to use his enhanced sneakers to help him fly like the sky baron. "Kirby! Bowser! Anyone who's got a Sky Vehicle integrated into their Rift Engines, use them now!" Pit, Kirby, Bowser, and Stealth Elf all took out their Rift Engines, tossing them downward. The Clown Cruiser, Viridi's Voice, and Star Sparkler flashed back into existence, and when Stealth Elf threw hers, a strange helicopter made entirely out of leaves popped up. Banjo and Donkey Kong landed on the wings of the Clown Cruiser, Hat Kid got on Pit's lap as they landed on Viridi's Voice, Mewtwo used his telekinesis to lift Eruptor to the side of Stealth Elf's copter, and Fox hugged Clementine tightly to help them both land on the wing of the Star Sparkler.

Jet-Vac was at least lucky enough to throw out his Rift Engine below him, and he soon landed in the seat of his Sky Vehicle. The machine had the appearance of an eagle-stylized drone, with propellers on each two sides. Jet-Vac landed in the cockpit while Sonic used the jets on his shoes to slow down his landing on the vehicle's tail. Ridley and Mewtwo still flew on their own.

"Why would you do that?" Jet-Vac asked the blue hedgehog. "Don't you understand how dangerous that act was!?"

"I got impatient, okay?" Sonic answered in his usual rebellious attitude. "I didn't really plan anything. I just did it because this mission is one we can't waste anymore time on."

"Well, you should have been more careful about this, Sonic," Fox reassured, using his visor to track down Stratosfear's ship through the fog. "Now let's hunt down that crook and get that bolt." The Skylanders flew off into the mist, heading to the thinnest part of the fog so Fox could track down Lord Stratosfear escaping the Cloud Kingdom.

"We head to the borders of the city and cut Stratosfear off," Fox advised. "Don't let him and Kaos's forces get away." The Skylanders flew off as fast as they could, chasing down Lord Stratosfear as the Stormhorns around Skylantis blew away the fog to clear the skies. For a moment before the fog rolled in again, they saw Lord Stratosfear maneuvering his vehicle through the pillars and Roman-esque households and villas.

"There he is!" Stealth Elf called out, pointing out of her helicopter. "Thanks, fox guy. Now let's catch ourselves a storm giant!" Jet-Vac recognized the storm giant, and he piloted his glider straight for Stratosfear. As the group passed a few transport ships, four small gliders piloted by trolls emerged from the decks and chased down the Skylanders.

"Uh… we've got a bunch of funny-looking trolls at 5:00," Hat Kid warned as she crawled to the back of Pit's Sky Vehicle. "You might wanna get them off your tails first."

"I'll take care of 'em," Eruptor answered, holding onto the side of Stealth Elf's copter. His lance weapon melted back into his arm, and he shot a bunch of lava orbs out of it like projectiles. The lava orbs hit the gliders chasing the fighters down, and only two survived so the trolls piloting them would unleash rapid-fire lasers at the fighters.

"Alright, Hat Kid," Pit told the alien girl as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up front. "You take the wheel." The angel aimed his bow at the enemy gliders while Hat Kid held on tight to the yoke and drove Viridi's Voice like a scooter. Fox McCloud was trying to keep his balance on the Star Sparkler as Kirby flew across the cobblestone streets with the other Sky Vehicles.

"On your left!" Ridley shouted as he glided with the team, hacking out fireballs at Stratosfear's insect ship as they got close. Stratosfear was losing a bit of balance as his ship was trying his best to avoid the space dragon's fiery attacks. He looked behind to see Pit and Fox fire lasers at the two troll gliders, by which the trolls were forced to jump ship to avoid dying in the following explosions.

"You filthy peasants don't know who you're up against!" Stratosfear snapped, using the Thunderous Bolt to generate powerful bolts of lightning above him. "I, Lord Stratosfear, will strike you from the skies with the power of the Thunderous Bolt!" The lightning bolts flashed over the fighters, attempting to strike them as they quickly began moving around left and right while avoiding crashing into the town. Mewtwo threw out his psychic projectiles and scythe replicates to keep the rebellious storm giant busy.

"Hey, Jet-Vac," Sonic advised, clinging on tight to the sky baron's Sky Vehicle. "I want you to get me in close so I can pounce on the fat guy!"

"Pounce on Stratosfear?" Jet-Vac asked, quickly moving away to dodge a lightning orb. "Why on earth would you ever do that?"

"Just trust me," Sonic ushered, ducking below the leaf helicopter's leaf-shaped bullets that opened rapid-fire upon Stratosfear's ship. "I've dealt with stuff like this before." The birdman, feeling curious as to how the young one riding on his Sky Vehicle, stopped his drone-like glider so the blue hedgehog could jump off. Sonic launched himself straight at the pink storm giant, with the Thunderous Bolt's orbs flying past him.

"Hey, Patrick!" Sonic shouted, mocking Stratosfear's appearance. "Heads up!" The blue hedgehog raised his right leg high, slamming an electrical axe kick onto Stratosfear's head. The storm giant was knocked back to the front of his vehicle, having noticed his glorious mohawk galea was dented.

"Uh, whoops," Sonic chuckled, having struck a landing on the storm giant's vehicle. "Guess I meant to aim for your ugly mug." Stratosfear tore off his dented helmet to reveal a balding head with fluffy-white hair like a laurel crown, and he swung the Thunderous Bolt at the blue hedgehog. Sonic quickly ducked underneath the scepter, trying to avoid the lightning strikes the mystical weapon unleashed.

"All those who are born among flesh will perish under the inhabitants of the Cloud Kingdom!" Stratosfear snapped, trying to hit the fast hedgehog. "Together, we will rise like a storm and strike down upon the likes of those in the mortal realm!"

"Y'know, I don't mean to offend anyone, but… you're pretty into this whole thing about preserving your native colony, aren't you?" Sonic asked, kicking with his feet and attacking Stratosfear from different directions. "I mean… you kinda have standard ideals: get rid of anyone that ain't your kind. But here's the thing that bugs me: if you're against anyone with flesh and bones setting foot into your city because you believe this would break the status quo of your society, why do you allow trolls and golems to roam your city and take any offending storm giants captive? I get that you're racist and all, but isn't it a little hypocritical that trolls, who are technically made out of flesh, don't get any punishment whatsoever?" Stratosfear grabbed Sonic's fist as the blue hedgehog was about to punch his face, and he threw the blue hedgehog onto his back. The storm giant aimed the Thunderous Bolt at the speedy devil's neck, electricity crackling across the brass metal.

"Only Kaos can accomplish this task of true freedom among all storm giants!" Stratosfear answered. "Nothing will stand in his way until he gets what he wants!" Before Stratosfear could stab Sonic with the Thunderous Bolt, the blue hedgehog gripped tight to the metal and absorbed the lightning spiraling through it. His quills and irises began to glow with blue lightning, spreading fear into the storm giant pinning him down.

"Give our condolences to the big-headed wimp then!" Sonic replied, pushing the Thunderous Bolt away from him. Bowser's Clown Cruiser shot out a Koopa shell that knocked off one of the wings keeping Stratosfear's ship in midair, and Sonic used that turbulence to grip tight to the Thunderous Bolt and kick Stratosfear in front of him. The blue hedgehog slashed with the scepter in one clean strike, knocking Stratosfear onto some sort of dirt road below him and the other SuperChargers. Both the pink storm giant and his vehicle crashed into the dust, and Sonic jumped off his back and landed on his feet.

"Oh my… you actually did it," Jet-Vac noted, slowly piloting his Sky Vehicle close to the ground and parking it.

"Heh-heh… we may be rookies in your world, but we're clearly veterans in ours," Mewtwo telepathized, he and Ridley landing on the dirt track as the other Skylanders parked their Sky Vehicles. They all walked up to the blue hedgehog as their vehicles disappeared, who had the Thunderous Bolt in his gloved hands.

"That's impressive…" Stealth Elf remarked. "We actually have something that can help us find Master Eon!"

"Yep, and taking it from that pink tub of lard was easy-peasy," Sonic responded, looking down at Kirby and quickly realizing that he might have offended their squishy friend. "I was talking about the Stratosfear guy. Don't worry, Kirby." The fog surrounding the Cloud Kingdom began to slowly clear, along with Kaos's forces retreating in their transport ships, and the storm giants gathered around where Stratosfear landed. Queen Cumulus arrived with her guards, who had taken captive of the trolls that failed to get away.

"The victory is yours, Skylanders," Queen Cumulus expressed gratitude towards. "As a token of the eternal gratitude of the Cloud Kingdom, please… take the power of the Thunderous Bolt and use it to your advantage against Kaos and his forces."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Stealth Elf replied, bowing with her hands in front of her face before pulling out a steampunk tablet from her pockets and turning it on. "Buzz? We've got the information we need to find Master Eon!"

"Information?" Buzz asked, trying to figure out how to use the video chat. "This better be good."

"Well, thanks to a group of new Skylanders, we've managed to get Queen Cumulus's permission to use the Thunderous Bolt to boost our Rift Engines so we can get to the Land of the Undead! Master Eon is trapped in that realm, and we need Mags to power them."

"Aight, I'm gonna let Mags know you're comin' back," Buzz responded. "Good luck out there, folk." The video chat ended, following the queen floating over to Stratosfear, who was trying to crawl away.

"As for you, you treacherous cretin," Queen Cumulus told Stratosfear. "You are relieved of your duty as captain of the royal guard. As punishment… you are under arrest." One of the storm giant guards dragged Stratosfear up, cuffing the pink storm giant's hands in front of his chest.

Back at the Skylander Academy, Mags was walking over to a special platform set she made, with the Thunderous Bolt floating in front of a special wrench she was holding. She was wearing a magenta welding mask to shield her face from the raw energy the scepter bore. The Smashers, Hat Kid, Flynn, Cali, Buzz, and Skylanders Jet-Vac, Eruptor, Pop Fizz, Stealth Elf, and Roller Brawl were all standing beside the contraption.

"Make way, people!" Mags advised. "High-voltage weapon comin' through! Cover your peepers!" Buzz opened up a small hatch for Mags to put in the Thunderous Bolt, and once the scepter was inside he shut it and covered his eyes alongside Cali. Hat Kid pulled her hat over her eyes, and the Smashers and Skylanders all did the same. Flynn and Pop Fizz were the only ones who didn't get it until the last second, with the former shielding his eyes before a flashbang and the latter experiencing the temporary blindness for himself. Electricity crackled around the contraption and powered it completely.

"Alright, people," Mags told the SuperChargers. "Gimme all your Rift Engines so I can supercharge 'em with the power of ten million thunderbolts!" Everyone opened their eyes, with Pop Fizz dazed out by the flashbang.

"Mommy…? Is that you?" Pop Fizz asked as Stealth Elf reached into his pouch and pulled out his Rift Engine. She then took out hers, and so did Roller Brawl, Eruptor, and Jet-Vac with theirs. Sonic, Banjo & Kazooie, Bowser, Clementine, Donkey Kong, Ridley, Kirby, Fox McCloud, Pit, and Mewtwo were happy to oblige as well. Mags collected all the Rift Engines they have, and she walked on over to her own invention.

"Now this is a delicate procedure to power up all them Rift Engines and recalibrate 'em," Mags explained. "After I'm done with yours, I'll then move on to the rest layin' around the place. By that point, you'll make it inta the Land of the Undead no problem! While I'm chargin' em one at a time, why don't you get a tour around the Academy? See whatcha can find?" Everyone walked off to go do their own thing, with the Smashers ready to explore the island.

"I suggest everyone should go ahead and train before we head out to the Land of the Undead," Jet-Vac advised. "That place is not another walk in the park. Chances are it's going to be heavily-guarded once Kaos and his subjects find out we're here. So I suggest you all suit up."

"Hey, Cali? Do you know where Alchemo is?" Hat Kid asked the feminine Mabu.

Alchemo was on another memory trip, only it was taking place at night underneath a bright moonlight. He went alone via a small airship despite Eon telling him he needed to learn about teamwork. Alchemo did this because he didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt, and besides: he was so quiet nobody would notice him. He was hiding behind one of the trees that was located far into the Outlands, carefully watching as Kaos, Glumshanks, the Doom Raiders, and Jevil arrived in a larger ship.

"Well, here we are," Kaos spoke. "A location I have frequently visited ever since I was banished to the Outlands by that old fool Eon: one of the last remaining Traptanium mines. The sources we'll be using here will be perfect in constructing the weapon that will take over Skylands! And I require everyone to hear about it, including that clown we brought into my army. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… the Sky Obliterator!" The Dark Portal Master presented the Doom Raiders some scribbles and crud drawings of some sort of strange gun. As usual, no one was impressed, and Jevil still kept that grin of his.

"Gulper can draw bad, but not as bad as this," the Gulper replied.

"I can't even make sense of this," Dr. Krankcase replied. "How exactly are we going to find the right materials necessary?"

"Just use your imaginations, people!" Kaos snapped in an angry tone, throwing the pages. "Don't you see what I'm going for?"

"Hm… nope," Luminous answered. "Can't say any of us recognize them." As the Doom Raiders were talking about how Kaos's plan sucked, Alchemo watched as Jevil quickly opened the Book of Dark Magic to one of the pages in the book, giving off an idea-filled smile as he slipped the book back into his outfit before anyone noticed. Alchemo seemed to notice this, and whatever Jevil found in Kaossandra's book was in no way good.

"That's because his plan is never going to work, work," Jevil advised. "You can always just… eat up the sky. I'm sure the resident here would bid it buh-bye." The Doom Raiders looked behind themselves to hear what the floating jester had to say about all this.

"What are you saying?" Kaos asked.

"I think I've heard the rumors that there's a bit of magic inside each island that helps them float and makes Skylands… Skylands," the Golden Queen noted. "However, I don't necessarily think this is a good ide-"

"That sounds like a great plan!" Kaos proclaimed, interrupting the Golden Queen. "However, I don't exactly know what design to use."

"Oh, that would be easy, easy, if you would just learn to use the gray matter infested in your comically large head," Jevil laughed, floating behind Kaos. "As for me, I figured out the perfect design. Now watch this, boisengirls!" The jester pulled out his hand, blowing with an icy breath to create a glacian pillar. Jevil then spawned in a bunch of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs to hack away at the ice using only his head. As soon as the snow settled, the villains on the team looked with amazement at a strange, robotic face that would soon be the concept model for the Sky Eater.

"I knew you'd be surprised," Jevil spoke in his usual Chesire grin. "It'll even be a bigger size."

"A bigger size…" Kaos repeated, pulling out the vial containing the darkened magic. "Then it's settled! We'll be using that face as an ultimate vacuum to suck out all the magic in Skylands, proving once and for all that I, Lord Kaos, am not to be trifled with! And with this - the last remnant of the Darkness - I will finally claim all that I deserve: the complete and utter destruction of Skylands!" Normally, the Doom Raiders would be on board with this, but for whatever reason they began to grow a little worried about the whole ordeal. Glumshanks himself was rather cautious about this plan.

"I suggest we should start mining these resources to start with the skeleton of the machine," Jevil advised, pulling out his scythe. "With the Devilsknife in my hands, I will help you lovely folks accomplish the task, task." Soon enough, Kaos and his minions got to work mining from the walls of the mine. Kaos was often slacking off and forcing Glumshanks to do most of the work, while Jevil began to read a little deeper into the book when no one was watching. Most of the time, Jevil would just disappear for hours at a time.

Once in a while, during his spying hours, he would often be following Kaos and his companions to different locations of the Outlands, watching as they gathered a legion of trolls and Drow elves to help build the Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction. Every time Alchemo returned to the academy to tell the Skylanders what he saw, they would go off and try to put an end to Kaos's plan before it was even put into action. Alchemo then began to realize more and more of the Doom Raiders began to act differently, in that they act like they don't want to tell something. It all started with the Gulper and Chompy Mage, but slowly more and more Doom Raiders began to change, and more and more Skylanders have never returned to Skylander Academy.

Three months had passed, and the Sky Eater was near completion. The trolls were working faster than ever, and Kaos, Glumshanks, and the Golden Queen were watching the armor being assembled from on the ground.

"That's strange," the Golden Queen noted. "Normally, my own subjects would be around to witness this."

"Who really needs to pay any attention to them?" Kaos asked. "My dreams of conquering Skylands are just about to come true! Once it's done, I'll be hooking up the Darkness to the Doomstation and get rid of the Core of Light once and for all." The Golden Queen was starting to get highly suspicious about Jevil after noticing he wasn't even around to witness the idea he suggested. The jester was a bit of a loner, so it would make sense that he would often do things alone. However, he tends to disappear out of nowhere.

"...Hey, Kaos?" the Golden Queen asked. "When was the last time you've seen Jevil?"

"Last I remember, he said he was heading to Cloudcracker Prison to get some more Traptanium to fuel the Sky Eater," Kaos answered. "You're welcome to drop in on him while he's working." The Golden Queen walked off past the rock Alchemo was hiding in, and she stopped when Glumshanks grabbed her arm.

"I feel like this Jevil guy is starting to get really suspicious," Glumshanks whispered, confirming that he knows something isn't right with that clown. "I mean, not even the evilest of evil minds would just… get out and vanish for who knows how long. At least he's taking care of any and all intruders, but even then I don't know where he puts the defeated husks of the Skylanders..."

"I know," the Golden Queen replied, pushing Glumshanks's hand off her shoulder. "The Doom Raiders have vanished, and I think I know why. It's like this creep doesn't want anyone to find out on a secret experiment… he's been working on…"

Alchemo woke up in bed, having felt like he had some sort of fever. He was all alone in a small room, looking outside the small window above his bed. How long had he been out? It felt like it had been three days, at least. Or was it an hour…?

"Ugh… my head," Alchemo groaned, feeling a little better after the migraine he got. "I wonder if there's anyone around here…" The young cadet left his room, wandering around the cobblestone hallway. He managed to get to the main library, where he found Sonic reading a few books from the shelves.

"Oh, you're awake," Sonic noted upon seeing Alchemo walk on the floor below him. "Guess you're feeling better already?"

"Yeah," Alchemo replied. "Mags and Pop Fizz said there would be at least three migraines, and I've already got two so far."

"Hope you're ready for the third one by then," Sonic noted. "What memories did you recover this time?"

"Nothing much," Alchemo answered, adjusting his big glasses. "Just remembered I was spying on Kaos in the Outlands, and Jevil… he found an idea from that book which was stolen by Kaossandra. He suggested that they should build the Sky Eater. Weeks seemed to fly past me, and I was watching each and every Skylander that was sent out by Eon regarding my discoveries to halt construction. Everyone that left never returned. The Doom Raiders began to act differently too, leading me to believe that things are becoming… odd with Jevil around. I'm beginning to have my suspicions about that clown."

"Same here," Sonic replied, looking through the book he was holding for anything interesting. "Hey: how exactly did you get here into the Skylander Academy?

"Well, I'm from a village that lives relatively close to a bunch of islands filled with those of the Undead Element," Alchemo described. "Despite the coincidence, my species tends to ignore any signs of paranormal activity, even though they're pretty xenophobic and there's evidence I'm confirming right in front of their eyes. So… that's how Master Eon found out the potential I had on using alchemy to stop paranormal activity as best as I can…"

"Interesting…" Sonic noted. "You know, I've been getting in the roughs with some paranormal activity too. I've recently learned that the stories anyone remembers right now can be wiped out. Just like that. But… maybe it might be for a good reason. Maybe you've gone through so much there's no way for you to recover any resemblance you might have outside of a few hints of a past you've long-forgotten. Like there must be something that's forcing people to keep a story you're in going. It's far too late to reset everything, so… I've basically learned that at some point, not everything is evitable. The truth is… I always knew something was fishy ever since I encountered my familiar spirit. A guy with unyielding knowledge. They may not have the ability to change everything, but they can pull out details deemed unnecessary and possibly broken. Maybe as a way to respond to someone… greater than them. Someone who's listening to our conversation right now…" Alchemo was confused on where the blue hedgehog was going with this idea, and Sonic realized this too.

"Hey: I understand how lonely you must be, and trust me: I've felt the same too ever since I arrived in another realm called Arcadia," Sonic continued, lowering the book he was holding. "I was scared that I was alone. But then I realized that friendships can come in place where you least expect them. Truth be told: many guys we face nowadays can't do anything without teamwork, because teamwork requires trust and deep friendships in those you might not be familiar with. And that's what matters."

"Thanks for your words of wisdom, I guess," Alchemo noted. "What are you reading there?"

"This? Oh, it's just something about the history of your worlds, like what the Skylanders faced off against when confronting Kaos. But whenever I look through the pages about the Portal Masters, I can't help but feel like they're missing some important information," Sonic added. "Like they want to forget… just as much as me… Anyway, wanna head outside and rescue Eon? I got a good feeling our Rift Engines are supercharged with the Thunderous Bolt's powers already."

"Of course I am," Alchemo replied, pulling out a couple of potions from his waist. "I think it might be a while till supposedly my last migraine, so I've got time."

"That's the spirit!" Sonic laughed, putting the book back on the shelf and zipping to the outside of the academy. Alchemo followed him without another word. A black spider slid down on a string of web, watching the two Skylanders run out. That spider belonged to Jevil, no doubt.

The fighters and Hat Kid grouped up with the SuperCharger team waiting for them at a large wooden dock decorated with a couple stacks of crates. Mags had just finished charging the last Rift Engine, and all the vehicles the SuperChargers owned were already lined up at the deck, with Flynn's ship parked next to them.

"Now, you're the best chance we've got at freeing Master Eon from his prison cell," Buzz spoke, standing on the sidelines. "Your vehicles should be all recalibrated and charged for the trip to the Land of the Undead. Flynn, Cali, and Hugo should all be going with you. Understand before I dismiss y'all?"

"We understand clearly, Buzz!" Stealth Elf answered, saluting the Mabu veteran. "And we will come back in one piece and free Master Eon." The green elf entered her leaf-copter, and the rest of the Skylander veterans got into their respective vehicles.

"You sure you guys are ready to head out?" Flynn asked as Hugo and Cali got onto the ship he was going to drive. "We can take all the time we need. Maybe get a snack or two… Today's meatloaf day!"

"Poyo poyo poyo… okay if scared… poyo" Kirby replied, trying to fight his speech impediment as he hopped into the cockpit of his Star Sparkler while Hat Kid and Alchemo held on tight to each wing.

"I think Copy Wizard Kirby's right… probably," Cali told Flynn as the Smashers got into their respective vehicles. "It's okay to be a little scared. None of us want to go to the Land of the Undead."

"Hey! I'm not scared! I just happen to like a good meatloaf! Sheesh…" Flynn replied in order to mask his fears, walking over the wooden plank to get to the ship.

"The Land of the Undead must be where those transport ships were taking us," Hugo added. "I bet Count Moneybone must have built some kind of terrible prison there…"

"I guess that means Master Eon might not be the only prisoner," Jet-Vac advised. "Are you ready to move out?" The Skylanders replied by revving their engines, with Sonic giving out a thumbs-up. Roller Brawl's Rift Engine in her vehicle opened up a Rift to the Land of the Undead, and all the SuperChargers drove in with Flynn piloting the ship through it. As the Rift vanished with everyone that drove through it, Mags walked up to Buzz.

"Do ya think they're gonna make it back in time?" Mags asked.

"I hope so, otherwise they'll have me to answer to," Buzz answered, limping back to the Skylander Academy. "By the way, how's that Core of Light holdin' up?"

"Still working like a charm, even after we moved it here!" Mags replied.

"Yeah, I hope so…" Buzz noted. "Because if anythin' ever happens to that Core of Light like the last time Kaos got involved, things are gonna get dead serious when that there darkness engulfs everything. Hope it ain't as bad as when the Nightmare King attacked…"

"What d'ya say?" Mags asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Buzz dismissed. On the other side of the island, a strange green dome with a light pillar emerging from it was left unguarded. Few of Jevil's spiders living in the academy approached the Core of Light, serving as the jester's eyes for investigating what to do.

"Uh… call me my usual crazy, but this place doesn't look like what they advertised on TV," Pop Fizz pointed out, scratching his head. He and everyone who went through the Undead Rift could see from their vehicles and ship that the Land of the Undead was coated in an eerie fog, with a massive castle-like building with rusty machinery all around it. Islands with cobwebs and bone gates were randomly scattered across the place, with television screens filled with static floating around.

"Yeah," Flynn pointed out, holding some sort of paper flyer in his hands that had Count Moneybone's face printed over among some large words that described the Dehabilitation Center as some sort of paradise that helps prisoners see things from a different perspective. "You'd expect the place to be sunny and have a bit more… green."

"Who cares what the place looks like?" Bowser added. "Look: let's just break into the place, get the prisoners and your Eon guy out, and escape from the Land of the Undead."

"But… how do we get everyone out?" Alchemo asked, getting off Kirby's vehicle. "The place could have extremely tight security, and Moneybone is no pushover."

"Maybe we can ask the locals who aren't prisoners for some advice," Banjo replied, getting off his Jinjo Jetski while Kazooie adjusted her body inside the backpack. "If there's anyone around…" The bear rested his elbow on a nearby barrel, and once the lid began to move he and Kazooie jumped in shock. A small gray fox wearing glasses and a simple brass helmet popped out.

"Special Agent 321, Designation Softpaw at your service and reporting for duty!" the gray fox proclaimed. "I am so sorry for the inconvenience, but I have seemed to notice you have stumbled into the Land of the Undead without a proper plan."

"Thanks for the clarification, little guy," Pit added, slipping off Viridi's Voice as the other Skylanders hopped out of their running vehicles, with the Mabu trio staying in the ship. "We could really use one of those right now."

"So just fork over anything you've got, like a map, per say…" Ridley asked. "It would be the best of help right now."

"Luckily for you, I've got just what you need!" Softpaw replied, pulling out a rolled-up map and giving it to Jet-Vac. "I've been spending months in Count Moneybone's detention center and mapping out the best course of action to take during your sabotage on the place."

"I kinda noticed these Skylands are full of conveniences," Bowser noted as Jet-Vac, Roller Brawl, and Hat Kid analyzed the map. "It's probably me, though."

"Perspective Gates…?" Jet-Vac asked as he read the map before Flynn cleared up.

"I think according to this flyer, these Perspective Gate thingies alter gravity depending on where they're set up," the Mabu pilot explained, reading from the flyer before Cali pushed it down.

"Affirmative," Softpaw responded. "You can use these gates to sneak past Moneybone's defenses. I'm sure you can figure out a way to rescue everyone, Master Eon included. Softpaw, going dark." The gray fox ducked into his barrel, rolling off the island and disappearing.

"Alright," Jet-Vac explained to the Skylanders and Hat Kid. "If we all work together on this, we can save everyone trapped here. According to this map, there's a main control room that operates all the prison cells, and it's located below the Dehabilitation Center. However, there's going to be water flooding the pipes, so I advise anyone with Sea Vehicles to take the pipes. Anyone have any Water, Magic, and Dark Rift Engines?" Pop Fizz raised his hand, and so did Banjo and Kazooie, Ridley, and the Inkling.

"Good, good," Jet-Vac continued. "Pop Fizz, you're in charge of piloting the Soda Skimmer through the water and clearing out any gunk clogging the pipes on the way there."

"You can count on me!" Pop Fizz exclaimed. "Meltin' gunk's my specialty!"

"Once all the prison doors are opened, I and Stealth Elf will be driving the Jet Stream and Stealth Stinger respectively, protecting any prisoners escaping. Flynn, Hugo, and Cali will be circling around and wait until we get back. Anyone with Air, Life, and Light Rift Engines will be helping us get the prisoners to safety. As for the rest of you… I don't know what to make of how you can use your Land Vehicles."

"The Land of the Undead is kept under a watchful eye at all times," Hat Kid pointed out. "There's a chance you guys could get caught and the mission will end in failure."

"How about we distract the security while you guys do your thing?" Alchemo advised. "That way, everyone gets out safely, including Master Eon."

"And how exactly are you going to do it?" Stealth Elf questioned. "We know these skeletons won't open the doors to anyone, let alone Skylanders."

"Which is why the rest of us guys will be using the only tactic we've got: breaking and entering," Sonic answered with a sly look on his face.

The SuperChargers that had Land Vehicles were soon driving across a ragged road, and Alchemo and Hat Kid were holding on tight to the roof of Roller Brawl's Tomb Buggy. There was a large prison door at the end of the road, behind a large ramp-like hill. Everyone knew this was the main way into Count Moneybone's detention center, so they rode off the ramp and broke through the door like it was made out of chocolate. They soon landed on a wooden pathway, driving across ramps and bridges while they passed multiple cages hanging from the ceiling.

"So… what now, genius?" Eruptor asked Sonic, drifting his Burn-Cycle close to the Flash Drifter. "I've got a bad feeling you didn't exactly plan this through."

"You're right," the blue hedgehog answered. "I didn't. Which is why we'll be using ourselves as bait so the rest of our buddies can get everyone out of here!"

"For a prison, you might expect they could sound an alarm or something," Roller Brawl pointed out. As soon as the vampireress said so, a loud alarm blared throughout the prison, and several skeletons driving buggies and gliders were chasing the SuperChargers from behind.

"Please pull over and put your hands in the air," a robotic feminine voice called out to them.

"You were saying?" Hat Kid asked.

"I will take care of them," Mewtwo advised through telepathy. "Don't worry." The Pokémon used his telekinesis to drive his Land Vehicle while he used the move Shadow Ball upon a ramp hanging above the guards chasing them down. The chains snapped, crushing all the enemy vehicles below it.

"Nice work!" Fox cheered, aiming his turrets at a couple of gliders attempting to gun the Skylanders down. "For now, let's keep the police force distracted and get to Eon." The residents of Skylands that were trapped in their cells up and down and all around were happy that someone came to their rescue, and they cheered the Skylanders on.

"Lights!" Alchemo called out, having instantly noticed that there were spotlights ahead of them. The blue hedgehog drove through the spotlights since he was ahead of the group, changing their color from yellow to red. The turrets integrated into the spotlights fired heat-tracking missiles at the blue hedgehog, attempting to target the blue hedgehog. Everyone else took a nearby ramp to avoid the spotlights just in time, and Sonic quickly noticed that.

"Uh oh," Sonic noticed as he looked behind himself. Everyone jumped off the ramp back onto the track throughout the detention center, and Eruptor drove in and skewered all the missiles with his lance-appendage and ate them before they exploded inside his lava belly.

"Thanks for the save, pal," Sonic thanked Eruptor. "How are you feeling?" Eruptor said nothing and let out a small burp of smoke. More gliders flew to the front of the group and attempted to fire lasers at them, but in the end they were gunned down by the Land Vehicles they were trying to destroy. While all the chaos among the guards was ensuing, Mewtwo began to hear a faint voice calling to him from inside his head.

Skylander… hurry!

The voice was rather quiet, but the Pokémon could hear it quite clearly, even through all the static he was hearing. Mewtwo tapped into his psychic powers to hear the distress call.

Follow the path…! Save me from Kaos's iron grip!

"I know where they're keeping Eon!" Mewtwo telepathized. "Straight ahead is a large building. If we continue driving, we'll end up at the topmost floor."

"Then let's move!" Sonic exclaimed, slamming his foot on the gas pedal and speeding off. The other Skylanders followed him through all the security that was guarding the Dehabilitation Center.

Ridley was leading the way through the sewage pipes, which was entirely flooded underneath so much water. The Space Pirate used his Phazon Hunter to light the way through the large system, and he looked behind himself to make sure Banjo-Kazooie, Clementine, and Pop Fizz were alright. The Jinjo Jetski and the Soda Skimmer had magical bubbles around themselves and the other two Sea Vehicles since the Phazon Hunter and the Salmon Devourer were not of the Magic Element.

"Are you sure you know where to go?" Pop Fizz asked. "I don't exactly like the looks of this place…"

"Quit your whining! We're going the right way," Ridley replied, holding out the map that he took with the group. "Who's the one with the map here?" A group of submarines appeared in front of the Skylanders, firing torpedoes at them. The fighters quickly moved their Sea Vehicles out of the line of fire.

"Guess this is the gunk Jet-Vac was warning us about," Kazooie recognized as Banjo used his Jinjo Jetski to fire projectiles at the small submarines attacking them. As soon as nothing but scraps of metal and skeleton bones remained, the SuperChargers drove their vehicles through the rubble. Ridley looked at the map again, his claws tracing around the area they were currently in. The dragon stopped his Sea Vehicle, much to the puzzlement of his former teammates.

"I think this is the place," Ridley told the group, pointing upward with his sharp forefinger. Above them was a large ring with a few submarines floating on the surface. The four Sea Vehicles emerged out of the water, popping the magic bubbles around them as a result. Ridley, Pop Fizz, Clementine, and Banjo & Kazooie all hopped out of their vehicles, looking at the skeleton creatures operating the large control room which was dimly lit by fluorescent lights and cameras. The enemies stared at the Skylanders that found their control room, and they quickly pulled out their weapons to take care of the intruders.

"What? No welcome wagon?" Kazooie asked, slowly spreading her wings as Banjo generated clumps of rocks from his brass knuckles. Pop Fizz readied his large bubble blower, Clementine pulled out her vinyl discs, and Ridley exposed his steel claws along with his vicious appetite for manslaughter.

The SuperChargers that had the Rift Engines of their Sky Vehicles were running through the more quiet parts of the Dehabilitation Center, avoiding the line of sight from the spotlights scanning the wide path they were on as best as they could. At the end of the path was some sort of blue vortex in the middle of a robotic ring. Kirby, Bowser, and Pit looked to their left to see the rest of their friends riding their Land Vehicles through the facility, distracting the spotlights long enough for the Sky Vehicle team to get to the blue gate.

"This way!" Jet-Vac whispered, he and his comrades running into the gate. They soon ended up on the wall of one of the many prison chambers. Pit looked down at one of the bars on the door he was literally standing on, surprised to find a Mabu poking his head out in fright.

"This is freaky…!" Pit whispered, holding his bow close to his chest. "That's what these Perspective Gates do?"

"I think so," Stealth Elf replied, ready to set foot through another one of those vortexes. "Now come on. Just a few more of these guys." The Skylanders entered through the Perspective Gate, suddenly appearing on the bottom of another random cage. This continued for a few more seconds, with the fighters running through one Perspective Gate after the other and ending up on the walls of a cell or the ceiling. They eventually exited through the last Perspective Gate, ending at a large opening to the outer borders of the Land of the Undead. Their gravity seemed to have also been fixed since they were standing right-side up again. An electronic alarm sounded across the prison facility, and the cages that were keeping Skylands's inhabitants opened up.

"Looks like Pop Fizz and the others messed with the controls a bit," Stealth Elf pointed out, both she and the Skylanders watching each and every prisoner around the place make their daring escape. Many box-like vehicles flew in, picking up each and every convict. The barrel Softpaw was hiding rolled in through the Perspective Gate Jet-Vac and his teammates went through.

"This is Softpaw!" the gray fox greeted, wearing a paper airplane on his head. "The prisoners are making their escape thanks to you! But Count Moneybone's fleet will be coming this way and attempt to push all the prisoners back. You need to help get these transport ships to safety and help them leave the Dehabilitation Center! Good luck, Skylanders." Softpaw disappeared back into his barrel, rolling through the same Perspective Gate.

"This is our chance!" Jet-Vac told the SuperChargers, pulling out his personal Rift Engine. "The transport ships are coming this way. Are you all ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be," Bowser answered, each one of the Skylanders in the group taking out their Rift Engines. They all tossed their engines in front of them, which grew in size and transformed into the Sky Vehicles. Everyone got into their matching vehicles and drove off alongside the transport ships exiting the prison.

"Enemy ships, dead ahead!" Stealth Elf called out, firing knives from her Stealth Stinger's minigun and attacking the skeleton-piloted gliders. A small fleet of Kaos's minions arrived, attempting to stop the transport ships with gravity-manipulating beams. Kirby and Pit attacked the small gliders with shooting stars and explosive pollen, defeating the ship's attacking the prisoners.

"Sure hope the others are having a blast in getting Master Eon out of his prison!" Jet-Vac told Bowser as he attacked another bunch of enemy ships. "With their incredible strength, we can get him back sooner and push back against Kaos and his forces!"

The Skylanders riding on the Land Vehicles broke through the large, monochromatic cell door on the top of the large building, landing on a circular battlefield that curved upward into the center. In front of where they landed their vehicles, the SuperChargers saw a large cluster of glowing crystals, with an elderly spirit Eruptor and Roller Brawl recognized, who was trapped in one of them.

"It's Master Eon!" Roller Brawl proclaimed, adjusting the levers in her Tomb Buggy while Hat Kid and Alchemo held on to the sides. "Don't worry! We'll get you out of there!" The vampireress drove straight towards the captive mentor, who in return expressed feelings of joy after days or even weeks of solitary confinement. Mewtwo suddenly sensed a dark presence within the room, giving him and everyone else a sense of danger.

"Watch out!" Mewtwo telepathized in exclamation, getting off Giratina's Quad and teleporting himself next to the vehicle. He quickly snatched Hat Kid, Roller Brawl, and Alchemo with his psychic powers a split-second before the Tomb Buggy was sliced in half by a powerful slash. The Tomb Buggy's hull exploded into gray dust, and the Rift Engine was glimmering with the Undead Element it was now recharging with. Roller Brawl pushed Mewtwo away and roller-skated her way over to the small Rift Engine, but the cold blade of a familiar weapon was pressed against her neck the second she picked it back up.

"The Devilsknife," the cheerful voice spoke in a calm and frightening manner, turning Roller Brawl's face pale when she looked up to see the major opponent all of Skylands was up against. "From the world where I come from, come from, Lightners and Darkners deviate from humans in the sense that they are both monsters. And do you know how to identify Darkners from other humans and monsters? Darkners both bleed and dust upon death, death. Those mixed attributes unleash powerful spells from Darkners that combine both determination and magic, and the Devilsknife is no exception. Why, one blow from this weapon is enough to inflict a fatal wound upon its target, target. That's the result of realization. Realization that no one can truly be free in a world where everything is concrete." Roller Brawl backed away, the apprehension in her eyes enough to scare her towards Mewtwo, Alchemo, and Hat Kid.

"Hey! You can put a sock in it!" Eruptor snapped. "These are Skylanders you're talking to!"

"And I have to take a gandering conjecture and say you are all equal in terms of what the rules of this world have been previously established for you," Jevil went on, floating in the air and leaning against the long handle of the Devilsknife. "Sharing the role of protagonist while you all remain trapped on the side of order and light! How boring! How dull! What excitement would there be in a world where light is regarded as good and all-knowing while darkness is shamed for even existing and is more often than not antagonized? Things don't seem as such from here, Lightners!"

"Oh please, Jevil! Stop boring me and my… unwelcome guests with your monologues that don't even make sense contextual-wise," Count Moneybone groaned, floating into the room in a large flying steampunk robot of his. The machinery was designed to be decorated with brass and gold, shaped like a skull with a cannon on the right and an arm on the left while it glimmered with an unnatural blue.

"Don't make sense… or don't NOT make sense?" Jevil asked, keeping that grin of his on his face, as he floated next to Moneybone. The skeleton pushed the jester away out of annoyance.

"Ahem, yes of course… Anyway: my Traptanium penthouse suite was originally designed to accommodate just one prisoner, but… it can easily hold in two or more, Skylanders," Moneybone told the SuperChargers. "Unless of course… you were planning to break the old fool out."

"But why would you ever go out of your senses to do so, so?" Jevil asked, rubbing his mitten over the crystal pillar that has encased Eon inside. "Can't you see that he finally has all the freedom he desires? After everything Kaos went through to lock the old mentor ghost outside? Though he would grow lonely in his little freedom, just like I had, had. And look on the bright side: he'll feel happy when you get to join him."

"Let's just get to the point," Moneybone addressed. "I hate to disappoint you (actually, I don't), but Lord Kaos has other plans for Eon. So… ready yourselves for battle, Skylanders, and prepare to wallow in a puddle of ultimate failure!"

"But I will be willing to assist you, if you don't mind, mind," Jevil noted, letting spades and diamonds dance around his left arm. "I declare that a second round will spark up and unwind. Defeat us both, free the old mentor, and escape the house of liberty without losing your last stock and ending up free! Uee hee hee!"

"At least try to stay out of the way as often as possible," Moneybone told the jester as he was about to shut the cockpit to the inside of his machine. "I want to have at least half the glory too."

"Psh. Whatever," Sonic noted. "You're never gonna take us down, not as long as we've got each other by our side!" Roller Brawl's Rift Engine was fully recharged, and she quickly threw it on the ground and brought back her Tomb Buggy. Hat Kid and Alchemo quickly ran over to the crystalline prisons, hiding in plain sight from Moneybone and Jevil.

The Perspective Gates at the corners of the stage activated, and Count Moneybone started with the first attack. He began dropping fire upon the ground, which lingered on the floor as he flew over in random directions across the floor. The Land Vehicles began releasing their projectiles at Moneybone's machine, avoiding the fiery path he spread.

"I control the vertical, horizontal, and everything in-between! Have at thee!" Moneybone boasted, slamming his down onto the metallic ground with his robot's left hand and generating a violet shockwave that spread across the floor at a fast pace.

"We better get moving!" Fox advised. "Quick! Through these weird glowing portals!" The Star Fox mercenary drove his Land Master into one of the Perspective Gates, suddenly appearing on the same wall he was facing. Mewtwo realized this and drove himself through one of the four main Perspective Gates. Donkey Kong and Eruptor entered through the third one, and Sonic and Roller Brawl went into the fourth. Moneybone flew his machine to the ceiling, where he watched as all six of the SuperChargers in the room attacked him with barrels, lava balls, scalding flames, and more.

Jevil simply looked up and stared at the chaos taking place, and he quickly moved aside close to the Traptanium prison cells. Hat Kid and Alchemo were watching the commotion, and the alien girl knew they couldn't leave the spirit of the elderly Portal Master alone.

"We have to help that man," Hat Kid whispered. "But I don't know what we can do without getting caught by Jevil."

"I think I know a way," Alchemo replied, pulling out a couple of potions and mixing them together. "Months ago, I learned that Traptanium is the most powerful material in Skylands, so strong that it can only use itself to cut through itself. At least, that's what I've learned so far. I'm going to try to make an acid to break Eon out."

"Let's shed some light on your issues!" Moneybone proclaimed, firing multiple golden laser beams across the walls. The Skylanders drove through the Perspective Gates again, keeping a watchful eye on one of the walls that the skeleton's robot landed on while attacking him on the floor.

"He's almost out!" Eruptor told his companions.

"Ugh… Jevil! Jevil! Why aren't you helping me?!" Moneybone asked as he was unleashing streams of fire across the floor to get the Skylanders out of the way.

"You said I should stay out of your way," Jevil answered while the skeleton's robot slammed around and generated violet shockwaves that stretched out from the floor to the ends of each wall. "I'm taking your advice for granted, granted." When Mewtwo's Land Vehicle unleashed the last blow on Moneybone, all the systems on the robot were shut down, and the robot was defeated with Moneybone knocked unconscious and trapped inside the rubble.

"What a shame, what a shame," Jevil laughed, his yellow pupils gleaming and glancing back at Hat Kid without her noticing as she climbed her way through the Traptanium cells to push Eon out. "Looks like Moneybone will take the blame. Half the glory, my ass." Jevil raised his hands into the air, generating white diamonds from the floor. They appeared in random places, forcing the Skylanders to drift left and right just to avoid the attacks.

"Just try to be careful of where his attacks are!" Mewtwo telepathized, using the cannons attached to his Giratina's Quad to hit the jester with ghastly projectiles that were black with purple auras, almost similar to the Pokémon Ghastly.

"We're trying as best as we can, but-" Roller Brawl responded, slamming the brakes when one of the last few diamonds during the duration of the attack shot up in front of her. The Skylanders fired their weapons at the jester, but they could only land a few hits on him considering he moved around quite elegantly.

"Piip piip. Let's ride the carousel game," Jevil proclaimed, clapping his hands and spawning three rows of horses laid across. They began to spin around on the floor, bobbing up and down like waves on an ocean. Even then, the Smashers quickly drove through the Perspective Gates to barely avoid the attack entirely. Eruptor and Roller Brawl didn't know what to do, which resulted in them losing decent amounts of health from their Land Vehicles.

"Who keeps spinning the world around?" Jevil asked, having noticed the Smashers used the Perspective Gates to avoid the attack. "You sinners are really keeping up, aren't you!?" Jevil twirled in the air, attacking all the walls with rows of spades that were raining down upon Sonic, Fox, Donkey Kong, and Mewtwo from their perspectives. The four quickly drove through the gates and ended up back on the floor, only for everyone in their Land Vehicles to look up and see Jevil prepare a rainstorm of club shapes.

"Nu-ha! Having fun? Come join the club!" Jevil exclaimed, throwing his hand down to force the clubs to rain down on the unsuspecting Skylanders. Mewtwo drove Giratina's Quad in front of the fighters and quickly projected a large dome shield over the Skylanders and their Land Vehicles.

Mewtwo lowered his shield and proceeded to fire Shadow Balls alongside his four-wheeler's turrets. Jevil got hit by those attacks, but he quickly brushed it off as he giggled and sent out white hearts across the room. While all the real chaos caused by Jevil was going on, Hat Kid crawled through the Traptanium crystals to get to Eon. The spirit form of the elderly Portal Master was fixated on the battle going on, praying with every ounce of hope that the Skylanders would succeed. Hat Kid knocked on the glassy surface of his prison, alerting Eon of her presence.

"We're gonna get you out of here," the alien girl told Eon. "Alchemo's making a compound that will melt you out of your prison."

"Why… how in the Skylands will you be able to manage that?" Eon asked. "You look rather weak for your size." Hat Kid took it for granted, but that didn't stop her from trying to push and pull on the crystal prison cell to dislodge it.

"I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm pretty intelligent and strong," Hat Kid replied. As the alien child was doing her best to free Eon, Jevil was continuously dodging the projectiles the Skylanders fired at them.

"Even Devilsknife is smiling~!" Jevil laughed, spinning around with the scythe in his hands. The weapon grew larger and became tinted with a red hue, and by the time the jester threw it he saw a couple beads of sweat fly from his face. The large, red Devilsknife ricocheted off the walls, and the SuperChargers were once again obliged to drive around like crazy just to survive.

The enhanced Devilsknife eventually slashed through the bottom of the Traptanium prison, which was keeping the whole thing together. The crystals began to fall apart and fall onto the floor, with Eon still trapped inside his cell. Hat Kid propelled herself next to Alchemo to avoid getting crushed by the crystals scattering around.

"Come on!" Hat Kid told Alchemo, who was still making the acid with some herbs before the alien girl dragged her over to Eon's cell.

"Hurry, Alchemo!" Eon told the young cadet. "Finish the acid!"

"I'm trying my best… here goes!" Alchemo noted, pouring the orange acid he created. The Traptanium was eaten away real fast, and the spirit of the Portal Master could feel himself loosen up. The Traptanium began to crack and crumble until eventually the prison cell completely shattered thanks to the acid. The glowing spirit of Eon emerged from the crystalline rubble that was once his prison.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Alchemo" Eon thanked. "And thank you and your friends for finding me, dear child."

"It's no big deal, really," Hat Kid noted. "Just a couple of fetch quests and stuff just to find you. But… we better get out of here." Jevil landed on the floor in front of the Portal Master and the two kids, brushing off the rubble on his black cape. He looked behind himself to see Eon free from his prison, as well as the children who helped break him out.

The jester pulled out another Devilsknife from a white, upside-down heart on his chest. He spawned a bunch of spades and diamonds behind himself, striking fear into his greatest foe's heart. Before Jevil could attack Alchemo, Hat Kid, or even Eon, Sonic drove his Flash Drifter straight into the jester and pinned him against one of the walls.

"Get Eon out of here!" Sonic called out to Alchemo and Hat Kid, holding a squirming Jevil in place for as long as he could while the rest of his comrades attacked with powerful cannonballs based on their methods of fighting. "Donkey Kong will take you to Flynn's ship, right big guy?" Donkey Kong, who was shooting barrels at the pinned clown with his Barrel Blaster, stopped attacking and gave a thumbs-up. Hat Kid and Alchemo ran over to the gorilla, with Eon warping away in a bright flash of blue to supposedly get himself to Flynn's ship no problem. Soon enough, Donkey Kong drove out of the room with the two young fighters.

This lack of attack power gave Jevil the upper hand. He used his raw strength to kick Sonic's Land Vehicle straight ahead with such tremendous force, giving Eruptor and Fox the chance to quickly jump out of their vehicles before they were destroyed in a large explosive crash. Sonic jumped out just in time so he could watch as the three obliterated vehicles transformed back into their Rift Engines and floated over to their different drivers.

"I kinda wanted to fight out of my Flash Drifter anyway," Sonic spoke, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders before he charged straight for the jester at full speed. Sonic threw his leg out at Jevil with a roundhouse lightning kick, by which Jevil quickly jester grabbed his other leg, throwing the blue hedgehog straight into the air and firing diamonds straight at him.

Fox jumped high up and cast his reflector to protect Sonic, and the projectiles landed on the ground. The blue hedgehog used those Air Boots of his to slow down his landing as best as he could while Fox ran straight for the clown. The Star Fox mercenary punched Jevil hard in the face, kicking the jester rapidly in the chest before the jester grabbed his neck and flew high into the air.

Jevil threw Fox McCloud straight into the floor and surrounded him with spades about to rain down upon him, by which Roller Brawl jumped out of her Tomb Buggy for. She kicked Jevil in the chest with her saw-like roller blade, sending him straight for the wall. Jevil landed on the rubble of Count Moneybone's robot next to the Traptanium crystals, clearly not giving up as he sent more hearts and clubs at incredibly fast speeds. Fox quickly got up when Mewtwo rushed to his aid, and they were busy reflecting the suit projectiles away from them and their teammates.

"You leave my friends alone, you creepy monster!" Roller Brawl called out on Jevil, skating straight at him with blades in her hands. Jevil twirled with the Devilsknife in his hands, knocking the blades away from himself. When he saw the four Skylanders running straight after him with full speed, he generated spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs behind himself. Before he could unleash them, Eruptor tackled him from the side, pinning the jester straight to the ground.

"You better be prepared to taste the fury of my fiery insides!" Eruptor growled, pinning Jevil's head to the floor. The feeling alone for the jester was rather warm in a way.

"Perhaps, perhaps… or you can taste my own magic!" Jevil snapped, grabbing Eruptor's arms and starting to freeze him from there. "I agree. That would be tragic… Ha-ha!"

"Eruptor!" Roller Brawl called out to her lava friend, skating after the jester attempting to kill her lava friend. Sonic rushed over to her, curling up into a ball and spindashing straight at the jester. Eruptor was saved, but not that it really mattered much because most of his body was frozen, and his face was the only thing untouched. Rolled Brawl rolled over to her friend's aid, pulling out her pink blades to get Eruptor out of the ice.

"Don't worry, Eruptor," Roller Brawl confined, taking off her skull helmet and chipping away at the ice coating his right arm. "We're all going to make it out in one piece." Roller Brawl shrieked a bit when she saw Eruptor's frozen arm snap off from his body, confirming that he was now part of the ice thanks to his structure being made entirely out of lava.

"RB..." Eruptor advised, aware there was nothing she could do to save him as he watched Sonic, Mewtwo, and Fox attack Jevil while they tried avoiding his fast projectiles. "Just leave me here. You take our friends and… leave the Dehabilitation Center." Roller Brawl's eyes began to tear up in shock. Was this real? This couldn't be real that she was going to do such a thing…

"No… no! We've lost so many comrades. We almost lost Jet-Vac. I can't lose you too!" Roller Brawl wept in disbelief. "You have to stay with us! Mags will find a way to heat you up and then you can fight again! Please…"

"... It's alright," Eruptor reassured, unable to do anything but smile with acceptance. "I remember when you came to the academy. How you would never give up on anyone. That was what we saw from you. Courage and determination. I guess the same could be said for anyone. There are some things that are inevitable, probably… At least Eon is rescued. That's a good thing. I know you'll come back for me and the rest of the Skylanders." Roller Brawl hugged Eruptor's icy body, knowing that parting with a close friend aches her heart.

During the whole fight, Mewtwo unleashed his telekinesis to suspend Jevil in midair, helping Fox and Sonic give it their all at the clown with rapid punches and kicks. The blue hedgehog finished the fight by kicking Jevil straight into a wall with such tremendous strength and electrical power that he made a dent in the metal. Jevil fell to the floor in defeat, with something slipping out of his cape.

"What… is that?" Mewtwo asked when he noticed the object a few inches in front of Jevil. It seemed to be some sort of mandible that had a strange beard and sharp teeth, and it was all colored a dark silver with some tints of blue and indigo. The jester pulled himself up, and he quickly grabbed the artifact before the Pokémon could fully analyze it. An alarm blasted across the Land of the Undead, giving the three Smashers the notion that they have to go. Mewtwo and Fox already got their Rift Engines out and drove away in their Land Vehicles, and Sonic and Roller Brawl hopped into theirs.

"Uh… what about Eruptor?" Sonic asked. "You can't necessarily leave him behind… can you?" The blue hedgehog noticed a tear glimmer in Roller Brawl's eye as she put her helmet back on. Before she rode off, she glanced at Sonic with a heartbroken ache. The blue hedgehog looked at Eruptor just kneeling there on the monochromatic floor, just waiting for the unavoidable to arrive as soon as possible. The blue hedgehog recognized that he couldn't be saved as the beaten jester was slowly walking towards him with the Devilsknife in his hands.

As the Flash Drifter and its SuperCharger drove off from the room Eon was imprisoned in, Eruptor was left alone with the clown that had frozen him like this.

"So… you're gonna be killing me?" Eruptor asked. "Unless you want to. I don't have the ability to stop you now…"

"Why of course, of course," Jevil replied. "It looks like the count is still asleep, so I'll make this quick. You have seen a strange relic like the mandible, right?"

"Why are you asking me?" Eruptor asked. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"And no one will. You do realize that since you've seen what I've been planning behind Kaos's back this whole time, I have no choice but to make sure the secrets must be kept… at least until the big event," Jevil added. "No matter. The Skylanders only have one more round in the game, and if I win that… I will win the entire game. They're fast, fast. Clever, clever. But I'll be the victor in the end. And look at the light at the end of the tunnel: I at least put up more of a fight than Count Moneybone did, so maybe I might be treated with more respect..." Jevil raised his Devilsknife and slashed through Eruptor with it, ending the Skylander's life with his fate yet to be determined by the jester.

Eon opened his eyes in fright as he had a strange feeling that one of the Skylanders fell in battle. The spirit was already on Flynn's ship, where the Land Vehicles some of the fighters were driving were parked on the deck. He took a long stare at the Burn-Cycle, fearing that something terrible had happened to Eruptor. He also noticed Bone Bash Roller Brawl rolling over to the magma cycle, her head hung low in grief. Eon knew that something happened to one of the academy's oldest comrades, and it wasn't good in the slightest.

Flynn's ship was just parking itself near the deck, with the Sky Vehicles of some of the fighters landing. Jet-Vac, Stealth Elf, Bowser, Kirby, and Pit all got off their flying vehicles, which reverted back to their Rift Engines once again. Everyone else that raided the Dehabilitation Center and played their parts in freeing Master Eon and all the various prisoners were all walking off the wooden plank. The trio of Buzz, Mags, and Sharpfin were waiting for the Skylanders to return.

"Well, I'll be doggoned!" Mags exclaimed. "You critters actually went and done it! Y'all freed Master Eon!"

"We always believed you could do it," Sharkfin added, fist-bumping Pit's left shoulder until he noticed the vampireress moving past everyone in complete and utter grief. "Uh, hold on. Why's Roller Brawl so… sad? And where's Eruptor?" The Skylanders that piloted the Sky and Sea Vehicles were confused by what exactly is going on, and so were Donkey Kong, Hat Kid, and Alchemo since they weren't around before the event. As Roller Brawl skated towards the Skylander Academy, the blue hedgehog stepped in to fill in the blanks.

"We got everyone out of the Land of the Undead, but… Jevil probably managed to catch Eruptor by somehow freezing his body and… turning most of him into ice," Sonic explained as best as he could. "We had to leave him behind just so we could escape with your Master Eon. I'm going to comfort her. You guys find a way to destroy the Sky Eater and fill me in on the blanks when it's time to go." The blue hedgehog walked off, still moving as fast as Roller Brawl when she skates at her normal speed.

"There is no time to waste," Master Eon spoke. "Even though Count Moneybone's 'Dehabilitation Center' has been shut down, Kaos and Jevil are still out there wreaking havoc across all of Skylands. As if just one obstacle wasn't enough."

"We saw that Sky Eater up close," Hugo pointed out.

"And we suspect those Rifts caused by that machine are affecting not just your portal network, but ours as well," Fox explained. "Whatever that thing is, it's feeding off all our universes and disconnecting everyone from each other. Most of us aren't from around here, like Jevil. We need to find a way to get back to our worlds, or at the very least back to Arcus. Do you have any ideas?"

"The Sky Eater itself is not the problem," Eon answered. "It is what stirs in it that we should fear. Shielded by the enchanted armor of Kaos's Doomstation is the last remnants of the Darkness, and it is growing ever more powerful by the minute. I have an underlying suspicion that someone is helping it grow ever stronger with a force greater than we thought, and it's up to us to stop the mess Kaos left behind before it's too late."

"That doesn't sound so bad, even if this threat of yours sounds serious," Ridley replied. "But do you suppose we stop this thing just in case?"

"As long as the Core of Light shines, the Darkness will remain in that sky-eating monstrosity… for now," Eon continued. "Even then, we must act before the Skylands is destroyed."

"But thankfully we ain't losing that Core of Light anytime soon," Sharpfin added. "Mags and I helped move it to here, but we can't keep driving this academy around forever. We might run into some trouble."

"...I never thought this day might come, but we'll have to resort to a book I have saved within the sacred vault of the academy," Eon spoke. "I have long forgotten how the story goes, but maybe my memory could be refreshed upon reading it to you Skylanders once more." The spiritual Portal Master floated towards the Skylander Academy, all the Skylanders on the team (except for Sonic and Roller Brawl) followed him.

"Hey, Roller Brawl?" Sonic asked, walking around the grassy field portion of the island. "Are you here? Roller Brawl…?" The blue devil could hear the sound of the vampireress silently weeping, and he saw her silhouette in front of a screen of clouds covering a setting sun. She was sitting near the edge with her helmet off, wiping her running nose while tears streamed down her face.

Sonic approached Roller Brawl, sitting beside her and letting his dangle over the edge. He looked at the dispirited SuperCharger on his left, noticing something odd about her hair. The braided ponytail seemed to be losing some of its color at the tips, slowly crawling its way up to her head.

"It sure is a slow day," Roller Brawl sighed, trying to break the silence between herself and Sonic. "I wonder when night will arrive…"

"Hey… about Eruptor: I'm sorry none of us could rescue him," Sonic sighed, fully aware that is the reason why she's sad. "You did the best you could. We all did."

"You don't have to apologize…" Roller Brawl responded. "He needed help, but he told me to leave him." A small lock of hair became a pale gray, and the blue hedgehog knew he needed to do something.

"RB… your hair," Sonic pointed out. "I've never seen your hair like this before…" Roller Brawl picked up her braided hair, looking down upon the color clashing with her usual magenta.

"...Master Eon says there are traits inside everyone, depending on your personality," Roller Brawl explained, trying to hold back her tears. "Mine is heroism. When you lose a trait, you lose a little bit of yourself until eventually… you're nothing more than an empty husk." The blue hedgehog watched as more strands of Roller Brawl's hair began to turn gray as tears streamed down her face.

"Now don't say that," Sonic reassured. "You are clearly not a husk, let me tell you that. I've dealt with problems like these, and do you know what I do? Live and learn. Live to fight another day and learn to find another way." Roller Brawl said nothing about the matter, only letting her throat tighten and grip the grass beside her.

"Don't you even understand…?" Roller Brawl asked, with more strands of her hair losing color as the clouds in front of her grew a darker hue. "I've lived and learned plenty of times, and I've seen my fellow Skylanders fall in battle. I've seen some disappearing from the Skylander Academy and I've seen more die in front of my eyes and transform into trophies. And yet I never gave up."

"I kept on fighting just to get them back," Roller Brawl continued, with Sonic recognizing that more color was draining from her hair as the vampireress's eyes began to glow a bright pink. "We all did. I just so happened to be the one heavily affected by the events following the Sky Eater… and Eruptor's death was when I just gave up. I don't know if I could even be considered a hero after all the confederates I lost… and all because I was overconfident that we were going to win no matter what!"" Roller Brawl broke down into tears, her eyes tinted with a neon pink.

"Hey. Heyheyheyhey," Sonic hushed, pulling Roller Brawl close to himself and giving her a comforting hug. "You're more important than you think you are. You're better than you think you are. And anybody who tells you otherwise just can't see how great you can be. Just because you slipped up and lost everyone you care about… it doesn't mean they're gone forever. Now, I'm no fortune teller, but I know with the friends you've got right now… you will get back the comrades you lost. I was just like you once. I didn't know what I was going to do after I lost so many memories of the worlds I visited and the powers I was cursed with… but in the end, I learned what to appreciate from those close to me. And like me, your friends and family could be waiting for you too." Roller Brawl felt the soft clothes of her hedgehog companion, burying her face into his t-shirt to vent out her fears.

"If there's anything I learned, it's that you can't let the past weigh you down all the time," Sonic continued. "And I'll admit: the things Kaos and his goons did to your friends is clearly what I hate about him, and I haven't properly met the guy yet. Regardless, what's important is that you never give up and never submit to the darkness in your heart. I did once… but I've evolved since then. I've adapted. Like me… you'll live and learn, growing from your mistakes. Isn't that what heroism is, after all?" The vampireress slowly stopped weeping, with the darkened clouds clearing out by coincidence. The magenta tears stopped dripping, and the gray strands in Roller Brawl's hair were restored back to their usual color.

"Yeah…" Roller Brawl sniffled, rubbing her arm into her eyes, which had since then lost their unnatural glow and reverted back to normal. "I guess it is… Thanks, Sonic."

"Now you're getting it!" Sonic laughed, bumping his fist next to Roller Brawl's right shoulder. "Wanna pop in on Master Eon and save the Skylands?"

"Heck yeah, I am!" Roller Brawl exclaimed, getting back up on her roller blades after getting her confidence back up. "Let's roll!"

The Skylanders were accompanied by Eon, searching through an old, dusty room for something. The room was filled with old books on shelves and chests, with the place lit by a dim candle on the wall. Sonic and Roller Brawl entered the place, the both of them curious about what everyone was doing here.

"Oh hey there," Pit uttered as he saw the blue hedgehog and the vampireress walk in on them. "We're looking for a book Eon needs in order to find a way to defeat the Sky Eater."

"It's titled The Coming of the Darkness, by some bug named Pomfrey Le Fuzzbottom," Bowser added. "Can you help us look for it?"

"Sure," Sonic and Roller Brawl replied, heading over to different parts of the room.

"You know, for an all-knowing wizard, you should have kept your things a little more tidy, Eon," Ridley spoke, looking down to see Pop Fizz gnaw on one of the books. The dragon swiped the book out of the gremlin's mouth.

"And why are you eating the books?" Ridley asked.

"I didn't even eat lunch," Pop Fizz replied. "Sorry…" Hat Kid walked past Mewtwo, who was using his telekinesis to make the books float around himself, and she pushed open a chest. She dug through the chest before pulling out a rather large book from a cloud of dust. The alien girl blew off the dust on the book, realizing the hardcover was a rich velvet brown with golden markings. The words that were imprinted on the front of the book read "The Coming of the Darkness - Pomfrey Le Fuzzbottom."

"Hey, guys!" Hat Kid called out. "I think I found it!" The Skylanders walked up to her, with Jet-Vac taking the book from the alien girl.

"Excellent work, little one," Eon spoke, floating behind the SuperChargers. "Luckily, I had borrowed this from the Hall of the Ancients, as well as a ton of other books with complete editions before I... you know, lost my body the first time Kaos attacked. Go ahead: open it and let us see how to put an end to the Darkness's evil for good."

"We must hurry," Mewtwo advised the Smashers and the Skylanders, including Alchemo and Hat Kid. "Kaos and his forces are still laying waste." Jet-Vac opened up the hard cover, and the pages began to glow as everyone in the room began to literally visualize what the words read.

"Thousands of years ago, ancient beings that came from the stars arrived in Skylands," Eon's voice read aloud. The Skylanders let the magic contained within the book take over their minds so they could visualize a setting that looked like it was drawn on paper in watercolor and Celtic art styles, with blank, humanoid figures descending from a starless night sky onto what looked like the violent winds of a mucky world. "When they arrived, they had discovered ten mystical elements within the chaotic storm: Fire, Earth, Water, Undead, Life, Magic, Air, Tech, Light, and Dark. However, each element was wild like the winds, and so they eventually found a strange relic that could help them." The drawing depicted one of the blank humanoids approaching a strange crystal shard as thick as his arm and as tall as his head, which gleamed with all the colors in the rainbow spectrum.

"The strange relic gifted them a special substance known as Imaginite, which helped the Ancients utilize the power of imagination by which they called Mind Magic, and they created a new realm among the ten elements: forging the Skylands you know today," Eon's voice continued, with the drawing showing multicolored crystals spreading across the stormy winds and creating calm skies with floating islands in them. "However, before they could create the portals, the Ancients feared Imaginite would be used for evil, and so they sealed away all traces of Mind Magic in the hopes that the wrong hands would not touch it. As for the shard from where the crystals came from, no one knows where it is to this day. However, some have speculated it's deep beneath the realm where no island has ever reached, waiting for a new day to shine."

"Without the Mind Magic to help transport them across Skylands, the Ancients explored the universe using magical relics called Rift Engines, long before they created the portals." The blank humanoids were seen using the power of all ten elements to create these magical golden engines, by which they used the Rifts to get around. "It wasn't long before they began exploring other worlds and universes, each with their own sets of rules. There were worlds where witches fought angels, worlds where kingdoms were at war, worlds where monsters were sealed underground by humans, worlds full of street fighters, animals, mythical creatures, and far more than you can possibly imagine. There was just one problem, however."

"The demand to spread the light out from Skylands was at an all-time high, and in their hastefulness the Ancients created a powerful Rift Engine that opened the door to a forbidden world and unleashed a destructive force into Skylands: the Darkness." The Ancients were busy adding concoctions to the Rift Engine molders, but they accidentally added too much of the Dark Element into one of the molds, and a fiery explosion of the colors black and magenta emerged from a large, dark-green Rift Engine. Emerging from a mist of shadows was a face with a sooty wooden texture, with neon pink eyes and crystals stuck on his forehead arranged to look similar to Kaos's head mark.

"Cunning and benevolent forces began to fall under command of the Darkness, containing the Skylands in complete shadow. With no time to waste and the Darkness growing stronger by the minute, the Ancients quickly assembled a powerful machine to keep the Darkness at bay: the Core of Light. Just when all of Skylands had been lost, the Core of Light was activated, pushing the Darkness back into the realm from whence it came." The Ancients began to build some sort of strange green dome that unleashed a pillar of light, scaring away the Darkness and forcing the face inside it to flee into the Rift created by the Dark Rift Engine. Chains were fastened around the engine, locked away in a remote location to never awaken again. "Despite having lost the battle, the Darkness left behind a remnant of its power, and the scars it left behind in Skylands continue to inspire wicked forces to this day. The Eternal Light and Dark Sources were sealed in a jade pendant known as the Eye of the Ancients, and the Core's creators never bothered to finish it, believing that the other eight Eternal Sources would be enough to keep the Darkness trapped inside."

"After the defeat of the Darkness, the Ancients left the Skylands to explore other worlds, leaving the Portal Masters to guard the portals they have protected. Sadly, half of the Portal Masters were corrupted by the evil in the Darkness, and a war ensured between both darkness and light. At least, that's how the story goes." Before Eon could read any more from the book, the story was over. Everyone in the room snapped out a trance, with the Skylanders in general shaking their heads to wash out the daze they went through.

"It seems as though the Core of Light was incomplete all this time, and we need the Eye of the Ancients to weaponize it," Master Eon declared. "It's the only chance we've got at stopping Kaos's Sky Eater and put an end to the plans for everything he aims to achieve."

"Well, where do you suppose we find it?" Alchemo asked.

"The last I've heard, it is located within the Monstrous Isles, home of the Titans," Master Eon answered. "Hurry now. There's no time to waste. Get into your vehicles and head out." Eon disappeared from the room, leaving the Skylanders and Hat Kid alone.

"The Monstrous Isles… haven't been to that place in a while," Pop Fizz pointed out, scratching behind his own ears. "I heard they got great guacamole, though!"

"You all heard Master Eon. There's no time to waste. Let's go," Jet-Vac advised the group, leaving the dusty room. Everyone followed after the birdman without saying another word, ready to get this over with. Eon reappeared back in the room once everyone was gone, with a look of worry on his face.

"It appears my worst fears have been confirmed," Eon sighed with the hope that he was absolutely wrong about all this, looking at an old book lying on a desk. "I haven't got a response from my penpal for a long time, but let's hope he's listening when I say… the Nightmare King is returning soon." On the desk, covered in a thin layer of dust, was a notebook marked with strange symbols similar to the ones W.D. Gaster used.

"Wait! Wait!" Kaos shouted, echoing throughout a small dark room on-board the Sky Eater. Jevil and Kaos were communicating with Count Moneybone through video chat upon a set of circular stairs, and behind the skeleton on the floating TV screen was the rubble of his robot and the mess caused in Eon's prison room.

"What I fail to understand, Moneybone, is how you botched the one job - THE ONE JOB YOU HAD!? - to keep that old fool Eon locked up!?" Kaos yelled at the count, fully enraged that the minion he was paying the most failed to protect Eon's Traptanium prison. Jevil was just floating in the air, smiling as he watched the unfortunate situation the skeleton was in.

"It was the Skylanders!" Count Moneybone advised, twirling his mustache in stress and annoyance. "There was nothing we could do! They were terribly heroic."

"Enough!" Kaos shouted, with a big red button emerging from the floor in front of him. "Is there anything else…?" Moneybone's face lit up with something on his mind, and he was eager to share it with his boss.

"Actually, now that you mention it-" Moneybone addressed before he was cut off by Kaos, who pressed the red button to end the call and the deal between him and the count. The Dark Portal Master laughed in satisfaction, and Jevil giggled with the notion that Moneybone was never going to reveal anything life-changing.

"I must say, the way you handled the conversation before ending right upon the count beginning a divulgence was all the more perfect, perfect!" Jevil cheered, quietly applauding for his emperor. "Jolly good show."

"Don't act like you succeeded in keeping Eon trapped either," Kaos replied, staying a bit tolerant towards the clown. "At least you tried to put up a fight, as well as manage to kill another Skylander better than that cheapskate Wimpybone."

"Why thank you, thank you!" Jevil laughed. "Though I meant to ask, oh yes I do: which Skylanders have made a fool out of you? Press the button again, then you'll see... the truth through the windows marked with 1,2, and 3."

"...You mean check the security footage?" Kaos asked, pressing the red button in front of him again. "Relax. It was just a regular old bust-in… from the… same old Skylanders…" By the time the Dark Portal Master checked Cameras 1, 2, and 3 on the same screen he was snapping at Count Moneybone, he saw what exactly happened through different times. In Camera 1, he saw the fight between Jevil and the Land SuperChargers commence. In Camera 2, Jet-Vac was leading a fleet of Sky SuperChargers across the air and helping the prisoners escape. And in Camera 3, Kaos watched as the skeletal creatures operating the control room were attacked by Pop Fizz and the Sea Vehicle SuperChargers.

"Jevil… who are they?" Kaos asked the jester, watching how Pit, Mewtwo, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Sonic, Fox, Kirby, Ridley, Clementine, Banjo and Kazooie fought against his forces alongside some assistance from Hat Kid in some parts. "In all my years of evildoing, I've never seen Skylanders like these before, not even through my totally-copied-in-the-library-and-not-at-all-stolen-off-the-internet version of the Skylander Encyclopedia."

"Why, they're the souls I warned you about, but you pushed it back into my face when I offered you the refreshing Adam's ale of the truth," Jevil answered. "I never forget a single face I meet, meet, not even in a hundred years. The advantage to free other worlds under your domain is a possibility, and I'll be willing to help you make it happen."

"Hm… interesting," Kaos uttered with a mental note-to-self. "I see where you're going with this." The Dark Portal Master stared at the jester's face, eager to learn about this topic.

"Tell me more about the worlds you speak of," Kaos spoke with slight demand. The mood was interrupted when Glumshanks opened the door to the chamber, which slid open and revealed the glimmering light of the Darkness's magic.

"Um… Lord Kaos? Sir?" Glumshanks asked, much to his master's annoyance.

"Ugh! What is it now?" Kaos asked.

"Sir, it's the Darkness," Glumshanks reminded. "It's… asking for you…" Kaos walked out of the room, following Glumshanks as Jevil floated out. The three of them heard a faint sound call out for the Dark Portal Master, beckoning for his arrival.

Kaos…

Kaos…

By this point, Jevil watched as the Darkness looked as though it was trying to maintain a consistent shape as it continued burning and pulsing in the center of the room. Kaos was pleased at how the remnant he used was gaining sentience.

"Do you hear that, Glumshanks?" Kaos asked in excitement, holding his own hands behind his back as Glumshanks hid behind his back. "It knows my name. Don't just stand there, fool! Dial it in!"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to tamper with the sound box?" Glumshanks asked.

"Just do it!" Kaos ordered. The troll butler walked over to the control panel near the Darkness, heading over to a control knob and twisting it between a yellow happy face, a blue sad face, a red evil face, and a green surprised face. Glumshanks twisted the control knob a bit waiting for feedback from the sentient force of evil.

"I am one with the Darkness!" a high-pitched voice squeaked from the Darkness fueling the Sky Eater.

"No no no… That's ridiculous!" Kaos spoke, his voice going a bit silly at the end of that sentence. "Try again!" Glumshanks adjusted the knob again, and this time a deep, booming voice reverberated all around the room.

"All shall tremble under my presence!" the Darkness declared, its voice so strong it began to push Kaos and Glumshanks back a bit. Jevil kept his toothy grin on as he watched a strange, human-like flame take form within the energy of the Darkness around it. The humanoid being was only in a brighter shade of magenta, standing at around almost six feet if you lined it up with Jevil but was unclear to tell since it was mostly merged with the magic it consumed. It raised its hand, using telepathy to adjust the knob to give itself a voice.

"Finally," the Darkness spoke, its voice coming off as highly unsuspecting and pretty off-guard. "I've been waiting for a day where I can speak for so long, and my old voice is just as good as new." The voice the Darkness now spoke with was rather androgynous and sultry, almost like your stereotypical bishōnen animes nowadays.

"Why that's remarkable, Glumshanks!" Kaos spoke in bewilderment. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, sir," Glumshanks answered.

"Looks like it adjusted the contraption to fit its own needs, needs," Jevil replied.

"So you must be the one they call Kaos," the voice within the Darkness spoke. "I've kinda noticed you have recently been dealing with a few drawbacks."

"If by drawbacks, you mean the Skylanders-" Glumshanks corrected before Kaos interrupted him and pushed him aside.

"There's no drawbacks!" Kaos assured, not moving his teeth as he continued talking. "Everything's perfect here. All 100% peachy."

"Quit lying to me," the voice continued, chuckling a bit. "I know your type. Thinking you can cover up something so obvious. But don't worry. As long as I'm here, everything is going to be just fine."

"It is?" Kaos asked.

"Of course," the voice continued. "Perhaps someone from another world can explain things a little better. What was it you were going to tell him, Jevil? If that's your name…"

"Oh, you have no idea, idea!" Jevil laughed, clapping his mittened hands. "I was just about to tell Kaos about how the Rifts from your presence are affecting not just the portals here, but every single world in the universe, maybe even going up and down and far and beyond. The Skylands is just the beginning for a greater conquest, one of which that tears down the cage in the sky and reveals a greater freedom for this world."

"That's right," the voice in the Darkness replied. "With you by my side, we're going to rule the whole universe."

"Did you hear that, Glumshanks? The whole universe!" Kaos exclaimed. "I can see it now: people from other worlds fleeing from my evil presence as I rule them all with the Darkness by my side!"

"But first, you're going to have to keep feeding me that magic," the voice replied, the bright figure within the swirling pillar moving a little bit. "However, the Darkness is too formal of a name for me. Too simplistic and cliché. I was thinking about one that no one has heard for quite some time, but fear will once again enter their hearts when they cower from me… Nefarion."

"And Kaos!" Kaos declared, posing dramatically with his hands in the air.

"Yes… and Kaos," Nefarion replied. "But just one more thing first: Jevil… are you going out to have some fun as usual?"

"Why of course, of course," Jevil answered. "After all… I won't abandon a good playmate. See ya, Kaos, Kaos!" The jester teleported himself out of the room, disappearing from the Sky Eater altogether once more.

Jevil warped himself back into the special area in Cloudcracker Prison where the trophies of the defeated Skylanders filled the room. The jester pulled out the lower jaw he managed to successfully salvage from the Land of the Undead. He walked past his most recent contribution to the collection he started: Lava Lance Eruptor in his trophy form.

"Isn't it strange?" Jevil asked the statue of the lava creature as though it had ears. "How many people regard death as a sense of freedom? A sense of truer purpose? A sense of salvation? And yet here you are: encased in a shell of the ego you idealize yourself with." The jester walked along the cold floor, twirling in place as he danced around the statue of a pink faun holding a large two-end paintbrush with bright colors streaming from both ends.

"Are you too afraid to embrace the cold, dull metal of Death's scythe as she cuts deep into your ripening flesh and harvests the soul trapped within, just waiting to break free?" Jevil asked the trophies in the room. "Would your husks be nothing more than empty shells then? How many stocks would it take to kill each and everyone one of you over and over and over… until eventually you'll run out of determination… and crumble." The clown looked over to the trophy of some sort of cat-like creature dressed in shamrock-like armor and green crystalline blades.

It was only for a brief second, but Jevil could see an image flash in his twisted head by looking at just that specific Skylander. He saw nothing but a cold blue fire consuming the rubble of what looked like a castle, with a darkened sky blank-full of stars and a cat that looked like a stuffed animal was standing in front of him in the exact same battle pose that Skylander was standing in, except he held nothing in his right hand and a gnarled wand in his left. The cat was covered in rips on its body with cotton sticking out of each one: one on their head, another below their right button eye, and one that completely disfigured their left eye until it was just a black socket that cried fluff. The clothing they wore over their blueish-gray fur was brown and fuzzy, and they bore a scowl on their face.

Jevil's expression changed to slight shock, but his smile slowly returned to him as he dismissed the memory and proceeded towards the pedestal where the slithering snakes slept. The jester drew out the lower jaw he carried along, slowly moving the snakes out of the way. Jevil then placed the mandible and attached it to the ends of the merged portion of the serpents.

The jester pulled out the Book of Dark Magic, chanting once again in the language native to Skylands. The light upon the pedestal flashed bright, with the eight snakes hissing and wriggling as the lower jaw of the mask attached itself. It was truly beginning to look like an all-powerful vizard.

"I hope you'll get all the magic you need, Nightmare King," Jevil spoke. "Once you restore your energy, the Mask will already be prepared for you before my final chaos."