Skeletor sent a blast of magic from his staff, knocking five Snake-men soldiers back. The Heartless version of Trap-Jaw stuck its arm out, forming a cannon from its arm that fired dark magic at the Snake-men. The elusive reptiles ducked, weaved, and slithered to avoid the dark blasts from Heartless Trap-Jaw, and Skeletor's combined attacks. The Heartless form of Beast-man threw its head back then looked forward, roaring with enough intensity to send an earthshaking shockwave outward. The Snake-men stopped, trying to keep their balance. The Heartless Tri-clops formed one massive, blue eye with a black slit down the middle over its entire face, sending a wave of dark blue flames towards the Snake-men. Most of the reptilian warriors avoided the fire, but three were caught in the flames and burned alive. The Heartless Evil-Lyn stuck its arms out to its sides, an orb in its chest glowing brightly. The orb looked identical to the orb that was once used on the end of its staff when it was Evil-Lyn the evil sorceress, not Evil-Lyn the Heartless. The orb sent a massive beam of dark energy forward, blowing past the Snake-men. There were only a few normal soldiers, and all the Snake-men with distinguished characteristics left. The Snake-men stood still, hissing with surprise as they turned to Skeletor and Maleficent.
"This is different," Hiss admitted. "Those…are without a doubt the Heartless are they not?" Skeletor and Maleficent both showed their shock towards King Hiss.
"How do you know of the Heartless," Skeletor demanded to know, clutching his staff with rage.
"Hordak used them centuries ago as common soldiers against us and King Greyskull himself. After Hordak was defeated, the Heartless lingered, but they were without a master and started attacking random towns and villages throughout Eternia. The Elders managed to banish the Heartless from this world altogether, and set up a barrier around the world so that they could never come back. This would leave me to conclude…" Hiss turned his head to Maleficent, "That you're from another world…"
"Very perceptive," Maleficent replied, cracking a small smirk. "It changes nothing though." Maleficent waved her hand gracefully, summoning dozens of armored knight, soldier, and large body Heartless around herself and Skeletor.
"Destroy them," Hiss ordered his men. "Leave none alive!"
"Yes my King," a red colored snake replied before charging forward.
In Radiant Garden, Tifa, Yuffie, and the Gullwings just made it back to Merlin's home, finding the old wizard sipping tea while Cid typed away on the computer. "We're back," Yuffie called out.
"Ah, it's good to see you again my dear," Merlin replied, standing up with a friendly smile. "Did you learn anything from your mission?"
"Other than the fact that there's no way we're getting into Maleficent's castle, Shendu has an army of ninjas, and that Tifa is a Restoration Committee member? Nope, nothing important." Yuffie looked around the house for a minute before turning back to Merlin. "Where's Leon?"
"He and Aerith went to, uh…how shall I put it…?"
"Those two went to do some recruitin," Cid replied, turning his head over his shoulder. "I told him there's no need for it, but he keeps saying that things are about to get serious and we're gonna need as much help as we can get."
"So he's just going to bring in citizens to volunteer," Yuffie asked in outrage. "I'm going to give him a talking to!" Yuffie marched out of Merlin's house, leaving everyone else behind.
"I don't know where she gets her energy," Yuna stated. "We just got done fighting an army of ninja, and now she's going to go chew Leon out."
"Ah, just let her be," Cid replied, waving his hand dismissively. "She should know Leon wouldn't do anything stupid like letting some kid with a stick join the Restoration Committee." Merlin nodded, still staring intently at the door.
In another world, Pete appeared in the center of a large room, hearing two people yelp with surprise. The lackey turned around, seeing Shredder and Krang eyeing him suspiciously.
"Oh hey," Pete said, holding his hand up and offering a friendly smile. The two villains narrowed their eyes, causing Pete to become a little worried. "It's me: Pete. I was with Maleficent remember?"
"Oh right," Shredder finally said. "What do you want? Where is the old witch anyway?"
"She's got other stuff to deal with. But I need one of you two to help a friend of ours with uh…trans-duh…travelin from world to world."
"Oh, you mean trans-dimensional technology," Krang replied. "What do you need to know?"
"I dunno," Pete answered with a shrug. "This scientist guy has a whole armada of ships and robots, and Maleficent wants him to be able to go from world to world with that army. I got him some technology from our world which is most commonly used, but he wants to know some specifics about it. So could one of you two-,"
"Go Krang," Shredder shouted. "Mustn't keep our new friends waiting now can we?" Shredder was pushing Krang towards Pete as hastily as possible. Shredder leaned forward to Pete, "Get him out of my hair for as long as possible please!"
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going," Krang snapped. "Let's hurry this up already."
"No worries, I'll get ya there in a jiffy!" Pete entered the coordinates then he and Krang shot off up in a beam of light.
"WOO HOO," Shredder exclaimed. "He's gone, he's FINALLY gone! I'm finally home alone!"
Pete and Krang reappeared on the deck of Eggman's flagship, staring at the doctor in his chair. "Ah Pete, that was rather quick." Eggman looked over, his eyes nearly popping out of his head when he saw Krang.
"So what's this all about," the alien brain asked, his patience thin.
"P-Pete, this uh…person…can help me with trans-dimensional travel?"
"Of course I can you half-whit! I'm the great Krang! Ruler and conqueror of Dimension X! I'll have you jumping between dimensions in no time! Let me see your technology already!" Eggman stood up, glaring at the disrespectful alien before walking over to an examination table.
"The technology on the left is the type that I most frequently use, and the technology on the right is the type that Pete brought me that can allow me to travel from world to world." Krang approached the technology and examined each pile for a moment.
"I'm going to need a hammer, a torch, a box full of screws, and a lot of liquor!" Eggman and Pete turned to each other, both with confused looks. "Don't just stand there tubby! Move!" Eggman snarled then walked off to get the proper equipment.
Beast-man's Heartless slashed one of the Snake-men soldiers in two before moving to the next one. A green tongue wrapped around the Heartless' body and pulled him back. A Snake-man, purple in color, pulled its head back then slammed Beast-man's Heartless into the ground. Tri-clops' Heartless was blasting at Snake-men left and right, backing away from the approaching, hissing reptiles that attempted to attack. The Heartless spun around, hearing a strange shrieking noise as a green skinned Snake-man stomped the Heartless into the ground. The ground was being torn apart by Evil-Lyn's Heartless, floating high in the air and sending dark energy blasts down upon the scattering Snake-men. Suddenly, two arms slithered around the Heartless and began squeezing as tightly as possible. Standing as far from the fray as possible, Skeletor and King Hiss squared off.
Skeletor screamed, throwing the end of his Havoc Staff forward, sending a massive wave of energy forward. Hiss broke apart into glowing snakes and avoided the blast. The snakes combined together behind the enemy. Skeletor spun around, screaming with rage as his staff collided with King Hiss'. A massive shockwave was sent out, forming a crater beneath the feet of the enemies of Eternia. Skeletor roared with anger while King Hiss pushed forward with all his might. Neither combatant gave way, and eventually the magic stress caused a massive explosion that sent both warlords flying backwards. Skeletor hit the ground and slid while Hiss rolled several times before coming to a stop. Maleficent watched in the meantime, grinning evilly to herself as she watched the battle wage.
"Well this is most interesting," the witch mused. "Perhaps I could replace my warlord with a fine snake king…"
"Evil-Lyn," a young woman's voice said. Maleficent turned around, her face showing irritation towards the one who took her attention away from the warring lords. A young woman with blue eyes and long red hair, holding a snake staff in a battle ready stance smiled. "Did you get yourself a make over?"
"You must have me confused with her," Maleficent replied, pointing directly above her head.
The redhead looked up, seeing Evil-Lyn's Heartless stick its chest out, a beam of dark magic shooting out from the orb. The redhead dove and rolled to the side as the beam created a large trench in the ground. The Heartless landed on its feet, standing between Maleficent and the young warrior. The witch hummed to herself, wondering how the Heartless escaped. Maleficent turned around, seeing a third party entering the fray, turning it into an all out war. There were many men wearing identical armor wielding swords, or maces, or shields. They must be the common grunts. There were also a large amount of distinguished men who seemed to be barreling through the Snake-men and Heartless with ease. One warrior in particular, a blonde haired mountain of a man with massive muscles wielding a wide sword, pummeled through the enemies like nothing. Maleficent's eyes narrowed for a second before she turned, seeing the redhead about to attack her. The witch raised her staff up, the orb at the top creating a wall of dark energy that sent the young warrior flying backwards.
"Teela," a voice called out.
Maleficent turned, seeing a man wearing armor from head to toe and with a thick brown mustache charging at her. A cannon formed around the man's hand, and he began firing at Maleficent. The witch's eyes widened briefly before forming a barrier around herself, deflecting the laser blasts that came at her. The man stopped, aiming directly at Maleficent and unloading an endless barrage of blasts at her. The witch grew visibly angry as she screamed, sending a blast outward. The man's face showed his shock before he hit the ground. The man groaned as he got back up, seeing Maleficent seething with anger, directed solely at him.
Skeletor slammed the end of his staff into the ground, sending a shockwave forward at King Hiss. The snake king jumped above the attack, aiming his own staff at Skeletor. An energy blast was sent directly at the faceless warlord. Skeletor jumped back as the blast formed a crater in the ground. King Hiss landed on the ground, snarling at Skeletor before something hit him from behind, causing him to fly forward. Skeletor pulled his staff back, the end of it glowing brightly, and swung it like a baseball bat, knocking King Hiss far into the distance. The warlord watched as the king hit a distant hill with a satisfying explosion. Skeletor looked forward, seeing his eternal rival standing before him.
"Ah, He-Man…it's you. I thank you for helping me with Hiss, but I could've handled him myself. If I might ask: why are you and the Masters getting involved? It's just a friendly neighborhood brawl between enemies. There are no innocents here that could get harmed by our battle."
"True," He-Man agreed. "But there were some beastly hounds in the kingdom, and our scouts report seeing you and Evil-Lyn on the hillside here. By the time we got here though you were duking it out with the Snake-men."
"How unfortunate for you He-Man," Skeletor replied. "You can't stop me once my new plan is in motion. I'll destroy you and the Masters once and for all and you cannot stop me!"
Skeletor aimed his staff forward, ready to blast He-Man who stood ready. Suddenly, three green beams sent Skeletor flying backward, smashing into the ground. He-Man turned around, seeing King Hiss landing behind him, clutching his staff and his face filled with rage.
"He-Man…" The bulky warrior raised his sword to his side, ready to battle. "Let's finish this once and for all!" The two got ready to charge, before a blast was sent upward, causing both to look back, seeing Skeletor stalking forward angrily.
"I say we all finish this battle once and for all!" A dark aura flowed around Skeletor like smoke. "I'm tired of you He-man, always interfering with my plans and besting me! And you Hiss! You're an ancient relic who couldn't defeat Hordak and you will NOT defeat me! When I'm done with you you'll slither back into your hole from whence you came!"
"And when I'm finished with you Skeletor, your body will match your face!" Skeletor and Hiss charged, He-Man standing between them.
The blonde warrior swung his sword at Hiss, causing the king to stop and block with his staff. He-Man threw his leg backwards, landing a solid kick on Skeletor's stomach, sending the warlord flying back. Hiss knocked He-Man's sword to the side and blasted him at point blank with his staff. Skeletor hit the ground and rolled backwards, charging forward and ducking as He-Man came flying over his head. He-Man stabbed his sword deep into the ground to stop himself, and then followed behind Skeletor. The warlord screamed with anger as he sent a blast forward at King Hiss. The snake king crossed his arms, taking the full force of the blast. He-Man screamed loudly, causing Skeletor to turn around, seeing his rival falling towards him with his sword raised high above his head. Skeletor held his staff horizontally, using it to block the sword. The impact caused the ground beneath Skeletor's feet to give way, forming a crater below him. He-Man planted his feet on the ground and attempted to push back Skeletor. Both combatants stared directly into the other's eyes, but neither would give way under the other. Suddenly, several glowing snakes combined between them. King Hiss reformed, throwing both fists upward and knocking both of his enemies away from one another. Hiss turned his staff towards Skeletor, shooting several glowing snakes at him. The snakes wrapped around Skeletor's ankle, and Hiss pulled his arm back. The warlord screamed as he was pulled forward, drug across the ground, then spun around in the air before being slammed painfully into the ground.
"I'm almost hurt King Hiss," He-Man said sarcastically. The king turned his head, seeing He-man approaching him. "You went for Skeletor and not me."
"If Skeletor is planning what I think he's planning, then he's more of a threat than you He-Man," Hiss replied.
He-Man charged, screaming as he brought his sword to bear. Hiss shrieked as he charged He-Man as well, colliding his staff with his opponent's sword. A shockwave was sent out upon impact and both enemies grunted as they tried to overpower the other.
"GRAAAAHH," Skeletor's voice boomed out. Hiss and He-Man turned their attention back, seeing Skeletor jumping high into the air, his staff above his head. "DIE!" The warlord swung his staff down, sending an enormous blast of energy at his opponents. Hiss scattered in a horde of snakes as He-Man simply made a break for it. The blast hit, shaking the ground and turning an entire hill into a smoking crater. Skeletor landed on the ground, the centers of his empty eyes glowing red.
Krang had spent nearly an hour examining the technology from the two different worlds, comparing and collaborating with Eggman the entire time. Pete meanwhile was sitting in the corner with a bored expression as the two scientists talked. They would every now and again get sidetracked on scientific talk that didn't even matter. Pete sighed and looked out the window, seeing the passing clouds and other of Eggman's ships in the distance.
"Eureka," Eggman shouted. "Krang you're a marvel of a mad scientist!"
"Oh stop, you're making me blush," the alien brain replied mockingly, waving its tentacle at Eggman.
"You find something out," Pete asked, his face showing interest for the first time in an hour.
"Yes! Krang said with the technology from his world that he can build special cannons on a large number of my ships!"
"But you already got a bunch of cannons on your ships," Pete pointed out dumbly.
"Not like the cannons Krang can build me! These cannons, if fired simultaneously, will make an enormous portal that will allow my army to move from world to world!"
"Oh, like opening a door to another room," Pete said, simplifying the whole explanation.
"Correct," Eggman shouted. "Now take Krang back to his home world so that he can bring manual labor and supplies to me. I'll have my robots start preparations while you're both gone." Pete nodded as Krang walked and stood next to him. Light engulfed the two before they vanished.
In Radiant Garden, Yuffie turned a corner, seeing Leon and Aerith walking towards her with solemn looks on their faces. "There you are! I've got a bone to pick with you!"
"Nobody joined," Leon replied instantly. "Don't worry."
"Oh…well still, why would you ask the people you've protected if they want to protect themselves?"
"It was worth a shot," Leon said, walking past Yuffie. "If another guy like Shendu shows up, then Maleficent is going to wipe us all out."
"But what about Merlin's plan to make his reinforce his home," Aerith asked. "That's got to help right?"
"Yeah, but not if we don't have enough members to run it, plus it'll take time to build. We may not have enough time."
"Oh," Aerith replied sadly. "Well we could at least make some improvements right…?" Leon shrugged as he turned the corner, heading for Merlin's door.
"What improvements are we talking about," Yuffie questioned.
"Merlin was suggested turning his entire home into a sort of fortress for us, to better plan and stage attacks."
"What's wrong with Ansem's old castle?"
"It'll take more time to rebuild than it will to turn Merlin's house into a headquarters," Aerith replied. "It's not out of the question, but we Leon and Merlin both think it's more important to get at least one base before trying to rebuild Ansem the Wise's castle."
Yuffie sighed, then stopped to look at Merlin's house. She had always liked the humble home, and the thought of turning it into a military base was a little…scary. It wasn't necessarily the thought of losing a home, but it was the thought that they'd have to prepare for a war that scared her. Yuffie shook the idea out of her head then ran into the old wizard's house.
"GAAAH!" Skeletor swung his staff at King Hiss' head, barely missing as the snake king ducked under the blow. Hiss blasted Skeletor with his staff, sending the warlord flying into the distance. He-Man ran up and attempted to strike downward at Hiss, who only rolled to the side to avoid it. The king turned his attention to Skeletor then sent another wave of magic at him. Skeletor looked up in shock before raising a barrier which shielded him from Hiss' blast. "You're not going to kill me so easily," Skeletor replied as his barrier lowered.
Maleficent sent blast after blast at the man with the mustache, who continually dodged the blasts and fired his own at her. Maleficent raised a wall, blocking the blasts that were sent out. Suddenly, the witch was struck from the side and hit the ground, wincing angrily. The redheaded girl, Teela, spun her staff above her head, ready to swing downward at Maleficent. The witch stuck her palm out, sending a fire ball at the young warrior. Teela swung her staff, impacting the fire ball, which threw her back next to the man with the mustache.
"Are you okay Teela," the older man asked.
"Just fine father," Teela replied. Maleficent groaned as she got up with his staff in hand. "Who is that? She's definitely not Evil-Lyn."
"Yes, whoever she is, she's much more evil than Evil-Lyn."
"Pathetic fools," Maleficent seethed angrily. "You'll rue the day you attempted to fight Maleficent: the queen of darkness!"
Dark green flames began to flow around Maleficent as the witch raised her staff high above her head, sending a dark blast high into the sky. Teela and her father looked up, seeing the clouds part as the dark blast flew through them. There was a muffled blast, and suddenly a massive Heartless with a long neck, spikes trailing from its head down its spine, long claws, broad wings, and blood thirsty eyes, flew towards the war, roaring at the fighting warriors. Maleficent grinned at the Heartless she just summoned, then lowered her gaze to Teela and her father, only smiling deviously.
"We've got a problem," Teela's father shouted, firing desperately at the Heartless. The warring factions all turned and looked into the air, seeing the dragon Heartless swooping near them. The wind from the flying Heartless knocked most of the combatants on their backs. "He-Man, we've got to take that thing out!"
"On it Man-at-Arms," He-Man replied as he leaped high into the air.
King Hiss watched the hero boldly latch onto the dragon before flying high into the air. He turned around to face Skeletor, only to get meet the skull end of Skeletor's staff. King Hiss flew far off into the distance and hit with a ground shaking impact. Skeletor grunted with satisfaction before running off towards Maleficent. The witch watched as the Snake-men and the Masters both tried to attack the might Heartless, but to no avail. The massive dragon roared and exhaled a massive wave of black and blue fire towards the ground. A few royal guards and Snake-men soldiers were caught in the blast, screaming as the inferno burned them alive.
"Maleficent," Skeletor called out. "We must retreat! We can't take on both of these armies, even with this massive Heartless, our numbers are depleted and it will take too long for my army of Heartless to reach us in time."
"Oh, but just watch Skeletor." Maleficent pointed behind the warlord, causing him to turn his head. The dark flames from the dragon Heartless disappeared, and the royal guards and Snake-men caught in the fire turned into Heartless. "See, we can multiply, and it'll take some time for your enemies to take down that massive Heartless."
"Don't underestimate He-Man," Skeletor snapped. "I need my army of Heartless here now!" Beast-man's Heartless walked up, growling lowly at Skeletor. The warlord veered around, visibly angry. "What is it?" The Heartless threw its head back and roared. "What is this thing doing?" Maleficent shrugged in response. Suddenly, a Heartless hound ran up next to the witch and the warlord, wagging its tail happily.
"I believe that they found the keyhole for this world," Maleficent stated happily. Suddenly, behind the hound, several tiny dark portals opened up, revealing Heartless after Heartless after Heartless, until the entire hillside was covered with them. "Oh…my…"
"He was summoning my army," Skeletor stated, turning to Beast-man's Heartless. "That's a helpful trick indeed…" Skeletor began chuckling lowly before he threw his head back and laughed madly, causing Maleficent to give him a questioning look. Skeletor continued to cackle for a minute before turning to his army, his empty eye sockets glowing brightly. "GO! Destroy the royal palace and find the keyhole to this world," Skeletor said, holding his hand up to the palace. The Heartless turned around, then slowly made their way towards the palace. "You and I are going somewhere else my dear…" Skeletor's Heartless minions all leaped off, following the army towards the royal palace.
Man-at-Arms turned, seeing the army heading towards the palace, and his tone was full of dread, "No…" Man-at-Arms blasted a nearby Snake-man before blasting up into the sky. "We've got to get to the palace! We've got to get to the palace!"
The Masters and the royal guards turned their heads, seeing the army heading towards their beloved home. They dropped their fight against the Snake-men and headed towards the army. King Hiss got up, groaning as he held the side of his head. He saw the Masters running towards the Heartless and hissed angrily.
"My king," General Rattlor exclaimed, kneeling next to him. "Are you okay my king?"
"We must stop those Heartless," Hiss seethed. The Snake-men hissed with surprise. "If they destroy the palace this entire world-," The sound of someone smashing into the ground cut the king off. The Snake-men all hissed, baring their fangs behind their king. Hiss turned around, seeing He-Man standing ready against him. "As I was saying, if those Heartless get to the royal palace, it means that Eternia will be no more…"