Chapter XXVI: Trauma
Mantenna
"Turn on the projector," Catra says as I activate the camera on my gauntlet. "Hordak! I have the key piece of your weapon. I demand that you step down and proclaim me Lady of the Fright Zone and 13,000 lbs of pure Etherian gold. You have 3 hours to respond."
"Are you sure Hordak would never look here?" I ask as her as I shut off the projector. She says that the harpies dealt a major loss to the Horde when we first invaded. Since then Hordak can't even think about the Harpies without shuddering. "What if he doesn't comply?" I shudder at the thought of being sent to the dungeons or even worse. "What about the Harpies?" I ask as Catra rolls her eyes and says...an alarm is sent out.
"What is it?" she demands to know. I tell her that contingent of Horde Troopers are heading towards the southwest. "That's Mystacor, why in the name of Horde Prime are they headed there?" I tell her maybe he found a clue there about the next part. "No, the books says the next part can be found in the north." She flips through to a page on the book. "Can hack into their comm-links?"
"I think so, why," I ask as she orders to do it. "All right," I hone in on their frequency.
Anacletus (Lead Ghost Vulture)
"What took you so long?" I ask Æsc as he phases into the room. He says that the ghost child's parents are sneaking around. They're trying to look for their son. "Does Shef know about it?" He says he thinks so and asks if we found something. "The boss' pet is hold up in the server room."
"We have to get them out before they mess with the boss' toy," he says as I shake my head. "Have you lost your mind? If they ruin anything Vlad will fricassee us." I tell him we're going to have some fun with them.
I remove my fez and show them the inside, "since when you did you get elevated a degree?" Acacius asks as I roll my eyes. I tell them I can into Vlad's computer thing and make it seem it is safe to come out. "These kids today they know about this techno stuff better than...," the comm-link goes off.
"What are you bird brains doing?" Plasmius' voice asks impatiently. "There was an incident near the back of City Hall. I want you to check out it."
"We already took care of it," Æsc tells him as I shake my head. "We were just about to...," I cut off the transmission. "Why did you do that?" he asks as I grab him by the neck. I tell him that if Vlad finds out he wasn't tracking the kids he could kiss his afterlife goodbye.
"Besides, we have girls to catch," I press a button on my hat smiling.
She-Ra
"How is he?" Angella asks as I arrive in the throne room. I tell her that he is fine and is enjoying his meal. "What a blessing?" she says as I look at the picture in her hand. She points to a picture of Danny with a man dressed in a orange battle suit, a woman in a blue battle suit and young woman. "This must be his family," she says as I study it.
I know what's it like to be separated from your loved ones. There are nights I can't sleep and gaze up at the heavens wondering what is going on Eternia. Is Adam safe? How are mother and father doing and what new invention Duncan is working on. My heart aches at thought of him being so far away from his loved ones. I snap back to the present. "What of the other ones?" I point to a pic with a girl dressed in a black tank-top and a dark skinned boy wearing a hat.
"His friends from what I can make of it. They seem like a close group." That makes sense Glimmer said that when they met he told her his friends were looking for him. "This one however remains a mystery. She shows me a picture of boy with white hair and green eyes. He was dressed in a black battle suit with..."She-Ra are you all right?" the queen looks at me worriedly.
"I saw this before. A vision I had," I tell her looking at the symbol on his chest. "A friend said that he would play an important role in our fight against the Horde." Angella raises an eyebrow unsure what to make of my words but before she can say something Deadalus walks in the room.
"The boy is waiting to come in," he says as she signals him to let him in. He opens the door and escorts him inside. "May I present Danny Fenton," he says as Danny approaches the throne and kneels.
"You may rise," he stands up, "I am Queen Angella and it is a pleasure to meet you in person," Angella says as Danny stands and replies it's nice to meet her. "Glimmer has told me many things about you," he blushes slightly at that and asks if they are all good. "Of course, I am sorry your welcome to our world was unpleasant."
"Thank you, your majesty," he says, "I only wish I knew how I got here. I was fighting with a foe mine and he tricked me." I ask him what kind of trick. "He took out a strange device, it looked like a bomb of some kind." Angella and stare at each other taking in the boy's tale. "Glimmer said this is Etheria. If I may ask where is Etheria?"
Angella shows him a map. "So this another planet? Not another dimension or whatever?" I nod. A smile plays across his face. "Then there is still hope." I ask him what he means, "If I'm still in the universe, my friends can still find me."
Frostbite
"You are taking an awful risk," Chronos says listening to the children's plan. "it could simply be an anomaly in the continuum." Sam says she doesn't think so, this is the second time the 1860s appeared. She used her invention to triangulate Danny's last known coordinates. "You think this a good idea?"
"It's better than nothing," she says, "Tucker and I will go investigate. You can watch us from the observatory." He warns them that they are messing with the timeline and would provoke the ire of the Observants. "If they cause problems I'll tell them it was their mother who suggested do this."
"Putting words into the mouth of a deity? It's blasphemous and you're already on their list," I warn her as she shrugs. She says the Observants don't scare her and nothing will stop her from finding Danny. "Very well, may the Ancient Ghosts go with you," she smiles and heads to the Observatory.
Kowl
"It looks like it's safe," I fly out of my hiding place and see a large tank. Inside were Mermista's friends. They were fastened to the glass. I fly up to the to the top and try to remove the cover. One of the Salineasi looked up and said it's hermetically sealed. "There has to be a way to...," a group of troopers came up to the tanks.
"We should fill the tank with mud and watch them drown in it," one of them said eye up with tank with glee. "We want their last moments to be excruciating," The trooper to his right says they should put them out in the sun like their did Mermista. "It would be fun to see them fry and...," a rock zips past them and hits him on his chest. "What was that?" They grab their weapons and search.
"Psst, Kowl!" I hear Loo-Kee's voice as he emerges from a nearby pond. I tell him that I am relieved to see him. "Us too," Mermista comes up from the water and sees the tanks. "We need to free them before the bucket heads come back." he says trying to think of something.
"It's hermetically sealed," I tell them. "They were going to fill the tank with mud and...," Mermista shudders at the thought. She tells us her brother was caught In a mud trap. He watched as he sank into the mud crying out for help but unable to do anything. "It must have been traumatizing for you," I tell her as she takes a breath and says we need to focus on getting them out.
"Kowl, I need you to do dive into the lake and find me a shard of crystal coral." I think I remember seeing it in a book once. I ask if her it's looks blue stained glass. "Exactly," I tell her it grows deep down and don't know how long I can hold my breath. "I can help with that," she places a hand on my chest. "Like Loo-Kee I gave the ability to breathe underwater."
"I'll do my best."
Dani
I watched as Jazz surveyed the screens looking for something that could help us. "Mom and Dad?" she gasps pointing to a camera in City Hall. They were laying unconscious on the floor. "I think I can..." sparks shot from the keyboard as she backed away.
"You have learned so much," Vlad's voice says as the screens go black. "However your journey is at an end," His face appears and fills the screens. "I don't wish to cause Jack and Maddie further pain so I am willing to let you go Jasmine. All that needs to happen is for Danielle to return. I'll have my vultures wait for you my dear," Jazz looks at me and thinks for a second.
"No," I stare at amazed at her response. "I am not going to let anything happen to her." The halfa scowls at her. He gives her another chance. All I have do is surrender. I can't let Jazz's parents suffer because of me. I open my mouth but Jazz says not to say anything. "We have three words you Plasmius...Go to Hell!"
"If that is your desire," a tendril shot from the floor tying me to the ground. "If you wish for Hell then you shall have it. First you will watch as DPP786 dissolves into goo. Make sure you pay attention to her cries. You might her curse for tempting her in the first place."
A wave of electricity flows from the tendril into my body. I fall on my knees. Jazz races up to me trying to free me. Vlad laughs and says no one can help me now. The pain is unbearable and I call out for it stop. Plasmius smiles and turns up the power. "N...," was all I could get out before everything went black.
