Chapter Nineteen: The Breach

Adora wasn't entirely sure what was going on outside the Fright Zone, but it sounded like help had arrived. Cannons and all sorts of other weapons were going off at whatever or whoever had come, and given the sheer amount of weapons being used, they had brought backup. Either that, or Catra really wanted them dead. Likely both.

Either way, she wasn't about to stay here. She continued gnawing at the ropes that bound her arms, the battle outside encouraging her to work just a little bit faster. Thankfully, Catra, in her hurry to get the portal working, hadn't considered that Adora would be able to cut through a length of rope without her sword. It took her a minute, but her teeth of steel came through in the end.

Letting out a sigh of relief as she fell to the floor, Adora stood up, massaging her sore wrists. As much as she would have liked to take a moment to rest, Catra was about to use her sword to activate that portal of hers, and there was no telling where that could lead. "Right. Sword." She headed for the door. After putting her ear to the wall to check for nearby guards, she opened it and snuck out into the hallway. She may not have had her sword, but she was still an elite Horde commando-formerly, of course. Still, she hoped that backup would be here soon.

"I hope Lars knows what he's doing," said Frosta, as the group approached the Fright Zone.

"I'm sure he does," said Huntara. "He wouldn't have stolen that ship of his if he didn't, right?"

"Don't worry, guys," said Steven. "Lars can handle this, I know he can. We should focus on our job."

"Exactly," replied Hordak. "Stick to the plan, and everything will go smoothly."

The team of princesses and Gems, plus Hordak and his two lieutenants, made their way past the ongoing light show and into the Fright Zone depths. Being the one most familiar with their surroundings, having built the place, Hordak led them all down a path where they were least likely to be spotted. Of course, most of the Horde troops were occupied by the battle currently raging above their heads, so they were unlikely to be spotted anyways. Though unlikely still meant possible.

Perfuma walked up to the front of the group. "Do we have any sort of attack plan?" she asked. "I know there's a lot of us here, but even with Lars keeping them occupied, I don't think we should just be wandering in here…"

"Hey, it worked the last couple times," said Mermista.

Hordak shot her a look. "And what exactly does that mean?" he growled.

Mermista shrugged. "This place doesn't exactly have the best security. I guess it worked out nicely for you, though, since now you have to sneak into your own base."

"I will have you know, the Fright Zone is the most secure location of the entire Etherian Horde!" shouted Hordak, apparently unaware of the irony. "I assure you, all of your attempts to infiltrate in the past were only successful due to sheer luck!"

Before Hordak could continue, or Mermista could retort, Steven stepped in between them. "Guys, guys, can we just agree that both sides have room for improvement, and keep our eyes on the mission?"

"Works for me," said Mermista.

Hordak turned away. "Fine," he grumbled. "But just know that if it wasn't for your friend causing a distraction, my soldiers would have overwhelmed us the moment we stepped within the Fright Zone's borders!"

At that moment, Hordak opened a door into the hallway, only for the party to be treated to the sight of both Lonnie and Rogelio. The pair were moving boxes within the cargo hold, both frozen at the sight of three princesses, four and a half Gems, two Crimson Waste thugs, and their former boss staring at them. The feeling was mutual, as everyone just sat in silence, unmoving, for several seconds.

"Well, guess you were right," Frosta said quietly to Hordak.

After a few more seconds, Lonnie's eyes gradually shifted over to the wall: the comms. Just one button press, and the entire Fright Zone would go into high alert. And with the sounds from the dogfight outside beginning to dwindle, they would soon be surrounded. "Don't," Hordak said.

Rogelio was mainly just surprised to see Hordak, but Lonnie was still considering sounding the alarm, her eyes shifting back and forth from the panel to the group. She looked ready to drop the crate at any moment.

"Cadet, don't even think about it," Hordak continued. "I am your true leader, Catra is nothing more than a usurper. Do you truly seek to betray Lord Hordak?"

"He's right...in a way," Pearl said. "Catra is more of a threat than Hordak ever was." Hordak glared at her, but she continued. "Do you really want to be a part of that?"

Lonnie considered Pearl's words. It seemed like working under Catra really had been worse than working under Hordak. It seemed, for just a moment, that she was considering letting the group by. Perhaps she might have, if the alarm didn't sound at that very moment.

As warning sirens echoed throughout the halls, Kyle sheepishly removed his hand from the panel. "I'm sorry! I thought you were trying to signal me or something!" he said to Lonnie.

With diplomacy out the window, Lonnie and Rogelio dropped the box, charging at the team with stun batons drawn. Hordak spread his wings and charged, effortlessly battering the large lizardkin aside. Before Lonnie could follow up, Tung Lashor's whip wrapped around her wrist, causing her to drop the weapon. A shoulder check from Huntara knocked her to the ground.

Kyle had already made himself scarce by the time the fighting started. Pearl drew her spear and pierced through the panel. The alarms ceased, but by then it was too late, as the entire Fright Zone knew they were here. "Hurry! We have to leave before more troops show up!" she said.

Hordak ran ahead, and the team hurried after their temporary leader. As they all ran, Steven pulled Spinel aside. "Spinel, listen to me, I need you to keep an eye on Garnet and Amethyst," he said urgently. "They can't fight like this, and your stretchy powers mean you're the best one to keep them out of harm's way." The two amnesiac Gems in question followed along, neither knowing exactly what was going on.

Spinel's arm curled around a few times before saluting. "You got it, new best friend!" she said, chipper as ever. "Nothin'll happen to 'em, you can count on me!"

Suddenly, upon entering a large room, the team ground to a halt. "Good," Steven said as he saw what was up ahead, "because these guys aren't happy to see us…"

The room was filled with Horde bots, soldiers, and cybertroops, all of them focused on the intruders. The sounds of weapons charging up filled the room, leaving them precious little time to react. Luckily, the first of them to react was Frosta, throwing up a wall of ice between them and their foes. Dozens of lasers collided with the frozen barrier, which chipped and cracked, but ultimately held. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way!" she said.

Huntara extended her staff, smirking. "Heh, I love the hard way!" She darted out from behind the ice wall, rushing towards a cluster of Horde bots. "Bet I can take more out than you!"

"Dream on!" Tung Lashor ran out the other side, whip at the ready. The Princesses, Pearl, and Hordak followed suit, charging the Horde forces, while Spinel quietly ushered Garnet and Amethyst away from the fighting.

Steven, despite his lack of powers, charged in as well. Although his current shield was only made of metal rather than being a Gem weapon, it still allowed him to block a shot heading his way, and bash the trooper who had fired it aside. A bot behind him charged a shot too quick for him to block, but before it could fire, it was impaled from the side by a trident. A wave of water flowed over the bot as it exploded, and Mermista picked up her trident and headed towards more targets. Steven did the same.

Meanwhile, Spinel struggled to find a way out of the warzone, her charges close at her heels. "O-okay, this is fine, we can do this!" she muttered, mostly to herself. "Just gotta keep moving. Keep moving, keep moving, keeeeep moving…" She turned back, and let out a yelp as she saw a cybertroop hurtling through the air towards Garnet. She quickly stretched out her arms to pull her out of harm's way.

The machine smashed against the wall, but it still wasn't out of commission. Its eye focused on the trio as it raised its arm to fire. Spinel threw a giant fist forward, crushing it into scrap before it could. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned back to Garnet.

"You okay?" she asked. Garnet, however, was more interested in the wrecked cybertroop, particularly the red and blue wires sticking out from the metal. Touching them earned her an electric shock, not that she seemed to care. "Eh, she's fine. Now, where'd Amethyst run off to?"

Amethyst had apparently decided that watching the battle was more interesting than running from it, and had wandered over to Perfuma, mimicking the princess' movements as she fought off the Horde's forces with various plants. Spinel ran over to retrieve her, only for the Gem to become more interested in what Steven was doing.

"Wait, get back here!" shouted Spinel, squishing her body to duck under blaster fire. "Amethyst!" She was now mimicking Steven, holding her arm up as he did, holding an invisible shield. She continued this even when Spinel began to drag her to safety. "Come on, we have to go! We need to...huh?" Spinel looked down curiously, her arms now empty.

Her charge had further gone on to imitate Tung Lashor, who was fighting several Horde soldiers at once. "Come on, is that all ya got?" he cried. "I ain't the King of the Wastes for nothin'!" Spinel hurried over once again, but this time, she noticed something.

Rather than simply miming using a whip, Amethyst had instead drawn one of her own from out of her gem. She flung it around with expert precision as though remembering her pre-rejuvenated self. Spinel got an idea. "Well...Steven did say to keep them safe," she said. Rather than pulling Amethyst to safety, she instead pushed her closer to the brawl, where she could put her whip to good use.

Although it started as her simply copying Tung's movements, slowly but surely, she began to form her own as well. Recognition dawned on her face as she fought off the soldiers, to Spinel's delight. Soon enough, she had properly joined the battle, knocking enemies aside left and right. A bright light shone from her body as she rolled into a ball, tearing towards Tung Lashor.

The ex-bandit fought hard, but was slowly becoming overwhelmed. He panted as the soldiers surrounded him, moving too fast for his whip to catch. Before they could finish him off, a glowing ball of hair suddenly came tearing by, knocking all of them aside. Puzzled, Tung Lashor watched as the ball came to a halt, unrolling to reveal Amethyst, back to her old self. "I gotcha, lizard dude!" she said, flashing a thumbs-up.

"Uh...thanks...purple gal," he said, still a little confused. Amethyst hopped over to give him a quick fist bump, before heading off to aid Pearl. Tung looked down at his fist, and grinned, before rejoining the battle himself.

"YES! I did it! I fixed Amethyst!" Spinel shouted, jumping for joy. "Steven! Steven, did you see that? I did something cool!" She ran off to find her best friend as the battle wound to a close.

Steven leaned against a wall, sweating bullets. His shield was dented and he was covered with bruises. He let the shield fall to the ground as he wiped his brow-it would seem being without powers took a larger toll than he had first thought. He looked around to see that everyone had stopped fighting as well. The battle was won. He looked up as Spinel ran over to him.

"Steven! Didja see that!?" she asked excitedly.

"See what?" he asked, still panting.

"Look! Amethyst's all better now!" she shouted, pointing over to the purple Gem. Indeed, she was back to her normal self, chatting away enthusiastically with Pearl. "I did that! I helped her get better!" She looked at Steven enthusiastically with giant eyes. "Isn't that great?"

"Spinel...that's…" Steven was indeed glad to see Amethyst back to normal, but something else was bothering him. "How did you do that, exactly?"

"She was copying that tongue guy, and she brought out her whip!" Spinel reported. "So I helped her over a bit, and-"

"Hang on...you let her go into the fight?" Steven said, suddenly becoming much less happy.

"No, of course not! I nudged her towards the fight!"

"That's even worse!" Steven was fully angry now. "I told you to keep the two of them safe, Spinel! I said to keep them out of harm's way! How is putting them in harm's way doing that!?" By now, everyone had made their way over to the ruckus.

"Well, I...I thought I was helping," said Spinel.

"I...I know, I just...ugh," sighed Steven. "But do you always have to help so much?"

"We don't have time for this," said Hordak. "Catra is no doubt sending reinforcements to our location. If we stay here, we will very likely be caught again."

"Hey, Steven, it's not that big a deal, dude," said Amethyst, putting an arm around his shoulder. "She did help me come back, after all."

"I know she did, and I am glad to see you, but I...I don't know," Steven said.

As the group talked, none of them were aware that a Horde soldier had gotten to his feet, aiming a stun baton at Steven's back. Only the charging of the weapon alerted everyone to his presence, but by then, it was too late to react. Mere moments before he could fire, a fist collided with his mask, knocking him back to the ground. "Phew. Everyone okay?" asked their rescuer.

"Adora!" shouted Frosta.

Catra stared at the screen, upon which several security feeds from around the Fright Zone played. Lars of the Stars had long since led Emerald away, and now the princesses had returned to ruin her plans. Adora had made it out, and was on track to rendezvous with them. She silently ran her claws down the side of the terminal, leaving deep claw marks in the metal. She let out an almost silent snarl before she was interrupted by someone opening the door and stomping into the room.

"Emerald?" said Scorpia, as the green Gem made her way into the portal chamber. "What happened? Did Lars get away?"

Emerald ignored her, making her way up to Catra. "How long will it take to get this portal working?" she growled.

"How should I know? I'm not the scientist here," she replied, her eyes still on the security feed. "And what are you doing back here, anyway? Didn't you have an archenemy to deal with?"

Emerald growled again, but didn't respond. Instead, she turned back to Entrapta. "Well?" Her tone of voice implied the same question.

"...Oh! It shouldn't be long now," Entrapta said, turning to the monitor in front of her. "It just needs a few moments to calibrate. Once it's ready, we can fire it up!"

"Good," snarled Emerald, grinning maliciously. "I can't wait to leave this cesspool behind."

With an air of apprehension, Scorpia approached the two from behind. "Um...Emerald?" she asked. "Are you sure you know what you're doing with this portal thing? Because it looks kinda...dangerous."

"Of course it's dangerous," said Emerald, rolling her eyes. "That's why we're doing it. But yes, I do happen to know what I'm doing. I managed to pull an entire planet into this dimension with nothing more than a pile of outdated tech and an old sword, a few warships would be like nothing!" Behind her, Entrapta looked concerned as she double-checked the data. "Thanks to me, the Horde will soon be able to eclipse even Homeworld, and Lars of the Stars and everyone he loves will be obliterated!"

"W-what do you mean?" asked Scorpia.

"What do you think I mean!?" snapped Emerald. "Captain Lars, and all those infernal Crystal Gems he associates with, were being protected by the Diamonds! Once we take our place as the true masters of the universe, I will finally be able to get the revenge that has been denied to me for so long! I will finally be able to-"

"Hey, you guys?" said Entrapta. "I hate to interrupt your evil monologuing session, but I'm seeing something here that's a bit concerning…"

Catra took interest, walking over. "How so?"

"Here, take a look at this," Entrapta said. She pulled up a graph on the screen, showing some dangerously high readings going up into the red. Scorpia looked confused, and Emerald and Catra looked unamused. "Oh, right," Entrapta said softly. "What this means is that having more than one planet in Despondos isn't exactly agreeing with the portal's automatic targeting system. It's locking onto both, which might cause some problems when we activate it…"

"And...what sort of problems?" asked Scorpia.

"Well, what could basically happen is that both Etheria and Earth would be simultaneously phased into the same point in space and time, which, in quantum physics, is a definite no-no. Two atoms can't occupy the same space at a time, and if they try to, well…" Entrapta pressed a key, which caused a graphic of a planet exploding to play on the screen. "It's a worst-case scenario, but-"

"And what's a best-case scenario?" asked Catra.

"...That it works just as planned, with no ill effects," said Entrapta. "The planets colliding is only a possibility, but-"

"Then keep going as planned," said Catra. "We've made it this far, I don't want to stop everything just because it might go wrong. Once it's ready, activate it."

"W-wait, hang on!" Scorpia ran over to Catra. "Wildcat, do you really want to take that risk? We could all die!"

Catra groaned. "Scorpia, don't tell me you're having second thoughts now. After everything we've worked for, you really want to give up?"

"If everyone I care about is in danger, then yes, I do!" said Scorpia. "Think about this, Catra: is all of this really worth it? Taking over the whole universe just to prove a point? Is that really worth maybe dying for?"

When Catra paused, as if considering this, Emerald spoke up. "Don't tell me you're actually listening to her! Think of everything we could gain!"

"...She's right," Catra said. "I'm sorry, Scorpia, but I need to take this risk."

Scorpia was quiet for a moment. "Then I'm sorry too, Wildcat." She hurried over to the computer terminal near the portal. She began tearing out wires and smashing through metal, trying to do as much damage as possible.

"What are you doing, you idiot!?" Catra yelled. "Stop! Scorpia, stop that, now!" Her hand went to something on her hip.

"I can't!" she yelled back, her voice strained. "Not until you see reason!" Entrapta leaned back in her chair, just watching.

"Unbelievable!" Emerald said. She turned to Catra. "Do something, now! Stop her!" Catra's eyes softened for a moment, before they were filled with ice once more.

Electricity coursed through Scorpia's form, and not from the wires. Entrapta covered her mouth in horror as Scorpia fell to the ground, Catra standing behind her holding a stun baton.

"C-Catra… What did you-"

Catra held the stun baton out towards her. "You wanna be next?"

Entrapta, unable to form any words, simply shook her head.

"Good." Catra holstered the stun baton. "You, fix this mess," she said to Entrapta. "And you, deal with her," she said to Emerald.

"'Deal with her?' And how exactly am I supposed to-"

"I don't know!" Catra shouted. "Just...get rid of her! Send her to Beast Island!"

"What?" Entrapta said, her voice barely a whisper.

Emerald grinned. She snapped her fingers, and two Citrines appeared, seemingly out of the aether. They lifted Scorpia up, carrying her away. Catra gave her one last glance, before turning back towards the portal. Entrapta wordlessly began to repair the damages.

"You made the right choice." Emerald seemed to hover over Catra's shoulder. "We don't need someone like that jeopardizing the mission."

Catra said nothing.

The three princesses hurried over to Adora. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" asked Perfuma.

"How'd you break out without your sword?" asked Mermista.

Adora smiled. "Don't worry, everyone, I'm fine!" she said. "And I know my way around the Fright Zone-I did use to live here after all!" In spite of this reunion, her tone turned serious. "But there's no time for any of that. Catra has my sword, and I think she's planning something big."

"How big are we talkin' here?" asked Huntara.

"Very big," Adora replied. "Big like...woah, big…" Flustered at seeing Huntara up close and personal, Adora shook her head. "I, uh, think she's planning to open another portal. She wants to use Emerald's fleet to conquer the universe!"

"Oh, is that all?" said Mermista.

"Then there truly is no time to waste," said Hordak. "We must move quickly if we are to stop her!"

Adora stood in silence for a few moments, before pointing to Hordak with a confused expression. "We'll explain later," said Pearl.

Steven steeled himself once more, picking up his shield. "Alright everyone, let's move...except you, Spinel. Take Garnet and get her to safety, preferably far away from the Fright Zone. And please, actually listen this time."

"Wh-but...I did listen…" she said, sounding almost hurt.

"No, you didn't," Steven said, massaging his forehead. "You put Amethyst and Garnet in danger just to impress me. So don't get any more ideas-"

"Well excuse me for trying to make you happy!" Spinel suddenly snapped, to the surprise of everyone. "That's all I do! That's all I've ever done! That's all I'm supposed to do! Make you happy! But apparently that's not good enough for you!"

Steven was taken aback, not only by her outburst, but by her face-for a brief moment, it had suddenly changed back to how it had looked before she had been rejuvenated. "Spinel, what are...it's not about that!" he said.

"Yes it is! For as long as I can remember, that's what it's been like! After everything I've done, you just abandon me on an asteroid out in the middle of nowhere! I…" With a sigh, Spinel sagged. "Nevermind. Good luck." She sadly walked away, taking Garnet by the hand and leading her away.

"Spinel, wait-"

Steven tried to follow her, but was stopped by Frosta. "Apologize later, right now we gotta stop Catra!" She hurried after Hordak and the others, who had already gone ahead. With one last look in Spinel's direction, Steven followed.

Even without running into any more soldiers, there was still an air of urgency as the group hurried towards Hordak's former sanctum. The lights flickered ominously as they ran. "The portal must almost be ready," noted Hordak. "We must hurry!"

"Yeah, whaddya think we're doing?" asked Huntara, running just behind him.

"Catra's not gonna be alone in there," said Adora. "The moment we get to those doors, expect to be swarmed by soldiers and Gems."

Amethyst summoned her whip. "Then we'll just have to go in swingin'!"

Sure enough, when they had reached the sanctum, everyone prepared for battle. "Ice princess, break it down!" Hordak commanded.

"You got it!" said Frosta, sending an ice wall through the door. "But because I was gonna anyway, not because you said so!"

The steel was torn apart easily under the ice. As soon as the door gave way, the team found that Adora was right-Catra's forces were ready for them. A squad of Horde soldiers and Citrines poured from within the sanctum, weapons out. Hordak led the charge as usual, throwing the troopers aside as he ran into his throne room. "Go! We'll hold them off!" said Perfuma, as she and Huntara fought through the ambushers.

Steven and Adora ran in after the others. Inside, in addition to even more guards, Emerald and Catra stood before the portal, which, thanks to the Sword of Protection, was beginning to come to life. "Catra!"

Hearing Adora's voice, the Horde Lord turned back to her old friend. A smirk crossed her face. "Hey, Adora. Made it out, did you? Eh, can't say I'm surprised."

"Catra, please, this needs to stop!" Adora pleaded. "This isn't you!"

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, how many times can you make this speech? All it does is make you sound desperate, you know."

"Enough banter!" Hordak made his presence known, stepping to the front of the group. "Force Captain, this is your last chance to stand down peacefully!"

The moment Hordak appeared, Entrapta turned around in her chair. However, before she could speak up, Emerald stopped her. "No, you need to finish here first. I'll handle this."

"But I-"

"Destroy them!" yelled Emerald, pointing her arm forward. Her Citrines followed her orders, charging at the heroes. The Horde soldiers did so as well, catching most of them unawares. Steven blocked an incoming shot with his shield, before doing the same to a Citrine's sword. He almost buckled under the force, but Mermista washed her away before he could.

"Thanks!" he called.

"Don't mention it. Now take that thing outta commission before-Argh!"

Tung Lashor had suddenly and unexpectedly flown through the air, colliding with Mermista and sending the both of them hurtling against the wall. Steven turned to see Emerald approaching him, glaring daggers all the while.

A wave of ice washed over the green Gem, seemingly freezing her solid. "Not so tough not, are ya!?" said Frosta. However, Emerald easily broke free of the ice, turning her attention to the princess. "Uh-oh…"

"You get Catra, we'll take care of Emerald!" Steven shouted to Adora, running over to help. Adora ran off as well, picking a stun baton up off a fallen soldier as she sprinted towards the portal. She took aim at the mechanism and fired a shot..

The blast was heading straight for its mark, only to be stopped at the last moment by Catra. Her new armor let her block the shot with her claws. She lunged at Adora, who blocked this strike in turn with the baton.

"Catra, I get that you want to prove yourself, but is this really the best way!?" Adora pleaded. "You've lived your whole life here on Etheria...what's out there for you!?"

"Everything!" Catra replied. She raised her other arm above her head, where metal casings around her claws glowed with heat. She slashed downwards, Adora rolling out of the way just as her red-hot claws pierced the floor. "A fresh start! Out there, with Emerald's help, I can finally be what I was meant to be!"

"And what's that? A conqueror? A tyrant?" Adora raised her baton, preparing to strike again. "I'm sorry, Catra, but I can't let that happen."

Catra smirked as she flexed her claws. "Oh, Adora...that isn't for you to decide."

Over by the others, Emerald was proving to be a surprisingly adept opponent. Frosta was unable to keep her frozen for long, and she hit like a freight train, as anyone who came close found out. With a single swing of her arm, she had battered Hordak against the wall.

Despite the princess' best efforts, Emerald was gaining on Frosta. "Hey!" shouted Steven, throwing his shield for good measure. The disc collided with Emerald's head-it only seemed to annoy her, but it definitely got her attention. She turned her focus to Steven, who ran towards her.

Emerald raised her arm to throw a punch, and Steven raised his shield to block. Emerald's fist collided with the shield, but the force was enough to almost tear it in half. Steven was sent to the ground as his shield skidded away. The Gem grabbed him by the neck, lifting him to eye level. "You may not be Lars," she snarled, "but I've been wanting to kill you almost as bad!"

Before she could make good on her promise, Emerald suddenly cried out, dropping Steven. Pearl stood just behind her, her spear driven into Emerald's back. She whirled around, batting Pearl aside as Steven crawled over to his shield. Emerald pried the weapon from her back, snapping it in half.

Meanwhile, Entrapta was working diligently at her desk, alternating between getting the portal ready, ducking under and around combat, and trying to find an opportunity to approach Hordak. Then, before long, the words she had waited for appeared on the screen: Portal Charge 100%. "Okay, it's ready now!" she shouted over the din of the fighting.

Catra and Emerald's eyes were both turned to a simple lever near the portal, the pulling of which would connect Despondos with the universes once more. The latter attempted to make her way over, only to be stopped as a whip snagged around her arm. "Uh-uh, you ain't goin' nowhere!" said Amethyst. Emerald struggled, which was only made more difficult as Frosta froze her once more. All she could do was roar in anger and glare at Catra and Adora.

Catra had been momentarily distracted by Entrapta's shout. Adora took this moment to thrust her stun baton forward, almost colliding with her torso, but she deflected it at the last moment. Catra swung her claws, slicing the baton clean in half. Then, as Adora stumbled back, she sprinted towards the portal.

Mere moments before Catra could pull the lever, Adora had tackled her from behind. She held on as tightly as she could, holding her back. Although she reached for the lever, Catra was mere inches from her target. She threw an elbow back, successfully connecting with Adora's face, and loosening her grip. Catra struggled forward only for Adora to pin her down yet again.

The two were now face to face. "I did tell you I'd stop you, didn't I?" said Adora.

"And I said that wasn't your call," Catra replied. "That's your problem, isn't it? You always have to be the hero. Always pulling yourself closer and closer to...danger."

Catra thrust her claws upwards. Adora gasped as five sharp talons pierced into her side.

For a moment, both of them were still. Then, looking like she was in just as much pain, Catra shoved Adora off of her, and stood up to face the portal. Her hand moved forward, inches away from victory.

"Catra...don't…"

With a sigh, Catra glanced back at her former friend. "Sorry, Adora. But you don't get to tell me when I can win anymore."

Catra pulled the lever. Almost instantly, a blinding light shone forth from the portal, as the Sword of Protection rose to its center. Everyone save for Emerald and Catra looked on in horror as the light seemed to consume the entire room, a horrible static buzzing coming from within. As the light filled the room, the buzzing seemed to vibrate within their very bodies, consuming everything.

"Do...Do you guys feel that?" said Lars. As he, Bow, and Glimmer hiked back to the Fright Zone, he felt something deep in his chest, like a pit that was growing larger and larger.

"I definitely feel something," Bow replied. "What's going on?"

All three of them looked on in awe and terror as a beam of light shot up from the center of the Fright Zone. As it grew brighter, it seemed to spread, covering everything in its path as it raced towards them.

"What…" Glimmer could only stare as the pillar grew ever larger, and the pits in their chests grew deeper. "...is that?"

"Are we… Are we too late?" Lars said quietly.

The light and the buzzing soon spread across them, and all Etheria.

"Hang on...something's wrong," said Connie. She stood up, looking around. "You can feel that too, right?"

"I don't feel anything," said Peridot. "Are you gonna be sick?" Lion definitely felt something, though, as he was staring up at the ceiling, growling.

"Do you think it might have something to do with that?" asked Rhodonite, looking out the window. Everyone crowded around to get a look.

"Woah…" said Bismuth, summing up everyone's feelings quite nicely. Etheria, already shining like a star before now, was lighting up the entire sky like a sun, almost returning the blue color. "Looks like Steven's at it again, huh?"

"I...don't think that's Steven this time," said Lapis.

"So if it isn't Steven, what is it?" asked Topaz.

Connie had picked up her sword, but upon seeing the light, she let it fall to the floor. The light grew brighter and brighter, eventually reaching Earth. The buzzing got louder and louder.

And then, silence.

"Steven…"

"Find the sword…"

"Steven? Oh, Ste-ven? Wake up, Steven!"

"Mmph…" Steven pulled his blanket up over his head as the gentle voice coaxed him awake. "Jus' five more minutes…"

"But you'll be late in five minutes!" the voice said. "Remember? Adora, Glimmer and Bow are taking you to Mystacor today!"

"That was today!?" Instantly, Steven leapt out of bed, running over to the drawer to grab his clothes. "I completely lost track of time! Thanks, Mom!"

"Of course, sweetie," said Rose Quartz, smiling. "Have fun!"

"I will," Steven said, leaning over so Rose could give him a quick peck on his forehead. "Bye, love you!"

"Love you too!" she called as he ran down the stairs. He darted past Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearls on his way to the door. "Oh, Steven, you're up early!" said the fusion, surprised to see him. "What's the occasion?"

"Today's our trip to Mystacor!" Steven called, heading outside.

"Oh, that was today? Must have slipped my mind…"

Amethyst chuckled. "Classic Garnet." Garnet herself giggled at this as well.

To his relief, his friends hadn't arrived yet. He strolled outside onto the deck, breathing in the salty sea air. Seagulls cried as he stared off into the distance; off to the left, he could just make out the form of Castle Brightmoon.

A sudden voice to his side pulled him back into reality. "Hey, Steven!" He turned to see Spinel standing down on the sand. "Get this: Rogelio 'n his gang just 'found' some day passes for Funland! Wanna come?"

"Aw, sorry, Spinel, but I already have plans to go to Mystacor today," Steven said. "Have fun without me, though."

"Shucks, that's right!" Spinel said, bopping herself on the forehead. "Welp, no sense in wasting those passes. Y'all have fun, though!"

"Thanks, we will!" Steven said with a wave.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the distant figures of the Best Friend Squad appeared. Steven hurried down the steps, running down the beach to greet them. After exchanging greetings, Glimmer began gushing about all the things that Mystacor had to offer.

"...and the hot springs-Oh, the hot springs are my favorite!" she said. "I could honestly fall asleep in there!"

"You have, on several occasions!" said Bow.

Everyone chuckled at this. "So, should we get going?" asked Steven.

"Sure thing," said Adora. "To the warp pad!"

The four of them headed off back towards Steven's house. He smiled ear to ear, looking forward to all the fun they would have together. Just another perfect day on Eartheria.

AN: Woo! That's right everyone, first chapter in a while, and it's a blammer! I'm proud to report that I'm back to working on this series! With any luck, we'll be able to get to the end of this part in a month or two, so stay tuned!